April Fools at the Watercooler

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Welcome to another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop! If you started at the beginning, you have arrived from visiting the inspirational Buffy. She always does the most amazing projects!

April Fools Day has passed. But that doesn't mean we can't still have fun with it. For this month's Blog Hop we are each presenting a project that isn't what it seems. Now, just what does that mean? Well, that's what I wondered as I tried to come up with an idea.

Then, one day as I was browsing on Pinterest - or "doing research" as I like to call it - I came across a card tutorial done by Katie at Created by Katie. It was her take on a pop-up card and I thought it would be perfect for this month's theme.

At first look, it is just like any other card, although not that exciting on the front, is it? Just your basic, masculine-type design stamped on Naturals White cardstock mounted on Mossy Meadow. The stamp set is a new one for me - Guy Greetings. For inks I used Smoky Slate, Basic Gray and Mossy Meadow.

But ... all the excitement is on the inside:

This card could also qualify for a theme of How Many Stamp Sets Can I Use on One Card? The answer for this one would be FOUR! Besides Guy Greetings, I also used Kinda Eclectic, Dotty Angles and Just Sayin'. Inks used are So Saffron, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow and Memento Tuxedo Black. The stars are cut using the Stars Framelits set.

My next project also uses a new stamp set that arrived just in time for this Blog Hop. It's a set that makes me ask myself "How many flower stamps do I need?" A lot, apparently. But two of the stamps in this Build A Bouqet set made me think of fireworks. So I pulled out some colours I don't use a lot: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Tempting Turquoise.

Each of the small bursts has a sequin from the In-Colour Sequins. For the big Melon Mambo burst I used the Build A Bouquet BigzL Die to cut the flower centre out of Crushed Curry cardstock. It was a bit too big so I cut out two of the stems and put a Basic Rhinestone in the middle. I just love the font of the sentiment as well as the words. This could work for any celebratory occasion.

For this card, I matted the image panel onto a piece of Basic Black. I used to use black a lot but have not done that for a while. Black just seemed the right colour to set off the bright colours of the images and the Melon Mambo card base.

To continue with the Hop, just click  on the "Next" button and it will take you to see the fabulous creations Priscilla will wow you with.

WCC21 - Susan's Colour Challenge

 Aren't these just the most perfect spring colours? I thought so, and they inspired me to get it together and take part in this latest Wacky Watercooler Challenge. Visit the Challenge page by clicking here.

It helped motivate me that I also wanted to make a thank you card to put in a customer order. So I combined the two tasks and CASED a fun sample on page 18 of the Occasions Catalogue. It showcases a stamp from my much-loved Painted Petals set - the one that has 3 stripes. Perfect to show off the colours in the challenge! 

And here it is:

This was so quick and easy to make! The stripes are stamped with Sahara Sand, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight and Pool Party. The sentiment was done with Memento Tuxedo Black. The stripe panel is mounted on a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock and the card base is Pool Party.

I thought it needed a little something in the lower right hand corner, so went with a Vintage Faceted Designer Button for a little sparkle. The white coil behind the button is actually a strand pulled from the White Jute Ribbon, also found in the Occasions Catalogue.

I think I'll be making a few more of these, using different colours - it was fun to do. Hope you give it a try!

Free shipping week!

Starting today and running all week to Friday, all orders will be free shipping. There is no minimum order required. (Excludes expedited orders). Now is a good time to stock up on things like ribbon, buttons, brads - all those fun embellishments. And don't forget cardstock or ink refills you are needing. All right - it's a good time to order anything!

Just click on the above image, then click on Shop to go to my on-line store.

A Tisket A Tasket ...

... I made some Easter baskets! OK, that's not quite how the song goes - for those who remember that old classic.

For Easter dinner with my Mom and my sisters and brother-in-law, I made some little baskets and filled them with candy-coated chocolate Easter eggs. Thanks to a video by Brenda Quintana, who came up with the design, they went together very quickly. I picked bright, spring-y colours for a colourful array.

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Tangelo Twist, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Pistachio Pudding.
Embossing Folders: Decorative Dots, Honeycomb. Fancy Fan, Modern Mosaic, Lacy Brocade

The handles are Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon (retired). I used Candy Dots brad bases to attach the handle and finished them with matching Candy Dots - where I had the matching colour, or Basic Pearls for those I didn't.

I thought I had some Tea Lace Paper Doilies to put inside, but I can't find them. Or maybe I just thought I had some. I did have some parchment cupcake liners and thought they would work. They were a bit to big so I trimmed them to fit.

Now, having been brought up with the philosophy of not throwing anything away and finding other uses, I looked at the trimmed off part and the lightbulb went off! It would make perfect filling. So I split each trimmed off part into smaller strips and had enough to fill 4 of the baskets!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.