Wacky Watercooler July Blog Hop

Welcome to the July Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop.  You're in for a treat!  We have 13 hoppers sharing their wonderful projects, which will include a Christmas in July theme, a CASED project and a project using a Punch.  Hope you'll visit all the sites and leave some comments and encouragement. 

This is a circular blog hop so if you continue along you'll eventually get back to where you started.  This blog hop runs from today July 16th through Saturday July 18th, so visit as many times as you wish and let your friends know it's happening.

Christmas in July 

Are you counting off the days until Christmas yet?  I know I am.  For my featured "Christmas in July" project I chose to use a stamp from the Merry Everything stamp set as my focal point.  This is a great little stamp set that was carried over from last year.

I started with a standard A2 Bermuda Bay card base followed by a Silver Foil mat.  I hated to waste that beautiful foil sheet by hiding it under another layer, so instead punched out my two trees from the center.  I embossed the White mat and Silver Foil trees with the Bo Ho Chic TIEF.  This embossing folder is quickly becoming one of my favourites. 

I kept the inside of the card pretty clean and simple by just stamping and embossing one tree image from the Festival of Trees stamp set and the sentiment " May Happy Moments and Cherished Memories Surround You with Joy This Season", from the Wondrous Wreath stamp set. 

For the shaker portion of the card I used a piece of Bermuda Bay DSP from the Cherry On Top paper pack.  Even though the DSP used for the front of the shaker box isn't a Christmas paper, it works really well with the Bermuda Bay and Silver Foil card stocks. The decorative window was punched out using the Note Tag Punch. 

I stamped the sentiment with Versa Mark ink and heat set it.  I added Bermuda Bay sequins to the mixture of Frosted Sequins and a few crystal seed beads to give some more action to the shaker.  A small strip of Silver 1/8" ribbon was added to the bottom. 

CASE THE CATALOGUE:

When the powers that be at Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop decided our second project would be CASEing from the Catalogue I was thrilled.  I grabbed my glasses, catalogue, a cup of Java and headed for the back yard to search for my next project.  

Since I was looking for some "Artistic Expression" I went to the section bearing the same name in the Share the Fun Annual catalogue  and found what I was looking for on page 118.  Here's the card that inspired me:

When I bought the Work of Art stamp set last year I made a ton of cards and used it in a lot of projects, and then it got lost on the shelf. Stamping with this set again reminded me just how much I like the wonderful shapes and paint swatches in this 11-piece set.  Here's my card:

I pretty much copied the original placement of the stamping but I changed the ink and card stock colours to make it a little more masculine and added some detail with the large splatter stamp from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.

Here you can see the gold embossing on the sentiment.  It really makes the word "you" stand out. 

I added Basic Rhinestones to the centers of the gold sequins for extra shine and because my Gold Metallic thread hasn't arrived yet, I used a retired  Stamping gold thread to make the loops.  Note:  When you want to add loops under a button or a sequin, begin with a glue dot on your card surface and use that as a base for bringing your loops around to and stabilizing them  

For the inside of my card I used the Gorgeous Grunge splatters stamped off in Delightful Dijon and Early Espresso inks.  The sentiment "You are a fabulous work of art" was stamped in Early Espresso.

Use a New Punch:

I've been using the Gift Bag Punch Board, the Banner Triple Punch and the Bow Builder Punch a lot since the catalogue was launched in June, so I thought I would combine the three of these great tools to make a cute little gift box for my third project. 

Here it is:

This adorable little box measures 3 5/8" x 3" and is the perfect size for tucking away a sweet treat or small gift for that special person on your list. Since the friend I made this for is really into animal prints I chose a piece of dsp from the new Go Wild Designer Series Paper Pack to decorate the box.

The Banner Triple Punch makes it so easy to make perfect banners every time by eliminating the guess work.

I used the Bow Builder Punch to make a single bow for the front of the box and added a Basic Rhinestone to the center.

These boxes are super easy to make with the Gift Bag Punch Board.  I'll be doing a post next week showing you templates and ideas for many different projects you can make with this very versatile tool, so I hope you'll come back and visit.  

Everything from envelopes to gift bags and card holders can be made with the Gift Bag Punch Board.  

 Well it's time for you to move on to  Bev's awesome blog "Stamp With Bev".  I know you'll enjoy her projects!  

Click Here to Go To Stamp With Bev

Click here to go to Jackie's Blog

Click here to return to the Wacky Watercooler Main Page where you'll find a list of all the participants.

Happy Stamping!

Penny Tokens 

World Card Making Day - October 6th, 2012

What are your plans for World Card Making Day?  Are you getting together with friends or family to make cards? Are you and your stamping group getting together to make cards for a charity like Ronald McDonald House?  

Are you joining a Blog Hop for World Card Making Day or holding your own?

Whatever is going on in your life today, I hope you'll have the opportunity to do something you love for someone you love. 

Today I'm making a sympathy card for my nephew who's dad just passed away. I'm also working on making two birthday cards and an anniversary card for friends whose special occasions happen next week.  I'll post my cards tomorrow.  Have a good one!