Archive for August, 2011

August 27, 2011

Thoroughly Inappropriate Hurricane Card

Thoroughly Inappropriate Hurricane CardThere’s pouring rain and pounding winds on the other side of my state, where Hurricane Irene is grinding her way up the east coast.

I began to wonder if there were a way to represent the crashing waves with something in My Digital Studio. The closest match I found was the Wing from the Extreme Elements brush set. I threw in the Fish from the Cute Cat set, the Cloud from the Big Bold Birthday set, and the Boat from the Nursery Necessities set. The rest of it is punches, the Straight Stitching element in Very Vanilla, and a sentiment from the Thoughts and Prayers set.

In all seriousness, however, best of luck to everyone on the east coast. Stay safe and dry.

August 25, 2011

Reindeer Gift Tag

Reindeer Gift TagThis gift tag may have been my most popular swap, probably because everyone recognized the Dasher stamp (which I converted to Rudolph with a red brad).

The background is Christmas Jingle, Paper 4. I used a 2″ by 1.5″ punch of Old Olive with a drop shadow on the right. The Dasher image is Circle 1 from the Christmas Jingle – elements. I added a Cherry Cobbler brad, resized to .128″, to change Dasher into Rudolph. The sentiment is A Holly, Jolly Christmas – to from.

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August 25, 2011

Snowman Gift Tag

Snowman Gift TagThis Snowman Gift Tag was printed on a 2″ by 3.5″ business card and designed with resources from My Digital Studio.

The left image is the Snowman from the Holiday Blitz brush set, in Night of Navy, with a default drop shadow. The effect is a frosty look on the snowman part of the image. On the right, I used the Snowflake from the Best Wishes & More brush set, also in Night of Navy, set to 19% opacity.

The “Ready, Set, Snow!” sentiment is Sentiment 3 from Best Wishes & More, in Night of Navy. The “To – From” sentiment is from A Holly, Jolly Christmas, also in Night of Navy.

August 25, 2011

Red Snowflake Gift Tag

Red Snowflake Gift TagSized to print on a 2″ by 3.5″ business card, this gift tag uses very basic elements from My Digital Studio. The background is Cherry Cobbler Polka Dot, included in the free 2010 New Color Patterns download. I reduced the pattern size a bit to distribute the dots nicely.

The green label is Christmas Jingle Label 3, in Embellishments. The snowflake is Christmas Jingle – elements, Snowflake 10. The sentiment is the to/from stamp from A Holly, Jolly Christmas brush set.

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August 23, 2011

Santa’s Sleigh Gift Tag

Santa's Sleigh Gift TagThis is another gift tag sized to print on a 2″ by 3.5″ business card. You could add a piece of Sticky Strip to the back or punch a hole in the corner and add a string to attach to your present.

The background is Cherry Cobbler at 70% opacity. The borders are Dots from the Christmas Jingle Border at 78% opacity (to mute them a bit. 100% was too harsh). The snowflakes are Dotted Snowflake 1 from the Old Saint Nick Brush Set. They were in the original Basic Black, as stamped, but with opacity turned down to 18. I stamped and rotated them slightly. The sleigh is the Sled stamp from the Old Saint Nick Brush Set in Cherry Cobbler at 100% opacity. The label is from the Winter Post Brush Set in Basic Black.

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August 23, 2011

5 Petal Flower Punch Christmas Tree Card

Christmas Tree Gift TagThis tag, like the others, was sized to print on a 2″ by 3.5″ business card. I used the Star Punch with Old Olive to create the tree and then decorated it with Cobbler Cherry Round Brads. The text is in Cherry Cobbler with stamps from the Holly, Jolly Christmas Brush Set. Everything came from the My Digital Studio software.

The problem with the card is that the tree is skewed a bit. I had a rough time fitting it onto the card without some distortion. If you wanted to do the same card with the actual 5 Petal Flower Punch for the front of a greeting card, you’d have better results. Rather than brads, use a small round punch and Cherry Cobbler (or the color of your choice) for the decorations.

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August 18, 2011

Island IndiSnow Holiday Gift Tag

Island IndiSnowThis gift tag uses Island Indigo, hence the play on words for the name “indisnow.”

The ribbon on the bottom is actually a red color, but changing the opacity resulted in that deeper shade. For the snowflake, I maximized the drop shadow to give it the glowing effect, using an effect like the one for Coloring Paper Daisies.

August 18, 2011

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Turkey Day card by tengrrl, on FlickrI created this Thanksgiving Hokie Bird Card with My Digital Studio as a swap for the Charlotte, NC Stampin’ Up Regional that I’m attending as a guest of my sister who is a Demonstrator.

The components of the card are:

  • Turkey: Circle Punch, Tall Heart Punch, Brads for eyes, and All in the Family—right arm for legs
  • Hat: Square Punch, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware—square, and Black Grosgrain Ribbon for brim
  • Colors: Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black,and Whisper White
  • Background: Sunny Day Designer Series Paper, Sunny Day—Paper 4
August 14, 2011

My First Project with My Digital Studio

In the last 8 hours, I’ve become completely distracted with Stampin’ Up’s My Digital Studio software. My sister bought it for me as a Christmas present. At the time, my computer had a dead fan and was close to complete failure, so I didn’t install the software. I figured I’d wait for the new machine. The new machine came in March, but I had work to do (and no overwhelming need to make a card) so I never got the software installed.

Next week, I’m going to a Stampin’ Up regional conference as the guest of my sister (who is a demonstrator). Typically, attendees bring card samples to swap with one another. I figured I didn’t have time to get anything done, and I’m not sure I could tell you which box my craft supplies are in anyway. No big deal, I figured.

Suddenly last night however, I remembered the My Digital Studio software, and I realized that I could probably design some cards in time since I could rely on the printer to help me. Okay, my software designs won’t be as cute and complicated as the handcrafted ones, but something is better than nothing. Besides, I figure demonstrators need examples to convince people to buy the software just as much as they need examples to convince people to buy the rubber stamps.

Thanksgiving Place Card Sample 1So over there on the right, you have my first creation. It’s meant to be a Thanksgiving Place Card, which could be printed out on an inkjet business card. Okay, I grant that it’s the kind of thing your average 5-year-old could create with paper and glue, but hey, it was my first project with a new piece of software, so I’m allowing myself not to be Martha Stewart-level designer yet.

For any Stampin’ Up folks who want the details, it uses Grosgrain Ribbon for the brim (Basic Black) and the stripe (Crushed Curry). The buckle is Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware – square. Background is Always Artichoke Stripe. The solid is Always Artichoke. There’s a square punch (Basic Black) for the hat, and the text (Arial Black) is in Crushed Curry with a 50% drop shadow.

I hope to learn a bit more about the software in the next few days and then make it a bit more sophisticated before we leave for the conference. If you have suggestions to jazz it up or pointers for the software, let me know. I’ve only been playing with it for 3 hours, so I have plenty I need to learn.

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