Author Archives: mauistamper

My Digital Studio

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Well, I’ve taken the leap and landed on both feet – at least for the first attempt!  I’ve had My Digital Studio for a couple of weeks, and have been trying to squeeze in the training and some play time.  One of the tasks I needed to complete for certification through Stampin’ Up!  was to design a card and have it printed by the printing service Stampin’ Up! has contracted.  My debut arrived yesterday afternoon and I am absolutely thrilled.

4th_Nov_09-001

I used the Summer Home Designer Series Papers with the Friends 24-7 Stamp brush set.   Friends 24-7 has been on my wish list for a long time, and now I have it – along with many, many other stamp sets – at the click of my mouse!

The part you can’t see from the upload – and this isn’t a scan, it’s a direct jpg from the MDS program – is the gorgeous quality of the printing and the paper.  I really ought to try a home print job on my inkjet printer, but I kinda hate to waste the ink because there’s no way it will compare with the look and feel of this card.  I’m something of a paper snob, and this paper is really beautiful.

Now, check out the inside:

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I know it’s hard to see, but there’s a gorgeous filigree image that continues across the entire inside of the card.  I was able to align the two pages perfectly using the tools in MDS, and faded the image out enough so that it creates a subtle watermark.  I’m really pleased.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to part with this card.  It’s stored on my hard drive and I can print another one any time I want one.  We’ll see.

For more information about My Digital Studio, click HERE or contact me.

Beautiful leaves

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Last month Ray and I were in New Hampshire and Boston to see the fall color and visit our daughter at Tufts University.  We got a little bit of everything in just over a week…gorgeous blue sky, cloudy sky, snow…brilliant leaves…great food…and of course, time with our favorite university student.  (I can say this now that her sister is graduated and her brother is still in high school.)  In Hawaii, leaves don’t change color much, so the sight of a tree like this really took our breath away.

Portsmouth-leaves

I’ve wanted to work with these colors since I got home, and this morning I had my opportunity.  I love the reds and oranges in the photo, and the way they contrast with the brilliant blue sky. Within 24 hours, by the way, we were looking at grey skies and snow, so that blue sky is a fond memory!  No blues in my card though…I had a different idea.

Autumn Days Leaf Wreath

  • Autumn Days, Woodgrain and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • More Mustard, Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and Naturals Ivory cardstock
  • More Mustard, Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Old Olive, and Pumpkin pie Classic Ink pad; Versamark ink pad
  • Dusty Durango Stampin’ Write marker and Aquapainter
  • Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, Vintage brads, piercing tool and mat pack, double rectangle punch, 3/4″ square punch and corner rounder punch
  • Tissue paper and Dotto

I wanted my wreath to have a nice circular shape, so I traced a circle very lightly with a pencil onto my cardstock before I started.  I think if I were to do it again, I would try to avoid getting ink on the stems of the leaves – they’re not a big deal, but I would be happier if they weren’t visible.   I just played with the leaves in the circle until I liked the pattern and fullness.  Of course, then I got the brilliant idea that the image needed the Woodgrain background.  I’m crazy, but I’m not crazy enough to cut out all those leaves for masking.  That’s nuts.  Seriously.

Instead, I placed a piece of tissue paper over the image, drew an arrow to indicate the top, and traced around the inside and outside perimeters of the wreath.  I did a rough cut around the edges and used a little Dotto to hold that mask in place.  When I stamped the Woodgrain, it looked a little stark so I blurred it with my Aquapainter.

The little banner isn’t pegged down completely flat – it has a little lift to it in real life.  Those lovely, symetrical corners were created with the corner of the square punch – you didn’t think I could get them like that on my own, did you? And just in case you don’t know the piercing tool and mat trick, that’s the way to get perfect placement for your brads anywhere on your project.

This is a 5 x 5 inch card, a size I almost never work with.  I think I’ll have to change that.

 

Flip scrapbooks

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Ah, Monday.  My To-Do list is long and the days grow shorter.  I’m struggling to do the things that must be done before I tackle the things I really want to do.  Being grown up and attentive to one’s responsibilities is such a challenge.  I think I enjoy stamping precisely because it allows me to forget that I’m a grown-up!

Saturday, I did a Flip Album class using Simply Scrappin’ kits.  (Topic derail:  I have such awesome customers.  They bring goodies, they laugh and share stories, and they make me feel like a genius.  Even when I’m not.  Thanks, friends!)  I gotta tell you, the Scrappin’ kits make this project an absolute breeze.  My friend Kellie had the absolutely BRILLIANT idea of adding a CD pocket to the design and I’ll be making a Christmas music CD to fill the pocket.

Olive_Jingle_Flip

  • Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin’ Kit
  • Real Red 1″ Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon
  • Sticky Strip

 

Red_Jingle_Flip

  • Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin’ Kit
  • Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon (retired)
  • Sticky Strip

These are a lot easier than you might think!  I’m a pretty visual person, so it helped me to hold an actual Flip Album in my hands while I read the directions.  If you’d like basic instructions, check THIS link for a PDF.  I made both of these with one Simply Scrappin’ kit and had plenty of resources left for at least one or two more.  If I get enough requests, I’ll take some photos of the inside.  Maybe.  If I’m feeling really grown up about the whole thing.

