A late card post

This was my mom's birthday card. I meant to post this a few days ago but I didn't get around to it. It was a very quick card to make, too. This beautiful paper is not a typical color that I use, but I like the soft, muted look to it. Very simple, very easy! (anyone remember Chef Tell? That was his tag line...)
Here is a close up of the layered scallop circles:


I hope to find some time to stamp...I've had a rough time carving out time for that lately :(

Card info: card stock by Bazzill, patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, ribbon from my supply, pop dots, image and sentiment by A Muse.

Laughter IS the best medicine!

Do you remember the commercial from many years ago with the little kid telling his dad to eat two cookies to feel better? My sisters and brothers and I used to say it all the time when someone wasn't feeling well. I couldn't resist making a card inspired by that commercial.


I sent this card to my very dear sister. She recently had a biopsy done and found out it was cancerous. She is a year older than I am, which makes it harder to believe. I am quite worried but I think that if I could see her I would feel much better. We both have busy families, though, so our visits are always short. Thank goodness for email! She told me she feels fine and I know that she will be fine. I am very close with my siblings (yes, all five of us are great friends!) so she has been on my mind a lot these few weeks. I don't think she minds that I share this with you. She'll let me know, though.

On a lighter, but still stressful, note, I have just sent in my FIRST A Muse DT assignment. I can't believe I just said that! I don't know if or when any of the cards might appear on the A Muse website, but I will let you know if I see my cards there :) I had a lot of fun creating and wish I could share with you, but I cannot. I will share some other fun stuff with you soon.

card info: notecard and image by A Muse, paper and ribbon from my supply, pop dots, Prismacolor markers, jet black, cool grey 20%, sand and walnut, silver Signo pen, computer generated sentiment.

To answer a question

A couple of people have emailed me asking how I decide my color choices for markers. I use Prismacolor and some Le Plume by Marvy (and two Copic) markers. What I have done is made up a little cheat sheet with blocks that show the actual color of markers on white paper. It is hanging on a magnetic board in my craft hole. Whenever I need to color in an image, I pull it down and make my choices. I used to use scrap paper and color a line every time I need to make a color decision, but I think this is much easier, for me, anyway. Here is a peek at my chart (I did it in a word processing document, saved it, for when this is full and I get more colors).

I feel so guilty

I've spent the last three nights with a younger man! Wouldn't that give me a good reason to feel bad? I just wanted to read what happened to Harry Potter so I've been up until midnight reading the book. In my defense, my husband was out of town, so I don't sleep well anyway. So, now I know, and I feel better, albeit, sad that there will be no more adventures from his "life."
So, on to stamping. I have a card to share that I didn't get around to posting last week. It features the new tiny apple from A*MUSE A*PALOOZA 2007, as well as one of the new ovals.

I will probably make a few of these like postcards that I can use for correspondence with my kids' teachers throughout the year, probably with less embellishments, though.

I am sure that you all are just on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear who will be receiving the stamp shop card in the mail! Yeah, right. Ok, so my son said to choose the sixth entry, which means MELISSA! you will be getting something besides bills in the mail soon :) Email me your address, and I will get it to the post office tomorrow! I also want to thank Elizabeth for her GREAT idea of using the stamp shop as a thank you for swap hostess/participants. I've decided to use it for an ATC swap I joined, too. Have a great day stampers!

card info: notecard, papers, images and sentiment by A Muse, ribbons by May Arts and my supply of scraps.

Yippee!

All of the NEW images are up on the A Muse website. Click here to see all of the new stamps!!!

Happy Day!

Just for fun

I really wanted to use this stamp shop again (I've only used it ONCE!) I don't even have a reason to send it. Maybe I'll send it to someone who leaves me a comment today :) The colors in the photo aren't so great; sorry. The colors of the ribbon are really beautiful, but look so dark here. The wide ribbon on the bottom is a beautiful grape color. The thin ribbon layered on top complements this with small stripes of purples, green, brown and yellow. I received this ribbon at the AP 2007 event at my LSS, Angela's. It is by Strano Designs and it is marvelous ribbon, too. I hope you all are ready for a happy Monday. I am trying to get through Harry Potter, and, unfortunately, it is hard to find time to read it. Yesterday, I folded laundry while reading a chapter, so this week I will look forward to doing laundry!

card info: notecard, papers, images and sentiment by A Muse, ribbon by Strano Designs.

