~ Attempted Creativity ~

February Spotlight - Organization Can Be GORGEOUS

2012-02-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

So Punxsutawney Phil has decided that we will have six more weeks of winter! I am not sure how I feel about his decree but if the weather here in New England stays as it has been for the next six weeks than it is fine with me. But for those who are skiers or love to play in the snow, they are wishing that we get dumped on from now until Spring.

So what are we to do with this decree? How about making some fabulous projects using the latest from thejust release 2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide? I have to say that this catalog is SPECTACULAR! The creative ladies at A Muse Studio have outdone themselves! If you have not had the pleasure of seeing the new catalog, please contact me at attemptedcreativity@gmail.com.

The February Spotlight features many of the new products that can be found in the latest catalog. Take a peekat the images I have included of some of the things that you can do to make your space wonderful. Imagine how envious your office mates would be when they seek what you did!

I hope you enjoy this Spotlight and feel free to contact me to schedule a workshop, place an order or for any questions you may have!

What's New Blog Hop

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Fabulous Dude

Happy Thursday and to the second day since the 2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide has been available! I hope that you have had the opportunity to look at all the incredible products that are in the new catalog! I am SO excited!!! A Muse Studio has definitely outdone themselves!

Welcome to the second stop along the blog hop where this month a group of my fellow consultants and I are featuring products from the wonderful new A Muse Studio Catalog! If you are joining us in the hop you should have come from Karen Crisp's blog. If you missed her blog, please be sure to hop back to her and then back to me. Trust me, you do not want to miss any steps along the way!

About my card - well there is a certain important someone in my life who is celebrating a big birthday this month and what better way to help celebrate it than with a card using some of the newest a|s products! I used the new Big Celebrations set along with the Hand Scripted and Rock Star sets. The inks are Lido (new), Rialto (new) and Memento Tuxedo Black. Some glitter for a little pop and of course I had to use some of our fabulous new cardstock, Lido and Venetian Rialto! Are the papers yummy!!! I hope you enjoyed this step along the hop and be sure to leave comments. I love feedback.

Next on the hop is Angi Kelley.

In case you get lost or a link gets broken, here is the complete list of blogs participating in the hop:

Karen Crisp           http://www.papernstamps.blogspot.com/
Pamela Fredrickson http://attemptedcreativity.blogspot.com/ <------ You are here
Angi Kelley             http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/
Lianna Vigil            http://llamatales.blogspot.com/
Carissa Fulkerson     http://carissascottage.blogspot.com/
Kristine Vincente     http://checkerberrylane.wordpress.com/
Jennifer Corson      http://www.scripptyscraps.blogspot.com/
Samantha Kania      http://kania-amusestudio.blogspot.com/
Rita Holmes            http://ritaholmes.blogspot.com/
Sarah Callahan        http://wastamper.blogspot.com/
Tracey Jean H         http://traceyjean.blogspot.com/
Ruza Rebel http://ruzascraftcorner.blogspot.com/

Download Your Catalog!

2012-02-01T12:13:00.002-05:00

If you cannot wait to get your own copy of the SUPER AWESOME 2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide, why not download a copy today??

2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide

New Catalog is Here!

2012-01-28T16:44:00.001-05:00

The new 2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide has arrived! I got my first peek at it while at the first National Conference that was held last week in New Orleans at the gorgeous Omni Royal Orleans Hotel.

The Conference kicked off on January 20th with a reception that included swapping with other consultants and a Make-n-Take. We were all dying to get our hands on the catalog then but it was not to be! We were teased with some ATCs with some of the new images. We could not get enough of it!!! Meeting the other consultants who came from across the country was so much fun, finally being able to put the names and faces together! After the reception a bunch of us went to a local restaurant, Irene's, for a quick dinner and then off to do some sightseeing.

The conference kicked off bright and early Saturday morning. No catalog was to be seen YET! Kickoff speeches were given by Linda Carnell , Owner of A Muse Studio and Heather Cullen - Chief Creative Officer. They are both very dynamic women who are talented and inspiring! We got to listen to what is coming for A Muse Studio and more teasers were given out. The catalog would finally be in our hot little hands at lunch time. Boy were we anxious! We were not disappointed! I know that when you see the new catalog you will love it as much as I do. There are so many new GORGEOUS images, products, papers, inks and ribbons that it is hard to take in all at once. I put sticky notes on all the pages that I loved and pretty soon my catalog looked more like a flag!

The conference continued throughout the weekend with more discussion of new products, changes that consultants welcomed and customers will love and thoughts of what we will do for our hostesses and customers! The conference concluded with a Stamping Soiree with us making cards and projects using the new products. Oh wait until you see it all!

If you would like your very own catalog, email me at attemptedcreativity@gmail.com for details. If you are local and would like to attend my upcoming Open House on February 4th, from 10:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. please see my Events Calendar or Facebook page for more details.

Charming Gardeners - Day 2

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am having fun making cards with the new A Muse Studio sets. Charming Gardeners is a great all-purpose set. You could make a very pretty notecard set for the gardener in your life, teachers gifts, sympathy cards, thank you notes, etc. The list goes on. For my latest card from this set I used Tombow markers to color on the images and then stamped them. Be sure to huff (not blow) on them prior to stamping to re-wet the ink. The softness of doing marker to image is quite different than when using pigment ink.

Charming Gardeners done with Tombow Watercolor Markers. Sentiment: Memento Tuxedo Black

I hope you have been enjoying the A Muse Studio sneak peeks as much as I have enjoyed playing in my studio with them. It was great having Monday off. A whole day to play, well most of it anyway. Bijou, my boxer, demands a lot of attention as well.

A Muse Studio Sneak Peeks - Charming Gardeners

2012-01-16T14:17:00.001-05:00

Venetian Lido and Grape CS, Charming Gardeners Images

Are you ready for some sneak peeks of the 2012 A Muse Studio products? I have been playing today with some of the new items and wanted to show you what I made using the Charming Gardeners set. I love flowers (no secret there) and decided to color this beautiful flower grouping using Tombow Watercolor Markers on watercolor paper. I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo Black. I used a palette to color the markers on and painted using a wet brush that was dipped in the colors. I love watercoloring, something I loved to do in art classes when I was in school. It is very calming and I love the soft look of it.

I know my pictures do not do justice to the new papers and I have to tell you how GORGEOUS they are! The pairings of the venetian and solid colors offers so many ways to show off you images!

Just a few more days until you will get your first look at the new catalog. Contact me to put your name on the list for a catalog!

Venetian Rialto, Lido and Grape CS, Chaming Gardeners Images

Stamp Club Fun

2012-01-16T00:54:00.001-05:00

All products A Muse Studio excepted where noted.

I kicked off my 2012 Stamp Club with the cards below. Many laughs were had, stories shared and a kiss or two from my boxer Bijou. She always has to be in the thick of things!

The card of the left is a CASE of a design by Lori Barnett. I used Versamark and the Ornate Elements set on Kraft cardstock to make the background. I then spritzed the cardstock with the Stardust Finishing Spray (hint, hint, hint - a little goes a LONG way).

The sentiment from the Celebrate in Style set is on Vanilla CS that I diecut using a die from Die-Namics.

Mortise Masking Valentines Card

The heart card is a CASE of a card that Donna Hitz had on her blog. Isn't it just gorgeous! Her design had a felt heart and pearl sticker in place of my Cranberry glittered heart.

I used the Mortise Masking technique to color the interior of the heart using Blush ink and a dauber. The Script background was then stamped with Versafine Onyx Black on top of the Blush ink with the mask still in place. I finished it off with a bow in Blush Satin ribbon and a simple but gorgeous card is done!

Embossing Adhesive

2012-01-09T21:22:00.003-05:00

Finished card with embossed adhesive on the flowers

Well this is a first for me! This week's A Muse Studio Challenge Blog challenge is to emboss adhesive.

At first I could not come up with something that I was happy with. I tried embossing the Red Line tape as others have done but it was not working for me.

So I decided that I was not going to participate in this challenge.

But then a funny thing happened on my way to work this morning. I thought, why not use the Glue Pad and emboss the super cute paper flowers?

So that is exactly what I did. I first colored the flowers using the Bubblegum, Orange, Papaya and Ocean inks, dabbed them on the glue pad and then dipped them into the embossing powder. Zapped them with the heat gun and I was impressed with the results! The EP makes the flowers look like they have dew on them. Super cute!!!

Close up of flowers

To finish up the card I used a metal ruler to guide me with my black Copic Multi-liner to draw the sentiment box and used the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Celebrate in Style set. I also added some bling to the center of the flowers, popped them up for added dimension.

I am really happy that I gave this challenge a try and I hope you will too!

Please be sure to play along on the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog. With prizes given weekly, why not?

A Muse Studio Retiring Products List Announced

2012-01-08T18:12:00.002-05:00

A Muse Studio has announced its Retiring Products List. The products on the list will be available while supplies last or until January 31st.

If there is something on the list that you would like to order, don't delay, contact me today!

January Spotlight is SWEET!

2012-01-03T07:46:00.002-05:00

Here is the A Muse Studio January Spotlight and it is SWEET!!!

For one month, you can save 10% on the stamp sets used to create these fabulous projects!

Quick & Cute Valentines
Sweetheart Background
Love Conquers All
Friends Fur-Ever
Sweet Love

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

Rock Candy Assortment Pack contains four sheets each:

Bubblegum
Shell
Orange
Apricot
Blush

Contact me to to order!

The Spotlight is good until 11:59 p.m. January 31st ET.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T11:06:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012!

2011 was a good year when all is said and done. It was not without trials and tribulations but I can say that is was a good year! Leaving one company and joining another was stressful but has been surprisingly really good for me! My family is doing well and my side career with A Muse Studio is very rewarding. I love paper crafting and being able to do it with others is a wonderful bonus!

For the new year I made a resolution to keep my craft studio looking good. I am going to keep it clutter free so that I am not always working in a 12x12 space. <insert big grin here for all those who know exactly what I am talking about> I am also letting go of supplies that I no longer need and will donate them. It is very freeing!

Did you make any resolutions regarding your creativity time? I would love to know what your resolutions are.

I hope you get to ring in the new year with some creative time and remember that the current A Muse Studio catalogs expire January 31st.

Sugar & Spice and All Things Nice

2011-12-19T08:52:00.000-05:00

Christmas is fast approaching and it feels nice! My sons are home from college and our house is buzzing with activity. It is funny how much having two more people in the house changes everything. Our dog Bijou is beside herself with joy that her buddies are home. I know how she feels!

This week's A Muse Studio Challenge Blog theme is Sugar & Spice and All Things Nice. I love candy canes as does one of my nieces. I have a small vase on my dining room table filled with the red and white canes. Not only are they great to snack on, they make a great decorating accent. So of course I wanted to use this cute candy cane image from the a|s Holiday Tags set. So many great images in that set!!!

I hope you enjoy this week's challenge and be sure to post a link to your posting to enter to win the prize.

SNOWFLAKES Challenge

2011-12-12T09:21:00.001-05:00

Thankfully there are no snowflakes on the ground now but I am sure that is only temporary given that I live in New England!

