A Little Sunshine for You

Here it is. No more appetizers, you can feast on the main course of tempting paper and generous helpings of new rubber!

I think that these new floral images are just beautiful, each and every one. There are tiny, delicate blooms and there are large, bold designs. There are sentiments for everyday and quotes that are perfect for wedding celebrations. The papers feature a gorgeous palette and have lovely detail. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. If you want to see all that there is on the menu, look here.

Now, this card is very simple. I made it to send to my nieces in Massachusetts. When my sister lived in California, she sent me some pictures of California poppies. These are a vibrant orange with just a touch of yellow, or sunshine, if you will. These flowers always will remind me of her and I just wanted her girls to know that I was thinking especially of her when I was making cards with these new images. I added just a bit of orange Stickles to the flower and bud to really make it feel like there was sun shining on the flowers.

I hope you've enjoyed the latest to come from A Muse. It has been fun sharing the Love Blooms amuse-bouche with you these past few days.

A Simply Pleasant amuse-bouche

Here is my amuse-bouche for the day; another small bite-sized peek for you!

I enjoyed such a beautiful spring day yesterday. My daughters and I all went out to play and checked on all the plants around our yard. I have peonies, hostas, tulips and irises already beginning to sprout. And the crocus and daffodils are blooming like crazy. I am eager to get into my garden and work!

After my sister passed away in October, I decided that I was going to plant a pink garden in her memory. I am really behind on getting things done on this, though. What I needed was something that would help me to keep my ideas and plans organized. I made up this pocket sized notebook to write down planting ideas that I can carry with me to the garden center. I used the blossom branch with bird stamp from the new Love Blooms release on the cover, then stamped random blossoms on each page in sage, pink and latte inks. Now, all I have to do is get some ideas in the book!

Check back tomorrow for another course of amuse-bouche!

An amuse-bouche for the Happy Couple

I know this one is late today. I've been enjoying the day with my kids and helping them get homework done, too. But, it is never too late for a little treat!

This is such an easy card to reproduce to have on hand for your wedding needs. I have lots of cousins who are of age and will be getting married, so this is just perfect for me! One of the things I love about this image is the wedding dress. It is so simple but you can adorn it in many ways. Here, I simply added a few drops of liquid applique to the scallop edge of her dress. I had wanted to try liquid pearls, but I don't have any :( Any other tiny pearl-like material would work, though.

I have not yet checked out the other A Muse blogs today, but I hope you've had your fill! I'll be back tomorrow with another card.

Le amuse-bouche deux

Sorry if my French grammar is incorrect. I don't remember the rules from the one year of French I took in H.S. Oh, well. You aren't here for my linguistic abilities, now, are you? You are here for a card!

This card is inspired by a card layout that Ms. Julie HRR, herself, showed off to the A Muse Instructors last November. I really love how simple the concept is, yet she has made such stunning cards with it. (look at this one!)

For this card, I used the new Cherry Blossom branch image and paired it with some images from the clear Sushi set. These go together so perfectly! I just love the fans with the tiny detail of cherry blossoms on it.

Here is a close up of the fans that are in the center of the punched-out square. I really need to work on my colored pencils techniques. These are so soothing to use, but I don't do it enough!

Well, this card has got me in the mood for a walk around the Tidal Basin to see Thomas Jefferson and the beautiful, blooming cherry blossoms next month.

Time for amuse-bouche!

Good morning everyone! Are you ready for a little taste of what is to come from A Muse very soon? These new images are quite different from what you usually see from A Muse, but oh so lovely and elegant. And, these are wonderful to make simple, yet beautiful cards.

Here is a very easy card that I made using the solid zinnia image. I embossed the flower with white embossing powder to make sure that it really popped.

What do you think? A very pretty image, isn't it? Plus, that paper! Oh, my, is it beautiful. This is one of four new papers! Wait until you see the others. If you check out the blogs of the other A Muse Designers/Instructors and the A Muse News blog, you might find some more tempting treats!

Also, I wanted to give a quick hello to Jennifer, who I met yesterday for the Make and Take at Angela's. It was so nice meeting another stamper and an A Muse Addict! What a sweet person and so patient and tolerant of my two year old who came with me. Hope to meet up with you again!

Spring Time Bunnies

Hi everyone! I've been in the mood for all things spring (except the pollen) lately, so the other night I sat down to make a couple of spring time cards to send to friends. I blended some old images with some new sentiments for these. And, I just have to say, these new sayings are PERFECT for any bunny images you may have!

See what I mean? This bunny + this sentiment = one awesome combination!! I have a few recipients in mind for these cards, so I may need to make up a couple more.

By the way, how is your appetite for new stamps? Are you famished? Well, starting tomorrow, I will be able to give you a small taste! Stay tuned for an amuse-bouche (that's fancy French for appetizer).

Birthday Bunny

The end of a busy week is finally here and I have just a quick card to share tonight. My daughter had a birthday party to go to and she wanted a fun card for her friend. This bunny is definitely fun, but to give her a more playful look, I added some pink pearls in different sizes around the scallop edge.

A quick and easy post to go with a quick and easy card!

card info: stamps, paper, ribbon by A Muse, pearls by Kaiser Crafts, Copic markers.

Just for Fun!

I love when I make time to stamp just for fun. No rules or occasion, just messing around.

One of the things I had wanted to do was to try a color combination that Katie raves about often: pink and orange. My daughter was wearing a shirt the other day that had a pretty pale pink and a soft orange with dark brown and maroon and it all went together so nicely, so I decided that I would use those colors. I also had these teeny pink pom-poms tucked in a corner of my desk, so I wanted to add one of those, too. Then, I was reading on the A Muse Lounge about Lori and paper flowers, so I wanted to find a way to get a flower accent in, too! So, here I was wanting to make a card without rules, and I was imposing restrictions all over the place. But, I had no reason to make the card, so I think I justified all the things I wanted to include.

In the end, this is what I made:

I used this cute party chick because I thought she'd look good in soft orange with a pink pom-pom hat. I used a punch and one little Doodlebug Paper Frill for the flower accent. And, I managed to get three of the four colors on the card. It ended up a cute card, something fun to send to a friend who has good news or a birthday.

Well, I am off to Richmond, VA today to watch some college hoops with my husband and some college friends. GO PATRIOTS!

card info: notecard, papers (french roast and chiffon pink), image and sentiment by A Muse, pom-pom, brad by Making Memories, pop dot, Doodlebug Paper Frills, Copic markers - cream, blush, pinkish white.

The Week in Review

Hi everyone! I am enjoying a snow day here in Virginia. We got about five to six inches of snow and the kids got the day off from school, so I have not been able to enjoy any stamping time today. Sometimes I try to sneak in a little bit when my youngest is napping, but no luck today. So, I jut thought I'd share three cards of mine that had been shared over on the A Muse News blog over the last week or so.

This Peeps card was actually the COtW. Usually it is in an email newsletter, but this week they put the newsletter on the blog. I loved making this card. The one thing I had wanted to do was to make all the Peeps glittery, but it was going to be a messy challenge that I was not ready to tackle.

This card, and the one below, were both cards for The Saltbox Studio. I really love the bright cheery spring colors with Farmer Hare. Makes me want to start thinking about my garden!

For this card, I actually used the tree from the Pumpkin Oak set from last fall. But it really makes a great springtime tree with new leaf buds, don't you think?

I promise to have something new to share soon. I plan on making time for myself tonight to work on some "just for fun" cards.

BTW, card info can be found on the A Muse News blog!