MDS Thursday: Opacity

I missed last week's MDS Thursday.  My little brother was getting married.  Congrats baby bro!!!!

Back to MDS: Thursday

Have you ever stamped an image and thought,  "Well, that was darker than what I wanted,"  and tried to re stamp it lighter.  Opacity bar to the rescue.  The opacity bar allows you to change how dark/light your image appears.  I have used it for stamps and photos. I love it.

Here is the first project I used it for.

 Photos and text lighten using the opacity bar

I like how the sand and the waves show through.

Without opacity changes

Here is the original image. 

There were several things I didn't like about it.  First, The black on my sunglasses and my husband's shirt looked harsh.   Second, the picture of Jimmy Buffet was blurry. Third, the pirate ship was lost in the background.  So I thought to myself, there has to be a way to lighten these images.  My first instinct was to go my Photoshop Elements and tweak everything, but I'm lazy.  So I read every button in the side menu, and lo and behold, opacity.

See yellow box for opacity bar.

These is the easiest of things to use.  All you do now is slide the bar left and right to change how dark/light you want the image.

This is really great for dark  and blurry pictures.

Ta da!!

This bar is also available for the stamp sets and embellishments.  I like to use it as a space holder for my hybrid projects.  I add the embellishment and lighten it until you can barely see it.  Then I print my project and add real brads, ribbons, etc...  Since it is so light it looks like a cool shadow, if you can see it at all.

Give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

Here are some other projects where I used the opacity bar.

I changed the opacity on the leaves

New Year's Crafting Resolutions

So, I have so many thoughts in my head I just had to get them out.


I'm already thinking about my January classes.  Well really it's more like things I'd like to start in the new year.

I'd like to start an MDS club that meets monthly.

I'd like to do one of those scrapbooks in a day.

I'd like to do stamp a stack and a stamp camp.

I'd like to start a Stampers 10, maybe when the new catalog comes out.  Again I need to give it some more thought.

I like the idea of a Big Shot club.

Too many thoughts.

Because I Care Stamp Set

This is quickly becoming my favorite stamp set.
I am not sure I am crazy about the colors but I love the layout. 

I stamped the hydrangea on vellum and used  Dazzling Diamond glitter to give it some sparkle.

I enjoy creating backgrounds.  It gives it the look I want.  The background on this card is stamped with repeated thank you.

My favorite thing on this card is adding of the Concord Crush, not the color but how I added it.When I placed the vellum against the Blushing Bride card stock you could barely see the image, so I decided to add a little color with Concord Crush.  I sponged the back, yes the back, of the vellum.   It made the white pop without being overwhelming.

Over all, I like the look.  

Give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

( It is a hostess set and is not available without hosting a workshop.)

Busy can be good.

So, the bad news - I missed MDS Thursday, the good news I spent the day with my family.  It was the day before my brother's wedding.  Yes, my little brother was married on Friday December 24 in Central Park in 28 degree weather.  It was a beautiful ceremony, just a little cold : )

Then of course the next day was Christmas.  So I have been away from my crafting because I have been busy.  But busy can be good :)

This week I am revamping my craft room to make room for

My Christmas present!!

 MY WIDE FORMAT PRINTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have the best husband in the world.  He bought me a wide format printer.  It can print 13 x 19.  So my mission is to make room for my new "toy".  MDS will be SO much more fun now that I can print my scrapbook pages.

Stay tuned for a review of the printer. Thanks for looking.

Twelve Days of Christmas

Twelve Days of Christmas
December 25- January 5, 2010

I saw something similar to this in the Holiday Mini Catalog pg 34 (#120926) and had to try it.  The one in the catalog is 25 days and pre-cut, only assembly required.

I was going to make 25 boxes but I ran out paper, so the Twelve days it is.

I used the fancy favor die to cut out the twelve boxes and assembled them using sticky strip.  (Sticky strip is great when you are making boxes)

BTW  I embellished the boxes BEFORE I put them together.  It seemed easier while the box was still flat.

If you don't have My Digital Studio, put it on your wish list.  It is a great resource for "stamping" in different sizes.  I ordered the Christmas Cheer download and used the embellishments it came with to create the numbers. The best part is you can make the numbers as big or as little as you want.  LOVE IT!!!

I cut my Candy Cane DSP to fit the box.  That's all I got on that.  : )

Once everything was cut I put it together and Ta da!!   Twelve Days of Christmas.

Supplies:
Paper:  Real Red 12 x 12, Candy Cane DSP
Accesories:  Old Olive ribbon,  Tinsel Trim Clear
MDS:    Christmas Cheer Digital Kit 
Big Shot machine and Fancy Favor Bigz die.

Joshua's Birthday Favors

This time of the year is hectic but add two winter babies (Nov 21 & Dec 21) and it's just non- stop chaos.

This weekend was my son's 8th birthday party. 

Here are the favors I put together.  They were quick and easy, but cute (if I say so myself).

Doesn't get easier than this.

I used the 4" x 6" cello bags.  

Thanks for looking.

Me so silly : )

I am new to this whole blog thing, and I just realized that people have been commenting on my posts.  I am super excited by this.  I hope to be able to reply/answer the comments. : )

I also started to "follow" other blogs.  I have to say I am enjoying this.  It's good to know that you are not the only obsessed crafter out there.

MDS Thursday: Stay Organized

This week, I discovered that I use a lot of different stamp sets, DSP, embellishments on a project.  The project looks great but when I wanted to go back to look at the stamp set again, I wasn't sure which one I used. I had to go through the whole list again.

It was very time consuming.  So of course I had to find a better way.

What did I use to create this?

With this card I went a little crazy. I just kept changing and adding things.  When I was finally done I had no idea what is used to create it.  I had to go back and look for all the stamps, DSP, and ellements i used.  But this time . . .

I added a new page to my project. (see red circle)

and inserted a text box. (see red circle)

In the text box I started typing each element used.  Now I will always know what I used and I can use it again for other projects.


From now on, I add a page to all my projects and keep track of what I use.  I will never be lost again :)

Give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

December Scrapbook Class

We had our monthly scrapbook class.  The theme was Christmas.  We created a two page hybrid layout.

December Scrapbook Pages

We used the jumbo roller stamp for the first time, that was fun to try and make straight line. We used it to create the background.  The stamping wheel we used is Sparkle and Shine.  We used Garden Green ink on Cherry Cobbler (my new favorite color) 12x 12 card stock.

Of course it's Christmas, and what's Christmas without presents.  We made a BIG present to hold pictures.
I used 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and 4 - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"  mats in Garden Green.

I created the labels in MDS.  I made them a little bigger than what shows up, and then I  added a little bling.

More hybrid MDS.  More bling.

These labels were in the Christmas Cheer Digital Kit - Digital Download 123956

My favorite part of Christmas is the tree.  There is just something wonderful about a well decorated tree, so why not put one on your page. 
I cut a piece of 8 1/2 x 11" page to 6" x 11".  then I just quick sketched the tree and cut it out. 
The bark is 1" x 2" piece of card stock I ran through the BigShot using the Lattice folder.
The candy canes were also created in MDS.  I colored, cut and pasted.

Ta da!!!  Merry Christmas!!!

Give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

December Card Gift Set

I had an additional class this month where we made a gift set. 

Gift Set

The cards are blank so they can be used to just send a note. we create four coordinating cards and a matching holder.  Makes a great gift. 

The cards are pretty straight foward so I don't have instructions for them.


I learned to make this card holder at Stamping in the Woods with Cindy.

To create the holder, I used an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
I scored it at the 5in and 6in, then turned it and scored again at the 2 and 2 1/2 in, this creates the pocket the cards will sit in.
Cut out the center bottom to make the folder fold. ( I hope that makes sense.  Maybe I'll post a picture.)

Holding the four corner toghter I used a hole punch to create the holes for the ribbon ties.
Then place ribbon in holes and tie.


Supplies used:
Stamp set: Because I Care 
Cardstock:  Concord Crush, Poppy Red, Pear Pizazz, Daffodil Delight and Bashful Blue
Embellishments: 5/8 grosgrain ribbon in Old Olive
All of the mats are embossed using Big Shot texture plates or folders

Give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

Stampers 10

We had our Stampers 10 Club tonight.  What a great time!  Thanks Cindy.  We made these great tags.

Tags from Stampers 10 Club

Can't wait to make some more and add some bling.

Then it will be tough to decide who gets these, these may be to nice to give away :)

Thanks for looking.

MDS Thursday: Paper Fill in Punches

So, I thinking that Thursday is a good day to show a technique I learned using MDS. This week I used the paper fill in punches.

Scrapbook page using punches paper fill

I wanted something other than squares, and punches gives that option.  Punches are great when you want to use shapes on your page.

Add punch to page

If you have seen some of previous post you know that I LOVE circles.  So, of course, I picked the circle punch.

Resize and place in position

I wanted a half circle so I enlarged the circle and moved so only half the circle the circle appeared on the page.  Then I clicked on the paper fill option (see orange circle)

Choose paper and click ok

I chose the paper from the Designer Kits.  Candy Cane Lane (# 122177) is quickly becoming my favorite download.

Punch after the paper fill

When I saw the paper in the punch, I was like Whoa!!! that's big.  So I started thinking, there has to be a way to crop this.  Well there isn't, BUT you can resize the paper. (see orange circle)

Resize window

When you click on the Resize icon this window will open.  You want to click on the zoom out button ( see orange circle).  The more you click it the small the paper fill will get. ( Be careful not to go to far or you'll end up with empty space.)

Here is the paper fill after several clicks

Once you have the paper as you'd like to see it on your page, click ok (see orange circle).

Here is the punch after the resized paper fill

And ta da! You have a better looking paper.

Paper fill in photo boxes works differently but still can be done.

Resizing paper fill in photo boxes

In the photo box, once you have dragged the paper into the photo box, you use the zoom in/zoom out buttons to change the paper fill. (see orange circle) 

Give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

Christmas Luminary

I made these luminaries before using the Because I Care stamp set, but I felt I needed some Christmas ones.

Christmas Luminary

I used the Bells and Boughs (# 121142) stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I cut a 4 in. piece of vellum

Then I stamped the vellum.  You can use any stamp set.  You can stamp as much or as little as you want.  You can use any colors you like.  Go crazy!!!

I cut and added ribbon to create this "trim".  I used sticky strip to give it strength.

I used sticky strip to glue on "trim".  Again to give it strength.

I put the edges together using sticky strip.  You guessed it, for strength.

Putting the edges together creates the circle shape.

How to make the bow

I used 4 pieces of 7in ribbon to make the bow . For the circle piece I stamped, cut and matted bells.  I thought about coloring it in but I like the glitter on ribbon and bell band instead.

Then I placed the bow on the luminary.

Add LED lights and turn off the lights.

Ta da!!  You have a Christmas luminary.

Give it a try!  Thanks for looking.
Supplies used:

Bells and Boughs (# 12112)
Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green Card Stock
Waffle Paper (# 120984)
White Organza Ribbon (# 114319)
Pearls (# 119247)
Real Red Ribbon


Here is the Because I Care luminary

Cookies Gable Box

I went to an event with my stamping friends in November called Stamping in the Woods.  It was two days of non stop stamping and creating.  It was a great time.  One of the things we learned to make was a gable box.
 

Cookie Gift Box

I used that same design to create my cookie gift box.

2- 8" x 10" pieces, scored and cut

Because I was putting cookies in the box, the first thing I did was line the box with wax paper.

Once that was done I cut two pieces of paper 8' x 10'.
Then I scored it 1 3/4 in on three sides and 2 1/2 in on one side.
Finally I cut the corners off one of the pieces of card stock.

Punched a handle in the 2 1/2" space

Using the scallop punch, I created handles in the 2 1/2" section.  I did this at the same time so that the handles matched.  Meaning both papers one on the other.

Top Note Window

Using the Top Note die and the Big Shot Machine, I created a window.  I had to fold the panel over so that it fit.  It didn't effect the construction of the box.  There was still plenty of room to put sticky strip.

  Then I used sticky strip to attach the clear window.

I attached the bottom.

Then I attached the sides.  This is where I was worried the Top Note took off to much paper, but it wasn't a problem.

Then I decorated the box.

Ta da!!!  All done.

Give it a try!  Thanks for looking.