Amethystcat Designs: Stamping with Seleise

New Catalog!

2012-01-29T17:19:00.001-06:00

This is my A Muse Studio team, led by Col. Jack O'Neill! LOL.

Just kidding. Couldn't resist - love me some Col. Jack! ;) These are the team members who made it to New Orleans. It's such a wonderful group of fun and nice and creative people! We had such a good time together! Our first A Muse Studio convention rocked!

Here's Beth, me and Heather checking out the new catalog. It's full of sooooo many yummy stamps and exclusive spellbinder dies as well as fabulous cardstock and glitter and ink and so much more.

Would you like to have your own copy of the catalog? If so, I'll make you a deal! The catalog costs $9.95. But, I will sell it to you for only $10 which includes the cost of shipping it to you! Basically, that's $5 for the catalog and $5 for shipping. And, I take paypal. :) Click here to e-mail me if you're interested!

The new catalog will also be available for you to see online. I'll post the link as soon as it's up. It goes live on February 1, 2012!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

My swap card, ATC and mini Valentine treat

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello, everyone!!! I hope you are having a most fabulous day! I am too. I just spent the week-end in New Orleans at the A Muse Studio National Conference and it was fantastic!! It was the first conference for a│s which made it super special. And, it was my first time in NOLA. What a great city! Great music, great food and great people. Can't wait to go back sometime.

And, I just realized that my last post (which I posted while in NOLA) had an issue with the first pic. I have now corrected that so if you have another sec, go to the post before this one and see the outside as well as the inside of the little carrier.

But, I digress. Back to the conference... It was FANTASTIC!!! The first evening we swapped with everyone and made make and takes. Here is my swap card. It features, Tini Time and Blackberry shimmer cardstock, both plain and damask. The blackberry ink makes a great "drink", doesn't it? oops - sorry for the extra shimmer. I swear I didn't have a drink in my hand at the time. lol! just shot the pic in a hurry. :) Oh - the base of this card was made with the shimmer spritz, not the shimmer paper. Another fun way to get shimmer.

I also made a one-layer ATC (artist trading card) which is 2 1/2" X 3 1/2" in size. It's fun to trade these cute little goodies. :) This is using the wild rose set in sky and latte as well as the sheet music in sky for the background. The Many Thanks is in French Roast (or maybe it was the memento brown - hmm....) :)

Finally, I made a teeny tiny Valentine treat with the individually packed lifesavers. a mini yummy treat. :) The heart trio die worked beautifully with the felt to make the heart. The tag is Labels 8 and the 1" circle was the perfect size for the Wild Rose sentiment "for you" and of course, the gingham is perfect for the mini label. :)

My friend, Chelsea, posted all of the swap cards from National conference on her blog and her photos look great. Be sure to check them out!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I promise to get caught up on my blog reading soon! But for now, I still need to recover from the good times in NOLA! :) All products used in these swaps can be found on my personal shopping website: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Roomie/Travel Buddy Gift

2012-01-21T14:00:00.002-06:00

I saw this idea on pinterest (my friend Michelle posted it)and knew that I had just seen my roomie and travel buddy gift!! This was so easy to modify to the sizes of my bottles.

Here's the inside. Retired paper but that's ok because it can be made with so many different papers. And how about the fabulous heart dies? Love them!!

What do you think?Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Friendship Holiday Card

2012-01-18T14:30:00.000-06:00

If I ever get these out the door, this is my holiday card. I say holiday because it's now past Christmas and New Year's so it's more of a winter friendship or Kansas Day or maybe Groundhog's day kind of card so "holiday". LOL! ;)

This cute little stamp set, Chill of Winter, is a great little snowman set that can be used all through the winter (good thing, right? hee hee!). The snowflake outside and the inside "Happy Holidays" is also from Chill of Winter and the other sentiment is from a PTI set. See the border inside - cute! It and the big snowflake on the outside are from Snow Crystals - great set!

What do you think of the green/red snowflakes? I thought they looked pretty groovy. :)

I'm heading off to the A Muse Studio National Conference soon but hopefully will get some posts pre-scheduled with my swaps and roomie/travel buddy gift pics.

Have a wonderfully creative day!!www.amusestudio.com/seleise #1379

One Layer Card: Less is More Week 50 Challenge

2012-01-16T01:30:00.000-06:00

Clean and simple, one layer cards can be a challenge and that's exactly what's been asked at "Less is More" this week. The exact week 50 challenge is One Layer with Birds. I love how this card turned out. Lots of white space which is hard sometimes not to fill but I resisted, this time. :) What do you think? And, isn't this the best quote?! Maya Angelou is amazing!

Awkward camera angle alert - lol! The one-layer design carries into the card to finish it off.

Products: Vanilla Cardstock. Ocean, French Roast and Fern Inks and Making a Difference, Avian Notes and Beautiful Botanicals 2 stamp sets
All products are A Muse Studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Thanks for popping by my blog and have a wonderfully creative day!

Valentine's Envelope and Hearts

2012-01-13T09:05:00.003-06:00

Pinterest - what a happy place! I was inspired by a card that I saw on there that had a library pocket type envelope with hearts coming out. I didn't think to get the blog author's link to give credit. So sorry!!! I played off that design and now have seen several other cards similar to this one so guess we were all inspired. :)

This card uses the mini envelope die - look at that super cute, teeny tiny envelope! I LOVE it! The medium size heart from the Heart Trio is the perfect size to come bursting out of the pocket. The cardstock hearts are from the Sweetheart and Heartbreaker Cardstock pack (20 sheets, 5 of each color). The envelope and hearts are layered on a piece of kraft cardstock which is layered on a sugar card base. Prior to layering, I stamped the kraft with the sheet music stamp using versamark and then sponged the edge in cherry with a heart dauber. Don't you love that the hearts are kind of like helium balloons just bursting up and out of the envelope? (If it doesn't look like that, just pretend it does - it will make my day - LOL!)

The hearts are carried inside the card where another piece of kraft was layered on the sugar. This time the edge was made by dragging the cardstock against the cherry ink pad. Gives it more of a hard border effect.

This was the final new class project for January. The other was the Wild Rose congratulations card that I posted in early November. So, it was a pink and purple month. Not planned, just happily that way. :) Now, I need to start thinking about February's class but first, I've got to get swaps ready for National Convention which is coming soon! I can't wait!!!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

All products are A Muse Studio which can be purchased securely anytime, online: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Valentine's Day Treat Bag

2012-01-11T11:49:00.004-06:00

Here's a quick and easy Valentine's Day treat bag that we made in my class on Monday. I entered this in CAS150 Windows and CAS 152 Die Cuts on SplitCoast Stampers. It's my first time to enter one of the SCS Challenges. :)

I cut the hearts out of one side of the bag (3 X 1 3/4 X 5 3/4 brown paper bag) using the Heart Trio Die set. I should have taken a picture (and I might add one later)(*NOTE - I'm adding them here now) of how I did it because it's super easy and makes it so much easier to cut a bunch of bags in the same way. I taped the back of the dies to the bottom of a strip of of 8.5" X 3 1/8" cardstock. I arranged them so that they'd create the look I wanted when I cut the hearts out.

I could then slide the cardstock inside the front side of the bag, leaving it flat and then run the bag through the Cuttlebug.

This is with it pushed all the way in - see a little strip to easily pull it back out of the bag.

Here's a side view so you can see that the cardstock is just in the front part of the bag to only cut that part.

Pull out the strip, insert it into the next bag and do it again. Easy Peasy! I didn't have to worry about the dies sliding because they were taped to my sheet and this way each bag would look exactly the same. I will do this again with other dies and nesties. Lots of gift bags can be made this way in a very short amount of time. :)

The topper is a Labels 8 die and the bubblegum felt hearts were also cut out of the heart trio dies. I used the quickie glue pen to stick the hearts to the onyx and white baker's twine. Isn't that fun?! I think it adds a super fun touch to the twine!

Now we come to the polka dots - the lovely bubblegum polka dot cardstock. The A Muse Studio polka dot paper is retiring (boo hoo!!!!). I am addicted to polka dots so this is going to take some getting used to but I'm sure new and fabulous things are coming in the new catalog so I will adjust. However, if you want any polka dot paper, order it now because when it's gone, it's GONE! I put a 4 1/2" X 3 1/8" strip inside the bag and trimmed the bag about a quarter of an inch above the cardstock. The bags are kind of thin so this made it a little more sturdy.

Finally, the sentiment is in bubblegum ink and is from Essential Sentiments. Great stamp set with all those phrases you use the most.

All products and supplies are A Muse Studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Tini Time Shimmer

2012-01-09T23:00:00.000-06:00

Some of you may have gotten a sneak peek at this card earlier today - oops! I hit publish instead of save and then immediately pulled it back but it was already picked up by different feeds so here's your "deja vu" moment. :) This was one of my class cards tonight. It's shimmery and fun and I hope you enjoy it!

It's another Tini Time card. This one is paired with the shimmery bubblegum damask cardstock 1-3/4" squares arranged on onyx cardstock layered on a shell background. Can you see how well it shimmers? I love it! The martini glass is in memento tuxedo black and the "drink" is in shell ink. A sugar rim was created with the quickie glue pen and bubblegum glitter. And, the bow is bubblegum polka dot organdy ribbon that was tied with the fork method. There are also some teeny tiny polka dots in shell ink on the front as well as the inside. Don't you just love those little dots! I dig the polka dot stamp set.

So, what do you think? Does it make you want to mix a martini? This would be a great birthday card or friendship card or congrats card! And, you can do a bunch of neat things with the martini glass - turn it into a side table, put it upside down and use it as a cool light fixture and more. Love it!

All products are a muse studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

Retiring Products List a│s

2012-01-08T17:22:00.001-06:00

Say "Good-bye" to some of the a muse studio products. Yep, the retiring list is out so get your goodies now before they're gone forever!!!

Shop anytime online at www.amusestudio.com/seleiseDon't forget both the 2011 catalog and the Holiday catalog expire at midnight January 31st! Have a wonderfully creative day!

Growing Up is Optional

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

Hee hee! I love this sentiment. :) And, it's so true. :) This is another birthday card option made with Fiskars clear stamps with an a muse sentiment on the inside. The background is all done with stamping with a muse studio inks, bubblegum and papaya. Love the a│s inks!!! And, I love mixing colors and images to create a background, especially if I don't have the right paper on hand. The ribbon really is a pink that coordinates but it looks way darker here. How funny. Trust me, it really does go. :) One of these days I'll get my photography act together....maybe. LOL!

As you know, I like to carry my design into the card so more of the pretty little images carry into the inside and the a│s Celebrate in Style sentiment is a fabulous finish. :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Eat More Cake

2012-01-04T08:30:00.000-06:00

Polka Dots and Birthday cards - what a great combo! Here are two a muse studio (a│s) polka dot cardstocks, bermuda and onyx, paired with an oval in a│s vanilla cardstock. Love it! Oval and scalloped oval nesties and a little a│s twinkle sticker bling finish off the card. Simple and easy. The sentiment is from a Fiskars stamp set as I haven't had a chance to get the a│s birthday stamp sets yet.

Do you like the layered polka dot look? I think you can never have too many polka dots! :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

www.amusestudio.com/seleise

What's Shakin'? CCT 197

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!! I am spending New Year's Eve hanging out with friends and am having a wonderful time! The evening has been filled with Laughter, Stamping, Chinese Food, Laughter, Snacks and did I mention Laughter? LOL! good times!!!

Another way I'm celebrating the new year is by participating in the Cute Card Thursday challenge (#197) to create a card celebrating the arrival of 2012!

