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Details on the A Muse 2010 downloadable calendar for charity are here.

Guest Designer Karen Watson - week 2

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on Karen's first set of Guest Designer cards last week!  Today we have more of Karen's beautiful designs featuring our new holiday stamps!  But first, we thought you'd like to get to know her a little better, so here are her thoughts in response to our word association questionaire:   

• Stamping – the best therapy!
• Style – Clean, simple and uncluttered – oh and usually there’s a touch of glitter somewhere!
• Inspiration –  Anything and everything…..a piece of patterned paper, a picture in a magazine, a store display. The world is full of inspiration!
• Color – Anything except yellow! I don’t know why but it’s just a colour I don’t get on with!
• Work space – Beautiful and tidy at the end of the night but during the day it looks like there’s been an explosion!  
• Perfect day –  A trip to London on a cold, crisp frosty December day with my family. Christmas lights, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts, carol singers, Christmas shopping and of course a sneak into a craft store or two!
• First job – Store assistant when I was 13. 
• Wildest dream – Came true when we sold our house, stuck rucksacks on our backs and explored the world for two years. We had a blast and my hope is that our boys feel the urge to explore too. We met some amazing people and visited the most amazing places. The memories will stay with me forever.  
• Ink – StazOn or Memento for the outline but I also love Versamagic chalk inks and Distress inks. Why am I trying to choose…..I love them all!!
• Family – Wonderful hubby Anthony and two lovely boys, Tom 14 and Ben 11
• Beverage – Gin and Tonic, ice and a slice – thank you!

We are thrilled to have Karen as a guest designer this month and are glad you are enjoying her cards.  Linda and Karen met almost four years ago at a trade show in the UK. Karen was a designer for a UK distributor that we were working with at the time.  Karen's work is regularly featured in UK Paper-crafting magazines so the next time you are browsing the magazine stands, be sure to have a look for more of her work!

And now - the cards! 

Squirrel and Christmas Tree

Karen's cards today have an "All Natural" theme to them.  This is one of my favorite groups of her designs since I usually use a simple and natural style in my Christmas decorating.  Her coloring on this card is fabulous!  And again check out her detailed cutting skills on the squirrel - wow!

 

Elegant Pinecone and Evergreen Branch

Very cool effect with the brown and green together.  Love her little twinkle sticker accents too. 

 

Wreath with Berries

This wreath is one my favorite stamps and I absolutely *LOVE* what Karen did with it on this design.  Instead of coloring in the leaves completely, she left a little white showing.  Adds a gorgeous touch along with the red twinkles and polka dot red ribbon! 

 
 And here is a closeup so you can see the wreath better (*smile*):

 

*sigh* - that's it for this week, but we have plenty more of Karen's work to share with you, so I'll be back next week with more goodies! And remember to leave a comment here for Karen (one only please, per guest designer article) to enter your name into the drawing! 

Day 4: Holiday Photo Cards

Welcome to Day 4 of our Design Inspiration: Photo Cards series. 

Today the focus is on Flat Panel Cards.  This is an easy card design to make and if you are like me and don't like to write a LONG personal message on each card, this is a good design choice. <wink!>

The first two cards, designed by Cheiron, will make you jump out of your chair and shout "YES! I want to make a photo card this year." It's true!  They are THAT good.

Fabulous, isn't it? And, here's another one...

See - I told you!!  Aren't they AWESOME?! 

The beauty of a flat panel card is that once you have decided on your design, you can just pound them out!

To view more of Cheiron's designs and find out when & where her next classes are, please visit her blog.

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This next flat panel card is a refreshing idea from Geeta - especially for those of you that don't want to put a family or pet photo on your holiday cards but still want to send a photo card. 

Don't you love this?  It's such a pretty picture that it doesn't need much embellishment. 

To learn Geeta's photo card design tips and find out WHERE this photo was taken, hop on over to her blog.

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Well, I must get busy!  I have much to do today as I am heading to Quebec tomorrow because my mom is having surgery next week. I still have LOTS of Holiday Design Inspiration to share with you and will be posting from the road (providing that the internet gods are kind to me!) Stay tuned tomorrow for the last day of our Holiday Photo Cards and join me again next week as I share Fast & Fabulous Holiday Cards.

Day 3: Holiday Photo Cards

Welcome to Day 3 of our Design Inspiration: Photo Cards series. 

Thank you to everyone that has posted comments and shared your thoughts with us. I appreciate that you take the time to enrich our 'conversation' by sharing your experiences so keep it up!  I encourage everyone to read the comments as there are often great tips and suggestions shared there.  And, if you've never posted a blog comment before, it's easy... just click on the word 'comments' below each post and you will see a dialog box for you to write a few words.

OK... on with the show!  Today we are showcasing photo cards with Fancy Folds.  Don't be intimidated... they may look fancy but I assure you they are quite easy to make.

Newsletter Fold

This first card is Sherry's THIRD and final contribution to our Photo Card design series.  This card uses a full sheet of 8.5" x 11" paper that is scored and folded into three panels that will fit into a standard business size envelope (No. 10).  Sherry used a fancy scallop border punch to add interest to the closing flap.  When you open up the card, you have room to include your family newsletter.   

Did you know that many home computer printers can print directly onto A Muse cardstock?  Sometimes you need to give the paper a little nudgeto get the rollers to pick it up.  I have successfully printed directly inside A Muse note cards and also on A Muse 8.5" x 11" custom-printed cardstock.

{Please note: To print directly on A Muse Shimmer Couture paper, you will need a laser printer... ink jets will smear unless you emboss but that's a whole other blog post!}

 

To see more of Sherry's inspiring ideas, please visit her blog.

Tri-fold 

This next card, designed by Michelle C. is one of my favorites!  It's a simple tri-fold that makes for a STUNNING photo card.  Here's the card front. Pretty, isn't it?  I love how Michelle paper-pieced the three Christmas trees and raised the center tree for a special touch.  She used our brand new Classic alpha clear stamp set to spell out the word Merry.  It's easy to align the letters when spelling out words with clear stamps. 

Are you ready to see what's behind the front panel? 

 

Michelle included a photo collage on the second panel which she created and printed on her home computer.  The last panel includes a stamped holiday greeting and provides room to add your personal message.

I just LOVE this card.  Would you believe it is Michelle's FIRST photo card ever?!!

Please visit Michelle's blog to read more about how she created this card.

Photo Clutch

The last card in our Fancy Folds showcase was designed by Geeta and I call it a Photo Clutch because it seems to fit. LOL!  If anyone is aware of the correct terminology for this card, please don't tell me because I like Photo Clutch.  <smile>

Geeta used the new A Muse Shimmer Couture apple red cardstock for this card.  Have you played with this paper yet?  Oh my, it's so yummy and luxurious and provides instant WOW factor!

This card is also a tri-fold that you can make in any size to fit your photo(s) & envelopes.  The key is to decide which envelope size you wish to use and then size your card to fit.  

Geeta used the new A Muse Monogram Frames clear set combined with the Classic Alpha to make a monogram seal for the closure of her card.  I think it adds a touch of class to the design.

Here is the card when it is closed.

When you open it up, here's what you see inside.  The photo and message panel are mounted on Lime Shimmer Couture cardstock. Geeta also stamped some A Muse Holiday images inside (Elegant Ornaments & Merry Christmas RM)

Here's a fabulous detail that you cannot see from the outside of the card.  This magnetic closure (slim magnets by Basic Grey) really adds to the overall quality feel of Geeta's card. 

To read more about Geeta's Photo Clutch card and see more of her work, please visit her blog.

I hope you have enjoyed today's Fancy Fold Photo Card Designs.  Special thanks to Michelle, Sherry & Geeta for their inspiring ideas! 

So, tell me... are you tempted to make a holiday photo card this year?

We have TWO more days of inspiring ideas for Holiday Photo Cards.  I hope you will join me.

~ Linda

Day 2: Holiday Photo Cards

Welcome to Day 2 of our Design Inspiration: Photo Cards series. 

Today we are showcasing Pocket Card ideas.  A Pocket card is one of my go-to card designs.  They are easy to make, fun to receive with great wow! factor. They can be simple or complex in their design and never fail to impress.

{Please note: You may click on the photos below to view them in a larger size.}

Simply Beautiful

This first card was designed by Jen D, who teaches A Muse classes at the Paper Tree store in NH.  I love her clean, crisp design style.

Jen's card showcases our new Shimmer Couture papers, Classic Alpha and Monogram Frames clear stamp set (which is now back in stock) and A Muse Pretty Pearls. The outer pocket is so elegant that when you first hold it in your hands you KNOW you are holding something very special. 

 

Then you pull out the card inside... wow! Sooo beautiful!!

To read more about this lovely card, see more of Jen's work, and find out when her next class is, please visit her blog.

Pleasing Pocket

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you will not be surprised by the next card.  It is my favorite little pocket card because it is fast and easy to make and I am always happy with the results.  To make this card, I start with an A Muse 4-bar notecard and fold over one edge.  I used the Apron Lace border punch on the folded edge because I love it's vintage feel without being "overdone".

Most of the friends and family that I send holiday cards to do not live nearby.  I thought it would be fun to use our Greetings from Seattle stamp on my card since the family photo inside is taken on a hike at Mt. Rainier.

The photo tag will fit nicely on my mom's fridge, don't you think?

 

Practical Pocket

This next pocket card is the 2nd of Sherry's photo card ideas.  Sherry is an a-musing instructor who teaches at quite a few stores in up-state New York. 

I love Sherry's pocket card idea.  I call it the "practical" pocket because it is indeed very practical. Sherry incorporated the pocket into the design of her card so that even if the photo is not sitting in the pocket, the card does not look incomplete.

The beauty of this card design is that the photo is actually a GIFT.  Sherry likes to takes pictures of her friends' children and pets throughout the year and includes these photos in the cards she gives to them.  I *LOVE* this idea.  It's always fun to have new pictures of your children or pets from someone else's perspective. 

The other reason I love this card idea is because of the OTHER possibilities.  Imagine using this design to include tickets to a show, a gift card, love notes, etc.  FUN, right?!

To read more about Sherry's pocket card and see when she will be teaching near you, please visit her blog.

I hope you are enjoying our Design Inspiration: Photo Card series so far.  We have lots more great ideas and time-saving tips to come so I hope you will stop by again tomorrow.

Tell me, have you made a photo card before?  If yes, do you print your own photos or have someone else do it?  Do YOU have any photo card tips that you'd like to share?

Shop News - 11/10/09

Make & Take

Join us this Wednesday or Saturday anytime between 11:30am and 1:30pm for a FREE Make & Take project! This week we are making this yummy biscotti holder! 

Holiday Display

If you did not get a chance to stop by the shop for our Holiday Open House you still have to come by and take a look at our fun Holiday display! There are tons of cards that will surely get you inspired for the upcoming holiday season! 

Hope to see you soon!

~Amanda

Design Inspiration: Holiday Photo Cards

One of my favorite things about the Holidays is to look at all of the wonderful holiday photo cards we receive. I enjoy looking for family resemblances and seeing how people change from year to year. We always pick a few "winners" each year... Best Photo, Funniest Photo, etc.  As a mother of three, I know how elusive a GOOD holiday photo can be so I truly appreciate *all* of the photo cards we receive. 

PHOTO TIPS

Have you taken your holiday card photo yet? If not, you may want to check out How to Take Stunning Portraits at the Digital Photography School.  I am definitely going to try some of these suggestions!

INSPIRATION

To inspire your creativity, I asked the 'Muses' to share some of their favorite Holiday Photo Card ideas with you throughout the week.

This first round of cards are simply made from an A Muse 4-Bar note-card.  This is a fast and easy solution for creating photo cards.  You can either print your own custom-sized photos using your home computer or have them printed for you.  I like to use wallet-size prints from Costco.  They are inexpensive, the size fits perfectly on a 4-bar card and they are ready in 12 hours or less!

Window Card

Jennie created a window for her card using the Marvy Giga Scallop Oval and the Mega Oval punches.  I love how you can see the adorable faces of Jennie's children through the window.  Inside the card, she stamped Holly Jolly Christmas below the photo for a nice finishing touch.

To learn the "secrets" to making Jennie's fun window card and see more of her work, please visit her blog.

Cover shot

I love this simple card from Lori.  She has a nice family photo, simply mounted on the front of the card.  The elegant tree with the message joy, love, peace sends such a warm message.  And, the little star twinkle sticker at the top of the tree is the perfect finishing touch!

To read more about Lori's card and see more of her work, please visit her blog.

 

Pretty Pup!

Sherry created THREE fabulous photo cards for you.  Today, I am sharing a fun card with a photo of her beautiful pup.  I like how Sherry created a patterned background using our Madeira stamp.  She then stamped, cut and colored our elegant ornaments and added them for extra holiday appeal.  If my girls do not cooperate for a photo this year, I may send photos of our kitties instead because I KNOW they will cooperate.

To learn the secrets of Sherry's first photo card and see more of her fabulous work, please visit her blog today.

 

Do YOU send photo cards for your holiday cards?  If yes, what is your biggest challenge?

Save the date - VSN!

Along with Splitcoaststampers.com, we will be having a VSN Party Saturday November 14th.  What is VSN? It’s a Virtual Stamp Night where we get together online to participate in challenges. Splitcoaststampers will have challenges going on all weekend, so feel free to participate in as many as you can! 

What: VSN A Muse Party

When: Saturday, November 14th from 7pm-11pm Eastern

Where: The A Muse Lounge

Who: Everyone that loves A Muse and a good challenge.

How: Grab your A Muse stamps and hop over to the A Muse Lounge (link in the navigation bar above) where we’ll have all the details. 

We’ll have a great night of challenges, stamping, and chatting. We hope you can join us!!

Guest Designer Karen Watson!

 Karen Watson

Please welcome our November Guest Designer... Karen Watson!  Karen is a designer in the UK and we are excited to feature her beautiful holiday designs during the next few weeks!  I have three of her cards to share with you today, but first a little more about her:

Karen has been addicted to rubber stamping for 14 years and spends most of her time demonstrating cardmaking techniques at retail and trade shows around the UK. Added to this, Karen is also a regular contributor to some of the UK's most popular craft magazines. She says "I feel like I have the best job in the world. I love being able to spend so much time playing with stamps, papers and inks".
Karen lives in a small village in England with her wonderful family....husband Anthony and sons Tom 14 and Ben 11 who are all very tolerant and supportive of her passion! 

And now, on to her cards!

 

I love Karen's coloring on this first design.  With beautiful blending and shading, she is a pro with her Copic markers!  And I love how she incorporated twinkle stickers for some bling.  BTW - you can enter to win one of these adorable "under the mistletoe" stamps by entering Karen's drawing.  See below for details!

This angel just *sparkles*!  Karen used lots of beautiful prisma crystal glitter on her dress and wings!    

 

I really wish you could see in person the fabulous details on Karen's designs.  She adds just the right touch of sparkle combined with beautiful coloring and layering.  This is a Swiss Red 4-bar notecard, that Karen embossed, trimmed and punched.  Then she added the Sage Juliette cardstock layer behind the scallop window!  And below you can see a closeup of Karen's awesome cutting skills!  I am amazed that she trimmed the girl so precisely!  I tend to avoid cutting images because I'm never happy with my results.  I guess I need more patience and practice with my craft knife or scissors! 

 

More of Karen's fabulous work is yet to come, so be sure to check back next week! 

If you are a regular reader of our blog, then you know that a Guest Designer means it's also giveaway time!  Karen selected this stamp and pack of notecards to giveaway to a few lucky readers:  

* Under the Mistletoe
* Kitchen Green 4-bar notecards

To enter for a chance to win, just leave a comment on this, and on each of the upcoming Guest Designer posts featuring Karen's designs!  (one comment per post please)

 

Stamping Tip

Ribbon Snippets
by Sherry

"I don't know about you, but I seem to have a lot of ribbon snippets laying on my stamping desk after a good day full of stamping and card making.  I hate to throw away the ribbon snips, so I put them in a little glassine envie on my desk and try to use them as I go.
 
Three different ways I use them are for bookmark toppers, a little ribbon bouquet, and fold overs.
 
The ribbon bouquet -  I just bunch up a few ribbons and tie a know around them, then stick it to the card with a glue dot as I did on the purple flower card below.
 
The bookmark - I run one ribbon through the hole and then tie the other accent ribbon around it and knot it.
 
The foldover - this is for the tiny pieces 1" or less, I put a glue dot in the middle, fold it over and then glue dot it to the back of my card front.
 
Hope you have fun creating with your ribbon snipets!"

- Sherry

Twinkle Sticker Trick

I love adding A Muse Twinkle Stickers to my cards & projects, especially since I discovered a fabulous time-saving trick!

Meet Kelsey!  Kelsey is the newest member of the A Muse crew in Seattle and she agreed to be my model for this photo tutorial. Kelsey LOVES Twinkle Stickers too!

Step 1: Cut the Glue strip

Each gem sticker is adhered to a glue strip.  In order to use a single gem, you must first cut the glue line between the gems.  Be sure to keep them attached to the plastic backing sheet. In this photo, Kelsey is planning to use a light pink twinkle sticker.

Next you will need some wall putty. You probably have some at home but if not, you can pick some up in the A Muse shop or at your local hardware store.

Step 2: Apply a teeny tiny bit of putty  

You need just a tiny bit of putty - about the size of a lentil bean.  Roll it into a ball and then apply it to the flat end of a pen or marker.  An RSVP pen works well or any other pen with a flat bottom.

Step 3: Use putty to pick up twinkle sticker

Make sure you've cut the glue strip between the twinkle stickers. 

Here is the twinkle sticker sitting in the putty...

Step 4: Apply twinkle sticker to project.

Presto! 

This nifty trick has saved me so much time and frustration!  And, I am able to adhere the twinkle sticker *exactly* where I want it.

Here are a few more tips:

• Keep your putty "fresh" by removing it from teh pen and rolling between your thumb and finger to make into a ball again.
• If your putty ball is too large, you will lose your twinkle sticker. If this happens, make your putty ball smaller.
• Can be used with A Muse Pretty Pearls too!

Try it and let me know what you think!

Shop News - 11/3/09

Make & Take

The Holidays are coming up quick! This Wednesday come in to the A Muse shop anytime in between 11:30am and 1:30 pm to make this fun winter card using the Quickie Glue Pen!
 

Classes

Joyce will be teaching a class this Sunday, November 8th from 2pm to 4pm called Falling into the Holidays. She will inspire you with some great ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Sign up here or call the shop at 206-783-4882 to join! Here are just some of the things you will be making!

Also, this Friday, November 6th is the first part of our Calendar TGIF class! Sign up here! The class is from 12 to 1pm and only costs $10. Don't miss out!

Holiday Open House - November 7th

We're getting ready for the Holidays!  Don't you love the new Holiday color scheme Heather has created for us? 

If you live in the Seattle area, we hope that you will join us THIS Saturday, November 7th, for our Holiday Open House.  We have lots of fun things planned!

Free Demos all day!

Learn about COPIC markers, Smooch inks, embossing, Metallic Shimmer Chalks & stencils, glitter tricks and more!  Demos will run at regular intervals all day long.

3 Make & Takes

Bring a donation to the Greenwood Food Bank to make THREE make & take projects.  First you will make a handy Gift Card Holder...

Then you will make a fun Pillow box...

followed by an easy Tea slider...

We will have some special SALE items, yummy treats, door prizes and LOTS of Holiday Card Ideas!   

Hope to see YOU on Saturday! 

  

Around Town - November Classes

The A Muse Instructor Team has some fabulous November classes coming up! Instructors who are teaching in November are noted by a yellow marker on this map.  Just click on the marker to see the instructor who is teaching in your area along with a link to their class schedule.   Click and drag the map to reposition it as desired or use the arrow buttons. To see all the instructors in your area, you will need to ZOOM in for a closer look!  Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in or out. 

View as a larger map

Instructors not teaching in November have grey markers, but keep an eye on them for classes in future months!  Please note that this map is not intended to provide directions. The markers denote only the state and general area where each instructor typically teaches.  Click on "View as a larger map" to view it larger in it's own window and to see a list of instructors. 

 

Shop News - 10/27/09

Make & Take

Come in this Wednesday in between 11:30am and 1:30 pm to make this creepy tombstone box! Simple, fun, and perfect to hand out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween! 

Please note:  We will not be offering a make & take this Saturday (October 31st) due to the Phinney-Greenwood trick-or-treating program.  We will be handing out yummy treats to all the little ghouls and goblins, princesses and witches too.

Hope to see you there!

~Amanda