Queen For a Day

When I was a little girl, I used to spend a lot of time at my Grandma's house, especially over the summer. She and I used to bake together, go out to the store together and pick what was fresh from her garden. I always enjoyed my time there, I got to do pretty much whatever I wanted to, including climbing the tree in the backyard.
When I got older, we used to drive out to the local mall and get a slice of pizza and a soda at the Orange Bowl - anybody remember that chain? We had our spot on one of the round wooden benches there and we'd eat and chat, just enjoying our pizza and each other.

But no matter what we did together, we always were back at the house in time for her to watch her "stories" and for a while, the show "Queen for a Day". I think my Grandma always wished that she stood a chance at being a queen, even if only for a day. She was the queen of a lot of things in my eyes and if she were still with us, I'd be sending this card to her.

This is another one of the cards I created for my Secret Sister at Leadership last month. It's also one of the cards we'll be making together this month in my card classes, so be sure to sign up for your spot, ok?

I've used the Elementary Elegance stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration brochure - and you know, you can only get this one FREE with a $50 order through the end of March. I've also used the Sale-A-Bration Designer Series Paper here - Everyday Enchantment - and you guessed it, also only available FREE with a $50 order. Or even better as part of a fantastic Hostess ONLY bundle of extra FREE products through the end of March. You get two rolls of ribbon, a package of designer brads, the designer paper and oh, yes, a FREE stamp set as well - in addition to your regular Hostess FREE benefits. I've got a few dates left on my calendar, so let's have a party together!

I was inspired in this direction by the little crown image at the top of the frame stamp in the set. It's a beautiful stamp set on it's own, but I immediately thought of pairing it with the You're a Gem stamp set for that greeting.
My card is a 4 1/4" square card - cut a piece of cardstock at 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" and fold in half for this size. It's a nice size for something different and still fits in our Medium envelopes.
I sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla card base with Crumb Cake ink as well as the 4" piece of Designer Series Paper.

For my focal point, I chose to stamp on Poppy Parade cardstock, drawing the color from the Designer Paper background. I stamped my frame image with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Gold Embossing Powder. That layer is mounted on a piece of Brushed Gold cardstock and adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

The greeting was stamped with Poppy Parade ink on a Very Vanilla scrap then punched out with the Curly Label Punch. You see how I placed the greeting in the lower part of the punch out? That was to leave room for the ribbon/pearl embellishment.
Before I added that, I took the punched piece and dipped the edges in the Versamark ink pad then into the Gold Embossing Powder too. It was heat embossed, giving it a rough, gilt edge. It's popped up on a few dimensionals too.

The bow was made with the FREE Organdy Ribbon that comes in the Hostess Special bonus pack (or as a single Free selection from the Sale-A-Bration brochure.) My bow is five loops on each side and once I tied it off, I mounted it with Mini Glue Dots to the greeting layer then added the Large Pearl accent as a final touch.

I hope my Secret Sister liked this one - it's a great card to send to someone very special in your life.
As always, you can purchase the supplies to make this card from my Online Stampin' Store.

Here's a few things I used:

#122270 - You're A Gem Stamp Set - $11.95 clear mount

#119851 - Curly Label Punch - $16.95

#102283 - Versamark Ink Pad - $7.50

#109129 - Gold Embossing Powder - $4.75

#125577 - Large Pearls - $4.95

Have a wonderful day stampers! I hope you get to stamp something fun!
Blessings,
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click SHOP NOW at the top right corner to get started!

A Special Gift for Some Special Friends

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know how I feel about the wonderful friendships I've formed through my Stampin' Up! business. It really, truly is the BEST by-product of being part of this company. There are special people in my life now that I NEVER would have even crossed paths with outside of Stampin' Up! These folks are ones that I couldn't imagine NOT having in my life now. And it's all because we share a love of beautiful, handcrafted from the heart art.

At our Leadership Conference last month, I made a few gifts for some of these special people so I thought I'd share it with you guys today.

Each of these beautiful ladies received this necklace in a pouch I made from the Petite Pocket Die and my Big Shot.
The necklace itself was purchased at Forever 21 (I can't wear the clothes there, but I sure love the jewelry!). I transferred the pendant from the chain it came with onto this multi-strand cord necklace that brought out the black engraved words in the pendant. It was attached to a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock that slid down into the decorated pocket.

The pocket itself was created with Island Indigo cardstock and decorated with a piece of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper. I used Tombow Multi Adhesive to assemble all the seams and layers.

I used Crumb Cake cardstock and Gold Brads for the envelope closures and they were tied up with some Linen Thread. The bow was made of Crumb Cake Seam Binding and was attached with Mini Glue Dots.

This was a fun and quick project to create and I think all my friends loved them!

