The 2012 Family Calendar

When I posted last, I shared one of the pages from this year's Family Calendar.

I've made this calendar for us (and/or for ME) for about 10 years now. It's always fun and it ALWAYS takes me forever to be satisfied with my creation - seems like there's always one more thing I'd like to do before I'll consider it finished...

And then one day, I look at a REAL calendar and realize I'd better get this thing finished, or it's going to qualify for NEXT year's calendar!

I finally reached that point with this year's calendar and submitted it to be printed.

I debated whether or not to go ahead and order the other three copies at the same time - I had planned to get my proto-type printed and then make corrections where necessary.

But, at the last minute I decided, what the heck, just go for it! So, I ordered all four copies.

I'm very pleased with the final results!

Oh sure, there are a few things I'll change for next year's calendar - like not make the photos so small. My old eyes can barely see them - and I worked with them full size, so I KNOW those pictures! But my brother commented about the same thing, so, yes, next year, I'll be a little more selective about the photos AND their size!

Want to see a couple of pages from this year's calendar?


This is the calendar page for July. I walked across the stage at Convention this year, having earned my 20 year pin with Stampin' Up! YES! I can't believe it myself... Seems like just yesterday I was a novice demonstrator...

I've had a lot of fun being a demonstrator and met some of the nicest people because of it! Most of my current close friends are fellow demonstrators! It just seems to work that way... Maybe because we're all crazy about the same thing - those funky little rubber stamps! Ha ha

And of course, my Kidz have all become "demonstrators" as well - look at Melie sitting in a shoebox - being my current shoebox swap! Thank goodness no one took me up on that! I'd miss him!

And I really like the picture of Smudge, looking down at me from on top of the patio roof... She's so silly...

Here's another page from the calendar:



These are photos from my Alaskan cruise last August with my brother and sister-in-law. I took Flat Mamma (my mom) along too - so she could enjoy it with us. And I took a few pictures of the food they served on the ship. That desert was called the Love Boat or something like that - and it was delicious!

Hey - would you like to play with My Digital Studio, too? Well, you can! For FREE!

Yep, we're offering FREE 30 day trial use of our software because we want you to try it - cuz I know you're gonna LOVE IT!

Just go here to download your free software - and be sure to let me know how you like it! Any questions? Give me a call or leave me a comment and I'll do my best to help!

Thanks for stopping by...

Together

Here are The Kidz - for once, all together.

I only have two photos of the three of them together. Tough to do, with three of them!

Heck, it's tough to do to get any two of them in the same photo! LOL

I'm working on a digital calendar for my family this year, and one of the pages in the calendar is entitled "together". I was fortunate enough to find enough pix of various members of the family together (brother and sister, brother and brother, sister and sister, husband and wife, a group of friends, grandparent and grandchildren) to fill the page to my satisfaction, so I'm liking this calendar page!


Whaddya think? Pretty cool, huh? LOL

I had no intention of making a digital calendar - for the past 6-7 years I've ALWAYS handmade my family calendars. And I NEVER get them done for January - consequently, the calendar year for OUR family is either February or March to the same time the following year.

So, I hadn't been sweating it too much, knowing I had about another month before the unveiling.

I'm headed to Leadership next week and knew I wouldn't have time to even START them til my return. But I was nagging for pictures to put into them.

And then I realized I didn't HAVE the paper calendars - tried to order them and they've been DISCONTINUED! OMG!!!

I'm sure I either realized it when they were discontinued and bought some - OR, that was last year and I should have remembered the calendar was going to go digital this year!

And if I DID buy some this past June - where in that Stampin' Garage did I PUT them? Lord only knows...

And I just decided I wasn't going to sweat it.

I'd just go digital! Had been wanting to try a calendar anyway, and like any other software I've dealt with in the past 25 years, it's always initiation under fire.

IT'S SO EASY! OMG...

Of course, I still haven't had the nerve to send a prototype calendar out to be printed so I can see where I didn't really "get it" and need to do some editing, but that's going to happen soon, cause I want to play some more! Adding elements and stamps and punches is so easy!

Changing sizes of the photos is easy too! So, if, like me, you want to squeeze a LOT of pix onto a single page, that's possible. Or you can choose to have only one or two on each page. YOUR DECISION!

And the background for that page?

ONE OF MY VERY OWN PHOTOGRAPHS!

YES! I just added it as a custom Designer Paper and turned the opacity down to about 35. SO COOL!!!