Three down and one to go

I'm talking birthdays here. My family (mine and my husband's) has four birthdays to celebrate this month. Today is my husband's birthday and my mom's. Since I won't see her until Sunday, though, I haven't made her a card yet. But I thought I would share what I gave my husband.

His first comment on the card was, "I WISH the holes were that big on the course!" This "hole" was made using one of the *new* A Muse micro ovals! Can you believe it? Now there is something for all the tiny images you have. I believe that this will be available next week after the new images are uploaded to the A Muse website, July 23!!! He has been on a bit of a golf kick lately, so we put a coupon good for four weekday mornings of greens fees inside this card. It means some crazy mornings for me, but if he does it during the summer, it won't matter too much. Since we were going with a golf theme, my kids and I decided that we'd make golf greens cupcakes. I've seen cupcake toppers on blogs in the past and I thought that I could do that too. Take a look:


Now, please don't laugh at my frosting job! I tried to make smaller sized golf balls, but then each one was not round. The balls just ended up over sized. Oh well! David thought that this birthday dessert was one of the more creative he's had in a long time, which pleased my kids very much.

I hope you all have a great weekend planned. It is unusually beautiful here in Northern VA - not at all hot and humid like it normally would be. I hope we will get out to enjoy as much of the day as possible.

card info: notecard, papers, images, twinkle sticker, sentiment by A Muse, black pen, Sakura glaze pen, pop dots.

Ahhh.. to be juvenille

This is an ode to my youth...spending days at recess and P.E. playing kickball. I was never a soccer player and my kids don't play soccer. Therefore, I don't know what I will do with the soccer kids images. But I was thinking about one of my brothers the other day and this card came to mind. He played in an after-work kickball league in D.C. down along the Mall and Washington Monument areas. I figured I could make the boy image look like he was playing kickball by inking the ball red and coloring it all the way. But you know what? The boy image isn't really in a kickball pose. So I inked the girl image, minus the ponytail, instead. It definitely looks more "kickball", I think. It has just begun to rain here and now I will have to put off birthday shopping for my husband - eep!

By the way, I have changed/added my links on the right. I've added some new *friends* that I've met over the course of A*MUSE A*PALOOZA. Check out Tracy, now, if you are interested in swapping A Muse ATCs! If I've forgotten someone, let me know!

card info: notecard, paper, images and sentiment by A Muse, brads by Making Memories, Prismacolor markers - cinnamon toast, muted turquoise, mocha light, crimson red and sepia.

Still having fun with NEW stamps!

Here is another card using that great haunted mansion, as well as a new sentiment. This one made my husband, David, chuckle, which can be hard to do with crafty things ;) So, mission accomplished! However, I was making this one just for fun. I had the concept in my head almost immediately after reading the quote. Can you read it? It says, "May your house always be too small to hold all your friends." I can't say that I am overall pleased with this. I should have used a lime peel band card, but I didn't *pout*. Next time! I have had little time to stamp lately, but I do have a few new things to share. Some have to wait until Friday or Saturday, after the birthday people receive their cards, so as not to spoil it here for them. Have you loved your stamps today? Don't neglect the rubber!
card info: colored cardstock, images and sentiment by A Muse, black and white cardstock from my supply, Prismacolor markers - warm grey 20%, limepeel, violet mist, grayed lavender, pumpkin orange, sky blue light, sand, deco yellow, Distress ink by Ranger.

So, what did you get????

I am curious about those who were able to attend any A*MUSE A*PALOOZA event. Did you have fun? More importantly, what did you buy? What is your favorite of the new release? I am just curious. I love the new little shops and homes, as well as the birch trees, baby penguin and the turkey wagon. I really like more than that, but I need to keep a short list, right? One of my favorite things about A Muse is the clever sayings that can go with so many images. However, here is a card that uses a *new* sentiment, which is probably going to be contained to very few images.



Now, do you want to guess how long this took me to make? I'll give you a hint...I could have tied three kids' shoes in about the same amount of time! No lie! The red stickles took longer to dry than the whole "putting the card together" process. In the immortal words of Hannibal from The A-Team "I love it when a plan comes together!" *Did you notice, I even made 12 candy canes for the twelve days of Christmas?*

Ok, please share with me what your faves are, if you can spare a moment. And for those of you waiting to see ALL the new images and sentiments, I think the A Muse website will be updated next week. I'll keep you posted!

card info: notecard, images, sentiment by A Muse, tag rim and eyelet by Making Memories, ribbons by May Arts, Prismacolor markers, Crimson Red and Warm Grey 20%, red stickles

Haunted Sneak Peek

Here is another Halloween image from A*MUSE A*PALOOZA 2007. The sentiment is also new :) As chance would have it, this stamps is also featured on the AP blog today as a "sneak peek/mini class" card. Take a look at what the ingenious Emily did with it here. Mine is not so ingenious, but I was short on time. This took less than 10 minutes to create, and that is the way I like it! I hope that I will have some time to stamp tonight. I've taken the last two night off of crafting so I could catch up on the Netflix we had received. Unfortunately, I fell asleep during the last half hour of each movie, even though I really wanted to watch! Now I have to find a few minutes to catch up on the endings. Hope you all are having a super Saturday. A*MUSE A*PALOOZA ends tomorrow. I hope you were able to make it to a participating store to have some of the fun!

card info: notecard, papers, images and sentiment by A Muse, ribbon by Strano designs, tag rim and safety pin by Making Memories, Prismacolor markers - cool grey 20% and Sunburst Yellow, diamond stickles.

Another Sneak Peek

This is the cover of a little journal I made for my son (my daughter's is underneath). They made it through the library summer reading requirement very quickly. They decided that they wanted to keep a list of all the other books they read this summer. I made a very simple matted image to place on the cover. The inside, however, is the real sneak peek...

You can make your own bookplates for books now! This is actually two images together. I like the stack of books a lot. Maybe because I like to read. Now, I cannot really share the colors of markers on this post because I made it a week and a half ago and I didn't write it down! I will start doing that, though, for those who are interested.

info: images by A Muse, patterned paper by Chattterbox and Fancy Pants, chipboard, notepaper, glue, binding tape and clips, cardstock scraps, Prismacolor markers.

Raise your hand...

I am not conducting a deodorant survey, just wondering if anyone else has seen the back-to-school items in their stores already? Holy tickets! It isn't even the middle of July and we're supposed to be ready to send our kids back to school?! Maybe some of us are at our wits end on some days with kids at home, but I like having time with them to do fun stuff. I am not ready to think about back-to-school yet. So, in honor of all those sales, I bring you today's *sneak peek*!



Now, the color of this is off just a little, but I had to enhance the photo so that the sentiment was readable. It is fine in person, but the camera didn't pick it up well. This was the first sentiment that I thought of when I saw the new school stamps, too. Maybe because I used to teach school :)


** Someone asked about the color of the markers used on the previous card (I think it was cinnamon toast). Is anyone interested in me posting the colors that I use? **


card info: notecard, paper, images and sentiment by A Muse, ribbons by May Arts (I think all three are, anyway), clip ??, Prismacolor markers, slot tool by Making Memories.

A*MUSE A*PALOOZA event at Angela's Happy Stamper, Reston, VA

On Monday night, Angela hosted an invitation-only AP 2007 event. We were invited to help open up the shipment of the newest A Muse stamps. After ooogling over all the beautiful stamps, everyone was asked to help inventory and price the stamps. As a "thank you" for the help, these stampers were given "first dibs" on the stamps and notecards. I heard a lot of oohing and ahhing, too. I think the little shopping baskets ended up quite full. I forgot to take pictures of those, though. There are still events at Angela's (see link on right hand sidebar) so make sure you get there to join in the fun. Thanks to Angela and Melinda for hosting, and inviting me, to this fun event. Hi to all the ladies, too :)



Ahhh...beautiful, new rubber! :)

"So many stamps to go through...how do we organize these?"

Someone starts into a box FULL of stamps, ready to organize and inventory.

There were MANY stacks of stamps just like these. I think stacks spread over three or four tables, plus a whole table full of new notecards!

A look at the Happy Stampers/Shoppers. Angela, the owner, and Melinda, A Muse instructor, are in the center of the photo, back (in turquoise) and front (in black and pink)rows, respectively.

Winter Sneak Peek

This card features two *new* stamps from the A*MUSE A*PALOOZA release. This one required masking, so it is not super simple, but I like it. Sometimes the end result makes the work worthwhile. I was going to add some glitter to the ground for sparkly snow, but I forgot to do it before taking the photo. Just pretend, ok? I had a little bit of stamping time during the day so I feel good. I should have another card for your viewing pleasure tomorrow.

By the way, congratulations are in order for the A*MUSE A*PALOOZA Ambassador winners: Amy, Taylor and Geeta! They've all won gift certificates from A Muse. But don't forget, you could still won the GRAND PRIZE - a year's worth of A Muse newest stamps. You must register for this prize in person at a store hosting A*MUSE A*PALOOZA events. Good luck!!!

card info: notecard, images, and sentiment by A Muse, Sakura glaze pen, black pen, Prismacolor markers, liquid applique (on Santa!)

I was tagged...

by Miss Priss herself, Liz. So here are seven random things:
1. I am the middle child of five.
2. I have lived in Northern Virginia my whole life.
3. I had the same phone number from birth until I got married and moved out of my parents' house (they still have it!)
4. I love college basketball, but I don't do the March Maddness pools.
5. All four of my children spent time in the NICU at birth.
6. I love koalas - one of the first stamps I owned, just for me, was a koala. I haven't used him in a long time, but I still have him :)
7. I love these smells: Band-Aids (but these don't smell like the ones in the tins), newly mowed grass, and Fritos.

Ok, so I don't know who to tag, but if you'd like to leave me something totally random about you here, please do.


***Some of you wanted to know the trick to lining up the stores. One thing is using a stamp positioner - a must for something like this! But first thing was to make masks of each shop, line these up on the card for positioning and "depth", then, very carefully stamp the shops. ***

Be careful of what you wish for... *sneak peek*

So the most votes today for sneak peeks went to "different." Now, some of these stamps are old, but can you spot the *new* ones in there? The story behind this card came from an A8MUSE A*PALOOZA event at my LSS last night. It was an "Open the box-First dibs-But you have to inventory the new stamps" night. It was a lot of fun and I was able to chat with some of the A Muse fans here. One woman, *hi Suzanne*, and I were talking about lining up all those pretty shops on a card. You know, how many can fit, how do you do it? (Have you done it before? I would love to see what you have done! Link it in a comment so I can see!!) It got me to thinking about it today - and I had ALL day to think about it. This is the result of all that thinking! It ended up a "surprise" card, where there is more hidden behind the opening. These are such fun cards, too. I should try this layout more often. Anyhow, the colors were inspired by a street in the Town of Herndon, VA that I happened to drive on this afternoon, when I took my kids to Great Harvest Bread Co. The store fronts have been painted fun colors, more muted than these here, but you get the idea. Here is the inside:

I hope you all enjoyed the sneak peek for today. The runner up in today's vote was winter holidays, so check back tomorrow. Hopefully the connection will cooperate and I will post earlier in the day!

card info: notecard, paper, images and sentiment by A Muse, Prismacolor markers, ribbon by May Arts.

Anyone want another peek?

Let me know if you want fall or winter holidays. Or maybe you want to see something *different*? I will post later today, based on any comments left here. Check the AP blog all week long, too, for more sneak peeks, games and PRIZES!!!!!
Don't forget, leave me a comment!

A MUSE A PALOOZA sneak peek!

Here is my first sneak peek for you. I love the haunted house with the ghostly spirits. My daughter Emma, who helped me open my box of stamps, said it was one of her favorites of the Halloween stamps. This is a very simple design, but I like that it highlights the main stamped image. See the card and ribbon? NEW, NEW, NEW! You are going to just love the ribbon, too. It is really *sparkly*!

I am only allowed to share one sneak a day, but be sure to check out the sneak peeks on the A*MUSE A*PALOOZA blog (here) for more sneak peeks all week!

Have you found a store near you yet? I hope so. Be back tomorrow with more :)

card info: notecard, image, sentiment and ribbon by A Muse, Prismacolor markers, black cardstock from my supply, Sakura stardust pen.

Busy Birthday Season

I have four family birthdays this month and three next month, so I will be needing seven birthday cards. Only one is for a female, too (hi mom!), so the others all have to be gender neutral or along the masculine side. I'll probably give this one to my nephew who will be three. He is one who really appreciates cake! I'll have more to share soon, so check back tomorrow. I can't wait to share a couple of sneaky peeks with you!

card info: notecard, images, sentiment and paper by A Muse, punches, Prismacolor markers, Sakura stardust pen, pop dot, ribbon from my supply.

