Even More Stags

If you've read the last two days' worth of posts you know I've been struggling for the perfect workshop card using a particular reindeer stamp.

I liked the silver from the last card except for felt it was a bit to monochromatic.  That deer definitely needed a bright red bling for his nose and he's got that here.  I ran across the silver star paper and decided I had to give that whirl.  I kept the silver cording and the silver washi tape.  I saw the above card and felt I had my workshop card.  Then this happened:

I came up with this card and it really kicked that silver monochrome right in the tuckus! I think I might like this card even better.  Plus it has the added bonus of using that crazy red ribbon I never know what to do with.

Which one of the two do you like better?  Tell me in the comments so I know which card to prep for.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps--Christmas Stag and Say it With Style; cardstock--silver star and vanilla; inks--cherry and Memento black; other supplies--cherry dot twinkle stickers, metallic assortment washi tape, silver elastic cording, and cherry silky crush ribbon.

More Stags

Sorry, no make up Monday stuff today.  If you read my post from yesterday you know that I promised you some more cards made with the Christmas Stag set.  I was in search of a card that could be made at a workshop. It had to highlight some A Muse products, be something that is easy to duplicate but not too easy, and that would appeal to everyone in the group.

Yeah, those are some totally impossible guidelines because what you think is easy can stump others (can we say masking?) and you'll never make everyone happy. I thought both cards from yesterday were too difficult because of the coloring and stamp positioning required.  I liked the idea of the candy cane striped paper but I find it annoying that it is red and cream instead of red and WHITE.

So for the next card I thought I'd use white with just a strip of the off colored candy cane striped paper and came up with the card above. I feel this card is too simplistic and possibly even downright boring.  Next I started thinking of making a more elegant card using silver cording.

That idea lead to this card above.  The paper is silver shimmer, the washi tape is silver, the silver cording is silver and even the bling on the deer's nose is clear (that's close enough to silver).  I felt this card was a step in the right direction but didn't quite have the "it" factor yet.

Yep, I kept slogging away at it and came up with some more ideas.  You'll have to stay tuned for tomorrow's scheduled post to see what those are.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps--Christmas Stag; cardstock--sugar, cherry, candy cane stripe, and shimmer silver; other products--cherry twinkle dot stickers, onyx pearl stickers, metallic assortment washi tape,and silver elastic cording.

Rudolph Day-September

Rudolph Day hosted by Sarn rolls around every month on the 25th and if you read my post on the 25th you'll know that I had every intention of joining in on the first day.  That kind of didn't happen even though I had a customer ask me to make a Christmas card at my next workshop.  She didn't ask for any Christmas card though.  She asked me to use the Christmas Stag stamp, which looks like this:

People are quite ga-ga over this stamp, but it wasn't doing it for me. I thought it was neat enough looking but there was this vast empty space in my head about what to do with it.  I commented on my lack of ideas to my hubby and he said the most brilliant thing ever.

He said that I should string Christmas lights between the antlers.  He suggested this ribbon I used to have, but the key words are "used to have" and it wasn't by the right company anyway, but I knew I had stamps of Christmas lights and this card was born.  

I wasn't sure that I wanted to do this card at a workshop because who wants to wait around for 10 people to color each bulb with a marker... and you know someone will color the wrong color on a bulb and turn it a muddy color.

So I made this version of the card with the bulbs all one color.  Since that kind of made the image a bit more boring I jazzed up the background with some candy cane stripe.  I still wasn't sure I wanted to do this at a workshop.  It takes a stamp positioner to get the bulbs and the string in place and this card didn't really send me.

It did, however, give me lots of good ideas and the stag cards kept coming.  You'll have to stay tuned for tomorrow's post for more!  Meanwhile, go check out other people's Christmas cards and maybe even join it at the Rudolph Day Challenge.

The Fine Print: That last card? Yeah, the image is artistically placed on the card off center. No, that was not a mistake.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  All products by A Muse Studio. Stamps used--Christmas Stag, Very Merry Add Ons, and Handdrawn Trimmings; card stock used--evergreen, sugar, vanilla, and candy cane stripe; inks used--evergreen cherry, and Memento black; other supplies--Tombow markers and cherry dot twinkle stickers.

Pumpkin Kitty

Have I mentioned lately that I love Halloween? I really do.  Maybe because it is so cat-centric.  No, think about it; it really is.  That's because cats are wicked, evil, malevolent creatures who are self-centered, conniving...

  ...and cute.  Holy cow, they are so cute.  They will give you the lovely dovely squeezy-eyed look while purring and slitting your throat from end to end.  Ah, I just love me some kitties.

The Fine Print: Stamp from Taylored Expressions (the new release!), dies by Spellbinders, designer paper and ribbons from my stash. 

Glitter Pumpkin

I know in the past I've shown examples of the burnished glitter technique.  People who inquire further about it are told that I ain't never tried it with the red line style wonder sheets (meaning the thick stuff).  When A Muse Studio offered up a suggested workshop card using burnished glitter and their super tape sheets I decided I had to try it out.  Not only did I get try out the thicker sticky stuff but I got to try this technique with colored glitter instead of the usual transparent stuff.

Here is the end result before the glitter started flaking off like so much orange dandruff.  I think I like the thinner double sided tack sheet better.  I had to work very hard to burnish the glitter onto the sticky stuff and it still seems to be coming off. Of course that might be because it is orange and more noticeable than transparent stuff.  I'd do more experimentation but loose glitter makes me itch.

The Fine Print:  All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamp set used--In the Shadows; die used--Peculiar Potions; cardstock used--onyx petite polka dot, pumpkin, and sugar; other supplies--onyx baker's twine, super sheet adhesive and orange glitter.

This Post

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oh my!

The Fine Print: This would have been my Rudolph Day post showing off the couple of Christmas cards I made except for I didn't make any.  So there!  Stamp by Stampendous, inked embossing folder background by SU, ribbon, flower and jeweled brad from my stash. 

Pumpkin Lady

If you saw my Thanksgiving Lady card yesterday (and if you didn't why not?) then you know she is from a new Thanksgiving themed set that came out this year.  She is a neat stamp but if you are like me you want to get more mileage out of her than just having her whip up the perfect turkey dinner.

So how about having her celebrate my favorite holiday--Halloween!  I admit this was not my idea.  I did copy another consultant. I do have some original ideas for her that I haven't had time to make happen yet.  Stay tuned! Just don't hold your breath.  Other projects beckon first.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps used--Give Thanks Girl, Ghostly Greetings, and In the Shadows, cardstock used--orange, orange petite polka dot, and vanilla (the black "layer" is really just drawn on with a marker), inks used--saffron and Memento black, other products used onyx baker's twine.

Give Thanks Lady

The A Muse Studio catalog kind of glossed over Thanksgiving with just one set of greetings and one more set of a hostess with the mostess in action.  I don't think Thanksgiving is a big card making holiday anyway, so it's all good.

I thought it was brilliant of me to paper piece her dress with the dotted paper, but it turns out most of my fellow consultants thought the same thing.  Most of them were more brilliant than me and opted to not stamp black ink on black paper.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps used--Give Thanks Girl (which has a greeting that I stamped on the inside of the card), cardstock used--French Roast, squash, onyx petite polka dot,  and vanilla, other products used--French Roast pearls and grosgrain ribbon.

Make Up Monday - Under Lock and Key

Here are some note cards I made back in June and just now got around to photographing.  I would have photographed them earlier but I stuck them in a box and forgot they existed.

The Fine Print: All the stamps 'n stuff from Club Scrap from their "Lock and Key" kit.  I wonder how many more boxes have finished cards in them?  I'm betting a lot of them!  It'll be like an adventure to go and find out.  That would be an adventure I'll save for another day though.

Camper Sweet Camper

I'm not a let's-go-camping kind of person, but if I were I think I'd prefer a retro camper over a tent any day.  It just seems like it would have more of the comforts of home.

But you know what really has all the comforts of home?   That's right, home.  That's why I don't go camping.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps--Happy Camper.  Cardstock--French Roast, sky, evergreen, wasabi and sugar.  Other Products--Tree die and French Roast baker's twine.

Diary of a Hurricane Survivor

Look! At long last! A real post from me so I can update you on how that hurricane went. This picture hits the nail on the head:

It's true.  They forgot to include the water with their hurricane.  Well, whatever.  Now what I am going to do with these leftover sandbags?!

