Happy Birthday, Sara

Posted on June 19, 2011 by mauistamper

My Sara turned 21 last month…in Spain. I’m sure it was wonderful, although not quite the thrill it is to turn 21 in the U.S. It was a little challenging for her dad and me since we didn’t feel confident sending her birthday gift through the mail – a 21st birthday present should be something to remember, and entrusting such a gift to the Spanish postal system made me nervous. So Sara has to wait until she’s back in the U.S. before she gets her gift, and we sent this card to let her know we were thinking of her:

Bliss (SAB 2011), Charming and Well Scripted (retired mini) stamp sets
Whisper White, Pear Pizazz and Baja Breeze card stock
Pear Pizazz, Marina Mist and Night of Navy Classic ink pads
Vanilla Smooch Spritz; Stampin’ Sponges
Pear Pizazz Seam Binding
Pearl jewels

My little point-and-push doesn’t pick up the Smooch Spritz but trust me when I say it’s there. I’ve discovered that if you want a nice, even Spritz you need to press the plunger with complete authority. No hesitation here, my friends. If you hesitate, you get blobs. This isn’t such a big problem with Vanilla but it doesn’t work for me with Gold and Log Cabin. Bloppy. Blech.

The flourish stamp was inked in Marina Mist, then sponged with Night of Navy around the edges. The butterfly is cut out and attached with a glue dot for just the tiniest bit of lift. Yes, you guessed it; this is a One Stamp Card. When the stamp costs $.98 (International rate) one should be enough – and we don’t want to give the Spanish post office any excuses for delaying these birthday greetings.

A Frou Frou ribbon

Posted on March 27, 2011 by mauistamper

This card didn’t make the Manly card cut – the ribbon was too Frou-Frou:

Sense of Time, Bliss (SAB) and Sincere Salutations stamp sets
Naturals White, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizazz and Night of Navy card stock
Baja Breeze, Pear Pizazz and Night of Navy Classic ink pads
Large oval and Decorative Label punches
Baja Breeze seam binding and Sticky Strip
Piercing tool, mat and template
Stampin’ Sponges

Collage is such fun. I have to remind myself not to get too fussy with it, but to just let it flow and be happy with the results. Doesn’t that sound like a good way to live your life?

That ruffled ribbon is VERY easy – just brush the cut edges of the seam binding until you can grab a couple of threads in the middle – I use tweezers – and pull. When the ribbon is bunched up halfway, turn it around and do the same thing from the other end. Don’t trim the ends too much – stick those long strings on some sticky strip and then press the ruffled ribbon down and Voila! – it will be fabulous, dahling.

Shabby Chic two ways

Posted on March 6, 2011 by mauistamper

It’s funny…as much as I’m not a “Brights” kind of person, I’m not really a Shabby Chic girl either. I like elements of the look, but the rough, unfinished edges look kind of, well, unfinished to me. I’m an organizer at heart, so unfinished makes me a little uneasy. Here’s as close as I get to Shabby Chic:

Bliss (SAB) stamp set
Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze and Rose Red card stock
First Edition Specialty and Springtime Vintage Designer Series Papers
Baja Breeze and Pear Pizazz Classic ink pads
Blender pen and Rose Red Stampin’ Write marker
Springtime Vintage Designer Buttons
Vintage Lace and Linen Thread
Big Shot and Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die
Log Cabin Smooch Spritz

The Vintage Suite products from the Occasions mini are a perfect compliment to the Bliss stamp set – and you would love that “Bliss” image if you could see it. I must have been in la la land when I put that button on the front of this card! I made a second card, changed up the colors, and flipped the papers just because I could:

I used a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes for this card, and squeezed in the script words from Charming with some Soft Suede ink, but best of all I didn’t cover up the sentiment with the doggone button! Sometimes I amaze myself.

Blissin’ with the Big Shot

Posted on March 4, 2011 by mauistamper

Sometimes I feel guilty about how often I demonstrate the Big Shot at stamping events. I mean, not everyone has one, and once you see it in action, well, not having one can be a little problem. But as I tell my club members, it’s my job to mess with your minds! You may think you don’t need something, but the way I see it, you come to see me to find out what you don’t know you’re missing. That’s my story and I’m standing by it.

Here’s one of the Big Shot cards we did at club last month:

Bliss (Sale-a-bration) stamp set
Whisper White and Marina Mist card stock
Marina Mist Classic ink pad
Marina Mist 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon
Vintage Flower adornments
Big Shot; Top Note Bigz die; Fun Flowers Bigz L die; Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing folder
Stampin Dimensionals and Tombo, the Wonder Adhesive

I’ve admired many predominantly white cards like this, but it’s taken me a while to come up with a design I felt happy with. Have to admit I like with this card – the only challenge will be getting it into an envelope and mailing it. I just know my buddies at the USPO are going to make me pay dearly for that Vintage Flower adornment, but sometimes you’ve just got to go for it.

Builder Dan keeps making promising noises, but my bed is still in the living room and there is a fine layer of construction dust on absolutely everything in the house – and the yard. It’s gonna be worth it, I know it…I just need a little more patience. Does it surprise you when I confess that patience isn’t one of my gifts? I didn’t think it would.

Thinking in blue and green

Posted on February 24, 2011 by mauistamper

There’s a color thread running through my days:

Bliss (Sale-a-bration) stamp set
Old Olive, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz and Night of Navy card stock
Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper
Old Olive, Marina Mist and Night of Navy Classic ink pads
Old Olive taffeta 3/8 inch ribbon
Piercing tool, template and mat
Sticky Strip and Mini Glue Dots
Corner rounder punch

DANG! I just noticed that I rounded the corners of the cover and not the DSP panel!! I really don’t like it when I miss details like that. Back to the drawing board!

Ah, but I still like this cover for my Circa Notebook. I love shades of blue and green together. Even the vivid tones seem restful to me, and using natural elements like flowers and butterflies enhance the peaceful feeling. Good thing, because when I open those pages and see all the stuff on my list, I can use a little deep breathing! Nothing ventured, nothing gained – so I put it all on my lists and put the pedal to the metal!

One little construction note for you…the Old Olive taffeta ribbon is laid down on Sticky Strip, with a little flap created above each butterfly panel. After the panels were attached, I added a Mini Glue dot under the ribbon flap to make it stay down. It’s more 3-dimensional in person.

I’m off to tackle my list!

Inspiration in unlikely places

Posted on February 15, 2011 by mauistamper

I was standing in line in the post office, of all places, when I saw a card that inspired this:

Bliss (Sale-a-bration) and Sincere Salutations stamp sets
Naturals White, Always Artichoke and River Rock card stock
Always Artichoke and Rich Razzleberry Classic ink pads
Always Artichoke seam binding; Sponge Daubers
Sticky Strip and Stampin’ Dimensionals
Pearl Jewels and large Oval punch

That fluorish from the Bliss set is GORGEOUS. It lines up well with itself to create a repeating pattern, but it’s also strong enough to stand alone. The seam binding has been gathered with needle and thread and pressed onto some Sticky Strip, but you could skip that step – I prefer the evenness of hand-gathering.

I surprised myself when I added Rich Razzleberry. I didn’t think I would like it, but there it sat on my messy table, looking hopefully at me, so I gave it a chance. It pays to take a risk when colors beg to be used like that!

A little more Sale-a-bratin’

Posted on January 23, 2011 by mauistamper

Would you like to see a couple more cards from our team meeting on Tuesday night? I hope so:

Kellie designed this gorgeous bird-themed card. The XL Two Step Bird punch worked perfectly with the Bliss set from Sale-a-bration. The images in that set are awesome collage elements! I tore my paper with such a strong angle that it makes the card look off-square, but that’s hand-made for you!

Crystal chose some of my absolute favorite colors for this Sweet Summer Sale-a-bration card; Baja Breeze and Pear Pizazz. She colored the images with markers – did you notice that she used two different colors on the leaves? And that Baja Breeze Seam Binding? Simply gorgeous!

Sale-a-bration isn’t just about earning free stamps and other goodies – it’s about becoming part of the Stampin’ Up! family, too. The Demonstrator kit is a bargain any day of the week, but during Sale-a-bration it’s 15% off PLUS Stampin’ Up! is throwing in a bundle of extra goodies worth $50. Wouldn’t you like to be a Maui Stamper?

Here’s the Starter Kit – and you can customize it to suit yourself: