Celebrate the F/X of Autumn!

Hi, Pam here once again. Lynell should be travelling back from Hawaii today, and therefore was unable to write the blog post for this week. Since it was a free week again, she suggested that I post this gorgeous card from our terrific sales rep in Illinois, Elaine Benedict. You've seen some other fabulous creations by Elaine on the Dream It Up! blog. Personally, I think we need to add Elaine to our Dream Team! What do you think? I love how she very softly stenciled the large LJ916 Butterfly stencil in the background of this card. I'm not precisely sure whether she used the Paintstiks or one of the Splendor Ink Pads with the stencil brushes, but either would achieve this effect. Then she went on to paste-emboss in Glossy Black the LJ906 Maple Branch before setting aside to dry. When paste-embossing a larger stencil like this one, we recommend using the new Paste Spreader. It works sort of like a "squeegee" to spread the paste evenly and helps to remove evenly as well. Once the paste was dry (approximately 45 minutes, or 20-30 minutes if placed on a low-heat electric pancake griddle, or the top of your toaster oven), she applied various shades of the Metallic F/X Powders. These leave a wonderful shimmer of autumn colors. One of my favorite parts of this card, is how even through the paste and powders, you still see the great textural lines of the cardstock base...and of course those beautiful butterflies! Now is your opportunity to see what the Dream Team has been up to for this free week. Please take advantage of the free week, to create your own piece of artwork and link at the bottom for us to see as well!

Dreaming in Lime and Gray

Hi, there, it's Pam here once again. Lynell is off to Hawaii to teach some wonderful Dreamweaver Stencils' classes. Poor thing! Don't you feel sorry for her? Lol. So I'm here with the honor of creating two items with Lee Kellogg's colorway challenge of LIME and GRAY! Yes, two, as I needed one for this blog and one for my own. Really unique color combo, but actually fun to work with. I kept the techniques simple on this card. Mostly using my embossing machine to add texture to all the elements. The card base was created from Core-dinations cardstock, and was run through the machine with the Herringbone stencil, and the embossed areas were sanded to highlight the pattern. The bamboo panel was created with the ink transfer method of inking the Bamboo stencil itself, running it through the machine with a strip of watercolor cardstock spritzed with rubbing alcohol. The spritzing helps to break up the ink a bit, creating an almost pointilism look, as well as enhancing the embossing. The final addition was the squares of Mercart aluminum run through the machine with the small Dragonfly stencil, off the edge for added interest. The Dream sentiment was simply ink-stenciled directly on the card. I love the contrast pop of the shades of lime green against the foggy gray color. If you have any questions regarding this card, or any of the Dreamweaver Stencils' line of products, please leave your question in the comment section, or email us at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com. Now do the hopping thing around to the Dream Team blogs and see what creative processes have been at work with them as well. Don't forget to create your own version of this week's colorway challenge, and use the Mr. Linky tool at the bottom of this post. We can hardly wait to see what YOU come up with!

Thursday's Dream Schemes/Glass Fusion

Several days ago when we began our blog hop I posted a piece of glass fusion by Shirley Parlin. We were showing how you can do so many different home decor projects with stencils. Several years ago Shirley got interested in doing stained glass and as her glass art evolved she began doing glass fusion. Here is her explanation of how it works...in a nutshell:


"Fusing glass is just what it says, fusing two or more pieces together. For glass you need a lot of heat and this can be accomplished with a kiln that is especially made for glass firing (which is easier to operate) or you can use a regular ceramic kiln, which requires more "watching" or monitoring. Also, you must be sure that the pieces of glass are compatible, but using the stencils is somewhat simplified because you are using a glass powder referred to as "frit".


To do the background I started with a round piece of clear stained glass for the base, cut another piece of compatible glass just a bit larger of the blue and layered it on top of the clear. Then I used the geese stencil (LG687) for the design. I positioned the stencil where I wanted it, stenciled some white glue to the area and finished it with a sifting of black glass powder, the material known as "frit". We moved the stencil for each placement and proceeded with the same application of the black "frit". Then it was fired in our kiln and violá!"


Here are a couple of smaller pieces that I made with Shirley and use as coasters, the tulips stencil (LL444) and the wave crest stencil (LL477):

HOP ACROSS THE POND AND BACK/DAY FIVE

Quilt Block by Barbara Alama from Honolulu, HI

We have a winner!!! I used random.org to choose a winner for this posting. 


The winner is #8 of 8 Janine and her comment was: "very elegant". 


So, Janine, you can email  me your snail mail address to: lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and I will send your your blog winnings.

We are continuing our blog hop with our friends from the UK. This year Woodware Craft Collection, Dreamweaver's exclusive UK distributor, has begun a blog and design team. Don't hesitate to visit their blog to ask questions and get information by communicating with their talented designers. They are great sources for technique and can even give guidance on where they may be teaching or where you can find Dreamweaver Stencils or Woodware's other great products.

In just a few days I will be flying to Honolulu, Hawaii  to do a consumer show at the Neal Blaisdell Center. Joining me will be long time friend, quilter and Hawaii resident Barbara Alama. She stenciled this beautiful quilt block with an oil based paint and for a finishing touch she glued a myriad of gold, pearl and silver beads for some added bling. Barbara teaches quilting at one of the local stores in Honolulu and her students also enjoy stenciling as well. 

To achieve the intensity and shading that you see here she started by placing the kimono stencil (LG634) in the center of a piece of muslin and taped out the edges to keep the fabric clean.

To keep the fabric from moving and shifting as she stenciled, she placed a piece of fine grit sandpaper underneath the fabric. 

There are several fabric inks and paints out there that can be used, but Barbara often stencils with oil based Paintstiks. People often see the large crayon looking Painstiks and think that you use them directly on the stencil. But after peeling back the dry paint skin you actually stroke the creamy paint onto a palette and next pick up this color with a stencil brush to apply it to the stencil. The base color she chose for this kimono was Prussian Blue (a well known pigment that is favored by many artists in their palettes). Using a 3/4"stencil brush she started at the outer edge and repeatedly layered the color on the kimono stencil. Remember that if you are stenciling a wall hanging and it isn't going to be laundered it is OK to stencil with any pigment based ink that you would use on your paper creations.

Next she layered the cherry blossoms stencil (LG644) on top of the kimono stencil. Leaving the kimono stencil in place keeps the area beyond the kimono design clean. This time she didn't shade from light to dark, she just stenciled the blossoms quite heavily with an Alizarin Crimson Paintstik (another favorite artists' pigment) and then used a brown color for the stems. Whether you are creating on a box, a frame, a piece of furniture or working on a piece of fabric like Barbara's creation you can use stencils in a hundred different ways. So enjoy and when before this HOP is over be sure to sign up as a follower to keep up with the latest stenciling trends.

For the next "HOP" on this magnificent blogging tour, visit the blog of Pam Hornschu:http//1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com Remember to leave comments on every blog. This will give you more of a chance to win goodies in the form of Dreamweaver Stencils.

HOP ACROSS THE POND AND BACK.../Day Three of TALLY HOP!!!

We have a winner for this posting who has been chosen using random.org. She was winner #12 of 13.

It is Marijane who made the following comment:  I am thrilled to be getting ideas beyond card-making! All the home-dec art I saw today is really inspiring and with Christmas still a way off, there's time to make some of these darling projects as gifts. You will be remembered long after the Christmas cards are put away! The featured stencil is also one of my favorites.

Please email your snail mail address to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and I will send your blog winnings.

Our fearless leader, Deborah March, has inspired me with a project she did a few weeks ago! So I CASEd it! Her project was a frame as well and she too, used the Corner Swirls stencil (LJ896). I loved it, but I diverged a bit and used the Matte Black Embossing Paste (DMBP) instead of the white that she chose. I found this frame already painted at a discount store and I couldn't resist the shabby chic finish that was already on the frame. I printed out a photo of my daughter onto just regular copy paper...this gave the picture a grainy appearance. It was only black and white, so to give it a vintage feel I sprayed it with the Memories Mists colors- Pale Ale and Orange Juice. I know there are a lot of mists or sprays out there, but frankly I love these. They dry quickly and they are very saturated in pigment. This sepia toned look was just what I wanted.

Take time to visit the other designers on the hop and don't forget to leave a message or comment...very easy to do. This will give you an opportunity to win some blog candy. In this case it comes in the form of the Dreamweaver Stencils. If you are just starting out here you can even go back to the beginning of the hop and leave comments. Just go to the portion of my blog where the schedule is listed and hop to the blogs that started on Monday. This will increase your opportunity to win a stencil. Your next stop will be to visit Pam Hornschu at: http://1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com

A HOP ACROSS THE POND AND BACK: TALLY HOP!!

