A RemARKable Sale-a-bration

Posted on January 19, 2014 by mauistamper

What a way to go out – our last Best of 25 Years Anniversary Blog Tour features stamps from Sale-a-bration. Everyone is an SAB fan!

These images shouted “Tags” to me – as so many of the 25th Anniversary sets have done. Making tags is even more fun with our two new tag punches – I’ve used the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch (#133324) on these tags, along with a generous helping of Washi Tape.

Don’t you think Pale Pistachio and Blushing Bride are a pleasing combination? Say yes 🙂

This was one of my favorite images when it came out the first time and I was a happy stamper to see it again. I had the oh-so-brilliant idea to add speckles to the flowers with my white gel pen:

Super simple – just dots – but I love the pop. Did you know…if your gel pen gets fussy, open it up, push a slim bamboo bbq skewer down the ink chamber and give it a stir. Works like a charm!

Those smudges on my ribbon are not really there – I just checked. So much for photo editing! I had loads of fun combining ribbons for these tags. Sometimes you need to step back and just LOOK at your stash instead of go forward with a purpose.

One of my favorite people in the UNIVERSE is expecting a baby girl this spring, so I have babies on my mind. (She’s also expecting a boy – twins! But baby boys don’t want flowered tags.)

The new gold Washi tape in the Occasions catalog looks fabulous with Soft Suede. It’s a burnished gold rather than a bright gilt, and that makes it a lot more versatile. Versatile, just like each of the 25th Anniversary Best of stamp sets!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour as well as the entire year of tours. The 25th Anniversary Best of Stamps are all available through March 31, 2014, and each set is priced at $14.95 US. If you want to go back to revisit the entire “Best of” series, you’ll find it on the third Sunday each month beginning February 2013 – I’ve listed the links below. You’ll notice that my posts appear a day early – that’s because our tour begins each month at midnight Eastern time. I usually got the math right!

Now head on over to see what Maria has created for you, and thanks for stopping by.

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

February 17, 2013 Best of Birthdays

March 17, 2013 Best of Love

April 21, 2013 Best of Flowers

May 19, 2013 Best of Butterflies

June 16, 2013 Best of Brides and Babies

July 21, 2013 Best of Greetings

August 18, 2013 Best of Shelli

September 15, 2013 Best of Halloween

October 20, 2013 Best of Autumn

November 17, 2013 Best of Christmas

December 15, 2013 Best of Snow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Posted on December 14, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to the RemARKable Best of Snow blog tour. There is no snow on Maui today, but I’m gonna play along anyway. How could I resist these Hedgies?

We don’t have hedgehogs either. They would be considered an invasive species, which seems like an awfully mean thing to say about something so cute. It’s a serious problem, but this pair is no threat at all to our islands – so stamp away and enjoy their adorable roundness!

There’s a teeny sneak peek here – we have silver (and gold!) baker’s twine coming in the Occasions catalog! Here it adds a little more dimension.

The hedgies are back as a tag – and I would be spoiling the surprise to say more, but this tag is going to be perfect for a certain gift I’m giving this year. The tag itself is another sneak peek…

I added a little Frost White shimmer paint to the card (it was on the Clearance Rack at the time, but so goes the Clearance Rack! It’s gone.) I left it off the tag and added a little Pool Party accent around the snow. I like both looks but I think I prefer this one.

I also played with the snowflake image and found it fit nicely into the Festive Flurry Framelits.

I put them on some silver ribbon and have had them all over my house – on the banister, across the buffet, and finally on the tree – I think this is where they’ll stay.

Get on your sled and head on over to Robin‘s – I’m pretty sure she’s got plenty of snow at her house!

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

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!

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!

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

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:

Nancy Amato http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Melissa Bolinger http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Susan Carlson http://www.stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis http://www.thecardladies.com
Lynn Embrey http://www.possibilitiestamperstudio.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
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

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!

That’s it for Best of Greetings Maui Stamper Style…I’m sure you’re as eager as I am to see what Robin is sharing with you! You know what to do!

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/
Lynn Embrey http://www.possibilitiestamperstudio.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

Different shades of love

Posted on February 27, 2013 by mauistamper

Not quite sure what it is lately, but I am rebelling against hearts in pink and red:

Best of Love 25th Anniversary Stamp set

Whisper White, Garden Green, Pool Party and Cameo Coral card stock
Cameo Coral FFIP
Sycamore Street DSP SAB
Sycamore Street Button and Ribbon bundle SAB
1 inch square punch
Full heart punch
Triple heart punch (retired)
Scallop trim border punch

Lately I’ve been CASEing sketches, trying to jump start my creativity and move a little bit out of my comfort zone. This sketch comes from the cutting edge files of Mary Fish. It’s fun to play with a sketch, to update it with new colors and a little bit of your own personality. The colors I chose and the addition of the ribbon makes this card a little more feminine, but it’s still appropriate to give to a guy.

If it were pink and red, maybe not.

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Tag Archives: Stampin’ Up! 25th Anniversary

A RemARKable Sale-a-bration

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

A RemARKable Christmas

A RemARKable Autumn Anniversary set

Something RemARKably Different

What could be better? Best of Shelli

RemARKable Best of Greetings

Different shades of love

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: