MDS Challenge Week 1

Last week I challenged my NC demonstrators (and you too) to create a page or card or something on My Digital Studio using the "text on a path" technique.  Here are some of the entries:

Beth Fox also followed the color challenge from mydigitalstudio.net

Mary Ellen Harrison had good intentions of the freeform text but decided against it.  Love her page anyway!



Regina Andari's cute birthday card - she created the free form text in the balloon.




Makes you want a popsicle, huh?  This cutie is done by Karen Culler.



Elegant card by Pam Staples - waiting for those May flowers!



Circular text by Debbie Michael.




A card by Marcia Enns - this is the inside



Marcia's card front

Marcia even used the free form text on the back of the card!  Great job!!

 Here is what Marcia had to say after doing the challenge - "I started with a Designer Template to create this A2 card, and I managed to attach text to a freeform line on the card front, the inside of the card, and the “hallmark” on the back of the card.  Not only was this great practice with attaching text, but I also played with page layers, drop shadows, opacity, and more!  The more I do, the more excited I am about MDS. " 

That's what it's all about!!

Clear - Photopolymer - Stamps! Whoo Hoo!!

I'm hoping to do a lot of stamping this weekend.  The weather is supposed to be cold - possibly snow - and highs in the high 30s to low 40's.  Brrrr - maybe this is the last hurrah for winter weather!!  I will be ready to go to Texas and enjoy their warm weather in a few weeks!

Stampin' Up has some great news today!  They are introducing their first really clear stamp set.  It is called a Photopolymer Stamp.

What makes them so great?

• They're entirely transparent for perfect placement every time! 
• They are durable. The photopolymer material is designed to last. 
• Can you say sticky?  These stamps stick amazingly well to the clear blocks.
• They're age tested. They won't yellow or cloud up over time. 
• They use FDA, food-safe material. How far can you stretch your stamping creativity?

They are clearly a great choice.

Photopolymer stamps will be offered on a trial basis. Based on popularity, SU hopes to release more photopolymer stamp sets over the coming months. 

• Available beginning March 1, 2013. 
• Not available in wood-mount or clear-mount.  
• All photopolymer will be packaged in cello bag w/insert, but don't forget you can store them in our clear cases.

		They are trying them out and if it's popular they will keep the photopolymer sets coming! So if you want to see more, buy! And if you like a set you see,  buy it now since there are no guarantees that it will be available later.

Features:

• Use this exclusive photopolymer alphabet set (with extras!) for titles or embellishments on scrapbook pages, cards, or any type of project. 
• Clear block sizes A, B, G, F, and I are recommended (not included in the set).
• Our photopolymer stamps offer a versatile all-clear stamping option. 
• Our top-quality photopolymer gives a perfectly stamped image every time. 
• Best of all, you get to enjoy tons of images for a great price...only $13.95 for 57 images!

In fact - at this price you can afford to get two sets.  Then you can spell out greetings like "Happy Birthday".

 I'm getting ready to order mine - what about you?

Butterfly Fly Away

Stampin' Up is now offering an on-line class which will offer clever tips and techniques to get the most out of your stamping supplies. Divided into six PDF documents, this class includes written instructions, step out photos, a few videos, and supply lists for 34 projects.

•Stamping Basics (7 projects)


•Stamp-a-ma-jig (4 projects, video)

•Masking Techniques (4 projects, video)

•Embossing Techniques (7 projects, 2 videos)

•Markers and watercoloring Techniques (6 projects, video)

•Big Shot and punches (6 projects, 2 videos)

*No shipping, no tax!!

 The 34 projects are simple, creative, and cute! The material included is a great resource that gives comprehensive project details in one place. No searching all over the Internet for all of the different topics being covered.  Any stamper would love it! The projects range from simple to stepped up. A new stamper could learn a lot from the class, and there are more advanced techniques that even experienced stampers will be excited to learn.
PC Instructions:   The files will be downloaded as archive files that you can then extract and save on your computer. When you click on the download link, an extraction program will automatically launch. Choose the location where you would like to save the files (be sure to note where you save them). Follow the prompts on the extraction program, then navigate to the location where you saved the files. Click on the file and open.

