Happy Easter!

To all my Christian friends, I hope you have a lovely day full of family, friends, and good food!

This is the card I made to send to my grandmother in Michigan. Note the Epic Stamp-A-Ma-Jig Sentiment Fail. I still have no idea what happened, but I just couldn't make the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig work properly for me on anything I made that evening! 

Video Tutorial: Watercolor Stamping with Markers

Disclaimer: Due to the Easter holiday, this week's video tutorial is a day early! Next week I'll be in Maine, so you may see the video go up as early as Friday... But I haven't decided for sure yet :)

Remember this card I made for the A Muse Studio blog hop? Here's how I made it!



All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- solid cardstock in Sugar and Watermelon
- gingham cardstock in Grass
- Tombow Dual Brush Markers in Grass, Cranberry, Currant, and Blackberry
- stitched grosgrain ribbon in Grass
- Thank You stamp from "Hand Scripted"
- flower stamp from "Beautiful Botanicals"
- pigment ink in French Roast
- other: Mini Mister by Ranger

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Video Tutorial: Mini Easter Basket

Welcome to this week's video tutorial!

Since Easter is only a week away, I decided to share this little Easter "basket" with you. I love this project because you can literally make any size box you want (as long as you've got paper big enough!) with this template. It's so easy! :)

I used images from "For Peep's Sake" - the same stamp set I used in last week's tutorial. This little baby chicken is so cute!

I love adding unexpected details like these custom colored paper flowers on the handles. I made this basket to fit 4 eggs. We share dyed Easter eggs every year with my Grammy, and this year she'll be receiving them in this. Be aware though, if you're going to put anything even slightly heavy in your basket, you may want to hold it from the bottom rather than by the handle. It is only made of cardstock after all!

Watch video below, or watch on YouTube.



All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- solid cardstock in Lemon Whip and Sugar
- gingham cardstock in Sage
- polka dot cardstock in Sage
- mini brads in Silver
- Tombow Dual Brush Markers in French Roast, Grass, Papaya, and Lemon Whip
- Copic Marker RV14
- paper flowers Meadow Mix
- Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
- Spellbinders Nestabilities in Classic Scalloped Ovals Large and Classic Ovals Large

Mr. Roboto

I've been playing with the Sushi and Wasabi set from A Muse Studio, and that Styx song has been stuck in my head on and off for days! :)

All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- solid cardstock in Blush, Sage, and Sugar
- patterned cardstock in woodgrain (I used a scrap of the old A Muse woodgrain cardstock from my stash. The new stuff is just as cute, but a little bit lighter in color.)
- pigment inks in Grass, Bubblegum, and French Roast
- "Sushi and Wasabi" stamp set
- pearl stickers in Sugar
- Woodgrain Background stamp
 

I inked the branch stamp in French Roast ink, and then "kissed" it against the Woodgrain Background stamp to create the texture of the tree bark. (I love that the A Muse Studio inks are pigment inks because they stay wet longer so you can do a lot of great techniques with it! If you're not familiar with the kissing technique, stay tuned for a video tutorial in the not-too-distant future.) I used a Copic marker to color some of the Sugar pearl stickers so they would coordinate with the pink flowers.

All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- solid cardstock in Fern, Sage, and Sugar
- polka dot cardstock in Cherry
- Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
- "Sushi and Wasabi" stamp set
- other: Sakura Stardust Pen, various Copic and watercolor markers
 

I absolutely love the sentiment on this card! So cute! (Except it kind of bugs me that the comma after the first line is completely unnecessary! - Sorry A Muse!) Nothing too fancy on this card... I just colored in the stamped image with a combination of various Copic and watercolor markers, and added a little glitter to the centers of the sushi.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your week went by faster than mine did! :)

We go together like...

Hey there! Happy Monday to you! Just a quick post today to share a one-layer stamped card I made using the Perfect Blend stamp set from A Muse Studio... I think this might be my new favorite stamp set! :)

How cute is this sentiment?! I used masking to create the border and keep the stamping within the center area.

I also did a little paper piecing to make two of the cups go together. So cute!

