Fresh and Vintage

Good morning stampers!

I'm sitting at my desk waiting for little snowflakes to fall from the sky.  They say it's in the forecast today.  We'll see if the weather guy gets it right today.

Wanted to give a quick update on how we're doing on the home front and then share my little card I have for you.  Some of you have asked how the transition is going and if the Prince was doing okay.  I'm happy to report our little family is doing very well.  There have been many bumps in the road but the big picture is GOOD.  Brandon and Russ are still trying to mend a few wounds from his absence but I can see it's coming along quite well.  Russ jumped in with both feet helping Brandon in Cub Scouts and school activities and it's just what Brandon needed.  You can still see the angry face on Brandon at times but that will soon heal and the one thing that never changed is the unconditional love from both of us.  Both of the kids made it into the school Spelling B last week.  Russ was able to take off work to see the kids in action.  We were so excited to tell the kids that Russ was able to get the time off.  When I told Brandon that he was coming he started to cry.  I didn't understand at first and then he said, "Mama, if he comes and I misspell the first word Daddy will have wasted his time.  This prompted a quick family discussion on EXPECTATIONS. I quickly lowered the bar and it seemed to take a ton of pressure off both of the kids.  Who knew? Russ and I were just over the moon they had MADE it into the Spelling B and we drove this point home to both of them.   Both of the kids did great. Brandon took 4th place in his age group and Alexis took 3rd place.  Needless to say, our cheeks hurt from smiling that day.   Russ has also been busy having tea parties with Alexis and is helping her build and craft together "stuff" for her American Girl Doll.  I love it. The time he spends with the kids gives me time to step away and let them be with just him.  It's been harder than I thought keeping my nose out of their business because I've been the one parent in control for so long.  I know that the time they spend together alone and without my 2 cents is good and the kids see that DADDY is BACK. Again, thank you for asking about my little family. 

Now, let's chat about stamps!

Boy oh Boy I love how this stamp set, Fresh Vintage compliments the Everyday Enchantment Designer Paper.  It's so beautiful and the Poppy Parade cardstock is what made this card POP.  I used the pretty Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad pack as well on this card and of course I HAD to throw in a little First Edition DSP.  It's clearly an addiction.  The Ribbon and Brad pack is a FREEBIE item from the Sale-a-bration catalog. The brads are super cute and the ribbon is pretty and delicate. The sentiment Inspire, Create, and Dream comes from the Loving Thoughts stamp set. GREAT set if you like to make banners.  It's a perfect fit. 

Lastly, here is a little MDS news!

There are new beautiful My Digital Studio downloads for you to see.  Click HERE to view them. Download your FREE copy of My Digital Studio today. Click HERE to get it. I'm getting ready to work on Valentines using My Digital Studio.  I will share once the design is complete.  There are MANY great downloads to use for Valentines Day.  If you are local to the Northern VA area I just put an MDS class on my schedule.  You can check out my class schedule at the top of my blog.  It's finally been updated and more classes are coming.  I can officially say… "She's back!" 

XOXOXO

I see a few snowflakes falling.  Looks like a peaceful day. 

Have a FANTASTIC day!

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My Digital Studio Layout

Happy Tuesday! We are still running around like a bunch of lunatics this week.  Is it really only Tuesday? If feels like Thursday. LOL!  The kids started swimming this week and between the hours of 4-8pm it's just NUTS! The kids are loving their swimming practice and I'm happy because Brandon thinks he's the next Michael Phelps. Not that this is bad, but I just think he needs to be clear on the water safety rules.  I'll leave this to the swim instructor to explain to him otherwise "MEAN" Mommy comes out and it's not pretty!

We may be a little crazier this week because we are getting ready for a few special guests this month.  The first is my parents.  Yippie!!! They will be arriving on Friday.  Needless to say I'm going crazy trying to work, clean and be a taxi.  As Russ says, put the cape on for a few days then take it off at night.  <smile>

Regardless of my crazy schedule I *always* try to find the time to create because it's just makes me HAPPY! Sooo…

It's time for a My Digital Studio Layout.  I want to let My Digital Studio users aware there is an update available for your software.  Just open your Digital Software and it should prompt you for the updates.  There is also a fantastic Holiday Hostess special you will want to check out.  This digital download is only available as a hostess item and I can bet this will help some of your holiday tasks.  You will LOVE it.  GUESS WHAT???? There are new digital downloads today TOO! What a GREAT MDS day!

Click HERE to view the new downloads. Hang on, they are super cute!

Lastly, a quick layout using the Beau Chateau downloads.  I went a little crazy and my son may not appreciate all the pink on this layout but I LOVE it. 

It's a vintage look and most of all I love the pictures of him. He is a sweet boy.

Hope you are having a fabulous week!!

XOXOXO

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It’s Super Spooky Cool!

Have you ever made a card and just squealed with delight after it's made? That's what happened with this card and 20 others that were made when my girlfriend Cathy was here.  Seriously, we had the time of our lives spending 4 non stop days in my stamp room.  I told my kids Mama would be very tired last week. They were angels.  They loved spending time with Cathy too.  The best part of stamping with my girlfriend is we normally only get to see each other a few times a year and typically at Stampin' Up! events.  It's always so crazy busy that we don't get the quality stamping time in.  I will forever cherish those 4 days and will always blame her for the new wrinkle I have on my face for the constant smile I kept on my face while she was here. We were also able to share our delight with our friend Christy on iChat and while it wasn't the same it was still great to see her smiley face too.  The week got even better when Denise showed up Friday morning for mad dash stamping with us. It truly was amazing. 

