confetti

seeing spots

it's the final countdown--a*muse*a*palooza is almost here!!  the theme this week is spots, so today, i have a quick card for ap challenge #4: spots!  i thought it was a perfect time to pull out one of my old favorite mod dot note cards and now i'm definitely seeing spots.  way back when i started falling in love with a muse images, i made a few cards similar to this.  in fact, here's one from a*muse*a*palooza '07, think pink!  i decided to make this version all about enjoying the summer ride, using images from the recent summer fun release.  i love them all, so it was fun to use so many at one time!  i hope you'll a muse yourself with spots, too for a chance to win, and for another chance, be sure to play this week's game--can you spot the difference?  it's also your last chance to participate in the badge contest.  of course, if you're lucky enough to live near an a muse selling shop, you'll be able to continue the fun in person.  all of the instructors are cutting and kitting as i type and have lots of fun planned!  if you're stuck without a shop like me, stay tuned to the a muse blog for more online fun and sneak peeks, too!  and soon, it will be christmas in july for everyone...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

p.s.  if you love the mod dots note cards, head over to a muse--i "spotted" them on the sale pages!

photoshop fun

i've been stamping behind the scenes again this week, working on orders, and playing with my wide-eyed dolls a bit too.  i thought this picture looked like it belonged on the cover of a magazine, so i edited it to look like one, complete with fun, cheeky titles about collecting blythe.  i love creating invitations or other layouts based on something real like this!

:) lexi

peppermint creams

here's another fun food project from colleen.  they're called "zingy peppermints" from let's cook! a book for kids who love to cook!  it's no surprise that colleen's favorite section is desserts, or "wicked treats" as they call it in this book.  these were easy to make and a big hit--because they're mostly made of powdered sugar, maybe?!

:) lexi

candy clay play

until today, my two girls have mostly been spending the summer days around the house, with me or friends, and going to swim team practice every day.  now they're at a day camp for a couple of weeks with friends from school and then it's off to away camp right before school starts.  they love to do cooking and food related projects, especially desserts, so i thought i'd share one of the recent favorites--candy clay animals.  candy clay is kind of like fondant, but much tastier than the ready made stuff i buy.  we found the recipe and directions in the book dazzling desserts by american girl.  the idea is to use it for making embellishments for cakes and cupcakes, but we just made the cute things with it for our initial "candy clay play."  they each made a chick and followed up with their own second animal...

aren't they sweet?!  this is definitely a recipe i will be using again.

:) lexi

true love twilight style!

another week of a*muse*a*palooza countdown fun brings ap challenge #3: twilight!  can you tell?!  i don't own several stamps that i wanted to use for this challenge, so i've been thinking and thinking the last few days what to do.  i was so stuck on the stamps i didn't have that i was having a hard time coming up with something else, but finally this clicked.  it's super simple, but so are the book covers that inspired it.  i'm really happy with the outcome!  there's still time to create your own twilight inspired cards--how does the word "twilight" inspire you?--and there's also a *little* time left to play this week's game, where's eddie?  click, play, and possibly win!!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

colleen's candy bar {part 2}

games, games, games!  i didn't want the party to be all about eating candy, so we came up with lots of candy games to play.  the centerpiece, of course, was candy land...

and not just any candy land, but a life-sized, walk around the board version in the front yard!!  this was fun to create and a huge hit.  we just cut the game board squares from posterboard, including the special territory pieces, and placed them out on the grass.  we even made gumdrop pass and the rainbow trail--every detail counts!  i would have liked to decorate each area of the board, but we were threatened with rain and there were so many other decorations that it really wasn't necessary.  there was also time for the real board game version...

along with candy factory, a wii game all about making candy!

as part of the favors, the girls could make "sand art" pens found in the sand art aisle at michael's, made sweeter with pixie sticks!

and each had a turn at the "candy chance" for various candy flavored lip balms.  each dum dum has a number that corresponds to one of the little favor packages--pull one and see what you get.  it's fun to have everyone open up a little present!

i did create a tiny cake, more for show, because at a party like this you really have to let the kids go crazy with candy on their own cupcakes!

we had lots of active games too, spread throughout the party and even in the morning--human candy cane stick relay, wrap one team member with two colors of streamers; lollipop drop, try to pull your lollipop off the moving string with your mouth only; tootsie roll toss, in the bucket for 5, in the hoop for 1; and tower of pillows, stack all the pillows one by one without letting them fall over--tricky with some of the little pillows girls bring!

we even found a breakfast choice that involved candy!

and i almost forgot to share the special shirt i made for colleen to wear...

this was one sweet party!
:) lexi

colleen's candy bar {part 1}

this post has been a long time coming!  i finally sifted through the tons of pictures we took of colleen's candy themed sleepover birthday party and picked out the ones that tell the party story the best.  actually it will be two posts long!  first, i have the invitations and decorations, and then, the activities--and lots of candy all around!  after one of big sister's friends had a "lilly wonka" sleepover that i did the invitation for a couple of years ago, colleen has been determined to have candy as the theme of her first sleepover party.  she loves dylan's candy bar so instead of doing the chocolate/wonka theme, we came up with "colleen's candy bar" and went with a more overall candy land theme.  we still did candy bar birthday invitations, but skipped the golden ticket, making the whole label the invitation.

welcome to colleen's candy bar!  the girls were welcomed by an official sign, foam core/printed lollipops, and...

"plumpy" trees!  (wait 'til you see what else was outside tomorrow!!)

inside, the party table was decorated with a variety of candies, "lollipop stick" straws, and toothbrushes!  most of this was for prizes & party favors.  we got a lot of the fun specialty candy at a cute local candy shop, lucky you!  they even had a small version of the piñata--a sweet keepsake!

there's the full-size piñata--a cute decoration for now, ready to be beaten apart later!  and look at the cute mini candy bins we got from dylan's online, filled with a few of colleen's favorite sugary treats, complete with mini scoops.  the disks in the bucket (also in the big jar on the table) are "flying saucers" from lucky you!  they're flavored wafers filled with sweet and sour sugars and are a huge kid fave--i loved the bright colors they added.

and last, but not least, logo labels on mini water bottles added to the candy store feel--a quick and easy touch!

this was definitely a great theme for decorating--bright colors + candy, candy, and more candy!  we came up with lots to do besided eating candy, too, but you'll have to come back tomorrow for that...

sweet dreams!
:) lexi