Swirly Bird: One set to rule them all

Posted on June 21, 2016 by mauistamper

There are many, many gorgeous new products in the latest version of the Stampin’ Up! annual catalog, but Swirly Bird gets my vote for the set that does it all:

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Tin of Cards
Color Palette: Pear Pizazz, Tangerine Tango, Peekaboo Peach, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I love the variety in the images, and I love the versatility of both the stamps and the thinlits. This card is quick and easy to put together and I already have a few ideas for changing it up. I also love that Stampin’ Up! brought the original 2015-2016 Tin of Cards stamp set back, but also added a new Designer Tin of Cards set for 2016-2017.

I want you to note that I avoided the (very strong) urge to make this a blue and green card. It would be gorgeous with Pool Party or Island Indigo. I’m making an effort to expand my horizons, and since orange isn’t exactly at the top of my list of favorites, I stretched.

I inked the Swirly shapes in Peekaboo Peach and then tapped the edges with Tangerine Tango. Each one came out a little differently from the last, which is what flowers do in real life, right? I like that.

Ready to add the Swirly Birds bundle to your craft table? Shop HERE.

Craftin’ with my Bestie

Posted on June 16, 2016 by mauistamper

I made a date yesterday to craft with my bestie:

She brought over her new things, and I set up a space for the two of us on my dining room table. My craft room is just a little bit messy right now, and it’s not quite spacious enough for two crafters. My bestie is a little bit of a space hog, anyways {wink}. Don’t deny it, you know it’s true!

She had the new Love You Lots Host Rewards set, and I enjoyed those cute little critter images a lot more than I anticipated. Cute isn’t really my thing, although every now and then something cute will catch my eye.

Stamps: Love You Lots
Color Palette: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Emerald Envy
Accessories: Emerald Envy Ruched Ribbon, Stampin’ Write markers, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Fruit Stand DSP

For the amount of time we were crafting, you would think we would have a mountain of cards. That’s not the way it worked out. But we did have a good time trying new things, and we got caught up on lots of news, and of course we had a lovely lunch! (edited to add: Cheryl posted too – see what she made HERE.)

After she left, I got more productive. I think it just took a while to get my mojo going.

Ready to give your mojo a kick in the pants? Shop HERE.

All Swirly Whirly

Posted on June 14, 2016 by mauistamper

I had no idea I would be so crazy about this Swirly Bird bundle:

Shoosh now. Don’t tell my Dad. This is his Fathers Day card and it’s going in the mail today. I love the open sea feeling of it.

Stamps: Swirly Bird and Crazy About You
Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Grey, Real Red, Dapper Denim
Accessories: Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, Layering Circle Framelits, Duet Banner Punch, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush

The new 2016-2018 In Colors are absolutely scrumptious. (I always have a little heart failure when there’s a new set of In Colors and I have to put that 2-year-away date out there. 2018? Holy Mackerel Andy.) Dapper Denim is a beautiful shade of blue!

This card is based on a layout done by Janet Wakeland. I tweaked it a bit – can you see the Wink of Stella? {wink, wink} I’ve been busy turning out all kinds of Swirly projects!

Don’t judge me or anything, but Swirly Bird was a bit of a last minute, oh-why-not addition to my first big new catalog order. I thought it was interesting, but I wasn’t exactly over the moon about it.

I also ordered the Layering Circle Framelits only because I had a demonstrator award that allowed me to get them for free. I have the old Circle Framelits. Why would I possibly need these? There couldn’t be that much difference, could there?

I was wrong. There is.

Want your own? Shop HERE.

$5 Today for a Paper Pumpkin – Fun, Easy and a Steal

Posted on June 10, 2016 by mauistamper

Just over 7 hours left to get this deal – sign up by 7:50pm Hawaii Standard time! First time subscribers get the June kit – stamps, ink, and all the paper and accessories – for just $5! No tax, no shipping, just pure paper crafting fun.

Use the code ONEDAYDEAL at paperpumpkin.com.

It’s RemARKably NEW!

Posted on June 9, 2016 by mauistamper

Welcome to the June RemARKable Blog Tour! Many of our paper artists are featuring brand new 2016-2017 Annual Catalog product, and we hope you’ll be inspired.

I’m featuring fruit today – Fresh Fruit, in fact! What says summer better than fruit, and what fruit is more a symbol of the islands than the pineapple?

You might notice that I didn’t stamp the top of the pineapple. It just didn’t look right to me, but these little bonus bits did the trick. Don’t recognize them? These are the negative pieces from the widest Thinlit in the new Swirly Scribbles set.

I inked the pineapple in So Saffron, then added touches of Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry and So Suede ink with sponges and markers. A quick spritz before stamping helped to blend the colors.

