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‘!!

Perfect for any Occasion

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There was a time when Robbie maintained that she wasn’t creative.  If that was true back then, it certainly isn’t true any longer.  Look at this card she brought for our shoebox swap:

Baby Blossoms by Robbie

She used the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper – which she told us was so much fun to use that she was heading home to order more – and paired it with the coordinating Baby Blossoms stamp set.  Look at how the tiny polka dots in the DSP coordinate with the tiny polka dots on the frame?  Get out the accordian and Roll Out the Barrel!!  (Beer Barrel Polka?  Get it?  Yeah, kind of a stretch – must be late!)

Hijack alert:  For many years, our church here in South Maui had a wonderful Polish priest.  He’s now retired and ministering to the good folks on the Big Island, but back in the day, a St. Theresa potluck was never complete until Father Jack pulled out his accordian.  He knew all the oldies but goodies, and would lead everyone in a sing-along.  Every time I hear an accordian, I’m reminded of Father Jack.  Music triggers such vivid memories!

(Ed Sullivan voice:) And now back to our show!

Sew Suite by Cheryl

Cheryl is one of our “rookies” and a quilter – can you tell?  Look at the details she thought of!  I love the eyelet border, and she told us that tape measure is last year’s Crushed Curry – a perfect color match for the real thing, and still available in the Clearance Rack!  She used textured paper to give the tape measure and the thread an authentic look.

Her images are all from the Sew Suite stamp set in the Occasions Mini catalog.   Not a rookie card at all!  I was very proud of her work. 🙂

A little more Sale-a-bratin’

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Would you like to see a couple more cards from our team meeting on Tuesday night?  I hope so:

Bliss by Kellie

Kellie designed this gorgeous bird-themed card.  The XL Two Step Bird punch worked perfectly with the Bliss set from Sale-a-bration.  The images in that set are awesome collage elements!  I tore my paper with such a strong angle that it makes the card look off-square, but that’s hand-made for you!

Sweet Summer by Crystal

Crystal chose some of my absolute favorite colors for this Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration card;  Baja Breeze and Pear Pizazz.  She colored the images with markers – did you notice that she used two different colors on the leaves?  And that Baja Breeze Seam Binding?   Simply gorgeous!

Sale-a-bration isn’t just about earning free stamps and other goodies – it’s about becoming part of the Stampin’ Up! family, too.  The Demonstrator kit is a bargain any day of the week, but during Sale-a-bration it’s 15% off PLUS Stampin’ Up! is throwing in a bundle of extra goodies worth $50.  Wouldn’t you like to be a Maui Stamper?

Here’s the Starter Kit – and you can customize it to suit yourself:

Stampin Up! 2011 Starter Kit

The extra goodies can be customized too – choose a punch and the Simply Sent products that work for you:

 

Sale-a-bration Starter kit bonus 2011

Ah, choices, choices, choices.  What will you choose?

Another peek at Sale-a-bration

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We had a Maui Stampers team meeting on Tuesday night:

Maui Stampers

This was taken before the Stampin’ Frenzy started.  I think we made 8 projects that night!  We did conduct a wee bit ‘o business, but for us, the important business is the stamping.  I’m not going to list all the details, but here are a couple of Sale-a-bration projects to inspire you:

Punch Bunch valentine

Robbie brought us this Punch Bunch (SAB) Valentine to put together.  Look closely and you’ll see the texture from the Sizzix Texturz Plates on the Bashful Blue panel.  I’d forgotten about them, and I’m going to have to pull mine out again.  And how about that Glimmer paper?!?  Can’t begin to tell you why I don’t have it yet – I mean, I’m a demonstrator, for heaven’s sake!  That problem will be fixed pronto.

So Happy For You

This card is a CASE of a So Happy For You (SAB) card that I will gladly credit…just as soon as I can find it!  It was a larger card but the focal point was the same – I scaled it down to a 3 x 3 card and changed the colors.  The little stars are stamped once on the Whisper White card stock, then stamped again on a scrap and cut out, then sprayed with a bit of Shimmer Paint mixed with rubbing alcohol.  (No Dazzling Diamonds in my house.  Gotta keep Mr. Maui Stamper a Happy Camper.)  They’re attached with Mini Glue Dots because Stampin’ Dimensionals are just too big!    So Happy For You has loads of cute little images to mix and match, and a charming font to express all sorts of wishes.