One of the new A Muse Studio sets is called Charming Gardeners. I love this set because it's really versatile. There are these lovely floral images, pretty leaves, stamens for the flowers (which can be used as floral images themselves), and a lovely sentiment. You can't see the watercolored blue background very well in this photo, but it's there and it really helps to set off the flowers. I haven't touched my watercolor pencils in a long time. It was fun to break them out again with my Niji waterbrush.

Here's a photo of the stamens used as flowers. You can find this card in the current catalog.

Photo © a muse studio

Birthday Bonanza

New class for February! We'll be breaking out some new rubber from A Muse Studio's 2012 Catalog and creating so fun birthday cards to rebuild your stash. Come join me for this fun class! Check out the class schedule page, then contact the store directly to sign up. Hope to see you there!

A Muse Studio Die Storage

I thought I'd share with you the way I store my A Muse Studio dies. I used to have a scrapbook binder that had sticker storage in it and wished I could find those storage pages to purchase, but Michaels did not seem to carry such an item any more. So, I thought hard and it came to me... baseball card page protectors! What you see in the above picture are 2 pages of baseball card page protectors that store my small A Muse Studio dies. Yes, the top of the sleeves have openings in them that could result in the small dies falling out, but only if you don't store the binder standing upright. So, for now, this works for me. I suppose you could also cut magnetic sheets into baseball card sized pieces, then stick the dies to those if you are worried about losing anything.

This is the way I store larger A Muse Studio dies. I have them in heavy duty page protectors with a sheet of cardstock to make the page a bit more sturdy. Pictured in the photo above is the new Popcorn Box die, which does require the use of extended cutting plates if you are going to use your Big Shot. Does that product offer an extended platform? I don't know. I have an extended platform for my Revolution so I actually used that when I cut my box.

There might be better storage options than this, but this is what works for me. I thought I'd share it with you all in case you are also looking for a reasonably priced storage method, too.

Start time for class on Jan 14th has been moved from 11:30 am to noon!

I've designed a very fun Valentine class for Saturday, January 14th. I picked up some of these Chinese Take-Out boxes at a nearby shop for the class and baked up some homemade fortune cookies. (Don't worry, we'll have fresh ones for class!) We'll be making 2 valentine cards and 2 treat boxes, including this take-out box. We'll hand dip the fortune cookies into some melted chocolate and add sprinkles, then place them inside. There are cute little a muse studio valentine greetings already tucked inside!

I know it's short notice but I hope to see you there! Be sure to call the shop to reserve your spot. Looking forward to a new year full of new projects, stamps, and goodies! Current catalog expires the end of January so be sure to pick up any retiring products before they are gone for good! You can see the list of retiring items here.

It's that time of year again! I'll be teaching you how to make and bind your own 2012 calendar on December 3rd at the a•muse retail shop. Check my Class Schedule page for details and get yourself signed up soon. This class is always popular and space is limited.

Above is a sample of the cover page and some interior pages. If you've purchased calendars from years past, you'll know there is usually a perpetual calendar included. The a•muse studio 2012 calendar does not include the perpetual calendar this year, but it will be included in this calendar.

Hope to see you!!

It's been a while....

Where has the time gone? It just seems to zoom by so quickly. I've been spending a lot of time baking lately. Lots and lots of cupcakes, cookies, breads, muffins. I love this time of year. It's the time for pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese, pumpkin pecan bread... you get the picture. For me, it's the actual baking that I enjoy rather than the eating. I see fantastic recipes or pictures of treats that I just have to try to make. I would be as big as an elephant if I ate it all. That's what my son's teenage friends are for, I suppose. They love to clean me out of my baked goods. Makes me wonder if there are very many moms out there who still bake for their kids.

This time of year is also a time to be thankful. A former co-worker of mine just lost her young adult daughter last week after a courageous battle with cancer. And, of course, there's Katie Renz. The paper crafting community lost a tremendous member today and a family mourns the loss of a mother, sister, wife, daughter. It leaves me thankful for so many things.