An Easy Holiday Photo Card

Recently, Linda asked members of the A Muse CT to share some ideas for holiday photo cards. I usually don't make a card that has a photo on it. Rather, I stick one inside a handmade card. I figured now was a good time to give it a try!

I found a photo from two years ago that was a good size for a 4-bar notecard. I'm one for making things as easy as possible and didn't want to have to cut cards or paper and have lots of bitty scraps. I did cut down the photo (it was wallet sized) a bit, so that the card layout would work. I think that as long as I didn't cut off any members of mi familia, it was alright to trim away. Then, the rest of the card came together easily.

Here is my tip for mass producing cards: work on one element of the card at a time because it allows you to get in a groove and focus on the particulars of each thing, i.e. like measurements, punching shapes, stamping ink in like colors, etc.

Be sure to keep checking the A Muse News blog for more holiday card inspiration!

Dreams Do Come True!

I had a few moments last night to just sit and stamp for fun, so I finally got around to putting an idea to paper! I was so happy to do something just because. I'm sure you all know the feeling.

So this idea came to me thanks to my youngest, who loves all things princess. I think that she would probably want to be a princess when she grows up, but, honestly, I hope she never tells me that. You can only imagine the eye rolling that would happen. Anyhow, she loves to have stories about princesses read to her, and we were reading one the other day. Based on the above design, can you guess what story we were reading? Everyone in my house knew, but I'm just curious if anyone else would know.

Anyone Know Where My Week Went?

Good heavens, it has been so long since I've had time to sit and write here. As is the same with so many other people, life gets in the way and people get busy. For me, it was kids and Halloween, while trying to keep them fed, watered, germ-free and happy. Now that Halloween is over, I have a week or two to lay low before another birthday, travel and Thanksgiving happen.

I thought I'd share a couple of photos of my kids in the Halloween costumes. I only had two costumes to sew this year and the other two just required a bit of handiwork on t-shirts.




My #3 was Handy Manny from Disney Channel fame, #2 was a cupcake with a cherry on top and #1 was Percy Jackson, a book character. #4 decided to be Miss Frownie Pants for this picture but I managed to get her to cooperate...



to show off her mermaid skirt that I sewed. She ended up wearing a bathing suit top over her white shirt when we went trick-or-treating, which looked much cuter than this tank top.


Amid all the craziness, I have had sometime to stamp. Mostly I have been working on my holiday cards. I am mostly finished with those, so I celebrated by making a card. It is challenging for me to make elegant cards, especially types like a sympathy card. I had seen on SCS a Clean and Simple challenge to make a sympathy card. I thought it would be good to go in a different direction from all of the glitter I had been using for holiday cards, so I got to work. Here is what I made.



I used a new MS border punch that embossed a scalloped line above the punched scallop. It is really difficult to photograph, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

card info: paprika, espresso shimmer papers, oak leaf flourish and sentiment by A Muse, white cardstock, MS border punch.

Brought to You by the Letter B

I have one last card to share that shows off some more of the lovelies brought to you by A Muse beginning today. This features blackberry notes, a border stamp, butterflies and beautiful pearls.



I have a sweater that is this blackberry color and it has a scarf-like accent that looks like this leafy border (from the Monogram Frames clear set) and I have worn it with butterfly earrings, so now you know where I got my inspiration. I used the shimmer paper to punch out the butterflies and pretty white pearls to accent the border. I already have this one ready to go in an envelope on its way to someone who had surgery yesterday!

If you are looking for any of the items from this release, look here. And, if you want a chance at winning a BONUS prize, check out A Muse News today!

Lovely Fall Flowers

We are finally getting some much needed rain here. The fantastic colors we usually enjoy are really dull and even a bit late. I've been searching for the beauty in fall but it is serious lacking. So, I decided to make my own!

This chrysanthemum image is so beautiful and delicate. It can be challenging to color if you are in a hurry, which I was. But, please ignore the "out of the lines" parts ;) New product here includes the pink shimmer couture damask paper and soft pink pearls.

If you are anxious to get your hands on some of these new goodies, make sure you check out the A Muse News blog today and enter the giveaway.

Feeling Retro?

I know that the new A Muse Autumn release is very elegant, full of rich tones, lush papers and beautiful stamps. But today, I took a different route. There is a new classic alphabet coming out that is awesome. I mean it. You will want this because it is so versatile.



On the set of clear alpha stamps are a few extras, including this retro looking asterisk. I paired it with a simple message (I LOVE this new wood-mount "thanks"), some pretty new cranberry pearls (drool) and viola! Easy peasy thank you notes that you can mass produce but don't look like you did. I am thinking that I need to make these (and maybe some of these) for my kids' teachers this year at holiday time. I know that teachers can always use thank you notes.

Shimmer Me This, Stampers

Oh my. Can you believe it is time for another round of amuse-bouche? This release is full of some of the most beautiful product, too. Not only are there new stamps, but you'll also find papers and some other fun embellishments. It is so hard having this information and having to wait to share with you!





You are going to love these new shimmer papers from A Muse. The colors are spectacular and the papers are amazing. I just cannot get over how pretty this cardstock is. I've been making the paper into 4-bar sized notecards and using scraps for layers, not wanting to waste any bit of it.

For this card, though, it is just a simple card base (the french roast layer is the regular cardstock). Since the leaf image was solid, I decided to pair it with the solid pumpkin image. I extended the flourish on the other side of the pumpkin by masking it and stamping the flourish only. Then, just for kicks, I added some pearls to the card. You are not going to believe these pearls; so pretty and in three sizes. I want to keep them all, but I know the adding these to cards will be my new favorite thing.

Enjoy this round of amuse-bouche and check back tomorrow!