Category Archives: Digital stamping with My Digital Studio

Olympic Opening ceremony – Olympic Rings in My Digital Studio

Posted on July 28, 2012 | 2 comments

Wow, I am so excited that the Olympics have started that after watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony, I decided to make my own version of the Olympic rings in My Digital Studio!  I used a nifty trick, which I will describe below.

Olympic rings, my simple MDS version

Olympic rings, my simple MDS version

You may have figured that I made the rings using circle punch shapes, and you are correct!  However, the tricky part comes in because they are overlapping!  Here’s my Step-by-step directions:

Step A)  Make 5 circles using the circle punch, resize and align correctly on the page.  I used Pacific Point, YoYo Yellow, Basic Black, Garden Green and Real Red for my basic circle punch shapes.

Olympic rings, Step A: basic colors

Olympic rings, Step A: basic colors

Step B) I added more circle shapes in a smaller size for the center of the rings.

Olympic rings, Step B: with white centers

Olympic rings, Step B: with white centers

Step C)  Well, the previous step looks basically OK, but we know that you can see the bottom rings through the centers of the top rings… so here’s where I use a fun trick to make the Olympic rings in My Digital Studio!  First, I made a duplicate copy of the page and deleted all but the bottom two rings.  Then I exported it as a JPEG so that I would be able to use it as a picture.

Olympic rings, Step C: bottom pair

Olympic rings, Step C: bottom pair - exported as JPEG

Step D) Now I did a couple steps to make a new center for the top black ring, so that it would look like the bottom yellow and green rings were showing through.

  • I added a photo box to the page and resized it to be the same width as the center white circles
  • I clicked on Photo Shape to turn it into a circle
  • Now I filled it with the JPEG of the bottom pair of rings
  • Zoomed in & out so that the size of the rings matches the originals
  • Went into Crop to adjust which piece of the JPEG picture I was grabbing in the ring (I added a thin black border so you could see the circle shape)
Olympic rings, Step D: center of top ring

Olympic rings, Step D: filling photo box with JPEG to form center of top ring

Step E) I added the circle photo to the original image, aligning it so that it looks like the yellow and green rings from the bottom row are showing through the center of the top black ring!

Olympic rings, Step E: putting circle photo onto center of top ring

Olympic rings, Step E: putting circle photo onto center of top ring

Step F) I did the same thing with the center circles for the blue and red rings and added them into place on the picture.

Olympic rings, my simple MDS version

Olympic rings, my simple MDS version

Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?  I was pretty happy with the results, and I think this is a trick that can be used in lots of other places as well.  For example, I could make a tennis ball as a graphic to add to one of my hubby’s tennis tournament pages!

But there’s one more thing that I forgot to take into account: in the actual Olympic rings, all of the rings are INTERLOCKING!  Aargh!

Olympic rings overlapping

Olympic rings overlapping

But, no need to worry… I am pretty sure I know a way to make that work!  However, I am going to wait just a few more days until the new version of MDS 2+ is released, because one of the wonderful new features is that we can apply different colors to a stamped image… and I think I have a plan!

I had a ball doing this.  If you are also interested in having fun with this great software, get ready to order it on August 1!  And if you already have MDS Express or MDS, you can simply order the upgrade for $19.95 to get all the cool new features that are coming out.  And you can make your own version of the Olympic Rings in My Digital Studio to honor the Olympic Opening Ceremony!

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MDS 2+ wait no more!

Posted on July 24, 2012 | Comments Off on MDS 2+ wait no more!

Do the Happy Dance for the August 1 release of MDS 2+, the new version of My Digital Studio!  We knew it was coming, but not until later in the year… but Stampin’ Up! has made me a happy scrapper by announcing that it will be available for download on August 1.  Watch what Sara Douglass has to tell us about some of the upcoming changes in this video from Stampin’ Up!!

With this new My Digital Studio software you’ll be able to:

  • Design in spreads
  • Create with custom canvas sizes
  • Add more than one color to a single stamp image
  • Resize vector stamp images while keeping them crisp
  • See color combination suggestions
  • And much more!

If you have not yet purchased this wonderful program, now is a great time to jump in.  And if you already have it, you can get an upgrade!

I can’t wait until August 1 to jump into MDS 2+, the new version of My Digital Software!

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Sunday Journal – Journaling without any actual pictures Post #3: song lyrics

Posted on July 15, 2012 | Comments Off on Sunday Journal – Journaling without any actual pictures Post #3: song lyrics

Journaling without any actual pictures Post #3: song lyrics

I have been posting in this month’s Sunday Journal scrapbook journalingSunday Journal weekly series about how to make your journaling the center of a scrapbook page when you don’t have any pictures to help tell the story.  And this week I’d like to share another page and another way of doing this: by using album or song lyrics, and in this case, the iconic album cover from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

Dark Side of the Moon journaling page

Dark Side of the Moon journaling page

This was an album that my friends and I loved during our freshman year in college – and ever since.  We would read the album cover.  Look at the pictures.  Read the words.  We would play it over and over again – really just side one – until the residents in the neighboring dorm rooms would complain!  Can’t you play something else?

It wasn’t just that it was great music, though – when you spend that much time with an album, you really get to know the words and actually think about them.  This song really rang true with me – it’s talking about how your life can just slip by day by day if you don’t actually engage yourself in your life.  And, I knew that while this probably happens to everyone to a certain extent, I didn’t want that to be my final thoughts at the end of my days.

So in making this page, I didn’t have any pictures of us sitting around in college.  And how do you show a picture of yourself reflecting on your life?

I decided to use the iconic album cover from Dark Side of the Moon, along with the actual song lyrics, as a reference point for my reflection journaling.  I used the pyramid image as the divider between the lyrics and my reflection.  And while I kept the lyrics a bit smaller and in white, I highlighted a few lines of the song in red that I refer to in my journaling – which I colored in bright yellow.  The fun thing is that I used the color picker tool in My Digital Studio to select these red and yellow colors from the rainbow on the album cover picture!

Digital album cover image courtesy of flaxmanrecords.com

So, can you think of a case where you could use album lyrics to support some journaling without any actual pictures?

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MDS Digital Downloads for July 10, 2012

Posted on July 11, 2012 | Comments Off on MDS Digital Downloads for July 10, 2012

Wow, there are some great MDS digital downloads for July 10, 2012 – take a look below!

My Digital Studio digital downloads for July 10, 2012

My Digital Studio digital downloads for July 10, 2012

I am particularly excited to see a new Christmas item coming through already – remember Crazy Eddie’s Christmas in July sales slogan?  For those who send them out, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas cards!

If you’d like to see bigger pictures, or look at what is included in each item check out my online store for the latest MDS digital downloads for July 10, 2012!

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Pick your favorite red for your July Birthstone, Ruby!

Posted on July 10, 2012 | Comments Off on Pick your favorite red for your July Birthstone, Ruby!

Let’s celebrate the July birthstone: Ruby!  Did you know that folklore says that a ruby will turn darker in the hands of its rightful owner when danger is near?  (thanks to John Lindell at eHow.com for that “gem”!).

Rubies get their red color from the element chromium, and there are many different colors and hues of red rubies… almost as many as there are red colors in the Stampin’ Up! color repertoire!  Check below to see the red colors from My Digital Studio:

July birthstone - Ruby

Hey July birthday - which red would you prefer for your ruby?

And these are only the red colors – there are a bunch of pink and orange tinted colors in the standard colors as well.

Did you know you can actually get virtually any color using my Digital Studio?  You can supply the hex value for the color or select any color from the color wheel (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_colors for more information about hex notation for colors!).  And my favorite trick in My Digital Studio is to use the Color Picker to match the color of an object, such as a punch or text, to another color anywhere on the same layout page!  You can see how I did that on the previous post from the Sunday Journal.

So, feel free to pick your favorite red color for your ruby, July birthday friends, because there is one more neat feature about My Digital Studio: once a color has been made available in the program, it will always be available!  So those of us who love a color combination from before Stamin’ Up’s color renovation (how about Mellow Moss and Sage Shadow?)… we will always have them in the program!  That includes all the great In Colors as well.

If you haven’t tried My Digital Studio yet, why not download the free 30 day trial of My Digital Studio Express?

So, pick your favorite red for your July Birthstone, Ruby!

 

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Color Coach makes you a star!

Posted on June 4, 2012 | Comments Off on Color Coach makes you a star!

I posted about all of the new Stampin’ Up! 2012-2014 In Colors last week, and I mentioned that I was going to tell you about the Color Coach; what I really want to do is tell you how the Color Coach makes you a star!