Glass fusion by Shirley Parlin owner of www.stencilwithstyle.com

Here are the design teams sites and September 4th they will start to choose the winners, so check back here the 4th and 5th to see if you have won, you can click on your name to take you to the site you have won on and there will be an email address there for you to send us your snail mail addy to, then we can send you your blog winnings:

Monday August 29: 

Caz at: http://www.stampingcaz.blogspot.com/
Winner is Janine

Lee at: http://www.leekellogg.typepad.com/
Winner is SherylH

Laura at: http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/
Winner is Nikki B

Pam at: http://www.1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com/
Winner is #12 KimX

Tuesday August 30:

Debbie at:http://debfs.blogspot.com/
Winner is Diane

Deborah at: http://upcyclingmylife.blogspot.com/
Winner is #58 of 62 ANN

Kristi at: http://www.kristiscreativecafe.blogspot.com/
Winner is Lillian Child

Liz at: http://www.blackcatsstudios.blogspot.com/
Winner is #12 of 16 Daria

Wednesday August 31:

Lynell at: http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/
Winner is #8 of 8 Janine

Pam at : http://www.1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com/
Winner is #1 Daria

Siobhan at: http://recoveringstampaholic.blogspot.com/
Winner is Georgina

Wendy at: http://www.papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com/
Winner is Daria

Thursday September 1:

Dorothy at: https://dorriesdoodles.wordpress.com/
Winner is Kim Reygate

Kristi at: http://www.kristiscreativecafe.blogspot.com/ 
Winner is Marijane

Laura at: http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/
Winner is Marijane

Louise at: http://www.artfullyarticulate.blogspot.com/ 
Winner is #15 of 17 SherylH

Wendy at: http://www.papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com/
Winner is Karen B

Friday September 2:

Francoise at: http://www.francoisecollection.blogspot.com/
Winner is Junie Moon

Louise at: http://www.artfullyarticulate.blogspot.com/
Winner is #10 of 13 ScrappyBetty

Lynell at: http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/
Winner is #12 of 13 Marijane

Pam at: http://www.1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com/
Winner is #7 SherylH

Saturday September 3:

Deborah at: http://upcyclingmylife.blogspot.com/
Winner is #12 of 17 LAUREN

Georgia at: http://sommrstamping.blogspot.com/
Winner is #7 of 9 SherylH

Jane at: http://janeelizabeth-flowergirl.blogspot.com/
Winner is Sara K.

Terrece at: http://www.made4ubyt.blogspot.com/
Winner is Janine

Thursday's Dream Schemes/The Last Hurrah!!! +BLOG CANDY in our Future!

Before I get too far into the description of this pretty card...just want you to know that next week Dreamweaver Stencils Dream Team will be joining our friends at Woodware Craft Collection in the UK for a fun Blog Hop!  We will be starting on Monday ....so don't forget to leave some comments for a chance to win some yummy blog candy (stencils). Whether you are in the UK or the USA Dreamweaver will find a way to get some goodies to you! Some of us will be posting "anything but a card" and if we do more than one posting we may even sneak a card in there too, so stay connected for the hop.


Today is a free challenge day and since summer is starting to wind down I decided to end with a card I CASEd from my good friend Elaine Benedict. She had done this card with the cherries on regular cardstock and I needed an idea for something to use in a class using the embossing paste on acetate. So mine looks pretty much like hers with that small exception. I first paste embossed the cherry stencil (LM130) on clear acetate with the regular embossing paste (DEP) and set it aside to dry. Next I  stenciled the vertical stripes in the background using the plaid stencil (LX7002) and a cheerful green ink.  Then turned the same stencil ninety degrees and paste embossed the stripes using the new large paste spreader (LM2010). I actually took Elaine's advice and mixed my own metallic yellow paste by mixing a tablespoon of Matte Yellow Embossing Paste (DMYP) into three tablespoons of Pearlescent Embossing Paste (DPP). While this plaid background was drying I took the now dry cherry design and realigned the stencil to add color by stenciling it with brightly colored pigment inks. Remember to start with your lightest color and shade your darker colors on top. I die cut a frame to finish off the raw edges of the acetate and added a bow and bright green embellishment pin (TIPM) for a finishing touch!


Hey by the way...that bow is from Creative Impressions in Colorado. They sell such pretty things for embellishments. Just love them and their products.


I recently visited my folks in Eastern Oregon and the cherries and peaches are in their final stages of being harvested. But this pretty card will live on through the Fall and Winter to remind us that Spring and Summer will be here again. Let's enjoy the warmth while we can!


We would LOVE it if you played along this week...especially since we hope to have lots of activity next week with the blog...you could share your creations with so many more. So sign up with Mr. Linky below and show show show!!!!