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

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

MDS Blog Hop--What Am I Working On?

Yay!  I'm finally done!  Sorry to make you wait, it's just been a crazy few days, so last night kind of caught up with me.  Well, as you can imagine we have been working on getting settled in our new home and since we now have our Stampin' Up! print services back (Hallelujah!!!) I am ready to finish my "We've moved" announcements.  I plan to add a photo to the back, but as of yesterday I've had some landscaping issues and large piles of dirt in my yard as well as electrical cords strung along the front porch to my side window well which has been filling up with water--hence the addition of a small sump pump!!  Yikes!  Once I get that all fixed, I can actually take a nice pic of my home for the back of my card.  I made 2 cards, I can't quite decided which one I like the best (just so you know, that is NOT my address!) Maybe you can help me decide.  The main downloads used are Natural Composition Overlay (my fav!), Delightful Digital tape and Back to Black overlay.

The first one is kind of fun and silly and the other one is more modern and stylish.  It's hard to believe we've been here for more than a month, I'm actually feeling more settled (still have to work on my stamp room!) I can actually relax a little bit and enjoy the summer.  Even though it's in the high 90's it's a drastic change from the 110's in Vegas, and at least it cools down in the evening so we can sit out on the "stoop" and enjoy the neighborhood.

Make sure you visit all the other talented MDS designers and please give a warm welcome to my super-duper creative friend Wendy Weixler who will be joining our blog hop. Yay!

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah, a commemoration of the day the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley in 1847, so I'm looking forward to our new neighborhood BBQ and fireworks later this evening!  As a descendent of pioneers, I'm forever grateful for the sacrifices that were made so that we could truly have the freedom to worship according to our own conscience.

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--Freedom

Have you missed me? I've missed you!  I've spent very little time on the computer (just got my internet on Saturday) and getting unpacked has taken up much of my time.  I've missed the interaction with my online friends, so I'm glad I could jump in for a few minutes and rejoin the blog hop gals!

I thought I'd show you a couple photos of just about the only thing presentable at this time!!   I do need to find a cute wreath or something to put on the door but I haven't found anything that I'm crazy about and I haven't had time to make one, so stay tuned!  I love this mat I found at Target--the colors make me happy!

I started this project before I moved.  I was hoping to get it finished and framed before this post, but it's just not going to happen, but I will finish it before next week.  There are many reasons why this word is so powerful. Even though it's a noun, true freedom requires action.  Someone, somewhere had to sacrifice something in order for me to experience freedom. I also must live my life so that I do not lose my freedom because of my own actions or even inactions.  Freedom is not free and I'm so grateful to those who have paid the price so I can celebrate it!

Julie L. is next on the blog hop, so go show her some love!

My stamp room is still in boxes.  I'm afraid to unpack them!! Help!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--More iPhone Wallpaper

Welcome to our first MDS blog hop post of 2014!  Before we get to the hop, I'll just remind you that the new Occasions Catalog is live and you can view it here.  Make sure you check it out, you won't be sorry. If you would like an actual hard copy of the catalog, please email me your address and I'll be happy to send one to you.  I've enjoyed playing with just some of the new items, and I can guarantee more will be added to my stash!!  As for our blog hop today, our theme is phone wallpaper/tablet wallpaper.  I've got two different iPhone wallpapers today, more on the humorous/snarky side.  For those of you who know me, I have a tendency to be a bit sarcastic and sassy...I know, it's hard to believe, but it's true! {wink} I also have a tendency to check my phone a ton and I really need to stop being so attached all the time.  My wallpapers are more of a reminder for me, but if you happen to have the same problem I do (or if you just have the same sense of humor as me) these wallpapers may be just what you need!!

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I used Convention 2012 kit for the "You Again" background along with the Natural Composition overlay.  The background for the "Hey" is Number One kit.

Thanks for sticking around with me on this fun ride!  I really enjoy "hopping" with these great girls--they are all so talented! Make sure you check in on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays each month for more MDS Blog Hop creating and sharing.  As always, you can purchase MDS for just $19.95 which comes with hundreds of components for you to create wonderful books, pages, cards, gifts and more, or you can try it free for 30 days.  I'm pretty sure that once you try it, you will want the real thing!

2014 is gonna ROCK!!  I'm excited for the fun, exciting things this year has in store!

Julie

Download Tuesday

I love Stampin' Up!  Have you ever heard me say that?!  They always seem to come up with fun, exciting new products.  They never cease to amaze me, even after more than 16 years of being a demonstrator.  Look at these fun downloads!

FREE Under Construction treat template

Top Notch Woodcuts

Bday Under Construction ensemble

The best part is that Stampin' Up! has worked with their suppliers and have been able to offer MDS (formerly MDS2+) for $19.95!  Yep, that's $60 off the original price!!  Is that awesome or what?  If you have MDS2 (without the "+") you will soon be able to download the "+" for free!!  Keep checking back to get more info when it's available.  I am so excited for this opportunity for more people to get their hands on this fun software.  I have several instruction videos on my YouTube channel, so make sure you check those out, too!  Remember, only a few more days for Sale-a-bration, too.

Happy Spring!!

Julie

Not Lucky...Blessed!

I don't believe in luck!  Yeah, we say things like "you're so lucky" or "good luck", but I don't believe in being lucky!  I totally believe that we are all blessed in different ways--so we have no need for luck!  Anyway, I thought I'd make a printable for St. Patrick's day that shared that sentiment.

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This will print as a 16 x 20, 8 x 10, and 5 x 7 with a little bit of cropping.  I hope you feel as blessed as I do!

Julie

Shared on WhipperBerry

Download Tuesday and New Classes from Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up! has new classes to help you with your creativity!  You can purchase a 6-part class for only $14.95, and you get some great tutorials on 30 different projects!  Great for the seasoned stamper or the newbie!  You can download the class here. (You don't have to have My Digital Studio to download this class.)

Now, on to Download Tuesday...spring is in the air, or at least it's on Stampin' Up!'s website!  Luckily, I get to pick one of these downloads for free for winning the challenge last week for my scrapbook page.  Which one do you think I should get?

Pleasant Poppies

Happy Things pocket cards

Lucky You ensemble

Swallowtail

Spring to Life FREE wallpaper

Spring to Life kit

No Regrets FREE pocket cards

You can see all of these downloads on my website.  Don't forget to download your free 30-day trial of My Digital Studio--you'll love it!

Julie

Good Times, Good Friends

Here's my entry for this weeks MDS Monday challenge and Mydgitalstudio.net challenge.

MDSM 7 sketch

This weeks MDSM sketch is pretty basic, but I made just a few changes.  Digital scrapbooking is still a struggle for me, but it's better when I have a sketch to work from.  The Mydigitalstudio.net challenge is "free fonts" and I used two free fonts on this page.  The first one is Simply Glamorous and the second one is CK Jot.  I also used Natural Composition overlay (one of my favorites), stitching from Downtown Grunge, brads, Urban Oasis DSP, Urban Garden DSP, satin ribbon, flag from A Split Second.  I used the My Digital Studio color combo selector and because Livvi was wearing her Real Red dress, I clicked on Real Red and this combo was one of the options. 

This was my son's very first dance.  They had a great time at the dance and went and played glow in the dark dodge ball after the dance (each couple had matching "glow" shirts).  Too bad they didn't have any photos of that, they said they had a blast!!

Julie

Download Tuesday

New digital downloads today!  The Think Back photobook template looks like a fun project to do with our parents and grandparents together with our children.  What a fun family activity!  And keeping the spring cleaning concept going from the last few weeks, there are two more organizing sets, one for the garage and one for the playroom.  Make sure you get your copy of My Digital Studio software today.  Try the 30-day free trial and let me know what you think.

Label This Playroom

Label This Garage

Hello There ensemble

Serene Silhouettes

Think Back photobook template

Have a great day!

Julie