A Musement In Massachusettes

The Bee Gees sung about it in the '70s & for the lucky few there in Palooza week Massachusettes (sp?) is the place to be! The (nearly famous) Jenn Shurkus will be teaching at all 3 AP stores & some of her classes have already sold out. I've heard a lot about Jenn from our very own Auntie Jane (AKA EJ - English Jane) who regularly visits her LSS, Colourful Creations when in the US. One day I will make that trip to visit AJ (& all 3 stores I guess) There's a 'Featured Stores' post on two of the three, & Jenn's schedule here. But if you don't live in MA, check out the stores page for one near you.
Can you believe there is just over one week to go 'til the big week? I guess there will still be a prize or two to pick up in the meantime, so you better register quick if you want your chance to win. Don't forget to put me down as the referrer, I'd really appreciate it! And keep an eye on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog for all the latest AP goss!

A Muse Me With Your Swaps

I thought I'd just share this piccie of our first A Muse ATC swap. Thanks to everyone who took part - it was such fun! The second ATC swap still needs a couple of people - we have to have 6 to do it & the first card swap is already underway. I'd like to do another if anyone wants to join. You can find the details here (scroll down - I don't know how to use permalinks LOL) & if you want to join in just post a comment. Hope you enjoy these ATCs as much as I have.

Move To Virginia & Be A Mused

How fun does this sound? So OK, maybe we don't really do Halloween in the UK but I totally love the idea of this spooky house & have to say I might well end up experimenting myself on this one! I happen to know the perfect source of the Doodlebug houses & have been toying with the idea of getting them in. I won't do it for A-Muse-A-Palooza (not enough time now) but maybe a class shortly after that! You can check out the store here, look at what all the other stores are up to here and view my plans for the big week here.
There's still time to join in this week's design challenge (47 entries already - can you believe that?) but you do need to register first. Don't forget to put me down as the referrer tho' - I so need to win the Ambassador's Competition!

More Ways To Be A Mused By Ribbon

Challenge #9, the penultimate one, is now up on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog & calls for designs using ribbon. If you are stuck for ideas there's a fabby card by Jennifer Pebbles to get you thinking (using the very same Strano ribbons that I raved about a couple of posts back). Sadly, I missed the challenge last week so I'm gonna try extra hard this week! Check out that prize too - a positive golf-fest of rubber stampy-ness (OK, so I made those words up!!) There's also a link to this thread on Splitcoast Stampers (another A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA sponsor) with tons of ideas for ways to use ribbon.
There's only two weeks to go, so you better register quick if you're gonna be in with a chance of winning any of the great prizes still up for grabs. Oh! and pleeeeease mention me (Beverley Todd) as the referrer, I really want to win the Ambassador's competition *grins*

Swaps Are A Musing

We have just finished our first round of A Muse swaps and are having such fun with them on the forum that I thought you guys might like the chance to take part. Sooo here's the deal: I'm gonna run another card swap & another ATC swap & there are lots of ways you can join in.

• If you are registered on the forum, reply to this thread for card swaps or this one for ATCs
• Add a comment at the bottom of the blog post & send me your e-mail address so I can contact you
• Pop into the store and sign up there.

These swaps count for points in the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Ambassador's competition, which I may have mentioned that I'd love to win LOL, so if you think you could support me by joining a swap, that would be great!

The rules: You must use at least one A Muse stamp, other than that the design is completely up to you. For card swaps, you make one and send it to the person below you on the list. For ATCs, you make as many as there are participants & send them all to me, I divide them up & send them back - so you send 6 & will receive 6 back. For all swaps, please send a SAE with sufficient return postage - in the UK this will be LARGE LETTER postage. As time is now against us, please send your swaps ASAP & I'll post them back within a day of receiving the last one in. In any case, all swaps must be complete by July 8th.

Look out on this blog for all the latest A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA news & for swap images as each swap ends!

Insert A Musing Title Here!!

Oh My!! Katie Stillwater picks up an amazing prize this week as an Ambassador Weekly Winner. She entered the most cards in last weeks ambassador points summary - a staggering 28!!! Check out the gorge prize she won over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog. And while you're there, have a look at the Design Challenge #8 entries. Ericka won the challenge, picked at random from the 117 entries! There's just two weeks left 'til the big week, so make sure you register now to be in with a chance of winning a fabulous freebie - and make sure to mention me as the referrer, I still have dreams of winning the ambassador competition you know LOL!

The A Musement Is Rising!

Lots more winners over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Blog right now. Two weekly winners have been announced since my last post (what can I say, I had the new shop to open & missed a day LOL) & another Ambassador weekly winner. That's a whole bunch of Colorbox Queue pigment inks, A Muse products (in popsicle pink - my fave!) & a Marvy scallop punch for three lucky girls. I can't wait for my prize from challenge 6 to arrive (I soooo need new stamps to play with LOL). Check out all the winners here.
If you are not a subscriber to the A Muse mailing list, you'll have missed out on the sneak peek of Design Challenge #8's prize - 8 gorgeous A Muse stamps - they are lush! If you don't want to miss out on future peeks register for A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA (please tell them I referred you) & you'll get the e-mail newsletter too - it's all free so what have you got to lose? As well as sneaky peeks, the newsletter contains a brill card of the week by an A Muse designer, Designer features & all the latest goss from A Muse HQ.

Are You A Mused By Ribbon?

The latest sponsor feature is up on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Blog & you seriously need to check these guys out. Strano Designs make the most gorgeous ribbons & this brilliant little product called 'RibbonStiff'. I was a bit dubious as to the accuracy of its many claims but, having tried it for myself I have to say it's all true!
Obviously I need all the designs but I guess it might take a little while to build up to the full collection. In the meantime, why not post your favourite as a comment on this post and I'll draw a winner on Sunday. Don't know what I'll send you yet but there will definitely be a couple of little ribbon samples included (they sent me loads).
Don't forget to post your Design Challenge #8 cards. See the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog for all the details.

Daft Days Should A Muse You!

Design Challenge #8 is up on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Blog now & I have to say it is somewhat bizarre. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create a card for a silly occasion. It seems our friends across the pond are way ahead of us when it comes to observing bizarre national days - I spent hours on google this morning & couldn't find any in the UK that were even vaguely amusing. But as the competition is in the US I don't suppose they'll mind if we adopt a few of theirs. The prize this time is a surprise!!
You will need to register if you haven't already (please put me down as the referrer) & if you are stuck for silly days to make cards for, check this site for plenty of inspiration.

Kaylyn Ought To Be A Mused

... Because she has won the Scavenger Hunt over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog & bagged a whole bunch of super goodies! The answers are all there too, so maybe you want to pop on and check your answers.

Challenge 8 should be posted later this evening - I can't wait to see what's next, can you? And if you haven't already registered, why not do it now - you don't have to use A Muse stamps if you don't have any yet (but I guarantee you will want some - they are too cute!) and the prizes are fantastic. When you register, don't forget to mention me as the referrer so I can win the Ambassador's Competition and fulfil my destiny LOL.

Can A Box Be A Musing?

Haha! Indeed it can! These boxes are on there way to me and contain the goodies for A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA. Well they might not be the actual boxes but that was the delivery at A Muse containing all the top secret yummy stuff! Read the whole post for the inside info! Don't even think about bullying me for a sneak peek, I'm not allowed to divulge anything & we had to swear to secrecy before being allowed to take part.

So if you want to be among the first to see the new range from A Muse, you'll have to come to the store on Monday July 8th, during the day for a little peek or to the VIP event to see the whole range.

You can check out what all the other stores are doing here, see our events (something new & exciting every day) here and register to win free goodies here.

Emily's A Mused

Design Challenge #7 winner is.... Emily Langan, you can view her entry over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog now. Emily won a Splitcoast Stampers prize package, which includes a very cool mug!
You still have a few hours to enter the Scavenger Hunt and have your chance to win this fantastic prize package. You do need to register (please put me down as the referrer) but that also gives you entry to the brilliant weekly draws & even more chances to win fabulous free stuff!

No new weekly winners have been announced today - so I'll keep checking the blog for those & post them as soon as I can!!

There's Still Time To Be Amused!

The clock is ticking but there is still time to submit your entry for the Scavenger Hunt over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog. If you are not already registered, you will be invited to do so (don't forget to put my name down as the referrer) and you could be the winner of this great prize. Now that's gotta be worth 10 minutes of your time!! You better hurry - the Hunt ends midnight Pacific time on Monday 18th June (that's about 8am Tuesday in the UK) Good Luck!

Marvel At Marvy - It's Quite A Musing!

Ooops! Forgot to tell you about the sponsor feature over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog earlier in the week. We'll be getting these punches, by Marvy Uchida, in the store very soon (and I can't wait!). And we'll be using them in some of the classes and make n takes over the big week in July.
Don't forget to check out the scavenger hunt & maybe enter a card or two for design challenge #7. Gotta love that glitter!!

Google Me!

Ok, so it's official - I have no life! Rather than get one, I just spent the last few minutes (after submitting another DT entry, which is always traumatic) googling me. So I entered my name 'Beverley Todd' & hit search. I am not a googlewhack LOLOL but came up several times. It did make me giggle a bit but you might want to check it out here. The second one is misleading but is me & is actually a free PDF download to a project I designed for 12x12 Scrapbooking Magazine well over a year ago - and the jolly man in the photos? That's my Dad!
The project uses page coasters by Cloud 9 Design but you could make the mini album with any coasters including the beer ones from your local friendly pub! Enjoy!

Would This A Muse You?

I wonder how much of the AP website you have actually looked at. For example, did you see this? Cool huh? And if you are in the UK, did you realise that the only way to enter for the grand prize is to visit my store during the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA week and fill in an entry form? You can view all the events we are holding here too.
If you do not live in the UK, but in the US, Canada or even Switzerland, check out the store listings and visit one in your area. But if you live anywhere else in the world, I'd recommend booking your annual holiday for that week and visiting one or two. We'd love to meet you & I'm sure the other 43 participating stores would too LOL.

A Muse Yourself On A Scavenger Hunt!

The latest fun game on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog is a scavenger hunt. All you have to do is visit the AP sponsors sites & find the answers to a few questions for a chance to win an amazing prize. Each of the sponsors have a prize in this uber package & it's got to be well worth a go! You only get one entry, so make sure you've got all the answers - but do be quick, you only have until midnight Monday (or around 8am Tuesday for those of us in the UK). You will need to register & don't forget to mention me as the referrer - I've entered the Ambassador competition & need loads of points from referrals to make sure I win LOL.

It's still not too late to enter design challenge #7 - enter a glittering card creation and maybe you'll pick up a splitcoast stampers prize package. You have until midnight sunday to get your entries posted!

Oooh! Forgot to say HUGE congrats to Erin, who is a friend of our own Auntie Jane & scooped the secret squares prizes.

Sparkly Stuff Is A Musing

Design Challenge #7 is up on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog. This time we need to make our designs incorporating glitter, which isn't something I use all that often so I'll have to think about it a bit! For now, I'm thinking of all the obvious applications: twinkly stars, snow & ice, anything Christmassy - and that's as far as I've got! And if you need a bit of extra inspiration, just have a look at this great little card by A Muse instructor, Michelle White (her entire blog is pretty cool!)
The prize up for grabs this week is a Splitcoast Stampers 1 year membership & a rather pretty mug!
And as you don't have to use A Muse stamps (although if you have them, I know you'll want to!) everyone can join in! I won the challenge prize last week, this week it could be you! So why not pop over and register now - you could win a prize just for that. Please put me down as the referrer too!

How A Mused Am I?

Wooooo-Hoo! The results are in and I won this week's design challenge with this card, which wasn't even my favourite! The weekly winners are also up & I bet they are as excited as me!!
You can see last week's challenge prize here & this week's winners here. Keep an eye on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog for details of challenge 7, which the A Muse crew promise will have our designs sparkling.
If you want to be in with a chance of winning gorgeous goodies, go here to register & tell them I sent you (put my name, Beverley Todd, in the referrer's box). If I win the Ambassador's Competition there will be even more free stuff coming up on this blog

Desperately Trying To A Muse!

The challenge 6 prize is sooooo yummy that I've dusted off my heat tool in a desperate attempt to win and made a total of 12 cards for this round. There's not many weeks to go until the big event now, so not many more chances to win free stuff (well ok, there's probably at least a dozen!). If you haven't done so yet, you really ought to register so that you can be in with a chance of picking up some goodies absolutely free. Please mention me, Beverley Todd, as the referrer as I'm also desperate to win the Ambassador's Competition (not that I'm overly competitive LOL).

I thought I'd share a couple of the cards that I made for challenge 6, although I'll probably have to miss the next round. Sunday is the day I get to do most of my 'making stuff' and next week I'll be spending it moving in to the new store. So these could be my last cards for a while.

I came across a 1/3rd A4 box of cardstock that's been languishing at the back of a shelf for months and was inspired by all the colours and textures within.

The 'party' card features a scallop label frame, heat embossed with verdigris powder and then cut freehand. The drinks were coloured with Tombow brush pens and the label was attached with foam tape. All the stamps are from A Muse. I really like the Popsicle Pink Solid Notes & could happily use them all day long. My favourite colour combinations at the moment are pink/lime & pink/black. For the graduation card, I embossed the scroll & mortar board in black on a lime pretty little paper & matted it onto black textured cardstock. The 'lots of flowers' block was embossed all over the notecard with holographic powder - these blocks fit perfectly four times on the cards. The matted panel was attached with foam tape & the greeting stamped directly over the embossing with Staz On. I had planned on using the A Muse 'happy graduation stamp but I've no idea where it's gone - so I borrowed this one from my mum LOL.

The summer card is the same background stamp, this time only applied to the top half of the card & embossed in black. The retro rectangle was embossed with holographic powder & the greeting stamped over the top with Staz On. The greeting was punched out and attached over the ribbon (by Strano Designs) with foam tape.

One last card to share - my favourite stamps are this little fish and the best fishes greeting - I have used them soooo many times LOL. The scalloped panel was punched from blue marbled cardstock and the stamps embossed with denim EP before edging the panel with sage ink. scraps of green checked ribbon were stapled in place before attaching the panel with foam tape. The grassy stems were stamped with shadow ink to make a little border (I use this stamp a lot too - makes great seaweed!)

You can view the rest of the cards I've made so far in my gallery. I hope you like 'em!

Sneak A Peek Now (If You Want To Be A Mused!)

The sneak peek is up on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Blog now but hurry if you don't want to miss it. I love this card idea and fully intend to use it for one of our make 'n' takes during the big week. You can check out all the events we'll be holding for A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA here and you might want to think about booking your places soon - I know these events are going to be soooo popular.

The A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA T-Shirts are also up for sale now & I've arranged to have a delivery come by UPS (which takes around a week) especially as the Royal Mail here in the UK are planning a strike. You can take a look here and if you'd like to order them through me, check all the details here. Again, you'll need to be quick as I'm planning on placing the order next week.

There's still time to enter this week's design challenge, which doesn't end until Sunday night. You will need to register first - and don't forget to tell them I referred you. I'm off to make a birthday card for number one son now, who will be 21 tomorrow. Maybe I'll post a pic on Sunday (I'll be busy partying tomorrow night!)

A Muse Us With A Sneak Peek!

The news is out that the next sneak peek will be on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog this Friday (Woo-Hoo!!). Bear in mind though that they are around 8 hours behind us in the US (Seattle), so it's likely to happen some time after 5 pm GMT. Lots of people missed out on the last sneak peek, the A Muse crew are crafty like that and only air the post for 24 hours.

While you are over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA site, why not register and maybe pick up a prize or two before the big week in July. And if you'd like to mention me as the referrer, that would be great!!

The third round of secret squares plays today (but only for thse that guessed right in the last round). So another 4 yummy stamps have been added to the big prize that one lucky person will finally win.

But the most exciting news is: A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA T-shirts are now on sale!! I have to admit to checking out all the other brilliant T-shirts over at Desteenation!

Look out for more exciting news right here tomorrow!

Some Like It Hot! (Now That IS A Musing)

Challenge 6 is up on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog. This time, you need to make a card (or more if you like) using heat embossing. The lovely people over at A Muse (The A Muse Crew) are doing all they can to make sure that everyone can join in, so although they would like you to use an A Muse stamp, if you don't have any then you can use something else. Similarly, if you don't have a heat gun, you can use glaze pens for an embossed effect or dry embossing.
I have to admit that I've not used my heat gun for sooooo long. I'm basically lazy (and impatient) & embossing takes time. But I need to win this prize LOL. The Purrr-fect clear stamps are the yummiest ever & you just can't have too many punches!
Maybe this is the week that you should have a go yourself. You do need to register & please mention me as the referrer.
Make sure you keep an eye on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog as they are promising another sneak peek later this week (and they only stay live for a day or so!!)

More Free Stuff For Your A Musement

After my last batch of card making I had soooo many stamps to clean up that it got me wondering exactly how many A Muse stamps do I own. I'm sure it's not as many as some A Muse fans and it's definitely not as many as Jennifer had in her suitcase (a massive 956 if I remember correctly) - but that is all the clues you are getting LOL.

So, the competition for this week is: Guess how many A Muse stamps I own.

To enter, just post a comment with your guess. I'll draw a winner at random from all the comments and there will be an extra prize for anyone who guesses the exact number. I'll close the competition next tuesday at midnight (DST).

And for a little air of mystery, I'm gonna keep the prize a secret (but look out for a sneak peek tomorrow!)

Who's A Mused?

The winners for Design Challenge number 5, the weekly draw AND the first round of secret squares are over on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog right now! Congrats to all the winners (I am deeply envious, of course LOL). This was the winning card for challenge 5, designed by Andrea Bentz & chosen at random - totally cute!!

The winners of all the challenges and draws have been invited to post the things that they have made using their prizes - so there's even more inspiration to be found here

Don't forget, you can enter the weekly draws just by registering (please mention me as the referrer!) and you can join in the challenges using other stamps if you don't have any A Muse ones yet (but you know you're gonna want some soon LOL). Keep an eye on the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA blog for lots more chances to win, sneak peeks and other fun stuff.

And keep an eye on this blog for another great competition to be posted later tonight!!

More Cards To A Muse You

I had such a hard day today - at my mum's and having to make stuff. It's a tough job but someone has to do it LOLOLOL. First up was a card for the birthday swap over on my forum & then the A Muse Design Challenge Number 5. It closes at midnight tonight (about 8 am Monday GMT) and as always I have left it until the last minute. This time, the challenge was to design cards with a scene and I found that much harder. On the plus side, while I was struggling with that, just having all the stamps, cards & inks out on the table gave me soooo much inspiration that I made a bunch of other cards too.

They are all posted over in the gallery, which is getting quite big now! And I'm changing the thumbnails to the side of the blog as I think there's a few too many to put them all on. And this post contains a few of my faves from challenge 5. All the stamps I've used are by A Muse.

The skating rink on this card is a stamped oval in baby blue versacolour and the snowflakes use the smallest circle on the 'lots of dots' background stamp

This little fish (below) is one of my favourite A Muse stamps & I do use it quite a lot. The horizon card is an A Muse card blank with just the tops of the grassy shoots stamp to make some seaweed. The sun is a combination of the largest circle on the 'lots of dots' background stamp and the small oval. To get the colour variation, I've used two shades of yellow Tombow brush markers on the centre coloured diectly on to the stamp. The rays were stamped first in yellow ink and then overstamped with the darker of the two Tombow markers. Really simple but effective.

The fishbowl card is also easy to make. A 3" circle was punched from silver pearlised cardstock and a fishbowl shape cut around the aperture. The fishbowl was then stuck to plain white vellum and trimmed to shape. The stamping was all done on the back to give a softer finish and also coloured in (with Tombow markers again) on the reverse. The bubbles were stamped from the smallest circle on the 'lots of circles' background block. When the inks dried, the fishbowl was mounted on a mint card blank with foam pads & the word stamp added.