Want to make a few of these cute pockets yourself?
Well, you can find all the supplies you need in my Online Stampin' Store!

#123121 - Petite Pocket Die - $42.95

#125406 - Twitterpated Designer Series Paper - $10.95

#122332 - Crumb Cake Seam Binding - $6.95

#104199 - Linen Thread - $4.50

#104337 - Gold Brads (200) - $6.95

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with another new project for you, so be sure to visit again, ok?
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner to get started!

Sweet Valentine Treats!

It's coming!
Just 10 short days and we'll be celebrating all things LOVE.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited about a couple of things - the chocolate and the dark chocolate!
HeeHee!

Really though, I enjoy Valentine's Day because it gives me a chance to show a little something extra to the special people in my life. I've found that it doesn't have to be something elaborate to put a smile on someone's face. In fact, sometimes it's the sweet little touches that make the day special.

Here's a couple of cute, quick ideas that might help you put a smile on your Valentine's face this year!

This tiny treat pouch was a cinch to make with our Pillow Box die and the Big Shot. I used a piece of Melon Mambo Patterns Designer Series Paper (their are four designs to choose from in that pack!) and simply cut it out with my Pillow Box Die. If you do this, be sure to use the Crease Pad with the Die so the fold lines crease only and don't cut through.
I inserted 3 pieces of wrapped chocolate - Hershey Nuggets I think - and folded in the ends. A piece of Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon was tied around the middle in a double knot to hold the ends in place. It can be easily slipped off to get to the treat inside.
I made the tag with the new Framelits Labels Dies. The greeting, from the Got Treats stamp set, was stamped on a piece of Whisper White cardstock in Melon Mambo ink before being cut out with the right size Die. I punched out a tiny heart from Silver Glimmer Paper and adhered it to the bottom of the tag, then punched a hole in the top so I could tie the tag on with some Whisper White Baker's Twine.
So simple! You could make a bunch of these in no time flat!

Here's a non caloric treat for you:

I used our new Skinny Cello Bags for this one, inserting two Valentine pencils into the bag. The topper was made with both sets of the new Framelits Dies - Hearts and Labels. I stamped the bicycle image from the Take it to Heart stamp set on a piece of Whisper White cardstock in Real Red ink. It's cut out with the Hearts Die and then glittered around the edges with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.
Next, I cut out two pieces of Real Red cardstock with the right size Labels Die. These were adhered around the top of the sealed bag with Tombow Multi Adhesive.
I tied a bow out of the White Organza Ribbon and adhered it to the front Red label then adhered the heart piece over it.
Again, simple, easy and sweet!

I hope these simple ideas have inspired you in your Valentine treat making this week. I really enjoyed designing them and I'm anxious to make more for some special people in my life. I just hope I can resist the open bag of chocolate long enough to fill the treat pouches. Be strong, Robin!!

Happy Saturday everyone - go stamp something fun!
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner to get started!

Don't forget about Sale-A-Bration! Free products for each $50 you spend!

Stained Glass Valentine

I love using Vellum.
Many years ago when I first discovered stamping as a hobby, I even took a class in a stamp store in Virginia Beach about ways to use vellum. I just love the feel of the paper, the almost magic translucence of it and it's ability to elevate any project you use it with.
(Ya gotta know I'm pretty into it if that class was enough to draw me off the beach for an afternoon! Ha!)

So last month, I was reminded about this wonderful paper when I saw a card using the stained glass technique somewhere online. I thought it would be a great technique to make a sweet valentine card and I designed this for my January card classes.

This project started with a card base of Pretty in Pink cardstock. The top layer is Very Vanilla and using the swirl stamp from Elements of Style (a MUST have stamp set!), I covered it with that image using Pretty in Pink ink.

Next, I used the new Framelits Hearts Dies to cut a heart shape hole in the stamped cardstock. I chose the size that matched the stamp I planned to use with the vellum from the Take it to Heart stamp set.
Once the heart was cut by running it through my Big Shot, I then used the new Edgelits Adorning Accents Dies to cut the elegant edge under the heart across the cardstock piece. I then set that all aside to work on the vellum piece.

First, I stamped the bird in the heart image on the front of the vellum cardstock using Black Staz-On ink. (note: I prefer using Vellum CARDSTOCK instead of Vellum PAPER. The cardstock has a better heft to it and still provides a nice translucence for your project.)
Once the image was stamped on the front, I turned it over and used my Stampin' Write Markers to color in the image on the back side. This side ends up looking kind of messy and garish, but when you turn it back over, the colors are all nicely in place and look soft and muted. So pretty!

