A Special Birthday

Posted on March 9, 2010 by mauistamper

It’s not every day you turn 16.

Today is my son’s 16th birthday. I remember it very clearly – he was 11 days late, and our entire household was anxiously waiting for him to make up his mind. Turned out he was worth the wait.

Our host daughter was up VERY early and prepared a special surprise for him in the hallway outside his room:

She leaves the house at 6:30am to catch the bus, so she was at this very early. He thought it was pretty cool.

Here’s one of the cards he’ll be receiving later today:

Vintage Labels (SAB) and Short Order (retired) stamp sets
Chocolate Chip and Bermuda Bay Classic ink pads
Very Vanilla card stock
Welcome Neighbor and Sweet Pea Designer Series papers; retired DSP
Chocolate Chip ribbon, Curly Label punch, linen thread and a Fresh Favorites button

Matt’s a wonderful kid, though at 16 I guess he’s not really a kid any more. He passed me up a long time ago and is very close to seeing eye-to-eye with his dad. He’s smart and has a wicked sense of humor, and he keeps us on our toes. He’s also very thoughtful (uh oh, I’ll be in trouble for that one) and we love him whole big bunches.

Happy Birthday, Matthew.

Never enough birthday cards

Posted on February 24, 2010 by mauistamper

Have you checked out the Stampin’ Addicts web site? It’s a wonderful FREE resource for anyone who likes stamping, especially Stampin’ Up! stamping! There are discussion forums, inspiration galleries, all sorts of weekly challenges, and a very positive attitude that will lift your spirits every time you log in. Check it out! They’re celebrating their first birthday.

It’s a good thing to need birthday cards – it means there are wonderful people in your life that you want to acknowledge. I just wish I could get my act together sufficiently to send birthday cards on time. Ah well. As Popeye says, “I yam what I yam.” And I “yam” sure there will always be room for improvement.

Upsy Daisy and Vintage Labels (SAB) stamp sets
Chocolate Chip and Bermuda Bay Classic ink pads
Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron and Bermuda Bay card stock
Scallop Circle and 1″ Circle Punch
Champagne Mist shimmer paint, piercing tool, needle and Linen Thread

You don’t see the shimmer paint in the photo, but it’s there on the image panel, trust me. Love that stuff. It’s done wonders for my marriage, too — now, don’t go getting ideas — my husband HATES glitter. Shimmer paint is the Anti-Glitter that keeps us both happy! No more glitter in the furniture finish, correspondence or laundry!

Love You Much

Posted on February 4, 2010 by mauistamper

In my humble opinion, the Medallion stamp is one of the best values in the Stampin’ Up! catalog. It can be a background or a focal point, it can be a single image or multiple layers, and it works in any color you can imagine. Not only that, but it is really fun to dress up – kind of a Stamper’s Barbie doll.

Medallion, Well Scripted and Vintage Labels (SAB) stamp sets
Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stock
Bashful Blue and Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink pads
3/4″ and Scallop Circle punches, Bashful Blue Satin ribbon, and Pretties kit
Stampin’ Sponge and brayer

I inked the Medallion stamp with Bashful Blue ink using a brayer. Larger stamps with anything bolder than line art really need to be inked with the brayer to get even converage.

(I place the stamp rubber-side-up and roll the brayer on the ink pad and then on the stamp, repeating until I’m sure my coverage is complete. I carefully position the cardstock on the inked rubber and put a large piece of scrap paper on top. You need a steady hand to keep from moving that cardstock! I use a separate brayer to run across the scrap paper, transferring the ink to my cardstock. You can use the same brayer if you like, but I like to use a clean one when I’m creating multiple images because it doesn’t waste the ink.)

Back to this image – once I applied the Bashful Blue ink with the brayer, I used a Stampin’ Sponge to add Tempting Turquoise ink all the way around the outside of the Medallion. I used a heavy hand since there isn’t a huge contrast between the two colors. When I had both colors applied, I put the cardstock onto the stamp, layered the scratch paper on and used the brayer across the top.

The Vintage Labels image is stamped with Tempting Turquoise on Whisper White and punched with the Scallop Circle. The last layer is the center of the Medallion inked with Bashful Blue, stamped on Bashful Blue cardstock and cut out with the 3/4″ circle. A half pearl from the Pretties Kit is the finishing touch.

I think this is sort of a Wedding Barbie kind of Medallion. One of these days I’m going to sit down and make this same card in a variety of color schemes. The possibilities are endless.