Happy Easter

Okay, I know it is still a couple of days away, but I just designed this sweet little Easter basket and couldn't wait to share it with you :)

It prints up just perfectly on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper and would make a fun little Easter project to complete with your kids... for kids... or, let's be honest, for anyone you want to give a special little present to!

And since I'm brushing up on my Easter Bunny skills I thought I would give you a present too: A PRINTABLE! So all you have to do is cut, assemble, and enjoy! You don't even have to go hunting for this egg :)  (I guess I'm not so good at hiding yet... good thing my girlie is only 2!)

(Click on the picture to open it the original size in order for it to print correctly)

However, if you would like to make your own version with different paper, I'll let you in on a little secret. The design was super quick to make in MDS. All it required is a square punch in the middle (3x3) with four cupcake punches surrounding it (stretched bigger until the bottom of the cupcake was the same length as the square base). Lastly I used a rectangle punch with a small mat to make the 'tabs' for gluing. That was pretty much it! Fill the punches as you desire, decorate, and don't forget to make a cute handle to match!

Recipe Card (with links):
Cupcake Punch
Green Tea DSP
Little Additions Stamp Brush Set (Bunny)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Spring Fever Card #3

Here is the last card we made at our spring class this past Thursday. Isn't it adorable :) I just love the new little butterfly punch- it is so cute and sweet.

 

This technique is called Negative Image punching. Usually when you punch out a shape you keep the punched portion, but in this case we did the very opposite and kept the paper the shape was removed from. As a tip- in order to do a double punch like this, first punch the middle shape (in this case the butterfly). That way when you punch the outer shape (the scalloped square) you can center the butterfly inside. Cool trick, right :) 

Recipe Card:
Delightful Dozen Stamp Set
Fancy Fan Texture Folder
Scalloped Square Punch 
Bitty Butterfly Punch 
Scalloped Trim Border Punch
Brights Paper Stack DSP
Paper (Whisper White & Tempting Turquoise)
Ink (Tempting Turquoise)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Keep this Memory

Sorry I don't have my Monday video for you today. There has been a case of the sniffles going around our family- so I'm saving you from having to listen to me blow my nose every 30 seconds... Hopefully I can squeeze one in later this week, but in the meantime I've got a cute MDS example to share.

Last month I had shown you the start of my Christmas Album using the "Keep it Simple" photobook template. Today I've got another page for you :)

I just love how a template gives you a good starting point for a project that you can use as a springboard. In this case, I was able to switch up the paper and embellishments to the "Be of Good Cheer"product line and give my page a more Christmas-y feel.

So, here was what the page started like:

 

And here is what it looked like after my edits:

 

Can you see all the similarities? The best part is that it was so much faster than starting from scratch for me :)

Recipe card (with links):
Keep this Memory Photobook Template
Be of Good Cheer Digital Kit

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices! 

Smashbook

Ever heard of a Smashbook? Until recently neither had I :)

The idea behind them is this- life is fast and full of memories that you collect along the way. Wouldn't it be great if you could keep track of them as fast as they occur? Enter the Smashbook!

Kinda like a scrapbook, but smaller with way less emphasis on pictures. As you go through your day/life/trip you collect things to put in it - documenting your memories as they happen. Ticket stubs from a memorable event, notes that you got from a friend, thoughts you jotted down after visiting a new place. You then 'smash' everything together in your handy little book of memories. Of course you can leave room to go back and add pictures later too if you choose :)

Sounds like a cool idea right? Well, StampinUp has just released a new line of products just for this purpose! It is called "This and That" and you can see it here.  It is packed with fun papers, stickers, washi tape, and a journal perfect for the project. And I love the little rotary stamp that lets you indicate the day everything happened. How fun!

Want to see it all in action? Check out the cool video:

Want to give it a try? Until April 30th all the products are available as a bundle at 15% the individual prices! So go grab your own kit and get smashing!

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Spring Fever Card #2

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far. Can you believe friday is already here? I for one am ready for this weekend to start!

Last night we had a blast at our Spring Fever Class, and made some super cute cards. I already shared a sneak peak of one of the cards with you last weekend, now here is the second one:

This one was an easy, but fun one; straight from the Sale-a-bration "Happy Hello" Simply Sent kit. It comes with the die-cut cards, sweet matching envelopes, and sheets of cardstock weight stickers. Not to mention the Baker's Twine and Rhinestones which give it that final elegant touch! The best part is that the whole kit (enough to make 8 cards) is FREE!

