Have I mentioned lately how much I love, love, LOVE MDS 2?  Because my living situation is still pretty much in limbo until I have a place of my own, it has been quite impossible to stamp…… which is, of course, the usual way I create cards & projects – and scratch that creativity itch.

But thankfully I've had MDS 2 to play with a bit in the meantime.  It's not a total substitute for actually getting hands in the ink, but has certainly been a lifesaver when I've needed to produce SOMETHING unique!

Take, for instance, the invitation I needed for this crazy Open House I'm doing today.  I'll be featuring products from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Spring Catalog & Sale-a-Bration, but the time and setting will be smack in the middle of the Christmas season – surrounded by Christmas decorations!  So I've dubbed it my "Scrambled-up Seasons" Open House, and had to come up with an appropriate – and obviously unique – invitation!  (I've invited my entire Whidbey Island-area customer  & downline-demonstrator mailing lists, so it was impractical to invite by snail-mailed or hand-stamped invitation anyway.)  So here's the invitation they received by email….

One of the new features of MDS 2 is that the program can choose coordinating colors for you.  I was facing a bit of a mental block as to color-selection (you know, what colors DO you do Christmas, Valentines, St. Patricks, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduation, and wedding in, anyway?)….. so I chose the "Surprise Me" feature, and it came up with 5 colors that went together nicely.  "Nope, not those", I thought of its first option, so I clicked again. And a few more times until it found just the right combo of 5 colors, and voila!, the color quandry was resolved!  Totally easy, and totally what I was looking for! 

Oh, in case you're wondering, the colors are Regal Rose, So Saffron, Island Indigo, Tempting Turquoise, and Wild Wasabi.

The frame in the center is actually an embellishment that initially came in bright green with red berries.  I knew the design was what I was looking for, but the color was definitely not.  So (once again, thanks to a new feature in MDS 2), I recolored it in a flash – to the Wild Wasabi I was using elsewhere.  And I'm pretty pleased with how the whole thing turned out.  (What do YOU think?  I'd love if you left me a comment!  Hint, hint…)

Ok, now off to frost those red velvet cupcakes….. and decide whether they'll get "Christmas" or "Spring" decorations on top!  Hmmm…… Christmas tree bulbs, or butterflies?  "Scrambled-up Seasons" sure leaves room for plenty of options!  😉