It's the last day to get the FREE Playful Polka Dots digital download! If you have been procrastinating, go do it now! Click here! Then come back and the rest of this post.

I used Regal Rose card stock for the base of the card. A very interesting thing happened when I tried Rose Red as the background. Check out the card below and see if you see the difference besides the color of the background.

Yes, the white of the scalloped border looks like a lace border! All of the embellishments on this card are part of the Playful Polka Dots download. I love the cheery colors and patterns. The center of the Pumpkin Pie flower is actually a different flower I shrank in size and layered over the larger one. It was just chance that when I added the two flowers to my work space, they ended up on top of each other. I really liked the effect so kept them that way.

Several have asked how to find the various parts of a digital kit once you have downloaded it. The pieces do get filed into different places depending on what they are. Designer series paper is in a file with the dsp, embellishments are in a different file. The easiest way to see all the parts of the digital kit is to use the global search feature found in the lower left corner of your program. Just type in the name of the kit and you will find all the pieces.

Today is also Terrific Tuesday because we get wonderful new downloads on Tuesdays. Click here to see the new downloads and place your order. Come back tomorrow to see what I do with the new downloads.

Supplies:  MDS digital download (130646), 30-day Free Trial of MDS (130910)

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers (came with original MDS disc), Playful Polka Dots Digital Kit (126027)

Yes…it seems there is a national day for just about anything! However, this is one day I can definitely relate to. I love jelly beans, especially Jelly Bellies. This past week I learned what the new 2013-2014 In Colors will be and I have to say they would make wonderful Jelly Belly flavors…Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, and Baked Brown Sugar…yum, yum, yum! Oh yes, the fifth one is Coastal Cabana.

I'm sorry to tease you this way but you will have to wait to see what these colors look like until I can preorder them.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue

Periodically, Stampin' Up! refreshes their color palette by discontinuing some colors, bringing back some colors previously discontinued and adding new colors. This is the year!!! Below is the chart of the color revision. This does not include the new 2013-2014 In Colors which will be revealed in May. Since some of the colors are being retired, they are on limited quantities and may not be available in May when the retirement list comes out. Fortunately, you can order them now. No…they aren't discounted but if you were planning to order the retiring colors, you need to do it now. With free shipping this weekend, you win, win, win!!!

Remember I am holding a virtual workshop this weekend. Check this blog post for the details.

Here is a quick Easter card I made using the Ears to You bunnies. I have great news for you. The single stamps have been so popular that Stampin' Up! had decided to continue to offer them until July 31! The Ears to You stamp set is one of them. Now we generally think of bunnies at Easter time but they are great for any spring type card. The background is a design from the Tea for Two Designer Series Paper. I love how these designer series papers have both large prints and small coordinating prints. The greeting is from Wacky Wishes, a hostess set. To order any of these suppies, either visit my online store or click on their linked names in the supply list below.

Happy Easter,
Sue
sue@soggystamper.com

Supplies:

Stamp: Ears to You (132659), Wacky Wishes (hostess set)
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Lucky Limeade and Tea for Two Designer Series Paper (129311)

Did you know that if you trim the Lattice Die diecut, you can end up with this lovely cross? The Craig/Klawock Card Exchange group created this card at their March meeting. We used the Lattice Bigz Die to cut Brushed Gold card stock and then trimmed it down to make this cross. I didn't buy the wonderful Easter single stamp in the Spring catalog so had to use this one that is retired. I still love the message it brings. I embossed it with Gold Embossing powder and punched it out with my favorite Decorative Label Punch.

The background behind the cross is a piece of the Sale-A-Bration Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper. I used the Bitty Butterfly Punch to punch out scraps of the Brushed Gold card stock.

Thanks for coming to visit today. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and take a break from your Easter preparations to browse my blog. If you like what you see and want to receive exclusive projects and tips delivered monthly to your mail box, subscribe to my newsletter by filling out the box to the right and then responding to the email I will send you to confirm your subscription.

Supplies:

Stamp Set: Easter Dove (retired)

Paper: Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper (SAB – retired), Brushed Gold Card stock (102935), Pool Party card stock (122924),  Whisper White card stock (100730)

Ink: Versamark (102283)

Other: Big Shot (113439), Lattice Bigz Die (115958), Bitty Butterfly Punch (129406), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Gold Stampin' Emboss Power (109129), Heat Tool (129053)

I love the bunnies that are part of the Everything Easter Ensemble. Actually, I really like all the parts of this ensemble. The Everything Easter Ensemble was released prior to the release of MDS2 so the stamps could not be colored in. Instead, they included a colored paint layer for each of the stamps. You added the colored paint layer to your project and then the stamp. By grouping the two, you end up with a colored in image.

