March Madness Blog Hop

Cool new ideas from some of my favorite Stampin' Up! demonstrators is my idea of some March Madness to get truly excited about!!  If you got here from Heidi's blog, I'm sure you agree.

My first contribution is inspired by the soon-to-be unavailable Sheer Perfection printed vellum.  I accidentally used retired Midnight Muse instead of current color Night of Navy, but I think you'll get the idea!!  I like the toile effect I got from stamping the Everything Eleanor flowers all over a sheet of vellum cardstock.  Since I adhered the vellum to the back of the card, there's no worries about it showing through - nice!  The sentiment from Lacy & Lovely is heat-embossed in white and one side of the punched oval is adhered to the card base with dimensionals.  The other side of the oval has no adhesive, it just overlaps the vellum flap to keep it closed.

Next, I tried rotating the card, and adding a little color to the back of the vellum with Stampin' Write markers.  I think I like this one a little better, how about you?

Finally, a thank you card for my son's Den to give to the Pack Committee Chair and Pack Master at their Blue and Gold Crossover banquet, created with the soon-to-be unavailable My Digital Studio software.  Farewell Cub Scouts, and farewell MDS!!

Click here to travel backwards to Heidi's blog.

Click here to travel forwards to Kath's blog.

Click here for the Hop Home Page.

Hacking your Clear Block Storage Case!

Make it easy to see immediately which block you need!  Since the Stampin' Up! clear blocks have the letters printed on the sides, it isn't easy to remember which is which when they're all neatly tucked away in their case, but I found a great solution to that as I was unpacking my last few new blocks.

Use the 1" circle punch on the letters from the packaging of each block.  I like the look of circles within circles, but if you've tossed the packaging or would prefer a different style, you could always stamp or print out the letters A to I and use any small punch you like.  

I ran all the little circles thru my Xyron to make them into stickers - now my entire case is labeled - EZ-PZ!  Since the blocks are clear, you can see the labels when the blocks are in place.  I love the case for traveling to crops and such - if all the spaces are filled, then I have everything I came with!

I also used My Digital Studio software to make a label to prettify and personalize the outside of my case.   The vinyl flower sticker is from the retired Definitely Decorative line.  Xyron machine to the rescue again in making this adhere so smoothly and completely.  It's been so long since this was put together, I'd love your suggestions for a new outside decor for the case... what do you think?

Spring-a-bration blog hop!

While here in NY we are wishing for a break from the freezing cold Mother Nature is dishing out this week, Stampin' Up! has started Sale-a-bration (SAB).  They're dishing out free products with every order of $50.  Gotta love that!!  I'm sure you're also loving the projects my friends are sharing using product from the new Spring Catalog as well as showcasing some of the exclusive SAB freebies.  Links to the rest of the blog hop are at the bottom of this post.

I'm assembling little love notes (3"x3" cards) for a teacher appreciation luncheon at my kids' school, and I made many variations before the organizer and I agreed on the final design.

 First, Calypso Coral with Pool Party.

How about Domestic Goddess DSP? 

 But the organizer wanted a Real Red , so I tried heat embossing in white with a pearl center from the Pretties Kit.  I was worried my kids would graduate before I heat-embossed 65 flowers, and then the pearl didn't give quite the look I was going for, so here is what I finally settled on...

All of the designs shown here (can you believe there were more!!) use the Mixed Blossom and Pretty Petites stamp sets with coordinating punches - Blossom and Petite Curly Label.

In the final design, the flower is stamped in Craft White ink on Real Red card stock, and the flower centers are made with Whisper White cardstock cut with the Sweet Buttons Embosslit (all the cards will match, but not be identical - yay!).   The sentiment is stamped in Crumb Cake to match the card base.

Last time I checked, the Pretties Kit and Domestic Goddess DSP were available on the Clearance Rack.  All other products used are from the Main and Spring Stampin' Up! catalogs.

Finally, here are a pair of digi-cards I created using My Digital Studio (MDS2) using stamps and paper from the One Big Sale-a-bration CD.  All the exclusive SAB artwork FREE w/ your order of $50!  Too good to pass up!   One of my fave features of MDS is that you can zoom in and out on the DSP patterns inside a punch.  Pattern too big or small for your project?  No problem in MDS!!


You can hop forward or backwards to see more Stampin' Up! Spring-a-bration ideas from Buffy, Stephanie, Debbie, Christine and Jean!  

MDS for Advent

No sooner than Thanksgiving had passed, my kindergartener started asking if tomorrow was Christmas!  Clearly, an advent calendar was called for, and having none handy, what is a busy crafty mom to do?  Whip one up in MDS2 of course!  Super-simple, and my little darling just colors in one ornament each night before bedtime; when the tree is fully decorated, it will (finally!) be Christmas tomorrow!

MDS Happiness

A friend posted this wonderful quote on Facebook, and I thought what a great little frameable it would make with the right artwork around it.   I started with one of the designer templates that came with My Digital Studio, called Sunny Day.  I tweaked it to create the trees and house by filling punches with different digital DSP, and found the sun in one of the collections of embellishments.

