This time of year I have a lot of fun making tags. I always need a bunch of them, they can be just about any shape and size, and they generally go together pretty quickly. Here are a couple of the tags we’ll be making in class next week:
Both of these tags used the Two Tags Bigz die. Want to join us making tags? Contact me to register for class Sunday December 9 or Monday December 10.
Don’t you love getting a gift? And if you’re anything like me, don’t you love getting a gift – in a cute package??
But cute packages take time, and planning, and lots of other things that are in short supply this time of year. Fortunately, Stampin’ Up! has a solution:
These two collections are perfect to have on hand for that Sure-to-Delight package! Order these at the Online Store. I’m stocking up myself because 2012 has been the Year of the Airplane in the Maui Stamper Household, and there just isn’t enough time to do all the things on my list!
Our latest flight was to beautiful Sedona, where we spent time with my family. My parents have invited us to join them at their timeshare for years, but this was the first time it was practical. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend that went by too quickly, but I’m so glad we went. In addition to lots of great time with the family – and great food too – we had beautiful weather that was perfect for exploring. The sky was amazingly clear and blue, and the sun was brilliant. We watched a lot of planes fly high overhead, leaving beautiful trails in the sky:
The moon wasn’t quite full, but it was visible in the late afternoon sky; the red rocks, the scrubby vegetation, and that brilliant blue sky created such a stunning contrast:
We stopped for a late afternoon visit at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, pressed tightly into the cliffs:
The chapel interior is extremely simple but has a powerful grace:
And didn’t I do a fabulous job of color-coordination? We hiked the Courthouse Butte Loop the afternoon before we flew home:
I’ll be back to Stampin’ next time.
The sales, crowds and parking lots driving you mad? When you make your list and check it twice, I hope you’ll remember the small businesses in your area. Yes, some of us have an online presence, but we are small business owners just the same! Attention to detail and personal service are what set us apart. Experience the difference a relationship can make!
If you’re looking for something fun and simple for a holiday gift, I have an idea for you. I sold a bunch of these last weekend at our craft fair. Some of the Designer Series papers that are pictured are retired, but the concept is the same:
Pull off the belly band and you can see this isn’t much more than some card stock, some Designer Series paper and some stamps:
You probably have most of these items in your stash right now…or you can pop on over to the Online Store and in a couple of minutes you’ll have them winging their way to your craft room.
Here’s the final expansion! Perfect for a few photos and thoughts for someone special who isn’t able to join you for Christmas, and easily adaptable to other events with a quick switch of color scheme and images. Think new baby, wedding, graduation, retirement – and it would be easy enough to tuck a gift card or two into these pages for a special birthday gift! These go together very easily – you could have a handful done this evening.
It’s a life task to be grateful for all that I have, and all that I do not have – sometimes the not having is the greater blessing. Gratitude IS an attitude. It requires constant awareness, an acute sense of perspective, and humility.
Today I am grateful for many things, great and small, but especially for my family. Many of us are together today in the visual feast that is Sedona, and it is a gift to be here. I am missing my beautiful first-born daughter and her fiance who are a half-world away, and I am grateful for skype and viber and all of the amazing devices that bring them closer to us.
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.
Oh, I hope you got some sweet deals yesterday! There are still lots of great bargains – check it out!
I had a great time at the craft fair – thanks to everyone who came, said hello, and especially to those of you who shopped! Believe me – if I can make it, you can make it – and I can show you how!
Here’s one of my projects:
I was inspired by Pinterest (the Black Hole of the Internet, I am constantly getting lost here). I used My Digital Studio to design the message, then printed the sheet and cut each one out with framelits and embellished! The whisks are filled with individually packaged cookies and slipped into our Gusseted bags (found iin the Holiday Catalog) – they’re a perfect fit! I did a set in reds and greens, too:
Fun and oh-so-easy!
RUN DON’T WALK!!! (Okay, just click on the image, you don’t even have to move.)
It’s that good! Specials today only include:
MAUI PEEPS!! THIS SALE IS MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME!! It starts 3 hours before midnight (that’s gonna be 9pm HST Sunday) and it ENDS 3 HOURS BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY!! DON’T MISS OUT!!
There are loads more specials – check the Online Store!
One more craft fair peek:
These little tins are filled with 5 beautiful cards (if I do say so myself) and are perfect for gift-giving. I’ll be selling them tomorrow – please do stop by and say hello!
And don’t forget the Online Extravaganza starting on Monday! Great deals – check them out. Hawaii, you get to see it 3 hours earlier because it will post MST, but that means the One Day Specials will end 3 hours earlier too (9pm HST). Don’t miss the Monday Specials!
SO BUSY this week – and SO EXCITED – because the Maui Stampers are holding our FIRST EVER CRAFT FAIR!! (Enough caps for ya? Yeah, I’m shouting!!)
Just a few of the things I’ve been working on – stop by and say hello! We’ll have all kinds goodies for you including food and drink. Bring a friend, or come and make a friend!
And as if that wasn’t enough, Stampin’ Up! is literally BOMBARDING us (sorry, I’m shouting again) with new goodies and promotions. They’re all fabulous but mark your calendars NOW for the Online Extravaganza! Big Shot on sale Monday the 19th only!! Clear blocks on sale Wednesday the 28th only!! My Digital Studio on sale HALF OFF the ENTIRE TIME!!! (I am really sorry, I just can’t help myself!!) Loads more – mark your calendars – check it out Monday morning (or Sunday night – Maui Standard Time!)
And if you want to give yourself a fabulous Christmas gift, contact me to find out how you can save even more – and get a free set of Classic Firm Foam Ink pads – by joining the Maui Stampers team of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. The best $99 you might ever spend.
As much as I believe in each holiday having its own time, I make a lot of Christmas cards well in advance of December 25. It takes me a while to settle on a favorite, and crafting and the creative process don’t respond well to last-minute pressure. The honest truth is that I haven’t decided on one for this year, but here are a couple of candidates:
The Holiday Frame TIEF is embossed onto the Naturals Ivory cardstock for this card. My experience with Whisper White cardstock is that it is smooth and little bit lighter weight than our other cardstock, and as a result may crease with these larger, more elaborate TIEFs. The Naturals White paper holds up better to the pressure of the TIEF and adds some textural interest as well. For stamping, I prefer the Whisper White card stock as it is so very smooth and takes the ink so well.
This card would be VERY easy to produce in multiples. I’m not thinking about that right now as I just completed a very special project that took HOURS. It was well worth every moment, but I’m running from the idea of production right now. Give me a week, I’ll be fine 🙂
Aloha! This stamp set is a bit out of character for the Valley Isle, but I couldn’t resist the chance to share a blog tour with my favorite RemARKable stampers! We do have cardinals here – both North American and South American – and if you put on your ruby red slippers, close your eyes and click your heels, you can imagine a little sledding party down Sliding Sands Trail into Haleakala Crater…
You can’t see the Crystal Effects? Here, I’ll show you:
There’s a light wash of Basic Grey on the boards behind the sled, and those fat little birds are just waiting for you to look away so that they can swoop down and stuff their beaks with those juicy red berries!!
Now put on your Imagination Caps and let’s picture an ice rink:
There’s lots of texture here with the Core’dinations paper, embossing and sponging. I’ll warn you that tearing the Core’dinations paper especially once it’s gone through the TIEF is kinda like plucking your eyebrows (sorry guys): it’s really easy to get carried away and then all of the sudden you’ve got nothing left!
Love this set? It has beautiful, detailed wintery images perfect for watercolor.
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure you continue on to see what all the other RemARKables have to share. Â A hui hou!
The Maui Stamper 