Crystal brought me a fabulous present a couple of weeks ago. The gift itself was awesome – The Best Bag Hook Ever!! The wrapping was pretty doggone sweet too:
Tell me, does that look like Halloween paper to you??? Love, love love it!!!
Here’s the side view – she layered solid Blossom punch flowers with the DSP on top and cut through the petals for extra fullness.
Now that’s thinking outside the box!!!
(I know, it’s sick, but I couldn’t resist.)
It’s time for Anne and Crystal’s Christmas Extravaganza!! Yep – ACCE is here!
We’re offering two classes on Saturday, October 27th at the Maui Masonic Lodge. As always, your paid reservation holds your spot at the craft table.
First up:Â Christmas Cards!
After lunch:Â the Owl Suite!!
From 1 to 4pm we’ll make projects based on the Owl Occasions stamp set from the Holiday Catalog. You’ll craft a gift bag, two cards, an 8oz jelly-type jar, a covered Fancy Favor bag (not pictured) and another Petite Pocket with two more bling-bling tags! Cost is $25 and includes all supplies except Tombo or SNAIL.
If you’re an All-Day kind of stamper, we’ll save you a couple of dollars – register for BOTH classes for $42. Bring a friend and share the fun, or come by yourself and make new friends! We have some great door prizes in store as well as chocolate and maybe even a Christmas song or two – hope to see you there!
Well, my blog-hopping friends, we’ve reached the last moments of World Card Making Day – at least on the East Coast. Here in Hawaii, it’s time for pupu and a glass of wine, and Mr. Maui Stamper and I are heading over to the beach with our picnic basket for the sunset. I’m sure to lift my glass to all of you!! Thanks for sharing this day with all of us.
I left the neutrals for last because after my favorite blue + green combo, I love a neutral card. Granted, I often use an neutral palette to set of a pop! of color – Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist – but by themselves I find the neutrals very elegant. Tell me what you think:
Have you tried our new Core’dinations card stock yet? Hie thee off to thine own Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and order thyself some of this paper of the kings!! It is royally fabulous! And that tulle is pretty sweet too, and it sticketh to sticky strip quite welleth! (OK. Enough of that nonsense.)
There’s a little 3/4 inch circle of Early Espresso cardstock behind that Vintage Faceted Button to give it depth.
Black and white is classic, but black with Very Vanilla is just splendid – like deep, dark chocolate hot fudge with rich vanilla bean ice cream (did I send you off to the freezer there? Sorry ’bout that!) Our First Edition Specialty paper is one of my stamp room staples; it’s flexible enough for nearly any card-making situation.
Although the Neutral color family lends itself well to luxurious, elaborate cards, it certainly works well with other styles. This is about as close as I get to a Clean and Simple card, and I’m pretty sure that sparkly star at the top disqualifies me from the genre.
That’s my last card for this hop – or as Mr Maui Stamper called it the other day, the Blog Parade. We are all very grateful for each of you taking the time to hop, skip, jump and parade through our posts. If we’ve done our job well, you are inspired; perhaps you’ve left a comment or two, or pinned a few samples to your Pinterest board for later study.  I’ll be reviewing some of these projects over the next couple of weeks with a little more detail – if there’s one you’d especially like to see featured, just leave a comment.
A hui hou…until we meet again.
E como mai! Come on in! Welcome to the Subtles Color Family!
If you’re like me, you are captivated by color. It evokes moods and flights of memory. I’m fascinated by a neurological phenomenon call Synesthesia where individuals have extraordinary sensory connections – for example, certain music will exhibit a color characteristic – they’ll “hear” red – or a color will immediately call to mind a certain symbol such as a letter or number. Whether or not you “hear” colors, I’m sure you have favorites – as do I. And the entire Stampin’ Up! product line is meant just for people like us, because color is consistent throughout the line which means everything MATCHES.
I’m pleased with the way all the different Pirouette Pink Products (P-3) work together in this card. Honestly? Pink isn’t one of my favorites. I like it, it’s soft and feminine, but it’s not a color I reach for. I don’t have any objection to it, I just like other colors better. Like blue. Blue, and green. ESPECIALLY blue and green!
Now this is what I cal color:Â Daydream Medallions, paper flowers, Vintage faceted buttons, pleated ribbon…in blue and green!
If I could only have two colors to stamp with, it would be blue and green. I’m not exactly sure WHICH blue and green I would choose if I could only have two, but I know it would be blue and green. They’re colors that are abundant in nature. My stamp room (the Room Formerly Know As Sara’s Bedroom, and yes, I still hear about that) has a window that looks out over our backyard from the second floor of the house. We have a beautiful back yard full of all sorts of green plants (and bugs, but you can’t see them from this far away). The sky is a brilliant blue, and I am constantly inspired by my view.
This is a different blue – Marina Mist! – and a different green – Wild Wasabi! I TRIED to use Perfect Plum but it had an attitude. That’s my story and I’m sticking by it 🙂
I’ve used the Traditional Touches single stamp, and it’s really versatile. It’s perfectly sized for a gift tag, and lined up it would make a great border or accent, but here – at least in my opinion – it makes a really cute card. I love that the lines hanging the ornaments are little tiny dots to coordinate with a little bit of piercing on the framelit.
