Great combinations with the Color Coach

Posted on August 24, 2011 by mauistamper

The new Stampin’ Up! Color Coach is a great way to jump start a project when you’re stuck for something new. I’ve used this combination before, and liked it so well I tried it again:

Flight of the Butterfly, 5th Avenue Floral, and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Cherry Cobbler and Wisteria Wonder card stock
Pink Pirouette, Cherry Cobbler and Wisteria Wonder Classic ink pads
Butterfly and Scallop trim border punches
Big Shot, Petal Cone Bigz L and Scallop Square Bigz dies
In Color Designer Printed brads
Stamp-a-ma-jig
Rhinestone jewels
Stampin’ Dimensionals

There are loads of tutorials for easel cards out there, so I’m not going to re-invent the wheel – just Google it (Easel card tutorial, not the wheel). Trust me, this is another case of “much easier than it looks”!

We did pull out the Stamp-a-ma-jig for this project. If you’re picky – and I am the first to admit that I am – some things just can’t be done by the eye-ball method. I need those little dots around that butterfly to line up Just Right. Even if Flight of the Butterfly were available as a clear mount stamp set, I would still use the SAMJ.

When we did this in class, I was demonstrating the SAMJ to a newer stamper. I cracked up when she pulled her stamp away from the positioner, looked at the results, and happily exclaimed, “It worked!” I have to confess that I have that same feeling every time I use that tool to get perfect alignment – I’m just so happy it works.

There’s another Getting to Know the In Colors class featuring Pool Party on September 18th. If you head on over to the calendar at my Online Store, you can see the details. Did you know that you can RSVP on that calendar? If you do, I’ll even give you a reminder. Oooh la la!

The Wonder of Wisteria

Posted on August 22, 2011 by mauistamper

Wisteria Wonder was the first 2011-2012 In Color selection featured in my Getting to Know the In Colors class series. I had one of those happy moments when I held it up and everyone ooohed and aahhhed:

Just Believe and Bella Toile stamp sets
Crumb Cake Classic ink pad
Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush Stampin’ Write markers
Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake and Concord Crush card stock
Wisteria Wonder Patterns Prints Designer Series Paper (In Color collection)
Wisteria Wonder 3/8 inch ruffled ribbon
Blender pen
Pearl Jewels

It’s a very simple card, but I love the combination of colors, and I love that Just Believe stamp set. Someone in class asked if that was an “old” stamp set – it was brand new LAST year! It doesn’t seem old to me, because I always find new ways to use the images in the set.

The main image in this card is inked with Crumb Cake ink, and the ink is removed from the flower portions of the image with a Blender Pen. We used the Wisteria Wonder Stampin’ Write marker to add color back to the flowers, and then used the flat edge of the Concord Crush marker to accent the centers of the flowers before we stamped the image.

I’ve seen many cards using Wisteria Wonder and neutrals. That seems to be a really popular pairing, especially Wisteria Wonder and Crumb Cake. (hijack: I know Stampin’ Up! likes colors to have two-word, alliterative names, but really, what was wrong with Kraft??) I like that look myself, but enough is enough. We did some projects with other color combinations too. (stay tuned)

Here’s the inside of the card:

Oh dear, my title is going to create havoc with Google searches by gardeners in love with a vine. My bad 🙂

Wow cards: Tre

Posted on August 16, 2011 by mauistamper

This final WOW card is based on a swap I received from Sacha Wilson at convention:

Woodgrain and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
River Rock, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke, Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie card stock
River Rock and Soft Suede classic ink pads
XL 2 Step Bird, Medium Jewelry Tag, Bitty Flower, Wide oval and Scallop Border Trim punches
Stampin’ Dimensionals and Mini Glue dots
Stampin’ Sponges and Rhinestone jewels
Basic Black and Riding Hood Red Stampin’ Write markers
Unibal Signo White Gel pen
Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon

We all got a little giddy with this card. Cheryl said she was going to make this for her Christmas card, but Robbie and I convinced her that she should just make two – one for each of us. We all started telling stories about the cards we had made that nearly drove us insane…Denny had us all cracking up about the Santa card with the bazillion little HAND CUT pieces. What on earth makes us think we want to make dozens of cards like that? I’ve done it too!

How could you not love this little bird at Christmas??

Not gonna do it. Nope. Cheryl, I’m passing on the torch.

