Botanical Blooms is retiring and there’s nothing I can do about it

Posted on May 3, 2017 by mauistamper

Every year when the retiring products list is published, I hold my breath and scan it for favorites. This year, there was a BIG sigh when I saw Botanical Blooms right there in black and white. It’s a go-to floral set for me, and has an unmistakeable tropical vibe. This is one retiring set that will go into my personal archive.

I created this extended card when I learned that a dear friend was going to be a mom for the first time. When I created the card, the baby’s gender hadn’t been revealed, so I mixed up the colors to be gender neutral.

This image makes the card look waaaaay longer than it is – it will fit in a standard medium envelope. Note that all the stamping is on the inside white panel – the actual embellishments are simply die cut, not stamped.

I’ve created a lot of cards using this basic technique. I cut a large stack of assorted shapes and start layering and placing them on my card. There’s a lot of texture with the shapes and layers, but the card itself is still flat enough to mail.

Stamps: Botanical Blooms
Color Palette: Crumb Cake, Shimmer White, So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Marina Mist
Accessories: Big Shot, Botanical Builder Framelits, Falling in Love DSP (retired and sold out), Pearl jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue dots

There’s still time to add either the stamps, the framelits, or both to your craft room! Shop HERE.

There’s a new baby boy in the family!

Posted on April 6, 2017 by mauistamper

My cousin’s daughter – our Goddaughter – had a baby boy earlier this year. I sent a selection of some of my all-time favorite children’s books, including of course Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. The big monster from Yummy in My Tummy was the logical choice to welcome Nolan to the family:

Stamps: Yummy in My Tummy, Any Occasion (SAB 2017)
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Lucky Stars TIEF, Paper Snips, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Retired Washi tape

I had to fussy cut him. HAD TO. I don’t mind when it’s for a single card.

He looks just like Max in his wolf suit.

Farewell, Sale-a-bration 2017!!

Posted on March 31, 2017 by mauistamper

Today’s your last chance for Sale-abration 2017! Orders close at 11:50pm mountain time.

It’s your last chance for Delicate Details, Avant Garden, and a host of other great products!

If you’re placing an order today, stock up on the Retiring 2015-2017 In Colors! As soon as the list is announced, there’s always a huge rush to buy paper, ink, ribbon and ink refills. Don’t miss out on Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Delightful Dijon, Cucumber Crush or TIP TOP TAUPE (say it 5 times as quickly as you can!!!)

Butterflies for encouragement

Posted on March 30, 2017 by mauistamper

A friend is recovering from one of those “health episodes” that make us all stop and think. I take care of so many people in my life – do I need to do more for me? What would happen if…? We’re all so glad she is home and recovering, and of course I hoped I could send a little encouragement her way.

Stamps: Watercolor Wings, You’ve Got This
Color Palette: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo
Accessories: Big Shot, Bold Butterfly Framelits, Butterflies Thinlits, Wink of Stella Clear, Vellum card stock, Silver thread, Metallics Sequins Assortment, Fine Tip Glue Pen, Glue Dots

I’m officially obsessed with cutting out the detailed butterfly wings in vellum. (News Flash: I am obsessed with Way.Too.Many.Things) The Fine Tip Glue pen works quite well to adhere just the body to the base, leaving the wings to move.

I twisted a piece of Silver thread to make it stay in a V shape and put it between the vellum and the base with an extra dab of the Fine Tip Glue pen. It’s a little touch, but then again, it’s all about the little touches, now, isn’t it?

Take good care of yourselves, my friends. You are important. You are loved.

More gorgeous succulents

Posted on March 20, 2017 by mauistamper

If you liked the card from the last RemARKable Blog tour, I think you’ll enjoy what I did with some of the leftover die cuts. This is a CASE from Krista Driessen – with variations!

This is quite similar to her card. Using watercolor paper for this technique really helps! I used the Gold Wink of Stella pen to splatter the main panel for this card, and my watercolor wash wasn’t completely dry. As a result, the wash has taken on a gold tone, and some of the splatters ran a bit. I considered it a lovely serendipity.

I just kept playing with the watercolor wash, as well as the colors and placement of the succulents. I wasn’t happy with the way the sentiment embossed with my Very Vanilla embossing powder – I think it’s too old – so I tried another option.

This one got out of control! Not my favorite, but it’s a much bolder look. I decided to skip the wash altogether:

I’m not sure if I prefer this one, or the first one. The supplies are the same:

Stamps: Oh So Succulent
Color Palette: Ecru (watercolor paper), Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Basic Black, Pear Pizazz, Always Artichoke, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Big Shot, Succulent Framelits, Aquapainter, Wink of Stella Gold, Diamond Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue dots, White Perfect Elements, Aquapainter

Have some fun! Mix and match elements of a card design – start with your own design, or CASE another paper artist. You never know what you’ll discover.

One more Avant Garden Welcome

Posted on March 16, 2017 by mauistamper

Sometimes I’m astonished by the difference a color palette can make. Sure, I’ve rearranged the images a bit, but this card is quite similar to the two previous versions found HERE and HERE.

This is a brighter, warmer color scheme, and as much as I love my Pool Party combos, this card in Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride really makes me happy. The circular design of the flowers around the Stitched Shape sentiment circle was really simple to do. Blushing Bride is such a soft tone that I didn’t even mask the flowers: I just stamped away!

Stamps: Avant Garden (Sale-a-bration 2017), retired demonstrator exclusive stamp set (sentiment)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Watermelon Wonder
Accessories: Metallic Ribbon (Sale-a-bration 2017), Sequins from the 2016 Holiday catalog, Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue dots

There are just a couple more weeks left to earn free Sale-a-bration products. When it’s over, it’s really over – these stamp sets and exclusive accessories DO NOT go on the Clearance Rack! Shop now.

Maui Stampers Team Shoebox Swap

Posted on March 13, 2017 by mauistamper

Last month, a few of the Maui Stampers got together to make cards. It’s fun to gather as demonstrators: we talk shop, catch up on each other’s lives, and make a LOT of cards. The Shoebox Swap format makes it go quickly, and even allows long-distance members to participate (we missed you, Peggy!)

We made gorgeous cards:

Peggy designed a fabulous valentine using the Sealed with Love bundle and punched ALL THE PIECES for us, since she sent hers in from Washing State.

Desiree created a beautiful card with the Special Reason bundle, showcasing the versatility of using both positive and negative die cuts:

Linda’s iridescent dragonfly using the Dragonfly Dreams bundle was stunning in Glimmer Paper:

And Heather created a card we all loved using Beautiful You:

There’s another image inside, and one of these days I’ll share this card again with that image. I made an error on mine and need to borrow the stamps from Heather to fix it!

There were other cards, but those crafters have their own blogs, and I’ll let them share.

Want to be part of the Maui Stamper team? It’s easy to do, and during Sale-a-bration you’ll choose an additional 2 free stamp sets for your starter kit. It’s a fantastic bonus to an already fantastic deal. Check out the details HERE.

Avant Garden Welcome v2.0

Posted on March 9, 2017 by mauistamper

Once I decided I liked the Avant Garden stamps, I couldn’t stop playing with color combinations:

It’s a funny coincidence that I wasn’t all that crazy about the 2016-2018 In Color Sweet Sugarplum. Maybe it’s the name. Maybe it’s something else. But as much as I know a lot of people who loved this color at first sight, I did not.

I guess it just had to grow on me.

Stamps: Avant Garden (Sale-a-bration 2017), sentiment from a retired demonstrator-only set
Color Palette: Whisper White, Sweet Sugarplum, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Sweet Sugarplum ruched ribbon, Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Thinlits, Pearl Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals

The color gradations come from stamping off (inking your stamp, stamping lightly onto scratch paper, and then stamping your project with the ink that remains on the stamp.) One of the things that I liked about the way that process worked on this card was that by stamping off lightly, there were gradations remaining on the flower image.

There’s one more version to come – stay tuned!

Can you catch my “mistake”?

Posted on March 5, 2017 by mauistamper

Tasty Truck is my second favorite Sale-a-bration 2017 gift with purchase (right behind Hey Chick!). I think my favorite part is playing with all of the color combinations, and our gorgeous Watercolor Pencils make the coloring so easy:

This is an easy image to fussy cut as it is nearly all straight lines. Don’t be intimidated by the fussy cut!

Since this was a congratulations card, I chose to leave the counter blank. When I’m ready to send it, I may add in some balloons or a banner. I like to leave options when I’m creating a card without a specific intention.

Stamps: Tasty Truck Sale-a-bration 2017
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Basic Grey, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Watercolor Pencils, Blender pens, Urban Underground DSP, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Wink of Stella Clear, Big Shot, Layering Circles Framelits

The Blender pens are my hands-down, go-to choice for working with the watercolor pencils. If you’re using watercolor paper, then an Aquapainter is a great tool. But Very Vanilla and Whisper White card stock are susceptible to pilling if they get worked with too much water, and the Blender pen flows the color so smoothly that I don’t have to rework the same area.

When I came up with the concept for this card, I had one thing in mind. Putting it together, I inadvertently did something else. See if you can figure it out!

See the Sale-a-bration 2017 offering HERE. To qualify for the gift with purchase, shop HERE.