Introducing Project Life

It is so exciting to let you know we've partnered with the amazing Becky Higgins to bring you the real deal-authentic Project Life products, now in exclusive Stampin' Up!® colors and designs. If you've somehow missed the Project Life craze and are wondering what it's all about, we'll fill you in: it's a super simple, totally affordable way to get your photos into albums: you just slip your photos into Photo Pocket Pages and add designed cards. It's a back-to-basics approach to documenting your life. In a nutshell, it's all about spending more time making memories and less time scrapbooking them.

You will be able to order a limited selection of products starting May 1st. And with the launch of our new annual catalog on June 2, you'll be able to buy from our complete line of Project Life products!

Coordination, coordination, coordination. You know we do it best, and our Project Life line is no exception.

Our products center on things that matter most-weddings, babies, kids, and the everyday moments of getting together with your favorite people-all things that need to be remembered.

Our card collections come without rounded corners so you can decide if you want to keep them that way (and match the corners of your photos as they come) or use our Project Life Corner Punch to round them out.

Our card collections come packaged in an exclusive storage system that holds all your Project Life supplies on your desk: cards, journaling pens, photos, accessory packs, stamp sets, and more.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at marsha@coffeepotstampingcafe.com.

Thanks for stopping in at the Coffee Pot Stamping Cafe,

Marsha

"Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future"

Part of the lyrics from the song Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band is how I feel about those precious grandchildren of mine.  They are all growing up so fast.  School pictures are a great way of watching them slip into that future.  The scrapbook page below was made using My Digital Studio.  It's my youngest granddaughter as a baby on the left and as a sweet little nine year old on the right.  She is definitely one of a kind!

You know, I think it's time she and I had an all girl weekend together.  Shopping, lunch out and crafting together.  She is quite a little artist and I know she will love some of the new things I've acquired since her last visit.  I think it's time I introduced her to some Twinkling H2O.

Imagination Abounds!

The other day Aiden and I found a bag of magnetic letters in Grandma's cupboard.  His eyes lit up and he had all the fun of putting them on the front of the refrigerator.  Each day he goes in and plays with them after his nap.  His three year old imagination runs wild and I love the pictures he draws and the stories he tells.  Yesterday he came up to me and asked me to come look at his dinosaur bones.  This is what I found.

My Digital Studio makes it so easy to add another page to the scrapbook dedicated to my grandchildren.  So many memories can be shared with them through these pages.

It's a Work in Progress

Yesterday our local scrapbook store had a free Beginner's Scrapbooking class so I decided to take in the action.  It's been many, many years since I last did any scrap booking and I wanted to revisit the basics.  It was an excellent class.  Janet was informative, articulate and so very helpful.  It was a small class and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have long been wanting to get the photos I took on my very first vacation ever into a scrapbook.  The photos are old and mostly black and white.  Hmm?  Does that tell you anything about me?  To give you just a bit of back story, my grandmother took me on a month long vacation that started in Iowa, of course since that's where we lived, trailed west into numerous states and north into Canada and culminated in California to visit her brother and his family.  Then, we meandered on back towards Iowa.  It was fantastic and something that I have never forgotten.  I was only 16 at the time and had never been out of the state.  Grandma sparked my interest in so many things with that first taste of the world.

At the class, we were able to select three colors to work with and coordinated with the colors in our photos.  As you can see, I chose brown, cream and blue. 

I can't wait to get the rest the photos all done.  It's a work in progress and a labor of love.  Oh, and just so you know and in case you are curious, this is what Old Faithful looked like back in 1966!

Having Too Much Fun!

Last night was my local demonstrators Christmas get together so I was out having food and fun and fellowship.  We had a gift exchange and did I ever get some great things.  I can't wait to CASE some of them.  It is a very talented group of Stampin' Up!® Demonstrators.

So, that leads me to the image I am sharing with you today.  Given time constraints I went into My Digital Studio and made this very simple page.  Iowa has been without measurable snow for 288 days and from what the meteorologist tells us, it's going to be a while before we get any this year.  As much as I'd rather not have a lot of snow, it is needed.

Throughout this next week, I'll be sharing some of the new projects I've been working on.  They will make great gifts for family and friends.

United States Marine Corps Birthday Salute!

Today is the 237th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  In honor of that day, I put together this page using MDS2.  The pin in the center of the photo is the last gift my brother, Larry gave me in 1965 just before he was sent to Vietnam.  He was so proud to be a Marine.

The small picture of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., was sent to me just yesterday.  Gary, one of the guys I graduated from high school with and a Vietnam Veteran, had the honor of reading my brother's name on November 7th at The Wall.  Every thirty years the names are read.

Semper Fi!

This is the Life!

Today is Aiden's third birthday.  I haven't got his card done, yet, but wanted to share this photo I took of him last week.  As I've mentioned before, I watch him during the week while Mom and Dad work.  He woke up from his nap and wanted to watch a movie but Grandma was in the middle of watching one of her own and it was a really good one.  Of course, he took exception to not getting what he wanted so I set him up in my bedroom so he could watch his.  He was one happy little man.

After I left the room, I got to thinking what a great picture that would be for his parents.  I always try to take some pictures on my cell phone and send them off to them so they can share some of Aiden's day with him.  I had the camera all set up on my phone and when I walked into the room, I just had to smile.  I told him  to stay still and smile.  This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of him.

A Happy Birthday

Yesterday found me out of town all the day long so create time was very limited.  Today is my youngest sister's birthday and while I did deliver a handmade card yesterday, I thought I'd make a quick and simple one using MDS2.

Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers, Hugs & Wishes; Ink:  Night of Navy; Card Stock:  Happy Birthday Designer Series Paper, Barely Banana; Accessories & Tools:  Rounded Corner Punch

And, remember to check back on October 29th for additional news about FREE downloads and 50% off ALL digital kits.

Picture

Today find's me out of town and away from my computer so I'm simply going to share another of the wonderful pictures I find at www.morguefile.com.  I have used photos from there on several occasions. 

Fall pumpkins make great tasting pies!  For the last two years at Thanksgiving, my daughter-in-law, Jody, has made pumpkin pies from scratch using real pumpkin.  They have been some of the best tasting pies I've ever eaten.  Hopefully, she make some more this year along with her scrumptious cranberry salad.

My Digital Studio + Digital Scrapbooking Day!

What do you get when you combine Digital Scrapbooking Day and My Digital Studio? A week of A week of FREE downloads and 50 percent off ALL digital kits!

What:  Three FREE downloads. 50% off ALL digital kits. Mega blogging on MyDigitalStudio.net all week!

When:  October 29-November 5, 2012.

Stay tuned for more details on Monday, October 29th!

MDS2 - How Sweet It Is!

Yes, today I took the plunge and upgraded my digital software from My Digital Studio (MDS) to MDS2.  My plan was to wait but there are some projects I want to make but couldn't use the downloads I recently purchased as they required the new version of MDS.  I'm still learning all the new features but here is what I created when playing around this morning.

I didn't write down the components I used, so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment.  I'll be happy to look them up for you.

Only a Short Time Left!

Time is running out on this great special offer.  You only have until September 30th to get a FREE spool of 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon with every $40 purchase.  Choose your favorite new In Color!

 These ribbons are beautiful so place your order soon.  Visit my online store to find more information and to order yours today!

Soft Suede Birthday

Here's another card we made in last Monday's class.  It's another clean and simple design.  Soft Suede is one of those colors that works so well for a guy card.  The new Beautiful Birthday single stamp gives it just a touch of elegance.

Stamp(s):  Beautiful Birthday; Ink(s):  Soft Suede; Card Stock:  Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper; Accessories & Tools:  Stamping Dimensionals

I think this would look good with Midnight Muse so I'm off to experiment.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Circle Bright Birthday

In the class, we made a couple of cards that would be appropriate for either a boy or a girl.  Circles, bright color and simple fun.  This was the easiest card to make.  It's sure to brighten up anyone's day.

Stamp(s):  Delightful Dozen; Ink(s):  Pacific Point; Card Stock:  Naturals White, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight; Accessories & Tools:  3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

I saw a card similar to this and knew I had to case it for a birthday card.  The bold colors really stand out against the Naturals White.

Another Jake

Due to circumstances that needed my control, I didn't have time to get much designing done with actual ink and paper.  The next best thing is using My Digital Studio.  So, I decided to create another page with Jake's picture.  The colors I used are More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, and Summer Starfruit.

Now that I've found my box of photos, I can't wait to get started making new scrapbook pages for them.  It's going to take a very long time as I have so many photos.  What I'm thinking is it will make a great winter project when weather turns cold and I look for ways to avoid going out.

My Digital Studio Family Album

Recently, I've been working on a photo album of my grandchildren.  My Digital Studio (MDS) is making that work so much easier.  The biggest chore is scanning all of my photos to the computer.   Such hard work, right?  Here is the album cover I designed using one of the templates found in MDS.

As I continue to work on other pages, I'll share them with you as they are done.  My Digital Studio is an easy program to learn and once you give it a try, you'll be hooked, too.  The 30-day Free trial is an ongoing offer, so give it a try today.

Nic's Graduation Day

Last Friday my five year old grandson, Nic, graduated from preschool.  He is such a character.  He loves to talk and he tells such great stories.  He loves school and is looking forward to starting Kindergarten this fall.  He is growing way too fast!

With a digital camera and My Digital Studio (MDS), it is so easy to take a picture and design a scrapbook page while the event is still fresh in your mind.  I'm so glad I took advantage of Stampin' Up!'s® 30-Day Free Trial of MDS.  You can, too.  Just visit my online store by clicking the coffee pot at the upper right.

Tonight I'll be working on some new cards.  I've committed to a couple of swaps and there is a new Llama Blog Hop scheduled for next month.  Along with all of that, I plan to be at the Crafters' Gift Boutique on Saturday.  My summer is shaping up to be busy, busy, busy!

One Week Left Of Summer Smooches!

There is only week left of the Summer Smooches Special Offer. Remember, you won't be able to order these products again until June 1st.  And, the Fabric Designer Brads and Décor Stencil are exclusive only to this offer and won't be available again!

Visit the Summer Smooches page and order yours today!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Since I forgot to post yesterday given it was a super busy day and, once it was over, I simply sat down in my chair and crashed!  Days like that don't happen often for which I am truly thankful.  So, here are some flowers to brighten your day and to remind me that, although we had a 'freeze' last night, Spring is still in the air.

I'll have some fantastic new projects to share with you over the next few days so stay tuned.

5 Petal Flowers

There hasn't been much time to create these last few days.  I've been spring cleaning and eliminating so much stuff that I've been too tired to sit at the craft table.  After Aiden left today, I pulled up My Digital Studio and this is the card I created.  I've been using the 30-Day Free Trial and can't wait until my full set gets here.  I'll have a lot more projects I'll be able to do with it.

This program is really a lot of fun and you should give it a try.