RemARKable Monsters

Posted on December 7, 2013 by mauistamper

This month’s RemARKable Blog Tour features a pair of stamp sets that don’t get nearly enough attention. These Design Challenge winners aren’t in any catalog so we are giving you a good look today. I’ve featured Spread the Joy a couple of times, so today it’s…

MONSTER MANIACS!

I paired this guy with the greeting from Yippee Skippee – isn’t the look on his face perfect?? These images are really fun to color, and I think it’s because they’re so fabulously whimsical. I mean, where’s the body? And look at those Mickey Mouse hands with only 3 fingers!!

MonsterManiacs is available as clear mounts stamps for $14.95 #134972

Don’t look now, but this is the same card sketch turned on one side and in a different color palette. I crack up every time I look at those crossed eyes! (This image would make an AWESOME preggo card – that middle eyeball gives new meaning to “Mommy is growing a new baby in her tummy”)

I made a tall card for the last one – and yep, the sketch should look familiar. That black ribbon made its first appearance a year ago in the Holiday Mini Catalog, but you can get your hands on it for a few more weeks in the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory kit.

This card measures 3 1/2 x 7 inches, so you know it needed a custom envelope. If you get dizzy easily, you might want to skip this next photo:

Talk about waking up the postal carrier!! Gotta love that Envelope Punch Board 🙂

Head on over to see what Audra has in store for you. If you want to 4-wheel-drive your own tour, the links are below. Enjoy the monsters!

Nancy Amato http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com

Melissa Bolinger http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191

Tamra Davis http://www.theCardLadies.com

Crystal Kondo http://www.card-ed.com

Deb Lehigh http://thestampinhut.typepad.com

Anne Matasci http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com YOU ARE HERE

Audra Monk http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com

Maria Pane http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com

Robin Merriman http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Andi Potler http://www.absolutekreations.com

Michele Reynolds http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com

Pam Staples http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com

Janet Wakeland http://www.remarkablycreated.com

A RemARKable Christmas

Posted on November 16, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the RemARKable 25th Anniversary Best of Blog Tour – hard to believe we’re near the end of these great sets!

The soft color palette in this card provides contrast with the traditional manger scene. It was simple and quite enjoyable to color the vignette with Stampin’ Write markers – I actually did quite a few of these for a craft fair later this month.

I’ve learned to give myself permission to be a little messy with my coloring. That’s a big step for this perfectionist!

All the images in this set are perfectly sized for 3 x 3 gift enclosure cards, but I think this manger works especially well:

Almost the same, and just as easy to do!

Here’s another very traditional holiday image, this time in very traditional colors.

Again, this is a card you could produce very easily as the coloring is simple and then it’s just punch, punch, snip, snip, stamp, tie a knot and send!

I recommend you use the fine point of the Stampin’ Write markers to color the Holly leaves and berries first, then fill in Santa’s cap. I used an Aquapainter with a little Blushing Bride ink for Santa’s face.

Best of December #134384 $14.95

Don’t forget that when you have ordered 6 of these stamp sets, you can send in the little “25” images to receive a free set valued at no more than $14.95.

It’s time to see what Andi Potler has created at http://www.absolutekreations.com! We hope you’ve enjoyed these projects as much as we have!

Here’s the entire lineup for your blog-hopping pleasure!

It’s RemARKably Festive!

Posted on November 9, 2013 by mauistamper

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

This is more snow(flake) than we will see here on Maui, and after a couple of weeks on the chilly Mainland, I’m perfectly happy with that! Festive Flurries is one of our featured stamp sets this month on the RemARKable Stamp of the Month tour.

Festive Flurry Wood #131778 $39.95 Clear #131781 $29.95

Festive Flurry Framelits #132193 $24.95

OR BUY THE BUNDLE AND SAVE 15%!! Wood #133284 $54.95 Clear #133285 $46.95

I wrapped a Styrofoam tubal wreath with some organza (can I get a cheer for the inventor of the hot glue gun?). The snowflakes are built using the stamps and framelits, and the layers are assembled with Stampin’ Dimensionals to provide, well, DIMENSION.

