A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA

Featured Store - Ink About It

There is still time to participate in our ribbon design challenge - see Tuesday's post for details!  Our next featured store is Ink About It in Westford, MA.

INK ABOUT IT (www.inkaboutitonline.com) has been in business for three years and has carried A Muse Art Stamps from day one! The store is located in Westford, MA approx 45 minutes northeast of Boston. Ink About It is a paper arts specialty store featuring an extensive selection of rubber stamps, papers, inks, paper craft tools, and unique embellishments. Their goal is to bring customers the latest products from their favorite companies. New products are arriving daily and they order from A Muse almost weekly!

Ink About It also offers a wide range of workshops to satisfy all levels of abilities, including monthly classes that feature A Muse Stamps taught by A Muse instructor, Jenn Shurkus. Class topics cover card making, scrapbooking, mini books, altered art, jewelry making and much more. They have a talented staff of instructors and they frequently host guest artists as well. 

They are planning a fun filled week of activities in July to celebrate A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA.  There will be special classes featuring the newly released stamps in both July and August. They will be debuting the new stamps and having a free make & take on July 10th.

Instructor Schedule - Jenn Shurkus

A Muse Instructor, Jenn Shurkus, will be teaching the following classes at the stores listed.  Her classes fill up fast, so please call the stores for updated availability and to register. 

Ink About It in Westford, MA
Jenn will help launch the release of the latest and greatest stamps from A Muse! The same class of 5 new holiday cards will run several times over two days. New cards will be offered in August. Sign up for both and get a free pack of notecards. Fee: $25 per class
Wednesday, July 11 — 10am-12pm (3 seats left)
Wednesday, July 11 — 6:30-8:30pm (FULL)
Thursday, July 12 — 10am-12pm (2 seats)
Thursday, July 12 — 6:30-8:30pm (7 seats)
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Wednesday, August 8 — 10am-12pm (10 seats)
Wednesday, August 8 — 6:30-8:30pm (FULL)
Thursday, August 9 — 10am-12pm (6 seats)
Thursday, August 9 — 6:30-8:30pm (8 seats)

Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, MA
A Muse cards with Jenn Shurkus. What a delightful way to spend the day! In each class you will make 5 cards using the signature A Muse style stamps and papers.  Each class is $25.  There will be 2 classes during the A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA week - both include Fall and Holiday cards.
Tuesday, July 10 — 10am-12pm (Fall & Holiday #1)
Tuesday, July 10 — 1-3pm  (Fall & Holiday #2)
Friday, July 13  —  3-5pm  (Fall & Holiday #1)
Friday, July 13  —  6-8pm  (Fall & Holiday #2)

Colorful Creations in Hyannis, MA
Class #1: Have fun being one of the first to create with some of the new A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA stamps!  You will make 5 different cards with the theme of Holiday, Winter, Fall & Halloween.  Cost:$25
Saturday, July 14 — 10am-12pm (FULL - call if interested, we may add spots)
Sunday, July 15 — 10am-12pm (2 spots left!)
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Class #2: Have fun being one of the first to create with some of the new A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA stamps!  You will make 5 different cards with the theme of Holiday, Winter, Fall & Halloween. These cards will be different from the morning session, so sign up for BOTH classes and get a free pack of A Muse notecards. Cost:$25
Saturday, July 14 — 1-2pm (FULL - call if interested, we may add spots)
Sunday, July 15 — 1-2pm (1 spot left!)

Hope to see you there!

Instructor Schedule - Melinda Matzen

A Muse instructor, Melinda Matzen, will be teaching the following A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA classes at Angela's Happy Stamper in Reston, VA!  Please call Angela’s Happy Stamper to register (703-435-0051) or sign-up on their website.

Spooky Halloween House
Join Melinda to construct a charming 3-dimensional house featuring A Muse fall and Halloween stamps.  We'll also be using the new Doodlebug Chipboard house, Doodlebug papers and embellishments.  The finished product will make the perfect centerpiece for your spooky suppertable. Please bring your basic stamping kit.  Fee $30.
Wednesday, July 11 — 6:30pm-8:30pm

10 Card AP Extravaganza
Join us for the 2nd annual A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA extravaganza! Melinda will be teaching 10 fantastic cards featuring some of the new A Muse stamps to be unveiled in a few stores nationwide the week of July 9! Unlike last year, these cards will not focus soley on Christmas, but will also include fall, Halloween and more! Don't miss this chance to play with these adorable images, hot off the press!  Please bring your basic stamping kit.  Fee $30.
Friday, July 13 — 6:30pm-8:30pm
Saturday, July 14 — 1:00-3:00pm

Hope to see you there!

Challenge 9 - Ribbon Fun!

Pull out your ribbon stash, your challenge this week is to use ribbon on your design!  You may use your choice of ink, papers, colors, stamps (please use at least one A Muse stamp if possible), embellishments, etc. 

Leave your comment on this post (one comment per card) and include a blog or gallery page link to a photo of your new original creation by midnight Pacific time Sunday, July 1st.  (Cards must be new creations not previously posted or submitted to any A Muse contest.)  Then we'll draw a random winner on Monday!

This week, the winner will receive a "Golfer’s Delight" stamp assortment from A Muse including 6 wood-mounted stamps!

You may submit more than one entry for this challenge - the more you create, the more chances you have to win!

Click here to see a sample by designer Jennifer Pebbles (with some yummy Strano ribbon) to get you thinking! 

If you need some ideas of fun ways to use ribbon, check out this thread on Splitcoast Stampers!

Don't have a blog or online gallery?  Leave a link to your card photo from your online photo album (such as Kodak EasyShare, Snapfish, Flickr, etc).  Or see our links at the end of challenge 1 to setup a Splitcoast Stampers gallery.

Ambassador Weekly Winner!

Fun, fun!  Something a little different for the weekly Ambassador prize... This time we chose the Ambassador Competition participant who submitted the MOST CARDS on their summary for week 8!  The winner will receive Swiss Red Asterix Reverse notes, Lady Liberty stamp, and Tiny Star Twinkle Stickers!

And the winner.... with a total of 28 cards created last week....Congratulations.....

KATIE STILWATER!

Katie, send an email with your address to [email protected] and we'll send your goodies!

Challenge 8 Winner!

Thank-you to everyone who participated in challenge 8! It was fun to see some of the silly celebrations you invented!  And boy, do we have some silly holidays that actually exist too!  This week you created 117 cards - SUPER!  Make sure to check them out! 

Let's first reveal our fabulous mystery prize!  If you receive our a-muse-letter email, then you got a sneak peek of this awesome prize.  The winner today receives a Summer Supreme stamp assortment from A Muse including 8 wood-mounted stamps! 

Today's random winner was this entry so Congratulations.......

ERICKA!!!

Ericka, please email your address to [email protected] and we'll get your goodies in the mail! 

Instructor Schedule - Tami Wood

A Muse instructor, Tami Wood, will be teaching the following fun A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA classes at Artsy Tartsy in Plymouth, MN!  Be sure to call the store to register in advance.

A Muse July Blizzard of Holiday Cards
Come cool off at the Plymouth store and make five HOT cards with decorated envelopes using new stamps and papers from A Muse.  There will be a special drawing at the end of class for one lucky person.  Please bring your basic stamping kit.  Advance registration is required.  Fee:  $25
Wednesday, July 11 — 10:30am - 1pm

Get A Mused with the Fabulous Five!!
You will make five assorted cards using the newly released A Muse stamps and papers, and other fun card embellishments.  We will cover fall, a couple of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  There will be a special drawing at the end of class for one lucky person.  Please bring your basic stamping kit and signup early.  Advance registration is required.  Fee:  $25
Friday, July 13 — 10:30am - 1pm

A MUSE ALL OCCASION CARD CLASS
Plan to make five new card designs using several stamps from the A Muse July holiday release.  We will incorporate other exciting stamping products onto our cards such as ribbon, brads, and other fun embelishments.  The new stamps are "TOP SECRET" until July 9 so plan on attending this special class to see what all the buzz is about!!   Come in from the heat and be cool as you spend the afternoon stamping with Tami.  There will be a special drawing at the end of class for one lucky person.  Please bring your basic stamping kit and signup early.  Advance registration is required.  Fee:  $25
Saturday, July 14 — 1pm - 3:30pm
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A Muse A Palooza Make and Take*
Stop by Saturday morning for a free Make and Take project using some of the new stamps from A Muse.  All Make and Take participants will be eligible to enter their name for a couple of nice prizes.  The winners will be contacted at the end of the Make and Take and you do not need to be present to win.
Saturday, July 14 — 10:30am - 12pm
*Please note the Make and Take will end at noon, so mark your calendars now!!  The Saturday A Muse class will begin at 1 pm.   
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There is a minimum of four registrations in order for each class to be held.  Hope to see you there!

Did you see it?

We revealed the mystery prize for Challenge 8 in the a-muse-letter email, did you see it?  It is an awesome prize - EIGHT wood-mounted A Muse stamps!  There is still time to enter, so go stamp and post your silly celebration card before Sunday at midnight!  If you don't find a silly holiday that inspires you, make one up!

