Creative Grace

I want to be here right now

Well, the heat wave is in full force this summer and I'm not a happy camper about it.  I've learned I have a narrow range of thermal happiness and this has far surpassed it.  So, in the spirit of cooling off, I thought I'd share a card with the fun new *winter scene* stamp by A Muse.

 

 

The good news is the stamps are now available at your local stamp store!  If you aren't lucky enough to have a store to support, you can now get them on-line form A Muse.  Hope you've enjoyed A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA and our marathon amuse-bouche (8 days in a row!  Although I did cheat a little and had to take yesterday off).

Stay cool peeps!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: winter scene by A Muse.  

Paper: blueberry, sky blue, white shimmer couture, and woodgrain by A Muse

ink: A Muse black dye ink

coloring tools: White gel pen, diamond stickles, and Copic bg10, r29, e37, w4, 0

Other: swiss red grosgrain stitch ribbon by A Muse

For A Muse products click here 

Winter Critter

WooHoo!  Day 6 of A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA!  Are you having fun yet?  I have yet another fun amuse-bouche to share with you today - this one features one of the crazy adorable new winter critter stamps by A Muse.  

 

 

I think I love this owl the most - probably because he has crazy eyes :)

Be sure to visit the A Muse blog (link to it from the main A Muse site) and the blogs of the A Muse creative team for more winter critter goodness today!  I'll have another project to share with you tomorrow!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: wide eyed owl, snowflake swirl, santa hat, and not a creature by A Muse.  

Paper: winter sky, squash, and woodgrain by A Muse

ink: Memento rich cocoa and Colorbox chalk gray whale

coloring tools: White gel pen, and Spica silver, baby blue, and chocolate

Other: liquid applique, blue twinkle stickers by A Muse

For A Muse products click here 

Snowflake in July!

Today's amuse-bouche theme is "Snow Fun" - doesn't that sound great today?  With the heat of summer upon us, I would love some snow right now!  So, I picked the biggest snowflake from this fabulous new release of stamps by A Muse to share with you today:

 

Ahhhh... I feel cooler already :)  

This card just might be a top contender for my Christmas card this year.  Talk about 5-minute quickie! Heck, this baby was a 1-minute quickie!  Gotta love clean and simple.  Such a large, graphic image makes that so easy!  I cut our new *winter sky* paper into a square notecard (love those!), just for a little something different. 

Be sure to visit one of our participating A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA stores to get your hands on these fabulous new stamps and papers!  (link to the A Muse blog from the main site and see a list of the stores on the right column.)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Scandinavian Snowflake and Very Merry Christmas A Muse

Paper: *NEW* Winter Sky paper by A Muse 

ink: Colorbox chalk grey whale and A Muse black dye ink 

{sweet} holiday

Today's theme is *sweet holiday* :)  Who couldn't use a little sweetness in their life?  I have a friend who could definitely use some of that right now and I was so *tickled* to see that A Muse had this adorable gingerbread man (part of their new Ginger Delights set) since she loves them!  She is the gingerbread gal, after all ;)  I couldn't wait for her to show up at my A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA classes on Saturday and see them for the first time.  She must have had her gingerbread radar on though, since she found them before I could even show her! LOL

So this is my card in homage to her:

 

I had fun with enamel accents on this and used it to edge the gingerbread man's body and on his eyes and smile - don't mind my unevenness though! LOL Clearly, I need to practice.  But hopefully it also adds that homemade charm a real gingerbread man would have.  

Also, did you notice the yummy new paper color (squash!)? It's very happy! I also squeezed in a little of the new candy cane stripe paper since it's so dang fun.  

I hope you are having fun checking out these adorable new stamps and papers. Be sure to check out the blogs of the rest of the A Muse creative team for more amuse-bouche - I know I am!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Ginger delights set and you make life sweet A Muse

Paper: *NEW* fabulous squash and candy cane paper by A Muse (are you drooling yet???)

ink: Memento rich cocoa

Other: red polka dod sheer ribbon and red twinkle stickers by A Muse, Fiskars apron lace border punch, and Inkssentials white enamel accent 

{A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA} Classic Christmas

It's Christmas in July!  I got a great taste of that yesterday teaching some fun classes at Paper Tales in San Diego.  Some good friends that came to the class brought me a *handmade* stocking (you amaze me Diana!) filled with fabulous treats they all helped pick out.  Let's just say, everyone in the class enjoyed wearing their candy necklaces and bracelets!  

Isn't this the cutest stalking ever??   And this fun little guy was hiding in the stalking too.  He crawled around on our craft table all day!

 

I have more fun pictures from the class to share with you later, but I'm sure you are all here for a special A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA peek, aren't you?  Well, my friends, today I present the adorable *rudy* to you:

He is truly one of a kind!

You can see even more over on the A Muse site.  Be sure to check back later for more A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA goodness! :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: rudy and one of a kind by A Muse

Paper: *NEW* fabulous candy cane paper by A Muse (are you drooling yet???)

ink: Memento rich cocoa

Copic: E13

Other: white polka dod sheer ribbon and red twinkle stickers by A Muse

swanky photos taken with the Hipstamatic iPhone app

{A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA} baby!!!

Eek!  It's finally here!  It's A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA and that means I get to share a fabulous peek at A Muse Artstamps biggest release of the year with you!  

Today's theme is Halloween (believe it or not, it will be here before you know it!)  I thought I'd share a "page" from the adorable mini book I'm teaching at Paper Tales in San Diego on Saturday, July 10th (the class starts at 1:00 and there are still a couple spots available if you can swing by).

 

 

Spooky-fabulous! :)  

What's also fabulous is that the stamps are available RIGHT NOW exclusively to participating stores! (see a list of participating stores on the A Muse blog - right hand column.) 

For those of you not close to a store, there's more to see on the blogs of the girls on the fabulous A Muse creative team (links to the right) so be sure to check them out.

Aaaaaannnnnd... 

Don't forget that the A Muse Pajama Party is here!

 

It's a blast!  Click on the above image for more info.

Happy A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA everyone!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: bare branch, owl silhouette, and trick or treat by A Muse

Paper: orange gingham and vintage black by A Muse

ink: A Muse black dye ink

Copic: smooch moonlight (owl eyes!)

Other: orange sheer ribbon by A Muse, circle punch

What a weekend!

It's been a whirlwind for me these past few days as A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA draws to a close!  In fact, this fabulous new holiday release by A Muse is now available!  As always, we appreciate you supporting your local stamp stores and getting your stamps from them!  In addition to the fabulous stores that participated in A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA, many others will be receiving shipments of stamps in the next couple days.  There's nothing like seeing the stamps and sample cards in person.  However, if you don't have a stamp store near you, you can now find these treasures on the A Muse website.  

I taught three classes this past weekend at Stampin' EJs in Costa Mesa!  It was a lot of fun getting glitter everywhere, laughing a lot, and eating cupcakes!  I thought you might like to see a couple pictures of the treats I brought to our little kick-off party Friday night...

I used our brand new Mini Flake stamp, the sentiment "enjoy" (from the Baking clear set), a bit of glitter, a fabulous twinkle sticker and viola! Happy cupcakes!

I also figured that with the cupcake goodness, people would need to wash it down...

These were actually simple to make.  I just wrapped some grass green petite gingham paper and made a label using the new Wreath and Berries stamp and Have A Cool Yule sentiment.  

The weekend ended at Stampin' EJ's with drawings for the fabulous A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA prizes!  We were lucky that two of the winners, Rachel and Shannon, were there in person to get their prizes!

I hope everyone enjoyed all of the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA festivities!  Today I have to switch gears in my brain as I will be a part of a team of great educators this week that will be putting on a professional development institute where we will teach chemistry to elementary school teachers!  Wish us luck :)

Class card and amuse-bouche

Today's post serves a dual purpose:  It's my amuse-bouche for the day and a preview of one of cards we'll be making in my "A Copic Christmas" class on Saturday at Stampin' EJs in Costa Mesa.

Students in the class will be making simple cards like this that emphasize special Copic blending and shading techniques. These techniques will help you get the most out of using your Copics with stamped images.  This is a great class for those hoping to get some practice and learn more about the effective use of the markers.  Space is still available and you can find more information on how to register by linking to my class schedule here.   Students who take this class will learn how to make this beautiful card.

I have to say, this new tree silhouette stamp by A Muse doesn't need much!  So it's the perfect stamp to pair with a unique background made with Copics.  All of the stamps in this release are so wonderful!  You can get your hands on them by visiting an A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA store.  You can find a list of participating stores on the A Muse website.  

Happy stamping!

Christmas is for kids! Amuse-bouche, day 4!

SO MUCH FUN!!!

A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA is such a blast!  This new holiday stamp release by A Muse is just so much fun and makes designing cards such a joy!  

Today's amuse-bouche is for the kids! 

Did you notice he's about ready to pelt her with a snowball!!!  What a turkey! 

I was a little sneaky on this card and transformed winter friends girl and catch a snowflake boy just slightly.  I think the boy is my favorite!  I'm having such a blast putting him in mischievous situations like this one :) 

I also had a great time yesterday teaching my Copic 101 class for A*MUSE*A*PALOOOZA at Stampin' EJ's in Costa Mesa!  Here are some pictures of the students learning to get the most out of their Copics:

and two of my favorite students ;)  Happy Birthday Dana!

I'll be teaching 3 more classes for Stampin' EJ this weekend that feature these awesome new stamps!  Check out my class details here for more information.

Card details:

Stamps: Winter friends, catch a snowflake, and got snow by A Muse (I removed the bird from the girl, and an arm and snowflake from the boy)
Paper: fern green solid 4-bar note card by A Muse, cranberry solid 4-bar note card by A Muse, white card stock

Ink: A Muse black dye ink

Copics: RV13, RV32, R00, R29, E21, E29, E37, BG10, YG03

Other: fern polka dot sheer ribbon by A Muse, tiny dots twinkle stickers by A Muse, Slice 

Elegant Holiday Amuse Bouche

I'm thrilled to share more amuse-bouche with you today!  

How many new goodies can you spot? 

I'm having so much fun making cards with this release!  I am in LOOOOOVE with the new navy note cards!  It is such a striking color and so easy to work with.  The ornaments and snowflake stamps are a definite "must-have" for every stamp collection!  These elegant products are a part of the new holiday release by A Muse!  Visit one of our participating A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA shops to find these stamps (you can find a list of them by logging on to the A Muse website).  In fact, I have several classes featuring these fun products this week at Stampin' EJ's in Costa Mesa!  You can see my class schedule here.  Hope to see you there! 

Card details:

Stamps: Elegant ornaments, Floral snowflake, Eat drink be merry by A Muse (I masked the "eat drink and" phrase)
Paper: Navy blue solid 4-bar note card by A Muse, vintage blue 4-bar note card by A Muse, white card stock

Ink: Versa magic multi surface chalk ink - night sky

Other: sky blue polka dot sheer ribbon by A Muse, white sheer ribbon by A Muse, micro dots twinkle stickers by A Muse, circle punches, silver leafing pen (used to make silver circles), silver gel pen, small silver bells, white thread