Lemmings

So someone I knew a hundred years ago once told me story about lemmings. I don't remember it exactly but the main part was one lemming jumping off a cliff and all the others followed. So a lemming I am, at least when it comes to the newest gadgets! For the last week I've been hearing about new Martha Stewart Halloween punches. A first it was just a buzz then it became full on pandemonium so I had to find them for myself. It took three trips to Michael's, two 40% coupons and a bit of sneakiness on my part. In order to buy the two punches I wanted I had my Mom buy my second punch. So there...I have them and all the world is right. That is until the next super fabulous thing comes out!

So I had some good stamping time today, I wanted to play with my new punches so here's my first attempt playing with the goo punch. I wanted to see if I could turn it into something else so I made fire!

Images: A muse. Paper: A muse & PTI white. Ink: Memento, Koh-I-Noor pencils & Stickles.
Drippy Goo Punch from MS Crafts

tonsils-n-things

My poor baby, it's been a rough week for him. He came down with another case of strep throat so his tonsils are now in question. Juggling sick baby and work left little stamp time this week.

This card is a little plain, I think I'll go back and add glitter to the dress. Overall I like the soft muted colors, it's a departure from my loud purples and greens! The sentiment stamp on the bottom really irks me because it's crooked on the wood block. I pulled it off and remounted it but it's still crooked.

Images: A muse, my sentiments exactly. Paper: A muse. Ink: memento. Flowers: Prima. Brads: MM

Holy You Tube Batman!

I am officially in love with You Tube, it taught me how to tie a bow. This is actually the first bow I tied without cheating. I usually hand tie the bow and glue it down! I'm still practicing but it's not too shabby for a first time.

Still working on the inspiration challenge, I choose to use this super cute card from Julie HRR. I really wanted to play with this layout because I had never done anything like it. I added some pink to make the girl owl girly...granted I never seen a pink owl! I look forward to trying this out again.

Images: A muse. Paper: PTI & DCVW. Ink: Memento, Koh-I-Noor pencils. Ribbon: American Crafts

Purple Flowers

What a weekend, we had a packed house from Friday night thru Sunday evening. I love our place but it is exhausting having people over every weekend. At least it helps me keep my house in order!

On to stamping this week is a challenge to use one of the cards from the VMAA's and use it as inspiration. I choose this card from Ottchix at SCS. I loved the subtlety of the pink, I didn't want to make the card exactly so I choose to mix up the colors. First I made my own background paper using a small flower from one of the A muse clear sets. The flowers are stamped in a random pattern. Then I stamped the dress onto lilac paper and then again on white vellum. I'm not a big fan of vellum because I can never find the right adhesive. Look closely and you can see it underneath...the search will continue. Then I added the green ribbon and a sentiment.

Images & Ribbon: A muse. Paper: A muse (Green) PTI (White) Ink: Memento & Colorbox.

tree & flowers

Not much going on here, I made a quick card for the stamp of the week over at the addicts. The choices were tire swing or lemonade. I received a lemonade card in the mail so I thought it would be in my mind subconsciously, then I would copy it! I wanted to add a little something extra so I went for the flower brads and tried to add stems.

I picked up these new note cards but I'm not sure how to use them just yet. I need more practice with them! Here's a start...

Images & Paper: A muse. Ink: Kohn-i-Nor pencils, memento, spica pens & colorbox

b-day for little girl

This is a quick card for a birthday party we attended last weekend. I colored her dress with gamsol & color pencils. This is my favorite new technique by far. I'm still working on marker shading but it comes a lot easier with the pencils for me.

The Studio G stamps are fun and super cheap at Michael's, it's easy to pick up small sentiments for a $1.

Images: A muse & Studio G. Paper: A muse & American Crafts. Ink: Memento, Koh-I-Noor Pencils. Extras: A muse ribbon

who me?

I got the nicest surprise the other day. Pamela, a fellow A muse Addict, nominated me for a Brillante blog award. So let me show some blog happiness to a few other nice ladies in cyber land.

Now for the details and rules of the award:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you’ve nominated.

So here's who I am nominating:
Victoria
Rhonda
Lori
Nancy
Kathy
Allison
Tobey

Super blogs and super nice ladies!

halloween on the brain...

So I'm trying to keep the stamp mojo following by working on cards when I can. I have a lot of work stuff to get thru so hopefelly I can get some stamp time at night. I find it easier to stamp when I have an end goal in mind so I'm going to try a few challenges to keep me fresh. This challenge was to use stamps are that new to me. I picked a few stamps last week that were all about Halloween. I masked one of the jars and stamped the grasshopper in it to make it look like a roach. I also masked the sparkler behind Boris' head to show his crazy brain working!

Images & paper: A muse. Ink: Memento, Prismacolor Markers & Spica glitter pen

The afternath...

need I say more

Bonus Round w/Julie

Just when I thought it was over, they threw out a bonus challenge and I think it's my favorite. Create a humorous friend card...



Images & Paper: A muse. Ink: Memento, Koh-I-Nor pencils & spica yellow glitter pen

VMAA Challenge 4

This one was the hardest for me, you could only use one stamp!!! The ladies during the chat gave me great advice...think simple, think A muse. After that it came to me...

Images, Ribbon & Paper: A muse. Ink: Memento

VMAA Challenge 3

This challenge was about your favorite things. I have to say that I really love everything A muse! I've been stamping for 2 years now and my collection has grown to monstrous proportions. I think that's why I had such a hard time with this one there was too much to chose from.

My newest non A muse purchase was the nestabilities from Spellbinders. I picked up a set from cutathome.com for 40% off, how could I resist. I picked up the rectangle but was wishing I got the squares also. They really could have come in handy when cutting the squares on this card. I ended up using my scissors and made a total mess. I will retry this card when I get the squares ones.

Images & Paper: A muse. Ink: Memento & Copics

VMAA challenge 2

This next challenge was all about love, using this as a place to start. To be honest I've never seen this show so I was pretty litteral in my interprentation. I used the colors in the pictures as inspiration and then choose the Dr. stamp. A little obvious but that's you get with 30 minutes!

Images: A muse. Ink: Memento & Prismacolor Markers

VMAA Challenge 1

So this is the first of a couple of posts today, last night was the third VMAA and it was fun!. Two hours of stamping and chatting. I wasn't able to chat much because I used every minute of the time I had for each card. My mom asked me what I was doing last night and as I tried to explain what it was and rules involved, she came to the conclusion that it was the equivalent of 'Iron Chef' for stampers.

The first challenge was called 'Passport to Europe', use the picture to the right as inspiration. What a beautiful picture, the colors really pop off the page. I was a little stumped at first but after reading I could use the colors as inspiration I was off! I choose to use orange, purple and blue as the main colors. Then I used the red from the building on the right in the flowers. I was really happy with the end product.

Images & some paper: A muse. Ink: Memento, Prismacolor markers & spica clear marker

everyone's a critic

I didn't stamp for a few days and lost my mojo...it comes and goes so easily. So I've spent the better part of this last week buying stamps and not actually stamping. I scored some A muse stamps that have been on my wish list for a while.

Tonight I decided to play with some of them...

It's very plain but I think I was trying too hard to use the new stamps. Last week with the 'Rock Star' stamp this came naturally...this one felt a bit forced. Maybe it's because I'm not a nature girl, I'm an air conditioning kinda girl. :-)

Back to the title...I showed this card to my husband and he did not feel it was one of my best. His contribution to the card was the grass, he felt the deer was hovering and needed to be grounded. I'll get him stamping one of these days!

Images & Paper: A muse. Ink: Prismacolor, Copic, Memento, Tombow, Kohn-I-Nor pencils & gamsol.

not too hot...

quick post since I'm not feeling too great...card is for Addicts challenges, yet another rock star...

Images & Paper: A muse. Ink: Memento & Prismacolor Markers

Ode to John Mayer...

My friends and family know that I obsessed about one thing in particular, John Mayer. I was able to go to one of his concerts late last year and sit in the fifth row. So after playing with the 'Rock Star' stamp this week my thoughts turned to John Mayer and that concert. In the past, if I'm on floor at a concert I can weasel my way to the front. Unfortunately the Mayer concert was an exception, there were tons of police separating the stage and the front row. This card is my memory of that night...

Images: A muse Ink: Memento, Prismacolor, Spica pen

Technique note: I found the tip on how to do the spotlight from Julie E.





The other funny thing about this design is that in came to me this afternoon while I was at work. I even got out a piece of paper to sketch it so I wouldn't forget. Here's a picture of the sketch which clearly appears to be drawn by my three year old.

dude...sweet!

This is officially my favorite I've ever done!!! The A muse addicts challenge is to use 1 of 4 stamps on your card. Of the 4 I only have one...rock star. So this week will be devoted to all things rock staresque. To create this image I masked his strumming arm, then stamped him on the page next I inked up his strumming arm and flipped it upside down. I couldn't have done it without my stamp-a-ma-jig!!!

Paper & Images: A muse. Ink: Memento, prismacolor markers, spica glitter pens & stickles

when the cats away...

I was almost where I wanted to be with this card, the only thing I was stuck on was the sentiment as usual. I might still try and figure it out!

I used the rock star stamp and masked him over the couch to make it look like he was jumping off. Then i used the girls night out and masked the girl piece, I wrote in boys to finish the idea.

Paper & Images: A muse. Ink: Memento, Koh-I-Noor pencils, gamsol.

Coffee Cup

I created these cards for the Amuse Addicts Weekly Challenge...the coffee cup is really cute and had been waiting to use it!

This first card was a fun for me, my husband loves his starbucks in the morning. Luckily where we work there's a Starbucks on site, it's rare to see him from 8-11 without a cup in his hand. It doesn't even have to be warm, which I find pretty gross!

I cut a slit in the back on the truck to slide in the cup of coffee. Then I used a pop dot to give it some dimension.

Paper & Images: A muse. Ink: Memnto, Koh-I-Noor pencils w/gamsol, and prismacolor markers.

This next card was actually the first card I made, I had stamped three cups but could only fit two so the previous card was born! I'm still working on the AP online class and my favorite take away so far has been the brown paper I used for this card. It really makes an image pop so I'm going to try and pick some up! Other than that I got to play with my new color pencils, they were nice but I'll need to learn to have a lighter touch. I'm one of those people who get blisters on their writing hand from pressing so hard on the pen/pencil.

Paper & Images: A muse. Ink: Memnto, Koh-I-Noor pencils w/gamsol.

Marker Storage

I'm in love with my new marker storage. I picked up a tip on splitcoast about using the Quickutz Magpie storage, upside down. It's just the right size and it allows me to see all the colors without going thru my pencil box, which was my previous storage! The great thing is there's still room to grow my marker collection.

when inspiration strikes...

I got this and 10 other cards from the Paper Garden Boutique in Sacramento, CA. I believe it was part of the make-n-takes from the AP party going on. I really liked it and wanted to do something similar so here's my take below...

















It's raining candy!!! I used the cloud stamp and masked the snowflakes. Then used the candy stamps that came with kit to fall from the clouds, I also put one in the elf's hand. The last thing I did was use the 'home sweet home' & 'warm wishes' to get 'sweet wishes'

Paper and Stamps: A muse. Ink: Spica Glitter pen, prismscolor markers & memento ink

My favorite color

is Purple! I use it whenever I get the chance. I usually pair it with green for a nice combo. For this card I was able to pull out my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I'm totally hooked on this method...color, blend, color some more, blend some more and so on!

Images & Paper: A muse. Ink: Memento & Prismacolor pencils.

Wishing You...

AP is winding down for the year, one of the last things being offered is a stamp kit with a free online class. This is the first card I made from the class and it took me forever to finish it. I think I got hung up on looking at how great the original card looked and I over thought the placement of each stamp. Hopefully the rest will go a bit faster...

Images & paper: A muse. Ink: Memento, Colorbox, Prismacolor.

AP Clear Challenge

This is a quick card for the AP clear sticker challenge. I used two of the new stamps from the most recent release. I also got the chance to play with a new punch I picked up this weekend.

Images& Paper: A muse. Ink: Versamark.

I really have been stamping...

I just haven't had the chance to update in a while. I was able to take a day off from work and I had the whole house to myself. So I spent the afternoon stamping, which was perfect since it was raining outside.

I made a few cards for last week's AP challenges but each took an hour. It truly takes me a while to get my ideas together. I always read about people that knock out cards in 5-10 minutes but it takes me that long (or more) to figure out what stamp I'm going to use. Here are the ones I worked on this past weekend.

Images: A muse. Ink: Memento Paper: A muse. Images: ScrappyCat Ink: Memento Images: A muse, Studio G. Ink: MementoImages & Ribbon: A muse. Ink: Memento

AP Goodies

Here are my goodies from this year's AP, time to get stamping!

home again!

It's great to be home again, last week wrapped up my travel for the summer. I had a wonderful time in San Francisco. We ate dinner on the pier 39, which overlooks Alcatraz island. I missed taking a tour this trip but I hope to go back soon. Thursday night we were able to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the SF MOMA. It was amazing to be able to see it in person! It was a lot of fun but I couldn't wait to get home to see my boys.

Here's a quick card I did for the glitter challenge over at the AP blog, it's also going to double as a birthday card for a friend tomorrow. I showed my mom, husband, and my sister the card and none of them got it. Basically any mariachi in town sings, the happy birthday song by repeating 'to you' a few times. Once they thought about it they got it, hopefully I won't have to explain it too much. Also I'm not much of a flower girl but I messed up and they were the best thing to hide my mistakes.

Stamps & Paper: A muse. Ink: Momento, Prismacolor & Stickles.

A muse Stamps for Sale

So I came home from my trip this week with an additional 30 A muse stamps, so it's time for a little house cleaning. Most of the stamps are brand new, never seeing ink in their lives. A few have ink stains on the wood but that has no effect on the stamped image. All rubber is intact! Please email me if you are interested in buying any of these, they will go to the person that emails and pays through paypal first.

Here is the shipping info to the continental U.S. ONLY, sorry no international orders!

1-2 stamps - $2.00
3-5 stamps - $3.00
6-10 stamps - $5.50
10+ stamps - will send invoice thru paypal

A Muse stamps for Sale

bbq

This was a quick little card for the AP challenge this past weekend. The background paper reminded of the 4th of july so I went with the BBQ theme. I didn't originally want glitter on the pit but I used it to cover up a mistake I made. I had initially colored it blue but it didn’t really stand out. So I colored it red, of course it turns purple! Stickles to the rescue, it covered my mistake perfectly.

Shopping...

I made this card for a challenge over @ 2Peas, I've been wanting to play with this stamp for a while but I could not get it to work for me. I finally gave up and drew in the spots that would not stamp clearly.

Today I was lucky enough to visit the Paper Garden Boutique in Sacramento, CA. My local stamp store has a really small selection of stamps so I was completely blown away by the inventory at Paper Garden. It was truly a stampers dream, I picked up quite a few stamps on my wish list, paper and a couple of Copics. I can't wait to get home and play with my new goodies!!!

Stamps: A muse, Rubber Romance. Paper: Paper Studio. Ink: Colorbox, Stickles.

father's day

I was working in my craft room on Saturday and my son asked if could make his dad a card for Father's Day. How could I say no?! I had punched out a few some scalloped circles for a project I was starting and he decided to use those. This is his creation...

happy things...

I was in a major stamping mood last weekend, and this is another of the cards I came up with at the request of my son. He was looking at my stamps and picked out the ice cream stamp! When I finished it, he carried it around all day...so sweet! I picked up a new camera so excuse the incorrect date!

Stamps & Paper: A muse. Ink: Colorbox & Tombow.

The worst two days ever...

Ugh...I thought I was an independent girl. Thought I could handle things on my own but I was wrong way wrong. Apparently when I got married I forgot all my single girl skills. Just to give you a reference point, I don't remember the last time I even pumped my own gas.

Long story short, there's a big rash of 'vandals' in my town breaking car windows and slashing tires. I was lucky enough to have my window broken and my husband out of town. Fast forward to a day and half of arguing with my insurance company over glass in the car, a flat tire, glass filed car seat, a breakdown at the Honda dealership and way too much money spent, the damage was fixed. I'm exhausted!!

As you wish...

There's a new challenge over at the AP Blog and this one got me thinking. I could not come up with an idea so I thought I would keep it simple and focus on the colors...red, shades of blue and white. I remembered reading in a magazine this week a quick article about 'The Princess Bride' and it listed some of the most used movie lines. I laughed the hardest when I read 'Have fun storming the castle' so I went to look for my castle stamp. The hardest part of this card was stamping the movie quote. It took a few tries and it still came out a bit crooked but what can you do. I leave you with this...INCONCEIVABLE.

Stamps: A muse. Paper: A muse. Ink: Colorbox & Tombow & Stickles

Bday Card

So this is the card after I came up with after I finished the margarita card. A bit more appropriate I think! I cut out the cake and mounted it on 3-D glue dots. Love it when cards pop off the page. I seem to have some creativity back...I'm excited!

Stamps: Amuse. Paper: Amuse. Ink : Colorbox, stickles

I crack myself up...

I was supposed to be working on a birthday card but I let my mind wander and ended up with this card. Needless to say it was not given out but it made me laugh...

Stamps: Amuse, Stampin Up. Paper: Amuse. Ink: Colorbox

While I was waiting...

For my creative juices to kick in I painted a cool mural on the wall of my craft room. It's not perfect by any means and it was pretty rough to do but I think it turned out okay. I used my laptop skin as the inspiration for the mural. I used a projector to trace the image onto the wall and traced away. The hardest part was realigning the chandelier each time I had to move the projector. I had practiced initially by painting 'Diego' the animal rescuer on the wall for my son and I think that one turned a bit better. Regardless I'm happy with, try not to stare at the lines not really lining up! Also I used Stickes on the tops of the candles to simulate a glow...love those things!

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA 08 Challenge 1 - Take 2

I committed myself to working on another card tonight and came up with this...

For some reason I think I've seen a layout that is similar so my apologies in advance! The challenge for this round is to use the colors, purple, blue and brown on the card. I seem to be taking the easy way out by using hints of blue as opposed to blue paper in the card. I'm getting adventurous so I might try blue paper later in the week.

Stamps: Amuse, Studio G. Ribbon: Amuse

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA 08 Challenge 1

Here's hoping that Amuseapalooza helps me get my groove back, here's my first challenge card!

Stamps: Amuse, Studio G. Ink: Colorbox