Not Missing, Just on Vacation

Hi stamping friends!

I know my posting has been spotty lately - I suffered from lack of internet while at Convention, and now I'm at the beach on vacation with my family. I do have lots and lots to share with you, but this week, I'm trying to stay off the computer and just enjoy some down time with the ones I love most in the world. I know you'll understand and hopefully you'll stay tuned!
I'll be back on Monday with fun photos from convention and tons of projects and ideas for you!

Thanks so much for visiting me and I look forward to meeting you here again starting next week!
Blessings,
Robin

Tiffany's Rising Star Swap Card

Hi everyone! I have finally found another WiFi hotspot! WooHoo!
Unfortunately, I only have about 5 minutes to make this post! :)

Convention has been an
AMAZING experience so far - I can't believe it's over tomorrow!

I have some truly wonderful news to share with you, but no photos right now - they are all on Facebook and I don't have time to transfer them. I will later, I promise!

I'm just going to share the card I made for my BFF Tiffany's Rising Star group swap.

If you like it, we'll be making it at Just Cards in August, so be sure to sign up by e-mailing me, ok?

Stamped hugs to you all!
~~Robin

Fun Convention Gifts!

Hi Everyone!
I'm having a ball here at convention in Salt Lake City - for me one of the best parts of being here is reuniting with so many of my wonderful friends who are always so far from me in miles. I've had a ball with my gal pals Tiffany Bauer and Tara Bazata - check out our fun photos on Facebook - I'll be posting some here when I get more time.

Today I wanted to show you the cute room key holders I made for my downline Nancy Clark and for Tiffany; and for my girlfriends on the Advisory Board.
Here are Nancy's and Tiffany's:

I used the Great Friend Stamp Set to create the inserts for theirs and added one of those fabulous new Jewel Pearls to the butterflies!

The ones in this photo are for my Advisory Board girls:

We certainly were "Owl Together" this year and it was one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my life. I will always love these amazing women like sisters and it's truly been a blessing from God to serve with them. We know that we were together for a reason and there is definitely a bond that will never be broken.

For their holders, I used the Fox and Friends Stamp Set and the new Occasional Quotes Hostess Stamp Set.

My friend Laura Fagin, who goes to my church, actually made the little key fobs - she is wonderfully talented and I'm so thrilled at how they turned out.

Have a wonderful day stamping friends and be sure to keep checking back this week for more fun projects!
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Marina Mist in Mono

Good morning everyone!
As most of you read this today, I'll be in the process of flying to Salt Lake City for Stampin' Up!'s National Convention! WooHoo! It's such an exciting event - I love all the fun, training and stamping we get to do there, but most of all, I LOVE being reunited with so many of my very best friends! It's like a big party! :)

Today's post is short and sweet because I am about to step out my front door and head to the airport, but I wanted to share a version of one of my swap cards that I'll be trading at convention. It uses the new Hostess stamp set Because I Care. In this version, I used the greeting from Elements of Style.

My actual swap card has the greeting in Whisper White, and I added some Not Quite Navy color into the flower itself. There is glitter on the flower as well for a bit of extra bling.
All the stamping was done in Marina Mist and I combined two colors of cardstock, Bashful Blue and Marina Mist along with some of that yummy Organza Ribbon! Ooh la la!

Have a wonderful day stamping friends! Prayers to all of you who will be joining me in SLC for safe travels!
Blessings,
~~Robin

Modern Vintage Style - Card Swap

Happy Monday morning stampers!
There has been a LOT of activity in our household the past few days - prayers were answered and my Mom came home from the hospital on Saturday evening - thanks to all of you who lifted her up in prayer! We serve an awesome God!

Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day so we HAD to celebrate with a trip to our favorite soft serve place, Nathan's Dairy Bar in Manassas. Check out my Facebook page for some fun photos!

This morning, at 5 am, my daughter left for her first ever sleep-away camp - sniff, sniff! My Mama gene was coming out BIG time, I already miss my girl! But this is no ordinary camp - our church youth group is going to X-Fuge on Mission in the mountains of North Carolina and will not only be enjoying fun times together, but amazing praise and worship, discipleship sessions and training, and will be doing mission work in the local community each day they are there! I just know that God has amazing, life-changing things planned for my daughter and the other students who are attending. Keep them in your prayers this week, ok?

Lastly, tomorrow I fly out to Salt Lake City for Stampin' Up!'s annual convention! I don't know who is more excited - me or Mark, who will be a bachelor again for a week. Think some Wii will be played here this week? :)
For the next two weeks (while I'm at convention and on vacation at the beach afterwards) I'll be sharing the PLETHORA of projects I've been furiously creating lately. I've got swaps, gifts, shares and projects from my presentation to show you and I hope you'll love them all!

Today I'm sharing one of my many swap cards - I was inspired by a card I received in a swap from one of my bff's Selene Kempton.

This card has so much new stuff on it, I could advertise the whole catalog I think! My supply list is included below for you and it's a pretty easy card to re-create if you are so inclined!
Hope you enjoy it and be sure to come back tomorrow to see what I have to share next! I am FULL of surprised this week!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Supply List (All SU!):
Cardstock: Naturals White, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake
Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette
Stamps: Friends Never Fade, Occasional Quotes
Accessories: Very Vanilla 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, 2 3/4" Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Sponge, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Stampin' Dimensionals

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge

Good evening stamping friends! This is going to be a very short post because it's been a very long day! If you would, please pray for my Mom who was admitted to the hospital last night for an issue with her heart, we believe. She's having some testing done and hopes to come home tomorrow. Thank goodness my Dad is fit and healthy again - testament to the power of prayer and God's healing hand - I don't think I could handle having them both with health issues!

So, this morning I sat down to stamp in the 1/2 hour I had before the craziness started and had my first look at this week's sketch. I love the simplicity of this one!

Working with some supplies I had out on my counter already, I kept the simplicity going and created this card:

The card base is Old Olive cardstock and I stamped the new Ornamental Blossom single stamp in a random pattern over it. Taking scraps of both Whisper White cardstock and Greenhouse Gala DSP, I made the layered, punched border pieces at the bottom. I sponged the edges of the Whisper White piece with Daffodil Delight and wrapped it with some of that fun, new 1/8" Taffeta ribbon. It is mounted on Stampin' Dimensionals above the greeting panel.

Since the colors were Daffodil Delight and Old Olive, I stuck with them when I did the greeting and the cardstock layers.
I simply used my Stampin' Write Markers on the greeting stamp from the All Holidays stamp set - an old, well loved favorite - and huffed lightly on the stamp just before I placed it on the cardstock. That assures that the ink is fully wet in places that were markered first.

For the short time I used to create this card from inception to finish, I really like it! I know it's simple, but it has great impact. What do you think?

Be sure to head over to the Stamping 411 blog to see what the other Operators created this week - they always inspire me, I'm sure they will you as well!
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for your prayers - they are so appreciated!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

UDI Inspiration Challenge - Summer!

Howdy Stampers!
I know, it's been almost a week since I've posted!
Folks, I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger! Armed with the knowledge that I leave for convention in just 5 short days, my head is spinning in circles just trying to get all my samples made for my presentation; swaps done to trade and shopping done to fill my suitcase! Well, I could probably leave out the last part, but truth be told, a Stamipn' Up! event is a great excuse to shop for new clothes and I'm taking full advantage of it! :)

Anyway, I was so happy to see this week's UDI Blog Inspiration Challenge because it just screamed SUMMER to me! Here is the inspiration photo:

And here is my card:

Isn't that just summery delicious?!
This card was so much fun to create and I even did it with my Just Cards Classes this month. It's just bright, fun and whimsical!

