One More Morsel

Today is the final helping of the Everything's Rosy Amuse-bouche and it's Designer's Choice.  I had picked up these little resin (I think?) frames at M's for 1.00 a while back with the idea that they would be just right for A Muse projects- simple, quick and fun!  I started with a square of Robin's Egg cardstock then stamped Daisy Duet a couple of times in the corner.  After heat embossing with Seafoam EP, I added a bit of Yellow Stickles to the center.  Gossamer wings silhouetted in black above the Daisies and I'm finished with my insert.  The outside banner uses the brand new "dreams take flight" sentiment.  If I could have changed anything it would have been to have some Papaya Polka Dot ribbon in the place of the Onyx (guess what is waiting in my cart.)  A sweet little gift to go along with a gift card for a grad or even a little Teacher's Appreciation memento!  Which by the way, I stay tuned tomorrow to see what I made for Rachel's teacher in tomorrow's post!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

Everything's Rosy!!!!

                                                                          

Just a quick post today.  My entire family has a nasty stomach virus so not much up for being my usual chatty self.  I have had the most fun with these 2 images- wilde rose and wilde rose branch.  I've made a couple of really neat Mother's Day cards that I hope to share soon!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care.

A Muse supplies:  wilde rose, wild rose branch, hello fl;  paper- robin's egg, sage;  polka dot ribbon in eucalyptus.  Other- yellow stickles, foam white EP, colorbox pigment ink- frost and apricot

Another Helping of Beautiful Botanicals

THIS may be my favorite addition to the A Muse image family- bare branch with leaves.  Like blossom branch with bird and wreath with berries, fabulous minds at A Muse have placed the leaf stamp on the end of the branch stamp- genius!  After I stamped the branch with Memento Rich Cocoa, I stamped and stamped off random leaves on the branch to add dimension and the look of a fuller branch- much like the trees around here right now- I love spring!  The little flowers are actually made from the MS hydrangea trio punch but I thought when punched from yummy Watermelon paper, they had the look of Dogwoods- something that were everywhere growing up in Knoxville.  Little Chocolate pretty pearls and foam adhesives were the finishing accents for my dogwood look.  You will definitely want to check out the rest of the Muses blogs to see even more beautiful botanicals.  Also, be sure to stop by A Muse News at least daily for fun and prizes, yes, and these prizes aren't slacking!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

Yummy Botanicals

Welcome to Day 3 of the A Muse Birthday Bash!  It is the first day that we will be sharing from the brand new Everything's Rosy release of wood mounted stamps!  There are tons of wonderful samples on A Muse News and the Creative Team blogs so you will want to be sure to check out those.  One thing I love about checking out all of the blogs- it demonstrates how versatile these images are!  Certainly a lot of stamping bang for your buck when you can use the same image in so many different ways! 

So what do you think about the 2 new stamps I used here- Bursting Blooms and Flowers Whisper?  What a gorgeous floral silhouette those bloom make in the Memento Tangelo ink. After stamping each of the images, I stamped off to give a bit of soft dimension to the design.  A very simple card that I embellished a bit with a punched butterfly (MS) enhanced with Latte pretty pearls.  Tomorrow may just be my most favorite of the cards that I made for this release, so be sure drop by in... It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

A Muse Supplies:  stamps- bursting blooms, flowers whisper;  paper- apricot, latte;  other- sheer french roast ribbon, latte pretty pearls.
Other supplies- MS butterfly punch, EK Success 1' circle punch, Memento Rich Cocoa & Tangelo ink

HAPPY Birthday A Muse!

My biggest problem with using today's Happy Everything clear stamp set?  I had too many fun ideas running through my head and I only had time to use one!  The best description for this new set is versatility, versatility, versatility!  My new "go to" color is this yummy Watermelon 8 1/2 x 11 paper.  It seems to be showing up in so many of my designs.  Here I paired it up with some black petite gingham scallops for a fun contrast.  The ink I used for "Happy" is Palette's Boudoir Blush.  The color goes great with the paper and I love Palette inks for clear stamps!  And since you can't have a birthday without a cake, I punched a portion of a 1" circle from the bottom of the card and stamped Cupcake in the punched out space.  When you open the card you see this: 

                             

Is this set "fontabulous" or what?  You will find more awesome ideas on A Muse News, as well as, the Creative Team blogs!  Stay tuned, this is only day 3 of our 9 day celebration!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

Vintage Amuse-bouche!

Welcome to day 1 of a fun little feature that we like to call "amuse-bouche"- a little preview of wonderous things to come with A Muse's latest release!  So ready to wet your rubbah appetite?  The first 2 days will feature 2 special clear sets  released especially for the Birthday Bash celebrating 9 awesome A Muse years! 

For day one, we have some old but dear friends returning to our collections in the form of this new Vintage clear set!  Be sure to check out A Muse News and the other Creative Team members' blogs to see what other "oldies but goodies" have returned!  So... how about this cute little kite and "what's up" sentiment!  I absolutely loved this and since a kite should fly, I paired it up with one of my favorite images- clouds!  Some quick paper piercing gives this kites traveling through the wind!  Whahoo!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

A Muse is Turning 9!

Be sure to check out A Muse News for deets for exciting Birthday Bash fun beginning today and lasting through May 4th!  Yes!  9 days of fun for celebrating 9 wonderful A Muse filled years!  Tomorrow the Creative Team will begin with a little amuse-bouche so I will have some eye candy to share!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

Masculine Birthday

I never seem to have any masculine cards on hand and when I need one I need it right away.  A Muse sentiments are perfect inspiration for clever cards!  They truly increase the versatility of my images!  The design for this card was insprired by a card in Dave Brethauer's Card Design.  I love this book!  It showcases Dave's clean and simple style while giving tutorial for using colored pencils and water colors.  Fun stuff!  It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time!  Take care!

A Muse supplies:  stamps- tin plate, recliner, ready set recline, mini oval:  paper- chiffon green, brown petite gingham, fern; other supplies- nestabilities, memento bamboo leaves ink

Build-a-Bear Birthday

Happy birthday, Madison! I made this card for my best friend's daughter's birthday party last Sunday. Today is the actual birthday so I just wanted to send a quick shout out to her. The party was at Build-a-Bear and, as always, Rachel has a great time! We have had so many Build-a-Bear events that when I saw this set in the SU mini catalog I knew I had to get it! I colored the cute little girl bear with Copic markers and cut her and her A Muse Sage mat with Nestabilities. The background paper is Doodlebug, as well, as the cute brads. The Vintage frame punch is McGill and the Cupcake punch is Martha Stewart. I finished it off with some May Arts ribbon and Stardust Stickles. I was so excited that the A Muse sentiment went well with the confectionery theme of the card! Hope everyone has a super weekend. It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Simply Scent-sational

Ah, the fourth and final day for the Woodland Critter feature over at A Muse News but these little creatures are not going away. Stay tuned next week to Split Coast Stampers and 2 Peas in a Bucket. The Creative Team has been challenged to upload as many projects featuring the Woodland Critters from April 5th - 9th to those to community sites. I would love to have you join us so I am working on a contest right here at A Stampin' Good Time. Be sure to check back on Sunday evening for the details and of course, prizes!
Now onto my card. One of the things that I love about 8 1/2 x 11 paper (beside the fact that is now comes in this yummy watermelon shade) is you can make so many different sizes of cards. My Quickutz flower was too big for a cute little 4-bar, so today I decide to go with the traditional 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card. I loved the way the little skunk looks like he is springing through the flowers. If you look closely you will see that I actually used tiny Easter Egg for my flower blossom and the stems are a partial stamping of seedlings in Memento Bamboo Leaves. The rest of the grass is a MS border punch! I mounted the flower on to Petite Gingham paper in black then attached that to a Watermelon card and added a bit of Black Polka Dot ribbon. It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Stamps: A Muse- Skunk, seedlings, Tiny Egg, scallop dot border, spring is in the air
Ink: A Muse Black Dye ink, Memento Bamboo Leaves, Colorbox Pigment Coral
Paper: A Muse- Watermelon, Black Petite Gingham, Juliette sage
Supplies- Quickutz flower, MS grass border punch, A Muse Black Polka Dot ribbon, A Muse pretty pearls in black

Spring is in the Air

So.... what do you think... I am head-over-heals for the new A Muse Clouds paper. It comes in
8 1/2 x 11 sheets so the sky's the limit for creative fun (sorry for the pun)! And what better
"silver lining" than a rainbow shooting from the Clouds. Of course, to get a rainbow, you must have the Sun and this one is sparkling bright with a bit of Yellow Stickles. I had the most fun making this cheerful card and hope to brighten some one's day with it soon! Be sure to check out the rest of the A Muse Creative Team for Day 3 of our Woodland Critter feature, and of course, A Muse News for even more crafty ideas! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Stamps: A Muse- Clouds, Sun, Tiny Butterfly, Tiny Bird, Silver Lining
Ink: A Muse Black Dye ink
Paper: A Muse 8 1/2 x 11- Clouds, 4-bar notecards- Swiss red, Paprika, Papaya, Lime Peel, Blueberry and Blackberry
Supplies: A Muse Polka dot Swiss red ribbon, Nestabilities, Quickutz,Yellow Stickles, Copic markers, Spica Glitter pen, Foam adhesives

Woodland Friends

Welcome to Day 2 of the A Muse Woodland Critters feature! I just love the cute little Squirrel image! A little masking, and viola, there he is perched upon the Tree Stump! To make things a bit easier, I only cut a mask to cover his bottom half- no need to cut his curly, swirly tail! In keeping to squirrl-y theme, I stamped Acorn in Tangelo ink on to a background of, yes, did you notice, Apricot paper. This yummy NE W color comes in 8 1/2 x 11" and offers so much versatility for sizes and styles of paper crafting! Now look carefully, can you find a 2nd new paper, hmmmmm, you guessed a NEW woodgrain, Birch wood, also in 8 1/2 x 11! Be sure to check out A Muse News and all the individual Creative Team blogs for further commune with nature. It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care.

Stamps: A Muse- Squirrel, Acorn, Nuts about you

Ink: A Muse black dye ink, Memento Tangelo

Paper: A Muse 8 1/2 x 11 Apricot, Birch wood, 4-bar notecard- Paprika

Supplies: A Muse Grosgrain Stich ribbon in sky blue, Nestabilities, Copics, McGill Vintage label punch, Sakura white gel pen, foam adhesives

Crawling Critters

Hello! Hello! I'm so excited to get a chance to blog this morning and share some eye candy with you! From today, March 29th until Thursday, April 1st (I just can't believe it is already April) the A Muse Creative Team will be featuring a cute category of stamps that have been deemed "Woodland Creatures!" While the images are not brand spakin' new be sure to watch closely because you are definitely going to see some new goodies each day! You will definitely want to check out A Muse News for new and exciting ideas, as well as, the Creative Teams individual blogs for some Woodland goodness!

So.... do you notice anything new on my card featuring the caterpillar, snail, and dandelion images? It may be a bit hard to see in my less than adequate natural lighting but, yes, indeed that is a new 8 1/2 x 11 paper color. I am beyond pleased to introduce Watermelon!!!! It truly is completely yummy and possibly my new favorite color. It is a gorgeous vivid pink with just a splash of coral- my mouth just waters thinking about it! This design, also, features a fun tool by Martha Stewart- Shredding Scissors- don't they make some cute, quirky grass! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Stamps: A Muse- caterpillar, snail, dandelion, just sittin' here
Ink: A Muse Black Dye Ink, Memento London Fog, Bamboo Leaves
Paper: A Muse- 8 1/2 x 11- Woodgrain, Watermelon, Petite Gingham in Grass, notecard- Chiffon Blue
Supplies- A Muse Stitched Grosgrain in Papaya, Copic markers, MS Shredding Scissors, scallop oval punch- Marvy Uchida, white flocking, Sakura Quickie glue pen

Coming Up For Air

I hope that you have had as much fun with the Sea of Love Amuse-bouche as I have! Remember to check out you lss to see if carry this new release. They are now available on-line as well! Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas and New Years holidays but after the hustle and bustle is over, I am definitely ready to have A Stampin' Good Time! I hit the ground running in 2010 with Amuse-bouche and making January class samples. Figuring that I'm on a roll, I decided to look around a get a different idea for Rachel's class Valentine's. I, actually did a little blog hopping- something that I have not had time to do in months, and realized what a valuable part of this craft it is! Not only did it feel good to re-connect socially with many blog friends BUT it reminded of me of the proliferate nature of this industry. I may not "need" every new thing out there (as she looks around her craft room sheepishly) but it is good to be "in the know." With that said, I am going to try to set aside a few minutes of each day to catch up on my blog list. Won't make to all of them each day but hopefully, I'll be able to stop by every couple of weeks!

But back to Rachel's Valentines, I must surely have been living under a rock because I had not "discovered" the wonderful U-tube videos from Stamping with Dawn. What a treasure chest of ideas she has! This is where the idea for this cute little "Valentine Candy Holder" can be found. I did modify the measurements just a tiny bit, reducing the height of the project to 4 1/4- that way I can make 2 with 1 sheet of the 8 1/2 x 11 Pink Petite Gingham paper (I like to be thrifty when mass producing.) Also, since A Muse has the lovely white one side card stock, I had to pay extra attention to the punching and folding. I thought the Moby image and the "true, blue friend" sentiment were cute for a Kindergarten Valentine and tied it all together with Popsicle Pink Polka Dot ribbon (say that 3 times fast)! The inside (below) will house a little foil covered chocolate heart (Dawn suggested the Nestle Crunch ones, yum) in the little scalloped circle. The inside sentiment is the brand new "Happy Valentine's Day" from A Muse.

Well, I only have 16 of these cuties to do and Rachel will be ready for Valentine's Day! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

A Muse Supplies: Stamps- Moby, True Blue Friend, Happy Valentine's Day, 8 1/2 x 11 Card stock in Pink Petite Gingham and Popsicle pink, Ribbon- Popsicle Pink Polka Dot

Colored- Copics, Scallop punch- SU, Oval and Oval Scallop punch- Marvy Uchida

Amuse-bouche Day 5- Valentine's Treats and Packaging

It's the 5th and final day of the Sea of Love pre-release peeks- what does that mean- tomorrow all of these wonderful goodies will be on-line and available for sell. If your lss carries A Muse check with them- they just might already have these lovelys already on their shelves ready for the inkin'! Today's little bonbon box just yelled out for a cute and chubby little creature to adorn it! It was a quick and simple little container to make and very easy to personalize to your own particular design. Here I added some a wave border trimmed in Star Dust Stickles. I love the shade of blue in the new Ocean 8 1/2 x 11 paper plus the white reverse side was perfect for capping waves! A bit of bling was added in tear drop Twinkle stickers as Moby is really kicking up a splash! An easy peasy project to share with friends, classmates, you name it! Be sure to check out The Lounge for other ideas from the A Muse Creative Team, as well as, the Designers contributions on A Muse News! Some goodliness for sure! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time. Take care!

A Muse Supplies: Stamps- Moby, True Blue Friend; 8 1/2 x 11 paper- Ocean, Popsicle Pink, & Blue Petite Gingham; Popsicle Pink Polka Dot ribbon, Clear Twinkle Stickers

An Elegant Amuse-bouche

I'm back again today to serve up the next tantalizing tidbits from the latest A Muse release- "Sea of Love!" Today's theme is Elegant Sea-themed greetings. For some reason, I am fascinated by coral. It's fragile beauty in the form of hard coral reefs comes in so many shapes and colors and is home to so much marine wildlife, makes me wish for my scuba diving days once again! When I saw this wonderful Coral image, I knew it was a "must have" and I've been looking forward to this particular amuse-bouche day for quite some time!

I started by stamping the Coral image in, yes, Colorbox Coral pigment ink onto a Sky Blue note card. What a lovely color contrast this made! Next, I sprinkled some of my favorite A Muse Simple Stick powder onto the image and heat set it 'til sticky. After applying some yummy coral glitter, I heat set it again and Voila, a very pretty piece of coral, indeed!

I would like to make a quick plug about Simple Stick powder- it is truly the BESTEST powder adhesive I have ever used! If you have been turned off by adhesive powder in the past, do yourself a favor and give this a try. It will open up a whole new world for adding glitter and flocking to your crafty creations!

I added an little oval of "sand" and then popped this cute little sand dollar image beside it for a mini ocean scene. The sentiment is actually a single line, so once again, I used the scotch tape masking technique to give "truly madly deeply" a new twist. Be sure to check out A Muse News and all the team posted on The Lounge for more elegant A Muse ideas! And tomorrow is the last day of Amuse-bouche and you know what THAT means, the BIG release is just around the corner. It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

A Muse supplies used: stamps: Coral, Sand dollar, Truly madly deeply, micro oval; notecard- Sky blue, Latte; Pretty Pearls- Chocolate; Simple Stick Powder

Ink- Colorbox Pigment- Coral, Memento- Rich Cocoa, Dessert Sand; Glitter-Art Institute.

Amuse-bouche- Let's Sass it Up a Notch

The first time I saw this new Anchor image from the A Muse "Sea of Love" release, I thought, "I've got to turn that into a tattoo!" Now personally, I have no tats (I have nothing against them, they simply are not "me") but I guess I took care of enough WWII Naval Veterans during my days in the ER to associate an anchor with ink! Initially, I had it in my mind to make a muscular arm shaped card BUT since today's sneaks were to be "Love Expressions to our Men," I thought that the man in my life would much rather see a card with a little va va voom! This brings me to the second new product I used- Chiffon Pink 8 1/2 x 11 card stock! Yes, be on the look out for new solid colors of A Muse card stock . Still the same wonderful color on one side, white on the other BUT now you can use them to make different sized cards and crafts such as this cute bra and pantie template (yes, if you can't wait to see the backside of this card scroll on down)! I had such a fun time decorating the Robin's Egg Damask undies with Robin's Egg Pearls and this adorable Ocean polka dot ribbon. Truly a fun card!

Before I reveal the backside of my card, I'd like to point out the new sentiment "you are my ANCHOR." It is a single lined sentiment but by masking each line individually with scotch tape, I was able to have it frame the anchor image. This is a technique that I love and demonstrate often in my A Muse classes! For me, this is a perfect sentiment because my husband is truly my anchor of life. Would not want to imagine my life without him!

So without further ado, this amuse-bouche will leave the building- teeheehee! Remember to stop by A Muse News and The Lounge for more sensational sea faring ideas by the Creative Team! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Come with me, my love...

to the sea, the "Sea of Love!" I want to tell you.... how much.... I love you........ AND how much you are going to LOVE the latest release from A Muse- yes!- SEA OF LOVE! First, a huge wish for a Blessed New Year to All! and what better way to ring in 2010 than with the first amuse bouche of the new decade. I am totally enamored with the images of this latest release. The marine life theme lends to fun, whimsical creative goodness! We are kicking off our sneak peaks with Valentines for kids. Since my daughters both love to receive cards that "do something" I decided it was a perfect time to bring out the hair gel and pair it up with this adorable Jellyfish image for an undersea, bubbly effect! You can find an awesome Gel Card tutorial on SCS, I simply modified the measurements a bit to fit the A Muse Robin's Egg 4-bar note cards. The sentiment bubbles are Chiffon pink. Be sure to check out A Muse News, as well as, The Lounge for links to more a muse bouche fun! It's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

A Muse supplies: stamps- Jellyfish, Stuck on you notecards: Robin's Egg, Pink Chiffon

Think Simple...

Christmas is only 16 days away (this blogger takes a minute for a small moment of panic) and although I have been steadily plodding along in my preparation, I still feel that I have far to go! In the past, I am ashamed to say, that Christmas cards were often neglected because I simply did not have time to make them. BUT that was before I embraced the whole "Think Simple Think A Muse" creative mentality. Now "simple" does not mean "easy." Often it takes me quite a while to come up with my "simple" designs because I am uber picky about details. What IS wonderful about "simple" is the ability to reproduce those designs quickly and in mass! I taught this snowflake design this past July during A Muse a palooza at Once Upon a Scrapbook- it was a huge hit and has many "favorites" on mine- favorite color combo, glitter, ribbon, A Muse note cards, A Muse Twinkle stickers, Simple Stick powder.... and best of all, takes just a few minutes to reproduce! So it's not to late to get started on those Christmas cards- just "Think Simple, Think A Muse!" And since you are going to be saving so much time on your Christmas card prep- you'll have plenty of time to head over to the A Muse News blog to see all the beautiful Christmas goodies the A Muse Creative Team has to share with you! It's ALWAYs a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Supplies- stamps- Floral snowflake, winter wishes hand; note card- sky blue band; sheer swiss red ribbon; simple stick powder, clear twinkle stickers. Non- A Muse supplies Colorbox pigment ink in Robin's egg, crystal glitter

Rachel is Turning 6!

It is so hard for me to believe that my baby will be turning 6 in a little over a week! She is so excited about the fact she will be 6-years-old and equally excited about her Build-a-Bear party. Yes, that is where she had it last year but she wanted to go again- they are only 6 once! We found some really cute mermaid paper products in the dollar section of Target back in the summer that she really liked, so I decided to make the invitations to match using one of my current favorite A Muse stamps, Mandy's World Mermaid Girl! These little Mandy's World images are all super cute and oh, so versatile. Since they are open, line images you get to use all those fun coloring techniques but they are not so over detailed that they cannot be massed produced for party favors, stationary sets, you name it! The inspiration for the design of this invitation came from a card by Joyce Wheeler. If you don't know Joyce or her completely inspiring 13-year-0ld daughter, Kayla, please stop by her blog for and incredible story (and some awesome eye candy)!

After coloring the little Mermaid Girl image with my Copic markers and punching it out with a circle punch, I mounted it on a scalloped punch piece of vellum. In maintaining the under-the-sea, fairy tale theme, I added a bit of crystal glitter to the scallops for an ethereal effect. The belly band in punched with EK Success Dotted Swiss border bunch- I love the way it gives a bubbly effect. The sentiment is not A Muse (gasp)! but this one from PTI did the job just fine (had to convince myself that I would be the only bothered by the fact that the font on the outside did not exactly match the font on the inside)! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and that you are moving steadily along with your Christmas preparations (don 't forget those hand made cards)! It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!