nutmeg creations

MDS Blog Hop Friday - Think BABY!

2012-02-24T06:00:00.003-08:00

Funny that it was ME that selected this week's theme. Maybe it was a little plug to get Rochelle back in action since she she had a baby in January! LOL Surely she has done some MDS of that beautiful baby girl! Then again maybe I was getting sentimental about my own baby girls that are now grown girls. :( But if you checked out this week's MDS downloads HERE then you can see that I am not the only one in baby mode. Did you see that totally cute On the Go Kit? Man, I wish I had boys for that kit alone! So cute!

Anywoo, I ended up making several baby projects over the past week like a framed quote, another shower invite, a tag, and an announcement postcard. I will be showing you them over the next couple of days so be sure to check back!

Here is where I began with this project for a baby shower invite. This extra special template comes with the Blossom Bouquet Punch download #126037 when you purchase it. It is a 6x6 card. And it is only 95 cents thru a demo! WOW!

And here is how it ended! I love the high contrast of colors. I love the flowers with just a little rotate and change in opacity it is something totally brilliant. I LUV LUV LUV the little chickie with bird wing on him and the circle punch for the eye parts. Click on the card to enlarge and see him in full. All the info of this is false but I am fond of the font Baby Boston that I used with colors to fill in the details. The stamp image words come from the large download kit called Hello Baby #126159.

This would look great for a birthday card too! Versatility with MDS, LUV IT!

I can not wait to see what all my fellow MDS blog hoppers have created for BABIES!

Come join me as we hop to Erica next!

Have a great day!

Cindy

1. Jeanna Bohanon
2.Rochelle Gould

3. Mandy Grant

7. Aly Schilling

9. Erica Shaw

10. Heather Summers

11. Alesha Walls

12. Holly VanDyne

Guest Blogger - Guess who?

2012-02-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

Super exciting news to share today! I will be featured as a guest blogger on MyDigitalStudio.net! A few weeks back, the MDS team opened it up to any MDS.net members to submit blog posts with their MDS creations and I thought...hey, let the creating begin! I love to share!

Here is a sneak peak at what I came up with. Curious?

If you want to see the completed project then head over to here: http://mydigitalstudio.net/ and see my Crazy in Love post!

Let me know what you think with a comment or just click on the LIKE button! Anyone can become a member on mds.net - demos AND customers!

Thank you for your support!

Cindy

Back tomorrow for the MDS Blog Hop Friday!

MDS Blog Hop Friday - One Big Sale-a-Bration!

2012-02-17T05:10:00.001-08:00

I was working on another project with the fabulous One Big Sale-a-Bration CD for a secret mission :) and just loved the designer series paper Everyday Enchantment SO MUCH that I wanted to right away make more projects with it. Here is just one. A card. I am working on a 5x5 photobook using the One Big Sale-a-Bration CD but it was not quite ready. Another post to come so check back!

The colors of this dsp are Pool Party, Calyspo Coral, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Peach Parfait, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla which is such a great color combo! This flag layout is VERY popular and trendy in card/scrapbooking these days and I just love the look of it. I used the text box and the Fling font to create my sentiment on the card. It came together easy and fast. Did you see the ribbon and brad on the butterfly? Comes in the CD too!

The One Big Sale-a-Bration CD is such a deal for us My Digital Studio users! It come with 5 stamp brush sets specifically from the Sale-a-bration Catalog, 12 Designer Series Paper Patterns, 6 ribbons and 5 brads! To get it all you have to do is purchase $50.00 in products, MDS downloads, or even Stampin Up MDS printing service projects and you get this amazing CD for FREE!

Thanks for stopping by! Check back again for more Sale-a-Bration projects!

Cindy

Now go and see what all my fellow blog hoppers

have created with their One Big Sale-a-Bration CD's!

You will be amazed!

6. Aly Schilling

8. Erica Shaw

10. Alesha Walls

11. Holly VanDyne
12. Isis Pinero (this week's guest blog hopper!)

A Watercolor Card in MDS

2012-02-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I was inspired to play with the watercolor technique on My Digital Studio again. You can see how to create this card in MDS HERE in this post that I did a year ago so it is nice to make it new to new viewers again. Watch the video as it explains in detail how to do the layer process.

Love the fresh colors and it makes me think of spring on this bitter cold day we are having today in the south. Brrrrr!

Hope you like it!

Have a great day!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Friday - Template

2012-02-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge is SO PERFECT for me! I use the MDS templates on the DVD version of MDS ALL THE TIME! They are one of my favorite things about the My Digital Studio program. It is also one of the key point to selling the program. And now with the FREE 30 day trial, you can give templates a try FOR FREE! It comes with an AWESOME 24 page template called Sweet Details 8.5x11 photobook. All you have to do is add photos and journaling. Then you can even get it printed thru Stampin Up print services within the 30 days too.

ok,ok...Back to today project!

Back in December I was asked by Stampin Up to create some MDS samples. (I was EXCITED beyond EXCITED) I was to make a 5x5 photobook using the Travel Log Kit. It was the perfect opportunity to re-create my Chattanooga trip in a small book for my mom. I used several different templates from the DVD version of MDS. Here are just a few pages from that photobook.

From the Happy B-Day 5x5 templates

From the Rock -a-bye Baby 5x5 templates

From the Summer Home 5x5 templates

And here it is in real print form! I can not wait to see it in person! It was at Leadership so it will be shipped to me soon.

I used templates and just one digital kit to create this entire book! How easy can MDS be! If you are interested in trying the Free 30 day MDS trial, let me know!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you use templates for your creations or just inspiration to get started!

Cindy

Aly - SHE IS BACK in ACTION!

Featured on My Crafty World Picks #51

2012-02-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Come and check it out! I am featured on Tiffany Bauer's My CraftyWorld Blog today with her Craft Picks of the week!
http://www.mycraftyworld.blogspot.com/

What a great surprise! Thanks Tiffany!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cindy

It's my Birthday!

2012-02-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

I really like this quote above when it comes to having birthdays especially at my age! HA!

This one too!

Like many women my age, I am 28 years old.

-Mary Schmich

Have a great day everyone!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Friday - Love is in the Air

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Perfect timing to take this "Love" theme and use the AWESOME Twitterpated Kit # 129332. You get ribbon, stamp images, designer series paper, buttons AND a template with this download for just $9.95!!! I love all the colors for a different take on Valentine's. I had the thought of using the calendar option in a scrapbook page but how without making it like a regular calendar? This page went thru ALOT of trial and error! Thank goodness for that UNDO button on MDS!!!

I also used the P.S. I LOVE YOU stamp brush set # 127186 which are the images you see all over the page. I think that they make the page even better. Overall, I love how this page turned out just because it has the people on it that I so LUV the most!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Be sure to continue on our blog hop and see what everyone else has this week!

Also check out our guest hopper this week - #11 Kelly

1. Jeanna Bohanon
2. Mandy Grant

7. Erica Shaw

10. Holly VanDyne

11. Kelly Birrell (this week's guest blog hopper!)

Want to try My Digital Studio? How about for FREE!

2012-02-02T05:22:00.000-08:00

Play with My Digital Studio for FREE starting today!!!

With the FREE trial, you’ll get:

■Full access to the software at NO COST for 30 days.
■Full design functionality.
■Exclusive artwork that comes with My Digital Studio Express. See included content here.
■Opportunity to purchase additional downloads from designer templates to stamp brush sets--and everything in between.
■Access to our professional print services so you could even print your items that you create!

Once your trial period expires, simply contact me to purchase the downloadable or disc version of the software to continue enjoying My Digital Studio. You will love the program!

124483 My Digital Studio Express*
Downloadable version with full software and just enough digital content to get you started
See included content here. Only available as an online order $39.95.

118108 My Digital Studio:
Packaged DVDs with full software and robust digital content; includes nearly 2,000 stamp brush sets, embellishments, designer templates, punches, Designer Series Papers, card stock, and more.
That’s more than a $500 worth on it!
See included content here. $79.95

This is an on-going promo for the 30 day trial. You could start on March 1st, May 1st or TODAY! Why not give it a try, IT IS FREE!

Click MY SHOP LINK TO SIGN UP to get started!
Once you have signed up for the FREE MDS Trial, go to http://mydigitalstudio.net/ and sign up with a user name and password. Then head to the training videos HERE and watch the Getting to Know MDS section. Look at some of the samples shown on the website too. Find me and add me as a friend! Then start playing on your own!
Email me if you have any questions at nutmeg1197@aol.com or check out FAQ HERE about the Express Trial My Digital Studio program.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cindy

Portrait of a family

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am totally in love with the You're My Sunshine download! (see the blog header change?)
As well as the color combo or yellow and gray!
I used it on my "Joy to the World" banner last month HERE. I saw this layout in a scrapbook magazine and just had to case it but in MDS style. I used the Tres Chic stamp brush set for the background in Whisper White and changed the opacity to 40%. Then I added just the word family in Daffodil Delight around the background as well. The square punches were filled with You're My Sunshine dsp and color. Added some stitching between them and around the whole thing is the stitched box from the Convention download. Did you know there is stitching in that download? YEAH! That darker gray in the heart and title is one that I picked myself and put in my favorites in the color selector. Ever try that? There is so much to the My Digital Studio program yet to explore!
Ever want to try this program? Come back tomorrow for EXCITING NEWS! think FREE!
Thanks for stopping by!
Cindy

How simple! another MDS home decor frame!

2012-01-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

I forgot to share with you this very simple idea during the holidays. My Digital Studio offers already pre-done templates in some of their additional purchased downloads. This makes creating SO EASY! This template is from the Home for the Holidays download (can you tell it was my FAV from the holidays downloads?) I created it in a 8.5x11 page. Saved as a jpeg file. Printed as a 5x7 on my printer. Inserted in frame. Added punch snowflake, circle punch and button to complete the frame.

Simple. Easy. Done.

Love projects that are simple to do but pack a punch!

Have a great Monday!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Friday - Winter Fun

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge was a difficult one for me. The theme "Winter Fun" is hard to do when you have had NO SNOW at all this winter. I did work on a vintage ice skating scrapbook page but I will not have the photos until this Sunday when we go ice skating with our youth group. So I went in a different direction with some inspiration from my talented fellow blog hop friends Jeanna and Julie. Their takes on brayering in the digital form blew me away! Jeanna won the MDS Contest because of her fabulous card seen HERE and Julie did this AMAZING card HERE and then she did a tutorial video HERE on how to do it yourself! After watching it, I was ready to give it a try. So with the challenge theme in mind, I created this card using the brayering technique. It is so easy to do! The hard part was figuring out what to place on top to finish the card. I think I will get these printed and send some to friends in the north that actually have snow this year.

