A Muse News

San Diego classes!

I'm thrilled to be heading back to SUNNY San Diego later this month for the Grand Opening of Paper Tales!  I saw the store twice before it opened but it was vacant.  I'm excited to see it all dolled up! 

I've got three classes scheduled so if you live in Southern California, I hope you are able to fit in one (or more!) of my classes.  We may also have a surprise visit from an A Muse designer so it's sure to be lots of fun!

Here's the schedule:

Friday, May 30th, 6-8pm
Creative Clear Stamping (6 cards) - $35
We'll use A Muse's clear stamp and alphabets to create 6 fun cards!  Learn great tips for acheiving the best results with clear stamps.

Saturday, May 31st, 10a-12p
Linda's Favorites (6 cards) - $35
We'll make 6 cards using my Favorites...favorite stamps, punches, inks, ribbons, markers and more!

Saturday, May 31st, 1-3pm
Think Simple. Think A Muse. (8 cards) - $35
In this class we will make *8* cards! Learn tips and tricks on how to make your simple cards POP!

Call Michelle today to reserve your spot!
619-222-2510

And, before I bid you adieu, here is a fun and easy card that I whipped up.  I love the BIG eyes on this owl from our Nature clear stamp set.  The branch is from our Stitched Garden clear stamp set.

Have a creative day!

Saturday, May 31st, 1-3pm
Think Simple. Think A Muse. (8 cards) - $35
In this class we will make *8* cards! Learn tips and tricks on how to make your simple cards POP!

Call Michelle today to reserve your spot!
619-222-2510

Mark your calendars!

California bound

Wahoo!  I'm heading back to California next month for the *third* time this year.  This time it will be for the Grand Opening of Paper Tales, a new store by Michelle White in San Diego.  We are finalizing the schedule at the moment but if you live in the area, be sure to save the date May 31st!  I'll post again when we have more details.

Michelle will be carrying the *complete* line of A Muse products in her store.  And, she has lots of other amazing goodies in store for you as well.  She shared a few sneak peeks with me when we visited last month.  Oooh la la!

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VMAA #2

The next thing you need to mark on your calendar is VMAA#2 - April 26th.  This is the second  Virtual Meeting of the A Muse Addicts and I can assure you it is lots of fun. 

What is VMAA?  It is an evening of stamping (and virtual chatting) with fellow A Muse Addicts.  There are fun challenges posted every 30 minutes and each participant tries to make a card for the challenge and post them online.  You do not need to create and photograph your card in 30 minutes (although i'm going to try to do it this time!)  You have 24 hours to get your card posted.

For this VMAA, I have invited other A Muse designers and Instructors to come by the A Muse retail shop and stamp with me.  If you are live in Seattle and would like to join us, please email me. Our space for stamping is very limited at the moment and we have just a few spaces left.  (There's no charge and the store will not be "open" for business... just stamping, chatting and eating (of course!)

For more details, please visit www.amuseaddicts.com.  If you are not a member, you will be asked to register at the site.  It just takes a few minutes.

Thanks to Geeta, Michelle, Jennie & Rhonda for organizing this fun event!

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Weather update: It's snowing here!  We have an inch of snow on our slip & slide in the backyard.  It's hard to believe the girls were in their bathing suits playing on it a week ago!

Have a great weekend!

Paper Garden Fun!

We're back from our journey to Sacramento to teach at The Paper Garden boutique.  My mom and I taught S*E*V*E*N classes in two days.  Phew!  We had a lot of fun and I only forgot a couple of things!  Fortunately, Stephanie was able to bail me out.  I get really stressed about teaching away from home because I invariably forget something... ack!

It was fun to see some familiar faces... Tracy, Kathy & Barb and make some new friends too!  Tracy Falco, A Muse instructor from the Bay area, was also in town and stopped by for a hug.  Yay!

The Paper Garden is an amazing place.  Stephanie stocks *every* A Muse product!!  Here's a photo of one of her gondolas *filled* with products and sample cards.

   

and another...

If you look closely, you will see my mom, Stephanie and Barb in the back.  My mom is helping Barb finish up a few cards.  Look now at the top of the photo and you will see a GORGEOUS paper banner that Stephanie created.  It is so fun and colorful.  Unfortunately I didn't take any close-ups for you.  You'll have to bug Stephanie to post one for us on her blog!

