Happy Birthday Emily "Scoopy" CHEERS!!

Hello everyone. I hope you've all had a great week. Here's my card as promised. I mailed it off to a special friend on Tuesday. I'm still super busy which is a good thing! Please note all my new JUNE classes! I can't believe its already June 1st come Sunday. WOW, time just flies by! If you are local please consider taking one of my new A Muse stamping classes. We always have lots of fun making five cards in most of my classes! I will also be offering my classes "to go" if time permits. Please email me if you are interested. I'm really excited for the next two months....lots of classes in place, a few orders to process, more summer time class planning, and two "road trips" with my gal pals are on the calendar!! WOO HOO!! And, today I will be finalizing all my upcoming events for A Muse A*Palooza week in July. Then there's housework and laundry yuck. Absolutely NO time for any shopping (that was yesterday...I *needed* a Bella stamp for my niece's high school graduation on June 14 and one little cutie pie enjoy stamp so sweet). There is never an end to the madness! Ha ha!! Its only 60 degrees as I'm writing this note. Brrr! Where is the sun? We have only had one day over 80 so far this spring and that was last Sunday when it reached 84 degress. I'm not complaining as I prefer weather in the upper 70's unless you are at the lake, ocean, pool or have air conditioning in your home or car. I'd really love to attend the 42nd Edina Art Fair on Sunday but I'm not sure if I will be able to go? Anyone else local plan on going this weekend? The 400+ vendors really offer a lot of spectacular items to purchase so maybe its best I just stay home and keep working on my huge "to do" list. SMILE its Friday! Tami :D Have a sunfastic weekend. It will reach 80 again on Sunday. HOT STUFF!!

Thank you for being my friend!

Hello everyone. I had a great weekend. Its late but I wanted to get this post done as I have another busy week ahead of me. First of all, I'd like to thank all my friends....new, old, online, and especially my fabulous students. You ROCK! This card was made with Copic and Prismacolor markers. I *dyed* the white paper flower blue with my marker and I cut it to simulate the gerber daisy. I also used Spica and Sakura glitter pens. Actually I dropped my creamy brown chalk ink pad on my card after it was almost done and I got so angry. The paper flower is hiding the ink spot! Ribbon, note card and stamps are all from A Muse as well as the inside friend sentiment and a tiny daisy flower stamped twice in blue ink. I gave this card to my friend Sherry when we meet at Caribou for coffee. We show each other our work (cards and other projects) and then we usually pop into Michael's just *to browse* (right Sherry?) because we already own so much *stuff.* Gee what a surprise, another trip to Mike's! I was naughty and I'll admit it right here and now. I made three additonal stops after we separated but its best I do NOT go into details trust me. It was a great Memorial Day after all!! Very chilly weather in MN on Monday but it reached 84 on Sunday. I had an awesome A Muse card class on Sunday with my peeps at Artsy Tartsy. I will be back towards the end of the week as I have so much work ahead of me with some deadlines. I wish you all a great week filled with happiness and sunshine. Oh *Baby Bloggie* turned three weeks old on Memorial Day. Man she is growing like a weed. Tami : )

HOO loves you baby?

Just dropping by to say HI. I hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend. I will be teaching on Sunday at Artsy Tartsy in Savage, MN. If you'd like to join us please email me now. Today was another beautiful day. The weekend forecast is for "in the 80's" both days. I'm not sure how *good* this card will look on the 'ole blog but I tried! I love these cute A Muse owls and small heart trio by A Muse. The note card and brown ribbon are also from A Muse. I edged the oval in creamy brown chalk ink and then ran my glitter pen around the edge. Oh the owl's bellies have white stickles that I spread around with a *cheap* paintbrush that I use just for this purpose. Be safe everyone and have a super Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure I will post more cards next week after my Sunday class. I have my July A Muse A*Palooza events all figured out for Artsy Tartsy. I'm so happy about that task being completed!!! Smooches Tami : )

A Muse turns 7 years old today!

Happy Anniversary A Muse. Wow 7 years old! I thought I would list my 7 favorite A Muse stamps and 7 reasons why I love A Muse. For those of you that don't know, I've been an A Muse instuctor in Minnesota for the past three years. I have a HUGE A Muse stamp collection!!

My SEVEN Favorite A Muse stamps:
1. Hi friend
2. Chubby lady in bathing suit
3. lacy oval block (lots of sentiments fit perfectly inside this stamp)
4. Hugs and kisses (I use this a lot on the back of my cards)
5. little coffee clear set (such a great value)
6. smooches
7. little bird

SEVEN REASONS why I love A Muse:
1. Ribbon, ribbon, and more ribbon!
2. I love their sentiments especially the hand-lettered ones!
3. A Muse told me about Copic markers and Spica glitter pens. I LOVE them both so much!
4. I love the way Nina draws people. I love their sweet little socks and cute shoes!
5. A Muse note cards ROCK especially Maderia, Kitchen Polka dots, and 9 MOD DOT notes!
6. I love square cards, square envelopes, and the 4-Bar envelopes because of the rounded flap!
7. I love their bling! I love everything!

Happy 7th Anniversary A Muse. I also must give a BIG shout out to my good friend Laurel Ford owner of Create-A-Card Studio in Brainerd, MN. I purchased my first A Muse stamp at her old store in Aitkin, MN without even realizing it (large Fun Star). Laurel gave me what I thought was my first A Muse stamp Fancy Easter Egg back in Feb. 2005.

I wish you continued success Linda and the fabulous A Muse crew. I look forward to teaching during A Muse A*Palooza in July at Artsy Tartsy in Savage, MN. I'd also like to thank Heidi and her staff at A Muse headquarters in Seattle, WA for always processing my orders so quickly!! : ) I'd also like to thank all the AWESOME A Muse chicks and all the wonderful friendships I have made online after discovering A Muse!! Cheers! I can't wait to party in Seattle someday! Lastly, I must thank all my fabulous students and friends that support me and A Muse. Smooches Tami

Baby Bloggie turns two!

Hello everyone-

Just a quick card to honor "Baby Bloggie." Today she turned two weeks old so please join me in wishing her a very happy life. I realize not everyone may appreciate my humor but I wanted to share this card with you. I hope you have a great week. I'm working on ATCs (not a happy camper right now) and class kits for my upcoming Sunday class at Artsy Tartsy in Savage, MN. Today it was cold and raining off and on. It only reached around 50 degrees. I was freezing most of the day.

I used three Elzybell stamps for this card (one inside). I colored the main image with Copic markers and Spica glitter pens. I grounded "Elzy" with the A Muse micro oval. I used two kinds of ribbon and glittered around the sentiment. I wish I had bought more of the sprinkle and circle background paper. When will I ever learn? Thanks for visiting. Tami : )

You are all so sweet!

Hi friends-

I had a very busy week. I taught an A Muse class on Friday and I worked today at the Stamp Expo here in MN. It was so great seeing so many of my old friends, students, and women I use to work with at Anchor Paper. I made some new friends too and had a really great day for the most part. The highlight of the show for me hands down was meeting Gina K. and her lovely family. She is so nice and so sweet. I did buy just a few items at the show and this is the first time I left home without any credit cards. Aren't I such a good girl? Yes Ellie (Mom), I will honestly admit for a change I did buy a couple little treats as I feel I earned them darn it! I have to get to bed now as I am really pooped. It was a beautiful day and the weather hit 70 degrees. They are talking about *the pain* of filling up your gas tank on the news right now and guess what? I need gas again tomorrow. Oh, I just taught this card on Friday and I will agree...you're sweet and I'm sweet (well most of the time). Have a great Sunday and thanks for stopping by "bloggie." Nightie night! Tami~

edited 5/18

Stamps and pink ribbon from A Muse. The pretty strawberry background paper is from K & Co. Berry Sweet designer mat pad $3.99. I also bought more from the collection (surprise) including the sock monkeys. Sorry Ellie (Mom), I felt *the need* to invest in yet another K & Co. line as I absolutely LOVE that company! I had the pleasure of meeting several K & Co. employees last Sept. during Scrapfest held at Mall of America. The company is seriously TOP notch! I also used my favorite Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, three punches, and my old red Sizzix machine (circle dies). I refuse to put that old baby to rest. I hope this helps you with your shopping list! I'm off to watch Desperate Housewives and then make a batch of ATCs.

Lastly, I *had to* pop into Archiver's today. I will stop here if you know what I mean. Then I had to buy gas $50 worth for my little rusty Gran Am. Oh baby was that painful. To help ease the pain, I went to Target to pick up a few groceries and other neccassiteis. Ummm...you know those red carts? Well I thought I was still at the gas station so I was in "fill her up" mode. Yikes...I better stay home tomorrow and stamp all day! Lots of ATCs due and I have another class this coming week at Artsy Tartsy. Who's coming??

