Dream Scheme Thursday

Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day have come and gone and next in the card-sending line-up is Easter.  It's never too soon to get a head start on the Easter Bunny, so here is one of the cards I've made to send to family and friends I won't be seeing on Easter Sunday.

I began by embossing the Easter Egg (LG685) and Happy Easter (LM234) stencils with white matte embossing paste.  When dry, I repositioned the clean stencil on the Easter egg and applied Palette Stamp & Stick Gluepad over the embossed areas with a large dauber, followed by Metallic F/X in Glacier, Gold Dust, Kiwi, Moonstore and Pink Blush applied with stencil brushes.   Note:  the instructions on the back of the Palette gluepad tell you to heat the image lightly until tacky.  I've not done this and it has not been a problem for me.  You might want to make a test sample before continuing.

That's all there is to it.  Be sure to visit the other Dream Team blogs for more creative inspiration.  Then get to work and show us your project on the DREAM it UP! blog. 

Happy Crafting,
Liz

Thursday's Dream Scheme Sketch Challenge

Welcome back!  Today is a sketch challenge day and Louise has given us a fun one to work with.  The front panel is half the width of the back.   The image hides the sentiment (if you choose to use one), and there's still plenty of room to write a note of your own.  Here's the sketch and my card:

I began by dry-embossing the Bearded Iris (LL516) on a Nestabilities die cut and then, before removing the stencil, applied Splendor Ink by Tsukineko.  All edges were outlined with a Copic marker and then assembled.  The dotted paper on the front panel is glittered (unfortunately, it didn't show up in any of the photographs I took), which gives it a bit of bling, but I'm thinking it needs something more.   Hmmm . . . I'll have to give this some thought.

In the meantime, check out other Dream Team blogs, to see their take on Louise's sketch, and don't forget to stop by the Dreamweaver Stencil's blog, DREAM it UP,  to play along with this week's challenge and show us what you've created with Louise's sketch.

See you next week,
Liz

Whoo Hoo . . . It's Thursday

and time for another Dream Scheme visit with the Dreamweaver Stencils Dream Team.

But first of all, my apologies for not posting last week.  As it happened, life caught up with me – doctor, vet, scheduled appointments, you know how it goes – and crafting time got the short straw in the draw.  But I'm slowly catching up and since this week is designer's choice, I'm showing a card that will soon be in the mail to someone, but I won't say who in case they're reading this.  You'll just have to wait to find out!

You just can't say enough "thank yous" when someone steps up to help you out and I'd rather send a hand-written note than click the send button.  So I've created a card that is quick and easy and falls into my "variations on a theme" category.   Begin by dry embossing Mosaic Swirls (LJ901) and the Thank You (LL303) on Core'dinations card stock.  With fine grit sand paper, sand the raised parts to expose the paper's coordinated color core.  Cut the swirl background to size, and tear the edges of the thank you. Add brads before assembling on a mat and card base.  Couldn't be easier.  You can make the same card using different embellishments; paste emboss colored card stock with translucent embossing paste, or dry emboss the background and using the double glitter technique or a colored embossing paste on the thank you . . . the possibilities are endless. 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check my team mates' blogs to see what they have created for you.   It's St. Patrick's Day, so I'm sure there will be some green!

Happy Crafting,
Liz

Thursday Dream Schemes Designer's Choice

Spring can't be too far away because the hyacinths are blooming – still waiting for the daffodils – and these little black and brown birds are checking out the area under the eaves outside our family room for a new home.  They come back every year, despite my attempts to dissuade them.  And, if I'm not careful, they can get a lot of nest building accomplished in just a few hours.  You'd think 10 pairs of cat eyes watching their every move would give them a hint that this is not a good place to raise a family. Or, maybe they're smart enough to realize that the cats are the ones in the cage!

The love birds in this card, however, have a beautiful gilded cage to call home.  I began by attaching the Birdcage stencil (LL3012) to card stock with removable tape, applied metallic gold embossing paste, removed and cleaned the stencil and set the card aside to dry.   The next step involves dry embossing the Lovebirds Heart stencil (LL3011) and, with the stencil in place, coloring the birds and foliage with Splendor Inks from Tsukineko.  I let the ink dry for a few minutes and then cut out the birds and just enough greenery to fit over the top of the card.  Assemble the pieces and you're done!  The card, as shown, is A2 (4-1/4 x 5-1/2), but could easily be made larger to accommodate a sentiment at the bottom.


Please be sure to visit the other members' blogs to see their pick of the week, and I'll see you next Thursday.

Happy Crafting,
Liz