The Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop--What We Love About the New Holiday Catalog

Yes it's time once again for another Watercooler Blog Hop, and this time we'll show our new Holiday Catalog a little love.  Whether you've hopped on here, or come from Marie's fabulous page (weren't her ideas over-the-top wonderful?), I hope you'll enjoy our creations and get some inspiration for your holiday projects.  There are nine stops on this tour; just click on the buttons below to move along.

We have been asked to prepare three items featuring our favorite products from the Holiday Catalog, and I had a hard time choosing.  So I just started creating, and ended up picking three of my creations to share with you.  I hope you like them.

Let's start with Halloween and a double Z-fold card:

Oh my what a fun time I had creating this beauty!  I love Halloween and I especially LOVE creating spooky sky images.  So this card was right up my alley...

Featuring Spooky Fun, I used almost every stamp, and then I used almost every framelit in the Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies.  Look what happens when I open up the card:

I sponged the sky on three panels of Whisper White card stock, then added the die cut trees.

The fence was cut and added to the border, and I created my own phrase using the Labeler Alphabet stamp set.

My only problem was that my Halloween phrase was longer than my card (insert frowny face), but that didn't stop me--I just added another fold-out extension, and kept on going.  My my, I really love this card!

Let's move on to something more sedate.  I couldn't wait to play with the White Gift Boxes.  Is there anyone else like me who just can't resist a good gift box?  And these are perfect--3" x 3" x 3", and include an acetate sleeve to slide over the box; take a look:

Did I mention these are white?  Because of the "food-safe" quality, they are slightly waxy on the outside, so stamping on them would prove challenging.  But no problem for me--I just covered them with another fantastic product from the holiday catalog--Presents and Pinecones Designer Series Paper!

2-3/4" squares for all sides made these boxes so pretty.  And I added a little trim from the Flourish Thinlits dies and some Cherry Cobbler card stock.  Then I slipped on the sleeve and tied it all up with yet another wonderful new item--Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine.  It has red metallic thread that is so sparkly!

And see that tag?  Oh my my...another favorite new thing--the Merriest Wishes stamp set with matching Merry Tags Framelits Dies.  But with a twist--this tag is supposed to have a cut out tree; instead, I saved the pieces from the cut out, and glued them together to make a tree.  Such fun!

And I topped it off with a tassel from the Tin of Tags Project Kit--just an extra piece of fun to make your packaging special!

OK, OK, now to my very favorite project--I fell in love with the Detailed Santa Thinlits Dies when I first laid eyes on them.  HAD. TO. HAVE. THEM!  But all the cards I started making with them looked similar, until...

BOOM!  I filled in the cut out face and head with Blushing Bride and Real Red pieces, and suddenly my Santa came alive!  And I put him on a Window Sheet, so you can see through to the inside of the card.

Ain't I clever?

Oh, I'm in love...

Well that's it for me.  I'll have details for each project over the next week, so be sure to pop back in starting Sunday.

And now off you go to Christine's blog, where you are sure to find more creative inspiration!  I love her work.  Thanks for stopping by!

New Video - Pouncing with Plastic Wrap

You may remember this card, one which was entered into the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge (and I was so excited to have my card picked as a winner!):

 I originally had another idea, so I decided to remake my card and experiment with the background, using a technique that is an oldie, but goody.    It came out so nice that I used it in my Card Club this month...everyone loved the background and I heard, "I see a video coming..."

So naturally I couldn't disappoint anyone.  Here's my second attempt at this card, changing up the background and showing you this great technique:  Pouncing with Plastic Wrap!



 I hope you'll give it a try!

Easy Thanks

Want to know how to create a beautiful card in minutes?

Sometimes we just don't have time to sit and create a card.  Well here's a wonderful product that will help you finish a card in no time flat:

The beautiful Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack has 48 sheets of gorgeous 6" x 6" paper just ready for your stamps.  One side has pretty patterns, and the other side has photos, like this beautiful seashore.

Just use your stamps (here I used Wetlands) and a sentiment (Floral Phrases), cut to size, add to a piece of cardstock (I used Whisper White Thick), and you're done!  Presto!

I've done a few other cards with this paper stack;  see them here and here.

And get yours here!

