PLxSU Calendar Challenge - Graduation

I had a little time at the beginning of the week and decided to try another PLxSU challenge using My Digital Studio.  The challenge was to use a calendar on your page.

I dug back into some of my older pictures and found these from when Ashley graduated from medical school at UT-SA in 2003.  It was such a fun day with so many of our friends there.  That evening we had a joint party with several of her friends who graduated also.  They are all still good friends and see each other whenever their busy schedules permit.

Happy Fathers Day - PLxSu Trio Challenge

Since Stampin' Up retired My Digital Studio, MDS Monday also quit doing their challenges.  I loved those challenges and it made me do some digital pages and stretch myself.  So, I discovered another digital challenge last week and made a layout for it.  It is a Project Life Challenge also.  I have not done much with Project Life and really had to put my thinking cap on for this one.  But I did it and found out this morning that I won the challenge last week!!  That made me happy!  The challenge was to make a Project Life page of a dad - any dad.  Since Ashley was not here with her Dad for Father's Day, I decided to make my page about her and her dad.  I love how it turned out.  My intent was to print the page out for him for Father's Day but I made it in 12x12 and couldn't print it with my printer.  So, I just shared it with him.

Here is how I described this page for the challenge:

My first challenge for PLxSU Trio. I am still using MDS & this was my first try at a Proj Life page digitally. I did this page for my daughter. She is in the Army and on deployment so will not be with her Dad for Fathers Day. She and her Dad have a love for sports (yellow and gold sports!) and she is definitely a "daddy's girl"

We had a pretty quiet weekend.  I took Sonny to the Galway Hooker (Irish pub) for Fathers Day since Dads ate for free and right after we got there, we got a call on my cell phone from Ashley.  She is now in Micronesia - arriving Sunday morning (Saturday for me).  She said the trip there was fairly uneventful.  I think it took them about 4 days.  It seems these islands have a bit more civilization than Kiribati.  She left the island of Pohnpei (never heard of it - I had to google it) today and was taking a small plane to the island of Chuuk for a week or so.  She will be staying in a hotel there (probably not equivalent to the Hilton .... or even Days Inn!)  When I googled Chuuk, I found that the island is known for it's wreck diving and that is about all there is to do there.  There are two rustic hotels on the island which are air-conditioned but with few amenities.  This part of my research disturbs me a bit - It is best to observe the cultural norms of each island. For the most part conservative dress and manners will do much to ensure you have a safe visit. Women should NOT wear shorts or short skirts and bathing suits should only be worn at the main resorts. It is best to wear a T-shirt over your bathing suit if you will be swimming near public beaches. Speaking to a local of the opposite gender can be thought of as an open invitation to a more serious relationship. When on the main islands, avoid going out alone after dark. As in many places around the globe men have more freedoms to behave as they choose. Many use the darkness, and a few too many drinks to behave as they would like. For the most part they will be more aggressive and overt in their attention seeking behaviors. They will over-react if they believe their ego/reputation has been questioned."

But I am sure they have been briefed as to the culture there and how to act.

I Love Overlays! MDS Monday

I wanted to share my second submission for MDS Monday.  This is the one I started out with but decided I liked the one with Jayce in better and it used more of my fav's.

This was pretty simple comparatively!  I love using a photograph for my background and this one taken on our trip several years ago to the Outer Banks was perfect.  We explored the light houses as well as the beach and got some great photos.  I love using the frames from Downtown Grunge and they are usually my "go to" frames.  Again I used an Overlay from Torn Edges - this time the Leaf Swirls around the edges.

MDS Monday .... Final (take #1)

Hi friends!  It saddens me to write this post and show you my latest creation for MDS Monday since this will be our last challenge.  It is still hard for me to believe MDS is being discontinued.  I will continue to use it because it gave me such delight to create with the program and it is so easy to scrapbook my memories digitally.  This week for MDS Monday we are supposed to feature our favorite downloads.  That was a tough one for me!  My mood changes and it will depend on my picture as to what download I might use. Or I will notice a new download and everything will change!  Recently when I was working on my New Zealand scrapbook, I almost had it done when I saw a kit I didn't have.  So, I immediately purchased it and downloaded it into MDS and started my New Zealand book over!  I do tend to like the digital kits and ensembles because a lot of the work has been done with you in terms of coordination of papers, stamps, embellishments, etc.

So for this one, I looked through a lot of my old pictures and found this one of Jayce when he was just a baby.  I had taken my mom to Arizona to meet her first great-grandchild and we were having fun in the pool at our hotel.  A lot of work went into this page!!

My favorite things on this page are:
Overlays, Beautiful Today Kit, Splatter Stamps, Watercolor Wash (In Any Event) and the Flag Punch.

The background paper is white with an Overlay from Hello World (Colored Chalk Dots).  I also used the Torn Edges for the sides to give it a torn look.  I love overlays and tend to use them quite a bit.


Embellishments
    Watercolor Wash\In Any Event - watercolor

Stamps
    OVERLAYS & BACKGROUNDS\Hello World Overlays.embellishments\Hello World - overlay colored chalk dots,
    Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 4, Color = BASIC GRAY
    OVERLAYS & BACKGROUNDS\Torn Edges\Torn Edges - distressed scallop
    Splatters\A Split Second\A Split Second - splatter 1, Color = BASIC GRAY
    Beautiful Today\Beautiful Today - small wash 2, Color ,WATERMARK
    Beautiful Today\Beautiful Today - small wash 1, Color WATERMARK
    Designer Kits\Chevron\Chevron - 5 grunge
    Designer Kits\Chevron\Chevron - 8 grunge
    Splatters\Ink Splatters\Ink Splatter 6, Color = BASIC GRAY
   OVERLAYS & BACKGROUNDS\Torn Edges\Torn Edges - hand torn,
   Beautiful Today\Beautiful Today - polka dot,
    Beautiful Today\Beautiful Today - cloud,
    Beautiful Today\Beautiful Today - heart,
    Beautiful Today\Beautiful Today - wonderful life,
 
Punches
    Basics\1.25 Square Punch
    Basics\Flag Punch,  Filled with: all patterns from Designer Kits\Beautiful Today

I will be sharing another page I made tomorrow.  I couldn't decide but this one is my favorite!

As I said yesterday, Ashley sailed off yesterday for her deployment.  We had thought that she would not be able to keep in touch with us but it seems we were wrong!  Yay!!  I already received an email from her today. She said they were sailing slow yesterday waiting for a helicopter to land on the deck but that they picked up speed during the night.  So far, she is not sea sick!!  The food has been good so far with a nice salad bar and fruit at every meal.  But she was told not to expect the fresh fruit and veggies for long!  She thinks she will have a mailing address so we can send her packages.  She wants pictures for the inside of her locker so I will be printing some out (with my new printer that I got today!)

Enjoy your Friday!

MDS Monday Sketch

This is my submission this week for MDS Monday.  The instructions were to keep the page simple and concentrate on the photo.  I love these two pictures of my grandson, Jayce, taken last year. 

We had such a good visit with Jayce and his parents.  I had not seen Jayce since he was 18 months old so it took a little time for him to warm up to us but once he did, it was great.  We took him to a park in Austin and he loved climbing a big tree and racing down the hill.  I thought the Project Life cards were appropriate for this page because to all little boy, Life Is An Adventure!



 

MDS Monday Challenge #2

This is another page I did for the MDS Monday challenge this week.  I had a hard time deciding between the two so I think I will submit them both!

When we visited Ireland a few years ago, we went to the Aran Islands on the west coast.   We took the ferry to the largest island, Inishmore, which is only 9 miles of land but the island has such a weather beaten charm to it that it captured my heart.  The tiny island consists of a maze of stone fences. There are only about 1,200 people on all three of the islands. What fascinated me the most was listening to them speak.  Most of them speak Irish Gaelic and it is impossible to understand!  There is a ferry system to get you to and from the mainland but it is passenger only.  This view from a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean shows remnants of crosses and chapels dating from the 8th to the 11th centuries.

The elements I used for this page are:

Background Paper - DSP Distressed Crushed Curty

Embellishments - Burlap Ribbon recolored, Top Notch Woodcuts

Stamps - Natural Composition Overlay #9

Punches:  1.25 Square punch filled w/DSP Etcetera #6, Smitten Alphabet Punches

Photo Box filled w/Amped Up Ampersands #2 DSP

Paper Craft Crew Challenge MDS Card

It is time for the Paper Craft Crew challenge.  This is my card for this week.

Of course, I used My Digital Studio to make this card.  I used the Freeform Tool to color the flower and love how it turned out.

The sentiment is a good one.  If we all treated ourselves better, we would feel better, don't you think?

