A Muse Studio

Stamp Out Breast Cancer Grand Prize Winner!

 

Hi friends!

It's with extraordinary pleasure that we announce our Stamp Out Breast Cancer Grand Prize winner--congratulations Karen McAlpine! Yahoo!!

We recently shipped her over $2,000 in yummy A Muse Studio products: custom cardstock, yummy satin ribbon, exclusive dies, embellishments galore, and more! It was so fun putting together her prize pack, we could hardly wait to hear from Karen once her goodies arrived! Luckily she didn't make us wait long, and she's created a wonderful blog post to share the love with all of you!

It's been wonderful getting to know Karen a bit, and we absolutely love that some of the ink and stamps will become perfect work supplies for one of her crafty charities, and that she's already planning to transform her winnings into cards for charity as well. Giving that keeps on giving...

How can ya not feel good about that?! *chuckle* Certainly put a smile on our faces. We can't wait to see what she makes!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in our first ever Stamp Out Breast Cancer campaign--you truly touched our hearts with your enthusiasm, personal stories, and support for this important issue. We learned a lot from you!

Wishing for...

This year get what you really want for Valentine's day - A Muse Studio products! 

Use this handy dandy wish list to let your honey know exactly what you'd like for Valentine's day.  Casually drop it on the floor on his side of the bed, slip it in with the Super Bowl snacks or wrap it around the bacon in the fridge. Get creative!

Download Wish-list

 

 

 

Love Me Two Times!

No - this is not in reference to the song by The Doors!  :)

I have TWO 'love' cards to share with you today.  This first card, designed by Jodi, is stunning in it's simplicity.  She cut the word love out of a white A2-sized card (using the love die that is part of our Big Heart die set.)  To add a pop of color, she placed Cherry cardstock behind the white card front and WOW!  Stunning.  A bit of Cherry A Muse Studio Satin ribbon is the perfect finishing touch.

 

This next card, designed by Novell, showcases a fun resist technique with our Splash! inks.  She stamped the large heart from our At First Sight stamp set in Versamark ink and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder.  She then sprayed our Grapefruit Splash! ink over the image for a burst of color. I love it!

If you have not yet checked out all of our fun products for Valentine's Day, you can click here to view a copy of our newest catalog or contact your A Muse Studio Creative Consultant.

Have a 'love'ly day!

Valentine's Day - inspiring treats!

Sweets for your sweetie(s) on Valentine's Day?  You bet!  Sweets don't always have to be sugary!  Here we tied two pretty pencils together with our new Blush Baker's Cording and a sweet tag. 

This adorable little treat box made from our Cherry Heartbreaker and clear cardstock could be filled with so many fun things! 

And, here's one more treat box that would be perfect for a couple of chocolate truffles or Hershey's kisses.  The word 'love' is from our new Large Heart die set, the red heart is stamped from our At First Sight stamp set with Cherry ink and Cranberry Glitter. So sparkly in real life!

What are your favorite Valentine treats to make and receive? 

All for love - more Valentine's Day inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I've got some more Valentine's Day inspiration for your designed by Novell. 

All for Love is a new stamp set from our Valentine's day catalog.  The images in this set are gorgeous and can be used for year-round craft projects. 

This first card beautifully demonstrates that this set is not strictly for Valentines.  I love the gold washi tape accent from our holiday metallics washi tape collection.  Have you noticed the trend towards the use of gold in fashion and home decor?

Here is a gorgeous card that is perfect for that special someone in your life!  I love the striking simplicity of this design.  The red heart just leaps off the page.  The sentiment on this card is from another new stamp set called Love Me Do.

The last card I am sharing today shows the gorgeous details in the stamped images of the bird and flower.  Check out the pretty row of sequins on the bottom of the card.  Sequins is another trend we're seeing in fashion right now.  It's so easy to incorporate them into your crafting... a little strip of A Muse Studio Super Stick tape is all you need!

Be sure to check out all of the fabulous Valentine's Day products we've recently added to our product line-up.  New stamps, Splash!, Sequins, Baker's Cording, Paper Straws, Washi Tape and more!  Your A Muse Studio consultant would LOVE to design a workshop for you. 

Have a beautiful day!

 

Spotlight - time to save!