Making a card can be as simple or as complex as you like. Some of the most beautiful cards I’ve seen are in the Clean and Simple style – just an image, perhaps an embellishment, and a lot of white space. I love it, but I have a difficult time executing it. I’m what you might call a “More is More” stamper. Either way, card making is not about your style, it’s about making something with someone else in mind and then sharing with them. How simple is that?
Next simple task:Â click the button and share with Ri Ri!
So glad you’ve come back for a little more WCMD RemARKable blogging goodness! A hand made card is a very special gift, and although today I’m featuring cards for birthdays, thank yous and Christmas, the best card is the one that arrives “just because”. It’s a simple act but it means a lot.
This third round on the hop is full of rich, royal colors: the Stampin’ Up! Regal Color Family
If you know me at all, you know that I run late. I’m not proud of that, and I have developed a variety of habits designed to get me out the door on time, but the sad truth is that I run on Maui Stamper time. Fortunately, Maui time and Maui Stamper time are similar concepts!
This little mollusk has a good excuse for being tardy – he had to wait for the Crystal Effects to dry! (don’t tell, but I did a Maui Stamper No-No. I broke out the Dazzling Diamonds. Mr. Maui Stamper DOES NOT LIKE GLITTER. It has to do with an incident at least 10 years ago involving a teenager’s glittered tee shirt and a pair of cycling shorts in the same load of laundry. I almost never use DD, but I just couldn’t resist!)
This card might take that extra bit of postage, but that lumpy knot on the Cherry Cobbler tulle is worth every penny! The tulle is luxurious and soft, and ties easily and gracefully. It can be pleated – I use sticky strip because hot glue, while it is somewhat more effective, has an unnatural affinity for my fingers. And it burns.
I am an ENORMOUS fan of Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing folders (TIEF). Give a piece of cardstock a quick run through the Big Shot and it goes from hum to HUM BABY! (I am also an enormous fan of caps, because I talk with my hands – caps are not shouting to me, they are gestures.)  This oval is my new holiday fave. As far as snowflakes go, we see them about once every 10 years at the summit of Haleakala – but this one looks like a design for a traditional Hawaiian quilt, and that suits me.
Having fun? Full to the brim with ideas? Fingers weary from all that Pinning? Get some rest, because there are two more posts to come before the day is through! In the meantime, let’s check out what Maria has up her sleeve…
So glad you came back for more… at post time, it’s midnight in Hawaii, but you East Coast early risers are greeting the sun! A special shout out to all the crazy all-night crafters at the RemARKably Hot Retreat this weekend 🙂
Choosing a favorite color family is out of the question, but the Brights are easy and fun to work with. Face it – they’re like opening that fresh box of Crayolas on the first day of school, all shiny with their perfectly shaped crayon tops and intoxicating with that special waxy-Crayola smell. Brights inspire me in the same way – fresh and lively!
Wouldn’t this card brighten up your birthday? I’ve made a special effort to see that ALMOST every card in today’s blog hop can be popped into a (Stampin’ Up!) envelope and mailed without extra postage. There are a couple of exceptions, but with rules, as I said in my first post, I make ’em, I break ’em! The Brights just don’t seem to have any bad color combinations.
That being said, there MAY be some color combinations meant only for Very Special Friends. Tangerine Tango and Melon Mambo sound like dancing words…or cocktails…or a dance you do while drinking (plenty!) cocktails!! Life’s too short, and to quote my son “YOLO, Mom – You Only Live Once”. Sounds good to me.
I struggled with a place to put a nice “Merry Christmas” on this card, but friends, if this doesn’t say it out loud I don’t know what would! I assure you I stamped a greeting on the inside – and the insides of these cards will be part of the follow-up posts later this week – but who could argue with ornaments on a tree? Not this girl!
Do you feel brightened up? My Maui friends are up past their bedtimes, my Easties are greeting the day, and the Westies – well, I’m guessing most of you are sound asleep. Bright Dreams!
Now head on over to see what Stampin’ Riri has in store for you…
Aloha, and welcome to Maui! You’ve reached the western-most destination on today’s World Card Making Day RemARKable Blog Hop!! (Go ahead – say that 5 times!!!) I’m happy to be part of this adventure and hope you’ll enjoy all the fabulous cards the talented RemARKable artists have created.
There will be FIVE posts today in honor of WCMD, so be sure you check in throughout the day. The posts aren’t going anywhere, so if you want to come back and browse we hope you will. Be sure you leave these hard-working bloggers a little bloggin’ love – we appreciate each and every one of your comments so much.
I think I’ve found a fun way to organize my posts – we’ll explore one of the Stampin’ Up! color families each round. I’ve packed a lot into each post, so if you’re looking for specifics on each card, check back later this week. I’ll start with the most popular, so be sure and “vote” for yours!
