Blog Hopping Through Wedding Dreams.....

Hello My Friends

We have a wonderful Blog Hop for you today with the theme of "Wedding Dreams" and I can't wait for you to see the gorgeous projects that have been created.  If you are starting here (Cynthia Millan) then Welcome!  Or if you've just arrived from one of the other blogs then...well...also welcome!    Please feel free to visit every one (the list is at the bottom of this post) and don't forget to leave comments since as you know, us bloggers are absolute junkies when it comes to comments!   :)
 
Now to talk about my Project.  "Wedding" and "dreams", for me, meant I wanted something soft.  I began with the idea of staying white-on-white.  I stamped the flourish from the First Sight stamp set with versamark and heat embossed white powder to make a lovely and subtle background.  Then the floral image from the Best Thoughts hostess set was treated the same way, cut out with a Label framelit and layered over the background mat and ... close but not quite.  The card was too subtle to be effective.

Close up of coloured flowers and white embossed background

Out came my trusted Blender Pens.  A quick painting of the flowers with Pink Pirouette and Pear Pizzazz inks and I was much happier.  Still subtle.  Still soft.  And still very dreamy.  

Now with that little bit of colour, my white-on-white could be stepped up a bit.  I hand cut a Pink Pirouette label shape just larger than my focal image piece and layered it behind.  Yes, you heard me correctly, I hand-cut that pink label shape.  Thank heavens for our trusty Stampin' Up! Paper Snips.  Precise and accurate cuts and easy to handle.  Love them!

Close up of embossed background and metallic silver thread detailing

For my sentiment I chose one from the Suite Sayings set in the Occasions catalogue.  Don't you think it is just perfect?  When you find the right spouse (and I am truly happy to say that I sure did), nothing else matters and Forever really does begin that day! 

As a last addition, I wanted to include a few filmy, floating silver metallic loops.  I have really loved these metallic threads in our catalogue.  I hope they stick around to the next one!

The focal piece was mounted on the embossed white mat using dimensionals and a thin Pink Pirouette mat was added behind that.  Once layered on a white card, the effect was complete.  

At least - I "think" it is complete.  You tell me.  Do you think I achieved my goal?  A soft and dreamy wedding card to mark the occasion of the beginning of 'Forever'?  Leave me a comment and let me know.  And don't forget to visit the rest of our hoppers too to see the gorgeous creations that they created.

Thank you so much for joining me today!  I hope you enjoyed your visit and plan to come back soon.  God Bless,    ~Cynthia    <>< 



Product List

First Sight Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140688]	Best Thoughts Clear-Mount Stamp Set [138700]	Suite Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140712]	Lots Of Labels Framelits Dies [138281]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]
Versamark Pad [102283]	White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Blender Pens [102845]	Silver Metallic Thread [138402]	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad [126956]
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad [131180]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Pink Pirouette 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [111351]	Paper Snips Scissors [103579]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

All You Need Is Love - Mediterranean Achiever's Blog Hop

Howdy Friends!  I hope you are all ready to hop-along with the rest of us!  We've got lots of super projects for you this month, with our "All You Need Is Love" theme.  

You may just be starting the blog hop here (I'm Cynthia Millan) - or may have come from the person previous to me in the list. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup is listed at the bottom.

But while you are here, let me show you my simple but super project.

I love the new Balloon Celebrations bundle and thought that a bevy of beautiful hearts might be just the thing.  But honestly, I needed to spice it up a little for a Love theme, don't you think?  

So I promptly punched large hearts using my Sweetheart Punch or  small hearts using the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack.  I needed a medium sized heart and lo and behold, the Circle Card Thinlit has a perfect-sized heart to use.  But even using hearts as my balloons didn't quite have the oomphf and impact that I wanted.  So I used one of my favourite embellishments....Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  

Honestly, coat Pink Pirouette or Blushing Bride hearts with versamark then Iridescent Ice, and you end up with a totally cute and super sparkly heart that has a lot of Wow-factor.

I also wanted to break up the white space around my balloons, without detracting from them as my focal point.  Enter the  great flourishing vine image from the First Sight stamp set.  Stamped in versamark ink then embossed with iridescent ice embossing powder, once again gives a fantastic but subtle sparkle to the card.

And my sentiment?  Well that is from the Sale-A-Bration set, What I Love.  And it is just perfect, don't you think?

Of course, all these beautiful balloons would be flat and uninteresting without that perfect little tool that Stampin' Up! sells......the dimensional. 

Have I told you before that the SU! dimensionals rock!!  They are waaaaay better than any other knock-off on the market and are worth their weight in gold.  And doesn't a little 3-D effect totally make or break a bevy-of-balloons card, anyway?

You'd almost think these were ready to float right up off the card, wouldn't you?

I am planning on sending this card to my eldest daughter, believe it or not.  She is in Australia for a YEAR(!!!) - doing missionary work with kids in high school.  She's only been gone 3 weeks but her absence is being felt in our home.  She left behind 2 other sisters and a brother who all miss her.  A lot.  Not to mention her Dad and Mom.  But we *ARE* proud of her, I can tell you that!  So a cute card to tell her "What I Love" is pretty perfect!  For the record...the inside of the card answers the question.  The answer, of course, is "You".

At any rate, this month's theme suited me just fine.  All you need *IS* love, right??

Hope you enjoy this project.  Have a great time hopping through all the other blogs.  And have a super rest-of-the-week.   God Bless,   ~Cynthia   <><
 

GV Blog Hop - Bring on the Bling

Hello My Friends

It is so close to Christmas and life here in my house has gotten incredibly busy.  But I still wanted a chance to participate in the Grand Vacation Achievers Blog Hop this month.

I'll keep this short as, with Christmas on Friday, I still have a million and one things to do in the next day or 2.  But for now, join me and some of my very talented friends as we show you FABULOUS projects that have BLING flashing and glittering from every angle!!   

You may just be starting the blog hop here (I'm Cynthia Millan) - or may have come from the person previous to me in the list. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup is listed at the bottom.

On to my card - I wanted my project to sparkle and shine like there's no tomorrow so I used silver embossing powder, silver metallic foil doilies and Basic Rhinestone Jewels to light up my card.  

The stamp set is a sneak peek for you.  I used First Sight, a new one set from the upcoming Spring Occasions catalogue.  Love the flourish that I embossed on the front and that I used to add silver embossed detailing to the outer edges of the Smoky Slate card.

And did anyone else notice how perfectly the fancy corners that you create with the Curvy Corner Trio punch (it is held over in the Spring catalogue!!) match the detailing on the metallic foil doilies that we sell?  How cute is that?

The challenge when you use this much bling, of course, is in getting a picture that does the card justice.  This was my first attempt - before I played with the lighting and the angles just a bit. 

Not quite as stunning, is it?!?



I hope you've enjoyed my card.  And don't forget to visit everyone else on the list below.  Hopping is fun and you will be amazed at the sheer gorgeousness of some of these projects!

Have a wonderful, joyful and joy-filled Christmas my friends, and God Bless,    ~Cynthia   <><