Monday, December 30, 2013

MDS Monday Sketch Challenge #47

Sorry I missed last week's MDS Monday challenge! I do not even know what happened last week...it all is a blurr! Just way too much on my to do list and not enough time. But now that Christmas is over, I can sit on my chaise lounge under a comfy blanket with laptop opened to MDS! Happy place!

Tara brought us a great layout for a scrapbook page this week so I decided to try and catch up on a special event this year. We were very honored to be asked to be godparents to our friend's first born son. Megan is under 18 so Howard and I acted as godparents as well. She was very excited to be named godmother to him. Pretty special and it is a title that binds us as family to him.
I pretty much used the Fan Fair Ensemble to make this page. DSP, stamp images and embellishments work together so well together. I added the burlap flower recolored it to match the Island Indigo in the DSP. 
You can give the challenge a try and submit your own page if you click on the MDS Monday button on the right side! Follow the directions on the site to upload your page and link it from your blog or MDS.net. Winners and honorable mentions are announced every two weeks.

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you today to get into MDS Mondays and our challenges!
 Cindy 


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Artisan Wednesday WOW - MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Welcome back to Artisan Wednesday WOW on Christmas DAY!!!  Or it could be a day later because you might be busy with family, opening presents, eating good food, snuggling with your kiddos or ALL of it! You just came from the fantastic and funny Cathy Caines and next is fabulous and famous Connie Collins, but before you come check out my Christmas/New Year's card!
 
#1 - I am loving gold and silver together! Very trend on!
#2 - Using My Digital Studio to solve a shape dilemma!
(getting a e-cutter for Christmas - shhhh!)
Here is me on this Christmas Eve morning working on MDS to find a champagne glass in the program to make my card (which came to me in a dream...yes I dream card layouts and ideas LOL)
I found this in the When the Clock Strikes Twelve Ensemble #136679. I plan to use that download for some decorations for our Annual New Year's Party with friends! (more to come on that)
I printed it out on white cardstock at home and then cut out carefully the glass. I am using this as a template.
I traced the glass onto a piece of Whisper White Cardstock. Now take the Wonderful Watercolor Designer Washi Tape and line up across the glass image. Cut it out.
I added a Smoky Slate card base, the NEW Gold Sequin Trim and pulled some off for the bubbles, silver glimmer paper, no name brand gold thread, more Wonderful Watercolor Designer Washi Tape and the stamped in Basic Gray from the Christmas Messages Stamp set. It is the perfect sentiment for today -
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Thank YOU all for stopping by each and every week on our Artisan Blog Hop and all your support this fabulous year of 2013! This dream of being on the Artisan Design Team has been AMAZING for me!
 I hope that I have inspired you to reach for your dreams and try something NEW! 
See you in 2014! Very excited to see what the new year brings!
Cindy
Move on to Connie by clicking on the next button!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

MDS Blog Hop - What ya doing?

 WELCOME TO THE MDS BLOG HOP!
A bunch of us have joined together to share our passion for digital designing with Stampin' UP's My Digital Studio.  These ladies are SERIOUSLY talented in MDS and I am thrilled to be on this Blog Hop with them! You will find us blog hopping on the 2nd and 4th THURSDAYS of each month USUALLY! We will have a "theme" selected on the first hop and then a "What we are doing in MDS" on the second hop. 
My page today was one that I created when the big MDS Digital Scrapbooking Sale was going on.  I am loving the 11x8.5 scrapbook page to create with. I give my friend Julie Warnick credit for that. She does beautiful 8.5x11 pages and you can see her work here:

This holiday season has been flying by!  My shopping is NOT even done yet! I have not had time to do alot of digital scrapbooking BUT you can bet that I will be doing some as soon as the camera is full of Christmas photos. Check back with us in January! 


Just click on the NEXT button and it will take you to the next person on the hop. We hope this inspires you to get into My Digital Studio! 
Click on the button to move on to see what Cori made!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you!
 Cindy 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 2013 Memory Ornament

Welcome back to Artisan Wednesday WOW!  You just came from the fantastic and funny Cathy Caines and next is fabulous and famous Connie Collins, but before you come check out my Christmas Memory Keepsake Ornament.
 
Some of you may have your Christmas trees up, so now is the time to make an ornament capturing your memories of 2013. I love photo ornaments on my own tree and looking back at them as the years go by. It is like looking at a Christmas scrapbook on display! This one is very easy to make with the Circle Collection Framelits and that wonderful Season of Style Designer Series Paper.  I have a whole piece of DSP on the back side of the same pattern. But before you glue it on makes sure you set your hanger ribbon and brads in place. You want to hide the brads from the back. To get your year stamped in perfect alignment, be sure to use the Stamp-a-ma-jig. It took me two tries but it CAN be done!
I made this one for my mom's Christmas tree. I hope she likes it!
Stamps
130252 (wood-mount) or 130255 (clear-mount): A Banner Christmas Stamp Set
132039 (wood-mount) or 126682 (clear-mount): Memorable Moments Stamp Set

Ink
126975: Crumb Cake Stampin’ Pad
126974: Early Espresso Classic Stampin’ Pad
126953: Old Olive Classic Stampin’ Pad

Paper
100702: Old Olive Cardstock
101650: Very Vanilla Cardstock
132340: Season or Style Designer Series Paper
121790: Red Glimmer Paper

Accessories & Tools
117273: Antique Brads
119256: Old Olive 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon
130022: Baked Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim
123125: Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine
104430: Stampin’ Dimensionals
104294: Sticky Strip
121807: Cupcake Builder Punch
101049: Stamp-a-ma-jig
113439: Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine
130911: Circle Collection Framelits Dies
114511: Little Leaves Sizzlits Die
1/4" hole punch
Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you! 
Come back next week! We will still be doing the blog hop on Wednesday...CHRISTMAS DAY!
Cindy
Move on to Connie by clicking on the next button!

Monday, December 16, 2013

MDS Monday Sketch #45 Challenge

Heidi brought us a great layout for a scrapbook page this week!
I am loving these layouts recently because they have lots of photos without looking like too much! Perfect for catching up with our daily or monthly events especially my daughter's 16th birthday! I still can not believe that I have a 16 year old!  She means the world to me and I am so proud of the young beautiful and thoughtful young woman she is becoming. She had a very busy day full of surprises and fun!
You can give the challenge a try and submit your own page if you click on the MDS Monday button on the right side! Follow the directions on the site to upload your page and link it from your blog or MDS.net. Winners and honorable mentions are announced every two weeks.

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you today to get into MDS Mondays and our challenges!
 Cindy 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Endless Wishes Card

Back again with the original design with the unforgettable Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set for this card!  I have never in all my years with Stampin UP! have heard of a stamp set selling out in the currant year. It was a beautifully designed by Jen Campbell, a Concept Artist at Stampin UP!

Be sure to check the Stampin UP Facebook Page today!
New December Artisan Showcase will be posted!

Have a great day! I am off to get some stamping Christmas projects done!
Cindy

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Artisan Wednesday Wow- Wonderful Wreath Card

 
 
 
 Welcome back to Artisan Wednesday WOW!  You just came from the fantastic and fun Cathy Caines and next is fabulous and famous Connie Collins, but before you come check out my Christmas card.
 
All the patterns in the Season of Style Designer Series Paper #132340 are perfect for this card. I especially love this diagonal pattern. Another favorite of mine from the Holiday Catalog is the stamp set called Wonderful Wreath #132748. Pair it with the Cherry Cobbler Chevron Ribbon and you have a perfect holiday reminder of Christmas time.

Now I have to be honest, I first designed this with the Endless Wishes Photopolymer stamp set. But since it has completely sold out, I wanted to show you the same card but done with different stamps. I will post that card on Friday. So if you are one of the lucky owner of the Endless Wishes stamp set, come back here to see the card.
 
Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you!
Cindy
Move on to Connie by clicking on the next button!

Monday, December 9, 2013

MDS Monday Sketch #44 Challenge

 The idea was to use a flourish on the background of the card. I went right into the Global Search and did a search for the key word "Flourish" and this chalk stamp image from Snowy Soiree download grabbed my attention. The rest of the card built from there. The Sentitment is from Baby's First Christmas download. I did some coloring to remove the ornament 2013 image from this stamp image to just get the words. The background dots is from Hello World download, another baby themed download. Do not let those themed downloads get by you! Very versatile!


You can give the challenge a try and submit your own page if you click on the MDS Monday button on the right side! Follow the directions on the site to upload your page and link it from your blog or MDS.net. Winners and honorable mentions are announced every two weeks.

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you today to get into MDS Mondays and our challenges!
 Cindy 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Extra Extra Extra! Christmas Cards Galore





I always find that I make way more Artisan projects then the regular four projects required for us to make.  I just pick my top 4 projects to showcase for Artisan blog hops. Here are some of those extra projects made from the November box of goodies. 

Now do not expect to see many extras from December's box. I have been super busy with Leadership samples for the display boards. I will be sharing those pretty babies with you at the end of January! I was so excited and sad to see them boxed up and head to Utah. I hope that if you are going to Stampin Up's Leadership Convention in Houston that you enjoy the displays! All of us Artisan Design Team members worked really hard of them. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope these cards inspires you today!
Cindy

Thursday, December 5, 2013

MDS Blog Hop - 2014 Calendars MDS style!

 WELCOME TO THE MDS BLOG HOP!
A bunch of us have joined together to share our passion for digital designing with Stampin' UP's My Digital Studio.  These ladies are SERIOUSLY talented in MDS and I am thrilled to be on this Blog Hop with them! You will find us blog hopping on twice a month on THURSDAYS! It is where you can come and get some digital inspiration from us designers. We will have a "theme" selected on the first hop and then a "What we are doing in MDS" on the second hop. Can you guess what our theme is this month?
CALENDARS FOR 2014 or some are posting Print products too.
I actually saw this on Pinterest! I love that when you find something out there is the design world and can totally recreate it with MDS for yourself! You can find Cindy's My Digital Studio Inspirations Board here:  http://www.pinterest.com/cindycrafts/my-digital-studio-inspirations/

Here is the printed version: simple and yet so cute!

And here are the rest of the months. Just pull the ribbon out and put in the others when needed.





Can you guess how I made the color swipes on the page? They are actually the Leaves #2 - 3 and -4 Punch shapes enlarged and stretched out. Cool beans, huh? Another great feature of MDS is the Calendar options. SOOOO easy to use now and you just must give it a try! The months are stamps from Back to School download but you could use any style or even a text box.

This was create in a Custom page of 5 x 9. I printed these out at home in this case. You could paste the jpeg onto a 12 x 12 page and have it printed thru Stampin Up as well. I punched the holes and added the ribbon to hang on my wall at work.  I think I will print some up for my co-workers at work as a little gift.

Just click on the NEXT button and it will take you to the next person on the hop. We hope this inspires you to get into My Digital Studio and start creating for Christmas! 
Click on the button to move on to see what Cori made!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you!
 Cindy 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Artisan Wednesday Wow - Simple Christmas Card

 Welcome back to Artisan Wednesday WOW! We are moving on to our December box of Stampin' UP products from the 2013 Holiday Catalog! Nothing but Christmas so plenty of ideas for last minute projects for you!!! You just came from Cathy Caines and next is Connie Collins, but before you come check out my simple and easy Christmas card. 
(Jeanna Bohanon made our December edition of Blog Hop Buttons!)
I had some leftover birch paper from the Thankful Tablescape Kit which I absolutely loved! I added it with sticky strip to a card base of Crumb Cake cardstock. Then I took Crumb Cake ink and sponged over the whole thing. I used the Pennant Punch for the trees with the Season of Style Designer Series Paper. Love the chevron pattern the most! I inked up A Banner Christmas stamp set for the words and arrows. Simple card idea that you can use for your last minute holiday cards!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you!
Cindy


Move on to Connie by clicking on the next button!

Monday, December 2, 2013

MDS Monday Sketch #43 Challenge

 
This was such a fun template to work with! I stuck with one designer kit to add all my paper layers and embellishments. Even the stamps are from the set. Can you guess which one I used?
 
This was also a really fun day with our friends and youth co-leaders while we were in San Antonio this past summer. I think we had more fun than the kids! 

You can give the challenge a try and submit your own page if you click on the MDS Monday button on the right side! Follow the directions on the site to upload your page and link it from your blog or MDS.net. Winners and honorable mentions are announced every two weeks.

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you today to get into MDS Mondays and our challenges!
 Cindy 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Artisan Wednesday Wow - Pop & Place Special

Welcome back to an extra special Artisan Wednesday WOW! You just came from Cathy Caines and next is Connie Collins, but before you go come check out some Pop&Place Holiday Gift Tags and Stamps on matching boxes and a tag keeper jar!
So I took the remaining tags all out of the booklet and stamped the rest of them with the matching stamp set. I had this little mason jar sitting on one of my tables so I took it and put all the tags with a cardboard piece wrapped with Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine. Now it is ready to be given as a gift!
Here are some decorated boxes that I added some of the tags to and they are ready to be filled with goodies! Stampin Up has made this year's holiday wrapping a piece of cake!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you today!
 Cindy 

Move on to Connie by clicking on the next button!

Monday, November 25, 2013

MDS Monday Sketch #42 Challenge





You can give the challenge a try and submit your own page if you click on the MDS Monday button on the right side! Follow the directions on the site to upload your page and link it from your blog or MDS.net. Winners and honorable mentions are announced every two weeks.

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you today to get into MDS Mondays and our challenges!
 Cindy 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

MDS Blog Hop - Greatest Gift of All Postcard

Here is how it looks when created in My Digital Studio. You just need to go to View, then Bleed Area. Select Artisan Shaped Postcard. Now you can see the shape. When you go to print, be sure to select in the print preview (where you put in the quantity) the shape box.
  WELCOME TO THE MDS BLOG HOP!
A bunch of us have joined together to share our passion for digital designing with Stampin' UP's My Digital Studio.  These ladies are SERIOUSLY talented in MDS and I am thrilled to be on this Blog Hop with them! You will find us blog hopping on the 2nd and 4th THURSDAYS of each month! We will have a "theme" selected on the first hop and then a "What we are doing in MDS" on the second hop.

I am still working feverishly on designs for our Christmas card. I have to get them done asap because the 30% off Print sale ends on November 30th! But today I am sharing a Christmas/Announcement card that I did for our wonderful friends of our godson. As soon as I saw the Baby's First Christmas Shaped Postcard on November 5th, I had to tell them about it. It is sooooo perfect for them. He IS the greatest gift of all! They wanted to change the colors for a traditional Christmas colors. The father has a great camera so they did their own photo session at home. They came over last night and we finished the back of the card and sent them off to print.  They got 48 postcards for 1.58 each and it comes with an envelope! Wahoo!
Just click on the NEXT button and it will take you to the next person on the hop. We hope this inspires you to get into My Digital Studio and start creating for Christmas! 
Click on the button to move on to see what Cori made!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this inspires you!
 Cindy