Uncle! I give! I give!

I thought I could keep up with two blogs, but it just isn't happening. Please visit me at my original blog, Paper Pastorale. I hope to see you there!

Beautiful Botanicals 2 & Bridal Beauty

 I used A Muse Studio stamps on this card. I use those leaves all the time! They look so cool embossed with sparkling black powder. Out of respect for a|s's traditionally CAS style, I do try to tone my a|s cards down a bit, but I'm not making any promises that they will all be that way! This set is called Beautiful Botanicals 2.

 I used Bridal Beauty here for sort of a grunge or perhaps Scottish wedding. I don't know what gets into me sometimes. I guess I just don't like for my stuff to look like everyone else's or like it's "supposed" to look. I'm contrary that way, and have no plans to change.

That dress sure is sweet, though, isn't it? I probably will make a more traditional wedding card now that I got this one out of my system!

Vintage Labels & Labels Die

 Hello, Friends! I am so glad you stopped by!

This card is not ALL A Muse Studio, but I wanted to show off the Vintage Labels stamp set and the matching Labels Dies. You get four labels in each set, and they are gorgeous! I know that this set is going to get a lot of use in my stamp room.

Birthday Builders and CPS

 This is the first challenge I have done in over a year, I think. My job of the past two years required 10-14 hour days of me for six months of the school year, and pretty much my whole life has been my job and recovering from my job. I resigned as Drama Director and next year, I will just be a regular old overworked teacher, not an insanely overworked teacher.

I want to get back to my blog and my stamping friends and all the silly little things we do for pleasure. CPS was the first challenge outside of SCS challenges that I ever did. I loved it way back when, and I love it now. I used A Muse Studio's Birthday Builder on this card. It's such a fun and clever little set. It is part of a|s's Clearly Creative line, which makes it an absolute cinch to line up and stamp perfectly every time! That gray grosgrain ribbon is part of what's left from a ribbon swap I did with TexasJodyLynn about five years ago. I guess I don't use a lot of gray! The crown is a leftover from a large custom order on Etsy. They were tags for school treat bags for three brothers. Each boy had his own color combo using two of these three: black, gray and red.

Toodles, girlfriends! I'm off to continue to try to get my house in order. I need to CLEAN, do some remodeling finishing touches, and rearrange the living room. What are you doing this summer?

Birthday Wishes

 This is another card from one of A Muse Studio's preplanned workshops. I don't believe this was the exact color scheme, but anyone who has been making cards for long knows you can use any color that suits you when you case a card. If you don't have the exact supplies used on the original, just substitute what you do have. The more you use the supplies you already own, the more creative you will become.

This card was fun and easy to make, easy for even a first time stamper. One of my favorite things about a|s is the ink. This gorgeous, bold leaf stamp makes a perfect impression every time when I use a|s inks. You also don't have to pound the stamp on the pad with all your strength to get your stamp inked. Just a gentle tap, tap, tap, and you're good to go, girlfriend!

The leaf stamp here is from Beautiful Botanicals 2, and the sentiment is from Contemporary Greetings. Just click on the a|s catalog, which will take you straight to my webstore. Just remember, if your order reaches $150, you will want to email it to me so I can spoil you with hostess benefits!

I hope you are all well and that you are enjoying your summers as much as I am mine! Big hugs to you!!

Brief Notes: Happy Father's Day

 This is one of the cards that A Muse Studio designed for us to use in workshops. There are lots of preplanned workshops, most of which use only the supplies from the starter kit, so it is so easy to hit the ground running with an a|s business.

The set I used, called Brief Notes, also contains a cell phone, a lap top and a briefcase, in addition to 10 sentiments. It has 14 stamps, and sells for $21.99.

I just got back from a trip to Denver. My sister and I did a craft fair at Elizabeth and it was a dismal failure, to say the least! At least the company was good! Then on Saturday we went to a couple of Goodwills. They were having a 50% off sale. I got some folder holders and a three hole punch for my classroom, some vintage seam binding, a few t-shirts for the 7yo, and a very cool heavy planter. I'm going to put a collection of succulents I bought a couple of weeks ago in it. I think they will be happy in it, and look beautiful. I also got a DVD rack to store my a|s stamp sets. It's kind of a verdigris right now, but I plan to spray paint it antique white.

Do you go to the Goodwill? Have you gotten any great deals there? We saw a Slice for $10, still in the box, but neither of us are interested in getting into ANOTHER die cutting system, so we left it behind. Can you believe our restraint?

Eat Cake!!!

 This birthday cake image is one of the stamps included in the starter kit's Studio Sampler sets. I love this stamp so much, that A Very Merry Unbirthday was one of the first full sets I bought.

It's so much fun to color in shades to match your paper. Then I always have to add a little sprinkle of Diamond Glitter! Have you noticed my new favorite color combo? Bubblegum Pink, Buttercup, and Sage. Expect to see more!!

Toodles, friends! Thanks for stopping by (AMY!) I'll be around to your place soon. My sister and I are doing a fair in Elizabeth tomorrow. I'll have lots of stuff from my Etsy shop plus A MUSE STUDIO CATALOGS! Do you have yours yet? I'd be happy to send you one! Leave a note in my comments and we'll wheel and deal! (That means $5 plus S&H)

WHAT I USED:


A Very Merry Unbirthday
Bubblegum Gingham and Polka Dot Cardstocks
Sugar Cardstock
Sage Cardstock
Buttercup Buttons
Diamond Glitter
Bubblegum 5/8" Satin Ribbon
Vanilla Twine
Cosmos Paper Flower
Classic and Scalloped Circle Nesties

Page Three of the Girly Layout

 I used Buttercup Yellow, and Bubblegum and Blush Pinks on this page, plus a few dashes of Sugar for balance. Besides, who doesn't like a little sugar? I made the felt flower myself, I sell them in my Etsy shop. Well, I don't actually sell them, but they are in there ;) I adore the Butterfly die from A Muse Studio. I've been putting them everywhere!

 To get the ribbon ruched, I just pushed it forward under the presser foot as I sewed.  It's super easy to do, and it looks so sweet. I cut the tails off real purtty when I'm finished stitchin'.

That heart, which I use all the time, is from Hearts A Plenty. I added a Buttercup flower and a Twinkle sticker so it wouldn't be lonely. Then I popped that layer up and used my white gel pen to add polka dots to the scalloped nestie circle.

Well, toodles, girlfriends! Whatever you're doing, I hope it's fun!

A Muse Studio June Blog Hop

Hello! You should have come from Sherri Thacker's blog if you don't want to miss any of the a|s goodness happening today! Our challenge this time was to create our own patterned paper. I sort of did that on this page, but if you'll scroll down my very small blog, you will see other examples of a|s stamps as back ground.

 

So I made three of these pages, this is page two. I want to tell you a little about A Muse Studio ink. It's listed as pigment ink, but it stamps much more like chalk ink. Just a few gentle taps and your stamp is inked up perfectly, even silhouette stamps! I also just love the way it lays on top of the paper. This Fern Green stamped leaves image looks gorgeous right on top of the Buttercup yellow cardstock. That branch is from Beautiful Botanicals 2. I also used the Butterfly and the Scallop dies on this page, plus a few scattered Twinkle Stickers for sparkle. The sweet little flower is a Forget-Me-Not. You can get 100 of these for $4.95, or try the Meadow Mix, which has a mix of all of our flowers for $6.95. The Bubblegum Buttons come in an amazing assortment of 200 for $5.95. I'm pretty pleased with the price, and I love the buttons!!

Now, please hop on over to Pamela Fredrickson"s blog  Attempted Creativity

Here are all the blogs in case you get lost:

Samantha Kania (HOP LEADER!!)      http://kania-amusestudio.blogspot.com/

 Dana Vincent (your next stop :)          http://danasamazed.blogspot.com/ 

Sherri Thacker        http://sherri-iloveflipflops.blogspot.com/

 Carla Mayfield (ME!!)      http://paperpastorale.blogspot.com/

Pamela Fredrickson http://attemptedcreativity.blogspot.com/

 Tamra Grandi           http://journeyoflifetamijo.blogspot.com

 Patty Mowery         http://www.designbysimplydv9.blogspot.com/

 Adrian Winchester http://www.adrianeswanderingsoul.blogspot.com/

 Vanessa Buzard      http://vanessaspapercreations.blogspot.com/

 Laurie Chilton        http://lauriechilton.blogspot.com/

 Sarah Callahan        http://wastamper.blogspot.com/

 Anna Keyes           http://www.afkeyes.blogspot.com/

 Kari Bell                 http://karikards.blogspot.com/

 Angela Shellenberg http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com/

 Kelly Spivey           www.southpawpaperarts.com

 Lorie Ames  http://www.live-love-laugh-create.blogspot.com/

 Lori Barnett            http://www.loribarnett.blogspot.com/

 Kristie Hartfeil        http://krismybliss.wordpress.com/

 Lianna Llama          http://llamatales.blogspot.com/
Lindsay Spencer   http://blog.lindsaynspencer.com/



Thanks for stopping by!! 

Scrapbooks A Muse Studio Style

When was the last time you made an 8.50" x 11" scrapbook page? It's the size I made when I first began scrapping, and I moved over to 12x12 after a while. A|S doesn't sell 12x12 paper, so I thought I'd try my old size out again. It worked. The world did not cease spinning on its axis, and it turned out just fine! I think maybe I can step away from the 12x12 for a while. Care to join me? Stay tuned, I made three coordinating pages, this is the first.

I used Bubblegum Pink, Buttercup, Lichen and Fern on this page. I love those Bubblegum buttons, I've been putting them on everything! The stripes on the bottom are from the Swanky Backgrounds set.

Happy Father's Day

This one is for the more business-minded father. I used Brief Notes and Essential Sentiments. The necktie was simple and easy to paper piece, and I was pleased with the results. I added some buttons and stitching to keep the haberdashery theme going. I guess I probably won't give this to Troy. He buys all his clothes at Cabella's  and Duluth Trading.

I don't know if I mentioned it in my last post, but I now have two girls on my A Muse Studio team. I am really looking forward to working with them to help them achieve their goals, whether they will be hobbyists or business women only time will tell. I know we'll have fun a long the way!!

Have a SWINGIN' day!

Now if this isn't a classic A Muse stamp, I don't know what is! I love this golfer! I used Essential Sentiments, Ovalicious and Swingin' Day here, plus a touch of Lime Stitched Grosgrain. I colored the golfer with my copic markers. I have six, you know! They came in my Deluxe Starter kit, along with a Colorless Blender.

Speaking of the A Muse Studio Deluxe Starter Kit, have you seen what you can get for $149? It's regularly $225 and contains more than $475 worth of super stamping stuff! I'm beginning to build my a|s team, and let me tell you that it's not that hard to do. This kit is irresistible! This is a limited time offer. I originally signed up just for the great stuff, but really wanted to turn it into a business after I saw and tried it all!

• our FOUR 2011 Studio Sampler sets

• the Harlequin Background stamp set

• the Essential Sentiments stamp set

• set of six clear blocks

• sixteen A Muse Studio pigment ink pads

• one Memento tuxedo black ink pad

• six Copic Original markers

• one Copic colorless blender

• a Double Scrubber

• a bottle of Squeaky Clean

• one adhesive runner

• one glue pen

• one bottle of diamond glitter

• a solid paper starter kit, with 20 sheets in ten colors

• a gingham paper assortment

• a polka dot paper assortment

• a swatch ring

• clear twinkle stickers

• pearl twinkle stickers

• an assorted pack of paper

• flowers

• six spools of ribbon

• eight catalogs

• business supplies and forms

Amuse Kit Cards

A Muse Studio has a super cool thing for its consultants called Ready To Roll Workshops. RTRW are pre-designed projects using products from the start up kit. The projects are cute, easy to demonstrate, and don't call for too many supplies. I think it's a wonderful idea, and a perfect example of how the many minds working together on A Muse Studio are making things fun and easy for the consultants.

I attended a stamp expo this weekend, and one of the things we did at my booth were Make & Takes. I used projects from the RTRW, because I tend to get a little carried away on my cards. I didn't want the M&T's to take an hour to make and use every A|S supply I own!

The card on the bottom was a big hit, I actually had to cut more to meet the demand. It's a classically appealing CAS card, and just seems to scream A MUSE to me.

If you have been thinking about taking your stamping life to the next level, maybe A Muse Studio is right for you. I'd be so happy to answer any questions you may have about the opportunity, just leave your email addy in my comments with your question, and I'll get right back to you.

Welcome to my First A Muse Blog Hop!

 You should have come here from Kari Bell http://karikards.blogspot.com/ If you didn't please go back, you don't want to miss it!

 This blog hop is all about celebrations, and I am celebrating several things here! First, Father's Day!! I was playing around with my A Muse Studio Grass die and I made a few rosettes. Then I decided to make a badge for Troy to wear on his special day. My husband is pretty indulgent, and he'll wear this if I give it to him! I can't wait to make more badges in totally girlie colors, which are my favorites.

Supplies: Brief Notes; Ticket Die, Grass Die, Onyx and Cherry Cardstock, Cherry Satin Ribbon, Memento Black Ink

 For this one, I started off with a piece of Lichen Polka Dot Paper, and stamped the leaves from AUtumn Blessings in Versamark and embossed with clear powder. Then I went over it with a sponge loaded with French Roast ink. I used the sweet banner die cut from a vintage dictionary to add interest to the edge, and stitched it all together on my sewing machine. The zig zag stitching on the top is a stamp from the Mad For Plaids set, and the sentiment if from Essential Sentiments. I added a bit of French Roach stitched grosgrain as a finishing touch.

 

This card is all about friendship. I used two of my favorite colors, Bubblegum and Shell pink, with a dash of rich French roast ink and ribbon. The soft Shell buttons with Sugar Pearl Sticker accents, and the Shell Satin ribbon are the finishing touches. 

Here I used A Very Merry Un-Birthday and Harlequin. This is my very first copic coloring, don't look too closely! I also used a Quickie Glue pin to add some Diamond Glitter, which comes in a gigantic jar! Jar full o' happiness, that's what it is.

Now it's off to the fabulous Nancy Baier http://nanstamps-amusestudio.blogspot.com/ Nancy is my upline and my friend, I know you'll love her stuff!

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I'm excited about A Muse Studio!