h{art} Strings

It's Gonna Be a VERY Happy New Year!

 
I am so excited to share with you some new things coming from Stampin' Up! beginning January 5th!  Over the past few years, there has been enormous demand from demonstrators and customers alike for a line of repositionable clear-mount rubber stamps.  Well, now you have it!  Starting with stamps in the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and the 2010 Sale-A-Bration Brochure, Stampin' Up! now offers our exclusive stamp art in both traditional wood-mount, and the new clear-mount option.

Our new clear-mount rubber stamps are the result of extensive research with the intent to maintain the very best image quality in the stamping industry, while at the same time offering ease-of-use and storability inherent in repositionable clear-mount rubber stamps.  These clear-mount rubber stamps feature:

• Nine different sizes of clear blocks available individually or as a discounted bundle.
• Blocks have ergonomic grooves on all four sides for easy grip and traditional wood-mount feel.
• Stamps and blocks are durable and easy to clean with your Stampin' Scrub and Stampin' Mist.
• Optional image labels on stamp backs let you decide if you want to see the image through the block or not.
• Tight die-cutting for easy image positioning.
• Large clear blocks can be used to create collages or spell words with alphabet sets.
• Stamps store easily in standard, DVD-type cases with artwork on front and spine, making organization easy.

And if that isn't enough, starting with the new 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and continuing with all new punch designs going forward, Stampin' Up! has adopted a new body style for our punches!  A few features of the new punch style:

• Low-profile, rectangular punch body allows for easier stacking and storing.
• Punches lock shut for easier storage and transport.
• Dual labels on top and end allow for easy identification and selection when stored.
• New punches allow for larger punched images and more intricate designs while providing greater ease of use.
• Extra-large punch images also allow for two-step designs like the Two-Step Bird Punch in the Occasions Mini Catalog.
• Corner punches allow you to punch a corner design along the inside edges of a page, not just corners.
• Larger, whole-hand handle design provides better leverage for easier use.

Note:  While new punch designs will be in the new body style, existing designs will remain in the existing body style for now.

I've been creating new things with some of these wonderful new stamps and punches - stay tuned for some samples! 

Today's the Day!

Today customers can finally order My Digital Studio!  I have been using it for almost a month and am still just as excited as the day it arrived.  I have learned to use the scanner on my new printer, and so am motivated to get caught up on some of my personal scrapbooking.  Here's another sample:

 

I love being able to edit and size my photos while I'm working.  With traditional scrapbooking, I either need to use the printed photos I have, or I frequently would print a photo in several sizes so I could decide later which I preferred. 

While I don't see myself making too many cards using MDS, I did create a couple of samples.  The first card is 6" x 6" - and even though I added a strip of digital Chocolate Chip ribbon, I knew that I would cover it up with the real stuff later.  

Better, don't you agree?  I was really pleased with the print quality.  But the best part of this card was being able to design the inside and have that be included with the printing cost. 

How cool is that!  And here is another 5" x 7" card sample:

You can see that I added ribbon to this one as well - just couldn't resist!

There is something in this software for everyone!  There is more detail including a video on my Stampin' Up! website. 

I'm working on holiday card samples and some special kits I'll have available for the holiday season.  Stay tuned for some sneek peeks in the next few days!

Oh me, oh My Digital Studio!

I have been working on several card samples from the new Holiday Mini Catalog, and had every intent of posting them two days ago.  But the Man in Brown (the UPS guy, who is one of my favorite people!) showed up to deliver my copy of Stampin' Up!'s new My Digital Studio (tm).  This will be available for customers to purchase on October 1st, but demonstrators can pre-order their copies in September. 

Now, I really am a paper and glue kind of gal, and didn't know at first how I felt about getting into the digital papercrafting and scrapbooking world.  But once I saw this at convention, I KNEW I had to have it!  (Not just wanted it, but HAD to have it!).  While I love the process of traditional scrapbooking, it is something that often takes a bit more time and space that I have, and so projects get put off.  And, so, well I'm something like 20 years behind on my scrapbooking.  (OK, confess it!  You are too!)

So when my new MDS arrived on Thursday, I immediately went to work and within 3 hours I had completed an 18-page 12x12 scrapbook.  What?!  Yes, 18 pages in 3 hours!  Now, I can't show you THAT book because it is a surprise for a friend . . . but I have created a few other sample pages like this one:

I made this 8x8 page for a frame that I bought recently, and my intent was to change out the scrapbook pages frequently to display what's up in our family.  Obviously, Jackson (aka El Diablo) was the August highlight.  (Sidenote:  Isn't he adorable?  But don't let those puppy-dog eyes fool you!  And please ignore the dandelions in my yard - I am!) 

This page took me about 45 minutes, and that includes time I spent with the learning curve, experimenting with some layout things, and figuring out how to print it on my own printer.  Of course for the 12x12 pages and also projects like calendars, bound scrapbooks, etc., I will be able to use the printer contracted by Stampin' Up! But how cool is this?  I am so stoked!  I'm like a scrapbooking madwoman! 

I really would like to get back to MDS and work on some more projects, but right now it's pretty easy to get sucked into it for hours - kind of like a good book that you just can't put down.  Instead, I gotta head to the kitchen now to deal with a bunch of produce that needs to get into the freezer.  I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend!