Author Archives: mauistamper

A little birdie told me…

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I should have ordered this punch!  I know, I know, I have a LOT of Stampin’ Up! goodies.  And I am very happy with what I have.  I run into problems when I go over to a friend’s house to play and she has toys that I don’t have.   (No, I am not 7 years old.)  I start to play, I get ideas, I go online and find more ideas, and before I know it, guess what’s at the top of my Wish List!

Bird Punch Pocket Notes

  • Extra Large Two-Step Bird, Scallop Trim and corner rounder punches
  • Real Red, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink card stock
  • Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Satin ribbon
  • Tombo Adhesive and Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write marker
  • Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel and Pretty in Pink Jumbo Ink Cartridge

My inspiration for this pocket note is  Becky Robert’s little note .  I really liked her placement and proportions, and you can see I was very faithful to them.  I added the simple pocket to dress up the presentation.  You can make a pocket like this with just a few steps:

  1. Cut a piece of cardstock 4 1/4″ x 11″ (here I used Pretty in Pink)
  2. Score at 5 1/2″ and 8 1/2″
  3. Cut off 1 1/4″ from the last score, making your last section 1 1/4″ wide
  4. Zig Zag fold to create a pocket
  5. Tie ribbon around the pocket to hold it in place – no adhesive is needed

Here’s the note outside of the pocket:

Pocket note and pocket

This little bird is just the right size for a card or page embellishment.  There are so many different ways of mixing and matching patterns to create different birds, real or imagined!   I’ve seen some beautiful birds that are very faithful to their feathered counterparts – this Chickadee is a great example.   I wonder if I could make a sassy Mynah bird?

Valentine Bouquet

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I’m not a huge fan of punch art, but I do like 3-D projects.  These little flowers seem to be a cross-over project between the two:

Flowers from the Full Heart punch

Do you ever struggle with a concept that is perfectly shaped in your head but won’t take that shape underneath your hands?  No comments about the condition of my head, please!!   These flowers are cuter on their own than as a group.  I think I broke the Rule of Odds – odd numbers in an arrangement – and that may be why it doesn’t look quite right to me.  I don’t have any artistic training, so my problem-solving techniques amount to trial and error.

These were simple to make.

  1. Punch 6 hearts with the Full Heart punch.
  2. Use a sponge dauber to define the edges  of 5 hearts; stamp, emboss or texture each.  Score down the center and crease.
  3. Use the 6th heart as a base.  Attach 5 hearts in flower shape with Tombo Adhesive.
  4. Punch a 3/4″ circle of cardstock.  Layer the flower, the cardstock circle and a button and pierce through button holes with piercing tool.
  5. Set aside the button.  Use a needle and threat to tie the circle and button together with linen thread.
  6. Place the button on top of the flower and circle.  Use fine craft wire to attach the flower, circle and button to a bamboo skewer, twisting securely on the back.  Trim ends and bend in towards skewer to avoid sharp edges.

Back view of Heart Flower

It took me about 40 minutes to make 8 of these.  I’ll bet you could do them faster!

Sweet Baby Laundry Bags

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My dear friend Crystal is getting closer to her due date.  At her shower last month, she received a gift in the cutest little gift bag.  I looked at it and thought “I could MAKE that!”  Last week, I finally sat down to do just that:

Sweet Baby Girl Laundry Bag

Can you stand it? It’s so cute it makes your face hurt when you look at it, doesn’t it?   I’m still grinning.

Of course the baby boys need their own version:

Sweet Baby Boy Laundry Bag

  • Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pad
  • Vintage Labels SAB , Teeny Tiny Wishes, and Sock Monkey Accessories stamp sets
  • Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, and Taken with Teal card stock
  • Big Shot and Build A Bear Beary Essentials die
  • Linen Twine, Rose Red and Pumpkin Pie 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon, Bermuda Bay Polka Dot ribbon, and Pretty in Pink 5/8″ Satin ribbon
  • Wide oval , Curly label , Heart to Heart, Horizontal Slot and Tag Corner punches; 1/16″ hand held punch
  • Tombo Adhesive, Mini Glue dots, 1/2″ Library Clips, Vintage Brads, and sponge daubers

I wanted to make these with colored bags, but I couldn’t find anything that wouldn’t compete with the outfits.  Remember, I live on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!  It’s kinda country here.

A few things to note:

  1. The linen twine is attached to the bag by piercing holes with a large needle and threading the twine through.
  2. The brads looked sort of like clothes pins to me, but I had to trim the sharp points off with my Craft and Rubber scissors.  Be really careful with those sharp little bits of metal.
  3. The little garments are held in place with glue dots – the brads and clips are more decorative than functional

I’d love to see what you do with this idea, and would appreciate a link back to this post if you publish your work.  Have fun!

Hello Neighbor! SASC37

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What a cheery neighborhood this must be!  This new set from Sale-a-bration lends itself to so many concepts.  I’ve seen row houses and suburban neighborhoods, as well as  country estates surrounded by orchards.  I wanted to play with the Stampin’ Addicts sketch challenge, so I kept the image small.

