Thursday, June 9, 2011

i can always count on you

I adore this simple but effective masculine card by Mary Dawn Quirindongo.  I didn't even change it one little bit.  With the a|s cling stamps and clear blocks, lining these wrenches up by just eyeballing it was a cinch!

stamp: AMuse wrench & "i can always count on you..."
ink: AMuse grass, sky, & ocean
other: black brads, distresser

Come back tomorrow for another a|s blog hop (this one is much shorter) and with my a muse|studio "family".

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

celebrate in style

Who can resist the adorable cards made by Krystie?!  Not me.  I saw this gorgeous chandelier card and knew I would be recreating it.  I wanted to try something bright, fun, and out of my normal color palette.

What do you think?  
Cute and fun? Or too Halloweeny?

A little fun on the inside (for Kathy)

stamps: A Muse chandelier & "celebrate in style"
ink: A Muse orange; VersaMark; VersaFine onyx black
other: black embossing powder, A Muse orange satin ribbon

Sunday, June 5, 2011

home tweet home

I just love this simple bird card by Novell Eckstrom.  You know me, I had to add some bling to make it complete!

stamp: A Muse birdcage, chain, bird, & 
ink: A Muse french roast & grass
other: twinkle stickers, Copic marker

Friday, June 3, 2011

thank you

This card by Teri Anderson was too cute not to copy.  I just love this color blocking which uses colors not in my normal palette.  My flowers have a bit more "edges" to them as I'm too lazy to cut each one out so I used my Punch Bunch flower punch.

stamp: A Muse branch, flowers, & "thank you"
ink: A Muse orange & grass
other:  A Muse pearl stickers, flower punch

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

a|s consultants blog hop

It's the 2nd of the month which means it's time for another a·muse|studio consultants blog hop!

Today's hop includes a variety of a|s consultants who connected through the online forum.  You should have arrived here from Anna's blog, if not you can start it all at Samantha's blog.  She will have the complete list of all the blogs in case there is a glitch along the way.  Just follow the blog path; there are prizes to be won, so leave some comment love!!

Enough nitty gritty.

The theme this month is create your own DSP (designer series paper).  I just love the clean lines of this card by Cristina, so I made the same card, just created my own papers.
stamp:  A Muse dots, circles, & "happy birthday to you"
ink: A Muse slate, latte, & lemon whip
other: twine, buttons, corner punch

Leave a comment and I will select one person to get all these paper pieces, ribbons, and twine to duplicate this card.

Okay now you are off to Angela's blog!

welcome, little one

I just love the layout and colors of this card by Lori Barnett and the paper piecing of the crib from Laura & Melissa Roell.

stamp: A Muse crib & "welcome, little one"
ink: Memento tuxedo black; VersaFine onyx black
other: button, twine, scalloped square punch, square punch, Copic markers

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

thank you

I wanted to try a window card with my swallow die cut.  What do you think?

stamp: A Muse clouds & "thank you"
ink: A Muse shell
other: A Muse die cut, A Muse glitter, spray adhesive

Sunday, May 29, 2011

{religious boy cards}

After the baby girl baptism cards I made, I got a few requests for baptism/confirmation cards for boys.  I whipped up a few cards; some are for the teenage boy, while others are for the baby boy.










stamp: all stamps are Papertrey Ink except the cross is Stampendous and "oh happy day!" is Impress
ink: VersaFine onyx black

Friday, May 27, 2011

good job!

I wanted to play along with the a·muse|studio consultant challenge, so I used this adorable layout and whipped up this card.  It's hard to see the "kissing" of the stamp, but I kissed the apple with lined writing paper stamp, then added "good job" on the lines.

{click picture for a better view}


You can get more "kissing" details from Julie's short video

stamp: A Muse apple, school house, lined writing paper, & "good job"
ink: A Muse cranberry, grass, & french roast
other: A Muse twinkle stickers, copic marker

you're the best!

With the medical issues that I had, I was a tad behind on Teacher Appreciation Week.  I finally got around to making these for the kids' teachers and putting together little treat bags for them.  I wanted something simple because I had to make 7 cards.  Yes, seven teachers for two kids in preschool.  Well, technically five teachers and two preschool administrators (got to give them thanks too).  We just love them so much!
stamp: a muse chalkboard, pencil, "abc...", & "you're the best!"
ink: Memento tuxedo black; VersaFine onyx black; Brilliance rocket red
other: Copic markers, twinkle stickers

Thursday, May 26, 2011

crafty questions

This has been fun to learn about others, so I thought I would share my answers with you.  It's funny how passionate we can be about some things.  Some answers can even trigger sharp alliances (similar or more extreme than politics, ha)!


{Cut and paste the questions below, then answer them on your blog!}


1. How long have you been paper-crafting? 
2. Do you listen to music while you craft? If so, which genre?
3. Do you snack while you craft or is your craft room a no-food zone? If yes, what's your favorite crafty snack?
4. What's your adhesive of choice - glue dots, liquid, tape runner, hot glue gun, or something else?
5. Keep scraps or toss scraps? 
6. Buttons - to thread or not to thread?
7. Do you clean up your craft table/surface after every project or leave the tidying up for a rainy day?
8. Instead of a deserted island, let's make it a deserted craft store. So, you're stuck in a deserted craft store and you can only use one three (I could not choose one) paper companies' paper for the rest of your life - which companies do you choose?
9. Do you keep a sketch book or notebook with ideas for future projects or do you craft-as-you-go?
10. Decorative scissors or edge punches? Which is your favorite?





1. I've been paper crafting almost exactly 10 years.  I started doing it to save money and have fun making my wedding invitations and before I knew it, I was swept away!

2. I do NOT listen to music while I craft.  I was one of those dorky kids who couldn't study with music on.  I enjoy the quiet (especially once I've put all three kids (under 5) to bed)!

3. I have been known to snack while I craft.  They are always unhealthy foods, if I'm having fun crafting I want a little treat too.  Salty or sweet, it doesn't matter.  (Was this one a shocker?  Did you think someone so anal who can't handle noise wouldn't allow food near her crafts?)

4. My adhesive of choice is the tape runner, specifically the Tombo mono adhesive.  It's quick, easy, and I like how it doesn't bunch up.  The "earth saver" in me can't stand all that waste.  I'm slowly using more and more double stick tape rolls (which are amazing for buttons!).

5. I keep my scraps, but I need a better storage system.  I can never decide whether to store them by color or size.

6. I'm new on the button scene.  I prefer them threaded, but don't always have the time, patience, or perfect color of thread/twine.  Plus certain cards call for "naked" buttons.

7. I typically nap during my kids' 2 hour nap time.  If I cut it to the wire, I leave it a mess.  Often I pick up everything but leave the stamps to clean later and do a bunch of cleaning at once.  Sometimes I'm so excited to run off and photograph my card that I completely forget about the clean up.

8. This may sound weird, but I don't pay attention to paper companies.  I just grab paper in stores that I like and rarely note what company made them.  But three that I use frequently are Memory Box, Papertrey Ink, and a·muse|studio.

9. I've always been a "craft-as-you-go" person, but lately I've been writing down my ideas.  Still don't have an actually sketch book, but some ideas make it to paper before I craft.

10. I use decorative scissors, but only because I don't own any edge punches.  I have used the punches though and they are quite addicting.


I hope you enjoyed reading my answers, now it's your turn!  Leave your answers in a comment to this post, tag your friends to do it and share it with whomever you like!  It's always fun getting to know each other a bit more.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

hello sunshine

I've had a few health issues and haven't been able to play along with many challenges, but I'm alive and well now!!  Papertrey Ink's May challenge is all about flowers.  As much as I love flowers (you may have noticed), I only own one Papertrey flower set {gasp}!  Clearly I need to get more.  Debby gave me a kick start to my stamping with this layout.
stamp: Papertrey Ink flower & "hello sunshine"
ink: VersaFine onyx black
other: Papertrey felt, Papertrey buttons, twine, Papertrey die cut

Monday, May 23, 2011

bunch of thank you's

Here's another stash of old cards that I came across.  The first two are Stampin' Up! cards that I made with my friend, Mandy.  The last two cards are ones that I made with Impress and/or Savvy stamps.  I always need reminders of a layouts.  I have a tendency to get in layout ruts.  

What about you?  Did you tend to stick to the same layout or same colors?  Or do create a different card every time?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

thank you for everything

I saw this card on the a·muse|studio facebook page and just had to copy it. So fun and fresh!
stamp: A Muse flower; A Muse "thank you for everything"
ink: A Muse lemon whip; VersaFine onyx black
other: Papertrey Ink die cut, A Muse washi tape, rhinestones

Thursday, May 19, 2011

with sympathy

Another mosaic tile card.  Now that my "stamp" is made, these are easy-breezy.
stamp: A Muse bird cages; Papertrey Ink "with sympathy"; & homemade mosaic tile
ink: VersaFine onyx black; Papertrey chamomile tea dye
other: Memory Box pearl stickers, mini scalloped scissors, twine, clear embossing powder

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

thank you

Clean and simple and super easy! 

I can't remember who makes the butterflies, but I bought them at Impress at least a year ago.

stamp: A Muse dots; Papertrey Ink "thank you"
ink: VersaFine onyx black; A Muse slate
other: pre-punched butterfly

Sunday, May 15, 2011

oh happy day! & celebrate

My girlfriend requested "a simple baptism card" for her niece.  This is what I came up with.  Which color scheme to do you like better for a baby girl and which sentiment do you prefer?



oh happy day!
stamp: Stampendous cross; Impress "oh happy day a baby is on the way"
ink: VersaFine onyx black

celebrate
stamp: Stampendous cross; Papertrey Ink "celebrate"
ink: VersaFine onyx black

Friday, May 13, 2011

thanks

A little Dawn McVey inspired card today.  Lots of paper layers and of course some ribbon and buttons to finish it off Dawn-style!
stamp: Papertrey Ink "thanks"
ink: VersaColor pinecone
other: Papertrey die cuts, tag, buttons, twine, ribbon

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

with deepest sympathy

I learned this new mosaic tile technique (this is not where I learned it, I lost that link, but this is a great step by step) the other day and wanted to give it a try.  Once my "stamp" was made it was super easy and quick.  I just love the broken tile look!  I also added a little recessed window to play along with the a·muse|studio consultant challenge.



If you dare to cut up your extra a·muse|studio rubber, you can make your own mosaic tile stamp.

A quick video from Julie about recessed windows:

stamp: A Muse bird, birdcages, & "with deepest sympathy"; homemade mosaic tile stamp
ink: VersaFine onyx black; VersaMark; A Muse french roast & grass
other: circle hole punch

Monday, May 9, 2011

bunch of thank you's

Here's another stash of old cards that I found the pictures floating around in my computer.  The first three I made with my friend Mandy (Stampin' Demonstrator) and the last one my friend Aimee made for a shoe box swap, but it's Stampin' Up stuff too.

I don't really take great photographs of my cards, but these are especially poor, sorry!

this is one of my favorites, I love the colors of the flower and the words on top



this was another favorite; I immediately bought the set and inks