A Fresh Start for a Cool Cat

Today's post is bittersweet. It is a card I designed as a tribute to Lisa Taylor and her incredible store, Stampin' Cat Studio in Salem, Oregon. After 10 years, Lisa has made the difficult decision to close the store so that she can move several states away and begin a new chapter in her life with her special someone. You can read all about it in her own words here.

So when Lisa announced her decision to close, I decided to design a Dreamweaver stencil class centered around the LL 3020 Retro Sitting Cat as a tribute to Lisa. Last week I shared one of the cards from that class:

And this week I am sharing another one, which not only uses the LL 3020 stencil but was also designed with Lisa specifically in mind:

Tribute card for Stampin' Cat Studio

The card uses both black and silver embossing paste, flocking and glitter as well as two other stencils: LX 7009 Paisley and LG741 Kitty Words.

Remember, if you don't have a local store where you can purchase these and other incredible Dreamweaver product, you can always find it online at Stencil with Style.

Please be sure to check out the other Dream Team blogs this week for some additional inspiration. Remember, this is an extra special challenge month because not only is the theme pretty wide open "A Fresh Start" which can be interpreted in soooo many ways: fresh colors, new beginnings, i.e., birth, move, wedding...., fresh clean layout, new technique....the list is endless.

For more info on this months challenge, please click here to be taken to the Dreamweaver blog post with all the details.

Starting next week I am going to be posting on both Tuesday and Thursday. I have lots of fun things to share with you and one day a week just isn't enough. I hope you'll come back to check out what I've been up to.

And remember, if its easier, you can always subscribe to my blog posts by clicking on the subscribe button on the right. That way you won't have to type in the long, long, long URL for this blog (my apologies there, all the short names were taken!)

Until then, happy days to you all!

Cherylynn

Dreaming of a White Christmas

One of my all-time favorite Christmas carols is Bing Crosby's rendition of "White Christmas". Growing up in Chicago, you would think we'd have snow for Christmas. Unfortunately I have more memories of just dreaming of a white Christmas than actually have snow on the ground.

So in keeping with my white Christmas dreams, here is another card from my upcoming classes which also uses JustRite stamps.

Remember tomorrow is Dreamweaver Thursday! I hope you'll stop on by because the Dream Team will once again be sharing their creations using Tim Holtz Distressed Embossing Powder!

Until then, smile, the elections are over!

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

A Bright Happy Birthday to You!

Hello and welcome!

As promised, here is another sneak peek for my upcoming classes. This particular card is for the Dreamweaver stencil class to be taught at Karen and Friends Creations on September 29 and at Stampin' Cat Studio on October 13. I'd love it if you could join us!

LJ920 Jumbo Happy Birthday

This particular card uses one of the newly released stencils that I fell in love with the minute I saw it! For another take on how to use this stencil, please check out Pam Hornschu's project for the current Dreamweaver "Get Inky" challenge:

Pam Hornschu

 

 

Well, I'm off to relax and enjoy the weekend. I hope you all do the same. Please be sure to stop by again on Monday when I'll share with you a sneak peek from myImpression Obsession class!

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 Glittery Forest

DON'T MISS  OUT! YOU ONLY HAVE A COUPLE DAYS LEFT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MONTH'S DREAMWEAVER/ART GLITTER CHALLENGE!

AND

ARE TEAMING UP THE ENTIRE MONTH OF JUNE TO BRING YOU AN AMAZING CREATIVE COLLABORATION MIXING DREAMWEAVER STENCILS AND ART GLITTER. COME ALONG FOR THE RIDE...WE PROMISE IT WILL BE A SPARKLING ONE!

Visit the Art Glitter blog and the Dream It Up! blog for fabulous inspiration from both talented design teams. We are encouraging all of you to play along with the challenge of creating with Dreamweaver Stencils and Art Glitter*, preferably using the Double-Glitter Technique with a wedding theme. Just link your creation to the Mr. Linky on the Dream It Up! blog, or email pics to lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com, for an opportunity to win one of four fabulous glitter and stencil prize packages. One winner will be chosen each week. (US and Canada only, please).

For my post today I thought I'd share one of the cards we will be doing in our class on July 25 at Stampin' Cat Studio in Salem which features one of the BRAND NEW stencils just released by Dreamweaver in May. It is LG745 Silhouette Trees.

Although I LOVE working with glitter, it is very hard to get a nice sharp picture with it. If any of  you have any tips, I'd so appreciate any you could share with camera-challenged me.

For more inspiration from the Art Glitter design team, please visit their blog for a complete list of players throughout the month.

For more inspiration from the Dream Team, here's the blog list for this week:

Dream It Up! blog
Pam Hornschu

Laura Drahozal

Louise Healy
Wendy Jordan
Terrece Siddoway

Kristi Van Doren

Georgia Sommers

Lee Kellogg
Jessie Hurley

Liz Martin

Cyndi Bundy

*For the month of June Art Glitter is selling 1 oz jars of glitter for $5.98 (regular price $7.32)! Get the deets HERE!

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

A Splitcoast Challenge

Do you ever need inspiration? Splitcoaststampers challenges can be a great starting point. And I particularly love the Wednesday Sketch challenges! So to end my week of challenges I thought thats where I would start.

This week's sketch challenge features this sketch:

And since I am focusing on clean and simple creations this entire month, I came up with this:

This card is also a first! I have been HOARDING BasicGrey'sWisteria paper, afraid to use because it would then be gone. I am trying hard to get over this phobia and so I dug into this stash. I love the spring feel of this paper. Now if only the weather would cooperate and turn to spring as well!

I'm taking the weekend off from blogging. Lots to do, including spending time with my 10 week old granddaughter! If any of you are planning on going to the Heirloom Rubber Stamp Convention, remember to drop by the Stampin Cat Studio Make-n-Take table. I'll be there Saturday afternoon and Sunday working with Dreamweaver stencils, Hero Arts and Impression Obsession stamps.

Until Monday, have a great, colorful and creative weekend.

If friends were flowers...

In keeping with the Dreamweaver CAS challenge month, I used a fun sentiment from Amuse and combined it with one of my all-time favorite stencils from Dreamweaver for a really, really quick and easy card.

It's LL370 Lily O'Valley and its one of my faves because that's the flower for May which just happens to be my Birthday month. (And those of you who know me, know I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY!).

I just stenciled pigment ink over the stencil in a rouging motion with my stencil brushes and then overstamped the sentiment with Versafine Olympia Green.

How much simpler could a card get? I think it took me a whole 10 minutes from start-to-finish! I know everyone is really busy BUT when you can do a card as cute as this in 10 minutes, how can you NOT enter the Dreamweaver Challenge this month? It's really a no-brainer! So skip playing one game of Words with Friends and go create something. You'll feel so good afterwards. I promise you!

I'm off to teach at Stampin Cat tomorrow and Sunday I have my "sleep study"! Should be an interesting weekend. I'll be back on Monday with another CAS creation because all I've got this weekend is 10 minutes!

Hugs,
Cherylynn

A New Month, A New Challenge

After the Dreamweaver Stencils' February challenge of St. Pat's or Green, are you a little tired of green? Then this month provides the opportunity of doing any color you wish...including green.

However, you have to keep it clean...and simple! Yep. We are challenging you to create with your Dreamweaver products in a CAS style. This is our way of encouraging you to begin your "Spring Cleaning" a little early, and far more fun than sorting cupboards and washing windows!

I love clean and simple cards because they force me to focus on the focal point and the technique. There is not much room for error or "opportunities for embellishment". Today's card is just that: clean and simple with a focus on the technique.

The LG668 Dogwood stencil was first embossed with the original matte Dreamweaver paste. Once it dried, I painted over the embossed image with Twinkling H2Os (another favorite of mine)! Yes! You read that right, you can watercolor over your embossed imaged. Doesn't that open up even more doors for you and your creativity?!!! And the subtle shimmer from the "twinks" perfectly complements the beautiful stencil image.

Now it's your turn to play! Create your own Clean and Simple design (preferably with Dreamweaver Stencils' products) and link it to the Dream It Up! blog from your own blog, online gallery, or just send us an email to Lynell with a picture of your creation for her to show off on the blog. At the end of March, two winners will be selected to each win these stencils:

LJ899-Lrg. Thinking of You

LG742-Pointed Celtic Knot

For more inspiration, please visit the other Dream Team blogs...and please leave comments, we love that!

Dream It Up! blog

Pam Hornschu

Laura Drahozal

Louise Healy

Wendy Jordan

Terrece Siddoway

Kristi Van Doren

Georgia Sommers

Lee Kellogg

Liz Martin

Cyndi Bundy

Jessie Hurley

Curious as to who won last month's challenge? Anne Temple won for the best version of the challenge, and Sue Petersen won for the best use of Dreamweaver Stencils' product for the challenge! Congrats, ladies! And I personally will be sending a prize to Angela V. as well because she responded to my personal request for players!!!

Thanks for playing with us, and we hope to see more from all of our previous players!

Okay now go start doing some CAS creations! You know you can!!! I'll be back tomorrow and I hope you will too!

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!

Sculpted Horses

One of the things I absolutely love about Dreamweaver stencils is their paste and its versatility. I know, I know, many of you are saying but its such a mess to work with. Well...its really not. You just need to "set the table" and prep your area and it really is a lot less messier than some of my stamping projects.

And since I use a griddle to speed up the drying time, it really is fast and easy.

This card is one from my upcoming Paste classes where we are going to be working with dimensional pasting, i.e., more than 1 layer of paste. This particular card uses the sculpting technique and I think it works perfectly with the running horse stencil, don't you agree?

A Sneak Peak: ME 2

Next month I will be teaching classes at Stampin Cat in Salem and Karen and Friends in Springfield.

The first class at both stores is called ME 2 for Machine Embossing 2. It is a fun class where everyone gets to use their Cuttlebug, Big Shot, Wizard, Vagabond....with Dreamweaver stencils. There are so many different techniques to choose from so each time I teach one of these classes I try and mix it up so that both beginners and repeat students ALL learn something new.

One of the cards we will be making uses Colored Aluminum with Dreamweaver's awesome Color Solutions alcohol ink. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it.

I'm going to take the weekend off from posting so I hope you'll come back next week and I'll share some more from my upcoming classes.

Have a great weekend and happy creating,
Cherylynn

Stencils, yours for the creating!!!

First things first! How would you like to win these two fabulous Dreamweaver stencils?



Well you can! And it's easy! All you need to do is participate in the Dreamweaver monthly challenge for February! (In fact, last month ALL participants were sent the winning stencils so everyone was a WINNER!!! How cool is that!) You don't even need to post your pictures online, you can either mail the actual card or email a photo of it to Lynell and she'll gladly post it for you!

Check out the Dreamweaver blog for all the details and then head off to your creative space and get working (that is, of course, after you finish checking out all the Dream Team blogs today! All the links are in the right hand column.)

Now, on to my challenge post for today. So...our challenge this month is to create something either for St. Patrick's Day or green (either color or recycled). Last week I went with St. Patrick's Day so this week I've gone green (literally).

Here's a re-do which adds the sentiment. Not sure if I like it or not. Although the font screams Irish, I think its too much for the gorgeous flowers. What do you think?

Can you find the 4 stencils I used in this card? Okay, so maybe 2 of them aren't very visible so I'll go ahead and tell you. First, obviously, is the floral stencil (yes, the same one you can win if you participate in the challenge!!!) and the Thanks sentiment. The other two are on the background. The top of the base layer has the Plaid stencil embossed on it and the bottom 1/4, below the printed paper, has the large dots stencil. Stencils make great background patterns.

Okay, I've blathered on long enough. Now its time to go check out the other Dream Team blogs and then get yourself busy working on your February challenge project. REMEMBER, YOU CAN ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU'D LIKE!!!

A Quilted Heart

Happy Monday!

I had a great weekend. I actually slept (major accomplishment lately) and spent some serious time creating. Plus I got to spend some time with my brand new Granddaughter and her incredible parents and also with my wonderful husband. Overall, not much to complain about!

Saturday I spent creating and was needing some inspiration so I checked out the message boards to get my mojo going. Lo and behold, I found it! It was hiding over at  Two Peas in the Ribbon Flower video! Who knew.

So I combined that technique with a quilted heart I just had to mimick after seeing at CHA and ended up with this:

Fun, springlike and very feminine! I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it!
Supplies:

• SEI promise 6x6 paper pad
• Dreamweaver Double-sided Mounting Paper
• Dreamweaver Damask Stencil  LJ907
• Dreamweaver Large Damask Stencil LX7001
• Hero Arts Script background stamped with Versamagic Pink Grapefruit
• Hero Arts Much Love stamped with Versafine Onyx Black
• Old Paper Distress Ink
• Spellbinders Heart and Scalloped Heart Dies
• Self-adhesive pearls sponged on stamped script
• Organza ribbon scraps

So fun to make and I have enough squares cut that I can make quite a few of these up rather quickly.

Tomorrow I'll share another flower ribbon card and a Penny Black stamp! See you then.

Bright and Cheery

Welcome to my first card posting for 2012! I thought I would share one of the cards I will be demonstrating at my upcoming Machine Embossing classes later this month.

"Machine Embossing" is a technique class that teaches how to use your stencils with your die-cutting machine (Wizard, Big Shot, Cuttlebug...) without ruining your stencils. We cover 4 different techniques in this class including basic embossing, adding color, letterpress and metal embossing. With each of these techniques the students will have a variety of stencils to choose from so each final creation will be unique to themselves.

The classes will be taught on:

January 14 at Karen and Friends in Springfield, Oregon and
January 21 at Stampin' Cat in Salem, Oregon

I will also be teaching a paste class the same day for both of those stores and will share some of those projects here later this week.

If you'll be in the area, I'd love for you to join us.

Now without further delay, here is a card illustrating machine embossing and then adding color.

The card uses both the Torch Ginger and the Large Dots from Dreamweaver. Its a fun and fairly quick card to make and depending on the stencil used and the colors chosen can be very different in the final outcome.

I hope you'll come back tomorrow because I will be posting my first official challenge as a Dreamweaver Design Team ("Dream Team") member!

Until then, hugs and happiness to you all.