July--a month to die for!

Welcome to July...the month to DIE for! Yep. All of this month, the Dream Team are featuring our newest toys...our DIES! You'd be surprised at how many we have, and what fun things you can do with them...especially when used in conjunction with many of their stencil counterparts. They are such a simple way to create an effective card. Here's mine for this week:

 

 



I really tried to create something "gender neutral" here.  I used the die DL3029 Dog. The stencils I used were Dog Stencil 3029, Swirl Stencil LJ 863,  Snow Splatter Stencil LJ 878,  Houndstooth LJ 913, Herringbone LJ 914, and Dog Words LG 749.  I used the Rubber Embossing Mat with a manual die cut machine (specifically a Cuttlebug for me, but you can use whatever you want.)  I also used the Matte Black Embossing Paste, Palette Knife, Removable Tape, and Color Coated Aluminum in Brown, Black, Red and Medium Blue.  Finally, I needed sandpaper, white and black card stock, adhesive and scissors.

 The mechanics behind the project were very simple.  I ran the metal through the machine with the rubber embossing mat and stencils: swirls with brown, snow splatter with black, the words and herringbone with red, and the houndstooth with medium blue.  Each time, I sanded the metal before removing it from the stencil.  Then, I placed the metal I wanted to use for the dog on the die.  I had to do one color at a time.  Also, I removed the rubber embossing mat and set up the cover mats to cut thin dies.  I also used a little card stock "shim" to make the die cut properly through the metal. 
Next, I taped the dog stencil to the white card stock and pasted it with the Matte Black Embossing Paste.  You could use Glossy Black just as easily.  It might even work better.  While the paste was still dry, I placed the metal into it.  You can see by the close up below that the stencils are slightly larger than the metal.  They create a slight "outline" that way, which is a very pretty effect.

 



Also, my black paste bled a little under the stencil, but that worked out well, too.  It created a very cute "smile" on my dog!
After the paste dried, I used the scissors to cut around the dog.  I then assembled the card!  Simple as that!

I'm sure that our "A" team is just DIE-ing to show you their creations, as well as our Guest Designers for the month of July, so stop by and take a look....

Dream It Up!

Leadonna Kimmel

Louise Healy

Laura Drahozal

Lynn Mercurio

Pam Hornschu

Jamie Martin

and

Terri Sproul (GD)

 

More Frosty Fun With Dreamweaver

More Frosty Fun this week.  The official word from Dreamweaver Stencils is this:

"Ahhh...December! Brrrr....!!! This month we are challenging you to design a wintery delight. It can be something other than paper, but again we will have two winners: "Best interpretation of the challenge" and "best usage of Dreamweaver products". This last month of the year we will award each of these winners a brand new stencil design we are releasing at CHA. (It's a secret until the very end of the month!)"
This week, I am presenting another metal creation.  This one is done with two different techniques.  Here is how it goes.

MATERIALS:
Dreamweaver Stencil LJ 849 Bare Trees
Dreamweaver Stencil LL 430 Buck
Mercart Metal--any color
Mercart Metal in Black
Mercart Beginners Tool Kit
Mercart Filling Paste
Stamping Details Rubber Mat
Manual Die Cut Machine (I used the Cuttlebug)
A Small (at least 4" x 5") piece of suede
Sandpaper
Cardstock
Adhesive
Alcohol Inks in a variety of blues
Alcohol Ink Applicator

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Use the manual die cut machine and Stamping Details Mat to run deer stencil through with black metal.  This is the Cuttlebug sandwich:  A Plate, stencil face down, metal black side down, rubber embossing mat, two B Plates.
2)  Remove the metal from the stencil and place face down on suede.  Push the metal out to create a 3D deer using the ball ended tools from the basic tool kit.  You are working from the back of the metal, so push out a little harder in the areas that you want to have more dimensional.
3)  Remove the metal from the suede and place on a flat surface, silver side down.  Use the teflon tool from the basic tool kit to define and flatten the areas around the deer.
4)  When deer looks the way you like it, flip it back to black side down and fill with the Mercart Filling Paste.  Let dry.
5)  Repeat step one, using the bare tree stencil.  Make sure to put whatever the colored side of the metal is down on top of the stencil .  You will be using the silver side of the metal and debossing.
6)  Leave the stencil in place.  Use the teflon tool to define any areas that you would like sharper and more pronounced.
7)  With the stencil still in place, use the applicator to apply alcohol inks all over the bare trees.  Let dry.
8)  With the stencil still in place, sand the metal.  It will remove the blue from the trees.
9)  Sand the deer.
10)  Trim around the outside of the deer.
11)  Assemble card.

This card was really fun to make, and I just love the look.  The best thing about it is that it can be used for the holidays, or every day and has appeal to both men and women.
Now it is your turn to try and make something. First, go to the other Dream Team sites (they are listed on the left), get inspired, make your project, photograph it and email it to Lynell@Dreamweaverstencils.com.  You could be featured on her blog and maybe even win a prize!  Give it a try!