Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving

If you're taking a break from family, dinner dishes and football, you couldn't have come to a better place.  The Dreamweaver team is sending Thanksgiving wishes to you, our faithful readers.   Sit back and take a look at what we've been working on.






Begin by paste embossing the Cornucopia stencil (LL529) with regular embossing paste (DEP).  When the paste has dried, reposition the clean stencil over the card and color to your heart's content.   Add your sentiment, embellishment and layer on your choice of patterned paper.  Adhere to card stock and you're done! 

This is a very short post, but I do want to remind you to be sure to visit the Dream Team blogs for more ideas and inspiration, and don't forget – there's still time to submit an application for the Dreamweaver Stencils Design Team Call.  You can get the details here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being such faithful followers.  We love hearing from you (and the attention), so don't be shy . . . leave us a note and let us know you've stopped by. 

Happy thanksgiving to all,
Liz

Thursday, November 17, 2011

It's Sketch Challenge Thursday!

Welcome to another fabulous Dreamweaver Stencil Sketch Challenge.  Today's sketch is brought to you by Wendy
Here are the products I used and the card I made . . .

 Tape the Candy Cane stencil (LL555) to cream card stock with removable tape.  Apply Glossy Red embossing paste with a palette knife.  Remove the tape; wash and dry stencil and palette knife.  While the paste is drying, cut patterned paper (Stampin' Up) to size and adhere strip of paper diagonally to the lower part of the card.   When the paste is dry, trim pasted image to size and mat on solid red card stock.  Adhere three dots to the upper right and you're done.  Couldn't be easier for this busy time of the year.

There is a lot more inspiration coming from my fellow team mates, so don't forget to check out their blogs, as well as the Dreamweaver Stencils blog, DREAM it UP!    Once you've hopped around to the other blogs, get your stencils out and play along with us.  Link your project on the DREAM it UP!   blog using Mr. Linky and let us see what you've made. 

And, don't forget the Design Team Call.   You can read all about it here.  But you'd better get busy if you want to make the December 1 deadline.  Come on!  You can do it.  

Happy crafting,
Liz

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Designer's Choice Project

Now that the Christmas cards are done (yeah, right!), it's time to think about teacher gifts, stocking stuffers, or something to have on hand for that last minute hostess gift.   This covered note pad can be easily broken down into steps, making final assembly as easy as pumpkin pie. 



In addition to the products on the left, you'll need plain card stock,  removable tape, a palette knife or paste spreader, inks to coordinate with your patterned paper and adhesive or sticky tape (you can see a bit of it poking out from under the jar of embossing paste).

Because of the drying time, I began by paste embossing the Hibiscus stencil (LG678) with regular white matte embossing paste (DEP) on Neenah Natural White card stock.  This is a good time to use Lynell's power pasting technique which she demonstrates on the Embossing Paste Techniques for Artful Cardmaking DVD.  When the past was dry, I repositioned the cleaned stencil and applied color.  I also inked the edges to make the image stand out.  Tearing the edges or using decorative scissors are also options for a different look.

Preparing the tablets:  the chipboard backing on the mini tablets was a little flimsy, so I cut a thinner piece of chipboard to size and attached it using sticky tape.  I also needed to cover the Staples logo, so I cut a scrap of patterned paper to fit the front, top and about an inch or so of the back of the tablet and adhered it using sticky tape.

Cut patterned paper to size and score.  Exact measurements will vary depending on the size of notepad you choose.  For this project, the mini tablets measured 3.5" x 5.25"  and cut the patterned paper 5.25" x 7.75".  The 7.75 inches is a bit longer than the actual notebook measurements to allow enough "overage" for scoring.  If there's a little hanging over the front and back edges, you can always trim it later.   

The paper I chose is a double-sided, light-weight card stock, which some might call layering weight.  It is not heavy enough to score without tearing, so I cut another piece to match and glued the two together.  And, I didn't like the pattern on the reverse, so gluing the two pieces together solved both problems!  If you find heavier weight patterned paper, you can eliminate pasting two lighter-weight pieces together.  Score patterned paper to fit tablet.   My tablet was 1/4" thick, so my score lines were at 3.75" and 4".  Remember, the front might hang over the tablet edge a bit, but that's OK.  You can trim it before attaching the ribbon.  If you're unsure of this step, make a sample using a manila file folder or other paper similar in weight to your patterned paper.

Cut ribbon strips to whatever size suits your project.

Assembly:   Attach one ribbon strip to the back of the tablet using sticky tape.  Attach the back cover, again using sticky tape, and fold the patterned paper to the front, creasing along the score lines.  Attach the second piece of ribbon to the front.  Position the image as desired, over the ribbon end.   Tie ribbon into a knot or bow. 

A cellophane bag is the perfect wrapping.  And there you have it.  Ready to be tucked into a Christmas stocking or placed in the gift box to be given away later.

Now, there's a lot more to see and plenty of inspiration from my fellow bloggers, so please stop by and see what they've been working on.   And leave us a note – we love hearing from you.   Be sure to check out the details for design team call on the DREAM it UP! blog.  There's till time to submit your application by the November 30 deadline.

Whew!  That, I think, is my longest post!

Happy Crafting,
Liz 

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Dream Scheme Color Challenge

There are so many options for a black and white color challenge – the possibilities are endless.  So let's get to it.  Here's what I did:


This is a combination of paste embossing and Zentangle-ing.   For the middle pear,  place the Pear stencil (LL563) with the Opto-Checkerboard stencil (LJ915) on top on white card stock and tape all edges.  Apply Glossy Black Embossing Paste (DGKP) and let dry.  For the remaining pears, I traced the Pear Stencil on to white card stock and began Zentangle-ing.  If you're not familiar with Zentangle, it was developed by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, as "an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns."  You can learn more about Zentangle here.  Cut out each pear and assemble.

Get more ideas and inspiration from my talented team members (blog links on the right) and be sure to leave us a note and let us know you dropped by.  It doesn't have to be long – a "just stopped by to say hi" is fine! We love hearing from you.

Now, if you've been following the Dream Team for the past year and a half, here's your chance to find out what it's like to be on a design team and how much fun we really have. Dreamweaver is having a design team call.  You can find the details, time line and contact information on the DREAM it UP! blog.

And don't forget to "like" us on the Dreamweaver Facebook page.
 
Hope you have a wonderful weekend and have set aside some time for crafting.

See you next week,
Liz