It's a Digital Day!

Hi Stampers!  It's Tuesday so that means new digital downloads.  Be sure to check them out at the My Digital Studio website and download your favorites so you can start creating!  When you click on that link, you will find a link for today's downloads on the right hand side of the page.

I have no projects today, but I wanted to share some news about My Digital Studio.  Tomorrow My Digital Studio 2 will be available to purchase (or download for a FREE 30-day trial)!  There are soooo many exciting new features in this program that I know you are going to love.  In fact, there are 75 new features!  I got to see some at Convention a couple weeks ago and let me tell you, they are exciting!

With this new My Digital Studio software you’ll be able to:

• Design in spreads
• Create with custom canvas sizes
• Add more than one color to a single stamp image
• Resize vector stamp images while keeping them crisp
• See color combination suggestions
• And much more

Already have My Digital Studio and want MDS 2? Don’t worry; you’ll be able to purchase an upgrade to enjoy all the new design features.

I also want to tell you about a fun sale that starts tomorrow on digital products.  Stampin' Up! has 30 of the most popular downloads and 1 content disc on sale for 31% off (for the 31 days in August!).  In addition to content being on sale, digital printing is also on sale.  All cards, photobooks, individual pages and tags will be 31% off for the month of August.  You can see more about what's on sale in my online store!

I will be hosting a FREE digital class in August, so please keep checking back on the Events tab for more information on that.

That's all for today!  Have an inspired day!

Merry Christmas!

I know...it's still a ways to Christmas, but now is the perfect time to get a jump on your jingle and start on your Christmas cards.  One of the most fun parts of Convention is to swap with other demonstrators.  We make card fronts and trade them with other demos to get ideas and samples.  Today I'm going to show you one of the swap cards I made.

I used the same layout as this card and just changed it up to be Christmas.  I used the new Chock-full of Cheer stamp set and my card came together so quickly!  I used colors right from the Be of Good Cheer DSP and stamped a fun, layered ornament on the main panel of the card.  The middle of the ornament was stamped on a scrap paper and punched out before being stuck on the card with some Stampin' Dimensionals.  And, of course, I finished it off with a Rhinestone for a little sparkle!

Have an inspired day!

I Am...Loving Simple Cards!

Today's card brings simple to a whole new level!

I can't take credit for this one.  I pretty much copied it right from Allison's card!  Remember I was telling you how I did a Bridal Shower a couple weeks ago?  Well, Allison did a shower in Calgary for the same bride.  The Calgary shower was first, so I did some of the same things as Allison did just to keep things between the showers similar.  This was one of those things!  A simple 3x3 card that each shower guest made and then wrote a little note to the bride in.  I put all these notes in with the Bride's gifts!

It's a 3x3 Whisper White card base which was stamped with a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Tempting Turquoise (one of the wedding colors!).  The butterfly was stamped with VersaMark on Tempting Turquoise cardstock and embossed with white embossing powder.  I had the guests punch out their butterflies and stick them to the front of the cards.  Super cute, super simple and I think a great keepsake for the Bride!

Have an inspired day!

Scrunched Flowers!

Have you wondered how some of the samples in the catalog are made?  Specifically the flowers on the Subtles page?  Well, I learned how at Convention and the showed my stamp club this month.  We used the flower as an embellishment on a super cute box and then made 3 fun cards to go in the box.  Have a look!

See that super cute flower?  Keep reading, because after I show you the cards, I will show you how to make the flower!

I used the fun and summery color combination of Elegant Eggplant, Raspberry Ripple and Lucky Limeade.  So fun!  I also used the Reason to Smile set.  Have you got your Reason to Smile set yet?  Hello...$5 stamp set...what are you waiting for?!?!?!?!  All you have to do is place a $60 order in my online store and once your total (before shipping & tax) reaches $60, enter the number for the Reason to Smile set.  You definitely don't want to miss out in this fantastic stamp set, so hurry, it's only available until the end of July!

We did the bleaching technique on the background of this one, a fun banner embossed with the Chevron pattern and a few little pearls in the middle of the flower finish it off nicely!

This one has an embossed frame and the sentiment is outlined with some Dazzling Details to give it a little bling!

A fun polka dot embossed background, some scalloped ribbon and a fun tag shape (Apothecary Accents Framelits) make this card super fun too!

So, there are the three cards they made.  Now do you want to see how we made the flower on the box?  Well, I have a treat for you!  I made my very first video to show you!

Fun, eh?  So what do you think of my video?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

Have an inspired day!

I Am...Digital!

Hello!  It's Tuesday and you know what that means...that's right, new digital downloads.  Check them out here.  There are definitely some fun ones this week!  I actually already have some of these templates made up and printed (I got a fun print idea pack at Convention this year!).  So next time you're at a class, take them off my display shelf and have a peek at them!  And, while we're talking digital, you need to know that My Digital Studio 2 will be released on August 1!!!  I am SO excited about this and all the great new features that this upgrade has.  I will talk more about this fantastic program in the coming weeks, and watch for another of my free MDS classes in August. 

Speaking of digital, did you notice the new look?  I was inspired by Convention and thought it would be fun to change things up and show you some fun pictures on my blog banner.  The one on the left is an accomplishment I am very proud of.  Stampin' Up! has awards and recognition for a number of things, but one of my favorite is the career sales milestones.  It doesn't matter how long it takes you to get there, they still recognize you when you achieve it!  This past year, I reached the $300,000 mark in career sales and so I got to walk across the stage at convention and be recognized for that.  It was awesome!

The picture on the right is me on the "I Am" red carpet!!!  We had some fun taking pictures on our very own red carpet pretending to be celebrities!!!  This picture was one of my favorite.

Here's another of my convention hilights...

There are what feels like miles of display boards at convention to inspire us.  While looking at the display boards, I found one of my cards!!!!!  I was so excited!!!  So, here's me pointing to my card on the display board.  I blogged about this card way back in April...you can see that post here.  That was my post about Stampin' Up! Canada turning 10, which brings me to another convention hilight.  I mentioned in that post that out of all the demonstrators who signed up that first year in Canada, only about 100 of them are still active demonstrators.  I am one of those 100 demonstrators and I joined my fellow first year in Canada demonstrators for a march across the stage celebrating that.  It was pretty amazing...I got goosebumps and a little emotional!  After that march, ALL the Canadians at Convention got to march across the stage and celebrate 10 years in Canada.  It was pretty cool!  I have not yet found a picture of that, but when I do, I will definitely share it with you.

Well, that's all for today.  I have some stamping to share with you tomorrow so be sure to check back!

Have an inspired day!

I Am...HOME!!!

Yesterday I got home from another inspiring Stampin' Up! convention where I learned about business, stamping and myself.  I was like a little sponge and absorbed so much information I thought I was going to burst (the drive home was VERY productive...we planned projects, classes, shopping lists...even our suppers for the week!!!).  I have so much to share with you over the next little while...I promise to share some pictures and fun projects, but today I want to share a song.

Each year, Stampin' Up! has a theme song for convention.  Sometimes they're a bit cheesy, sometimes catchy and sometimes they give me goosebumps.  It's funny how I still have songs from conventions past in my head and when I hear the different convention songs loads of memories go through my head.

I loved this year's song and I loved how we were introduced to it.  The staff did a lip dub version of it and then at the end of the song came out on stage to finish it.  You can see the video below...and you will see the people who create the catalog, design the samples you see in our publications, plan the incentive trips, answer our calls and fix order issues, pick, pack & ship YOUR orders and everything else behind the scenes.

So, here you go...have a look and be inspired!

I am...inspired.  If you could finish the sentence "I AM...", what would you finish it with?  Leave me a comment and share your response with me!

Have an inspired day!

I Got Inked!

You all are thinking I got a tattoo, right?!?!?  Don't worry mom...it's not what you think!!!

Last weekend I did a Stampin' Bridal Shower and it was a blast!  I got super inky fingers at the shower.  I always tell my girls you haven't had enough fun if you don't leave with inky fingers...so I guess based on my fingers, I had a blast!!!

Rather than the bride getting traditional gifts like towels and cookie sheets, she got stamping stuff.  All the guests either placed an order for her or just gave her money and then she went shopping in the catalog.  And, let me tell you, she got a pretty nice shopping trip as well as some fantastic hostess rewards!!!

All the guests got to make two projects as well as a fun little project which will be given to the bride (I will show you that one tomorrow).  Today, I'm going to show you the mini book they all made.

I got a look at her invitation before hand, so I knew her colors and knew she loves butterflies!  I stuck with her colors and they all made mini albums out of Scallop Envelopes.  Here's a look at the pages (ignore the nasty looking tops...I made my sample and glued it all together and then got the idea that I should have each page displayed individually for them...so I ripped it all apart!).

You can click on the picture to make it bigger and see the details better.  I used the Reason to Smile set (have you got your $5 set yet???), the butterflies embosslit and some other fun embellishments (you can't have a mini album without rhinestones, buttons and ribbon...right?).

I purposely made it really simple and left lots of space for pictures and journaling on the pages.

So, what do you think?

Have an inspired day!

Spiders.....

I have to start this post by saying I HATE spiders.  They seriously creep me out.  Creatures with 4 eyes and 8 hairy legs that wrap up their prey and suck the insides out are wrong...and scary...even if I am waaaaay bigger than them!!!

That being said, I love one of the image in a set from the upcoming Holiday Mini catalog.  It's from a Halloween set and I used it to make some swaps for convention.  It's one of those sets that as soon as I saw it, I had loads of ideas bouncing around in my head!

I started with my Fancy Favor die and cut some Basic Black cardstock with it, which I then embossed with the spider web embossing folder.  Just to make the web design stand out a bit, I gently rubbed some Whisper White ink over it with a sponge.  I didn't make it into a box, I decided to make a pouch.  You can see how I did that in this post.  I added a belly band with some new DSP and then my stamped image, which was popped up with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Hee, hee...Spider Cider...can you guess where I went with this?  Have a look at what was inside my pouch...

A package of apple cider!!!  I folded a piece of More Mustard cardstock around the pack of apple cider (I stamped it with my EEK! stamp first!) and tied it at the top with some Tangerine Tango and Basic Black ribbon.

There you have it.  I can't wait to show you more fun stuff with this stamp set!

Have an inspired day!

Buddies

Some things are just meant to go together and are great buddies...peanut butter & chocolate, dirt & boys, thunder & lightening, s'mores & camping, Mickey & Minnie, stamps & ink...you get the point!

Last year, Stampin' Up! came out with the stamp set Button Buddies where stamp images and buttons go together and are great buddies!  You know how much I love to use buttons, so this set was right up my alley!!  I've had it for a while and just recently dusted it off for some use.  You saw the cherries card I did with it last week here.  I know, I didn't use buttons on that card, but you could definitely use some buttons on there as the cherries.  I did however make a card that combined the stamp images with buttons.  Have a peek...

My color combination for this one is a "getting started" combination, which means I used colors from the Getting Started Collection!  I stamped the flowers first with Rich Razzleberry and made the centers pink with a Sponge Dauber and the Pretty In Pink ink.  The sponge daubers are perfect for this since they make a perfect circle quickly and easily!  My third flower was stamped in the Pretty Ink Pink and then layered, smooched and a button with some Baker's Twine was added before I put it on the card with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

I chose to do this as a birthday card, but it would work for so many other occasions and with the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, it's easy to change the occasion on your card!  There are so many choices in that set!!!  And those of you who are clear mount stamp fans will be happy to know that this year the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set is available in clear!!!!

Have an inspired day!

Layer Cake

I love birthday cake.  I love to make it and I love to eat it and I love birthday cake stamp sets!  The new Make a Cake stamp set is a fantastic stamp set to make birthday cakes (or cakes for any occasion!).  I used this stamp set for one of the cards at my Bunch 'O Birthday Cards Stamp-A-Stack last week.  Take a look...

Cute, eh?  I did my stamping with the new Midnight Muse ink.  I'm loving this wonderfully rich shade of blue.  Thank goodness it will be around for 2 years...I think it's going to get a LOT of use around here!!! 

One of the great things about this set is that there's all kinds of toppers for the top of the cake.  For this card I chose the banner for this card and colored some of my pennants with the Summer Starfruit marker.  I know lots of people aren't loving the Summer Starfruit like I am, but everyone needs to give it a chance!  It really is a great color that pairs well with so many of our colors right now.  My sentiment is from the Petite Pairs stamp set...another of my favorite sentiment sets!

That's all for today!  Have an inspired day!

I Am...

This morning I am off to Stampin' Up!'s annual Convention.  I always love convention time for so many reasons.  I always come home inspired.  I always learn a LOT...about business, life and myself.  I get to visit with my Stampin' Up! family.  And, although it's a business trip, it's also a fun girls road trip!

Every year Stampin' Up! has a theme for Convention and this year the theme is "I Am...".  I can't wait to see how they incorporate this theme into every aspect of convention.  And, as I've been waiting, the theme "I Am..." had me thinking.  I thought a lot about what I think of myself and how I see myself.

Every year, I make myself a notebook that I use for business notes.  This year I centered it around the convention theme.