The Aquapainter, and Why You Need Ink Refills Part III

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I wanted some paper with Almost Amethyst and Summer Sun accents for a birthday card for my Mom.  I had some old Amethyst Designer Series Pattern paper, but it was much too understated for the look I wanted.  I wanted stripes.  I could visualize the stripes!  I pulled out my Aquapainter and some Whisper White cardstock and some Ink Refills, and I started to play.

Wonderful Watercolors birthday'

  • Wonderful Watercolors and Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set
  • Almost Amethyst, Summer Sun, Lovely Lilac and Whisper White cardstock
  • Lovely Lilac Classic stamp pad; Almost Amethyst and Summer Sun ink refills
  • Almost Amethyst, Summer Sun and Lovely Lilac Stampin’ Write markers
  • Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint,Scallop Circle punch, hand held rectangle punch (retired)
  • Uniball Signo Gel Pen, Piercing tool and mat, Stamp-a-ma-jig and White Taffeta ribbon

Don’t you like my stripes?  The Summer Sun should have been a little more intense, but I like the haphazard, random look of the pattern.  I’m playing with some other stripe combinations.  I’ll share them if I like them.  If I don’t…well, it’s just paper.

There’s a little Shimmer Paint mixed into the Summer Sun ink refill for the centers of the flowers.  Honestly, if that stuff doesn’t make it into the next Idea Book and Catalog I’ll be so disappointed.  Are you listening, Stampin’ Up!?

 

Tags in little boxes

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I’ve mentioned before – I’m a container kind of person.  I like little drawer organizers and things to hold stuff on my desk and Tupperware in my pantry and boxes for my shoes.  When I saw the Christmas Punch Hostess stamp set in the Idea Book and Catalog (page 14) I put the little box full of tags on my To Do list.

(Digression:  My To Do list is an act of faith and a work of art.  It has catagories and priorities and there is always more undone than done at the end of the day.  I hope it will always be that way.)

Crystal and I played around with the box until we liked it, and then added it to our tag class.  Peanut butter and Jelly.   Romeo and Juliet.   Tags in a box.  It had to be.

Tag_Class_Tags

Tag_Class_box

Sparkly and Bright

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Crystal and I did a Christmas tags class a few weeks ago.  I would plan anything with that woman.  She is extraordinarily creative, fun to be with, and to top it off, she appreciates my off-the-wall sense of humor.  We had two shifts of crafters come through her living room one Saturday, and there were a LOT of tags that went out the door.

Sparkly_Brite_tag

  • Sparkly and Bright stamp set
  • Kraft, Whisper White, and Handsome Hunter card stock
  • Chocolate Chip Classic stamp pad; Real Red Stampin’ Write marker
  • Real Red 3/4″ Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon
  • Big Shot and Stampin’ Up! Two Tags die
  • 1 3/8″ circle punch, Circle Scallop punch and UniBall Signo gel pen

I absolutely did NOT need this Bigz die until Crystal bought it.  As soon as I saw this tag, I knew I was in big, big trouble.  I could envision so many things in that little circle – Christmas trees, jack o’ laterns, birds, party hats, flowers, butterflies…any and every occasion.  She is a very bad influence.  It takes me 30 minutes to drive to her house (ie her craft room), but fortunately, she is only a few blocks from a) my husband’s office and b) my son’s high school.  I am trying to convince her to move next door to me, but so far no go.  Something about her house being 5 minutes from work.  Can you imagine how much trouble we could get into if she was only steps away??

 

(P.S.  Do not try to convince me to move closer to her.  Yes, I know it would be closer to my husband’s work.  Yes, I know it would be closer to my son’s school.  But I am a 5 minute walk from one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world and I am staying put.  I will buy my own Bigz Two Tags die if I have to.)

Decking the Halls

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I am all about simple-plus cute…so how about these ornaments?

Ornament_Tree

Yes, I know the tree is leaning.  It’s not – really – but I leaned when I took the picture, trying to get everything to fit in.  I ought to take another, but I have a thousand and one reasons not to.  And every single reason is just a lazy excuse, so there!

These little paper gems use 6 ornament punches, scored down the middle and attached to each other with Tombo Multipurpose adhesive.  Before I stuck the last two edges together I put a loop of Elastic Cord down the middle (gold or silver, Holiday Mini Catalog p. 27 $4.95).  When everything was dry I threaded a few beads on the bottom and tied a knot.  Personally, I kind of like the tails, but to each her own.

These go together in no time and are a very portable craft.  I don’t recommend trying to thread the beads when you’re out and about unless you have more patience and a steadier hand than I do.  I tend to mutter a lot when I add the beads, and appearing to talk to yourself without a cell phone or ear-bud in sight will attract some pretty odd looks.

Hugs and Kisses through the mail

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My Sara called yesterday.  She had a rough day.  College is like that – the learning experiences are multi–faceted and sometimes you feel kinda beat up.  As a matter of fact, life is like that, and it would be dreadfully dull if it weren’t.  She’s fine, and she’s making good decisions, but it would sure nice to be able to give her a hug.  This is as close as I’ll get to that until she’s home for Christmas:

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  • Simply Said and Define Your Life stamp sets; Texture Wheel
  • Basic Black, Bermuda Bay and Whisper White card stock
  • Basic Black and Bermuda Bay Classic Stamp pad
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig and Rhinestone brads

I sat down last night when the household quieted down to put together a love note for Sara.  It’s a relatively simple card, but I wanted the message to stand out.  I love the saturated Bermuda Bay In Color with the crisp black and white, and I think I should use brights this way more often.  Big bold colors aren’t usually my first choice, but this is a look I really like.  I hope Sara will like it too…at least more than Chemistry.

Shopping for the holidays, Stampin’ Up! style

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It wouldn’t be NovembeHoliday Gift Guide 2009r without a Stampin’ Up! special, now, would it??

Yes, I know I wrote yesterday about celebrating too early, but shopping is another thing.  I mean this sincerely.  If you leave your Christmas shopping for too late, it makes you grumpy (trust me, I know this.)  We would all like to give the perfect gift, and we have to invest thought and effort into finding those gifts – and that doesn’t happen on December 23rd (at least on Maui it doesn’t – everyone is sold out!)

Stampin’ Up! has ever so kindly created a Holiday Gift-Giving Guide to inspire you, and in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, there’s a gift for the giver, too!  From November 1 to January 4, every time you purchase $50 worth of products from the Holiday Gift-Giving Guide, you may select a free Decor Elements item with a value up to $16.95.   There are so many images for a variety of occasions that you’ll be tempted to spend in multiples – because there’s no limit to the number of free Decor Elements you can earn.

There’s also the Sweet Rewards promotion (choose any item from the Holiday Mini Catalog for $10 with a $250 workshop and purchase My Digital Studio for $40 with a $400 workshop) and the Digital Starter kit, your opportunity to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and jump in feet first with My Digital Studio.  Check the Promotions page on my website for more details.

Don’t forget to look around your crafting space for inspiration for other gifts…a stationery set, a mini-scrapbook, or a personalized package of goodies is a cost effective and thoughtful gift too.  Of course, a hand-made card is the finishing touch!

November, the month that gets cheated

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I love Christmas.  It’s a wonderful family holiday, and for me as for many, it’s a holy season as well.  I don’t like over-commercialization though, and it makes me crazy to hear Christmas music in stores in October.

(Quick diversion – my local Chico’s was playing Christmas music in early October, around the 7th or so.  I commented to my friend who works there how much I objected to it and she suggested I send an email to corporate.  I did, and received a nice reply  – then learned a week later that my email was forwarded to all the stores and they took the music off!!  WOO HOO!!  A company that listens…what a concept.)

So, back to topic…Christmas is in December.  And in my opinion, Christmas decorations and music belong in December.  That would be AFTER Thanksgiving, one of the best holidays in the American calendar.  But I am in the craft business, and everyone knows you cannot do all of your Christmas crafting in one month, especially when that one month is also crammed full of holiday parties, Christmas cookies, Christmas shopping and wrapping, school Christmas programs, Nutcrackers, Messiahs, Festivals of Trees, and the arrival of Santa in his Canoe (and yes, he does come in a Canoe, I have seen him myself).  I’ve posted a few other Christmas cards, and starting today you’ll see a few more.  You won’t see them every day, because this is the Thankful Month, but you’ll see enough.

All right, I’ll get off my soap box now.  I do tend to rant and rave.

Kraft_Navy_Ornament

  • Delightful Decorations, All Holidays, and Snow Swirled Stamp sets
  • Night of Navy, Whisper White and Kraft card stock
  • Night of Navy and Sahara Sand Classic Stamp pads
  • Big Shot and Petals a Plenty Embossing folder
  • Linen twine, Stampin’ Dimensionals and the Ornament punch

This is a card that is simple enough to produce in quantity without making a crafter any more insane that she/he already is.  (See how Politically Correct I am becoming??)  There are nearly endless color combinations you could use on this card too.  And note the tone-on-tone background on the card front – using a couple of sentiments is one of my favorite ways of adding texture to a card front.  I used to stamp randomly, but that didn’t work well because the words didn’t like being stamped on top of one another when I didn’t leave adequate space between images.  Now I start with one image and stamp it diagonally down the page.  I fill in with a second stamp in line with the first one, and continue across and down the paper.  If I have a third sentiment I’ll use that next , but as often as not, I just alternate two stamps across until the page is full.   A wheel would work really well too – I was just too lazy to go find my Jumbo Handle.

Enjoy Christmas crafting…but don’t forget the Thankful month.