confetti

hippo birdie bag tag

the other day i needed a quick little birthday card to dress up this plain white gift bag, and as luck would have it, the a muse summer fun release was still sitting on my desk.  tap, tap, stamp, color it quick, and stick!  think simple. think a muse.  gotta love it!!  aren't the new hippo and sentiment adorable?!  tiny bird and tiny hat are perfect "old" additions.  and there's more of that awesome petite gingham--it's my new go-to paper and i love having so many colors of it!

have a great weekend!  school ended today for us, so every day is the weekend for a while--yay!

:) lexi

not your ordinary ice cream cones...

these may look like ice cream, but are they?  today was birthday snack day for colleen and she wanted to do something fun, so we decided to make these sweet ice cream cone cupcakes.  we baked the cupcakes in the cones and topped them with a swirl of butter cream icing to mimic soft serve for a tasty twist.  to get nice fat swirls, i used a large ziploc bag and simply cut off a corner to squeeze the icing on.  sprinkles and a gobstopper "cherry" are the perfect finishing touch.  we fooled a couple of people on our way in the door!

one mini school day left...
:) lexi

searching for treasure?

today's the day you'll find it!!  the new summer fun stamps are now available online directly from a muse in addition to a muse selling shops everywhere!  you can even win a nice bunch of them on the a muse news blog x2--click here for details!!  i think i mentioned the other day that pirate bird was one of my faves, so i just had to share another design using her.  alligator had to get in on the pirate action, too!  doesn't he look nice with a blingy eye patch?  they do make a nice pair--friends to the end...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: hello snorkel boy!

it's day number five of a muse summer fun and time for another tasty amuse-bouche!  please say hello to snorkel boy--isn't he adorable, with those flippers and polka dot trunks?  i stamped him on blue petite gingham and colored him in with copics.  having the pattern show through makes it look even more like he's under water.  add a couple of martha stewart punched fish, twinkle stickers, and a glittered sentiment bubble, and the effect is complete!  hello is from the new "a warm hello" stamp.  the sentiments are just as wonderful as the images.  and all of them will be available in 24 hours or less, depending on when you're reading this!  don't forget to stop by the a muse news blog and my fellow ct members' blogs for one last day of appe-teasers, and then...

hello new stamps!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: aye matey!

i'm back for day four with one of my favorite stamps of the a muse summer fun release, pirate bird.  isn't she a cutie?!  and orange petite gingham paper--so many colors, so little time!  the new open palm tree also helped set the scene.  add twinkle stickers colored with a brown copic marker for perfect coconuts!  after stamping the bird and the tree, i doodled the sand, colored it with a sand copic marker, and used various blender ink on a scrunched up paper towel to remove some of the ink and give it texture.  i wanted just a bit more texture, so i scribbled the sand with a glue pen and dipped it into a bit of chunky white glass glitter--just the right amount of sparkle and texture!  the sentiment is an older favorite, but it's perfect for the pirate bird, don't you think?  don't forget to check out what else is in store on the a muse news blog and creative team blogs all over the web--lots of great eye-candy to snack on...

happy hunting!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: sun-sational orca

it's the early beginning of a new day--cst--and day 3 of summer fun amuse-bouche!  today's appe-teaser showcases the adorable orca, one of three new a muse critter friends.  i love how placing her above water makes her look like she's diving.  my waves are made from repetitive circle punching on the edge of the blue petite gingham, embellished with "waterfall" stickles.  i definitely think this orca is having a sun-sational day.  pretty blue water, bright yellow sky--life is good!  don't forget to surf on over to the a muse news and creative team blogs for more tasty treats.  maybe you'll find the other critter friends...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: simply sublime

it's after midnight central time, so for me, it's officially amuse-bouche day two for a muse's soon to be released summer fun collection.  and of course, i have another tasty treat--the submarine is the cutest and the sentiment, a perfect match!  the first thought that came to mind when i looked at this stamp was the beatles and the yellow submarine, so that's where i had to go with it.  i also thought it would be fun to have the submarine pulling the sentiment on a banner.  the background was inspired somewhat by a yellow submarine movie poster.  did you notice the two new gingham colors??  blueberry & yellow--love 'em all!!  don't forget to check out the a muse news blog and those of the creative team for more stamped yummies--it's highly possible that you will see a few more yellow submarines floating around...

happy snacking!
:) lexi

ready, set, recline...

it's amuse-bouche time!!!  new a muse "summer fun" stamps are on the way and i've been *dying* to show them off.  isn't this cabana just awesome?  and the sun and the sentiment.  i am so ready for summer and i'm so loving this release!  if you're lucky enough to have an a muse selling shop nearby, you may be able to run out and buy new stamps right now (well, in the morning!).  if not, there will be plenty of "tasty treats" to whet your stamping appetites on the a muse news blog as well as the blogs of various creative team members.  and don't forget to come back here, too--five cards in five days...

bon appetit!
:) lexi

a slam dunk!

i'm sorry i haven't been around much--the busy-ness continues!  but i think i see the light at the end of the tunnel now.  here's a cake i made last friday.  i can't believe it's taken me so long to get the pics off of my camera.  anyway, it's another actual ball cake.  remember the golf ball last year?  and i guess the bowling ball sort of qualifies--it's really only half a ball, but it is rounded rather than round and flat.  this one's a little squatty because i forgot how i added the extra round layer between the bowl layers, but it was also a small party and they really didn't even need this much cake.  i happened to do the invite too...

i've shared this one before, but i wanted to show it again with the cake.  it's a take on an actual game ticket.  i've done it in different color combos, as well as for football, too.  it's definitely one of my favorite boy invites!

believe it or not, i'll actually be back tomorrow for sure.  and my stamping readers will definitely want to tune in!!

:) lexi

rockin' wallet

here's another very quick gift card i created recently.  i can't give a gift without a stamped card, so this month especially, it's all about quick!

a popular (and easy!) gift for 10 year olds is an itunes gift card, but it's kind of boring to wrap it up alone.  so i decided to make a wallet card.  there are probably tons of patterns out there for just such a card, but i was working with just a few minutes, so i quickly devised this one pocket card, cut to fit.  luckily the right rockin' stamps from a muse were sitting on my desk from my recent a muse anniversary card!  speaking of which, the celebration is winding down, but there's still one more chance to win on the a muse news blog--the winner will be announced tomorrow, so don't miss out!

once again, i'm working hard and i'm building a pile of stuff to share, but that's may madness for you.  two weeks of school and a birthday party to go, and then hopefully things will calm down a lot...

:) lexi

simple monograms

with all of the deadlines and orders i've had lately, i had to come up with something quick to give to the moms in my family.  it shouldn't be a surprise that it's stationery!  i came up with a quick monogrammed flat card based on some gift cards i created recently, trying different color combos for each one.  another simple, but cute design to add to my line-up!

:) lexi

another retro label card

it's been a crazy busy weekend--house guests, deadlines, mother's day, and more.  it all started with a birthday party on friday night.  a surprise laser tag family birthday for a 40 year old.  so fun!  the girls liked the retro martini card on my desk so much that they wanted a birthday version for uncle scott, so i stamped one up super quick.  gotta love birthday builder!!

:) lexi

to label or not to label!

here's a little a muse anniversary set inspiration for you--and look, it's not just for labeling!!  the rectangle classic label frame, which is the perfect fit for an avery address label, makes a great background pattern, too.  and the large circle adds a little focus to the image.  versatile--and so much fun!  have you gotten your free set yet?  if not, here's how!  don't forget to be on the look out for more classic labels inspiration on my fellow creative team members' blogs as well as contests and inspiration on the a muse news blog...

happy anniversary a muse!
:) lexi

the runner up

this is the runner up to yesterday's communion invitation.  it was actually a little too similar to big sis' invitation two years ago because of the blue sky paper.  which is why we then spent way too much time creating the new background diamond paper and figuring out just the right color!  the little birdhouse church from the saltbox studio tweets is another great communion image, though.  and hey, all saltbox stamp sets are now on sale on the a muse website, so get 'em while the gettin's good!

:) lexi

another first communion

today was colleen's first communion.  as with most other special milestones, the occasion called for an invitation and cake.  i showed her two options for the invite and she fell in love with the bible in church mice from the saltbox studio...

it took us a while to design the perfect background paper and finalize the color scheme, but it finally came together!  as we were working on it, she asked if i could make the cake match the bible stamp...

so of course, i had to deliver!  it was pretty easy too--a 9 x 13 cake cut in half and stacked.  after icing the three "paper" sides with white buttercream, i used a texture triangle to add lines for the pages.  the look of a cover was easy with a little extra line of icing around the top edges and the base.  rolled fondant made the perfect cross detail, as well as the ribbon marker.  colleen was thrilled with the outcome!

i also printed my blue diamond design on text weight paper so that i could wrap her cross pendant to match the invite...

and onto labels to make favors for our guests--i found these great dove sweet tarts at party city and they were a big hit!  the new a muse anniversary set was also perfect for adding a green frame around the bible to mimic what i'd already done on the invitation.  have you placed an order to recieve your free set yet?  and speaking of a muse's anniversary, don't forget that there are chances to win lots of different a muse stuff on the a muse news blog every other day during the celebration--in fact, i hosted today's contest!  so if you haven't already, be sure to head over there and tell me what your first a muse stamp was...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

a muse rocks!

i can't believe it's may already!  on one hand, that means the madness picks up speed between now and summer.  on the other, it means it's time to celebrate a muse's anniversary.  eight great years!  there's a cool new anniversary set you can get for free, and between now and may 15, there will be several chances to win a variety of muse goodies on the a muse news blog--so much fun!  the first chance was posted today, so be sure to check it out!!

happy friday!
:) lexi