Rooted in Nature with the Acrylic Block Technique

Posted on September 16, 2020 by mauistamper

I’m at it again with the Acrylic Block Technique, and I’m very pleased with this version. This is a single layer card with very limited embellishment, but the background technique catches your eye:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Rooted in Nature Acrylic Block Technique

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Beautiful Friendship, Forever Fern
Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Pool Party
Accessories: Rhinestone jewel, Water brush, Acrylic Block H, Wink of Stella, Stampin’ Write Markers, Stampin’ Spritzer

The technique is simple. Scribble on an acrylic block with Stampin’ Write markers. If you place the block on a piece of white paper, you can see your color distribution and coverage. Mist the inky block with as little or as much water as you’d like – the amount you choose will impact the look you get – and press the block firmly into a Whisper White card stock panel. Lift and admire!

You need very sharp eyes to see the sparkle, but I painted the little splooshes stamp from Forever Fern with Wink of Stella and stamped it directly onto the card. It’s quite lovely in person, but challenging to photograph.

I also used our Water Painter and a bit of Pool Party ink to make very soft shadows underneath the trees.

This could just as easily have been a Christmas card, or a birthday card, or any other type of card. I originally intended to post it without the sentiment, as I often leave that step for the moment I need a card. Having a variety of cards without sentiments allows me more flexibility when I need something at the very last minute. But this one looked forlorn, and I’m very glad I added the linear element of this wish.

Don’t you agree? It’s more versatile to keep it this way but it’s much better with the sentiment (and my sentiment hides that little black bit that doesn’t belong!)

These is my favorite set of tonal colors: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, and Pool Party. Add them to your stash and see how happy they can make you! Shop HERE.

Mix and Match: Birds and Leaves

Posted on September 12, 2020 by mauistamper

Every now and then I get in one of those “CLEAR THE SHELVES I’M USING IT ALL” moods. Today’s card was the result of a recent episode – I used Free as a Bird stamps, Love of Leaves stamps and dies, and the Well Written dies.

Stamps: Free as a Bird, Love of Leaves
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Bumble Bee, Shaded Spruce, Gold
Accessories: Stampin Cut and Emboss machine, Stitched Leaves dies, Well Written dies, Gold Hoops Embellishments, Gold Foil, Stampin’ Blends and Color Lifter, Paper Snips, Bumble Bee Gingham Ribbon, All Purpose Glue, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I used the Color Lifter quite a bit to shade the bird. Even when I used both the light and dark Shaded Spruce blends, the colors were too strong for my eye. The color lifter allows you to shade and adjust tones almost infinitely.

Construction note: Use multipurpose glue to adhere your Gold Hoop Embellishment to your project. The sides of the hoop are flat, and if you put tiny dabs around the entire perimeter of the hoop, it will stay good and stuck!

Don’t you love those stitched lines I used in the background? They give the paper a lot of dimension without being too distracting. And look where else they fit:

I had to make two passes through the Cut & Emboss machine to cover the back flap but I’m pretty doggone pleased with the result.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Get&Go September 2020 join the team

Wish your Stampin’ Budget went a little further? Become a demonstrator and you’ll make EVERY SINGLE purchase at a discount – clearance rack, pre-release products, all of it! This month you’ll also get an additional bonus when you join the team: two beautiful stamp sets and the supplies to make two sets of cards for yourself or as a project with your friends. I’m here to help you achieve whatever goals you set – message me with questions or click HERE to learn more.

Ready to shop? The Online Store is open 24/7!

September 2020 DIY: Love of Leaves

Posted on September 1, 2020 by mauistamper

Are you as stunned to discover it is September as I am? My sense of time is completely disoriented, and that makes me really grateful for calendars. I have the feeling that I need a big board in my kitchen that says TODAY IS TUESDAY. IT IS SEPTEMBER 1, 2020. And then it needs a big picture of, oh, LEAVES:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up DIY Easel Calendar September 2020 Love of Leaves

Stamps: Love of Leaves
Color Palette: Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody
Accessories: Stampin’ Cut and Emboss (available TODAY!), Stitched Leaves dies, Watercolor paper, Ink Refills, Stampin’ Spritzer, 2020-2022 In Color Enamel dots, Linen Thread, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Yes, I’m still smitten with the Love of Leaves bundle. If you follow that link and add it to your shopping cart and wait for it to arrive on that big Brown Truck, you’ll be smitten too, I promise you!

I got my Watercolor paper pretty wet with the Stampin’ Spritzer and added color from the Ink Refills. The design was pretty random, but I enjoyed moving the Stitched Leaves dies around the paper to visualize how best to use it. (Prepare yourself, it’s pretty bold!)

When I looked at this result I was pretty skeptical. But I Kept Calm and Cut and Embossed On, and was pleased with the end result.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Love of Leaves bundle

That long strip die is what I used to create the background on the paper. It works on the flap of an envelope, tooo. Each leaf can be cut out, leaving a stitched leaf-shaped opening behind, and the solid dies create the stitched vein pattern in the leaves. This set has covered ALL the bases!

September…wow…hard to believe we are here! I have the 2021 pdf available for just $5 if you’d like to create your own calendar. Click Contact the Maui Stamper at the top of the page and send me your email, and we’ll get you started!

Cheryl and Crystal create these fun little calendars too, and I hope you’ll stop by and see what they’ve done for September. If you’re ready to browse, SHOP HERE.

Hope Changes Everything: Love of Leaves

Posted on August 30, 2020 by mauistamper

This past week I’ve had a number of friends and family members experience changes in their relationship with the Big C: Cancer. It’s such an insidious disease, and when you add in the uncertainty of life caused by the pandemic, things can get a little uncomfortable. I’ve been leaning pretty heavily on HOPE, and made this card yesterday to send to someone dear to me:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up HOPE CHANGES EVERYTHING Love of Leaves

Stamps: Love of Leaves
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Cinnamon Cider, Cajun Craze, Calypso Coral, So Saffron
Accessories: Stampin’ Cut & Emboss (available September 1, 2020), Stitched Leaves Dies, Stitched Shapes dies, Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Metallic Pearls, Cinnamon Cider ribbon, Gold trim (Forever Greenery Combo Pack), Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I’ve had the Love of Leaves bundle on my desk a lot recently. We don’t really have autumn leaves here in Hawaii, but some trees do experience an autumn change of color. I love these beautiful shapes and the way they work so well together (it’s what Stampin’ Up! does best!).

I made a huge mess of my ink pads creating this project. I kept pressing stamps with dark ink into the light ink pads without cleaning them – I was really into the process! I’ve found if you use a paper towel to blot the place in an ink pad where the “stain” has appeared, you can generally pull out most of the offending ink. A quick re-ink and the pad is *almost* as good as new.

I was inspired by a card shared on Instagram by the Stampin’ Up! concept artists @stampinup. This color palette is similar to theirs, but not the same. I’d love to see it in shades of pale greens for spring, or even reds and burgundies for December. I guess it’s back to the drawing board!

If you’ve got fall leaves – or a heart filled with hope – on your mind, shop HERE.

Watercolor Backgrounds on Blocks

Posted on August 27, 2020 by mauistamper

You know how some techniques look simple but just don’t turn out right? I’ve always felt that way about the watercolor background. I watch the videos, I study the instructions, and STILL…

If you’re anything like me, you will LOVE this technique (sorry, the Mister and I are still staying at home and I find myself shouting quite a bit when I have the chance to talk to someone else). Anyway…I started using blocks to apply color to paper and discovered to my delight that I could make it work!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Acrylic Block Watercolor Technique Love of Leaves

Stamps: Love of Leaves
Color Palette: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Cinnamon Cider, Sahara Sand
Accessories: H Acrylic block, Stampin’ Spritzer, Linen Thread, Stampin’ Write markers

The technique is just about fail-proof. Choose your colors, scribble on an acrylic block, spritz with water and stamp. Voila! If you add color to the block while it’s on a piece of white paper, it’s easy to see where you’ve added color and where the block is blank.

You can see that I created pretty regular color patches. I’ve since experimented a little more (stay tuned!) and found larger, less regular patches and more water give more “watercolored” results. I thought the way this one turned out was interesting as it reminded me of granite. Do you see that, or am I imagining things? (This would not be the first time.)

The font used in this set is something a little different for Stampin’ Up! and it reminds me of a printing style I used when I was in school. This particular sentiment is one I will use over and over. In fact, it may be my theme song for 2020.

There are coordinating dies for this set but I chose to keep it super simple and stamp that leaf – maybe a Hawthorne? – directly on the card. I can’t remember the last time I made a one-layer card.

Could you please help me with something? In the past I’ve added a direct link to the store for every product I’ve used. It takes a little extra time, and I’m wondering if I should continue investing my time that way. If you use those links, I’d love your feedback. And if you don’t, well, you can tell me that, too!

In the meantime, you can shop my beautiful, new, easier-to-navigate Online Store here.

