MDS 142 – Happy 1st Birthday

 

A super quick page to put together!  MDS Software is easy enough for beginners, but includes a variety of tools for advanced designers too.  Not only is the software free for 30 days but there several free downloads that you can grab and have a play with too.  That said though, there is so much content already loaded in the software itself that you may or may not want to add more to it until you have had a play.  Click on the ‘Shop Now’ button at the top of my Blog for more info.

Page before adding photos.

Background - Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Bella Rose - designer series paper\Bella Rose – 4.
Embellishments - Staple & Stitching\White - Simple Stitches line 11, Designer Kits\Downtown Grunge - embellishments\Downtown Grunge - frame5, Delightful Digital Tape\Delightful Digital Tape 5 - transparent (re-colored), Designer Kits\Downtown Grunge - embellishments\Downtown Grunge - tape 2 (re-colored).
Stamps - Designer Kits\Lemonade Stand\Lemonade Stand - happy birthday, Bring On the Cake.
Punches - Eyelet Border Punch.

Workshop Cards – W097, W098, W099

Here are my creations from Joanne’s October workshop.

W097

This is such a pretty card in real life!  The scanner has done it no justice!  Maria’s Blog has the instructions on how we made the star.  Very pretty!

Paper: Smokey Slate, Island Indigo, White, Winter Frost DSP.

Stamps: Festive Flurries, Warmth and Wonder (both from the 2013 Holiday mini).

Ink: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Versamark.

Embellishments: Silver EP, Dazzling Diamonds, Festive Flurry Framelits Dies, White Organza Ribbon, Elegant Lines EF, Circle Cutter, Frosted Finishes Embellishments.

W098

Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP.

Stamps: Simply Sketched (2013/2014 Hostess), Itty Bitty Banner.

Ink: Soft Suede.

Embellishments: Pencil Crayons, Lacey Brocade EF, sponge.

W099

Joanne CASED this card from a card at the back of the 2013 Holiday mini catalogue.

Paper: White, Winter Frost DSP.

Stamps: Warmth and Wonder (from the 2013 Holiday mini).

Ink: Pool Party, Versamark.

Embellishments: Silver EP, Pool Party ribbon, sewing machine.

Thank you for stopping by.  Both Joanne and I are SU! demonstrators so if at any time you would like to purchase SU! products, give her a call or from my Blog, click on the Shop Now button.  Your order will be delivered right to you (you do have to give SU! a street address, not a box #).

MDS 141 Meeting Baby Sister Scrapbook Page

 

I started out with paper #7 from the Sunset Serenade DSP kit.  Just added a little of this and that and presto!  MDS Software is easy enough for beginners, but includes a variety of tools for advanced designers too. Anyone can try it FREE for 30 days! Click on the ‘Shop Now’ button at the top of my Blog and download it (item 130910) or you can order the MDS Trial Disc 10 Packs (item 132919) to get it into your hands!

This is #7 paper from the Sunset Serenade DSP

Background:  Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Sunset Serenade - designer series paper\Sunset Serenade – 7.
Embellishments:  Designer Kits\Strength & Hope - elements\Strength & Hope - circle 1, Designer Kits\Downtown Grunge - embellishments\Downtown Grunge - frame 1, Designer Kits\Strength & Hope - elements\Strength & Hope - circle 1, Designer Kits\Strength & Hope - elements\Strength & Hope – love, Designer Kits\Strength & Hope - elements\Strength & Hope - colored polka dot, Round Buttons\So Saffron – button, Baker's Twine\Baker's Twine - White knot.
Stamps:  Designer Kits\Back to School\Back to School - grunge piece, Color = NOT QUITE NAVY, Elizabeth\Elizabeth - element, Color = NOT QUITE NAVY.
Punches:  Extras\Flag Punch, Borders\Tasteful Trim Shape 2, Extras\Flag Punch, Oval Punch, Fill Color = SO SAFFRON, Extras\Butterfly shape – 1.

Page before adding photos.

