Friday, June 27, 2008

Arigato gozaimasu



I was cleaning out some papers the other day and ran across a stash of random 6x6 patterned cardstock that I got from my friend, Joyce. I think it's all Memory Box paper. Anyway, I had chosen these two patterned papers and was all prepared to make a RAK for my CPD group on SCS with it. Later that night my sister called me and asked me to make her a thank you card. My RAK turned into her thank you card somehow. I thought the papers looked asian, especially the red scallopy one and remembered I had these sweet little geisha girl and fans stamps from Great Impressions that I purchased last summer. I knew she would be perfect! The red in the cardstock is not a true red. It's more of a coral-y red so I paired it with some 'Tomato' cardstock from Rubber Soul. I just cut up one of my notecards to create these layers. The green layer is 'Lime Peel' from A Muse. The entire thing is mounted onto a Fairy Dust notecard by A muse, too. The 'arigato' sentiment is from the A Muse clear set called 'Sushi.'




Since you can't see it in this picture, I took a close-up so you could see how I outlined the flower in the girl's hair and her kimono with my gold Spica atyou glitter pen. This is so sparkly IRL! I also did not have any shiny gold brads so I embossed them to match the shiny gold embossing I did on the fans. The fans were colored in with my Copic Coral marker. You have to be careful using an alcohol based marker with embossed images. It can dull the color or even remove the embossing itself.
Over the weekend, I hope to get some time to stamp some summery cards. I think a trip to the A Muse shop might be in order! Or else I'll send a shopping list with someone I know who works there. Oh, Joyce......!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Summer is Here!

Wow, it's been gorgeous in the PNW and continues to stay that way. We are moving in the right direction towards the 70s and 80s! I took my youngest son and his friend down to my MIL's to swim yesterday, around 2:30pm and still managed to get a little sunburn on my arms (cuz I had no sunscreen on...shame on me!). It seems like we had the longest winter and hardly any spring.

While Mother Nature has brought us good weather, we've also had some sad occassions. A wonderful man from our church died recently so I created a sympathy card for his wife and adult son. Another woman's husband suffered a second stroke and she needed a card, too. I saw my friend, Linnea (it was her FIL that died) on Sunday at church and she said my card was the first they received and she loved so much that it was something I created. Here's a pic of the three cards together.





The cards were all done using SU stamps but there's an A Muse sentiment on one of them. All the notecard bases were done with A Muse notecards, too. Unfortunately, I have 2 more sympathy cards I need to make for another friend who has just lost her mother. On a positive note, though, a young couple at my church had their baby so I get to make a card for a happy occasion.


Here's a happy card for no occasion at all! I think sometimes we forget that it's great to send cards 'just because.' Everyone like to get happy mail so I'd like to encourage all of you to just send a card for no reason and make someone's day a little bit brighter. A Muse stamps and products make it so easy to produce a quick, cute card that is sure to brighten up a day.






I didn't quite get the wheelbarrow close enough to the Madeira 'grass' so it looks like it's floating a little bit but you get the picture. I hope you all have a bee-utiful day!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Busted!

I hadn't really disclosed to anyone in my family, other than my sister, that I have this blog. Well, I got busted by my niece this week. She found me. Hi, Missy! Since she said she's going to be spying on me from here out, I figured I'd better just call her out. If she's brave, maybe she'll leave me a comment.


My nephew Mark and his wife Darcie are expecting their second baby next month. I bought an adorable little outfit at Janie and Jack, which is a very cute little boutique baby shop. Apparently the outfit was so cute that my niece, Alysia, also bought it for their baby. Ha! Anyway, the little shopping bags and gift boxes from Janie and Jack are beautifully patterned...very Laura Ashley like, I think. I knew right away that I had some patterned paper in my stash that was a perfect match and pulled out my Sheep set from The Saltbox Studio to make a baby card for the shower I attended today. Here's a picture of the shopping bag, gift box, and my card:




And here's a picture of the card by itself:



This patterned paper might look familiar to you. I used it on this pocket card back in April. This fabulous paper is from the Baby 2 Bride collection by Graphic 45. The notecard base is Blush Blossom and the patterned paper is layered onto Groovy Guava by Stampin Up. I stamped the fence from the Saltbox fence set, then stamped the sheep onto a scrap of paper, colored it, cut it out, then mounted it so it looks like it's jumping the fence. I stamped the little stars using So Saffron by Stampin Up, then added a little bit of twinkle with a Clear atyou Spica Glitter Pen. The sentiment was made using a combination of stamps from Saltbox (Sheep sayings). The peach stitched ribbon from A Muse was a perfect match to complete the final touch on the card. I love the end result.


