Kool K-Cup Kaddy

I am one lucky gal.
Did you know that I am blessed to have two Keurig Coffee Brewers in my house? Yep, one in the kitchen and one in the studio.
Good coffee is always just a few steps away! ha!

I also have been spending a little more than a little time on Pinterest lately. Which means that I actually have to MAKE some of the projects I've been pinning like a fiend!
And I have - remember the Sweethearts Topiary?
And the Sweet Sale-A-Bration Note Tote?
Yep, both ideas found on Pinterest.

Well, here's another one that I found and LOVED because of my coffee obsession and I've put my own spin on it:

Whoa! You say - that's cool! Yep, just what I said when I saw it at the end of January. I even made one for one of my February Hostesses and the first gal that booked from her party.
Proving that Pinterest is really useful and not just a time waster!

The original design/template for this K-Cup Caddy came from Lori Tecler, a stamp artist in California. Her design was originally for a 2 K-Cup holder, but I thought it would be cute to make it a foursome! Here's the link to her original template - K-Cup Caddy Template

Here's another look at my design for this cute caddy:

I used the Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper and Pool Party Cardstock as my starting point. I added some Lucky Limeade Ruffled Grosgrain Ribbon for an accent and punched the handle with my Modern Label Punch.
(if you do this double caddy, be sure to only punch through one side at a time so you don't risk damaging your punch!)

Here's a close up of my embellishment:

I used the Morning Cup stamp set and colored the cup images with Stampin' Write Markers in Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and Wisteria Wonder. The image was punched out with my 1 3/4" Circle Punch and edged with my 2 Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. It's popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals over a piece of the textured polka-dot paper from the Sweet Shop pack. I punched it out with my Fancy Flower Punch. The whole piece was added to the front of the caddy with more Stampin' Dimensionals.

Now, I KNOW you want to make one of these too - so here's a few of the products I used to create mine:

#119850 1 3/4" Circle Punch $16.95

#118073 Fancy Flower Punch $16.95

#125408 Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Series Paper $12.95

#120489 Morning Cup Stamp Set (clear mount) $16.95

You can find all these products and everything else I used for this project in my Online Stampin' Store. It's open 24/7 so it's convenient for you!

Have fun making your Kook K-Cup Kaddy! I think I'm gonna go make another Kup of Koffee!!
Happy Stampin',
~~Robin

Place your order for all your 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!

A CASE for Sale-A-Bration

Sometimes you come across a card that is just so simply lovely, you know you have to make it yourself. That's the case with the card I'm sharing today.
Here, take a look:

I received a beautiful card from my friend and GoDiva Swap Group member Barbara Dondero in a special Sale-A-Bration card swap. It was just so soft and lovely that I had to recreate it for my clients. The only difference with my card is that I left off the tiny butterflies that were on her original.

The card base here is Peach Parfait - which incidentally will be retiring at the end of May with the 4 other 2010-11 In Colors. The card's colors were taken from this gorgeous Designer Series Paper - Everyday Enchantment - which is part of the FREE Sale-A-Bration offerings. Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze and Peach Parfait, so soft and pretty.

The stamp set is also part of Sale-A-Bration. It's called Fresh Vintage and is FREE like the Designer Paper with any $50 order!

Barbara and I both used the new Edgelits and the co-ordinating Adorning Accents Embossing Folder with the Big Shot to create the layered look on the card front. The focal image was stamped with Peach Parfait ink and I added the mini Basic Pearls to finish it off.
This is such a sweet notecard, it would be welcome in anyone's mailbox with a friendly message from you!

Remember, you have only until March 31st to receive FREE Sale-A-Bration products! You can visit my Online Stampin' Store at any time to place your order and you'll be able to choose your FREE product(s) there too for each $50 you spend. Don't miss out on this special, limited time promotion!

Happy stampin' today!
~~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 shopping!

My Digital Studio - Learning to Love It!

I know you all think that I've been off doing just the skating Mom thing this past three days - but hold on! I've been playing with my laptop, designing a scrapbook with My Digital Studio!

Say WHAT??
Yes, it's true - I'm slowly but surely coming into the digital age and learning to love the possibilities of Digital Designing.
Plus, it's really the only easy way to be creative while I'm on a long road trip.
Where else am I going to get many hours one-way of mostly uninterrupted time in front of the computer learning this fantastic program??
Nowhere, so I'm taking advantage of it.

I decided to start with a pre-designed 12" x 12" photo book template - Downtown Grunge, which I downloaded from my Stampin' Up! website. We'd had a fantastic time at the end of our Alaska trip last May, spending three days in Seattle, exploring the city for the first time ever. So I chose that small event as the focus of this scrapbook.
I've always felt that when I'm scrapbooking an event, it's best to keep it to a narrow focus anyway so you don't get overwhelmed with the project.

Believe it or not - My Digital Studio NOVICE that I am - I managed to complete 10 pages of this 24 page scrapbook in the 6 hours I worked on it in the car. If that sounds like a lot, understand that I'm truly a novice with most aspects of this program. The more I do on it though, the more I feel competent with it and the more I'm enjoying it.

So, here's a peek at my album - this is page 3:

I was able to create a Custom Background paper with one of my photos of the Space Needle. It made a great backdrop for some photos of us at the top. The photo blocks and digital tape came from the embellishments included in the Downtown Grunge Photobook Template. I used the Delight in the Day stamp brush set for the title and I took the journaling lines and brackets from other downloads - can't remember which ones now!
My plan is to write my journaling in the book when it comes - I really prefer to hand journal, but that's just me.
I really love how this page turned out and I can't WAIT to finish the book and get it printed! I'm planning to print one for Mark's mother too for Mother's Day since she enjoyed the trip with us.

So, what do you think? Do you think it's cool? I'd love your feedback.
Don't forget either that you can now download a FREE 30 Day trial of My Digital Studio from my Stampin' Up! website Products Page. You'll have full access to the basic program and many downloads, all the available downloads for purchase plus the professional printing services as well for a full 30 days. If you like it, you can choose to purchase the program by download in two different configurations. It's a great opportunity to try it out if you're not sure or a scaredy-cat like me.
Trust me, if I can do it - YOU can do it!

Happy Scrappin' and 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!

Downton Abbey Blues - and a Card

So, I've recently discovered the BBC period drama "Downton Abbey".
DON'T tell me anything about the second season! I will plug my ears and do the "lalalalala" thing to drown you out.
Mark and I have been watching Season One on Netflix and we are 13 minutes into the LAST episode! We had to turn it off last night because Emma and her science fair project weren't getting along.

Yes, we turned it off right after Matthew finds out that Lady Grantham is pregnant! That sure puts a kink in his inheritance chances NOW, doesn't it! Grrrr......it's KILLING me to not watch it today while Mark is at work. But we'll have to wait until after skating tonight to find out how the season ends. I'm hoping I don't turn to chocolate to console me today.
Especially since today is face the scale day at Weight Watchers.
Maybe I'll wait and get a cupcake while Emma is at skating...

Or maybe I'll just stamp something.

Here's something I stamped for my February card classes:

It's actually a CASE of a card by one of my GoDivas swap group members, Glenda Travelstead. She had done this card in a different color combination, but I loved the idea of using Island Indigo, Pink Pirouette and Rich Razzleberry together. It's like a glimpse of spring for me.

The card is a pretty simple one, I used the small floral spray from the Bordering on Romance stamp set to stamp a tone on tone background on the Island Indigo card base.
The next layer is a strip of Pink Pirouette cardstock that was stamped with the large floral spray from that set in Rich Razzleberry. Like Glenda, I used my Crimper Tool to ruffle the cardstock and trimmed out a triangle from the bottom with my Paper Snips to make a flag. A little Dazzling Diamonds Glitter was added to the flowers then it was attached to the card front with SNAIL.

The next layer is a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I stamped with an image from Apothecary Art in Basic Black ink. I used my Labels Framelits to cut it out with the Big Shot then colored it in with Stampin' Write Markers. I used the same color combo as the card, adding in Wild Wasabi for the green leaves. A piece of Island Indigo Ruffled Grosgrain Ribbon was added around the center and then the layer was popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals and adhered to the card front.

The greeting was simply done on Whisper White and punched out with the Large Oval Punch. I layered it on a piece of Pink Pirouette punched out with the Scalloped Oval Punch. More Stampin' Dimensionals popped it up on the card front to finish it off.
The inside has a simple white panel stamped with the large floral spray stamp in Rich Razzleberry.

Kind of reminds you of an English garden doesn't it??
Sigh, there I go again - thinking of that addictive Downton Abbey!!
But I know you understand.....

Have a wonderful day stampers - go stamp something fun and think of England!
~~Robin

Sweet Sale-A-Bration Note Tote

**Post Update! I didn't anticipate the requests for the template for this project. I've added a link to the .pdf file on Google Docs in the description below! Thanks for the response!

So, how was your holiday weekend??
Mine was very full and very fun and even very relaxing!

Friday night, we took Emma to see Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows at the 2nd run theater. Mark and I had seen it back in December on a date night, but she really wanted to see it so since it was at the cheap theater, we decided to go.
We absolutely LOVE to go to the movies, but we absolutely HATE to pay for the way overpriced tickets and concessions. When we go to a big chain, we use discount coupons and go to matinees. We joined the theater "club" and earn points to use on tickets and popcorn, and have sometimes been known to bring in a few snacks in my purse. Gotta save some $$ somehow, right??
Anyway, about 2 years ago, we discovered a discount 2nd run theater near our local college campus and it's awesome! Tickets and popcorn every day are just $4! Tuesdays are $2 for movies! That means for less than the price of regular theaters tickets only, we can all three see the movie and eat popcorn with a soda. That gets a "Two Thumbs Up" in my book!
By the way, Sherlock Holmes was FANTASTIC! Great story, fast paced, really well acted. We loved it!

On Saturday, I held my first Open Studio Stamp Time and had 5 wonderful ladies here stampin' and using My Digital Studio and having a ball. Check out the photo at the bottom of this post. Susie was trying to make friends with Jean. It was pretty funny.
This event is going to be a regular occurance on my calendar, so check out my Events page for the next one!

Sunday was my monthly Trinity Design Stampers Team meeting. I welcomed 15 of my downline team and one guest into the studio for a fun three hours of stamping and business sharing. I love having my team together - we share so much fun together and everyone comes away with ideas and inspiration for all aspects of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Here's the project I created for them all to complete. It's a sweet little note tote that uses some of our awesome Sale-A-Bration products!

The tote is made of Peach Parfait cardstock and is decorated with the Everyday Enchantment Designer Paper that's only available for FREE with a $50 order through March 31st. The ribbon is Baja Breeze Seam Binding and is accented with one of the Sale-A-Bration Printed Brads that's available in set with 2 rolls of lovely organdy ribbon. Yep, that's also FREE with any $50 order!
The template for this project can be found at this link here: Robin's Note Tote Project

Here's a photo of the back of the tote:

I used the Decorative Label Punch to create the handle space. It was punched through the layered cardstock and designer paper.
Here's a close up of the little 3" x 3" love notes and envelopes:

I used the Fresh Vintage stamp set that is yet another FREE selection with any $50 purchase through March 31st!
Confetti White cardstock, Baja Breeze, Peach Parfait and Crumb Cake ink and two punches - Postage Stamp and Word Window completed these lovely cards.
Want to know the best part??
If you like this stamp set, designer paper and brad, you can earn ALL three of these products FREE in a special bundle for Hostesses between now and March 31st!
That's in addition to all your other Hostess Freebies too!
It's such a fantastic deal - I'd love to work with you on a fun party so you can have these goodies to play with!
Just contact me via e-mail at stampwithrobin@yahoo.com
or through my website at www.robinstamps4u.stampinup.net to find a date on my calendar that's perfect for you!
But don't wait too long, my calendar is pretty full and we only have until the end of March to schedule it!

Susie thinks its a dog-gone good idea! haha!

Susie and Jean

Happy Stampin' everyone!
~~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!

Hearts Aren't Just for Valentine's Day!

I {heart} hearts all year long!
It's so fun getting them in e-mails and text messages and my daughter recently taught me to do the hand hearts:
That was the easy part - taking the photo with my iPhone was the hard part! haha!

So for my recent Stampin' Fools party, I designed this fun un-Valentine card using the embossed hearts paper from the Sweet Shop Specialty Designer Paper pack.

The card is a great combo of lots of heart things including the greeting!
I used a color combo of Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade and Whisper White. The card base was embossed with the hearts folder from the Adorning Accents set. I tied some White Organza Ribbon around the card front and knotted it on the side.

Poppy Parade cardstock was used to cut the Scalloped Square layer out with the Scalloped Square Duo Die and my Big Shot. It's layered with a square of Calypso Coral, then a square of the embossed hearts paper.
The heart focal image was stamped from the P.S. I Love You stamp set in Poppy Parade ink on Whisper White cardstock. I punched it out with the Full Heart Punch and edged it with my 2 Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. It's popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals to make it stand out.
I stamped the greeting on another scrap of Whisper White using stamps from the same set and punched it out with the Modern Label Punch. After adding a single Basic Rhinestone Jewel, I attached it to the card front with a dimensional.

The inside of the card was simply stamped with a Poppy Parade heart on a panel of Whisper White.
You could use this card for many different occasions for anyone you {heart}!

Speaking of hearts, here's a photo of what my awesome husband gifted me with for Valentine's Day!

I'd seen it on Pinterest and he saw me repinning it to my Eye Candy board, so he contacted the artist through her ETSY store and ordered it!
Yeah, he's a keeper!
It's a sterling silver heart locket filled with Cobalt Blue Sea Glass (another one of my favorite things!). The chain on mine is different, a little dressier, and I {heart} it so much!

Well, I'm off here now - gotta get ready for my Open Studio Stamp Time tomorrow and my Trinity Design Stampers Team meeting on Sunday. Just hoping it doesn't snow too much so we don't have to postpone it!

Happy Friday!
~~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 shopping!

Simple Songbird Tile

If you're anything like me, you have a lot of pieces for unfinished projects laying around. I have all the best intentions when I order something or make an 'amazing' find in a store. You know what I mean - you get a brilliant flash of inspiration that compels you to 'Add to Cart' the very thing you need to make that project in your head a reality.
Yeah, if you're crafty at all I know it's happened to you at least once.
And then reality hits.

Your perfect idea, your recently purchased 'finishing touch', your blank canvas just sits there staring at you because you either don't have the time or don't make the time to even get started on that brilliant idea that caused you to separate your money from your wallet.
Yeah, you know.

So recently, I discovered a small item - just a drop in the bucket really - and determined to just do something with it.
It's this Chocolate Songbird Decor Element that oh, by the way, retired in the last catalog.

I had a few tiles left over from this project HERE and decided that I could simply rub the decor element piece on to one of them. I added about a yard of the Marina Mist Striped Grosgrain ribbon in a big floppy bow and called it done.

Now, won't this cute little 6" x 6" tile look lovely sitting on my mantel this spring? Yep, I think so too.

You know, there's a bunch of smaller sized Decor Elements in our catalog this year. A lot of them will fit on a 6" x 6" tile or even a bit larger size. I encourage you to check them out. You can create a similar quick and easy project for your mantel or bookshelf or even as a gift, in just a few minutes.

Promise me something though?
Don't buy it and then stick it on a shelf or in a cabinet or closet.
Just do it.

And hey, if you're looking for a solution to the TIME excuse, map out 4 hours on your calendar this Saturday (2/18 from 10 am - 2 pm) and head on over to my studio for some Open Studio Stamp Time.
You bring your unfinished projects, ideas and your consumable supplies and you can have full access to my tools, stamps, inks and what's left of my pea brain to pick.
I'll have some snacks, drinks and chocolate to keep you going and it's all for just $5. Or Free with a $30 order.
RSVP to let me know you're coming and I'll make sure you have table space especially for you!

Happy stampin!
~~Robin

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

Because You Asked......

Warning - this post contains NO stamping.
Unless you take into account that what I'm showing you today will have a special place in my Studio re-design plan. HeeHee!

When we were in Hershey, PA last month for Emma's skating competition, we had a little down time so Mark and I decided to check out a few of the local antique places. I'm in the process of re-decorating my studio into a vintage 50's kitchen theme, so I'm always looking for small pieces that can act as storage and decor.

A few of you asked to see some of the treasures I found, so here's a couple pics:

I found a BUNCH of old wooden bobbins that I'm going to use to wrap ribbon around. Not only will that make a beautiful display, but it will keep it front and center so I'll use it more!
You can see 5 new vintage flower frogs in the photo. I love them for card stands in the studio and for taking photos of cards for my blog. I found some oval shaped ones and even a little bitty one. One of the ovals is copper and even has a green oxidized place on it - love that!
The old Ecko muffin tin will be used to hold small embellishments out on my counter. I got this idea from my friend Kimberly VanDiepen who loves vintage as much as I do.

