Paper Trufflez

My Guitar Hero . . .

Taylor's 12th Birthday Card

Stamps:  Rock Star, Mini Oval, "You Rock!", Fun Star small (A Muse Artstamps)
Paper:  French Blue Note Card (A Muse)
Ink:   Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ice Blue (Clearsnap), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Memento Tuxedo Black, Daffodil (Tsukineko)
Coloring Tools: Alcohol Markers in Cadmium Orange, Manganese Blue, Sepia, Baby Skin Pink, Pale Sepia (Copic)
Ribbon:  Black Stitched Grosgrain (A Muse)
Other:  Sponge Dauber (Tsukineko)

Inspired by Novell's Little Rocker Dude

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I only had 15 minutes to crank out a birthday card for Taylor, and I just loved Novell's Little Rocker Dude design and knew it would be perfect for that kid of mine who's been jammin' with his Guitar Hero game of late.

Here's the inside of the card, which made Taylor laugh because, well, he's 5' 5 1/2" now (I'm only 5' 2" . . .  his dad is 6') . . .  12. Twelve.  The T-man is only TWELVE!!!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

So, what does a 12 yr. old boy hope and wish for on his birthday?  Certainly not these:

Um, Mom . . . ? . . .  why does this box say it's from A Muse???

MOM???!!!!

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Socks.

Seriously? Socks??!!

MOM!!!

 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

BOXERS???!!!!!!!

Aaaawwwwe, man (!) . . . I cannot believe this . . .

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

(The look on his face pretty much says it all . . . )

                                                     iPod Nano -->

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Thanks, Dad!!!

Awe, gee, thanks, too, Mom!   

(notice how even tho he's hugging his father, he cannot take his eyes off the iPod . . . )

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You should have seen his face the night before . . . when we told him that after a lot of thought we'd decided to get him a savings bond . . . and how gratifying it would be years from now . . . *chuckle*

I know--we're just so wicked!

WE'RE LIVE!

                      Link: amuseapalooza.com.      

We had so much fun with last year's A Muse-a-Palooza and this year promises to be even bigger and better!  It's been a wee bit crazy behind the scenes, as we gear up for this major event!

We have so much planned, including some fabulous online activities and prizes at the A Muse-a-Palooza blog, so make sure to get registered HERE because all that fun begins June 2nd and you don't wanna miss a thing!  

I'll be teaching a whopping 6 classes (am I crazy?!  I must be crazy, but it'll be FUUUUUUUUN!!!) at The Paper Garden Boutique in Sacramento, on the eve and first day of A Muse-a-Palooza!  Please see Stephanie's blog for pricing and further details!  Call the store at 916-487-2737 if you are interested in signing up! 

Here are class descriptions, dates and times:

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

Simply Sensational, 10am-12pm
Learn some of Julie's favorites--favorite A Muse stamps, favorite techniques and tips--for producing simple, yet sensational designs while making these 6 darling cards!

Happy Mail, 1pm-3pm
Everybody loves happy mail!  Combine A Muse's whimsical images and colorful papers to create 6 clever cards for friends and family!

Simply Sensational, 4pm-6pm
Learn some of Julie's favorites--favorite A Muse stamps, favorite techniques and tips--for producing simple, yet sensational designs while making these 6 darling cards!

Monday -- July 7th, 2008--A MUSE-A-PALOOZA BEGINS!

Make it Merry Part 1, 10am-12pm
Make 6 cards featuring the newest holiday stamps from the A Muse-a-Palooza 2008 Release!

Make it Merry Part 2, 1pm-3pm
Make 6 more cards using the newest holiday stamps from the A Muse-a-Palooza 2008 Release!

Make it Merry Part 3, 6pm-8pm
Take this class for 6 more fresh and fun holiday A Muse designs, and you'll have the cutest collection of Holiday cards this side of the rubbah planet!

Note:  These classes are all different, so take 'em all, and you'll walk out the door with 18 fabulous holiday card ideas!

I can hardly wait to see Stephanie's store, which everyone tells me is rockin' AWESOME,  and see her once again--she's rockin AWESOME herself--and Missy Balance, one of our A Muse illustrators, has promised she'll pop in so I can meet her in person for the first time!

I've never been to Sacramento before, so I'm MUY jazzed!

GOOD TIMES!!! 

Asian Lantern

Arigato
Stamps:  Sushi, Nature Clear Sets (A Muse)
Paper:  Chiffon Pink 4 Bar Notecard (A Muse)
Ink:  Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Lime Pastel, Olive Pastel, and Rouge (Clearsnap); Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Tools:  1/16" hole punch, crimper (Fiskars),  1 1/2" Circle Punch (EK Success)
Other:  Black Mini Brad (Doodlebug Designs), Silver Cord (May Arts)
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Asian party lanterns are just such bright and happy decorations to have--so fun and colorful!  I haven't had any time to stamp for days and days (and days and days and days!!!), and it really makes for a wretchedly craaaa-aa-aabby me!!!    Good thing this design turned out to happy me up, cuz I *shorely* needed it! 

Thank you for all the warm wishes for Hayley on my post the other day! You are all so kind!     Louise, "bittersweet" describes my feelings very aptly!

I'm a runnin' again today, as someone, who seems to have gotten taller than his mama literally overnight, is havin' a birthday today (12 already!!!  Yikes!), and there are presents to wrap in secret, a favorite dinner to prepare (OK, OK--order out! *snarf*), and lots of cake and ice cream to be had!

  Later!

Mission Accomplished!

I finally finished the announcements and ended up doing a transparency overlay onto white.  Simple, classy, but not stuffy formal . . .  I hate being behind and at the bottom, rather than the top, of my game, but, well, sometimes, that's just the way it goes . . . better late than never, I guess . . . this was my personal favorite of all her Senior photos, done by Island Jenn.  These are a few more shots . . .

 

This Girl:  She's stubborn, loyal to a fault, loud and giggly, with an infectious, friendly personality . . .  filled with unbridled enthusiasm for the things and people she is passionate about . . .  competitive like her father, persistent like her mother . . . compassionate and staunch defender of those unable to defend themselves . . . has a tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve . . .  I am proud of all she has accomplished, tremendously excited for her in all that the future holds, and yet feeling forlorn and anxious about her flyin' the nest . . .

She's always been a ball of fire--more self-assured than I have been or ever will be . . . We raised her to make up her own mind . . . to be confident, to stand up for herself and what is right . . .

Despite the headaches, exasperation of the drama years, and (all) the grey hair this approach has wrought (!), I have to believe we've prepared her to the very best of our abilities. 

She's gonna do just fine out there.

Guest Designer Dawn McVey

Link: A Muse News: Guest Designer Dawn McVey.

Looky who I am having the pleasure of writing about for the next few weeks!

People's Picks 2008 | NWsource

Link: People's Picks 2008 | NWsource.

HEY!!!  This is COOL!  Do you know Seattle?  Have you been to the A Muse shop?  I always feel a sense of bliss when I get a chance to go down to the shop--Nina's window displays are so awesome! 

You can actually vote for them (once each day [!], from now through June 1st) for the People's Pick 2008 favorite places to eat/shop/play in Seattle!  Just click on the knitting, sewing, crafting places to shop link to cast your vote.

Cool!

So, where's the best place in Seattle for sushi?  I love Blue C sushi in Lynnwood, but, I suppose that doesn't count, cuz it's actually in Lynnwood . . .

I also voted for Queen Mary's under the dessert places--if you EVER get a chance to go with a girlfriend, it's DIVINE!

I AM BRILLIANT!!!

Mmmmm. Yes.  Most definitely yes.  When a girl hasn't stamped just for the halibut in a few weeks, sometimes, she's just gotta do, what she's gotta do!

Today, I put something that's been rolling around in my head to paper, and, --totally nailed it on the first run!

Stamps:  Images by A Muse Artstamps
Paper:  Orange Kitchen Collection Paper  by A Muse
Ink:  Robin's Egg Pigment (Clearsnap), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko)
Other:  Dymo Label Maker
•••

Why, yes, today I am indeed a clevaaaah girl!! (arms wrapped around self, chortling).  Isn't this just the cutest thing???

I took just a couple hours off during the weekend, to take the kids to see Iron Man  . . . O M G !!! Robert Downey, Jr. is a total hottie in this flick!  Eeegads, I haven't been to the movies since last July--really need to get out more often . . .

Anyway, this movie was totally worth full ticket price--can't wait to own it on DVD--Iron Man *must* be mine!!!    If you're a fan of Marvel comics, you'll love it!  Robert, Robert, Robert . . . I'm gonna need an appletini to douse these flames! Mercy!!!
 

OK (slapping self), enough fantasizing and back to the rubbah!

Stamps:  Frame image (from Bracket Frames Clear Set), polka dot "j" (Polka dot lowercase Clear Alpha Set)  by A Muse
Paper:  Madeira Lt. Green by A Muse
Paper Flowers:  Making Memories & Prima

•••

I also made a spiffy decorative liner using the new Madeira 8.5 x 11" paper for my Starbucks coffee mug! 
I wanted to embellish the center of the flower with these gaaaaaaw-jus Swaroski crystals Mona gave me, but, it wouldn't clear the insert chamber, so I had to remove it, and substituted a mini glue dot, and sprinkled some seafoam ultrafine glitter, so I could have a bit o' bling.  I'm not sure I really like the way I did the monogram, tho . . . the paper is *so* pretty all on its own, that I had a hard time covering it up with anything else . . . I may just re-do it, and showcase the paper all by it's beautimous onsie . . .  I've had that gol durn mug since last fall, waiting patiently for just the right paper . . .  So glad I did! 

It's awesome to now have some of my favorite patterns and colors of paper in full 8.5 x 11" sheets!  Yippeeeee!!!

Well, that's all I got for show and tell for the moment . . . Hope your Monday has been maaaahvelous, as opposed to manic!  *chuckle*