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Happy Birthday, Morgan!

Aloha, all!

     Not only is this my card for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition Challenge, it's a birthday card for my granddaughter, Morgan, who will turn 9 tomorrow!  She is such the little lady now, and I just know that she'll love all the fun stuff from the Stampin' Up! 2012 Sale-a-bration Catalog!  I can remember being so excited when the Build-a-Bear Workshop images came out and I was excited to be using those.  Somehow I figured that they would be good for her for years.  Not so!  She's into the feminine, now!

     And are these colors not just perfect for that "Celebrate" greeting?!  The stamp set is called Outlined Occasions, and I just love outlined stamps so that I can color them in.  Can you tell that I'm really a 9-year old at heart myself?  Give me markers, and I'll use them just like I used my crayons back in grammar school (oh, can you tell my real age?  It's "elementary" school these days, isn't it?).  I'm even critical of myself when I color outside the lines!  Oh, for heaven's sake, I can't just let go of Mrs. Matson's pointing out when I did that in 3rd grade! 

     But enough of the reminiscences.  The colors in the Sale-a-brations products this year are just fabulous!  And the Create with Connie and Mary challenge picked up my favorites among them for this color challenge:  Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Peach Parfait and Calypso Coral. The Limeade and Coral Colors are featured in the ribbons – they're 1/8" wide Organdy Ribbon, and they tie like a dream.  And they're oh so frilly, perfect for this card for a little girl! 

     Now my little "secret" about this card.  It's been put together and pulled apart again. (Boy, have I learned to do that well!)  I originally had the layers with the greetings down a little bit on the card.  But when I stood back and looked at it, I realized that the Poppy Parade brad (also from the Sale-a-bration Catalog) would look oh so much better if I placed it as if it were the center of the flower.  So I broke out the bone folder and pried that layer off (it was adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals, so not much to pry off) and moved it up a skosh. Much better.

     Kind of like coloring outside the lines – gotta have those layers lined up just right.  I have GOT to get a life!  

     Speaking of getting a life – I have been ooohing and aaahing over all the projects at the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition, and I have just got to make the time go DO something with them!  They are truly fabulous, from simple to complex and with so many styles.  It's not to late for you, too, to register!  We're only just finishing Week 2 and you'll have access to everything since the beginning – and all the rest of the next 4 weeks of projects – for a full year!  Plenty of time to have fun with all those projects yourself!

     But no matter what you do this week, have fun with it – and don't worry about coloring outside the lines.

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A Follow Up to the Dino Birthday Card!

Aloha, all!

     I just had to share this photo of grandson, Jadon, when he opened the card that I featured in my last blog post.  You just can't get a more delightful "Thank You" than that kind of a smile from a child when he opens one of your cards!

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Happy Birthday Carson and Jadon!

Aloha, all!

     You know you are a lucky paper-crafting grandma when two of your grandsons with birthdays within weeks of each other are both really into the same childhood interest!  In my case, my grandsons Jadon and Carson are both REALLY into dinosaurs!  One lives on the west coast (Washington) and one on the East Coast (North Carolina) and they're 4 years apart in age.  But both are really going to like this special card that I made for them this year!

     The stamp set from which these happy looking guys came is called Dinoroar, and I think it is one of the cutest Stampin' Up! sets to come out for little boys in a long time.  I wish I could take credit for the color job on the two critters, but that credit has to go to fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Cindy Elam, one of my fellow design team members on the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge blog.  Not only did she reveal the colors that she used, but she also shared that she used Shimmery White Card Stock.  Wow does that card stock make it easy to blend in colors!

     I colored each of the dinosaurs using a different technique.  I wanted to see how it would work if I used the Stampin' Write Markers themselves to color them in as opposed to how Cindy did it using Blender Pens with classic ink pads.  The guy on the right is colored with the markers and the one on the left with the blender pens.  My conclusion is that you can use either, but using the markers is going to create a deeper image than using the blender pens.

     The colors that I used are the same colors that Cindy used.  The dinosaurs are Garden Green, with Peach Parfait accents.  I added a bit of So Saffron to blend in the Peach Parfait.  I painted their little toenails with the Peach Parfait, too (bet no real dino ever had a pedicure!).  The mouth of the dino on the right is colored in with Calypso Coral.  Nice touch that, Cindy!

     Cindy made her card with papers that are no longer available, and she had only one of the cute dinos on the front of her card.  So my sketch is a bit different from hers – but not so much that I can claim credit for that either!

     All that has to be known about this card is for Jadon and Carson to know that Grandma Robin made it!  I'm going to have fun giving them these cards in person this week (yes, we're traveling AGAIN!) along with a dinosaur gift for each.  A bit of grandmotherly heaven for me!  I can't imagine that you can have as good a week as I'm going to have!

     But just in case you'd like to try your hand at this card, here's the sketch I worked with:

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Falling Leaves

Aloha, all!

     This week's challenge from the Stampin' Up! Only Challenge blog was to have leaves as a main feature in our project.  I originally thought about using these leaves in my project for the Fall Colors challenge last time around.  But when I started to add them to that card, I decided that I'd rather use it for THIS card and do something else with the fall colors.  Still Fall colors here, though – for sure!  I just LOVE the colors of leaves in the Fall.  I also love that, here in Hawaii, I don't have to rake them after they turn brown and "fall" to the ground!

     The leaf for this card is a stamp in one of this year's Hostess sets called Faith in Nature. And the leaf, along with the other two images in the set, have words running through them that give them a sort of vintage look.  As I'm not too bad at reading French, I determined that the words SEEM to be in French, though some of the longer ones have their letters interrupted with the leaf lines.  But they sure do look nice, especially when you do as I do and sponge them up and wrinkle their edges a bit.  At first I considered just layering these stamps using a masking technique.  But once I started cutting into the first stamped image to make the mask, I realized how relaxing that effort was and I really like the end result.

     The colors in the leaves are More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler and Cajun Craze.  All Fall colors where I grew up on the east coast of the United States!  The card stock colors that I used as a backdrop for the leaves are Lucky Limeade, More Mustard and Cajun Craze.  I finished the card off with a variety of colors of brads – Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard and Old Olive.  The Old Olive seemed to match the Lucky Limeade well enough to carry that color combo off. 

     And, of course, "tying" it all together is some of the fun new Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon. 

     It's been awhile since I've had a sketch for you in one of my blog posts.  So I "leave" you today with this one!  Have fun with whatever you do with this sketch!

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Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Aloha, all!

     My favorite niece's birthday is this week.  Well, actually she is my ONLY niece. But she's still my favorite!  As her mother is also one of my downline, I always try to make something extra special when I make a card for Margie.  So when this year's birthday came around, I was ever so glad to have the luscious new paper from Stampin' Up! – Spice Cake.

     I love it when Stampin' Up! provides both multicolored stripes and multicolored floral patterns in a set of Designer Series Paper!  As I'm sure I've mentioned before, putting some of the stripes on the bottom of a card and flowers on the top reminds me so much of my grandparents' home decor with all the wonderful wall papers and chair moldings in between that everyone had back then. It's still popular in many parts of the United States, but it's been awhile since I've been in a home decorated like that.

     The colors in the Spice Cake papers that I'm highlighting today are Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz and Soft Suede.  Imagine that – they are the colors in this week's Color Challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary!  And, yes, the Holiday Edition of their wonderful subscription program is still going on. And it's only in its second week!  The projects have been fabulous and oh so different!  There's something for everyone!  It's not too late to subscribe.  The entire 6-week program is included in every subscription – and available for A YEAR afterwards for all the subscribers to reference!

     This is the first card I've made with one of the accordion fold medallions that Stampin' Up! has displayed not only in the Holiday Mini, but also in a few places in the Idea Book and Catalog.  They're so easy to make with the new Stampin' Up! scoring tool, Simply Scored!  I made mine with a 1-1/2" strip of a 12" length of the striped paper.  Easy since Stampin' Up!'s paper comes in a 12" square size!  There are lots of different ways to make this medallion, but I used the simple way shown by fellow demonstrator Gretchen Barron over at Inspiration in Action. She scored her paper every 1/4" and then sealed the edges together.  To keep the medallion in place, punch a piece of card stock with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch and adhere one to each side of the medallion.  Then decorate as you wish.  I used the Fancy Flower and Five-Point Flower punches to cover the medallion and added some Pool Party and Pear Pizzazz card stock and a piece of Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon to the card to complete the design.

     Now to get the card in the mail!  It will fit inside a Stampin' Up! Medium Square Envelope, though this one might get crushed in the mail.  So it will go into a box with a little gift!

     Birthdays come around all year – even during the holidays!  I hope you have someone fun for whom to make a birthday card this holiday season!  That paper is so easy to use!

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The “Other” Bow!

Aloha, all!

     Those of you who downloaded my FREE TUTORIAL over at Create with Connie and Mary earlier this week saw that the bow that I used in the tutorial wasn't exactly the same bow that I used in my project.  That's what comes of getting so involved with a project that I forget to take photos for the tutorials.

     And that bow has been sitting around, being moved from place to place in the Craft Room, ever since I wrote the tutorial.  Now, however, it's found a great place to be!

     Today is the birthday of a good friend and I FORGOT IT!  So I quickly made up a card for her, and the bow has a VERY prominent place!  Happy Birthday, Karolyn!