Keep warm friends!

Please remember to check out my fellow bloggers below and leave a comment!

We love to read them!

Cindy

ME - Thanks for stopping by! :)

MDS Blog Hop Friday - Challenge Layout

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Our friend Mandy selected this week's theme and she picked a layout for us to follow. I used it as a guideline to build my page. Here is the sample layout first.

I absolutely love the banner theme of the page! I used a super cute download called Celebrate Any Day Greeting Card Templates # 127757. Although it is a card template, you get the great embellishments to create a page too! The banner with Eat and Cake come with it. In the last line of banner, I covered the letters with the photos and a small circle of the same color. Then I added the photo boxes and flag punch filled with different papers like Berry Blossoms, Noteworthy and basic striped. I really like the colors on this paper of Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder and Crumb Cake especially for a birthday party.

Thanks Mandy! That was fun to do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Check out other MDS hoppers and see what they came up with!

If some of our hoppers are missing then just return and go to the next one!

me - you are here!

Erica - next stop

Heather

Alesha

Holly

A birthday party gift package! Completely in MDS!

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I made this ensemble birthday package for a co-worker last week. It was very simple to create using My Digital Studio. Warning - this is a SUPER LONG post so hang in there til the end!

I first started to create it by adding the scallop pennant punch in different colors then adding Sweet Details Alphabet. When you add the punch without changing the size then you will be able to punch it out with the real punch. Used the 1/8" hole punch and threaded Baker's Twine thru them.

I also add some plain scallop pennant punches and filled them to create the cake banner. Then I did did the same with the simple pennant punch for the inside of my card. Just love this!

Then I created the card front and printed it out as a 5x7. I added it to a piece of 10 x 7 Tempting Turquoise cardstock. The inside banner folds up nicely.

The card front was easy to create from a case that I had seen. I added a small circle punch, sized it down and copied and pasted it like a zillion times. Then filled with colors like Garden Green, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Orchid Opulence, Lucky Limeade, Calyspo Coral, Melon Mambo and Peach Parfait.

Then I took the same card front and made a fun 5 x 7 frame insert. Added the original sweet sentiment from the case. I used some of the punched scalloped pennants to place on the outside of the frame.

Whew! That was ALOT of cover so I hope you made it all the way thru it.

What can My Digital Studio NOT do? Your imagination is umlimited!

I hope this inspires you to get on your computer/laptop and give it a go!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop - NEW NEW NEW!

2012-01-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

More of the NEW on the MDS blog hop this week. I have been doing ALOT of designing in MDS this week! Must have been all the new AWESOME downloads that I got last month and this month so far. I had a hard time just selecting one thing to show you all today. The creativity is oozing out my brain! (my daughter's comment) HA!

I wanted to make some custom notecards to send to friends and customers thru the year. I am getting them printed thru Stampin Up and the quality of paper is so easy to write on. I selected the 9 1/4" x 4" postcard to create my project in. Keeping it simple with a monogram C and my name and using the fabulous You're My Sunshine download from December. Added some ribbons and my favorite label punch to complete it. The back is the open wide Whisper White space to write on.

I made two versions so that I can get 10 printed of each for just $1.75 with the new bulk pricing option AND they come with Whisper White envelopes! And I can order these over and over or change them a bit and order them. LOVE IT!

So yes, that is NOT a typo on my name. My mother spelled Cynthia with an i. But everyone calls me Cindy with no i on the end. Weird, huh?

I hope you like my project today and it inspires you to go create some note postcards for yourself!

Have a great day!

Cindy

Check out what everyone has that is NEW!

You will love each one so be sure to check them ALL out!

ME - YOU ARE HERE! : )

A Round Corner Tutorial Video

2012-01-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting this!I thought it was scheduled to post this morning and when I just checked, it was not! OOPS!

Here is the link to the You Tube Round Corner Punch Tutorial!

I have been working on the cutest birthday project this evening and I can not wait to show you all!
I will try to have a video on how I created it in MDS too!

Have a great evening!
Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Friday - something NEW!

2012-01-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

Stampin Up has done something that they hardly ever do! Give something to their customers and demos and anyone at all for absolutely FREE! We all love FREE right? But once again, they are ringing in the new year with a FREE My Digital Studio download! And an AWESOME complete kit as well! Anyone who has a facebook page and becomes a fan of Stampin' Up! (which means you need to 'like' Stampin' Up!'s facebook page) can this FREE download MDS digital kit. Below are the details....you'll need to go to Stampin' Up!'s actual facebook page to get the link. Hurry...it'll only be available 'til Jan 10th. Thanks Stampin' Up! You guys are the best!

"Thank you for being our friends! To show our appreciation for our 100,000 (plus) Facebook fans, we’re giving away a free digital kit to EVERYONE to use with My Digital Studio (or any other design software if My Digital Studio is not available where you live). The Day in the Life kit contains Designer Series Papers, embellishments, a Designer Template, and is valued at $14.95(US)! To download the kit, just follow the link below. And so you (and your friends) have plenty of time to download the kit, we’ll make sure it is available through January 10."

I really wanted that kit but decided to wait til the new year, so glad I did! I LOVE the layout of the 8x8 page templates that come with the download. So today in our "use something NEW" theme on our blog hop, I did took that template page to start off my 2012 album. I have been working on coming up with a new layout for my monthly page album. These pages will be a great addition to the album.

Seeing the four squares reminded me of our family of four. So I went with the theme of from the start of a year to the end of a year, how much could you change in one year?

I simply added the month flag stamp in Island Indigo and a text in Cherry Cobbler to each page. The photos on the second page will be filled in December to finish it off. Love preplanning!

So remember to get your FREE download today! RUN! hehee no just click :)

Cindy

Check out what everyone has that is NEW!

ME - YOU ARE HERE! : )

Recap 2011 continues...OCT NOV DEC

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

These last three months of 2011 yells "HOLIDAYS" very loud and clear. I had super fun making these. I had them finished all at the same time back at the first of November so all I had to do was fill with pictures at the end of Nov and Dec. Love getting "ahead of the cart" so to speak!

I love the colors of the Frighful Sight dsp on the Basic Gray background. Just makes them pop! I also love the digital design tape that we got for free during the MDS special weekend back in November. The Scaredy Cat stamp brush set fills this themed page perfectly.

This page uses Autumn Spice from last fall's downloads. I paired it up with a Pear Pizzaz background and Day of Graditude stamp brush set.

To close off the year with the Christmas season, I went with the Letters to Santa dsp and embellishments. I just love that Santa in the Lucky Limeade scallop punch embellishment on this page!

Well there you have it! Our 2011 "Project 12" scrapbook! I will get these printed in individual pages and place in a scrapbook like I have for 2008,2009, and 2010. I do have a few filler pages to add to this book. They are special pages from Cover page, Easter, Molly Memorial, Convention recap, Top Ten of Summer, and Family Page.

You can see that one tomorrow at our Blog Hop!

Thanks for coming back each day to see more of my 2011 project!

Cindy

Recap 2011 continues...JULY AUG SEPT

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Moving on to the next three months...

This page has to be my favorite design and it was my favorite month of 2011! I wanted the "vintage" colors of July 4th traditional red, white and blue. The dsp is from many kits and papers. Love Letter, Not Quite Navy striped and patterns. This month was so great...from fantastic fireworks to my niece coming into the world to a visit with some GREAT friends to my very first Stampin Up Convention!

August is our back to school month here in the South. I used the Noteworthy CD kit. I love the colors in this kit; Pool Party, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and So Saffron. The apple has color filled punch behind it to "fill" the apple in.

Spice Cake HAD to be used for September's page. It went so well with our beach vacation pictures. Love the tree so it had to be in this page too.

Hope you enjoyed these!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Recap 2011 continues...APR MAY JUNE

2012-01-03T07:47:00.000-08:00

Here is the next three months of our year 2011! Someone asked about the round corners in the comments yesterday, so I will work on a video and have it for you soon. :)

I just love that chocolate bunny! The eggs are just wide oval punch filled with designer series paper called Nursery.

This one uses the Springtime Vintage dsp and the Sewing Stamp brush image. Love the lace ribbon and vintage flower adornments.

Absolutely love the butterfly on this page. Inspired from the template with the butterflies for the journal. The dsp is Sunny Garden. Love the Daffodil Delight with the orange tones for this summer month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fantastic day!

Cindy

Happy New Year 2012! and Recapping 2011...JAN FEB MAR

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and enjoyed your first full day of 2012!
This past year has been a most wonderful year! Such a busy year in fact, that I see that I have only posted 97 times this whole year. Yikes! That is even less than when I started this blog 4 years ago! But this year has been truely blessed with all the new and exciting things happening in my life.

Stampin Up Highlights of 2011:
Designing more and more with My Digital Studio!
Making videos for My Digital Studio Techniques to share!
Being ask to participate in a MDS Blog Hop with top MDS demo designers!
Going to the Stampin Up Convention and making new demo friends!
Hosting a first of its kind MDS Demo Retreat with my friend Monika!
Stampin Up MDS opportunity that blew my mind! More to come on that!

Family Highlights of 2011:
My niece Ella arrived in June! Congrats Jon and Lois and big sister Abigail!
Howard had a good year in his work, traveled all ovet he south and made 100% goal!
Allison improved so much in her classes that she excelled in the CRCT testing in Math.
Megan continues to grow in her faith and share with other teens about her relationship with Jesus.
We said a sad goodbye to our dog Molly. She lived 16 wonderful years. She brought so much to our lives.
We went to Disney and Vero Beach for a fantastic family vacation.
We grew our Church Youth program to another level with core team work and unity to serve the Lord!
Our neighborhood lawsuit against a corp car dealership has made our neighbors into great friends!
All our family and us were generally heathly this year.
Spent time with great friends like the Wilkens, Casters, Hartbargers, Stifters, Boyles, and many other wonderful and dear friends!

Thru the past year, I have been doing a "Project 12". The "Project 52" weekly pages are too much for me to handle so I opted to do the once a month page as I have in previous years. I loved Andrea Bowden's layout on her Project 52 pages and adapted them to mine. Once I had the layout, all I had to do was change the theme elements and designer series paper each month. I would just add a duplicate page and start to click and change. I love how the theme matching what MDS downloads taht came out thru the year.

So I am sharing 3 months with you each day this week....here is JAN, FEB, MAR

So this next year, one resolution is to get back to regular daily posting here on my blog. Another is MORE MORE MORE My Digital Studio projects AND video tutorials! Our MDS blog hop starts back Friday January 6th! I also will be planning another MDS demo retreat with my partner and friend Monika. So excited on what is to come for 2012!

