Oh how we love these Tuesday DEALS!
Good for a week – shop HERE!
This set has so much potential, as does the fabulous Comfort Cafe Designer Series paper:
The first card I made with this set felt too busy – a victim of the philosophy “More is More” but not in a good way. I wanted to keep a similar feeling but streamline it a bit.
The first step was to choose the Designer Series paper, and I like the balanced feeling this paper gives. Once I had it in place the rest of the card came together pretty easily. My Stamp-a-ma-jig came in handy; despite the clear stamps, the lines on these stamps really need to be in the EXACT right spot for the best look, and the SAMJ was just the thing. It’s an indispensable tool for me.
Those Bitty Banners Framelits are fast becoming indispensable as well – perfect flags and banners every time! Not that everything always has to be perfect, but when it turns out that way it’s pretty sweet. Speaking of sweet, it’s mango season right now and we have an abundance of sweet, juicy, fragrant mangoes in our house. There’s nothing in the world like fresh fruit, ripened to perfection on the tree. I have orange hands and fingernails from peeling and slicing, but I don’t mind when the reward is fresh mango.
Time for a little confession: the first time I set eyes on Gumball Green, I thought “Forget that!” I’ve softened a bit:
The Big Dump Truck definitely needed a driver! It might not have NEEDED the sparkly hub caps, but they are certainly an improvement. Work with me here.
I splurged on our new piercing tool and templates and I’m really glad I did. The piercing tool is made in the same ergonomic model as the stylus that comes with the Simply Scored tool, and it’s very comfortable in my hand. The template is much larger and I didn’t have to skootch it along in order to get a nice long pierced lines. Definitely a lot of bang for the buck!
I cannot imagine getting this kind of ink coverage with our old style ink pads. FFIP RULE.
Gumball Green is not a timid green by any stretch, but it’s a fun color to play with. I would call it a Kelly green. Matter of fact, last weekend I saw a gorgeous Kate Spade handbag at the Nordstrom Rack in just this shade of green. I was sorely tempted, but I bought a new bag in Boston and the Rack’s price was a big savings but it was still Kate Spade if you get my drift. The new Gumball Green bag will have to go to another home…this time.
I’m trying to be deliberate in my choice of new stamps. Every time Stampin’ Up! releases a new catalog I have the overwhelming urge to press the “I WANT IT ALL” button on the demonstrator website. (OK, full disclosure: there is no such button. However, demonstrators have been lobbying for this button for years.)
I know that there are people – Stampin’ Up! customers as well as demonstrators – who not only want it all, but buy it all. Perhaps some of them have a large enough business or crafting environment to actually need it all. In all honesty, I have to acknowledge that I neither have time nor space to have it all. That brings me back to the dilemma of making choices.
It’s easy to choose the things that I love. It’s tricky to be sure I have a well-rounded selection. It’s even harder still to choose things that will appeal to a broad cross-section of crafters. Over the years, I’ve gotten better at that last set of choices, but it takes careful evaluation. And just like each of you, I will make a decision and then see something that another stamper has done with a set that I had dismissed as absolutely un-workable and all of my “careful evaluation” goes out the window. Ah well, there’s room for an impulse buy or two in my budget!
Happily, this card was made with a stamp set that was a gift to me from Stampin’ Up!:
I can’t wait to get the rest of my FFIP!! They’re arriving slowly but surely and my, oh, my are they fabulous! Betsy’s little bird will surely SING when she gets inked up with FFIP in Cherry Cobbler.
I have to let you in on a little secret. This is one of those things I wouldn’t have noticed, but I think it’s pretty interesting. I looked at that Comfort Cafe DSP and my mind said “Cherry Cobbler” – and that’s what I pulled out to use. However, yesterday afternoon I was dreaming through the Annual Catalog and I came across the color palette for Comfort Cafe: Cajun Craze!!! Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference until I put the papers together. I’ll have to make this card again and make that adjustment. I’m waiting for that Cajun FFIP though…
This stamp set isn’t brand new to the Brand New 2012-2013 Annual Catalog, but it’s one that recalls sweet memories of my son. From the time he could see beyond his own hands he has been fascinated with vehicles, and as a toddler he could identify construction equipment better than most adults I knew.
I like all of the circles in this layout, and I especially like those crazy Firm Foam Ink Pads (to be known as the FFIP).  Love the coverage on that excavator!
I need to focus on “guy” cards – I never have enough – and this stamp set is a perfect choice.
And OH MY GOODNESS!! You are going to be in love too! Just wait until you get your hands on our new Stampin’ Up! Firm Foam Ink pads!!!
I am waiting for the rest of the colors – I only have the In Color 2012-2014 ink pads in Firm Foam but as soon as I used them I knew I had to have the rest! I am stalking my own front lanai because they should be here any day now!!!
{OK. Breathe. It’s going to be just fine. Breathe.}
In other news, if you choose to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator in June (for only $99 I must add) you’ll receive the Make a Cake stamp set, Patio Party Designer Series paper and Patio Party My Digital Studio Suite as a free gift! It’s a pretty sweet deal – check it out. Details at My Online Store – you can sign up in minutes and have your goodies on your doorstep in days. YES – you too can be a front-lanai-stalker!
For the record, I am also very much in love with my wonderful husband, Mr. Maui Stamper. In fact, the Firm Foam Ink Pads, as Fabulous as they are, do not hold a candle to Mr. Maui Stamper. Just sayin’.
The Maui Stamper 