Category Archives: Birthdays

One Layout Three Ways

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Earlier this month I sent my club members the card stock and ribbon for this layout, and we crafted our own versions via Zoom. Who knew that I had chosen to create my samples with 3 stamp sets from the 2020 Last Chance List? Not sure if I was prescient or just lucky. I’m guessing lucky.

The process worked far better than I anticipated (OK, I had no expectations!). We shared images while we worked, asked for and got great advice, and had a good opportunity to catch up. It wasn’t quite the same as getting together (one group is notorious for fabulous food!) but it was a good substitute under the circumstances. We’ve already planned our next Zoom!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Elephant
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Elephant

The Elephant Builder punch is what really MAKES this card, and it’s currently on sale in the Online Store. It’s the ear. I love the ear!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Piece of Cake
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Piece of Cake

A note on Stampin’ Blends: You’ve seen them on the Last Chance list – I know I did, and I may or may not have said a Very Bad Word when I saw them! They’re NOT RETIRING. They will be repackaged and sold in pairs, one light, one dark, instead of as single markers. No need to panic.

Both Piece of Cake and the Cake Builder punch are retiring, and the punch is on sale for $10.80. Take a look at this set, because there are a lot of great sentiments as well as really fun images! The self-adhesive Gingham Sequins are on their way out as well.

I stamped the cake layers multiple times on Whisper White and Highland Heather card stock using Memento Ink. I cut the layers apart (the stamp has them stacked together, one large, one small) so that I could alternate the White layer with the Heather layer.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Harvest
  • Stamps: Painted Harvest
  • Color Palette: Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
  • Accessories: Paper Snips, Same ol’ retired DSP and Ribbon. Sorry!

Three cards, three pops of color, three retiring stamp sets, and one layout – I think it’s pretty fun, don’t you? Grab some DSP and have some fun with this concept. And shop the Last Chance products HERE. Don’t delay – many have already sold out.

One last SAB Birthday

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Sale-a-bration 2020 has been over for more than two weeks, but I’m still wrapping up a few projects left on my desk. Do you have bits and pieces? I have so many random “parts” that I could probably make cards for weeks without cutting into anything new. This card has been in my head for at least a month, and it finally came together this week:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Happy Birthday To You SAB 2020
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Happy Birthday To You SAB 2020

This stamp and die combo just begs to be colored over and over again with Stampin’ Blends in every possible color combination. I have multiple sets of these images on my craft desk, some of which are in the most unexpected colors you can imagine! I’m going to have to do a wild, bring-on-all-the-colors card in order to put them all to use.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Happy Birthday To You SAB 2020

It’s really satisfying to use up the “parts” as well as to bring my vision to life. Tell me, how many random bits and pieces are lurking around on your craft desk??

If you’re done with pieces and ready for some full sheets of card stock, I’d be grateful and honored if you shop HERE.

Poppies 101

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I’m pretty obsessed with these poppies right now:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies

It’s difficult to see the texture from the embossing folder because, well, it’s SUBTLE, but in person it really makes a difference. I think the Subtle EF is my favorite of our entire line because it works on any type of card. It gives you the ability to have textured card stock in any color at your fingertips, and I often reach for it to lift a simpler card up a step.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies

At first, I had a little trouble with the filler stamp for the poppy. I lean towards OCD (my daughter says she’s a recovering perfectionist, and that describes me too). The filler doesn’t “match” and the texture is uneven. I ended up stamping it twice over the Memento Black outline, rotating the filler stamp a quarter turn for the second impression. That gave me a little more coverage and depth, and I was happy with the result.

If you haven’t ordered the Painted Poppies bundle yet, you need to know that the Painted Labels dies are currently on backorder. The Peaceful Moments bundle is in Low Inventory status, meaning it is approaching backorder. Once the backorders reach a pre-determined level, Stampin’ Up! will make the product unavailable until the backorders are received in the warehouse. It helps manage costs and expectations, but if you like this set, save yourself some disappointment and get in line HERE.

Painted Poppy Fields

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As I mentioned in Two Poppies Four Ways, I think this image of stemmed poppies is the most versatile in the entire suite.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies

This is a fast card – even the coloring with the Blends goes quickly. The main panel is applied to the black mat, and that assembly is lifted with Stampin’ Dimensionals to create more focus. The ribbon looks red in the photo, but trust me, it’s as Lovely a Lipstick as they come!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies

You can see I didn’t worry too much about coloring inside the lines. That’s actually one of my goals this year – not to be so fussy. 9 times out of 10 it doesn’t matter! My goal is to get the cards made and in the mailbox, and that’s where this one is headed.

If you need some quick cards and you’re need a little somethin’ to pull it all together, shop HERE.

Two Poppies Four Ways

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Our two Poppy bundles are clearly meant to work together, and spent a happy afternoon last week putting them through their paces. I was pleased with the results, and especially impressed with how well all the pieces in both sets of stamps and dies work together:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Peaceful Moments

It’s almost a tragedy to use the reverse side of the Golden Honey Specialty DSP. The stripes are really the “B” side, and the “A” side is all buzzing bees and golden swirls and general delightfulness. But the bees are too large and distracting for this application, and the stripes are just right, so the sacrifice Must Be Made. Fortunately, I have stashed away a couple of packages of this paper and I don’t feel too badly about this decision.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Peaceful Moments

Once the card was designed, it was a short leap to move to other colorways. This is Coastal Cabana and Pool Party, and uses Glitter Enamel Dots instead of the Champagne Rhinestones. Those Enamel Dots are sadly overlooked in my opinion – they have just the right amount of sparkle, they come with multiple sizes on the sheet, and are packaged in very trendy colors!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Peaceful Moments

One of the things Stampin’ Up! does VERY well is color – especially tonal colors. This is Rococco Rose and Blushing Bride. If you are VERY observant, you’ve noticed the change in the label – this isn’t the punch, but the label from the Painted Labels dies in the Painted Poppies Bundle. The two Poppy bundles combined are a complete crafting suite, with images, sentiments, shaped dies and labels included.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Peaceful Moments

This last combination is Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather. I played with the color roles in this one, reversing the background color from the large flower to the smaller one, and I like the effect. It’s hard to see with the black card stock, but there is a layer to the leaf as well – these dies are really thoughtfully made!

I used our Whisper White Note Cards and Envelopes for these cards, so they’re a little more petite at 3 1/2″ x 5″. They are accepted as First Class USPS mail, too. The back flap of the envelope was the ideal size for two rows of those fabulous tall-stemmed poppies – I think that image may be the most versatile one of the entire suite.

What’s your favorite combination? There are many more options in the Stampin’ Up! color palette, and it would be fun to make a Poppy Rainbow. Hmm…

Ready to shop? All of the products are available HERE with the regrettable exception of the Champagne Rhinestones. They have been so popular that they have exceed the backorder allocation and are currently unavailable to order. Current expected availability is late March, so in the meantime, we will have to be creative with Glitter Enamel Dots!

Finding the hidden colors in Feels Like Frost

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I spent a lot of time playing with color palettes to go with the various Feels Like Frost papers. I wanted to bring out the unexpected and non-traditional colors, and I feel like I accomplished that with this birthday card:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Feels Like Frost Happiest Birthday Wishes
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Feels Like Frost Happiest Birthday Wishes

I tried using Stampin’ Blends to color the Dotted Tulle Ribbon, but the color came out much darker than I wanted even with the light toned marker. I decided to try dying it with the ink refill. It worked – the second time! The first time I thought I should rinse it out and the color immediately left the ribbon. I made another batch (a bunch of ink in a little water, it’s really about how dark you want it) and once I’d reached the color I wanted I let it dry on top of a paper towel. I’m going out on a limb here to say I don’t think it’s colorfast!!!!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Feels Like Frost Happiest Birthday Wishes

I’m pleased with the end result. I think if you swapped the Night of Navy and the Rococco Rose all around, you’ d have a great masculine card. Hmmm…

If you’re ready, you can shop HERE.

Feels Like Frost Birthday

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I challenged myself to create as many cards as I could in an afternoon using the Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper stack. Buckle your seat belts! It was a lot of fun, and it was really easy. I think selecting the sentiments was the biggest challenge! Here’s the first one I’d like to share:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Feels Like Frost DSP with Christmas Layers Die
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Feels Like Frost DSP with Christmas Layers Die

The various elements from the Christmas Layers dies are fabulous for all kinds of paper crafting projects. They’re timeless and multi-seasonal and a great addition to your crafty stash (‘cuz we all have a stash of one size or another, right??)

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Feels Like Frost DSP with Christmas Layers Die

I love this paper and I’m confident you will too. Shop HERE.

Tropical Chic Birthday Wreath

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It seems everyone has made wreath cards and it’s time for me to get with the program already! This is such an easy technique that I’m chagrinned to have taken so long. A simple template – and the amazing Stamparatus – make this a very simple project:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Tropical Chic Square Wreath with the Stamparatus

I chose to make this a 5″ x 5″ square card in order to use the hibiscus stamp from Tropical Chic. In order to add the palm leaves, I created a double mask. You can see by looking that if you mask only one flower, you won’t get the desired results. I created a mask with 2 flowers stamped on the Stamparatus to set the leaves behind the wreath.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Tropical Chic Wreath card with Stamparatus

This card could just as easily be a wedding card, a graduation card (think a lei – although we don’t make them from hibiscus because the real thing doesn’t last) or any assortment of other happy occasion cards. It would be fun in bold tropical prints too, but I chose Petal Pink to coordinate with one of my favorite suites of paper of all time, now sadly retired. I hope you have some in your stash!

Need to shop for supplies? Visit my SHOP for everything you need. Don’t forget to use your Bonus Days Bucks!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Bonus Days July 2019

Stampin’ Up! Host Rewards: Soft Spring

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Host sets are a bit of a mystery to me. They’re a great value, but they don’t get the exposure or interest they should. They’re available at a discounted price, but the twist is that you have to use Host Rewards to purchase them. Today I’m featuring Soft Spring:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Soft Spring Host Rewards

I used the Stamping Sponge to add a little texture and soften the Crumb-Cake-on-White look of the Birch background. I cut the word THANKS out twice, once in Blushing Bride and once in Gold Foil, and offset layered them for added dimension. This is a perfectly flat, no-questions-asked MAIL WORTHY card!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Soft Spring Host Rewards

Those Stitched Nested Label dies (also sold as part of the Free as a Bird bundle) are going to be a constant crafting companion! And there’s a bonus in the set: a single long die to make a line of stitching anywhere you’d like it.

I originally created this as an entry for Colour Inkspiration #58, but decided to submit THIS CARD instead. I think I made the right choice! That’s the fun of color challenges: you can repeat them over and over again with such different results.

If this post has resulted in the desire/need to shop, click HERE.

Saying Farewell: All That You Are

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The 2018-2019 and Occasions Retiring Products Lists have been released, and it’s a bittersweet thing. There are some stamps I’m quite happy to see move on, and others that break my heart just a teeny tiny bit. All That You Are kind of breaks my heart.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! All That You Are Occasions 2019

This is a simple technique with very satisfying results. The image is inked with Versamark ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. To get the best results, I highly recommend using the Embossing Buddy to prepare your paper. Using the Stamparatus to ink your card stock enables you to ensure even, thorough coverage with the Versamark ink, resulting in a high quality embossed image.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! All That You Are Occasions 2019

It’s easier than you might expect to see the embossed image. Coloring an embossed image is especially enjoyable because there is a tactile response – you feel the lines, helping you stay within them (if that’s how you roll!)

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! All That You Are Occasions 2019

I used both light and dark Stampin’ Write markers in each color,. Sometimes I’m literally adding just a dot of color, other times a line or a full blending effort. I’m one of those people who find coloring to be very therapeutic, so it’s a pleasure for me.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! All That You Are Occasions 2019

If you’re as fond of All That You Are as I am, shop HERE before it’s retired for good. While you’re shopping, there are a few additional products you might want to think about:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! All That You Are Occasions 2019

Stay crafty, my friends. Shop HERE.