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Archive for May, 2009:
Thank You to Janet & Deb!
Aloha, all!
I’ve been on the mainland for the last few weeks, and had a great time visiting three different homes. Of course, the first thing I had to do when I got back (well, after unpacking and so forth) was to make some Thank You cards for my host and hostesses.
First, the Thank You for my last hostess, my friend, Janet, in Maryland. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent any time at all with Janet, and this was a well-needed time to just chill. Of course, "chill" did involve some traveling (to Philadelphia for an art exhibit) and some shopping (a REAL mainland mall!) and stops at Michaels and Joanns to stock up on the cotton yarn I love to use for small crochet projects.
You might recognize several of the products that are in the Occasions Mini Catalog. This is the first time I’ve used the Printed Window Sheets, and I’ll be using another one for a card for my sister-in-law, Deb, which I’ll share with you tomorrow. I also used one of the papers from "Walk in the Park" Designer Series Paper.
I made the Butterfly with the Stampin’ Up! Beautiful Butterfly Sizzix Die and the Stampin’ Up! Backgrounds I for texture. I "tied" it all together with the 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon. The way I put it together was to wrap the base of the ribbon around the Designer Series Paper layer, then punch two horizontal slots in the window sheet parallel to the way the ribbon was running. I then ran a smaller piece of the ribbon behind the laid ribbon and through the window sheet, tying a simple knot. The final accent is the three 5/16" Whisper White Jumbo Brads in the lower right corner.
I saw a comment in an e-mail earlier in the week that the mini-catalog was about to expire. NOT!! The Occasions Mini Catalog goes through June 30th! So, if you’ve been putting off ordering any of the wonderful products it contains, you still have plenty of time! Just order online, or call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I’ll place the order for you!
And if you really like that Designer Series Paper–tomorrow (May 31st) definitely IS the last day for the Buy-3-get-one-free offer from Stampin’ Up! So now’s the time to take advantage of that. I know that I certainly have!
Subscribe to the comments for this postHow Many Products in that Card?
Aloha, all!
Here I am back with my Big, Bold, Beautiful Bouquet and a recap of all the Stampin’ Up! products that went into it. As I told you a few days ago, I found far more than the 10 I promised!
- Stampin’ Up! Cherry Blossom Embosslit (blue flower on the right)
- Pacific Point Patterns Paper (blue flower on the right)
- 5/16" Neutrals Assortment Jumbo Brad (blue flower on the right)
- Stampin’ Up! Simple Flower Embosslit (red flower)
- Riding Hood Red Patterns Paper (red flower)
- 5/8" Neutrals Assortment Jumbo Brad (red flower)
- Flower Embosslit (blue flower on the left)
- Summer Sun Corduroy Button Brad (blue flower on the left)
- Stampin’ Up! Flower Burst Embosslit (yellow flower)
- Clear Rhinestore Brad (yellow flower)
- Circle Ice Rhinestone Brad (yellow flower)
- Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad (yellow flower)
- Summer Sun Card Stock (yellow flower)
- Sincere Salutations Stamp Set ("Thanks so much")
- Dream a Little Level 3 Hostess Stamp Set (flowers and leaves in background)
- Whisper White Card stock (main card front)
- Pacific Point Classic Ink Pad
- Garden Green Classic Ink Pad
- Riding Hood Red Classic Ink Pad
Hey, I’ve had fun with this card. And now I’m going to take a rest until next Monday when we have a big Stampin’ Up! Day! That’s the day that the Retired Stamp Set List comes out. I’ll be pouring over the list first thing and will get it out to you as soon as I can. I hope my favorite sets aren’t on the list!!!
And, if you want to order something now before the list comes out, there’s nothing and no one stopping you but yourself! Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me with any questions or with your order. Or order online any time you wish!
Last Two Flowers in the Bouquet
Aloha, all!
We’re down to the last two Embosslit Flowers in our Bouquet of the week. And the real life flowers are blooming all around us, too. Even here in East Hawaii there are more flowers than ever after our cool, rainy season.
I made this flower using the Stampin’ Up! Simple Flower from Sizzix. This is another of the exclusive Stampin’ Up! Sizzix designs. I used the sanding technique that I described yesterday. This flower really lends itself well to this technique.
The brad in the center of this flower is from the 5/8" Neutrals Assortment of Jumbo Brads that are new to the Srping/Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog. I put off ordering any for myself until last month when one of my customers ordered them, sight unseen. I couldn’t resist after that!! This brad is Whisper White, which just sets off this Simple Flower beautifully.
The final flower I made using the 
Stampin’ Up! Cherry Blossom from Sizzix. Why, you might well ask, did I choose Pacific Point for this flower instead of Cherry Blossom Pink? Well, for one thing Cherry Blossom Pink isn’t a color made by Stampin’ Up! (Anyone know if someone else makes such a color?) And I really wanted a bit more of a blue accent. So bear with me and enjoy this blue cherry blossom! The sanding on this flower is a bit lighter than on the other flowers. I decided that I liked the softer look with this embosslit so didn’t touch it up with the gel pen as I did with the "Flower" embosslit.
The brad in this flower is also from a Jumbo Brad assortment, the 5/16" Neutrals Assortment. You can really see the difference half a diameter makes!
Tomorrow we’ll complete this week’s discussion of my Beautiful, Bright, Bradded (is that a word?) Bouquet and recap all the Stampin’ Up! products that are used in it!
Meanwhile, it’s not too late to order all of the products that go into making this card, or most of the parts of it. The Pacific Point and Riding Hood Red Patterns Papers will definitely be going the way of all Stampin’ Up! In Colors at the end of June. So this might be a good time to start thinking about ordering THAT! As always, call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to place an order. Or order directly online any time 24/7!
Bright Flower with a bit of Sanding
Aloha, all!
Well, now that I’ve counted products, I’m finding that there are MORE THAN 10 products in it! Today I’m going to highlight another one of the flowers and it’s big, bright, button brad of a center!
This flower is also a Sizzix Embosslit. The embosslit is named, appropriately enough, Flower! This is one of three flowers in this bouquet that are "sanded" to provide a white accent in the embossed areas. The technique is very simple and requires only one of Stampin’ Up!’s Sanding Blocks. These are white blocks that have multiple uses, including this one.
Here is the recipe:
Materials needed:
- Emblosslit Die.
- Designer Series Paper with a solid (or nearly solid) color on one side. The 2008-2009 "Patterns" paper sets all have one sheet with a solid side to it. This does NOT WORK WITH STAMPIN’ UP! CARD STOCK, as card stock is colored all the way through. Designer Series paper has a white core, and this is what you’ll be exposing. I used Pacific Point Patterns Paper for this project.
- Sanding Block
- Dotto (optional)
Instructions:
- Cut your flower using the Designer Series Paper and the Embosslit Die.
- Lay the cut flower with the embossed ridges facing up on a cutting surface; using a bit of Dotto helps keep it in place.
- Lightly sand the raised areas of the embossed flower with the sanding block until the white appears.
- Continue to sand until the flower image is complete
As simple as that!
I found with this flower that there are some areas that are just a bit too fine to get the full effect of the sanding. So I cheated a little here and there with a bit of white gel pen. If you look really closely, you’ll see some of the marks made with the pen. The areas on the other flowers are clearer and sand just beautifully
Now–about that huge yellow center to the flower! This is one of Stampin’ Up!’s new Corduroy Buttons in the Summer Sun color. And this one’s a brad, too!! This embosslit has a large hole in the center, which is just the right size for the brad prongs on the button. And what a nice way to accent that Summer Sun Flower Burst flower next to it!
Tomorrow we finish the bouquet!
Are you ready to buy some of those Sizzix Embosslits? They are just perfect for Wedding Cards and Favors, and June is coming! Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to place an order! Or shop for these any all of Stampin’ Up!’s Sizzix products online 24/7 at www.robinstamps.stampinup.net!
A Burst of Color!
Aloha, all!
In yesterday’s post, I showed off a card that I’d made using 10 different Stampin’ Up! products, not including the ink and paper. Today I’m going to show off two of those products: The Stampin’ Up! Flower Burst Embosslit by Sizzix and the Circle Rhinestone Brads.
Maybe you remember (back on the 15th) that I showed off a project that I’d made that included the Stampin’ Up! Flower Burst Embosslit. In that post, I showed a Riding Hood Red flower that had the other side of this flower showing. I happen to like BOTH SIDES of this embosslit, even though this seems to be the side that’s supposed to be the "right" side. In this case, all of the other flowers have their conves sides showing, so this is the side I used for this bouquet.
The embosslit dies are little sandwich type dies in which you place a small (2+" square) piece of paper or card stock, then run that through the Sizzix Big shot with the Multipurpose Platform and standard cutting pads. When you open the sandwich, not only is the die cut, it’s also embossed, just as you see here. There’s absolutely no scissors work here at all.
For the center of this flower, I chose to use 3 of the very smallest brads in the Circle Rhinestone collections: Clear Circle, Circle Ice, and Circle Fire.
Check back later in the week for more about the other flowers in this bright bouquet!
A Bouquet for You!
Aloha, all!
What fun I had making this card to show off some great Stampin’ Up! products! I’m going to take some time this week go talk about each of the 10 different Stampin’ Up! products (not including the paper and ink!) on this wonderful little Thank You card!
For starters, two of the colors and at least one of the stamp sets are almost at the point where they will no longer be available! The lovely deep blue is Pacific Point and the red is Riding Hood Red. Both of these are "In Colors" for the 2008-2009 Stampin’ Up! year, and both will be retired at the end of June of this year. The background of the floral bouquet contains flowers and leaves from the Level 3 Hostess Set, Dream a Little. It’s a 2-Step Stampin’ Set, and I’m really going to miss it! Of course, you still have time to get one by hosting a $500 workshop before the last week of June! With that kind of a workshop, you also get to choose an extra $60 worth of products from the Idea Book and Catalog absolutely FREE!
I’ll be here most of the month of June, and would love to plan a workshop with you! Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I’ll get started working with you to plan your own unique workshop and party for your friends!
Folded Corner Bookmark
Aloha, all!
Besides making gifts, favors and cards for my Family and Community Education (FCE) fair to sell at it’s charitable fund-raiser earlier in the month, I also was scheduled to conduct a "paper crafting" demonstration. For that, I chose the Diaper Fold Pouch and the Corner Bookmark fold.
Last week I talked a lot about the Diaper Fold Pouch gifts and demonstration. Today I’ll finish up my Fair discussion with an activity that was a highlight of my day–my demonstration of the Folded Corner Bookmark. What was fun was watching everyone in the audience slowly see how this was going to all come together–then having one of the audience members come up to me afterwards to show that she’d already put her bookmark in a book! I looked around a bit afterwards, and there were two people with some of the extra paper I’d handed out making even more!
I’ve posted instructions for this fold, and hope that you’ll enjoy making your own bookmarks. This one is for my Hawaii Farmers’ Market Cookbook; and it won’t be long before ALL of my cookbooks have their own bookmarks. Maybe I’ll call them "cookbookmarks"! They are definitely that because they’ll hold several pages, which helps keep those cookbooks open the spot where you’re recipe is printed!
Something Old and Something New at the FCE Fair
Aloha, all!
Usually I only post here products that you can order right now from Stampin’ Up! But, during Sale-A-Bration in February and March of this year, there was a stamp that I’ve decided may become a permanent resident of Robin’s Craft Room. Unless, of course, Stampin’ Up! comes up with a great replacement, which I believe is highly likely. But for now, I’m sticking with this stamp for this kind of gift/favor.
But I won’t concentrate on that. What I would like to feature is how you can take Hershey’s Nugget sized candies and use Stampin’ Up! Designer Series paper packs to make a lovely – AND QUICK – favor for any kind of a party. In fact, for last week’s Family and Community Education (FCE) fair, I made 14 of these favor pouches, and one person bought all 14 for a Mother’s Day party he was hosting the next day!!!
The bag topper for these favors was made using the Stampin’ Up! exclusive Sizzix Die, Top Note, folded in half long ways, and stamped with a stamp from the set, Yummy. I punched a small flower using the Boho Blossoms Punch, and added a 1/4" Circle in Riding Hood Red. The Designer Series Paper used for the Nuggets was from the Bella Rose collection.
For each Hershey’s Nugget, I cut a strip of Designer Series Paper 1" wide by 3" long, wrapped it around nugget and sealed it with SNAIL.
Simple, elegant and EASY!!
Of course, there are lots of stamps in the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog that you can use. As with all else creative, you’re only limited by your imagination!
Call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me if you’d like more information about how you can use or purchase any of these Stampin’ Up! products! Or order online 24/7 on my website.
Sweet Gift!
Aloha, all!
Yesterday I showed off the pile of Gift Pouches that I had for sale at our Family and Community Education (FCE) annual fair in Hilo, Hawaii. Today I’ll show a close up of the gift pouch and go over all the elements that make this such a cute gift idea.
The bases for all Stampin’ Up! projects are the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Papers or their Card Stock in dozens of luscious colors. For this project, I used Riding Hood Red Patterns paper. If you look at yesterday’s post, you’ll see that there I used several different designs from the pack.
All of the flowers are Sizzix Flowers. The Daisies attached to the pouch itself are the two smaller flowers from the "Flower Daisies #2" die. The larger of the flowers is Almost Amethyst card stock, and the smaller is Riding Hood Red card stock. The button is from the Button Bouquet set of Designer Buttons. Now here is where I have a bit of a beef with Stampin’ Up! (love the company, but there are some things that bug me). The stated color of the button is Baja Breeze. But this button exactly matches the Almost Amethyst paper NOT the Baja Breeze paper. The other colors in the Designer Button set are spot on. But this one isn’t. I wish I had realized this earlier in the year as I would have loved using these buttons to accent some Almost Amethyst projects. The problem that I have with Stampin’ Up! is that, if a manufacturer produces a product that doesn’t match the color it’s supposed to, then Stampin’ Up! shouldn’t go ahead and give it that color name anyway. OK. Statement made. I’ll try my best to steer you to embellishments that really do match as the new catalog and the new colors for 2009-2010 are announced. So stay tuned for that.
Now–about the Embosslits. These little one-flower dies not only cut the flowers out but they emboss them as well. The Riding Hood Red flower is the Stampin’ Up! Flower Burst emblosslit. While some embosslits seem to have a "right" side and a "wrong" side, this one seems to me to have two "right" sides. In this project, I used the side with the concave impressions. In a project I’ll feature next week, I’ll show you the flower with the convex side up.
The Almost Amethyst embosslit in the back is the Stampin’ Up! Cherry Blossom. Both of these emblosslits are Stampin’ Up! exclusives for now, so you can only purchase them with a Stampin’ Up! order. Next week’s project will show off another Stampin’ Up! exclusive embosslit, the Stampin’ Up! Simple Flower.
The two embosslit flowers and the lollipop are attached to a separate piece of Riding Hood Red card stock cut 3" x 3", and then I inserted that into the pouch. In this way, the pouch can be reused after that lollipop disappears the way that most lollipops disappear. The Ribbon is Riding Hood Red 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, and the tag, cut with the Small Oval Punch, is stamped with a stamp from the All Hollidays set.
What a quick and easy gift this was to make, and it was especially easy with a production line going. This would be a perfect favor for a graduation party or a shower! And you can purchase everything you need to make it is any of four dozen plus colors featured in the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog. If you’d like a catalog, or would like to order any of these products, you can call (808.854-6145) or e-mail me. Or, as always, you can order 24/7 from my website!
More from the FCE Fair
Aloha, all!
As I mentioned last week, I spent quite a bit of time getting some cards and gifts from Robin’s Craft Room ready for the Family and Community Education (FCE) Annual Fair.
In addition to the little Pillow Box favor boxes I made, I also made up some gift cards with the Diaper Fold Pouch decorated with a variety of Sizzix flowers and other Stampin’ Up! Embellishments. Even with all the flowers and embellishments (including the delish Life Savers Lollipop!), the gift pouches fit nicely into a standard Stampin’ Up! Medium Envelope (an A2 size envelope). All of these, along with their envelopes, are also packaged in a Clear Translucent Medium Envelope.
Early in the Fair day, the little Pillow Box treats and greeting cards sold better than the gift pouches. But then I was on the day’s agenda to do a demonstration of paper crafting. I had chosen a hands-on demonstration on how to make the Diaper Fold Pouch, and gave every one a 7-1/2" square piece of Designer Series Paper to try one out. When I held up one of these packaged pouches to show how a finished project could look, one audience member bought it on the spot and all but two of the rest sold immediately afterwards! It’s good to demo stuff!!
Tomorrow, I’ll show a close up of the pouch, with details about the embellishments. If you’d like to try your hand at making your own, just click on the link above to get detailed instructions for the folding.
Oh, and you should know that every cent made selling these gift pouches, and the rest of the items I made goes directly to our FCE club for its charitable work. If you’re involved with a charitable organization, Stampin’ Up! products create an excellent quality gift to sell! I’ll show off another project I made early next week.
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