MDS Monday: Invitations

It's been a long time since I featured an MDS project here on my blog, but that is what you are getting today.  My younger son just turned 8.  And in our faith, that is when you get baptized.  Here is the announcement I made using MDS:

Colors: Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party and Whisper White.  Digital Stamps: Decorative Overlays Chevron.  Punches: Flag, File it Fun Label 1, Modern Label.  Other Digital Embellishments: Pool Party Brad.  Photography: Paula Wright

I knew I wanted to do a double-sided 5x7 postcard for these.  Originally, I had both sides going the same direction, but it just wasn't coming together right until I flipped the back side. In MDS there isn't a way to really to have one page of your project portrait and the other landscape. But I just took all my elements and turned them 90 degrees and voila!  The only other thing I needed to adjust was the location of the drop shadows because MDS thought the object was going the other way.

Another hobby (that doesn't come close to competing in time and effort with my Stampin' Up! business) is photography.  About a year ago, I bought my first DSLR camera and I just love it and I love to take pictures of my boys with it.  I told my husband when we got the camera, it would save us money in the long run because before, I was paying someone to do all these pictures.  Really, it just means that I am taking their pictures even more than before and they grow tired of it quickly.  Now what I really need to get better at is Photoshop.  All in good time.

And today is the perfect day to have an MDS Monday because Stampin' Up! has announced some fabulous changes!  Starting today, MDS2+ will be known as just MDS.  And the even better news, it is now only $19.95!!  And if you bought the original version of MDS and haven't upgraded to the new version, it is now available FREE!  Not ready to commit to it yet?  There is still a free 30-Day Trial available as well.  You can find out all about the new changes here: MyDigitalStudio.net

MDS Monday: Blog Hop Follow up

I hope you enjoyed the Stampin' Addict's MDS Blog Hop this weekend.  I loved some of the out-of-box ways to use My Digital Studio.  If you missed it, all the sites are deep linked together so you can still see the five sites, just start here.  And if you've come back because I promised a GIVEAWAY, stay tuned!

My blog hop projects showcased the custom-size feature.  I showed how to do this on an MDS Monday in August with screen shots so I'm not going to go into detail about that today.  But I will tell you a little more about each project.

12"x16" Custom Size Project.  Digital Stamp Brushes: You're a Gem, Creative Elements and Pedaling Past.

The only thing that I did a little different on this one was the flourish around the "Key to my Heart" title.  I used the frame from Creative Elements and used the crop stamp feature to select just the left flourishy end of  frame.  Then I copied, pasted and mirrored it to give me the other end (three clicks was easier for me than inserting the stamp and cropping it again to get the right side, but you could do that as an alternative as well.  The rest of the project is fairly self explanatory.  I just uploaded it to the photo center at my local warehouse store and in 5-7 business days, I went and picked up the canvas.

 7"x10" Custom Size project.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Creative Elements, Frames with a Flourish and Elements of Style.  Non Digital Stampin' Up!: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Antique Brads, Rhinestones. Other: Glossy Decopage Medium, Black Paint and Wood Block.

But my second project does have a story.  I actually first saw pictures of Temples adhered to wood block on pinterest.  I liked the idea and thought it would be fun to make some for Christmas gifts this year.  So when I was at the wood shop buying the owls and witches hat, I also picked up three 5"x7" wood blocks.  But there, they also had family pictures on the wood blocks and the ideas starting churning.  So the big DUH question is: WHY THE HECK DID I NOT BUY MORE BLOCKS? And not just 5"x7" but 8"x10" and 4"x6" too.

I kept thinking I'd get back to the store to buy more of these but with the store being about 30 miles away and gas being $3.80 for my SUV, I just couldn't justify the trip down there for a $3 piece of wood. In the mean time, I designed this 8"x10" to go on the wood and had it printed at a photo center:

Then I had the idea to go to my local hardware/lumber store to buy a wood board. I heard they would cut the wood for me if I asked nicely and paid for it of course.  I found one marked 2"x8" by 8 feet.  So I had it cut into 10" pieces and brought it home.  But this is where I probably should have asked for advice from my wood-working-hobbiest Father.  I had no idea that a 2"x8" is not even close to 8".  It is actually 7". The print I made did not fit the wood and I couldn't just cut an inch off because I didn't leave any wiggle room to trim it.  So I did have to recreate a print that was 7"x10" at the last minute to make this all work. (I might have been able to print at home, but I was a little concerned about applying anything over the top of a home-printed photo.)

