Christmas in July with a Hop

Happily, I felt able to participate in the July Blog Hop with the Wacky Watercooler gang. It's a circle ... I'm just saying ... you can go around, and around until you have imprinted every project in your long-term memory. Penny, bless her heart, is right before me, and actually starting the Hop (if you ignore the circular fashion). Love her style, by the way. It is filled with flowers and BUTTERFLIES. If you know me at all, you know I LOVE butterflies. And, she is Canadian, yeah!

My first card is a watercolour Christmas card. With the new Whisper White thick cardstock, watercolouring is super easy and super smooth. I am very, very happy about that. I used the technique of colouring markers on a block, spritzing them with water and then stamping the block on the cardstock. Wow! I am very happy with the results. Here is my Partridge in a Pear Tree Christmas card:

stamps: sheltering tree, sassy salutations

ink: island indigo, bermuda bay, pool party, early espresso, *new incolor* mint macaron

paper: island indigo, *new incolor* mint macaron, whisper white thick, crumb cake

other: tree builder punch, stampin' spritzer, acrylic block

The next challenge involves choosing a card/project featured in the current catalogue. I just purchased the 12x12 kraft paper and have been dying to use it. When I saw a card using the kraft paper for a cardbase, I knew I wanted to try it. It uses the Traveler set. I think this train is wonderful. I use this set a lot. Here is a photo of the Stampin' Up! Traveler card on p. 83:

For my card, I wanted to offset the kraft paper with a brighter colour to embrace the "Thank You" sentiment. I thought adding the cherry cobbler bakers' twine added a brighter quality too. But I stayed true to the basic design elements. What do you think? 

stamps: traveler, tin of cards, gorgeous grunge

ink: cherry cobbler, soft suede, crumb cake

paper: *new* kraft cardstock, cherry cobbler, very vanilla

other: cherry cobbler bakers' twine

For the last blog challenge (feature a punch), I made a gift bag.
[Check back Sunday for another gift bag project -- Card Class Carryall -- full tutorial]  
A dear friend of mine looked after my kitty cat while I was away. I bought her a neat gift and wanted to enclose it in a special bag. The new Gift Bag Punch Board did the trick. I also included the Label Washi Punch as a feature:

stamps: an open heart
ink: *new incolor* cucumber crush
paper: *new* English garden dsp, whisper white, *new* cucumber crush, melon mambo
other: gift bag punch board, label washi punch, *new* 1" cucumber crush dotted lace trim, yellow tissue paper

Well, that was fun for me. Was it fun for you? Now you can navigate the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop by using the linked buttons below. Kath is right after me. Her style is unique and fresh as the day is long. Enjoy!