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OK, I Give Up! More Snow Stuff!

Aloha, all!

     The last time I posted I said that I was so OVER snow.  And I just sit and read about snow, I don't live in it.  I can't imagine what you gals and guys who've been living with so much of it this winter are going through (well, yes, I've been there/done that – 50 inches the last winter we spent on the mainland).

     But when there are grandchildren involved and their mother (a photographer) takes pictures of them, I have to give in.

     Both of these scrap pages are made with Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio, and both feature photos of one grandchild each.  The photo layout is one of the built-in layouts provided in the software package that comes with My Digital Studio.  I modified it just a bit, added the background paper, some snowflakes from digital "stamp sets" and some journaling backgrounds made with digital "punches."  All digital!  Not a speck of paper wasted trying out different colors for the mats!  And (best of all) no added clutter in the craft room!  That's the real plus because it seems to be in a constant state of disarray as I am cleaning up after Christmas and getting the new Occasions Mini Catalog stuff set up.

     If you have any questions about My Digital Studio, I'll be glad to help you with them!  I've taken all of Stampin' Up!'s tutorials and have a lot of practice doing lots of fun pages (fun is my mantra for 2011!).   There's also an online resource for everyone who uses My Digital Studio – MyDigitalStudio.net.  Lots of great samples and discussions!  If you're not quite sure you want to buy this software, go check that website out – you'll be hooked!

     And whether you're making cards or scrapbook pages or anything else creative today, have fun with it!

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A Quick Scrap Page Share

Aloha, all!

     I have something a little different for you today – a scrapbook page!

     I did this page as part of a challenge – to make a simple 6" x 6" scrap page with one photo element.  Well, the newest Stampin' Up! Scrapbook Albums are for 8" x 8" pages!  I think that this is just a terrific scrapbook size, and so I made my page that size.  I'm really hoping that we'll have plenty of Christmas photos of our grandchildren to fill up a whole album!

     This paper is from the Candy Cane Specialty Designer Series Paper from the Stampin' Up! 2010 Holiday Mini Catalog.  The whole set is made to coordinate with the stamp set, A Cute Christmas, which is one I don't yet have.  I'll probably give in and order it this week – just too, well, cute.  But the papers work well with other products, too, including the 2-Step Bird Punch which I'm showcasing here.  I punched a Real Red and a Garden Green bird, and just switched out the branch that punches with the birds.  I sponged the edge of the birds and their wings, which gives that some nice depth.

     That's all there is to this page!  And it's a great page for an album introduction.  You really don't need much more than this through a whole album.  Too many people stress over their scrapbooks and never get anything done.  I admit to doing that also, but I'm really working hard at getting out of this mind set!

     I hope you'll take some time to scrap this winter – and have fun with it!

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A Relaxing Memorial Day Weekend

Aloha, all!

     At this point, my husband is feeling quite well, thank you, and his surgeon has asked that he get out a bit if he can.  This is all while we are awaiting a date for the surgery.  It's going to be quite extensive, and requires the operating room to be reserved for a full day.  But with all the drugs the medical types are pumping into Harry, he really is able to get out a bit.  So out we've been getting him.

     One trip has been to the Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu.  This is a great trip because Harry really misses his garden at home, and he can look at some plants that are similar to what he has at home.  Great for him and for us. 

     Meanwhile, Harry shows off the album I made for him that features his very own garden.  Last week I shared the pages featuring our pets, and today I'll start showing off some of the garden pages.  The overall colors throughout the scrapbook (pet pages not withstanding) are Garden Green/Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie/So Saffron.  The scrapping technique for today's two-page spread is one that I use a lot with the small (6" x 6") page spreads:  I take a whole bunch of photos and make them into a collage and print that as a larger photo on one page.  Then, on the facing page, I feature 2 or 3 individual pictures of the objects in question.  Here I'm featuring the tropical rhododendrons, or Vireyas, that are current blooming in our garden.  The photo at the left shows how you can get 11 nice pictures on one small page!

     The paper for this page is from the Designer Series Paper, Flocked Together.  I really wish I had "found" this set earlier!  This coming year I'll pay better attention to ALL the designer series paper sets so I don't miss anything.  The stamp sets featured on this page – as well as on the right side page – are Paradise and Tropical Party.  I originally thought this would be too busy, but I really like the effect when it's all put together in the scrapbook.  You can see that I matted the photo with So Saffron and Garden Green.  I didn't mat most of the photos in this album because of my time constraints.  But sometimes, I just had to get out the card stock and the paper cutter and mat away!

     On the right, I used a page from the Designer Series Paper Jackpot. Now, because my dear husband runs the local ACBL bridge club in Hilo, Hawaii, I already had a big stash of this Designer Series Paper.  And I'll be keeping it for Bridge Club use even after it retires.  But I digress.  The fact is that this paper is NOT just for cards and games.  Look at that lovely diamond pattern in So Saffron!  OK, it's Diamonds as in Hearts, Spades and Clubs.  But it's also diamonds as in a cool pattern!

     As the new papers come out I promise that I'll be much better at looking at them ALL to make sure that neither I nor you just discount a set because the paper that the catalog features just doesn't appeal.

     ALERT!  These Designer Series Paper sets are going to retire July 1st!  They are absolutely perfect for scrapbooking and, if you're a scrapbooker as I am, you might just want to stock up a bit before they're gone for good.

     I only have computer time late at night as the rest of the time I'm spending with my husband.  But I really hope to be back here with some analysis of the Stampin' Up! retired products lists and some suggestions for what you might want to snap up before it goes away.  Meanwhile, please keep my dear husband in your thoughts and prayers!

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Finally Back to Crafting!

Aloha, all!

     My Craft Room is finally back in order – and all my paper slots are labeled with the new colors that will be coming out very soon.  Retiring stuff is all packed up for my Summer Open House, and there are empty boxes ready for all those retiring stamp sets to be added to the stash.

     And now I can craft!  I understood going into my cleaning project that things were out of hand.  But I didn't realize how MUCH out of hand until I started coming across all these old copies of the demonstrator magazine, "Stampin' Success."  Last evening, I started paging through some of them, and came across an idea for a card in the May 2009 issue that used the stamp set, D is For Dog.  Ah ha!  I have been wanting to use one of the quotations from the new stamp set, Favorite Thoughts, with the set, C is for Cat.  And now I had a wonderfully clean craft room and the time to make it!  Do you see all those exclamation points.  I know I'm an exclamation point queen, but I really, really do feel elated that this project is done!

     Anyway, I woke up this morning and looked at the card and thought, "Hmmm.  It's cute, but who do I send it to?  What's the occasion?"  OK, back to the drawing board (all cleaned off, I might add!).  And the 6" x 6" scrap page was created.  Cholla (cho-ya) the Cat is, indeed, the Queen of our household, and she is treated thusly.

     Both projects use Melon Mambo card stock and ink (this is a color that Stampin' Up! is keeping) and the accent color is Crushed Curry (yes, I had to go dig the card stock and ribbon out of one of the packed boxes, but all is nicely put away again).  The little gold fish were stamped onto Crushed Curry with a stamp from C is For Cat, trimmed and then turned over to show just the card stock.

     The technique that I picked up from the magazine was to texturize your card stock with some simple, straight-line scoring.  The card shows one side of the scored paper and the scrap page shows the other.  I think that both look equally good; it's really just a matter of personal preference and the project involved. 

     The card layout here isn't anything really special.  But I encourage you to work with your scoring tool (I used Stampin' Up!'s Fiskars cutter with the scoring blade) to make some designs with whatever card stock you have. 

     Have fun crafting.  I'm going to be doing the same now that I can find everything!

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Our Rainforest Garden – Part II

Aloha, all!

Ah, the rain continues!  But with rain in Hawaii always comes rainbows, at least when the sun has a chance to peek through the clouds!

This photograph shows the view I have from my kitchen window.  A friend told me, upon seeing this picture, that she’d gladly wash dishes all day if she could see this view!  I have to tell you, that washing dishes all day gets old, even WITH this view.  It’s better just to stand there with a cup of coffee and drink in the beauty of my husband’s garden (yes, he’s definitely the gardener!)

As with yesterday’s photo, I framed this up a bit with My Digital Studio.  There are tons and tons of embellishments for scrapbooking pages (and cards, of course!).  But I really didn’t want to clutter this photograph up on a blog with too much of that.  By the first of December, I hope to have a complete 2010 Calendar to share with you that will show off more of what  My Digital Studio has to offer.  

Also as I said yesterday, I hope to have my webinars fully up and running by the first of the year.  I have several "guinea pigs" who are taking my webinar training now, and they’re helping me make sure that I’m going to have the best product possible once I start offering it to you.  I could use a few more "guinea pigs", though.  If you’re interested, please send me an e-mail and let me know.  We can set up a one-on-one session if there’s somethign you’d like to learn about My Digital Studio.  Or I could invite you to one of the group sessions that I’ll be hosting in December.  Just let me know!

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Our Rainforest Garden – Part I

Aloha, all!

I take most of the photographs of my cards and other projects out on our front lanai (or porch).  All year round, the New Guinea impatiens bloom gorgeously, and a few frequently seem to peek out from the sides of my cards.  Last week, in a Chat and Challenge session in which I participated (in a group called SUDSOL, which is a great group for Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators), one of the women asked if I could show off a photograph of more of the garden.  And I gladly shared this picture with the group.  Yes, we see several stalks of bananas from our lanai, though it looks right now as if all of them will become ripe at the same time.  Ladies and gentlemen, there is only so much banana bread that one can make in a single week!

Of course, I had to frame this up a bit with some images from My Digital Studio, with which I’ve been working a lot.  It is just the most wonderful toy for this computer junkie.  I just don’t know where to begin to show you what you can do with it!  But I’m working on it.  I’ve been practicing on my training webinars, and I should be ready to set up some classes right after the first of the year–when there will be more wonderful digital downloads to add to this great new product that Stampin’ Up! offers!

Tomorrow I’ll share a photograph of the garden as I look out the kitchen window towards the back of the house.  Then I’ll have to get back to making some more holiday cards!  The Holidays are HERE!!!

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More Ornaments Scrapbook

Aloha, all!

I completed the scrapbook that features ornaments made by our dear friend, Janet.  It’s only four pages, but it will be a wonderful memory for us of the hand-stitched ornaments that we have received as Christmas gifts for the last 20 years.

Thanks, Janet!

Page 3 will follow shortly!

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Scrapbooking Special Ornaments

Aloha, all! 

I’ve been pretty busy getting straightened up after the holiday AND checking out all the news from the Stampin’ Up! Leadership conference which is concluding today.  I can hardly wait to share some of the wonderful new products to be featured in the 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog!

But I digress.  Today I finished the first page of 4 pages that I will make to create a memory book of ornaments made over the years by my dear friend, Janet.  For the last 20 years or so, each Christmas Janet has hand-stitched a most wonderful ornament for our Christmas Tree.  And she made DOZENS of these ornaments for her friends and family.  For several years, Janet’s wonderful husband, Gary, has encouraged her to move on from this time-consuming activity to other projects.  This year, Gary passed away suddenly, and Janet has now acceded to his request.  So there will be no more new ornaments on our tree.  In fact, right now, we have enough ornaments, including those that I made and those made by other friends, that we cannot fit them all on our trees (yes, we have two trees–Norfolk Island Pines cut from our garden each year).  ALL of the Janet ornaments ALWAYS make it to the trees. 

Before we took down this year’s trees, I took photographs of Janet’s ornaments, and decided to create a small 4-page scrapbook with the photos. 

This photograph shows one of our trees and four of the Janet ornaments that were on it.

As I complete the remaining pages over the next week or so, I’ll share them with you, too!

Thanks, Janet, for all the wonderful memories you create each year as we decorate and enjoy our Christmas trees!

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