As the Wheels Turn...

I love a good mystery.............

2011-02-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

Michele is a brave girl! I wonder what is going on at A Muse? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Phase 1: Infiltration

Happy 2011!!

2011-01-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

We cooked up a yummy feast of good luck foods and I made these champagne cupcakes for dessert *heavenly*. The original recipe was for pink champagne cupcakes but since I was making them for our New Year celebration, I stuck with the gold and silver theme on white. I even found this cute edible glitter in the shape of stars!

I was lucky enough to celebrate the New Year with both of my brothers, one of my sisters-in-law and my cute niece, Zoe. I'm thankful to have such a great family! I hope 2011 is all that you hope for and brings much peace and happiness to you all.

Happy New Year!

Mulled Wine Gift

2010-12-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick gift idea for you. I made 18 of these for a swap. They make great gifts for neighbors, co-workers, teachers, etc. The wine doesn't haven't to be expensive since you'll be cooking it.

I'm sure you can find a much more exact recipe. I just sort of put the ingredients together until they looked pretty. Here's what I included:

whole cloves
whole allspice
dried orange peel
crushed & whole cinnamon sticks
dried cranberries

I put 3 whole cinnamon sticks along with 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the mix into glassine bags and tied them shut with bakers twine and another whole cinnamon stick. I included the recipe for mulled wine on a pull out card but you could also use apple cider or a mixture of the two (but the presentation works better with a bottle of wine so that's why I did it this way). The large snowflake is a die from Sizzix and the smaller is the large Himilayan Snowlflake from Martha Stewart. The 1-1/4 inch circle punch is a perfect fit for the neck of the wine bottle and the punched out circles made backers for the A Muse wine glass stamp.

I could use some hot mulled wine or cider right now. Kayla and I are in Toronto, ON, Canada and it's COLD here!

Time Flies...........

2010-11-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, time flies and the old saying about how time moves faster as you get older is so true! I can't believe I haven't blogged since we left for the Netherland so I thought I better do a quick catch up post.

Kayla swam GREAT at Worlds but she had some stiff competition in her class so no chance for medals this time. She did swim her personal best in all but one event and came home with 2 American records! What an amazing experience it was to be swimming and supporting Team USA!

We came home just in time to get ready for back to school. Kayla started high school (9th grade) and Sam the 5th grade. Both kids are doing well in school and making new friends. Kayla is involved with the drama club and is going to work backstage at MCT's musical this year. Sam is playing 2 instruments (saxophone and piano) and auditioned for the play (cast list will be announced Nov 11).

About a month after school started, Kayla and I went to Santa Clara for another swim meet. She didn't swim as well there but it was a good experience. We go to Toronto in December for the CAN-AM meet and then I think we're home until April 2011. I can't believe how much we've traveled this year!

I apologize for not having any craftiness to share this time but hopefully I will soon!

Welcome to Holland

2010-08-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

When Kayla was born, someone sent me this poem. It was written by the mom of a special needs child. I find it a little ironic that we are currently IN Holland (also known as the Netherlands) for her to compete in the IPC Long Course World Swimming Championships. Kayla really IS taking me to Holland!

Welcome To Holland
by
Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

*Note: I recently learned that the usage of the word "Holland" is technically incorrect as it actually describes a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. We are in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

The athletes have been training hard! Opening ceremonies are tomorrow and the competition begins on Sunday, August 15th. Go Team USA!

Busy, busy, busy.........

2010-07-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

The past couple months have been a complete blur in our house! The end of the school year is always packed with lots of activities, field trips, etc and this one was especially so partially because Kayla graduated from the school she's attended for the past 9 years. Hard to believe she's going to high school next year! We've already met with the staff and done a walk thru of the school and so far we are very impressed with the staff and teachers.

I have had very little crafty time lately but we did manage to make altered clipboards for ALL the middle school teachers, the bus drivers and Kayla's aide. I think every teacher Kayla's had and the principal and vice principal now have personalized clipboards from us. She hopes that they will think of her when they use them and I'm sure they will. We made 13 this year so we kept them very simple. We were lucky enough to find some great scrapbook papers in each theme/subject so we let them speak for themselves. I kept the fronts pretty plain since they are usually covered with papers and put the best papers, etc on the backs.
As soon as I was done crying after graduation I had to pack Kayla and I up to go the the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. It was SO exciting to be there and be a part of the US Team. She didn't swim very well at the meet because she had a horrid cold and was swimming at altitude but it was more of a training meet and a dedication to Jimi Flowers, the US Paralympic Swim Coach that died tragically last year in a climbing accident. We attended meetings and received our uniforming for the World Championships.

We are home for a couple weeks and then off to Chicago for NJDC (National Jr. Disability Championships). The whole family is going on this trip and we plan to do a little sightseeing while we're there (including the Lego Adventure park for the boys) Never a dull moment around here!!

Because our summer is so busy, I won't be teaching classes until September but be sure to check out the other classes at the A Muse shop and don't forget A*Muse*a*Palooza is almost here!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T07:47:00.001-07:00

I was so pleased with the layout of Heidi's birthday card that I decided to change it up a bit and make a Mother's Day card. Here I used Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate ink for the open Marigold and sentiment and the chocolate pearl sticker added the perfect touch!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. I am looking forward to a yummy brunch with my family today. I hope you all enjoy your day!

Marigold Birthday

2010-05-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late to the party. The "Everything's Rosy" party, that is! By now you've seen this awesome new release from A Muse and have fallen in love with these fabulous floral images! The A Muse Creative Team really outdid themselves with inspiration with these new stamps. If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out their blogs (you can find links from the A Muse Blog) .

I made this card for a very special lady at A Muse Headquarters. Heidi, you are amazing and I hope you have an awesome day!!

I embossed the solid marigold with white embossing powder and added a black twinkle sticker to the middle of the open marigold. Did you notice the ribbon? It's not new......it's black sheer colored with a Copic marker! I love being able to make custom ribbon for my projects!

Springtime wreath

2010-04-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

How cute is this? I made it out of lunch sacks! Seriously! I found the idea on THIS blog. She added butterflies to hers which I thought was cute but didn't really go with my decor and I'm a simple kind of girl so I just left it plain with a pretty ribbon. Who knew that lunch sacks could look so nice?

Speaking of using unconventional items to craft with..... I'm teaching a "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" class at the A Muse shop on Saturday, April 18th. I always love it when I can re-purpose something into something useful and cute. Don't worry, I'm not going to make you weave a sweater out of your dryer lint or anything! Please call the A Muse shop or visit their website to register. I promise it will be fun!

Spring Fever & New Class Schedule

2010-03-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

I've got Spring Fever, how about you? The sunshine is really putting me in the mood to be outside although it's still a little chilly! Perfect stamping weather....in fact, I'm teaching a Spring Fever class this weekend at the A Muse Shop! Here's one of the cards we'll be making

My new class schedule has just been posted too so check out my sidebar or stop by the A Muse shop to see the fun new classes for the next quarter.

Party Themes

2010-02-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

I'm a theme kind of girl. I love to find a theme and then plan an event around it. It's so fun (and sometimes challenging) to find things that work with the theme and pull it all together.

For Sam's 10th birthday I had the perfect theme in mind. We planned to give him Rockband 2 as a gift so I could work the theme around that. I had the cute stamps picked out for the invites and thank-you's. Visions of "rock star", "party like a rockstar" and "you rock" from A Muse were dancing in my head and figured I could title the invite "Come jam with Sam". I envisioned all the cute band photos I could get of these boys ............it was all coming together............until Nintendo threw a wrench in my wheel. I could not find Rockband 2 for the Wii ANYWHERE! It's been out of stock since before Christmas. Now what? Time was ticking.......I didn't have a theme!

Finally Sam said to me "mom, we just want to play video games and eat pizza. Maybe I could have a couple friends sleepover?". Really? How was I supposed to make a theme out of that?

So I looked through my stamps and found the "party flags" stamp which is perfect for any party and then I remembered I had this game controller stamp from Lizzy Anne. Easy, simple, PERFECT!
I found these cute candy dispensers that look like a Wii remotes (they shoot out Smarties candy) and puzzle erasers shaped like pizza. I threw in some bubble gum pieces and I had perfectly themed treat bags!

Sam requested rootbeer floats instead of cake but it's hard to put a candle in a float so we made some fun candy sushi (my boy LOVES sushi). I saw the idea online for making sushi rolls using Twinkies but we decided to use crispy rice treats for the rice and went a step further making regular sushi with Swedish Fish. How fun is this?

Okay, so maybe the sushi didn't quite go with the rest of the theme......unless the theme is "all things Sam loves". (so I put some sushi puzzle erasers in some of the bags to tie it in ) You can tell by the smile on his face that he had fun!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Hoo Hoo Loves You?

2010-02-08T22:11:00.001-08:00

My niece, Zoe, is about the cutest thing ever. Since she was born the kids and I have decided that her signature animal should be an owl since she's got big expressive eyes and she's super smart. Every holiday we give her something with an owl on it and it cracks me up because she calls them "hoo hoo's" (I almost wet my pants the first time she asked for her hoo hoo blanket!).

This is Zoe's valentine card. I cut out the A Muse papers using the Paisley cartridge on my Cricut. I just love the mixture of colors and patterns and plan to play around with this image some more. I used some black pearls on her eyes and they were the perfect touch!!

Snowman Soup

2009-12-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

Did you think we'd never come back? We had an amazingly wonderful (and a bit exhausting) trip. Kayla came home with 2 gold and a bronze medals, lots of experiences and some new friends! We also came home to an extreme temperature change (18 degrees at home vs mid 90's in Brazil) and hit the ground running into the holidays!

I didn't get much craftiness in but I did manage to a make a couple dozen of these little snowman soups for some teachers and friends. The cute little cup is a Coluzzle template that I've had for quite some time and I don't know if you can even find it anymore (sorry). It was a bit labor intensive cutting each one out but so perfect, don't you think? I sure wish there was a die cut for a cup like this though. If anyone knows of one, please let me know because it's perfect for all sorts of things. This template is actually a box but I left the top off so I could fill it with bigger things. The snowman soup poem is from a make-n-take at the A Muse Shop last year.

We've had some cold temperatures here in the Pacific Northwest but so far, no snow to speak of.
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and wish you all the best for the coming New Year!

Amazing Awaits........

2009-11-24T22:29:00.000-08:00

That's the motto of the US Paralympic team and pretty much sums up how we're feeling right now. Tomorrow morning we'll fly to Washington DC to meet the rest of the US Paralympic team and staff and then fly to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the Short Course World Championships. 264 athletes from 31 countries and my baby girl is one of them!!! This picture was taken 2 years ago when she first qualified to swim in a Paralympic sanctioned meet. She was SO proud to pose in front of the sign! Now she's a member of this special team representing our country! To say I am proud is an understatement!

Please keep us in good thoughts and we travel to South America to attend this competition.

Amazing Awaits!

Look Mom, no braces!

2009-10-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

Kayla got her braces off today! She's had them on less than a year and a half so we were amazed when Dr. Sullivan said she was done! We did some early intervention with palate expanders which really made a difference in the length of time she had to wear them.

Here she is in the orthodontist's office before:

and after:

She had a caramel apple tonight and tomorrow we are having corn on the cob! She's really looking forward to the gooey Halloween candy. Hmmm.......maybe I should've made the appointment AFTER Halloween!

Elegant Autumn

2009-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's October in the Pacific Northwest and we've had some unusually sunny weather which makes the changing Fall colors even that much more spectacular! A Muse has a new release coming that is absolutely lovely and will give you the perfect excuse to do some crafting on those crisp Fall days. Here I'm giving you a little sneak peak of the Oak Leaf Flourish and a new Beautiful Autumn sentiment. The tree is from the Trees 1 Clear set embellished with Autumn Flower Soft (so fun!).

Be sure to check out the A Muse Blog and from there you can hop over to some of the Creative Team blogs to see some more of what's coming up!

I am teaching "Falling into the Holidays" at the A Muse shop on November 8th so be sure call and reserve your spot!

A Muse Challenge #8 No Coloring Zone

2009-09-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is for the A Muse Challenge #8 No Coloring Zone. I used my new Fiskars webbing texture plate on a Blackberry notecard, then sanded the embossed parts so the white of the card came through. The spider is a Martha Stewart punch. I bent the legs a little, then popped it up on some extra thick foam squares to make it look spooky real! (for added effect you could flock or glitter it up!). I stamp the "Boo!" on a Paprika notecard and punched it out with my EKS Dog Tag punch, inked the edges up in black and there you have it.......no coloring required!

I can't wait to see what next month's challenge is. Is always so fun to play along!

Calendars for a cause

2009-09-18T20:21:00.001-07:00

Have heard the news? The A Muse calendars have been released! This year proceeds from the sale of these calendars will go to benefit Water 1st. Water 1st's mission is to serve families in the poorest communities in the world as they implement community-managed projects that integrate water supply, sanitation, and health education. Please visit the A Muse blog for more information about this awesome project!

The calendars are a download and come in 4 different sizes. The great thing is that you can print them as many times as you need to! I have some great projects and gifts in mind but for now I used the new full size version to make a reading chart for my son. He's what some call a "reluctant reader". He can read but he doesn't really enjoy it and he often starts books and doesn't finish them. We are choosing a stamp to represent each book he reads and stamping each day that he reads to me for 30 minutes. He started out the school year with a Star Wars book so we used the Tiny Star stamp. Now he's reading "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh" so we are using Humphrey the Rat. I stamped "reading" at the top using the Barney Clear Alphabet set which is such a fun font. I really hope this helps to keep his interest and enables him to see his success. I LOVE to read and I really want him to also!

I apologize for the poor photo. I had a heck of a time trying to get a good picture and my main desktop computer is down which is where my good photo editing software lives. After much frustration I decided you'd get the idea though the photo wasn't that great.

I've updated my class schedule. My Fall classes are listed in my side bar to the right. Please call or visit the A Muse shop to register. You can also register online and while you're at it, donate to a great cause and download some fun calendars!

Witchy Day

2009-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ever have "one of those days"? I think this witch is! When I first saw this new image I knew I had to use that sentiment with it!

Don't you just love the new Halloween release from A Muse? They have really outdone themselves with this time! I am absolutely IN LOVE with the new Blackberry note cards. Those of you who know me know I LOVE purple and this is the perfect shade......PERFECT!! The new Paprika is a really nice orange too.

Be sure to check out the A Muse Blog and the Creative Team blogs for more peaks at the upcoming release. Only a couple more days to wait and then you can play with them too!

Sparkles & Sunshine

2009-08-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am in love with these cute new Mandy's World stamps from A Muse! Amanda has really created some fun images and this Bubble Girl is my current favorite! I love adding clear gel or Spica pen to the bubbles to really set them off.

One of our dear friends is also an A Muse fan and I knew she'd love these cute stamps so we gave her a few for her birthday and made this cute card and notebook to go with them. Hopefully, she'll share the stamps with her mom (*wink*).

We just got a big Martha Stewart order in at the shop and I couldn't resist this Loopy Edge punch any longer. It's SO cute and fun! There's a corner punch that matches it so you can go all the way around a card or page. I've added it to our next order and hope it comes in soon!

So Proud!!

2009-08-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

We are having a busy and eventful summer so far along with some crazy weather! The Seattle area had record breaking temperatures....over 100 degrees!!

July is always busy for us between the annual I-CAN meeting, Kayla and Dean's birthdays and swim competitions. Kayla hasn't had a birthday party in 2 years because we are never in town during her day but this year we were and it was a milestone birthday. My girl turned 13! A teenager, YIKES! Summer parties are hard but we managed to pull together a few of her friends and took them camping overnight at our camping lot. My friend, Marilyn, went with us and we brought our boys too. The girls all slept out in the tent while the mom's and boys slept in the trailer. They did a scavenger hunt, ate, played games, swam, oogled teen magazines, roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores! We all a great time. On the way home we stopped at Celestial Coffeehouse in Startup where we had a fabulous custom cake, ice cream and Italian sodas (Thank you Kathryne and Lori!)

Kayla competed in 2 big competitions last month. NJDC (National Jr. Disability Championships) were held in St Louis and she took first place in all of her events. From there we flew straight to Edmonton, Canada for the summer CAN-AM meet where she earned a gold, a silver and 3 bronze medals. In May she broke the American record in her classification for the 50 m butterfly and at this meet she bettered that time twice! She had an awesome week of swimming and we were so pleased but hardly prepared for the awesome news we recieved when we got home. She's been selected by the US Paralympic Committee to compete with Team USA at the Short Course World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this Fall! We are amazed, shocked and honored to have this opportunity and are so proud of her!

