*dashing through the snow* - A*Muse*A*Palooza sneak peek!!!

A*Muse*A*Palooza is finally here, and if you're looking for a sneak peek of the new goodies... you've come to the right place! The sleigh is one of my favorite new images. I grew up around horses, and one year my dad bought an old sleigh. He worked hard to fix it up, and when he was done, it was beautiful! We had a huge bear skin blanket to keep us warm, and every winter we looked forward to taking it out on the town. Our mares, Beauty and Candy, have both passed away, so we don't get to take it out anymore, but once in a while a downtown business owner will ask to display it in their shoppe window, and it makes me smile to know that dad's beautiful, old sleigh is getting some well-deserved attention.

I've got more sneak peeks to share with you this week, so be sure to visit often! And don't forget all the fun going on over at the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog!
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A Muse notecard, cream and pink papers, ribbon, images and sentiment. Stampin' Up sanding block and black cardstock. Pink Lemonade Fresh Ink. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers. Scalloped scissors. White sharpie poster paint pen.

*i love you to the moon and back* - AP Mystery Hostess Color Challenge

This week's Mystery Hostess is Helle Greer. She's the lucky girl who won the Grand Prize A*Muse*A*Palooza drawing last year! She's doing a color challenge... black and white with a splash of pink and a bit of bling. I'm all for playing by the rules, but I got a little carried away and my "splash of pink" is more like a whole lot of pink. Oops!

On another note... this morning, as I was visiting some of my favorite blogs, I was tickled pink to find that my happy summer card is featured on the ElzybellsNA blog banner! How cool is that?

Well, it's Wednesday, and I really should be cleaning. I managed to put it off long enough to make a card for Helle's challenge, but I really do need to get to work. It's times like this that I wish my house was self-cleaning!
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A Muse notecard, papers, ribbon, images, and sentiment. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers, clear spica glitter pen, and black multi-liner pen. Pink Lemonade Fresh Ink. EK Success 1" circle punch (to create the moon). Stampin' Up sanding block and Crystal Effects. Pop Dots.

*baby congrats* - AP Polka Dot Challenge

If you visit here often or even if this is your very first time here, it probably won't take you long to notice how much I love polka dots! They are charmingly sweet... and you'll find them on almost every card I make! I'm more than a little excited about this week's A*Muse*A*Palooza challenge. It's hosted by the oh-so-talented Michelle Clark, and it's all about polka dots... glorious polka dots! You just can't have too many polka dots, and this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to incorporate all of them I possibly could.

I'm crazy about A Muse's kitchen notes. They come in the yummiest colors... and they're overflowing with wonderful polka dots! I used a yellow kitchen note for the base of my card and a snippet of green to create a strip of grass for Ducky. Did you notice the polka dots on the awning of the bebe shop? How cute is that? I wanted even more, so I went to work adding a few of my own. You'll see pink polka dots on the oh baby background as well as around the scallops and up the sides of the layer that contains the congratulations sentiment. I definitely got my polka dot *fix* for the day! ;)

It's not too late to join in all the A*Muse*A*Palooza fun! This week's Mystery Hostess is yet to be announced... and they're on day 2 of the A Muse Magic Keyword Game. Don't miss out! You could even win some fun A Muse prizes!
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A Muse notecard, papers, ribbon, images, and sentiment. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers and clear spica glitter pen. Scalloped scissors. Pop Dots.

*i like you berry much*

I found a little time over the weekend to use my new Odd Bird Planet stamps. I became "acquainted" with Johanna (owner of Just Johanna's Odd Bird Planet) over at 2peas when I was very new to stamping. She would leave the sweetest comments on my cards, and being such a newbie to stamping, I was tickled pink to think that someone noticed me and actually liked my work! Recently, I visited her online store and fell in love with her unique, whimsical stamps. Before I knew it, 2 owls, a hot air balloon, a submarine, 2 little houses, an absolutely adorable strawberry hat, a moon, and a few other stamps were in my shopping cart and on their way to my mailbox! Imagine that!

I knew A Muse's "i like you berry much" would be the perfect sentiment for this card, and I love how it fit right inside the balloon. I created a strawberry using the ever-so-darling strawberry hat, and used it again to turn "Al" (the owl) into a bit more feminine version. I used a scalloped oval punch to make clouds, and then I created my own background paper using the lacy oval A Muse stamp (one of my favorites!), the strawberry hat, and a copic marker to make little rows of polka dots.

The count down to A*Muse*A*Palooza is in its final week! There are lots of games and challenges yet to come, so be sure to head on over to the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog to join in the fun! You might even win some fabulous A Muse goodies!
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A Muse notecard, papers, "i love you berry much" sentiment, and lacy oval stamp. Odd Bird Planet owl, hot air balloon, and strawberry hat. Marvy scalloped oval punch. Silician blue Fresh Ink. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Memento rhubarb stalk dew drop ink. Copic markers and clear spica glitter pen. MayArts pink gingham ribbon. Pop Dots.

*hi, girlfriend!* - AP Pocket Card Challenge

Here's my card for Geeta's Pocket Card Challenge. If you'd like to play along, be sure to check out all the details here. Geeta's got a couple of cute samples over at her blog to spark your creativity. I love how she used the Martha Stewart scalloped border punch on the little folded flap. I love her idea so much that I decided to "borrow" it! It's been a while since I've used the A Muse chick, and I thought it would be awfully sweet of her to pick a bouquet of flowers for her very best friend.

There are lots of games and challenges still ahead and lots of great prizes to win, so be sure to visit the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog to join in all the fun!

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A Muse notecard, papers, ribbon, images, and sentiment. Marvy scalloped punch. Martha Stewart border punch. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers, clear spica glitter pen, and black multi-liner pen. Decorative scissors (grass) from Michaels. Lavendar stickles. Celery (green) Fresh Ink. Making Memories cheeky board clip.

*thank you* - Another AP Sketch Challenge

I had so much fun playing along with Tisha's sketch challenge yesterday, that I just had to make another card using the classic square sketch! I decided to use A Muse's flower cart, an oldie but most definitely a goodie!

This week's *Mystery Hostess* is the fabulous Geeta Suggs, 3rd place winner in last year's A*Muse*A*Palooza Ambassodor Contest and now an extremely talented A Muse instructor. She has a fun pocket card challenge going on over at her blog, so be sure to check it out! To say that I *love* pocket cards is an understatement, so I'm gonna try to squeeze in a little stamping time this afternoon to play along.

I'm off to take my son to the doctor for a check-up and some booster shots; then I'm making a quick stop at WalMart (that's wishful thinking!); and if all goes well, I'll have a little time to spare for stamping. Hope you can sneak in a little stamping time yourself!
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A Muse notecard, papers, image, sentiment, and ribbon. Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder. Marvy punches. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers, spica glitter pens, and black multi-liner pen. Fiskars mini scalloped scissors. Stampin' Up sanding block. Fruit Punch and Lavendar stickles.

*special delivery* - AP Sketch Challenge

Today is usually my cleaning day, but I thought I'd break away from my dull, domestic duties to play along with the latest A*Muse*A*Palooza challenge. It's a sketch challenge, and it's hosted by the incredibly talented Tisha. There's a sketch for the classic A Muse square notecard and one for the new 4-bar size. So you've got two options and two fun reasons to play! (I actually have 3 reasons to play... the third being to avoid cleaning!) I decided to try the 4-bar sketch. I thought this card would make a super cute birth announcement, but it would also be perfect for a kids' card or baby card.

There are lots of games and challenges going on over at the A*Muse*A*Palooza blog. Have you entered your guesses in the Designer Match Game yet? There's still plenty of time to play... and maybe it will get you out of some cleaning! ;)
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A Muse notecard, papers, images, and ribbon. Brilliance graphite black pigment ink. Copic markers, clear spica glitter pen, and black multi-liner pen. Stampin' Up sanding block and Crystal Effects. Pop dots. Glue dots.