Every time I use My Digital Studio (MDS) I get all excited about the potential all over again.

SO MANY things you can do with it - make scrapbooks, calendars, flyers - anything you want. You can WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK if you want!

You can include video and audio files too!

Do you have it? DO YOU WANT IT? Contact me via email and I'll be happy to help you get started using a digital format for your needs!

Ms. Maisy (Regrets)

Isn't she cute?

She belongs to my friend and DL Patti (hi, Ms. Patti). Her name is Maisy, and she's about 2 years old now.

She's the subject of today's blog post because Patti made this card using My Digital Studio (MDS) !

And not only that, Patti used the MDS DVD from the Sale-A-Bration catalog to make the card - and it's a FREEBIE once you've purchased $50 in other product. Did you even notice it was there? It is - on page 7.

Yes, I'll wait while you scramble to find your copy...

Don't have one, you say? Call or email me, and I'll be happy to get one to you!

The DVD has all the stamp images (they're called stamp brushes in MDS) from the SAB catalog, as well as the Ice Cream Parlor DSP, ribbon, buttons, and die cut adhesives. Lots of fun things to play with!

I've been seeing photos of Maisy for as long as Patti's had her, and wanted to meet her in person. So, Patti brought her down to my house about 6 months ago.

And, she's just the CUTEST thing! A long haired dauschaund (sp???), so she can be a little stubborn. But definitely CUTE...

I used to have a corgi/spaniel mix dog named Georgi who could be pretty stubborn, too, so maybe that's just the way dogs are!??!

Me, mostly I've been a cat person, so when I got Georgi, it was a learning curve for me. We finally got to the point where he could read my mind, and he was a great little dog. And very smart.

He'd go next door (he loved my neighbor, Richard) and bark at their front door and they'd let him in. And when he was ready to come home, he'd bark again, and they'd let him out, and home he'd come... They always had dogs, too, so I guess Georgi went to visit... Although *I* think he was more interested in Richard, than the other dogs...

He would sit out in the front yard and guard both Richard's and our home. It was so funny to watch. He'd stay in the yard, too, with the exception of visiting Richard.

And he'd greet the neighbors with a wag of his tail and a smile... Oh - and my customers, too! Great little dog. Seriously thought about having him cloned!

Anyway, back to Maisy and MDS. Patti used a lot of the accessories from the SAB catalog to embellish her card, and I think she did an awesome job!

She printed this more as a postcard than a greeting card - so there are other possibilities besides greeting cards. And, hopefully, she's going to use this in a scrapbook at some point too!

So, do you now NEED the SAB DVD? Call or email to place your $50 order and it's yours!

Thanks for stopping by - come back soon!

Those Kidz Again!

Anyone remember this?

It's a book I made using My Digital Studio (MDS) showing The Kidz when they were tiny babies. Weren't they cute??? (not that I'm the least bit prejudiced - hee hee)

Well, this is one PAGE of the book I made...

Stampin' Up! has released a whole catalog of the images that are available for download for use with MDS, and as I looked at the catalog (and realized how many of them I DON'T have), I was inspired to use MDS again.

I do a family calendar each year for my brother and two nephews (and families). And of course, I keep one for myself!

This year, in addition to the hand-made calendars I'll send them, I'm playing around with the new 6-1/2 x 5-1/2 size of calendar that was just released - and I'm LOVIN' how EASY it is to use this product!

I already knew that, but playing with it again reinforced that.

You can use the .jpg images in ANY software that will accommodate .jpgs. But MDS is SO EASY to use, and so inexpensive ($79.95), why wouldn't you just purchase this product and then add the newer images as you can afford to?

And the downloads are very inexpensive! They range anywhere from $.95 (!) to around $9.95, depending upon how many images are contained within the download.

The software comes with a TON of images, so if you never wanted to add to it, you'd be good to go for a long time.

The book for The Kidz used some of the images that were already set up.

All I had to do was drag and drop the photos into the picture boxes, add some journaling, and I was done!

But of course, I couldn't stop there. I added some additional images, which are included in the program for which we DON'T EVEN HAVE STAMPS!

How's THAT for a deal? Pretty hot, is what I'd say!

Here's another page from their book:

I started with square boxes for all the photos and was able to make some of them circles with the click of a button! On this page, I also added the background paper, many of which are contained in the original software, others which are available to be downloaded.


And we mustn't forget Ms. Velvet... This page is from a book I started playing with, but which I've never sent off to be made up. One of these days, I will though!

