A Muse News

Amuse-bouche - Valentine Greetings for Kids!

A "real" amuse-bouche is designed to give you a little tasty morsel before your meal and make your mouth happy!  OUR amuse-bouche is sorta' the same: something to give you a little taste of what's on the way from A Muse ...

And's what new?  Sea of Love!  A fabulous release filled with whimsy AND elegance - something for everyone!  These new stamps are a great addition to your collection for Valentine treats and greetings, but are versatile enough to use all year!  And ... there are new products too!   I think you're gonna' be really excited! 

So let's get started with a look at our design team's "Valentine Greetings for Kids!"

What little girl wouldn't LOVE to get this uber-pink and girlie card for Valentine's Day!  Becky paired our adorable new Jellyfish with another new stamp - Curling Waves - to create this whimsical scene!  It's just too fun!  And ... check it out!  New Popsicle Pink Polka Dot Ribbon! 

I think one-color cards, like the next two from Lexi and Krystie, are really striking!


Meet Moby!  Our super cute new whale, matched with the "True Blue" sentiment and Curling Waves makes quick work of this Valentine - simply perfect for a little boy!  (Or make a whole batch for a little boy to give to his friends!)  
 

Same stamps, different colors = a totally new look!  But what I'm guessing you haven't realized is that both of these cards (and the one below too) use the new product I am MOST excited to tell you about!  The quality you love in our solid-color notecards is now available in 8.5x11 Solid Cardstock (in select colors)!  And, just like our notecards, one side is white!  Perfect for making notecards of ANY size with a beautiful white interior!   (Navy, Ocean Blue, and Robin's Egg Blue are pictured here.)

Another quick card from Kystie using, not just the Jellyfish, but our latest Happy Valentine's Day sentiment too!  (Not to mention the new Ocean Blue 8.5x11 Cardstock she made the base card from!)

All the new goodies are showing up in your local shops now!  (And will be available on the A Muse website on January 6th!)

Happy New Year!
 

Shop News - 12/29/09

Holiday Hours

The A Muse retail shop will be open on Thursday, December 31st from 9 am to noon and closed on New Years day. The distribution center will be closed for both of these days. We will be open on Saturday, January 2nd during our regular business hours (10 am to 4 pm).

Make & Take

Join us this Wednesday (12/30) or Saturday (1/2) for a FREE Make & Take project any time in between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. This week we will be making this quick fun box to celebrate the new year!

Hope to see you soon & we hope you have a wonderful New Year!

~Amanda

Around Town - January Classes

The A Muse Instructor Team has some cool January classes coming up! Instructors who are teaching in January are listed below.  Simply click on their names to hop over to their class schedules for more information on the events offered in your area. 

Alabama
Beth Thomas

Alaska
Donna Hitz

Arizona
Lori Barnett

British Columbia
Glenda Wyatt

California
Jill Grace

Georgia
Michelle Clark

Kentucky
Michelle Mathey

Maryland
Melinda Matzen

Massachusetts
Jenn Shurkus
Liz Ballard

Newfoundland
Meghan Fahey

New Jersey
Cheiron Brandon

New York
Cheiron Brandon
Sherry Czarnecki

North Carolina
June Gibbons

Oregon
Katie Stilwater

Texas
Geeta Suggs

Virginia
Melinda Matzen

Washington
Joyce Wheeler
Rhiannon Christianson
Rhonda Maynard

Wisconsin
Dawn Stein
Kamila Younkman

Shop News 12/22/09

Holiday Hours

On December 24th the A Muse distribution center will be closed as well as the 25th. The A Muse retail shop will be closing at noon on the 24th and will re-open on Monday, December 28th for regular business hours. So make sure to get all of your Holiday shopping done! 

A Muse Shop Holiday Sale - 30% off!

Holiday items in the A Muse retail shop ONLY (not available online) are all 30% OFF!! This does NOT include holiday stamps. All red, green, silver & gold items (think ribbon, embellishments, paper, COPIC markers, etc.) in the shop are 30% off!  This sale will run through December 31st while supplies lasts.

Make & Take

Please join us this Wednesday (12/23) between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to make this fun snowflake box!

Hope you can join us!
& Happy Holidays!

~Amanda

Shop News - 12/15/09

Make & Take

Join us this Wednesday 12/16 or Saturday 12/19 anytime between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm for our free Make & Take project. This week we will be making this super cute accordian pocket calendar!  It's the perfect size to pop in your purse or wallet!  Or, stand it upright on your desk.

