Celebrate Your Day With Kara

Hey! It's Kara. I'm back again, but this time with something much softer. I love bold color, but this subtle watercolor background is just so pretty.

I knew I wanted to use the beautiful Outlined Roses Die. This die set came out several months ago but I never had a chance to use it.  I decided I wanted to back them with some soft watercolor.  I die cut the roses, leaves and buds from white cardstock and moved them around on my panel to decide on placement Once I knew where I wanted each die cut to be I added the appropriate color to an acrylic block in that general position.  For example, I wanted the large rose to be in the upper left hand corner so I added some pink distress ink to the acrylic block in that same area. I added green where the leaves would be placed. Once the acrylic block was coated with ink, I spritzed some water on the ink to activate it's watercolor-like properties. I then placed a piece of watercolor paper onto the acrylic block. I left it there for several seconds applying pressure. When I removed the cardstock from the block some of the ink had started to mix and create a brown color that I did not want. I quickly absorbed some of the color with a piece of chamois and unexpectedly created a subtle texture that I loved!

While I let the watercolor piece dry, I decided to die cut another set of flowers and leaves.  I was then able to layer up the die cuts and make them a bit sturdier.  When the piece was dry, I applied the die cuts using a liquid adhesive. I knew that whatever sentiment I decided to add it had to be just as soft and also not hide the beautiful background.  Vellum was the answer. I used a die cut vellum circle from my stash. It had been cut with the Love Mom Layers die. I stamped a sentiment from Strictly Sentiments 5 in Versamark ink and embossed it in white.  This circle die cut from the Dreamcatcher Die fits perfectly around the circle and creates the perfect frame. I did the same thing, layering 4 die cuts this time to vary the dimension.

You can't see any adhesive behind the vellum because I found that if you run it through a Xyron sticker maker and burnish it well the adhesive coats the back of the vellum entirely and does not show!

I love it and I hope you do too! Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend! See you again soon!

Featured Supplies

For your convenience, here is a list of featured supplies (or equivalents) used on today's project(s), along with links to purchase. Please note: this list does contain some affiliate links.

Strictly Sentiments 5	Outlined Roses Die	Dreamcatcher Die	Love Mom Layers Die
Simon Says Stamp STITCHED RECTANGLES Wafer Dies sssd111455 In Stitches	White Cardstock	ZIG Fine Two Way Acid Free GLUE PEN A Must Have 00778	Ranger Inkssentials MINI MISTER Spray Bottle Tool IMMR13593
Ranger Embossing Powder WHITE EPJ36685	Simon Says Stamp VELLUM SSSVEL12 STAMPtember	*Ranger WATERCOLOR PAPER Inkssentials Surfaces ISW39532	Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark VM-001
Inkadinkado Clear Acrylic Block EXTRA LARGE 6.5 X 4.5 Rubber Stamping Stamp 98095	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad SPUN SUGAR Ranger TIM27164	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WORN LIPSTICK Ranger TIM21513	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad MOWED LAWN Ranger Summer TIM35008
Xyron 250 CREATE A STICKER Machine 2.5 Inch XRN250	*Xyron Sticker Maker 250 REFILL Cartridge Permanent

InLinkz.com

Build Your Own Dream Catcher

Welcome back on our Day 3 of Special September 2014 Release. It's Joni here, and today I wanted to share a special project with you using the Dream Believer stamp set along with the Dreacatcher Die.
Remember, all of the featured products will be available for purchase beginning Sept. 5, 2014 at wplus9.com, as well as at many of your favorite retailers.

I have been wanting to create my own Dream Catcher for a long time now. They fascinate me, especially the story behind it. Not really sure if they are true, they just look pretty to me. You can read all about Dreamcatchers HERE.
If you've been following my blog, then you know that I created a sort of Dreamcatcher way back using the Wplus9 past release Lacey Layers and Fanciful Feathers. You can see the original post HERE. Now that Dawn has created this wonderful Dream Believer Stamp Set and Companion Die, along with the Dreamcatcher Die, for sure lots of uses will come with these.

I wanted to show you the pieces of this dream catcher project. Using the Dreamcatcher Die set you can easily build your own dream catcher.

Wplus9 Supplies

Stamps: Dream Believer (available 9/5/14) // Dies: Dreamcatcher Die (available 9/5/14) // Cardstock: White

You will also need: Distress Ink (Wild Honey, Peacock Feathers, Vintage Photo), Vellum, Sequins and Twine (Pretty Pink Posh shown), Watercolor Paper

If you're looking for somewhere to start, you can find lots of inspiration on Pinterest. Or you can use mine as a guide and customize it to make it your own.

For the card base, I created a watercolor panel first. I allowed it to dry, then stamped the tiny cluster of circle images from the Dream Believer Stamp Set all over the panel. To create the dream catcher, I die cut the outer hoop five times from cardstock and adhered them all together, one on top of the other, for thickness. To create the webbing of the dreamcatcher, I die cut it twice - once from vellum and once from cardstock - and adhered them to the hoop.

Next, I adhered the string die cuts that hold the feathers to the feathers, die cut from vellum and cardstock. I added some Diamond Stickles to the feathers for shimmer. Some Pretty Pink Posh sequins work perfectly for "beads" in Aquamarine, Sand, and Sparkling Clear.
The sentiment is from the Dream Believer Stamp Set as well. I stamped it directly onto the watercolor panel using a Distress Marker in Vintage Photo.
I decided to make my dreamcatcher removable, so the recipient can remove it and keep it if they like. This is really simple to do. Just cut a little slit in the top fold of the card base and insert the twine and secure in place with a little tape as shown below.

Now the Dream Catcher can easily be removed from the card. Of course you can hang this anywhere you like, or you can simply use it as a focal point on your card or any projects you might have in mind.
Thank you so much for visiting! I hope I have inspired you to create your own dream catcher.

MORE DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION

• Joni Andaya - You can see more Dream Believer Stamp Set on my blog.
• Kara Vrabel - Be sure to stop by and see more from Kara Vrabel.
• Maureen Merritt - Stop by to see what Maureen is sharing as well.

And be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what Dawn has cooked up with the Pretty Peonies collection!