Here's a video from Stampin' UP! showing off this wonderful paper:

Special Offers Week 2

Week 2 - September 8-14

 
Don't forget about the Special Offers that Stampin' UP! has going on right now. 


We're in Week 2, and there are some wonderful bargains on brand new products.  Take a look:

All items can be ordered here.

One More Slider Card

If you saw my last post (here),  you saw my slider card for my grandson, Ethan.  His younger brother, Jacob, has to have everything Ethan has, so of course I couldn't make one a card and not have one for the other.

So...here is Jacob's card:

I L.O.V.E. the Shooting Star stamp set with the matching Sliding Star Framelits!  So much fun to make interactive cards that move.

Today's card is a bee hive, with momma bee circling the hive and baby bees flying around.

The card is So Saffron, 5" x 5", with a layer of So Saffron (embossed with the retired Hexagon embossing folder) on top.  Between the layers is a piece of Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack in So Saffron.

The hive was stamped on So Saffron with So Saffron ink.  The bees were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with So Saffron and Basic Black markers.  All were cut out using the framelits.  I also cut a Whisper White scalloped circle, using the Layering Circles Framelits - love those!

 A Subtles Enamel Shape was added to the sentiment.

Jacob is my sweet honeybee...such a cutie!  I know he'll have fun spinning his bee around the hive.

All products can be purchased here. 

Shooting Star

Many of you know that I've just returned from a trip to the East Coast to visit my grandchildren.  Ethan and Jacob now have a new baby sister.  I had such a good time with the boys while we waited for the new little one to come along, and Ethan told me he wanted to build rocket ships when he grows up.  So naturally I had to make something for him:

This new set, Shooting Star, with the matching Sliding Star Framelits Dies, is sensational!  The framelits help you make slider cards--interactive cards that move.

Ethan and I played with paper airplanes, and this set has one!  So fun!  I stamped the earth, shooting stars and plane using Night of Navy ink on Whisper White card stock.  The framelits make it easy to cut them all out.  The moon was stamped in So Saffron, on So Saffron card stock, and also cut with the framelits.

Then it's time to put it all together...easy peasy!  The base is Night of Navy, and there is a top layer of Night of Navy that has the slider "track" cut out (using the framelits).

You can see the pennies I used to help the plane slide--one penny below the track, one penny on the back of the plane, and held together with a Dimensional.  As the card is moved, the plane can spin or move along the track all the way to the moon!

Stars were stamped in retired Silver ink, and I added some of the new Metallic Enamel Shapes--silver stars to the background and the sentiment banner.

Shoot for the moon, Ethan!

Products can be purchased here. 

Transitioning to Fall

It's time.
Time to start the annual transition to autumn; autumn colors, autumn leaves, and grateful sentiments.

Here's my first card for the season:

Copper is a new Stampin' UP! color this year.  And I'm lovin' it!  I wanted to highlight the new Copper Foil Sheets, so I decided to play along with the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  (see it here)

The challenge was to play Tic Tac Toe:



And I decided to run straight across the bottom:  Copper, Banner and Die Cut.

So I started with the leaves.  Vintage Leaves is a great autumn set, and has matching Leaflets Framelits dies.  I pulled out an old technique - Saran Wrap Pouncing (at least that's what I call it) to create a sheet of fall colors.  Using Very Vanilla card stock, I scrunched up a piece of Saran Wrap, mashed it into my Crushed Curry ink pad, and pounced on the paper.  I repeated it with Cajun Craze and Old Olive inks.  Once done, I stamped my leaves in Versamark and embossed them with new Copper Embossing Powder.  Pretty!

I cut an oval with the Layering Oval Framelits and the Copper Foil, and layered my leaves over it (two are popped up with Dimensionals).  A Mini Pinecone (so cute!) was threaded onto two strands of Linen Thread, which was tied into a bow and added with a Mini Glue Dot.

I

The sentiment from Thankful Thoughts was stamped in Versamark on Early Espresso and also embossed with Copper.

The card base is Early Espresso, and the Very Vanilla layer was stamped with Hardwood in Early Espresso ink, then heavily sponged with Early Espresso.

OK, autumn--I'm ready for you!

All products can be purchased here.