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!

 

Sunday Journal – Journaling without any actual pictures Post #2

Welcome to our ongoing discussion of Journaling without any actual pictures Sunday Journal Post # 2: Put a Tiger in Your Tank!

Last week, I started writing about how Sunday Journal scrapbook journalingto make your journaling the star of the page when you don’t have any actual pictures of the event or memory.  In that post, I showed an example of using a current day picture to supplement the journaling and evoke the image – a picture of my current lawn was added to my journaling about sitting and playing in the lawn when I was a kid.

This week, I’d like to discuss another way to supplement your journaling on your scrapbook page: finding someone else’s pictures!  There are zillions of pictures available on the internet, and the odds are that you can find an authentic picture to match what your words are saying in your journaling.  The key thing that you need to do is be sure you are not violating someone’s rights to the picture by using it.

Here are some ways to find a picture:

  • Google or yahoo search for the topic,
  • eBay for pictures of vintage items,
  • sites that sell antiques (if you’re as old as I am, LOL),
  • BigStockPhoto.com – you may need to pay $1 for a picture but you can get all sorts of images with no worry about copyright infringement!

Sometimes it is a logo or advertising slogan that brings back a flood of memories for you.  Here’s an example of a page I made, continuing the theme about Summer Days When I Was Young, where the slogan Put A Tiger in Your Tank really summed up a lot of what I remembered!

Put a Tiger in Your Tank

Put a Tiger in Your Tank

I made the page using My Digital Studio, starting with one of the plain photo template page layouts. While I didn’t have any tiger images to add to the background, I am kind of pleased at how the combination of the orange background and the layers of zig-zag stitching give a subtle evocation of tiger stripes and support the journaling.

And I like having key elements repeat in threes.  The most vivid element to me is the red & blue Esso sign (anyone else ‘member them?!) so I added the red & blue highway sign from Rt 81 (we lived in New York State so my dad drove us on that highway a LOT!).  Then for the third splash, I made the “Put a Tiger in the Tank” headline the same colors by using the color picker tool to match the Esso sign.  Cool, huh?!

Next week’s post: Using song lyrics for journaling without any actual pictures

So what do you think?  I know Tony the Tiger was from Frosted Flakes, but do you think he would like this journaling page about his cousin that I made by journaling without any actual pictures of my childhood?

Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps for summer fun!

If you and the kids are bored now that school is out, pull out the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps for summer fun!  You can easily decorate some sugar cookies or shortbread cookies with a pressed image… fun to eat right away, or for your next backyard BBQ.  Check out this video from Stampin’ Up! to see how easy they are!

There are three different sets of Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps – each has a wooden cookie press handle and three interchangeable silicone sleeves that go on the end… and the sleeves are food safe and dishwasher safe, as well!

Each set includes two recipes, one for sugar cookies and one for shortbread.  Some customers have asked me if you can use the pre-packaged sugar cookie dough that you buy in the grocery store.  I haven’t tried it myself, but one of my fellow demos told me that you can use those if you simply mix in some additional flour to make the dough a bit stiffer – contact me if you want to know more about it!

So let’s look at the three different sets of Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps:

Set #1: Occasions Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps (127081)

These make cute summer sun cookies, as well as shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day and cute bunnies for Easter – or anytime!  Who doesn’t like bunnies (other than Farmer McGregor?!).

127081 Occasions Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

127081 Occasions Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

SET #2: sPEcial events Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps (126903)

This set has a star, a gift-wrapped present and a lace doily.  The designs are great all year around!

126903 Special Events Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

126903 Special Events Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

SET #3:Holidays Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps (125152)

Includes a heart, a snowflake, and an adorable jack-o-lantern face (didn’t you love it in the video?).

125152 Holidays Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

125152 Holidays Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

You can order the various Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps in my online store (or just click on Shop Now on the top right).  And here’s a fun thought – if you order all three of the cookie sets, your merchandise total will be $50.85 and that will entitle you to add the Reason to Smile stamp set (for paper and ink, not cookies!) to your order for only $5!  Contact me at carol@carolGpapercrafts.com if you have any questions.

 

Reason to Smile for only $5!

How about a Reason to Smile for only $5!?  Stampin’ Up! has a great promotion going on for the month of July ONLY… simply place a $50 order and

Reason to Smile samples

Reason to Smile samples

add either the wood mount or the clear mount Reason to Smile stamp set for only $5!  And look at some of the cute things you can make with the set!  Here are a cute card, and a little treat box made from the Mini Milk Carton Bigz Die using the Big Shot.  Don’t they give you a Reason to Smile for only $5!?

