Celebrating birthdays

My son is away at school for his 19th birthday. I have to confess that his Valentine package was very late – I had a post-wedding failure.   But I sent this early so he would have it:  it’s spring break, and he is on a geology camping trip in New Mexico.   I’m pretty confident he won’t see this post for at least a week, if at all.  He’s really busy at school, and his mom’s blog isn’t at the top of his to-do list.

This card should have arrived well before he left.  Since I was sending it in a package I didn’t have to worry about fitting it into a USPS-approved envelope:

Stampin' Up! Maui Stamper You Rule King for a Day

  • You Rule stamp set
  • Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White card stock
  • Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
  • Tangerine Tango FFIP
  • Versamark ink pad
  • Summer Starfruit Stampin’ Write marker
  • Tangerine Tango Embossing powder
  • Powder Pal and Heat tool
  • Stampin’ Spritzer
  • Designer Rosette Bigz XL die
  • Rhinestone Jewels
  • a mess o’ hot glue and the Silicone craft sheet

Maui Stamper You Rule King for a Day

I use bamboo skewers to hold my flags – much sturdier than toothpicks, although toothpicks would have been the right length.

Stampin' Up! Maui Stamper You Rule King for a DayI used a dime-sized blob of hot glue on the Silicone craft sheet to hold my rosette together.  It cools really quickly and peels off easily.  Then I just hot-glued that rosette into place, added the crown and the flags and my 3-D card was ready to rock and roll!

Sure do love that Sycamore Street DSP – and I have a nice little stash set aside.  You’re going to see more of this paper, and having your own little stash will come in pretty handy!  SAB ends on March 22:  what do you need?

25 Years with Stampin’ Up: Best of Birthdays

What a fabulous start to the 25 Years of Stampin’ Up! celebration!  This Best of Birthdays set ($14.95!!)  is a great selection of birthday images and I immediately saw the potential for favors:

Maui Stamper Best of Birthdays Anniversary Blog TourOf course, this is a Stampin’ Up! birthday, so the favors have to be Stampin’ Up! favors!  And the Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper (DSP) is such a great bundle of designs and colors that I knew it would be a perfect choice for birthday fun.

Maui Stamper Best of Birthdays Anniversary Blog TourHow about a rosette for your birthday cake – or your cupcakes – or your centerpieces – or your flowers?  This rosette was a snap with the Designer Rosette Bigz XL die.  I cut the DSP about 1 1/2 inches wide and used two 12 inch strips.  A little Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive) attached the ends into a circle, and some hot glue on our Silicon Craft sheet secured the rosette quickly and easily.

The images are embossed in White and Tangerine Tango for an extra pop, and those curly ribbons are from the Sale-a-bration Sycamore Street ribbon and button bundle.  I’ve tried curling our ribbon before with limited luck, but I had an idea this time:  I wrapped the ribbon around a skewer and taped it down (and by the way, I consider a fistful of skewers an essential tool on my craft desk).  Then I spritzed it with a little hair spray – yep! – and gave it a shot with my heat tool.  I let it cool down and success!!  I had curls 🙂

Maui Stamper Best of Birthdays Anniversary Blog TourI love the Petite Pocket die for favors.  It’s a fun size and shape for anything from pencils and crayons to Pixie Stix or even Stampin’ Spritzers!  This image is also embossed to make it easier to color with markers – I’m a messy, outside-the-lines artist.  A few quick accents and these little pockets are done – with our beautiful, two-sided DSP this is an easy project to mass produce.

Maui Stamper Best of Birthdays Anniversary Blog TourAnd here’s my current favorite favor – the Petal Cone die!  It just takes one die cut folded over on itself to make this cute ice cream cone shape, and then a pair of fun DSP scalloped half-circles (also on the die) to dress up that cone.  Our super-soft seam binding is supple enough to thread through the buttonholes, so that button is tied right onto the favor.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this stop on the tour!  There’s much much more to come – skedalddle on over to see what Robin Merriman at http://www.TrinityDesignStudio.com has created or click on the link below to send you over.  And check back next month for the Best of Love 25th Anniversary Blog tour!

Maui Stamper Best of Birthdays Anniversary Blog Tour