Amuse bouche

Hi, All! Yes, I am still here. I want bore you with the details of my chaotic life that has taken me away from my little piece of blogdom but I will mention that for 12, yes 12, horrid days I was without computer. To make it worse, because of this techno tragedy, I was unable to order my Summer release from A Muse in time to participate with the first of Amuse bouche! You definitely want to check out the blogs from the A Muse Creative Team 'cause these little peaks are smokin'! I'm hoping to get my goodies in time to play towards the end but with the Memorial Day long weekend, I'm not sure if my package will arrive in time! I do have a few things that I can share soon so be sure to check back in the next couple of days! Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe Memorial Day weekend and hoping you have a chance to get your fingers inky! Take care!

Newly Hatched Release and a Contest!!

Hello all of you A Muse fans! Just wanted to let you know that the latest release, Newly Hatched is up and running on the website. You will want to be sure to check out the A Muse news blog, also. Can we say "fun contest!"

Need instant gratification- be sure to check you lss to see if they already have the Newly Hatched stamps. If not, see if they are willing to put together an order. I like to do this because first, it supports a local brick and mortar store and secondly, it saves me money on shipping!

Wishing you fun Time and inky fingers! Take care!

Another Tidbit

Trying to play catch up after being gone this weekend but I had 1 more pre-prepared sample for the Newly Hatched amuse bouche! Aren't this images and sentiments fun. One thing that I {{{{{love}}}}} about A Muse images is how versatile they are! One example of this is how I used this adorable Baby Line stamp that I was already part of my collection with the brand new Spit happens sentiment. For being so little, babies sure can produce a lot of dirty laundry. Of course, I am so thankful for my washer and dryer- I would have hated to think about hanging clothes out to dry at the rate my little ones went through clothes! Hats off to any of you that had clothes lines when your kids were little!

Notecards by A Muse- Robin's egg blue, Yellow Chiffon, A Muse ribbon- Surf stitched grosgrain, and micro Twinkle stickers. Die cuts- Nestabilities, colors- Copic markers

Second helpings...

So were yesterday's peaks yummy or what? I had such fun perusing the list of Creative Team members blogs and finding so much creative inspiration for future cards and classes! Pure fun!
Today I am sharing a card I made using 2 new images from the Newly Hatched release. I am not typically a distresser but I am a huge fan of vintage baby memorabilia- baby books, baby cards, florist planters- I love them all. The adorable Plaid Bassinet reminded me of this look. After stamping it in a sepia dye-based ink (Marvy Uchida, I believe) I took a watercolor brush and drew out a bit of the sepia ink before adding some watercolored pink and blue via the direct from ink pad method (Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue dye based inks.) I felt the bassinet looked empty and since I absolutely adored the Star is Born sentiment I decided to use this little Falling Star image was just the thing. You often would find bits of glitter bling (love vintage glitter looks, too) so I added a touch to the little falling star. All paper edges were sponged with the sepia ink and a tiny bow of Cabana Blue stitched grosgrain topped it off. This was so fun to make! Stay tuned for more samples from this sweet collection! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers this weekend! Take care!

Notecards by A Muse- Chiffon pink, Sky Blue, Vintage brown; ribbon by A Muse- Cabana Blue stitched grosgrain; glitter Art Glitter Stardust

Amuse bouche?

Oui, oui, oui! While most of us are still reeling and squealing with delight over the Love Blooms release, the creative, talented and just plain ole hardworking gals at A Muse have done it again- a new release of MUST HAVE images! To tantalize your rubber appetites, the Creative Team is beginning today with a small smackeral of stamping yumminess! Be sure to check out the links to the left to see even more wonderful newness!

So... how many new images do can you find on this card? The answer- THREE! I have masked the super cute Kokeshi doll to place the Bamboo (stamped twice) as a background- perfect for an Asian theme. The 3rd new image is the Sakura flower- cut out and enhanced with glittering goodness! I really think this sentiment adds to the Asian theme and what better way to assure "good luck"- a happy little "cricket"- aka grasshopper colored in browns.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a second helping of Amuse bouche! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!

Notecards: Madeira green, French Roast, Popsicle pink (a muse); ink- Memento Tuxedo Black, Rose Bud; ribbon- sheer palm (a muse); Copic markers

With Sympathy

I don't know if most of you know it but like so many stampers, I began my stamping passion with SU. Tonight I found out that my sister stamper and SU up-line, Beckie and her six children, lost their husband and father to a sudden illness. If you would like, I would welcome you in joining me to send thoughts and prayers to Beckie and her family during this difficult time.

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Spring has definitely sprung here in Alabama (and my families allergies can prove it) so Easter is right around the corner. So what better time for an Easter Challenge by the DT at Jacksonbelle Embellishments. We would be so pleased to have you play along so fell free to upload your Easter cards to SCS (remember to use JBE047 in the keycode) or attach a link to the comments to this JBE Blog post. For some awesome Easter card inspiration, be sure to check out the designs of these JBE rockstars:

• AJ Otto
• Heather Lee-Reppen
• Jennifer Buck
• Jill Dunn
• Kim O'Rosky
• Kisa Peters
• Lynda Benden
• Lindsey Botkins
  
• Maren Benedict
• Melissa Bove
• Michelle Woerner
• Shannon Teubner
• Taylor Usry

For my challenge card I paired up 2 of my favorite goodies carried at Jacksonbelle Embellishment- Inkadinkado stamps and Cosmo Cricket! I have had this cute little bunny image since last year and this is the first time the little fella has seen ink (shameful, I know.) They are out of them on the website but if contact Lindsey, I'm sure she will see if she can get one for you! THIS cute little egg is still available and actually was part of the line that went along with the bun. For shadowing and accenting this image I used Pink Shimmerz and a paint brush. I really like the way this turned out- much more shimmery in person! I traced the image with a pencil using a Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie Blackboard Shapes egg. After cutting it out, I adhered it the actually chipboard piece. The remaining 2 eggs are from a sheet of Cosmo Cricket die cuts. I added a bit of Stardust Stickles, again using my handy paintbrush, to add some special sparkle to the eggs. This was a fun, mostly scrappy card! Wishing you fun Times and inky fingers! Take care!