Merry Christmas!!

 I've been making these angels from a chipboard album I came up with a few years ago. Each one has its own personality. I just painted them a creamy white, then I just go to town adding Christmas stuff.

 Both of the stamps I used on these tags are from Etsy stores. The cherub is from Picture Show Stamps, and the "Celebrate" is from Shady Tree Studio.

 I used an old SU! set here, with an A Muse Studio sentiment on these snowman tags.

 I was rummaging around in a drawer and I found this old tree punch. It was HARD to punch through white cardstock, but I really like the tree. I just used a quickie glue pen to add them to these festive tags.

I love making these fun and easy snowflake ornaments. I used just a few dies, some silver cord, a halfback pearl and a little edge sponging.

We are having such a beautiful Christmas Eve! The boys are all here, we've had a great dinner, and we are just enjoying each other's company. I hope you are lucky enough to be with someone you love tonight!

Hey, Friend! Now is the perfect time to join me!!

Thanksgiving Table Place Cards

 I love fall stamping. I read that all over blogland, why do we love it so? This set is called Bounty of the Season. The wheat sheave image here is so utterly timeless. In 10 years, you can pick up this stamp, and it will still look great. A Muse Studio images seem, by and large, to be this way. They are so beautifully designed. They are right on trend, but never trendy. I like that in a stamp.

I stamped these in Copper on Pumpkin and embossed them with Clear. They are simple tent style place cards, with ample room for name writing to the right of the sheave.

I hope you have ordered your free Fight Like A Girl stamp set! If not, why not? It's a great set, and all you pay is $3 S&H. It comes with a brochure on breast cancer awareness, a 20% coupon, and an automatic entry into a prize drawing. All that, and you have a set that is perfect for encouragement, and who doesn't need a little encouragement every now and then? Just click on the Stamp Out Breast Cancer badge, and it will take you right to my webstore, where you can easily order it.

A MUSE STUDIO: Spotlight Details

October Spotlight and SOBC

It's time again for a Spotlight special!
October's In the Spotlight products are wicked good! 

For one month, you can save 10% on these stamp sets!

Spooky Boo Day
Woodgrain Background
Chevrons
Vintage Labels 2
Creepy Hollow

And, for a limited time, order the special Wicked Woods cardstock assortment pack - an easy way to get the look showcased in this month's spotlight.

Wicked Woods Assortment Pack contains four sheets each:

Onyx, Seattle, Pebble, Lime,Grass

 

Spooky Savings

you won't want to miss!

Now through 11:59 p.m. October 31st. 

 

And be sure to check out our Stamp Out Breast Cancer promotion for October with free stamp set and discount coupon, hostess bonuses, and more, in the previous post! 

As always, there are handy links in the sidebar for your convenience, and please be sure to let me know if you need anything - CarlaMayfield5@gmail.com 

 

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope October is off to a great start for you!

 

A MUSE STUDIO: Think Pink Keep Calm

 Here is another card for my Fight Like A Girl party. I loved taking this stamp out of its color zone! I must say that it is SO easy for me to create and then be pleased with the results when I am working with pink.

I embossed the keep calm stamp in white, which I adore. I also am really enjoying the Mad For Plaids set. I only bought it because another a|s consultant, Angela is a magician with it, and every card she uses it on is brilliant. It doesn't quite cover the front of an A2 card. The next time I want the whole base covered, I'll just cut it 5 1/4" x 4", and it should work perfectly.

I just spent a frantic hour cleaning Wilson's room. The landlord is coming over with the plumber to work on a running toilet, and I couldn't bear for her to see W's room. It looks the best it has since the day we moved in two months ago. I have really been letting the bedrooms go while I work on the public areas of the house. I still don't have my decorations done. They are just wadded up on shelves and tables.

It's so hard to make headway on a house when you live with other people. W had a wicked 24 hour flu, and threw up ALL OVER THE HOUSE. REPEATEDLY. It took me about another 24 hours to get all the laundry and carpets done; the bathroom and bedroom had to be dealt with at the moment, of course.

About three seconds after I got the last of that mess, W dropped a 12 pack of Sprite from on top of the freezer in the laundry room. I had just picked him up from school because he was sick again. Two of the Sprites burst, and since I was on the phone, it took me a bit to get in there. The entire room was covered in Sprite. I had to mop. TWICE. I had to clean the walls, the ceiling, the picture window, the dresser and the front bathroom. I am still finding sticky spots. After the first time I mopped, the floor was so sticky that it would rip my slippers off if I went in there!

This is a long winded way of saying it's really hard to keep a clean house. I don't know how some people do it. How do you keep your house clean?

A MUSE STUDIO: October Spotlight

Would you just have a look at these adorable Halloween projects? These are so much fun, I can't stand it! Plus, these five stamp sets are on sale, and there's the gorgeous, professionally coordinated Wicked Woods cardstock pack. Every month, A|S puts five special sets on sale, and designs spectacular projects designed to make you look good. An additional bonus, is that you have instant project ideas for when you get goodies!

I've been stamping for 12 years, and one thing I've noticed about myself is that I sometimes have a hard time getting started with a new product, but once I go ahead and start working with it, the creativity is unleashed. The more I work with a product, the better I get at using it. Using A|S products is wonderful because there are so many terrific idea sources: me, the A|S Facebook page, and now a new A|S blog!! I'll get you set up with just the right products and make sure you take them out of the bag and give them the love they deserve!

Don't forget to stop by my store and get your FREE Fight Like A Girl stamp set, you don't want to miss it! amusestudio.com/carlamayfield

A Muse Studio: You're Invited to get your free stamp set!

 This is one of the cards we will be making at my Fight Like A Girl party on Saturday. I'm going to change a few things to make it simpler. I don't know how experienced all of my guests are, so this might be a bit much. I love all the pinkness of it. I think we'll just stamp the cupcake right on pink card stock instead of coloring. It might even look better, considering what a wretched job I did coloring this!

I hope you have ordered your free stamp set! I ordered mine! You can scroll down to see how cute it is, and you can order your here.

SO MUCH A MUSE STUDIO NEWS!!!

 First this card, which I made for the Let's Get Trendy Now 2 Day One class on washi tape. I have some washi tape, because A Muse Studio sells it, but I keep forgetting to use it!

 Here, I stamped on it! When I went to add it to the card, I smeared the sentiment right off of there! So, intending to take charge of the situation, I placed my washi tape first, stamped it, then embossed it in clear. I really love the way it turned out, and want to thank Amy, Yvonne, and Julie for their cool workshop.

I also used our new Splash spray ink in Wasabi. It really lays down thick, rich, color!

Have you heard the news? A Muse Studio is giving out 10,000 of these stamp sets for FREE during the month of October! All you have to do to get yours is stop by my webstore right here! You like free, don't you? I hope you get one, and that you tell all your friends to get one, too!!

A Muse Studio Supplies:
Stamps: Perfectly Polished
Paper: Rialto Venetian, Pumpkin, Sugar
Ink: Current
Accessories: Wasabi Splash, Holiday Washi Tape, Clear Embossing Powder

Halloween Cards

 Just playing around with my Halloween stash. I sold that Stampin' Up! set a while ago, remember it?

 Cosmo Cricket steps out with K & Co. Have you ever bought one of K & Co's die cut packs. They are a HUGE value. I think they are breeding and having little die cuts in their packaging, because I can't seem to use them up!

 Crafty Secrets and Cosmo. You know how I feel about CS, right?

 Do you see how I left on the part that is supposed to be cut off the bottom of the paper? My Etsy customers just buy what they like, they have no idea about what is and isn't supposed to go on a card. Neither do non paper crafters. I think it was Ali Edwards who said she used whatever she wanted on her personal pages, whether it was current or not. She pointed out that her family did not know or care if her supplies were the latest and greatest.

I found this card during the move. I made it YEARS ago for a SCS challenge. The set is Carved and Candlelit. I sold that one in my Etsy shop quite a while ago.

Moving has been good for my stamp room. It stirred up my supplies, and some that have been languishing on the bottom of the pile are showing up in my creations. I don't think I'll ever use it all up in this lifetime!

A Muse Studio: Brown and Bellini

The lattice card stock is from our Venetian Collection. This color, Bellini, and the other four colors, all come in solid and patterned card stock, ink pad and refill, and our gorgeous satin ribbon.

I find rich, bright colors like this a little intimidating, so I always try to tone them down a bit with neutrals, like Latte, French Roast, and Sugar. Every color on this card is food related. Interesting...

Again, I apologize for the bad pictures, I still have not found the light. Maybe tomorrow!

A Muse Studio Supplies:
Stamps: Beautiful Botanicals
Paper: Bellini Patterned, French Roast, Sugar, Latte
Ink: French Roast, Latte
Accessories: Butterfly Trio Die, Ivory Pearls, French Roast Buttons and Ribbon

Odds and Ends, Plus A Cute and Easy Box!

 Old school Stampin' Up!

 I'm down to 25 SU! sets. They still take up a whole shelf. I can't believe how much I love unmounted stamps, and I'll be happy when all my SU! sets find happy homes!

 I am terrible at putting boxes together, but this box went together perfectly, and it's just adorable. I had it cut at Creative Cuts and More from red metallic paper, then I added trim, a die cut and embossed snowflake, button and baker's twine, and called it good! The button and baker's twine are A Muse Studio, of course!

 Cosmo Cricket Halloween! So cute!!

A Muse Studio: Sweet and Simple Thank You

A Muse Studio: Sweet and Simple Thank You

 First things first: I have not found the right light in my new house yet, and every picture I have taken since we moved here is simply awful. This one is no exception. This is not a dark house, I just haven't found the right room and the right time of day. It's all about light. Light. Light. Light. Follow the light...

This Sweet and Simple, my version of CAS, can be mailed with one stamp. I'd like a round of applause, please. I need thank you cards for customers, and I need for them to NOT cost $1.95 each to mail.

When I discovered patterned paper seven or eight years ago, I quit using background stamps of any kind. Well, A Muse Studio has SO many fabulous background stamps, I just can't resist them. Here I used Polka Dot Patterns, which I think is the cutest, I hope you like it, too!

Supplies(ALL a|s):
Stamps: Polka Dot Patterns, Essential Sentiments
Paper: Sugar, Buttercup Gingham
Ink: Buttercup, Seattle
The tiny flowers are no longer available, it's a shame, I know.

We are in Pueblo!

 We aren't completely unpacked yet-maybe halfway. I made this card with a Tim Holtz set. I don't think you can tell from this picture, but I did the cracked glass technique on the butterfly tiles.

 My stamp room is almost unpacked. I'll finish today or tomorrow. Then I will spend a day or two shifting stuff around, because it isn't really very well organized.

 I smashed these little satin ribbon roses into a distress ink pad, then gave them a shot of water. I am SO pleased with the results, I know I will be doing this again.

 I hope your summer went well, and that you didn't have to move, like me. I despise moving. You would not believe the amount of sheer junk we moved, and that's after two garage sales. I find the most ridiculous things, which should have been thrown in the trash, while I am unpacking. I will probably take a load to the Goodwill every week for at least the next month. I've already been once since we got here.

The crazy orange paper I used on this card makes me very uncomfortable. I think it shows. 

A Muse Studio:

You're Invited!

This card looks fairly CAS, but I used four different stamp sets, two different embossing powders, and four different papers. This is a fun way to use up scraps. I started by embossing the circles from Clever Girls in A Muse Studio's fabulous white ep. Then I switched to onyx ep and embossed two of the flowers from that set. The large flower is from Charming Gardeners. The "you're invited" sentiment is from Hey Cupcake.


Stamps: A Muse Studio-Charming Gardeners, Clever Girls, Hey Cupcake
Paper: A Muse Studio- Sage, Fern, Cherry Polka Dot, Ocean
Ink: A Muse Studio-  Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: A Muse Studio- Sky Stitched Grograin, Onyx & White Embossing Powder

Still packing...

 In between every move I completely forget how long it takes to pack. Will it never end? Luckily, as I get older, I get better at maintaining my sense of peace, even when there is a moving van snafu.

 I made these last week, back when I had time to stamp. Those were the days...

 I still love to get my Artistic Outpost stamps out every now and then. They are wonderful.

 Another acetate overlay card. I've made several of these lately.

This is a CASE from my Stretch Your Stamps class. I should say here whose design it was, but I honestly don't remember-great stamper, though!

Hope you are all having a great summer!!

Fun little gift box...

Have you ever thought of starting your own stamping business? Maybe you just want an excuse to get out with the girls more often. Maybe your stamping wish list is longer than your wallet can handle and you just want a discount. Or maybe, you crave a career change, like me. I've done the first two, now I've moved into wanting to run a successful business of my own. I want to work with and support a team of women as we all work towards our goals. I want to help other women reach their potential and step past fears and insecurities that are holding them back. I want to be the kind of leader that helps every woman have the kind of business she wants, whether as a hobby consultant or a business woman.


Right now, the A Muse Studio Holiday Hoopla Starter Kit is only $99. You'll get hundreds of dollars of product, plus ANY free stamp set of your choice. Is there any reason why you couldn't give this a try for a few weeks to see if it's something you'd like to do? I'll be here to support you every step of the way!

A Muse Studio has these things for consultants called Ready To Roll Workshops. You can just check the pdf and copy the projects, which is super easy because all supplies and instructions for creating the item are right there. You can even buy samples already made, and the supplies all bundled together. It's an incredible time saver!

Anyway, this box template is from a RTRW. It looks nothing like the original and uses none of the same supplies, but the box is fun, fast and easy to make and can be made to suit any occasion. I went crazy with dies on this one and used flower set 1, banner die, and the cupcake companion die set. a|s carries a lovely selection of top quality felt and packs of buttons bursting at the seams.

If you'd like to learn how to make this box, just let me know! I'd be happy to do a Paper Party for you and your friends!

Stamps: Essential Sentiments
Paper: Blueberry Polka Dots, Buttercup, Cherry Gingham
Ink: Blueberry
Accessories: Lemon Whip Satin Ribbon, Flower Set 1, Banner, & Cupcake Companion dies, Cherry baker's twine, Buttercup button

                                                                      Essential Sentiments:

 

  Just email me if you'd like to chat about joining my team. We are growing quickly and would love to have you join us!!