Dream Scheme Sketch Challenge

I'm not a big fan of Halloween, as some of my friends are.  You won't find my house decorated with fake cobwebs (I have real ones), black cats with arched backs (again, why go for paper cut outs when you can have the real thing) or orange twinkle lights.  I do, however, have some very realistic looking black rats that make an appearance about this time each year.  Pumpkins and Indian corn are the extent of my Halloween decorating and, once the rats are gone, it's a smooth transition to Thanksgiving.  If I'm lucky, the pumpkins will become pie; if not, they'll get spray painted gold and silver and with some glittery leaves and bows become front porch Christmas decorations.

Halloween cards are another matter.  I love making and sending them almost as much as Christmas cards.  And when there's a sketch challenge involved, it even gets better.   Today's sketch comes from Dream Teamer Kim and my card, with artistic license, follows.

The Spider Web (LJ816) stencil is perfect for this background as it is easily cut into sections without diminishing the design.  I paste embossed the stencil with Glossy Black Embossing Paste (DGKP) on to orange card stock.  For the pumpkins, I used the three pumpkins from right end of the Long Pumpkins (LL514) stencil.  After taping the stencil to cream colored card stock, I added color with Tsukineko's Splendor inks.  To balance the image, I repositioned the stencil so the leaves on the top left of the stencil were at the top of the left pumpkin so it looks like the leaves are growing right off the stem.    I cut the image to size, inked the edges with a coordinating color and mounted it on black card stock.  I added ribbon (artistic license), put it all together and there you have it.  Done just in time to get it in the mail!

There's lots more to see, so be sure to check our there rest of the Dream Team bloggers to see what treats they have in store for you.  And be sure to play along with us and post your project on the DREAM it UP! blog.  It's easy using Mr. Linky.  See you next week.

Happy Halloween,

Liz                                                                           

Designer's Choice on Dream Scheme Thursday

I'm still playing with the pink and black colorway from last week's challenge, but this week I brought Dreamweaver's Color Solution, their new artist grade alcohol inks, to the party.  They are so much fun to work with.  The deeply saturated colors can easily be thinned with the alcohol blending solution and they stay wet just a touch longer so you have more time to work the colors to get the effect you're looking for.  The 14 colors in the Autumn and Winter Palettes plus silver and gold should be arriving at your local scrapbook store soon.  If you don't see them, just ask!

I began by paste embossing the Houndstooth (LJ913) and Heart Swirls (LL567) stencils with glossy white embossing paste (DGWP).  When they were dry, I put a few drops of Color Solution Winter Red on the felt pad on the blending tool and a few drops of blending solution to lighten the color.  Starting with the blending tool off the edge of the paper (be sure to use your craft mat when working with alcohol inks to protect your work surface), I began rubbing over the embossed surface in a circular motion, adding more ink and blender solution as needed.  It is important to start off the edge of the card so there are no heavy blotches of color where you first put the blending tool on paper.  The houndstooth background wasn't as light as I wanted, so I put a bit of blending solution on a clean felt pad and removed some of the ink from the embossing paste, letting it act as a resist, and removing just enough to leave a mottled look. 

For the scroll heart, I added a few drops of gold to the ink on the felt pad to give a shimmery look and applied the color in the same manner as for the houndstooth background.   The ribbon is also colored with the Winter Red ink and blending tool.

The embellishment pin (already the perfect shade of pink), was a bit too long, so I cut the end with wire cutters to keep it from poking out the bottom of the heart. 

Now, on to the next project . . . I wonder how a Christmas card would look in pink and black?

Don't forget to visit the other Design Team blogs and be sure to leave us a note.   It doesn't have to be long, just let us know you've stopped by.  And be sure to visit the Dreamweaver blog, DREAM it UP! as there have been pink and black posts all week.

Happy crafting, and see you next week!
Liz

Dream Scheme Color Challenge

Some days are better than others in the crafting world, and this week was heavenly.  First of all, it was a color challenge week and the colors were pink and black – two of my favorites.   And since I'm having a lot of fun with the background stencils right now, I couldn't pick just one, so you get the benefit of two cards.

For all cards, I used Glossy Black Embossing Paste  (DGKP).  For the card on the left, I pasted the Houndstooth (LJ913) and the large Hope (LL3018) stencils with glossy black embossing paste.  To give the Hope image a softer touch, I replaced the clean stencil over the pasted image, applied glue from the Palette Stamp & Stick Gluepad (GSP) with a large dauber, and lightly dusted Metallic F/X Pink Blaze and Pixie Blush over the pasted image with a stencil brush.  You can see some of the detail here, though the pinks are harder to see.

For the card on the right, I paste embossed the small Damask (LJ907) and Thanks (LS106) stencils with Glossy Black Embossing Paste.  When the paste was dry, I trimmed the images, added ribbon, matted them on card stock and adhered them to a card base.  Couldn't be easier.

Why not play along with us this week?  First, stop by the Dreamweaver blog, DREAM it UP! and then check out the great projects the other design team members have made for you.  Then, get out your stencils and whip up a card or two and post it on the Dreamweaver blog using the Mr. Linky tool.  We'd love to see what you're working on.

And don't forget to leave us a note.  We love reading your comments.

Happy crafting,
Liz

Celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving on Dream Scheme Thursday

Warm wishes to all our Canadian friends who will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Monday.   And in honor of Canadian Thanksgiving, I've chosen this card for our Designer's Choice Dream Scheme Thursday.

To begin, paste emboss the long pumpkin stencil (LL514) with the white embossing paste (DEP).   When dry, reposition the clean stencil and apply color.  I gathered all the inks I had in shades of yellow, orange, green and brown and went to work (mostly Splendor inks by Tsukineko).  That was really a lot of fun.  I then tore the edges, added a sentiment and string embellishment, mounted it on patterned paper and then on card stock edged in orange with a Copic marker.

This card is a little bit country, but with a bit of Metallic F/X on the leaves and pumpkin tops and different patterned paper, it could have a very different look.  Which brings me to the tip of the day.  I know most of you already know this, but it took me a while to translate the tips and tricks I developed in my day job to my paper crafting life.  While you have your work station set up, paste a whole bunch of images at once (you'd be surprised how many places you can put them while they're drying!).  Then, when you have another chunk of time set aside, do your coloring and take some time to experiment.  Remember, there are no mistakes, only opportunities for making something different.  Then, you're on to assembling the parts, having cut, torn, or otherwise prepared the various papers and embellishments ahead of time.  And before you know it, you've got a card to send and one or more for the stash.

Products used (in addition to those listed above):
Card base:  Neenah Natural White
Patterned paper:  Autumn Spice, Stampin' Up
No brand named:  twine, sentiment


Happy crafting,
Liz