A Digital Weekend

The long Thanksgiving weekend afforded me time to work on my to-do list of digital projects.  The project I checked off first was installing Storybook Creator 4.0.  Whooohooo!  I was not looking forward to the upgrade, as I was afraid that would have to re-learn everything that came so naturally in 3.0.  However, I was surprised to find that everything flowed similarly to 3.0, and I was so excited to try out some of their new text features.  And guess what? SBC 4.0 is on sale, now through November 30.

One of the main projects I tackled this past week was creating my very first photo panel through the digital center.  What's great about the photo panel is that it also duals as a dry erase board.  So through SBC 4.0, you can create your very own personalized whiteboard.  I created several for Christmas gifts.  Check out this CM blog post for more ideas about the types of dry erase boards you can create.  The possibilities are endless, but here are a few of my ideas...

A whiteboard to write down your grocery list - perfect for the kitchen!



A prayer board to jot down prayer requests and praises.



 

I was also inspired to make a desk calendar for my dad's Christmas gift.  With CM's free templates that you can download, you just drag and drop your pictures for each month.  I was relieved that most of the design choices were already made for me!  This is also a great gift if you don't have enough pictures to create a 8x12 or 12x16 calendar. 

Sample templates from the free download.

My last project was creating our Christmas card.  I decided to go the simple route and choose a new Luxe Card template from the digital center. These 5x7 cards are uniquely shaped and are printed on high–quality cardstock with a lovely shimmer finish (and they are also on sale until January 1!).

Here are some sample templates... I can't wait to get my order!

So overall, it was a very productive week.  Hope this post inspires you to tackle your to-do list and create some unique gifts this Christmas!



November Workshop Update: Finished TY Cards

It's been a challenging week, but designing these cards was a great stress relief.  And I always feel a sense of accomplishment after putting my creativy to work!  I decided to embellish my set of cards with paper flowers and titles from the "Thank You" digital kit.  Meanwhile, Bliss enhanced her set with fun Cricut letters and shapes... I love how we always come up with different ideas and implement them with different styles.  It makes learning and creating even more fun. Hope you can join us for our workshop tomorrow or are inspired to create your own notecards!


My set.

Bliss' set.

 

Another Digital Project

Back in September, I was able to put together this invitation in Storybook Creator on short notice for a work event.  Even though the design is quite simple, I found myself going back and forth on the positioning of different elements, fonts, and color.  Sometimes I have to restrain myself from using all the different features of SBC in order to make sure the information doesn't get lost in the design. But once again, another design project was simplified (and successful) with the help of SBC!

November Workshop: Thanks a Bunch

"Thanks a Bunch"

Sunday, November 18 from 1 to 4 pm

Nishida residence in Aiea

Kit Cost: $15
RSVP by November 13

bring your tape runner!

Join us for an afternoon of crafting, as we'll complete a dozen or so thank you notes using the "Just Because" card set.  Because the notecards (and envelopes) are preprinted, we'll keep the designs simple and quick.  As we approach the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm sure these notecards will come in quite handy!

Signage in SBC

A couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to make a sign for the game booth our Sunday School class would be hosting for our annual church "Pumpkin Fest."  We decided to go high tech and have participants challenge each other in "Just Dance" for Xbox Kinect.  Initially, I was planning to just create it in Microsoft Word, but when I realized that I wanted to use lots of colors and mirror the design of the game, I turned to Storybook Creator.  Because you can design a project of any size and then save it as a jpg, I could upload it to Costco and have it printed as an 11x14 photo for about $3.  I was excited when I found the perfect artwork to match our theme, as I used one of the backgrounds from the "City Streets" digital kit.

Loved how professional the final product turned out (and that this project took me less than an hour to complete). This is another example of how SBC can meet all of your design needs!

Crafting with Mom

Crafting is always more fun with you get other people involved.  Last week, my mom needed a quick favor container for her traditional get together with her friends... our paper tote project came to the rescue as I pulled various colors and prints from my scraps for these five totes.  I paired them with matching metallic cardstock (straps and base), while paper flowers with a touch of bling added that final touch.  Mom filled up the bags with candy wrapped in clear bags... We were quite pleased with the end result!