The Fine Print: I don't actually have any sandbags. People know better than to let me play with a heavy bag of sand.  I'd probably knock someone out with it... most likely myself.  All card products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps--Go, See, Do and Stamp Collection.  Cardstock--French roast, wasabi, vanilla and toffee.  Other Products--French Roast twine, antique brass brads, and Halloween washi tape trio.

Swim, Baby, Swim!

In honor of Tropical Storm Odele (which I may or may not have survived as this is another scheduled post) have some creatures who love the water:

In fact, they look quite tickled to be underwater.  I take after my cats and would be quite happy never getting wet again.

The Fine Print: Fish stamp and word window punch by Stampin' Up, greeting and ribbon by A Muse card base and designer paper by DCWV, rain and more rain by Mother Nature.

No Lyin'!

I just realized that I haven't shared last month's "mystery challenge item" card with you.  My big stamp group does a challenge where you receive an item and have to make something with it.  The mystery part is you don't know what it is until it is in your hot little hands.

This mystery item was the gold mini-cupcake wrapper that is now the lion's mane.  It was inspired by our one member who has done all sorts of crazy and creative things with cupcake wrappers.

Here's an angled view so that you can see it is shiny gold.  I had fun making this card.  The card I got back in exchange had the wrapper folded in half flat to make a witch's skirt--quite a fancy witch I might add.

The Fine Print:  Lion stamp by Stamps by Judith, dies by Spellbinders, twine by May Arts, the rest of the stuff from my stash.  Look ma! I actually used some animal print paper!!  By the way, this is a scheduled post as was yesterday's.  Tucson was due to get hit with Tropical Storm Odele and since we don't do rain well I may have already loaded my cats and rubber stamps up into the ark two by two and taken off.

A Case of CASE

I CASEd this card from another A Muse Consultant so my customers could make this card at a workshop this past weekend.  I really liked it and it turns out that they did too.

I just realized that my photo of the card makes it look awkwardly crooked, but it isn't in real life, although given how awkward I am it is a wondered it isn't all discombobulated for reals (like me!).

The Fine Print: Sorry, I don't remember which a|s consultant I copied, but she obviously has talent!  All the products are by A Muse Studio. Stamps--Come Fly with Me, World Map and Go, See, Do.  Cardstock--Seattle, Shell, Winter Sky, and Vanilla.  Inks--Memento black and pebble.  Other stuff--fiesta button assortment and vanilla twine.

Baby, It's Cold

Actually, these penguins have it all wrong.  It's cold inside. Again.  They (the powers that be) seem to have mistaken us for sides of beef and turned down the thermostat even lower than their usual frozen tundra temperature.

The Fine Print: I suspect they figure we'll be too cold to riot, but really we might riot just to stay warm and stave off frostbite.  All the stuff by A Muse Studio.  Just trust me on that.

Missing Monday

Hey, did you know it was Monday?  No, really.  Somehow I didn't get the memo and failed to notice.  Well, whatever; it's not like I missed out on something important.

But whatever day it is, rest assured that I am thinking of you.  No, really.

The Fine Print: It's all fine.  No, really.  Stamp by Stampin' Up and flowers by Prima and who the heck knows about the rest of the stuff.  Happy Monday!  No, really!!!!

More Sunflowers!!!!

No, I'm kidding of course.  Because, of course, today is a good day for a horse!

That's my new picket fence die, aren't you envious?  It's gonna be a lot of fun.

BTW, you know what isn't a lot of fun? Biology class!  It turns out that stuff is way too scientific for the likes of this crafty girl.

The Fine Print: Stamp by Penny Black, fence die by Memory Box, flowers by Prima, interesting "homemade" background paper from this stash I just found.  Have a good Sunday!

Happy Fall Sunflowers

If you thought we were done with sunflowers, you would be wrong.  I am doing this card at a workshop this weekend.  After pondering it, I did opt to pre-stamp and pre-die-cut the flowers and leaves for everyone. Can you imagine how long it would take for 10 ladies to cut out three flowers and three leaves each?!  They do have to color the flowers themselves though. And assemble the card.  Maybe they'll fall in love with this stamp as hard as I have.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps used--Sunflowers and Hey Foxy, cardstock used--Cherry, slate woodgrain, fern, and sugar, other products used--Sunflowers matching dies.

Purple Sunflowers!

