Cupcake Cooper

I couldn't resist doing a quick My Digital Studio page when my brother sent me this photo of Cooper, my grand-nephew sitting excitedly in front of a cupcake. 

 If I were limited to traditional scrapbooking, I would likely add the photo to my collection of "photos-to-scrap-one-day-soon..." box and never see the photo again until he graduated.  My Digital Studio, however, is so quick and easy, and with new downloads being added all the time, I just naturally reach for my (computer) mouse whenever I see a cute photo worthy of its own memory page.



Although I own a wide-carriage printer that will print 12 X 12 pages, I find that my favorite size has become 8-1/2 X 11 for digital pages.  That way I can quickly print them at home onto photo paper, which i usually have on hand, and as soon as they are dry, I protect them in a clear page protectors.  

Stampin' Up! also offers great prices on professional printing of your digital projects, too...from individual pages, to greeting cards to digital scrapbooks, with or without photo covers in a variety of cloth, leather or soft cover books.

For this project, I started with a pre-formatted page out of one of the designer kits downloads, dragged the photo into the pre-formatted photo box, and added a few embellishments from other designer kits.   The frogs and labels are from the Hoppy Memories Digital Kit download. 

Also, if you are just getting started with My Digital Studio, be sure to register for news and updates on the  My Digital Studio Site. 

• Tips and Ideas.  I'm always amazed at the video instruction, tips and ideas contributed by other My Digital Studio users. 
• Help Forums.  When I have a question about using My Digital Studio, I can usually get an answer from someone in the forums in a matter of 30 minutes or so. 
• Traditional & Digital Creations.  There are plenty of hybrid cards and scrapbook pages and many of the ideas would work with your traditional scrapbooking supplies you already have.

My Digital Studio DVD software (118108), includes over $500 worth of content.  400+ Designer Series Paper Patterns, 62 Stamp Brush Sets, 650+ embellishments, 25 punch shapes, and 140 Designer Templates.  It includes all of this year's In Colors as well as the basic cardstock colors.  You probably switched to digital photos several years ago; why not put that investment in digital technology to work by creating your own scrapbook pages, cards, invitations, and more using digital software!  Order your copy of My Digital Studio Software today!



My Digital Studio - 118108 -US$79.95





Well, time to get ready for a new week.  Enjoy!

Butterfly Effect

As I was playing with My Digital Studio software this week I stumbled across this butterfly image.  It was love at first sight and I quickly decided to create a card using it. If you already have My Digital Studio, the download that includes this image is First Edition Stamp Brush Set (124409) and it is a 3-piece set that matches the First Edition Designer Series Paper.

I paired the butterfly image with two other stamp sets I earned free during the Sale-A-Bration promotion (free gift with each $50 you order). 

As I decided on color combinations for this card, I realized that although I had three of the Pattern Designer Paper Stacks, I didn't have the fourth -- the one with matching patterned paper I needed for this card.  My Digital Studio software to the rescue yet again!  I was able to download the paper stack I needed into My Digital Studio  and within minutes I had my Regal Rose Polka Dot paper from the Pattern Designer Paper Pack printed on a sheet of Whisper White cardstock on my home computer and ready to use on my card. 

This is a hybrid card using both digital images and rubber stamp images.  I made two versions of this card, each using a sentiment from the So Happy for You Sale-A-Bration stamp set.  The other image is from the Bliss Sale-A-Bration set.  Reminder:  Free Sale-A Bration Sets can only be earned until March 31. 

