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Day 4: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

{Blog note: Be sure to scroll down so you don't miss any of our earlier posts!}

It's Day 4 and I have a fast and easy gift tag project for you today!  This set of tags was designed by Jill.  Jill's tags are beautiful AND easy to make.  You could make a whole bunch in just an hour or two!

And, when you are done, you can make a cute little box like this to put them in!

a peek inside

Jill used a limited set of supplies to keep things simple and speedy!  A Muse Shimmer Couture paper adds a the perfect touch of elegance!

Jill is one of our very talented A Muse Instructors and she teaches in the Southern California area. To view more of Jill's inspiring work and her upcoming class schedule, please visit her blog.  You can also let her know how much you LOVE her tags by posting a comment right here. =)

Lots more TAGS to share.  Stay tuned!
  

Shop News - 12/8/09

Monthly A Muse Coloring Contest

Bring your kids to the A Muse shop to pick up our December coloring page! The winner is randomly chosen and they receive a $10 A Muse gift card! October's winner was Meg! Here she is with her lovely creation! 

 

November's winner was Isabel! Here's her work of art!

Great job girls!

This week's Make & Take

This Wednesday and Saturday we will be making these fun Candy Cane tags using a SNOW PEN!

Come in anytime in between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to join in!

NEW Goodies in store for you!

We have kept Kent, our UPS driver, busy this week!  We purchased a lot of Martha Stewart Holiday items at a reduced prices and we are STOCKED to make you look GOOD this holiday season for super-low prices!!!  Feast your eyes on all this loveliness!!

Napkins

Plates

ADORABLE treat boxes!

Cookie envelopes with gift tags

Food tissue paper

Adorable gingerbread felt stickers!

Glittery bird stickers

Fun craft kits! {this one even includes two battery-operated tea lights!}

 
 
 My favorites!

And, Linda's FAVORITE... bakers' twine for only $2! {regularly $4.99}

 

Hope to see you soon!

~Amanda

Day 3: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 3 of our design inspiration series: Holiday Tags!

I know your time is short these days so I won't editorialize too much!  This next set of Holiday tags was designed by Cheiron.  They were all created using the A Muse Elegant Winter Clear Stamp Set.  I *LOVE* this stamp set.  With 6 images and 5 holiday sentiments, it's a great value! 

Here's a look at Cheiron's elegant tags...

 

Love her coloring on the Cardinal and the pretty pearl details!

Red snowflakes... love them!

Again, great coloring on the trees and fun pearl accents!

Cheiron's beautiful tags will enhance any gift! To enjoy more of her work, please visit Cheiron's blog.
  

Don't forget we are offering FREE shipping {Promo code: FREESHIP} on orders over $50!*  You will find the details in last week's A Muse News. Not receiving our weekly emails in your inbox?  Sign up today to stay abreast of new products and special offers from A Muse.  Click here to register.

*Valid on retail orders over $50 {pre-tax & pre-shipping amount} shipped to an address in the United States only. Does not apply to orders paid for with PayPal.  May not be combined with any other discount offers. Must add FREESHIP promo code during checkout.

Lots more tags to come!

Monogram Frames Galore

Linda said, "We need a monogram frames type of set to go with these alphabets.  Wanna take a stab at it?"

"Sure!" I said.  Then, I got to thinking . . .  "Uh oh.  I've never designed a stamp set before . . . "

But, I looked at the alphabets and thought about it.  I thought a LOT.  *chuckle*

And, the more I thought, the more I realized how lovely it would be to have a set that worked independently on its own, OR with the alphabets.  And, it evolved into this:  Monogram Frames Set

And, I love it!

And, today, I get to share some samples I created with it! *giddy*  Oh, and don't forget to click on the photo for an enlarged view!

First off:

This design has a sophisticated style about it that I just love and features a vibrant shade of green that combines well with the Onyx Damask Shimmer paper.  A few punched out circles and a petite flower, embellished with a pearl sticker, translate easily into a contemporary urban look.  Feminine, yet modern!  And, it might make ya' happy to know that the framed "hello" fits very nicely within a 1 1/2" circle punch. *wink*

Manly is hard sometimes, but, sticking to  a very simple earth tone palette--french roast, olive and cream, with a minimalist approach works well on this monogram note card.  The framed monogram is punched out with a 1 1/2 circle punch (Yes, that perfect fit was intentional!) and then embellished with one of our clear Circle Stickers, giving it a nice high gloss effect--polished and masculine.

By swapping the colors and ribbons used, you can make a variety of gorgeous monogram stationery gift sets!

This thank-you design looks luxurious, but was very  quick and easy to produce--a "neopolitan" mix of mango damask and pink Shimmer Couture papers, along with Espresso, make for an effective and classy note of gratitude!

Shabby chic is also just as easily accomplished by using a soft pastel palette, scallops and paper flowers and I couldn't resist trying a frilly card!  With more pearls, too!  The square frame was also deliberately designed to fit within a 1 3/8" square punch.  Slick!  *grin*

And, last but certainly not least, and with Christmas fast approaching, I thought a holiday design would be fun!  The ornate frame in the set, that features a shell motif in outer perimeter, was designed to work with the EK Success 2" Scallop Circle Punch.  After heat embossing it in white on red card stock, it was SO easy to line up and punch out perfectly!  In this instance, rather than pushing it to center stage, I used it to accent the upper right corner of the stamped "merry" and love the effect!

I'm so thrilled that this set is proving to be more versatile than I originally imagined it would!

I hope these ideas will spark ya', and, since it is the very first stamp set I've ever designed, you *know* I'd love to see what YOU are creating with it--so hook me up with a link to your pics!

Have a maaaaaahvelous Monday!

Day 2: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags

Welcome to Day 2 of our Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags series.

Today's clever tags were designed by Lori.  Her design inspiration was from the A Muse News blog banner.  How fun is that?! 

Lori also made ALL of her holiday tags from one A Muse 4-bar notecard.  Four tags from ONE notecard.  Gotta LOVE it!! 

Click here to download a PDF of Lori's Tag Cutting Guide.

 

Here are the first three of Lori's fun tags:

...and here's the 4th tag:

And, of course, Lori couldn't resist making ONE more tag to share (this would be one too many for her cutting guide - just in case you are wondering!)

Just like Tisha, Lori limited the number of supplies she used in making her tags.  This allowed her to produce a ton of tags in a short while!

To view more of Lori's fabulous crafty ideas, please visit her blog.

I have LOTS more tags to share... stay tuned!

 

 
 

Tag, You're It Challenge Round Up

It's time for another Challenge Round Up! Each month, we host a challenge on our A Muse Lounge, and this month's challenge was called *Tag, You're It*, and the challenge was to incorporate a tag into your creation. All of the submissions were so creative and inspiring! Thanks so much to everyone that played along! We selected 12 designs from all the participants to highlight here in our Tag, You're It Challenge Round Up. Just click on each image to hop over the designer's blog or gallery to see their full card.

 

We also drew a winner randomly from ALL the participants!  The winner will receive a fabulous A Muse prize package... congratulations to... al_silver2!! 

We hope you enjoyed these fabulous creations! :) The new challenge for December has been posted so be sure to check it out!! The challenge is called *Happy Holidays* and the challenge is to create anything for the holidays!! Lots of possibilities for this month, cards, tags, gifts, wrapping, decorations!! There are already some wonderful creations that have been posted and we hope you will join in the fun too! :)

 

Guest Designer Winners!

It's time to announce the winners of Karen Watson's Guest Designer prize!  We randomly chose three names.... so congratulations to:

* Pamela who posted November 9, 2009 at 11:28am

* Tracey A who posted November 28, 2009 at 06:20pm

* Jo Ann who posted November 29, 2009 at 01:37pm

If you lucky winners would kindly email me your shipping address, and we'll send your goodies out to you!

 

Day 1: Design Inspiration - Holiday Tags!

Life seems to get extra busy around this time of the year, doesn't it?  I like to slow things down and spend a few hours stamping holiday tags.  To simplify things, I go down to my studio, grab a limited set of supplies and haul them upstairs to my kitchen table.  {My studio is in the basement and it's a little chilly down there in December... and besides, it's too far away from the eggnog!}  I find that when I stick to one color scheme (that matches my gift wrap) and a few stamps and inks I am SUPER productive.  And, I don't have to think too hard about what I'm doing.   

Here's my supply list:

• Cardstock - white + 3 colors/patterns
• Stamps (one clear set or 4-5 wood stamps)
• Inks (black plus 2 to 4 colors)
• Stickles Glitter Glue - diamond
• 2 punches
• twine
• Scissors, adhesive, markers & paper trimmer

It's amazing how many tags you can make in an hour.  Tonight Makenna and I made some tags for the craft sale her Brownie Troop is having this weekend.  Together, we made over 100 tags in an hour (plus time for the glitter glue to dry).  Woohoo!  Her goal is to make 20 packages of 6 tags so we're nearly done.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Welcome to Day 1 of our Holiday Tags Design Inspiration Series.  I asked the Muses to share some of their favorite holiday tag designs with YOU, our blog readers, and they agreed enthusiastically!  Christmas arrived early at A Muse HQ because for the past two weeks we've been receiving special packages in the mail, each one containing fantastic holiday tags!

Our first holiday tag project was created by Tisha.  I love that Tisha made the gift tags themselves a GIFT!  Who wouldn't love to receive this smart little package of tags?!

Here's a closer look at the wonderful tags in this package! {click on any photo to enlarge}

And, here's another one:

As you can see, Tisha used a common color scheme for her tags.  And, she limited her stamp selection to Missy's Holiday clear stamp set.  With ten images and eight words, this set is a great value and perfect for making LOTS of fun holiday gift tags. 

Stay tuned... I have LOTS more tags to share with you! 

 

Shop News - 12/1/09

Classes

Our last class for the year is this Friday! TGIF Tags, tags, tags is from 12 to 1 pm and only costs $10. Sign up here or call the shop at 206-783-4882.

Also, there are tons of classes coming up in the new year. You can pick up a schedule in the shop today! They will also be listed on the A Muse website under events very soon!

Make & Take

This Wednesday and Saturday we will be making this fun triangle box for our weekly Make & Take!

Come in anytime in between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to join the flurry of fun!

Hope to see you soon!

~Amanda

Around Town - December Classes

The A Muse Instructor Team has some fabulous December classes coming up! Instructors who are teaching in December are listed below.  Simply click on their names to hop over to their class schedules for more information on the events offered in your area.  

Alabama
Beth Thomas

Alaska
Donna Hitz

Arizona
Lori Barnett

British Columbia
Glenda Wyatt

California
Jill Grace
Tracy Falco

Georgia
Michelle Clark

Maryland
Melinda Matzen

Massachusetts
Jenn Shurkus

Minnesota
Lyndsay Breid

Newfoundland
Meghan Fahey

New Hampshire
Jen Daloisio

New Jersey
Cheiron Brandon

New York
Cheiron Brandon
Sherry Czarnecki

North Carolina
June Gibbons

Oregon
Katie Stilwater

Texas
Geeta Suggs

Virginia
Melinda Matzen

 

Guest Designer Karen Watson - week 4

I can't believe we are already to the end of Karen Watson's guest designer cards!  We have three fun designs left so let's jump right in and check them out!

Polar Bear Fun
Karen's amazing cutting skills are back in action on this adorable sledding bear card.  She added a white torn layer for the snow and completely covered it in gorgeous glitter!  Then carefully trimmed the bear and mounted him on the sparkly sledding hill!  Sooo cute and the blueberry kitchen notecard makes the perfect snowy background!

Juggling Snowman
The next two designs show Karen's love of her Cuttlebug - with an embossed snowy background and die cut snowflake on this adorable snowman card and just wait - the next card is amazing!  It's difficult to see in the photo, but she added some subtle marker shading on the snowman to give him depth.  And of course there is glitter on the snowballs!

Winter Stag
See - I told you - amazing!  Karen embossed the white layer to make the snowy dots and then flipped it over so that the raised side was on the back.  (So the debossed side is the front of the card.)  Then she punched a circle and masked the area for the moon and sponged various colors of blue ink to make the sky!  Before adding the final touches, Karen heat-embossed an icy glittery sheen over the entire background layer - so cool!  She used her torn white layer snow trick and then mounted the carefully trimmed stag!  The results are just stunning - don't ya think?

Huge thanks to Karen for sharing her beautiful work with us!  We hope you enjoyed her designs! 

Be sure to leave a comment on this post to enter Karen's drawing for a chance to win (one comment per post please):

* Under the Mistletoe stamp
* Kitchen Green 4-bar notecards 

We'll announce the winners next week, so stay tuned!

 

Holiday News & Nutcracker Photos

I'd like to wish all of our American friends a very happy Thanksgiving!  As I type, my husband is upstairs beginning the preparations for what will be a fabulous meal tomorrow.  I'm lucky that he enjoys cooking.  I get to do the easy part... keep the kids occupied and bake an apple pie.  We're a good team!

Today was the on-stage dress rehearsal for PNB's Nutcracker.  It was amazing to see Hailey perform as Little Clara on stage with the rest of the cast and the PNB orchestra.  I was so excited and nervous for her that when she finally came out on stage I had tears running down my face.  She did a great job and I am so proud of her. 

The dress rehearsal is fun for the kids to perform because the audience, mainly comprised of the kids from the other cast(s), cheer extra loudly for the kids that are on stage.  Hailey said she could hear eveyone cheering for her when she came out for the curtain call.  BRAVO!

I was able to snap a few shots of Hailey with her good friend, Olivia, in costume and make-up in the dressing room. 

Aren't they sweet?

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, PNB's Nutcracker is a must-see holiday tradition.  PNB is offering some special deals so go check out their website for the performance schedule.  Hailey will be performing in the 1:00 show this Sunday (Nov 29th), Friday December 4th (student matinee) and Saturday, December 12th (7:30 pm).  That's the schedule so far.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.  Be sure to take advantage of our Black Friday Special - 15% off our entire webstore through midnight on Friday, Nov. 27th.  And, if you are in the Seattle area, stop by the A Muse retail store on Black Friday and enjoy a 15% discount on the entire store! 

Shop News - 11/24/09

Make & Take

Every Wednesday and Saturday we offer a FREE Make & Take between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm! This week we will be making a festive holiday tri-fold card! I got the inspiration for this card from Jill! How fun!

Classes

There is only one class remaining for this year! Next Friday is the TGIF Tags, Tags, Tags class! The class is from 12 pm to 1 pm and is only $10. Check in next week for sample pictures! You can sign up here or call the shop at 206-783-4882.

Also, we have a BRAND NEW class schedule available in the shop! Come by and check it out!

See you soon!
~Amanda

Stamping Tip

Paper Swatch Ring

This fun idea from Lexi - a paper swatch ring - is easy to add to, move around, or manipulate to find new combos!