Criminal Grace

The fabulous A-Muse-a-Palooza stamps, this month’s A Muse Lounge challenge, and a few publication calls really put me in a holiday state of mine. And the miserably hot weather had me wishing it were more than a state of mind. I just hummed a few Christmas carols and stood closer to the air vents in my craft room.

I ended up making quite a few holiday cards this month, but this tag is probably my favorite. It was hard to photograph, but the windows are a shimmery gold that makes them seem to glow with warmth.

Stamps: winter houses, Elegant Winter clear set from A Muse; Paper: Irish green cardstock from A Muse; kraft cardstock from Bazzill; Ink: rich cocoa and ladybug Memento; Other: slot punch by Stampin’ Up; threading water border punch from Fiskars; twinkle stickers from A Muse; white Prismacolor pencil; Copic markers; gold Gelly Roll pen; red twill tape; hemp twine

This card and the tag above are a testament to my love of A Muse’s winter houses stamp. I’ve made a bunch of cards with it, but can you believe this is the first that I’ve really colored in? And I still haven’t colored the entire row. The skinny house I highlighted with color found it’s counterpart in the Irish proverb “may your house always be too small to hold all your friends.”

Stamps: winter houses, Irish Proverb, Elegant Holidays clear set from A Muse; Paper: vintage green, swiss red cardstock from A Muse; kraft cardstock from Bazzill; Ink: rich cocoa and ladybug Memento; Other: white Prismacolor pencil; Copic markers; gold Gelly Roll pen; ribbon; hemp twine; heart pin

This clear set has been pretty neglected since I won it last year. It has all kinds of subtle texture courtesy of Versamark and an awful lot of clear embossing powder. I even inked the edges of main panel for a little extra character.

Stamps: Elegant Winter clear set from A Muse; Paper: Irish green from A Muse; kraft cardstock from Bazzill; Ink: Versamark, Cottage Ivy Memento; Other: clear embossing powder; hemp twine; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 1

Finally, something with the new A-Muse-a-palooza stamps! I am all kinds of happy that many of the new sets, including the ones I used on this card, are cling rubber. Instead of a wood block, the rubber and foam is backed with a smooth cling surface so that it will stick to a clear block. They’re not see through like clear stamps, but they are more visible than a wood-mounted. And they take up a lot less space in the studio and budget.

Stamps: Holly and Berries, Holiday Labels cling stamps from A Muse; Paper: fern, currant, natural cardstock from A Muse; Ink: always artichoke from Stampin’ Up!; rhubarb stalk Memento; Other: Marvy giga scalloped oval punch; Copic markers; plaid ribbon from Basic Grey