Giveaway and a Dreamweaver Tutorial on a layout

Hello all, it’s Stephwith a Dreamweaver Tutorial – using embossing paste (for the 2nd time) and using a stencil as a template for a scrapbook layout background.

BUT first things first, let’s congratulate Karen Schroeder, who has won the Maple Branch stencil, after leaving some love on Cherylynn’s really creative and out of the box tutorial on using stencils on polymer clay. Karen, please email Pam at  Hornshu at phornschu@yahoo.com with your address. And for the rest of you, don’t forget that Dreamweaver Stencils gives out a stencil each week throughout our Tutorial Series to one random commenter. Be sure to head over to Stencil with Styleand pick your favorite stencil and put the name of the stencil of your choice plus your name and email in the comment section at the end of this post. You have 2 weeks to leave a comment. Okay, now on to my project.

I am so happy I can use these stencils on my layouts too – not just for the background but also to make my custom embellishments. This is a layout of our very hot summer vacation to Hong Kong this year – it’s really hard for me to find Asian inspired embellishments and Dreamweaver has just the stencils for the job.

Here are the basic Dreamweaver materials I used to create the lantern banner as well as the background of my layout:

• LX 7011 – Big Dots
• LL 550 – Party Lanterns
• Regular embossing paste
• Metallic F/X (colors of your choice, I used Pink Poppy, Pink Blaze, Gold Finch, Navajo Sky & Kiwi)
• Palette knife & a paste spreader

I created the background of my layout first so there was time to dry before I added my photos and papers. Also gave me some time to muster up the courage to use the embossing paste.

First, I swiped a couple of stokes of distressed stain on the background; then I inked up the part of the Big Dot stencil with distressed ink along the entire length of the background.

After I’m happy with the stenciled background, I spritzed and dribbled a bit of mist randomly around the stenciled image.

Let the background dry as I work on the lanterns.

Gather all your supplies for using the embossing paste – as a beginner, I can never work fast enough before the paste start to dry.

Tape your stencil down on all sides with removable tape. (This rookie has discovered why you should be generous with your tape in the next photo)

See the left side of the pink lantern where the paste has oozed beyond the image – that is from not taping the sides of the stencil down.

Back on task – spread your paste on the stencil using the palette knife – like you are icing a cake – about 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick.

Scrap off the excess paste with your spreader like so.

Remove the tape from all 3 sides, leaving the top as a hinge, so you can cleanly remove the stencil from the wet paste.

While the paste is still wet, sprinkle on your metallic F/X as desired. Tap the excess F/X off and let dry. (around 20-30 mins.) Try not to touch it while it’s drying – I did on the 1st piece I did..LOL. (the excess powder does brush off with a dry paint brush once the paste is dried)

I fussy cut my lanterns out and by this time, your background would have been dried and I just assembled my papers and photos as you see on my finished project.

What a fun and easy way to create a layout with embellishments that are just totally customized and unique to my photos.

We would also love to see your creations so please play along with the challenges on the Dream It Up! blog and like us on the Dreamweaver Facebook page for more opportunities to win prizes.

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving me some love!

Steph

Congratulations! The lucky winner Steph's tutorial was Patty Stabile.  Patty has won the stencil of her choice from Dreamweaver Stencils! Please be sure to contact  Pam Hornschu within 30 days to claim your prize and be sure to provide your shipping information so we can get that package out to you! And thank you to EVERYONE for playing along! There were so many great ideas in our comments!