Gettin' Digi with it...MDS News

Bad title...I know!  That's what I get for trying to be cool!  With one child heading into middle school next year I know we are headed into the teenage years...I'm not ready for that, but at the same time I'm looking forward to it!

Last week the downloads were aimed toward tween/teen projects.  While I totally saw those kinds of projects when I looked at the downloads, I also saw a BUNCH of potential in the Seriously Teen kit for projects for all my boys from the 11 year old right down to the 6 year old.  I immediately downloaded it and have been playing around with it a bit.

Since March Madness is coming up soon I decided to kick it off early on my blog with a basketball layout!

This was the first layout I came up with.  My oldest son finally got to play Grade 5 Basketball (he's been looking forward to it since Grade 1!!!).  It's a short season and they get to play against other elementary schools around town.  I know he loves basketball, but I was surprised that he's pretty good!  He has pretty good ball control, he can dribble good and he made some sweet baskets during their 3 week season.  His goal is to be on the school team in Middle School next year, so he's been practicing hard outside between snow storms when our snow is melting.

Supply List for my layout:

Background
     Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Serioulsy Teen - designer series paper\Seriously Teen - summer starfruit stars

Embellishments
    _Designer Kits\Seriously Teen - embellishments\Seriously Teen - torn paper 2 (re-colored)
    _Designer Kits\Seriously Teen - embellishments\Seriously Teen - torn paper 1 (re-colored)
    _Designer Kits\Seriously Teen - embellishments\Seriously Teen - star

Stamps
    Seriously Awesome\Seriously Awesome - rule no 1, Color = 0,0,0
    Scoreboard\Scoreboard - 3, Color = 0,0,0
    Scoreboard\Scoreboard - 0, Color = 0,0,0
    Athletic Department\Athletic Department - hustle, Color = WHISPER WHITE 255,255,255
    Athletic Department\Athletic Department - nothing but net, Color = 0,0,0

Stampin' Up! announced some pretty fantastic things about MDS yesterday, so allow me to share!

Starting today (or yesterday!):

• We've changed the name of the software from MDS 2 (and MDS 2+) to MDS.
• We've lowered the price. What has been known as MDS 2+ is now $19.95 US/$24.95 CAN.

Coming soon:

• The upgrade will be free! If you have been holding onto the original My Digital Studio software, you will be able to upgrade to the new software for free. We will let you know when it is available. We have discontinued the item number for the MDS 2 Upgrade (item 130650) until it's available for FREE.

Other information:   

• MyDigitalStudio.net is currently under construction as we make all of the changes. Just keep in mind that you may see outdated information for awhile.
• We will remove the My Digital Studio Catalog at the end March from MyDigitalStudio.net. If you would like to keep of copy of it, go grab it before then. We have not been maintaining this file since last fall and it is outdated, so we feel like it's time to delete it.
• We understand that when a price changes after you have made a recent purchase it can be frustrating. If you purchased the software at the old price from March 1 to March 17, 2013, the following will be added to your Download Manager by Wednesday, March 20:
  MDS 2+ or MDS 2
  
  • Up To Date Planner Template (item133271, retail value $14.95 US/$18.50 CAN)
  • Hello There Kit (item 133374, retail value $9.95 US/$12.50 CAN)
  • Everyday Woodcuts Embellishments (item 132191, retail value $5.95 US/$7.95 CAN)
  MDS Upgrade
  
  • Hello There Kit (item 133374, retail value $9.95 US/$12.50 CAN)

Isn't that awesome news?!?!?  The former MDS2+ (now known as MDS) is FULL of SO much content.  I'm excited that all of you can get it at such a low price now!

And, finally, it's Tuesday which means there's some brand new downloads available.  You can find them in my online store here.  With a house full of boys, I'm loving the downloads today!

Have an inspired day!

Happy MDS Day!

It's Tuesday...new digital download day!!!!!  You can find the newest downloads in my online store here.

And, I have a digital project to share!  This weekend my oldest son is turning 11 and we are celebrating by taking him and a few of his friends to a Hurricane's game.  He is so excited!  I did up some quick invitations for him with MDS and used the Lemonade Stand images (Lemonade Stand is one of the digital content discs you can get FREE during SAB!!!).

