Archive for February, 2009:
Honolulu Regional – Part V – Make & Takes
Aloha, all!
Finally I have finished unpacking (from a short trip to Honolulu–go figure!!). And I finished the one project that I didn’t get done while I was at the conference. For one thing, it was a 3-dimensional project (using the Sizzix Big Shot, of course!) and I didn’t want it squished (that’s a paper crafter’s technical term that relates to what happens when you put 3-D paper projects in a piece of luggage that’s going on an airplane).
There were 6 projects, but I have to tell you that I had a really hard relating to the scrapbook page that needed a picture of snow to make it complete. Yes, there is snow on Mauna Kea this year, but not as much as last year. (But that gives me an idea for the project, so you may see it here later).
Three of the projects were made using a stamp set that will be featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog, which is being previewed beginning tomorrow (ssshhh!) The set is called, "Soft Summer" and is definitely on my wish list. I’ll give you more information about it as we get closer to the time when you can order it (and if you love a watercolor look and are ready for spring flowers, you will LOVE this set!)
The little yellow basket is made with the Stampin’ Up! exclusive Baskets and Blooms Sizzix die. This is a super easy little basket to make, and it can be made in the shape shown here, or it can be shaped so that it is perfectly round. In either form, you’re going to love it for favors for Easter events this year!
Now for a little hint for my fellow demonstrators who may have bought this die back in the fall, and would like to encourage your customers to purchase it now. There is a slight change (for the better in my humble opinion) that makes this a much easier basket to put together. The bottom of the basket is different in the version that is now for sale, and is the one that was featured at the Honolulu Regional. The flaps that have to be folded up (or down depending on your preference in putting the basket together) are fewer, and wider and are much easier to handle. Here’s a picture so you can see graphically what I mean. The newer version of the bottom piece is on the left, and the older version on the right. Wish I had the newer version! But I’ve learned how to make the earlier one work, so I guess I’ll be saving my $$$ for stuff in that luscious new Mini Catalog!
Oh, and the project with the Tangerine Tango flower with the white outline? That’s made with the Tangerine Tango "Patterns" Designer Series Paper. Unlike regular Stampin’ Up! card stock, the Designer Paper has a white core. And this is how this flower was made: The paper was cut using the Sizzix Stampin’ Up! Simple Flower embosslit. The embosslits emboss the paper as well as cut it out. Then we used a sanding block like an emergy board and sanded away the color from the surface of the edges which had been embossed. Thus–White Outlines!
OK–enough for today. Are you intrigued by some of these projects? If so, I’m ready to get you started with the latest Stampin’ Up! products. But first–be back tomorrow, March 1st, because YOU are going to be able to order some sneak peaks from the Occasions mini-catalog–to help you get your Easter projects started! Any questions? Call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me any time!
Subscribe to the comments for this postHonolulu Regional – Part IV – A project I just had to copy!
Aloha, all!
One of the "Workshop Wow" demonstrators at the recent Honolulu Regional conference showed a sample with a stamp set that one of my stamp club members, Barbara, just ordered. It arrived while I was in Honolulu; today I called her to ask if I could please use it for one of the projects for next week’s Stamp Club Meeting. As she’s in the midst of moving from a rental house to the home she and her husband have been building, she seemed happy not to have something else at her house that she would have to move (lucky me!).
The project was a pop-up card, and I had actually promised my club a pop-up card at the March meeting. So all the stars came together, and I (shamelessly) copied one of the projects from the Workshop demonstration. It would be much cooler to see this in a video (pop-ups really cry to be shown in motion!). But video is out of the question this week with all that I’m doing. So here’s the card without motion:
First the outside of the card. The stamp set is "Just Buzzin’ By" which features bees, hives, honey pots and two lines of text. Just the cutest bees! If you keep bees, you’re not going to be pleased either with the cuteness or with the old fashioned hive pictured here. But those of us who are into cute and not bees I’m sure just love it. Note that the wings on the little critters are a bit on the sparkly side. For the front of the card, I used two-way glue and Dazzling Diamonds. The yellow color is Summer Sun, and is it bright!
