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i think high school musical will continue to be a fun birthday party theme for a while to come, especially for young girls. the cute actors, the catchy music--so much inspiration!
cheerleading is another favorite for girls' parties. these two little girls wanted a tulane color scheme since some of the cheerleaders were going to be there to teach them a few tricks. hip, hip, hooray! happy birthday!
:) lexi
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the busy-ness of the end of school is quickly building--and it's not even may yet! today i have a recent invitation. the request was for a mermaid themed party, based on the the show h2o if possible, but still keeping it young. i was stumped at first, but then it finally came together, and birthday girl and mom both loved it! i was also asked to make the cake...
this is the third time i've done this family fun mermaid cake, and while it's not the easiest, i love the outcome! it's so big, the trick is to take it in pieces and assemble it at the very end. and i always hit a point where i think it's not going to turn out right, but now that i know it, i can work around it. happy mermaid birthday emma!
:) lexi
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i had to switch gears today from stamping to cakes--yum! two friends were sharing a bowling birthday party, so a ball and pins were the obvious choice. it was such a fun grouping and not too difficult. i created the ball by baking the cake in an aluminum mixing bowl; the pins, each from a 9 x 13 cake, cut in half, stacked in two layers & shaped. i wish i had been able to round out the tops more, but it was kind of a puzzle cutting the two layers and piecing them together because the width of the pin is actually more than half the width of the cake--hard to explain, too. i'm so critical of my work--always picking things apart!--but the kids (and parents) loved it!
since mignon's known these two guys pretty much since birth--one of them literally, born the day after her in the same hospital!--we were headed to the party with the cake. we spent too much time at the toy store and i almost ran out of time to make cards, but luckily lots of supplies are at my fingertips as soon as i sit at my desk and two gift cards were quickly born! hip, hip, hooray...
happy birthday!
:) lexi
p.s. for my stamping readers, newly hatched is available now on the a muse website!! i still have lots of ideas for those babies, so as soon as i can get stamping, i'll be posting...
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here's my last amuse-bouche! it's an image several of our creative team has shown already, so i hope a triple serving makes up for me showing it again. obviously, this sweet kokeshi doll is a favorite--she goes well with the sakura and the fortune cookie words clear set, also being released, as well as the older sushi clear set. i had trouble stamping just one doll myself and really had fun with the coloring...
all of the newly hatched stamps will be available tomorrow, april 22, straight from a muse or, if you're lucky, from your local stamp store!!! happy shopping...
:) lexi
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today, i have two newly hatched amuse-bouche--this one and another one posted on the a muse news blog! this card is version 2 actually, inspired by the hollywood handprints in front of grauman's chinese theatre instead of the stars like the one on the a muse news. i stamped and colored the images in gray, on gray to mimic the famous concrete blocks and hand wrote the name and date to finish it off. i'm not completely sold on the overall design, but it's another fun way to use both the hands and the feet with a star is born! both versions would make great welcome baby cards, but they would also be perfect for a congrats on your performance card for any little star in your life--maybe as a tag, attached to a bouquet of flowers. i've spied plenty of tasty morsels out there in blog land--the creative team has been very busy!! remember, if you have a local shop that carries a muse, you may be able to start stamping with these "babies" yourself--if not, wednesday's the day. until then...
happy surfing & snacking!
:) lexi
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another day, another amuse-bouche! this is my favorite sentiment of the whole newly hatched release and it just really needed it's own card! actually, this was one of the first cards i made when i received the assigment--marvy punches make a cute paper bib! i think i need to stamp it on some real bibs or burp cloths next. so, what do you think so far--are you loving what's coming from a muse? if you're lucky enough to have an a muse selling shop nearby, you just might be able to get them now. if not, keep checking the a muse news and other ct blogs, cause spit's happening all over the place...
yummy!
:) lexi
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welcome to a brand new round of amuse-bouche--those tasty appeteasers of soon-to-be released a muse stamps! or should i say soon-to-be hatched a muse babies?! meet bouncing baby and newly hatched--two of the cutest a muse babies ever! be sure to check out the a muse news blog and the blogs of the rest of the creative team for more sweet treats--and don't forget to stop back by here again tomorrow...
bon appetit!
:) lexi
p.s. sorry i've been mia this week--it's spring break and though we stayed home, we've been on the run and hanging out! of course, i couldn't miss these peeks... :)
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i thought today was the perfect day to share this pair of bunny cakes that i made for a pair of twins a few days ago. i know someone makes a bunny pan, but i don''t own one, so i used four 7" round cakes for the face (two layers each) and a 9" x 13" cake cut into strips and rounded off for the ears (one layer each). then i got creative with the features--m & m eyes, shaped taffy nose and mouth, and pretzel whiskers. i hope the twins liked them as much as i do.
happy easter!
:) lexi
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i have another quick meyer imports article posted at craft critique today--it's all about the miniatures! click here to read more, including how to make these adorable bottle cap necklaces. and don't forget, you can leave one comment on each of the meyer imports reviews for a chance to win some of their fun, unique products. so go, look, comment--and hopefully, win! good luck...
:) lexi
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i love glitter and i was recently given several beautiful colors of german glass glitter from meyer imports to review for craft critique--so sparkly and fun! click here to read all about it. and be sure to leave a comment on my article as well as the other vendor spotlight articles to win some fun meyer imports goodies of your own!!
:) lexi
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i guess it's an understatement to say that i have a lot of crafting supplies--markers, glitter, glue, glitter glue, jewels, etc. etc. i could go on forever! all of those supplies just seem to scream out to my girls. they always want to borrow this or that, sometimes to the point of extreme aggravation. and there are several things i simply won't let them touch! but how can i say no when i have just the perfect thing for a special school assignment like mignon's indian elephant above? stickles and bling were exactly what she needed, so i let her at 'em!
and when she had to "spend" $1,000,000 and document her virtual purchases, who knew she'd want to buy a house in vegas and that i would have the perfect stamps to go with? along with the palm trees for hawaii, the road for her car, and a boat for her 'round-the-world cruise--and the papers, scissors, adhesives and inks to pull it all together! this is when my crafter's hoarding habits really pay off...
:) lexi
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i can't believe it's almost easter! i haven't had time for any blog stamping the last few days, so i thought i'd post two saltbox favorites from easter last year that were originally posted on the old saltbox blog and seem to be lost in cyberspace. i love this egg basket as a simple basket of farm eggs, but add a few pastel patterns and finish off with a handle, and it's the perfect easter basket!
boy, was i stuck on these sheep for a while--so it shouldn't be surprising that i dyed them like eggs! the soft white wool was just begging for it!! don't they look cute?!
:) lexi
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just a quick post today--simple stationery. a great friend of mine loves to give personalized little notes and gift enclosures for this and that--birthday gifts, hostess treats, thank you's, etc. she likes simple borders and clean line designs paired with cool color combos. i like all that too, so i always look forward to pulling these orders together! i'm working hard this week, but i'll do my best to keep up with regular posting...
'nite!
:) lexi
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today i have another project from the stacks on my desk. back in february, mignon's class had their big fourth grade play and i was asked to help facilitate and print the program. big shocker, i know! the kids had some great ideas and wanted to draw the artwork, so i thought it would be fun to introduce them to the wacom tablet. each person in my small group who wanted to draw took turns drawing directly into photoshop on the tablet, and then we used the paint bucket to color it all in. one of the coolest things was being able to draw something one time and then duplicate it as needed, like the columns and the lines on the gate. another was being able move things around and lay out the finished product so easily. no scanning was also a huge plus. the kids really liked my gadget and i know at least one of them wants one of her very own! it is a pretty awesome toy! thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi
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or are they?? it's that special day of the year again when a foolish meal is expected at my house, so of course i had to deliver! remember last year? this year, i decided to make one old favorite, the colorful cupcakes--aka meatloaf and mashed potatoes in disguise! and for the main course, i added sushi rolls. the girls love the real thing, so it was fun to do the rice crispy treat-gummy worm-fruit by the foot version, complete with taffy ginger and icing wasabi. they love all of that too! i couldn't find green fruit by the foot, so my nori had to be two-toned specialty nori. and to wash it all down, lemonade. well, lemon jello, actually! gotta go all the way and they weren't expecting it, so that was the most fun of all! of course, on this day, with this meal, you eat "dessert" first.
happy april foolin'!
:) lexi
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