Another take on wreaths

Posted on April 20, 2016 by mauistamper

Wreaths are an all-season trend and we have beautiful stamps and framelits to create them. However, you can make an infinitely customizable wreath with your stamps and a simple circle mask:

Stamps: What I Love (SAB 2016), And Many More (retiring 5/31/16)
Color Palette: So Saffron, Pear Pizazz, Lost Lagoon (retiring 5/31/16), Soft Sky
Accessories: Linen Thread, White Bakers Twine, Wink of Stella, Rhinestone Jewels, Circles Framelits (retiring 5/31/16), Itty Bitty Accents punch pack (retiring 5/31/16)

This very simple card could be recreated in any color palette using nearly any flower stamp set. It could even be done with leaves, or shells, or whatever you can imagine.

I cut a circle in the center of a piece of card stock with a Circles Framelit. I taped my card front down with some washi tape and then taped the circle mask over it, positioning the circle in the center of the card front. From there, I played with the images until I found a balance that pleased me. A helpful hint: press firmly at the edge of the mask to get into the edge of the circle.

I made a few different arrangements until I was happy, so you might consider playing with this on some scrap paper until you get the results you want.

The What I Love stamp set is already retired as a 2016 Sale-a-bration selection, but you can see that many of the other products I’ve used are also retiring. If there’s a retiring product you love, I suggest you shop now as these things often sell out before the end of the catalog. Shop the Retiring List HERE. A PDF that you can print is available HERE.

What a RemARKable Spring!

Posted on April 14, 2016 by mauistamper

Aloha and welcome to the Valley Isle, where we don’t celebrate Spring as much as we celebrate whale season, mango season, lychee season and tourist season! I know some of the stops on this RemARKable Spring tour have taken you to places still waiting for the sun, but here on Maui you can throw off your jacket and glide into your rubbah slippahs.

Stamps: Circle of Spring, Hardwood, Butterfly Basics
Color Palette: Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot and Wreath Framelits, Stampin’ Trimmer, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Triple Banner Punch, Blender Pens, Pink Rhinestone Jewels (retired from a kit so old I can’t begin to tell you it’s age!)

The markings on the Stampin’ Trimmer make it very easy to cut away the top panel. I trimmed off 2 1/8″ to create the gate effect.

The wreath is colored quickly and simply with Blender Pens. With this much detail, I like the ability to work with a fine tip but still have control over color saturation. The Blender Pen allows more color variety than a Stampin’ Write marker.

If you know me, I’ll bet you guessed this was coming! This is my favorite combination and it’s hard for me to pass up an opportunity to showcase how well these colors play together.

In addition to Whisper White, Crumb Cake and Wild Wasabi, I’ve used Soft Sky, Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight. I often choose Pool Party in a case like this, but I liked the more subtle shade of Soft Sky this time.

The slats for the fence are made by using the Hardwood background stamp and cutting them with the Stampn’ Trimmer right along the board lines in the image. They end up being about 3/8″ wide, and I take one board and slice it in half for the cross bars. I tuck the end of the slat into the back of the Triple Banner punch to get a perfect peak.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these cards. Time to head over to see what Heather Mathieson has done for this month’s RemARKable Spring Blog Tour.

Anne Matasci – YOU ARE HERE!

Flowering Fields, continued

Posted on April 11, 2016 by mauistamper

My favorite combination appears to be your favorite as well! Thank you for your generous comments about what I’ve come to call the Flowering Fields Tile card. I continue exploring new color combinations with this design.

This version is Soft Sky with Pool Party. One of the things Stampin’ Up! does well is create tonal pairings in their color spectrum. I’ve stayed with Very Vanilla card stock and Sahara Sand ink and paper as my foundation. The Flowering Fields images can be used singly or in repetition, and I don’t copy from card to card, so each one is slightly different from the rest.

If you don’t enjoy coloring, this isn’t the card to make. I like to color, and because the tiles are small (1 3/8″ x 1 1/8″) if one tile doesn’t please me, I throw it out and start another. It’s only paper.

This version is Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride. I miss Crisp Cantaloupe, the retired In Color from last year. It was an ideal pairing with Calypso Coral, but I try to keep my published work current. It’s bad enough that I’m still featuring this retired Sale-a-bration stamp set!

My greens are Pear Pizazz and Old Olive, and the sentiment and Flowering Fields images are stamped in Soft Suede. The Timeless Textures backgrounds are stamped in Sahara Sand using the stamping off technique.

You might not notice it unless you were really studying the card, but I have a slight obsession with trying to get the floral images AND the backgrounds balanced. It involves a lot of muttering and staring and shifting, and I have no one to blame but myself.

It’s time to move on to current stamp sets, but I wanted to share this last group of cards to demonstrate the impact of color. Enjoy the creative process, and thanks again for your kind words.

