The MDS Blog Hop is turning 1!

Wow - the MDS Blog Hop is a year old! Time has flown by.  I still have to pinch myself now and again to see if it's all real.  It's been a thrill for me to be part of such an incredible group.  There isn't one person on this hop who isn't incredibly talented and I'm always inspired by each of them.  We owe a huge thanks to Erica - this is her brain child - and I think I can speak for all of us when I say, We Love You Erica!  Thank you!  

I doubt I would ever have been given the opportunity to design Leadership and Convention samples this past year had it not been for the hop.  The challenges we have each week have helped me to leave my comfort zone and find my own personal style.  I hope that as you hop along with us each week you feel inspired, you learn something new about MDS, and you're excited to create your own projects!

I was able to download MDS 2 yesterday - I thought I'd wait until all the little bugs were fixed, but I just couldn't wait anymore.  I'm so glad I downloaded the new program. I haven't run into any major hiccups and - IT IS INCREDIBLE!!  I haven't had as much time to play with it as I'd like, but I've watched several of the training videos on MyDigitalStudio.net and I'm blown away by the functionality that's been added.  It most definitely exceeds my expectations. 

In honor of our anniversary, we've all created cards and in honor of you - those who faithfully hop along with us each week - I've created a Thank You card.  Without you this wouldn't be nearly as much fun as it is.  So...

I've used a few different downloads for this one - Be Awesome Today, Convention 2012 and Number One.  I used the recolor feature to change my background paper from blue to red brick.  Amazing, right?  It's one of my absolute favorite changes, but there are a lot of new features so I'm pretty sure you'll be hearing about "my favorites" for awhile yet!  

We also wanted to give you a gift in celebration of our anniversary, so I created a desktop calendar for you!  I see these freebies often and I always think, I should try that with Stampin' Up products.  Thanks to the new Custom Canvas feature in MDS 2, I can - and it's easy as pie!  I wanted to keep it along the same lines as my Thank You card and I was going for a 'graffiti on a brick wall' look.  I hope I pulled it off  :) 

{Download Regular Version}   {Download Widescreen Version}

 *UPDATE* Apparently I had attached the wrong link for downloading this calendar, so if you tried to download it and were unable to I'm sorry!  I've fixed it now and also have a Regular (square screen) and Widescreen version. My hubby reminded me that I wouldn't see much difference between the two on my own screen because I have a widescreen.  Oops! I'm still new to this :)

And...can I ask one favor? If you're downloading this calendar, would you "like" my Facebook page? The link is on the sidebar over here --->  Thanks!

We also have a challenge for you this week!  Create your own card celebrating our birthday and upload it to MyDigitalStudio.net.  Tag your sample with "MDS Blog Hop Challenge Card" and the team members will head over to take a look at your creations!

Ok, let's keep the party going!  Visit everyone on the hop and enjoy the celebration!

1. Jeanna Bohanon 2. Rochelle Gould 

3. Mandy Grant

4. Julie Leblanc 

5. Amber Meadows

6. Terri Mongeon

7. Aly Schilling

8. Cindy Schuster

9. Erica Shaw

10. Heather Summers

11. Alesha Walls

12. Holly VanDyne