SAVE BIG!!

It's true. Today is my birthday and rather than showing you a card I created, I wanted to celebrate with you and offer you a discount on cards and handcrafted items I've made - all found in my online store! This offer is only available today, so make sure you take advantage!

If you're still looking for a little crafty inspiration, I created this flyer in My Digital Studio (MDS) in less than five minutes. MDS is so easy to use and you can quickly and easily create flyers, posters, scrapbooks & more with text, images, stamps, punches & embellishments. :) I'd be happy to chat more with you... contact me anytime to learn more!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Wax Paper Transfer Technique

Let's call today, Technique Thursday! I'm sharing with you a technique I tried out a while back. I think I was watching a crafting show with my 4-year-old where they showed this and I immediately ran to try it out - printing on wax paper!

I opened up MDS (My Digital Studio) and picked a few random images, placed them on the artboard and coloured them. Next, I cut my wax paper down to 8-1/2 x 11 and printed. You can see from the image above that the bottom two printed great, but then the ink go pretty runny. Perhaps this technique is only good on more solid-coloured images?!

Once you've printed and cut down your sheet, you're ready to transfer! Place where desired on your card stock and rub with your bone folder.

Viola! Transfer complete!!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph


RECIPE:
Paper: Wax Paper (from the kitchen), Very Vanilla
Tools: Computer, My Digital Studio Software (MDS), Printer

A Social Affair

This was a card I did a while back. I got the idea from some other social media cards I did a couple of years ago on a different forum. I think you can guess what this card is based from. :)

I thought this card was appropriate to share with you because tonight I will be attending the Catalogue Premier in Canada. I'm quite excited! May 1st is the pre-order for us demos (only on some products), but I always love getting my hands on new catalogues and product. Even better, to attend a party about it! I'll be sharing what I can on social media, so if you follow me, you might be getting some sneak peeks!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Whisper White
Tools: MDS, Decorative Dots TIEF, Big Shot

Not All Superheroes Wear Capes.

Well, only a week and a day late for the Sunday Stamps sketch! I had a very busy time preparing for my last show, then I developed bursitis in my shoulder (wouldn't wish that on anyone!), got sick and then my youngest got sick. That was just in the last week! ha.

I flipped the sketch on it's side and worked from there. I omitted the sentiment because I just wanted a single letter on the front. I found this awesome quote all over Pinterest (although, not sure where it's from) - "Not all superheroes wear capes." I thought it would be particularly true for parents.

I'm putting this past week behind me and moving forward. This coming week should be especially awesome because I'm attending the Catalogue Launch Party for Stampin' Up! So excited!! Stay tuned for more detail on that... whatever I can share with you, of course.

You have until Friday at 6 p.m. to play along. Hope you will! Check out what the other designers on the team have created to spark your creativity!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Melon Mambo
Tools: MDS, Printer, Rotary Addition + Scallop Edge
Accessories: Flower (retired), Pearls, Doily, Fabric Tape (non SU!)
Challenge: Sunday Stamps

A Little (Blue) Bird Told Me...

A couple of years ago I did some humorous cards relating to a popular social networking site. Now I've come up with a couple more relating to another popular #socialnetworking site.

I'm sure you can guess which site I'm referring too here. I'm always trying to push card sales, not just because I make them, but also because I know how happy people are when they receive a card. Even better, a card in the mail. And even better than that, a handcrafted one!

I personally don't think wishing someone a happy birthday through social media is acceptable, but perhaps I'm "old school". hehe This card is the best of both worlds - fitting in with the social networking crowd, and giving cards. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Punches: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 2" Scallop Circle (non SU!), 1-3/4" Circle, Bird Builder
Accessories: Jewel Rhinestones, MDS Software

One Years Old!

I'm not going to bore you with tales of where I've been for the last month... let's just say I was hibernating! ha. I'll also say that life has been a bit rocky, but that I'm getting back into the swing of things and my crafty self is coming back to life!

Today my son turns one! I can't believe how this past year has flown by and today I wanted to share with you a simple project I whipped up in My Digital Studio.

