MDS Thursday: Merging Projects

This time of year I do my spring cleaning.  I clean my house from top to bottom, and get the gardens ready for planting.  My cleaning doesn't stop there, I also take the time to organize and clean out the files on my laptop.

When I first started using MDS I created a new project for every scrapbook layout and card I made.  Now I have tons of two page scrapbook projects, and one page card projects.  Well it's time for some spring cleaning.

I have been spending my time merging projects together and deleting the now empty folders. This is also helpful because when you upload a project to be printed you have a 5 page minimum, so now I am getting moneys worth.

Here is how to merge projects:

First open the project you want to move the pages into.  I have three project about winter 2011 which really should just be one project.

Go to the Menu bar and select Insert > Import from My Projects (see red circle)

This will open a window where you can browse all the MDS projects you have made (see red circle)

The window gives you a preview of the projects so you are sure you have the right one ( especially if you are like me a give everything the same name with a number at the end, bad idea )

Choose the project you want to merge and choose Open Project (see red circles)

It will open the project in this window.  You can click on the page numbers and it will show you the page it will import.  It also has an option to let you choose where you want to place the page.(see red circles)  

I place my pages at the end of the already existing pages and will move them later when the project is completed.

 Once you are done choosing your pages click > Import.

And Ta Da!!!!  Your pages are now in your project, you can see the thumbnails at the bottom of your project.

Make sure you save it, and now you can delete the other folder.  Before you delete your project make sure that you have moved all pages out of the folder you want to keep or that what is left in the project is not important.

BTW:  You can Import more than one page at time to a project.

Hold down the Shift button and highlight all the pages you want to import, then click import.

Thanks for looking.

April Stamping Kids

My cute Stamping Kids Club is really creative. They especially out did themselves with class. I had to share what they made.

Here is the sample I showed them:

We made a special Mother's Day gift, which is wrapped in tissue paper.  I will show you what we made after Mother's Day, I don't want to ruin the surprise :)  We also made a little bag for the gift. 

The chick however was their creative outlet.  Here is what some of the girls made:

Are these adorable or what?!  When I made the sample, I did not anticipate how creative kids can be.  Love it!!

Wedding Day

My husband's cousin is getting married today, and like I need an excuse to make a card, I made them a card. 

I originally wanted to CASE the card with the two hearts, one is a bride, the other is a groom, but I don't have that embosslit ( and of course it will be on my next order, lol). 

I do, however have the butterfly one.

Here is the card I made:

  I think it still works with the butterflies.  ( I have been a little butterfly obsessed lately)

One of the butterflies is Whisper White, the other is vellum.  I used Melon Mambo because that was the color of the bridesmaids.  I gave it a little sparkle with the champagne shimmer paint.

I used:
Cardstock:  Whisper White, vellum
ink:  Melon Mambo
champagne shimmer paint, and daubers
Tulip Frame folder, and Butterfly Wings Embosslit

Congratulations to Kristen and Frank.

MDS Thursday: Masking Stamps

My Digital Studio has so many wonderful stamp sets, but sometimes you just want to use part of the stamp.  In traditional stamping you can block the parts you don't want with a mask (usually a piece of paper to block the ink).  How do you mask in MDS?  Well, you use punches.

Here is the page I created by masking some of the stamp:

The stamp set I used was the Nursery Necessities.

I like the little cutie title but I didn't want it in a straight line. So of course the mind starts going.  How can I erase what I don't want? So I figured I could use punches as coves, or masks, to hide what I don't want to see.

First, I stamped, enlarged, and added a drop shadow, then I copied (ctrl C) and pasted (ctrl V).  Now I have two of the same stamp.

When I was done editing the stamps, I moved them to where I wanted the title.

After I moved the stamps, I selected the square punch from the Resource Palette.  I resized the punch, copied (ctrl C) and pasted (ctrl V), and created two boxes.  Then I moved them to cover the parts of the stamp I do not want to see.

 I want the punch to blend into the background so I am going to use the Color Fill option in the Design Center (see red circle).  I am choosing white because I have a white background.

And Ta Da!!!!  You have "hidden" the stamp.

Go give it a try.  Thanks for looking.

April Monthly Card Swap

Every month, a group of 12 demoes and I send each other cards. 

Here is the card for this month.

I am wishing for spring.

I love the little sentiment in the petal punch.

I didn't want to mail them, I liked looking at them all lined up :)

I used:

Cardstock: Wisper White, So Saffron base, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzaz
Inks: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzaz, Bashful Blue
Petal Card Punch, Linen Thread,  
Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Tulip Frame Folder 

MDS Thursday: Free MDS Update

WOW!!!!   MDS has a great update and it's FREE... 

Click on your Help Tab and choose Check for Updates - this will take you to the update window and follow the directions. 

Here are some of the updates.

Updated Software Functionality: More Ways to Design!

All My Digital Studio users who have the My Digital Studio packaged DVDs (item 118108) are eligible for a FREE 1.0.6 update. The update includes new functionality and print products to give you even more options while designing.

Group and edit: Enjoy the ability to group objects and then resize, recolor, and rotate, them all at once.

Access more information: View project dimension information in both inches and pixels when you right-click the project and view the Edit Object screen. Make sure to check out the Info tab on this same screen for more object details.

Get the pages you need: My Digital Studio automatically adds just the number of pages you need for the type of project you’re creating (for example, four pages for greeting cards, two pages for postcards, and 26 pages for calendars). Note that the last page of greeting cards, trifold cards, and calendars automatically includes the Stampin’ Up! and My Digital Studio logos as embellishment pieces which can be removed.

Choose what you view: You can check a box to show the bleed (trim) area in Preview Project, or simply uncheck to hide it.

Crop with confidence: When using the crop feature for Photos or Background Paper added as a page layer, use the ruler or width and height boxes to crop an image to the perfect size.

Keep it quick: Move back and forth between project pages with a quick key command (ctrl+right arrow for next page; ctrl+left arrow for previous page) or from the View menu in the top menu bar. View the Resource Palette with ease: Use your keyboard arrows in the Browse section of the Resource Palette to quickly toggle between artwork.

Add and delete pages in a flash: Do it all at once. Forget the days of adding and deleting pages one-by-one. Simply select the page thumbnails at the bottom of your canvas, right-click and delete.

Keep your favorites in line: Remove your favorite colors via the Remove Favorite button from the Favorites tab of the color palette.


If you have trouble updating MDS feel free to email me:  stampingwithjessica@gmail.com