Amuse-a-palooza:
Just a reminder that there are a few things wrapping up tomorrow:
Clue Game - ends Sunday June 22
Challenge 3 - Out of the Box challenge with Elena - ends Sunday June 22
Mystery Hostess - Twinkle Time challenge with Taylor - ends Sunday June 22
Next week brings a new game, new challenge, and new Mystery Hostess! Remember, you must be a registered Amuse-a-palooza participant to win!

I've added my Amuse-a-palooza schedule to the right column. Be sure to check it out and get signed up. I would love to see you there!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Hip, hip, hooray! Last day of school today!

Today is the last day of school for my kids. Of course, it's a half day. That means I have to scramble to clean up before they get home so they can mess it all up again. haha. Last night and this morning was a scramble to get teacher thank you cards completed and gift cards purchased.


Keeping Amy's Layout Challenge in mind, I created this card for my 2nd grader's teacher and included a gift card to a local coffee company. They have a drive through coffee stand, as well as a coffee/sandwich shop further toward 'Old Town' where she can sit outside and enjoy the view while slurpin up some java or something.






Now for my 5th grader's teacher, I made this card. His teacher plays electric guitar and he's in his early to mid 30s, I would guess. I thought he might appreciate an iTunes giftcard. I found one that said 'Thank you' on it and included it in this pocket card. You can't see it but I stamped the large and small A Muse Asterisks in red, on the red pocket. I love Lexi's Warhol-ish take on the rockstar image and had to use it here.




It's been a fabulous school year. I feel so lucky to have a school so close by with the most amazing teaching staff. I'm a little nervous about Middle School in the fall but I'm sure everything will work out fine. For now, I'm ready to enjoy summer...now I just need the sun and warm weather to catch up.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

A Muse Clue!

I'm a little late with this post today but I was busy with my 5th grader's graduation this morning. Here's a pic of the little man shaking hands with the school principal with his teacher looking on. We're moving up to Middle School in the fall! Wow. Can't believe I am old enough to have a Middle Schooler. Crazy.





I did my best to embarrass him by whooping VERY LOUDLY when his name was called. haha. Then I blew kisses to him while his friends were watching. He could hardly look at me with a straight face.



Now, if you're playing along on the Amuse-A-Palooza blog, you know there's a game of Clue going on. The clue I'm sharing with you today is NOT one of the correct answers. If you check here, here, here, and here you will find other clues to help you make some guesses. Be sure to follow the rules of the game.



Here's your clue:


Elena has also posted an 'Out of the Box' Challenge here. You have until midnight Sunday, June 22 to play along.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Dads


As you know, yesterday was Father's Day. I was a terrible daughter....I didn't get a card out to my dad, nor did I buy him anything. I know he doesn't like my sister and I to buy him expensive things and I know he truly does not need anything. What he really appreciates is just for us to give him a call (he lives in TX). That, I did. I think Father's Day is bittersweet for my dad. My grandmother, his mother, passed away on Father's Day back in 1996.
My Father-In-Law lives about 2 miles down the street from us. I needed a card to take down to him so I whipped this up after church. I had been cleaning out my craft room, yet again, and came across some already stamped, colored images. The airplane was one of the images I found so that's where I started. My FIL doesn't have any special appreciation for my handmade cards...everything ends up in the garbage. It honestly does not hurt my feelings. I know this is just what he does. I don't work any less on my cards for him than I would for anyone else.
I have lots of cards to catch up on this week. There are several challenges I haven't had a chance to participate in over on the Amuseapalooza blog . Amy Rysavy, the Amuseapalooza Ambassador winner from last year, is hosting a layout challenge that ends today. Make sure you head on over to her blog so you can participate.
Card deets: Paper-Confetti Tan, Not Quite Navy, Choc Chip by Stampin Up; Ink-Cranberry Crisp, Choc Chip by Stampin Up (image in Basic Black, probably); Stamps-Retired Simple Stripes Background, Retired Up In The Air set by Stampin Up, Dad sentiment by MSE; Accessories-Designer Label Punch by SU, 1" and 1 1/4" punches, retired Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon, antique copper brads by Making Memories.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Jacksonbelle Embellishments

I've had a busy week with school winding down to its last few remaining days. Last night my kids and I went to the elementary school for a BBQ and the school Talent Show. It was so much fun! There were talented kids mixed in with not-so-talented kids but I think they are all so brave for getting up there. I noticed a few hula hoop acts and it left some of us moms wondering if we should all run out and get some hula hoops to see if it would help drop a our love handles. LOL. After returning home from the hoopala, I came home to something even better! I got a PM from Jacksonbelle that I had won her Inkadinkado challenge over on SCS! How cool is that?! Normally I don't participate in challenges but I had just picked up some small, clear Inkadinkado sets at my local Jo-Ann's and I was eager to play. While I wasn't using A Muse stamps, I sure did my darndest to use A Muse notecards wherever possible.

Some links for you:

Jacksonbelle's Challenge
Jacksonbelle's Store Blog
Jacksonbelle's Personal Blog
Jacksonbelle's Store

Now I understand that Lindsey, Jacksonbelle herself, has a great online store as well as great service. I know she has a lot of fans over on Splitcoast and I'm eager to check it out. I have been a longtime fan of her paper crafting since I joined Splitcoast back in 2004. I really hope you check out the links I've provided because Lindsey is just fantastic!


Here's my winning card:

Now I'm off to spend my winnings...maybe I'll get myself some new ribbon or paper or......

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Inspiration Challenge-Eastcoast Style!

Have you checked out the A-Muse-A-Palooza blog in the past few days? There was a new challenge posted. It's an Inspiration Challenge-Eastcoast Style. What's that, you say? Well let me tell you all about it.

  • being from new england... vera bradley is HUGE!!! create a card using this vera bradley print as inspiration.

  • The card must feature at least one (1) A Muse stamp image.

  • Upload your card to the gallery on Splitcoaststampers.com, taking care to include the keyword AP08INSP in the photo description or keyword box.

  • When you're finished, copy the url/link of your upload and post it in the comments area of this post by midnight, Sunday June 15th.
You may submit more than one entry for this challenge. The more you create, the more chances you have to win!


If you head on over to this post on the A-Muse-A-Palooza blog, you can get all the details you need to participate.


Now don't do what I did. I had misunderstood the Inspiration Challenge. I thought I was supposed to make a card from something that inspired me, rather than making a card inspired by the actual Vera Bradley bag. I was just playing around in my craft room and started making this little card. I realized how much it looked like my favorite garbage can, which is in my craft room. I know...kinda weird to have a favorite garbage can but I've had this thing since I was like, 5, and it's traveled everywhere I've ever lived. I'm quite attached to it.








So, get crack-a-lackin' and post your creations AS PER THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Saltbox Hens and Chicks



Well, I got my Saltbox Studio Hens and Chicks mini set and couldn't wait to play! I've been seeing the cutest samples on Lexi's blog, Becky's blog, Elena's blog, and the rest of the Saltbox Studio Design Teams blogs as well as the Saltbox Sampler. I can't wait for more sets to release! Especially for summer....the Saltbox Sets can be so Americana and they will be perfect for Summer and 4th of July stuff. Can't you just see packing up a picnic basket...maybe a Longaberger basket with a pretty basket liner, chock full of yummy sandwiches, drinks, maybe some muffins like the ones in the stamp above? Mmmmm. I can dream, can't I? We've had the yuckiest weather around here lately. Rain, rain, and more rain, and don't forget to mention the COLDEST SPRING in forever! We had snow in the mountain passes, for Pete's sake! Won't summer please come to the PNW?! I'm begging!!!
For this card I paired the muffin basket from the Basket Celebration set with one of the new little chicks. And I Fun Flocked him with yellow flocking! He's so cute and fuzzy in real life.
I wish I could say I'm off to a picnic but I'm off for a 5th grade graduation party instead. We are headed out to a Family Fun park type place for the day. Should be lots of fun. It's also near Ikea, which is a bit of a haul from where I live, so I know a bunch of moms will be making their way there. I just might have to tag along. hee hee

Monday, June 9, 2008

Way To Go, Champs!