The second photo shows some vintage Pyrex and Fire King refrigerator boxes. The colors are perfect for my design scheme and I'm going to store embellishments in them as well. The vintage Ball Mason Jar has an original zinc lid with a white milk glass interior - so cool! Great for buttons, don't you think??
There's also a little peek at something else VERY fun that I picked up. And I'll show you exactly what it is hopefully by the end of the month! I'm chomping at the bit to be able to share some exciting news with you, but there's just a few more things that need to add up.........

On another note, our Valentine's Day was quiet - we took my Mom out to eat at Famous Dave's BBQ and had a delicious meal. But after watching the show Heat Seekers on Food Network last night, Emma thought she'd challenge her Dad to a Hot Sauce Contest before dinner. She prides herself on her ability to "take the heat" and her favorite food group is hot wings!

Here's the video - I let her off the hook (actually both of them) after the video stopped they both drank some milk to put out the fire!


Have a spectacular day! I'm off to Weight Watchers to weigh in and see how bad the damage is today!
~~Robin

Hey Valentine! Be Mine!

Call it what you will - "The sweetest day of the year."; "In love with love day"; "Chocolate Enthusiasts day", "National Singles Awareness day"; or my personal favorite - "Oh my gosh! It's Valentine's Day and I NEED a card! day".
Yep, how many of you have been there, done that?!

Well, I'm here to help!
Check out this card -

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - it's not stamped! This card front is a Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio exclusive printable. How cool is that?!
Stampin' Up! had done all the work for us on this one - lots of "love" words, coordinating colors, cool fonts. All on one easy card.
This printable is called the Be Mine Frameable and can be downloaded from my Online Stampin' Store at this link HERE.
Simply click the SHOP NOW button at the top right corner.
Then, go to Digital Designing in the left column.
Next, click on Designer Templates. It's on page 2 of that section.
It's $1.95 to download and comes in an 8 1/2" x 11" size. You can use this in any digital publishing software and resize it to whatever size you need.
There are also many other pre-designed Templates that you can download and print on cardstock right there at home.
While you're there - you can also download a FREE 30 Day Trial of our awesome My Digital Studio design program. Doesn't get much better than that!

For my card, I used Microsoft Publisher and chose to print four postcard size card fronts on one piece of 8 1/2" x 11" Whisper White cardstock. I simply saved the frameable download as a .jpg file and was able to drop it into the program as a photo.
I then cut them into 4 card fronts measuring 3 3/4" x 5" so I could layer them nicely on the Riding Hood Red and Basic Gray cardstock to make my card.

The only embellishing I did to this was to add some Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon across the front; a Basic Rhinestone jewel to the dot between the 2 and 14 and adding a Silver Glimmer Large Heart Punch over the ribbon with Stampin' Dimensionals.
The Riding Hood Red cardstock layer is mounted to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here's the inside:
I stamped the greeting from the Sweetly Said stamp set in Basic Gray ink and added the open heart image from the I Heart Hearts stamp set in Riding Hood Red ink.
So easy!
And since my husband really loved this card - it's gonna be his valentine this year! Shhh - don't tell!

Now, take a look at what I did with the actual 8 1/2" x 11" size:

I just printed it again at full size on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and set to work adding my embellishments.
The frame is a simple metal document frame that I found on clearance at a local store. I removed the glass so the embellishments would be able to pop out.

I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Basic Rhinestones, Silver Glimmer Paper, Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin Ribbon, an Antique Brad, a Candy Cane Lane button and some Baker's Twine. Such a fun and easy project!

So, there you go - a simple valentine card and gift that's STILL hand made! All you need is the Be Mine Frameable download to get started and you'll have Valentine's Day all wrapped up by the time your honey walks in the door tonight!

Now, I'm off to finish my special valentines for my special Valentines!
Have a great day and be sure to eat some Chocolate!
~~Robin

A Relaxing Weekend

So, what do you do when there is unexpectedly absolutely NOTHING to do on any calendar of any member of your household for two days??
Relax and enjoy it.
And that's exactly what we did.

The serenity of this picture epitomizes my weekend:

I took this outside of an antique store in Lucketts, VA on Saturday. Just beautiful and so serene. I love how quiet the woods are after it snows.

We spent the better part of Saturday nosing around some antiques stores that I'd been wanting to go in for a while now. A couple of treasures were found - I'll share them later after I get them photographed - but mostly, it was a wonderful day to just be together.
We don't get that very often, especially a whole weekend, and it was great just to enjoy the time with my family.

We found a quaint coffee shop in Leesburg where we had warm drinks and some bakery yummies. It overlooked the town square and the courthouse where my Dad used to play with his family when he was a boy. Very cool. So we sat in the window and enjoyed our cocoa and coffee and the view and each other.

Our day ended with some homemade Baked Potato Soup and cuddling by the fireplace watching 'Sherlock' on Netflix.
Can't think of a better way to spend my time.

Blessings,
~~Robin

Mixed Bunch - Bright Bouquet

Here I go again - another card with that awesome Mixed Bunch stamp set.
I finally had to put it at the bottom of my stack of stamps from the Occasions Mini because I kept wanting to use it only!
There are other stamps that need love too dontcha know!

Anyway, this is one more of the cards I designed for my January Card Classes. The bright color combo just makes me smile so big - it's a happy card for sure.

I started with Melon Mambo for my card base and layered it with a piece of stamped Whisper White. The stamping was done with Pumpkin Pie, Pacfic Point and Melon Mambo. I started with the largest stamp first, going across the cardstock in a random fashion.
Then I added the medium flower near the large ones, and lastly, the small flowers near the medium ones. It's an easy way to do collage stamping without going overboard.

The focal point was done with the Blossom Punch. I punched out two flowers from the Brights Collection Designer Series Paper in two different colors and patterns. I curled the edges with my Bone Folder - one up, one down - and then used my 2 Way Glue Pen to add some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the edges.
The third flower was stamped in Melon Mambo on Whisper White cardstock, then punched, curled and glittered as well. I stamped the small flower once again on a white scrap and punched it out with my 3/4" Circle Punch. It got a little glitter too and was popped up on a Stampin' Dimensionals to the center of the flower.

I used yet another white scrap to stamp my greeting from the Short and Sweet stamp set. (Listen, I've had that stamp set for years and it's a fantastic GO-TO set. The greetings fit most any occasion, they have little icons to go with them and best of all, they fit several of our punches which makes it easy to add to any project. It's a MUST OWN in my book!)
For this card, I punched it out with the Large Oval Punch and yes, added glitter to it as well. My friend Betty would say that you can never have too much glitter and I think she is right! :)

To finish it all up, I used several Stampin' Dimensionals to put all the flowers and the greeting together in kind of a bouquet - where would we be without Stampin' Dimensionals???
And that's it - a bright, fun card that would make anyone happy!

Here's a few things I used to create this baby:

#125537 - Mixed Bunch Stamp Set - $21.95 clear mount

#125603 - Blossom Punch $16.95

#117155 - Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack - Brights Collection - $21.95

Don't forget - when you place your order in my Online Stampin' Store, if it's over $50 in products, you earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product! It's only until the end of MARCH though, so be sure to take advantage of this cool offer!

Have a great weekend stampin' friends. I'm not sure if I'll be back until Monday - we have a family weekend planned and I'm looking forward to some down time with just my honey and my baby girl!
See you soon!
~~Robin

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

Typeset Valentine - A Vintage Treasure

It's no secret that I love antiques.
Vintage treasures that have a story. Everyday items that have been useful and loved. Special pieces that held meaning and memories for the owner.
I think about the things we use everyday and the special things we treasure and wonder if someday, someone like me will wonder about their story. Imagine how they helped us complete a task or what memories they held for us.
That's probably why I love this typewriter image so much.
It looks like one of those vintage pieces that has so many stories to tell - and because of what it is, told stories of it's own.

I created this card for my Very Valentine's class last month and I think it's my favorite of the projects we did.

It's a pretty simple card really, but I love the alphabet background that makes it fun. This would be a good one for any valentine, guy or gal.

The card base is Basic Black and the first layer is Very Vanilla with Crumb Cake ink sponged on the edges. To create the background, I used the largest Clear Block (F) and the Broadsheet Alphabet stamp set. I randomly added the letters to the block in a collage and then inked the whole thing with Baja Breeze ink, stamping it on the Vanilla cardstock.

