Wishing You...

Source: flickr.com via Joan on Pinterest

Hugs and Kisses. TraceyJ

It's a Ho Ho Holiday Sale

...on my a muse studio site from December 3 - 16. Enjoy!

Hugs and Kisses.
TraceyJ

Happiness Is...

Source: Uploaded by user via Joan on Pinterest

Hugs and Kisses.
TraceyJ

Fight Like a Girl

There's just under a week left to get your hands on this free stamp set from A Muse Studio. Let's "fight like a girl" and stamp out breast cancer...

You can get this stamp set free from A Muse Studio with only $3 shipping and handling. And don't forget your monthly self exams...

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJeanH

Black or White with a Pop

The challenge on the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog this week is black/white with a pop of colour.

Here's my take:

Now for the details. I've had this particular card in my head for a while and was so ecstatic that it fit this week's challenge that I forgot to commit all the requirements to memory. Silly me. The challenge actually requires you to create a one layer card using either black or white with one other colour for a little pop. So it's back to the drawing board to rethink this one. Maybe I'll be back later with a new and improved version that  accurately reflects the challenge. We'll see.

In the meantime, my "masterpiece" was created with a sugar card base, with images from Family Icons stamped in versamark and embossed in onyx, mounted on an onyx mat, and wrapped with onyx satin ribbon. I thought the ribbon looked a little plain, so I found some black crochet thread from an old project and tied the ends to give it a little flair. The heart was die cut from cherry woodgrain cardstock and covered in crystal clear glaze.

Hope you like it. And make sure to enter the A Muse Studio Challenge for a chance to win some fun prizes.

Hugs and kisses,
TraceyJ

Supplies Used:
Stamps: family icons
Cardstock: sugar, onyx, cherry woodgrain
Ink: versamark
Other: onyx satin ribbon, onyx embossing powder, crystal clear glaze

Friday!

Source: brassarmadillo.com via Arizona on Pinterest

I'm a Big Girl Now

and I have to say:

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Basia on Pinterest

Happy birthday to me!

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJ

I'm a Hostess!!!

Hey all,
It's my turn to be hostess on the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog, so I decided on a colour challenge with an inspiration photo found here.

This is what I came up with:

A one layer card!
This is a sugar card base stamped with butterflies from Sunny Side of Life in bermuda, cherry, grape, lemon whip, sage, and shell. The sentiment is from Hand Scripted. I masked off about a quarter inch on all four sides, stamped to my heart's content, then drew in a border using a Copic multiliner.

I hope you guys find time to go over to the blog and join in the challenge which runs for the next 2 weeks. You've got to play to have a shot at winning the prize - a paper pack featuring the A Muse Studio September Spotlight colours.

Supplies Used:
stamps: Hand Scripted, Sunny Side of Life
cardstock: sugar
ink: bermuda, cherry, grape, lemon whip, sage, shell
other: Copic multiliner, ruler


Hugs and Kisses
Tracey J

Taste the Rainbow...

Source: etsy.com via Basia on Pinterest

Hugs and Kisses.
TraceyJ

Positivity

Source: thehousethata-mbuilt.blogspot.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Hugs and Kisses...
TraceyJ

Triple the Fun!

The challenge over at the A Muse Studio Challenge blog this week is to create your project using three different embellishments: ribbons, flowers, and buttons. Since I'm still trying to complete my own person challenge of making at least 5 new cards with my Cool Yule stamp set, I decided to combine both challenges. Here's the result:


I started out by adding some A Muse Studio holiday washi tape to a piece of wasabi cardstock and cutting the finished piece to form "hills". Next, I took some flowers from the a|s Meadow Mix pack, cut them in half, and adhered them to my washi patterned paper hills to mimic snow. I stamped and fussy cut a bunch of trees in wasabi, fern, and sage, and added them to the hills at different levels to fill in my "forest".

I cut a panel of a|s winter sky woodgrain paper, used a glue pen to add some random spots, and then sprinkled on some a|s diamond glitter. One hill was added directly to the winter sky woodgrain and the second was popped up on some foam tape, then added to a panel of rialto cardstock which was in turn adhered to a vanilla card base.

I'm not much of a button girl and have no a|s buttons in my stash yet, so I had to improvise. Luckily I remembered I had some shrink plastic I had bought to do a project with my niece on her next visit. The shrink plastic was cut out with the third largest Spellbinders Small Circles die, punched with the largest hole on the Crop-A-Dile, stamped with the Woodgrain background in wasabi ink on the front and covered with wheat ink in the back, then blasted with my heat tool until I got a "button". I stamped and trimmed out the sentiment on vanilla cardstock, then added my button and a ribbon loop and attached them directly to the card.

I've got a few more ideas for this Cool Yule stamp set, so stick around - 3 more to go...

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJ


Supplies Used (all A Muse Studio)
Stamps: Cool Yule, Woodgrain Background
Paper: Rialto, Vanilla, Wasabi, Winter Sky Woodgrain
Ink: Fern, Latte, Sage, Wasabi
Other: Meadow Mix, Holiday Washi, Wasabi Ribbon, Diamond Glitter, Shrink Plastic (Office Depot)

Christmas in July

A fellow A Muse Studio consultant, Melinda, has issued herself a challenge to create 100 cards in 100 days. I've been following the posts on her blog and she has inspired me to try to create as many cards as I can come up with each week for each of the a|s stamp sets I currently own. Tall order, I know. So I decided to start with my newest set (which I just received) Cool Yule, hence today's title. Here's my first creation:

For this card I used one tree from the set and stamped it randomly all over a piece of a|s kraft using french roast ink, then rounded to top corners and sponged the edges. I die cut a bubble tag from the Classic Tags set, trimmed down the sides and cut the bottom with some pinking shears, stamped my sentiment, and sponged the edges with some lime ink.

I added two lines of tape, heat embossed some a|s Simple Stick, and added some lime glitter. Then I wrapped some lime satin ribbon around the kraft panel and tied a knot. My die cut tag was added with some glue dots. The entire panel was then added to a kraft card base with some foam dots.

I'm a real fan of this combo and I may be trying this again with all the other shades of glitter I've got. Love that shiny, shimmery stuff.

There's still time to enter the Christmas in July challenge over at the A Muse Studio Challenge blog.

Stay tuned to see my next happy holiday creation...

Hugs and kisses.
TraceyJean  

Supplies used (all A Muse Studio):
Stamps: Cool Yule
Cardstock: Kraft, Sugar
Ink:  French Roast, Lime
Other: Lime Satin Ribbon, Classic Tags die set, Simple Stick, Lime Glitter, 3d Foam Adhesive, Glue Dots

Hello Summer

This week's A Muse Studio Challenge is all about celebrating Summer.

I love the heat and the feeling of the sun on my skin, so I try to get as much daylight as I can. Unfortunately for me Summer in Florida means hurricane season so we've been getting lots of rain lately. I decided to make a brightly coloured card to shine through the rain and bring on the sun:

I used every single stamp in the Chevrons set on this card; eyeballed every single one. It was a lot easier to line up the stamps than I thought it would be. The sentiment panel was created using the Vintage Labels 2 set which is one of the spotlight sets this month. Love the matching dies which come in three sizes. Fun!

I hope you'll join us at the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog to Celebrate Summer.

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJ

Supplies used (all A Muse Studio):
Cardstock - Apricot, Sugar
Stamps - Beautiful Botanicals 2, Chevrons, Rock Star, Vintage Labels 2
Ink - Apricot, Bellini, Papaya, Orange, Cherry
Other - clear Twinkles, Copic Y38, Vintage Labels 2 dies

Today is a good day

I have a girlfriend who has decided to stop smoking. This morning as I listened to her talk about the discomfort she experienced on her first smoke-free day (yesterday), I realised just how proud I am of her for taking that first step. I know the next couple of days will be extremely difficult for her and I can only hope that my support gives her some comfort in the days ahead. I know that a positive attitude can make all the difference between success and failure, so when I came across this today I thought I'd share:

Source: allthingslovely.typepad.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Make today a good day...

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJeanH

Colour Your World

Sadly, I was a little late in posting my project with my fellow DT on the A Muse Studio Challenge Blog.  Lucky for you there's still a whole 2 weeks for you to enter. So head on over to the Challenge Blog and submit your entry today. The rules for this challenge are as follows: colour, colour, colour. Use your chalks, markers, watercolours, inks, whatever you like to colour in some portion of your project. You're allowed to use whatever supplies you own, however if your project includes A Muse Studio products it will count as two entries.

Now on to my little project. This little beauty was made using one of the May spotlight stamp sets - Papillon - available at a 10% discount this month only. My gorgeous butterfly was stamped in Titian ink and coloured with Papaya and Orange Tombow markers. I masked off the butterfly on the Vanilla panel and second generation stamped the Extraordinary background in Titian, sponging the edges in Papaya ink. The panel was then added to a Titian mat and the butterfly coloured again using a Copic Spica glitter pen in clear. Polka Dot Patterns was stamped to a Vanilla card base using Papaya ink and a length of Titian ribbon wrapped around the card before the image panel was added. The sentiment was created with the Woodgrain background in Papaya, Say It With Style in Titian and die cut using the Cupcake Toppers dies and mounted with foam tape. Nice and flat for mailing.

May is definitely the month to "Colour Your World" with all A Muse Studio branded inks on sale at 20% off. It's a great time to stock up or try out our beautiful inks.

Supplies Used:
Stamps- Extraordinary Background, Papillon, Polka Dot Patterns, Say It With Style, Woodgrain Background
Cardstock- Titian, Vanilla
Inks- Papaya, Titian
Other- Tombow Markers, Copic Spica Marker, a|s Cupcake Toppers dies, Titian ribbon

Until we meet again,
Hugs and Kisses,
Tracey Jean H

May Inkpad Sale

If you've been curious about A Muse Studio inks, now is the time to try them. 

For the entire month of May, all A Muse Studio branded ink pads are on sale at 20% off original prices. That makes our inkpads only $4.76 each! Add a few to your shopping cart today. 
(sale applies only to individual A Muse Studio inkpads. Does not include refills, assortments, or non-A Muse Studio branded inks.)

Head to my A Muse Studio website and place your order today! As always, be sure to contact me regarding hostess rewards before placing any order totalling $150 or more.

Hugs & Kisses.


TraceyJ

Monday Funday #13

Source: itworksforbobbi.com via Tracey on Pinterest

I know I haven't.

But the good thing about Him is that as long as I breathe I can make a change. Starting today.

Hugs and Kisses.
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #12

Happy Easter to all my Ja friends and family; at home for another day...

Source: unafloresita.blogspot.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Hugs and Kisses,
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #11

Source: facebook.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Happy Easter!

Hugs and Kisses.
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #10

On Friday we'll celebrate the birthday of a super special person.

Source: hallmark.com via Joan on Pinterest

I've been calling her Sweet 16 for a long time, but I'm finally ready to have her graduate to Tempting 21; the age of drinking with friends and dancing all night till the wee hours of the morning.

She's a beautiful person, tons of fun, and the best friend you could ever hope to have.

Here's to a fantastic birthday (week) for a fantastic girl. My mom, JeannieH.

Happy Birthday, Momma!

Source: theberry.com via Tamara on Pinterest

Go ahead and take a sip; you're legal now.

Hugs and kisses...
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #9

Source: ffffound.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Great advice. I always seem to jot down little notes and end up with bits and pieces of paper in the bottom of my bag at the end of the day.

Hugs and kisses,
TraceyJ

A Wee Bit Irish

Today we're all just a little bit Irish as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Since I have no idea what the holiday is about, I did a little web surfing and found this on Wikipedia. So here I am, sharing a beautiful Irish blessing with you in honour of this day.

Source: josieh.uppercaseliving.net via Maureen on Pinterest

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Hugs and Kisses...
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #8

Source: itstheskinny.tumblr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Regained 3 of the pounds I had lost. Might be time to cut a spoonful of sugar from my morning tea...

Hugs and kisses.
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #7

Source: Uploaded by user via Tracey on Pinterest

Twilight: the saga of a beautiful young girl who ties herself for all eternity to a dead guy because of a teenage crush and a healthy dose of stubborn...

I hear it's romantic. I even watched the first two movies (on DVD with a freebie coupon) searching for the romance. Still waiting to find it, but maybe I'm just romantically challenged. Someday I may find it totally sweet that cold dead Mr. Smooth Vampire is so in love he's willing to let his one true die at age 17/18 so they be dead together forever. But for now I'll take my guys warm (and warm blooded) thank you very much.

In the meantime, enjoy the Twilight Convention (I know, right) coming to a town near you...

Hugs and kisses,
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #6

It might be time to get moving again...

Source: google.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Time to shake it back into shape. Watch out. My hotness is about to emerge from this 170lb fat cocoon...

Hugs and kisses,
TraceyJ

Monday Funday #5

In honour of Presidents' Day...

Source: aliedwards.com via Tracey on Pinterest

may our leaders finally recognise that it's smarter to work together. We the people are tired of all the posturing just to stay/get in power. And I really don't care which of you is "in charge" so long as the rest of you can make some positive changes for me and the people I live with in this country. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this sentiment. So guys, get it together, or get gone. I heard a rumour that this might be an election year...

Hugs and kisses,
TraceyJ

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 and 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