All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- solid cardstock in Kraft
- polka dot cardstock in cherry
- pigment ink in Cranberry and French Roast
- mug image and sentiment from "Perfect Blend"
- label image from "Vintage Labels"
- Tombow Dual-Brush Marker in Cranberry
- Sakura Quickie Glue Pen
- Other: Stamping Mask Paper by Inkadinkado

Have a great week!

Video Tutorial: Sweet-n-Tiny Easter Treat

Welcome to this week's video tutorial project!

I have to say I really can't take any credit for this adorable little matchbook treat. This is one of the templates given to A Muse Studio consultants, and I took a lot of inspiration from the A Muse blog when they featured the project.

These little matchbooks take no time to make, are super easy to mass-produce, and cost next to nothing. And they're endlessly customizable, making them perfect for party, shower, or wedding favors, Sunday School treats, something fun to leave in the office lunchroom, etc. :)

Watch video below, or watch on YouTube.



All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- polka dot cardstock in Sage
- solid cardstock in Sugar
- pigment ink in Bubblegum
- Memento Tuxedo Black ink
- Peeps stamp and sentiment stamp from "For Peep's Sake"
- Tombow Adhesive Dots Tape Runner
- 1-1/2" circle punch
- other: stapler, Mini Treat Matchbook Template

Coffee Shop Gift Card Holders

I was so excited to see the Gift Card Holder Challenge over on the Moxie Fab World blog, because I knew I wanted to make some gift-type items with the Perfect Blend stamp set from A Muse Studio. So I hope you'll forgive me for tooting my own horn a bit, but I think these gift card holders are some of the cutest things I've made in a long time. I kind of surprised myself with the cleverness of this idea :)

I live in New England, and Dunkin Donuts is pretty big around here. (I have to say I don't quite understand why, though, with the great family-owned coffee and donut shops we have in my area.) So, of course, when I open a big box of A Muse Studio goodies to find a coffee cup stamp and bubblegum polka dot paper, what else do I think of...?

And, of course, because Grass is my other favorite A Muse color...

Can you tell where that cup is from? lol.

Love it!

All materials used in these projects from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore (unless otherwise noted):
- coffee cup and sentiment from "The Perfect Blend"
- solid cardstock in Sugar, Papaya, Kraft
- polka dot cardstock in Bubblegum and Grass
- Memento Tuxedo Black ink
- mini brads in silver
- polka dot organdy ribbon in Papaya
- stitched grosgrain ribbon in French Roast
- Tombow watercolor markers in Papaya and Grass
- Copic markers in E40 and RV14 (E40 not available through A Muse Studio)
- Signo Uni-Ball white gel pen
- Tombow Adhesive Dots tape runner

Thanks for stopping by!

Video Tutorial: Glitter Tips

Welcome to the first regular installment of my weekly video tutorial featuring A Muse Studio! You will find a new video posted here on my blog, and over at my YouTube channel every Sunday.

This week's video features a birthday card from start to finish. It also includes some easy tips for working with glitter, and a fool-proof way to tie ribbon that comes out perfectly every time!

Watch video below, or watch on YouTube.

All materials from A Muse Studio, and available at my webstore:
- solid cardstock in Orange, Sky, and Sugar
- pigment ink in Orange
- Memento Tuxedo Black ink
- cake stamp from "A Very Merry Un-Birthday"
- birthday wishes stamp from "Contemporary Greetings"
- polka dot border stamp from "Polka Dot Patterns"
- Copic Markers in Y11, B00, Y17, YR16, E40 (Note: E40 not available from A Muse Studio)
- stitched grosgrain ribbon in Sky
- Tombow Adhesive Dots Tape Runner
- Sakura Quickie Glue Pen
- Diamond Glitter
- 3D foam adhesive

P.S. I want you to know I do realize how long my first two videos have been, and I promise to work on this. Filming this video went by so fast I really thought it would be way shorter! The whole thing - believe it or not! - was close to 25 minutes! I will work on restricting my yammering and try to apply my tape runner faster :)

Hope your weekend was marvelous! Is it Spring yet where you are?

Creative Consultants Blog Hop

It's Saturday! Yay!

If you're hopping here from Sherri Thacker's blog - Welcome! Are you having fun? :) If you found me another way, make sure you head over to Samantha's blog to start the hop so you don't miss out on any of the great A Muse Studio inspiration.

I love these images! They're so pretty and so versatile! The flower I used as my focal image is from Beautiful Botanicals, and the leaf image is from Beautiful Botanicals 2. I used one of my favorite stamping techniques with the leaf image: custom "patterned paper." Just stamp the image over and over in a random pattern all over your cardstock. And be sure to orient the stamp in all different directions and stamp off the edges so it looks like you cut up a "real" sheet of patterned paper. :)

For my focal image, I used another of my all-time favorite stamping techniques. But, I'm going to keep you guessing for now how I did it, because I'll be featuring this technique in an upcoming video tutorial. ;-)

Now head on over to Gena Krutsinger's blog. Can't wait to see what she's got for us!

Supplies used in this card:
- A Muse Studio cardstock in French Roast, Ocean, Sugar, and Sage
- A Muse Studio pigment ink in French Roast, and Grass
- A Muse Studio 1/4" grosgrain stitch ribbon in Sky
- flower stamp from "Beautiful Botanicals" by A Muse Studio
- leaf stamp from "Beautiful Botanicals 2" by A Muse Studio
- sentiment stamp from "Friend to Friend" by A Muse Studio
- Memento markers in Summer Sky, Bahama Blue, Danube Blue, and Bamboo Leaves (These are pretty much exactly like the Tombow Dual-Brush Markers that are available through A Muse Studio. A basic water-based ink marker.)

Thanks for checking in today! Have a great weekend!

Happy A Muse Studio Day!

Happy April First! It's an exciting day around here, with two very special announcements. First of all, today is the day my very own personal A Muse Studio webstore goes LIVE! Hooray! You can now officially check out all the awesome A Muse Studio products, as well as shop online* or book a party (locals only, sorry), all day, every day. Check it out: https://www.amusestudio.com/annakeyes (And don't forget the extra E in KeyEs!)

AND, to celebrate my webstore and the official "kick-off" of the all new A Muse Studio, I'm launching a brand-spankin'-new Video Tutorial Series! This is something I'm very excited about, and very proud of. I will be featuring weekly videos (or, at least approximately weekly!) showcasing product introductions/reviews/demos, stamping tutorials, start-to-finish cards, and other fun projects for home decor, gift giving, and holidays. So, without any further ado, let me introduce my very first video tutorial project!

*insert fanfare here* :)

Pencil Flag Cards!

I absolutely love these and I have to say I'm so proud of this idea! These are little flag shaped cards that you tuck a pencil into - Perfection for any birthday or party favor! AND, they make super cute party decorations before you give them all away! Gotta love the double-duty! :) I also think these would be an adorable whole-class treat for your kids' friends. (Got one of those evil teachers who insists on a sugar-free Valentine's Day? Nobody will even notice with a treat this fun!) AND, if that wasn't enough, there's plenty of room on the inside to write a special message.

Here's a close-up of the green flag.

And here's the video! 



Materials used in this video:
- A Muse Studio cardstock in and Orange, Buttercup, and Sugar
- A Muse Studio pigment ink in Orange
- Memento Tuxedo Black ink
- heart stamp from "Hearts A Plenty" by A Muse Studio
- sentiment stamp from "Brief Notes" by A Muse Studio
- Tombow Permanent Adhesive Dots tape runner
-  Pencil Flag Template (click to download pdf)
- pencils (The ones I used in the video are from Curly Girl Design. I got them at my favorite local gift store. Check at a Hallmark, or similar store. Or get super cheap personalized pencils from Miles Kimball!)
- foam dimensional adhesive
- acrylic blocks by A Muse Studio (Get these! Best blocks I've ever used!)
- small, sharp scissors
- scoring board (mine's from Martha Stewart Crafts) and scoring tool

Thanks for stopping by! And be sure to come back tomorrow for the First Ever A Muse Studio Creative Consultants Blog Hop :) There's sure to be some great inspiration, and there may just be goodies to win! ;)





* A word about online ordering: If you're going to order more than $150 worth of yummies, then be sure to contact me first, because you'll be eligible for Hostess Benefits, but you can only get them if I place the order for you!