My Digital Studio Sample Book

Take a look at the pages featuring the Sample book I designed using My Digital Studio.  Thursday is the BIG DAY, when My Digital Studio will be available to all of you.  While you are waiting, though, this sample book shows you some of what you can look forward to seeing with this software.  Trust me!  You won't want to wait to get your copy (unless you want someone to buy it for you for Christmas).  That can be arranged!  Enjoy looking at these sample pages.   Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get the slideshow  posted directly into the blog, but if you click on the picture below, it will take you to my Picasa Web Album, where you can scroll through all the pages.  Thanks for checking in today!

Happy Stamping,

Twila

MDS Sample Book_JPEG

Are you ready for October 1?

What't so special about October 1?  My Digital Studio will be available to order that day!!!  The card to the left was created using this wonderful new digital paper-crafting solution.  I've already shown you two different scrapbooks that I created using My Digital Studio.  Though I haven't posted the changes here, I have actually updated the pages and pictures in my 25th Anniversary Album.  I decided to have those pages printed professionally just to try it out.  I can't wait to see the results!  You can also print your projects at home, though you may not match Stampin' Up! colors perfectly.  Interested in seeing what this program will do?  Give me a call at (309) 221-0978 and we'll set up a time for you to come play at my computer for a little while.  It's actually very addicting and soooo fast you'll hardly believe it!  Come along and play;  you'll be glad you did!  Click HERE to see what's it's all about!

Happy Stamping,

Twila

WOW Card Club

Last night was our second night of card club, and what WOW results we had.  I had one outside order called in to me yesterday to add to the totals, and when all was said and done, my hostess was a VERY happy camper!  She got not 1 but 2 free hostess sets, plus lots of FREE stuff! Would you like to earn FREE stuff, too?  Call me for details.  Now is a great time to earn some GREAT hostess benefits1

This is one of the cards we made with just a little modification.  We used Champagne frost shimmer paint to stamp the snowflakes (Serene Snowflakes) on the background.  The border uses shimmery paper from the Cocoa Specialty DSP.   The ornaments are made using the stamps from Delightful Decorations and the ornament punch.  Merry Christmas comes from the Four The Holidays stamp set..  Beware using the new shimmer paints!  They can be very messy to use, but create beautiful effects on any project!

Happy Stamping,

Twila

Last Minute Design

What do you do when you run out of Whisper White Cardstock?  I have it ordered, but it won't get her on time!  Help!  I fianlly decided I would have to make something for tomorrow's card club that didn't use any white at all!  OK, what do I have that will work well together?  After thumbing through my paper inventory, I decided to use Tempting Turquoise.  So now what?  I thumbed through my DSP inventory, and VOILA!  Pink Flamingo DSP will work great!  But do I have enough coordinating colors?  After some trial and error, I decided that, yes, I do have enough, and this is the resulting card.  The Fifth Avenue Floral is stamped on the inside of the card with Tempting Turquoise ink.  The phrase is stamped with the same color on tempting turquoise cardstock and then punched out using the Wide Oval Punch.

Speaking of Card Club, tomorrow is only the second night, and you can still join, but space is limited, so call me if you're interested at (309) 221-0978 or e-mail me at tmustain@centurytel.net for details.

Happy Stamping,

Twila

My Digital Studio Anniversary Album

I've previously shown a few pictures from our 25th Anniversary Celebration last month.  Well, even though I've already printed most of the pictures with the intention of making a scrapbook, I decided to make a professionally printed book instead.  I just love the ease with which the album came together!  I'm telling you, this program just might change your mind about scrapbooking.  This whole album went together in less than 5 hours total!  I may add just a few more pictures, depending on what my brother has on his camera, but basically, this album is complete, except having it printed.  I can't wait to see the printed book, complete with photo cover!

Let me know what you think:





Happy (Digital) Stamping,

Twila

Top Note Die Versatility

How's this for versatility?  All these images or shapes from one die.  The top photo is of the Top Note Die in its original shape.  The medallion shape on the right is run through the Big Shot at least 4 times to get this shape.  The medallion on the lower left is run through the Big Shot twice.  I've seen some beautiful cards using all of these shapes for many different occasions.  I just had to try my hand at cutting these shapes before I called it a night.  Tomorrow, I'll play with them a little and create some cards to show you.  Until then,

Happy Stamping,

Twila

Very Thankful

Do you remember see the sample of the Polished Stone Technique a few weeks ago?  I have playing with different color combinations this week, and decided this would work in a fall themed card.  I'm working on some new ideas for Card Club next week.  I've already 'Polished the Stone', so to speak for all the cards.  The papers are cut and ready to go.  Though this picture doesn't do it justice, it's very colorful and shimmery.  The stamp is embossed with black embossing powder to make it really stand out.  The ribbon across the top is the Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon with a hint of gold painted on it.  The Polished Stone is matted on basic black and the base of the card is really rust.  I wanted something simple, yet elegant.  Let me know what you think.

  The Very Thankful stamp set is sold to help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House organization.  It features the peacock, a turtle, a child and flowers.

   Card Club is next Tuesday, September 22 at 6:45 p.m.  There is still time to join, so let me know.

Happy Stamping,

Twila

My Digital Studio Hybrid Card

 This is the birthday card I designed for my son's upcoming 17th birthday.  It is designed using the new My Digital Studio (MDS), printed, then embellished with jumbo eyelets.  I'm still learning my way around the program, but so far, the only thing I haven't figured out is the printing of the cards.  They do, however, look great digitally, and would make a great e-card.  They can also be professionally printed.  This would be great to design your own Christmas card, and then have them 'mass produced'.  What a time saver!  Let me know what you think.  Please remember this is my first attemp, though I'm OK with the final product.  I know my son, Jesse, will love it.  He has asked me several times if I was going to make his birthday card.  To him, that makes it much more personal and special.  In case you didn't notice, there are sixteen candles along the bottom of the card shown above.  The 17th candle is on the cupcake.  The picture on the right shows the inside of the card.  The back of the card only shows the copywrite information.

Happy stamping,

Twila

My Digital Studio

This is my first attempt at a scrapbook album using the new My Digital Studio.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I created this album using blank pages.  There are also templates available to use.  It's really very simple, and much faster than traditional scrapbooking.  Let me know what you think!

September 11

You know, I've been so busy today, I didn't even stop to think about the significance of this date.  Though it has been a long 8 years for most of us, I hope that at some point, we have all stopped to say a prayer for all the families affected by that horrible tragedy.  For a short time, our nation was brought together.  That tragedy could have been so much worse, and yet I believe we live in the best country in the world.  God has blessed our nation so richly, and I hope we will all one day realize the great things HE has in store for us.

God Bless,

Twila

My New Banner

Have you noticed the new look my blog has received?  I recently changed from a two-column blog to a three-column blog, then had to have an expert change the location of one of the sidebars.  Now I have finally made a new banner!  How do you like it?  For now, I just like the new color.  The embellishments (the stamp and the Hodgepodge Hardware) are real merchandise that I own.  On this picture, however, I used the new software, My Digital Studio, to create the banner.  I wasn't sure, at first, how I could make a large page end up being just a small wedge of the paper, but I finally figured out what to do, and it wasn't difficult at all.  Let me know what you think of the new look.

Happy Stamping,

Twila

Gift Tag Box

Have you ever thought you'd like to make your own gift tags for birthdays, holidays, etc.?  And if you do, then where will you store them?  I learned about this nifty litle gift tag box from another demonstrator on Late Night Stampers, a yahoo group I joined.  They give a wealth of information and instructions for many different projects.  The unfinished tags inside this box have a "To" and "From" on the back, and mainly need a string added.  They will then be ready to use for my holiday gift giving.  The stamps used are a level 2 hostess set and coordinate with several punches.  I also used the paints found in the Holiday Mini Catalog to accent the tags.  The cover for the box used the window sheets found in the Idea Book and Catalog.  This particular box used the thick window sheets.  I made it work, but the thick sheets were difficult to fold into good creases on the corners.  The next time I will try the medium window sheets.  If you'd like to try making this set, let me know.  I'm considering adding this to a class for the holidays if there is enough interest.

Happy stamping,

Twila

Build A Bear

Build A Bear has arrived in the Stampin' Up! community! If you love the Build A Bears that you make at the stores, you'll love the stamps and Big Shot Dies that are now available. I don't have the stamps, but have ordered the two main Build A Bear Dies. They should arrive at my door on Wednesday along with My Digital Studio, so I'll have plenty to entertain me for awhile. If you want to see more ideas for these wonderful bears, just click on the picture to the right or the title above. The Dies allow you to 'dress' your bears as girls or boys in whatever color combo you desire. I'll get you a real sample just as soon as I can.

Happy Stamping,

Twila

INTRODUCING: MY DIGITAL STUDIO - AVAILABLE OCTOBER 1

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Exclusive Stampin' Up! Content

* Stampin' Up! artwork and accessories available in a digital format.
* Stampin' Up! colors allow for perfect coordination when embellishing professional print projects with traditional embellishments. Add depth and dimension when you combine digital with handcrafted.
* With My Digital Studio, your favorite images and colors need not retire--you can keep using them for years to come!

Software

* My Digital Studio starts with nearly 2,000 unique elements--stamps, embellishments, templates, kits, punches, Designer Series papers, card stock, borders, and more.
* Intuitive design for easy navigation and project creation.
* Plenty to do for more advanced users including
o Customizable stamps and embellishments
o Photo, background, accent, and page editing
o Multimedia features including music, videos, and links
* Automatic photo fill for effortless design.
* Program is on 3 DVDs, making downloading quick and simple.
* The program is stored on your computer, not on the web, so you can take it with you.
* PC and Mac compatible.
* Training and quick start materials available to help you learn more.
* Use My Digital Studio as a design tool--create projects digitally before crafting it in paper, or create flyers to print or e-mail to customers.

Digital Downloads

* Download new embellishments, stamps, kits, and templates to My Digital Studio on a regular basis. Digital downloads are also compatible with other design tools.
* Digital downloads feature exclusive Stampin' Up! artwork and colors.
* Embellishments are true to size, making it easier to combine digital projects with paper crafting.

Print

* Professional print service available--print your photo albums, calendars, cards, and individual pages.
* Stampin' Up!'s professional print services ensure that printed colors match with our paper products. Because personal printers and other print services use different settings, their prints may not match Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors within acceptable tolerances. Stampin' Up! has worked to make sure that our professional print services match our colors perfectly!
* Don't limit yourself to print projects! You can also create digital projects like DVDs, interactive albums, and e-cards.
* With My Digital Studio, you can print your projects from your home printer (depending on your printer's settings, printed colors may not match Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors).
* Stampin' Up!'s professional print services use only the highest quality products--papers, album covers (linen, leather, and photo covers).
* My Digital Studio is competitively priced at $79.95.

HOSTESS PROMOTION

Dates: September 1-November 30, 2009

Promotion Details:

We're excited to bring you this sweet deal for hostesses September through November:

* Host a workshop totaling $250 or more and choose any one item* from the 2009 Holiday Mini Catalog for only $10!
*Offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio.

After My Digital Studio is released, this offer will become even sweeter:

* Host a workshop of at least $400 and get My Digital Studio for 50 percent off the retail price (retail price: $79.95; promotional price: $39.97)!

We are thrilled to bring you this very exciting hostess promotion. In fact, we encourage you to contact all of your customers and let them know about this unbelievable offer! Use it to share Stampin' Up! with your friends and family; contact your past and potential hostesses to let them know that it is coming--and start planning your Holiday Mini workshops today!

No More Non-SU references

Based on a new Demonstrator Agreement that I signed yesterday, I will no longer be able to make direct reference to non-Stampin' Up! products.  I can show you something I use, I can even tell you that I bought it locally, but I cannot tell you exactly WHERE I bought it.  I rarely use those products, anyway, but now I just can't give you details about something that I can't sell to you.  Oh, well.  I guess I can live with that.  You won't see links to other sites that promote or market other competitive products, either.  I'm not really hurt by this agreement, but I know others that have tough choices to make regarding the way they do business.  Do I have competing products?  Of course I do.  I had them long before I became involved with Stampin' Up!.  I don't however, use them when promoting my business.  It would be pretty hard to sell SU products if I didn't use them.  I save the other things for personal use and share them with my daughters and those that can't or won't buy SU anyway.  You will still see me here AND I will still be sharing what I make and sharing family stories.  See you soon and....

Happy stamping,

Twila

Holidays are fast approaching!

Can you believe the holidays are coming?  In just over 2 months, it will be Thanksgiving!  And Christmas won't be far behind!  Now would be a great time to think about what you will do for Christmas cards!  How about making them this year?  I'm thinking of doing a class or what would be called in the stamping world as a 'Stamp-A-Stack'.  For a fee of about $20 or $25  you would make between 20 to 30 cards.  They can be sets of matching cards or one-of-a-kind cards.  You would need to set aside 4 to 6 hours for this, so it would have to be a weekend.  I can guarantee you'll like sending something wonderfully handmade, and your friends and family will like receiving them.  Let me know what you think.  Maybe you'd like to make your own gift tags.  Stampin' Up! now has great tools for making your own with stamps and punches.  They don't have to be hand-cut.  The punches will cut the shapes for you.  As soon as I break into my new sets from the Holiday Mini Catalog, which by the way, is available starting today, I will post some pictures.  

Happy Stamping,

Twila