Mac Instructions:   When you click on the download link, the file will be mounted as a drive. Once it is mounted, open the drive and drag and drop the files to the location of your choice on your hard drive. The files can then be opened.

Here is a card I made a couple of months ago and forgot to share with you.  I stamped the label from Everything Eleanor in Crumb Cake onto the Whisper White card stock and then embossed it with the Polka Dot embossing folder.  The leaves are cut using the leaves sizzlet.  I used some small pearls for the center of the flowers and colored them with a Sharpie marker.  The little blue flowers are punched with the Itty Bitty Punches and the butterfly is punched with the Butterfly Punch and some retired DSP.  I just love the way the Seam Binding ribbon ties into a bow!

Paper Craft Sketch

This week we have a fun and easy sketch for the Paper Craft Crew Sketch (#31).    It was a great one to work out with My Digital Studio and the Happy Hour stamp set.

My take on this sketch is in honor of my daughter this week.  She is on her annual Rock Boat Cruise and I'm sure these drinks are being downed by her and her friends.  Too bad I didn't have a picture of a beer bottle - that's more likely what Ashley is downing!  There are all kind of activities on board the ship but here is just one of them - Boozical Chairs (you know, like Musical Chairs!)  You run around in circles, drink a little, run around in more circles, drink a little... well, you get the idea.   After each round, the band will give you a task to complete before you're allowed to sit back down in a chair as they work their way from 100 players to 1.  Ya gotta love being young!!

I just got a call from my Mom this morning.  She goes to water aerobics at the Senior Center in downtown Mooresville twice a week.  Since she is legally blind, she has to depend on the bus - ICATS - to take her.  She called  to tell me the bus had taken her to Statesville which is the next town over from her!  She had no clue where she was.  They stopped at the Statesville mall and told her to get out - this was her stop.  She asked them where they were and when they told her, she told them that was not where she was going!  So they've taken her over to the Social Security office (??) and she is waiting for my sister to come get her.  Luckily, Angela had not gone to work or Mom would be waiting for who knows how long for another bus to come get her and take her where she needs to be.  She has been taking this bus for several years.  This makes me so angry!  Not to mention that they arrived at her house about an hour early.  Angela happened to look outside around 7:30 a.m. and the bus was sitting out there.  So Mom had to rush and get ready - no breakfast - to get on a bus that took her 30 miles out of the way.  Guess that's what you get for free public transportation.

Soda Pop Cap Necklace

I am so in love with this necklace!  When I taught the MDS class a couple of weeks ago, Nancy Carr gave me this great necklace that she made.  I have been wanting to make some of these but I keep forgetting to order the Soda Caps (mini catalog).  I have then on order now but I couldn't wait and bought some this weekend with a gift certificate that I got for my birthday (in October).  I'll be playing with them today since it is pouring down rain here and COLD!!

close up - see all the little pearls around the circle.

Nancy used our Silver Glimmer Paper and the Polka Dots DSP.  Her packaging is so cute too!  I just love it.  She used Crystal Effects over the "MDS Rocks"

I'm getting Everynote Organized!

I was perusing through one of the Forums on the Stampin' Up! website on Friday and noticed a lot of people talking about Evernote. I had NO clue what it was but the gals were talking about organizing their stamp sets with it.  My ears perked up .... could I actually find some organization with my ever growing stamps???  The more I read about it, the greater it sounded.  And it is FREE!!  So, I downloaded Evernote to my computer and started playing.  I opened one screen on my computer with Evernote and another one with Google Image and grabbed a stack of my stamp sets.  I did a search on Google for my stamp set and started grabbing stamp set images and pasting them into my new Stamp Set Notebook on Evernote.  Once I pasted it, I labeled it with the name of the Stamp Set, price and a short description.  (All of these things I got from Stampin' Up's online store - just copy and paste!)  Then I added "tags".   I tagged the stamp sets depending on holiday or theme so when I did a search for Birthday, any stamp set I had with birthday anything will pop on up on my screen.  I did a search for "Christmas".  It pulled up all of the stamp sets that have something to do with Christmas AND I can easily see the complete stamp set in the thumbnail view.   I also typed all the sentiments that were in my various stamp sets so I can find them with just a click of my mouse.  I could also add a location for my stamps if I wanted - like 2nd shelf, yellow star, or something like that.  Right now, I don't need to do that but someday I may.

