Friday, November 20, 2009

There's a little cowboy in all of us

Stamps: 9-6148G Ride Em Cowboy; 7-7041D Fence; 8-8338B Howdy MA; 3-4067A tiny star
Papers: Paprika and Navy 4-bar notecards

I found this little cowboy cutie on the A Muse website a week or two ago and just had to get him. How cute is he?!!! I decided to put him on a dappled gray so it would set off the cowboy's colors. If I colored the horse brown, I was afraid the boy wouldn't stand out so much. Anyway, fun, quick, easy peasy card for the little cowboy in your life. We all have one. There's a little cowboy in all of us.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Gift Cards




I created this fun giftcard holder for my last class and thought I'd share it with you all. I used the idea out of the latest Paper Crafts Holiday Cards issue. Unfortunately, I can't locate it at the moment to be able to tell you who created the actual design. Anyway, for this card I used a 12x12 sheet of red cardstock and cut it down to 5.5 x 12. I scored each end at 4.25". Fold the strip in half and it will leave you a score mark in the middle. Fold it all up accordion style so that you have a little "mountain" in the middle. I then used a Quickutz die very much like the Stampin Up Top Note die to cut out a fancy design in the accordion piece in the middle of the card (see pic below). You could easily use a punch to accomplish the same thing....like a Marvy oval punch. Slide a giftcard inside and voila! Nifty little giftcard holder. On the inside of my card I used some pretty apple shimmer couture paper.


Friday, November 13, 2009

Classes, classes, classes


I'd love for you to join me next week on Wed, Nov 18 for a fun class at Stampin-In-The-Rain. This class will focus all about giving!! We'll be creating some unique gift card holders and a rip-it-out tag book for the upcoming holidays.

It's in The Giving
Wed, Nov 18 6-8pm
Stampin-In-The-Rain
Bothell Country Village
Bothell, WA 425 408-9050



A few days later on Sunday, Nov 22 I'll be offering my 2010 Calendar class. We'll create a really cute calendar based on the 4-bar card size and bind it all up with a Bind-It-All. If you don't have one of those yet, it's a great opportunity to play with one and see for yourself how fantastic this machine is!

2010 A Muse Calendar
Sun, Nov 22 1-4pm
Stampin-In-The-Rain
Bothell Country Village
Bothell, WA 425 408-9050

Please be sure to bring a basic kit to each class!! Call the store directly to sign up. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Fall and Holiday


I stopped at Michaels today and picked up some pretty glitter holiday picks I thought would come in handy for some Fall/Thanksgiving cards. I just use wire cutters to remove the leaves I want. You can add lots of bling very simply by using picks like these for very little cost. These were on sale for less that $.50 a piece, I think. I have a lot of leaves I can use for that half dollar!



I've also been really busy with work and creating cards for the troops our office adopted for the holidays. I made them all the same Thanksgiving card...pretty Plain Jane but wanted to make them each their own, unique holiday card. I picked up a box of K&Co Christmas Chipboard and used them to create lots of cards. I also found some nice Christmas sentiments by Impression Obsession that were perfect, too. I needed these cards to be big enough for about 40 people to sign so I knew my A Muse 4-bar notecards weren't gonna cut it. I had some Rubber Soul A2 notecards in a stash that I needed to use up so I figured, what better reason than this? I have tons of patterned paper so I put that to use, too. I'll be sharing some of the cards I made over the next few days, weeks, whatever, until I get tired of them.

Hope you are all out there staying healthy, enjoying your family time and/or activities, and planning your holiday cards. The countdown is on and the time is flying by!!!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Expressions of Gratitude



I took a little different twist with this one. I've been designing an Asian Inspiration class. Once I saw Sherri's post yesterday I knew I could incorporate it into the class I was designing. So, you'll be seeing this one in one of my classes in January.

I found some interesting tidbits about the symbolism of chrysanthemums in Asian culture. According to the Teleflora website, Japan holds a celebration each year called the "Festival of Happiness" to celebrate this flower. Japanese consider the orderly unfolding of the flower's petals to represent perfection. Confucius once suggested they be used as an object of meditation. From the FTD website, in China, the chrysanthemum's association with autumn stems from its tendency to bloom in the fall. Consequently, the ancient Chinese chose the Chrysanthemum ("chu hua") as their Flower for October, a symbol of the rest and ease that followed the season's final harvest. It's also believed that if you put a single petal of the flower into the bottom of a wine glass it will encourage longevity and happiness.

Well, today is release day. You can head on over to the A muse website to purchase these pretties for yourself. BUT.....you do have a chance to win a complete set of the wood mounted stamps!!! See this post for your chance to win. Goodluck and happy stamping!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Fall Floribunda



Yummy plums and pretty pinks are a great combination, don't you think? I actually used the new Blackberry shimmer couture paper for my notecard base and added a bit of Popsicle pink layered onto some French Roast. I stamped the new Chrysanthemum solid image with Colorbox White ink and embossed it with white detail EP. The happy birthday is from the new Fancy Numbers clear set. Just for a little extra pizzazz I threw in some new ivory pearls. Voila! A nice, flat card for mailing! I try to leave the cards I mail free of bulky embellishments so they don't get trashed by the time they get to their recipient.

Hope you have a great day! Only a few more sleeps before you can get these stamps in your hot little hands.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mother Earth

stamps: 6-4167D leaf frond, 6-MNFRSM Monogram Frames clear set

I don't know about you but I've really been enjoying seeing all the new peaks the other Muses have been offering. I love how so many people can own these stamps and every one of them comes up with a different design. Lots of pretty cards out there!

Today's card features the new leaf frond wood mounted stamp as well as a sentiment and other stamp from the monogram frames clear set. You can get a lot of mileage out of these! I think the leaf frond goes great with sympathy and thinking of you statements but the Muses have shown me it works well for any card.

Short post today...kids have a half day and I've gotta get moving!!