Catching up!

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

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

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!!!

************************************************************************************
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!

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!
*************************************************************************************
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

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!****
*************************************************************************************
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

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!***
***********************************************************************************
Stamps: A Muse hello from the new Monogram Frames clear set, Swing Girl

A Muse - Bouche!

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!
***********************************************************************************
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