Just some birds and bees

Posted on June 30, 2011 by mauistamper

It’s been another busy day. As much as I love to travel, and as much as I love to come home, the first week back always seems so frantic. It feels like a combination of herding cats and trying to stick Jello to the wall.

The new Stampin’ Up! catalog is just a few hours away from its public debut, and that’s part of the reason my week has been so intense. There’s a lot of tension between the things I NEED to do and the things I WANT to do! I already have my Sneak Peak order in house – matter of fact, I had my Sneak Peak copy of the new Idea Book and Catalog shipped to the log cabin we stayed at in South Dakota. I’ve been through it cover to cover, left, right and forward, but I’m still struggling with what to order when the whole catalog is available. I’m sure I’ll make good choices when the time comes 🙂

In the meantime, I have a few cards to share with you. These are all retiring sets, so I’m not going to give you the itemized supply list. If you desperately need to know something, leave a comment and I promise I’ll respond.

This is the Always stamp set in Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist.

Oh, the sweet bees from Just Buzzin’ By! I am going to miss these sassy little buzz-bombs.

And my silly Cheep Talk birdies are retiring too! I’ve done so many things with this stamp set. I know it’s time to move on, and there just isn’t room in my studio for heaps of retired stamp sets, but I’ll be sorry to see Cheep Talk go.

Eastern Blooms is yet another set I’ll miss, but there are so many gorgeous new floral sets that I’ll surely find a new favorite. All Holidays may be another story. Stampin’ Up! hasn’t created a sentiment anything like “My Dear Kind & Wonderful Friend” at least not one that I’ve seen. Correct me if I’m wrong! I may hang onto All Holidays for a while.

It’s a bittersweet time of year, but the longer I’m a demonstrator the more I come to look forward to the change. I do keep a few retired sets, but I find after a year or so I’m ready to let go of most of them. Some people enjoy going back to old favorites, but I guess I just have a short attention span. I love seeing new, fresh ideas! Check back early in the morning for a link to the new catalog, and sweet dreams.

And now for something completely different…

Posted on April 30, 2010 by mauistamper

OK, first things first:

This is normally a family friendly site, but today’s card incorporates language that may not fit that classification. Surely it’s not the worst thing you’ve ever heard, but it’s not language I like to use. Of course there’s a story.

Last month, the Hostess for my stamp club brought fabulous treats – a gorgeous cheese and fruit platter, delicious crackers, and a special champagne. No, this wasn’t Auntie’s fabulous home-made Cherry and Lilikoi wine – Auntie might have blushed. This was a special bubbly and we laughed and laughed over the label. Not to disparage the product, but let’s just say I’ve tasted better champagne. The label was, well, quite unusual. This week I finally got the card made:

Just Buzzin’ By, Amazing to Zany (retired) and Contempo Alphabet stamp sets
Dotted jumbo Wheel
Blush Blossom, Ruby Red, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock
Basic Black and Ruby Red Classic Ink pads; Versamark ink
Ruby Red and Blush Blossom Classic ink refills; Champagne Mist shimmer paint; Aquapainter
Scallop Trim Border punch, black Gingham ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Stampin’ Dimensionals

As you can see, the label was, well, it was a B****! Didn’t want to come off that bottle now, did it? The retired wheel I Versamarked onto the Blush Blossom card stock seemed a perfect accompaniment to the Bubbles.

Couldn’t leave well enough along, though, and had to finish off the inside:

I just love those craxy bees! Especially the one who dances on the head of a pin. They’re kinda Outer-Spacey lookin’, which suits me just fine.

One thing leads to another…

Posted on September 8, 2009 by mauistamper

These crazy bees! There’s something a little psycho about them. They’re sort of, I dunno, too happy. Especially for creatures who exist to work, work, work. All the same, they crack me up and I have made a LOT of cards using this stamp set. These bees started out as components of the Thursday Sketch Challenge at Stampin’ Addicts but by the time I added all the layers (including over-the-top scallops) these bees were too fat to go side-by-side on a card. I pushed them to the side of my stamping space to languish in the heap of “stuff to make something out of”. The muse was feeling generous, though, and before I finished for the night, the bees had been given a home.

Get Well Bees

Just Buzzin’ By and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry and Old Olive cardstock
Chocolate Chip Classic ink and Colored Pencils (just like the ones you had in grade school
Big Shot, SU Little Leaves Sizzlet, and SU Perfect Details Texturz Plate
Old Olive Ribbon from Elementary Ribbon Originals
Small and Large oval , 1 1/4″, 1 3/8″ and scallop circle punches
Stampin’ Sponge

Have you noticed that almost every card I make uses the Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370, $36.95) stamp set? I know, I know, it’s an expensive set. But seriously, it covers almost everything. An excellent value. Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

There’s one thing that bugs me (get it, bugs me???) about this card. The bees are facing the wrong direction. The two on the bottom have their backs to each other and need to be switched. However, I used Tombo Multi Purpose Adhesive (my absolute all time favorite) and if you know Tombo, you know I’m gonna tear this card to smithereens if I try to switch these two. But it bugs me all the same.

I guess I’ll just have to get over it.

Daffodils to bring a smile

Posted on September 6, 2009 by mauistamper

: Buzzin by Daffodils Ikebana style

We took Sara to the airport last night…she’s headed back to Boston. I know she’s ready and I know she’ll be happy but it was still a sad good-bye. Even though we’ll see her in October. Even though she’s been home all summer. Especially because she’s been home all summer! I’m gonna miss that girl…

To cheer myself up, I went looking for flowers – and not just any flowers – I needed Daffodils. So what if they’re out of season! Daffodils are the cheeriest flowers I could think of and that’s what the doctor ordered. I borrowed a concept from InkingAddict and used the ornament from Delightful Decorations to make a vase. My stems didn’t line up so instead of a nice narrow necked vase I used the small oval punch to make mine more of a bowl. Think Ikebana. OK, Ikebana without the style. I call it creative license.