MDS Blog Hop--Merry Christmas From the Davidses?

Well, it almost Christmas and I have been super busy at work--retail is CRAZY!!!  It's fun to help people find gifts for loved ones and friends, but the days are long and my body is screaming at me every night when I come home!  I had great plans for a family picture and fun Christmas card, alas, with grown children in different places and everyone's schedules never matching up, the family picture didn't happen and my Christmas card will be more of a "holiday card" only because it probably will arrive around New Years Day--that's still ok, right?  I had each family member take a pic of themselves at their new jobs, I think it came out pretty well. Hopefully next year I can plan my card much better (yeah, right!!!)

I chose a trifold card this year, it gave me room to add larger pics.  My computer is getting old so my program becomes as slow as molasses when I add several components so this took me a lot longer than normal. Maybe Santa can bring me a new computer for Christmas!! I just love that I can create my own one-of-a-kind card for Christmas or any other occasion. 

With all the holiday craziness going on, I will not be blogging until the first of the year, I am choosing to spend the little free time I have with my family (so excited to have my daughter home for a few weeks!)  See you back here on the first of January for the We Create Blog Hop!  Enjoy our final MDS Blog Hop of 2014!

We wish for you a very merry Christmas and may you all enjoy the love of your families during this holiday season!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--Winter/Christmas Traditions

The last few years I have created screen savers for my phone, this year I have done one to remind me of the reason for the season--Christ!  One of my favorite Christmas CD's for the last 20+ years has been "The Forgotten Carols" by Michael McLean.  The premise of the story is an older gentleman who has a nurse (who has lost the true spirit of Christmas) to care for him and he shares the unknown stories that occurred during the time Christ was born. The innkeeper, a shepherd who fell asleep and missed the angelic message, Handel's dream, a woman who held the Christ so Mary could sleep, as well as others.  One of the songs I love is called "Let Him In" about the Innkeeper who didn't have room for Mary and Joseph and how he regrets not allowing them to stay.

I am trying to focus more on the reason why we celebrate during this Christmas season.  I mean, I always try to focus on the Savior and His birth but I know that sometimes, with all the craziness that happens during the holiday season, I can momentarily loose sight of my focus.  My children are grown and so it's not so much about Santa and the gifts he brings--I LOVE Santa and the symbol he stands for, but as long as we remember that the giving of gifts is in remembrance of the wonderful, glorious gift we have been given by our Heavenly Father!  There is no other gift that can compare to the blessed gift of our Savior Jesus Christ!  I have chosen to surround myself as much as possible with reminders: creches, pictures, my cute little shepherd woodcut that I made with my dear friend Michelle Williams (who died several years ago), my olive wood nativity ornaments from Jerusalem, and because I'm on my phone every day, I thought I would have a quick reminder to make room for Him in my life daily.  I pray that we can all make room in our hearts and homes for the one for whom we celebrate this beautiful season!

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Can you believe that Christmas is just three short weeks away!  It doesn't seem like I've been in Utah for 6 months, but it has been fun decorating my new home for the holidays.  What is a special tradition you enjoy? Favorite Christmas carol? Leave a message, I would love to hear what you like to do during the Christmas season to make it special.

Julie

We Create Blog Hop--All Wrapped Up!

I have to apologize for taking such a long break,  I started my new job at Crate & Barrel and working several evenings a week have put a damper on my blogging time.  Luckily, I had a open house last week and had prepared some packages for my displays.  Stampin' Up! has so many packaging options, the hardest part is selecting which is your favorite! (Or...you can just buy it all!!)

Our wonderful Gift Box punch board is a fabulous tool for making boxes up to 4" x 4" (using 12" x 12" cardstock or Designer Series Paper). Our Take Out box, Window box and Tag a Bag box are great pre-made boxes that just need a bit of stamping or embellishments.  Cello bags come in 4 different sizes, but my favorite is the 1" x 8" you can add pencils, pens, candy, and more.  We also carry Big Shot dies in box shapes, just like my fry box.  To top it all off, we have our new Festive Designer Kraft paper rolls and a plethora of beautiful ribbons and trims to tie everything up. You can order anytime, there is still plenty of time to receive your products before Christmas, but don't delay!

I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with this month!  It's always fun to see different ideas that I can CASE! (Copy and Share Everything...as long as you give credit to the designer!!)

Have a spectacularly creative holiday season!!!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--Project Life Fun!

Well, it took longer than I thought, plus the girlie came home to visit--I just needed to spend some time with her!  Anyway, I finally got my post done along with a video!  I hope you enjoy it--try out a few new techniques with MDS, you will definitely fall in love with it, it is a blast (and trying it out for free isn't too bad either!)  The first project I did using this technique, I actually uploaded my photos to Costco to print and use in my traditional Project Life by Stampin' Up! scrapbook, but I like that I can use it in all the different platforms! Yay!

If you have any questions about this technique, please leave a comment.  I love going back to my old non-digital photos and getting them all scanned so I can use them at times like these!! This will be the best way for me to get caught up on all of my scrapbooking!
Time to check out Julie L. and the rest of the bloggers...and a special welcome to Monika, we are glad to have her blogging with us this month!

I started my new job this week at Crate & Barrel--I love it!  It's a fun place to work, as well as fun people to work with. It's hard to believe the last time I had a non-volunteer job, I had a little 18 month old child!  Where'd the time go?

Julie 

We Create Blog Hop--'Tis the Season to be Grateful

I am loving the mild fall we have been having here in Utah, but I'm afraid that it is all coming to an abrupt end this weekend...maybe snow?  I really can't believe it's already November.  It only seems like yesterday we moved in to our home here and now it's almost been 5 months since we arrived. We have so much to be grateful for! The blessings have been pouring in left and right and I can't begin to count them all!  I am grateful for the love and support of my friends and family as well as all of you, my cyber buddies!  Thanks for encouraging me to create!  I made a new Thanksgiving themed printable using MDS and some fun fonts, I hope you enjoy using it in your holiday home decor.

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Make sure you hop to all the other bloggers in our line-up!  You'll certainly get into the spirit of the season!

Julie

Shared on Mydigitalstudio.com and Tatertots and Jello

MDS Blog Hop--Project Life App!

This post has been a long time coming...I felt I needed to share my finds on using this great app and how to get the most out of it using MDS. We are connected with Becky Higgin's Project Life® through our Project Life® by Stampin' Up!® products so I feel like I can share the app as long as I use SU product when possible.  There are 2 Project Life by Stampin' Up! kits on the PL app right now, and while we do not receive commission on these kits, I still feel they are a great addition to your collection.  While working through all of the options this exciting app offers, I figured a few things out--I can still add some of my great MDS product to the scrapbook pages!!  YAY!!  I guess great minds think alike, because the fabulous Janet Wakeland added a great video on MDS.net on how to add your MDS product to Dropbox and use them as a photo.  I will be sharing how to use your finished projects from the app in MDS, it's very easy and since you will be uploading your page to MDS to print through our fantastic print services anyway, it won't take much more time to "pretty" up your page with a few embellishments, right?

I have a suggestion about Dropbox...the free app only holds a small amount of large photos and MDS digital files, so I have picked a handful of my favorite DSP's and pocket cards on Dropbox and I will probably switch them out when I get something newer and prettier(isn't that how we are?).  I hope you will try out the new Project Life App and play with the many fun kits and layouts Becky has added as well as many Stampin' Up! products, it is a blast!!  I'm told the Android app is in the working stages, but will be available as soon as they can get it ready.  

Head on over through the rest of the blog hop...Julie L. is next!

Lots of craziness going on around here this week, I'll be sure to fill you in soon!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--Home Decor

If you have followed my blog at all, you've probably noticed that I love to create beautiful things for my home with MDS.  That is actually how I got started using MDS, I had a need and I knew that I could make some of the creative things I had seen all over the internet and Pinterest...enter MDS! For this post, I dug out an old project and updated it for my new home!  Although I haven't found the perfect place for this, I have a few ideas that I'm playing around with (that is usually the hardest thing for me, deciding on a place to put something!)  I uploaded this project to Walmart and had them create a faux wrapped canvas, it looks just like the real thing, but if you want, you can also upload to other online canvas printers if you so choose.  I just love the look of wrapped canvas, very clean and modern.

You may not be able to see the woodgrain background, but it is very similar to our espresso cabinets. Here is the project that I uploaded.

I had originally planned on doing portrait instead of landscape orientation, but I didn't want to change the whole project, so I just turned it the way I wanted it.  (This download is meant to be used either way depending on the size of the final project)  This would be a great wedding gift and you can customize it to go with the couple's home dec colors (I simply check their registry to see what colors they are using).  To make this project you need the Lots of Love and Naturals Composition downloads and of course MDS!

Julie L. is next on the blog hop, check out her and the rest of the girls...they all amaze me with their talent!

Julie

I LOVE Fall!

I really love fall! And luckily for me this year I am in Utah for the fall, which is AWESOME! I have been taking a few pics when I get to the mountains. (I am 10-20 minutes from four different canyons!)  I am not a great photographer, but I found a very cool app that will turn your not-so-fabulous picture into beautiful work of art.  It's called Waterlogue...and it is soooo sweet!

Super cool, right?  Go find this app, Waterlogue! 

New MDS Blog hop is on Thursday, check back for some fun!

Julie

We Create Blog Hop--The Holidays are Here

 

I can't believe it's October already!  I am just now starting to feel a little bit settled in our new surroundings and pretty soon the snow will start falling and Christmas will be here!
I hope you have seen the new Holiday Catalog, if not, you need to see all the fun projects, stamps and kits that are inside.

Trim the Tree DSP

Frightful Wreath Simply Created Kit

Festive Designer Kraft Paper Rolls

There are so many more products that you must see, check out the catalog here.
I have two cards I made with the fun Seasonally Scattered stamp set.  The "Merry" one I made for a gathering with my upline and the "Thanks" card is my take on a card made by Breelin Renwick.  I loved the small flowers she added, I layered my flowers and added a candy dot in the center.  The stamp was embossed with Crushed Curry embossing powder.  They are both very simple cards and are great for doing in large quantities.

Check out which beautiful Holiday Catalog products the other bloggers used. Michelle is next!

 

It's sweater weather today!  Not quite sure how to feel about it...just have to roll with it, I guess!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--Bats, Cats and Witches Hats

Fall is here and the holidays are right around the corner!  First up is Halloween, which is my 2nd favorite holiday, right behind Christmas.  I love to decorate for fall...the colors are so beautiful and warm and I am getting a little antsy to decorate now (I am still holding out on 'indian summer', I don't want it to get cold too soon).  Here is a fun new printable I made for Halloween, fun for little kids and big kids and everyone in between.

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Make sure you check out the other Halloween printables on my blog, they are linked to  Box.com so they are easy to download and print. This was so easy to make with MDS, my hardest decision is usually what font to use!  Go ahead and try the 30-day free trial and give it a shot!  I'm sure you could come up with something fabulous!

Time to hop through the rest of the bloggers to see what everyone is working on.  Enjoy!

I have been able to see some great fall colors lately (a few weeks early here), I will share some of my photos next week and some new apps I've been playing with, so check back!

Julie

Linked to Craftaholicsanonymous.com

MDS Blog Hop-College Life

Well, I sent my baby off to college!  That really makes you feel old!  I wanted her to have a journal to write her memories from the great, exciting times in her college life so I turned to MDS.  Stampin' Up! has two types of journals, bound and spiral, and I chose the bound journal.  It is a soft bound cover and you are able to design the front and the back. Everything on the journal is digital, it is not a hybrid (MDS with added embellishments). I used mostly Hello There digital kit.

Just so you know, she LOVES her journal!  I was able to get a few photos before I gave it to her, I am so happy with how it turned out!

If you need help with MDS or ordering print products, please feel free to contact me!  I love to help and I know you will be as happy with your print order from Stampin' Up! as I am! Check out all of the print products Stampin' Up! has to offer.
I know the rest of our bloggers will have great projects to share, make sure you hop through them all (and leave comments, it's nice to hear when people like our stuff!!)  If you have some favorite MDS printed items from Stampin' Up!, leave a link in the comments, I'd love to see them!

Here's a pic of the new UVU Wolverine (or as we like to joke, Honey Badger!) Scary, eh?

We sure do miss her, but seriously, she's only about 30 minutes away, I know we'll see her often!

Julie