i can always count on you...

I made this card for a Thank You card pack that I sold awhile back.  The cards had to be simple, easy to reproduce, and be able to lay fairly flat (to fit together in the packaging).  I decided to remove the embellishments from this card to make it a bit faster.  I also fit it on an A2 card to go with the rest of the cards in the set.

stamp: A Muse wrenches & "I can always count..."

ink: A Muse grass, sky, & ocean; VersaFine onyx black

happy birthday

Do you remember being in school, starting a worksheet, skipping the instructions and jumping right into the worksheet?  Yeah, I don't recommend it.  That was me with the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday #57.  This card took me way too long.  I started watching the video, paused it, and then got busy with the idea that jumped in my head.  I should have continued watching.  I had all this trouble with blurry images with my colored kissing technique.  I tried die inks, then pigments, then colored paper with die inks and pigment inks.  Nothing made the images any clearer.

Finally, I thought to watch the rest of the video. I noticed that Heather was stamping the solid image first, cleaning the stamp, and stamping the second time with the pattern.  How could I be such a fool?! {palm to forehead}  Everything went much quicker after that!

failed attempts

stamp: Papertrey Ink car, "happy birthday" & "enjoy the ride"

ink: A Muse sky, ocean, & blueberry

other:  Papertrey Ink die cut

{blank guitar}

I wanted to play along with the a·muse|studio consultant challenge this month.  I've never worked with inchies, so this was fun!

You can get more inchie ideas from Julie's short video.

stamp: A Muse guitar

ink: A Muse ocean, slate, & grass

other: A Muse stitched ribbon ocean, zig zag scissors

happy father's day

Who doesn't need more masculine card ideas?  That's where Laurie Willison comes to the rescue with this fun card.  I could use some more manly birthday cards, but with father's day coming up, I kept the fathery theme.  I'd love to try it in some different colors too.  What color scheme would you try?

stamp: A Muse harlequin background & "happy father's day"
ink: A Muse french roast
other: eyelets, twine, square punch

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".

{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

happy birthday to you

Who doesn't need more manly cards?  After I saw this card by Nichole Heady, I was thrilled to know that I had practically the same supplies.  I was a bit disappointed that my chamomile argyle pattern barely shows up next to the words.  Next time I'll grab some darker ink.

stamp: A Muse circles; Savvy "happy birthday to you"; Papertrey Ink background type font
ink: Memento rich cocoa; VersaColor pinecone; Papertrey Ink chamomile
other: Papertrey Ink die cut

a|s consultants blog hop

Time for another blog hop!  Yesterday's hop involved my a·muse|studio upline "cousins" (if you're here for that and came from Veronica's blog scroll down to the next post).   We are all lucky to have Krystie as our upline lady.

Today's hop includes a variety of a|s consultants who connected through the online forum.  You should have arrived here from Kelly'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 lots of prizes to be won, so leave some comment love!!

Enough nitty gritty.

The theme this month is "congratulations".  When you think of the school days, "congrats" probably isn't the fist thing that comes to mind, but there are lots of people and occasions that deserve congratulating. Some people to consider: teachers, principals, office staff, students, college grads, tutors, and teacher aides.  Occasions for congratulating (but are certainly not limited to): finishing a school year, finishing state testing, passing National Boards, graduating, not losing a kid on a field trip (you think I'm joking, but I used to teach), completing a school performance/play, and sadly in my area keeping your teaching position when schools are closing.

This next card is just a fun, girlie congratulations.  Maybe for a newly announced pregnancy (there seem to be LOTS of my friends sharing that great news right now), a new job, a new home, or anything else you can dream up for those amazing women in your life (or men who like pink and birds).

This last card is a little more masculine.  We have a dear friend who was just made partner at his firm and we wanted to congratulate him.  We are so proud of him!!

What sort of congratulating do you have going on in your neck of the woods?

Wait, one more thing!  Want a little treat?  Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win a prize (6 die cut birds (3 of each) and 1 yard of stitched bubblegum ribbon, so you can recreate the congratulations bird card).

okay, now you're off to Carla's blog, Paper Pastorale

congrats

stamp: a·muse|studio bus, chalkboard, ruler, & "congrats" (I used the "congratulations" stamp very carefully)

ink: VersaMark; VersaFine onyx black; Memento tuxedo black

other: white embossing powder, Copic Markers

congratulations

stamp: a·muse|studio branch, birds, & "congratulations"

ink: A Muse bubblegum & grass

other: bubblegum stitched ribbon, bird die cuts


you're the best
stamp: a·muse|studio dress shirt & "you're the best"
ink: VersaFine onyx black

i can always count on you

I wanted to make a masculine card and tried copying a card I saw on the A Muse gallery (for consultants only), but when I stamped the wrenches to cut them out, I ended up with this scrap and wanted to try a card with the wrenches stamped like this.

stamp: A Muse wrenches, zig-zag, & "I can always count on you when I'm in a tight spot" 

ink: A Muse slate & orange

enjoy the ride

I have been loving this vw car stamps and die cut from Papertrey!

stamp: Papertrey Ink car, "road trip", "enjoy the ride"
ink: ColorBox canary, VersaFine onyx black
other: Memory Box pearl stickers daffodil, Papertrey Ink die cut, Impress card

happy birthday: over the hill

stamp: Papertrey Ink car, "over the hill", & "happy birthday"
ink: ColorBox sky blue, VersaFine onyx black
other: ribbon, Papertrey Ink die cuts

happy birthday

This card is not super creative but it is "green." My son received a gift from a friend. It was from The Children's Place and came with a big soccer ball sticker. I added some more adhesive tape and plopped it on a card. Nothing fancy, but I am reusing the sticker.

stamps: savvy "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"
ink: VersaFine onyx black

happy birthday

I can't take credit for this cute card. Stole it from here.

stamps: Memory Box fishing pole & fish, savvy "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

ink: VersaFine onyx black

golf bags

stamp: Savvy golf bag

ink: VersaFine onyx black

other: Packaging Specialties thin wood tag, "happy birthday" printed by computer

sailboat

These were thank you cards that I used for my son's 1st birthday party. A family friend made these as cupcake flags for his baby shower. She had extras so I saved them, cut off the toothpick sticking out of the bottom, and popped them up with mounting tape.

stamps: Stampin Up! "Thank you very much"

ink: VersaFine onyx black

other: hand drawn sailboat

sports party

My son turned 3, so we had a big sports birthday party for him. Here's the invitation:

stamps: Stampin' Up! football, soccer ball, and basketball; Amuse "a party!"

ink: VersaFine onyx black; Impress tangerine, chocolate, and navy

baseball card

I didn't make this card, but it was too cute not to share. Plus "manly" cards are few and far between. My brother got this card for his birthday, just days before his baseball themed house-warming and birthday party.