It was an Extravaganza!

Posted on October 16, 2013 by mauistamper

Our annual holiday crafting kickoff is always such a good time. You would think I could remember to take some photos during the day – but no…

This week I’ll share the projects we made. I’m not giving step-by-step instructions, but you’re all so clever you’ll figure it out 🙂

This clever bag a la gift card holder was inspired by Cathy Parlitsis. The big, beautiful bow from the Sizzix Bigz Bow die seemed like a natural on the front! The bag is folded to create a pocket on the front as well as one at the top for a little note card.

I fiddled around with different ways of making the gift card accessible from the pocket, but ultimately found that a simple solution worked the best. This is just a piece of card stock folded with enough offset to create a little tab at the top. There’s a piece of washi across the front and a little message at the top – you could do more, but why? This was handled a lot during our classes, so I used a glue dot to secure the gift card to the “lifter”, but it really isn’t necessary.

I’m looking forward to playing with this idea a little more – the variations are endless. I guess that’s what we all love so much about stamping, isn’t it? If you’d like to learn more, I hope you’ll join the Maui Stampers team. For just $25 you’ll get a business pack to get you rolling plus $26.95 in Stampin’ Up! product. There’s no risk and oh-so-much to gain – learn more HERE

Didja see this week’s DEALS? Hummm baby…this is becoming addictive 🙂

Shop today in the Online Store!

It’s RemARKably Ornamental!

Posted on October 12, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the Maui Stamper edition of the RemARKable Stamp of the Month Blog Tour!

We are featuring two sets – Harvest of Thanks and the Christmas Ornament stamp and punch set. Here on Maui, while we are VERY VERY thankful, we don’t use a lot of the traditional harvest-associated images. Now, if Stampin’ Up! came up with a stamp set showing how sugar cane is harvested, or the line of pickers than go through a pineapple field, well, THAT would be a Harvest stamp set I could use!! But I digress…I am skipping ahead to Christmas.

I wanted to play with these little ornaments. We’ve had ornament sets and punches in the past, and I wanted to do something different. It occurred to me that they were shaped a bit like a lightbulb, and that made a big lightbulb go off in my head! (I’ll bet you wish you’d been there to see it!)

I stamped and punched a small heap of ornaments, used the pokey doodle (Hey, Heather Summers calls it that and I can too) to put little holes at the top, and strung them on Linen Thread (please, PLEASE, Stampin’ Up! – don’t EVER retire Linen Thread.)

There’s a giant EASY BUTTON on this project – it would be fun and pretty stress-free to do with little kids, a class full of bored 4th graders, or just about anyone who wanted an alternative to stringing popcorn. You could step it up in so many ways…but not today.

I wouldn’t turn really little kids loose on this one…but it’s another fun one! Stamp and punch 6 ornaments, score them down the middle and adhere them back to back. Before you stick the last two sides together (I use Tombo, the Wonder Adhesive) slip a little beading wire twisted with a loop on top into the fold. Slip a bead on the other end and then slide the ends into your paper tassle.

The paper tassel is just a strip of paper (mine was 2 1/2″ by 6″) cut almost to the top at 1/8″ or 1/16″ increments. It is VERY easy to do with our paper trimmer – it slides through that DSP like buttah – but you need to go slowly as you begin each cut. Put some SNAIL across the top, roll it up, and cover it with a little bit of ribbon and you have a tassel!

The possibilities are endless!

That’s all for me today – but for more (practically endless!) possibilities, continue on through the RemARKable tour. Robin is next and I’m sure you’ll love her crafty genius!

Nancy Amato           http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger      http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley     http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Susan Carlson         http://stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis            http://www.thecardladies.com
Connie Deibler         http://www.conniestamps.com
Danielle Denhardt    http://www.purrfectlycreative.com
Sherri Eddleblute      http://www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com
Crystal Kondo           http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh               http://thestampinhut.typepad.com
Anne Matasci            http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Robin Merriman        http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Audra Monk              http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com
Maria Pane               http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler                http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds     http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Vicki Soni                  http://www.paperinkle.com
Pam Staples             http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com
Jeri St. John             https://jerrisgemtastics.blogspot.com
Jeannette Swain       http://www.stampsnwhatnot.com
Janet Wakeland        http://www.remarkablycreated.com

Ooo! Boo!

Posted on October 1, 2013 by mauistamper

So Scary!!

