The Wacky Watercooler April (Fools) Blog Hop

If you've been joining us for our monthly blog hops, you'll probably be wondering why there are water bottles at the sides of the banner instead of those old-fashioned water-coolers.  Well, this is April and even though it's no longer the official April Fool's Day, we're improvising and having our own version.  One of our projects has to be something that isn't what it seems.  I'm as much in the dark about everyone else's projects as you are and am dying to see what everyone's special project might be.  This should be a very entertaining blog hop.

Our Blog Hops run in a circular manner.  What this means is that no matter where you begin, as you go from one participant to the next, you will inevitably wind up at the point where you began.  I hope you'll find time to check out all our Blogs.

If you've been moving forward in the Blog Hop, you'll have joined me after visiting the very talented Marsha Reed's Blog.  Marsha is extremely creative and is on the design team of several Challenges.  I'm sure you loved her projects today.

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My first project is a birthday card which I created for my brother-in-law.  It's very convenient having his birthday just when I needed an idea for another project.  Masculine birthday cards are such fun to create, especially when you have the Adventure Bound Designer Paper Stack.  For a guy who is very outdoors-y and loves wildlife, there are some wonderful paper design choices in that stack.

I love the way the quail looks, don't you?  It's from the Walk in the Wild stamp set.

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My next card is for Mother's Day.  I hadn't used the Corner Garden background stamp yet and this seemed like the perfect Occasion.  I used a combination of stamp pads, Stampin' Markers and Blender Pens to colour the beautiful blooms.  

The card really didn't need anything more than the sentiment from the Sweet Laughter stamp set.

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Finally, my third project is the surprise which isn't what it seems to be.  For this project I decided to make a Secret Door card.  I haven't made one of these cards since 2013 so it was definitely time to pull out my template and see what I could create.

The Secret Door card looks just like a simple gate fold card with a girdle around it.  

Even the inside doesn't hint at the difference.

But then you take the card, push the corner folds towards each other to meet at the back, and split the centre.  

The secret "door" opens and reveals messages that have been hidden from view.

Don't you just love it?  Who wouldn't want a wedding card like this?  The Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper is perfect, isn't it?  I had such fun making this card.  Yes, it's fussy and time-consuming, but when you've finished the card you forget all the fuss and bother.  

I think the added lace and embellishments on the girdle make it look just like a wedding garter.  

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Well, that's it for my projects.  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed creating them.  If you get a moment, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of them.

Your next stop will be with another very talented and creative member of our group, Jackie Susnik.  I'm sure you'll be amazed with her wonderful projects.