Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Spring Clean . . . . and simple

Which for those regular readers on my blog know that CAS (clean and simple) is my favorite style.   And, After Dreamweaver Stencils' February challenge of St. Pat's or Green, aren't you a little tired of green? Then this month provides the opportunity of doing any color you wish . . . including green. However, you have to keep it clean . . . and simple! Yep. We are challenging you to create with your Dreamweaver products in a CAS style. This is our way of encouraging you to begin your "Spring Cleaning" a little early, and far more fun than sorting cupboards and washing windows!
 So, to start this month's challenge, I've chosen one of my favorite flower stencils, Wisteria (LG725).  Place the stencil on neutral card stock, anchor the stencil with a few small pieces of removable tape, and apply color to the flower petals and leaves.  Remove and clean the stencil and let the ink dry.  Position the clean stencil over the inked image and move it about  1/4 to 1/2 inch to the left.  Tape it in place as before, and color just the flowers in a lighter shade, as they will become the background.  Remove and clean the stencil and let the ink dry.  Finally, position the stencil over the flowers and leaves that you colored first.  Tape all sides with removable tape, using the top piece of tape as a hinge.  Apply Translucent Embossing Paste (DEPT).  Remove and clean the stencil and let the paste dry.   I've used ribbon and two colors of card stock for the mats, but the finishing touches are up to you, as long as it remains clean and simple.  Couldn't be easier!

Now you have the opportunity to play along. Create your own Clean and Simple design (preferably with Dreamweaver Stencils' products) and link it to the Dream It Up! blog from your own blog, online gallery, or just send us an email (lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com) with your creation for us to show off on the blog. At the end of March, we will select two winners to win a set of these stencils each:





     For more inspiration, please visit the Dream Team blogs . . . and leave comments, we love that!



     Curious as to the winners of last month's challenge? Anne Temple won for the best version of the challenge, and Sue Petersen won for the best use of Dreamweaver Stencils' product for the challenge! Congrats, ladies! Thanks for playing with us, and we hope to see more from all of our previous players!

Happy crafting,
Li
Posted by Liz Martin at 9:01 PM 8 comments
Labels:cards, crafts, handmade ,

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Go Green or Go Bragh Final February Post

And I've decided to use the Go Green approach or, in this case, mostly green!  We've not had a lot of rain in the Bay Area this winter and while today's warm and sunny 70ยบ was heavenly, I was not pleased at having to resume a regular watering schedule!   So here you have it:  an umbrella-full of four-leaf clovers with a much-needed raindrop background. 
Here's what you'll need to get started:  Rain  (LJ905), Umbrella  (LG737), and Clover (LS58) stencils, inks  (Tsukineko's Splendor inks are a good choice), and card stock of your choice.    Begin by dry-embossing the raindrops background stencil on white card stock and set aside.   Place the umbrella stencil on white card stock and, using a stencil brush, apply color to the image.  Do the same for the clovers, coloring as many as you need to fill the umbrella.  I chose five, but a couple more, piled on top of the others, would give it a filled to the brim look.   Cut out the umbrella and clovers and assemble.  That's all there is to it.   Note:  Before gluing the stencils, I gently rolled three of the petals to give them some dimension; the fourth petal got a bit of adhesive on the back before tucking into the umbrella.

Don't forget – you still have time to join in the February challenge.  Link your project with Mr. Linky on the Dreamweaver Stencils blog, Dream it UP! by the end of the month and you might be the lucky winner of two fabulous stencils.  Check it out.  And, in the meantime, check out the other Dream Team blogs for more ideas and inspiration.

 
See you next week,
Liz
Posted by Liz Martin at 3:06 AM 8 comments

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Another Take on Going Green

Welcome back to another Dream Scheme Thursday.  We were given a lot of latitude on this month's "green" challenge – it could be a St. Patrick's Day theme, the color green, or the reduce, reuse, recycle take on "going green."  You also need to know that I have a rather large box of items that fit into the "Oh, I could use this for a  __(fill in the blank)__ project."  At the moment, there are a lot of metal tea containers waiting to begin their second life as, in today's project, a colored pencil holder for my desk.

Here we go!

