Here it is! The list of Stampin' Up! retiring stamp sets that will make room for NEW in the new Stampin' Up! Catalog in June!  These retiring stamp sets will be available until May 31st. It's a long list, as you will see, but that is because of the new catalog transition this year.

So click on these links and enjoy perusing this list and making out your wish list.  Be sure to check back again on April 25th when retiring Accessories and Definitely Decorative items will be revealed!

For the PDF list, click HERE.

For retiring Wood-mount stamps, click HERE.

(On the store page, at the top right, click on the drop down box for Show: ALL .  It's much easier to see all the sets than to have to go to the next page.)

For retiring Clear-Mount stamps, click HERE.

Email me at Karen@Karenstamps.com with any questions!

Enjoy your day!!

Here are the newest releases in My Digital Studio!  Click on the images above to go to the pdf…and from there you might want to zoom in a bit. Be sure to always read the Contents of each item because sometimes you also get a template or something more than what you just thought the item was.  

If you don't have My Digital Studio, try the FREE 30-Day Trial of My Digital Studio Express! There's no obligation…..use it for 30 days and see how you like it!  At the end of 30 days either purchase My Digital Studio Express and add on more downloads that you like or purchase the My Digital Studio version full of artwork already.

To read and see lots more about My Digital Studio, just click HERE.

Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012

Yesterday Stampin' Up! released six new downloads you can purchase for My Digital Studio (or even most digital design programs) and this Candid Frames was one of them!  It makes me think of the years of trying to make layouts that looked like a filmstrip…..I would take a strip of black card stock and punch holes in the sides usually with the Hand-held Rectangle Punch!  But now you can do an online frame or even print it out and use it on your traditional project.  And the "slide" frame reminds me of all the old slides from my childhood and even the ones my husband took for years of the kids and our vacations.

One of the great things about these MDS downloads every week is that you can save them up and add them to your regular Stampin' Up! order (and not pay shipping on them!) or just order them separately whenever you want (and no shipping!) AND have immediate access to them because it is a digital download!  I think I will be ordering these frames right away! To see all the most recent My Digital Studio downloads, click HERE.

If you don't own My Digital Studio, you can get a FREE 30-day Trial of My Digital Studio Express! To learn more about Stampin' Up!'s digital papercrafting software, click HERE.

It's Daylight Savings Time! Did you remember to change your clocks today? "Spring forward" an hour! And they often recommend to check your smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks.

I know Daylight time is earlier nowadays than it used to be, so I was surprised to hear it was starting this weekend already.  But it makes us think spring is coming soon!

I made this little reminder postcard in My Digital Studio. So fun!

This is the big weekend for the annual River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail in Houston. Unfortunately, the weather is a little iffy but I hope there is more cloudiness than rain for the weekend so everyone can see the beautiful homes and gardens. Sometimes you just tour the garden and sometimes you get to walk through the house to get to the yard and garden in back….that's my favorite part, to see the inside of the private homes!  The Garden Club makes beautiful floral arrangements inside all the rooms in the house that you get to see and you often can get decorating ideas or just enjoy the lovely homes.

Our home is not on the Azalea Trail, but we do have blooming azaleas!

Here are some photos of the pages I made in My Digital Studio for my son's calendar. After his was finished, I made another version for myself by just changing and adding photos and elements or designs on some of the pages, while keeping others the same as his.

This is the cover with a photo of Austin from a high point.  The background paper, stripes I added, ribbon and label on the front are all designed in My Digital Studio.

Here is the full calendar spread.  I added photos from our trip on the top page.  On the bottom I made a photo box the size of the whole page and inserted a photo from our trip….then reduced the opacity and sent it behind the calendar grid!  That way you have a pretty background to your calendar page without interfering with writing your dates.

You can do lots of things with this Stampin' Up! software for digital papercrafting, My Digital Studio!  Try the 30-day free trial for My Digital Studio Express and see how you like it! Click on that link and see what you think!

Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012

Here is a page from my My Digital Studio calendar. These are photos from our yard last year.  I simply chose a design in the Photo Layout section of My Digital Studio and plunked my photos into the boxes. I chose a background paper and added the stamps (branches) to the page, plus some text.  I love how this page turned out!  My Digital Studio can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. If I wanted, I could play around with more embellishments or borders or colors or anything and make the page even "jazzier"….and then if I didn't like it, I could just delete those items.  The ease of changing any element in this program is its greatest strength, I think.

If you want to try it out, take the free 30-day trial of My Digital Studio Express!  Make all the projects you want during that time and see if you don't end up loving My Digital Studio! It's not only about scrapbooking!

By the way, the River Oaks Azalea Trail Home & Garden Tour is this weekend in Houston, March 9 – 12.. This has been a tradition every year with us and we always enjoy it.  My favorite part is getting to go inside some of the beautiful homes!  Sometimes you just see the gardens. The weather forecast, though, is for a rainy weekend…so sad!  But if that turns out to be wrong, be sure to head over and see the stops on the Azalea Trail!

Here are the most recent My Digital Studio downloads available for purchase.  To see prices and more information about what is included in each download, go to my Online Store, click on Digital Designing, Newest Downloads, and then today's date…or click HERE.  Then you can click on each image to enlarge it and see the details of its contents!

Remember, there is a 30-day Free Trial for My Digital Studio Express! Read about it and then contact me if y0u have any questions. It's a great way to try it out!

Great new My Digital Studio downloads just released today! Click on the images above to see them better….on your computer you can even zoom in a little.  Read the description of the contents in the price list below the images on your computer to see exactly what is included with each download.

I love the "You're My Type" stamp set so it will be fun to have in My Digital Studio as well….not to mention the beautiful Mixed Bunch Kit, which includes not only the stamps (brushes) but designer paper, a punch, AND an 8"x8" scrapbook page! Just go to this page in my Online Store!

And lucky for you…..you can try My Digital Studio Express FREE for 30 days! Click HERE to shop for My Digital Studio Express! You can purchase extra downloads you would like as you go along!

Let me know if you have any questions about My Digital Studio!

Don't miss my March "Stamping With Karen" newsletter coming out soon!  It will be filled with stamping news, projects and tips!  To sign up for my mailing list, just find my Mailing List Sign up Box in the upper left of my blog. Whether you want to learn new things about stamping and papercrafting or just enjoy seeing new ideas, you'll want to be a part of this!  It's all fun and it's all doable!

Sign up now so you'll receive my March newsletter in your email box soon!

Fifty years ago today John Glenn orbited the earth and became the first American to do so. He was a member of the first group of astronauts, “Mercury Seven”. John Glenn was selected for this group in part for being known as one of the best test pilots in the country. After three years of training, on February 20, 1962 John Glenn climbed into his Mercury capsule Friendship 7, named after the group of seven astronauts, and orbited the earth three times in four hours and 56 minutes reaching speeds of more than 17,000 miles per hour. At the end of his successful mission, he splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.

Space exploration back then was an amazing thing and not something taken for granted.  Everyone knew the names of those first astronauts. I probably even watched the launch on a big black and white TV at school. I’ve grown up with the space program and have always been fascinated with it. My mother would always say she felt bad for Alan Shepard, who was the first American to go up in space but did not orbit the earth, so it was John Glenn who got more of the glory. So many inventions and things we use and take for granted in our lives came from these space missions.

Here is a newsreel video of the event. The sinister music is a bit alarming but it is amazing to watch this old video!  Enjoy!