Not able to join us?  No worries.  We have a FREE copy of this adorable mini calendar available. 

Download A Muse 2010 Calendar - mini

Linda designed this calendar to be punched with a Marvy Mega (pink) Scallop Square punch.  To make the accordian, you will need two 2" strips of paper that are scored every 2".  One piece measures 2" x 10" and the other piece measures 2" x 8".  Overlap one panel entirely and adhere.

A Muse printed paper has a pattern on one side and is white or natural on the other side.  To add color to the side that is not printed, we used a Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink pad and just dabbed ink around the edges.

Speaking of calendars, don't forget about the A Muse Calendar Download project benefitting Water 1st! Calendars make fun, inexpensive and useful gifts that are cherished all year long!  And when you give the gift of a personalized calendar, you will also be giving the gift of fresh drinking water to some of the poorest regions of the world! We've raised over $3,000 so far... let's make it $4,000!  You can read all about it here.

When you purchase the A Muse 2010 Calendar download, you are able to print as many copies of the calendar as you wish.  Make one or forty (like Jill!)

 
CLOSED for Inventory - 12/17

Please make a note that the A Muse retail store will be CLOSED this Thursday, December 17th for inventory! We will be open on Friday, 12/18 during our regular business hours.

FUN stuff in store for!

Look at this fun necklace Linda made!  We have beautiful silver pendants available in three shapes (circle, square and rectangle).  Pop in a photo or create a collage.  Seal with diamond glaze and voila!  A beautiful, personalized gift!  And, it takes five minutes or less (plus drying time!)

Linda's mom, Vi, made these adorable crayon rolls.  We have colored pencil rolls too!  Great gift idea.

We just love these snow globe kits!  These have been a popular item this holiday... we've had to reorder them a few times!  Create a stamped scene or add a photo for a fun gift! $3.25 each.

Penguin-a-day erasers.  Utterly adorable.  Great stocking stuffer!  Only $3 and going fast!

 

We hope to see you soon!

~ Amanda ~*

Day 8: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 8 of our Holiday Tags Blog Bonanza!

With the holidays fast approaching, I have some FAST & FABULOUS tags to share with you today!

This first batch of tags was designed by Novell.  You may remember her last batch of snowflake tags... she is a prolific stamper!  What's her secret?  Well, I'm sure she has many but her stamping secret is to Keep it Simple!  These tags use traditional Christmas colors and a few festive stamps.  Pull out your punches and have fun!

The next batch of tags were designed by Dawn.  I really love how she managed to create three very different looking tags using the same featured stamp!

Here is the Juggling snowman juggling tiny gifts!  So fun!!

Here we have the juggling snowman with nothing to juggle... looks like he's dancing to me! 

And finally we have the Juggling snowman actually juggling snowballs!

Fast & fun!  That's what it's all about! 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post with our fun make & take project, fun last minute gift ideas and MORE tags!  Wahoo!

 
  

Day 7: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 7 of of our Holiday Tags Blog Bonanza. 

Did you have a productive weekend?  Mine wasn't as productive as I had hoped but it was certainly festive and fun so that's pretty good!  There is a small lake in north Seattle called Green Lake.  Every year there is a luminary walk where the three mile path around the lake is lit with luminaries.  It is quite a sight and there are many, many people out walking the lake and partaking in the festivities.  It took us quite a while to get around the lake this year because the kids were fascinated with the thin layer of ice that had formed on the lake. Thankfully they didn't try to walk on the ice... but they had fun poking sticks and throwing rocks at it.  Life's simple pleasures!  I also attended the Nutcracker (again!) with some friends and a neighbor's 90th birthday party! 

Today I have a wintery batch of holiday tags to share.  These were designedby Erika.  I really like the colors she chose and what a perfect way to use up some of your scrap paper! 

I love how Erika added twinkle stickers to the snowflakes... they really pop! Don't be afraid to add bling to your tags!  I know we tend to hord these precious gems but once you open the package, you should really use them up or the adhesive can get dried out over time. {TIP - to prolong the life of the adhesive, store your unused twinkle stickers in an airtight container or a ziplock bag.}

More bling!  And, the Shimmer Couture papers really shine!

Another variation...

Snowflakes and shimmer!  These fast & fabulous tags will surely add a festive touch to a holiday package this year!

Thanks for sharing your tags with us, Erika!!

Have a beautiful Monday everyone! 

   
 
 

Day 6: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 6 of our Holiday Tags Blog Bonanza! 

Are you starting to get in the mood for the holidays yet?  Last night was my youngest daughter's school Christmas show and it was so fun!  Makenna was dressed up as a sheep - so cute!!  Somehow they incorporated a bit of disco dancing into a rather traditional Christmas performance! I am definitely in the mood for Christmas now!

I will admit that I had good intentions of getting my Christmas cards done early this year but have still not even started them YET!  Yikes!  So, if you are behind like me, today's tag projects should make you happy because they are beautifully SIMPLE!  I'll bet you could get a lot done in just an hour or so!

Today's tags were designed by June and Novell.   Please visit their blogs to see more of their inspiring work!

On to the tags!

June's tags all feature A Muse tree stamps.  I love the special details she added... the miniature jingle bell tied to a ribbon , red pearls on the tree, torn kraft paper edges. 

Novell's tags have a snowflake theme.  I love the color scheme she used... one of my favorites for the holidays!

Ho! Ho! Ho! 14 more days until Christmas!  {too early to panic yet!}

  

Day 5: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 5 of our Holiday Tags Special. 

Today's project was designed for you by Sherry and it's fantabulous!  Seriously!!  When Sherry gave us a sneak peek a few weeks ago we all went bananas. 

Sherry designed three color-coordinated gift tags using the A Muse simple celebrations clear stamp set.  This is one of my favorite sets because it includes 20 images that cover all the major holidays throughout the year plus 3 sentiments... a great value for only $14.99!

Here is Sherry's first tag. Isn't this Santa a cutie?  Sherry flocked his beard, mustache and hat trim - very fun!

Sherry's second tag features the ornament stamp and LOTS of glitter (hard to tell from the photo).

Sherry's third and final tag features a fun little snowman that she flocked as well.

I love how Sherry used the same 'layout' for each tag.  This makes your job much easier when you are trying to mass produce.  It's amazing how different each tag looks just by mixing up the papers a bit.

These gift tags are fun BUT when they come packaged with their very own sleigh, they reach a whole new level of WOW! Yes! A SLEIGH!!

 

The sleigh runners are made from silver twist ties - ingenious or what?!

Here's a peek at the back of the sleigh... I love the pine branch detail she added.

And, because I know will want to make your very own sleigh, I have a template that you can download right here.

Download Sherry's Sleigh template

To view more of Sherry's work, please visit her blog. Please leave some LOVE by posting a comment to let her know how much you appreciate her inspiring project!

Stay tuned... more great tags to come!

   

  

Day 4: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

{Blog note: Be sure to scroll down so you don't miss any of our earlier posts!}

It's Day 4 and I have a fast and easy gift tag project for you today!  This set of tags was designed by Jill.  Jill's tags are beautiful AND easy to make.  You could make a whole bunch in just an hour or two!

And, when you are done, you can make a cute little box like this to put them in!

a peek inside

Jill used a limited set of supplies to keep things simple and speedy!  A Muse Shimmer Couture paper adds a the perfect touch of elegance!

Jill is one of our very talented A Muse Instructors and she teaches in the Southern California area. To view more of Jill's inspiring work and her upcoming class schedule, please visit her blog.  You can also let her know how much you LOVE her tags by posting a comment right here. =)

Lots more TAGS to share.  Stay tuned!
  

Shop News - 12/8/09

Monthly A Muse Coloring Contest

Bring your kids to the A Muse shop to pick up our December coloring page! The winner is randomly chosen and they receive a $10 A Muse gift card! October's winner was Meg! Here she is with her lovely creation! 

 

November's winner was Isabel! Here's her work of art!

Great job girls!

This week's Make & Take

This Wednesday and Saturday we will be making these fun Candy Cane tags using a SNOW PEN!

Come in anytime in between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to join in!

NEW Goodies in store for you!

We have kept Kent, our UPS driver, busy this week!  We purchased a lot of Martha Stewart Holiday items at a reduced prices and we are STOCKED to make you look GOOD this holiday season for super-low prices!!!  Feast your eyes on all this loveliness!!

Napkins

Plates

ADORABLE treat boxes!

Cookie envelopes with gift tags

Food tissue paper

Adorable gingerbread felt stickers!

Glittery bird stickers

Fun craft kits! {this one even includes two battery-operated tea lights!}

 
 
 My favorites!

And, Linda's FAVORITE... bakers' twine for only $2! {regularly $4.99}

 

Hope to see you soon!

~Amanda

Day 3: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 3 of our design inspiration series: Holiday Tags!

I know your time is short these days so I won't editorialize too much!  This next set of Holiday tags was designed by Cheiron.  They were all created using the A Muse Elegant Winter Clear Stamp Set.  I *LOVE* this stamp set.  With 6 images and 5 holiday sentiments, it's a great value! 

Here's a look at Cheiron's elegant tags...

 

Love her coloring on the Cardinal and the pretty pearl details!

Red snowflakes... love them!

Again, great coloring on the trees and fun pearl accents!

Cheiron's beautiful tags will enhance any gift! To enjoy more of her work, please visit Cheiron's blog.
  

Don't forget we are offering FREE shipping {Promo code: FREESHIP} on orders over $50!*  You will find the details in last week's A Muse News. Not receiving our weekly emails in your inbox?  Sign up today to stay abreast of new products and special offers from A Muse.  Click here to register.

*Valid on retail orders over $50 {pre-tax & pre-shipping amount} shipped to an address in the United States only. Does not apply to orders paid for with PayPal.  May not be combined with any other discount offers. Must add FREESHIP promo code during checkout.

Lots more tags to come!

Monogram Frames Galore

Linda said, "We need a monogram frames type of set to go with these alphabets.  Wanna take a stab at it?"

"Sure!" I said.  Then, I got to thinking . . .  "Uh oh.  I've never designed a stamp set before . . . "

But, I looked at the alphabets and thought about it.  I thought a LOT.  *chuckle*

And, the more I thought, the more I realized how lovely it would be to have a set that worked independently on its own, OR with the alphabets.  And, it evolved into this:  Monogram Frames Set

And, I love it!

And, today, I get to share some samples I created with it! *giddy*  Oh, and don't forget to click on the photo for an enlarged view!

First off:

This design has a sophisticated style about it that I just love and features a vibrant shade of green that combines well with the Onyx Damask Shimmer paper.  A few punched out circles and a petite flower, embellished with a pearl sticker, translate easily into a contemporary urban look.  Feminine, yet modern!  And, it might make ya' happy to know that the framed "hello" fits very nicely within a 1 1/2" circle punch. *wink*

Manly is hard sometimes, but, sticking to  a very simple earth tone palette--french roast, olive and cream, with a minimalist approach works well on this monogram note card.  The framed monogram is punched out with a 1 1/2 circle punch (Yes, that perfect fit was intentional!) and then embellished with one of our clear Circle Stickers, giving it a nice high gloss effect--polished and masculine.

By swapping the colors and ribbons used, you can make a variety of gorgeous monogram stationery gift sets!

This thank-you design looks luxurious, but was very  quick and easy to produce--a "neopolitan" mix of mango damask and pink Shimmer Couture papers, along with Espresso, make for an effective and classy note of gratitude!

Shabby chic is also just as easily accomplished by using a soft pastel palette, scallops and paper flowers and I couldn't resist trying a frilly card!  With more pearls, too!  The square frame was also deliberately designed to fit within a 1 3/8" square punch.  Slick!  *grin*

And, last but certainly not least, and with Christmas fast approaching, I thought a holiday design would be fun!  The ornate frame in the set, that features a shell motif in outer perimeter, was designed to work with the EK Success 2" Scallop Circle Punch.  After heat embossing it in white on red card stock, it was SO easy to line up and punch out perfectly!  In this instance, rather than pushing it to center stage, I used it to accent the upper right corner of the stamped "merry" and love the effect!

I'm so thrilled that this set is proving to be more versatile than I originally imagined it would!

I hope these ideas will spark ya', and, since it is the very first stamp set I've ever designed, you *know* I'd love to see what YOU are creating with it--so hook me up with a link to your pics!

Have a maaaaaahvelous Monday!

Day 2: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 2 of our Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags series.

Today's clever tags were designed by Lori.  Her design inspiration was from the A Muse News blog banner.  How fun is that?! 

Lori also made ALL of her holiday tags from one A Muse 4-bar notecard.  Four tags from ONE notecard.  Gotta LOVE it!! 

Click here to download a PDF of Lori's Tag Cutting Guide.

 

Here are the first three of Lori's fun tags:

...and here's the 4th tag:

And, of course, Lori couldn't resist making ONE more tag to share (this would be one too many for her cutting guide - just in case you are wondering!)

Just like Tisha, Lori limited the number of supplies she used in making her tags.  This allowed her to produce a ton of tags in a short while!

To view more of Lori's fabulous crafty ideas, please visit her blog.

I have LOTS more tags to share... stay tuned!

 

 
 

Tag, You're It Challenge Round Up

It's time for another Challenge Round Up! Each month, we host a challenge on our A Muse Lounge, and this month's challenge was called *Tag, You're It*, and the challenge was to incorporate a tag into your creation. All of the submissions were so creative and inspiring! Thanks so much to everyone that played along! We selected 12 designs from all the participants to highlight here in our Tag, You're It Challenge Round Up. Just click on each image to hop over the designer's blog or gallery to see their full card.

 

We also drew a winner randomly from ALL the participants!  The winner will receive a fabulous A Muse prize package... congratulations to... al_silver2!! 

We hope you enjoyed these fabulous creations! :) The new challenge for December has been posted so be sure to check it out!! The challenge is called *Happy Holidays* and the challenge is to create anything for the holidays!! Lots of possibilities for this month, cards, tags, gifts, wrapping, decorations!! There are already some wonderful creations that have been posted and we hope you will join in the fun too! :)

 

Guest Designer Winners!

It's time to announce the winners of Karen Watson's Guest Designer prize!  We randomly chose three names.... so congratulations to:

* Pamela who posted November 9, 2009 at 11:28am

* Tracey A who posted November 28, 2009 at 06:20pm

* Jo Ann who posted November 29, 2009 at 01:37pm

If you lucky winners would kindly email me your shipping address, and we'll send your goodies out to you!

 

Day 1: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags!

Life seems to get extra busy around this time of the year, doesn't it?  I like to slow things down and spend a few hours stamping holiday tags.  To simplify things, I go down to my studio, grab a limited set of supplies and haul them upstairs to my kitchen table.  {My studio is in the basement and it's a little chilly down there in December... and besides, it's too far away from the eggnog!}  I find that when I stick to one color scheme (that matches my gift wrap) and a few stamps and inks I am SUPER productive.  And, I don't have to think too hard about what I'm doing.   

Here's my supply list:

• Cardstock - white + 3 colors/patterns
• Stamps (one clear set or 4-5 wood stamps)
• Inks (black plus 2 to 4 colors)
• Stickles Glitter Glue - diamond
• 2 punches
• twine
• Scissors, adhesive, markers & paper trimmer

It's amazing how many tags you can make in an hour.  Tonight Makenna and I made some tags for the craft sale her Brownie Troop is having this weekend.  Together, we made over 100 tags in an hour (plus time for the glitter glue to dry).  Woohoo!  Her goal is to make 20 packages of 6 tags so we're nearly done.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Welcome to Day 1 of our Holiday Tags Design Inspiration Series.  I asked the Muses to share some of their favorite holiday tag designs with YOU, our blog readers, and they agreed enthusiastically!  Christmas arrived early at A Muse HQ because for the past two weeks we've been receiving special packages in the mail, each one containing fantastic holiday tags!

Our first holiday tag project was created by Tisha.  I love that Tisha made the gift tags themselves a GIFT!  Who wouldn't love to receive this smart little package of tags?!

Here's a closer look at the wonderful tags in this package! {click on any photo to enlarge}

And, here's another one:

As you can see, Tisha used a common color scheme for her tags.  And, she limited her stamp selection to Missy's Holiday clear stamp set.  With ten images and eight words, this set is a great value and perfect for making LOTS of fun holiday gift tags. 

Stay tuned... I have LOTS more tags to share with you! 

 

Shop News - 12/1/09

Classes

Our last class for the year is this Friday! TGIF Tags, tags, tags is from 12 to 1 pm and only costs $10. Sign up here or call the shop at 206-783-4882.

Also, there are tons of classes coming up in the new year. You can pick up a schedule in the shop today! They will also be listed on the A Muse website under events very soon!

Make & Take

This Wednesday and Saturday we will be making this fun triangle box for our weekly Make & Take!

Come in anytime in between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to join the flurry of fun!

Hope to see you soon!

~Amanda