Dino kid's birthday

 

This kid turns 9 today and she's pretty amazing. She's a third-grader, adores dinosaurs (this is the dinosaur from Jurassic World that she's decided she wants to be for Halloween), and has a joie de vivre. I love this kid! Happy birthday Regan.

Get crazy with the Undefined stamp carving kit

 

Today I promised I'd show you a couple of stamps carved by my 12-year-old daughter, Sylvie. She started with a drawing on a piece of paper (bottom right). Then she carved the image from rubber provided in the Undefined stamp carving kit, which is on sale now. Finally, I stamped the image in Jet Black StazOn onto a wood block from the kit and adhered the rubber to the foam adhesive and onto the block for her very own stamp! I inked up the image with markers to see how it stamped on a postcard provided in the kit.

 

I was skeptical when the Undefined kit was announced at Convention 2013. But my daughter LOVES it. So, if anything, this would make a great gift for an older kid.

 

Here are the steps:

 

 

Draw your image on a piece of paper in pencil.

 

Turn the image upside down on the rubber and rub with your fingers. If it's too light, you may choose to trace over it with a bolder color, like my daughter did with an Island Indigo marker provided in the kit.

 

Using the smallest tool, guide it along the outside of your lines, turning the rubber to keep the rubber trench you're making as smooth as possible.

 

 

Peel off one side of the foam adhesive and stick it to the back of your rubber image. Trim off the excess. The rubber is THICK! (Note: See the lines on the big chunk of excess rubber? That's where Sylvie first tried out the tool before carving her stamp to get a feel for it.)

 

 

Before you adhere the rubber to the block, don't forget to ink it up and stamp it on the wood block. I used Jet Black StazOn ink.

 

 

My daughter created a simple anime card to share with a friend. Quite the personal touch, eh? I love it! And she was thrilled!

 

Tips: The Undefined stamp carving kit comes with four wood blocks, one chunk of rubber and one piece of foam adhesive, plus other stuff. I put the blocks on the rubber and drew around them and cut the foam apart to make sure I had enough for all four stamps. Then I did the same thing with the foam adhesive.

 

I stamped the bird image on card stock first to see how it looked after the initial carving. Then Sylvie smoothed out a couple of places using the carving tool. We re-stamped it and, once satisfied, stamped it on the wood block.

 

You don't need to carve super deep to get a good image! This simple bird image took three times longer to carve than the Garfield/Pookie image.

 

Let your imagination go wild! It really is fun, and very satisfying to see an image you've drawn come to life in a rubber stamp that may be used over and over again.

 

Here's the link for the Undefined stamp carving kit and item numbers. The whole kit is $19.95, and the refill kit is $9.95. You may place your order through my Online Store at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net. Thanks!









One-of-a-kind birthday card

 

I've been enjoying my best birthday ever! And to share it with National Doughnut Day? Amazing! lol

 

I had to share a card made out of pine that my carpenter hubby made me. He drilled the holes and threaded 12-gauge wire through the two pieces to hold the "card" together. Then he added his own artwork, a special greeting,  and a few scratch tickets (one was a winner!). Heck, I even got a box of doughnuts. He loves me. :-)

 

 

The Dude Kit has nothing on this man-made card! Look how thick this is - 1-1/2". I love every bit of it.

 

And the day just got better and better! I spent the morning going to garage sales with my bestie, Kim. We have so much fun. She's the kind of friend you really don't need to say or do much to have a fantastic time. She treated me to lunch, too. I received so many warm wishes from friends and family throughout the day. I've been smiling all day long. Then I was treated to dinner at Azteca - my favorite Mexican restaurant because the staff (Jessica, Esther, Fernando and Maria) is the greatest! They treated me to a cucaracha for my birthday - a drink with tequila, kahlua and coke - a green balloon, a festive song and hugs. What can I say? Life is very good.

 

 

And for the cherry on top, my son donned a jacket and tie for his 8th grade celebratory party tonight, so we took some photos. Here he is goofing off with his sister. He's hanging out with a group of his friends. I hope he has a wonderful time. And I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Wishes for Everybunny to have a wonderful Easter

 

I love the images of bunnies and eggs in the Everybunny stamp set. They're fun to color, and just make me happy.

 

 

I used strips of Twitterpated designer paper on Pink Pirouette card stock, and used Jet Black StazOn ink that won't smear when you watercolor over it. The images were punched out of Whisper White card stock with the 2-1/2" circle punch.

 

 

Many blessings on this Easter to you and your family from me and mine!

Have a sweet day filled with love

 

I hope you're enjoying Valentine's Day! I am. I started by visiting the local middle school with 85 of these treats to show the staff appreciation.

 

 

The most time-consuming part was pushing 10 ice cream-flavored candy hearts into the skinny cello bags. I used the Full Heart and Word Window punches with the valentine sentiment from Teeny, Tiny Wishes. I had to add a rhinestone for a little bling too. I made enough extra that I've been giving them out today as random acts of kindness (raks). I gave one to our mail carrier, the front office people at an eye clinic, the bank teller, and the cook at my Lions Club meeting. I've got a couple left to give to our host and server tonight because my hubby is taking me out to dinner! Whoo hoo!!!

 

 

My son's birthday was yesterday. Have I mentioned he's the best kid ever? He's smart and funny, thoughtful and kind. He didn't want anything for his birthday, including a party or any friends over. He just wanted his family. I thought it'd be fun to blow up some balloons to stick up around the house. I used a skewer to roll up some bills and put one each in 14 balloons. He first had to choose 14 balloons from the many I'd hung up, then use the skewer to pop them to get the money inside. It was fun and different! We laughed about it and had a great time last night. My son said he'll give me the money to put in his savings account. I love this kid!

 

Well, I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day! The kids will be home from school soon, so I have their valentines and chocolates ready for them.

 

If you'd like to purchase the supplies used to make these treats, here's a list:

Stamps: Teeny, Tiny Wishes (item 127802, $26.95);

Ink: Basic Gray pad (item 126981, $5.95);

Paper: Riding Hood Red (item 111348, $6.95) and Whisper White (item 100730, $8.50) card stocks;

Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals (item 104430, $3.95), Word Window punch (item 119857, $15.95), Full Heart punch (item 119883, $16.95), basic rhinestone jewels (item 119246, $4.95), 1" x 8" cello bags (item 124134, $2.50 for 50).

 

You may order anytime, day or night, thru my SU! website at http://TheRubberRoom.stampinup.net. Thanks!

 

 

Wish I had an Open Sleigh for a fun Christmas ride

 

This Open Sleigh card is so beautiful in person. I tried taking a quick shot of it on my range tonight. It's hard to register the sparkle of the silver glimmer scallop trim border, and the warmth of the colors chosen. My friend and downline, Julie, sent this to me and my family. Thanks so much, Julie. I love it!

 

 

Speaking of family, my twin sister (Tiffany) and her hubby (Bob), came for a nice, long visit today. They'd driven over from Idaho yesterday and were staying with Taylor. My nephew, Billy, and his sister, Taylor, are shown below. It was so good to see them. They're officially both adults now and making headway with their jobs, where they live, etc. I'm so proud of them both.

 



We had a full turkey meal today, then played Old Maid (while laughing hysterically), and Yahtzee, and ending with a 9-piece shell puzzle that took us awhile since everyone was moving the pieces around at the same time!

 

I hope you enjoy your family as much as I'm enjoying mine! We might actually get a white Christmas too! That would be a bonus. We haven't had snow for Christmas since 2008.

 



Merry Minis Punch Pack for quick and cute Christmas cards

 

The little tree, star and ornament shapes from the Merry Minis Punch Pack pop out with the help of dimensionals on these white on white flags.

 

 

This was one of the designs I used for a 10-card Christmas class. I CASE'd it from Deb Currier, one of my favorite stampers for cute and quick cards. I used Raspberry Ripple ink and ribbon. The "christmas cheer" is from the Sweet Essentials stamp set. And speaking of sweet, my family got into making and decorating sugar cookies recently:

 

I told my son he couldn't eat any cookies until he frosted some. He basically frosted one, then ate it! I love these little squeezy containers with tips I got from Pampered Chef.

 



It was my daughter's idea to make the cookies. I made the dough, but she did all of the rolling out and cutting out. I never realized I've collected so many cookie cutters over the years. She only picked a handful of shapes to use.

 

And can you believe my hubby has never decorated sugar cookies for Christmas? He tried to get out of it, but our daughter wouldn't let him - and he can't say "no" to her. He had some pretty fun designs - especially with the bear-shaped cookies! lol

Hubby's valentine and critter update

I adore my hubby - even more when he makes a card for me! Though he said he didn't feel like stamping on Valentine's Day, he used bits and pieces of projects that were laying on my desk unused. He's so proud he cut the textured white paper into thinner strips and used SNAIL to make the letter "L" (for Love, he says). We've been together 23 years and married for 17 next month. Life is good!

Now updates on other members of our family:

Our orange tabby, Frito (middle name "Lay"), is turning 1 year old tomorrow. He loves the top of our new couch. I love that he's the only cat I've known who comes when called - by my daughter. Most cats have that "I'll come when I feel like it" attitude. Frito weighs more than 14 pounds now, and when stretched tall, his claws can touch the top of my kitchen island!

Our mutt, Isabelle, is happy, which makes us happy. She just turned 5 a few weeks ago. She's guardian of our home, and lives for lovin's from all of us. She enjoys chasing Frito now and then, and loves her rubber goose toy and treats.

The kids only had school for a few hours this morning and get a three-day weekend because of President's Day. I'm hoping I can not only start a rag quilt (with scallop squares cut by the Big Shot), but finish it for a throw for the couch. I have several fat squares of Spice Cake fabric I want to use. Hope you have a great weekend!

Lego cakes for my boy's birthday

Okay, I normally don't put photos of food on here, but I'm making the exception because I made Lego bricks. I used two yellow cake mixes and two cans of frosting for the two bricks and cupcakes shown in the photo. My daughter ate one cupcake. I used loaf pans for the bricks, cutting off part so they laid flatter. I used cupcakes (the top cut off) for the tops of the bricks. We don't like colored frosting - my son asked for chocolate. I got the idea for doing the Lego brick cakes from Pinterest. What do you think?

Halloween fun! No stamping here...

I've had a fun couple last days... not only preparing for Halloween, but enjoying the festivities that surround the holiday. Above, my boy works on his detailed pumpkin design. He was happy to enjoy the roasted pumpkin seeds I made.

When we were shopping for Halloween costumes Saturday, I picked up this Ollie the Ostrich outfit. It has a cooling fan that runs on AA batteries and keeps the ostrich inflated. It's so cute! My girl was a pirate at two different Halloween parties, and went out last night in our neighborhood with her dad's cowboy hat and Ollie.

No black cat for Halloween. This is our orange tabby kitty, Frito. Doesn't he look cute (and innocent)? He's only 8 months old.