Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas! I hope you are able to spend this day with loved ones. Today I want to share with you the card I sent out this year. I took the idea for the inside from the Catalog this year on page 31.  When I think of the word JOY I think of a song we used to sing in Sunday School as a child.  It was "Jesus, and others, and You what a wonderful way to spell JOY.  Jesus & others and you in the life of each girl and each boy. J is for Jesus for He has first place, O is for others we meet face to face. Y is for you in whatever you do.  Put yourself 3rd and spell. JOY."  So that is where I took the concept from the catalog.  I hope you have the JOY I sing about this Christmas in your life.

 

I had my family cranking away on the Big Shot this year.  My poor  Merry Deatils Sizzlits Die must have gone through over 1000 times.  It does look pretty rough but still works great. I know after making 100 of these, next years cards may end up being very very simple. ;)  I ran the 12" X 5.5" piece through the printer to get everything I wanted on the 4th panel first. Then I put my top border on and scored and folded.  I went through a few bottles of Tombow Multipurpose glue. ;)

Card Details Outside:

Stamps: Sanded Background, En Francias Background, Medallion Background

Paper: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Whisper White

Ink: Ruby Red, Always Artichoke

Accessories: Big Shot, Movers & Shapers Die, Tag Corner Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Crop-a- Dile (for center hole in tag re-enforcer), Merry Details Sizzlits Die, Silver Elastic Cord, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch

Card Details Inside:

Stamps: Season Of Simple Grace

Paper: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Whisper Whit, Ruby Red

Ink: Always Artichoke

Accessories: Big Shot, Scallop Edge Punch, Merry Details Sizzlits Die, 3/4" & 1" Circle Punch, Serif Essentials Alphabe Die, Perfect Details Texturz Plate, Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate, Petals-a-Plenty Impressions Folder

Pop up Gift Card

Sorry that I missed MDS Monday this week.  My son surprised me and got to come home from college when he was not going to make it.  So I spent some quality time with him.  Today I HAD to make a card for a gift card that I have to deliver yet today.

Here is the card closed.

This is going to the gentleman who gives my son his special trombone lessons.  He is an ice cream addict so we got him a gift card so he can stock up.  I have wanted to make one of these cones for so long so this card gave me the chance.

This was soooo fun to make.  I dusted a Whisper White Craft sponge across the raised Thanks.  I sponged around the outside of the Very Vanilla with the Bashful Blue.  The ice cream and punched snow flakes where sprayed with Champagne Mist.

Card Details:

Stamps: Season Of Friendship

Paper: Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Ink: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Accessories:Scallop Circle Punch, Round Tab Punch, 3/4", 1" & 1-1/4" Circle Punches, Thanks Embosslit Die, Big Shot, Movers & Shapers, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Wide Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder

Embossed Butterfly

I had some problems finding good light today to take this picture.  I could not get the colors right, I wanted to show the shimmer spray on the butterfly, plus I wanted you to be able to see the embossed on the butterfly...Oh well, I hope you can imagine how this card looks in real life.  It is so pretty I just may never give this one away :). Not much energy today but the surgery went well and the pain is getting better.  Off to take another nap.  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: En Francais

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder, Big Shot, Top Note Die, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Scallop trim Border Punch, Champagne Shimmer Spray

MDS Christmas Picture

Sorry no tutorial today. I more than likely will be heading into the operating room when this posts. My gallbladder has decided that 15 years of attacks are enough and they have decided it has to come out. So I am sharing with you today the picture that I put together in My Digital Studio to send out with our Christmas cards. These are the 4 joys I have left at home (2 have flown the coop). My 14 yr old loves taking pictures and took some great ones of his siblings for me to include in this card. So hopefully I will be back on Wednesday to post some more. If you have any questions about anything in MDS post them in the comment section and I will get to them when I return.

Birthday Roses

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Well, we received just over a foot of snow today so I did not have to run my kids anywhere and had the opportunity to sit down and do the Sketch Challenge. Of course I had to do a bright and cheery card since it is dark and gloomy outside. Plus I got the chance to use some of my new items coming up in the mini that will be out in January ;). I had to buy these 2 dies just so I could put the roses in the basket. Well I hope where ever you are that you stay dry and warm!

Stamps: Medallion Background, Think Happy Thoughts, Sanded Background

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Rose Red, Garden Green, Creamy Camel

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon,

Techniques: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Beary Hoppy Die, Beary Lovely Die, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Circle Punches, Mat Pack for Piercing, Perfect Polka Dots Impression Folder

MDS Monday

Today I am going to go over a quick but easy concept of grouping. I love this option when I have added a few small elements and do not want to move each and every one one at a time.

So I have started with a stamped flower from the Always set. I have already put in the background paper and added a stitched stem. I would love to color this flower in so off we go....

I have now taken the oval punch and shrunk it down to fit the inside of a petal. After I changed the color then I then copied and pasted each one and placed it to fit over each one.

Now that I have them where I want them I DO NOT want them to move. So I have clicked each one while holding down the ctrl key. Once I had them all clicked I go to the navigation bar/arrange and choose group.

This will lock them all together. Now I just need to either go up to the layer in the navigation or hold down the shift + Ctrl button and click the arrow button down until it is how I want. it.

Now that I have the oval petal group behind the flower outline I am going to once again hold down the Ctrl button and add the flower outline to the grouping.

So now I can freely move the created colored flower around and not have to worry about all of the little pieces.

I have added a few more embellishments including some oval petals for my flower.


I hope this has given you something new to try on your MDS. Let's see what I can come up with next week! If you have any requests please post them here!

Noel

The last and final side to the blocks. I hope you have enjoyed all of the fun things as much as I have had designing and making them. I once again sprayed the Snowflake with the Shimmer Paint/Rubbing Alcohol mixture. They needed just a bit of sparkle. I do not think you can tell but I did run the designer paper behind the O through the big shot with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate. The E was the only thing on all of the sides that I did nothing too. I think with the business of the paper, it was enough.

Stamps: None

Paper: Merry Moments DSP, Christmas Cocoa DSP, Real Red, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Whisper White,

Ink:None

Accessories: Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Die, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Sleigh Bells Ribbon, Merry Details Die, Square Ice Rhinestone Brad

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Love

So we are on to the 3rd side of my blocks. These are so fun to make and I can see many things to use them for. My daughter wants me to make one for her room with her name on it. I love the flocked paper I used underneath the L. I hated to cut it up, but I just needed to use it. The star was punched first with the small star and then with the large star. I cut a slit to slip it around the O. I love the library clips but they do not mail well, so I thought they would make a great addition to a craft, the same goes with the fluffier corduroy buttons. It is hard to see but I did also do some piercing on the corners of the E.

Stamps: None

Paper: Merry Moments DSP, Christmas Cocoa DSP,Real Red, Garden Green Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Vellum

Ink: None

Accessories: Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Die, Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Sleigh Bells Ribbon, Heart from BAB Beary Girl Die, Large Star Punch, Small Star Punch, Filigree Designer Brad, Library Clip, Spiral Punch, Chocolate Chip Corduroy Button, Mat Pack for Piercing

MDS Monday Double Drop Shading

Non-MDS related but boy do I love the Snipping tool feature on Windows 7. It sure makes the screen capture option old news. On to MDS.

So today I am going to show you how I make the Drop Shadow feature do double duty. I know when I make a card and put it up on dimensionals or Pop up glue dots, it is up there and seems to be all the way around so that is what I was striving for here.

Here is the card I am starting out with.



Now I have clicked on the punch behind the image and went to the Drop Shadow button.

This little box will pop up with all of your options. You can adjust how heavy you want the shadow and how deep you want it. You can even change the color of the shadow, for this card I will be leaving it black.

As you can tell the shadow is on the right and the bottom of the punch.

With my punch still clicked I am going to go up to the toolbar and first click the double paper which will copy what I have clicked. Next I will go to the straight clip board which will paste the image I just copied exactly on top.

As you can see my pasted copy is on top but the shadow is still all on the left and on the bottom. So I will need to take care of that.

I have opened the drop Shadow box of the new pasted punch. Can you see that where the arrow is pointing is telling me the offset of both the punches. I am going to need to change that to the complete opposite.

You can either grab the shadow and drag and drop it. Since I am going for a specific number and not just what looks good I am going to use my arrow keys to change it. So I just went for 5/5 to -5/-5. As you can see the shadow for the new punch is on the top and on the right,

Here is the punch with a shadow all the way around, but I think I would like the image on the top...

Back to the toolbar to find the Change Object Layer Button. I am going to choose the Send to Back option.

So now I have my card finished with 2 punches exactly on top/bottom and the shadow all the way around the element. I think this makes it look like it is standing right off of the card.

I hope this has given you something new to try on your MDS. Let's see what I can come up with next week! If you have any requests please post them here!

Joy

Here is the second side of the blocks I have been working on. The thing that brings the most joy in my life is Jesus. So I thought it fitting for this image to be included to finish of this side. The backing of the J was ran through an embossing folder and then I sponged some Very Vanilla Craft ink over the tops of the poinsettias. The manger scene is embossed and the star is on half of a dimensional. I sponged around the edges of the flowers. I actually had a green thumb, and the only way I could get one... The berries on the holly were punched out by the crop-a-dile (gotta use what I've got :) )

Stamps:Season of Simple Grace

Paper: Merry Moments DSP, Real Red, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Summer Sun

Ink: Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip Craft, Garden Green

Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Die, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Sleigh Bells Ribbon, Merry Details Die, 5/16" Chocolate Chip Brad, Eyelet Border Punch, Boho Blossom Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Snow

I have been busy working on some Christmas orders so not too many cards have been made. I have to make 15 of these so not much else to post for awhile. I will post each side on different days, so keep watching! I just love these fun blocks. I asked my Dad if he could cut me some 3.5" x 3.5" blocks for a craft project (DH is overloaded right now). Dad went above and beyond. He cut them, sanded, and round all of the corners. I had intended to paint them but they were just too nice so I stained them instead and I am so glad that I did.

The SNOW is sprayed with the Shimmer Paint mixed with Rubbing Alcohol. It adds just a slight sparkle. I could spray everything with this!

Stamps: None

Paper: Merry Moments DSP, Real Red, Old Olive, Garden Green Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Ink:None

Accessories: Jumbo Grommet, Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Die, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Sleigh Bells Ribbon, Merry Details Die, 5/16" Chocolate Chip Brad, Scallop Edge Punch

MDS Monday Offset Stamping

One of the things I love to do in MDS is offset stamping. So for those of you not familiar with this I am going to step you through it. Remember the pictures can be clicked on and will open in a new window to view larger.

First I have created the card just how I want it. I have added the background and the embellishments that I want. I have also added the stamped image that I want and put it in one of the colors that I intend to use.

The next thing I need to do is click on the image that I want to offset. Next I am going to go to the top and click the 2nd image in the 2nd box. It is the copy button and will copy what I have chosen.

Then I am going to move over 2 buttons and choose to paste the image exactly right on top of the image I have just copied. So I will have 2 of the same exact items in the same exact place.

The next thing I need to do is change my top item to a new color. There is no need to click on the item because when you paste it, it will automatically switch to the new item. So I will click on my change color options and this item I want to make Chocolate Chip to go with my embellishments. At this point I changed the pasted item to the color that I am going to want on the bottom.

Now you cannot see but I have 2 stamped trees. The bottom one is Kiwi Kiss and the top one is Chocolate Chip. It is easier to change the pasted one to be the color you want on the bottom because once it is on the bottom it is impossible to grab it again to move it. Now I am going to click on the Layering button and choose Send Backward. How many times you click it will depend on how many items you put on the page between your two stamped images. So if you stamped you first tree and then added the 3 brads and the ribbon you are going to have to move the new pasted tree back 5 times in order for it to be behind the tree. Once you get the pasted image behind the other image, do not click anywhere (or you will have to move you top image backwards to be able to get a hold of your bottom image again) Now just use your arrow keys left, right, up or down to do you offsetting.

Once you get the offset degree that you want you are all set. This is one of the perks in digital that you cannot do in real paper/ink card making. If I were to offset the Kiwi Kiss over top of the Chocolate Chip on a regular card the Chocolate Chip would show through. Here it just gives a nice shadow effect.

I hope this has given you something new to try on your MDS. Let's see what I can come up with next week! If you have any requests please post them here!