(NOT)

Googly Ghouls (retired)
Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie card stock
Black Staz-on ink
Pumpkin Pie FFIP
Blender Pen
Self-stick Googlie eyes (retired)

I’m sorry about the retired stamps and the Googlie eyes – these monthly calendar cards were done as a class in January of this year, and this stamp set was current back then! Those Googlie Eyes were one of the best ideas the Home Office had, and these goofy characters are my favorite Halloween images ever. So sad they’re both retired.

Today is the last day for Early Bird sign-ups for ACCE – Anne and Crystal’s Christmas Extravaganza! Save $5 PER CLASS by signing up today for one, two or three fantastic classes!

Cards class: 4 standard cards, 4 gift enclosures, $10 BYO adhesive

Packages Class: 2 Boxes, 2 gift card/money cards, and a box-in-a-bag, $20 BYO adhesive

Multi-media class: A canvas creation that will take your mad crafting skills in brand new directions! $25 includes ALL supplies

This is a VERY simplified version of what you can do. We are REALLY hoping you’ll join us for this one – it’s going to be amazing!!!

Something RemARKably Different

Posted on September 14, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the September RemARKable 25th Anniversary Blog tour! This month I’m working WAY outside of my usual comfort zone!

Stampin’ Up! demonstrators who went to Convention 2013 might have seen Carrie Cudney’s presentation on Living a Creative Life. She showed us three mixed media canvases, and I was inspired to try my own. Talk about a learning experience!! And photographing this was a challenge. I’ve got some detailed pictures to help you get a better feeling of what this really looks like.

Here’s a closer look at my cat wearing the Sorting Hat from the Best of Halloween stamp set. The cat was based on the Frightening Feline MDS image and was sketched onto Witches Brew DSP and cut out.

Linen thread whiskers were dragged through Basic Black ink, and Rhinestone Jewels were colored with a Sharpie® marker.

The background DSP is also from Witches Brew, and I masked a circle to create a full moon. One of the things I learned is that if you apply Mod Podge before you add in your color, the color doesn’t sink into the paper (DUH). Although it would dry, as soon as I tried to add anything over it the color would move. My background ended up being darker than I would have liked, but I learned something!

That’s Witches Brew Washi tape in the top left corner.

I took the spiderweb idea straight from Carrie’s project. I used a black marker for the lines, then added Black Stampin’ Glitter (which did not photograph well at all, so imagine lots of sparkle here!)

The bats are already on the DSP, the lines and blotches are from Gorgeous Grunge, and Trick or Treat is from the Best of Halloween.

The pumpkin uses the Extra Large Oval punch, the Bird punch (the wing is the leaf) and LOTS of sponging. The orange glitter is kind of everywhere, but at least it shows in the photo! And btw, Mr. Maui Stamper has seen this project and neither he nor I have mentioned said glitter. If you don’t acknowledge it, it doesn’t exist.

This corner photo gives you a better idea for the feeling of the whole project – and a good look at that spooky tree from Best of Halloween.

Here’s the cat’s tail and a view of the haunted house. I used white chalk – classroom type – to outline the cat in hopes of giving it more definition. This photo also gives you an idea of the way the ink moved around when I put the final coat of Mod Podge on – very annoying. I won’t make that mistake twice!

This stamp set is especially well suited to tags!

I used one of the Bitty Label punches to create a little interest around the opening for the ribbon. Did you know that gorgeous black and grey striped ribbon from last year is now available as part of the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit? I was VERY happy to see that!

One last look at the tag…and it’s time to head over to Trinity Design Studios to see what Robin has up her sleeve! The tour logo below will take you there, or click on the link in the list of blogs at the bottom of the post. Thanks for stopping by!

Nancy Amato http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger                 http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley    http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Susan Carlson    http://stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis http://www.thecardladies.com
Sherri Eddleblute                http://www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com/
Kathy Hamrick http://www.countryroads.typepad.com/
Crystal Kondo    http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh    http://thestampinhut.typepad.com/
Anne Matasci                    http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com      YOU ARE HERE!!!
Robin Merriman http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Maria Pane    http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler    http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds    http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Sharon Tisdale      http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/coveredbridgesstamper/blog
Janet Wakeland   http://www.remarkablycreated.com

It’s a RemARKable Autumn

Posted on September 7, 2013 by mauistamper

Trick or Treat!

Halloween goodies – or a bag full of Creepy Crawlies? I’m hoping for treats, not tricks.

The Halloween Bash stamp set has fun images to play with, and I thought these tickets were just the thing to add to the top of my tag. They’ve got a little sparkle courtesy of Vanilla Smooch spritz. And the hole for that gorgeous ribbon at the top is made with the small ticket punch – it makes a generous opening. I’ve used the beautiful black and grey striped ribbon that’s available again as part of the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory kit.

I stamped the main image once in Tangerine Tango, then again in Black Staz-on. I cut out the word “CRAWLY” in black, snipped the ends, and added Basic Black card stock extensions to the ends. The black rhinestone gems at the bottom are colored with the black Sharpie® marker that NEVER leaves my desk!

The tag can stand alone without the bag, but we do love those Tag a Bags! Don’t miss the textural stamping on the Tangerine Tango tag base courtesy of Gorgeous Grunge, the stamp set that does everything – even the dishes!! (ok, I’m KIDDING there…)

It’s a challenge for me to get in the mood for a true Autumn card, but I think the muse was working for this one:

Magnificent Maple is a single stamp and it is truly a magnificent rendition of a leaf. I’ve masked and stamped it in Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze and Old Olive. I chose Naturals Ivory card stock for the card base, but I used Very Vanilla for the tag – the Naturals papers have just enough texture to them that a bold image such as that tag doesn’t come out with enough definition to please me.

I used the Tags for You stamp and punch bundle and popped the label up on a dimensional. “So Grateful” is from Apothecary Art, and the spatters are from Gorgeous Grunge. (If I keep using that stamp set it’s gonna get a Maui Stamper Abbreviated Name, but for now I’ll spell it out.)

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Stamp-of-the-Month projects and I encourage you to take the full tour to see what everyone is sharing. Robin is up next and I KNOW she’ll have a treat in store for you! All the blogs on the tour are available below in case you want to re-visit a favorite or just take the tour in your own quirky way. I encourage that kind of behavior 🙂

September Travels

Posted on September 1, 2013 by mauistamper

August 2017: Edited to correct the stamp set.

My observant reader, Roberta Koster, contacted me this week to let me know that I’d listed the wrong stamp set with this calendar page. It’s not Travel Post, it’s Postage Due. Thank you for submitting this correction, Roberta!!!

Back in the BC (Before Children) days, Mr. Maui Stamper and I loved to travel in September. All the families with children were home starting school, the weather was still perfect in most parts of the world, and we enjoyed the relative calm of traveling off-season.

Then we had children.

Now we live the “Duo Life” again. (We decided the term “Empty Nest” is negative.) September travels await!

Postage Due ~~Travel Post~~ stamp set
Whisper White and Island Indigo card stock
Melon Mambo and Island Indigo Stampin’ Write markers
Basic Grey FFIP

The only trick to this one is that those words were selectively inked on the biggest image in the Travel Post set. Everything else is quick and easy!

Washi for the College Man

Posted on August 27, 2013 by mauistamper

My son had to admit that Washi could be useful:

The black diagonal Washi from the Epic Day This n That suite was the only one he considered acceptable, but he agreed that identifying his cables made sense.

He has a LOT of cables. Apple cables.

The ocean attacked his phone the day before he was supposed to fly back to campus. Good thing he worked that extra week, because he wasn’t planning on a new phone. Naughty ocean.

Saving My Convention Memories

Posted on August 25, 2013 by mauistamper

My Paper Pumpkin for May pushed me to work outside the box:

Before you ask, that little tile in the corner was a swap and I LOVED it!!

This My Paper Pumpkin kit from May has sat on my stamp desk for a while as I decided what to do with it. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t do a lot of scrapbooking. I have a really hard time choosing the photos – I think that’s what gets in my way. I really wanted to use this kit, but it took Convention to get me in the groove.

I’m gonna show you ALL the pages, but I’m not going into details on every product I used.

The My Paper Pumpkin kit included front and back covers, 6 pieces of DSP (6×6), 5 pre-cut DSP pages to fit the covers, 6 pages of self-adhesive embellishments, and a bag with 2 buttons and 2 arrow-shaped clip embellishments.

I needed MORE pages!! I added card stock pages and pulled out a heap of stamps. I also added mementos I collected at Convention.

Sometimes I journaled on the self-adhesive embellishments, and sometimes I wrote directly on the page.

That picture of Crystal in her Pineapple Sunglasses is my absolute FAVE.

Aussie Aussie Aussie!! Oi Oi Oi!! Wouldn’t you know it, we sat next to 3 demonstrators from Queensland, Australia for the opening General Session.

We really enjoyed meeting Stampin’ Up! staff, but Kathy Pitt (You Crew: Meet with an Illustrator) and Sara Brook-Humphrey (the My Paper Pumpkin girl – working in the Social Media booth) were special highlights.

