Hooray!!! All my Christmas cards are done and mailed!! The day did have one little glitch, though, as I realized the 5 small children on my list needed something a little cuter than my Diagonal Double Pocket cards with bookmarks (though it would be a good thing if they knew what a bookmark was for, I guess).
So out came the Sock Monkey stamp set (111550), which also has an Accessories set (111552). The set is new with the 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog, and it was one of the first stamp sets I bought. Actually, it was a preview set for demonstrators, and there seemed to be a lot going on with it. So buy it I did. But, with the Christmas Season, I totally forgot about it. When I went to hunt it up, sure enough the Accessories set had a Santa Hat, and I was off and running to make these 5 cute cards! I used scraps that I had left over from the Diagonal Double Pocket cards to make up the main part of his body, then layered everything up so he could offer up a cute little present. Some cute little $1 bills were tucked inside the card. I know there’s a way I could have made them pop out of the gift box. But, hey, it was the Saturday before Christmas, and my creativity was already starting its vacation.
If you have this set, it’s not too late to make some cards or gifts for those little ones on your list for Christmas! If you don’t, you might want to consider this little critter. He comes with a heart that would be great for Valentine’s Day; there’s also party hat, a flower, a cupcake, a balloon–great for birthdays! The Sock Monkey Accessories set has even more for the spring, with bunny ears and an Easter basket, a graduation hat, and other great every day accessories.
You can order online–in fact, this would be a great addition to your Free Shipping package if you’ve been trying to figure out what to add to your order to bring it up to $70 for the Free Shipping Offer!
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-mailme and I can do the ordering for you!
We had a totally busy day in paradise today–starting with a visit from an electrician who fixed that smoke alarm that has been going off at 4 in the morning more than I’d care to have it go off (um, actually, one time would be more than I’d care; but I’ve been patient). I’m truly looking forward to a full night’s sleep tonight!
After a few other social engagements, I finally had a chance to play in the Craft Room, and finished the second of the two ornaments that I wanted to make this year for the wreath being built by my son (Gus) and grandson (Quin). Yesterday I featured the "Q" ornament. Today the "G." Actually, Gus is not the name that I gave him at birth. His given name is Andrew. How he ended up a "Gus" is a story for another time.
But Gus he is, so a "G" is called for. I wanted the two ornaments to be similar but not the same colors. So today I reverted to one of my favorite of the Stampin’ Up! 2008 embellishments, the "Little Felt Flurries" (113697). No, I have not used them up!!! In fact, I can’t imagine you could use all those wonderful embellishments up unless you were mass-producing cards and ornaments. I rarely mass produce as I like to think about each and every card and ornament I make, so I tend to be slower than many of my fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. In fact, I’m thinking of saving some of the red snowflakes for Valentine’s cards. Hey, it still snows in February somewhere in our wonderful country! Maybe even in Hawaii (I’ll let you know when I first see snow this season).
The "G" is from the same Serif Essentials Sizzix alphabet set (113464) as the "Q" of yesterday’s blog entry. For the "G" I used white self-adhesive felt, added some Little Felt Flurries, and mounted it all on Glorious Green card stock. This was cut using the Scallop Circle #2 Sizzix Die (113469) (as was yesterday’s gold scallop circle).
I’ll be punching a small hole in both ornaments (to make them easy to attach to the wreath) and mailing them off to Oregon tomorrow.
My favorite toy this weekend is the Sizzix Big Shot with the wonderful Serif Essentials alphabet (113464).
The first project was to make 2008 decorations for the wreath that my son, Gus, and grandson, Quin, started decorating last year. For Quin’s decoration, I used the large Q (I’m probably one of the very few people who may actually wear out the Q in the alphabet set!). I used some self-adhesive red felt and attached it to a piece of the cardboard that somes with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper (never throw that stuff away–it’s free gold!). I hand cut two pieces of Glorious Green card stock into the shape of holly leaves, and added a Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad (109110). To finish it off, I mounted the decoration on Brushed Gold card stock, using Stampin’ Dimensionals to make it "pop" out a bit.
Here is another version of the Diagonal Double Pocket Card.
Most of my dearest friends and I are at the point where we don’t feel that we have to shop for each other for holiday gifts, whether they be for Christmas or Hannukah. But we do like to exchange gifts of things that we have made to commerate at this joyous time that we do, indeed, treasure and are thankful for our friendships. My friend, Janet, for example, has bene making us a Christmas tree ornament for as long as I can remember. She celebrates Hannukah, so I don’t reciprocate with a handmade ornament. However, I do like to make her something special.
As I mentioned yesterday, this year, I have been having lots of fun making diagonal double pocket cards with bookmarks for my friends. Janet is definitely a book lover, even volunteering at her local library.
Today’s card is made with card stock (Taken with Teal). You’ll see on the instructions for the card, there is a variation from the design I used yesterday. With card stock, that last fold creates just two too many layers of card stock for my taste. So this card is actually more like a traditional greeting card, with an inside for a greeting. There are still two diagonal pockets on the front, though!
I created some difference between the front and the back of the card stock by embossing small snowflakes (from the Level 3 Hostess set, Holiday Happenings Bundle, using VersaMark (102283) and White Stampin’ Emboss Powder (109132). I made the two bookmarks with Whisper White and Taken With Teal card stock, and finally affixed two small snowflakes, also made out of Whisper White and cut with the Sizzix Big Shot and two Sizzlits from the Snowflakes Set #2 (113449).
The stamped greeting is from the Heritage Holiday Stamp Set (111646).
Ready to make some of these cards! Just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me, and I can help you pick out papers and stamp sets to get you started!
I’m back on the Big Island of Hawaii after having spent a day in the Big City of Honolulu yesterday. I am truly amazed by all the shopping opportunities that abound in a large city, compared with what we have here near Hilo, Hawaii. But then my dear husband, Harry, reminded me that I don’t even like to shop! That brought me back down to earth, and back to thinking about how I’m going to spend my week making gifts for this holiday season.
As I’m having a Stamp Club meeting this week, I decided to show them how to make a card that can also be a gift. It’s a Diagonal Double Pocket Card, and you can insert many different kinds of gifts (flat, of course). I made two bookmarks to put in this card. They feel colorful and Christmas-y to me!
The Designer Series Paper is from the Frosty Day set (113057), with coordinating Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss card stock (two of this year’s In Colors–111347 for a sampler of all six colors) to form the back of the bookmarks. For the front of the bookmarks, I stamped two images from the stamp set, Punch Pals, (109489) on the Whisper White Card Stock (100730).
I finished off the front of the card with a felt snowflake cut with the Sizzix Big Shot and the Snowflake #2 Die (113460).
I like to make a one-page set of instructions for my Stamp Club projects, and have made one for the basic Double Diagonal Pocket Card. Try using it with some of Stampin’ Up!’s great Designer Series Paper! I have samples of all the papers in the Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book and Catalog. I’ll be happy to help you select the perfect paper to make your OWN Double Diagonal Pocket Card!
Yesterday I showed you a picture of the ornament that grandson, Quin, made while he was visiting for Thanksgiving. He and his dad were here for only two days, but we packed a lot into them.
Included in all the activity was not only making Quin’s ornament, but taping it as an instructional video. I never knew my grandson was such a showman! As you can imagine, there were lots of "takes" involved in making this video. I’ll be posting the mostly unedited version on YouTube for the family.
Here, though, is an edited version that shows just how easy it is for kids to use the Sizzix Big Shot! Quin is only 8, but I’d bet he’d be in the Craft Room making stuff every day after school if he could! Well, there would have to be time for his video GAMES, and, oh, homework and such. But Grandma would definitely spoil him if he were here!
While my 8-year-old grandson, Quin, was visiting from the mainland for Thanksgiving, he learned how to use the Sizzix Big Shot from Stampin’ Up! We started with the ornament that I featured in yesterday’s blog post. After that, he could hardly wait to get his hands on the Big Shot again! I had some snowflakes lying on my display table, and those intrigued him the most.
Quin definitely wanted to make a Snowflake ornament (using the Sizzix Originals Die Snowflake #2-113461). He was quite certain that he wanted one big snowflake with little ones at the ends of each of the spikes of the large snowflake. After a bit of coaxing, he agreed that three little snowflakes (made with the Sizzlits Snowflakes Set #2-113449) were sufficient. He went through all my Stampin’ Up! cardstock, and picked Brilliant Blue as the color for his large snowflake and Whisper White for the smaller flakes. We also decided to make the blue snowflake a big sturdier by using some of that wonderful light cardboard packed with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper. Finally, we picked Friday afternoon as the time for the ornament crafting project!
Earlier in the day on Friday, Grandpa Harry took Quin out into our back garden to cut down a couple of Norfolk Pines for this year’s Christmas trees. Grandma Robin couldn’t resist making a video out of part of the tree-cutting event. Once Quin saw that video, he decided that we were going to make a video so he could demonstrate how to make HIS ornament.
Tomorrow I’ll share the video with you. He just loves that Sizzix! I do, too, of course, and would love to have you try one out! If you have kids or grandkids, I highly recommend it for hours of crafting fun!
This Thanksgiving weekend has been a great one for our family! Grandson, Quin, and his dad, Gus, visited us from Portland, Oregon. One of the first things that had to be done was to have an ornament made as a gift to a friend who was taking in their mail while they were gone.
Quin wanted an ornament that was a "Christmas Tree with Gifts Underneath it," and he had to be involved in making it. I thought and thought and finally came up with the idea to use some of the Sizzix Big Shot dies to accomplish the task.
We used the small Pennant die and the letter "J" from the Serif Essentials Alphabet to make this ornament for Joanna. We added some gift boxes made from Designer Series Paper and cut with the 1-1/8" square punch, with some paper "ribbons" to match, and we had our ornament!!
Quin is very proud of his ornament, as well he should be! He dictated the use of the Sizzix and the Designer Series Paper (and its use as package ribbons!) to perfection.