Ambassador Weekly Winner!

We picked a random winner from the Ambassador registrations today!  The winner receives:  Popsicle Pink solid notes, Polka Dot purse stamp, and Popsicle Pink Paisley and Polka Dot tags!

Congratulations.....

KRISTINA LEWIS !

Kristina, send your address to [email protected] and we'll send your goodies!

Weekly Winners!

Woo-hoo! More random registration winners to announce!

Prize 1: Marvy-Uchida Super Scallop Heart punch

Congratulations.....

Zoe Farmer!

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Prize 2: Colorbox Queue Pigment Inks – Wood Grain & Deep Sea

Congratulations.....

Nicole vanSenus!

Zoe and Nicole, we sent you an email so please send your addresses to [email protected] and we'll mail out your goodies!

Featured Sponsor - Strano Designs

Strano Designs is a ribbon/design company founded by the husband and wife team of Lou and Jennifer Strano. In 2002, with fifteen years of retail and manufacturing experience, Jennifer started designing ribbons in response to recognition that there was a need for a boutique quality ribbon company that was easily accessible on the web without compromising original design, finest quality and excellent customer service.

In 2005, Lou, who since the 1990s had been designing print and web media for small and large companies in the Northeast, joined Jennifer full-time assuming the responsibilities of web communications and branding.

Strano Designs offers over three-hundred high quality striped, polka dot and stitched ribbons. Their focus is on developing new designs with fashion forward colors. They also offer a line of fine imported Swiss velvet trims. They sell directly to customers via their web store www.stranodesigns.com and wholesale their ribbon world wide to all types of industries and manufacturers.

They have a ground-breaking new product called RibbonStiff™. Used as an adhesive, RibbonStiff™ will dry flat, flexible and clear, securing ribbon onto paper, chipboard, book board or any paper crafting project. It enables ribbon to easily be used as journal, album or book binding. Ribbon stiffened using RibbonStiff™ can be die-cut, punched or embossed. It will knock your socks off!

When we asked Jennifer, “What is it about your products that make them unique?” she replied, “Color, design, quality and the sense of humor that goes into making it all work.”

The idea for Strano Designs began with last season’s belts! It was Labor Day of 2003 when Jennifer made the very difficult decision to leave her job as Manager of a family-owned specialty store. The plan was to take a few months off, hit the beach and enjoy her girls who were toddlers at the time. After investigating Ebay as a possible outlet for past season belts from the family store, she realized that good, unique ribbon was nearly impossible to find. Jennifer never did hit the beach – Strano Designs hit the web instead. After a month of research, Jennifer told Lou that she was going to spend five-hundred dollars and create her own ribbon to sell on Ebay. With Lou’s response of, “that’s great honey,” within five months, Strano Designs had launched it’s website with fifty designs of ribbon in three sizes.

Challenge 8 - Silly Celebrations!

This week we are getting wacky!  Your challenge is to create a card design for a non-traditional celebration.  Did you know that Friday is "Take Your Dog to Work Day" and Saturday is "Let it Go" day!?  How about a "Congratulations on Cleaning your Stamp Space" card - LOL!  So many silly possibilities, so have fun!  You may use your choice of ink, papers, colors, stamps (please use at least one A Muse stamp if possible), embellishments, etc. 

Leave a comment on this post (one comment per card) and include a blog or gallery page link to a photo of your new original creation by midnight Pacific time Sunday, June 24th.  (Cards must be new creations not previously posted or submitted to any A Muse contest.)  Then we'll draw a random winner on Monday.  This week the prize is a SURPRISE!

You may submit more than one entry for this challenge - the more you create, the more chances you have to win!
Click here for a sample by designer Heather Meeson from her "Talk Like a Pirate Day" party!

Don't have a blog or online gallery?  Leave a link to your card photo from your online photo album (such as Kodak EasyShare, Snapfish, Flickr, etc).  Or see our links at the end of challenge 1 to setup a Splitcoaststampers gallery.

Can't wait to see all your silly celebration creations!

Scavenger Hunt Winner!

And now.... the random winner of the Scavenger Hunt is..............

KAYLYN CONOVER!!!!

Congratulations!!  Kaylyn, please send your address, t-shirt size/color, SCS username (if you have one) and mug color choice to us at [email protected] and we'll get your goodies in the mail!

Thanks to everyone for playing and to our sponsors for the fabulous prizes!  Below are the answers to the Scavenger Hunt questions:

Splitcoaststampers
What is the name of the resource that is emailed to subscribers each week?  Weekly Inkling
Name an item that is available in the Splitcoaststampers store. Mugs, t-shirts, sweatshirts

Strano Designs
What is the name of the new striped ribbon available in three sizes?  Madge or we also accepted Pokey
What are the names of the Strano Designs founders?  Lou and Jennifer Strano

Clearsnap
How many colors are available in Fluid Chalk cateyes?  38, we also accepted 36 in the Queues
What is the name of their permanent dye ink?  Ancient Page

Marvy Uchida
The new “Paper Trimming Buddy” has eight replacement blades.  List one.  straight, wave, scoring, scallop, pinking, Victorian, perforating, or rhythm
What new shape is available for the “Corrugator” paper crimper?  Bubbles

A Muse Artstamps
What is the name of a stamp that starts with the first letter of your name?  many choices!
In what section of the website can you find inspiring card samples?  Design Studio

A Muse News blog
What is your favorite product in Linda’s “My favorite things” photo album?  Scallop bags, Marvy punches, Prismacolor markers, Copic markers, Liquid Applique, Versafine ink, Glaze pens, Koh-I-Noor Colored pencils, Essential Glue Pad, Pebbles Shimmer Chalk           

Stay tuned for Challenge 8!

Scavenger Hunt Reminder

Just a quick reminder that our Scavenger Hunt ends tonight so make sure to enter your answers!

Challenge 7 Winner!

Thank-you to everyone who got glittery for challenge 7! This week you created 125 sparkling cards - FABULOUS!  Make sure to check them out! 

Today's random winner was this entry so Congratulations.......

EMILY LANGAN!!!

Emily, please email your address and mug color choice to [email protected]! 

Featured Store - Scrapbook Friend'z

There is still plenty of time to enter our Scavenger Hunt and to participate in the weekly design challenge!  Our next featured store is Scrapbook Friend'z.

Scrapbook Friend’z, located in Bloomington, IL, has over 3000 square feet of stamping and scrapbooking supplies. They have been in business over 4 years and have 5 employees. The store has a modern décor and is part of a strip mall.

Owner, Margaret Trost, first got into papercrafting as a hobby but it quickly developed into a passion. After working at another store for a short time, she decided to open her own business. Her favorite A Muse stamp design is the bird cage. It was a love affair from the moment she saw it! She also thinks the A Muse Notecards are “just fantastic”.

Scrapbook Friend’z carries a wide variety of supplies, including:

Stamps (Mounted and Unmounted)
Pads, Inks, Paints, and Dies
Card Stock (Over 500 Colors), Envelopes, & Paper for Cards
Pattern Papers – Traditional, Seasonal, Sports, Wedding, Kids Corner, & More
Templates – Brass and Stainless Steel
Albums – 6”, 9”, 12”
Tools, Totes, & Adhesives
Store Designed Precut Page Packets
Embellishments – Packaged and in Bulk
Distress pads, Embossing Powder, Glitter, Stickles, UTEE, PearlEx, Flock
Lots of Marvy punches!

The customers that shop at Scrapbook Friend’z are part of a scrapbooking and stamping family. The employees know most of their customers by name and see many of them more than once a week.  Their customers are adventurous and love new products.

For A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA, they have two card classes planned during the week of the event. Then on Friday night July 13th, they’re having an A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Friend’z party where they will stamp from 6pm until midnight!  Saturday and Sunday they’ll have Make and Takes and there will be giveaways and prizes all week.

Featured Store - Pad to Paper

Remember to enter your Scavenger Hunt answers and submit your card for Design Challenge 7!  Our next featured store is Pad to Paper.

Pad to Paper is located in Hilmar, California - right in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. They officially opened their doors on October 7, 2006 with a grand opening celebration two weeks later.

The store is located in the old post office building on the main street of this dairy farming community. They have approximately 1500 sq ft, which includes a classroom and office space. There are three partners involved in the store and they handle everything from ordering, to stocking, to teaching classes.

Pad to Paper started as a long-time dream for two of the partners, Beth and Denise, who have been stamping for many years. The third partner, Diann, started stamping a couple of years ago, and was excited to become a part of this dream. The name for the store - Pad to Paper - came from Beth's nephew who gives everyone a hard time about stamping "What's so hard about that?, he said, It's just pad to paper". When they decided to open the store, coming up with the name was the easy part!!

The store is packed with lots of stamps (A Muse, Hero Arts, Rubber Soul, Paper Inspirations, Inkadinkadoo and others) and a large selection of papers from World Win, Bo Bunny, Cosmo Cricket, Polar Express, Scrappy Cake, etc. They also have a whole room packed full of embellishments for scrapbook pages, cards and other paper craft projects.

Pad to Paper customers come from all over the area and they've been told that they are "providing therapy and changing lives," but most importantly, their customers are having fun!!

They have a full week of events planned for A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA, leading up to a Friday night VIP event and a weekend full of A Muse cards classes and specials. Be sure to check their web page (www.padtopaper4.com) for updates. This promises to be a fun event for everyone!

Scavenger Hunt!

The hunt is on!  Visit our sponsors websites and find the answers to the questions listed below.  Make sure you've got them right - you only get one entry!  Then click here to enter your answers!  The game ends at midnight Pacific time on Monday, June 18th.  We'll pick a random winner from the entries that have all correct answers!  The winner will receive this fabulous prize package with goodies from our sponsors:

·  A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA t-shirt (green or pink)
·  A Muse Tiny Flowers Lowercase Large clear stamp set
·  Color Box Petal Point Pigment Ink Pad
·  NEW! Marvy Uchida Giga Scallop Rectangle punch
·  10 yards of assorted *yummy* Strano ribbon
·  SCS prize package (mug and one year fan club subscription)
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Below are the scavenger hunt questions.  Find all the answers, then click here to enter!

Splitcoaststampers
What is the name of the resource that is emailed to subscribers each week?
Name an item that is available in the Splitcoaststampers store.
Strano Designs
What is the name of the new striped ribbon available in three sizes?
What are the names of the Strano Designs founders?
Clearsnap
How many colors are available in Fluid Chalk cateyes?
What is the name of their permanent dye ink?
Marvy Uchida
The new “Paper Trimming Buddy” has eight replacement blades.  List one. 
What new shape is available for the “Corrugator” paper crimper? 
A Muse Artstamps
What is the name of a stamp that starts with the first letter of your name?
In what section of the website can you find inspiring card samples?
A Muse News blog
What is your favorite product in Linda’s “My favorite things” photo album?
                                   .................................                                  

Have fun and while you're here, grab your stamps and participate in our weekly design challenge!  Good Luck!

Secret Squares - WINNER!

Thank-you to everyone for playing Secret Squares!  We have a winner!!! 

For the final round, the secret prize was the Henry, Lizzie, and Castle stamps!  And the A Muse Crew member who was holding the secret prize was... Michelle!
In this round, actually none of the finalists guessed correctly.  So we put their names in a bowl and Emily's son drew a winner.  The winner of Secret Squares is....
.......ERIN !!
Congratulations Erin, please email your address to [email protected] and we'll send you all the goodies that were revealed in each round of the game!!!

Featured Sponsor - Marvy Uchida

Marvy Uchida has been providing a wide range of papercrafting, art and office supplies for over 30 years from their Torrance, CA location. They have approx. 50 employees and are a subsidiary of Uchida Yoko JAPAN.

Uchida’s products are known for their high quality and they consistently update their product line with unique designs and innovative merchandise. They are probably best known for their fabulous craft punches. The punches come in a variety of fun shapes, sizes and styles. The scalloped edge punches are favorites among the A Muse Design Team!  They also make paper crimpers, heat embossing tools, ink pads and storage solutions products.

Another great line of Uchida products is the wide assortment of pens for the artist and papercrafter. Included in the collection are double ended markers, paint brush tipped markers, fabric markers, opaque paint markers, glitter markers and many specialty markers for painting on surfaces such as glass and ceramics.

You can see the full product line at www.uchida.com. The site also offers a color chart, newsletter and sample projects.

Secret Squares - FINAL ROUND!

Congratulations to Erin, Lori B, and Patti who correctly guessed Becky in round four of Secret Squares!  You get to guess again - so let's start the FINAL round!

Erin, Lori B, and Patti:  We’ve changed the board and again chosen one of our Crew to hold a secret prize.  Who do you think has the prize?  If one of you is the only one to guess the correct A Muse Crew member in this round, you will win all the prizes revealed in each round of the game!!  Please EMAIL your guess to us at [email protected] before midnight Pacific time, Wednesday June 13th.  Good Luck!

If you are just tuning in to our Secret Squares game for the first time, guessing for this round is only open to our three finalists mentioned above.  But check out our weekly design challenge and stay tuned for a Scavenger Hunt coming soon!

Secret Squares - Round 4 answer!

Time to reveal the answer and prize for Round 4 of Secret Squares! 

For this round, the secret prize was 1 package each of A Muse Twinkle Stickers (micro dot, mini dot, mini heart & mini star)! And the A Muse Crew member who was holding the secret prize stamp was.....

BECKY !!

Three of you correctly guessed correctly - so Congratulations to Erin, Lori B, and Patti for making it to the FINAL round! 

Challenge 7 - Gleaming Glitter

Time to add a little sparkle!  Your challenge this week is to use glitter on your design!  You may use your choice of ink, papers, colors, stamps (please use at least one A Muse stamp if possible), embellishments, etc. 

Leave a comment on this post (one comment per card) and include a blog or gallery page link to a photo of your new original creation by midnight Pacific time Sunday, June 17th.  (Cards must be new creations not previously posted or submitted to any A Muse contest.)  Then we'll draw a random winner on Monday!

The challenge winner this week will receive a full year subscription to the Splitcoast Stampers Fan Club (aka "the Dirty Dozen" gallery) and an SCS Mug in the color of their choice!  If the winner already has a subscription to the SCS Fan Club, their membership will be extended for one year FREE!

You may submit more than one entry for this challenge - the more you create, the more chances you have to win!

Click here for a sample by instructor Michelle White to get you thinking!

Don't have a blog or online gallery?  Leave a link to your card photo from your online photo album (such as Kodak EasyShare, Snapfish, Flickr, etc).  Or see our links at the end of challenge 1 to setup a Splitcoaststampers gallery.

Shipping Out!

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA products are on the road!  Here are photos of some of the boxes and Kent, our super UPS guy. Did you know he was voted best legs (for UPS drivers) by Evening Magazine (TV show in Pacific NW)? 
Stores should be receiving the shipments soon, but no need to beg for a peek because they are sworn to secrecy and are not able to show you the new products before the start of A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA on July 9th.
If you're a recent prize winner waiting for your goodies, we haven't forgotten!  We haven't sent any prizes in the last week since we've been focused on getting products out to the stores, but Cindy plans to ship them Tuesday! 

Challenge 6 Winner!

Thank-you to everyone who heated things up for challenge 6! This week you created 123 cards - AWESOME!

Today's random winner was this entry so Congratulations.......

BEVERLEY TODD!!!

Beverley, please email your address to [email protected] and we'll get your goodies in the mail!  Coming up this week for challenge 7, your designs are going to sparkle!

Weekly Winners!

And now, more random registration winners!

   

Prize 1:  Clearsnap Queue Fluid Chalk in Primary Elements & Rose Petals

Congratulations Prize 1 winner.....

Aline Jahn

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Prize 2: A Muse T-shirt in our choice of color in your choice of size M, L or XL

Congratulations Prize 2 winner.....

Val Shimodaira

Aline and Val, we sent you an email so please send your addresses to [email protected] and we'll mail out your goodies!

Secret Squares - Round 4!

Congratulations to Angie, EJ, Erin, Erin Vandervelde, Kristin O, Lori B, and Patti who correctly guessed Jennifer or Heather (see post below) in round three, Emily or Heidi in round two, and Jenn in round one of Secret Squares!  You get to guess again - so let's start Round 4!

Angie, EJ, Erin, Erin Vandervelde, Kristin O, Lori B, and Patti:  We’ve changed the board and again chosen one of our Crew to hold a secret prize.  Who do you think has the prize?  If one of you is the only one to guess the correct A Muse Crew member in this round, you will win all the prizes revealed in each round of the game!!  For this round, please EMAIL your guess to us at [email protected] before midnight Pacific time, Monday June 11th.  Then check back on Tuesday for the results!  Good Luck!

Secret Squares - Round 3 answer!

Time to reveal the answer and secret prize for Round 3 of Secret Squares! 

For this round, the secret prize was the Superhero and Superwoman stamps!  And for round three, two A Muse Crew members were each holding one secret prize stamp...

JENNIFER and HEATHER!!

Seven of you guessed correctly in all three rounds - so Congratulations to Angie, EJ, Erin, Erin Vandervelde, Kristin O, Lori B, and Patti, for making it this far in the game!  You move on to Round 4!  Stay tuned - Round 4 starts today!

Featured Store - Stampers!

Make sure to see the sneak peek before it disappears Saturday!  And there is still plenty of time to heat things up for Challenge 6 - see post for details. Our next featured store is Stampers!

Stampers! is located in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia and has been in business for 12 years. The store is in a little neighborhood commercial village, on a busy arterial street. The owners, Steve and Ann Thompson, describe it as an eclectic shop with a little over 1600 square feet of space. They run the shop with two other employees.

Stampers! carries a couple of dozen stamp lines, various paper lines, and some accessory/embellishment products as well.

Ann got hooked on stamping when a friend introduced her to it. Now, she and Steve are both truly addicted rubber enthusiasts. They love what they do and strive to be as knowledgeable as they can about the products they carry. Ann’s favorite A Muse stamp design is most definitely the Seattle girl! No questions asked! (We like that one a lot too!)

The best thing about the customers that shop at Stampers! are the friendships that Ann and Steve have made over the years. Their customers always inspire and amaze them with their creativity.

They have lots of fun events planned for A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA. There will be make & takes every day of the event from 4-5:30 pm, and on Fri & Sat (July 14, 15) they will have cake, coffee and juice.  Steve is working with a local bakery to try & have the AMAP logo recreated on the cake. (How fun is that!)  On Saturday, they will also have a "spinning wheel", where customers will spin for free stuff or discounts on their A MUSE purchases.   

Sneak Peek!

Edited 6/9/07 at 9:55am:  Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek!  It was only available for a Limited Time, but we will be sharing more in the coming weeks!  Make sure to post your entry for challenge 6 before Sunday night.  Coming up later, the reveal for round three of Secret Squares and start of Round 4!

Secret Squares - Round 3!

Congratulations to everyone who correctly guessed EMILY or HEIDI (see post below) in Round 2 of Secret Squares!  You get to guess again - so let's start Round 3!

We’ve changed the board by removing Emily and Heidi and again chosen one of our Crew to hold a secret prize.  Who do you think has the prize?  If you guess the correct A Muse Crew member, you move on to the next round of the game.  We’ll keep going until we have one winner who will then receive all the prizes revealed in each round of the game!!

If you correctly guessed Emily or Heidi in round two, leave a comment on this post with your new guess (one entry per person) before this round of the game ends at midnight Pacific time tomorrow, Friday June 8th.  Then check back on Saturday to see if you move on to round four!  Good Luck!

Secret Squares - Round 2 answer!

Time to reveal the answer and secret prize for Round 2 of Secret Squares! 

For this round, the secret prize was a Background bonanza including: Scalloped frame, Big bl, Sm circle & Paisley bl stamps!

And in this round, two A Muse Crew members were actually each holding two of the secret prize stamps.....

EMILY and HEIDI !!

So if you guessed Emily or Heidi, you were correct and you move on to Round 3!  Stay tuned - Round 3 starts today!

Check out our new post about t-shirts below!

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA T-shirts!

Now you can purchase your very own A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA t-shirt in your choice of size and color (pink, green or grey). Shirts cost $18 and include free shipping. Shirts are made available through Desteenation.com, a reputable Seattle company.  Click here ---> to order!

There is still plenty of time to participate in Challenge 6 - see Tuesday's post for details!  And don't miss our sneak peek alert and special event announcement!

Sneak Peek Alert!

Psssssst!  A sneak peek is coming!  Our first sneak peek was super sneaky and some of you missed it.  So we are letting you know that FRIDAY is the day to see the next one!  It will only be up for 24 hours so see it while you can!  Any guesses as to what it might be? 

Event Announcement!

Julie Ebersole, Lead Instructor for A Muse, is bouncin' in excitement over the following classes that she'll be teaching on July 9th and 10th at I'm Impressed, in beautiful Vancouver, BC--be sure to call the store or visit their website newsletter for class times and registration information!

I.  A Colorful Christmas
We'll put a fresh spin on all the colors of Christmas with A Muse Art Stamps' holiday images and note cards!   6 holiday designs in color combinations that range from dreamy to eye-poppin'.

II.  Glimmer, Twinkle and Shine
Simple, little touches make all the difference.  We'll incorporate glitter, A Muse's Twinkle Stickers, and Creative Clear Candy Embellishments into 6 card designs that are sure to sure to evoke plenty of "oooohs & aaaahs".

III.  Send a Smile
A Muse Art Stamps make it so easy and simple to send smiles to anyone, whatever the reason, whatever the season.  We'll create 6 delightful cards suitable for a variety of occasions.

Challenge 6 - Heating Things Up!

We are already half-way to A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA!  Sooo, it's time to heat things up!  Dust off your heat tool, this week your challenge is to use heat embossing on your design!  You may use your choice of ink, papers, colors, stamps (please use at least one A Muse stamp if possible), embellishments, etc.  If you do not have a heat embossing tool, you may use glaze pens or glaze glue (for a faux embossed look) or dry embossing instead. 

Leave a comment on this post (one comment per card) and include a blog or gallery page link to a photo of your new original creation by midnight Pacific time Sunday, June 10th.  (Cards must be new creations not previously posted or submitted to any A Muse contest.)  Then we'll draw a random winner on Monday!

This week, the winner will receive:
·  Purrr-fect clear stamp set
·  Marvy Super 2” circle punch (button-style)

You may submit more than one entry for this challenge - the more you create, the more chances you have to win!

Click here to see a sample by designer Becky Rusher to get you thinking!

Don't have a blog or online gallery?  Leave a link to your card photo from your online photo album (such as Kodak EasyShare, Snapfish, Flickr, etc).  Or see our links at the end of challenge 1 to setup a Splitcoaststampers gallery.

Stay tuned, we have more to share this week including another SNEAK PEEK!!!

And if you guessed Jenn in round one of Secret Squares, make sure to enter your Round 2 guess below!

Secret Squares - Round 2!

Congratulations to everyone who correctly guessed JENN (see post below) in Round 1 of Secret Squares!  You get to guess again - so let's start Round 2!

We’ve mixed up the board and again chosen one of our Crew to hold a secret prize.  Who do you think has the prize?  If you guess the correct A Muse Crew member, you move on to the next round of the game.  For round three, we’ll mix things up, add a new prize, and you’ll get to guess again.  We’ll keep going until we have one winner who will then receive all the prizes revealed in each round of the game!!

If you correctly guessed Jenn in round one, leave a comment on this post with your new guess (one entry per person) before this round of the game ends at midnight Pacific time tomorrow, Wednesday June 6th.  Then check back on Thursday to see if you move on to round three!  Good Luck!

Secret Squares - Round 1 answer!

So who had the prize in our Secret Squares game?  First let's reveal the prize itself:

For this round, the secret prize was the Flower Shop and Gerber Daisy stamps.

And the A Muse Crew member who was hiding the prize was.....

JENN !!!

So if you guessed Jenn, you were correct and you move on to Round 2!  Stay tuned - round 2 starts today!

Challenge 5 Winner!

Thank-you to everyone who participated in challenge 5!  It was fun to see all your scenes!  This week you created 133 cards - AMAZING!  Make sure to check them out!  Today's random winner was this entry so Congratulations.......

ANDREA BENTZ!!!

Andrea, please email your address to [email protected] and we'll get your goodies in the mail!

Remember to enter your guess for our Secret Squares game before midnight tonight!  Coming up this week for Challenge 6, we are heating things up! 

Winner!

We picked another random winner from the Ambassador registrations!  This week was Nina's choice and the winner will receive:  Announcer stamp and Lime Peel Tiny Dot notes!

Congratulations.....

SARAH BERTOLINO!

Sarah, send an email with your address to [email protected] and we'll send your goodies!

Winners - let's see what you've created!

Were you a winner of one of our A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA prizes?  If so, we'd love to see what you've created with your goodies!  If you have something you'd like to share, leave a comment on this post with a link to the photo of your creation!

Featured Store - Artsy Tartsy

Make sure to enter your guess for our Secret Squares game and don't miss Challenge 5! 

Our next featured store is Artsy Tartsy.

Artsy Tartsy Inc. has two fabulous paper crafting stores located in MN. The 1st store in Savage, opened in Dec 2003, with the 2nd location, in Plymouth, opening in Feb. 2005. Both stores are located in high traffic strip malls, with Plymouth being the larger of the two stores.

Owner, Julia Roehl, oversees both locations and has 4-5 part time employees per location to help her out. The stores are modern and trendy and have constantly changing products and inspiration. They offer scrapbooking, beading and rubber stamping and carry all the latest trends from the most popular vendors. Her customers love new products!

Julia has always loved paper and color. She started out scrapbooking about 9 years ago and it all snowballed from there. With a background in retail and merchandising, this was just a natural fit for her when she decided to start her own business. Her favorite A Muse stamp is the Scallop oval frame, she absolutely loves it!

Julia and her staff always refer to their stores as a TIME WARP.  Customers are continually losing track of time while they are browsing.  Julia told us a funny story about a very good customer that stopped in on her way to the grocery store.  The customer browsed and they chatted and were having a grand old time.  Suddenly the customer looked at the clock and positively shrieked!  She had just run out to go to the grocery store to pick up hot dog buns as her husband had the hot dogs on the grill back home!  She had shopped for over an hour and still had no hot dog buns!  (But she had tons of great papers and stamps!)

Artsy Tartsy will be having a VIP party after hours on Monday night (July 9) to kick off A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA.  They will feature a different stamp each day the rest of the week in their “A Muse Yourself” Art Bar!  They will also be offering several classes and make & takes during the event!