Category Archives: 3-D

Peggy’s Village

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Peggy came to visit one day last week and brought her version of the Village of Cuteness:

Peggy's Village of Cuteness

Can you stand it?  She decided to interpret her Village as a Christmas Village, with wreaths on the front doors, a string of lights, a palm tree, and – be still my heart – two little blow-up Santa Village People!!!!

Look at her Christmas Hale:

Peggy's Christmas Hale

Don’t you love that palm tree, and the bouganvilla spilling over the window box at top?  I may have to do another village.

And in case you are wondering, that’s not “hale” (rhymes with whale), it’s “hah’ ley”, kinda rhymes with trolley (if you said it tra-ley!)  It’s the Hawaiian word for house.

Something special for the hostesses

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I brought back Convention tote bags for the members of my hostess club:

Convention Tote bags

I loved the prints and colors – which are now available as My Digital Studio downloads – but I knew I would need to find a way to tell them apart.  The solution, of course, is a tag:

Hostess tag up close

These tags are made with coordinating Designer Series Paper (On sale – do I need to say it again?? – buy 3 get one free!) with an initial and a paper flower.  I love making these paper flowers because they involve smushing.  Smushing is a very scientific term for beating-the-stuffing-out-of-a-wad-of-paper.  Don’t you have days when a little smushing would do you a world of good?

My Workshop hostesses in August and September will also get one of these exclusive tote bags – call me if you’d like to put together a special event for a few of your friends.

Saving my change…

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There are many people who contribute to my growth and success as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, and one who has made a big impact is Janet Wakeland.  I met her a year ago at convention and was encouraged and inspired by her energy and strong business.  After convention this year, she encouraged us to start saving for next year right away – a brilliant idea.  She suggested a change jar, and I came up with this:

Change Is Good

I used Paisley Petals Designer Series papers on the jar (on sale, buy 3 get one free!) and a bunch of new stamps from the 2011-2012 Idea Book and catalog to collage a couple of tags.  I LOVE the font on my new Alphabet – the Spencerian Alphabet Lower – and the fact that it’s a Clear Mount set made stamping the words a breeze even WITHOUT the Stamp-a-ma-jig!    I’ll confess that I did each letter twice on two separate tags just in case, but using the Clear Mount stamps was so easy that I ended up with two sets of tags 🙂

Goodies on the Change Jar tag

A Trinket Key, a Clear Bauble and some ribbon finished up my jar and it’s ready to be fed.  This one is designed to coordinate with the colors in my bedroom, but I’m going to make another one for the laundry room.  It’s my opinion that any and all cash (coin or bills) found in the laundry belongs to She-Who-Washes-The-Clothes.  I consider it tip money.

At a minimum, I’ll need it to be able to pay the second-checked-bag fee next year.

Exploring Wisteria Wonder

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How can you not love a color with Wisteria in its name?

Wisteria Wonder In Color Class project
Wisteria Wonder fills a real gap in the Stampin’ Up! color palette, and I know I’m not the only person who is happy about that.  I wanted to explore how each of the 2011-2013  In Colors coordinate with the Stampin’ Up! color families, so I came up with a set of classes that will explore each of the colors in turn.  Guess which one will be first?

This first class will be Wednesday, August 10 and will feature this note card set (made with the Easy Events stamp set) and two other projects.  Cost is $10, and you can RSVP at my Online Store.  Just click on the event in the calendar on the landing page, and it will take you to the class description and a big ol’ RSVP button.  Hope to see you there!

The Village of Cuteness

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Stampin’ Up! offered us an optional +Fun class on Friday night at convention.  There were 3 different classes to choose from, and I can’t really tell you why I signed up for the Village of Cuteness.  I’ll confess it WASN’T the name – in my book, things like puppies and kittens are cute.  Villages, well, not so much.

Anyway, sleep deprived as we were, we hustled through dinner on Friday night and lined up with a thousand or so of our very best friends to make these:

The Village of Cuteness

Oh yeah, I finished mine in the time allotted and brought them home and set them right up.

NOT!!!

We barely got them painted!!  We decided that was really our plan all along, as trying to bring them home all embellished (more about that later) would be a challenge.

Stampin’ Up! did a great job with these projects.  We had EVERY product we needed and more, clear instructions, even refreshments.  What we were lacking was time (and sleep, which may have had an impact on our ability to make the best of our time.  You be the judge.)   We jumped right in and started painting and distressing with the awesome Distressing Essentials Kit (#118762, $19.95), also known as the Get Your Hands Inkier Than They Have Ever Been In Your Life Kit.

Cheryl and Priscilla with their inky fingers

Cheryl is sitting next to Priscilla, who was the BEST EVER table-mate and fit in with our craziness absolutely perfectly.  Priscilla was much neater at this than I was, as I seemed to have ink AND paint all over my hands.  You have to feed the muse.

Peggy and the cupcake

Speaking of feeding, Stampin’ Up! provided us with dessert – as if we needed more sugar in our systems.  Peggy inspired us all with her cupcake-eating-technique…but some things are meant to be enjoyed in the moment.  You’ll have to trust me when I say it was impressive.

Working on the Villages of Cuteness

This was serious business as we studied our instructions to figure out what we needed to get done in class and what we could do at home.   Notice those looks of concentration!!

Happy Villagers

It seemed like we’d just started when the announcement was made that it was time to pack up.  Priscilla kindly offered to take our picture with our Villages.  I’m not quite sure what Cheryl is doing over Robbie’s head.  We were among the last to leave, and we took a little time to check out some of the displays outside the Make and Take hall before we headed back to our rooms.

Robbie, the Plan Ahead Demonstrator, had brought USPS Flat Rate boxes with her, and the next morning at breakfast she announced to us all that she had already shipped her “Village People” home.  I distinctly remember thinking “Ha, a lot of good that will do”, but I kept that snarky little remark to myself.  Good thing.  Sunday morning we were desperately trying to buy a suitcase for our excess luggage – and when we found one, we crammed that puppy full too.

Once I was home and unpacked, I sat down to finish the Village.  My blocks were already painted and distressed, and my wood sheet doors were stained and attached to the houses.  It was all the other stuff that needed to be done.  I wish I could tell you how much time I spent, but I really didn’t keep track.  I had the tunes going, it was late enough that the Captain was outside chasing mousies, and Mr. Maui Stamper was sound asleep.  I can’t remember the last time I had such a good time with a project!

I’m looking forward to next year’s +Fun class!

 

Owl Multiplication

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I turned my back for just a little bit and look what happened:

Orderly Owls

All of a sudden there was a flock of owls!  (HIJACK:  I have a thing for collective nouns, and I found a website that claimed the correct term for an assembly of owls is a Parliament of Owls.  Love it.)

These owls descend from THIS website, although they’ve mutated ever so slightly.  They’re so much fun to do that I’ve become slightly addicted.  They have the added benefit of being just the right size to stuff with a little wad of cash, which is the Gift of Choice for every graduate I know.  I made a couple in school colors for some of my favorite members of the Class of 2011, but I’m not showing you those just yet because they haven’t been delivered.  I’m trying to figure out how to put a mortarboard on them, but if they’re to be delivered before the Grads head off to school I’d better get moving.

One Pear Owl

These just crack me up!!!

Once a Maui Stamper, always a Maui Stamper

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We shared a bittersweet evening a couple of weeks ago.  Kellie and her family are moving to the Mainland.  Their reasons are good and of course we all support them in this move, but the truth is we don’t like it.  Kellie’s loving, gentle presence and her inspired projects bring such light to our demonstrator meetings!  We couldn’t let her leave without getting together for some laughter and lovin’.

Being SU demos, we had to have a project:

Pillow box owl

I know.  Can you stand it?  This isn’t an original idea – it’s an absolute CASE (Copy And Share with Everyone).    I saw them on Jill Hilliard‘s blog and she in turn credited Card a la Carte, where you can find details on construction.

My plan was for all of us to make these at Kellie’s Aloha party, but I hadn’t even made a sample – I just had the link.  You should have seen us sitting around my dining table:

Maui Stampers go tech

Well, now you can see us!  Everyone scrolling through their smart phones, looking at the pictures and instructions.  (And Kellie in the background trying to sort out a mini-crisis!)

Peggy and Crystal with the punches

Peggy and Crystal got busy with the punches.

Robbie's eyeballs

Robbie got a little punchy herself!  And we were all so happy to see Cheryl feeling back to normal.

Lisa & Kellie

Lisa and Kellie – and Lisa, you’d better watch out for that dino behind you!!  Kellie has been packing for weeks, if not months.  Every time I’d see her she’d tell me how she was improvising because this item was packed, or they’d sold that item (little things, you know, BEDS).  When she came in she laughed and told us she’d brought her adhesive with her:

Kellie & her adhesive

Kellie, we’re sorry you’re leaving Maui but we know we’ll be seeing you soon in Salt Lake!  And remember…once a Maui Stamper, always a Maui Stamper.

Aloha Kellie

And don’t forget that these are for the CRAFT ROOM, not the garage or the garden or any of that secondary stuff!  Love you.

Holding my place with Pretty Postage

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It’s June, and the tantalizing Last Chance lists of stamps and accessories have been announced.   Stamps are available through June 30, but accessories are available only as supplies last.  There are still lots of juicy bargains in the Clearance Rack, and some of the Last Chance accessories are discounted too!

To see the stamp sets that will retire June 30 at 11:50pm MST (that’s 7:50pm HST!) click HERE

To shop the Last Chance accessories, click HERE

Anyone who places a minimum $50 order through my Online Store will receive an invitation to an exclusive event the beginning of July where you’ll be treated to as much new product from the brand new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog as I can put my hands on.   Trust me, you won’t want to miss this event!

I have just a little something to show you:

Sweet bookmark

  • Pretty Postage stamp set
  • Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, and So Saffron card stock
  • Play Date Designer Series paper (Last Chance!)
  • Old Olive Classic ink pad
  • Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write marker and a Blender pen
  • Big Shot and Circles #2 Originals die
  • Postage Stamp and 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punches
  • A Ginormous paper clip and my hot glue gun

I made a bunch of these clips for my hostesses.  I adhered DSP to some chipboard and cut out circles with the #2 originals so that the top of the clips would have some substance.  Everything else was pretty simple and my project went together very quickly.  I did drag out the glue gun to put the circles together – there are two sets of So Saffron Scallop Circles for each clip, and I used a BIG ol’ blob of hot glue to make sure everything stayed stuck together.  Including my fingers, of course.

Now go shop the Last Chance!

 

A special gift for mom

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I made a special Mother’s Day gift for my mom this year:

Simply Adorned for Mom

This is the 1 1/2 inch Simply Adorned charm with an insert made with the Charming stamp set.  I love that the charms are deep enough to allow a small embellishment like a jewel to fit inside the case, and that the back of the charm is clear so that another image can be viewed from the other side.  My plan was to make a set of inserts for my mom to enjoy, and then I stumbled upon this:

Mom's Simply Adorned card

This is the front of the project by the incomparable  Jackie Topa, and here’s what you find inside:

SA Inserts 1

Turn the page for more…

SA Inserts 2

and still more…

SA Inserts 3

…and there are more pages with Designer Series paper inserts, but I’ll spare you all those details!

Check Jackie’s post for construction details.  Working in this tiny format is absolutely addicting, and loads of fun.  And to think it all starts with just a little bit of paper and ink!

A Triple Punch

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Do you have the new Summer Mini catalog?  It’s full of gorgeous new stamps, and I think it has a nice focus on masculine and travel themed images.  We get a little carried away creating things for our feminine selves, don’t you think?

Stampin’ Up! didn’t forget about the Girly stuff though.  One of my favorite new products – and there are a few – are the two new Triple Layer Punches.  I snapped up the Blossom Boquet in my demonstrator pre-order last month, and now I’m struggling with whether or not I NEED the Doily.  Ha!  Silly Maui Stamper.  Who doesn’t need another punch?  Go ahead, raise your hand.

Blossom packages

I’m not going to go into detail on these – but they’re all done with the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch.  The stems are from the XL Two Step Bird – and no doubt about it, you NEED that one!!  I just did like the name said and layered everything together, then added some Crystal Effects in the little windows – you can see it best in the one on the far right.

One thing I do have to add – that Soft Suede Polka Dot ribbon is in the Clearance Rack right now for $3.99.  Need I say more?

Here’s what I put inside – and don’t laugh, ok?

Open Blossom package

This is one of those sad, sad stories about projects that aren’t completed on a timely basis.  This is Avon hand cream – and luxurious cream it is – yes, I confess – in Christmas packaging.  Just didn’t get to it!  Very embarassing, I know.  Better late than never, and I certainly didn’t want to wait until Christmas 2011!