Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar

Happy Monday stampers! I hope you are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season - I am really looking forward to Christmas this year! Well, I always love this time of year, but the next few weeks are just jam packed with fun family activities, church Christmas concerts and lots of stamping!

Today I wanted to show you the first 6 pages of the Advent Calendar that we made in class last Tuesday. When I was at Founder's Circle this year, someone had brought along a super cool project that used a Simply Scrappin' Kit to make a 25 page Advent Flip Calendar. I cased the project - mostly - but I changed a few things along the way and added a few "Robin" touches! Yes, I know, I just can't leave well enough alone!
The original project was done by a demo named Karin Warner and honestly, she did an amazing job! Just to recreate the project took me forever! So, I hope my family loves this one, because there will never be another one made! :)

I'm showing you the cover page through day 5 today and I'll continue with a few pages each day this week. What I think is really cool about this is that you could recreate it with photos in place of the quotes and that would make a wonderful calendar to look back at each year. Or you could just put all the pages in a 6 x 6 scrapbook and give it as a gift! Any way you slice it, it's a beautiful project. Thanks so much for the idea and inspiration Karin!

The majority of supplies came from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit. I sponged all my dsp edges with Chocolate Chip ink as well as most of the elements to give it an antiqued appearance.

On all my textured cardstock pages, I stamped tone on tone color for the background to fill in the white space.

The numbers are stamped with Schoolbook Serif Numbers in Real Red ink.
I used the Winter Post and Tree Trimmings stamp sets for the background stamping.

I tried to use a variety of ribbon and embellishments on the pages, but some didn't need much and I wanted the quotes to really stand out.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for pages 6 through 10!
I love it when you visit me! Leave me some comment love to let me know you've stopped by!
Blessings to you!
~~Robin

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge SSC127

Hi there stamping friends! This is an exciting week with the Stamping 411 Operators Crew - we have Thanksgiving weekend Blog Candy for you over at the Stamping 411 Blog. All you have to do to enter the drawing for one of SEVEN different prizes is leave a comment for us on THIS post, answering the questions posed in the post.
We at Stamping 411 are so thankful for you, our loyal readers and players that we decided to do something special just to show our appreciation. We wouldn't be who we are without wonderful stampers like you!

For my card with today's sketch, I decided to show you a completely different look. I took some leftover pieces of the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin Kit and used them to create my card.
I love the Simply Scrappin' Kits because they have so many different pieces to work with that even after you complete a major project with one, you still have sooooo much left over to play around with to create more!
Here is my card creation:

Believe it or not, there is NO stamping on this card at all!
Last week, I taught an advent calendar class using this particular scrappin' kit and only used just over 1/2 of it for the project. (I'll be posting the pages bit by bit over the coming few days.)
I've begun using up the other cardstock, designer paper and sticky die-cuts by making cards and a card box. So far I have 7 cards and a box cut with the Fancy Favor Die on the Big Shot. I'll be posting them later this week as well.

Today's Stamping 411 card starts with a piece of 6" x 6" Textured Very Vanilla cardstock, folded to make a 3" x 6" card.
The striped designer paper layer is 2 3/4" x 3". After adhering it to the card front, I nipped a small slit in the fold of the card with my Horizontal Slot Punch to create a hole for my Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon to slide through. I added the Styled Vanilla Ribbon Slide to it before adhering it to the card front.

The Scalloped Circle layer is a sticky die cut, layered with the snowflake sticky die cut. I used my Paper Piercer to add a Gold Brad to the center before sticking this embellishment to the card front. The next two layers are Textured cardstock pieces from the kit, the old Olive layer is trimmed at 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" and the Very Vanilla layer is 1 1/2" x 2 1/2". I've used one of the red ornament sticky die cuts for the focal point here. The Gold Cord is actually knotted around the top of the die cut like a hanging ornament and I've adhered the ends behind the striped designer paper. Lastly, I've added my sentiment with yet another sticky die cut for a simple Merry Christmas.

I will tell you that I thought briefly about stamping with the Tree Trimmings stamp set on the background of this one, but decided to keep the look clean and simple. I like just the texture of the cardstock on this one. It keeps it very crisp looking.
For the other cards I created in my set of 6, I did stamp on the background. When you see them later this week, you be the judge of whether or not it works! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

So, now it's YOUR turn! Use the Stamping 411 sketch and create something fun! We love to see your artwork and are excited each week to see what you've come up with based on Selene's fabulous sketches! Be sure to leave your comment on the Thursday post and enter to win the Blog Candy!
And thanks so much for being the fabulous readers and stampers you are! You make our days special!
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

A Thanksgiving UDI Inspiration Challenge #71

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful meal with the ones you love and that you didn't have to cook it! Or clean up! Yes, that's a pipe dream for many of us - at least I have a deal with my hubby, he cooks, I do dishes! I think I have the best end of that deal, even on Thanksgiving!

