Another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop

This month the Wacky Watercooler gang is hosting a "Best Of" blog hop.  You may have just arrived from Deborah's blog--isn't she a genius?  We've each created three samples highlighting the Best of new products, the Best of retired products and the Best CASE (we were all assigned another Wacky Watercooler member and asked to copy one of their previous projects--what fun!).  As always, our "hop" is a circle; click on the links below to take you to the next or the previous blog.  Thanks for peeking in on my site, and enjoy the hop!

I'll start with my Best CASE.  I was lucky to pull Jean Fitch's name.  For those of you who don't know Jean, she is a much-loved Stampin' UP demonstrator (even winning the Heart of Stampin' UP! award) who spends countless hours helping other demonstrators.  So it was my honor to CASE her.  Researching her previous projects I found one I really liked for this time of year:




And here's my version:

I loved how she used the Little Letters framelits dies to spell words, and shaped it like a Christmas tree.  So I made an actual "tree" (which is popped up over my Night of Navy background).  I used the beautiful All is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper for both the tree and the background.  Lining up the letters is easy using the Magnetic Platform for my Big Shot.  And I finished it off with Silver Foil and Silver and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper stars.  Thanks, Jean!  I enjoyed the challenge!

Next up:  Best of New Stampin' UP! products.

Who doesn't love stars for Christmas?  The new Bright and Beautiful set just begs for heat embossing!  I used Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder on Very Vanilla, and Gold Embossing Powder on Early Espresso (small star) and for the banner greeting.  I love the look!  And the matching Star Framelits make this so easy!

Here's the full card:

Who would think to use brown and red for Christmas?  But isn't it just perfect? The Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Cherry Cobbler 1" Sheer Linen Ribbon and Gold Sequin Trim help finish my card.

Now for my retired products.  Oh my...I had trouble choosing what to use!  So I used it all (well, hardly, but there are a LOT of retired products on--and in--my project):

 

The Fancy Favor Box die was first; I made a Real Red box.  Then I added the white scalloped trim, using my Tasteful Trims die.  On this side, I used the Ornament Punch, for Santa's beard, Blush Blossom cardstock for his face, and an old Real Red Polka Dot brad.

One side holds a tag, with the retired Merry Mini's punch pack, and some really old red/white checked ribbon.  The Silver Glimmer star on the back is from a retired Star punch, and the Garden Green star uses old DSP.  The red/white polka dot panels are also from retired paper packs, and the red brad is no longer available.

OK, gimme a break--I broke down and used the Festival of Trees and Tree punch for the last side, but then I stuffed my box with old Stampin' UP! fabric.

A true "oldy but goody" don't you think? 

What do you do with your old products?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know?  (I have tons more to use, and really need some suggestions!)

I hope you enjoyed my projects and have a wonderful holiday season.  Now it's time to move on; go visit Marie and see what she has created.  Thanks for stopping by!

Another Christmas Card (and some exciting news!)

I just got home from a special night.  Stampin' UP! held a very fun "new catalog reveal" party.  They live-streamed the actual event from Columbus, Ohio, but I got to sit with my friends in a theater here in California.  They actually rent out movie theaters all over the US and Canada, and 300 demonstrators attend in each location!  Woo hoo!  The new Occasions catalog is fantastic--I want it all!  And along with it is the new Sale-a-Bration (can you say FREE?) catalog...all the excitement starts January 6th (but I get to pre-order starting on Friday...another woo hoo!).  So watch for more information coming very soon.

In the meantime, I'll share another card that I created for my Only Christmas Cards class:

I love this card.  It starts with Postcard, stamped in Mossy Meadow on Very Vanilla.  The edges are sponged with Soft Suede.  Merry Christmas (from Good Greetings) was added.  This is mounted to a piece of Cherry Cobbler, and then to a Mossy Meadow card base.

The tree from Festival of Trees was stamped using Mossy Meadow, and without re-inking, was stamped twice on the front of the postcard.  The decorations were stamped in Versamark and heat-embossed with Gold Embossing Powder.  Then the tree was punched, using the Tree Punch and popped up with Dimensionals.  Finally a Gold Foil Sheet star was placed atop the tree.