Cathy was able to leave with 34 completed projects. Can you believe it? That is MASSIVE stamping.  If you follow me on Facebook you probably were able to see many sneak peeks.  If you want to follow me just look to the left of the screen.  Hit that Follow Me button and you can follow my crazy life and other sneak peeks.

Get ready for some great projects, VIDEOS (yes, you see that correctly) and fun new stamping coming your way over the next few weeks. Thank you for letting me recover over the last 4 days too. LOL!

Let's get the party started.  I have a spooky card to share and it's HYBRID!

Why do I love My Digital Studio? Because I can shrink that BIG ole Bingo stamp to the size I wanted. We were inspired by a card in the Paper Crafts magazine and it used the cutest darn Bingo card.  We quickly grabbed our Bingo Stamp and started to create.  I had a big pouty face when the Bingo Stamp was too big for what I was making.  Genius Cathy says, "Silly, grab your digital Bingo stamp and shrink it with MDS!" DUH!

We did it! We shrank the Bingo image to a size we wanted and printed it out.  Holy Cow.  By this time I was doing a jiggle dance. I was super excited. 

**Side Note** If you don't have My Digital Studio, you need it.  Wait till I show you all the cool things I've made with it.  Oh boy! Also, coming soon will be a limited time Digital Hostess Option that is KILLER! Email me to book a workshop today.  I promise to make something super fun and cool with you and your friends!

The rest of the card uses many more fun products such as the Piece of Poison stamp set (#123754), Pick Your Poison Quick Accents(#124263), Pick Your Poison DSP (#124001), Dark & Dreary Stamp set (#121151) and the sweet new Pewter Embossing Powder.  We used this on the crow.  Did you know "Crows" are super trendy for Halloween?  These are great to add to your Halloween decorations and make sure your crow isn't naked.  Dress it up. I'll show you what I mean in a few days.  <wink>

Here is a little closer look at the card:

Don't forget to add a little bling bling to your card using or self adhesive Rhinestones.  Makes a project look super fun.Somehow I just think this silly Skeleton is CUTE! Is there such a thing?  

So there you have the first look of many more fun things to come.  You can find all these great products in my Spooky Online Store.  Check out the fun stuff and check out the Clearance items too.  Everyone likes a good deal. 

*Breaking News* New Digital Downloads today! Check them out HERE!

Have a fanTasTic Tuesday!

XOXOXOXO

P.S. The iPod bit the dust….

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Fall Furry Continued & Digital Fun!

Good morning!

I told you this is a week of FALL inspiration.  First I want to share a couple fast My Digital Studio pages. While these have nothing to do with Fall, I just had to share.  I'm no where even close to being a pro with this program but I love it.  It's so simple and every time I do a project or a layout I learn something new.  Let's just say I have many "A-Ha" moments.  It's a great day to share these because there are NEW Digital Downloads today too.  Click HERE to view them.  Love the new digital kit. 

After writing about the "Trinity" fiasco I wanted to do a scrapbook page to capture this memory FOREVER.  I am sure to hold this over his sweet little head one day.

Almost every day I get the pleasure of seeing this sweet face below on my computer screen.  The other day our big light bulb moment was when we both figured out how to take a screen shot of the two of us on skype.  Kinda stupid but it's amazing the little things that make us smile. Notice how clear this picture of him is? It's usually just a beige blog that moves on my computer screen.  I miss this great man!!

Lastly, let me share my Fall card:

This is a super simple card.  It uses two of my favorite tools.  Let me share.  First the stamp sets…The stamp set I used for the main focus of the card was Autumn Splendor #116503. 

I also used this A la Carte stamp set called Just Thank You #122911

My two favorite tools used on this card are the Spritzer Tool and the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz (118770). Right now there is not a project that can escape either of theses tools.  I love the Glow that the Gold Smooch Spritz adds to a project.  It's just beautiful. The inks used for the Leaf images was Soft Suede and Crumb Cake. 

There you have it.  That was a lot to take in today but I hope you enjoyed these projects.  You can find all these fun products in my Super Duper Cool Online Store. 

Time for me to get my stampin' groove on.  It's raining outside and I have lots to stamp!

Make it a fantastic Tuesday!

Big SUPER HUGE….XOXOXOXO

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Pin Cushions!

They are all the rage and so simple to make.  Let me show you one that I made in about 15 minutes.  I started mine with a clean Jelly Jar.  Just so you know I'm making the kids eat lots of Peanut Butter and Jelly so we can collect more jars.  Okay, just kidding. 

When you start with your fabric, the amount needed will depend on the size of your jar lid.  My lid was pretty small. I used pinking shears to get a nice edge all around the fabric.  It looks so nice. 

I took a wad (great technical term) of pillow stuffing and placed my Spice Cake Fabric over it and over the lid of my jar.  To help me out I placed a rubber band around the fabric and lid to keep it in place. I then took a strip of coordinating fabric from the Spice Cake line and cut this strip using my Pinking shears again.  I wrapped this around my rubber band so you couldn't see it and tied the fabric in a bow.  I placed my pretty heart pins into the pin cushion at an angle because my lid is very shallow.  It works perfectly.

I could add DSP around the bottom of the jar but I really like this simple look just how it is.  Wouldn't this be a fun gift to give to friends, Teachers or loved ones? They would make a great craft show project too. You could add a simple tag made from the coordinating products and SHAZAM you have a FANTASTIC gift. LOVE It!

You can order this amazing Spice Cake Fabric and others in my On Line Store. 

***NEW MDS DOWNLOADS TODAY!!!***

Click HERE to see the fun new downloads! Go to my Digital Store today to get your own. 

Make it a GREAT day!!

XOXOXO

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