You can see from this photo that I used the Big Shot on the Melon Mambo cardstock - it's texturized with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate. I also used the Big Shot on the Island Oasis DSP - it's cut out with the always popular Top Note Die.

The cone is stamped in Crumb Cake ink and the ice cream is in Melon Mambo with a touch of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to make it glisten!

And no card is complete in my mind without Stampin' Dimensionals, so you can see that I popped up the greeting with them.

I know this post is short and sweet, but I have so much stampin' to do - I've just got to get to it! I'm going to show you all my convention projects over the next two weeks. I'll be at convention all next week and on vacation with my family the week after, so I'll be pre-posting so there will be something new for you to see most every day!

For today, be sure to hop over to the UDI Blog and check out what the other design team members created with this fun summer photo! They are sure to bring some sunshine to you today!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Supply List (All SU!):
Stamps: Sweet Scoops
Inks: Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Island Oasis DSP, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, Dotto, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, 2 Way Glue Pen, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Perfect Details Texturz Plate

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge

Wow! What a fantabulous day it's been in the studio!
I have been stamping ALL DAY LONG! And the phone only rang 4 times! WooHoo!!!
Mark and Emma went to Kings Dominion with our church youth group for KingsFest today and I've had the house all to myself - just me and the dogs. Well, my friend Nancy too, but she met me for dinner and we came back here to stamp our convention swaps!
Nothing like a GREAT stamping day!

I almost forgot to do my post for this weeks Stamping 411 Sketch, but here I am, and here you go - our great sketch this week:

And here is what I did with it:

I'll give you the complete supply list at the bottom, but most of the supplies I used are New from the smokin' hot NEW SU! Catalog!

I folded my Marina Mist cardstock base and layered it with a piece of Pear Pizazz cardstock that had been texturized in the Big Shot with the Diamond Texturz Plate. Did you know if you spray a little rubbing alcohol on the cardstock before you run it through that the impression is deeper and the alcohol evaporates almost instantly? Yep, just don't spray it too close to the cardstock or you'll stain it. Ask me how I know........

I then alternated layers of Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Greenhouse Gala DSP (yummy-licious!), more Early Espresso, more Pear Pizazz, then my focal panel. Whew! That's a lot of layers! :)

My focal images comes from the New Friends Never Fade stamp set and I used Stampin' Write Markers to color on it before stamping on the Whisper White cardstock.
The greeting is from the single stamp called Three Leaves. I simply markered the greeting only and added it beneath my image.

Now, check out that lotus blossom......

Can you see the Crystal Effects? Yep, I added it in dots, so it would feel quilted over the flower image. It's really cool in real life! I wish you had touch-o-vision! :)
Lastly, I added my signature bow, but doubled ribbons again like last week. It's not easy to get it to tie nicely, but with practice, it gets better. And it's worth it - I love the effect! It's simply attached with Mini Glue Dots.

So, how do you like it? I'm loving these new colors and the new "stuff" to play with - I think it's going to be a very fun year with this catalog!
Be sure to stop over at Stamping 411 and check out what the other Operators created with this sketch too - they are a super creative bunch and I know will Wow you with their projects.

Have a wonderful Saturday and if it's hot outside, come in and stamp something!
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Supplies Used (All SU!):
Stamps: Friends Never Fade, Three Leaves
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Whisper White
Inks: Stampin' Write Markers - Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Big Shot, Texturz Plates, Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon, Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Greenhouse Gala DSP, Mini Glue Dots

RAK Showcase 2

Good morning stamping peeps!
Time for Round TWO of the RAK (random acts of kindness) Showcase!

I hope you are enjoyed the first one the other day - I am so blessed to have wonderfully talented friends who send me such beautiful artwork - I can't keep it to myself!

Today's showcase begins with this gorgeous card from Canadian demo Sabriena Satchwell. Sabriena participated in my ECS Fundraiser and sent me her ticket money in this beauty! It also contained a heartfelt note that made me cry - she is a beautiful person!

Next we have two cards from my dear friend Susie Wood. She and I met at my first Founder's Circle and have been friends ever since! Susie doesn't have a blog to showcase her beautiful work, but she is one terrific person and a wonderful stamper to boot!
This card uses the new Greenhouse Gala DSP and the new Friends Never Fade stamp set.

And look at this bright beauty! Love the new colors - she used Daffodil Delight and Cajun Craze on this one. So summery!

Now, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know one of my bff's Selene Kempton. She and I were in the same group of Rising Stars and got to know each other at Founders Circle that year. In addition to our collaboration on Stamping 411, Selene is a member of my GoDivas swap group.
I just love this card she made with the Elements of Style stamp set. Stunning, really!

And look at this cool gift card holder she sent me!

Love how she used that fun Island Oasis DSP here - too cute!

I love being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for so many reasons, most important of all are the friendships I've made. There are so many fabulous people that I would never have known if our common love of paper crafting hadn't put us together. Every event we attend is like a big slumber party or family reunion! I love these ladies so much and am grateful for their friendship.

Have you ever thought about becoming a demonstrator? Well, even if you haven't, maybe you should - for two reasons - the FUN and the FRIENDSHIPS. Yes, you can earn money too, but isn't it the relationships in our lives that make us full?
I'd love to chat with you about all that Stampin' Up! means to me and what it could mean for you too. So give me a call or send me an e-mail at stampwithrobin@yahoo.com and let's talk. You might just discover that a stampin' family is just what you need right now!

Blessings,
~~Robin

UDI Inspiration Challenge - Teacup Parfait

Good morning stamping friends!
It was a wonderful feeling to get up this morning and sit down at the computer and have it actually work! WooHoo!!! I guess I just need to admit it to myself and the world - I'm co-dependent on my computer! What in the world did we ever do without the internet?!

I remember when I was growing up in the late 70's, my Mom used to say "We'll never have one of those computers in OUR house!". Well, now not only do we have one of those computers - we have a desktop, a laptop and a netbook - all strategically placed so that the world is at our fingertips whenever the whim strikes us. My Mom - who is in her 70's - is fierce with her e-mail and has a very ACTIVE Facebook account - I would never have imagined it!

So, now that my lifeline has been restored I can share one of the fruits of my labors yesterday with you here. Thursdays bring us the UDI Blog Inspiration Challenge and our challenge Mom, Maria always picks the coolest inspiration pieces. Here is this weeks:

Doesn't that look yummy?! I didn't want to interpret it, I wanted to EAT it! :)
But, as soon as I saw it I knew what stamp I wanted to use. I've been making my projects for my convention presentation and one of the stamps I have to work with is the new Tiny Teacup Single Stamp. It is really adorable and my first thought was to stack them like the parfait in the picture! Yep, my Teacup Parfait!

And I have to admit that as soon as I thought the word "parfait", the Donkey quote from Shrek came to mind - "Parfait! Everybody loves parfait!" But it's not funny unless you say it in Eddie Murphy's voice.....

Anyway, I used the New Getting Started collection of Stampin' Spots to ink up my stamp for this project. The spots are just the right size to work with for this project. I stamped the bottom teacup first, inking the greeting and cup with Real Red and Night of Navy spots and stamping them on the Whisper White panel. I then created a mask for the teacup with a post-it-note and proceeded to just stamp the teacup in alternating colors by masking off the bottom one.
The Real Red focal point panel was used to mimic the napkin in the inspiration photo - loved that crochet edge - and the Scalloped Edge Border Punch worked perfectly for that.
The Whisper White background layer was dry embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and my Big Shot to mimic the dots on the teacups.

The only 'bling' I added was some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the teacups and the sweet Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon bow to the right side. The very center focal panel of Night of Navy was popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals to allow the ribbon to slide under with ease plus the dimensionals just give it more "oomph" factor. You know me and dimensionals - LOVE THEM!

I'm so glad you stopped by to visit today and I really hope you like the project - I had so much fun making it, don't you just love when something really makes you smile? :)
Be sure to stop by and visit the UDI Blog to see what the other design team members created for you - I know you'll be inspired!
Have a wonderful day today!
~~Robin

"Houston, we have contact."

Hi everyone!

Just wanted you to know that I am up and running again - our internet and phone came back on about an hour ago.
It's been a looonng day.........

Come visit me tomorrow for the UDI Inspiration Challenge project.
One benefit to having no phone and internet is no distractions so I did get a LOT of stamping done today! :)

Counting my blessings,
Robin

Disconnected Again!

Good morning from the keypad of my iPhone!
We woke up this morning to discover that our Verizon phone and Internet had mysteriously quit working overnight. They are saying we should be back up by this afternoon or evening.
So if you are trying to reach me today, I can check e-mail from my phone or you can Facebook me. Otherwise, I'll be back tomorrow with a new project to share with you!
Ahhh, the joys of technology!
Have a great Wednesday!
Robin

RAK Showcase - Act 1

Hello everyone!
I'm stopping back by today to share some gorgeous RAK's (random acts of kindness) I've received recently from fellow demos. I am so fortunate to have truly wonderful friends through Stampin' Up! and from time to time, they send me some beautiful artwork just because - isn't that wonderful? I love what my bff Tiffany and I call "happy mail" days. That's when you open the mailbox and get something that makes you happy just because the other person wanted to make you smile.

I haven't shared many RAK's here lately and I've got quite a few built up to show you so I'm gonna start with a few today and a few more tomorrow. I'll share some more with you next week too, ok? With only 13 days left before I leave for convention, I have an overwhelming amount of work to do to get ready so this is the perfect time to do my RAK Showcases!

The projects today all were included in swap packages to me over the past two weeks from participants in my private GoDivas swap. I'll be posting some of their actual swaps later on for you to drool over. These ladies are all handpicked by me because they are amazing stampers - all with varying styles and strengths. Their combined talent make each swap round something not to be missed and gives each of us fabulous inspiration!

The first piece is a gift wallet by my great friend Patti Chesky. Look at that gorgeous combination of color and elements!

Patti had also sent me this fabric flower pin in May and I'd not taken the opportunity to show it to you! It is stunning in person and believe it or not, all made with the Big Shot!

And just look at this adorable beach basket and the yummy chocolate treat that was tucked inside! This is from my friend Gretchen Barron and is just stinkin' adorable!

Gretchen also sent along this card she made using SU's digital paper crafting software - My Digital Studio. It is so obviously NOT just for scrapbooking! This card is gorgegous!

And just who doesn't love a little bitty card and a gift of ribbon?!
My buddy Daryl Micciche knows just how to make me squeal with delight, which is what I did when I opened her swap package and found this gift!
A lot of my swappers send me chocolate, but since it was so hot, Daryl elected to send ribbon instead - which has the added benefit of no calories! Yeah!
I just love the little card she made for it with the new Artistic Impressions stamp set - so adorable! Daryl doesn't have a blog or I'd give you the link there.

So, there you go, I've had a chance to show off some of my talented friends artwork and tell everyone just how special they are to me! Love them bunches!
Check back in tomorrow for RAK Showcase Act 2!
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

A Family Fourth

Hi everyone!
Welcome to Tuesday - are you recovered from your holiday weekend yet? :)
We had the most wonderful time visiting with Mark's family this past weekend. We started with Mark's Dad and Step-Mom, spending a little time catching up and enjoying homemade Chocolate Zucchini Bread - yumm! And then we went to his Mom's house where we did a little shopping - Emma was treated by Granny to a new pair of Coach tennis shoes for making straight A's on her final report card! The only catch is that she can't wear them until September!

We had a wonderful church service on the 4th - it was a great reminder to me what our country was founded on and the principles that still make us the great nation we are. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12

And after a 2 1/2 hour afternoon nap - guess I needed it! - we headed out to Danville, VA for a beautiful evening concert and fireworks. It could not have been a more perfect evening for celebrating our nation's birthday and I loved every minute of it!
Here are a few photos to share with you:

Emma and Me

Emma and Me "sharing" the cotton candy!

Emma and Mark

Mark and his Mom, Betty

And here is our All American Girl

I hope you and yours enjoyed a wonderful 4th together as well!
I'll be back later today with a creative project for you - now it's off to the ice rink for Emma's lesson!
Blessings,
~~Robin

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge - Summer in Paris

Hello everyone!
Are you having a good holiday weekend so far?
Since I'm writing this post on Friday morning, I'm going to go out on a limb and tell you that we are having a WONDERFUL time with Mark's family! LOL! I'm sure we will be, it's been since Christmas that we've been home to visit, so I know it's all good!

Today's project is for the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge - some of you may recognize this sketch from this card I made last week - be sure to read the post for THAT story, but here is the actual sketch:

And here is my REAL card for this week!

Can I just say that I love how easy this week's sketch made it to create this card? It's another timeless sketch and lends itself to so many creative directions. I pulled a number of new, fun supplies to make this one and combined it with a few old friends as well. The focal image is stamped in New Early Espresso ink on Whisper White cardstock which is layered on Early Espresso and Old Olive cardstock. I popped it up with Stampin' Dimensionals and the ribbon runs under it easily.

You can see the dry embossed detail from the Elegant Bouquet Embossing folder really well from this angle. I ran the New Daffodil Delight cardstock through my Big Shot with it and then rubbed Daffodil Delight ink over the flowers to make them pop.

I wanted to do something different with my ribbon/bow, so I used Old Olive 5/8" Satin and the New Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffeta and tied them together in my bow. The hardest part was just keeping them from sliding apart while I was making the loops.

For a final touch, I used one of the Mini Vintage Tags from the Summer Mini Catalog and stamped the little crown from Tiny Tags in Early Espresso on it. It's simply knotted around the bow and I attached everything with Mini Glue Dots.

I've never been to Paris in the Summer, but hopefully I've captured the feeling of it anyway. That's just what these colors and elements put me in mind of - well, it's all the Eiffel Tower's fault, but you get it!

Be sure to stop by the Stamping 411 blog and check out what all the other Operators designed for you this week - like I said, it's a great sketch, I'm sure they will impress you with their creativity!

Enjoy your Saturday and if you have time - Go Stamp Something!
Blessings,
~~Robin

Terrific Tin Flowers!

Warning: the project I'm about to show you will make you squeal, if there are others in the room with you, you may want to warn them. And if your husband has roof flashing in his workshop he may want to know that you're about to commandeer it for your stamping needs.

So, most of you know that recently, I cleaned out the studio and sold just about everything that wasn't nailed down. Yep! 5 years of just plain stuff had gotten the best of me and I purged! WooHoo! During said purge, I came across a stash of 24 of these tin picture frames:

I'd been saving them for goodness knows what project for over 3 years! Well, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with them until I was in the middle of demoing this card at a party last week. The ladies had never seen the Big Shot in action, so I was trying to show them how it would cut through things other than cardstock. There was a stray piece of roof flashing on my stamping space (doesn't everyone have one?) so I grabbed it and made a couple of metal flowers with it. I used my Craft and Rubber Scissors to snip apart the petals and punched a hole in the centers with my Crop-a-dile, adding the Summer Sun Corduroy Brad to finish my flower.
Wanna see?

Isn't that cool?! I actually didn't complete this frame project until the next day, but the ladies loved seeing that flower being made - and it is pretty cool!

To make the frame, I simply cut a piece of DSP the same size as the frame front and adhered it with Tombow Multi Glue. A Sanding Block took care of the edges and corners making them smooth and I simply knotted a length of ribbon around the bottom making a border for my photo.
To attach the tin flower to the frame, I got out the Crop-a-dile again and punched a hole in the top corner, then just opened up my corduroy brad and put it through. So, so easy!

Now, you can probably tell that this frame uses retired paper and ribbon - that's because the ladies who came to my Last Chance Aloha event got to make them, but you could use anything. As far as working with the roof flashing, it comes in 6" x 12' rolls and has sharp edges, so be sure to use garden gloves or something similiar when you are cutting the pieces apart. You can find it at most local home improvement centers.

I'm anxious to try this with some other projects, so stay tuned - you know I'll share! In the meantime, have a great day and be sure to come back to visit tomorrow - I'll have my Stamping 411 Sketch card posted along with the sketch for you to play along.

We are headed out of town for the long weekend - a much needed break for all 3 of us! I'm even looking forward to the 5 hour car ride today - Wow, I must need a break! LOL!
Have a happy and safe 4th of July my friends!
Stamped blessings to you all!
~~Robin

American Star - UDI Inspiration Challenge #102

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Happy New Stampin' Up! year that is!

Today marks the official start of the NEW Idea Book and Catalog and you know what that means..........
maxxed out credit cards and empty bank accounts! LOL!
Well, hopefully not, but from all the chatter in the online groups I belong to, this catalog is the BEST ever and I must say that I agree completely! It has a beautiful layout, gorgeous samples, handy charts to help you choose just the right adhesives, Big Shot accessories and Hostess benefits. It has suggested color combinations, a fabulous new look and layout to the NEW color families, amazing new ribbons and bling and most of all, simply fabulous new stamps! It's all designed to make your stamping projects easy, fun and irresistible and dare I say that you will be like me and unable to resist this catalog!
Can you tell I'm a bit excited about this?!!
If you are in need of a copy and don't have a local demonstrator to obtain one from, please let me know and I can help you out with that.

Now, would you like to see what I made yesterday?
Being Thursday, this is the UDI Blog Inspiration Challenge and here is the intriguing photo our challenge Mom Maria sent us:

I knew I wanted to go patriotic on this card, but wasn't quite sure where it was headed, so I pulled out some new colors and got to work.
Here is the end result:

A little bit of Cherry Cobbler, Naturals White and Marina Mist combined with Crumb Cake made for a really cool patriotic look. The best part was the shiny metal star that I was able to cut with my Big Shot and Stars #2 Die. It's made with roof flashing which comes in a roll from the local hardware store. You just use your Paper and Rubber Scissors to cut it into smaller pieces so it will lay flat on your die.
I did have to shim mine to make it a bit tighter fit through the rollers with the plastic shims that come with the Big Shot, but you can use pieces of cardstock or printer paper if you need to do the same.
Once the stars were made, I layered them with a Stampin' Dimensional and punched a hole through both with my Crop-a-Dile to add the Square Fire Rhinestone Brad.
*Important! If you decide to try the roof flashing, be sure to wear gloves and be careful. It is very sharp - I found out the hard way! Bleeding on your projects is never appealing!

The layout is super simple, all I did was cut my pieces of cardstock, line them up side by side on a piece of Grid Paper with Dotto temporary adhesive and run the inked Jumbo roller over them. I used the New Early Espresso ink for the stamping.
Then they were just adhered to the card front with Snail after sponging everything with more Early Espresso ink.

I added the NEW Whisper White 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon accent wrapped around the card front and snipped the ends into little banners. The star accent piece was layered on the front using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here is a view of the dimension from the top of the card:

I don't know why the Cherry Cobbler cardstock looks so dark in the photo, it's really not in real life.

So there you go, my take on the inspiration photo. I hope you liked it and seeing the new products from the new catalog! It is so fun working with NEW goodies!
Be sure to stop by the UDI Blog today and see what the other design team members created, they are sure to inspire you!

Happy Thursday everyone!
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin