Hearts Aren't Just For Valentine's

Now that February 14 is past, many people think that heart shapes have less use on cards.  Me?  I think nothing could be further from the truth!  Check out this lovely card.    This is the kind of card you send to a friend (or a sister, daughter or mother) just to say "Hi".  And best of all, it's another quick and easy card!
The new Adorning Accents embossing folder made the strip of embossed hearts on the Whisper White card.   And the "Hello" was stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink using the Elementary Elegance stamp set (FREE during Sale-A-Bration)

Whisper White and Pretty In Pink hearts were cut using the Big Shot and the new Hearts Framelits, and these were embossed with either the Polka Dots or Elegant Lines embossing folders.  The "hello" from the Tiny Tags set was stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink and punched out using the Jewelry Tag Punch.  A silver brad to set these into the heart, and everything was pieced together using dimensionals.  Of course the crowning glory to this card is the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details that was selectively applied onto some of the embossed areas of the white heart.  Glitz and shine without stray glitter all over the place.
And there you have it.  A friendship heart for someone you love.  Even when Valentine's Day is over!

Happy Leap Day.       God Bless,    ~Cynthia    <><

Outlined Occasions - One Card, 2 Looks

Today's pair of Thank You cards use Pool Party and Calypso Coral together - a colour combination that was inspired by the Everyday Enchantment designer paper that comes as a free item during Sale-Bration.  I wouldn't have thought to pair these colours but I am amazed at how well they really do work together!

Both cards have a Pool Party mat on a white card base.  One was stamped with the Thanks from Outlined Occasions (earn this FREE during Sale-A-Bration) in Pool Party ink.  The second card was embossed with the Square Lattice embossing folder after the Calypso mat and DSP were glued on.   Both cards use a diamond-shaped piece of Whisper White as their focal element, with the Thanks (Outlined Occasions) stamped in Pool Party.  I used a blender pen to fill in one sentiment with Calypso Coral ink.  The other card has the butterfly from the Elementary Elegance set (earn this FREE during Sale-A-Bration) stamped in the remaining white space.

Both white diamonds are mounted on Calypso Coral mats, with one of the mats rotated.  Calypso butterflies, cut from the Beautiful Wings embosslit, adorn both cards.  And the Calypso Coral Sale-A-Bration ribbon was used as shown.  I also added Dazzling Details to the stars from the sentiments, then added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to these while the glue was still wet.  Once dry, this gives the 3-D "raised button of glitter" effect that you see.

Isn't it remarkable that these are both essentially the same card?  The same colours.  The same elements.  Essentially the same embellishments.  Yet they are strikingly different.  So there's my challenge for you -  Make 2 "of the same" card, but change the orientation or embossing on one and see just how easy it is to create totally different looks.

Enjoy your day and your week.
God Bless,      ~Cynthia     <><

A Doily Thank You

I told you I still had some cards to show you using the Paper Doily Sizzlit.  Well, now is as good a time as ever to show you another one.

The postage stamp image from the Fresh Vintage stamp set (FREE during Sale-A-Bration....) was stamped into the 4 corners of a Whisper White card, using Cherry Cobbler ink.

The sentiment, from Outlined Occasions (FREE during Sale-A-Bration....) was stamped in Cherry Cobbler onto a 3 inch Whisper White circle, then coloured in with a Night of Navy Marker.  The flower image from Fresh Vintage (FREE during Sale-A-Bration....) was also stamped around the outer edges of this circle, using Cherry Cobbler.  As a final touch, the edge of this circle was sponged with Night of Navy ink.

I cut a Night of Navy paper doily using the Big Shot, and once again, since the centre will be masked with a stamped circle, only the outer rows of cut-outs had to be removed from the doily.  What a time-saver!  The stamped white circle was adhered to the doily, then the doily was glued onto the white card base.  The whole card front was then embossed using the Square Lattice embossing folder, and the outer edges of the card were sponged in Night of Navy.

Voila - once again - an embedded-embossed doily card.   No fuss.  No muss.  No problem.

Have a wonderful day.  We are cold but sunny here in Ottawa.  Hope all is good for you too, wherever you are.

God Bless,     ~Cynthia    <><

Participant's Gifts

I just spent a long, tiring but thoroughly fulfilling day at a Fundraiser here in Ottawa.  A couple of friends of mine (very organized and wonderful ladies!) ran a Scrapbooking "Crop 'Til You Drop" with the money raised going to the very worthwhile Neeje Association for Women and Family.  Last year's Crop was a huge success but at 12 hrs long, we really did all "drop" last year.  This year the Crop ran from 9-5 and was therefore more enjoyable, since sheer endurance was not an issue!  :)

The event was very much a success and the women who attended all seemed to have a great time.  They were certainly productive!  Just like last year, I joined my friend and upline, Deb Duval, in representing Stampin' Up! at the Fundraiser.  We met some fantastic ladies, ran a special project class and mini-workshop, and had a marvelous time.  And as a thank you to each of the participants for supporting the Neeje Association, we gave out memo/notepad holders to everyone in attendance.


The idea for the notepad holders came from the inordinately talented Dawn Olchefske.  Unfortunately, after I'd bought all the notepads and tried to reproduce Dawn's holder, I realized my notepads were somewhat bigger than the ones she had used.  So I made some modifications to her measurements and created away.  For anyone interested in making some like these, my notepad holders measure 10 x 8.5 inches and the score marks are at 4 3/8, 4 3/4 and 5 1/8 inches, respectively.











Each notepad holder had a 4 1/4 x 7 7/8 piece of Whisper White glued to the front, that had been stamped with various images (Baroque Motifs, Elements of Style, Fabulous Florets, Fox and Friends, Greenhouse Garden, Thoughts and Prayers and Triple Treat Flower)








in various combinations of colours (Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, Poppy Parade and Wisteria Wonder) to coordinate with the colours and pattern of the particular notepad used.

 Dazzling Details was used to give just a hint of sparkle to the Fabulous Florets holder.

Of course the holders themselves were made using Lucky Limeade, Perfect Plum or Wisteria Wonder cardstock.  And naturally a pen was included inside each holder!

Here's my completed pile of 35 notepad holders!  phew.  Took a while to make them all, but the participants really liked them and it is always fun to share creative projects with others!

I am going to bed early tonight - for the first time is waaaaay too long - since even with the shortened time frame for the fundraiser, I am ready to "drop".  But I am on my way to bed with a smile on my face.  It is always a pleasure to spend a day being creative with such a wonderful group of women, and for such a worthwhile cause!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and God Bless, 
~Cynthia    <><

Butterfly Birthday

Hello Friends

I had so much fun last night.  I created a card that is just a bit fussier than my usual quick and easy cards, but this one is so worth the little bit of extra effort!  I really love it!

This design starts with a side-step card made from Pool Party cardstock.  Various patterns of Everyday Enchantment Designer Paper (FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how) were layered onto Lucky Limeade cardstock, and glued onto the front and rear "steps" of the card.

I used The Beautiful Butterfly die and my Big Shot to cut 2 different sized butterflies from Peach Parfait cardstock, then I stamped them with the Fresh Vintage image (FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how) using Poppy Parade ink.  They were adhered one on the other using a part of a dimensional, and Basic Pearls were used to simulate the butterfly body.  An assortment of butterflies were also cut from Pool Party and Whisper White cardstock using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.  Several of these were matched up and glued together on the card as needed.

The large flower was created using the the 5-Petal Flower Punch and the Everyday Enchantment Designer Paper (FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how).  Two flowers were punched and overlayed together.  All three flowers from the Boho Blossom Punch were punched out of Peach Parfait cardstock, and the edges were sponged with Poppy Parade ink.   These were layered on top of the two 5-petal flowers, and a designer brad (FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how) was put through the centre of all layers to hold the blossom together.  The 5-Petal Flower punch was used with Lucky Limeade cardstock to create leaves.  The 2 smaller blossoms are a repeat of the larger one, without the larger Designer Paper/5-Petal Flower pieces.  The smaller blossoms also use a white brad from the neutrals brad collection as their centre.

The sentiment is from the Elementary Elegance stamp set (FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how), stamped in Poppy Parade on a scrap of Whisper White.  It was punched out using the Decorative Label Punch, and a frame for the Decorative label piece was made using Poppy Parade cardstock.

I really love how this card turned out and although it required a little more work than my usual quick and easy cards, it really wasn't difficult.  Once you figure out how to make your cuts and score lines for your side-step card, it really goes together quite well.

I have a whole lot of work to get done today so I better get at it!  I hope you like this card as much as I do.  And I hope you enjoy a wonderful day and are looking forward to the upcoming weekend!

God Bless,     ~Cynthia    <><

Birthday Fresh Vintage

Good Morning

It is sunny and gorgeous here in Ottawa and once again I have a very quick and easy card for you using the Fresh Vintage stamp set (FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how).

The small flower from the Fresh Vintage set was randomly stamped over the upper and left sides of a Whisper White mat using Concord Crush ink.  Then the mat was embossed in the Big Shot using the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.

The oval embossing folder from the Designer Frames set (also FREE during Sale-A-Bration.  Ask me how) was used to emboss an oval in the lower right corner, then this white mat was glued onto a Concord Crush card base.   The sentiment (from Sincere Salutations) was stamped on a scrap piece of white and punched out using the XL Oval Punch.  The edges were sponged and it was popped up in the oval, using dimensionals.  I just love the way that oval fits so neatly inside the embossed frame.

Once again - done in minutes!  The sentiment or the colours can be changed easily so I may make a few Thank You cards using this basic layout.  I predict that some of my customers will recognize a familiar-looking card included with their next order!

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful week.  God Bless,
~Cynthia    <><

Mixed Bunch and SAB

Good Morning

I have a few more cards that use Stampin' Up!'s paper doily cut-out but I decided you needed to see something else first.  Today's card uses a Cherry Cobbler colour-scheme with just a touch of Lucky Limeade thrown in.  A Whisper White mat (4 x 5 1/4) was stamped in all 4 corners with the postage image from Fresh Vintage, and the small flower image was then stamped randomly over the rest of the white space.  This piece was embossed with the square lattice embossing folder, the edges were sponged and it was adhered to a white card base.

The daisy-type image from the Mixed Bunch set was stamped onto a piece of Whisper White and punched out using the new Blossom Punch.  This was layered over a blossom punched from Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  The Lucky Limeade leaves were punched using the Blossom Petals Builder Punch and 'vein' indentations were made using a bone folder.

Three of the largest Boho Blossom flower (in Cherry Cobbler) were scrunched together and a Limeade Sale-A-Bration brad and the coordinating Limeade SAB ribbon was used with these as the flower centre.

This is a cheery card, meant as a thank you to a very valued friend of mine.  I hope she enjoys my little token of appreciation to let her know how blessed I feel to have her as my friend.

For all those about to embark on a Lenten journey, I wish you a Happy Shrove Tuesday!  As for my household, pancakes are definitely on the menu for tonight's dinner!!

God Bless,     ~Cynthia    <><

All Occasion Card Class - Mar 3, 2012

Do you live in the Ottawa area?  Because if you do, then I am holding a card class and I would love to have you attend!

When: Sat Mar 3rd, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.  (doors open at 9:30 a.m.)
Where:  Pine Grove Church (2144 East Acres Rd, near where Montreal Rd crosses Hwy 174). 
What: Create 8 fabulous cards (plus envelopes) to cover various occasions - 2 each of 4 different designs.  You'll also get to use some of the new SAB products to create these cards. 

Fee for the class = $25 or place a $35 order and your class is FREE!
Bring a friend I have never stamped with before and you'll make a second set of cards for FREE!
And - if your order is $60 or more, in addition to getting the class for FREE, you can also choose a Sale-A-Bration product of your choice for FREE!

You can pre-register by following the link at the bottom of this page.  If you end up placing a qualifying order at the class ($35), I will subtract your class fee from the order amount so your class will be FREE!

Remember to bring your adhesive and scissors!
Looking forward to seeing you on March 3rd!

Embedded Embossed Doily - and No Stamping?!

I know this blog is called "Stamp With Cynthia", but I have a quick and easy card to show you today that involves no stamping at all?!

I used the new Sizzlit again to cut a Rich Razzleberry doily and once again I saved time and only poked out the outer edge of the cut-out pieces.  I glued the doily onto a Whisper White card and ran it through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I LOVE the look of the embedded embossed doily, don't you?

I cut out the 5 Tempting Turquoise butterflies with a single pass of the Beautiful Wings embosslit through the Big Shot.  The small butterflies were glued flat while the largest butterfly was raised up by using half of a dimensional beneath its body.  The wings were folded back to give the semblance of flight, and a row of the tiniest Basic Pearls was added to imply a flight trail.

Done.  No fuss.  No muss.  No stamping.


Have a wonderful week and God Bless,     ~Cynthia   <><

A Fresh Vintage Thank You

If you're like me, you need to send out an awful lot more Thank You cards than you actually get around to sending.  We really need to spend more time thanking the people who enrich our lives, but sadly, we often let those moments pass.  So I am trying to create a series of Thank You cards to have on hand for just such moments as these.  And today's card happens to be one of them.

The border image from the Fresh Vintage set was stamped on either edge of a Whisper White card base. I used my Big Shot and the 3" circle die to cut a Whisper White circle.  The large flower image from the Fresh Vintage set was stamped (twice) in Night of Navy ink on the circle and a small flower from this set was stamped as well.  The sentiment, stamped in Night of Navy, comes from the Thank You Kindly set.  Then the edges of this white circle were sponged with Night of Navy ink.

I used the Paper Doily Sizzlit Die and my Big Shot to cut a Night of Navy doily.  Since only the outer edges of the doily are going to show, there are relatively few 'cut-out bits' that need to be removed - takes no time at all my friends!  The 3" circle was adhered to the doily cut-out and this assembly was glued to the front of the card.  The addition of some well-placed Basic Rhinestones and voila, an elegant but rather quick Thank You card.  Some bling, some blue and a Thank you too!

I really love it when I get stamp sets for free, and I really love the Fresh Vintage stamp set.  The fact that I earned this set FREE during Sale-A-Bration (on until Mar 31) makes me just that much happier!  Keep watching this site and I'll show you lots more ways to use the free items you can earn during Sale-A-Bration.

Have a wonderful Sunday and God Bless,      ~Cynthia     <><

Elegant Black & White Birthday

Don't you just love it when a card is easy to make and takes no time at all, but looks like a million bucks?  That's how I feel about this card.  Once again I CASEd it - I first saw it quite a while ago and once again I don't remember whose original idea it was.  But it certainly is gorgeous!  My club ladies made this card for their February club nights and judging from their reactions, I'd say they all like this card as much as I do.

It's really quite easy, despite how complicated and sophisticated it looks.  The white mat was embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder and the cute scalloped polka dot ribbon was adhered across its midpoint, then this whole assembly was glued onto a black card base.

The flower image (from the Apothecary Art stamp set in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini catalogue) was stamped in black onto Whisper white cardstock, then run through the Big Shot using the new Framelit Labels dies.  This was layered onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock that was cut using the next larger Framelit size.  If you haven't seen these dies in action yet, you are missing out.  These dies are great!  You get 6 graduated sizes in each Framelit set.  Right now Stampin' Up! only carries 2 shapes of Framelits - the Label shape and also Framelit Heart dies - but I am hopeful that new shapes will become available when the new catalogue comes out in June.

At any rate, the sentiment was stamped on a piece of white and popped up over the central band of the image using dimensionals.  Some dazzling diamonds to make the flower blossoms sparkle and voila - an elegant and dazzling card that didn't take very long to make at all!

You'll be seeing more of the Framelits in the future, I can tell you that.  I am having a LOT of fun playing with them and finding all sorts of ways to use them on cards.

In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend!  God Bless,
~Cynthia   <><

Day 2 - I'm still here - and Sale-A-Bration samples!

Good morning friends.

Last night my daughter made her own "bake sale" goodies for school with very little help from me, and this morning she frosted them all with pink icing and sprinkles. I know they will sell like the proverbial hotcakes!  I dropped her and my son and the tray full of cupcakes off at school so now it's time to get down to business.  I mean, I started this blog....I have a responsibility to keep it going, right?  Gulp.

This morning I wanted to share 2 of the cards I've made using the Fresh Vintage stamp set that is available for FREE from Stampin' Up! during Sale-A-Bration.  (and if you don't know what SAB is all about, then contact me because you are missing out!!  It is the BEST sale of the year).  Anyhow, I will admit that I didn't design either of these cards.  I CASEd them, which is considered a perfectly acceptable thing to do in the card-making world.  CASEing means to Copy And Share Everywhere.  And card-makers know and understand that if they post a card somewhere, they are giving unspoken permission for it to be CASEd.  As long as the person CASEing doesn't take credit for it, then no harm, no foul.