If you're interested in My Digital Studio, be sure to check out the website that has been set up strictly for you and MDS! You can post questions, photos, projects - whatever you'd like there.

And for those of you who use MACs - it works REALLY well on them, too (I'm a MAC person, so that was a REALLY important feature to me).

http://mydigitalstudio.net/

And when you're ready to purchase it, please go to my website to do so!

http://www.samslimak.stampinup.net

Remember to select me as your demonstrator to get preferred pricing!

A Sample from My Digital Studio

I've been showing you some items I've created using My Digital Studio (MDS). I showed pages out of two differently created books.

The first one I did from templates provided - but the templates only had text and photos boxes preloaded. I added cardstocks, background papers, embellishments and stamps, along with my photos.

The second one I created used the Simply Scrappin' elements that are included. For these pages, not only were the text and photo boxes already placed, but the pages were all decorated as well. I used the Sunny Days kit for the Tale of Two Kittens.

It was VERY easy! I think the hardest part was trying to decide what to journal that would explain all the photos on that particular page.

About a month ago, I noticed that Patty Bennett had posted a couple of pages from a book she was creating that would show what elements are contained within My Digital Studio.

At the time I thought it was a clever idea, but it wasn't something I had time to do.

But these past couple of days, I did take the time to do something similar, and I'm glad I did, because I have a much better appreciation for this product as a result.

There are a TON of emblishments included - which I hadn't noticed until I took the time to copy/paste them one at a time into my new sampler book for MDS.

I'll share some of the pages now, and the rest at another time. The book ended up being 36 pages long - and I didn't include the stamp images that are available in the 40 or so stamps sets included!

I haven't decided whether to have this hard bound, or print it off here at home and put the pages into a binder. (or both!).

Below are some of the pages I've created.



















































Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek inside the MDS software! Maybe now you'll have to ask Santa to bring it to you for Christmas!

Have Santa call or email me to order this for you!

Happy stampin'

I Got It!

I got my first book made from our My Digital Studio (MDS) software yesterday.

It's a book entitled "A Tale of Two Kittens" and it was created by --- ME!

I showed you a few of the pages here.

I was SO PLEASED with the book when I received it! It came out, in many ways, even better than I'd anticipated.



Here's the front cover. I chose to have it hard bound, with the title printed on the spine, but there are other options available, if you don't like this one.




For this book I used one of the included Simply Scrappin' layouts, called Sunny Days. I added quite a few pages, simply because I have SO MANY photos of these Kidz, and it just seemed like the perfect way to show off both The Kidz AND some of what My Digital Studio can do.

I also added some cat stamp silhouettes that were included in MDS, that we don't even carry in rubber! These were a very serendipitous find for this book! You'll see them on the pages I linked to above.
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I've been invited to bring my stampin' supplies and set up a table at my local Curves on Saturday from 8 AM to 1 PM. This Curves is on Mira Mesa Blvd., near Denny's, here in San Diego.

If you're in the area, stop by!

We'll be making a Christmas card for the Make and Take, and I'll have items out for everyone who's willing to make a Valentine's Day card to be sent to our troops stationed abroad.

I work with an awesome organization called "From Our Hearts" in supplying handmade cards for the guys and gals who are helping to keep us all free and safe. I've got a link to their website on my sidebar. Take a few minutes and check them out.

They're always looking for more cards since they support more than 200 bases! These ladies (and gents) put in a LOT of their own time to provide the cards. Many of them work a full-time job, as well!

They are the clearing house portion - they take already made cards or card fronts (those still needing some additional work). If it's a card front, they have a group of helpers who make it into a card, then add a regular mailing envelope and a clear mailing envelope to each card.

The regular envelope, of course, is to be used for mailing to friends and family.

The clear mailing envelope is to protect the cards during all the handling they go thru. We want those service people to have clean, beautiful cards for their use!

About three times a year, I try to send them completed cards to forward on. My next goal for shipping is December 31st, as I'm sure they're in the process of getting things ready for Valentine's Day.

The Christmas cards had to be sent by October 31st, so this sounds like an appropriate lead time for Valentine's Day.

If you'd like to help them out, in addition to cards, they can always use packing materials, and, of course, cash. They still have to pay the postage to get the cards to the various bases. And believe me, a 100 greeting cards with envelopes weighs quite a bit!

Come by Curves Saturday and help us out by making a card. While you're there, you can check out "A Tale of Two Kittens" for yourself, AND make a Christmas card for yourself.

I'll also have sign up sheets for my Christmas Stamp A Stack (12/5 & 6), if you'd like to sign up that day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Digital Paper Crafting

Stampin' Up! recently released a digital paper crafting product called MY DIGITAL STUDIO.

It was released to you, our customers, starting October 1, 2009. Do you have it yet?

It's awesome!

Here are some of the 8" x 8" pages I've created using one of the Simply Scrappin' kits that are included in the software.

I inserted the photos and rounded them; added journaling to the layouts. And while playing with the various stamp sets included in the software, I found the cat silhouettes.

You can't even buy these cat images in rubber!


















These pages are pretty much as they're provided.

The book was very quickly pulled together (but that's another story) and I was extremely pleased with the outcome!














And below are some pages I created in a 5" x 5" format, using templates provided in the software.




























For this book, which was my first attempt at playing with the product, I concentrated on layout and learning how to manipulate the background papers and card stocks provided.

On some of the pages (none included here, unfortunately), I added a few embellishments - ribbon, bows, brads, eyelets, punch shapes - all included in the software!

I also rounded photos, deleted photo placements, or replaced them with something else, like journaling areas.

In general, I was just getting to know the product. And I have to say I'm very pleased with the ease of using it!

Hope you've enjoyed these snippets of what I've been doing with My Digital Studio.

This is only the tip of the iceberg!

You can make calendars, or cards, or create books/pages with video and audio embedded!

Stuff that's way beyond my ken right now, but which I'll be playing around with!

That's why it's being call Digital Paper Crafting - very versatile.

OH - and did I mention? It's both MAC and PC compatible! That's a BIG woo hoo from a MAC user!

The price is $79.95 plus shipping/handling and tax. That's quite inexpensive in terms of software. And the fact that it's both MAC and PC compatible is a huge bonus for those of us on "the dark side".

Let me know when you're ready to take the plunge and try it out! I'll be happy to order it for you!

My Digital Studio

OK - I know I promised you some information on My Digital Studio a while back.

This program is ADDICTING! I'm ALMOST done with the book of photos of the cats that I want to have made so I have a tangible "Show & Tell".

I can have up to 22 pages in this book. Got 16 or so done and realized I was duplicating photos... Back to the drawing board.

I also realized MAYBE I didn't have enough photos for that many pages.

Say it isn't so!!! I have plenty of photos - maybe just not enough that I'm proud of enough to showcase...

The other thing I'm learning is that *I* need to set a deadline, or I'll putz with the thing forever, tweaking it just a little bit more each time I'm in the program.

So, I'm pretty pleased with a few of the pages, and thought I'd show them to you tonight.

This can be either my book cover, or the first page of my scrapbook. My Option!

I added some Designer paper as a border to separate the large photo from the smaller ones. I also added the brads, AND I changed the smaller photos from square to round.

I was able to move the crop tool around on the photos to better position the Kidz within the size of the photo to the area of the template I was trying to fit the photo into.


This is a journaling page I've decided will be in the front part of the book.

I chose a template with a large journaling area, eliminated the photo outlines, and enlarged the journaling area to accommodate the story i needed to tell.

I used one of our background papers (it's very subtle) and then I added the ribbon and bow, as well as used a heart punch as embellishments.

The heart punches are filled with some of our background papers. I was able to position the DSP where ever I wanted inside the heart punch. AND NO PAPER WAS WASTED to get the effect I was after.

This is a smaller version of some side by side pages from the book.

Remember, you can click on the individual photos to enlarge them, if you'd like.

I eliminated half the photos on each page and added buttons to help offset the photo areas I did kept.

And finally, here's one of the pages I did of Smudge.

I changed the background to one of our DSP patterns and colors, and again, added grosgrain ribbon and punches to the page.

If you wanted, you could put actual grosgrain ribbon and punch outs on your page. This is called hybrid scrapbooking - and I think that might appeal to me more than just the photo book.

But I'll reserve my judgment until I have the actual book in my grubby little paws - how's that?

Hope you've enjoyed the sneak peek at some of my Kidz' book. Hope it's inspired YOU to purchase this product and start your own digital paper crafting experience!

I'll be looking at other options for using this program and will be sure to share them with you.

My Digital Studio is available for you to purchase NOW! $79.95 BOTH PC AND MAC COMPATIBLE! Just go to my website to place an on-line order.


If you Hostess a $400 workshop during October, you can purchase My Digital Studio at HALF PRICE!

Call me with those orders or to schedule a workshop so you can earn it for yourself!