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Showing posts with label Swaps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swaps. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Sweet and Simple Baby Card

Today's the Day!

The annual Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference kicks off in Houston, TX. WooHoo!
Um, not.
(Insert pouty face here)
No, this year I'll be enjoying all the excitement from my smartphone Facebook feed. Life is full of tough choices and this year, I had to make one of them and chose to travel to Boston this week to be with Emma and her skating team as they compete.

And ya know what? As much as I'll miss seeing so many of my amazing friends, I would have missed being with my girl SO much more! I've only got her under my roof full time for 2 1/2 more years and I don't want to miss a minute with her.
That's one of the beautiful things about my job - it's my schedule, not someone else's.
The last time I missed one of Emma's competitions was for Leadership Conference in Phoenix, AZ. I remember sitting in the hotel bar with my laptop and about 15 of my closest friends watching her team skate that evening. I couldn't have physically gotten from Phoenix to Boston in time to be there in person so the live feed was it and the hotel bar was the only place that had WiFi back then.

I remember thinking - never again. 
So, while I wish all my SU! friends safe travels and fun times - I get to be where I need and want to be the most - with my girl.
Thank you SU!

Anyway - enough about that, here's the card I teased you with on my Facebook page last week.
What? You don't follow me on Facebook?
Well, why not?
Here's the link - Trinity Design Studio - Paper Crafting and FUN! click it right now and go LIKE my page!
Do you really want to miss anything? No? Ok, good.
Go do it now, I'll wait right here.


Ok, great! You're back!
The card today is for my swap group the GoDivas (as in chocolate!). They will all be getting this one in the mail in a few days, but YOU get to see it first!
I used the girl baby shoes stamp from the new Baby, We've Grown! stamp set from the Occasions Mini for my focal image. The oh, so versatile watercolor splash stamp from the Happy Watercolor stamp set creates a soft pink wash for the background.

The little flags are cut out of Designer Paper from the Soho Subway and Venetian Romance packs and I made my own designer paper for the last one. It's the new Woodgrain background stamp in Soft Suede on Blushing Bride cardstock. Cool, huh?
I cut out the flags with my Big Shot and the NEW Banners Framelits dies.
These will be a favorite - just buy them now, you'll thank me later. 


I stamped my focal image on Watercolor Paper and cut them out with the Window Frames Framelits Dies. It was sponged with Crumb Cake ink using slave labor from my daughter. (Hey, I'm missing leadership for her - it's the least she can do, right??)

The background was done with Primrose Petals Co'ordinations Cardstock, dry embossed with the Polka-Dot folder and my Big Shot. I wrapped it with a piece of Burlap Ribbon that I trimmed off the edges and pulled some strands out of to make it more rough. Finishing touches of an Antique Button and some of the NEW yummy Gold Baker's Twine made me smile. How about you?

Here's the complete stamp sets I used:

#133089 - Baby, We've Grown      $17.95 clear-mount
#133035  Hardwood  $13.95 clear-mount

#133191  Happy Watercolor $21.95 clear-mount

You can visit my website for a link to my Online Store and shop for these plus everything else I used to make this card.
Here's the link:
Robin's Online Stampin' Up! Store

Have a wonderful day everyone and happy stampin'!
~~Robin

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Look out for Cupid!

I promised you something creative today too - not just Leadership photos, so here you go!

This cutie-patootie card is one that I designed for my Very Valentine Stamp Camp last weekend. I liked it so much, that I made 17 more of them for my GoDivas Leadership swap too.

This card is made with the NEW P.S. I Love You stamp set that's in the Occasions Mini catalog. I chose Cherry Cobbler and Blushing Bride with Very Vanilla for my color combo - love the subtlety of these colors together.

My card base is Cherry Cobbler and the first layer is a piece of Blushing Bride Patterns Designer Series Paper. It's edged with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter applied with the 2 Way Glue Pen.

The next layer is Cherry Cobbler as well, and the collage stamped layer of Very Vanilla is adhered to it. I tied a piece of Blushing Bride Poly-Twill Ribbon around it in a knot and added the punched embellishments with Stampin' Dimensionals. The top circle also has Dazzling Diamonds added around the edge - you can never have too much glitter!

There is another Very Vanilla inside that's stamped with the heart and cupid as well as a Be My Valentine greeting. All in all, a very simply card to make.
The gals at Very Valentine class loved this one and so do I!

Here's a few of the products I used to create this card:
#119267 - Blushing Bride Poly Twill Ribbon $8.95 (15 yard spool)

#117158 - 2010 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack - $21.95 (four sheets of each color and double sided pattern)


#125462 - P.S. I Love You Stamp Set - $27.95 (clear-mount)

As always you can shop in my Online Stampin' Store for all your Stampin' Up! supplies - and don't forget NOW through March 31st - for EACH $50 in merchandise you purchase, YOU get a FREE product choice from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure!!! Check out all the selections on my website!

Have a great day everyone!
Happy Stampin' and shoppin',
~~Robin

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

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Live in the Sunshine - Shaped Notecard

Today is the perfect day to share this card with you.
The sun is out this morning and after the yukky, on and off downpours we had here yesterday, it's truly a welcome sight!
Monday we had snow, Tuesday, sun; yesterday, pouring rain; today, sun - anyone betting that tomorrow will be some form of stuff falling from the sky??
Guess I'd better check the weather report........

So for today, I'll "Live in the Sunshine". Actually, I try and do that everyday. It's easy to let circumstances and people drag you down, but really the key is not to let it happen. We're the only ones who have control over our emotional choices and it's a tough life lesson when we're going through it.
My daughter Emma was pouring out her heart last night on the way home from skating. She's having a tough time with another girl on her team who just doesn't like her. She's spent the entire season going out of her way to make Emma miserable. Emma doesn't understand, especially in light of the fact that she's friends with EVERY other girl on the team. At 14, it's hard to see that some people are just difficult, period. Whatever their reasons, there are some who choose to make those around them miserable. Sadly, like we told Emma last night, the world is full of girls like this one and hard as it may be, it's best to learn how to deal with them now and hold on to the truth that NO ONE can make you feel bad unless you let them. We can't control the thoughts and actions of others, but we can control ourselves - and that lesson makes all the difference!

Bah! I've been talking an awful lot lately - hope you're ok with that. Well, I guess you wouldn't come back if you weren't! Ha!
Today's card just reminded me of this conversation last night so I shared.

Now about the card.
I signed up for a Vintage card swap at Leadership this year. I've never done that before and you know I love that style, so I figured I'd give it a whirl.
This card was one that I also featured at my Open House last month - kind of trying it out, ya know? Well, they loved it so I went ahead and kept it as my swap design.
One thing I did differently was to use Stampin' Write Markers on the swap cards. My sample, shown here, used sponged daubers and q-tips with ink pads to color in the flowers and I just wanted a deeper color after I pondered it a bit.

I actually created the card using the new Framelits Labels Die Set. All the cardstock pieces were cut with them, so easy!
The stamp set is the coordinating Apothecary Art - honestly, this seems to be the most popular set from the New Occasions Mini so far judging by the samples I've seen. About 1/2 the swap cards I've received this season so far have used it!

The greeting actually comes from the Full of Life stamp set. I stamped it in Basic Black then cut it out with the right size Framelit. It's sponged in Blushing Bride, blinged up with a couple of pearls and popped up over the ribbon with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

The main image was stamped with Versamark ink then heat embossed with Basic Black EP. (I did use my now retired Embossing Buddy to de-static the cardstock first, but you can also use a new dryer sheet for the same purpose)

Once it was embossed, I cut it out with the matching size Framelit Die. I sponged the edges with Crumb Cake then the color was added to the flowers and leaves - Blushing Bride and Lucky Limeade. It was attached with Stampin' Dimensionals to the Blushing Bride card front underneath. Once it was attached, I threaded the Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon underneath and tied it off in a bow. I think I used 18" of ribbon, but don't quote me on that!

That card front was just a piece of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cardstock (easier to just use a 1/4 sheet of cardstock), cut out with the largest Framelit in the set, then sponged with Crumb Cake ink.

Here's a look at the back side so you can see how I did the notecard itself:

I cut a piece of Whisper White at 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" (you get two card bases out of one sheet of cardstock this way and the strip leftover from the end is large enough to use for the greeting here.).
It's folded in half and I placed the folded edge just below the cut line of the Framelit so when it ran through the Big Shot Machine, it would create a folded note card.
It's adhered to the Blushing Bride card front with Tombow Multi Adhesive.

All in all, it's a very easy card to make, just a few steps, that's all!

Well, I'm off here now to get to work! I've got cardstock to cut and swaps to make!! :)
Have a wonderful, SUNNY day!
~~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!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Twitterpated - Early Twitter

I am pretty old. I actually grew up in the time when we only had one phone in the house. It was a standard black rotary dial that had a cord long enough to reach the chair in the corner of the dining room.

I'm pretty sure that I had some serious conversations on that phone. You know, life changing conversations like what did you put for #9 on your math homework, did you hear who got caught smoking in the bathroom, what I was wearing to the dance and who my best friend was going with.
I'm more than sure that I had my first phone call from "a boy" on that phone and I know without a doubt that my parents were in the other room, listening intently then making me hang up once the clock hit 8 pm.

That phone sat on an old desk in the corner of our dining room that my Mom had painted yellow - it was the 70's, ok? - and it coordinated with the lime green carpet and mirrored tile room divider. I don't remember the curtains, but I might be repressing that image.
Anyway, I remember pretty well that we never answered the phone during dinner, and hold on to your hats - we didn't even have an answering machine! We knew that people would call back if it was important, and if it wasn't, well, we didn't miss anything now, did we?

What I really remember is that our lives weren't as frantic then. I'm not sure how much of that peacefulness came from the lack of phone communication, but I do know that there are days now when I'm not always thrilled to be so connected all the time.
Don't misunderstand, I LOVE my iPhone. I enjoy Facebook. I have a Twitter account, but don't really "get" it. Maybe that's a good thing??
I guess what I'm wondering is how we got to this point in the first place. This "need" to always be connected. I didn't feel like I was missing anything before, but now, God help me if I leave my phone at home. Isn't that crazy? I mean, if it rings when I'm in line at Target, I get annoyed. If I get a text when I'm driving to the rink, I can't answer it and I get annoyed. And goodness knows, if I text or call someone and don't get them, I really get annoyed. Yeah, it's true.
If it's more of an annoyance than a "convenience" why do we use the darn things anyway? Would it really kill us to miss a message from time to time? After all, if it's important, they'll call back, right?
Just a thought. I feel like Andy Rooney this morning!

So, I know you didn't come here for an essay, you want to see a card!
Well, alrighty then! Here you go:

I created this for my sweet friend Diana Gibbs' swap a couple of weeks ago and the best part was that it made my daughter laugh out loud when she saw it. If she "got" it, then I figured everyone else would too!

I chose the You're My Type stamp set to work with for this swap - it's one of my favorites in the new Occasions Mini Catalog. I think it has great creative possibilities!
I don't know where the "Early Twitter" idea came from - it just occurred to me one evening while I was pondering a design. I thought how funny it would be, so tongue in cheek.

The swap card has a base of Riding Hood Red, layered with Whisper White and then a layer of the text paper from the Neutrals Designer Paper stack. I used the Basic Gray color.
A strip of the Twitterpated Designer Fabric was torn off the piece and used for my ribbon wrap and bow -you know I don't sew, so since I love the matching fabrics we have, I have to find another way to use them!

The focal image typewriter was stamped in Basic Black onto Whisper White and it's layered on another piece of Riding Hood Red. I used the little bird from the "Best of Everything" stamp set and stamped him in Baja Breeze then trimmed him out with my Paper Snips. He's popped up on a Stampin' Dimensional and is tweeting "Hello" on the typewriter paper.

The layered punch greeting was made on my computer. I just found a font that was close to the stamp set and matched the color to Riding Hood Red as best I could. it's punched out with the Word Window punch and layered on a punch out from the Modern Label Punch.

I really, really love this card, maybe because I love the stamp set so much, but yeah, this ones a keeper.
Here's another photo with a version I did with the Blushing Bride Designer paper.

You've kind of got masculine and feminine options, right?

I'm off for another busy day today - I'll get some stamping done, no worries, but Mark and I are starting Weight Watchers today and we have skating tonight. I'm hoping to have my pieces cut so I can assemble Leadership swaps at the rink. I'm so behind the 8 ball on those!

Have a great day everyone, maybe you'll find a way to be unconnected for a while today. Might give you some time to stamp!
~~Robin

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

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The "U" in Us

Hey stampers!!
Keeping this post short and sweet - I'm in the middle of packing up and movin' out - headed up north again to Lowell, MA for Emma's next skating competition.
Her team competes on Friday at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell in the Colonial Classic Synchro Competition. It's a pretty big event - there are 24 teams at her level alone - but it's one we enjoy a lot each year! LOTS of great skating to be seen.
If you've never seen Synchronized Skating, it's AMAZING! I can barely stand up on skates, but the things these skaters do, all in sync, feet oh, so close together is mind boggling.
There's a bunch of videos on You Tube so you can get a feel for it. Way cool!

Anyway, just sharing another version of the super simple card I posted a week or so ago. I added a few layers to this one and switched up the colors, but it's still super simple! Love that!

I combined Very Vanilla and Island Indigo for a little more male friendly card.
Yes, I know, it's still got glitter, but hey - it's a Valentine for goodness sake! Ya gotta have a little glitter!!
The stamp sets I used are from the NEW Occasions Mini catalog - Take it to Heart and P.S. I Love You.
The new Hearts Framelits cut out that heart shaped image perfectly and I love the hearts impression from the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder set.

I did this card for my GoDivas swap group - I hope they like it. It's a little more clean and simple than I usually do for these gals, but it was what I was feeling at the time so I went with it. :)

Have a great day everyone and send us some good wishes for safe travel and a GREAT competition!
I'll update here as I have time!
Go National Blades!!

~~Robin

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Holly Berry Merry and Type

Well stampers, it's felt like Christmas around here for the past few days since all I've done is work on projects for my WOW Christmas Cards classes this weekend. The glitter has been flyin'! Funny thing is though that I can't get Christmas music on my music channels - I turn it on the "Sounds of the Season" channel and they are playing halloween music. I didn't know that halloween had music except maybe for Monster Mash, but that's not enough to play 24/7 on a music channel for how many days?
Shows what I know, eh?

Guess I'd better get iTunes working again on the studio computer so I can play Christmas music this weekend. Wouldn't be the same without it. Gotta get in the spirit of the season, right?

Anyway, I've got a Christmas card to show you today - it's not one of my WOW cards for this weekend, I'll show those next week, but it's the card I created last month for my GoDivas private swap group.

Once again I turned to the Inverted Z-Fold layout that I used for this card here: (Pinetree Z-fold)
But this time, I used the beautiful retro designed Holly Berry Designer Paper as an accent. It's layered on a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock which is adhered to the front flap of Crumb Cake. It's hard to tell in the photos, but I ran that section through the Big Shot with my Petals-A-Plenty embossing folder to texturize it and give it the look of an old quilt.
That section was finished off with 22" of Real Red Satin Ribbon wrapped around the flap and tied in a pretty bow. Love it!

Here's the inside opened up:

The stamping was done using Wild Wasabi and Real Red ink on Whisper White cardstock. I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the ornaments with my 2 Way Glue pen.
This is such an easy card to make - the card base is cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and scored lengthwise at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2". Just fold it in a Z fashion and let your creativity take over!
One of my WOW Christmas cards for this weekend uses this fold, but with a fun twist! I can't wait to show you!!!

Here's a few of the products I used to create this card:

#124004 - Holly Berry Specialty Designer Series Paper $12.95 (12 sheets - 4 glittered)
#122334 - Simply Scored Scoring Tool $29.95
#122552 - Merry and Type Stamp Set (clear-mount) $18.95

If you only purchase one Christmas stamp set this year, get this one. It's beautiful and versatile and the price point is superb. Plus it's one of my favorites too! HA!
You know my Online Stampin' Store is open 24/7 for your convenience so all you have to do is click to shop!

