Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!! :) Just wanted to share with you a simple Halloween card I made for a friend! We fortunately made it through the hurricane okay without losing power, and my thoughts are with those who are still dealing with the aftermath of this huge storm.

Here is today's Halloween card.

I used PTI's Limeade Ice patterned paper with a PTI Limitless Layers square scallop die and PTI Winter Wisteria ribbon. The stamp is from the dollar spot at Joann's. If you use pigment ink, then the acrylic stamps usually stamp okay.

Have fun trick or treating and Happy Halloween everyone!!

Monster Munchies

Hi there, thought I would pop in and share with you some monster treats I made! Hope your Halloween preparations are coming along well. Alexander has got a costume, but not sure if we'll be able to actually trick or treat with the hurricane headed our way, yikes! Praying that everything works out okay for everyone and that it's just a lot of rain.

So onto the treats for today, Monster Munchies. Those mischevious monsters have teamed up and have broken into the treat bag to steal all the treats! :) The top monster is feeding a real candy corn to the other monster.

I used the Monster Bash set from A Muse Studio to make these treats. Love that set: it's got the cutest little monsters. I also used the Halloween washi tape and a glassine bag, so you can get a peek of the treats inside. Gotta watch out for those monsters: they hide under your bed and also love candy apparently! ;)

And here's a peek at Alexander's costume this year. He is all decked out and ready for Halloween! Arr, arr matey! 

His favorite show on Disney Junior is Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so I just had to dress him up. He also really loves that hook. When he wore it at the kid's Halloween party this past week, he never put it down! :)

Have a great Halloween!!

Free Stamp set!!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, A Muse Studio is giving away a FREE copy of the "Fight Like a Girl" stamp set (retail value: $18). It is an exclusive stamp set available only through October. They are available free to everyone, one per customer. There is a $3 shipping and handling charge and that's it!

The free stamp set is available at my web store here:

www.amusestudio.com/monicak

Also included in the package is: a 20% discount on a future purchase (expires Dec. 31), a postcard to be entered into a giveaway, and information about breast cancer awareness. I have been, like so many others, affected by breast cancer. My grandma passed away from breast cancer when I was 8 years old and she was only 61. Breast cancer awareness and prevention is so important. These stamps are perfect to cheer someone up and to encourage those who have or are currently trying to fight cancer!

Giveaway Winners!!

Thanks so much for those who entered the giveaway! We had a nice trip to Europe and Alexander got to meet his grandma for the first time. And now he will be celebrating his first birthday in 4 days!!

I'm so sorry for the delay in posting the winners. So without further delay, the winners are:

The winner of the "If You Dare" stamp set is random.org #2:

Jennifer Rzasa!

And the winner of the $10 crafting gift certificate is random.org #5:

Sonja!

Congrats to the winners, and I hope you enjoy your prizes! Please email me by clicking on the email in my sidebar and I'll mail you the goodies.

Have a wonderful and sunshine-filled day!

Halloween treats and another giveaway!!

Hope it's okay that I'm jumping into Halloween already! ;) I thought I would share with you some Halloween treats I made. They're great to hand out at Halloween to friends or co-workers and could work for school treats too.

 

I actually made these treats last year, a couple months after giving birth. It was such a crazy time and I'm not quite sure how I managed to make these! However, I didn't find time to post it so wanted to share it with you now. :)

I used the A Muse Studio stamp set, "If You Dare", which I'm giving away a copy of at the end of this post.

Here's a closeup:

I attached a diecut using the fun A Muse web die, which measures 2" wide and looks great on lots of projects. If you have the PTI web dies, I'm sure those would also work great as well. The stamped sentiment was heat embossed with A muse white embossing powder on a diecut tag and then wrapped overtop the thin treat bag. I cut out the stamped spider and dangled him over the web to add some whimsy and fun. It was so much fun making these.

I'm also doing another giveaway!!! Both giveaways are open to everyone including international readers.

