Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is a very special day to me. Now, understand that I'm American Irish, but I'm proud of my Irish heritage. My mother was/is, too! I'm the youngest of five, but I'm pretty sure I remember her having each of us wear green on St. Patrick's Day, but we also had to wear a sprig of orange. There was good reason for that, too. Read on...
Did you know that blue used to be Ireland's color before it was green? When Patrick (before he was a Saint) was trying to teach the pagans about Christianity, he used the three leaf clover to explain the unity/relationship of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, otherwise known as the Holy Trinity. That's why the three leaf clover is the "true" symbol of Ireland!
Now, regarding that sprig of orange that I used to have to wear on St. Patrick's Day: There are three colors on Ireland's flag - Green / White / Orange. On one end, the green in the flag represents Catholicism. On the other end, the orange in the flag represents Protestant faith. The white in the center stands for peace between the two. May God Bless Ireland.
And now you know why, when you see me on St. Patrick's Day, I'm wearing a sprig of orange.

Did you also know that corned beef isn't found in Ireland? Corned Beef is an American tradition, not an Irish one. When Irish immigrants came over to the USA, they first came to New York, right? Irish use lamb as their meat of choice in most of their dishes. When those Irish folk arrived in New York, they searched the markets for lamb. But the butcher's didn't carry lamb. The closest thing they had (or thought was the closest thing) was corned beef. (I know, right?) So, that's why corned beef is an American thing, not a true Irish thing. Don't get me wrong, please. My family loves corned beef at any time of the year! But, on St. Patrick's Day, we have lamb. And it is delicious.

There's your wee bit of Irish education for today..

May God Bless Ireland and bring peace to all those who reside there, no matter what their faith.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks for Inkin' of me,

Sale-a-Bration is still going on!

I just wanted to remind you that there are only 2 weeks left of Sale-A-Bration!

Sale-A-Bration ends March 31st.
You do not want to miss out on these great deals and FREE products!

CUSTOMERS : Choose any 1 product in the SAB catalog for every $50 in merchandise spent

HOSTESSES : Get a FREE shopping tote with a $150 workshop. AND get a FREE hostess bundle with a $400 workshop, in addition to the free merchandise with your workshop order.

The Hostess Bundle includes the products found on pages 6-7 of the Sale-A-Bration brochure, including:

Fresh Vintage stamp set (wood- or clear-mount)
Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper
Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack

NEW DEMONSTRATORS :
Starter kit is on sale for $125 (regular price is $175, a $50 discount)

***Also FREE package of Designer Series Paper ($10.95 or less) or digital download (any price) begins the month after the new demonstrator joins Stampin' Up! through the rest of 2012!!*** You just can't beat this and you don't want to miss these great deals!



CLICK HERE to see more information about these great offers
or click on the catalog below to look through it online!


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Paper Doily Die with Carrie Cudney

This Paper Doily Die is beautiful!  Let me know if you want to order this Die!  You'll love it!  Come practice with mine, if you want to try it out for yourself!


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Quilling Technique

Quilling is already made a big "come back" and here's a simple tutorial for learning this beautiful embellishing technique.


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Loving this winter in the Mitten state.

Ribbon of Hope

This is one of my favorite single stamps from the A la Carte collection of Stampin' Up! It's called Ribbon of Hope. Simple is chic!

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Bringing Baby!

How cute is this? So cute. It's made from another A la Carte single stamp, Bringing Baby, from the Idea Book & Catalog. Using a single stamp, card stock, ink, ribbon and some Die Cut goodies - Voila!

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My Digital Studio Express is FREE this month!

That’s right – from today you can try this amazing software package – My Digital Studio Express – FOR FREE FOR ONE WHOLE MONTH!

No strings…no obligation…try it absolutely free – I can hardly believe this amazing opportunity – can you say wow?!

My Digital Studio is perfect for everyone - no matter your skill level or experience – because you can start from a blank canvas or use designer templates for inspiration.

How do you get your FREE ONE MONTH trial?

Click HERE to get yours now!

Want to know more about it before you download it?

Click HERE to visit www.MyDigitalStudio.net – where you will find out all about it along with hints, tips, galleries and forums to give you instant online help, ideas & support!

Also take a peek at my Commonly Asked Questions & their Answers at the bottom of this post.

With the FREE 30-day trial, you’ll get:

• Full access to the full software at NO COST for 30 days
• Full design functionality
• Exclusive artwork that comes with My Digital Studio Express—that’s $50 worth of content!
• It is Windows and Mac compatible

And it’s downloadable meaning:

You get it INSTANTLY!!! You get to play with it as soon as you have downloaded it!

It includes over $50 worth of content:

• 12 Designer Series paper patterns
• One 9-piece stamp brush set
• 81 embellishments
• 26 punches
• Five designer templates (24-page 11″ x 8-1/2″ photobook, 7″ x 5″ postcard, 5″ x 7″ postcard, 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ greeting card, 4″ x 9-1/4″ trifold card)

You also get:

• Opportunity to purchase additional downloads from designer templates to stamp brush sets–and everything in between
• Click HERE to view the Catalog of all available downloads
• Access to professional print services

If you come to love it then after 30 days you simply purchase My Digital Studio Express for JUST $39.95 or the My Digital Studio disc version.

YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE – TRY THIS FABULOUS DESIGN SOFTWARE FOR 30 DAYS FOR FREE NOW!

Click HERE to get yours!

Commonly Asked Questions and their Answers:

Q – What is the difference between My Digital Studio Express and My Digital Studio?

A – My Digital Studio Express is software that you download directly to your computer or laptop – you get it instantly.

My Digital Studio comes on CDs – disks – that are shipped in the mail to you from Stampin Up.

Q – Is the trial version of My Digital Studio Express different from the one that you pay for?

A – NO – when you order the 30 day free trial version you receive the EXACT SAME FULL version – it works exactly the same – the only difference is that you can only use it for 30 days.

Q – How do I install My Digital Studio Express once I’ve ordered it?

A – You access the trial download through the Downloads section of your Stampin Up account – be sure to select Mac or Windows – and the installation wizards will walk you through the easy process.

Q – What are the system requirements for My Digital Studio Express?

A – Click HERE to see them

Q – I see that My Digital Studio Express comes with $50 of digital content – can I purchase more downloads to use with it?

A – Absolutely YES.

Q – What happens when the 30 day trial period is over?

A -After your 30 days is up, you will be asked to enter a ‘product key’ – you will not be able to use it again until you do so – you can get a ‘product key’ by purchasing My Digital Studio or My Digital Studio Express

Q – Will I lose the projects that I have been working on during the 30 days?

A – NO – you will still have them on your computer but you will not be able to edit any of them – if you purchase the software then YES you will be able to access & edit them. Stampin Up recommends that you save them as .jpg files so that you will be able to use them just like you use other .jpg files you have.

Q – What happens to the Digital Downloads that I purchased?

A – You will still have them on your computer and will be able to use them with your paid-for version of My Digital Studio Express OR you can use them with most other digital design software packages too.

Q – After 30 days how do I purchase a copy?

A – You can order it via the online ordering system HERE – you can purchase either:

• My Digital Studio Express – item no. 124483 – you will not need to re-install the software and your ‘product key’ will be emailed to you
• My Digital Studio – item no. 118108 – which is in the form of disks which will be shipped to you via UPS

Q – If after 30 days I decide that I do not wish to purchase the software, what do I do?

A – you can uninstall the software anytime.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks for Inkin' with me,