Category Archives: Digital stamping with My Digital Studio

My Digital Studio holiday hybrid card

Holiday hybrid card

Holiday hybrid card

Presenting a My Digital Studio holiday hybrid card!  If you are still looking to make your holiday cards this year, but are worried that you might be running out of time to get them done, I suggest that you give My Digital Studio a try.   This card was designed with My Digital Studio, the intuitive software from Stampin’ Up! that allows you to do scrapbooking, card-making, flyers and a host of other graphic applications.

I easily designed the card in less than half an hour, and then sent it in to Stampin’ Up! professional printing service.  They came back beautifully printed on both sides, scored in the middle for easy folding and with accompanying envelopes.

While I feel that the drop shadow feature of the software gave the printed card a nice feeling of depth, I wanted to add even more layers.  So, I then took the basic card and added some embellishments to give it a personal touch – I added a piece of Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon , and I tied a couple of Mini Jingle Bells into the ribbon with a piece of Linen Thread.   (I suggest omitting the Jingle Bells if you are mailing the card!).  Lovely!

That brings me to the great advantages of using the professional printing service:

  • Professionally printed cards are guaranteed to print the correct color.  So, they will be color coordinated with all the rest of the Stampin’ Up! product line of papers, inks, and embellishments.  I also could have used Cherry Cobbler ribbon on the card, and it would have matched the Cherry Cobbler red on the front of the card perfectly!
  • The print services are a wonderful time-saver, especially when you are doing large quantities of items such as holiday cards.
  • Having them printed avoids some of the typical problems that we all encounter when printing things at home – such as running out of an ink cartridge in the middle of the project (yes, that just happened to me – but more on that in the next post!).
  • It’s a tremendous convenience to have the cards cut and scored to the proper size – and a bargain when you realize that the envelopes are included, too!

You still have time to get your order in for holiday printing… if you submit it in the next day or so.  So, if you are interested in trying My Digital Studio for your holiday cards, contact me ASAP! 

Now, having said all that, it’s also a great software tool to use for printing your own cards at home.  I can fill you in on how to do that!

You can also click here to see more details about the software, and order it online for immediate download or by DVD!

To learn how to make this card, please sign up for my newsletter mailing list on the right, and I will send you the tutorial with step-by-step directions!  Signing up now will also get you the remaining episodes of my 12 Weeks of Christmas newsletter filled with other card, gift making, and gift wrapping ideas and step-by-step directions for making them.

I hope you like My Digital Studio holiday hybrid card!

My Digital Studio digital and hybrid holiday cards

Many people send out greeting cards as a way to reach out to friends and family at the holidays, and it can be an even more special gesture if you make the cards yourself! 

If you’re on my mailing list, you’ve been getting the 12 Weeks of Christmas special series of emails, where each week I send details about how to make a special item for the holidays.  We’re covering cards right now, and soon will share gifts you can make and then gift wrapping & tag.   If you are not on my mailing list, sign up on the right to start getting great info!

So far the cards featured in the 12 Weeks of Christmas have been hand-made cards, using the Stampin’ Up! series of beautiful rubber stamps and color-coordinated papers, inks, ribbons and embellishments. But not everyone wants to hand-stamp all of their holiday cards (some folks send out 300 cards!).   I have a great solution!  Stampin’ Up!’s digital software, My Digital Studio, can make the task easier while still allowing you to be creative! 

You can make the entire card in My Digital Studio, and have it professionally printed through the Stampin’ Up! Printing service.  You can design your own, or use some pre-designed templates that you can customize to achieve a beautiful result.  Options for your card include adding photo(s) of family or news that you want to share.  Cards will be delivered to your door, scored for easy folding, with an envelope – ready to go! 

You can also make a hybrid card – do part digitally and part by hand-crafting!  Several options:

  • Make a digital card, have it printed, and add ribbon or other embellishments for a personal touch of texture and depth.
  • Create an image to use for the front of your card using MDS, and print multiples per page.  Cut them up and apply to the front of a simple handmade card base, allowing you to have layers of mats on your card for depth and texture.   Add additional color with ink, ribbon or glitter.
  • Make a tag in My Digital Studio and have it printed – it will be delivered already cut to the correct size.  Then apply it to the front of a handmade card.  Embellish if desired!

The great thing about using My Digital Studio and the professional printing service is that Stampin’ Up! guarantees the colors to be true, and your results will therefore match the cardstock and embellishments from the rest of the Stampin’ Up! line.  No more mismatches!

Contact me if you have any questions about My Digital Studio.  I’ll be posting some classes soon! 

Carol G

PS Click on the button on the far right, or go to www.mydigitalstudio.net on November 4-7 for some free downloads – you can use them for My Digital Studio or other digital applications.