Halloween Llama Blog Hop

So excited that the second in our series of Fall-i-days blog hops is finally here, and I'm at the beginning of it!   I know my fellow demonstrators have come up with fun and inspiring projects for you!   For links to all their blogs and all of our llama hops, click on the gorgeous banner up there that Stephanie created!

The first thing I'd like to share with you today is a Halloween card.   I love the versatility of stamp sets like this one with lots of little images; they work for treats, tags, cards, anything really!  So cute, too.

Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits 

Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie 

Cardstock: Old Olive, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie 

Tools / Accessories: 1" circle & Curly Label punches, Stampin' Dimensionals

Technique:  Faux Tearing (sponging w/ a torn mask) and actual tearing

Next is a teacher thank you card I created for this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge using My Digital Studio.   Since version 2 of the software is now in full release, Stampin' Up! is donating the remaining disks of version 1 to schools.   Contact me or your local demonstrator if you would like more information.

I printed out the image from Greeting Card Kids and colored it by hand, then scanned it in and inserted it into my project like a photograph. Used the eyedropper tool to color the circles and the mat of the oval the same red as the girl's apple and the blue of the boy's book.  In the new version of the software, images can be colored digitally; so easy! 


Finally, the first card I've ever made with French Foliage!  A wedding invitation inspired me to make a card stamped with purple leaves.  What do you think?

Stamps: French Foliage, Curly Cute 

Ink: Crumb Cake, Elegant Eggplant, Rich Razzleberry 

Cardstock: Whisper White, Perfect Plum 

Accessories: Linen Thread

Technique: OSW (one-sheet wonder:  create your own patterned paper with your stamps, here I did a half sheet that I cut into strips to make a set of matching cards)

Next in the hop is Marsha, or, if you like to do things backwards, click on the other button to head back to Debbie!

   

My Blogiversary is coming up!

I have some fun ideas brewing for my first blogiversary next month!   Here's a little teaser; an anniversary gift idea I created using My Digital Studio  (inspired by this idea on Pinterest).

I saved the 12"x12" scrapbook page as a jpg file at its highest resolution and had it printed out at Wally-mart as a faux canvas w/a mirrored edge, meaning the outside edge of the canvas had a mirror image of the outer 1.5" of the project. (I made sure to keep my important elements at least 1.5" away from the edge of the page, otherwise they would be repeated on the side.)  No need for a frame and they had it done in under 2 hours!   Talk about instant gratification!

PS - I did alter this a bit for internet consumption.  The version I actually had made had different maps and more specific text.   I just thought the idea was too neat to keep to myself!

Father's Day digital scrapbook page

Let's go fly a kite!
This was one of the first pages I created with MDS (My Digital Studio) and this was the day I fell in love with that software.   When I discovered that I could use one of my photos as the background for the page, the entire thing fell into place in 15 minutes.   Definitely a land-speed record for me, and yet it is probably one of my favorite scrapbook pages I've ever created.

The bare-bones version of MDS is still available as a 30-day free trial.  Before the end of this year, MDS2 is going to be released, and it will be free to anyone who has purchased the software since May 8, 2012.   The upgrade will cost $20 for those of us who have had it longer.   Lots of exciting new features - Hooray! 


More Father's Day projects  Here and Here.

Namaste

I've been told that the literal translation of the word Namaste is "I bow to you".   I love the way Ram Dass explained its deeper meaning, so created this frameable art in My Digital Studio.   

The flowers on the corners are from the One of a Kind stamp set, which is only available digitally from Stampin' Up!.   The background was created using Hip & Handsome overlays, another digital stamp set, in Elegant Eggplant over a Perfect Plum background.

PS - someone asked how you pronounce it, I think of it as nah-mah-stay.   Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it.

Love

Just a thought for the day from yoga.   I created the sign in My Digital Studio.

Colors of Spring Llama Blog Hop

Working on projects using our soon-to-retire set of In Colors has made me realize how much I love all of them.  Pear Pizzazz is by far and away my favorite green, and I've liked Concord, Blushing and Poppy from the very start.  Up until this week, I thought I didn't care for Peach Parfait, because it's orange, but now that we're about to lose it, I realize that it is my favorite Stampin' Up! orange; not as bright as Tangerine Tango or as deep as Pumpkin Pie, it works for spring, summer and fall.   What's your favorite In Color?

My first project is an all-occasion card that I created in My Digital Studio.   I used stamps and embellishments from the Spring Fever ensemble; the colors are So Saffron, Melon Mambo and Pear Pizzazz.   While this versatile green will no longer be available as traditional ink, ribbon and cardstock after June 1st, it will always be available digitally.  Similarly, the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit that has these images is only available until the end of this month, but the digital version should be around for awhile.   I'm making sure I have both!

Next, I made a poppy using, what else, Poppy Parade.   The Fancy Flower punch would have worked here too, I think, but I'm more infatuated with the newer Blossom Punch!   The black center uses the Boho Blossoms Punch and an Antique Brad.   The Designer Series Paper on this card was a Hostess item last year, but as of April 9th, it was available on the Clearance Rack; I don't think it will last long - gorgeous patterns really useful for many cards.  (I used some last Christmas.)  The sentiment on this card is from the Just Believe stamp set.

Finally, I wanted to make a card with Concord Crush, because it's my favorite purple, deep and bluish.   I usually use it as an accent color because it's so dark, but this time I wanted to make it the primary color of the card:

Funny thing is, I struggled for the longest time and then this card almost made itself.    I used the Paper Doily die on Brushed Silver cardstock and sponged it with Frost White Shimmer Paint.  The image from Mixed Bunch was stamped twice in Concord Crush on Whisper White and punched with the coordinating Blossom Punch. An Antique Brad and Dimensionals were used to mount the pieces onto a 4 1/2" square Concord Crush card base.    I cut 4 petals off the second stamped and punched image.   I placed each petal under the doily die cut and traced the doily outline onto each petal with a sharp pencil and trimmed with paper snips before gluing the pieces to the corners.

Be sure to check out all the contributions from my sister llamas.   Next up is the talented Debbie Martin at CleverandCute.

                    

Hybrid Halloween card

Halloween in April?   Well, I actually made this card in the fall, but it uses Peach Parfait as the base, and I've just suddenly realized that this is the perfect shade of orange, but it's only going to be available for about 6 more weeks, so I thought I'd better post this now!   The adorable little witch is from the Greeting Card Kids stamp set, but if you have the set, you may notice that she seems larger here.   That's because mine is from the digital version for My Digital Studio - she can shrink or grow to whatever size you like.   Cool, eh?

More Peach Parfait coming soon in the Stampin Llamas Colors of Spring Blog Hop!

Fresh Enchantment Layout

I just LOVE this page I made in My Digital Studio!   Well, of course I do, that's my little sweetheart learning to walk.   But the pretty Stampin' Up! artwork is a lovely accompaniment.   Not only can you try My Digital studio for FREE this month (Click here for more info!), but one of the Sale-a-bration choices (free product with a $50 order) is to get everything in the SAB brochure on CD-ROM for use with My Digital Studio.   That's a LOT of content for free, a dozen DSPs, brads, ribbons, and multiple stamp sets.  I used three of those free products on this project.

Used here: 

 Everyday Enchantment Digital DSP

Everyday Enchantment Digital Brads

Vanilla Digital Hodgepodge Hardware

Fresh Vintage Digital Stamp in Soft Suede 

 Digital card stock colors:  Soft Suede, Early Expresso

Try My Digital Studio for FREE!

Yes, it's the pared-down version, in that it does not have anywhere near the number of papers, stamp sets, etc, as the full version of the software that costs $79.95.   However, Stampin' Up! has been offering this version for $39.95, so the opportunity to use it for free is pretty cool!

Click here to get your free download!

More MDS fun!

After I posted my owl thank-you card the other day, I started thinking that he really should be a turkey, since Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.   One of the reasons I own the owl punch both as a physical item and a digital download is because the guy is not only cute, but really versatile as well.   Trim off the ears, add some tail feathers, and voila, turkey!

Here's another great thing about My Digital Studio.   Remember all those wonderful colors that Stampin' Up! retired?  Well, they're right here in MDS!  This card uses Creamy Caramel, Cajun Craze, Really Rust, and More Mustard.

What about great stamp sets that you missed out on, or beautiful Designer Series Papers that are no longer made?   Lots of them are available as MDS downloads, too.   This tag uses elements from the current Hostess product, Cheerful Treat Digital Content CD, as well as a sentiment from All Holidays, which is only available as a digital download.

Remember, Monday is the last day to get your FREE downloads from MDS!

Click here!

MDS Freebies unveiled

Looking for info on the February 2012 promo? Click Here!

For the next 3 days, Stampin' Up! is offering four brand-new digital downloads to everyone, for free, so of course I snatched those right up and made some stuff right away!   Gotta love how quick it is to create with My Digital Studio.

This cute card uses the free So Typefelt Stampbrush set along with a card template I got when I purchased the Owl Punch download for a mere 95 cents!   That's another thing I love about digital - the supplies are so inexpensive, and store compactly right inside my computer.  Unlike my real craft room, everything is always in it's place in the digital craft room!

This scrapbook page looks professionally done because it is!   I just popped a couple of photos into the free Delight in the Day Designer Template Page, added my journaling to the  text box, and DONE.   On the owl card, I switched up the colors and embellishments to personalize the project, or you can start completely from scratch to create your own projects.   Sometimes I like instant gratification, and sometimes I want to make something truly unique and lose myself in the process.  With MDS, I can do both.

Click here to download these free products now!  

Starting November 8th, 2011, they will still be available, but not for free!

My Digital Studio - FREE downloads from Stampin' Up!

Whoo-hoo!!!   Free MDS content for everyone!   Seriously.   Stampin' Up! will be giving away free downloads for digital scrapbooking software next week!   Since I'm a demonstrator, I was able to download them just NOW.   Can't wait to play with them in My Digital Studio and show you what I made.   That will have to wait until I finish the treats for my son's Scout Troop and his Lego Batman costume, however.   Hope to see you next week :)