Download a PDF to see a larger picture of the samples and the list of “ingredients” that were used to make them: Reason To Smile Samples July 2012

It is basically two-step stamping – meaning you stamp the fluffy looking images to “color it in” and then stamp the detailed line image over the top in another color to define the shape.  Lots of options – for example, you can do the flower with the stem all in one color, or use Stampin Write markers to color the stamp in two different colors for the stem and the flowers.  Let your imagination go free and that will give you another Reason to Smile!  (LOL).  Here is a picture of all the stamp images included in the set:

130828 Reason To Smile Clear-Mount Stamp Set

130828 Reason To Smile Clear-Mount Stamp Set

So what can you do to qualify for the special?  You can easily fulfill the $50 minimum order by purchasing My Digital Studio intuitive digital software (for scrapbooking, card-making and more)…

OR some combination of the following:

  • some digital downloads for my Digital Studio
  • paper, ink, embellishments, accessories, and/or other stamp sets
  • professional print products from My Digital Studio
  • organizational and paper storage products from Stampin’ Up!

It’s easy to place an order through my online store – if you haven’t done it before, you can click on online store or on “Shop Now” at the top right.  Simply search for the items you want, add them to your cart, and make a login by following the steps.  If you have shopped online before but can’t remember your password, you can get a reminder!   And here are a couple of points to keep in mind as you place your order for this special offer:

  • you can’t have any products from the Clearance Rack on the order
  • you must remember to add the Reason to Smile stamp set yourself as a regular merchandise item – it will not prompt you to add it if you qualify
  • must complete your order by July 31
  • be sure to use the special promotion code for the stamp set to get the $5 pricing (it is different from the one in the catalog):
  • Wood mount 131274
  • Clear mount 131275

Please contact me if you have any problems or questions!  So, let your fingers do the walking through the catalog or online store and see what you might like to order, and add in the Reason to Smile for only $5!

Sunday Journal – Journaling without any actual pictures Post #1

In this week’s post for our Sunday Journal Sunday Journal scrapbook journalingweekly series on Journaling for your scrapbooks, I’d like to talk about scrapbooking ideas or events where you don’t have many pictures.  One way to include these in your scrapbook is to use your journaling as the focus of the page.  I’ll even suggest a journaling topic that you can use as the basis for a scrapbook page : Long Summer Days When I Was a Kid.

How does this work?  Simply take the suggestion of the Journaling topic and write a paragraph (or longer, up to you!) about what summers were like when you were a kid.  Here’s some suggested items you could include:

  • Summer camp
  • What I did All Day Long in the summer
  • How long a day seemed to last when I was little, compared to now
  • Places you liked to play
  • Friends from when you were little
  • My favorite ___________ (you pick it – favorite summer activity, place to go, game, kind of ice cream, whatever!)

Now make this writing the basis of your scrapbook page.  Add a headline (feel free to copy mine: Long Summer Days When I Was a Kid).  You can add a few pictures if you have them – but in all truth, we usually have so many fewer pictures of our childhood than we take today that using the journaling as the focus of the page solves that problem.  This will frequently be one of those pages that has a single picture, as opposed to being stuffed full of pictures!  The journaling frequently takes center stage.

Long summer days journaling page

Long summer days journaling page

Here’s a page I made in My Digital Studio, starring some journaling about sitting around in the grass in my back yard.  I really wanted to share the image in my head that I had of doing this, with my kids.

I used a couple of features on this page that refer back to the time period in question – frankly, the very early sixties.  I chose to include:

  • old-fashioned looking background paper – geometrical patterns were very big back then, and quite frankly, they were a little garish
  • the hexagonal shape was very modern and daring for the time period – this was the beginning of the mod era
  • I added the notebook paper punch shape along the edge of the orange (ORANGE!) journaling square to add a little eye texture, and to subtly refer back to my school days
  • I placed a subtle wood grain overlay on the orange square – wood was an important element that was much used in those days
  • and even the font that I used could have come out of a typewriter, as opposed to a cleaner sans serif font that might be more popular today.

In this case, I took a picture of my own lawn to demonstrate what I was talking about in the journaling.  In next week’s post, we’ll talk about how to handle journaling where you don’t have ANY pictures that match your journaling!

So, what do you remember about Summers When I Was a Kid?

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!

 

5 key types of scrapbook journaling to include on your pages

Stumped for words when it comes Sunday Journal scrapbook journalingto scrapbook journaling?  Try using the newspaper journalist’s 5 key questions to include relevant info on your scrapbook pages.

1. WHO: Record peoples’ names – have you ever looked at those old family albums, with lots of pictures stuck on a page with little corner tabs?  Who are all those people? Are they related to you?  I wish my grandparents had written names on the pages!

2. WHAT: Tell what you were doing.  You’ll be amused to remember, in future years, that you used to have a fun game of “chase the forklift” with your kids as you pushed the cart through the Home Depot store.

3. WHERE: Document where you were.  Is that beach picture from the trip to the New Jersey shore, or down at the Outer Banks?

4. WHEN: Include the date (or approximate date) of a photo to help tell some of the story.  Or reference it indirectly by indicating someone’s age (“when Johnny was 5…”)

5. WHY: Express how you were feeling.  Some pictures speak for themselves – you obviously look happy or excited.  But in other shots, it is a bit harder to tell how you feel about things.  Are you looking solemn because you’re unhappy? Because your car broke down? Or because you’ve had such a fun day that you’re now pretty tired?!

I’ll explore some of these scrapbook journaling ideas in future posts of the weekly Sunday Journal.  Try some or all of these scrapbook journaling ideas and I bet you’ll feel more related to your pages!

New 2012-2014 In Colors from Stampin’ Up!

Check out the five new 2012-2014 In Colors from Stampin’ Up!  At first glance, they looked somewhat similar to some of our previous colors… but then I realized they all have an interesting, somewhat darker tone to them that I think will lend an interesting component to our projects.  Take a peek!

New 2012-2014 In Colors from Stampin' Up!

New 2012-2014 In Colors from Stampin' Up!

They are named (counter-clockwise from bottom right) Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, and Summer Starfruit.

You can get the new 2012-2014 In Colors from Stampin’ Up! in a variety of ways in my online store (or click on the item numbers below):

Individually:

  • Classic Stampin’ Pad (new format!)
  • Classic Stampin Ink Refill
  • 8 1/2 x 11″ Card Stock
  • 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon

In packs with all 5 colors:

  • Card Stock & Pad Kit (126835) – 20 sheets card stock: 4 ea. in 5 In Colors; 8-1/2″ x 11″. 5 Classic Stampin’ Pads: 1 ea. in 5 In Colors. $29.95 (note this is the same price as if you purchased only the ink pads separately – the paper is essentially free!)
  • 8 1/2 x 11″ Card Stock (126838) – 8-1/2″ x 11″; 20 sheets. Acid- and lignin-free. 4 ea. of 5 In Colors.  $6.95
  • 12 x 12″ Card Stock (126836) – 20 sheets. Acid- and lignin-free. 4 each of 5 In Colors.   $9.95
  • In Color Dahlias (NEW) (127556) –
    127556 In Color Dahlias

    127556 In Color Dahlias

    Bright little wonders! Detailed petals add touches of dimension and texture. Adhere with Mini Glue Dots. 20 flowers: 4 ea. in five 2012–2014 In Colors; 3/8″.   $7.95

  • Stampin’ Write Markers (126856) – 1 each of 5 In Colors.  $14.95
  • Designer Series Paper Stacks (126910) – 40 sheets in ea. stack: 4 ea. of 2 double-sided designs in 5 colors; 12″ x 12″. Acid-free.  $21.95
  • Designer Printed Brads (122940) –
    122940 Printed 2011 In Color Designer Brads

    122940 Printed 2011 In Color Designer Brads

    40 brads, 8 of each color with little polka dots on them; 3/8″.  $7.95

And there is one last great thing with the new In Colors – the Color Coach has new pages!  I’ll talk about the Color Coach again tomorrow.

I look forward to showing some great projects using these intriguing new colors!  And, in an upcoming post I will also show the digital options for using the new colors in My Digital Studio.  (Tip: you can get the new colors by selecting Help from the top and Check for Updates – the new version will install the new colors!).

So, what do you think of the new 2012-2014 In Colors from Stampin’ Up! ?

Stampin’ Up! new catalog is out!

I am so excited to tell you that the Stampin’ Up! new catalog is out!  I’ll be posting some of the exciting new products here in the next few weeks.

2012-2013 Stampin' Up! catalog
2012-2013 Stampin’ Up! catalog

Yes, it’s a little sad that some of our favorite products have retired.  But I promise you’ll love some of the new stuff, too!

Please get in touch with me if you are interested in seeing it now that the Stampin’ Up! new catalog is out!

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!