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WOO HOOOOOO!!!
I just got back from a super fun weekend teaching at the Precious Memories Scrapbook Spectacular, held at the Coast Hotel & Casino!
This year's theme was Western and if you look closely, you just might see "Minnie Pearl" (from Yee Haw) in the background! It was rootin', tootin' times, I tell ya'!!!! Some folks had the most ingenious costumes! 
I held the camera and Glenda snapped the shutter button, but, between the two of us, our arms are too short! So, we got fishbowl effect. ROTFLMBO!
I met Glenda at last year's Spectacular, and now I'm so thrilled she's a member of our Certified Instructor Team, serving Victoria, and Vancouver Island area with her A Muse classes! She showed me some projects she'd been working on, and lemme tell ya' they are stinkin' CUTE!
And, here's a tip: Do not take pictures *anywhere* inside the casino area. It is evidently a no-no.
Attendees got to use Simple Stick and purdeeeee glitter in my class on one of the three projects we did!
Here's what folks got to make:
Download JeMiniPizzaBoxTemplate0409
Spectacular Attendees, thank you--I had so much fun working with all of you and seeing so many familiar faces once again! Ya'all ROCK!
And, thank you to the folks at Precious Memories for inviting me back again to share more fun A Muse projects at this year's event! What a blast!
I'll be teaching again down at The Great Yosemite Stamp Escape in sunny California this weekend, so Carl and I are gonna be up close and personal this week, too! *wink*
Oooh! I just LOVE how this take-out box turned out--I used my BIGZ take-out die (with my Big Shot machine)--Seriously, I don't think I've ever made a gift box so FAST! Lolly--talk 'bout yer instant grat!!!
Please note that I'm not sure about ALL BIGZ dies, but, I do know this one requires paper at least 12" long--I cut a 12 x 12" sheet into two 6 x 12" and that's all I needed for the box. It's a nice size box, actually (3 1/4" x 2 5/8" x 3 1/4"), and perfect for a small gift!
I sneaked a peek of the coming Vine Border on the tag--I am LOVING this border--it has just a few delicate swirls at one end, with the leaves and a single, almost tulip-like blossom at the other! This was a challenging project to film--prolly due to the plain white backdrop. I've had a heckuva time trying to get the true colors balanced in this, even with Photoshop. So, this is as good as it gets. The Blush color got washed out--over exposed, methinks. So, it looks white, even tho it's really this pale, yet plush color of pink that I adore.
Pink and black, with hints of green are fun to put together--I think the green just sets off the pink and black even more so?
Have you ever tried the Fiskars Squeeze punches? The Chip Off the Old Block is one of my favorites--makes doing those angled corners for tags so easy! I have (both) the corner rounders, too! They're WICKED!!! They punch like buttah--I'm pretty keen on the fact that I can actually punch through my card CLOSED, and round two corners at once, instead of having to punch each corner separately, with the card open.
Last time I was down at the A Muse shop, I picked up some spools of pretty tulle in pink and chocolate brown--This is probably my favorite way to embellish a package--it makes the best, airy and fluffy BOWS! I found the wired pom poms in the gift wrap section at Michael's a loooooong time ago and hadn't ever figured out what to use the dang stuff for. Then, it occurred to me as I was doing up this box that I could just tuck a few snippets of it into the bow and, because they're wired, they'd kinda float around among the tulle.
DANG!!! I AM BRILLIANT!!! 
(deep chortling today. deep.)
OK, I've had my fun little break and now I must get back to kitting. Lots and lots of kitting. LOL!
All stamp images, Clear Twinkle Sticker, Palm Sheer Ribbon and Blush paper by A Muse Artstamps; Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Lime Pastel; Paper flower by Prima
This was my first chance to play with our coming Kokeshi Doll--isn't she sweet?! This design was inspired by so many things! As many of you know I am half Filipino. I grew up with healthy doses of Pacific Islander and Asian cuisine, thanks to my Mom, who is an *exceptional* cook, and I have memories of going to Uwajimaya when she needed to shop for specialty grocery items to create those wonderful dishes! Pretty dishware is an important aspect in presentation of Asian cuisine, and often times, the little white and blue porcelain bowls, plates, and tea sets struck me as so lovely--they still do!
And, it's those pretty dishes that inspired this card design!
"Clustering" visual elements is always a challenge for me, so I decided to practice on this piece. The doll hides the foam mounting tape that the vellum tag is mounted on--I like the varying heights this created on the finished card. I tinted the doll's cheeks pink, but, got it too dark initially; luckily, I could diffuse it with the Blender pen to make it softer. She's also lightly traced with Powder Blue Copic, just for shading, but, I didn't quite pick that up with the camera.
This card also reminds me of our very recent Japanese dining experience at East West Shabu Shabu in Garden Grove, CA:
The food was so awesome, and so reasonably priced (the portions are so generous--too generous!), that we went back a 2nd time for lunch before we had to catch our flight home! If you live in the area or visit, and ever get the chance, I highly recommend this place! It was *spotless* clean, the atmosphere was very pleasant, and the owner and his staff were absolutely AWESOME! They were so friendly--customer service was the best, and they treated us to several extra delights just to try them out--Dave and I both thought the pickled radish was divine! And, I'm not fond of radishes!
Shabu-shabu is such a healthy way to eat--lots of fresh vegetables, no greasy deep fat frying! If I could figure out an easy way to re-create this dining experience at home, I swear I'd prolly dine this way every day!
amuse-bouche indeed! *wink*
All images: Kokeshi Doll (sneak peek) , Zinnia Solid, Open Zinnia, "Arigato" from Sushi Set by A Muse Artstamps; Chiffon Blue paper by A Muse; Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Ice Blue & Iris; Paper Flowers by Prima; Blue Rhinestone Brad by Making Memories; Vellum Tag by SU!
Modern Poppy is such a pretty image--I thought it would be fun to pair it up with Big Bl serving as the backdrop.
So many ways to color a poppy, but, I thought I'd give this design more of a "California" poppy look, hence the yellows and oranges on the blossom. The center was accented once again with some luscious chocolately brown glitter, and I decided to sprinkle some Twinkle Stickers, too. I just like the look!
I trimmed out loosely by hand around the uneven edge and I like the effect of that. I also felt it looked most effective 3D mounted to the Buttercup card base, without being matted with an additional layer of contrasting card stock. Hand-lettered the sentiment. Here's a tip for hand-lettering: use a straight edge and a pencil to lightly draw a line where you want to write. This will keep you from "sloping", which I always seem to do when I write free-hand. *chuckle* I also like using a fine-tip pigment pen for hand-lettering, personally speaking. Then I use a white eraser to make my guidelines vanish! *wink*
Have a fan-stamp-magorical day! BTW--how fun to read so many of you are Disney fans like me! *chinkle*
Stamp images: Modern Poppy, Big Bl; Paper: Buttercup Yellow 4 Bar note card, Micro Dot Twinkle Stickers all by by A Muse Artstamps; Ink: Fluid Chalk in Ice Blue, Lime Pastel, Olive Pastel & Versamagic Jumbo Java; Glitter: Art Institute; Colored pencils: Koh-I-Noor; Pigment Pen: Pigma Micron in Dark Brown .05
Facebook | My Photos - Spring Break 09,.
Every year Spring Break rolls around, and we rarely make any advance plans to go away . . . get away . . . and take a break from work and all the other every day demands. It just sneaks up on us and by the time we realize it, it's too late; everything's booked, of course.
It's very easy to just stay in that routine of "All work and no play . . . " That makes for a pretty dull life, tho, eh?! We keep rackin' up air miles . . . saving them for "some day" . . . It was time. Time to turn some day into NOW . . . and by a stroke of luck, I was able to use 'em at the last minute to fly us away to, as some of you guessed, The Happiest Place on Earth! Yup! DISNEYLAND!!!
I never got to experience Disneyland as a kid--not that I have ever considered myself deprived because of it, LOL! But, when Dave and I were first married, a chance came to see the Magic Kingdom for what would be, at least for me, the very first time. Even as an adult, it was magical! I had never seen anything like it, and to this day still can't help but marvel at the engineering behind the rides, and the amazing detail in the sets and props of some of my favorites--Splash Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, just to name a few . . . Afterwards, I just knew it would be delightful for my own kidlings to experience the same some day . . . 
But, I digress . . .
On our 2nd night, on the tram into the park, a mother and father seated a row ahead of us told their little ones, in very surly tones, "You better enjoy this. Because this is the last time we are ever coming to this place! It's expensive and it's RIDICULOUS!"
One of the little ones asked rather tremulously, "Can I go when I'm a grown-up?"
It about broke my heart. Yeah. Disney IS spendy; I can't argue that. But . . . ridiculous? Oh, I have such a very hard time with that . . . childhood is so fleeting . . . soon enough there are adult responsibilities and worries to contend with and we forget the "wonder", UKWIM? I'm pretty sure I sat there with my mouth hanging open in disbelief . . .
Taylor put his chin on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, "Mom, thank you", and Dave squeezed my hand. They'd overheard the conversation in the row ahead, too . . .
I love that little twinkly musical sound as the scanner reads your ticket when you enter the park. I love the cinnamony smell of churros wafting through the air as you stroll down Main Street. I love the sparkle in not just my kids' eyes, but, my hubby's, too, at the thrill of which fantasy attraction to hit first--I'm a lucky girl; I married a guy who is very much a kid at heart . . . and it's one of the things I love most about him! *grin*
We grinned at each other, clasped hands, and made a beeline for Pirates Of The Caribbean. We were not disappointed! *wink*
LOL! Well, I'm on a (very) last-minute, and (very) much needed family vacation!
Check it out:
This was an unusual shot I caught, and I was amazed it actually turned out, considering my lack of photography skills.
Do you recognize the location?
We needed to get outta' Dodge, and away from it all, so I made an executive decision. I can do that because, after all, I am The Mama. *wink*
Will dish more later on! In the meantime, I hope you all are making time to enjoy LIFE! *grin*
P.S. I want to thank those of you who asked about my family's safety after the land slides that occurred here on The Rock. We are very fortunate that we live further north, and landslides have not been an issue where our home is located. Thank you so much for thinking of us. You guys are DA' BOMBS ALL!!! *mondo hugs*
At some point, you hit a wall, in coming up with "creative titles" for card designs--considering the volume at which we are always developing designs. So, that's as good as it gets. On this card. Today. *wink*
I love making my own patterned paper with my stamps. I'm limited only by the range of ink colors at my disposal. I've been collecting inks for a long time. Looooong time. 14+ years. That's a lotta ink. 
But, it's all good. I use 'em! I used to think that all I needed was to find THE perfect ink. "One Ink to rule them all."
But, there isn't ONE ink out there that can do it all. So, I happily continue collecting. *wink*
For this project, I wanted deep saturation of color, and an ink that would dry super-fast. A "crisp" impression was not essential to this project, so I chose Fluid Chalk Ink. Love that stuff. I own almost every color they make, and generally prefer working with their Cat's Eye format of this ink. They also make mini pads and full-size pads, but the pad construction is different on those, just so you are aware. I like Cat's Eyes for their maneuverability and portability. And, I think they look cute. LOL!
As luck would have it, I found a button that coordinated perfectly. Didn't have a stamp that said what I wanted, so I used a fine tip dark brown Pigma Micron to write it m'self.
Here in the detail photo below, I think you can better see what sets the whole design off:
The border on the patterned panel was created by edging it with 1/8" Scor-Tape, and burnishing microfine glitter into it. Hard to pick up with the camera; you gotta see it IRL to truly appreciate how beautiful the effect is. Scor-Tape is, in a word, AWESOME. Amazing bonding power. You can do all kinds of stuff with this tape--it's heat resistant. Heat actually increases it's bonding strength. At any rate, it is most definitely the Easy Button for applying a perfect straight edge of glitter or embossing powder. Or flock. Or sugar beads. Or . . . you get the idea. *wink*
Lolly, is that ever *plush*!
Solid zinnia, Open zinnia, Mini Flower stamps; Latté 4 bar note card; French Roast Sheer Ribbon all by A Muse Artstamps