Remember yesterday when I declared that sunflowers may be colored any color you chose?  Well, that still holds true today (and everyday hence).

I really wanted to make a purple flower so I did.  I also got crazy with the baker's cording and wrapped it like there is no tomorrow.  I used to do this technique (if you can call it that) with baker's twine a lot. That's because I have quite the stash of it and er... still do!  That stuff just goes and goes. I love that this roll is purple.  It is called baker's cording and it is thicker stuff than baker's cording.  It wraps much nicer than the regular twine.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps used--Sunflowers and Essential Sentiments II; cardtock used--grass,amethyst, and sugar; other products used--sunflowers matching dies and heather baker's cording.

Washi Tape Flowers

Not all sunflowers have to be yellow. I have declared this to be so, so be free and color your sunflowers any darn color you want, even fluorescent pink if that's what floats your boat.

I created the diagonal background with washi tape and I really like the look of it.  The thick strip is actually two of the same washi tapes next to each other.  The card base, the flower, and the ink on the greeting match a lot more in real life than they do on this scan.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps used--Sunflowers and Essential Sentiments II; cardstock--berry and sugar;other products used--corner chomper, tuxedo assortment washi tape, onyx glitter, and Sunflowers matching dies. 

Kraft Sunflowers

I really enjoyed yesterday's woodgrain paper with sunflower stamps, but you know what else goes good with sunflowers? Kraft!  Check it out:

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio. Stamps used--Sunflowers and Woo Hoo for You; cardstock used--kraft, fern, and sugar; other products--Sunflowers matching dies.

Eyelet Sunflowers

I went on a sunflower kick recently, using my new sunflowers and matching dies that I got from A Muse Studio.  I can fussy cut like a champ so I often don't get the matching dies but I took one look at these stamps and decided that matching dies was definitely the way to go.

I really like this woodgrain paper with the sunflowers.  I think the eyelets add to the rustic look of this card.  I haven't used eyelets in forever.  I think I need to bring them back on my radar.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamps and dies used--Sunflower; cardstock used--cherry woodgrain, onyx, fern and sugar; other supplies--toffee twine and antique brass eyelets.  Colored with Copics.

Make Up Monday: Birdless Birds

I've managed to scrape up a few more cards for Make Up Monday.  These are some oldies but goodies from the a kit called Birds of a Feather.

And this card is from the kit I constantly called Serenade but I think it really had a bird name to it.  It certainly had a bird stamp that came with it.

Except for one kind of vague bird butt, you'll notice that there aren't really any birds in my bird themed cards.  Life is like that sometimes.

The Fine Print: Birds of a Feather kit from Club Scrap with random things from my stash added in.  Serenade card from Simon Says Stamp.

Iris Folding Frame

I made this card at a workshop this past week (you know, because I didn't have anything else to do with my life*).  The class was about Iris Folding which I know about, but it is always good to see someone else's perspective on it.  I got some new ideas from this class. Plus I learned how to make this nifty frame for this festive card.

The Fine Print: *I've been really busy lately with school  and projects but mostly school. All the everything's by Stampin' Up. 

Everyone Remain Calm

Please, everyone, remain calm....     ....and carve on.  Well, maybe not quite yet.  It's probably a bit early.

I had fun making this card, deciding which Halloween colors to put together and faking up a scalloped border with circle punches. I colored in my spooky pumpkin's eye with a glitter pen so they gleam.  Here's a close up so you can see the mischievous glint in his eyes.

The Fine Print: This was only a test. I repeat, only a test of the global emergency Halloween network. If this had been a true emergency you would have been given information on where to do and what to carve.  All products sold by A Muse Studio.  Stamp sets used--Carve On and Peculiar Potions; cardstock used--wasabi petite polka dot, moss, orange, pumpkin, and onyx; other products--1" circle punch, Halloween baker's cording and Spica glitter pen.

Drink Up!

Of course I'm not done playing with Halloween stamps yet, especially not when this fun set is sitting around waiting to be inked up:

Dr. Palmer says, "Drink up!"  I'm sure that's just a misspelling there and they really meant Dr. Palmer's Peculiar Potions.  I mean, c'mon, have you ever tasted a drink I've mixed?!

The Fine Print: All Products sold by A Muse Studio.  Stamps used--Peculiar Potions; cardstock used--wasabi chevron, mushroom, pumpkin, and vanilla; colored with Copics--YG95 and YG0000; other products--Labels 1 and lime pearls (colored over with YG95).

