bitter sweet stamping

Catching up!

2010-03-25T15:49:00.004-06:00

I am embarrassed to tell you all how long these pictures have been languishing on my camera, feeling very unloved. These are all from a previous A Muse VSN - so long ago that it is hardly worth mentioning. I guess I didn't make the cut off for posting them, huh?? Oh well. I had to "get rid of the old" so I can "get in with the new." Check back later for a wonderful Woodland Critter post!!

Supplies: A Muse Billy the Kid, cow's it going, Woodgrain card stock, Red Petite Gingham card stock, Blueberry solid notecard, Red stitched grosgrain

Supplies: A Muse Natural White Cardstock, Shell, Sand dollar, With Deepest Sympathy, Ivory Pretty Pearl, Pearl Sheer Dotted ribbon.

Supplies: A Muse Lime solid notecard, Margarita, Cheers to you, Black Sheer dotted ribbon

Supplies: A Muse Red Petite Gingham card stock, Black Dot Sheer ribbon, Cranberry Pretty Pearls, Love Birds, Love is for the birds, Milkshake

Gift Tags Galore

2009-12-02T12:21:00.004-06:00

Merrily, merrily we go through the craziness of the holidays!! I really can not believe that it is already December - where has the year gone!

Linda is featuring some amazing gift tags on the A Muse News Blog for the next little while, and here are mine!
These tags were made using pretty limited supplies. I used the Missy's Holiday Clear set for all the stamping, white cardstock, one piece of Petite Gingham Pink cardstock, and one Fern notecard, and one Popsicle Pink notecard (really it was a scrap of about a half of a notecard!) I did use quite a few different punches, but those are easy, and I say, if you got 'em, use em'! These designs could easily be replicated without using as many punches! I also limited myself to one ribbon - Popsicle Pink stitched grosgrain! I love that stuff! The tag holder was made using a small acetate bag, a piece of Petite Gingham Pink cardstock cut just bigger than the bag, and a scrap of white and Fern. The color scheme was inspired by some fun wrapping paper that I found in the Dollar Spot at Tar-jay!

Thanks for checking these out! I will be back soon with a fun Advent Calendar idea - I know, it started yesterday, but oh well!!

Fast & Fab

2009-11-17T09:14:00.003-06:00

With the holidays quickly approaching, it's time to start knockin' out those hand-made holiday cards! This year, I have promised myself that they will arrive before New Year's!! The A Muse News blog is hooking you up all week with some Fast & Fabulous Holiday Card Designs, so be sure to check all week and see what all the awesome Muses have come up with!!

This card was inspired by my desire for a "natural" Christmas - I'm picturing lots of burlap, jute and red!! The solid Cardinal Silhouette makes for some quick one color stamping, then I just went over the brown cardinal with a quickie glue pen and dumped on some Red MS glitter. I highlighted the berries with a red copic and added just a couple tiny Cranberry Pretty Pearl stickers! A quick sentiment and it's done! I kept the layers to a minimum, used A Muse note cards (no cutting or scoring!), and added a simple ribbon for accent! This card was super quick! Here are the steps that I would take to mass-produce these babies!
1. Cut all pieces of natural white card stock to size.
2. Cut all pieces of French Roast card stock to size.
3. Stamp all Cardinal Siilouettes and all sentiments. (I used Momento Rich Cocoa)
4. Color all the berries using a red copic.
5. Adhere natural white and french roast layers, adhere to base card.
****I know, this seems out of order, but if you do this now, you decrease the likelihood of messing up your glitter when you put everything together - go ahead, ask me how I know this!!**
6. Tie on ribbon. Place Pearls if using.
7. Use a Quickie Glue Pen to cover the bird, apply glitter and shake off all excess.
8. Set all cards aside to dry and treat yourself to a nice beverage of your choice cuz you are done!!

******And here's the part that I seem to need the most help with*********
9. Put cards in envelopes and actually put them in the mail!!!

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Stamps: Cardinal Silhouette, Winter Wishes Hand
Papers: A Muse Vintage Brown 4-bar, French Roast 4-bar, Natural White card stock
Etc: A Muse Swiss Red Sheer Polka Dot Ribbon, Cranberry Pretty Pearls

Almost Halloween!

2009-10-29T15:32:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it is almost the end of October! Sheesh, where does the time go? I had grand plans for my Halloween crafting, and it just hasn't happened - oh well, most of it should translate into general fall crafting! But, maybe I better just get started on Christmas!!

This was a super quick card - I love these no-layer cuties! The fence and the moon were colored with colored pencils, throw on a couple stars and a ribbon and you are d-o-n-e!

We are planning on going to a friend's house for Halloween this year - have a little party, eat some yummies. One drawback to living in the "country" - not so easy to trick or treat!! I am fixing "bloody carcass" (AKA barbeque brisket) and string cheese fingers!! Hope you all have a very happy Halloween!
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Stamps: A Muse Black cat on a fence, Witches riding, Tiny witch
Etc: A Muse Blackberry notes, star twinkle stickers, Lime green sheer polka dot ribbon.

A shimmery A Muse Bouche

2009-10-16T11:46:00.003-05:00

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a pirate hat - no, actually it is a corner bookmark! I had seen this idea floating around blog-land, and I decided to try it with the awesome new Shimmer Couture paper from A Muse! It was super easy - just a little bit of folding, made easier with the Scor-Pal. I followed the tutorial here, but I adjusted the size a bit to fit a large square scrap of the Onyx Damask Paper that I had! My square was 5 3/4". I made the pretty monogram using the beee-u-ti-ful new Fancy Alphabet, and the Monogram Frame set. The black and pink are actually the Shimmer Pink and Onyx, but I have not perfected getting a good pic of the shimmer!! I accented the frame with the white pearls! Love them! This will be making it's way to one of my besties as a gift of gratitude for lending me her copy Breaking Dawn. I've had it for an embarrassingly long time!

****Make sure that you hop on over to the A Muse News Blog where you could win an entire set of the wood mounted stamps in this release! Holy Moly! I don't think it gets much better than that!****
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Stamps: A Muse Fancy Alphabet, A Muse Monogram Frames
Papers: A Muse Shimmer Onyx, Onyx Damask, Pink
Embellies: A Muse White Pearls, Popsicle Pink Stitched Grosgrain

Another A Muse - Bouche

2009-10-14T15:47:00.003-05:00

Hello!! Just a very simple card to show off more of the amazing new stamps and papers coming soon from A Muse! On this card, I used 2 new colors of the Shimmer Couture paper, new Robin's Egg Blue sheer polka-dot ribbon, and new Robin's Egg Blue pearls! These pearls are causing me some serious crafting dilemmas! Twinkles or Pearls, twinkles or pearls??? What's a girl to do?

Make sure that you check out the other A Muse gals for more inspiration! These stamps and papers could be in your local stamp stores now!!

***Oh my goodness - a contest!! After taking in all the pretties on the A Muse News Blog, leave some comment love and you could win an assortment of the awesome Shimmer Couture paper!***
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Stamps: A Muse hello from the new Monogram Frames clear set, Swing Gir l

A Muse - Bouche!

2009-10-13T14:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Fall!! A Muse is once again preparing to *wow* you with the latest release! This one is really just full of amazingness!! I am always amazed at how the A Muse stamps work together and play off of each other! The new on this card (A from the Classic Alphabet Clear set, and the Apple shimmer paper) just looks like it was made to go with the sentiment and the apple from the Back to School release! Those A Muse gals, evil geniuses, I tell ya!

Make sure to check in with all the A Muse gals for more amuse-bouches - one is never enough!
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A Muse Stamps: Classic Alphabet (new), Apple, thanks for all you do
A Muse Papers: Shimmer Apple (new), green gingham
A Muse Red polka dot sheer ribbon

I'm a COW!!

2009-07-29T16:39:00.005-05:00

Okay, really it is COTW, but I always think COW in my head! This was just what I needed to get my buttkas back on this ol' bloggo! First the card, then if you want to stick around for the craziness, I'd love to have ya!!What's that you say, you don't know what the COTW is?? Then you must not be getting the A Muse News Weekly Newsletter!! Go here and sign up ... now!!
Stamps: Village Chapel, Enjoy the Wonders MA
Notecards: Navy, Sky
Accessories: Copic markers, ultrafine glitter
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So, for those that wanted to stick around for the craziness - here it is in a nutshell:
Memorial Day Weekend - our home went on the market, after months and months of work getting it "ready" to sell!
3 weeks later - our home sold!! Yippeee, but oops, we have no where to go!!
the next 2 weeks - looking at houses all the flippin' time! We saw so many uglies, I lost count!!
July 7th - finally made a decision, put in an offer and prepared to move!
July 19th - moved out of our old house and into my mother's house (I was dreading this part, but it was so nice! She spoiled me!)
July 24th - moved into our new house! We are now the proud owners of our little piece of heaven in the country! We have a few acres, a pond and a big garage for my husband and all his toys!
So, things have been a little crazy! I kept thinking to myself - people do this everyday! It's not like we were the first people ever to sell and house and move, but man!! It was not so much fun!! I am very happy to be moved, and to have my internet hooked up (only took an extra 1.5 hours on the phone yesterday to get it running!), and I can't wait to get my stamp room unpacked!!

So, bloggo friends, thanks for sticking with me! I will post pictures of the new house soon, and I hope that you all will come along on my journey to create the perfect stamp room (okay, it will never be clean enough to be perfect, but it will be fun!)!!
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One more thing ... for you local, KC girls, did you see who participated in A*Muse*A*Palooza?? That's right, our local stamp store - Stamper's Ink!! Make sure you all tell Tanya how much you loved it and that you want more, more, MORE A Muse!

It's Great to Be 8!!

2009-05-02T10:54:00.003-05:00

... and some monogram madness!

A Muse is celebrating an anniversary ... 8 years of amazing stamping goodness ... and it is time to party!! There are celebrations aplenty on the A Muse News Blo g, and lots of inspiration to be found on the Muses' blogs! And you *need* to get yourself this new Anniversary set - it is amazing!!
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Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and I wanted a little something for the wonderful teachers at my son's preschool. This new set just screamed at me to make some easy smeasy monogrammed notecards!

These are pretty self-explanatory - think simple, right? The patterned paper is from American Crafts, all stamps and ribbons by A Muse. This medium circle was a perfect fit for the Small Polka Dot Lowercase alphabet.
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We are off to see Dave Ramsey Live this afternoon ... should be fun!

Bunny Birthday!

2009-04-27T10:18:00.003-05:00

My 4 year old had a birthday party to go to yesterday ... a gymnastics party! I immediately thought of this cute bunny princes s and made a quick card for the little lady! We had a blast at the party - Parker got to jump off a trampoline into a big foam pit and ride a zip line across the gym! Of course, I was the mom that forgot my camera! Doh!
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Supplies:
Stamps: Bunny Princess, Little Lady, star from clear Sports Set, Mini Oval Bl
Paper: Popsicle Pink Solid notecard, black and turquoise from my stash
Etc.: Micro dot twinkle stickers, Mini dot twinkle stickers, Mini star twinkle stickers

Doggie Thanks

2009-03-11T09:03:00.003-06:00

We lost one of our dogs a little while ago ... cancer sucks! This card was sent to the vet that was so very wonderful to my dog and to hysterical me. You just never know what kind of cards you are going to need!
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Supplies: Stamps: A Muse Dog House, Cupcake Builder (for the clouds), Thank You Mix MA, kraft and black cs, white gel pen, red twine by May Arts (I love this stuff!)

Friends and Flowers

2009-03-07T08:03:00.006-06:00

I love, love, love the Lily Kate line of paper by Basic Gray - it's a few years old, and I'm not even sure if it is still available, but I've been hoarding it for a while and I'm trying to use it instead of just look at it!! This is an example of one of those designs that just didn't really blow my skirt up, so I redid it and liked it a lot better!! I love it when I can actually salvage a design and not waste the parts!

Lily Kate - take one:
Lily Kate - take two -
Yep - that second one is a whole lot better!!
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Supplies: A Muse Spiral Daisy, Friends were Flowers, French Roast Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Mini Dot Twinkle Stickers.

Who loves woodgrain??

2009-01-11T20:10:00.003-06:00

I picked up this beautiful woodgrain background stamp in Seattle a few months ago (and it finally saw some ink!), so technically, this works for this week's A Muse Lounge challenge!! Wow, I am proud of myself for doing something that works for a challenge!! I have lots of other ideas brewing for this beauty! And I know - a pink owl?? Just seemed like it worked!

Do you see that ribbon? It started off white, and I colored it with my dark pink Copic marker! Love that!!
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Supplies:
Stamps: Woodgrain background (by somebody - I can't remember right now!), Owl from the A Muse clear Nature set, Hoo loves you?
Paper: Ruby Red CS by SU, Kraft, Chocolate Brown, A Muse Natural White
Accesories: White grosgrain by SU, French Roast Stitched Grosgrain by A Muse

***ETA: Okay, I went back and reread the challenge, and it's supposed to be new A Muse stamps (duh!). Oh well, I just don't have it in my to retype the whole post. Don't you think it should count since I bought the stamp with A Muse girls???

Oh my ... somebody should spank me!

2009-01-10T08:58:00.005-06:00

No ... not like that! Get your minds out of the gutter! Somebody should spank me for being such a bad blogger! Okay - that's it ... no more flogging myself! Things have been crazy, which at some point I am going to have to admit is just the norm! I have missed blogging, and I have had way too little time to get crafty! I am trying to get back in the groove, and hopefully things will be better!!
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In other news - have you checked out the newest A Muse release?? OMG - the Sweet Shop is just amazing! There is going to be a lot of Valentine's love being shared with these fun new stamps!! If you haven't gotten yours, be sure to order soon - or get yourself to your local retailer and pick some up!

Have you checked out the new A Muse Lounge??!!?? It is a beautiful, amazing place to get together with all the A Muse gals, meet new friends, and chat about all sorts of things! There is also an awesome Gallery with some great ideas to inspire you!! Be sure to check it out!!
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And now, a card!!
One of my dear friends is expecting a baby, and this sentiment is just perfect! I've been sorting and rearranging some of my stuff, and I ran across my 6x6 pad of Basic Gray Lily Kate paper. I just love it, and I tend to hoard things that I love, but I am trying to make myself use the stuff I have! What good is pretty paper if it just sits in my craft room??
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Supplies:
Stamps: A Muse expecting joy ma and maternity dress
Paper: A Muse Chiffon Green 4-bar, white CS, Basic Gray Lily Kate Pattern Paper
Accessories: A Muse Sheer Pearl Ribbon, MS scallop border punch, pink heart twinkle sticker

The 11th day!

2008-12-12T09:05:00.003-06:00

The 11th day ... there must be something lucky in that right?? Well, I think the lucky part is that the A Muse girls saved my patootie by stuffing my box with some yummy candy! Last minute Lucy that I am, I was making this box at the last possible minute before I went to Seattle last month, and I completely forgot about getting something for the inside. This probably stems from the same part of me that is so concerned about how a card looks, and then totally forgets to send it to the person it was made for! Scatter-brain, I tell ya - that's what I am! Anyway - let's just say that I filled the box with L-O-V-E!!
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Supplies: A Muse Fawn (from the clear Peace and Cheer set), numbers from the Cupcake Builder Clear Set, Vintage Green Paper, Vintage Red Paper, Green Kitchen Paper, Red Stitched Grosgrain, Red Micro Twinkle Stickers.

A Pirate Birthday

2008-12-11T15:58:00.003-06:00

Yo Ho Ho!! Happy Birthday to my favorite little Pirate! This was a card from a while back that got lost on my camera! Our friend Addy had a Pirate birthday party a few weeks ago, and of course I had to make him a pirate card with the awesome A Muse pirate stamps!
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Stamps: A Muse Captain Jack, Treasure Chest, Yo! Ho! Ho!
A Muse Clear Stickers - Scallop Oval

Happy Birthday Parker!

2008-12-10T19:04:00.006-06:00

My middle son turned 4 years old yesterday, and he got one heck of a celebration! We started off last weekend in Minneapolis for the Monster Jam show! We had a great time, and I even got to meet up with this cool chickie and her husband for dinner and margaritas! (Okay, I will admit it, the weekend was not really all about Parker!)
We also did a bit of shopping and playing at the Mall of America! The kids love the rides, and I like the shopping, for a little bit! That place is so huge, and I got turned around more than once! I swear that I used to have an excellent sense of direction! Lyndsay, Jenn and Tracy will beg to differ with me! :)
Me and Parker on the flying bus ride!
Lily really enjoyed trying on shoes at the Nordstrom Rack! I was looking at the Uggs again - when it is 10 degrees outside, fuzzy shoes look more and more appealing! - and I turned around and Lily had a black patent leather shoe with a shiny gold heel on her foot!
Henry got to do this cool flight simulator thing at the MOA. He got briefed on his mission, then he got in the plane and flew for 30 minutes! He loved it and is already begging to go back!

Thanks for sticking with me with this photo heavy post! I am a bit beat after working a night shift last night, so I apologize if none of this makes much sense! Take care and have a great Thursday!

P.S. Be sure to check out the A Muse News Blog tomorrow - there may be a little something from me!
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All stamps, paper and twinkle stickers by A Muse, ribbon by Martha Stewart.

Celebrating the Season

2008-12-04T07:48:00.005-06:00

A super quick and easy card featuring the A Muse Big Block Stamp, one of my faves! Just a little pink square, and the flourish tree and some bling!! When I was in Seattle last month, Julie tried to teach me (and the rest of the A Muse team) how to tie a bow ... I think I need to practice more!

This card also works for Glenda's Random A Musing challenge for this week, and the A Muse Addicts weekly challenge! Won't you come play along?
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In other news ... Lyndsay was nice enough to nominate me as a Kreativ Blogger! Thanks girlfriend! To pay her back, I am going to go to Minneapolis and give her a big hug!! Okay, really we are going to Minneapolis to see the Monster Jam show (yes, it's a little bit WT but my boys *love* it!), but I am so happy that I get to see Lyndsay while I am there!! Lots to do between now and then ...

I am going to tag some of the newest members of the A Muse Instructor Team! Check out these creative gals, and get yourselves out to one of their classes!

June - North Carolina
Sherry - New York
Michelle M - Kentucky
Liz - Massachusetts
Jen A - Florida

All stamps, papers, twinkle stickers and ribbon by A Muse.

I'm thankful for you!

2008-11-20T17:06:00.003-06:00

I'm in a bit of denial about Thanksgiving (and I have to admit, about Christmas, too!)! I can not believe that it is one week away! I have to work on the actual day, so we will be celebrating next Saturday with some friends and family! I was thinking fondue or maybe a big steak ... does that say "thanksgiving"?

This card was created for the A Muse News Blog "Oldies but Goodies" section a while ago, but there were some techy problemos and it didn't make it (Jenn and I were thinking along the same lines today!), but I wanted to share it with you today! This little Pilgrim girl and boy are so fun - and easy! A little Copic to the face and hair and you are good to go! This is one of my favorite A Muse sentiments, too - and in my humble opinion, it gets way too little love!! In this season of counting blessings, I count my friends twice!

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Details:
Stamps: Pilgrim Boy, Pilgrim Girl, Mini Oval, A true friend MA
Papers: A Muse French Roast, Orange Crush, Kitchen Brown
Ribbon: A Muse Stitched grosgrain in Orange Crush

Oh my goodness ...

2008-11-15T09:38:00.006-06:00

What the heck happened here? My blog is stuck in October! I wish I could say that it was one thing that pushed me over the edge, but really, it has just been a combination of a super crazy fall! Homeschooling my 11 year old has been more of a challenge this year (somehow I thought it would get easier), the other two kids are kind of hellions (love them bunches, but really, do we have to fight over dryer lint?), and I just took a new job at work which in theory will reduce the time that I spend away from home, but right now it is sucking me dry!! Okay, enough of all this, Tisha - just show me some crafty goods!!!
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These simple Florence cards were part of a "Thank You" gift that I made for my new boss, whom I have known for quite a few years. I have always wanted to use the "thanks for being flexible" sentiment with Florence, but never really had a reason to - but I knew that my new manager would! :) So I whipped up a quick set of 10 notes for her! The card at the top of the post is what I gave her with the present!