Have a great day everyone! I'll be back tomorrow with a new project for you, so stop by and say hi!
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!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

More from my Talented Team!

Hey ya'll!
I know you think I've fallen off the face of the mountain I was on this past weekend, but no, I'm back home safe and sound - but OH, SO, BUSY!!!

My two WOW! Christmas Card Classes are coming up on Friday and Saturday and I have two FULL classes of stampers that are expecting WOW projects, so I've been working my little fingers to the bone to make it happen for them!

So, this is the perfect time to show some Fall and halloween themed cards from my TDS Team Meeting swap in September.
My downline members are fantastic stampers and I know you'll love their cards!
None of these cards are mine, however, I've added my watermark to some to protect their artwork.

Here you go!
Cute monster card by Lynda Barnes:


Nice halloween card by April Sinclair:


Another cute halloween by Nancy Clark:


Beautiful Spice Cake card by Cathy Pendley:


Clean and simple design by Rose-Ellen Eastman (one of my adoptees!):

And more clean and simple by Shannon Angel:

Aren't they fabulous ideas? Very cute and caseable!

Well, I'm headed back to the cardstock cutting - I'll have something ORIGINAL to share tomorrow, so c'mon back, ok?

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Saturday, October 22, 2011

My Talented Team!

I love my downline team!
Not only are they wonderful ladies, but they are great stampers!!

Last weekend, we got together to make the Pleated Paper Wreath project and a few of them swapped card projects as well.
Here are photos of their lovely cards:

Card by Shannon Angel:
Card by Michelle Suit:

Card by April Sinclair:

Card by Carol Arnold:
Card by Cathy Pendley:

See! I told you they were talented!
Hope you found some inspiration for your holiday stamping today!

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

Friday, October 7, 2011

A Vibrant Fall!

Finally! Fall has arrived here in NoVA!
Next to Spring, this is my very favorite time of year - ok, next to Christmas and Spring, it's my favorite! :) Yesterday, Mark and I took the dogs on a really long evening walk on some of the trails here in our community. It was WONDERFUL to see some of the trees starting to change color. I just love how God's paintbrush creates a new masterpiece every year. The colors are so glorious and vibrant, especially on a bright day with a clear blue sky.

Yep, I LOVE Fall!

My card for you today is reflecting how I feel about the season. I created this one for my Trinity Design Stampers team meeting last month, when I was longing for Fall to begin. The color combo of Island Indigo, More Mustard and Lucky Limeade came straight from the Color Coach, and I added the Soft Suede to ground it a bit.

Here, take a look:

The new Gently Falling stamp set was perfect for what I had in mind. I don't do too much 2 Step Stamping, but here, I used the stamps as they were intended to add just a touch of gold to the leaves with the More Mustard Classic Ink Pad. I stamped the full leaf first in Lucky Limeade Classic Ink, then added the outline stamp over them. The cardstock I used was Naturals White to add to the rustic feel.

It's layered on a piece of More Mustard cardstock with a card base of Island Indigo. All the cardstock layers were sponged with Soft Suede Classic Ink to tone down the bright colors a bit. Fall is not Neon, it's vibrant, subtle; and the brown touches bring it there.

For my accents, I tore a strip of 1/2" Spice Cake Fabric and wrapped a piece around the top two layers like ribbon. It's adhered on the back of those layers with SNAIL. Then, I used the rest of the strip and tied a sweet bow, adding it to the card front with Mini Glue Dots. An Early Espresso button from the Neutrals Collection was added in the center with another Glue Dot.

The little medallion was layered punches of 1 3/4", 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circles. I used my Early Espresso and Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers to color the acorn stamp. The circles were all sponged and adhered together, then I added it to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.
Pretty easy-peasy card, but it's one that made me do the stampers happy dance around the studio! Does it remind you of Fall too?

Here are a few of the products I used to create this card:


#123804 - Gently Falling Stamp Set $28.95 Clear-Mount
#124006 - Spice Cake Designer Fabric $9.95

So, if you'd love to re-create this card, or anything else I've shown you here on the ol' Blog, you can visit my Online Stampin' Store anytime to find all the supplies you need.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend! We are headed up to the mountains tomorrow for our annual apple picking, apple cider donut eating, apple pie making day. It's something we look forward to as a family each year and tomorrow promises to be the perfect FALL day for it! I'll probably share some pictures next week with you, and I'll be sure to eat an apple cider donut for you too! :)

Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

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

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Snowflake Wishes

Before you say anything about me not posting anything 'creative' for four days, let me head you off at the pass - I know!
The sad truth of the matter is that I have not only been feeling kind of punky the past few days, but I've been so stinkin' busy! What's really bad is that I have at least 7 different projects already pre-loaded onto posts just waiting for me to add my witty commentary to them.
That is why you visit, right? :)
I mean, I guess I could just put the photos up and stick to "Just the facts, ma'am.", but that doesn't seem very fun to me.

Well, you'll be glad to know that I woke up today, feeling much better and ready to get to work again! We did have to take the car over to the repair shop this morning because they are finally ready to get to work FIXING it for me! But, I really can't complain about that either because we have a sweet ride of a rental car, thanks to our awesome insurance! It's a Ford Explorer Limited Edition. Oh yeah! I'm gonna hate to turn it in! Especially when our skating travel begins in earnest and those first few snowflakes hit the ground. It sure would be nice to be able to travel in that baby. Hmmm.....maybe I can afford a car payment next year - guess we'll just have to see!

In the meantime, here's a card for you:


This was my swap card for my awesome friend Diana Gibbs' swap group. I chose to use the Warmest of Wishes Hostess Stamp set from the Holiday Mini and I thought this card was a fun way to show off that big greeting.

I used Bashful Blue, Early Espresso and Whisper White.
The Serene Snowflakes Stamp set has been one of my favorites for a while and I thought it would complement the greeting very well. I stamped the background snowflakes with Versamark and embossed it with Pewter Embossing Powder.

Here's a closer look at the focal point:


I stamped a different snowflake on a piece of First Edition Designer Paper, crumpled and tore it and sponged it with a bit of Crumb Cake ink. It's mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals on the background.
The greeting was stamped with Early Espresso Ink on Whisper White Cardstock. I tore it out, then sponged the edges with Crumb Cake Ink. The little snowflakes are stamped randomly across it in Bashful Blue Ink.

The ribbon and bow are Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon from the Mini Catalog - love that ribbon!!!
I wrapped a Rhinestone Circle Ice Brad around the middle of the bow and attached it with Mini Glue Dots.

So, does it make you want some snow? Nah, not me either, but it sure looks pretty!

Here's a few of the things I used to create this card:

#115438 - Serene Snowflakes Stamp Set $20.95 wood-mount
#124114 - Pewter Embossing Powder $4.75
#100005 - Heat Tool $29.95

Don't forget - you can shop for all these supplies and more in my Online Stampin' Store! (hey, that rhymes and I wasn't even trying!)

Have a great Wednesday - see you back here tomorrow!
~~Robin

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

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Christmas Lodge Swap Card

Oh, wow - it's finally Saturday! I don't think I've been this happy to get to a weekend since the Saturday after the last day of school in June. My head has just been spinning this week with all the activities and commitments of back to school week. I kind of feel like Linda Blair in that Exorcist movie - minus the pea soup - but wow, way twisted around. Good news is that today, I have 6 uninterrupted hours of ALONE time at home, in the studio so I can work on a tutorial for a special Holiday publication. Don't worry, if you are one of my faithful you'll get to see it - promise!

Mark and Emma have EDGE Club Leadership training and I get the gift of TIME! Tonight, we're going to go visit my Mom - her birthday is tomorrow but because of church and skating AND the Redskins season opener!, we have to celebrate today. So Mom, if you're reading this, pick the restaurant for dinner - just NOT Bob Evans! :)

So, hey, I do have a card to show you today:

I recently participated in 3 card swaps for the awesome Holiday Mini Catalog. This is the card I did for my good friend Tara's swap.

The Christmas Lodge stamp set is one of my absolute favorites from the Mini - you'll be seeing a lot of it, so just buckle in for the ride! The beautiful evergreen tree image reminds me of the HUGE evergreen tree that used to grow beside my Grandma's house. It was immense, not just by little girl standards, but really, IMMENSE. She used to get so irritated at all the pine cones it produced, but it's funny, in later years, my Mom and I loved to decorate with them. Since my Grandma was gone by then we had to resort to picking pine cones up from a field across from their house at the river. We were probably trespassing, but no one ever came looking for those pine cones so I think we got away with it!

For this card, I tried to keep it simple, really, I tried. I did succeed in keeping it relatively flat - that's a toughie for me because you know how I love my embellishments. But I keep hearing from folks who want or need flatter cards because of the pickiness of our postal service. I still say it's worth a few extra pennies to send a heartfelt, handmade greeting to someone. But I digress - again.

The card base is Early Espresso card stock. The Designer Paper peeking out from the left corner is from the Letters to Santa pack - a must have in my opinion. It has designs in it that would be great for year round projects, not just Christmas.

The top layer is Very Vanilla card stock. I stamped the evergreen tree image in Always Artichoke Classic Ink. The greeting is stamped with Versamark Ink and heat embossed with my Heat Tool and the yummy Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder.

I overstamped everything with the rain spots image from the French Foliage stamp set using Crumb Cake Classic Ink. Then I used my Gold Smooch Spray and spritzed the card front.
This layer was torn and then sponged with Crumb Cake Classic Ink to age it a bit and then I added the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon and bow at the top.

Here's a peek at the inside:

A few more Crumb Cake rain spots stamped inside and overstamped with the greeting in Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink.
Nice, simple card, eh? Yep!

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

#123769 - Christmas Lodge Stamp Set $25.95 clear mount
#121166 - French Foliage $14.95 clear mount
#122349 - Letters to Santa $10.95 12 sheet pack
#118770 - Gold Glow Smooch Spray $4.95

So, I know you NEED that Christmas Lodge stamp set - isn't it gorgeous? All you have to do is visit my Online Stampin' Store. It's open 24/7 and you can shop in your pj's or your prom dress - it's that simple!

Have a great Saturday - I hope you find time to stamp something fun!
Stamped blessings,
~~Robin

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

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Swap Showcase #4

Happy Thursday Stampers!

I know, there's no Simply Stampin' Up! feature today, but it will return next week, I promise!
This week,through today, I'll be showcasing some of my very favorite Swap cards from Convention. I am currently on vacation in Myrtle Beach and I thought it would be a great time to share some of the fabulous artwork and inspiration I was lucky enough to receive from some dear friends and some new ones too! I'll be back to regular posting on Friday, but for now - I'm unplugged! :)

ALL of these cards were made by other artists - NONE of them were created by me. I've placed my watermark on each photo to protect the artists work and listed them individually beneath each card.

Today's showcase takes us through the upcoming holidays starting with Thanksgiving.

Here's a beautiful but very clean and simple card using the popular Day of Gratitude stamp set that returned to us from last year's Holiday Mini. I know it was a favorite!

Card by Diana Eichfeld

Next here's a fun Christmas card that used the new Pennant Parade Stamp Set for the Christmas Tree. Isn't that a great idea?

Card by Susie Wood

One of my favorite new Christmas stamp sets in the catalog this year is Beautiful Season. SU! retired A Cardinal Christmas (another favorite) but gave us this gorgeous set in it's place. I just love all the details on this card!

Card by Debi Pippin

So many of you just love snowmen and this new stamp set, Snow Much Fun, was a hit as soon as it became available! It's great for a Christmas card or as you'll see below, a cute Winter themed card as well.

Card by Shelly Raines

I love all the blue tones in this card and the Northern Frost Embossed background works perfectly with this snowman!

Card by Barbara Welch

And then we have Valentine's Day - I know, it's hard to think of that when it's so far away, but we all know it's coming! I love all the elements and details on this card. And the best part is that it doesn't have to be Valentines Day at all!

Card by Carrie Gaskin

Well, it's been a fun four days of my Swap Showcase. I'll be back with a card of my OWN creation tomorrow, I promise! So be sure to stop back by!

Stamped blessings,
~~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!