Love my birdies!

Posted on May 11, 2015 by mauistamper

Tomorrow is the RemARKable Blog Tour. I’m featuring For the Birds, and I have a little sneak peek for you today:

Stamps: For the Birds, Dictionary (both retiring)
Color Palette: Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Colored Pencils (non-SU), All is Calm Washi (Clearance Rack), Stampin’ Dimensionals

This image is intentionally a little stark – I think it adds to the feeling of missing someone. That washi tape was serendipitous, as in my mind it looks quite USPS-y. (That’s a word because I wrote it out and that makes it so.)

Don’t be afraid of coloring pencils – they’re very easy to use and the colors are very forgiving. Plus there’s always an eraser. Really, I should use pencil more often.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow afternoon for the RemARKable tour!

So Happy Together, Reprise

Posted on May 9, 2015 by mauistamper

There are weddings coming up!

Stamps: A Dozen Thoughts, I Like You (Host)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Blush Blossom, Rose Red
Accessories: Something Borrowed DSP, White Jute ribbon, Deco Labels framelits, Big Shot, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Pearls

The Something Borrowed DSP is a bit of a sleeper. The designs are subtle and understated, and there are 6 designs, with 4 sheets of each design combination – still a total of 12 pages. Don’t miss it – it’s beautiful and very versatile.

The flowers are colored with Stampin’ Write markers. They are well suited for this sort of small, detailed coloring, and it goes quickly. Take another look at this host set, I Like You. Personally, I think the name is dumb and does the set an injustice, but I’m not in charge (and yes, we are all very happy about that.) There are just a few more days to earn this set as a free Host Benefit. Shop HERE.

Happy (Sparkly) Birthday

Posted on May 7, 2015 by mauistamper

If I were in charge (and you should be glad this is not the case) I would not retire Perfect Pennants:

I would also not retire Back to Black DSP, unless of course I had a brand new, Black and White/Vanilla DSP waiting in the wings (that would blow my socks off). Just sayin’ Stampin’ Up!

This bold, masculine font does the trick for Manly birthday cards. It goes into my permanent archives.

Maybe I should get a couple more packages of Back to Black…

Sheltering Tree: You Warm My Heart

Posted on April 29, 2015 by mauistamper

I’m slightly obsessed with Sheltering Tree:

This idea came from Alison Stachera – you can see her card HERE. Her concept was to show the transition from winter to spring. On Maui, that takes a different form, so I chose to soften the colors. (I’m not going to talk about how much I will miss the 2013-2015 In Color collection since it is largely unavailable, but still.)

Will you cross your fingers with me and hope that Sheltering Tree makes it into the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog? I am not finished with this stamp set.

Allison’s card was also constructed differently – I chose to allow the heart to be open to the inside. The two trees are aligned with the Stamp-a-ma-jig, an essential tool for lining up images. I don’t often use it, but when I do, nothing else will serve the purpose.

If you’re not a gambler, then I would hustle on over to the Online Store and order this stamp set now. Because if it DOESN’T make it into the next catalog, you could be very sad to have missed it.

This card also uses the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set (still available) and the Hearts Framelits (retired and sold out).

Sweet and simple thanks

Posted on April 27, 2015 by mauistamper

Some friends came over a couple of weeks ago. We usually meet once a month, and they asked a while ago if I would show them how to make a card. Of course I would:

Stamps: Bordering Blooms, Four You (retiring)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Linen Thread, Rhinestone Jewels, Corner Rounder punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

It’s a very simple design – these were all Stampin’ Newbies – but they had a good time. I loved the end result, as every card was a little (or a lot!) different!

We stamped the inside and the envelope too. That’s one of those small things that has a big WOW factor, at least in my book. I also add a Whisper White (or Very Vanilla) liner to the inside of every card made with colored card stock. It creates a finished look and I like the attention to detail.

Enjoy – and shop now for your best selection of retiring products at Anne’s Online Store.