My Digital Studio to the rescue!  I purchased and downloaded the convention stamp set brush so that I would have the logo.  Then I thought of all the words I would use to describe myself.  I put each word in it's own text box and made them a shade of blue or a shade of green.  I then fit them all together into a word collage which was wide and long enough to fit on the cover of my notebook.

I used some Old Olive textured cardstock which I stamped for my background and then stuck on my elements that I made with MDS.  I was super excited when I realized that the logo fit in that particular shape (which is cut with my Big Shot and one of our new framelit sets).

It was a good activity to come up with words to describe myself...very empowering!

Its Tuesday, so be sure to check the My Digital Studio website for the downloads released today.

Have an inspired day!

Smile...Need a Reason?

I have so many reasons to smile today!

-It was raining (actually thundering) when I woke up this morning...which is good because it's been HOT here and the rain is welcome (and I love thunder!).

-It's clearing now so my kids can go outside to play after lunch

-My Holiday Catalog preorder came yesterday (yay...new stamping stuff to play with...and you're going to love the new Holiday Mini)

-My Passport arrived yesterday (boy, that was a stressful wait!)

-It's FRIDAY (even though it's Friday the 13th!!!)

-I get to go to Convention next week and see my Stampin' Up! family!

-I have a wonderful family

-I have great friends

I could go on, but I'm sure you came here to see the biggest reason to smile today, right?  When my order cam yesterday, the new Reason to Smile stamp set was in it.  Yep, the set on special and only available this month for $5 (when you place a $60 order).  Of course, I couldn't wait to get ink to paper with it and here's what I came up with...

Isn't it pretty!!!!  I pulled out the Reason to Smile set and a pack of new DSP (from the Holiday Catalog...I think it's my new favorite DSP!) and got to work!  I pulled my colors right out of the DSP...Raspberry Ripple and Lucky Limeade.  Here's a close up of the fun parts of this card.

I colored my stamp with markers to get both colors on it and then stamped the outline image with Early Espresso.  The sentiment is from the One in a Million set (I love that new set!) and after I stamped it I cut it out with the new Bitty Banners Framelits.  And, of course, added a little bling!

Well, I must sign off for today.  I have laundry, packing for next week (for both me and my kids...they are going to "Camp Grandma & Grandpa" since Kevin still has to work next week!!!), swaps to finish, a super cool project to finish (the one I mentioned on Facebook yesterday!) and lunch to make!  Have an inspired day!

A Cherry on Top!

Today I have another birthday card to share with you from my Bunch 'O Birthday Cards Stamp-A-Stack earlier in the week.

This card is actually a white card.  I just trimmed it down a bit and matted the whole card with a piece of Old Olive cardstock.  I do this a lot so I don't have to add a lighter layer of cardstock inside my card to write on.

The front of the card is embossed with the Stripes embossing folder and I added a piece of the Dotted Scallop Cherry Cobbler ribbon.  My main image is so fun!  I chose the cherries from the Button Buddies set, colored the stamp with markers and then stamped it.  The best part is the cherries have a layer of Crystal Effects over them so they are raised a bit and a little shiny.  They almost look good enough to eat!  Here's a closer look...

Well, I'm off to take all my kiddos outside for some fun before it gets too hot this afternoon.  Have an inspired day!

Party Hats!

Today is a party kind of day at my house!  My sweet middle kid is turning 8 today (sigh...where does the time go?)!!!  We are not having his party until I get back from Convention, but my mom happens to be in town for meetings so he's pretty excited that Grandma is here to celebrate with us!  We asked him what he wanted for birthday supper tonight and he said that he wants to go to the fanciest restaurant he's ever been to since Grandma is here.  Not gonna lie, I was a bit concerned...until he said he wanted to go to Rickies!!!!!  Clearly we've set the bar really low in terms of "fancy" restaurants with our kids!  At least he didn't choose McDonald's (or should I say McCafe now)!!  And, he doesn't know this yet, but after supper Grandma and him are going present shopping...just the two of them.  I'm sure he's going to love having the undivided attention of my mom (middle kids don't get undivided attention very often!!!).

Anyway, on to my project for today.  No surprise...it's a birthday card!

I have been so inspired by the gray/yellow combination on page 38 & 39 of the Annual Catalog that I have made several cards with that color combination, and today's card is another!  This time I added a little Night of Navy in too.  It's a pretty simple card with some stamping, punching and texture courtesy of the Big Shot.  I think this card could be both masculine (although I'm not sure about rhinestones on a masculine card!) or feminine and happens to be one of the cards my class participants will be making in my Bunch 'O Birthday Cards class tomorrow night.

