A Slave to Laundry

Well, we're back from our big trip and I have been doing laundry at a furious pace. It was very hot and very dry in Arkansas, so I have had many loads to do.

With A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA kick-off less than two days, I'll have some fun new things to share with you very soon. Hope you're ready!

A Lost Week? Seems Like It.

The first full week of summer vacation has gone by quickly. My husband was gone for the better part of the week, so we kept really busy with friends, books and the pool. I even ventured into the city with my parents to go to the Navy Band concert at the Capitol. This band plays every Monday during the summer for free! It is a beautiful place to see a concert because you look toward the Washington Monument as the sun sets.



If you are local, I highly recommend going. There are other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces that play there on other nights of the week, too, so you could potentially see a free concert every night of the week in D.C. Plus, you can't beat the scenery!




I am so behind with the stamping fun this week for the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA challenge! This week, the inspiration was the word "ribbon." I love using ribbon on a card, but I don't always use it. So, I decided I'd use two pieces of ribbon. And since this is all for fun, I thought it would be nice to have a "just because" type of card. Also, don't forget to enter the ribbon guessing game over on the AMN blog.

We are getting ready to head way down south for a big family reunion. If any of you are mothers, you know how much work goes into getting ready for a long trip with children. I-40, here we come!

card info: paper, strawberry, sentiment, sheer ribbon and grosgrain ribbon by A Muse, Copic markers: lipstick red, nile green and warm gray #2, Spica glitter pen, pop dots.

Challenging Day

Today was the first day of my kids' summer vacation. I promised them lots of pool time before we head out of town for a BIG family reunion, so you know what I'm up to next week.

I've been working on some fun things for the latest A Muse challenges: It's a Guy Thing and the AMAP "Square" challenge. I'm going to go ahead and share both today.




This one is for the square challenge. I've been wanting to stamp on felt for a long time but just never got around to looking at felt options at the craft store. I chose some adhesive backed felt for this. Unfortunately the color selection is very limited, but I do like this blue/pink/red combination, so I was in luck! I used A Muse dye ink for this and it seemed to dry ok. I was worried that a pigment ink would take too long to dry and smear.



This card actually fits into both challenge categories. The new petite gingham paper is perfect for the dress shirts; I was so pleased! I popped up the collar just a bit for added dimension. And then, I decided to make a squared sentiment around the shirt. Clear stamps are so great to use for this effect. It gives the clean, simple look that most guys like, don't you think? To be honest, I'm not sure that this is an original design. Last night I dreamed that I had seen it in a card gallery somewhere, but I have no idea where that might have been. So, if I adapted your design, I apologize.

I will try to add the details for these cards later; I promised my oldest daughter a trip to Target, so I'm off!

Summer Goodbyes

My big kids still have two and one half days left of school, but the summer has started in their heads. I think it begins when the initial desk cleaning begins and large amounts of paper come home. These things just can't wait until the last day of school! Plus, there have been field days, parties and productions. Soon, it will be time to say goodbye to school.



With so much going on, I've been unable to post here. But, today, a treat! I have a card that I am planning to send to a friend who has just left her job (another goodbye) in order to start a PhD. program. She loves water and boats, so I made up this little good luck/going away card for her.


By the way, a little ol' thing called A*Muse*A*Palooza started today! There will be some fun games and challenges (these have already started) leading up to the main event - unveiling some awesome new products! Less than 25 day away. Be sure to check out the fun right here!

card info: notecard, sailboat, sun, waves, senitment and paper by A Muse, Copic markers.

Bittersweet Day

Yesterday was the Komen Global Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C. The weather was great, perfect for a walk (or run) and the scenery was great, too. We started near the Capitol and then wound through the "downtown" part of D.C., past lots of monuments and the White House. My kids were well behaved and endured the large crowds on the Metro and the National Mall very well.

Here are a couple of photos from the day:



These are my siblings with me. PJ, me, Heather and Justin.




This is our group at the finish line. We did a pretty good job trying to all stick together. My parents, unfortunately, were not able to walk with us due to my mother's untimely illness. We are hoping that we will be able to walk together next year.

Thank you to all the blog readers who supported me this year. I am touched by the generosity of stampers, especially in difficult economic times.

Birthday Fun

This past weekend, we hosted a birthday party for our four year old. We planned the birthday party rather on the late side but still had 10 children come to celebrate with us. We have never had a birthday party with so many little ones before! We had some fun games for the kids to play out in the yard and, thankfully, the weather was beautiful. The welts left by the mosquitoes, however, were not.

Amidst all the planning of the party, I managed to get some crafty things made. I really wanted a party sign for the front door and managed to make one the morning of the party using some of the new gingham papers from A Muse. I love it!




I also made some popcorn boxes to hold some little goodies for each party guest. I found a template for these here. There is the birthday rascal in the background. She was really excited about her day!




And, finally, I was crafty in the kitchen. My daughter has really taken to a new character on the Disney channel (please don't judge me). He is "Special Agent Oso," the unique, stuffed bear. He looks like a panda bear that is yellow and teal colored. So, the question for me was, do I make a cake to look like Oso? Or do I make Oso cupcakes. After an inquiry to Lexi and further investigations on the Internet, I found some panda cupcakes that inspired my take on Special Agent Oso. Mine are not as cute as the originals, but the kids loved them!



Now that I have recovered from the party and the last day of preschool, I am hoping to find some time to stamp. I am in the middle of making a set of cards for each of my kids' teachers for the end of the year, but I also have a few fun ideas that I want to get done. Hopefully, I will get to it tonight.

What is Your Favorite?

I'm not sure which is my favorite yet. I really like the hippo and the sun. But, then again, Pirate girl is just so sassy! And the submarine, too. ACK! I can't decide.

I do know that I really like the snorkel boy. Having more boy images and/or themes is a good thing! I saw lots of great ideas for him yesterday and I know I'll see some more. This one is similar to many that I saw yesterday, even the color scheme.

Today, all the stamps and paper are available online. There is even a new water bottle on the A Muse Artstamps website; I *heart* it! And, if you stop by the A Muse News blog, enter the giveaway of 10 (!) stamps from this release!

card info: gingham orange, orange and cabana blue band paper, snorkel boy, crab, big dot bl and sentiment by A Muse.