The inside is the really clever part. When you open the card, the bee hive pops up and the two little bees on the top, attached by way of little plastic strips (cut from transparency film) just bounce around as cute as can bee (sorry). 
I colored the bee hive using Blender Pens and Classic Ink pads, first applying a layer of Barely Banana, then a bit of More Mustard, and finally some accents with Close to Cocoa. Again, the bees have wings of Dazzling Diamonds. For these little critters, I used Heat and Stick Powder. This way my stamp club can see two different ways to use the same glitter product.
And wouldn’t you like to have one of these cards?! Barbara will certainly let me use this set for the next couple of weeks to make gifts for my customers. If you order at least $50 online, not only will you get a FREE Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set or paper or ribbon bundle, but you’ll get a Bee card from me, with the instructions for making it!
This offer is good until March 4th. The reason I’m extending it over the weekend is that, beginning on March 1st, you will be able to pre-order several sets from the Occasions Mini Catalog! Yes, even though the mini catalog doesn’t officially debut until April 1st, sets with an Easter theme will be available for purchase as early as March 1st! And you are still eligible for a FREE CATALOG, until Stampin’ Up! has given away 22,000 copies of the catalog.
So this is a great time to think about placing that online order! If you need any help in placing an online order, or if you wish to place an order directly with me, don’t hesitate to call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me; and I’ll get right on it!
Happy Stamping!
Robin
Honolulu Regional – Part III – Under the Stars
Aloha, all!
More fun at the Honolulu Regional Conference this month.
One thing I didn’t expect was that two of the local demonstrators who did Workshop presentations would use the stamp set, “Under The Stars,” especially as we have no wild bears (wild boars, yes; bears, no; oh, and mosquitos, yes, indeed but that’s not what these demos used!). And these demos were a stitch, and obviously have a lot more imagination than I do. Here is a CASE (that’s Copy And Share with Everyone) of one of the cards. Our daughter, who was born in Hawai‘i, has a birthday next month, and this is her birthday card.
This bear has attitude!! SHE is wearing a hula skirt made of Garden Green card stock, punched twice with the Oval Punch, and then slit with paper snips to mimic the "grass" skirts of hula; The little "top" (such as it is) was made with two of the new Flower Brads.
The demo who made the presentation had a great sense of humor and just talked all through what she was doing. One of the funniest parts was after she had put on the Hula Skirt and said that the next part was not for the squeamish as it involved body piercing—and she then proceeded to gleefully punch pin holes in the bear’s chest for the flower brads.
The card made during the presentation had a small flower by the Bear’s ear; but I don’t have it (or, more likely, couldn’t find it in my mess of stamps).
For a little more detail, here is a close up of Miss Hula Bear. Oh, isn’t she FEROCIOUS!!! 
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OK, now don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to have this set–especially if you’re in Hawaii or love all things Hawaiian!
But, if you’re not convinced, just wait until later in March when I have a CASE of yet another card made with this set. I have to order still another set to demo that card, but it will be here before long. Then you’ll just HAVE to have Miss Hula Bear and all her fellows stamps in the Under the Stars set!
Of course, February and March are the best months to order these and other stamp sets and all matter of embellishments–because it’s SALE-A-BRATION!!! For every $50 you spend, you get a free stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. Don’t have an SAB catalog? Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I’ll get one to you right away.
And even better–order online and get a FREE COPY OF THE CATALOG. No minimum purchase!!! (But remember: a $50 purchase will get you SAB freebies!!)
Happy Stamping!
Robin
Honolulu Regional – Part II – A Benefit of Being a Demo!
Aloha, all!
Part of the fun of a Stampin’ Up! event is meeting the great staff from Stampin’ Up! Of course, everyone (yours truly included) wants to meet Shelli and have her picture taken.