This past week Marie Drahorad shared a tutorial on how to use designer series paper to color a stamp. Essentially, what you do is add a punch filled with your designer series paper behind the stamp. You use the freeform brush to color the areas of the punch outside the stamp with the background color.

For this card, I created a rhomboid punch about the size and shape of the bunny's dress and filled it with pattern 6 of the Springtime Vintage designer series paper. I used the freeform brush to color 'outside the lines' with the background colors and to color her shoes and the basket of eggs. I added the pattern 10 of the Hip and Handsome Overlays colored Primrose Petals to the Blushing Bride background for some added depth and texture in the background.

Here is a picture showing the projects you get with the Everything Easter Ensemble. What doesn't show is all the stamps, embellishments, and even an egg punch that come with the kit. You can get an idea of the designer series papers from the designs of the eggs. It is not too late to order this kit and create your own Easter decor. All you need is MDS, some Whisper White cardstock, a printer, adhesive, and some scissors.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter,
Sue Erickson
sue@soggystamper.com

Everything Easter Ensemble (129363)

Background
     Card Stock/Blushing Bride

Embellishments
    Timeless Taffeta Trimmings – large bow certainly celery

Stamps
   (125753) Hip and Handsome Overlays – 10, Color = PRIMROSE PETALS
   (129363) Everything Easter Ensemble– bunny, Color = BLACK
   (124436) Easter Blossoms – happy easter, Color = 0,0,0

Punches
    Users/Rhomboid,  Filled with: (122172) Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper – pattern 6
    (127757) Celebrate Any Day Greeting Card Templates – Any Day Label Punch,  Filled with: Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper – pattern 6
   Any Day Label Punch, Fill Color = VERY VANILLA

To order the supplies used to make this Easter card using the Everything Easter Ensemble just click on the linked item names or visit my online store.

I love this Easter card the ladies in Thorne Bay made last week. I combined the Ears to You bunnies, the Cloudy Day embossing folder, a sheet of Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper, and two sizes of the Labels Collection Framelits to make this great diorama card. The leaves are punched with the Bird Punch and the flowers are in the Secret Garden stamp set and the now retired Bloomin' Marvelous SAB stamp set.

This Ears to You stamp is one of the single stamps that are currently available. But…these stamps are only available through March 31! Check out the flyers below to see pictures of the single stamps and then place your order here. Sunday is the last day to order them so act now!

Supply list –

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous (retired), Secret Garden (c-129144, w-129141), Ears to You (132659), Wacky Wishes (hostess set)

Paper: Whisper White, Gumball Green, and Daffodil Delight card stock, Sunshine & Sprinkles Designer Series Paper (126922)

Other:  Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (127022), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Bird Punch (117191)

Thanks for coming by to visit today. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and take a break while you browse my projects. If you like what you see and want to see more, subscribe to my monthly newsletter by filling in the box to the right. You will then receive an email from me asking you to confirm your subscription. When you do that, you will have access to a special project I have created for my new subscribers.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue Erickson
sue@soggystamper.com

Sale-A-Bration and my Virtual Workshop end tomorrow!

I don't want any of you to miss out on this very special offer so I have extended the closing date of the mystery hostess catalog workshop I have been holding this past week through tomorrow evening. I will close the workshop at 6:00 pm, Alaska time. For every three people placing an online order of $50 or more I am drawing one of the names and they will get hostess benefits. Not only do you have a chance to be a mystery hostess, but you also get to choose one of the free items in the Sale-A-Bration brochure for each $50 you spend! Sale-A-Bration ends tomorrow so act fast! Place your order today!

When you sign in to my online store and add your first item into your bag, there is a place in the lower left corner to enter the Hostess Code. (See the screen shot of a sample order below.) Enter the code 3SWVFAE2 there and then complete your order as usual. Your order will be shipped directly to you and I will get notification that you ordered. I'll put your name in the pot for the drawing. If you are one of the lucky winners, I will contact you for your choices for your hostess benefits. Those items will be shipped to me and I'll ship them on to you postage free.

Now is the time to get off the fence and order! Let's go shopping. My online store is open 24/7. Take advantage of this great chance to host a workshop without any of the work.

Blessings,
Sue Erickson
sue@soggystamper.com

This announcement about MDS just came out from Stampin' Up!

Big Changes for My Digital Studio-Starting Today! (Updated 11:30 AM)

March 18, 2013

We've been working on some big changes to the My Digital Studio product line, and we just can't contain ourselves anymore.

Starting today: 

1. We've changed the name of the software from MDS 2 (and MDS 2+) to MDS. 
2. We've lowered the price. What has been known as MDS 2+ is now $19.95 US/$24.95 CAN.