Wow cards: Due

Posted on August 15, 2011 by mauistamper

For our second Wow card, I cased one of my own recent favorite projects:

Best Friends and Perfectly Penned stamp sets
Naturals White, Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush and Pear Pizazz card stock
Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush Classic ink pads
Vanilla Smooch Spritz
Big Shot and Fun Flowers Bigz L die
XL Two Step Bird, Boho and Flower Builder punches
Neutrals buttons and White Bakers Twine

I loved that big distressed flower and brought it back in a new color scheme. To get that look, you REALLY have to smush the individual die cuts a lot, then stack them and secure them with a button or brad, and then mist them. The misting process softens the paper even more, and so when you do your final crush and fluff your petals crumple naturally. The paper also holds its shape best if it has been misted and allowed to dry in place.

We had a pretty good time smushing those flowers. It’s an excellent way to take out a little aggression, because the paper really benefits from some serious twisting and crumpling. Once you’ve really worked it over and you start to assemble the flower, all of that crankiness seems to melt away as your blossom takes shape. Who could be angry with a flower?

I think I’ll cut some Fun Flower shapes to have on hand for emergencies.

Wow Cards: Uno

Posted on August 14, 2011 by mauistamper

I liked the little card so well, I turned it into a full sized card for my WOW class:

It’s almost exactly the same – except there isn’t a pocket on the front. This card still opens from the top, and the inside has a lovely panel but I forgot to take a photo of that. Honestly, I must be sniffin’ the Tombo these days because I seem to forget more than I remember!!

I tried something a little different last week – a WOW card class. In the past when I’ve done card classes I’ve tried to have something for everyone, but I’ve learned it’s pretty difficult to please all of the people, all of the time. The people who like simple cards don’t want to fuss with detailed cards, and vice versa. This time we focused on details – lots and lots of details! Cheryl said she had to stand up to get it right.

Her hands were flyin’! I took 3 different photos and her hands are a blur in every one! I have to confess that when I really get into a project I stand up too. I just can’t seem to concentrate if I’m sitting down, or maybe it’s just that I have to get my whole body into the process.

Hmmm. I wonder if Weight Watchers will assign a Points Plus activity value for aerobic card making and paper crafting?

Stamp theory

Posted on August 9, 2011 by mauistamper

In theory, you only need a couple of stamp sets – change up your colors and your layout, and you have a completely different card:

Raining Flowers and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Very Vanilla, Melon Mambo and Concord Crush card stock
Melon Mambo, Always Artichoke, Daffodil Delight and Concord Crush Classic ink pads
Eyelet border punch
Piercing tool, template and mat
Always Artichoke Seam Binding
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Big Shot and Fun Flowers Bigz L die
Crystal Effects

In THEORY, I said – after all, we all know there is no such thing as too many stamps. Not enough room to store your stamps, yes, this is possible.

If you look closely and compare today’s card with the previous Raining Flowers card, you’ll see many of the same elements – the Fun Flowers Bigz L die, Crystal Effects, and Two-Step Stampin’ – but these are very different cards. Of course, there are no pancakes in this post, so this card suffers by comparison, but that’s just the way the Ricotta and Mango Stuffed pancake crumbles.

I’ve gotta stop thinking about those pancakes.

It’s Raining Flowers

Posted on August 7, 2011 by mauistamper

What a perfect name for a stamp set!

Raining Flowers and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets
Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Early Espresso card stock
Pocketful of Posies Designer Series Paper
Baha Breeze, Melon Mambo and Early Espresso Classic ink pads
Medium Jewelry Tag punch
Big Shot; Two Tags Bigz and Fun Flowers Bigz L dies
Early Espresso 1/8 inch taffeta and Rose Red Seam Binding ribbons
Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stampin’ Sponges
Crystal Effects

Don’t forget – Designer Series Papers are on sale this month – buy 3 packages and get one free!

Speaking of free, Raining Flowers was one of the many free stamp sets I brought home from convention (talk about excess baggage – next year I’m bringing an extra suitcase!). It’s a Two-Step Stampin’ set, but even better, the various pieces coordinate and layer really well together. It’s almost like Stampin’ Up! MEANT TO DO THAT!! (I know. What a concept.)

Speaking of things I’ve been meaning to do, I finally got my two bites (ok, three) of pancakes. My son has been on the mainland for a month and he flew home yesterday. To celebrate his return home, the two of us had breakfast at Longhi’s this morning. A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Maui Stamper and I had breakfast there, and he rejected my suggestion that he order Longhi’s famous and perhaps even more fabulous Ricotta and Mango Stuffed Pancakes. Mr. Maui Stamper cares about his health, and I care about my waistline, and neither one of us could justify an entire plate full of such decadence. But I wanted some of those pancakes, so I convinced my son that we should go out to breakfast this morning since his dad is now away. Of course, I would be happy to order for him.

I have been anticipating those pancakes for two weeks, and when our server told us we had JUST (by 3 minutes) missed breakfast I was in shock. I told him how much I’d been looking forward to those TWO BITES of pancakes, and he returned in a couple of minutes to say the chef wouldn’t mind making us an order of Ricotta and Mango Stuffed Pancakes. WOW! Did that ever make my day!

Would you like to see the pancakes?

Look carefully…there are two forks.

I had exactly 3 bites and my son polished off the rest no problem. They were DIVINE.

Color you can learn to love

Posted on August 2, 2011 by mauistamper

Some things just need a little time to grow on you:

Best Friends Forever and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Whisper White, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo card stock
More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black Classic ink pads
Timeless Portrait fabric
Lace Ribbon Border punch
Linen thread
Regals Designer Buttons

I didn’t like the colors when I first saw this Make and Take card at convention – I’m not a real fan of More Mustard – and I wasn’t sure if I liked that fabric “flag”. I didn’t finish it in Salt Lake, but brought it home to put together in the relative sanity of my studio. As I looked at the separate pieces, and then started to put them together, I decided I not only liked the card but I loved the color combination.

Isn’t that life? I try very hard to be open-minded, but I often struggle with snap judgement. Mr Maui Stamper, on the other hand, seldom makes quick judgements. I think that’s why we’re so fabulously compatible. We’ll come home from an evening out together and have completely different perspectives on who we’ve seen and what we’ve heard. It’s not as though we were at two different events, but we have different insights.

Marriage is a lot of work, but it’s a wonderful thing. You can learn to love it, too.

Stampinella

Posted on July 31, 2011 by mauistamper

This summer has been so busy that I haven’t been able to set aside playing around time in my studio for a while. However, the stars lined up and today was the day.

Mr. Maui Stamper likes to come by and see how “Stampinella” is doing. It always cracks me up when he calls me that – I’m not sure if it’s because I’m covered in ink, or because my studio looks like the wicked Stepsisters came crashing through, tossing bits of paper everywhere. What I really need are those cute little mice and birds from Cinderella that come in and finish her dress for her (they would clean up for me, thank you), but what I end up getting is an orange tabby with a shedding problem who wants to spread across my workspace.

Mice, birds, and cats aside, here’s one of the projects I finished today:

Best Friends Forever and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Naturals White and Soft Suede card stock
Crumb Cake, Marina Mist and Soft Suede Classic ink pads
Log Cabin Smooch Spritz
Antique Brads
Stampin’ Sponges
Big Shot and Fun Flowers Bigz L dies
XL Two Step Bird Punch

I am quickly falling in love with that Best Friends Forever stamp set, one of the sets we received in our convention bags. I initially thought it would be more of a teen set with that “BFF” image but THOSE LEAVES. Oh my goodness. I love those leaves. I put them on EVERYTHING. I hope you like them because you are going to see a lot of them.

I wanted a more bronzed Antique brad but this was all that was left. There are more on the way, but I didn’t feel like waiting. Maybe I’ll change it out and maybe I won’t. Sometimes the serendipity of the moment is just the thing, and I’m a big believer in Carpe Diem – Sieze the Day. If I waited, who knows what those Stepsisters would be up to? Letting the mice and birds in to torment the cat, that’s what they would do.

And how about that Smooch? It’s been sitting on the side of my desktop just waiting to be noticed. Good thing I looked.

In Color 2011-2012 and a wonderful friend

Posted on July 28, 2011 by mauistamper

I became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for a lot of reasons. One of the best reasons was a woman who has become a wonderful friend – Crystal Kondo. She came by just before my Open House and brought gifts – she always brings gifts. This time she brought me 5 cards made with the 5 In Colors for 2011-2012, each paired with Crumb Cake card stock, and each made with the Hostess stamp set Simply Soft: