A Jolly Holiday tree

Posted on December 10, 2010 by mauistamper

Crystal sent me an email the other day that started out “Look at this!” I knew it would be good:

Word Play stamp set
Whisper White, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler card stock
Jolly Holiday Designer Series paper
Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Classic ink pads
Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint; Aquapainter
Big Designer Series buttons; Linen Thread
Big Shot and Petals-a-Plenty Textured Embossing folder

The concept comes from Connie Babbert who was generous enough to include a template for folding the tree. I made a few changes although I really LOVED the card she did – but it wouldn’t do for me to copy it exactly and then post it for you now, would it?

I wish I could say that the tree in my house looked this pretty. Well, it is a pretty tree…pretty crooked! And it’s ARTIFICIAL!! I thought when you bought a sustainable (fake) Christmas tree you were making an ecologically friendly statement and would at least avoid the Charlie Brown Tree syndrome. Apparently I managed to select the box (and by box, I mean coffin – these trees come in ginormous boxes) that had a tree with a bent top. When I called Costco to ask them what they suggested, they told me they were out of those trees, but I could return it and get my money back or keep it til next year and exchange it for a new one at that time. (And by the way, that is pretty fine customer service!) Since my husband is currently off-island and I have no intention of wrasslin’ a coffin-sized box by myself, we are opting for Plan B. I just hope Ray can bend the top portion enough that I don’t get a permanent crick in my neck from looking at my beautifully lit, 7 1/2 foot tall Kirkland Charlie Brown tree.

Getting ready for some Jolly Holidays

Posted on December 8, 2010 by mauistamper

The Simply Amazing Recruiting Promotion that Stampin’ Up! offered for 2 weeks in November yielded a number of new Maui Stampers, and we got together over the weekend to go over a few demonstrator “nuts and bolts”. I couldn’t let them leave without a little something, now, could I?

Jolly Holiday Junior Legal Notepads

These are very simple to create, and you’ll make a bunch of these in a flash when you visit Melissa, the Stamp Doc and watch her tutorial. I made a slight modification – I cut my paper to 8 1/2″ instead of 8″ to give me a smidgen more room.

Here’s just one to give you a better idea of how it looks:

Tags for Christmas, Jolly Old St Nick and Play on Words stamp sets
Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler cardstock
Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper
Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Classic ink pads
Old Olive 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon; Linen Thread
Sticky Strip
Large Decorator Buttons in Deck the Halls
Ornament Punch (currently backordered due to manufacturing problems)
Scallop Trim Border punch

I stock up on the Pentel RSVP pens during back-to-school sales. Maui isn’t very big, and things tend to sell out kind of quickly, so I’ve raised a few eyebrows when I hit the checkstand. The DSP isn’t as sturdy as cardstock, but since this is a Christmas Season pattern it doesn’t have to hold up for more than a month or so. The Sticky Strip is used to hold the pleats of the grosgrain down – once you’ve done it once or twice you can do it in your sleep. Trust me on that; I’m a late night crafter and sometimes when I’m finishing up I really am working in my sleep.

Time to get going. I need a few more of these – good thing they go together so quickly.

Smoochin’ Santa

Posted on October 30, 2010 by mauistamper

I’m determined to get my personal Christmas cards done early this year. (OK, STOP IT! I hear you laughing. Get off the floor and back up onto your chair!!) I have excellent intentions but seldom seem to accomplish getting things finished ahead of schedule, and I’ve set a personal goal to make this one happen.

As a result, you’re going to see a LOT of Christmas card designs as I work through my options. This one is actually one of Crystal’s designs, and we offered it last weekend at Anne and Crystal’s Annual Christmas Card Extravaganza (ACACCE). This was a popular card, as everyone loved painting Santa’s beard with Stampin’ Up!’s new Smooch® Illuminate Top Coat Pearlized Accent Ink (wow – say that 3 times really quickly!!):