Here's what I used:
Stamps:   So Happy for You Sale-A Bration set, Bliss Sale-A-Bration Set, First Edition Stamp Brush Set (Digital Image)
Paper:  Pretty in Pink cardstock, Basic Gray Card Stock, Regal Rose Polka Dots from Brights Collection, Designer Series Paper Patterns Stack (117155), although I used the digital image.
Ink:  Basic Gray
Accessories:  5/8" Basic Gray Satin Ribbon, Vintage Flowers Adornments Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Dimensionals

Designer Series Paper Patterns Stacks are available to match the Stampin' Up! pallet of colors and original images.  Designer Series paper makes it easy to create a card or scrapbook page with coordinating background paper, card stock and stamped images.  Each Patterned stack includes 40 sheets (4 each of 2 double-sided designs in 10 colors)  Check out the Brights Collection here:  http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=117155

If you're interested in Digital scrapbooking software, a great way to get started is by becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  When you purchase your Starter Kit, one of the two options is the $175 Digital Starter Kit which includes over $320 worth of stamping and business supplies, including the all-new My Digital Studio software. 

Plus, during Sale-A-Bration -- January 25-March 31-- you'll get 15 percent off the Starter Kit (traditional or Digital), which means you'll get over $310 of high - quality Stampin' Up products for just $148.75!  In addition, you'll get a special Bonus Bundle that includes up to $50 of additional Stampin' Up! products including:

• Color Coach
• Simply Sent Something Special (or any Simply Sent kit)
• Live, Laugh, Love Set (or any Simply Sent stamp set)
• Full Heart Punch (or any punch valued at 16.95 or less)

Learn more about becoming a demonstrator and customizing your Starter Kit with stamps and colors you want.  It can all be done on line in minutes.

Or, order the My Digital Studio Software and get started creating digital project today.  If you've ever been reluctant to get deeply involved in digital paper crafts, stamping or scrapbooking because of limited storage space of costs.  Digital Scrpbooking could be the answer you're looking for!

Sale-A Bration Ends March 31. 

See what you'll earn FREE with each $50 purchase.

To order any of the products used in this card or to view other Stampin' Up! products, visit my on-line Stampin' Up! web store.

If you have questions about these projects, please leave a comment below.

Enjoy!

Digitally Inspired Printed Petals

Sometimes you have an idea in your head that you just can't find stamps that fit your card.  I knew what I wanted when I created this card, but I just couldn't find the right size flower stamp among all my flower stamps.  So, I turned to My Digital Studio and resized one of our current flower stamp images to create the size I needed for this card.  I think it worked!



I printed 5 of the flower images in the size I needed for my card onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  While I was in My Digital Studio, I came across this "Easter" sentiment and added that to my page of flowers.  I often print our additional sentiments while I'm setting up a page of images from My Digital Studio.  That way, as I'm working on cards, I can quickly reach for extra sentaments and make two or three cards with different sentiments while I have all my supplies out for the card I'm creating, maximizing my time in my Craft Loft. I added the largest size pearls from the Basic Pearl Pack to the center of each flower.  I thought about using the Vanilla Rosettes (118774) from the Occasions mini catalog (pictured in front of the card), but I liked the simplicity of the card without them.

What I used:

Stamps:  Surprise!  None, but I used images from these stamp sets in My Digital Studio: 

My Digital Studio Images:   Printed Petals (flower), Well Scripted (Easter)

Inks: Always Artichoke, Marina Mist (Used on My Digital Studio Images)

Papers:  Pattern Designer Series Paper Stacks - Regals (117154) Always Artichoke Polka Dots, Very Vanilla, Springtime Vintage (Occassions Mini Catalog)

Accessories:  Decorative Label Punch (120907), Large Oval Punch (119862), Basic Pearls, 5/8" Marina Mist Satin Ribbon

Click this link to download  a free copy of any of the current Stampin' Up! catalogs.

Order anytime, here:  http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/default.aspx

Hope you enjoyed this bit of inspiration!

Ending Soon:

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/donnaross/startyourownbusiness



In love with Scallops

I love how Stampin' Up! products all work together.  The first Sale-a-bration gift I ordered for myself was the So Much to Sale-A-Brate Digital Content CD to use with 3 of my scallop punches.   The Content CD includes all the images of all of the stamps, Designer Series paper, Quick Accents, ribbons, buttons, and decor elements in the Sale-A-Brate brochure. It was my free gift with $50 purchase. . I fired up My Digital Studio software and made about 6 pages of images from the CD in assorted colors. Then I printed them out on Whisper White cardstock on my home printer.  Today when I wanted to make a couple of quick cards, I was all set!  My images were already available.  All I had to do was punch, select matching papers and add ribbons and embellishments.

Here are two quick cards I made using the Punch Bunch images on theSale-A-Bration Content CD.  This is also one of the stamp sets available in the Sale-A-Bration brochure you can select free with your $50 purchase, if you order before March 31.

I broke out three of my scallop punches, and used two of 5 images from the Punch Bunch stamp set on these two cards.

Here's a closer look at each card.

Here's what I used: 

Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Springtime Vintage Designer Series paper (Occasions Mini Catalog)

Stamps:  Images from Punch Bunch Stamp set(SAB)

Ink:  Pretty in Pink

Accessories: Scallop border punch, Scallop Circle punch, Basic Pearl pack, Brads, 1/2" Blushing Bride Stitched-Poly Ribbon, sponge, Blossom Party Sizzix Original Die, Sizzix Die Cut Machine, dimentionals, My Digital Studio Software

On both cards, the background piece for the image is a 2-3/4" x 2-3/4" piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock punched once on each edge with the Scallop edge border punch.  I added pearls in the corners and ribbon accents.

Here's what I used: 

Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Springtime Vintage Designer Series paper (Occasions Mini Catalog)

Stamps:  Images from Punch Bunch Stamp set(SAB)

Ink:  Pretty in Pink

Accessories: Scallop border punch, Scallop Square punch, Basic Pearl pack, 1/2" Blushing Bride Stitched-Poly Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals, My Digital Studio Software

Punches and die cuts are a great way to add interest to your cards.  Stampin' Up! carries over 50 punches.  Many of the stamp sets are sized to work perfectly with coordinating punches, allowing you to maximize your stamping time and produce wonderfully creative cards.

119882 - Scallop Edge Border



119882 - 1-3/4 Scallop Circle Punch Extra Large



119856 - Scallop Square Extra Large

This is a great time of year to stock up on cardstock, designer series paper, ink, glue, the new puches you've been seeing in samples as you surf the web.  Why?  Becuase every $50 purchase earns you free merchandise. 

Order $50 and get one free gift selection.  Order an additional $50 and get another free gift selection.  And this year the selection of merchandise isn't limited to just a few stamps.  You can select from over 65 stamps from the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog in addition to the exclusive stamps, Designer Series Papers, ribbon packs and buttons from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. 

Download your free copy of the Sale-A-Bration Brochure and see page 11 for the expanded list of free products to pick from with your $50 purchase.  Look for the Shop Now section on my Stampin' Up! site to place your order.

Have a question on a project or product?  Leave a comment below.

Well, I'm headed into work for a few hours and then back to play in my Craft Loft for a few more hours.

Enjoy your Saturday,

The Last Valentine's Day Card ... for 2011

I got home so late tonight, and my husband was all excited about his new truck that he drove out of the show room today, that I forgot to post my final Valentine's Day project for 2011.

I really liked how it turned out!  I used a piece of Stampin' Up!s Spring Time Vintage Designer Fabric, and the green paper is from Botanical Gazette Designer Series Paper.  The card was inspired by Sharon Johnson of notimetostamp.  All of her cards are so classy and beautiful. 

Paper:  Botanical Gazette, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla,

Ink:  Regal Royal (not a lot of stamping on this card)

Stamps:  Hostess set-Occasions Mini - Something to Celebrate.

Accessories:  Victoria Lace, Vanilla Rosettes, Spring Time Vintage Designer Fabric , Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, wide silk ribbon, Modern Label Extra Large, Eyelett Boarder Punch, small pearl from the Pearl Pack

Purchase any of these items at:  http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/donnaross/

Just wanted to wish you all a very happy Valentine's Day.  (A little late)

Letters to Juliet Inspiration

I was inspired this week end to finish my Valentine projects after watching Letters to Juliet .  If you haven't yet seen the movie-- I know I'm probably the only person who hasn't seen it yet--its about the fact that its never too late for love...a timely theme as I thought of all the people I wanted send a greeting to tell them how much I love them.  Especially my darling husband who puts up with my mess as my creativity ebbs and flows.    I have a five quick projects to show you today.  They were so much fun!

Decore Accent Blocks
I found a piece of fabric at a local fabric store and thought it would be perfect to showcase a number of Stampin' Up embellishments and products.  I decided to use the fabric to cover a set of Decore Accent Blocks in a Valentine theme.

I started with a set of the Decore Accent Blocks (116829) and a set of the Sticky Pages (114300).  I cut both the fabric and the sticky pages into 3" X 3" squares.  I covered each square with the sticky sheets, and then removed the backing and added the fabric.  The blocks are a kraft color and the sticky sheets make them look pink.

Once each square was covered with fabric, I chose different embellishments for each block.  This block uses 5/8" grosgrain ribbon in Regal Royal and I also added three of the Vanilla Rosettes (118774) from the Occasions Mini Catalog and applied glue dots to hold them in place.

For this block, I used one of the Game Spinner Hands (121893) as a Cupid's Arrow and one of the Flower buttons from the Sale-A-Bration brochure.  Every time I look at it I think of another way to use these cute arrows.  I was surprised to find that I could lift the fabric so that I could punch a small hole for the brad so that the legs are hidden on the back side of the fabric.  The fabric went right back on top of the sticky sheet as firmly as the first time I put it in place.

 For the third block, I used the 3/8" Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon to make a bow.  A glue dot holds it in place. I also added a few of the small pearls from the Basic Pearls Pack (119247) from the Stampin' Up Catalog and Idea book.

On the final block I added the Vintage Flower Adornment in Rose Red (121829).  I was so lucky to find a piece of fabric that worked so well with so many shades of pink and all of our accessories!

My Digital Studio Hybrid
A few weeks ago, I created a Thank-you card in My Digital Studio software.  Using that card as a template, I quickly change the background papers and sizes and a few images to create this card front.  Then I stamped the heart stamp and filled it with Designer paper to create a page of hearts.  I punched out the hearts with the heart stamp, and glued 5 of them together to make the 3-dimensional heart on the front of the card.

Oh!  Before I forget... on Feb 09, Stampin' Up! introduced a new .pdf catalog of all the images available in My Digital Studio software.  Some images are available with the Application CD; others are available for purchase separately.  What a time saver!!  Now you can visually see all of the images in one place.  As a demonstrator, I saw an early copy of the .pdf, and I can't tell you how many times I've already opened it for a closer look at the images in my My Digital Studio library -- some I didn't know I owned! 

Little White Tin Mail Box
It wouldn't be Valentine's Day without dressing up one of these little tin mail boxes.  Several years ago, I found a supply of them and bought an entire case.  Since then, I have seen many other mailbox tins at much higher costs.  I'm so glad I purchased in bulk when they were available.  These are perfect for candy treats as well as small 3X3" cards or Gift Cards.