A Bicycle Built for Two

Posted on March 31, 2016 by mauistamper

Growing up, my parents had a Schwinn Tandem. The Pedal Pushers stamp set from Sale-a-bration brought back very fond memories of that bike:

Stamps: Pedal Pusher, Teeny Tiny WIshes, Gorgeous Grunge
Color Palette: Whisper White, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Botanical Gardens Designer Washi, Big Shot, Arrows TIEF, Stampin’ Write markers, Corner Rounder punch

Coloring this tandem with Stampin’ Write markers goes quickly, and I wouldn’t hesitate to make a stack of these – it wouldn’t take long. The color splashes are a nod to the 60’s and 70’s. It’s a bit of an inside joke, a throwback to the time when this bike would have been in our garage.

Don’t tell my dad you’ve seen this card. I’m saving it for his birthday. #ImBringingBirthdaysBack.

If you like this stamp set, today is the last day to place an order and get one for free. Shop HERE.

Happy Birthday from the Barnyard

Posted on March 28, 2016 by mauistamper

I love these animal friends from the Barnyard Babies set. I’ve tried watercoloring them, but I like the results best when I use Stampin’ Write markers to highlight their features. Pool Party and Island Indigo are one of my favorite color combinations.

We made this card at my #ImBringingBirthdaysBack class earlier this month, and I made a few extra for my personal use when everyone was finished. I think the Silver Glimmer paper balloons are the perfect amount of bling.

The Stampin’ Up! color range includes a number of tonal combinations. I kept the base colors Whisper White and Basic Gray, and experimented with the accent colors. This is Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride (oh, I miss Crisp Cantaloupe! Do you think we’ll have a color refresh this year?)

The diagonal stripe comes from the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper stacks. There’s a lot of bang for the buck in these fat pads of 12 x 12 patterned paper!

Yellow and grey are a very trendy color combination. I paired So Saffron with Crushed Curry for this Buttercup version of my card.

If you look closely, you’ll see that I used both colors of marker in this example. Making a batch of one style of cards leaves lots of room for experimenting!

For this last sample, I used the same Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride combination but used the softer, more subtle Blushing Bride stripe for the DSP background. This one seems more like a baby card to me as a result.

Seriously. Have you ever seen such a contented cow?

What’s your favorite Stampin’ Up! color combination? Which of these do you like the best?

Happy Amazing Birthday

Posted on March 25, 2016 by mauistamper

Last weekend we made #ImBringingBirthdaysBack cards:

Stamps: Amazing Birthday, Beautiful Ride, Gorgeous Grunge
Color Palette: Hello Honey, Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Party Punch Pack, Black Glimmer paper (Holiday 2015), Stampin’ Write markers, Stampin’ Dimensionals

There were 10 cards and everyone could choose which card and how many to make. It was a lovely Saturday afternoon, and I made quite a few cards myself. It worked out so well that I’m planning on doing another one soon. Let me know if you’d like to come.

I lopped off the first HAPPY from this sentiment to make it fit the picture in my head. The retired Black Glimmer paper leaped out of my stash and insisted on being included in this card.

I love how this card feels like a square card – the Whisper White panel is 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ – but measures a standard 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ to make the whole envelope/mailing/postage thing work out. What’s the point of a birthday card that’s too much trouble to mail?

Sale-a-bration is wrapping up. The last day for orders is next week Thursday at 7:50pm HST. Avoid the rush: shop HERE.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I hope you’ll seriously consider the April Paper Pumpkin. The kits are beautifully designed and perfect to grab and go when you need a little crafty pick-me-up. You can choose a one month subscription to try it out or save on a three month subscription and get a free SAB pick. Deadline to receive the April kit is April 10th!

The Last RemARKable Month of Sale-a-bration

Posted on March 10, 2016 by mauistamper

There are 21 day left in Sale-a-bration: 21 glorious days when every $50 you spend earns you FREE exclusive products. The RemARKables are sharing SAB inspiration this month:

There’s a LOT going on here – and I love that it all coordinates! Stampin’ Up! is the Coordination Super Hero.

Stamps: Botanicals for You (SAB), Honeycomb Happiness (SAB), Easter Lamb
Color Palette: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder
Accessories: Botanical Gardens DSP, Big Shot Fry Box Bigz L, Ovals Framelits and Zig Zag TIEF, Fringe Scissors, Botanical Gardens Washi Tape, Metallics Glitter Tape (SAB), Wink of Stella brush, Paper Snips, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This is a face only a mother could love. There’s a HEAP of Stella (none of that Winkin’ business here) and up close it looks as though this chick did a face plant out at Keawakapu Beach. In real life, it’s just super-sparkly.

I trimmed the front of the Fry Box to within 1/8″ of the side and bottom tabs, then turned them under and attached the box to the card front with dimensionals to create a true 3-D basket.

I had a blast with these eggs. Arrange Washi on card stock and then use the Oval Framelits collection to give you a perfect oval egg. That’s silver Metallic Glitter Tape – no adhesive required!

Stamps: Botanicals for You
Color Palette: Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Island Indigo
Accessories: 2015-2017 In Color Designer Paper Stack, Rhinestone Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This is softer and simpler, and will suit any occasion. I like to have a stash of cards like this – I can add a sentiment inside and have a birthday, thank you, or Easter card as quickly as you can open an ink pad.

Rhinestone jewels are featured on the Weekly Deals through Monday. I consider myself “out” of Rhinestone jewels when I’m down to 3 (unopened) packages. What’s your number?

I hope you found a little inspiration here today! Bloggers are always grateful when you pin our creations and share what you love. If you comment on the posts as you travel through the blog today you’ll make our blogger hearts fill with delight!

Heather Mathieson is next up, and the full tour is listed below in case you want to go your own way.

Anne Matasci – YOU ARE HERE!!

Watercolor wash

Posted on February 28, 2016 by mauistamper

I’m not a classically trained artist – SURPRISE – but I pay attention to trends and try to pick up simple techniques. One thing I’ve learned is that watercolor paper makes a big difference when you are, well, watercoloring. A couple of weeks ago I played with watercolor wash:

Stamps: Flowering Fields, Tin of Cards
Color Palette: Whisper White, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Aquapainter, Stampin’ Write markers

I started with the watercolor paper and played with the wash. If you look closely at the card above, you’ll see that I held it upright before the water had soaked in, and it created a little river of yellow through the blue. Color theory: yellow + blue = green.

When I trimmed the panels down to make cards, the color was too close to the edge. That just means I’ll have to make more in order to try again.

The sentiment on this card is from the Wetlands stamp set, and I used my Uniball White Gel pen to add some accents to those flowers. These are simple cards – you could make a batch in one afternoon. I like to make them without sentiments and set them aside until I need them. I can customize with the sentiment and font that matches my purpose.

Experiment a little! It’s just paper {wink}.

Hello My Friend

Posted on February 25, 2016 by mauistamper

Never in a million years would I have picked the Hello stamp set from Sale-a-bration to be so versatile…but I’m here to tell you that it is.

Stamps: Hello (Sale-a-bration 2016)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Blackberry Bliss, So Saffron, Old Olive
Accessories: Wildflower Fields DSP, Botanical Garden Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Banner punch

This is based rather generously on THIS card by Brian King. It’s a very simple concept that works especially well with the big bold HELLO and the accessory phrases that come with this Sale-a-bration set (I don’t need to mention that you can’t buy this set, you can only earn it as a free gift when you spend $50 before March 31st, do I?)

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I ordered these Botanical Garden Jewels, but I knew I needed to have them. I think they’re the perfect touch, don’t you?

Trust me, you could make a heap of these in no time at all and have a fabulous stash ready for any occasion. Or just ready for all of your girlfriends’ birthdays. Which is about the same thing.

Blushing Flowering Fields

Posted on February 22, 2016 by mauistamper

I think I am officially obsessed with the Flowering Fields stamp set available through Sale-a-bration. I’ve done a number of variations on the same theme – the most recent one is in Blushing Bride:

Stamps: Flowering Fields, Timeless Texture, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Rose Red, Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Pear Pizazz
Accessories: Linen Thread, Stampin’ Write Markers, Uniball White Gel Pen, Wink of Stella

I love coloring in these images with my Stampin’ Write markers. Sometimes I use the fat, brush end, and sometimes it’s the pointy writing end, but either way it’s something I find relaxing.

I mix and match the backgrounds from Timeless Treasures – it’s one of those sets I know I’ll reach for again and again. And speaking of reaching for something, my Wink of Stella brush is always on my craft table these days. I’m thinking of getting one for my bathroom too – don’t you think a little {wink} would be just the thing for those too-early-Monday-mornings?

Here’s how I start…the backgrounds are stamped off and I do 3 of each one. My tiles are 1 3/8″ x 1 1/8″ and I have to stamp twice, but I’ve found it easy to line up the images by eye.

Once I have a set of images I like, I move them around until I find a sequence that pleases me. The rest is just Fast Fuse (and a bow with the Linen Thread, but I’ve done hundreds if not thousands of those and it’s No.Big.Deal.)

Here’s the original. Keep your eye out – there are more to come!

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Category Archives: cards

Another take on wreaths

What a RemARKable Spring!

Flowering Fields, continued

A Bicycle Built for Two

Happy Birthday from the Barnyard

Happy Amazing Birthday

The Last RemARKable Month of Sale-a-bration

Watercolor wash

Hello My Friend

Blushing Flowering Fields

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