One Last Chance for Blended Seasons

Posted on August 31, 2018 by mauistamper

Today is your last chance to add Blended Seasons to your crafting stash! These gorgeous flowers officially retire at 7:50 pm HST tonight, and Stampin’ Up! demonstrators who decide to part with their stamps are required to wait a full year before they are sold. Don’t pay ridiculous prices at third party sites when you can order from your friendly SU! demo.

Stamps: Blended Seasons, Hardwood
Color Palette: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Layered Ovals Framelits, Stitched Seasons Framelits, Braided Linen Trim (2018 Holiday Sneak Peek), Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Skit skat skoodle doot flip flop flee! Click on the link to shop with me!

(apologies to fans of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom)

Shop HERE today!

If you’re shopping after 7:50pm HST on August 31, 2018, you can’t get this set but you can shop HERE, okay?

Blended Seasons in Poppy Parade

Posted on August 26, 2018 by mauistamper

I know there are other stamps in this set, but I just can’t get enough of these gorgeous flowers. They lend themselves so well to coloring with Stampin’ Blends, guiding you along with well-placed lines to help you shade the images. I’ve done the flowers in lots of different colors, but I keep returning to Old Olive for the leaves. We’ve got a lot of fabulous new greens in our palette with the revamp this year, but Old Olive is still my favorite.

Stamps: Blended Seasons, Hardwood, Sunshine Sayings
Color Palette: Whisper White, Memento Black, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Big Shot, Layering Circles Framelits, Subtle Dynamic TIEF, Paper Snips, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Old Olive 1/8″ Sheer Ribbon, Braided Linen Trim (sneak peek)

The Subtles Dynamic TIEF was a leap of faith for me. The catalog images don’t begin to do it justice! It provides just what the name says – a beautiful subtle texture that sits quietly in the background making everything else look great. If you’ve wondered about it, stop. Trust me, you need it! As for the Braided Linen Trim coming in the Holiday 2018 catalog, well, you know how I feel about Linen Thread – and this is Linen Thread in triplicate. I can’t wait til you can get it too.

I’ve used the words from Sunshine Sayings much more often than I imagined I would. They’re a little bigger than many of our sentiments, the font is a perfect Goldilocks font (not too serious, not too fussy, but just right), and they cover just about anything you’d like to say. I din’t expect to use them as much as I have, and I’m really glad I bought them.Blended Seasons, the Stitched Seasons Framelits, and the Watercolor Pencil 2 assortment (Balmy Blue, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Flirty Flamingo, Garden Green, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Night of Navy) are only available until the end of August. Shop HERE.

Colour INKspiration #CI40: Gorgeous Grape, Old Olive and Early Espresso

Posted on August 24, 2018 by mauistamper

I’ve missed a couple of the Colour INKspiration challenges and I was determined to submit at least one card to this fortnight’s challenge. The colours for #CI40 are Gorgeous Grape, Old Olive, Early Espresso, with neutrals or metallics. We had this gorgeous image to inspire our creativity:

I’ve been fussy cutting this image from Blended Seasons all month, so that was where I began:

A special shout out to Vicki Boucher, who frayed her Copper Trim and inspired me to do the same. It’s addicting to pull those threads this way and that and play with the shapes that result.

I used Old Olive Stampin’ Blends on the leaves, but there’s no Gorgeous Grape Blend (at least not yet!) I ordered a set of the Watercolor Pencils available this month, and sure enough, there was Gorgeous Grape! Problem solved.

Stamps: Blended Seasons, Waterfront
Colour Palette: Whisper White, Shimmer White, Gorgeous Grape, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Copper, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Paper Snips, Copper Trim, Stampin’ Blends, Watercolor Pencils 2, Versamark Ink, Copper Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Wood Textures DSP, Petals and More Thinlits, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Blender pen, Corner Rounder (retired)

I was a little challenged to add Early Espresso to the card, but when I added the Wood Textures DSP and the copper ribbon, foil and embossing powder, the tones of the card changed. I used an Early Espresso card base and tucked in a few little die cut embellishments from Petals and more. The Shimmer White card stock added to the overall gleam of the card.

To keep the intensity of the Gorgeous Grape Watercolor Pencil, I used a Blender Pen to smooth the strokes out. The Blender Pen does a beautiful job but doesn’t dilute the color in the way an Aquapainter might.

Colour INKspiration challenges are open to anyone – visit the Facebook group to see the quality images that are submitted.

Looking for supplies to create your own card? Blended Seasons and Watercolor Pencils 2 are only available until the end of August, so time’s a wasting! If you’re in the United States, shop HERE.

August Only: Blended Seasons Stamps, Framelits and Bundle

Posted on August 1, 2018 by mauistamper

Blended Seasons is a brand new stamp set (with framelits and a bundle price as well) available exclusively during the month of August. It’s perfect for coloring with Stampin’ Blends, watercolor pencils or brushes, or any other coloring technique you enjoy. I thought I’d see if it would work on a DIY calendar:

Stamps: Blended Seasons
Color Palette: Whisper White, Gray Granite, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green
Accessories: Wink of Stella

I used Gray Granite to ink the outline. It’s not a recommended ink for use with Stampin’ Blends, but I stamped off before I made my impression so there was less ink to smear. The colors I chose didn’t muddy even when I got close enough to the edge for a little blur. I like living on the edge once in a while (lol).

I’d intended to color the flowers, but decided to do the leaves first. As I finished the leaves, I turned the panel and something caught my eye. I decided to leave the blooms white and add a little Wink of Stella as an accent. There’s a native Hawaiian poppy called Pua Kala that looks quite a bit like this flower, and I think that’s what made me stop.

We have a mini-DIY-Easel Calendar tour – stop by and see what Crystal and Cheryl are sharing today. And if you’d like your own Blended Seasons stamp set, shop HERE.

Animal Outing Rhino and Birdie BFF

Posted on July 31, 2018 by mauistamper

I am a complete fool for charming animal images. It’s really outside my everyday aesthetic – I don’t have cute Rhino tee-shirts or Kangaroo print tote bags or Giraffe prints on my walls. But these guys, along with a half dozen other Stampin’ Up! Critter Stamps, just plain make me happy:

Stamps: Animal Outing
Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Pool Party, Call Me Clover, Pool Party, Granny Apple Green
Accessories: Animal Expeditions DSP, Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Animal Friends Thinlits, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Dimensionals, 1/8″ Grosgrain ribbon

Animal Outing and the Animal Friends Thinlits are available in a convenient bundle. Did you know that you’ll automatically save 10% on all Stampin’ Up! bundles? Every little bit helps.

Crafty Friends, if you have not yet invested in the Stitched Shapes Framelits, I highly recommend you consider that purchase. I use them on EVERYTHING. You’ll get an assortment of circles, ovals and squares in one convenient package! Believe me when I tell you that you NEED this product.

I’ve spent some time working with Stampin’ Blends, and I’m starting to get a feeling for it. My fundamental approach is Use The Lines. Shading this Rhino was simply a matter of using the Dark Basic Gray Blend along the lines and the Light version everywhere else.

This super-simple layout is made possible by Designer Series Paper, aka DSP. Today is the very last day to Buy 3, Get One Free. Get thee to the Online Store in great haste.

Colour INKspiration 35: Petal Palette in Khaki

Posted on June 24, 2018 by mauistamper

I loved my own layout so well that I did a second version. The gray version, lovely as can be, is a bit somber. I wanted to lighten things up:

Stamps: Petal Palette, Picture Perfect Birthday
Colour Palette: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Early Espresso
Accessories: Big Shot, Subtle Dynamic TIEF, Petals and More Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Linen Thread, Wood Textures DSP, Corrugated Elements, Metallics Sequin Assortment, Stampin’ Blends, Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This card parallels my first CI35 submission with just a few exceptions. I added the Linen Thread and the Corrugated Elements tag – much lighter in feeling – as well as a few clear sequins from the Metallics collection. I don’t know which came first – the chicken or the egg – but Glue Dots fit PERFECTLY underneath our sequins.

Which version do you like better? If you’d like to try your hand at this, all the supplies can be found HERE. Happy Crafting!

PS. Back in the day, Crumb Cake was called Kraft in the Stampin’ Up! Colour Palette. When I created my title, Petal Palette in Khaki just sounded better to my ear.

Colour Inkspiration #35: Petal Palette in Gray

Posted on June 22, 2018 by mauistamper

I love monochromatic design, and lately it seems like the card-o-sphere does too. Colour Inkspiration challenge #35 is all about neutrals – anything from the Stampin’ Up! Neutral Colour family – and I chose gray:

Stamps: Petal Palette, Marbled, Flourishing Phrases
Colour Palette: Neutrals: Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends, Big Shot, Subtle Dynamic TIEF, Layering Oval Framelits, Petals and More Thinlits, Vellum, Black Stazon Ink, Black rhinestones (retired), Silver Metallic Edge Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

In order to keep it tone-on-tone, the roses had to be gray. I used Stampin’ Blends to create some depth without losing the definition of the image. Blends are really forgiving, and despite my reservations, my gray roses worked.

I can’t say enough about the Marbled Background Stamp. I liked what I saw in the catalog, but I wasn’t sure how much I would use it. Well, buckle your seatbelts, crafty friends, you are going to see a lot of this! This design is exactly what I want in a background – it doesn’t distract but rather enhances anything you layer over it.

Colour Inkspiration is a closed group on Facebook, but if they let me in, they just might let you in too! The challenges are posted every other week, the quality of the submissions is high, and the camaraderie is excellent.

Do you need any of these products? I’m certainly glad I have them – you can shop HERE to add them to your crafty stash.

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Tag Archives: Stampin’ Blends

One Last Chance for Blended Seasons

Blended Seasons in Poppy Parade

Colour INKspiration #CI40: Gorgeous Grape, Old Olive and Early Espresso

August Only: Blended Seasons Stamps, Framelits and Bundle

Animal Outing Rhino and Birdie BFF

Colour INKspiration 35: Petal Palette in Khaki

Colour Inkspiration #35: Petal Palette in Gray

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