Upcoming Classes and Events + Black and White with a POP!

My post for our last week of the challenge "Black and White with a POP! and/or graduations" is a card done by my Chicago sales rep Elaine Benedict. This is a sentimental posting for me because May is Elaine's last month of being my representative in the Illinois/Wisconsin area. She and her husband, Jay Benedict, will be retiring and moving to North Carolina. Of course I don't really accept that she won't continue being an asset to Dreamweaver Stencils in the capacity of card design...I actually consider her an honorary design team member. Elaine will continue creating beautiful cards once she gets settled and has a place to stencil. I have known Elaine since the late 80s when we were both members of the non-profit organization, SALI (Stencil Artisan's League, INC.). Later we connected with American Traditional Stencils and we were both sales reps for that company, at which time Wayne and I did our first Dreamweaver Stencil designs and Elaine asked if she could rep our product line as well. And I guess you would say the rest is history! Thank you Elaine for the many years you have dedicated to selling and teaching with our stencils. I have thoroughly enjoyed your addition to the Dreamweaver Team and wish you the best as you start your retired life with Jay in NC. When you are ready to design again we look forward to seeing your work again. As you can tell I am not really believing you are fully retiring from our team.

Elaine's card today was done using the new daisy background stencil (LX7014) with the Dreamweaver Glossy White Embossing Paste (DGWP) on glossy black cardstock. And then she paste-embossed just a portion of the stencil design with the Glossy Black Embossing Paste (DGKP) and the new Happy Birthday stencil (LS1010) with that same paste on a POP of hot pink. Once the wet paste was dry, she isolated one daisy by cutting it out and applying it with a black brad in the center. Thank you again Elaine for all of your wonderful creations over the years. Gorgeous work always!

Now a special presentation of upcoming classes, events and challenges too!

LL487 by Jennifer Dove

LL467 by Jennifer Dove

OK...I know, I know, this isn't graduation, but it is black and white with a POP! Jennifer Dove is a wonderfully creative teacher in ARIZONA who is teaching some classes in two different stores for Dreamweaver Stencils and here are two cards that she is doing. If you want to know more click HERE and this link will take you to her blog where she has listed the dates and times. Jennifer is well known for her seminars on Copics and is also on the Stampendous design team.

I will be doing a trunk show in Claremont California at STAMP YOUR HEART OUT on Saturday June 2 and demonstrating from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm. One of the things that I will be showing is the Metallic F/X and paste-embossing technique, which has been very popular, plus the double glitter technique and so much more. Here is a sample of what I'll be demonstrating:

Dreamweaver stencils LG709 and LM248 HB

Another special occasion coming up concerning Dreamweaver Stencils is a cruise leaving from Long Beach in Southern California on October 19. The classes for this extended weekend will be taught by multi-talented teacher Rebekka Behunin ....here is a flyer describing the event:

Now... just a reminder that we will be starting a new challenge next week and it will be all about Art Institute Glitter and Dreamweaver Stencils and/or Weddings. Be sure to tune in Friday when we post our winners for May's Challenge! You still have this last day to post your Challenge of Black and White with a POP! and/or graduation creations! Just link to mr. linky below and don't forget to hop to see what the rest of the design team has created.

Pam Hornschu   

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Wendy Jordan  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser 

Jessie Hurley

May Challenge/Black and White with a POP!!

Joy Hauck: Black and White with a POP!

Joy Hauck has joined us this month with this beautiful ginger jar vase (LG626) done in black and white with just a POP of gold in the center of the calla stencil (LL376). She recently took a class from Marie Browning. They first positioned the design onto cardstock and then pounced graphite through the vase design. Then the calla lily stencil was placed onto the vase and using an eraser they removed the graphite to make the white lilies creating this beautiful effect. I think the yellow gold is a glitter/glue added at the end. If you have anything to add Joy, please let us know your thoughts in today's comments.


This coming Thursday will be our last day for black and white with a POP! and/or graduations. So again I invite you to join us, feel free to email me at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and I will be happy to blog your creation like I did for Joy. Or you can link your blog with us below on Mr. Linky.


We will be giving away two stencils LS90 Celebrate and LG713 Amsterdam Flourish...prize#1 is for best interpretation of the challenge and prize #2 is best usage of Dreamweaver products and stencils.


Thanks to all who attended my classes this weekend in Poway. On June 8/9 I will be starting a teaching trip with my first class of the trip at Stamp it Rich in Placerville CA. More details on the Washington classes soon Also Rebekka will be doing a cruise to Mexico teaching Dreamweaver Stencils in October. More details on that this week too.

Thursday's Dream Schemes/Black and White with a POP!!!

