Tag Archives: Stampin Blends

Snailed it for Mojo Monday 552

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I haven’t joined in for a challenge in ages. Mojo Monday popped up in my social media and I liked the layout and thought “why not?” Why not indeed? This was a great chance to celebrate the Snailed It snails!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Snailed It Ombre DSP MojoMonday552
  • Stamps: Snailed It, Itty Bitty Greetings, The Right Triangle, Stacked Stone
  • Color Palette: Basic White, Bermuda Bay, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Pool Party
  • Accessories: Big Boss, Snailed dies, Stitched Shapes dies, Textured Textiles Embossing Folder, Greenery Embossing Folder, Ombré DSP (Sale-a-bration 2021.1), Blending Brushes, Stampin Blends, Wink of Stella, Fine Tip Glue Pen, Stampin’ Dimensionals, tiny clear dots from a long-past Paper Pumpkin
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Snailed It Ombre DSP MojoMonday552

This card was all about texture. With all those layers, it required something too distinguish them! I used embossing folders, background stamps, sparkle and shine, dimensionals, and Designer Series Papers to create dimension on this project. The sentiment tab and the narrowest patterned paper were gently brushed with Blending Brushes and Pool Party ink to give them very soft color.

If you’ve missed The Right Triangle, check out all of the textures you can find in that stamp set!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Snailed It Ombre DSP MojoMonday552

I repeated my sparkly eyes trick, using Wink of Stella and the Fine Tip Glue pen to bring her eyes to life. I also did a little spattering with Stella on the Oh So Ombre DSP, and added some “dits” with a textural stamp from Right Triangle.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Snailed It Ombre DSP MojoMonday552

The sketch challenge really inspired me. I’d felt like I was in a rut, that everything I created had an element of sameness to me. Maybe it did, and maybe it didn’t, but working with a sketch helped me see paper and layers with fresh eyes, and I feel like my creative energy stores have been replenished.

If you’re ready to shop the January – June mini catalog and get in on the great deals available during Sale-a-bration, visit my Online Store! If you’d like to see more about Mojo Monday, take a look at what Julee is doing at Poetic Artistry. And thanks for stopping by!

Back to that Darling Donkey

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Stampin’ Up! has set me up! What is with snails and donkeys? I didn’t anticipate falling for such off-my-radar critters, but here I am. After I finished the January DIY calendar, I was on a Donkey Bender – but I didn’t really want to cut him out. I mean, I’ll fussy cut with the best of them, but enough is enough.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Darling Donkey Oh So Ombre DSP
  • Stamps: Darling Donkeys
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Gray Granite, Daffodil Delight, Petal Pink
  • Accessories: Stampin Cut and Emboss (BIG BOSS), Layering Ovals dies, Ornate Frames dies, Stampin Blends, Blending Brushes, Stampin Dimensionals, Oh So Ombré Designer Series Paper (SAB 2021.1)

I’ve based this card on a design by Mary Knabe of Stampin’ Peace. I loved her concept and color palette, and reinterpreted them for this card. One of the delights of this design is that by using an opening on the front of the card, the image can be expanded when you open it:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Darling Donkey Oh So Ombre DSP

The Blending Brushes are VERY easy to use, and in this case I didn’t even bother to mask off the donkey before I created that Daffodil Delight aura. (You know donkeys have auras, right??) I also added an additional message in the corner that isn’t visible from the front of the card. (I am quite proud of myself, as I normally struggle to use images AND sentiments from the same set, and on this one I have used 3 of the 4 sentiments!)

But wait, there’s more!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Darling Donkey Oh So Ombre DSP

You could call this technique a card within a card. The card base is 11″ x 8 1/2″, scored at 5 1/2″. The white card inside is 10″ x 3 3/4″, scored at 5″, so it fits well within the first card. The bottom panel is completed adhered to the card base, much as a layer would be. That leaves a front for artwork to peep through the window, and an interior page for your message – or more artwork!

As you can see, I accidentally inked up this kick-up-your-heels donkey in Bermuda Bay instead of Memento Black, and had to be extra careful to avoid pulling in the Bermuda Bay ink when I colored with my Blends.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Darling Donkey Oh So Ombre DSP

I prepared quite a few of these for a virtual stamping event, and I wanted to be sure I had the ovals in the center every time. To simplify that task, I made templates to use with the BIG BOSS:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Darling Donkey Oh So Ombre DSP

There’s a little math involved, so bear with me. I began by measuring the height and width of each die, then subtracting that number from the height and width of the card panel. For example, the plain oval is 2 1/4″ wide, and the card front is 4 1/4″ wide, so the difference is 2 inches. I divided that number by 2 and measured in that amount from each edge, drawing a line at 1 inch. That gives me the left-to-right guideline for placing my die.

I went through the same process with the height of each die, creating two panels that had a rectangle in the center of each one. I centered the appropriate die in each panel (note that I wrote which panel was which on the template, I am famous for mixing up things like this!) When I ran the centered die through my BIG BOSS I created a template that I could use repeatedly without having to mark each piece of paper.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Darling Donkey Oh So Ombre DSP

Just place the template squarely on top of your card or panel, drop the die into the pre-cut opening, and crank ‘er through! When you have a bunch of cutting to do, this is a real time saver.

Have some fun with your own Darling Donkeys, or any other spotlight image for that matter! Darling Donkeys and the Oh So Ombré are only available in January and February 2021 as Sale-a-bration selections. Don’t miss out! Shop HERE.

2021 DIY Calendar: Darling Donkeys Enjoy Every Moment!

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Welcome 2021! Last night at midnight we opened all the doors to the house – and a few windows for good measure – and said goodbye to 2020. It wasn’t a terrible year for us, but I don’t need to repeat it anytime soon. I learned a lot of things, and I’ll cherish those lessons. But let’s be honest: if you have to stay in one place, I’m in a pretty good spot for that!

Maui Stamper 2021 January Easel Calendar Darling Donkeys Enjoy the Moment
  • Stamps: Darling Donkeys (SAB 2021.1), Enjoy the Moment, Dragonfly Garden
  • Color Palette: Whisper White (retired!), Blushing Bride, Petal Pink, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo
  • Accessories: Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write markers, Paper Snips, Stampin’ Dimensionals

My donkey is kicking up her heels in anticipation of the New Year. She knows things could stay as they are for a while, but that they will eventually get better. She also believes in a positive attitude and a spirit of hope, and she embraces those things because she CAN. 2021 will be about the power of choice.

Maui Stamper 2021 January Easel Calendar Darling Donkeys Enjoy the Moment

Hope – that’s her name – is colored with Crumb Cake and Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends. I fussy cut her with my paper snips. (Confession: I have a ridiculous number of snips. It’s my CHOICE.) I used the butterflies from Dragonfly Garden, and used the direct-to-stamp method with Stampin’ Write markers to color only a couple of the butterflies. I tried using the stamp as-is, but it felt overwhelming to have so many butterflies back there. And yes, I fussy cut one of the smallest butterflies, and one was enough, but clearly it was necessary.

About that Whisper White…Stampin’ Up! learned that the business producing our signature card stock was sadly a casualty of the pandemic. A new white card stock called Basic White has been sourced and is being produced, but it will be a couple of weeks before it’s available.

Maui Stamper 2021 January Easel Calendar Darling Donkeys Enjoy the Moment

As you can see, my printer has attitude. I’ve tried all the DIY fixes, but I think this one is headed for recycling. It’s mildly annoying, but honestly, one of the gifts of 2020 is that I can say there are worse things than a printer with attitude!

Please hop over to see what Cheryl and Crystal are doing with their DIY calendars for January 2021. If you’re ready to shop, these products will all be available on January 5th right HERE. Well, unless you’re a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator – we’ve had them for a month or more. If you’re interested in joining, message me or check HERE for more information.

If you’d like the 2021 DIY Calendar pdf to print on your own printer it’s just $5. Send me your email address and I’ll send an invoice via Square.

Maui Stamper 2020 Giant Year End Closeout

And don’t forget there are just a few days left for the Year-End Closeout! There are still some great deals available, but you’ve only got a couple of days. Time to get shopping!

Mix and Match: Birds and Leaves

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Every now and then I get in one of those “CLEAR THE SHELVES I’M USING IT ALL” moods. Today’s card was the result of a recent episode – I used Free as a Bird stamps, Love of Leaves stamps and dies, and the Well Written dies.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Love of Leaves
  • Stamps: Free as a Bird, Love of Leaves
  • Color Palette: Very Vanilla, Bumble Bee, Shaded Spruce, Gold
  • Accessories: Stampin Cut and Emboss machine, Stitched Leaves dies, Well Written dies, Gold Hoops Embellishments, Gold Foil, Stampin’ Blends and Color Lifter, Paper Snips, Bumble Bee Gingham Ribbon, All Purpose Glue, Stampin’ Dimensionals
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Love of Leaves

I used the Color Lifter quite a bit to shade the bird. Even when I used both the light and dark Shaded Spruce blends, the colors were too strong for my eye. The color lifter allows you to shade and adjust tones almost infinitely.

Construction note: Use multipurpose glue to adhere your Gold Hoop Embellishment to your project. The sides of the hoop are flat, and if you put tiny dabs around the entire perimeter of the hoop, it will stay good and stuck!

Don’t you love those stitched lines I used in the background? They give the paper a lot of dimension without being too distracting. And look where else they fit:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Love of Leaves

I had to make two passes through the Cut & Emboss machine to cover the back flap but I’m pretty doggone pleased with the result.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Get&Go September 2020 join the team

Wish your Stampin’ Budget went a little further? Become a demonstrator and you’ll make EVERY SINGLE purchase at a discount – clearance rack, pre-release products, all of it! This month you’ll also get an additional bonus when you join the team: two beautiful stamp sets and the supplies to make two sets of cards for yourself or as a project with your friends. I’m here to help you achieve whatever goals you set – message me with questions or click HERE to learn more.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Love of Leaves

Ready to shop? The Online Store is open 24/7!

Painted Poppies Split Card

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I playing with the Split Card technique again. Sometimes I like my results, and sometimes I don’t. Therein lies the beauty of paper-craft: paper, in general, is cheap. Don’t like it? Throw it away! The Split Cards I made with Painted Poppies were keepers:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies Split Card technique

Working with Stampin’ Blends allows you to get deep, intense images while still allowing you highlights and shadows. The bold colors of this card pop right off the page! I stamped the flowers with Poppy Parade ink, then used my Poppy Parade Blends to color them in. I did the same with the leaves in Mossy Meadow. Since I used the same color to stamp the image as to color it in, I didn’t have to worry if the outline ran a little.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies Split Card technique

This card front was a split card project so I had another side to color. I chose to go the opposite direction and use colored pencils. They are much more nuanced, and allowed me to create a much softer look:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies Split Card technique

The color palette is the same, but I used our Watercolor Pencils and a Blender pen to create this more subdued look. The sentiment is from Beautiful Friendship, and the trim is our new Braided Red Linen. I also slipped in a few splooshes (that is the technical term, btw) from the Forever Fern stamp set.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Poppies Split Card technique

You can fluff and stretch and unravel that red trim to get a BUNCH of different looks. The natural linen is still my favorite, but this is going to be a great addition to my embellishment stash.

So tell me, what do you think? Do you like the bold, intense poppies, or do you prefer the gentler version? I want to try this again using watercolor paper and our new Water Painters. The possibilities are endless! It’s amazing I ever get anything done.

Need supplies for your next project? Shop HERE.

One Layout Three Ways

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Earlier this month I sent my club members the card stock and ribbon for this layout, and we crafted our own versions via Zoom. Who knew that I had chosen to create my samples with 3 stamp sets from the 2020 Last Chance List? Not sure if I was prescient or just lucky. I’m guessing lucky.

The process worked far better than I anticipated (OK, I had no expectations!). We shared images while we worked, asked for and got great advice, and had a good opportunity to catch up. It wasn’t quite the same as getting together (one group is notorious for fabulous food!) but it was a good substitute under the circumstances. We’ve already planned our next Zoom!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Elephant
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Elephant

The Elephant Builder punch is what really MAKES this card, and it’s currently on sale in the Online Store. It’s the ear. I love the ear!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Piece of Cake
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Piece of Cake

A note on Stampin’ Blends: You’ve seen them on the Last Chance list – I know I did, and I may or may not have said a Very Bad Word when I saw them! They’re NOT RETIRING. They will be repackaged and sold in pairs, one light, one dark, instead of as single markers. No need to panic.

Both Piece of Cake and the Cake Builder punch are retiring, and the punch is on sale for $10.80. Take a look at this set, because there are a lot of great sentiments as well as really fun images! The self-adhesive Gingham Sequins are on their way out as well.

I stamped the cake layers multiple times on Whisper White and Highland Heather card stock using Memento Ink. I cut the layers apart (the stamp has them stacked together, one large, one small) so that I could alternate the White layer with the Heather layer.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Painted Harvest
  • Stamps: Painted Harvest
  • Color Palette: Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
  • Accessories: Paper Snips, Same ol’ retired DSP and Ribbon. Sorry!

Three cards, three pops of color, three retiring stamp sets, and one layout – I think it’s pretty fun, don’t you? Grab some DSP and have some fun with this concept. And shop the Last Chance products HERE. Don’t delay – many have already sold out.

One last SAB Birthday

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Sale-a-bration 2020 has been over for more than two weeks, but I’m still wrapping up a few projects left on my desk. Do you have bits and pieces? I have so many random “parts” that I could probably make cards for weeks without cutting into anything new. This card has been in my head for at least a month, and it finally came together this week:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Happy Birthday To You SAB 2020
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Happy Birthday To You SAB 2020

This stamp and die combo just begs to be colored over and over again with Stampin’ Blends in every possible color combination. I have multiple sets of these images on my craft desk, some of which are in the most unexpected colors you can imagine! I’m going to have to do a wild, bring-on-all-the-colors card in order to put them all to use.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Happy Birthday To You SAB 2020

It’s really satisfying to use up the “parts” as well as to bring my vision to life. Tell me, how many random bits and pieces are lurking around on your craft desk??

If you’re done with pieces and ready for some full sheets of card stock, I’d be grateful and honored if you shop HERE.

A Chunky Lamb…again!

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How can you not love this lamb? This is the I-can-do-yoga, Upavista Konasana lamb! She is fluffy and has a perfect little half-smile that says “If I can do this, you can too!”

Well. But I cannot. My legs will not do that, no matter how I try. Even as a young girl, I could never do anything resembling the splits. But once again, I digress.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Welcome Easter
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Welcome Easter

Just cuz she’s fluffy doesn’t exclude the possibility that she’s sparkly too!!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Welcome Easter

The Parisian Blossoms DSP is a specialty paper with foil embossing on one side of each sheet, and I think it adds the perfect glimmer to this card. That little silver foil ornamentation is from the Painted Labels dies which are sadly unavailable right now. Don’t have them? If you rummage through your stash of dies and even trims, I’ll bet you can find a substitute!

Have some fun with what you have – that’s the name of the game right now! And if there’s something you truly need, you can shop HERE!