It didn't take me long to put all my current stamps in Evernote.  I catalogued about 100 stamp sets this weekend!  So excited.  Evernote is free but you only get a certain amount of storage a month.  I used up 75% already.  It might be worth it to pay for the upgrade until I get all my stamps catalogued.  We'll see.

I am also thinking of other nifty ways to use Evernote! I think I am going to try doing a bit of "out of sight out of mind" inventory and see how that works!  How would you like to know that if you forgot where you put your crystal effects you could simply type it into Evernote and voila!  It pops you back with a picture of your revered product and WHERE it is! Oh the time it could save!!!


I know a good friend who could certainly use this product!  I'll have to teach it to her next time we are together.  You know who you are, friend!!

I am also going to use Evermore for my My Digital Studio downloads.  Maybe that way, I won't order duplicates!!

Here is a video about it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMnpaQOxcrc

MDS Challenge - Text on a Path

As you know, I taught a class last week to some of my fellow NC demonstrators and users of My Digital Studio2.  As a result of that I have decided to offer a weekly challenge for using different features of MDS2.  It may be a way to use different things with MDS2 or a scrapbook sketch or color challenge.  I am going to start with a weekly challenge and see how it goes.  It could end up being every other week .... we'll see. 

So my first challenge to you is to use the Freeform Tool and make some text on a path.  On the sample I have made below, I put my text (the words from a Zac Brown song that is also my cell phone ring tone!) in a circle.  The steps I took to do this are:

• Create a text box and type my text.  Try different fonts and sizes for fun.  I used KG The Fighter font (free download) and size 20.
• Go to the Freeform tool on the Designer Center (right side) and click on Add Line.
• I used the Starter Lines and clicked on the Circle.  Apply it to your project and size it how you want it.
• Click on both your text box and Freeform tool line (hold down Control key)
• Right click and "Attach to Shape"
• You may have to play around with the size of font, etc. to get it all to work.

Here are a few videos that I found that might help with this technique from other demonstrators:

http://mydigitalstudio.net/video/my-digital-studio-freeform-feature-text-on-a-path-cori-kozak

http://mydigitalstudio.net/video/my-digital-studio-2-freeform-line-dotted-circle

http://mydigitalstudio.net/video/text-on-a-path

http://mydigitalstudio.net/video/my-digital-studio-creating-curved-text

And here is my sample (click on it to enlarge it):

Text in a Circle - Freeform Tool

So won't you join in the challenge and share a page?  I'd love to see it!

Stamp Club

These are the cards we made this week in Stamp Club.

Oh Whale

I just love this little guy!  I used the DSP from Sale-a-bration (Sycamore Street) to make the waves.  I die cut them using the Tasteful Trim Die and the Big Shot.  The white square was embossed with the Cloudy Day folder.  Stamp the whale with Midnight Muse ink and cut him out with the Embosslit and the Big Shot.  We added a little bit of Dazzling Details glitter to the wave on the main card.

Swallowtail Butterfly

The butterfly is stamped in Crumb Cake lightly (stamp off once).  Use Early Espresso and Primrose Petals markers to color the sentiment from Feels Good.  The small vanilla strip on the side of the card is stamped with the Papillion Potpourri stamp set using Primrose and Garden Green ink.  The small Primrose Petals card stock is embossed with the Needlepoint Border Embossing Folder from the mini catalog.


SAB - Feeling Sentimental

This card was embossed (Crumb Cake) with the Fancy Fan embossing folder and then sponged with Espresso ink.   Stamp the images from Feeling Sentimental onto vanilla card stock and punch out with the 1 1/2" Square Punch.  Mat the images with 1 3/8" squares of Early Espresso.  I cut the "Celebrate" piece by hand and put Neutrals brads on the ends.


Oh Hello

This was a great technique that I taught the girls on this card.  Use the Delicate Details Lace Tape on the card and sponge it with Marina Mist ink.  Remove the Lace Tape and you have "faux lace tape."  It just looks like there is a piece of lace tape there! 