One more Day!!!

I hope everyone has a place to go for the A*MUSE A*PALOOZA festivities. There are many stores participating. I've seen what some stores are planning and everyone sounds like they are ready for good times. I will be going to my LSS - Angela's for a couple of the things there. If you are there and see me, please say hi!

Don't forget, sneak peeks are coming your way this week on all A Muse Designer's and Insructor's blogs :)

Stampers - Are You Ready?!?!?!?!

A*MUSE A*PALOOZA is almost here! There is still fun happening on the AP blog, too. So if you haven't participated in the challenge 10 - Anything But A Card, you still have time. I've seen lots of ATCs, so if you love doing those, make something.
There will also be activities and fun next week during A*MUSE A*PALOOZA. Anyone looking for sneak peeks? Be sure to keep checking back (I will have a sneak peek or two, too) :) Hopefully I'll be back with something to share later today.

Patriotic ATC

I made these as bonus ATCs for the wonderful stampers who participated in my last ATC swap. I had the star paper from last year and wanted to find a use for it. I have no idea the company, though, because it was scrap leftover and the company name part had been cut off. I guess I need a patriotic sentiment to stamp on things; I don't know if "happy summer" is right for this. I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday yesterday. We had a pie bonanza here. My brother made his first-ever apple pie and I made chocolate cream and pecan! And, the best part, all of the pies were delicious. I'm going to the gym today!
info: images and sentiment by A Muse, stickles, cardstock by The Paper Company.

My BIG news!

It is a happy day for me. Linda announced something yesterday and I am so glad to be able to share my news with you. I am now a member of the A Muse Design Team. I am very excited and can't wait to be able to share MORE card ideas with you all in this new venture. I have had so much fun playing along with all of the AP Ambassador stampers, too, and wish every one of them luck for the short remainder of the competition.
If you haven't seen the newest challenge on the AP blog, it is to design anything BUT a card. So, all you ATC makers out there, upload your pictures and participate. The prize stamps are from the new summer release of camping images. See all the info here.
I hope you all will stick around and check out the NEWEST images coming out next week. That is, when I can share these with you. :) Happy day!!!
card info: notecard, papers, image and sentiment by A Muse, ribbon by May Arts, clip by Making Memories, pop dot, Prismacolor markers.

Goodbyes are sad

We have a wonderful family at our church, who, with five children, are crazier than we are attending the early morning Mass. We have become quite friendly with them and my daughter Emma was looking forward to starting first grade with one of their daughters. But we just learned that the father has accepted a job teaching at Virginia Tech and they will be moving by early August. We will miss them very much. I am trying to come up with a nice card to give them before they move. Here is my first try. I don't know if I will use it, but I liked the idea of the family moving into a "castle" here. Only I need to have seven little ducks in the picture ;) I almost shaded these birds to look like seagulls. But you know what? Virginia Tech is not near the sea, and the mascot is a turkey, so I think I will try and try again!
card info: notecard, images and sentiment by A Muse, colored pencils.

The wait is OVER

I finally get to share the second ATC swap I hosted for A*MUSE A*PALOOZA. These were sent out last week and I heard from most people that these had been received, so I thought I'd share them with the other blog readers out there (are you still there?). I made another one of those handy little ATC holders. This one is almost bulging too much, but that means the holder is full *yay*. Here is a picture of the ATCs inside. These were all so cute, too. I am glad that there are so many other fans of A Muse out there who were willing to share their talents with me :) Thanks! I had lots of fun!

For Inspiration, Just Look Down

I bought my two year old these cute sandals the other day. I usually go for a closed toe type for little ones, but these were the best I could find. When we got home I helped her put these on. In looking more closely at the shoes I realized that the scallop, eyelet and stitching could be recreated with stamps. This is what I came up with last night. The faux eyelet and stitching is very light in the pictures - I used a light grey ink. I also, folded the notecard off-center, which causes a bit of a problem because of the existing center score line. But, I think I could do this again with some fanagaling.
I have been working on a few other things, but I haven't had time to load pictures lately. I am still here, though!

card info: notecard and images by A Muse, cardstock and ribbon from my supply.