I am the host of this week's A Muse Studio Challenge Blog and I chose the theme of SNOWFLAKES! I love them and prefer to look at them through a window while in a nice, warm cozy building and not through a windshield. Last winter I got hit by a guy not paying attention to the little buggers coating the road and he slid right into my car. Not a fun day!

Anyway, the project that I made using snowflakes is a gift card holder. This is super simple to make and can be used for any occasion.

Cut a piece of cardstock 3 3/4" x 7". Score it at 3" and 6". Fold cardstock to create Make a belly band 1 1/2" x 7" in coordinating colors. Using an A1 envelope, seal it and trim off the sides just a hair to create a sleeve. Fold the envelope in half so the sleeves are facing up. Using a 1 1/2" circle punch, punch each sleeve opening to create a finger notch (optional). Stamp front of envelope as desired and attach using adhesive on the back of the envelope to the inside of the cardstock. Bend belly band around the gift card holder and adhere ends together. Decorate band and outside of gift card holder as desired. Insert a gift card and a To/From card into each of the sleeves and Voila! A gorgeous, super simple gift card holder!

January-June Monthly Stamp Club

2011-12-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

Monthly Stamp Club Signups

As part of the services I offer to my A Muse Studio customers I am starting another Monthly Stamp Club to begin in January 2012 and will run through June 2012. There is a new catalog coming out in early 2012 and what a great time to be part of my Stamp Club!

Details

A monthly stamp club is where each member commits to ordering at least $25.00 worth of product each month over a six month period. Each member will have the opportunity of being a Hostess once during this period and will receive all the normal Hostess Benefits without having to host an in-home workshop.

Here are the finer details:

Six people** agree to purchase a minimum of $25.00 in A Muse Studio merchandise for six consecutive months
Every member will have the opportunity of being "Hostess of the Month" (monthly hostesses will be chosen via a random draw)
When it is your month to be Hostess, you will receive at least $25.00 in FREE product of your choice
As a member you will also receive a FREE copy of the 2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide.
Monthly workshop held at my home in Westford, MA. Workshops are planned to be held on weekends and may occasionally be held during the week, in the evening hours. Topics include techniques, tool demonstrations and swaps.

Why would you want to join?

This is a great way to build up your supplies. With a minimal investment each month, you will have lots of great stamps and accessories!

Each month you will make at least 2 cards or projects. The themes vary month to month and may include birthday, thank you, thinking of you, get well, baby, wedding, sympathy, and holiday cards. When the club is over, you will have a wonderful selection of cards for every occasion!

Everyone gets their turn to be the “hostess.” This means you collect HOSTESS BENEFITS! You’ll get at least $25 in free product on your hostess month. (You could get a lot more!)

When it’s your month to be hostess, you can turn your month into a workshop and invite more friends. This will increase your hostess benefits and you could earn even MORE free product! (This is completely optional!)

If you are unable to attend the club workshop, just send your order to me by the date of our club workshop. It’s no problem!

It’s a guaranteed night out with friends, and it’s a lot of FUN! So, what are you waiting for?

Period specials offered to club members only!

NOTE: You do not have to be local to participate in my club. Card Club Project kits can be mailed as part of your monthly order so you can participate remotely! Additional shipping charge to be added to ship to remote members. Flat rate USPS shipping will be used to keep costs down.

**Don't fear! One group is already filled (Karen M, Judy C, Cheryl M, Tina C, Kris P, and Dena B) and I am now starting another group. When this second group of 6 fills, another will be opened.

If you are interested in participating in the January - June Monthly Stamp Club, please email me ASAP.

Blog Hop - Anything Goes

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for the holidays? I cannot say that I am ready but I am looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends. My kids will be home from college for three weeks! I miss my guys - it is not the same at home without them. Even our dog Bijou misses them terribly!

Anyway this month's A Muse Studio Consultant Blog Hop theme is 'Anything Goes'. I have been hosting tag workshops and they have been a big hit! Everyone loves the tags and I have heard a few people say they do not want to give them away. Pretty funny! Handmade tags really make the gift seem that much more special.

If you are taking part of the blog hop I hope you have enjoyed it so far. Did you see what Ginger made? Please leave some love on each person's blog. We all enjoy reading the comments!

If you did not start at the beginning then don't delay and start at the top of the hop with Samantha's blog.

Now off to see Carissa's contribution to the blog hop! Have fun!

A Muse Studio 2011 Retiring List - Stamp Sets

2011-12-01T22:05:00.001-05:00

SO LONG! AUF WIEDERSEHEN! FAREWELL! ADIEU!

All good things must come to end.... or so someone says! A Muse Studio has announced the 2011 Retiring List of stamp sets. If there is a set on the retiring list that you must have, please contact me ASAP to place an order or you can place an order on my webstore. These sets are only available while supplies last so don't delay!

2011 RETIRING LIST

List Alphabetically:
Autumn Beauty
Birthday Builder (clear)
Buried Treasure
Candy Cane Wishes
Celebrate The Season
Classic Alpha (clear)
Cup of Good Wishes
Cute & Cuddly
Damask Greetings
Doctor’s Orders
Fancy Alpha (clear)
Farm Fun
Fine Wine
Foiled Again
Good Fortune
Grunged Block Alpha (clear)
Happily Ever After
Happy Christmas
Happy Everything
Harvest Blessings
Hearts a Plenty
Holly Berry Vine
Hospitality House
If You Dare
Jolly Gingerbread
Kindred Spirits
Let’s Chat
Monogram Frames
Ooh La La
Past Due
Peace on Earth
Personal Stationery (clear)
Sunshine & Shade
Sushi & Wasabi
The Mighty Jungle
Together Forever
Turkey Time
Welcome
Winter Wishes

List by Page Number:
8 Cup of Good Wishes
8 Doctor’s Orders
8 Hospitality House
8 Sunshine & Shade
9 Cute & Cuddly
9 Peace on Earth
9 Together Forever
13 Hearts a Plenty
16 If You Dare
18 Harvest Blessings
18 Turkey Time
19 Autumn Beauty
20 Happy Christmas
21 Celebrate The Season
22 Candy Cane Wishes
22 Winter Wishes
23 Jolly Gingerbread
33 Kindred Spirits
34 Holly Berry Vine
36 The Mighty Jungle
37 Buried Treasure
37 Yee-Haw
38 Farm Fun
45 Past Due
48 Happy Everything
50 Happily Ever After
56 Good Fortune
56 Sushi & Wasabi
57 Ooh La La
58 Foiled Again
61 Fine Wine
63 Let’s Chat
63 Welcome
72 Monogram Frames
73 Damask Greetings
78 Birthday Builder
78 Fancy Alpha
79 Grunge Alpha
80 Classic Alpha
80 Personal Stationery

Top Ten Holiday Must-Haves

2011-11-29T18:40:00.001-05:00

A Muse Studio wants to help you complete your Wish List.

Below are the Top Ten A Muse Studio Holiday Must-Haves.

This special runs from December 1st until December 15th at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Get yours while supplies last!

Are you ready?

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for the upcoming holidays? Do you have your greeting cards stamped and waiting to be mailed?

For this week's A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge blog the theme is Winter Holidays.

I love this card for it simplicity and grace. The background is done with the Mortise Masking technique that I have posted about a few different times. The tree is stamped in Versafine and embossed. Pearls are added for decorations. This card design is very simple to reproduce and lends itself for so many occasions.

I hope you are enjoying the joys of this season and do not let the stress of it all get you down!

ABC - Anything But a Card

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

     This week's challenge for the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog is Anything But a Card.

     The A Muse Studio 2012 Calendar comes pre-printed and ready for you to add your creative touch for each month. I had a fun time coming up with designs for each month. I first started by writing down each month on a piece of paper with the theme that I wanted to create. It took a few iterations to come up with something that I was happy with but in the end I loved the results!

     I hope you will post a link to the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog of your A.B.C!

Christmas Tags Workshop Sneak Peek

2011-11-18T09:52:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year! My favorite time of year!

I have been listening to Christmas music for a few weeks now to get in the holiday mood and will soon I be dragging out the myriad of storage bins with all my decorations. Another reason to celebrate this season is that my kids are coming home this weekend for Thanksgiving Break. They are just in time to help decorate!

Here is a sneak peek at some of the tags for the Christmas Tags Workshop that I am hosting on November 30th at 6:30 p.m. If you are interested in attending, please let me know ASAP!

Hope to see you on the 30th!

Metal Embossing

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Metal Embossing! Have you ever tried it? Well this weeks A Muse Studio Challenge Blog challenge is to create a card using Metal Embossing. What is that you say? It is embossing using tin foil over an embossing folder. This is the first time I have ever tried embossing with tin foil and I am pretty happy with the results.

I used the A Muse Studio Woodgrain Embossing Die that I adhered to a piece of cardstock before I embossed it. It is easier to do it that way instead of trying to apply adhesive to the foil after it was embossed.

For the leaves from the Autumn Leaves set I used the following colors: Cranberry, Orange, Wasabi, Apricot and Toffee. I applied some of the ink using daubers to get the multicolored look that we get here in New England in the Fall. I added the sentiment in French Roast from the Essential Sentiments set. The embossed layer is attached to a piece of French Roast and then adhered to a Vanilla cardbase.

I hope that you will participated in this week's challenge. Be sure to post your link here!

Challenge - Holiday Thank You Card

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week's A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge Blog theme is Holiday Thank You cards. I chose to use the Snow Crystals set with the Mitten and Snowflake dies. The sentiment is from the Hand Scripted set. The ink colors I used were Pebble, Winter Sky and Cobalt. This card was super quick and I think came out pretty well if I do say so myself (insert big grin here).

I hope you will participate in the challenge and be sure to post a link to your photo on the A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge Blog.

Santa's Flight - Blog Hop

2011-11-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the November A Muse Studio Consultant Blog Hop!

I hope you have enjoyed the blog hop so far! As part of the blog hop you should have come from Sherri's blog.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love Christmastime. It is my favorite time of year! I love the music, decorations, movies, scents, cooking and most of all - spending time with family and friends!

Don't you just love this set! The Santa's Flight set reminds me of The Night Before Christmas and Santa wishing Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

This is the last stop on the blog hop and if you did not start at the beginning you can go to Samantha's blog and take it from the top!

I hope you get to spend the holidays in your special way.

Dry Embossing

2011-10-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

Adding texture to a card is as simple as adding some dry embossing. This can either be done using a stylus, an embossing folder or as I did using a scoring board. This technique can make a drab background look totally different!

Halloween is right around the corner and this quick card can be given to any ghost or goblin to make their day! hope you will join my fellow Design Team members on the A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge blog with your own rendition of Dry Embossing!

Unfortunate Timing

2011-10-30T19:30:00.001-04:00

Can this really be happening? It is October not January! We came back from our Disney vacation where the temps were in the mid-80's to a New England Snowstorm! We got 12" of snow and with the weight of the leaves that were still on the trees and the wind our trees suffered much damage. Trees that we have lovingly planted and nurtured over the years are gone! Trees that grew as our children grew will now have to be taken down. How sad I am. It is funny how you grow to feel about things. This picture is of the Kousa Dogwood that is in the front of our house. We planted it when we did our front yard renovation. It flowered so much this year and the blossoms lasted extraordinarily long. It also grew a few feet which may have contributed to the amount of damage it suffered. It split in half and at this time we do not know if it can be saved.