My Digital Studio Update: I actually have a few bits of GOOD news concerning My Digital Studio this morning.  Stampin’ Up! made the following announcements on it’s Demonstrator website this morning: While Stampin’ Up! previously announced that the MDS product line would be unavailable after Sunday, May 31, 2015, it is excited to let you know that all of its MDS items will be included in the upcoming Retired List promotion from April 21-June 2, 2015.  Digital downloads, software, and print products will all be discounted by 30 percent and are guaranteed to be available through the end of the promotion (MDS software discs are available while supplies last). Click here to see a list of products, including promotional prices for each item. New Dates Stampin’ Up! has extended the availability date for MyDigitalStudio.net, the digital download manager, and its MDS YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest pages through midnight, June 9, 2015. Demonstrators and customers may call Demonstrator Support for assistance with MDS until Demonstrator Support closes at 7:00 PM (MT) on Tuesday, June 9. Project Life The Let’s Get Away Digital Project Life Card Collection by Stampin’ Up! from the occasions catalog was posted on the ProjectLife.com website yesterday and is currently available for 20 percent off.  For the foreseeable future, all Digital Project Life card collections will be made available through the ProjectLife.com store.  (There are both Project Life by Stampin’ Up! and Project Life digital downloads at that site.)  I’ve never tried to download something from this site, but I plan on buying the Let’s Get Away download, so I’ll let you know what I find out.  I did notice that the download only includes the card collection, no stamp brushes.  However, there are other Project Life by Stampin’ Up! stamp brushes on that site, so it looks promising for an ongoing resource for digital downloads! Future Updates While Stampin’ Up! will not sell MDS after June 2, 2015 or offer support for MDS after June 9, 2015, it is working on a solution for you to continue to be able to use your digital downloads and order print products. Stay tuned for updates. Stampin’ Up! hopes you enjoy the Retired List promotion—and that the extended deadlines will be helpful to both demonstrators and customers as it phases out the MDS product line. So, that’s a little encouraging!  I’ll keep you updated as I learn more information.

Sketch for Paper Craft Crew AND New Zealand layouts

This is my card for Paper Craft Crew challenge this week.  I used My Digital Studio to create it.







Check out the rest of the design team's cards HERE.

I've been so bummed about Stampin' Up discontinuing MDS.  I've been wanting to get my New Zealand scrapbook published and finished it last week.  It was going to be over $100 with Stampin' Up and I just couldn't justify that!  The book was 53 pages which is why the price was so high.  Today I checked with Shutterfly and was able to send my pages there PLUS I found a promotion code that took 50% off the order if it was $100+ and another code for Free Shipping!  So what was to be $122 turned out to be only $65. .. much more manageable!!

Here are a couple of the pages from the book:

I scanned our boarding passes to include on the page.

Another scan - the pass for the Hop on/Hop off bus.

MDS Monday - Spring Challenge!

I am going to do layouts for MDS Monday for as long as they keep the site going.  I'm sad that I think they may shut it down after Stampin' Up quits supporting MDS.  I have gotten so much inspiration on their site.  I really hope they decide to keep it going for us die-hards!

So the challenge this week was to focus on spring.  The sketch itself is pretty simple - the challenge to have something that grows (like a flower or plant) on your page.  Well, I think these flowers from the Botanical Garden at Christchurch, New Zealand fits the bill, don't you?  The flowers in New Zealand were just gorgeous!

I did a lot of color matching on this page.  I matched the colors in the orange day lily and the pink circle flower.  The background flowers are an overlay from Bunch of Backgrounds.  The doily started out green and I recolored it and lowered the opacity.  This page just makes you think SPRING!

Here is the sketch to follow:

Check out the designer's pages HERE.

MDS Monday Clown Sketch

This is my sketch for this week's MDS Monday.  I have had so much fun this week going through old pictures.  Monday I got a box full of slides from my mom that belonged to my aunt.  They were mostly from the early 60s and I have been posting a lot of them of my sisters and cousins on Facebook. 

This picture was taken when we lived in Birmingham in the early 80s.  Ashley and Jeffrey had gone to Clown School!  I don't remember what tricks they learned but this was the result of them applying their own clown make-up!!

Here is the sketch we were to use:

 Check out the design team pages HERE.

Quilt Tour for MDS Monday 102

This is my other layout for MDS Monday 102.  I was really stumped with this challenge and hope that I did it right! 

I took these pictures a couple of years ago when I went on the Iredell County Quilt Tour with the Newcomer's group.  It was so cool to see these quilts painted on barns and other buildings.  I used some of the Project Life downloads for this

Check out the other layouts from the MDS Monday Design Crew HERE.

Snow Day with MDS Monday 102 Challenge

This week's MDS Monday's challenge was a tough one for me.  Are you familiar with a daily or weekly scrap page - one that documents a day or week in life?  Well that was what we were supposed to do with our page this week.  Project Life layouts are a great tool to documenting everyday life.

So, I actually did two layouts.  This is the second one I did.  I will be sharing my first one tomorrow.  When we got the big snow on Thursday, I thought - bingo! this would be a great way to document my day. 

I thought the soft colors of Lost Lagoon and Pool Party were perfect for this snow page.

For other ideas, make sure you check out the MDS Monday blog.

MDS Monday 101 - On a Tilt!

Time for another MDS Monday sketch.  The sketch this week is by Tami Hewlett (one of my favorite MDS designers!)  We are to put the focal point on a tilt.  The best way, I think, to do this is to first line things up nice and straight; then group them and put them at an angle.  Tami has a video tutorial on the MDS Monday blog.

I had to dig deep for these pictures!  They were taken 10 years ago on a vist back to Dallas.  Margaret and I were at my friend, Sharon's house having a few drinks out on the upstairs patio.  Sharon had recently joined the Red Hat ladies and we were having a fun time trying on her Red Hat accessories!  Did I say we were drinking???!!  Margaret's husband came to get us to go home and we got him in on our shenanigans!  I used a few overlays with this layout.



Here is Tami's sketch:

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

We're getting ready for the Big Storm this week!  Temps have been dropping for the past couple of days.  Tonight it is supposed to dip into the teens with the high only 32 tomorrow.  Snow and ice are predicted to start in the early evening and last 2-3 days.  I have already canceled my Stamp Club for Tuesday and I am hoping I will be able to have everyone come on Thursday.  Tomorrow I will be bundled up to go play bridge and then take my mom to her doctor's appointment before the storm hits.

I wanted to share the Valentine's that I sent to the grandkids last week.

I printed off these wrappers and wrapped boxes of candy that I got at the Dollar Store

I used the Mini Treat Die to make little bags that I filled with candy.

More Dollar Store finds - Valentine pencils.  I used the smaller panel of the Mini Treat Die to make these cute little pencil holders.

We had a pretty quiet Valentine's.  Sonny and I went out for breakfast and then to the grocery store.  Later that evening, we went over to Marianne and Greg's so I could help Marianne get ready for her first workshop.  We took a break and went out for Italian food.

I got some GREAT news today!  Remember this sketch I did for MDS Monday's 100th Sketch Challenge?  Well, I was notified on Sunday that I was a WINNER!!  They picked two top winners and I was told in my email that mine was chosen by a landslide!  So excited!  I win a MDS download (value $9.95).  I had a whole list that I had to decide between.  I have so many of the downloads that sometimes I have a hard time finding ones I don't have!!  But I decided on a punch and several embellishments that I didn't have yet.  Check out the other winners here.

How do you like my new Blog Banner?  I had fun designing a new one on Sunday.

Paper Crew Card Sketch 131

How is your day going?  It's Wednesday which means it's once again time for the challenge at Paper Craft Crew.  I'm excited to share this week's sketch and my take on it using My Digital Studio.  Come and visit and have a look.

I love this color combo!

MDS Monday 100th Sketch Challenge!

Remember I blogged last week that I was going through old pictures and strolling down memory lane?!!  Well, one of the reasons is I wanted to find some great pictures to do a My Digital Studio challenge over at MDS Monday.  This is their 100th Sketch Challenge and they are giving away prizes!!  When I ran across these pictures taken several years ago (Cassidy is now a teenager!!), I knew they were the ones I wanted to use.  I remember this day so well.  We were in Tucson visiting Jeff and his family and we were babysitting.  It was a beautiful sunny day so Sonny and Cassidy found some bubbles and he taught her how to blow them.  She was so excited!

(Click on picture above to make it larger)

The challenge is running for two weeks and it started last week.  To enter the challenge, you select any of the past 99 sketches, create a new project, and link it to their website.  They have set up a Pinterest Board with all the past sketches.  That was the hard part!!  Which one do I choose?  But I knew I wanted a sketch that I could do the picture progression above.

