MDS Update and Downloads are now available. Next time you open My Digital Studio, be sure to upadate your software as new updates are available.
While I haven't had much time to play around with My Digital Studio over the past couple of weeks, I'm always excited to see the new downloads available. I hope to make a few new hybrid/digital projects soon.
Click on the images to see a larger version or head on over to Digital Designing to see even more digital options.
Just arrived in My Digital Studio! I love these as stamps so I'm sure to love them in MDS too! Click on the picture to get a closer look.
Happy Stamping!
Stampin' Up! has just released these new digital downloads for My Digital Studio.
Just click on the images for a larger picture. I see loads of possibilities for the nursery elements and alphabet :-)
Also, I have a new tutorial available with directions on how to use My Digital Studio for the background paper, images, and how to create sentiments the right size.
You can get more details on the tutorial here.
Just released.
To take a closer look, click on the images, go to the Digital Design section of my shop or download the .pdf
Download MDS_Downloads_-_March_1
Happy Stamping!
I have been wanting some new recipe cards for a while. I thought it might be a great opportunity to play with My Digital Studio and create a completely digital image.
The actual image is 4x6 inches. I started with a layer of Chocolate Chip (4x6), then a layer of Chocolate Chip Striped Paper (reduced the opacity), then a layer Vanilla (reduced the opacity), added some text and lines, and then the Elements of Style between the Vanilla and the Striped paper.
The hardest part was lining up the lines (Chocolate Chip Stitching), but you could easily use the stamp from Favorite Things or ??? to create the center component. Font: CK Becky.
Have you been thinking about My Digital Studio?
Well, I bit the bullet a while back and have been slowly learning how to use the software, incorporate the various stamps, papers, colors, etc. into projects and I think I'm catching on to it.
As a user of Picasa, Photoshop, Pagemaker, Word, and various Microsoft and web based applications, it was a bit of a challenge to transition. Having delved into it a little bit, here are my first impressions.
***Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I have not exhausted the software completely and I'm certainly not a pro when it comes to digital anything. This is just my feedback if you are thinking about MDS for you.
Pros:
* Sizing: Ability to resize shapes, stamps, buttons, images, etc. Just click, drag and even rotate. Where you are limited in stamp size, here you can make it the entire page or just a little spot.
* Stamp Library: Use stamps you don't own and resize them to fit your wish. And, the software is filled with multiple stamp options, colors, punches, and embellishments. With 1,000s of images to choose from, the only challenge is remembering what you have and where to find it. The library is by stamp set so if I need a tree or a Christmas image, I have to scroll through multipl screens to find it if I can't recall the exact stamp set I want to work with.
Wonder what's included? Download this list! Click for .pdf.
* Opacity: Want to layer one stamp on another? Simple. Just change the opacity.
Heart #1, I filled the image with a background paper, layered the butterfly, decreased the opacity and then placed the sentiment on top. Unlike DSP, the butterfly really shows through with Pink Pirouette at 80% opacity.
* Price: If you want a great way to learn some digital techniques, incorporate Stampin' Up! images into your projects, and create endless project possibilities the price ($79.95) can't be beat.
* Photos: This software works really well with digital photos - great for Christmas Cards, Bridal Showers, Baby Announcements, Calendars, Scrapbooks, etc. Just drag and drop your photo into place. If you have used Kodak, Snapfish, etc. this does so much more and it coordinates with all of the Stampin' Up! products.
* Hybrid Projects: I find this to be one of the major advantages to this software because everything coordinates with Stampin' Up! products. How fun/easy (once you learn the software and nuances of printing from your printer) to print an image or several at the size, color, shape, etc. that you want, layer it onto card stock, add ribbon, embellishments and so much more!
*Digital Format: Another great advantage is that you now have a digital format to create postcards/flyers/images to email, upload to your website/blog, or play on your digital slideshow technology. Great for evites, promotional materials (whatever you business may be), announcements, and more. The possiblities truly are endless.
*Video, Slideshows, Calendars, Photobooks, and More: There is a wonderful variety of print and digital format options that are simple, easy to use, and the program walks you through each step. I haven't done much with the video option but I look forward to trying it out on my next tutorial.
* Redundancy: This software is really designed for use by anyone that can use a mouse. There are repitions of the functions along the top bar and both side bars. If you have a little patience, some imagination, and the willingness to learn, you can create some wonderful pieces.
* Templates: Yes, you can make a template, i.e. put all of your work into a page and then create multiple pages based on that single page. Then, make small changes to each page for the effect you want.
Cons:
* Cropping: If it's an option, I haven't found it yet. I can't seem to crop the images as I would like.
See the third heart? While the image coming off the heart is really neat, I couldn't find a way to remove it. And, I found a really neat border but I only wanted a section - couldn't crop it. Granted, I could convert it to a .jpeg open it in Photoshop and erase the elements that I don't want, but that's several steps too many and a lot of the resolution could be lost in transition.
* Photos: While the software works great with photos, it is limited in the photo editing aspect. You can crop (This is the only place I have found cropping.), reduce red eye, mirror, flip, sharpen, brighten, gamma correct, negative, sepia, black & white, blue, red, blur, and even change the shape to oval. However, there are no gradations in the options.
Recomendation: If you take great photos, just drag, drop, make some basic changes and you are all set. Need more? Edit the photos first, then bring them into the software.
* Operating Systems: Currently My Digital Studio is available for Windows XP, Vista or Macintosh OS X 10.4x or greater. If you have Vista 64-bit it will work, but I think I loose some speed and perhaps some function.
However, My Digital Studio is compatible with any program that supports .jpg and .png files & layers such as: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro (PSP), Microsoft Digital Image Pro (DIP), Ulead Photo Impact (PI), Corel Draw.
* Color/Inking the Stamps: Perhaps you can, but again, I haven't figured out how to color various parts of a stamp one color and other parts another color. And, since it's digital, it would be really cool to use background papers to fill the stamp, but you can't. However, you can layer stamps upon stamps for really cool effects and you have access to all of the colors
* Project Size: If you are used to pixel layouts, this is a transition too. While you can start with a blank canvas of 12x12, 8 1/2 x 11, 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 and many more layout options (even more in the Page Setup portion) in portrait or landscape, you can't specify a particular size. Again, not the 'end of the world' but a challenge when creating banners, sidebar images for your blog, business cards, or other non-standard page layouts.
* Basics: This is probably one of the greates challenges for those used to other forms of software. I had the darndest time figuring out how to make lines for a calendar. They are provided in the calendar templates, but I wanted to make my own. And, making a calendar grid/boxes was equally challenging. While the punches, the stamps, and all of the other goodies are there, some of the obvious pieces - a straigt line - require plenty of extra steps. Part of the learning process I guess.
A Note on Printing:
* When I first printed the image, the size was smaller than I thought it would be. I purposely made the images just slightly larger than the default for borderless punches. (I wanted to punch my images from the printout.) They were tiny! It took some configuring on the Page Setup and my Printer Properties but then all was fine.
* Each printer is different and paper quality makes all the difference. I used Premium Photo Paper and regular printer paper and was thrilled with the result on the Photo Paper, but I found the color to be a bit off compared to my card stock.
* Stampin' Up! offers printing at what I find to be very competitive rates and because they know what the colors should look like, they'll get them right.
Here is a complete list with the printing prices. Click for .pdf.
Final thoughts: With all of that being said, I'm glad that I bought the software and I'm excited to learn even more about creating digital and hybrid projects. The possibilities truly are endless. Maybe now I'll get those scrapbooks done!
Also, I have added this blog to my website to feature Stampin' Up! updates, new digital downloads, tutorials and techniques. If you want the latest on My Digital Studio, be sure to add this blog to your daily feeds.
For a complete list of available stamps, images, papers and embellishments, check out the