I used Silver Glimmer paper, Brushed Silver card stock, Island Indigo card stock and ink, Pool Party card stock and ink, Whisper White card stock, and the Winter Frost Designer Series paper stack to create the snowflakes. I accessorized with the Frosted Finishes Embellishment, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, and the Silver Basics Designer buttons that are still available on the Clearance Rack. The wreath is finished with a handful of ribbon that will flutter nicely in the trade winds 🙂

This project is absolutely NOT rocket science! YOU can do this – really! Even the wrapping part was super easy because the organza is so forgiving. The hardest part is keeping your fingers out of the hot glue when it’s still hot. (Ask me how I know.)

Your next stop on the tour is Maria Pane. I usually link to the talented Robin Merriman, but she has a family situation that is occupying every moment of her time. If you believe in the power of prayer, please say one for her and her family.

Here’s the rest of the tour should you choose to view it to the beat of your own drummer!

Nancy Amato           http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger      http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley     http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis            http://www.thecardladies.com
Connie Deibler         http://www.conniestamps.com
Sherri Eddleblute      http://www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com
Crystal Kondo           http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh               http://thestampinhut.typepad.com
Anne Matasci            http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Maria Pane               http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler                http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds     http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Pam Staples             http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com
Janet Wakeland        http://www.remarkablycreated.com

A RemARKable Autumn Anniversary set

Posted on October 19, 2013 by mauistamper

I think it’s fall, y’all…

And if those leaves were shaped a little differently that would look quite a bit like the plumeria tree in my back yard.

But we are celebrating Autumn, the season of crisp air, apples and pears, and falling leaves. Or on Maui, the return of the snowbirds, the first humpback sighting, and lilikoi season!

I’m hooked on these Thinlets cards – fun, easy AND a guaranteed wow! The “DSP” panel on the front is a piece of Very Vanilla card stock cut with the Thinlets die and trimmed to fit.

Funny how much difference placement can make…this was my first attempt with this idea:

This feels all wrong to me – the front panel is receding, the back panel is approaching, and the whole thing feels out of balance. When I re-made the card (and realized how much better the falling leaves stamp suited the theme) I was much happier. And that’s what counts in my book 🙂

While I was playing with these stamps, I inked a few of the images in Smokey Slate. Not sure why I chose that color, but I loved the muted look. (It made me happy…see above.) I tried them out as gift cards:

The ultimate in simplicity – perhaps too simple for some, but not for me. Perhaps a single word in the corner, perhaps not…I just loved it. I tried them all:

This bucket of apples worked so well with the Smokey Slate! Featuring just one of the apples gave this image a pop! without being overwhelming.

I wouldn’t normally put Tangerine Tango with Smokey Slate, but I had a theme going here! Black would have been too sharp, and would have evoked more of the feeling of Halloween.

My little friend the tree wasn’t so sure she liked being stamped in Slate, but she agreed to be a good sport and play along.

And here’s the Slate family portrait. I could imagine doing this with other neutrals – and with others from this 25th Anniversary Collection.

Follow the tour to Andi Potler to see what she has to share – I’m sure you’ll be delighted!

It’s RemARKably Ornamental!

Posted on October 12, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the Maui Stamper edition of the RemARKable Stamp of the Month Blog Tour!

We are featuring two sets – Harvest of Thanks and the Christmas Ornament stamp and punch set. Here on Maui, while we are VERY VERY thankful, we don’t use a lot of the traditional harvest-associated images. Now, if Stampin’ Up! came up with a stamp set showing how sugar cane is harvested, or the line of pickers than go through a pineapple field, well, THAT would be a Harvest stamp set I could use!! But I digress…I am skipping ahead to Christmas.

I wanted to play with these little ornaments. We’ve had ornament sets and punches in the past, and I wanted to do something different. It occurred to me that they were shaped a bit like a lightbulb, and that made a big lightbulb go off in my head! (I’ll bet you wish you’d been there to see it!)

I stamped and punched a small heap of ornaments, used the pokey doodle (Hey, Heather Summers calls it that and I can too) to put little holes at the top, and strung them on Linen Thread (please, PLEASE, Stampin’ Up! – don’t EVER retire Linen Thread.)

There’s a giant EASY BUTTON on this project – it would be fun and pretty stress-free to do with little kids, a class full of bored 4th graders, or just about anyone who wanted an alternative to stringing popcorn. You could step it up in so many ways…but not today.

I wouldn’t turn really little kids loose on this one…but it’s another fun one! Stamp and punch 6 ornaments, score them down the middle and adhere them back to back. Before you stick the last two sides together (I use Tombo, the Wonder Adhesive) slip a little beading wire twisted with a loop on top into the fold. Slip a bead on the other end and then slide the ends into your paper tassle.

The paper tassel is just a strip of paper (mine was 2 1/2″ by 6″) cut almost to the top at 1/8″ or 1/16″ increments. It is VERY easy to do with our paper trimmer – it slides through that DSP like buttah – but you need to go slowly as you begin each cut. Put some SNAIL across the top, roll it up, and cover it with a little bit of ribbon and you have a tassel!

The possibilities are endless!

That’s all for me today – but for more (practically endless!) possibilities, continue on through the RemARKable tour. Robin is next and I’m sure you’ll love her crafty genius!

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
Connie Deibler         http://www.conniestamps.com
Danielle Denhardt    http://www.purrfectlycreative.com
Sherri Eddleblute      http://www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com
Crystal Kondo           http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh               http://thestampinhut.typepad.com
Anne Matasci            http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Robin Merriman        http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Audra Monk              http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com
Maria Pane               http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler                http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds     http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Vicki Soni                  http://www.paperinkle.com
Pam Staples             http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com
Jeri St. John             https://jerrisgemtastics.blogspot.com
Jeannette Swain       http://www.stampsnwhatnot.com
Janet Wakeland        http://www.remarkablycreated.com

Something RemARKably Different

Posted on September 14, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the September RemARKable 25th Anniversary Blog tour! This month I’m working WAY outside of my usual comfort zone!

Stampin’ Up! demonstrators who went to Convention 2013 might have seen Carrie Cudney’s presentation on Living a Creative Life. She showed us three mixed media canvases, and I was inspired to try my own. Talk about a learning experience!! And photographing this was a challenge. I’ve got some detailed pictures to help you get a better feeling of what this really looks like.

Here’s a closer look at my cat wearing the Sorting Hat from the Best of Halloween stamp set. The cat was based on the Frightening Feline MDS image and was sketched onto Witches Brew DSP and cut out.

Linen thread whiskers were dragged through Basic Black ink, and Rhinestone Jewels were colored with a Sharpie® marker.

The background DSP is also from Witches Brew, and I masked a circle to create a full moon. One of the things I learned is that if you apply Mod Podge before you add in your color, the color doesn’t sink into the paper (DUH). Although it would dry, as soon as I tried to add anything over it the color would move. My background ended up being darker than I would have liked, but I learned something!

That’s Witches Brew Washi tape in the top left corner.

I took the spiderweb idea straight from Carrie’s project. I used a black marker for the lines, then added Black Stampin’ Glitter (which did not photograph well at all, so imagine lots of sparkle here!)

The bats are already on the DSP, the lines and blotches are from Gorgeous Grunge, and Trick or Treat is from the Best of Halloween.

The pumpkin uses the Extra Large Oval punch, the Bird punch (the wing is the leaf) and LOTS of sponging. The orange glitter is kind of everywhere, but at least it shows in the photo! And btw, Mr. Maui Stamper has seen this project and neither he nor I have mentioned said glitter. If you don’t acknowledge it, it doesn’t exist.

This corner photo gives you a better idea for the feeling of the whole project – and a good look at that spooky tree from Best of Halloween.

Here’s the cat’s tail and a view of the haunted house. I used white chalk – classroom type – to outline the cat in hopes of giving it more definition. This photo also gives you an idea of the way the ink moved around when I put the final coat of Mod Podge on – very annoying. I won’t make that mistake twice!

This stamp set is especially well suited to tags!

I used one of the Bitty Label punches to create a little interest around the opening for the ribbon. Did you know that gorgeous black and grey striped ribbon from last year is now available as part of the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit? I was VERY happy to see that!

One last look at the tag…and it’s time to head over to Trinity Design Studios to see what Robin has up her sleeve! The tour logo below will take you there, or click on the link in the list of blogs at the bottom of the post. Thanks for stopping by!

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/
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

It’s a RemARKable Autumn

Posted on September 7, 2013 by mauistamper

Trick or Treat!

Halloween goodies – or a bag full of Creepy Crawlies? I’m hoping for treats, not tricks.

The Halloween Bash stamp set has fun images to play with, and I thought these tickets were just the thing to add to the top of my tag. They’ve got a little sparkle courtesy of Vanilla Smooch spritz. And the hole for that gorgeous ribbon at the top is made with the small ticket punch – it makes a generous opening. I’ve used the beautiful black and grey striped ribbon that’s available again as part of the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory kit.

I stamped the main image once in Tangerine Tango, then again in Black Staz-on. I cut out the word “CRAWLY” in black, snipped the ends, and added Basic Black card stock extensions to the ends. The black rhinestone gems at the bottom are colored with the black Sharpie® marker that NEVER leaves my desk!

The tag can stand alone without the bag, but we do love those Tag a Bags! Don’t miss the textural stamping on the Tangerine Tango tag base courtesy of Gorgeous Grunge, the stamp set that does everything – even the dishes!! (ok, I’m KIDDING there…)

It’s a challenge for me to get in the mood for a true Autumn card, but I think the muse was working for this one:

Magnificent Maple is a single stamp and it is truly a magnificent rendition of a leaf. I’ve masked and stamped it in Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Cajun Craze and Old Olive. I chose Naturals Ivory card stock for the card base, but I used Very Vanilla for the tag – the Naturals papers have just enough texture to them that a bold image such as that tag doesn’t come out with enough definition to please me.

I used the Tags for You stamp and punch bundle and popped the label up on a dimensional. “So Grateful” is from Apothecary Art, and the spatters are from Gorgeous Grunge. (If I keep using that stamp set it’s gonna get a Maui Stamper Abbreviated Name, but for now I’ll spell it out.)

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Stamp-of-the-Month projects and I encourage you to take the full tour to see what everyone is sharing. Robin is up next and I KNOW she’ll have a treat in store for you! All the blogs on the tour are available below in case you want to re-visit a favorite or just take the tour in your own quirky way. I encourage that kind of behavior 🙂

What could be better? Best of Shelli

Posted on August 17, 2013 by mauistamper

RemARKably, it’s the third Sunday and time for a Best of Blog Tour. The featured set for July is Best of Shelli – you DO know who Shelli is, don’t you?

Best of Shelli 25th Anniversary, Affection Collection and Express Yourself (hostess) stamp sets
Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral and Baked Brown Sugar card stock
Crisp Cantaloupe and Baked Brown Sugar FFIP
Big Shot and Hearts A-Flutter Framelits
Artisan Punch
Natural Trim Ribbon
Stampin’ Dimensionals

Each of these images really does say “Shelli Gardner” in my mind. I had a good time stretching my usual sense of style to play with the textures available with these varied images, and of course once you start cutting out flags it’s really hard to stop 🙂

I have a soft spot for typewriters – I’ve got my grandfather’s old Royal in its traveling case. He used to take it on the train every day from Redwood City to San Francisco as a VP for Pacific Far East Line. I vividly remember riding with my grandmother late summer afternoons to the train station to wait for Gramps to get home.

Best of Shelli 25th Anniversary and Trust God stamp sets
Whisper White Craft Ink and Pistachio Pudding and Soft Suede FFIP
Whisper White and Pistachio Pudding card stock
Big Shot and Circle Thinlets Flip Card die
1 3/4″ Circle punch
Bitty punch pack
Pearl Jewels
Tea Lace Doily

This has a TOTALLY different feeling, doesn’t it? If you look closely you’ll see I didn’t bother to align these images perfectly – no Stamp-a-ma-jig this time! I was feeling terribly cavalier and did some “eyeball inking” – imagine that!!

This looks straight onto the Flip Circle portion of the card – you can see how everything is lined up. I trimmed a smidge off the Tea Party doily so that it would fit around the curve created by the thinlet.

Here’s my trick for that two-tone effect. I ran a piece of Whisper White card stock through with the thinlet, overlapping just the last scoring bar. It was easy to line up that folded line on my Stampin’ Trimmer and take the flap off so that I could adhere the back panel to the card base.

Here’s what it looks like flattened out from the front – well, it’s the front of the card and the front of the second page, and the back of the Circle Flip – if you can follow my fronts and backs!

Here’s what it looks like if you flip the “flattened out front” card onto the reverse side.

One more angle for you to see! Although it appears that the front panel is NOT Pistachio Pudding, I assure you that it is. This Thinlet is really fun to play with!

Your next stop, as always, is the Trinity Design Studio – be sure and leave Robin a comment to tell her how much you love her work!

Here’s today’s RemARKable Tour line-up in case you decide to go off-road:

Tag – You’re RemARKably IT!!

Posted on August 10, 2013 by mauistamper

Just cause it’s called “Tag It” doesn’t mean you can’t use it on a card!

I took a page right out of Pam Morgan’s stamping demonstration at convention and just used the image – no coordinating framelit – to keep it simple. The images in this set are VERY versatile – it’s awesome if you have the framelits, but you DON’T HAVE TO HAVE THEM to use the set. (I KNOW. What a SHOCK.)

I inked the image twice – once with Gumball Green (my new fave green) and once with Primrose Petals. I cut the Primrose Petals image up to get the “Celebrate” flag and the accent balloon, then added the Summer Starfruit Dahlia with a glue dot.

That eyeball is begging for embellishment but I held back. Make a note – that doesn’t happen often with me.

Of course, the stamp set is called TAG It. In my book that mean’s it’s just begging to be a tag, and while I was at it I tossed in the coordinating Chalk Talk Framelits for good measure (you knew I had them – when I said you didn’t need them I meant it in the most hypothetical sense. Of course you need them.)

This little tag just makes me happy. Same color scheme with a little bit of Soft Suede, cuz now we’re talkin’ dirt. And take a closer look at the pearls in the middle of the flowers:

Yellow Sharpie Marker to the rescue! Had to be done.

I used the negative of the Chalk Talk Framelit to create an opening in this tag. If you jumped on the Magnetic Cutting Pad bandwagon before we sold 13 weeks of inventory in 3 weeks (Yes Ma’am!!) it will be a snap to get that tag image cut squarely in the center of the Gumball Green tag. (If you didn’t jump on the bandwagon, don’t worry, they are coming – you just have to be patient. I’m not good at that.)

Layer a piece of Very Vanilla card stock behind with some dimensionals to keep it floating and you’re good to go:

It’s a special priviledge to feature the Tag It! stamp set for this month’s RemARKable blog tour. This set is the 2013-2013 Ronald McDonald House Charities fundraiser stamp set. For every set sold, Stampin’ Up! donates $3.00 to RMHC in support of the good work that organization does to support families in crisis. Learn more about the Stampin’ Up! giving program and RMHC.

Your next stop on the tour is the Trinity Design Studio – I know Robin has a treat for you!

Here are all the tour participants should you want to make your own itinerary:

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
Connie Deibler            http://www.conniestamps.com
Danielle Denhardt http://www.purrfectlycreative.com
Sherri Eddleblute       http://www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com
Crystal Kondo             http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh                 http://thestampinhut.typepad.com
Anne Matasci   http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Robin Merriman    http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Audra Monk        http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com
Maria Pane       http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler    http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds      http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Vicki Soni    http://www.paperinkle.com
Pam Staples               http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com
Jeri St. John               https://jerrisgemtastics.blogspot.com
Jeannette Swain http://www.stampsnwhatnot.com
Janet Wakeland http://www.remarkablycreated.com

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!