So I must first apologize for the poor quality of this picture. The sun has not come out yet and I just couldn't get enough lighting to make this turn out right. Anyway, my oldest son's baseball team played in the in-house championship tournament yesterday evening and came away undefeated in both regular season and in the playoffs. 100% undefeated! Way to go team!! You truly are champions! They have worked so hard all season and really deserved to come away the winners. They had 6 shutouts in 13 games, scored 160+ runs, and only gave up 30 runs against them. I must say, though, it will be nice to have a little breather from baseball.

You must head over to the Amuseapalooza blog today as a few winners have been named....is one of them you?! Keep your eye on the contests, challenges, and drawings for a chance to be a future winner.

You might also want to head over to The Saltbox Studio (link in my sidebar). I believe today is the release of the Hens and Chicks set. This looks to be a fabulously cute set...have you seen all the samples done by the Design Team? Waaay cute! I'll be posting a sample this week for sure!
ETA: I updated the picture. The sun still isn't out yet but it's a little brighter outside...

Thursday, June 5, 2008

AMAP Challenge 1-Color Combo

The first A*Muse*A*Palooza challenge was posted on Tuesday. It's a Color Combo Challenge. Geeta is in charge of this challenge and here are her rules:


  • Create a card using the colors: Chocolate Kitchen, Cabana Blue, and Purple Passion (yes, you must use all 3 colors!) Edited to add: you may use similar colors if you don't have these.
  • The card must feature at least one (1) A Muse stamp image.
  • Upload your card to the gallery on Splitcoaststampers.com, taking care to include the keyword AP08COLOR in the photo description or keyword box.
  • When you're finished, copy the url/link of your upload and post it in the comments area of this post by midnight Sunday, June 8th.

You may submit more than one entry for this challenge. The more you create, the more chances you have to win!

Have you all already started playing along? If not, you need to! All registered AP participants that play the challenge and enter their card as directed above, will have their names entered into a random drawing for a fabulous prize from A Muse! Who can pass that up?

Here's my card:



Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Ay! Chihuahua!


It's been raining again. Yeah, I know. Big surprise! To keep myself in a good mood, I've been stamping up a storm. I picked up a bunch of little Inkadinkado sets in the Jo-Ann's Dollar Bin and have been creating lots of cards with them. What a deal for a buck! On this card, I paired the little Chihuahua with the A Muse Fancy Borders clear set to make it look like a Fiesta. The sentiment could easily be replaced with 'Happy Birthday' and I think I'm gonna do just that. I need a birthday card for my oldest son's friend, who is having a party tomorrow. I think he'd get a kick out of this chihuahua. I added some Stardust Stickles to the party banners (the little dots on the ends) and added some A Muse Twinkle Stickers to the cactus to make it a blooming one. The images were colored with Copics. Have I said I love my Copics? LOL. My youngest son tells me I like this Chihuahua because it must remind me of the book, Skippyjon Jones. It's one of our favorites. I read it with little accents and it just gets my son rolling. It's a story about a Siamese cat who thinks he's a Chihuahua. He gets in trouble and gets sent to his room and his imagination just goes wild.


The great thing about A Muse stamps is not only are they awesome on their own, but they can be paired with so many other manufacturer's stamps to create totally cute cards! Don't be afraid to mix it up a little. Stretch your imagination!


Just a little reminder to check the Amuseapalooza blog regularly as there are lots of fun challenges, contest, and prizes while we gear ourselves up toward the big Amuseapalooza reveal. We are currently in round 3 of Amuse Feud and the first Challenge has been posted.


Now I'm off for a field trip to the beach with my 2nd grader's class. What an icky day for this.

Monday, June 2, 2008

A Muse Feud!

I used to love watching The Family Feud with Richard Dawson as the host. Even as a kid, this show would totally crack me up. Well, today is the kick-off to A-Muse-A-Palooza with our own A Muse Feud! Check out the AMAP blog to play along and make sure you get yourself registered if you aren't already. Oh yeah, there's a prize!!! Who doesn't love free stuff?



I had a busy weekend full of baseball. Sunday was Family Fun Day and one of the kids pitching left me with a lovely souvenir.....a big purple bruise on my shin. It didn't hurt that bad so I didn't look at it until after about an hour and was shocked to see a huge egg under my skin and an ugly purple bruise to go with it. I'm happy to say the swelling has gone down but I think the bruise will be around for a while.



I got a lot of stamping done this weekend but haven't had a chance to take pictures of any of my cards so I'll have to leave you with this one, already in my picture stash. There's a new Saltbox in-between release coming soon so today's card uses Saltbox Studio images.