I absolutely LOVE My Digital Studio! In case you're not aware, it's not just for scrapbooking! I often use it for projects such as this, but do all my fliers and business signage, business cards and more with it. With a quick click of the button, you can also easily share your projects with friends and family through email or social media. Gotta love that!

Without realizing it, I used the two Sale-a-Bration freebies on my project. That's good because then I can tell you that with every $60 order before March 31, 2014, you can receive a FREE product! Choosing the digital kits gives you a lot of "bang for you buck". The Hooray for Parties ensemble is valued at $21.95 and the One Big Sale-a-Bration 2014 ensemble is valued at $26.95. Talk about a deal, especially since you'll have them forever and can do so much with them!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

DSP Series: Post Card

Welcome back to my DSP Series. You can check out the first post yesterday. This one is along similar lines… it's a post card. Making post cards with DSP is very easy, really, you could just make one similar to the tags I made yesterday. I went a step further and used the Post Card Stamp Brush Set in My Digital Studio (MDS).

With the newer updates in MDS, you can crop and colour stamps to your liking. The Post Card Stamp Brush Set isn't quite as long as I wanted, so I cropped and pieced together two images to get the size I wanted. :) I fit four on a page, printed at home, cut and glued my DSP on the other side.

These are quick and easy too and no worries if you don't have an envelope on hand! For me, receiving a card in the mail is special, receiving a post card is also memorable.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE:
Paper: Naturals Card Stock, Birthday Basics DSP
Tools: MDS, Post Card Stamp Brush Set

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians out there! I saved this turkey card especially for today. How cute is he?! I CASEd it from Sandie Conner, you can find her card here. I couldn't resist. :)

This little guy was pretty easy to make thanks to the Owl Builder Punch (you cut the ears off). Next, simply cut some ribbon, fold (held together with glue dots) and stick to the back of your turkey. The whites of the eyes and the wattle are also from the same punch - the wattle is the heart. I cut the beak free-hand.

After stamping the sentiment for the front that reads "Thanks is for giving", I thought it would be cute for the inside of the card to say "...and turkey eating! Happy Thanksgiving!!" so I created the inside in MDS.

If you would like to purchase this card, you can do so here.

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

 RECIPE
Paper: Crushed Curry
Stamps: Seasonal Sayings
Tools: 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Owl Builder Punch
Accessories: Gumball Green Satin Stitched Ribbon, Tangerine Tango Satin Ribbon (SAB 2013)

Fall Pumpkin

A couple of Blog posts back, I talked about how I utilize MDS for everything. Here is another example of what can be done with it:

This is a CASE, but now I cannot find the card online to give proper credit! I found it on Pinterest and thought I had pinned it, but unfortunately did not. I tried searching for it again, but don't remember how I came across it in the first place. I will keep an eye out...

Anyway, I ran my card base through the printer after creating the text in MDS. I fit two per page. Then I embossed two pieces of card stock in the same base colour and adhered to the base. You thought I was going to tell you how to emboss around the text, weren't you?! ;)

Next, I punched three ovals using the XL Oval Punch, embossed and glued together. The pumpkin stem was created with the Modern Label punch.

If you would like to purchase this card, you can do so here.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps: Occasions Alphabet
Tools: Big Shot, Square Lattice TIEF, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF, Punches: Modern Label, XL Oval
Accessories: Twine
Techniques: Punch Art

Truly Grateful

I love My Digital Studio (MDS)! I use it all the time. I use it to create all my signage and advertisments for my business (including my business cards) and I utilize it a lot for making hybrid cards.

I loved the Truly Grateful stamp set when I first saw it in the Holiday Catalogue. But let's face it, it was one of many that I loved on my very long wish list. As I searched the online store, I discovered the digital stamp set and I did a little happy dance!

Now, there are things that you couldn't do with a digital brush set - emboss it for one thing, but there are lots of things that you can do. You can resize a stamp image (enlarge to a certain extent without pixelating it), colour it and place it anywhere you want. I created my harvest layer to the exact size I wanted. I fit four on a page, along with my sentiment and a few other digital images from the set for the inside.

I printed the sheets on my home printer, cut and punched and then I layered with some other items to create a hybrid card. For MDS, I am truly grateful. :)

If you love my work, aren't crafty, or just don't have the time, you can purchase this card in my online store here.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

RECIPE
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry
Stamps: Truly Grateful Stamp Brush Set (MDS)
Tools: Artisan Label Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Distress Tool, Chevron TIEF
Accessories: Brads, 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon

Home Decor with MDS

I love My Digital Studio (MDS)! I'm not much of a scrapbooker (although, I've wanted to be several times), but I use the program for all my business advertising, making hybrid cards (using brush stamp sets that I don't own, for example) and more recently, to create home decor pieces.

I wanted and needed a nice alphabet decor piece for my son's room. I wanted one that had both the capital and small of each letter, plus an image to represent each letter with something that we would know and be able to pronounce. No xenops' in this print! ;)

You can also purchase the print in my online store here.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Moving Day

Today is moving day for me, but I still wanted to share a quick post, especially since I've been neglecting this blog lately... and probably will be for a tad longer until I get settled. I sure hope you can understand!

Naturally a quick text or email doesn't cut it for this crafter when it comes to letting people know she moved. :) My Digital Studio (MDS) is a fantastic tool for something like this... and many other somethings too. It all came together really easily once I had the idea in my head and then all I had to do was print and assemble.

I did still want to include a little something, even though I was happy with my flat, non-embellished card. When I saw the little wooden houses on clearance at a store, I cleared them out and added them to my cards.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

60th Celebs

Today I have some custom cards I created for a client. I've done quite a few of these for her over the last couple of years. They are 60th Birthday cards using celebrity names (and sometimes friends' names of my client) who are all turning 60 in the same year as the birthday recipient. Check them out:

Paper: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade
Stamps/Ink: MDS Hybrid Card
Accessories: non SU! Flowers & Brads

I created the card pieces using MDS. The program is so versatile and great for making hybrid cards! After printing and cutting all the pieces, I glued them to card stock and tore the edges. I layered the pieces on the card base and accented with some small flowers and sparkly brads.

Inside, I mounted a sentiment (also done in MDS) that reads:

Hope you have a
wonderful 60th Birthday
and remember...

"Youth is the gift of nature,
but age is the work of Art."

Until next time, stay crafty!

Steph

MDS Printing - Permanent Price Cuts!

Did you hear?! Stampin' Up! has permanently slashed their print prices on MDS Print Services! You can find out all the details here.

They've also adjusted their shipping costs on Print Services!

The best news is that these changes are permanent AND the superior quality you've grown to know from Stampin' Up! will not change.

Also, in case you weren't aware of some of the 75+ NEW features of MDS2, you can read about them all on MyDigitalStudio.net. You can also try them out for 30 days for FREE. Contact me for details... it's a simple download from My Store and once you install it, I guarantee you'll fall in love with it!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Say Cheese!

Today I'm going to share with you a custom order I'm working on for a great client. She's a wonderful photographer and asked me to design and create thank you cards that she could give to her clients. She asked for blues, greens & purples and wanted to incorporate her logo on them as well. Here's what I came up with:

Paper: Vintage Violet, Mellow Moss, Cool Caribbean, Basic Black, Going Gray, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum, Pear Pizazz, Pool Party
Stamps: Fresh Vintage (SAB 2012)
Tools: Big Shot, Elegant Lines TIEF, MDS

These cards incorporate mostly SU! product (although all retired colours and stamps) and some non-SU! too in order to fit the design and the clients' needs. I cut the camera freehand and used some SU! Circle Punches for the lens. I love how I incorporated the logo into the lens.

The card base was stamped and embossed for added texture and dimension and then I popped up pieces of the camera for more of a 3D look.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Last Day for 31% Off Digital??

Nope! The promotion has been extended until September 14th!! This is to give you more time to finish up your projects to send them to the print center... or, purchase some of the awesome downloads at 31% off! Find out more information here.

Haven't tried MDS2 (My Digital Studio) yet?? It's AWESOME! Don't forget to download your FREE 30-Day trial here. With the FREE download, you get:

• Full access to the software at NO COST for 30 days
• Full access to design tools to create cards, photobooks, calendars, and more
• Full access to a sample of exclusive artwork from MDS 2+
• The chance to buy additional downloads that you can keep after your trial expires
• Ability to order your projects from our professional print services

Contact me for further information and visit MyDigitalStudio.net for everything to do with MDS.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

R is for Rest

Today is somewhat of a day of rest since here in Canada, most are taking today off in lieu of the Canada Day holiday yesterday. I found a small time-frame to stamp a little, but was having a creative block. So I turned to the Blogs out there...

One of my new favourite challenge blogs is Sunday Stamps. This week the ladies posted a sketch challenge and that's just what I needed to get inspired. Here's the sketch:

I've been using My Digital Studio (MDS) a lot lately for hybrid projects. This means that you create a portion of your project in MDS and then print it and finish creating with other stamps, paper, ribbon, etc. I have bought a lot of stamp brush sets in MDS that I don't have myself and especially ones that I might not use as often. It's an economical (and space-saving!) way to get all the images you desire. Plus, it's so easy to change the size or the colour and you can print right from your home computer!

Anyway, here is my hybrid card:

Although I've never been, sailing just seems like such a relaxing thing to do and since today is a day of relaxation, I thought this MDS stamp brush set was a perfect one to use. It's kind of funny that this is a Retirement card because this stamp set - Sail Away - is actually retired. Along with the Nautical Expeditions DSP, but the two are a perfect fit with one another. :)

I actually printed two sailboats and then cut the sail from one of them and popped it up. It gives a lot of dimension to an otherwise flat card. I also really distressed the edges of the DSP, sailboat and mat. I added some Bakers Twine and a Naturals Designer Button, both of which I thought looked a little nautical when paired with the DSP and sailboat. The sentiment on the front is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (my go-to sentiment set!) and the inside is from Occasions Alphabet. I must say that I don't use the latter set too often, but it really does pair well with many stamp sets and sentiments. Adds a little more oomph to a project.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Mash It!

I'm back today with another challenge creation. I just love playing over at The Friday Mashup! It's such a fun challenge because you always have several options. The ladies always give you two options and then a third one to "mash it up" and mix both together. I usually decide to "mash it up" because it's like combining two challenges in one. :) Here's this week's theme:

You could choose to: 1. Make a project with a "party theme", 2. Make a "box in a bag" - Amanda Corbet was grateful to provide a tutorial for this! or 3. "Mash it up" and make a project with both. Well, you already know that I decided to "mash it up"! Here's what I came up with:

I actually was in need of a wedding/shower card and thought this challenge was perfect because I can use the "box in a bag" for a gift card or money. Adds a little something extra to the gift, I think. As soon as I saw the Fan Fair DSP in the new catty, I thought the bicycle pattern would work well with the Wedding Wheels stamp brush set in MDS. This is certainly not your typical wedding card! It kind of has a county/vintage feel to it I think...

I used the Labels Collection framelits for the image cutout & border, and also for the closure on the bag (but it's hiding behind the ribbon). I used MDS for the image, so I guess this is a bit of a hybrid card. I also discovered that one of the cute new labels from the Little Labels punch pack fit the "Mr. & Mrs." stamp from the set Tiny Tags. I accented the Bride with tiny pearls and the card with Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon and some (retired) Hat Pins.

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

The May 31st Blahs

Tomorrow, the new Stampin' Up! catalogue goes LIVE! I for one cannot wait because there are fantastic products coming. So many great new stamp sets, papers & accessories. I know you'll love it too!

Maybe my creative funk lately is because I'm saving all my creative juices until I get my hands on those new products! :) June 1st can't come soon enough...

Speaking of June, the coming month seems to be all about the men. When I think of June, I think of BBQing (not that women can't do that too!), Father's Day and the beginning of Summer. I have also been doing a lot of "manly" cards lately... Maybe the month of June has something to do with that.

Here is a hybrid card I did recently that has deemed to be very popular. The motorcycle is a stamp image I purchased in My Digital Studio (MDS) - big news around MDS in the new catalogue too! - and the sentiment is hand stamped. Simple, but I think it turned out great!

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph