Scrapbook Sunday - The Drive to Win

Today is a quick drive-by post. It's late, and I'm trying to get all of the Girl Scout cookie orders put together. It's taking much longer than I thought it would!

A few months ago I was contacted by Stampin' Up! and asked to make some projects using My Digital Studio for their Leadership event. Of course, I jumped at the chance! But then I got my assignments and lo and behold...one was a sports page. UGH! I have no children that play or have EVER played a sport. Well, lucky for me my friend Christa let me use some of her son's soccer photos. It was so fun! Now I can't wait to get some sports photos of our own to use.

Keep watching the blog in the next few days - I have some VERY EXCITING My Digital Studio news to share very shortly! :)

Simple Saturday - Thanks in Gray & Black

It's Simple Saturday and I was so inspired when I got home from a wonderful Open House put on by my downline demonstrator, Connie. We made the 3 cutest cards! And when I got home I had the mojo to head to the scrap room and make today's card (and she'll be happy to know that Whitney used her white pen!).

Now don't be fooled. When I ordered the Blossom Builder kit from the new Occasions Mini catalog, it wasn't for the beautiful textured flowers. It was for the PINK BLING! (yay!)

Now, this card isn't completely over-the-top simple, but it's simple enough. Build some flowers, make your tag, then sew on some satin ribbon.

When designing cards, scrapbook pages, etc. don't forget the rule of threes. Three is always more pleasing to the eye than three or four. Try it and see! :)

Supplies Used:

A Word For You - Clear-Mount Stamp	Brushed Silver 8-1/2X11 Card Stock	Basic Black Cardstock	Basic Gray Cardstock	Basic Gray 5/8 Inch Satin Ribbon	Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
Blossom Builders Designer Printed Kit	Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen	Heat Tool	White Embossing Powder	Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch	Whisper White Cardstock
Versamark Ink	Stampin' Dimensionals	Decorative Label Punch

InLinkz.com

MDS Blog Hop - First Snow Day

Julie picked our theme for this week - Winter fun! Living in Ohio, we get LOTS of winter so this one wasn't too hard for me.

A few weeks ago we had our first Snow Day off from school, and the girls' Grandpa took them out sledding. I didn't go and didn't take my camera, but they came home SO excited - telling me that they were going to be in the newspaper! It seems they were the only one on the hill when a News Journal photographer came by. Not only were they in the paper that next day, but also featured on the newspaper's website. How exciting!

This Designer Series paper had just come out shortly after I started Stampin' Up! as a demo and it was my absolute FAVORITE paper. Love the colors and the designs (and those stripes!) so imagine how happy I was when it came out as a digital download! So that's what I used today.

Supplies Used:

My Digital Studio Express	Wintergreen Designer Series Paper	Snowflake Trimmings Punch	Snowburst Stamp Brush Set	Snow Stamp Brush
Top Note Shape - Digital Download	1/4" Ribbon In All Core Colors - Digital	Basic Pearls and Rhinestones

InLinkz.com

Now don't forget to go see what wintery goodness my fellow MDS blog hoppers have whipped up for today. I promise you won't be disappointed! Just click the links below.

1. Jeanna Bohanon
2. Rochelle Gould

3. Mandy Grant

4. Julie Leblanc

5. Amber Meadows

6. Terri Mongeon

7. Cindy Schuster

8. Erica Shaw

9. Heather Summers

10. Alesha Walls

11. Holly VanDyne (you are here!)

Technique Thursday - Doodling!

Yes, you read the title of this post right. What used to be Triple-Play Thursday got changed today to Technique Thursday. I loved the idea of Triple-Play day, but I have to be realistic. I just don't have enough time in my day to do three versions of the same technique. So...we're going with techniques on Thursday from now on.

I'm an art teacher, and know how hard it is to get kids over the fear of doing something wrong. Even in art. Especially in art. My bulletin board that says "There Are No Mistakes in Art Only Happy Accidents", and that helps a little when I remind them to look at it. But it's not just kids. I think to a certain degree we're all afraid sometimes to do art because we're afraid we're going to screw up.

For this reason I make my kids doodle. We doodle a LOT. They usually get to a point in the year where they're not so afraid to draw things anymore because they've done it so much. Well, that and the fact that I absolutely LOVE to doodle too!

So for today's Technique card, I doodled. I used to have a big heart stamp (wasn't Stampin' Up!) that looked almost just like this. It's long gone, I don't remember when or where to, but I miss it. So I thought I'd doodle my own today with a black Stampin' Write marker. I also doodled the border around the white, and the "Amour" tag. Fun stuff! When you're stuck on what to stamp, why don't you try it?

Supplies Used:

Basic Black Stampin' Write	Artistic Etchings - Clear-Mount Stamp	Whisper White Cardstock	Real Red Cardstock	Basic Black Cardstock	Designer Series Paper Brights Patterns Stack	Riding Hood Red Classic Ink
Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Corner Punch	Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder	Stampin' Dimensionals

InLinkz.com

Win an Elementary Elegance SAB Set!

FACEBOOK WALL REFERRAL CONTEST!

It's so easy - share the Holly Stamps page. Refer your friends to like it and post YOUR name on the wall. If your name shows up most on the wall, I'll send you an Elementary Elegance (see post below) Sale-A-Bration stamp set! (they must also 'like' the page for it to count) Ready, set....GO!

Hurry, contest ends midnight, January 31!

White Wednesday - Love You Card

Well, my attempt at White Wednesday this week turned out SO much whiter than last week's card that turned out blue.

I LOVE Stampin' Up!'s silver embossing powder, and I especially love how it looks on white cardstock. It's so shiny and beautiful.

This card uses one of the new Sale-a-bration stamp sets. What's Sale-a-bration you say? It's two months out of the year where every $50 you spend in Stampin' Up! merchandise, you receive a FREE item. Want to see all of the amazing items you can get for Sale-a-bration this year? Just click here to see the catalog online. The Sale-a-bration set that I used for this card is the Elementary Elegance stamp set. If you order the items below to make the card, chances are you'll have the $50 to get this stamp set for FREE! There is no online link for Sale-a-bration items, but when placing your order, just enter the item number for the FREE set below:

Elementary Elegance stamp set

Wood mount: Item #125120

Clear mount: Item #125122

Want more information about Sale-a-bration? Just click here!

Supplies Used:

Whisper White Cardstock	Brushed Silver 8-1/2X11 Card Stock	Notably Ornate	Curly Label Punch	Small Heart Punch	Heat Tool	Stampin' Dimensionals
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

InLinkz.com