Author Archives: mauistamper

Monochromatic inspiration

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The new catalog uses a monochromatic theme for the pages that begin each new “chapter” of stamps, and the color theme for the All Natural section is neutrals.  It really inspired me when I saw it, and although all the stamps used on that page were new I wanted to recreate that feeling.  I looked through my stamps (never mind how many there are, I’m sure I’ll need new ones!!) and found the look I was seeking:

Inspired by Neutrals

  • Wood Grain, Elements of Style, Inspired by Life and Define Your Life stamp sets
  • Naturals Ivory, River Rock, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake (Kraft) and Very Vanilla card stock
  • Soft Suede, Sahara Sand and River Rock Classic ink pads
  • Crop-a-dile, Jumbo Eyelet and Linen Thread

Did you see that little scrap of River Rock?  I have a folder with just a few scraps that I was — you guessed it — hoarding jealously.  Now I can use them up!  As of July 1st, River Rock is back in the family.  I’ll admit that this Color Renovation is taking a little bite out of my stamping budget, but if it means that colors like Baja Breeze and River Rock are back  in the palette I’ll work with it.  I can make a budget and stick with it.  It’s not like I have to have everything all at once.  Really.  I don’t.  Not at all.

Excuse me, I have to go.  My hypnotist appointment is soon.  I don’t need it all at once…I don’t need it all at once…I don’t need it all at once…

Pink is for girlfriends

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I had that Medium tag punch sitting on my craft table and started playing with it.  I’ve been fiddling around with inserts for the Simply Adorned charms (yes, I’ll show them when I’m ready but it’s still a work in progress) and I had a bunch of small images sitting around.  I had to punch a couple of things a second time because it took me a while to figure out that it looked better when all the words faced the same way 🙂

Tags - you're it!

  • You and Moi, Pocket Silhouettes and Bella Toile stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral and Rose Red card stock
  • an ancient scrap of Designer Series Paper
  • Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Regal Rose Classic ink pads
  • White Craft ink pad
  • Medium jewelry tag punch and Stampin’ Sponges
  • Jumbo Grommet and Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain

This turned out to be a really girly card!  I think I might tone down the pink next time…or maybe not.  Sometimes pink is just what the doctor ordered.

Sweet Birthday Girl

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It’s been a wonderful couple of weeks, but I’m sending my daughter back to Boston this evening.  The job market on Maui isn’t much to speak about, and she’s found not one but two paying internships in Boston that give her great experience AND cash in hand.  I’ve loved having her home and will miss her big bunches, but thank goodness for email, cell phones, and skype.

It was her birthday a week ago and I CASE-d another idea from the new Idea Book and Catalog:

Sweetest Birthday Girl

  • Sincere Salutations and Crazy for Cupcakes Stamp Sets
  • Baja Breeze, Soft Suede and Whisper White card stock
  • Sending Love Designer Series Paper (retired)
  • Not Quite Navy Classic Ink pad
  • Real Red, Barely Banana, and Soft Suede Classic Ink refills
  • Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker; Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Crystal Effects; On Board Chipboard letters (retired)
  • Scallop border and horizontal slot punches
  • Real Red Double Stitched ribbon
  • Tombo Adhesive and Sanding Blocks

The Crystal Effects makes the cupcakes look like stickers.  I was really patient this time and gave it a LOT of time to dry.  That’s the key if you want it to really shine – use a lot of product and then leave it alone!

My daughter loved her card and I think she knows there is a lot of love in the making.  I wish I could put myself in an envelope and send myself to visit her.