Paper Craft Crew

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge .... #30!!  This week I decided to go with a stamp set from the Sale-a-bration catalog, Bloomin' Marvelous.  I don't have this set BUT I have MDS and the free CD with ALL the sets in the Sale-a-bration catalog so I can create the card on my computer.  Love it!!

Great sketch this week too!



Bloomin' Marvelous MDS2 style

Go HERE and check out what the rest of the crew has posted.

Oh Hello! It's Download Tuesday!!

What a fun name for a stamp set.  This one makes me smile - Oh Hello!!  I mainly ordered this set because I like the chevrons.  Chevrons are so "in" right now and I thought this was a very useful set.  But then I fell in love with the little flower in the set!!  So pretty and delicate.  See what you think:

For this one, I cut away the oval in the middle and stamped the chevrons with my markers - Daffodil, Red, Turquoise and Olive on the top and bottom of the oval.  I stamped the large oval on the inside  and stamped the flower in the center.  I made a flower using the new crepe paper and the Scallop Punch.  I sponged the flower with Red lightly.

This card is very simple.  The card base is Elegant Eggplant and the DSP is from the FREE Sale-a-bration pack.  I again made a crepe paper flower, sponged with Saffron and edged with Eggplant. 

And let's not forget that today is Tuesday ..... Digital Download Tuesday to be exact!  Here are the new downloads announced today:

LABEL THIS FOR THE PLAYROOM - label your kids toy area and make clean up a learning game.

LABEL THIS GARAGE - Get your garage tidy with these labels!

HELLO THERE KIT - Download includes:
* 17-piece SVG stamp brush set*
* 13 Designer Series Papers
* 26 embellishments

SERENE SILHOUETTES 4 piece stamp set

THINK BACK PHOTOBOOK TEMPLATE -  Get to know your grandma, mom, and dad with these interactive photobooks full of fun questions Download includes:
* 4, 24-page designer photobook templates (8" x 8")
* 39-piece SVG stamp brush set*
* 12 Designer Series Papers
* 2 embellishments
* 3 punches

 

Swap Cards from Spring Mini

Here are the swap cards that I came home with.  I also came home with a bunch of my own swaps back since several ladies canceled that were participating in the swaps.    Enjoy!!

by Marianne using Hearts A Flutter

by Debbie M using Feels Good

from Kathy (I think) using Feels Good stamped on canvas

from Nancy Carr using Everything Eleanor, Hearts a Flutter, Lovely Little Labels & Teeny Tiny
Wishes

from Marcia using Cross My Heart

from Karen using Oh Hello & Needlepoint Border embossing folder

Great Weekend

What a great weekend!  Debbie, my downline, and myself drove to Kernersville Friday afternoon.  We stopped along the way at Enchanted Cottage, a huge stamp/scrapbook store in Lewisville.  I did pretty good .... only spending about $10!!  Friday night we had dinner at Macaroni Grill with a few of the gals who were taking my MDS class the next day.   We discovered a delicious wine that I hope to be able to find around here called Seven Sisters Moscato wine.  Delish!

We woke up this morning to a beautiful snow falling fast and furious.  It snowed all morning, not stopping until around 2 pm.  But luckily, none of it stuck.  The place where we held our class was a beautiful old house on several acres with a pond in front.  The room we were in upstairs had windows on all three sides so it was really nice to watch the snow falling.  I really enjoyed sharing my knowlede of MDS with the gals who were there.  It was most fulfilling to hear the ahh's and ohhh's going around the room when I showed them different things they could do with the program.  I really think everyone who was there left with the knowledge that they could open the program at home and play with it, trying different things, with not blowing up the program.  My favorite tool in the program is the "undo" and delete button and I use them regularly.

At the end of the day, Debbie and I started the ride back home. I was at ease since the snow had stopped and the roads were only wet and not icy. But the closer we got to home - driving mostly south - the more snow we saw. We both felt like we were in the Twilight Zone! Starting about in Statesville, with is about 30 miles from Mooresville, it was like a winter wonderland! The snow was in the trees and looked beautiful. After I dropped Debbie off at her house, I pulled over several times to take pictures. I even took pictures as I was driving from the front windshield. Enjoy the pictures!




Pagoda at our local library



Valentine / Anniversary Swap Card

Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day.  When I was little, I think Valentine's Day was one of my favorite holidays.  I loved to make the Valentine boxes for school and then hope whom ever I had a secret crush on would put a special Valentine in the box on my desk.  But today Valentine's Day makes me a little sad because my son and daughter are not close enough for me to give them a big fat Valentine hug.  Sonny bought me a really sweet card and I made him one.  We decided not to go out to dinner and fight the crowds.  Instead, we used a Groupon that we had for a meat store in Mooresville and bought a Porterhouse steak.  Sonny grilled it outside and I made scalloped potatoes, salad, and mushrooms to go with the steak.  It was yummy!! 

I made Valentine sucker holders last weekend to send to my grandchildren.  Since I had to buy a whole bag of heart suckers, I decided to make enough for my bridge group.  I used the Scallop Envelope die to make them.  I just love that die - it is so versatile!

I am finally going to be teaching the MDS class this weekend in Kernersville to my NC demo friends.  I was scheduled to do it a few weeks ago when the weather did not cooperate.  Friday is supposed to be ok but the cold weather is moving in on Saturday.  It is supposed to be a high of 60 Friday and 42 on Saturday and Sunday!!  Crazy but it is February!!  We are doing a card swap in the afternoon after my class.  The card I made for the swap was a Valentine's card but now I have changed it to an anniversary card! 

I stamped Happy Anniversary and punched it out with the Label Punch and just glued it over the Happy Valentine's Day tag!  I love this two tone ribbon from the Spring Mini - it is great for making bows!  I like the mix of Pink Pirouette and Raspberry Ripple.

Feeling Sentimental!

When I first saw this set in the Sale-a-bration catalog, I wasn't sold on it.  But as time as gone on, I have seen so many great cards using it.  So, since it was free ..... I decided to give it a try.  Most of these cards are CASE'd and I've added my own little touches.

This first one with the bicycle is made with the Naturals Ivory and Early Espresso card stock.  I used the retired Weathered background stamp for the background and stamped it in Soft Suede - stamping it off first.  The stamped tickets are from the set, That's the Ticket held in place with a Glimmer Brad and Baker's Twine. 

The next image is of the English postal box.  I remember seeing those on our trip across the ocean.   I tried to make this card real vintage'y.  I stamped all the images in Early Espresso and sponged all the edges.  The bottom of the card stock is torn with a piece of Espresso card stock torn and sandwiched in.  I stamped some images from French Foilage (the script and the droplets)  all over the card stock.  The twill tape is frayed on one end and sponged with brown ink and anchored with a Designer Brad.

The final card uses all the stamps in the set!  I stamped them on panels of Naturals card stock and adhered the panels to Early Espresso card stock and then to the Crumb Cake card.  Easy!!

Yesterday was Download Digital Tuesday!!  And SU gave us another FREEBIE!!  So make sure you hurry over and download your free Label This template.
There is also a Planner Template for sale also that looks pretty neat.  Check out all the downloads for this week.

A Valentine Challenge

Hearts are in the air!  Are you ready for Valentines Day?  I will be making my honey a card today.  We don't have real romantic plans for the special holiday but we will be celebrating it together.  I purchased a Groupon last weekend for a Meat Market in Mooresville - spend $15 for $25 worth of meat.  So Sonny is going to stop by on Thursday and pick up some steaks.   He will grill them while I made potatoes, salad and rolls.  What are your plans?

Here is my MDS2 card for the sketch challenge with the Paper Craft Crew. 

Here is the Supply List for this card:

Background     Color = BLUSHING BRIDE 
Embellishments
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 1 blushing bride (re-colored)
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 2 blushing bride (re-colored)

Stamps
    Designer Kits\Tea Time II\Tea Time II - doily, Color = WHISPER WHITE 255,255,255
    Valentine Defined\Valentine Defined - love

Punches
    Pinking Hearts Corner Punch,
    Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Fill Color
    Extras\Flag Punch, Fill Color = WHISPER WHITE 
    Labels & Tags\Get It Done - punch 1, Fill Color = BLUSHING BRIDE
    Extras\Full Heart Punch, Fill Color = WHISPER WHITE
    Extras\Full Heart Punch,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Stacks of Millions - designer series paper\Stacks of Millions - 10
    Extras\Full Heart Punch, Fill Color = BLUSHING BRIDE

