This week’s MDS downloads are as cool as ever, particularly since one of them is FREE!  Check ‘em out…

You Are So Nice Kit – $10.95 (click to purchase)

Faces I Love Swatchbook Template – $13.95 (click to purchase)

Because I’m the Dad Greeting Card Templates – $5.50 (click to purchase)

Packed For You Designer Template – FREE (click to download)

Take a look at all the latest My Digital Studio downloads…

On the subject of digital downloads, here’s a bit of a shopping tip for you if you tend towards a try before you buy mindset…

When you are browsing my online store for new downloads, it’s possible to see in more detail than the sneak peek images exactly what is contained in each kit, stamp set etc.

Below is an example of what you see when you are looking at a particular download.  It includes information on what is contained in the kit, plus the co-ordinating colours to the right of the image.  You can zoom in on the image itself just by clicking on it, but it doesn’t show you exactly what elements the kit contains.

This information is available by clicking on the “MORE IMAGES” link as seen in the example below…

The following screen then opens up, which gives you the option of looking through the entire contents of the kit by clicking on each element on the right hand side to bring up a large preview on the left hand side and using the PREV and NEXT links to navigate through.

I thought this was a pretty cool feature, so I hope it’s a useful one for you!

I have another video for you today too, this one shows you how I created the “Oh My Giddy Aunt” framed image for my mum in my previous blog post.  Hopefully it also shows you how quickly and simply you will be able to create your own personalised gifts and artwork

I absolutely love all of the different word art options that are around in the home decor scene these days, but what I love even more is that I can take my favourite quote, put it in my favourite font, match it to the colours of the room I’m decorating or that of the person I’m giving it to and I have a personalised piece of art that is not mass produced and gracing the living room wall of every other person in the country.

Are you inspired to  make yourself some word art too…?

I had a truly lovely day on Sunday – celebrating with the little ladies that call me mum and the two ladies that I am fortunate enough to have as mums in my own life, my precious mum and my gorgeous mother-in-law.

The day started early, with a sweet breakfast of tea and vegemite toast in bed, made entirely by small hands as my nightshift worker husband slumbered beside me.  He was awake soon enough though, as I was excitedly showered with sweet crafty gifts and cards that had been smuggled home from school the week before and stealthily stashed away from prying mummy eyes.

We visited both Nanny (my mum) and Mama (handsome man’s mum) later in the day, bearing this card for each of them…

Having recently acquired the Bitty Butterfly punch, I was excited to use it in a way that was inspired by an example in the current Seasonal Catalogue – page 38 for those of you playing along at home

And just because I want to use every opportunity and significant event as an excuse to bust out some MDS, I also whipped up a cute and cheeky bit of personalised home decor for my lovely mum…

This is an exclamation that Nanny attaches to pretty much any situation, be it in amazement, frustration, excitement, delight or otherwise, and it’s something that she’s known for in several of the circles that she moves in.

I’m pleased to report that she loved it and it now sits happily on her recently and beautifully styled bookshelf

Keep an eye out for a quick how to video on some simple techniques that I employed to create the framed image – coming your way soon…!

Stamps: Hearts a Flutter, Woodgrain, Simply Serif Alphabet
Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake Naturals Ivory, Calypso Coral, Tea for Two DSP
Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories: 1-3/8″ Circle Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Needlepoint Border Embossing Folder, Bitty Banner Framelits, Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Calypso Coral Baker’s Twine, Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin’ Sponges

Background: Card Stock\Bermuda Bay
Stamps: Designer Kits\Hello World\Hello World – flourish, Color = Whisper White     
Font: AR Bonnie

It’s terribly remiss of me not to have dedicated a post to this little special sooner, but with so much going on at Stampin’ Up! in recent times, I’m afraid I’ve rather neglected to tell you about the Sent with Love special offer!

So I’m doing it with gusto today with a set of five co-ordinated note cards and envelopes featuring the Stamps and Designer Series Paper in this sweet promotion.

Until June 15th, you can score this exclusively available bundle of products, which includes the Stamp Set, Designer Series Paper and Calypso Coral Baker’s Twine at a 20% discount.  Alternatively you can purchase the products individually, which is still limited to the June 15th deadline, but without the attached discount.