The focal point was easy. I stamped the typewriter with Basic Black ink onto more Very Vanilla cardstock and then added the greeting in the open "paper" space. A glittery red heart was punched out of Red Glimmer Paper with the Small Heart Punch and added it to the image. That layer was sponged with more Crumb Cake ink and was then matted with Basic Black cardstock. I used my Scalloped Edge Border Punch to make the small strip of scalloped Red Glimmer Paper then added it to the bottom of the black cardstock.
This whole layer was popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals and added to the card front.
Simple, right?

Here's a few things you'll need to recreate this project:

#125650 - You're My Type - $13.95 clear mount

#120585 - Broadsheet Alphabet - $29.95

#121790 - Red Glimmer Paper - $4.95 (2 sheets 12" x 12")

#118483 - Clear Block F - $16.95

As always, you can find all these products and more in my Online Stampin' Store. (Hey, that rhymes!)

Have a wonderful Thursday stampers - I'll be stampin' at the firehouse tonight with some fun ladies. You're welcome to join us!
Happy Stampin',
~~Robin

Place your order for all 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!

Sweethearts Topiary - Evidence of Pinterest Addiction!

First, one of my downline (who dropped to have a baby of all things!) encouraged me to start a blog to share my artwork. I thought "why not"? and have been blogging ever since.
Then, someone dragged me kicking and screaming onto Facebook - and now I really enjoy posting to it.
Next, at a friends encouragement, I got a Twitter account - and sadly, I still don't really get it. Does that make me a 'Twit'? A social media 'fail'?

But NOW, there's this new, addictive time waster called Pinterest! Aiyiyi!
I'm not sure, but this could turn out to be the biggest hit to my time management skills in my entire life! Don't know if you've discovered the joys of pinning and repinning on Pinterest yet, but lemme tell ya - think long and hard before you take the plunge. Like a friend on Facebook said she's "found the rabbit hole called Pinterest."

All that being said, I have found some REALLY cool stuff on Pinterest and one of them was an awesome Sweethearts Candy Heart Topiary Tree. It's probably the best thing you can do with that candy - hot glue it all over something instead of eating it - and it sure looks pretty when you do.
I knew as soon as I saw - and Repinned the photo, I'd be making one of my own. Are you ready for it?
Ok, here goes:

Now honestly, how FUN is that??
I bought a white styrofoam cone at a local craft store and got busy hot glueing those little hearts in neat rows all over it.
The ceramic pot came from the same store - they were on clearance 3 for $1! Score! And the best part is that when I glued the bottom row of hearts on, I was able to drop them down a bit to cover the edge of the cone meeting the pot.

I purchased three regular sized bags of the candy and ended up opening all of them to get the colors and decent word prints I needed. There's probably a full bag worth left over, so I'm gonna try something else with them.
The entire project took about 3 hours from start to finish - yes, really! It's not rocket science people, just some tedious gluing. There's a couple of spots - 3 I think - that I had to use a kitchen knife to trim a heart to make it fit in place, but it's almost impossible to tell where they are. Just know that in advance if you do this with your kids.

Here's the topper I created for my topiary:

I used the Large Scallop Punch for the base and glued two of them back to back around an extra long toothpick. They were edged with Dazzling Diamonds glitter before I added the hearts. The large heart was punched out of the Sweet Shop Designer Series Paper with my Large Heart punch and glittered before gluing down. All the rest of the hearts were cut out with my Fashionable Hearts Embosslit Die and my Big Shot. I used Wisteria Wonder, Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight and Pretty in Pink.
After attaching all of the hearts, I tied some Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon and Pretty in Pink Scalloped Polka Dot Ribbon around the toothpick at the base of the scallops and inserted the whole thing into the top of the topiary.

Here's a look at the little banner:

I just used the Candy Conversations A La' Carte stamp with Stampin' Write Markers in the same colors I'd used for the hearts and stamped it on Whisper White. It's cut at 1" wide and I used the 1" Square Punch to trim the ends. After curling it a bit, I added some Dazzling Diamonds around the edges, a small piece of Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon and some hearts, then hot glued it to the topiary.

This was really a fun project to make and not so hard that I wouldn't make another one someday. And for me, the lazy crafter, that's sayin' something!

Hope you enjoy my topiary - let me know if you make one too and if you make it different!
Stamped joy,
~~Robin

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!