Author Archives: mauistamper

Monkey-shines

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Some people are born with fun running through their veins.  I have a friend who is all about fun, and her daughter has inherited that delightful character.  It wouldn’t do to have a stuffy, grown-up graduation card for her.  Sock Monkey was the Man for the Job:

Sock Monkey Graduates

  • Sock Monkey, Sock Monkey Accessories and Hugs and Wishes (retired) stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry, Brocade Blue and Night of Navy card stock
  • Close to Cocoa and Night of Navy Classic ink pads
  • Close to Cocoa, Night of Navy, Brocade Blue and Crushed Curry Classic ink refill
  • Aquapainter, Scallop oval punch and Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon
  • Crop-a-dile and White gel pen
  • Big Shot and Polka Dot Impressions folder

School colors are blue and gold – can you tell?   Sock Monkey got tired of sitting in all of those boring graduation practices, stuck in the back row because he was the tallest.  Who ever heard of lining up the graduates by height??  He sat down and started picking flowers to make a bouquet for his mommy who is just a little stressed out with all the relatives in town.  What a sweet monkey.

Graduation Season

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It’s that time of the year…caps and gowns and diplomas, oh my!

No graduates in my house – or my immediate family – this year, but we have lots of friends graduating from high school and college.  I’ve enjoyed making cards for them with little nods to their schools and even their personalities.  That’s the whole point of a hand-made card, isn’t it?

Fifth Avenue Floral Congratulations

  • Fifth Avenue Floral, Elements of Style and Well Scripted (retired) stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Brocade Blue and Night of Navy card stock
  • Brocade Blue and Night of Navy Classic ink pads; Whisper White Craft ink pad
  • Versamark ink pad; Crushed Curry Stampin’ Write marker, Vanilla Smooch Spritz
  • Embossing Buddy, Powder Pal, Clear Embossing Powder and Heat Tool
  • Scallop Border punch, Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder and Big Shot

My little point-and-shoot doesn’t pick up the details too well, but there’s Smooch Spritz (I can’t decide if I should laugh or cry when I say that) on the floral panel and the sentiment is embossed with clear embossing powder.  The Craft White ink is on the Night of Navy panel behind the sentiment.  It was originally larger and destined for another use but I scrapped the entire concept on the basis of irreconcilable differences – that card was NEVER going to work.  The pieces survived to find purpose in an alternate relationship!

I’m ought to apologize for using a retired sentiment, but I don’t feel too badly about it.  There are tons of great “Congratulations” stamps out there and I’m sure you’ll find a substitute if you don’t have this one.  There are always so many great sets in the mini catalog (this was the Occasions Mini) and it always seems as though there’s one set you should have purchased when you had the opportunity.

It’s a glorious Maui day and my son is finished with finals today, so his sister and I are going to take him out to lunch in Lahaina.  Too nice a day to stay inside, even for stamping!

Twitterpated

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It’s been quite a day!  I’ve spent a lot of time with the new catalog and have had a few demonstrator friends in to see it.  I don’t know the exact number, but only a few demonstrators qualified for the early release of the 2010-2011 catalog and I feel very privileged to be one of them.  There’s a lot to like here!

Today’s card is actually the card I was preparing to photograph when I opened my front door and the envelope fell inside.  The afternoon light is best in the front of my house, and I was opening the door to get more light when I discovered my package.  You’ll have to forgive the quality of this photograph as I was all twitterpated when I took it 🙂

One more Elements of Style card

  • Elements of Style and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets; Very Vintage Wheel
  • Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry and Naturals White card stock
  • Night of Navy and Rich Razzleberry Classic ink pads; White Craft ink pad
  • Brocade Blue and Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write markers; Blender pen
  • Scallop Trim Border and Corner punches
  • So Saffron 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon (retired)

I’m having a good time playing with color combinations on this hummingbird.  I ink the stamp with a base color and use the Blender Pen to selectively remove ink from the stamp.  I add in new color with Stampin’ Write markers in the spaces cleaned by the Blender Pen and huff on the rubber before I apply the stamp to the paper.

It’s not apparent in this photograph, but I used Craft White ink to stamp the “roses” background image behind the hummingbird.  The result is a very soft look, almost like stamping on brocade.

Time to get something done.  My day has disappeared, but in a good way.  Tomorrow I’ll be back on schedule.  Mostly.

Wish I could share more…

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Got a WONDERFUL surprise this afternoon.  I was one of the demonstrators who qualified to receive an early copy of the 2010 – 2011 Idea Book and Catalog under a special program offered by Stampin’ Up! this spring.  I expected my catalog tomorrow afternoon based on the email I received, so you can imagine my response when I opened my front door this afternoon to head out the door and a large envelope fell into the house.  I nearly fell over myself!!

We’ve been given VERY clear and specific instructions about what we can and cannot share, and the basic message is that the catalog must be shared in person.  I can tell you that it’s beautiful, that there are many gorgeous new stamp sets and papers, and that the new Color Renovation has been carried out beautifully.  There are products and accessories for every color as well as “kits” of new products to fill in the gaps – for example, you can purchase markers in just the new colors to complete your set of Many Marvelous Markers.

As I have more time to go through this catalog I’ll try to include more insights.  It’s a wonderful catalog and we’ll all get a great deal of pleasure from this offering!

Steppin’ up

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I’m working on projects for workshops coming up and I’m struggling.  My personal card-making style tends to be in the “More is More” category, and not so much in the KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetie) department.  All of my workshops are totally hands on – I don’t demonstrate anything, I just pass out the paper, stamps and ink and let everyone play.  If there are too many steps or the steps are too advanced, new stampers get overwhelmed.

My solution is to make two versions of a card.  There’s one for everyone to make, and another to let them see where they can take the card.  Here’s the starter version:

Cheep Talk Four Square

  • Cheep Talk and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Taken with Teal, Barely Banana and Pink Passion card stock
  • Taken with Teal and Pink Passion Classic ink pads
  • 1 1/4 inch and Scallop Square punches
  • Bitty Buttons, Itty Bitty punch pack and Tombo All-Purpose Adhesive

Do you see the peek at the inside of the card?  Taken with Teal is too dark for correspondence so I include a Whisper White panel inside, and the little heart from Cheep Talk is stamped in the corner just for fun.

Here’s Version 2 (and it’s the same card stock – operator error with the camera is responsible for the color discrepancy):

Cheep Talk Four Square Version 2

Same supplies as above PLUS:

  • Wood Grain stamp
  • Whisper White Craft ink, Heat tool and White Embossing powder
  • Paper Piercing tool, template and mat
  • So Saffron striped grosgrain ribbon and Linen Thread
  • 1/8 inch hole punch (non-SU) and Crystal Effects
  • Corner rounder and Modern Label punch
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals

Perhaps you prefer the first card – a lot of people like a simpler look.  Every now and then I get into a Clean and Simple kind of mood, but I don’t think this first sample even qualifies there — too many layers.  Either way, the cards are bright and whimsical and get the message across:  I’m thinking of you!

Good-Bye (Kiwi) Kiss

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One thing that crafters in all mediums have in common is a stash.  We hoard special goodies we bought at that out-of-the-way shop we found while traveling, expensive goodies we splurged on in some high-end store, or perhaps most precious, RETIRED goodies.  These are things we can’t get anymore.

I have goodies in all three catagories, but I’m finally relenting and using up some of my retired and retiring paper.  Stampin’ Up! has announced a Color Renovation effective July 1 (You haven’t heard?  Have you been off the planet?) and there just isn’t room for ALL of the old and ALL of the new.  One of my stashes is Kiwi Kiss – paper, ink, and ribbon – and I’m going to use it up. (gasp!)

Colour Q Challenge 33 Vintage Vogue

  • Vintage Vogue and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets; Very Vintage Wheel
  • Kiwi Kiss, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White and Summer Sun card stock
  • Kiwi Kiss, Soft Suede and Summer Sun Classic ink pads; Whisper White Craft ink pad
  • 1 1/4 inch, 1 3/8 inch square punches; Round tab punch; 1/8 inch circle punch (non-SU)
  • Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon; White gel pen
  • Big Shot and Lattice Impressions Folder

This is a Colour Q Challenge and when I saw it included Kiwi Kiss my first thought was to substitute Old Olive and continue hoarding my precious stash.  When I put the colors (oops!  Colours!) together I realized the brighter tone of the Kiwi Kiss made a big difference and I decided to be brave.  What’s the point of hoarding something if you never intend to use it?

I’m feeling very brave…maybe it’s time to go take a look into my closet.   Maybe…

It’s gettin’ kinda Birdy around here…

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Don’t know what it is about me and birds recently…I must be picking up Bird-Vibes from the cat.  He sits at the sliding glass door in the kitchen and watches the birds.  When they get too close to the door he barks.  Seriously.  He has this goofy sound he makes that sounds like a bark.  We refer to it as his “Birdy Bark”, and that should tell you all you need to know about how wacky this household is.  I think we’d better move onto the card before I  reveal any more deep, dark family secrets:

Elements of Style Ruby Throated Hummingbird

  • Elements of Style and Vintage Labels (SAB) stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry and Garden Green card stock
  • Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper
  • Sahara Sand and Garden Green Classic ink pads
  • Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Garden Green and Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write markers
  • Rich Razzleberry and Garden Green Classic ink refills; Aquapainter
  • Big Shot and Lattice Impressions folder
  • Scallop Trim border punch; Piercing tool, template and mat
  • Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon

I really threw the tool box at this card!  I used the Sahara Sand ink pad to lay down the beautiful roses on the Vanilla card stock and then watercolored them with the Aquapainter and the ink refills.  I used markers directly on the stamp to color the hummingbird  and although the colors aren’t perfectly true to life I’m happy with the result.  Just in case you’re wondering, that’s not a new taffeta ribbon – I folded it in half – OK, the truth is I brought it downstairs and IRONED it in half.  It wouldn’t stay when I folded it.  The things I do to get a card just right!

Uh-oh.  Somebody’s barking again.  One of these days those sassy Mynah birds are gonna let him have it.

Cheery and Cheep

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a color challenge – I’ve made notes about at least half a dozen of them but that’s as far as they’ve gotten – until today.  So many challenges, so little time!  Fortunately, the Color Dare 67 challenge was a winner and the card practically made itself:

Cheep Talk Color Dare 67

  • Cheep Talk stamp set
  • Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant card stock
  • Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant Classic ink pads
  • Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write marker
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • 1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ Circle Punches
  • Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Bitty Buttons and linen thread
  • Big Shot and Lattice Impressions folder

I’m very proud of myself; ANOTHER one-stamp-set-card!  Stampin’ Up! really does a great job of assembling complementary images in a stamp set – I’ve done so many very different cards using just Cheep Talk.  It’s a great value, in my humble opinion.  And as long as I’m running a commercial, have I mentioned how much I love this Lattice Impressions folder?  The two sides, front and back, have a very different look, and the texture is so deep and condensed that it really creates something entirely different from the original sheet of paper.

I’m hooked on Bitty Buttons, too – another “nah, I don’t need it” product when I saw it in the Mini Catalog, but then Robbie brought some over and I couldn’t resist them.  I love that they’re clear, that there are little bitty punches that match them, and that they’re small enough that they don’t overwhelm a project.  I REALLY hope they make it into the 2010-2011 catalog…but I feel that way about a lot of mini catalog products.  Carpe diem and all that.  Use the buttons today!!

Regal Roses

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The beautiful flowers in the new Elements of Style stamp set have to be old fashioned roses.  My grandmother had a beautiful pink rose that looked much like this growing on the fence in her back yard.  It was pink and it was named Carol – my mother’s name – and Gramsie took great pride in it.  All of the roses in her garden had such intoxicating scents – one time she gave me a bouquet to take back to school after I visited her, and a complete stranger actually stopped me and asked to smell them up close.  I imagine these roses to have that kind of wonderful fragrance:

Elements of Style Regal Roses

  • Elements of Style stamp set
  • Certainly Celery and Regal Rose card stock;  Watercolor paper
  • Sahara Sand Classic ink pad;  Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write marker
  • Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Regal Rose Classic ink refills
  • Scallop Trim Border punch; Aquapainter
  • Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Satin Ribbon

I’m debating on whether or not I should add a sentiment.  The watercolor paper has quite a bit of texture so I’m not sure I would get the look I want.  I think I’ll add the appropriate message to the inside of the card when I’m ready to send it.  I like to have a few “ready to personalize” cards set aside for special occasions.

Are you wondering where that Sahara Sand Classic ink is?  When I want to watercolor something with this much detail but I don’t want to see the lines on the finished card, I use Sahara Sand to put the image on the paper and then use the Aquapainter to add my color.  If you look really closely you’ll see some lines in some of the roses, but for the most part the Sahara Sand ink disappears.  Pretty sneaky, wouldn’t you say?

Now we’re hummin’…

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I grew up in Santa Barbara.  It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the country, tucked between the mountains and the ocean and blessed with beautiful weather all year round.  I’ve always joked that being raised in that temperate climate has given me a 7 degree comfort zone – I like it between 75° and 82° – and it’s really not much of a joke.  Moving to Maui over 20 years ago was a glorious adjustment!

One of the things that Maui lacks and Santa Barbara has in abundance is the hummingbird.  I love the brilliant colors, the zoom-zoom as they zip by, and their arrogant little territorial attitudes about feeders.  I can even pick out the sound of a hummer singing, though it took me a long time to learn that song.   Tough as hummingbirds are, the commute from the Mainland to the Hawaiian Islands is tougher, and we have to settle for paper hummers:

Hummingbird Elements of Style

  • Elements of Style stamp set
  • Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery and Tempting Turquoise card stock
  • Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery and Tempting Turquoise Classic ink pads
  • 1 and 1 1/4″ circle punches, Black Stampin’ Write Marker, Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Certainly Celery 5/8″ satin ribbon, Golden Glow Smooch Spritz, Paper snips
  • Big Shot and the Lattice Textured Impressions Folder

I’ll thank you to notice that I managed to make a card using only ONE stamp set today!!

That new Lattice Impressions folder gives amazing results.  First of all, there are two patterns – a basketweave for the positive side and an open lattice for the negative side – take your pick.  Secondly, the impressions are so deep and so close together that it completely changes the character of the paper.  The paper softens, but has a beefier heft (I know, not a very kind description) and I think it will be really interesting to try in 3-D projects.  Stay tuned for more on this subject!