I apologize to my crafty friends for not having any eye candy for you, I hope to remedy that soon. I am in love with all the new A Muse stamps and can't wait to get some play time. If you haven't checked out the Back to School release and the new Mandy's World stamps yet, you are going to fall in love! Head over to the A Muse website right now and check them out!

Gingham Ribbon

2009-06-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

Have you been playing along with the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA challenges? This week's challenge is "RIBBON". Since I am a survivor that word means more to me than an embellishment so I decided to make a pink ribbon card for a fellow survivor.....it gives a whole new meaning to pink gingham ribbon *wink*. (paper,stamps and twinkle stickers are A Muse, embossing folder and die are Sizzix)

Be sure to add your guess in the "How Many Yards of Ribbon?" contest to be entered to win a fun prize too!

13 more days to go!

Father's Day

2009-06-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've seen some cute shirt & tie cards for Father's Day but the guys in my life don't really wear ties so I decided to make some shirt cards that more reflected their lifestyle. These cards also qualify for the challenge in the A Muse Lounge "It's a Guy Thing".

I would SO buy this bamboo shirt for my hubby if I could find it. Actually, my son has a blue one that's similar which is where I got this idea. This is more of the "snappy casual" kind of shirt that most of they guys I know wear. I scored a line down the center of the shirt and added some brads for buttons.

My Father-in-Law is a golfer and we get him golf stuff for every holiday so I thought this golf shirt was perfect. The shoe is a little big for the shirt emblem but it's the concept that counts! I combined a wood mounted sentiment with "DAD" from the Mainly Men Clear Set.......perfect!

My sister and I are cooking up a yummy BBQ meal for our dad tomorrow. I've got a margarita cake cooling as I'm typing this. I guess I better go work on his card........

Last Day of School!!

2009-06-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today was our last of school! The past few weeks have been crazy with school projects and activities so it's a big relief to have it all be done! I've known for quite some time what I was going to make for the teachers as end-of-the-year gifts but between being too busy or tired and a little procrastination thrown in, I didn't start them until last night. This picture shows the backpack boxes and matching cards I made for Sam's teachers. He's in a multi-age class so there are 3 grades and 3 teachers. I simplified the original design for this backpack by making the flap out of patterned paper instead of adding a layer of patterned paper to accent the base color. A Muse Petite Gingham is so cute on these and there are so many colors to choose from. I enclosed the little cards (quick and easy) along with a Barnes & Noble gift card. Kayla is in middle school so we only gave one to her advisor and I added a little chocolate as a bonus. I also made "happy summer" cards for the bus driver and Kayla's aide at school and gave them some tasty treats.

Sam is moving up to intermediate next year. He'll be "low man on the totem pole" in the 4th-6th grade classroom which will be an adjustment but I know he'll do well. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that he was in Kindergarten. Kayla will be in 8th grade next year which will be her last year at this school and then on to highschool....yikes!

Now that we'll have more free time I'm hoping to play in some of the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA challenges. If you don't know what I'm talking about, hop on over to the A Muse Blog and join the party!! There are challenges to inspire you, games to play and prizes to win!

Happy Summer!

Teachers and Copics

2009-06-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

I had a fun weekend teaching classes at the A Muse shop. Thank you to all the fun gals that came to play with me!

Saturday we made some Terrific Teacher Treats just in time for the end of the year. What are you giving your teachers this year? I think I'm going to make them all backpack treat bags and enclose a gift card to a bookstore and a cute bookmark. I think I even have a head start on them!

Sunday afternoon we played with Copic Markers. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out very well since we were sitting next to the window. It was a nice, sunny day too! Here are just a few of the gals that were there.

This is Rachel and Saille. Rachel is a regular in the shop and brings her son in on Wednesdays to do the make 'n take. He's quite a good little stamper and always gets a sucker and a balloon too!

These 3 ladies are Paulette, Sparkle and Victoria and they are busy coloring away! If you could see Victoria's face, you'd recognize her from the A Muse blog. She was the honoree for A Muse's calendar project for 2009 and how cute is she in her A Muse t-shirt?

My next class is called "Getting Punchy" and we're going to make some fun things using edge and shape punches from several manufacturers. Please call the A Muse shop to register.

Is it summer yet?

2009-05-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend kicks off camping season here in the Pacific NW and means summer is on it's way. There's a little something else on it's way too, notice anything "new" in this post?

Don't tell my family that I was stamping instead of packing tonight. I just couldn't resist a little "amuse bouche" before I left. We are going camping but I'll dream that I'm going somewhere tropical.......with palm trees and beautiful sunsets. I do love a good campfire surrounded by friends and family though and we're supposed to have good weather. I plan to take some stamping goodies with me. We just got new Copic and Spica colors into the A Muse shop so I have lots of new stuff to play with!

I'm teaching 2 classes next weekend. Terrific Teacher Treats was rescheduled to Saturday, May 30th 4-6 pm (just in time for end of the year gifts) and Intro to Copic Markers is on Sunday from 2-4 pm. I still have a couple spots open so call the A Muse shop ASAP to register.

Have a great weekend!

Teacher Appreciation

2009-05-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's National Teacher Appreciation Week, what are you doing for your teachers? My kids go to a non-graded school with multi-age classrooms which also means multiple teachers so I need to come up with easy things that I can make several of (Think simple, think A Muse!!).

The new anniversary set from A Muse was the perfect touch to set off these apple punches. This Limited Edition Classic Labels set is free with a qualifying order to celebrate A Muse's 8th year in business. Yep, you read that right.........FREE! Click here for more details. This set has SO many possibilities, you're going to love it!

I popped the apples up on foam tape to give them some dimension. I was so pleased with the card that I decided to make some thank-you notes in a similar design for each teacher. I may also add a little notebook if I have time. The apple punch is from Martha Stewart, the edge punch is Fiskars, Scalloped Circle is Marvy Uchida, circle and square punches are EK Success. All paper, stamps and ribbon are A Muse.

How about another tidbit?

2009-04-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the idea for this card in my head and I couldn't shake it until I made it a reality. Don't you just love these cute baby heads? There are so many possibilities for them! I've seen a lot of these flower pot cards are Splitcoaststampers lately and I thought the babies would make a nice bouquet. It is Spring you know! I think these little baby flowers would be cute as favors at a baby shower too. You could make them into pencil toppers or put them on suckers and arrange them in a cute pot.

I took my kids to see the stage production of "CATS" today. Wow! It was amazing! What I wouldn't give to be in the kind of shape those performers were in! The dancing and singing were incredible. When they sang "Memories" I got all choked up. Of course the kids are singing "Mr. Mistofelees" now.........what a great experience!

A little Amuse Bouche

2009-04-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

What do Asian images and French words have to do with each other? "Amuse Bouche" is a word used to describe a tidbit you eat before a meal, like an appetizer. This card is giving you a little taste of the newest A Muse release. Don't you just love this Kokeshi Doll? The new Bamboo makes the perfect backdrop and I finished it off with the "arigato" sentiment from the Sushi clear set. Did I wet your appetite? There's more to come so stay tuned to the A Muse creative team blogs for more tasty tidbits!

New Blooms!

2009-03-29T20:17:00.001-07:00

Have you seen the newest release from A Muse? I couldn't wait to play with some of the new blooms. Look at this Modern Poppy!

I also love the Zinnias. There are 2, an open and a solid. For this card I decided to try the "faux cloisonne" technique. The pink behind the flower is actually a page out of a magazine! Since Copics don't play well with metallic embossing powders, I decided to emboss the Open Zinnia in gold and have the pink from the magazine page show through. I chose a section of the dress that had some different shades of pink for interest.

This last card is the Cherry Blossom stamp. I stamped it twice onto a cream 4-bar note and then added a vase punched out of brown Madeira paper. I colored the blossoms with Copics and embellished them with some liquid pearls......so soft and pretty!

Check out the "what's new" section of the A Muse website to see all of the new Bridal & Blooms stamps along with the yummy new Juliette papers and 4-bar note cards.

My kids are on Spring Break this next week so I doubt I'll get much stamping done. We don't really have anything planned but I'm sure we'll find some fun things to do! I am hoping for some sunshine!

Proud Drama Momma!

2009-03-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

The school my kids attend is famous for it's children's theater and each year they put on a fabulous musical production. It's hard to believe that these kids are only in grades 4-8! This year they performed Beauty & the Beast and Kayla was Mrs. Potts. She shared this role in a shadow casting technique with her schoolmate, Casey, who is deaf and it was amazing! Kayla surprised us all with her fabulous singing voice and Casey did a beautiful job of signing the dialog and the songs. You would never know that these girls barely knew each other before the play because they really made a great duo! They even made the local paper!

Our costumes this year were awesome! Look at how they made this teapot to fit over Kayla's wheelchair. What's even more amazing is that the Mrs. Potts in the other cast was able to wear a combination of Kayla and Casey's costumes! Simply ingenious!

This is Kayla's 4th year in the school play and for the past 2 years I've made autograph books for her and her friends to pass around at the cast party. The first year I had my Bind It All I did a handful for "Grease". Last year I did a few more for "Seussical the Musical" . This year I was so excited to find the perfect cartridge for my Cricut to be able to cut out each character (although I didn't realize how much work gluing them all together would be because some have some very small pieces). In the end we made one for each of the leads in her cast and some of her closest friends for a total of 24 books! My hubby even got into the action by cutting the inner pages and punching them all with the Bind it All (thank goodness because they might not have been finished in time otherwise!) . I made them 5X7 so they could also include some photos and keepsakes. I am pretty happy at how they turned out. (Thank you, Novell, for loaning me your BIA machine since mine is broken)

Now to recover my house after a whirlwind of crafting, baking and working backstage! I have some new rubber that I'm dying to play with but I can't until I've finished up a few chores *pouting*

I'm teaching an Intro to Copic Markers class this Friday at the A Muse shop and I still have a few spots left. Click the link on my sidebar to register online or call the A Muse shop directly.

For a Sweet Lady

2009-03-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

A dear, sweet lady I know just had to have major surgery so I made her this card to let her know she was in my thoughts. Florence, the nurse, from A Muse is perfect for get-well cards of all kinds. I bought some spring flowers for her too, I hope they brighten her day.

There are still spots open for my "Let's Have a Party!" class this friday. Please call the A Muse retail shop or click the link on my side bar to register. (Pssssst............there'll be cupcakes! )

Spring is in the air!

2009-02-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

We have had some beautiful sunny weather here in the the Pacific NW and I'm getting Spring fever. It's still cold outside but the sunshine sure feels good! I'm feeling the urge to get out in the yard. It's too soon to plant anything but there's plenty of weeding and pruning to be done. I've been having sinus trouble all week though so I didn't do anything too strenuous but I did manage to get some stamping in. This cute bunny gardener, cloud and spring sentiment are from the newest A Muse release, aren't they cute? I'm teaching a Stamping 101 class next week at the A Muse shop, please call them or click the link on my sidebar to sign up.

My friend, Cathy Lynne, orders cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Unfortunately, there isn't one near me but I was really inspired by their presentation. I haven't made a bundt cake in years, in fact I couldn't even find my bundt pan so I ran out and bought one just so I could make one and put a pretty flower on top. These Gerber daisies were on sale at Michael's and they definitely make me think of Springtime. My family are not big cake eaters but the kids love anything lemon flavored so I doctored up a vanilla cake mix with some lemon pudding (and a few other things) and added a simple lemon glaze. Now I want to find some pretty boxes and make cakes to give away! I am also on the lookout for smaller bundts (Nothing Bundt Cakes calls them "bundlets", LOL!) and some fun recipes to try. I think some fresh blossoms would be awesome on top too. Wouldn't these be fabulous for a cakewalk or bake sale?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

We were busy all week making Valentines for school. My kids are in multi-age classrooms so we always have LOTS to do. Sam's class has 72 kids! (We didn't make them all from scratch). I also taught a Scor-Pal class this week at the A Muse shop and we made some fun Valentine treats.

Here is what we made for the teachers and helpers at school. I also made some for the girls in the A Muse shop. I found these yummy dark chocolate batons at Trader Joes. I love that they were a fun shape so I made a box with my Scor Pal for them to fit into. These boxes would be fun to hold pencils, stickers, pixie sticks or anything long & skinny and are super easy to make.

I hope you are enjoying your day with loved ones and eating lots of chocolate!

Sam is 9!

2009-02-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? How did my "baby" get to be 9 years old? The bigger question is, how did I get to be this old?

This year Sam wanted a skating party and asked for a skateboard for his birthday. He loves stick figures so we bought this cute skateboarder when we were out shopping one day. He decided that's what he wanted to use for his party invitation and had lots of opinions on the design of this card. The "you're invited" and inside stamp are both from A Muse and work for any party! Sign up for my party class at the A Muse shop next month for more fun ideas. Anyway, I thought the invite turned out cute and boyish (and was simple to boot!)

After a fun day of skating with his pals, we went out to dinner with some family members. Sam *loves* sushi so we went to a buffet and he was in heaven. He especially loved the sushi rolls, crab and the cute little desserts. I think he had 4 plates of food and one of dessert. Happy birthday little man!

Happy February!

2009-02-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went to New Mexico to visit my Aunt and cousins. They are actually my husband's Aunt and cousins but that's one of the great benefits of marriage, getting to expand your family!

Auntie and I took the new Rail Runner Train into Santa Fe for some lunch and shopping. It was a great way to see some sites without worrying about the stress of driving (although there's no traffic to speak of in NM). We ate lunch at the historical La Fonda Hotel. We were disappointed that the main dining room was closed for renovation but the food was fabulous! We even had dessert. Shopping was fun and I found some gifts for the kids and a stamp store . It's a tradition in NM to have chili ristras hanging near the front door of homes and businesses. They are a sign of welcome and warmth and are said to bring good luck. I love them and want to have one at my house but Auntie says it will just mold in our climate so I bought a stamp instead. I also figured it would be perfect for making a thank you card for my Aunt and what better sentiment, than this one from A Muse (they have THE BEST sentiments).

I took craft supplies with me and got to spend some time crafting with my littlest cousins (almost 3 & 5). They loved stamping Valentines cards. Auntie and I made some Bind It All journals and I worked on rejuvenating her stamping habit. It was a quick trip but lots of fun. When I left NM it was 60 degrees, sunny and dry and I came home to 33 degrees and snowing........talk about a reality check!

Friday I taught my first Copic Marker class. All the girls that came were familiar faces from the A Muse Retail shop so we had a lot fun. I've had several people say they were unable to make this class for various reasons (life happens) but fear not because I'm teaching it again at the end of March! Please see my side bar for my class schedule.

I can't believe how quickly January went by. Today would've been my Gram's 84th birthday. Last year on her birthday, she was the happiest I've ever seen her....surrounded by her family in celebration. She passed away 2 months later and I miss her dearly. Happy Birthday Gram.

"Something New"

2009-01-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

I made this card for the A Muse Challenge: "Something New". The challenge was to use a "new to you" A Muse or Saltbox Studio stamp. I finally got the A Muse couch and Lamp (can't believe I didn't already own these!) so I decided to have some fun with them. I'm not really a girly-girl and can't imagine having a pink couch but my daughter sure could! I flocked the pink pillow to make it look fluffy and used a black Spica pen on the other one for the some sparkle. I also used a clear Spica pen on the lamp and dangles. My daughter would love to have this in her room! The challenge is good for the entire month so head over to the A Muse Lounge and check it out.

On a personal note, my family was the victim of a hit & run on friday night. My hubby and kids were on their way home from ski/snowboard lessons when they got a flat tire. They were pulled off to the side of the road to change it when someone side-swiped them and drove off! Luckily nobody was hurt but they were pretty shaken up! Someone called in the license plate of the car but we haven't heard whether anyone has been arrested or not. I just cannot imagine how that person could sleep at night not knowing if anyone was hurt, not to mention the damage to our vehicle. I am so thankful my family was in a big 4x4 truck! The insurance company is coming to look at the damage tomorrow and I'm scared to find out how much it's going to be. Besides the deductible I guess we're going to need some new tires......*sigh*

Sweet News!

2009-01-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the news? A Muse has a SWEET new release! The new images are perfect for Valentine's Day but so versatile that you can use them all year long. They also have a new Design Studio and Lounge for us addicts to hang out in, share resources/ideas and get inspiration. The best part is that you can access it all right from the A Muse Artstamps Website (SWEET!) Don't forget to bookmark that site so you can get to everything fast and easy.

Be sure to check out the winter class schedule at the A Muse Retail Shop too because, guess who's teaching some classes? ME! (along with some other FABULOUS and TALENTED instructors). There are links on my sidebar to register or you can call the shop for more details.

I had to share this funny card with you. I have made the bra version of this template from Stamp Owl but never the panties until I saw this sentiment from the new A Muse release and knew I had to do it! I hand drew the heart and colored it in with a red Spica pen.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's 2009!! We had a pretty mellow New Year's Eve, just our family watching the Space Needle display on TV and doing some noisemakers outside at midnight.

Today I am serving up a good luck meal. Many countries have traditions about foods that you should eat on New Year's Day to bring you luck in the coming year. In the USA, it's usually a southern meal of pork, greens, black eyed peas and cornbread with each food symbolizing something. You can find information about this on many websites but this site has some good, basic information So, I put a ham in the crock pot the morning, made Hoppin' John, chard and cornbread to bring in 2009 because we can all use a little good luck! (Please note that this is NOT the "New Year's resolution to getting back on your diet" meal but what's one more day?)

Are you making resolutions this year? I usually don't but I do use the transition to a new year as a time for reflection. This year I REALLY want to get more organized which will mean some serious cleaning and purging. I started by taking a load of stuff to charity on New Year's Eve (tax deadline for donations, you know). I cleaned my small appliance cabinet and Kayla's fish tank (yuck). My craft room is what needs a serious over haul and I'm determined to get it done this year. I know it will make my crafting time so much more enjoyable (and I might find some things that I forgot I had).

What traditions do you have to bring in the New Year? Are you making resolutions and if so, what are they?

It's Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

Have you been following the Advent Box Project on the A Muse blog? They have featured a box each day designed by one of the Muses. I chose to do the 19th because it's my birthday. I used the Party Chick and made the party hat into a Santa hat ( I even flocked the rim and pom). I stamped it in black ink onto the Vintage Red scalloped square then stamped again on white paper and colored it in with Copics. I cut out the body, then 3D mounted it over my black stamped image. Inside the box I put a holiday cupcake ornament and added the sentiment "Merry Birthday" using 2 different stamps. The picture doesn't show it but on the other side of the box, I stamped a cupcake to match the ornament using the Cupcake Builder set. I added a hanger to my box by wrapping a thin piece of cardstock around it and pleating it at the top so I could punch a hole and add a ribbon hanger. I think these would be fun to hang from the tree or string across a fireplace mantle.

It is definitely going to be a white Christmas in the Pacific Northwest. We already have over a foot of snow and I woke up to the flakes falling again this morning. It is very beautiful but doesn't make getting around for holiday shopping and family gatherings very easy. I am hosting Christmas tomorrow and sure hope we don't have to postpone it because nobody can get here.
I know the snow won't slow Santa down though! (I wish I had a flying sleigh to get around in this stuff)

The kids love playing in the snow but Cadet's not too sure what to think about it. We dug him a path and a "potty pad" so he could go out and do his "business" because apparently there are some jobs too big to do in a foot of snow.

Wishing you all a joyous and peaceful holiday!

A Chip off the Ol' Block

2008-12-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

My son Sam(8 yrs old) is very creative. He recently discovered that he can learn how to do all sorts of things by watching tutorials on YouTube. It all started with a stick man animation program called "Pivot". He spends hours animating that guy and browsing tutorials to figure out how to get the most out of the program. Once he figured out that online tutorials were a great resource, he decided to teach himself to do card tricks. Now he carries his cards with him everywhere waiting for the opportunity to show off his new skill. I'm really looking forward to seeing family over the holidays so he'll have a new audience because it seems I can't even use the bathroom without him trying to show me a card trick!

A few mornings ago my feet had barely hit the floor as I was waking up and he was there, all excited to tell me what he'd discovered that morning on YouTube. "I found some craft tutorials, Momma!. This lady taught me how to make a wallet out of paper!" and then he proceeded to name off the supplies he'd need to make his project (Gimme a break kid, can I at least have some coffee first?).

The night before he had asked me if he could try my special markers (gasp! My Copics?). I had just received these new stamps in the mail from Pink Poison and was busy coloring away. I caved but not until after I lectured him a bit on just how "special" (expensive) my markers were and that he could only use them with permission. He did an awesome job! Here is the paper wallet he made and the the Quarterback Ian from Pink Poison that he colored to put on the front, isn't he cute?

I'm in love with these new stamps. I have several of the Anyas and all of the Ians so far. I think my current favorites are the Mermaid and Rock Girl Anya's. Here are some cards I made using those images. You can also check out my SCS gallery for more Anya and Ian fun!

Virtual Meeting of the A Muse Addicts

2008-12-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

Tonight I participated in my first VMAA and had so much fun! They post new challenges every 30 minutes and you have that much time to make a card in that theme. Normally I don't do these sort of events because I don't stamp well under pressure but A Muse images are so easy to work with that I decided to play. Here are my cards:

This first challenge (A Christmas Story) was to make a card for a child.

The "Polar Express" challenge was to make a wintery card in whites and blues with lots of glitter.

The"Scrooged" challenge was to make a card with staples. This one ended up very plain but was the hardest to make. First I couldn't find my stapler, then I messed up the staples (twice). I was going for surgery staples.......

This challenge was called "Home Alone" and it was to make a card that reminds you of when you were a kid. We didn't have much money through some of my childhood so we had a few "Charlie Brown" Christmas trees and that's what this image reminds me of. There was always plenty of love to go around though.

All of the challenges were based on holiday movies so it's appropriate that the bonus and final round was to create a card based on your favorite holiday movie. This was tough because I knew of a lot of stamps I could've used but I didn't own them. I ended up punching out and glittering Frosty the Snowman and this sentiment was perfect!

Check out the A Muse Addicts site and the SCS gallery for more VMAA fun!

Beauty and the Beast, Twilight and life.........

2008-12-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, my kids go to a school that has an extracurricular children's theater program. Each year they put on a fabulous musical performance. They rehearse 2-3 times a week for 3 months until "tech week" and then they are at the theater late every night until opening night. The kids learn all aspects of the theater and many choose to work backstage rather than act. They learn about props, lighting, sound, sets, etc. The camaraderie is amazing and they have a great time. The school is K-8 but you have to be in 4th grade to be part of the production and have to keep good grades. This is Kayla's 4th year participating and she absolutely loves it. This year they are performing Beauty and the Beast and Kayla has the role of Mrs. Potts! She's very excited to have a lead role and she'll be singing quite a bit. They always do a fabulous job with costumes so it will interesting to see how they will incorporate her wheelchair into this role.

Speaking of Beasts.......I have been sucked into the Twilight Saga vortex! All the teens are reading this series so Kayla wanted to read it to. I asked around and got mixed reviews about it so I decided to read it myself to see if it was appropriate for her (she's 12). It surprised me that she'd even want to read this type of book, it's not her normal style (nor mine) but I decided to try to get through the them.....for her sake. Can you say addicted? Even though these are written for teens and there are some flaws in the writing and story line, I am hopelessly addicted to them! As soon as one is finished, I rush to get the bookstore for the next. I was hoping to save them for my Christmas/Birthday list but I won't be able to last that long. It's crazy! My chores are slipping....I'm not even stamping! *gasp*. I need to finish them so I can get back to my regularly schedule life or figure out how to hold and book and fold laundry at the same time! LOL!

Hopefully, I'll be back soon with some crafty goodness. I just got some new rubber in the mail that I'm dying to show off. I'm also planning to participate in VMAA (Virtual Meeting of the A Muse Addicts) this friday night. I don't usually stamp well under pressure so we'll see how things turn out. Check out the A Muse Addicts site and come play with us!

Got leftovers?

2008-11-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving filled with family and good food, I know I did! I cooked 2 turkeys this year, one in the roaster and one in the deep fryer. Both turned out very moist and tender but I have lots of leftovers even though we had 15 for dinner. I thought I'd share with you my favorite turkey leftover recipe. It's yummy and easy, who could ask for more?

Turkey Tetrazzini
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 -10 3/4 oz can chicken broth
1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, cut into cubes
7 ozs spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 cup cooked turkey, chopped
1 - 4 oz can mushrooms, drained
2 Tbs Pimiento, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Saute onion and celery in butter. Add chicken broth and cream cheese, stirring until cream cheese is melted. Add the remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese and toss lightly. Pour into a casserole dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

**note: I can never follow a recipe "exactly" so I usually add more turkey and Parmesan cheese than this calls for

I'd love to hear your favorite recipes for leftover turkey. Please comment and/or leave a link to share.

You won't find me out shopping today. I am a bargain hunter but I can't stand the crowds and rudeness of the shoppers that are out today so I'm content to stay home and clean up the rest of yesterday's mess and browse the ads. I finished the first book in Twilight series so I can pass it on to my daughter, Kayla (I wanted to preview it before letting her read it) . We are looking forward to seeing the Wizard of Oz tonight at the Children's Theater and making our Christmas shopping and wish lists.

An award for my new blog!

2008-11-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

My sweet and very creative friend, Rhonda, sent me this award for my new blog. I don't necessarily think I deserve it since I've only just begun but it makes me feel good to know that my blogging adventure has been well received so far. Thank you, Rhonda!

Here are the rules:

~The winner may put the logo on their blog

~Put a link to the person who sent you the award

~Nominate 5 blogs

~Put links to their blogs

~Leave a message for your nominees

The hard part is figuring out who else to nominate because I've seen so many awesome blogs and some that I want to nominate have already received this award. Here goes:

Novell
Kimme
Geeta
Heather
Nicole

Be sure to check out these creative blogs for some crafty inspiration!

In the mood for cooking?

2008-11-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

I made this card for a friend in my monthly RAK group. She loves to cook so I knew this would be perfect for her. It also happens to fit the challenge on the A Muse Addicts site for last week, "Old Meets New". The mixing bowl, mixer and apron are from the new clear Baking Set and the sentiment is a older wood mounted stamp that is so versatile.

This card measures 4 x 8 inches. I just happened to have some red envelopes that were 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 so I made the card to fit in them. I used SU Real Red for the base and A Muse Brown Kitchen patterned paper on the layer. I cut the edge with the scallop blade of my Marvy paper cutter.

I just love the brown and red combination, it just feels warm and cozy to me. It's getting me in the mood to cook up a big meal next week!

Learning can be frustrating

2008-11-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I'm new to this blogging thing. I was doing okay and having fun playing around with widgets, gadgets and templates for awhile. Then I decided I wanted something cooler so I surfed for other templates to use. I found one that I liked, downloaded it and followed the instructions to a "t", even backed up my old template "just in case". Well, it turns out I didn't like the template and when I tried to restore my old one, it deleted all of my gadgets (links, lists, photos, etc)! Ugh! So, now I have to start over.....bear with me as I stumble and learn.

Snow already?

2008-11-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm posting about snow! I can't help myself.....I just got this new Martha Stewart icicle edge punch and couldn't wait to play with it! I just signed my kids up for ski and snowboard lessons, so wishing for snow isn't so far fetched, right?

Stamps, paper and ribbon are A Muse. I colored the Alpine Hut with Copic Markers and used a Spica pen and some diamond Stickles on the sentiment for some extra sparkle.

Look at me, I'm bloggin'!

2008-11-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

I've debated about this for a long time and finally decided to take the plunge. I hope to share some family and crafty fun with you so stay tuned!