Eat Chocolate Hybrid

After seeing all those CASE'd cards this week, I decided I should make something totally original to myself.  Recently I had realized I had bought an My Digital Studio download that already came with the program itself.  I emailed Custom Support, and they immediately allowed me to pick a different download in its place.  Stampin' Up!'s custom support team rocks!  Anyways, I decided to get Eat Chocolate stamp brush set.  I haven't decided whether I want to purchase the stamp set yet, so I thought this would be a good way for me to try it out.

I love this particular stamp from the set.  Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a chocoholic, and there is no way I can quit.  So, with MDS stamps, it's a little difficult to change color within the stamp itself.  After some trials, a lightbulb went on in my head.  I went to Photoshop, brought up this stamp.  I cut out each individual cupcake, renamed them, put them back in the stamp set file (now I have the stamps that Eat Chocolate stamp brush set comes with, PLUS these individual cupcakes).  Back to MDS.

Without doing anything to it, punches are in their real size.  Stamps, on the other hand, are quite large.  To make sure the stamp will fit in the punch, I take the Decorative Punch and put it on the paper.  Then I shrunk the stamp until it fits inside the punch perfectly.  Then I remove the punch.

Then, to have each cupcake a different color, I took a square punch and dragged it to cover the first cupcake only.  Then I add the Photoshopped cupcake, put it on the paper, change its color.  Take it to the stamp.  Try to line up and size down to approximately the same size as the other two cupcakes.  Then I drag that rectangular punch out a little further to cover the rest of the cupcakes.  Take the next two cupcakes, color them, shrink and place them where you want.  Now you have different colored cupcakes!

One note about lining these cupcakes up.  If you double click on the image, a box will come up with X and Y coordinates, as well as the width and height of the stamp.  X refers to the horizontal; Y refers to the vertical.  So, if I want the cupcakes to line up horizontally, I need to make sure the vertical (Y) coordinate is the same.  So just click on each cupcake and make sure the number for the Y coordinate is the same for all three.

Last thing to do is to print out the image and punch it out with the actual punch.  How do you like what I did with the Decorative Label punch layers???

Oh, I also lightly brushed So Saffron stamp pad over the raised embossed areas.

Hopefully all these is clear enough for you to try.  Let me know if you are unclear or need help.

My Supplies List (all supplies and images by Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp Set(s): Eat Chocolate

Ink: Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, So Saffron

Papers: Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, So Saffron

Accessories: Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder, Decorative Label