I am so proud of my PINEAPPLE!

I’m also proud to have been part of the Guinness World Record for most greeting cards sent from a single location at one time.

Swaps!!! Need I say more?

If you don’t follow Erica Cerwin’s blog Pink Buckaroo, take a look HERE for more details on her INCREDIBLE Paper Camper. I was speechless.

Classes at convention are always outstanding. The class I enjoyed more this year was Carrie Cudney’s class “Living a Creative Life”. She had great quotes, great projects, and a great ice-breaker: We threw rolls of TP around the room!!

We wore those ridiculous Pineapple Sunglasses for 3 solid days. By Saturday afternoon my eyes were fatigued from looking through that cheapo plastic. We sure had fun with them!

Big Screen Photos…

and my name badge.

I used Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive) to adhere DSP to the front and back sides of the covers, then used a little Washi to dress up the edges. All the holes were pre-punched. Still, to be completely honest, this was NOT a 30 minute project. I think I spent a couple of afternoons on it – but I did more than double the pages. Here’s the kit:

Just a few more days to sign up for My Paper Pumpkin at the special promotional price of $10 + tax DELIVERED to YOUR DOOR! You’ll get a ready-to-go project with all the pre-cut paper, embellishments, stamps and ink you need. You add adhesive and a little time. These projects are perfect for taking out and about with you! Visit the Paper Pumpkin website and be sure to use promocode PUMPKINDEAL when you check out!

Easy Custom Gift Bags

Posted on August 20, 2013 by mauistamper

LOVE these muslin gift bags from the Holiday catalog!

Muslin Gift Bags (Holiday catalog)
Too Kind and Yippee Skippee stamp sets
Primrose Petals, Old Olive and Raspberry Ripple FFIP
Primrose Petals Stitched Ribbon
Clothespin (Tag a Bag Accessory kit)
Rhinestone jewel

Lazy girl that I am, I cut a piece of ribbon and just clipped it on with the clothespin from the Tag a Bag accessory kit. That little rhinestone is a leftover from…something. A kit, the name of which I cannot remember or find. But you could take a plain rhinestone jewel and color it with a Sharpie® marker and get the same result.

Here’s what I did to stamp the bags:

I opened the package of bags and took them out.
I stamped them.

THAT’S IT. I did NOT wash, fold, dry, iron or otherwise pay any attention to these bags. I used Stampin’ Up! Classic Ink. It dried to the touch but I noticed that as I stuffed the bags the ink would transfer to my hands, so I recommend allowing them to dry overnight before gifting them – there was no ink transfer the next day for me. I stamped 4 different times – the 2-step flower image in Primrose Petals and Raspberry Ripple, the stem in Old Olive, and the sentiment in Raspberry Ripple – and didn’t have any problems with smearing.

I made a bunch of these for my Hostess Club members. They’re filled with a cute stamp and some Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels (I think I’m happy that TJ’s isn’t in Hawaii because these would become an ISSUE for me). These bags are a perfect last-minute-gift solution! I’ve got a stash on hand and I think you should too 🙂

Convention Swap: Over the Top Tags

Posted on August 14, 2013 by mauistamper

I forgot to share my last organized Convention Swap project!

Postage Due and Loving Thoughts stamp sets
Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, and Sahara Sand card stock
Vellum card stock
Silver Glimmer paper
Calypso Coral and Sahara Sand FFIP
Big Shot
Dress Up and Window Frame Framelits
Fancy Fan TIEF
Bitty Punch pack, Word Window and 1 inch circle punches
Pearl and Rhinestone Jewels
Stampin’ Sponges
Calypso Coral Bakers Twine

This tag measures 3 1/2 x 6 inches. The two base layers were shaped using the Window Frame framelits – just cut your card stock to the width of the framelit, place the framelit at the top of the panel and run into your Big Shot just far enough to cut the top, then back it out.

Love that glimmer paper – I haven’t used it much lately, but Sparkle Season is coming!!

This swap produced absolutely gorgeous samples – thank you, ladies in Group 1- and a special thanks to my swap angel, Lynn Marshall, who stepped in to actually swap my tags when I developed a time conflict.

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Category Archives: 3-D

It was an Extravaganza!

It’s RemARKably Ornamental!

Ooo! Boo!

Something RemARKably Different

It’s a RemARKable Autumn

September Travels

Washi for the College Man

Saving My Convention Memories

Easy Custom Gift Bags

Convention Swap: Over the Top Tags

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