My Digital Studio

I thought I would share a page from a scrapbook that I have been working on for about 12 years!!  Yes, you read that right....12!  I am finally finished thanks to how far our technology has come :)

This project has been an Heirloom album using pictures dating back over 92 years!  Many of the photos are damaged, of course.  Or names and dates have long since been forgotten.  So for a couple of years, I worked with my grandmother and great aunt and they had lively conversations trying to identify everyone and I would record the info on the back. 

And then we had the dilemma of how to copy the pictures so we could share them with ALL our family.

Well, then I had kids....so the box collected dust...for years and was that unfinished project taking up tons of space in my little house calling to me like the Tell-Tale heart...FINISH ME....FINISH ME....FINISH ME.

So last year, my husband and I dived in and just started scanning.  And scanning.  And scanning.  Luckily, given the pre-digital age, they didn't take quite as many pictures as I do.  But in the end we still scanned almost 400 pictures.

And finally, yesterday I was able to sit down and within a few hours drop them into MY DIGITAL STUDIO and....after 12 years I am DONE :)

It took me the longest to decide which pictures to use, but then I used pre-planned sketches to drag and drop the pics...MDS formatted each pic to the correct size for me automatically...and then I decorated the pages for the ENTIRE album in about an hour or so. 

It was crazy how fast and easy it really was, once I got started :) 

Anyways, I thought I would share one page with you.  My great-aunt was a flight stewardess and also featured in several of American Airlines promotional advertisements.  Isn't it fascinating the kind of family history you uncover when you pull out those dusty boxes?

When I scrapbook, I like all my pages to match and I thought this album was ALL about the pictures.  So I chose a very subtle going gray for all my images and background papers and changed the opacity of all images to 15% making them very faint, so your eye is drawn to the pictures and not the embellishments.  I kept it simple and light.

Now...after 12 years, I shipped this off to the printer (via a simple click of a button embedded into the program waiting for me) and in about 10 days I had a beautiful PhotoBook ready for my Grandma's 83rd birthday which was yesterday :)

And the greatest thing is...if any of my aunts and uncles want a different picture here or there....the book can be edited quickly and easily to customize for each of them...I am sooo excited!

What projects do you have calling to you to finish???

Happy Stampin'

Jami

Create A Cupcake

I have a fun, quick birthday card to share today.... a little bit of stamping and a little bit of punching made the cutest card.

Have you thought to use embossing folders to create depth in the icing on the cake tops???

I was happy to try a color combo a little out of MY ordinary comfort zone, and I was very pleased with the result :)

A quick tip for getting the solid stripes centered - - I cut the paper the same size as my wood block and then lined up the edges of the wood to the paper!  Little tricks to produce perfect results every time.

Happy Stampin'

Jami

Materials:
Stamps:  Solid Stripes, A Word for You
Ink:  Concord Crush
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Whisper White, Glimmer Red
Accessories:  Create A Cupcake Punch, Modern Label Punch, Big Shot, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder

Pin Wheels!

At Convention last month pinwheels were all over the place :)

And during our make -n- take session, we were provided with a template to make our own....so when I came home I was itching to make a few.

They are a little tricky getting the points to stay down long enough for the glue to hold, but our Crystal Effects is fantastic....I only had to hold the tip down with a safety pin (to keep my fingers from getting gooey) for a couple seconds and it held great!  A glitter brad to the center and it's complete.

 Below is the template for you, too. 

Simply cut along the solid lines.  As you can see, start with a square and cut in towards the center. 

 I didn't actually measure my inside cuts, I just "eye-balled" it.  Who needs to fuss??  I know how much you all love how precise I am!  Kinda' like my lovely crooked pic, but you get the idea :)

Happy Stampin'

Jami

Materials:
Stamps: Smarty Pants
Ink:  Staz-On Basic Black
Paper:  Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi, DSP Just Add Cake
Accessories:  Paper Snips, Corner Rounder, Cystal Effects, In Color Glimmer Brads, Paper Piercer, Mat Pad, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Big Shot, Polka Dots Embossing Folder

Convention - Day 4 and 5

And...we were still going strong :)

Day 4 and 5 were full of fun classes...so I'll finish up my convention shares all in one today!

Not too many (good) pictures of lectures and demonstrations, but I'll share several of my favorite pictures from our "Product Park". 

Stampin' Up pulled out all the stops with an array of beautiful garden displays made completely out of paper!!

Another day of shirts we designed!  We were the hit of the day...I'm not sure I've ever had so many people stop me to take pictures of my clothes :)

I just wish we'd gotten a little better shot of our design.

We used SU Springtime Vintage Fabric and cut it out using our Fast Flowers Bigz Die.  We used our Fabric Adhesive and ironed them on our shirts.  We finished the look by adding matching buttons to the center of each flower and all the way down the front in between the regular shirt buttons.  I added a couple of "floating" buttons to the collar and back of mine ;)  (Well, I use the term "I" loosely - - many thanks to my mother in law, Isabel, for rescuing the sewing machine from me :) )

We also sewed buttons all along the collar of a white V neck top underneath.  It coordinated very nicely together and was quite a hit.

Even our bracelets had buttons on it!!

The staff at Corporate really does a great job sharing their personalities with us!  Our last presentation of all of convention was from Spencer, he's famous for his singing and dazzles us every year.  This year was no different...that's Spencer as Willy Wonka singing "Candy Man".  And his kids couldn't have been cuter as his back-up dancers.

I hope you've enjoyed my pictures from convention...and maybe even felt a little bit like you were there, too :) 

Until next year!

Happy Stampin'

Jami



All Wrapped Up

Candy bars all wrapped up and ready to give :)

"All Wrapped Up" is a fun little set to use and decorate Hersey Nuggets.  They fit perfectly on Avery Labels making it a cute and quick project, perfect to celebrate any occasion :)

How cute would a bowl of these be at your next baby shower or holiday gathering?

I used the Matchbox Die to create the box in Rich Razzleberry and decorated it with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit, 1/8th inch Taffeta ribbon and spritzed it with Gold Smooch.

Happy Stampin'

Jami

Materials:
Stamps:  All Wrapped Up, Fabulous Phrases
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, White Vellum Paper, Brights Patterns Designer Series Paper, Avery Address Labels
Accessories:  Big Shot, Matchbox Die, Beautiful Butterflies Embosslit, 1/8th Taffeta Rich Razzleberry, Gold Smooch Spritz,

Designer Paper Special!!

Dates: August 1-31, 2011


During August, you can get a FREE package of Designer Series Paper when they buy three!  Stock up on all your favorites, including BRAND - NEW designs from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.

Things to Remember:


•There is no limit to the number of free packages of Designer Series Paper you can earn.


•Specialty Designer Series Paper and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer.

•On-Line Ordering deadline is August 31 at 11:50 (Mountain Time)

Happy Stampin'

Jami

Convention Highlights - Day 3

Convention Presentations and Seminars Begin Today...

We were greeted bright and early to great music, dancing and a beautiful stage presentation!

The lighting was fantastic....it was constantly changing colors to coordinate with whoever was on stage, including this fun opening act!!

And then a wonderful welcome from our CEO and Founder, Shelli Gardner.

With whom, I actually had a chance to say a quick "Hi" and snap a pic.

The gals...in our matching tops we designed before Convention.

A little bit of shopping in Momento Mall - - aren't the displays adorable??

And we ended our evening, just as it began...dancing!!  A DJ kept the "After Party" hoppin' :)

I do have a couple pics of us dancin' the night away...shocking I know...but they didn't turn out so well, so I'll keep them to myself!

And...now to share a couple of my favorite pics of some of the ideas we had on display.

These were a few of the many, many, many samples on display during our Wednesday night demonstrations :)

 

 


You know how much I love Halloween - - isn't this one fab!  You can definitely expect this one to pop up at a class near the holiday :)

Happy Stampin'

Jami