It's Christmas with the Wacky Watercooler Gang!

It's time for another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop and this month we are celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah.  It doesn't matter where you begin; just click on the blog buttons and follow around the entire hop.  You may have just hopped over from Deb Smart's blog - she's always a tough act to follow! - and I thank you for coming to visit me.

Our mission this month is to showcase the upcoming holiday season using our choice of products from the Annual Catalog, the Holiday Catalog, AND (bonus for me!) anything in our "stash" of old products...and boy, do I have old products!

But let's start with some creative inspiration using current supplies:

I absolutely LOVE these edgelit dies (Sleigh Ride) and incorporated them into a technique card.  I used the "Salted Background" idea (tutorial to come soon), which created a beautiful base for my trees and houses, which were cut using Shimmery White cardstock.

The "wash" was a combination of Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point on Watercolor Paper; after I was satisfied with the color I sprinkled table salt on the paper which gives it an interesting texture.  The Watercolor Paper layer is mounted on a layer of Silver Glimmer Paper (and I punched tons of little stars with the Star Border Punch) so this card really sparkles.

Card number two is a fancy fold card:

Similar elements to the first card include use of the Sleigh Ride Edgelits and Star Border Punch, but this time I used Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper and then cut a second and third set of the edgelits in Real Red and Early Espresso.  Isolating just the sled in red and horse in Espresso, I glued them on top of the glimmer paper figures.

This card also has a touch of "spin" - Using the Circle Framelits, I cut a circle in the center of the card front.  I stamped the sentiment from Among the Branches in Night of Navy ink two times and punched them out with the 2" Circle Punch.  These were glued together, back to back, with a length of Whisper White Bakers Twine in the middle.  Some Tear & Tape Adhesive adheres the twine to the inside of the card (all covered with a circle of white) so my sentiment spins around.

And now for my stash of hoarded supplies.  Why do I do this?  I have absolutely no idea.  As new catalogs come out, I'm still in love with products from the old one, so I order more -- don't want to run out!  Then I can't use them anymore (for demonstrating cards)...and then I fall in love with the new stuff...and my old things get relegated further and further to the back of shelves and deeper and deeper in the drawers.

Until today!  Thankfully my friends of the Watercooler understand...and today I'm allowed to bring you some inspiration using my old stuff!  Now just for the record, what I have created here, you, too, can create!  It will just look slightly different than mine (unless you happened to hoard the same goodies that I did!).  So no discouragement please--just get out your stuff and create!

An Advent Tree!

Many of you know that I have recently become a lonely grammy--my grandsons have moved from California (my home) to Maryland!  So here is how I will connect with them this holiday season.

I took retired Under the Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper (extra thick cardstock) and used the Box Punch Board to make 26 of the smallest (1.75" x 1.75" x 1.75") boxes.  And I used the retired Metro Type Alphabet to stamp the numbers.

Each number was punched with the 1-3/8" circle punch and mounted on a Metallic Foil Doily (I used gold--and these are still available from the Annual Catalog) or a Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Early Espresso or Crumb Cake scalloped circle (punch also current).  Then I hot-glued my boxes into the shape of a tree.

The star on top is Gold Foil Sheets cut with Star Framelits (all current)--five of them scored in the middle and adhered over a skewer which is pushed into the top box.  And then some Cherry Cobbler Organdy Ribbon (retired - oh darn) is tied in a big bow.  Each box opens to reveal a small treat. 

Well that's it for me!  Thanks so much for dropping by; come back again soon.  And now on to see what the incredibly creative Marsha Reed has to offer!