Before I go, I have a picture of my birthday boy to share!

He was playing outside a couple weeks ago and came home pounding on the door.  When I came to the door he was so excited..."Mom, I found the HUGEST dandelion ever!".  It was so sweet, that I grabbed my camera and snapped away while he tried to blow it.  Try as he might, he could not blow the fluff off...in fact, all three boys tried to do it together and they couldn't!  I don't think it was actually a dandelion, but some sort of other weed from around here (probably from where they aren't supposed to be riding their bikes!).

I love my sweet middle kid...even though he drives me bananas sometimes!  I love the sprinkle of freckles across his nose, I love his sweet smile, I love his sense of humor, I love how polite he is (when he wants to be!) and I love his hugs.  I hope he has a great day today!

Have an inspired day!

Simply Thinking of You

Today I have a super simple project I demoed at my group's last Stamp & Share.  Remember, we were working with the Getting Started Collection and the Easy Events stamp set and making quick and simple projects.

I started with one of the Notecards with Envelopes (one of my favorite products for quick and easy) and then I embossed a border around it with my Simply Scored.  I scored a line 1/4" in on each of the sides.  To finish it up, I stamped the tree image from the Easy Events set in the corner.

My image was watercolored with ink and an aqua painter...with the exception of the heart, which I colored with my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker.  I added a sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and added a little pizzazz with some Dazzling Details on the heart.

Super simple and super easy!

Have an inspired day!

Pinwheels!

Everything old is new again!  I remember making pinwheels as a kid and now I'm seeing them everywhere again.  Inspired by this fad and seeing them everywhere, I decided to make a pinwheel wreath...and I am LOVING how it turned out!!!

I started with a wire wreath form.  I chose wire becuase it was flat on the back so the wreath would sit flat against my door.  I chose the Old Olive polka dot patterned fabric from the new Essentials Designer Fabric pack and tore it into 2 inch strips which I wrapped around my wreath form.  Each strip of fabric is knotted together.

My pinwheels are made from the World Spectacular Designer Paper and each one is backed with an embossed coordinating piece of cardstock.  They are secured in the center with brads and then hot glued onto wooden dowels.  The finished pinwheels were then hot glued onto the wreath.

I finshed the whole thing off with a banner which I stamped on with the Notable Alphabet.

This is definitely not an outdoor wreath.  It definitely wouldn't stand up to the elements, so I've hung it on my office door...where the only wind is from kids and dogs running by!  So what do you think?  Do you love it as much as I do?!?!?

Have an inspired day!

Getting Started Challenge Winner!

Today's the day!  You have voted and I'm ready to announce the winner of the Getting Started Challenge!  The card that received the most votes was number 1 which was created by Angela.  Congratulations Angela, you have won a pack of Polka Dot Parade DSP which you can pick up at our next Stamp & Share in August!

I was totally inspired by Angela's card and re-created it for some of my teacher thank you cards this year.

I loved the way Angela used the Two Tags die and I am in love with that little rubber boot from the Happy You hostess set!  Maybe it's becuase of all the rain we've had that I'm loving that boot so much!!!  Here's a closer look at the boot image.

The card itself is pretty straight forward and the boot was just colored with markers.

Have an inspired day!

Smile!

Need a reason to smile this month?  Well, Stampin' Up! is a great reason to smile and I'm thrilled about the July promotion...it makes me smile!

For the month of July, when you place an order for $60 or more of currrent catalog product, you can get the Reason to Smile stamp set for only $5!!!  It is a beautiful two step stamp set that is perfect for all kinds of summer projects.  This exclusive stamp set is valued at $25.95 and will only be available in July.

Here are some things you need to remember...

-there is a limit of one stamp set per customer
-orders can be placed through me or through my online store
-if you are placing your order through the online store, you will need to enter the product number to get the stamp set (you will not be prompted...so make sure you enter that number so you don't miss out!)
-if you are ordering through the online store, enter the item code for the Reason to Smile stamp set AFTER you've entered your $60 of product
-wood mount (131274); clear mount (131275)
-this is an exclusive stamp set and will only be available until July 31

Here is what the stamp set looks like.

If you're interested in placing an order with me and getting the Reason to Smile stamp set, I will have orders going in on July 13th and 27th...contact me before those dates to place your order with me.

My Reason to Smile stamp set is on it's way and I should have it next week so I can show you some fun projects made with it!  I can't wait...I can see loads of different techniques and ways to use this set in my head!!!

Have an inspired day!