Tiddbits from Dawn

MDS (Card) Day

I've had two clubs and one Stamp-a-Stack this week and as a result of those and other things I had on the agenda I did not get a scrapbook page completed this week! I'm disappointed but at least I got halfway finished with one. I should have it ready next week. I do have a My Digital Studio Card completed to show you. Of course, the paper is Sale-a-bration and the stamps are retired....but that doesn't matter in MDS!

In My Digital Studio you can still play with retired products. This was a card Heather Summers challenged us to make in one of her My Digital Studio classes I've been taking. Though I'll be parting with my Sale-a-bration stamps in June I will still be able to use them as long as I like in MDS! Think about trying the 30 Day Free Trial of My Digital Studio yourself. You just might find yourself liking it! I still love the hands on but it's fun to have another outlet sometimes. I can do this so easily in the car while traveling or carry it downstairs and work on something away from my craft room. If you're interested check my on-line site here and try it out today! Be sure to let me know what you think.

This morning I'm headed off to my granddaughter's 4 year old kindergarten graduation program! I've got a lot to get done over the weekend but I hope to get a hamburger grilled to celebrate Memorial Day! I hope you have a great weekend!

Easy Peasy

Stampin' Up! has new In Colors for 2012-14 and I realized I've hardly shown them off! There were a few of these Apothecary Accents Framelits lying on my craft table from another project and an idea struck me! A few more dies were quickly cut using the Big Shot and then a little manipulation on a Crumb Cake Card Stock card that was, believe it or not, also on the craft table already!

Aren't they pretty colors? I like the names too, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Pink, Midnight Muse, Gumball Green and Summer Starfruit. The sentiment came from Family Reunion and was stamped in Midnight Muse ink. You're going to love the new ink pads! I can't wait for you to try them.

Soon you'll be able to order these colors for yourself! Until then be sure you have everything you need from the Retired List.

A Holly Jolly.....

Christmas! Yes, I decided to go outside the box for the time of year and try out Chockful of Cheer, a new stamp set and use the new DSP, Be of Good Cheer, too! I love the images in Chockful of Cheer, mittens and candy canes are right up my alley. The prints in the DSP are so fun (and small) and the one used today reminds me of old-fashion ribbon candy. Do you remember that?

Be of Good Cheer DSP has Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green Card (new In Color) and Very Vanilla colors in it. This card has Cherry Cobbler Card Stock for the base. Then it's layered with Gumball Green Card Stock and the Ribbon Candy DSP. Three of the Candy Cane images were stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink and then layered up on some Gumball Green Card Stock. A Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine bow finishes them off. The sentiment was stamped on Gumball Green Card Stock and then punched out with the Decorative Label Punch. The little embellisment on the label is another image in Chock Full of Cheer that was punched out with the 1/2" Circle Punch after stamping in Cherry Cobbler ink. I really debated ordering this set as I know that we still have the Holiday Mini Catalog coming up before we know it and I'm sure it will be chock full of great Christmas stamps. But I'm a sucker for Christmas and it found its way right onto my order and I'm glad it did! One more card for my Christmas stash!

Remember just 8 days left to ordering Retiring Product!

Forever with You

I have had a creative block lately and this is not the time for that there's too much to do! I made myself get a card completed yesterday before I would fix myself dinner. That's how bad it's gotten! I went to Forever with You, a new stamp set I had not yet inked up. After staring at it for a few minutes I got out the new Oval Accents Bigz Die and my Big Shot and got busy! I have to say once I started it went rather quickly!

Itsn't it cool how the images fit the die? It sure made my process a lot easier! The curved image was stamped in Midnight Muse ink on Very Vanilla Card Stock. Stampin' Write Markers in Cajun Craze, Midnight Muse, Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit and Pool Party were used to color the sentiment stamp. It was stamped and then trimmed out with Paper Snips. It was also stamped directly on the die in Cajun Craze ink. Next some Soft Suede 1 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon was pulled out and after playing with it for a while I decided to do the same treatment as I used on this card the other day. Two holes were punched on either end of the die using the 1/2" Circle Punch. The ribbon was run through one and between the sentiment (attached using Stampin' Dimensionals) and then tied on the other end. It still needed a little something so Soft Suede ink was sponged around the edges of the die and it was done! I kind of worked backwards on this and chose the piece of Comfort Cafe DSP after finishing the label. Starting with Cajun Craze Card Stock, layering with Midnight Muse Card Stock, the DSP and finally the label with was attached with more Stampin' Dimensionals. I think I'm going to put this card into hiding for our anniversary this year, and then pray I can remember where I put it! :)

I just have to share another quick picture. We've had baby Bluebirds at our feeders this year. Last year the Bluebirds came in the winter and left in the Spring. This year we've had them stay. Of course, I feed them mealworms everyday to entice them. I just had commented to my husband, who was home last week rebuilding our deck which is where the feeders are, that I hoped we would see the Bluebird fledglings. I came home from some errands Friday morning and he said there were baby Bluebirds on the deck so I ran up and got my camera. They look big, but we think it's fluff. The daddy was feeding them on our deck railing and then in the trees. They've been back everyday so far. This evening I looked out and the baby was on the feeder but still being fed by the mother.  The photos are not great because I was shooting through glass.

 

Now that I've side-tracked a bit I better go get a few more projects completed before Stamp Club tonight! See you tomorrow. 

Miss You

Hi everyone! What a whirlwind weekend!! We had three little boys on Friday and they kept us hopping, literally!! It continues to be my contention that this is why you have children when you're young...you need a ton of energy to keep up with kids! I consider myself pretty energetic but they still wear me out, in a good way! The almost 3 year old showed in shorts and tall frog boots ready to go look for bugs! Does that give you any indication of what went on!!  Thankfully "Poppie" was home this week, he's been rebuilding our deck, and he used the visit as an opportunity to quit working early and take the two older ones fishing and duck feeding! :) 

I've got Stamp Clubs and a Stamp-a-Stack this week so it's a busy week again! We'll all be ready for the long weekend this weekend! 

Today's card was made for a SAS last week. I know Have a Seat is retiring but I won't be able to part with it quite yet. I bought it with a specific purpose in mind and I haven't quite gotten it accomplished yet. In the meantime, I've come to love it for "missing you" or "thinking of you" cards.

There is a lot of retiring product on this card besides Have a Seat. To start this card one of the chairs was stamped in Poppy Parade Ink onto Whisper White Card Stock and then punched out with the Extra-Large Oval Punch. The card base is Night of Navy Card Stock as is the piece that was embossed using the Oval Frame Embossing Folder and the Big Shot Die Cutting Machine. The Night of Navy piece is punched in each corner with the retiring punch Ticket Corner. The sentiment is from Sweetly Said which is, you guessed, retiring too! It's stamped in Whisper White Craft Ink and then heat embossed with White Embossing Powder. I think it shows up so much better this way, especially on the dark paper. The little flower was punched in Poppy Parade using a punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack Punch with a Basic Rhinestone in the center. Before I send this one out I'm going to add another one (or two) of the chair images to the interior Whisper White Card Stock.

ONLY ten days left to order Retiring Products, including those listed above. Check out all those products here.

MDS Day - Back to Hiking!

Today's page is another one of our hikes! I am seriously trying to get all my pages done but I keep getting side-tracked! This page was done mostly using the Grad Party Download which is filled with very cool paper, embellishments and punches exclusive to MDS. I also used the flag punch and the Decorative Label Punch. Heather Summers' classes continue to teach and inspire me where MDS is concerned. 

Remember you can try MDS out FREE for 30 days. Click right here to start your trial now!!

Have a great weekend!

PPA 135 - A Sketch Challenge

Good morning! This week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge is aother of Margaret Moody's great sketches! I hope you'll visit the PPA and play along this week. Anyone is welcome to play along and you may use any products you have on hand! So let's see what you can come up with!

And this is what I came up with for the  sketch.

Betsy's Blossoms, a new stamp set for 2012-13, steals the show here! The DSP is also new from Floral District which has lots of fun prints. The center panel was stamped with Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight and Baja Breeze ink. Another Baja Breeze image was stamped separately and punched out with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch and adhered with some Stampin' Dimensionals. The bird was stamped twice in Rich Razzleberry & Daffodil Delight. They were trimmed out with Paper Snips. The Daffodil Delight wings went on the Rich Razzleberry bird body. The bird's eye is a Basic Rhinestone which was colored with a yellow Sharpie Marker. To finish it off a piece of new 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon was tied around the top panel. I'm not sure what kind of bird this is but I'm sure I'll have a flock around here before too long! :)

 

Inspired by Nature & a Sneak Peek

Last night I had an All Occasions Class using retiring products. This has caused me to put up some new goodies and pull out some old ones. Inspired by Nature (retiring) was one that I chose and here's what we did with it.

Inking up some Stampin' Write Markers is how we applied the color to this image. Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie and a hint of Soft Suede were used here. Lots of layering gives this card some good depth. Starting with Daffodil Delight Card Stock we added Lucky Limeade Card Stock and then some Beyond the Garden DSP (retiring) to get us going. The stamped layer was added to some Tangerine Tango Card Stock using Stampin' Dimensionals. These were used so we could add the Daffodil Delight  1 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and thread it between those two layers before tying it on the side in a knot. This card is perfect for just about any (ALL) occasion!

Be sure to check the Retiring Lists, just 15 days left, before these great products are gone for good!

Tomorrow is another Pals Paper Arts Challenge.  Here's a sneak peek of mine so be sure to stop back tomorrow and see the full card. See you then!

Papaya Collage

My bird feeders have been full of all sorts of birds this spring! It's a little comical that a few years ago our children all made fun of us for "bird-watching" and guess who now likes it just as much as we do! In fact, my daughter has been known to call and confer about what bird is at her feeder! So, needless to say, when I saw the new stamp set, Papaya Collage, I loved it! 

Isn't he a cute bird with his cute birthday hat? I think that will go for a sentiment. There are lots of sneak peeks from the new catalog on this card. All the images are from Papaya Collage. I love the frame, though it was a bit of work to fussy cut it out but well worth it.  And the cabbage rose is just yummy! This one is stamped inajun Cajun Craze ink after stamping off once. The bird himself is stamped in Midnight Muse ink and the branch in Summer Starfruit ink. Have I mentioned how awesome the new ink pads are? Well they are! Then there's the paper, the card base is Summer Starfruit Card Stock which was run through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The DSP is Comfort Cafe which has all sorts of great prints! It's topped with a piece of Midnight Muse Card Stock and embossed like the Summer Starfruit. A new Naturals Designer Button was tied around the Midnight Muse Card Stock with a piece of Pool Party Baker's Twine.

So, what do you think about all the new products? I think you will love them as much as I do! In the meantime, don't forget to purchase what you need from the retiring list by clicking here, before it's gone for good!

Right in Style

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day! It was raining here, (yay!) and I got a nap which was very unusual and much needed! I scrapbooked Friday night and Saturday with my friends. At one point I had not brought everything I needed for the remainder of my 2010 Christmas pictures so pulled out my computer and did some My Digital Studio work that was on my "to do" list! I didn't have to remember anything but my computer for that. 

I keep a file folder of inspiration pictures from magazines and catalogs. I used to keep the whole catalog or magazine but then I'd forget why I had it so I started pulling pages out. Friday morning, as I was cleaning up my craft room, I pulled my folder of pages out and this picture from a Pottery Barn Kids Catalog was the first thing in it. The green/yellow color in the diaper bag reminded me of the new Summer Starfruit 2012-14 In Color so I pulled it out to use. Soft Suede and Pool Party are the other two inspiration colors used. I wanted to do something pretty CAS and came up with this card. It's right in style!

Starting with a Soft Sude Card Stock base and building up with Pool Party Card Stock layer, which was run through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, this card went together quickly.  New DSP, Comfort Cafe, was cut with the Apothecary Accents Framelits (new). One end was trimmed off and layered on the Pool Party. The image, from the new stamp set Layered Labels, was stamped three times in Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit and Pool Party inks. I can't wait for you to try the new Stampin' Up! ink pads, they're awesome! The Soft Suede image was cut out using another Apothecary Accent Framelit (there are four of them), the Summer Starfruit image was punched out with the Large Oval Punch and the Pool Party image ws trimmed out with Paper Snips. The two Basic Pearls were colored with a brown Sharpie Marker. Soft Suede 1 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retiring and I'll miss it) was tied around the Pool Party layer. Then the ribbon was slipped off the layer, turned over and put back on so only the knot, with no tails, shows. I think this card would be appropriate for guys or girls. What do you think?