But my totally favorite people from Stampin’ Up! are the ones who do the training videos for those of us who are demonstrators. They are SOOO talented and enthusiastic, and lots of fun to talk with. Here I am with three of my favorites, Lori Olavesen (on the left), Jaron Winder (second from left), and Linda Hansen (on the right). There I am with my Stampin’ Up! Old Olive (or it is Kiwi Kiss) green blouse and a big smile in between Jaron and Linda.
The Honolulu Regional conference was absolutely fabulous, and one of the reasons was that there were only 300 people in attendance. With that kind of attendance, there is ample opportunity for everyone to get to meet and greet the Stampin’ Up! staff.
As you read the above, I hope that you noticed that I’m talking about some wonderful benefits of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. The training is just the best! When Stampin’ Up! puts out a new product, they make darned sure that we know all about it and how to use it. Those training videos are exclusive to demonstrators.
The Stampin’ Up! conferences and conventions are also a great benefit of being a demonstrator. All the great workshops, Make and Takes, and hundreds of sample cards and scrapbook pages on display make going to a conference/convention one of the best business and educational values I’ve come across.
With Sale-A-Bration in full swing (we’re about half way through), and the Starter Kit on sale (15% off the regular great price!) and an extra stamp set on top of that, this is a great time to start your own Stampin’ Up! business. Even if you’re just interested in being able to get your own 20% discount on all your purchases, the Sale-A-Bration recruiting deal is one that can’t be missed!
If you’d like more information, just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I’ll be glad to help!
Meanwhile, Happy Stamping!
Honolulu Regional 2009 – Part I
Aloha, all!
I was only gone off to Honolulu for a day and a half, and I’m still not unpacked! I’ve been having just too much fun processing all the photos that I took while I was there, as well as the photos of the swaps that I received in return for the card I’d made.
As you look through this slide show, I’m sure that you’ll think to yourself, "Wow!!! Someone did all that work for a SWAP???" Then there will be some where you might well think, "Does she have any idea how to cut and paste paper?" And there will be some in between the two. I want to tell you why I treasure all three:
- The "WOWs" are going to to go right into the pile of ideas that I’m going to try to duplicate myself and share with my stamp club and other customers.
- The "In Betweens" I’ll share with my customers and club members because they all have some good ideas and show how stamp sets that I don’t have can be used to make really nice cards. Besides, one of those cards that I consider "in betweens" may be someone else’s "wow!"
- The final category, "Does she have any idea…?" is a bit tougher, and the good news is that this time there are only a couple of them. There’s at least one benefit associated with them. The person who received MY swap in return will (one can only hope) see a card that’s been cut cleanly, is layered neatly, with pretty even borders all around the layers, and with some interesting use of papers and embellishments. Seeing this, as well as the many other nice cards that person will receive, may encourage her to try a little harder the next time to be a little neater and maybe even a bit more creative. Hey, I’m learning from the "Wows"; maybe she’ll learn from my card, too. That’s the "treasure" part of this category–that, even though I’m relatively new at this, I may actually be helping someone who’s even newer at it get better faster!
I’ll be back later in the week with some other pictures from the regional! There are two cards from the "Workshop Wow" presentations that I’m going to try to duplicate as soon as possible, and will share them with you when I do.
Meanwhile, if you see any images or techniques in any of the pictures that you’d like to know more about, just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I’ll get right back to you!
Happy Stamping!
Parisian Breeze in a Box!
Aloha, all from your card stock, paper and ribbon junkie (I’ve officially designated myself that as I can’t move around the craft room for all of the ribbon and paper all ove
My craft room is overflowing with little boxes I’ve made with the Sizzix Box #2 die. I am just so fascinated with the idea that I can make a box without a pencil or computer to draw it and a pair of scissors to cut it out! It’s a good thing that I’m a card stock and paper junkie, because otherwise I might run out of paper fairly quickly.