Tini Time is a fabulous set that can be used to... celebrate the new year, toast to a birthday or a new couple, invite friends to a girl's night out or bachelorette party or progressive dinner or to use the glass as a table or hanging lamp or whatever. I love the groovy design elements that come with it too. :) I used a little shimmer over the bubblegum ink that is the pink ink in the drink and on the border. What do you think?

Have a wonderfully creative and happy 2012 filled with many blessings!

All supplies are A Muse Studio except for the green bazzill cardstock: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Wild Rose Sympathy

2011-12-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

I can't tell you how much I adore the Wild Rose stamp set from A Muse Studio. It's so great for sympathy, birthday, congratulations, wedding/anniversary cards and more. Here's a sample of a congratulations card made with this set. I love that you can make it look so different with different ink colors and can also make it look so elegant with embossing. Really versatile!

I used the scalloped oval and oval nesties and just cut rectangles for the sentiment. The leaves are in latte and the flowers are in current. Can you see the teeny tiny polka dots from polka dot backgrounds? I'll be playing with those polka dots some more soon!

Here's the inside. I like to add a little touch of the image to the inside of the cards - just seems to finish it off, don't you think?

Have a wonderfully creative day!

All products used are from A Muse Studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Hello!

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

Good morning! Here's a little black/red gingham card for you this morning. It's another quick card that a few spellbinder dies help pull together. Don't you love nesties? I can't get enough of them!!! A fiskars border punch was part of the creative process as well. CAS - don't you agree? I hope so as I'm participating in the Just One Word challenge on the "Less is More" CAS blog.

What do you think? I love the music notes - aren't they wonderful? Have a fabulously creative day and keep a song in your heart!

All products except the fiskars punch are from A Muse Studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Quick Coffee - How Ya' Bean?

2011-12-27T09:30:00.000-06:00

Here's a super quick "how ya' bean" card. A little vintage and vanilla cardstock, sponge dauber, ocean and french roast ink, nestie shape and grosgrain ribbon and you're good to go.

I love how well the a muse studio ink handles the detail, even on the littlest of stamps. Those teeny tiny coffee beans look crisp and clean. Love that! Have a wonderfully creative day!www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Merry Christmas! !

2011-12-24T23:59:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas to you and yours!! I am taking a brief break for family but will be back with a post soon. Have a wonderful holiday!!!

My Photo Helper, Nicest Thoughts AND Bonus Recipe!

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

I have a bunch of things to share with you today. First, one of my nephews decided that he wanted to be part of the photos when I was taking pics for a card order. He's 4 and picked his own poses. What a hoot!

Here's cute!

Here's serious.

And, here's "look, Sees, I can talk like a fish!" LOL!

So, here's a card that reflects my fun day. You're one of my nicest thoughts! Isn't that a great sentiment? Wouldn't you love getting a card in the mail on a crappy day and open it up to see that someone thinks you're one of their nicest thoughts? If I ever got my own cards mailed, I'd love to brighten someone's day that way. But, I'm postally challenged. :)Perhaps I will be better in 2012. :)

Here's the inside.

What do you think? I love the ocean and pebble inks layered on top of each other, don't you? This card used Beautiful Botanicals and Friends Fur-ever stamp sets, Kraft, Vanilla and Vintage Cardstock and Ocean, Pebble a│s ink and black memento. Oval and scalloped oval nestabilities finished it off. All products are a muse studio and can be purchased anytime online at www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Oh - and a bonus is a new favorite recipe of mine. It takes under 5 minutes to make from beginning to end. If you love cinnamon toast or cinnamon snacks, this snack mix is for you!!!

Cinnamon Munch

1/3 c. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 tbsp. butter
4 c. crispix (or rice or corn chex)

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Place butter in a 2 quarts baking dish or deep bowl. Microwave on high, 40 seconds or until melted. Add cereal to butter mixture. Stir gently until evenly coated. Microwave on high, for 2 minutes, stirring after each minute. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the cereal. Stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture and stir again. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Spread on absorbent paper to cool. Yield: 4 cups.

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Mitten "Sleigh" Candy Treat Box

2011-12-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

I hope you've enjoyed the last three posts as we walked through the projects from my December class. It's time for the final project and it's a fun one for holiday treats - a mitten "sleigh" candy box. You will see these on my craft fair table next year. :)

I was so excited when this came together because it's just super fun! Cut four mittens - two from each side of the onyx polka dot cardstock. Glue together. (you can skip this step if you use double-sided cardstock - fyi - the a muse studio cardstock is double-sided but the inside is vanilla so you can write on it if making a card). Use the small snowflake die and cut two vanilla snowflakes. *I'd wait until you assembled the mittten and then add the snowflakes so they don't get "beat up" during assembly. I used one glue dot in the center.

Cut a 3 X 3.25 in piece of cardstock and score 1" from the edge on each side. Cut the cardstock as indicated in the graphic. Fold and glue the "flaps" to make a box.

Attach the 1" side of the box to each mitten but not all the way to the bottom of the mitten. Tie on some baker's twine and add some Andes Peppermint Crunch - or your favorite small snack or note or maybe even quarters and you're done.

What do you think? I just got the large mitten die from a muse so I can't wait to make a larger version of this same project. Good times ahead!

All products used are a muse studio and can be purchased anytime at www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Blackberry Shimmer Damask Thank You

2011-12-16T16:30:00.000-06:00

Shimmery wonderfulness!!! Seriously - the a muse studio shimmer papers are DIVINE!!! They are a little "spendy" but if you compare them to buying a $5 card for a special occasion, they're not "spendy" at all.

This is a super simple and yet beautiful card with a soft shimmer. It features the blackberry damask and the butterfly die. The butterflies are cut from the opposite side of the blackberry damask cardstock. It's shimmery too!!! I paired the shimmer with the regular blackberry cardstock and it goes wonderfully together. The butterflies are just glued in the center so they look like they just landed on the card.The shimmer paper is layered on a sugar card base. It helps stretch the use of the more expensive paper.

Inside is a simple Thank You from Avian Notes in blackberry ink. Isn't the font pretty? A clean and simple card to let someone know you care about their kindness. What do you think?

I'm heading to a crop this week-end so plan to stamp up a storm. Maybe I'll get my Christmas cards made. I'm only 3 years behind. And, yes, I know it's ironic for a cardmaker to not get her own cards out. I'm usually filling other orders and don't get my own projects done. That's a good problem to have, right?! :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!
Shop online anytime: www.amusestudio.com/seleise #1379

Valentine Felt Coasters

2011-12-14T20:30:00.000-06:00

A Muse Studio (a│s) does a spotlight flyer each month to highlight some products and they always have super cute creative ideas too. Felt coasters were on the November spotlight (see it here). I really liked the idea but wanted to change it up just a bit so made it a Valentine's project.

How do you make it? Use the a│s cherry and bubblegum felt and the circle and scalloped circle spellbinders (the next to largest size). Before you cut the bubblegum felt, place the heart die in the middle of the scalloped circle die and cut the bubblegum. You'll have a pink scalloped circle with a heart opening in the middle. (use the bubblegum heart on your card or packaging. Then, use the same heart die to cut a heart from the cherry felt. Use heat and bond to put it all together. Easy and cute and fun! What do you think of the variation?

All products are a muse studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a wonderfully creative day!

Rosette Snowman Gift Tag (or Banner Piece)

2011-12-13T11:07:00.001-06:00

Do you ever have an idea simmering in the back of your mind for a card/craft idea and when you sit down at the craft table and start creating you hope it works out as you see it in your head? I do that all the time and well...sometimes (many times) it just doesn't work out. LOL! But, this time it DID!!! I love when a plan comes together! I was thinking "rosettes are big right now and they're fun to make and I love snowmen so why not combine them all together?" Here you go...

This is a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" size gift tag. It's perfect for your big Christmas packages, tied around a bottle of wine or it can even be the start to a Christmas banner. It would even look great just hanging on it's own.

So, how do you make it? Take a 3/4" X 8 1/2" of sugar cardstock. Score every half inch and then flip it over and score every 1/4" in-between your 1/2" scores. Why flip it 180 degrees? This is so you get mountain and valley folds. Accordion fold your piece and when you have it all pre-folded, trim off one 1/4" piece from the end. Then tape the ends together. By cutting off 1/4" piece, you'll have an end that tucks perfectly into the valley of your accordion fold. Push the center of your circle towards the table and you'll have a beautiful little rosette. Hot glue the rosette to a small circle base and set aside. This is the head.

Take two 1 1/2" X 11" strips. Score each at 1" and flip 180 and score the 1/2". You don't need to trim any ends off of these pieces as the mountains and valleys work out evenly. :) Tape the two strips together and finish the rosette as listed above. This is the body.

Spray both the head and the body with the Stardust Finishing Spray to get that pretty shimmery finish. Cut a nose from a piece of orange cardstock. Add some bling for eyes and buttons or use googly eyes and buttons or use cardstock or whatever.

For the scarf, I used the Cherry felt. Wow - this stuff is AWESOME! So thick and nice. It's really a good quality felt. Cut some fringe on each end of the 1/2" X 8 1/2" felt. Use felt scraps to assemble a hat.

The base is kraft cardstock (edges trimmed off to make a tag shape and a hole punched in the middle of the top) with Snow Crystals stamped all over in cherry ink. A sponge dauber worked perfectly for distressing the edges. Add cherry grosgrain ribbon for the hanger.

As you can see from the side view, the head is popped up since it's a little narrower. Assemble everything - you can even tie the "scarf" if you choose - and you're done. :) What do you think?

All products, except for the larger "bling", are A Muse Studio (a│s). You can shop securely anytime on my shopping site at www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Check back soon for more of my December class projects! Have a wonderfully creative day!

Joy - Believe - Rejoice Banner

2011-12-12T15:45:00.001-06:00

Before we get into the banner, check out the lovely *ahem* dusty lavender linen-like background. That's my cube wall in the cube farm where I work. It doesn't show off the banner to the best advantage but I wanted a photo before I delivered it so... :)

Now we can focus on the banner. This uses two TAC stamp sets, some shimmer paper and embossing powder. Can't go wrong with that combo!! I made a few of these in four different colors for the craft fairs. I love embossing and especially love the cream on the bright shimmers. It's the little things that make us happy. :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Graduation Snow Globe

2011-12-11T09:29:00.001-06:00

Here's a fun take on a graduation card. Yep, I'm in a graduation mood, I guess. :) And, yep, that's a snowglobe! *wink*

I love snowglobes so decided to see what else would make cool snowglobe items besides the traditional wintery things. Here's my take on a graduation hat snowglobe. I took the (a│s) snow globe die and cut out the globe in vanilla and the base in onyx woodgrain. Then, I took the hat from con-GRAD-ulations in Memento ink and stamped it up and down and all around on the vanilla piece. I should have put a few gathered at the base to look like the globe had just been "shaken" and was starting to settle back in but that just occurred to me so not so helpful. :) I wanted the "snow" effect so decided to go back to the versamark/embossing powder option. I pressed the versamark pad all over the globe and then added the diamond embossing powder. Hit it with a heat gun until all the embossing powder was melted and assembled the card. The base is vanilla with onyx and cherry on top. The sentiment was added and then the globe.

Time to play with some more options. :)

All products are A Muse Studio (a│s): www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Simple and Quick Graduation Card

2011-12-09T19:09:00.000-06:00

The A Muse Studio (a│s) stamp set "Con-grad-ulations" is an awesome stamp set for graduation cards. It has everything you need - a great saying, a big ole "conGRADulations", a graduation hat and a diploma. It's AWESOME!!! You can design cards so many different ways and can combine it with so many different papers that it will make you seem like it's a new set every time you make graduation cards. That's an awesome stamp set!

I got invited to a graduation party and I picked up a little gift but it occurred to me during lunch that I hadn't made a card. OOPS! I needed to get back to work so I took some pre-cut supplies that I had in my stash and got busy. Two labels 3 nestie cut-outs, a│s onyx polka dot paper and a│s cherry ink. One quick note, if you haven't tried the a│s inks, you are missing out. The coverage and the colors are FANTASTIC!!!

I love, love, love this sentiment. It's so true!!!And, don't you love the red, black and cream combo? I especially love the red cut-out on the onyx polka dot. :)

I don't have the onyx a│s ink yet so I used palette for the hats. I didn't get the best coverage so hit them with the stardust gel pen and added some shimmer. Because everything was cut, this card took less than five minutes. You can never go wrong with this color combo and having a stamp set with everything you need made it even easier. :)

What do you think?

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Cool Yule "Snow" Ornament

2011-12-08T12:09:00.002-06:00

I'm still here!!! Made it through the last craft fair and have been trying to finish up special orders and Christmas orders so please forgive the time between posts. I hope to get back on track soon. :)

Tis the season to make merry and give gifts. Here's a fun little gift that can be modified in so many different ways to fit so many different interests of the recipient. I sold these at the craft fairs with snowmen on polka dot backgrounds and trees on music backgrounds. I love snow globes so decided they'd be a fun as an ornament too. :)

How do you make it? Start with a favor tin and use some vintage sheet music or patterned paper to make a background - use a nesties circle or circle punch to get the round shape. Stamp and cut out a tree from A Muse Studio Cool Yule and the sentiment too. Add some spica glitter pen to shimmer it up. Pop up the tree and then double-pop up the sentiment to create layers. Punch a couple of hole in the top with your crop-a-dile, add a button detail to cover the holes and add some button love to the ornament. Then put in a pinch of fake snow for the "snow globe" effect" and glue the tin shut. You could do these as wedding favors or gifts for your church choir or as tags on your Christmas gifts or so much more. Have fun playing!!!

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!
www.amusestudio.com/seleise Consultant #1379

Top 10 Must Haves

2011-12-01T20:15:00.001-06:00

Here are the Top 10 Must Have Items and they're on SALE!!! woo hoo!!!
www.amusestudio.com/seleise (#1379)

Retiring List

2011-12-01T20:07:00.002-06:00

The following stamps are being retired from the A Muse Studio product line. If there's any that you want, grab them before they're gone because when they're gone. They're gone for good!
www.amusestudio.com/seleise (#1379)

Holiday Pencil Packs

2011-11-28T11:38:00.002-06:00

I'm back! I hope everyone had a good week! I took a holiday break to spend some time with my family. It was great to be home for a few days. Now it's time to get back to craft fair season and the work world and everything else. :)

Here's one of my new craft fair items. It's a pencil pack - 4 holiday pencils in a handmade holder. What a cheery little gift or stocking stuffer! I had a hard time keeping the pencils from my youngest niece and nephews as they LOVE pencils! The sentiment is from a│s mini holiday messages and the cute little snowman is from a│s holiday tags. These are great sets that can be used so many different ways.

Have a wonderfully creative day!
www.amusestudio.com/seleise (consultant #1379)

Rosette and Embossed Holiday Card with Tutorials

2011-11-22T09:18:00.001-06:00

Can I just say that I LOVE the A Muse Studio cardstocks, especially when layered together?!!! Here is the candy cane, onyx polka dot, onyx, vanilla and twas the night before Christmas!! Don't they look yummy together? Yes, the candy cane is cream and red not white and red so don't order it thinking you're getting white. But, it's fabulous when paired with other cream based papers and they all look great on the kraft cardstock!!! Don't you agree?

Rosettes are huge right now so I had to jump on that bandwagon too. Plus, they're just fun to make!! This one is made from an 8.5" X 3/4" strip. I scored every 1/2" on the patterned side and then flipped it over and scored the 1/4" between each score line. This gives you the "hills and valleys" for the accordian fold so that the paper doesn't "break" and show the fibers. After you score, fold to the bump (the hill not the valley) and make the accordion. When you have the folds completed, trim off 1/4" from one of the ends. It doesn't matter which one. You're going to attach the ends together to form a circle. Use some super stick tape (1/8" works best) and tuck your trimmed end in the valley of the first fold on the other end. I should have taken a pic. sorry. Basically, you're just hiding the raw edge in the valley of the first fold. Then, very carefully push the circle flat and glue it to a 1 1/4" circle base. A hot glue gun is probably your best bet but I made this rosette with zip dry. You just have to hold it a couple of minutes until the glue dries.

The teeny tiny bow is in the Cherry satin ribbon and was made by using a fork to tie the bow. Seriously. :) I will be purchasing the a│s bow maker tool but I haven't had a chance yet. I had seen this on the web a couple of years ago and had meant to try it but you know how you see too many good ideas and don't quite make it back to all of them... yep. that's me too. So, I googled and here's the link to the pdf that Diana Gibbs created. I don't know Diana but this is a fabulous tutorial and I appreciate her sharing it with all of us: http://dianagibbs.typepad.com/files/how-to-tie-a-fork-bow-with-diana-gibbs.pdf

The final fun part of this card is the shimmery center piece. The shapes are all cut with Labels 3 nesties. I love this set!!! I probably use it more than any other. I made a frame with a circle nestie on the black piece. Under the frame is a vanilla cardstock labels 3 piece. Now, how to get it sparkly? Stamp the sentiment from mini holiday messages with memento ink and then press a versamark ink pad all over the top until that piece is covered with the clear ink. Cover the inked piece with diamond embossing powder and tap off the excess. Hit it with the heat gun until the embossing powder is melted (the sentiment shows through more clearly). You'll have a sparkly image and a fabulous accent on your card.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the November card class projects. I guess now I need to think about December's class. All products are a muse studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Gingham Coffee Window Bag

2011-11-20T16:09:00.001-06:00

Oh my gosh - I apologize for the delay. I've been on aunt duty and thought I would have time to post but ... too busy making cookies and reading stories and getting hugs. :) ok - now to crafting fun...

Tis the season to share goodies and here's a quick treat bag that's perfect for the giving process. These coffee window bags are AWESOME! Yep - they're in the A Muse Studio catalog and they come in kraft and white. Add some gingham paper, some red/white baker's twine and a snowman die - and get to gluing! Isn't the gingham snowman darling? I love it!!!

A spellbinders oval and scalloped oval paired with a sentiment from Mini Holiday Messages and some twinkle stickers and there you go! A cheery treat bag for your home-made goodies or coffee beans or whatever. :)

There's one project left from my November class so come back in a day or two. :)

All products are A Muse Studio: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Snow Globe Cool Yule Card

2011-11-16T19:48:00.000-06:00

Here's another fun Christmas card. I love snow globes and the snow globe die from A Muse Studio (a│s) was a must have item. I've made a couple of fun projects with it and can see many more fun things coming in the future. :)

I don't know if you can see it but I sprayed the globe with the shimmer spray after the trees and stars were stamped. I love the effect it gives the globe. :) I stamped the vanilla cardstock globe with the trees from Cool Yule in Cherry Ink. Then I stamped the stars in pebble and put a pile of them at the bottom to hopefully indicate that the globe has just been shaken and the stars are settling back in at the bottom. I sprayed it with the Stardust Shimmery Spray next and then layered it onto the sponged base. Another option would be to shimmer up the whole card front but I wanted just the globe to have shimmer. The base is onyx woodgrain and the sentiment is on the smallest labels 8 spellbinder die. The card base is the onyx polka dot cardstock and the words are Twas the Night Before Christmas cardstock. Love it!!!

The card continues inside and the stars are falling from the sky like snowflakes. Isn't it fabulous that the inside of the a│s cardstock is white or cream? I love that!!! No layering needed. It makes me happy. :) I'm kind of digging the trees in the cherry red ink. What do you think?

I was in a red/black/cream and white mood for my class on Monday so all four projects that we did fall in that color family.That's unusual for me but it was kind of fun! All of the products used on this card can be found on my secure shopping site: http://www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Check back soon because two more projects from my November class are coming. Have a wonderfully creative day!

Cocoa Treat Bag with a Glittery Clothespin!!

2011-11-15T07:55:00.006-06:00

Here's one of the projects we made in my class tonight. It uses the 3" X 1.75" X 5.5" brown bags that a│s carries. I love this size of brown paper bag - big enough to be able to stamp on it but small enough that it can hold just the right amount of something to be a good gift. :)

This bag actually holds a bag of cocoa and two mini candy canes. YUM! The design was inspired by a Halloween bag that Lori Barnett created. It's so cute that I had to make my own version for the Christmas holidays. :)

To start, I cut off about an 1" or so off the top of the bag. I didn't want my bag way longer than my cocoa packet but if I used a longer cocoa packet, I would have kept the bag as is. :) The closure on top is made from the largest Labels 3 die. The candy cane paper is FABULOUS for a bag topper! It's cream and cherry red colors go well with the black and cream polka dot paper and the vanilla circle.

The red/white baker's twine ties around the topper and then a mini glittery clothespin holds the tag to the bag. Note, the clothespin doesn't come glittery. The mini clothespins are tiny little wonderful clothespins. I LOVE them. They're just soooo cute!!! And, to glitter them up is super easy. Take a 1/8" piece of super stick tape and cover the top of the clothespin. The tape is almost exactly the same size as the mini. Then, simply dip the clothespin in cranberry glitter and voilà - a glittery mini wonder! The great thing about using the super stick tape is that you don't have to wait for it to dry. The clothespin is ready to use immediately. I love that! :)

The mug and sentiment (from Holiday Tags) was stamped in memento ink and colored with a lipstick red copic. Then, the quickie glue pen was used to trace the snowflake and the lip of the cup (to create a sugared rim look) and cranberry glitter was added. Clip the sentiment to create a "flag" to go off the edge and then clip the tag to the bakers twine with the glittery clothespin.

A fairly quick and simple gift to brighten up the holidays. These would make great party favors, classroom gifts, co-worker gifts or even placecards - just add the name to the bag. I think I'm going to add some of these to my craft fair creations for the the upcoming craft fair. What do you think?

Have fun creating your own little bag treats and hope you make some glittery mini clothespins to finish off the look!

All products used were A Muse Studio. Shop online anytime: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Click on the Spotlight Specials tab just below the blog header to see the great goodies on sale until December 14th! And, there's a great Black Friday promotion as well. I'll be sending in an order on Friday, November 25th so let me know if you want in on the promotion (free shimmery onyx damask notecards with any order - yummy!).

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Winter Wishes

2011-11-13T08:21:00.001-06:00

Whew - how is it Sunday already? We had another craft fair yesterday and I was working like crazy this week to get things done so did not get back and get any posts up. I will try to be better this week as I have 3 weeks before the next craft fair. :)

This is the other swap card I did for the holiday swap. I sprayed shimmer mist on the card base which gave it a delightful shimmery look (and puts a big reflection in a photo!) on it which is super cool! It makes any card look shimmery. Can't wait to play with that some more! I did a little stamp surgery on my Winter Wishes set. Since the stamps are rubber, I cut the sentiment from under the snowmen so I could use the snowmen by themselves in this design. The beauty is that I can fit the two pieces back together and use them as one piece as well. Love that about unmounted rubber stamps!

This card has the snowmen and sentiment from a│s winter wishes, the decorative "flakes" from a│s tini time, blackberry, onyx, sugar a│s cardstock and a│s blackberry ink. (a│s is amuse studio). You can pick up all these supplies anytime at my online shopping site: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!! I will be working on my cards for class tomorrow night! Good times!

