Get on Board!!!

A Muse Studio is having a sign-up bonus! I am having so much fun with my a|s business! If you think you would enjoy getting together with really nice and very happy people and playing with paper and rubber, then a|s might be just right for you. Think about it, everyone is happy when stamping, right? All my guests go home with several wonderful projects they made themselves, and with smiles on their faces. We talk about being wives and mothers, and we talk about completely silly things like how much we love Bubblegum glitter.

At the end, they write down a few things they want, I collect the money, and in about a week, they get their new toys. Yes, it is that fun and easy. a|s even has preplanned workshops, so if you are too nervous to design projects yourself-no worries! It's done like dinner! (Which is actually not even started at my house yet tonight!)

To join my team, look here.

A Couple A Muse Studio Creations

 SNOW DAY! YAHOOO!!! Here's a quick post from me, then it's off to fold laundry! Isn't it interesting how an unexpected day off can make even mundane things like laundry seem like a gift? Here I am on a Friday morning folding laundry, and I'm enjoying it!

 This card is an adaptation of one of the cards in our Ready To Roll Workshops. It's really cute in person, and my Hostess Club loved it. I thought maybe it was a bit bright, but I realize that there are people out there who enjoy color in pure hues and pigments instead of whitewashes, like me.

 The heart stamp is from our amazing new set All My Heart, from the Holidays section of the new catalog. You can see it and other holiday sets here!

 We also made these candy sticks at our January meeting, and I think they were one of the most popular projects I've ever taught. Those 1" x 8" cello bags sell like hotcakes, and I know what all the first graders in Holyoke are getting for Valentine's Day from their sweet teachers this year!

Please stop by our A Muse Studio Challenge Blog and play along with us This week! You have until Sunday night, and our fabulous hostess, Karen Crisp is giving away one of the new catalogs AND some samples of our new Venetian line of papers!!

February Studio Spotlight

I love this month's gorgeous Spotlight so much, I just had to rush over here and share it with you!! It's a perfect opportunity to get some stamps on sale and take advantage of coordinated cardstock packs. I can help you with instructions for making any of the fun items pictured here if you need it. What do you think?

Cosmo Cricket does Valentine's Day

 This year I made most of my Valentines with Cosmo Cricket's Love Notes. It's my favorite CC of all time, and I have finally depleted my stash. I don't know if it's still available, but that's okay! I enjoyed it while it lasted, and I have about a thousand lonely pieces of paper in my stamp room waiting to come into their fruition.

 I have a sheet of Crafty Secrets Valentine stickers, and boy do I love those things! Such a huge bang for such little money! I think I have every sticker sheet they ever made.

 I got those little white doves at a little craft store in Ogalalla, Nebraska. They were an insanely good buy and have found their way onto many projects this month.

 Baby card using A Muse Studio's little banner die. Isn't it the sweetest?

Every now and then I go on a die cutting rampage to build up my supplies. When I do, I ALWAYS cut a bunch of butterflies with my A|S Butterfly Trio, then cover them with silver glitter. Irresistible, they are! I used a Karen Foster Loopy Brad as the antennae on this one. Raise your hand if you have a package of KF Loopy Brads in your stamp room!

I've started working out again. I'm doing Leslie Sansone. Much to my chagrin, I can do about a quarter what I was doing the last time I did it. Why does fitness go away so quickly? During August, I rode 60 miles a week on my bike, now I'm doing one mile to a DVD. *SIGH* Well, I'm going to do a Fitness Boot Camp of my own design. This week I'll walk a mile a day, next week two miles and so on. I figure I'm starting out slow enough that I won't really need a day off. Walking isn't too hardcore anyway. I have four miles of Leslie, so in a month, I should be ready to branch out to some other DVDs.

Toodles, friends!

Love is in the air!

This week's challenge at the A Muse Studio blog is called Love is in the Air! This is your opportunity to make a Valentine or love related card and possibly win some bling! Here is my Valentine:

 I apologize for the dreadful picture above. It's wintertime in Colorado, and I just have to take what I can get in terms of light. I used the Vintage Labels and Quick and Cute Valentines stamp sets for this card.

 This card is chock full of a|s goodies! I used three dies, including the hearts, Vintage Labels and Scalloped Border. LOVE THEM!! I hope we have lots of new dies in the new catalog because my cards are starting to get redundant!

I am super sad to see the polka dot paper retiring. I use it ALL THE TIME! I know there will be many beautiful replacements, so no tears. There's a sneak peek for you on this card! The card base is one of our NEW colors, GRAPEFRUIT! It's a softer pink than Bubblegum, and much brighter than Blush and Shell. We now have FIVE gorgeous pinks in shades to satisfy every stamper's pink cravings whether you like the intense shout of pink drenched Watermelon or the sweet whisper of Blush.

As a finishing touch for this card, I added a strip of washi tape to the inside for a special pop of color. The back of a|s cardstock is white, making special touches easy to add on the inside. Not to mention that you don't have to line cards anymore!

A Muse Studio Challenge Blog-Heat Embossing!

 I've been the hostess at the a|s challenge blog for two weeks running, and I'm sort of a one trick pony.

 Last week my challenge was to do heat embossing of any kind.

 I made the above Valentine with Black and White A Muse Studio embossing powders. The heart featured on that card is from Hearts A Plenty, which is on our retiring list. I think it's a must have set with nine hearts all in completely different sizes, shapes and styles. When this set is sold out, it will be gone forever, so if you are looking for a really versatile heart set, get it now!

 This week's challenge is to use any kind of adhesive to grab your embossing powder. I used red line tape and a|s white powder on mine.

This card features the soda glass from Sweet Love stamped twice and colored with Copics. I will say that I really like a|s's white embossing powder a lot. It comes in a big jar and the coverage and handling is excellent. Listen, no one ever accused me of being handy with the Copics, but you CAN consider me an embossing powder expert! I love it and use it all the time. The only thing I do more than emboss is add Diamond glitter, which of course this card has, too!

Please come play with us this week, I'm giving away the If You Dare stamp set, which is a darling Halloween set. It's on our retired list, and I'm sorry to see it go. Find our challenge here.

Mostly Blue Christmas

 This year, most of my Christmas cards were made with Doodlebug paper from five or six years ago.

 I like frosty blue, white and silver Christmas stuff. I added a few Melissa Frances rub-ons for good measure. If you want my opinion, MF rub-ons are by FAR the best I've ever used. I don't know why they are so much better, I just know that they are.

 I made this card with an old My Chemistry With Paper set. I used to be on the MCWP DT, but they went wholesale only. Now I have no idea how they are doing. This economy has been hard on small stamp companies, hasn't it?

 Yes, I used fiber. The funny thing about my supplies is that it doesn't really matter if they are the latest and greatest thing. My Etsy customers have no idea what the latest paper crafting fads are. They just go to my shop and buy stuff they like.

I enjoy using older supplies, and I get a real kick out of using a product up. It's so much fun to toss all that bulky packaging knowing that I put it to good use. I can probably do that for about five more years buying only adhesive, envelopes and kraft cardstock. How long could you go, do you think? Let's use things up this year. Enjoy what's bought and paid for. How many times have you bought a new release before you used last month's release? Me, too many times to mention. Does that make sense? Is that the kind of people we are? When we give a handmade gift, does the recipient think to themselves, "That Cosmo Cricket paper is from five years ago! How lame!" No, they think and they say, "Thank you! I love it! I love that you thought of me and made this yourself!"