confetti

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

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

may your merry be very!

merry christmas from our house to yours!

:) lexi

those mischievous elves!

the elves had a great stay again this year!  since they're heading back with santa tonight i thought i'd share some of the highlights that haven't made it into other posts, starting with game night above.

their annual party with the girls' christmas toys...

they ended up hanging from the chandelier again!

they got into my birthday gift stash and wrote the girls names in two of the coke or pepsi? quiz books we've been giving.  they even filled in one of the quizzes!

hanging out in the freezer.  they must have been missing the north pole weather after the snow here was gone--on the same day it came!!

playing with the toothpaste again--at least they delivered new toothbrushes!

reading books...

and watching movies!  we'll be sad to see them go, but we look forward to seeing them and their mischief again after thanksgiving next year...

:) lexi

home for the holidays

after a quick weekend trip i'm now home for the holidays and have lots to still do!  but i thought i'd share a card i created a while back using one of the fences from the saltbox studio along with the lights from the deck the halls set paired with one of my favorite a muse holiday stamps.  i thought a lighted fence was a good addition to the lighted house!

merry! merry!
:) lexi

don't forget the reindeer!

here are some labels i made last week for my nephews' school treats.  some for reindeer food and others for a christmas version of the peeps s'mores.  we also do the reindeer food for the girls' classmates--my mom friends count on it since we've done it since preschool!  our mix consists of quaker oats and wilton sparkling sugar sprinkles in red/white and green/white mixes.  we package them in snack size ziplocs and add a label with the poem.  i've used two different versions over the years. 

the simple one above says:

sprinkle on the lawn at night,
the moon will make it sparkle bright...
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam,
This will guide them to your home!

the other one is a bit longer:

my, oh my! i do declare!
Here's a special reindeer food
to sprinkle through the air.
the oatmeal is for energy,
the sparkles are for flight,
so sprinkle it around your house
on christmas eve night!
all of santa's reindeer will
love this tasty snack
and next year santa and his
reindeer surely will be back!

i'm sure i found them both on the internet, possibly from an email list or on a message board, but i've had them for so long, i have no idea where i got them!  even if you don't do it as a treat to give away, it's a fun christmas eve tradition to do with your own kids.  after all, santa gets all those cookies, so it makes sense that the reindeer have something special to snack on too!

:) lexi

a candy village

christmas time means another chance to be creative with candy and graham crackers--remember our halloween version?  this time, our "gingerbread" houses are a bit more bright and cheery!  in order to have good designing choices, we always end up with a ton of candy, so each girlie invited two buddies to help use up (and eat) as much as possible.

they were extremely quiet while working--concentrating on their designs, sharing ideas, holding things in place while they dried.  however i can't say that they worked very neatly!  but it was worth it.  each house is so cute.  the perfect candy village!  of course, there was still candy left over...

and the elves couldn't resist adding their own extra touches to the girls' houses while we were sleeping.  and now the girls can't wait to use some of their ideas next year!

'nite!
:) lexi

merry fish-mas!

mixed in with the larger orders i've been working on, i got a request for a quick christmas card for my sister-in-law to give to her youngest son's teacher from "the redfish class."  she remembered this fish stamp that we use every summer for our "sunfish" swim team treats and asked me to stamp it in red and come up with something christmas-y with it.  how did i do?  last year, i made a tree out of penguins (scroll down a bit)--i wonder what else will work?!

:) lexi

merry birthday!

as promised yesterday, here is big sister's cake.  she went for a christmas themed birthday and had used a snoopy printable page for her invitation, so i made the cake look like the tree on that.  the garland was supposed to be popcorn, but i realized too late that i didn't have any.  luckily i had the marshmallows and they looked just as cute!  big gumdrops were perfect for the ornaments and sliced, they were just right for the lights, too.  the cake was a hit, but everyone's favorite touch was the gift wrapped board!

the girls were going to this party, too, so i needed another bag tag.  and of course, it had to match the whole theme!

not surprisingly, after i finished the cake (very late at night), the elves and reindeer got into the leftovers!  better them than me...

:) lexi

the elves are coming!

remember the elves, missy & caroline?  they haven't arrived yet like several friends' elves and the girls were worried that they might not know that we moved.  but today we received a package of their stuff that they shipped ahead, so we think they may be coming soon!!!  check out the return address and billing!  who knew that ups had north pole service?  this will be our 3rd year of elf magic and the girls are so excited for it to begin.  after unpacking the box, we decided to set up their new home away from home...

nice and cozy, with touches to remind the elves of the north pole.  the paper snowflakes were particularly fun--and messy!  it's such a happy treat to walk through the back hallway.  hmmm, maybe tonight's the night...

:) lexi

joy to the world

another christmas quickie in the midst of christmas busy!  i love this angel from the saltbox studio.  it's actually from the americana set released during the summer, but it's so perfect for christmas--especially when paired with one of the sentiments from the recent release, like this one from joy to the world.  a muse star twinkle stickers are the perfect size to place over the stars on the dress for a little bling!

back to busy...
:) lexi

'tis the season to be busy!

i've been attached to my computer all day, designing holiday cards and invitations for various clients, while these boxes are staring at me from the next room.  why i was so excited for christmas to begin???

:) lexi

as promised...

i love this santa from the saltbox studio set classic christmas.  such a jolly face and nice round belly!  usually he's holding a candy cane, but i cut off the top and created a sign instead to announce the season--christmastime is here!

have a great weekend!
:) lexi 

rock, paper, scissors ~ joy!

i was in the mood for a challenge today, so i headed over to splitcoast to see what was going on.  the friday challenge is the limited supplies challenge and today, titled "rock, paper, scissors", it was all about using rocks (only gem-type embellies), paper (any kind), and scissors (decorative scissors and straight edges only), with a "bonus" of using metallic paper.  i decided to use another new saltbox image that i had yet to ink up--like i've said several times with this release, so many stamps, so little time!  i absolutely love this angel from the joy to the world set and thought she lent herself well to rocks--the a muse mini star twinkle stickers are a perfect fit for the star buttons and halo.  i traced around her gown with a cool shadow copic marker and added other soft touches with cream and brick white, also blending in a little sand color on the bethlehem scene.  a clear glitter pen make her wings sparkle.  i really wanted to use some scissors and metallic paper, too, so i matted her on gold card stock and trimmed it with my mini scallop scissors.  i haven't done a challenge in so long and this was a fun (and easy) one to play!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

p.s.  i haven't forgotten my other corny card--maybe tomorrow!

happy new year!

 

we're living it up with friends, so i have nothing new to share, but here's an invitation from earlier in the season.  it's still the holidays, right?  and we had plenty of holiday cheer last night!  as always we watched the ball drop in new york at 11:00 and then counted down our own new year an hour later with a champagne toast and kids running around, throwing confetti & balloons and pulling little champagne poppers.  a good time was had by all and everyone slept late this morning!

cheers!
:) lexi

right up to the end!

while all of my christmas card orders were complete by early last week, i had a few stationery gift orders right up to christmas eve!  luckily they were given locally, so i could fit in my own last minute shopping and creating.  and i managed to snap pictures to share...

today, my girls have friends over and i hear my new stamps calling my name...

peace!
:) lexi

i have the best husband...

 
look what he gave me for christmas--an iphone!!!  i have been dying to get my hands on this sweet little piece of technology since they came out and now i've been playing with my own since yesterday morning--it is sooo cool!  we actually got a few very hi-tech toys this year.  santa brought a wii and my dad gave the girls nintendo ds lites.  even the board game santa left is hi-tech--life's twists & turns, lots of fun!  the girls also got dolls from their wish lists and a couple of other things, too, but overall it was a very 21st century christmas!

just had to share...
:) lexi

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

 
since i never got around to showing my favorite decorations, i thought i'd do that today, starting with my many trees...

a tinsel tree, perfect for my picture ornaments!

the kitchen tree, complete with christmas cookie cutters.

my mini year round "feather" tree, decorated for christmas this month--i'll have to share other months from time to time!

the kids' tree in the family room--lots of extra hand made ornaments and toys underneath!

nativity blocks--a family favorite.

santa's clothing line, hanging from the stairs.

and last, but certainly not least, our "fireplace" hanging over the sofa in our living room.  one year, the girls were concerned that we didn't have a fireplace for santa to get in, so we painted one that he could magically make real!

merry! merry!
:) lexi

more elf magic!

 
it's almost time for the elves to go back to the north pole with santa.  but we've had a fun month of midnight mischief around here, so i thought i'd share a few highlights.  the girls found them having all kinds of fun around the house while we were sleeping.  above, reading magazines and listening to music.

 
digging around in the candy jar, adding a few new treats.

hosting a santa clause movie marathon--all three in a row!

making snow angels & dreaming of the north pole.

building the manger scene and reading about the nativity.

leading a christmas karaoke party for the christmas toys.

papering the girls' bathroom and...

peeking around the corner to see the surprise!

hot cocoa snacking on a cold night, leaving more to enjoy.

and they even got into my gifts and opened one early!

i'm going to miss those mischievous elves!
:) lexi

christmas magic

 

i love the magic of christmas, so we have lots of magical traditions in our house.  along with cookies for santa on christmas eve, we also scatter reindeer food.  since it's one of my girls' favorite traditions, we share it with all of their classmates every year.  contents: oatmeal + red and green sugar sprinkles for sparkle--all edible for the birds (!) and topped with a stamped label, of course.  a cute little take home treat and one less piece of candy!

:) lexi