Sweet Birds for the First of June

Posted on June 1, 2015 by mauistamper

June’s Easel calendar is one last look at the retiring set For the Birds:

If you saw the RemARKable Blog tour in May, you’ll remember that I featured this stamp set. It’s ideal for coloring with colored pencils.

Such happy little birds! If it wasn’t for Captain Stupidhead, I would have a bird bath in my yard. Come to think of it, he’s gotten so old that he doesn’t even look when they are on the lawn 6 feet in front of him. Maybe I’ll go bird-bath shopping…

Please take a look at what Crystal and Cheryl have done for the Merry Month of June. And happy crafting!

Happy Happy Birthday

Posted on May 31, 2015 by mauistamper

A friend celebrated a special birthday recently:

Stamps: Amazing Birthday
Color Palette: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Park Lane DSP, Mellow Moss ribbon, Stampin’ Trimmer, Stampin’ Dimensionals

The technique is a very simple one, but there are nearly endless options. I cut rectangles of DSP at 4″ x 1 1/2″ and then used my paper trimmer to cut them diagonally from corner to corner, creating a series of triangles. At that point, it’s just a matter of assembling them in a pleasing pattern.

I kept the sentiment and embellishment simple, as this is a Manly Card. The stamp from Amazing Birthday was inked in 3 colors and then cut into pieces with paper snips to create texture and color for the sentiment.

Just a couple of days until the new catalog goes live! June 2nd is the first day to order, and it’s going to be a busy day. Order early in the day – the system is supposed to open at 2am Mountain time, which is 10pm on June 1st Hawaii time. You can place your order HERE.

Weekly Deals

Posted on May 26, 2015 by mauistamper

Here are the Weekly Deals for the last week of May:

The Painted Blooms Designer Series paper has been a huge favorite with so many crafters – don’t miss it! Shop HERE.

Weekly Deals

Posted on May 19, 2015 by mauistamper

Here are this week’s DEALS:

Such beautiful colors and patterns! Snap ’em up HERE.

Banner Blessings

Posted on May 17, 2015 by mauistamper

It’s hard to keep track of all the great stamp sets we have!

This is Banner Blessings, a photopolymer set that was released in November. You won’t find it in a catalog, but it does appear in the Online Store under Stamps > Photopolymer.

It’s product #136720, and the price is $15.95. Sometimes you have to do a little looking around to find these gems!

It’s RemARKably hard to say GOODBYE

Posted on May 14, 2015 by mauistamper

Welcome to the May 2015 RemARKable Blog tour, where we explore all things GOODBYE. I’ve chosen to focus on the Stampin’ Up! 2014-2015 catalog retiring list, and I’ve based my projects around one of my favorite all-around stamp sets, For the Birds:

This is a (sort of) Clean and Simple card. There’s just one image, and there are no sentiments, but there are multiple layers. It’s a very quick card to assemble and employs one of my favorite card-making tricks: have plenty of cards on hand with NO SENTIMENT.

I could add Miss You, Sorry, Love You, Thinking of You, even Happy Birthday – or Happy New Baby in a real pinch! (It’s a nest – get it?)

If you’re lucky enough to have Blendbilities, For the Birds is a great choice because of the detail and variety, but today I chose to use colored pencils. If you’ve ever had a kid in grade school, you more than likely have colored pencils in your house. Even if there are no kids, colored pencils are inexpensive and working with them is easy and generally trouble free.

With this much magnification, you can see the shading, but the general effect is much more subtle. If you see a few fuzzy bits in that top left corner, your birdie-eye has spotted bits of the white jute ribbon cut apart and tucked behind the image.

For the Birds Clear #126407 $24.95 Wood #132001 $32.95

I must confess that when I spotted this DSP from the Back to Black (retiring) collection I did a little happy dance around my studio. FEATHERS. Need I say more?

Look closely and you’ll realize that I am no rock-star-pencil-colorist. But I do find it relaxing and enjoyable to play with shading and color, and this stamp set is a great all-around addition to your stamping birdhouse!

Enjoy the tour – I love the unique manner with which everyone interprets the theme – and I’ll see you here next month. Head over to see what Heather Mathiesen has created!

Weekly Deals

Posted on May 12, 2015 by mauistamper

Here are the deals for this week. I got home this morning from a wonderful time with family so they are a couple of days late. You’ve got until Monday night!

Shop HERE.

Love my birdies!

Posted on May 11, 2015 by mauistamper

Tomorrow is the RemARKable Blog Tour. I’m featuring For the Birds, and I have a little sneak peek for you today:

Stamps: For the Birds, Dictionary (both retiring)
Color Palette: Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Colored Pencils (non-SU), All is Calm Washi (Clearance Rack), Stampin’ Dimensionals

This image is intentionally a little stark – I think it adds to the feeling of missing someone. That washi tape was serendipitous, as in my mind it looks quite USPS-y. (That’s a word because I wrote it out and that makes it so.)

Don’t be afraid of coloring pencils – they’re very easy to use and the colors are very forgiving. Plus there’s always an eraser. Really, I should use pencil more often.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow afternoon for the RemARKable tour!

So Happy Together, Reprise

Posted on May 9, 2015 by mauistamper

There are weddings coming up!

Stamps: A Dozen Thoughts, I Like You (Host)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Blush Blossom, Rose Red
Accessories: Something Borrowed DSP, White Jute ribbon, Deco Labels framelits, Big Shot, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Pearls

The Something Borrowed DSP is a bit of a sleeper. The designs are subtle and understated, and there are 6 designs, with 4 sheets of each design combination – still a total of 12 pages. Don’t miss it – it’s beautiful and very versatile.

The flowers are colored with Stampin’ Write markers. They are well suited for this sort of small, detailed coloring, and it goes quickly. Take another look at this host set, I Like You. Personally, I think the name is dumb and does the set an injustice, but I’m not in charge (and yes, we are all very happy about that.) There are just a few more days to earn this set as a free Host Benefit. Shop HERE.

Happy (Sparkly) Birthday

Posted on May 7, 2015 by mauistamper

If I were in charge (and you should be glad this is not the case) I would not retire Perfect Pennants:

I would also not retire Back to Black DSP, unless of course I had a brand new, Black and White/Vanilla DSP waiting in the wings (that would blow my socks off). Just sayin’ Stampin’ Up!