A Splitcoast Sketch Challenge

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It seems I haven’t done a sketch challenge in weeks.  The challenges I’ve seen recently haven’t inspired me, and the few that I’ve tried ended up in the circular file (it’s only paper!)  Last week I was looking through the Splitcoast Stampers challenges and this sketch spoke to me:

Cheep Talk SC283

  • Cheep Talk and Wood Grain stamp sets
  • Texturz Jumbo Wheel
  • Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss (retired), Not Quite Navy and Bashful Blue card stock
  • A scrap of retired Designer Series Paper (I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, don’t ask me this)
  • Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss(retired) and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • 1 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches; Clear Circle button
  • Not Quite Navy brads, piercing tool and mat
  • Kiwi Kiss Striped ribbon (retired)

Time to clear our some of these retired papers, accessories and ribbons!  I have a heap of them and I have challenged myself to do SOMETHING with them.  You maybe seeing some very interesting projects in the next few weeks!  I had a lot of fun piling them on for this card, and I really enjoyed the sketch – thanks, Roxie.

I’ll be back soon with more goodies from the new catalog 🙂

Brand New Stamps: Friends Never Fade

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My Sneak Peak order of new 2010-2011 Stampin’ Up! products arrived on Thursday afternoon!  That box was sitting in my craft room taunting me almost 24 hours – it was a relief to squeeze in about an hour on Friday afternoon.  I am thrilled with my preview items, and they aren’t even the things I thought I couldn’t live without in that big beautiful new catalog.  This is going to be an exciting year.

Here’s my first creation:

Friends Never Fade Stampin' Up! 2010-2011

  • Friends Never Fade Sneak Peak 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog
  • Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock
  • Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight Classic ink pads; Versamark ink pad
  • Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write Marker
  • Embossing Buddy, Clear Detail Embossing powder, Powder Pal and Heat tool
  • Whisper White 3/8″ taffeta ribbon; Scallop Trim border punch
  • Big Shot and Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Having so many new colors to work with is almost over-stimulation…I ordered assortments of the new In Colors as well as all the new core colors introduced in the Color Renovation.    It came down to my favorites – blues and greens – but when I pulled out that stamp with that beautiful flower, I knew it needed a yellow center.  The photograph isn’t quite true to the Daffodil Delight color – it’s softer but still a clear yellow, like a butter color.  And what can I say about that embossing folder except you’d better put it on the top of your wish list?

I have a full day tomorrow but I WILL find a way to squeeze in a little more stamping time.   I have more new stamp sets to put together and try out!

Pick a Happy Petal

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The Fancy Favor box is just the right size for little gifts – a gift card, a piece of jewelry, movie tickets or even cookies.  It’s easy to cut out and put together, and with a few leftover scraps of card stock you can make it into a little jewel:

Pick a Petal Favor

  • Pick a Petal and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Certainly Celery, Whisper White, and Cameo Coral card stock
  • Bermuda Bay, Certainly Celery and Cameo Coral Classic ink pad
  • Horizontal slot and Medium Tag punches
  • Bermuda Bay polka dot ribbon; Linen thread
  • Big Shot and Fancy Favor die

Do you see the little polka dotted tag in there?  I stamped a couple of extra petals for the flower and decided not to use the polka dot ones, so I punched one to make a polka dot tag.  I know.  Simple things make me happy.  That’s not so bad, is it?

When words aren’t enough

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Sometimes you need to send a hug through the mail.  You want to convey love and support and hope, but you know that right now, words aren’t enough.

When words aren't enough

  • Thoughts and Prayers and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla card stock
  • Soft Suede and Baja Breeze Classic ink pads
  • Stampin’ Sponges and 1 3/8″ square punch

I used the square punch to cut a rectangular mask out of a scrap of card stock.  I sponged the Baja Breeze ink evenly through the mask, then removed the mask to stamp the tree from Thoughts and Prayers.  I like the hopeful feeling that I get when I look at this card.  I hope my friend will feel hopeful when she opens it.

CASE-ing the new catalog

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There are lots of great samples in the new Idea Book and Catalog coming out July 1, and the other day one caught my eye.  The designer added some Itty Bitty punch flowers to this image from Pocket Silhouettes, and they were a perfect fit.  Here’s my version:

Dotted Silhouettes

  • Pocket Silhouettes and All Holidays stamp sets
  • Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White and Lovely Lilac card stock
  • Old Olive and Almost Amethyst Classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink, Lovely Lilac and Old Amethyst Stampin’ Write Markers
  • Tombo adhesive, Blender Pen and White Gel pen
  • Itty Bitty punches; Horizontal Slot punch
  • Pretty in Pink striped ribbon; Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Big Shot and Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder

This card falls in the simple and sweet category – an easy card for beginners.  After inking the image with Old Olive, I used a blender pen to remove the Olive color from the buds and replaced it with the Stampin’ Write markers.  I punched the bitty flowers out, attached them with Tombo, and added white centers and coordinating petal lines.  Add a sentiment and a ribbon and you’re done!  The image panel is adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals to provide a little, well, dimension, and also to leave a little room for those Big Shot Polka Dots and the ribbon.

Have you looked at the Last Chance Lists?  Stamps, accessories and Decor Elements are clearing out – some of them very quickly – and some of them at a discount!  Be sure you check my Online Store for all the information.  One of the punches that is retiring is the Horizontal Slot, and I am sorry to see it go – it’s just the thing for ribbon!

Travel Time Collage

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It’s a busy day for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.  Last night (or early this morning, depending on where you live) the new catalog Sneak Peak products were released.  There was a frenzy of posting on various forums as we waited for the new information to load on the demonstrator site.  Since Hawaii is four hours behind Riverton, Utah (where Stampin’ Up! is located) I was doing my waiting at a very respectable 8pm.  Demonstrators east of Riverton were not so fortunate!

I’ve ordered some new goodies, and though we’re not allowed to show you any pictures of actual products until they are released, we ARE allowed to show you things we MAKE with those products.  Watch for some exciting new images hitting this blog soon!

Today I have a card that is entirely different from anything I’ve ever done:

Timeless Journey CAS

  • Sentimental Journey, Sense of Time and French Script Stamp sets
  • Kraft (soon to be Crumb Cake) card stock
  • Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad

Are you shocked?  I’m still trying to decide if I like it.  I’ve admired other stampers collage work, and these sets seemed to fit together well for the purpose.  Some of the images were stamped with fresh ink and others were stamped off before I put them to the card.  Three stamp sets, one paper, one ink.  That’s it.  The whole enchilada.

I masked the large clock before I stamped the large background French Script stamp.  I like the way it makes the clock face take center stage, although sometimes I wish the clock wasn’t such a priority in life.  Many years ago, my husband and I drove across the country and we packed away our watches and covered up the dashboard clock.  It was a wonderful trip.

I couldn’t stamp this way all of the time – it would bore me to tears.  Once in a while, though, it’s nice to do something different.

The envelopes are the best part

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Today’s project is brought to you by the Letter E…for Envelope!

I’ve seen a number of projects recently where the crafter ran the envelope flap through the Big Shot with an embossing folder.  I finally gave it a try, and I have to tell you it’s really easy and a real wow:

Elegant Bouquet Envelope

I’ll try to get some photos of my technique.  I only embossed the back flap, and it was simple to line it up in the Impressions folder and run it through the Big Shot.  The trick is to put the folder through sideways, sending the body of the envelope through the Big Shot first (and outside of the folder).  I know, sorry, I’m visual too – I’ll set up my Very Sophisticated Photographic Equipment (point-and-shoot) and take some photos for you.

Here’s the rest of the project:

Beautiful Wings note cards

  • Baroque Border Stampin’ Around Wheel
  • Always Artichoke Classic ink cartridge
  • Whisper White and Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Sage Shadow, Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue card stock
  • Big Shot and Beautiful Wings Embosslit
  • Tombo Multi-purpose Adhesive; Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint
  • Envelope:  Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder

These go together really quickly and only use a quarter sheet of cardstock  each of color and Whisper White for the note card.  I have a stash of “extra” butterflies made with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit – it cuts five at a time, and if you only need the little itty bitty one, you have four left over.  The smaller ones make fun confetti, but this is the largest one and it’s almost perfect.  It will be really perfect when the new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog merchandise is available and a Certain Product can be added…but I’ll have to save that news for later.