Alice's Mushrooms and a Summer Fun Challenge

Okay, I confess.  I started this project months ago at the Winter CHA.  I was playing around with some of the Stampee Foils and wasn't paying any attention to the placement and colors that I used.  When I was finished, I declared them to be "Alice in Wonderland mushrooms", and I really liked them.  So I took them home.  When this "Summer Fun" challenge came up, it seemed like a perfect fit.  Here is the card I made.

The process is very simple.  First, I soaped up the back of the Dreamweaver Stencil LL 3025 Mushrooms.  I used the Handmade Hawaiian Soap because it was easy to cover the stencil with it.  I brushed off any soap "chads" that were hanging from the stencil.  Then, I placed the stencil soap side down onto a piece of Double Sided Mounting Paper that was about an inch larger than my stencil in each direction.  Then, the color fun started.  I used various colors of Stampee Foils on the project.  I placed them dull side down onto the adhesive.  Then, I rubbed them with my finger.  I ran the small side of a Double Ended Embossing Tool around all the edges.  The variance in color is created by layering the foils.  You only use one at a time, but you can place another over the same area after you remove the first one.  Everywhere that the foil did not stick to the adhesive, the new color will.  You can use the foil until all of the color is gone and only the clear backing remains.  In fact, you can create gorgeous blended colors by using the small remnants of color off of used foil.  You can create this look with new foil by crinkling it up before you use it.  Usually after I get the foil on, I coat everything with colored glitter or flock to get into all the grooves that the foil misses.  This time, I didn't have any handy, so I just peeled the backing off of the stencil and hoped for the best.  Then, I covered the whole thing with transparent glitter. 
After several months at the bottom of my "remnants" bin, I discovered the mushrooms a little scratched up.  I thought I couldn't use it until I came up with a new idea.  I used a little Art Institute Designer Dries Clear to create spots all over the mushrooms.  I let the glue dry until it was just clear and tacky.  Then, I covered it with Gold Stampee Foil and rubbed down.  It covered the scrapes and created a whimsical pattern. 
So, as I mentioned, it is Summer Fun month at Dreamweaver Stencils.  You could win a brand new (not yet released) stencil if you play along.  It is so new, in fact, that I can only show you a portion.

Trust me, it is gorgeous and you want to win it!  All you have to do is create a Summer Fun project (preferrably with Dreamweaver Stencils) and photograph it.  Then, either email it to Lynell at Dreamweaver Stencils or put it online and link it to the Dreamweaver Stencils Blog.  It is as simple as that.  Looking for more inspiration?  Check out the links on the left of this page.  Get inspired!  I will see you next week.