I began by measuring the can and cutting the green colored aluminum to size.   I would usually run the stencil (the newly released Pinwheel Checkerboard LX7013) and metal through an embossing machine, but I wanted the metal to have more dimension so I placed it on a softer surface that would allow me to push the metal (colored side down) through the stencil holes a little more.  I tried a number of different surfaces and ended up with a thin piece of very dense foam.  With a paper stump, I rubbed the back of the metal pushing it through the openings in the stencil, giving more definition.  The final step is to turn the metal over and lightly sand it to remove the green color from the raised areas.  

To adhere the metal to the container, you'll need to use a strong adhesive, like the red line tape.  There are different kinds on the market, but you get the idea.  Tape all four sides, position it on the container and fill with pencils, or whatever it is you need to store.  You could also decorate the lid, fill it with green jelly beans, and give it to someone for St. Patrick's Day.  There are a lot of beautiful background stencils (LX size) to choose from and the possibilities are endless.   Sanding off the color is just one technique; don't forget about the Color Solutions alcohol inks . . . they're perfect for coloring on metal.

For more ideas and inspiration, check out the Dream Team blogs below.  You're sure to find something to get the creative juices flowing.   And when you've finished your project, be sure to link it using Mr. Linky to the Dreamweaver blog, Dream it Up!  There are prizes to be won at the end of the month, you know!

 
See you next week,
Liz
Posted by Liz Martin at 7:40 AM 7 comments

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Dreamweaver's February Challenge

This month's challenge – St. Patrick's Day and/or the color green – continues and we encourage you to play along as many time as you like.  The lucky winner will receive these two lovely stencils.  
And don't forget . . . all those that played along last month were winners!  Check out the Dreamweaver blog to see for yourself.



For this week's post I chose the double glitter
technique along with the newly released Cherry
Blossom shape (LL3024), and it's super simple.  Here we go:  begin by adhering one side of the double-sided mounting paper (MPDS) to card stock.  Leave the protective covering on the top side until you are ready to position your stencil.   Rub the back side of the stencil with Handmade Hawaiian Coconut Soap (DHHS), making sure to cover the entire stencil.  This will keep the stencil from making a tight bond with the adhesive.  Carefully brush the soap "crumbs" from the stencil openings, making sure not to bend the stencil.  Remove the protective paper from the double sided mounting paper and position your stencil, soap side down.  Now the fun begins.  I used Glitter Ritz Microfine glitter in Grasshopper and Black.  Hint:  save those straws from the drive-through.  They can be re-purposed as glitter dippers.  Cut a 3-4" piece and angle one end to make a little scoop.   Use it to pick up small amounts of black glitter and apply it to the center of the blossom.  Tap off the excess and rub the glitter in with your finger.  Brush off all remaining black glitter.  Now, place the piece stencil side down on a flat surface and while holding the stencil down with your fingers, begin lifting the paper off of the stencil, "walking" your fingers over the stencil as you remove the paper.  This will keep the stencil from bending.   Apply the grasshopper glitter and rub it in with your finger.   Cut out the image.  You may be about to see a faint outline of the image; if not, replace the stencil and trace along the outside edges.  Adhere the cut images to your card front and you're done!

Want more ideas and inspiration?  Check out the rest of the Dream Team blogs.  Then, link your project using Mr. Linky on Dreamweaver's Dream it Up! blog.


See you next week,
Liz
Posted by Liz Martin at 12:26 AM 9 comments

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Dreamweaver's February Challenge

Whew!  We're back from CHA and did we have a blast!  It was three days (for me; I didn't stay for the final day of the show) filed with demonstrations, make and takes, and seeing lots of friends.  It was also a good time for the design team, minus Terrece, whom we dearly missed, to spend time together and share a lot of laughs.

But now we're home and it's time to get on with the February challenge, which is to create something using  a St. Patrick's Day theme or the color green or both.   You'll have the entire month to submit your project on Dreamweaver's Dream it Up! blog.  Here's what I've done:

I embossed the Pinwheel Checkerboard (LX7013) and the Shamrock (LS58) stencils on to two shades of the Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Nostalgic Collection paper from Core'dinations using a die cut machine.  Lightly sand both pieces and trim to size.  The shamrocks were edged in gold with a Krylon Gold Leaf pen.

Be sure to visit design team blogs listed below for more ideas and inspiration.  When you've finished your project, but sure to link it to the Dream it Up! blog using Mr. Linky.  We can't wait to see what you've done.  Here you go:
 
See you next week,
Liz
Posted by Liz Martin at 3:37 AM 7 comments
Labels:cards, crafts, handmade ,
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