Have a Holly Jolly...

Yup....I was singing Christmas carols Thursday evening. I blame my friend Erin. She has some friends who are in the military and she ganged up on us and demanded we make a bunch of cards to send to them so they can have awesome cards to mail home to their families, friends, and loved ones. It's like a mini Operation Write Home for her friends.

Now, I admit I am not a card maker. But darn it, I'm going to try! So I made two cards last week. I made four of each card and covered two themes. Winter and Christmas are done. Considering doing some New Year cards. I discovered I have a cute New Year stamp! Who knew? Not me! And then I will be doing some Valentine's Day cards. Probably a birthday batch as well. Then I'll be done. I have a bunch in a box I was going to send to OWH, but I just watched a video from them and I think my cards are too thick! Ugh. Less pop dots is more....Ok I'm not buying, but I'm trying to convince myself!

It's a Wonderful Life - A Muse Studios

Card #1 is my Christmas carol card. Everybody....sing along...sure it's only October, but Christmas will be here before you know it! Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.... Where's Frosty when you need him?

A Muse Studios, Papertrey Ink & The Paper Studio

The Holly Jolly stamp is from a super cute stamp set from A Muse Studio. The set is called "It's a Wonderful Life." I live two towns over from the famous bridge and the town that inspired the movie! I kid you not. There's a museum there and a huge festival every December. Actors from the movie come here for it and everything. Crazy, right? But so cool! That's why I was interested in the stamp set. I didn't even look to see what came in the box!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

It's a Wonderful Life is in the chalkboard style that is wicked popular right now. I stamped Holly Jolly in the reverse. It's stamped on white cardstock with True Black ink from Papertrey Ink. The brick red paper is from a Christmas stack from The Paper Studio which is Hobby Lobby's brand. The cardstock underneath the paper is Pinefeather from Papertrey Ink. The base is white cardstock distressed with Pinefeather ink from Papertrey Ink.

One thing I love about Papertrey Ink's cardstocks are how heavy they are! Their cardstocks are 110 pound weight! That's like pro cardstock. They know what they are doing there! I have only purchased the samples of their cardstocks before. I've had one pack since 2011! And I never opened it. Shame on me! This is what happens when you're a scrapbooker and you resist crossing over. I'm trying though!

Let It Snow Cards

The second card I made I got a little crazy with the inks. Adirondack Colorwash from Ranger is dangerous! It's highly addicting. I wasn't going to wait overnight for the card bases to dry so out came the heat gun. So the cards have a slight curl to them, but I'm sure it will flatten out once packaged and shipped to my crazy friend Erin.

Sailboat Blue Adirondack Colorwash

I used two bottles of Adirondack Colorwash (made by Ranger) - Sailboat Blue and Denim. The papers are from Magic of the Season from The Paper Studio.

Denim Adirondack Colorwash

For "Let It Snow" and the snowflake I used Colonial White pigment ink from Close To My Heart. A little white Liquid Applique heated up with my heatgun puffed up.

Snowflakes - The Paper Studio

The "Let It Snow" stamp is from the Snowflakes set form The Paper Studio.

Artistic Holiday - Inkadinkado

The snowflake stamp is from Artistic Holiday by Inkadinkado.


A Muse Studio is a home party company so you cannot find their stamps in stores or online except for their website. I was recently put into contact with Pamela who is an A Muse Studio Consultant by one of my good crafting friends. If you'd like to see more from A Muse Studio or purchase It's a Wonderful Life so you can sing Christmas carols in October, please feel free to contact Pamela. Click here to visit her website.

I do not receive any compensation for the products used on Inky Hot Mess. I use what I like. The products are not given to me. I have purchased every item used. So if I think something stinks, I'll tell you to save your money and go elsewhere.

Where For Art Thou?

You've probably noticed it's been VERY quiet here in inky land. Summer finally arrived and with the awesome weather out came the project list. Some projects moved along nicely......others not so much. A simple oh hey let's paint the kitchen has turned into a mini makeover. One that won't end. Removing paint from 70 year old cabinets is not easy! Talk about time consuming! So this summer there hasn't been any pink, but there has been plenty of paint, wallpaper stripper, paint stripper, etc.....I snuck off to my studio this week a few times for the first time in months!

Remember how I said I would be hosting a sale? Well, today is the day for it to begin. All items will be priced and have a short description along with a photo or two. The items will be available exclusively on Inky Hot Mess for a week. After a week, whatever hasn't sold will be moved to my Etsy store. If you'd like an item, please contact me! Prices may be slightly higher on Etsy due to the fees they charge. Shipping is not included in the price. US sales only. Shipping is extremely expensive outside the US. PayPal only for payment as well. You can pay with a credit card through PayPal and you don't need a PayPal account for payment. All items will be shipped via USPS unless they are large items and FedEx Ground would be cheaper. Also, large orders may be shipped via FedEx Ground to save you $$$$$$.

Are you ready? Well......here we go!


ALL items are brand NEW unless otherwise stated. ALL items come from a smoke free studio!

6" x 6" Black & Ivory Damask Album $6

~ 6" x 6" Black and ivory damask album includes 10 page protectors from The Paper Studio $6

8" x 8" Black & Ivory Paisley Album $8

~ 8" x 8" Black and ivory paisley with black ribbon album includes 10 page protectors from The Paper Studio $8

8" x 8" Baby Blue Album $8

~ 8" x 8" Baby blue album includes 10 page protectors from SEI $8 (2 available)

8" x 8" Blue fabric album $8

~ 8" x 8" Blue fabric album with photo slot includes 10 page protectors from K & Company $8

D1303 Classmate Alphabet $17.95

~ D1303 Classmate Alphabet My Acrylix stamp set from Close To My Heart $17.95

D1424 Something Splendid $17.95

~ D1424 Something Splendid My Acrylix stamp set from Close To My Heart $17.95

D1112 Seasonal Celebration $17.95

~ D1112 Seasonal Celebration My Acrylix stamp set from Close To My Heart $17.95

Tickled Pink Kit $25.00

~ Tickled Pink Kit from Close To My Heart $25 includes White Daisy Mini Medley, D1368 Tickled Pink My Acrylix stamp set, and Tickled Pink instruction booklet

Want something? Have questions? Email me.