While I was playing with the new Fresh Fruit photopolymer set, I realized that the pear looked just like the mango I ate for breakfast this morning. I stamped the fruit in Pear Pizazz (of course!) and then sponged on a little So Saffron and Calypso Coral.

The “basket” is another piece from the Swirly Scribbles framelits, cut in half and with a few extra bits added on. And that birthday stamp is straight from Fresh Fruit – I just chopped it up.

I tried to create a lemon, but I think it takes a little imagination to see it:

We just came back from a trip and I found Lemon Bon Bons in a candy shop. They’re a total sugar bomb – but for some reason I love them. Maybe it’s just that I associate them with my travels.

At any rate, they fit perfectly into our brand new Clear Tiny Treat Boxes (2″x2″x2″). Our brand new Layering Circles Framelits – complete with tiny scallops – created a shape I could pretend was a lemon!

What do you think? Your next stop on the tour is Heather Mathieson. I see plenty of Surprise and Delight in this new catalog! Visit the other RemARKables to see more.

Anne Matasci YOU ARE HERE

Sharing a few new shades of green

Posted on June 3, 2016 by mauistamper

Stampin’ Up! has beautiful shades of green, but I’ve just returned from a trip that took my appreciation of the color to new levels.

Mr. Maui Stamper and I traveled through Ireland for 2 weeks with our family. It was GLORIOUS. The wildflowers were in bloom everywhere, and many days we even got a bit of blue sky.

There are swans on this estuary where we stayed, and we loved watching them float gracefully on the water. We learned to appreciate those moments of sunshine!

Even on a grey day, the greens still dominated. One of the images I couldn’t seem to capture was the expanse of green pasture, divided by long stone walls and dotted with cattle, sheep or horses. This was as close as I got – my son was convinced this was simply a way of keeping people out of the field, but it worked for me!

Water – streams, lakes, estuaries, oceans, and rain – is a constant presence, and it feeds all that beautiful green. We were amazed at how plants large and small could gain a purchase in what seemed to be solid stone.

There’s a meadow growing on the top of this structure! Buildings, walls, stone – it seemed something could always find a way to root.

We passed this fellow looking for a meal as we walked to Charles Fort outside of Kinsale. On our return, the tide had completely withdrawn and there was nothing but mud.

Since I was away from home nearly the entire month of May, I chose not to place a pre-order from the new catalog. My first order from the 2016-2017 Annual Catalog has shipped and I can’t wait to get my hands on new things to share with you!

I’m sure I’ll be crafting in green.

Dragonflies for June

Posted on June 1, 2016 by mauistamper

There are dragonflies in my backyard, and I love to watch them hover and swoop over the water – they inspired the June calendar:

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Color Palette: Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder, Crisp Cantaloupe (retired)

I ought to apologize for using Crisp Cantaloupe, but I just can’t do that. I bought it, I kept it, and I love it – it wasn’t my decision to retire it!! If you’ve got it, rock it.

Visit Crystal and Cheryl to see their June calendars!

A Muted Garden

Posted on May 31, 2016 by mauistamper

I find the combination of these shades of blues and taupes to be very soothing:

Stamps: Botanical Blooms
Color palette: Very Vanilla, Tip Top Taupe, Soft Suede, Pool Party, and Island Indigo
Accessories: Botanical Blooms framelits, Big Shot, Designer Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Timeless Elegance DSP

How can you go wrong with these beautiful shapes? I cut out a stack and started playing.

There’s no greeting for now. I’ll add one when I’m ready to send this card. I like to have a stash on hand that I can personalize with just the right greeting.

It’s SO Timeless!

Posted on May 28, 2016 by mauistamper

i can’t resist this paper! It’s the perfect background for anything and everything:

Stamps: Serene Silhouette, Hello (retired SAB 2016)
Color Palette: Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Tip Top Taupe
Accessories: 2 1/2″ circle punch, Greetings thinlits (retired and sold out, sorry!), Linen thread, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Timeless Elegance DSP

I really like this layout. You may have seen it – and a few variations – a time or two this month {wink}

Same card, different layout

Posted on May 26, 2016 by mauistamper

My gate fold card from earlier this month began life as a simpler layout:

The color scheme and stamps are the same,but I added a little piercing and the Very Vanilla seam binding. The more I use the Timeless Elegance DSP, the more I’m tempted to add a couple of packs to my last Retiring Products order!

Funny, it seems that paper piercing had fallen out of favor. I hardly ever think to add it to a card, and I seldom see it in the work of other paper crafters. Do you still use it?

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Swirly Bird: One set to rule them all

Craftin’ with my Bestie

All Swirly Whirly

$5 Today for a Paper Pumpkin – Fun, Easy and a Steal

It’s RemARKably NEW!

Sharing a few new shades of green

Dragonflies for June

A Muted Garden

It’s SO Timeless!

Same card, different layout

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