Tag Archives: Stampin’ Blends

Blended Seasons in Poppy Parade

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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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Color Your Season August 2018 ONLY

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Color Your Season August 2018 ONLY

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.Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Blended Seasons August 2018 exclusiveBlended 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

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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:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI40 Inspiration

I’ve been fussy cutting this image from Blended Seasons all month, so that was where I began:
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! #CI40 Blended Seasons

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! #CI40 Blended Seasons

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! #CI40 Blended Seasons

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

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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:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Blended Seasons DIY Easel Calendar

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).

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Blended Seasons DIY Easel Calendar

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Blended Seasons DIY Easel Calendar

 

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Blended Seasons August 2018 exclusive

Animal Outing Rhino and Birdie BFF

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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:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Animal Outing

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Animal Outing

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Animal Outing

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

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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:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI35 Petal Palette in Khaki

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI35 Petal Palette in Khaki

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI35 Petal Palette in Khaki

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

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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:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI35 Petal Palette in Grays

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI35 Petal Palette in Grays

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.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! CI35 Petal Palette in Grays 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.

One last Moon Baby

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Today’s the last day for lots of great stamps – including this one:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Moon Baby Lift Me Up

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Moon Baby Lift Me Up

Great news: Stampin’ Blends are available for purchase! They were such a hit when they were initially introduced that we broke the store, but they’re back in stock. The new colors being introduced in the 2018-2019 catalog won’t be available til mid June, but the existing color palette is available right now. Order them HERE.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Stampin Blends

Flying Home for Mother’s Day

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I’m not going home for Mother’s Day – it’s a long trip, and there are conflicts I can’t re-arrange. But my heart will be there, and I have a selection of cards that will go to the wonderful women who have mothered me throughout my life. This is one of my favorites:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Flying Home Stampin' Blends

  • Stamps: Flying Home, Thoughtful Banners
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizazz, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Basic Black
  • Accessories: Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write markers, Stitched Shapes framelits, Big Shot, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Linen Thread

4 packages of Linen Thread is the acceptable minimum to have in my embellishment drawer – I get nervous if there are fewer than that. It’s my absolute favorite, go-to, never-fail choice to add that little something to a project. It doesn’t add bulk and can be mailed without any concern. I don’t even want to think about it ever retiring.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Flying Home Stampin' Blends

I love coloring these bird houses. Every time I do it, I choose different elements and different color combinations. I use a combination of Stampin’ Blends and Stampin’ Write markers as the tip of the marker is much finer and allows me to work inside those narrow lines.

Flying Home is retiring – shop HERE to get it before it’s gone.

Fly me to the Moon, Baby

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The People Who Decide at Stampin’ Up! have decreed that Moon Baby will retire at the end of May. It’s such a sweet set of images and phrases, and it will be one of the special retired sets that makes it into my Permanent Collection.

{My Permanent Collection is growing, and I may have to revisit some of those choices. But not today.}

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Moon Baby Stampin' Blends

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Moon Baby Stampin' Blends

This was an early Brusho experiment for me, and one of the first things I noticed was that I liked the results much better using Watercolor paper. I was able to move the color around more easily and didn’t have to worry about over-working the smooth texture of Whisper White.

Embossing the image made it much easier to “color within the lines”. That’s not a hard and fast rule for me, but it was more appropriate for this image with a small face and hands. It’s amazing how I’ll get myself all whipped up about having to emboss something, and then when I sit down and do it I wonder why I make such a big deal out of it. Embossing gives you lots of bag for not very much buck and it’s a quick technique.

It goes without saying that Wink of Stella was a non-negotiable.

Shop for Moon Baby and all of the rest HERE.

This Little Piggy is a ColourInkspiration

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This Little Piggy was sitting in the middle of my craft desk when I happened to see the latest Colour Inkspiration palette image:

Maui Stamper ColourInkspiration 32

This is such a gorgeous, clean combination – with a glimmer – and I had an idea pretty quickly. I ended up using a retired DSP to get the effect I wanted, but everything else is current:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! This Little Piggy CI32 ColourInkspiration

I fussy cut the Piggies for two reasons:

  1. I could group them so closely and still show depth (thank you, Stampin’ Dimensionals
  2. I wanted to layer them on that fabulous Night of Navy (retired) DSP

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! This Little Piggy CI32 ColourInkspiration

I’m really working at learning to shade with the Stampin’ Blends.  It takes practice, and a little light and color theory can only help as well! I’m happy with the overall look, but I’m still developing my technique when it comes to the details. It’s so therapeutic to color.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! This Little Piggy CI32 ColourInkspiration

I stamped the envelope with a blossom from Petal Passion, and added a few of the same image on a Whisper White panel on the inside of my card. Even when I use I pale tone like Pink Pirouette for my card base, I like to add a white panel inside. I creates a crisp look and helps to define the card.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! This Little Piggy CI32 ColourInkspiration

I hope you’ll take a look at the Colour Inkspiration page and enjoy all of the beautiful projects shared in response to CI32! And if you’d like to do a little shopping, click HERE.