I’m in the middle of making a few scrapbook pages (I’ll show them off here later in the week–this is a sneak peak at the mess in the Craft Room!), but I just had to stop and let you know that Stampin’ Up! just announced an Inventory Blowout Sale!  This sale includes

• Some of the items from the newly-announced Retiring Accessories List
• Some items that were retired from last year’s Spring/Summer Catalog
• Some items that are going to continue on in the NEW Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog

You should know that items in this last group will only be on sale until inventory is down to the level that Stampin’ Up! wants to maintain.  And items that are going to be retired will not be replenished after they are sold out.

SOOOOO–Order Now!

If you have any questions, please call me at 808.854.6145. 

ALERT–My E-mail Service is down today (has been since Sunday).  You can e-mail me at this address today (actually, you can e-mail me there any time; it’s just that I pay attention to my RobinsCraftRoom mail FIRST!)

Do any of you remember making these little folded pouches when you were in school?  I confess that I spent a lot of time day dreaming while a teacher droned on about something in which I was totally uninterested.  I’d take paper from my notebook and make different folds, and this was one of them.  It’s called the "Diaper Fold" and now I find that it works great for adult-type craft projects!

I made this pouch using the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper, Green Tea (112040).  The cut out flowers on the front of the pouch are also from one of the designs that come in the Green Tea set of papers.

The 3" x 3" Love Note size card fits perfectly into the pouch, and the whole thing fits perfectly into a standard sized "Medium" envelope.  Stampin’ Up! sells 6 colors of the Medium Envelope, which you can find on page 167 of the 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog.

Thanks to Beate and the Split Coast Stampers forum for the great instructions for this design.  I also have a one-page set of instructions here if you’d like to print it out for your files!

And if you need any of the supplies for this great little project, remember that you can order online 24/7, 365 days of the year!!  Or, as always, you can call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I can place the order for you.

Now that I have plenty of room in my card basket with all those Christmas cards sent off, I’m starting to fill it up with Valentines and Birthday cards.  Here’s one of the birthday cards I made the other day.  It was part of a Split Coast Stampers Holiday challenge to make a card with just the one layer and get it done quickly.  I have to tell you that I’ve been practicing with the Classy Brass Template, Priceless (109541) in preparation for my January classes.  So it was pretty quick to get the border around the card done, because I knew pretty much where to start the dry embossing.

The coloring of the cupcakes (from the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set (111618)), as well as the background, was done with the Stampin’ Pastels (105542).  For the background I used a Sponge Dauber (102892) and for the cupcakes I used a blender pen (102845).

I’m off to play bridge this afternoon!  Back again tomorrow.

The sun has finally made an appearance here after what seems like the biblical 40-days-and-40-nights of continuous rain.  It’s actually only been about a week of it.  And we do live in a rain forest.  But it gets old fast.  As soon as the sun broke out, I was out for a much-needed walk. 

Just before I got out, I spent a little time in my Craft Room working on a Christmas week challenge on Split Coast Stampers.  The challenge was to be inspired by a photograph posted by the challenger, who is in the snow in the Pacific Northwest.  (ed. note:  brrrrr!  I’ll take the rain any day!).

Here is my entry into the challenge.  Everything that I used in this card is a Stampin’ Up! product.  The papers are Rose Red, Regal Rose and Going Gray.  I also used Going Gray stamp pad for the gray "doodles" from the Doodle This stamp set (108391).  I used Versamark and White Stampin’ Emboss powder for the white "doodles" and added a touch of Dazzling Diamonds on some parts of the doodles as well as on the Butterflies.  The butterflies were stamped with stamps from the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set (111564).  To apply the Dazzling Diamonds to the butterflies, I stamped the VersaMark, added Heat and Stick Powder, heated in with the Heat Tool, and then sprinkled on the Dazzling Diamonds.  Finally, I set it all with the Heat Tool.  The only difference with the Dazzling Diamonds on the doodles was that I used the VersaMarker to add areas where I could apply the Heat and Stick Powder.

Want a demonstration?  I’m going to be using these techniques at classes in January 2009–they start next week!  Just give me a call (808.854.6145) and we’ll see what time and day works for you!

Beginning today, I’m trying to get back to some basic stamping and card making. 

