Tag Archives: Wink of Stella

Sparkly Ladybugs for March

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Little Ladybugs is a charming collection of images suitable for young and old alike. I think that makes it perfect for my March DIY Easel calendar!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Ladybug March 2020 DIY Easel Calendar
Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Ladybug March 2020 DIY Easel Calendar

I used my Snips to fussy cut all the Ladybugs (Officially Lady Bird Beetle, from the family Coccinellidae. (There are dies, I just didn’t have them at hand!) If you are using anything other than Stampin’ Up! paper snips, do yourself a ginormous favor and spend the $10. You won’t believe how they will Change Your Life.

I’ve seen a lot of them colored with red wings, but I just couldn’t do it. This girl clearly has her hands full with those four roly-polys, and she needs a little sparkle to get through the day. I certainly would.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Little Ladybug March 2020 DIY Easel Calendar

I’ ve said it before, and I’ll say it again (and again, and again). That field of poppies image from Peaceful Poppies might just be the best image in the entire January – June spring catalog.

If you’d like your own 2020 template, click on “Contact the Maui Stamper” and I’ll send you an invoice. For $5, you can print all the calendar pages you’d like! And for those of you EARLY BIRDS who are looking for 2021, hold on! We’ll get there, I promise, and you’ll be the first to know.

Stop by to see what Cheryl and Crystal are doing for March. If you’re ready to do a little shopping to start the month of right, head over to the Online Store.

September 2019: This Little Piggy Can Fly

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If a pig can fly, she can certainly be purple – Purple Posy, that is! My September 2019 DIY Easel Calendar will keep me smiling all month.

Maui Stamper Stampin Up This Little Piggy DIY Easel Calendar 2020

All of the piggies in This Little Piggy are charming, but I think this one is my favorite. Since this set was released last year, it’s languished a bit as I’ve focused on new things. It was time to change that!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up This Little Piggy DIY Easel Calendar 2020

Wink of Stella is one of those non-negotiable, indispensable products on my craft table. It’s controlled sparkle, and if you know anything about Mr. Maui Stamper, you’ll know he believes that sparkle needs to be under control.

*There are a couple of sneak peeks in my September calendar. The Holiday catalog will be available to everyone on September 4, but demonstrators have had a month to play. There are new metallic inks – Silver, Gold and Copper – and of course plenty of new stamps!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up This Little Piggy DIY Easel Calendar 2020

Be sure you hop on over to see what Cheryl and Crystal have done for September. If you need more STELLAAAAAAA, shop here.

Stampin’ Up! Host Rewards: Soft Spring

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Host sets are a bit of a mystery to me. They’re a great value, but they don’t get the exposure or interest they should. They’re available at a discounted price, but the twist is that you have to use Host Rewards to purchase them. Today I’m featuring Soft Spring:

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Soft Spring Host Rewards

I used the Stamping Sponge to add a little texture and soften the Crumb-Cake-on-White look of the Birch background. I cut the word THANKS out twice, once in Blushing Bride and once in Gold Foil, and offset layered them for added dimension. This is a perfectly flat, no-questions-asked MAIL WORTHY card!

Maui Stamper Stampin Up Soft Spring Host Rewards

Those Stitched Nested Label dies (also sold as part of the Free as a Bird bundle) are going to be a constant crafting companion! And there’s a bonus in the set: a single long die to make a line of stitching anywhere you’d like it.

I originally created this as an entry for Colour Inkspiration #58, but decided to submit THIS CARD instead. I think I made the right choice! That’s the fun of color challenges: you can repeat them over and over again with such different results.

If this post has resulted in the desire/need to shop, click HERE.

Saying Farewell to Hey Love

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These little critters have wiggled their collective way into my heart and I am really sad to see them retire on June 3. Even though this set is designed as a Valentine’s Day set, I’ve used it for many other purposes and been delighted with the results. Here’s one last look:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Farewell to Hey Love
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Farewell to Hey Love

These Narrow Note cards are not big enough to mail through the USPS, but they’re perfect enclosures for a small gift or a quick message. I like to have a few on hand as they’re perfect for last minute notes.

