Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #125 - Kath's Christmas Challenge

I found it ironic that this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge hosted by Kath, is a Christmas theme just when the sun has finally decided to shine and the temperature gauge is rising.  When "it's beginning to look at lot like summer" outside I find it hard to get into a creative Christmas mood but I actually did.  Kath's challenge WWC125 is all about using Non-Traditional Christmas Colors.  Here's her inspiration poster. 

Here's My Card:
The colours I chose for my card are Black, Gray and Dijon.  In my neck of the woods that's pretty non-traditional. What do you think?

I love this little Eskimo image.  It's hard to tell whether its a boy or a girl the way it's bundled up in its cute little outfit.  I stamped the image once on Very Vanilla and again on Delightful Dijon card stocks and then punched them out with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch.  I fussy cut around the Delightful Dijon jacket and shoes and then paper pieced them to the Very Vanilla image.  The rest of the Eskimo's attire and skin were coloured with markers and skin toned blendabilities.

I used my Misti to stamp the bold Christmas Banner image from the Time of Year (R) stamp set.  Because I was able to ink up the photopolymer stamp three times to achieve the contrast I wanted, the banner really pops off the page.  I created a "Midnight Sun" by layering a Basic Gray 3" Stitched Circle die cut, a Delightful Dijon medallion from the Eastern Medallion Thinlet Dies and a Basic Gray snowflake from the new Seasonal Layers Thinlet Dies.  The addition of Basic Rhinestones to the snowflake and medallion really adds some seasonal sparkle to this card face.

Inside the card I've added two of the snowflake images from the Seasonal Layer's Thinlet set and the sentiment "Let it Snow" is an A Muse Artstamp.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Cookie Cutter Christmas (R), Time of the Year (R)
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Sahara Sand, Smokey Slate, Soft Suede markers and the Skin Tone Blendabilities (R)
Card Stock:  Basic Black, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, and Delightful Dijon (R)
Designer Series Paper:  Warmth and Cheer DSP
Accessories:  Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Tom Bow Glue, Misti, Dimensionals, Cookie Cutter Builder Punch, Seasonal Layers, Eastern Medallion and Stitched Shapes Thinlets, Wink of Stella.

Well that's my take on this week's challenge. I always get such a kick out of working with the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set and punch and was delighted to find out they'd been carried over to the 2017-18 Annual Catalogue. I'd love to have your feedback on this card and whether you would use non traditional colours like this for your own cards. 

If you haven't checked out the creations by the Watercooler Wednesday Design make sure you visit the home page. And, I hope you'll join us and create something in a non-traditional Christmas colour because along with myself, the Design Team would love to have you link up with us. This challenge runs from June 28th through 5pm on Monday July 3rd, 2017.

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Watercooler Wednesday #120 - Gail's Christmas Challenge

Our new lineup of weekly challenges includes a Christmas Challenge and the talented Gail Allen is leading the first one with her WWC120 - Christmas Challenge.  Her inspiration photo is so cute, who could resist.  What fun! 

So even though it's not quite summer the Watercooler Wednesday Design Team have mustered up their Christmas Spirit and come up with some really great seasonal cards to share with you.  I know you're going to enjoy them too.   

And, hopefully you'll feel inspired too and get an early start on your seasonal cards and share your creation by linking up with us for some fun too!  This challenge is open from May 24th through 5pm Mountain Time on Monday May 29th, 2017.  

My Card:

One of my most stamped Christmas sets last year was Cookie Cutter Christmas. I absolutely adored every single image.  When I found out it was carried over into the new 2017-18 Annual Catalogue, I whooped for joy and did a happy dance!  It was like welcoming back an old friend. 

So, for this first ever Christmas Challenge at the Watercooler, it will probably come as no surprise that I chose this set and my favourite image from it for today's card.  Hope you love it as much as I do! 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Cookie Cutter Christmas #132043, Here's to Cheers (R)
Card Stock and DSP: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Crumb Cake and Warmth and Cheer DSP Stack(R)
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black ink
Accessories: Big Shot, Trimmer, Cookie Cutter Builder Punch (140396), Shaker Shapes Framelits (R), Stitched Shapes Framelits (145372, Jingle Bell (R) 

How It's Made:
Card Layers Inside and Out:  
1.  Card Base - Cherry Cobbler 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" 
2.  First Layer - Garden Green 4" x 5 1/4".  Cut out the Oval and Circle from this piece before adhering it to the card base. 
3.  Second Layer - Basic Black 3 3/4" x 5" - Cut out oval before adhering to first layer. 
4.  Third Layer - Warmth and Cheer DSP - 3 5/8" x 4 7/8" adhere to second layer.  Note:  I purchased this paper pack on the current Clearance Rack and it's going to be perfect for making this season's Christmas projects.  Love it!

Warmth and Cheer DSP  is currently on sale for more than 50% off on the Clearance Rack

Oval Layers: 
Note:  As you probably know from past tutorials, I number my Stitched Shapes Thinlets from the inside (smallest) to the outside (largest).  The following directions list the number (#) of the thinlet instead of the size.

Stitched Shape Thinlets There are 12 dies in this set of Thinlets, and I number them from the smallest die through to the largest 1 - 4:
Circle: 4 dies, largest image 2-7/8"
Square: 4 dies, largest image 2-5/8”
Ovals: 4 dies, largest image 3-1/4” x 2-5/16”
Use with Big Shot, Big Shot Platform, and Standard Cutting Pads

 

1. 1st layer:  #4 Oval - Garden Green oval (cut from First Panel).
2. 2nd layer: #3 Oval - Basic Black oval (cut from Second layer).  Cut another #3 oval from a scrap of DSP, and then cut it into thirds.  Throw away the two ends and glue the remaining piece across the center of the Basic Black Oval, lining up the stitch marks.  Mount the black oval with Dimensionals to the green one. 
3. 3rd layer:  Stamp the Deer image from Cookie Cutter Christmas in Momento Tuxedo Black ink on Crumb Cake card stock and punch out with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch.  Adhere to DSP with Dimensionals.  Die cut a small bow from Shaker Shapes in Cherry Cobbler card stock and mount with Mini Glue dots below the deer head.  Attach a silver jingle bell to the center of the bow with Mini Glue dots.  Attach the oval to the top left corner of the Third Layer approximately a 1/2" below the top and to the side.  Glue flat with Tom Bow Glue to the DSP layer. 
 

Cookie Cutter Builder Punch cuts out all the characters from the Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp set, plus a cute little bow tie and heart. 

Sentiment Layer:

1.  Stamp the "Just Spreading Cheer This Christmas" sentiment in Momento Tuxedo Black ink onto Crumb Cake card stock.  Cut out with 1 5/8" circle die and layer onto the #2 Stitched Circles Garden Green circle with Dimensionals. Glue flat with Tom Bow glue to the bottom right hand corner of the card face overlapping the panels. 

Inside Panel:

1.  Cut a 4" x 5 1/4" panel from Garden Green card stock and adhere to card base. 
2.  Cut a 3 3/4" x 5" panel from Crumb Cake card stock and adhere to Garden Green panel. Stamp the sentiment " Warm Heartfelt Greetings....." from the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set in Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  Stamp the deer's head in lower corner of the panel.  Add a small Cherry Cobbler bow under deer's chin with Mini Glue dots.  
3.  Cut a 1/2" x 5 piece of the Warmth and Cheer DSP and glue to the left side of the Crumb Cake panel leaving an 1/8" gap between the edge and DSP.

Well that's it for my Christmas share today.  I hope you like this card.  I know I do and I've got plans to duplicate it several times over using other papers from the Warmth and Cheer paper pack.  I just know that my relatives and friends will get a kick out of it too! 

If you haven't had a chance to see the cards from the rest of the DT make sure you stop by and check them out.  And, if you feel like it, leave me a comment and let me know if you enjoyed Gail's Watercooler Wednesday Christmas Challenge and how early you start making your seasonal cards.  I'd love to have your feedback, it makes my day! 
Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

My First 12 x 12 Sampler

I like firsts!  It's so exciting to do something for the first time.  I'm always so afraid to take the first step, but once I actually get geared up and start the fear suddenly disappears and the endorphins kick in and the thrill of discovery and creativity takes over.  What a thrill!