And check out these other cute projects you can make using the kit. The first is a fun little box to fill with 3x3 minicards. And then there is the treat bag made using the matching envelope (adorned with some paper scraps I had lying around). Adorable right? You can find instructions for these little darlings all over Pinterest :)

But remember, today is the last day of Sale-a-bration, and after tonight these little gems will be gone. So, if you need one of these cute sets make sure to hop on over to the online store and place your order now!

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Exciting MDS News!

Have you been waiting for the right time to invest in MDS? Well wait no longer! Big news from Stampin Up...

 
MDS has become popular enough that the manufacturer is cutting the production costs, so StampinUp has decided to pass the savings on to YOU!!

So, you can now get the MDS software with tons of content for only $19.95. Can you believe it! What a deal!

For more details, see my "MDS Resources" tab or go to the MyDigitalStudio Blog announcement. Now there is no reason to not give it a try- you'll love it!

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

MDS Basics Tutorial: Backgrounds

I've decided to have two different types of MDS videos. The first type will be technique videos where I will show you different tips or tricks I have learned in MDS.

However, I also want to offer a full line of beginner videos that step you through all the basic functions offered in MDS so that when you first get the program you know how to get rolling right away! In these "MDS Basic Videos" I will be building this scrapbook page from scratch to show you how it is done:

 

So, onto the first element- Backgrounds. Here you go!

Hope you enjoy! Flutterby again soon.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I have a 2yr old who recently discovered and has become obsessed with Mickey. Well, this past week on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse they had a St. Patrick's Day show where the gang is trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In the end they catch up with Leprechaun Pete and he gives them not gold but cookies from his pot. After all, cookies are so much tastier :)

You may wonder why I am recapping a children's show for you- well it is because it inspired me to spend some time with my daughter making our own Leprechaun cookies (green food coloring and rainbow M&Ms!). She is at such a fun age now where she can help with that sort of thing :)

Of course, I was then inspired to make some cute bag toppers to put on the Leprechaun cookies to send with her to daycare. Here is what I came up with. I hope you like it as much as I do:

And here is what the finished product looks like:

 

This was a super fast one to put together- so quick, there is still time to make some for your kids :) All it uses is stamps from the Lucky Framable Template and the background is from the Spring Shades DSP. Now go get crafting!

Flutterby tomorrow to see my MDS Monday video!

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!  

Spring Fever Card #1

Have you signed up for the Spring Fever class on Thursday yet? If not, remember today is the last day to RSVP! Here is a sneak peak at what we will be making. For our first card we will use what is 'probably' my favorite stamp set in the whole catalog: Summer Silhouettes.

I love how you can build flowers with this set- so fun and colorful! And the fancy fan textured folder makes a great match to the border strip stamp. What eye candy right?? Also, I wanted something other than the traditional ribbon bow on this card, so I just made a loose knot in the ribbon before adhering it to the white layer. I think it turned out pretty neat that way (tip- if you use a glue dot right behind the knot it keeps it from sliding around without having to pull the ribbon to tight and thereby make the knot loose it's puffiness).

Hope you love this card as much as I do! Flutterby again soon to see what else we made.

Recipe card (with links):
Summer Silhouettes Stamp Set
Sweet Essentials Stamp Set
Fancy Fan Texture Folder
Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon
Paper (Whisper White & Rich Razzleberry)
Ink (Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, & Primrose Petals)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Serene Silhouettes

My mom recieved this card in a swap, and it only is cementing my love of this stamp set:

Isn't it just a gorgeous image?! I love how they used marker to ink up the flowerheads. I guess it isn't a silhouette anymore :)

Recipe Card (with links):
Serene Silhouettes Stamp Set
Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon
Vintage Wallpaper Texture Folder
Rhinestones
Paper (Whisper White & Cherry Cobbler)
Ink/Markers (Old Olive & Cherry Cobbler)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Sponging the Edge of a Digital Punch

You know how you can sponge ink onto the edge of a piece of paper to give it that nice distressed look? Alright- but how do you do it digitally in MDS?? Well today I'm here to show you :)

I made this cute little Easter treat to hand out to my friends- didn't it turn out darling? I created it in MDS but then printed it out to make it a hybrid project.

But now, I want you to look closly at the 3-D flower. See how it looks like I sponged around the edges with pink? Well, I 'could' have since this was a hybrid project, but in order to save time I did it in MDS and it was printed up right along with everything else.

Alright- so now are you ready to know how I did it? Check out this weeks video!