I greatly appreciate you stopping by and all the encouraging comments that you leave for me!

You do not know just how much that really means to me!

Cindy

Finally I can show these!

2011-12-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Here are the many family gifts that I made this holiday season.

I hope that everyone liked them and enjoys them thru the year.

A 2012 MDS desktop easel calendar for my brother-in-law of his three sons. One of my favorite projects this year!

A flower bookmark band for my mother-in-law. I have to make myself one!

A Starbucks Gift Card Holder for my sister-in-law - the GC is inside the cup! Also made this as a light latte with kraft paper in the bottom for another gift.

A Stampin Up card keeper completely covered with Spice Cake DSP/fabric and filled with 40 cards and envelopes for my mom.

2012 MDS Desktop Calendars for my mom and sister-in-laws from this post HERE

MDS Custom designed Lego shirts for my three nephews! They loved them!

Two MDS date frames for our brothers' families. The anniversary date is in the center then each parent's birthday are next out and finally the kids' birthdays are on the outside. You can see the one I made my parents HERE.

I did make an iPod box in Basic Gray for my brother to hold his iTune cards. Looks like this one here on this ipods POST. I changed it to say Jon's Itunes and his favorites bands of all time. I forgot to snap a pic of it. oh well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope your Christmas was a joyful one!

Cindy

A Family Christmas Project 2011 - Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we decided to skip the Black Friday mega mess and do a family project together. It was so GREAT! Just spending time together and crafting to Christmas music, of course! I got this idea from Pinterest HERE on my board.

My husband Howard cut all the wood pieces and sanded them.

Then Megan, Allison and I painted the pieces. Megan did Joseph, Allison did Mary and I did the heads and the baby Jesus.

Here they are all ready for final touches and assembly.

I made tags from MDS with the Punny Holidays brush stamp set. As soon as I saw "the Reason for the Season", I knew it would be perfect for this project. I used the Wide Oval punch on these and added a Decorative Label punch layer in Chocolate Chip.

Here is the final piece and below is how I labeled them with the other sheet of MDS.

We gave these to friends at church that have helped us in many ways over the past year.

I think this was my most favorite thing that we did the Christmas season and that we did something as a family together that reflects our faith!

Joy to the World! The Lord is come!

A very Merry Christmas to you!

Cindy

Holiday FUN Gifts with MDS Tags!

2011-12-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

I found a cute idea on Pinterest for co-worker/neighbors/friends gifts for the holidays. They gave you 52 items with 52 punny funny sayings with them. So my mom and I decide to make some of them for our co-workers this year. They were super easy to make tags with the sayings on them to match the item.

I used the awesome "Savor the Season" hostess CD for MDS. Added stamp brush images and text. Here are some of my favorites.

Have a holly, jolly Christmas - bag of Jolly Ranchers

Orange you glad it's Chirstmas? Hope you Christmas is a sweet one! - bag of oranges

Remember the Reason for the Season - Star ornament

May your days be happy, your heart be light, your Christmas merry and your New Year bright! - candle

May the Sweet songs of Christmas make your heart rejoice! - Christmas music CD

Keep Christmas in you heart the whole year though. - 2012 Calendar

Here is all 11 gifts wrapped and tagged and ready to go. Everyone thought it was a cute idea and was looking to see what the others said because everyone got something different.

You can see the rest of the tags Here on MDS.net on my page of samples.

Our MDS Blog Hop is on hiatus at this time. But we will be back in full force come January 6th, 2012!

Some ladies are still posting their Christmas MDS creations so go check them out if you want.

I will be back tomorrow on Saturday with a very special post!

Enjoy your day!

Cindy

My Digital Studio Program ROCKS!

2011-12-21T06:32:00.000-08:00

My Digital Studio. It is so much more than a "scrapbooking" tool. Basically, years and years ago I had a computer program called Microsoft Greeting 2000 by Hallmark. I used it for cards, invitations, tags, free typing, mailing labels, etc. The graphic were shall I say...very limited but doable. I can not even show you a sample because the program is not compatible with my computer today so I lost all those saved files. Anyways, with MDS I can do all that and much more! And the graphics and options are AMAZING x 2!

Here is another way I used MDS:

I took a simple card template from a download and changed it for a special bulletin for our youth Advent night at our church. I also did them in 5x7 black and white to save on ink, but when I got the bulletin on the Sunday before, our secretary Gail had printed them in 5x7 COLOR because they were so beautiful she said. We had a record number attend that Wednesday night youth service!

I also use MDS for any flyers and announcements for my youth group. It has made all the difference in getting news out to the church and parents. Just taking that extra step to make things look nicer.

So run now and get a My Digital Studio Program! You will use it, I promise you!

3 more days til Christmas! Yippee!

Cindy

Christmas Treat MDS Blog Hop Friday!

2011-12-16T06:19:00.000-08:00

We are back again this week with Holiday MDS style! I have been making lots of gifts, holiday decorations and treats with My Digital Studio this year! Here is idea that I found thru Pinterest and modified with MDS. You can click on the MDS page and save as a jpeg and then print yourself at home to make these cuties!

I used the Home for the Holidays Ensemble download for this. I added the HOHOHO circle embellishment and sized to 1.75" in the edit object area. Added BELIEVE from Tres Chic in Real Red and sized to fit. Then copied and pasted several times on a 8.5x11 page. Export to jpeg and print at home. Next you will use the 1 3/4" circle to punch them out. I used the 2 1/2" scallop circle punch with Real Red cardstock. Added two holes with my Crop-a-dile. Placed the candy cane between and tied with Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine very tight. Then thread a jingle bell and tie a bow.

I made a bunch of them for my girls to give their friends as they watch The Polar Express at school today. Something to remind them to still BELIEVE in the magic of Santa this year!

Have a great day!

Cindy

Now move on to see some fabulous HOLIDAY projects from our MDS designers.

ME - HERE!

Erica - next blog!

Heather

Alesha

Holly

MDS Holiday Cards

2011-12-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

Doing cards in My Digital Studio has been a struggle for me. So I like to challenge myself every once in awhile to get out of my comfort zone and try.

It was not hard to do here with the wonderful Home for the Holidays Ensemble download. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! The snowman HAS to be my favorite but those cute houses are right up there too.

Let me know what you think. Did I do better in creating MDS cards? Which one is your #1?

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

My Nephews' Wish List

2011-12-13T05:25:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we had my 3 nephews over for a sleepover. Friday night they came and it seemed like my home had been invaded by Legos. Legos were everywhere! Then on Saturday, I wanted to have them make a craft to take home. So I came up with this Wish List 2011 for them.

Very simple to make. Take a 3 x 11 strip of cardstock and fold in half. Cut regular printer paper at 2 3/4 x 5 1/4. Decorate the front as you see here. Place paper inside the fold and then punch two holes with my Crop-a-dile. The ribbon holds the paper in there. Later I punched a hole at the top for a piece of Baker's Twine so they could place it on the Christmas Tree.

All punched characters were found on Stampin Up Demo Connection. Collin made the Santa first. Then Aaron came back and wanted to make the Polar Bear and stamp some snowflakes (his favorite part was stamping). Jack was last and he picked the cute Rudolph Reindeer (he loved working with the Big Shot as did Collin). I later added their names and year to them with MDS help. They immediately knew what to do next...

FILL THEM WITH LOTS OF WISHES FOR TOYS! (Legos were mentioned many times)

Here are my boys and Allison together at the playground later that day. We had a great time and I treasure these moments we get with them.

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Christmas JOY MDS Blog Hop Friday!

2011-12-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

For the rest of the month of December, us MDS Blog Hop Designers will be showing the Holiday items we have been creating with MDS. I can tell you that I have been using MDS TONS for home decor and gifts this season.

You should know by now that I LOVE BANNERS! So I wanted to create a banner for my mantel. Last year, I changed my mantel to showcase my beautiful Willow Tree navity scene. I knew that I wanted to use the pennant banner style from the Hello Baby Kit. But what to say....PEACE, JOY, REJOICE, and then I saw this on Pinterest and it was perfect!

So I changed the background of the pennant to the NEW You're My Sunshine DSP download Pattern 1. I love how it looks like snowflakes but not. Then the pennant layer was changed to Baha Breeze and opacity at 50% to tone it down so you can see the pattern thru it. The letters are from the Sweet Details Alpha in Chocolate Chip.

Here is a close up of the banner so you can see how it printed out. I printed this at home on Whisper White cardstock. I used hemp twine and 1/8" circle punch to put together.

So pleased with the results!

What are you making with MDS for the Holidays? Please share!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Now move on to see some fabulous HOLIDAY projects from our MDS designers.

ME - HERE!

Monochromatic MDS Blog Hop Week 18

2011-12-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge was brought to us by Jeanna. Monochromatic is definitely a hard one to start but I found a page from my latest Disney album that I had been working on and with a few clicks of color change...here are the results!

However the photos did not match this brown tone monochromatic theme I had going. The Sepia was too reddish brown and the black/white photo effect was ok but nada. What to do? what to do?

So I was playing with photo effects and opacity and tah dah!

I made a little cheap sheet for you to save and remember this technique. Just click on page to enlarge and see how I did it.

Let me know what you think. Did you already know about it?

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

ME - YOU ARE HERE! : )

Trifold Christmas MDS Blog Hop Week 17

2011-11-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome Back!

First I have to say Happy Thanksgiving! What a great day we had! Full of turkey, family, turkey, stuffing and more turkey! My Dad made his traditional stuffing and the best turkey! YUMM-O!

With all the stores opening at midnight last night, I thought maybe I will go shopping for a few things on sale. I drove up the hill out of our subdivision and saw before me the craziest scene EVER! The Target Shopping area was JAMMED PACKED! I mean PACKED! I drove around for 25 minutes to find a parking space with no luck. Then turned out of the shopping area and headed home. Once home, I got online and did all my shopping with FREE shipping! I slept in this morning. Black Friday shopping is just not for me.

On to today's Blog Hop Challenge selected by Holly. Which you HAVE to go see her Trifold Card! I love how she turned it into a Home Decor piece. Genius! I will be doing that!

I was playing around with certain types of cards for our 2011 Schuster Christmas Card and this is one of them that did not make the cut next to the photo tag that I did. I love the idea of the trifold card but designing one is a challenge. I visually just do not get it when I go to view the project. Something I think maybe SU should change as to how you view this card type. I love this trifold card created by SU's Charlet Mallett HERE. That card design is AWESOME! I used the Bells and Bough stamp images and the Elizabeth stamp image on this card. Colors are Baha Breeze and Basic Gray. I might get some of these printed.

I better get busy. Lots of MDS designing to do today. Several Christmas gifts are being made with MDS this year! I will share them at another time!

Have a great day!

Cindy

Many of our bloggers are MIA this week due to the holiday so jump around.

Go see what they have come up with our challenge of Trifold!

ME - YOU ARE HERE!

Home MDS Blog Hop Week 16

2011-11-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

This week's theme was selected by Alesha. She selected "HOME" whether it was something reminding you of home, feelings of home or just home decor. I was inspired by three things. #1 Pinterest #2 Frames that I bought at a yard sale #3 Those CUTE houses on the Home for the Holidays Ensemble MDS download.

These were simple to create in a 4.25x5.5 card. Going off the colors of my living room, I used the punch alphabet filled with Spice Cake DSP for the "home". Added some More Mustard punch squares and the Sweet Details Letters in Very Vanilla. Added the house and resized. Added the text "this" in CK Ali Font. Added Pool Party ribbon and Soft Suede Ribbon and knot to finish it off. Left the background removed so that I could print them in Very Vanilla on my printer. They were printed in 4x6 for my frame.

Then I could not stop myself. I played some more with other color themes and I love how this turned out! These will make great Christmas gifts to family and friends. Need to find some more of these frames!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope this encourage you to use MDS for your home decor!

Cindy

P.S. HAPPY 83rd BIRTHDAY MICKEY MOUSE! :)

Head on over to the next blog hop designer and see what "home" creations they have made.
Jeanna

ME : )

Erica (next blog hop)

Heather

Alesha

Holly

Holiday Mini Book

2011-11-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

I saw this mini book on Dawn's blog here: just-for-fun-mini-book-with-the-simply-scored-video

I always love a challenge on how to make something that is so darn cute and folded from one piece of cardstock to make just one item! I altered mine for a holiday mini book instead of the summer fun mini book that she did. I also love that she is using the new Simply Scored Tool! It gave me a reason to get mine out and play. Just love how the front turned out with the embossing folders on two layers. That stocking stamp set and punch are a Christmas must have from the Holiday Mini which end Jan 3rd!

You can put pictures on the red inserts or journal some favorite moments of the holidays.

As the holidays are near, I have been trying to create some gift items and decor.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Rememberance - MDS Blog Hop Week 15

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have been playing catch up all week and my blog has suffered this week so please except my sincere apologies. I went last weekend to a middle school youth gathering with my church. I can not tell you how much fun we had! To see 750 youth grades 6th-8th all together, just powerful stuff!

On to today's blog hop, Heather selected our Rememberance challenge this week and fitting that today is Veteran's Day on this 11-11-11! I missed all the wonderful My Digital Studio digital scrapbooking weekend since I was away. So I took some time on Monday to play with the FREE downloads that were given so generously by Stampin Up! and the MDS team. I loved the Delightful Digital Tape and the 8x8 template that they gave with it. It also fit into my plans for a quick Veteran's Day page. I just love how the templates give you a starting point. I just changed half the background to photo boxes, added my photos, changed the title, and added a quote and date. Done!

Remember today that hands to duty honor bound defends the peaceful free!

Thank a Veteran and listen to their stories for they sacrifice so much for us!

Head on over to the next blog designer and see what they have come up with our challenge of REMEMBERANCE!

ME - YOU ARE HERE! : )

Calendars - MDS Blog Hop Week 14

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

So this week's challenge was Calendars. I had this one already in the works so I used what had to complete this week's Blog Hop. I ad an idea for another project using the Calendar Design Center but ran out of time. Save that for a rainy day.

I took my desktop calendar from the MDS retreat (cased by Holly Linford from MDS.net and Convention 2011) and turned it into a jewel case calendar. First I added the hybrid elements in digital to my project and exported each of the monthly fronts only to JPEG. I then added the JPEGs as photo boxes into a 12x12 page. I filled the background page in with Sahara Sand so that I could cut them out perfectly. I got them printed thru Stampin Up as individual pages. Enough to make four to eight of these at one time. Just add a duplicate page of each page on your project but only do the cover page once or twice.

The print quality thru SU is outstanding! I highly recommend it!

I put the monthly slips in order in my clear DVD/CD case. This are the ones that fold back all the way and have that little tray at the bottom. I got mine from a bulk buying offer. Added some Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon for a finished look and done!

I think this would make great gifts for Christmas!

Do not forget to go to MDS.NET and get your free downloads available only this weekend! Nov 4-7th! Check out all the great samples and blog posts too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Now move on to more MDS designers and their Calendar projects!

ME - YOU ARE HERE!

The biggest risk is trying...

2011-11-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

Stampin Up's My Digital Studio.net recently had a contest. You had to submit one scrap page and one card. Seriously one of each? It was extremely hard to complete that task cause I could not choose just ONE. So here are the page and card that I went with. I thought that I messed up the emailing part of my email entries and who knows if it got there correctly. But I tried and that alone was a BIG risk for me to take.

I really love this picture of my daughter and I wanted to showcased it. I used the Pocketful of Posies DSP, Vintage background, and the Hello Doily stamp image. The background photo was done using a larger photo box with less opacity. I have been saving this page for awhile when I decided to use it for the contest.

As for the card, I was inspired by a Christmas photocard that I was working on. It is a 5x5 card. The outside of the card are the yellow parts and the inside are the white parts. I used Artistic Etchings stamp image, Merry and Type stamp image, Come to Bethlehem stamp image and Greenhouse Gala DSP. I love the yellow and basic gray color combo for a new twist of holiday color. I will get some printed of these thru SU for the holidays too.

Now as for the finalists in the contest...their stuff blew me away! I bet those judges had a tough time with all the wonderful entries this year. Heather, Rochelle and my friend Jeanna from the MDS Blog Hop Designers made it. AWESOME!!! You can see their entries and vote on them here: VOTE Voting ends November 4th so go vote now! The top three customers and demos get FREE MDS downloads!

Speaking of November 4th....

My Digital Studio.net is holding a Digital Scrapbooking Weekend from Nov 4-7!

We are talking FREE downloads! THEY ARE AWESOME!!! So if you have MDS, be sure to check it out! If you do not have MDS, what are you waiting for? You can get the Express version for just $39.95 and download it right to your computer today! Then you get all the FREE downloads Nov 4-7 to create your holiday projects and scrapbooking starting this weekend! Just ask me how to get it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween fun began last weekend at our church's Trunk or Treat! This was our "trunk". We needed the firepit, firewood, smore making and chairs for the Sing-a-long Fire later that same night for some youth group fun. So we set up a camping scene in our "trunk". I had the kids sing a campfire song with me before getting their treat. It was "baby shark doo do doo".

Here are us Schusters in sitting at our campfire.

And here is our youth group that night at the Corn Maze and later at the campfire. It was a really fun day!

I am hoping to make some MDS Halloween pages with these pictures soon. Maybe after I get over the MDS blues. Not feeling it.

Have a great Halloween night everyone!

Cindy

Christmas Photocard-MDS Blog Hop Week 13

2011-10-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

This week challenge was my selection and what to do what to do? I wanted to get a start on Christmas cards this year and actually HAVE them printed and ON TIME. Last year I waited til December and printing them thru SU was too late. So I vowed to get them done and early!

Also an incentive was Stampin Up MDS bulk printing prices! See here: Bulk_Pricing_US.pdf

But when I counted the special people in our lives like family and friends and reminding myself that I miss last year, I had like 60 cards that I would need to buy! OY! So then I started looking at the bulk pricing AND trying to watch my budget as well, I decided that I needed to look at an inexpensive option for us.

I came up with the idea to create a Christmas photo tag that my family and friends could use as an ornament on their tree. (I added the shaded parts so that you could see how the tag would be created in MDS) I knew I wanted to use this family picture from our recent vacation at the beach. I used the 2 1/2" x 4 1/4" basic tag. I used the Merry and Bright Stamp Brush image #123139 in Lucky Limeade (I love my green!). The blue in the punch circles and line were matched to my husband's shirt in the picture. Such a great option to have! The red is Cherry Cobbler. Added the other title and year in Whisper White to play off what us girls were wearing in the picture. I love the confetti look and it just looks cheerful.

Before I sent them to print thru SU, I made a version on my printer at home just to be sure I liked them and how play with how I would finish them off. I added the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon and Cherry Cobbler Baker' Twine so that it could hang on a tree branch. This was printed on matte photo paper as the test. I just cut and glued them together. SU printed tags will be on heavy weight cardstock and top rate quality! I can not wait to get them! I JUST ordered them!

With the bulk pricing on 60 tags, they would be just 60 cents each! DEAL! That is half the price of smaller printed MDS card in bulk! Then I can buy the Small Open-End Envelopes # 107286 to mail them in since the tags do not come with envelopes. I am hoping that I can run them thru my printer to add the addresses and maybe a stamped image too. With the cost of the envelopes added, each tag cost 98 cents!

Still the lesser price option! DOUBLE DEAL!

But the most exciting part is that my family and friends will get something unusual in the mail and be able to use it for this year's holiday and for years to come!

Cindy

I also wanted to show you all a picture from the Halloween Birthday party yesterday!

She was totally surprised and loved it all!

Wait til you see all the other designer's Christmas photocards today! It will get you thinking....I NEED My Digital Studio NOW so I can too get my Christmas cards done FAST!

ME - YOU ARE HERE! : )

Teacher's Gift

2011-10-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you all the small gift that Allison and I made for her teacher's return to school after materity leave. I found some clips, stapler, thumb tacks, binders and more in our school color of blue at a local office supply store. We live in Woodstock so Woodstock from Charlie Brown is a theme of ours. I selected this DSP because one..it was blue and two..it has birds on it.

The colors are Pacific Point and Night of Navy. I printed the letters on whisper white thru MDS program. I punched them out with the pennant punch. The ribbon is retired which I love using up what I have and that it matches perfectly! Love that about Stampin Up products!

Allison found out that her favorite candy is Snickers and Kit Kats. So we put a few in there for a quick boost of sugar for her teacher. Mrs. Cloud loved it!

Have a great day!

Cindy

Remember When - 25 years ago BFF's

2011-10-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

Remember Friday's Blog Hop Challenge? Use DSP out of the box. Well, inspiration took over!

Megan and her girlfriends had just gone to the Homecoming Dance and I was able to take this amazing photo of them! I had to do a page and reminisce a bit too. They remind me so much of my two BFFs from back in the day, Marisa and Lisa. We still keep up with each other. Lisa is in Cali and having her second baby. Marisa is in Ohio and we try to see each other once a year at least! (yes that is me, a fake blonde) I even got the girls calling each other Larry, Curly and Moe just like we did. 25 years later, now Candace is Larry, Megan is Moe and Eryn is Curly.