My project today is a Christmas sampler and it's a "first".  Although I've often admired and drooled over the samplers that I see other card makers display, I've never made one myself.  So when a friend asked me to create something special for his partner for Christmas morning (actually the "largest card" I could make), it was a no-brainer.  I suggested a Christmas Sampler with a card and he agreed.  And, I'm so happy he did!  What an enabler!

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Merry Mice, Candy Cane Lane, Christmas Cactus, miscellaneous snowflake and let it snow stamps
Card Stock: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Candy Cane Lane DSP, Chip Board, Watercolour Paper, Dazzling Diamonds and Red Glimmer Papers
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Real Red, Pacific Blue, Old Olive, Flirty Flamingo, Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, Pear Pizazz,
Accessories: Paper Trimmer, Detail Scissors for fussy cutting, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue, Tear N' Tape, Aqua Painter, Circle Framelits, Banner Framelits

Dimensions:
Since I only had a few hours to pull this together and didn't have a lot of supplies on hand I basically began hauling out my Christmas stamps and designer paper to see what I would put together. Ideas started to flow and  creativity started to kick in once i began fussy cutting images, water colouring and gluing.  Here's how it took shape:
1.  Base layer:  I started working with a 12 x 12 piece of White Chip Board from the Candy Cane Lane DSP package, turning the side without writing to the top. 
2.  Second layer:  11 1/2" x 11 1/2" piece of diagonally striped DSP.
3.  Third Layer:  11" x 11" piece of Crumb Cake and white DSP.
4.  Small Squares:  3" x 3" Early Espresso layered with 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" card stock or DSP.
5.  Two Large Rectangles:  3" x 6 1/2" layered with 2 3/4 " x 6 1/4" Crumb Cake and 2 1/2" x 6" Whisper White layers 

The Other Side:
Unfortunately I didn't have time to take a picture of the reverse side of this sampler, but  I did cover the chipboard with another designer series paper from the Candy Cane Lane collection.  It was the one with the Candy Cane hearts.  

I created an actual Christmas card that could be signed and I attached it to the center back of the sampler with Tear N' Tape.

The card base is an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Real Red card stock, layered with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Whisper White and then a piece of Watercolour paper cut to 5" x 3 3/4".  The Christmas Cactus is an old Whipper Snapper stamp I've had for years, and was appropriate for this gift.  Of course the cute little mousie is from Merry Mice.  

Well that's it for today's project.  I hope you've enjoyed this share and it inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and create something you wouldn't normally try. The recipient of this card was thrilled and plans to frame this little "piece of art". 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this sampler and any questions you might have about it's assembly.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Wacky Watercooler September Blog Hop

Welcome to the Wacky Watercooler September 2016 blog hop highlighting the Design Team's favourites from Stampin' Up!s new 2016 Holiday Catalogue.  

Whew, did your head spin like mine as August whirled past and September rushed in? I  must say the launch of the Holiday Catalogue on the 1st was really helpful in transitioning that change. 


When my copy of the new Holiday Catalogue arrived I spent hours pouring over it and ewing and awing over all the fun new products. Quite literally I wanted everything!  Alas, reality and practicality set in and I settled for purchasing just a few things I knew I'd use and get a kick out of.  During the blog hop, I'll be sharing my love for these new products.

Whether you've just joined in on the hop or arrived here from Fiona Whitehead's awesome blog, I'm super thrilled to have you visit my stamping spot!  I hope you'll enjoy my projects, leave some comments, and ask questions if you have any. At the end of my post will be a next button so you can jump to Marie Green's blog and see her wonderful projects.

 Project One - A Cookie Cutter Christmas

Who can resist a Gingerbread Man or a sweet little Reindeer?  I couldn't! The Cookie Cutter Christmas Photopolymer Bundle was my first choice from the catalogue, and I haven't been able to wipe the smile off my face since it arrived.  