I used the Love Impressions (121780) Designer Series paper from the Occasions Mini Catalog to cover the body and for the heart on the mail box.   I punched the mailbox flag hart using the Full Heart Extra-Large punch (119883). I used some of the images from Love You Much (113756) for the front of the mailbox, and images from Filled with Love (121154) from the Holiday Mini for the Feb {Heart}14 image on the mailbox flag, popped on a Dimensional and a small tab of Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon on one side to match the Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon on the arm of the mailbox.  A large red striped bow sits on top of the mailbox, made from 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (119768)

Be My Valentine Treat Jar
This cute little jar from the Container Store is the perfect size for decorating with a few bows and a couple of stamped images.  I used one of the striped designer papers from the Subtles Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack (117152).  I inked To & From Tag with Regal Rose and then carefully wiped off the To: and From: before I stamped the striped paper.  Instead I used the Be My Valentine stamp from the Filled with Love (121154) set from the Holiday Mini for my sentiment.  I added a small punched heart with a very small diamond in the corner and attached the tag to the Regal Rose grosgrain Ribbon and Petty in Pink Satin Ribbon.  The container is filled with sweet treats and I love that the whole project took only about 15 minutes to assemble. 

I'm wondering if I can give these two together as a set. If I had thought ahead, I probably would have used coordinating papers and ribbons between the two projects.  I often find that I'll get inspired to begin another project as I'm in the middle of one project and work on them together, and then I end up with projects that work together;  Unfortunately, these two didn't come together like I thought they would.

Pompom Love Treat Bottle
This is another unusual glass bottle with a plain clear top that made me want to cover it with something.  I took a couple of strips of sticky strip and covered the bottle cap and then cut two strips of pompoms from the new Melon Mambo PomPom Trim and stuck it to the sticky strips. 

After filling the jar with hearts, I added a very small bow and a tag with a small heart.  I punched out the tag with the Jewelry Tag Medium Punch (117190).  The bow is 1/8" Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon with white trimmed edges.  The tag is from Tiny Tags as is the {love} image.  The heart with xo is from a page of heart images I found when I did a search on "hearts" in My Digital Studio.  I wasn't sure which I wanted to use, so I made a page of different heart shapes, duplicated them, colored them in different shades of pinks and reds, and printed them on a piece of Whisper White card stock on my home printer.  This one found its way onto the small label for this project.

Here's the little treat jar with a card I made with Melon Mambo card stock a week ago.  Another fun, little gift complete.

We'll, that's enough for one day.  Hope you enjoyed these projects.

Continuing the rush to finish my Valentine's Day projects, today's project uses one of the Valentine sets from the Occasions Mini catalog.

I believe the Stampin' Up! artists get better with each passing year.  I love the images on this Valentine Defined set.  They work so well together, but they also work so well mixed with other Stampin' Up! sets.  For some reason, I chose Melon Mambo as my base color and ink color.  Then I broke out my Color Coach to help me find which other shades of pink to use on this card.  I think this is the first card I've made using this color combination.  I couldn't have done it without the Color Coach.  If you haven't ordered yours yet, your creativity in selecting colors will mushroom once you have it.  I used the clear stamps on a clear block and positioned both images on the same block, making it easy to position both images exactly where I wanted them before I stamped. 

I used the Heart to Heart punch and punched hearts out of Regal Rose.  Then I inserted the two largest hearts into the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die and ran it through the Big Shot Die machine.  I also punched the bottom layer of Whisper White using the Pinking Heart Border punch.  I normally would use a layer of Designer Series Paper somewhere on a card with this many layers, but the embossed hearts, pinking heart border and the double ribbon seemed to be enough textures on one card.

Paper:  Melon Mambo, Regal Royal, Whisper White

Ink:      Melon Mambo

Stamp:  Valentine Defined (Occasions Mini Catalog)

Accessories:  Regal Royal Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Pinking Heart Border punch, Heart to Heart Extra Large punch, Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die, Dimentionals, small pearl

Color Coach

Here's what Stampin' Up!s Color Coach looks like.  It includes 55 double-sided cards with removable metal post fastener.  On individual color cards, one side shows color, the other side lists  coordinating colors. 

The cards are 2-3/4 x 4-1/2" giving you a good size color swatch to really see how your colors will look together before you pull out all your full-size papers. 

You can order your own Color Coach on-line when you place your Sale-A-Bration order to earn free stamps with every $50 order.  Color Coach - 121620 - US$14.95.