I really love this layout. Simple and clean. The DSP is from Frightful Sight, a Halloween Designer Series Paper. I love the dotted paper in this pack. It looks graphic and I pulled the colors from it for the rest of the page. The sentiment is from Wordplay download # 124432. Good Friend "burst" is to the right.

I was going for the 80's graphic look which everything 80's seems to be coming back these days. I just saw a pair of duck shoes at Kohl's and fell to the floor laughing! Remember those? Did you just HAVE to HAVE them? I so wanted the green ones like below!

Have a magical day and go create something today!

Cindy

DSP Versatility - MDS Blog Hop Week 12

2011-10-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

This week's Blog Hop Challenge by the totally wonderful Aly was to show how versatile our MDS Designer Series Paper can be! In other words, use DSP for something other than what it was intended for. Examples: Halloween for a Birthday party, Christmas for Valentine's, etc.

I wanted to show first how I started this page. I had a layout in mind. Filled in the square punch with the DSP from Jolly Holiday. Added some photo boxes. Then waited for the inspiration to hit me....and waited and waited.

I started playing with adding another color Pacific Point to the already Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. I added punch line with the square punch and added them to the striped paper to change the look of the DSP. I added the punch stars and flag filling them with colors. Added the pennant punch with a colored mats for the banner. Wanted that big "&" in there somehow. That owl was a flower at first but once I found some pictures to add, it got changed. By the way, the owl was totally inspired by Heather Summers. He is so cute just like my nephews!

So I took this Christmas DSP and made a Birthday themed page with it!

DSP Versatility - Mission Accomplished.

Hope this inspires you to think out of the box with your DSP!

Cindy
Want to see more challenges with DSP!

Start hopping below.

ME - YOU ARE HERE!

My Digital Studio Retreat

2011-10-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

All that planning and planning and in a flash it was over! The day went SO fast! But it was SO much FUN!

It all started on a plane ride to SU Convention this past July. Monika, my sideline demo and I were talking about would it not be great to share all about My Digital Studio program to fellow demonstrators and have them boost their MDS knowledge of this incredible program! Then after attending the MDS Intermediate classes and the +Fun MDS class at Convention, we knew we HAD to do it!

So we planned a full day from 10am - 10pm to do three hybrid projects (above), some class time, some review over printing from home and from SU printing services and then some free time to ask questions and work on projects. We opened it up to our downline and local demos from around the area. We had a total of 10 demos join us and we divided them into Beginner and Intermediate groups. Monika did the Beginners group and I did the Intermediate group. We both had several oohs and ahhs during the day from all the tips and tricks we were teaching them. We had a few bumps with PC versus Mac users so it was a learning experience for us too.

Here is my room for the Intermediate Class.

Here is Monika's room for the Beginners Class.

Plenty of My Digital Studio samples to view.

Of course, we had yummy food for lunch (chicken salad on croissants) and dinner (chili and twice baked potatoes) to get all of us thru the long day.

Here we are eating together in Monika's sun room. It was a beautiful day! It really was a fun time together, learning together and sharing all about My Digital Studio!

After it was all over and we had cleaned up, Monika and I could not help but start planning the next one! Already came up with some different over-the-top hybrid projects that I am excited to get working on!

January 2012 could not come sooner!

Would you be interested in coming?

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 11

2011-10-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

I saw this card on the Stampin Connection in real Stampin Up materials and just loved the layout and the warm fall colors. So for this week's challenge of Gratitude/Thanksgiving (for our Canadian friends), I wanted to reproduce it into a scrapbook page. My girls and I took our picture together on the same big comfy chair at Disney's Beach Club during our recent family vacation.We did the same picture on the same chair in December last year for our Disney Christmas trip. Starting a tradition here...wish I had started it years ago when they were little.

I used the Day of Gratitude brush stamp set, the Lace Ribbon Border punch, Top Note punch, Baker's Twine and one little Pumpkin Pie button. The short video shows you how I made the stamped center. I think I sound so weird on videos. But they are fun to do and I am a visual learner like so many and so I hope others can learn from them.

I am SUPER-OVER THE TOP-EXCITED about tomorrow's My Digital Studio Day Retreat hosted by my friend Monika and ME! I will fill you in on the details on Monday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Now move on to see some fabulous projects from our MDS designers.

ME - HERE!

2012 Calendar Postcard

2011-10-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

Thank you ALL always for leaving kind and encouraging words in your comments on anything I do!

I am really happy to show you another Calendar option in that Design Center section today! I think this might be my favorite! I am just giddy about it! This is a 5x7 postcard. The video below shows you how to use the Add a Year Calendar.

I am going to have them printed thru Stampin Up Printing Services for some special demo friends.

Then they could use them for display of MDS projects at their workshops!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 10

2011-10-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge was select by Amber. She picked "Halloween Party such as decorations, favors, treat bags, etc" and I KNEW right away what I was doing! I was inspired by two things. #1 - Sara Douglas on MDS had posted an inspiring blog post HERE on birthday supplies using a new Party Animal kit and adapting it from the "Hello Baby" baby shower templates. #2 - My co-worker and friend Nicole has a Halloween Birthday but really she likes to celebrate it all month long! So I wanted to do something special for her birthday in the office this year.

I purchased the Wicked Fun kit #127609 with dsp and stamp brush images because it had Nicole's favorite color in it - Purple and it was Halloween themed! Then I took the Hello Baby templates and altered them to fit my Halloween theme. I wanted my banner to say Happy Birthday so I had to add some pages which you just add a duplicate page. I made more scallop letters to punch out with my 2 3/8" scallop punch.

Then I plan to have cupcakes (not the cookies here) from our fav local cupcake bakery so I made some themed toppers. I used a large glue dot with two of these together with a toothpick in between.

You have to have something to drink with those cupcakes, so I made some water bottle covers from the templates. I have her fav Black Cherry Soda bottles and they become "Nicole's SPOOKY Brew"! I also took one of these, changed it to make the tag on the jar below.

Then I made some of the pinwheels to place in the jar. The tip is that you print these on one side of paper and then print on the other side. Then you get the colors to show. Or you can print twice and cut and glue together. I sponged the edges with black ink. I added glitter brads in Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry and Tangerine Tango in the middle of them. I glued matching plastic straws on the back of them.

All ready for a Wicked Fun Halloween Birthday Party!

I know, I know SUPER LONG post with a SUPER BIG project!

I will be back with the results from the party in 3 weeks. Check back then! : )

Cindy

Ok, so moving on to more blog hops with more Halloween tricks and treats!

ME - HERE!

Holly - our newest blog hopper!

Go Digital 2012 Calendar Card

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

My Digital Studio received a new update on this Monday and the first thing I wanted to share with you was the new CALENDARS option in the design center to the right in the program. I use to make these cute desktop calendar cards in real material and a calendar program which I would have to print separately. But now, digital designing on MDS allows that paper image and calendar to be done all at once! WOOHOO!

I love the Berry Blossums DSP for this! The papers selected fit the seasonal months on each side.

The dotted scallop bow and ribbon just finish it off nicely.

But wait! I have a VIDEO too? YES I DO!

It will show you how to use the CALENDAR option and how to have it printed thru Stampin Up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

My Digital Studio SWEET updates and offers!

2011-10-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Stampin Up My Digital Studio Team has outdone themselves with this latest MDS news!

#1 - From now on, you will be able to get up to a 25% discount on bulk printing on all cards, tags and swatchbooks! Just in time for Christmas photocards! Check out Friday Oct 28th Blog Hop for that!

See BULK PRINTING PRICE LIST

#2 - Get the exclusive hostess-only Savor the Season Ensemble Content CD #127752, $16 with your hostess dollars. Available October 3-December 31, 2011. It's perfect for making holiday projects and gifts! Content includes: 36-piece stamp brush set, 10 Designer Series Paper patterns, 8 embellishments, 4 punches, 3 designer templates (2 greeting cards and 1 postcard), 20 decor template pages (use to make paper gift bows, banners, mini boxes, treat labels and more.) Ask me how you can get this if you are interested! And yes, you CAN do a MDS workshop with your friends!

#3 - With the newest software update 1.0.8, you’ll also see more functionality, including the ability to create customizable calendars, as well as more print options (a board book, different paper options, and more). I just updated mine so I will be showing all the new stuff I find on the update this week on my blog. Off to play!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 9

2011-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

This week's theme was to use Pear Pizzaz, So Saffron, Cajun Craze, Night of Navy with one Neutral (I picked Early Espresso). I have to admit that I immediately I got nervous...really nervous. Where to begin? The colors seemed fallish I guess. I tried a scrap page. Did not like it at all. Then it hit me!

September 30th is a special day for my family and a great reason for me to make a small gift for two very special people in my life. Today is my parents' 44th wedding anniversary! and I had the perfect gift for them. I had seen this idea of special family dates on Pinterest (did you go look at that yet?) and knew I could make one for them on MDS! (I had already planned to make one for me!) The top dates are their birthdays and the bottom are my brother and mine. Not really the ACTUAL dates seen here but the Anniversary date is! I played around several times with the colors of the challenge given and settled on this. The designer series paper is Autumn Spice - Patterns 1 and 4. The numbers are from the Sweet Details Alpha and Numbers download. I printed it out as a 8x10 on Whisper White cardstock at the best quality ink.

I bought a beautiful dark wood frame from Walmart for just $10.00. Then I took my Leaves #2 die cut and cut two leaves- one in So Saffron and other in Cajun Craze. The latter is embossed with the new Snow Burst Embossing Folder. Then a 1/8" taffeta ribbon in Early Espresso was added with a glue dot. They are attached to the frame with dimensionals.

Next I needed a matching card for them. I found a template of a 4.25x5.5" card and made my own modifications to fit my colors and celebration. I printed all four side of the card on my printer. Added them to a 4.25x5.5 Early Espresso card and finished off with real Early Espresso Baker's Twine. Never have made a card like this before but it is a good way to cover a darker card base.

So I hope you liked my MDS creation this week! I thought these would be great family gifts for Christmas too! Easy and inexpensive but all about celebrating FAMILY.

Love you Mom and Dad!

I am SUPER EXCITED to show you next week's MDS Blog Hop project!

Check back then but right now you want to continue to the next Design Diva on the list below.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Cindy

me:)

Pantry Finale

2011-09-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

So you know you just can not have PLAIN white scraps of paper on those corkboard fabric tiles from yesterday's post! I had to MDS it and add some design flavor to it!

