Packages here, packages there…

Nothing says “I love you” like a gift in a CUTE PACKAGE:

Maui Stamper Season of Style Doily Mosaic Handmade Gift BoxSeriously…a box this cute practically guarantees an awesome gift.  And the belly-band slides on and off so easily that it can be used again and again!  Share the love!

Maui Stamper Season of Style Doily Mosaic Handmade Gift BoxThe trick to creating the Mosaic Punch embellishment is to build it on a 1 3/4 inch circle base.  The addition of a ginormous pearl embellishment and the elevating properties of Stampin’ Dimensionals add the finishing touches.

Maui Stamper handmade card Tag It Chalk Talk FramelitsSanta is getting his Washi Tape groove going on this grungaliscious card.  Crystal adapted an earlier design and we all loved this look.  Washi is even better than post-its!  It peels off the wall very nicely too – you’ll se it at Christmas time in my house holding up just about everything.

Today is the last day to take advantage of the best joining opportunity Stampin’ Up! has ever offered.  A couple of clicks plus $25 and you can be a card-carrying, stamp-slinging Official Demonstrator!  You’ve got until 11:50pm Mountain standard time (that’s 7:50pm Hawaii standard time) to satisfy your curiosity.  Start HERE.

Maui Stamper $25 Stampin' Up! Joining Offer Oct 7 to 21 2013And if that’s not enough, today is the last day for these DEALS – there will be fresh ones tomorrow!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Deals

Tag – You’re RemARKably IT!!

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

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Card RemARKable Blog TourI 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.

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Card RemARKable Blog TourThat 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.)

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Tag RemARKable Blog TourThis 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:

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Tag RemARKable Blog TourYellow 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:

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Tag RemARKable Blog Tour

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!

Maui Stamper Stamp of the Month Blog Tour

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

The Convention Tag It Bag

At convention, Pam Morgan showed us a trick for adapting our new Tag a Bag gift bags.  I brought home my Make ‘n Take projects (they were Take ‘n Makes for me!  Much easier to bring home on the plane) and used her technique to step up my Tag It project.

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Gift Bag

  • Tag It (Ronald McDonald House Charities) stamp set
  • Tag a Bag Gift Bags and Accessory Kit (tags, coral twine, clothespin)
  • Calypso Coral card stock (I added the background flag)
  • Calypso Coral and Coastal Cabana Stampin’ Write markers
  • Coastal Cabana Ruffled Stretched ribbon
  • Subtles Candy Dots
  • Uniball Signo White Gel pen and black Sharpie marker

Didja see his EYEBALL?

MauiStamper Tag It Handmade Gift BagI had a little giggle fit over this one, I guarantee ya!  This is a Maui Stamper Original Idea 🙂

Pam showed us how to put the gusset in the bottom, and I’ll give you the instructions for that too, but I also want to show you one more Maui Stamper Original Idea (MSOI – you knew that was coming, didn’t you?)  She suggested we put a little piece of grunge chipboard inside the bag (that kinda junk cardboard that keeps your Stampin’ Goodies from getting bent when they’re shipped.)  My MSOI was to wrap that little bad boy so when you look into the package it’s pretty, not grungy.

The dimensions for converting the bag are at the end of the post – here’s the how to wrap the base:

MauiStamper Custom Wrap The Grunge BoardCut your grunge chipboard just a hair short of 2″ x 3″.  Cut a piece of DSP to 3″ x 4″.  (This is Quatrefancy Specialty DSP.)

MauiStamper Custom Wrap The Grunge BoardApply a thin coat of Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive) to one side of the grunge chipboard.  You want it to be spread smoothly and evenly to avoid any bubbles in the finished product.  Center the chipboard over the wrong side of the DSP and use your fingernail or a bone folder to create the DSP at each edge (you crafters with the beautiful manicures will  already have that bone folder in your hand).  Trim the corners on the diagonal.

MauiStamper Custom Wrap The Grunge BoardSpread a little more Tombo on the flaps and use your bone folder to press them over the edge and firmly across the bottom of the grungy cardboard.

MauiStamper Custom Wrap The Grunge BoardWhen Pam put her bag together on stage at convention, she made it look really easy to get it squared but I had a little trouble until I had this MSOI.  I put some SNAIL on one of the short flaps on the side of the bag and attached the bottom side of the covered grunge chipboard to the flap.  This gives you something to wrap the bag around when you assemble the bottom.  Once the first flap is secured, put SNAIL on the opposite flap, turn it under and stand the bag with the base squarely on top.

MauiStamper Custom Wrap The Grunge BoardDoesn’t that little wrapped base look pretty?!  And see how the wide flaps are pressed to the outside?  Reach down into the bag with the bone folder and press the two narrow side flaps in place, then add a little more SNAIL to the two wide flaps and fold them in to finish the bottom of your bag.  E-Z!!

To make the flat bag into a gusset bag, trim a narrow strip off the bottom – just to open it up.  Score at 1 1/2″ from the bottom of the bag across the short end (I actually scored on both sides, flipping the bag over on my Stampin’ Score to be sure both score lines were solid.)  Then score your bag at 1″ from each long edge.  Snip along that 1″ score line on all 4 sides up to the 1 1/2″ score line – when you open up the bag it will resemble the open bag in the first couple of photos.  Be sure to really press each of those score lines in well with your bone folder before attempting to assemble the bag.  Don’t forget to invert and score the “gusset” fold on each side. Here’s a shot of the Big Screen at convention:

MauiStamper Custom Wrap The Grunge BoardAnd there you have it!  A package all ready for Iggy the Eyeball Iguana and some very special treats.

Be sure you stop by this weekend for another RemARKable Stamp of the Month tour featuring Tag It, the stamp set chosen this year to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Stampin’ Up! will donate $3 for every single Tag It stamp set sold.  We’re proud of this support, and Stampin’ Up! as a company has donated over $1,000,000 to RMHC.  In addition, Stampin’ Up! demonstrators world-wide lend their hands and hearts to RMHC, putting smiles on the faces of families in crisis.  It’s just another way we’re Making a Difference.