In addition to paper-crafting supplies, The Paper Garden is filled with all sorts of fabulous gifty things too.  Here's a basket filled with Missy's adorable bears.  We had a late dinner with Missy one night... soooo fun!  (BTW, Missy will be teaching some classes at the Paper Garden so if you live nearby be sure to check out her blog for the details!)

Behind every successful woman is a wonderful mother...  here is a photo of Steph and her mom.

And here is a photo of Steph and my mom.

We had a wee bit of free time before our last class on Monday and Stephanie showed my mom and I how to make some pretty cool projects - paper flowers, an origami box and cup, and a paper fortune cookie (like the one she made for her Guest Designer showcase).  By popular request, she has written a tutorial for you on how to do this which we will share very soon so stay tuned.

Thank you, Stephanie, for your hospitality!  You're the best!

Sky City

Thank you to everyone that commented and emailed about our good news!  I have tried to respond to everyone but our email server has been giving us grief all week. (I hope it is working better tomorrow when we send our newsletter!)  Please know that we appreciate your kind words - especially Annabelle!

Dinner at the Space Needle was lots of fun!  Unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera.  I have been up the CN tower in Toronto many times but had not been up the Space Needle until last night.  It is beautiful up there.  We had a crystal clear night and the city lights were amazing!  The girls especially loved watching the ferry boats on the water.

The food was delicious but rather spendy.  The minimum food charge per adult is $35 and they consider anyone over the age of 10 an adult so beware.  Kids meals ranged in price from $11.95 to $16.00.  The portions are generous but my girls could have shared one meal and still had food leftover.  I'm not complaining, we expected this and it was a special celebration... just wanted to let you know in case you were interested in eating there sometime.

The best part about eating there, aside from the fabulous view (of course!) is that the restaurant rotates!  The girls were fascinated by this and it kept them smiling the whole night. 

Here are some interesting facts about the revolving restaurant...

• The Space Needle had the second revolving restaurant in the world. The first one was in the Ala Moana shopping mall in Hawaii (now closed). There are now hundreds of turntables throughout the world.
• The entire Space Needle saucer does not rotate, only a 14-foot ring next to the windows rotates on the SkyCity restaurant level.
• The restaurant turntable revolves on a track and wheel system that weighs roughly 125 tons, borrowed from railroad technology. All it takes to make the turntable revolve is a 1½ horsepower motor (originally it was a 1 hp motor).

And, these facts about the space needle crack me up!

• Plans to build a stork's nest atop the Needle were canceled when it was learned that storks could not live in Seattle 's climate and would migrate to warmer climates. (I wonder how long it took them to realize this wasn't going to work?)
• The Committee Hoping for Extra-Terrestrial Encounters to Save the Earth (CHEESE) claims to have plans from the 1962 World's Fair that show the Space Needle was constructed to send transmissions to advanced beings in other solar systems. (ummm.... sure.)
• The Space Needle is approximately 1,320 Milky Way candy bars (605 feet) tall (who measures anything in terms of candy bar length?!)
  
  facts are all from the www.spaceneedle.com 

If you are planning to visit Seattle, I would definitely add the Space Needle to your list of must-see tourist attractions as long as you have a clear day/night.  If you've never been to Seattle, you should try to do this on your first day as it will give you a great overview and orientation of the city.

And, if you visit the Space Needle, you may want to Ride the Ducks... It's right across the street from the Space Needle.

We Rode the Ducks last summer when my dad was visiting. It is a fun way to see Seattle on land & water!  This is a picture I took while we were crossing the Fremont Bridge.

   

And, while you're down at the Seattle Center (this is where the Space Needle is located), you should be sure to visit the fountain.  It is very, very cool - even in winter!  The water explodes from the fountain in time with music that is pumped out of the speakers surrounding the fountain.  My girls love to see if they can touch the fountain and not get wet.  This time they got lucky!

Check out this link for more info and a really cool aerial photo of the fountain!

I'll be back tomorrow with some stamping stuff.

Bonne nuit!

Green for March

I have decided to "go green" for the month of March to celebrate:

• St. Patrick's Day and my love for Ireland
• Seattle - the Emerald City
• Being a "green" company

My husband I and were lucky to spend 8 months in Ireland in the late 90s.  I will be posting some photos of the luscious green scenery we enjoyed every day!

Many folks that read this blog are planning to visit Seattle in the coming months.  I hope to share with you an "insider's view" to help with your travel plans.

At A Muse, we have always worked hard to be good corporate citizens and do our best for the environment.  I will share with you some of the work that my team does to be good stewards of the environment. 

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

OK.  It's not for another 6 weeks but I am super excited!  I will be visiting The Paper Garden Boutique in Sacramento, CA to teach SIX classes in early April.  If you live in the area, it would be fun to meet you so hop on over to Stephanie's blog to see the schedule! 

I visited The Paper Garden during last year's A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA event and was completely amazed.  Stephanie has the *best* selection of goodies in her store.  I could easily go broke there.  I can't wait to visit and soak up some of that California sunshine - although I'm not sure I'll get outside much with all those classes.  Yikes!

Other news...

Director's Choice
I have had many requests to post about upcoming PNB Dress Rehearsals. For those of you in the Seattle area mark, your calendars for Wednesday, March 12th at 7pm.  This next performance is called Director's Choice and consists of 4 ballets.  Tickets for the dress rehearsal are $20 - best deal in town! 

2009 Calendar
I have had many requests to create a 2009 calendar.  I just wanted to let you know that I will begin working on this soon.  If you have any improvement feedback on last year's calendar, please let me know! 

I do have a question for YOU!  Many people suggested that I raise the price from $3 so they could make a larger donation to Scleroderma Research (recipient of 100% of the sales from the A Muse 2008 Calendar).  Please tell me, would you pay $5 for this little Calendar project?

Have a beautiful day!

CHA pics

Heather took some fun photos of the A Muse booth at the Craft & Hobby tradeshow earlier in the week. I thought you might enjoy seeing a few.

This photo shows the "core" A Muse Crew - Heidi, Julie, Cindy and moi.  Yes, we like to dress the same. <grin>

We are standing in front of a fun display stand that my husband made for us.  It was rather challenging to make because it had to be cute (of course!), sturdy and most importantly LIGHTweight.  It's hard to see some of the fun details - like the scallop skirting on the front.  He did a great job and I think we will put this lovely thing in our retail store when it arrives back in Seattle.

This photo gives you an overview of the booth.  We opted to for a small booth this time 'round and I'm glad we did.  On either side of the booth, we created a rope ladder to showcase our notecards and clear stamps. We are busy getting ready for the show to open.

Do you see the cute little birdhouses made from our NEW Kitchen polka dot notecards and NEW Stitched grosgrain ribbon?  I was busy procrastinating one night <I'm good at this!> and came up with this idea.  They are really fun to make, if you like playing with paper.  I came up with the pattern and Nina made the ones for our booth because I was quickly running out of time.

This last photo shows Julie with our Make & Take project.  It is a handy little notebook that you can use to jot down notes *anytime*.  We'll share the details here on how to make one yourself one day soon.

Another sneak peek is coming so stay tuned!

 

Eagerly awaiting...

For those of you in the Seattle area, don't miss the upcoming PNB production of Romeo & Juliette.  There is a dress rehearsal scheduled for Jan 30th at 7pm at McCaw Hall.  You can purchase tickets at the box office.  Please note that the content of this ballet may be inappropriate for young children.

So fun!

If you love Geography, try this when you have a few spare minutes! bwa-ha-ha-ha!

This Traveler IQ challenge is brought to you by the Web's Original Travel Blog

** sneak peek **

Today is the day we begin sharing "sneak peeks" of our new Valentine's release. 

Before I do, I just wanted to let you know that we have recovered from the major roof leaks we experienced last week which resulted in flooding of both our shop and warehouse.  Thank you for your kind words of support - both on the blog and via email.

We were also short staffed last week due to a family emergency. The fabulous A Muse Crew pulled together and we were able to ship within our normal speedy turnaround times.  For our retail customers: we ship orders via USPS Priority Mail and sometimes the ship times take a little longer at this time of the year.  We are happy to assist with tracking a package, please email us at orders@amuseartstamps.com.

Our Valentine's release includes 31 wood-mounted stamp designs that are perfect for Valentine's day and great for friendship cards throughout the year! 

With this release, we are thrilled to introduce you to the newest A Muse illustrator - Missy Balance.  Missy's whimsical style first caught my eye while visiting The Paper Garden Boutique in Sacramento, during A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA in July.

Here's a brief intro from Missy:

I've been making crafty things since I was a kid, and I don't discriminate!  If it's a crafty medium, I work in it!  My degree is in child development, and I'm definately attracted to the asthetics of babies, and toddlers.  Almost everything I make has a big head and little body, with wide, innocent eyes.  One of the many things I make  is collectible teddy bears and I sell them to a local paper and stamping store, The Paper Garden Boutique. 

Linda spent a few days in this store during A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA, and came across my bears.  She even brought one home for her daughter!  I, of course, was taking classes at the shop, but our paths never crossed.  A few weeks later,  Linda and I  met in "blog land", where she spotted my stamp designs on my Etsy shop.  I was already a huge fan of A Muse.  It is really a match made in heaven.

While I had some ideas for stamps that I just couldn't let go, I didn't have the time or the gumption to seriously market or distribute them myself, and Linda was able to do this for me through A Muse!  I couldn't be more excited to be a part of such a talented and supportive team and I look forward to what the future brings!

I thought it would be fitting to share a sneek peek using *two* of Missy's designs, Heart flower and SWAK envelope. This card was designed by Becky Rusher.

Be sure to check out our designers' & instructors' blogs and online galleries for more sneak peeks throughout the week.  Links are over in the left column.  We will post all of the new images on the A Muse website on Friday, December 14th.

PNB: First Look 2007

Hailey and I attended the PNB Gala on Saturday night and it was fantastic!  This 'First Look' at the 2007 season was superb and we are very excited about the upcoming season.

Congratulations to two of our favorite PNB dancers - Mara Vinson was promoted to Principal and Lucien Postelwaite was promoted to Soloist.  Yay!  Both Mara & Lucien received their training at the PNB school.  This is a huge inspiration for all of the dancers at the school! 

Our favorite performances of the night were most definitely "Caught" and "The Concert".  Caught was a short piece danced by Olivier Wevers that used strobe lights to make it appear as if the dance took place entirely in the air.  So cool!  The Concert is simply fun and the audience was chuckling along with the entire piece (29 minutes, I think!).  We also enjoyed Lucien & Noelani in Romeo & Juliet.

So, if you haven't bought tickets to any of the PNB performances, what are you waiting for?  You may also want to check out one of the dress rehearsals... only $20/ticket.  Call the PNB box office for details or check them out online at www.pnb.org

Walking the dog

If you've been following along here with me for a while, you will remember that we dogsat for one of our neighbours a few weeks ago.  One evening, I brought my camera with me for our walk and snapped some photos of the things along our route... mainly houses.  We did see a rubber chicken stuck in a tree... do you see it?

There is a lot of remodelling going on in our neighbourhood.  One of our more energetic neighbours saved a house that was slated for demolition.  He tore down his existing house (not so pretty) to make room for the new-old house he bought for $1. (It's the house on the bottom right.)  The move took place at midnight and it was quite a scene apparently.  Unfortunately, I was out of town for the excitement but I heard about all about it.  You can read more about it here. 

Most of the houses in our neighbourhood are Craftsman style, as is our house.  Many of the houses are almost 100 years old.  Not old compared to Quebec, where I'm from originally but OLD for the Western United States. 

Our house was built in 1911 and we are the third family to own it.  Our families thought we were CRAZY when we bought it - it was *that* run down.  We could tell that it was a gem in the rough (very rough).  The house was pink & green (asbestos siding - lovely!) with brown trim.  There were bars on all the windows - scary!  And every door, including the bedroom doors had locks - bizarre!  We have been remodelling for 9 years and apparently we won't ever be done.  We do love our house and neighbourhood and I can't imagine ever living anywhere else, except possibly Bora Bora. <smile>

 

Ooh la la!

So much to share today!

Sweet cards!
Have you seen the sweet & simple coffee cards Julie made using the "kissing" technique?  Good news - we are overstocked on our Big bl stamp (3-5019G) and have temporarily put it into our bargains section at 50% off!  Such a deal! 

Punches coming soon!
Spoke with the folks at Marvy today and good news - we are expecting more punches next week.  We are presently well-stocked on Super & Mega sized punches in all shapes but almost completely out of Gigas.  If you would like to add your name to our list for the Giga's that are coming, please call Heidi tomorrow to put one on reserve (toll free: 1-877-783-4882).  Yes, we ship to Canada & the UK.

Fun new card series from Emily!
You will love these new cards from Emily and be sure to post a comment to possibly win a fun little birdy clear stamp. 

Upcoming Seattle classes
There are still a few spots left in my upcoming classes.  Tomorrow night (Wednesday) we will be making 6 cards for Spring & Easter.  The class is from 6-8pm and the cost is $22. 

Next Wednesday night (March 28th from 6-8 pm) I will be teaching an Introduction to clear stamps.  We will use a variety of our clear stamps to make 6 fun cards for all occasions.  This class will be fun for stampers of all abilities! Cost is $22.

All classes will be held at the A Muse retail shop located at 8544 Greenwood Ave. N. Please call to reserve your spot (783-4882).

A Muse classes in San Diego
If you live in the San Diego area be sure to sign up for one of Michelle's classes.  You can see samples for one of her upcoming classes on her blog.

Stay tuned for more fabulous cards from our Guest Designer for March- Elena Shacochis!

Swan Lake

Hailey and I went to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Swan Lake tonight.  Lucien Postelwaite was magnificent as Prince Siegfried.  There were 6 little girls that we know from the PNB school in this performance and they did such a great job!

There is one more chance to see this ballet - 1:00 matinee today (Feb 11th). 

Precious Memories

If you live in the Greater Vancouver area, please join me this weekend at Precious Memories to make a fun key chain like this one!  I will be there from 11:00 - 4:00.

If you live in the Seattle area and are planning to come to our Grand Opening, we will be making these as well.

Post a comment here if you'd like me to email you the directions!

Have a beautiful day!

Visitors

Last week we had some fun out-of-town visitors at our new shop in North Seattle.  One of the best parts of owning A Muse is having the chance to meet our customers (and their families).

Our first visitors were three girlfriends (Dona, Melissa & Doreen) that flew in from three different states (NV, OH & AL) to spend a few days together, share their love of stamping and visit Seattle.  How fun is that?!!  I am grateful to Melissa for emailing me this photo of their visit.

Our next visitors were in town to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary!  Their daughter, Paige, asked if they had time if they could stop by our shop to pick up a few things and visit with us.  Paige's mom is not even a stamper!!  What great parents!!  I had such fun chatting with them and giving them a few tourist tips for their stay.  I hope they were able to catch the Underground tour... one of my favorite things to do in Seattle.

 

So, if you are planning a trip to Seattle, please do stop by to see us.  If possible, please email me in advance so I plan to be at the shop.

Have a beautiful day!

Linda

Adventures in Plain, WA

deserted log cabin

friendly donkey

ginormous dandelions!

...more blogging soon, promise!

The nerve!

Very early this morning, our door/window chime went off.  The noise woke me but I thought I must be hearing things and drifted back to sleep.  A few minutes later there was more noise.  I thought it was our neighbors heading off to work making more noise than usual (in fact, I thought they were wearing ski boots).  Now had I been coherent I would have realized that it was Sunday, 4:45 a.m, and summer!

Well, it turns out that someone forced open one of our LOCKED windows and then shoved a broom through the window - pushing a bottle of wine out of the way, hence the ski boot noise - to STEAL my lovely Kate Spade organizer/wallet that I had mistakenly left sitting on the counter after a quick trip to the store last night. 

When I came downstairs and saw the broom on the counter I knew right away what had happened.  Aaaah!  I am so sad.  The organizer was a gift from a dear friend.  It had a few of my favorite photos inside and my favorite Caran d'Ache pen.  Not much money.  Credit cards, driver's license - the usual stuff. 

Police came.  Said they think the same guy hit four houses within a 4-mile radius.  He did more damage to the other homes.  Probably looking for money for drugs. 

Rest assured, I will *never* leave my wallet in view again.   

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Please note: A Muse will be closed tomorrow (8/21) for a special event for our stores.  We will resume shipping on Tuesday (8/22).