Truly Smitten with Tags

Posted on February 15, 2014 by mauistamper

You might have noticed that I make a lot of tags…

Why tags? They’re small and forgiving. You can make a Clean and Simple tag and it looks great, or you can pile on the images and embellishments and…it looks great! Why not tags?

I used 7 or 8 stamp sets on this…it was all about the collage. The tag is Whisper White, although if I were to do it again (and I will!) I would have used one of the Naturals or Very Vanilla. The inks are all neutrals, primarily Crumb Cake and Soft Suede. That one heart is Real Red card stock stamped with Early Espresso…and I think I should have sponged it. There’s lots of sponging on the tag.

Honestly? I can’t wait to make another…how about you?

Packages here, packages there…

Posted on October 21, 2013 by mauistamper

Nothing says “I love you” like a gift in a CUTE PACKAGE:

Seriously…a box this cute practically guarantees an awesome gift. And the belly-band slides on and off so easily that it can be used again and again! Share the love!

The trick to creating the Mosaic Punch embellishment is to build it on a 1 3/4 inch circle base. The addition of a ginormous pearl embellishment and the elevating properties of Stampin’ Dimensionals add the finishing touches.

Santa is getting his Washi Tape groove going on this grungaliscious card. Crystal adapted an earlier design and we all loved this look. Washi is even better than post-its! It peels off the wall very nicely too – you’ll se it at Christmas time in my house holding up just about everything.

Today is the last day to take advantage of the best joining opportunity Stampin’ Up! has ever offered. A couple of clicks plus $25 and you can be a card-carrying, stamp-slinging Official Demonstrator! You’ve got until 11:50pm Mountain standard time (that’s 7:50pm Hawaii standard time) to satisfy your curiosity. Start HERE.

And if that’s not enough, today is the last day for these DEALS – there will be fresh ones tomorrow!

It was an Extravaganza!

Posted on October 16, 2013 by mauistamper

Our annual holiday crafting kickoff is always such a good time. You would think I could remember to take some photos during the day – but no…

This week I’ll share the projects we made. I’m not giving step-by-step instructions, but you’re all so clever you’ll figure it out 🙂

This clever bag a la gift card holder was inspired by Cathy Parlitsis. The big, beautiful bow from the Sizzix Bigz Bow die seemed like a natural on the front! The bag is folded to create a pocket on the front as well as one at the top for a little note card.

I fiddled around with different ways of making the gift card accessible from the pocket, but ultimately found that a simple solution worked the best. This is just a piece of card stock folded with enough offset to create a little tab at the top. There’s a piece of washi across the front and a little message at the top – you could do more, but why? This was handled a lot during our classes, so I used a glue dot to secure the gift card to the “lifter”, but it really isn’t necessary.

I’m looking forward to playing with this idea a little more – the variations are endless. I guess that’s what we all love so much about stamping, isn’t it? If you’d like to learn more, I hope you’ll join the Maui Stampers team. For just $25 you’ll get a business pack to get you rolling plus $26.95 in Stampin’ Up! product. There’s no risk and oh-so-much to gain – learn more HERE

Didja see this week’s DEALS? Hummm baby…this is becoming addictive 🙂

Shop today in the Online Store!

RemARKable Best of Greetings

Posted on July 20, 2013 by mauistamper

Aloha and welcome to another RemARKable “Best of” blog tour! This month’s Best of Greetings set is a keeper! My hope is to show you how truly versatile a set like this can be especially when combined with other stamps you already own.

Ah, the sympathy card…the one we want to get right, the one we want to speak louder than words. I like the classic, elegant font of this greeting. I’ve paired it with a little DSP from the Quatrefancy Specialty assortment and used the image from the elegant Simply Sketched Hostess set as an accent. How many images do you have that would work here?

And yes, I did cut it out by hand. With such a simple, uncomplicated card that extra step didn’t take too much extra time.

Using the same color scheme and same greeting, I created an entirely different look:

By masking a rectangle in the center of your panel, you can create a clean, simple image that keeps the focus on your message.

Fortunately, we don’t always need a sympathy card. Bright colors and sincere messages let our friends know we love them!

Yep – same layout as the first card, but a completely different feeling when you change out the colors! These warm bright shades say “Love you girlfriend!” And if you’re wondering when we started offering Baker’s twine in that shade, take another look at the fabulous Tag a Bag Accessory kit! PLENTY of twine for your projects and some leftovers too.

And last but not least, those same colors make a very quick and cheery card to tell someone they’ve made a difference in your life. (Shout out to fellow RemARKable Beata Fiebelkorn for the inspiration!) I embossed the greeting to make it really pop, but it would be quicker and ALMOST as wonderful without the embossing 🙂

What you can’t do without are the new Candy Dots in the center of the flowers. These are brads without the bulk, the poking, or the manicure-destroying prong-wrassling!! You know what I’m talking about. Love these!

That’s it for Best of Greetings Maui Stamper Style…I’m sure you’re as eager as I am to see what Robin is sharing with you! You know what to do!

Nancy Amato   http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger   http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley   http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Susan Carlson    http://stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis   http://www.thecardladies.com
Sherri Eddleblute    http://www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com/
Lynn Embrey http://www.possibilitiestamperstudio.com/
Kathy Hamrick http://www.countryroads.typepad.com/
Crystal Kondo http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh   http://thestampinhut.typepad.com/
Anne Matasci http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com      YOU ARE HERE!!!
Robin Merriman http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Maria Pane   http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds    http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Sharon Tisdale    http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/coveredbridgesstamper/blog
Janet Wakeland    http://www.remarkablycreated.com

RemARKably Mad Mosaics

Posted on June 8, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the first Stamp of the Month tour for the Brand New Deliciously JUICY 2013-2014 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog!! Are you as excited as I am about this fabulous assortment of paper crafting goodness?? I hope so!

The June Stamp of the Month is Mosaic Madness. It’s especially juicy because of all the coordinating products that carry the Mosaic theme: the Mosaic punch, the Mosaic TIEF, and the Quatrefoil Fancy DSP.

(If you are not a regular reader at the Maui Stamper, I apologize. You should know that I am a very lazy girl and I get tired of typing things like TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS EMBOSSING FOLDER (TIEF), DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (DSP) and FIRM FOAM INK PAD (FFIP). Please make a note of these abbreviations.)

I’ve done a number of projects using the products from the suite, but for our blog tour I wanted to try using the images in new ways. First up – le card:

If SOMEONE used her SAMJ (oh, all right, Stamp-a-ma-jig) that “beautiful” would have been straight. Instead, it is beautifully hand made 🙂

The Mosaic punch fits perfectly along the scallop border from the Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die! There are 7 of them, with the top and bottom trimmed to fit the card.

Got a little pierce-happy but it was worth it…and the little holes made a perfect place to run some Linen thread through to balance the opposite side.

If you need a box to go with that sassy card, I’ve got just the thing:

I was feeling a little continental…don’t know if this is more Scandinavian or Swiss, but when I started playing with the long stamps from Mosaic Madness I started seeing ribbon and it didn’t take much to put together a belly band. (Hint: if you are adding paper layers to a belly band, I recommend you score the plain belly band first, then add the trim on top for a smoother fit.)

The Mosaic punch can be a medallion, a flower, a tag…you name it! Just punch out a bunch of them and start playing.

For the next stop of the tour, you’ll be heading over to see what madness Robin has created! Enjoy!!

Got lost? Here’s the entire tour:

Nancy Amato http://www.stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Susan Carlson http://www.stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis http://www.thecardladies.com
Connie Deibler http://www.conniestamps.com
Crystal Kondo http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh http://www.thestampinhut.typepad.com/
Debbie Lever http://www.debbiescreativespot.blogspot.com
Anne Matasci http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Robin Merriman http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Maria Pane http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Jeannette Swain http://www.stampsnwhatnot.com
Janet Wakeland http://www.remarkablycreated.com

Mosaic Madness

Posted on June 3, 2013 by mauistamper

I think Stampin’ Up! really is going to drive us to madness with all these Mosaic goodies! The bundle has a stamp set, a punch, a TIEF (Textured Impressions Embossing Folder), and coordinating Designer Series Paper for all of our creative pleasure!

This card was CASEd from the talented Ilina Crouse and simplified for the Open House card class over the weekend. (Were you there? Did you score some fabulous deals? There were plenty to be had!!)

Coastal Cabana and Crisp Canteloupe are really luscious together – a perfect balance that’s not too pastel nor too bright. I’m thoroughly enjoying discovering new color pairings!

The Brand New 2013-2014 catalog is live and kicking! Skedaddle on over to my Online Store and shop your heart out.

No one likes to be sick…

Posted on May 3, 2013 by mauistamper

…and I have the flu. Bah Humbug and all that.

I’m feeling pretty sorry for myself, and although it took me nearly all day to get it done, I made a little something to cheer myself up. It started when I had to go find a fresh box of tissue. It was an ugly box. I knew if I was going to get better, I needed more than an ugly box of tissues:

There, isn’t that better? If I’m going to need tissue (and unfortunately, I do) it should come from a pretty tissue box!

The new 2013-2014 catalog has LOTS of suites of products, and some of the suites have sweet bundles so that we can save a little extra. The Mosaic theme has stamps, a TIEF, AND a punch. Stampin’ Up! is known for coordination, and this catalog brings it to another level!

I scrunched up a bunch of different punched elements – mostly flowers and scallops – to create the flower trims for the top. I added a few ribbons with my trusty hot glue gun and finished off the project with a bunch of Rhinestone jewels.