*A*Muse Is In Da House*

What a great weekend, especially compared to last weekend. Last weekend was the Long Weekend in Canada and it was cool and wet and gross all weekend. This weekend has been beautiful so far! We spent most of yesterday outside in the yard. We cleaned out the garage, I washed some blinds (hanging them on nails on the fence and then scrubbing them with one of those car wash hose adapters), reading, talking with the neighbours, installing the screen door.... it was only about 20*C (68*F), but there was absolutely no breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Our backyard faces South West so we have a lot of sun.

I, of course, paid the price by getting a pretty good sunburn on my arms and chest. I got involved reading my book and didn't realize just how long I was sitting out there.

For those that are wondering, I was reading (and finished this morning) "Sisters" by Danielle Steel.

Now, on to stamping...

Our local stamp store carries A*Muse stamps, but she never seems to have a lot of stock in the store. The stamps I want are never there. So I decided to place an order for what I wanted. Turn around time to get it to me in Canada from the US was totally quick. About a week or so. WOO HOO!

This was actually the one stamp I bought at my local stamp store (Paper Pastimes) while Mom was visiting. I also purchased a few packages of the patterned square cards that A*Muse sells. Hard to see, but this card is an Almost Amethyst colour with a circle design on it

I had a lot of fun creating a card using the items that moved me rather than all one company. I am turning away from my Stampin' Up! stuff and trying to use some of the other wonderful images I have sitting on my shelves. I love Stampin' Up!, don't get me wrong... but I miss using stuff from all the companies. I was a stamper long before I was a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, and am happy turning back to being a stamper instead of a Demonstrator. I'm still a Demonstrator but am not going to be focusing on selling the stuff.... if people want to order from me, cool... but I'm not doing parties anymore.

I like being a stamper.

Thanks again for popping by!

items used:
*Cardstock: A*Muse Cottage Blue Pinwheel notecard; Stampin' Up! Apricot Appeal, Rose Red and Whisper White
*Images: A*Muse
*Ink: Stampin' Up Basic Black, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst (ink pads and markers), Black Micron Pen
*Embellishments: Stampin' Up! Ribbon and gold brads, Crystal Effects (on the glass)
*Tools: Marvy Uchida Giga Oval Scallop Punch and Mega Oval Punch