Tag Archives: Pretty Postage

One of a Kind

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In case you were wondering, I’m pretty sure God broke the mold when I was born.  One of my little character quirks is that I like things to be Just So.

Maui Stamper This n That One of a KindAs a result, I’ve spent WEEKS fiddling around with my first This ‘n That journal.  I finally settled on the “One of a Kind” theme, but kept going around and around with colors, papers and embellishments.  Last weekend, while the stampers were working on their Manly Cards, it finally clicked in place for me.  I’m not going to list every product I used on this, but many of them came from the April This ‘n That bundle and will be available in the 2013-2014 Annual catalog.

Maui Stamper This n That One of a KindLove that Epic Day This ‘n That DSP.  Every side is awesome.  And I also love the little dots stamp that came with My Paper Pumpkin Welcome kit.  It just stays on my craft table.  It goes on everything!

Maui Stamper This n That One of a KindThere might be some retired stamps in this photo…couldn’t help it.  But look at those tiny flags!  And one of the DSP sheets has hexagons printed on it so you can just cut them out and add them to your project.

Maui Stamper This n That One of a KindWashi tape is my new favorite embellishment.  You can just tear it off.  It’s kinda like a sticky note, so you can peel it off and re-position it.  And I am using it for everything!  I wrapped some around my iPhone charger so my son (who will be home from college TOMORROW) will know it is mine.

Now to fill the pages….

Imagining fall color

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Fall color in Hawaii…wellll, let’s just say it looks a lot like summer color, spring color, even winter color.  I’ve said it before – we do have seasons.   There’s mango season, whale season…we used to have tourist season but it seems that runs 365 days a year!   There’s a lot to see as our islands have so many micro-climates.  If you were to drive around any of the islands, you would see a great deal of change – rainforest, lava flow, broad agricultural fields, and of course beautiful sandy beaches.   Here on Maui, it doesn’t take that long to drive anywhere to see this variety (although I’ve been known – often – to complain about a 35 or 40 minute drive.  Call me spoiled.)

However, I’ve lived other places in my life, and I’ve certainly experienced seasons.  Each fall, when Stampin’ Up! introduces beautiful autumn-based stamp sets, I take a little trip down memory lane.  This year’s Spice Cake Designer Series Paper and fabrics are beautiful and brought back a lot of really fond memories.  This suite is just my kind of design, and I couldn’t resist the stamps, paper and fabric.

For club this week, I chose the leaf image from Gently Falling that most closely resembled leaves we see here.  It looks like the jatropha in my yard or the wili wili trees that line so many roadsides.  We had to stretch our imaginations a little, but no one seemed to mind:

Spice Cake thanks

  • Gently Falling and Pretty Postage stamp sets
  • Whisper White, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze and Pool Party card stock
  • Early Espresso, Cajun Craze and More Mustard Classic ink pads
  • Spice Cake Designer Series Paper
  • Early Espresso 1/8″ taffeta ribbon
  • 2 1/2 inch circle, Postage stamp, and 1 inch square stamps
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Dazzling Details

It’s a simple card with a simple layout.  The unexpected brightness of Pool Party in the Spice Cake suite is reminds me of a clear sky on a perfect fall afternoon.  It makes you happy to be outside and grateful for the sunshine.  Little things…I try to be grateful for little things.

Speaking of little things…let me show you a little bit of sparkly detail:

Spice Cake thanks Dazzling Details

Thank you, Stampin’ Up!, for Dazzling Details!!!  Yet another form of sparkle on the Approved List for Mr. Maui Stamper.  I love bling, but it’s not allowed to run free in my house.  I’m okay with a little compromise – I get my sparkle, he gets sparkle-free laundry.

The orange cat hair I can’t do anything about.

Holding my place with Pretty Postage

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It’s June, and the tantalizing Last Chance lists of stamps and accessories have been announced.   Stamps are available through June 30, but accessories are available only as supplies last.  There are still lots of juicy bargains in the Clearance Rack, and some of the Last Chance accessories are discounted too!

To see the stamp sets that will retire June 30 at 11:50pm MST (that’s 7:50pm HST!) click HERE

To shop the Last Chance accessories, click HERE

Anyone who places a minimum $50 order through my Online Store will receive an invitation to an exclusive event the beginning of July where you’ll be treated to as much new product from the brand new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog as I can put my hands on.   Trust me, you won’t want to miss this event!

I have just a little something to show you:

Sweet bookmark

  • Pretty Postage stamp set
  • Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, and So Saffron card stock
  • Play Date Designer Series paper (Last Chance!)
  • Old Olive Classic ink pad
  • Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write marker and a Blender pen
  • Big Shot and Circles #2 Originals die
  • Postage Stamp and 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punches
  • A Ginormous paper clip and my hot glue gun

I made a bunch of these clips for my hostesses.  I adhered DSP to some chipboard and cut out circles with the #2 originals so that the top of the clips would have some substance.  Everything else was pretty simple and my project went together very quickly.  I did drag out the glue gun to put the circles together – there are two sets of So Saffron Scallop Circles for each clip, and I used a BIG ol’ blob of hot glue to make sure everything stayed stuck together.  Including my fingers, of course.

Now go shop the Last Chance!

 

Just messin’ around

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I started playing with the new Flower Garden embossing folder:

Flower garden and Stampin' Pastels

  • Pretty Postage stamp set
  • Whisper White, Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Regal Rose card stock
  • Melon Mambo Classic and Whisper White Craft ink pads
  • Stampin’ Pastels and a Blender pen
  • Big Shot and the Flower Garden Textured Impressions embossing folder
  • Certainly Celery 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon
  • Scallop trim border punch

This was very easy to do – the many lines in this image are very forgiving, and the pastels were an easy way to add (and subtract) color.  I colored the outlines first, then went back and filled inside the lines.  When I was done I used the eraser to randomly pull off some color, and I like the end result.  I tend to get hung up on “just so” and it makes me laugh out loud when I create something that’s outside the lines like this.

Speaking of outside the lines, I stamped the “thanks” message in Melon Mambo just because I could, then added a shadow with Whisper White craft ink.  I started to get out my Stamp-a-ma-jig, but then decided to wing it with the help of my clear mount stamps.  Love those clear mount stamps!!

Giggles and mutters and shouts, oh my!

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Getting a box full of new goodies to play with guarantees lots of giggles and talkin’ to myself.  I’ve always maintained that I talk to myself because I’m assured of an intelligent audience, but if you would have been a fly on the wall in my studio last night you would have wondered!  It was late and I indulged myself in lots of muttering, giggling, and even a shout or two:

Pretty Postage Blocks

  • Pretty Postage Stamp set
  • Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, So Saffron and Naturals White card stock
  • Paisley Petals Designer Series paper (available in the 2011-2012 IBC)
  • Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz Classic ink pads
  • Peach Parfait Stampin’ Write marker
  • Postage Stamp and 1 3/4 inch circle punches
  • Pear Pizazz Seam binding
  • Subtles Designer Buttons
  • Stampin’ Sponge

The colors in this card gave me fits – absolutely the cause of all the muttering.  For one thing, I couldn’t figure out what color card base to use and must have tried a dozen before I settled on Bashful Blue.  Then the mat between the Bashful Blue and Marina Mist drove me crazy until I decided to repeat the sponging on the edge.  But the thing that drove me craziest was the color matching, and I want you to pay attention here:    Either the Color Matching Department was having a Very Bad Day, or there are some new In Colors in this paper.  Do you think the Stampin’ Up! Color Matching Department has bad days?  Me neither.  I’m just sayin’.

Aside from colors (and when you are making a card, that’s a pretty big “aside from”) this card was a blast.  When I saw the new Postage Stamp punch I thought “Meh, we have a scallop square and the curly label and I don’t need this.”  Ha.  Since when does any self-respecting crafter NOT need another punch?  Incorporating the punched circle and the button with the block motif was another happy inspiration, and I by the time I was finished I’d forgotten about the muttering.

I hope you have a blast crafting today!