Do you find yourself using the same basic color combinations, perhaps because it’s scary or too much work to try something new?  Color Coach to the rescue!

120148 Color Coach English

120148 Color Coach English

What on earth is it, you ask?!  It’s a series of cards put together on a rivet, like one of the My Digital Studio swatchbooks that you can have professionally printed by Stampin’ Up!  Each card has two sides:

  1. One of the great Stampin’ Up! colors is on one side, so that you can hold it up to your paper project and see how the color will look – without having to go find a piece of card stock that color.  Very convenient!
  2. The other side has two sets of color combinations: a Creative Combination, showing 2 colors that work creatively with the color you are considering using, and the Sweet Set, a slightly different combination of colors that will also look great together but with a sweet and pretty type of style.

Using the color combinations that are suggested by the cards can open your eyes to a new look or style, and get you out of a rut you may have fallen into on your projects – without noticing!

The Color Coach makes you a star in the digital world as well!  I find it is easier to try new color combos using My Digital Studio than in traditional paper crafting.  Let’s face it, if you don’t like the colors together, just hit the “Undo” button!  But there are so many possible combinations that I also turn to the Color Coach just for a jumpstart of some suggestions.  And hey, if I don’t like them on the project – UNDO!!

Another really cool thing about the Color Coach is that there are add-on packs of cards for each new year’s In Colors.  They are worth having, to learn how the new colors fit into our existing color palette.  And don’t forget – the In Colors are around for a full two years – and they will NEVER go away in My Digital Studio!

124886 Color Coach - 2011 In Color Cards - English

124886 Color Coach - 2011 In Color Cards - English

 

126890 2012 In Color Color Coach Cards English

126890 2012 In Color Color Coach Cards English

You can get your Color Coach (121046) by visiting my online store, and be sure to add in your 2011-13 In Color Cards (124886) and the NEW 2012-2014 In Color Cards (126890) as well.  And then YOU can see how the Color Coach makes you a star!

 

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Save 60% on My Digital Studio content!

Posted on May 26, 2012 | Comments Off on Save 60% on My Digital Studio content!

Save 60% on My Digital Studio content! by purchasing the retiring My Digital Studio DVDs before they’re gone on May 31!

125846 Avant-garde Collection DVD
125846 Avant-garde Collection DVD

The new Stampin’ Up! catalog is coming out on June 1, and to make way for some wonderful new products, some of the old ones are going away.  And some of the best values among the retiring stuff are the content discs for My Digital Studio!  But they are only available through May 31, so get your order in now and save, save, save 60% on My DIgital Studio Content!

So what are these DVDs, you ask?  As you probably know, My Digital Studio comes chock full of great digital content such as stamp set images, Designer Series Paper (DSP) patterns, punch shapes, and embellishments.  But SU has been hard at work, and just about every week they announce some new digital downloads (which I frequently display here, so check back often!).  They also offered some digital collections on DVD, which are now being discontinued… the content is still great, and available individually as downloads, but they won’t be carrying the DVD format.  Here’s the good news: THEY ARE MARKED DOWN TREMENDOUSLY!!! You can save 60% on My Digital Studio content!

Each CD contains DSP patterns, stamp brush sets, punches, embellishments, and some contain templates… I list them all below, with a sample of the DSPs that are included.  Your best bet to know what is still available is to place an order through my online store.  If you have never ordered before, the system will walk you through opening an account with me as your demonstrator so that you will get the Preferred Pricing, and your order will be delivered directly to the address you specify.  Be sure to scroll all the way down to the His & Hers Collection which contains two of my favorite DSPs!  Happy shopping!

Discounted My Digital Studio content discs –  Discounted 60%!
Item Description Retail Price Discount Sale Price
124485 October, December, Whenever
Collection DVD		 $26.95 60% $10.78
125840 Sweet Retreat Collection DVD $27.95 60% $11.18
125841 Avante-garde Collection DVD $31.95 60% $12.78
125842 His & Hers Collection DVD $32.95 60% $13.18
124889 Express Booster Pack DVDs $39.95 60% $15.98

1) October, December, Whenever Collection Dvd  124485

Preferred Price: $10.78
Our October, December, Whenever Collection DVD offers three stamp brush sets (two 6-pieces, 28-piece) and 36 Designer Series Paper patterns.
Content Includes:

Frightful Sight Suite: Scaredy Cat Stamp Brush Set & Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper; Letters to Santa Suite: Merry & Type Stamp Brush Set & Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper; Nursery Nest Suite: Little Additions Stamp Brush Set & Nursery Nest Designer Series Paper

122351 Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper

122351 Frightful Sight Designer Series Paper

 

123140 Letters To Santa Designer Series Paper

123140 Letters To Santa Designer Series Paper

 

123136 Nursery Nest Designer Series Paper

123136 Nursery Nest Designer Series Paper

2) Sweet Retreat Collection Dvd  125840

Preferred Price: $11.18
Our Sweet Retreat Collection DVD offers five stamp brush sets (4-piece, 5-piece, 10-piece, 12-piece, 39-piece), 36 Designer Series Paper patterns, 5 embellishments, and one 4″ x 9-1/4″ trifold card designer template.
Content Includes:

Domestic Goddess Suite: Now You’re Cookin’ Stamp Brush Set & Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper; Big Top Suite: Under the Big Top Stamp Brush Set & Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper; Just Add Cake Suite: Party Time II Stamp Brush Set & Just Add Cake Kit

123150 Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper

123150 Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper

 

123138 Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper

123138 Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper

 

124230 Just Add Cake Digital Kit

124230 Just Add Cake Digital Kit (note this DSP has notebook paper!)

3) Avant-Garde Collection Dvd 125841
 

Preferred Price: $12.78
Our Avant-Garde Collection DVD offers four stamp brush sets (4 piece, two 5-pieces, 9-piece) and 48 Designer Series Paper patterns.
Content Includes:

Timeless Portrait Suite: Forever Young Stamp Brush Set & Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper; Berry Blossoms Suite: Fruit & Flowers Stamp Brush Set & Berry Blossoms Designer Series Paper; Flirtatious Suite: Delicate Doilies Stamp Brush Set & Flirtatious Designer Series Paper; Pocketful of Posies Suite: My Friend Stamp Brush Set & Pocketful of Posies Designer Series Paper

123146 Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper

123146 Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper

123142 Berry Blossoms Designer Series Paper

123142 Berry Blossoms Designer Series Paper

124227 Flirtatious Designer Series Paper

124227 Flirtatious Designer Series Paper

123148 Pocketful Of Posies Designer Series Paper

123148 Pocketful Of Posies Designer Series Paper

 

4) His & Hers Collection Dvd  125842

Preferred Price: $13.18
This set includes two of my favorite DSP sets!  Our His & Hers Collection DVD offers three stamp brush sets (4 piece, 10-piece, 26-piece), 24 Designer Series Paper patterns, and 41 embellishments.
Content Includes:

Beau Château Suite: Number It & Letter It Stamp Brush Sets, Beau Château Designer Series Paper, & Beau Château Embellishments; Well Worn Suite: Daring Adventure Stamp Brush Set & Well Worn Designer Series Paper

124222 Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper

124222 Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper

 

124225 Well Worn Designer Series Paper

124225 Well Worn Designer Series Paper

 

5) Express Booster Pack Dvd’s  124889
 

Preferred Price: $15.98
You already have all of this content if you have the full My Digital Studio program.  You would pair this packaged DVD booster pack, containing over $500 worth of digital content, with My Digital Studio Express (item 124483) to enjoy the same full digital content from the packaged DVD version of the software.  Comes with two DVDs.
Content includes:

• 408 Designer Series paper patterns
• 62 stamp brush sets
• 187 embellishments
• Six designer kits with designer templates, Designer Series paper patterns, and embellishments
• Seven 12-page photobooks in each of these sizes: 5″ x 5″, 8″ x 8″, 12″ x 12″, 8-1/2″ x 11″, and 11″ x 8-1/2″, seven greeting cards in each of these sizes: 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″, 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″, 5″ x 7″, 7″ x 5″, and 6″ x 6″

So, can you believe these great bargains?  I only showed you the DSP that comes on each DVD – they are chock full of other feature as well, for little more than the price of ONE DSP!  Be sure to go to my online store and save 60% on My Digital Studio content!

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Digital downloads for Graduation

Posted on April 12, 2012 | Comments Off on Digital downloads for Graduation

What better way to mark the end of school than with a scrapbook using the new digital download for Graduation?!  It is fast and easy to make a photobook or individual pages using My Digital Studio, and the new digital downloads this week can be added to any scrapbook template.  Take a look!

129877 GRAD PARTY ENSEMBLE

129877 GRAD PARTY ENSEMBLE

The download includes:
* 2 5″ x 7″ double-sided postcard designer templates (great for party invitations or graduation announcements!)
* 2-page 11″ x 8-1/2″ décor designer template
* 1 12″ x 12″ page designer template
*20-piece stamp brush set
* 7 Designer Series Papers
* 7 embellishments
* 3 punches

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* All you’ll need for a graduation party: invites, food flags, mini rolled diplomas (these make a cute treat for a grad party)
* Complete with 12″ x 12″ page classmates can sign for a lasting keepsake

Coordinating colors:
Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, More Mustard, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Whisper White

The digital download for Graduation includes three punches that I think would be useful in lots of other places, as well.  Here is a picture of the punches that are included (thanks to Tanner Morris from SU tech support for the screen shot!):

129877 Grad Party Punches

129877 Grad Party Punches

So, check out these digital downloads – you can order them for immediate download at my online store.  And if you are new to all this and interested in making a graduation album, you can buy My Digital Studio or try the 30 day free trial at my online store as well!

I look forward to hearing about how you like making your scrapbook using digital downloads for Graduation!

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Summer Smooches

Posted on April 8, 2012 | Comments Off on Summer Smooches

I posted yesterday about the new Summer Smooches suite of patterns & products.  Here’s a flyer that you can review and print to check out all the options available in the suite!  You can order all of the products as a special summer preview through April 30, and MOST of them will be available in the new catalog coming out on June 1… but you can ONLY get the stencil and the fabric covered brads this month!

And I made this little picture the fast and easy way, using the My Digital Studio digital download of Summer Smooches patterns and embellishments. 

Summer Smooches Easter eggs

Summer Smooches Easter eggs

The cool thing about doing this in My Digital Studio is that I could have made a different picture for everyone in the family, with different eggs – just by clicking and replacing the pattern on the egg! 

Order your Summer Smooches through my online store.

Happy Easter and enjoy your Summer Smooches!!

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Ready for some Summer Smooches?

Posted on April 7, 2012 | Comments Off on Ready for some Summer Smooches?

Are you ready for some Summer Smooches?  Nah, I don’t mean sticky kisses from a kid eating cotton candy!  I’m talking about the fabulous new suite of patterns from Stampin’ Up!, available in both paper/fabric/ribbon/stencil/ fabric covered brads, as well as digital downloads.  Here are the brightly colored patterns – put on your sunglasses! and read thru to the end – I have a recommendation to save you some money if you want to do some fast and easy scrapbooking!

125409 Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper

125409 Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper

I have to say, I am a sucker for any kind of fabric covered brads – and these are adorable – use them with the paper or the fabric selections.  But here’s the kick – these selections are available as a preview this month only, until 4/30 – most of them will also be available in the new catalog, coming out on June 1 – but you can only get the fabric covered brads until 4/30 and they won’t be coming back in the catalog!!  Aren’t they cute?

125589 Summer Smooches Fabric Brads

125589 Summer Smooches Fabric Brads

And the stamp set is a lot of fun:

125497 Bright Blossoms - Clear-Mount Stamp

125497 Bright Blossoms - Clear-Mount Stamp

How are you doing so far – are you ready for some Summer Smooches?

I also love the digital downloads available from Summer Smooches – for My Digital Studio, or any other graphics programs.  There are two choices.  First is a kit, containing the paper, the stamp brush set, the fabric brad embellishments and some card templates (129601 Summer Smooches Kit) – here’s one of the cute cards:

Summer Smooches card template

Summer Smooches card template

Or you could choose the 129919 Summer Smooches Photobook Template, including the DSP, stamp brush set, a ton of embellishments and one of my favorite photobook templates that I have seen from My Digital Studio yet!  Templates can make for fast and easy scrapbooking – just drop in your pictures and add the text.  Here’s a little sample:

Summer Smooches Photobook Template

Summer Smooches Photobook Template

The pages are brightly colored, making them perfect for a vacation layout or… just about anything!   So my vote, even though the card template is cute, is to save some money and just go for the photobook template.  You really don’t need both – you would be paying twice for the same paper (um, don’t ask me how I learned that!).

You can order any and all of these cute selections in my online store.  What do you think – are you ready for some Summer Smooches?

 

 

 

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