Matchbook Treats

Once upon a time, when A Muse Studio was still A Muse Artstamps, they introduced me to these little matchbook treats using their 4-bar notecards.  If you would like a template, please email me.  They are simple to make, and you can make four out of a 3.5"x10" piece of card stock.  I used these for a make and take at a crop that I was invited to recently, and they were a big hit. 

All supplies by A Muse Studio.

Halloween Cards

WOW!  Has it really been a month since I've posted?!  Today The Magnificent Muses are sharing some Halloween cards with you.  You should have arrived here from Michelle's blog.  I managed to whip out a couple cards tonight.  I LOVE A Muse Studio's ticket die...I don't know why I waited so long to get it!

All supplies from A Muse Studio.

For Spider card:
Stamps: Too Cute to Spook
Paper: Pebble, Onyx, Wasabi
Ink: Memento Black
Other: Pebble satin ribbon, Onyx/White twine, Classic Tags die set, Web/Swirls impression plate, sanding block


For Spooky card:
Stamps: That's the Ticket, Halloween is a Hoot
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Onyx, Wasabi, Pumpkin, Sleepy Hollow
Other: Pumpkin buttons, Onyx/White twine

Now please check out Lauren's blog for more A Muse goodness.:)

A*Muse Studio Blog Hop!

Welcome to the September A Muse Studio Blog Hop!  If you are participating in the blog hop, you should have come from Sherri's blog.  If not, then you should start from the beginning with Samantha's blog until you arrive here.  This month we are featuring products from our holiday catalog which you can see here.   My card below features the 'twas the night before Christmas cardstock which I LOVE!  That has always been one of my favorite Christmas stories.  I can't wait until my holiday dies come in so that I can case Sherri's snowman.:)

All supplies by Amuse Studio:
Stamps: Holiday Tags
Ink: Memento Black, Cherry
Paper: Vanilla, Cherry, Candy Cane Stripe, 'twas the night before Christmas
Other: Copic markers, Cherry grosgrain ribbon, Classic Tags die set


Now go check out some more A Muse goodness at Carla's blog.  Happy Stamping!

Halloween Treat Pocket

As promised, here is one project that I cased from a sample that came in my Halloween bundle.  A Muse offered their consultants some great deals on their new holiday offerings, and they included several hand-stamped samples.  I thought it was a great way to get our creative juices running.   This sample uses our new classic tags dies and the Too Cute to Spook set on pages 4 and 5 in our holiday catalog.  It uses just a quarter sheet of cardstock for the base.  The short ends are folded in towards each other and held with super-sticky tape.

All supplies by A Muse Studio:
Stamps: Too Cute to Spook
Paper: Wasabi, Pumpkin, Spooky Hollow, Slate Woodgrain
Ink: Memento Black
Other: Classic Tags Die, Onyx&White Twine

A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA!!

Where did the summer go?!  Well, just as the kids are all finally back to school, I hope to get back to stamping and blogging.  Today is the kickoff for A*Muse Studio's A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA.  Our holiday catalog can be seen here.  If you have ordered from me before, you will be receiving a hard copy in the mail.  I will be posting some projects later today so stay tuned...

Speaking of back-to-school, in this month's Studio Spotlight, there are several back-to-school sets and supplies on sale.  Contact me for more info!

MFT and Elzybells

Here are two more cards that I created for LJ's swap on SCS.  I went crazy with the Elzybells last summer when Elizabeth closed up shop and have yet to ink up all of them!  I know you can relate.;)  I sign up for swaps just to force myself to use my supplies.  Somehow, I am always scrambling to get them done at the last minute no matter when I sign up...sigh...This girl is all set for summer. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Elzybells UK

Ink: Memento Black colored with Copics

Paper: Stampin' Up! Wild Wasabi and Groovy Guava, Cloud 9 Design DP

Other: Prima flower, gem, Nestabilities

Here is the My Favorite Things card that I created.  I used the Who's That Musical Girl? set and killed two birds with one stone.  My younger ones had their piano recital this weekend, and I made up a few extras to give to their teacher.  I was in a hurry when I took this photo, so it slightly out of focus.  Of course I didn't notice until I gave all the cards away.  Sorry!!

Supplies:

Stamps:  MFT Who's That Musical Girl?

Ink: Memento Black colored with Copics

Paper: SU! Basic Black and Real Red

Other: Ribbon from Michael's, MFT musical die, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by!

Clever Girls Take Two

One of my SCS buddies (Thanks for the blog love, Sarah!) commented on the previous post saying she hoped it was for a swap we were both in.  Unfortunately, it wasn't, but I decided to change up the colors a bit and recreate it for LJ's swap.

All supplies used are from A Muse Studio.

Supplies:

Stamps: Clever Girls

Ink: Bermuda, Ocean, Shell

Paper: Bermuda, Ocean, Shell

Other: Diamond glitter, Swallow dies

A Muse Studio June Blog Hop!

Happy June!  I know it's been a while, but I have been stamping...just not posting.;)  Today is the day for our A Muse Studio Blog Hop.  You should have arrived here from Laurie's blog.  If not, you can go back to the beginning at Samantha's blog.  This month's theme was to create your own patterned paper.  Coincidentally enough, I had created these card fronts for a swap on SCS.

The background was created using various stamps from A Muse Studio's Clever Girls set.  I love how these turned out, and I can't wait to see what the other ladies in the swap created.  Thanks for looking!  Now, head on over to Anna's blog to see what's up next in the blog hop.

Supplies (all from A Muse Studio):

Stamps: Clever Girls
Ink: Buttercup, Orange, Shell

Paper: Vanilla, Buttercup, Orange

Dies: Swallows

Other: Diamond glitter

I'm still here!!

Whew!  It's been a whirlwind week or so.  I was in charge of the end-of-year banquet for the piano department at DS's arts high school.  It was tonight, so I finally have time to breathe.  This weekend was also DD's ballet performance.  It's been crazy, but I hope to get back to stamping tomorrow and have something new to share with you soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Moxie Fab

I wanted to make some thank you notes for some ladies who recently placed an order, so I looked to this week's Tuesday Trigger for some inspiration.  Here's the trigger:

 

 And here's my card:

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Stamps: A Muse Studio

Ink: Grass, Papaya (A Muse Studio)

Paper: Vanilla, Buttercup, Sage, Shell (A Muse Studio)

Pearls: Queen & Co.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!  Here are a couple more cards I made this week.  Maybe you'll get one of them.;)

Supplies:

Stamp: Verve

Ink: A Muse Studio Orange, Cherry

Paper: A Muse Studio Bubblegum, Orange, Orange Gingham, Cherry, Cherry Polka Dot,

Ribbon: A Muse Studio Bubblegum and Cherry satin

Other: A Muse Studio Twinkle Stickers, A Muse Studio paper flower colored with Copic marker, button from my stash, Nestabilities

Blog Candy Winner!

Well, I've been going nonstop since Thursday (not with cardmaking, unfortunately) and am just now getting around to posting the winner of the blog candy in the previous post.  I used this random number generator, and the winner is commenter #16!  ~fairygirlmichelle~ please email me your name and addy at sarahdcallahan@comcast.net so that I can get your goodies to you.  Thanks for looking everyone, and I will be back with more creations soon.:)

A Muse Studio Blog Hop!

Happy Monday!  Today I am participating in my first ever blog hop with some fellow A Muse Studio Creative Consultants.  The theme this month is "Congratulations" to celebrate all those upcoming graduations, babies, weddings... you name it.  You should have arrived here from Doris' blog.  If not, you can go back to the beginning at Sami's blog so you can see all the A Muse goodness.  There may be blog candy, so be sure to check everyone out!

I seem to be continuing my orange kick from last week, and here is the card that I came up with.  As I have a teenager in the house, I wanted to make a card that could be used for either graduation, or another high school milestone.  My DS goes to an arts school and there are always performances, adjudications, and auditions that he and his friends participate in.  ETA:  To line up the sentiment multiple times, I used my Stamp-a-majig stamp positioner, which you can find on page 107 of the
A Muse Studio catalog.  And yes, it took a couple tries.:)

Please leave a comment to win some of the supplies used to make this card.  All are available from A Muse Studio.  As my UPS man did not make it here Friday due to bad weather, you will have to check back later today for a picture of the blog candy!  Included will be a yard each of the ribbon used in this card and a paper sampler.  Comments for blog candy will be accepted until noon EST Friday, May 6th.

ETA:  My UPS man arrived.  Here is your blog candy!  This is my first shipment of the Shimmer Couture paper.  OMG - I am in love!  You will receive a sheet each of the Shimmer Couture Damask Cherry, Shimmer Couture Damask Onyx,  Polka Dot Orange, and Ocean papers as well as a yard each of the ribbons shown.

Thanks for looking, and don't forget to check out Melissa's blog next!

Supplies:

Stamps: Rock Star

Ink: Orange, Bubblegum, Ocean, Grass

Paper: Orange Polka Dot, Ocean

Ribbon: Lime and Ocean stitched grosgrain, Orange satin

Other: Classic Rectangle Scalloped Nestabilities

Mojo Monday #188

I seem to be on an orange kick this week...

I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch:

Supplies:
Stamp: Verve

Paper, Ink, and Ribbon: A Muse Studio

Flowers: A Muse Studio (colored with Copics), Prima

Gems: A Muse Studio, Michael's

Dies: Spellbinders, My Favorite Things

Clean & Simple FTL 137

Wow...it's been a busy holiday week.  Here's a Mother's Day card I made this weekend using this sketch from clean&simple.

All supplies are from A Muse Studio with the exception of the button and twine.  Once again, I used Copics to color these fabulous paper flowers from A Muse.  Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Stamps, Ink, Paper, Ribbon, Pearls, Flowers: A Muse Studio

Button: Michael's

Linen Thread: Stampin' Up!

Fun with Oil Pastels

Finally made it to our "local" stamp shop after living here for about a year and a half.  It is across the bridge on the other side of town, and somehow I just couldn't bring myself to get there other than my initial first visit.  It has been around for a while, and many of the cards I saw on display seemed to have a vintage feel or just weren't really my style.  Well, I finally decided to step out of my comfort zone and went ahead and signed up for one of their card classes.  So glad I did!  Here is one of the cards we made:

The background was created with water soluble oil pastels.  Our teacher, Karen, used a technique based on the work of artist Lynne Perrella.  The images were stamped and embossed (by the teacher to save time), and then we created the background by coloring with the pastels and smearing them around with paper towels.  I didn't know what to expect since I only had pictures of the samples to go by, but it was really fun to play around with this technique.  It's pretty much foolproof, and I didn't have to worry about staying in the lines like I do with my Copics.:)  It's also something I would never have tried on my own.  I'm looking forward to using this technique again.  I also met some stampers who live nearby and hope to get together with them sometime.  Fun day!  Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.  I believe the Eiffel Tower stamp is from Memory Box.  Sorry - don't know who made the others.

Moxie Fab

When I saw this Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World, I knew I would be using my Bermuda, Cherry, and Ocean papers from A Muse Studio.  Love, love, love this color combo.

Here's the trigger:

And here's my card:

My new (to me) favorite technique is coloring these paper flowers from A Muse Studio with my Copics.  What a great way to get a perfect match.  And, BTW, my photo-taking skills do not do these colors justice!  The card is much bolder IRL.

If you'd like to win some A Muse goodness, head on over to this post over at Moxie Fab World and leave a comment by Sunday, April 17th.  Good luck!

Supplies:

Stamps, Paper, Ink, Ribbon, Flower: A Muse Studio

Button: Fancy Pants

Linen Thread: Stampin' Up!

Dies: My Favorite Things

Crafty 'Hos Challenge

I made a birthday card yesterday, and it just so happens to fit this week's Crafty 'Hos' Color Challenge - pastel pink and spring green.  Bear with me as I am still working on getting good photos of my cards.  All supplies are by A Muse Studio.

Hedgehog Smile

Quick card I made this afternoon.  Thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Stamps, paper, and ink: A Muse Studio

Copic markers (tree is paper-pieced)

Happy Sunday!

Well, my A Muse Studio kit was scheduled to arrive this past Tuesday.  It finally did get here that evening, but too late to really play as the busy part of my week started that night.  All I managed to do the next day was unpack it and drool...

And that's all I'm going to show you lest DH have a heart attack looking at all my new goodies.  Speaking of whom, he was quite put out that I cropped him out of my profile pic, so...

This was taken last month before Swingin' with the Band, a dinner/dance fundraiser for the band department at Andrew's school.  It was a great event as not only did we get a night out, but we enjoyed Andrew playing with the Jazz Ensemble as they provided the entertainment for the evening.  We will definitely be back next year.

So, back to A Muse.  I did manage to throw together these little thank you cards for all the people who have ordered catalogs so far.  In the foreground you can see a "wish list" memo I made for them as well.  I love the vibrant colors of their inks and plan to play some more this afternoon.  Hope you all are having a relaxing Sunday.

Little Chick

Little Chick is another A Muse wood mount that I am glad made it into the new a*muse|studio catalog.  He is part of an Easter set called For Peep's Sake.  The sentiment on this card is classic a*muse, but everything else you see is available from a*muse|studio.  Love their stitched grosgrain and polka dot paper.  Happy stamping!

Welcome!

So, I set up this blog at least a couple years ago and am only now finally getting around to posting...story of my life.:)  I am looking forward to sharing some of my creations with you as it is my goal to actually play with my stamps, paper, and ink instead of just collecting stamps, paper, and ink.   Although I am an equal opportunity stamper, I've just signed on with a*muse|studio as I have been a LONG time a*muse fan and just could not imagine being on the ground floor with them as they introduce a whole new line of goodies.  Before I ordered my kit, I made myself clean off my stamping table and make at least a couple of cards.  OK...so the clean desk didn't last long...

(And can you guess what one of my "other addictions" is??)  And, OK, I collect more than just stamps, paper, and ink...

But I did make a few cards including this one for my friend, Kellee.  I got this Kokeshi Doll stamp from a*muse back when it came out for the express purpose of making a card for Kellee.  Both of our hubbies have been deployed to Japan, and we both have a small kokeshi doll collection.  The square card and sentiment are both classic a*muse, and I was happy to see the kokeshi doll return in the a*muse|studio Good Fortune set.

Well, that's it for tonight.  And, BTW, if you can think of a more creative blog name than "Cards by Sarah," I am open to suggestions.  Please leave a comment...there may be blog candy involved if you can help me out!!