For the month of May challenge we are doing either graduations or/and "black and white with a POP". So I am again showing you one of Wayne's Zentangle cards. Couldn't resist showing off his artwork when it is so appropriate for the challenge. I put the card together and chose the beautiful relaxing purple paper from Hanko Designs. The tsumugi lavender paper from Japan is wonderful to use in cardmaking. Although for this application today I didn't use any moisture on the paper, it does have the characteristic of absorbing paints, pastes, inks etc. without a lot of warpage. The ribbon under the design is a black and white woodtone look that I found at a big box store and the three black brads at the bottom repeat the dots in the new stylized dahlia stencil design (LG743). 

To achieve this look Wayne first outlines the stencil design on white cardstock using a #01 Micron Pigma pen from Sakura. Then removes the stencil and begins drawing the different zentangle patterns inside the stencil design with the same pen. 

Hope you'll find time these last few days of May to join our challenge. We haven't had as many of you play this month because it's that super busy time of year with end of the year school activities including graduations. But if you don't have your own blog  just email a picture of your creation...to: lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com and I will present it on my blog or you can link up your blog to mr. linky below and we will come to see your work and leave a comment. You could win two stencils this month: LG713 Flourish and LS90 Celebrate. In the meantime be sure to look at today's creations from the Dream it UP team listed below:

Pam Hornschu   

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Wendy Jordan  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser 

Jessie Hurley

Joining the Challenge... Black & White with a POP!

Today we are joined by Nathalie Fournier, she recently posted these beautiful cards on facebook and it was suggested that she might send them on to my email (lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com) and she DID!!! Thank you Nathalie...they are lovely cards. and the black birds (LL432) really do add a POP to your cards. 


Hopefully others will follow your example and join the fun of stenciling with Dreamweaver's Challenges.


They could win two lovely stencils this month. The flourish (LG713) and the Word stencil Celebrate (LS90).


Two winners will be chosen #1 For best interpretation of the challenge and #2 for the best usage of Dreamweaver Products. Looking forward to seeing more people joining. It is a very busy month with the end of school, graduations and of course here in the USA a holiday...Memorial Day weekend.

This Friday/Saturday, May 25-26, I will be traveling to teach at Stamping Details in Poway. Two classes Friday and two classes Saturday. Here are a couple of the samples from the four different classes. Go to Stamping Details  website to find out more about the classes:

Thursday's Dream Schemes/Graduations or Black & White with a POP!!!

Money Card for Graduation Challenge

One of my favorite gifts to give at grad time is $$$. And I think money cards are so simple to do. This week the resident Zentangle artist, Wayne, did the mortarboard and diploma stencil (LL449) in black and white. Zentangle of course is a perfect option for this month's black and white with a pop challenge! And since money is green I thought that would be the perfect POP for a money card.

I have done just a smidgeon of  Zentangle, and what I have done convinces me that it is an art form that anyone can do if you have one major characteristic and that is patience. (That is why Wayne excels at this...he has the patience of a saint...which is why after 34 years we are still married.) He traces the stencil with an 01 Sakura Pigma pen and then removes the stencil and begins to fill in the patterns that you see here. Some people refer to this art form as "doodling". I used to "doodle" while chatting on the phone, it was a mindless release of my creative energy and a starting point for many of my creative endeavors, but it is too mild a description for Wayne's work. This artwork is done one stroke at a time and although it's not difficult, it's done with more forethought than my doodling. But as with every creative concept there is a beginning and "doodling" is probably my beginning and hopefully yours too. 

There are many many patterns which can be used to fill the holes of stencils and you will find many of them in this book. Plus... you will find more Zentangle artwork done by the Dream it UP team in this book by Suzanne McNeill. This wonderful book is titled Zentangle 6 (ZEN). She introduces the book by telling about Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts who are the people who have trademarked the word "Zentangle". They are also the inspiration for may of the Design Original series books by Suzanne. This is just one more way that stencils  can be used. 

Now we hope you'll take the time to join us this week and create either a graduation card or scrapbook page or even a 3-D object in Black and White with a Pop!  Here is a list of the design team so take some time today and see how they have interpreted this month's challenge. And remember if you don't have your own blog but would like to play along, just email me a picture of your creation (lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com) and I will blog about it for you. Or you can link to mr. linky below and we will come to your blog. 

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

  Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser 

Jessie Hurley

Pam Hornschu

Thursday's Dream Schemes...Graduations and/or Black and White with a Pop

Well, I can't believe it's been almost ten years since she graduated from high school. Time flies whether you are having fun or not, doesn't it? LOL!


This week I am all about graduation and will go back to Black and White with a Pop next week. We want you to play along, so if you have a graduation card or scrapbook page with color we'd love to see it!


I am showcasing a very simple technique today. Since we started selling embossing pastes with our stencils several years ago we also decided to offer a set of heavy-bodied acrylics, often referred to as 'tube acrylics' (TAP). This is because Dreamweaver doesn't have EVERY color of paste possible and yet the mortarboard stencil (LL449) and Friends stencil (LM210) needed to be paste-embossed in a dark purple. So, what do you do if you don't have purple paste? You mix one tablespoon of Translucent Embossing Paste (DEPT) with approximately half a teaspoon of purple 'tube acrylic' (TAP) paint . 

It needs to be mixed well with a palette knife (DPK) on a non-porous surface like wax paper or a foam plate. Now you're ready to apply the paste. Remember the Translucent Paste (DEPT) dries glossy and our Regular Embossing Paste (DEP) dries to a matte finish and the tube acrylics can be mixed into either one. 

The reason that you want to use the tube acrylics is because they are thick and won't add too much moisture to the embossing paste, if you add liquid paint it could make the paste "sloppy" and cause it to seep under the stencil while you're working with it, ruining your work of art.

For this reason the Dreamweaver Metallic F/X (F/X) powders are another way of adding color to the embossing pastes. Again one tablespoon of paste and approximately one half teaspoon of the Metallic F/X mixed in with a palette knife and you are all set to paste-emboss.

Looking forward to seeing some of your creations this month. Remember that we are flexible here with this month's challenge, so graduations and/or Black and White with a Pop makes it easy to do! Please play along with this month's challenge by either emailing me your work (lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com) or link to your blog below on mr. linky. You could win the two stencils used in the Celebrate card shown below!


Also this month we are releasing 11 new designs... so return to the blog often over the next few weeks to see some of the latest and greatest designwork. Now if you have time follow the list below to visit the team's creations.

LG 713/LS90

Pam Hornschu   

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Wendy Jordan  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser 

Jessie Hurley

Challenge/Black and White with a POP!!!

Our winner from last week, Rose S., has joined us again with this great creation! As you can tell she is doing the Black and White with a POP. By the way, did you know that the Chinese astrological sign for 2012 is the Dragon?


I think a cute sentiment inside the card could read...Sorry to hear your draggin....
LOL! Sometimes I amuse myself and I laugh out loud!


The dragon stencil (LL588) was paste-embossed with Black Embossing Paste (DGKP) and then sprinkled with black glitter. His eyes and the three brads on the side are added for the red POP! The background stamp is by All Night Media and the black lacy embellishment is by Ms. Punch. 


If anyone else would like to play along and you don't have a blog ...email the creation to me at (lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com) and I will post it for you, otherwise you can link your creation to mr. linky below and we will hop by and see what you are up to. Thanks to all of you who have been playing along. This month we are releasing 11 new designs here at Dreamweaver, so stay tuned to see what we have. I am sure some of the team will be sharing their creations this week on Thursday's Dream Schemes. 
Remember that the winners this month will win the swirl stencil (LG713) and the celebrate stencil (LS90)...these two stencils were used in last week's posting. You can scroll down to view them.

Thursday's Dream Schemes/New Challenges for May

You could win these two stencils!

If you are here to see the winners of the April challenge be sure to scroll down to yesterday's post to view their creations.


May and June are the traditional months when I start thinking..."graduation creations". So we decided to feature it in our challenge...if you have something to share in that creative arena we are looking forward to seeing it! If you want to join us but don't have graduations in your near future we are also doing "Black and White with a POP!!!" Either a card or scrapbook page would be welcome and feel free to combine the colorway with graduation if you desire. As you can see I am not featuring graduation today...(but hope to next week). You can post as many times as you want to increase your chances of winning the two stencils you see here in my creation, LG713 swirls and LS90 celebrate. Two winners will be chosen. #1 best usage of Dreamweaver products and #2 best interpretation of the challenge.


Today I am sharing a very CAS/clean and simple card done with the double glitter technique. If you would like the detailed instructions please email me and I will send you a pdf file of the step-by-step process. To protect my swirl stencil (LG713) from getting "stuck" to the double adhesive mounting paper (DSM) I rubbed natural soap (DHHS) all over the back of the stencil before attaching it to the sticky paper. I then rubbed black glitter all over the openings of the stencil. Then I place the stencil face down against the table to remove the paper...if you do it this way instead of trying to pull the stencil off, it will protect the stencil from getting bent.  Then the area behind the swirls needs to be sprinkled with a transparent glitter and I chose a multi-colored crystal glitter.


My "pop" is the metallic yellow/gold cardstock, which I paste-embossed with Dreamweaver's Matte Black Embossing Paste (DMBP) and the word stencil Celebrate (LS90). 


If you are interested in joining our challenge be sure to link your creations to mr. linky below or email me at lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com your "Black and White with a POP!!!" card or graduation themed scrapbook page. And of course feel free to visit the Dream team listed below...we are always looking for some love in the form of your wonderful comments. I also enjoy the emails you send...keep them coming.

Pam Hornschu   

Laura Drahozal  

Louise Healy  

Wendy Jordan  

Terrece Siddoway 

Kristi Van Doren 

Georgia Sommers 

Lee Kellogg 

Liz Martin

 Cyndi Bundy 

Cherylynn Moser 

Jessie Hurley