Author Archives: mauistamper

Share what you love

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At the Stampin’ Up! annual convention every year, demonstrators are invited to a place called “Memento Mall”.   The Home Office comes up with all sorts of merchandise unavailable in the catalog (or for that matter anyplace else) to entice us to spend our stamp money.  You would think we would hold onto that stamp money pretty carefully, but then maybe you haven’t seen Memento Mall:

Memento Mall 2010

This photo is blurry because no one stands still in Memento Mall.  Demonstrators rush in and pounce on every display, grabbing merchandise and trying to figure out how much it costs and whether or not there is a purchase limit.  It’s a stampers’ feeding frenzy!

One of my favorite Memento Mall purchases is this stamp:

Share What You Love post-its

I’m not going to give you a recipe, because the stamp was only available at the Stampin’ Up! Convention and some of the papers are retired.  These are little Post-It note holders (courtesy of the amazing Becky Roberts – I could CASE her all day) and they are gifts for workshop guests who bring a friend.

The heart of stamping – and Stampin’ Up! – is sharing and I hope you enjoy what I share with you.

Bubbly Circles Under the Sea

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I am fascinated with color.  I love to explore the moods of individual colors and color combinations, to mix and match different tones and hues of the same colors.  You know where this is going, don’t you?  Yep – blues and greens.

Circle Circus Blues and Greens

  • Circle Circus and Word Play stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi and Rich Razzleberry card stock
  • Baja Breeze and Wild Wasabi Classic ink pads
  • Whisper White Craft ink pad and White Embossing powder
  • Big Shot and Elegant Lines Embossing Folder
  • Scallop Border and XL Decorative Label punches
  • Brights Designer Buttons and white crochet thread

Don’t you love the Razzleberry with Baja and Wasabi?

The bubbly circle cracks me up.  No particular reason, it just makes me laugh.  Maybe I watched the Little Mermaid with my daughters too many times, but I keep thinking of all those undersea creatures talking underwater.  It seemed to me at the time that they needed little bubbles floating up when they talked, but that could just be the effects of being a SAHM with three active kids.

I love our Linen Thread, but I couldn’t bring myself to use it with all the crisp white on this card.

Back to the Circle Circus

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When is a circle more than a circle?  When it collaborates with others to form a topiary:

Circle Circus matter of Moments

  • Circle Circus and Elements of Style stamp sets; Vintage Vogue wheel
  • Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake and Certainly Celery card stock
  • Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake and Certainly Celery Classic ink pads
  • Modern Label punch, XL Decorative Label punch (Holiday Mini), various circle punches
  • Big Shot, Top Note die and Lattice Impressions folder
  • Hemp twine, Antique Brads, Stampin’ Sponges and Stampin’ Dimensionals

I had the brilliant idea to twist two strands of Hemp Twine together to make the trunk of the topiary, but my execution was flawed – there’s not enough space between the “topes” and you can hardly see it.  This card is finished, but I’ll be back to the drawing board to try that one again.

The new XL Decorative Label punch makes a pretty terra cotta planter, doesn’t it?  I cut it in half and sponged it with Cajun Craze and Old Olive.  I was trying to get a moss-stained look but I think it would be more effective on a lighter color of cardstock – next time I’ll try Peach Parfait.  Oh, and please don’t judge Daffodil Delight – that’s operator error with the camera.  It’s a lovely buttery shade, not that bright yo yo color!

A Holiday Mini Sneak Peak

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Robbie is flying out tonight on the red-eye to go to a huge family event in Northern California, and being the amazing and generous soul that she is, she INSISTED I take her brand-new, Holiday Mini Sneak Peak for demonstrators Big Shot die to play with because otherwise it would be lonesome at home.  Now that I have it, I may not give it back:

Sneak Peak Sizzix Bigz Treat Holder in Mambo

I didn’t intend to do anything more than put this Candy Wrapper Box together so that when Robbie returns, I could show her how to assemble the box.  Ha!  If you don’t have the Big Shot yet, you’d better change the channel, Cherie.  Imagine this in Pumpkin Pie with bats and spiders…in Night of Navy covered with stars and snowmen…in Bashful Blue with that cute little onesie rolled around it…you get the idea.

  • Cute by the Inch Hostess Level II stamp set
  • Melon Mambo and Whisper White card stock; Retired Designer Series Paper
  • Regal Rose Classic ink pad
  • Big Shot and Candy Wrapper Bigz L die
  • Pretty in Pink 5/8″ Satin ribbon; Rhinestone jewels
  • Heat tool;  hideously messy non-SU glue
  • Jewelry tag medium punch, 1″ circle punch

Now don’t go thinking I’m rubbah-dulteratin’  (courtesy of Jan Tink) by using a non-Stampin’ Up! flower.  Shannon West showed us these flowers at convention and I’ve been wanting to try them since I got home.  I considered taking photos for you but thought I’d better figure it out first…good decision.  Shannon used our Sticky Pages to form and hold the ribbon into a flower, and since I didn’t have any Sticky Pagges on hand I decided to use a very sticky clear liquid glue – something similar to what hot glue would be if it were liquid.  I won’t name names.

To make the flower, you snip almost all the way through your ribbon at 1/2″ intervals and then use your heat tool to curl up the “petals”.  At this point, I discovered my first challenge.  Any surface appropriate for holding the ribbon flat in order to blast it with the heat tool was not going to survive the blasting, and my fingers were not either.  I ended up warping my old cutting mat (I need a new one anyway, no biggie) because the alternative was holding that ribbon across my lap and believe me, that was not going to happen.

It took a while for the ribbon to heat up, but once it started to curl the edges rolled up quickly and I was on to step 2.  I punched a 1″ circle from a scrap of cardstock and covered it with the Glue That Must Not Be Named.  Shannon had worked so quickly and smoothly, but she wasn’t dealing with those funny stringy bits of glue – you know the ones.  I had to add more and more glue as I worked my way around the circle, mostly because a significant amount of the GTMNBN was at this point stuck all over my fingers.  Not only must it Not Be Named, it does Not Come Off of Fingers very well.

Candy Wrapper Ribbon Flower

The final result is very pretty, especially with that blingy Rhinestone in the middle covering up the messy end bits all covered with GTMNBN.  I want to point out that this was my very first attempt at this technique, and I’m sure I’ll get better.  I’ll also get some Sticky Pages (#114300, $6.95 for two 12×12 sheets and worth every penny).

Circling around the Mojo

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It’s been ages since I’ve played a challenge.  I’ve had a lot of specific projects on my inspiration board and there wasn’t room for anything else.  Last night I finally had a chance to browse through some of my favorite blogs – talk about a pleasure! – and when I got to Mojo Monday I decided I’d done enough looking and headed up for some ink-to-the-paper stamping!

Mojo Monday 151 Circle Circuis

There’s a lot going on here, so bear with me:

  • Circle Circus and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets
  • Cornelli Lace Jumbo Stampin’ Around Wheel
  • Whisper White, Real Red and Basic Black card stock
  • Real Red and Basic Black Classic ink pads
  • Real Red 1/8″ taffeta and 5/8″ satin ribbon; Basic Black 5/8″ satin ribbon
  • 1 3/4″ Circle, Modern Label and Scallop Edge Border punches
  • Big Shot and the Square Lattice and Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folders
  • a small hand-held circle punch and Stampin’ Dimensionals

I’m sure I forgot to list something!

I’ll tell you the truth:  that greeting is adhered with Dotto repositionable adhesive.  I’m not certain I like it, but time will tell.  The stamped Real Red image from Circle Circus is hand cut (gasp! I know…) because I wanted it to fit Just So on the black circle.  It had to be done.  I used tiny black circles of cardstock for the faux brads on the sentiment because the real thing overwhelmed the project.    There are a lot of discarded bits and pieces on my craft table left over from this project, but it was satisfying to finish.

I didn’t buy Circle Circus when it was released as a preview set a year or two ago.  Because it was a sneak peak, there were Circle Circus cards everywhere and I grew weary of it.  I finally gave in and bought it with this year’s new catalog because I saw something really creative and had a brilliant inspiration to make that idea better.  (It’s coming, it’s just not done yet – Mojo Monday got in the way.)  I’m glad it’s on my shelf now.  You’ll see it again soon.

Ah madame, what a fine chapeau…

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The Stampin’ Up! convention isn’t like most conventions.  It has many of the same elements – networking, education, inspiration – but there are some things that are unique.  One of the things I noticed this year fell into a loose category I would call “Stuff People Wear on their Heads”.

I didn’t get photos of everything – I missed the headbands that had clips to hold cards in them, and I neglected to get a photo of the group that wore tiaras.  But I did manage to take pictures of a few hats I thought went above and beyond:

The Canadian

This woman told me her hat has been to twelve conventions.  It didn’t occur to me until just this moment to ask her if she had also been to twelve, but it would seem logical, no?

Green fleece hat with flowers

This hat was one of many similar to be found  in the Convention Center.  The wearer told me her upline had made them for the entire group.  In honor of our Flower Power party on Wednesday night, they each had a large peace symbol embroidered on the top.  Most of them had been adorned, but this one was one of the most thoroughly embellished.

The Bize Bees

There is a lot of effort here!  I can’t imagine carrying this hat all the way from anywhere, especially on the plane from Maui, but there was a group of women who all wore them.  When I asked to take their photograph, they not only obliged me very cheerfully but asked if I would take one with their camera as well.  Of course I obliged.

I asked permission before I took each photo but didn’t tell them they were destined for the blogosphere.  Like an uber- rookie photojournalist I didn’t even think to ask their names.  If this was you, thank you for your generosity in letting me take your picture and I hope you enjoy being a part of the Maui Stamper!   The Maui Stamper team is already hard at work thinking about what we can wear (and carry on the plane) at Convention 2011.  Hold onto your hats!

Thanks, Friends

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Here’s the final card in my “Friends Never Fade/Greenhouse Garden” suite:

Friends Never Fade in Pear Pizazz

  • Friends Never Fade and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip and Pear Pizazz card stock
  • Greenhouse Garden Designer Series Paper
  • Pear Pizazz and Chocolate Chip Classic ink pads
  • Pear Pizazz, Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist and Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Write markers
  • 1 3/4″ circle, 2 3/8″ scallop circle, and scallop trim border punches
  • Pumpkin Pie 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon

I love that artichokey-pineappley-image and I especially love seeing it repeated in the paper and the stamp.  What a perfect example of Stampin’ Up! coordination:  paper, stamps, colors…everything works together.  Back in my BSU (Before-Stampin’-Up!) days I would have gone crazy trying to put something like this together.  Oh, and I really love the font used for Fabulous Phrases.

A friend and I were talking about Thanksgiving the other day.  She reflected on how wonderful it is to set aside a day to be grateful for your blessings.  Although I’ve always thought of Thanksgiving in that way, something about our conversation put me in a different frame of mind about that concept of gratitude.  Our family focuses on our blessings at Thanksgiving, but I can’t really say I’ve made an effort to personally express my gratitude.  That seems like a very appropriate way to celebrate Thanksgiving.   I need more “thanks” cards.

Blue and green…my favorite combination

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You didn’t think I’d show you all the cards I made in one post, did you?

Friends Never Fade in Marina

  • Friends Never Fade, Inspired by Nature and Wonderfully Worn stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Marina Mist cardstock
  • Greenhouse Garden Designer Series Paper
  • Marina Mist,  Pear Pizazz, Daffodil Delight and Chocolate Chip classic ink pads
  • Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon (retired, substitute Early Espresso)
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals; brayer

I think I love the monochromatic designs in the Greenhouse Gardens Designer Series Papers as much as if not more than the beautiful multi-colored pages.  And in case you haven’t figured it out, blue and green is my all-time favorite color combination ever.  It doesn’t matter which blue or which green – but don’t go trying to find some hideous combination and make me look ridiculous, ok?  You know what I mean.

This is my debut of the Wonderfully Worn background stamp.  You know I’m a tone-on-tone kinda girl, and this stamp is perfect for adding just a little depth to a layer without being distracting.    Just to be thorough, let me remind you that the best way to cover a background stamp is to brayer it – it’s the easiest method for getting an even coat of ink.

You could so cut that yellow center out with the 3/4″ circle punch, but it wasn’t doing it for me so I trimmed it with my paper snips.

Friends Never Fade, Baggy

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Yesterday I had a short window of time to make some cards.  It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve had the opportunity to sit and let the mojo have its way.  I didn’t want to do a challenge or make a card for a specific purpose, I just wanted to stamp.  It felt really luxurious to begin that way.

I decided to play with the Friends Never Fade stamp set and Greenhouse Garden Designer Series papers.  Using the papers gave me a general color palette to work with but it wasn’t as restrictive as a challenge.   My time was limited but my results were very satisfying:

Friends Never Fade in Espresso

  • Friends Never Fade and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, and Early Espresso cardstock
  • Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie Classic ink pads
  • Early Espresso and Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write markers; Blender Pen
  • Pear Pizazz 1/2″ ribbon, Linen thread and Crop-a-dile
  • Big Shot and Elegant Lines Embossing Folder

I love the look that hand-coloring a stamp gives, but it does get a little tedious.  This time I inked the flower image in Pumpkin Pie and then used the blender pen to remove the ink from the stem bits so that I could add Pear Pizazz with a Stampin’ Write marker.  I added the Espresso accent in the middle of the flower right over the top of the Pumpkin Pie because I’m lazy like that.  There are little bits and edges of Pumpkin Pie ink on the stem and I like the feeling that creates…a little edgy.

If you don’t have a Big Shot, please don’t pay any attention to the Elegant Lines folder because it will just make you flat-out crazy.  If you do have a Big Shot, I hope you’ve already ordered this folder – if you haven’t, what are you waiting for???

That funny little not-knot on the ribbon has been popping up on samples all over the place and I decided it was time I got with the program.  Do you remember Baloo telling Bagheera “Get with the beat, Baggy!” in the Disney version of Jungle Book?  That’s the phrase that always comes to mind when I’m trying to update myself.  (Can you tell how old my children are by the Disney movies I have watched so often they are committed to memory?   I can sing all of the songs, too.)

Enough silliness.  Time to get with the beat.

I believe this is my favorite…

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It’s a gorgeous day today and it started in the best possible way with Irene’s gentle yoga class at Kihei Community Yoga.  Everything gets put in the right place when I make the time for that class, and it helps me be energized and centered.  It’s a  perfect start for a busy week.

Today I’m sharing my absolute favorite Make-and-Take from convention.  If you’ve read my last post you won’t be at all surprised to find we used Just Believe (wood mount #116948 $33.95, clear mount #120453 $25.95) for this project.  Honestly, you need this stamp set!

Watercolor Just Believe from Stampin' Up! 2010 convention

  • Just Believe stamp set
  • Not Quite Navy and Bashful Blue card stock; Watercolor paper
  • Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Old Olive and Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write markers
  • Old Olive Satin ribbon; Brights Designer Buttons; Linen thread
  • Color Spritzer tool;  small spray bottle filled with water

I’m thrilled with the look of this card.  The image is colored with markers and then lightly spritzed with water before being stamped on watercolor paper.  Everyone at my table got different results depending on how they used the markers and how they spritzed the stamp, but each card was uniquely beautiful.   I still struggle with tearing – I’m too particular by nature to just give it a cavalier rip and let it go at that.  One of these days I’m just gonna let go and let ‘er rip and it will surprise us all!!

If you’re ready to let ‘er rip and put Just Believe on your craft desk, head on over to my Online Store and click that Shop Now button.  It will be one of the most versatile, well-used, beloved stamp sets you own.