Painted Poppies Split Card

Posted on August 20, 2020 by mauistamper

I playing with the Split Card technique again. Sometimes I like my results, and sometimes I don’t. Therein lies the beauty of paper-craft: paper, in general, is cheap. Don’t like it? Throw it away! The Split Cards I made with Painted Poppies were keepers:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies Split Card technique

Stamps: Painted Poppies, Peaceful Moments
Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Poppy Parade
Accessories: Stampin’ Cut and Emboss (available September 1), Mossy Meadow ribbon, Ornate Frame dies, Red Rhinestones, Stampin’ Dimensionals , Stampin’ Blends

Working with Stampin’ Blends allows you to get deep, intense images while still allowing you highlights and shadows. The bold colors of this card pop right off the page! I stamped the flowers with Poppy Parade ink, then used my Poppy Parade Blends to color them in. I did the same with the leaves in Mossy Meadow. Since I used the same color to stamp the image as to color it in, I didn’t have to worry if the outline ran a little.

This card front was a split card project so I had another side to color. I chose to go the opposite direction and use colored pencils. They are much more nuanced, and allowed me to create a much softer look:

The color palette is the same, but I used our Watercolor Pencils and a Blender pen to create this more subdued look. The sentiment is from Beautiful Friendship, and the trim is our new Braided Red Linen. I also slipped in a few splooshes (that is the technical term, btw) from the Forever Fern stamp set.

You can fluff and stretch and unravel that red trim to get a BUNCH of different looks. The natural linen is still my favorite, but this is going to be a great addition to my embellishment stash.

So tell me, what do you think? Do you like the bold, intense poppies, or do you prefer the gentler version? I want to try this again using watercolor paper and our new Water Painters. The possibilities are endless! It’s amazing I ever get anything done.

Need supplies for your next project? Shop HERE.

August 2020 DIY: Timeless Tropical

Posted on August 1, 2020 by mauistamper

August…who would have imagined this is where we would be???

A tropical scene seems like a soothing vision for this month, and I think many of us need that right now. I feel so fortunate that I can take a walk and place myself in this setting, but if that’s not available to you, I invite you to enjoy this paper version!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up DIY Easel Calendar August 2020 Timeless Tropical

Stamps: Timeless Tropical, Waterfront
Color Palette: Crumb Cake, Granny Apple Green, Mossy Meadow, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Stampin’ Sponges, Sponge Daubers, Water Painters

I worked a bit outside my comfort zone with this project – lots of sponging and improvising and experimentation. I managed to cover up some of the printed dates, but to be honest, I hardly ever use these DIY calendars to actually check the DATE.

This is the second version I did for August. I got a little carried away with the first version, and after sleeping on it decided I would go back to the simpler version. Here’s the “I couldn’t stop myself” calendar:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Timeless Tropical DIY August 2020 desktop calendar

I kept adding layers and details, and at some point I set it down and said enough. This one has a lot more sponging, some Wink of Stella, and a fair amount of glossing using the glue from the Fine Tip Glue pen. I kept looking at it and asking myself if I would be happy with it for 31 days, and it became pretty clear that the answer was NO. What do you think? Would you choose the calmer, simpler calendar, or would you take it over the top?

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Bonus Days Promotion July 2020

Just a few more days to take advantage of Bonus Days – earn a $5 savings coupon for every $50 you spend. Those $5 coupons can be redeemed beginning Tuesday, August 4 – which just happens to be the first day that the August-December mini catalog is available to customers! Shop Here.

Cheryl and Crystal have their own versions of August for your inspiration, and I hope you’ll stop by and see what they’ve done.

If you’d like to create your own calendar, please click on Contact Me and provide me with your email. I’ll invoice you for the bargain price of $5 and you’ll have your own pdf to print and enjoy for all of 2021.

Technique Tuesday: Split Card

Posted on July 21, 2020 by mauistamper

You’ve probably seen it – stamp once, split the results, and BOOM! two cards. It’s been on my list of things to try, and today I can share the happy results.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Beautiful Friendship Split Card Technique

Stamps: Beautiful Friendship, Lovely You
Color Palette: Whisper White, So Saffron, Bumble Bee, Cinnamon Cider
Accessories: Stitched So Sweetly dies, die cutting machine, Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack, Metallic Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This is an easy technique. In order to make your double card front, you start with a half sheet of card stock, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. I use a pencil to make a light mark at the 4 1/4 inch point along the top and bottom of the paper. (If you have eagle eyes, you can just see it in this image.) Then just stamp down the middle…

Just like that! You might notice a couple of things: I used two different accent leaves in different colors from left to right, and I smudged on the right. Smudges are not always an insurmountable problem! It depends on the location of the smudge, and this one was easy to cover

The next step is to cut your half sheet of card stock into quarters. This yields two pieces, 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches – the perfect size to create a card front!

I love this gold trim – just tie a knot where you want it to stop fraying. It frays all by itself, such a time saver!

This side of the split panel uses Gray Granite ink instead of Cinnamon Cider, so my accessories and accents use that color. The ribbon is retired, and I’m sorry, but I have been waiting since Moses signed up to be a demonstrator for my 1/4 inch Gray Granite shimmer ribbon!! This was in the archives and I dragged it out for this card. I used the Layering Ovals dies for the sentiment on this card.

Adding a little extra color to the sentiment panel helps to tie it together with the rest of the card.

Ready to make your own? Grab some stamps, ink and a half sheet of card stock and have some fun. I used some sticky notes to mask my images, creating a sense of depth, but do whatever it is that makes you happy. Try monochromatic color schemes as I used here, or go big and bold with bright colors. Flowers are a great way to start, but other images will work too. Just a note: I couldn’t come up with a satisfactory card using images of people or animals. They look odd cut in half, and inevitably one side gets stuck with a “back side”.

Just 10 more days to earn Bonus Days Bucks! Beautiful Friendship is one of my all-time favorite stamp sets for the lushness of the images and the many different types of cards they allow you to create. Shop HERE.

Lovely You: Miles Apart, Still in my Heart

Posted on July 19, 2020 by mauistamper

This sentiment was the first thing to catch my eye in the Lovely You stamp set. I have family and friends all over the world – literally – and I knew this would be a message I would use again and again.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Lovely You handmade card

Stamps: Lovely You, Forever Fern
Color Palette: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Accessories: Champagne Rhinestones, Paper Snips, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Red Braided Linen Trim, Sticky notes (to create a mask)

I watched a video where a crafter used blue painters tape to mask off the center portion of the card. After she stamped all her beautiful images, she whisked off that tape like nothing doing and voila! she had a spot for her sentiment.

Crafty Friends, I did that FOUR TIMES. FOUR STINKIN’ TIMES. And every single time it tore my card stock. I was Not Amused. So I stamped my sentiment on a 3/4″ wide strip of card stock and adhered it to my card front and was Very Happy. Moral of the story? There’s always another way to get the result you want.

That Braided Red Linen Trim is a little sneak peek from the August-December mini catalog that will be available to all of you on August 4th. It’s a teeeeeny bit darker than the Poppy Parade ink, but it’s close enough for me.

And don’t miss the Lovely You bundle – it includes the amazing Lovely Labels Pick a Punch at a 10% savings!

Don’t forget to shop Bonus Days – every $50 you spend will earn $5 to spend in that new August-December mini catalog! Shop HERE.

Celebrating Sunflowers – Anything but Yellow!

Posted on July 15, 2020 by mauistamper

On Sunday I shared a sunflower card in Just Jade and apparently I’m not the only one who wants to see alternative color palettes! I experimented with a few additional combinations, but had to stop when I ran out of White Crinkled Seam Binding (that stuff is AH-MAZING.) Here are some of my favorites:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Celebrate Sunflowers Anything but Yellow

I got a little carried away with the Stampin’ Sponges here! This is Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather ink, and mats in Purple Posy and Highland Heather.

I used pearls to embellish the card, and have poked out some of the circles in the center of the flower. It’s completely random, because they tend to fall out as I remove the die cut from the die, and my objective is to just even up the look.

Although this version is similar to the original Just Jade card, it’s Misty Moonlight, Balmy Blue and Seaside Spray. The Balmy Blue ink has a bit of a turquoise hue, which you can see under the petals.

Oh, my goodness, you NEED that White Crinkled Seam Binding! It is so soft and molds so beautifully, but it also rather magically holds its shape. I’ve embellished again with the 20-22 In Color Enamel dots.

BOOM!

Magenta Madness here, and wow, talk about madness! There isn’t a set of tonal inks that work well for this, so I just softened my sponging as I went outward on the card. Here’s a look before I put it together:

Because I didn’t have the range of colors, I was actually even more careful when I sponged, and I like the results. I kept the deepest tone underneath the opening in the center of the flower, allowed it to lighten in the area where the petals open out, and then barely tapped the rest of the card.

This is the base before I add the detailed die cut. Note there are 4 mini dimensionals placed where they won’t obscure any of my carefully selected open spots on the flower (lol). The various stems are all adhered with Tombo Multipurpose glue – even the vellum. Because there’s so much detail, you don’t notice any adhesive.

For details on the supplies, see the post from Sunday.

Shop in July and earn Bonus Bucks to spend in August!

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Rooted in Nature with the Acrylic Block Technique

Mix and Match: Birds and Leaves

September 2020 DIY: Love of Leaves

Hope Changes Everything: Love of Leaves

Watercolor Backgrounds on Blocks

Painted Poppies Split Card

August 2020 DIY: Timeless Tropical

Technique Tuesday: Split Card

Lovely You: Miles Apart, Still in my Heart

Celebrating Sunflowers – Anything but Yellow!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: