Thursday, December 31, 2009

My New Banner and Email Button with My Digital Studio

I've spent a few quiet moments (during Anna's nap yesterday) fiddling with my birthday present (Thanks, Mom!)... My Digital Studio. What I created this time is my blog's banner and email button.


Patty Bennett has some lovely tutorial videos posted on YouTube and I also used a website called techknowl.com to work through some of the HTML glitches. My only bugaboo at this point is the image size, listed beneath my email button. I can't, for the life of me, figure out why that shows up. My image is kept in a site called ImageShack, so maybe that's where the glitch can be fixed. Anyhoo, too much tech talk for me. Let's talk about the images from My Digital Studio!


I'm excited to use this software for my blog, as I can change the banner and buttons to go with the seasons (or my mood). For winter, I've chosen some images from the Winter Post set. I've got that set in rubber form, too, and I love it. Among my favorite images are the snowflake and the deer. Being a Colorado girl, I had to use the deer. My mom's had a fawn or set of twin fawns born in her yard almost every spring!


I also added a series of punches. To make the layers, I found the square punch, enlongated, made for an easy canvas. I used card stock and Designer Series Paper in each layer. For the white "vellum," I just decreased the opacity of my white card stock from 100 to 50.


I also added one of my newest cards, "Happy New Year! and Congratulations!" to the banner. I added the Photo Corner Punch in Basic Black card stock to the upper left corner and then I added the Modern Label Punch and Silver Brad and made it look like a tab.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm My Digital Stuio Certified?! I've earned a couple of fun freebies for achieving that certification. I'll post those shortly.

Thanks for your visit! I'm thrilled to be tinkering with this new software. Please let me know if you have any My Digital Studio questions. Click on my new Email Me button and drop me a line!

Monday, December 28, 2009

"It's been a quiet week here in Lake Woebegone..."

That couldn't be farther from the truth! I *LOVE* getting to stamp when Garrison Keillor does his radio show on our local NPR station (which is where I got the above quote). Unfortunately, the entire broadcast isn't available as a podcast, so it's a treat I only get to enjoy occassionally...

Thought I'd post a little of the craziness around here as an excuse for my lack of stamping and posting. First, I was busy with the kids' Christmas outfits. I started making Jordan's Christmas dress when she was an infant and now it's grown into a tradition that she really enjoys. We have a lot of fun together, picking out the pattern, choosing the fabric and embellishments, etc. This year, it was George's turn to pick the fabric and the kids' outfits were perfect... I know there will come a time when it's no longer "cool" for Mom to sew, so I'm taking advantage of the opportunity when it exists.
As you can see, I have my hands full...

...but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Monochromatic Sketch

I created this card for the 365 Cards Sketchy Sunday Challenge. Here was the sketch to follow:
I took the sketch quite literally and had one of those stamping moments when the card in my head looks better than the card in my hands. The punchline is that I was so sure this card would turn out as well as the one in my head that I made two! :) Rather than scrap the whole mess and not even talk about it, I thought I'd share some of my favorite elements.
First, I like how the ribbon at the bottom turned out. I used Bashful Blue for my overall color scheme and all I had was narrow grosgrain. By twisting it gently (and adhering the flat portion before each twist), I was able to approximate the look of rick rack. I'd like to fiddle more with that in the future.
I also wish I used my Paper Piercing Tool more. It adds such impact and it's such an easy tool to use (and inexpensive to purchase -- under $4!). I liked the texture it added to the white "stems" of my flowers.
I love the look of the vellum as it's textured in the center of my flower. I ran the vellum through my Big Shot with the Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and punched it with a one-inch circle punch. A silver brad holds the vellum to the Bashful Blue circle.
I am glad I ran the Bashful Blue "stems" through the Big Shot, too, using my Polka Dot Texturz Plate. In person (I'm not sure it showed up in the picture very well), it adds more lovely texture.
If I were to recreate this card, knowing now how the idea in my head translated to the card in my hand, I'd use some Bashful Blue Patterns Designer Series Paper to break up some of the huge white space between the Pretties flower and the paper blooms...
Stampin' Up! Supplies:
Stamps: None
Inks: None
Paper: Bashful Blue and Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Bashful Blue Narrow Grosgrain, Pretties kit, Boho Blossoms punch, 1-inch Circle, Big Shot, Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz Plates
Thanks for hearing me think aloud and helping me to see the glass as half full... Happy nearly-Monday!

Happy New Year! and Congratulations!

I made this card for my husband's younger brother, Matt, and his new fiancee (!!), Laura, to celebrate their engagement.
Congratulations, you two, and welcome to the family, Laura!
Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Circle Circus, Eight Great Greetings

Paper: Taken with Teal, Basic Black, Vellum Paper

Inks: Encore Silver

Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz Plates (Polka Dot), Basic Black wide grosgrain, silver elastic cord, Stampin' Dimensionals and Punch-a-palooza: 1 3/4-inch circle, 1 1/4-inch circle, 1-inch circle, 3/4-inch circle and Scallop Circle

Phew! That's a lot of punches! Hope you enjoy; I made another card to give as a hostess gift for a New Year's Eve party I'm attending. The colors say "classy" and "Happy New Year!" to me...

I hope 2010 means lots of good things for you. I appreciate your visit!