Category Archives: Stampin' Up!

Some Super Fun

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Last weekend we went to a Super Bowl party at Cheryl’s.  She’s finished with her renovations (lucky girl), and her big ol’ Big Screen TV is already installed, so it made sense to drive out to Haiku for the game.

We all watched until about half time, and then the ladies started migrating into Cheryl’s stamp studio.  She has a great space set up, with lots of gorgeous light and room for both crafting and working from home.  She even had a project all set up for us:

Cheryl's cupcake bookmark

  • Create a Cupcake stamp set
  • Pretty in Pink, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White card stock
  • Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake, and Early Espresso classic ink pads
  • Early Espresso Stampin’ Write marker
  • Build a Cupcake punch; Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Retired 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon – I’m not even sure what color it is!  Maybe Close to Cocoa?
  • Big Shot and Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing folder

These cupcakes are charming and just the right sized, and I love how easy it is to use the punch.  Why stress about lining up the stamps when you can just punch them out and put ’em where you want ’em?  That’s my idea of brilliant.

We didn’t quite make it back for the 3rd quarter, but we all gathered around to see the end of the game.   Great party, Pat and Cheryl – let’s do it again next year!

 

Ah, Saturday

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Saturday is always a welcome sight on the calendar.  With a little bit of luck, there’s nothing pressing to do first thing in the morning and we can sleep in a little.  It means a more leisurely breakfast sharing the newspaper and coffee, and talking about what the day holds.  Lately, it also means the absence of hammers, saws and power tools.  Captain Stupidhead likes Saturday too, because he can lounge around in the few spots downstairs that aren’t either torn up or covered with the stuff that used to be in the room that is now torn up.  We love Builder Dan and all of his crew, but after 5 days it’s nice to have a little respite.

I’ve hardly had time to cruise through my favorite blogs this week, but I did spot this little gem at Inking Idaho a while back.  Becky saw this at Leadership and created her version, and I fell in love as soon as I saw it:

Petal Cone Bigz die

  • Thank You Kindly stamp set
  • Rose Red, Old Olive and Daffodil Delight cardstock; Sale-a-bration Designer Series Paper
  • Rose Red Classic ink pad
  • Springtime Vintage Designer Buttons; Linen thread; Scallop border punch
  • Big Shot, Petal Cone Bigz die, Fun Flowers Bigz die

I made some 3×3 gift cards to fit inside the pocket:

Same supplies as above plus:

  • Punch Bunch, Button Button and A to Z stamp sets
  • Peach Parfait, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White card stock
  • 2 Step XL Owl, Scallop Circle, and various circle punches
  • Crystal Effects and Daffodil Delight 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon

These were very simple to assemble and I made quite a few in an afternoon.  Love those Sale-a-bration products!

Here’s the renovation update – the family room is being prepped for new lighting and the electrical foundation for TV, stereo etc:

There was a day last week when they put something on the floor and it had to dry overnight.  Not such a big deal, except that I’ve had to move the computer into the laundry room and the only way into the laundry room is through the family room – or from the garage.  Psssht.

Here’s the update for upstairs:

There’s room for my file cabine on the left, and you can see Builder Dan is making sure I won’t have to crawl underneath the counter every time I want to plug something in.  The adjacent wall looks like this:

I’m excited about this!  My middle daughter is perhaps not so excited, as this used to be her bedroom.  Her older sister has known that feeling for quite a while, as I took over her room for a craft room after she left for university.  We’ve decided to switch the two rooms, so there will be a place for the girls – ALWAYS – no matter what.  But there will also be a little slice of heaven upstairs for Mama’s creative projects.   This will be worth the wait and the disruption.

Thanks, cupcake!

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Despite the chaos and the noise, I’ve found a little time to craft:

Cupcake Notes

  • Thank You Kindly and Create a Cupcake stamp sets
  • Cupcake standard wheel
  • Whisper White, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette and Early Espresso card stock
  • Rose Red and Early Espresso Classic ink pads; Early Espresso Stampin’ Write marker
  • Rose Red Seam binding
  • Build a Cupcake punch
  • Big Shot and Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing folder

These were quick and fun – I did about 20 of them in about an hour and a half.  The cupcake bases are textured with the Lattice folder and the top is cut from Pink Pirouette – I only used Create a Cupcake for the sprinkles on the frosting.   I punched the cupcake pieces from narrow strips of cardstock that I fed through the punch to minimize waste and I glued all the pieces down with Tombo the Wonder Adhesive.  The cherry is punched out of Rose Red cardstock and the stem is quickly brushed with the marker.

If I was feeling like an over-achiever I would watercolor those cupcakes along the bottom, but I’m not so I won’t.  Who’ll know?

Bee mine

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I can only work with pink and red exclusively for so long:

January Club Valentine

  • Sweet Summer (SAB) and I {Heart} Hearts stamp sets
  • So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Regal Rose and Certainly Celery card stock
  • So Saffron, Regal Rose and Certainly Celery Classic ink pads and ink refills
  • Aquapainter, Victoria lace trim, Subtles brads

It’s nice to do a simple card once in a while.  Tone on tone stamping is an easy, inexpensive way to add texture to a card and the variety of hearts in the I {Heart} Hearts set give plenty of options.  I’m fond of that silly little bee, too.

Are your Valentines ready?

Adding my own Ink and Stamps

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It’s been wild and crazy around the Maui Stamper household.  What we lack in snow to shovel, we create for ourselves with renovations.  The end result will be a fabulous new family room where we can watch Life Size NFL players crack heads (I swear, that’s what’s going on with Mr. Maui Stamper’s new TV).  The bonus result will be that the cabinets where our dinosaur TV has been living will be re-installed upstairs, creating Maui Stamper Heaven.  I can live with the chaos when I’m looking at that kind of reward!

It’s been a little tricky to find time and space for paper crafts, but when I saw Lisa Young’s Valentine Box there could be no more excuses.  Here is what she inspired:

Petal Cone Heart box

  • Fabulous Phrases, Baroque Motif and Build-a-Roo stamp sets
  • Real Red, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink and Early Espresso card stock
  • Designer Series Papers Prints Pack; Glimmer Paper
  • Real Red and Pirouette Pink Classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink 3/8 inch taffeta and Real Red 1 inch stitched grosgrain ribbon
  • XL 2 step Bird Punch; Crop-a-dile; Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Big Shot;  Scallops #2 Bigz die; Petal Cone Bigz die; Elegant Lines embossing folder
  • Flowers Designer Brad; Stampin’ Dimensionals

Doesn’t that Glimmer paper wing make you want to SHOUT!??!  Actually, the whole thing makes me want to jump and shout and laugh out loud!  This was one of those projects that started out slowly and built momentum once I got to a certain point.  My dilemma was what to put on the box and heart once I had them cut out – I didn’t want to copy Lisa but I loved her idea.  That medium size scallop circle with the Baroque Motifs swirl was the secret ingredient.

I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig (most brilliant concept ever) to line up the words in that gorgeous Fabulous Phrases font, and scoured all my stamps until I found the little open heart in Build-a-Roo.  The box is a sheet of 9.5 by 8.5  inch cardstock scored at 1.5 inches from the sides down the 8.5 inch edge, and scored at 4 and 5.5 inches on the 9.5 inch edge.  It makes a box that is 5.5 inches wide and 4 inches tall, and if I had paid a little more attention I would have made it just a hair larger so that it would hold cards and envelopes.  Next time.

How about a closer look at the layers?

Petal Cone Heart Box close up

It was a little tricky embossing the front of the box – I was only able to do the front, as running it through the Big Shot a second time for the back would have flattened out the front.  I folded one of the side tabs in and was able to get the front into an Impressions Folder.

And yes, I know that ribbon is retired.  I bought it a short time ago on the Clearance Rack, but I just checked and it’s gone.  There’s still the red ribbon with the white polka dots though, and I think that would be just as cute!

Please go tell Lisa how brilliant she is…and if you like this, I wouldn’t mind if you told me so either!

 

Baby, Baby, Baby

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A friend had a baby girl recently.  We worked together to come up with a birth announcement, and it was one of the most enjoyable collaborations I’ve done.  It was clear from the outset that this wasn’t going to be a pinky-frou-frou announcement, and so we experimented with a lot of color combinations.  In the end, my friend came up with Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizazz with just a touch of Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight.  I would never in a million years have made those choices, but I was delighted with the way the colors worked together.

I made a samples in her color choices with all sorts of stamps.  When it came down to it, she couldn’t choose just one – so I made three different announcements:

Eastern Blooms baby

Baby announcement #1 uses the Eastern Elegance stamp set with the Bitty Punch pack and a 1/8 inch circle punch…

Cheep Talk Baby

Announcement #2 uses the Cheep Talk stamp set…

I {Heart} Hearts Baby

and Announcement #3 uses I {Heart} Hearts.

Hope you enjoy!

Cone you be mine?

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Didja notice the new Bigz die in the Occasions Mini Catalog?  Didja???

Sweet Valentine Petal Cone

  • Teeny Tiny Wishes and Silhouette Sentiments (Level I Hostess) stamp sets
  • Pretty in Pink and Real Red Classic ink pads
  • Pretty in Pink and Real Red card stock
  • Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack
  • Real Red 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon
  • Big Shot and Petal Cone Bigz Die
  • Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions folder
  • 1 3/4 inch Scallop and 2 1/2 inch Circle punches; 1 3/4 inch oval punch
  • Piercing Mat and tool (aka Pokie Doodle)

This Petal Cone die has been languishing (is that an awesome vocabulary word OR WHAT?) on my shelf while I worked on other projects.  It cuts out those scallop semi-circles and that fabulous banner, too.  The 2 1/2 inch circle punch makes perfect semi-circles to fit inside the scallops.

Sweet Valentine Petal Cone

We made these in Club the other night.  I made mine with the Happy Valentine’s Day sentiment, but Margie had a better idea.  She used the Sweet Treats sentiment – duh!  What’s going to go inside of the cone?  Treats!

Here’s a hint:  when you want to emboss die-cut pieces that have score marks on them, crease them with your bone folder before you run them through the Textured Impressions folder.  If you skip this little step, the score marks will be gone and you will be stuck trying to guess where they were.  Trust me.  I know this.

I think you need this die.  What?  You don’t have a Big Shot?  There’s no better time than Sale-a-bration to get it!

Don’t give up!

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I might be just a little bit stubborn… Just a teeny, tiny bit.  It’s something of a family trait.  I have vivid memories of my grandmother on my dad’s side doing jigsaw puzzles with us.  It was our tradition to set one up on a card table at Christmas time, and as you passed by you’d stop and stare and fill in a piece or two.  My grandmother would find a piece that “fit” and then work until she got it into place.  My dad would say “Mom, that doesn’t go there” but she was bound and determined that it did and there was no telling her otherwise.

I’m not THAT stubborn, of course.  I work very hard at not beating my head against the wall, at taking lemons and making lemonade, at going with the flow.  But every now and then I come up against something I’m not willing to relinquish.  Sadly enough, it usually involves something petty, like trying to find my scallop border punch.  I know it’s there!  It has to be there!!  But I have looked for weeks and I can’t find it, so last night I ordered a new one.  It’s not quitting, it’s being realistic. 🙂

Cheryl made these and you’ll never guess what she put inside:

Fancy Favor Chocolate Valentines

  • Eat Chocolate stamp set
  • Whisper White and Pretty in Pink card stock
  • Designer Series Paper patterns pack
  • Real Red and Chocolate Chip Classic ink pads
  • Big Shot and Fancy Favor die
  • Decorative Label XL punch; corner rounder
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals, Pearl Jewels, and Crystal Effects
  • Retired Chocolate Chip stitched ribbon (substitute Espresso Striped or solid grosgrain)

Don’t you love the shine from the Crystal Effects?  It takes a while to dry here in our humid climate so I always finish all assembly completely before I apply it.  Once I’ve Crystal-Effected my project, I set it aside overnight to dry.

Ah, and now you’ve figured it out.  That long-winded story about my grandmother is really just an excuse to eat chocolate, isn’t it?  And yes, for all of you Weight Watchers out there, I do track those points!

It’s Sale-a-bration!!

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Everybody’s favorite Stampin’ Sale!

Sale-a-bration 2011

January 25 through March 31

Click HERE to browse the Sale-a-bration Mini Catalog

Hand Made by Anne

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Did you think I would never come up with another idea of my own?  It was starting to look that way, wasn’t it?  I have a few more projects from our team meeting because I’m tellin’ you, it WAS a Stampin’ Frenzy – but here’s something I did all by my little ol’ self:

Eat Cupcakes and Sing the Song

  • Eat Cupcakes stamp set and Music Notes standard wheel
  • Whisper White, Pretty in Pink and Crumb Cake card stock
  • Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake and Pretty in Pink Classic ink pads
  • Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write markers
  • Build a Cupcake punch
  • Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon (retired)

Confessions first:  About that Riding Hood Red ribbon – I bought a “few” rolls of that ribbon for Christmas cards in 2009.  For assorted and sundry pathetic reasons (that no one gives a Fig Newton about) I did not send cards in 2009.  That gorgeous ribbon has been sitting in my drawer for too long and I have decided to bust it out – it’s close enough to Real Red that you can make the substitution.  Fair enough?

Observations second:  Kraft – umm, I mean Crumb Cake – is the perfect Valentine’s Day neutral.  It sets off any Red or Pink and it combines beautifully with Chocolate and Espresso.  Chocolate…Espresso…Crumb Cake…Houston, we have a problem.

Jokes third:  Do you get it?  Do you see the joke in the card?  Look closely…

It’s the Music Notes behind the cupcakes!  Imagine someone singing Happy Birthday!!  I hope you got it.

Love It Moment fourth:  The Build a Cupcake punch includes little punched out candles, flames and CHERRIES.  Life doesn’t get better than that.  I stamped the cherry in RHR, punched it out, and then just zipped the Chocolate Chip marker over the stem.  Eeee-Zeee.

Sale-a-bration starts today.  Get shoppin‘!!