Where have I been?

 

Waimea Bay, HI

I just finished a lovely vacation in Hawaii.  We gathered with a large group of my husband's family for a family vacation and celebration.  My brother in law rented a huge house right on the beach near North Shore Oahu that fit 18 of us comfortably.  We spent a lot of time at beaches, swimming, snorkeling and soaking up the sun.  Here's a little watercolor sketch I made in my art journal while we were chillin' at Waimea Bay one day.

  

Waimea Bay is famous for its big waves in the Winter but in the Summer is is docile and flat.  Its perfect for people like me who just want to float and relax. We put up an umbrella in the sand and took turns floating and reading in the shade.  Warm turquoise waters and pink sands are the cure for what ails the human spirit.  Tomorrow I go back to my cubicle but I will have warm memories to sustain me.

Craftwell eBosser Blog Hop

Welcome to the Craftwell eBosser blog hop. Scroll down to see today's special and to see the next stop in the hop.

For today's card I used the Craftwell 8 1/2" x 11" embossing folder to make 4 card fronts in one pass! I trimmed and mounted one of them on my card base.  Then I was able to cut the pretty scalloped lace piece and the three butterfly dies also in one pass!  It took about one minute to make all the cuts and embossing for this card! Yes, I had to go to a birthday party FAST! I inked the edges, cut some pretty paper strips and assembled everything super FAST and easy because lately that's the way I ROLL!

If you haven't used the eBosser yet you should give it a try.

• I became an affiliate because I simply adore this machine!  
• I am able to emboss and cut all the dies I need for a class in minutes!  
• It cuts through thin chipboard or felt like butter.  
• It can also cut fabric and other fun things easily and quickly. 
• Cuts or embosses up to 8 1/2" x 11"
• Cuts multiple dies at once.
• Quiet and easy to use.
• Saves wear and tear on your hands and shoulders--no cranking!

Click now to take advantage of an amazing special!  This special only lasts 24 hours from Saturday June 15, 2013 at 8:00 AM ET until Sunday June 16th at 8:00 AM EASTERN TIME! During the special time only; you can get this AWESOME machine for only $199.00. 

Includes:

• Three embossing folders
• Rubber mat
• Magnetic shim
• Retail value of $264.00 

 You will kick yourself if you wait too long and miss this sale! The $199 deal is like getting Black Friday pricing in June! 

Save time and effort with the Craftwell eBosser--the best automatic embossing and die-cutting machine that uses any standard dies and more!

Next up is LAWN FAWN.  I LOVE their stamps and everyone there is so NICE!

Below are the links in order in case you missed anyone. 

• http://SewCalGal.blogspot.com
• http://MountainsideBride.com
• http://purplepaperparadise.blogspot.com
• Llamatales.blogspot.com  (YOU ARE HERE)
• http://lawnfawn.blogspot.com
• http://jazmin-rose.blogspot.com
•  http://blog.craftwellusa.com

Card Supplies used:

• 8 1/2 x11" Embossing folder from Craftwell
• Butterfly dies from A Muse Studio 
• Border die from Cheery Lynn Designs

Check in tomorrow for something awesome!

Thought I'd try out my mobile blogging app so I can warn you about something tomorrow. Come back for an awesome deal on a great tool! 

In the meantime here's a happy gekko from Tahiti who keeps me company at work!

And tonight I'll fall asleep with you in my heart!

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store

I seldom make pink cards but I couldn't resist this pretty Valentine's theme.
 

All supplies from A Muse Studio:

All for Love

Love  Me Do

Valentine Washi Tape

Big Heart Die Set

Shell Paper

Pebbles Shimmer Chalks

Memento Cocoa Ink

Shell Ink Pad

1/4" Shell Organdy Ribbon

Goodbye Gingham!

Supplies available from my  A Muse Studio Store

I absolutely adore the A Muse Studio gingham paper.  I was stunned to find that it is being discontinued.  The good thing is you can still get it till the end of February and it is 30% off too!  Another fun discontinued item is the Perfectly Polished Stamp set that is also 30% off until it is discontinued till the end of the month.

