RobinsCraftRoom.com

Aloha, all!

I just finished completing an order for a customer who wishes to give one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts, but just doesn’t have the time to make them herself.  She wanted to give the gift of a Stationery Set.   I can’t believe how much fun I had selecting the papers and the stamps that I would use.  It took awhile because I had to consider some guidelines that the customer gave me as well as stock I had on hand (she wanted them as soon as possible).  Among the guidelines was that there had to be two of each card; there had to be a birthday card, a thank you card, and a general note card.  While she didn’t specifically say that they should be coordinated, I felt that I needed to make the cards look like a set and not like 3 different cards just haphazardly put together into a set.

This is what I came up with.  There is an interesting mix of colors.  The greens are either Old Olive or Kiwi Kiss; the reds are either Real Red or Robin Hood Red.  The pink is Pink Pirouette and the blue is Baja Breeze.  The striped ribbons are all "In Color" colors (Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, and Robin Hood Red).  The stripes in the papers made mixing and matching the various colors very, very easy!

Two of the papers are from the Level 3 Hostess Set, Holiday Happenings Bundle.  I may just have to see if I can put together another order this month to grab some more of that luscious paper!!  The other stripe is from the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper set (112994).  The stamp set throughout is Pocket Silhouettes (111672).  I used the Wide Oval and Large Oval Punches (112082 and 107305) for the cards

When the cards were finished, I realized that the folio that I had wanted to make to hold the cards wouldn’t work as I had that nice knot in the ribbons that took up a lot more space than the folio provided.

Canadian Demonstrator Extraordinaire, Andrea Walford, to the rescue!  Last Spring I had purchased a class planner from her, and the box for the stationery set in that planner was just the ticket!  So a big Mahalo (Thank You) to Andrea!    For decorating the box, I used the 1-3/8 Circle Punch (104401), Scallop Circle Punch (109043) and Scallop Edge Punch (112091), along with the stripe paper and some  Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109054).   Hmmm.  Now that I look at the picture, I think I’m going to put a knot in that ribbon!.  That should tie it all together, don’t you think!

If you’d be interested in my making some gift cards for you, it’s not too late to get an order in!  I have most of my own Christmas Cards and gift already made (though I seem to keep making them up to Christmas Day itself!).  So my time could be yours!  Visit the "Cards" tab to download my Cards by Robin brochure.

The last few days, I’ve been featuring cards that I’ve made as gift sets.  One of the stamp sets that I used was Pocket Silhouettes (item number 111672, if you’d like to order online).  Here is another card that I made using the same stamp set, but using different techniques. 

For this card, I stamped three of the flower images using Whisper White Craft Ink (101731) on Baja Breeze card stock (111352).  Behind the stamped images is a strip of the Baja Breeze 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (111847), some Whisper White card stock (100730), and one of the designs from the Green Tea Designer Series Paper (112040).   The greeting, "Friend to Friend," is part of the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set.

Tomorrow I’ll summarize this week’s introduction to Pocket Silhouettes and Upsy Daisy stamp sets, and show you how you can make at least 20 sets of stationery to give as holiday gifts–for under $8 a set!!  Not bad for a holiday season that’s going to challenge us to make the best use of our dollars!

As part of my Stampin’ Up! business, I make stationery sets for all occasions, using Stampin’ Up! products (they are the best, after all!).  This week I’m working on invitations for a reception that will take place next month, and I just completed several sets of cards for a dear friend to give as gifts to people who are helping her during a current illness.

These cards are made using Note Cards, which are smaller than the traditional 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" card, but still large enough that they can be mailed through the US postal system.  These Whisper White cards come 20 to a pack, and include envelopes.  If you’d like to order online, the item number is 107311.

The stamp set for the card on the left is called Upsy Daisy ( 111710) and features the floral design and three greeting stamps.  The stamp set for the card on the right is Pocket Silhouettes (111672) and features four floral designs and two greeting stamps.  I used Green Tea Designer Series Paper (112040) for the backgrounds, with Baja Breeze ink and Night of Navy as an accent color.

I packaged four cards with four different designs, two from each stamp set, in a folder, which I’ll share with you tomorrow. 

Read tomorrow’s post to find out how to get a set of instructions for this gift set!  And meanwhile, if you would like to talk with me about making cards for YOUR special occasion or gift, just call (808.854.6145) or e-mail me and I’ll get right on it!

For more information about Cards by Robin, click on the "Cards" tab, above!