This picture is what is left of my favorite tree - Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus). I have never seen a tree that smelled so wonderful as this one. Below is what it looked like before:

Fringe Tree in blossom

This tree blossomed three different times this year, with the most recent being a week ago! When the wind would blow the scent was heavenly! I am heartsick about this tree! I do not know if it will survive.

This picture is of the Weeping Cherry that has graced our yard for many years. It was completely destroyed and will have to be cut down. Luckily the Japanese Maple that was to the right of it survived without damage as far as we can tell. We will know better in the Spring.

What the damage is after the snow melted

Weeping Cherry in her prime

A few more pictures of our yard:

The shed sporting a tree topper

Maple Tree brushing off the snow on my car

Maple and Birch trees

Pretty Leaves

Missing: One tree top

Field view next to our house.

Side view of our yard

Balsam Firs

Oak tree brushing our house

Rose of Sharon

Maple tree minus its top

Trellis at garden entrance

Not Your Grandma's Bag of Buttons

2011-10-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Don't you love the name of A Muse Studio's buttons, Not Your Grandma's Bag of Buttons? Well they are aptly named for sure! I love their buttons. The colors are awesome and there are so many ways to incorporate them into your crafty goodness.

For the A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge this week we are to use buttons. I hope you enjoy my card! I also incorporated another technique (TJ's Spirelli Technique) with the twine on my card. I think the a|s Bakers Twine makes it look like part of the spider's web the way it is wound around the scallop circle. And the Sleepy Hollow text paper just makes for a great background for the spider!

Enjoy and I hope to see YOUR entry into the challenge!

Instructions on the Spirelli Technique:

Start with the twine at the top of the circle, slightly to the right with the twine end adhered to the back of the scallop with adhesive. Keep a firm grip on the twine but not too tight as to make the scallop circle buckle.

Loop the twine through the divide between the scallops and going left count down 7 scallops and wind twine though the divide and back up to the left of the first loop. Loop twine to the right of the last loop and repeat so that you are filling in the scallops to the left of the top scallop and to the right of the bottom scallop. Repeat pattern until you have filled in the amount of twine desired.

I left 8 scallops open. Adhere the end to the back of the scallop with more adhesive.

This technique can be used with any scallop shapes. I hope you enjoy the results!

Backgrounds

2011-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

This week's A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge is to use a focal image and make a background out of it. I love the Hey, Man! set. I think it is a great set for making masculine cards.

Here is what I did to make this quick card: I first stamped the briefs in Pebble and Memento Tuxedo Black to make the background and matted the background layer onto Cherry CS. I also stamped the shorts and the sentiment on Vanilla CS matted on more Cherry. To finish off the card I used some of the Cherry Stitched Grosgrain and popped up the focal image and there you go! A quick card!

I hope you will play along with this week's challenge and be sure to post your entry on the A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge Blog.

Falling Leaves

2011-10-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

It is that time again. Time for another A Muse Studio Challenge. This week's challenge is to make a card using leaves. Of course I had to use the Autumn Leaves set which is one of my all-time favorite sets. The leaves are so versatile and with the wide range of ink colors that you can use, the color combinations are endless.

For my card I used the Mortise Masking Technique for the background and then stamped a variety of the leave images in Cherry, Orange, Grass, French Roast and Squash, the colors that you see here in New England when the leaves start turning their glorious colors!

I hope you will participate in the challenge and be sure to post a link to your blog posting on the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog. I cannot wait to see your creations!

Blog Challenge - TWINE

2011-09-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

I am the hostess this week for the A Muse Studio Consultants Challenge Blog. For my challenge week I chose TWINE! A Muse Studio has awesome twine in a bunch of great colors: vanilla, french roast, navy, shell, coffee, fern and the multi-colored cherry/white, onyx/white and french roast/white. So many to choose from!

So for my card I used a Spirelli technique from the Technique Junkies newsletter. Remember those crafts you used to make when you were younger with the popsicle sticks? Well this technique is something like that.

I first cut out my scallop background using the French Roast Shimmer Cardstock. Then using the a|s Vanilla twine I started in the back and wound the twine through one scallop and then counted down and looped it back. Move up one and down 5, repeat until the whole scallop is complete!

For the center focal image I chose the Bounty of the Season set. I sponged the image with a|s Wheat and Toffee inks. Stamped it on a|s Vanilla CS and using the sentiment from the same set I stamped it using a|s French Roast ink. The circle was popped up and mounted on the scallop circle.

For the card base I used the a|s Woodgrain Impression Die (which I LOVE) on Vanilla CS and ran it through my BIGSHOT. For accents I used a strip of the French Roast Damask Shimmer CS and more twine and voila! I hope you enjoy it and try that technique.

Here is a close up of the center image

Lights and Shadows

2011-09-24T00:01:00.002-04:00

I love incorporating techniques with my cardmaking. I think that techniques can really enhance and improve the cards that you make.

For this card I used the Technique Junkies Lights & Shadows technique from the October 2007 newsletter. The technique involves stamping the images first in a light gray (I used A Muse Studio Pebble ink) and then using a stamp positioner, stamp the images again using colored ink. I love flowers (no surprise if you have read my blog before) and the A Muse Studio Wild Rose set would be perfect for this card. I stamped the leaves using a|s Grass and the rose blossoms in a|s Cherry. For detail, I used the Signo White pen on the roses blossoms and leaves. I added the sentiment from the Hand Scripted set. For some bling I used a few of the a|s Clear Twinkle stickers.

This card is on its way to my TJ's Just One Swap partner and I hope she likes it!

World Card Making Day with A Muse Studio

2011-09-22T07:30:00.000-04:00

World Card Making Day

October 1st to October 3rd, 2011

Saturday, October 1st is World Card Making Day.
Celebrate your love of cardmaking with A Muse Studio and let’s get stamping!

Host to win!
Host a qualifying* World Card Making Day Workshop and you will automatically be entered into a drawing to win one of five $100 A Muse Studio Shopping Sprees! And, every Hostess will receive a free set of A Muse Studio 4-bar notecards with envelopes - 10 pack ($6 value).

Free gift with every purchase!
Something for everyone! Each customer that places an order at a World Card Making Day workshop, will also receive a free set of A Muse Studio 4-bar notecards with envelopes - 10 pack ($6 value).

Facebook Fun!
Celebrate with A Muse Studio all weekend long as A Muse Studio posts fun World Card Making Day challenges and award prizes to the A Muse Studio Facebook friends.

***** Want to get in on the fun, contact me ASAP. Time is running out! *****

* Qualifying Hostess must have minimum workshop sales of $150 and a minimum of 4 unique customer orders to qualify for entry into the $100 Shopping Spree!
* To qualify, Workshops orders must be received and entered between Saturday October 1st and Monday October 3rd at 11:59:59 pm EST.

Halloween Workshop September 24th

2011-09-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

Time to get ready for HALLOWEEN!!! Get a jump on those upcoming holiday cards with this WICKED cute selection of cards and tags that you will be making during the workshop. One of the cards is actually a gift card holder where the design can be used for any event or celebration! What an awesome way to say Happy Halloween than with a treat inside!

The cost of the workshop is $20 payable (cash or check) that day or is free with a $25 A Muse Studio order* placed during the workshop.

If you can't make it, but would like to host a workshop in your home, please let me know!

Have more fun ~ bring a friend to play with you.

*order amount before shipping and taxes

RSVP Required by 9/23/11! I would love to see you!

Make Your Own Embellishments

2011-09-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to this week's A Muse Studio Consultants Blog Challenge! The challenge is to make your own embellishments. There are so many ways to make your own embellishments. Add a button with some ribbon or twine, glitter a butterfly die cut, add some glitter to scor-tape, twinkle stickers, bows, etc. So many possibilities!

I wanted to use one of the Holiday sets for my card and decided on the Snow Crystals set. Aren't the snowflakes gorgeous!

To give them a little pop I added some twinkle stickers that I colored with Copic Markers to match the inks that I used. For the focal image I took one of the paper flowers from the Meadow Mix and sponged on some Winter Sky ink to match the other Winter Sky snowflakes. I love the technique of sponging ink onto the paper flowers! It is so much fun to make the flowers really pop. They are the perfect embellishment! To finish it off the center image I added a larger twinkle sticker to the middle of the flower.

I know I do not want to rush winter but these snowflakes are too cute!

Card Details:
images: Snow Crystals
ink: Navy, Pebble, Winter Sky
embellishments: Meadow Mix Paper Flowers, Clear Twinkle Stickers, Copic Markers
cardstock: Vanilla

Satin Ribbon Buy In

2011-09-17T13:30:00.001-04:00

I am offering a Buy-in for the A Muse Studio 5/8" Satin Ribbon. There are four groups with 4 colors and a 5th group with 2 colors. Each group has 4 slots. When a group fills up I will start another group. Each person in the group will receive 2.5 yards of each color.

If you are interested in participating, please send me an email with what group(s) you want to participate in. The cost will be $8.08 for each slot in groups 1 - 4 and $4.0.4 for a slot in group 5. Payment is via cash, check or PayPal. Shipping for people not local to me will be an additional charge.

The Buy-In offer expires October 8th. Feel free to pass this offer along to your friends!

Group	Colors
1 (Lemon whip, Lime, Lichen, Shell)
2 (Bubblegum, Cherry, Orange, Papaya)
3 (Fern, French Roast, Onyx Vanilla)
4 (Bermuda, Heather, Navy, Sky)
5 (Pebble & Wasabi)

Gotta Have Ribbon - Blog Challenge

2011-09-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

Well it is that time of the week again - another edition of the A Muse Studio Consultant Blog Challenge.

This week's theme is RIBBON - use it in any way on a card or project.

If you have read some of my previous blog posts then you know I am in the mood for Fall. The temperatures have been getting cooler here and the festivals are in full swing. I am counting the days until we go on our annual apple picking trip which is always a lot of fun.

For my challenge card I used the Bounty of the Season set with A Muse Studio 1/4" French Roast Stitched Grosgrain. I love that ribbon and have it in all the colors! I also used the Woodgrain impression and Vintage Labels dies.

For the focal image of the wheat I used Toffee Ink and then clear embossing powder to give it some depth and sheen. I distressed the edges and mounted the image on French Roast Shimmer CS.

I hope you will participate in the challenge and show us your creation using ribbon. Be sure you post your link on the challenge blog here!

Inky Fingers Blog Hop - It's Fall

2011-09-11T00:01:00.004-04:00

Well it's almost Fall! Welcome to the A Muse Studio - Inky Fingers Team Blog Hop! This month's theme is, you guessed it, Fall or rather all things autumnal!

Did you just come from Tobey's blog? If not, you do not want to miss all the other wonderful stops on the blog hop so be sure to start at Liz's blog before you come back here!

Living in New England we get spoiled with all the gorgeous foliage colors but we do not take it for granted. I love seeing those colors, the reds, oranges and yellows! There is no better place to be in the Fall than in New England!

So onto my card! I used the a|s Autumn Leaves set with the Mortise Masking Technique for the frame (in Toffee). I just love the Autumn Leaves set! The possibilities with the leaves are endless with the color combinations and designs you can come up with!

The first thing I did was to make the frame. Next I sponged the ink colors (Cherry and Orange) onto the leaves using daubers but first stamping the sentiment (in Nutmeg) for placement. I added some pearls for some extra bling and some of the beautiful French Roast satin ribbon and I love how it came out. Change up the colors and leaves and you have another fabulous card!

For more details on Mortise Masking, check out Julie Ebersole's video here.

Now off you go to Mary Sara's blog for more autumn splendor! Thanks for participating in our blog hop!

Fall & Thanksgiving Workshop

2011-09-05T18:04:00.005-04:00

With all the cooler weather we have had lately it is hard not to starting thinking of Fall and all that rest of the holidays that are coming up, like Thanksgiving. It is timely (that is what I keep telling myself when I have only been to the beach twice this summer) that my upcoming workshop theme is Fall & Thanksgiving. I do love this time of year with apple picking, hay rides, carving pumpkins, apple pies and turkey. In New England Fall is a special time!

So here are the two cards that you will be making when you attend this Wednesday's Workshop. You will be using the Mortise Masking Technique to make the Fall card. It is fairly easy and produces awesome results! You will love it!

If you have not signed up for the workshop, there is still time. Send me an email or go to my Facebook page.

Bring your workshop kit (detail scissors and flat adhesive). Hope to see you on Wednesday!

Blog Hop - What's New?

2011-09-02T00:01:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the September A Muse Studio Consultant Blog Hop!

I hope you have enjoyed the blog hop so far! Aren't Carla's cards cute! If you missed it, then you should start from the beginning with Samantha's blog until you come to my blog.

This month the challenge is to create a card using products that are in the new Holiday Catalog & Inspiration Guide. Since Halloween is not that far away I decided to use images from the Too Cute To Spook set. This card is a CASE from a sample that was on display at the Nashua On The Road event.

I first stamped the sentiment on the tag to be sure that the placement was right for the cat and pumpkin. Next I stamped the black cat. For the pumpkin I stamped it on Sugar CS in Memento Tuxedo Black since I would be coloring it with Copic Markers. To color the pumpkin I used YG17, Y08, YR16 and YR18. I then fussy cut the pumpkin and turned it over and using a pencil I drew the cut line to separate the pumpkin into two pieces. To finish off the black cat I used the Onyx Flock on the body and colored the cats eyes with YG17. I popped the pumpkin on top of the cat to make him appear to be peeking out. Added the Onyx Twine bow, added the tag to the Orange CS and put the tag on the Onyx Polka Dot card base.

Isn't the black cat cute peeking out of the pumpkin!

Here is a close up of the black cat! All fuzzy and cute!

Card details:
All products A Muse Studio except where noted
image: Too Cute To Spook
ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black
embellishments: Copic markers, Onyx Twine, Onyx Flock, Tag Dies

Now off to Liana's blog for the next stop on the hop!

Blog Challenge Week 2

2011-08-31T07:24:00.005-04:00

It is the second week of the A Muse Studio Consultants Blog Challenge and the inspiration for this week's challenge was this photo. The colors are awesome! So beachy feeling and with the butterflies it is it a great combination. Plus since this coming Labor Day weekend is sort of the un-official last weekend of Summer it is great timing!

I love the beach and I also love butterflies (aka flutterbys)! I have a bunch of butterfly bushes in my yard and I love to watch the Monarchs and Swallowtails flit around and they frantically try to get every drop of nectar they can. They are so graceful and pretty! I am fortunate to live near Butterfly Place and to see so many butterflies is incredible. When they land on you it is something special!

So on to my card:

I used the orange from the inspiration card and of course had to add butterflies! I stamped them on the background of the card base using the a|s Orange ink first. I then embossed the base with the Harlequin embossing die (love the texture). I am enamored with the watercolor effect you get when using markers so I decided to color the focal image using Tombow markers, huffed on it to keep the image moist before stamping on the a|s Sugar CS and then stamped the border using the Labels Set. Cut the oval out, popped it up with foam and voila!

Images: a|s Snail & Co.
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, a|s Orange
Markers: Tombow
Paper: a|s Orange CS
Embellishment: Stickles, a|s Harlequin Embossing Die, Vintage Labels Die

Ready for a Challenge?

2011-08-22T08:28:00.008-04:00

Are you ready for a challenge? Well I have one for you! A few of the A Muse Studio Consultants have come together to create a challenge blog and we would love for you to participate.

Each week a different consultant will host a challenge and provide a little bio about themselves. Check out the new challenge blog - amusestudiochallengeblog.blogspot.com . The first challenge is all about GLITTER! If you are like me, you love the stuff and any time you use it, you are sporting glitter on yourself when you are done! Who doesn't love to sparkle!

I hope you will play along with our weekly challenges and maybe win one of the weekly prizes.

I hope to see your creation there!

Jack o' lanterns

2011-08-17T21:12:00.003-04:00

The cooler nights have gotten me thinking about Fall. I know it's early! It is still August but with all the wonderful A Muse Studio goodies that surround me when I am in my studio, it is hard not to think of the upcoming holiday season. Wait till you see what I will be posting soon!

Do you send Halloween cards to your Trick or Treater's? My kids are beyond the age of going door-to-door in costume but I will make them cards and send some candy to them at college. I will also be sending cards out to my family and friends.

You are never too old for Halloween!!!

Card Details:
All products from A Muse Studio unless otherwise noted.
Images: Happy Jacks
Inks: Memento TB
Embellishments: Tombow Markers, Grass Die, Diamond Glitter, Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Punch:Fiskars

What would you choose?

2011-08-15T21:55:00.001-04:00

If you could pick $90 in free A Muse Studio products, what would you choose? Well, by hosting a workshop during **AMUSEA*PALOOZA** (August 22nd - September 30th) that hard decision could be yours!

Want to know more? Ask me!

Calendar of Events

2011-08-12T18:23:00.000-04:00

Wow - how time flies! I have just finishing updating my Calendar of Events page to list all of the upcoming workshops that I have scheduled.

Please check it out and I hope to see you at an event soon!

Tini Time Treat Bag

2011-08-05T21:53:00.002-04:00

Isn't this the cutest treat bag! It is super easy to make and can be used for any occasion.

I have to say that I am loving the A Muse Studio Tini Time set that is part of this month's Spotlight. To show how versatile A Muse Studio stamp set are I have been finding different uses for the images in my A Muse Studio sets.

For this treat bag I used images from the Tini Time and Graphic Sunflower sets. Notice that I used the diamond image along the sides of the treat bags and the image is used all over it (sorry I could not take really good picture it - I tried many times!) . I used all the August Spotlight ink colors as well to show how great a color palette it is. So summery and fun!

The Tini Time and Graphic Sunflower sets are on my most faves list of a|s stamp sets!!! I hope you like them as much as I do.

Now here is a challenge for you - try looking at your sets to see what alternative designs you can come up other than the obvious for which the set was created. I would love to see what you come up with.

Treat Bag Details:
All Products A Muse Studio
Stamps: Tini Time, Graphic Sunflower
Inks: Watermelon, Papaya, Apricot, Lichen & Sage
Paper: Sugar CS
Accessories: Papaya Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

The Catalog is here! The Catalog is here!

2011-08-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

The 2011 A Muse Studio Holiday and Inspiration Guide is now available.

I am offering a special on the catalog. The retail price is $3.95 but for a limited time I am offering the catalog for $1.00 (if local) or $3.00 mailed. Send me an email today to get yours!

Trust me! You'll want to see it NOW!

Fine print: You can start ordering from the catalog on August 22nd.

Blog Hop - What Summer Means

2011-08-02T00:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the A Muse Studio August Blog Hop - What summer means!

If you are taking part in the blog hop, you should have come from Lori Barnett's blog. If not, then you should start from the beginning with her blog until you come to my blog. It would be a shame to miss out on any of the wonderful cards!

To me Summer is all about the ocean and beaches. There is nothing more calming than walking on the beach, looking for those elusive sand dollars, listening to the waves and feeling the cool New England water on your feet. I have always felt better when I am on the beach. My family loves it as well. It is nothing to see the four of us lounging on the beach reading books, placing chess, backgammon or bocce, having our favorite beach foods: grapes, Wheat Thins, Twizzlers and Tootsie Pops. We have our traditions! Over the years we have spent time at the Cape and New Hampshire but our favorite place is Maine. Whether it is York Beach, Wells or Ogunquit we will be there. It is us as a family and it is my dream to retire to someplace near the ocean!

So to capture all that in a card here is my take: Two beach chairs, a sand dollar, the sand, waves and a gorgeous sunset! Life is a breeze!!!

Card Details:
All products A Muse Studio
Stamps: Life's A Breeze, Grunged Sunrays, Swanky Backgrounds
Inks: Bermuda, Blueberry, Ocean, Apricot, Watermelon, Orange, Latte
Misc.: Fiskars Border Punch

Now onto Vanessa Buzard's blog!

Bloggers Challenge - Embossing

2011-07-30T00:37:00.003-04:00

Happy Friday!

I started a new job three weeks ago and I am finding it difficult to spend time stamping. I got my new A Muse Studio Holiday items (to be released August 22nd) and I have not even opened the cases. How sad is that! I am not sure this weekend will be any better. It is the weekend to celebrate with my in-laws for the July & August Birthday Babies! We are celebrating 4 birthdays!

Anyway, I snuck away to spend some time in my scraproom and it was heaven (albeit a messy state of affairs).

This is my first time participating in Lisa Somerville's Bloggers Challenge and it was quite a timely accident that I stumbled into it.

I participate in the Technique Junkies monthly Just One Swap and I was struggling with coming up with a card that I was happy with. My first few attempts ended up in my recycling bin.

There are so many great techniques and the one I chose is Embossed Image from the Emboss or Die CD.

If you want to play along with Lisa's challenge, just create a card with embossing. You can link it in below or you can go to Lisa's site and add your link. No time to create a card, check out what the other bloggers have been doing by hotlinking to the bloggers sites below.

Card details:
Paper: A Muse Studio
Ink: A Muse Studio, Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: SU Embossing Folder, A Muse Studio Twinkle Stickers, A Muse Studio Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, A Muse Studio Vintage Labels Die

Celebrating Every Happy Hour

2011-07-24T20:37:00.000-04:00

This weekend was a whirlwind of puppies! My sister needed someone to watch her dog so my house was a two-dog house for the weekend. Now my dog, Bijou, is a pure-bred Boxer who is FULL of energy. She loves other dogs but they do not always like the way a Boxer plays. They box! Well thankfully for Bijou, Max, who is a Corgi-Papillon mix, held his own with her.

But by the end of the weekend I felt it! Luckily there were some points during the day that I could sneak up to my scraproom followed closing by my 4-footed shadows and work on some cards. Bijou was a little jealous so I had to make sure to give her more attention than I gave to Max but in the end I think she missed him when it was time for him to go home. I am sure Max will be back!

About this card, I used the collage technique that I had previously posted to stamp the bottom of the card. Using the A Muse Studio Swank Backgrounds images I masked off the card into three sections, both sides were masked leaving the middle exposed and the top 2/3 of the card was masked to prevent my stamping into the main area. Using Versafine Onyx Black, I stamped the middle section. Next I removed the left side mask and covered the center stamped area leaving some white space where I would later stamp the diamond image from the Tini Time set. I repeated the same process for the right side.

To finish off the section I cut a 1/4" strip of Bermuda CS and adhered it with flat adhesive. I then stamped two of the martini glasses on Sugar CS using Versafine Onyx Black and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I wanted some bright colors for the glasses so I used Copic Markers RV09 Fucshia and G02 Spectrum Green. These were adhered to the card base using foam tape. I added the 'Celebrate every happy hour!' sentiment and underlined it with some creative candy.

Overall a fairly quick card when you factor all the time it took to play with the puppies and make sure no ones nose got out of joint!

2011 A Muse Studio Holiday and Inspiration Guide Sneak Peek

2011-07-22T06:11:00.001-04:00

The 2011 A Muse Studio Holiday and Inspiration Guide Sneak Peeks have begun!

If you would like to see the catalog before it becomes available in hardcopy, send me an email and I will send you the PDF.

Trust me! You'll want to see it NOW!

AMUSEA*PALOOZA August 22 - September 30!!!

2011-07-20T17:48:00.001-04:00

So have I got news for you! This Friday I will share with you all that is A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA! For those that may now know what A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA is, well let me tell you, it is awesome! It is a celebration of all things A MUSE STUDIO!

There will be a new products, specials and hostess incentives.

On Friday I will be able to email the catalog that will not be available in hardcopy until August 22nd. If you want to see the awesome new stuff before everyone else, send me your email address and I will include you in my email blast of the new catalog!

I hope you will be as excited about what's new as I am.

I am making workshop orders now - you DO NOT want to miss out on the awesome hostess benefits that are available during A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA. If you are looking to host a workshop in your home, contact me ASAP. Dates will be filing up quickly once everyone knows the deal!

More on Friday!

Happily Ever After

2011-07-20T07:00:00.002-04:00

Round 2 of card making with more of the A Muse Studio July Spotlight Featured Sets: That's The Ticket and Swanky Backgrounds.

I love pink and black together - what a sweet combination. For this card I masked off the Sugar CS so that I would only stamp the background from Swanky Backgrounds in Watermelon on the bottom third of the Sugar CS. Next I embossed the CS using a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder to give the card some nice texture and it dressed it up a lot!

The ring image that I stamped in Memento TB is from the Happily Ever After set which I dressed up with some Diamond Stickles. I also added some of the Diamond Stickles to the swirls on the background. How apropos!

I mounted the image onto Bubblegum Shimmer CS. To obscure the line between the embossing and the stamped area I used a strip of the Onyx 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain ribbon and finished the card off with the sentiment framed by the ticket image.

Enjoy!

It's Tini Time!

2011-07-19T20:35:00.001-04:00

It's Tini Time!

I love those yummy martini's that taste good. You know the ones that you find on those cute drink menus that have cool names. I wonder who comes up with the names? Can you imagine tasting them and deciding what to call them? Does anyone know of someone who has that job? Maybe in my college days that would have been a neat job but then the only martini's that were around then were the 'real' martini's made with olives and vermouth. My favorite martini is the French Martini which is made with Chambord. Yummy!!! You will have to try it and let me know what you think.

So now onto the card at hand. Using my new A Muse Studio Tini Time and Swanky Backgrounds sets, which are two of the A Muse Studio July Spotlight featured sets, I made this card.

First, I stamped the background in Watermelon on the a|s Sugar CS using one of the images from the Swanky Backgrounds set. To me it looked a little like the olives so I thought it was perfect for the background. The background also looks kind of retro, like those beads people used to hang in their doorways.

Second, I stamped the martini glass on Sugar CS using Memento TB and filled the glass with Apricot ink and an olive in Sage ink. I outlined the glass with Copic Marker BG10 (gotta love that one for outlining - it really makes images POP).

I then mounted the background on some Sage CS that I stamped with a few olives at the bottom to match the olive in the martini glass. For the card base I used the Watermelon CS which perfectly matches the Watermelon pigment ink! I love that about A Muse Studio products - they are all so coordinated!!!

Last but not least was the addition of the 'What's shakin'?' sentiment. The sentiment and martini glass are all from the Tini Time set, which has so many wonderful images. The featured cardstock assortment this month is Sorbet which contains the Watermelon, Apricot, Papaya, Lichen and Sage colors. So pretty.

How cute is this card!!!

A Muse Studio 1/4" Stitched Grosgain Ribbon Buy In

2011-07-17T15:33:00.002-04:00

1st Color Group (Spring/Summer Collection):
Lime, Ocean, Shell & Sky

2nd Color Group (Summer Collection):
Bubblegum, Cherry, Orange & Papaya

3rd Color Group (Fall/Winter Collection):
Fern, French Roast, Onyx & Slate

If you are interested in participating, please send me an email with what group(s) you want to participate in. The cost will be approx. $6 a slot (plus shipping to you if not local to me). The Buy-In offer expires August 6th. Feel free to pass this offer along to your friends!

Group	Colors
1 (Lime, Ocean, Shell, Sky)
2 (Bubblegum, Cherry, Orange, Papaya)
3 (Fern, French Roast, Onyx, Slate)

A Muse Studio Spotlight - July

2011-07-16T20:52:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the A Muse Studio Spotlight for July! Each month A Muse Studio will showcase selected stamp sets that will share the spotlight with a gorgeous color palette to create projects that showcase the versatility of paper crafting.

July's Spotlight Specials:
For one month (July 15th - August 15th), you can save 10% on the stamp sets used to create those fabulous projects!

Birthday Builder
Graphic Sunflower
Swanky Backgrounds
That's the Ticket
Tini Time

And, for a limited time, order the special Sorbet Cardstock Assortment Pack ($7.65) - an easy way to get the look showcased in this month's spotlight.

The Sorbet Assortment Pack contains four sheets each: Watermelon, Apricot, Buttercup, Sage and Lichen

To see more of the projects featured in the July Spotlight click here!

Contact me for more details or to place an order! You will love being part of the Spotlight!

Catalog! Catalog! Who Wants A Catalog?

2011-07-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

If you have not gotten your hands on the 2011 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide yet, what are you wait for?

For a limited time I am offering the catalog for $6.00 (shipping included). The retail price is normally $9.95 so this is a great time to jump off the fence and see the amazing products that A Muse Studio offers!

If you want to take advantage of this offer, drop me a line at attemptedcreativity@gmail.com.

PayPal* or checks only. Note - this offer is for U.S. only.

*Plus applicable PayPal fees.

Elegant Summer Event Workshop Sneak Peek 3

2011-07-03T23:59:00.003-04:00

A Muse Studio June Spotlight - Elegant Summer Event showcases all the amazingly creative things that you can make using the a|s products.

Case in point - these super cute miniature candy wrappers. What a great way to add just that little something extra to your parties!

When you attend my Elegant Summer Event A Muse Workshop on July 10th you will have the opportunity to make these wrappers using the Sea Shells and Mad for Plaids sets with the Seaglass Cardstock.

The Seaglass Assortment Pack contains four sheets each: Bermuda, Sky, Sage, Lichen, Latte

To make it a little sweeter, the stamp sets showcased in the June Spotlight are 10% off until July 15th. These are: Classic Alphabet, Sea Shells, Keep Swimmin’, Life’s a Breeze & Mad for Plaids

Hope to see you July 10th! RSVP to attemptedcreativity@gmail.com to reserve your spot today!

July Blog Hop - Red, White and Blue

2011-07-02T00:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the monthly A Muse Studio Independent Creative Consultant Blog Hop! This month's theme is Red, White & Blue in honor of our nation's birthday!

If you are participating in the blog hop, you should have come from Samantha Kania's blog and if not, then you should start from the beginning with her blog until you come to my blog.

My card is a CASE of one I saw on Pinterest from blog My Paper Secret that I just had to make! The layout is so versatile, really easy to do and the possibilities are endless!

All products are from A Muse Studio. I used a paper piercer to make the grid and then filled it in with those yummy a|s Not Your Grandma's Bag of Buttons. I created the stars using the Star Trio Die set on Sugar cardstock that I had stamped using the Mad for Plaids set in Cranberry ink. After adding some a|s Diamond glitter to the stars I popped them up and adhered the buttons using glue dots. To finish the card off I stamped the sentiment using the Birthday Builder set and Voila! An great card to celebrate our nation's independence day!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

And to all those that keep our country safe - we thank you!

All products shown can be purchased from my A Muse Studio website. Check it out!

Now off you go to Dana Vincent's blog for the next stop on the hop.

Inchies - Gotta love them!

2011-06-26T15:41:00.000-04:00

Another A Muse Studio video by Julie Ebersole which shows her making a card using inchies. Inchies are 1-inch squares which you stamp an image on or cut an inchie from an image already stamped. You would be amazed how different an image can be when you take part of it away or only use part of it. A technique I have used is to cut a 1-inch square in the middle of a 3-inch square of paper and use it as a frame. Place this frame over a stamped image and move it around to get a peek at what an inchie could be! It is pretty cool!!!

Watch Julie's video and be inspired!

Here is my take on an inchie:

I stamped my image from the a|s Ornate Elements set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cut it into 5 1-inch squares. I then popped them up with foam tape and added some Spica pen for accent (which unfortunately does not show well in the picture). I mounted the squares on the Cherry Shimmer cardstock and adhered the strip to the Sugar cardstock. I added texture using a score board and finished it off with a sentiment from the a|s Essential Sentiments set.

Black & White Collage

2011-06-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

Black and white cards can be very stunning don't you think! I CASE'd this card from one that I saw on Happy Heart Studio. I used the A Muse Studio Ornate Elements, Mad for Plaids and A Very Merry Un-Birthday sets.

I masked off some of the areas to prevent over-stamping and delineated each section by using the stitch image from Mad for Plaids between each section. I finished it off with a strip of the Onyx Shimmer Damask cardstock and the sentiment from the A Very Merry Un-Birthday set.

A Muse Studio Coming to Nashua, NH!

2011-06-21T22:36:00.002-04:00

I want to give you a heads up that A Muse Studio is coming to Nashua, NH August 14th 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m! The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza and the cost will be $37. This session will allow people to get their hands ON the products and learn great tips and techniques in a fabulous class. You will even get to meet some of the creative women behind A Muse Studio, maybe even founder Linda Hartwich!

Registration starts Thursday, June 23rd. You can register from my A Muse Studio Website.

I hope to see you there!

June Spotlight - Mad for Plaids and Sea Shells

2011-06-21T06:00:00.003-04:00

As you can see I cannot seem to get enough of sand dollars! When I go to a beach I love to comb the sand looking for these little treasures. It is like striking gold when I find one. I have some really tiny baby sized sand dollars, some smaller than a pea. I do not handle them much for fear of making them crack so they sit on a shelf where I can admire them. Some day I will put them in a display case once I find the right way to showcase them.

So instead of touching the real things I get to touch these wonderful images from A Muse Studio! I CASE'd this layout from a card I saw on Laurie Willison's blog. I knew it would be perfect for using my Mad for Plaids and Sea Shells sets. The sentiment is from the Friend to Friend set.

I had a horrible time photographing this card so I resorted to taking the picture outside. The light box that I made just would not work for this card. My light box is a work-in-progress and after today it definitely needs work!

Sneak Peek #2

2011-06-20T12:33:00.000-04:00

I love all things beach related and collecting shells is a passion of mine. I have quite the sand dollar and sea shell collection. Some of you may have seen some of my collection in a vase on my dining room table. I love collecting them from my trips and it is a nice reminder of some incredible vacations we have taken!

This card is another sneak peek of what we will be making at my July Stamp Club and Workshop.

July Stamp Club & Workshop Sneak Peek

2011-06-19T13:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a sneak peek of one of the cards that we will be making at both the July Stamp Club and July Workshop. I hope you enjoy it! There is still time to sign up for the July Workshop to be held July 10th at 1:30 p.m. See the event details on Facebook here or on my Calendar of Events here.

A Muse Studio June Spotlight

2011-06-15T10:42:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the A Muse Studio Spotlight for June! Each month A Muse Studio will showcase selected stamp sets that will share the spotlight with a gorgeous color palette to create projects that showcase the versatility of paper crafting.

June's Spotlight Specials:
For one month, you can save 10% on the stamp sets used to create those fabulous projects!
Classic Alphabet
Sea Shells
Keep Swimmin’
Life’s a Breeze
Mad for Plaids

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

The Seaglass Assortment Pack contains four sheets each: Bermuda, Sky, Sage, Lichen and Latte

To see more of the projects featured in the June Spotlight click here!

Contact me for more details or to place an order! You will love being part of the Spotlight!

Hearts A Plenty

2011-06-13T18:28:00.001-04:00

Today is another lovely day in New England (NOT). The weather is dreary with not much sun and it is cool. Everything is VERY green!!! My lawn is growing unchecked and will soon need to be mowed again. The sun is supposed to make an appearance for an extended period of time sometime later this week. I may begin growing moss soon.

But the upside to all this rainy weather means I do not have to feel guilty about spending time indoors stamping! Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain! No, not really but why not make the best of the situation, right? I have been playing with some of my new A Muse Studio sets and I am in heaven! I am surrounded with lovely colors to play with and images that are a dream to stamp. I am playing with images from the Hearts A Plenty set and with the wonderful ink colors it is a snap to come up with so many cards with little effort. I got the idea for this card from another a|s consultant Kellie Maggio. Thanks Kellie for the inspiration! For the card I made below I first embossed the bottom two-thirds of the card base using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder. I think this is my all time favorite embossing folder! I then stamped the hearts in Bubblegum, Orange, Lime, Ocean and Blueberry. Using a MS scallop punch to add detail to the Papaya Gingham CS I mounted the heart strip to it. Adhered it flat to the Sugar card base, added Ocean ribbon and the Smile sentiment from the Hand Scripted set and the card was finished!

Card details: All products A Muse Studio unless specified
images: Hearts A Plenty, Hand Scripted
inks: Bubblegum, Orange, Lime, Ocean, Bluberry
paper: Sugar, Papaya Gingham
Embellishments: Ocean Sheer Ribbon

SMILE - Recessed Window Card

2011-06-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

The design for this card came to me while watching repeats of NCIS late last night. I love that show! It is one of my absolute favorite shows. Mark Harmon has definitely aged well!!!

To make this card I punched three circles using the Marvy Yellow Scalloped punch. I then stamped the heart image on three punched circles that I made using the Marvy Blue Scalloped Circle punch. I foam taped the stamped circles behind each of the punch out circles, laced ribbon and twine through the buttons and adhered them using glue dots. The sentiment was stamped on the back of the gingham CS (love reusing things!) and used foam tape to pop it up. I am happy with the way this card came out. I do not normally use buttons on my cards so this is a departure for me. I will be using more of them since I participated in my A Muse Studio Button Buy In and now I have a great collection of gorgeous buttons. So many colors and sizes to choose from! I hope this card makes you SMILE!

Card details:
images: a|s Hearts A Plenty, Hand Scripted
inks: a|s Lemon Whip, Lichen, Shell, Sky
paper: a|s Sky Gingham
embellishments a|s buttons, misc. twine and ribbon

Oh Baby!

2011-06-09T08:59:00.003-04:00

I love babies and making baby cards is a lot of fun. There is only one little one in my family now and he lives in Georgia. Sadly we do not get to see him or his parents as often as we would like. Thankfully my NIL (niece-in-law) is amazing at posting videos and pictures so that we can keep up with my great-nephew, NIL and nephew!

A friend of mine had another baby a few months ago and I have been remiss at sending her my congratulations. I know it is hard to believe that a card maker is late on making a card but time has gotten away from me. I swear I do not know where it goes!!! But I finally got down to business and made this cute card to send and I hope she likes it!

Background Kissing Example

2011-06-05T11:27:00.007-04:00

This card is an example of the Background Kissing technique that the A Muse Studio Creative Consultants were challenged with to use in creating something, it did not have to be a card.

I demonstrated this technique yesterday at my stamp club and it got a lot of oohs and ahhs! I kind of felt like I was watching Toy Story with the little green alien toys! It was very funny!!! Anyway, this technique is very simple and produces awesome results.

What I did was ink up my images but before stamping onto the cardstock I stamped the image onto the a|s Mesh Background stamp which 'kisses' off some of the ink and transfers its texture to the image. When I stamped it onto the CS it make the image appear like it had a gingham pattern. There are so many possibilities that you can explore with this technique. You could choose to only do the kissing technique to the leaves and not the rose or vice versa. Think of all the background stamps you already have and what a great way to get more usage from them!

Card details:
images: a|s Wild Rose, a|s Essential Sentiments, a|s Vintage Labels
ink: a|s Fern, a|s Cranberry, Memento Tuxedo Black
embellishments: a|s Sugar Tiny Flower Ribbon, a|s Pretty Pearls

If you missed it - Here is the post of the video of Julie Ebersole demo'ing the Kissing Technique. Enjoy!

A Muse Studio News.....

2011-06-02T22:18:00.001-04:00

A Muse Studio is cooking up something awesome to be announced on June 15th! Stay tuned...

A Muse Studio Blog Hop - Create Your Own DSP

2011-06-02T00:00:00.006-04:00

Hello and welcome to the monthly A Muse Studio Creative Consultant Blog Hop!

If you are participating in the blog hop, you should have come from Carla Mayfield's Blog and if not, then you should start from the beginning with Samantha's blog until you come to my blog.

This month's theme was to create your own DSP (Designer Series Paper). I had a lot of fun making this card! I love colors that pop and the black flowers really seem to pop off the paper, almost like they were floating! I used a scallop punch to mirror the scalloped flower to set off the sentiment. Something different to try!

My DSP inspiration came from a Technique Junkies technique - Millefiori. You should check out Technique Junkies while you are at it. They have some unbelievable techniques which go so well with A Muse Studio images!

Images: All A Muse Studio: Graphic Sunflower, Lots of Dots, Clever Girls, Essential Sentiments
Inks: a|s Bubblegum, a|s Ocean, a|s Sky, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: a|s Sugar CS, a|s Onyx CS

Now on to your next stop Tami Grandi's blog.

Background Kissing with Stamps

2011-06-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Check out this video by HRR Julie Ebersole as she demonstrates creating a card using the "Kissing" technique! So cool!!

A Muse Studio Consultant Blog Hop - June 2nd

2011-06-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

Get ready to see what a bunch of truly creative A Muse Studio Consultants have put together for the A Muse Studio June 2nd Blog Hop! This month's theme is DSP (Designer Series Paper). Each consultant will post their take on creating DSP with A Muse Studio products.

Check back on June 2nd for my part of the Blog Hop. I hope you will enjoy it!

Butterflies, Flowers and Plaids

2011-05-24T18:16:00.012-04:00

I am on a roll! Today was finally a day where I got to see some sunshine. I was beginning to feel that I had moss growing on me. So much green all around and so little sun. I cannot imagine living someplace where it rains a lot. I love living in New England, even with all the snow!

So today I spent some time in my studio playing with one of my favorite a|s sets - Graphic Sunflower! It is so versatile and so much fun to play with. I also played withe the a|s Mad for Plaid and Snail & Co. sets. I am in love with Mad for Plaid! The image that I used on the cards below looks like ribbon on cards. The other images in the set are just as wonderful. I am going to concentrate on making different cards with that set to show how much you can do with it.

I have not spent much time using watercolor markers with my A Muse Studio stamps and today was the day to change that. Using my Tombow Markers I colored the stamps before putting them on paper. A little huffing on the stamp to moisten the ink and voila! - a beautiful card (if I do say so myself!). I love the softer look of using the markers.

Images: a|s Graphic Sunflower, a|s Celebrate in Style
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: a|s Sugar CS
Markers: Tombow
Embellishment: Stickles

Images: a|s Snail & Co., a|s Mad for Plaids
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: a|s Sugar CS
Markers: Tombow

Images: a|s A Very Merry Un-Birthday, a|s Mad for Plaids
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: a|s Sugar CS
Markers: Tombow
Embellishment: Stickles

A Muse Studio Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Buy-In

2011-05-22T20:20:00.006-04:00

I am offering a Ribbon Buy-in for the A Muse Studio 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon. There are three groups of colors with 4 slots in each group. When a group fills up I will start another group. Each person in the group will receive 2 yards of each color.

1st Color Group (Spring/Summer Collection):
Shell, Sky, Lime, Ocean

2nd Color Group (Summer Collection):
Bubblegum, Cherry, Orange, Papaya

3rd Color Group (Fall/Winter Collection):
Fern, French Roast, Onyx, Slate

If you are interested in participating, please send me an email with what group(s) you want to participate in. The cost will be approx. $6 a slot (plus shipping to you if not local to me). The Buy-In offer expires June 14th.

Group 1:
1. Karen M.
2.
3.
4.

Group 2:
1. Karen M.
2.
3.
4.

Group 3:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Monthly Stamp Club Update

2011-05-19T09:18:00.001-04:00

The first group has been filled and a second group is now open. If you are interested in becoming a member in the second stamp club group, please let me know. The second group will start as soon as it is filled.

Monthly Stamp Club Signups

2011-05-18T16:57:00.000-04:00

As part of the services I offer to my A Muse Studio customers I am starting a Monthly Stamp Club.

Here are the details:
A monthly stamp club is where you commit to ordering at least $25.00 worth of product each month over a six month period. You will have the opportunity of being a Hostess once during this period and you will receive all the normal Hostess Benefits without hosting an in-home workshop.

Here are the finer details:

Six people agree to purchase a minimum of $25.00 in A Muse Studio merchandise for six consecutive months
Every member will have the opportunity of being "Hostess of the Month" (monthly hostesses will be chosen via a random draw)
When it is your month to be Hostess, you will receive at least:
$25.00 FREE merchandise of your choice
As a member you will also receive a FREE copy of the 2011 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide.
Monthly workshop at my home. Topics include techniques, tool demonstrations and swaps.

If you are interested in participating in the Monthly Stamp Club, please email me.

NOTE: You do not have to be local to participate in my club. Card Club Project kits can be mailed as part of your monthly order so you can participate remotely! Additional shipping charge to be added to ship to remote members. Flat rate USPS shipping will be used to keep costs down.

The club will start once there are 6 people signed up.

UPDATE: One spot left in the Stamp Club. If you are thinking about joining, let me know ASAP!

Button Buy-In Offer

2011-05-18T08:47:00.006-04:00

I have been asked to offer a buy-in for A Muse Studio buttons. The a|s buttons are sold in packs of 200 single-color buttons. The exception are the clear buttons which come 150 to a pack.

Each person in the buy-in chooses a button color. Each person would then receive 200 buttons in assorted colors.

The buttons colors are awesome and the various sizes offer great flexibility to your card and scrapbooking projects!

If you are interested, please email at attemptedcreativity@gmail.com with your name, color choice and address info if not local to me.

UPDATE as of 5/18 - 8 people are in so far! Here are the selected colors and what awesome colors they are!!!

Bermuda, Blackberry, Bubblegum, Buttercup, French Roast, Grass, Onyx and Pumpkin.

The period to join the Buy-In ends this Sunday, May 22nd at 12:00 p.m.

Happy Birthday Floral Collage

2011-05-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

What do bright colors and flowers make? Together they make for a gorgeous card (if I do say so myself). Using different types of flower images on a card using bright colors really catches your eye on this card. The possibilities are endless as well for color combinations. For a Spring birthday (or any occasion really) use pastel colors, for a Fall birthday you can use earth tones. The same layout/design can be used over and over. No stressing over where to start! The addition of the label allows you to add so many different sentiments so you could mass produce the card and just add whatever sentiment the occasion for the card required. Voila! How easy it that!!!

Now for the card details:
All products: A Muse Studio
Images: Clever Girls, Snail & Co, Kindred Spirits, Marvelous Marigolds, Good Fortune
Inks: Bubblegum, Grass, Ocean, Orange
Embellishment: Bubblegum Satin Ribbon, Labels Die Set

Beautiful Botannicals Thank You

2011-05-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

I decided that I wanted to make a one layer card to show how quick and easy card making can be!
This card came together in about 10 minutes, tops. The hardest part was lining up the Cuttlebug embossing strip to make sure it was straight (I have a problem lining things up). I ended up using some removable tape to insure that the embossing strip did not move when I put the embossing plate over the card.

I stamped the image and then using daubers colored the stem and flowers with the Memento inks, using a light touch. Followed up with some Stickles (love them!) and a small bow and Voilà! a quick card!

Card Details:
Images : a|s Beautiful Botannicals and Essential Sentiments sets.
Inks: Memento Lulu Lavender and New Sprout, Versafine Onyx Black
Embellishments: a|s Lime Organdy Ribbon, Stickles, Cuttlebug Embossing

A Muse Studio Open House May 21st

2011-05-13T14:51:00.002-04:00

Please join me for an A Muse Studio Open House!

For anyone not familiar with A Muse Studio, they offer an exclusive line of cling-mount red rubber stamps, custom-printed papers, ribbons, dies and embellishments for creating handmade greeting cards, scrapbook pages and more.

At my Open House there will be make-n-takes, door prizes, specials, refreshments and more. The make-n-takes will be using the new A Muse Studio line of products.

If you can't make it, but would like to host a workshop in your home, please let me know!

Bring a friend or two! I look forward to seeing you at my Open House!

For directions please email me at attemptedcreativity@gmail.com

Details can also be found on Facebook here.

Hope to see you on the 21st!

Anniversary Cards

2011-05-13T06:00:00.003-04:00

This is the time of year when there are many wedding anniversaries and having cards on hand to celebrate the occasion is a must. For this card I used my Nestibilities to emboss the a|s Onyx Polka Dot card back to create a frame for the center oval where I stamped the Damask image and overlaid the Happy Anniversary sentiment. The card can be dressed up with some ribbon, glitter, pearl stickers and embossing. A nice go to layout!

Card Details:
Images: a|s Damask Greetings and Essential Sentiments sets.
Inks: a|s Bubblegum, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: a|s Onyx Polka Dot cardstock

For a different layout for the sample focal image I used a MS punch and a|s ribbon to add detail.

Card Details:
Images: a|s Damask Greetings and Essential Sentiments sets.
Inks: a|s Bubblegum, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: a|s Lime Polka Dot cardstock
Embellishments: a|s Bubblegum Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Simple But Elegant Sympathy Card

2011-05-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

The one card that most people have a hard time making and unfortunately necessary from time to time are Sympathy cards. I know I have a hard time with them and I am sure I am not alone. This card came together quickly and it is fairly simple. I used the A Muse Studio (a|s) Harlequin Embossing die to give the card base some nice texture. My picture does not do it justice but you can at least see some of the design. I used Tombow markers to color the image, stamped then cut and embossed it using my Nestibilities. The With Sympathy sentiment from the a|s Essential Sentiments set and finished it off with some Pearls and Stickles.

Card Details:
Images : a|s Autumn Beauty and Essential Sentiments sets.
Inks: Tombow Markers 126 & 676 and Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: as Sage Polka Dot Cardstock
Embellishments: a|s Sugar Pearl Stickers, Stickles, a|s Lime Organdy Ribbon

Father's Day Card

2011-05-10T06:00:00.002-04:00

Father's Day is a little over a month away!

There was a request for samples of Father's Day cards and luckily I had the wrench image from the a|s Tool-Rific set. Using my stamp positioner I was able to alternate stamping of the wrench in a|s Ocean and then followed up with stamping the wrench in a|s French Roast. Using the stamp positioner made it so easy to not have to switch ink colors each time! I love the turquoise and brown color combination!

Card Details:
Images : a|s Tool-Rific and Rock Star sets.
Inks: a|s Ocean and as French Roast
Paper: a|s French Roast Vintage Cardstock

Recessed Window Card

2011-05-10T00:22:00.005-04:00

The very first A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge was issued today! The challenge is to make a Recessed Window Card using A Muse Studio products.

Card Details:
The card base was first embossed using the a|s Harlequin embossing die.The window was cut using an oval from the large Oval Nestabilities set. The bride and groom image is from the a|s Happily Ever After set and the sentiment is from the a|s Essential Sentiments set. I stamped the image using Versafine Onyx Black, heat set the image and colored it using Copic Markers (E33, R00, R29, RV10). The bride's gown is embellished with a|s Diamond Glitter and the card base is dressed up with some a|s Bubblegum and a|s Onyx Organdy Ribbons.

Thinking of You

2011-05-09T06:00:00.004-04:00

More flowers! Using a sheet of white cardstock I stamped the images randomly (like a One Sheet Wonder) and cut them into various sizes for cards. It speeds the process of cardmaking when you need to make many cards at once. Different layouts, papers and embellishments and you've got a great collection of go-to cards whenever you need them!

Card Details:
Images : A Muse Studio Graphic Sunflower, Clever Girls, Avian Notes and Essential Sentiments sets.
Inks: A Muse Studio Shell, Lemon Whip, Sky and Lichen from the Spring Collection, Versafine Onyx Black
Embellishments: A Muse Studio Bubblegum Satin Ribbon, Stickles

Get Well Soon

2011-05-08T17:49:00.005-04:00

As my friends know, I love flowers! My collection of stamps tends to run towards flowers above all else and it can be a problem (but not in a bad way). You have to go with what you like right? Right!

Anyway, flowers make people feel better in so many ways and this card was made with a specific person in mind, someone who is going through a lot and needs some cheering up. I think this burst of Spring will help her!

Card Details:
Images : A Muse Studio Graphic Sunflower, Clever Girls, Avian Notes and Essential Sentiments sets.
Inks: A Muse Studio Shell, Lemon Whip, Sky and Lichen from the Spring Collection, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: A Muse Studio Navy and Blueberry Gingham Cardstock
Embellishments: A Muse Studio Twinkle Stickers

The Celebration Continues...

2011-05-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

This card was a fun and quick one to make! The beer mug (or root beer if you prefer) I thought went well with the Celebrate IN STYLE sentiment. Enjoy!

Details:
images: A Muse Studio Hey, Man! set
sentiment: A Muse Studio Celebrate in Style set
ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: vanilla cardstock, A Muse Studio Cherry Vintage, A Muse Studio Cherry Shimmer Couture, Black Bazzill
embellishment: cream pearl pen, Copics Markers

Celebrate in Style

2011-05-03T13:54:00.004-04:00

Do you like to celebrate in style? I do! But alas, I live vicariously through others, ha ha ha! But I do have to say that the Celebrate in Style A Muse Studio set lets you make some gorgeous celebration cards! The sentiments that come with this set feature the most beautiful font! The sentiments are: Celebrate in Style, On Your Special Day, Wishing You Champagne Kisses and Caviar Dreams, Ain't Life Grand, Congratulations and Happy Birthday. So many great sentiments for all those celebration events!

For this card I used Versafine Onyx Black ink, embossed the image and sentiment using clear embossing powder, added some Stickles for some bling on the drops of the chandelier and candles, mounted it on Cherry Shimmer. The card base is Vintage Onyx.

Hey, Man!

2011-05-02T22:16:00.002-04:00

The hey, man! A Muse Studio set is a blast to work with! The set is definitely geared towards making masculine cards which always seem to be the most difficult to make. I know for me when most of the images that I have tend to be floral in nature, sets like hey, man! are wonderful!

African Violets

2011-04-28T07:00:00.004-04:00

For this card I used the new A Muse Studio meadow mix which come in a package of 100 paper flowers of a bunch of designs. These are a great embellishment that can be colors using many different mediums (ink, Copic Markers, watercolor markers, etc). For the card below I used a dauber with as bubblegum ink. The flowers remind me of African Violets which I love.

images: beautiful botanicals 2, polka dot patterns, essential sentiments
ink: bubblegum, fern, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: vanilla cardstock
embellishment: pretty pearls, lime stitched grosgrain

So Much Fun!

2011-04-27T18:00:00.007-04:00

Here are the results of more time spent playing with my A Muse goodies! I am having a ball coming up with ideas. I wish my photographing of these cards really showed how good they are (no conceit meant).

images: a very merry un-birthday, celebrate in style
ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: blueberry plaid, buttercup polka dot
embellishment: buttercup stitched grosgrain

images: a very merry un-birthday, clever girls, graphic sunflower, life is a song
ink: ocean, orange, bubblegum
paper: bubblegum, Bazzill Black
embellishment: ocean stitched grosgrain

images: a very merry un-birthday, celebrate in style
ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: blueberry plaid, buttercup polka dot
embellishment: buttercup stitched grosgrain

images: the perfect blend
ink: french roast, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: cobalt, blueberry polka dot
embellishment: french roast stitched grosgrain

My First A Muse Studio Creations

2011-04-27T09:39:00.007-04:00

I had so much fun last night! My A Muse Studio Consultant Kit was delivered yesterday and I spent the night looking through all the goodies that I received! The ink colors are just gorgeous and really need to be seen to believe. The stamp kits are fabulous! The rubber is deeply etched and they cling to the acrylic blocks like a dream. Not having to trim stamps and adhere the contact image is such a bonus! The ribbons are yummy and all the embellishments are fantastic.

I had a hard time deciding which images to use first! I finally settled down and made four cards. By midnight I had to call it a night and I can tell you the morning came VERY quickly!

I cannot wait to play again tonight!

Here is what I made!

images: rock star
ink: ocean, orange, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: orange notecard, ocean shimmer couture damask
embellishment: ocean stitched grosgrain

Images: just because, beautiful botanicals, elegant elements
ink: bubblegum, grass, orange, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: sage polka dot, bubblegum shimmer couture solid

Images: just because, beautiful botanicals, essential sentiments
ink: bubblegum, grass, orange, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: sage polka dot, bubblegum shimmer couture solid
embellishments: twinkle stickers

Images: graphic sunflower, essential sentiments
ink: bubblegum, orange, Memento Tuxedo Black
paper: sage polka dot, bubblegum shimmer couture solid
embellishments: twinkle stickers

Announcing.... I am now an A Muse Studio Consultant

2011-04-19T07:47:00.005-04:00

Many of you know about my love affair making handmade cards and with A Muse Artstamps.

A Muse Artstamps is now known as A Muse Studio and is a direct sales company. I have taken my love for A Muse stamps to another level! I am now an A Muse Studio Consultant!

In the coming days and weeks I will be creating sample cards using A Muse Studio stamps, papers, inks and embellishments. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do.

I will be hosting classes at my home, offering in-home classes and parties and creating a stamp club. I will also be updating my blog to show the latest A Muse Studio creations and goings-on. I hope you will check it out.

Stay tuned for more details to come!

-- Pamela

My consultant site: https://www.amusestudio.com/attemptedcreativity
My email: attemptedcreativity@gmail.com

P.S. - For anyone who may be wondering - no I did not give up my day job!

Punched Embossing

2011-04-16T21:19:00.001-04:00

Another Just One card - this was the card I made for April's TJ's swap. I used the Creative Memories Paisley Punch and the Punched Embossing technique from the Technique Junkies Emboss or Die CD. It was a lot of fun and really makes a card stand out! I love bright colors and it is a great technique to use up those scraps of paper we all have stashed away! Use them up ladies using this technique! What you need to do: Using your favorite punch, punch out several using different colors. Adhere to your background base and run through your dry embosser using your favorite embossing folder. I used the Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl folder.
Sentiment: Stampin Up
Ink: Stampin Up Markers
Paper: Stampin Up & Bazzill

Two Techniques - One Card

2011-03-16T21:23:00.001-04:00

For my March Technique Junkies Just One swap I used two different techniques, Double Bugging and Distressed Colorblocking. Double bugging involves using two different embossing folders. Here I used two different Cuttlebug folders to create the background. For my image I made the background behind the sandcastle using two Tim Holtz complementary colored distressed ink pads. To accomplish this look you take the darker of the two and swipe the pad across your cardstock so that it does not completely fill the space. Then using the lighter color go over the same area filling in the white spaces with the lighter ink. Stamp then mat and voila!

February Just One

2011-02-24T21:16:00.004-05:00

Another month gone by and another card that I made for the Technique Junkies Just One Swap. For this card I used the Millefiori technique which is a fun and easy one to do. You need three stamps, one large, one small and a circle image. Stamp first using the circle image, following with the smallest image and lastly with the largest image. A fun and easy background!

Images: A Muse
Ink: Stampin Up
Sentiment: Stampin Up
Paper: Memory Box, Stampin Up
Ribbon: A Muse

Week 6 - Ice Dams, Superbowl & More

2011-02-12T17:38:00.002-05:00

Well Week 6 has come and gone! We had to deal with the ice dams on our roof and we were lucky to have no water damage. The crisis was hopefully averted by the use of Calcium Chloride. Whoever came up with the idea to put the stuff in knee-hi's was brilliant! What a great way to launch the stuff up onto the roof.

The Superbowl on Sunday was not as interesting without the Patriots playing and we did not have our family pool this year. Not quite the same with my kids at school. At least the Packers won which was what we wanted! More gloating by Rex Ryan would have been horrible.

My husband went to Ireland again so it was just us girls manning the fort. It was a fairly quiet week. I met a friend for dinner at a local seafood restaurant. Great food but too noisy for us.

My cooktop was pretty much out of commission for most of the week with the exception of one burner. Not too bad since I was only cooking for myself. It was just the inconvenience of it all. The repairman had to make a few visits due to needing to order parts. My 10+ year old cooktop is now good as new.

We had more snow but this time it was just a couple of inches which was good news for me! I was not looking forward with having to deal with lots of snow while my husband was away.

My birthday is coming up. Another year older, another year better!!!

Week 5 - An Early Spring?

2011-02-05T12:41:00.008-05:00

Well according to Punxsutawney Phil we are going to have an early spring. When I look out my window and see the almost three feet of snow on the ground I hope he is right.

The 5th week of Project 365 is now past and it was one filled with more snow, working from home every day and many late nights.

I have been working on my recipe scrapbook and will send it off to be printed this weekend. I now have 60 recipes and will add more soon. That is the great part of doing it digitally - I can move pages around with ease!

On Sunday I met some friends to make cards and had a great time. A Stampin' Up demo was there and we made three cards, one of which we used the owl punch to make penguins. It was so cool. This punch is very versatile which a few tweaks here and there you can make fish, tulips, aliens, penguins and ghosts. I, of course, had to get one and cannot wait to play with it!

Gerry celebrated his birthday this week. This is the first time we are celebrating one of our birthdays with our kids away at college. It was nice to use Skype to have them sing Happy Birthday with me. We are not a vocally endowed family so the more voices that sing, the better we sound (ha ha ha).

I am sure next week will be even more fun!
Page template: Christy Golema
Kit: A Work in Progress, Calendar Collection

TJ's Just One January

2011-02-01T10:47:00.006-05:00

I made this card for the January Technique Junkies Just One Swap. I used the Texture Plate Smoosh technique again from the Dec. 2010/Jan. 2011 newsletter. I love this technique!

I used my Marvy Circle Crimper to add additional texture to the background. This is the first time that I have used a circle tag on a card and I thought it went well with the circle background.
Sentiment: The Cat's Pajamas One Wish
Ribbon: A Muse
Ink: SU
Paper: SU, Memory Box
Embellishment: A Muse

Week 4 - Snow, cold and more snow!

2011-01-31T09:05:00.002-05:00

When I work on my Project 365 layouts at the end of the day it does not feel like time is flying by until you put that last picture and journaling in and realize another week has gone by.

Gerry and I have settled into a great routine and I am getting better at cooking for just the 2 of us. I have a love/hate relationship with leftovers (as do many of my siblings) so it is a challenge to decide when to freeze and when to just plan for another meal of the same food later on in the week. Don't get me wrong, some meals are great for leftovers but to me most seafood dishes are not. My husband loves salmon and when I am at the fish counter ordering it I am a sucker for when I ask for a lb of salmon and the person waiting on me cuts it too large that I say that is fine. It would be if my kids were home but with just the two of us, it can be a challenge. Gerry can only eat so much leftover salmon! Oh well - as I say it is a work-in-progress.

As we live in New England our weather is a big part of life. It has been an incredibly snowy and WICKED cold winter this year. It was -8 degrees F this week with the wind chill at -22 degrees F. What is going on? Who said something about global warming????? On top of the cold weather we had another big snowstorm on the 27th which added 12" more snow on top of what we already had. Driving is getting harder when you have to cross your fingers when you pull out of street that a car is not coming that was hidden from view by the enormous snowbank at the end of the street.

Gerry and I love doing puzzles and we have been working on one entitled 'Lighthouses of New England'. We both love lighthouses and since there are so many here in New England this puzzle is perfect for us! We have decided to visit as many as we can and will start by visiting a few in Maine when we go to Freeport this month to celebrate our birthdays. Many are on tiny islands off the coast and it is doubtful that we will be back to get close to them, certainly not this time of year anyway. It will be an adventure for us which we are looking forward to. We have seen a few of them already that are located in Mass. but will revisit those lighthouses and take pictures of them. It will be a fun project for me to scrapbook too!

We have another storm predicted for tomorrow, February 1st (Happy Birthday to my hubby!) which is supposed to end sometime on Thursday, February 3rd! The accumulation predicted is for most of the state is 14"-20". I have no idea where it is all going to go but it is safe to say we will not be seeing any green grass for a long time!

~ Attempted Creativity ~

February Spotlight - Organization Can Be GORGEOUS

What's New Blog Hop

Download Your Catalog!

New Catalog is Here!

Charming Gardeners - Day 2

A Muse Studio Sneak Peeks - Charming Gardeners

Stamp Club Fun

Embossing Adhesive

A Muse Studio Retiring Products List Announced

January Spotlight is SWEET!

For one month, you can save 10% on the stamp sets used to create these fabulous projects!

The Spotlight is good until 11:59 p.m. January 31st ET.

Happy New Year 2012

Sugar & Spice and All Things Nice

SNOWFLAKES Challenge

January-June Monthly Stamp Club

Monthly Stamp Club Signups

Blog Hop - Anything Goes

A Muse Studio 2011 Retiring List - Stamp Sets

Top Ten Holiday Must-Haves

Are you ready?

ABC - Anything But a Card

Christmas Tags Workshop Sneak Peek

Metal Embossing

Challenge - Holiday Thank You Card

Santa's Flight - Blog Hop

Dry Embossing

Unfortunate Timing

Not Your Grandma's Bag of Buttons

Backgrounds

Falling Leaves

Blog Challenge - TWINE

Lights and Shadows

World Card Making Day with A Muse Studio

Halloween Workshop September 24th

Make Your Own Embellishments

Satin Ribbon Buy In

Gotta Have Ribbon - Blog Challenge

Inky Fingers Blog Hop - It's Fall

Fall & Thanksgiving Workshop

Blog Hop - What's New?

Blog Challenge Week 2

Ready for a Challenge?

Jack o' lanterns

What would you choose?

If you could pick $90 in free A Muse Studio products, what would you choose? Well, by hosting a workshop during A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA (August 22nd - September 30th) that hard decision could be yours!

Want to know more? Ask me!

Calendar of Events

Tini Time Treat Bag

The Catalog is here! The Catalog is here!

Blog Hop - What Summer Means

Bloggers Challenge - Embossing

Celebrating Every Happy Hour

2011 A Muse Studio Holiday and Inspiration Guide Sneak Peek

A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA August 22 - September 30!!!

Happily Ever After

It's Tini Time!

A Muse Studio 1/4" Stitched Grosgain Ribbon Buy In

A Muse Studio Spotlight - July

Catalog! Catalog! Who Wants A Catalog?

Elegant Summer Event Workshop Sneak Peek 3

July Blog Hop - Red, White and Blue

Inchies - Gotta love them!

Black & White Collage

A Muse Studio Coming to Nashua, NH!

June Spotlight - Mad for Plaids and Sea Shells

Sneak Peek #2

July Stamp Club & Workshop Sneak Peek

A Muse Studio June Spotlight

Hearts A Plenty

SMILE - Recessed Window Card

Oh Baby!

Background Kissing Example

A Muse Studio News.....

A Muse Studio Blog Hop - Create Your Own DSP

Background Kissing with Stamps

A Muse Studio Consultant Blog Hop - June 2nd

Butterflies, Flowers and Plaids

A Muse Studio Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Buy-In

If you could pick $90 in free A Muse Studio products, what would you choose? Well, by hosting a workshop during **AMUSEA*PALOOZA** (August 22nd - September 30th) that hard decision could be yours!

AMUSEA*PALOOZA August 22 - September 30!!!