Here we are with a new year and a new Occasions Catalog along with Sale a Bration.  Now that most of the painting is done and the floors are almost finished, I need to go into what was once my craft room which is now a temporary store room while all the work is being done. I managed to climb over a few things and find my boxes of pre ordered goodies, which hadn't even been opened yet, to create my contributions to this hop. Our circular order allows you to come 2 ways to each blog. If you started at the beginning you are coming from Priscilla's blog. Once again she has added to my CASE list. If you came from the other direction, you arrived from Jean's blog. It is so nice to have her back in the "loop" again. I love her creativity.

My first project uses the first item I ordered during pre order time. It is the beautiful Mediterranean Moments set. Both of my projects use the Watercolor Pencils for coloring. I have been hoping for a long time that they would bring them back. I kept the old ones so I have a few other colors as well.

The card base is Pacific Point, layered with Melon Mambo and Hello Honey. I used Timeless Textures and Hello Honey ink on the Hello Honey layer. Linen thread added the embellishment for this card. Italy is definitely on my bucket list.

My next project is my favorite from the Sale a Brations catalog. Hey, Chick. Such a cute set. This made a perfect birthday card for my sister though it will be a little late.

The base card is made with Whisper White Thick CS. The front layers are Melon Mambo, Festive Birthday DSP and Tempting Turquoise along with a touch of Hello Honey. I used the Layered Circles dies for my die cuts. On the inside I used Tempting Turquoise, more of the Festive Birthday DSP and some Washi Tape from the Affectionately Yours collection. The Large Polka Dot EF added the texture that I wanted. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards. It was so nice to be able to open those boxes and play. Now I'm fired up for the next hop in about 2 weeks. 

To see what Jean has created for us, click the next button. 

                                                                           
Welcome to another Watercooler Blog Hop.  Can you believe that we are only weeks away from Christmas?  This year seems to have flown by for me.  As always the hop runs in a big circle. So in this hop if you are coming from the beginning you arrived at my blog from Jean Fitch's blog.  Didn't she have some awesome projects?

My first item is made using the Baker's Box Die.  I wanted it to resemble a gingerbread house so chose to use the Kraft CS for the box.  I stamped snowflakes using the stamps from the Merriest Wishes and Peaceful Pines. The little houses were cut from the Candy Cane Lane DSP and mounted with Dimensionals. I used torn WW card stock for the snow on the ground. The roof is cut from Candy Cane Lane DSP. I used my 1/2" circle punch to cut the candies on the roof. The box is tied with the Real Red 3/4" stitched edge ribbon.

Next,  I made an ornament from the Starlight Thinlits .  I wanted something different than the stacked method I have used in the past with snowflakes.  There are 4 Gold Glimmer large stars and 4 Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper smaller stars. I creased the gold ones and glued the edges together and then adhered the white ones just on the sides. I left the tails long on the gold cord to give the allusion of rays. I am going to try doing this again using only 3 of each star as this one was very hard to line up.  

My last project is a card using WW, Silver Foil paper, and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper.  I used Seasonal Bells stamp set,  Father Christmas (holly branch) and a section of Merry Medley stamp all stamped using Silver embossing powder. All elements were mounted with dimensionals.  Silver cord doubled finished off the design.

I hope you enjoyed my contributions to this hop. I am the last in the lineup so if you wish to go through again you can either use the Back button or use the Home button to begin again.

It's time again for another Blog Hop. I had fully intended to have everything done last week before my daughter and son in law arrived for a visit this week. Well, that was not to be and though all the thoughts of what to do were racing around in my head, they didn't get done last week...  I can't believe I did this in one day, but it will not be a habit.

As always the hop moves in a circular fashion and if you started from Home, you arrived here from Penny's blog.  Penny is so talented. I always love her creations.

My first card is an attempt at an Aurora Borealis card.   I played with the technique a couple of times and came up with this base done on WW Thick CS.  The beautiful Starlight Thinlits helped me create the Christmas star from Gold Foil, White Glimmer and Gold Glimmer papers.  I added the swoosh of stars behind it by using Gold EP. More stars were created using my retired white gel pen and enhanced with Wink of Stella. I also used gold Wink of Stella on the swoosh. The sentiment is from the Star of Light stamp set.

Card #2 uses the Beautiful Branches die set. The tree is cut from Copper Foil as is the top layer of leaves. The under layer of leaves is cut from Gold Foil.  I embossed the grass and sentiment with Copper EP.  The fold of the card is enhanced with Copper Thread. The base of the card is Basic Black CS.

Project 3 is a little set of cards made from the Merry Mice set. The card base is made from WW thick CS. The next layer uses Real Red CS run through the Cable Knit dynamic EF.  After watercoloring the images on White Shimmer paper, I tore around them and mounted them using dimensionals.  Then I stamped the envelope with another stamp from the set.  I created a box for the cards and envelopes using Real Red CS,  Candy Cane Lane DSP and Real Red Stitched Edge Ribbon made into a belly band. 

I hope you enjoyed my contributions to this hop. Now your next stop is with Libby.  You will love what you see there.

Wowza, where did the summer go. Our family has been so busy that I haven't been able to join a hop for awhile. We made a family trip to Hawaii, I have a new puppy, and my husband is running for NH State Senate and he is also getting ready to retire from the airlines in February. We also finally finished remodeling the kitchen though I have a little painting yet to do. There has literally been no time to play and when the list came up to join, my daughter said I had to do this one since I had all this new stuff from the Holiday Catalog that hadn't even come out of the box yet. 

This hop is about some of our favorite things from the Holiday catalog. I personally love everything in it, but must practice some constraint in my purchases. (Sure!)

All of our blogs run in a continuous circle. You can start at any point in the lineup and still see the whole hop. In this lineup, I appear at the top of the list, but maybe you started at the bottom and I am the last on your list. Whichever way you start, enjoy the creations we have made from the Holiday Catalog.

My first card is one of my very favorite genres. I love vintage and when I saw Father Christmas, I knew I had to have it.  This card is made with Crumb Cake CS as its base. One of the papers from the Candy Lane DSP is the first layer, which I distressed with scissors and ink. Next I stamped the "frame" pieces and fussy cut and inked them to look vintage. Father Christmas was stamped on Shimmery White and colored using marker and blender pen and fussy cut as well. I used Dimensionals to give the card texture.

My next card uses a very versatile stamp set, Glamper Greetings.  I had a hard time deciding which direction I wanted to go. Whether Christmas, Fall, or a Project Life page. I finally decided on  Christmas. I stamped the cute little camper on Whisper White using Versamark and Silver EP.  To achieve the Christmas lights I colored some now retired Dazzling Details in the clear with re inker and a toothpick to put it on. My trees are from Peaceful Pines and utilizes the Perfect Pines Thinlits.  I used the also now retired white gel pen to add snow to the trees. The stars are stamped in gold and the sentiment with Whisper White Craft Ink. Now being the proud owners of a much larger "camper" I absolutely love the little saying "Home is where you park it" because our camper will now be home for part of the year. 

Every year I try to do a new nativity scene. This one I put in an 8x8 shadow box frame.  The Starlight Thinlits die was used to make the Christmas star. I used the Confetti Stars border punch to get all the smaller stars and adhered them with Fine Tip glue pen. The nativity, town and angel were stamped using Joyful Nativity. I used Versa Mark and Gold EP. Each piece (except the little stars) was adhered using Dimensionals and the new Adhesive Foam Strips to add dimension to the scene.

I hope you have enjoyed my creations and if you are going forward you will go "Next" to Gail's blog. She has some wonderful projects for you to see.

Today is St Patrick's Day and the first day of our March Madness Blog Hop.  For this hop we are doing  Fancy Folds, Distinctive Styles. 

The hops run in a circle and if you started at the beginning with Jackie,  then you have reached the last blog in the hop.  If you started with mine then I welcome you to the hop. 

You arrived at my blog from Marie's blog.  Aren't her projects wonderful? 

My first project is a very simple fold. I started with a 5 1/2 x 12 piece of Bermuda Bay CS. I scored it at 4", 8" and 10".  The face pieces were cut at 5 1/2 x 4 1/4  and 2 x 5 1/2 from WW CS and then torn to leave a border peeking out. I used the In the Meadow stamp set from the occasions catalog to create my scene.  I did not put a sentiment on this card, but one could easily be put in the fold behind the deer.

My next project is a perfect card for a guy. This card measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2.  I used Going Places DSP.  The sheets I used were the same design but different colors.  The top piece I cut from one side to the middle and folded the pieces back to expose the design on the back which happened to be compasses.  Then I took a piece of the same CS as the base of Sahara Sand, ran it through the World Traveler EF and used black ink to emphasize the embossing.  I adhered this to the middle of the front. I used the banner from Number of Years framelits and gold embossed Happy Birthday on it.

Next is my gender neutral, age neutral Birthday card.  This gate fold card was cut from Basic Black CS and scored at  2 3/4 and 8 1/4. Then I angle cut the gate.  I love the It's My Party Paper Stack in the Occasions Catalog.  Once again I used opposite papers of the same design for my layers.  All of the balloons were punched using the Balloon Bouquet punch in colors that coordinated with the colors in the paper. Dazzling Details glitter glue accented them. I also used Sprinkles of Life and Tree Builder punch,  Cupcake Party and Cupcake Builder punch, and Happy Birthday from Perfect Pairings SAB set. I tied the card closed with Hello Honey bakers twine that is no longer available. It was sold as a kit with buttons.  I could have used Pacific Point or Melon Mambo 3/8" Stitched Satin ribbon  or some of the 1/4" Cotton ribbon in a coordinating color. (I didn't have any so dipped into my stash)

I hope you have enjoyed my creations.  I certainly had fun making them.  If you want to start over or go back the following buttons will help you do that.

Retired Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets

                                             
I have many retired stamps for sale. I will soon post the list here with prices. I accept PayPal or personal checks or money orders. If you pay by check or money order I will ship as soon I get the check or money order.

Shipping will be by regular mail or Flat Rate at your request.

Watch for the list.

Another month, another blog hop. Though my craft room is a shambles while I reorganize, get rid of things I no longer use and try to sell retired stamp sets, I found 2 patches about 12" square to work on these projects. I have to admit the flowers were formed and assembled while I watched The Bachelor on Monday night. One of my silly vices.

This blog hop concentrates on the Occasions Catalog and Sale a Bration, but can have some of Annual Catalog as well.  The majority of items in my projects come from the Occasions Catalog. I hope you enjoy them.

You arrived at my blog from Marsha's blog. I so enjoy her projects, she is a very talented lady.

The first project is a card for a special friend. I used the Rose Garden Thinlits Die and one of the sentiments from the Rose Wonder stamp set. After die cutting the large rose in Wisteria Wonder I made the decision that I couldn't waste all those inner pieces so after edging the outline and the inner pieces in Eggplant envy I glued down the rose "frame" and then added the pieces back in. I crimped and pinched those pieces to give them dimension. I then die cut the leaves in Mint Macaron and edged them in Mossy Meadow and glued them down with the Detailed Glue pen.  Wink of Stella is my new favorite product and I used it on each of my projects somewhere, though the photographs don't really pick it up. On this card it is used on all the elements. The base card is Smokey Slate and the layer is from the Sale a Bration flyer, Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum Stack.

My next project is based on  a sketch I found.  Since I needed a masculine card I chose the Going Places DSP stack. The base card is black and black was used as the mats for the smaller layers. I used the globe stamp from the Going Global stamp set, though I struggled with using it or the compass in the set. I matted it on a 2 1/2 inch circle. The gold around it is Wink of Stella. I finished off the embellishing with the Gold Thread.

Project 3 is something I really love doing. Altered art. This project is an altered cigar box.  This particular box is one of the heavy cardboard variety though I have also done wood ones.  I covered this box using the Birthday Bouquet DSP both inside and out.  Mossy Meadow was used to do all the edging. "The Bachelor" flowers on the top of the box were punched from watercolor paper I had washed using Watermelon Wonder ink. The flower centers were die cut using the Botanical Builder Framelits. The leaves were stamped using the Rose Wonder Stamp set and the Rose Garden Thinlits die. I had color washed water color paper with Mossy Meadow, stamped on them and edged them with the same ink. I love manipulating paper to see how realistic I can make the flowers and leaves look.  Pool Party CS was used to punch the Petite Petals for accent. I added Venetian Crochet trim around the side of the box, an Antique Brad, and ribbon and pearls from the Love Blossoms Embellishment kit to finish it off. Oh, I almost forgot... "The Bachlor" flowers, leaves, and small blue flowers are all covered with clear Wink of Stella.

I hope you enjoyed my projects.  Your next stop will be to Leanne's blog where there are some wonderful things awaiting you.

 

Welcome to the second Wacky Watercooler Mini Hop for January. We are once again showing off product from the 2016 Occasions catalog,  Handmade from the Heart and the Sale a Bration catalog. I love Sale a Bration because I can earn free product with every $50 I spend. Being one of those people who "need" everything my pocket book is groaning, but I have some great free products now in my stash.

As always the hop moves in a circle so you can go forward or backward. If you are moving forward you arrived at my blog from Buffy's blog. She never ceases to have wonderful projects to share. Sometimes we even get to see that little cutie pie, Amelia. If you are moving backwards you came from Heidi's blog. She is a masterful artist with paper and ink.

Now for my contributions.

I figured since the next hop would be after St. Valentine's Day, that I would do a valentine. This will be going to my husband (shhhh, he hasn't seen it yet). Since I am a vintage girl, it is vintage style and all its parts are from the Occasions catalog. The base card is Blushing Bride CS with papers from the Love Blossoms DSP stack and embellishments from the Love Blossoms Embellishment kit. I used the Bloomin' Hearts Thinlit die to cut the heart from Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper. My heart appears backwards from the image in the catalog because I had better luck cutting from the backside than front the front. I used the new Big Shot die brush to help remove all the "hanging chads". Wow, no more poking with something sharp. The flowers added to the heart are from the same thinlit  package cut from Rose Red CS. The Bloomin' Love stamp set provided the banner and Love You. I hand cut the banner though I could have used the Large Numbers framelit die to cut it. I used a little clear Wink of Stella glitter brush to add some shine to the little flowers.

                                                                           

My second card is for my husbands birthday, which also falls this next month. He loves flying and since that has been his career I thought this stamp set, Sky is the Limit was the perfect choice. This is one of the free items available from Sale a Bration, but it is a Limited Time offering and is available only until February 15.  The card base is Crumb Cake and the papers are from the Sale a Bration Perfectly Artistic DSP (also Limited Time). I know it is hard to see because of the distressing and sponging that I did. I stamped the plane and smoke trail using Early Espresso ink and hand cut them. A little Wink of Stella added the shine to the prop movement and the smoke trail as well as brushing some on the sky. The Lots of Labels Framelits provided the label to stamp the sentiments and I added Antique Brads and Linen Thread to complete the look.

I hope you have enjoyed my creations today, but there is more to come from the next hopper, Heidi. You will love her work.