Fiesta Banners

Today I have another sugar skull to share with you.  I paired this one with the new Halloween Fiesta banner set.  I'm not 100% crazy about this card but it gets the job done.

I stuck a clear twinkle sticker right in the middle of that skull's forehead.  I think he might need a couple on his eye sockets as well.  I also think he is in some serious need of oral hygiene.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamp sets used--Sugar Skulls and Halloween Fiesta; cardstock used--margarita, violeta, and sugar; inks used--blackberry, orange, margarita, berry, ocean, marigold, habenero, and Memento black; other products: Halloween baker's cording.

Lime Sugar Skull

As promised I have one of the new stamp sets from the A Muse Studio holiday mini catalog.  This one is a true winner in my eyes and I couldn't wait to get a hold of it.  And I couldn't wait to do it up in one of my favorite Halloween color combos: lime green and purple.

Isn't that Dia de los Muertos sugar skull a lot of fun?  There are four different sugar skulls in that set and a matching die for those of you who are morally opposed to fussy cutting.  I added in a very old favorite "technique" of pleating crepe paper across the front of the card along with some fabulous Halloween baker's cording.

I'm teaching this card at a gathering this evening, so we'll see how that pleated goes and if it makes people want to gnash their teeth, pull their hair and/or drink tequila.  That last one may or may not be related to pleating.

The winner of my last month's comment to win something A Muselying A Muse is Craftychris.  Comment on this post telling me if you celebrate Halloween and if you are doing anything special this year. At the end of the month I'll pick a random winner to win some onyx (that's "black" for you color impaired) and lime twinkle stickers.  They are perfect for Halloween or other occasions.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Stamp sets used--Sugar Skulls and Halloween Fiesta; cardstock used--grape, lime, and sugar; other supplies used--lime crepe paper, Halloween baker's cording, and lime green twinkle stickers; colored with Copics.

Holiday Hoopla!

It's here!  Holiday Hoopla is here!  The new A Muse Studio mini catalog is live and ready to be purchased from.  If you would like to see what it is in it you can visit my website HERE.  Contact me if you'd like to get your very own copy of the mini catalog.  It is chock full of Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Winter stamps 'n stuff.

There is also a special deal this month where if you have a qualifying workshop (means you've spent $150 or more before tax and shipping) then you get a special holiday hoopla set FREE.  That's it in the above flyer.  It is geared for Christmas as you can tell by the greetings, but leave it to me to be contrary.

I saw all those trees and leaves and immediately thought autumn and made this card.  You could just as easily make all the leaves bright green and have spring complete with a baby deer.  Or if you must, here is a winter/Christmas version as well.

Remember that all workshop orders have to come through me so you can get all your freebies.  And stay tuned for my upcoming blog posts that will show off some of the new stamps and products from the new catalog.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio.  Holiday Hoopla 2014 stamp set used. Fall card cardstock--cocoa, squash, toffee, and vanilla; fall card inks--latte, cocoa, current, habenero, fern, moss and Memento black; fall card other products--Fall in the Forest set for the greeting, French Roast ribbon and mini pearls.  Winter card cardstock-navy, shimmer silver, and sugar; winter card inks--pebble, cocoa, cherry, and Memento black; winter card other products--silver organdy ribbon and diamond glitter.

Make Up Monday: More Wild Flowers

I didn't exhaust my supply of these cards last week, so have some more to enjoy. I see this first card and wonder why I ever felt this kit was so card.  I glittered the greeting to make it sparkle.

 This card is basically just layering some of the items in the kit. I did add some punched circles so I felt like I was actually involved in the card making process.  The purple paper is shimmery.

These last two are note card sized. This is another one that was just layering so I stamped a sketched bouquet of flowers in the corner and added a twine bow.

To keep this card from being just another layering job I used a border die on one edge of the card, added a layered paper flower and brought out a greeting from another company.

The Fine Print: Cards and parts mostly by Club Scrap "Wild Flowers" kit, except for: paper flowers by Prima, glitter by Stickles, shimmer brad by unknown, photo corner and circle punches by EK Success, purple twine by May Arts, scallop border die by A Muse Studio, and birthday greeting by Hero Arts.