How Ya' Bean?

2011-11-09T17:14:00.003-06:00

Swaps - what a fun thing to do!!! I recently participated in a swap with some former angels who have joined A*Muse Studio (a│s). It was so much fun to see so many wonderful ideas!!! I was truly inspired. Here was my starter kit swap. Thinking of joining a│s? Look at these goodies you get to play with if you do!!! fabulous!!!

This card features a stamp from Graphic Sunflower - doesn't it make a fantastic background?!!! And, the "to go" cup, espresso beans and sentiment are from The Perfect Blend. The inks and papers round it all out - love the gingham and polka dot together, don't you?!!!

You can shop for these wonderful products anytime on-line at www.amusestudio.com/seleise (consultant #1379).

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

The Best Teachers...

2011-11-06T18:10:00.000-06:00

a│s School Days is a wonderful set to use for those great teachers in your life. This a great one layer card with just a bit of french roast grosgrain ribbon. Stamp the ruler in french roast ink first, add the sentiment and apples in cranberry ink and then add the ribbon. Easy peasy. :)

Even better - add a row of apples and another sentiment inside!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Wild Rose Congrats!

2011-11-03T07:54:00.013-05:00

I can't get enough of the a│s Wild Rose stamp set. I adore it!! It's great for sympathy cards, birthday cards, get well cards... you get the idea - versatile! Here it's in use as a congratulations card.

I love the blackberry and polka dot cardstock layered on the vanilla cardstock! And, the wild rose stamp border makes such an awesome detail in the center of the card. The organdy ribbon really sits on it well, don't you think? And, you can see in this second shot that one of the roses was stamped and then cut out and popped up again. Such a pretty detail. I'm loving the slate and blackberry inks too. It's a perfect color combo for the recipient of the card!

Here's the inside of the card. I used a sentiment from the a│s Make a Difference stamp set. Love that set!! Oh and the congratulations on the front of the card is from the a│s Essential Sentiments stamp set.

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Ornaments and Magnets

2011-11-02T10:54:00.005-05:00

These little ornaments and magnets are so fun to make and have on display. They're part of my new craft fair items this year. I may even get my etsy site open and post some there but we'll see how time works out for that. :) I used the A Muse Studio school days set, the TAC Hello Snow set and the A Muse Studio polka dot paper in many of them! I love snow globes and this ornament gives that effect with the snow inside.What do you think?

Here are the magnets! Great way to brighten up a file cabinet or refrigerator or any other metallic surface!

And, here are some of the ornaments! Check out the button and ribbon hanger on top. love it!

These are great gifts to add to a stocking or tie to a package or to give to a co-worker, don't you agree? I will try to post a few more of my holiday treasures soon.

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

Cupcake Kind of Day

2011-11-02T00:32:00.001-05:00

Here's a super quick - tone on tone - cupcake kind of day card using the A Muse Studio Oven Joy stamp set. A little bling by the sentiment adds a fun touch. If I were to make this card again, I would make the sentiment piece larger so that it covered up the cupcakes. I think you know why. lol!

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Enjoying the Ride

2011-10-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

The first craft fair of the season is done! What a great day! There are five of us who stamp together and share the booth space. It's great to do something fun together! Our next one is in two weeks so have to get busy creating items to replace those that sold. good times!

Here's a fun card using a Phyllis Harris stamp from the now defunct company, The Angel Company. Love this image and know that it will bring a smile to the recipient. :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Sympathy Card

2011-10-27T12:29:00.005-05:00

Here's another quick and simple sympathy card. Loving Memories is a set that is simple and stunning. I love that tree and the sentiments are great too! A little cuttlebug action added a little texture to the card.

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Pick Me Up

2011-10-26T09:17:00.001-05:00

Here's a super fun card ready to bring a smile to a friend. It's a retired TAC set but I see myself using it for years to come. It's got so much personality and so many options. Can't wait to play with it more!!! (Thanks, Julie, for hooking me up with this set!)

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Oh - and if you're in the Beloit, KS, area on Saturday, our first craft show of the year is the Beloit Holiday Fair on October 29th! Can't wait to see you!!!

Swingin' Day

2011-10-23T19:21:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick masculine card for the golfer in your life! It's simple and fun and quick! What can be better? The stamp set is "Swingin' Day" from A Muse Studio. It's currently out of stock but should be back in soon.

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Loving Memories

2011-10-21T15:43:00.003-05:00

Here's a clean and simple sympathy card that will go through the mail easily since it doesn't have any raised embellishments. A little bit of black paper sets off the image. I think the Labels 8 provides a nice "frame" for the sentiment, don't you?

The trees are from Loving Memories and the sentiment is from Essential Sentiments. Both are A Muse Studio stamps stamped in the wonderful A Muse Studio cranberry pigment ink.

Bookworm Ruby

2011-10-19T22:37:00.012-05:00

Here's another one of Sparkle Creations lovely stamps! This is Bookworm Ruby and she's just delightful!

I colored her with Copic markers and have to give a shout-out to Angela Kelley for teaching us how to color hair at this year's TAC seminar. I'm still working on it but love the effects!. A cuttlebug folder added some texture and, of course, there's always room for a little bling to finish off a card, don't you agree? :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

You are One of a Kind

2011-10-17T16:40:00.004-05:00

Here's a fun friend card to pick up someone's day. I used Heather's sketch - well a loose interpretation of her sketch #152: http://stampez.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/09/monday-sketch-152.html

I used all the same elements but turned the card and oval to the side.I think the pink, grey and blackberry cardstocks work well together, don't you? And, how about the baker's twine??? love it! Finally, do you see the little heart bling in the middle of the gumballs? That's a twinkle sticker that was colored pink with a copic marker. So great to take something clear and make it a matching color. Inside the card says, "You are one of a kind". Fun!

Thanks for popping by my blog and have a wonderfully creative day!

Birthday Cake

2011-10-15T18:21:00.004-05:00

Here's another piece of chocolate cake to celebrate a happy day. I love it with the pink polka dot paper and a pretty green border which mimics the frosting and the cake plate. Yummy!

And, how about that pink polka dot organdy ribbon over the pink polka dot paper? love it! My final favorite touch is the twinkle stickers just on the edge of the spellbinder cut-out. Just a touch of bling - so fun! These products are all a*muse studio. You can pick them up anytime online at www.amusestudio.com/seleise.

Don't forget to check out the new specials on the A*Muse Studio Spotlight Specials page (see the tabs at the top of this blog post) or go to this link: http://amethystcat.blogspot.com/p/muse-studio-specials.html

Have a wonderfully creative day!

1 martini, 2 martini...

2011-10-13T09:27:00.002-05:00

Here's a pink drink to brighten up your day! Or, better yet, 3 pink drinks!! :) Am loving the Tini Time set from A Muse Studio!!! So fun and so silly and so perfect!

This card features the bubblegum ink and bubblegum polka dot organdy ribbon - love it!

What do you think?

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Relaxing Charlotte - Sparkle Creations

2011-10-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

How cute is Relaxing Charlotte?!!! I love this image from Sparkle Creations. So much fun to color and so much life in the image. good times. :) Parts of the image are popped up off of the crimped and embossed pieces. It adds a little dimension to the card.There's a little glitter on the bubbles too.

I do have to say that this card looks better in person. I've really got to improve my photo-taking ability. :)

I hope you have a wonderfully relaxing and creative day!

Just a Note of Thanks!

2011-10-11T11:19:00.001-05:00

Music makes me happy! So, a stamp set with music notes makes me even more happy!!! And, two stamps with music notes send me over the moon! :) Can you hear me singing? I know some of you can! ;)

The bird and music notes are from Avian Notes (love that set!!!) and the sentiment and birdcage is from Life is a Song - so fun!!! Here's the inside - it's Bazzill paper so had to layer to get my white inside piece so a note could be written. It's a quick little thank you!

I hope your day is filled with a happy little tune while you get done what has to get done! Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Gingham Sympathy

2011-10-10T07:43:00.003-05:00

The beautiful botanicals stamp set looks great in a monochromatic sympathy card design - especially layered on the gingham paper - don't you agree? I love, love, love the A*Muse Studio paper. Not only is it made with a soy-based ink but the inside is white so you don't have to worry about layering paper inside to be able to write your message. I repeated the puff floral inside but again, forgot to take a photo of the inside of the card. Sorry about that...

It seems I'm always in need of a Sympathy card but I end up selling them before I get them mailed (that's a good problem to have!). I am late getting a couple of cards out the door so hopefully will be productive this week and get some more of these made.

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Cocktail Emily

2011-10-09T00:52:00.001-05:00

I finally had some time to put some copics to work on my Sparkle Creations stamps! Here's my first card with one of Sparkle's fabulous stamps. How cute is this image??!!! I love it! This is Cocktail Emily and she's awesome! I put an a*muse studio sentiment on the inside from Tini Time but I forgot to take a pic of the inside. oops! I added a little shimmer gel pen to the image and used a border punch to finish off the card. Fun stuff!

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

Road of Life

2011-10-08T12:48:00.001-05:00

Red, Black and Kraft! A great color combo for a quick and easy card. Some onyx/white baker's twine finishes it off perfectly, don't you think? Love the spellbinders dies with this image. And, a little heart bling adds the perfect finishing touch to the card. Quick, easy and fun - what could be better?

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Halloween M&M Treats - 1X8 bags

2011-10-05T23:13:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun way to give Halloween treats! The 1" X 8" bags carried by A*Muse Studio are super for little treats! This one is filled with m&ms and has a simple spellbinder circle in Sugar and scalloped circle topper in Onyx with Too Cute to Spook images stamped on top in Blackberry and Slate inks. Love the inks! The sentiment is also on the Onyx paper with the Slate ink.

My niece and nephew wanted to make m&m treats too. They love making projects!! They picked out their die shape - they each picked a different shape from the Classic Tag Dies. They also picked out their images and helped stamp and cut. They did great, didn't they?!

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Products used:

out of stock until week of 10/17/2011

World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

2011-10-01T00:12:00.002-05:00

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!! Welcome to an A*Muse Studio Blog Hop celebrating the occasion!!! We've been having big fun making cards to celebrate! I decided to make a fun black and pink polka dotty card. I love polka dots and black and pink is one of my favorite color combos. Here are the A*Muse Studio products that I used on a fun friendship card!

Now, I should stop here and apologize for the photos. It is close to midnight and I am at my sister's house. She is recovering from surgery so I'm helping my mom take care of the kiddos so my bro-in-law can keep farming and help take care of my sis. :) My sweet, little and youngest, adorable nephew threw up all over me and the rocking chair about an hour ago. Since then I have been cleaning chairs and carpet and washing clothes and having a wonderful time. :) OK - perhaps there is a touch bit of sarcasm in the last part but my nephew is a sweetheart and he can't help it his tummy hurt. However, with the added complications, I had to finish my card quickly and get some pics taken and uploaded so please forgive the photo quality. The card does look better in person. :)

Tini Time is a super fun set. You can use it for cosmos and celebrating the love of fun cocktail drinks. Or, you can turn the glass into a hanging light or a table or other fun things!

Check out a close up of the image and layers of the fabulous onyx, onyx polka dot and bubblegum polka dot papers. They're layered on A*Muse Studio Vanilla as their polka dots have a cream tinge. So pretty! And, check it out - the Sakura quickie glue pen makes it easy to add some bubblegum glitter to the image. A "sugar" rim was added to the cocktail glass and a glittery border to the sentiment. The sentiment is popped up over the glass image. And, check out that fabulous polka dot organdy ribbon - adds such a cute touch to the card. Oh, and before I forget the onyx (black) layer of paper has been spritzed with the stardust finishing spray so it has a wonderful shimmery look.

Finally, check out the inside of the card. Pink and polka dotty and fun! Hope you've enjoyed a splash of Tini Time and I hope you continue on to Pamela Frederickson's blog for more hopping fun!! The full blogging list is below:

Amber Smith: http://theneatery.wordpress.com/
Veronica Zalis: http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Corson: http://www.scripptyscraps.blogspot.com/
Karen Crisp: http://www.papernstamps.blogspot.com/
Jeanette Cloyd: http://www.smoreamusement.blogspot.com/
Sherri Thacker: http://www.sherri-iloveflipflops.blogspot.com/
Seleise Barrett (this is me - you are here): http://www.amethystcat.blogspot.com/
Pamela Frederickson: http://www.attemptedcreativity.blogspot.com/
Carissa Fulkerson: http://www.carissascottage.blogspot.com/
Melissa Roell: http://www.totogal62.blogspot.com/
Angela Schellenburg: http://www.gypsypaperie.blogspot.com/
Lisa Chapman: http://www.piesafepapergoods.blogspot.com/
Heather Scott: http://www.oz-somestamps.com/
Suzanne Dahlberg: http://www.thecardyard.blogspot.com/
Dana Vincent: http://www.danasamazed.blogspot.com/
Julie Dylingowski: http://www.simplyimpressed.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Cupcake Kinda Day

2011-09-27T17:13:00.001-05:00

What's better than a "cupcake kinda day?" I can't think of a thing! Well, except maybe a giant cupcake kinda day! lol!

Here's a simply sweet way to celebrate a birthday with a cupcake kinda' day card. The cute little cupcake and sentiment is from A│S Oven Joy. The confetti frosting is made with Tombow markers and a little shimmer was added with diamond glitter and the quickie glue pen!

This card is just one of several donated to the Fairy Godmothers Fund for a silent auction basket. The Fairy Godmothers Fund is a fabulous organization in Manhattan that grants wishes to women in need. These needs are usually ones that fall between the cracks (see stories on the website). http://www.fgfund.org/
It's a great way to help the community!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

A Muse Studio Facebook Challenge #5: Thanksgiving or Thank You

2011-09-25T19:34:00.002-05:00

It's time for another A Muse Studio Facebook Challenge. This week the theme is Thanksgiving or Thank you. Lots of leeway there but I decided to combine the two ideas into one card. :)

Challenge Details
Theme: Create a thank you or Thanksgiving paper craft project
Keyword: AP11THANKS
Challenge Starts: Monday, September 19, 2011
Challenge Ends: Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 11:59pm Eastern time
Prize: One random prize winner will receive an A Muse Studio “Thank you mix” stamp set!

All of the paper and stamps are from A*Muse Studio. This pumpkin is from Too Cute to Spook. It's just one example of how you can use stamps from one set for a variety of cards and holidays. It's stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and is colored with Copics. I need to figure out a better way to take photos as the shading on the pumpkin looks much better "in person" but you get the idea. :)

The black gingham scalloped oval is popped up over a slate grey polka dot border stamped directly on the Sugar card base and a strip of Pumpkin paper with versamark polka dots from Tini Time.It looks like it's flat against the card base in this photo but it really is popped up. The thank you sentiment was stamped on orange and cut out to draw a little attention to it. What do you think?

Oh - I forgot to take a pic but the inside of the card has a matching versamark dot border.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderfully creative day!

First Day of Autumn Blog Hop: Fall Kaleidacolor Birthday

2011-09-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the First Day of Autumn Blog Hop! I hope to make another card or two to post with a*muse stamps but decided to share a card that I made in August before TAC closed. This was a hit with my August card class because it is super simple, quick and yet with the Kaleidacolor pad - has lots of pop and color. It's a great card for male or female birthday cards! And, it's a design that can be easily converted to Thank You cards.

Adding a little extra special bit inside really finishes the card, don't you think?

Hope you'll hop along and check out the other creations. This blog hop goes through Saturday evening so more should get added. :) Have a wonderfully creative day!

get the InLinkz code

Gingham Collage Card

2011-09-20T22:09:00.000-05:00

Here's the final card from my class this month. I was inspired by a collage card I saw in an A*Muse Studio gallery. I took a variety of stamps from my starter kit and just went to town with some of the inks. So fun and so fast! In fact, it's a card that looks like it takes a lot of time but it really doesn't. love that!

I didn't have enough gingham cardstock of the same color for the class but it looked great on the orange, bubblegum and grass gingham papers. And, the bit of matching ribbon finishes it off well, don't you agree?

This is the inside of the card - it's great to carry a bit of the collage inside to add another bit of fun for the recipient. What do you think?

Have a wonderfully creative day!

A*Muse Studio Facebook Challenge 4: Paris

2011-09-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

A*Muse Studio is holding another facebook challenge and it's taken me all week to play but once again I made it!

The challenge was to use this photo and make a card with at least one A*Muse Studio stamp set. I used three - Beautiful Botanicals, Harlequin and Loving Memories. The photo also lends itself well to two of the new inks: pebble and wasabi.

I don't have the wasabi ink yet but used pebble and lichen together which was also lovely. Isn't the combo of two of the solid papers, french roast and grass, pretty? I covered the grass paper with the harlequin stamp in lichen ink to make a tone on tone effect and then added a strip of satin pebble ribbon - yummy! Lichen and Pebble inks were used with the floral stamp to make a shadow effect on the french roast paper. Grass ink makes the sentiment pop without drawing undo attention to it and there's my card.

So, the essence of the photo is in the card but my time in Paris was anything but sorrowful. It's been years since I've had the pleasure of being in "La Ville de Lumière." I loved so much about Paris from the people - to the gardens - to the tourist attractions - to the amazing museums - to the amazing patisseries and so much more. My favorite museum in the world is in Paris - the Musée d'Orsay. The impressionists! Love them! Especially Monet and Manet. If you've not had the pleasure, I hope some day you take the opportunity to travel to Paris.

Bon Soir, mes amis!

How ya' bean?

2011-09-17T17:47:00.002-05:00

"How ya' bean?" hee hee! I love that phrase - reminds me of Joey on Friends - "how you doin'?" (did you do the accent in your mind? I did! lol!)

This is another card that I did with my class this month. We got to play with a couple of the papers - polka dot and plain! I am so in love with these papers already! And, we used The Perfect Blend and Swanky Backgrounds stamp sets.

This is the inside of the card. The coffee beans are carried into the inside of the card - still in the four corners. The a*muse studio ink is so wonderful that even though it's a pigment pad, you still get the detail in the teeny bean image. AWESOME!!!

Here's a close-up of the center cup/flower/paper element. The a*muse studio flower actually started out plain. No really, it did! See the picture below. But,with a little touch of the very tip of the copic markers, a polka dot flower was created to match the papers and copic colored coffee to go cup. Super fun way to create fabulous flowers to match whatever project you're working on.

This paper flower is the cosmos and can be purchased on its own (100 for $6.95) or you get 16 or so in the Meadow Mix pack which is a variety of 100 flowers for $6.95. www.amusestudio.com/seleise (look under embellishments). I got these little beauties in my starter kit and let me tell you, it's sure been fun to play with them!

Ok - I've got to get back to my custom order of 100 favor boxes and then will work on some custom card orders and swaps. Fun stuff! Have a wonderfully creative day!

Smile

2011-09-15T09:53:00.001-05:00

www.amusestudio.com/seleise

This card made me smile and it made my class smile too (until they started cutting out the tail of the kite - LOL. It was worth it though for the final product!) The top of the cloud is popped up as is the first "bow" on the tail. The base of the tail is glued directly to the cardstock. It gives the cloud the floating effect and adds a little "oomph" to the card. And, I stamped the sentiment twice - first in sky and then in ocean to give a shadow effect. Fun!

Card recipe:

Stamp sets: Make a Scene-p76 of the catalog, Hand Scripted-p71 and Vintage A Muse-p 66
Inks: sky and ocean a*muse ink and memento tuxedo black
Copics: R35 and R37 (I think - I forgot to write this down - sorry!)

Take a look at the September A│S specials: https://www.amusestudio.com/studio-spotlight-september.asp!!! Awesome projects!! I'm super excited to try them!! Did you know I have different pages on my blog? Check the tabs on the top of the post. A flyer is posted on my A*Muse Studio Spotlight Specials page along with other specials.

Have a wonderfully creative day!

You're the Best!

2011-09-13T23:37:00.000-05:00

I made this cute little box with my class last night. They loved it! This was their first experience with the A Muse Studio products and the products were a big hit! Especially the inks - great coverage and great colors!

www.amusestudio.com/seleise

The papers were a hit too. Isn't this polka dot paper cute??? And, it makes the most adorable little bag! So, how do you make this little treat holder? Start with a 8.5" X 5.5" piece of cardstock (half of an 8.5"X11" sheet). Score the 8.5" side at 2", 4", 6" and 8". Turn 90 degrees and score at 2". cut out the corner flap (1/2" x 2" piece). Cut the 2", 4", 6" and 8" score lines to the 2" score line. Fold all your flaps and assemble. Push the top part of the "bag" together and punch two holes. Thread some of the yummy grosgrain ribbon through the holes and there you go! The great thing is that you can make this bag any size - just increase the dimensions. :)

If you want to add a tag, you can use a spellbinder Labels 1 shape as I did, or you can cut a shape with a punch. Stamp your graphic sunflower and then add the sentiment. Now, here is my favorite part!!! Take the FABULOUS Sakuro Quickie Glue Pen and color the edges. The glue will be blue while it's wet but turns clear when its dry. While the glue is wet, dip the edge of the label into the a*muse diamond glitter (love it!) and in moments it will be dry and you'll have a wonderful glittery edge to your tag. I can't wait to do this to Christmas tags!!! By the way - did you notice that half my tag doesn't have glitter? I took the pic before class. I left half glitter free so I could demo the glue pen. :)

To finish your project, punch a hole with your crop-a-dile, thread the grosgrain ribbon through and voilà! A special little treat holder! I used paper from my starter kit so the work table was covered with bags in all different colors. so cute!!! I should have taken a picture!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 3: Sketch!

2011-09-11T22:44:00.006-05:00

Wow - I am squeaking in under the wire to play in the super fun A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 3: Sketch!

I used stamps and paper from my starter kit and let me tell you - I LOVE this cardstock!!! I had a hard time cutting into it at first - yep, I'm a paper hoarder! - but once I did I was soooo happy! It's such a nice weight and is white on one side so it's perfect for card making!

So, back to the sketch challenge - the sketch was based off the cover art on the A Muse Studio Holiday catalog. See it here!
   Challenge details
   Theme: Use our Holiday Catalog cover card as a sketch for your paper craft project
   Keyword: AP11SKETCH
   Challenge Starts: Tuesday, September 6, 2011
   Challenge Ends: Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 11:59pm Eastern time
   Prize: One random prize winner will receive an A Muse Studio “Naughty or Nice” stamp set!

Here's my card. Kind of fun in its simplicity, don't you think? Can you see the heart in the bubblegum machine? If you click on the image, you can see it a little bigger. I made the heart glittery and also outlined the glass of the bubblegum machine with the sparkly gel pen to give it a glass type look. With more time it would be fun to put crystal lacquer on the glass part to give it a dimensional look. :)

Here's a side shot. The image is popped up to give it a little visual interest. And, what do you think of the gingham border? Ok - my yellow Tombow marker didn't match the gingham as well as I'd envisioned but it works for now. I may have to try to fix it. Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the rest of the challenge participants on facebook!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Chocolate B-day Cake!!!

