Category Archives: 3-D

Renovation Update

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It’s too dark to take photos, but Builder Dan has been packed up for a week and things are slowly but surely returning to normal.  There are no longer extraneous pieces of furniture in my living room, the Room Formerly Known as Carol’s Room now contains a bed complete with bedding, and my gorgeous stamping space is orderly enough that I can once again create without saying bad words.

A few things are MIA, most importantly my “handmade by Anne Matasci” stamp.  I’m sure it will turn up eventually, but tonight I ordered a new one as I’m not willing to waste any more time searching for the old one.  Of course, since I’ve placed the order, the old one will miraculously appear in front of my face.  Never fails.

My son thinks my stamping room and its beautiful, broad work space are a perfect place for doing homework.  The first night he worked up there he asked if it would be okay, but since then he just disappears and pretends he doesn’t hear me when I come into the room.  He has a desk, mind you, it’s just piled with so much, um, STUFF that he can’t sit there.  So be it.  I can share for now.

I do have a project to share:

Easter Petal Cone with leaves

  • Texture Jumbo Stampin’ Around Wheel
  • Peach Parfait, Old Olive, and Pumpkin Pie card stock
  • Peach Parfait Classic ink pad
  • Big Shot and Petal Cone Bigz die
  • 2 Step XL Bird punch; Boho Blossoms punch
  • Pearl Jewels; Crop-a-dile; Tombo the Wonder Adhesive
  • Old Olive 1/4 inch grosgrain and Linen thread

I made a series of Petal Cones that were supposed to be “carrot-like” but in my opinion they failed to look like any vegetable whatsoever.  I still like the way they turned out, I just don’t think they have any resemblance to carrots!  This one is pretty simple – I rolled the card stock with the wheel, assembled the cone, and attached miles and miles of little green stems and a whole bunch of Pumpkin Pie Blossoms using Tombo (whatever did we do before Tombo??).   The “carrot top” is 8 pieces of grosgrain folded over, with one piece measured double the length and folded twice to make a loop.  I wrapped the whole thing with one more piece of grosgrain and tied a tight knot, then used Linen Thread to attach it to the top of the Petal Cone die.   Somehow it works as most of the grosgrain stands upright, but the pieces closest to the outside of the bunch flop over.  Not a very sophisticated description, is it?

One last thought…because this renovation involved so many rooms in our house, I had to empty closets that hadn’t seen the light of day in a while.  Who knew that I had collected so much memorabilia?  I’ve had the best intentions to scrapbook so many things…trips, milestones, family photos…you know what I’m talking about.  All of those boxes are carefully stacked in the guest room, and beginning next week I will sort through SOMETHING every day.  My goal is to sift through and keep the meaningful mementos, then give myself the freedom to discard the junk.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

Thinking in blue and green

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There’s a color thread running through my days:

Bliss Circa Cover

  • Bliss (Sale-a-bration) stamp set
  • Old Olive, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz and Night of Navy card stock
  • Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper
  • Old Olive, Marina Mist and Night of Navy Classic ink pads
  • Old Olive taffeta 3/8 inch ribbon
  • Piercing tool, template and mat
  • Sticky Strip and Mini Glue Dots
  • Corner rounder punch

DANG!  I just noticed that I rounded the corners of the cover and not the DSP panel!!  I really don’t like it when I miss details like that.  Back to the drawing board!

Ah, but I still like this cover for my Circa Notebook.  I love shades of blue and green together.  Even the vivid tones seem restful to me, and using natural elements like flowers and butterflies enhance the peaceful feeling.  Good thing, because when I open those pages and see all the stuff on my list, I can use a little deep breathing!  Nothing ventured, nothing gained – so I put it all on my lists and put the pedal to the metal!

One little construction note for you…the Old Olive taffeta ribbon is laid down on Sticky Strip, with a little flap created above each butterfly panel.  After the panels were attached, I added a Mini Glue dot under the ribbon flap to make it stay down.  It’s more 3-dimensional in person.

I’m off to tackle my list!

Caffeine + List = Inspiration

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Do you keep a “To Do” list?  I can’t function without one – or two!  My lists serve two functions.  First and most obvious is that lists help me keep track of what has to be done and when it has to be completed.  The second function is even more important; lists allow me to clear my mind.  If a task is written down, I can let my ideas simmer on the back burner without worrying I’ll forget them.  I even keep a pad of paper and a pen on my bedside table for those invasive dropping-off-to-sleep thoughts.

Being an organizer, I need a place for my lists.  I’ve mentioned the  Levenger Circa notebooks here, and here.  I’m a big fan of this system, and I love the fact that I can easily customize my covers.  It was time for something new:

Perk Up Circa cover

  • Perk Up, Baroque Motifs and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Old Olive and Whisper White card stock
  • Play Date and Springtime Vintage Designer Series papers
  • Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Old Olive and Pear Pizazz Classic ink pads
  • Marina Mist taffeta ribbon; Scallop trim border punch; Aquapainter
  • Piercing tool, template and mat

This is the Junior notebook, and the cover is 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches.  That’s BIG when you’re used to a 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inch card front!  A little caffeine for inspiration and voila!  I had my cover.   If it were only this easy to finish the tasks on my list.

A clipboard can make you smile

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When you are looking for a quick and easy project that lifts your spirits, try a clipboard:

Greenhouse Gala Clipboard

  • Convention Special “Share What You Love” Stamp; Vintage Vogue stamp set
  • Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper
  • Real Red, Marina Mist and Whisper White card stock
  • Real Red, Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write markers; Versamark stamp pad
  • 1 3/4 inch and 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punches
  • Big Shot and  Tasteful Trim Bigz die
  • Real Red, Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz ribbons
  • Royal Decoupage Medium and a clipboard

These clipboards are super easy because I am careful to get this style of clip.  The measuring around the top is pretty simple, and you don’t have to try to hold the clip part open because it doesn’t close onto the paper but rather onto itself.  Clear as mud??

My other hint is to use your Decoupage medium on a quarter of the clipboard at a time.  Maybe some of you Mainland crafters can get the whole thing painted up without parts drying, but here on Maui that doesn’t happen.  Doing one section at a time allows me to get complete adhesion and to work my paper down the front of the clipboard slowly and carefully so that everything lines up.  I use my bone folder to make sure it’s all smooth and bubble-free, too.

Want to see the back?

Greenhouse Gala Clipboard back

Clipboards are diabolically dimensioned at 12 1/2 inches tall, so that 12 inch Designer Series paper is just a smidgen too short.  My solution is to cut two pieces of paper, one at 9 1/2 inches and one at 3 inches, and butt the seam closely.  (You can see I split it up for the back.)  I like to add a little trim to cover the seam and create extra visual interest, but it’s really not necessary.  Most clipboards are right about 9 inches wide, so the 3 inch piece you cut off to create that width can often be used to fill in the space on the bottom.

The renovations are coming along, but I will confess that I am growing weary of the chaos.  I’m one of those  “a place for every thing, and every thing in its place” kinds of girl, so having all surfaces covered with STUFF from all over the house is getting tiresome.  Builder Dan and his crew have been doing a fabulous job though, and my stamp studio has walls of a glorious hue.  All 3 days this weekend I kept stopping in the doorway, imagining myself putting all my things away In Their Places!!!  Soon, soon…but in the meantime, here is a little clue as to why I am so fond of Builder Dan:

Builder Dan's tool box

Honestly, what more could you ask for?  I’m hoping he’ll leave it behind when he’s finished.

Inspiration in unlikely places

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I was standing in line in the post office, of all places, when I saw a card that inspired this:

Bliss Birthday Wishes

  • Bliss (Sale-a-bration) and Sincere Salutations stamp sets
  • Naturals White, Always Artichoke and River Rock card stock
  • Always Artichoke and Rich Razzleberry Classic ink pads
  • Always Artichoke seam binding; Sponge Daubers
  • Sticky Strip and Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Pearl Jewels and large Oval punch

That fluorish from the Bliss set is GORGEOUS.  It lines up well with itself to create a repeating pattern, but it’s also strong enough to stand alone.  The seam binding has been gathered with needle and thread and pressed onto some Sticky Strip, but you could skip that step – I prefer the evenness of hand-gathering.

I surprised myself when I added Rich Razzleberry.  I didn’t think I would like it, but there it sat on my messy table, looking hopefully at me, so I gave it a chance.  It pays to take a risk when colors beg to be used like that!

Ah, Saturday

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Saturday is always a welcome sight on the calendar.  With a little bit of luck, there’s nothing pressing to do first thing in the morning and we can sleep in a little.  It means a more leisurely breakfast sharing the newspaper and coffee, and talking about what the day holds.  Lately, it also means the absence of hammers, saws and power tools.  Captain Stupidhead likes Saturday too, because he can lounge around in the few spots downstairs that aren’t either torn up or covered with the stuff that used to be in the room that is now torn up.  We love Builder Dan and all of his crew, but after 5 days it’s nice to have a little respite.

I’ve hardly had time to cruise through my favorite blogs this week, but I did spot this little gem at Inking Idaho a while back.  Becky saw this at Leadership and created her version, and I fell in love as soon as I saw it:

Petal Cone Bigz die

  • Thank You Kindly stamp set
  • Rose Red, Old Olive and Daffodil Delight cardstock; Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper
  • Rose Red Classic ink pad
  • Springtime Vintage Designer Buttons; Linen thread; Scallop border punch
  • Big Shot, Petal Cone Bigz die, Fun Flowers Bigz die

I made some 3×3 gift cards to fit inside the pocket:

Same supplies as above plus:

  • Punch Bunch, Button Button and A to Z stamp sets
  • Peach Parfait, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White card stock
  • 2 Step XL Owl, Scallop Circle, and various circle punches
  • Crystal Effects and Daffodil Delight 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon

These were very simple to assemble and I made quite a few in an afternoon.  Love those Sale-a-bration products!

Here’s the renovation update – the family room is being prepped for new lighting and the electrical foundation for TV, stereo etc:

There was a day last week when they put something on the floor and it had to dry overnight.  Not such a big deal, except that I’ve had to move the computer into the laundry room and the only way into the laundry room is through the family room – or from the garage.  Psssht.

Here’s the update for upstairs:

There’s room for my file cabine on the left, and you can see Builder Dan is making sure I won’t have to crawl underneath the counter every time I want to plug something in.  The adjacent wall looks like this:

I’m excited about this!  My middle daughter is perhaps not so excited, as this used to be her bedroom.  Her older sister has known that feeling for quite a while, as I took over her room for a craft room after she left for university.  We’ve decided to switch the two rooms, so there will be a place for the girls – ALWAYS – no matter what.  But there will also be a little slice of heaven upstairs for Mama’s creative projects.   This will be worth the wait and the disruption.

Adding my own Ink and Stamps

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It’s been wild and crazy around the Maui Stamper household.  What we lack in snow to shovel, we create for ourselves with renovations.  The end result will be a fabulous new family room where we can watch Life Size NFL players crack heads (I swear, that’s what’s going on with Mr. Maui Stamper’s new TV).  The bonus result will be that the cabinets where our dinosaur TV has been living will be re-installed upstairs, creating Maui Stamper Heaven.  I can live with the chaos when I’m looking at that kind of reward!

It’s been a little tricky to find time and space for paper crafts, but when I saw Lisa Young’s Valentine Box there could be no more excuses.  Here is what she inspired:

Petal Cone Heart box

  • Fabulous Phrases, Baroque Motif and Build-a-Roo stamp sets
  • Real Red, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink and Early Espresso card stock
  • Designer Series Papers Prints Pack; Glimmer Paper
  • Real Red and Pirouette Pink Classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink 3/8 inch taffeta and Real Red 1 inch stitched grosgrain ribbon
  • XL 2 step Bird Punch; Crop-a-dile; Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Big Shot;  Scallops #2 Bigz die; Petal Cone Bigz die; Elegant Lines embossing folder
  • Flowers Designer Brad; Stampin’ Dimensionals

Doesn’t that Glimmer paper wing make you want to SHOUT!??!  Actually, the whole thing makes me want to jump and shout and laugh out loud!  This was one of those projects that started out slowly and built momentum once I got to a certain point.  My dilemma was what to put on the box and heart once I had them cut out – I didn’t want to copy Lisa but I loved her idea.  That medium size scallop circle with the Baroque Motifs swirl was the secret ingredient.

I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig (most brilliant concept ever) to line up the words in that gorgeous Fabulous Phrases font, and scoured all my stamps until I found the little open heart in Build-a-Roo.  The box is a sheet of 9.5 by 8.5  inch cardstock scored at 1.5 inches from the sides down the 8.5 inch edge, and scored at 4 and 5.5 inches on the 9.5 inch edge.  It makes a box that is 5.5 inches wide and 4 inches tall, and if I had paid a little more attention I would have made it just a hair larger so that it would hold cards and envelopes.  Next time.

How about a closer look at the layers?

Petal Cone Heart Box close up

It was a little tricky embossing the front of the box – I was only able to do the front, as running it through the Big Shot a second time for the back would have flattened out the front.  I folded one of the side tabs in and was able to get the front into an Impressions Folder.

And yes, I know that ribbon is retired.  I bought it a short time ago on the Clearance Rack, but I just checked and it’s gone.  There’s still the red ribbon with the white polka dots though, and I think that would be just as cute!

Please go tell Lisa how brilliant she is…and if you like this, I wouldn’t mind if you told me so either!

 

Cone you be mine?

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Didja notice the new Bigz die in the Occasions Mini Catalog?  Didja???

Sweet Valentine Petal Cone

  • Teeny Tiny Wishes and Silhouette Sentiments (Level I Hostess) stamp sets
  • Pretty in Pink and Real Red Classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink and Real Red card stock
  • Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack
  • Real Red 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon
  • Big Shot and Petal Cone Bigz Die
  • Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions folder
  • 1 3/4 inch Scallop and 2 1/2 inch Circle punches; 1 3/4 inch oval punch
  • Piercing Mat and tool (aka Pokie Doodle)

This Petal Cone die has been languishing (is that an awesome vocabulary word OR WHAT?) on my shelf while I worked on other projects.  It cuts out those scallop semi-circles and that fabulous banner, too.  The 2 1/2 inch circle punch makes perfect semi-circles to fit inside the scallops.

Sweet Valentine Petal Cone

We made these in Club the other night.  I made mine with the Happy Valentine’s Day sentiment, but Margie had a better idea.  She used the Sweet Treats sentiment – duh!  What’s going to go inside of the cone?  Treats!

Here’s a hint:  when you want to emboss die-cut pieces that have score marks on them, crease them with your bone folder before you run them through the Textured Impressions folder.  If you skip this little step, the score marks will be gone and you will be stuck trying to guess where they were.  Trust me.  I know this.

I think you need this die.  What?  You don’t have a Big Shot?  There’s no better time than Sale-a-bration to get it!

Don’t give up!

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I might be just a little bit stubborn… Just a teeny, tiny bit.  It’s something of a family trait.  I have vivid memories of my grandmother on my dad’s side doing jigsaw puzzles with us.  It was our tradition to set one up on a card table at Christmas time, and as you passed by you’d stop and stare and fill in a piece or two.  My grandmother would find a piece that “fit” and then work until she got it into place.  My dad would say “Mom, that doesn’t go there” but she was bound and determined that it did and there was no telling her otherwise.

I’m not THAT stubborn, of course.  I work very hard at not beating my head against the wall, at taking lemons and making lemonade, at going with the flow.  But every now and then I come up against something I’m not willing to relinquish.  Sadly enough, it usually involves something petty, like trying to find my scallop border punch.  I know it’s there!  It has to be there!!  But I have looked for weeks and I can’t find it, so last night I ordered a new one.  It’s not quitting, it’s being realistic. 🙂

Cheryl made these and you’ll never guess what she put inside:

Fancy Favor Chocolate Valentines

  • Eat Chocolate stamp set
  • Whisper White and Pretty in Pink card stock
  • Designer Series Paper patterns pack
  • Real Red and Chocolate Chip Classic ink pads
  • Big Shot and Fancy Favor die
  • Decorative Label XL punch; corner rounder
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals, Pearl Jewels, and Crystal Effects
  • Retired Chocolate Chip stitched ribbon (substitute Espresso Striped or solid grosgrain)

Don’t you love the shine from the Crystal Effects?  It takes a while to dry here in our humid climate so I always finish all assembly completely before I apply it.  Once I’ve Crystal-Effected my project, I set it aside overnight to dry.

Ah, and now you’ve figured it out.  That long-winded story about my grandmother is really just an excuse to eat chocolate, isn’t it?  And yes, for all of you Weight Watchers out there, I do track those points!

Chocolate, specifically Hershey Drops

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Enough pink and red for a bit…how about some Chocolate?

Eat Chocolate

  • Eat Chocolate stamp set
  • Chocolate Chip Classic ink pad; Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write markers
  • Whisper White, Marina Mist and Chocolate Chip card stock
  • Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper
  • Marina Mist 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon
  • Scallop trim border, 1 3/4 inch circle and 2 3/8 inc scallop circle punches
  • Crop-a-dile, Sponge Dauber, Sticky Strip and Crystal Effects
  • Hershey’s Drops

Oh, Becky Roberts, did you have to introduce me to Hershey Drops?   I didn’t need to know about them, but I saw your post and then found these little demons at Costco!  You know what that means – not one package, not two packages, but an abundance of King Size packages!  Can’t you just taste them?  So shiny, so smooth, so…Chocolate!!

Eat Chocolate

We used these at the Maui Stamper team meeting on Tuesday night, so some of those packages are already out of my house.  Chocolate calls my name so loudly!

{FULL DISCLOSURE:  I am a Weight Watchers® Leader, and as such I feel an obligation to report that this 2.1 oz King Size package has a Points Plus value of 9!}

Here are a few construction hints:

  • Make your band a little smaller than your package when it’s a “squishy” package
  • Use Sticky Strip to provide a secure hold on the band
  • A Sponge Dauber works best when applying ink to a bold image like the chocolate
  • Assemble the entire project, then apply the Crystal Effects and set everything aside to dry

Speaking of our Maui Stamper team meeting, we had a great time doing Sale-a-bration and Occasions Mini shoe-box swaps.  You’ll be seeing a lot of great projects in the next few days as we were in a stampin’ frenzy!