Don't you just love the photo above? That's my Thanksgiving table! Just kidding! It's the inspiration photo for this week's UDI challenge! I am so enjoying being on this design team - it's fun to let the photo take you somewhere creatively that you may not have thought of before.
Here is my card based on the photo:

I had the idea to use the Big Shot to dry emboss the Brushed Gold cardstock and then use my Versamarker to highlight the flowers and vines. I then used a mixture of Gold and Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder to heat emboss those areas. The photo doesn't show it very well, I think it looks much better in real life. C'mon over and you can see it for yourself! :)

I also used the mixed embossing powder on the frame image from the Great Friend stamp set. The greeting is stamped in Mellow Moss ink to match the taffeta ribbon. I hand cut that frame image and layered it with a piece of Ruby Red cardstock cut out with my Big Shot and the Matchbox Die. It's popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals over the layered ribbons.

To do the ribbons, I just adhered them separately behind the Very Vanilla cardstock layer and folded them up to create the pleat. I held them in place and used my Paper Piercer to go through all the ribbon and cardstock layers. The Clear Rhinestone Circle Brad holds the ribbons in place on the top two cardstock layers. I just trimmed the ribbon ends in a little banner.

All of the layers are mounted on a Ruby Red cardstock base.

So, what do you think - does it remind you of the photo or vice versa?
I hope you have some time to stamp this weekend in between all the eating, visiting and shopping. Find an inspiration piece like this one and see where your imagination takes you! Better yet, use this photo and let us see your creations! You can leave a comment on the UDI Blog with a link to your project - we'd love to see what you'll do with this! And while you are there, be sure to follow the links to the other design team members creations - I'm sure you'll be inspired by them!

Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!
~~Robin

Gilded Stenciled Birthday

Good morning stamping friends! Just one more day until we all share the wonderful traditions of Thanksgiving: eating turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, watching football on tv and poring over the Black Friday sale ads as we plot our shoppping routes!
Oh, yes, and get a much needed afternoon nap! That's on my agenda for tomorrow! :)

Today's card share is a one I designed for my Just Cards classes earlier this month. I was inspired to stencil on cardstock by two Christmas cards I'd received in some swaps, so I purchased the Vintage Ornament stencils with the intent of casing them. BUT, when I saw the different stencil layers in the package, I was drawn to this flourish. I thought it would make a gorgeous card all on it's own, so that's where my idea for this card started.

I used Kraft cardstock as my card base and sponged the edges with some Soft Suede ink. It was trimmed up with the Corner Rounder on the bottom corners. Then I put a little Dotto adhesive (removable) on the back of the flourish stencil and placed it on the card front. Using my Sponge Daubers, I sponged Rich Razzleberry ink through the stencil onto the card.
Once I had the color saturation I was happy with, I removed the stencil and rubbed off the Dotto residue. The greeting, from the Sincere Salutations stamp set was stamped in more Soft Suede ink and then I highlighted it with my Paper Piercer and Mat Pack.

Now for the fun part!

I took out my much neglected Versamarker and traced a few parts of the stenciled image with it. Then I heat embossed it with Gold Embossing Powder and the Heat Tool. How cool is that?! I know, it's probably not anything new, but I love the elegance of this card! Even after being a stamper for over 14 years, I still get excited when something turns out so cool!

Two more things for the front of this card - I used my Color Spritzer tool and my Soft Suede marker to add some speckles to the card front. It is finished off with a piece of Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon tied all the way around the card front.

I couldn't leave the inside of the card unfinished, so I added a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, also sponged and corner rounded. As you can see, I stenciled just a bit of the design in the lower left corner and added a greeting from the Heard From the Heart stamp set.

It's a super simple card with a lot of impact - I was so pleased with how easy it was to do this technique. I'll definitely be doing this again!
Have a wonderful day doing all your prep for the big day tomorrow! If you have time, check back in with me, I'll have my UDI Blog Inspiration Challenge project posted for you to see.
So thankful for you all!
~~Robin

More Retired Stamp Sets for Sale!