So, to put it all together, I added a bit of SNAIL adhesive to the upper corners of the front of the vellum piece and adhered it in the heart shaped window that I'd cut out of the Very Vanilla cardstock. Using my Paper Snips, I trimmed off the vellum that stuck out from the bottom of the Vanilla cardstock.
I then added a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock to the back of these pieces so the colors would show on a neutral background. Otherwise, they'd be backed by pink and that would change the look of the colored in vellum.
Next, I adhered these pieces to the folded Pretty in Pink card front, allowing for a nice 1/8" border on the top and sides. This made it really easy to use my new Adorning Accents Embossing Folders and add an embossed line across the pink cardstock that matched the cut edge on the vanilla. (Just make sure you open up the card when you run it through the Big Shot so it's only one layer going through at a time.)

The last step was to add the embellished greeting. I stamped the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes on a scrap of Very Vanilla and punched it out with the Modern Label Punch. I threaded some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine through a heart shaped Bitty Button and tied a little bow before adding it to the greeting with a Mini Glue Dot. The whole greeting was added to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals and the card was done!

The stampers at my classes loved learning the stained glass technique along with all the new Big Shot Dies and Folders!
You can easily own all those new toys along with all the stamps and supplies that I used on this card by shopping in my Online Stampin' Store. And don't forget that right now, during Sale-A-Bration, each $50 order you place earns you a FREE product from Stampin' Up!

Have a great day everyone - go stamp something!
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! Supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right to get started!

Valentine Love Seat

So, like any well made plan, mine went into the ditch today......
BUT, the good news is that I'm still posting a NEW project for you. That counts for something doesn't it? Even if it's a few hours late??

I've been dealing with a personal medical issue since yesterday morning and since it got somewhat worse today, I was able to get in with my doctor this morning.
Not too much to worry about, but I'll be having some outpatient surgery sometime in the next few weeks. I know many of you pray and have prayed for me in the past, so if you'd do that again, I'd so appreciate it!

Let's move on to the card, shall we??
This is one I designed for my January card classes and it was a big hit! I used this layout from the Stamping 411 Blog as my starting point and went from there.

I used Very Vanilla cardstock as my base, sponging the edges with Crumb Cake ink. A layer of Crumb Cake cardstock was stamped with the "Hello, Doily" background stamp in Riding Hood Red ink and then sponged with Crumb Cake ink on the edges.

For the paper pennant layer, I cut a long piece of Very Vanilla at 1 1/2" wide and used my 1 1/4" Square Punch to make the flag end for it. The Designer Paper used in the next layer is from the Letters to Santa pack that's in the big Idea Book and Catalog. Really, it's one of the most versatile paper packs in the catalog this year and I've used it for MANY occasions, not just Christmas. Check it out, you'll see!
I cut a strip of the DSP at 1 1/4" wide and again used the Square Punch to flag the end. I layered them together after sponging the edges of both with Crumb Cake ink and adhered them to the Crumb Cake Cardstock layer, trimming off the excess at the top.

Next, I stamped the wooden bench image from the "Have a Seat" stamp set in Early Espresso on a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock. I used my new Framelits Labels set to cut it out with my Big Shot then sponged the edges. The heart was punched out with the Small Heart Punch from Riding Hood Red cardstock and adhered to the bench. I popped this piece up on Stampin' Dimensionals and added it to the card front.
The sweet bow was made with Very Vanilla Seam Binding and was wrapped around with an Antique Brad then adhered to the card front with Mini Glue Dots.
I did stamp the inside of the card with the Be My Valentine greeting from the "Delightful Dozen" stamp set.

This card made me smile so much, I even included one in my Secret Sister gift at Leadership. It's a perfect Valentine card for any one, male or female and could easily be adapted for a different occasion as well.

As always, you can buy everything you need to recreate this card in my Online Stampin' Store! The stamp sets I used are especially versatile and you'll find yourself using them time after time.

Have a wonderful afternoon!
Happy Stampin',
~~Robin

Place your order for Stampin' Up! Supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner to get started!

Leadership Secret Sister! Twitterpated Gift Ensemble

Note: I started this post last Wednesday morning (1/25), but Blogger was acting up and I lost most of my text that I'd spent a half-hour writing. So instead of throwing my computer out the window in frustration, I walked away intending to finish it when I returned, but well, my week kind of got away from me.
So just pretend it's last Wednesday, ok? haha!

Good morning stampers!!
It's appropriate to show you my Twitterpated Gift Set that I made for my Secret Sister at leadership today.
Wanna know why???
Because I'm a little Twitterpated this morning!
I woke up to discover that my Stampin' Fools put me over the top last night for earning the Hilton Head trip! Isn't that a great way to wake up??
Next stop - Fiji!! WooHoo!!

