Stamping with Noel

5 Minute Mondays: Patriotic Card for Memorial Day With My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!

I would like to wish you all a happy Memorial Day!  Hopefully the BBQ's are fired up and you are enjoying a day outdoors with friends and family.

In honor of Memorial Day and our fallen soldiers, I decided to create a quick and easy patriotic card. Today's version was done in MDS for my digital fans out there.  Projects like these can be created quickly and posted to facebook or sent via email, or printed out and used for paper projects too (cards, scrapbook pages, party decorations, etc.).

A couple quick MDS Tool Tips that make this card possible:

• Coloring Tool:
  
  I quickly modified the Land of the Free Digital Stamp Brush Set Digital Download image using the coloring tool.  Simply place your stamp on your project, click on the coloring tool and using the brush tool color as you choose.  The more detailed the stamp, the smaller the digital brush head you want to use when coloring!  For my postcard, I was able to use the largest brush size.
  
  
• Recoloring Designer Series Paper:
  
  The striped papers I used at the top and bottom of my postcard are from the Downtown Grunge Designer Series Paper available in the Downtown Grunge Photobook Template Digital Download.  All of the papers in this set are done in shades of Basic Black, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla.  I simply clicked on the recolor tool, and clicked on Midnight Muse - now my designer series paper coordinates with my colored stamp! 

If you haven't yet delved into the world of digital, I strongly recommend you take the FREE 30 Day Trial - or leap in feet first, for only $20 how far wrong can you go? 

Purchase MDS here!

5 Minute Mondays: Digital and Hybrid Graduation Cards

A friend stopped by the other day and wanted to create a quick graduation card for her niece - very quick, as she was just picking something up and needed to run to an appointment.  I had to admit that I don't own any graduation stamps - but I do have digital graduation images in MDS! 

So we sat down and in just a few minutes we had this quick and easy card:

It is simply a sheet of paper from Love Letters Designer Series Paper Digital Download, matted in Basic Black on Going Gray card stock, with a greeting stamp from the You Go Grad Stamp Brush Set Digital Download. 

While she was satisfied with the card, I thought it would be fun to print it out and take it Up a Notch as a hybrid card:

It is now mounted on a Basic Black card stock card base and I've added just a few Basic Rhinestone Jewel Accents to brighten it up! Are there any young ladies in my life graduating this year?  For some reason I don't think this feminine card will work for my son graduating 8th grade. 

When looking for quick and easy projects, don't forget My Digital Studio!  Your finished product can be printed out or even used as an e-card for those informal occasions. 

Take the MDS FREE TRIAL today!

And, to make it even more fun, some of our select digital content is currently on sale for 25% off - shop the digital sale here!

Happy Mother's Day!

This weekend my craft room is feeling abandoned.  I am off playing in the yard with my children, going on a beach walk with the family, puttering in the veggie garden with my girls, a little soccer with the four year old and the dog, some volleyball with the 11 year old.  The weather is glorious and I'm enjoying the company my favorite people.

I hope all of the moms out there are enjoying your special day as well.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Using Photobook Templates for Scrapbooking

Do you like to scrapbook from scrap maps or templates?  

Then check out this new download from Stampin' Up! for My Digital Studio!

This Bookstagram Photobook Template Digital Download was released yesterday and includes:

* 28-page designer photobook template (8" x 8")
* 30-piece SVG stamp brush set 

Colors: 
Crumb Cake, Going Gray, Very Vanilla, Whisper White

What a great way to show off a variety of photos for the year in a sleek and fun photobook - or change the cover and make it about a single event.  The options are limitless!  Check out other recent releases CLICK HERE!

Unique Custom Cards Made Easy with MDS

Every once in a while I have need for a completely unique card - you know, the type of card with a greeting that no one else has ever created?  The type of card you will never find in a card shop?

Take this congratulatory card below:

I have a friend who received a promotion at work solely because she followed through on one of her wild and crazy ideas - one of her ideas that have her friends rolling their eyes and her bosses questioning her appropriateness for her position.  But it was one of those crazy ideas that helped her company go somewhere they never would have gone otherwise ... hence, this card.  And, no, any old "congratulations on your promotion card" would not have cut it!

Where does MDS come in? 

Well, this card was made in very little time at all simply by taking an existing designer template and making it my own!

Simply by making some deletions, some additions, and a few color changes I created the perfect card for the occasion!  Oh, and by using the Stamp Image Color Tool, I was able to create multiple color text from a single stamp - how's that for fun?!

MDS Makes Craft Room Organization Easier With New Downloads - Including FREE items!

Ok, let's be honest.  Many of us spend as almost as much time organizing our craft rooms as we do actually crafting ...  and I suspect many of you share my childhood secret love of office supplies too.  Stampin' Up! has listened to some of the requests that have come in and delivered with this week's new digital downloads!

Want to label your supplies by color?  

Check out this FREE digital set:

Want to go a little further, and coordinate with your color labels?

Check out this 108 SVG stamp set with 4 page decor designer template:

Or maybe you need to start planning your day a bit more?

Check out this Up to Date Planner Template Digital Download:

So what's stopping you?  Embrace your love of office and organizational supplies - Order your downloads today!

More to Love with My Digital Studio

Oh my!  Look at these lovely new bridal downloads for My Digital Studio!  This Love More Ensemble Digital Download is only one of the new downloads released today.  To see more, click here. 

These digital wedding supplies almost make me wish I had a wedding to plan!  How about you?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Today I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas with yet another MDS designer template (I've simply cropped down the Ornament Punch Greeting Card Template).  But I promise, when my own holiday travels are over, I will return to my craft room and give my paper crafters among you some samples to be inspired by!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Noel

Creative Elements Personalized Digital Designer Journal

January is coming, and while it may mean the end of the traditional holiday gift giving season, you may still have need for semi-handmade gifts like this personalized journal! 

When you have January birthdays among your friends and family there is still work to do after the holidays!  I created this personalized journal for the daughter of a friend based on the Creative Elements Designer Journal Template found in the Creative Elements Stamp Brush Set Digital Download. 

I didn't even know that this stamp brush set included a designer journal template when I purchased it back in 2011!  But, with just a couple deletes, a little recoloring, and the addition of Schoolbook Serif Alphabet stamps for the personalization my journal is ready to send to the printer.  Better yet, I can have the finished product shipped direct to my friend through Stampin’ Up!’s print services and save time and shipping costs. 

Check out our print prices here.  I think you will find they are competitive to other similar print services – and since you can upload directly from MDS, service couldn’t be easier!

A Little of This Thanks Christmas Tag or Card

Christmas is coming and the aftermath is going to require thank you cards!  If you are looking to create some quick and easy tags/cards, MDS can come to the rescue. 

Take the "Thanks" tag in this set of tags, the "A Little of This Tag Templates",  included with the MDS2+ software:

With a few additions, you can turn it into this:
(additions include color altering of the thank you banner and embellishments from the Home for the Holidays collection)

This particular tag is actually going to Tony, my UPS driver with a POST Christmas thank you gift … I would have liked to give him a PRE-Christmas tip/gift for the many boxes he has delivered so cheerfully and considerately through the year (ever since my third child was born, he knocks lightly so as not to wake the baby - and continues to do so, even now when she is 4 years old!).   But, I guess you could say I’m running late!

Have you created your thank you cards yet?  Do you like simple cards or more detailed?   No matter your style, MDS2+ has you covered!  And, while you may not normally think of yourself as a digital crafter, you may want to reconsider during this busy season of travel, house guests, and high quantity gift giving!

Your Book of Me Made Easy With MDS2 and a New Download!

Stampin' Up! has hit it big in my book with the All Time Fave Photobook Template Digital Template released today!  What a great way for those of us with little time to put together a Book of Me album to share who we are in this moment with our children, friends and family.

This download is filled with goodies including a 24-page photobook designer template (11" x 8-1/2"), 134-piece SVG stamp brush set, 13 Designer Series Papers and 13 embellishments!  Use the template as stands or alter it to your needs.

Here are just a few of the individual pages included in the template:
(click here to see the entire set, then click on 'more images')

I know that if I were to complete this book, I'd be giving a great gift to my children ... as my personal scrapbooks tend to be about my family NOT myself!  Down the road, as adults, my children are going to know who they were as children - but they are going to want to know who I was at this time in my life!

Handmade Gift for Kids: MDS2 Stage Backgrounds for a Wooden Stage

This past weekend I used MDS2 to make a series of stage backdrops for this wooden stage I designed for my daughters.  When combined with a simple stage, these simple scenes make the perfect handmade gift for kids!

Years ago, I asked my husband to build this wooden stage for my older daughter to use with some plastic ballerina's she had received from a dear friend of the family (thank you Kathie!).  My daughter was taking ballet lessons at the time and has always been quite artistic.  I thought she would have fun drawing backdrops for use on stage.  So there is a small space at the back of the stage to 'drop in' your 'backdrops'. 

While my daughter played with the stage on some occasions, and she and I drew a few backdrops to use, the toy never quite 'took'.  This weekend, as I was cleaning up the toy corner to make room for the upcoming holiday additions, I came across this long discarded toy.  With my new found love of digital crafting, I thought it would be fun to design some quick backgrounds - and to rehabilitate the toy for my younger daughter.  Less than an hour later I had 10 different digital backdrops printed out and ready to play! 

After the birthday party backdrop above, here are a few of my favorites:

The next day my older daughter sat with me and we designed a few more (with her designing and myself implementing ... I love how she wanted me to use brads as nailheads!):

My 10 year old is now busy crafting away on her own backdrops without help ... I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

To make this project easier, I opened a 12 x 12 scrapbook page in MDS2.  I then designed two 12 x 6" scenes on a single page, printed on 12 x 12 Whisper White Card stock and cut in half. 

And - the best part of this project - both of my daughters are now playing with this lovely little stage.  Yes, I had intended to gift the youngest with the backdrops for Christmas, but I couldn't resist sharing right away!

This handmade gift is yet one more way to use MDS this holiday season!  And, if you have a young artist in the family with access to a computer, why not gift her with the MDS2 or MDS2+ software?  Even if you aren't interested in digital crafting, the younger generation is quite comfortable in this medium!

Sweet Cake Digital Download Finds the Sun!

Ok, so winter is barely here - but are you ready for a little sunshine?  Come with  me on this little adventure as I take the Sweet Cake Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download from sweet, to magical, to the sun!

I just love when I can take a product and use it in a completely new way! 

When I first purchased the Sweet Cake Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download, I wasn't certain how often I would use it ... but my mind new it was full of possibilities. 

In fact, my very first project used it as a background on a magic card (original blog post found here):

And now, I'm using it as the sun's rays:

Maybe one day I'll actually use it as it showed up in the original stamp set - but maybe not!  In the meantime, one of the wonders of digital crafting with MDS2 is that you can use various elements from a stamp set in ways that could never be done with the original stamp set! 

Try it for yourself.  

Take the 30 Day FREE MDS2 Trial Today!

Sending Merry Christmas Greetings: MDS2 at 50% OFF

Are you planning to purchase Christmas cards this year? 

Have you been perusing the online sites and mail order catalogs that fill our mail box this time of year? 

Don't forget to check out the Designer Templates available in MDS2 ...

• Many of the templates are complete cards in themselves! 
• Other templates leave set space for you to drop in a family photo, like the Bright Reviews Trifold Card Template Digital Download above without the photo blocks and below with the photo blocks.  This template also allows you to personalize the top 10 moments of the year on the back! 
  
• And, with all of the templates, you can always alter them to create your own customized project in minimum time.

While MDS2 gives you the complete software with digital content to get you started, MDS2+ gives you MORE digital content to keep you crafting into the future!  To see the library of content in the MDS2+ software, click here.

Save time this Christmas, design your holiday cards in MDS2 or MDS2+ ... and for only a couple more days (through November 28th!) you can purchase MDS2 and MDS2+ at 50% off! 

Great News for Hostesses: Digital Downloads Available at Workshops!

Stampin' Up! announced yesterday that digital downloads are now available through workshop orders.  This is great news for hostesses and customers alike, and shows that Stampin' Up! really does listen to our requests. 

Why is this important?

• When scheduling your workshops hostesses can include friends who may not have been interested in traditional stamping!  How about scheduling a 'digital workshop' just for your technologically oriented friends?
• Digital Downloads now count against workshop totals!  Previously, digital downloads could only be purchased online through an individual customer order and hostesses could not earn benefits off of those purchases.
• Hostesses can now purchase downloads with their hostess rewards dollars! Not only can your attendees purchase downloads at a workshop, but hostesses can as well!

Some things to remember:

• Workshop attendees purchasing digital downloads will need to provide a valid email address.  Customers will receive an email with a link letting them know that their digital content is ready to download.  Without a valid email address, customers will not be able to receive their content (although they could still purchase content CDs).
• After clicking on the link in their confirmation email, customers will be taken to their digital content.  Here customers need to log in to their online shopping account - or create an account if they have not shopped online yet.  Why?  To tie their digital downloads to their customer account for future access.  Otherwise they will only be able to access their downloads through the email link (or with demonstrator help if the email is lost).

I know some of you will be excited about this news - you've been asking for it since My Digital Studio was first released.  For others, even if you don't use MDS or craft digitally, you may find that your friends and family do - and now you can earn hostess rewards based on their spending!  So spread the word.