Another Fresh Start

Last week, I posted a baby card as an example of our theme this month of "A Fresh Start".  This card also features a new stencil (as well as two older ones) and another type of fresh start--an engagement!  I dedicate this card to my friend, Janet, who recently became engaged.

MATERIALS:
Dreamweaver Bride Stencil LJ 924
Dreamweaver Damask Stencil LX 7001
Dreamweaver Congratulations Stencil LS 22
Dreamweaver Large Paste Spreader LM 2010
Dreamweaver Palette Knife
Dreamweaver Glossy White Embossing Paste
Removable Tape
Dreamweaver Gold Handled Stencil Brush
Ranger Adirondack Pigment Ink in Denim
Art Glitter Ultrafine Transparent 85 Crystal
Light Blue Cardstock
Dark Blue Cardstock
Various Sizes of Rhinestones

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Tape the Damask stencil over the light blue cardstock. 
2)  Use the gold handled brush with the denim ink to stencil the damask pattern.
3)  Remove the damask stencil and tape the bride stencil over the area.  Tape all the way around.
4)  Use the small palette knife to place paste on the large paste spreader.
5)  Pull paste over the stencil like a squeegee.
6)  Remove the stencil by pulling tape off of three sides and using the fourth as a hinge.
7)  Pour crystal glitter over the top of the paste.
8) Repeat steps 3 to 6, but use some dark blue cardstock and the Congratulations stencil.
9)  When all the paste is dry, assemble the card and add rhinestones.

If you would like to join us for the Fresh Start Challenge, check out the details on the Dream It Up Blog!  Meanwhile, check out the rest of the team's projects for the week.  See you next week!
Oh--and congratulations, Janet!

Coloring on Art Glitter

People often want the look of many glittering colors, but don't want to purchase or store various colors of glitter.  (Personally, I don't have that problem, preferring to indulge in a huge selection of gorgeous Art Glitter colors!)  Did you know that you can color Art Glitter?  Well, you can.  The secret is the use of transparent colors.  I only used two glitter colors here.  REALLY!
Drop on by the Art Glitter Blog and see how I did it!

CHA Sneak Peek Week Day 5--The Final Peek

I am posting this Thank You card as a thanks for attending the Dreamweaver Sneak Peek Week. I hope you have had a great time. I know I have enjoyed showing off these stencils. This is what I did today. The new background stencil is LX7012 Waves and Dots and the Thank You stencil is LL3022 Festive Thank You. I ran each stencil through my Cuttlebug with the Details Embossing Mat and white cardstock. I misted the back with Isopropyl Alcohol first to loosen up the fibers and make a good impression. I left the stencil on the cardstock and used a stencil brush to quickly color it with Adirondack Pigment Ink. I then removed the stencil and covered the ink with Stampee Bonding Powder and shook it off. I heated it with my heat gun until it melted. I put clear Stampee Foil over the top of the whole thing and put it inside a folded piece of regular copy paper. Then, it all went through my laminating machine. When it was out, I quickly pulled off the foil in one movement. Then, I mounted everything and was done. The actual card is much shinier and more holographic than the picture. Don't forget, these stencils will be released at CHA next week, so if you like it, let someone at your local shop know so that they can order it. Meanwhile, check some more new ones out with the rest of the team (links on the left). Get inspired and make something Valentine's Day to link to the Dreamweaver blog. You could win one of two fabulous prizes, so get to work! I will see you next Thursday for the reveal of the new February Challenge.

CHA Sneak Peek Week Day 3

Well, it is day 3 of our CHA Sneak Peek Week for Dreamweaver Stencils. Today, I feature both an old and new stencil. The old one, which I did with the Double Glitter Technique and Art Glitter, is LJ 905 Rain. The new stencil is LL3025 Mushrooms. I think I am going to have a LOT of fun with this stencil. It reminds me of mushrooms from Alice in Wonderland or something from a story about fairies. I could use it with crazy colored spots all over it or even glitter. Of course, this one is a little more traditional. I pasted it with the Original Embossing Paste right over the glittered adhesive paper that I used with the rain. I let it dry, replaced the stencil and colored it quickly with Adirondack Pigment Ink. I removed the stencil and covered the inked paste with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. I heated the powder until it was melted and glossy. I adhered it to the cardstock and was done. I hope you are enjoying all of the sneak peaks so far. We are only half way through! Check out everyone else's blog today, and I will see you back here tomorrow. Don't forget to enter the January Valentine's Challenge for your chance to win!

Dreamweaver Free Challenge Week

Well, here it is, October. It is a glorious month here in Michigan, as the nights are cool, the days are warm and (usually) sunny, and the air is crisp and smells of apples and crackling bonfires. Personally, it was one of my favorites in childhood, being that it contained both my birthday and Halloween, which meant gifts, cake, costumes and candy. Later, it also held my husband's birthday and our anniversary. It was the king of months for me. The past few years, however, it has been a difficult month. It is breast cancer awareness month, and my mother passed due to complications of breast cancer. Now, October is often a month of as many tears as smiles for me. Not only do I miss my mom at the important events of my life, but I also get the "treat" of shopping at stores filled with pink ribbons on one side of the aisle and tombstones on the other. I have to wonder why no one ever foresaw this disturbing imagery when they chose October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
You may wonder what all of this has to do with this week's card. Well, this card symbolizes a lot for me, and I thought it wholly appropriate to include it as my first October post. First, the background, the beautiful Opto Checkerboard, LJ 915 which reminds me of MC Escher, art school and a lesson plan I once taught in a previous career. To me, it also relates to October, because it is an unexpected checkerboard. It is just a little "off", like all things in October, especially at the end of the month. I pasted this one with black paste.
The butterfly is absolutely one of my favorite new stencils. It is LJ 916. If you followed my Art Glitter blogs over the summer, you have seen this one before on a straw bag. I just love it. It looks its absolute best, I think, when it is double glittered, like it is here. In this case, I used the Double Sided adhesive paper and soaped the back of the stencil before I attached it. I then filled the holes with stunning autumnal (also Monarch colored) Art Institure Glitter, and black Stampendous Fun Flock (in the body). I removed the stencil and poured black glitter over the whole thing. This is a very large stencil, and it runs over the boundaries set forth by the card. I liked this. It seems like the butterfly's will to fly is so strong that it breaks away from its world. My mother and I used to go to butterfly houses where ever we could find them. She loved the idea and feeling of flight, so I imagine that she would have really loved this strong willed butterfly.
Finally, the Make a Wish sentiment. This one I did with Black Adirondack Pigment Ink and a stencil brush. It is from the Birthday Words stencil LG 704. I chose this one for many reasons. Most of all, it is because my mother and I went to Disneyworld after her cancer metastisized. We saw the fireworks display Wishes for the very first time. During the show, the narrator tells us to all "make a wish". Mom and I both started crying, because we both knew what we were wishing for. Anyway, that is what this phrase reminds me of.
So now, here it is, some years later. Sometimes, especially in October, it seems like yesterday, and I feel like an open wound. Most Octobers, I try to just "lay low" to escape all of those pink ribbons and tombstones in the stores. This year, I am opting to face it head on. That is what this posting really represents. While the butterfly reminds me of my mother, it also brings up the sayings that I have been so fond of lately, "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly" and, of course, "Without change, there would be no butterflies." I can't undo this change in my life, so I guess that it is time for me to try and become the butterfly. So, maybe this post was a little less lighthearted than others, and for that, I guess, I am sorry. Sometimes a card is just a card, but sometimes it is a catalyst for thought. I would love it if you could leave me a comment. Check out the other Dream Team designs for this week and play along if you are so inspired. Link it to the Dreamweaver Blog. I hope I didn't bring anyone down. Just remember, try to become the butterfly. It is never too late. Start now.

Thursday Dream Schemes--Free Week

For this week's free challenge, I decided to use this card that I recently sent to Lynell. We were given these two Kanji character stencils. They are both the same symbols, but in two different sizes. They mean hope. I have used the smaller of the two a couple of weeks ago with the red maple stencil. In this card, I am using both of them, LL3018 and LS1008, the fan LJ903 and the ginger jar, LG 626. I also use a few different techniques. I am going to break them down into steps:
THE GINGER JAR:
1) Use regular paste on black cardstock with ginger jar.
2) When the paste dries, replace the stencil and use a large stencil brush and Weathered Wood Distress Inks to create shading.
3) Place the Large Hope Stencil over the jar and use a stencil brush and Cranberry Adirondack Pigment Inks to stencil.
4) When all is dry, replace the jar stencil and lightly dab with Versamark. Toss clear embossing powder over the top and heat it.
RED FAN:
1) Use red cardstock and a dry embossing stylus to create the outline shape of the fan. Don't worry too much about accuracy on the bottom, as this won't show.
BLACK FAN:
1) Using the Mercart Teflon tool and black covered aluminum, emboss the outline of the fan, including the blades on the bottom. Emboss from the back.
2) Remove the stencil. "Poof" out the fan from the back using the largest Mercart ball tool you have.
3) Place the small Kanji figure on the fan and lightly tape with removable tape. Emboss with the teflon tool from the back.
4) Flip the fan over. Working from the front, place a ruler to attach the blades from the bottom to the raised parts on the top of the fan. Very LIGHTLY draw a line along the ruler. Avoid the section with the raised figure.
5) Use Mercart filler in the back of the fan.
6) When filler is dry, sand on black side of the aluminum. Trim around edge.

I think at this point, that you can assemble the card. I hope I have been able to inspire you to use these stencils or this technique to make a creation of your own. Go check out the blogs of the other Dreamweaver Team members. Leave a comment, get inspired, and link your creations to the Dreamweaver Blog. Come back again next week and check out the sketch challenge. See you then!

Dreamweaver Color Challenge--Purple and Yellow

This week's challenge is purple and yellow. I actually chose it for the team, because I really love complementary color combinations. Green and red seemed to Christmas-y, and blue and orange were already taken. I like purple and yellow anyway, because they are cheery colors. Here is my take.

I used two stencils on this one: the fan is Large Open Fan LJ 903 and the flowers are Cherry Blossoms, LG 644.

First, I "sludge" stencilled the fan on purple by putting regular matte white paste and yellow matte paste on my spreader and using them together. When this was almost dry, I noticed that there was a divet in the stencilled area. I also noticed that the yellow color had really overtaken the white, and that I had missed a spot on the bottom of the fan. The paper was wavy as well. I loaded my spreader with just white paste and spread it over again. It was then that I had my "happy accident". Because of the wave in the paper, the new paste skipped over the surface. It made a stripey color that I really liked, and a stucco type texture that I also appreciated.

While the fan dried, I used Sunshine Yellow Adirondack ink with a stencil brush on the background. I moved the stencil a couple of times to completely fill the background with the cherry blossoms. After the fan was totally dry, I repaced the stencil and used the yellow pigment ink on the blades. I then used opaque Sand Zig Embossing Powder on them and heated it. The stencil went back on one final time. I covered it with the cherry blossom stencil and used my stencil brush with Eggplant Adirondack Pigment Ink to color them purple. While they were still wet, I used Stampendous Purple Amethyst Pearlescent Embossing Powder and heated it. The color actually is purple, it just looks a little dark in this scan. Finally, I assembled the card.

I hope that the purple and yellow challenge has inspired you to create with stencils. If you want more inspiration, check out the other members of the team (links on the left side). Then, create something using our color choice and yet remarkably, wonderfully you. Post it and link it to the Dreamweaver blog. Enjoy, create, appreciate and share. Have great fun with your card, have a fantastic week, and stop by again soon. I will be participating in a July Fourth Blog Hop, which is actually on the 2nd. I am hoping you stop and hop.

Dreamweaver Fathers' Day Sketch Challenge

This is sketch week at Dreamweaver. Fathers' Day is right around the corner, too, so we decided to combine it with a Fathers' Day Challenge. Here is the sketch we used.......


......and here is my interpretation.


As you can see, I moved the sentiment, added a couple of things, and kept the background as one solid piece. If you look carefully, you can see that I also didn't exactly make it a "Fathers' Day" card, but more of a general masculine card. Why, you may wonder? Well, for one thing, I think that it is difficult to find a masculine card. This one can be used for anything from Fathers' Day, to congratulations, to a birthday. I went for the more flexible card. That is the pat answer I would give. Truth be told, though, I really like the fishing themed stencil LG 726, and my father DOESN'T fish. At all. So, I decided to make a card that I could use for any of my fishing inclined friends. The phrase is from LG 704, Birthday Words. I used LM 2003 as a focal piece because the scale fit with the idea of a circle in the center of the card. The pieces on LG 726 worked better for a rectangular vertical card.
So, on to how it was made. First, I pasted the lure LM 2003 on brown with the metallic silver paste. Then, I used the same brown cardstock and pasted LG 726 with the original, white paste. I made two extra of the fish, because I knew I wanted to have three. I selected the phrase I wanted from LG 704, and masked out the rest of the words with removable tape, pasting only the "It's Your Day" phrase.
When the paste was dry, I replaced the stencil and colored the basket with a combination of Distress Inks in Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain, and Adirondack Pigment Ink in Butterscotch. I dried them with my heat tool before using my Versamarker and Zing Metallic Green Embossing powder on the straps.
I did the fishing pole in much the same way, coloring the handle with Burgundy Distress Ink and clear embossing powder. The rod was done with Zing Embossing Powder in Sand. The reel was with Stampendous Metallic Silver Embossing Powder. One of the things I love so much about this original paste is the way that it takes EVERYTHING from embossing powder, to ink, to glue.
The lure in the center was also done with embossing powders--it used Stampendous Amethyst Metallic, and a really old red powder by Commotion. Then, I used Zig pen glue and added Stampendous Flock in red and purple. The glue does not stick quite as well to the metallic paste (remember, this one was silver), so I have some patchy parts. I am fine with this, but wanted you to know it is no fault of the flock--which will be as thick and plush as you put it on.
Finally, the fish. This was the part that I was really looking forward to. I used Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear on the fish and glittered them. The silver is the Microfine, making the little "scale shine" that I had been expecting. I used Canadian Blue on the eyes and for some spots on one fish. Then, I used Pink Smoothie and Blue Boy to add a little color. I only wanted a little color, which is why I chose those specific glitters--they are transparent, and very subtle. By the way, I guess now would be a good time to mention that I am guest blogging for Art Glitter over the summer. My first post is here: http://artglitterblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/hologram-glitter-butterfies-t-shirt-by.html#comments.
So, back to the card. I cut everything out and used the TPC Reel Me In collection for the background papers. I popped up the lure, parts of the fish and the phrase. This image, complete with midday shadows, should give you an idea of how they were raised:


Now that you have seen my card, continue on and check out the rest of the cards on the Dreamweaver Design Team list. Get inspired, make your own, and maybe even link it to the Dreamweaver Blog. You can find it here: http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/
Come on, have a little fun! Play along with us.