April Aloha

Posted on April 1, 2016 by mauistamper

This image looks a lot like the plumerias that grow in my backyard. It wasn’t intentional, but the serendipity makes me smile:

Stamps: Birthday Blossoms
Color Palette: Crushed Curry, So Saffron, Lost Lagoon
Accessories: Aquapainter

To be authentic, I should have added heaps of blossoms at the bottom of the calendar. Plumeria are as famous for their beautiful litter as they are for their ease of stringing into lei.

Take a moment to see what Cheryl and Crystal have done with their calendars for April. And if you’d like to shop, visit my Online Store.

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!

Tuesday Deals

Posted on March 22, 2016 by mauistamper

Time for Tuesday Deals! There are great options again this week – I love it when basics like the Pearls are available as Deals!

Curvy Corner Trio Punch #139683 ~~$20.00~~ $15.00

Gold Stampin’ Glitter #133457 ~~$4.00~~ $3.00

Pearl Basic Jewels #119247 ~~$5.00~~ $3.75

Silver 5/8″ Satin Ribbon #134548 ~~$7.00~~ $5.25

White Perfect Accents #138416 ~~$5.00~~ $3.75

If you live locally, I will be placing an order this weekend and you are welcome to piggy-back in order to save on shipping. There are only 2 weeks left of Sale-a-bration. Isn’t there something still on your list?

If you’re not getting Paper Pumpkin, there couldn’t be a better time to begin! Subscribe by April 10th to get the exclusive free stamp set – and no, we haven’t seen it either! Choose a three month subscription (#137859) with a special Sale-a-bration price of $55 by March 31st and you’ll receive a free Sale-a-bration choice.

Mine arrived yesterday – and I can’t wait to play!

Weekly Deals March 15 to 21

Posted on March 15, 2016 by mauistamper

How is it Tuesday already?? Time for great DEALS:

Cherry On Top Cotton Paper Assortment #138308 Price: ~~$7.00~~ $5.25

Festive Flower Builder Punch #139682 Price: ~~$18.00~~ $13.50

Fringe Scissors #133325 Price: ~~$10.00~~ $7.50

Gold Foil Sheets (not silver) #132622 Price: ~~$4.00~~ $3.00

Happy Patterns Decorative Masks #138313 Price: ~~$6.00~~ $4.50

These goodies are just in time for one last Sale-a-bration order – shop HERE.

#ImBringingBirthdaysBack

Posted on March 12, 2016 by mauistamper

Are you on the Birthdays bandwagon?

I’m offering a class next Saturday, March 19th. Make one card, make 10 cards, make 3 of card #6 and 2 of card #9. Cost is $3 a card or 4 cards for $10. The cards (with the exception of #5) are designed to go together quickly and they are suitable for beginniners.

I must have your personal card order by midnight on Thursday, March 17th.

Contact me with questions or your class order!

(Note that card #5 will take longer than the rest – it’s not hard, just more time-consuming)

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!!

Weekly Deals – a good week to stock up!

Posted on March 8, 2016 by mauistamper

As Sale-a-bration nears the finish line, the Weekly Deals come through with stash-worthy goodies:

Basic Black Bakers Twine #134576 ~~$3.00~~ $2.25

Bow Builder Punch #137414 ~~$18.00~~ $13.50

Color Me Irresistible Specialty DSP #138439 ~~$13.00~~ $9.75

Handpicked Framelits #138439 ~~$25.00~~ $18.75

Rhinestone Jewels #119246 ~~$5.00~~ $3.75

I don’t know about you, but I think your average 6-year-old would be THRILLED to find a package of Rhinestone Jewels in an Easter basket. Talk about a hip Easter Bunny. Go on, be a hero.

It would be easy to get to $50 with a selection of these Deals, and then you could purchase the Flowering Fields stamp set – the clear mount version is listed as low quantity on the Inventory Status Report, and I’d feel so badly if you missed it! Shop HERE.

This card and the Blushing Bride version have proved to be very popular and have already been CASED. I’m very grateful to those of you who linked back to The Maui Stamper – and for the few that did not, there’s always time to edit your post. It’s the right thing to do whenever you CASE (Copy And Share with Everyone).

Enough sermonizing. Be sure to stop back on Thursday afternoon (3pm HST) for the RemARKable Blog Tour!

#ImBringingBirthdaysBack – and Weekly Deals

Posted on March 1, 2016 by mauistamper

Whew! It was an exciting night – at midnight Mountain time (that’s 9pm Hawaii time) Stampin’ Up! released a limited edition stamp.

There were some crazy demonstrators all across the U.S. who stayed up late to place their orders – yours truly included. (Well, 9pm isn’t early for me, but it’s the thought that counts, right?)

This is a limited edition stamp, so if you’d like one I suggest you go to the Online Store and enter item #143573. The stamps are $12 and are designed to go on the back of an envelope containing a birthday card. Hopefully, the recipient will photograph their card and share it on social media with the hashtag – check Shannon West’s post on the Stampin’ Up! website for more information.

And it’s Tuesday, so there are Weekly Deals!