FREE DOWNLOAD FOR DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!!!...

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

It's official—Digital Scrapbooking Day 2013 has arrived!  And what would a celebration be without a gift for all?  Today we are offering all our MDS fans an amazing brush set (normally $5.95) for FREE - Moments Ago Stamp Brush Set!!!   (But it’s only FREE today, so don’t procrastinate)

Moments Ago is a collection of handwritten words created by one of our in house Concept Artists.  Don’t you wish you wrote like this all the time?   Well, now at least you can with MDS!  Click HERE to get this free kit in my Online Store.

That's not all though!  Today our Daily deal is the Hello There Kit.  Today ONLY, you can get this kit for 50% off!  See it HERE in my Online Store.

Here are two sample pages made with the Hello There Kit:

LOYALTY REWARDS - When you purchase $50 or more, you qualify for my Loyalty Rewards program!  This Frequent Stamper program is my way of saying "thank you" to my returning customers in appreciation of their business and is in addition to other Stampin' Rewards.  Earn FREE stamps with MarieStamps.com!

CREATIVE CREW, Sisters & Friends Scrapbook Page...

Today I have my entry for August's Creative Crew Scrapbook Focus Challenge.  This challenge called for making a friendship page.  I chose a picture I happened to take of my daughters during a family trip to DC.   They had spent many years as sibling rivals to say the least.  As adults, they have become friends and when they got up from the museum stairs and spontaneously walked off arm in arm, I just had to get a quick pic.  My younger daugher, Colleen, loved it so much that she framed the photo.  So, of course, I had to use it for my friendship page!  Hope you enjoy it!

If you would like to play along with the challenge, here is the info:

CCREW0811SF, CreativeCrew, SUO or SUM – Scrapbooking Focus: Make a friendship page. Stampin Up! has so many wonderful words and images that celebrate friendship – use one of these images on your scrapbook page.

SHAUGHNESSY SISTERS & FRIENDS SCRAPBOOK PAGE MDS DOWNLOADS LIST:

• Digital Downloads – Vintage Overlays, Vintage Vogue, Punch Bunch
• Shapes – Top Not, Circle Punch
• Colors – Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Black, New In Color Patterns DSP
• Accessories –  Basic Pearls, Baja Breeze Button Bouquet, Stitching
• Fonts – Ephesis, Papyrus

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK, Page 10, 11 & 12...

Here are the last three pages of Logan's Scrapbook!  I included some blank pages, supplies and embellishments, so that Adrianna could add more pages in where she saw fit.

On Page 10, I once again scored vertical lines every 1" for added interest. Since I was running low Sailboat embellishments from the Scrappin' Kit, I just punched out some of my own.  Pretty good match, right?  I left a spot for the "month" sticker that corresponds to the picture Logan's mom chooses.

For page 11, I just had to include the "little man" phrase.  I also punched out another sailboat to  keep the pages coordinated.  Other than that, I kept it simple.

Since page 12 is his first birthday page, I included some jungle animals to match his birthday theme.  I also used the Petite Pennants Builder punch to punch a pennant banner for the top. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing Logan's Scrapbook and it's easy layouts that I know you can make, too!

LOGAN'S FIRST YEAR SB PAGE 10, 11 & 12 SUPPLIES:

• Stamp Set – Fox & Friends (W#117020 $18.95, C#118565 $14.95)
• Card stock – So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss (retired), Tall Tale DSP ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack), Good Morning Sunshine (available on my Retired 4 Sale List) 
• Ink – More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait, Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers 
• Punches – Petite Pennants Builder (#122361, $16.95), Scallop Edge Border (#119882, $15.95), 2-1/2" Circle (#120906, $16.95)
• Ribbon – Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain, White Baker's Twine (#124262, $2.95), Dusty Durango Polka Dot ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack), Kiwi Kiss 5/8" Striped Grosgrain ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack)
• Accessories – Rock-a-Bye Boy Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired)
• Tools – Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder (#119976, $7.95), Stars #2 Die (#118138, $11.95),  Alphabet Simple Numbers (#115968, $44.95), Timeless Type Junior Alphabet die set (#115951, $74.95)

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK, Page 8 & 9...

Today I have pages 8 & 9 of Logan's Scrapbook for you.  They are super simple layouts.  In fact page 8 uses a DSP that is so pictorial, that I only added a bit of ribbon and two Scallop Square die cuts for photos.  What could be easier?

Page 9 is another easy layout with circle photo mats and a few animal stamps to add a bit of fun to the page.  It's difficult to see in the picture, but I added vertical score lines every 1" for added interest.  There are also animals VersaMarked randomly on the page.  Hope you enjoy these quick layouts!

LOGAN'S FIRST YEAR SB PAGE 8 & 9 SUPPLIES:

• Stamp Set – Fox & Friends (W#117020 $18.95, C#118565 $14.95)
• Card stock – Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Kiwi Kiss (retired), Tall Tale DSP ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack)
• Ink – More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait Stampin' Write Markers
• Punches – Scallop Edge Border (#119882, $15.95), Scallop Circle (#119854, $16.95), 1-3/8" Circle (#119860, $15.95), 1-1/4" Circle (#119861, $15.95)
• Ribbon – Linen Thread, Kiwi Kiss 5/8" Striped Grosgrain ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack)
• Accessories – Rock-a-Bye Boy Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired)
• Tools – Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder (#119976, $7.95), Square Scallop Die (#115950, $21.95),  Clear Circle Die (#114533, $19.95)

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK, Page 5, 6 & 7...

Today I have pages 5, 6 and 7 of Logan's First Year Scrapbook to share.  I completely forgot to post the rest of the pages from his scrapbook several weeks ago!  I will share the others over the weekend.

Page 5 has either two photo spots or one large photo spot with journaling on the left.  The adorable whale paper is from the Tall Tale DSP available in my Clearance Rack for only $3.49.  Perfect for children's projects!

Page 6 features one photo spot and lots of fun DSP circles.  I also left plenty of room (as on many of the pages) for Adrianna, Logan's mom, to add embellishments from the Rock-a-Bye Simply Scrappin' Kit like the "months" sticker that corresponds to his age.

Page 7 has at least four spots for square pics in the corners.  Again, I left the embellishments up to Logan's Mom, so she can choose the ones that best fit the pictures.  Enjoy!

LOGAN'S FIRST YEAR SB PAGE 5, 6 & 7 SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss (retired), Tall Tale DSP ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack), Good Morning Sunshine (available on my Retired 4 Sale List)
• Punches – Scallop Edge Border (#119882, $15.95) 
• Ribbon – Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain, Linen Thread, Dusty Durango Polka Dot ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack)
• Accessories – Rock-a-Bye Boy Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired)
• Tools – Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder (#119976, $7.95), Stars #2 Die (#118138, $11.95),  Circles #2 Die (#114526, $15.95), Timeless Type Junior Alphabet die set

CREATIVE CREW, Family Reunion Scrapbooking Challenge...

This is my entry for July's Creative Crew Scrapbook Focus Challenge.  The theme this month is 'Family Reunion'.  I decided to use a photo from our last gathering with my husband's family.  Since our rambling clan has settled in Virginia and everyone else lives in Massachusetts, we don't all get together very often.  This celebration was for Michael's parents for their 50th wedding anniversary.  Everyone was there except for Jenni, my oldest daughter, who could not make the trip up with us.  It was a great day at the Wayside Inn (the oldest operating inn in the country) and they have lovely grounds for photo taking. 

I used My Digital Studio to create my page.  I wanted to make an elegant, understated page, but I still wanted it to be full of texture.  It kind of reminds me of my mother-in-law, Ellie!  :)  To achieve all the layering while not obliterating all the color, I began with...  (believe it or not!) Tempting Turquoise textured card stock.  Shocking, right?  You'd swear it was Baja Breeze or the new Pool Party.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see I left a slim bit of the blue peeking out on the right, so that you can see I'm serious!

Then I layered at least four different overlays from the Vintage Overlays brush set.  They were all various light shades which I used at different opacities.  This gave the page a textural feel while not making it too cluttered or busy.  Exactly what I was shooting for!

I set all the other stamps for transparency as well.  And I even used masks of transparent color over the paper-filled photo corners as well.  This subdued all the colors, but still kept them interesting.  Just a few of the reasons why I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE My Digital Studio!

I encourage you to play along this month and scrapbook some of those family photos you have hanging around!   Here is the challenge info:

CCREW0711SF, CreativeCrew, SUO or SUM -- Scrapbook focus: It's Family Reunion month, focus on your family!

SHAUGHNESSY 50th ANNIVERSARY SCRAPBOOK PAGE MDS DOWNLOADS LIST:

• Digital Downloads – Medallion, Notably Ornate, Vintage Overlays, Friend by Definition, Basic Pearls and Jewels
• Shapes – Photo Corners
• Colors – Tempting Turquoise, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Going Gray, Basic Gray, Black
• Fonts – Galant Wide, Ephesis

Update: I had a few questions on how to make items transparent in My Digital Studio.  Once you have selected a stamp (or punch, etc.) in the Design Center on the right, there are several options for configuring the image.  For example, changing the color, rotating or flipping the item, adding a drop shadow (which I almost always do for every object).  Underneath these options are two sliding bars.  The first is Rotate for choosing angles to rotate your objects at.  The second is Opacity (indicated in the picture below - click to enlarge).  Just slide the opacity lever to the left until you are happy with the result.  I have all different opacity levels on my project depending on the color used and desired effect. 

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK, Page 3 & 4...

Today I have pages 3 and 4 of Logan's First Year Scrapbook to share.  Page 3 has five spots for square pics in the corners and middle.  When complete, it will form the classic 3 x 3 cube of pictures.  I also included some embellishments that his mom can add after choosing the pictures and journaling on the white square.

Page 4 also includes room for journaling on the white Top Note.  The Crumb Cake mat is where the photo will go.  After the photo is placed, there are sails for the sailboat that will go across the bottom left corner.  Also, there is a spot to the right of the boat bottom for the "months" sticker that corresponds to his age.  Hope you enjoy these super easy scrapbook layouts!

LOGAN'S FIRST YEAR SB PAGE 3 & 4 SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Tall Tale DSP ($3.49 on my Clearance Rack)
• Punches –Scallop Edge Border (#119882, $15.95)
• Accessories – Rock-a-Bye Boy Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired)
• Tools – Big Shot, Top Note Die (#113463, $21.95)

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK, Page 1 & 2

Yesterday, I shared Logan's Scrapbook Album Cover with you.  As promised, I have the first two scrap pages to share with you today.  To give Adrianna an idea of the types of pages we could do, I showed her the Rock-a-Bye Boy Designer Album on My Digital Studio (MDS is AWESOME for planning purposes!).  She decided to use some of the pages as a jumping off point for some of our pages.  I left plenty of space for journaling, photos and room for her to add any of the embellishment stickers from the Simply Scrappin' Set that she might want to.  Check back in the coming days for more pages...  Enjoy!
 

LOGAN'S FIRST YEAR PAGE 1 & 2 SUPPLIES:

• Card stock – Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
• Ribbon – Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain
• Punches – Star (#119875, $16.95 - retiring June 30!)
• Accessories – Rock-a-Bye Boy Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired)
• Tools – Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet die set, Square Scallop Die (#115950, $21.95)

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK ALBUM COVER...

If you remember little Logan - my friend Diane's daughter's (Adrianna) son - I made the Jungle Pals birthday card for his 1st birthday a short time ago and Alphabet Letters (search for Logan on my blog for all of them) last year.  I also started an album for him back then.  I didn't make all the pages as Adrianna ended up coming home and I was planning to make them with her.  Unfortunately we didn't get to do so and the project languished until she came home again recently.  I will show you the pages we did over the next week, but for today, I wanted to show you the cover.

I kept the album cover very simple as they are a military family and will move often.  I didn't want to make something that would damage easily or would be complicated to pack, so I left it flat with just decor elements.  I decided on the monkey theme as his nursery was to be Jungle Animals.  As it happened, "our little monkey" was what they called him when she was pregnant (thought I didn't know) and it was perfect!  Sorry for the angled picture, but it was the only way I could get a shot as the sheen of the decor elements was causing a glare for the camera.  Enjoy!

LOGAN'S SCRAPBOOK ALBUM COVER SUPPLIES:

• Album – 12" x 12" Linen Album (this color retired - Natural, Real Red & Navy available )
• Decor Elements – M is for Monkey, Chocolate (retiring June 30 or while supplies last)
• Ink – Pink Pirouette
• Accessories – So Saffron Decor Elements Sheets (#118797, $12.95 - retiring June 30 or while supplies last), Chocolate Decor Elements Sheets (#114337, $12.95 - retiring June 30 or while supplies last, being reconfiqured), Old Olive Decor Elements Sheets (#118803, $12.95)
• Tools – Big Shot, Swirly Decorative Strip Die (#113456, $19.95 - retiring June 30 or while supplies last), Serif Essentials Alphabet die set, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet die set

CREATIVE CREW, Graduation Scrapbook Page...

Today I have my entry for the Scrapbooking Challenge for June's Creative Crew Challenges to share with you.  Here are the details of the challenge:

CCREW0611SF, CreativeCrew, SUO or SUM - SB Inspiration Focus: *Scrapbooking Poems * This month your mission is to incorporate a poem into your SB project. I've included a link to some poems that work well with scrapping.

Although the general theme this month was weddings, I decided to use a graduation theme for mine as June is a popular month for graduations also.  This page is for my husband, Michael, who graduated from Old Dominion University last year.  I was so proud of him!  It was a lot of work while working full time plus lots of business travel.  The main picture is a recreation of the little dance he did coming down the stairs from the stage.  It was hilarious!

I chose the poem "G R A D U A T E" from an unknown artist at the scrapbooking poems link above.  It fit on this page well.  There aren't too many elements on this page and all except for the Glitter Brads are included in the My Digital Software program.  It was very quick to put together.  Enjoy!

MIKE'S ODU GRAD SCRAPBOOK PAGE DOWNLOADS LIST:

• Digital Downloads – Textured, Torn Edges, Glitter Brads
• Colors – Not Quite Navy, Going Gray, Whisper White