As for these 2 cards?  I cannot remember who I CASEd them from so I cannot give due credit.  But I will admit they are not my original designs.  I think the reason I love them so much is that they make very effective use of Poppy Parade - a colour that I have owned for almost a year but have never used until now.  Not once.  And looking at these cards, I cannot understand why?  The colour is gorgeous!  Vibrant!  Tantalizing even.  Of course, the coordinating designer paper (also an item that you can earn FREE from SU! during Sale-A-Bration) helps to pull together all the elements of the cards.  And there is even matching ribbon too.  That is what I love about SU!  They do all the coordinating for me so I don't really have to 'think' about it.

At any rate, here are the 2 cards for today.  We made the one with ribbon as part of a class I ran at the end of January (and let me tell you, I got to get creative with a couple dozen of the nicest women you could ever hope to meet!  And I met some wonderful new friends at the event too).

The second card is one that 'my ladies' have been making as part of their February Club nights.  Monthly clubs are another way I get to meet and be creative with some terrific ladies.  Club nights are great - There is always as much giggling and laughter as there is glueing and stamping!  (If you want more information about clubs, feel free to ask.  There's always room for more).

Both of these cards are quick, easy and eye-catching.  I can't decide which one I prefer?  Let me know which one is your favourite.

In the meantime, have a wonderful day and God Bless,
~ Cynthia    <><

Wow - Joining the 21st Century!

For those of you who know me well - you know that I am a dinosaur.  I mean DINOsaur.  Old-fashioned, out-of touch and completely computer-illiterate.  So starting a blog was way outside of my comfort zone.  And joining Facebook on the same day...now THAT positively ranks as a day to mark on my calendar.

But guess what?  I did it.  I joined the ranks of the millions of people on earth who know how to manuveur their way around Facebook.  NO - I haven't actually figured out how to do much more on Facebook than ask (sheepishly)...will you be my friend?  But at least I figured out how to Sign On!  (ahem.  I did have to put an SOS call out to friends to ask how to Sign Off though.    Now am I pathetic or what?)

Anyhow, I am not blogging or Facebooking to lose myself all day, every day in the cyber-world.  I am doing it because I love cards.  I love making cards.  Better yet, I LOVE making cards!  (More emphasis needed).  And blogging and Facebook are the best way to share - or so I've been told.  And after much cajoling from friends I decided it was about time I entered the dawn of civilization and shared my creations.   So here I am.

Once I figure out how to add a Facebook thingybobber to my page, maybe you can find me and Like me on Facebook too.  But for now -- I am trying my best just to make sure what I type doesn't disappear into cyber-oblivion.

In the meantime, hope you like my Valentine's Day card below in my inaugural post.  Stampin' Up! has some cool new products...a gorgeous flower stamp set (Mixed Bunch) and Blossom punch to match.  And "Edgelit" dies that cut a lovely elegant scallop at the edge of your page.  I decided to use the edgelit to do more than just trim the edge of my page.  I created elegant pink swoopy accents.  At least I think the card is elegant.  Hope you like it too!

Now I've got to go help one of my daughters make cupcakes for her school's Valentine's Day bake sale tomorrow.  I figure if they can be 3 days behind with a "Valentine's Day bake sale", then I can post a Valentine card a few days late...right?

Have a wonderful evening everyone and God Bless,
~Cynthia    <><

Ok
So It's a couple of days past Valentine's Day.  That doesn't mean that we toss all our heart cards out the window, right?  I mean - we still love our family & friends.  So let's ask them to be our Valentine all year long.

Too much?  Maybe you're right.  I should just stick to the basics, right?

My customers have been asking me for a long, long time if I have a blog.  My friends have been telling me over and over again that I should start a blog.  Well you know what?  Today is the day.
~ ~ ~ ~ insert hyperventilating and increased heart - rate here ~ ~ ~ ~
gulp

So here goes:


 Hi.
My name is Cynthia and I am an independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator here in the lovely city of Ottawa, Ontario.  For those of you who may not be familiar with Canada, Ottawa is our nation's capital and I love it here!

Ok.  I think that's about all I can do for now.  I better see if I can even figure out how to post this before I run on and on about me and my business...right?

Have a wonderful day and God Bless!
~Cynthia    <><