Prints Poetry

Posted on March 26, 2013 by mauistamper

Woo hoo! More designs from the gorgeous Prints Poetry Designer Paper pack! I can’t get enough of these designs! They coordinate really well, and the colors are gorgeous together. You know how sometimes the scale of the designs is hard to work with? Not here!

Best of Birthdays stamp set
Whisper White card stock
Prints Poetry Designer Series paper
Raspberry Ripple FFIP
Primrose Petals Stitched 3/8 inch ribbon

Super simple card! These little flags are only 3/4 of an inch wide. Say it with me: Use up your DSP scraps!

Sale-a-bration ENDS TODAY!!

Posted on March 24, 2013 by mauistamper

Time flies when products are free! Today is the last day for a 2013 Sale-a-bration order – and Maui folks, that’s on Utah time so don’t get caught! Your order needs to be in by 7:50pm HST!

The Sale-a-bration exclusives have been awesome this year but I think the Sycamore Street Designer Series paper was my favorite. I have a couple of packages stashed, so I decided to make another clothespin wreath with my extra pieces.

These wreaths are not hard to make. It takes a LOT of time to prepare the pieces, and it takes a little while to put it all together too. But putting the strips on the clothes pins takes no thinking at all, and scrunching up the flower papers is just plain fun!

That brad in the middle of the Island Indigo flower is a treasure I have been hoarding – they were available for only a month about a year ago and I have been very, very stingy using them!

However, I think this wreath is a perfect class – so I’m offering it on Saturday, April 6 at 1 pm. This will be LIMITED enrollment and first-come-first served so that everyone has enough space. Cost is $25 and includes everything you’ll need except for Tombo – and I highly recommend you use Tombo for this project. I’ll have it here if you need a fresh bottle.

Don’t wait to RSVP! We’ll have a lot of fun with this one 🙂 If you can’t make Saturday mornings and would be interested in a week day or evening, please let me know and I’ll see if there is enough interest.

Wonder if there’s a lime in that pool?

Posted on March 22, 2013 by mauistamper

Color combinations shouldn’t always be safe. This one isn’t particularly adventurous but it’s not run-of-the-mill either!

Best of Birthdays Stamp set
Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party and Whisper White card stock
Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade and Pool Party FFIP
Pool Party and Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write markers
Big Shot and Argyle TIEF
Adorning Accents Folders
Dazzling Details
Bitty punch pack
Bitty Buttons
Wisteria Wonder Bakers Twine

This was another card we made in the Best of Birthdays class. I’m telling you, you NEED this set! Do I need to get out that dizzy hypnotizing oval from Oh Hello again?? Make you get sleepy…sleepy…sleepy…

And while you’re at it, put some Dazzling Details on your order. Can’t get much cheaper (#124117 for $2.50) and it’s on the Mr. Maui Stamper Approved Forms of Glitter List. What more could you ask?

No ribbon, no flowers. Less is more.

Posted on March 20, 2013 by mauistamper

It’s a challenge to make masculine cards. Ribbon? Nah. Flowers? Nope. More is more? Huh uh. Less is more.

This is Not My Way. But I have challenged myself this year to make more cards that are suitable for men. It’s taking some time, but I’m getting there:

Oh Hello and Beyond Plaid stamp sets
Naturals Ivory, RIver Rock and Always Artichoke card stock
River Rock and Always Artichoke FFIP
Metallic Brads
Essentials Paper Piercing Pack and Pokey Doodle (aka paper piercing tool)
Large oval punch
Sponge daubers

Did you see those three brads? There is no way on God’s Green Earth that I would be able to line those up so symetrically without Stampin’ Intervention in the form of the Essentials Paper Piercing Pack. Some things I can do, and some things I cannot. Eyeballing straight lines? I cannot.

That Oh Hello stamp set with the big, blocky font works really well for masculine sentiments. Stampin’ Up!, we need Happy Birthday in that font, OK? Imagine it!

Birthday hypnosis

Posted on March 18, 2013 by mauistamper

I paired the Best of Birthdays with Oh Hello and loved the results:

Best of Birthdays and Oh Hello stamp sets
Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler and Summer Starfruit card stock
Black Staz-on Ink
Cherry Cobbler and Summer Starfruit Stampin’ Write markers
Cherry Cobbler seam binding
Ovals Collections Framelits
Rhinestone jewels
Honeycomb TIEF and the Big Shot
Stampin’ Dimensionals

That Honeycomb TIEF is awesome – bold but not overwhelming. But I’m warning you, if you stare at that chevron stamped oval from Oh Hello for very long you will be hypnotized! It is positively dizzying, but I love how it looks. Just don’t look at it too long or your eyes will start to water 🙂

Or maybe you can put it to good use. You are getting sleepy, very sleepy. You NEED that Best of Birthdays stamp set! You WANT that Best of Birthdays stamp set! You MUST HAVE that Best of Birthdays stamp set! You will go to the Online Store and BUY the Best of Birthdays stamp set!

Hmm. Could be useful.

RemARKable Blog Tour: Best of Love 25th Anniversary

Posted on March 16, 2013 by mauistamper

Another Sunday, another tour! I’m going to show my age, but I remember going for Sunday family drives years ago when gas was cheap. It’s hard to imagine doing that now, both with the cost of gas and our busy busy lifestyles, but back then we thought it was a real treat! Today you’re in luck: you don’t need to fill the tank to go on a blog tour!

Speaking of treats, Stampin’ Up! is setting the bar high with the “Best of” Anniversary stamp sets. February’s set, Best of Love, has a great assortment of sentiments and a romantic detailed heart image perfect for wedding, anniversary, Valentines and I Love You cards.

Best of Love 25th Anniversary stamp set
Whisper White, Real Red and Basic Black card stock
Black Staz-On ink
Versamark ink
Pewter Embossing Powder
Embossing Buddy
Stampin’ Up! Heat Tool
Red Glimmer Paper
Owl Punch (heart)
Real Red 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon

This card is 3 x 6 1/2 inches, and although Stampin’ Up! no longer carries the envelopes to fit this size card, it’s a simple matter to make one with a Simply Scored tool.

Do you have the Pewter embossing powder? If you don’t, maybe this will change your mind:

This second card popped into my head just as I was putting the stamp set away. The concept is simple, but it took me a few times to get things lined up correctly (mostly because I was too lazy to do a bunch of math to get it exact!)

Best of Love 25th Anniversary Stamp set
Whisper White, Crumb Cake and Midnight Muse card stock
Crumb Cake and Midnight Muse FFIP
Midnight Muse stitched 3/8 inch ribbon
metallic brads

Truthfully, I did this about 6 times until I was satisfied, and if I’d broken down and done a little math it probably would have taken less time. However, I am a Stubborn Stamper. I did it Myyyyyyyyy Waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy. (Thank you, Frank).

Enough of that!! Time to move on to the next blog on the tour – let’s see what Robin has done!

Silver Buttons and Birthdays

Posted on March 15, 2013 by mauistamper

Stampin’ Up! celebrates 25 years of business this year. If you’re not familiar with the story, I encourage you to check it out HERE. I’m proud to be associated with a company that produces a great product, stands behind that product AND the Independent Demonstrators who sell it, and which makes a commitment to community service.

One of the ways Stampin’ Up! is celebrating this anniversary is with a series of “Best of” stamp sets. Each month a new set is released featuring archived favorite images as well as brand new designs. January featured Best of Birthdays and what a winner it is!Last weekend we had a Best of Birthdays class – it was self-serving since I always need birthday cards 🙂

Those Silver Designer buttons are pretty sweet too – and I am an enormous fan of the Print Poetry DSP packs. I wasn’t sure I would like the small sheet size, but I find I use it more. It’s reverse psychology: because the sheets are smaller you don’t mind chopping them up!

Each anniversary stamp set is $14.95, and when you collect 6 you’ll get any set valued $14.95 or less for free! You can’t go wrong starting with Best of Birthdays #132929

If you missed the RemARKable blog tour last month, go back and take a look. We featured this set and there are loads of great ideas. Start with THIS post, and as you follow the links around you’ll need to find the post for February 16 for each blog – a little extra work, but well worth it.

Those crazy jeans

Posted on March 13, 2013 by mauistamper

Those crazy jeans from the Patterned Occasions SAB stamp set have me cracking up!

How cute is this? Did you notice that jeans ribbon on the top – YES it is Stampin’ Up! ribbon!! I needed a “gender-neutral” favor and jeans were the answer. The background on the Milk Carton is the new Beyond Plaid set from the Spring catalog and it was easy to stamp on each panel. I didn’t bother lining it up and I don’t think it matters.

The little bit of embossing on the top was a last minute whim. I just folded the milk carton in half and put the top portion in the embossing folder and zipped it through the Big Shot. The milk carton is the perfect size for small individual candies like M&M’s or jelly beans, but it also holds bigger things like the fun size bars or Hershey Kisses.

Confession: I finally bought the Milk Carton die for myself. I kept borrowing it when I needed it but it was time to grow up and get my own. Can’t believe I waited so long.

What are you waiting for? It’s Sale-a-bration and that die will get you pretty doggone close to earning the Patterned Occasions stamp set!

Celebrating birthdays

Posted on March 11, 2013 by mauistamper

My son is away at school for his 19th birthday. I have to confess that his Valentine package was very late – I had a post-wedding failure. But I sent this early so he would have it: it’s spring break, and he is on a geology camping trip in New Mexico. I’m pretty confident he won’t see this post for at least a week, if at all. He’s really busy at school, and his mom’s blog isn’t at the top of his to-do list.

This card should have arrived well before he left. Since I was sending it in a package I didn’t have to worry about fitting it into a USPS-approved envelope:

You Rule stamp set
Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White card stock
Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Tangerine Tango FFIP
Versamark ink pad
Summer Starfruit Stampin’ Write marker
Tangerine Tango Embossing powder
Powder Pal and Heat tool
Stampin’ Spritzer
Designer Rosette Bigz XL die
Rhinestone Jewels
a mess o’ hot glue and the Silicone craft sheet

I use bamboo skewers to hold my flags – much sturdier than toothpicks, although toothpicks would have been the right length.

I used a dime-sized blob of hot glue on the Silicone craft sheet to hold my rosette together. It cools really quickly and peels off easily. Then I just hot-glued that rosette into place, added the crown and the flags and my 3-D card was ready to rock and roll!

Sure do love that Sycamore Street DSP – and I have a nice little stash set aside. You’re going to see more of this paper, and having your own little stash will come in pretty handy! SAB ends on March 22: what do you need?

RemARKable Stampers Stamp of the Month: Ciao, Baby!

Posted on March 9, 2013 by mauistamper

Aloha! You’re on Maui – at least for a little bit. If this is your first stop on the RemARKable Stampers Stamp of the Month Club tour for March, then welcome – and I hope you’ll enjoy all the fabulous projects today.

Ciao Baby is a bit of a sleeper – small images designed to be used with either the Petite Curly Lable Sale-a-bration punch or the 7/8 inch Scallop Circle punch. I thought they would be a great unifying item for a set of notecards. First up is a card using the Madison Avenue Sale-a-bration set:

Each card is made using the Note Cards and Envelopes (#107311, 20 cards and envelopes, $5.95). The Ciao Baby images are stamped and punched with the Petite Curly Label punch, then popped up on a Stampin’ Dimensional. I kept a uniform color scheme but changed up the stamp set for each card. The second card features Morning Cup:

A little bit of ink brushed across the Needlepoint TIEF embossing helps the design to stand out. Morning cup is perfect for coloring with Stampin’ Write markers!

Oh, Whale seemed like a perfect fit for the next sentiment:

I originally cut the whale out with the framelit, but decided it wasn’t necessary and ended up just stamping it directly on the front panel. Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate clear mount stamps? Those little waves were simple to line up!

The last card in my set is a little Owly love note using the Aviary set. Call me crazy, but I just can’t bring myself to put the birds inside the cage. I like to see them outside and free!!