Hey Momma!

Source: weheartit.com via Jenna on Pinterest

'Cause I love ya!

Hugs and Kisses
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #4

In honour of Valentine's Day, and all the ladies thinking they're lost without a significant other...

Source: rachmarie1018.tumblr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Time to take charge and get those flowers you've been wanting, girls. I'm just gonna get one of those heart shaped donuts from Dunkin on the way home and call it done. Sweets for my sweet (me)!

Have a great Valentine's Day everyone...

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJ

My A Muse Studio Top 5 Stamps

After drooling over the new catalog for the past week and a half, I think I've finally narrowed my list down enough to share. So here it is, in no particular order...

1.  Chevrons 

Love the clean graphic look of this set. I can see some really lovely CAS cards coming from this.

2. Papillon 

Because I just love butterflies.

3. Love Machines 

How cute is this set? Too adorable for words. Brings to mind my childhood love R2D2 and the equally hunky C3PO.

4. Family Icons 

Another cutie pie set. I can see some sweet shower invites and we're expecting notices with this one. Plus it's versatile enough for fun birthday cards and great scrapbook pages

5. Say It With Style

Because I can always use a good sentiment set... and so can everyone else.

I can hardly wait to ink these babies up, but I won't be getting them anytime soon. I'm in die collecting mode right now. I need to be ready when the new true 8.5x11 Grand Calibur is available from A Muse in a few weeks. In the meantime, take a look at the stamp sets that almost made the cut:

Venetian Background

Sunny Side of Life

British Invasion

Yeah, yeah. I got a thing for BBC America, home of Doctor Who. There's Kitchen Nightmares, and also The F Word with Chef Gordon Ramsay, Primeval (my fave), The Graham Norton Show (twisted & funny), Luther starring super sexy Idris Elba, and the original Being Human. You should check out Law and Order: UK sometime. It's really good, and I find it so  interesting to see how differently the detectives operate compared to the US version. Hmmm. Maybe I should try to get a little more sunlight...

Until later.

Hugs & Kisses
TraceyJ

A Muse Studio New Product Blog Hop

Today I am delighted to be joining some of my fellow consultants in a blog hop featuring products from the wonderful new Amuse Studio Catalog.

If you have been following us on the hop you should have come here from Sarah Callahan.

If not, you can go right back to the beginning with Karen Crisp's blog and move along until you get back to me.

I made a quick little card for a friend's birthday in a few days using the new Hey Cupcake stamp set and two new colours: Pistachio and Grape.

I stamped a background using Polka Dot Patterns and added a Sugar panel on which I stamped the cupcake in Grape, coloured with Grape ink and the Tombow blender pen. The icing is stamped in Grape on Pistachio cardstock, trimmed and inked with Versamark, then embossed with clear embossing powder. A sentiment strip was adhered below using Pistachio cardstock stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black.

Next up on the hop is Ruza; just in case you get lost or a link gets broken, here is the complete list:

Karen Crisp http://www.papernstamps.blogspot.com/
Pamela Fredrickson http://attemptedcreativity.blogspot.com/
Angi Kelley http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/
Lianna Vigil http://llamatales.blogspot.com/
Carissa Fulkerson http://carissascottage.blogspot.com/
Kristine Vincente http://checkerberrylane.wordpress.com/
Jennifer Corson http://www.scripptyscraps.blogspot.com/
Samantha Kania http://kania-amusestudio.blogspot.com/
Rita Holmes http://ritaholmes.blogspot.com/
Sarah Callahan http://wastamper.blogspot.com/

Tracey Jean H (me) http://traceyjean.blogspot.com/
Ruza Rebel http://www.ruzascraftcorner.blogspot.com/

Products Used:

InLinkz.com

Hugs and Kisses,

TraceyJ

Monday Funday #3

You know who you are...

Source: suite148.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJ

CAS Cardmaking Class Day 1

I've been taking an online cardmaking class presented by Kristina Werner, Jen McGuire, and Julie Ebersole which has taken me out of my lethargy and encouraged me to start creating again. I think I'll be using what I've learned the last two weeks to make a dent in my stash and finally send some cards to OWH for our heroes to send home. (Only the good ones will make it in the box of course) but I'll be sharing some of what I've made here on ye olde blog which has been sorely neglected the last couple of months while the mojo has been non-existent. My projects will probably not exactly follow the order of the class but I'm hoping to put each and every lesson to use.
First up is a little something based on a sketch shared in class. Since I'm trying to be methodical about using up my stash, I've started with one of the oldest paper packs I own - Tickled Pink by CTMH - which was released and retired a few years ago. My first attempt at a card was horrific. So I just decided to place each element as portrayed in the sketch. A little better, but still not all the way there. I know that once I do a few more cards my work will improve. Until then, here is the second attempt.

I love all the clean white space I see everyone creating with, but I can't seem to do it myself, so I inked up HA Small Stitched Flowers background stamp with some PTI Smokey Shadow I bought a few years back, took off some of the ink with a paper towel and stamped a plain white notecard. The blue scalloped cardstock was part of a scrapbook kit I bought when I was learning. It came in 8 colours and about 10 different shapes, so you'll be seeing them a lot in the next few weeks. The sentiment is from PTI Fillable Frames #1, stamped in Versamark, and heat embossed using black Zing. Butterflies are the smallest of the A Muse Studio Butterfly Trio dies.

The card qualifies for two challenges: Flutterby Wednesdays-Open, and Lollipop Crafts Wing It. Not too shabby if I do say so myself... and I am.

It was good to pull out my heat gun and get ink on my cheek again. Gotta do it more often...

Hugs and Kisses.
TraceyJ

InLinkz.com

Funday Monday #2

Source: Uploaded by user via Tracey on Pinterest

Yeah I know. Those resolutions are for other people. But I'm really trying to be more active than I have been in the past. I've lost quite a few pounds doing nothing special and it's now time to move on to the next step. Time to dust off those walking shoes.

Hold on, let me finish these brownies first...

Hugs and kisses,
TraceyJ