confetti

amuse-bouche :: back to school!

surprise!  it's amuse-bouche time again and the newest a muse images are so much fun!  sorry i'm a late with my first tasty treat, but i've been on the road most of the day.  so while i'm taking the girls to camp for their last summer dash, it's also time to go back to school a muse style.  isn't this little back pack adorable?  i just ordered a yellow backpack, so i thought it would be fun to create a mini card to hide in it for the first day of school.  my girls eat hot lunch these days, but when they used to take their lunch to school, i stamped little lunch box notes every day, usually on whatever scraps were left on my desk.  i often reached for my a muse stamps for the little notes because they are just the right little size.  for this card, i decided to make a folded mini card using half of a new blueberry 4 bar folded in half as my base--it's perfect!  with one 4 bar, you could do 2 folded minis or you could 4 flat minis and write a note on the back.  easy peasy and the girls will love finding the little note at some point during the day.  now i need to make a matching pink one for the other ordered back pack!  don't forget to check out the a muse news blog if you haven't already, as well as the blogs of the rest of the creative team--and definitely come back here, too.  in between camp labeling and creating, i managed to stamp enough cards to last until i get back home...

happy snacking!
:) lexi

more camp crafts

it's been a busy week of packing and gathering for camp--more creating too!  having little sis going for the first time means making everything i made for big sis over again.  it's fun to have festive, color coordinated campy stuff!  this is the remake of the camp clipboard.  it's got lots of room on the inside, as well as a great surface for writing--and decorating!  i filled it up with fun stuff, too...

stationery, pre printed address cards to give to new friends, luggage tag, and general rest time doodle paper and pens.  i still have to print return address labels and address and stamp a few envelopes for her.  i hope she writes home more than big sis did her first year!

:) lexi

order up!

super simple stationery--choose two fun colors and add a name in a fun font.  these sets were for a couple of sisters to write letters from camp.

and these were gifts for older friends.  different font and color choices make the same basic design look more grown up, especially when you add other pieces, like the coordinating gift cards.

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

the latest in cavegirl fashions

so i've had to switch gears a bit!  it's the countdown to away camp for my girls and i have a lot of packing and gathering going on in addition to a few big invitation and stationery orders.  there's always something happening around here!  tonight i sewed 7 cavegirl costumes for one of the theme nights.  our little group spans 3 different age groups, so i had a few different sizes to deal with, but it all worked out.  i had to make some quick fixes, but i never had to take anything apart and start over.  the pink belongs to my youngest.  she named it the "funky cavegirl" and it is *so* her!  the other theme night is nerds, which will be a fun gathering task--pocket protectors, calculators, taped glasses, maybe a little plaid.  i love putting costumes together!

:) lexi

pajama party!

tonight was the a muse lounge pajama party and even though i had a busy day with the girls--or maybe because of that!--i just had to play along.  four thirty minute card challenges, all while trying to chat, too.  fast, furious, and fun, fun, fun!  the first challenge (above) was to create a card based on a favorite food or drink.  i chose drink--a cosmo!

the second challenge was to create a card inspired by a favorite sleepover game.  since colleen just had a candy themed sleepover, i went with a simple design based on candy land--a favorite then and now!

the fourth challenge was to make a card for your very best girlfriend.  since i never seem to get together with any of my very best girlfriends enough, i thought a let's get together for coffee card was in order.  plus, i just love this coffee cup stamp and it's been sitting on my desk for a while, waiting patiently for it's turn to tap ink!!

the fourth and final challenge was to create a card based on a favorite movie, because of course movies are always a part of any good sleepover.  though not from my own childhood, all of the harry potters are definite faves and with a new one to see (hopefully tomorrow!), i just had to try a new hp design!  remember the study window and the dining hall?

and while i'm sharing the cards, i thought it would be fun to share the mess!  i think i'll clean up tomorrow...

'nite!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: happy holidays!

how about another amuse-bouche?  today it's "christmas in the neighborhood!"  the pine tree silhouette is similar to the trio of trees in the elegant winter set, except that it's solid.  i love having both of them!  after stamping the trees in green, i colored over the trunks in brown and added the ground.  this card is an example one of the things i love best--think simple. think a muse.  awesome images, perfect sentiments, pretty papers, fabulous ribbons & the best bling.  it's all good!  don't forget to check out the a muse news and the blogs of the creative team--there's sure to be lots of fun going on in the neighborhood...

have a merry day!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: got snow?

how about another a muse appe-teaser?!  today, "christmas is 4 kids!"  and after having one fun snowy morning last winter, i can wholeheartedly say that snow definitely brings out the kid in you, at least here in new orleans where the answer to got snow? is typically no!  don't ya love that sentiment?!  the new snow fort and juggling snowman are perfect for building a snowy scene.  and pairing a bit of the new navy note card from yesterday with popsicle pink emphasizes the cool fun of it all.  of course, it wouldn't be complete without bling for buttons and glitter, too--darn that camera!  be sure to check out the a muse news blog, and those of the creative team, for more christmas kids...

have fun!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: elegant ornaments

another day, another "taste" of a*muse*a*palooza!  today in the spirit of an "elegant holiday" i have the new elegant ornaments stamp, along with the new happy holidays sentiment in a beautiful font, and a piece of a new *navy* note card!  navy + sky blue and touches of silver and sparkle = the perfect elegant holiday color combo.  definitely a good choice for these ornies! 

here's a close up of the silver & sparkle, but it looks so much better in person!  i hope those of you who have a muse participating shops are having a blast at classes and make-n-takes--to the rest of you, hang in there and keep stalking the a muse news and the creative team blogs...

happy! happy!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: have an ice day!

how about another amuse-bouche--a tasty morsel of yummy a*muse*a*palooza fun?  i just love this cute ice fishing penguin.  and "have an ice day" is just perfect to go with.  i also used it with the ice skates for a card on the a muse news blog yesterday--it's such an ice stamp!!  here, a small piece of a sky blue band note card was perfect for setting my cold water scene.  i stamped the image on the little square and again on a scrap of white, then cut out just the penguin and ice and layered it on top--easy, crisp results!  today's theme is winter critters--how many can you find?

happy hunting!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: warm winter wishes!

it's officially a*muse*a*palooza amuse-bouche time!  it's always exciting to share the new releases with you, but even more fun this time around.  i know several readers have been waiting to see the new images since they either don't have participating stores nearby or their stores didn't have events until this week.  so, here you go!  today, i have an "all natural christmas" card.  the new wood grain patterned paper is probably my favorite of the whole release, although it's really hard to pick favorites from so much goodness!  here, i went for huge impact and cut my whole card from it and i think it's the perfect back drop for the cardinal silhouette image, which is a solid version of the line image in the elegant winter class kit.  i stamped it first in brown on natural white and then again in red, so i could cut out the cardinal and place him over the brown one on the branch.  the branch is actually longer behind the cardinal, but i wanted a little out of the box action for interest!  there's so much to see on the a muse news blog today, and still more on the creative team blogs, so start clicking and...

happy snacking!
:) lexi

peaceful wishes

welcome to day three of inspiration from the a*muse*a*palooza online class kit: elegant winter.  i love reds and greens at christmas, but i really enjoy adding paler pinks and blues to mix things up a bit--and the snowflake in the elegant winter clear set was perfect for just such a card!  so, have you bought your class kit yet?  pretty stamps, perfect supplies, and an online class with julie!  don't forget to check out the usual suspects for more class kit creations and stay tuned to the a muse news blog for more a*muse*a*palooza fun...

happy clicking!
:) lexi

elegant winter!

if you followed my link yesterday to the a muse news blog (or if you followed their link to me!), you now know that the stamps featured yesterday and today are a part of the online class kit: elegant winter, created especially for those of us who don't have an a*muse*a*palooza participating store where we can party in person!  the kit comes with everything you need to make lots of beautiful cards--a wonderfully versatile clear stamp set, coordinating note cards, envelopes, ribbon, bling, and a free online class with julie!!  and as she said yesterday, it's never to early to start working on holiday cards!  while waiting for you kit, be sure to go back to the original post on the a muse news blog and follow the links to the others who are playing with the kit...

see ya' tomorrow, too!
:) lexi

christmas in july!

merry christmas, season's greetings, and winter wishes?  it may be hot, hot, hot outside, but my studio is all aglow and dripping in reds & greens and new holiday images!  check out today's post on the a muse news blog for details!  and come back for more tomorrow...

happy a*muse*a*palooza!
:) lexi

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