Now, let me show you the gift set, ok?
We had optional Secret Sisters at Leadership in my upline, Jan Wakeland's RemARKable Dreambuilders group. We had a list of things to create for our sister based on their likes. This bag and box are just part of what I made for her.

The bag is a simple kraft cubby bag that I decorated. I first attached a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock that I'd stamped all over with the floral spray from the Bordering on Romance stamp set.
Next, I adhered a piece of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper to it. I chose the stripes as a contrast to the florals and waffle paper ruffles.

The Whisper White Waffle paper was cut into 1" strips and adhered with SNAIL adhesive to the bag front. I simply hand pleated it along the adhesive. I cut a length of Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon to cover the top edge and wrapped it around the Designer Paper, hiding the edges. It's attached with Mini Glue Dots.

The flowers were punched out using the new Blossom Punch from the Occasions Mini. I punched them out of different designs of the Twitterpated Designer Paper then sprayed them with a little Stampin' Mist to wet them. I scrunched them all up in a ball to dry, then smoothed them out a bit and added the Antique Brad to the center of the flower. It was attached over the ribbon with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here's a close up of the Kraft Box.
I actually opened up the seam of the box and used my Vintage Wallpaper Textured Embossing Folder to emboss the sides of the box. I sponged it all over with Riding Hood Red ink to make the embossing stand out. Because of the size restrictions of the box in the machine, it left a blank corner, so I took a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock and embossed it to use in covering the blank corner. I punched the edges with my Eyelet Lace Border Punch before adhering it with Tombow Adhesive.

I added a piece of Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon around the belly of the box and added another paper flower to cover the seam.
The design on the top of the box was a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock, again embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder and sponged a bit with matching ink.
I cut a piece of DSP with one of the Framelits Labels Dies and stamped an image from the Apothecary Art stamp set in Pear Pizazz ink before using another Labels Die to cut it out. I cleaned the stamp and inked it again in Riding Hood Red, stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and punched it out with the 1" Circle Punch. All pieces were sponged with Crumb Cake ink and then popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

My secret sister was Kathy Hamrick - who gave me some super cute things AND chocolate too! I hope she liked her gift set. There were some project inside it as well, I'll show you those later this week.

As always, you can order all the supplies (except the bag) from my Online Stampin' Store. And remember, Sale-A-Bration is in full swing, so that means for each $50 in merchandise you purchase, you get a FREE product from the exclusive Sale-A-Bration Brochure! LOVE FREE stuff!

Happy Stampin' friends!
~~Robin

Place your order for your Stampin' Up! supplies at this link here: Robin's Online Stampin' Store
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner to get started!

An Awesome Skating Weekend!

Good morning stampin' friends!

You may have noticed that I've been absent from here since last Tuesday. Not intentionally, because I have about 10 new projects to share with you, but we were in Hershey, PA since last Wednesday night for a skating competition. Since I've been home, it's been non-stop for me and I'm finally finding time to sit long enough to post again! I'm posting about the competition first, but I have creative post for you today too so just hang tight!

So, this wasn't just any skating competition, but the Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championships. In short, a big deal for my daughter Emma's team.
They were one of 33 teams competing and the first day was the qualifier. If they placed in the top 4 of their group, they moved on to the final on Saturday morning.
Is it ok to admit that I never expected them to qualify and I fully expected to have a fun family Saturday doing some antiquing and outlet shopping before we headed home?? I know, bad momma.

Needless to say, we were all blown away when they placed 4th in their group and made the FINAL round!
Emma has been skating since she was 4, team skating since she was 7 and this is the first team FINAL that she's ever made - she was over the moon!

Here's a photo of her team with their head coach during warm-up before the final on Saturday morning. Emma is the brunette on the far left.

I love taking photos in the locker room. You get all kinds of expressions from the girls. Here they are getting their skates on and thinking about what's ahead. Emma is on the left.

That photo looks pretty serious, but in reality, the locker room that morning was pretty loose. Everyone was happy and excited and really got up for our "Who are We?" "National Blades!" chant.

I'd love to be able to tell you that they medaled, but they didn't. They had the unlucky draw of skating first in the group of 12, which in skating terms means that your performance sets the median score for all the teams after and in general, they tend to be judged a little tighter.
However, they finished 9th and out of all those teams at that level in the whole division, that's pretty fantastic for a team that wasn't expected to go anywhere this year.
In short, we're pretty proud of our girls. They had a fantastic skate, gave it their all and that's all we can ask.

Here's the video of their skate in the Final. Emma is the lead skater taking the ice and she is the brunette who skates out for the music cue at the start of their program.


Thanks to all of you who sent your love and support to the girls. All your messages of encouragement were passed on and they love knowing they have followers all over the US!
Go National Blades!
~~Robin