Here's a look at some of the cute projects I've made with this stamp set and punch.

 To begin with all of my customer's who regularly order from me all received their catalogues with two enclosures.  The first is a personalized 4 x 4 card from me and the second is a Wish List form.  Check these out and let me know if they're not the cutest:

This is a fun and very quick card to make.  It measures 4 x 4 card and is layered with Real Red card stock and Candy Cane Lane DSP.  I stamped the two reindeer on Watercolour Paper and punched them out with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch.  What Fun!  The reindeer were painted with an Aqua Painter in Crumb Cake and Blushing Bride inks.  I simply cut off the antlers to make the girl deer and attached a Red Glimmer paper bow and a basic rhinestone.  Too cute!  

It's hard to see from this picture, but for above version of the card I attached a couple of the silver mini jingle bells to the male deer's antlers.  Tip:  Previously when Stampin Up! had these jingle bells they sold out quickly so if you like them don't wait.  

The greeting comes from the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set.  I cut it out with the Bunch of Banners Framelits.  Note:  the card that went out with the catalogues was plain and didn't include the jingle bells for mailing purposes.

For the wish list I simply stamped a Crumb Cake Gingerbread man and attached a Red Glimmer Paper Bow.

I made my next project with the Cookie Cutter Christmas Bundle and it is called a Triple Gate Fold card.  What a wonderful card with it's multiple levels to showcase the Candy Cane Lane designer paper and more of those yummy Gingerbread men.  I love, love, love this card!

The card measures 11 x 5 1/2 and has score lines at 2", 5" and 7".  The base is in Real Red card stock and has layers of Crumb Cake, Whisper White and Candy Cane Lane DSP.  

In the above view you can see the inside of the card when it's completely open.

In this view you can see the front panel, back panel and the gate fold.

The Gingerbread Man and Woman were stamped in Crumb Cake ink on Whisper White card stock and then cut out with the Cookie Cutter Builder punch.  So simple!  They're mounted on a 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" piece of Crumb Cake card stock with dimensionals. This piece is called the "gate fold".  The bows and buttons are cut from Red Glimmer paper.  The banner which I really love, is from the "Time of Year" hostess set on page 201 of the Annual Catalogue (AC) and it's stamped in Real Red ink.  

I added a piece of 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" Whisper White card stock on the inside of the Gate Fold and stamped the "Thinking of You At Christmas" sentiment
from the Embellished Ornaments stamp set on page 33 of the AC.  The little mitten was cut from the DSP.

 

Embellished Ornaments 7 piece rubber/wood or clear mount stamp set comes in English and French.   This set has matching framelits. 

The last panel of the card is a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of Crumb Cake card stock and 3 1/2" x 4 3/4" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I adhered a 1/4" x 4 3/4" strip of the DSP down the right edge and  a tree, star and gingerbread man cutouts.  Basic Rhinestones were added to the center of the mittens and the star on the back panel of the card.  

Project Two - Detailed Santa Thinlets:
My second favourite from the Holiday Catalogue is the Detailed Santa Thinlets on page 11 of the Holiday Catalogue. This thinlet set includes an intricate die featuring Santa's flowing beard.  It also includes two side-bar thinlets and a grouping of stars. These four dies work really well and can actually be used for far more than seasonal projects.  

My project is a shaker card featuring the Santa and one of the side-bars.

This shaker card is a top fold card and the base is cut from an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" piece of Whisper White.  I cut the "side-bar" image from the left side of the card and adhered a 1/4" by 3 3/4" piece of Red Glimmer Paper with Mini Glue Dots to the back of the front panel so it lights up the side-bar with colour.
 
The shaker measures 4" x 4".  The Santa image was cut from a piece of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.  I added a Red Glimmer Paper pompom to Santa's hat for a pop of colour.  This Santa square panel was mounted on a 4" x 4" piece of acetate Window Sheet.  To create the well for the shaker pieces I wrapped Foam Adhesive strips around the edge of the window square.  

At the end of the season last year I managed to buy some clearance rack embellishments which included some awesome silver sequins and snowflakes.  I threw in some silver seed beads for "rattle" to the mix. Tip:  To ensure the shaker pieces don't get static cling, wipe the inside of the window sheet with an embossing buddy before putting in the shaker pieces.  

To seal of the back of the shaker I added a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White  card stock.  Before attaching it I stamped the sentiment "With Loving Wishes for a Bright and Beautiful Season" in Real Red ink.  This sentiment is also from the Embellished Ornaments stamp set. 

For the inside of the card I added a layer of Real Red card stock that measures 4" x 5 1/4" and topped that with a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I stamped the "Thinking of You" sentiment from the Embellished Ornaments stamp set in Real Red.  It looked far too plain so I stamped the Santa from the Cookie Cutter Christmas beneath the sentiment.  Wouldn't you know it looked way too flat, so I stamped another Santa image and cut him out with the Cookie Cutter Christmas punch.  Once coloured I mounted him to the original stamped Santa with dimensionals.  

I hope you enjoyed this Shaker card and my use of the Santa Thinlets.  Stampin Up has put together this video to demonstrate how to use this set and it's matching stamp set "Greetings from Santa".  


Project Three - Merry Mice

For my final project I chose "Merry Mice" a 7 piece rubber or clear mount stamp set that's available in English and French. Each time I use this set I fall more and more in love with these little guys!  What characters.   I know you're going to love this project! 

You may have run across some cards lately that feature an intricate pop up mechanism called a "Twisting Pop Up" or a "Pop Up Panel", and wondered how they're made.  I was very intrigued by the ones I saw and decided this would be the perfect pairing for my Merry Mice card.  Here it is: 

Okay, I know, this card doesn't look so special right now - it's cute but not special.  Just hang on while I give you a few details, then we'll get to special.  
This is a top folding card and the Cherry Cobbler card stock base measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".   The first layer is from the "This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper" in the Annual Catalogue and measures 4" x 5 1/4".  

The next layer is a 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece of Garden Green card stock that's been dry embossed with the new Holly Embossing Folder.  The next layer is a Cherry Cobbler 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Cherry Cobbler and a 3" x 3" piece of Very Vanilla card stock that's been stamped with the sweater mouse image.  

I used a blender pen and an aqua painter to colour the image.  This is the sweetest little mouse I think I've ever seen.  To pop up his head I actually stamped his face twice coloured it, and fussy cut it out and attached it to the original with dimensionals.  

I've used Glossy Accents (now retired) to add some dimension to his big ears and his darling little nose.  I added basic rhinestones to the Christmas bauble.

Okay are you ready...................ta da!

When you open up this card this wonderful pop up panel happens.  I'm not going to go into all the details and measurements for the panels or how it was assembled as I believe seeing it in real life makes more sense.  And, I have to tell you I spent many hours researching the mechanics of this card before I stumbled across a video by Dawn Griffith in which she provides a wonderful example of this pop up panel card.  I've used Dawn's measurements for the panels on the inside of my card, so the details are in the video.  Dawn........you're the best! 

I painted all these little mice panels with the same technique as above and what fun I had.  I did splatter on some ink in Cherry Cobbler and Cherry Red and in some cases was a bit over zealous with the splatters.  Oh well.  

Well, what do you think?  Isn't this just the greatest card?  One of my bestie's saw this at last week's stamping get together and claimed it as her own Christmas card, so I know I'm going to be teaching this technique and making more of these down the road.  Once I figured out how it worked it was a lot of fun and what a sense of accomplishment when it came together!  Yeah!   

So that's the end of my projects for this hop but I'll be continuing to post new projects every week.  I hope you'll take the time to leave me a comment and let me know how you liked these cards.  

To resume the hop and visit the rest of the Watercooler Designer Team just click on the watercoolers below for a direct link.  If you press on NEXT you'll be taken to the very talented Marie Green's blog My Tanglewood Cottage.    

Marie Green

 

Fiona Whitehead

Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop Beginning

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot 

September Hostess Code:  2KDCKBQE