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 

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

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

We're Getting Closer...

Landscaping is in!  Just 4 more days and it's ours!!

Julie

Graduation Announcements...The Winner!

On the last MDS Blog Hop I posted samples of my daughter's graduation announcement and asked my followers which one of the three I created they thought she would pick.  Well, most of you guessed right!  While she loved all of them, Kylie chose the long one--#2!

4 x 9 1/4 postcard

And honestly, since we loved them all, we went ahead and had a few of the other two printed  and will be sending those out as well!! Why not, right?

5 x 7 postcard

Trifold card

Have you seen all of the print products Stampin' Up! has?  From beautifully bound photo books to small gift tags, they have many options for your digital gifting needs at very competitive prices and the quality is excellent!!  There's still a little time to have your graduation announcements printed, contact me for more information, I would be happy to help you put something together.

Our title papers are ready to sign today!!  We officially close on this home Thursday! I sure hope we can find something to move into! Yikes!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--The Graduate!

 

We are officially under contract with our home!  Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we will be able to close in just a few weeks.  So, besides working on getting my household packed up, I also have a daughter graduating high school!  Most of my MDS playtime has focused around graduation announcements.  I have come up with a few different samples I would love to share and get your vote.  Kylie likes them all, but she has a favorite. I won't tell you which one it is until I order them.  I love that I can choose from thousands of digital images Stampin' Up! has on their website for just the right look.  I can also find ideas all over the internet and tweak them to make each one unique. Stampin' Up! also has designer templates so you don't have to do anything but add photos.  Make sure you check out all of the graduation/school themed MDS downloads.  Photos taken by Orange Soda Photography in Las Vegas.

#1 5 x 7 front

5 x 7 back

#2 Long front

Long back

#3 Trifold front

Trifold back

Ok, before you hop around to my blog friends, you need to let me know which card you like best!! (And the cupcake is a "nod" to the fact that she has worked for the last year at Retro Bakery!)

I'm sure my friends will have some great projects, as always! Make sure you comment--they love that!

Julie

MDS Blog Hop--What do you LOVE about MDS?

I LOVE MDS! I know that's quite a shock to many of you! {wink} You may not know that the reason I purchased MDS was so that I could make home decor items, not really to scrapbook.  Even though I have broadened my horizons and use MDS for more than what I bought it for, home decor is still my favorite thing to use it for.
Now, if you promise not to tell my husband, I'll share my Valentine's Day gift for him!

I took one of our wedding photos and added one of my favorite sayings.  I love that I can change the photo to black and white or sepia with just a click.  I only added a frame from Downtown Grunge and background from Natural Composition Overlay.  It was very simple, but the sentiment is so sweet and tender.  David is my best friend and I am blessed to be his wife.  We have been together for almost 25 years and recently celebrated our 23rd anniversary. We are moving in to a new phase of life soon and I'm looking forward to whatever the future may bring.

Make sure you hop through all of my friend's blogs--they have some great projects to share.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Julie

Time goes by too fast...

In all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season I get to celebrate the birth of another special child--MINE!  She was my greatest Christmas present in 1995 and she keeps bringing me joy every single year!  She is my baby girlie, even 18 years later!  She is my sweetest girlfriend and we love to shop, laugh, cry and just be together!  I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for this darling girl (I just can't bring myself to call her a woman yet!!) She has such a bright future ahead of her!  Happy birthday, my Kylie-Annie-Boo!  I love you!

Mom (Julie)

MDS Blog Hop--Homecoming 2013

It's time for October MDS Blog Hop's "what we're working on" project.  Many of you may have come from Jeanna B's blog--she always has such fun projects to share.  Just a couple weeks ago, my baby went to her last Homecoming dance of high school!  I can't believe she's a senior!! {sniff, sniff} She and her friends decided that since none of them got asked to the dance, they would go together (I wish I could've done that in HS!) Kylie and I went to the Fashion Show mall on Las Vegas Bvld (ugh!!) the week before and found a pretty dress and had a friend make a fun slip to make it just a bit longer and more pouffy (is that a word?) The day before  the dance she decided she wanted to get red Converse high tops!  For sure they were easier to dance in!!  When we went to take pictures before the dance, the sun was low and I couldn't find a spot where I wasn't getting glare or shadows...then I dropped my camera!  Yep, it's broken! Good thing for iPhones, right?  The girls went on to dinner at BJ's and then to the dance and had a blast, so much of a blast that she forgot to take any more pics (grrr!).  At least we have a few nice photos to share.

I recolored the burlap ribbon and the paper from the Number One kit.  This was a very simple page, but trying to find just the right background paper was very frustrating!  Anyone else have that problem? Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one! {wink} I love that you can recolor embellishments and background papers!  It opens up a whole world of possibilities for your digital crafting projects.  If you haven't tried MDS, make sure you download the 30 day free trial--there's nothing to lose.  Ok, before you hop on over to Julie Leblanc's blog, I have to congratulate our own Holly and Amber for being selected for Stampin' Up!'s new MDS Design Team!  Yay!  Can't wait to see what Stampin' Up! will have them share with us!  Check out what the rest of the blog hop girls are working on and leave comments, we all love them!

