Woo Hoo! Its Two!

blog-tour-pinworthy-300Welcome to this month’s tour.  The big news in these parts is that one of my favorite people in the whole wide world is expecting…TWINS!  She’s RemARKable in so many ways – as a matter of fact, if you are following this Pin-Worthy tour in sequence, you’ve just come from her blog.  I’m ruining the surprise factor, but today I’m going to share a bit of the decor for her baby shower.

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoA party begins with invitations and I’ve made TWO.  These are designed to have the details on the back.  Crystal has chosen bright colors for her nursery, and I chose Bermuda Bay and Calypso Coral tones for these projects.

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoThe li’l Giraffes are stamped in Pool Party and Crisp Cantaloupe, and are corralled in our new On Film (LOVE!) framelits.  There are so many awesome new framelits available in the Occasions catalog that it’s tough to choose – thank goodness for Sale-a-bration 🙂

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoLove this Retro Fresh DSP – it coordinates with EVERYTHING.  These little birds – from the For the Birds stamp set – are seriously under-appreciated.  To keep these really versatile, I didn’t use a “Shower” sentiment, so these cards could just as easily be announcements or thank you notes.

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoI quickly colored the wings and tails with markers, then used the Aqua Painter for a light wash over their little birdie bodies.  Check these out – I’m telling you, For the Birds is a sleeper.

The second Party Sneak Peak is the banner.  Gotta love those new banner framelits too!!  Yes, you can hand cut your own banners.  Yes, it’s not that hard.  But cranking them out with the framelits gave me 13 IDENTICAL banners and you know that’s not easy to do by hand!  So worth it…

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoThe message is loud and clear, don’t you think?  And I had such fun embellishing each banner.  I used a lot of Retro Fresh DSP, plus embossing folders, buttons, ribbon – if I could reach it I used it!

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoI used the Natural Trim to string my banner, both for the color and the fact that the texture helps hold things firmly in place.  And if you know me, you’ll know those buttons are actually sewed on with Linen Thread.  It had to be done.

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoEach letter from the Timeless Type Sizzlets is mounted on an embellished circle from the Pennants Bigz die.  I kept them uniform and relatively uncluttered to tie the message together since each banner was unique.

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoI’m telling you, it was a lot of fun to embellish all of these!  Definitely Stand-Up-Stamping.  (Do you stand up?  I think we need a club.)

Maui Stamper PinWorthy Blog Tour It's TwoThe new Bigz Spiral Flower die is getting a lot of action in my craft room.  You can adjust the tightness of the spiral to give you an entirely different look each time, or even (as I’ve done here) add a big ol’ pearl to the middle.

If you’ve held off on making a banner because you thought it would be too hard, hold off no longer!  The letters don’t have to match – mix-and-match is a great look.  It’s a great way to use up scraps and bits, and although it might turn into a treasured memento, I view it more as an in-the-moment kind of project.  Enjoy it for today, or this week, or even a month, and then replace it with something new!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this stop on the RemARKable PinWorthy tour.  Time to head over to see what Audra has created this month.  Thanks for checking in!

RemARKable PINworthy Blog Tour 2014

Weekly Deals February 11 to 17, 2014

My oh my….the Tasteful Trim Bigz die…

Maui Stamper Weekly Deals 2014 February 11 to 17

Order ONLINE!

Retro Fresh Love Ya

It’s not quite a clean and simple card, but it’s close:Maui Stamper Retro Fresh Love Ya

  • Stamps:  Just Saying’
  • Color Palette:  Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla
  • Accessories:  Word Bubbles Framelits, Stripes TIEF, Big Shot, Naturals trim, Full Heart Punch, Retro Fresh DSP, Rhinestone jewels

The Designer Series papers in the Occasions catalog are so richly colored and so versatile!  There were plenty of combinations that I liked, but this one with its rainbow-shaped domes was the Gold Medal winner.  (Admit it, you’re staying up late to watch the Olympics too,)  Punch a couple of hearts, stamp a message and cut it out with a framlit and you’ve got a valentine, anniversary, birthday, or just because card ready to go.

Maui Stamper Retro Fresh Love YaDimensionals rule the adhesive world!  Both the heart and the word bubble get a lift, and that’s a big part of what makes this simple layout work.  The Stripes TIEF makes a difference too – those two elements give my projects that  “Bam!”

There’s a little bit of Baked Brown Sugar (BBS) ink rubbed onto the Naturals trim to darken it and give it the same color tone as the rest of the card.  That trim takes ink really well.  (So do my fingers but that’s not what we’re interested in here.)

Maui Stamper Retro Fresh Love YaDon’t forget it’s Sale-a-bration!  For every $50 in merchandise you spend you earn FREE exclusive Stampin’ Up! product.  Visit the Online Store to choose your favorites.  And thanks!

 

 

Call me a Tissue Box Dork

Really.  I love creating tissue box covers.

Maui Stamper Manly Tissue Box coverThis one is pretty simple because it’s for the Manliest Bathroom in the house.  (It’s generally the SANDIEST too, but that’s a story for another day.)  I found this gorgeous Basic Grey grid Designer Series paper in the new Kaleidoscope assortment from the Occasions catalog.  When you see the rest of the patterns, you’ll think there must be a mistake – but really, it’s there!

Maui Stamper Kaleidescope DSPIt’s the last one on the right – the one rolled over the top.  Huh.

Anyway, the other night I was in one of those twitchy finger, I don’t know what I want to do, what-should-I-make kind of moods.  D’you ever feel that way?  I walked down the hallway and looked into the Manly Bathroom and thought TISSUE BOX.  (I know.  You probably would have done the same thing.)  It didn’t take long from that point.

Maui Stamper Manly Tissue Box coverOnce I decided to use that fabulous grey grid the colors fell into place.  The embellishment was kind of tricky.  Remember, this is a MANLY bathroom.  Flowers are out.  (In fact, the ribbons may be viewed suspiciously.)

Maui Stamper Manly Tissue Box coverI used the Rosette Bigz XL die and made a very short, manly rosette.  (Is that an oxymoron?)  I stacked buttons and brads and paper circles, using dimensionals – and a fair amount of hot glue – to create some height.  I dug out my stash of ribbons to find the right colors.  That gorgeous Basic Black/Basic Grey wide satin ribbon is still on the Clearance Rack, my friends!

Maui Stamper Manly Tissue Box coverI can’t tell you exactly why I enjoy these so much.  They’re pretty simple to construct.  It’s fun to play with color combinations.  It’s a challenge to assemble the right assortment of embellishments.  When you’re finished, you have a pretty box for your tissues.  I think there’s more to it than that, but I haven’t figured out exactly what it is.  I guess it’s just a mystery.

If you’d like to make one of your own, there’s an easy-to-follow tutorial over at SplitCoastStampers.  Have a good time!

 

 

Weekly Deals February 4 to 10 AND a New Personalized Stamp!

Big news today – a brand new Personalized Stamp option!

Stampin' Up! Photopolymer Personalized Name StampWant to see how it works?  Log into the Online Store and enter item #132852.  Add it to your shopping cart and a design page will pop up.  Get started creating!

What do you think of this?Maui Stamper Personalized Stamp #132852The possibilities are endless!  Address, custom sentiments, you name it!  This stamp coordinates with our 1 3/8″ circle punch and is perfect for coloring with Stampin’ Write markers for the absolute custom touch.  I’ll be placing an order later this week – let me know if you’d like to add your own personalized stamp to save on shipping.

And let’s not forget week’s deals…

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Feb 4-10 2014

Order ONLINE!

Happy Congratulations

The name of this stamp set cracks me up – it makes me think of one of those “close but not quite” translations.  You know the ones.  In any event, I used a sketch from the Paper Players to get started:

Maui Stamper PP180 Happy Congratulations

  • Stamps:  Happy Congratulations and Petal Parade (SAB)
  • Color Palette:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Pool Party, Whisper White and Black Staz-on
  • Accessories:  Sweet Sorbet DSP, Big Shot and Decorative Dots TIEF, Pool Party Seam Binding, Oval punch, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Rhinestone Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals

It’s a fun sketch because it includes a pull-out tag:

Maui Stamper PP180 Happy CongratulationsThe little paper lanterns are very easy to (Two Step) stamp – I just gave ’em the Maui Stamper eyeball – and that panel is lifted on Dimensionals.  I think EVERY card should use Dimensionals.

Here’s the sketch.  You can see I took a little creative license with it, but that’s all in the game:

Paper Players Challenge 180Speaking of games, congrats to all you Seahawk 12th Men out there – but what a horrible game.  The Super Bowl is supposed to be competitive.  I feel for all of you Denver fans. Go read Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.  You’ll feel better.  Bad days happen.  (I’m a 49er fan – we already had our Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.)

All righty then!  A quick little detour and we are adding things to the book list!  (Not that I’m above adding to my book list – please feel free to share.)  But let’s have one more look at  Happy Congratulations (which would be a fine name for a Chinese Restaurant, if you ask me):

Maui Stamper PP180 Happy CongratulationsEnjoy!

DIY calendar – February 2014

Do you speak the Language of Love?

