RemARKably Egg-stra Creative!

Posted on March 13, 2014 by mauistamper

Welcome to the RemARKable Pinworthy Blog tour for March! I’m glad you’ve joined us and I’m sure you’ll be inspired. Let’s dive right in:

Lately I’ve been hooked on the Card-in-a-Box concept. The possibilities are endless, and this particular process really suits my “More is More” mentality – it seems like you can add bits and pieces forever! The colors in the Eastern Elegance Designer Series paper really inspired me.

Stamps: Flower Shop, Petite Petals, Petal Parade, Best of Butterflies and Delightful Dozen
Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Grey, Smokey Slate, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight and Crushed Curry
Accessories: Eastern Elegance DSP, Pansy and Petite Petals punches, Corner Rounder punch, Little Leaves Sizzlet and the Big Shot, Rhinestone jewels, Simply Scored tool, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Window Sheets

There are lots of ways to assemble this card, but here’s a tip: You need a BRAND NEW, full box of Glue Dots. I use a bamboo BBQ skewer to lift them off the roll and place them on my project. (I use those skewers for tons of things – rolling paper into curls, reaching elusive spots, dabbing Tombo, placing glue dots and jewels – the list is endless. And when it gets all sticky with Tombo the Wonder Adhesive I just pitch it.)

The card folds flat for mailing, too, although with all that extra card stock embellishment, you’re going to need a little extra postage. It’s worth it 🙂

I was on a roll with these colors, so I carried the theme over to a Tag-a-Bag Box. There’s no way this was going in an envelope, so I had more room to play.

Stamps: None
Color Palette: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Basic Grey, Smokey Slate, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Big Shot, Spiral Flower Originals Die and Lattice TIEF, Little Leaves Sizzlet, Tag-a-bag Box, Paper lace doily, Eastern Elegance DSP

The doily is cut in half and smooshed (yes, that is the authentic, technical, paper-crafting term for it). I used Sticky Strip to hold it in place under the belly band since it would be sliding back and forth as the box opened and closed. When something Absolutely, Positively has to stick, you need Sticky Strip.

A Textured Impressions Embossing Folder on the Spiral Flower Originals die helps to soften the card stock so it will roll more easily. The Lattice TIEF does an especially good job of this, although I still smoosh the card stock before I roll the flowers.

I also use those odd crafty tweezers that pinch when you let go (instead of having to be squeezed) when I roll up my roses. They make it easy to hold onto the center of the flower while you’re rolling.

These colors make a gorgeous Easter color scheme, and I was delighted to find plastic eggs in Coastal Cabana! Maybe you’ll choose a different DSP, but I hope you’ll have some fun playing with new ideas for Easter this year.

Time to move on and see what Audra has in store. Thanks for stopping by!

(If the link doesn’t work for you, cut and paste this link into a browser window: http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2014/03/eggstra-creative-ideas-for-easter.html)

Puddin’ Pistachio on the Pumpkin

Posted on May 28, 2013 by mauistamper

Well, the Maui Stamper is clearly in a silly mood, isn’t she?

The 2013-2015 In Color Collection has such mouth-watering names for each color that I don’t see how I’ll make it through the next two years without gaining at least 10 pounds! Fortunately, these colors are just as yummy looking as they sound, so we’ll have lots of ways to enjoy them.

This card is one of five that Crystal and I are offering at a class to follow our “Out With the Old, In With the New” Open House on Saturday, June 1 at the Maui Masonic Lodge. If you’ll be on the Valley Isle this Saturday, I encourage you to stop by for great deals on retired products, the chance to experience a variety of new products and pick up a new catalog, and a generally great time! Doors open for the sale at 9am sharp and the class begins at 11am. Availability for the class is very limited at this time so check with me if you are interested.

The stamps used on this card include Summer Silhouettes (which will be in the 2013-2014 annual catalog, hooray!), Best of Butterflies 25th Anniversary set and the stamps included in the introductory kit for My Paper Pumpkin. Sign up for your Pumpkin subscription by June 10 and the introductory kit will be on the way to your doorstep in June!

My color palette includes Pistachio Pudding, Early Espresso and Whisper White, and along with a couple of punches and some dimensionals, that’s all it took to put together this card! Hope you’ll stop by on Saturday.

The Best of RemARKable Butterflies

Posted on May 18, 2013 by mauistamper

I hope you’re enjoying these two RemARKable blog tours every month. We’ve just lined up our next few sets for the Stamp of the Month Tour on the second Sunday every month (and NO, I am NOT going to spill the beans – come back and see what they are!). The third Sunday of the month is reserved for the 25th Anniversary “Best of” releases throughout 2013. We are working a month behind so that we have plenty of time to create, so this month we are featuring the April set, Best of Butterflies.

I’ve made 3 different projects for you. In addition to the 25th Anniversary Best of Butterflies stamp set, I’m featuring 3 Big Shot dies that are on the Retiring Products list. That means that these 3 dies are currently being sold on an “as available” basis – when the last one is sold, it’s gone!

First up is the Bigz XL Fancy Favor Box #115965. (I KNOW.) But we have to trust that Stampin’ Up! has bigger and better things planned for us 🙂 This box has been a FAVORite of mine for many projects. You can easily create a top using another Fancy Favor or (and this is gorgeous) one of our Paper Doilies. It’s a perfect size for favors (duh!) and small gifts, and punching a circle in the front allows you to peek at the goodies inside. (Crystal said I should put something shiny inside: what could be shinier than Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans??)

The butterfly I chose for this project coordinates with the Elegant Butterfly punch. A little TIEF on the box, a couple of circles and leaves, and this project is ready to go!

The Two Tags Bigz die is another favorite I am sorry to see leave our lineup. I’ve used both of these shapes for countless projects. This one is popular at craft shows – two of the fold-over tags adhered with a smidge of Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive) to create a gift card holder. This butterfly was embossed with Irridescent Ice and hand-cut.

Again, a couple of flowers, some leaves and a little bling and you are in business!

Finally, the sweet Petite Pocket Bigz die – which I am sorry to tell you is No Longer Available – makes a perfect little dress-up for a girly gift of lip shine. I used Pretty in Pink ink on Pink Pirouette card stock to get extra definition of this third butterfly, which I am grateful not to have cut out 🙂