confetti by lexi

birthday no. 9

here is today's quickie cake for my 9 year old's birthday.  i still have to post her party pics from last weekend, along with the more elaborate cake--it was an artist party and the cake was literally a work of art!  but as always in may, time is limited, so they'll go up sometime soon.  anyway, today was her actual birthday, so i made a cake to take to the pool.  her order:  a yellow layer on the bottom, chocolate on top, iced in the birthday girl's favorite blue, with orange trim to match the 9 we found in our candle drawer from big sis two years ago.  yummy and cute!  this is how we started her day...

with a birthday breakfast in bed, of course!  she had a friend spend the night last night and they loved the special treatment.  and with that, no more kid birthdays for us until next spring!  although i'm always happy to help with yours...

happy birthday!
:) lexi

best fishes!

it's time for inspiring ideas from a muse again, and this time, we're inspired by summer fun!  it's the last week of school for us--half days, teacher gifts, exams, parties, etc.--so summertime is literally days away.  and while i didn't have time to stamp something new, i definitely wanted to highlight my card from the a muse news post today.  i was trying to create my summertime samples when the mad rush to summer started, with activities every day and night, so i wasn't readily inspired myself at first.  (it doesn't always come easy!)  but as i stared at the first group of stamps, the connection of the images suddenly hit me in the face and this card came to life.  best fishes from the pole to the grill!  luckily the size of the stamps and panels came together quickly and easily, because this time of year, that's what i need.  and how about the new cobalt blue card stock--the best blue ever!  be sure to stay tuned to the a muse news blog and the blogs of my fellow muses for more inspiring ideas.  and hopefully i'll be back tomorrow...

:) lexi

happy graduation!

every graduate needs a little cake!  this one is for a brother martin graduate who lives for lacrosse.  the cake is based on the basic school crest, crimson & gold, with a little embellishing to make it more personal. 

congratulations to the class of 2010!
:) lexi

way to go!

monday seems to be the day for quickie cards around here.  so today, i have a super easy congratulations card for one of my girlies.  when i need a card in a rush, this is one of my formula layouts--clean and simple, one or two colors, and lots of white space.  i love this old trophy from a muse--unfortunately it's retired, but if you need one for a football card, a muse has another one in football collage--you could even stamp and cut out just the trophy if you want.  the line of stars and sentiment are both from the mini clear set, sports words.  way to go quick & easy!

:) lexi

mario cake v.2

my daughter has been bugging me to post the second mario cake i made because she liked it better.  the little brother from the first one wanted the same cake for his birthday a couple months later, and as usual, i was able to fine tune the design the second time around.  i remembered some of the details i forgot on the first one, like the "m" on his hat and the yellow buttons on the overalls.  details, details!!

:) lexi

a star is born

here's a little something from the big pile on the side of my desk.  it's been growing the last few months, but i've been too busy to organize, photograph, or even think about any of it!  since i'm determined to post a little more regularly again, i decided to dive right in today.  the request for this one:  a fun couples baby shower invite for musical parents-to-be.  so of course, a band poster idea wasn't far behind, complete with a starburst background, a guitar & stars, cool fonts, textured printing, and band names.  this was so much fun to create and the end result had me dancin'!  of course, there was a cake too...

it's always a little harder to create on cake than paper, and i don't usually have a test run.  there was that moment i almost always get, when i think it won't come together, but in the end it worked.  and most importantly, it tasted great!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

scoop!

just in case you haven't seen it yet, all remaining birthday bash winners from a muse's big celebration were posted on the a muse news blog today!  i really appreciate all of the wonderful comments you left on my blog hop post and i wanted to give a special shout out to the winner, who left this comment:

big congrats kim!  i'm glad you love that flower stamp, 'cause now marigold is all yours along with the bonjour stamp, too!  as for everyone else, if you left comments on the design team announcement or on any other blog hop post, be sure to check the list--and if you see your name with kim's, congrats to you too!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

supplies:  swirly cone, mw here's the scoop, popsicle pink 4 bar note, pink gingham card stock, white card stock, popsicle pink polka dot ribbon, brown and pink dye inks, sakura glitter pen, and foam tape

little mother cabrini

this was another project on the massive list i've been working on this week.  my 3rd grader's class were docents for the morning at a local landmark, the pitot house, dressed as people who once lived or had something to do with the house.  she was given the role of mother cabrini and we decided to sew an authentic looking costume.  without a pattern.  i was very excited that it turned out so well--and so was she!  this is a picture on our way out the door.  she was channeling her inner mother cabrini, trying to imitate the pictures we found on our google image search.

we also had to take one in the same position as the main picture we used, so we could create this side by side.  i think she got her expression just right.  she's definitely my little actress.

speaking of acting, here's one last shot of her while she was giving her presentation on the upstairs gallery of the pitot house.  i love her expression and the way she's leaning into her speech--i snapped at just the right time!  lots of sewing and figuring out how to put it together for such a short wearing time, but so very worth it.

have a great weekend!
:) lexi

rosy in review!

i had my everything's rosy cards scattered all over my desk (along with stamps & paper scraps too!) from my frantic creating all week.  i wish i could say i had them all stamped and ready to post before the countdown started, but i've got things hitting me from all directions right now, so i was completely day by day this time.  anyway, i loved seeing them all together, so i thought i'd take a group shot for you to enjoy.  i hope you're inspired to get rosy, too!

don't forget to comment all along the a muse birthday blog hop for the chance at free new stamps--two from every stop plus the big grand prize!--which will be announced on monday, may 10th.  scroll down if you're here looking for my hop stop or click the link at the beginning of this paragraph to start at the a muse news blog...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

bonjour blog hoppers!

welcome to my stop on the a muse birthday blog hop!  the final day of the birthday bash and release of everything's rosy just had to be a big event, right?  the muses, along with a few stamping friends, have really pulled out all the stops!  read to the bottom of this post to find out more and see where to go next.  enjoy...

not surprisingly, i was stuck on yesterday's color scheme of yellow, black, gray, and white, and decided to have a little more fun with it today.  this time, i wanted the yellow to be my primary color, so i used a buttercup 4bar note as my base.  i love the big bold marigold, so it had to be the main image of my custom "designer paper."  i added daisy duet in yellow for an additional pop, and colored in the background with copics to introduce gray.  the black polka dot sheer ribbon was a perfect way to add the sentiment, and a clear twinkle sticker dotting the "j" in bonjour, with a few glitter pen touches on the flowers, finished it off nicely--gotta have bling! 

so how would you like to win these two stamps: marigold & bonjour?  a winner will be chosen randomly from comments on my post (one per person, please!), so all you have to do is leave a comment here before you hop on over to the next card stop.  and every stop has a giveaway, so there are lots of chances to win!!  in addition to that one name will be chosen from all of the comments on all of the hop stops for a big grand prize!!  winners will be announced on the a muse news blog on monday, may 10--good luck! 

and speaking of the next card stop, who will it be?
hint:  she's "sassy & sweet"

click here to find out and see the amazing cards she's created!!
(yes, there's more than one!!)

this has been a really fun and creative release.  i hope you've enjoyed all of the amuse-bouche we've been serving up.  now that the stamps are available, i look forward to seeing more of everything's rosy from you!  happy birthday a muse!!! and...

happy hopping to all of you!!
:) lexi

p.s.  if you come across any broken links during the blog hop, you can head on over to the a muse news to see the master list and pick up where you left off, or start all over again!  have fun!

amuse-bouche :: hello pretty flowers

how about another everything's rosy treat?  i'm really enjoying the new a muse images--pretty flowers, bold butterflies, elegant sentiments.  when you put them all together, it's so easy to create simply beautiful cards!  i've seen this color scheme of yellow, gray, black, and white a lot in clothing recently, and since yellow is my favorite color, it catches my eye every time.  i just had to create a card around it!  the silhouette look of the queen anne's lace image was the perfect stamp for this, so that's where i began, stamping it on yellow, and layering it on gray.  the scroll border was perfect for a little extra black detail along the edge where i might normally tie ribbon.  i have to admit that adding the sentiment took a while, and i almost didn't add one, but it looked unfinished that way.  finally, i thought of the key tag--an old standby that i haven't really used much lately--and i think it finished it off nicely.  i'm definitely not done with this color scheme yet, either!  as always, be sure to check out my fellow muses' blogs and the a muse news for more rosy fun...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

amuse-bouche :: rosy times two

if you have pretty flowers, butterflies are sure to be nearby, so of course everything's rosy from a muse has several to choose from.  my card today features the big and bold flutterby.  it's a solid image, but inspired by a punched woodgrain butterfly featured on the a muse news recently, i decided to stamp one using the kissing technique.  after a couple of tests on scratch paper, it worked best to ink up the butterfly, stamp it on the clean modern wood block, and then stamp the modern wood block on the paper.  once i figured out how to get the clearest image, the card came together easily.  and how perfect is that sentiment?

i couldn't get to the computer yesterday, so you get double the rosy today!  this card features wild rose and wild rose branch, for a touch of everyday elegance.  the branch can stand alone to create a pretty leaf pattern, but has the perfect spots to add in the coordinating rose.  i trimmed close enough to the leaves to have the roses hanging out of the box, and added a few sparkles to the center of each rose and over the sentiment.  the outcome is simply a muse, and so very elegant!  i'm late in the day today, so you've probably already seen the fabulous samplings from my fellow muses, but if not, be sure to check 'em out!  meanwhile on the a muse news blog, some winners have been announced, but the fun isn't over yet...

enjoy & good luck!
:) lexi