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

February Challenge #3

I AM BACK! After taking a couple days off just to rest and take care of some "business" I feel refreshed and have been having fun creating!

Today, as part of the Dream Team challenge, I present another "green" card. (Okay, I added a little pink and since white is technically void of color, it doesn't count!) This time I went with one my favorites, the double-glitter technique. The stencil is one of the 17 new stencils that were just released at CHA. It is Cherry Blossom Shape LL3024. It is a "shaped" stencil which makes it perfect for this technique.

Not only does this card count towards my challenge BUT it is also one of the cards that we will be creating in my March classes! This particular one is for the ME 2 class. Machine Embossing, get it!!!) I'll be at Stampin' Cat Studio on March 3 and Karen and Friends Creations on March 10. If you're in the area, I'd love for you to join us.

Do you realize you only have 14 days to post your submission for the Dreamweaver February challenge? And all you have to do is create a "green" card. It can either be a St. Patrick's Day card, green in color or use repurposed materials! How easy is that?! And there are 2 winners each month! One for the most creative creation using any prodyct and the second one for the most creative use of Dreamweaver product! This month each winner will receive the following two stencils (which might just come in handy for the March challenge:)

So after you've finished checking out the Dream Team challenges for this week (see the links on the right), head off to your happy place and get working on those challenge submissions. Who couldn't use TWO FREE stencils?!

I hope you'll come back again tomorrow for yet another peak at the projects we'll be doing in our March classes!

Hugs 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!!!

Sending my love

I had fun creating today'spost. The main image is from Penny Black and stamped with Memento black ink. I then colored it with colored pencils and blended with Gamsol. I created the ribbon flower from white organza ribbon that I misted with tea dye mist.

Nothing overly complicated to do, just a lot of fun to make!

Until tomorrow, hugs and happy creating!

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.

Three at Once!

So I really was having a hard time getting inspired this morning. Everything seemed like a lot of work, which is not how I usually feel about creating.

So I headed over to Splitcoaststampers to check out some challenges for this week. That usually does it for me. Instant inspiration.

So today I share with you a card I made that qualifies for 2 challenges. Add that as a blog posting and I've killed 3 birds with just one stone!

So here is my White Island Pool meets Sketch Challenge 370 card. First the outside:

 And now the inside:

Not bad for a quick Friday morning card! The white cardstock is edged with Ranger Pool and the Tim Holtz Floral Fantasy stamp in Versamagic Turquoise Gem. The butterfly is Outlines and colored with Prismacolors and blended with Gamsol. (You can't tell from the photo but there is Stickles on the Butterfly to give it some life and it is raised with 3-D tape.)

I have the whole weekend set aside for nothing but creating. Who knows, maybe I'll come up with something really cool to share with all of you next week.

Until then, happy creating and love, live and laugh each day!!!

A St.Patrick's Day Wish

Welcome to February and the first of the Dreamweaver Design Team Challenges for this month. Our challenge this month is to create either St. Patrick's Day or green projects. Be sure to check out the Dream It Up blog to find out about how you can participate in the challenge and be a winner!

I have to admit I struggled with this challenge. You would think being 1/4 Irish I'd have this one on the bag but NO! I was raised in Chicago where St. Patrick's Day equates to drinking green beer and eating corned beef and cabbage. Oh yeah, and dying a river green and a big unionized parade. Not much there to build a card upon!

So I took a little liberty and created this card. Its so-so in my book. I'm going to blame it on CHA exhaustion but really its more a lack of inspiration. I am sure by the end of this month I'll be into the full swing of things inspired by my awesome Dream Team members.

So...for what its worth, here's my first attempt at a St. Patrick's Day card.

Don't get me wrong. I love the new Pointed Celtic Knot stencil, I just need some inspiration on how best to use it. To me, its like crosses, they have meaning and significant symbolic value and I want to be true to that. Any one out there that can help shed some light on the meaning of celtic knots?

Okay, enough rambling, head on over to the other Dream Team blogs and see the amazing creations they have posted for our first challenge. You can find the links to all their blogs in the right hand column.

I'll be back tomorrow with another post, hopefully one that I REALLY like!

Feedback, both good and bad is greatly appreciated!