 

 

Quick and easy...and he thinks they look "cool", which is always a plus!

 

 

Did you know that Stampin' Up! sponsors a Digital Challenge?  You can find all the info on the My Digital Studio website.  Right now, the challenge is to design a digital project with a Valentine's theme.  You must upload it to the MDS website no later than February 8 at noon to enter.  And, if you're chosen as a winner, you get a FREE download!  All the details on the challenge can be found here on the MDS website.  Hope you enter...and if you do, GOOD LUCK!  There are some great Valentine downloads this week that could help you with your project!

 

 

Happy digital day!  Have an inspired day!

 



Digital Day

You think Friday is the best day of the week, right?  Well, I'm here to tell you, you are mistaken!  The best day of the week is Tuesday because Tuesday is digital day and Stampin' Up! releases new digital downloads!  You can find this week's downloads in my online store.

I took a few My Digital Studio classes when I was in Orlando a couple weeks ago and was inspired to use the program more and show you more fun projects done with it.  So, I decided to incorporate a hybrid card as one of my club projects this month.

I started with a template from the Lemonade Stand digital disk (it's a SAB item, so you can get this disk free...and it's FULL of super fun stuff!).  This particular template was for a 6x6 card and I just re-sized it to a normal card front size.  Then I printed it on Whisper White cardstock.

After I trimmed it, I did some layering with Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight ink and stamped a sentiment (which is from the Best Dad set).  And, to finish it off, I blinged it up!

That's right...9 big rhinestones baby!  You may need sunglasses to look at this card!!!!!

I do have to thank the talented Heather Summers for her inspiration!  She showed a card very similar to this during her digital class in Orlando. 

Remember, you can find today's downloads in my online store and the template I used for this card is from the Lemonade Stand disk (which is a SAB item).

Have an inspired day!

'Tis the Season....

 For Christmas card makin'!  I made a few hand stamped cards this year, but the majority of my Christmas cards sent out were digital.

We had an awesome picture of our hands taken at our family pic photo shoot this fall just for a Christmas card!  Our fantastic photographer, Stacy at Another Shot Photography, found a pose like this online somewhere and showed it to me and the wheels started turning!  Now, I'm not going to lie...this pose was the hardest one we did that day!  It looks simple, but it was really uncomfortable as we stood in a funny way to hide everything but our hands (picture bums sticking out, arms in the air, heads down and all 5 of us squished together to get close enough)!  I'm really pleased with the outcome though and I love how it looks on my card.

I've included the supply list for this card below if you want to re-create something like it.

Background
     Card Stock\Cherry Cobbler

Embellishments
    Grosgrain Ribbon\Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon
    Grosgrain Ribbon - knot\Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon - knot

Stamps
    Vintage Overlays\Vintage Overlays - texture 2, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Season of Cheer\Season of Cheer - snowflake 1, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Jolly Bingo Bits\Jolly Bingo Bits - star, Color = MORE MUSTARD 212,161,80
    Season of Cheer\Season of Cheer - snowflake, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Season of Cheer\Season of Cheer - snowflake 2 , Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Lower\Sweet Shoppe Alpha Lower - j, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Lower\Sweet Shoppe Alpha Lower - o, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Lower\Sweet Shoppe Alpha Lower - y, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Season of Cheer\Season of Cheer - snowflake 1, Color = WHISPER WHITE 255,255,255
    Season of Cheer\Season of Cheer - snowflake, Color = VERY VANILLA 254,249,232
    Wishes & Greetings\Wishes & Greetings - verse 1, Color = BASIC BLACK 19,27,29

Punches
    Basics\1.25 Square Punch, Fill Color = OLD OLIVE 138,151,71

For all my digital creators out there, did you know Stampin' Up! has a digital challenge every week?  If you enter a digital project and it's chosen as a winner, you get to choose one download for free!  This time, the challenge is to create a sample using this color combination: Old Olive, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, and Soft Suede. It can be any project type, and you need to upload it to www.mydigitalstudio.net and tag it with "Color Combo 2" before Friday, December 28, at noon (MT).

And, last but not least, here are the new digital downloads today! 

Have an inspired day!

 

 

A Digital Celebration!

It's a week long digital celebration and I have so many things to share with you about the celebration!

First of all, for this week, you can find some FREE digital downloads and all digital kits are 50% off.  You can find the free downloads and purchase any of the digital kits in my online store.  Here's a little sample of one of the free downloads.  It's called the "A Split Second Designer Template" which means the awesome designers at Stampin' Up! have created a page template for you and all you have to do is plop your pictures on it!  Seriously, it took me about 5 minutes to finish this page!  I did make a few changes to the original design...I lessened the opacity of the chevron pattern on the first page and I moved the embellishments over on the second page so that the picture fit better. 

Make sure you go get your free downloads and order some half price kits too before the end of the week!

And, it's Tuesday which means there's new digital downloads!  You can find all the recent downloads here. 

A few last reminders about digital stuff.  The last day to order your digital products to ensure you get them before Christmas is December 3.  However, I would strongly suggest that you don't wait that long if you are having to mail your projects out to family and friends.  I would suggest that you get them in by the middle of November!

And, finally, remember that recently Stampin' Up! lowered the prices of many of our print products...some by 50%!  I have included links to the pricing and specification sheets below for you.

Print Pricing
Bulk Pricing

I think that's all for today!  Happy creating and have an inspired day!

MDS Time

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I've been working on a few different MDS projects, but I'm not ready to share them yet...I do have some fabulous and exciting news from Stampin' Up! to share with you today!

First of all, Stampin' Up! has lowered their print prices for digital albums, pages, cards, tags, calendars...you get the idea!  Some of the prices have been cut by 50% and they say these prices have been lowered permanently!  Isn't that exciting?

You can find the new pricing here.

If that wasn't enough, they've also finished and released 4 more of the new features of MDS2!!!!  Cropping punches, tearing paper, importing from other projects and multiple page view options...be still my heart!!!!  If you have MDS2, make sure you do an update so you can use these fun new features!  When you open your program it should prompt you about a new update, but if it doesn't, just click on Help/Check for Updates.

Of course since it's Tuesday, there's new digital downloads available.  You can find them here.

That's it for now!  Have an inspired day!

Lovin' MDS 2!!!

Today is a great day!  As of today, my kiddos have been in school for one week!  I think we've gotten back into the routine of school and I am loving it being quieter around the house for a while each day!  AND...it's Tuesday there's new digital downloads!

Because I've been having a hard time traditional crafting the last little while, I've really been playing with MDS 2 and am thrilled with all the new features!  Becuase I love to cook and bake, at a lot of my events I have home made snacks.  And I'm always getting asked for recipes.  I'm all for sharing recipes, but I had to find a different way of sharing them rather than writing multiple copies.  SO, I decided to start an LA Stamper Cooks blog where I will post recipes from my events and some of my family's favs.  I won't post there regularly, but over time the number of recipes on there will build up and you can feel free to use or pin any of the recipes you find on there.  All I ask is that you leave a comment when you make something to say what you think and if you share any of the recipes please link back to my site where you found them!

Now, becuase I have the ability to jazz up my websites with our awesome digital crafting software, I set to work to make a blog banner and background.  Here's my banner.....

I had a blast learning about MDS 2 while making this banner and learned it's so true that the more you play with the program the easier it is to use.  I used 2 new features on my banner...the first is color changing my background paper and the second is to make my words follow a line.

To make your DSP a different color, you need to add it to your page as a "page layer".  At least that's the only way I could figure out how to do it!!!!  Once it's on your page as a layer, you can change the color to any of our exclusive colors.  You do need to remember that it will change it to be monochromatic (this is important to remember if you're changing a multi-color DSP).  My DSP is from the Number One kit (DSP 10) and it was orginally blue.  I wanted a yellow background, like Daffodil Delight, but when I changed it to that I lost the chevron detail.  So, I changed it to More Mustard!  I got my yellow color and maintained the chevron in the background.

The other feature, text on a path, is also super easy!  You can see how to do it on this video by Holly (one of the MDS gurus at Stampin' Up!)......

Yet another fun feature of MDS 2 is that with the click of a button, you can get a supply list!  So, here is the list of downloads/supplies I used to create my blog banner!

Embellishments
    Designer Kits\Get It Done - embellishments\Get It Done - notepaper 1
    Delightful Digital Tape\Delightful Digital Tape 2 - basic gray

Stamps
    Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 2, Color = CREAMY CARAMEL 203,158,117
    Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 3, Color = CREAMY CARAMEL 203,158,117
    Now You're Cookin'\Now You're Cookin' - utensils, Color = BASIC GRAY 118,122,121

Photos
    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Number One - designer series paper\Number One - 10

 

All of these downloads can be purchased from my online store here.  And, you can also download your FREE 30 day trial of MDS 2 at my online store too!  The digital downloads released today can be found here. 

 

If you  have MDS or MDS 2 and want to learn more about the program and all the fun things you can do with it, please consider attending my next MDS Made Easy class.  The class is free and will start at 7:30pm  If you have MDS on a laptop please bring it and you can follow along with me.  If you don't have the program yet, you are still invited to attend the class and see what the program is all about.  Over the next few months I will be showing you how the program works as well as how to do all the fun new things MDS can do!  I have limited space for these classes, so please RSVP to ensure your spot is saved for you!  Unfortunately I had to cancel my MDS class last night due to a HUGE grass fire, but I will have some more dates for these classes set up soon, so keep checking the under the Events button up top!

 

And, finally, here is the link to the LA Stamper Cooks blog where you can find the recipes that I use often! There's no recipes up yet, but I'm working on putting my Corn Chowder recipe (that I always make for Soup & Stamps night) up!

Have an inspired day!

 

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!

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...

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!

Starting at the Start!

I'm working on our camping scrapbook and I decided to go with a digital scrapbook.  I went digital for a couple of reasons...I can take my laptop camping with me and work on my pages as I take the pictures, and by going digital, I can get it done faster (cause I'm still working on last year's book...and loads of other traditional scrapbooking waiting for me)!  And, I've got to say, scrapbooking by the fire is kinda fun!

Today I'm going to share the cover to my book (this is where the start comes in from my post title!).  I started with a template that was available in the last set of downloads released last Tuesday.

The template I used is from the "The Great Outdoors" download, which includes a stamp set and a template.  This particular template is for an 8x8 page.  Before I made my changes, I changed the size of my template to make it 12x12.  These are the steps I did to make this change:

-First find the template by opening a new project, selecting Photobook & Individual Pages/Designer; choose your desired template and follow the steps (I then chose "Pick & Click as my photo adding option)

-Before making any changes, click on the Edit drop down menu at the top and choose "Change Project Size/Type

The program will tell you which sizes you can choose to change your project to.  For example, because my original template was 8x8, I only had options to change it to another square size (12x12 or 5x5).  Once my size was changed, I turned on the Guides (View/Guides/Book Cover Bleed Area).  I chose this one because this is the cover of my book.  Had I been doing a page, I would have chose the appropriate guide for my pages.  This is important because it shows you what could be cut off during the printing process.  It would be tragic for an important part of your project to get cut off...so always have the guides on!!!!

Now, onto the changes I made.  I only changed the title and I used a sentiment from the download Happy Camper Memories.  I chose two pictures from our last camping trip (the first of the season!) because those are the only camping pictures I have from this year!  But, if I take other pictures that I like better during the camping season, I can change it out before sending it to the printer very easily!

So what do you think?  I'm excited to work on this throughout the camping season and show you the final project in the fall!  In fact, I'm already excited about getting it printed!!!!

Did you know that you can try My Digital Studio for FREE????  That's right, you can download a free 30 day trial of the software and try it out (make a project, get some extra downloads, print something).  The free trial works just like the software except it's only good for 30 days!  If you want to learn more about the program and how it works, come to my MDS Tips & Tricks Class on June 21.  I offer this class for FREE because I want you to feel successful with this program and there's so much it can do!  You're welcome to bring along a laptop with the program on it and follow along with me in the class or just come see what it's all about.  Either way, you're going to have some digital fun with me that evening!  If you're interested, please RSVP quickly because I have limited space.

Have an inspired day!

Rubber Boots & Puddles

Well, what a 24 hours it has been...4 confirmed tornadoes touched down, severe thunderstorms, hail, flooding, IN-SANE rain (like couldn't see across the street downpour at one point) in Southern Alberta last night.  Thankfully Lethbridge didn't see a tornado and from what I hear we didn't have flooding or hail, but we sure did get an awesome lightening show!  At one point I don't think the thunder even stopped...just lots of rumbling.  In our house we had restless dogs and kids and we were checking the weather channel frequently for updates in case we needed to head to the basement for cover.

With all this crazy weather going on, I think it's appropriate to share my card for the day...

I made this card for a swap I recently participated in.  I saw a similar design on Pinterest a while back and filed it away in my brain for future use!  There's a a few new products used on this card...the rubber boot image is from one of our new hostess sets, Happy You, and all the little banners were cut with the new Framelits set "Bitty Banners".  I colored my boot and the flowers with my Stampin' Write Markers, which for some reason is something I don't usually do!  I think I'm more of a watercolor colorer, but the markers were perfect to make this image bright!  I used a combination of textured cardstock and DSP for the banners...Soft Suede (cardstock), Pink Pirouette and Rose Red (DSP).  The tops of the banners are finished off with two layers of ribbon...Rose Red Seam Binging on the bottom and Pink Pirouette Taffeta on the top.

I purposely left a sentiment off this card because I think it could be used for a number of different occasions.  And, this swap was a full card swap so I figured if the recipients wanted to use this card in the future, they could stamp whatever sentiment they needed!

So, what do you think?  Do you love it?

Yesterday was Tuesday which means there was new digital downloads.  You can check them out here.  There are some on there that I will be getting...the new In Color DSP and the camping stamp set brush.  What about you?  And, before I forget, make sure you update your MDS to the latest version so you can get the new In Colors and start creating with them!

Have an inspired day!

A Little Digital

One of the hilights of Stampin' Up! trips is the hospitality room!  This a the room where we go everyday to see other demos, see project samples and ideas and spin to win!  That's right, Spin to Win!  Each day demos get to spin the wheel to win some fabulous stuff.  At Disney, the first day we all spun and got this fun journal to record our thoughts and memories of the trip!

Every night I wrote all about what we did that day!  I have loads of pictures to scrapbook and having written down stuff each day I have lots of journaling done too...just have to transfer it to my scrapbook pages!

Now, I'm not entirely sure that they created these journals with MDS for us, but they look an awful lot like the journals we can create and print with MDS and Stampin' Up!'s professional printing services.
Today is Tuesday and that means new digital downloads.  There's a fantastic alphabet punch and a super fun new stamp set called Seriously Awesome that I think will become part of my digital tools!  You can find this week's digital downloads here.

Have an inspired day!

Summer Smooches

I have been giving you some little sneak peeks of the Summer Smooches products for a week now and I'm so excited that April is here and it's Summer Smooches time!

One of the exciting parts of this promotion is that there's something for EVERYONE!!!  There's traditional papercrafting supplies (stamps, paper, ribbon, brads and a FANTASTIC new Big Shot die!), something for the sewer (fabric & ribbon), home decor products (an awesome stencil...that could be used in paper crafting too!) and some digital products for all you Digital crafters!  You can find all the information about the Summer Smooches promotion here...or click the link to the right!

Did you notice the new look today?  I used some of the Summer Smooches digital products to create my new background, banner and signature for my blog.  I love the bright and fun look of it...don't you?

Today I also have a fun home decor project to share with you.  Remember the frames I showed here?  Well, I did them up Summer Smooches style for a swap I recently participated in.  Sadly, I was super sick on the weekend of the swap and demo meeting, so I couldn't go.  My fellow demonstrators who participated in the swap are going to get some fun mail from me this week when their frames arrive (or next week...because of that love/hate relationship I have with Canada Post)!  Check them out...

Today is Tuesday which means Stampin' Up! released new digital downloads!!!  You can see all of today's downloads here.  There's a super fun alphabet download that I think I need!!!

Well, that's all for today!  Have an inspired day!

Hostess Bookmarks

Like I have mentioned a few times, I had a new club start recently and with a new club starting I decided to try some new stuff with them!  I think they are enjoying being my "guinea pigs" for some of my new ideas and the few things I have changed or started have been going so well that I think I'm going to start doing them with all my clubs!

One of the things I decided to try was a hostess bookmark (thanks for the idea Kristine!).  A while back I ordered a boatload of clear vinyl bookmark sleeves.  One of the things I've done with some of them is make some bookmarks for my club members with everyone's hostess  months on them.  With this fun little hybrid digital project, everyone knows when their hostess month is as well as when everyone else's month is so if they need to trade hostess months they know who to talk to!

This one is a little different than the ones I gave my club girls.  On theirs, their month is printed in Tangerine Tango, and a little bigger than the rest of the text so it stands out.   The part with their months was done on My Digital Studio, and I used the Summer Smooches download for the flower...which is part of the April promotion and you will be able to get it beginning April 1!  After it was printed and on the bookmark base, I added a little bling in the form of a rhinestone!

You'll see some strips of DSP tied with some Whisper White Baker's Twine along the top of the bookmark...those are also part of the Summer Smooches products (not the Baker's Twine, just the DSP!!!).  Did you catch the Daffodil Delight ribbon tied at the top?  Yep, it's part of the Summer Smooches suite too!  *wink*  I bet you can't wait until April 1 to get your hands on these super fun products!!!!!  In addition to the Daffodil Delight ribbon at the top, I used Tangerine Tango and Island Indigo.  I love all the texture with the three different ribbons!

I think my club girls were surprised and delighted by these fun bookmarks...at least I hope they were!!!!  I had a blast making them and giving them to my club girls and can't wait until my next club starts so I can do this again!

Today is Tuesday and you know what that means...NEW Digital Downloads!!!!  You can find today's downloads here.  Check them out...I know there's something in there that you will love!

Well folks, that's all for today!  Have an inspired day!

Sale-A-Brate

Do you know what today is?  It's not only National Peanut Butter Day, it's also the first day of Sale-A-Bration 2012!!!  I'm so excited about all the fun stuff I have to share with you during Sale-a-Bration this year!

I recently attended Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference where I soaked up all kinds of information and some vitamin D from the sun!  I will share more about that throughout the rest of the week, but today I wanted to share something special!  Every demonstrator in attendance was pampered and we all got 4 fantastic gifts during the General Sessions...in addition to Prize Patrol!  One of the gifts we got included the new digital CD of Sale-A-Bration content.  I installed it that night and today I made a new background and banner for my blog with it.  Watch for some more non digital projects using these same products later in the week.

It's Tuesday, which means it's digital download day!  You can find today's digital downloads here.  There's a super cute baby book designer template to download today...if you're expecting, know someone who is or if you have loads of baby pics to scrapbook you're definitely going to want to check it out!

Remember, that from now until the end of March, you can earn FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure with every $60 you order (including digital stuff!).  To qualify, your $60 has to be on one order and it has to be before shipping & tax.  Wanna know the best part?  There's no limit to the number of FREE products you can get!!!  And, there's some fantastic exclusive hostess product too...contact me today to book your workshop.

Have an inspired day!

Rock Climbing

Taylor is turning 10 in less than a month and wanted to do a Rock Climbing party to celebrate double digits!!!  I checked into it at the University and it was only just over $100 for two hours (an hour of climbing and an hour in the party room), so we booked it!  He gets to have a super fun new experience with his friends and I don't have a bunch of 9 and 10 year old boys in my house!!!!  It's win-win!!!

Because I have a super busy month, I wanted to do up some quick invitations that he could hand out and before I leave for SU's Leadership Conference.  So, once again, MDS to the rescue!

I started with a 5x7 postcard.  The picture is one I found online from superstock.com, which I cropped to fit into the space I wanted.  The side with the wording has a basic gray background.  The "celebrate" is from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set brush and it's done in Tangerine Tango.  The rest was done with a text box.

It's simple and was super quick to create.  I would have liked to get it printed through SU, but I don't have enough time, so I will take it to a local photo printing place tomorrow to get it printed and he can start handing them out!

It's Tuesday, so that means new digital downloads!  You can find today's downloads here.  They will be available for purchase and download starting at 1pm!

I'm off to create a new non-Christmas background and banner!!!  I might just go snowy to try and entice Mother nature to give us some of the white stuff (in the hopes that the arrival of snow will calm the crazy winds we have been having!).  Have an inspired day!

Frosty Kids

I have a super simple project for you today.  This was going to be one of my Great Little Gifts class projects and it was inspired by a project one of my downline did at our Summer Mini swap waaaay back in April (thanks Angela)!!!!

We do NOT have that much snow...yet!  I took this picture of my boys playing in our backyard almost a year ago...in fact, I think it was during Christmas Holidays last year!

I started with a 4x6 frame from my local dollar store.  I wiped the glass off with a swiffer cloth, stamped some snowflakes on it with VersaMark and then embossed with white embossing powder.  That's it, that's all!!!  So fun and super simple!  Beware...the glass gets really hot when embossing!

Today is Tuesday and you know what that means, right?  It's Digital Tuesday and Stampin' Up! released a new set of Digital Downloads which you can find here.   Did you notice the new look today?  A little Christmasy for a couple weeks courtesy of My Digital Studio (Holly Jolly DSP, Stocking punch, Houndstooth background stamp, Tasteful Trim border and the fonts are CK Journaling and CK Ali's Hand...I think!). I'm off to finish up my digital planner book...which I will be sure to share with you when it's finished!

Have an inspired day!

MDS to the Rescue!

Two out of our three boys have DS's (and the third is getting one for Christmas...shhh, don't tell!!).  We have about 12 games and have a HUGE problem with them getting lost.  Those are expensive little pieces of plastic to lose!  Well, this past weekend, Kevin and I had enough (when 3 of the games were missing) and came up with a plan in the hopes that no more games go missing!

We decided to have a DS Game Library!  All the games are now stored up on an unreachable shelf (unreachable to the boys...for now!!!) and they must sign them out.  The easiest way to keep track is to have each of the boys have their own DS Game Library Card (even Sawyer, even though he doesn't have a DS yet...he uses his card to get his Leapster games)...and the fastest way to make them cards was with My Digital Studio!

They have to ask for a game when they want one and when they have the game, we slide their card into the cover of the game.  This way we know which kid has the game and the rule is they have to bring the game back to us before they can get another one.  And, if they lose the game, they replace the game...nothing like a little financial motivation (it takes a lot of weeks of allowance to replace a DS Game)!!!!!!

It was quick and easy to make their cards.  I found some vinyl business card sleeves in my stash, that I had ordered many years ago.  I measured what size I would need the final product to be to fit into the sleeve.  In MDS, I used the square punch to make a "canvas", matted it and filled it with the scrunched paper from the Downtown Grunge download.  I added a cool skateboarder guy (each one has a different color), some stars (from Extreme Elements), their name (a CK font called Rugged) and called it their DS Game Library Card.

Kevin and I are thinking we're pretty brilliant and so far, two of the three have embraced this little change.  Carter, however, thinks we're the worst parents ever for doing this!!!!  Sigh...in the eyes of a 7 year old life is so unfair right now!!!!!

Have an inspired day!

FREE Digital Downloads

"Capture, design & share your life events."

Today is the first day of all kinds of crazy digital fun brought to you by Stampin' Up!...join us on mydigitalstudio.net and get your FREE downloads!!!

Come on over and check it out!  And, here is a fun card made with two of the free downloads you can get...

I did one of my favorite tricks with this card.  My background is Pear Pizzazz and the flowers stamped on it are Old Olive.  To make it look like I stamped them with Versamark, I changed the opacity of the flowers to about 50%.  The two free digital downloads I used on this card are the So Typefelt Stamp Brush set and the Neutral Delightful Digital Tape.

Head on over to mydigitalstudio.net and vote for your favorite entries into the digital contest, get your free downloads and check out all the inspiration!

Have an inspired day!