Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio does so much more!

July 19, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

A week ago I delivered a copy of Stampin’ UP!’s My Digital Studio creative suite to an avid scrapbooking dear friend of mine.  I spent about an hour introducing her to it and showing her some shortcuts,  and ins and outs that I’ve picked up to help her get started and turned her loose!  I absolutely love, LOVE how easy the Stampin’ UP! My Digital Studio is and I was really excited to get to share it with her.

Sue  C. called me the NEXT DAY and left a voice message on my cell phone:  “Katherine, I’m so sorry that you’re not there to answer your phone, because if you were, you could hear the excitement in my voice.  I love this program!  It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever seen and you know I’ve used several others.  I want to get three more copies of it for my two daughters-in-law and one for Lacey too.  Please give me a call when you can.” . . . FOR REAL! I was elated!

Sue C. is like me, neither one of us would ever consider ourselves ‘computer savvy’ or computer geeks.  We like things simple and straightforward.  Fellow homeschooling moms for more years than we can count, we’re really creative gals so we get along nicely around most creative venues.  She  had gone home that afternoon and played with her program and discovered what all My Digital Studio has to offer.  Literally hundreds of stamps with the ability to re-size them,  all the fabulous color choices from the Stampin’ UP! color ensembles and the ability to match other colors to expand the color palate;  all the marvelous designer series papers, scrapbook templates, embellishments, to just click and drag into place, punches, and so, so easy to select and add pictures. . .ALL coordinating with the wonderful  Stampin’ UP!’ products.  I’m pretty sure she even said that she’d created 5 or 6   12 x 12   scrapbook pages while at it.

How wonderful I felt to, once again, “Share what you love”! It’s what we call the “WOW” factor. Stampin’ UP! may not have been the FIRST on the scene when it came to creative digital programs, but  let me tell you ladies, they certainly have the BEST! At a very modest price tag of only $79.95 it can’t be beat.

We’ve hit that mid point in summer and I hope yours is going as planned, or well,  maybe at least as good as you expected!  I’m off to Salt Lake City for the annual STAMPIN’ UP! CONVENTION week so picture me with a HUGE smile on my face most of the time!  Have a good week and keep those creative juices flowing…Katherine

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Featured Projects, Most Recent, My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up!

Going to the Garden Party with Stampin’ UP! Punches

June 23, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard Leave a Comment

Stampin’ UP! is so much more than just ‘stamps’!. . . as we began our Stampers Club last night I wanted to get things off to a great start, and what better way than to introduce my friends to the wonders and ease of our Stampin’ UP! fabulous punches.

Stampin’ UP! has the best line of creative punches in the paper crafting market today in case you didn’t know.   Here’s a great example of how to put together a summer breezy Thank You card using several of my Stampin’ UP! punches:

Paired with the exclusively Stampin’ UP! Sizzix bigz daisy die from the Alphabet Simple Numbers and the Polka Dot pattern also from the exclusively Stampin’ UP! Sizzix Texturz Plate this Thank You card comes together nicely.

Punches used:  Scallop Circle, 5-Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, and the retired Snowflake

Cardstock:  YoYo Yellow, Garden Green, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Real Red, and a 6×6 sheet from the Patterns Pack Designer Series Paper.

Embellishments: Earth Elements Brad in More Mustard, Rhinestone Brads from Circle Fire, Corduroy Button in Pretty in Pink, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive, Cutter Kit tool.

Design elements that give this Thank You Card a ‘WOW’ factor:

1.) Distressing edges of the grassy hills (which were cut freehand)  using the Stampin’ UP! Cutter Tool Kit.

2.) The breezy Thanks A Bunch banner is created by adhering the end of the banner flat against the card face and layering two Stampin’ dimensionals in the hump to support the hump.

3.) Over sized flower heads give the card a modish appearance.

4.) Use of the pok-a-dot pattern in the sky draws interest to an otherwise blank background.

5.) To customize the scallop circle and achieve the daisy appearance I first scored the scallop and then trimmed inward to 2/3 of the center.

6.)  The 5-Petal flower is double layered

7.) The Snowflake punch in the YoYo Yellow takes on a funky spikey daisy appearance with the large center.

I hope you have enjoyed visiting and remember to put your punches to work…go have some fun and create something today!

Filed Under: Cards, Featured Projects, Stampin' Up!

Vintage Charm

April 27, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard

I just love it when a project comes together!

Several years back on one of our last deer hunting adventures out in Coleman TX , on our deer lease, our son’s Addison & Colin dug up this old jar in an ancient dilapidated pile of what used to be a shed or barn structure.  It has an art-deco flare to it with three arches on either side and was miraculously intact and uncracked.  We stuck it into one of the storage compartments on our travel trailer and there it has remained until re-discovered the other day.

I was excited to find it because I had picked up a bag of various wooden spools last summer, on one of my ventures to an antique store in nearby Valley Mills, TX., while looking for odds and ends for My Bluebonnet Cottage.

The jar would be just the right container to showcase my spools.  After soaking it in some hot soapy water I was able to coax the lid off and clean the inside.  The spools looked just great and had found a home!

But, something was missing, it needed a little extra pizazz to really make it work.  So I added a lovely Shabby Chic Tag created with the Stampin’ UP! Charming Stamp Set.

I picked up color accents from the pale turquoise spool of thread.

Elements used are:  Bermuda Bay 1/2″ Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin’ UP! Linen Thread, Rhinestone Brads in Circle Ice Turquoise, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin’ Dimensionals for depth, Whisper White card stock, Soft Suede Classic Pad, Stampin’ Write Markers in Always Artichoke and Cameo Coral.  All images are from the Charming Stamp Set featured in the 2010 Occassions Mini Catalog. (See link in side bar for catalog ordering 24-7)

I hope you are inspired by this lovely project.  Home decor items don’t have to be time consuming or expensive to pull together.  A little creativity goes a long way.

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you’re having a great week!

Katherine

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Bluebonnet Cottage, Featured Projects, Most Recent, Stampin' Up!

Out with the ‘OLD’!

April 15, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard

Stampin’ UP! has announced that they are re-vamping and reformulating their color palette, and it is exciting to see the changes that are taking shape, or should I say color?!

But before Stampin’ UP! can bring out the gorgeous new  hues we have to make room by retiring some of our favorites!

Here is the color chart of those great Stampin’ UP! colors we’ve been using and love so well that we will have to say good-bye to come July 1st!

I’m sure like, me there are some colors here that you wonder how you’ll be able to live without.  .  .  Don’t wonder…instead stock up now and you can have them around for a long time!

Call or email me today or place your order on-line before it’s too late!  Card stock, ink pads, ink refills, and markers are available in all of these great Stampin’ UP! colors now, but won’t be for long!  Don’t get caught short-handed, order your supply today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Katherine

Filed Under: Events, Featured Projects, Most Recent, Stampin' Up!

Shabby Chic Coasters!

February 20, 2010 By Katherine Pritchard

Most anything that’s considered ‘Vintage’ or ‘Shabby Chic’ is  very much in vogue these days and here’s some beverage coaster’s that definitely follow suite:

I’ve seen lots of coasters the past couple of years but none that  really struck my fancy enough that  interested me  to spend time on.  Then late one night, while re-organizing my Stamp Room (isn’t that an ongoing process?) I came across a card front that I’d made last summer for convention (See French Bird post in archive) and just like a light bulb illuminating the dark,  I could see these coaster’s.

My sweet dear friend Barbie had quietly celebrated her birthday back on February 1st while I was too preoccupied with Boy Scout stuff followed by Valentine’s stuff…you get the picture….and really isn’t there always some kind of ‘STUFF’ that clutters our lives?

I had stitched a little something for her, but she is light years ahead of me in stitching and it was much too unimpressive to even think about giving her. Besides,  part of it was still unaccounted for so I tried to come up with a ‘Plan B’.   I remembered that sometime ago she asked me about stamping on tiles and was interested in doing a project with me…AHH HAAA!!  I remembered that!

So when I came across my French Bird card front,  I had my inspiration for creating these coasters for her!

It would be the perfect birthday gift…she loved the card…she’d love the coasters!  Especially in her newly just completly remodeled living room done in the soft gold tones of the tile and black!

The Stampin’ UP! Friends 24-7 Stamp Set is one of my absolute favorites.  I made her a set of six coasters, three of each pattern; backed with cork.  The edges were distressed with a sponge and Basic Black Classic Stampin’ Ink to suggest a smokey aged air to the tiles and sealed with a matte finish Krylon sealing spray.  They were so much fun to create!

Did I mention that we love French accents?  So naturally the En Francais’ Block Stamp was again, another perfect element for the background!

I liked them so well, next week I’m going to use the rest of the tiles to make myself a set!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Katherine

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Featured Projects, Stampin' Up!

Looking forward to a New Year and a New Look!

December 8, 2009 By Katherine Pritchard

With everyone’s budgets being stretched to the max lately, here’s an easy affordable way to brighten up your home and create that warm unique look just for you, yet won’t break your bank:

Project_Decor_Stencils_CheepTalk

Discover the versatility of Stampin’ UP! Definitely Decorative stencils. When you want to add the perfect touch to your home or office, look no further than the Definitely Decorative products. We offer a wide variety of images for every room or occasion. You can create images that are soft and subtle, bold and bright, or anything in between.

For a closer look at the darling Cheep Talk stencils (set of 10 stencils) simply follow the link:  Definitely Decorative

For more home decor ideas check our  Fall-Winter 2009 Definitely Decorative catalog.

Thanks for stopping in and have a great weekend!

Katherine

Filed Under: 3-D Projects, Featured Projects, Stampin' Up!