MDS Content on SALE!

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Hey y'all. Just a quick post to let you know Stampin'Up has added some fabulous Digital Content to the Clearance Rack. This includes Content CD's. Some of these are more than $30.00 regularly. I just purchased $153.70 worth of MDS digital content for less than $13.00 and that includes tax and UPS Shipping and Handling. Run, don't walk to my site to get yours while they're still available. There are Limited Quantities  of these available. Some of the content available includes, Beau Chateau, Merry and Type, Nursery Suite and Domestic Goddess. There's literally something for almost any occasion you might need.

Also Clearance Rack items earn My Rewards Points. For every $50.00 in product/ per order you get 1 stamp. 10 stamps and you can have any item from any current catalog under $50.00 as your Thank-You from me. I keep track of all your purchases, there's nothing for you to track. Additionally with every $50.00 in purchases you get 1 Free product of your choice from our Sale-A-Bration Catalog. Even better how about double points if it's your first order from me? Yep, you get that too and you can expect a hand-stamped card from me as a thank-you that you can use in the future.

Let's review that again, 1) A handstamped card for you to use, 2) Free Sale-A-Bration product, 3) Reward Points, 4) Double Rewards points for your initial order from me... All of this with a $50.00 order from either of our 2 current catalogs and our clearance rack. Don't wait! :)

Visit my ONLINE STORE to see all the wonderful items available to you. Questions? Feel free to contact me. I can't wait to hear from you.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

A.O.K. / End of the Week Technique #62- Coloring with Bleach / NAC #31/ My Challenge #58

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Hey y'all. Happy Wednesday! I'm sitting here doing this post on pain meds, so bear with me if I seem a little more off than normal. :)

Here's a quick update for you- 1st let me say Thanks! to Everyone who has sent me so much Love and Support over the past week. I am doing much better, however I think I over-did it yesterday (Big Shock to those of you that know me) and ended up with some severe pain today so I'm taking the next 2 days off from work and am back taking pain meds. :( I guess the good news is that maybe I can get some stamping done. Glass Half-full and all that. :)

Two Questions for you today- 1) Do people ever just surprise you and 2) Do you ever just surprise yourself?

1) It seems that people rarely surprise me. Ok...that's not totally true. People rarely surprise me in a good way. 2) It doesn't happen very often, but there are those times when I really just surprise myself. Today's card is a product of both of those things. Oh and are you wondering about today's title? Instead of R.A.K or Random Acts of Kindness it's just A.O.K. Act of Kindness, because I think the person that inspired today's card probably does little A.O.K.'s more than just randomly.

1) One of my Stamping Friends sent me a get well card after my little emergency trip to the O.R. last week and it just really touched me. Years ago, before the internet, it was hard to imagine being friends with someone you had never met. Now-a-days it's a little bit easier, but still sometimes hard to imagine. Then every-once-in-a-while you meet someone and you become friends and you just know that when you actually meet it's going to be like seeing an old friend and you're going to just laugh yourself silly. Know what I mean? Well, I have a couple of Blog-landia friends like that and one inspired today's card. (Hi Tams!) So I sat down to make today's card to let her know how much her A.O.K. meant to me and when I was done I had one of the #2 moments and just looked at my card and thought "Wow! I made this." It's not my normal style card with lots of layers and lots of color but I just thought it was so pretty and I really hope my friend likes it too. Of course I hope the ladies over at NAC like it and I hope you like it too! So without further ado, here's today's card-

Card with Pretty Poppies Stamp Set and Bleach Technique

What do you think? Oh, I really hope it's not just the pain meds telling me it's pretty. I have to say this is really one of my favorite cards in a very long time...you know one of those you almost want to just stick up on your own board instead of sending. I actually think I may make some boxed sets with this...that is if it's not just me and the pain meds. :) 

Here's the sketch I was using-

Wide open for interpretation. This is from the fabulous Tammy Fite over at Nacho Average Challenge. Love her and her fabulous team members. This is an awesome site for not only challenges but inspiration and support. There's still plenty of time to play along, so make sure you drop by and check them out, but after you finish here. :) At first I was going to use my Doily background set and then I thought of my Pretty Poppies set which I love but haven't used nearly as much as I thought I would. So many fabulous stamp sets and so little time. Darn It! I had also been wanting to try out the Coloring with Bleach technique and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Ooooohhhhh, so glad I did!

Here's a closer look-

The bleach turned my Crumb Cake c/s a pretty pale, pale, yellow. I started with a base of Early Espresso c/s cut at 4 1/4 x 11 and scored at 5 1/2 to make a tent style card. I inked up my stamp with VersaMark and stamped it onto a piece of Crumb Cake c/s cut at 4 x 5 1/4 and then covered it with Early Espresso Embossing Powder. (Oh yeah, I used my Embossing Buddy first to make sure I didn't get any stray embossing marks. This is Key.) I then colored in my flowers using my Aqua Painter filled with Bleach instead of water. The raised embossing contains the bleach. I sponged the edges with some Early Espresso and adhered this layer with Tombow. The embossing and bleaching makes this layer a little heavier than normal so I recommend either Tombow or Dimensionals instead of SNAIL here. I wanted the sentiment to make a statement but not really be a focal point so I stamped it in Early Espresso ink on a scrap of Crumb Cake c/s and punched it out with my Modern Label Punch.  A little sponging and 2 Dimensionals and my card front was done. I don't remember when I had so little on a card front and had such an impact. I actually tried to "sponge" the sentiment layer with more bleach a few other times but the bristles kept giving me stray marks so I had to give up on that idea. :( I have to say as much as I love how this turned out, this is not a good technique for those of you that are control freaks like I am. You have no control over how this is going to turn out. There are slight variations in the coloring and once the c/s absorbs the bleach you can't really go back and even areas out. Once the bleaching is done, it's done... it won't absorb more. You just kind of get what you get. Oh, the sentiment is from the Language of Friendship set. It's a nice set and pretty in-expensive but I really think it gets overlooked a lot.

You know I like to pretty up the inside so here you go-

The sentiment is from the Kindness Matters set and I just re-inked my stamp with Versamark and stamped a portion onto the bottom of my card and repeated the process from the front. Here's a closer look-

So what do you think? I hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to try something new, especially this technique. If you do, I'd love to see what you come up with! For those of you that have never done this before here's today's tutorial-

Coloring with Bleach.

Here's what you'll need- Aqua Painter, Liquid Bleach, Stamp set and Card stock of your choice, VersaMark pad, Embossing Buddy,Embossing Powder and Heat Tool.

Here's what you do-

1) Choose your c/s and rub your Embossing Buddy all over it to get rid of any static. This will ensure you don't get stray embossed areas.

2) Ink your stamp with VersaMark and stamp. If you use a really juicy ink pad like our new ones you might be able to just emboss without the VersaMark but you would have to work really quickly. Cover your image with Embossing Powder, I used Early Espresso. Flick off and/or brush off any excess powder that may be lingering.

3) Heat set your Embossing Powder. Make sure to thoroughly emboss your image. If you don't get it completely set, you could smear it or your bleach might not be completely contained.

4) Very carefully color in your image with your bleach filled Aqua Painter.  Here's another close-up look-

***Tip*** Here's a few for you-

a) Wear old clothes when you fill your Aqua Painter with bleach, just in case. You wouldn't want to splash/spill any on your good clothes.

b) Make sure to designate one Aqua Painter as your "Bleach" Painter. I used a sharpie and wrote a "B" on mine. You wouldn't want to use this one to do your regular water-coloring with. *OOOOPS!* Thankfully this was not an "Ask me how I know" moment.

c) Be careful not to "squeeze" your Bleach Painter while it's on/over your project. This could result in an unhappy bleach "spillage" moment. :( Use a scrap piece of post-it note or c/s to ensure you have plenty of bleach in your brush tip.

d) Try "Bleaching"scraps of c/s before you actually do your project to make sure you get the look you are going for. I got lucky and had an end result that went with my color theme with my first try. In fact I plan on "bleaching" lots of scraps so I know in advance what to expect, because this is definitely a technique that I will try again.

5) Be sure to secure your bleached layer well. Like I mentioned above, the addition of not only the embossing but the bleach makes for a heavier than normal layer. It would be very sad if your layer fell off because you didn't adhere it well enough. :'(

6) Smile when you see your finished product and smile even more when you think about the smile it will bring it's recipient. (Unless of course you're me and then smile even as you hope it's not just the pain meds making you like it so much, lol)

Well, that's all I have for you today. I really do hope you like it and I hope you will give this technique a try. I already have some ideas for some masculine cards using this same technique so I hope you'll stay tuned for more projects. Don't forget to get your project completed before Saturday night at midnight so you can play along with me over at the Nacho's. (Love that name!) If you liked today's card or technique, or have questions about it, I hope you'll take just a moment to leave me a message below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's project I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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MDS to the Rescue! / NAC #30 / My Challenge #57

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great week so far and are staying warm! Do you ever start something and then have things beyond your control change those plans? Well, that's what happened to me this week.

I knew I wanted to do snowflakes for this week's color challenge (it's a bit of an inside story, Hi Tammy!) and so I got out my supplies and got started making my card Tuesday evening when it all went you know where in a hand-basket! I got very sick and wasn't able to get more than halfway through. I had card stock cut, stamps and pads out and even with pain meds I wasn't able to make my card. I even had it all planned out and knew just what I wanted. AUGH! Many of you don't know this about me but not only am I a nurse, but I ran with our local Fire and Rescue department for many years driving our Medic Units. I've only called for an ambulance once before and I was sooo sick Tuesday night that I actually called 911. Of course, as I was talking to the dispatcher I was crying because I was almost more distressed about the fact that I was calling 911than the fact that I was sick enough to need to call them. Well, needless to say, it was definitely a good thing that I called because less than 4 hours after I called I was being admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery. :( Since they had to work me into the O.R. schedule I had a few hours with nothing to do but distract myself from the pain. When my sweet son-in-law went to my house to get my overnight bag I had him get my mac-book and I decided to finish making my card. Here's how my card would have looked, if I had been able to finish it on Tuesday evening-

This is for this week's color challenge with the Nacho Average Challenge. Here's this weeks Color challenge-

I started with a base of Primrose Petals and then layered on images from the Snowflake Soiree, and embellishments from the More Amore set. A few rhinestones and a Pool Party ribbon and my card was finished. I actually like it so much, I will likely finish the original paper card with this same design. There's still plenty of time to play along with this week's challenge. The fabulous team of ladies over at NAC do great challenges each week and the DT is always full of wonderful inspiration. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I hope you liked today's card and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too! I love hearing from you and read every one of your comments. They really do make my day! If you liked today's card and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons here on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

P.S. I'm back home post-op and other than being sore and moving slow I'm doing ok. :)

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By the Tide / NAC #29 / My Challenge #56

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Hey y'all. Hope you're having a good day and week. We're waiting on some yucky snow here in the DMV. Augh! Today's card reminds of the Ocean and home, a nice warm place. I have a friend at work who's getting ready to go on vacation and he was the recipient of this. He had some very pretty paintings in his office painted by a friend of his and he liked his card so much he said he's going to frame it. *Happy Dance* Here's today's card, I hope you like it too!

1 Layer card featuring By the Tide and
 Masking and Reverse Masking Techniques.

For those of you that know me, Yes, you're seeing this correctly. It's a 1-Layer card. I know it's card to believe, but it is. I actually surprised myself with this one. Here's the sketch I was working with-

When I saw the sketch and started trying to decide what I wanted to create with it, the rounded edges reminded me of our new Ovals Framelets. I decided to see what I could come up with and the card just evolved from there. As soon as I saw the By the Tide set in the new Occasions Catalog I knew I had to have it and I was so excited to be able to get it out and ink it up. Today's sketch comes from the Nacho Average Challenge site. I love those ladies! There's still time to play along with this week's sketch so don't forget to get out your paper and stamps and play along with us. :) Here's a closer look-

I started with a base of Whisper White. It was cut at 4 1/4 x 11 and scored and folded at 5 1/2. Before I started with my inks I took my new Ovals Framelets and cut two ovals using the 3rd and 4th framelets from the center. Once I had those cut I had my masks. I used Dotto Temporary Adhesive to hold my c/s pieces in place. In the open center area I stamped the coral piece with Calypso Coral and VersaMark and then heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. I then stamped the seahorse in Soft Suede and VersaMark and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. Next I sponged the background with Pool Party Classic Ink. Using my Blender Pen, I then went back in and lightly added some more color to my little seahorse. Then using the cut-out center piece as a mask, I sponged Island Indigo to form the darker frame. This reminds of looking out of a port-hole even though it's oval and not round. What made me really happy, is my friend said that's what it reminded him of too. (without me mentioning it) I felt like it still needed a little something and so I sponged the edges of my card base in Island Indigo too and the front was done. Yea!

Here's a look at the inside-

The sentiment is from Friendly Phrases and is stamped in Island Indigo. The shell was stamped in Pretty in Pink and then very lightly colored in with Blender Pen in the same color.  A little love from Tink, and a little sponging around the edges and my card was done. Here's a closer look-

I was soooo upset by the little edge I caught but hoped the shimmer and shine would help detract from that. Wow, but it looks really big when you do a close-up and then enlarge it. Thank goodness it wasn't that noticeable IRL or it wouldn't have made it. Luckily, my friend will be showing the outside and not the inside. Sometimes I have to remind myself that my cards are unique and I am much more critical of them than anyone else ever would be. I remember a time when I would have thrown the whole card away. Other than that little spot though, I was so happy with the card, and it would have really hurt my feelings to get rid of it.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too! Don't forget to check them out. They have an Amazing DT and always have great samples. If you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a message in the space below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan


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Cracked Glass - End of the week Technique # 61 / NAC #28 / My Challenge #55

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Hey y'all! Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a great weekend so far. I've got a new technique for you tonight. Ok, so not a "new" technique but new for me and this blog. Many of you know I haven't been able to post 5+ times a week since I started my new job. This has impacted my ability to do a lot of my specialty posts. I will still be doing my "End of the Week Techniques", I just will likely not be doing one each week. To be honest I had planned on decreasing the weekly techniques anyways, not because there are not enough techniques but because I was finding it stressful to try and find one to do each week that fit in with the kind of cards I was doing for the week. One of my goals for last year was to do one technique a week and I surpassed that so I feel very good about that. I hope you have enjoyed them and hopefully found some inspiration with them. I hope you will continue to find inspiration with the ones that I post this year. I will continue to do tutorials whenever I do a new one here and will try and remember to link back to old ones when I repeat a technique. That being said, I've been wanting to try this one for almost a year and finally I've managed to get it done. Here's this week's technique card-

What do you think? If you know me or have followed me for any time you are probably checking to make sure you're really looking at my blog, or rubbing your eyes to see if you're seeing correctly. This is so not my style. Not only is it Vintage-y but there's torn and crumpled c/s. Will miracles never cease? I kinda took my inspiration from the technique & the rest kinda followed. I still can't believe I did this card. I'm not sure it's gonna make the All-Time favorite list but it definitely makes the list for making me step out of my comfort zone.

This card is for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. Love those ladies! I try not to look at the DT creations before I make my card, because I don't want to be influenced by them but this week I was going through my regular reader feed and came across Tammy's card and was really glad I accidentally saw it. When I first saw the challenge, Elements of Style came to mind and that's what she used. So I had a double challenge, one for the color challenge (you know those are soooo hard for me) and one to use something besides Elements of style. I really don't know why Tammy couldn't have just made some Lucky Limeade Snowflakes. If anyone could get away with it she could. (If you know her, you'll understand that comment. Hi Tammy!) Here's what I was working with this week-

I started with a base of Island Indigo c/s. To this I added a piece of Whisper White c/s that I stamped my En-Francais Background stamp in Marina Mist. You know I wouldn't normally age c/s like I did but a crisp clean image just didn't seem to go with my focal point. Also even though my focal point was done on a piece of W.W. c/s it no longer looked white after my technique, but it didn't quite look Very Vanilla either. I originally stamped the background stamp full strength but it was too dark so I tried again, stamping off once and liked that much better. I crumpled my c/s (ooooooooohhhhhh you know I hated that right?) then I sponged Crumb Cake over it to make the crinkles show up more. It still seemed like it needed something else so I did the almost un-think-able and tore my c/s. *Shudder* Yes, I said I tore it. But only because there wasn't any of my stamping friends nearby to do it for me. My stamping buddies will totally get that. (shout out to the Fabulous Michelle Suit and April Sinclair) Once those two things were done I sponged the edges with Soft Suede and  Tombowed this layer down. I finally felt like I had a nice background for my focal point. Here's a closer look at this weeks technique and today's focal point-

I used the floral Image from the You are Loved set. I used the three challenge colors to color my stamp and then rotating the image kept stamping it until I had my c/s filled. I roughed up the edges before doing my technique and then mounted it on a strip of Island Indigo that I embossed one edge with my Fancy Fan E.F.-

I thought the scalloped image mimicked the scalloped edges of the petals. The floral strip was adhered to the I.I. piece with multiple Dimensionals since it was so heavy. This entire panel was adhered to the card base with Tombow. The sentiment was stamped in I.I. on W.W., punched with my Oval Punch and then adhered to a scrap of I.I. that I punched with my Scalloped Oval Punch. I stacked two Dimensionals under the Right edge to raise it up and make it level and my card front was done. Whew! It was a lot but in the end I think it was worth it.

Here's the inside-

The sentiment is from the same set and is stamped in I.I. Since the front was so involved, I tried to keep the inside a little less..., I don't know, just less. Of course you know that doesn't mean it shouldn't be pretty so here's a closer look at my little bit of pretty-

I wish you could see how pretty and sparkly this is in person. It just sparkles and shines. Sooooo pretty! So what do you think? I hope you like it and I really hope those fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too.

Now for this week's technique-

Here's what you need for the Cracked Glass Technique-
Cardstock, (I think Whisper White or Very Vanilla would probably work the best but who knows maybe a light color would work too), Stamped Image of your choice, VersaMark Pad, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, and a brown color to "Antique" your image and enhance the cracked areas (I used Soft Suede).

Here's how you do it-
1- Stamp your image onto your c/s.
2- Take your VersaMark Pad and "stamp" it all over your stamped piece of c/s until it is completely covered.
3- Apply your Clear Embossing Powder over entire surface and using your Heat Tool, heat the entire c/s until all of your embossing powder is heated and glossy. Allow this to cool.
4- Reapply VersaMark to the entire embossed surface and cover once more in Clear Embossing Powder. Heat again and allow to cool completely.
5- Repeat step 4 at least once more. You could even repeat it 2 times more if you wanted. Make sure to allow it to cool completely in between applications. This is a good time to work on the rest of your card.
6- Allow your piece to cool completely. If you're impatient you could put it in the freezer for just a few minutes.
7- Bend your embossed c/s in multiple places and going in multiple directions. This bending action will cause the glass like coating to crack. Continue doing this until you get the desired look.
8- Take a brown color of your choice, I used Soft Suede but a darker color like Early Espresso or Chocolate Chip would probably work well too, and sponge it over the entire surface using a circular motion. This will help to get the color into the cracked areas. You can even bend the c/s slightly and sponge to really get in the cracked areas.
9- Take a paper towel or old cloth and wipe over the surface. This will remove the color from the surface and will just leave it in the cracked areas. Such a cool effect! Here's another look-

 10- Smile when you see what you have created and smile even more when you think about the smile that it will bring to it's recipient. I really do love that part!

Well, that's all I have for you tonight. I hope you liked the techniques and the card. I really hope it inspires you to try something new! If you liked today's card/technique or have questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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MDS Today - Yarn, Yummy Yarn /SMDS #7

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Hey y'all. I'm so excited! 2 posts in 2 days. Woo-Hoo! I've been trying to do more MDS and there's a new challenge over at Simply My Digital Studio's FB Page. If you haven't checked them out yet, make sure you do, just finish here first, kay. :) The page is the brainchild of Heather Summers & Kimberly Van Diepen, who both do Amazing MDS creations. Although I haven't been with them since the beginning, I didn't start too late and I've done all the challenges. One of the nice things about their page, it's all about trying new things. They also do a video for each challenge. (How Helpful is that!?! So Helpful I tell you!)  Oh and there's lots of supportive people encouraging each other. :) This week's challenge was to use multiple layers of DSP and from different sets. Here's my  page-

This page started with the idea to use a circle as a background for the pictures of my sweet, sweet studio assistant Deucey. Now he's helping out with my crocheting too. These are pictures of him helping out with Baby Tooey's blankie. You did know it was important to taste test your yarn creations, right?

While I'm sure the idea was to use many more DSP layers than I did, I couldn't do it.  Many of you know that mixing &/or matching different colors and patterns is Terrifying for me, so while I only used two patterns, the Background paper (from the new Lemonade Stand CD available in the new SAB Catalog) and the strip of patterned DSP across the page (from the 2013 Quotable Calendar DSP set) I did add the Hello Doily Background stamp, which added a lot of pattern. In fact, the first DSP I picked was the Doily sheet in the Flirtatious DSP Set. So, in my mind that counts as three. That works for you too, right? I hope so. Any-who, I drew my color inspiration from Baby Tooey's blankie, obviously, and the pics of my sweet crocheting assistant were just too cute to not share. :)

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and try something that you find a little difficult. This silly page took me almost 2 hours to make because I just couldn't decide on the patterns to mix and how to apply them with the picture layout I had in mind. But, you know the motto of this blog - "Just try", so I did and 2 hours later, I'm very happy with the outcome. If you like today's project or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment in the area below. I love hearing from you! I read all of your comments and they really do make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin this, I've put the buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Here's the supply list-

Background

     Designer Series Paper/_Designer Kits/Lemonade Stand - designer series paper/Lemonade Stand - 6

Stamps
    Hello, Doily/Hello, Doily - background piece, Color = LUCKY LIMEADE 170,172,62

Photos
    Designer Series Paper/_Designer Kits/2013 Quotable Calendar - designer series paper/2013 Quotable Calendar - pattern 5

   

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Feel Good - Good Luck / Paper Craft Crew #23

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope you had a restful weekend and are having a great day. I've been watching the Alabama Crimson Tide ROLL Over Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game while having a little creative time. I'm so upset football season is almost over. :( It's late so I'm gonna make a quick post while I can. I'm really missing getting to create and post everyday, but am really enjoying my new job. I've also trying to post more MDS. They haven't all made it onto here yet but they are at least making it onto the MDS Challenge FB Page. I'll try and get them here a little more too.

I'm not sure I've played over at the Paper Craft Crew Challenges, but I've had them on my reader for a while and they've got some great DT Members and some great challenges too. So many great sites and challenges and unfortunately, so little time. This challenge closes tomorrow at midnight so you still have a little time to join on in the fun. For those of you that don't know, I'm a Certified Occupational Health Nurse for the Army. We've had a great Resident with us for the last two months and he was such a pleasure to work with. He had a great smile and laugh and if we could have kept him permanently we would have. But sadly he is off to another site, but I wanted to make a card for him before he left. Masculine cards are so hard for me, so having a great sketch really helped. I dug into my box-o-new-products and this is what I came up with-

Here's the sketch I was working with-

I couldn't quite fit everything in, but I think it's still recognizable.

 I started with a base of Midnight Muse. This was topped with Crumb Cake, a color I use far too little off except for sponging. *SMH* For my center panel, I used Summer Starfruit topped by a piece of DSP from our new Print Poetry Pack. Lots of Fabulous new DSP's and it's in a smaller format, so if you're like me and find it hard to finish off a pack of regular DSP, then this is for you! My sentiment is from the new Feel Goods and is stamped on a piece of Naturals Ivory c/s. I used my Stampin' Write Markers to color the stamp in Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit. I thought highlighting the one word would really help it to stand out-

I used some of our new ribbon and our new Silver Buttons. I couldn't find my linen thread so I used Bakers Twine instead. The new buttons have a lot of heft to them so I used my Early Espresso Bakers Twine and wrapped it around the ribbon before threading it back through the button holes and tying it in a bow. I also took some Dimensionals pieces (you know the ones from the sides) and placed them under the button to help secure it. Worked like a charm!

Here's a look at the inside-

I used more of the same DSP from the front to accent the inside. Just because it's a masculine card doesn't mean it shouldn't be pretty. The sentiment is from a retired set. I try not to use those too often, but it was the only one I had that said Good Luck. 

Wanna know something? He loved it! Yea! *Happy-Dance* He said he keeps all of his cards and this one would be no exception. What do you think? I hope you and the ladies over at PCCC like it too! Well that's all I have for you today. If you liked today's card or have any questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and read all my comments. They really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience as well. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Oh Hello - NAC #27 / My Challenge #54

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Hey y'all. Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. I don't know about you but these short weeks really throw me for a loop. It just doesn't seem like Saturday although I did really enjoy sleeping in today! I was cleaning up around the house when I realized I still needed to make my card and post it for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. ACK!!!! Good news is I knew exactly what I wanted to make so I got right to it. Even better news is that it turned out just like I had envisioned it. It seems like lately that hasn't been happening a lot so I was pretty excited about this. I couldn't miss posting because I haven't missed one of their challenges yet. Hard to believe they're on #27 already! If you haven't joined in on one of their challenges, hop on over and check them out and then make sure to follow them so you get their challenges each week. They have some Amazingly talented ladies on their DT. I love seeing what they've created each week and they always leave the nicest comments. Don't forget to check them out, just finish here first ok. :)

Here's my card for this week's challenge-

What do you think? C&S is definitely not my norm, but that's one reason I love doing challenges so much. They can really force you to step out of your comfort zone. If you noticed the title of today's challenge I have decided to keep doing at least one challenge each week. That was something I challenged myself to last year and I'm going to continue with it this year as well.

Here's the sketch I was working with-

My only alteration to the layout was to add an additional layer. This card is still really flat and, believe it or not, no Dimensionals were used in the making of this card. If you know me, you know that's very unusual. This would mail really easily and probably without any additional charges.

I started with a base of So Saffron. My color palate was inspired from the DSP I was working with. It's from our new Tea Time Collection and it's Fabulous! I can't wait to make more cards with this collection. I added a layer of Whisper White c/s that I ran through the Big Shot with my Perfect Polka Dot E.F. and Tombowed a 2 x 4 piece of the DSP onto this. I added some Baja Breeze Seam Binding to cover the seam and then added a bow which I secured with a Mini-Glue Dot. I actually adhered the back of my tag, which I hand cut, to my DSP so it won't go anywhere. Here's a closer look at my tag. Are you wondering why it just says "Oh"-

Because the rest of the sentiment is on the inside. I thought that added a little extra interest to the card front. This is from the Oh Hello stamp set that's new in our Spring Catalog. Love that set. I always think they can't make me want it all and then I almost always do! The words were masked and then inked with a Marina Mist Stampin Write Marker.

Here's the inside-

I almost never leave the inside without a sentiment, but I was kind of in a "Note-card" kind of mood and thought I would leave the inside blank so there would be plenty of room to write. Of course just because there's no sentiment doesn't mean it has to be plain. You know I like to have pretty insides so I stamped the flower from the same set. I colored the stamp in with Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi markers and then used my Blender Pens and Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery ink pads to finish the coloring. A little love from Tink and my card was finished. Here's a closer look-

It's so pretty and shimmery in person.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to create something new and fun and maybe a little out of your comfort zone. If you liked today's card or have questions about it I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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MDS Today- Basking Duck / Texting on a Path / MDSM 4 and Simply MDS Challenge #5

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Hey y'all.
Happy New Year!!!!
I will be back later this week with my 2012 Year in Review. Yeah, I know I'm a little late, but better late than never. I hope you had a great evening last night and are having an Amazing, family/friend filled holiday today.

Today I have a MDS Scrapbook Page for you. I know it's been a while since I posted any MDS. I've been working on my 53 Weeks scrapbook and have been staying caught up with a page each week. I'll try and start posting some of those. For today's challenge I combined two different challenges. Many of you know I don't like color challenges because they give me too many options and I usually combine them with a sketch challenge. I found the same applies to techniques, so I combined this weeks challenge at Simply My Digital Studio Challenge (FB) to text on a path with a great sketch over at My Digital Studio Monday. Here's my take on this weeks challenges-

Texting on a Path

Last week on Christmas Eve-Eve, I went down to the National Mall for a little walk-about. 6 hours and 10.65 miles later, I had pictures of some of my favorite places/views including the National Christmas Tree by day and night. These 2 pictures were taken at my All-Time Favorite place on the mall, Constitution Gardens and additionally they are 2 of my favorite pictures of that day. 

I'm really happy with how this turned out. Deciding on a color palate is usually one of the hardest things for me. I decided to go very neutral so my pictures would really stand out. I added an overlay from Naturals Composition and then added some strips of paper from the Number One Collection. I love how they both look like fabric, like a strip of linen and burlap. I also used the Rip-Edges feature to give a handcrafted, organic look to my page. A little white stitching was added to mirror the sketch.

I used the Text on a Path feature to really Highlight my two pictures and tell how I was feeling when I took the pictures. If you don't know how to utilize this feature you can view a video HERE.

It took me a while to actually get my text on a path but that's because I tried to make the path around both shapes. Here's a Tip for you- If you have more than one shape try splitting your journaling. Once I decided to split my journaling and do two shapes instead of one, it was much easier and went much quicker.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked my page and I hope the ladies at both challenges like it too. If you liked it or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment and leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's page, I've put those buttons on my site for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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