Inspired by Washi

Posted on April 3, 2015 by mauistamper

A lovely friend surprised me with a gorgeous roll of washi tape:

Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Color Palette: Real Red, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Flower Frenzy Bigz die, Big Shot, Rhinestone jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Washi tape (non-Stampin’ Up!)

I drew the colors for this card directly from the lush floral design. I’ve seen a lot of pink with red lately, and gave that trend a little nod.

I haven’t played with stamped textures like this for a while and it was very satisfying. I especially love that honeycomb/chickenwire stamp. Definitely need to use that again.

Sheltering Tree

Posted on March 25, 2015 by mauistamper

Time spent amongst trees is never wasted time. Katrina Mayer

I am so thankful that Stampin’ Up! has given us another set of tree stamps. I was really disappointed when Branch Out was retired, but I’m delighted with Sheltering Tree.

So many trees to stamp!

If you’ll be on Maui with a little time this Saturday afternoon, come make cards with us! All cards will feature the Sheltering Tree stamp set – 5 cards, $10. You can’t beat that price! Message me for details.

Sakura Sympathy

Posted on March 14, 2015 by mauistamper

These sweet blossoms just begged to be colored in pinks:

Stamps: Indescribable Gift, Bloom with Hope (Host)
Color Palette: Wild Wasabi, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Blendabilities, Memento Black ink pad, Pearls

There is sad news regarding Blendabilities. Stampin’ Up! has made the difficult decision to withdraw ALL Blendabilities. Period. Because of quality concerns that cannot be overcome, they have been discontinued. While this is a super-frustrating problem for anyone who has gotten their hands on this great product, it’s also super-frustrating to receive items that do not perform to the high expectations we all have for Stampin’ Up! products.

I’m sharing this close-up image so that you can see that there is a lot of flexibility in the way you shade. I have never had formal art training, and anyone who has is likely exclaiming “Yeah, I see that!” However, with just a little practice, I found I was able to produce results that I found very satisfying.

The moral of this story? Have fun, try something new, and enjoy the process! And stay tuned…I’ll be giving this same image a try with an aquapainter and sharing the results.

An Exquisite Butterfly

Posted on March 9, 2015 by mauistamper

I finally broke out the Butterfly Basics bundle:

Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Color Palette: Whisper White, Shimmer White, Pool Party
Accessories: Butterfly Basics Thinlets, Vellum, Pool Party cotton ribbon, Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals

The bad news is that the Butterflies Thinlets are currently unavailable. It’s a serious challenge, but it’s one that is outside of Stampin’ Up!’s ability to control – the problem is due to shipping problems through the West Coast ports. I’m taking names and details now of anyone who would like this product so that as soon as it is available I can place an order.

Just a few construction details…

I cut the butterfly in Shimmer White paper, then used the negative template to draw an outline on a piece of vellum. I hand-trimmed the shape – can’t call it fussy cut because it wasn’t very fussy as the edges are hidden behind the die cut. I carefully adhered it with Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive). Use a very light touch with the Tombo. A few well-placed Stampin’ Dimensionals hold the butterfly above the ferns.

I struggled with the details but ultimately decided that for once, less could be more. I hope you enjoy! And please let me know if you’d like to be on my Priority List for the Butterfly Basics Bundle!

You & Me

Posted on February 23, 2015 by mauistamper

Perfect Pennants is another catalog sleeper – full of great sentiments!

Stamps: Perfect Pennants
Color Palette: Basic Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: 1 3/4″ circle punch, 2″ circle punch, hand-held stapler, Adventure Bound DSP, Cherry Cobbler Chevron Ribbon

The Adventure Bound DSP stack is full of gorgeous outdoor papers. They’re well suited to many circumstances but are especially useful in making Manly Cards.

And a staple is sort of tool-like, right?

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Category Archives: cards

Love my birdies!

So Happy Together, Reprise

Happy (Sparkly) Birthday

Sheltering Tree: You Warm My Heart

Sweet and simple thanks

Inspired by Washi

Sheltering Tree

Sakura Sympathy

An Exquisite Butterfly

You & Me

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