Julie

23 Years Down, Eternity to Come!

It really doesn't seem like it's been 23 years since we were married, but the adult children and gray hairs tell a different story!  I don't think these young kids had any idea what was in store for them!  I have to say that it's been a wonderful 23 years with the ups and downs of life, but we love to be together, so eternity should be amazing!  A few things about David and me...we met on a blind date in June 1989, he proposed to me on a carriage ride just 4 months later and we were sealed (married) in the Salt Lake LDS Temple almost a year later by my grandfather, Douglas H. Smith.  I have been so blessed by my Heavenly Father with a sweet husband and father to our children, a man who loves the Lord and works very hard to provide for his family, a loyal friend and eternal companion.  He overlooks my weaknesses and puts up with my endless ribbing (he IS fun to tease) but even after all these years, amazingly, we have never had a fight!  Seriously!  We've had our disagreements, but we've never fought with each other!  I know that has been a great blessing for our children.  I look forward to many more years together here in mortality and then one day we will join each other in the eternities--now that's something to look forward to!  You are the BEST, David!  I love you!

Julie

All Grown Up!

Today is my baby boy's 21st birthday!  Wow, it sure isn't what I imagined it would be when I had an adult child, but I am enjoying this stage of my life!  Sure, you have the normal pulling away as children always do when they grow and become independent, but it is wonderful to change my role from parent to advisor.  Erik always jokes that he was my "practice child" and that he is the "first pancake that didn't turn out"!  I know that he doesn't really believe that, but as an oldest child, I do understand that thought!  I have learned a lot being Erik's mom and I hope that one day I can prove myself on my grandchildren!!!  Erik makes me laugh!  I think that will be the thing that I will miss the most when he's off on his own in a few months--his laughter!  I laugh at his laugh!  I don't even need to know what he is laughing at!  We also have very deep discussions, along with heated debates!  We both LOVE to be right, so that can cause friction at times, but because we love and appreciate each other, we work things out.  I know that school will bring out the very best in my little boy and I am excited what the next few years will bring!  Happy birthday, Erik!  You've made every second of my 23 hours of labor with a 9 lb 13 oz baby worth it!! {wink}

No matter what I do in this life, my children will always be my greatest creation!  They are the best!

Julie

Thankful Thursday

This will be short because I just do not have the strength to write more.  I am thankful for all the prayers offered on my family's behalf...they were truly felt today!

Julie

In memorial...

Sad day...

My beautiful step mom passed away this morning.  She and my dad have been married for more than 26 years and she has been sick for most of those years, but you probably wouldn't have known it if you met her!  It has been such an honor to know her and to love her.  She has suffered for so long but has always been happy and joyful about life.  She adored my dad, her soulmate.  My heart is breaking for my dad, who has loved her and cared for her for all these years!  I'm so grateful to have been able to have her here as long as we did--she is a miracle!  She was a true disciple of Christ and she is finally in his loving embrace! I love you, sweet Dolly!  Enjoy your long-awaited reunion with your daughters and granddaughter and all those who have gone before!

Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for this holiday!  I have a wonderful family who loves me, a lovely home, fabulous friends.  I am so completely blessed.  We had such a nice, quiet Christmas.  The "kids" didn't get up until 9, so I just took my time getting ready.  We opened presents and then proceeded to the kitchen where the "kids" made most of the breakfast (I only assisted a bit) and David cleaned up.  We had crepes (a Christmas tradition) and candied bacon on our Christmas china and it was so yummy.  After we had cleaned up all the paper and boxes, we finished getting ready and we went to the movie theater to see Les Miserables!  Oh. WOW! It was so amazing!  I actually went into the "ugly cry" where you are trying not to make a sound but your body literally convulses with sobs!  Yep, that one!  I was careful not to disturb the others sniffling around me, but I was pretty much bawling like a baby at the end.  And I don't know about anyone else, but I so wanted to stand up at the end and start singing "Do you Hear the People Sing?"  It was so good, I will be seeing that again...and again!
I don't want to finish today before I say how thankful I am for my Savior who's birth we celebrate at this special time of year.  It is only because of him that I have all that I have and I am all that I am.  He is my example and my elder brother.  He has suffered for my sins so that I can repent and place my burden upon him.  I can never repay gift he has given, although I can live my life so that he will be pleased with my offering.  As we journey into a new year, make it one where you can be satisfied with where you have traveled this time next year, one that you have grown and progressed and done your best.  Hope your Christmas holiday was bright and that the coming year will be even brighter!

Julie