When the Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog first came out, I was really taken by the Eastern Eclectic theme of many of the stamps and papers.  For a Christmas gift to a special friend this year, I made a set of stationery using one stamp set–Eastern Blooms (111626)–and my favorite Designer Series Paper set-Green Tea ((112040).   For those of you who have been using Stampin’ Up! Products for awhile, you probably noticed that the Green Tea paper is the same design as the Ginger Blossom design in the Spring/Summer 2008 Catalog.  But Green Tea uses the new colors for the 2008-2009 Stampin’ Up! year.  Whatever year it is, I just love the design. 

I am especially exciited about the way that Eastern Blooms works with the Green Tea paper.  So I’m going to be featuring some of that over the next few days.  On January 1st, I’ll share how I used the papers with one of our newest stamp sets from the 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog.  Just a quick peak to picque your interest in what’s to come!

Today’s card uses one of the designs from the Green Tea DSP, as well as one of the stamps from the Eastern Blooms stamp set.  It’s accented with the 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in the Baja Breeze color (111375), along with the Certainly Celery card stock.  While it may not be easy to see with this photograph, I dry embossed the flowers from the stamp set using the Floral Frenzy Classy Brass Template (111807).  I’ll be using this template throughout the next few days.  The Classy Brass Templates are so exciting to use with the coordinating Stampin’ Up! stamp sets!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed using your Stampin’ Up! products for your Christmas and other holiday projects.  And I’m sure that you’ll enjoy continuing to use them in the New Year.  I can guarantee that they will be many new stamp sets and accessories for us all to use as we enter the Spring!  Stay tuned here for news albout them all!

Aloha, all!

Ah, my last Christmas Card design of the season!  And a good way to wish you and yours the happiest of holidays!  (Actually, it’s just part of a card–the middle of another card made with Tuesday’s challenge.  But I wanted the greeting to stand out! 

Yesterday I participated in an online design challenge hosted by a group to which I belong.  It was fun to just stop what I was doing in the middle of the holiday rush and make the challenge card.  It was even more fun to drag out the long hidden stamps and papers that were NOT related to Christmas!

The stamp set is called Eastern Blooms (111626), and it coordinates with an entire style theme in the 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog, Eastern Eclectic.  It also coordinates well with the Designer Paper, Green Tea (112040) , which is the paper I used in this card.  The same piece of paper is used, with opposite sides showing on the top and the bottom.  I used Baja Breeze card stock (111352)  for the background, and stamped the flowers on Whisper White card stock (100730).

To make the flowers one color and the stems another, I stamped the entire stamp on Baja Breeze.  Then I used a Blender Pen (102845) to wipe the blue from the stems and then inked them in with an Old Olive Stampin’ Write Marker (100079).  A little moistening "huff" breath, and then I stamped it! 

The finishing touches are a bit of Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (109031) and the Scallop Edge Punch (112091).

If you’d like to try any of these products, you can order online at any time.  Just click here, click "Shop Now" and enter the number in the "Search the Store" box on the right of the new screen that opens.

Or, as always, you can call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I’ll be glad to place the order for you!

Aloha, all! 

Wall Street has its Triple Witching days.  But today’s a Triple Santa Day for Stampin’ Up! customers!!

• FREE SHIPPING ENDS TODAY!  All orders that total over $70 receive free shipping!
  

• 10% OFF RETIRED STAMP SETS ENDS TODAY!  Click on the link on the far right to review the list to see if there’s anything you just have to have! 
  

• THE LOVE YOU MUCH BUNDLE GOES ON SALE TODAY!  Click on the link on the near right for all the information about this wonderful new bundle.

I hope you make the most of this very special Stampin’ Up! Day!!

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! 

Enjoy your week!

Robin

I have just GOT to get those Christmas cards mailed!  But here’s another quick project with the new Love You Much Bundle–a 20% off Stampin’ Up! Promotion that begins on December 23rd!  

I just love the new punch with the three little hearts!  I have been wanting a Stampin’ Up! heart punch FOREVER!!  And now I own one!  You can too, when you order the new bundle.  Remember, if you order on the 23rd–the first day it’s available for you to order–you can also get free shipping if your order totals more than $70!  So Tuesday’s the day to take a break from all those Christmas promotions and give yourself an early Valentine’s Day gift!

Once the bundle is available, I’ll let you know all the products I used in this and in yesterday’s projects.  And by then I may have the Christmas cards mailed (have you heard this before) and I can spend some time designing something a bit more serious!

Robin