Let your creativity grow!

Big Summer Sale!!! Friday, Saturday & Sunday

Please join us on Friday 9am-6pm, Saturday, 9am-6pm and Sunday, 10am-5pm for our big sidewalk sale event!

Kelley, Laurie and I have been walking around the store and putting tons of stamps, pens, inks, paper, boutique gifts, and embellishments on our 50% off table.  We have 36 feet of sale stuff piled up high!!!  Please come to our centerwide event.  The entire town and country village shopping center is participating in this annual event.  In fact, on Saturday and Sunday the center is providing free live band entertainment.  How fun!  There's something for everyone.  Be the first to get the good stuff on Friday morning.  We promise a good sale!  Hope to see you there.

Weight loss! Meeting on Thursday 6pm.

Hi everyone... a lot of people have been telling me that I look thinner and can tell that I lost weight.  Well... I have.  I am almost down to what I was when I was a TV Journalist.  It's all come down to a "body cleansing" regime and protein shake maintenance diet called-- "isogenix."  My husband and I are doing it together and we completed our 9 day cleanse and now are doing just 1-2 shakes a day.  I lost 12 inches throughout my body and 3 pounds, but the inches amazingly came off my back, waist, thighs and neck.  My clothes fit better and my husband looks awesome!  We feel better and lighter.  Anyway, my old news directors came into my boutique to visit my store for the first time and surprised me with a whole new look.. he lost 80 pounds and told me about this diet.  Rick is one of the smartest and best researchers I know and had a wealth of information about what kind of stuff is in the shake and diet and I immediately bought a 30-day supply cause I wanted to look like him!  I know Rick wouldn't put anything into his body unless it was ok and my old anchor colleague Paul Joncich who is now anchoring in Cleveland, Ohio is totally into this drink along with his wife and they both lost 10 plus-pounds!  It really works.  If you're interested in getting off those extra pounds and want to feel healthier and lighter.  Please come to the store on Thursday (tomorrow).  From 6-7pm Rick will give a talk about the wonders of Isogenix and the benefits you will feel!  Meantime, I will be posting some fun cards this week..I'm getting ready for my next asian class!

Ken's cards

Hi!  I finally am making a new post with some great card ideas from my husband Ken's first ever class!!!  His first class last Wednesday was sold out and so he taught another class on Saturday morning.  Thanks to everyone who took his class.. he had a great time, but still won't trade his day job as a state employee for paper, ink and rubber.  Plus, he knows the salary I  would pay him would mirror "my" salary... nada.

So here's the six cards he taught.

This is a starbucks coffee cup that is actually a gift card holder.  Ken used a bunch of marvy punches and the oval hand punch by fiskars to create the sippy.  He then used a corrugator to make the rippling effect.  Really cool!!!  Sentiment is by A Muse.

This next card is a pool table and was made with  the ek success small 5/8" circle punch for the corner and side pockets.  Ken then used a bunch of small brads for the balls.

This is a side view of the pool table.  pretty cool.  He wanted to make sure there were plenty of male cards.  Plus Eric Nakano our "cool" resident guy card maker who also came to Julie Ebersole's class earlier this month came to Ken's class to support the men on the team!  Eric, his wife Katie, and her mommy Pat take lots of classes and are so good now with card making and soon little Doyle will be using rubberstamps instead of putting them in his mouth!

This next card idea is one that Linda Carnell from A Muse told me about and I thought it would be great for Ken's class.  It's an ice cream bar or lime juice bar.  The outside is the gerbrera daisy stamp by A Muse (my favorite stamp by this wonderful company!) and here's a look at the inside.

You can make a fun invitation for a kid's party of school ice cream social.  It's so fun.  We have these awesome sticks in the store.. but their not the popsicle ones... they are wider and thicker.. and are used in dr's office when you say awwwwwwww....  I like the bigger width sticks.  Anyway.. if you would like to learn how to make one of these.... please come to our boutique this Friday!!!  From 11:30am-1:30pm we have a free make and take.  We'll be making a different version of this one... it's going to be an orange juice bar that's longer and skinnier.. so cute!

This next card goes with the pool table card.  It's an "8" ball card.  We sold a lot of "8" ball stamps for brides getting married this August 8, 2008.  So "8" is very popular this summer.  Ken made this oversized "8" ball that is a card.

Here's the card inside.  It can be a party invitation as well.  Especially fun if someone's turning 8.  We have a 6" circle die cut that can roll our these circle cards in a flash!

Here's another guy card my husband made.  It's a football card.. good for superbowl parties or a tail-gating party.  He scored an a2 card doing a "gate" fold and then just cut the corners.

This is what it look s like in the inside.  Stamps by A Muse, sentiment by Cat's pajamas.

And here's the last card -- it was the biggest hit.  It's the waterfall card that Ken confessed he "knocked off" and took from www.splitcoaststampers.com

You pull the ribbon and there come a bunch of fun greetings and images.

Just keep pulling

and pulling....

until you pull open the last flap.  How fun!!

Ken has another fun class Friday, August 15th from 6pm-8pm!  Please call the store if you're interested 916-487-2737.  Class is $35.00 and all of the materials are always provided!

Summertime in Asia

We have another class on asian cards.. this time the theme is summer!

We still have space in our class on

Friday, July 18th from 6pm-8pm, and

Sunday, July 20th from 5pm-7pm.

call the store at 916-487-2737 if you're interested in any of these dates!  cost is;  $35.00 and as always.. you never have to bring your own supplies.

This class theme means lots of cool, hot, crisp colors.  I have been working on the class cards all day today and I finally finished!  Here are the cards...

This first card is made with hero arts new asian clear set.  I stamped one of the images in pastel pink color box chalk ink and then layered two squares and stamped a big cherry blossom also from the set in orchid pastel and added a few gemstones that look like water drops.  I love this card!

This next card is using the other new hero arts asian clear set.  I stamped the lanterns three times and then used the fan strip and punched them out. The card colors are very "beachy."

This next card was made using the chalk resist method.  I took yellow ochre, tangerine and warm red color box chalk ink pads and then smeared it right onto glossy paper.  I then took off the excess and 'buffed' it out using a tissue.  I then took kodomo inc.'s Summer set and stamped it in black.  So bright and pretty.. it reminds me of a sunset in asia.

This next card is using part of the new hero arts asian stamp set on the side of the card and then using three different cherry blossoms from Impress.

This next card is my favorite.. It's almost like a book.  It measures 4" X 9" so it could fit into a #10 envelope.  I used hanko designs background cherry blossom stamp and covered the front and back cover then I stamped another solid cherry blossom background stamp by Hanko in red and started weaving some gold string around the square.  I then took an asian coin stamp and embossed it in gold and punched it out... I used two coins to stick them together back to back.  The sentiment in the middle is "longevity" and it's by Kodomo inc. 

 

This is the back of the card, my husband didn't take a picture of the inside but the cardstock folds in three so it opens like an accordian.  It's really cool!

Finally, this card reminds me of a summer evening in the Hamptons.. I have never been to the Hamptons, but I've seen pictures of it in Martha Stewart's magazines.. hahahahaha.  Anyway, the colors are very crisp and for the first time I whipped out my staz-on opaque mint ink pad and stamped it onto the blue and okra colored cardstock.  So pretty!  I stamped a big dandelion by Judikins and a vine stamp by Printworks.  I then tied a white ribbon around the two pieces of cardstock and punched three brads on the bottom!  Enjoy!!

P.S.  My husband Ken and I have been on this diet my old news director is totally into called "isogenix" -- anyway.. he sold me on it when he lost more than 60 pounds and looks great!  This is our last day of a 9 day cleanse!  We feel great.  We fasted with some celery, broth, and cucumbers over the last two days (and two other days last week!), drank two shakes and ate one meal the other 5 days.  I can't wait to see how many inches we lost.  Anyway, our energy level is up, our skin feels great and our clothes fit better.  Whew.. I can't wait to go to bed and wake up in the morning munching on "something" chewy with flavor and fat!

Amuseapalooza!

Amuseapalooza is finally here!  We had a great time with our guest instructor.. the royal queen of creating cards Julie Ebersole!

Julie taught a whopping 6 classes!!!  She's the best!  We had a great time together and everyone loved her.  I told her she's my cup of joe.  Girlfriend is a ball of caffeine!  Thank you Julie for giving us an insight to your creative mind and a comedy show on the side!

These are two of my really good friends.. Stacey and Kathy.  They both took all 5 classes Julie had to offer!  Way to go!

We had lots of new visitors from San Jose, Milpitas, Mill Valley, Vacaville, Redding, thanks to everyone who came to visit our store and take the classes.  What an honor!

This is Angela and Linda from Redding... they are hooked now on A Muse stamps!

Here's a wide shot of my bar area that seats 14 students.

These are two of my other great customers and A Muse fans-- Marian and Joy.

And here's Missy Ballance (A Muse designer-- I love her style!), her mommy, and Rachel.

And hello Sarah and Betty.  Betty recently got a blog!  Check it out:

www.elegantreflections.blogspot.com

Way to go Betty!!!

And here's Courtney and her mommy Jana.  They love to create cards, invitations and they also love to entertain!

   

Here's a picture of my husband with Michele and Tracy.. doesn't he look too happy with two beautiful women by his side.... you know.. he loves it!!!  hahahahaha!

We also had a preview party on Sunday night and had a lot of fun showing customers the new holiday wood stamps-- 36 of them!  And two new clear sets.  WE have them all!!!

Here's one make and take that we made:  It's an triangle bag made from acetate paper and A Muse's new 8.5 X 11 cardstocks.  How fun!  We put hershey chocolate kisses inside and stamped A Muse's new holiday images.

This next make and take was a blast!  These are glass coasters that we sell in the store.  There's a frame in the back and you can make your own fun personalized coasters.  We sell them for $2.50 for 2 coasters. They are so worth the price because if you want to get a hostess gift or teacher gift, it would take you less than 5 minutes to make!

We stamped 4 different images on small cream cardstock and placed them inside the coasters and wallah!   

 

Put some ribbon around them and it's a quick gift that's soooooo cool!

We also had a fun contest at the store and Miko Sawamura won!

Congratulations Miko!  She won a year's worth of free classes at the Paper Garden.. Yes.. whatever class you want to take Miko.. you can take as many as you want.. and guess what.. it's free!!!  How fun is that!  Miko has been stamping for 5 years and says making cards and gifts are a fun creative outlet after working the 8-5pm job!  We'll look forward to seeing you take Ken's first class this month!

   Don't forget all of this week.. until Sunday, you can come in and make a free card using the new A Muse stamps.  The make and takes are all day during store hours!  Hooray!