Coming soon:

1. The upgrade will be free! If you (or your customers) have been holding onto the original My Digital Studio software, they will be able to upgrade to the new software for free. We will let you know when it is available. We have discontinued the item number for the MDS 2 Upgrade (item 130650), so if your customers ask, let them know that the upgrade will be available soon for free.
2. We have announced that My Digital Studio will soon be available to our friends in Australia and New Zealand.

Other information: 

• MyDigitalStudio.net is currently under construction as we make all of the changes. Just keep in mind that you may see outdated information for awhile.
• We will remove the My Digital Studio Catalog at the end March from MyDigitalStudio.net. If you would like to keep of copy of it, go grab it before then. As we announced last fall, we have not been maintaining this file and since it so outdated, we feel like it's time to delete it.

• We understand that when a price changes after you have made a recent purchase it can be frustrating. If you  purchased the software at the old price from March 1 to March 17, 2013, the following will be added to your Download Manager by Wednesday, March 20:

  MDS 2+ or MDS 2

  • Up To Date Planner Template (item133271, retail value $14.95 US/$18.50 CAN)
  • Hello There Kit (item 133374, retail value $9.95 US/$12.50 CAN)
  • Everyday Woodcuts Embellishments (item 132191, retail value $5.95 US/$7.95 CAN)

  MDS Upgrade

  • Hello There Kit (item 133374, retail value $9.95 US/$12.50 CAN)

If you have been on the fence about purchasing MDS, now is the time to get off the fence and start enjoying the creativity made possible by MDS! Go right now to my online store to order your MDS download. You will be creating digitally by this afternoon! Come back tomorrow to see what new digital downloads Stampin' Up! has for us.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue Erickson
sue@soggystamper.com

My husband and I love traveling. He retired from 37 years in education onJune 30, 2008 and we took a couple months traveling in our 5th-wheel trailer. I have always wanted to see Banff and the stupendous mountains in the Canadian Rocky Mountains so that was our first destination.

Due to our love of traveling, I purchased the Travel Log Kit (126022) a long time ago but have not used it until this week. I was using it for a different project and discovered it has some wonderful designer series paper patterns. They inspired this scrapbook page of our trip to the Banff Provincial park. The Travel Log Kit has an embellishment of a couple of clouds with the saying Enjoy the Journey and an image of an airplane on it. Since we took a road trip, that embellishment wouldn't work so well. I used my global search feature of MDS2 to find other clouds in my downloads and chose to use clouds from the Sunshine & Sprinkles Ensemble (130668). I added the text using a Comic Sans MS font. I urge you to check out the various kits available for download. You may not want to use them for scrapbooks but they do contain some wonderful designer series papers, stamp brush sets, and embellishments that can be used in cards. Click on the linked names of the product I used or visit my online store to order this kit and ensemble. If you do order either ensemble, email me a photo of your project and I will feature it on my blog.

Oh, yes…today is Terrific Tuesday! I almost forgot to include the link to the new digital downloads for today. Click here to view them and order the ones you want. You know you want some!!!

Thanks for coming by to visit today. Grap a cup of coffee or tea and relax a bit while browsing through my projects.

Until your next visit…blessings,
Sue Erickson
sue@soggystamper.com

So it is Wednesday evening and you forgot to buy Valentines for your child to take to school in the morning. MDS2 to the rescue! Download the Officially Awesome Valentines Designer Template (133009) and you will be creating Valentines within minutes. The template even includes patterns for the envelopes. I chose to use the wider of the two tags on the Two Tags Stampin' Up! Bigz die (115954) to cut out envelopes from Real Red cardstock. I printed out the cards on Whisper White card stock and cut them apart. Then I created a page of mustaches that had been sized to 3.5" wide and printed it out. I cut out the mustaches, punched a hole in the middle of them and put them on the sucker sticks. When a person sucks on the sucker, the mustache will be in front of their lips…so cute! Have your child sign the cards, put them on the tag and fold it up. Finially stick the end of the sucker into the hole in the tag and you are done! Almost instant Valentines! :o)

I wish you lots of love on Valentine's Day,

Sue Erickson
sue@soggystamper.com

Have you heard the buzz about Sale-a-bration? During this promotion which runs Jan 22 – March 22, you can choose a free product from our Sale-a-bration brochure for each $50 you spend. We digital girls are not left out! There are two digital content discs you can choose as your free items. One is Lemonade Stand. The index is below.

The other content disc is One Big Sale-a-bration2013 Digital Disc which includes all the SAB artwork and punches in the brochure.

What a deal! Get busy making your list of downloads you want and then order $50 of product to get your choice of one of these digital discs. Orders placed with Stampi' Up!'s official printing service count towards Sale-a-bration as well. Now is the time to finish up those scrapbooks you have been working on and get them printed. You will love the quality of our professionally printed products!

Thanks for stopping by to visit today. I look forward to your next visit.

Until then…blessings,
Sue
sue@soggystamper.com