April Showers........um....or maybe May Flowers

Yes, the theme for this month is actually April Showers, but I have gone a little off on my own to change it up a little to May Flowers--and there is a reason for this that I will explain soon.

In the meantime, I would just like to remind you that the real theme for the month is "Shower of Showers", and if you would like to play along, you have the chance to win the stencil of your choice by linking to the Dream It Up! blog.  You have an extra chance to win if you incorporate Dreamweaver and/or Stampendous products in your design.

 Now, back to my creation:

       This is the time of year of many transitions.  April is turning into May and showers will soon be replaced by flowers.  As spring finally begins here in Michigan, my life is changing, too. As many of you might know, Lynell Harlow has recently sold Dreamweaver Stencils to Stampendous.  This should mean wonderful things for Lynell's fabulous stencil designs!  Therefore, this is my last official post as a member of the Dreamweaver Design Team.  Dreamweaver has become part of the Stampendous family and I, too, have been welcomed into an exciting new position as a member of the Stampendous team.  (See the new decoration on my sidebar!)  

     Of course, all of these changes, while quite exciting, have me waxing nostalgic.  I was one of the original members of the Dreamweaver Design team.  It was the first (non store) design team that I was ever part of.  As new team, it went through quite a few changes as it developed.  So did I.  I made many friends on the team over the years, including the beautiful (inside and out) Lynell Harlow.  I had a great time doing demos at CHA and teaching classes in the stores.  I also had the unforgettable opportunity to demo in the UK.  Of course, there were the gorgeous stencils! 

      This brings me back to my post.  It is a Thank You to Lynell, who is such a wonderful person and artist.  I met her several years before I really got to know her, when I was taking a Dreamweaver Class at a local store.  One of the stencils we used in the class was LJ 888 Hydrangea.  I remember thinking that Lynell really liked this one.  Every time I used it afterwards, I would remember how much she liked it.  Here, I pasted it on blue card stock with White Glossy Embossing Paste.  I used Removable Tape and the LM 2010 Paste Spreader.  I also pasted the LS 1009 Thank You with the same paste.  When the paste was dry, I used my Chameleon Markers to color in the flower and leaves.  For the flowers, I used YL2 Summer Sun and V04 Deep Violet.  For the leaves, I used YG3 Spring Meadows, OL3 Olive Green and GR3 Grass Green.  Mostly, though, I used the CB Colorless Blender.  I colored in the darker sections, and then used the blender to transfer the colors to the lighter sections.  For the leaves, I colored them normally and then used the blender to blend and lighten the colors.  The White Paste gave me a wonderful canvas to work on.

     As a group, we have been encouraging each other to also post one of the first creations we made for the Dreamweaver Team.  Mine goes way, way back.  In fact, it was one of the items I used for my design team audition.   (I also used some Stampendous flock on it!)  Sorry about the picture. 

     While the words "Thank You" cannot fully express my gratitude for everything Lynell has done for me, I certainly hope that she understands.  I urge you to continue to follow the Dream It Up blog, Stampendous and, of course, me, to see all the exciting new things that will be happening with Dreamweaver Stencils! 

Be sure to check out the other posts this week, too.

Dream It Up! 

Louise Healy  

Alison Heikkila 

Lyn Bernatovich 

Kristine Reynolds 

 
Pam Hornschu

Gill Wilson  

Cindy Groh 

Leadonna Kimmel 

Laura Drahozal 

Jamie Martin