2011-09-07T11:58:00.001-05:00

ok - who else wants a piece of chocolate birthday cake? I love chocolate cake and this stamp just screamed "make me chocolate when you color me!!!" so that's what I had to do. :)

A little copic coloring on a spellbinder cut-out, a little glitter pen, a textured background and a little ribbon. Et voilà! A birthday card comes to life. :) hmm - it also appears my ribbon has taken on a life of its own. oops! lol! ;)

Card recipe: Spellbinders Labels 1, pop dots, Memento ink, Copic Markers, clear glitter gel pen, A Muse Studio "a very un-merry, un-birthday" stamp set, cuttlebug folder, wire-edge organza ribbon and bazzill paper.
www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

With Sympathy

2011-09-05T12:12:00.000-05:00

It seems like there's always a need for a Sympathy card so I pulled out my new A Muse Studio stamps and ink and check out what transpired.

I think the harlequin background matched with the oval and scalloped oval nesties - all in a tone on tone look - really made an elegant and beautiful card. I love the lichen and fern inks together - so lovely - don't you agree?!!

The inks stamp so well. They are a pigment ink but they're not as spongy or thick as other pigment inks so you don't get really goopy rubber. KWIM? ;) And, they handle sentiments as well as solid images. That's an ink pad that I like!!!

Finally, the best thing about this card is that it took about 5 minutes to make but I think it looks like it took much longer. I'm excited to see how many other five minute cards I can get made today. :)

Have a wonderfully creative day!
Seleise
www.amusestudio.com/seleise

A New Chapter For Me and Stamping

2011-09-03T00:20:00.000-05:00

As you know TAC closed it's doors recently and I really had no intention of going anywhere else to demo. Really! But, the lure of being part of a stamping company community drew me back in very quickly and I'm SO HAPPY! I am now a Creative Consultant for A Muse Studio! Do you know what's special about them? So many things but I'll just highlight a few!!! The following pics are all from my starter kit!

1. The stamps are pre-cut, pre-indexed and come in a DVD case that has a great cover.

Simply pop them out and they're ready to use!!

The DVD case clearly shows what's inside!

And, check out the acrylic blocks - slightly indented so your finger can get a good grip on the block - awesome!

2. The papers come in gorgeous colors and patterns. And, they're white on one side so they're perfect for card-making!

3. And, look at those yummy ink colors!!!

4. The flowers come in packs of 100, the ribbons come in 8-10 yard lengths and there are twinkle stickers!!!

4. Copics!!! Need I say more?

6. And, most importantly, they have a great angel policy for their stamps!

There's more but I'll stop with this for today! Time to start playing with my starter kit! If you want a catalog or want to host a party, please send me an e-mail at sbamethyst@gmail.com!

I'll be back with some creations soon! Have a wonderfully creative day!!

Farewell to TAC - Paperwings Blog Hop

2011-08-28T20:00:00.005-05:00

It's a time to look back with a smile at the fabulous stamps and products of The Angel Company. A group of former angels have gathered to do a final farewell to TAC blog hop. It's a chance to smile and reflect on old and new stamps that we had the pleasure to create with over the years. It's sad to say goodbye to such a wonderful part of our lives but it's also full of joy because we'll always have the wonderful friendships we made through TAC and can continue stamping with the wonderful images! Please continue on through the group as the hop will contain so many wonderful designs!

Thanks for the wonderful memories, TAC!!! Have fun hopping:
Julie: http://juliesstamppad.blogspot.com/
Rita W.: http://handmadebits4u.blogspot.com/
Donna: http://lakesidestamper.blogspot.com/
Chan: http://purpledfly.blogspot.com/
Mary: http://www.marysangelinspirations.blogspot.com/
Angela K. http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/
Laura: http://www.thecraftysister.com/
Barbara: http://www.stampingwiththekamperstampr.blogspot.com/
Trudy: http://www.trudystreasures.blogspot.com/
Shirley: http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com
Wendy: http://wendyswhimsyandwit.blogspot.com/
Carol: http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Rita K. http://ritasangels.blogspot.com/
Chelsea: http://inkystamps.blogspot.com/
Kim: http://angelatmydoor.blogspot.com/
PaulaKay http://www.angelstampingwithpk.blogspot.com/
Teresa: http://mamapickle.blogspot.com/
Maria: http://www.meastamper.blogspot.com/
Angie: http://www.creativeinkspirations.com/
Deb Miller: http://www.creamcityangels.blogspot.com/
Diana: http://memorycrafter.blogspot.com/
Ginger: http://rubberstamped.blogspot.com/
Betty G.: http://www.stampinteacher.com/
Christine: http://christines-creativetherapy.blogspot.com/
Sandy A. http://inkingofyou.blogspot.com/
Char: http://pawsn2stamp.blogspot.com/
Diane H. http://www.thesmilinstamper.blogspot.com/
Chris F. http://allamericanstampers.blogspot.com/
Stacy http://www.stacysangelcreations.blogspot.com/
Rita H. http://www.ritaholmes.blogspot.com/

You Are Awesome!!!

2011-08-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

I wish I could send this card to everyone who has sent such wonderful comments to me since the closing of TAC and my future endeavors with stamping. Wow! There are so many AWESOME people in this world!!! Thank you so much!!!

I am considering signing up as a demonstrator for another company. I can't believe that I'm thinking about this already but I loved being part of a stamping community. The nice thing is that now I'll have the best of both worlds - a bunch of friends that I met through TAC and if I join, a bunch of friends that I'll meet through another community. Can't ever have too many friends!

Have a wonderfully creative day!! Oh, and be sure to check back Sunday night as we're having a huge farewell to TAC blog hop!!!

TAC is folding its wings...

2011-08-23T18:06:00.000-05:00

The Angel Company closed it's doors today. My heart is sad but I am extremely grateful for all I learned from all the fabulous people I met while being an angel. I was lucky to get involved with such a great company that had such great stamps. More importantly, I was so lucky to make so many wonderful friends!! Don't worry - I' m still going to be here blogging and creating and learning and teaching and filling custom orders but my days as a TAC demo have come to an end.

Thank you to all who have supported me while being an angel! It has been a pleasure for me to share our products with you. Oh and there will be a final TAC blog hop on Sunday so please check back to see fabulous creations made with our fabulous stamps and products - there is going to be so much Inkspiration!!!

Here's the official announcement from TAC:
It is with great sadness that I must announce we are hanging up our wings. These past several years our industry has faced enormous challenges and as a result, we have seen many companies close their doors. We continued to hope we could see The Angel Company through this recession and back into prosperous days and we held onto this hope as long as we could.
One of the largest challenges affecting each of us is our industry not being able to support all of the direct sales companies in our field. Even in a healthy economy, we are a niche market trying to compete for a very limited number of distributors. As a small company, this has been a grueling challenge for us. Times are tough for everyone ~ in direct sales and retail environments.
I would like to thank each of you for being an customer and Angel these past 14 years. Indeed, it has been a pleasure to serve you.
The Angel Company

Quinn banner

2011-08-22T09:10:00.001-05:00

There is a wonderful little girl in Colorado who has a special banner all her own!!

This was a fun project because there are bunches of bling and shimmer and flowers and it's all in pinks and purples - my faves!!! Double-sided paper, great Bazzill cardstock, the Tim Holtz tattered florals die and all that sparkle - fabulosity!! ok - I know the photo doesn't do justice to the shimmer so you'll just have to trust me on that! :) A bit of sheer ribbon holds it all together! And, because the pennant bases are clear, it adds another great element to the design.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!! Have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Drama

2011-08-20T11:40:00.000-05:00

Imagine that this photo were taken straight on. We'll start there. LOL!

Life continues to be busy and this stamp sums it up perfectly! I love the image and the sentiment is awesome! This stamp is great colored in a variety of ways - chalks, pencils, watercolor crayons but I chose to use Copics on Copic X-Press It cardstock. Wowza - that cardstock is AWESOME!!! I didn't like it the first time I tried it but the more I use it, the more I LOVE it. It's got a sheen to it so the color mixes beautifully. Definitely try it if you haven't it used it! And, check out the bits of shimmer from the shimmer gel pen. I can't get enough of that thing! :)

Back to conference planning! Am looking forward to September when I can focus on craft fairs!! I promise, I will get caught up on your blogs as soon as my conference is done!!! Have a wonderfully creative day!

Zooming By To Say "Hi!"

2011-08-13T09:46:00.001-05:00

Yep! That's what I'm doing! Seriously - whew! What a crazy couple of weeks and it really won't slow down until September...maybe. LOL! Sorry to so long between posts!

ok - so now on the important stuff - cardmaking! I love, love, love, love, love the new Nina B Vintage Rides set in the TAC catalog. Such fun images!! Check out this groovy car.

And, in red, black and grey - so perfect for a masculine card. But it also has so many other options! Put it in pinks and blues and make it into a baby card. Use red and green and turn it into a Christmas card. Use it for a get well or birthday card or as it is seen here - a "hello" card. Fun stuff!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog - for my fellow bloggers, I will get caught up on your blogs hopefully sooner than later - and have a wonderfully creative day!!!

Girlz and Boyz - Hello Friend

2011-08-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

What's more joyful than dancing and laughing with a friend!! TAC's Girlz and Boyz make wonderful cards full of joy!

Add some scalloped squares nesties to get different shapes and you've got a card for a friend that will bring sunshine to her day!

Thanks for popping by my blog!

PW Angel Art Blog Hop - Christmas in July

2011-07-31T18:39:00.005-05:00

I'm so excited for the PaperWings Angel Art Christmas in July blog hop!! I love Christmas!

On to the Christmas goodies... I used one of my favorite sets to feature on both projects. I can't get enough of TAC's Cuddly Christmas!! Here's the card. Stickles and a great background stamp from TAC's Ready Set Snow add shimmer and depth. And, the Spellbinders pendant die, makes a super placeholder for a sentiment.

The second project is this great little favor box decorated up with dots in memento desert sand ink. I modified the box and turned it into a bag. What a wonderful way to share some handmade jewelry or candy during the holidays.

Thanks for stopping by and please check out the other great ideas on the hop!!
Rita W - http://handmadebits4u.blogspot.com
Michelle M - http://michellescreativejourney.blogspot.com
Laura - http://www.thecraftysister.com/
Wendy - http://wendyswhimsyandwit.blogspot.com/
Laurie U - http://laurieunger.blogspot.com
Chelsea C - www.inkystamps.blogspot.com
Shirley H - http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com
Kim S - http://angelatmydoor.blogspot.com/
Mary - http://marysangelinspirations.blogspot.com/
Angela K - http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com
Carol N - http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Betty - http://www.stampinteacher.com
Rita K - http://ritasangels.blogspot.com
Julie - http://juliesstamppad.blogspot.com
Donna - http://lakesidestamper.blogspot.com/

Brighten Your Day

2011-07-21T22:07:00.002-05:00

Nina B. What a great stamp designer and she's part of the TAC family now! check out this groovy lamp - can you see that the shade is paper-pieced with Maggie paper. (Maggie is also used with the Maggie cardstock on the rest of the card - such great paper!) But, I digress... The lamp is just one piece of this vintage-y stamp set, Beautiful Lace, that has a couple of doilies (think great backgrounds and accent pieces on cards and so much more!!!), a hat on a stand and a dress on a stand. Such great stamps!!

I paired the lamp with Say Hello - a hostess stamp set that you can get with a $100 party or as a special purchase in March. Isn't this a fun phrase to put with a lamp? hee hee! cracks me up!

Thanks for popping by my blog and I hope this "brightened your day" a little!

Fun with Chalks

2011-07-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

Here's one of our new hostess sets, America I Love, that you can get with a party or when it comes up for a special buy during the year. I adore this stamp!!! You can see a bunch of versions of this right here on Heather's blog - so inspiring!!! I used the earth tone chalks to color it and love the almost watercolor effect given with the chalk colors. I did "blow out" the image a bit with the flash as the colors are a bit deeper than shown. I will get a decent camera one of these days. :)

Time to play with some more of my new stamps! Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a wonderfully creative day!!

Window Box Wonder

2011-07-09T13:17:00.001-05:00

I adore this set, Window Box Wonder! It took me almost all year to get it and it has so many possibilities. It has the window and the little girl looking out but it also has the back of the little girl! With a little cutting, you can have a true "window" in your card and the results are fabulous!!

If you haven't stamped on kraft with your copics, give it a try. It gives a neat muted effect to the colors.The flowers and grass are directly on kraft. The other pieces were colored on white and glued to the kraft base.

Thanks for popping by and have a wonderfully, creative day!

Konnichiwa

2011-07-05T12:01:00.010-05:00

I just adore this new set "Konnichiwa" from the 2011-2012 TAC Inspiration Book and Catalog. Aren't the little girls just darling?! I love them! We were given this set at seminar!!! And, Angela Kelley taught us how color and shade the hair with copic markers. I'm so excited to have learned this technique.Isn't it neat? I'm still so very new to coloring and shading but am working on it so appreciate all the tips and tricks! :)

We had a Japanese foreign exchange student many years ago when I was in high school. Sayuri was wonderful and taught us some basic Japanese and we taught her some crazy English slang - LOL! When I saw this set, I immediately thought of all the good times we had with her. A good friend still keeps in regular touch with Sayuri and fortunately she and her family came through the tsunami and earthquakes without any damage earlier this year. whew!

To add a little something to the card, I punched some scalloped circles and cut them apart - don't they make a neat detail on the front and inside of the card. There are so many different looks you can achieve with one punch.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a wonderfully creative day!

Get well

2011-06-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

I've needed several get well cards lately so decided to do one with my class in June. This is a beautiful, simple card that could brighten the day of someone who is struggling with health issues.

More Mimi paper combined with the newly retired Good Timber and a little spellbinder/cuttlebug magic, brings this card to life. As you can see the image is popped up a bit to give it a little more focus. You might have to pay an extra 20 cents to mail this card but look what you've saved in making it yourself! And, the extra special home-made touch will add some healing powers to the recipient by bringing joy to their heart. ;)

Here's the inside. The full image of the tree was stamped on the inside of the card. Simple and yet it adds the perfect finishing touch and looks lovely by the written message. If you'd like, you can add stamped trees to the envelope to let the recipient know that they're about to get something really special. :)

Prop Swap for Seminar

2011-06-26T19:23:00.000-05:00

I'm home from the annual seminar for The Angel Company. WOWZA!!! We had SOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun - got SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many new stamps AND got SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many fabulous ideas!

This year, for the first time, we had a prop swap. This is where you make something new or alter something to make it new again. I love hitting the clearance aisles at Hobby Lobby to find items to alter. There are always "beat up" shelves or frames or little boxes that once some paper, modge podge and stamps hit them - are once again FABULOUS!!

I forgot to take a pic of the "before" but here's the "after". I took a HL home decor clearance item that became new again after Maggie paper and cardstock, a Fabulous You stamped image and sentiment, Maggie ribbon and bling from the clear gem pack were added. There's also shimmer from the shimmer gel pen on the collar and dress. I wish my quick photo on the hotel bed turned out better as the colors aren't showing up as well as they should but you get the idea.

What do you think? Paula Kay received it and made my day when she came over to thank me. Paula Kay makes the most amazing cards and I'm always in awe of her talent! She was so very gracious in her thank you to me. I'm so pleased you like it as much as I do, Paula Kay!! Thank you for your kind words!

I got this fabulous magnetic board in the exchange made by Julie Robinson. Isn't it super cute!!! I love it!

Thanks, Julie! It's so creative and useful and CUTE!!!

I need to make another special or two and need to take a pic of my swap card but that will be another day. Time to get back to cutting out some of the new stamps!!

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Paperwings Blog Hop: CAS (clean and simple) Cards

2011-06-19T19:59:00.009-05:00

It's time for the monthly Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop and tonight is featuring CAS - clean and simple - cards! How fun is that! It's great to have layers and layers but it's also great to have a simple card that goes through the mail easily that is clean and simple and celebrates the stamped image. :)

As you can see, I did add a layer but that was just to "frame" the image. The Angel Company's Wonder and Joy stamp set can be colored so many ways to bring joy and sunshine to the one receiving the card. Here's the inside:

Copic markers brought the image to life. I love that they make me feel like an artist. :) They are blendable and correctable with the "blender pen" which removes color. They're an investment but are worth the money. You can refill them and replace the nibs so they'll work for you for as long as you take care of the overall marker. I never thought I'd buy them but once you start, you just have to have more. :)

I hope you'll continue hopping through these other blogs to check out more CAS cards!!
Shirley H. http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com/
Kim http://angelatmydoor.blogspot.com/
Rita http://handmadebits4u.blogspot.com/
Angela http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/
Carol http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderfully creative day!

Dress Card and Gift Bag

2011-06-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here is a super fun project that you can change up and make so many different ways and what can be better than that?!! I was inspired by a card featured on Papercrafts Magazine January issue and downloaded the template from their site. I submitted it to Papercrafts as one of the "inspired by" submissions but wasn't chosen. It's all good because now I can share it with you.

The original card involved sewing and gathering and while I can and have done that, I didn't want to. LOL! So, I started trying to figure out how I wanted to approach the project. While I was pondering, I wrapped a gift and the inspiration struck - use tissue paper!! So, I pulled a sheet out and folded it back up like it originally comes in the package and cut strips on the paper trimmer while it was already folded up (it's so thin that it's no problem sticking the folded up tissue in the trimmer). Then, I used Fiskars Cloud scissors to create a scalloped edge (tip: put a piece of cheap cardstock behind the folded up tissue and it will cut like a dream - without the cardstock - nightmare!). Then, I unfolded the strip and "gathered" the straight edge by pushing the straight edge of the tissue together to make a gathered look. I put strips of scor-tape every half to 3/4 inch or so on the card front skirt part and starting from the bottom (very important to start from the bottom so the tissue doesn't stick!), I peeled off the protective covering of the scor-tape strip, and pressed the gathered edge of the tissue into it (work from one side to the other so you can keep gathering as you go). I let the sides go over the edges and then when it was done, turned it over and trimmed the skirt to the card base. But, one of my friends, trimmed and then folded the edge of each layered tissue as she went ("hemmed it") and made it neat from the beginning. see - that's thinkin'! :)

To finish off the "skirt", I added some ribbon to the waist line. But, I felt like it needed more. I added a rhinestone necklace (love the gem embellishments that already have adhesive on them!) But, I still felt like it needed more so added a the big ole ribbon flower at the waistline. ahh - now I'm happy! :) I found these fabulous ribbon trim flowers in the sewing section at Hobby Lobby. Aren't they fun? They come on a roll and can be trimmed apart or used in a strip. So cheery and so many for the price!!! I thought a matching gift bag would be super fun so picked up some small ones at HL and followed the same plan to create the match. Isn't that super cute? What do you think?

The beauty is that you can make this project look so different depending on what background cardstock you start with and what tissue paper you use.

If you use white cardstock like what I've shown, you'll want to use a tissue paper that has a lot of color or pattern as I like the red polka dots but don't love it quite as much as the black/white patterned paper. And, how about mixing the colors - super fun!!!

You can use big rhinestones for chunky necklaces, colored gemstones for bright necklaces, pearls, etc. The options are endless. If you want to host a tea party or a bachelorette party or a birthday party or whatever girly event you might have coming up, use these for place cards. The ideas are endless.

One final note, when you download the pattern from the Papercrafts site. Cut it in half and place the front of the pattern on your already folded cardstock. Save yourself some cutting by doing both layers at once. And, your front and back of the dress will match perfectly. Have fun playing and creating!!

And, thanks for popping by!

Just a Cat

2011-06-13T00:27:00.000-05:00

Theo is a very sarcastic cat featured in several TAC stamp sets. This one is Just a Cat and it's a hoot. Here's the lovey dovey Theo:

and inside the card.

And here's the sarcastic Theo. OK - it's the same image but the sentiment gives it a totally different feel. The inside says "cats don't have middle fingers". Hee hee! so funny!

I keep thinking I'll get caught up so I can post more often. Sorry about that. Work has been crazy. I appreciate those of you who are sticking with me! I will try to do better!!!

Have a wonderful week!

Tickled Pink Thank You

2011-06-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

Look. I'm tickled pink! Isn't that a cute saying? It fits perfectly for a thank you card and making a pink cow from the Funny Farm set is a fun touch. A little shimmer gel pen action, a pink marker and some pink/white bakers twine is all you need to finish this card off. It will definitely be a thank you card that brings a smile to the recipients face.

Swooping Sentiments is used on the inside for the "thank you". This set is retiring so get it before June 24th as then it will be gone for good.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sugar Coated Sweetness Z-Fold

2011-05-27T16:44:00.001-05:00

I love z-fold cards. The scor-pal makes them so easy and there are a myriad of looks and variations that you can do with this simple folded card. In my class this month, we used Sugar Coated Sweetness and Kaleidacolor Girlz paper to make this fun, cheery z-fold. And, the images were colored with copics and outlined with the shimmer gel pen - makes the candy wrapper look like a candy wrapper, I think!

Here's the front:

and here's when it's folded out.

What do you think? I think it would be a definite day-brightener if you sent it to a friend.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I really do appreciate it!

Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop - Saying a Fond Farewell to Retiring Stamps

2011-05-22T19:55:00.019-05:00

Thanks for hopping by the Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop. We're saying a fond goodbye to some of our favorites from The Angel Company stamp sets that are retiring. There are many "dear friends" in the collection but I'll just feature two that you should get before they disappear for good!

Bold Hello and Circles and Sentiments - I hardly knew ya but what I knew I loved. What great stamp sets with lots of options for a variety of occasions.

Bold Hello has a fondness for shimmer. :) Doesn't the heart look great embossed in silver? It makes a great wedding card! It's a sweet little stamp set that packs a big punch. :)

And, if you need a gift for the wedding shower, how about making some thank you cards for the bride-to-be? The Circles and Sentiments stamp set is perfect for some quick and easy "thank yous". All you need is a super jumbo scalloped circle punch, some versamark ink, some versamagic ink and a bit of black ink and a scor-pal (hard to see but there are a couple of scored lines above the swirly border design). Pop up your sentiment with a pop dot and bam - done! Easy, peasy. :) I used aloe vera versamagic ink that coordinated perfectly with Bazzill Lily Pond Cardstock. And, the versamark border (from Wonderful News) shows up beautifully on the cardstock, don't you think?

Thanks for hopping by my blog! I hope you'll continue hopping as these ladies will have some FABULOUS designs for you to enjoy!
Rita W - http://ritascreativenest.com
Laura Nehring - http://www.thecraftysister.com
Trudy O - http://www.trudystreasures.blogspot.com/
Carol N - http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Angela K - http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com
Shirley H - http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com
Teresa J - http://www.mamapickle.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful day!

ViewMaster Card - Fun with Spellbinders!

2011-05-19T17:08:00.002-05:00

Hello!! Here's a card that we made in my May class. It is such a fun card that has a lot of steps but really isn't as hard as it appears. It's a ViewMaster Card and I used this YouTube Tutorial called ViewMaster Tutorial with Dawn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbhO_hRD_9o for my inspiration.

So, here's the first view:

after a turn of the wheel:

and, the final turn of the wheel:

Isn't that fun?!!! I loved ViewMasters as a kid!!

So, I made some slight changes from the tutorial. One change was to use spellbinder circle dies for the card base (the largest circle overlapping the fold) and the interior circles. That worked great. I paired Bazzill Indigo cardstock with Kaleidascope Boyz paper and isn't that a fun combo?!!! Another change was to put "four" messages/photos inside. Since I had a smaller card to start with, I used a smaller circle punch for the "window" and it all worked together well. And, it fits perfectly in an A2 envelope!

I added some tag tidbits and a flower from Happily Grateful, a floral punch and voilà!

Have fun making your own ViewMaster cards!!! Thanks for stopping by!

Sew Thankful - Vintage look

2011-05-12T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick vintage card with the TAC Sew Thankful and Vintage Backgrounds sets. A spellbinders circle and oval sets, a paper doily and some pop dots are all that are needed...ok - you need brown ink and pink cardstocks too - that's helpful! LOL! :) don't you love the button stamp? I love buttons and this is a way to add them without adding bulk to your card for the mail. awesome! :)

Quick and easy and sure to make someone smile:

What do you think?

And, I'm still running behind but am almost done with the annual report at work, finished one secret project, have a second secret project that I'm trying to get done and have graduation presents to pull together. Is it just me or is May really busy?!!! But, that's what makes life fun, right? :) Have a great day!

Thinking Of You

2011-05-05T16:35:00.002-05:00

I'm still alive!!! I promise! :) I've been super busy and keep thinking I'll catch up. Instead, I just keep adding things and slipping further behind. But, I will get caught up...eventually...probably...maybe...hopefully... LOL!

This is a card I made with my card class in March. I was inspired by a Papercrafts Magazine card and love, love, love how it turned out. What do you think?

How to make it: Layer four pieces of coordinating bazzill paper on a strip of lighter weight cardstock. Stamp the leaves from TAC's Happily Grateful stamp set with versamark on the layered strip and then heat emboss with clear embossing powder. Tie a piece of organza ribbon around the embossed strip and adhere to the card base. Stamp Thinking of You from the TAC Swooping Sentiment stamp set (being discontinued...bummer but you can get it at a bargain right now) and layer on a piece of bazzill. Pop it up over the ribbon and repeat the sentiment inside the card.

Thanks for popping by and have a fabulously creative day!

Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop: April Showers Bring May Flowers

2011-04-24T20:00:00.001-05:00

April showers bring May flowers, right? That's the theme of our Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop for April and it was so fun to play with flowers while putting these cards together. There are so many great ways to add flowers to cards - punches, dies, images, background paper, paper flowers, ribbon flowers, etc. Here are a few...

Dies: The flowers are from the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die and the image is from the TAC hostess set - Hello Day. Isn't that a fun image? I love it! And, a little bling finishes it off - can't have too much bling, right? *grin*

Punches and paper- two different flower sizes are punched and layered with a sentiment stamped on top. Add that to a card with a woven floral pattern paper, some beads on a corsage pin and a big ole ribbon and you have a memorable "hello" moment for someone.

Paper and embellishments: How about a sweet little dress covered with floral designer paper and a little pearl embellishment? Sweet and cheery for a variety of occasions. note: You can get the pattern on the Papercrafts magazine website. So fun!

Stamped image: This cute image is part of the Fibi and Lili set. It's colored with Copics and is cut out and layered on a textured white base.

I hope you'll continue hopping down the blog bunny trail on this beautiful Easter Sunday.
Shirley http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com/
Teresa http://www.mamapickle.blogspot.com/
Carol http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Rita W. http://ritascreativenest.com/
Chelsea http://www.inkystamps.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Easter!!

Driving By...

2011-04-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

I need to drive by my blog more often - lol! Not sure I'll ever get caught up but appreciate all of you who stop by!!!

The Angel Company Bug Of Fun set is just so much fun. I used the car on its own here (colored with prismas and OMS with a little bling on the running board) but the set also has a bunch of images to stick inside. I'll be posting some other versions one of these days. :) (hmm.... those purples don't quite match, do they? oops... lol!)

On a business note, the 2010-2011 Retired Stamp List is out and there are some great bargains!! Here's a link: http://www.theangelcompany.net/page/our-final-farewells. Let me know if you're interested in anything.

Have a super day!

Fly Fairy

2011-04-12T11:20:00.002-05:00

Here's a little chalk coloring for a change. Heather Scott had a great tutorial on coloring with chalks in the March 2011 CardMaker magazine. I decided to try her technique and was in a vintage mood so I picked the Fly Fairy stamp set from The Angel Company for the card. I first stamped and colored the fly fairy. The photo doesn't do her justice as the wings look like stained glass with purples and teals and blues and oranges and gold but you get the idea.

Next came the background - how to highlight the image??? I adore the speckles and vintage bicycle background stamps in the set so went to town. Those stamps mixed with cognac and haystack palette inks along with burnt umber and some sponges, led to a great vintagey card, don't you think?

And, carrying the background into the inside of the card created a great "frame" for the message. So, there it is - my chalk vintage card. Go pull out your chalks, a couple of inks and a stamp set with good background images and try one of your own! Have fun!!

Thanks for popping by!

Cheers to you!

2011-04-08T15:00:00.003-05:00

If you have friends who care to imbibe a malty beverage from time to time, how about making them a quick card to celebrate birthdays or promotions or a new house or a happy occasion or whatever. The beer mug and "cheers to you" sentiment is from the same TAC Cheers to You stamp set that I used recently for the St. Patty's day card. Fun images to play with and make happy cards!

Supplies used: cardstock - Bazzill, black and white caboodle; copic markers, punches - super jumbo scalloped circle, mega circle and a scalloped border punch

Thanks for popping by my blog today!

For my tweetie...

2011-04-03T21:55:00.004-05:00

Here's a cute and quick anniversary card. I love the combo of purple and yellow for these little lovebirds from the TAC stamp set "For my tweetie". They're colored with copics on copic caboodle paper. A little checkered ribbon finishes off the card. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunflowers

2011-03-30T10:45:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you how much I LOVE this image. The Sunflowers! The Tin! Fabulous!!! I colored the image with Copic Markers on Copic Caboodle paper - love the paper - makes blending fabulous! I layered that piece on black and then on an acetate shape. What do you think? I've got to pull out more acetate and play around with this look because I think it's a great way to pop an image without adding too much bulk to go through the mail.

My life is still going at lightening speed but I still hope to get caught up one of these days on all the blogs I follow. :)

Have a fabulous day!

Angel Art Blog Hop: Spring

2011-03-20T19:56:00.029-05:00

It's Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop time - woo hoo!!! This month the theme is Spring. That left the options wide open bu I knew I wanted to use this cute little image from the Joy of Easter stamp set. Isn't it fun?!!!

On the inside it says "just to say hi". It's a springy and fun card for a friend. I love the levels of shading you can get with Copic markers. I'm still very much a beginner but will continue to practice and improve. And, isn't this stamp cute???!! I pre-scheduled this post as I will have been at a stamping retreat this week-end and the future me (lol!) is probably worn out from all the laughter and late nights and fun, fun times!

Thanks for popping by my blog and I hope you'll take the time to check out these other fabulous angels' creations:
Rita W - http://ritascreativenest.com
Shirley - http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com
Laura - http://www.thecraftysister.com/
Kim - http://angelatmydoor.blogspot.com/
Laurie - http://laurieunger.blogspot.com/
Carol - http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Teresa - http://www.mamapickle.blogspot.com

Going Green Week: Cheers to You!

2011-03-17T14:11:00.000-05:00

Happy St. Patty's Day to all my Irish friends and "wanna-be" Irish friends. lol! I should be wearing green but instead am wearing purple as my Kansas State University Wildcats play tonight and I'm ready to cheer them on!!! Go Cats!!!

So, back to the reason for the post - it's Going Green week on TAC's Savvy Projects Blog!! There have been so many fun challenges since the beginning of February so you should really go and check out all of the great ideas!!! They definitely are keeping me inspired to create!!

I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to play in many of the challenges so it makes my day to have a card ready to play in this challenge!!! I think this TAC Cheers to You mouse is super cute! What do you think? Here are the supplies I used: Copic Caboodle cardstock, black cardstock, mega circle punch, giga scalloped circle punch, copic markers, bazzill limeade cardstock and just a touch of ribbon. I re-vamped this card for my card class on Monday and layered the limeade piece on white cardstock. I liked that a bit better and it stretches my limeade cardstock a bit further as I LOVE it and don't want to use it all up. (paper hoarder alert - LOL!). Thanks for popping by and check out all the other fabulous creations!!

Ink Potion #9

2011-03-12T23:00:00.000-06:00

What happens when you take ink potion #9 (are you singing Love Potion #9 in your head? No? It's ok - I am. I think of it every time. LOL! but back to the post...) and palette re-inkers and glossy cardstock? You get some fabulous swirls, twirls and dots and dribbles. Then, after it dries (or is helped dry with a heat gun), cut it into shapes with nesties and border punches and wowza - look what you get!!

I used Palette Iris, Water Lily Green and Reflection Blue re-inkers with the Ink Potion #9. Isn't that a gorgeous combo with Bazzill Snapdragon and Whirlpool cardstocks?And the black sets it off fabulously, don't you think?

The stamp sets used are from The Angel Company's Swooping Sentiments and Thinking of You stamp sets. The scor-bug and scor-buddy added a bit of texture beside the border.And, a little bling finishes it off. :)

Thanks for popping by my blog. I have been swamped with work lately but I'm catching up and promise to catch up on your blogs soon!!

Happy Stamping!

Hello Bling!

2011-03-05T08:58:00.002-06:00

Take a nestie, create a shaped card and then start adding bling and you've got Hello, Bling! :) ok - maybe there's a little more to it but those are the basic steps. :)

Wouldn't this be a great card to send to a friend to brighten up their day?

Supplies: Bazzill Snapdragon cardstock, paper doily, flat rhinestones from the clear and pearl gem pack, purple/white butcher's twine, The Angel Company's Trendy Greetings stamp set, super jumbo scalloped circle punch, super jumbo flower punch, paper flowers and Labels 8 nestabilities

Angel Art Blog Hop: Hostess Sets: Happy Today

2011-02-20T19:58:00.001-06:00

Sorry I fell off the blog posting wagon but it's a busy time at my day job. :) However, I found time to play in the Paperwings Angel Art Blog Hop. This one features hostess sets from the current TAC catalogs - so fun! You can get free stamps with a $100 party so it's a great way to add to your collection of stamps! (or am I the only one with a collection of stamps - lol!).

I decided to play with the Level A hostess set, Happy Today!

What a fun and sweet little set this is. I stamped the little girl and the flowers with momento tuxedo black ink on ivory cardstock. Then, I used a variety of copics from the copic caboodles and used two to three of each color family to color the images. I'm not totally enamored with how I did the grass but I'm still learning. Love those markers!

And, here's another hostess set blog post from last September. It's a holiday vintage image embossed in copper. How can you go wrong with that combo?
http://amethystcat.blogspot.com/2010/09/vintage-christmas-card-copper-embossing.html

Be sure to visit the other ladies in the hop and check out the fabulous ways in which they used the hostess sets:
Shirley: http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com/
Rita: http://ritascreativenest.com/
Angela: http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/
Laura N: http://www.thecraftysister.com/
Carol: http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Chelsea: http://inkystamps.blogspot.com/
Kerry: http://www.thestampingbughaswings.blogspot.com/