one little spark ...

share your spark fridays ...

Happy Friday, everyone!  And welcome to another installment of Share Your Spark Fridays!

The a*muse*a*palooza website went live yesterday ... getting another exciting summer of A Muse goodness underway.  If you've been reading the A Muse News Blog (or blogs of the A Muse Creative Team) you'll know that there's a lot of fun coming you way (not to mention lots of new A Muse goodies)!

Thinking about a*muse*a*palooza this year, made me start thinking about  a*muse*a*palooza LAST year!  So I've pulled out a card I made with one of last year's a*muse*a*palooza releases!  And that brings me to this week's spark!

Make a card using a stamp you've had for a LONG time!

Maybe it's s stamp you've not touched in ages and maybe it's one you use all the time!  Either way, ink it up and share your spark!  *smile*

This cool cauldron was released last year and was a quick favorite of mine!  But it's been ages since I've inked it up! 

It's a simple, straigtforward design, with a bit of green glitter on the cauldron bubbles!

Now it's your turn!  And don't forget to share your spark by leaving a link to your creations in a comment on this post!   I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with this week!

Notecard, images; A Muse.  Ink: Staz-On Black, Versamark embossing ink. 

a*muse*a*palooza ...

   

Check it out!  The a*muse*a*palooza website goes live today!  Make sure you check it out and get all the details - it's gonna' be great fun!  (And don't forget to register!)

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I also want to thank everyone who's shared their spark so far this week!  Be sure to check out their creations and leave 'em some love!  *wink*

Tracy
Pat
Amanda
Rhonda
Geeta
Sheila
Lee Anne

late night ...

D and I had a night out last night - went to see Duran Duran in Denver.  It was a fun night.  Sooo different than the last time we saw them together, which was, over 13 years ago (and way more different than the time I saw them before that - I didn't even have my driver's license for that one)!

So many funny comments about vision and Mom's and ... wow ... the "dancing" and flipped-up collars.   I felt so old.  *lol*  D and I had a LOT of laughs.

A couple of phone photos ... they only allowed non-professional cameras in, so we used our phones!

   

summer fun ...

Sharing a little bit of A Muse newsletter goodness today!  (You can sign up here!)  This card was a part of last Friday's edition!  Really makes me want to get our grill up and running ... how about you guys? 

My favorite bit on this card is the coloring on the grill.  Yes, it's grey, but I used a Sakura Souffle pen to give it a fun matte texture.  Really reminds me of a well-used charcoal grill!

Notecard, Pretty Little Paper, images, sentiments; A Muse.  Ink; Staz-On Black.  Copic Original Markers.  Sakura Souffle Pen.

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Michelle and I had a "hot date" (as she called it) online Saturday night to do a little trip planning.   We found some cool options for avoiding lines in Rome, emailed a few monasteries and convents to see if they had lodging available (figured that would be a unique place to stay), and altered our stopping point between Paris and Rome to spend a few hours in Geneva.  Planning is good.  The trip is, I would say, about 90% planned and booked.  Just a few things left to cross off the list!  Which is good considering it's just a bit over three weeks away.  Wow ... can hardly believe that!

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And ... the a*muse*a*palooza blog is going live in just a few days!   

share your spark fridays ...

Happy Friday, everyone!  And welcome to another installment of Share your Spark Fridays! 

Yesterday I shared a card I'd made using a punch to add a fun element!  And that brings me to this week's challenge:

Make a card using a punch or punches!  Any kind, shape, or size you like!

Punches come in so many shapes and sizes these days that the possibilities are nearly endless!  There are SO many ways to use them and I can't wait to see what you create and share!

Here's what I did!

When Emily and I were hanging out in my craft room the other day she was working on cards inspired by a design she'd seen in a Martha Stewart magazine: the design included a wave.  I'm not sure how the card in the Martha mag achieved it's wave, but this one was done with a three-quarter-inch circle punch!

I drew a line along the edge of the cardstock to the depth I wanted to punch, inserted the paper into the punch until the top rounded part of the circle punch was on the line I drew, then punched!  The next punch is made the same way, eye-balling the punch's position next to the last to achieve the peak of the wave.  I did this all along the blue kitchen notecard scrap, then repeated it on white and layered them (slightly off-center of one another).  The card base is the green shade from the just-released Chiffon Collection of notecards.

I stamped fishy three times on white cardstock, colored them in with shades of blue Copic Original Markers, and added pretty, superfine glitter to some of the fins with a quickie glue pen.

Now it's YOUR turn!  And don't forget to share your spark by leaving a link to your punched creations in a comment on this post!   I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with this week!

Notecard, patterned paper, images, sentiment; A Muse.  Copics Original Markers used; B41, and BG10.  Ink; Palette Hybrid Black. 

happy birthday ...

I needed to make a few birthday cards this month and this is one them!  Some will arrive on time and a couple will be cutting it close.  I hate it when that happens, but it's the thought that counts, right?  *smile* 

This card was totally inspired by banners Linda made for her girls! 

I made my banners with a cool Marvy punch I'd never ever seen before!  The punch actually makes banners (ok, triangles) much larger, but only putting my scraps partially into the punch made for smaller banners.  (Linda gave me a great tip: mark the punch on the underside so you can punch smaller banners the same size each time!) 

Rumor has it that this punch is going away soon.  Which is SO sad.  I hope it's not true.  It's a GREAT punch ... so many ideas for it!  The A Muse shop still had a few when I was there last week.  (Give 'em call or drop them an email to see if they have any left if you're interested.)

The letters spelling out "happy" on the banner and "birthday" on the bottom are from the Birthday Builders set.  Which I absolutely love!  I use the numbers and sentiments for so many things.  Not JUST for birthdays!

I'll admit that putting the banner together was a little fussy, but not THAT bad.  I tied the knot on one end, placed the banners on with glue dots, and knotted the other end once they were all in place. 

Oh yeah ... and it's all done on an inside-out yellow 4-bar kitchen notecard! 

Notecard, images, ribbon; A Muse.  Ink; Palette Hybrid Black

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In other birthday news: Emily came over to work on her daughter's birthday invitations today!  They're too stinkin' cute too ...

Every year she makes the invites and every year I take a pic like this: her with her finished creation.  *smile*  Her daughter will be 4 this year and this is my favorite card so far!  If you want know more about her invites, you can get more details on HER blog.  I finally talked (ok, badgered) her into starting one to share her cute mini albums and cards with, at least, my mom and hers.  *laugh*

By the way ... she cut the circle on the front with the new Martha Stewart circle cutter.  Linda recently added it to her favorite things and I can totally see why.  It made such quick work of cutting the front opening!  Seriously fast!  And there are about a bazillion different size options.  Emily, who is quick to poo-poo any new tool I get, was even impressed.  *laugh*

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And speaking of new blogs!  Tami has a new one too: It's All in the Details! Be sure to check it out! 
 

 

playing catch up ...

I don't know where the last two weeks have gone!  Time is passing SO fast!  So ... I'm playing a little catch up today and posting (finally!) my cards from VMAA Two!  (If you're not familiar with VMAA, check out the A Muse Addicts site for the details!)  It was such a fun night ... thanks to Geeta, Michelle, Jennie, and Rhonda for hosting another great evening of stamping and fun!

challenge number one - use no embellishments

challenge number two - glitter

challenge number three - sketch challenge

challenge number four - black and white

I know, I know.  It was April and I was already using Halloween stamps?!  Well, sure!  I LOVE Halloween and rarely ever just get to PLAY with my Halloween pretties, so this was the perfect chance!  And I was SO excited to get to the shop and see that I could use the new 4bar orange kitchen notecards (which I used for the glitter challenge)!

I turned the webcam on my laptop on during the event, but it was so chaotic I barely had time to stamp, much less chat!  *laugh*  But I tried to check in as I could.  =)

I'm already looking forward to the next VMAA!

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And ... I haven't been able to play the past few weeks, but Mom and I both did her challenge together this week!  The challenge was to make a 12x12 layout with 16 squares!  I REALLY liked this challenge!  It was right up my alley and a lot of fun!  Here's the layout I did!

Ok ... I *THINK* I'm all caught up now!  *wink*

back to normal ...

Thanks to the gals that have shared their spark so far this week!  Be sure to check out their creations!

Jenn
Tracy
Sheila
Pat
Elena

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I took Mom to the airport yesterday morning and she's back home safe and sound.  I didn't have anyone to craft with tonight.  Such a bummer after having her here to hang out with for a week.  Hopefully she'll be back soon.  =)

Now it's time to get back to life as normal.

While Mom was here I worked on a ton of fun things, so I'll be back later today to catch up and share not only my way-past-due VMAA cards (although I did show folks on the webcam that night).  *laugh*  (Shame on me for not having 'em photographed yet!)

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I finally uploaded all my photos from the trip out to Washington state.  You can check out my photos of Mukilteo here ...

or

A few photos from the Skagit County Tulip festival here.   

Hope you're week is getting off to a great start!

bonjour ...

One month from today Michelle and I will be off to Europe!  Time is flying by!  In honor of the "one month to go" mark, I give you a little something different ...

Back when I started stamping a did a lot of detailed, layered, embellished, vintage-looking cards.  I still love the look, but find I stray away from it these days in favor of clean, simple designs (which is where I've found my stamping happy place).  But every now and again I like to revisit the vintage look.

But even this design is simple.  The base image is a reproduction of a vintage postcard.  I stamped "bonjour" and the postmarks in the upper right corner, added a bit of glitter using a glue pen, and inked around the edges.  And that is it!

A close-up of the added glitter.

It was a fun, easy design!

Cardstock, glitter; Stampin Up.  Images and sentiment; Cavallini.  Ink; Versamark Black, Cat's Eye Chalk ink in Chestnut Roan.

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In other news, Mom and I have been having a great time.  A little bit of sightseeing, a little bit of shopping, and a LOT of crafting.  She's making cards like mad and checking the Addicts site daily to see if there are more challenges for her to do while she has access to my A Muse stash.  *laugh*  But today we took a break from the crafty goodness to check out a local market called "A Paris Street Market."  I mean, with a name like that I almost HAVE to go.  I took a few photos to share ...

Mom looking through some old stamps ...

Some goodies I found - fifty cent travel books from the 50's and an old charm bracelet.

Mom will likely protest when she sees this photo up on the blog, but despite the wind-whipped hairdo, I think it's really cute!  (The wind was blowing sorta' hard from behind her, causing her hair to look slighty wonky.  *laugh*)

The drive home ...

Hope you guys are enjoying the weekend!  We're off to do a bit more sightseeing today ...

share your spark fridays ...

Wow!  I can't believe how FAST this week went by!  This time last week I was posting from my hotel in Seattle and this week I'm playing in my crafty space with my Mom (who's visiting for the week)!   Time is FLYING by!  But you know what Friday means around here: another installment of Share Your Spark Fridays!

This week I experienced a first: my first EVER cup of coffee!  I know, everyone I've told has been shocked!  *laugh*  But, alas, it's true.  I've never been a coffee drinker.   However, I wasn't about to leave Seattle without at least TRYING a cup.  Which I did.  At the first-ever Starbucks' in Pike Place Market (a caramel macchiato - and I liked it)!  In honor of THAT momentus *wink* occassion I made the card for this week's spark.  And used a cute little green brad on the cup as the "logo."

And that is this week's spark: use a brad (or brads) in a fun creative way!

The coffee cup is one of the brand-spanking-new images just released yesterday and the sentiment is from the Coffee Break set.  (You can check out the new goodies here.)   

Now it's YOUR turn!  And don't forget to share your spark by leaving a link to your cool creations with brads in a comment on this post! Thanks to everyone who shared a spark last week!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with this week!

Notecard, image, sentiment, chocolate 4 bar kitchen notecard, french roast stitched grosgrain ribbon; A Muse.  Ink; Staz-On Timber Brown.  Brad; Queen & Co.

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I finally figured out my photo album uploading issues and have addded an A Muse Shop album over on the left.  It has a few photos of the shop and a few shots from VMAA*two. 

And for anyone wanting to check out photos from the trip ... shots from the first day are up here.  With more to come just as soon as Mom and I are doing less running around!  *wink*

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Speaking of Mom ... we're having a blast!  We spend the first full day in my crafty space playing and today we did a little shopping and sightseeing in town.  It's good to have her here!