I LOVE Halloween! In fact, my daughter was born in October, so every year I try to convince her that her birthday party should have a Halloween theme. I am losing that battle now that she is going to be 14!

But that doesn’t mean I can’t still host a fun Halloween-themed party. I am not talking about an actual Halloween party; I’m talking about Bunco with a Halloween theme! Bunco is a dice game that my girlfriends and I get together and play every month. We eat, chat, play, and win prizes. Each month someone different is the host. I always try to host in October because I love to theme the night around Halloween. 

Now, I mentioned prizes. I love to make them rather than buying something from the store. This year I wanted to try using My Digital Studio to make some of the prizes. Great choice–it made things so much quicker! I love the Toxic Treats Framable Designer Template. It made a great framable art piece, just like it shows in the catalog.

But it has even more potential. So, for one of my prizes, I decided to create a decorative pillow.

To start, I opened the template (love that you can open Designer Templates so easily from the “New Projects Options” screen ), removed the spiderwebs, and then grouped all the other images together so I could edit it as a single image. I reduced the size to 8" x 8", turning the image into a square.  I needed to print it on a fabric transfer sheet (iron-on), but I wasn’t sure if I needed to mirror the image so that it would transfer correctly. I was using a black pillow, and in reading the instructions for the dark fabric transfer, I didn’t need to mirror my image. However, if you want to use a light colored fabric as your background, you do need to mirror your image. With MDS 2, this is super simple because one of the new features is the ability to mirror a grouped image. Simply select the grouped image, right click, and then click Mirror Group.

Since I didn’t need to mirror the image, I was ready to print. I exported the project as a jpeg and printed the image on the fabric transfer from my computer. Next I trimmed the image transfer sheet into a square shape. I was finally ready to put the transfer on the pillow. I followed the instructions on the fabric transfer but the recommend iron setting was too hot. It scorched the image! Now for Halloween, this just might work, but I wouldn’t recommend it for all projects. :)

I printed another transfer sheet and lowered the iron setting to low and tried again. This time, it turned out great!

I love that MDS 2 can help me create great stuff that people can’t buy in the stores. It’s quick, convenient, and custom! Happy Halloween!

Cori Hancock, Stampin’ Up! Marketing Director