 

Sewing - Baby Ribbon Tag Blanket from a Face Cloth

 

No matter what toy you give a baby, have you noticed that they play with the tag the most?  Why not make them a toy that is all tags!  Babies can easily grab hold, and they love to feel the different textures.  Perfect for little hands just learning to grasp, these blankets are great for tactile development.  Be creative - use different colors and textures. I use various widths of satin and grosgrain ribbons.

You need 2 face clothes to make these.  Prewash them.  I’m going to leave the tag on the face clothes in place as it is a bit noisy/crinkly to the touch.

 

 

Choose ribbon that coordinates or contrasts with your cloth. Cut 16 pieces about 7” in length.

 

Fold ribbon in half so that the cut ends meet and wrong sides are together.  Sew ends together, chaining as you go.

 

 

Seal the ends with a lighter.

 

 

Mark wrong side of face cloth for the ribbon placement with chalk. Because my clothes weren’t square, I used 2.25” spaces on my short side and 2.5” spaces on my long side, starting at 2” from the corners.  Place ribbon on wrong side of face cloth at each chalk mark, leaving them extended about 2”.  I like to leave lots of ribbon inside the cloth so it doesn’t pull out.

 

 

Place the second face cloth on top.  Hammer all four corners to reduce thickness.  I placed a piece of wax paper on the corners so as not to leave any marks.  Pin and sew close to edges.  Sew another seam approximately ½” from your original seam.  The topstitching really helps the blanket maintain shape through the wash.  We know they will be washed often!

 

 

Once the blanket is completed, wash it before giving it to baby. You can also attach teething toys, etc to the ribbons for added fun!

MDS 140 – Dance Recital

 

Ohhhh such a sweetie!  Practicing her moves before the recital!   My Digital Studio is an easy-to-use design software featuring thousands of Stampin’ Up!’s award-winning images, colors, and accessories. Compatible with PC and Mac operating systems, My Digital Studio allows designers of all skill levels to create their own digital projects or use hundreds of templates to make professionally designed cards, photo albums, scrapbooks, and more.  Click on the ‘Shop Now’ button at the top of my Blog for more info.

Page before pictures

 

Background - Card Stock\Textured Card Stock\Textured Card Stock - pool party.
Embellishments - Designer Kits\Delight in the Day - embellishments\Ruffled Ribbon - Pool Party.
Punches - 1.25 Circle Punch, Borders\Tasteful Trim Shape 3, Fill Color = PRETTY IN PINK.

Recipe - Christmas Pudding Cupcakes

 

My cousin had brought us a couple of these cupcakes last fall that she bought at a Trade Show.  They make a lot of sense to me as not everyone in our family likes Christmas Pudding.  Personally, I don’t feel like the Christmas meal is complete without it! So off I went in search of a recipe.  I found this one on Taste.com and did a few changes.

 450g mixed fruit

½ cup raisins

1/3 cup brandy

Juice from one orange

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup, lightly packed brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup plain flour

2 tsp mixed spice

2 slices bread ripped into cubes

112g package Hershey’s Chipits Baking Chocolate

Preheat oven to 300*F.  Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and spray lightly with Pam.  Gather your ingredients.  I forgot to include the raisins in this picture.

Cut the fruit into smaller pieces. Soak the raisins for 5 minutes in hot water and drain.

Squeeze the juice from one orange.

Place the mixed fruit in a large bowl. Place the brandy and juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for 2 minutes or until heated through. Pour over the fruit and stir to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes to soak.

Use an electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between each addition.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a plastic bag.  Pound with a rolling pin to break into small pieces.

Sift the flour and mixed spice over the butter mixture. Add the breadcrumbs, chocolate and fruit mix.

 Stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes to the top. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

Cover with parchment paper.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool slightly.

There was just one little problem – I can’t tell you if they are good or not as I made them on a very hot day last August and somehow, Christmas Pudding in the summertime just doesn’t cut it!  I have frozen what is left and I will do another taste test closer to Christmas!

 

MDS 139 A Special Place for Baby Scrapbook Page

Did you know that no fonts come with My Digital Studio (MDS)?  Nope.  You use the fonts that are on your computer!  How cool is that!  Plus, not only can you color fill a punch, you can paper fill it too as I did with the word ‘Place’.  And look at the tear I have across the bottom of one mat!  That was done with a stamp then color matched to my background paper!  Too neat! 

If you are thinking about digital scrapbooking, now is the time to do it!  You can download MDS for a free 30 day trial period.  Click on the Shop Now button at the top of my Blog for more info.  You will be hooked!

Page before adding photos.

Background: Color = CERTAINLY CELERY.
Embellishments: Grosgrain Ribbon\Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon; Eyelets\More Mustard – eyelet; Grosgrain Ribbon - knot\Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon - knot
Stamps: Torn Edges\Torn Edges - hand torn, Color = CERTAINLY CELERY; Designer Kits\Summer Home - stamps\Schoolbook Serif Alphabet\Schoolbook Serif Alphabet - a, Color = WHISPER WHITE; Epic Overlays\Epic Overlays - Color = MORE MUSTARD; Little Additions\Little Additions - bear, Color = EARLY ESPRESSO; Little Additions\Little Additions - abc, Color = EARLY ESPRESSO; Little Additions\Little Additions - element 3, Color = EARLY ESPRESSO.
Punches: 1.25 Square Punch, Fill Color = MORE MUSTARD and CERTAINLY CELERY; Alphabet & Numbers\Timeless Type Junior Letters\Timeless Type Junior Lowercase.

Fonts: CK Cursive size 32 (special), Pea Girly Girls Print size 30 (for).

Workshop Cards – W094, W095, W096

Gully sakes!!  Just realized that I forgot to share my September Workshop cards I made at Joanne’s!  These house reno’s are getting in the way of my Blogging!!  I’m not going to take time to type out the ‘recipes’.  If you need to know anything, just email me.

W094

W095

W096

Sewing - Santa's Face Scarf

 

Cut red fleece 10" x 60" or whatever width your fleece is.  Fold in half so it's long and skinny. Taper one end into a triangle – chalk mark the center then measure up about 6.5”.

Cut on these lines. This will be the end of Santa's hat.

 

I punched 3 circles from cardstock – ¾” for the eyes, 1” for the nose and 13/8” for the mouth using SU! circle punches.  I used this template for tracing on to the fabric.  I backed each piece with paperback fusible webbing before I cut them.

 

From white fleece cut 2 pieces 4.75” x 6" (beard) and one at 2.5” x 5” for the hat trim.  I traced the mustache from a children’s coloring book.

 

I used about a 4” bowl to trace a circle for the pompom.

 

Cut face 5.5" x 5" from the flesh colored fabric (face) - I used pale pink broadcloth.  Mark the 5.5” end at 5”.  Now we have an imaginary 5” square.  Mark a line at ½”, another at 1” and the last one at 3.75” from the bottom.  Mark a center line too for easier placement of the face pieces.

 

Press the ½” under and trim with pinking shears.

 

Pin to corner of red fleece.  Pin hat trim to match the top line.

 

Sew around three sides, leaving the bottom open.  Sew across the bottom of hat trim too.

 

Attach one beard to the next line.  I don’t want to catch it in the side seam when I sew so that’s why it’s not cut as wide as the fleece.

 

Sew in place across the top only.

 

Iron mouth in place (since it is backed with fusible webbing).

 

Iron the mustache in place.

 

Add the nose and eyes.

 

Fold fleece in half so it's long and skinny. Sew around the long edges and the point. Leave the end with face open so you can turn it.

 

Sew remaining beard on the line under the first beard through all thicknesses.

 

Trim extra away with pinking shears.

 

Cut the beard with pinking shears into 1/2" wide strips. Cut each beard separately.

 

Stitch around the edges of the circle with a basting stitch to make the pompom.

 

Stuff with cotton balls or batting then pull thread tight and attach to the tapered end of Santa's hat.

 

He is complete! Isn’t he adorable??!!