This card features white embossed flatware and some pretty buttons on top of a cute cut up doily that I used to make a scalloped edge.  Time to get ready for a picnic!  

Supplies Used from A Muse Studio:

Perfectly Polished Stamp Set

 Blueberry Cardstock

Cobalt Cardstock

Blueberry Gingham Cardstock

3 1/2" Doily

Navy Buttons

Versamark Ink

White Embossing Powder

Glue Dots

Stamp set and Gingham paper 30% off through February at my  A Muse Studio Store

Two Cards; One Sketch

 How about a fun card sketch today?  I made two different Valentines using this sketch. Both cards feature the cute 3 1/2" doilies from A Muse Studio.  I also used the Heart Trio Die to make a peek-a-boo hole in the front so the inside of the card shows through.  The remaining heart that is cut out is popped up using 3D Foam Tape on the inside.

Supplies available from my  A Muse Studio Store

Come Fly With Me Card Inside

Come Fly With Me Stamp Set

Supplies Used:

Come Fly With Me Stamp Set

Cherry Cardstock

Cherry Heartbreaker Cardstock 

Onyx Versafine Ink

Cherry Ink

3 1/2" Doily

Cherry 1/4" Polka Dot Organdy

Heart Trio Die
3D Foam Tape 

Supplies available from my  A Muse Studio Store

Just Because Card Inside

Just Because Stamp Set

Supplies Used: 

Just Because Stamp Set 

 Burano Cardstock (renamed to Poppy in the 2013 catalog)

Shell Cardstock 

Washi Paper (Imported from Japan)

 Cherry Ink 

White Gel Pen

Sugar Pearl Stickers

 3 1/2" Doily 

 Burano Satin Ribbon (renamed to Poppy in the 2013 catalog)

Organdy Heart Trio Die

3D Foam Tape

Corner Rounder

 

Craftwell eBosser - Embossing

I'm so excited that I get to use the Craftwell eBosser for a couple of weeks.  The eBosser is a brand new automatic die cutter.  Yes, you may be thinking that you can do the same thing with your manual die-cutter, but this machine is AWESOME!  It can cut and emboss up to 8.5x11" and runs through intricate dies like you won't believe!  It takes no effort on your part to run it through and it only takes about 30 seconds to smoothly feed through the machine.  It's pretty quiet too considering all the work it is doing. 

Love and tag dies available from my A Muse Studio Store

 

My loaner machine came with 3 full-sized embossing folders.  By "full-size" I mean 8.5x11"!  I didn't have to cut my paper at all and you can see below that it just left a small 1/4" margin around the page.  It gave a nice deep emboss too!  I love that I don't have to crank my machine or hurt my hand, wrist or shoulder to use the eBosser. My cousin has a lot of shoulder pain so she invested in this machine because she cuts a LOT of dies and she couldn't be happier with it.

Supplies Used:

8.5 x 11" Embossing Folder - Craftwell

Big Heart Die set - A Muse Studio

Holiday Tag Die set - A Muse Studio

Kraft paper - A Muse Studio

French Roast Twine - A Muse Studio

Striped Ribbon - Stampin' Up

Meow Kitty Paper - Best Creation

  

One Little Word - 2013

Cloud paper and dies available from my A Muse Studio Store

I wish you all a wonderful, healthy and prosperous new year.  Each year I try to pick a word to focus on as a way to "set my course" and keep on track with things throughout the year. 

PS: I just found out that they are discontinuing both the cloud paper and dies and they are only available until Jan 31, 2013 (or until supplies last!)  I'm really going to miss these products--they are some of my favorites ever!

This year I decided that my word should be "up!"  To help keep up with it a little better than I did last year (which was not at all, ha ha!) I decided to sign up for Ali Edwards "One Little Word" class.  I thought this would make the word more visible to me than in years past and I could really get into using my word as a tool for personal introspection and growth.  To go along with the task I updated a little book from an old notebook I got at a trade show.  I discarded the branded cover and added a new cute cover with some of my favorite paper and cloud punches from A Muse Studio to make my new upcycled book.

Don't you think the cloud paper is adorable!?  Hopefully it will remind me to look up and keep my thinking upscale this year.  The words are made using Bodoni font which I just love for its happy feel. Doesn't this just want to make you sing "Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon"? 

I cut the cloud dies out with the new electronic Craftwell eBosser that they are letting me borrow for a couple of weeks so I can review it and put it through it's paces.  So far I am LOVING it and I plan to upgrade from my old purple Wizard soon.  The eBosser cut through chipboard like butter and just went through the machine with no fuss and absolutely no effort on my part.  It cuts up to 8.5x11" too so you can cut multiple dies at once.  You don't have to worry about putting something too thick through the machine and breaking it.  If you try, it simply gives a gentle beep and backs the machine up for you. 

Easy and Elegant Cards

I wanted to make a few card sets for gifts this year but unfortunately I didn't get around to stamping any.  Instead I made them quick and easy on the Silhouette Cameo.  (I used Design ID #7646 from Valerie Foster in case you're interested). 

All the card bases use A Muse Studio papers because I wanted the cards to be white on the inside.  The lace layer uses Stampin' Up Vanilla textured cardstock.

A Quick Card

I'm having an impromptu baby shower for a friend at work tomorrow so I needed a quick card that I could pass around for everyone to sign.  She's having twins!

I used my brand new Silhouette Cameo to cut out a giant duckie out of 12x12 paper using a design from their store.  I used the maximum size of the paper diagonally to make the card and cut one of textured yellow paper and another of lightweight print for the inside. I added an orange beak, a button eye and a ribbon on the fold of the card to hold the layers together. 

Happy (Spooky) Halloween!

I just love Halloween and all the cards and decorations are my favorite this time of year.  Here's a simple card that is so fun to make!  The felt from A Muse Studio runs through my die-cutter like BUTTER!  It is awesome to use

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store:

• Stamp set from A Muse Studio: Candy Corn Kisses
•  Solid Cardstock from A Muse Studio: Wasabi, Slate
• Chevron Cardstock from A Muse Studio: Wasabi
• Versafine Onyx Black Ink
• Felt from A Muse Studio: Onyx  
• 3D Foam Adhesive
• Die Set from A Muse Studio: Big Bats Trio  

 

Card for Baby

Seems like I am always short on time lately so I needed a quick and simple card for my friend's shower.  They are having a boy so I didn't want a frilly card!  Don't you think the paper-piecing is fun?  It's always one of my favorite things to do.

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store

• Stamps from A Muse Studio: Little Peanuts
• Solid Cardstock from A Muse Studio: Sky, Blueberry
• Patterned Cardstock from A Muse Studio: Seattle Chevrons, Seattle Petite Polka Dots
• Versafine Onyx Ink
• 3D Foam Adhesive

 

A Muse Studio Holiday Sneak Preview

Supplies available from my  A Muse Studio Store

Don't you love a holiday set that can do double-duty?  A Cup of Good Cheer is a great set for Christmas, Winter and you can use it year round to send a fun card to someone!  This one is going to someone special who loves stamping almost as much as I do!

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store in August.

• Cardstock: Cobalt, Fern, Washi Chevron (new!), Bermuda Dots
• Stamps: A Cup of Good Cheer (new!)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Halloween Collection Washi Tape (new!)
• Copic Markers
• 3D Foam Adhesive

100 Days

Toil and Trouble Stamps available from my  A Muse Studio Store

Oh!  There's only 100 days 'till Halloween according to my handy app that I use to countdown.  Luckily, I just got some of the coolest Halloween stamps to show you as part of my sneak previews for Holiday Hoopla coming in August (along with the new A Muse Studio Holiday catalog!)

We have six new Splash! paint sprays that are so fun to play with.  They are a matte finish but if you feel the need to sparkle, you can always add a layer of our stardust finishing spray if you like.  I decided to leave it plain because it just suited me this time.

Actually, I grabbed the first piece of paper I could find and did a spritz of each color and some dribbles of the Washi Splash! just for fun.  I lucked out because it was our awesome Sleepy Hollow cardstock and the paint looked amazing sprayed on top of it.  so I cut it to fit my card and added a little cat and a spooky sentiment from our new Toil and Trouble stamp set.  Easy-peasy!

Do you know my husband asked me how many spooky cat stamps I needed?  You know my answer of course ("All of them!")

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store in August.

• Cardstock: Currant, Nutmeg, Spooky Hollow
• Ink: Versafine
• Splash! Sprays: Wasabi (new!), Winter Sky (new!), Orange (new!), Blackberry (new!), Slate (new!), Cherry (new!)
• Stamps: Toil and Trouble (new!)
• 3D Foam Adhesive

Is it a Card or is it an ATC?

Is it a Card or is it an ATC?  Today, it's BOTH!  I had so much fun teaching this class a couple of months ago.  I wanted to teach ATCs to a new group of people but I thought I would be practical and they could make cards and attach the ATCs if they wanted to mail them to a friend.

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store.

First up is a card made using the British Invasion set from A Muse Studio.  Someday I will go to London and see how beautiful it is up above from the London Eye!  The background here is made using the Let Freedom Ring set which I stamped using my Versamark pad and colored using the pretty Pebbles Shimmer Chalks.  Add some Washi tape and Glitter with a pretty twinkle sticker in the center to add a little glitz.  The sentiment is cut from a book page and I outlined it using my Copic Multiliner pen.  The stripe of glitter is added to some sticky 1/2" tape to make an easy and perfect sparkly stripe!

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store.

To make this into a card, I simply stamped in pumpkin ink on pumpkin paper using one of our Swanky Background stamps.  Easy and fun!  I put an ATC sleeve on the front of the card so you can pull the ATC out and put it in your collection.

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store.

The second card is using our Come Fly with Me set with the beautiful Eiffel Tower!  The top paper is one of my favorites--clouds! I tore a piece off and outlined the clouds with my Multiliner.  The bottom background is just some direct-to-paper stamping with the Grape and Onyx pads.  I added some hand-drawn posies and drew shadow lines around the tower for fun.  If you look at the close-up you can see how the ATC sparkles.  Our Stardust Finishing Spray is the prettiest sparkle spray out there!  It is clear with iridescent sparkles that pick up the color of your project.

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store.

To make the card I stamped using the Mad For Plaids Background zig zag stamp to make an Onyx frame for the Grape-colored card.  Now I'm off to bed where I will dream of flying away to Paris so I can see the Eiffel Tower and sing songs about love!

Happy Easter!

I made this card for the gals in my Copic Club.  It uses the colors we are focusing on this month.  The whole card was colored with only three colors and a blending pen.  I added a little sparkle with my Spica Glitter Pen too!  

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio Store

Copic Markers used:

• BV00 - Mauve Shadow
• B41 - Powder Blue
• G82 - Spring Dim Green

Other Supplies:

• Stamps: For Peeps Sake set from A Muse Studio
• Solid Cardstock from A Muse Studio: Shell, Lemon Whip, Sugar
• Gingham Cardstock from A Muse Studio:  Bubblegum, Sage, Sky, Blueberry
• 1/4" Organdy Ribbon from A Muse Studio: Eucalyptus
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black 
• Spica Glitter Pen 

Studio Stampers February Blog Hop

Welcome to our A Muse Studio blog hop. You should have come here from Kristen's blog but if not you can go to Karen's blog to start at the beginning.

All Supplies available from my A Muse Studio web store!

As soon as I saw the British Invasion set I knew I had to have it!  Luckily, I had some free stamp credits from making sales goals so I was able to order it this month--yippee!

I decided to make a fun and simple card with the cute little taxi cars and line them up all in a row.  Each one is mounted on Blueberry paper and popped up with foam adhesive.  Notice the black layer?  I used our impression plate to deboss the swirls onto the paper to add some texture.

Next stop: Angie's blog

All supplies from A Muse Studio.

• Stamps: British Invasion (new!)
• Cardstock: Burano (new!), Onyx, Sugar, Blueberry
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
• Ribbon: 1/4" Onyx Grosgrain
• Web/Swirls Impression Plate
• 3D Foam Adhesive

British Invasion available from my A Muse Studio web store!

Here is the blog list in order:
Karen Crisp http://www.papernstamps.blogspot.com
Kathy Hatzke http://www.kathatstamps.blogspot.com
Kristen Watson http://branchandsky.blogspot.com
Lianna Vigil <------------YOU ARE HERE!
Angella Schellenberg http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com
Lisa Wakabayashi http://dragonfliesandcats.blogspot.com


 

Penny Black Valentines

I have an affinity for umbrella stamps the way some people like pears (oh, of course I like pears too!) I just think it is a sweet theme; especially since it never rains here in Southern California!

Penny Black stamps available at http://www.thestamproprietor.com/

Today's card uses some sweet Mimi stamps from Penny Black.  I colored them with Copic markers and added some Heart Rain Drops acrylic Stickers from Cloud 9 Designs.  The papers are from Memory Box.

Here's a detail showing the hearts up close!

Penny Black stamps available at http://www.thestamproprietor.com/

Supplies:

• Penny Black - Mimis many loves 30-091
• Memory Box  - Valise 6x6 paper
• Memento Tuxedo Black
• Cloud 9 Design - Heart Rain Dots
• Copic Markers - 0, E00, E01, E11, E13, E15, E17, W5, R32, R24, BG10, B39, B93
• Pink cardstock from Stampin' Up!

New Product Blog Hop

All supplies available from my A Muse Studio web store!

Thanks for joining our A Muse Studios Blog hop to showcase our new catalog.  You can see the new catalog here.  Hopefully you got here from Angi's Blog, but if not you can start at the beginning at Karen's Blog.

Today I embossed the small Floral Duet outline in Sugar on our new Rialto cardstock.   I added some pretty Vanilla pearls and ribbon for an elegant touch.  I'm also submitting this card to the Operation Write Home Die Cuts Challenge this week and sending the card on to one of our heroes overseas!

All Supplies from A Muse Studio.

• Stamps: Floral Duet (new!), Hand Scripted
• Cardstock: Rialto (new!), Vanilla
• Ink: Versamark
• Vintage Labels diecut
• Sugar Embossing Powder
• Vanilla Pearl Stickers
• Vanilla Ribbon
• Vintage Labels Die set
• 3D Foam Adhesive

Your next stop is Carissa's Blog

Here is the blog hop in order:

Karen Crisp http://www.papernstamps.blogspot.com/ 
Pamela Fredrickson http://attemptedcreativity.blogspot.com/ 
Angi Kelley http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/ 
Lianna Vigil YOU ARE HERE!
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/

Sneak Preview - Day 15

The Hey Cupcake stamp set is perfect for so many occasions and especially for birthdays!

A Muse Studio Sneak Peek!

Emboss the sentiment with Sugar EP and then add some Washi tape to the card base.  Stamp Swanky Backgrounds onto Sugar cardstock using Bermuda ink.  Attach to other nested shapes and mount on card using 3D Foam Adhesive.  Stamp candle with Tuxedo Black Memento ink on Sugar cardstock.  Mask the candle and stamp the cupcake.  Color using Copics and cut close to edge.  Mount using 3D Foam Adhesive.

All supplies from A Muse Studio.

• Stamps: Hey Cupcake (new!), Swanky Backgrounds
• Cardstock: Grapefruit (new!), Bermuda, Shell, Sugar
• Inks: Bermuda, Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
• Copics: Y02, Y08, B00, B02, W2, RV02, R00, R32
• Washi Tape
• White Embossing Powder
• 3D Foam Adhesive