Stamping With Gwen

MDS Monday Challenge -- Valentine Project

2012-02-13T05:10:00.000-06:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge. This week our challenge was to create a Valentine project. I’ve already made all my Valentine cards, and I wanted to try something different. I needed a new subject, say hello to Chelsea. This is my BFF Janet’s 5-month old daughter Chelsea Grace. I asked Janet if she had a recent picture of Chelsea. And Janet took the time to play dress-up with her daughter and take Chelsea’s picture in her Valentine outfit – perfect for me! (Thanks Janet !!!)

Now about my project: I saw this quote and picture idea somewhere on the internet and I thought it’d be perfect for a little girl's picture. First, I sized my picture just larger than 5x7. Then I added some swirl stamps from Baroque Motifs and Elements of Style. Next, I started working on the quote. It’s just a bunch of text blocks arranged to fit the picture. Finally, I added a couple Vintage Overlays to soften the edges of the photo. And that’s it. The picture’s ready to print and put in a 5x7 frame.

In case the image is hard to read, the quote says, "For Beautiful eyes, look for the GOOD in others; for Beautiful lips, speak only words of KINDNESS; and for Poise, walk with the knowledge that you are NEVER ALONE. -- Audrey Hepburn."

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Baroque Motifs, Elements of Style; Paper- none; Ink- Whisper White; Accessories- none; Fonts= Arial, AR Decode, Juice ITC

FREE My Digital Studio trial offer

2012-02-01T13:34:00.015-06:00

Are you interested in digital software for cards, scrapbooking and more? Start designing with My Digital Studio (MDS) today for FREE!

Stampin' Up! is offering a FREE 30-day trial of My Digital Studio Express. GOOD NEWS! This offer is on-going and not a limited time offer.

With the FREE 30-Day Trial, you'll get:

Full access to the software at NO COST.
Full design functionality.
Exclusive artwork that comes with My Digital Studio Express, click for details.
The opportunity to purchase additional downloads, from designer templates to stamp brush sets to punches--and everything in between. Here’s a link to the complete MDS Catalog.
Access to Stampin' Up! professional print services.

Getting started is simple – Just download the My Digital Studio Express Free Trial (item 129600) from my Stampin' Up! On-Line Store.

And don’t forget, you earn a FREE Sale-a-bration Gift for every $50 you order – this includes digital downloads you purchase from my store.

Be sure to check out mydigitalstudio.net to learn more about MDS, get tips for using the software, and see tons of samples.

Finally, here's a few quick FAQ's for you--

Q: Is the trial version of the software different from the paid version of My Digital Studio Express?
A: No. When you order the My Digital Studio Express Trial, you will receive the full version of My Digital Studio Express. The software will function exactly the same as if you had purchased the software--you can design, purchase downloads, and print. The only difference is that you can only use the trial version for 30 days.

Q: Can I place a print order with the trial version?
A: Yes. You have full access to everything you can do in My Digital Studio for a full 30 days. This includes full designing functionality, printing, and the ability to purchase downloads.

Q: Do my 30 days start as soon as I download My Digital Studio?
A: Your 30 day trial period starts as soon as you launch the program. It does not matter when you download the program, your 30 days will start as soon as you actually launch (open) the program.

Q: Will the trial still last 30 days even if I order it in the middle or end of the month?
A: You can order the My Digital Studio Trial at any time. The trial period is not tied to the calendar. The trial period will begin as soon as you launch the program, and you will be able to use it for the next 30 days.

Q: What happens after the 30 day trial period is over?
A: When you launch the software after the 30 day trial period is over, you will be prompted to enter a product key. You will not be able to use the software again until you have entered a product key. You can get a product key by purchasing My Digital Studio or My Digital Studio Express.

Q: How do I purchase My Digital Studio after the trial period is over?
A: Simply add My Digital Studio (item 118108) or My Digital Studio Express (item 124483) to your next order. If you order My Digital Studio Express, you will not need to reinstall the software. A product key will be e-mailed to you; after you complete your purchase, just enter that product key when the program prompts you to. If you purchase the disc version of My Digital Studio, you will need to use the installation discs in order to access the included digital content. The installation wizard will walk you through the process, including entering the product key (which you’ll receive with your shipped discs). You will not lose any downloads or projects from your 30-day trial period.

Q: What happens to digital downloads I purchase during the 30 day trial period?
A: You will have continued access to any downloads you purchase during the trial period. If you choose to purchase the software, you will simply need to enter a product key, and you will be able to use all your downloads like normal. If you do not purchase the software, you will still have access to your downloads through your download manager, and you will be able to load them to the digital design software of your choice.

Q: Can I use My Digital Studio digital downloads in other design programs?
A: Yes. The My Digital Studio digital downloads will work with any digital design program.

Q: Will my saved projects be lost when the free trial ends?
A: You will not be able to edit any of your projects through My Digital Studio after the trial period has ended unless you purchase the software. If you do chose to purchase the software, you will be able to access all your projects. If you don’t choose to purchase the software, we recommend you save your projects as jpg files. You will then be able to use them like you use any of your jpg (picture) files.

Q: Can I have two free trials?
A: No. The My Digital Studio Express Trial will only work once. After your 30 days are over, you need to purchase the software to continue using the program.

Q: What if I don’t want to purchase the software at the end of the trial period?
A: You can uninstall the software at any time.

Q: How do I use My Digital Studio?
A: We have several videos and resources available for you on the training section of MyDigitalStudio.net that will help you learn how to use the program.

MDS Monday Challenge -- Holiday project

2012-01-30T04:08:00.001-06:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge. This week our challenge was to create a Christmas or Holiday project. I’m showing you a page from my 2012 Calendar. This is April’s page featuring some pictures from last year’s Easter weekend.

This is a really simple page. I started with a Crumb Cake (Kraft) base and added a piece of the Night and Day DSP. I love the texture in this pattern. I use it all the time! Next I added some Melon Mambo and Bravo Burgundy flowers from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set. I embellished a little with the button and baker’s twine. Then I finished with a great springtime Bible verse that I saw somewhere.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Framed MDS Layout

2012-01-25T01:06:00.002-06:00

Good morning! First, if there’s anybody out there still reading my blog, I appreciate you sticking with me. I’m sorry for the long absence. I struggled through the holidays last year and didn’t feel up to any crafting until after the new year. Then work got in the way! Hopefully, everything is back to an even keel, and I’ll be crafting and posting more regularly.

Now, let’s talk about today’s project, or Monday’s project revisited. Do you ever feel like you just need to walk away from a project to figure out what’s missing? That happens to me a lot when I’m scrapbooking. I liked Monday’s layout of my dogs, but it just didn’t feel “finished”. So I modified it slightly, and I LOVE it. I printed it on a color printer, put it in a frame, and now it sits on my buffet for everyone to see.

Here’s what I modified: I changed the DSP pattern on my long strip of paper. This pattern is more subtle. So that I could add the Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin ribbon peaking out from under the DSP. I love how this ribbon looks in digital form. It’s beautiful. In fact, the whole Twitterpated Kit is great. I highly recommend it.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for stopping by!

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Baroque Motifs; Paper- Twitterpated DSP, Kraft (crumb cake) Textured CS, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red; Ink- Sahara Sand, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Flag Punch, Circle Punch, Twitterpated Embellishments (button and pleated satin ribbon), Basic Jewels, Bakers Twine, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Full Heart Punch, Heart To Heart Punch, ; Fonts= Pea Bitt Bitt, CK Journaling

Sale-a-bration starts Today!

2012-01-24T09:11:00.000-06:00

Good morning! It’s gloomy and cloudy here today. So, here’s a card to brighten the day! And I used papers and embellishments that you can get for FREE starting today. Sale-a-bration starts today and continues through March 31st. You get a free product from the Sale-a-bration catalog for every $50 you spend (before Tax & Shipping) – no limits, 1 FREE product for every $50, spend and earn as much as you want!

For this card, I started with a Lucky Limeade base and added three different patterns from the Everyday Enchantment DSP. I added a Very Vanilla “flagged” piece that was stamped with a stamp from Elementary Elegance. Next, came the Pool Party Curly Label piece that has the greeting stamped in Poppy Parade. And I finished with the Everyday Enchantment ribbon and brad. (My inspiration came from a sample in the Sale-a-bration catalog.)

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

MDS Card Recipe: Stamps- Elementary Elegance; Paper- Everyday Enchantment DSP, Very Vanilla Textured CS, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party; Ink- Soft Suede, Poppy Parade; Accessories- Square Punch, Flag Punch, Curly Label Punch, Everyday Enchantment Embellishments (ribbon and brad); Fonts= none

MDS Monday Challenge -- Featuring Hearts

2012-01-23T06:15:00.001-06:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge. This week our challenge was to create a project using hearts in honor of Valentine’s Day. Last year, I needed a new MasterCard for an international vacation, and I wanted to use a picture of my dogs. That meant a photo session with my puppies. And I actually got a picture I love.

I chose to create a page featuring that picture of my dogs. I’m re-doing my home décor and this page is perfect to put in an 8x10 frame and display on my new shelves. I’m really focusing on creating scrapbook pages that I can frame (in all sizes) and display or hang on the walls. It’s feels great to look at these treasured memories. (I much prefer that over posed studio portraits-- Just my personal preference.)

This page came together quickly using the Twitterpated Kit download. I love the papers, stamps, and embellishments that come with this kit. For this page, I combined the Twitterpated Papers with some older downloads. I started with a Crumb Cake base. Then stamped with Baroque Motifs in Sahara Sand for a watermark look to the page. I added some heart punches and embellished them. Next, I wanted to mimic the outline heart from “I {heart} Hearts”, so I punched the Full Heart and enlarged it. Then I added small circle punches to create the outline and deleted the original punch. Finally, I added some Twitterpated DSP and more embellishments. (*** I have a white strip along the left edge to mark where my design needs to end for the 8x10 frame.)

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Baroque Motifs; Paper- Twitterpated DSP, Kraft (crumb cake) Textured CS, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red; Ink- Sahara Sand, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Flag Punch, Circle Punch, Twitterpated Embellishments (button), Basic Jewels, Bakers Twine, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Full Heart Punch, Heart To Heart Punch; Fonts= Pea Bitt Bitt, CK Journaling

MDS Easel Calendar Christmas Gift

2011-12-06T06:25:00.002-06:00

Good morning! Today’s post is about my Christmas Gift for my 7yo niece. Like a lot of kids, Abby’s fascinated with pictures of herself. Last year, my mom’s Christmas gift was a personalized MDS Calendar. And I think Abby was even more thrilled with it than my mom was. She excitedly screamed, “Grandma, it’s got pictures of me!” Then she looked at me and said, “I want one.” Oops, too late, I’d already gotten her something else.

But this year, Abby gets her very own calendar. I chose the 10x5 Easel Calendar that can sit on her dresser. I think this is a fantastic solution because you get the calendar all year long. And when the year is over, you can turn it around and use the back side pages. I completed those pages just like scrapbook pages. Now, Abby will have a mini 2011 scrapbook album to keep and display long after the calendar is useful.

I completed this whole calendar (all 25 pages with the cover) in approximately 4-5 hours. And that includes adding all the birthdays and holidays to the calendar grid. I kept the actual calendar pages really simple, just a picture and coordinating colors. Then I used clean and simple layouts for the “scrapbook pages”, plus they’re barely bigger than a card so you can’t get too elaborate.

It’s not too late for you to create your own personalized calendars in MDS. You have a few more days to place your order and receive it in time for Christmas. Please let me know if you need any help or have any questions.

Thanks for stopping by!

MDS Calendar Recipes include: Stamps- Hip and Handsome Overlays, Wishes and Greetings, Sporting; Paper- Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, More Mustard Large Polka Dot, Celebrations DSP, Night and Day DSP, Elegant Soiree DSP, Bravo Burgundy, Pacific Point, Frostwood Lodge DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Garden Green, Soft Suede; Ink- Bravo Burgundy, Basic Black, Whisper White; Accessories- Square Punch, Circle Punch, Flag Punch, Simple Stitches and Corners, Bakers Twine, Neutrals Buttons, Brads, Ornament Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Simple Letters Punch, Downtown Grunge Frames, Basic Jewels, Decorative Label Punch, Modern Label Punch

MDS Monday #43 -- Snowflakes

2011-12-05T06:25:00.003-06:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #43 – Snowflakes. Our challenge this week is to create a project featuring a snowflake. I’ve been working on my 2012 calendar, and this is the January page. This week on my blog, I’ll be featuring projects you can make for Christmas gifts. What could be better than a calendar with your family pictures and memories from last year? Last Christmas, I gave my mom a calendar I created in MDS. She loved it, but I was surprised how excited my niece got when she saw it. Of course, she loves seeing pictures of herself :-) Later this week, I’ll show you what I’m giving her for Christmas.

This is a simple page. I love the flag punch and used it throughout the calendar. On this page, I just filled it with various pattern papers in my color scheme. I added a stitched border. And finished with my pictures and embellishments. The snowflakes, brads, and basic jewels look great on this clean and simple layout.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Best Wishes and More, Holiday Blitz, Old Saint Nick; Paper- Marina Mist Textured CS, Bashful Blue Grid DSP, Night Of Navy Dotted Stripe DSP, Night and Day DSP, Bashful Blue Striped DSP, Night Of Navy Large Polka Dot DSP, Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue; Ink- Whisper White; Accessories- Simple Stitches and Corners, Square Punch, Flag Punch, Brads, Basic Jewels, Grosgrain Ribbon; Fonts= none

Vintagey Christmas Stocking Card

2011-12-02T03:01:00.001-06:00

Good morning! Here’s a special Christmas Card for someone on your list who likes “vintage” stuff. The Vintage style is very much outside my comfort zone, but it’s really “in” right now. And with a few Stampin’ Up! products even I can make a card with that vintage feel.

I started with a color combination of Real Red, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, and Old Olive. They’re all more muted colors with that “aged” feel. I ran one piece of Very Vanilla through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. (An obvious choice, huh?) Then I sponged the embossed piece with Crumb Cake ink to highlight the embossed impression and add another layer of color. Next I ran a piece of Old Olive through the Big Shot with the new Oval Designer Frame embossing folder. And keeping with that vintage feel, I just tore around the oval impression.

I finished my card with the Stitched Stocking stamp and Stocking Builder punch. This is my absolute favorite stamp set and tool for this year’s Christmas Cards. I love all the different looks I can get by either stamping and punching the images or simply punching DSP. (My favorite is accenting with the Silver Glimmer Paper, but that didn’t fit with this card. I’ll be showing those samples next week!)

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you get time to work on your Christmas projects this weekend.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Stitched Stockings, Petite Pairs; Paper- Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Old Olive; Ink- Crumb Cake, Real Red; Accessories- Stocking Builder Punch, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Wallpaper EF, Designer Frames EF (oval), Stampin’ Dimensionals

Embossed Bells and Boughs card

2011-12-01T03:00:00.001-06:00

Good morning! Here’s another striking card that you can give to the special people on your Christmas Card list. However, this is really a very quick and simple card to make. I love cards that have a huge “Wow!” impact, but are really easy to make. And this is one of those cards.

My card base is Crumb Cake, and I have a Soft Suede piece that’s 4-1/4” x 2-3/4”. I stamped the Poinsettia from the Bells and Boughs stamp set with VersaMark ink and embossed both images with Silver Embossing Powder. Next, I stamped Merry Christmas from the Petite Pairs stamp set in the upper right corner.

I used the Lace Ribbon Border Punch on a piece of Cherry Cobbler. Then I “threaded” some Very Vanilla ribbon through the punched strip. And if you don’t like tying bows or knots, this is the ribbon treatment for you – just add a ribbon fold with a silver brad and you’re done.

Thanks for stopping by, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bells and Boughs, Petite Pairs; Paper- Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler; Ink- VersaMark, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Lace Ribbon Border Punch, 1/4” Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Embossing Powder, Silver Brad

Christmas Wreath Door card

2011-11-30T02:58:00.001-06:00

Good morning! As I mentioned yesterday, this week I’m focusing on those “special” cards for the special people on your Christmas Card list. First, let me start by saying this card is EASY to make, but it does take a while with all that cutting and sponging. But this is also a card that could easily be mass-produced. You just need to cut all the pieces at once … then sit down to watch TV while you do all that sponging :-)

I’ve seen lots of these “door” cards. And I wanted mine to resemble the raised panel doors on older homes. My inside “panels” are cut 1/8” smaller than the outside panel. I did sponge all the pieces to add more depth and dimension to the card. I used my tape runner to attach the inside panel to the outside panel. I added a Silver Brad for a “door knob”. Then I attached the panels to the “door” with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I created the “wreath” by first punching out the center with a 1-1/8” Circle Punch. Next, I used the XL Scallop Circle Punch. Then I used the Holly stamp from the Bells and Boughs stamp set to add some leaves to the wreath. And every wreath needs some glitter, right? So I added tiny circle punches of Red Glimmer Paper to mimic ornaments. (I used the Build A Cupcake punch on some tiny scraps of the Glimmer paper.) Finally, I added a bow and the Merry Christmas stamp from the Come To Bethlehem stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bells and Boughs, Come To Bethlehem; Paper- Real Red, Whisper White, Old Olive; Ink- Garden Green, Real Red, Red Glimmer Paper; Accessories- 1-1/8” Circle Punch, 2-3/8” Scallop Circle Punch, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon, Build A Cupcake Punch, Silver Brad, Stampin’ Dimensionals

3-D Pennant Parade Tree Card

2011-11-29T02:56:00.002-06:00

Good morning! This week, I’m going to focus on some of the “fancier” Christmas cards you might make for the special people on your Christmas Card list. This is still an easy card to make, but the extra details make it look like you spent a long time making it. It’ll be our little secret how easy it really was!

First, let’s start with the Center-Step fold for the card base. I followed a template that Connie Babbert created. Just cut the 2 vertical lines. Then use the new Simply Scored Tool to score the horizontal lines. The only trick is creasing the folds really well so the card sits up correctly. This style of card also qualifies for the Dolce Stamps DSAC06 challenge.

Next, I made a 3-D Christmas Tree using the Pennant Parade stamp set and the Petite Pennants punch. Stamp the Tree image 3 times and punch each image out with the scallop pennant portion of the Petite Pennants punch. Fold each tree in half and attach the trees back-to-back with the Multi-purpose liquid glue. (The liquid glues allows you time to get the scallops perfectly aligned with each other.)

The rest of the card is just decorated with strips of the Frostwood Lodge DSP, some Quilted Satin Ribbon, and a Basic Rhinestone Jewel. I added a greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes and punched it out with the Modern Label Punch. Oh, and I did not use any Stampin’ Dimensionals on this card. The fancy fold and 3-D tree added enough depth to this card. And this way, you can still mail the card since the tree folds flat!

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know if you have any questions.

Here's an angled view of the card so you can see all the card's dimension:

And here's a straight-ahead view so you can see the tree better:

Card Recipe: Stamps- Pennant Parade, Tenny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Frostwood Lodge DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Garden Green; Ink- Garden Green, Early Espresso; Accessories- Petite Pennants Punch, Quilted Satin Ribbon, Basic Jewels, Decorative Label Punch, Modern Label Punch

MDS Monday #42 -- CASE a Card

2011-11-28T06:06:00.002-06:00

Good morning and welcome to another MDS Monday Challenge. This week’s challenge is to CASE (Copy And Share Everything) a card from the Idea Book or Holiday Mini catalog. Well, I took a little liberty with this challenge. You see, I’ve been working on my Christmas cards and I chose to CASE a Mary Brown card instead. I usually don’t truly copy cards; I tend to use a layout or aspect I like as a starting point. However, I loved everything about Mary’s card and decided to translate it to MDS as one of my personal Christmas cards this year.

The Christmas Lodge set is one of my all-time favorite stamp sets. And the best thing about the Digital Download is that I can re-size it to fit with any project I’m creating! I shrunk the images to make these Tags. And I’ll be enlarging the stamps on some projects you’ll see in the next few days. For this card, I sized the images to match the real-life stamp sizes.

This is also the first card I’ve had professionally printed. And I must say the quality is outstanding. If you need tons of Christmas cards, I highly suggest taking advantage of the new Bulk Pricing and order your Christmas cards this year. I’ll be happy to help you with MDS or ordering, just contact me.

Here's the Digital image of the card:

Here's the printed copy of the card:

Here's the inside of the card -- notice you can design both inside panels to coordinate:

Here's a better picture of the inside greeting, where I'll sign the card:

Now please check out all the other Design Team creations at Utah Divas International. Thanks for stopping by!

Elegant Ribbon and Ornament Christmas Card

2011-11-25T01:36:00.012-06:00

Good morning! I hope you get some time to stamp and work on your Christmas projects this holiday weekend. And speaking of Christmas projects, from now until Christmas Day, I’ll be posting a variety of Christmas projects I’ve created over the last few months. Everything from hand-stamped “special” cards, to quick and easy Hybrid MDS Cards; from small decorated treats to elegant tags and matching gift wrap; from MDS created gifts to MDS printed cards. Keep checking back to get ideas for your crafting projects.

Today’s card was inspired by a Halloween card I saw on Mary Brown’s blog. I love the simple elegance of the card with that wide striped ribbon. I changed it to a Christmas card by using some retired Riding Hood Red striped ribbon and the ornament stamp from Delightful Decorations. I kept the elegant feel by using all neutrals with that pop of Riding Hood Red. The rest of the card is Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, and Very Vanilla. And don’t forget that final touch with the Basic Pearl. This qualifies for the PPA121 "Pearls" challenge at Pals Paper Arts.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Delightful Decorations, Petite Pairs; Paper- Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Ink- Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede; Accessories- Ornament Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1-1/4” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Basic Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals

CAS Day Of Gratitude Thank You

2011-11-24T02:09:00.002-06:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you’re enjoying a blessed day with your loved ones. Here’s a quick CAS Thank You card I made while I was making some Thanksgiving cards for my family. I started with a Very Vanilla card base. Then I cut another layer of Very Vanilla and ran it through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. (That adds so much depth and dimension to a simple card.) After the embossing, I punched a circle with the 1-3/4” circle punch.

Next, I stamped a leaf from the Day Of Gratitude stamp set with Pool Party ink on a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock. I stamped the Thank You greeting with Soft Suede ink on top of the leaf. Now for the tricky part, I attached the stamped scrap to the card base so it’ll be visible through the punched circle. Once I have it attached in just the right spot, I attach the punched and embossed layer with lots of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally, I stamped another leaf on a scrap of Spice Cake DSP, cut it out, and attached it with the non-stamped side facing upward. I added a knot of quilted Early Espresso ribbon with a glue dot, and it’s done. It sounds a lot harder and longer when I type all the directions! But it really is a 10-minute or less card.

Don’t forget about the Digital Scrapbooking Event that starts tomorrow and the FREE Downloads. Click HERE for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by, and please let me know if you have any questions.

A close up of what's inside the circle.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Day Of Gratitude; Paper- Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DSP; Ink- Soft Suede, Pool Party; Accessories- 1-3/4” Circle Punch, Quilted Satin Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

CCMC176, Quilted Spice Cake DSP

2011-11-23T01:20:00.002-06:00

Good morning! Only one more day until Thanksgiving, are you ready? I’ve started my cooking and prep work. I’m trying 2 new desserts this year, and I’m anxious to see how they turn out. Now the real question: Are you ready for the Shopping Season that’s only 2 days away?! Don’t forget you can get a head start with the Stampin’ Up Online Extravaganza running now through Nov 30th. CLICK HERE for complete details.

When I saw the Create with Connie and Mary CCMC176 Sketch Challenge, I immediately thought of quilts and the Spice Cake DSP. My Grandma has made all kinds of handmade quilts, from the embroidered quilt tops to the pieced quilt designs. The pieced quilts have always been my favorite and that’s what this sketch resembled to me.

I started with a Soft Suede rectangle and added 3 patterns from the Spice Cake DSP. Then I ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice EF. That gave a faux quilted fabric look to my panel. I thought the upper left corner needed something, so I stamped the Day Of Gratitude medallion with VersaMark ink just to give a light impression. I stamped the Day Of Gratitude leaves with Pool Party and Soft Suede, cut them out, and popped them up with dimensionals. I finished with a “flagged” greeting and a mini silver brad.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Day Of Gratitude, Just Believe; Paper- River Rock, Soft Suede, Spice Cake DSP, Very Vanilla; Ink- VersaMark, Pool Party, Soft Suede; Accessories- Mini Silver Brad, Square Lattice EF, Stampin’ Dimensionals

PPA120, Spice Cake Thinking of You

2011-11-22T01:16:00.005-06:00

Good morning! I love sending hand-stamped cards to my extended family for their birthday, Christmas, Easter, all sorts of occasions. But I really don’t send Thanksgiving cards. I don’t know why; I just never have. Well, this year when I started thinking about my aunts and uncles, I decided to make cards to let them know I was thinking of them on Thanksgiving.

I have a few bits of the Spice Cake DSP leftover, and I thought the Pals Paper Arts PPA120 sketch challenge was the perfect way to utilize some of this beautiful paper. I combined it with the Day Of Gratitude stamp set, one of my favorites. The leaves in this set are the perfect combination of masculine and feminine. That way I can make some cards that won’t be too “girly” for my uncles, right?!

My card base is Very Vanilla, with a Spice Cake layer. Then the focal layer is River Rock cardstock with the Soft Suede stamped greeting. Next, I stamped one leaf with Soft Suede and the other with Pool Party. Then I cut them out and popped them up with dimensionals. I finished the card with another bit of Spice Cake DSP, some Pear Pizzazz cardstock, and a couple silver brads.

Don't forget about the Stampin' Up Online Extravaganza running now through Nov 30th. CLICK HERE for complete details.

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know if you have any questions.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Day Of Gratitude, Sincere Salutations; Paper- Spice Cake DSP, Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz, River Rock; Ink- Soft Suede, Pool Party; Accessories- Scallop Edge Border Punch, Silver Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Shop Now -- Stampin' Up Online Extravaganza

2011-11-21T13:27:00.006-06:00

Shop Now through Nov 30th and save 20% to 60% on select Stampin' Up products with the Online Extravaganza Sale. Be sure to log in to my Online Store or Email Me to take advantage of great savings like:

FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express
60% off select Designer Fabrics
30% off an exclusive ribbon bundle

Here's a PDF link to everything on sale during the Online Extravaganza.

There is no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion.

For product bundles, you must use the bundle item numbers provided. Bundle discounts will not be applied if individual item numbers are used.

Additional products from current catalogs may be purchased on the same order.

Discounts range between 20 and 60 percent.

HAPPY SHOPPING !

MDS Monday #41 -- Thanksgiving

2011-11-21T06:53:00.001-06:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #41 – Thanksgiving. Our challenge this week is to create a Thanksgiving Project. I chose to make a Digital card for one of my customers. She’s one of the most supportive and kind people I know. I hope she gets some inspiration from this card.

This card features the amazing Spice Cake DSP. I love the patterns in this paper; it reminds me of quilt fabric. Not that I quilt or even sew, but my Grandma does. And I love picking out fabric for her to make me quilts. Yes, I’m also very grateful for my Grandma who’s always spoiled me!

The card also features some leaves from the Day Of Gratitude stamp set and the greeting from the So Typefelt stamp set. Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Card Recipe: Stamps- Day Of Gratitude, So Typefelt; Paper- Spice Cake DSP, Pear Pizzazz, River Rock Textures CS, Very Vanilla Textured CS; Ink- Pool Party, Soft Suede; Accessories- Simple Stitches and Corners, Square Punch, Flag Punch, Circle Punch, Basic Jewels; Fonts= none

Stampin' Up Online Extravaganza !

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

Stampin' Up!'s Online Extravaganza begins Monday, November 21, 2011, and will run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Be sure to log in to my Online Store on Monday, November 21st, to take advantage of great savings like:

FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express
60% off select Designer Fabrics
30% off an exclusive ribbon bundle!
PLUS...two items, on sale for 24 hours only (Nov 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT])

SO...make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza!

Watch for more details coming November 21st.

Have a great Weekend !
Gwen

MDS Monday #39 -- Christmas Tags

2011-11-07T05:32:00.001-06:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #39 – Christmas Tags. Our challenge this week is to create a Christmas Tag. I love creating tags with traditional supplies; they’re so small and quick to make. Well, they’re just as easy and quick in MDS, too. I got on a roll and created 4 tags on a single page.

I’d planned to print some MDS pieces and make Hybrid tags, but I ran out of time. So, I’m showing you the MDS images, and you can see how you’d use traditional punches to create Hybrid tags. However, these completed MDS images would make great embellishments for scrapbook pages or Christmas cards. Just remove the “To” and “From” text and replace it with journaling or a stamped greeting. I hope you have fun creating tags this Christmas Season.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Tag #1 Recipe: Stamps- Christmas Lodge; Paper- Frostwood Lodge DSP, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; Ink- Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Antique Brads, Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Flag Punch, Tag Punch; Fonts= Lucida Handwriting

MDS Tag #2 Recipe: Stamps- Christmas Lodge; Paper- Frostwood Lodge DSP, Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Garden Green Textured CS, Cherry Cobbler Textured CS; Ink- Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Basic Jewels, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Square Punch; Fonts= Lucida Handwriting

MDS Tag #3 Recipe: Stamps- Bells and Boughs; Paper- Deck The Halls DSP, Crumb Cake Textured CS, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede Textured CS, Cherry Cobbler Textured CS; Ink- Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Pewter Brad, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Square Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Basic Jewels; Fonts= Lucida Handwriting

MDS Tag #4 Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Frostwood Lodge DSP, Marina Mist Textured CS, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White; Ink- Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Staples and Stitching, Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch, Round Tab Punch, 2-Step Bird Punch; Fonts= CK Journaling

Digital Scrapbooking Event Starts Today

2011-11-04T03:19:00.002-05:00

Happy FRIDAY! And it’s even happier than normal because you can get FREE Digital Downloads starting today. In honor of Digital Scrapbooking Day, Stampin' Up! has planned a four-day online event designed to introduce you to My Digital Studio (MDS). The celebration is at MyDigitalStudio.net from November 4-7! And it includes free downloads, blog posts with exciting project ideas, and the announcement of the 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners.

If you already have MDS or you’ve ever thought about digital scrapbooking, you should head over to MyDigitalStudio.net to check out the site. They have a forum to help answer your questions. And they have thousands of samples (that people have uploaded) to help inspire you. But my favorite part is the Blog section. A variety of Stampin’ Up! people share their creativity (along with guest bloggers) to show you the variety of projects you can create with My Digital Studio. It’s far more versatile than just scrapbooking!

Don’t forget about these FREE downloads that you’ll get. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Framed Digital Page

2011-11-03T01:18:00.003-05:00

Good morning! Don’t forget about the Digital Scrapbooking Event that starts tomorrow and the FREE Downloads. Click HERE for all the details.

Now, I have another Digital Page from my Mediterranean Cruise to share with you. But first, I have to explain a little bit about my home décor. I have never been one to display portraits. I’m just not a big fan of all those “staged poses” and the “fake backdrops”. (This could be a leftover dislike of the portraits from my childhood.) Therefore, I mostly have framed Thomas Kincaid pictures and other scenery-type art. But I’m getting tired of the same thing I’ve had for 7 or 8 years. And I keep hearing how your home’s décor should say something about you and what’s important in your life.

Well, I love traveling and all the places I’ve been. And I’ve really come to love MDS because it makes scrapbooking so much easier. What could be better than framing and displaying some scrapbook pages?! So, I purchased several large (11x14 and 12x18) frames to re-do a long hallway in my home. And I plan to fill these with scrapbook pages from all my travels. Stay tuned to see how my project progresses.

In the meantime, I threw together a few pages to display in standard 8x10 frames and place around my home. Here’s a page from Dubrovnik, Croatia. I don’t know how much you can tell from this picture, but this is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. And I wanted to use so many pictures on my page; I thought the Downtown Grunge frames would work perfectly. Then the rest of the page is very simple to keep the focus on the pictures.

Thanks for stopping by, and please let me know if you have any questions.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Medallion, Vintage Overlays; Paper- Sahara Sand, Basic Gray Textured CS, Cajun Craze; Ink- Basic Black, Garden Green; Accessories- Square Punch, Tasteful Trim 3, Downtown Grunge Photo Frame; Fonts- CK Jacque; CK Journaling

Open House, CCMC173, PP70

2011-11-01T00:01:00.004-05:00

Edited 11/03/2011 to add: I'm thrilled to say I was one of the Top 3 Picks for the CCMC173 Challenge. Thank you for picking me ladies!

Good morning! I’m planning an Open House for Nov 11th and 12th, and I wanted to create door hangers to invite people in my neighborhood. I needed to come up with something eye-catching so people will actually read the invite, then want to come to my Open House. I also need it to be a simple project since I need about 250 of these.

I decided a Door Hanger style invite would work best. And if I created it in My Digital Studio (MDS), I’d get the hand-crafted look with a minimum amount of physical work. I can just print all the copies I need. MDS is great for any kind of mass-production!

I wanted my Door Hanger to fit 3 to a page. So I opened an 8-1/2 x 11 Landscape photobook in MDS and inserted a blank page. I added a Square Punch and sized it to 3-1/2 x 8-1/2. This gives me the correct area for designing my Door Hanger. I love the French Foliage card that comes pre-designed with MDS and used that as the basis for my design. Next, I chose Create With Connie and Mary’s CCMC170 Color Challenge for my colors and just added all the layers, ribbon, stamps, and embellishments that I worked. I finished by adding various fonts for the “You’re Invited” text. The fall leaves also qualifies this design for the Paper Players PP70 Fall Theme Challenge.

Once I was happy with the look, I “grouped” everything then copied and pasted it 2 more times on that page. As easy as that, my Door Hanger is ready to print, cut, and distribute. Oh, and the circle at the top of the Door Hanger is for me to punch a hole so it fits over the door knob.

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know if you have any questions.

MDS Recipe: Stamps- French Foliage; Paper- Baja Breeze Textured CS, Early Espresso Textured CS, Baja Breeze Textured CS, Very Vanilla Textured CS, Baja Breeze Striped DSP; Ink- Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze; Accessories- Square Punch, Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Vintage Trinkets, Grosgrain Ribbon; Fonts- Pea Gretchie, Bookman Old Style

MDS Monday #38 -- Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:05:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #38 – Happy Halloween. Our challenge this week is to create a Halloween themed project. I took the opportunity to create Hybrid Halloween Treat wrappers. I love the stamps and papers in the Wicked Fun Kit download, so that’s where I started. I added a few other pieces (stamps, punches, and embellishments) to complete the look, like the Itty Bitty punch and Basic Jewel to decorate the witch’s hat.

Once I created all the different pieces in My Digital Studio (MDS), I copied and pasted until I had enough pieces to wrap all my treats. I also printed several sheets from the Wicked Fun DSP. Then, I used my matching punches to punch out all the pieces I’d created. I put everything together with staples and dimensionals. And I was finished in no time!

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Here's what I created:

Here's the MDS pages I printed:

And here's close-ups of my Halloween Treats:

MDS Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool, Eat, Drink, and Be Scary; Paper- Wicked Fun DSP, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze (traditional Basic Black, Basic Gray, Cajun Craze); Ink- Basic Black, Cajun Craze; Accessories- Basic Jewels, Stitching, Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch, Decorative Label Punch (traditional punches= Modern Label, Decorative Label, 1-3/8” Circle); Fonts- none

Digital Witches Brew

2011-10-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Happy FRIDAY! I have a busy weekend with a couple different Christmas Card events planned. I have to tell you a funny story. My mom was at my house a couple days ago, and she made a comment about me skipping Halloween. I said, “Huh?” She said, “I see you already have your Christmas towels up in the bathroom.” Then I had to explain that I’ve been doing Christmas events and had gotten out some of my Christmas stuff to go along with the theme.

So, in honor of Halloween, I’m posting a Halloween card that I created with My Digital Studio (MDS) and the “Wicked Fun Kit” download. This was also a great way to email a card to my niece and nephew! (I just emailed them the jpeg file.) Check back Monday to see the Hybrid treat wrappings I created with this same download. (Hybrid projects are part digital, part traditional.)

As I’ve told you before, I love MDS for so many reasons. This card shows how easy it is to do digital “punch art”; all the same traditional punches are available with MDS. And the cool thing about the MDS punches is that you can make them any size you need! But the best thing – no glue, no mess! :-) I created the cauldron with the Circle Punch, Oval Punches, and Medium Jewelry Tag Punches. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

MDS Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Cajun Craze Textured CS, Whisper White, Wicked Fun DSP, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black; Ink- Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry; Accessories- Square Punch, Circle Punch, Oval Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Taffeta Ribbon (for coloring the witch’s socks and hat band: Tall Heart Punch, Circle Punch, Square Punch, Small Heart Punch)

FREE Digital Downloads for MDS

2011-10-27T00:19:00.001-05:00

Wow! It’s a fabulous Thursday. I just found out that Stampin’ Up is planning a 4-day celebration for Digital Scrapbooking Day. And we all get FREE Digital Downloads!!! I love My Digital Studio. I’ve used it to create several fabulous projects including Party Favors, Scrapbooks, Hybrid Cards, Calendars, and so much more. If you’ve ever thought about Digital Scrapbooking, Contact Me. I’d love to tell you all about My Digital Studio (MDS).

Now, back to those FREE Downloads … Mark your calendars for Nov 4 - 7.

Celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day with Stampin' Up! for a four-day online event designed to introduce you to My Digital Studio. Digital Scrapbooking Day is November 5, but we'll keep the celebration going from November 4-7! The event will include free downloads, blog posts with exciting project ideas all weekend long, and the announcement of the 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners.

All this fun and excitement will happen at MyDigitalStudio.net. Plus, you get the following Brand New, never before seen, FREE Downloads just by filling out a quick survey.

Thanks for stopping by, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Christmas Stamp Camp projects

2011-10-25T00:47:00.001-05:00

Good morning everyone-- Wow, I can’t believe how fast the months are flying by! Sometimes, I feel like I just can’t keep up. I had planned to have my Christmas Stamp Camp projects started before I went on vacation … but that didn’t happen. So, I worked hard the last couple of weekends to get the projects done. And I’m proud to say, everything is done except for the last couple cards that are waiting for Ribbon from my next order.

This Christmas Stamp Camp is to help you create those “special” projects for the “special” people in your life. You’ll create 6 cards, 2 candy/treat holders, 1 gift card holder, and 1 gift bag with a matching tag. That’s a total of 11 projects (including the tag) for $27.

If you live in the Fort Worth area, I’d love for you to join one of the Christmas Stamp Camp events. Please CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

Now, here’s a sample of the projects.

MDS Monday #37 -- Mix It and Match It

2011-10-24T05:08:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #37 – Mix It and Match It. Our challenge this week is to use papers from at least two different Designer Series Paper downloads. This is extremely challenging since I’m color blind. One of the things I love about SU! Is the paper packs where I know everything works together. However, I’ve purchased several DSP downloads, and I haven’t written down all the colors yet. UGH! I’ve got to get caught up on that.

Therefore, I took the easy way and stuck with my favorite downloads that use neutral colors – Night And Day, First Edition, and Elegant Soiree. The Elegant Soiree pattern I chose contains some Baja Breeze, so I added a few more embellishments to bring out that color.

These are pictures of all the souvenirs I bought on vacation. I usually buy a magnet to remind me of the activities I did while I was there. Well, I came home with 10 magnets and, as you can see from the pictures, a ton of other souvenirs, too. I bought Lemoncello, Olive Oil, and Chocolate Covered Almonds from Sorrento, Italy. I bought some local jams, cake, and a T-shirt from Dubrovnik, Croatia. And my biggest purchases were the glass necklaces from Murrano Island off Venice, Italy.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Crumb Cake Textured CS, Basic Gray Striped DSP, Night And Day DSP, First Edition DSP, Elegant Soiree DSP; Ink- Basic Black, Baja Breeze; Accessories- Brads, Square Punch, Simple Letters Punch, Simple Alphabet Punch; Fonts- CK Jacque, CK Journaling

Stamp Club Appreciation Brunch 2011

2011-10-21T02:09:00.001-05:00

TGIF! Last Saturday, I held my first Stamp Club Appreciation Brunch. I think everyone had a good time. I had Pumpkin Bread and Mock Devonshire Cream, a Crescent Roll Scramble Ring, Fruit, and Granola. I love breakfast food. Most breakfast recipes are fool proof and so comforting.

I also made some gifts for the ladies -- a Holiday Stocking with a candy bar, a Sour Cream container with some SU! accessories, and a Stamp Case turned into a Holiday Planner with the help of My Digital Studio. (I'll provide more details and pictures for the Holiday Planner next week.) In the mean time, here are some pictures of everything all setup and ready for people to arrive.

If you live in the Fort Worth area and would like to join a Stamp Club, I’ll have a new Club starting in January. CONTACT ME for details.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday with Best Friend Forever

2011-10-20T01:59:00.001-05:00

Good morning! I needed a birthday card a few weeks ago, and I was intrigued by the sample on page 90 of the Idea Book and Catalog. I love the horizontal strip and scallop trim border piece just peaking out. But I wanted to try something new, a different kind of fold. I wanted that strip to be the back of the card wrapping around to the front. And for that piece to be held closed by the butterfly. So I went to work.

I cut my Lucky Limeade card stock to the standard size of 5-1/2 x 8-1/2. Then I used the new “Simply Scored” to score the cardstock on the 8-1/2” edge at 3” and 7-1/4”. That gave me 1/4” for my flap to overlap, plus I’d be adding the Scallop Trim Border piece. And that would allow the Beautiful Wings butterfly to keep the flap closed.

I embossed and stamped the piece of Top Note that I’d be using. Then I used that to determine where to stamp the Leaf image from the Best Friend Forever set. I stamped it twice with VersaMark and heat embossed it with Iridescent Ice. (I told you yesterday that I love Iridescent Ice, and I really do!) The rest is easy. I just adhered all the pieces and stamped the inside.

I was very pleased with how the finished card looked. And the recipient loved it :-) Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Best Friend Forever, Upsy Daisy, Delightful Dozen; Paper- Lucky Limeade, Naturals Ivory, River Rock, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red; Ink- VersaMark, Elegant Eggplant; Accessories- Top Note Die, Iridescent Ice, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Simply Scored, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Dimensionals

Pink and Purple Come To Bethlehem

2011-10-19T05:06:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Today’s card is from the Christmas Card Buffets that I had in September. I wanted a card that was NOT Red and Green, and this was it. I thought this color combination looked very “Royal” with the Come To Bethlehem set.

The Wise Men were inked up with VersaMark, then Elegant Eggplant Classic ink and stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock. Next, we added Iridescent Ice and heat embossed the image. I love how silhouette images look with this technique. Perfect for a Christmas Card. I hope you can see all the sparkle in the 2nd picture.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Come To Bethlehem; Paper- Pretty In Pink, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla, Basic Black; Ink- Elegant Eggplant, VersaMark; Accessories- Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Iridescent Ice

MDS Monday #36 -- Buttons and More Buttons

2011-10-17T06:07:00.003-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #36 – Button, Buttons, and More Buttons. It’s been quite a while since I posted. I was on a Mediterranean Cruise. I had intended to schedule some blog posts while I was gone, but I just ran out of time before I left. I apologize for the long absence. However, I should have lots to post for a while: lots of Christmas Projects and lots of Vacation Scrapbook pages. I have a goal to complete my Mediterranean Vacation book by April. You’ll have to stay tuned to check on my progress. (Keep in mind, I’m a horrible PROCRATINATOR. So this is a big challenge for me!)

