Inspire.Create.Share.2015 Day Two

Posted on July 24, 2015 by mauistamper

What an amazing day! Convention was awesome, and then THIS HAPPENED:

My roomie (she-who-must-not-be-named) and I had just arrived at the local grocery store to pick up some goodies when I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned around and saw the face of my son – grinning broadly – and had one of those moments of absolute confusion. I’m pretty sure I shouted “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE???” four or five times while he laughed. He’s in Boise for the summer and decided to drive over to surprise me. It worked!

Ok, let’s back-track to the first man in my day. I began with an early morning swap – Manly Cards – and look who was in line in front of me! A MAN! There were 4 groups of swappers in this swap and there were actually TWO MEN:

These guys are happy to be here! And we were happy to swap with them.

Sara Douglass, our interim CEO, gave a heartfelt and very honest presentation this morning about how she views Stampin’ Up! I am continually impressed with the integrity of this company and the many individuals who make up the home office staff.

We had great presentations and training throughout the day, and of course plenty of stamping:

Every presentation included holiday catalog products, and often included non-holiday uses. This is a great catalog and it’s going to be tough to choose what to add to my first order!

Birds. Need I say more? (Three little birds…don’t you worry.)

Walking down the corridor I bumped into Wendy, my very first convention roomie. Somehow we manage to find each other every year and it’s always a delight to see her!

And if the day wasn’t glorious enough, I won a prize patrol! Everyone in attendance also received our new Basic Black archival ink. I stamped with it during make-and-takes, and this is the black ink we’ve all been waiting for.

What a great day. I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Inspire.Create.Share.2015 Day One

Posted on July 23, 2015 by mauistamper

It was a very FULL day today!

Entering the Convention Hall on the first day is always such a high energy experience – everyone is anticipating a great event, and the entry is lined with Stampin’ Up! employees who cheer for us, give us high fives, and greet us as we enter.

They took FOREVER to get us to the point where we saw this cover!!! We saw lots of project samples and new products, but this cover includes them all. As they completed each project, they would add a card to the little wooden tree sitting on the stage – when it was complete, they revealed that it was the cover image!

This was one of my favorite project samples – there’s a new stamp set and a TIEF featured here. I can’t show you photos of the actual products, but I can show you the projects! LOVE these branches…and just so you know, there’s a bird in the stamp set too.

The sweet little retro deer is actually fussy cut out of one of the new holiday DSP collections. The stamps and embellishments are new too!

This is a little hard to see, but check out these new edgelits! There’s a coordinating stamp set too…love this.

There was lots more to the day, but we finished off with sweets at the after party. The cupcake pops were delicious, and lots of people were dressed in Roaring Twenties style to fit the theme. There was a great band teaching dancing too:

It was such a fun evening! I have to apologize for the lack of details here, but I know what you really want are the images…and it’s late and I need to get to sleep. There’s more coming tomorrow!

One last image and then good night:

Inspire.Create.Share.2015 – the Anticipation

Posted on July 22, 2015 by mauistamper

We’re here and we are ready to rummmmbllle!!

My companion and I are settled into our hotel – if you know the person I am traveling with, please don’t mention the name – there’s a little witness-protection-program-action going on. Message me if you absolutely have to know the details! But we began the day with a favorite routine:

We wear the same size Birks and we favor the same style. And we each got a new pair this summer!

We did a little shopping (ok, we did some shopping) and were ready for lunch. Lunch at the Wasatch Brewery was delicious but it was this brownie – made with Polygamy Porter (and yes, it’s a thing) – that was the highlight of the meal.

We’d been given some shopping tips and decided we would do some walking. Big dark clouds threatened our new Birks, but we managed to avoid the worst of it. This was the first time we’ve ventured out to Sugarhouse, and we loved the neighborhood. Charming architecture, shady streets, and lots of cute shops and restaurants. We were pretty sure we’d walked off that brownie, so we grabbed an Uber to our favorite restaurant:

We were willing to eat at the counter and were seated within 10 minutes – a Red Iguana Record! Amazing food and drink as always. (Are you noticing a theme to the day?)

We got back to the hotel and hustled over to a RemARKable Stampers event. We arrived in time for a little socializing and some swapping, but failed to take any photos. Our stamping relationships live in the virtual world for most of the year, so when we get to see each other in real life it’s a special thing!

Pretty good, considering we had 2 Uber rides in there!

Our swaps and bag vouchers are laid out and we are ready for an early start tomorrow!

Sweet treats, Maui Stamper Style

Posted on July 18, 2015 by mauistamper

I’m on the road, having survived PACKING. I should be better at it, but I’m not. Weather always messes with my packing because I hate to be cold. That’s a problem, because if it’s cold, I get cranky buying extra cold weather clothing that I won’t use at home. First World Problems, as my son says.

First stop is a visit to my parents – I’ve discovered it’s an entirely different experience to spend time with just the two of them. No Mr. Maui Stamper, no beloved grandchildren, not even my siblings – just me, Mom and Dad. Oh, and Henry the Love Bug – he’s the cat that managed to work his way into the family after my Mom said No More Cats. So it’s me, Mom, Dad and Henry, just hanging out, and it’s pretty nice.

Next stop is Salt Lake City and Inspire.Create.Share.2015! Will you be there? Come and see me – I have treats!

Stamps: Sweet Stack
Color Palette: Mint Macaron, Lost Lagoon, Soft Sky
Accessories: Boho Chic TIEF, Banner Triple Punch, Rhinestone Jewels, Handheld Stapler

I DID NOT WANT THAT PUNCH. Oh no, I did not, Sam-I-Am. But I was wrong. WRONG!! That punch is the BOMB. Can you imagine making these using your paper snips to cut each of those little banner flags? I Think Not.

Crystal is a rock star. She figured out that that the Banner Triple punch was just the right size to work with these little clear treat bags she found, and the Hershey Macnut Kisses were just the thing to go inside. This was a simple project to put together – I think selecting the colors was the hardest part. And I know I could have gone with colors that matched the Kisses a little more, but I chose what I chose. So there, Sam-I-Am.

And when you see me at Convention and say “I follow the Maui Stamper” we will both know that what you’re really after is the chocolate. And that is perfectly fine.

Do come say hello – and don’t wait until Saturday. I can’t carry these things around forever.

Maui Stampers and Friends MADE ON MAUI Craft Fair

Posted on November 21, 2014 by mauistamper

Maui Stampers & Friends Christmas Craft Fair – all MADE ON MAUI

Christmas decor, gifts, cards, baked goods, embroidered linens, jewelry – all this and more! Tomorrow – Saturday – 9am until 2pm – Maui Masonic Lodge at 190 W. Kamehameha. Hope to see you there!

Christmas a la Carte…on Maui

Posted on September 19, 2014 by mauistamper

Every year about this time I get together with Crystal and we plan a Christmas Extravaganza. This year we’re doing it a little differently – it will be Open House style, so you can come when you’re able and leave when you must. You can choose to make one project, all the projects, or anything in between. We’re calling it Christmas a la Carte and it’s planned for Saturday, November 8.

You need to reserve and pay for your choices by Wednesday, October 22. The event will be held at the Maui Masonic Lodge, and you’ll need to BYO adhesive for the basic assembly. Let me know if you would like a fresh Tombo or SNAIL for your crafting pleasure, and I’ll add it to your class fee and have it waiting for you on the 8th.

Cheryl is helping with this too – I promise it will be a lot of fun!

Payment is by check or Paypal – please let me know which method you prefer when you sign up. Can’t wait to craft with you!

Weekly Deals April 8 to 14, 2013

Posted on April 8, 2014 by mauistamper

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means – new DEALS;

There are new MDS downloads this week, too:

And if you’re working on MDS projects for Easter, the talented Robin Merriman has created this graphic to help you find just what you’re looking for:

I’m really happy this morning (despite the CRAZY tradewinds) because I’m officially registered for Stampin’ Up!’s annual craft-fest/love-fest/AllThingsStampin’Up!-fest in July!!

New demonstrators attend for free this year – there’s still time, you know! Come along with me!

Step into Spring

Posted on March 7, 2014 by mauistamper

If you’re a blog subscriber in a cold and snowy place, I’m sorry. What passes for winter here on the Valley Isle was nowhere in sight yesterday, and although the calendar says there are a couple more weeks til it’s official, I’m proclaiming Spring! To celebrate, I’m teaming up with my BFF Cheryl to present a spring paper crafting class:

Sunday, March 30, 2014 1 to 4:30pm
Maui Lodge, 190 W. Kamehameha Avenue, Kahului
Cost: $20 paid by March 15; $23 if paid after that date
Includes: Everything you need to make all 3 projects including your very own full box of Glue Dots! Chocolate egg is included; shreddies and plastic eggs are not 🙂 DSP is Watercolor Wonder from the Occasions catalog but patterns will vary.

We’re really excited about these projects – and we think you will be too! Seating is limited and your payment holds your spot at the craft table, so don’t waste time if you would like to join us.

The card-in-a-box has become my new favorite – there are so many possibilities. Every card comes out differently, even when the same elements are used. We’re offering this floral option as well as a bunny version:

Pretty fabulous, wouldn’t you say? And how about this Tag-a-Bag-Box with the Spiral Flower?

Your box will be fully embellished, but we will leave it up to you to fill it.

Our last project – a real quickie – features the new Scallop Tag Topper punch from the Occasions catalog. It makes so much more than tags!

This is guaranteed to be a great afternoon, and I hope you’ll join us!

One more craft fair…

Posted on December 6, 2013 by mauistamper

Crystal and I will be at the Nisei Sons and Daughters Craft Fair on Sunday – lots of gifties!

This is the (sadly) retired Fancy Favor box, but with your Simply Scored you could create one like it in a jiffy! Since we now have both the Curly Label and Petite Curly Label punches, Santa’s belt buckle is a snap. And if you haven’t picked up Tags 4 You from the Holiday catalog, take another look – it’s a perfect match with the Label Bracket punch.

The Burlap ribbon – very trendy this season! – offsets the color of the Tag a Box perfectly. A little Lion Coffee and some Ghiradelli make this gift most welcome.These tags are for that perfect ~~bottle of wine~~ gift for that very special friend 🙂 And yes, the Bigz Two Tags die is retired also. I guess if you want these you’ll just have to come down to the gym at Maui High this Sunday (December 8, 2013) from 9am until 2pm.