Hey Love is retiring on June 3, but is guaranteed available only through May 24, 2019. Don’t miss out – shop HERE.

DIY Calendar April First, and that’s no Fool

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It’s no April Fool! The first of each month I share a DIY Easel calendar for your pleasure and inspiration and today is April 1! (I checked!!)

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! DIY Easel Calendar April 2019 Vibrant Vases
Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! DIY Easel Calendar April 2019 Vibrant Vases

I’m not sure what possessed me to get all Stella, but it was fun! I started with the Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write marker, because I wanted to add a little color to the vases. It just took off from there.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Stampin' Storage Solutions 2019

Today there is a brand new product line that I think you will LOVE! We have a modular storage solution for ink pads, markers, Stampin’ Blends, Ink Refills, and whatever odds and ends you can imagine. Visit the Online Store for details!

Be sure to check out what Cheryl and Crystal have created for April!

Soft Sea Foam – don’t let the name throw you

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Soft Sea Foam isn’t really an ocean color to me. I guess I should say I don’t generally see it in “my” ocean. I see Pool Party and Coastal Cabana and Island Indigo (sob) and way out there towards the horizon, I see a color that is somewhere between Pacific Point and Blueberry Bushel and maybe the long-retired Midnight Muse. But none of that is really relevant to this card – it’s about the “Soft” in Soft Sea Foam:

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

  • Stamps: Blended Seasons (retired, sorry!)
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Black, Soft Sea Foam, Daffodil Delight
  • Accessories: Stamparatus, Big Shot, Stitched Seasons Framelits (retired), Wink of Stella, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stampin’ Blends, Paper Snips

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

 

The shimmer from the Wink of Stella is subtle in the photograph, but much more obvious in person. It’s the little things – like a Wink – that make a card special.

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

The Stamparatus makes this card really simple to assemble. I stamped the floral image 3 times – once on the background of Soft Sea Foam, once on the Whisper White front panel, and one more time on Whisper White to fussy cut with my Paper Snips. I didn’t cut everything, just the flowers, and I think it helps the image to stand out.

Hope you’re having a fabulous day – enjoy this little bit of inspiration. 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

Colour INKspiration 36: It’s an honour!

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Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Colour INKspiration banner

Welcome to the Colour INKspiration Blog Hop and Colour Challenge #36. I’m quite honoured to be a guest designer with the Colour INKspiration Crew this month. The 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month this talented group of crafters design projects focusing on the Stampin’ Up! colour palette. The 2nd Wednesday challenge is currently working through the newly revamped Colour Families (CI #35 was Neutrals) and the 4th Wednesday – like this one –  uses a Pinterest-based image for inspiration. #CI36 features Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Basic Gray and Silver Foil, with Basic Black, Whisper White, Very Vanilla and Metallics permitted as well.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Colour Inkspiration 36 Palette

(PS doesn’t that adorable little girl look as though she has been asked to eat something she has never seen before and can’t imagine putting in her mouth? Just saying!)

I confess to having been just a bit intimidated at the thought of using Soft Suede and Basic Gray on the same project – a little outside my comfort zone – but this is a challenge, after all!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Colour INKspiration 36 Guest Designer

I think I pulled out most of my craft room and had it spread all over the desk trying to put this together!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Colour INKspiration 36 Guest Designer

I honestly don’t remember where I began! When I stamped the large flower from Flourishing Phrases in Crushed Curry, I immediately thought I should layer it, and once I embarked on that process, I just couldn’t seem to stop. (I used a LOT of Stampin’ Dimensionals on this project!!) I had leaves and berry bits and ribbons all around me, and I just kept arranging and rearranging them until I was happy.

The Stamparatus was indispensable in aligning the sentiment so that I could stamp in both Soft Suede and Crushed Curry. If you haven’t taken the ‘Ratus Leap, treat yourself!

In order to find a balance between light and dark, I used the largest Stitched Shapes Framelit circle to ground my floral abundance. The Silver Foil behind the Woodland DSP also added some light, and I used Wink of Stella (a crafter’s best friend)  to emphasize the trees in the Woodlands TIEF.

