November Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop - Celebrates Christmas

This is the last blog hop of the season at the Wacky Watercooler, so I hope you will enjoy the delightful projects our Design Team has in store for you. We have 10 members participating in this hop  and each member is contributing three wonderful Christmas themed projects to get you in the mood to stamp and create.  So grab a cup of your favourite beverage and relax for a while and enjoy! 

The Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop works on a circular basis so you can start at the beginning or in the middle or at the end, and still work your way through all the participants just by clicking on the "next symbol" at the end of my post.  If you've arrived here from the wonderful Marsha Reed's blog

Project One:  Simple Gift Card Holders

I like to give gift cards at Christmas since it's sometimes difficult to get together with my friends and family who live far away.  So I need a cute gift card  holder that is both easy and economical to mail and very quick to make. I discovered this pattern which I've CASED on Lynn Ellis' blog earlier this summer, and decided to recreate it for you here.  The beauty of this pattern is it can be used for any season and can be as plain or dressed up as you want it.  And finally, these gift card holders are perfect for selling at craft fairs and usually sell off very quickly.

Simple Gift Card Holder Instructions:
Supplies:
Stamps: Merry Mice

Card Stock:  Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Watercolour Paper
DSP:  This Christmas DSP
Ink:  Archival Basic Black or Cherry Cobbler 
Markers:  Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Crushed Curry, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Big Shot, Trimmer, 1 3/8" 1 3/4" and 2" circle punches, Dimensionals, Tear and Tape, Basic Rhinestones, Snowflake Embellishments (R)


1.  Cut 1 piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock 5 x 8 and score at 5 ½” and 2” and round the top corners
2.  Cut 1 piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock 8 x 1 ¼” for belly band.  Gently wrap the band around the holder and adhere the two ends with tear and tape.  You can decorate the band as much or as little as you like. 
3.  Cut 1 piece of DSP 2 3/8 x 4 7/8 round bottom corners and adhere to the front of the top panel.
4.  Cut 1 piece of DSP 1 7/8 x 4 7/8 round top corners and adhere to the front of the  bottom panel
5.  Use Tear Tape on the inside of the bottom front panel to create the holder for the gift card.  Simply place the tape along the bottom at the crease line and up the two sides of the panel.  Remove strips and press the panel against the inside of the holder.
6.  Stamp a sentiment on the inside of the front panel so that it shows when the gift card holder is opened up. 

One of the reasons I love the "This Christmas Designer Series Paper" DSP selections is this snow flake design.  The black images on the Very Vanilla paper are outstanding. 

I used an old snowflake punch I had to create a negative image and then punched it out with the 1 3/8" circle punch.  It was mounted on a 1 3/4" circle of Very Vanilla card stock, which in turn was mounted on a Basic Black circle.  The center jewel is from last year's stash and is called Winter Wonderland Embellishments.

Isn't this little mouse super cute?  I coloured his outfit with an aqua painter and ink from a variety of ink pads including:  Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Crushed Curry and Pirouette Pink.

The little belly bands only have DSP on the front panel which measures 1" by 
3 3/4". 
Project Two:  Gingerbread Rectangular Pop Up Card

I'm a great fan of Pop Up Box Cards.  These cards are so much fun to make and the recipients are always excited to receive them.  For my second project I chose a Gingerbread Man theme.

This little pop up box card is so adorable, that I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was making it.  There is very little stamping involved in this card as most of the line images come from the Candy Cane Lane DSP. So, although I'm not a huge fan of fussy cutting I didn't really mind for this project.

 

I love the way the Red Glimmer Paper added so much life to this project!  Got to love it.  I added a little bow on the candy cane.  It was punched out with the Cooking Cutter Builder Punch. 

The sentiment "Wishing You a Sweet Season" is stamped in Early Espresso ink.  I used a Red.

The Candy Cane House is from the Candy Cane Lane DSP.  I added basic rhinestones to the small candies to give it some bling.  I fussy cut the house and then adhered it to a piece of Crumb Cake and then cut it out again leaving about a 1/16th" border all around the house.  This gave it a bit more stability.

Supplies:
Stamp Set: Candy Cane Christmas

Card Stock:  Real Red and Crumb Cake
DSP:  Candy Cane Lane, Red Glimmer Paper 
Ink:  Crumb Cake and Early Espresso
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, Big Shot, Basic Rhinestones, Trimmer, Fine Tip Scissors, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue, Acetate strips, Red Sharpie Marker  

Assembly:
Since I've made the rectangle box card previously I'm not including the instructions here, but you can get by clicking on this link WWC78.  Although I'm not giving you the full instructions here are two additional pieces of information that will help you when you make one of these cards. 

Tip One:
1.  I didn't have 12 x 12 piece of Real Red card stock for this project so I had to get inventive.  I cut a 4" x 11" piece of Real Red card stock and scored it according to the instructions.  Then I cut a 1" x 4" piece of Real Red card stock and scored it at 1/2".  I used this piece to extend the 4 x 11" piece.  

Cut a strip 1" x 4" and score at 1/2"  Clip away the top box as per the picture.Add the additional strip to the end of your box.  I used Tear N' Tape to give it some additional stability when I stuck the pieces together.  

Once the piece is adhered you'll never even see it.  Voila an instant solution when you don't have the right size card stock.  

Tip Two:
The original instructions in WWC78 do not include the scoring measurements for the two support pieces of the box card. You need to score at 5/8" on both ends of the support piece.  
 
Project Three: Reindeer Games
For my third project I decided to make a card using the Reindeer from the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set.  You just have to smile when you see that cute little face. It's too bad my photography wasn't better, because this card is a real stunner!  The silver foil and silver embossing are so rich looking.

It's difficult to see in the picture, but the three Reindeer were actually stamped in Versa Mark Ink directly on the card stock and then heat embossed with Silver Embossing Powder.  A fourth reindeer was stamped on a separate piece of paper and I used the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch to punch it out. 

I stamped the sentiment "Sending a little Christmas magic your way" from the Christmas Magic stamp set.   The little stars are from a retired stamp set. 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Cookie Cutter Christmas, Christmas Magic
Ink:  Versa Mark and Momento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Silver Foil
Accessories:  Big Shot, Trimmer, Heat Gun, Silver Embossing Powder, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue, Cookie Cutter Builder Punch

I hope you've enjoyed your tour of my projects and that I've provided some stamping inspiration and excitement for you.  I'd love to have some feedback and would enjoy reading any comments you might have.  Out of my three projects which was your favourite and do you think you'll make your own versions of these projects?

Well, time to move on to the talented Heidi Weaver.  Heidi's outdone herself this hop and is giving you some extras so be sure to check out her post.  Just click on her name or the NEXT button below and you'll go directly to her post.

Heidi Weaver

Marsha Reed

Start of Hop - Wacky Watercooler
Happy Stamping!!!
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