Brayered Sky

So normally, I would retake a picture like this because of the flash, but I kind of thought that this one went along with the theme of the card. Don't you? The name of this technique is Brayered Sky. It's done on Glossy Paper with classic ink and a brayer. It's so absolutely easy and I think it's absolutely stunning - and everyone's card comes out differently! And equally stunning!


Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Ink: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Stazon Black
Paper: So Saffron, Glossy White
Accessories: Brayer, Key Tag Punch

That's it - that's all you need to make this stunning card! And taking a picture of the card, the flash looks like the sun because of the glossy cardstock - how cool is that?!

Thanks for visiting! HAPPY STAMPING!

FRANKIE!

I saw so many variations of the Frankie project that I just had to make one! And it's one of the best, easiest things to make too - a 2-4-6-8 box. It's actually one of the first projects that I learned how to make when I became a demonstrator. First, check out Frankie:


Stamps: NONE
Ink: Old Olive
Paper: Old Olive, Lovely Lilac, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Scoring Blade, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Basic Black Marker, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals

NOW - How do you make a 2-4-6-8 box? It's very simple!

2-4-6-8 BOX
Supplies:
8 1/2 X 11 Cardstock
Paper Cutter with Scoring Blade
Sticky Strip

Directions:

Cut the 8 1/2 X 11 Cardstock in half at 5 1/2".


Turn the cardstock, so it is the long way. Score the piece at 2", 4", 6", and 8" (next two pictures).




Turn the cardstock again, and score the piece at 1 1/4".


Bend the cardstock along ALL score lines.


Snip at the score lines up to the 1 1/4" score line. (This will be the bottom of your box.)


There should be one narrow strip along your cardstock (next to your 8" score line). This is where you will apply your sticky strip (since my sticky tape has a white backing, it's hard to see here - on the right).


Peel the back off your sticky strip and stick to the inside of the opposite side to form your box (as shown below).


To form the bottom, fold in two opposite flaps.


Fold in one more flap, and put sticky strip on the last flap. SEAL.


You have your box!


With these directions, you can get two boxes out of one sheet of cardstock, HOWEVER, the beautiful thing is that you can make these boxes as tall as you want to! You could cut your cardstock to 8" X 8 1/2" and have a much taller box or 6 1/2" X 8 1/2" and have just a little bit taller box. See?

Now just decorate it and see what you can come up with! Frankie? I've seen Frankie's bride. Usually I just decorate with stamps and put butterflies or flowers on it - pretty favor boxes. If you pinch the top together, you can use the hand-held rectangle punch and punch out the sides and wrap ribbon around it. SO MANY THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THIS BOX! I could go on and on! Tell me what you've done! Send me a picture or a link to what you've done.

HAPPY STAMPING!

Black & White Camp - It's Almost Here!

So, my Black & White Camp is almost here and I wanted to give you a great big taste of it! I'm only showing you seven of the eight cards - there has to be some element of surprise, right? (Actually, I'm stumped on that eighth card and I'm trying to buy myself some time, but hey!)

Here's a little slide show (you can click on the slideshow to make it bigger and actually go to the cards, if that makes any sort of sense - no brain today) -



So, it's Sunday night, here at my house, in my classroom at 6:30pm. I hope you'll join me! $20 for 8 cards! Let me know if you plan on attending.

I'm also going to offer (slight change) Monday morning at 9:30am for anyone that may be interested - same thing. Let me know if you plan on attending.

HAPPY STAMPING!

Results of My Stampin' Club's Sketch Challenge #3

Are you just dying to see how they did? My Stampin' Club has just pulled out all the stops ever since that first challenge - it seems like so long ago already! We have just finished up our third challenge - and this one involved colors as well (gotta love that Color Coach!).

Here's a slide show that has the sketch, my sample and the cards that club members made:



And maybe tomorrow, I'll show you Frankie! He is just adorable and we made him on Saturday! He may be one of our next challenges - details to come!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Yes, Another Upsy Daisy!

You've gotta love Upsy Daisy! Or at least I do! I promise I'll move on to something different tomorrow! And I apologize for my lag time in posting - life's been a little busy around here! But, I'm back now!


Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Perfect Plum
Paper: Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, More Mustard, So Saffron
Accessories: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Border Punch, White Gel Pen, More Mustard Grosgrain Ribbon, Mini Glue Dot

Another Fall Pocket Silhouette

I stayed with the same basic color palette for this Pocket Silhouette card. I'm really liking this set! I used the markers to color the stamps on this one. Since there are no in-color markers, I used a blender pen and the ink on the top of the Tango Tangerine stamp pad to get that color.


Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes
Ink: Perfect Plum, Chocolate Chip, Tango Tangerine
Paper: So Saffron, Tango Tangerine, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Accessories: markers, Word Window Punch

Thanks for visiting! HAPPY STAMPING!

Fall Pocket Silhouette

So, I was determined to use that Tangerine Tango! Who knew that Perfect Plum would go so nicely!? It turned into quite a nice fall card. Check it out.


Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Heard from the Heart
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Perfect Plum, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Small Tag Punch, Large Tag Punch, Word Window Punch, 1/16" Circle Punch, Rich Regals Brads

I thought maybe it was too simple, but you know me! I like simple! And I think it's really all about the color combination in this card.

Thanks for stopping by! HAPPY STAMPING!

Back to Stamping!

It was a small group tonight, but even I got to stamp! What fun! I used one of my new stamp sets - Upsy Daisy. And guess what? The only time I touched Bella Toile tonight was to pass it to someone else! I didn't stamp it on anything! But if someone else asked me what they should stamp, it was usually one of my first suggestions!

Here's my card:

Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Perfect Plum, Close to Cocoa (markers - handsome hunter, elegant eggplant)
Paper: Perfect Plum, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, More Mustard, Barely Banana
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Scallop Border Punch, White Gel Pen

And guess where I got this beautiful fall color combination? My Color Coach! I wanted to use Perfect Plum, so I started with that color. The other colors are all the colors that were chosen to go with it. And I think it's a pretty amazing combination! I'm really recommending it - a must have!

I made some other cards too, but you'll have to come back to see those!

HAPPY STAMPING!

No Time to Stamp Today!

No time to stamp today! I'm getting ready for a craft show tomorrow! I'm a vendor at the 3rd Annual Twin Angel Folk Festival at Camp Sloper. Tickets are $20 per person, with children 8 and under free.

The Twin Angel Folk Festival benefits the Twin Angel Foundation (in memory of Ben and Josh Wilson) which is dedicated to supporting families affected by Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome and to the education of the medical community regarding TTTS.

It's a really great cause and it would be really, really nice if some of my stampers were to come visit me (and my mother-in-law - AVON) tomorrow. In fact, it would be so nice, that any of my stampers that come to visit me tomorrow will get a little coupon from me for a FREE Stampin' Up! product!

AND....don't forget that on Sunday night, it's FUN NIGHT! Come stamp with me. Bring your current projects that you are working on - stamping and/or scrapbooking. Bring your own consumables - adhesives, paper, etc. You can use my punches, stamps, stamp pads. The cost is just $10. Let me know if you plan on attending!

I hope to see you sometime this weekend!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Say It With Scallops

Okay, I promise that after today, I will put down the Bella Toile and walk away from it at least for a day or two! Really! Have I mentioned how much I like background stamps? And this is my newest one!

So, I was checking out the samples for Say it With Scallops on SCS. One in particular really caught my eye by Tamarra Corel. Of course, I really could see it in different colors, with different ribbon and instead of using Bella Rose DSP - I could totally see the Bella Toile background stamp. So, I guess in the end, I sort of used her card as a sketch. I added my own touch to it.


Stamps: Bella Toile, Say it With Scallops, Stampin' Around Baroque Border
Ink: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum
Paper: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Accessories: Square Scallop Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Moss Gingham Ribbon

AND, $2 from the sale of every Say it With Scallops stamp set goes directly to the Ronald McDonald House Charities! What a great way to make a donation to a worthwhile cause! Don't you think?

HAPPY STAMPING!

Best Wishes & More!

Today I played with one of the new sets I got for the Demo Extravaganza - Best Wishes & More. Ever since I first got it, I could just imagine it with the Bella Toile. So.... guess what I did?


Stamps: Bella Toile, Best Wishes & More
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Square Scallop Punch, Sponge, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon

Thanks for visiting! HAPPY STAMPING!

Pocket Silhouettes

I'm still playing with new stamps!! And I did promise you another post today! I'm just sorry it was so late - I had a date with a cute five year old!


Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel Watercolor Vine
Paper: Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla
Ink: Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Bravo Burgundy 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Sponge

Thanks for stopping by! HAPPY STAMPING!

Online Ordering is HERE!

It's here! It's happening! Say you're working on a project in the middle of the night and you find yourself needing some Stampin' Up! products and you have no plans to attend any workshops or camps any time soon. What to do? You need your stuff! Robin might be up, but do I bother her at 2:00 a.m.?

You can just go online! You can either go to my blog and click on my online ordering button (on the right-hand side) which takes you to my Stampin' Up! demonstrator business website (or you can just go directly to my business website - www.robinstampsalot.stampinup.net). Right at the top of my business website, there's a little button that says "Shop Now". Once you click that button, you can place an order with Stampin' Up! that will be shipped directly to you!

It's just so exciting - new stuff happening all the time! I got so sidetracked by this latest update that I didn't even stamp anything! I promise I'll post later with some stamping!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Upsy Daisy!

I am just having so much fun playing with my new stamp sets! Today's choice is Upsy Daisy! I was feeling rather pink today! I made it a Gatefold card that opens up and down instead of sideways.


Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Pixie Pink
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pixie Pink
Accessories: Cutter Kit, Rhinestone Brad (Circle Fire)

As you can tell, I like simple cards!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Inspired by Nature

And so I was! Inspired by Nature, that is. I went grocery shopping today (all by myself - that's always a treat) and they had a bunch of plants for sale out front. I was sorely tempted to by one of them - a cone flower plant. And not because I really needed it! I wanted it because it matches my new stamp set!!! Inspired by Nature!


Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulence
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Sponge Daubers
Technique: I stamped off on the grass. I used the sponge daubers to apply the different color inks to the flower stamp.

I hope you enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed making it!

Do you see the final step in my blog make-over? Check out the watermark on my picture! Michelle Laycock (www.laycockdesigns.com) is just soooo talented! I am having so much fun!

I hope to see some of you next Sunday evening for a fun evening of just plain stamping - $10 and you bring whatever projects you are working on - you can use my stamps, stamp pads, punches, etc. Bring your own consumables - adhesives, paper, etc. Let me know if you plan on attending!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Designer Series Paper Gift Bag

One of the demonstrators yesterday at the Demonstrator Extravaganza showed us how to make a gift bag out of two 12X12 sheets of designer series paper. (I used Urban Garden to make the one above.) It was soooooo simple! And using the basic instructions that she gave us, you can play with the measurements and make all different sizes. I just need to get the Jumbo Eyelets!

Look at the pictures I took of the different ones she made:






I might add this into the Holiday Gifts camp in December!

HAPPY STAMPING!

WOW! What a Day!

I had such a great day! I went into this not expecting to know anyone at this Demo Extravaganza but almost right away I saw the name of someone I had met on-line - and she lives right here in CT. So I got to sit with a great group of women from right here in Connecticut.



I swapped my cards and got some awesome samples to share! AND, I won a prize! I got a Stampin' Up! travel mug! It was awesome! I took pictures of some beautiful samples they had there too.

We had three make & takes. Here are pictures:

This first one used the pillow box die cut from the Sizzix Big Shot and Batty for You. The ribbon is the Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain. Isn't it cool looking - so easy to make! I'm really going to have to get one of those Big Shots!


The second one was a card using the Top Note die cut from the Sizzix Big Shot (I really need that Big Shot!). We also used a chipboard frame (which we covered with Kiwi Kiss Patterns designer paper. We used the Best Wishes & More stamp set and the Thank You Kindly stamp set. The ribbon is the 5/8" Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon.


The third and final project is a 6X6 scrapbook page using the Inspired by Nature stamp set and the Best Wishes stamp set. We also used the Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon again and the Kiwi Kiss designer paper again.


It was such a great day - there was a wonderful speaker, and some talented demonstrators that shared some great techniques with us!

I'm so tired now, though! 5:00 a.m. was really early for me!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Another Fun Project

This is actually another project that I did a while ago and some of you have seen: Stamped Dominoes!



It's really quite easy - just time consuming.

Day 1 - Stamp image with Stazon ink. Let dry over a 24 hour period.
Day 2 - Color image in with colored Sharpie markers. Again, let dry over a 24 hour period.
Day 3 - Mush entire domino front into a Versamark Pad, sprinkle irridescent ice embossing powder over domino. Use heat gun to emboss. (You can see it get an almost glazed look when it's finished.)

So, not difficult - it just took a while! The kids loved them. I put heavy duty magnet strips - not self-adhesive - I glued it on with E6000 glue. It's a really strong glue - you can get it anywhere - I think I got mine at Wal-Mart.

HAPPY STAMPING!

Am I Swap Worthy?

So, I'm attending a "Demo Extravanganza" on Saturday with approximately 60 people in Framingham, MA. I am SOOOOO excited about going! There will be speakers, new techniques, make & takes, and SWAPPING!

It's the swapping that concerns me right now. Do you think this card is worthy of swapping? Do you think other demonstrators will want to swap with me?



The rules of the swap are that we have to use at least two layers, new stamp set(s) from the Fall Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog, using only Stampin' Up! supplies, doing your best work so that it can be used to show the ideas to customers.

So what do you think?

HAPPY STAMPING!