Tropical Chic Birthday Wreath

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It seems everyone has made wreath cards and it’s time for me to get with the program already! This is such an easy technique that I’m chagrinned to have taken so long. A simple template – and the amazing Stamparatus – make this a very simple project:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Tropical Chic Square Wreath with the Stamparatus

I chose to make this a 5″ x 5″ square card in order to use the hibiscus stamp from Tropical Chic. In order to add the palm leaves, I created a double mask. You can see by looking that if you mask only one flower, you won’t get the desired results. I created a mask with 2 flowers stamped on the Stamparatus to set the leaves behind the wreath.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Tropical Chic Wreath card with Stamparatus

This card could just as easily be a wedding card, a graduation card (think a lei – although we don’t make them from hibiscus because the real thing doesn’t last) or any assortment of other happy occasion cards. It would be fun in bold tropical prints too, but I chose Petal Pink to coordinate with one of my favorite suites of paper of all time, now sadly retired. I hope you have some in your stash!

Need to shop for supplies? Visit my SHOP for everything you need. Don’t forget to use your Bonus Days Bucks!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Bonus Days July 2019

Vibrant Vases: Colour INKspiration #60

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I am just under the wire for the Colour INKspiration #60 challenge! It often catches me because the deadlines are in Australian Eastern Standard Time Zone, and that means it’s a day ahead because of the International Dateline. I should know better – my daughter lives north of Sydney – but even when I do the math correctly I’m often under the wire. But here’s my contribution:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Vibrant Vases CI#60

This is the inspiration image for CI#60. I’ll tell you, these colours are a bit of a challenge to put together! Terracotta Tile and Petal Pink are made for one another, but those other two, well, it was a stretch. This project sat on my craft desk for a few days in pieces.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Vibrant Vases CI#60

When I got the idea for the classic Blue-And-White for the vases, things started to come together. I used both Stampin’ Write markers and the Aqua Painter to get shading on the blooms, and used the Aqua Painter for the vases. I intended for it to have that slightly uneven, outside-the-lines look that old china pottery has.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Vibrant Vases CI#60

If you’ve never tried a Colour Inkspiration challenge, I highly recommend it! You’ll love the projects that have been submitted for CI#60.

And if you’d like to do a little shopping, click HERE.

Stampin’ Up! Host Rewards: Soft Spring

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Host sets are a bit of a mystery to me. They’re a great value, but they don’t get the exposure or interest they should. They’re available at a discounted price, but the twist is that you have to use Host Rewards to purchase them. Today I’m featuring Soft Spring:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Soft Spring Host Rewards

I used the Stamping Sponge to add a little texture and soften the Crumb-Cake-on-White look of the Birch background. I cut the word THANKS out twice, once in Blushing Bride and once in Gold Foil, and offset layered them for added dimension. This is a perfectly flat, no-questions-asked MAIL WORTHY card!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Soft Spring Host Rewards

Those Stitched Nested Label dies (also sold as part of the Free as a Bird bundle) are going to be a constant crafting companion! And there’s a bonus in the set: a single long die to make a line of stitching anywhere you’d like it.

I originally created this as an entry for Colour Inkspiration #58, but decided to submit THIS CARD instead. I think I made the right choice! That’s the fun of color challenges: you can repeat them over and over again with such different results.

If this post has resulted in the desire/need to shop, click HERE.

August 2019 DIY: Lilypad Lake

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It’s been HOT. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have had some really hot summer days in the past few weeks, and here in South Maui it’s been no exception. When it’s this hot, the best place to be is on the water! I’ll be there as much as possible this month, even when I’m at my craft desk.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up DIY Easel Calendar Lilypad Lake July 2019

I usually look through the previous months when I sit down to create a new calendar card, but apparently I haven’t done a very thorough job! When I reviewed the first half of the year, I found birds and flowers. Lots of birds, and lots of flowers. I know, you’re shocked, right? I needed to break the pattern this month.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up DIY Easel Calendar Lilypad Lake July 2019

You could create this calendar in just about any color combination you like, and I think it would be fabulous in rainbow hues. I’m pretty smitten with Pretty Peacock right now, especially as that’s about the color of my ocean in the late afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to visit Crystal and Cheryl and see how they’re keeping cool in August. If you’d like to make your own calendar, I’ve made the 2020 pdf available. Each calendar page is 3.5″ square, and I pair them with a 3.75″ mat so they fit very nicely on the small wooden easels available in just about any craft store. The pdf is $5 and you can print as many copies as you like! Contact me and I’ll send you an invoice.

Keep cool! And shop HERE!

The Woodland is Rooted in Nature

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It’s been a delightful summer in my craft room, and I’m ready to get the show back on the road and share some of it with you. Would you like to see what I’ve been doing?

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Woodland is Rooted in Nature

I seldom use Very Vanilla card bases, and when I look at this one I wonder why! I especially like the way it works with the braided linen, which is just an abundance of linen thread – and you know I love linen thread!!

I have a few great tips for you when you’re working with vellum:

  • The Fine Tip Glue Pen is VELLUM MAGIC. Use it to adhere vellum to any project and it doesn’t show through!!!
  • When I run it through my die cut machine I layer a piece of waxed paper between the paper and the die (and yes, I have a Big Shot, which Stampin’ Up! no longer sells – but something BIGGER is coming!) It helps to release the vellum from the die, especially the Stitched Shapes, which have a tendency to hang onto the die cut.
  • I use my trusty Bone Folder when I’m removing a vellum die cut from the die, since it’s thin and helps to avoid creases in the vellum.
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Woodland is Rooted in Nature

I used sponge daubers to ink the foliage in Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce. Once they were inky, I colored the trunk with the Soft Suede Stampin’ Write marker. If you try to color the trunk first, it’s easy to accidentally cover the ink with the daubers. Coloring it second allows you to push off any GAG or SS ink (yup. That’s what I call it. GAG. Love that color.)

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Bonus Days July 2019

Today is the FINAL BONUS DAY!! Skedaddle on over to my Online Store to earn your savings – a $5 voucher for every $50 in merchandise you choose! You’ll be glad you did.

A Good Man

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I’ve taken a summer blogging break, but I’ve been creating with a lot of energy. I needed a breather!

Last month, one of my groups asked to make Manly Cards. They’re really not difficult, but it does take a different mindset. I enjoyed the challenge and discovered that once I switched off the flowers-and-birdies reflex, it was a lot of fun! An easy place to begin is with A Good Man, one of the new stamps sets in the Stampin’ Up! 2019-2020 Annual catalog.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Manly Cards A Good Man

This card is notably plain. I find most embellishments are too, well, embellishmenty for a Manly Card. A little linen thread wouldn’t hurt here, but I honestly felt it was just right, just as it was. I think the gingham pattern on the DSP added enough interest.

One of the things I love about gingham is the even character of the pattern. Yes, I took the time to cut it so that the same row appeared on each edge, and yes, I measured my center panel so it would fit just so. I’m not an engineer (heaven forbid, we have plenty of those in my family, enough is enough), but I do love symmetry.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Manly Cards A Good Man

This image is really simple to color. I try to work with the lines that Stampin’ Up! gives me to guide me in my dark-to-light balance. It helps to imagine the sun shining from one side or the other, but I’m not seeking perfection here, just a pleasing appearance.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Manly Cards A Good Man

I colored quite a few of these and used different combinations and background papers. This is another retired paper from the Nature’s Poem series, and I think this is a perfect way to use up that stash. (Confess it: you have one too.)

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Bonus Days July 2019

Don’t forget – there are just two more days to earn Bonus Days vouchers!

Shop HERE.

Flourishing Phrases and Colour Inkspiration 58

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When I saw the colour palette for CI58 I thought OH YEAH. I love Crumb Cake with anything, and Blushing Bride and Metallic Gold seemed like the perfect match.

Tell my brain that!

I don’t know why I struggled, except for the sad reality that I’ve been away from my craft desk a lot recently and my mojo is rusty. (I think that would be a great title for a Country and Western song. Just sayin’).

Here’s what finally came together:

The gold Faceted Gem would have been better, but I didn’t have one in my stash (gasp). The dot on the i in friend is a metallic pearl because I lost both the white and the gold die cut dots. Like I said, I think my mojo is rusty. And I’ll quote from Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day : “Some days are like that. Even in Australia.”

(OH EM GEE. I just read the Wikipedia entry for this book and apparently Judith Viorst altered the text for Australia and New Zealand. In all of the other editions, Alexander wants to move to Australia because it just has to be better there. But in the Aussie and Kiwi versions he wants to move to Timbuktu. My sense of the world has been turned upside down. We have always said “Some days are like that. Even in Australia.” and I have always wondered if that didn’t have something to do with my eldest actually moving there! This is going to take some adjustment.)

Fortunately, there’s some news in the Stampin’ Up! world that will straighten out the globe and shine your mojo. For every $50 US you spend in July, you’ll get a $5 voucher towards any purchase in August. If you’re a US shopper, visit my Online Store to get started.

July 2019 Calendar: Free as a Bird V2

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The namesake birds in the Free as a Bird set are the July stars:

  • Stamps: Free as a Bird
  • Color Palette: whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Pool Party, Soft Suede, So Saffron, and Rococo Rose
  • Accessories: Stampin’ Blends

I really enjoy coloring with Stampin’ Blends. I’m not an expert by any stretch but that hasn’t stopped me from experimenting! These calendars sit on MY craft desk and I’ll color them any way I please. 😊

These calendars are such a delight to create. The format is small and they only sit out for a month, so they provide a perfect opportunity to try something new.

Visit Crystal and Cheryl for their July DIY calendars. If you’d like to purchase the pdf for either 2019 or 2020 please message me. It’s just $5 and it’s a great way to explore your own tiny desktop creativity.

June 2019 DIY Calendar: Free as a Bird

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Happy June First! Just a couple more days until the debut of the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog. My calendar for June features a new stamp set, but I’m not using the birds. Instead, I chose these sweet flowers and our new In Color, Rococo Rose:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! June 2019 DIY Calendar Free as a Bird
  • Stamps: Free as a Bird (available June 4), Good Morning Magnolia (available June 4)
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Rococo Rose (available June 4), Daffodil Delight
  • Accessories: Stampin’ Write Markers, Aqua Painter

I used a sticky note mask to layer the floral images, and added a touch of Daffodil Delight in the center to brighten them up. Other than that, this is a very simple and quick design that can be incorporated into a variety of designs. The sentiment is from Good Morning Magnolia.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! June 2019 DIY Calendar Free as a Bird

I have both the 2019 and 2020 DIY Easel Calendars available for $5 as a PDF – they’re such fun to create! Message me and we’ll get you started today.

Be sure to visit Cheryl and Crystal to see what they’ve done for June.

If you don’t have a demonstrator and need a 2019-2020 catalog, message me and I’ll get one into your hands. This one’s a stunner.

Saying Farewell to Hey Love

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These little critters have wiggled their collective way into my heart and I am really sad to see them retire on June 3. Even though this set is designed as a Valentine’s Day set, I’ve used it for many other purposes and been delighted with the results. Here’s one last look:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Farewell to Hey Love
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Farewell to Hey Love

These Narrow Note cards are not big enough to mail through the USPS, but they’re perfect enclosures for a small gift or a quick message. I like to have a few on hand as they’re perfect for last minute notes.

Hey Love is retiring on June 3, but is guaranteed available only through May 24, 2019. Don’t miss out – shop HERE.