Zen Butterfly

Hello, crafty friends!  It's a new year and we've had a new challenge at Dreamweaver Stencils, Clean and Simple or Lose the Weight!  I have to admit, I like to keep most of my cards relatively simple anyway so it really wasn't too hard for me to play along with this challenge.  This is one of our fantastic new stencils, Zen Butterfly, LL 3037,  and I absolutely love it!  I think it's gorgeous and could even be used to create lovely fairy wings if you were so inclined.

The technique I used to create this card used embossing powders on double-sided sticky paper.  It's a fun technique and gives you the chance to be a little creative with the placement of your powders.  I used Recollections Embossing Powders that can be purchased at Michaels.  I would give you more details but my craft studio is in the basement and I've just had knee surgery and can't make it down to my studio just now to retrieve the information.  My apologies for this!  I'll come back and update when I can access my room!

Here's another angle to try to show you how sparkly my lovely embossing powders are!

Here's the list of my teammates that have more projects for your viewing pleasure:

Dream It Up!

Lea Kimmel (me)

Louise Healy

Stacey Rumsby

Terrece Siddoway

Wendy Jordan

Pam Hornschu

Cherylynn Moser

Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you again soon!  

Hugs,

Lea

Wicked Wednesday!

Hello crafty peeps!  I was recently invited to join the Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge Blog and I happily accepted!  I've never done ATCs before (GASP!  I know!) and thought this would be something fun to do.  Not only that but a great way to use up scraps and, let me tell you, I have plenty of those hanging around the craft room.  Besides, the images from our sponsors are all pretty cool!  I think it's going to be a super fun endeavour and I'm really looking forward to playing along.  With all that said, here's my first ever ATC:

Our sponsor for this week is Time for Tea Designs Digis and Clear Stamps.  There are some really cute images and if you've never checked them out, you need to!  This image is Super Cute Hat Digital Stamp and I am just in love with her.  All of her girls are adorable and I'm going to need more of these!  I've used Crate Paper's Bundled Up Collection, along with Neenah and Bazzill.  I colored her with my Copic markers and accented with Dew Drops.  So quick, easy and FUN!  Hope you like her!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you again soon!

Hugs,
Lea

Just Some Fun...

...with Just Some Lines, our sponsor this time around!  Desert Islands Crafts Challenge time!  Here's the itinerary for this challenge:

  1. Your favorite color combination

  2. Use Metal

  3. No Flowers

  4. Ribbon

  5. Paint

  6. Not a Card

  7. Make it a Tag

  8. DO NOT color your image

  9. Journal it

10. Sparkles 

For this challenge I've used 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 10!  I do plan to use this tag in my journal but since I haven't gotten that far, I didn't want to fudge and add #9.  Here's my project:

Here's the whole tag and a close-up!  This stamp from Just Some Lines is Em Joy and I think she's totally adorable and so much fun to color!  I've colored her with my Copics, my papers are Memory Box and I've used miscellaneous ribbon and sparkles.  Be sure to go to the Challenge Blog and link your project, you know you want to play along!

Hugs,

Lea

My Favorite Tool!

For Creative JumpStart 2014 we've been asked to share our favorite tool.  I have to say that my little Tim Holtz Paper Distresser by Tonic has to be one of my most favorite tools to use!  I love how it softens the edge of the paper and gives it a distressed look.  Hence the name, eh!?

Here are some samples where I've used this handy dandy little tool:

Some are obvious, others more subtle, either way, it's a tool I love to use.  Happy creating!

Hugs,

Lea

Guess what day it is!

Did you know that we're celebrating the Queen's birthday this week? Well...the Queen of Stencils, Lynell Harlow, that is. Actually, her birthday is on Saturday, but here at Dreamweaver Stencils we're surprising her by posting birthday cards in her honor today. Nothing like making you feel OLD sooner than necessary, right Lynell? You'll even see a few familiar names in our lineup, as some of the teaching team are whooping it up for her as well.

In addition to our birthday party, we are also beginning a new year and a new monthly challenge. In honor of all those resolutions we hope to achieve, our challenge is "Losing the Weight...AKA Clean and Simple (CAS)". If we all try really hard to simplify our design-work without losing our creativity, we can all say at the end of the month that we've lost some weight! Maybe not off of our waistlines, but at least off of our cards! Gotta start somewhere!

I used Dreamweaver Stencil LL 379, Tall Palm Trees, for Lynell's card as she spent a good deal of time in Hawaii and I know that's a place near and dear to her heart.  I lived there myself for four years and it's truly one of the most beautiful places on earth.  In case you're wondering, my card says Happy Birthday in Hawaiian.  I airbrushed the background with Copics and then brush stenciled my design with chalk inks.  I went back in with a flat brush and added a little more detail on the trees.  I kept my card very simple as that's our new challenge this month.  My papers are Neenah, Bazzill and Little Yellow Bicycle's Splash.  Be sure to leave Lynell some birthday love!  Here's the hop list so you don't miss a thing:

Dream It Up!
Laura Drahozal
Lyn Bernatovich 

Pam Hornschu
Heidi Erickson
Louise Healy
Cyndi Bundy

Lee Kellogg
Liz Martin
Terrece Siddoway
Lea Kimmel (Me!)

Cherylynn Moser 

Kristi Parker Van Doren

Lynell, I wish you the happiest of birthdays and I hope you enjoy your special day!  Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you again soon!

Hugs,
Lea

Whimsical Bird

It's the 1st and that means it's time for another Desert Islands Crafters Challenge.  Our sponsor for this challenge is The Stamping Boutique.  She has some super cute digital stamps and the one I've used today is called Whimsical Bird.  It reminded me of a partridge in a pear tree so I thought it was perfect for this time of year.  Here's the itinerary for this challenge:

1.  Glitter

2.  Ribbon

3.  Die Cut

4.  Airbrushing or Spray (Perfect Pearls Mists, Memories Mists, Dylusions)

5.  Snowflakes

6.  Winter theme with Summer colors

7.  Stencil

8.  Three Layers

9.  Pocket

10. Distressing

Remember, you need to use at least three from this list.  Here's my card:

I've used #'s 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 8

Here's a close-up showing the sparkle from the Clear Spica pen I used to add a little glittery goodness:

Now it's your turn to show us what you've created!  Link your card here!  I look forward to seeing what you've come up with.  Have fun!

Hugs,

Lea

Creative JumpStart

Today is the start of Creative JumpStart 2014!  Woohoo!  If you haven't signed up already, you need to!  Nathalie Kalbach, a fantastic mixed media artist, started this program a few years ago and has some great artists lined up to contribute.  Click on the link below to find out more of the details and then go sign up!  It's only $20 and you'll be glad you did!

http://www.nathaliesstudio.com/cjs/creative-jumpstart-2014/

Nathalie has designed some awesome mixed media stamps for Stampendous which you'll see in the January 2014 catalog when it's released.  Nat is an amazing artist and you will love her stamps and her creativity.  Even if you don't plan to sign up for Creative JumpStart, go take a stroll around her site.  She's pretty darn awesome!

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope that 2014 is the best year yet with plenty of creative endeavors for all.

Hugs,
Lea