Another MDS project

I have been playing around a lot with My Digital Studio (MDS) recently, although most of the time I am just fiddling about seeing what I can do with it (answer:  a LOT).

Here is one of my earlier, finished projects (my Dad's 80th birthday last year).  Now bear in mind I am not a scrapbooker, not in the traditional sense.  I have always enjoyed "dressing up" my photographs with the many digital scrapbooking elements available out there on the web, and am having some fun doing the same thing with purely Stampin' Up! digital paper, stamps, accessories and colours.

Because the elements within MDS are all digital, in most cases they are scalable - so a stamp image can be shrunk or enlarged (to a point) to suit your project.  The swirls shown on this page (from Autumn Elements) have been reduced slightly, and I also reduced the opacity a little so they weren't so "stark" in their original black.  I could have recoloured them, but liked the contrast.

My next challenge with MDS will be to take some of my finished projects to Big W or Harvey Norman or somewhere similar to get them printed up in proper scrapbook page size :-)  I'm looking forward to seeing how they come out.  I am even thinking about t-shirts, or printed canvases, not to mention the flexibility of "hybrid" projects using both digital and physical elements - there is so much I want to do with this product!

Most of the content on this scrap page is made with elements which come with your initial purchase.  You can see a full list of what comes with the "full version" of MDS here, and the 30 day trial version here.

Images © 1990-2013 Stampin' Up!®

Only a few days left!

If you were planning on taking advantage of the "Buy 3, get the 4th free" scrapbooking promotion, you only have a few more days to place your orders. I've bought one lot and am tossing up whether to lash out on a second order *g*.

And this means that you also only have a few more days to decide if you would like to join the Stampin' Up! family for only $150 with their limited time Scrapbooking Starter Kit. There are many advantages to becoming a demonstrator, and no one will pressure you whether you want to simply buy your own supplies at a discount, shoot for Demonstrator of the Year or anything in between.

Both promotions finish at the end of May, so please contact me as soon as possible to discuss things further!

Picture the Possibilities - National Scrapbooking Month

Are you a scrapper? Followers of this blog will probably have noticed that I'm not (with the occasional exception), however with this month's promotion I'm wondering if I should jump on the bandwagon *g*.

For the month of May, buy three packs of selected Designer Series Paper (see list below) at $16.95 and get a fourth pack FREE.

The paper packs included in this offer are:

Item	Page	Description
112042	132	Urban Garden Designer Series paper
112470	132	Haiku Designer Series paper
113976	132	Pink Flamingo Designer Series paper
112468	132	Sweet Always Designer Series paper
113992	133	Tea Party Designer Series paper
113975	133	Raspberry Tart Designer Series paper
113966	134	Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series paper
112469	134	Holiday Treasures Designer Series paper
112041	134	Bella Rose Designer Series paper
113974	134	Bella Bleu Designer Series paper
113978	135	Urban Oasis Designer Series paper
112461	135	Washington Apple Designer Series paper
112039	135	Windsor Knot Designer Series paper
113980	135	Candy Lane Designer Series paper

Of course, these delicious papers can also be used for cardmaking, and naturally the colours on the papers match the exclusive Stampin' Up! colour families (see your catalogue or check with me to see what colours match each paper).

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!

For the month of May, you could join the Stampin' Up! family for as little as $150!

Have you been thinking about becoming a demonstrator? Put off by the initial outlay for supplies you may not (as a scrapbooker) use? Then how about this:

In celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator for only $150 with our limited-time Scrapbooking Starter Kit. The Scrapbooking Starter Kit contains the following:

Item Code	Description	Retail Value
112231	Schoolbook Serif Alphabet stamp set*	$77.95
113059	Simply Scrappin' Petal Party	$36.95
108697	Earth Elements Assorted textured card stock (12" x 12")	$21.95
105216	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	$11.95
103179	Craft & Rubber Scissors	$37.95

*Substitutable for any stamp set up to $77.95 value.

Please note: Each of the products listed above may be substituted for like items. Please see the Scrapbooking Starter Kit Order Form for details.

Your business supplies, including customer order forms, invitations and more are also included in this price.

The total value of just the supplies show in the table above is $186.75, so you have to agree this is a bargain price!

Contact me to find out more about either of these great deals, but do it early so you don't forget!

Live Your Dream

As promised, now that the Summer Mini is officially here, I can upload samples for you to see.

First up, some of the stuff we made at the Stampin' Up! Victorian regional seminar which was held on November 8 at the Melbourne Convention Centre. These seminars are awesome! We get to listen to inspirational talks from Stampin' Up! staff and local demonstrators, see new ideas, watch great demos and do our own make & takes with all materials (including the stamp set) provided!

So these are what we made:

First up a tall thin card - something of a change from the usual "A5 folded in half" shape. I like it. We've used a piece of the Afternoon Tea designer paper which coordinates well with the cardstock colours that were used, and the yummy 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon.

Do you see the stitched detail? Ha! Fooled you! We used the paper piercer and piercing template from the Crafter's Toolkit to make a little row of holes, then drew white lines on with a gel marker to simulate the look of stitching. Yes, I could have brought it home and used my sewing machine, but that would have involved getting it out, making sure it had white thread in, plugging it in, actually sewing the card and then packing the darn thing away again. Too much like hard work.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®. Contact me if you wish to order any of the supplies used to make this card.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Confetti White, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky Textured, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: 5/8" Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Crafter's Tool Kit, White Uni-ball igno gel pen

Next a little folder which is designed to hold a set of 3 Love Notes and matching envelopes. The little Love Notes cards are only 3 inches square, and are so cute. Unfortunately I *still* haven't quite finished them, but you can admire the little folder in the meantime ...

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, silver brad, White Circle Aluminium Metal Edge tag, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 3/16" Corner Rounder punch

Thirdly, we have a "matchbook fold" card ... this has a little fold at the bottom, and the top flap tucks into it like a matchbook. The result is very effective. You probably can't see it in the photo, but we used the journalling lines stamp on the white tag, so it looks a little like a page taken from an exercise book.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky
Cardstock: Soft Sky Textured, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: Groovy Guava double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, White Circle Aluminium Metal Edge tag, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/16" Circle punch, Linen thread

And finally, a 6x6 scrapbook page. I really must find a nice photo to put into this. We got to play with the square scallop punch on this one - it makes an interesting element and ties the page together at the top.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: Soft Sky double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, Silver Brad, Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Square Punch

Next time I go to a regional seminar or the Stampin' Up! Australian convention (next May in Canberra!), I am going to take my trusty Stampamajig ... it's the only way I'm going to get those sentiments stamped straight *sigh*

A rare event

As you may have noticed, there is a distinct lack of scrapbook pages on my blog. This is because I have been a cardmaker since ... well, it seems like forever, but it's certainly been a very long time, and until recently photos were something that got shoved into slip in pockets (if they ever left the chemist's envelope) and looked at every so often, usually by the kids.

Now I am trying to move out of my comfort zone occasionally and to this end I have created a very simple 6x6 page (with no journalling - I haven't got my head around that yet!) using a glamour photo of my mother from before she was married.

Love this colour combination ...! As always, you really have to see it in the flesh so to speak to appreciate just how pretty they are together.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White