Lexi's Homecoming Pictures

For my first My Digital Studio project, I decided to make two scrapbook pages for my cousin Lexi. I decided to create my own pages rather than using the pre-designed templates offered in the program. This took me a little longer, but Lexi was happy with the results.


Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP,
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS,
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE, AND
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS.
Happy Thanksgiving!

New Layout ... New Energy

First of all, I have to say that I LOVE My Digital Studio. The new banner and background is thanks to this program. I have some projects I will be sharing in the days to come that will show you just how much fun you could be having!

For now, I want to thank Patty Bennett for taking the time to put together this tutorial (as well as others) that shows you how to make your own banner with My Digital Studio. I had been tinkering with it, but this helped me to finalize my work. Don't be suprised if my banner changes often as I get to know the program better!

Back to taking photos and getting them uploaded!

A quick apology

I want to apologize to anyone who has visited my blog in the last month and noticed the lack of anything. My computer directory files became corrupt and I had to reformat my harddrive and then re-install the operating system. There are still some things that I haven't been able to recover, but I'm almost done re-installing all my important programs.

I do have some things to share, and will start posting again soon! I've got some great Christmas cards to share!

Halloween Treat Card

I promised I would work on a card using Sweet Centers until I was happy. This card is it!

I decided to make a treat card, but I wanted to make sure that the card would not be destroyed to get to the candy. This technique doesn't give the option to refill the treat cup but for those people who like to keep cards for inspiration or for sentimental reasons, I think this will allow that. I added the ribbon so it almost looks like a treat bag.

I used Sticky Strip on the ribbon to attach the ribbon between the cardstock for added stability. I also decided to emboss the image to give it some texture. I used Green Galore craft ink and clear embossing powder.

This is a back view of the treat card. You'll notice I perforated the back where the candy can be found.

This was a really easy card to make, which is good because I plan to make several of them for co-workers.




I hope you enjoyed my share! Happy Stamping!

Candy Flower

As promised, I'm sharing a card created using a stamp set from the new Holiday Mini. This card was made using the stamp set, Sweet Centers (pg 6/7, #117639) and the corresponding Sweet Treat Cups.

I have to admit, I'm not 100% happy with this card. However, I did design and create this all by my lonesome, and that makes me happy. I'm still learning a lot and trying to find that creative part of me that can look at papers and stamp sets, and just put things together. I do have to say that I found I loved the colors together.

I will tackle this and make myself 100% happy with the results. I've got more ideas floating in my head and will be playing this weekend. I work for the State of California and therefore will be "furloughed" tomorrow. My plan is to spend that day crafting. :)

My goal is also to make my card so that it doesn't have to be destory to get to the candy. I will share full details on how I accomplish that when I share my next project.

Till then, happy stamping!

The New Holiday Mini Catalog has arrived!

I'm very excited to share that the new Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog is now available! From now and until January 4, 2010, you will be able to order some wonderful items for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and more!

I have some projects in the works that I will be sharing with you in the coming days. If you haven't received a copy of the mini catalog, just contact me and I will be sure to get one to you.

You can also view the pdf version of the catalog by visiting my Stampin' Up webpage here.

Royal Blog Tour - Welcome!

Hi there and thanks for stopping by! The projects I'll be sharing with you today were made using the stamp set "Lots of 'Bots" (pg 82, #115293) from the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog 2009-2010.

I have created three projects to share with you today, each one made using the designer series paper Razzleberry Lemonaide (pg 162, #115675) and the new in-colors (pg 154) that correspond with the DSP. I've really enjoyed making these projects to share with you and I hope that you enjoy them as well.

Our first project is a simple bag made from a 12x12 sheet of paper. I scored each side at two inches to make it a long bag.

This size bag is perfect for several things, such as those specialty lotions at places such as Bath and Body Works. It is also the prefect size for a small baby shower gift.

To embellish the bag, I stamped the image on whisper white cardstock and colored him in using the neutral water color crayons (pg 154, #106746) with a blender pen (pg 192, #102845).

I added a little touch by cutting down a piece of rich razzleberry cardstock and punching it with the scallop edge punch (pg 187, #112091).

I closed the top of the box off with a scallop circle pierced through and tied off with a bit of 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon in Apricot Appeal.

The second project I have to share with you today is a simple treat holder using the Pillow Box diecut (pg 199, #113466).

I wrapped it with 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon in very vanilla. I made a small tag by punching the image on whisper white cardstock and matting it against the in-color, melon mambo. I then used the Tag Corner punch (pg 186, #107215) on the top corners to give it a tag look. I attached it to the ribbon.

The third project I made for you today is a cute gift card holder.

This card holder is made with two no. 3 coin envelopes, which can be purchased at any office supply store. I stamped the image of bolts across the Dusty Durango cardstock to create my own background. I also stamped them across one of the coin envelopes to blend it in better with the rest of the holder. for the image on top I used my Stampin' Write Markers in both neutral (pg 154, 109126) and in-color (pg 155, #116329) and colored directly onto the stamp. I then used the going gray and bermuda bay ink pads with my blender pen to color him in. I also used the rich razzleberry ink pad to color in the balloon. Using the masking technique, I stamped the bolts and binary images in crushed curry over the whisper white and robot image. Still using the masking technique, I stamped "Happy Birthday , Human" in Dusty Durango. For a little bit of fun, I stamped another image of the bolts in Dusty Durango and cut it out, adding it to the image with a dimensional.

As an added treat, you can create a small note to place inside the holder. :)

I hope you've enjoyed your visit and the samples I've share with you using the "Lots of Bots" stamp set. Enjoy the rest of the tour!

Thank you,

Raberta

Sacramento, CA

Deal of the Week

Every week, Stampin' Up! is offering a new deal.

This week's deal is: Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware!

Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, item #112454

Regular Price: $29.95

Special Price: $18.99

This deal is only good from July 20th through July 26th. 

Don't lose out on this great deal! Be sure to head over to my Online Store!

Please check back next Monday to see what new deal SU! has to offer!

Our next Royal Blog Tour!

Be sure to sign up to ride our next Royal Blog Tour!

I am very excited to announce that our blog tour is only a few weeks away and the team is hoping to bring you a fantastic tour of creativity and fun! If you haven't signed up to ride the tour yet, you should stop by the blog as we have posted some fantastic interviews of some of your favorite stampers! There will be more to come and lots of surprises, so make sure you sign up to follow the blog today!

New Catalog, new Sample

Good Morning my friends! Its going to be another beautiful sunny day here in Sacramento. Its also going to be another HOT day. :)
Here is the first sample I'll be sharing with you, using a stamp set and DSP from the new catalog. Isn't it cute!? The stamp set is called Animal Stories (page 88, #116716) and the DSP is Razzleberry Lemonade (page 162, #115675).
All the paper uses the new In-Colors. For this card I used the Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Rich Razzleberry. So far I think the Rich Razzleberry is my favorite. For the cute little giraff, I used Crushed Curry, first inking the stamp with a versamark pad, then the ink. I then embossed the image with clear imbossing powder to give it texture, before cutting him out.
This is just the first of many ideas I have in store for you! Keep checking back here and my project gallery on my online SU! store for more ideas. I'll be posting a sample of this project there later this evening.
Thanks for visiting and Happy Stamping!

Raberta

Sacramento, CA

Shoebox Swap

Hello everyone, and Happy Monday!

It was a beautiful day in Sacramento, summer is definantly making an appearance.

Last week I attended my first ever Shoebox Swap. I knew about it a month in advance, and I'll be honest that I fretted the whole time. I've been a demonstrator since September of last year, but I've been more of what is referred to as a "Hobby Demo" and haven't hosted a workshop yet. I wanted to make sure my card was demonstrator quality, something that would be liked by all and easy to make. It wasn't until the Monday before (it was on Thursday) that I was sure of what I was going to do. And here it is!

The Top Note die-cut is one of my favorite of the dies that Stampin' Up! offers. Its extremely versitile and easy to use. I decided to use it and also to showcase some items that are (*sniff*) retiring as of the end of June. That would be the Kiwi Kiss paper and ribbon.

For this card I stamped the image with versamark and then used my dauber to dab chalk onto the image to make it appear. Its one of my favorite techniques because it feels like a bit of magic is happening as the image just appears! :) This whole card was made without using one color ink pad!

To get a full list of items used, please visit my SU! Online Store in the Creative Projects section. Click here to go directly to the project details.

Thanks for visiting!

Time for a new look ... what do you think?

For a while now I've been wanting to change things up on my blog. I like clean and simple layouts with a little bit of color. Something that is easy to read and navigate.

Money is really tight right now, so I can't afford to pay a professional to do this for me. But I was determined to make it better.

I'm not an expert at html or css ... and my skills at graphic design are very mediocre. So after many hours of tinkering with code and trying my best at making a banner, I am happy to share with you my new blog.

What do you think? :)