Back to today’s project. Although this page uses pictures from my vacation, it’s not part of my album. I decided to create some pages to put in 8x10 picture frames and display around my house. This is the first of 5 frames I want to create.

I started with a Sahara Sand background. Then added the Textured stamp in Chocolate Chip at 40% opacity to get that “aged” feel to my layout. Next, I added my Basic Gray layer and the pictures. Now, it’s time to add a little color to this layout. I’ll be using Cajun Craze, So Saffron, and Garden Green for most of my vacation pictures, to keep a continuous color palette throughout my frames and album. I added strips of DSP in the 3 colors.

I finished with all those buttons in the same 3 colors and scattered them to move the color around the whole layout. I usually finish my pages with the embellishments, whether it be buttons, brads, or ribbon. It just adds that “completed” look to the page.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Textured; Paper- Sahara Sand, Basic Gray Textured CS, Cajun Craze Striped DSP, Garden Green Brocade DSP, So Saffron Textile DSP; Ink- Basic Black, Chocolate Chip; Accessories- Regals Button Pack, Subtles Button Pack, Square Punch, Downtown Grunge Frame; Fonts- Stamp Act, CK Journaling

MDS Monday #32 -- A Baby Card

2011-09-19T05:05:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #32 – Baby Card. I created a “New Baby” card using my favorite DSP – Elegant Soiree. This DSP retired when we got the new catalog in July. But you can still get several of your old favorites as Digital Downloads; you should check out what all’s available.

The Elegant Soiree papers include Baja Breeze, and that was my jumping off point. I added circles using different patterns from the DSP. Then I added a Tag punch and the Welcome Baby stamp from Punch Bunch. Since I wanted my card to work for a boy or girl, I added So Saffron and Wild Wasabi to my color palette. I finished my card by adding the “Congratulations” stamp from Hugs & Wishes, an Early Espresso ribbon knot, and Basic Rhinestones.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Card Recipe: Stamps- Hugs & Wishes, Punch Bunch; Paper- Wild Wasabi Textured CS, Very Vanilla Textured CS, Baja Breeze Textured CS, Soft Suede, Kraft Small Polka Dot DSP, Elegant Soiree DSP; Ink- So Saffron, Early Espresso; Accessories- Dotted Scallop Border Punch, Tag Punch, Flag Punch, Circle Punch, Square Punch, Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Jewels; Fonts- none

Vintage Hello Doily

2011-09-09T02:20:00.003-05:00

TGIF! The past couple of months have been have birthday months for me. Here’s another card I made for one of my Stamp Club ladies. She loves the Black and White color scheme. Well, I branched out and used Vanilla instead of white. Then I added some Riding Hood Red for that pop of color you need on a birthday card. I also thought the color scheme was perfect for the Hello Doily stamp.

Vintage is NOT my normal style. I love to look at vintage designs, but they’re hard for me to re-create because it’s so opposite of my minimalist, clean and simple style. I really tried to find that happy balance on this card.

I started by stamping the Hello Doily stamp with VersaMark on Crumb Cake cardstock and heat embossing it with Black embossing powder. Then I sponged Crumb Cake ink around the image to give some dimension. Next, I added some frayed Riding Hood Red striped ribbon across my panel. Then I crumpled and sponged a torn piece of First Edition DSP. (I LOVE this paper, it’s great with any style!)

For my focal piece, I very lightly stamped the words from Charming on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with Crumb Cake ink. Then I used the Crumb Cake ink to stamp the frame from Charming. And finally, I stamped the flower with Riding Hood Red ink. I punched that out with the Decorative Label Punch and popped it up with Dimensionals. I finished with a piece of Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon and a Glimmer Brad.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Hello Doily, Charming; Paper- Crumb Cake, First Edition DSP, Very Vanilla; Ink- VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red; Accessories- Black Embossing Powder, Glimmer Brad, Satin Ribbon, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Dimensionals

PP62 and CCMC165, Belated Birthday

2011-09-06T03:32:00.005-05:00

Good Morning! I was looking through the Challenges, and I noticed The Paper Players PP62 is “Birthdays”. I combined that with the Create With Connie and Mary’s CCMC165 color Challenge – Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, and Lucky Limeade.

I needed to make a birthday card for a friend of mine. I started with a Pumpkin Pie card base. Then I added a Whisper White layer that I embossed, sponged, and stamped. With all those bright colors, I didn’t want the white to stand out so much.

Next, I knew I wanted to use the new oval Designer Frame Embossing Folder. I embossed that onto a piece of Lucky Limeade and tore around the frame’s edge. I added a Whisper White oval that’s been stamped with the Leaves from Best Friends Forever in Lucky Limeade ink. I added the Pumpkin Pie Patterns DSP edged with the Rich Razzleberry Scallops. I created my greeting by stamping one of the Four Frames with Pumpkin Pie ink onto Pumpkin Pie cardstock. Then adding Celebrate with Rich Razzleberry ink.

I finished the inside of my card by stamping more leaves with Lucky Limeade ink and adding a belated greeting in Rich Razzleberry. Yes, I’m sorry to say, this is a belated birthday card. I have to make sure I get my calendar updated for next year!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Best Friends Forever, Happiest Birthday Wishes, Fabulous Phrases, Four Frames; Paper- Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Brights DSP Stack; Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade; Accessories- Designer Frames EF, Vintage Wallpaper EF, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Sponges, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #30 -- Labor Day

2011-09-05T04:35:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #30 – Labor Day. I created another page that I’ll use for my 2012 Calendar. I chose pictures of my niece and nephew swimming. (Work with me, it’s what people do on Labor Day weekend.) Anyway, I wanted a fun summery page for my calendar, and this worked.

I used bright colors like Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Real Red, and Pacific Point. Once I had my paper layers and pictures down, I added the Extreme Elements “splat” stamp to mimic splashing water. Then I struggled with my title. I knew I wanted to use Flag Punches for “Summer Fun”, but I couldn’t figure out how to complete the Scallop Circle element. I finally settled on the dotted circle stamp from Enjoy Every Moment, the Tall Heart Punch, and a Ribbon Knot. It pulled all my colors into the Title, and I’m happy with it.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Extreme Elements, Enjoy Every Moment; Paper- Whisper White Textured CS, Sahara Sand, Melon Mambo Textured CS, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight Polka Dot DSP, Real Red Textured CS; Ink- Basic Black, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Real Red; Accessories- Square Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Celebrations Kit Elements, Grosgrain Ribbon, Heart Punch, Flag Punch; Fonts- Pea Gretchie, CK Journaling

Merry Christmas with Pennant Parade

2011-09-02T03:23:00.001-05:00

TGIF! Yesterday, I showed you a Birthday card using the Pennant Parade stamp set and Petite Pennants Builder punch. Today, I’m showing you a Christmas card using those same supplies.

This is one of the cards we did at my Christmas Card Buffet last weekend. It uses a couple of products from the new Holiday Mini Catalog. First, I love plaid, and this new Frostwood Lodge DSP is gorgeous. I had to use some for the bottom of my card. Second, I’ve always loved the Red Glimmer paper. But now, I think I like the new Silver Glimmer paper even more. It’s so sparkly. I know my picture doesn’t do it justice.

BTW – my tiny “Merry Christmas” greeting comes from the Easy Events stamp set in the Idea Book and Catalog.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Easy Events, Pennant Parade; Paper- Garden Green, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Frostwood Lodge DSP, Red Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper; Ink- Early Espresso; Accessories- Petite Pennants Builder Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Dimensionals

Happy Birthday with Pennant Parade

2011-09-01T03:21:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Here’s a fun card using the Pennant Parade stamp set and Pennant Builder Punch. I made this card to swap after the new catalog came out. So along with the new stamps and punch, I wanted to use the new in-color, Lucky Limeade.

I think this made a bright, fun, gender-neutral birthday card. Perfect for a child’s birthday party. I started with a Daffodil Delight card base. And added a Whisper White layer stamped with the cake image from Bring On The Cake. Next, I punched some Poppy Parade with the scallop pennant shape. Then, I stamped the pennant images in Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, and Pacific Point. I finished by added the greeting and attaching the smaller pennants with Dimensionals.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Pennant Parade, Bring On The Cake; Paper- Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade, Whisper White; Ink- Chocolate Chip, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade; Accessories- Petite Pennants Builder Punch, Dimensionals

Stamp Club Punched Greeting Card

2011-08-31T03:19:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Today I’m sharing the last card we made for Stamp Club last weekend. Again, this card was inspired by one that LeeAnn Greff created. I liked this card so much, I barely changed it. (Highly unusual for me!)

I started with a 4-1/4” square card base. Then added the Old Olive Top Note Die to extend the card above the 4-1/4” base. The trick to this card is the vellum greeting that was punched with the Curly Label Punch. The vellum is cut in a 1” strip so it will fit in the back of the Curly Label Punch. I inserted just the right edge of the Vellum in the punch and punched it. Then I repeated that with the left edge. This increases the dimensions you can get from your punches. I also like how the Curly Label shape coordinates perfectly with the Top Note Die shape.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Fabulous Florets, Word Play; Paper- Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla, Vellum; Ink- Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive; Accessories- Curly Label Punch, Top Note Die, Scallop Trim Border

Stamp Club Punched Frame Card

2011-08-30T03:17:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I always check out other Stampin’ Up demonstrators’ blogs to see what they’re creating. I often find a wealth of inspiration -- not only creative inspiration but spiritual inspiration. One of these demonstrators is LeeAnn Greff of Flowerbug’s Inkspot. LeeAnn lives in North Dakota where her home was destroyed by floodwaters earlier this summer. Yet, she continues to be upbeat and positive … AND she continues to share amazing tips and tricks on her blog. I used a couple of LeeAnn’s punching tricks for Stamp Club cards this month.

For this card, I used the Decorative Label punch to create the Soft Suede frame on top of the Very Vanilla layer. I started with a 4-3/4” square piece of Soft Suede. I inserted that all the way into the punch with the punch centered from left to right. Then punched the label out. Repeat this on all four sides until you have a unique, curvy frame. I finished the frame by trimming 1/2” from all four sides to get my desired size.

I stamped the background doily with Crumb Cake. Then I inked the top doily with Soft Suede and used my Cherry Cobbler marker to color the thicker straight lines. I punched out that image and popped it up with Dimensionals. The rest of the card is pretty basic.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Delicate Doilies; Paper- Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla; Ink- Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler marker; Accessories- Decorative Label Punch, 1-3/4” Circle Punch, Vintage Wallpaper EF, Victoria Crochet Trim, Dimensionals

Stamp Club Day Of Gratitude card

2011-08-26T01:55:00.002-05:00

TGIF! I have my Stamp Club gatherings this weekend. This is one of the cards they’re making. One of the ladies ordered this set last month after seeing one of my display cards. And she asked me how I “stamped multiple colors” with the medallion stamp. So I’m showing them how to do it this month.

I inked the medallion stamp with Certainly Celery ink. Then I used my Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, and Rich Razzleberry markers to color various parts of the stamp. This works great as long as your base color (Certainly Celery for this one) is lighter than your markers. If you want to use colors in the same hue or use a darker base color, you can use a Q-Tip to remove the base colored ink before using your markers. (I do this a lot with the fall colors.)

The rest of the card is pretty simple. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Day Of Gratitude; Paper- Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla; Markers and Ink- Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry; Accessories- Top Note Die (to create the frame), 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon

Fifth Avenue Floral Wedding Card

2011-08-25T01:49:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Today I have a wedding card for you. Black and White is always perfect for a formal card. I added a little Pretty In Pink since it is a wedding card. The card base is Whisper White. Then I added another Whisper White layer that’s been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots EF. And I tied Black Satin ribbon around this layer.

My focal piece is a Pretty In Pink square with the Rose from Fifth Avenue Floral. I stamped the rose with Versamark ink. Then heat embossed it with Black embossing powder. I finished it with a greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

The inside has a greeting from God’s Blessings stamped is Basic Black. And I stamped the rose with Pretty In Pink in the lower right corner.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Fifth Avenue Floral, Teeny Tiny Wishes, God’s Blessings; Paper- Whisper White, Pretty In Pink; Ink- Versamark, Basic Black, Pretty In Pink; Accessories- Black Embossing Powder, Satin Ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #28 -- Using Ribbon

2011-08-22T06:58:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #28 – Using Ribbon. I decided to make a card for this week’s challenge. And I’ve got to tell you, this is NOT the card I started out to make. I had a couple ideas in mind for using the Ribbon in various ways. But as I created my card, it went in a completely different direction. Does that ever happen to you? You have something in mind. Then as you begin stamping (digitally or traditionally), your creation takes on a life of it’s own. It happens to me all the time! Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don’t. In this case, I love this card. And although the ribbon’s use isn’t unique, it is a striking feature on the card and is the finishing touch to balance the card design.

I started with a Crumb Cake background and added a Very Vanilla layer. Then to tone down the Very Vanilla, I added a Soft Suede Vintage Overlay and resized it to fit my Vanilla piece. I added a Pretty In Pink piece and layered it with the Eyelet Border Punch. I stamped that with the Words, from Strength and Hope, in Soft Suede and adjusted the Opacity to make it look “stamped-off”.

Next, I stamped the Vintage Vogue leaf swirls in Old Olive a couple times. I stamped the Vintage Vogue flowers in Pretty In pink, added Real Red circles for the centers, and finished the flowers with Basic Pearls. I then had the perfect place to stamp the Hope “H” in Soft Suede. I finished my card with the Red Satin Ribbon and Ribbon Knot to balance the other strong elements (the H and the flowers).

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Strength and Hope, Vintage Vogue, Vintage Overlays; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Very Vanilla, Pretty In Pink, Real Red Textured CS; Ink- Soft Suede, Pretty In Pink, Old Olive; Accessories- Square Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Circle Punch, Basic Jewels – Pearls; Satin Ribbon

Quick Thank You Card

2011-08-18T03:53:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Here is another card that I used as a swap card for the Stampin’ Up! Convention last month. I saw a card somewhere that used ribbon this way. I thought it was so simple, yet so elegant in it’s simplicity. Isn’t that the best kind of card? One that’s extremely quick and easy to make, yet has a “wow” impact.

I used the Charming stamp set. And it’s hard to tell in the picture, but I stamped the Words stamp lightly in Pretty in Pink. Then stamped the Flower stamp in Chocolate Chip. I didn’t even use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to stamp my Kind Thanks. I used one Glue Dot in the center of the ribbon to attach it, then another Glue Dot to attach the Chocolate Chip piece to the ribbon. If I ever need to mass produce Thank You cards, I’ll be using this layout again.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Charming, Thank You Kindly; Paper- Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip; Ink- Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink; Accessories- Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Glue Dots

MDS Monday #27 -- Layers and More Layers

2011-08-15T06:55:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #27 – Layers and More Layers. I wanted to use a Sneak Peak from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog for my scrapbook page. This page features the new Frostwood Lodge DSP that will be available as traditional DSP and as a Download on September 1st. This paper is beautiful; I just love plaids. Now let’s discuss what I did with the paper.

This challenge is outside my comfort zone. I like doing clean and simple scrapbook pages with maybe a few layers. But I needed to use LOTS of layers on this project. And my inspiration came from an idea in the Holiday Mini catalog. I like how the sample use so many different layers of paper and embellishment, yet the picture is still the main focus of the page.

I chose a picture of my dogs wearing their Christmas Collars – Red and White with Jingle Bells. I added lots of square punches filled with different Frostwood Lodge papers. Then I used the Simple Letters Punch for my “joy” title. And I started going through my stamps looking for what would work. I chose a couple different ones from the Wishes & Greetings stamp set. I added the snowflake from Best Wishes & More. Finally, I finished with more layers of paper, buttons, and brads, and a little stitching. I didn’t add as many embellishments as the sample page since I thought my paper patterns were stronger.

The only tricky thing was creating my Ornament. I layered the ornament stamp on the ornament punch. But the original greeting is “Wishing You Christmas Cheer”. I used a piece of Whisper White DSP to cover up the words “Wishing You”. And replaced it with a text box and the words “Filled With”. I thought that matched my picture better. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Best Wishes & More, Wishes & Greetings; Paper- Frostwood Lodge DSP, Cherry Cobbler Textured CS, Early Espresso CS, Whisper White Textured CS, Marina Mist Textured CS, Garden Green, Marina Mist, Whisper White; Ink- Cherry Cobbler, Early Espress, Whisper White; Accessories- Square Punch, Ornament Punch, Buttons – Neutrals and Subtles, Hodgepodge Hardware, Glimmer Brads, Brads, Simples Stitches & Corners, Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Simple Letters Punch, Dotted Scallop Punch, Flag Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling

Janet's Birthday Card

2011-08-12T04:12:00.000-05:00

TGIF! Yesterday, I showed you the fun gift I gave Janet for her birthday. Today, I’ll show you the card I made for her. My inspiration came from the Spring Mini catalog where the Bring On The Cake stamp set first appeared. I love how it’s a play on a big layered cake.

I created my ruffled “icing” by gathering some Certainly Celery satin ribbon. I colored the “bottom layer” with my markers. And I created my table top with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and the 1” Circle punch.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bring On The Cake; Paper- Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip; Markers and Ink- Wild Wasabi, Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip; Accessories- Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1” Circle Punch, Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon (retired)

Happy Birthday Janet!

2011-08-11T04:04:00.001-05:00

Today is my friend Janet’s birthday, and it’s a BIG one :-). So I tried to think of something unique for her. Unfortunately, she’s in the last month of her pregnancy, and food isn’t as much fun as it should be. I decided to give her 40 candy bars that she can munch on while she’s home on maternity leave. It’s a combination of her favorite candy in Full Size and Fun Size bars. And even though 2/3 are probably Fun Size, that’s still a heavy bag of candy! I hope she enjoys it.

Next, I had to decorate the bag just for Janet -- that means Greens and Pinks. Of course, I had to use the Cupcake Punch and the new Lace Ribbon Border Punch to made a tiered tray full of goodies. I used sticky strip to attach some Certainly Celery Striped ribbon all the way around the bag.

My favorite part is the tag on top to let everyone know just what birthday it is. I used the Sticky Sheets to cut some sizzix numbers with the Big Shot. Then I covered them with the Silver Glass Glitter. I created my birthday banner with the “Happy Birthday” stamp from Bring On the Cake. I used my marker to color just the letters I needed and stamped them where they needed to be. I tied the tag onto the handle with Hemp Twine and more Certainly Celery Striped ribbon.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Create A Cupcake, Bring On The Cake; Paper- Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Pretty In Pink, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery Patterns DSP (retired), Cherry Cobbler; Ink- Chocolate Chip, Rose Red; Accessories- 2-1/2” Circle Punch, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Build A Cupcake Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Jewels – Rhinestones, Sticky Sheets, Glass Glitter, Certainly Celery Striped Ribbon (retired); Non-SU- Sizzix Numbers

Baby Onsie Card for Jeanne

2011-08-10T03:30:00.000-05:00

Good morning! A couple weeks ago, I created this scrapbook page featuring my friend Jeanne’s new baby girl. Today, I’m showing you the card I made for her. I saw this Baby Onsie Card idea a long time ago, and pulled it out to make my card

It was really easier than I thought it would be. So don’t hesitate to try making your own. Just follow Lauren’s directions. I decorated my Onsie with Glimmer Brads and Rhinestones. A girl can never be too young for some Bling, right?! Oh, I cut the prongs off my Glimmer Brads (since I didn’t want them going through my card) and attached them with glue dots .

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Pocket Silhouettes, Pennant Parade; Paper- Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Perfect Plum; Ink- Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum marker; Accessories- Itty Bitty Punch Shapes, Scallop Circle, 1-3/4” Circle Punch, Glimmer Brads – Subtles, Basic Jewels – Rhinestones

Top Note Frame Swap Card

2011-08-09T02:25:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Here’s another swap card I made for the Stampin’ Up! Convention last month. I made a card that included the Top Note Die. That meant I had all these leftover frames that I needed to use, and I came upon this layout on LeeAnn Greff’s blog. I commented on her blog that I would be CASEing (copy and share everything) her idea for one of my swaps. She was so sweet and emailed me that she’d be flattered. So I created this swap card using the Lovely As A Tree stamp set.

I stamped the trees and Happy Birthday with Early Espresso. Then, using a post-it note to mask the bottom quarter of the Whisper White, I sponged Marina Mist and Not Quite Navy on the top portion. I attached a piece of Early Espresso Taffeta ribbon where the sponging ended. And finished by attaching my Top Note frame.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Lovely As A Tree, God’s Blessings; Paper- Early Espresso, Whisper White, Crumb Cake; Ink- Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy; Accessories- Top Note Die, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon

MDS Monday #26 -- Christmas in August

2011-08-08T06:30:00.002-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #26 – Christmas In August. My page is for my 2012 Calendar. I made my first calendar last year and gave it to my mom for Christmas. She was thrilled with it. I designed my own grid to give my parents plenty of space for writing all their appointments. But as much as my mom liked the calendar, my niece was astonished. She couldn’t believe her pictures were on the cover – and throughout the rest of the calendar, too. I think I’ll make her an easel calendar this year. She can set it on her dresser.

This is really a simple page. The hardest part was picking the papers, embellishments, and stamps I wanted to include. I used all the “align” features to get my squares and pictures perfectly spaced. That helped make this page come together very quickly.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Bells and Boughs, Holiday Blitz, A Holly Jolly Christmas; Paper- Deck The Halls DSP, Cherry Cobbler Textured CS, Always Artichoke Textured CS, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Very Vanilla Textured CS, Soft Suede Textured CS, Early Espresso Textured CS; Ink- Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Taffeta Ribbon, Deck The Halls Buttons, Button Pack - Neutrals; Fonts- CK Journaling

Stampin’ Success Inspired Swap Card

2011-08-05T02:39:00.002-05:00

TGIF! Several months ago, I saw this beautiful invitation in Stampin’ Success, a magazine for SU! demonstrators. And I wanted to create something similar.

The original card uses the fabulous “Bliss” stamp set so many of us got during Sale-A-Bration. I decided to get the look through texture and sponging. I used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on some First Edition DSP, then sponged the piece with Rich Razzleberry to show off the embossing. I also used the Perfect Polka Dots folder on the Basic Gray cardstock to replace the Textured Cardstock in the original.

I finished my card with the largest flower from the Flower Fusion sizzlet, the medium flower from the Boho Blossoms punch, and a Basic Pearl. I must say this was probably my favorite card of the 11 swap cards I made.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Here's the original invite.

Here's my card.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Just Believe; Paper- Basic Gray, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, First Edition DSP, Basic Black, Very Vanilla; Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black; Accessories- Boho Blossoms Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Vintage Wallpaper EF, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Flower Fusion Sizzlet, Basic Jewels – Pearls, Decorative Label Punch, Sponges, Dimensionals

Pennant Parade Baby swap card

2011-08-04T02:56:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Today’s card is another one I made to swap at the Stampin’ Up! Convention. I love this new stamp set and coordinating punch. They are so versatile. In fact, I received several swap cards using this same combination. None of the cards look alike. And they feature a variety of occasions – from Baby Cards to Birthday Cards to Christmas Cards.

Since I made so many of this card, I kept the design pretty simple. But I still think it has a big impact with the welcoming banner.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!.

Card Recipe: Stamps- Pennant Parade, Curvy Verses; Paper- Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, So Saffron; Ink- Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, So Saffron; Accessories- Petite Pennants Builder Punch, Dimensionals

Fabulous Florets Swap Card

2011-08-02T02:39:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Last month I went to the Stampin’ Up! Convention. And one of the big things to do is swap cards with other demonstrators. This week, I’ll be showing you some of the swap cards that I made. Next week, I’ll have to show you some of the fabulous cards I received in return.

Today’s card uses one of my favorite new stamp sets – Fabulous Florets. I originally bought the Digital Download because it’s perfect for my scrapbooking. Then I had so many traditional stamping ideas I wanted to create, that I ended up buying the stamp set, too. That’s a first for me, to have both digital and traditional items.

Anyway, I stamped the flower images with Versamark on Poppy Parade and heat embossed them with White Embossing Powder. Then I used my Real Red marker to add the shaded centers. I also used Vanilla Smooch Spritz on by Basic Gray card base. Oh, and my layout idea came from page 183 in the new Idea Book.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Fabulous Florets, Fabulous Phrases; Paper- Basic Gray, Whisper White, Patterns DSP Stack – Neutrals and Brights; Ink- Old Olive, Real Red ink and marker; Accessories- White Embossing Powder, Silver Brad, Jewelry Tag Punch, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #25 -- Your Choice

2011-08-01T06:35:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #25 – Your Choice. We get to post whatever MDS project we pick this week. I’m showing you something a little different – a scrapbook page with no pictures. Do you ever have those memories that you want to journal, but you forgot your camera or your pictures didn’t turn out? Well, it happens to me more than I’d like to admit. (I’m a really bad photographer!)

For this particular page, I wanted to journal a Cruise from last year. We’d done a similar cruise in the past, so I didn’t take any pictures during Sail Away. And I hadn’t even gotten any pictures of the ship from our excursions. So I decided to treat the page like a card. I used some DSP, Punches, and Stamps to create my page layout and embellishments.

I love how the Nautical DSP, Sentimental Journey Stamps, and Open Sea Stamps work together to give the perfect backdrop for my cruise memories. And without any pictures, I had plenty of room for all that journaling :-)

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- The Open Sea, Sentimental Journey; Paper- Nautical DSP, Not Quite Navy Textured CS, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Staples, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Flag Punch; Fonts- CK Ali’s Hand, CK Journaling

Stamp Club Four Frames cards 3 and 4

2011-07-28T03:55:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Over the last couple days, I’ve been showing you our recent Stamp Club project – a card holder and 4 matching cards using Paisley Petals DSP and Four Frames stamp set. Here are cards 3 and 4 that we made.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Four Frames, Fabulous Phrases; Paper- Whisper White, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, River Rock; Ink- Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy; Accessories- Decorative Label Punch, 2-1/2” Circle Punch, Dimensionals

Stamp Club Four Frames cards 1 and 2

2011-07-27T03:54:00.000-05:00

Good morning! As I mentioned yesterday, we made a card holder and 4 matching cards using the Paisley Petals DSP and Four Frames stamp set. Today, I’ll show you cards 1 and 2. (Check back tomorrow for cards 3 and 4.)

These are Clean And Simple (CAS) cards – my favorite kind. I was able to get 10 card holders and 40 cards from ONE package of Paisley Petals DSP. Keep this idea in mind if you need a quick baby gift or wedding gift for a friend. (Everyone could use hand made Thank You cards, right?) We used the Fabulous Phrases stamp set so the ladies could customize their greetings.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Four Frames, Fabulous Phrases; Paper- Whisper White, Paisley Petals DSP, Early Espresso, River Rock, Night Of Navy; Ink- Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy; Accessories- Elegant Lines EF, Decorative Label Punch, Dimensionals

Stamp Club Card Holder

2011-07-26T03:51:00.000-05:00

Good morning! This month we created a cute Card Holder and 4 cards using the Paisley Petals DSP and Four Frames stamp set. I’ve seen this “double-pocket card holder” all over the place, but I followed the video that Kimberly Van Diepen posted. We recycled the brown packing paper that comes with my Stampin’ Up orders to decorated the front of our card holders.

The packing paper comes in a long strip. I cut sections about the length of the Fun Flowers Sizzix Die, and we crumpled the paper all up to get lots of texture. Then we straightened the paper back out and folded it into about 4 layers to run through the Big Shot with the Fun Flowers die. We used the 3 large flowers and just threw away the small centers.

Next, we added some ink to each flower using a variety of stamps from Vintage Vogue and Charming. I just wanted some random ink on the flowers. The largest flowers are stamped with Early Espresso. The medium flowers are stamped with Crumb Cake. And the smallest flowers are stamped with Bravo Burgundy.

Finally, we punched a Bravo Burgundy medium flower with the Boho Blossoms Punch and secured all the layers with a Silver Brad. We added a couple pieces of Cardstock that had been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots EF and a piece of Early Espresso Satin ribbon (now retired).

I’ll post the 4 matching cards over the next couple of days. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Holder Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Vogue, Charming; Paper- Paisley Petals DSP, Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Brown Packing Paper, Bravo Burgundy; Ink- Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Bravo Burgundy; Accessories- Fun Flowers Die, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon (now retired), Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brad, Boho Blossoms Punch

MDS Monday #24 -- Punch Art Animal

2011-07-25T06:45:00.002-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #24 – Punch Art Animal. My friend, Jeanne, had a beautiful baby girl on July 7th. And I’m using baby Kate’s first picture for this week’s page. I created my basic layout with colors and patterns from the Subtles color family. Once I was happy with the look, I added another page so I could create my punch art Teddy Bear in a larger size.

I started with Chocolate Chip Circle punches for the head and body. Then I added Chocolate Chip Wide Oval punches for the arms and feet. Once the basic shape was created, I added more details with smaller Pretty In Pink Circle punches and the Oval punch. I completed the Teddy Bear with Whisper White, Basic Black, and Rose Red Circles. Just like traditional punch art, you need to add shadows (for layering) in all the right spots to get that 3-D look. Oh, for a girlie Teddy Bear, I added a So Saffron Grosgrain Bow.

Finally, I used the “Select All” function to select everything on the page and used the “Group” function to turn my Teddy Bear into a single element. I copied the Teddy Bear, pasted it on my original page, and resized the Teddy Bear to the correct proportion for my photo. I’m very pleased with how the page turned out. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue Textile DSP, So Saffron Large Polka Dot DSP, Pretty In Pink Dotted Stripe DSP, Certainly Celery Blooms DSP; Ink- Chocolate Chip; Accessories- Square Punch, Circle Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Grosgrain Ribbon, Rose Red Shadow (for the rosey cheeks); Fonts- CK Ali’s Hand

MDS Monday #22 -- Anything Goes

2011-07-11T06:18:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #22 – Anything Goes. I wanted to create a card that uses most of the new 2011-2013 In Colors: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, and Island Indigo. I used every color except Lucky Limeade on this card. In real life, this would be a one-layer card. For MDS, I used a separate layer for the center and made it the same color as the background (Pool Party). But added a mat in Island Indigo to get the “hand drawn line” look.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Card Recipe: Stamps- Just Believe; Paper- Pool Party, Island Indigo; Ink- Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder; Accessories- Square Punch; Fonts- none

MDS Monday #21 -- The 4th of July

2011-07-04T06:39:00.004-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #21 – The 4th of July! I know you’re expecting the traditional “fireworks” page. But that just wasn’t what I was inspired to create. You see, my Papaw passed away on July 4th when I was a child. And that had a huge impact on my family. So my page is a tribute to what and who I think of when I remember the 4th of July.

This is really a very simple page. I started with the Night and Day DSP and added a Crumb Cake layer for my journaling. And I finished it with a few brads The only trick I used was to add my background layer as a punch. This way, I could flip my DSP so the design is where I wanted it. Take a look at the my finished page and compare it to the original DSP and you’ll see what I mean.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

My finished Page with the swirl design in the right places

The original DSP with the swirl design in the wrong places

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Night and Day DSP, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Whisper White Brads; Fonts- CK Ali’s Hand, CK Journaling

Lovely As A Tree, get well card

2011-06-30T00:23:00.007-05:00

Good morning! I showed you a “sponged” background on the Sail Away card the other day. Then I saw THIS CARD on Niki’s blog. I have done similar cards with all the stamps in Lovely As A Tree. But Nikki, mentioned that she used glossy cardstock. Well, I need a masculine get well card. So, I thought I’d give it a try and see what the difference is.

First, you need to use StazOn ink on the glossy cardstock so the ink won’t smear. And unlike, normal cardstock, the ink stays on top of the glossy cardstock, leaving a raised impression. It’s quite subtle, and I think it’s very elegant looking. Yet I didn’t like it for sponging. Yes, the sponges glide more on the glossy cardstock, but the raised ink “catches” on the sponges. In my opinion, it resulted in more of a skipping motion as I swept across the paper with the sponge. On the other hand, the ink “spreads” more evenly when I sponged on glossy cardstock.

Here are the two sponged cards I’ve done recently, which do you prefer? Thanks for stopping by!

Glossy cardstock

Whisper White Cardstock, click here for details on this card

Card Recipe: Stamps- Lovely As A Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Whisper White, Glossy White; Ink- Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, Black StazOn; Accessories- Sponges, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Stamp Club Fast and Fabulous

2011-06-29T00:05:00.002-05:00

Good morning! Today’s card is another one we did at Stamp Club last weekend. I wanted to use Fast & Fabulous to demo 2-step stamping before the stamp set retires at the end of June. And I loved the layout Mary Fish used for THIS CARD. And there you have the inspiration for my card.

First, we stamped the long stem in Early Espresso and Marina Mist. Then we used a Post-it to mask that image while we stamped the Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight blooms. We layered all the pieces and added the Baker’s Twine. We added all that to the card front. Then finished the card with a birthday greeting that folds around the Baker’s Twine and is secured with a brad. (Sorry for the blurry picture of the card’s inside.)

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Fast & Fabulous, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Occasional Quotes (inside greeting); Paper- Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White; Ink- Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Marina Mist; Accessories- Baker’s Twine, Silver Brads, Sponges, Dimensionals

Stamp Club Sail Away, using MDS

2011-06-28T00:47:00.002-05:00

Good morning! Here’s one of the fun cards we created at stamp club this past weekend. When I saw the Sail Away stamp in the Summer Mini catalog, I knew I’d want to use it for Scrapbooking. So, I purchased the MDS download instead of the traditional rubber stamp. Then I saw several really fun cards using the stamp, especially the ones with colored backgrounds and the bright, white sails. I decided to just size my MDS image and print it off for stamp club. This was really easy, and if the ladies agree, I’ll do this with more of my downloads.

I printed the main image on Whisper White cardstock. Then we sponged the sky and ocean colors. And I gave them another piece of WW cardstock with the sails. They cut that part out and laid it over the sponged image. This card is finished with an embossed piece of Basic Black and a couple brads.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Sail Away (MDS Download); Paper- Pacific Point, Whisper White, Basic Black; Ink- Basic Black printing, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry; Accessories- MDS, 1-1/4” Circle Punch, Sponges, Silver Brads, Square Lattice EF Dimensionals

MDS Monday #20 -- Celebrate Summer

2011-06-27T06:31:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #20 – Celebrating Summer. Ok, if you look at the date on my page, you’ll notice this isn’t really a “summer” page. But it’s as close as I can get. Since I don’t have any kids, I take vacation in the Spring and Fall. I’ve realized I don’t take a lot of pictures in the summer unless it’s my niece and nephew’s birthday parties.

These pictures are from my first cruise out of New Orleans. I combined the Nautical Expedition Paper with The Open Sea and Sentimental Journey stamp sets. I love cruising so I should get a lot of use from all these downloads.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- The Open Sea, Sentimental Journey; Paper- Not Quite Navy Textured CS, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Staples, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Flag Punch; Fonts- CK Ali’s Hand

Stamp Club CAS Blossom Bouquet

2011-06-24T00:45:00.002-05:00

TGIF! I have my stamp club meetings this weekend. Here’s one of the cards we’re making. I used a FTL141 from the Clean&Simple Sketch Challenge blog. As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to use the new Blossom Bouquet punch for the focal piece. I punched each setting in a different color. Then layered them all together and added a Rhinestone brad for the center.

The bottom piece is embossed with the Elegant Bouquet EF and punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch. And the ladies can pick their greeting from the Sincere Salutations stamp set. This is an older stamp set, but still one of my favorites with a greeting for every occasion! Oh, and I used some of the leftover punched pieces to decorate the inside of the card.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Sincere Salutations; Paper- Pretty In Pink, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla; Ink- Rich Razzleberry; Accessories- Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, Elegant Bouquet EF, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Rhinestone Brad, Dimensionals

Fabulous Florets Birthday for a friend

2011-06-23T02:48:00.002-05:00

Good morning! Today, I’d like to share a birthday card I made for a friend. I knew I wanted to use bright colors and flowers. So I chose the Fabulous Florets stamp set. And I tried watercoloring my flowers. (I still need a lot of practice; this was my first time using the Aquapainter!)

I used Versamark and Real Red classic ink to stamp the flower outlines. Then I embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. Next, I started coloring the centers with Daffodil Delight. But that was completely covered up with my Melon Mambo ink. So I added some Real Red ink to tone that down. I think my biggest mistake was getting my paper too wet. Like I said, I’ll have to practice this more.

Since my flowers have a faded, vintagey look to them, I distressed the edge of my Striped DSP and added some Victoria Lace. I finished it by slightly distressing and sponging my Birthday greeting.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Fabulous Florets, God’s Blessings, Bring On The Cake (inside greeting); Paper- Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Neutrals Patterns DSP Stack, Very Vanilla; Ink- Crumb Cake, Versamark, Real Red, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight (although you probably can’t tell it); Accessories- Clear Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Victoria Lace, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Sponges, Top Note Die, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #19 -- Honoring Fathers

2011-06-20T06:20:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #19 – Honoring Fathers! My scrapbook page features my dad. This is the first Heritage page I’ve done. Wow, they’re not easy. It’s hard to get the right look and feel for these old pictures. This is another reason I think MDS is so great. I can create pages. Then as my style improves, I can go back and tweak my pages before I send them to be printed.

I’ve seen this picture throughout my life. My mom always has it in her billfold, except when I talk her into letting me borrow it so I can have it scanned. As my parents are getting older, I want to get more of their memories down in writing. My dad loves to talk about his life. Ok, my dad loves to talk, PERIOD :-) But if you get him telling stories, he gets on a roll. My mom and I have learned some very interesting tidbits lately. My dad is absolutely the family clown and prankster. But we keep learning that he pulled more pranks and got into more trouble than we ever knew.

I want to say “Thank You” to my friend, Alice, for scanning some pictures for me. They came out better than I expected. I’ll have to scrap my parents wedding pictures and tell about their very interesting courtship.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Overlays, Sentimental Journey; Paper- Basic Gray Textured CS, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Whisper White; Ink- Basic Black, Soft Suede; Accessories- Square Punch, Antique Brads; Fonts- CK Ali’s Hand, Veteran Typewriter

MDS Monday #18 -- Grandpa!

2011-06-13T06:59:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #18 – Grandpa! My scrapbook page features my dad and my nephew, Aaron. My dad is a die-hard Texas Longhorns fan. My brother went to UT for a year and hated it. After that. Alan and I both graduated from a Texas A&M school (Tarleton State University). I’m sure you can imagine some heated debates and rivalries in my family! My niece and nephew are often caught in the middle, showing the “Gig ‘em” or “Hook ‘em Horns” signs. So far, my dad’s winning with Aaron :-)

I’m often asked where I get my ideas, and that’s a hard question to answer. I rarely copy a complete Card or Scrapbook page. It does happen, and I always try to give credit to the original artwork I saw. Usually though, I see an element somewhere (on a card, scrapbook page, commercial, magazine ad, etc) that I think is interesting. From there, I build my project.

Today, I was inspired by a couple cards in the new Idea Book and Catalog. I loved the card’s layout in the upper left corner on page 104. Then I liked the look of stacking Baroque Motifs’ square medallion shown in the upper left corner on page 146. I added the vertical stripe stamp from the Hip and Handsome Overlays, and you can see how my page came together.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Page Recipe: Stamps- Baroque Motifs, Hip and Handsome Overlays; Paper- Basic Gray Textured CS, Baja Breeze Textured CS, Soft Suede Textured CS, Very Vanilla Textured CS, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Basic Black Textured CS; Ink- Basic Black, Basic Gray, Soft Suede; Accessories- Square Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Circle Punch, Hodgepodge Hardware; Fonts- CK Journaling

MDS Monday #17 -- Masculine Birthday Card

2011-06-06T06:09:00.003-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #17 – Masculine Birthday Cards. I used the Sail Away stamp from the current Summer Mini Catalog for my card. I also used the coordinating Nautical Expedition DSP. I purchased these products as downloads instead of traditional stamps and paper since they’ll work for my vacation scrapbooking. I love the flexibility this gives me -- I can create 100% MDS projects or create Hybrid MDS projects by printing out the stamp and/or paper. I’ll be showing more of that in the future.

Back to this project: I just added several square punches and resized them for my card. One is filled with Nautical DSP. Another is filled with Whisper White Textured CS for my focal image. And the last is filled with Not Quite Navy Textured CS for my greeting. The rest is pretty straight forward. The most important thing in MDS is setting your Shadows, You want to make sure the shadow is different for all the pieces so it looks more realistic. The shadow should be more prominent as you add more layers to the card. I also added the Textured stamp and resized it to match my greeting layer. This is one way of adding a little sponging in MDS.

Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

MDS Card Recipe: Stamps- Sail Away, Fundamental Phrases, Textured; Paper- Basic Gray Textured CS, Whisper White Textured CS, Not Quite Navy Textured CS, Nautical Expedition DSP; Ink- Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Square Punch, Bakers Twine, Antique Brads, Brads; Fonts- none

Pocket Silhouette Stamp Club card

2011-06-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

TGIF! I know it was a short week, but I’m sure ready for the weekend. Here’s the final card we made at Stamp Club last week. The one uses the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set. First I, used the backside of the DSP (designer series paper) to mask the bottom of the Very Vanilla piece. (I'll need a "clean" area for the greeting.) Then I stamped the flower image multiple times, without reinking, to give some depth to the design. I used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to stamp the greeting where the bottom had been masked. I’ve noticed the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig really helps keep those tiny stamps from rocking (and messing up your work when the edge of the rubber touches the paper).

I scrunched the Always Artichoke seam binding by fraying the ends and pulling a long thread from each end. Finally, a piece of Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon was threaded through the Always Artichoke Big Designer Button and tied in a knot.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Page Recipe: Stamps- Pocket Silhouettes; Paper- Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz, Regal Rose, In Color DSP Pack (hostes); Ink- Regal Rose; Accessories- Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (for the sentiment), Big Designer Buttons, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon, Seam Binding

Upsy Daisy Stamp Club card

2011-06-02T00:38:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Here’s another card we made at Stamp Club last week. The one uses the Upsy Daisy stamp set. This is one of the most versatile stamp sets in the catalog. The silhouette flowers image is so easy to stamp, it’s almost impossible to mess up. And it includes three greetings that cover the most common needs.

We stamped the flowers as a background on the Basic Gray cardstock. I stamped off once; then stamped full strength on the very bottom to give a little more depth. I also stamped the flowers on the inside of the card. The ribbon is layers first the Real Red is adhered to the back, and the Daffodil Delight is adhered to the back. I finally used another piece of Daffodil Delight to tie a knot around the two ribbons.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Page Recipe: Stamps- Upsy Daisy; Paper- Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black; Ink- Daffodil Delight, Real Red; Accessories- Stamp-a-ma-jig (for the sentiment), Scallop Edge Punch, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon, Satin Ribbon

Last Chance Lists & Spreading Ink Roses

2011-06-01T06:30:00.001-05:00

Good Morning! It’s time to start saying “good-bye” to the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. Items are available on a “while supplies last” basis through June 30th. Then we’ll start the new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog on July 1st.

Last Chance Stamps - CLICK HERE

Last Chance Accessories - CLICK HERE

Last Chance Definitely Decorative - CLICK HERE

Today’s card is one that we created at Stamp Club last week. I used the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set and the coordinating Manhattan Embossing Folder. We also tried the “spreading ink” technique on the rose. You can find the “Spreading Ink” details on Gretchen Barron’s website. The technique is really quick and easy, well except for the drying time. We dried our flowers with the heat tool.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Page Recipe: Stamps- Fifth Avenue Floral, Create A Cupcake; Paper- Pretty In Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Glossy White CS; Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red reinker, Pretty in Pink reinker, Versamark; Accessories- Embossing Buddy, Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Organza Ribbon, Manhattan EF, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #16 -- Red/White/Blue, Memorial Day

2011-05-30T06:03:00.004-05:00

Hello! I hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day. UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #16 is “Red, White, and Blue” in honor of Memorial Day. I chose pictures taken from a cruise ship leaving New York Harbor. The skyline picture is a panoramic picture that’s a little over 8” wide. I copied and pasted the picture so the 2nd photobox would line up along the right edge. Then I placed the Statue of Liberty picture to cover where the skyline pictures overlapped. It makes it look like one continuous picture across the page. I also changed the shadow on the Statue of Liberty picture to Whisper White, so it looks like the picture is glowing.

Next I used stamps from the July Fourth stamp brush set. I really like that I can change the size of the stamps in MDS. That makes them much more versatile. And gives more dimension to my Fireworks over the New York Harbor.

I finished my page by creating a Red, White, and Blue “ribbon” (using square punches and Textured CS) to balance the bottom of the page. Now it’s time to check out the other inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Page Recipe: Stamps- July Fourth; Paper- Night Of Navy Textured CS, Whisper White Textured CS, Real Red Textured CS, Real Red; Ink- Real Red, Marina Mist, Whisper White; Accessories- Square Punch; Fonts- Juice, CK Ali’s Hand

MDS Monday #15 -- Fit For A Queen

2011-05-23T06:02:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #15 – Fit for a Queen. I’ve told you before that challenges are a great way to get inspiration or even a new way to look at your project. That was true for me when I started working on this challenge. I had planned to create a page using pictures of my niece.

As I looked for appropriate pictures, I came across these pictures of my Sheltie, Roxie. Now, she’s a Queen! I have a German Shepherd and so do my parents. In fact, Roxie’s been around 5 different German Shepherds in her lifetime. And she has commanded them all, along with humans in the family.

I chose pictures that show her unique expressions and how she treats the larger dogs she’s around. And the page came together. It’s a basic page where the pictures and journaling tell the complete story of my Queen. Now it’s time to check out all the inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Page Recipe: Stamps- Extreme Elements; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Basic Black Textured CS, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler Striped DSP; Ink- Basic Black, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Square Punch, Scallop Square Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch; Fonts- Juice, CK Journaling

MOJO191 for Father's Day

2011-05-20T00:49:00.002-05:00

TGIF! As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been working with My Digital Studio (MDS) a lot lately. Yes, I’m still catching up with my Scrapbooking. (I think I need a “National Scrapbooking YEAR”, not just a month!) Anyway, I love so many of the new products in the Summer Mini Catalog. The Stamps and DSP in the “Nautical Expection Suite” and the “Beyond the Garden Suite” are just meant for my vacation pictures. That means I purchased the MDS Downloads instead of the traditional products this time.

But, I know some of you still want to see card samples with these products. Therefore, I’ll be showing you Digital Cards and Hybrid Cards (part traditional, part MDS). Today’s card is totally Digital. I love that the embellishments look so real, you almost want to touch them to see if they’re really there. My inspiration came from the MOJO Monday MOJO191 sketch and the Paper Players PP46 color challenge -- Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, and Early Espresso.

Keep MDS in mind if you need to mass produce cards for a Birthday Party, Graduation Party, Bridal Shower, or Birth Announcement. You can completely customize your cards with the fonts and text you choose. I’ll show you more MDS card creations next week.

Please let me know if you have any questions about MDS or you’re interested in a demonstration. Have a great weekend!

Page Recipe: Stamps- The Open Sea, Textured; Paper- Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy Textured CS, Nautical Expeditions DSP; Ink- Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Jumbo Eyelet, Square Punch, Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Flag Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling

Another Masculine Birthday Card

2011-05-19T00:48:00.003-05:00

Today’s masculine birthday card is another card from the “Birthday Card Class” I did a while back. It features the Build a Cupcake punch from the Occasions Mini Catalog. And yes, the punch is still available if you’re interested in it. Here’s the complete Occasions Mini Catalog Carryover List.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Create a Cupcake; Paper- Celebrations DSP, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz; Ink- Pacific Point; Accessories- Build a Cupcake Punch, 1-3/4” Circle Punch, Silver Brad, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Dimensionals

Masculine Birthday Card

2011-05-18T00:44:00.000-05:00

Good morning! With Father’s Day fast approaching, we start focusing more on Masculine cards. Here’s a CAS (clean and simple) masculine birthday card. It features the Lovely As A Tree stamp set – one of my “go to” stamp sets for masculine cards.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Lovely As A Tree, On Your Birthday; Paper- Always Artichoke, Neutral Patterns DSP, Naturals Ivory; Ink- Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip; Accessories- Decorative Label Punch, Sponges, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #14 -- Shades of Blue

2011-05-16T06:02:00.000-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #14 – Shades of Blue. Well, when I think of Blues, I think of the cool Caribbean waters. And that’s exactly what I chose for my project. These pictures are from an excursion to St John in the US Virgin Islands. My pages came together easily with the help of Alesha’s ScrapSketch33. Alesha’s sketches are great because so many are designed as multi-photo layouts.

My left page is completely based on the Sketch. I just added some Trim at the top of the page and my title. Then I used the “Insert Duplicate Page Mirrored” function to start my right page. This ensures the Trim will flow seamlessly from the left page to the right page. From there, I just added a couple more large photos, some embellishments, and my journaling. I know we have some fantastic new downloads, but don’t forget about all the items that come with the My Digital Studio Software. These adorable flip flops are part of the Holiday Blitz stamp set. Don’t they look great with the Basic Rhinestone embellishments?

Now it’s time to check out the inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Bashful Blue Textured CS, Marina Mist Polka Dot DSP, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White Textured CS, Night Of Navy; Ink- Night Of Navy, Whisper White; Accessories- Square Punch, Tasteful Trim 1, Tasteful Trim 3, Medium Arrow Punch; Fonts- Pea Aimee, Arial

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- Enjoy Every Moment, Always, Holiday Blitz; Paper- Bashful Blue Textured CS, Marina Mist Polka Dot DSP, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White Textured CS, Whisper White, Marina Mist Night Of Navy; Ink- Night Of Navy, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Tasteful Trim 1, Tasteful Trim 3, Basic Rhinestones; Fonts- Pea Aimee, CK Journaling

Rocky Mountain Driving, part 4

2011-05-13T00:20:00.002-05:00

TGIF! These are the final 2 pages from my Rocky Mountain National Park vacation. And they focus on the animals we saw while we were driving. Everybody was looking for animals, so we’d come upon all these cars on the side of the road. And you knew, the animals had to be close by :-)

I’ll be scrapbooking some more this weekend – Caribbean pictures next. I hope you get a chance to do some scrapbooking, too. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Page 22 Recipe: Stamps- Just Believe, Torn Edges; Paper- Marina Mist Polka Dot DSP, Early Espresso, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Cherry Cobbler Striped DSP, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler; Ink- Early Espresso, Garden Green; Accessories- Square Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Boho Blossoms Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Whisper White Brads; Fonts- CK Becky, Arial

Page 23 Recipe: Stamps- Just Believe, Torn Edges; Paper- Marina Mist Polka Dot DSP, Early Espresso, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Cherry Cobbler Striped DSP, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler; Ink- Early Espresso, Garden Green; Accessories- Square Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Boho Blossoms Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Whisper White Brads; Fonts- CK Journaling

Rocky Mountain Driving, part 3

2011-05-12T00:19:00.002-05:00

Today, it’s more Rocky Mountain pictures. We’re now on the Trail Ridge Road headed down from the mountain tops. The views were incredible no matter where we looked. I’m from North Texas where the landscape is pretty flat. It was amazing looking down into the valleys and then across to more mountains. I definitely want to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park.

I used more of the Travel Journal Kit Download on these pages. Along with the Vintage Overlays to add texture to the 2nd page. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Travel Journal DSP, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Pacific Point, Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzazz; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Silver Brads, Scallop Edge Border Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- Sentimental Journey; Paper- Travel Journal DSP, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Pacific Point, Night Of Navy Textured CS, Crumb Cake (Kraft) Textured CS; Ink- Basic Black, Night Of Navy, Not Quite Navy; Accessories- Square Punch, Silver Brads, Tasteful Trim 3 Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling

Rocky Mountain Driving, part 2

2011-05-11T00:16:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Today I’m showing you the next 2 pages from my Rocky Mountain National Park trip. The gorgeous view from the top of Fall River Pass and the Alpine Visitors Center. I know the trend right now is to only scrapbook 1 or 2 of your main photos. This will help you stay caught up with your scrapbooking. I just haven’t followed that trend.

When I go someplace new, I tend to take a ton of pictures. I do weed out the “bad shots” and duplicates. Then I can’t narrow it down further. I really want to have all the different scenery pictures to remember everything I saw. It was a different view each way I turned. Therefore, I often struggle with my photo layout – how to get so many pictures on a page and have it still look good. And I struggled with these 2 pages.

I usually find one element that inspires me. Then I build the rest of the page around that. In this case, I liked the placement of a main photo and the Curly Label Punch with my titles. Once I got that arranged, I had room for my journaling and 7 other photos.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Basic Gray Textured CS, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Marina Mist Polka Dot DSP, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Night and Day DSP, Marina Mist; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Antique Brads, Tasteful Trim 2 Punch, Curly Label Punch, Oval Punch; Fonts- CK Ali’s Hand, Juice ITC

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Basic Gray Textured CS, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Marina Mist Polka Dot DSP, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Night and Day DSP, Marina Mist, Whisper White Textured CS; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Antique Brads, Tasteful Trim 2 Punch, Curly Label Punch, Oval Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling, Juice ITC

Rocky Mountain Driving, part 1

2011-05-10T00:13:00.004-05:00

Good morning! May is National Scrapbooking Month, and Stampin’ Up! has a great promotion for MDS – several Download Bundles are 30% off and some Professional Print Products are also 30% off. CLICK HERE to get all the details. I’ve been working hard to get several projects ready to print … and I’ve still got a ways to go!

Anyway, I showed you part of my Rocky Mountain National Park vacation a couple weeks ago. I’ll show you the rest of the trip this week. We spent a day driving different routes and enjoying all the scenery. Today’s pictures are from the Old Fall River Road and Fall River Pass. I used the Travel Journal Digital Kit for my stamps and paper. Oh, and my “Exploring” page was inspired by Barb Dean’s page.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- Sentimental Journey, Torn Edges; Paper- Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Travel Journal DSP, Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz; Ink- Night Of Navy, Handsome Hunter, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Circle Punch, Brads, Hodgepodge Hardware, Grosgrain Ribbon; Fonts- CK Journaling, You Are Loved, Veteran Typewriter

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- Torn Edges; Paper- Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Travel Journal DSP, Pacific Point, Marina Mist; Ink- Handsome Hunter, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Brads, Tasteful Trim 2 Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Stitching; Fonts- CK Journaling, CK Ali’s Hand, Juice ITC

MDS Monday #13 -- Mother's Day

2011-05-09T06:03:00.005-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #13 – Mother’s Day. I’m not happy with how this page turned out. May 8th is also my parents 45th wedding anniversary. I have some great pictures that I want to use for the Right page in my 2-page spread. And I couldn’t get the two pages to work the way I wanted. I’m just not feeling creative right now.

What do y’all do when that happens to you? I have to walk away for a while (sometimes a long while) and wait for inspiration to come from somewhere. When that happens, I’ll post the new pages. In the meantime, check out the inspiring creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Kraft Textured CS, Old Olive Textured CS, Regal Rose Brocade DSP, Regal Rose Large Polka Dot DSP, Melon Mambo, Basic Black Textured CS, Basic Black Textile DSP, Old Olive Striped DSP; Ink- Melon Mambo, Basic Black; Accessories- Fun Flowers Punches, Square Punch, Circle Punch, Basic Pearls, Tasteful Trim #3 Punch, Tasteful Trim #2 Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling, Pea Gretchie

Birthday Card Class, card 14

2011-05-06T00:22:00.000-05:00

TGIF! May is National Scrapbooking Month and Stampin’ Up! has a huge promotion featuring discounts on Traditional and Digital Scrapbooking products. Check it out HERE. I’ll also be doing a My Digital Studio (MDS) demonstration after Stamp Club on May 28th. If you’re in the Fort Worth area and interested in the demo, please email me. I’ll have more scrapbooking samples to show you next week.

But here’s another quick Birthday card for today. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Create a Cupcake; Paper- Celebrations DSP, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Real Red; Ink- Real Red (pad and marker), Pacific Point; Accessories-, Build a Cupcake Punch, 1-3/4” Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Dimensionals

Birthday Card Class, card 13

2011-05-05T00:19:00.005-05:00

Good morning! Today, I’m showing you another card from the Birthday Card Class a few weeks ago. We used the Celebrations DSP, coordinating Cardstock, Create a Cupcake stamp set, and the Build a Cupcake punch. The stamp set is no longer available, but you can still get the Build A Cupcake Punch. Here’s the Occasions Mini Catalog Carryover List, for all the products still available to purchase.

This is another simple layout that’s perfect for a masculine card. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Create a Cupcake, God’s Blessings; Paper- Celebrations DSP, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Real Red; Ink- Real Red, Bashful BLue; Accessories- Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, Build a Cupcake Punch, 1-3/4” Circle Punch, 5/16 Jumbo Brad, Dimensionals

Take A Sip Gift Card Holder

2011-05-04T00:25:00.001-05:00

Today’s card is another April Stamp Club card that focused on wheels. I used Black StazOn ink to stamp Take a Sip in permanent ink. Then, we used Blender Pens to color the individual cups. (The StazOn ink won’t smear when it gets wet from the Blender Pens.)

I’m not very good at coloring. Honestly, it wasn’t one of my favorite things even as a child. But the Blender Pens are so forgiving, they make it easy for me! We used Crumb Cake, Pretty In Pink, and Rose Red ink pads with the Blender Pens.

And the inside is just made for a Starbucks Gift Card. We used the Word Window Punch for the opening. You just insert the paper, as far as it will go into the punch, and punch it once from each side edge. Since the paper is all the way in the punch, the punches line up perfect every time.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Thank You Kindly, Take A Sip (wheel); Paper- Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Neutral DSP Stack, Pretty In Pink, Pink Pirouette; Ink- Jet Black StazOn, Pretty In Pink, Rose Red (pad and marker), Crumb Cake; Accessories- Standard Stampin’ Around Handle, Blender Pens, Big Designer Buttons, Word Window Punch, Satin ribbon, Boho Blossom Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Dimensionals

Whimsy Stamp Club card

2011-05-03T00:07:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Today’s card is one that we made for April Stamp Club. This month, I wanted to focus on wheels. Wheels are great for adding a quick background to your project, just like this card. I used the Whimsy wheel with Bashful Blue ink on Bashful Blue CS.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Just Believe, Whimsy (wheel); Paper- Bashful Blue, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Celebrations DSP; Ink- Bashful Blue, Real Red; Accessories- Jumbo Stampin’ Around Handle, Silver Brads, Two-Step Bird Punch, 2-1/2” Circle Punch, 1-3/4” Circle Punch, 1-3/8” Circle Punch, Square Lattice EF, Modern Label Punch, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #12 -- Use a Cupcake

2011-05-02T06:03:00.001-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #11. This week’s challenge is to Use A Cupcake. My scrapbook page is for my nephew’s 3rd birthday. I’m actually ahead for a change – his birthday isn’t until May 15th! As SU! Demonstrators, we get a monthly magazine called Stampin’ Success. I CASEd one of the layouts from the magazine. Now, all I have to do is add the pictures after his party.

I used embellishments that come with the Celebrations Kit download. That made this page come together very quickly. I added a shadow behind my “happy” text to give the look of chipboard letters. Then, I wanted to use the “Party This Way” embellishment, but I didn’t have it. So I just found similar fonts and created my own. And, of course, the cupcake is from the Cupcake punch.

Now, it’s time to check out the other creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Page Recipe: Stamps- none; Paper- Bashful Blue Textured CS, Whisper White, Real Red Small Polka Dot DSP, Pacific Point, Real Red, Crumb Cake (Kraft) Textured CS; Ink- Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pacific Point; Accessories- Cupcake Punch, Circle Punch, Silver Brads, Button Pack Brights, Button Pack Neutrals; Fonts- Arial, CK Journaling, CK Fantasy, Times New Roman

Stamp Club Button, Button card

2011-04-29T00:07:00.004-05:00

Happy Friday! I have my Stamp Club this weekend, and this is one of the cards we’ll be making. I used the Button, Button stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. This is such a great stamp set for creating quick cards. Several of the stamps fit our Circle Punches. If you want this set, you better get it quick. The Occasions Mini Catalog ends on Saturday.

I used a greeting from Create A Cupcake, also in the Occasions Mini Catalog. And I used the stem from Awash With Flowers. I ran the DSP through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder. I think it gives the DSP a "faux fabric" look that works so well with the buttons.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a Great Weekend!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Button Button, Create a Cupcake, Awash With Flowers; Paper- Very Vanilla, Neutrals DSP Stack, Perfect Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette; Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Pink Pirouette, Garden Green; Accessories- 1/2” Circle Punch, 3/4” Circle Punch, 1” Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Square Lattice EF

Rocky Mountain Hiking, part 3

2011-04-28T00:06:00.004-05:00

Good morning! Today, I’m showing you the last couple pages from my Hiking experience at Rocky Mountain National Park. (I still have several more pages from our Driving experience to show you later.) These layouts were inspired by one of Cindy Shuster’s pages on the MDS website. I mostly take scenic vacation pictures, and I tend to include 2 – 6 pictures on a page. This means I don’t have a lot of canvas space for matting techniques and embellishments. I definitely tend to be a “less is more” kind of girl.

On the other hand, I know lots of you have “people” pictures to scrapbook. And you might want to focus a whole page on a single photo. They do say, “a picture’s worth a thousand words”. In this case, you might want to try some cool techniques with backgrounds, embellishments, or stamps. Whatever your style is, you can find tons of inspiration at www.mydigitalstudio.net.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Page 14 Recipe: Stamps- Simple Friendship; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Soft Suede Textured CS, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White Textured CS; Ink- Bashful Blue, Night Of Navy, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Rounded Corner Square Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling

Page 15 Recipe: Stamps- Simple Friendship; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Soft Suede Textured CS, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White Textured CS; Ink- Bashful Blue, Night Of Navy, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Rounded Corner Square Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling, CK Ali’s Hand

Rocky Mountain Hiking, part 2

2011-04-27T00:04:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Today I’ll show you the next couple pages from my Rocky Mountain National Park trip. My scrapbook layouts are pretty basic. I want my pictures and journaling to be the focus of my pages. I use a lot of paper patterns and layering to give background interest to my pages.

For these pages, I started with a Sahara Sand base. I added strips of Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip to break up the middle section, where my pictures are. Then, I added some Striped DSP and Villa DSP to add texture where I don’t have pictures. Finally, I added some stamps from Vintage Vogue to give more texture and movement to my pages. Oh, I think all the layers being different heights make the layout more interesting and keeps all the straight lines from being boring.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Vogue; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Chocolate Chip Textured CS, Chocolate Chip Villa DSP, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Striped DSP, Sahara Sand, So Saffron; Ink- Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Pearls

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Vogue; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Chocolate Chip Textured CS, Chocolate Chip Villa DSP, Kraft (Crumb Cake) Striped DSP, Sahara Sand, So Saffron; Ink- Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Pearls; Fonts- CK Journaling, CK Ali’s Hand

Rocky Mountain Hiking, part 1

2011-04-26T00:02:00.004-05:00

Good morning! Today, I’m showing you a couple more pages from my Rocky Mountain National Park trip. First, I have to tell you this place is beautiful. We stayed in Loveland and drove to the park each day. It’s such breath-taking scenery that we enjoyed the drive. And the temperatures in August were heavenly compared to Texas in August :-)

For these pages, I used the Vintage Overlays stamp brush set. I combined several Overlays, flipping some, until I had the look I wanted. You just have to play around with MDS and try different looks. Don’t forget, if you don’t like it, you can always “UNDO” it.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Overlays, French Foliage; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Night Of Navy Textured CS, Gray Striped DSP, Whisper White Textured CS, Bashful Blue Textured CS; Ink- Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Crumb Cake, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Modern Label Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Brads; Fonts- CK Journaling, CK Ali’s Hand

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Overlays, French Foliage; Paper- Kraft (Crumb Cake) Textured CS, Night Of Navy Textured CS, Gray Striped DSP, Bashful Blue Textured CS; Ink- Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Crumb Cake, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Curly Label Punch; Fonts- CK Journaling

MDS Monday #11 -- Spring and Butterflies

2011-04-25T06:05:00.004-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #11. This week’s challenge is to create an Easter or Spring project with a Butterfly. My pages are from a trip to the Denver Botanical Gardens in 2009. These are part of the Album that I’m working to complete by the end of May. We also explored Rocky Mountain National park on this trip. I’ll be showing you more of those pages the rest of this week.

These pages are so bright and colorful with all those flowers. Therefore, I went with simple background papers and little embellishment. I used the Roses stamp from Elements Of Style to create my own Garden Green and Whisper White paper. I just stamped the image numerous times and rotated the images to get coverage – just like creating stamped background paper with paper and ink.

Now, it’s time to check out the other creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Left Page Recipe: Stamps- Elements of Style; Paper- Pretty In Pink Textured CS, Garden Green Textured CS, Perfect Plum, Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White Textured CS, Daffodil Delight, Daffodil Delight Wallpaper DSP, Daffodil Delight Polka Dot DSP; Ink- Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White; Accessories- Square Punch, Butterfly Shape 1 Punch, Butterfly Shape 2 Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Satin Ribbon; Fonts- CK Journaling, Pea Bitt Bitt

Right Page Recipe: Stamps- Elements of Style; Paper- Pretty In Pink Textured CS, Garden Green Textured CS, Perfect Plum, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight Wallpaper DSP, Daffodil Delight Polka Dot DSP; Ink- Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White; Accessories- Square Punch, Butterfly Shape 1 Punch, Butterfly Shape 2 Punch, Sending Love Epoxy Brads, Satin Ribbon; Fonts- CK Journaling

Happy Easter !

2011-04-22T00:57:00.001-05:00

Today I’m showing you the Easter Treats I’m giving my best friends, Alice and Janet. You’ll also see the masculine “mostly undecorated” one for Janet’s husband, Tyler. I found these great stainless buckets in the Target Dollar Spot. I thought they’d make great Easter “baskets”. Well, I’ve already decorated buckets, boxes, and other containers for my friends. So, I wanted to do something different. Then I was inspired by all the paper flowers I’ve seen on various blogs. I decided to make an Easter Bouquet. I didn’t really have any specific flowers in mind since I don’t have any of the Sizzix Flower Dies – YET. I just grabbed my punches are started forming flowers.

The tallest flower is one of the “fan fold” flowers. I started with a two 1-1/2” x 6” strips of the In Color DSP. I punched the strips with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and folded each scallop. Then you connect all the ends together, forming a circle, and adhere that to a punched circle. I added a Big Designer Button to the front.

The next tallest flower is made with the XL Scallop Circle. I cut slits between all the scallops to make “petals” and formed them into a more natural looking curve. The inner petals are from the Modern Label Punch. I finished the front off with a 3/4” circle and Rhinestone brad.

The shorter flowers are from the Flower Fusion die and the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack.

Then I saw this Punch Art Bunny on Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek’s blog and thought it’d be the perfect finishing touch for my “bouquet”. I also decorated the backs of all the flowers and added a cotton tail to my bunny. I had a hard time photographing these, so please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for stopping by and Have A Blessed Easter Weekend !

Easter Bouquet Recipe: Stamps- A Good Egg; Paper- In Color DSP (Hostess), Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Pacific Point, Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery; Ink- Pretty In Pink, Perfect Plum, Pacific Point; Accessories- Wide Oval Punch, Medium Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, 1-1/2” Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Flower Fusion Sizzlet, Boho Blossoms Punch, XL Scallop Circle Punch, Regular Scallop Circle Punch, 1/8” Taffeta Ribbon, 1” Circle Punch, 3/4” Circle Punch, 1-3/8” Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Big Designer Buttons, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Dimensionals, Wooden Skewers (non-SU!)

Fun Punch Art Bunny card

2011-04-21T00:23:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Here’s an Easter card I made for my Aunt and Uncle. First, I CASEd the punch art bunny from JanTink. She’s amazingly creative, you should really check out her blog. Second, since this is for my Aunt and Uncle, I chose bright colors instead of the traditional pastel colors. I really like how this turned out.

I love this stamp set, Pocket Silhouettes. It’s one of the most versatile stamp sets I own. It’s great for making scenes, like this card. Or for creating a focal image, like this card. And guess what?! They just released Pocket Silhouettes as a Digital Download for MDS. Now, I can use this wonderful stamp set on my Scrapbook pages, too! I have a goal to complete my 2009 and 2010 scrapbook albums by the end of May. So, you’ll be seeing many more MDS Pages over the next few weeks. CLICK HERE to view the complete MDS Catalog with all the fabulous downloads available.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Pocket Silhouettes, A Good Egg; Paper- Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue; Ink- Real Red, Pacific Point; Accessories- Boho Blossoms Punch,1-1/4” Circle Punch, 1” Circle Punch, Small Oval Punch, Medium Oval Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Jewels Pearls, Dimensionals

Fifth Avenue Roses

2011-04-20T00:36:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Today’s card is a bright and cheerful “Thinking of You” card. I used an elegant pink and gray color combination. I love the contrast of the warm pinks with the bit of cool gray and metal.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Fifth Avenue Floral, Sincere Salutations; Paper- Regal Rose, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette; Ink- Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose; Accessories- Paper Piercer, Silver Brads, Scallop Oval Punch, Dimensionals

MDS Monday #10 -- Faith Based Project

2011-04-18T06:00:00.004-05:00

Good morning, and welcome to UDI’s MDS Monday Challenge #10. This week’s challenge is to create a Faith based project. My page is for my nephew’s baptism. I’ve been working on an ABC album since before Aaron was born. He’ll be 3 in May! This album started as Traditional scrapbooking. Then I got more involved with MDS and discovered I love Digital scrapping. So I’ve decided to create the remaining pages with MDS and print the individual 12 x 12 pages to add to the album. I told my SIL I’ll have the project finished by the end of May. I’m sure I’ll be showing you more pages as I get them completed. Just so you know, I haven’t been doing the pages in order. I do have about half the album finished :-)

This page is pretty basic. I’m using Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, and Whisper White for the album pages. MDS contains all the retired colors, so I can still use as much Brocade Blue as I want. I used the Vintage Overlay stamp to create my background pattern. I stamped it in Brocade Blue on Brocade Blue paper. Then I added a drop shadow at 100% opacity in Brocade Blue. It gives a unique texture to the paper.

Now, it’s time to check out the other creations from the Design Team members at Utah Diva’s International.

Page Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Overlays; Paper- Brocade Blue Textured CS, Night of Navy Textured CS, Bashful Blue Textured CS, Bashful Blue Large Polka Dot DSP, Whisper White Textured CS; Ink- Night of Navy, Basic Black; Accessories- Square Punch, Curly Label Punch, Brads; Fonts- CK Journaling, ParkAvenue BT Regular, Century Schoolbook

Birthday Card Class – Card #12

2011-04-15T00:22:00.001-05:00

TGIF! Today’s card uses one of my favorite sketch layouts. I don’t remember which challenge had the original layout; I’ve had it for quite a while. I love simplicity of the sketch that utilizes so many different patterns. This sketch is also great for using those leftover scraps you have from other projects. And when you’re done, nobody even knows they were leftovers. :-)

Thanks for stopping by and Have A Great Weekend !

Card Recipe: Stamps- Create a Cupcake; Paper- Celebrations DSP, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz; Ink- Real Red; Accessories- Build a Cupcake Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Silver Brad, 2-1/2” Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Dimensionals

Birthday Card Class – Card #11

2011-04-14T00:20:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Here’s another card from the recent Birthday Card Class. Yesterday I showed a “girl” card. Today’s card is more masculine in design. Although, it would still work for a girl. Have you ever noticed that most masculine designs still appeal to women? But don’t try giving our pretty, flowery, ribbon cards to guys! :-)

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Create a Cupcake, God’s Blessings; Paper- Celebrations DSP, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz; Ink- Real Red,; Accessories- Build a Cupcake Punch, Jumbo Button, Dimensionals