Sakura Sympathy

Posted on March 14, 2015 by mauistamper

These sweet blossoms just begged to be colored in pinks:

Stamps: Indescribable Gift, Bloom with Hope (Host)
Color Palette: Wild Wasabi, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Blendabilities, Memento Black ink pad, Pearls

There is sad news regarding Blendabilities. Stampin’ Up! has made the difficult decision to withdraw ALL Blendabilities. Period. Because of quality concerns that cannot be overcome, they have been discontinued. While this is a super-frustrating problem for anyone who has gotten their hands on this great product, it’s also super-frustrating to receive items that do not perform to the high expectations we all have for Stampin’ Up! products.

I’m sharing this close-up image so that you can see that there is a lot of flexibility in the way you shade. I have never had formal art training, and anyone who has is likely exclaiming “Yeah, I see that!” However, with just a little practice, I found I was able to produce results that I found very satisfying.

The moral of this story? Have fun, try something new, and enjoy the process! And stay tuned…I’ll be giving this same image a try with an aquapainter and sharing the results.

It’s a RemARKable Sale-a-bration

Posted on February 12, 2015 by mauistamper

Welcome to the February Sale-a-bration RemARKable Blog Tour! I know Valentines Day is nearly here, but I have something different in mind for you. My theme today is:

“If life give you lemons, make…a card!”

Introducing “A Happy Thing”!

With a $50 US product purchase, this stamp set is yours for free in either wood (#139131) or clear (#139134).

I used the Daffodil Delight and Old Olive Blendabilities to color this image, and enjoyed the differences in each lemon – just the way you would find them in nature!

Perhaps you haven’t purchased those Blendabilities yet – no worries. Stamp the lemon on any of our yellow toned cardstock – this is Crushed Curry. This card is intentionally minimalist, as I often find myself short on cards for men. No ribbons here!

Trim it and adhere it over the base lemon with Stampin’ Dimensionals. There’s a little highlight on the Crushed Curry cardstock done with our Chalk Marker.

The entire image – leaves plus lemon – is a little fussier to cut but it won’t ruin your day if you choose to go that route. A few gold sequins from the sequin trim and some stamped dots create a little Bokeh effect.

Three cards, three different sentiments, one color palette and one gorgeous lemon. Almost as refreshing as hand-squeezed lemonade – enjoy the rest of the tour!

Nancy Amato – http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com/2015/02/remarkable-stampers-blog-tour-sale.html
Melissa Bolinger – http://creativeblessingsbymissy.blogspot.com/2015/02/remarkable-blog-tour-sale-bration.html
Tamra Davis – http://www.theCardLadies.com/remarkable-blog-tour-sale-a-bration-sponging-fun/
Connie Diebler – http://www.conniestamps.com/2015/02/its-sale-a-bration-time.html
Becky Jensen – ttp://www.stampthat.com/blog/sale-a-bration-blog-tour-2015/
Anne Matasci – http://wp.me/pCcBw-1Nq YOU’RE HERE
Audra Monk – http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2015/02/sale-bration-blog-hop-its-remarkable.html
Maria Pane – http://stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com/2015/02/remarkable-stampers-blog-tour-its.html
Andi Potler – http://www.absolutekreations.com/2015/02/12/remarkable-stampers-blog-tour-sale-a-bration
Michele Reynolds – http://inspirationink.typepad.com/inspiration-ink/2015/02/sale-a-bration-blog-tour.html
Pam Staples – http://wp.me/p3p2VA-Tz
Janet Wakeland – http://wp.me/pHIQD-789

Let’s Party!

Posted on February 7, 2015 by mauistamper

One can never have enough birthday cards!

Stamps: Big Day (SAB 2015) and Cheerful Critters
Color Palette: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Accessories: White Jute RIbbon, Regals Candy Dots, Blendabilities, Best Day Ever DSP (SAB 2015)

I LOVE coloring with Blendabilities. I’m sure I wouldn’t be the star pupil in art class, but I don’t really care – I enjoy the process and the end result!

In my family, no one needs to be told to do this. I think it’s kind of hilarious.

Do you have a birthday soon? Celebrate with cake!!

RemARKable Winter Holidays

Posted on October 9, 2014 by mauistamper

Welcome to the October RemARKable Pinworth Blog Tour. Our theme this month is Winter Holidays – and as the holidays draw closer, I’m thinking about non-traditional colors:

I’m pretty sure that Daffodil Delight and Bermuda Bay are non-traditional colors!! This nutcracker from the Santa Stache stamp set is perfectly suited for coloring with Blendabilities.

I’m not an expert by any means, but I’ve spent a while playing with facial tones, working with lines and shadows. My faces come out differently each time, but in a good way.

Experimenting with Blendabilities color collections has allowed me to find new combinations. The Night of Navy collection works very well with Pacific Point card stock.

I wouldn’t normally mix Rich Razzleberry with Pumpkin Pie and Night of Navy, but somehow when you’re coloring uniforms, the rules get a little blurry.

Stampin’ Up! Blendabilities come in set with a light, medium and dark shade so that you can play with light and shadow. I just wanted to color, so for the most part I stayed with a single tone.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my “outside the box” holiday journey, and I hope you’ll continue on the RemARKable tour to see what everyone else has created. Thanks for stopping by!

Your next stop is with Audra Monk – click on her name or on the badge below. The full tour is listed at the bottom of this post. Happy hopping!

Nancy Amato – http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com/2014/10/remarkable-pinworthy-blog-tour-winter.html

Missy Bolinger – http://creativeblessingsbymissy.blogspot.com/2014/10/remarkable-pinworthy-tour-winter.html
Tamra Davis – http://www.theCardLadies.com/pinworthy-blog-tour-winter-holiday-decor-team-fun/
Connie Diebler – http://www.conniestamps.com/2014/10/remarkable-pinworthy-blog-tour-winter-holidays.htm
Anne Matasci – http://wp.me/pCcBw-1Ks YOU ARE HERE!!
Audra Monk – http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2014/10/winter-holidays-remarkable-blog-tour.html
Maria Pane – http://stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com/2014/10/get-ready-for-holiday-fun-remarkable.html
Andi Potler -http://www.absolutekreations.com/2014/10/09/remarkable-pinworthy-blog-tour-winter-holidays
Michele Reynolds – http://inspirationink.typepad.com/inspiration-ink/2014/10/winter-holidays-pinworthy-blog-tour.html
Pam Staples – http://wp.me/p3p2VA-Nm
Janet Wakeland – http://wp.me/pHIQD-6Re

Oh Snap

Posted on August 25, 2014 by mauistamper

One of my free stamps from convention was Snapshot:

That camera is great fun and it’s an easy fussy cut. (I know, I often say something is easy to cut out. I’m being honest, but maybe my idea of easy and your idea of easy aren’t exactly the same. You’ll have to interpret for yourself.) I played around with a lot of color combinations to color it – using Blendabilities, of course.

Adding this message inside was VERY easy. It’s those little extra steps – a stamped inside, an embellished envelope – that make a card personal.

A Tag Makes the Package

Posted on August 16, 2014 by mauistamper

I’m in love with all of our 2014-2015 Host Stamps – this one is I Like You, and it’s a natural to color with Blendabilities!

I chose Rich Razzleberry for the flowers to compliment the retired ribbon from ages ago, and added a bit of Daffodil Delight and Old Olive for accent. It was a very quick, easy tag to put together and I think it makes the package!

Shop for Blendabilities HERE

Blendabilities: Part II

Posted on June 19, 2014 by mauistamper

I’m experimenting more with Blendabilities, the awesome new alcohol markers soon to be available to customers (and available NOW to demonstrators!) I wanted to explore how they function purely as coloring tools. I put them to the test with one of my favorite line art stamp sets:

Stamps: For the Birds, Work of Art
Color Palette: Daffodil Delight, Costal Cabana, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Basic Black 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon, Coastal Cabana Thick Twine, Stampin’ Dimensionals, and Blendabilities in Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Rich Razzleberry and Cherry Cobbler.

Just as I did with my flower from a few days ago, I stamped my image a few times and then played with the Blendabilities. I love to color! I just wanted to see what would happen with different colors and approaches.

The short answer is that these markers are a coloring delight. I didn’t attempt to shade “within the lines” but used a single color for each defined space. I did use the light, middle and dark tones of the markers to create contrast, in this case between wing and body. No streaking, beautiful, even coverage, and gorgeous color. I’m hooked.

Blendabilities, blendabilities, wherefore art thou, blendabilities?

Posted on June 9, 2014 by mauistamper

One of the most exciting products in the new Stampin’ Up! catalog is only available to demonstrators at this time. The Blendabilities product line has been delayed for release to customers for production reasons, and should be available in late June or early July – stay tuned! In the meantime, I’ve been dutifully playing with mine so that you will have the opportunity to enjoy them vicariously 🙂

Color Palette: Rich Razzleberry, Hello Honey, Basic Black and Very Vanilla
Stamps: Fabulous Florets (retired), Dictionary and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Accessories: Decorative Dots TIEF, Crushed Curry 3/4″ Chevron Ribbon, Large and XL oval punches, Neutrals Decorative Buttons, Rhinestone Jewels, Blendabilities in Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight, and Stampin’ Dimensionals

I stamped the same image multiple times and colored it with each color family of Blendabilities markers. I’m sorry it’s a retired image, but my options were limited and I liked this flower because it only had a few petals 🙂

I learned that I prefer to work with dark first and move into the lighter colors. I also learned that I favor an overall darker tone than most people. And unsurprisingly, I learned that I don’t really understand lighting and shadows.

I also learned that I LOVE to color with Blendabilities!! No streaking, no uneven color, just rich, beautiful, saturated tones. The process of going back and forth over your image does create some bleed through on the back of the image, and I recommend that you plan on layering your image to disguise that.

If you’re really anxious to try these out, you can take advantage of the June Sign-and-Save promotion: for $50 you can become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator and select Blendabilities in your initial order. It’s a no risk, no obligation decision and right now it’s the only way to get your hands on these markers. Let me know how I can help you get started!