Just wait until tomorrow and the next day when I tell you what he had me doing with the Sizzix!!
Don’t forget–this is the weekend for the Big Stampin’ Up! Extravaganzi Sale! I have already received (via my great FedEx Guy) my order from the sale. Don’t wait until the last minute–things are running out fast!. Check with me online to order the best of the remaining bundles!
Welcome to the first post-Thanksgiving Day post from Robin’s Craft Room! I hope that you had a wonderful day with friends and family, and are now really ready to spend lots of time on Christmas and other Holiday cards and gifts! I know I am. Our son and grandson are here for the holiday from Oregon, and you can be sure there will be pictures taken and posted here! Of course, there will be Stampin’ Up! projects involved!
One of the items in Robin’s Craft Room that I’m sure our grandson will love is my Sizzix Big Shot! And I’m equally sure he’ll want to crank out some of those Fluffy Felt Flakes that I showed off here earlier this week. (OK–hint preview!! There will be a video with Grandson, Quintin, coming up early in the next week! We had a blast!!!)
While I’ll be able to provide Quin with a personal, hands-on demonstration, I’m not able to do that for my all my Craft Room readers (though some of you will be here for my club or classes next month, I’m sure!)
To help the rest of you out with this, I’ve made another instructional video called(who’d have guessed), "Fluffy Felt Flakes."
If watching this makes you want to have your own Stampin’ Up! Big Shot, you can have one as easy as going online and ordering right now! That’s right–you can order online any time of the day or night! Just click on the "Shop Now" button in the upper right corner, and enter the item number 113481 for the Special Edition Starter Kit featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog. To add the Snowflake to your shopping cart, enter item number 113460.
And don’t forget to choose your Stampin’ Rewards! You’ll probably have purchased enough to get a Level 1 Hostess Set for Free! I’d like to suggest the pack of 6" square Designer Series Paper (no, unfortunately this isn’t the kind that comes with that wonderfully thin cardboard!) so you can get started with your Sizzix right away! Then you’ll have at least $20 of free merchandise to add to your cart. Some card stock to go with the papers would be a great choice! If you need help choosing, you can always call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me for assistance!
This is a personal web site of Robin Messenheimer, an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, who is responsible for its content. Stampin' Up! does not endorse the use of or contents of the classes, services, or non-Stampin' Up! products that may be offered here.
All content is copyrighted so please do not submit my work for contests or publication and/or reprint or otherwise copy my articles without permission (and I do give permission most times!).
So out came the Sock Monkey stamp set (111550), which also has an Accessories set (111552). The set is new with the 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog, and it was one of the first stamp sets I bought. Actually, it was a preview set for demonstrators, and there seemed to be a lot going on with it. So buy it I did. But, with the Christmas Season, I totally forgot about it. When I went to hunt it up, sure enough the Accessories set had a Santa Hat, and I was off and running to make these 5 cute cards! I used scraps that I had left over from the Diagonal Double Pocket cards to make up the main part of his body, then layered everything up so he could offer up a cute little present. Some cute little $1 bills were tucked inside the card. I know there’s a way I could have made them pop out of the gift box. But, hey, it was the Saturday before Christmas, and my creativity was already starting its vacation.
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.
But Gus he is, so a "G" is called for. I wanted the two ornaments to be similar but not the same colors. So today I reverted to one of my favorite of the Stampin’ Up! 2008 embellishments, the "Little Felt Flurries" (113697). No, I have not used them up!!! In fact, I can’t imagine you could use all those wonderful embellishments up unless you were mass-producing cards and ornaments. I rarely mass produce as I like to think about each and every card and ornament I make, so I tend to be slower than many of my fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. In fact, I’m thinking of saving some of the red snowflakes for Valentine’s cards. Hey, it still snows in February somewhere in our wonderful country! Maybe even in Hawaii (I’ll let you know when I first see snow this season).
The first project was to make 2008 decorations for the wreath that my son, Gus, and grandson, Quin, started decorating last year. For Quin’s decoration, I used the large Q (I’m probably one of the very few people who may actually wear out the Q in the alphabet set!). I used some self-adhesive red felt and attached it to a piece of the cardboard that somes with Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper (never throw that stuff away–it’s free gold!). I hand cut two pieces of Glorious Green card stock into the shape of holly leaves, and added a Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad (109110). To finish it off, I mounted the decoration on Brushed Gold card stock, using Stampin’ Dimensionals to make it "pop" out a bit.
While my 8-year-old grandson, Quin, was visiting from the mainland for Thanksgiving, he learned how to use the Sizzix Big Shot from Stampin’ Up! We started with the ornament that I featured in yesterday’s blog post. After that, he could hardly wait to get his hands on the Big Shot again! I had some snowflakes lying on my display table, and those intrigued him the most. 
This Thanksgiving weekend has been a great one for our family! Grandson, Quin, and his dad, Gus, visited us from Portland, Oregon. One of the first things that had to be done was to have an ornament made as a gift to a friend who was taking in their mail while they were gone.
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