A new year, a new calendar

Posted on January 1, 2014 by mauistamper

There’s something refreshing about turning the calendar page, and the most exciting turn of all is from December to January. Good morning, 2014!

How better to start the year than with one of my favorite Stampin’ Up! color combinations – Pool Party and Island Indigo? We’ve actually had a bit of rain here on the dry side of the island, and it’s always a sign of blessing and a cause for celebration. These beautiful drops from the My Friend stamp set are just right to start the year, especially with some sparkle. I’m big on dreams and goals, and appreciate a little reminder to keep it positive sitting on my desktop.

This year my first-of-the-month Calendar post will be a Triple Treat – Crystal and Cheryl are posting calendars too! Take a look at their projects for a little more inspiration. If you’d like to create your own calendar, I have DIY calendar kits available. They’re $8 with the easel, $5 without (plus shipping) and you can find more details HERE.

I’ve been doing a lot of reflection as January first has approached, looking ahead to a new year. In my quest for inspiration I came across the Vivid and Brave website – and a list of journaling prompts for 2014. What a find!!! One of the prompts is Clearing the Clutter – and as a self-confessed pack-rat, I had already identified this as one of my highest priorities for 2014. However, the one that really started me thinking was What word or phrase will you eliminate from your vocabulary this year? So many directions to take that…my mind is spinning with the possibilities.

Thank you for reading The Maui Stamper – it humbles me to think that you’re taking time out of your day to see what I’m up to. Whatever your plans for 2014 might be, I wish you comfort and contentment.

Thank yous after the gifts

Posted on December 29, 2013 by mauistamper

I was so busy making Christmas crafts this month that I completely forgot about thank you notes. Yesterday I sat down to write a few and realized I didn’t have any cards made! (Well, there were a couple – but they were boring.)

One of my orders this month included some Crumb Cake Note Card envelopes, sized for 3 1/2″ x 5″ note cards. Oh, Crumb Cake, you are such a versatile neutral! (Don’t tell on me, but I still call it Kraft. It’s the Stubborn Girl inside.)

Too Kind and Four You stamp sets
Naturals White, Primrose Petals and Crumb Cake card stock
Blushing Bride, Primrose Petals and Crumb Cake FFIP (Firm Foam Ink Pads)
Two Way Glue Pen
Dazzling Diamonds (don’t tell Mr. Maui Stamper!!)

That “grass” is just the stem image turned upside down and stamped all katty-wompus.

These flowers NEEDED the sparkle that you can only get from Dazzling Diamonds. So much Christmas sparkle is floating around our house that I’m pretty sure he won’t notice this extra bit. Christmas cards, ornaments, packages – all kinds of contraband covered in glitter has been sneaking into our house!

How about turning 180 degrees? Crumb Cake goes from flowers to grunge!

Gorgeous Grunge, Off the Grid and Hip Notes (sneak peek!) stamp sets
Very Vanilla, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake card stock
Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso FFIP
Linen Thread
Epic Day This n That Washi tape
Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi tape (another sneak peek!)
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Stampin’ Sponges

Flags are still hot, washi is very hot, and washi flags are easy as can be. Stampin’ Up! washi tape is sold in coordinating packages of 3, saving you money and time.

Speaking of saving yourself time and money, don’t forget to order your DIY calendar kit for 2014. $8 with easel, $5 without.

Complete details are HERE.

Weekly Deals December 24 – 30

Posted on December 28, 2013 by mauistamper

I’m behind schedule on this one – but you have a couple of days left to shop!

New goodies added to the CLEARANCE RACK too!

Order ONLINE!

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2013 by mauistamper

Each of my nativity sets holds a special place in my heart, but I’m especially fond of these figures hand made in Puerto Rico:

In the Puerto Rican culture, these are called Santos. Mr. Maui Stamper and I were in San Juan many years ago, and I looked at a lot of Santos before choosing mine.

The Magi were the hardest for me to select. There were so many colors and postures, and if you know me at all, you know I have a terrible time narrowing things down. I’m sure the people in the small shop wondered what I was doing, turning all the Magi this way and that.

This trio finally persuaded me that they should come home with me.

The faces on the ox and the ass look so patient, and I fell in love with the horns on the ox – they were part of the set and there was no doubt in my mind that they belonged!

This is one of the few Nativities that I have where the baby Jesus is actually proportional to his mother. The faces on Mary and Joseph are so serious, although I think that’s because these are relatively small, simply carved figures – there isn’t a lot of room for expression.

Displaying and sharing these simple scenes from all parts of the worlds helps to remind me of the universality of faith. There are so many ways we are different, but the belief in a loving and merciful God transcends those differences. When it seems that we just can’t get along, that peace is impossible, I remember that one Child changed the world.

Peace be to you and to yours this Christmas.

For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-12

An elf…by himself

Posted on December 23, 2013 by mauistamper

Years ago, when it became apparent that my grandmother could no longer live in her home, my sister and I made the arrangements to settle her in a new living situation and then turned our attention on the home she had lived in for nearly 50 years. What we found could fill a book, but this time of year I’m always grateful for Gramsie’s elf.

He pre-dates the whole “Elf on a Shelf” phenomenon by decades, although I don’t know exactly how old he is. His feet are weighted with lead, and his body feels as though he has a wire frame. Because of those weights, he doesn’t sit on the shelf very well, but he always comes out for Christmas in my house and finds a comfy place to watch all the proceedings.

This isn’t his usual spot, but there was too much light on the glass shelf where he has been sitting this year for me to capture his charm. I’m kind of grateful that we bypassed the Elf on the Shelf tradition, because December with three children was always so busy that I’m sure I would have failed the test.

This charming fellow reminds me of my grandmother, and when I catch sight of him throughout the month I think of all the different family celebrations I’ve been privileged to share. I didn’t have a large extended family growing up, and our celebrations were always rich in tradition but relatively quiet. I vividly remember my first Christmas with Mr. Maui Stamper. He comes from an enormous extended family and there was a lot of laughter, teasing, hugging, and pandemonium. It was a big change for me, but I learned to love it just as much as the traditions I had grown up with.

When we moved to Hawaii, our celebrations involved just our immediate family. Once there were three little stampers running around on Christmas Eve, we parents were desperate to get them to bed so that we could finish all the wrapping, assembling and staging. There were a number of years where it seemed we had barely put our heads on the pillow before we were awakened by excited little voices proclaiming that Santa had come. Our oldest daughter figured out how to brew a pot of coffee, and one memorable year the three children appeared pre-dawn with fresh java – who could resist that?

This year the newlyweds are spending Christmas with his family in Mauritius. We have our middle daughter and our son at home, and our traditions are changing again. They’ve decided we should exchange our gifts of Christmas Eve so that we won’t be in such a rush to get to Mass in the morning. I’ve got my fingers crossed that there will still be a fresh pot of coffee.

Merry Christmas, and if you celebrate something else, Merry That to you too.

DIY Easel Calendars

Posted on December 22, 2013 by mauistamper

Did you enjoy my calendars this year? The first of every month, I’ve shared my design for a small calendar page that sits on an easel in my kitchen. I’ve offered this as a class locally, and I’ve had a couple of requests for the pages. I’ve decided to offer a DIY calendar kit – here’s what you’ll get:

12 printed pages with the month and days, pre-cut
12 colored card stock mats (colors listed below)
a wooden easel, just the right size
a clear box for gift packaging

The kit includes mats in Soft Suede, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Pistachio Pudding, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wisteria, Melon Mambo, Real Red, Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight. You choose the images and ink you’d like for your calendar. You’re welcome to use mine as a starting place, and I’ll continue to post a new calendar page every month through 2014. As a matter of fact, I’ve joined with two friends who have done similar projects, so on the first of every month we’ll have a Calendar Mini-Tour!

The box is a perfect fit when the calendar is assembled. (It looks even better once you’ve stamped the pages!!)

Cost for your calendar is $8 with the easel, $5 without. Shipping is by flat rate box at $5.80 if you include the easel, first class mail ($.66) without. I can put multiple calendars in the flat rate box. Payment is by paypal – complete the form and I’ll respond with an invoice. Leave a comment or send an email if you have questions.

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Want to see the 2013 Calendar? Here are quick links:

I’ll ship them out lickety split!! And in case you’re wondering, flat rate boxes from Hawaii generally reach most places in the US in 3 business days. I’ve got kids spread across the country, and I’m a Flat-Rate-Expert!!

Weekly Deals December 17 – 23

Posted on December 20, 2013 by mauistamper

Order ONLINE!

This Nativity set began my collection. My sister brought it for me from Israel, and it’s made from olive wood. I love the simplicity of the features and the beauty in the grain of the wood:

The Wise Men are getting close…at the beginning of Advent, when I set up my Nativities, the Wise Men are at a distance.

Such serious faces. And yes, they are kind of tippy looking – they’re hand-made, after all – and if you had been traveling all that long way on a camel you would be tippy too.

Baby Jesus doesn’t make His appearance in the Nativities until Christmas Eve, but it wouldn’t do to take a picture of the Holy Family without Him, now, would it?

The Shepherd and his sheep are so patient. Actually, he’s been waiting a very long time and I think he may have shut his eyes for a little snooze.

The trees in the background are new this year – they’re very angular and modern, but I like the way they contrast with the rough-hewn faces and figures.

Stamping just for fun

Posted on December 19, 2013 by mauistamper

Sometimes the list of projects I “have” to do gets out of control and I rebel. (I KNOW. You’re shocked.) Last night I decided to make some simple tags just because:

These aren’t to show off any special technique or demonstrate my skill as a colorist (snort) or win a Pinterest popularity award. They were a project I did to relax during a busy time of year, doing something I really enjoy. (Although there might be a preview of a new punch coming in the Occasions catalog here – take a second look at the top of the tags.)

I pulled out anything that had Christmas images or messages and punched out a handful of tags and just stamped. It reminded me of when I started stamping, of how thrilled I would be to make something myself.

This one took a little bit longer because I punched out the sentiment. Honestly, I wasn’t going for anything here except my own pleasure in the process. There might have been a teeny tiny bit of rebellion still going on, since I pulled out my (retired) Color Spritzer tool to add a little texture to this tag. Last time I looked, it was still on the Clearance Rack.

When was the last time you made something Just Because? I know you don’t have time. I didn’t either – until I did it, and realized how much I needed to spend that time on myself.

Before I go, I want to share one of my many nativity scenes:

Mr. Maui Stamper brought this home to me just before we moved to Maui nearly 24 years ago. I was pregnant, Christmas was coming, and he had a business trip to Maui – without me. The figures are wood, but the base is coconut husk. The infant is big in proportion to Joseph and Mary (poor Mary!), and don’t miss the dove at the feet of the angel. The little sheep are so round they almost look like pigs, and of course there has to be a coconut palm! This little Nativity has a special place in my heart. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Posted on December 14, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the RemARKable Best of Snow blog tour. There is no snow on Maui today, but I’m gonna play along anyway. How could I resist these Hedgies?

We don’t have hedgehogs either. They would be considered an invasive species, which seems like an awfully mean thing to say about something so cute. It’s a serious problem, but this pair is no threat at all to our islands – so stamp away and enjoy their adorable roundness!

There’s a teeny sneak peek here – we have silver (and gold!) baker’s twine coming in the Occasions catalog! Here it adds a little more dimension.

The hedgies are back as a tag – and I would be spoiling the surprise to say more, but this tag is going to be perfect for a certain gift I’m giving this year. The tag itself is another sneak peek…

I added a little Frost White shimmer paint to the card (it was on the Clearance Rack at the time, but so goes the Clearance Rack! It’s gone.) I left it off the tag and added a little Pool Party accent around the snow. I like both looks but I think I prefer this one.

I also played with the snowflake image and found it fit nicely into the Festive Flurry Framelits.

I put them on some silver ribbon and have had them all over my house – on the banister, across the buffet, and finally on the tree – I think this is where they’ll stay.