So, here is my latest take on the box, using some brand new Designer Series Specialty Paper, Parisian Breeze. I just love the colors in this paper–Baja Breeze (I have all kinds of turquoise-y colors in my craft collection), Chocolate Chip and Kraft. The Kraft is sort of an accent color; but it is just the right accent for the Baja Breeze/Chcolate Chip combo.
But as much as I like the colors, I just LOVE the texture! And this designer paper is also card-stock weight, and make a great 3-D project such as a box.
I made this as a gift for a member of my stamp club. Marcie and I share the same birthday, and you just gotta love someone who has the same birthday as you! The flower comes from the stamp set, Eastern Blooms, and the birthday greeting comes from the Crazy for Cupcakes set. Even though the color in the paper is Chocolate Chip, I liked the look of Close to Cocoa with this design. The band around the base of the box is Close to Cocoa and is the stamping on both the Baja Breeze and the Whisper White card stock.
Marcie has recently purchased two of the Stampin’ Up! Classy Brass Templates, along with the Empressor Stylus to do some dry embossing. So I’m showing off some of what she can do with her dry embossing materials by using the Floral Frenzy template, which coordinates with all of the designs in the Eastern Blooms stamp set. The textured dots on the Whisper White card stock are from the dry embossing, as is the outline of the flower itself. And, of course, the Scallop Circle Punch sets everything off nicely. (Oooh, do I have a sneak peak for you–there’s going to be an Scallop Oval punch in Stampin’ Up!’s future–come back next week and I’ll tell you more!)
The finishing touch is (what else!) ribbon! This is the striped 5/8" grosgrain ribbon in the Baja Breeze Color.
Happy Birthday, Marcie (well, just a couple of days late!)
How I Spent My Valentine’s Day Weekend
Aloha, all!
During my New Catalog Open House on Saturday (Valentine’s Day), one of my friends said that she had come intending to purchase one of the Decor Elements items. When I handed her the brand new, Phase 3, Decor Elements catalog, she couldn’t put it down! Oh, my, does she want that tree! (Look at the cover of the Decor Elements catalog to the right–or, better still, click on it to see the whole thing!)
But what she really came to buy was one of our Phase 1 items, Long-Stem Silhouette. She wasn’t sure about the sizes, though. Well, it so happened that I had purchased the Long-Stem Silhouette for myself back in the fall! And it was still neatly rolled up in its cardboard tube. Of course, I had to pull it out so she could determine what size she wanted.
But now–it was out of the tube, and it seemed silly to put it back when I had already decided where I wanted it.
All of the "stems" in the Long-Stem Silhouette are on the Decor Elements backing paper in the shape in which they appear in the Decor Elements catalog. But I wanted to split them and put half on one side of a closet door and half on the other. With the way that Stampin’ Up! makes its Decor Elements, it is so easy to do this.
Above is a picture of the original design: I wanted the four left-most stems for one motif. But I also wanted at least one of the stems in that group to be as high as the highest stem in the right group. So first I cut away the 2 left-most stems and temporarily placed them where I wanted them to be on the wall. Then I took the next stem in and cut it away from the pack. This stem I placed higher than the original design to be about the same height as the high stem on the left. Then I took the 4th stem, cut it away, and put it a bit closer to the first 3 and tilted it a bit so its stem overlapped other stems.
Finally, I just took the 4 stems left on the right, and put them on the right side of door. Below are photos of the finished product. (As in, "That’s how I spent my Valentine’s Day Weekend!)
Oh, and my friend also bought the Rose Kennedy saying, "Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments." She already has, "Live Every Moment," and "Life is good"! She left my house saying she’ll probably have a whole house full of sayings before she’s through with this!
Now that’s a fun thought! So I went to my Decor Elements Catalog, and ordered up a bunch more for my own house. I’m not much on "sayings," but there are lots of great floral motifs throughout the catalog! As soon as they arrive (well, maybe I’ll procrastinate a bit–but not too long!) I’ll share with you what I do with them.
And, as always, if you’d like to join in the Stampin’ Up!/Decor Elements fun–you can order these and any of the Decor Elements online, or by calling (808.854.6145) or e-mailing me.
Oooh–and another fun fact–there’s Decor Elements available for both Level 1 and Level 2 hostess benefits! In fact, once I placed today’s order (including a big order of Decor Elements!), I ordered one of them for myself!
Sizzix Box #2 is a Treasure!
Aloha, all!
Yesterday I showed off some of my last minute Valentine projects for the ladies who were coming to my New Catalog Open House today. Today, I’d like to focus on the little box that I made with the Sizzix Die called "Box #2."
This little box die has GOT to be the easiest way to make a little gift box that I’ve ever used! And the box is big enough to decorate and use to give little gifts such as jewelry and candy. It’s absolutely perfect for favors for parties of all kinds. With all the great new cover-weight Specialty Designer Papers that Stampin’ Up! now has, I can see that there will be little decorated boxes and weddings, graduations, and birthday parties; at Easter brunches; and end-of-year activities for schools and clubs.
But first about the dimensions. The Box is 3-3/4" wide, 2" high, and 1-1/4" deep. Here’s a picture of those measurements.
Here is a close up view of the Valentine’s Box I made yesterday, using a piece from the new "Sweet Slumber" Specialty Designer Paper and the Box #2 die. You can create 2 of these boxes out of one piece of 12" x 12" card stock or Specialty Designer Paper. The little dots on the paper are Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, and So Saffron. I decorated the box with Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon and card stock (punched with the Square Scallop Punch), and Ruby Red and Pretty in Pink card stock. The stamp is from the set, Dreams Du Jour.
Another thing that I promised yesterday was a hint about how to improve the box structure just slightly. There is a small flap on the lid which looked to me as if it wanted to be tucked inside the box (as I have in my box). However, the corners of that flap as just slightly too squared off to fit smoothly inside the box. So I used the Corner Rounder punch on those corners, and now the lid fits smoothly and perfectly inside the box.
If you’d like to make this little box, all you need is a Sizzix Big Shot starter kit and the Box Die #2! You can order both of these from Stampin’ Up! online, or you can call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I’ll be glad to place the order for you.
Don’t forget, though, that, if you need a catalog, you can get one free from Stampin’ Up! between now and April just by placing an order online!
“Wild Mind” Stamping!
Aloha, all!
OK, it’s not all stamping. But believe me it’s all of the "Wild Mind" variety. I’ll not take up much of my crafting space to explain. Here is a quote from notes about Natalie Goldberg’s book, "Wild Mind."
"Here is compassionate, practical, and often humorous advice about how to find time to write, how to discover your personal style, how to make sentences come alive, and how to overcome procrastination and writer’s block–including more than thirty provocative "Try This" exercises to get your pen moving."
At this point, I’m not so into "writing" as I am into "style." I spend a lot of time looking at how other people use the Stampin’ Up! products that I represent, and I base a lot of what I do on that. So "my" style has been more the style of others. Understand that I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I am crazy about the style that Stampin’ Up! is presenting in its latest catalogs, and the style that some of the most amazing SU demonstrators are using amazingly creatively.
After the writing class last night, though, I decided to break away from what’s "out there" in the paper crafting world, and just create–with some restraints that I placed on myself. Tonight, the restraints were:
- I have to have something easy to create for my friends who are coming to my Stampin’ Up! Open House tomorrow–and I promised them a Valentine project!
- I have to use ONLY the Sizzix and Designer Series Paper that came in the box that arrived on my doorstep today.
- Beyond that, I can use plain colored card stock and any stamps and other accessories that I already have.
OK–there were 6 packs of Designer Paper that arrived. Only one had any kind of vague resemblance to what might be considered "Valentine" value. The DSP is called, "Sweet Slumber." The colors are Rose Red, Baja Blue, So Saffron, and a background color (Sahara Sand).