Hi everyone!

Finally, I have photographed and priced all my remaining retired sets and wheels - well, those that I can part with for now anyway!
All the added stamps have been put on the slide show on my blog sidebar, so please check them out if you like.
I will only ship to continental US - Priority Mail only. The prices listed do not include shipping.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow with another creative project for you!
Blessings,
~~Robin

A Very Special Gift Box

Hi everyone! I wanted to share something very special with you today. I've been getting a lot of questions and comments about this gift box on the shelf in my studio and thought some of you would like to hear the story behind it.
At convention this year, I was asked to serve on the Advisory Board for Stampin' Up! and it was a huge and unexpected honor to say the least. One of the special things we receive for serving is a custom designed ring. This is the box that Shelli presented our rings to us in at a lunch during the retreat earlier this fall.
It was such a nice setting, our lunches were all set up for us in the atrium area at the corporate headquarters and each placesetting had our ring boxes set there for us.

We were all so excited and carefully opening our boxes, enjoying finding our rings inside when the craziest thing happened..........
the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building!
Well, I hadn't even gotten my box open yet - so leaving everything else behind, purse, camera, etc. I picked up my ring box and carried it outside with me.
I wasn't about to leave THAT behind. No, siree! I could replace my purse, but that box was a work of art!
It just cracks me up every time I think about it, the box was the one thing I couldn't leave behind! LOL! Thank goodness the fire alarm was a test or something, but it sure put some extra excitement into our day. And it made a memorable moment even more so for me!

So, there you go, a special project and a funny story. What more could you want on a Tuesday? Oh, turkey and cranberry sauce? Just wait, that's coming on Thursday!~
Stamped blessings,
Robin

Busy Day !!!

Good morning my stamping friends!
I am headed in to my Advent Calendar class but wanted to let you know that I'll be posting a pic and a funny story here later today. It should be up by this afternoon!
Love you guys!
~~Robin

Copacabana Team Brings Home the GOLD!

Yessir! The National Blades Pre-Juv team placed 1st in this weekend's Mountain State Synchro Skate in Charleston, WV! WooHoo!

Here the whole team is together in the stands prior to their competition skate. They had already had their practice ice and skated out all the jitters. Now they were kicked back cheering on two of the other National Blades teams.

But, when showtime comes, you can see the anticipation on Emma's face as she heads to the dressing room for a last stretch and run through with her team.

Couldn't resist this shot of two proud dads - my hubby Mark on the left and Emma's friend Emi's dad, Greg on the right!

This is a pretty good shot of the team in one of their blocks. Here they are headed into a group lunge, very hard to do in this tight formation. Emma is second from the left in this photo. If you want to see their whole performance, an amateur video is on the National Blades website here. Just click on the link for Pre-Juv Team Video.

And here is our very own golden girl after receiving her medal on ice. The smile on her face says it all!

Couldn't resist this picture of the two of us! It was so great to celebrate with her this time!

Great job girls! We are so proud of you! You are really coming together as a team and there is lots more celebration to come this season!
Go National Blades!

Daisy Card for a Friend

Happy Monday stampers!
Just a quick post today to show you another version of my card from last Thursday's UDI Inspiration Challenge. This one actually was my first attempt at the stenciling and it turned out so beautifully, I had to make it into a card. And as it turned out, I had an occasion to give it to a friend who needed to smile. I hope she liked it!

For this version, I stenciled just the one daisy with Whisper White Craft ink and then I used my Big Shot to cut out two more Whisper White cardstock daisies with the Daisy Die. I curled the petals upward with my Bone Folder and adhered them with SNAIL to the Kraft layer. The Summer Sun Corduroy Button has a bit of Linen Thread strung through it and is adhered with Mini Glue Dots.
The Kraft Cardstock layer was texturized in the Big Shot with the Texturz plate and was sponged lightly with Soft Sued ink. I also stamped the greeting from the Great Friend stamp set in Soft Suede.

The daisy stem is cut out with the Swirls Sizzlit die in Garden Green cardstock and is adhered with Mini Glue Dots. This entire layer is adhered to a Whisper White cardstock base and the bottom corners are rounded on both layers with the Corner Rounder punch.
It's really a super simple card, but I love how it turned out with the 3-D flower over the stencil. Hope you enjoyed it too!
Have a great day everyone! I'll post again tonight with some pics of our trip with Emma's skating team to WVA this weekend! We had a GOLDEN time. Hint, hint!
Blessings,
~~Robin

It's Skating Season Again!

And here is our National Blades Pre-Juv Level team!

They are the Copacabana girls this year - skating to the Barry Manilow song that we ALL remember from the 80's. Believe me, all the parents just start singing along and bopping their heads when their music starts - it's kind of comical actually!
But there is nothing comical about our girls and the hard work they've put into their routine this year! They look fabulous and are ready to compete! (My daughter, Emma is 4th from the right in this photo.)

This is a photo of them completing their Triangle Pass Through. I can't do that on solid ground, much less on a razor thin blade on ice! They amaze me!

And here is a photo of them in their Moving Circle. They are locked arms and skating around in a circle, but moving it across the ice from one end of the rink towards the other. Really just amazing!

So we are here in Charleston, WV for the Mountain State Synchro Competition. The girls on our Pre-Juv team will be competing against 3 other teams at their level and we are hoping for Gold! But, it will all be over by tomorrow afternoon, so say a prayer for them for safety above all, but for sharp skills and team spirit!
Go National Blades!

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge #126

Hi everyone! My post today for Stamping 411 is going to be super quick because I only have about 10 minutes to write this. We are headed out the door to Emma's first Synchro Skating competition this season and have to drive about 6 hours to Charleston, WV! So, if you have any questions about measurements, etc. I'll be happy to answer them for you on Monday when we get back - just send me an e-mail or ask in your comments, ok?

I was in a wintry state of mind as I made this card this morning - thinking about skating I guess! LOL! I hope you like my interpretation of Selene's fabulous sketch!
Here it is:

What do you think?! I was so happy with the way this idea turned out from my head to my hands. Sometimes it doesn't always work out that way, kwim?

My card base is Shimmer White cardstock and it's layered with a piece of that luscious Bride Specialty paper that I brayered with Bashful Blue ink. LOVE that technique! I took a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot with the Snowflake die and then covered it with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. Don't you just love how it sparkles all over? Oh, I wish you could see it in person!

The center is a piece of Brushed Silver cardstock punched out with the Scalloped Circle Punch and then it's layered with a piece of Shimmer White stamped with a snowflake from Serene Snowflakes. I stamped in Bashful Blue Craft ink and embossed that as well. It has a Rhinestone Circle Ice Brad in the center to finish it off.

The greeting is stamped in Ballet Blue onto a piece of Shimmer Whtite cardstock and is punched out with the Modern Label Punch. That stamp is from the Gifts of Christmas stamp set and belongs to my friend Nancy. She switched that stamp with another one from one of my sets and since we haven't traded back yet, it was sitting on my counter just begging to be used! LOL! I think it worked perfectly - thanks Nancy!

I used ribbons and a brad for my elements across the bottom, both Bashful Blue Double Stitched and Bashful Blue Taffeta. I love the contrast of the two textures and folded, trimmed end on the wide grosgrain. Just something a little different here!

I hope you will take some time and play along with us this week. The sketch is at the top of my post and can also be found at the Stamping 411 blog. You'll also get to see the work of my fellow operators - I'm sure they will inspire you with this sketch - they do fabulous work!
Have a great weekend and wish us luck in Charleston!
Go National Blades!
~~Robin

Blogger's Challenge #126 - Give Thanks

Good day everyone! Happy Friday and happy weekend! WooHoo! I for one am so, so glad it's here - it's one of my blessings today, I just don't think it will fit in my box! LOL!

For today's challenge we were to use the theme "Give Thanks". Well, I've done a few autumn and Thanksgiving cards over the past month and I just wanted to do something different for you today. I've had this idea for a while for a "Blessings Box" - a symbolic or maybe not, box that will hold your blessings. This particular box is large enough to hold our 3 x 3 notecards and Mini Envelopes so you could write down your blessings and put them in there. You could also put photos or small bits of memorabilia in there as a reminder of all the things you are thankful for and all the ways you are blessed in your life. I've always found it better to focus on my blessings and not my challenges. Sure does make the days happier!

To create my box, I used a pre-fab wood box from a local craft store and covered it with pieces of the Christmas Cocoa DSP and Tombow Glue. I sanded the edges with my Sanding Block to smooth them out and give it a bit of a distressed look. Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon was wrapped around the top edge and adhered with thin lines of the Tombow Glue.

