Better late than never…

As with many things, I have been on the fence about converting my scrapbooking from hand-prepared to digital. Because of this lack of decision, my 2009 scrapbook has not even been started yet (I didn’t want to do it all and then decide I wanted to do it digitially over). As per my recent decision, I have decided to give the digital scrapbooking a try. I thought I would start with the cover page of my 2009 scrapbook; what do you think of it? I am anxious to get the rest of my pages completed before this year is completed (because I haven't done any of 2010 yet either...ugh, I am so behind).

I am interested to know what you think about digital scrapbooking versus hand-prepared scrapbooking. Let me know.

What a Hoot

I have a confession to make: I have not always been a big fan of the new clear treat cups which have been used lately in various projects. It is not that I don’t think that they are fun, it is just that I never saw them used in a way which I thought was very “out of the box” so to speak…until now. I have to say, the owl idea was a bit hard to picture, but thanks to the foresight of Falisha, we made it happen. What an adorable party favor at a baby shower…a pregnant owl. I still cannot believe how adorable they ended up being… I LOVE THEM! It is amazing to me how a little time, a variety of punches, Reece’s Pieces, and great company can create something so fantastic. What a great idea Falisha (oh, and thanks again for letting me keep one for myself).

Recipe: Soft Suede, Glossy White, Confetti Ivory, Pumpkin Pie, and Bordering Blue cardstock, Flower Trio, ¼” ¾” 1¾” 2¼” circles, and five-point flower punches, round sweet treats cup, Reece’s Pieces, Soft Suede classic ink, and lots of laughter.

Digital: With and Without

For my card club swap, the theme was Sympathy. Needless to say, I was not super excited about making this card for two reasons: first, who wants to think about sympathy and second, I didn’t have any sympathy-type stamps. What I did have was Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio program. I remember seeing this tree – which I love, but never purchased the stamp – and thought it would be great.

My idea was to use the tree image and print it out on my CraftRobo – if you don’t remember how much I absolutely love this machine, then give me a call and I will tell you all about it – and use the negative space for the card. Well, I did, then added a sentiment and some ribbon; I thought it was ok…I didn’t really like how all the little corners of the tree kept popping up (I wanted there to be some depth, but a consistent depth…not fly-aways). Then it hit me, “I have to do this nine more times for the swap.” That is when I really got discouraged.

MDS to the rescue! Instead of utilizing the image from the program, I should use the entire program to create the card…duh!!! I have to admit, I was a little nervous (I mean, I never used it before – aside from the time my mother gave me a crash course, but she was sitting there the whole time – and I would be giving them to members of the card club for review…who wouldn’t be a little freaked out?) to say the least.

As with most things, slow and steady wins the race proved true in this case. I went through several versions of this, but finally settled on my favorite. Seeing the two side-by-side, I think the digital card is a pretty fair translation (better in some cases) of my original idea. Looking back (and after a few suggestions form my club members), there are a few things I would do differently, but that is a story for another time.

I am looking forward to getting to know the MDS program and all the ways it works.

Hand-made Recipe: Basic Black, Whisper White, and Mellow Moss cardstock, black grosgrain ribbon, dimensional spots, mini glue dots, MDS tree image, CraftRobo, corner rounder punch, and lots of time.

MDS Recipe: MDS program, Basic Black, Mellow Moss, and Whisper White cardstock, and corner rounder punch.

To Clear or Not To Clear…that is the question

Ok, I have been on the fence about this for a while. As you should know by now, I am a big fan/user of Stampin’ Up! products. They have begun to offer their line of stamp products in a new clear mounted option in addition to their wood mounted option. My dilemma: to stick with wood or to convert over to clear. This is a tough decision…one I don’t really want to have to make, but suppose I really should. I had tried the new clear mounted stamps at classes before, but didn’t really see the big difference…until now!

At stamp club we created this card using the new clear mounted stamps and it became so clear (ha ha…not pun intended) to me that they were the way to go. I love this card and the flower motif we were able to use; I love the way the two layers purposefully do not align. There really isn’t a specific reason I decided to make the switch to clear, but after I finished the card I thought, “Ok…I am ready to change…I am ready to stop being stubborn and set in my ways and make a change.”

Let me know what you think about clear mounted stamps…I am curious to know.

New Beginnings…

Can you believe it is already June? Wow, June 1st…the first of June….

I thought that, with it being the first of June, I would share with you one of my “firsts.” A friend of mine recently had a baby girl and (for the first time) I volunteered to make her baby announcements. I had never made/designed a baby announcement before nor had I made more than a few of the same card before, so I dove in head first not knowing what lay before me.

With my friend’s blessing, I am glad that I am able to share these with you (how awkward would that have been…?). All I knew was that she just had a baby girl named Sydney (and the particulars or course) and that I wanted the announcement to coordinate with the invite and thank you card from her shower:

Black, purple, and pink…I knew pretty quickly that this was going to be a challenge. Lucky for me I had an idea which had been stewing in my mind for some time: a waterfall card. Do you remember when I posted a few cards and had that idea? (Click here to read about my epiphany) Well, I knew it would be a perfect way to get the necessary information across and still maintain the “cute” factor. A little planning and not so little time later, the product was complete:

I love the way it came together. Even now, months later, I still love it. I know that it took some time, but while I was doing it I just kept thinking about my friend, her family, and her new daughter and how much I knew they would also love it…that helped the process move along. I am so happy that she trusted me enough to make these for her; she is amazing!