confetti

merry! merry!

hi and merry christmas to anyone who's still checking in!  my holiday orders have kept me away from blogging - it was a busy season of printing, cutting, and padding.  but, despite the busy and after a few years off, i actually made my own christmas card this year!!  many thanks goes to sparkbooth for the inspiration - i purchased the software earlier this year to be able to set up a printing photobooth for parties and get togethers, and thought it would make a fun christmas card using the various christmas hats and props we've collected over the years.  the girls' card shoot was so much fun that we set the booth up for the family christmas eve party, too!  i hope you had a merry christmas and are looking forward to a happy new year.  i'll make it a new year's resolution to share more regularly!!

'til next year...
:) lexi

a*muse*a*palooza in review

it's taken me a couple of days, but i finally cleaned away the a*muse*a*palooza mess.  it was a controlled mess--piles of paper scraps, little mess ups, lots of stamps, and of course the pretty cards, too!  i'm so excited that i was able to post daily for all eight days!!  anyway, i loved seeing all of my amuse-bouche projects together, so i snapped a picture to share.  i'm impressed by the variety i was able to create.  halloween, christmas, and even a few for right now!  have you placed your order?  i'd love to hear what you chose!

:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: tis the season...

for giving gifts!  today's a*muse*a*palooza amuse-bouche is all about holiday gift packaging.  this is one of two new holiday labels (more red rubber cling--yay!), both so perfect for wrapping and packaging.  as i was thinking about what to create, i thought of the very nice acrylic box that my extra iphone charger came in and decided to recycle it.  the stickers peel off easily and the insides come right out, leaving a wonderfully clear and sturdy box.  i lined the inside width with the fabulous new candy cane paper, filling it with red tissue paper to wrap up a small gift.  then for the outside, i made a one inch band of evergreen, stamped and cut out the holiday label on chiffon green, and stuck it to the top of the band so it can slide off the box.  a few cranberry pretty pearls add a touch of red to the green label, and the perfect bit of bling.  easy peasy--and i can't wait to fill it up for someone this year!  be sure to check out the a muse news blog for more ways to stamp your gifts (another give-away, too!), as well as the blogs of my fellow muses--there are some really cute images to see today and they'll all be available online very soon!!

:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: groovy partridge tree

merrily we roll along with another taste of a*muse*a*palooza and christmas in july! today is all about winter critters, and while these new critters are great for christmas, they'll be perfect for so many other occasions, too.  in keeping with the christmas theme of the week, i decided to use groovy partridge and give her a "pear" tree to perch in.  i used an old christmas fave, tiny ornie, to create the look of pears and the leaves from birch forest with leaves to fill in the circle tree top--a scrap of woodgrain is the perfect trunk.  the other half of yesterday's winter sky card stock came in handy, cut into a 4.25 square card base--yay for 8.5 x 11 paper to cut to any size!  the end result reminds me of a felt ornament from my seventies childhood.  i really had fun creating with non-traditional christmas colors and thinking a little out of the box!  as always, be sure to click on over to the a muse news blog for more winter critters (prizes, too!), as well as the blogs of my fellow muses...

happy hunting!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: snow lady friend

another day of a*muse*a*palooza, another amuse-bouche--and today it's all about snow fun!  meet snow lady, one of three new snow people.  isn't she sweet?  each one looks great on it's own like here, but put them together, and you have the cutest snow family ever!  there are new snowflakes, too.  we don't get much snow here in new orleans, so i love to let it snow on my cards--and the more snowflakes, the better!  scandinavian snowflake is big and bold--another new red rubber cling stamp.  it's the perfect accent here, but it would make a great focal image, too.  and did you notice the new 8.5 x 11 paper color?  it's called winter sky and it's simply perfect!  especially when it comes to making card bases--this one is a good ol' 4.25 x 5.5 side fold.  i use pre-made cards a lot lately, but it's fun to start from scratch sometimes!  head on over to my fellow muses' blogs and the a muse news for more chilly treats--and yet another give-away!!  it's the best way to beat the summer heat...

:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: sweet ginger wishes

a*muse*a*palooza appe-teasers continue with tastes of a sweet holiday!  today it's all about the gingerbread--cookies, houses, candy, and more great sentiments!  i cooked up a quick card using the new sweet houses red rubber cling set.  i'm so excited about the cling sets--easy to store, easy to use, and i really like the index on the cling!  anyway, i wanted my sentiment pairing to stand out, so i chose to stamp the houses in a mustard/gingerbread ink and left them uncolored, which allows the red and green sentiments to really pop.  see the layer peeking out?  it's a brand new 8.5 x 11 paper color: nutmeg!  there's also a larger house in the set, and have you seen the gingerbread boy and girl and the candy?  good enough to eat!  once again, i'm late to the game--the city swim meet kept us busy all day!--but if you haven't already, check out my fellow muses' blogs and the a muse news blog for more sweet holiday treats...

yummy!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: christmas tags

as much as i love halloween, i'm so excited that a*muse*a*palooza continues with christmas in july!  and for today's amuse-bouche, we're serving up a classic christmas.  i stamp a lot of gift tags and cards for the holidays, so that's what i have for you today, using a jolly cute santa, a sweet young rudy, and a great new holiday tree.  a little simple stamping, coloring, and quick assembly is all it takes.  a fun idea is to chose a couple of papers (like the new candy cane and evergreen above!) and make a variety of cards--different enough for interest, but with a coordinating color scheme that will look really cute on the packages under your tree.  the santa card is a small fold over with a punched slot closure, the tree is a 3 x 3 mini with a matching envelope, and the rudy tag is an embellished shipping tag with a ribbon ready to tie.  a muse 8.5 x 11 papers make it easy to create cards of all sizes and have leftovers for layering.  i'm a little late today, but if you haven't already, be sure to check out my fellow muses' blogs, and the a muse news blog, too...

merry! merry!
:) 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 :: 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