UP ALL NIGHT STAMPER

Brand New My Digital Studio Releases!

Iiiiiit's Tuesday and that means MORE brand new My Digital Studio releases to add to your collection!  Check them out here

Download MDS_Downloads_-_Sept_13

And here's a SUPER fast little mini page that I pulled together in about three minutes.  It's not very fancy but I DIE when I look at that lil bebe pee-gee face!

Seriously, to quite Rachel Zoe, "I DIE!" That's one of the fun things about My Digital Studio - because I am not "using up" any supplies, I can scrapbook pictures like this to my heart's content and not waste anything and practice my digital papercrafting skills and look at that cute lil bebe pee-gee!

Brand New My Digital Studio Releases!

It's Tuesday so that means there are new releases from Stampin' Up! for My Digital Studio!  You can see them by clicking here

Download MDS_Downloads_-_Sept_6

There are some excellent Halloween additions, a Thanksgiving set that I can picture as my tablescape this year as well as a beautiful autumn package and a COOL alphabet!  I LOVE that I can have something new to work with almost instantly and find myself using My Digital Studio more and more!

Here's a mini scrapbook page I made of my guy's first day of high school. 

 

I make these pages in greeting card size as well as whatever full size album I am doing so I can show them off in the frames I have to show my special cards.  I love that I have mini pages all ready to go and if I need to send something to one of Larry's Aunts or Grandmas, I can slip one of these pages into a card and send it off in a jiff.

One cool tip shown in this page is to have your children stand in the same spot every year on their first day of school.  This way you can watch their environments change right along with them!  We have been taking Larry's picture on our fieldstone steps leading to the side yard since his first day of PRESCHOOL!  So we can't move until he graduates from college!  Oh Lord, what if he wants to go to law school?  I will NEVER get my cottage on the sea!

I have My Digital Studio on my laptop as well as my home computer expressly so I can show it to you anywhere.  If you want to see it for yourself - and maybe even play with it for a bit - let me know and we can meet up at Starbuck's or Dunkin's for a cup of coffee and you can check it out!

New Releases for My Digital Studio

Did you know that every Tuesday - EVERY Tuesday - Stampin' Up! releases new digital elements for My Digital Studio?  Everything from stamp sets to designer papers to punches to entire kits, every Tuesday is like a mini-holiday for those of us who are My Digital Studio fans. You can see today's releases here.

My Digital Studio is NOT a digital scrapbooking program!  It can be used for digital scrapbooking, but it's so much more than just a scrapbooking program.  You can make cards, swatch books, postcards, tags, wall art, artist trading cards, digital elements for websites, blogs, banners, and so much more!  It's incredible easy to use - it's very intuitive - and it's very cost effective. Once you have created your project you can send it to the print specialists through Stampin' Up! or even print it out at home. 

Some people do all digital papercrafting, some people do none, but more and more people are starting to do what is called "hybrid" work where they create most of a project digitally and then add "real" embellishments after printing.  I love this look and have done several projects like this.  So starting today every Tuesday I will be showing a project in which I have used My Digital Studio.  Some will be all digital and some will be hybrid but they will ALL show you just how wonderful and rich this program is.

In the meantime here's a project that I put together in about 15 minutes. As you may know, Mum and Dad celebrated their 50th Anniversary last week and this weekend we are having QUITE the party to celebrate. Mum wanted a quick little something that was just a bit more dressed up than just your ordinary email. So I made this

 
and sent it to Mum as a jpeg which she was then able to forward on to our family members.  Now even though this party is JUST us kids and the grandkids, I think this invite lends a little formality to the occasion.

You can learn more about My Digital Studio here and, as always, through me.  I have installed My Digital Studio on my laptop so I can bring it right to your door so you can see it in action first hand if you want to check it out before buying it.You also always have the option of purchasing elements from My Digital Studio to use in OTHER photo editing programs, like Photoshop Elements, if you want all the great images, colors and designs from Stampin' Up! but already have a program you love to use.

Have you ever tried digital papercrafting?  Does it sound like something you could get into?  Would you like to check it out sometime?  Give me a call and we can meet - My Digital Studio and Starbucks are a fabulous pairing! - and you can play and see how great it is for yourself!

Today Is Book Lovers Day!

Now before I talk about my favorite books of all time can you tell me what this book

has to do with THIS BOOK?

How CUTE is THAT?  I used the fabulous Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' Kit from the Summer Mini and nothing else but some Multipurpose Liquid Glue and that little $1.00 board book from the Target dollar spot. And so easy it was almost ridiculous.  I had plenty of product left over from the Simply Scrappin' Kit to make another entire mini scrapbook AND have some leftover to make a generous handful of cards. Those Simply Scrappin' Kits go so far!

Here are some more pictures of the little book. 

This entire project took me less than an hour and I know I will be doing more of these in the future.  They are perfect for smaller kids, as gifts or when you want a scrapbook that can hold up to a lot of perusal!

The Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' Kit is only available through August 31st and when it's gone, it's gone - it will never be offered again.  I love that it coordinates with  Fabulous Florets - one of my favorite sets - so if I want to extend the usefulness of any of the self adhesive cardstock die cuts from the kit with my stamps and Beyond The Garden Designer Series Paper I will be able to make even more cute projects.

To die for, no?

Supply List
Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' Kit, Item #122346
Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Item #110755

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My favorite books of all time:

Mystery of the Witch's Bridge by Barbee Oliver Carleton
Barbee Carleton was my second grade teacher at Brookwood School where my grandfather also taught.  By the time I had arrived at Brookwood I had already been to several schools (my dad was an executive with IT&T which everyone said stood for "I Took a Transfer") and Mrs. Carleton recognized that I was a little socially anxious - I know, me, unsocial, but it happened - and she really took me under her wing.  She was always kind and patient and was an outstanding teacher.  I will never forget her and am so happy to be able to hear her "voice" in her books.  I love this book in particular because we spent time on the same waters on which this story was based and I remember as a kid always keeping my eyes peeled for "Mrs. Carleton's witch's bridge"!  I reread this book about once every two years just for the feelings it invokes in me.

South of Broad by Pat Conroy
I LOVE Pat Conroy's books, even the ones that delve into the ugly side of people - well, I guess almost all his books do that. But there's something about his southern gentility and his unbelievable artistry with words that makes even the most painful observation something worth exploring.  South of Broad was so masterfully written that you just don't see what's building until the very end and the realization is both so redeeming and so incriminating that you aren't sure how to feel first. This book is such a keeper that I actually bought a second copy to loan people because I want to always keep the one I read.  Check out his cookbook sometime, too; it's written almost more as a love letter to the meals he's had and the people he's had them with.

The Egyptian Novels Series by Wilbur Smith
DO NOT pick up these books if you have anywhere to go before you can finish each one.  You will not be able to put them down.  Part history, part mystery, loads of action and intrigue and rich with explanations and descriptions of Egyptian life in the time of the great Pharaohs these books define "escape".  Another set that won't ever leave my library!

Anything by Enid Blyton
My dad is British and when I was young - and I read early much to the delight of my bibliophile elders! - my grandparents would send me Enid Blyton books from England. The fact that they were from ENGLAND made them all that much more special and I marveled at the trouble her characters would get in and out of.  These books can be very hard to find but if you do come across any of the Junior Story Books, snatch them up!  I have my hardcover collection and I swear sometimes when I walk by their shelf I can hear the characters inside, laughing and whooping and stirring up trouble but always coming to that happy conclusion!

Food Lover's Companion by Sharon Herbst
This is like a mini encylopedia for people who love food, love to cook, wish they COULD cook, are curious about terms and ingredients.......  With over 6,000 entries it's full of interesting and informative facts about food.  I love this book because I love having so much useful information available in one compact package.

Now I could FILL this server with lists of books I have loved.  Asking me to pick just a few is like asking me to pick my favorite niece or nephew!  In our family, books are as essential as oxygen and water and if you have a book at hand, you can't ever get bored or lonely.

What are YOUR favorite books?

What's YOUR Favorite Combination?

How about some Crumb Cake brushed with Early Espresso with a little Chocolate Chip?  Or Pumpkin Pie topped with Peach Parfait kissed with just a dash of Perfect Plum?  Or maybe some Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo side by side atop a slice of Pear Pizzazz?

Wait, are we talking DESSERT????  It may sound like it but these are all gorgeous colors from the Stampin' Up! color families. See, Stampin' Up! has their colors organized into families of colors that coordinate beautifully not just with each other, but across "party lines". Remember "Garanimals"?  Well choosing colors for projects using Stampin' Up! colors is as easy as getting dressed with Garanimals!

And while colors in each color family are practically foolproof with one another, Stampin' Up! has carefully designed each and every color such that it can be used with colors outside its own family.  How many times have you tried to mix a "Cool" with a "Hot" or a "Happy" with a "Calm" and found that it just won't happen?  You won't have that issue with Stampin' Up!'s colors!

Want to know one of my favorite tools from Stampin' Up!?  It's the most fabulous Color Coach.  This handy tool contains swatches of samples of every single color - even all the In-Colors - on a post so you can fan out the samples to create endless color combinations without sacrificing sheets of cardstock. Plus it has suggestions on each swatch to get your started. I bring it with me sometimes when I am out and about so I can spot things that will work in my stampin' room, to wear, to alter as a project - even to pick paint colors!

So what's YOUR favorite color combination?  Do you love the always elegant Whisper White, Basic Black and Real Red?  Do you love the tropical flavor of Pacific Point, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise?  Are you soothed by Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue?  Share your favorite combination in the comments below and I will draw names and send a thank you card to YOU in YOUR favorite combo!