To finish the block, I sanded it (and since you know I hate sanding, I cheated and broke out my finishing sander.  It might have been a bit of an over kill, but it worked and it saved my carpal tunnel).   I painted it black with regular acrylic craft paint and then used Glossy Mod Podge to adhere the photo to the wood.  I then applied two layers of Mod Podge to the top (allowing it to dry in between): one with the brush strokes running horizontally and the other with them running vertically.  This gave it a bit more of a "canvas" texture.  Next, I sprayed it with a sealer so that it would lose that "tacky" feeling you some times get with Mod Podge.  Finally, I added the ribbon and brads.  I thought about some other things, but they were all retired and I didn't want to feature anything on the blog hop that wasn't current.

I actually made three more of these featuring another photo for another Christmas present but I can't show you those yet since I want it to be a surprise.  But I will show them after they are received.

Now the reward for coming back today and sticking with me through this rambling post: THE GIVEAWAY!  I have a  One Big Sale-a-bration MDS Content CD to give away to one lucky blog reader.  Here is how to enter.  First of all, you must have a United States mailing address and be a google follower of my blog OR my facebook page.  So if you aren't already, click on the links on the left and become one.  Second, leave a comment here in the comment section.  (My blog allows for anonymous comments, but you have to leave an email or someway for me to get hold of you if you win).  Everyone who does that will get an entry.  To get additional entries, visit my online store and download the free downloads available for Digital Scrapbook Week, and/or your 30-day free trial of MDS2.  But hurry, because today is the last day for the free downloads.  (The 30-day trial offer is ongoing). Remember, you can use these downloads and the CD of content in other digital scrapbooking programs (even PhotoShop).  I will announce the winner on Friday this week so come back then.

One more note, I am going to discontinue MDS Monday as a regular weekly-feature on my blog.  I will continue to do the occasional MDS Monday post, but I am so far behind on my regular stamping projects to share, I want to focus on those as I prepare for my upcoming Christmas Stampin' Buffet and other holiday crafting.

Stampin' Addicts MDS2 Blog Hop

Welcome to stop number three on the Stampin' Addicts MDS2 Blog Hop.  If you are hopping in order than you just came from Yapha Mason's blog. Designing in spreads is one of my favorite new features.  If this is your first stop on the hop, don't worry.  All the blogs are linked together in a circle so you won't miss a thing. If you get lost or want to chat about what you've seen, head on over to  Stampin' Addicts.

I get to show you how I used the custom-size feature on some fun projects.  And since Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I'd give you some ideas on how to use the custom-size feature to make some gifts for someone you love.  And if you come back next Monday, I'll share with you more details about how to make the projects I'm sharing with you.

Are you wondering why you would ever need to do a custom size when Stampin' Up! has a wide variety of print products to choose from?  Those size and projects are great for cards, albums and scrapbook pages.  But with custom-sizes, a whole world of possibilities opens up to you.

For my first project, I had a little help from my favorite warehouse store.  Several professional print shops are now offering a print on canvas feature.  I have been looking for some "art" to go on the wall in my dining room.  With MDS2 I was able to customize a 12x16 layout and then upload it to this photo center to get my very own piece of canvas art.  First what I designed in MDS2:

I just picked it up from the photo center yesterday and I just love the way it turned out (the picture turned out a little warmer than it really is, but you get the idea):

I knew my in laws would love to have this same picture of my boys, but I didn't just want to give it to them in a boring frame (and no way was a parting with my canvas. I love it too much!).  So my second project was inspired by something I saw at a craft store about six weeks ago. Unfortunately, the store is about 30 miles from my house and I just haven't made it back, so I did what all good crafters do: I improvised!  (Come back on Monday to hear all about that improvisation).   To start with, I needed a 7"x10" photo (another improvise because I thought I really needed a 8"x10" photo).  This is what I came up with in MDS2:

You can see it is pretty similar to the one above.  I let my husband pick out the words to go on it since they are his parents and changed up the flourishes and accents.  And I wanted the picture to be black and white.  I sent it off to a local one hour print shop.  Then I went to work prepping a piece of wood to mount the picture too.  (I promise there is a great story behind the wood, but again, you'll have to come back on Monday to read all about it).  After I adhered it to the wood and applied the finish to it, I took some ribbon and other embellishment and my mixed media/hybrid project turned out like this:

So let your imagination run wild with the custom sizes.  I was surprised how easy it was to work on the larger projects, especially with the SVG digital stamp files in MDS2.

If you haven't already decided to come back on Monday, how about I sweeten the pot?  Come back on Monday for your chance to win an MDS Content CD from last year's Sale-A-Bration.  If you are new to MDS, these are files you won't have already.  And don't forget to take advantage of the free downloads Stampin' Up! is offering through Monday as well!

And now you are off to the next stop, Heidi's Runningwscissorsstamper blog to get a fresh look at converting templates.  Enjoy!

Digital Scrapbooking Week Continues

Happy November.  I think November might be my favorite month of the year.  I love that the hot weather is over and we usually don't get a lot of snow in November either.  (Knock on wood!) And we get to celebrate all that we are thankful for this time of year too.  Love that part of November.

Today's post features another Digital Kit that is 50% off though next Monday, November 5.  It's called Bandstand and it is based on the Simply Scrappin' Kit by the same name in the main catalog.  I love the bright fun colors in it.  And it has chevron paper and embellishments which are so hot right now.  Here is the page I made with it:

Colors: Pool Party, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron and Whisper White. All elements from the Bandstand Digital Kit except flag punch.

 I always forget that a white background does not work well on my blog.  You'll just have to pretend you can tell where the edges of the page are. I started out using as sketch from Susan Stringfellow at Sketch Savvy for this page, but I changed it so much I don't know that I could really say it is from that at all.  I love these pictures because they are from one of the highlights of our summer: our "family" reunion with our friends that we knew when we were first married and living in apartments.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the Stampin' Addicts MDS2 Blog Hop.  We are a smaller group this time, but the six that are participating are fabulous.  You won't want to miss it.  But in the mean time, I have to go get some wood putty and paint to finish up my projects.

Happy Halloween, MDS Style

In addition to the free downloads Stampin' Up! is offering for Digital Scrapbook Day this week, all Digital Scrapbook Kits are also 50% off.  There are over 70 to choose from including two with a Halloween theme.  So since today is Halloween, I decided to share the Wicked Fun Kit.

I don't make a lot of cards with My Digital Studio because that is one thing I enjoy making on my own.  But I thought it would be fun to put this on Facebook today to wish all my friends a WICKED Halloween. I used the recoloring feature to color the books.  For the hat, I placed a punch behind the band to color it (in the negative space of the stamp).

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black and Dusty Durango.  Digital Stamps and Designer Series Paper: Wicked Fun Kit.  Other: Antique Brads Digital Embellishments, and assorted punches.

This kit also comes with a 12x12 scrapbook template.  So all I did for this page was to plug in my own pictures from last Halloween and add my journaling.

Wicked Fun Digital Kit 12x12 Template.

You can check out all the 50% off Digital Kits by clicking on the Shop Now button above and click through to the online store.  Choose My Digital Studio and Digital Content.  There will be a box showing 50% off items.  Don't forget to download your free items while you are there too.

I hope you all have a wonderfully wicked and safe Halloween!

MDS Free Downloads!

First of all, a big thanks to all who made the one-day stamp sale a big success for me!  I appreciate my loyal customers.  

Second of all, no, I don't usually post on Tuesdays, but this week is an exception.  This week I am celebrating Digital Scrapbook Day with posts about the free and discounted downloads that are available through November 5.

Yesterday, I showed you a project with the free Split Second Template Kit.  Today, I'm showing the also FREE Enjoying Everything Kit and the Days in December Kit:

Enjoying Everything Kit

Now, this kit is a little girly. If you know me, you know that we are lacking in the girly department around my house. But I thought it was perfect for an Easter picture of my boys.  The kit comes with a 4-piece digital stamp brush kit, four embellishments and four designer series papers.  It does not come with a template, but I CASE'd the sample layout Stampin' Up! shows for the kit.

Days in December Kit

The Days in December kit comes with a 33-piece digital stamp brush set, 29 embellishments and a 1-page template.  What I have above is the template that I simply added "December" too.  It would make a great cover for a scrapbook about your December Traditions.  Or leave December off, and you can use the squares for an advent calendar.

To get the three free kits, visit my online store at paula.stampinup.net and click shop now. On the right side of the screen, under the FREE Trial of MDS2, you will see three boxes with the free downloads.  Don't have My Digital Studio?  Well by all means, download the freebies anyway.  You can use them with other digital scrapbooking software.  Just choose "other application" when downloading.  But I know if you try MDS2, you will love it, so you might as well get your free 30 day trial at the same time and get using it!

Come back tomorrow to see some of the kits you can get 50% off this week too.  I will see you then!

MDS Monday All Week!

 Welcome to Digital Scrapbooking Week!  Stampin' Up! will be celebrating all week, so I have decided to also join in the celebration.  Stampin' Up! is giving away three free downloads and offering 50% off all Digital Scrapbooking Kits.  Each day this week, I will feature one of the free or discounted kits on my page.  Also, Friday will be the Stampin' Addicts Blog Hop featuring My Digital Studio.

Today, I am featuring the Split Second Kit that is available free from my online store.  I love this kit because it isn't too girly and you know we don't have too many girls around my house. It was the perfect kit to showcase these beach pictures of my boys:

All elements from Split Second Designer Template Pages.

The kit comes with two 12x12 templates and all I did here was put my own pictures and journaling on the pages and voila!  The kit comes with a 12-piece stamp brush set, two designer series papers, and two embellishments as well as the templates.  You will want this one for sure!


Also, when you are over visiting my online store, don't forget all stamp sets are 15% off TODAY only.  You don't want to miss out on this sale.  And come back tomorrow to see another free download.

MDS Monday: Final Disneyland Pages

First off, I owe my readers and apology.  I've been promising posts I haven't delivered this past week.  The Stampin' Addicts My Digital Studio Blog Hop that was suppose to be this weekend got postponed until next month.  So watch for that November 16.

I did promise to show you some more pages from my Disneyland Album and today, I am delivering on that promise.  The pages I'm sharing today feature the pictures from Disney California Adventure:

Colors: Tempting Turquoise, Crushed Curry, Whisper White.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Hip and Handsome Overlays. Digital Punches: Tasteful Trims.  Digital Embellishments: Downtown Grunge Frames.  Fonts: Waltograph and Mouse Deco

I love the look on my older son's face in these picture.  He really did have fun at Disneyland, he just didn't want to smile for another picture.

Colors: Real Read and Basic Black.  Digital Punches: Circle.  Font: Tristan

 Wouldn't be Disney if you didn't stop to see a few characters along the way.

Colors: Pacific Point, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Solid Stripes.  Digital Punches: Tasteful Trims.  Digital Embellishments: Stitching and Brads.  Font: Script MT Bold

These pages were all about cramming a lot of pictures on each page so that the album wasn't 100 pages long. So they are light on embellishments and stamps and heavy on pictures.

Colors: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Decorative Overlays. Digital Embellishments: Mis-Stitched, Downtown Grunge Frames.  Font: Rockwell Extra Bold

If you missed the other pages from my Disneyland Album, you can click on the Disney tag below and you will see them all.  We are planning another trip to the Disneyland Resort next month to celebrate my birthday and check out the new Carsland.  Working on this album and sharing it with you is making me even more excited to go back!

To get back on track, on Wednesday, I will be sharing the Christmas Card I promised to share last Wednesday.  And on Friday, I will share the Halloween Wood projects I talked about last week too.  I hope you will come back and check them all out.

MDS Monday: More Disney Pages

A few weeks ago, I told you about the Disneyland Album I made using MDS2.  Since then, I have actually received the completed album and I LOVE IT!  I love the quality of the print product you get with My Digital Studio.  They albums are just gorgeous.  And Stampin' Up! Announced last week a permanent price reduction in My Digital Studio Print Products.  Many of the prices are now on par or cheaper than they were during the recent print sale.  You can see the prices over on MyDigitalStudio.net.  Now I won't have to wait for a sale to get my projects printed!

I promised to share some more two-page layouts from that album and here they are:

Colors: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, and Whisper White.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Hip and Handsome Overlays.  Digital Punches: Get It Done. Digital Embellishments: Celebrations ribbon and Downtown Grunge frames.

Colors: Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard.  Digital Punches: Tasteful Trim Border.  Digital Embellishments: Stitching, Blast Off Digital Kit.

Colors: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White.  Digital Stamp Brush: The Open Seas, Vintage Overlays.  Digital Embellishments: Downtown Grunge Designer Series Paper, Misstitching.

Colors: Calypso Coral, Pool Party. Basic Gray and Whisper White.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Domestic Goddess Digital Kit. Digital Punches: Flag Punch.  Digital Embellishments: Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper and Stitchings.

As you can see, every page had it's own distinctly look and feel.  Usually when I make an album for a trip, I try to keep a central theme and color. But part of what I love about Disneyland, is that every corner of the park has a different look and feel to it so I carried that over into the album.

I still haven't shown any pictures from Disney California Adventure.  That will have to wait for another MDS Monday in a few weeks. 

MDS Monday: Altering Templates

Today's MDS Monday features a different way to use the templates that are included with MDS2+ or with some of the downloads. Templates are a fabulous way to make quick pages and albums, but  sometimes, you just want a different colors and elements than what is included in the template.  So that is what I am going to show you today.

First of all, to access the templates, you need to choose a size of projects.  For this example, I used a 12x12 project.  Then you want to click on Designer (which is the top choice):

The next screen will show you all the available templates in that size:

For this project, I chose the one from Sun Garden which is included with MDS2+, but you can choose any of them that you have.  Remember the album templates have several different templates included so if you click on them, you will see the pages in the preview window.  On the next screen you can choose which pages of the album templates you would like to use for this project.  Sun Garden only has a one page template so that is what I used.

When the template came up, I just added my pictures and text and this is what the page looked like:

Sun Garden 12x12 Template

The great thing about MDS is in about five minutes you can have a completed page just by using the templates.  But I wanted to change up the colors and papers on this project, just because the Sun Garden colors aren't my favorite.  But using the template for the layout is so much quicker than starting from scratch. So, I just went through and changed the colors, all the papers and most of the stamps and this is what I came up with:

Sun Garden 12x12 Template.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Cottage Garden.  Digital Accessories: Woodland Walk DSP.

These pictures are from my girlfriend trip to Lake Tahoe last spring.  These girls have been my best friends for about 30 years and we try to get together every few years for a weekend away from our families and just cry and laugh together.  They always remind me of that quote by Baz Luhrmann: "Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young." I hope you have friends like that too.

MDS MONDAY: Printables

You know all the printables that are so popular on Pinterest right now?  Did you know you can use My Digital Studio to make your own.


Stampin' Up! even makes templates that include everything you need to just print a Halloween one out right now:

Template and images from Toxic Frameable Download for My Digital Studio

For this one, I altered the scrapbook page template that came with the Frightening Feline template:

Colors: Tangerine Tango, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Basic Gray.  Digital Stamp Brushes: Frightening Feline, Vintage Overlays, and Distressed Dots.  Digital Accessories: Howlstooth and Scaringbone Designer Series Paper, Stitching, Buttons.

 And then there is this one I made all the way from scratch that has nothing to do with Halloween:

Colors: Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party.  Digital Accessories: Essentials Designer Series Paper, Stitching.

This is one of my favorite quotes and I hang on to these words on those days when my boys are really pushing my buttons and reminding me that they each have their own unique challenges in this world.  Chevrons are all the rage right now and I used a square punch, the same size as the page, and filled it with the chevron print from the Essentials Designer Series Paper.  I had already made the back ground Island Indigo, so when I changed the opacity to 10% it gave me that monochromatic print.

I'm on a home decor kick right now so I have lots of ideas for these.  I'd love to hear your ideas too!

MDS Monday: Disney Vacation Pictures

It's time for MDS Monday again.  And today, instead of showing you a tip, I'm just going to share with you some page from the album I finished up last week just in time to get 31% off.  Most of the albums I've made so far are for an event like a family reunion or a family vacation.  Our family likes to travel a lot and one of our favorite places to go is DISNEYLAND!

At first I was worried that I would have a hard time using My Digital Studio to scrapbook Disneyland pictures.  I was concerned I would need to find some Disney-licensed elements to include with the pictures.  But as I got going, I decided it wouldn't matter: the pictures bring Disney to the album.  And with a few circle punches, anyone can make a Mickey head and since My Digital Studio uses the fonts you already have on your computer, I downloaded some "Disney" fonts and went from there.
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First the cover.  I kept if very simple and didn't even include a picture on it:

Polka Dot Parade Digital Designer Series Paper, Digital Circle Punches. Font: Started by a Mouse.

 Then the inside cover:

Colors: Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Real Red and Pacific Point.  Small Polka Dot, Large Polka Dot and Grid Digital Designer Series Paper.  Digital Circle Punches.  Digital Stitching Embellishment.

And a few random spreads from inside:

Colors: Summer Sun, Custom Orange, Whisper White, Basic Black.  Digital Punches: Circles, Tasteful Trim Shape 1.   Digital Stamp Brush: Solid Stripes and Pumpkin Patch. Digital Embellishment: Stitching and Downtown Grunge Frame. Title font: Gracie's Curse

Colors: Real Red, Ruby Red.  Circle Digital Punch.  Digital Stitching Embellishment. Font: Started by a Mouse.

Colors: Rich Razzleberry and Tangerine Tango.  Digital Stamps: Decorative Overlays, Spooky Bingo Bits, Picture This Designer Kit.  Digital Embellishments: Candid Frames Designer Kit, Downtown Grunge Designer Kit (stitching).  Fonts: Gracie's Cruse and Nightmare Before Christmas.

Colors: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip.  Digital Stamps: Decorative Overlays.  Digital Embellishments: Downtown Grunge Designer Kit (Frames), Stitchings, Antique Brads.

The Album ended up being 52 pages so these are just a few samples.  I will show more in a few weeks.  And while the sale is over, the opportunity to get your free 30-day trial of MDS2 is not.  Head on over to my store and download your trial version for yourself.  Even if you have already used your 30 day trial of MDS, you can do it again for MDS2.

Come back on Wednesday for a closer look at some of the projects from my upcoming Halloween Class on September 29 and October 5.  It is always my most popular class and I have lots of prizes to give away so come on back.

MDS Monday: Span Across Pages

I have another new feature of MDS2 to share with you today: spanning an item across a layout.  This is simple and easy to do so there won't be a lot of screen shots.

First, you need to be designing in two page spreads.  If you've forgotten how to do this, you click the little icon on the bottom, just left of where the thumbnail of your pages appear:

Now, add your stamp or embellishment and move it so it is hanging off teh edge of one of your pages.  You will not be able to see the portion that is hiding behind the other page.  To fix that, right click on the image and select Span Pages:

You can see from this spread that I've used that function on two stamps and the stitching.  I've added a page guide to the center of the spread so you can see where the page break would be:

 
Now another word of warning on this one.  I have had success doing this with embellishments and stamps.  I haven't tried it with text, but I'm sure that works as well. But I tried it with a punch and resizing it and moving it around was difficult.  So I would not recommend using this feature on a punch just yet.  Hoping that is another fix in a coming update.

Here is the competed two page spread:

Colors: Basic Gray and Basic Black.  My Digital Studio Brush Stamps: Toxic Frameable, Bulletin Alphabet.  Digital Designer Series Paper: Howlstooth and Scaringbone.  Digital Embellishments: Mis-stitched and Delightful Digital Tape.

This Friday, September 14 is the final day to order print projects at 31% off.  I ordered two albums last week and I'm hoping to finish up this Disneyland album this week.  Next MDS Monday, I will take a break from showing you MDS2 features and will share how I used My Digital Studio to create a Disney album without any licensed Disney materials.  See you then!

MDS Monday: Using Page Guides

I can't believe it's been a month since MDS2 came out.  And I'm still discovering new things about it. Last week I was working on an album from a trip we went on last summer to Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Great Basin National Park when I discovered one of these little gems: Page Guides.  These are so helpful when designing in two page spreads.

So what are they?  They are little red lines that span across a two page spread to help you line things up.  How do you use them?  Very simple:

First, you need to make sure the feature is turned on:

I've circled the little icon that turns this feature off and on.  You can also use the menu bar by going to View: Show Guides or you can click ctrl+M.

Once you turn the feature on, to set a guide click anywhere on the rulers that run on the left and top of the page.  You can adjust them by dragging on them with you get the arrows.   I used the guides here to make sure the top and bottom photos on my page where lined up across the spread:

You can see that the bottom pictures on the right don't align with the ones on the left. Using the guides I moved them down so that they could all be aligned. 

You do have to be careful, there is a glitch in the current version of MDS2; if you have the guides on and use your mouse to move a photo box near the line, the photo box mysteriously disappears from view.  I am sure they will fix that soon, but in the mean time use the arrow keys to manipulate those photos when you are working close to the guides.

Here are the final pages:

Colors: Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard, Basic Gray and Chocolate Chip.  Digital Designer Kit: Travel Log. Digital Punches: Arrows.

I tend to take A LOT of pictures when we travel, so I try to maximize the number of photos I can get on each page and keep them pretty simple.  I thought the addition of the arrows with the tags for each photo was kind of a fun touch here and it meant that I didn't need to add any extra journaling.

Don't forget, we have until September 14 to get 31% off print projects so hurry up and get those albums/pages/cards finished!  You know I am.

MDS Monday: Watermark Feature

It's Monday again.  That means it's time for MDS Monday and today I am featuring a super easy new feature from MDS2: using the watermark feature for stamps and punches.  In the original MDS software, you could turn any image into a "watermark" by changing the opacity.  But in MDS2, it is even easier since they've built it right into to the color feature.

The first step is to open a project and insert a stamp image over your background.  This technique is perfect to use with the overlay stamps to create your own DSP.  Here, I've added one of the Vintage Overlay Stamps over the entire background of the page.  (Vintage Overlays is included in MDS2+).  The next step is to pick the "change color" feature under the Design Center.  (I've circled it in red).

In the "choose color" window, you will see the very last option on your palette is a square with the letter "w" in it.  That is your watermark feature:

When you select watermark, the overlay image creates a subtle, texture image over your original background color like this:

You can do this with any stamp to make a background for your project.  Here I've used a couple of images from Artist Etchings (also included with MDS2+):

Stamps aren't the only feature you can watermark.  You can use the same technique with punches as well.  Here is an example where I used the snowflake punches to create soft images on a project:

And here is my semi-completed project.  I used the punches from above and then I also used the watermark feature on the Dot, Dot, Dot stamp on the bottom of the page.

Colors: Marina Mist, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red.  Digital Stamp Brush: Dot, Dot, Dot  Digital Punches: Snowflake, Snowflake Trimmings 1&2, Tasteful Trim Shape 2.  Embellishments: Regal Buttons, Latte Buttons, Grosgrain Ribbon and Knot.

I say semi-completed because I haven't added and journaling. And actually, in MDS I have a hard time deciding when my page is done.  I do feel like this is missing something so if you have an idea, please post it in the comment section below.

Ready to try this feature for yourself, head on over to my store and get your own 30-day free trial of MDS2.  And I'm so excited because the 31% off for 31 Days on MDS print projects has been extended to 45 days!  The last few weeks have been a little off at our house so I'm thrilled to have the time to finish up those projects I've started.