Each month, we select 5 stamp sets to feature in our Studio Spotlight along with a gorgeous color palette.  These stamps and an assorted paper pack are available for a special price for the entire month. 

For our January Spotlight, we are featuring the following stamp sets: 

• Let it Snow
• Winter Stag
• Snow Day Background
• Best of Times
• Graceful Greetings

 

I love this wintery palette. It feels just right for January crafting. 

A stack of thank you cards is always handy to have.  Jenna designed these simple, gorgeous cards. She combined images from the Winter Stag and Graceful Greetings stamp sets.  These would make a lovely gift.

 

After the holidays, I prefer a more neutral option for gift wrapping and this feels just right.  The snowflakes from the Let it Snow stamp set look fun and wintery stamped in Eucalyptus ink.  I also love the Kraft paper paired with our Vanilla twine.  Did you notice the fold in the wrapping that allows you to tuck a gift card inside?  So clever!

Here are a few different tag options.  I love the snowflake stamped in while on Eucalyptus cardstock. 

I will be back with more Spotlight projects to share with you.  I hope you have a beautiful day.  It is sunny here in Seattle for a change (but rather chilly!) 

Happy stamping!

 

 

 

 

So lovely - a bit of Valentine's Day inspiration

Happy Friday!  I finally feel like I am getting into the swing of the new year... takes me a week or two. LOL

I thought you might enjoy some sweet cards that are perfect for Valentine's Day but also perfect to give to that special someone any day of the year.  Our new stamp set, Sending My Love, is a highly versatile set that we have been having lots of fun with.  This card also features our new Blush Baker's Cording and Grapefruit Chevron cardstock.  Be sure to check out all of our fabulous new Valentine's Day products on our website!

Here is another sweet card that features the Sending My Love stamp set and also uses an image from another new set from our Valentine's Catalog - Love is in the Air.  I love the nostalgic film strip idea on this card - so clever!

Hope your day is lovely!  We'll be sharing LOTS more Valentine's Day inspiration on the blog in the coming days so be sure to stop by.

 

 

Happy New Year - Mini Calendar project

Happy New Year!  The Creative Muses at A Muse Studio have a lot of exciting things in store for 2013 and I am excited to welcome this new year.  Thanks for being a part of A Muse Studio!

To kick off the year, we've got a fun creative project for you that has endless possibilities!  A Mini Calendar. 

This project is near and dear to my heart.  I started designing calendars as a holiday project for my girls to make as gifts for their teachers. They loved it so much that I decided to share it with our blog readers as a free download.  The project evolved and we then made it available as a downloadable project to raise money for several charitable organizations.  Over the years, we raised over $19,000 for Scleroderma Research, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Water 1st and Charlie's Fund.  Due to limitations with our new website, we are not able to continue with this philanthropic project... but I am still happily making calendars with my girls and I hear regularly from customers that they miss the calendars. 

If you missed our free 8.5" x 11" calendar download that we posted in October, you may find it here.

Today I am sharing a 2013 Mini Calendar download for you. 

Download A Muse 2013 Calendar - mini BW

 

I have been busy making calendars and have a few different projects to share with you in the coming days.  For now, I will share one completed project and another work in progress.

Freestanding Mini Calendar

This Calendar is a fast and easy project to put together.  To cut out the months, I used the Labels 1 Nestabilities die set (the 2nd smallest die). 

Tip! Use a bit of washi tape to hold the die in place.

Cut a sheet of A Muse Studio cardstock to 8.5" x 9.5" and score along the 8.5" edge every 2".  This should give you a 1/2" tab to put adhesive on and make your "tower".  Easy peasy! 

I printed the calendar on a sheet of regular printer paper (because that's what was in my printer! *lol*)  It seems to work fine on a light colored cardstock but I would probably print it on white cardstock if I was going to use a more intense color for the background. 

The mini calendar file includes some fun extras: the year 2013, an inspiring quote from Walt Disney and  "made with love". 

Business Card Calendar

My next project is a business card sized (2" x 3.5") calendar.  I haven't fully decided what the finished project will look like.  There will definitely be *more* stamping involved.  Check back to see which direction this goes!

 

I can't wait to see your projects!  Please post a comment with a link to your project if you are so inclined! 

Happy New Year!  Happy Stamping!