Cards for August

I am in the process of making card kits for each month. I am trying to make them all from the same color set and for August I used some orange colors. These go with the Hippo one above.

I drew both images on the front. The Moose is actually a copy from Riley, but I changed his eyes. I hopethey don't look too cheesey since I drew them. :)

Exciting news!

Mary over at Cardz For U has started a great new challenge blog!
And to top it off, she asked me to be on the design team. I am so honored to be on her new team and can't wait to see what everyone will make. I will be posting more information on it as I get it-
The new challenge site is Paper Cutz Challenge


Also, please take a wander over to http://mycricutscrapbooking.com/ and vote for my Precious Moments album- I could really use a bind it all!

Alright, now for the winner for todays Drawing-- I will be doing another drawing at the end of the month, so if you didn't win today, you still have a chance at the end of the month- what a deal for you!

Congratulations to FunNun - Sister Frances for winning the first drawing!

Cinderella Files..

I have had a few requests for an SVG file of Cinderella and the Prince dancing and a carriage- so I will put the link here for those that need it --

Carriage (broken apart)
Cinderella Dance

Hippo-Bird Day

I have decided that I am going to draw most of my images now and if there is a want, I may turn them digital for everyone else.

I made this card after seeing a hippo that I liked and just came up with the idea. DH likes this card (it was his fave out of the 5 I did today) but refuses to say the sentiment.

I drew the image on paper and then used a 1' circle punch for the balloons and added liquid glass to make them shiny. I just did some random stitching on the sides. Very easy card, but I just love my little saying :)

Pros and Cons of Digital Stamps

Advantages of Digital or Digi Stamps

Here are some of the key advantages of digital stamps:
•Low cost – digital stamps are often lower in cost than traditional rubber or clear stamps. This is because no physical stamp is purchased, just the right to use the image.
•Freebies – many digital stamp companies and artists offer free samples or digital stamps to demonstrate their work and to let you try working with digital stamps or digi images.
•Wide range – as the artists or stamp companies do not need to worry about minimum order levels in order to break even on stamp production, many smaller and independent designers and artists are able to offer their work as digital stamps. This means that there is a wide and growing range of images available, many of which are exclusive to the digital format.
•Easy to store – digital images are stored on a computer, or can be archived onto a cd, making them easy to store. A good computer filing system will help to make it easy to find digital stamps quickly and easily.
•Quick delivery – digital stamps are instantly available for download. This means that stamps can be purchased and received almost instantly. There is no waiting for stamps to be delivered.
•No delivery charges – as digital stamps are downloaded, there is no cost for delivery. This can make a significant saving.
•International market place – digital stamps can be purchased from anywhere in the world without fears about high delivery charges or having to wait a long time for delivery. As many digital stamp companies and artists accept payment via PayPal, it is simple to make payment in a variety of currencies.
•No fears of damage – as long as the digital stamp files are safely stored on a computer, there is no fear of the stamp getting damaged or lost. The image will never deteriorate.
•Images can be manipulated – digital stamp images can be manipulated on a computer prior to being printed. This means that they can be resized, flipped (mirrored) and manipulated in a variety of other ways.
•Environmentally friendly – digital stamps use limited physical resources. There are no wasted packaging materials and little energy is consumed in the delivery of the stamps.


Disadvantages of Digital or Digi Stamps

Here are some of the key disadvantages of digital stamps:
•No stamp - no physical stamp is owned, simply the right to use the image.
•Limited use – the use of digital stamps is limited to items that can be created by using printed paper or cardstock.
•Limited techniques – some techniques are difficult or impossible with digital stamps. Items that are created using the three dimensional nature of a stamp, for instance, are difficult or impossible to replicate with digital stamps.
•Technology – digital stamps are more 'high tech' than traditional stamps. A computer and printer are necessary, so is a basic knowledge of using digital images.
•License – while some digital stamping companies and artists have an angel policy, others use licensing terms that may be unfamiliar to stampers. Commercial licenses, for instance, may be necessary for stampers wanting to sell work created with a digital stamp.
•Quality of printer ink – the quality of printer ink may effect the finished item. Some printer inks run or smear when they are wet.
•Waste paper – digital stamps can waste paper and computer ink. If people print out sample copies or print a single image on a page then this may prove inefficient over time.

Sketch

Try out this sketchand see what happens..

I made this card 5x7 and cut three circles at 1 3/4" and matted. Just added some dazzles and it's done- VERY simple to make!

Free Project

If you are interested in getting a free projects, sign up for my newsletter on the right side. This week I am sending a template with instructions on how to make a card box to hold your cards that you make.

What is a sketch challenge?

A sketch is a rough drawing for the placement of the main elements of your layout: photos, embellies, title, and journaling. You can follow the sketch exactly or use it as starting point to your own creativity. The Paperwishes Message Board is doing this sketch for the month of August. Come on over and join the list-

Here is an example that AmzdByHsGrace did on the Paperwishes MB-

WARNING! Tons (& TONS) of pics to follow!

This was the first year away from my mom for the 4th of July. It was a little sad and I really missed them, especially as the fire works were going off. The day was great though. We went to Patriots Point, where they had a huge event with food and kids stuff all over the area. The fireworks were shot off the USS Yorktown and I have never seen such a magnificent site!!!! It was so symbolic and not to mention how spectacular the show was. There was a live band playing and then patriotic songs were played while the fireworks were skyrocketing. My daughter was so amazed and said that she, and no one in our entire family, had ever witness something so extraordinary! She is so right, there were so many!!!!

You can see where they were shooting them on the ship, this was towards the end and they were sparying them like guns- it was amazing!

Kasiah, waiting patiently

Kasiah by the big guns!!!

Next to a torpedo

Stryder doing his thinking pose: Lips are sticking out and the scowl shows he is in deep thought.

Stryder loves to do whatever his sister does. I love this picture because it captures the moment. They are both wearing the same shirts. My mom bought them matching and Kasiah wanted to make sure they both wore it today. They both just happened to wear blue shorts too.

Uss Yorktown in the background

Stryder playing with a glowstick.

A man nearby gave him a flag - sat right down and started to wave it.

Sunset with boats in the water.

USS Yorktown, what a site!!!!

The beginning of the show...

Stryder holding tightly to Daddy, but very curious. It's way past bedtime, but he got a glimpse.

These were shootig right off the ledge.

Again, right on deck- just beautiful!

All tuckered out...The End!

Happy 4th!

Card with Dazzles

I love my dazzles! I made 5 cards today, all using some of the Dazzles that I have. These cards are VERY simple, only using some sketches, ribbon, paper and brads-one Mom card has chipboard and the other has a rub-on and I used the Martha Stewart Lace punch (again).

Organization

There have been quite a few questions on organizing, so I thought I would share a few of the ones that I either use now or will be soon-

I have a scraprack, and LOVE it. TheScrapRack™ is not only a wonderful tool, it is an organization system that works!


Categorizing your supplies is key to your productivity as a scrapper. If you can find what you've got you’ll produce pages at record speed and save yourself lots of time and money. Using The ScrapRack ™ 4 Section System will simplify ever step of the Scrapbooking process from putting new supplies away to finding that perfect tiny embellishment.

The 4 Sections:

Alphabets, Numbers and Punctuation
Themes A to Z
The Calendar
The Rainbow

Click the banner below to find out more information:




Ribbon Organization:

Birthday Card

After looking at the results of my survey so far, I found that a lot of people like simple cards, so that's what I did today- A very easy card with just a few details.

The card is 5X7- I first made my card base and then cut a piece of pink patterned paper down to the same size. Next, I cut a strip of pink paper down to 2X7 and used my Martha lace punch (I use it all the time- thanks again Mary!)

For the ovals, I made two in two sizes. For the pink one I used some shaped scissors to get the scallop edge. The image was stamped on white paper and I used a stamp pad and blotted it all over with pink. I stamped another image and used pop-dots to pop it up. I stamped an additional rose and popped that once more and added a stacked rose dazzle on top.

The birthday sentiment is a Dazzle- Lastly, I added "skittles" on the top.

A very simple card- Let's see what you can do with this now

Blog Award

I got this great award from Mary over at Cardz For U - It's late, but because my connection was so horrible yesterday and then went away completely, I wasn't able to put my list up here-
Thank you so much Mary, it truly is an honor coming from you! Please make sure to check out her blog- she does these awesome videos and has a great accent!

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.




http://cardzforu.blogspot.com/

http://countrylovincardmaker.blogspot.com/
http://countrylovincardmaker.blogspot.com/
http://www.talentisoptional.com/
http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.com/
http://stampsncoffee.blogspot.com/
http://inkastamp.blogspot.com/
http://stampinstuff.blogspot.com/
http://stampinstuff.blogspot.com/
http://sendingyoualittlesmile.blogspot.com/
http://rbwgold.blogspot.com/
http://scrapalbum.blogspot.com/
http://min-hobbyblogg.blogspot.com/
http://magiccapturesphotography.blogspot.com/
http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/
http://sandradrydesigns.blogspot.com/

SVG Request

For those interested in Precious Moments SVG's- pick out one's that you would want converted and I will convert them for you- Here is a great resource with lots of pictures, remember to go through all three-

I wanted to give some steps with pictures on how I "color" my images cut on the cricut. For the first image, I didn't cut the letters that were on the sign and just made the sign blank. I also leave the eyes blank because it's easier to just color them than try to piece them together. The great thing about the PM images is that their eyes are normally all black, but I add some color just because. The image above is okay, but needs more dimension.

The next thing I do is take my black Zig journaling pen and color in the eys and wrote the words on the sign. I also drew in more of the lines in the tree as well as around the lace. Anywhere I thought there should be more definition. I will look at the regular coloring page to get some of the lines, but it doesn't matter if it's not perfect- mine is far from it.

The last thing I do is outline some of the lines in sharpi markers. I did her hair and the grass as well as a few others. Then I added some yellow stickles for some added glitter effects.


Let me know if this is any help at all, and if interested in a PM image, let me know which ones you would like converted.

Internet problems

I'm sorry I have not posted the files and video that I wanted to. I have had internet problems the last two days, but we switched providers this morning so I am hoping all is well. After reviewing the video, I saw that it was over 18 minutes, so I will have to redo it and post it later.

I have got some great responses from the survey and will make sure to try my best to get things on this blog that y'all want to see. I am really hoping to make Design SOS a one-stop-place to come to for questions, tips and help, so please let me know what I can do to help that along.

Thanks for supporting and following me.