It's beginning to look a lot like....

Yes, its that time of year again! November is here and that means Christmas is just a few short stamping days away! That also means that I will be posting quite frequently on this blog, sharing some of my Christmas creations, both cards and projects.

Today I thought I'd start with one of the cards we will be making in my November and December classes.

I just love the vintage colors and warm textures of this card.

Tomorrow I'll share another card from my upcoming classes, this one definitely will be a bit "chillier".

Until then, happy creating.

Cherylynn

No Hunting Allowed

For me, the hardest cards to design are those for the men in our life. And the feedback I get when I teach is that seems to be everyone else's problem area as well.

So lately when I've been designing for a class, I have tried to incorporate at least one masculine card in each grouping.

Today I am sharing with you one of the cards we will be doing in my upcoming classes later this month and next at both Karen and Friends Creations and at Stampin' Cat Studio.



Impression Obsession
H1863 Hunting Season

I love this card because not only is it a great masculine card but it also comes the warm colors and textures perfect for the fall season.

Please stop by next week when I will share another card from these classes as well as one or two from the Dreamweaver class. Plus on Thursday, September 20, I will again be featured on PaperCraft Planet's blog with another fun, yet easy Dreamweaver tutorial perfect for fall!

Shimmering Leaves

I love autumn. Growing up I was a spring and summer person but as I gracefully age (LOL!!!), I have come to realize that I truly love autumn. I love the warm colors, the crisp air, the harvest foods....you name it, I love everything about autumn.

So it comes as no surprise that I love teaching classes that feature fall colors and themes. This card is another sample from my upcoming classes.

Similar to last week's post, this card also uses Twinkling H2Os to create the background paper and then the Sculpted paste technique on the leaves.

I'll be back on Thursday with another look at Dreamweaver's Get Inky challenge. I hope to see you then!

Get Inky and Win a Stencil!

Welcome to September!

Now that summer is "unofficially over", I can get serious again about blogging! And I am so excited because this month's Dreamweaver's challenge really helps to motivate me.

It's a very wide open challenge so there really is no excuse to participate. Are you ready to:

GET INKY WITH STENCILS?

Yes, that's right, time to get inky! And being a stamper at heart and a lover of techniques, this month's challenge is right up my alley (and hopefully yours as well).

PLUS this month we will have just a bit different twist on our monthly challenge ...we are letting you choose any stencil you would like as your prize if you win. Yep, any Dreamweaver stencil you "so desire". We will still have two winners, one for best interpretation of the challenge and one for best usage of Dreamweaver products.

So to start of my INKY month, I thought I'd share a very easy, CAS card that is really quite stunning.

This is one of the cards we will be creating in my October classes at Stampin' Cat Studio and also at Karen and Friends Creations.

I started by first creating a watercolor wash background using Twinkling H2Os and then using the Faux Letterpress technique, machine-embossed the LG745 Tree Line stencil over the painted background.

I love the way this came out. It reminds me of a end of summer sunset!

Please join along with this month. There really is no excuse not to because the theme can be interpreted in soooo many ways.

For additional inspiration, please check out the Dreamweaver blog and the other Dream Team blogs:

Dream It Up! blog

Pam Hornschu

Laura Drahozal

Louise Healy

Terrece Siddoway

Kristi Van Doren

Georgia Sommers

Lee Kellogg

Jessie Hurley

Liz Martin

Cyndi Bundy

I hope you'll stop by next week when I'll be posting not only on Thursday but also on Tuesday and Saturday as well!

Have a great weekend, happy crafting and may the ink stains on your fingers bring out the child in your heart!!!!

A Tutorial AND A Giveaway

Instead of a new Black and White post this week, I'd like to share my Sculpted Paste Tutorial that I created for Paper Craft Planet.

After leaving a comment over at PCP, I hope you'll come back here and leave a comment here as well because I'M HAVING A GIVEAWAY!


Yes, you read that right, I'm going to give away one BRAND NEW LL559 Horses stencil to one lucky person who leaves me a comment here before midnight on Tuesday, May 29, 2012!

This is one of my all-time favorite Dreamweaver stencils and one that I think EVERYONE should own so I thought why not give one away to someone kind enough to leave me a comment!

The winner will be chosen from all comments left using a random number generator so don't stress about grammar or punctuation!

Please don't forget to check out the rest of the Dream Team posts this week. You can find links on the right-hand column.

And remember, you only have 1 more week to link your creation to the Dreamweaver blog (or email it to Lynell) to be entered to win this month's challenge. (And here's a little secret, there hasn't been a lot of entries yet this month so your odds are winning are significantly improved!)

Hugs and have a GREAT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!!

Cherylynn

Upcoming March Classes

If you're in the Pacific Northwest either this weekend or next, I'd love for you to come join me in either of these classes. I'll be at Stampin' Cat Studio in Salem, Oregon on March 3 and  Karen And Friends Creations in Springfield, Oregon on March 10.

The first class is Paste Embossing and starts with basic paste embossing so no experience is necessary. Then we'll move on to a few advanced techniques which will WOW you: crackle, double-embossing and sculpting.

The second class, ME 2 (Machine Embossing) uses your die-cut machine (Cuttlebug, Big Shot, Wizard, Vagabond....) with Dreamweaver stencils to do faux letterpress, embossing on metal and basic embossing. Then we'll add some sparkle to our cards with the double-glitter technique.

Class fees are extremely reasonable and really a great bargain when you consider we'll be covering at least 3 different techniques in each class.

Until tomorrow when I share my first Dreamweaver challenge for March!

Faux Letterpress

Welcome back!

Today I thought I'd share another technique card I will be demonstrating in my January Machine Embossing classes. This is the Faux Letterpress technique. I have to admit, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite techniques because it is so quick and easy and fun to do.



Even though the design is really basic, I like this card because it really emphasizes the wonderful design of the stencils. If you were creating this card, what would you do differently?

Hey, don't forget, for the month of January, Dreamweaver is challenging you to create something for Valentine's Day! You have until January 31st, 11:59 PM EST, to post and link your creation(s) to the Dream It Up! Blog  Mr. Linky. Two prizes will be given away. One for the most creative version of the challenge (does not have to be Dreamweaver Stencils product, but we sure are happy when it is!), and the second for the best use of Dreamweaver Stencils product in the challenge. This could be stencils, Embossing Pastes, Metallic F/X, the new Color Solutions, etc The winners will be announced February 2nd, along with the February challenge. Let me know if you have any questions.