Hope you enjoyed, and are inspired to create your own digital sponging project!

Flutterby again soon for more inspiration :)

Recipe Card (with links):
Mixed Bunch Digital Kit
Spring Shades DSP
Convention 2011 Designer Template (Foliage and Butterfly stamps)
Label Punch from Celebrate Any Day Kit
Blossom Punch ("Real" punch)
Whisper White Paper (to print on)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices! 

Elegant Snow #2

Okay, I needed to fit in one last winter card before we say goodbye. Believe me, I am ready to move on to spring- in fact I'm having my Spring Fever 3-4-$5 class in a little over a week. But, once you see this card you know it was worth the final hurrah:

Isn't it gorgeous?? The snow on the branches is done using a technique called crayon resist. I had the opportunity to make these with my mom during her recent visit. The technique and card is a case from Connie Stewart over at Simply Simple Stamping. She has even made a video to show how it is done. It has such a WOW factor that there was very little we changed in our card- so thanks Connie for the wonderful idea!

And with that I bid farewell to winter- we'll have to see if he gets the idea and leaves though :)

Flutterby again soon to see the cute cards from our Spring Fever class!

Elegant Snow

Although in Monday's post we wishfully dove into spring, I'm now going to pull us back to the reality that it is still winter. But at least it comes with a beautiful design :)

 

I was so sad that StampinUp! didn't continue the Snow Flurry Die. It was so pretty! I decided it needed one more good use before winter was up anyway though. In order to get the 3-D effect on the snowflake embellishment I used dimensionals behind both pieces of the snowflake (I had to cut the one down to fit behind the smaller snowflake). That allowed the design to really pop instead of getting lost white-on-white.

Recipe card (with links):
Snow Flurry Die     (Discontinued- hopefully you have it already, or something similar)
Basic Rhinestones
Sassy Salutations Stamp Set
Marina Mist Scallop Dot Ribbon
Paper (Whisper White & Marina Mist)
Ink (Marina Mist)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Did you figure out the news?

I teased you last week that something big was coming... but I wasn't very sneaky about it :) I've left lots of hints as I made updates to my blog over the weekend. But, just in case you missed it, I'm now on YouTube. And given how much I love MDS you know what that means- MDS tutorials!

Join me for my first installment where I introduce you to MDS and show you how the program can help you make a quick card via the use of a designer template. It only took about 5 minutes to arrive at this beautiful end project:

And now for the part you've all been waiting for- the video! I hope you enjoy :) And don't forget to flutterby again soon!

I Can See Clearly Now...

... that StampinUp is introducing truly clear stamps! Yes you heard me right- not just the blocks are clear this time :)

For those of you unaware of the history behind this decision here it is... You see, StampinUp has been well aware of the availability of clear (aka acrylic) stamps for many, many years. However, their quality has not been up to StampinUp's par. Acrylic stamps have been know to not give clear images, cloud up over time, or even become brittle. Therefore, StampinUp has remained true to the original rubber form for their stamp sets.

Fast forward to now. After much research StampinUp has found a durable product they can support- photopolymer stamps! This material is so great because it is durable, made to last, and has been age tested so they won't discolor with time.

Sound great? Then head on over to the online store and pick up your Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamps. Based on the popularity of the program they plan to release more and more stamp sets- so make sure to show them how much you love this new product!

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

St Patty's Day Frame

My mom told me about this adorable little girl's shirt that said "I'm pretty, my mom is pretty, my dad is lucky!" Isn't that a fun saying for St Patty's Day :)

Well, I decided to do my own take on the saying and turn it into a mat for a picture frame:

Didn't it just turn out fun :) I'm thinking I'll print this up for my hubby to have at work.

Like it? You're in "luck" because I made a copy just for you. It is a .png file (which means it doesn't have to be square- in this case the middle is actually cut out to put your own picture in). If you have MDS you will use it like an embellishment- otherwise you can have it printed and cut the middle out of your sheet by hand and put a 5x7 photo behind it.  Click HERE to get the file.

Want to make something similar yourself? Follow the recipe below :)

Flutterby again, and I hope your month is Lucky!

Recipe card (with links):
Natural Composition Overlay
Lucky Framable Template (shamrock and lucky stamps)

If you don't already have a demonstrator pick me (Amber Swift) to ensure you get the preferred prices!

Big News Coming!!

And it is going to be exciting! Or at least I thinks so and I hope you will agree :) So keep your eyes open and flutterback next week- I should have it ready by then!