Family First

Posted on January 31, 2020 by mauistamper

I’ve neglected the Maui Stamper all month, and sorry, but I’m not sorry. Our family celebrated a wedding last weekend and the past few weeks have been abundant with love and joy. The last of the family is headed back to the mainland today, and I am trying my best to re-enter my version of the real world.

Let’s go back to the beginning – at least the Maui Stamper beginning! Here’s the Save-the-Date I collaboratively created for my daughter Sara and her fiancé Ben:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Ben and Sara Save the Date

Stamps: Tropical Chic, Botanical Blooms (retired)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist (retired In Color), Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Tropical Dies, Botanical Blooms dies (retired), die cutting machine, Tombo Multipurpose Liquid Glue (the wonder adhesive), Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

I’m not going to tell you how many of these I made, but I will tell you that my die cutting machine and my dies may never be the same and my fingers were WORN OUT. But it was worth it – I loved how they turned out, and so did Sara and Ben.

Next project was an invitation:

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Ben and Sara Invitation

Stamps: Climbing Orchid (retired), Beauty Abounds, Wonderful Romance (retired)
Color Palette: Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Orchid Builder framelits (retired), Die cutting machine, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

In both cases I printed the text onto Whisper White card stock, formatting with Microsoft Publisher. There was an additional card included with the invitation with a few more details, and it was cut to to the size of the interior panel. The Save-the-Date measures 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ and the Invitation is 5″ x 7″. We ordered yellow envelopes that coordinated well, since Stampin’ Up! doesn’t sell that size.

I sent Sara and Ben a sample of EVERY color of Stampin’ Up! card stock, as well as some samples of embellishments and embossing folders. Most of our design work was done via text and photo, with a couple of FaceTime sessions as we narrowed things down. It was such an enjoyable process, and an honor for me to make the invitations.

Fast forward to last weekend:

The ceremony was at Olowalu Plantation House, and despite some iffy weather earlier in January, the day was spectacularly gorgeous. Everything went smoothly, and the whales provided a nice touch as they spouted, breached, and showed their tales all afternoon. The flowers were amazing, done by Dellables and of exceptional quality. Look at the bride’s bouquet three days AFTER the ceremony:

There are advantages to being Mother of the Bride at a destination wedding – Mr. Maui Stamper and I brought home a lot of beautiful flowers!

Speaking of The Mister, he’s a craftsman in his own right. He created an extraordinary marker for the event: a redwood sign with the home town and distance of every wedding guest on arrows:

That’s the beautiful Maid of Honor, our oldest daughter Carol, with her wonderful partner, Shanti. There are more home towns and distances on the other side of the sign, and as an engineer, Mr. Maui Stamper made sure that each arrow pointed correctly towards its destination (within 22°). He also made quite precise measurements, and used the appropriate unit of measurement for the country. This sign was a big attraction!

A late addition to the décor was a set of table numbers and escort cards to help the guests find their seats. There wasn’t a set seating chart, but guests were grouped at their tables so that family and friends would be able to sit together.

I can’t say enough about White Orchid Weddings and my dear friend, Jackie Ishikawa. I’ve known her since our kids were in grade school together, and when it came time to find a wedding coordinator there was no question about who to ask. Jackie did a fabulous job of guiding Sara and Ben through the process, and made sure that on the day of the celebration we were all guests at the party!

The bride and groom kicked off the festivities and the celebration was one to remember. My family is spread across the globe, and having an occasion like this to gather made my heart sing.

Colour Inkspiration 54: Wonderful Romance

Posted on April 26, 2019 by mauistamper

This is the first card I created for the Colour Inkspiration 54 challenge – Black and White with a POP of colour. I love how it turned out, but I didn’t feel it represented the POP very well.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Colour Inkspiration 54 Wonderful Romance

Stamps: Wonderful Romance, Itty Bitty Greetings
Colour Palette: Whisper White, Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Old Olive, Pear Pizazz
Accessories: Big Shot, Wonderful Floral framelits (no longer available in the US Market), Rectangle Stitched Framelits, Floral Romance DSP (no longer available in the US Market), Stampin’ Blends, 1/8″ Whisper White Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Wink of Stella, Black Rhinestone Jewels (retired)

What do you think? I love the softness of the composition, but that’s exactly why I don’t think it qualifies for a POP of colour. It’s more muted, especially with the grey tones added in.

There’s one little trick you might not have noticed. The smallest rectangle in the Rectangle Stitched Framelits isn’t that small. I stamped my greeting and aligned one end of the framelit with the beginning of the message. Once I’d run it through the Big Shot, I carefully repositioned the framelit on the other end and rolled it through the Big Shot just enough to cut off the opposite end right where I wanted it!

The Wink of Stella helps brighten these pretty white flowers. I wish there were dies of all three blooms in the set of framelits, because I think that would really enhance the composition and set off the floral aspect. I usually don’t mind fussy cutting, but I just wasn’t feeling it on this one. It is what it is!

I think this image could really work in a lot of other colour combinations. I currently have one in process on my craft desk, but it’s giving me a little bit of a fit trying to figure out how to finish it off. If I’m successful, I’ll share it with you next week. To share your own beautiful Black and White and POP project, visit the Colour Inkspiration Facebook page.

In the meantime, there are all kinds of gorgeous products at great discounts available on the Clearance Rack. The retiring stamps, bundles, and accessory products are selling quickly, and when those products are gone, they’re gone. (Hint: bundles are priced with a 10% discount – they may continue into 2019-2020, but they won’t be bundled and you won’t have the opportunity to save.) If there’s something you love, I highly recommend you take immediate action. Shop HERE if you’re feeling inspired!

SO MUCH NEWS. But first, the Cling Wrap Technique

Posted on April 10, 2019 by mauistamper

This technique has been making the rounds again as the Press’n’Seal Floating Frame card, and if I had Press’n’Seal I would have used it…but my entire kitchen is Furnished By Costco, so it’s the Kirkland Cling Wrap technique today, my friends!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Wonderful Romance Cling Wrap Technique

Stamps: Wonderful Romance, Picture Perfect Birthday
Color Palette: Whisper White, Granny Apple Green, Highland Heather, Basic Black, Soft Sea Foam
Accessories: Stampin’ Blends, Big Shot, Rectangle Stitched Framelits, Wonderful Romance Framelits (no longer available, sorry!) and HEAPS of Stampin’ Dimensionals!!!

This is a really enjoyable technique, but it takes time and patience to color all of the elements you need to create the floating frame. It’s a great project for when you’re at home recovering from the flu (ahem). One of the complaints I read when crafters used Press ‘n Seal was that it stuck too well to the card stock, causing the surface to tear. Trust me, that’s not a problem with the Kirkland wrap!

As you can see, when I ran everything through the Big Shot it cut the pieces quite nicely, but things moved around quite a bit once I removed the cutting plates. I had to be patient when I adhered the pieces to the frame, but by using the corner shapes as anchors everything else fell into place nicely. It’s quite similar to assembling a puzzle! You’ll want to be VERY VERY generous with the Stampin’ Dimensionals on this one – be prepared to find a lot of those little paper hexagons floating around your craft room!

Speaking of the Big Shot, you may have heard the announcement that Stampin’ Up! is terminating its relationship with Sizzex at the end of the 2018-2019 Annual Catalog period, effective June 3, 2019. This change will streamline design and production, and allow Stampin’ Up! to work directly with a manufacturer. This in turn will provide a more nimble response to inspiration, supply and demand. While Stampin’ Up! will still sell dies and embossing folders that are compatible with the Big Shot, we will no longer market the machine itself or any accessories (cutting pads, specialized platforms, etc). A new die cutting machine is in development, but it is not ready for the 2019-2020 catalog. If you need any accessories, I encourage you to shop soon, as supplies of retiring products are not guaranteed.

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Stampin' Trimmer

Similarly, Stampin’ Up! is also discontinuing the Stampin’ Trimmer. While this product has been extremely popular, recent concerns with blade quality have caused Stampin’ Up! to seek an alternate supplier. Again, a new Trimmer is in development but will not be available in time for the 2019-2020 Annual Catalog. If you would like to stock up on cutting blades, I urge you to act quickly as these accessories will also retire at the end of the catalog. As we all know too well, supplies of retiring items are not guaranteed! There is currently a limit of 3 packages of cutting blades per order, but that limit will be raised to 6 when the Retiring Products List is released on April 15, 2019.

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations – you get a bonus question! Lyssa Zwolaneck, a generous demo friend, created a fun graphic now that demonstrators have seen the NAMES of the 2019-2020 In Colors but not the shades!! What do YOU think???

Cling Wrap Part Two: Wonderful Romance

Posted on April 9, 2019 by mauistamper

One of the serendipities of the Cling Wrap Frame technique is that it’s a “two-fer”: when you cut the frame, you get an extra piece that functions as a beautiful focal point on a second card. Today I’m sharing that card!

Maui Stamper Stampin' Up! Wonderful Romance Cling Wrap Technique Wonderful Romance

Stamps: Wonderful Romance, Itty Bitty Greetings
Color Palette: Whisper White, Basic Black, Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, Soft Sea Foam
Accessories: Stampin’ Blends, Big Shot, Rectangle Stitched Framelits, Wonderful Romance Framelits (no longer available, sorry!) LOTS and LOTS of Stampin’ Dimensionals!

The Stitched Rectangle shape was the middle of the frame from THIS post, and I was pleased with the balance of color and shape. It really didn’t need much embellishment, but I decided to emphasize it a bit by adding a narrow black mat.

The sentiment was stamped on a little strip of paper and trimmed to fit. I kept it small and simple to offset the detailed design and images from the focal panel.

Are you ready to try this for yourself? It’s not hard and the results are so satisfying.