Back to the Watercooler

Yes the Wacky Watercooler gang returns for "part II" of our introduction to the Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs.  We have 13 "hoppers" and I hope you'll be sure to visit each site to see what our artists have created.

Our hop is a circle; if you have joined here, welcome!  And please be sure to click the links below to see all the sites.  If you've just come from my friend Penny's blog I know you've been blown away by her skills--I frequently CASE her cards, and today is no exception.

Our goal is to show you some of our favorite new products from these new catalogs, and I will start with a stamp set that surprised me.  I first saw it at the On Stage "convention" in November and decided I didn't "need" it...and then it grew on me.  So here is my rendition of Beautiful You:

This set is a TOTALLY MUST HAVE stamp set!  The gorgeous, stylized drawings of women, added to the fabulously wonderful sentiments AND fantastic fonts make this a go-to set for those special female friends in your life for just about any occasion.

I decided to make a simple, elegant set of cards, all in black and white.  I actually created this first one for my daughter...and the rest is history.

My daughter is very stylish (and skinny) and this just looked like her.  I had a little gift for her, and wanted to include a card, and this was born.  Whisper White Thick cardstock (5" x 10" and scored at 5") is the base for all three cards in the set, along with a 4-7/8" x 4-7/8" Basic Black square.  Then I took a variety of black and white Designer Series papers (from the Neutrals Paper Stack and Pop of Pink) and created my background.

The stamps are all inked with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Whisper White.

And each card has a different, subtle embellishment--Metallic Enamel Shapes on the first card, Basic Black Solid Bakers Twine on the second, and black Sharpie-colored Pearls on the last one.

I thought this would make a lovely gift, so I created a special gift box:

Using a 10" x 10" square of Basic Black and the Envelope Punch Board, this box came together easily.  I covered it with the specialty paper from Pop of Pink (it has gold flecks), and added a Gold Foil bow (from the Bow Builder Punch).

The box is perfect for holding the three cards and envelopes.

So there's project #1 - what do you think?

And Project #2?  Easy peasy:

I LOVE the simplicity of this card.  I needed a special card for a former colleague who just began a new job, and I wanted to use the new Celebrations Duo Textured Impressions Embossing Folders.  I also wanted to try the Falling in Love Designer Series Paper, and BAM!  It all came together!

First, that embossing folder.  It actually DE-bosses; the word is sunk into the paper, not raised up.  I ran it through the Big Shot with the embossing folder and then took the circles (2 sizes) from the Happy Celebrations stamp set.  Using Tip Top Taupe (stamped off), Soft Sky and Blushing Bride (stamped off) I stamped right over the letters.  But since they are de-bossed, the letters stay white.  Cool, huh?

The ribbon edging the panel is a FREE item from the Sale-a-Bration brochure.  The 3/8" Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack comes with two rolls of ribbon; the white one is woven with shiny silver accents, and the vanilla ribbon has shiny gold accents--really pretty!

The card base is Soft Sky.  There is a skinny panel of Tip Top Taupe and then a layer of the Falling in Love DSP--a beautiful bokeh look (which I copied onto my de-bossed panel).  And the "New Beginnings" is from the Happy Celebrations set too.  I really loved the way this came out!

So there you have it--my two projects using new items that I wasn't in love with at first, but REALLY grew on me!  Sometimes you just have to try something new!

Now it's time to go visit a favorite virtual friend of mine (who I actually once met in person!), Jean Fitch.  Jean is extremely creative and dares to try new things.   Let's go see what she has to show us today.  Thanks for stopping by!