Tomorrow is a big day!

My kids get to meet their teachers tomorrow. This afternoon we stopped by the school to see the posted class lists. My son was happy to see who his teacher will be, but he is mostly excited because second grade is upstairs!!!!! I used to teach second grade so I am excited that I will know most of what is going on this year with him. My daughter is starting first grade and has my son's previous teacher (YAY!). She was sad, though, because she doesn't know anyone in her class. I felt so bad for her today, and told her that she would see the friends she knew at lunch and recess everyday and that she would be making lots of new friends. It is so hard for her to get over her shyness with new kids. Anyway, I made this card for her, as a "treat" to stick in her first day's lunch box. It will be a little crazy that day, so I am posting now.



These are images I always think about in the fall - so typical for a classroom or school. I cannot wait for Joey and Emma's grand adventures in school this year. I will have a hard time sleeping Monday night. Anyone else out there like that on the night before school?

card info: images, sentiment and pretty little paper by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, black pen, Prismacolor markers - crimson red, blue slate, leaf green, sunburst yellow, sand, deco orange, sepia, deco yellow, silver Signo pen.

Rockin' birthday

My son had a birthday party for twin boys the other day so I made this card and a slight variation for the boys. The rock star dude is perfect for boys! Joey told me, "These cards a great mom. Oh, they will absolutely love these! Just perfect." Joey, who is 7 (and three-quarters), talks like an old man sometimes. Sorry for the mess in the background. I made these cards about 40 minutes before the party - no sketch or design in mind when I sat down, either. Just quick, quick, quick. I tried a technique that was in the A Muse newsletter two weeks ago, on a card by Julie Ebersole. She inked up the solid rectangle (Big bl 3-5019G) using two different colors for a background. I did the same here, using a lime green and light gray, which is hardly visible. I don't know why but the Rock star always ends up with bright colors when I use him!

card info: images and sentiment by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, circle punches, pop-dots, eyelets by Making Memories, Prismacolor markers - pumpkin orange, limepeel, muted turquoise, Copic - baby skin pink, Sakura stardust pen.

On a side note, I am sure some of you out there have seen or heard about this mother of 6 in Illinois who put a listing on eBay for a pack of Pokemon cards and had thousands of hits because of her story in the listing. Well, she has time to keep a blog and it is quite hilarious. Even if you have only one child, I am sure you can relate to what she says and how she feels. I am adding a link here if you want to check it out.

I hope that you have a great day! I have something else new to post, but I want to wait for the recipient to receive it. Maybe I'll have to find time for something new in the meantime.

In suspense!

This is what is known as a suspension card. Last week, the Weekly Inkling shared how to make this fun card and I wanted to give it a try. The wonderful Novell also made one, which was the real reason I tried it out. I like that it is interactive - perfect for a special treat! ***Here is the flip side of the lion image***

I hope that I can get all the laundry done tonight while I wait up for my husband to come home. That way I'll be able, theoretically, to stamp a little during the babies' nap time tomorrow. Hope you all are able to do something FUN this weekend.

card info: image and sentiment by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by My Mind's eye, watercolor pencils and Dove blender, elastic thread, ribbon by ?May Arts?.

Just a few things...

Hi all. I have been so busy lately. I have not abandoned stamping, quite the contrary. I've been busy at work on a few things, and recovering a bit from the week after vacation (always the way, right?).

I wanted to let you all know, just in case you haven't heard, World Card Making Day is just over a month away. Are you ready? A Muse is a sponsor of this event! Linda and the A Muse crew are planning some fun things in conjunction, so get ready. You can see more about the event at this website.

Also, it is time to vote for the Creating Keepsakes Readers Choice Awards. If you scrap, stamp or do both, it is worth a look-see here. For stampers looking to vote for their favorite (and mine!) you won't find A Muse listed in any of the categories. However, you can write-in. Check out Linda's post about some excellent categories for A Muse goodies.

Ok, so, I plan to work on photographing cards soon. Maybe, I will get to it tonight and have something special for those loyal readers out there (all 6 of you) by tomorrow. Meanwhile, here is a first attempt at a beaded pen. I saw some of these on SplitcoastStampers and wanted to try it. I plan on sending this to a friend who is a special education teacher in Charleston. Something special, just for her :)


pen info: image by A Muse, Pentel pen, tacky tape, glass beads.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

This is indeed the case for me and my stamps! I miss my stamp hole (it is a converted cedar closet - I'll take pics sometime maybe) so very much. After a week where my husband was gone for three whole days, we had a wonderful and busy visit from my sister and her family, an overloaded weekend with birthday parties, and then packing for the whole family to meet my in-laws for a mini get-away for part of last week. Thursday we got back and then all the return home stuff happened: groceries, laundry, watering my poor wilting plants, sorting through mail, etc. UGH!!! I am glad to be home and I hope that I will get some time for me very soon. I did make a card, more of a scrappy card than stampy card, but I got it done. I haven't made a 4.25 x 5.5 card in a long time, so I stretched my canvas just a bit (this was based on a sketch I found somewhere).

card info: image and sentiment by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by Basic Grey, shimmer chalks by Pebbles, Inc., quickie glue pen, glitter by Stampendous.

Real quick!

This is a card I made for my nephew who turned three last week. I tried distressing again, but I am a little happier this time around. I think that Billy the kid looks ok "antiqued" a bit. We are out the door here in a couple of minutes for a few days to see my in-laws. I might challenge my self by throwing a few supplies in my tackle box and making something with just those items. I will be back Friday, maybe with something to share! Have a great week :)

card info: images and sentiment by A Muse, copper embossing tinsel, chipboard star by Making Memories, Stickles, paper by Fancy Pants (I think), cardstock by Bazzill, Prismacolor markers - sky blue light, walnut, cool grey 20%, crimson red, cinnamon toast, Copic marker - blush.

R.I.P. WWN, Aug. 3, 2007

I know you all are with me when I say that an American Institution died this week. Don't know what I am talking about? The WEEKLY WORLD NEWS published its last paper! I used to glance at the astounding headlines every time I was in line at the grocery store. I don't think there was ever a time when there wasn't an alien on the cover doing some crazy stunt. And those true-to-life photographs that graced the cover were always so believable, right? Those stories were such a hoot to read, you know? The healing powers of tequila, 100 year old granny that could chop down a tree using an axe, the image of the Virgin Mary appearing to some kid in his bowl of cereal, stuff like that. Oh, I will miss those funny headlines. Here is my homage to "The World's Only Reliable Newspaper."


card info: cardstock from my supply, images by A Muse, Prismacolor markers - cool gray 20%, warm gray 20% and 40%, black pen, amazing headlines by me :)

Distressing is not my thing

I like the look that other people can achieve with this technique, but when I do it, it never seems quite right to me. I feel comfortable with inking edges with color, but to look distressed or antiqued, I don't know. It is a very popular look, though, so sometimes I give it a try. I think I do better with clean edges. It is so much easier for my mind to think like that!

card info: images, sentiment by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, twill ribbon ?, pumpkin button by Jesse James buttons, scallop rectangle, pop dots, Ranger distressing inks, Prismacolor markers - pumpkin orange, sunburst yellow, leaf green, crimson red, cinnamon toast, avocado, blue slate, black pen.

Ready for fall?

I am NOT ready for all that fall brings to me! Leaves to rake, three of my kids' birthdays, Halloween costumes to make, etc., not to mention getting used to the school schedule again. However, I decided to play around with some of the new A Muse fall images. I like sending little Halloween cards to my nieces and nephew and to friends' kids, too. Who doesn't love to get mail? I wanted to share one of the cards I'll send out. I will make different cards for each family, just so I can ink up the stamps. This one features some of my drawing, too. I am not great at it, but these are supposed to be little sacks belonging to a witch to make her brew. I should have added "eye of newt" :)


I hope to share another card VERY soon.

card info: pretty little paper, images and sentiment by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, Prismacolor markers - limepeel, cinnamon toast, walnut, jet black, pumpkin orange, sunburst yellow, stickles.

Out of the Box

Lately I have been cruising through galleries and forums at Splitcoast Stampers. LOADS of info and ideas there. The wonderful Michelle started an A Muse addicts thread and it blossomed into a Yahoo group, started by Geeta. If interested, you should check it out!

Ok, so, while looking around over there, I found some neat designs called "out of the box." It is where you stamp an image, then trace and cut out a shape around the design so that it looks like the design is coming "out of the box." That probably makes NO sense. Anyway, I wanted to try it out. Below is what I came up with (I saw a similar design in the most recent Scrapbooks, etc. magazine). It is not exactly following the guidelines of the "out of the box" rules, but I kinda like how it came out. The colors are not ones that I use typically either, but it was some paper that I had that I need to use. I am hoping to get some stamping time in here this evening...I miss my little hole :)



card info: cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by ?, image and sentiment by A Muse, pop dots, quickie glue pen, glitter by Making Memories.

Are you a Party Animal?

I've had this idea in my head for a while now and just found time to put it to paper yesterday. Looking at it now I would say that I should have watched my grouping of animals differently so that the color balance was better. Or I might have used other animals for a better variety of colors. So, it isn't perfect, but it is the start of a design that I hope to improve. This would be cute for any age. I wish I had a sentiment that went with party animals but I don't and I just couldn't think of anything clever :( My husband, the clever with words guy, wasn't here when I made it, so I couldn't ask him for a good sentiment. On the subject of my clever husband...tonight he aided me in cutting some ribbon after I had tied a knot. Usually I cut the ribbon with my scissors. Sometimes, though, the scissors "push" the ribbon away from the blade and the ribbon gets scruffy looking, not nice and neat. So this happened this evening and my dear David said, "Why don't you use nail clippers?" "Huh?" He fetches me a pair and clips the ribbon, nice and neat! Of course, this will only work for skinny ribbon, but that is what I use most often, so I am going to keep a pair in my hole now. I am happy to say that David has Mad Craftin' Skillz! :)

card info: cardstock from my supply (maybe SU!), patterned papers, images and sentiment by A Muse, ribbon by All My Memories, brads from my supply, Prismacolor markers - pink, blue slate, warm grey 20%, cool grey 20%, walnut, pumpkin orange, sunburst yellow, sand, cinnamon toast.