     And speaking of

Create With Connie and Mary

it's time for the

LAST PREVIEW PROJECT

for their Holiday Edition and it's Connie's very own project that's featured!  So be sure to go to Create With Connie and Mary to learn more about it, download a FREE TUTORIAL FOR THE PROJECT, and comment on Connie's blog for a chance to win a subscription to their Holiday Edition!

     Tomorrow is the last day of preview!  So don't miss this!

     Oh, and that wreath that I added to the bow:  It's from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog hostess set, Warmest of Wishes! 

     I hope you have as much fun crafting this weekend as I'm planning to have.  And I hope you'll take advantage of the Create With Connie and Mary Early Bird Pricing – it ends September 17th!

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Summer Fun with a Challenge Sketch

Aloha, all!

     As I you read this I'm on an airplane somewhere over the mainland United States on my way to my nephew's wedding in Maryland.  I'm hoping that the card is close to its destination in Arizona where my cousin is celebrating her birthday.  I don't dare to hope that it will get to her on time because I mailed it from Hawai'i.

     The sketch for this card was last Thursday's Create With Connie and Mary Sketch Challenge.  Nothing like procrastinating on both accounts!  But at least this got onto their website before the links closed!

     As I mentioned in a couple of places today, the brand new stamp set, Petite Pairs, is my current favorite stamp set.  You do NOT have to use these stamps as pairs if you don't want to, but they do make it fun to have something to stamp inside a card that goes with what you might have put on the card front!  The main stamp set for this card is Touch of Kindness, which is a set in the Stampin' Up! 2011 Summer Mini Catalog.  This is one of the several stamp sets in this catalog that have not been included in the 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog, so you only have a couple of more weeks to buy it!

     To make the circle and the mat behind it, I used the Circle Scissors Plus.  It's so easy to cut one circle then adjust the blade every so slightly to get another circle just a teensy bit larger or smaller than the first.  Great product offered by Stampin' Up! 

     I colored in the little kitty using Tangerine Tango classic ink. I used a Blender Pen to shade the color from the outside of the image to the inside.  I'm still new at trying this out on Whisper White and Very Vanilla Card Stock.  But I definitely feel that I'm getting better at this.  Then onto some other skill on which I need to work!  Other Stampin' Up! products on this card are the Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper, Tangerine Tango 1/2" Scalloped Dots Ribbon, and Beautiful Wings Embosslit (the Pacific Point Butterflies).

     It's too late for you to participate in this Create With Connie and Mary sketch challenge.  But there will be a new one today, so be sure to check it out!  And have fun joining in whatever fun sketch they have this week.

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A Bright Birthday!

Aloha, all!

     This past week one of the leaders of an online group to which I belong had a birthday and she challenged the group to make a Birthday Card using the Brights Colors from Stampin' Up!  As it had been awhile since I'd focused on the colors in that group, I decided to accept the challenge.

     There was also a discussion going on in yet another group about the value of the Circle Scissors Plus, which is also sold as a Stampin' Up! product.  Add to that my wish to use up some of my Stampin' Up! retiring accessories, and this is the card that resulted! 

     Let's start with the colors.  The Brights Colors that I used for this card are Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Pacific Point.  I do think that they make a very cheerful birthday card, and I should try to use them more for birthdays.

     Then there are the retiring products.  Rats!  I love so many of them!  First there's that luscious Daffodil Delight 5/8" Satin Ribbon.  Satin Ribbon will still be around, but not in the Daffodil Delight color.  Then there are two of my favorite Designer Series Paper sets, Sweet and Sour and Blueberry Crisp.  The Sweet and Sour is a specialty paper that has some shiny swirls on one side of the double-sided printed paper.  There will not be any specialty paper in the new catalog that has this feature (though there will be one set with some metallic highlights).  The Blueberry Crisp has several blues in it, but this particular piece is all Pacific Point, so nice and, well, bright! 

     Both stamp sets that I used in this set will continue into the new Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog:  Crazy for Cupcakes and Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I colored in the "cupcake papers" with Pacific Point, but I used a Blender Pen instead of a Stampin' Write Marker to lighten the ink up a bit.  Nice touch, I think!

     Finally the circles:  For the top (stamped) circle and the back (Daffodil Delight) circle, I used the Sizzix 3" and 3-1/2" circle dies, respectively.  But I don't like that large 1/4" space between layers.  Since there is neither a Sizzix Die nor a punch that's 3-1/4" round, I needed to turn to my Circle Scissors Plus.  (The "plus" in this product is that you can use this for drawing circles as well as cutting them; more about that another time).  I set the cutting blade for a 3-1/4" circle and, voila!  There you have it.

     Here is the sketch for this card.  I've been having fun lately making square cards, and I'm going to have to order more Stampin' Up! Medium Square Envelopes (they're 5-1/2" square) so I can start sending some of these cards out!  I hope that you don't just hoard your cards, and have fun sending them out to your friends, too!

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Happy Birthday to my Husband!

Aloha, all!

     Friday, June 3rd, was Harry's birthday.  Oh my, what a different birthday celebration we had than we did for last year.  Last year at 7 in the morning on June 3rd, he went into surgery and there truly was the possibility that he wouldn't come out of it.  Ten hours later the doctor came to the waiting room to tell me that everything was just fine.  The surgery he had expected to do did not have to be done because he didn't have cancer!!!   Yes, there were still some things that had to be fixed, but it was just time consuming and not life-threatening.

     So for us to be able to wake up Friday in our own home in rural East Hawaii rather than in a big city hundreds of miles away was truly wonderful.  And the occasion required something of a birthday card that was totally different from what I usually make.

     I have to tell you that I wasn't sure that there was something in my Stampin' Up! collection that had the elegant but simple greeting that I wanted for the best man in my life.  I knew that I was going to use my Brushed Gold card stock (which has been gathering dust on the top shelf of my new closet because I save it for special occasions).  But beyond that I wasn't sure.  Then I found this perfect sentiment for him in some gorgeous lettering.  It's in the Stampin' Up! Stamp Set, Bring on the Cake.  It was in the 2011 Occasions Mini Catalog – AND – it's also going to be in the brand new 2011-2012 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog!   I'm so happy to see this set carried forward into the year-long catalog because it is so versatile for birthday cards.  Cute and funny and simple and, of course, elegant.

     I stamped the greeting using Jet Black StazOn ink.  It stays on (thus the name) that brushed gold card stock beautifully – no smearing, and a clean, crisp image.  Both the oval on which the greeting is stamped as well as the Early Espresso Card Stock oval are cut from the Sizzix Ovals Die.  I trimmed card stock to the size just a bit larger that each oval and cut just those oval shapes.  I used the Crop-a-Dile to punch the holes on either side through which I ran some Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, which I adhered to the back of the Brushed Gold Card Stock.

     For the background I ran a piece of Brushed Gold Card Stock through the Sizzix Embossing Folder, Framed Tulips.  Lovely!  Then I mounted the whole card front to a card made of Early Espresso Card Stock. I finished the card off by attaching some Basic Pearls on the central motif.  EVERYTHING in this card will be in the new Idea Book & Catalog!

     I hand-wrote a note on some Card Stock Vellum that I attached to the inside of the card.  Don't be afraid to make your basic card out of a dark color.  You can always write or stamp an inside greeting on a lighter piece of paper or card stock, or even on Card Stock or Paper Velum, as I did.

     For me, this is definitely the start of a year for my husband that will be much more fun than the start of last year.  He's back enjoying what makes him happy and I'm happily creating away in my craft room.  I hope that you and yours are having your own kind of fun no matter what you do.  Of course, I hope that you're having fun crafting with paper – Stampin' Up! paper for sure!! 

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Happy Birthday, Jim!

Aloha, all!

     One of my neighbors is having a milestone birthday today and his wife asked that I make a card that was "fun," but all black and gray.  How the heck do you make "fun" out of black and gray?

     Well, you have to go looking for stamps that have "fun" written all over them!  And Stampin' Up! has a bunch of those to offer.  In fact, there are FOUR sets that are represented in this card:  the Big Bad (not!) Bear is from the set, Under the Stars; his fun balloons are all made from one stamp in the set, Crazy for Cupcakes; the greeting at the bottom is from Bring on the Cake from Stampin' Up!'s 2011 Occasions Mini Catalog; and the bear's little party hat is from the set, Beary Best Friends (originally made for bears, but not this big guy – the Build-A-Bear Workshop bears!). 

     To make this card really pop, I embossed all the "gray" images with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder.  The bear and his Basic Gray muzzle and belly are all cut out and mounted to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals to give the card some texture.  I would like to have used a texturz plate to emboss the whole card front; but this card is a large one (5-1/2" wide x 8-1/2" high) and the texturz plates aren't quite big enough.  As I was on something of a deadline, I decided to forgo that and just move on with the card.

     The paper that I used in the balloons is some Basic Black from the Neutrals Patterns Pack of Designer Series Papers.  Great designs this year, as always!  To make the inside of the card, I cut an 8-1/2" x 11" piece of one of the Basic Gray sheets from the Neutrals Patterns Pack and printed the customized message on that paper before cutting it to fit just inside the card, adhered to the inside with a bit of Stampin' Up! SNAIL mono adhesive.

     There's nothing complicated about this card, but I thought I'd share the basic layout since this card is larger that the cards I normally make.  Unfortunately, Stampin' Up! no longer carries an envelope that will hold this large a card.  But there are plenty of 6" x 9" envelopes to fit this card – called "catalog" or "booklet" envelopes – available anywhere stationery is sold. 

     I hope you've had time to make some of your own cards or scrapbook pages this weekend!  And I certainly hope you had as much fun as I did making this card for Jim!

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