Listen to this...

A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA is almost here!

Scattered Pictures is the exclusive host for A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA in Oregon and they have LOTS of fun events planned! Come and join the fun! (Click here for the details for each of the classes.)

• Friday, July 10th, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA  Preview Night
• Saturday, July 11th, 10:30 - 12:00 - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA Class A
• Saturday, July 11th, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA Class B - Instructor: Nancy Williams
• Tuesday, July 14, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA Make-N-Take
• Wednesday, July, 15th 6:00 - 7:30 pm -  A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA Merry and Bright
• Friday, July 17th, 10:30 - 12pm - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA  Elegant Christmas 
• Saturday, July 18th, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA SNOW Much Fun!
• Saturday, July 18th, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA Make-N-Take

AP starts tomorrow!!!

Hellooooo!! I'm back from Seattle and it was the best trip EVER! I don't know if I told you guys, but I went up there with some girlfriends to see New Kids on the Block in concert and they were AMAZING!!! Seriously, I can't even talk about it because it was so good!  And now I'm completely swamped so I'm just popping on here for a second to say - A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA starts tomorrow! Woot-woot!  I'll be at Scattered Pictures (503.252.1888) hosting a preview part there tomorrow night and then we have LOTS of stuff planned throughout the week so I hope you can make it to something!  I'd love to see you! Plus, you NEED to see these new stamps people - they adorable!  Okay, off to prep and get some more samples done.  I promise I'll have a card to show you soon. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this delish picture of my boyfriends aka NKOTB.  Hugs!

(Photo courtesy of Lori Schimmel because my camera died right as they were taking the stage. And don't worry, I'll be back with LOTS of more pictures once my schedule calms down.) 

P.S. Imagine LOTS of screaming and jumping when you look at this picture! Hee-hee!

Blogging break...

Hey chicas!  I'm headed to Seattle for a couple of days - yippee!! - and I'm up to my eyeballs with all my AP class stuff so I'm taking a bit of a blogging break.  But I'll be back soon with LOTS of cute stuff to show you!  And in the meantime, be sure to be checking out the A Muse blog! 

Have a wonderful day! 

(Only 3 more sleeps until AP starts - woohoo!!)

Happy "bird"-day!

One of my best-friend's little girl turned 3 yesterday and this is the card I made for her.  I absolutely fell in love with this paper (from American Crafts) when I saw it and it completely reminded me of her, so I just had to use it!  And since it was just so darn cute, I kept the rest of the card very simple so I wouldn't cover much of it up.  The sentiment is from Impress and the "3" is from American Crafts.

 

So, what are your plans for the 4th?  We have a big block party every year with our neighbors that is soooo much fun! It feels so old-fashioned (in a very good way) to just stay close to home, barbeque and hang out with our neighbors, I just love it.  We set up the waterslide for the kids in the afternoon, then we all go home and take a nap, then come back over in the evening for more eating and fireworks.  Such a fun summer tradition! 

 

Same paper, different card

Hi there! Today's card uses the same paper/layout as my ribbon card below, I just added some images this time.  I made this card for my friend Nancy and gave it to her a bit late so I could add my favorite sentiment to use with this image - "happy bee-lated birthday" (I stamped it inside).  So cute!  The chick image was stamped in front of the grass and then I cut out another one from scrap paper and adhered it over the first one.  Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy! (That's what Isaiah says. )

Everything is A Muse except for the blue and green inks which are ColorBox.

 

And speaking of Izy, here's my favorite picture from his little birthday party yesterday.  Can you tell he's my son, or what? The boy loves his cupcakes almost as much as I do! :)  Have you ever seen anyone eat a cupcake like that? Soooo funny!

 

Happy summer! Now go have a cupcake!

~Katie

A Muse Challenge - Ribbon

I'm getting my ribbon challenge card done just in the time!  Have you been playing along with all the AP fun over at the A Muse blog? If not, what are you waiting for? :)  They've got lots of fun challenges and contests going on and that means there are lots of prizes to win!  Be sure to check it out!

For my card today, I didn't do anything too creative, just tied three of my fave grosgrain stitch ribbons around the card and added a sweet little sentiment.  Super easy but cute! 

Isaiah's birthday is tomorrow but we're having a little party for him today so I have to go get ready for it.  I'll try to take some pictures and post them tomorrow.  Hope you're all having a good day!

~Katie

3 Cards - Finally!

Helloooooo! Is anyone still out there? :)  Right after we got the laptop fixed, the internet went out!! I seriously could not believe it!  But I think everything is fixed now so I should be back to posting regularly (I hope so!) 

Today I have a few more cards from that same SU! kit that I love! I can't get enough of this kit!  (You can see the other cards here, here, here and here.)

The first card is super simple and I thought about adding more stuff to it but then I decided just to leave it simple 'cause that's how I like it! :)

 

Number 2 is my favorite! I love how this turned out! The sentiment is a rub-on from a pack that I got at Craft Warehouse for $1 but I don't know who it's by. 

 

And here's number 3.  Isn't this birdie just so cute?

 

Hope you like them! I should be back soon with some A Muse cards!  Hope you're all doing well and are enjoying all the AP fun at the A Muse blog!

New hard drive!

Woot woot! The hubs fixed my laptop! Now all I have to do is re-download all my pictures and photo editing software so I can get some cards posted.  Stay tuned!

Laptop died...again

Hey everyone, you are note EVEN going to believe this! My brand-new-only-had-it-for-three-weeks laptop just died yesterday. Apparently the hard-drive was bad and they're sending us a new one.  So, needless to say, I'll be MIA with the card postings for a couple of days. Sorry about that! I've got lots to show you but the pics on my laptop (I'm on the antique desktop at the moment.)  Anyway, it should all be fixed sometime in the next week and I'll get on here to show you some goodies as soon as possible.  In the meantime, be sure to be checking the A Muse blog for all the AP fun that's going on.  See you soon!

AP Fun!

Have you all been checking out the A Muse blog for all the AP fun?  There are several contests going on and you don't want to miss them! 

I'll be back later with a card to share for one of the challenges.  Have an A Muse-ing day! :)

~Katie

New Class Schedule!

Hi everyone! I've created a new page to keep my class schedule updated for you guys.  Over there on the right side you can click on the link to see the classes and descriptions including my A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA classes.  Hope to see you there!

The fun has started!!

Yippee! A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA  is here and Scattered Pictures is hosting the event this year for Oregon and I'll be teaching at it! YAY!!!! I can't wait!  Check out the A Muse blog for more details and stay tuned for my updated class schedule. 

 

Count my blessings

Hiya! My card today started out as Jen's SFYTT Saturday but I couldn't make it work so this is what I ended up with.  I love this sentiment from Close To My Heart (although, I'm not crazy about the font).  I defintely have a lot of wonderful friends and they are all such blessings to me! I don't know what I would do without all my girls! :)  Paper is SU! (again), ink is Adirondack, felt flower is American Crafts and the paper flower is punched out using a Marvy punch.

Hope you're all having a great Wednesday! I have class tonight at Scattered Pictures so I will be busy prepping for that today.  See you later!

 

~Katie

3 Little Cards

Why, hello there! How are you all today?  I've been getting my craft on the last few days so I have lots of things to show you.  And I haven't forgotten about Manly Monday...it's just been put on the back burner for a few weeks. :) 

I have TONS of friends that are pregnant at the moment and so far all of them are having girls.  So, I thought it would be a good idea to get a jump on making the cards that I'll include with their presents.  I've been into the little 3x3 inch cards lately, so that's what I decided to make.  I used some paper from the Sweet Always paper pack (it's from SU! but I can't find it on the website anymore) and a sentiment from a random SU! set that I have (don't know the name of it, sorry!) I kept these really simple and did the same layout on all of them and just changed the little accessory on each one. 

(Sorry if the color is really off on these.  The new laptop's color settings are completely different than my old one, so I'm having a bit of trouble with my photo editing process.)

 

~Katie

Butterfly Birthday, Round 2

Hello there!  I've got another butterfly birthday card like the one I showed you a couple of days ago.  I just love this paper so I couldn't just stop at one card - I had to make two!  This one is a very simple layout that I think really focuses on the paper.  Hope you like it!

(See the post below for all the details on  the products used.)

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

It's my dear friend Jenny's birthday today - happy birthday, beautiful!  This is the card I made for her.  I got this AMAZING butterfly paper when I was at Hobby Lobby in Colorado (we don't have it here) and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for Jenny! I hope she likes it! :)

And on another note - God bless my husband, he got me a new laptop!  YAAAAY!  Now I can finally type without the cursor going crazy and deleting everything I've written.  I do have to copy all the old stuff onto this new machine which is kind of a pain but oh so worth it!  Thanks honey!

Sentiment, Ink: CTMH
Paper:  Butterfly - Paper Studio; Solid  colors - DCWV
Accessories: Butterfly punch - Martha Stewart; Rhinestones - A Muse; Die cut (can't remember the name) - SU!; Scallop and Standard oval Nestabilities

 

Summery Sailboat

Yippee! The new stamps are up on the A Muse website! Have you checked them out yet? Which one is your favorite? I think mine is the Surf Board, even though I don't surf or anything, I just love it! I think it's the cool swirl design on it.  

So, I have a fun little "scene" card for you today! I'm absolutely LOVING this new tinygingham paper and it makess the most perfect water - don't you think?  I made the waves using a small circle punnch and added a bit of dimension on them by lightly distressing the edge using blue chalk ink.  The "island" is hand colored using a Sand colored Copic marker.

Okay, I'm having serious computer issues right now so I gotta cut this short.  (My keyboard is barely working and the cursor keeps jumping around making it almost impossible to type!)  Be sure to check out all the new goodies over at A Muse - you're gonna love them!

P.S.  The sentiment looks better in real life.

 

Amuse-bouche - Beach style!

Hello chicas! Are you ready for a little amuse-bouche?  I'm soooo excited about this release from A Muse because I am more than ready for summer and these stamps put me in the mood for sun! :)  Isn't the cabana stamp sooo cute? And check out the new tiny gingham paper!! LOOOOOVE it! Nothing says summer to me like gingham!  This is actually one of the cards I'll be teaching at Scattered Pictures this Wednesday for my Summer Fun class and I would love to see you there! 

Now if you're wanting more peeks at the new stamps, then head on over to the A Muse blog - they've got tons of summery goodness happening!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We're heading to the beach tomorrow so I might not get another amuse-bouche (sneak-peek) up but the rest of the team will be showing you lots of wonderful creations over the next few days.  Enjoy!

Manly Monday on Wednesday...again

Hhhmm, I think I'll change Manly Monday to Wednesday since it seems that's when I always get it posted, lol!  My card today is a super simple Father's Day card I made to give to my husband.  For the sentiment, I masked off the "more than" from this sentiment (I do that a lot) and then added a circle frame over it. (To make the frame, simply punch a circle from a square piece of cardstock.) I then stamped the tiny heart over the "love" to add just one more little touch.  The inside says "Happy Father's Day."  Super simple but hopefully my DH likes it!

Hope you're all having a good Wednesday!  I'm off to make some more crafty goodness! Hugs!

All images, notecards, Pretty Little Paper, black dye ink - A Muse
Circle punch - EK Success
Red ink - ColorBox

 

You're my cup of tea

Hello! I'm sitting here with Theo while he's coloring on paper and himself  (he keeps going "Ta-da!"), sipping on my iced white mocha, and watching the birdies in my back yard - what a wonderful morning!  And I actually have a card to share with you - yippee!  My friend Breanna came over awhile ago and we were brainstorming different sentiment/image combinations and she suggested this one with the Asian doll, isn't it perfect? :)  For the flowers, I first used the rock-n-roll technique to give them some extra color, then heat embossed over it using clear embossing powder (EP), then I cut them and popped them out on the card.  Hope you like it!

 

All images, notecard, black ink - A Muse
Copic Markers
White cardstock - Neenah Crest Solar White
Purple Inks - ColorBox
Clear EP - Stampendous

Shower invitation

Good morning! I actually have a card to share today - yippee!  I'm helping throw a baby shower for a friend of mine and this is the invitation that I made for her.  I LOOOOOOVE this umbrella, especially because it's perfect for paper-piecing (my fave technique!)  Sorry the picture is so bad, I took it really quickly and then mailed off the invites before I could re-photograph it. 

Hope you're all having a good day!  Hugs!

Umbrella image - A Muse
Sentiment - CTMH
Paper - American Crafts
Copic Marker
Ink - Adirondack

 

 

Anniversary set card

Hey there! Sooo sorry I haven't been updating at all lately...I've just been so busy and haven't time to dedicate to the ol' blog but I'm hoping to be able to start updating more often like I used ot.  Anyway, have you been keeping up with the A Muse blog?  They're having a big celebration and I've got a card on there today!  So, since I don't have anything cool to show you, you can hop over there and check out all the eye candy! :)

I'm back!

I had a great trip to Colorado but it's taking me longer than expected to get back on track with everything, including my blog! I'm working on some crafty stuff to *hopefully* show you in the next day or two.  In the meantime, be sure to check out the A Muse blog because they're having a HUGE celebration in honor of  the company turning 8!! So fun!!

Have a good day!

 

Leavin' on a jet plane...

Yippee! I'm heading to Colordo tomorrow with Isaiah to visit one of my favorite families in the whole world.  Can't wait! We'll be gone for four days so I won't be blogging until I get back.  Here are  few cards to tide you over until I get back.  The store that I teach at needed some card samples and these are a few that I came up with.  Enjoy!

All images, notecards, ribbon, Twinkle Stickers - A Muse

 

 

 

Manly Monday....

Won't be happening this week :)  I'm super swamped as I'm leaving for 4 days on Wednesday, so all my free time is going towards getting ready for that.  But all is not lost! I do have a few older cards that I will be posting tomorrow to get you through my absence! ;) Have a wonderful Monday!

Hugs!

It's raining baby blessings

Happy Sunday, everyone!  My morning started out rough as I stayed up until midnight reading and then Theo woke 3 times during the night. (This is NOT normal for him, he sleeps through the night 98% of the time) So I was super tired and cranky when I woke up.  Plus I'm out of white chocolate syrup for my mocha which made me even more annoyed, lol!  I was trying to give up coffee but it only lasted three days and mornings like this call for coffee!  So, I ended up using regular chocolate syrup and my mocha WAS NOT GOOD.  So I said to my hubby, "This is nasty...you can have it" - haha! He REALLY appreciated that one!  Lol!  But then we went to church and it was just wonderful as always and now I'm in a great mood! It's amazing how taking time to worship the Lord really changes my perspective on everything.  Although, I still need to go to the store to get some more white chocolate syrup! :)

My card today is a bright and fun baby shower card!  I have soooo many friends that are pregnant right now and I love it! Babies are such blessings and I'm very happy to be in the stage of life where everyone around me is having them.  Anyway, back to the card! I stamped the umbrella three times at varying heights and colored them with Copic markers.  Then I made a little circle tag thingy using the Baby Wishes clear set and popped it up with foam tape.   The paper is a mix of A muse and CTMH, just in case you were wondering.  :)

That's it! Hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday! Blessings!

 

My super late amuse-bouche

Well, this was supposed to be my amuse-bouche (A Muse sneak-peek) a couple of days ago but my internet went out so I'm puttin' it up now!  Better late than never. :) I was so excited to see this new Vine Border stamp because I've been wanting  flourish type stamp from A Muse for awhile and this one is gorgeous!  I stamped it using black pigment ink, then flipped it around, inked it up and then stamped it again right next to the first one.  Then I heat embossed the images using clear embossing powder.  (I've been on an embossing kick lately!)  The Mr. and Mrs. is also embossed with clear EP and then accented in each corner with clear Twinkle Stickers.  Hope ya like it! Be sure to check all of new release stamps, they're TDF!!

All images, Twinkle stickers, black pigment ink - A Muse

 

Manly Monday Goes Baby

Today's card is more "baby" than "manly" but I figured since it's for a boy it still counts, right? And I have more than just a card, too! My friend had a baby shower this weekend and I wanted to give her something handmade so I immediately thought of these baby blocks on Emily's blog.  I've been wanting to make them for awhile and this seemed like the perfect time! I got the blocks at the craft store, painted them white and then covered them using A Muse paper and matte finish Modge Podge.  The letters are Thickers. 

 To go along with the name blocks, I also made her my favorite baby shower gift - a pack of thank you cards! I used the sam baby image as yesterday but this time I left the baby uncolored and paper-pieced the diaper.  I kept these SUPER simple since I was making lots of them. 

And are you still loving all the amuse-bouch (A Muse sneak-peeks) you've been seeing? I know I've used this baby twice already but he's just so darn cute, I can't put him down!  I'll have a new image to show you tomorrow so be sure to stop by!  Have a good Monday!

Amuse-bouche - Hey, baby!

Hellooooooo there! How are you all today?  I hope you're having a great weekend, I know I am! I had some ladies over to stamp and it was soooo much fun! I love having girl time, especially when there are rubber stamps involved! ;)

So, are you liking all the amuse-bouche (A Muse  sneak-peeks) you've seen so far? Aren't the stamps TDF? Love them! I can't wait for you to see them all on April 22nd when they're released on them A Muse website, ya better hang on to your wallet! Lol! 

My card is quick and simple, my favorite kind!  I used the new baby image (LOOOVE this stamp!) and the cutest baby sentiment ever and colored him with Copic markers.  The rest is pretty self-explanatory but feel free to leave a comment with any questions.  Enjoy!

(I'll add the details tomorrow, I'm about to fall asleep so I gotta go!) :)

Amuse-bouche!

What's an amuse-bouche? Well, the real version is a little bit of tasty food before a meal, like an appetizer.  Our amuse-bouche is sorta the same - but with stamps! So, you're going to be getting lots of tasty little bites of what's to come with the latest  A Muse realease, Newly Hatched.  These stamps are too cute and you're gonna love 'em!  

For my card, I decided to use my favorite stamp from the release, Dandelion.  I've been wanting a dandelion image forever and I'm soooo happy to finally have this one! I kept my layout very simple and just added a Twinkle Sticker to the center of the flower and then some brads to add interest and texture.  Hope you like it! Be sure to check out all of the A Muse creative team blogs over there on the right.  They'll have a lot more amuse-bouche to whet your appetite!

   

Manly Monday - Serenity

Hey girlies!  Guess what? I have a Manly Monday card for you and it's actually still Monday, lol! Can you believe it? :) 

Lately I've been itching to use some of my older stamps that haven't seen ink in awhile so I went into my stash and pulled out this Serenity set by Verve Visual.  I just LOVE their stamps and wish I owned them all! 

(Okay, this is totally off subject but I know 8 people that are pregnant and due in September.  Anyway, 3 of them are finding out what they're having today and I just heard from 2 of them and they're both having girls! Yay!! Now I just need to hear from the third one!)

Back to the card! :)  I kept it really simple as I always due for masculine cards since and just added a row of brads for some POP! Hope you like it!

Brown Madeira paper, Long Grass - A Muse Artstamps
Serenity sentiment - Verve Visual
Cardstock - SU!; DCWV; Neenah Crest
Ink - SU!; CTMH
Brads - American Crafts