It’s time for another “watercooler” blog hop.  If you look at the hop order on the home page, you’ll see that I’m first!  Woot!  That really doesn’t mean anything, since the hop is basically a circle.  You just keep going till you end up where you started – which is horrible if you’re lost and need directions, but great for a hop!

If you started somewhere besides the very beginning (and now I have show tunes dancing around my head), you came from Christine’s blog.  I love Christine’s style, because it’s vintage – my favorite! – and she does a lot of mixed media projects.  So if you are just starting out, be sure to hop all the way around so you can see what Christine has for you!

Stampin’ Up! has a new card kit – Hip Hip Hooray.  And while I am very excited about it, that’s the name of the kit as well as a reflection of my enthusiasm.  I love kits, because sometimes I need a “card on command” and just don’t have inspiration.  You know — when one of your kids or your husband or mom or best friend casually asks you, “Do you have a birthday card I can have for a 25 year old guy whose birthday is today?  And, oh yeah, I need it now.”  I’m sorry.  I just can’t be creative on command.  If it was for a 50 year old woman – no problem.  But for men or teens or young adults or children?  I have to think a bit.  So – kits to the rescue.

Here’s one of the Hip Hip Hooray cards.  I made it exactly like the directions so it was a quickie.

Cute, right?  And so easy.  The cards are printed, the clips and twine are included and the added elements are self-adhesive!  Even the stamps and ink are included in the kit.  And there are instructions and full color images, so you just find a card you like and follow the instructions.

Sometimes, though, I have time to actually be creative without being under pressure.  It’s rare, but it happens.  And today was that day!  I had all afternoon free and no one was home, so I decided to play a bit.

I earned some Sale-a-bration products, so I used the Hip Hip Hooray and the Good as Gold SAB card kit to create a little mini party.

I wanted to stay with the kits without adding too much extra, and I did for the most part.  I added a few sequins, some gold ink and embossing powder and a little Retro Fresh washi tape.  But I didn’t use any other card stock or ink (except for the Encore gold).  Even the card stock behind the washi tape banner on the card was from kit scraps.

For the card, I used a printed card from the Hip Hip Hooray kit.  I used part of the front of a Good as Gold card for my base banner, but all those dots along with the dots on the card was a little much.  So I cut an envelope from Good as Gold and made a layer for the front of the card.  The gold foil banner is from the envelope liner (as is the “It’s Your Day”punched piece.  I know it looks yellow in the photo, but trust me, it’s gold.).  The Whisper White/Calypso Coral banner (under the striped washi tape one) is a pre-stamped piece from Good as Gold.  The washi tape banner is covering the sentiment (I think it was “merci.”).  I added washi tape under the stamped/punched It’s Your Day (from the Hip Hip Hooray kit; stamped in Encore gold and embossed with gold powder, then punched with the Word Window punch) and more Good as Gold elements (Bermuda Bay banner and gold star).  I decided to add sequins – because you can never have too much gold, right? – and tied the baker’s twine and gold cord (also from Good as Gold) around the card fold.

Every party needs favors, and gold nugget holders are perfect!  My downline Sandy was making these the other day, and she shared the dimensions with me.  I don’t know who was the originator, but I got it from Sandy.

I used the envelope liner from Good as Gold to make the holder (cut it 3-1/4″ square, then using the Envelope Punch Board punch/score at 2″; continue as you would an envelope).  I ran it through the Big Shot with the Sale-a-bration Decorative Dots embossing folder.  After adding the two nuggets, I sealed it with Retro Fresh washi tape and tied it with leftover twine from the birthday card.  Since I didn’t use the gold banner on the card, I used it as a name tag for the favor and tied it to the twine with cord.  Once you know who the guests are, you can stamp or write names on the tags with permanent ink.

And finally, a gift or favor bag.  This is big enough for a gift card, if it’s for the birthday boy/girl.  Or you can fill it with little gifts or more candy for the party goers.  Because, really, the reason you have parties and invite other people’s kids is to tank them up on sugar and send them home with more sugar, right?

I made a “bag-a-lope” with an envelope from the Hip Hip Hooray kit.  Seal the envelope, then cut a tiny bit off one end so it will open.  I used the rotary attachment and scallop cutting blade for the Stampin’ Trimmer.  Then fold in about 1/2″ on each side and the bottom.  Fold and score really well, then fold/score in the opposite direction so the folds are easier to work with.  When you open the envelope, it will turn into a bag.  At the bottom, there will be two triangle flaps; fold those under and secure with glue dots.  Done.  The design for this bag is one of the card designs; I just put the pieces on the bag instead of a card.  And to keep the kids from eating the candy at my house, I sealed the bag with a little more washi tape.  (Yeah; like that’s going to keep them out!)

Don’t you love how Stampin’ Up! products coordinate – even when they’re not really meant to?  These are two totally different kits – and the Retro Fresh suite is a third set of products – yet they all work together to create so many adorable projects!

Your next stop is Kath’s blog.  Kath is another good friend, and she’s one of my absolute favorite artists.  I always look forward to seeing her work, and I know you’ll be “wow”ed.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy.  Have a wonderful day!