Maui Stamper 2014 DIY Calendar FebruaryMy own DIY calendar this month combines banners and pennants from the Language of Love stamp set featured in the Occasions catalog.  I’m not a huge fan of hearts, but there’s something different about this set – I {heart} it!  (I can hear you groaning…)

Maui Stamper Language Of Love

Clear #133077 $12.95     Wood #133074  $16.95

There’s a punch for the pennant and a framelit for the banner too – but the truth is I hand cut them both.  I know some of you refuse to acknowledge that is an option, but I enjoy it.  I wouldn’t want to do loads of them, and I draw the line at curves, but these are pretty straight forward and I can handle them.

Maui Stamper Language Of LoveColors are Melon Mambo and Soft Suede.  I added some Gold Baker’s Twine and a little tiny Diah-mund to sparkle it up.  The pennants are on dimensionals too.  Just because.

We’re running a mini-blog-tour the first of every month to share different versions of the DIY Calendar concept.  Go visit Crystal and Cheryl to see what their February calendars look like, and be sure you give them a little blog-loving; (comments!).  And although we’re one month into the New Year, it’s not too late to make your own.  Click HERE to order your own DIY calendar kit – they’re $8 with the easel and $5 without (plus shipping.)  Pull down those stamps, pull out that ink, and have a little calendar fun!

Time to Sale-a-brate!

It’s the Most-Wonderful-Time….of the Yeeeear!!!!

Maui Stamper 2014 Sale-a-brationAh yes, Sale-a-bration.  Spend $50 in merchandise and earn exclusive product absotively, posituvely free!  (Say it out loud, it works.)

Maui Stamper Sweet Sorbet DSP Made My DayThe Sweet Sorbet DSP  is one of the Sale-a-bration choices that has made my day!  The patterns are fresh and trendy and every single one of them is a winner – Stampin’ Up! has been rockin’ the DSP boat during SAB.  The color choices might surprise you – they did me – but as I’ve worked with them I have become quite smitten 🙂

And just in case you don’t have a wish list ready, Stampin’ Up! has come to the rescue with a sweet new offering.

Maui Stamper 132657 Texture BoutiqueIt’s embossing made easy.  The Texture Boutique Embossing Machine is a compact and portable tool to add texture to cards, tags, embellishments, and more.  Use it with our Stampin’ Up! exclusive Textured Impressions Embossing Folders (see why I call them TIEFs?)  The initial supply of The Texture Boutique is limited, but it will be making a permanent appearance in the next annual catalog that debuts in May.

Just so happens that the purchase of the Texture Boutique (#132657 – $29.95) and any 3 Embossing Folders will earn you a free Sale-a-bration item – including the brand new Embossing Folder Decorative Dots (#133520).  You’ll be ready to rock and roll!

Visit my Online Store to order, or contact me and we will find the perfect solution for your crafting needs. Need a refresher on the TIEF options?  Here you go!

Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Wildflower Meadow Maui Stamper TIEF woodgrain Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF Maui Stamper TIEF

Weekly Deals January 28 to February 3, 2014

Maui Stamper Weekly Deals January 28 to Feb 3 2014Have you been updating all of your old style ink pads for new FFIP (Firm Foam Ink Pads) with these weekly deals?

Order ONLINE!

Cheery Ellies for a Grey Day

Crushed Curry is a perfect antidote for grey!

Maui Stamper Zoo Babies Happy Hour handmade card

  • Stamps:  Zoo Babies and Happy Hour
  • Color palette:  Crushed Curry, Basic Grey, Very Vanilla
  • Accessories:  Stampin’ Dimensionals, Basic Grey Striped Ribbon (Clearance Rack!), Kaleidoscope DSP

Yes, even on the Valley Isle we have the occasional grey day.  The cheerful Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper was the inspiration for this card, and the super-simple layout encouraged me to take an  extra step with the elephants.

The two background Ellies are stamped using the “stamping off” technique – ink your rubber, stamp lightly on scrap paper, and then stamp onto your project.  The featured Ellie is stamped with all the glory that a Firm Foam Ink Pad (FFIP) offers, then trimmed out with my paper snips and lifted up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Maui Stamper Zoo Babies Happy Hour handmade cardI stamped the ear a second time with Crushed Curry, trimmed it out and adhered it to the card with another Dimensional.  Dimensionals are like Magic Wands!!  They make all sorts of fabulous things happen.  However, this ear looked a little funny flying off Ellie’s head.

Maui Stamper Zoo Babies Happy Hour handmade cardThe solution was a super-thin line of Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive) to make the front side of the ear stick to Ellie’s head just as God intended!

If you had told me when I began stamping that I would absolutely NEED all of these different adhesives I would have probably laughed in your face.  What did I know then?  Adhesives make the paper crafting world go round.

Hope your day is sunny and bright!