*cutie patootie*

I can't seem to part with any of my A Muse stamps... even the retired ones. I was rummaging through my bin of discontinued images the other day and ran across this sweet little baby dress. I hate to tempt you with stamps you can't buy anymore, but I just couldn't resist inking it up!

And while we're on the topic of A Muse... sneak peeks for the next release start January 2nd. So be sure to stop back for a peek of the fun new images!
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Pink chiffon notecard, natural cardstock, image and sentiment by A Muse. Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder. Stampin' Up pink gingham ribbon; rose red, regal rose, and cameo coral markers; blender pen; watercolor paper; and sanding block. Stazon timber brown ink.

I made this card for my mom who surprised me last week with a new pair of boots, a scarf, and matching gloves. She has such a big heart, which is just one of the things I love about her. She is fun to make cards for because even though she isn't a paper crafter herself, she loves my handmade cards and saves every one of them in the drawer of her nightstand. Isn't that sweet?

Last Friday, my son, Ben, came down with the flu, and slowly but surely it made it around to each one of us. UGH! I was the last to catch it, and now poor Ben has it AGAIN! He's feeling better this morning, and I'm hoping that the run of sickness is about over for us. I hope you and yours are doing well. Thanks for stopping by!
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"Eloise Greengrass" image by Stamping Bella. Patterned papers by A Muse, Lasting Impressions, and Stampin' Up. Stazon black ink. CTMH markers and blender pen. Martha Stewart fence punch. Stampin' Up sentiment, gingham ribbon, dimensionals, and sanding block. Copic spica glitter pens.

*i treasure your friendship*

I was searching through some of my stamp sets the other day looking for some fun images to watercolor, and I remembered this cow by Anna Wight. Isn't she darling? She's part of a set called Bundle of Joy, and this would make a sweet baby card simply by changing out the sentiment.

The kids are home enjoying a snow day. My oldest woke up with the flu, which is a major bummer. He's been lounging around watching Patch Adams, and he's finally starting to feel better. Livi talked me into playing outside in the snow for a while this morning. We stomped around the yard breaking up big chunks of snow and ice and made them into a fort. Man was I starving by the time we came in! Good thing I made that big batch of chocolate chips cookies!
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Cow by Whipper Snapper Designs. Sentiment and black dye ink by A Muse. Stampin' Up very vanilla and kiwi kiss cardstock, blender pens, chocolate chip and riding hood red classic inks, pink gingham ribbon, Bella Rose designer papers, scalloped border punch, and dimensionals. CTMH desert sand and pink carnation markers. Bo Bunny polka dotted paper (red). Lasting Impressions polka dotted paper (blue). Prima flowers. The Robin's Nest poinsetta dew drops. Martha Stewart punch (for flower stems).

*thank you*

Today I thought I'd try watercoloring. I'm not very good at it, but I figure that if I keep practicing I'm bound to get better. I've tried aqua pens, and for some reason, I just can't seem to make them work. So I used a blender pen, and I found that it was much easier to control. It amazes me how many different shades of color you can get with a single color of ink. With my riding hood red ink pad I was able to get a wide range of colors from the very palest pink on her tights to the deeper reds on the cherries in her basket. Pretty cool, eh?

It's only 9 degrees here today, so I thought that maybe if I cranked up the heat and escaped into my stamping nook to create a *springy* card design, I might just forget about the ice and snow and freezing cold temperatures! It was a good plan that might have worked if I could have stayed home all day!
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Bluebell Bittybloom by Stamping Bella. Sentiment by A Muse. Stampin' Up cardstock (very vanilla, kiwi kiss), Bella Rose designer paper, scalloped border punch, blender pen, classic inks (riding hood red, kiwi kiss, basic brown), and blossom definition. Stazon ink (black). Clear and red spica glitter pens. Copic black multiliner pen. Avacado Prismacolor marker. Bo Bunny porcelain dot cardstock. Prima flowers. The Robin's Nest poinsetta dew drops.

*snail mail*

Yesterday I received my first order from Stamping Bella. I'm completely smitten by their Huggabug Collection, snaily huggabug being my favorite. She's just so cute perched up on top of that snail with her little bag of letters to deliver.

I've been hoarding a 6x6 pad of Basic Grey's Urban Prairie papers for some time now, and after digging through my mountain of patterned papers, I found a sheet of pink polka dot cardstock by Bo Bunny that matched it perfectly! I love mixing colors and patterns for an eclectic and whimsical look, and I'm always delighted to incorporate a polka dot... or two!
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Snaily Huggabug and sentiment by Stamping Bella. Heart envelope by studio g. Very vanilla cardstock, rose ribbon, sanding block, and dimensionals by Stampin' Up. Nestablities classic scallop rectangle die. A Muse black dye ink. Copic markers and clear spica glitter pen.

*let it snow*

Here's a fun card I made yesterday in hopes of getting myself excited about winter. Well, it didn't work. At least I got to try out my new Martha Stewart snowflake punch. ;)
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A Muse notecard, papers, black pigment ink, ribbon, images, and sentiment. Copic markers and clear spica glitter pen. Stampin' Up sanding block, classic inks (riding hood red, kiwi kiss, tangerine tango, and baja breeze), blender pen, and dimensionals. Sicilian blue Fresh Ink. Martha Stewart 2008 collectors snowflake punch. Robin's Nest poinsetta dew drops.

*special delivery*

My stamping mojo took a vacation, so while its finding its way back home, I'm sharing a super simple card I made using my new Martha Stewart balloon punch. I punched the balloons out of A Muse's pretty little papers and colored them in with copic markers. I drew in the strings with a black multiliner pen and then traced over them with a clear spica glitter pen. Then I attached the balloons to the strings with pop dots.

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
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A Muse notecard, papers, ribbon, sentiment, and black dye ink. Martha Stewart balloon punch. Copic markers, black multiliner pen, and clear spica glitter pen. Stampin' Up sanding block and dimensionals.