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! 

The Wacky Watercooler Gang Celebrates the New Catalogs

Yes, it's time for another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop, and you know what that means - 15 blogs celebrating the beautiful new Stampin' UP! catalogs--the Annual Catalog and the newer Holiday Catalog.  Our blog hop is circuler--jump on anywhere and click the "next" or "previous" buttons until you've made it all the way around.  If you've just joined me from Kathe's blog, I'm sure you were wowed by her creations!  She always does such great work!

Our challenge this month is to create three samples using new items from our catalogs.  And I had such fun!  I decided to focus on the new Holiday Catalog, and I have one project for each holiday.

What's first?  Why Halloween, of course!

I made a double-sided carrier for my mini-coffee cups.  The Howl-o-ween Treat stamp set with matching Boo to You Framelits Dies were irresistible to me and I couldn't wait to play with them.

I started with two pieces of 5" x 5" Basic Black Card Stock, scored at 1-1/2" on all four sides to create two little boxes.  I stuck them together with a "handle" in the middle, and covered it all with Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper (did you catch the bats design in the paper?  <love>).  Then I used nearly every stamp and framelit in the set to decorate my carrier and cups.

My cups were covered with the DSP and I even used the framelits to cut Black Glimmer Paper (fabulous!!!) embellishments.  Don't miss the little spiders on the stir sticks!  I even had to add pieces of Spider Web Doilies to the tops of the cups.  Such fun!

Then it was time to think about Thanksgiving:

I love fall and all the beautiful, vibrant, rich colors.  So I played with the fabulous Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, using ink pads to color the actual folder.  After inserting my Whisper White Card Stock into the folder, I ran it through my Big Shot, leaving white birch trees with a rich, colorful background.

This card needs little embellishing, so I just stamped the sentiment from Among the Branches using three ink colors, Crushed Curry, Mossy Meadow and Tangelo Twist:

It was punched using the 2" Circle Punch and layered over a strip of Burlap Ribbon (still one of my favorites!).  I also stamped and fussy-cut a bunch of the little leaves, popping two of them up on pieces of Dimensionals around the sentiment; the rest are gathered underneath.

And finally, Christmas:

Now this card is very hard to photograph.  I wish you could see it in person.  It's a double-fold card, with a base of Mossy Meadow, just 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" and not folded.

Next comes a piece of Season of Cheer Designer Series Paper.  This piece is 5-1/4" x 8", folded in half and looking like a traditional card, but attached to the Mossy Meadow base.  I cut an oval in the front, using Oval Framelits.

Here's the special part of this card - inside is a piece of 5" x 7-1/2" Whisper White Card Stock.  This piece is folded in half like a card, but mounted backwards, inside the card.  On the front is a gold ornament; I used Gold Foil Sheets and cut three of the ornaments using the Delicate Ornaments Thinlits Dies.  After embossing them with the Zig Zag Embossing Folder I scored each one down the center, then attached them back to back to create a 3-D ornament.

It actually pops through the oval on the front of the card, yet can fold flat for mailing.

Now opening this layer gives you the full effect:

The holly leaves and sentiment from Embellished Ornaments are stamped on the inside (the holly was embossed with Black Embossing Powder and colored with Stampin' Write Markers), making a very special Christmas card for a very special someone.

And I don't want to forget the sensational Expressions Natural Elements on the front:

I "pounced" Versamark ink all over the element, then heat embossed it using Gold Embossing Powder.   The process was repeated twice, resulting in a very shiny embellishment.  I used the wonderful new Fine Tip Glue Pen to adhere it permanently to the front of my card.  


Well that's it for me!  Thanks so much for visiting; I'll have a video on how to make this double-fold card next week, so please come back.

And now go see what Heidi has in store!  She is our fearless leader and always has the best projects!  Thanks for stopping by!

Spoiler Alert! Sneak Peek!

If you love to get your new Stampin' UP! catalogs and sneak off by yourself to squeal with delight, you may want to skip this post.  I have a sneak peek for you today.

So if you want to wait to get your very own Holiday Catalog in your hands before seeing anything that's in it, leave now...















OK, fair warning:

There are two new items on this card; can you spot them?

First, of course, is the "moon".  This great little set, Among the Branches, is going to be used again and again, starting with Halloween.  I masked a 2" circle with a post-it note, and liberally sponged a Halloween sky using Crushed Curry, Tangelo Twist, Real Red, Island Indigo, Elegant Eggplant and Night of Navy inks.  Once done, I removed the mask and stamped the "spooky" moon in Crushed Curry.

But, wait for it:

Do you see those trees?  Those are actually cut out with some fabulous new Edgelits!  Sleigh Ride features three edgelits  that actually cut the edge of your paper, leaving little scenes that can be added to your creations.  I used the trees, but there are houses and a sleigh ride (horse and sleigh) too.  Eek!  This gives all new dimension to your cards!

Watch for more sneak peeks, coming soon.  My pre-pre order (that which I was lucky to be able to purchase at Convention) has arrived, and I ordered from the new catalog today, so more to come.  I just can't wait to get into my new box of goodies!

Need a Holiday Catalog?  My customers get a free copy; watch for it soon.  Not a customer?  Contact me to arrange delivery of your very own copy.

Great stuff to come!