Thursday's Dream Scheme's/ A lovely sketch from Terrece

Dream Team member, Terrece Sidoway, put together this Dream Scheme for today's sketch challenge, so play along if you get inspired. I did this card with stencils, stencil brushes, and the Memories Mists Sprays.

I love this brand of sprays because the colors are intense, plus they dry to the touch in just seconds on regular cardstock.

To keep the Memories Mists contained I made a "spray booth" out of a cardboard box, placed my paper inside and then sprayed the entire paper with the Pale Ale color of Memories Mists Spray, so this is the background color behind the bird and swirls. To accomplish this, hold the spray bottle about 12-18 inches away from the paper. Position the stencil where you want your design to be sprayed. (When you are spraying stencils with the Memories Mists do not use tape to position the stencil on the cardstock because the moisture from the spray will cause the tape to leave a sticky residue on the paper.) Now hold a piece of copy paper over the part of the card that extends beyond the stencil to protect it from too much spray. Holding this paper about one inch above the surface of the card when you spray will create a softer-edged design and will keep the areas you are masking from getting too much color sprayed on them. Then move the stencil to another position and spray using a second color of spray, this time I used a very light misting of the Amaretto colored Memories Mists and then a heavier loading of the metallic color Bright Gold. The spray on the paper is dry immediately but there is now a fine mist of spray on the stencil and you can take a stencil brush and very softly move the color by rouging this leftover ink into the stencil holes for a beautiful stenciled image, while it is still in place. I used this on the large corner swirl stencil (LJ896), the small bird (LS94) and for the finishing touch I stenciled yellow ochre and brown pigment ink off the edge of the deckle edged plate (LJ880) to create the three deckle strips on the right side of the card for the added collage effect.

I have an instruction sheet all about collage techniques using the Memories Mists Sprays, just email me at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com if you would like me to send you a copy.

If you are inspired this week, play along with us and do something with Terrece's sketch. We love to see your projects.

Thursday's Dream Schemes/Free Challenge Today!

This posting is for our Thursday's dream schemes and it is a free challenge. I would like to challenge you to send one of your cards that you make and send it to someone you know who is in need of a lift. Maybe someone elderly who is stuck inside because of this horrendous winter or maybe someone who has lost their job or maybe even someone suffering from depression or illness. I have been challenging myself this year to do this kind of thing more. I do love creating, but I am learning that I enjoy it even more when I share it. Design team member Deborah March spends some of her time regularly at a nursing home helping the residents make greeting cards. Just a donation of cards for the residents to send to people would be appreciated...the elderly living on a fixed income rarely have extra dollars for such things.

The birdhouse stencil (LM148) was done with the double glitter technique and very pale glitters, then the detail work was stenciled with pigment inks. The frame around the window was stenciled with pigment ink and the happy birthday stencil (LM285) was pasted in a pale blue paste mixture I had used to create something else. You can mix your own colors...I believe I used a couple tablespoons of pearlescent embossing paste (DPP) and mixed a small 1/4 teaspoon of the Metallic F/X Navajo Sky (F/X17) into it. Then while it was still wet I sprinkled a turquoise ultrafine glitter on top of it. When it was dry I took the tip of a craft knife and scratched just a bit of the glitter off to expose the light blue paste that was under it.

If you would like the instructions for the double glitter technique that has all the details and tips email me at: lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com

Welcome to the Virtual Valentine's Day Blog Hop...

So how do you win this package of blog candy from Dreamweaver Stencils? Hop from blog to blog by following the list of our Dream Team members at the bottom of this posting. As you go through the list be sure to leave some Valentine "love" ...this will be in the form of your wonderful comments on the design team's creations. (If you would like to see a card made with the two stencils you could win see the card from yesterday.) There are more than 19 companies involved and they are giving away some awesome Valentine blog candy. Taylor Usry's Blog is a place to find out all about these giving companies. So if you want to know more, or if you lose your way, or you want to continue on with a hop to another company's design team Taylor is the master mind behind this Virtual hop. The more blogs you visit and the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win. These opportunities will continue through Thursday at 6:00 PM. Taylor will randomly choose one winner for the above gift packet from Dreamweaver Stencils.