Good Neighbors stamps with Welcome Neighbors paper

  • Good Neighbors (SAB) and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive and Crushed Curry card stock
  • Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper Pad (SAB)
  • Pumpkin Pie, Bermuda Bay and Old Olive Classic stamp pads
  • Aquapainter, Old Olive and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Markers and a blender pen
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig, Linen Twine, paper Snips and Stampin’ Dimensionals

The colors in the Welcome Neighbor stamp pad are bright and cheerful but they coordinate well.  I love the 6″ square size for use in cardmaking – it keeps the proportions right.  And the Stampin’ Addicts challenge was a great one, though it took a while to get the dimensions just right!  If I have time I’ll post them later.  I’m off to the beach with my son and my middle daughter – she leaves tonight to go back to Boston where they are reporting a “severe weather watch”.   She loves the excitement of the city, the stimulation of university life, and the companionship of her friends.  The weather, well, she’s not so thrilled with that, but it’s part of the deal.

I’m missing her already.

Very Cool Envelopes

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So have you been through the Occasions Mini?  Marked it up and made your wish list?

Hijack:  You know you have Wish List Issues when your Wish List is on an Excel spreadsheet.  You have BIG Issues if your Wish List is an Excel workbook with multiple sheets.

Back to our regularly scheduled topic.  One (well, two) of the things I spotted in the new Mini was (OK, it should be were, I’m into subject/verb agreement)….ANYWAY….I’m talking about the glassine envelopes.  I liked the little die cut Hugs and Kisses Love Notes that were pictured right below the envelopes, but it was really the envelopes that got my attention.  They’re just so cool!

Hugs and Kisses in Glassine Envelopes

I mean, you can see through them!  And they’re so smooth, and they’re kind of crackle-y, and yes, I admit it, I’m a bit of a dork about paper.  Can you see the tiny little heart Rub-on I put onto the rectangular envelope?  It’s retired, and I should have resisted it, but I couldn’t.

Hugs and Kisses Sending Love Notes

  • Hugs and Kisses Sending Love Notes; Rectangle and Square Glassine Envelopes
  • Vintage Vogue, Simply Said, and Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Sets
  • Whisper White and Bermuda Bay card stock
  • Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand and Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink pads
  • Orchid Opulence Stampin’ Write marker and a Blender Pen
  • Heart to Heart Punch; Soft Suede Polka-Dot grosgrain ribbon; Circle Ice Rhinestone brads
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals

Stampin’ Up! has commited that the Vintage Vogue stamp set will be in the 2010 -2011 Idea Book and Catalog and I’ve gotta tell you, that’s good news.  The more I stamp with this set the more ideas I come up with.  If it’s not on your spreadsheet, workbook, or back-of-the-envelope wish list,  maybe you should think about it again.

Sweet Pea Garden

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There are a LOT of little pieces in the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt assortment!  I started this card and the card you saw yesterday at the same time, but this one – the simpler one – was more difficult to finish, mostly because I couldn’t leave it alone.  Duh.  Maybe I should take a memo on this.  Simple = OK.  Sweet Pea Garden

  • Oval All stamp set
  • Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink and Very Vanilla card stock
  • Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad; Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink and Rose Red Stampin’ Write markers
  • Sweet Pea Stitched Felt and Mini glue dots; Aquapainter
  • Scallop Oval, Oval and Small Oval punches; Stampin’ Dimensionals; 1/2″ Library Clips

Doesn’t quite qualify as simple, does it?  Ah well, I still like it.

Did you notice the stems on the flowers?  I drew them.  (Ta da!!) I’m rather proud of that, because I’m not confident about drawing.  Somehow a straight line with a little tiny leaf didn’t seem so scary.  Within that little confession lies the seed of my love of stamping.  I’ve always enjoyed crafts, but drawing has always been intimidating.  Stamping provides the images and allows me the creative freedom to manipulate them as I choose.  It does the drawing for me!

Sweet Pea Mojo – Mojo121

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I’ve been looking at these Sweet Pea Stitched Felt embellishments (117266, $7.95) on my craft table for weeks.  What should have been simple became really complicated in my head.  About a week ago, I saw a VERY simple card that really appealed to me, and that provided the Mojo to make this card come together.  Of course, my card isn’t simple, and we’ve already discussed my challenges with the Clean and Simple Style, so we don’t need to go back there again.

Sweet Pea Stitched Felt Mojo121

  • Simply Said and Well Scripted stamp sets
  • Naturals Ivory, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink and Rose Red card stock
  • Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack
  • Old Olive, Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip Classic ink pads; Very Vanilla Craft ink pad
  • Sweet Pea Stitched Felt, Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, piercing tool, sponge dauber
  • Oval Scallop punch, Oval punch, Corner rounder punch
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals, Mini Glue dots and Aquapainter

Check out that pink houndstooth paper.  It’s printed in Pretty in Pink on white, and when I realized I’d stamped my image on Naturals Ivory I thought I was going to have to start over.  I’d seen someone try this trick, though, and it works:  use a sponge dauber to rub Very Vanilla craft ink across the printed paper.  The combination of the smooth paper and the creamy consistency of the craft ink allows you to get nice even coverage that makes the papers blend well together.

There are a lot of layers on this card, but to my eye they’re subtle.  The Mojo Monday team did a great job with this week’s sketch, creating something out of the ordinary but not unreasonable.  I really enjoy playing along with this sketch challenge, and though I can’t fit it in every week, it’s a pleasure when I do.

Clean and Simple

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I’m not sure that I have an identifiable style, but whatever it is I do, it is generally NOT clean and simple.  Clean and simple (CAS) cards have few if any layers.  They use limited embellishment and generally have a lot of white space.

When Kellie came over last week, she brought a few photos she’d printed from various websites as inspiration.  Kellie really likes clean and simple cards, and  she showed me was THIS beautiful design from Ronda Camire.  It was such a pretty card that I had to give CAS a try.

Vintage Vogue Clean and Simple

  • Vintage Vogue Clear Mount Stamp set
  • Whisper White card stock
  • Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, and the Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Fine Supernova Stampin’ Glitter in Chocolate Chip and Tombo Multipurpose Adhesive
  • Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol – Shimmer Spray
  • Scoring tool

I know, I know, it’s kind of a long supply list for a CAS card – but there’s only ONE color of card stock!!  And yes, I know they are Clear Mount stamps and I shouldn’t need the Stamp-a-ma-jig, but I stamped the sentiment in Pretty in Pink and we agreed it was kind of wimpy, so I had to line up the sentiment in Chocolate Chip.

Do you know that the Shimmer Paints are still available from Stampin’ Up! ??  I was planning on buying a case of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (#116806, $5.95) and keeping it in my fridge so it wouldn’t dry out.  I’m really pleased it’s been extended beyond the Holiday Mini catalog.  I was going to have to label it “Champagne” to get away with keeping it in the fridge.

If you somehow missed making Shimmer Spray, it’s as easy as can be.  Put a few drops – literally – of Shimmer Paint into a fine mist spray bottle and add ordinary household rubbing alcohol – my bottle holds 3 oz.  Shake and spray onto your projects for a subtle shimmery sparkle that doesn’t come off on your clothes, furniture, pets, or other items that shouldn’t shimmer.  You can add more Shimmer Paint if you prefer, but you get plenty of sparkle from just a few drops.  Not that we have to hoard it anymore!

So very Charming

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The February Stampin’ Success magazine had an article about combining purple and yellow.  It’s a bold combination that I’ve always loved, though I tend to mute one hue or the other.   I also tend towards monochromatic color schemes, so it was easy to start with Lovely Lilac and Almost Amethyst.

Charming in purples and yellows

  • Charming, Bella Toile and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac card stock
  • Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst and So Saffron Classic Ink pads
  • Styled Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware, Piercing tool and template, small oval punch
  • Paper snips, So Saffron 5/8″ Grosgrain (last year’s SAB) and Stampin’ Dimensionals

I started defining the Lovely Lilac panel with scoring, but it was just too subtle.  If you know me at all, you know I’m not subtle.  Nope.  I wanted to line up my piercing template with the scored lines, and by using my Grid Paper, I was able to do a pretty successful job of it.  And yes, I did go a little over-the-top on the trimming of the floral spray.  It was just one of those things that had to be done.  Good thing I had a nice sharp pair of snips!

Monkey Be Mine

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The Late Night Stampers issue a challenge every Monday, and yesterday’s challenge was to create a Valentine.  How easy is that?  If we wanted an extra challenge, we could make it a masculine Valentine.  And what could be more masculine than Sock Monkey?  (oooh, I’m gonna pay for that!  I’m talking BOY masculine, not MAN masculine, OK??)

Monkey Be Mine

  • Sock Monkey and Contempo Alphabet stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Ruby Red, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa card stock
  • Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink Class Ink pads
  • Aquapainter, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Paper Snips and the Heart to Heart punch
  • On Board Essentials chipboard, Sponge Daubers, and the Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Pretty in Pink 1/4″ grosgrain, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals, and Tombo adhesive

This was Round 2 for the Monkey in the Frame.  Round 1 was so busy it gave me a headache to look at, so I pulled it apart and started over.  I really hate it when I sit and stare at a project and can’t decide what to do with it.  Sometimes that happens early in the project, sometimes it happens late in the project, and sometimes the whole project, well, it shoulda stayed on the back burner a while longer.

By the way…do you have a pair of Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips (#103579, $9.95)?  If you don’t, you really should consider investing in a pair.  Yes, it’s an investment, not a glamorous sparkly kind of purchase, but every time you pick them up you’ll say “Wow!  Why did I wait so long to buy these things?? They’re AMAZING!!”  Tools make the project.  If you don’t have a good pair of Snips, you won’t want to cut out the Monkey (or the flower spray, or the heart, or whatever.)  And you’ll miss out on that satisfied feeling you get when you look at something and realize it’s Just Right because you trimmed it out so well.