We'll I'm off to my craft room for the rest of the morning.  Remember to sign up for my Stamped Sophisticates blog using your email to receive information on new projects as they are posted.

Stay warm

Vintage Flower Adornment

Time to get serious about Valentine's Day cards.  Kicking it into high gear today because it is a snow day here in Texas...only without the snow.  Icy roads closed most businesses and schools today, so I was able to work on Valentine projects. 

This first project uses one of the new Vintage Flower Adornments from the Occasions Mini.

This card uses one of my favorite sharps -- an oval.  I used the Big Shot and Oval Bigz Die (#114525).  I embossed in Whisper White the Elizabeth stamp.  I also used one of the stamps from Tag til Christmas, embossed the tag shape in whisper white, stamped and embossed the "love you" sentiment from Valentine Defined and punched out the label shape with the Decorative Label punch (#120907), introduced in the Holiday Mini catalog. 

I used a white gel pen to create the faux stitching around the edge of the oval. The card stock colors are Pink Pirouette and Blushing Bride and the striped paper is from the Patterned Designer Series Paper Stack-subtles (#117152).  I love that you can also download these designer papers as background papers in My Digital Studio.  That way, if you need more of one of your favorites, you can print it from My Digital Studio.  I sponged the edges of the striped paper with Blushing Bride ink.

 I pulled a string loose from the edge of a piece of Pretty in Pink satin ribbon, unraveled it,  and tied it in the middle with a 3/8" wide piece of Pretty in Pink satin ribbon.  The Vintage Flower Adornments from the Occasions Mini is attached with a glue dot.  Hint:  I find that heating the glue dots slightly with my heat embossing tool helps them stick better over time.



Vintage Flowers Adornment (#12187)9 - set of 24, 8 each of 3 colors.  Very Vanilla, Rose Red, and Baja Breeze



This is a second version of the card above.  I added three pearls to the side and kept the ribbon a bit simpler.





 I couldn't end the day without doing something in My Digital Studio.  This is a mixed media card designed and printed at home with My Digital Studio.  Then I added the ribbon and printed more butterflies the same size as the one I printed  on the card, cut it out, attached it with glue and bent the wings up to add dimension to the card. 
Colors:  Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive and Whisper White. 
Stamp set:  Image is a Sale-A-Bration stamp set called Bliss, however, I used digital content from the Sale-A-Bration CD which includes all of the new images available in the Sale-A-Bration Mini Brochure, called So Much to Sale-A Brate Digital Content CD (#123681); another free pick during Sale-A-Bration.  Pick your free Sale-A-Bration set when you spend $50.

I love that I can now use this card template in My Digital Studio with any sentiment and change the colors as I see fit. Printed on my home printer on Whisper White card stock, this now becomes a 15 minute card anytime I need a greeting card.  (Now I need to do one that is more masculine and I'll be all set!)

More My Digital Studio Downloads
After introducing a record number of new My Digital Studio Downloads in January 2011, Stampin' Up! introduced another set of new downloads for my digital studio February 1, 2011.  Included in this set of downloads are two set of scrapbook templates, including:



8 X 8" designer template; 24 pages including a front and back cover design.  Also includes 13 Designer Series Paper patters, a 24-piece stamp brush set, and 33 embellishments.  Originally built to easily scrap your Jan 2011 Leadership experience, these pages make a great starting point for  for creating your own pages using these pages as a starting point (#124447 - $14.95).  Add a matching patterned paper, stamp brushes and embellishment digital download (#124446) -- below-- to highlight your time at Leadership, or modify for your own use.



Also just added, this cute Love Birds Digital Kit.  (#124443)

Digital downloads are available instantly after purchasing them for use in My Digital Studio.  Or select the download version compatible with other software.  Visit Stampin' Up! online anytime to see the newest My Digital Studio downloads available.  



Happy Snow Day!

 - Donna Ross