Also if you "become a new follower" on my blog (or even a new follower on any of my Dream Team's blogs) and leave a comment that you have done so, you are eligible to win a special new stencil design. We will randomly choose three winners.

The metal Valentine that I am posting today was created by Magdalena Muldoon of Mercart, and she has used the following stencils: Heart whimsy (LL599), the Dogwood background (LG628), swirls (LJ863) and love (LM213). She has dry embossed the first three designs on navy blue aluminum and then sanded the embossed image with a fine grit manicure sanding block. Then she embossed the heart portions of the design a bit more...to make them pop. (It is amazing how much the metal will emboss.) She has a piece of suede that she positions under her work to make this happen while she hand embosses the metal. I finished the creation by paste-embossing the small vertical love stencil in metallic silver embossing paste (DSP) on silver card stock.

Now, take your time the next few days and enjoy the Hop! Remember you have until 6:00 PM Thursday evening to leave some comments. After you leave here you will go on to Terrece Sidoway's blog, but here is the list of the designers on our Dream Team who are playing along this week just in case you want to become a follower on their blogs:

Kim Parkinson

Kristi Van Doren

Laura Drahozal

Liz Martin

Louise Healy

Pam Hornschu

Terrece Sidoway

Wendy Jordan

Remember if you get lost or are wondering where to go next you can always go back to Taylor Usry's blog to find the list of other blogs to visit and connect to the companies who are offering blog candy. Here is a list of the companies and some of the fun things you could win:

- StampInsanity - with a set of choice for one winner

- Meljens designs - 4 digis to one winner

- Pixie Dust Studio - 2 digis to one winner

- Lizzie Anne Designs - $10 gift certificate (from me)

- Christian Paper Crafts - 1 year general membership

- Paper Pretties - 3 total winners: 1 person will receive Timeless Love stamp set; 2 people will receive 5 digis of their choice from the store

- Karber Digital Images - 2 digis to one winner

- Di's Digi Downloads - 5 digi images to one winner

- The Scrappychick Boutique - 2 6x6 Cosmo Cricket paper pads to one winner

- Stampendous - 4 cling rubber stamps from new release to 1 winner

- Pink Cat Studio - 5 digis of winner's choice to one winner

- Amber Ink - $10 gift certificate (and more if people use an Amber Ink product - see deets on their blog)

- Simply Betty Stamps - 3 digis of the winner's choice

- Mark's Finest Papers - set of their choosing to the winner

- Dreamweaver's Stencils - a couple stencils, pearlescent embossing paste and a palette knife

- Chi Chi Memories - Meaning of Love Digi Stamp Set to one winner (new addition)

- Little Potato House - $20 gift certificate (new addition)

- Kenny K digis: 4 digis to one winner (AND: 2 digis to anyone who uses a Kenny K image for their hop card) (new addition)

- Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps: winners choice of 2 images

A Portion of our Blog Candy for Tomorrow...

Be sure to stop by first thing tomorrow at 8:00 AM for our Virtual Valentine's Day Blog Hop. To find out more details you can visit Taylor Usry's Blog at any time tomorrow. This amazing woman is on the design team of Lizzy Anne Designs, and Pixie Dust Studio, plus she writes for two on-line magazines.

The card above is designed with two of the stencils that will be given away with our stencil package. All you need to do to win this wonderful blog candy is hop from blog to blog and leave some "love". The comments will be open until Thursday at 6:00 PM. There will be more than 40 designers blogs for you to visit... and to find out the wonderful companies' treasures being offered... Taylor Usry's Blog will be the Virtual place to begin or if you get lost a place to refind your way...just remember the more comments you leave on all of these wonderful blogs the more chance you have to win some blog candy.

We will also be giving away a stencil to three random winners if they sign up to be a follower here on the Dreamweaver Blog...you just need to leave a comment that you have signed up to be a new follower to be eligible.

The stencils in this post are: LOVE (LL481), Rose (LS75) and the Lace Border (LM175). I dry embossed the border stencil first using the Big Shot embossing machine. Then I stenciled the two bordered edges of the card with the Strié technique, by loading a large 3/4" stencil brush with red pigment ink and pulled it across this lacy edged border. The shadow technique is done by stenciling the L, V, and E with a light gray pigment ink first, then slightly shift the stencil and paste-emboss the same three letters with the metallic gold embossing paste (DGP). The rose was stenciled with pigment inks and then paste-embossed with the translucent embossing paste (DEPT).

Virtual Valentine's Day Blog Hop!

Don'tcha love a sweet tease???..well this little piece of candy is a portion of a gift packet from Dreamweaver Stencils which is our way of saying thank you for coming by on Monday and leaving some Valentine love on our blogs.

Yep we are getting ready to hop...On Valentine's Day!!

So get ready to be inspired by some awesome designers.

Joining us will be other design teams from some really fun companies.

Stampendous

Lizzy Anne Designs

Scrappy Chick Boutique

Stop by for more information soon.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner: Think "Blog Hop"

Hey, everyone, I know this design looks somewhat familiar. But I just can't seem to help myself...I love this sketch! And besides that, it was very simple to do with our new paste spreader. This new size of stencil, (Damask LX7002) is almost six inches square so the new spreader (LM2010) does a great job of pasting larger background stencils in just one sweep. I think you will love it. After I paste-embossed the damask design in glossy red embossing paste (DGRP) I sprinkled it with microfine red glitter and set it aside to dry. Then I paste-embossed the Happy Valentine's Day stencil (LM241) with the same type of glossy red paste and glittered it as well. The black ribbon added just the right accent color to this red valentine.

By the way...keep watching our blog because some of the Dreamweaver Dream Team will be connecting with designers from some other companies to do a virtual blog hop on Valentine's Day and you could win some wonderful blog candy from Dreamweaver Stencils and several other companies. Stay in touch for more information.

Thursday's Dream Schemes/The Valentine "Bunny" ???

Yep, you heard right...the Valentine "Bunny". I couldn't resist letting him into my Valentine line-up this week. Louise Healy sent this little guy to me awhile back when the team was sharing their creations of the new designs. Maybe this will be an inspiration for those of you who like to get those Easter cards done early. You could make him a valentine too, by adding a heart embellishment here and there.

Our challenge this week is a colorway challenge using pink and brown. I love Louise's use of the dark brown flocking with this double glitter technique. Yes, flocking can be used in place of glitter, however the application is slightly different. When you put the flocking on you need to take the time to really rub it into the stencil holes. It takes a bit more time because the fibers of the flocking need to rub together and cling to each other. This will create an image that is more filled out or dense and also give the impression of "fluffy". When this is complete use a large brush and sweep away the excess flocking, remove the stencil and put in the background glitter. This little bunny (LM2008) is also available in a miniature size (LS1007).

As an embellishment Louise used one of our hot pink three inch pins (TIPP) and she dipped it in a clear drying glue and then a transparent glitter. (If I am wrong on this one Louise...would you please correct me in the comment section.) That pin is the icing on the cake...errr I mean bunny card.

Please feel free to join our challenge this week. It doesn't have to be a valentine...it could even by a brown and pink bunny card! Also if you are interested in the instructions for this double glitter technique email me at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com

Double Glitter Valentine

Kristi Van Doren used two different techniques on this Valentine. The Happy Valentine's Day stencil (LM241) was effectively yet simply done by paste-embossing the Glossy Black Embossing Paste (DGKP) onto the coral pink cardstock and the upper part of the card was done with the double sided mounting paper (MPDS), this paper is sometimes referred to as JAC paper and the Oval Lace Doily stencil (LJ836) using the double glitter technique. Remember to smooth the natural Hawaiian Handmade Soap (DHHS) onto the back of the doily stencil so that it will not attach to the sticky mounting paper and bend your stencil. If you have little crumbs of soap in the holes of the stencil use a large 3/4" stencil brush (NHB-3/4") to rub the soap out of the holes and make it smoother on the back of the stencil. A silver glitter was sprinkled all over the exposed sticky paper and once the stencil was removed the lace area was filled in with a beautiful red coral glitter. The lace border divided the two techniques for a unique embellishment to finish the card. If you are interested in the instructions for the Double Glitter Technique email me at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com.

Heart Cards this Week

Deborah March, design team member from Nova Scotia, made this beautiful heart card. Some of my postings this week may not be exactly Valentines, but I think "heart" cards are valid to send on Valentine's Day.

Once again this Valentine creation is paste-embossed with the lovebird stencil (LL3011). Deborah used the white paste on the aqua paper by just repeating the heart portion, and then she added an aqua color to the white paste and paste-embossed the white paper with the entire motif. I am a bit biased, since aqua is one of my favorite colors, but I do think this is a gorgeous color-way. The little pearl embellishments and the sentiment really add that little bit of panache. Also the silver lining on both card mountings really makes this card sparkle. A very elegant card to send to someone you love on Valentine's day, don't you think?

This week I would like to again challenge you to send a card to a shut in or someone you know that needs a little extra love these cold winter days. In fact tonight I am going to take time to do just that, so join me if you have time.

Pretty Pink Valentine

Elaine Benedict paste embossed this beautiful tole heart (LL3010) with the regular matte embossing paste (DEP) on pretty pink paper. When it was dry which took about 25 minutes, she repositioned the stencil and stenciled it with pigment inks using a 1/4" brush for the green and 1/8" brush for the small pink hearts. She also stenciled the background leaves from the spider mum stencil (LJ892) on a paler pink cardstock using the same ivy green pigment ink, but this time she used a 1/2" brush.

Valentine's Day is on it's Way!

Lee Kellogg has dry embossed this lovebird stencil (LL3011) on pewter. After she embossed it she took a

special metal brush and distressed the background area of the pewter. Magdalena Muldoon from Mercart has many different metals and tools available to purchase. You can also purchase these materials at Lee Kellogg's store in Santa Fe, NM, called Guadalupe's Fun Rubber Stamps.

This week I will be showing several different Valentine Cards made by the Dreamweaver Design Team which you can make to share with those you love.

Thursday's Dream Schemes/Challenge Yourself

Just returned from CHA and after reading Louise Healy's post this A.M. I realize how severe the storm is that hit the country. Hoping that all of you are safe and sound. So in your comments today... let me know if you are inside cozily by the fire, (or maybe I should say cozily by the fired up computer) or basking in the sun.

There was a lot to take in this past week at CHA and one of the many interesting things was sitting down with Magdalena Muldoon from Mercart to learn about working with colored aluminum. In our booth we were demonstrating how to run it through the embossing machines that are so popular. This is one of my first attempts and it will be one of the techniques shown in the second DVD we taped recently called "Tips and Tools: Creating with Metal Stencils". (This DVD will also be available this Spring.) After running this through the embossing machine I also added color to the Lovebird stencil (LL3011) with the titanium white Paintstik.

When you use Paintstiks they initially have a dry skin on the top of them that you peel back with a dry paper towel. Then I stroke this white color onto a palette of wax paper until it is smooth and creamy. Next I used a 1/4" stencil brush and picked up the color off of the palette and stenciled it through the holes of the stencil onto the birds.

Dream Team member, Wendy Jordan, posted three different card techniques done with the same stencil today. One of them is using the metal from Mercart, the other two are using the foils from Stampee Crafts. Julie Makela (distributor for Dreamweaver Stencils in Australia, also known as The Stencil Specialists ) demonstrated in our booth using these foils. Yes, "foiled again"...this material has been used by crafters in the past, but it will be used in a very different way by the Dream Team here at Dreamweaver...check our posts regularly for more on this new twist on a familiar product. And be sure to check out Wendy Jordan's renderings of Julie's technique when you get the opportunity.

Also I want to thank Cardabilities for sponsoring the sketch from last week. We have three winners from their challenge. Be sure to visit their interpretation of Karan Gerber's beautiful sketch at Cardabilities.com.