There’s even a Sent with Love MDS kit available for download!  Sweet!

Check out all of the products in this special by visiting the dedicated page in my online store…

As alluded to at the end of yesterday’s post, I have created a video to show a couple of techniques in MDS that I used in the scrapbook layout that featured in that post.

It’s my first MDS tutorial video, but I have more in the works and am excitedly looking forward to sharing them with you in the not too distant future…

Would love to know if the video was helpful to you!

Leave a comment and let me know

Stamps: Sent with Love
Paper: Note Cards & Envelopes, Sent with Love DSP, Whisper White, Real Red, Pool Party,
Ink: Real Red, Island Indigo, Pool Party
Accessories: Cloudy Day Embossing Folder, 3/4″, 1-1/4″ & 1-3/8″ Circle Punches, 1″ Square Punch, Postage Stamp Punch, Bitty banners Framelits, Hearts a Flutter Framelits

I‘m a bit ridiculously excited to share an MDS project with you today – a 12×12 layout that I completed using Instagram photos that I took during the recent school holidays in conjunction with a sketch challenge from a Facebook MDS Challenge group that I belong to…

I had so much fun with it and I absolutely LOVE the sketch itself – I can see myself using it for a traditional scrapbooking layout too.  If I can ever drag myself away from this digital caper that is…

If you headed to my What’s on @ SU! page that I mentioned at the tail end of my previous post (what do you MEAN you didn’t read all the way to the bottom?!), you’ll have seen that there are a number of My Digital Studio kits, ensembles and templates on sale at 25% off until June 15th.

Check out all the discounted digital goodness….

Speaking of digital downloads, have you seen the latest ones released this week…?

134686 Legit Kit – $16.50

134599 Show & Tell 1 Stamp Brush Set – $8.95

134600 Show & Tell 2 Stamp Brush Set – $8.95

134594 Wonderland Party Ensemble – $16.50

I can see a need for the Wonderland Party Ensemble in my very near future. Loving those bright and spunky colours and that wonky cake is an absolute delight!

To take part in all this digital wonderment, you will need the MDS software, which you can trial FREE for 30 days, or purchase outright for the very reasonable price of $24.95.  Either way, they come with a pre-loaded selection of elements to use (the full version has a larger selection that the trial version) and with a vast variety of downloads available to you from my online store at any time of the day or night

Be sure to pop back tomorrow for a little video treat along MDS lines…

An exciting new line of products making their debut in the upcoming Annual Catalogue is the delightful This and That™ range – a selection of sweet and perfectly co-ordinated products that allow you to capture life as it happens.

Considering that our catalogue is not due for release until July, you might be wondering why I would be telling you about it (and showing you the cute video!) in May, but the exciting news is that you can order these products right now, and if you want them all, you can get them in a bundle for 15% off!

I am not so patiently awaiting the arrival of my very own bundle and can pretty much predict that my big girl will be hankering after one to record all the details of our upcoming trip to Brisbane (she might indeed be lucky since the trip also coincides with her 10th birthday – double figures – yikes!)

Click on the above image to download the This and That flyer and see all of the associated products in detail.  (Is anybody else ridiculously excited about the little rotary stamp thingamy…?!  *swoon*)

Some things to note about this new product range…

• Available right through until July when they will appear in the Annual Catalogue but the product bundle is only available until May 31st, after which time all products will only be available individually
• More This and That products will be added to the range as time goes on. (YAY!)

Visit my online store or contact me to order your bundle(s) or any of the individual products from the range.

In case you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything going on at Stampin’ Up! in recent times (I certainly am, so I can’t promise that what I’m about to tell you isn’t for my own personal well-being with a happy side benefit for you….!), I have created a page that you can find by clicking on the What’s on @ SU! tab in the navigation bar at the top of my blog.

It lists all of the current promotions and goings on in the one place so that you don’t have to scroll through recent posts to try and find that thing that you saw here one time that was interesting and that you wanted to come back to later but now you can’t find for the life of you…

You’re welcome

The addition of MDS to the Stampin’ Up! arsenal has opened up such a fabulous creative extension, and I find myself thinking about the possibilities of it even when I’m nowhere near the computer…

Obsessed?!   Perhaps….

Excited?!  Most definitely!

I begged was delighted to have the opportunity to make some announcement cards for the newest member of one of my very favourite families this week, following the arrival of their sweet baby girl last Monday.

My brief was “PINK!” when I asked the question as to what sorts of things the announcements should feature, so I focused on Blushing Bride (yay for colours that don’t EVER retire in MDS!!!)  with accents of Pool Party and Real Red.

The little “introducing” banner is an embellishment that I managed to create on my very own and saved as a “group” so that I could import it into future projects.

Such flexibility, such intuitiveness! *sigh*

Here are some of the elements that I used to complete the announcements:

Once you get into all the delights that MDS has to offer, you’ll find yourself actually looking forward to Mondays, which is when new downloads are released weekly.

Here are the offerings for this week…

134536 Wonderful Mother Stamp Brush Set – $3.50

134376 On Holiday Photobook Template – $21.50

134538 Beautiful Birthday Stamp Brush – $2.50

Click –>HERE<– to see more of the most recent weekly download releases…

Speaking of offerings, in celebration of the My Digital Studio Facebook page reaching 20,000 likes , they are giving away the Playful Polka Dots Digital Kit FREE until Tuesday April 23rd!   The kit includes four Designer Series paper patterns, 55 embellishments, and a one-page 11″ x 8-1/2″ designer template and usually retails at $10.95.

Click on the kit image below to score yours from my online store…

Of course, to partake in all of these digital designing shenanigans, you’re going to need the MDS program itself, which you can try for free with the 30 Day Trial, or jump in with both feet and order the full program for just $24.95

Whether you’re a digital designing superstar, or a computer wary papercrafter, the software is so intuitive that it caters to all abilities and levels of computer literacy, plus there is a dedicated website with all manner of tutorial videos and helpful hints to help you along the way.

Then there’s me of course!  I’m finding my way around the program with much delight and excitement and am happy to pass on my findings and share the joy with you

While it might be considered the height of backyard BBQ rudeness, double dipping is perfectly acceptable – encouraged even – in the stampin’ sense, and right now is the perfect time to get dippin’….!!

Just announced on Monday was the latest Stampin’ Up! promotion and it’s a cracker (Geddit?!  Cracker?!  Dip?!  Never mind…..)

The promotion is twofold, in that it rewards hostesses whose workshops total $400 or more with an extra $60 in hostess dollars over and above the $60 that is standard for a workshop of that amount PLUS it rewards new demonstrators with an extra $60 worth of value in their Starter Kit!

Where does the double dipping come in…?!

If you first take advantage of the Starter Kit offer, then hostess your own workshop as a way to introduce your new stampin’ venture to your nearest and dearest, you get the $60 in bonus products in your kit PLUS the $60 in hostess dollars when your workshop hits the magical $400 mark.

Add this to the fact that your first workshop (held within 45 days of becoming a demonstrator) qualifies you for 30% discount/commission as opposed to the standard 20% and you have a handy dandy (and incredibly reasonably priced!) shopping spree on your hands

Alternatively, you might choose to operate in reverse and first hold a workshop to test the stampin’ waters with your friends and family and see how much interest you might have as their new Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, then take the plunge when they all have a fabulous stampin’ time at your place and beg you for more

Either way you do it, you really can’t lose!

For more information on joining my merry band of demonstrators, check out all the details on the Join My Team page and feel absolutely free to contact me if you have any queries or need further clarification on anything

We all know I’m a fan of a good storage solution, which may or may not be because it gives me a reason to visit Ikea, aka The Happiest Place on Earth, but Swedish furniture aside, check this out…

Whether or not the May 31 launch date applies to us here in the South Pacific Market I’m not 100% sure, but I’d be happy to wait, say, a week longer than our US stampin’ sisters for these babies, otherwise I can’t promise there won’t be a riot…

Just kidding.

Sort of…

Tell me, are you a fan…?

*UPDATE* I have it on good authority (the demonstrator website told me so!) that the new wood mount storage boxes will be available from July 1st with the launch of the new annual catalogue!
Even better news – you can also purchase empty boxes to transfer all of your old stamp sets into – a pack of four of the full size cases for $11.95 or four of the half size cases for $8.95 PLUS there will be templates available to create your own stamp set labels to fit the new packaging
SQUEEEEE!!

It’s been three years since the sizeable colour renovation, which saw 25 Stampin’ Up! colours hang up their boots to make way for some new colour delights and now it’s time for a tiny tweak just to keep things fresh!

I have to admit that the inclusion of Baja Breeze on the discontinued list had me hyperventilating momentarily, but the retention of  Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party and Island Indigo from the 2011-2013 In-colors and the re-introduction of Pear Pizzazz and Blushing Bride has gone a long way towards returning my oxygen saturation to acceptable levels  I’m also liking the look of Smoky Slate as a softer grey option.

Here’s a little more information about the Colour Refresh…

Whilst the changes won’t officially take effect until the new Annual Catalogue is released on July 1, outgoing colours on the discontinued lists are available only while stocks last.

So if you’re sad to see the back of Certainly Celery, or bereaved at the banishment of Bashful Blue, be sure to stock up on inks, refills, cardstock and accessories while you still can!

There is SO very much going on with Stampin’ Up! at the moment, I barely know where to begin…

These past couple of weeks have seen some epic and long awaited changes to the Stampin’ Up! offering in our downunder market, and I have been quite literally twitching with excitement at the possibilities that these changes bring to my own personal creative potential and that of my customers, hostesses and downline team members.

The first of these changes is MDS – three little letters that stand for My Digital Studio and a whole new world of creative possibilities in the form of printed cards and tags, scrapbooking, home decor, photo books and loads more.

Far from replacing traditional paper crafting endeavours, it simply adds an exciting new extension to the craft and my brain is exploding with ideas just based on the limited time I’ve spent playing so far

Have a quick look at some of what is on offer with this software…

You may have heard mention of print options in the video, but for the moment, Stampin’ Up! Australia is still working to partner with a suitable print vendor for our MDS projects.  In the meantime, printing via channels you might usually use for your photobooks and printed products is perfectly workable, as is simply printing on your own home computer

If the idea of digital creating, or anything involving a computer sends you cold, I would urge you to just give it a try and see for yourself how intuitive and simple to use it really is.  I am also delighted to let you know, that you can try out the software for 30 days, absolutely FREE!

Simply click on the image above to visit my online store and download your trial version of the software, which will give you an opportunity to play with all of the design tools included in the full version plus a sample of exclusive artwork.

Before you get started, you will want to make sure that your computer meets the system requirements so that your download doesn’t run into any issues.   We all know there are no more frustrating problems than computer related ones, particularly when the prospect of playing with new digital designing software hinges on it, so check that your system is good to go according to the requirements first

If you’d prefer to jump right and get started using the full version, you can do so for the ridiculously reasonable price of just $24.95, which gives you access to the vast array of design elements included with the software as well as the option to purchase downloads of varying designs, from individual embellishments to entire co-ordinated ensembles for your next party.

There are new downloads every single week, as well as free ones too!

Check out the Digital Downloads section of my online store to see just what’s in store for you when you jump with both feet into the delights of digital design

The introduction of MDS brings with it a whole new way of ordering your Stampin’ Up! products too, and not just the digital ones!  From now on, you can shop in the comfort of your own home (and your pyjamas and hair rollers too, if you’re so inclined) and at whatever time of the day or night the mood strikes.

Inspired by a project in the Annual Catalogue at 3am?  Order it immediately.

Seen something on my blog that you can no longer live without?  I have you covered.

You can also earn hostess dollars once your order hits $300, just like in a workshop, and the order is delivered directly to you.  Even better, if you’re combining orders with some stampin’ buddies, I can provide you with a hostess code so that you can put your orders together and earn hostess dollars that way!

Check out my online store by clicking on the image above or on the little animated icon towards the top right of the page in my little advertising boxes section

Tell your friends!