Thank you all for sticking with me through this unscheduled blog break! I am so lucky to have such amazing crafty friends! Leave me a little comment love , let me know you are still here!!

Coming up next: pictures from my trip to the Motherland - A Muse Headquarters in Seattle!
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Supplies: Maderia and Kitchen notecards, Stitched grosgrain ribbon, Florence, thanks for being flexible, mini oval, copic markers

Oh Boris, how do I love thee...

2008-10-08T07:48:00.002-05:00

Let me count the ways!
I love you like this for the A Muse News Blog ... quick and easy with just a tad bit of brown ink on the edges of the card for a spooky, Halloweenie feel!
And I love you like this for a bit more complicated (read - pain in the butt to line up the jars in white staz-on, having to heat set each time to keep it from smearing with the stamp positioner) way!

You are such a cute little mad scientist ... don't go changing on me!
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Supplies:
Stamps:
A Muse Boris
A Muse Frightful & Delightful
A Muse Ingredients

A Muse Notecards in Palm and Passion
A Muse ribbon in Orange Crush stitched grosgrain and Passion Purple Sheer

Eyelets, tag punch, scallop oval punch, Copic markers.

File under "S"

2008-10-07T12:50:00.003-05:00

... for Super Quick!! My brother-in-law's birthday was a few days ago, and I needed a card - quick! My stash is seriously lacking in the "male" birthday card department, so I whipped this up in - really - less than 5 minutes!! I also discovered that I have misplaced my "You Rock" sentiment ... I know I had it! I may be losing my mind, as well as my stamps!! But this works, too! A quick Happy Birthday on the inside, and we were ready to head out for some yummy BBQ for dinner!!

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Supplies:

Stamps:
A Muse Rock Star
A Muse Big bl
A Muse One of a kind

Other stuff:
A Muse white notecard
Lime Pastel Chalk Ink
Black Versafine ink - still my all time favorite - especially for a small scale sentiment like this!
Black fine-line pen

More trees ...

2008-10-02T19:29:00.002-05:00

The new Trees I and Trees II sets from A Muse just rock - 'nuff said!

This card was previously seen on the A Muse News Blog ... it's just too pretty not to share again!
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Supplies:
Stamps: A Muse Trees I clear set, Tiny Bird
Paper: A Muse Brown Kitchen note card, Swiss Red note card
Other: A Muse Palm stitched grosgrain ribbon, large silver eyelet by We R Memory Keepers, corner rounder punch.

Hello October!!

2008-10-02T19:13:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness ... where does the time go?? Things have been crazy around here -homeschooling, a new preschool for my 3 year old, and just the everyday stuff that is life with 3 kiddos! I have not had nearly enough time for stamping, and my mini-makeover that I started what? - 2 months ago - in my craft room is still not really finished! It's together enough to stamp, but every time I go in the room, all I can see is all the unfinished c-rap that I want to do!! Oh well - it will happen, eventually!! Onto the stamped goodies!

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I made this little clipboard for Parker's new preschool teacher - just a little beginning of the year gift! I found these printed coasters at Joanne's - they look a lot like the A Muse Black Kitchen paper - so these were super quick! I made 25 pages of paper - just cut up some copy paper and stamped the name on with Snap stamps. The apples went super quick with Momento ink and Copics!

Here's my big 3 year old, ready for his first day!

Little sister couldn't resist being in the picture, too! You know, when they aren't screaming at each other and fighting over really important things - like ice chips- they really love each other!
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Supplies:
Stamps: A Muse Tiny Apple
Inks: Copic marker, Momento Black Tuxedo

Trees, trees, trees!

2008-09-17T08:12:00.003-05:00

Oh, how I love me some tree stamps!! They are so incredibly versatile, and you just never know where they will pop up! A Muse has TWO new tree sets coming out very soon!! Get ready! Here is a sneak peak of one of the new sets! See that fun circle around the sentiment - that's part of a tree!! This particular tree is so much fun to paper piece!

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Details: A Muse Trees 2 Clear Set (available 9/22/08), A Muse Maderia Notecards in brown and green, A Muse 8.5x11 paper in Maderia blue, A Muse stitched grosgrain ribbon in French Roast, Momento Ink in Rich Cocoa.

Off (or in) to school!

2008-09-01T08:36:00.004-05:00

Happy Labor Day! I just can't believe that it is September already! This is always a crazy time of year for us - school starting, birthdays (umm, MINE!), going to the Kansas State Fair (don't laugh - it's more fun than you'd think!)! Lots to do!

Here are a couple of things that I created for the A Muse Newsletter! Are you loving the new format?? I think it's awesome!
Super quick and simple "school supply" card! I was thinking masculine, give-it-to-your-favorite-male-teacher kind of card! I didn't even put any sparkle on this card! But I did use the awesome new color of A Muse ribbon-palm!!

Super Goo!! This was for our "Teacher Gift" feature in the A Muse Newsletter! I think I was mostly inspired by my new "Drippy Goo" Punch! Love that name! This is a bottle of Purell hand sanitizer, quickly covered with A Muse Kitchen orange paper! The "Super Goo" is stamped with my sadly discontinued Karen Foster 1/2 inch snap stamps!

Tweet!

2008-08-28T20:33:00.003-05:00

I have been so intrigued by the things that Julie has been doing with white pencils on Kraft colored paper, I just had to try it myself!! It's super fun! And super simple - but it really gives you an awesome effect!

Things have been the normal crazy around here! Getting my oldest started on our lessons for the year (the second year of homeschooling is going much more smoothly than the first!), getting my 3 year old ready to start preschool next week, and trying to control my wild toddler!

Are you loving the new A Muse website? Isn't it so fun! If you haven't checked it out - get going!
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Supplies:
Stamps: A Muse Stitched Garden Clear Set
Notecards: A Muse Kitchen Red, Jasmine
Ink: Momento Rich Cocoa

Our new baby is here!!

2008-08-21T07:23:00.003-05:00

After an amazing amount of work by the incredible A Muse staff, our new website is up and running!!! You can now order all of the amazing A Muse products online, with just a click of your mouse!! And not just A Muse stamps! You can also order the amazing Salt Box Studio stamps (I have to get my hands on the sunflowers!) and the exclusive to A Muse Elzybell's images! So grab your credit card and head on over!! You will not be dissappointed!!

BTW - If you use Firefox as your browser, make sure that you have the most updated version - things on the new site like to jump around (they are just so excited!) with the older versions!

Putting it all back together

2008-08-12T07:30:00.003-05:00

The craft room mini-makeover is getting there - not quite done yet! The paint is on the walls - I was going to show you the color online, but it looks nothing like the color on the walls! It is a silvery blue color - not as bright as SU Bashful Blue, but a bit more saturated than Soft Sky. I am planning on some cream and chocolate accents, and making the room more "family" friendly since it is the room that we usually use for school! I think things are going to be a bit more difficult this year because Lily is 19 months old and wants to be right in the middle of everything, and if you tell her "no" she throws herself on the floor and SCREAMS! Ahh, toddlers ... they are so much fun!! I promise I will take pictures when things are finished! It may be the best decorated room in my house!!

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Onto some crafty goodness!
I needed a sympathy card last week. This came together so quickly - although I think I was a bit heavy handed with my sponging!! I have just been loving this leafy tree stamp lately!! I am using it for everything!

Hope that all is going well for you and yours! I think we are finally over all the germs in this house - the black cloud is lifting! We are having awesome weather ... it has cooled down, and we should be outside more, but we are busy in the craft room!! Oh-well!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, inks by SU, Momento, ribbon by May Arts.

August, already???

2008-08-07T17:37:00.005-05:00

Where does the time go?? I really can not believe that it is August - except for all the back-to-school sales, my itch to buy pencils, and paper and crayons, and the blistering heat here in the Midwest! Things have been just crazy around here - sick kids (bad), sick husband (even worse!) and trying to get ready for our 2nd year of homeschooling!! I got a wild hair in my you-know-where yesterday and decided that my craft room/classroom needed a new coat of paint before we could even think about starting school! I am about halfway done now - just need some kids to nap so I can keep painting! I really *have* to be done by this weekend so we can start school on Monday!

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Okay - on to the stamping!

All the sickies around here have needed a few "nursey" thank you's for the amazing nurses that took care of us - who are also my friends and co-workers! I kept it nice and simple - just the way I like it! These will get a little gift card to the coffee shop at the hospital stuck inside!

A few more of the same card!

Details: Stamps, note cards, twinkles by A Muse. Colored with Copics and Spicas.

Just a little something ...

2008-07-29T09:20:00.003-05:00

Oh how I love Makenna and the pink kitchen note cards and that fancy Martha Stewart punch!! 'Nuff said!

BTW - have you seen the new and improved A Muse News blog?? Go check it out, and be sure that you register for the newsletter - it's going to be new and improved, too!! Ch-ch-ch-changes!!

Crazy Kiddos!

2008-07-22T08:36:00.005-05:00

Or - "It's all fun and games until ..."

Last week we got a box of goodies from a friend - think Carnival prizes - and before she gave it to me she asked if my kids were allowed to have those sticky wall walker things. Sure, why not, I said! The kids had a blast digging into the box ($2 worth of c-rap provided us with at least an hour worth of fun!)!

First Parker (3) & Lily (1 1/2) tried on all the jewelry.

Is he cool or what??
Then Henry (11) started playing with the wall walker thing. Threw it on the wall, on the fridge, on the table. I had a small freak out when it hit my new stainless steel stove, but no biggie. Then this happened:

It's all fun and games until you get your wall walker thing stuck in your sister's hair!

More Christmas in July

2008-07-22T08:35:00.002-05:00

Just playing with the new A Muse Peace and Cheer Clear stamp set and kit! Have you gotten yours? Are you playing along in the free My Creative Classroom class with the amazing Julie Ebersole?? No - well, what the heck are you waiting for??

Details: All stamps, note cards, ribbons contained in the Peace and Cheer Clear Kit.

A Muse Addicts Stamps of the Week!

2008-07-22T08:33:00.002-05:00

The amazing A Muse Addicts site turns ONE! this week!! I can't believe that it has been a year! If you aren't a member - check it out here! Every week, they pick a "stamp of the week" - this week, they picked 4!!

* Rock Star
* Vespa girl
* Elyse
* Coffee Break

Apparently, I got confused ... and made this, thinking to myself the whole time - "look at me, participating in a challenge, making a card on time!"

Except I used the wrong stamp!!

Oh well - I'll try again!

Details: Stamps, note card, paper, ribbon, twinkles by A Muse, black CS from my stash, colored with Copics.

Gettin' Dave Ramseyfied!

2008-07-18T08:53:00.004-05:00

My husband and I have been taking a class for the last few weeks - Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. Mr. Ramsey has lots of great ideas, and we are doing really well with our Baby Steps! I have been really amazed how many people are out there blogging about Dave Ramsey, living frugally, etc! It's been great! Here are a few of my favorites:

Simple Mom
Frugal Dad
Small Notebook

One of the parts of the budgeting plan is to use an "Envelope System" - basically, you put cash into envelopes at the beginning of the month to spend on certain things. The thinking is that this keeps you on budget - if the cash isn't there, you can't spend it - and keeps you from reaching for a credit card (which Dave Ramsey never uses - ever, ever, ever!!)! For us, we are using the envelopes for Food, Household needs (Target runs!), Entertainment and Blow Money (I haven't had a Starbucks in a couple of weeks now because I don't want to get into my blow money!)

I know, this is a crafy blog - what's all this financial nonsense?? Well, I just COULD NOT put my money in plain white, boring envelopes! I couldn't do it!! So I made this:
I came up with a kind of "wallet" template, and used this pretty SEI double sided paper to make it! My measurements were based on the SU open ended envelopes that I put on the inside. The whole thing closed with ribbon and 3 velcro closures. Don't you think the the A Muse Shopping Gal is appropriate?

There are 4 tabs across the top, made with the SU tab punch. So, the envelopes are made, now I just have to work on staying on the budget!

Sharing my Holiday Spark

2008-07-18T08:29:00.005-05:00

It's Friday - must be time to catch up on Heather's Share Your Spark from last week!! She challenged us to make something for the Holidays now! Easy, smeezy with all the amazing new stamps from A Muse!!

Cute new Cindy Lou, sentiment from the new clear Sentiment set, and the new Swiss Red Vintage Paper (love it!!)!!
Do you see those pretty snowflakes in the background? Those are in the awesome Peace and Cheer Kit available here! I'm planning all kinds of things with those!

Details: Stamps, papers, ribbon, twinkles by A Muse, colored with Copics.

A Butterfly Gift

2008-07-11T08:15:00.006-05:00

My beautiful goddaughter,
Miss Mira,

turned 3 years old a couple of weeks ago.
We celebrated last week (a bit delayed because Mom and Dad were getting used to life with this one added into the mix!)

(Mr. Jonah Frederick Bertolino)
and had a great party with cupcakes and fun at the park!
I made her gift after being inspired by Ali Edwards here and Michelle Clark here!

I think the hardest part of this project was covering the mat with the paper. I used some of the pink Prism sparkly cardstock. The mat was longer than 12 inches, so I had to get creative. It worked pretty well to just miter the corners (lay both square pieces over each other, then use an exacto knife and a straight edge to cut through both at an angle). The butterflies are punched out of the tag pieces in the Basic Grey Oh Baby Girl! 12x12 paper pack! The scale on the tags was better suited to the punch than the bigger paper. And I had enough left over to make a card, too!!
This card makes me super happy!! The Gerber Daisy is stamped with the glue pad, and then covered with pink ultrafine glitter. **Tip: I think I have finally mastered the glue pad: Really soak 1/2 of your pad with glue, stamp into that, then blot the glue on the other half of the pad! Works great! **

Details: Stamps (Gerber Daisy & Happy Birthday Little Lady) by A Muse, ribbon, twinkle stickers by A Muse, punch by Martha Stewart, patterned paper by Basic Grey.

A "Clear" Challenge

2008-07-09T16:16:00.003-05:00

Another challenge has been posted on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog - this one is hosted by the amazing Jennie Moczan - many of you know her as the challenge queen on the A Muse Addicts site!! Here are the details:

This is a Creative Candy Clear Sticker challenge, and here's how you can enter to play:

Create a card using the at least one of A Muse's fun Creative Candy Clear stickers (you can use any shape!)
The card must feature at least one (1) A Muse stamp image
Upload your card to the A Muse-a-Palooza 08 Gallery on Splitcoaststampers.com, taking care to include the keyword AP08CLEAR in the photo description or keyword box.
Post a comment on the original post on the AMAP blog with a link to your card and you could win an amazing prize!!

Here's my card:
I'm not 100% in love with this one ... I was going for something "different" with the scallop oval clear creative candy, so I thought they kind of looked like lanterns (??? maybe, just a little bit??) I think it works, but it just seems a bit "flat" or something! I probably should have drawn in the top of the lantern to give it a bit of dimension! Oh well - it is what it is!!

FYI - punching your creative candy with a hand held punch is kind of a bad idea - punch paper, not big pieces of plastic!!

Details: A Muse stamps, papers, creative candy clear stickers and twinks!

Helle's Challenge

2008-07-06T21:06:00.003-05:00

Helle ( the big winner from last year's A*Muse*A*Palooza and now the co-owner of Paper Tales in San Diego - I know, I'm trying to keep my jealousy to a minimum!), had this awesome color challenge for A*Muse*A*Palooza last week! Black, white, a little pink and some bling! Love it! This came together super quick - I paper pieced the hat and boots, then smacked myself in the face 'cause I had spent so much time cutting out a SOLID color! Oh well, it gave little Miss Seattle Girl a bit of dimension!

Details: Stamps, paper, ribbon, twinks by A Muse.

How well did you know me??

2008-07-04T06:52:00.002-05:00

Last week on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog, you were asked to match the designers to their cards - how did you do?? Did you guess that this was my card. Don't feel bad ... I'm not sure I could have guessed that this was my card!!

How about that AWESOME magic keyword game?? I have just been amazed at the cleverness and the amazing quality of the pictures that Heather has found! It's been so much fun to play along!!

A*Muse*A*Palooza is so close ... I can hardly wait!!

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Did you see this post about the A*Muse*A*Palooza kit, just for us poor souls that don't have a store close by! So exciting!

Details: Note card, paper, ribbon, stamps by A Muse, colored with Copics and Spicas.

Polka Dots!

2008-07-01T11:57:00.003-05:00

First of all - I just have to say a BIG THANKS to everyone who played along with my Sketch Challenge on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog! I was absolutely amazed by what everyone created! So thank you, thank you, thank you! And congrats to Tracy Clemente and EMNKKSMOMMY - the lucky winners of a pack of blue Maderia Note cards and one of my favorite stamps - "A true friend is the greatest of all blessings"! There are still a few challenges and games left - so remember - you can't win if you don't play - and you can't win if you aren't registered! Go HERE to register!

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On to the challenge of the moment!! Michelle Clark is hostessing an awesome challenge involving polka dots! How could you go wrong? You can read all the details HERE!! This is such a fun challenge -I'm sure there will be lots of awesome cards to check out in the SCS gallery HERE!
My card is the ultimate in simplicity - and probably not the most original thought in the world, but it works and I like it!! I just went looking for the inspiration, and I think it must have come from the second card in this post by guest designer Dawn McVey, among others! Thanks Dawn!

Details: Stamp, papers by A Muse, punches by EK Success, Marvy.

Mystery Hostess Pocket Card Challenge!

2008-06-30T08:04:00.003-05:00

This is my attempt at Geeta's Mystery Hostess challenge on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog - the pocket card!! I used the SU word window punch and put the sentiment on the inside of the card! Looks better in real life than in this picture - sorry for the weird shadows!

Details: All stamps, papers, ribbon, twinks by A Muse - colored with Copics.

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Have you checked the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog lately?? Lots of winners should be announced soon! It could be you!! We are getting so close to the big day ... hmm, I wonder when you should check back here for SNEAK PEEKS!!!! New stamps are so much fun!!

Oh my goodness!!

2008-06-26T17:43:00.006-05:00

I have been absolutely blown away by what you all have created with my sketches!! Thank you so much for playing! If you haven't done it yet - get yourself over to Splitcoaststampers and check out the special galleries HERE and HERE!!

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I finally had a few minutes to play with Heather's Share Your Spark challenge ... just getting in under the wire! This week's challenge was to use only a sentiment on a card - no images! This was the perfect excuse to get in touch with my inner Becky Rusher (notice the distressing!) and use one of my favorite A Muse stamps!

Details: Note cards, paper, ribbon, stamps - the whole she-bang!- by A Muse!

It's Sketch Time!!

2008-06-24T15:11:00.009-05:00

Have you checked out the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog today?? My mug is all over the place!! How well do you know the A Muse Creative Team?? Can you match the card to the designer? Be sure to put in your guess on this post!

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And now for something completely different! (does anyone know what show that line came from - I don't, but I know it came from somewhere!) My sketch challenge has been posted on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog! I created two *think simple, think A Muse* sketches for you to play with for this week's A*Muse*A*Palooza challenge!! Head on over and check them out - then be sure to post a link in the comments and put your cards in the SCS gallery that has been set aside for the sketch cards!

Square cards go HERE!

4-bar cards go HERE!

Here are a couple of samples to get you going! Make sure that you check out the other samples by Erika, Jenn and Geeta on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog!

I can't wait to see what all you incredibly talented stampers create! Remember there will be an awesome prize for two randomly selected cards from registered A*Muse*A*Palooza participants!! Let's go stamp!!

Boris in the Big House

2008-06-19T14:10:00.003-05:00

You know, there are certain cards that I just don't make very many of - like
"Sorry your pet rock died," and
"So happy that you are regular," and certainly not
"So sorry you got life in prison."
But just in case you ever need that last one, I've got the card for you!!

Poor Boris ... obviously something went very wrong in the lab!

This is for Elena's "Out-of-the-box" challenge for A*Muse*A*Palooza! Here are the details:

Ready for a challenge? I want you to look at your stamps in a *different* way - think Out of the Box! Turn an image upside down or put objects together that you would not usually find together. The sky's the limit! Here's how you can enter to play:

Create a card using your stamps in a way that you typically would not use!
The card must feature at least one (1) A Muse stamp image
Upload your card to the gallery on Splitcoaststampers.com, taking care to include the keyword AP08OUTBOX in the photo description or keyword box.

Be sure to check out the gallery on SCS HERE! There are some amazing cards that really had me laughing and saying "No flippin' way!!"

Details: All stamps & papers (except for the black from my stash) by A Muse, colored with Copics.

AMuseA*Palooza Inspiration Challenge

2008-06-12T07:21:00.004-05:00

Challenge #2 of the 2008 A*Muse*A*Palooza festivities has been posted on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog! Hosted by the amazing jenn shurkus - here it is:

this is an inspiration challenge, here's how you can enter to play:

being from new england... vera bradley is HUGE!!! create a card using this vera bradley print as inspiration.
The card must feature at least one (1) A Muse stamp image.
Upload your card to the gallery on Splitcoaststampers.com, taking care to include the keyword AP08INSP in the photo description or keyword box.

My first sample for this challenge! I am a huge fan of Vera Bradley - I don't have anything in this print, but I have a purse in her awesome blue and brown pattern and a diaper bag in her beautiful red paisley pattern.

Details: Of course, it's all A Muse!!

Babies, babies, babies!

2008-06-10T09:02:00.005-05:00

Babies, babies everywhere! I have lots and lots of friends that are getting ready to have lots of babies! I am still kind of behind after the Baby Boom of 2008 at work (really, girls - I'm working on your gifts!) Now we have the summer baby boom! I went to a beautiful Baby Shower last weekend for a good friend's wife - and these were her gifts!

Notecard design #1 - Super quick and easy flat design!
Stamps by A Muse.

Notecard Design #2 - stamp by A Muse.

Notecards packaged in a clear box from Impress - I would love for A Muse to make these in a 4-bar or square size!

Altered picture frame decorated with Basic Grey Baby Boy papers, A Muse and SU ribbon and SU stamp.
****Little Tip**** If you don't think that your altered item will have to sustain a tornado - forget the blasted Modge Podge! I glued everything down on this using a SU glue stick and it isn't going anywhere!

Thinking of You

2008-06-06T07:42:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick card using a stamp that I have had, but have never inked up! Gasp - I know - it's horrible! Super simple card - stamped the flowers on both edges, then again on white paper, then punched out and layered on pink. There are coordinating twinkle stickers on the flowers on the popped up circles.

And for the first time in weeks, I actually made something that works for Heather's Share Your Spark Friday (okay, I know it's already Friday, and this is for last week ... but it's close!)!

Details: Stamps, note card, ribbon, twinkle stickers by A Muse and Elzybells, colored with Copics and Spica Glitter Pens
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Have you been playing along on the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog? Today is the last day for the A Muse Feud - get over there and guess! You could win some awesome stuff.

And the Color Challenge! You have to check out the amazing cards in the SCS gallery!!

AMAP Color Challenge!

2008-06-03T17:27:00.003-05:00

Did you see the first challenge of A*Muse*A*Palooza is up on the AMAP blog?? Today, it's a color challenge, hosted by the amazing Geeta! I love doing challenges like this because they can really push me out of my comfort zone! The colors are: brown kitchen, cabana blue and purple passion! I am not a huge purple person, so this was a bit of a challenge for me!

So this card is going in the mail today, off to Geeta herself! You see, she has saved my bootie on more than one occasion when I have hit a computer-shaped wall! So, Geeta, pretend to be surprised when you get this in the mail!

Be sure that you check out the A*Muse*A*Palooza gallery that has been set up on Splitcoast Stampers! Let's wow the whole SCS community with some awesome A Muse designs!! WHOO-HOOO!!!

Today is the Day!

2008-06-02T07:21:00.004-05:00

Today is the Day!

All the fun starts today over at the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog! We've got lots of fun games, contests and just general FUN, FUN, FUN planned for you!

Have you registered?? If not, get your Monday morning bootie over her e and do it! You know what they say - you can't win if you don't play!!

Hard to believe I started this blog about one year ago for A*M*A*P last year! Does anyone remember what my blog was called when I first started blogging?? May be fun to see who was paying attention!

Stay tuned this week for all the A*M*A*P fun and some blog candy from me!

Happy Monday!

ETA: OMG - the first contest is up and ready to go - what are you still doing here?? Get over there and play along!!

Happy Graduation with Elzy

2008-05-24T08:14:00.002-05:00

This cute little girl went to my husband's cousin who graduated from 8th grade last week.

I was going to have a little rant about kids growing up too fast, doing way too much way too soon, but I will spare you all! I'll just say that I think it is absolutely crazy to wear prom dresses (we're talking strapless, floor length gowns), and pay big bucks for a massive updo and makeup application for a flippin' 8th grade graduation and dance afterwards! Where do we go from there?

Okay - sorry, I guess I ranted afterall!

It's Memorial Day weekend - yeah! We don't have big plans - just stuff around the house, being lazy, and I hope lots of stamping! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Details: Stamps, notecard, papers, ribbon and twinkles by A Muse, colored with Copic markers and Spica Glitter pens.

Are you one of the Lucky 7?

2008-05-21T20:56:00.003-05:00

Make sure that you visit Linda's blog before Thursday, May 22 at midnight and leave a comment! You could win 7 amazing A Muse prizes! Help us celebrate 7 great years!!

7 Years of A Mazing A Muse!

2008-05-21T08:17:00.005-05:00

Happy Anniversary to A Muse!

Here's to 7 years of the most amazing stamps, the best sentiments ever, beautiful paper and absolutely the best people in the stamping world!!

To mark this day, here is my list of some of my all-time favorite A Muse stamps,
in no particular order:
1. Chair & lamp
2. Gerber daisy
3. Florence
4. Tiny bird
5. Makenna
6. Branch

Whoa - that was a lot harder than I thought - obviously, 7 is not a big enough list to be all-inclusive! I didn't even touch on the sentiments, which are one of the BEST parts of A Muse!

Linda and A Muse have given me so much - I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of this family! The team is really just amazing - I have made some great friends, and I have grown so much as a stamper thanks to the inspiration and guidance of this team! Thanks, girls - you've made me a better stamper!

A few of my most favorite pictures:

Linda, the A Muse Guru herself, with me and Lily last August at the A Muse shop in Seattle.

Me and my peeps - Sarah & Aura at The Ink Spot in St. Louis for A*Muse*A*Palooza last year. Sarah & I drove 4 hours to go to this event ... I can't tell you how many people said "you drove 4 hours for stamps?" To which we said "H-e-double-hockey-sticks YES!!"

It's almost time for AMAP!!

2008-05-15T08:08:00.002-05:00

Wow, can you believe it??!!
It's almost time for A*Muse*A*Palooza!!
This year will be full of fun, games, contests, giveaways!!
But, you have to be registered to play, so be sure to go to www.amuseapalooza.com and get yourself registered!!
The fun will start on the AMAP blog on June 2nd, so stay tuned for lots and lots of fun!!

Elzy Happy Day

2008-05-15T07:58:00.002-05:00

This was my warm up card the other night ... you know when you are completely blocked and think there is no way that anything worth anything will come out of you ... and then, you calm down a bit and it does ... and all is okay with the world!

The card is a weird size 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 - I have no idea how I ended up with a scrap, pre-folded, that size! I must have cute down an A Muse notecard for something else! The blueberry Kitchen notecard scrap was also just laying there on my desk, waiting for some love!!

In other news, the amazingly talented Lexi has been published again! Check out her card on the cover of this month's PaperCrafts magazine, and one inside, too! Go on over to her blog and give her some love! Congrats, Lexi!

Details: Stamps, notecards, bling, CS by A Muse, punches by Marvy, ribbon by SU.

More Big News!

2008-05-08T08:47:00.006-05:00

Last weekend, I escaped the chains of motherhood and ran away to St. Louis for 48 hours with my friends Sarah & Aura. We had a great time - shopping, eating, talking all night long! Well, not all night, I am old, you know! The only really sad thing is that my camera made it out of my bag for exactly 3 pictures, one of which I would be murderized for showing online!!
Here's Aura & Sarah enjoying our free beverages at the hotel on Saturday evening! Quick plug for the Drury Inn Chesterfield ... nice place, nice price, easy access back to KC! I'd stay there again in a heartbeat!
I also had the amazing opportunity to meet with Beth Kindle r, the genius behind The Saltbox Studio Stamps!! We met for coffee and had a wonderful time chatting! Be sure to check out all the awesome stamps that Beth has designed! She is really filling a void in this industry with her amazing primitive artwork!
One of my all-time favorite people has started a blog to share her genius with the world!! The Amazing Tami Wood, one of the super talented A Muse instructors has started a blog called "It's All in the Details" - such a perfect name for Tami!! Check out this pos t for pictures of my visit to Minnesota when I got to meet Tami in person! Go give her some blog love!!

Pretty in Pink

2008-05-06T08:48:00.002-05:00

I have a small problem, and it is spreading throughout my entire family! Because I love to stamp, and because I know that any card that I make is waaay better than something that I pay $4 for at Target or Hallmark, I just flat-out refuse to buy pre-made cards. RE-FUSE!! No way, Jose! Now, I am not too proud to admit that on more than one occasion, that has meant that people that I love, love, love dearly have received NO card, rather than receive a store-bought-pre-made piece of boringness!! So, this problem has spread ... to my mother ... who says to me the other day ... "You wouldn't want ME to buy a card, would you? Can't you just make me one?" I've created a monster! Long story for this cute, super quick little baby card!

Details: Stamps, paper, twinkle stickers by A Muse, ribbon by May Arts, punches by Marvy & SU.

My friend Patch

2008-05-02T09:23:00.002-05:00

Just a quick card for no particular reason! I love Patch - he is just too cute!

Have you checked out all the new A Muse goodies that were released yesterday?? Wowzer!! That 8.5x11 paper is soooo pretty! And make sure that you check out Linda's Favorites! She has added some really cool stuff ... a neat stamp positioner, the Momento inks that I have been raving about, and a really pretty scallop punch that needs to come live with me!!

Other news: My girls and I are still planning a quick trip to St. Louis this weekend - anyone know any awesome places in St. Louis to eat?? The kids are still kind of sick, but Ben wants to be super dad, and swears that he will be just fine!! You go, Daddy!!!

We had a crazy weather night last night - the Tornado sirens went off 3 or 4 times around here, but we only got rain and a bit of hail. North Kansas City and Independence got hit really hard; the pictures on the news are pretty scary. Thank the Lord we were spared!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, unknown brad??, CS from my stash.

Celebration Boy

2008-05-01T08:22:00.003-05:00

Today is the Day!! It's Release Day over at the A Muse News Blog!! This is a great release with some wood mounted stamps, some clear stamps AND new notecard colors!! Shop till you drop!

I wanted to get this last sneak peek up today! This is the other "half" of the Celebration Kids clear set! This poor little boy has been a bit neglected during the sneaks - his girlfriend has been getting all the love!! I just think he is darling, and this was a super simple card! One layer, Momento Ink (no heat setting, YEAH!!), quick Copics, some ribbon ... viola!! The sentiment is from the Stitched Garden clear set released last month!

I hope that everyone is doing well! I am waiting with bated breath for the weekend! I am escaping to St. Louis for a quick girls' weekend with Sarah and Aura! We are going to shop, and stamp, and eat yummy food ... with NO KIDS!!! Yeah!!!

Details: Stamps, paper, ribbon, twinkle stickers by A Muse, Momento Ink, Copic and Spica markers.

Manly Sneak!

2008-04-29T09:39:00.003-05:00

More sneak peeks! These great stamps are in a new clear set from A Muse called Mainly Men! Lots of great images for all of your manly needs ... okay, maybe not ALL of your needs! Ha, Ha!! I tried a new technique (well, new to me!) with the "faux suede"! The briefcase is nice and fuzzy! All stamps and papers are by A Muse, eyelets by Making Memories.

Sneak Peek Celebration!

2008-04-27T09:31:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday!!

I had a very "worky" weekend ... back to back 12 hour shifts don't leave a lot of time for stamping!! I did manage a couple of the VMAA challenges, and had a blast - then I found myself falling asleep on my black and white card, so I decided I better wait!! I hope to finish the challenges today and get them posted.

Isn't this little girl just the cutest thing?? She is part of a NEW clear set from A Muse, being released later this week!! It is an AMAZING set with so many possibilities!! Do you see the other SNEAK? That's right ... look at the wonderful soft purple notecard! Oh - yeah!! New notecards!!! They will be released later this week, too!! Stay tuned for more sneak peeks this week, and be sure to check out the A Muse girls listed on the right! There is some amazing work out there right now ... Sneak Peeks, VMAA cards ... it's a wonderful time to be an A Muse fan!!

Details: Stamps, ribbon, notecards, twinkle stickers by A Muse, punches by Marvy and EK Success, colored with Copics.

Disco Ball!

2008-04-26T22:59:00.002-05:00

Messy, old school glitter! That just screams "cover a big area" to me! I just used the fine point of my Mono Multi glue to draw the waves, then used my finger to spread it around, then dumped blue glitter on top! All that glue made the paper really heavy, and I didn't wait for it to dry, so it didn't really want to stick to the base card, but oh well - it's still a fun card!

Again - it's all A Muse!

Let it Be!

2008-04-26T22:51:00.002-05:00

I rushed home from work at the hospital and got straight to work on the VMAA challenges! Better late than never, right! This is for the first challenge tonight ... Let it Be ... no embellishments! I know I would have normally added ribbon or something to this design! But it is just great the way it is! This will be going out to a nurse at another hospital who recently gave me a lot of support as I was deciding to start my grandmother on hospice!

Details: All A Muse ... that about covers it!

Big News Number 2!!

2008-04-23T14:04:00.002-05:00

It is time for the 2nd Virtual Meeting of the A Muse Addicts!! Join all the stampin' fools (I mean that in the loving, fool-for-stamps kind of way!) and get your stamp on!

When: Saturday, April 26th 8:00pm-10:00pm Central Time!
Who: A Muse lovers all over the globe!
Where: A Muse Addicts Message Board - not a member yet?? Go register today!!

Big News Number 1!!

2008-04-23T13:56:00.003-05:00

One of our A Muse girls is livin' the dream!! Michelle White is opening her very own shop in Sunny San Diego! If you are lucky enough to live close by, please go check it out and have some fun for me!! The store opens on May 1st, and they plan on carrying the COMPLETE A Muse line! Linda, the A Muse Guru herself, will be in town to celebrate on May 31st! I am incredibly happy for Michelle and Helle, and hope that I will get to see the shop in person some day soon!

A Fish Story

2008-04-22T21:05:00.004-05:00

Sunday afternoon, dad takes the two boys fishing, leaving me with only one kid in the house (I don't know the last time that happened!)! So, after baby Lily went to bed, I actually got a bit of time to stamp!

This was a super fast card ... owing mostly to the fact that I got some of the new Momento ink! I tell ya ... this stuff is pretty darn awesome!! You really don't have to heat set it at all before you color with Copics! I bought mine online at Stamper's Dream! I was very impressed with the service, price and super speedy shipping! I also picked up some new 6x6 Basic Grey pads! I haven't been using a lot of patterned paper, but they were so yummy that I just couldn't resist! I also used the new A Muse Clear Ovals - so incredibly awesome!! I have wanted these in clear for sooo long and I couldn't be more excited about it!!

Back to the Momento ink ... here's my little mini review:

Pro's:
*Super fast drying - no heat setting!!
*Available in a wide range of colors
*Pleasing design - they have little feet to hold the tear-drop shaped pad upright.

Con's:
*I did have a small amount of bleeding toward the outside of the image
(almost like the Copic pushed the Momento ink out)
*The Tuxedo black is not a SUPER black black - not as black as my old friend Versafine!

I would still really recommend these inks - especially for stamping on the go when it is not convenient to heat set!

Details: Stamps, ribbon by A Muse, CS by SU, Copic markers, Momento and Staz-on inks.

Birds on a wire

2008-04-17T10:39:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite A Muse stamps of all time ... definitely at the top of my versatile list! I've had this idea floating around in my head, inspired by a couple of my daughter's shirts that have birdies on them! I sit there rocking her, and think of card ideas based on her cute clothes!! :)

This was a "the-stamp-a-ma-jig-is-my-best-friend" card, and even then it was a bit more difficult than it should have been to line up the lines! I had to let go of my inner anal-ness and let it be! Super easy coloring with 3 colors of Copics, then the yellow ones have yellow Spica glitter on top! Two eyelets, some GAWGEOUS!! A Muse stitched grosgrain, and there you have it!

Details: Stamps, note card, ribbon by A Muse, colored with Copics & Spica Glitter Pens, Versafine Onyx ink.

11 Years of Henry!

2008-04-10T08:12:00.010-05:00

Time goes so fast! It seems like just yesterday that I was holding an 8 pound 4 oz bundle of joy (after I tried to deliver him in the toilet, but that's another story!), now he is 5 feet tall and can put away more food than I can! For his Birthday dinner, he picked the Cheesecake Factory - the kid has pretty good taste! :) We had an awesome dinner! Here are a few pics ... and for all those that are here for actual STAMPED things, stick with me, there is a card at the bottom!!

We'll call this "My Two Dads" - Henry with his father on the right and his stepdad on the left!

Lily hamming it up for the camera again - she was screaming in the highchair, but if I pointed the camera at her, she would stop immediately and give me a big grin!

MMMMM, yummy! Henry chose Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake! They did such a nice job with the plate!

Dig in!!

Parker & Ben enjoying their Chocolate Pecan Carmel Turtle (or something like that!) Cheesecake!

Is this a happy kid or what??
Thanks for sticking with me through this long, personal post! Here is the card that I made for Henry! I was going for something simple, and not too baby-ish! Still maybe a bit young for an 11 year old, but oh well! For such a simple card, I struggled!! I swear that RED ink is my nemesis! Every time I use red ink, I end up with a smudge on my project! This time I was able to trim the white piece down a bit and make it work! I combined a few pieces of A Muse stamps on this card ... the "birthday" is from the awesome clear set "Birthday Builder", the "super" is from the "have a super day" sentiment, and the "wish" is from the Elzybell's "make a wish" sentiment!

We love our Hawks!!

2008-04-08T15:40:00.006-05:00

Just thought I'd share a few quick pics of the kids last night ... well, mostly Lily, because she is the only one that will hold still long enough to get a picture! And Henry only wants to take the pics, not be in them, which is why you actually get to see me in one of these! These were taken before the game, after the kids got all dolled up in their Jayhawk clothes!

Me and 2 out of the 3 little Jayhawks!

Lily really likes to ham it up for the camera right now! She was 15 months old yesterday!

We're NUMBER ONE!!!!

Jayhawk cookies for desert!

I went to the KU bookstore today and stood in line to buy National Championship T-shirts! We happened to get there just as they were delivering them, and there were people that had been waiting there for 2 hours!! Mine were still warm from printing when we got them! I'll share pics of them sometime soon!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS!!

2008-04-08T07:21:00.002-05:00

Kansas 75 Memphis 68

OMG ... it was an amazing game ... Memphis fought so hard, but in the end - thanks to Mario Chalmers and the most perfect 3 point shot - it was all JAYHAWKS!! It has been 20 years since KU has won a national championship, and I hope to take the kiddos to some celebrations this week!

BTW - your regularly scheduled stamping should resume soon!

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK GO KU!!!!!

2008-04-05T22:42:00.003-06:00

WHOOO HOOOOO!!! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK GO KU!!!!

I just can not believe it - not only did the Jayhawks win, and advance to the National Championship - but they kicked some serious A**!! I am so proud to count myself as a Jayhawk alum! Hope you all got to catch the game ... it was AMAZING!! Can't wait until Monday night!! It will be crazy!

Sneak Peek Numero Dos!

2008-03-28T10:58:00.002-06:00

More love for the Stitched Garden set (the sentiment and the birdy) and the Rectangle Frame set! So much fun! The birdy is up on foam tape to give the card a bit of dimension - hey - that makes this work for Heather's Share Your Spark Friday ... on Friday ... it really is some kind of a miracle! Make sure that you check out the other A Muse crew blogs for more sneak peeks! Have a great Friday! Remember, these new stamps will be released on 3/31!

Details: Stamps, note card, ribbon & twinkle stickers by A Muse.

Sneaky sneaks!

2008-03-27T09:17:00.003-06:00

Prepare yourself to be wowed by the latest release from A Muse!! There are some absolutely AMAZING!! new wood mounted and clear stamps being released on 3/31! Be sure to check out the A Muse team blogs - check out the list on the right - in the next few days for some beautiful sneak peeks! Here's one from me!:

See that pretty flower border?? That's from one of the new clear sets (Rectangle Frames) and the sentiment is one of the new wood mounted stamps. I masked it and rearranged it to make it fit a circle! The Maternity Dress is an oldie but a goodie!!

Details: Stamps, note cards & ribbon by A Muse, punches by Marvy & EK success, eyelets by We R Memory Keepers.

Easter Basket Card

2008-03-19T16:45:00.004-06:00

Sometimes I have an idea, and I try it and I say "what the heck were you thinking?" Sometimes I have an idea, and I try it, and it actually works!! Amazing!!

This is one of those ideas!! I wanted to make an Easter basket - so I just did some quick weaving with some paper strips, then I cut half of a circle using my Coluzzle, then slid the woven paper up under the half circle cut out (clear as mud, right?)! The eggs are punched from A Muse Notecards using a small oval punch, and that's about all I have to say about that!! Happy Easter every one - this may be it for Easter stuff, unless I get my bootie into gear tonight!

Details: Stamps, notecards, ribbon by A Muse, CS from my stash, easter grass stolen from my kids' baskets!

Baby shower love!

2008-03-13T20:04:00.002-06:00

Needed a card in a hurry ... flipped through my stamps, saw these, thought - "hey, that'll work" - made the card - thought "hmmm, not perfect, but out of time!" Off to the post office!

Details: Stamps & Note card by A Muse, ribbon by May Arts, punch by Marvy, flower by Prima.

Share your Spark Friday (on Tuesday!)

2008-03-10T19:44:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I think if it weren't for Heather, I wouldn't stamp at all!! Ha ha ha! Kind of funny that they last 2 things that have actually made it to my blog were for Heather's Share Your Spark challenges! Well, these I had to do for something else, and they just happen to fit the challenge for this week!! Heather's challenge was to use something that you had never used before and I did that on this stack of Thank You Notes! I had never used this Frog Prince stamp from A Muse, and I used my new Scor-Pal for the first time!! LOOOOOOVE IT!! I used to do a lot more "bulk" stamping - wedding invites, baby announcements, etc, and how I wish I had this amazing tool then! It might just get me back into the bulk business!! I also renewed my love affair with my big Fiskars rotary cutter with these! I have been using a small Fiskars trimmer because it is more "convenient" to just keep right beside me, but I am never really happy with the cut and end up having to sand just about every edge, and my scores are never quite even! So, I pulled out the big daddy again, and found a dedicated spot for it, and I just have to get my big ole' booty out of the chair and cut things!!

Onto the cards:
One of my best friends is having a baby in May, and she has a baby shower this weekend ... in Vancouver, Washington ... insert sad, pouty face here!! I hate, hate, hate that we are not closer! She doesn't know what she's having, but she has a frog theme for the nursery! I wanted some gender neutral, easy thank you's for her - and these are what I came up with! This design was heavily influenced by Heather's great Flower Drinks cards! I loved the white space, the simplicity - but I didn't have a gazillion Twinkle Stickers, so I had to use ribbon!

I know this is turning into a marathon post, but I wanted to share one quick tip with you! When I am making a bunch of something, and I want it to be similar (okay, the same!), I like to make a template to make sure that things will be in the same spot!! For this one, I cut the green paper to the same size as my white, then punched a hole where I wanted the frog!
For each card, I just lined up the Frog Prince stamp with the hole, and stamped! Easy, peasy, perfect placement every time!! The "thank you" is from the A Muse "Personal Stationary" set, and it was super easy to line up because it is clear! I placed it on my block so that I could line up the bottom of the block with the bottom of the card stock! I made 15 of these babies in about 2 hours, and the longest part was coloring them in!!
Whew ... I think this sets some kind of record for my longest post ever! Thanks for sticking with me, and thanks for all the kind words about my new blog banner!! I have been so impressed with Suck My Lolly (and I get such a kick out of the name - giggle, giggle!) - check her out if you want to update your blog!!

Notice anything different?

2008-03-08T16:38:00.002-06:00

I made some changes to the old blog, and I need to give some credit where credit is due! I found this great site of FREE, yes, that's right, FREE blogger templates!! Click here, click there and a pretty blog is there on your screen! BRILLIANT!! I did a bit of manipulation to the banner in Photoshop to add my title, but that's it! Do you recognize the font in my title? It's called MA sexy and it is used on a few A Muse stamps and you can have it for free right here!! I've used a big hunk of my day on the 'puter - now I'm going to try to go stamp!!

BTW - in all this transition, I lost both my counter (no big deally) and my list of links to other blogs! I have all the A Muse girls ready to add on, but if you would like to be on my blog roll, please leave a comment and we'll hook up - HAHAHA!!

Happy Birthday, little dude!

2008-03-05T12:48:00.003-06:00

Tried and true lay out + amazing A Muse stamps + cute patterned paper
= super quick Birthday Card for a little boy!

Details: Stamps & Note card by A Muse, PP by Basic Grey, ribbon by SU, punches by Marvy.

Sharing my spark!

2008-03-03T07:41:00.003-06:00

The amazingly talented Heather posted a challenge on her blog last week called "Share your spark" (we won't talk about the Friday part - I'm just a bit behind!). The challenge was to use YELLOW in your design. Well - yellow is NOT one of my fav colors - nothing against it - it's just out of my comfort zone! I did have some of the wonderful new Kitchen Note Cards in yellow, so that was about my only option! I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out - but it was definitely a challenge!! By the way - these were 2 of my very first A Muse stamps - and I still reach for them all the time!! If you do not have these in your collection, I would highly recommend adding them!!

Details: Stamps & note card by A Muse, punches by Marvy, colored with Copics.

Hey cupcake ...

2008-02-26T10:10:00.003-06:00

I have a problem ... I can't stop playing with the A Muse Valentine's Day stamps! The great thing is that there isn't one in the bunch that couldn't be used for things all year round! Take this one - wouldn't this be a great little girl birthday card? I am also really enjoying the 4 bar notecards - so much that I am making my own in solid colors! Did you know that you can order the great notecards directly on the A Muse News blog - click, click, click and they are on your door step in no time!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, CS and patterned paper by SU, punches by SU.

Yeah, girl parts!!

2008-02-25T17:09:00.003-06:00

You may remember this post with the card that I made for a friend that was having a boy - well, one of my other best friends just found out that she is having a GIRL!! Yeah, girl parts!! Selfishly, the first thing that I thought was "great, now I can get rid of ALL my baby clothes!" I'm doing some major purging around the house! Anyone interested in lots of retired SU sets??

Details: Stamps & bling by A Muse, patterned paper, solid CS, ribbon by SU.

VMAA Bonus challenge!

2008-02-22T22:31:00.003-06:00

Whew, one more!! The Fab 4 over at the A Muse Addicts Board decided to pull a fast one on us and add one more challenge!! Must be that crazy Geeta who never sleeps, conspiring to keep all of us up late!! I couldn't say no to this one - it's been so much fun! Now I'm going to stay up for a while longer checking out everyone's amazing cards!!

Details: Stamps, note card, ribbon by A Muse.

ETA: Oops - I'm getting tired - I forgot to say that the Bonus challenge was to combine the 4 challenges of the night - no coloring, manly, 3 of something, and the sketch challenge!

VMAA Challenge #4 - 3 of a kind!

2008-02-22T22:01:00.003-06:00

Last one - whew! Can you tell what I was thinking about??
I have to give a shot out to Kristina Werner for inspiring this lay out! It was the first thing that came to mind for the 3 of something challenge over at VMAA! Have you been playing along? You have until tomorrow to get your cards uploaded somewhere and the links posted at the A Muse Addicts Forum!

Details: Stamps, paper by A Muse, colored with Copics, Spicas and some quickie glue pen!

VMAA Challenge #3 - Sketch it, Baby!

2008-02-22T21:32:00.003-06:00

I don't do a lot of sketch challenges - so this one was fun for me! I think I messed it up a bit - I think it was supposed to be a square in the bottom left, but oh, well - close enough!!
Stamps, papers, note card and bling by A Muse, colored with Copics, ribbon by May Arts.

VMMA - You da' man!!

2008-02-22T20:56:00.004-06:00

I dug deep into my stamp stash for this one - and pulled out my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig!! And I will say that there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I could have done this in 30 minutes if I didn't already have masks made for all these stamps - they just hang out in the box with the stamps! And, the last time I used these stamps was pre-Copics! I don't know about you, but I ain't never goin' back!! So much faster and easier!
Stamps by A Muse, colored with Copics!

VMAA Challenge #1

2008-02-22T20:34:00.004-06:00

Here's my first card for the first ever A Muse Addicts Virtual Meeting (or whatever VMAA stands for? - I can't remember right now!) I'm trying really hard to get these stamped and posted in 30 minutes - I'm already late, and sweating - from stamping - who does this??
Everything by A Muse (of course), except the bling brad from Joanne's or Hobby Lobby?! Stamped with Glue Pad, then glittered with Pink ultra fine glitter!

You can take 'em with you!

2008-02-22T11:00:00.008-06:00

Most of you know that my "real" job is as an Emergency Department nurse. It's winter, it's really busy, people can be nasty, but hey, it's a job. Anyway - one aspect of my job is that I am gone for 12 hours at a time, and I really do start to miss the kiddos while I am gone! The child care center at the hospital makes these little cards for people to wear on their badges that says "my kid is in daycare at the hospital" with a cute picture of the kiddo - well, I kept seeing those, and although I am very lucky that my mother watches my kids at home, I really like the idea of keeping them close while I am gone! Here's my A Musing-ing version!

I wanted some kind of a front page ... so a "W" for our last name, and the Elzybells "fairy tales do come true" stamp.

The three kiddos - L to R - Parker, Henry & Lily.

Henry, age 10.Parker, age 3.

Lily, age 1.

I found the clear badge holders at the Dollar Store (10 for a dollar!). All stamps, paper, ribbon and twinkle stickers by A Muse and Elzybells, colored with Copics and Spica Glitter pens. Most of the photos are from our holiday shoot at Portrait Innovations - notice that there isn't an individual shot of Parker? That's because the little poop wouldn't sit still long enough to get a decent picture!! Oh well - what's a mom to do? I apologize for the not-so-great pictures of this project - shiny plastic is not easy to photograph, and it won't stay open on it's own, so we get glare and fingers!! :) I was showing this to my mom, and she says "why didn't you just take pictures of the pages out of the holders?" Thanks, Mom. Leave it to your mother to point out your shortcomings!!

Oh how I want to win the lottery ...

2008-02-21T19:17:00.001-06:00

Then I could justify buying these for my stamp room ...

Shabby Elzy!

2008-02-21T11:32:00.004-06:00

I was getting in touch with my "inner sponge" and whipped up these cards last week! I liked it so much, and thought of so many people that needed this card that I made 4 of them!!
I haven't done this much sponging in a long time, but it worked for me on this card! Now, I just need to get them in the mail ...! I am so bad at that part!! Thanks for looking - have a great day! We are getting pelted by freezing rain and sleet today, so we are going to hunker down and stay in all day! Hopefully I will get some time to stamp! I am beginning to wonder if this winter will ever end!!

Details: Stamps by Elzybell and A Muse, colored with Copics, note cards, twinkle stickers and ribbon by A Muse.

Rated E! for Excellent!

2008-02-21T11:07:00.003-06:00

The wonderful Tracy of Eat, Sleep, Stamp fame nominated me for the "E for Excellent" award!! I feel so very honored - thanks a bunch, Tracy! The way I understand it - I am supposed to pass on this award to some of my favorite blogs! You all know how much I love my A Muse girls (see the list on the left!), so I pass this on to them all!! You girls rock!!

Elzy Birthday Wish

2008-02-21T10:45:00.002-06:00

I just love the Elzybells!! They are so darn cute and versatile! This image was in the winter/holiday release, but I thought it worked just perfectly for a birthday card! I was trying to think "out of the box," so I cut off the stars on the bottom and added them back in using A Muse star shaped Twinkle Stickers!! It worked a bit better IRL than in this picture - but I'm still pleased!

Details: Stamps & Twinkle Stickers by A Muse & Elzybells, CS, PP, ribbon by SU, punch by Marvy.

Last Sushi Sneak!

2008-02-18T09:37:00.002-06:00

Must finish this post ... sneaking on at work ... really cute set ... love the sentiment ... love the new notecards ... love the new ribbon ... all this wonderfulness is by A Muse!! Check it all out tomorrow!!

Sneaky McSneakerson

2008-02-17T08:38:00.003-06:00

I just LOVE this image! Sushi is just so fun, and the awesome sentiments in the set make it so much better (there is another one that you will be able to see in another peek soon!)!!

Do you see the other AMAZING new things in this post?? That's right - new kitchen note cards in PINK! and new stitched grosgrain ribbon in 11 - that's right ELEVEN - new colors! The quality and the colors just make me say YUM!!

Details: Stamps, paper, ribbon & twinkle stickers by A Muse, colored with Copics and Spica Glitter pens.

Sneaks!!

2008-02-15T13:06:00.004-06:00

Things got crazy yesterday ... so sorry I didn't get a SNEAK PEEK up for you!! But here it is today - make sure that you check out the other A Muse Crew blogs to see more sneak peeks!! There are LOTS of amazing new products!!
I was channeling the spirit of the 70's for this card - love the owl, the green and orange - just love it all!! This is one of those SUPER simple designs that would work for just about anything, but I just love how it makes the owl really POP! Both the owl and the sentiment are stamped in Versamark, then embossed with white embossing powder!! And check out that AWESOME new stitched grosgrain! You won't believe it when you get it in your hands! It is so soft - the quality is just amazing!!

Details: Stamps, paper & ribbon by A Muse (ribbon and stamps to be released on 2/19)!!

I {heart} Heart Day!

2008-02-14T11:37:00.006-06:00

I really enjoyed Valentine's Day! I think I have issues ... somehow, I get it together for a little holiday like VD, but I never did send Christmas Cards this year!! What's up with that?? Here's what I made for my kiddos - just some super quick 3x3 cards with the amazing A Muse Valentine's Day stamps!

Here's what the kids found this morning when they woke up!! It was so much fun to see the surprised look on their faces - almost as good as Christmas because they weren't expecting it at all!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, CS by SU, ribbon by SU, May Arts, bling by A Muse, punches by Marvy, colored with Copics and Spica Glitter Pen s.

Valentine's Love for the Girls

2008-02-13T16:29:00.006-06:00

SO, it all started with a post that I saw on Taylor's blog about these cute cupcake slippers. I HAD to have those cute slippers! Pink, fuzzy, cupcakes ... what more could you ask for. So, off to Target I went - I looked, I found, I bought. I bought multiple pairs! If I needed them, then so did my friends! So then I started trying to figure out some cute packaging for the cute slippers - a plain bag just wouldn't do! On another trip to Target, I had stocked up on those cute mailboxes, and I figured this was as good a time as any to use them up!

Beautiful A Muse Stamps +

Cute Target Mail Boxes +

Some punches and ribbon =

Happy Valentine's Day!!

One pair of fun cupcake slippers fits perfectly inside each mail box!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, colored with Copics & Spica Glitte r pens, ribbon by SU, A Muse, May Arts, punches by Marvy, bling and creative candy clear stickers by A Muse.

Girlfriends are the BEST!

2008-02-13T11:18:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago, I had the extreme pleasure of taking a really quick trip to Chicago for a bit of a "Girls' Weekend!" We had an absolutely amazing time! Funny story ... my friend Sarah & I got on the long term parking bus at the airport and were chatting with the (female) bus driver. We told her that we were going on a girls' weekend, and how excited we were. The bus driver says "That's great, that will be a lot of fun, if it's done right, you know, no infidelity or anything." What?? Infidelity?? It was just so funny since that had never crossed our minds! I think our biggest worry was spending too much money on yummy food and shopping!!

Anyway, the weekend was a blast! We ate here, and here, and here, and here (OMG, the cinnamon rolls were amazing!!) and drank lots of yummy red wine!! There was much laughing, talking and fun had by all! We talked about doing some crafting, but we really didn't have enough time!! Aura, the super-organized one, did have these beautiful handmade photo albums and note card sets waiting for us when we got to the hotel!! Aren't they beautiful!! She does amazing work!! Here are some pics from the weekend, as well as Aura's gorgeous goodies!!

Left to right - Aura, me, Kara & Sarah
Left to right - Kate, Aura, Sarah, Kara & Carolyn on snowy Michigan Avenue

LOTS to post!!

2008-02-13T10:08:00.004-06:00

I have been a stampin' fool lately, and I have been able to see some people that I love, and get some crafty goodness ... and very little of it has made it to this here blog ... so prepare yourselves for multiple posts in the next couple of days! And ... did I hear something about SNEAK PEEKS???? There is some amazing new stuff coming out from A Muse, so be sure to check back here and at the other designers blogs for some sneak peeks tomorrow through next week!! Okay, here we go!!
I very rarely remember sketch ideas (I really need to make myself a sketch journal to keep close to the computer so I can write ideas down!), but this sketch stayed with me ... I think because I thought it would be just perfect for A Muse papers! The Pretty Little Papers are the perfect size when cut in half! {I am having trouble finding where I got this sketch - I swore it was on Julia Stainton's Belle Papier Blog - but I can't find it now! I'd love to give credit where credit is due, so if anyone knows anything, let me know!} I couldn't quite make the sentiment fit on the outside, but I had already made the cute little circle, so I just attached it on the inside with a sparkly brad from Doodlebug designs!Details: Stamps, Patterned Paper by A Muse, Ribbon from SU!, Paper Source, and Tracy from a swap, punches by Marvy and SU, colored with Copics.

Mini Treat Boxes Galore!!

2008-02-08T08:31:00.000-06:00

So, do you get the AMAZING A Muse News weekly newsletter?? If not, you can sign up her e! It is chock-full of wonderful stamping ideas and information, info on local A Muse classes and all kinds of other fun stuff!! This week, there are templates for making these darling little mini treat boxes out of A Muse note cards! So easy, and so much fun!!

This is the 4-bar size with the Kitchen Collection Red Note Card (you can buy them right over here on the A Muse Blog!) I really like all these images from the Valentine's release because you can use them so easily for non-Valentine's day stuff!! I could see using this one for a little boy that does really well on a test or something like that!!

My husband and I have a bit of a problem ... with pistachios! I bought a big bag at Sam's and we keep it way too close to where we watch TV!! He'll give me a little look while we are watching something (no, not THAT look!) and I'll get up and grab the bag of nuts!! So, I thought that this would be very appropriate for the love of my life! This was made with the template for the square note cards that can be found in this week's A Muse Newsletter!

This little box is a variation on the square note card treat box. It is a little taller and more narrow, with a paper handle instead of the ribbons and a cute scalloped top! It would be perfect for some tea bags - I just didn't have any wrapped ones! I am slightly addicted to Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea, but they come unwrapped!!

Be sure you check out the A Muse Newsletter and go take a gander at the other Mini Treat Box ideas!!

Details: All stamps, note cards, patterned paper and bling by A Muse, colored with Copics and Spica Glitter Pens (which you can buy here on the A Muse blog!), punches by Marvy!!

Oh, and one more thing ... I think that the secret to making a good box like this is to use very good double stick tape! I have some that I got through Taylor's blog a while ago, but I also really like the Terrifically Tacky Double Stick Tape!!

Love Elyse!!

2008-02-08T08:08:00.000-06:00

Get it - Love Elyse, like Love Elsie?? I really didn't sleep enough last night, and it shows in my humor this morning!! Do you ever have a layout that makes you say "YES!! I still got it!"? This is that layout for me! I was really beginning to feel like my mojo had completely abandoned me, then I did this and did a little happy dance around my stamp room!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, Ribbon from Paper Source, PP from A Muse, CS from SU!

ETA: I forgot that I made this card for the Stamp of the Week challenge over at the new A Muse Addicts Message Board!! Come play ... you know you want to!!