Hey cupcake ...

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!!

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!

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!

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!

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!!

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

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!

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 ...

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

Shabby Elzy!

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!

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

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!

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

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!!

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!

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 Pens.

Valentine's Love for the Girls

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 Glitter pens, ribbon by SU, A Muse, May Arts, punches by Marvy, bling and creative candy clear stickers by A Muse.

Girlfriends are the BEST!

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!!

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!!

So, do you get the AMAZING A Muse News weekly newsletter?? If not, you can sign up here! 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!!

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!!

Yeah, boy parts!!

One of my nearest and dearest has just found out that the "baby in her tummy" is a boy!! Yeah, boy parts!! Don't ya just love how after spending years talking to children, you start to think in "toddler-ese"?? I find myself saying things like "I need to go potty" and "whoopsie-daisy" when I am not even around my kids! Ah, I digress! Here's a cute little card that I made for the new parents-to-be!
The kraft with the scalloped edge is an A2 size flat notecard from Papersource that I have had for months (actually, I have lots of them), but I have had the hardest time using them - I just can never seem to make them work! I'm moderately pleased with how this turned out! I used the A Muse "bundle of joy" stamp on the inside, but I altered it slightly by omitting the "j" and writing in a "b" so it says "bundle of boy"!! All coloring was done with my Copic markers - do you know that you can buy these amazing markers right on the A Muse blog?? Go here ... buy them ... they rock!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, PP by A Muse, note card by A Muse, kraft by Papersource, punches by Marvy, hemp twine by SU.

Call Me!!

Does everyone have that one friend that no matter how hard you try, you just can't get in touch with?? My friend Stephanie is that person for me! We live two time zones away from each other, her cell phone is never on, she doesn't have a home phone, and she doesn't have email!! We just live in 2 different worlds - until recently, she lived in a house with a generator and no running water!! There are times when I am ready to pitch my -100%-connected-you-can-always-get-in-touch-with-me-and-I-can't-ignore-a-ringing-phone life, and just go live in the mountains with Steph, but alas, life (or someone) calls! So, this card is for Steph - I thought this might be the only way to get a telephone in her hands!!

Details: Stamps by A Muse, CS from my stash, PP from the monster pack from Costco whose maker I can not remember this early in the morning!, bling & ribbon from A Muse!