The background paper is from World Traveler and I found the polka dot stamp in Beautiful Today and made it a watermark color.  I found this font that I love called Pea Ellie Bellie!  Don't miss the girl and boy sitting at the top blowing bubbles (from Storytime).   I found some stitching I liked in Family Fun and the Project Life Banner which I colored Lost Lagoon

I even made my own bubbles!!  I used a Circle Punch and color filled it with DSP from Watercolor Wonder and made them different sizes.  (Don't forget to add a drop shadow for extra dimension.)   I also used a few brads for my bubbles! Then it just had to have a little shine added.  To create the reflection,  I used the Freeform tool and moved the anchors around on the circle shape to get the shape for the shine.

So, the sketch that I used was # 65.  How do you think I did?  Would I win a prize??  It doesn't matter.  I just enjoy MDS so much!!

 

Make sure you go to the MDS Monday web site and check out the other sketches.

Paper Craft Crew Challenge 130 and Blog Candy!!

It's time for my challenge from the Paper Craft Crew.  I got my card done in time and posted on the site .... I just didn't get it posted to my site earlier!!

Again, I fell back on My Digital Studio for my card.  I love the colors in this card - taken straight from the DSP - Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Sahara Sand and Black.  What do you think?

This month there is BLOG CANDY!!  You'll get:  Chevron Embossing Folder, Island Indigo Chevron Ribbon & the Banner Punch.



So make sure you check out the Paper Craft Crew Blog to see what the other designers have created using the sketch.

MDS Monday Challenge

I have enjoyed not having to go anywhere for the past couple of days.  Tuesday I didn't even get dressed except to put on some soft warm lounging pj's.  I spent the day making a few cards and working on my New Zealand scrapbook on MDS.  Same thing for Wednesday except I did get dressed in sweats!  Don't you love days like that???  I remember when I quit working.  At the time, I was not involved in playing bridge, doing cards, etc.  I really don't know what I did during the day after quitting work - I think play computer games and read - but I do remember that I wore sweat pants and sweat shirts almost every day. Sonny called them my uniform.  I was sorta depressed at the time and missing my job but also enjoying the freedom of being able to do anything I wanted during the day.  That probably lasted about 3-4 months before I got a part time job and joined a few groups to do crafts, play bridge, go to coffee's, etc.  Now I wonder how I ever had time to work!!

Here is my take on the sketch for MDS Monday.

This week I dug into my pictures from our trip(s) to Hawaii several years ago.  I love the bright colors in this layout.  I used the kit Paradise Found.  Instead of the flag banner that is in the sketch, I decided to create my own lei across the page.  I used an alphabet punch for "Hawaii" and paper filled it with the same paper that I used for the background - just using different shades of the orange and yellow at the top of the page.

I hope you will take the time to check out the pages the MDS Monday Design Team made.

Here is the sketch that Cindy challenged us with:




And here is what is included in the Paradise Found kit:

Happy 4th!

Well, I spent most of the day working on my new blog header.  Do you like it?  When I get into My Digital Studio, I just lose track of time.  I try so many different things until I get just the look I want.  But it's fun!

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the rain holds off for the 4th of July activities.  The YMCA is doing fireworks tonight (Thursday)  We are meeting Mom and Angela for dinner and then going to their church which is on a hill a few blocks from the Y and has a good viewing area for the fireworks.  Tomorrow night (Friday) there will be more fireworks put on at Queen's Landing on the lake.  Sonny and I plan on taking the boat out early and getting a good spot in a cove to view the fireworks.  So keep your fingers crossed for the weather.

While I was in My Digital Studio, I decided to make a card for the 4th.  I used a card template that was already there and just changed around some colors and inserted the 4th stamp set and stars.

Hope your 4th of July is a safe one!!

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #98

Well, summertime is here!  It has really been hot with not much relief in sight.  Of course, I could be in Texas where it is really HOT!!  Enjoy that heat, Ashley!  I think instead of going to the Y tomorrow, I will just exercise in the neighborhood pool instead.

I am hoping to get a few swaps done tomorrow and Friday as well as finalize my cards for club next week.  I haven't had much time this week to get anything done with bridge on Monday and mahjongg today.  Plus I got a new Kindle Fire HDX this week and Sonny got a Kindle reader (for Father's Day) so I have been learning how to use both of them and download books for us.  Ashley and I weren't too sure if Sonny would like the Kindle but he has finished reading one of the books that I downloaded for him on Sunday.  So I guess he is handling the digital age ok!

Here is the card I made for Paper Craft Crew Challenge sketch #98.

Make sure you check out the other designer's cards HERE.

Here is the sketch if you would like to make your own card using it: