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!!

The little heart is just hand-colored, just because I wanted to.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this stop on the tour – time to head off to Robin‘s studio!

Link not working? Visit www.TrinityDesignStudio.com

Tags, I love you

Posted on March 8, 2013 by mauistamper

Here’s another CASE that was a quick and fun card:

Fabulous Phrases and Oh Whale stamp set
Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler card stock
Island Indigo and Cherry Cobbler FFIP
Jewelry Tag punch
Island Indigo and Cherry Cobbler bakers twine
Linen thread
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Rhinestone jewels
Cherry Cobbler seam binding

I love Pinterest but it does become something of a Black Hole when it comes to time management. I’m determined to DO something with my pins, and this card is a direct result of that determination. You can see the very cute card I CASEd right Here.

What have you made with your pins lately? (Cheryl Hamilton, I am talking to you!!)

You’re Amazing!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by mauistamper

It’s difficult NOT to love a stamp set called “You’re Amazing”. Who doesn’t need to hear those words once in a while?

You’re Amazing stamp set
Whisper White and Summer Starfruit card stock
Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Rich Razzleberry FFIP
In Color Dahlias
Big Shot and Apothecary Accents Framelits

This is one quick card. The “You’re Amazing” sentiment is stamped inside and the entire thing goes together in minutes. It’s a CASE of a CASE – check out the original Here.

The Maui Stampers got together last week to celebrate. One of our members moved to the mainland last summer, and she was back on Maui to help out the folks that bought her shipping business. We got together at the drop of a hat, ate some great food and made a couple of cards – this was one of them.

Just a couple of weeks left of Sale-a-bration. Have you gotten your Sycamore Street DSP yet? Or maybe you’re ready to treat yourself to sneak previews and permanent discounts to Stampin’ Up! products. Stop by the Online Store to check out all the goodies you receive when you choose to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator during Sale-a-bration!

Oh, Baby!

Posted on March 4, 2013 by mauistamper

The Single Stamps are so easily overlooked with all the exciting new products from Stampin’ Up! but there are some fantastic images there – how about this?

Oh Baby Single Stamp #132667 $6.95 (available thru 3/31/13)
Whisper White and Lucky Limeade card stock
Brights Collection DSP
Tempting Turquoise FFIP
Lucky Limeade Stampin’ Write marker
Piercing tool and Stampin’ Pierce mat
Big Shot, Argyle TIEF, 3 inch circle Bigz and Window Frames Framelits
Silver mini brads
Brights Designer buttons
White baker’s twine
Stampin’ Dimensionals

This would be perfect as a favor, too – stick that sweet girl on the front of a Fancy Favor box, or over the top of a gusset bag…loads of options. You can tell I was in a Brights sort of mood, and it got better (or worse, depending on your perspective!)

Same set of products, different colors. I used rhinestones instead of brads, pierced a circle instead of doodling, and used the Chevron TIEF. Next time I’ll use a softer background for the card photo – this makes my eyes water! The card base is white and those crazy 60’s color combinations are pretty fun.

And yes, I was there for the 60’s. I wore those colors – together! Fortunately, although photos from that era have survived, they are sadly faded.

🙂

Moving forward into March

Posted on March 1, 2013 by mauistamper

On Maui, our seasons change gradually. I lived in upstate New York for a year and a half when Mr Maui Stamper was in grad school, and I have never anticipated spring so eagerly in my life! When I spotted that first crocus popping up through the snow I felt as though I had been thrown a lifeline. The colors I remember inspired this month’s calendar:

Bordering on Romance stamp set
Midnight Muse FFIP
Pink PIrouette, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and So Saffron Stampin’ Write markers
Whisper White and Midnight Muse card stock

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