Thursday, February 23, 2012

40 Shades of Green? Hmmm...How About Seven?

      The Woodware UK design team was challenged this week to create with "40 Shades of Green". Now, I have a lot of paper, glitter, flock, embossing powders, pastes, inks, etc., but no way do I have forty shades of green. Seven will just have to suffice. Fortunately for me, the Dream Team is also working with green. (*Links for purchasing these products in the USA are listed below the post.)
     For this card, I soaped the back of the Dreamweaver Stencils' Hills design and placed soap-side-down on the double-sided adhesive paper adhered to a panel of cardstock. I "water-falled" five shades of Stampendous glitter (Emerald, Pastel Green, Moss Green, Sea Green, and Mint) in bands across the exposed adhesive, rubbing the glitter in for best coverage. After removing the stencil carefully (hold the stencil down while pulling the paper panel away from the stencil to prevent bending), I filled in the lines with Mahogany glitter. This same glitter covers the Copper Paste-embossed "Friend". For another shade of green, I paste-embossed the "Branch" stencil from Dreamweaver Stencils, and when dry, I replaced the stencil and inked the embossed area with Versamark ink from Tsukineko. This was then embossed with Stampendous Stamp n' Bond before covering with Olive Green Fun Flock from Stampendous. Running these layers through my laminator (place between sheets of copy paper to protect laminator) provided lush coverage of the flock once the excess was brushed away. The seventh shade of green is the green cardstock for the card. Not too bad, eh? All products can be purchased through Woodware UK...just ask your local store to get them in stock!
     For a weeks worth of inspiration, check back daily with the Woodware UK blog and team for their posts with this green challenge. For inspiration from the Dreamweaver Stencils' team, check out our fabulous bunch of ladies:


     Be sure to play along with the Dream Team this month. Create your own St. Patrick's Day and/or green project, email a picture to Lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, or link to your online posting via Mr. Linky on the Dream It Up! blog by the end of February. You could win one of two sets of these stencil designs (USA, APO, FPO addresses only, please):



  Just as a hint...both of these could be useful for upcoming challenges...

*Supplies and Links:
Dreamweaver Stencils-
LG642 Branch
LJ910 Hills
LS1002 Friend
Copper Embossing Paste
DMP Double-sided Mounting Paper
Hawaiian Soap

Stampendous-
Flock
Glitter

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Goin' Green Again...No Blarney!

We are already into the third week of the Dreamweaver Stencils' Dream Team monthly challenge. The entire month of February, we have been creating with a St. Pat's theme, and/or the color green. I took this challenge literally by featuring the Go Green stencil for my background, and paste-embossed it with Glossy Green on kraft cardstock. When paste-embossing such a large stencil design, I highly recommend that you use the Dreamweaver Stencils' Spreader. This tool makes it so easy to spread the paste quickly and easily over the entire design in one swipe. As the antidote to all the bare trees we've been staring at for a few months now, I chose to also paste emboss the Tree of Life. Matting and layering is an effective way to make a simple design really pop. Speaking of pop...be sure to pop by the rest of the Dream Team to see how green and/or blarney-filled their creations are before leaving some love at each stop:


Please play along with us this month, and link your own creation(s) to the Dream It Up! blog Mr. Linky, or email your creation pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, or snail mail them to: 

Dreamweaver Stencils
1335 Cindee Lane
Colton, CA 92324

Be sure to mail or link by February 29th, for an opportunity to win one of two sets of these stencils. (Hint: You'll want these for upcoming challenges...just sayin'.)




Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Gourmet Rubber Stamps Challenge: Baking Up Some Yummy Recipes


 In between the mad panic of packing for a trip out of the country tomorrow, I needed to take a break to be creative and come up with an answer to the Gourmet Rubber Stamps monthly challenge for February. This time we are to create a 6" square recipe card featuring our favorite recipe. The difficult part was choosing the recipe. I love to bake, but there are so many of our family faves. I chose this one as it's a recipe that I took and changed to make healthier...lower in fat, lower in sugar, lower in calories...and no one ever knows it. I printed this out on my computer for muffins, but the recipe can also be used to make a great loaf of banana nut bread as well, just by changing the baking temp to 325ยบ, and the baking time to 1 hr and 20 min.  The reason I chose to do this for muffins should be rather obvious...I wanted to use these great muffin images and sentiment from the Lizzie Anne Designs line from Gourmet Rubber Stamps. The set is appropriately called, "In the Kitchen", and is filled with yummy cooking/food related images and sentiments, and as with all of the LAD sets, perfect for tons of occasions:


For the background of my recipe card, I stamped the Chicken Wire Coveralls background (6" square! Perfect for this!) with Cantaloupe Memento ink:


I stamped the muffin tin and the muffins randomly with Potter's Clay Memento, and colored them with Copics (E21, E33, E35, YG03, YG11). I punched a couple of circles, stamped, and layered them to create a tab for the top of my recipe mainly 'cuz I just love that "Love Muffin" sentiment! You two can have fabulous fun playing with our challenge this month. So many fabulous images to choose from. If you don't like cooking, make a creative recipe for a craft project! Let's go see what the rest of the Gourmet Rubber Stamps team has been stirring up this month. Their links are at right.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Have a (Paper) Piece of My Heart!


Are you ready for Valentine's Day? The Woodware UK team are posting with heart-themed designs sure to put you in the mood. My card features the Stampendous Blockart Cutie and the Happy Day Square. Super simple card and super cute! The focal image was water-colored and paper-pieced. Additional flowers were popped up. The sentiment square was stamped as a border across a strip of the same dot-embossed cardstock as the card. Each day this week, the team will be posting a new heart-themed creation. The links can be found on the Woodware UK blog. Hope you have a very sweet Valentine's Day!


Saturday, February 11, 2012

Stampendous Fragments of Fun Hop!

(Blinkie created by Bryan Hornschu, artwork by Stampendous)

     This Saturday the Stampendous team has something extra special planned for you...we have combined our regular monthly challenge with a blog hop showcasing some of the great new products released at CHA last month!  Pull up a chair, grab a warm beverage and yummy snack, and get ready to be wowed!  Be sure to scroll through my whole post; links to other hoppers, prize pack photos, and details on how to win are included below!



     My fragmented creations today feature the new Cling Mermaid, plus her accompanying Cling Spiral Shell, Cling Delicate Conch, and the Cling Heavy Conch. The shells were stamped on a panel of cork. The Mermaid was stamped and embossed in Aged Gold Embossing Enamel on thermo acetate, and layered over a panel covered in the new Frant'age Powder Blue Color Fragments. A sprinkling of dew drops set in Crystal Glitter embedded Glossy Accents, and several Dot Sparkler Class A' Peels add to the "under the sea" feeling. Going one step further, I covered a brass sand dollar charm with Aged Aqua Embossing Enamel and attached with a ribbon.


      My treasure box began it's humble life as a small 2 /12" square wood box from Michael's for $1! I loved the glass lid and shadowbox setting. I painted the box with acrylic paint, white washed the lid and sanded a bit. The sides were covered in the new Taupe Color Fragments, and mimics the look of ground sea shells. To apply them, I brushed the sides of the box with Elmer's Glue, spread the fragments over the surface and pressed in slightly. Once dry, I brushed another coating of glue over them. The Mermaid was stamped on the inset piece of wood and colored with pencils. I added a sprinkle of various Fran'tage Essentials...Mica Fragments, Glass Glitters, and Color Fragments inside the shadowbox for a slight shaker effect. I love the way this turned out! So simple and such a sweet gift for that landlubber who secretly longs for the sea...like me!

     If you have not checked out this month's great texture challenge, you can read all the details on the Stampendous blog.  Now, check out the whole list of fabulousness for today:





     As you hop from blog to blog, being wowed by all the amazing new goodies we are showing off, be sure to leave some love (and your contact email) for the designers, as well as on the Stampendous blog. The more you comment, the better your chances are to win one of these five fantastic prize packs.  Each one includes a brand new stamp set and bottle of color fragments from Stampendous:














     Winners will be randomly selected from all comments left on blogs, so the more you comment the better your chances are to win one!!  You have until Sunday, February 12 th at 8:00 PM EST to leave a comment on each blog; winners will be announced on Monday, February 13th. Due to shipping restrictions, all winners must have a US/APO/FPO mailing address. 

     And don't forget....We want YOU to play along with us in our monthly challenge!  Just add your direct link to your card (make sure you've loaded it up with tons of TEXTURE) to the linky tool below my signature (or on the Stampendous blog) no later than March 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST.  You do not have to use Stampendous products to play along, but we sure love it when you do!  And as an extra incentive for playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive the gorgeous Corset Ladies Perfectly Clear Stamp Set.



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Dreamweaver Stencils Goes Green for February


     Did you miss me last week? I missed you! As soon as I returned home from CHA last week, I found out that the antenna for our internet had fried, and they couldn't replace it for four days...so frustrating. Amazing how much we rely on the internet now, isn't it?
     The Dreamweaver Stencil's Dream Team monthly challenge for February is to feature St. Patrick's Day and/or the color green. My card highlights the Triangle Knot, a Celtic design which I machine embossed into the Core'dinations' cardstock and sanded lightly to emphasize the design. I further highlighted it by doing a variation of
double-glitter technique. Instead of doing all glitter, I used some of the green Stampee foil on the stencil image, as well as flecks of it here and there in the background. The rest of the areas were filled in with Copper and Multi Crystal Glitter. "Celebrate" was paste-embossed on a scrap of copper metallic cardstock and matched the angels of the other portions of the card layout. A few rhinestones were added for a touch of bling.
     I sure hope that you will play along with us this month...remember your design does not have to be St. Patrick's day themed, it can just be green (literally and figuratively!), plus you can play along as many times as you'd like! Just link your creation from your blog or online gallery site (Split Coast Stampers, Paper Craft Planet, etc.) to the Mr. Linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or just send us your creation for us to post for you to: Dreamweaver Stencils, 1335 Cindee Lane, Colton, CA 92324. You have until the end of February to play along for a possibility to win one of two sets of these stencils:


 
Need more inspiration? Visit the rest of the team:

Jessie Hurley

     Curious as to who won last month's Valentine challenge? Everyone who played along with us! If you are one of them, please contact Lynell at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com with your snail mail addy. Congrats!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Woodware UK...A Sketch in Time



 Woodware UK's sketch challenge for this week happened to be fairly close in layout to my Cattus Librum card that I created for the Stampendous catalog. Lucky me! Time seems to be fleeting in the extreme lately. Between the fun of CHA last week, and preparing for an exciting trip to the UK next week, I'm a bit low on creative time. This was one of my favorite cards from the October 2011 catalog, and so many items on this card can be purchased through the stores that purchase from Woodware UK. The Cling Cattus Librum was stamped with Onyx Versafine ink on a lightly sanded panel of Core'dinations cardstock. The sanding helps the face of the cat to be highlighted. A panel of dictionary page was adhered to the card front, and various images and sentiments from the Stampendous Perfectly Clear "Time Flies" set were stamped randomly in black ink. I did a little distressing with the sanding block and file, as well as tearing and inking to show off a panel of embossed canvas paper from Canvas Corp. A black leather cord tied with a key attached finishes off the card.
The rest of the Woodware UK team will be inspiring you with their takes on the Sketch Challenge #9, so hop over to the Woodware UK blog for links to all their fabulous posts.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

There's Magic in the Air!


 Did you think that I disappeared? Hesto presto, here I am again! I returned from a fabulous six days in Anaheim, CA for CHA, which included a day full of Copic Intermediate classes (now I'm even more certifiable!), a fabulous Dreamweaver Stencils' class taught by Lynell and Louise with help from the Dream Team, hours of walking the show in search of all the latest and greatest in the craft industry...so much inspiration, so many fabulous companies and designers, and so many great friends to meet and greet. Gourmet Rubber Stamps had a tabletop showing in the new exhibitors due to their new company status, which displayed plenty of great samples from the GRS team, as well as new Coveralls designs released. Somehow, I feel that next CHA will be seeing a much larger showing from GRS as they took off in a big way.
Today's post features new images from the Gourmet Rubber Stamps February Diner's Club Set, "Abracadabra". Have you ever seen me do a more CAS card than this one? Nope. I don't think so. More was not necessary in this instance. The top hat and wand simply stamped and layered in black ink, with the stars embossed in Stampendous Silver embossing powder were perfect with the Magical sentiment (don't you love the font?). Such a perfect card to have multiples on hand for that birthday that you almost forgot...presto! There's a card ready to go!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Dreamweaver Stencils' Post...Stay Tuned

Please excuse my lack of a post for the Dream Team monthly challenge. For info on the February St. Patrick's/Green challenge, please visit the rest of the team listed at right, and the Dream It Up! blog. Please check back for my post. Thanks!