Of the Sizzix materials that arrived, I had the Box #2 die as well as the Naturally Serif Sizzlits Alphabet.
So, where to start–the box of course! And, some of the Sweet Slumber dotted paper. The nice thing about the Sweet Slumber is that it’s cover weight paper. It’s of the same basic thickness as Stampin’ Up! card stock. So it can be the framework for a card as well as for anything that the Sizzix Big Shot has to offer. This is a lot different from the Designer Paper Stampin’ Up! has been making. The little box will hold some nice treasures, and is the item on the left in the photo above.
OK, now some cards. Hmmm. Well, the number of papers in the DSP pack is limited–2 of each design. So I had to be judicious in case several of those who are coming on Saturday want to make the same project. So I decided on one 4" x 4" card and one 3" x 3" card. Neither of these is mailable in the U.S. But, hey, my ladies are going to be making these ON Valentine’s Day. So they’re probably going to be handing them out. So no problem! The 4" card is in the middle and the 3" "Love Note" is on the right. OK, now who would have thought that I’d be making Valentine’s gifts and cards using Baja Blue and So Saffron?! Not I, for sure!!!
Tomorrow I’ll show a close up of that box that I made with the Sizzix Big Shot and the Box #2 die. That was amazing (not my particular design, but what the Sizzix could do!) because I made that box in less than 10 minutes!! If I hadn’t had to think about how to decorate it, it would have been even less than that! The Sizzix cuts and scores the box, and there’s only one little spot where you have to glue it!
But more of that tomorrow. I also have another hint to make this box a bit better (in my humble opinion!) And, while Valentine’s Day will be over, don’t forget that there’s Easter and Graduations and Weddings and Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and summer parties–this box die is going to be a treasure that you’ll definitely want to have all year long!
Valentine Blitz!
Oh, my, where has the week gone?!
I know!! It’s been spent on my own personal Valentine’s Blitz! First I had to make sure that I got Valentine’s cards made and mailed out to my Mainland Valentines. Yes, I have one special Valentine right here in East Hawaii; but there are lots of other Valentines, too. Then I had some local Valentines whom I needed to remember. And, of course, I got carried away and started stamping and gluing everything in sight that was red (Real Red, Rose Red, Riding Hood Red, Ruby Red) and pink (Pretty in Pink, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Pink Pirouette) or even looked like Valentine’s Day (Candy Lane Designer Paper for starters).
So now I can take a breath and start on something different. To begin, I made yet another gift card set in a card with a "diaper fold" pouch. These things are just SO EASY to make! I’m thinking already that this may be my Christmas 2009 card (and it’s definitely not too early to start thinking about Christmas cards if there are 80 – 100 to make!)
But I digress. The photo at the left shows the "pouch" made by the fold, with the little note card slipped into it. For mailing, the card inserted into the pouch as shown on the right makes the entire card just the right size to fit into a standard card-sized envelope (Stampin’ Up! "medium" envelopes).
The paper that I used comes from a new Stampin’ Up! Designer Papers set called, "Tea Party." I cut one of the fun fanciful flowers from the large print side of the paper to make the decoration on the note card.
Stampin’ Up! has a full product line of cards and envelopes, including Note Cards (3" x 3" folded) and the envelopes to match. The U. S. Postal Service does not permit mailing of a card the size of a note card. But using one that fits into the pouch makes mailing a snap.
If you’re interested in the directions for making the diaper fold pouch, they’re right here on my blog. For this and for instructions for making some other fun projects, just click on the tab above that reads, "Techniques and Tutorials," and scroll down the list.
And to purchase any of the products used in these projects, you can go to my Stampin’ Up! website and order online–or call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I can order for you. If you’d like to see a catalog before ordering, you can click on the link to the right, "Our 2009 Spring/Summer Catalog." Or, again, call or e-mail me and I’ll get a copy out to you!
Happy Stamping!