For the first time, I tried my hand at Stencil Paste for the top decoration. I'm not sure if I got the desired results, but I was happy with how it turned out. I won't give the how to here because I'm not sure I did it right, but I will say it was messy!
The front embellishment is a piece of Hodgepodge Hardware attached with Mini-Glue Dots. For the label, I used a stamp from the God's Blessings stamp set and just markered the word I needed from one of the stamps. It's stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock and punched out with the Small Label Punch.

All in all it's a very simple project, but most of the real Blessings in our lives are the simple things, don't you agree?
Have a great weekend everyone - we are headed up to Charleston, WV for Emma's 1st Synchro Skating competition this season so cross your fingers and say a prayer for them. I'll be doing a separate post about that later this morning for those of you who want to see some pics of the team this year!

Be sure to check out all the other Blogger's Challege players by clicking on the link in my sidebar. I know you'll be inspired!
~~Robin

UDI Inspiration Challenge #70

Welcome to Thursday everyone! This is my second week of Inspiration Challenges for the UDI Blog Design Team. I think I'm really going to love this challenge each week. I've looked ahead at the inspiration pieces we have coming up and my mind is just reeling with all the possibilities! I can't wait to show you each week!

This week's photo really caught me both creatively and emotionally. I love this images' staging with the bright daisies really standing out against the rustic background. It reminds me that no matter how bleak our life may seem, there is bright hope for tomorrow - a newness with each day's beginning. My family has been through some challenging days in 2009 - but God has been so faithful to us through every thing. He has provided when there didn't seem to be any way and He has blessed us in ways we couldn't even imagine before these challenging days came. This photo brings to mind this verse in Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
The patience part is hard, but it's all part of the growing process and fortunately, we get a fresh chance every morning!

So now, for those of you who came by for the project idea - here it is!
Whaddya think?

I came up with the idea for this card in the shower - if you read my blog, you'll remember that I do some of my best thinking in there! As a Mom, sometimes it's the only place I can get some peace - can you relate?
I wanted to make my own stencil and create an opaque daisy on a rustic background that would mimic the basket in the photo. So what I did was take a piece of transparency film from the office supply store and run it through my Big Shot with the Daisies Die. It gave me 3 openings for my stencil. (I also saved the punched out pieces to try on another project.) To prep the cardstock, I took a piece of Soft Suede and ran it through my Big Shot with this rustic Texturz plate. Then it was sponged with some Soft Suede ink to make it more distressed.
Then, I placed the stencil over my cardstock anchoring it with some Dotto. I also added the center of the daisy with Dotto so it would stay brown there. I then used my Sponge Daubers with Whisper White Craft Ink to stencil the daisies onto the card. I did them one at a time so I could place them where I wanted. To get the saturation I wanted, I just kept adding ink until I was happy with the look. I did not emboss it, but just let it air dry. If you do this, just remember not to touch it if you can help it! Ask me how I know! Haha! Did you know that the adhesive eraser will sometimes remove craft ink?......

Anyway, I then used my Paper Piercer and Mat Pack to add the hole for the Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons. The leaves were cut out of Garden Green cardstock with the Little Leaves Sizzlet and my Big Shot. I sponged a little Soft Suede ink on them just to tone down the color a bit.

I then found my Linen Thread and wrapped it willy-nilly around this cardstock layer and threaded the ends through the tag I'd created with my Large and Small Oval Punches. It's supposed to mimic the dried grass in the photo.

The tag was stamped with a greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes onto Naturals Ivory cardstock and was mounted on a piece of Textured Sahara Sand cardstock. Both were sponged with some Soft Suede ink. I anchored the tag with a Stampin' Dimensional underneath.
After rounding the corners, I mounted this whole layer on a piece of Sahara Sand Cardstock that had been rounded and sponged as well. And that was about it!
My husband really liked this card - I'm not sure if he really liked it, or if he was being enthusiastic because he wanted something, but his reaction was what I needed to hear! You'll have to tell me what you think so I can see if he knew what he was talking about! LOL!
After you leave your comment, please be sure to check out what the other design team members did with this sketch by going over to the UDI blog for the links to their projects. I know you'll be inspired by their work!
Thanks for stopping by to visit and be sure to come back tomorrow for my Blogger's Challenge project. It's all about Giving Thanks!
~~Robin

Let it Snow in Bermuda!

Does it ever snow in Bermuda? Well, it would be nice to live there a while and find out! LOL! Even if it's not snowing there, it can snow in Bermuda here on my blog! Yes, I'm using Bermuda Bay again - and to think that when I saw this color at first, I thought that I'd never be able to use it on a Christmas Card! You know what they say, never say never!
I really love this color combination and I haven't used this stamp set in oh, so long so I pulled it out to design this card for my Just Cards class on Tuesday. The girls loved it and I hope you do too!

The card base is Bermuda Bay with a layer of Real Red cardstock that is run through the Big Shot with my swirly Texturz plate. The next two layers are Bermuda Bay and Whisper White, both cut with the Top Note Die on the Big Shot. I then trimmed off the edge of the white layer with my Paper Snips.

I then took my favorite ribbon of the season, Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain (and it's in the BIG Idea Book, so we will have it at least until next June! Yippee!) and wrapped a piece around the layered top notes. It's secured on the back with SNAIL and the entire layer is attached to the card front with SNAIL.

The focal point is stamped with Black Staz-On ink on Whisper White and colored in with Stampin' Write Markers. It's layered on another piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock and is mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals to make it pop. The cute little snowflakes are from the Christmas Punch Stamp set and are stamped in Real Red on a Whisper White scrap and punched out with the Boho Blossoms punch. Every stamp in that set is designed to work with one of our punches - you know I love that! No hand cutting with THAT set!

So, hopefully, this bright color combo and fun feel have made you smile today! If you don't want the snow stamp, you could easily substitute the other two stamps in the Big on Christmas set for your image if you are recreating this card at home!
Have a great Wednesday everyone and be sure to stop back by to visit me tomorrow!
I'll have my UDI Inspiration Challenge Card posted for you and all I can say is that my husband LOVED it! He is always complimentary about my art, but he was enthused about this card! I can't wait to see if you agree with him!
Blessings to you!
~~Robin

Bermuda Medallion Birthday

I know what you are thinking - "Here she goes with that Bermuda Bay again!" or "Here she goes with that Medallion again!" Well, yep, here I go again! I simply love this color and LOVE that stamp! It's so easy to get a beautiful card with it and it lends itself to really any style.
I cased this card from one I received at Founder's Circle this year. The original card was done by Jo Golden and was a thank you card. I made mine a birthday card and changed the way the greeting was done, but that's mostly it - hey, why mess with a good thing?! Thanks for the inspiration Jo!

To make this one, you only need Whisper White and Bermuda Bay cardstock for the layers. And Bermuda Bay ink was the only one I used here. The Medallion was stamped on the Whisper White layer and then mounted on the Bermuda Bay layer. I then used the Paper Piercer to make a hole for the Rhinestone Ice Sqauare Brad.
The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (my new go-to set for a greeting for everything!) and is punched out with the Word Window Punch. That's layered on a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock punched out with the Modern Label Punch. It is adhered to the card front using SNAIL.

The ribbon treatment is just a piece of Bermuda Bay Polka-Dot Ribbon wrapped and SNAILed around the front layers. I then took a 5" piece of ribbon and tied it in a single knot. That is attached to the wrapped ribbon with a Mini-Glue Dot. I trimmed the ends to the little flags and that, was that!

The inside was just stamped with a corner of the Medallion in the lower left corner and the greeting was one that was laying out on my stamp table - I have no idea which stamp set it is from, but it works here!

Well, I gotta get moving - Just Cards class starts in 2 hours and I need to be ready!
Have a wonderful day today, I'll see you again tomorrow!
~~Robin

Olive Brayered Joy

Ok, finally! I got some time to post for you today! Emma is on the ice for about 45 more minutes, so I should be able to finish this post, dontcha think?!
Today's card is one that I created for my two workshops this past weekend. I have seen this brayering technique in many places on the web and wanted to try it out in traditional Christmas colors on a non-traditional size card.

I've started with a folded card base of 3 1/4" x 6" . It's cut from 12 x 12 Old Olive cardstock. The layers are Real Red, Whisper White and Bride Specialty Paper all cut at 1/4" smaller intervals each way. This card size fits in the Small Open End Envelopes.
The Whisper White, Real Red and Old Olive are simply adhered together with SNAIL adhesive and set aside. Then I took my rubber Brayer and inked it up with Old Olive Classic Ink. It's rolled over the Bride paper multiple times until I achieved the depth of color I wanted for the card. What is great about this technique here is that the foiled paper resists the ink as if it was embossed, leaving this beautiful dyed, printed paper in your custom color!

Next, I took the Delightful Decorations stamp set and inked up the Joy ornament in Real Red and stamped it on a Whisper White scrap of cardstock. It's punched out with the Ornament Punch and mounted on Stampin' Dimensionals to the front of the card. I didn't add a greeting because this element already had one! That was handy!
Next, I took a 6" piece of Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon and tied it in a single knot. Then I cut the ends in little flags and mounted it above the ornament with a Mini-Glue Dot. What could be simpler?
Well, the inside for one thing!

The inside of this super easy card is just a layer of Whisper White cardstock. I chose the sentiment to coordinate with my greeting - it's from the Many Merry Messages stamp set. I hope that set never retires - I have used the stuffing out of it!
That stamp was inked with Old Olive ink and placed near the top of the white panel. Then I just inked up one of the little stamps from Delightful Decorations with Real Red and stamped them in two of the corners for some emphasis.

That's it, done! I LOVE simple cards like this one! And if you like it too, you can come to my Just Cards classes tomorrow and make one of your very own! Class is at 10 am and again at 7 pm, so just e-mail or call me and let me know you are coming!
Can't wait to stamp with you all again!
~~Robin

Sloooow Monday...

Hi everyone! I do have a card to share with you today, just haven't had time to get it posted yet. Emma is home with pink-eye today, so you know the deal, have to keep her out for 24 hours and give her the eye drops - uggh! Poor girl, she has so much trouble with this - at least she can still go skate today so I'll get my card posted while we are at the rink later on!
Hope your Monday is going good!
~~Robin

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge #SSC125

Wow, can it really be time for the Saturday Sketch Challenge again? This week has flown by, I feel like we are careening out of control towards the holidays and I can't put the brakes on! Whew - I'm glad I had time to do a little stamping this week - how about you?
The Stamping 411 sketch this week was truly a challenge for me. I am definitely a symmetrical stamper and this sketch from Selene really drug me kicking and screaming out of my box. I so wanted to turn that focal element from a diamond to a square, BUT I forced my self to get CREATIVE and actually ended up with two cards. Yeah, that's right...I rock! LOL!

So, the teal card here is actually my second creation from this sketch. I was in the shower, yes really, I do take them from time to time; and had this great idea that the snowflake from Serene Snowflakes would look so beautiful embossed, cut out and layered to mimic the focal point. I loved the idea of this, that is until I actually embossed and had to cut them all out! You know I HATE to hand cut anything. But, well, for YOU, I made the sacrifice! Just know that if you plan to recreate this, it will take you 3 minutes to emboss the snowflakes and 15 minutes to cut them out!
So, what do you think?

The card is made of two layers, the top is a printed window sheet and the bottom is Taken with Teal cardstock. I did do an insert in Shimmer White with Teal snowflakes embossed on it, but I had a hard time getting a photo of it. So, just close your eyes and imagine it, ok?
I used SNAIL to attach the back of the teal cardstock to the Window Sheet and Mini Glue Dots under the snowflake to attach the front. The layered snowflake is mounted with more glue dots as is the greeting banner below.

The snowflakes are mounted together with Stampin' Dimensionals between each one to give it height and I curled the greeting banner with my Bone Folder after trimming the ends with my Paper Snips. If you want other measurements or info, just e-mail me, I'm happy to send it to you!

This next card is actually the first one I made and for that, I flipped the sketch to accomodate the greeting. I used Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry and Razzleberry Lemonade cardstock and paper. The cupcake wrapper is paper pieced with the dsp and the Whisper White layer is texturized with the Big Shot and the large Polka Dot Texturz plate. It's also sponged with some Melon Mambo ink.

After stamping the cupcake from Crazy for Cupcakes with Black Staz-On, I colored the icing with a Pretty in Pink marker and colored the sprinkles with Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo markers. They have glitter on them as well for a little sparkle.
The Melon Mambo square piece is also texturized with the Big Shot and sponged too, but it's a little hard to capture with the camera. All three of the square pieces are mounted on Stampin' Dimensionals.

The greeting was stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and punched out with the 1 3/4" Circle Punch. I then layered it on a piece of Melon Mambo cut out with the Big Shot and the Circles #2 Die. It's also mounted on some dimensionals.

So, now that you've seen my stuff - show me yours! Use the sketch to create your project, then visit the Stamping 411 blog and upload it to Mr. Linky for us all to see! We LOVE to see your creations, so whatcha waitin' for? Go stamp something - and have a great weekend!
~~Robin