Just Believe

Posted on July 30, 2010 by mauistamper

One of the free stamp sets we received at convention was Just Believe. I have to tell you that I had mixed feelings when I saw the notice on the Demonstrator Website that told us that set would be part of our convention package. Part of me was really excited because I fell in love with that stamp set the first time I laid eyes on it, and part of me was terribly disappointed because I fell in love with that stamp set the first time I laid eyes on it and I didn’t want to wait until almost the end of JULY to get to stamp with it!

The set is worth the wait, believe me. (Get it? Believe? Ok, I know, you get it.) We did some beautiful projects during our Make and Take session at convention, and since then I’ve continued to experiement with this set. If you like this style at all, this set should be your very next purchase because you will reach for it over and over until it’s paid for itself ten-fold.

Here’s the swap we did:

This is a simple, one layer 3 x 3 card and envelope. We used the negative image from the Sizzix Originals Circles #2 die as a reverse mask to sponge the circle, then stemped the two images in Early Espresso. I decided to step it up just a little for one of my hostess club projects this week:

Just Believe stamp set
Pear Pizazz, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock
Pear Pizazz, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight Classic ink pads
Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Hemp twine, Designer Brights Buttons
Stampin’ Sponges, Hobby blade

The ribbon is threaded through a slit in the side of the card so that I could wrap it all the way around. The Chocolate Chip ribbon is retired, but you should use the Early Espresso ribbon, ink and cardstock because that new color is absolutely gorgeous. Never mind that coffee is my nectar of life…that deep dark brown is luscious.

I can’t wait to spend some more time with this set.

Embarassing the kids from 2,440 miles away

Posted on July 29, 2010 by mauistamper

You know that feeling when you’re on information overload and your brain is bouncing ideas and pictures and emotions around the inside of your head like countless superballs ricocheting around? That’s what my head has been like this week. It’s an exciting, crazy, even frightening place…but of course the inside of my head is almost always in one of those states. Having all three co-existing at once is…well…exciting, crazy and even frightening!

Convention was an amazing, inspiring and highly memorable experience on many levels. Personally, I had a wonderful time meeting so many other talented demonstrators and spending time with my friend Robbie. You learn a great deal about someone when you travel with her. We laughed and explored and learned and celebrated and ate and drank and fell into bed exhausted every night, only to jump up early the next day in order to do it all over again. I took her on some mis-guided adventures – she kindly referred to them as “walkabouts” – and we made the best of a miserable airline delay on the way home. Better than that, we found our alter-egos. Yes, we were children of the 70’s and the Stampin’ Up! Flower Power party was one groovy blast from the past. I even managed to embarass my son from 2,440 miles away.

Every day there was new inspiration. Our fellow demonstrators submitted astonishing artwork for display, the Stampin’ Up! Creative Genius department had ideas that knocked our socks off, and we swapped with some of the most talented and innovative paper-crafters in the world. That’s a lot of inspiration! I’m hoping to share with you some of the incredible swaps I received at convention, but I won’t publish them here until I have the permission of the artist. In the meantime, I can share with you some of the Make-and-Takes we did at convention. Our M&T session wasn’t until the morning of the third day of convention, and by then you’d better believe my hands were itchin’ to stamp!

This uses the single stamp So Many Thanks with Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight and Real Red cardstock and ink. The little package tied with ribbon is an envelop for a 6×6 card folded in half and made into a portfolio for the cards. Quick and easy and very cute…this is a project I’ll do again with a variety of colors. Wouldn’t you like to be my hostess and receive a hostess gift like this? Call me and we can make it happen!

Not quite the finish we expected

Posted on July 25, 2010 by mauistamper

Our 4am wake-up call wasn’t pretty but we were on time for the shuttle to the airport. Our flight from Salt Lake into Seattle arrived a few minutes early and we were pretty pleased with ourselves until I picked up my voicemail.

Our flight into Maui was delayed in spectacular fashion. Our 10:50am departure was now scheduled for 4:50pm.

Can you say “ugh” with me?

We were given breakfast vouchers with a promise of more towards lunch. We “shopped” in the airport – Seattle actually has a pretty nice retail environment – and then headed to the gate. We’ve been sitting here for a couple of hours trying to be productive.

I can hardly wait to get on the plane for 5 hours. Wish I had some paper, ink and stamps. Oh! I do have stamps. I would never check my new sets from convention. They’re in my carry-on. Let’s see…catsup, mustard and shoyu…what do you think of those new “In Colors”?

Beautiful Wings In Color

Posted on July 25, 2010 by mauistamper

A couple of weeks ago, I CASE-d a card using all of the new In Colors in the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. Laurie Zoellmer at www.stampingnut.blogspot.comstampingnut.blogspot.com had such a great idea that I wanted to try a couple of other versions. Of course, I wasn’t thinking about cutting out all of those butterflies – even with the help of the Big Shot – when I decided to do this for a swap that turned out to have 25 participants:

I worked on this one at Boy Scout camp too – a friend was there, and she helped me with the stamping. Each card is a little different since I just mixed and matched the butterflies. They’re made with the In Color selections for 2010-2011: Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade. Just a couple of dots of Tombo Adhesive holds each one in place. That stuff is amazing. I wish it had been around when my kids were small! (JUST KIDDING. Don’t report me.)

Stampin’ Hats

Posted on July 24, 2010 by mauistamper

Stampers do some pretty crazy things to find each other in the crowd. After a couple of days I started taking photos of the interesting hats I saw. I’m not sure I would wear one myself, but they were a great source of entertainment! I know I didn’t get them all, but the ones I was able to photograph were priceless:

The Bize Bees

Not sure who this group was, but there were a lot of them!

This woman told us her hat had been to 12 conventions with her

Thank you, Stampin’ Up

Posted on July 24, 2010 by mauistamper

Seems like we just unpacked yesterday. This afternoon Robbie and I returned to our room after the final session of Stampin’ Up! Convention 2010 and tried to fit 75 pounds of potatoes in a pair of pantyhose…well, it felt that way. We had everything we came with plus our swaps, make-and-takes, hand-outs and materials, and of course our FREE STAMPS. Yes, Stampin’ Up! treats its demonstrators well! And no, I’m not going to show them to you yet, but I’ll be crafting with them soon and you’ll be able to see what I make.

I have lots of photos. Some are crisp and clear and wonderful to see, but a lot of them are blurry and only suited for my own reference. I didn’t take pictures of every single sample but I do have some I’ll share with you. In the next few days I’ll tell you a couple of stories, too.

I want to add an important update: I posted a photo of a fabulous paper cake a few days ago and didn’t credit the artist. Her name is Elizabeth Price and she is from San Jose, CA.

We have a hideously early wake-up call in the morning for our flight out of Salt Lake, so enjoy a few samples and I’ll be back soon. Here’s one card I thought was exceptional and a couple more photos of complete boards:

Stepping up to a challenge

Posted on July 24, 2010 by mauistamper

I signed up for a “Wow” swap. I should have known better. A swap like that causes me to pull out all of the stops. I drive myself crazy coming up with an idea, and then spend hours putting it together because in my wisdom I decided to cut out a zillion little pieces. Of course, once I finish I think of dozens of additional little touches I should have added:

I actually did most of the construction for this swap at Boy Scout camp last week. My son’s troop needed some extra adult supervision during the day, and since they didn’t need me to do anything but be there in case of an emergency, I was pretty free. I spread out my project on one of the big picnic tables at their campsite and cut, scored, stamped, trimmed and punched the day away. The boys would come and go between activities and check out my progress. Some of them were curious and a couple seemed entertained by this mom working away in their camp. The site was so beautiful – and peaceful as long as they were away – that I really enjoyed myself.

Here’s another look at the card:

There’s a tutorial for this card at Splitcoast Stampers under Resources – look for the Diagonal Double Pocket card.

This takes the cake

Posted on July 23, 2010 by mauistamper

7/24/10 ETA: The artist is Elizabeth Price from San Jose, CA. Well done, Elizabeth!

It’s late here in Salt Lake and although I’ve had a fabulous time I need some sleep, I’ve downloaded some of the photos from my point-and-shoot. They won’t win any Fabulous Photographer prizes but they’re better than the phone pix. The lighting in the Convention Center isn’t exactly flattering.

I’m only sharing one now, but it knocked my socks off. This cake is made entirely from paper. I am horrified to say that every photo I took of it cut off the name of the incredibly talented woman who made it, and I will go back tomorrow to get the information to share with you. In the meantime, feast your eyes:

Just a couple more

Posted on July 23, 2010 by mauistamper

A few more Artisan boards…

A Little More Amazingness

Posted on July 23, 2010 by mauistamper

I had a chance to see some of the Artisan Award winners work today and sharing the photos with your understanding that I’m using a camera phone to facilitate the upload. What that means is that the quality is, well, camera phone quality, ok?

I thought you might forgive me.