I took the To Do List MDS download # 125775 and sized it down to 4 x 5.5 which gave me room for 4 on a 8.5x11 page. Then I wanted the "To Do List" part to be replaced with "Items to Restock". To do this, I just added a small square punch to fit over the words and filled it with whisper white. Then I copied the pasted three times over the other ones on the whole page. Then I added a text box. Typed my words and changed the font to Nashville 22 to match my labels. Copied and pasted them in place on the other three.

I liked having the date there so that I left that. I also liked the completed boxes to the right. I can take them with me to the grocery store and check them off! Still something was missing. Too plain.

I added the stamp image from the MDS download Charming # 123988. Copied it to each one. Changed it to Basic Gray and opacity to 10% giving it just enough to see.

I printed several on regular paper in two sizes, cut them and have them pinned on my tiles.

Very functional with a flare!

Sorry for the blurry pics. Ipad are NOT quality cameras but they work in a pinch!

Check back tomorrow for MDS BLOG HOP FRIDAY!

Have a great day!

Cindy

I (heart) Pinterest! Pantry style.

2011-09-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

I have to confess.

I am a Pinterest addict.

I...need...help!

My favorite is the DYI - do it yourself section. The projects will spark some craftyness inside you!

So remember the pantry makeover with labels on Friday's post. I was not done there. I wanted a place to put remember notes or a grocery needs list. That way when we are low on something I could just jot it down and post it all in one place then collect them all when I was heading to the grocery store on my weekly run there.

You need the following supplies:

12x12 corkboard tiles

hot glue gun and sticks

scissors

spray adhesive

1/2 yard of fabric

Cut fabric 14x14.

Spray the adhesive (doing this outside would be better) on one side of the corkboard tile. Just a little will to the trick. Then position your fabric on top and smooth out the wrinkles.

Flip over and start to glue down the fabric sides with the glue gun. Everyone has a way to the corners differently. I did two opposite sides then trimmed the corners. Then did the next two sides and tried to lay as flat as I could. The first one was a trial run and the next two tiles went smoother. I used LOTS of glue.

This is what it looks like all glue down and finished.

Then I took the super sticky adhesive tabs that came with the tiles and put them on.

Here are my finished pantry boards. What do you think? I just need to find some cute push pins and cut some white 3x3 paper and perhaps attach a pen on the side of one with some ribbon.

Then I made two smaller versions in the 6x6 corkboard tiles for another cabinet holding our spices and meds. Then I can remember the next time to get more Claratin!

Go check out Pinterest HERE and find me there! You can become a follower of my boards and see what Pinterest things I will be making next!

Have a crafty day!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 8

2011-09-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs a little organization in their lives, right? As soon as Heather gave us the theme, I knew I had a fantastic idea! Recently we had a problem with ants...see we got lots of rain and they were looking for dry ground and food! I had to clean out our pantry which then prompted me to clear out the pantry of old out-dated foods. I also got a chance to re-organize my WONDERFUL Tupperware bins. I got them YEARS ago and it was one of the best things I ever did for organization in my house. I did have some paper labels with tape on them and knew that I could do SO much better now with MDS!

I select my favorite punch - decorative label to complete my task. There are three layers of the decorative label on just one of them. The first layer is Basic Black and is the true size of the real punch. The next layer is Baha Breeze and slightly smaller. The last layer is Whisper White and slightly smaller again. But I added a Basic Black mat to that layer. I highlighted all the layers and grouped them together. Copy and paste tons of them to fit the 8.5x11 page. Made a list of what to label and then added text in Nashville font.

I printed this out on a sheet of whole label sticker paper.

Then I used my Decorative Label punch and punched them all out. I think it was genius of the MDS designers to make the auto default punch image be the size of the actual punches!

Here is the top half of my pantry.

Here is the bottom half of my pantry.

Close up of the labels. The best part is when my husband opened it and stood there for 10 minutes in shock! Shocked that it was organized OR trying to find something that was not there anymore?

Now continue to blog hop to our other Domestic Goddesses and their organization projects!

me:)

Have a great day!

Cindy

Christmas Stockings

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am completely embarrassed. I took picture of these Holiday Mini card swap RIGHT before I mailed them off. I JUST noticed that the adorable jingle bell and linen thread bow are MISSING! It WAS there I promise! And now I do not have that card anymore. Bummed.

But I wanted to show you the cool trick on this card. I used the Textured Impressions Embossing folder called Snow Burst (I love it more then last year's snowflake embossing folder) and I just embossed the top half and bottom half of the layer. Tip - I put a sharpie marker line on the folder to know where to place my paper each time. The sentiment fits right in that area perfectly. I used the new Hand-Penned Holidays stamp set from the Holiday Mini. Beautiful set! A must have! The stocking were made with the new Stocking Builder Punch and Stitched Stockings stamp set also from the Holiday Mini. Colors are Crumb Cake, Baha Breeze and Early Espresso. The silver jingle bell (Holiday Mini too!) with a linen thread bow where attached at the top of the stocking. You can see the glue dot there. Go figure!

Better ask Jill if they got there all in one piece! How embarrassing!

Have a great day!

Cindy

Vintage Halloween A la Carte

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

I recently got involved with a Holiday Mini Catalog card swap on Stampin Connection for demos. I thought it would be good to get my stampin mojo back to life! Yeah, it worked! :)

The card shows off the fabulous A la carte stamps that Stampin Up has in the new Holiday Mini. This one is called Haunted Forest #123841 for $9.95. As soon as I saw it, I knew that watercoloring would be awesome on it! I "framed" it with Decorative Label punch in Basic Black on the top and bottom after distressing and sponging the edges. The paper is from Frightful Sight in the SU catalog. I tore a bit on the bottom edge and added a printed newsprint paper under it. The seam binding ribbon in Very Vanilla was cut in half and scrunched to add a vintage touch. The whole card is sponged with Crumb Cake. Colors are Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Basic Black.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 7

2011-09-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that Fall and that Spice Cake Designer Series Paper goes together like peanut butter and jelly. I have been using Spice Cake on MDS and in the real stuff like crazy! So when our theme FALL came up...yeah you guessed it!

Our weather is cooling down and we are ready for FALL around here. I think of all the great things Fall brings and the colors of the Fall and I just get giddly with excitement! So I wanted to create a scrap page that reflecks my Fall "joys". I really love how this page turned out. Simple and few words to showcase the feeling of Fall.

I totally love that tree from the download Leaves of a Tree. Here it is in Soft Suede and made larger. The round corner punches were filled with Spice Cake DSP. I used the punch letters and filled them with DSP at first but it was too busy and switched to Soft Suede. The leaf is in More Mustard with a drop shadow and is from the Leaves of a Tree download too. Background is Vintage Overlays in Soft Suede at 20% opacity. Some Chocolate Chip stitching corners frame it in. The font is CK Ali.

It say "Leaves falling...Comfy Blanket...Making Soup...Snuggling with you."

That is what Fall is all about!

Check out some more FALL-tastic projects from our MDS divas below!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

East of Main Salon projects

2011-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

My friend and hairdresser Angie asked me a few weeks ago to come up with a gift card certificate for her new salon opening October 1st. She told me the colors she was going with and the font of her logo and her style/theme. I first did this in My Digital Studio and printed it so we could see if I was going in the right direction. She loved it and could not believe how well it matched her fabrics and paints and theme. This was my first real draft of the project. Pretty much stayed the same except for the E was changed to English Vivace font and sized down to fit the burlap bags. I created parts fo this in MDS and used real materials to make it.

These were printed on Very Vanilla cardstock and then punched out with the decorative label punch and sponged with Crumb Cake.

These were printed on Crumb Cake cardstock and cut to size for the front of the GC.

She loved it so much that now I am doing her matching gift certificates, thank you cards, tags, signs, bags, burlap bags, and Christmas cards for her salon! I am so honored that she loves what I made for her to put my design in her entire salon!

So now you know why I have been MIA for the past week.

I will show you how I used more of the MDS program to create the other pieces.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 6

2011-09-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

This week MDS Blog Hop challenge was Hybrid Halloween and selected by the talented Mandy. Here is a funny side story...I had to go all the way to Utah to meet Mandy for the first time and she lives right here in Georgia too! So working with her on this MDS blog hop is very cool! Glad to call her friend!

What I love about MDS is that you can do multiples of the same project in a flash! I knew I wanted to do something with our new cellophane bags in the Holiday Mini Catalog. They are just 2.50 for 50 of them! So I plan to make a bunch of these for my daughters' classmates this Halloween. I added on a 8.5x11 landscape format, two square punches and filled them with Peach Parfait. I left a space of white so that I would know where to make the folds. Then I added borders from the Pick Your Poison Embellishments download #125614. I added the sentiment from the Scaredy Cat download #123143 in Whisper White and scaled it down to 2". I also add the spider image from the same download in Whisper White. Saved a jpeg and printed on my printer.

I cut on each side of the Happy Halloween title so that it was 2" in width. Then trimmed off the extra white area.

To secure to the bag (filled with jelly beans, cut closed end off and then tied at both ends with 1.8" taffeta black ribbon), I poked a hole with my paper-piercing tool. Add a mini silver brad once around the treat.

To top it off, I added a rhinestone to the body of the spider. Simple, easy and quick! 49 more to go!

I hope you liked my version of my Hybrid Halloween Treat!

To see more fabulous Halloween projects and pages, check out more from our MDS blog hoppers!

6. me

7. Erica Shaw

8. Heather Summers

Have a magical day!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 5

2011-09-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Fridays! Cause it is MDS Blog Hoppin Day! Our theme (courtesy of Rochelle) this week was "outside or nature" with at least two photos. The outside or nature theme was a perfect way to showcase my daughter Megan's new passion...photography. While we in Chattanooga, she wanted to use my camera ALL THE TIME! She really wants a BIG camera like mine of her own. She got some really great shots like this one on the right of the page.

I am using some new downloads that just came out September 1st with the NEW Mini Holiday Catalog! The awesome Spice Cake Designer Series Paper #125610 and Leaves of a Tree Brush Stamp set #125612. I also used the Inspired by Nature Brush Stamp Set #124473 for the grass and "live with passion" title.

Those papers are so versatile for the antique, memories, history, fall, Thanksgiving and so much more! They look really great in person with the real papers!

Check out the other MDS Blog Hop designers and their designs for this week here:

6. ME!

7. Erica Shaw

8. Heather Summers

9. Alesha Walls

Thanks for stopping by our HOP!

Cindy

Week in my Life Project

2011-08-30T06:22:00.000-07:00

Several bloggers followed Ali Edwards as she did a project challenge on her blog several weeks ago. I have seen the idea years ago on her blog and thought, I would love to attempt that! My first week of August was to be a "back to school" mode and part of our lives that I would like to document anyways. So let us give it a good ole try, eh?

I kept my camera around me all the time at the beginning of the week and slowly I forgot it a couple of times. I tried to take several pictures of events of the day and then just selected the photos that I wanted to showcase on the pages in the end. I kept the layout simple and themed with my fav Sweet Details Designer Series Paper colors of Crumb Cake, Daffofil Delight, Pear Pizzaz, Baha Breeze, and Very Vanilla. The page on the left in filled with the paper while the right side has all the juicy stuff. You can click on the images to enlarge.

I got to play around and learn more about how to use my camera. I learned how to journal better. I got to see from all angles how to see my life in details. Overall, this was really a fun project to do and I highly recommend that you give it a try!

Now, what do I do with this? I would love to have a little paperback scrapbook of this but I can not print it in a photobook thru SU cause it is only 15 pages. So I could print in 8.5x11 individual pages and bind somehow together myself? Help! What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 4

2011-08-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

This week's theme is Boy/Manly from my friend Jeanna who herself has three ADORABLE boys! I have two girls, what was I to do? I recently got to spend some time with my best friend and her family in Chattanooga. Jory is her spunky 3 year old who I adore and love to pieces! I knew I had plenty of pictures of his silly monsterous faces for this boy theme page. I knew I wanted to say something like "100% all boy" for this boy theme page. So this is how this page begun. I never have used the Rock-a-bye layouts that are on the My Digital Studio DVD basic program. I thought the colors of Old Olive, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip fit what I wanted to do. I selected one of the pages and altered it to fit my pictures. Pretty simple I thought. But what is so great about these weekly challenges is that it is literally making me get projects done! I got this done in one night! I am multi-tasking the MDS way! LOVE IT!

I decided to add more of the Rock-a-bye boy layouts, alter them and then make it my 8.5x11 photo album of our trip to Chattanooga. I want to get this printed and give to my mom as a thank you for a wonderful time away.

Here is the video of the album:

Love to hear what you think of it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

You can check out more boy/manly creations from my MDS friends here:

1.Jeanna Bohanon

2.Rochelle Gould

3. Mandy Grant

4. Julie Leblanc

5. Aly Schilling

6. ME

7. Heather Summers

8. Alesha Walls

Covering the Magazine Holder Tutorial

2011-08-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

Printed on Whisper White cardstock 8.5x11 with the Pocketful of Posies paper in My Digital Studio. You can use the real paper too! Cut your paper into strips. Mine are 2.5" x 11" as I centered them with white edges showing on the front of the magazine holders.

Place one strip on the first holder and use small amount of dotto snail to hold paper temporarily in place.

Now you will see the hole from the inside of the holder. Take a pencil and trace the circle on the paper.

Take paper off holder carefully.

Line up your 1" circle and punch out.

Now add Tomboy glue or whatever permanent adhesive you use to secure paper in place on the holder. Be sure to line up your bottom first with the hole in place.

I just love how they turned out! I love organization and making all things look...well...organized and clean and matching and like in a magazine photo shoot! HA! Keeping it organized IS the challenging part!

Let me know if you use this for your magazine holders!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 3

2011-08-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

I whipped up a little creation for our third week's challenge of CUPCAKES! At first, I have to admit I was stumped when I got the challenge email. But then once I got the card done, the mojo was flowin!

My nephews birthday party is Saturday and it was the perfect solution for the challenge. I started with a simple card that I would print out and add to a base Crumb Cake card. I could have added the real Baker's Twine now that I look at it. Love the 8 mini cupcakes in a row! Colors are Riding Hood Red, More Mustard, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake.

Then I took the theme of cupcakes and the colors to the next level by making a special banner just for my nephew. He can hang it in his room after the party for one whole year! I created this in a 4.25x5.5 postcard layout. I created the first one and then copied and paste in place to create the other 7 of them. Just change the colors and dsp in the punches. After printing and trimming, I punched 1/16" holes in the corners and threaded the Baker's Twine in Cherry Cobbler thru them. I added some retired Riding Hood Red ribbon to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by on our MDS Blog Hop!

Cindy

On to the rest of the MD Blog Hop Designers for their creative weekly posts!

7. ME

8. Erica Shaw

9.Heather Summers

10. Alesha Walls

New Classroom Decor

2011-08-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

I have been cleaning, organizing, and creating a new space for my new adventure! My downline and partner Christine and I are starting to have CLASSES! We are so excited! We will be called CREATIVE STAMPIN CHICKS. Working on a MDS logo for it too! The room I have needs to be multi-purpose for my family to use AND a classroom. Here are some of the things I have done to bring in some Stampin Up creativity into the room. I used my new fav designer series paper called Pocketful of Posies. It has 10 colors in the designs and I think they work well in my room.

I made this welcome banner in My Digital Studio. I created it in a 8.5x11 layout and printed them as 3.5x5 allowing me to print 4 on one piece of paper. I added hybrid elements such as punch flowers, rhinestones, brads, and ribbon. Lovin banners right now!

Then I bought some new magazine holders from Ikea (5 plain white for $1.99). They of course needed some color! I printed the Pocketful of Posies in 8.5x11 in MDS. I cut them in 2.5" strips. Temporary attached to front and traced the hole with a pencil from the inside. Then took my 1" circle punch for the holes. Glue or snail on permanently. Took me like 25 minutes to do!

I bought this frame at Walmart for $3.00. I added a 5x7 piece of Early Espresso cardstock and removed the glass. Then I added the Top Note piece with velcro. I can switch it up for the holidays or seasons. I started with this simple "matching my room" piece. I used the Pennant Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Baker's Twine, Fabulous Phrases Stamp set and MDS created Pocketful of Posies DSP.

Remember the special this month? Buy 3 get one FREE of the designer series paper just until Aug 31st! I just loved the cards from that promo and in the SU catalog on page 184! I wanted to challenge myself to make them in MDS and guess what? I DID! I found this topiary in my storage room and thought what a cute card display it would make! I attached the cards with mini clothespins.

Check back tomorrow for MDS BLOG HOP FRIDAY!

Remember to create something today!

Cindy

Hybrid Birthday Page #3

2011-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

This layout was originally intended for Megan's 10th. It said "Happy Birthday 10th" and it was using the Sweet Details papers and colors. When I added Allison's pictures to it I could see all the PINK and soft pastels in them. So where you see Blushing Bride (pink) was really Crumb Cake (kraft) in the first layout. I also added some of the stitching download.

Now that dotted paper in Sweet Details is beyond cute! But how can I change those Crumb Cake dots into Blushing Bride? Solution was to create my own paper! I took a landscape page and added the dsp in the background. I took a circle punch and made small like the dot, filled with Blushing Bride color and copied/pasted on just the section I would need for my page. Then I saved as jpeg. One in jpeg format, I moved it to my dsp file in MDS program. I named it Photos. Then when I went back to my page, I filled that punch square with my created dsp and centered on just the part I wanted. Too complex? Let me see if I can do a video of it soon.

Here is the hybrid page. I printed this 12x12 on my printer which come out 8.5x8.5 and printed on Premium Photo paper. I just added it to a layer of So Saffron and put on a pink flower button with a glue dot. I almost went and took off the digital stitching and do the real stitching instead, but saved that thought for another day.

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Hybrid Birthday Page #2

2011-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I made this page awhile back in MDS form. I made the background with the clouds from Sunny Days elements on MDS basic program. I added photo boxes and made them rectangles and then changed the shape to circle which became ovals. I matted them in different colors. The balloon string are the strings from the stamp set Tree Trimmings just flipped. This was created in a 12x12 format but when I save as jpeg and bring it up in my Windows 7 print queue then it turns into a 8.5x8.5 page. I select the "fit picture to frame" box and making sure it is borderless printing in the advanced settings. It was printed on Premium Photo Paper.

Now this is one of my favorite hybrid birthday pages! First I trimmed the printed page and layered on a piece of Melon Mambo. I punched Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point and Lucky Limeade in the Pennant Punch. Punched 1/16" holes in the corners and strung the Baker's white twine thru. I popped them with dimensionals and added twine bows. Just want it needed!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

MDS Blog Hop Week 2

2011-08-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been MIA but that means I have lots to share as I have been tackling some BIG projects!

This beautiful Timeless Portrait Designer template pages (@ $1.95 can be purchased as a download HERE) really caught my eye when it came out. I recently got to purchase it and was super excited to do a Christmas layout with it. Nope, I was too excited to wait. Instead, our theme for this week's challenge selected by Heather was BIRTHDAY. This was the perfect opportunity for me to finish my daughters' birthday book that I had been working on. You can see more HERE . They are hybrid pages that I have printed and added buttons, ribbon, etc to make it real.

My favorite thing to do (especially when you have a creative block) is to start with a designer template on MDS and with just a few clicks you have a different page! I found this layout perfect for the pictures I wanted to use. My daughter was wearing a "Wisteria Wonder" colored shirt and some Christmas "Real Red" was in the photos and "Early Espresso" was in the cookie cake. You can see that I just stayed with the layout and changed some of the colors. Then I took away a few numbers and added a title (Cast Iron Font) with one line journaling (DialogInput Font). Then I added the My Friend florals in Wisteria Wonder in different opacity in the background. I really like how it turned out.

I printed this 8.5x11 on Premium Photo Paper, trimmed it down to fit my book. I printed one page with just the same flowers and brads, cut them out, and popped them off the page with dimensionals. I added mini pearls to finish off the "hybrid" part of the page. I punched the decorative label in Very Vanilla for the date. I also have two more hybrid birthday pages done and you can stop by Monday and Tuesday to see them!

Thanks for hopping along on our MDS blog hop and continue on to #9 Erica Shaw's blog. You can also check out anyone else on the list!
Have a great day!
Cindy

3. Mandy Grant

8. ME

9. Erica Shaw

10. Heather Summers

11. Alesha Walls

MDS Blog Hop Week 1

2011-08-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

I was asked to join a My Digital Studio Blog Hop with some of the most fantastic MDS demo designers out there on My Digital Studio.net . I was shocked , numb and then so excited to participate! You all know how much I am ~~obsessed~~ in love with MDS! So each week, we will be posting our finished challenge projects on Fridays. This week's challenge was "BACK TO SCHOOL" which worked perfectly with my week. We started school here on Monday August 1st! Can you believe it? I bought the new downloads that came out on Tuesday called For Teacher and School Lines. You can purchase them from me here: SHOP NEWEST DOWNLOADS

My girls are getting older and I thought the first day of school page required something little more grown up for them this year. I still managed to add some of those traditional school elements into the mix. I also decided to divide the two of them between two pages because I loved all the pictures I took! (I am working on a week in a life project- check out next week!)