Stay tunned as "baby bloggie" turns two weeks old tomorrow. Can you believe how she's growing? Hope you had a beautiful sunny day. Tami and "bloggie." SMILE : )

Rubber Stamps and Scrapbooking Sales in MN!

BIG Stamp and Scrapbooking Sale!
Fri. May 16...9-3
cash only
Roseville, MN
2872 Marion St. (get on Rice St. from either Highway 36 or 694). West on County Rd. C2
Sale located at the corner of County Rd. C2 and Marion St.
Phone: 651-483-1698 Kathy

BONNIE'S HUGE Scrapbooking Sale!
Sat. May 17
cash only
Anoka, MN
Phone: 763-390-7603 or 763-245-8544
email bonnieangel1797@gmail.com for additional info. and directions

Rubber Stamp and Scrap Expo!
MN State Fairgrounds-Progress Building
free parking
Sat. May 17...9-5 and Sun. May 18...10-4
Scott Kramer: 602-625-3000 (show coordinator)

*Gina K from WI will be a vendor! I'll be working at the show on Sat. with a new friend I just met at the garage sale. Hey Cheri and Doreen. I hope you/we enjoy those HOT deals we found at the sale today. Oh Ellie (MOM), please cover your eyes and ears. Good Lord I'm trying to downsize but I spied some deals I just couldn't pass up. I noticed some shoppers could have really used a grocery cart! Tons of good buys. I even scored two A Muse stamps I already own but I *had to* get them because they were such bargains! Don't you know I need one for each hand? Now that's an A Muse addict for sure!

My upcoming weekend A Muse classes!
Be there or be square!

Fri. May 16...10 am

Sun. May 18...1 pm

5 all occasion cards with envelopes. Think A Muse!

Please email me if you are interested in either of the above classes. You may register by email. Thanks so much for reading this post! Its a beautiful day here in MN (Thurs.) Happy spring! That's one of the A Muse stamps I scored today. Wishing you lots of sunshine! Tami :-)

A little cup of jo!

This card really looks much better in person. I scanned it and then added blue bing in each of the four corners before I mailed it off. I wish it looked better on my blog. A Muse sells these cool Pretty Little Papers and they measure 2 x 4". The middle one has two pale blue circles and I stamped A Muse images on both of them. You can't really see them or my three little blue flowers. Oh well, I'm just learning all the ropes of scanning, cropping and blogging. I hope you have a good week. I'm teaching two A Muse classes (Friday and Sunday). I'm participating in a stamp/scrapbooking sale on Thursday and Friday in Little Canada, MN. If you want to stop by for some great deals please email me for directions. Same with my classes. My friend Bonnie is having her own scrapbooking sale on Saturday, May 19 in Anoka, MN. I will post more info. tomorrow night with the exact addresses of both sales. Lots of good buys! Trust me on this one. I'll be working at the Rubber Stamp and Scrap Expo this coming Saturday held at the MN State Fairgrounds. It will be a busy week for me. I have been making up my class kits and trying to pull stamps to sell at Kathy's sale. Thanks for stopping by. Tami

Another Mother's Day Card!

Here's the card from last night as promised. It was designed by someone from Archiver's however I just happened to bring some A Muse stamps along for good measure and low and behold the sentiment came in quite handy! We cranked out several of these babies. The flowers are by Hero Arts and stamped on acrylic paper using red StazOn ink. The clear overlay transparency is glue dotted down onto beautiful glittered background paper and we pink *blinged* it! Do you think I bought any of the supplies? Oh heavens NO as I have _000's of sheets of 12 x 12 paper at home. I wouldn't dream of buying another piece of paper. Nope, not me. Ruth Ann did major card assemblage, fancy Fiskar scallop edge cutting, *your choice* of sentiment stamping, and I did some cutting and power stamping! I was quite whiny as I wanted the perfect acrylic blocks to help me with my stamping (thanks Carolyn and Carol). I have a major fear of *slip sliding away* with StazOn ink when stamping on clear transparency paper but guess what? I overcame my obstacles last night. YOU go girl Tami!! The funny thing is my right hand is still stained red today. I spoke to my parents earlier and I told MOM another card is on its way to NH. This will be Ellie's third Mother's Day card. I know I'm such a good daughter. My Dad loved his Memory Box penguin card and birthday bucks. Time for a little stamping now and some Sunday night TV. I had a splendiferous (I just stamped my A Muse sentiment so I would spell that BIG word correctly on "Bloggie") visit with an 'ole pal Sherry. I hate to admit this but we went to Michael's after our coffee chat. "Oh Mom, Sherry wanted to go to Michael's to poke around a bit so I went with her just to look and be polite." I blame Ruth Ann for showing me all of her beautiful Amy Butler finds. I spied those fabulous new blue Martha Stewart (MS) punches. I did put back the new MS trio flower punch. I now have my eye on the Artful Blogger issue 2 but I'm waiting for coupons to get both of these items. I hope you all had a beautiful day. I'll be back on Wednesday if all goes well. Thanks for making week one so great in blogworld for a couple of newbies! Tami and "baby Bloggie" :-)

Happy Mother's Day

I really had a wonderful time at Archiver's on Saturday night with my girlfriends. Prior to the crop, Ruth Ann drove me to Micheal's (those darn coupons) and to Starbuck's. We were *a little disappointed* Archiver's had run out of supplies for their Mother's Day Make and Take card. Later in the evening we decided to do our own Make and Take (I am having trouble uploading the file). Our stamping session was certainly a group effort and fun! Do you think I bought more stuff? Oh not me. Heavens no. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. I love my MOM so much and I miss her dearly. Ellie is the BEST! She is the greatest Mother ever and remember she does NOT read my blog. Gosh how I miss her and my immediate family in NH. Today is also my good friend Hannelore's birthday. Cheers HT! She is also far away in Colorado. Lastly, today is my Dad's birthday. I love you Dad. He's certainly an avid golfer! There's more birthdays too today but I really need my beauty rest. This blog business it for the birds! Ha,ha. I don't mind doing it but I want to scream and pull my hair out when a file doesn't upload on Blogger. It couldn't possibly be me/user error. On that note I wish all you Moms a very happy Mother's Day. You all rock my world and thanks for the comments peeps! Toodles...Tami

PS. I have an extremely busy week coming up so I won't be able to spend a lot of time on "Bloggie."

Minnesotans prepare for fishing opener!

Anglers across Minnesota are gearing up for the BIG fishing opener this weekend. Nothing will stop them not even high gas prices which reminds me I'm running on empty again. Oh happy day! I just can't wait to fill up and pay $3.6? something a gallon! Anyway "the mood here in Minnesota for some can be compared to that of Christmas Eve" as flocks of Minnesotans head "up north" to their cabins or whatnot. They are eager to get back out on the water for the first time in months and give their rod and reel a workout. After all this is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" according to my license plates. All I can say is thank God the snow is finally gone. I read online tonight a HOT new item for anglers is GPS fish finders. Imagine that. Well a HOT new item for me would be the 15 packs of A Muse 8.5 x 11 paper that arrived this week. Can you say yummy? I know I'm such a tease! Let's not forget about more new stamps, more ribbon, and just a few more Copics and Spica glitter pens. I sure hope Ellie (MOM) never learns how to go on a computer or I'm dead meat and I'm NOT kidding! Here's an *oldie* for you to honor all the anglers out on the lake this weekend. Many of these males (yes I know there are some females too) leave their "fishing widows" at home for the weekend. Its also a popular "garage sale weekend" while other women chose to shop, garden, stamp, and scrapbook. Heck I say these fishermen deserve *their weekend* if this is what floats their boat just like women rightfully deserve more art supplies!! I hope to have a Mother's Day card to share with you all by Sunday but I make NO promises. Ohhhh the pressure of this new blog! I wish you all a vey happy weekend filled with sunshine and for some, buckets of fish. Yuck. I'll be there in spirit just sitting on the dock anticipating the BIG bite and I refuse to touch worms. I am so NOT a fisherman. I hope you enjoy this cute A Muse card and decorated square envelope. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I have laundry to fold now so goodnite. I will be "cropping" tomorrow night at Archiver's from 5-11 pm with my friends which really means chatting, shopping, and *attempting* to work on four different sets of ATCs for upcoming May deadlines. Kristina Lewis if you are reading this I will have to hurt you for persuading me to sign up for three ATC swaps. Tracy darling are you with me on this one? Then there's Miss HOT shot Erin L. who probably finished her's weeks ago! What can I say? I live on the edge people! Best fishes! Tami...PS. Hi to my girl Carrie (Michelle too) and hubby in San Diego you lucky dogs. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO jealous you are in California!!

edited on Sat. Thanks Sandy for catching my blog typos for me. Its raining cats and dogs now. A good day for stamping and shopping. Got to run as my choiffer Ruth Ann will be here at 3 pm!

Just a quickie before bed!

I'm so pooped right now and its very late. I blame my lack of sleep on Blogger! Anyway, this card illustrates my love for the Southwest corner punch, ribbon, May Arts metallic iridescence thread, colored staples, brads (wheels), A Muse stamps, Copics and Prismacolor markers, Spica glitter pens, Marvy scalloped oval punches, and my favorite Cuttlebug embossing folder Swiss Dots. Do you see the retro HAPPY BIRTHDAY sentiment? It's the one I reach for all the time. This is an A2 card. I typically put a white liner inside when I use solid two-sided colored card stock. Inside sentiment: you make life sweet. All images by A Muse. Yummy! Good day my sweet friends. Tami : ) Smile as my good friend Mary Anderson in NH always says at the end of her awesome blog (see her listed under Cool Chicks).
PS. My huge A Muse order arrived on Wed. Shhhh (don't tell Ellie)!! Oh so many new goodies to play with and yes, more RIBBON!! Thanks for stopping by my bloggie!!

Bad Daughter!

It's time to come clean with my readers. I *bought* my dear MOM this card at Starbucks a few weeks ago. Why? Because I simply loved it! The price was right...less than $5.00! It was such a beautiful card and I really loved the pretty colors. I scanned it before I sent it off to NH. Go ahead. I want to be called "Sandra Lee" please! I really did have good intentions on making my MOM's card *semi home-made.* I planned to stamp the inside and jazz up the envelope so it would count as a semi-homemade card! My plans changed. I blame my lack of stamping on the weather. We had heavy rain here today in MN. I had to get to the post office before it closed with an order so off it went in a beautiful naked coral Stardream envelope. Yes, it was a 100% store bought card. I know my MOM will have a fit when she sees I bought her a card when I make so many cards. I can just hear Ellie now. I want to try and do a *knock off* of this beauty some day. Oh I kept the Starbuck's gift card for myself as I forgot my MOM only drinks Green Mountain coffee. Yes, I'm a stamping instructor and I buy *nice* cards quite frequently. Bad Tami!! Nightie night. PS...I'm practicing creating my new Blogger posts. Thanks Emily for being such an awesome and patient teacher. You rock Scoopy!

Sweet dreams everyone. I'll be back soon. Tami

Happy Bird-day!

Here is another sweet card I taught in a couple of my recent classes. I am a huge fan of Missy Ballance, A Muse Illustrator extraordinaire! I used Brilliance Coffee bean ink on this card. I colored the image with my new Easter Sharpies from Target just for something fun and different in class. I glued a little pompom on the chick's hat. Man I love this stamp!! Inside I stamped the sentiment "you are still a spring chick" by A Muse. I'd like to thank you all for the very nice and warm blog comments. My head is so big right now I won't be able to walk out the door to go to the post office today! I cannot wait for my BIG A Muse order to arrive on Wednesday. Oh baby, I will be so ready to get my hands on more A Muse ribbon and the new 8.5 x 11 A Muse paper. Do you think I ordered more stamps? Oh NO, not me!! "Mom, I've been doing really good and I've cut way back on my spending!" Thanks for stopping by and it's back to stamping for me.

Little Miss Seattle says hello!

This is my very first card post. I taught this card at Artsy Tartsy in Savage, MN a week ago. I let my students select the image they wanted me to teach with. One gal chose Seattle girl! All products are from A Muse except the yellow Prima flower and little pearl center. I did use the new raindrop background stamp on this card but the pale blue ink did not show up. I masked the little girl and then stamped the raindrops.

Welcome!

The time has finally come for me to start a blog and share my cards with the world. Yikes! I am a very putsy stamper and I just can't help myself. I really love ribbon and embellishments. I hope you can learn a tip or two from 'ole Woodey! And remember, I say "its all in the details baby!" Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!