Spring Fever with the Wacky Watercooler Gang

Welcome to our February Blog Hop which, in many parts of Canada and the United States, has been mis-named the Spring Fever blog hop.  For those of us suffering from excess white stuff, it may well be better named "Cabin Fever".  But what better way to get our thoughts away from this lengthy winter than to showcase projects that are all about Spring and Easter?

Back by popular demand for this Blog Hop is our CASE (copy and share everything) of one of our fellow hoppers' projects.  This time we each had a name drawn and that was the person whose past blog posts we searched to find what we each considered "our favourite" for that person but the project we would CASE would have to have a Spring or Easter theme.

The other two projects for this Blog Hop are also going to have an Easter or Spring theme.  Our hoppers will have the option of making cards and/or a 3-D project.  It will be exciting going through all the participating blog posts to see what they've done.

We have a lot of sources for our products this time.  There is, of course, the ongoing Annual Catalogue.  Then we currently also have the Occasions Catalogue as well as the Sale-a-bration Brochure.  There is also a wealth of wonderful products available in the Clearance Rack.  There's also a big surprise coming up on March 1st.  Stampin' Up! is adding four new products to the Sale-a-bration brochure.  Exciting?  Definitely!

As usual, our Blog Hop runs in a circular fashion.  No matter where in the list of participants you begin, inevitably you'll wind up in the exact same place again if you keep going to the "next" blog.  It works the same way whether you conform to the usual forward movement through the blog posts or if you're a rebel and work your way through in reverse order.

This month we have eleven participants from various spots in the United States and Canada.  As a result, you'll see a lot of different and diverse projects since we are all affected by our surroundings.

And now, without further ado, here is our list of participants in order of appearance:

          Buffy Cooper

          Jackie Susnik

          Christine Giuda
   
          Penny Hanuszak

          Heidi Weaver

          Deborah Smart

          Stefanie Pletscher

          Marsha Reed

          Priscilla Ivler

          Gail Allen

          Kath Ricks

That's eleven of us!  We hope you'll take the time to check out everyone's post and if you get a moment, to leave a comment because that is the icing on the cake for those of us sharing our posts.

Folding Screens are in Demand!

Have you caught the Screen Card bug yet?

Folding Screen Cards (also called screen divider cards) are in demand and Sale-a-Bration stamp sets really take off in this wonderful creation by Watercooler Artist Patti Leeke.  Sadly Patti doesn't have a current blog so it seemed the perfect time to feature her work here in anticipation of our next upcoming Blog Hop this Thursday the 26th of February.

Click on the picture to see a larger close up

 Supplies:

Stamps:   Sale-a-bration stamps - Big Day and Lotus Blossom & Perfect Pennants from the Annual Catalog
Ink: Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Mossy Meadow
Markers: Crushed Curry
DSP:  Brights Paper Stacks
Card stock:  Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Punches:  Decorative Label, Scallop Edge Border, Bow Builder Punch

You may notice that this screen card is a bit less usual in that it divides into 3 sections instead of the more usual 4.  Patti wanted a card that would be easy to fold into an envelope, easy to score and that could be made with just a half sheet of paper for the card base.  This size also leaves a bit more of a "canvas" to work your artful stamping on.  She's kindly shared a few basic directions below so you can try this out and make your own.

I'm not aware of any full tutorials for this three panel version but a good basic video with some of the punching tips and general construction of the traditional 4 style version can be found here.   The punching tips Deb shares in her video also apply to how Patti constructed her version.

Patti's Basic Directions/Information:

Screen Divider Card with 3 panels:

Card Base: 1/2 sheet of cardstock - 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 Scored at 2-7/8" intervals for a resulting 3 sections.
Using whatever border punch you prefer punch across the top.  For most border punches this will remove about 1/4"-1/2" in height.

Decorative Label punch each section for the legs making sure it's centered (so you can see the paper on each side of the punch evenly). Punch the first with punch placed halfway just below the indentation...then fold over next section and punch from the first "template". Then the legs will match up perfectly.

Layer as desired with DSP and mat's. Stamp images used will determine for the most part the size of the final focal layers.  Feel free to mix up the sizing in each panel.  

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Thanks Patti for sharing your wonderful creation!

We just had to wet your appetite for the coming infusion of creativity and inspiration this Thursday.   Don't forget to mark your calendars so you remember to join us right back here on the hop in a few days time.