Well, here we are in June. I guess I didn't get 31 cards made in May. Oh well, it was fun to try!
Anyway, I've got some news for you all today. I've decided to make a change and join on as a demonstrator with Stampin' Up! After just over a year with A Muse Studio, I realized that I just hadn't been able to get behind the company as a whole, as much as I really do love their products. I adore their stamp sets, but the rest of it just wasn't compatible with the types of projects I like to do. I think it's still going to take me a while to nail down my personal style with Stampin' Up! but it's definitely closer to what I tend to create most naturally.
All the rules are the same, though. I will not be that person and replace everything I own with SU! branded items. There will never be one crafting company I could use exclusively, and so you will continue to see other supplies featured on my blog. I will continue to provide honest reviews and will never try to sell you things you don't want and/or can't afford. I can't afford a ton of new product anyway, so this will be a gradual transition.
If you love SU!, or want to give it a try, I'd love to be your demonstrator! If you're local to the Cape Cod area and want to schedule a card class or other type of workshop, or are interested in joining a stamp club (coming soon!), please let me know! You can contact me through my website at www.annakeyes.stampinup.net.
Hope you're having a great week! I'll be back soon with some projects! :)
Welcome Welcome Welcome to the Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop! Isn't this exciting? :)
If you're here from Jess Larsen's blog, then you're in the right place! If you've come across my blog by another way, I highly suggest you head on over to the Young Crafters Unite homepage and start at the beginning. This hop is huge and it's jam-packed with amazing talent. Plus, every comment you leave on the participating blogs (through July 4th) will increase your chances to win prizes from Lawn Fawn, Simon Says Stamp, and Paper Smooches. Sweet!
What makes me a Young Crafter is pretty much the obvious: I'm young, and I'm a crafter. I'm also still (yes, still) relatively new to the world of contemporary paper crafting, and I like to think of myself as something of an apprentice (in that I'm learning from them, not that I aspire to take over for them!) to "the greats," which, in my opinion, includes amazing ladies like Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, Stephanie Howell, and Lisa Spangler (just to name a few!).
For my hop project, I wanted to do something really exciting. (Well, ok, at least it's exciting to me. I hope you agree. lol.) The theme of the hop is My Favorite Things, and I have to admit I was a little bit stumped by this at first. My original plan was to wander around my craft space and choose, say, 10 of the items I'm loving the most lately, and then make a card with them. But I thought that might be too risky. So I decided to interpret the theme a little differently...
Let me be honest with you here for a moment. Lately, there have been a lot of things in my life that I'm not so thrilled about. But I'm working on it. I'm working on being happier, being more motivated, and enjoying my journey. And along with that theme, two of my favorite things right now are challenging myself and setting goals. So here are the challenges I set out to accomplish with this project:
1. Document more of my everday life.
2. Try out more scrapbooking.
3. Use my Studio Calico kits.
4. Allow a project to take more than one sitting. Don't feel the need to finish now, or rush through
things.
So, without further ado (aka my propensity for blah blah blah), here's my project...
I'd seen a few of these accordion envelope mini-albums in various places online (most recently this beyond-amazing one that was featured on the October Afternoon blog), but I couldn't find a tutorial for them. So I decided to challenge myself to figure it out :)
Each "page" is an envelope where you can tuck photos, journaling, and memorabilia. The envelopes themselves are decorated, giving space to glue things in a more traditional scrapbook fashion.
I also made some little inserts to make more room for journaling, making lists, and gluing treasures.
Now, because I couldn't find a tutorial for this type of book, I decided to make one! Ok, two actually :) But since this has already been a very long post, and I'm sure you're anxious to get back a-hoppin', I'll let you know that the next stop on the hop is Brittney Baker's blog. I can't wait to see what she's created! And don't forget to comment along the way!
For those of you interested in how I made this mini-album, you can watch my videos below. Part 1 is about the inside, and Part 2 shows how I made the covers. Thanks for stopping by!
I'm an A Muse Studio Creative Consultant. And I've been posting a lot of A Muse Studio projects since I signed on as a Creative Consultant in March.
But I care about you (yes, you), and I want to be honest with you about what this means for me.
Let's be honest. I want you to purchase A Muse Studio merchandise, and I want you to purchase it from me, because when you do, I make money. There I said it. (Not like you weren't thinking it!)
But... and this is a big one... That said, here are my promises to you, my blog reader and potential customer.
- I will not lie to you to make a sale. I worked at the Gap for a year. I was crap at it. I let people browse, and buy what they wanted, and sometimes I even let people leave empty handed. (gasp!) I want to let you make your own decisions and I won't pressure you to spend money you don't have on things you don't want. I still have a 9-5 job that pays my bills.
- I will review products honestly. If I say I love something, I really love it. (See above re: lying to make a sale) If there's a product I don't like, I either won't bring it up, or I'll be honest and say I don't really care for it!
- I'm not going to replace my entire craft room with A Muse Studio branded or approved products. (Don't you hate those people??) I can't afford it, and neither can you! I will keep using the tools that I love, and the tools that I have that I just kinda like, because I already have them. And I will remain loyal to all of my favorite companies, including A Muse Studio. I liked them before I became their salesperson.
So, I thank you for your ear. I do hope you will check out my webstore, honestly because A Muse is a great company with some of the cutest products out there. If you have questions about a specific product you see in my store, or about a technique you've seen or heard about, please ask! You may just see your question answered in an upcoming video tutorial! :)