All the little bits and pieces are tucked in and adhered with Glue Dots. The Silver Metallic thread is also held fast in the same way, but all of the main layers are adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Colour INKspiration 36 Guest Designer

The Colour INKspiration Crew is a South Pacific team, but the challenge is international. I hope you’ll give it a try! All entries are posted to the Colour INKpiration Facebook group.

One note for those of you outside Australia and New Zealand: challenges open and close in AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time). Many of us are on the other side of the International Date Line, and sometimes the math gets a little tricky. You can Google the current time, but I use a free app called Miranda that allows me to select any time in my time zone and see what it is in any other time zone. My family is spread halfway around the world (quite literally) and this app has come in quite handy!

Thanks for stopping by my part of the Pacific. You’re headed West now to Canberra and Monique Fielder, and I know you’ll enjoy her beautiful artwork. If you’re in the U.S. and you’d like to shop for the supplies to create your own version of this card, visit my Online Store.

Maui Stamper Colour Inkspiration Next Button

 

The view from my beach

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My family has a spot at the beach near our home. When I say we have a spot, I mean there’s a place along the beach where we always sit. I laugh when I see my kids’ Instagram posts, because I know exactly where they were sitting when they took their photos.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Waterfront Picture Perfect Birthday

We live near Keawakapu Beach, known as Sidewalks to the surfers. It’s a relatively long stretch, at least in Maui terms, because many of our beaches are really just coves. There are two entrances to the beach, and our spot is midway between them.

Often on holiday weekends, the space around the entrances is crowded with families and umbrellas and coolers and beach chairs.  We just smile and walk down the beach to our spot, where there always seems to be room. Yesterday, Mr. Maui Stamper and I spent a few glorious hours there, watching an enormous pair of turtles feeding quite close to the shore.

You can see Kaho’olawe from our beach, so we really do look across at another island, although it is very small.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Waterfront Picture Perfect Birthday

  • Stamps: Waterfront, Picture Perfect Birthday
  • Color Palette: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky/Crumb Cake or Wild Wasabi/Sahara Sand
  • Accessories:  Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Linen Thread, Wink of Stella

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Waterfront Picture Perfect Birthday

I was playing around with retiring colors, so I made a second version with a Soft Sky mat. Not sure which one I like best – what do you think?

And just in case you want to compare, here’s my spot:

Maui Stamper Keawakapu Beach Maui

April First and Petal Palette

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Happy Easter!

April Fools! (well, not really – I don’t have a fool)

And welcome to the first of April and our mini-DIY-calendar blog tour! I’m starting to feel anxious about the retirement of the 2016-2018 In Colors (Flirty Flaming, Peekaboo Peach, Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy and Sweet Sugarplum). I’ve used them a lot these past two years, and I’ll miss having them in my color palette. I’m making an effort to use them all I can.

Of course, they’ll still be in my stamp room, but I’ll be stingy with them because I won’t be able to get more paper – or ribbon, or ink refills, or embellishments. Take it from me, you don’t want to wait to stock up on these colors. They often sell out before the end of the catalog!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! 2018 DIY Easel calendar April 2018

  • Stamps: Petal Palette
  • Color Palette:  Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Grey
  • Accessories:  Big Shot, Petals and More Thinlit dies, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Rhinestone Pearls, Aquapainter, Wink of Stella, Sharpie brand permanent marker

Petal Palette comes as a bundle with the Petals and More thinlits, and you save 10% when you purchase as a bundle. Since this is an Occasions catalog suite (oh, the DSP!!) it will be available as a bundle only through the end of May. If Stampin’ Up! does choose to include Petal Palette in the 2018-2019 Annual Catalog, it more than likely will not be available as a bundle. The message here is buy it now!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! 2018 DIY Easel calendar April 2018

Those little birdie eye-bubs aren’t googlie eyes. They’re our Rhinestone Pearls with an eyeball drawn on in Sharpie. They’re the perfect size for these little birds!

Crystal and Cheryl have calendar inspiration for you too – head on over to see what they’ve designed for April.  Ready to shop? Start HERE.