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All Those Christmas Cards–the Photo!

Aloha, all!

Here is a picture of a great many of the Christmas cards which I’ve been working frantically to get into the mail today (mail moves more slowly from Hawaii to the mainland, so we have different deadlines!)  I have all my mailing labels printed out, and am spending entirely too much time making sure that the "perfect" card for each person or family.  My husband tells me they all look nice, and I shouldn’t stress over it.  But I do think that Janet should get one of the Little Felt Flurries cards; and Cindy should certainly have a bookmark–maybe two; and….

Well, I guess I just better get it done!!!

Robin

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All Those Christmas Cards!

Aloha, all!

Today I finally said, "Finished!" as far as my 2008 Christmas Cards are concerned.  It’s time to get them signed, stuffed and sent out! 

I started making the cards we’ll send out this year back in August, in preparation for a class I was doing Labor Day Week.  With all the various classes and stamp club sessions I’ve had this fall, there were plenty of opportunities to make lots of different kinds of cards, too.  Most of the time, I would try two or three versions of a card before I’d decide on the one I’d demonstrate in a class.  All of the various versions are just fine in their own way.  Sometimes, a version that really looks cool is just too complicated for me to demonstrate at a stamp club meeting where my club members are expecting three projects.  Of course, I don’t find that out until I’ve finished making it.

My last big push to get all the cards made was to make about 40 of those wonderfully versatile Diagonal Double Pocket cards.  Each one will hold at least one bookmark and a copy of our Christmas letter.  And there will be handwritten notes on the Christmas letter as well as on the bookmarks.  But ALL will be made exclusively with Stampin’ Up! products–of course!

Now I’m off to start the signing, stuffing and sending!!  I’ll be sure to take a photo of the cards and get it posted here for you, hopefully tomorrow (assuming I don’t have writer’s cramp so bad that I can’t operate my keyboard!)

Robin

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A Floral Diversion

Aloha, all!

The "aloha" is because we live in Hawaii (in case you didn’t know!).  Today, my husband, who is the gardener in our family, reminded me about why he loves gardening in Hawaii.  A flower broke off a bush, and he brought it in to put in water rather than let it die on the ground.  By this evening, the wonderful Hibiscus flower he brought it had again come to life.  It just cried to have its picture taken!  This particular flower is about 7" in diameter.  Just spectacular in both color and size!

Just a bit of a diversion for my camera (which is very happy to be taking a photo of something so beautiful!)

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A Bit on the Fancy Side

Aloha, all!

Today I continue my effort to get my Christmas cards all done by the end of the week.  However, I got a bit sidetracked by a friend’s request to make a card for her to give with a "Welcome Home" gift.  Of course, it had to be made today!  But I’m all about customer service, so today it was.

This also gave me the opportunity to use the beautiful stamp set, Snow Swirled (111690), which I’ve been wanting to use with some embossing since the day it arrived on my doorstep.   This card is made with two different embossing powders.  The tree is embossed using VersaMark ink  (102283) and Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder (109029).  The snowflakes in the background, both design also from the Snow Swirled set, are embossed using VersaMark and Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder (109130).  So I got to fire up the Heat Tool (100005) twice!  I just love it when that embossing starts to show up on the card stock!

I finished off the top of the tree with a Rhinestone Brad from the Circle Fire collection (109110).  The card stock that I used for this card is Riding Hood Red and Handsome Hunter (Hmmm.  Seems like I used that fairy tale combination before!)  Finally, I added a bit of Brushed Gold card stock behind the Riding Hood Red.

It’s still not too late to order supplies before Christmas and before the FREE SHIPPING offer expires!  Just hop online and your supplies will be on YOUR doorstep before you know it!

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Diagonals on the Double!

Aloha, all!

After posting yesterday's tidbits from Robin's Craft Room, I started making LOTS of Diagonal Double Pocket cards, which will form the basis for most of our Christmas cards this year.

Since I was doing so many cards, I started feeling like I really knew how to make these wonderful little cards.  So, having created the Robin's Craft Room video monster, I dug out the camcorder and made a video tutorial.  So, herewith, I share the video!

As I reviewed it prior to publishing it on YouTube, I found one area that I felt needed a bit more explanation.  I realized as I was making that second diagonal fold that I didn't explain well enough why I made the fold in the steps that I did.  If you fold the left side piece under the right side piece and THEN make the diagonal fold towards the center fold, it just doesn't come out as crisp as if you make the diagonal fold, then fold the left side behind it, then complete the diagonal fold by folding that last piece up to cover the second diagonal fold.  The temptation if you try to fold both pieces on a diagonal at the same time is to try to keep the edges aligned, and that can result in a not-so-crisp edge on the diagonal.

Is that clear as mud??  If so, I'll be glad to give you a one-on-one demonstration in Robin's Craft Room (if you're in East Hawaii), or even make a video of that fold just for you if you're not!  As always, I've available by phone (808.854.6145) or e-mail!

So far, I've made 20 of the DDP cards, and hope to have another 20 done tomorrow morning.  Then I have to get started on our Christmas letter!

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Great Use for the Diagonal Double Pocket Card

Aloha, all!

Yesterday was a lazy day, and my husband and I capped it off with a quick trip to our local snorkeling ponds.  And, yes, our "local" ponds are written up in most Hawaii travel guides!  So they are well worth the trip for anyone. 

But I digress.  As I floated on the surface watching all the various, wonderful fish–even a small eel–swim in and out of their pukas, I started thinking about my next project, which is to (finally!) make our own Christmas cards.  We’ve already received quite a few ourselves, and many of them have a newsy letter to help us catch up with our far flung family and friends.  I want to do the same, but I also don’t want to distract from the pleasure they may have from receiving a hand made card.  Seeing the fish swim in and our of their pukas (oh, sorry–a puka is Hawaiian pidgin word for a hole or opening in something), I thought of the pukas in the Diagonal Double Pocket Card (or maybe I should now call it a Diagonal Double Puka Card).  That’s when the light bulb went on (didn’t scare the fish, though).  I would use one of the pukas in the DDF card for our Christmas letter!

Here one example of the finished product.  But I have made some adjustments to the size of the card, and for a couple of reasons. 

First, the size paper I used was 8" x 10", cut from Stampin’ Up! 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper.  The reasons for cutting the paper to 8" x 10" were:

1. One of the strips that is left is 4" wide, which is a very useful size.  For example, I can use it as a layer on a 4-1/4" x 5" card front with a nice 1/8" border all around. 
2. I can cut the 2" strips left on the other side for bookmarks or for other layering projects.
3. The height of the finished DDF card becomes 5", which allows me room to have the top of a nice bookmark shown off in one of the pukas, and have the entire project still fit in a standard sized envelope.

I also cut my computer paper to 7-1/2" x 10" (after I print on it).  Paper folded from that size fits nicely in the other puka. 

The paper for this particular project is a sheet from the Frosty Days Designer Series Paper (113057), some Chocolate Chip Card Stock, and chocolate rub-ons from the Old Saint Nick Rub-Ons pack (112844). 

Have you made YOUR Christmas or Holiday cards yet?  If not, there’s still plenty of time to order the supplies that you need–and receive free shipping if your order is more than $70!  This offer is good until December 23rd.  (Hint:  don’t wait that long to order stuff for Christmas.)  You can order online or by calling (808.854.6145) or e-mailing me to place your order for you. 

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Stamp Club Extras

Aloha, all!

My stamp club and I just didn’t have enough time last week to get into all the projects that we wanted to.  For one thing, all the club members are really new at this, and there is just SOOOO much to learn and so LITTLE TIME to learn it!! 

So I invited them over for a second session this afternoon.  And what a blast we had!  We worked on two projects that had piqued their interest–a Bag in a Box and Stamping on Candles.  Here are photos of two of today’s projects.

The stamp set that we used for the candles today was Snow Swirled.  I had held off on buying this stamp set, thinking (wrongly) that, "I had enough Christmas stamps!"  But I have been taken with all the samples of this stamp set I’ve seen online that I couldn’t hold off any more buying my own copy.  It arrived yesterday just in time for today’s activities.  To complement the tree, I inserted some gold brads into the candle as tree decorations.  A little bit of Real Red card stock on the bottom of the candle, accented with Gold Elastic Cord, just finished off this Christmas candle to perfection!

To make the images on the candle, we stamped with Classic Stamp Pads on plain tissue paper.  After we cut our images out (very close to the stamping), we laid them on the candle, wrapped the candle in waxed paper, and set the tissue stamped images into the candle using our heat tool.  You can find all the instructions on Split Coast Stampers.  They definitely say it better than I do!

I did some candle "stamping" last year, and was able to get right into it again this year with barely any learning curve.  It’s easy and I’ll bet you can do it, too!   If you’re in East Hawaii, just call and let me know that you’d like a demonstration and I’ll be happy toi arrange a time!  Call me (808.965.1391) or e-mail me to set up a time!

And don’t forget that we’re still in the midst of a FREE SHIPPING PERIOD at Stampin’ Up!  This is really the best time to order some of those stamp sets that you’d just love to put on a candle–or a Holiday gift of any kind!

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the Bag in a Box projects!

Happy Stamping!  AND DON’T FORGET FREE SHIPPING THROUGH DECEMBER 23!!!

Robin

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Stationery is a Great Holiday Gift!

Aloha, all!

I just finished completing an order for a customer who wishes to give one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts, but just doesn’t have the time to make them herself.  She wanted to give the gift of a Stationery Set.   I can’t believe how much fun I had selecting the papers and the stamps that I would use.  It took awhile because I had to consider some guidelines that the customer gave me as well as stock I had on hand (she wanted them as soon as possible).  Among the guidelines was that there had to be two of each card; there had to be a birthday card, a thank you card, and a general note card.  While she didn’t specifically say that they should be coordinated, I felt that I needed to make the cards look like a set and not like 3 different cards just haphazardly put together into a set.

This is what I came up with.  There is an interesting mix of colors.  The greens are either Old Olive or Kiwi Kiss; the reds are either Real Red or Robin Hood Red.  The pink is Pink Pirouette and the blue is Baja Breeze.  The striped ribbons are all "In Color" colors (Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, and Robin Hood Red).  The stripes in the papers made mixing and matching the various colors very, very easy!

Two of the papers are from the Level 3 Hostess Set, Holiday Happenings Bundle.  I may just have to see if I can put together another order this month to grab some more of that luscious paper!!  The other stripe is from the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper set (112994).  The stamp set throughout is Pocket Silhouettes (111672).  I used the Wide Oval and Large Oval Punches (112082 and 107305) for the cards

When the cards were finished, I realized that the folio that I had wanted to make to hold the cards wouldn’t work as I had that nice knot in the ribbons that took up a lot more space than the folio provided.

Canadian Demonstrator Extraordinaire, Andrea Walford, to the rescue!  Last Spring I had purchased a class planner from her, and the box for the stationery set in that planner was just the ticket!  So a big Mahalo (Thank You) to Andrea!    For decorating the box, I used the 1-3/8 Circle Punch (104401), Scallop Circle Punch (109043) and Scallop Edge Punch (112091), along with the stripe paper and some  Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109054).   Hmmm.  Now that I look at the picture, I think I’m going to put a knot in that ribbon!.  That should tie it all together, don’t you think!

If you’d be interested in my making some gift cards for you, it’s not too late to get an order in!  I have most of my own Christmas Cards and gift already made (though I seem to keep making them up to Christmas Day itself!).  So my time could be yours!  Visit the "Cards" tab to download my Cards by Robin brochure.

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Oh, My!!! All the Specials!!!

Aloha, all!

I don’t know which special to tell you about first!  If you can’t decide which one you want to listen to first, just look at all the boxes at the right and just pick one and click it!

But I have to start somewhere.  So here goes:

• SHIPPING IS FREE on orders over $70 from now until December 23rd! 
• RETIRED STAMP SETS ARE NOW LISTED on Stampin’ Up!’s website.  Here is a list just for you that includes some small photographs of each of the retired sets.
• RETIRED STAMP SETS ARE 10% OFF thru December 23rd.  Here is a list of the stamp sets with the price shown at 10% off.

This becomes the best time to let your special someone know what you’d like for Christmas!!  Just click on the Wish List box at the far right and print out a list you can fill in with the Stampin’ Up! products that you especially would like to have!  With Free Shipping, now’s the time to bring that up for sure!

Or, if you’d just like to order something for yourself, just click here to order online.  Or call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I’ll be happy to answer any questions OR do the ordering for you!

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It’s More Fun With Stampin’ Up!

Aloha, all!

It’s very hard for me to browse a magazine rack and not pick up the latest issue of everything stamping and scrapbooking.  I know, I know–only on occasion and in very special magazines do I see a project that is completely made of Stampin’ Up! products.  But the ideas in ALL of these magazines are just priceless when you just need a shot of creativity juice!

My latest foray into a bookstore to select "just a few" magazines resulted in my purchasing the November 2008 issue of CardMaker Magazine.  Yes, it’s lovely here in Hawaiian paradise.  But we get the magazine issues late, even in the book stores. Sigh.

Yesterday, as I browsed through my latest purchase, I spotted a card and my brain instantly turned it into a Stampin’ Up! project.  If you have the magazine, the card that inspired today’s Christmas Card is on page 58 (don’t think I can print a copy of the original here without infringing on copyright, even if it is a blog).  This is my Stampin’ Up! take on the card.

The stamp set throughout is Punch Pals (109489) which is fast becoming one of my favorites for this Christmas season.  The papers are Baja Breeze, Read Red, and Whisper White.  The snowman from Punch Pals is mounted on a scallop punched with the Sizzix Die, Scallop Circle #2 (113469).  That is mounted on a square of Baja Breeze on which I stamped my VersaMark pad and added Heat and Stick Powder (100625) and Dazzling Diamonds (102023).  The sparkle is outstanding (if I do say so myself!). 

The finishing touches are some white Little Felt Flurries (113697–and, yes, I am starting to run out of them!), Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (111375) and a piece of Designer Series Paper from the Ski Slope pack (112994).  The "Let it snow" punch is from the Curly Label Punch Bundle (112966).

Luscious, don’t you think!!!  Want to make it yourself??  You can order all of these items by using the item number I’ve included throughtout this post on my online ordering site.  Or just call (808.965.1391) or e-mail me and I can do the ordering for you!

Happy Glittering and Stamping!

Robin

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