Let’s get started with the 2012-2014 In Color Collection – Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse and Raspberry Ripple:
 Love that Patio Party Designer Series paper and I will tell you right now that it was a struggle not to use that Summer Silhouettes stamp set for EVERY SINGLE POST. My absolute fave! This is definitely a card for that girlfriend who lives out loud!!
I’ll confess that I wasn’t a big fan of this particular crop of In Colors until I started to play with them, but I’m a convert now! Oh, Summer Starfruit! I apologize for saying you looked like – well, I don’t want to share the exact words I used but it wasn’t pretty! This not-quite-yellow, not-really-green hue is a natural companion to loads of combinations, but especially my favorite blues and greens. The versatiity of this color caught me completely by surprise and once again I must admit I was wrong to judge a book by it’s cover.
Gotta have some bling on a Christmas card, don’t we?? Our latest glimmer paper is Champagne (ooh, just the word makes me think party!)   Love that sparkle – and just for good measure, I added some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint AND a couple of rhinestone jewels.
The Watercolor Winter set in our Holiday Catalog is my favorite of all the Christmas sets. I’m a poinsettia girl, and they grow – and bloom – all over in the islands. Not at my house, of course – I grow bugs on plants much more successfully than the plants themselves – but I catch my breath when I come around the corner on certain roads and see an entire poinsettia hedge blazing in red on the side of the road.
And yes, for you eagle-eyed, rules-checking blog readers, I DID use Early Espresso and Crumb Cake on that card. It had to be done. And she who makes the rules gets to break them too.
All right!! Hele on (get going) to see what Maria has in store for you! Mahalo for stopping by, and see you back in 6 hours 🙂
I spent a wonderful day on Saturday celebrating the marriage of my God-daughter to the love of her life. It was a whirlwind trip from Maui to LAX and back in the blink of an eye but it was worth every moment, penny and hair-raising mile on So Cal freeways to spend some fabulous family time together. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a decent photo of the weekend to share – I was too busy talk-talk-talkin’ – but I can show you what I made for the bride and groom:
This is primarily retired product as I was working with their wedding invitation, so no product list. It’s a smash book for their wedding day, bound with a couple of giant office book rings so that there would be plenty of room for cards, table numbers, photos, or whatever suits them.
I used Prints Pack Designer Series paper to cover the inside of the cover, front and back, and included their wedding invitation and some embellished pages to get them started.
You KNEW the Summer Silhouettes stamp set would have to find it’s way into this project! Love love love those images!!
I had such a great time playing with images, colors and papers inside the covers. It was a wonderful weekend and I am grateful they invited me to share their day with them.
Lot of news in the Stampin’ Up! world including new pricing for MDS print projects, free piercing templates with purchases and more – check my Online Store for the details!
And mark your online browsing calendar for this Saturday, October 6 – I’ll be part of a RemARKable Blog Hop featuring some extraordinarily talented artists for World Card Making Day! 5 posts throughout the day – a super-abundance of inspiration – don’t miss it!
Still playin’ with the spiders from the Googly Ghouls stamp set. These are decidedly un-scary spiders. I think it’s the lack of hair (as in hairy legs) and teeth.
Solve one problem, start on another – my photo is really washed out. I need to change my “photo studio” set-up, mostly because it’s nothing of the sort. But that rant is for another day.
I am really crazy about that new black striped ribbon from the Holiday Catalog. It is shiny, luxurious, and can cross between elegant and spooky. It has that softness you need for a card. Doesn’t it seem like Stampin’ Up! has really gotten the ribbon texture thing DOWN lately? They’re all so easy to work with. I think the product design people need some high fives.
Couple things about this card…I just eye-balled the alignment of the spiders but if you really want them straight, use that trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig. I extended the spider-silk line up the card with my Basic Black Stampin’ Write marker and you can too. Use a light touch – I used a ruler to keep me on the straight road. And (I ask myself) WHY DON’T I USE CRYSTAL EFFECTS MORE OFTEN??? So, so awesome! You just have to plan ahead and allow time for it to dry. (*lightbulb moment: this is why I don’t use Crystal Effects more often.) You may not be able to see it in the photo but it is on those spideys and it makes them pop!
I’ve seen a couple of these wreaths – the first one I saw, and the one I used as my inspiration, was by Michelle Suit. When I saw hers, I immediately saw a home-spun Christmas wreath. The wreath part came quickly and easily, but it took more than a few days to decide how to embellish:
Yes, you’re right – they’re clothespins. Others have chosen to hot glue them to a frame, but as much as I love how easily and securely hot glue attaches things to each other, I also have issues with the stringy bits and the hot globs that inevitably stick to my fingers. I figured a clothespin could just as easily be pinned to a form and that’s what I did.
The new Champagne Glimmer Paper is fabulous – as I said, it took me a while to figure out that’s what I needed. And if you haven’t tried the new tulle (this is Cherry Cobbler) well, Just You Wait, Missy!! Fabulous!!
This wreath measures approximately 16″ across. I’m offering something new – a private class. You choose the time and place and invite the guests, and I’ll bring the party! Cost is $30 for all supplies. If you are interested in the wreath as a kit, leave your contact information and I’ll be glad to work out the details with you.
The Maui Stamper 