Category Archives: Stampin' Up!

The month of gratitude

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Every month, every day is an occasion for gratitude, but November makes it official. I’m not consistently faithful to journaling, but this month I’ve made a commitment to observe and reflect, keeping a daily journal to record the process.

I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had through Stampin’ Up! I’ve made amazing friends, traveled to wonderful events, and found incredible inspiration through this craft medium. I LOVE working with paper – it’s cheap! If you don’t like something you’ve made, THROW IT AWAY. I’m a bit of a hoarder, and it’s taken me a while to learn that one, but that’s my nugget of wisdom for today. If you don’t love it, pitch it. Don’t keep it around to make you crazy.

I also love where I live – Maui is a very special place – and I’ve chosen to celebrate Hawaii in my November calendar:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Waterfront DIY November 2018 Easel Calendar

  • Stamps: Waterfront, Love What You Do
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Tranquil Tide, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral
  • Accessories: Sponge Daubers

The Waterfront stamp set is one of the most versatile in the entire catalog. If I lived on an island in the middle of the ocean, this would be one of my keepers. (LOL. Obviously, it’s a keeper!)

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Waterfront DIY November 2018 Easel Calendar

I inked up the round shape in Waterfront with Daffodil Delight and daubed some Calypso Coral on one side to hint at a setting sun. I’ve tried creating sunset skies and been unhappy with the results (see above: they are history!). I’ll let the sun set on its own.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Waterfront DIY November 2018 Easel Calendar

This year, I’m selling the 2019 calendar PDF. You’ll get the calendar itself, a page of covers to print if you’re making gifts, and a cutting guide. Cost is $5. Leave a comment if you’re interested and I’ll send you an invoice!

Go find a little more joy with Cheryl and Crystal – they’ve also created November calendars for your delight.

Need Waterfront or any other fabulous Stampin’ Up! products? Shop HERE.

Spooky Nights

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I don’t have kids at home any more, and there aren’t too many kids in my neighborhood. As a result, my Halloween decorating and crafting has dwindled to just a few projects. My dear friend Robbie absolutely LOVES Halloween, and in her honor we did some spooky themed projects at our monthly meeting.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Spooky Suites Night Owl Holiday 2018

I loved how this one turned out. It’s a little more grown up than a typical Halloween card, and the Galvanized Metallic Paper really sets that tone. It has a gorgeous matte gleam, and I used my first package up so quickly that I immediately ordered several more. If I were you, I would do the same! This is going to have lots of uses.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Spooky Suites Night Owl Holiday 2018

Spooky Suites and the Spooky Bats punch are available in a discounted bundle. I love that there are such great punches available in the Holiday and Annual catalog this year – punches are a quick and easy solution.

The gorgeous branches from the Night Owl Thinlits are dramatic and lend themselves to a variety of uses. When we were making this particular card, everyone kept referring to them as antlers.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Spooky Suites Night Owl Holiday 2018

That little tag is the happy result of double cutting. It’s a nice long thinlit, about twice that size. If you stamp your image and cut it out with the words justified to one end, it’s really easy to place the thinlit on the opposite end and run the tag through a second time, cutting it down.

What else would you do with that gorgeous starry night DSP? I might have stocked up on that when I placed my order for “several” packages of the Galvanized paper. Need a little for yourself? Shop HERE.

Tricks? Treats? All through October!

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Seasonal Chums is a bit of a sleeper. It was featured in last year’s Holiday catalog, and to my surprise and delight was continued in the 2018-2019 Annual Catalog. The images are presented in pairs, front and back, and the coordinating framelits let you cut them out to create tags. The jack-o-lantern is an absolute classic!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Seasonal Chums DIY Easel Calendar October 2018

 

 

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Seasonal Chums DIY Easel Calendar October 2018

How could you NOT love that face? I wanted to add a few more leaves behind it, and after a very thorough search of my stamps, I spotted the leaves in Petal Palette. They’re surrounding the blossoms images, and even had a thinlit to cut them out. I was pretty pleased when I found them!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Seasonal Chums Stamps

The bats are from the Seasonal Tags Framelits and are the perfect accent to this not-so-spooky October calendar. There are lots of great little embellishments there – I’m telling you, these stamps and framelits should see more limelight!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Seasonal Chums DIY Easel Calendar October 2018

If you’d like to make your own DIY Easel Calendar, this year I have permission to sell the PDF.  It includes  the12 months of 2019, a 2019 cover page, and cutting instructions.  The calendars are quick to stamp since the format is 3 1/2″ square, making them ideal gifts. The easels are available online as well as in most brick-and-mortar craft stores, and an easel plus calendar pages fit perfectly in the Stampin’ Up! Acetate Card Boxes.

Cost for the PDF is $5. If you’ve purchased Calendar Kits or Refills from me in the past, I have your email on file and you can just leave a comment to let me know you’d like the PDF.  You can also leave your email in the comments, or email me directly at AnneMatasci@gmail.com to let me know you want in on the deal.  I’ll send you an invoice via Square, and once you’ve paid I’ll email your PDF. You don’t need an account to pay via Square. It’s easy as can be!

Just a note…this is the honor system. $5 is a very reasonable price for this PDF, and there are no limitations on your personal use. If your friends admire your calendars, please direct them to this post to purchase their own PDF. It would be easy to forward the PDF, but it’s not right.

Cheryl and Crystal have created delightful October calendars to inspire you – I hope you’ll visit both of them. If you’re ready to add Seasonal Chums to your holiday stamp choices, shop HERE.

 

Brusho Experiments 2.0

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A couple of weeks ago I shared the first card I made with my inaugural Brusho experiments, and today I have another. There’s a strong similarity between the cards – the major difference lies in the embellishment.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Petal Palette with Brusho

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Petal Palette with Brusho

I’m thrilled to have brads back in the catalog. They’re charming, and even better, so functional! And if you’ve missed the Corrugated Elements, look again. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Petal Palette with Brusho

Remember, our goal was to focus on watercolor techniques with Brusho. I’m really pleased with the results, as Brusho gives much more variety than ink refills (not that I don’t love ink refills, I do – but for this technique, I’ll put my money on Brusho!)

Ready to shop? Visit the store HERE.

Making my own Bokeh

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The bokeh technique has been a very hot look for quite a while, and I wanted to try to create it on my own. Stampin’ Up! does have a stamp that creates this technique, but it’s not quite a full card size and I’m stubborn about things like that.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Dandelion Wishes Bokeh Technique

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Dandelion Wishes Bokeh Technique

I punched a number of circles from scrap card stock and put some SNAIL on the back of them. (You could cut them with framelits, but punches are faster. I recommend card stock over sticky notes because you’re going to accumulate ink on them, and the sticky notes get saturated.) Then I tapped the SNAIL with my fingers so it wouldn’t stick fast, but would be tacky and hold in place. Then it was sponge, sponge, move the circles, repeat!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Dandelion Wishes Bokeh Technique

You can do this with multiple colors, but I chose to stay monochromatic. I embossed the image and sentiment with Black Embossing Powder to make it pop a little. (When was the last time you re-inked your Versamark Ink Pad? Seriously…it makes a HUGE difference!)  Since I chose to make this into a sympathy card, I kept it very, very plain. (Maybe too plain. I’m still debating.)

Want to play with your own version? Shop HERE.

 

A CASE of a VASE with a lot of variations

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I am certain I CASEd this card just about verbatim, but I can’t find the source. If this is your card, A) Please let me know and I’ll give you credit, and B) I hope you’re flattered, because I really love this design! I’ve searched high and low through my files and on Google, and if Google can’t find it, well, I give up.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Varied Vases Mango Medley

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Varied Vases Mango Medley

 

The original version used the Birthday Wishes sentiment from Varied Vases, but as I started to recreate this card, I got tired of masking off the sentiment to place it on either side of the vases.  You could still stamp Happy Birthday on the inside – Thankful for You is a great birthday sentiment!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Varied Vases Melon Mambo

I started playing with color combinations and got a teeny tiny bit carried away – this is Lovely Lipstick.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Varied Vases Grapefruit Grove

I did this version in Flirty Flamingo, which I really love paired with Basic Gray.

As a completely irrelevant but fascinating aside, apparently Granny Apple Green gets translated to Little Green Frog in the European market. SERIOUSLY. I would MUCH prefer to have Little Green Frog in my color palette!  Granny Apple Green is a mouthful (sorry for the terrible pun) but even worse, I find myself abbreviating it GAG.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Varied Vases Highland Heather

This version is done in Highland Heather, and I think would work well for an expression of sympathy.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Varied Vases Poppy Parade

Last but not least, I created a version in Poppy Parade. I am thrilled to have Poppy Parade back in our color palette and I think it’s a stunner with GAG.

Which one was your favorite combination? I’m asking for a friend <wink>

Ready to add Varied Vases, the Vases Builder punch, or the bundle to your crafting options? Shop HERE.

A very cheerful Painted Harvest

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Painted Harvest is so versatile – it can be subtle and monochromatic, or it can be Put-On-Your-Sunnies-Bright! For this version, I CASEd (Copy And Share with Everyone) myself:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Painted Harvest

There were leftover “parts” from THIS card. (What do you do with “parts”?)

  • Stamps: Painted Harvest, Picture Perfect Birthday
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Peekaboo Peach (retired In Color), Rich Razzleberry, Lemon Lime Twist, Call Me Clover
  • Accessories: Naturally Eclectic DSP (retired)

If you no longer have the Naturally Eclectic DSP, this look is easy to achieve with an Aqua Painter and Ink Refills. You can customize it to any color palette you like, or you can copy this one.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Painted Harvest

A lot of people work really hard to align those sunflower Two-Step Stampin’ images so they’re Just Right, but I didn’t. I just kind of slapped ’em in there, because I was really focusing on finishing this group of cards and getting those “parts” off my desk. I think it turned out okay.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Painted Harvest

This is a perfect birthday card for that friend who brightens up your life just by being who she is. She’s authentic and positive and just a little bit whack-a-doodle. You know the one.

Need supplies? Shop HERE.

A little Brusho experiment

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WEEKS ago, Crystal and I got out some watercolor paper and the Brusho and experimented. We were both a little unsure and apprehensive, and you’ll see we started pretty small. We stamped a bunch of small flower branches from Petal Palette (still one of the best stamp sets in the entire catalog) and started playing with the concept of watercolor. I’ve had the results sitting on my desk ever since, waiting to become something greater.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Petal Palette with Brusho

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Petal Palette with Brusho

I know I’ve mentioned the Subtle Dynamic TIEF before, but friends, YOU NEED THIS.

We used Ink Refills to watercolor the images, and then used Brusho to create a background. We were really experimenting more with the concept of a watercolored background than with Brusho as a product, but it ended up working extremely well and we were pleased with the control we achieved.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Petal Palette with Brusho

Adding the doily and the leaf embellishments takes this card up a notch while still making it absolutely mailable. I love ribbon, but I’m frustrated when any embellishment makes a card hard to mail. I don’t hand deliver many cards and they really need to go in an envelope and go out in the world!

Don’t miss that Marbled background stamp. It’s another sleeper. Shop HERE.

Happy Birthday, Little Elephant

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This Little Elephant was at the top of my shopping list for the 2018-2019 catalog. (I know, I know, I’ve already told you that. But TRUTH.)

Stampin’ Up! has cataloged this stamp under babies and kids, but I know a lot of adults who think it’s pretty dang cute and would be happy to see it in their mailbox on their birthday.

So I made a bunch of them.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Little Elephant Highland Heather

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Little Elephant Highland Heather

I hand cut the balloons. Little Elephant is available as a bundle with a punch, but it doesn’t include the balloons. Had to be done. Love my Paper Snips!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Little Elephant Bermuda Bay

You didn’t think I would make them exactly alike, did you? Of course not. I had a lot of fun playing with color – this is Bermuda Bay, Gorgeous Grape, and So Saffron.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Little Elephant Bermuda Bay

Please don’t ask me about that little black rhinestone for the eye. It’s retired, I have no idea how long ago, and I’m pretty sure it was on the Clearance Rack. It’s not there now, but when it was, I bought an “adequate” supply. (Don’t ask, don’t tell.)

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Little Elephant Granny Apple Green

The Pearlized Doilies are really easy to color with Sponge Daubers, and you get great coverage. Sponge Daubers are much firmer than Stampin’ Sponges and add a more dense layer of ink.  I only colored around the edge, because that’s what shows (sort of like just ironing the front of your shirt if you’re gonna wear a jacket anyway.)

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Little Elephant Granny Apple Green

The Subtle Dynamic TIEF is working really hard for me these days – do you need one? Shop HERE.

A Very Chic – Tropical Chic – September

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Are you in love with Tropical Chic? I certainly am! These gorgeous leaves and that beautiful hibiscus are growing all around me, and I have them at my fingertips to ink in any color I like. I’ve chosen two of my favorite flower combinations to grace my September desk:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Tropical Chic DIY Easel Calendar September 2018

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Tropical Chic DIY Easel Calendar September 2018

I inked up each flower and dragged the Blender pen across the center of each one. Then I dripped a little ink from an ink refill into the lid of my ink pad and used an Aquapainter to pick up the intense color and add it to the space I cleared on the stamp. I tried using daubers to add the color, but I couldn’t avoid a really round shape, and this time I was looking for something more linear.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Tropical Chic DIY Easel Calendar September 2018

The Tropical Chic stamps and thinlits are available in a discounted bundle. If you’ve been studying your catalogs, you’ll know that the first year stamps and dies are introduced, they’re generally sold individually as well as in the bundle. If they continue beyond that first catalog, the money-saving bundle is discontinued. Conclusion: Buy the bundle when it comes out. (I know, such rocket science.)

Crystal and Cheryl have created September calendars for your inspiration – check them out, and leave a comment if you do!

Ready to treat yourself to the Tropical Chic Bundle? Shop HERE.