Photos
    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Stacks of Millions - designer series paper\Stacks of Millions - 7

 To check out the other cards made by the crew, check them out here - http://www.papercraftcrew.com/

Happy Birthday Cupcake

How about another Patterned Occasions card? These little images are great and there is so much you can do with them.  For this card I used the Clouds embossing folder (love it!) for the background on this card.  I also used the Hearts A Flutter die for the pennants.  I tied them to the card with the Bakers Twine - at least that is the way it looks!  Looks can be deceiving though.  I actually adhered the pennants to the card on top of the twine that is wrapped around the card on the sides.  I just used scraps of DSP that I found - a good way to use up bits and pieces.

I played bridge today and was really got some great cards for a change!  Did you watch the Grammy's Sunday night?  Well, I watched most of it and got a few of the songs stuck in my head.  So, this morning I was singing "This Girl Is On Fire" after hearing it sung by Alicia Keyes with Maroon 5 while I was getting dressed.  So it was only fitting that while I was playing bridge, "this girl was on fire!!"  haha!!

I have to tell you how sweet my dear hubbie is!  Wednesday I forgot to close the sunroof on my Durango and it rained all day and night on Thursday.  I didn't realize I had left it open until I got in the car Friday morning!  Oh, it was wet!!  I sat on 3 folded up beach towels in order to drive to play mahjong and they got wet through too.  So all weekend, Sonny worked on drying out my car!  What a guy!

Well, gotta cut this short and hit the hay!  Early day tomorrow at the Soup Kitchen!

Sammie's New Spot!

I have had a very productive weekend!  I made several cards, a Card Storage Tote and spent a lot of time pinning favorite things to Pinterest!   That site is great but is very addicting!!

It's a good thing Sammie does not weigh much because this afternoon she found a new spot.  We would hate for her to get too far from me, you know? 

Guess she will be helping me make cards next!  I do a lot of my card making standing up at that messy desk above.  Sammie will come in the room and jump from the floor onto my back if I am bending over!   She scares me to death sometimes if I am not expecting it.

So do you want to see some of the cards I made?  I am trying out my Saleabration sets and trying to use them in different ways. 

This set is Patterned Occasions and I made a card using each of the images!!  (I've even mailed a couple of them!!)

This cute little elephant card is made with Crumb Cake and Island Indigo.  I embossed it with the Vine Street folder that you can get FREE with Sale-a-bration!  I used the de-bossed side of the folder for this card.  The banners were made using strips of scraps that I had in my scrap box.

This card is my favorite!  It was sent to Ashley last week so I can post it now.  I stamped the jeans in various colors and even tried to make the blue ones look worn by rubbing a little white ink at the knee area.  Then I inserted a brad in each one and tied a piece of twine around the card for the clothesline.   The sun is a 1 1/4" circle with glitter.  But can you guess how I made the "rays" coming out of the sun?  I used the Itty Bitty Banner punch (also FREE during Sale-a-bration).  Genius, huh?  I hand drew the squiggly frame around the card.

I have a friend who had back surgery last week and this card was sent to her.  The DSP is non SU.  I punched out three circles from the paper and stuck them sticking out the side.  The ribbon is also retired SU - Bermuda Bay I think.

I made this into a birthday card.  The card is made from Crumb Cake and sprayed with the Color Spritzer Tool.  I love the bright colors in this DSP (banners).  It is Sycamore Street ..... again FREE during Sale-a-bration.

I sometimes have trouble mixing and matching Designer Series Paper.  But I decided to go for it with this card.  The DSP is again the Sycamore Street (FREE ..... you know the drill!)  The card base is Island Indigo.  All of the DSP pieces are sponges in Island Indigo.  The Tangerine Tango large circle mats the cupcake circle.  I used my markers to color the cupcake.  The shapes in this card were made using some templates I bought at CKC last year by Kiwi Lane Designs.

So, there, what do you think?  Was I productive or what?!!  I challenge you to pick one of your stamp sets and make several cards using ALL the images in the set!!