Friday, December 28, 2012

Picture of the Week

Winter Wonderland....



BBBRRRRR.....it's cold outside.


Drat!


Dressed for winter.


Don't ya just love the smell of snow?!?


   
Snow much fun!!

Waddlin' in the snow.

What the heck is this white stuff?!?!?!?


WWWWWEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!





Wednesday, December 19, 2012

MIA ... on a quest to find my mojo

I've been Missing In Action.....

I'm sure many of you have heard me say this....."where does the time go?!?!?!!".  With each passing year, I feel that time flies by faster and faster each  year.

Here we are, a week from Christmas.  Other than making calendars for gift-giving, I haven't had much time, energy or the motivation to be creative.  I think it's been over a month since I've posted anything here other than the "picture of the week".

Christmas is my favorite time of the year and normally, I am overflowing with Christmas spirit. 


The last couple months have been draining.  In November, I finally sat for my CFP Exam.  Most of my energy (mental and physical) for the last 3 weeks has been spent on trying to catch up at work after taking a couple weeks off to study for the exam. 


With all that behind me now, I've been trying to get re-organized at home and get my mojo back.  During this shopping season (BTW... this is the first year that I did NOT go out shopping on Black Friday...did all my shopping online this year), I added to my Copic collection.  I heard that prices will go up again in January, so I took advantage of a sale and now I'm about 30 shy of having a complete set of Copic markers.


To track my Copics, I created a spreadsheet.  I printed the spreadsheet to a 11 x 17 paper and colored the squares as I added to my collection.  Here's a sample of the chart:



I decided to come up with a different method of keeping an inventory of my Copics.  Everytime Copic added a new color, I would have to amend the spreadsheet.  With my new method, I won't have to do that.  What's my new method, you ask?


I created Copic cards using a business card template. 


Each color will have its own card, so all I need to do is print out a new card for any future colors that are introduced to their collection.  The big square is to color in.  There are 2 small boxes below the main box - one box (with "R") is to mark whether I own a refill for that color; the other box is to mark what type of marker I own ("C"iao, "S"ketch, "O"riginal).  I included a section on the card where I could add my favorite color combo for that color.  The cards look like this:  




The cards will go into a binder using business card binder pages that you can find at any office supply store:


I would love to find a business card wallet that held enough business cards to represent all the Copic colors, but I haven't found one yet that has enough slots and is reasonably priced. 



I'm hoping that this is a start to getting my mojo back.  After the holidays, I plan on starting next year's gifts.....a cardkeeper with various themed cards.  That should keep me busy all year, right?


Blessings,


Sunday, November 4, 2012

November Spotlight Special

Welcome to the A Muse Studio Spotlight!
Where each month, selected stamp sets will share the spotlight with a gorgeous color palette to create projects that showcase the versatility of paper crafting.


 

Personalize homemade goodies.

 
Get the free template for the cookie tray HERE



 
I adore this stationary box - so convenient!!

Get the free template for the stationary box HERE



 
Perfect for Fall...

 
For November, the following stamps are 10% off regular price:

And, for a limited time, order the special Harvest Hues cardstock assortment pack - an easy way to get the look showcased in this month's spotlight.
Harvest Hues Assortment Pack contains four (4) sheets each:
French Roast
Toffee
Squash
Nutmeg
Wheat


PASTB12 $7.65


Spotlight pricing is good through 11:59pm Eastern time, November 30, 2012.
Contact me to place an order or if you want more details about these projects.
bjlee717"at"comcast"dot"net



Saturday, November 3, 2012

Diva Entertains has another $75 Amazon Gift Card Give Away

It would have been so fun to win the last give away at Diva Entertains.....here's another chance!!!  Visit Diva Entertains blog here for your chance at winning a $75 Amazon Gift Card.




Have a fabulous weekend....I'll be back later this evening to post about November's Spotlight Special from A Muse Studio....I apologize for the delay. 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Picture of the Week

Halloween is just around the corner.  I thought these were too cute for the upcoming holiday.


Dude, relax.....you look like a Halloween decoration.


Batty Kitty

Beware: Black Cat

Pumpkin Treat

I love Halloween













Tuesday, October 23, 2012

A Muse Studio Consultant Calendar Page Swap

Recently, I hosted a swap among A Muse Studio consultants.  This swap came about when I started my Christmas calendar gifts, which I posted about HERE.

I thought it would be a fabulous idea to see what others would come up with for their pages using the calendar template I created.  So, why not a swap?

I was quite impressed with the creativity of all the consultants.  Ladies, thank you for participating in the swap and making it so successful!!   

For the swap, I chose the month of May.  Here is my calendar page:

Supplies:  A Muse Studio Floral Duet stamp set, Sugar cardstock, Bermuda cardstock, Blush Ink Pad, Grapefruit Ink Pad, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad, Sugar Polka Dot Organdy Ribbon; sponge daubers
Non-A Muse Studio supply:  Stickles

I used the triple layer stamping technique.  

Here are the measurements for the layers:


I started by lining up the a|s Sugar cardstock in place.  To keep the pages from moving, I dabbed a little adhesive tape on the back.  TIP:  after you run the bit of tape on the back, dab it with your fingers to remove some of the stickiness so that you can eventually separate the pages.




I stamped the images.  To make sure I inked the images in the right spots, I placed the calendar mat in place and stamped around it.







I used a sponge dauber to color the center of the flowers using Grapefruit.  I started in the center of the flower and pulled the color outward.




Then, I sponged the rest of the flower using Blush.




After carefully separating the layers, I adhered them to the proper mat layer (Bermuda cardstock).  Tip:  Before separating the stamped image layers, sponge a little color on the backside in one corner of each layer so that you keep the images aligned.



Before adhering the front layer, I used glue dots to place the ribbon.    Adhere the calendar in place.


Admittedly, I was being a little lazy.  I knew I wanted to add some sparkle to the flower, but instead of using the a|s Diamond Glitter and getting glitter all over the cats, I used Stickles.





Now, without further ado......here are the wonderful pages from the other A Muse Studio consultants.

January - Jane using Chill of Winter and Let It Snow


February - Sylvia using All My Hearts


March - Pamela using Beautiful Botanicals 2 and Graphic Sunflower


April - Nancy using Bunny Business 


June - Rita using Enjoy the Ride


July - Christina using Let Freedom Ring


August - Pamela using Sea Shells


September - Tobey using Autumn Leaves


October - Laura using Toil and Trouble


November - JoAnne using Autumn Days


December - Karen using Santa Claus is Comin' to Town




Splendid job, ladies!!!  Huge thanks to you all.  I'm excited to use these pages for 2013!!


Blessings,