The stamp from Postage Due was stamped in Mossy Meadow, punched with the Postage Stamp punch and sponged with Soft Suede.  And a bow of Burlap Ribbon threads was adhered with a Glue Dot.

Looks festive and vintage-y, yes?

All products can be ordered here.

What have you created today?

September Card Club Samples

These were cards made at our September Card Club classes:

We started with a skinny card, using the new For All Things stamp set from the Holiday Catalog.  The Crumb Cake base was stamped with the big leaf from the set, using Versamark ink.  The edges were sponged heavily with Soft Suede ink.  We tore the Naturals Ivory square to fit, and sponged the edges with Hello Honey ink.  The square was stamped, also using Hello Honey, and the leaves were added with Mossy Meadow ink.

A strip of Burlap Ribbon, Newsprint Designer Series Paper and Mossy Meadow Stitched Satin ribbon add texture; a Gold Basic Metal Button, threaded with a little bow made from the burlap ribbon is stuck on with a Mini Glue Dot, and the sentiment was stamped on a skinny strip and adhered with a Dimensional.

Next up, Bonnie's card:

An elegant Christmas card, using Bright and Beautiful, and the Star Framelits.  The smaller star was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Gold embossing powder; the Very Vanilla layer was stamped with the greeting and we used the larger Star Framelit to cut the star shape--when this piece is layered over Cherry Cobbler, the star is prominent.  Our gold-embossed star is added with Dimensionals,and we topped it off with Gold 1/8" ribbon and a Rhinestone Basic Jewel (colored with Blendabilities). 

Another Christmas Card, using non-Christmas colors:

The Lost Lagoon card base was embossed with the new Filigree Frame Textured Embossing Folder.  A piece of All is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper is anchored in the center.  Silver Glimmer Paper was cut using the Starburst Framelits, and a tag of Pear Pizzazz was cut using Chalk Talk Framelits.  The tree baubles were first embossed with Silver Embossing Powder, and then over-stamped with Lost Lagoon ink and the Festival of Trees stamp set; this was punched with the matching Tree punch.  Pretty!

And finally:

Tani contributed this cute card, featuring the Fun Fall Framelits dies, the Party Pennants Bigz die and some Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper. 

What a fun month of cards!

All supplies can be purchased here.

And let's get creating!

Starting the Holiday Catalog Parade

Are you ready?  The new Holiday Catalog is live and I've been playing with my new toys.  Ready for some samples?

First up:  Festival of Trees
This set is bound to be a winner.  The variety of trees is super, and the accessories (to decorate them) are fun!  And with the matching punch, I know you'll enjoy this set!  So easy to create. 

So here are two samples using different techniques:

 

Look how cute!  I started with s base of Whisper White, but covered the entire front with a piece of Soft Sky which had been run through the Big Shot with the new Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (and punched with the large oval punch).  I then made hills with Pear Pizzazz and the beautiful new All is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper. 

To make the trees, I laid the All is Calm Designer Washi Tape on Whisper White card stock and punched with the Tree Punch.  A trunk of Chocolate Chip cardstock was adhered, and my trees were popped up with Dimensionals.  So sweet.

Inside I used the plain tree, inked in Pear Pizzazz and Chocolate Chip and stamped off once; then the words were done with Basic Grey ink. 

Card number 2 is completely different:

Same stamp set (Festival of Trees, although the sentiment comes from Holiday Home).  This beautiful tree was stamped in Mossy Meadow; I used a Blender Pen to remove the ink on the trunk, and colored it with Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker.  So pretty!

I used our Kraft cardstock, embossed with the Woodgrain Embossing folder and inked lightly with Soft Suede.  Oval framelits cut a nice oval in the Kraft; I also made a frame with Mossy Meadow and adhered it around the oval hole.  This was placed over the tree image, then added to a layer of Cherry Cobbler and a Mossy Meadow base. 

Mossy Meadow Stitched Satin Ribbon and a popped up sentiment complete the card.

All supplies can be purchased here.
Need a Holiday Catalog?  Contact me and one will be on it's way.  Or check it out by clicking the link in the sidebar to the right. 

And let's get creating!