Giveaway #1: "If You Dare" A Muse Studio stamp set 

This is the stamp set I used on the project above and it's so fun to stamp with! It is rubber stamps on cling mount and I'm giving away one copy of it.

Giveaway #2: $10 gift certificate to ANY online crafting store of your choice (Papertrey Ink, A Muse Studio, etc.)

All you have to do to enter both giveaways is be a follower of this blog (click "follow me" to the right) and comment on this post! That's it! ;) Also, it is not required, but if you spread the news about this giveaway on your blog or anywhere else, you may enter twice!

You have 2 weeks to enter this time, which is when I get back from my trip. I will choose two winners by random.org on September 10, 2012 and so you must enter by September 9th at 11:59 pm to be eligible.

Thanks as always for stopping by and good luck with the giveaway! Have a wonderful, sunshine-filled day!

Winners of the Giveaway!

Thanks so much for all of you who entered my giveaway. Only a few people entered, so you all had great odds of winning! ;)

It was fun reading your answers where you love to travel. To answer my own question that I asked of you, my favorite place to travel is London (obvious from the last post, ;) and my dream vacation would be Bali or Sydney (or maybe both since they're somewhat close)!

First of all, I'm posting one more giveaway in a few hours so if you don't win this time, you still have another chance!

Without further ado, the winners are:

The winner of Stamp It magazine is random.org #7:

Miriam Prantner!

And the winner of the $10 crafting gift certificate is random.org #5:

Amy!

Big congrats to the winners, and I hope you enjoy your prizes! Please email me by clicking on the email in my sidebar and I'll mail you the goodies.

Remember, if you didn't win this time another giveaway is being posted today so check back by if you get a chance! Have a sunny day!

It's holiday crafting time! :)

I just love the time of year when everyone gears up for holiday crafting! It's so fun to see all the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas things being made!

A Muse Studio has just recently released it's 2012 Holiday catalog filled with lots of stamps, dies, papers and other fun things to help make some of these fun holiday items.

The holiday catalog can be viewed online here: https://www.securedcontent.net/amuse/pdfs/2012ASHolidayCatalog.pdf

Or you can order a catalog from me directly by emailing me at: amuse1303@gmail.com

To help celebrate the launch of the new catalog, I'm offering a free holiday catalog with any purchase over $50 and a free stamp set with a purchase of $150 or more (my choice, but will offer options for you to choose from) through Dec. 31, 2012.

Also, if you place an order over $150 you will also receive $25 of free product too, if you contact me before ordering. To get these free items, simply email me and I'll mail them out to you. If you have any questions, as always I'd be happy to answer them too.

Thanks so much for those who have ordered from me before, it is so appreciated! As a thank you, ALL orders placed during the holiday season will automatically receive a handmade thank you card from me using the new holiday supplies and also a little sampler product to play with too.

All products from the holiday catalog and main catalog are available from my webstore here:

www.amusestudio.com/monicak

Also, there's still time to enter my giveaway here: http://www.craftinginsunshine.com/2012/08/british-invasion-card-and-giveaway.html

British Invasion card and a Giveaway!!

Hope you're all having a nice summer! Did you get a chance to watch any of the Olympics? We really enjoyed watching the Olympics and are going to London in a few days, so thought I'd post a card celebrating London.

I used the A Muse Studio stamp set called, British Invasion. It is my favorite set, and I just love all the architecture icons in the set. London is such an awesome city.

And here's the inside:

The happy birthday icon is a remake of the London tube "mind the gap" icon and the bottom has a piece of washi tape. (I also had to blur out the message that I wrote to the recipient.) 

In late celebration of the Olympics, because it's my birthday next Friday and also because it's been so long since I've done a giveaway, I thought I'd post a new giveaway for you! :)

GIveaway #1: Paper Crafts Stamp It magazine

I recently won an embossing prize package on the Paper Crafts connection blog, and one of the things included in it was a copy of "Stamp It" magazine which I already own! So I thought I would pass it on to one of my blog readers!

To enter this giveaway for the magazine you must be a U.S. resident (International readers, keep reading, there's a giveaway for you too).

Giveaway #2: $10 GCF

I'm also doing a giveaway open to everyone, including international readers. It is a $10 gift certificate to the online craft store of your choice (PTI, A Muse Studio, etc, or anywhere else that sells gift certificates).

To enter either giveaway, you must also be a follower of this blog, so please sign up to the right if you're not yet a follower. It's not required, but would be appreciated if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too! In the comments below, specify if you are interested in just one prize, otherwise you'll be entered into both giveaways! Also, in the your comment mention where your favorite place is to travel and where your dream vacation would be! You must enter by this Weds, August 23 at 11:59 pm. I will choose 2 winners by random.org generator on Thursday. So enter quickly, because it will be over in a few days!

Thanks for entering and have a very sunny day! :)

Lovely Layers mini cards

It's been awhile since I've been able to place a PTI order, and on a whim last month,  I added Lovely Layers and the square dies at the last second. And I'm so glad I did! It's been so much fun playing with them, and I've seen the coolest things made with them too. When I was experimenting with them, it seemed like they would make a nice mini card set. So I made several in many colors. The cards are 3-1/4" square.

For the first one, I used the negative diecut of the leaves to frame the flower.

I also made a softer, more feminine version.

The small sentiment is from the Mixed Messages set. So many of those mini sentiments fit perfectly in the flower's center and it's very simple to switch out the sentiment, if you need it for a different occasion. I embossed the entire  base of the card (front and back) using the Simple Stripes IP (love!), which adds a nice texture. Then I matted the inside with a piece of white cardstock, to keep from writing on the texture.

This one is similar to the first, but matted with a different square.

And the last one has a diecut similar to the first one, but I embossed the background with the woodgrain IP.

I added dimension to the leaves using the rock 'n roll technique, graduating to a darker color as I got to the end of the leaves. It helps to make the leaves pop and glow a bit more!

If you know any tips to line up the stamps with the diecut, I'd love to hear it! I had such a hard time lining these up. Here's a couple of tips I learned when using Lovely Layers: if you stamp on the diecuts, mat them from behind with the same color paper. If your stamping isn't exactly centered on the diecut, it somewhat helps to disguise it (for example: white on white). Also, I learned this tip and it makes a huge difference: stamp in versamark ink first, then ink up your stamp. The stickiness helps to hold the ink better so you don't get gaps in your coverage.

I'm entering this set of 4 cards into A Passion for Papertrey's Anything Goes challenge! It's been awhile since I played their challenge, and it's fun to be participating again!

Also, here are some updated photos of Alexander taken today. He's almost 10 months old now. He's got two teeth on the bottom and is getting four new teeth on top. He loves to jump in his jumper and has started to stand on his own too!

Then a few minutes after I took the pictures, I looked over at him and he had passed out in his jumper.

The first time he's done that, haha! Guess he jumped so much he wore himself out. :)

Thanks for taking a look and have a very sunny summer day! :)

Keep Calm and Stamp On

The past few days we've been watching the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration on TV that's been taking place in London. It's been really interesting and inspiring to watch the festivities and to see Britain get excited that she has been Queen for 60 years now! I love London and we travel there each summer on our way to Croatia.

So I thought I'd share a card inspired by England. The stamp set I used is by A Muse Studio and is called "Stamp On". It's so fun to use this set and is a great card to give to fellow crafters. :)

The sentiment I used is a play on words of the popular phrase, "Keep Calm and Carry On". That phrase originated from a poster designed during World War II, which was found years later in a British bookshop.

Here's a video, explaining the origin of the phrase, "Keep Calm and Carry On". Very interesting history with an inspiring meaning.

I made a few of the cards to have on hand.

The background paper is the A Muse color Lido in the Venetian patterned paper line. The sentiment was heat embossed with A Muse detail white embossing powder, which is a great EP. 

The back of the card was stamped with an image from the A Muse stamp set, "Hand Stamped", which has a bunch of different handmade by stamps. A nice way to finish off a card. :)

There is also another great A Muse stamp called, "Keep Calm", if you like the "Keep Calm and Carry On" sentiment.

Thanks for looking and have a sunshine-filled day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day! :) Just wanted to let you know that during this Memorial Day weekend, A Muse is having a special! If you buy at least $50 worth of any product, you will receive 3 rolls of 10 yard satin ribbon for free! These retail for $6.95 each, so it's a great deal with a total value of $20.85. The colors included are bermuda, cherry and vanilla.

Also, a reminder that the inks are 20% off through the end of this month. So if you buy $50 worth of ink, then you get the 20% discount and 3 rolls of satin ribbon free! There is more about the ink special in this post here: http://www.craftinginsunshine.com/2012/05/muse-studio-inks-20-off.html.

The sale ends this Monday night, May 28th, at 11:59pm. The ink sale ends May 31st at 11:59pm. You do not need a coupon code for either of these sales. They will be automatically added.

If you are interested in the sale, items are available for purchase from my webstore here:

www.amusestudio.com/monicak

In Honor and Memory of Janelle

Many of you know Janelle Hayes from her crafting blog, Show and Tell. For those that don't know, for the past 9 months, she has been fighting an inoperable brain tumor and yesterday I found out the sad news that she has passed away. Janelle was a very sincere and kind friend who touched me and so many others with her kindness. She was also a very talented crafter, whom I admired greatly. I made this set of notecards for her a while ago after she was diagnosed, but never posted them. It seemed fitting to post them now.

I used PTI's Four of a Kind stamp set heat embossed in gold on PTI CS (Hawaiian Shores, Lavender Moon, Aqua Mist and Lemon Tart). I also used the set "Everyday Blessings", which seemed especially appropriate, since Janelle was such a spiritual and caring person.

Here are closeups of the cards.

"Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he smile upon you." Numbers 6:24-25

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13

"Faith is the substance of all things hoped for." Hebrews 11:1

Janelle, you will always be remembered and thanks for blessing so many of our lives with your kind and gentle spirit. You will be greatly missed.

A Muse Studio inks 20% off!!

If you'd like some more info about the inks, there is a detailed review of the A Muse inks on my blog here:

http://www.craftinginsunshine.com/2011/10/muse-studio-ink-review.html

Hi there, just popping in to let you know that A Muse is having a sale on all of the pigment inks through the whole month of May!! They are all 20 percent off, and it is the first time A Muse has put them all on sale before. If there are a few colors you have your eye on, it could be a good time to stock up!

If you'd like some more info about the inks, there is a detailed review of the A Muse inks on my blog here:

http://www.craftinginsunshine.com/2011/10/muse-studio-ink-review.html

I've made two new ink charts too and still have a few left.

Here's a chart of the exclusive pigment ink colors that A Muse carries, and it is current with all of the latest colors from the 2012 catalog!

And here's the new 2012 colors A Muse added, as well as new cardstock samples too.

If you are a customer and would like either one of these, feel free to email me at: amuse1303@gmail.com. The ink colors are fairly true here, so you can also go by this online chart if you like too. :)

The inks are available to order from my webstore here:

www.amusestudio.com/monicak

And you don't have to enter a coupon code for the 20 percent off sale. They are already marked down to the sale price.

Lastly, life has been very busy lately with so much going on. To make a long story short, we moved a couple weeks ago to Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside of DC. This is a very big move and very personal since I have such an attachment to Florida (even named this blog after Florida ;). Florida will always be a big part of our lives, especially since most of my family lives there, but now we are starting a new and exciting adventure. Looking forward to continuing to update you with everything that's going on and hopefully things will slow down a bit to a pace where I can update more frequently too. Have a great and sunny day!

Mini Spring/Easter cards

Hi, hope you are all doing well! Thought I'd pop on real quick to share a couple of mini cards with you.

I used the PTI Lunchbox note die, of course. ;) It's my favorite die (you may have seen it quite a few times on this blog.) The stamps, ribbon and gingham paper are by A Muse Studio.

And here's a Panda card too. ;) All supplies are by A Muse Studio too.

I have some Easter treats to post too, but we will be out of town at my mom's, so might not get them posted in time, but I will try. What are your plans for Easter?


May you have a wonderful Easter with your family and friends!

A Few More Baby Pics

As promised, here are a few more baby photos of Alexander! These were taken over the last few weeks. He will be 6 months old on March 17th (which happens to be St. Patrick's Day too). Can't believe how fast he's growing!

He's a very happy baby! Giggling with him is one of my favorite things to do.

And here's Alexander with Mr. Moose. They are best buds!! (And I did not even pose him. He actually holds his moose this way. ;)

And here's another one taken a month ago while going for a walk. It was a bit chilly that day and so we bundled him up in a hoodie.

He's starting to sit up now too! And yesterday he sat up unassisted for the first time, while playing on his blanket. Nothing melts a mama's heart faster than her baby smiling! :)

And here's one last one with mom, grandma and baby. He's waving hello!

Thanks for stopping by and as always, have a very happy and sunny day!

Sweet Love

Hi everyone. I can't apologize enough for the delay in new posts and especially new crafty things. Truth is that there is a lot going on! Aside from the baby, we are also in the process of moving to a new city. So it's been very busy.

Even though it's been harder to find time to craft, and especially hard to be creative, I'm still trying to at least get the important things made. Like a Valentine's Day card for my hubby! Which is what I'm sharing with you today. It is super simple, but that is how it goes when you are crafting with a 5 month old. At least for me anyway! ;) Hope it's okay that I'm sharing this with you in March, but maybe we can refer to it as a love card, not just a Valentine's card?

I used the A Muse Studio stamp set, Sweet Love. It is one of my favorites and has the cutest sentiments and sweet treat images. They can be used year round too!

And here's the inside. The sentiment says, "You make life sweet!" Which also happens to be true. :)

And I realized it's been awhile since I shared an updated photo of baby Alexander. Thought it might be fitting to post this picture of him eating sweet potatoes on a post titled, Sweet Love!

He's 5 months old now and just starting on solids! I'll be back soon to post some more baby photos. Hope you don't mind. :)

I've not forgotten about the international giveaway I promised to do. It will be up within the next few days! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your year. It is beautiful and sunny here today, and I wish the same for all of you. Have a sunshine-filled day!

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Thanks for all of you who entered the giveaway! I ran the numbers through the random.org generator and the winner is #6: Colleen Wold!

Congrats, Colleen!!! Please send me an email and I'll mail your A Muse Studio gift certificate information to you. :)

The A Muse Studio main catalog is now available online as a PDF. You can view it here:
https://www.securedcontent.net/amuse/pdfs/2012AMuseStudioCatalog.pdf

If you would like a hard copy, you can also purchase a new 2012 catalog for $5 plus $5 priority shipping. Just send me an email to: amuse1303@gmail.com and I'll be happy to mail one to you! I will also include an updated ink chart and cardstock chart with all the colors.

Thanks again for playing along! There will be a non-A Muse giveaway coming soon for everyone, including international readers. Have a very sunny day! :)

Double the Love Card

I have a simple baby card to share with you today! This card is for a friend of mine who's having twin girls. I just went to her baby shower yesterday. We've known each other since we were babies (our parents are friends) and now we both have babies! :)

I made this card using a sketch from the Clean and Simple card classes. This is from the 1st day, but I signed up for the class later so am playing some catch up! So glad I signed up, it has been wonderful and I love all the lessons!!

I diecut out the onesies and heart from MFT's notches dies and then inserted different colored diecut shapes. The sentiment is from PTI's Bitty Baby Blessings. I used the Cuttlebug folder Swiss Dots to add some dimension, but used the reserve side of the embossing, because I liked that it was more subtle. To finish it off I added a pink shell sheer polka dot ribbon from A Muse Studio. The sentiment inside says, "Sometimes it's the smallish things that take up the most room in our hearts."

I love these classes and it is not too late to sign up! The lessons will always be available to read and the gallery and store discounts are still available for another week. Thanks for stopping by. Remember, there is still time to enter my giveaway HERE. Have a sunny day!

A Muse Studio Gift Certificate Giveaway!

Last year, I did a month long series of giveaways in honor of my first blogiversary. I've decided to do another giveaway this year too in honor of my 2nd blogiversary! Since I'm now an A Muse Studio consultant, I thought it'd be fun to do a giveaway of A Muse products. :)

I'm giving away a $25 GCF to my A Muse Studio web store! The link to my web store is here: www.amusestudio.com/MonicaK.

This giveaway will be open throughout the rest of January. I will pick a number from the random.org generator on February 1st, when I'll also be announcing the new A Muse 2012 catalog.

Here is what you need to do to enter:


1. Follow this blog, if you aren't already following. Just click the "Join This Site" button to the right!


2. Post a link to this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or other social media page. Mention that I'm giving away a gift certificate to A Muse Studio!


3. Comment on this post and include the link(s) to where you posted about it. One comment per person please. 


3. This is optional, but I'd love if you'd sign up for my A Muse Studio newsletter too. It will keep you updated on sales and giveaways. Just send an email to me at: amuse1303@gmail.com. 

Here's a fun twist! For every 50 comments, I will increase the gift certificate amount by $10. So 50 comments will be $35, 100 comments will be $45, 150 comments will be $55, etc. So the more people who comment, the higher the amount!

Here's another nice bonus: this gift certificate is also retroactive, so if you make a purchase from my web store in January and then you win, you can apply it to that order.

If you are new to A Muse Studio, we are a company that sells exclusive products such as cling-mounted rubber stamps, dies, inks, papers and more! You can check out the main catalog HERE. I'm also accepting pre-orders for the new catalog being released on Feb. 1st.

Thanks for entering this giveaway and good luck!! :) If it's successful, I will definitely do it again! Also, check back soon if you have a chance. I'll have some more info about the A Muse inks!

FINE PRINT: The giveaway ends 11:59 pm on January 31, 2012. This giveaway is only open to those with a US mailing address, per A Muse policy. I'll do another non-A Muse giveaway in February that will include International readers! Gift certificate does not include tax and S/H. It can be used on previous orders made in January. You may buy anything from my web store with the certificate and it does not expire. This certificate can be used in combination with any sales A Muse may be offering too!

A Muse Studio Retiring Items List!

A Muse Studio is releasing a brand new catalog on February 1st. That means several items are being retired to make room. These items are available while supplies last!

One item of special note, the color Cranberry is being retired. This includes the ink, refills, buttons and cardstock and they are all available while supplies last. It is the only color being retired, but there will be 9 new colors added in the new catalog and they are all gorgeous!!

RETIRING PRODUCTS

Here is the A Muse Studio product retirement list from the 2011 Main Catalog. For a complete list of retiring products, please click the photo below to enlarge, or view the PDF by clicking HERE.

RETIRING STAMP SETS

A Muse Studio has also announced their stamps retirement list from the 2011 Main Catalog. For a complete list of retiring stamps sets, please click the photo below to enlarge, or view the PDF by clicking HERE.

The Holiday Catalog will have some items retiring also, but A Muse has decided to not reveal which items those might be in advance. So if you see something you like in it, you may want to consider ordering soon, because it may be retiring and items in it are first come, first served. We won't know which items will carry over until the new catalog is revealed Feb. 1, 2012.

If you would like to order any of the A Muse Studio sale products mentioned above, they are available while supplies last from my web store here:

www.amusestudio.com/MonicaK

If you have any questions or need any clarifications, please email me at amuse1303@gmail.com and I'll be happy to answer your questions and get back with you! :) I'll be back soon with a special giveaway!