wag more, bark less

My friend, Lydia and her family are HUGE dog lovers.  Everyone in her family has at least 2 dogs, so it came as no surprise when she brought this fun card for our ladies card night.

ladies card night

Every other month, my girlfriends and I get together for a shoebox swap style card night.  Everyone makes one sample card, precuts the paper, and includes all the supplies in a box.  Then we pass the boxes around the room until you make all the cards and you can whip up a bunch of cards in no time.  I'll be sharing them all with you but I won't be able to tell you all the supplies exactly since I didn't pay attention while making them.

I hosted the most recent ladies card night about a week ago.  It's so fun to see all the different ideas and to pump out a bunch of cards in one night.  Here's the card that I made for the event.  I completely stole the idea from Krystie Hersch.

stamp: A Muse flowers & "thank you"

ink: A Muse papaya & lemon whip; VersaFine onyx black

other: twine, A Muse twinkle stickers, Copic (chrome orange)

thanks a latte

I haven't been able to craft very much lately and the new Papertrey Make It Monday challenge (freestyle coloring) seemed quick enough, so I jumped in.  I don't have as many copics as I would like, so my brown tones aren't what I would like, but it was fun to play along.

stamp: A Muse latte cup; Memory Box "thanks a latte"

ink: Memento rich cocoa; Impress chocolate

other: A Muse twinkle heart sticker

studio stampers blog hop

Welcome to the studio stampers blog hop with my a muse "cousins".   We are all lucky to have Krystie as our upline lady.  If you are joining the blog hop, you should have arrived from Karen Crisp's blog (My Paper Paradise).


Onto my card, I just adore this layout by Maile Belles, but am in denial about fall being so soon and couldn't bring myself to use "fall" stamps.  So here's a more summery take on it.

butterfly close up

stamp: A Muse dots
ink: A Muse heather
paper: A Muse blackberry, heather, amethyst, kraft, & woodgrain
other: A Muse die cut; twine


Okay now you're off to check out the goodies at Lianna Vigil's blog (Llama Tales).

happy birthday

I couldn't pass up this masculine card by Amy Wanford.  Just keeping my copying juices flowing!

stamp: Papertrey Ink star, "happy", & "birthday"
ink: VersaColor pinecone
other: Papertrey Ink die cut, twine, button, Imperial scissors

{blank butterfly}

My friend, Nicolle, made this fun card a long time ago for one of our shoebox card parties.  It's still one of my favorites!

{I'm pretty sure the supplies are all accurate, but I'm working from memory}

stamp: Stampin' Up! butterfly

ink: Fresh Ink melon

other: glitter gel pen, jewel sticker

you are one of a kind!

Don't pinch yourself.  It's really me.  With two cards in two days.  I completely stole this card from Kasia.  I just love the monochromatic look paired with the butterflies.  Thanks for keeping me crafting Kasia!

stamps: A Muse "you are one of a kind!"
ink: VersaFine onyx black

other: Memory Box jewel stickers deep lagoon; A Muse butterfly trio die cut, circle punch

{blank ladybug}

I have something to confess.  I'm a book-a-holic.  I only have a few hours each day completely to myself, so I have to decide what is most important (crafting, cleaning, reading, napping, etc) and lately I've been choosing to read, read, and read.  Notice I didn't say read quality books, just read books.  For those who enjoy books as much as I do, may I suggest goodreads.com.  I'm addicted.

It took a special request to get me back at my craft desk.  My neighbor's granddaughter is turning three, loves ladybugs, and is going to get this book from her grandma for the big day.  So I made this card to go along with it.

front

inside

stamp: Impress single line; Stampin Up "happy birthday"

ink: VersaFine onyx black

other: circle punch, Making Memories wire, Papertrey die cut

 Please leave a comment telling me what your favorite book of all time is or what you are reading now or both!

a|s august spotlight

A Muse Studio is doing something amazing for their customers.  On the 15th of each month a variety of new, creative projects will be unveiled as the A Muse Studio Spotlight in a fresh, magazine-like style! These projects will feature a selection of stamp sets and products, paired with a lovely color palette, around a central theme.  It will be available from August 15th to September 15th.

Each month a|s will feature 5 stamp sets that will be on sale for 10% off the retail price, plus there will be a corresponding sample pack of paper too!

August theme: Back to School

Featured Stamp Sets (10% off):
Rock Star
The Mighty Jungle
Past Due
Personal Stationery
School Days

Featured Color Palette: Collegiate Assortment Pack (4 sheets each)
Cranberry
Buttercup
Fern
Winter Sky
Eucalyptus

If you are ready to shop, here's my webstore.

10 years

Today is mine and my husband's 10 year wedding anniversary.  We are keeping it low key and celebrating with family and friends with a potluck picnic at the beach where our reception was held.  I'd love to show you the beautiful card that I made for the special occasion, but the fact of the matter is, I'm a dork and don't have one.  Don't worry, he didn't get me one either.  That's how we roll sometimes.   Instead here's a picture of us on the big day.

August 11th, 2001

10 years later: July 3rd, 2011 at our friends' wedding
(I realized how few pictures there are of just me and BJ!)

summer

I'm loving the heat we're having here in the northwest.  The kids and I have been able to log in lots of time at our community pool.  I just love it!  Here's something else a little refreshing.

stamp: Peddler's Pack citrus fruit; Savvy "happy summer"
ink: ColorBox marigold & canary
other: jewel sticker, Copic (chrome orange)

10 happy birthday

Our family friend is turning 10 next week and I wanted to make her a card for her pool party.  I went with the aqua's and browns since she's a little more mature and in double digits now!

stamp: Papertrey "happy" & birthday
ink: VersaColor pinecone
other: Papertrey die cuts

winner!

Sorry I have dropped off the face of the earth lately.  No specific reason, just lots of little, busy, summer reasons.

I finally have a winner for the August a muse blog hop:

Laura said...

Kari,

I love how carefree this card is....which depicts how summertime feels to me....to be carefree and to enjoy it!

August 2, 2011 6:26 AM

Laura click the "email me" button at the side of the blog and I'll get those twinkle stickers out to you.  And for the  rest of you non-winners (that's the teacher in me), come back for the next hop for more inspiration and another prize.

a|s consultant blog hop

If you are participating in the blog hop, you should have come from Kelly Spivey's blog (Southpaw Paper Arts) and if not, then you can start at Samantha's blog and hop until you come to my blog.

Summer to me is warm weather, reading books, swimming at the local pool, beach bbq's, and staying up late.  Since my beach stamps aren't here yet, I settled for a butterfly theme.  I'm sure butterflies are more of a spring time thing, but it's been a very cool summer here in the northwest and they are still floating around here.

stamp: A Muse Studio woodgrain, & "your friendship is like a sheltering tree"
ink: A Muse Studio latte
paper: A Muse Studio apricot
other: A Muse Studio vanilla twine, A Muse Studio butterfly die cut, black Marvy marker


Leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about summer and you'll be entered for a chance to win one pack of a|s twinkle stickers (my "go to" paper accessory).

Okay now you're off to Tara Johnson's blog (pinkgeekstamper), enjoy the rest of the hop!