Here is what I used on this page:

dsp - pocketful of posies and first edition

stamps - for the teacher, school lines, schoolbook serif letters/numbers

fonts - ck jot, scriptina

embellishments - large buttons, antique brads

(click on each page to enlarge and see the details up close)

Here are the other MDS demo designers participating on our MDS Blog Hop this week. You can go next to #8 the uber-talented Erica Shaw and see her creation this week or if you missed someone just click their name to go directly to them.

1. Jeanna Bohanon
2. Rochelle Gould
3. Mandy Grant
4. Julie Leblanc
5. Amber Meadows
6. Terry Mongeon
7. ME
8. Erica Shaw
9. Heather Summers
10. Alesha Walls

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy digital creating!

Cindy

Sneak peak into something NEW!

2011-08-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have many changes taking place with my Stampin Up biz and here on my blog. I am in the stages of planning many wonderful things to take place over the next few months. I am SUPER EXCITED about this first adventure! It starts tomorrow so you want to come back for sure!!!!! In the mean time, here is a sneak peak to tease you. heeheehee.

And here is my MDS page for the day! I saw this layout in the Stampin Success magazine a few months ago. I love all the papers in this pack called Sunny Garden and this page shows them all off very well. Used the partial rbbon technique on the Daffodil Delight Striped ribbon. The butterfly looks like a layer of vellum just by changing the opacity. My favorite part is the placement of the title. Right over the picture. I made all the other photos in black and white and left the center photo in color. Those girls are always sneaking my camera to take pictures of themselves together.

OK, SO COME BACK TOMORROW! especially if you LOVE My Digital Studio!

Cindy

Opacity with MDS

2011-08-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

I was just playing around with My Digital Studio the other night, making items different opacity and this page was created. I started with crumb cake background at 70% opacity and four round corner punches in Pool Party then filled in between with the square punch in Pool Party. Added a textured background stamp in Crumb Cake at 65% opacity and moved to the back. Added a strip of the Noteworthy Pool Party dsp in a punch. Added the photo box and picture in black and white. I moved Allison in the pic move to the right placement as I knew I wanted journaling on the right. You can do that in the crop area when you select the picture. The picture was still bright and I wanted a serene look. As I took a square punch and make it the same size as the pic by adjusting the inches in the edit object section of the photo. I filled the punch with Whisper White and changed the opacity to 12%. Added the Thoughtful Overlays frame in Whisper White to the photo. The font of the text journaling and "beach" are CK Ali. The "BABE" is Sweet Details letters in Crumb Cake and opacity at 85%. Can you see the dsp thru the letters? Lastly I added the Fabulous Florets image twice in Whisper White and changed the opacity to 27%. One of them is flipped the other way. All in all, took me about 15 minutes to make this late night creation. Simple and done...love it!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Who does not love designer series paper?

2011-08-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

The latest promotion from Stampin’ Up! – purchase 3 packs of Designer Series Paper, and get 1 pack free! This offer is good until August 31st, and does NOT include the Specialty Papers, found on page 183 in the SU catalog. I will be stockin up in that case! I think my order will be Pocketful of Posies, Berry Blossoms, Timeless Portrait and for my FREE pack.... Frighful Sight! Gotta get ready for those Halloween classes coming soon! Here are some swap and display cards form Convention that show off just some of those awesome new designer series papers!

Can you say yumm-o?

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy

Swapping Frenzy

2011-07-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

I made about 20 of these full cards for general swapping at Convention. Swapping at Convention is exciting and overwhelming for a first timer like me! Before I went, Monika did prepare me for what to expect when it came to swapping. I did not even swap like a mad woman until day 3 of my trip. My first Convention swap was with my friend Linda sitting at the Atlanta airport. I will never forget it! LOL I was a little bit nervous doing the whole thing. Michele my roommate is a PRO! I followed her lead and watched how she swapped in the first days. Then on the last day, I had a bunch of swaps left and she helped me get them done. (Thanks Michele! Miss you!)

Yesterday's post showed you the 171 swaps that I received. Out of them, 59 were general swapping and 112 were organized swaps that I attended. Now I took 205 swaps with me, but on the last day I decided to hold on to these 20 cards for the meeting this weekend.

On to the card, this color combo is a new fav of mine. More Mustard, Sahara Sand and new in color POOL PARTY! I used the fun circles from Circle Circus stamp set. Punched with the dotted scallop and cut it in half. Ran the Sahara Sand in the Dot Embossing Folder. The Kind Thanks is stamped in Basic Black. After this picture was taken, I added a clear citty button (circle) with a piece of white baker's twine tied in front of the sentiment image. I hope the ladies like this one tomorrow night!

I made lots of mental notes about swapping at Convention so I am READY for next year's Convention. Swapping really is a important part of the whole Convention experience...you get great ideas, make new friends and share what you love!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Totally STAMPIN spoiled!

2011-07-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is EVERYTHING that I came home with! My Convention bag, catalog binder and stamp sets; things that I bought at Memento Mall; products that I won or got FREE!

Close up of things that I bought. See that fabulous fabric bag? That was a Convention exclusive for demos! It hold the new Simply Scored coming out in the Holiday Mini! My favorite things were the gray sweater and the MDS laptop skin that will be on my new laptop SOON! (need to get the laptop first)

The Make and Takes were amazing and over the top. I will show you the finished items soon!

Complete product for one complete workshop! Love the bag too! I can refill it over and over with these same products. Keeps a workshop simple and easy to do!

MY PRIZE PATROL GOODIES! Thanks SU! Can not wait to open and play!

AWESOME AWESOME +Fun class! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SU, have it next year too!

Another exclusive Convention item! Attendance counts! Like anyone would miss attending a class. All of them were great! I love this stamp set and I WILL be using it a bunch!

All my wonderful roomies' and friends' gifts

My 171 swaps that I came home with! I even had a few left that I found when cleaning out my bags! I did keep 18 general swaps of mine for my Starz/Paws meeting this weekend.

So do you want to come to Convention with me next year?

I WILL be there!

Cindy

Convention Recap Day 5

2011-07-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

The last Convention day arrived and I was slightly bummed. I just wanted it to never end! I felt like there was more to learn or take pictures of and time was running out. Here is my dear friend Monika and I in front of the Timeless Portrait Suite. I came to know Monika much more during this trip and I KNOW we are going to be hanging out more and sharing and swaping biz ideas.

One of my favorite projects during Convention was these make and take cards from Shelli and Shalae. I hope to do them at a workshop soon!

At our last "lunch in a box" together at the Gathering Place! (clockwise) Me, Dawn, Brenda, Linda, Cindy G. Tammy, Cara and Michele.

My best roomies in the world and I at the last General Session. We cried to Rich (our SU pres) speaking about "that he gets it now". Inspiring! That was a AH-HA moment!

Jeanna and I found (more like stalked according to Jeanna LOL) Heather Summers to get at least a photo with her. This past year has been a big...no HUGE year for Heather. #1 Demo in Canada, #1 in Recruiting in Canada, Artisan Award Winner, My Digital Studio Contest Winner, and so much more! She is a super talent and just the nicest sweetest person. I have always been a big fan of her work and have done several of her online classes over the past 4 years. She loves to share and that is why she is so greatly deserving of these rewards.

Finally, I went to dinner at Macaroni Grill with the ladies from the above lunch photo. We went back to our room and shared swaps and ideas. I also shared a few tips on My Digital Studio. My best roomies and I got silly with the camera late into the night. This was the funniest shot! "Oops! We got caught!"

So as you can see Convention was a blast! I plan to be there next year and I hope that you can come too! I am moving forward with a business plan and taking action to start classes again. Monika and I are working together on a BIG project together for the fall which is all about MDS and demos! More to come on that! So big changes in the horizon for me coming August 1st!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that these recaps have inspired you to join Stampin UP! and be apart of something where you can

inspire.create.share.

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Stampin Royalty Challenge #81

2011-07-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start doing some challenges to jump start my mojo. I found Stampin Royalty thru some fantastic demos that I follow on blogs. Two of them are this year's Artisan Winners thru Stampin Up! They also have a MDS Challenge on Mondays!!! You can find them here: STAMPIN ROYALTY
Here is their layout and here is my MDS card front.

Now the one thing I love about My Digital Studio is that it is also a great design tool for card making! I can turn this card right into a real stamped card in minutes or I can break it down into pieces and create a hybrid card too! I think I will just go and do that! Check back for the "real" thing!
Have a magical day!
Cindy

Convention Recap Day 4

2011-07-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

Friday Friday Friday! Dawn and I got to go to the First Timers Breakfast together. We had a lite meal and got to see Shelli and other members of the corporate team. The line was super long so we missed our chance to meet Shelli in person. Oh well....next year! Dawn and I then attend the class "Garden Showcase" and we were blown away at all the projects that Holly, Brian, and Donna showed us.

I then met Michele and Monika at the Make and Take Session 3. They were over the top make-n-takes! Three cards, a pennant swag and a covered card box. Now I certainly did not get mine done during that 1 hour and 45 minutes window but I was able to stamp and punch the papers needed to complete them at home. I also watched the video on the box and it is a good thing I did! Since I have been back, I did manage to finish these projects. I covered the sides of my card box as well. I will post them next week on my blog to show you them in detail. I love the card box and it will also be in the Holiday Mini coming out Sept 1st!

Shelli's presentation at Convention is always the high point. I have heard how great she does whether alone or like last year...with a daughter of hers. Last year it was Sara (who went solo this year) and this year it was with her daughter Shalae (I never pronounce her name correctly). Shalae did a great job and had the whole crowd laughing which relaxed her and all of us. When she was super nervous and about to go on stage, the stage manager told her " No one is going to die and no one is going to get pregnant". TOO funny! I loved their projects! I plan to do several of their projects myself in a class.

This is me and my roomies on the stage in the Gathering Place which made for a great Convention photo op!

We all went to dinner at J Wong's which was more food than I could handle! Monika and I signed up for the + FUN classes that night. She went to the Every Last Detail Class and I went to the MDS Hybrid Class. There I got to meet a new friend Jeanna. She is so much fun and she rocks at MDS too! Now I have to be honest, the MDS Hybrid class ROCKED! Holly Linford and the whole Stampin UP My Digital Studio team spoiled us attendees to the core! We got way more than we EVER expected! Free supplies, a 10.5x5 completely printed calendar and a CD FULL OF DOWNLOADS and a complete TEMPLATE made JUST FOR US! I also got to meet Andrea Bowden (SU MDS genius) and we swapped MDS cards. I met another fellow MDS fan - Alana Jean-Louis! She gave me and Jeanna her trade marker photo avatar, a red clown nose.

What a great day it was! Great memories of new friends and new learning!

Tomorrow is the last day of Convention. Can I cry now?

Cindy