Celebrations Duo - Emboss Your Way to an Easy-Peasy Card

Hi Friends

Did you notice the new pair of Embossing Folders in the Occasions catalogue?  They are called the Celebrations Duo folders and they are super easy to use.  

What is more, using them is almost like working with a "secret message"....like when we were kids.  Remember?

They are designed to make a deep impression in the cardstock but honestly, when you first emboss, although you can make out the word, the effect is a little underwhelming, if you know what I mean?!

Debossed word "Celebrate" on White cardstock, before being stamped on

However....when you stamp over the debossed word, the "message" magically appears in all it's creative gorgeousness.  Pretty neat trick, huh?  

See how the ink does not creep into the debossed impression - so the words stay white and show up "like magic" when you stamp over them!

So here is today's quick little card that is bright and cheery and sure to pick up the spirits of the person who receives it.

After stamping the solid images from the Balloon Celebration set  over the word in bright and happy colours, I used my Basic Black marker to get just the word "You" (from the Thank You of the Happy Happenings set) in the bottom right corner of the card.

A card base of Daffodil Delight is just right to keep this bright, don't you think?  And the colours are neutral enough to make this a birthday card suitable to give to your male or female friends!

Love my Wink of Stella to add glitz and shimmer!

I added some visual interest with a few extra balloons punched out (using the Balloon Bouquet Punch) and popped up on dimensionals, with Baker's twine to 'ground' them to the card.  Some clear Wink of Stella on the raised balloons to draw your attention (I do love my Wink of Stella, don't I?) and this card is done.


If you purchase the Balloon Celebrations stamp set and the Balloon Bouquet Punch, as well as the Celebrations Duo embossing folders, you'll automatically qualify for a FREE Sale-A-Bration item. And trust me, you WANT to earn all of the SAB items that are available!  You earn one SAB item for every $60-worth of product you purchase.  See them all by clicking HERE.  
Place your orders online by visiting HERE (at check out, please use the hostess code 3M2AGU7N) or contact me to place your order for you.

And if you want a LOT of stuff ($100 or more), you can save a TON of money - up to $200 - by making your purchase into a fully customizeable Starter Kit purchase.  See the details HERE or contact me to ask how we can save you lots of money while getting you everything you want.

I hope you are looking forward to a wonderful week ahead.  Thanks for stopping by.  God Bless,      Cynthia   <><

 
Product List

Celebrations Duo Textured Impressions Embossing Folders [142760]	Balloon Celebration Photopolymer Stamp Set [140675]	Balloon Bouquet Punch [140609]	Happy Happenings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [139381]	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897]
Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad [126952]	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad [126944]	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949]	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [126945]	Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers [131261]
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Daffodil Delight 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119683]	Basic Black Baker's Twine [134576]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Blog Hopping Through...Baby Love!

Hello Friends

Time once again for a Blog Hop with some of my favourite international demonstrator friends.  Today we bring you Baby Love!!  And what's not to love about babies...right?

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.  

I wanted to keep it simple and gender-neutral (so I could make it in advance of needing it - and use it for ANY baby!).  So I merely stamped the duckies (they are so, so cute!) in Daffodil Delight ink on Whisper White cardstock, and added the absolute most PERFECT sentiment above!  Add a few Softly Falling embossed dots for visual interest and the card is almost done....

I wanted the balloons to look realistic so I stamped on vellum.  Ink dries very slowly on vellum so I sprinkled on some clear embossing powder and heat-set the powder and voila, the balloons look translucent!  Punched out with the Balloon Punch, they could be suspended above the ducklings.  How cute, right?  The Baker's Twine is held to the back of the balloons with a glue dot and this keeps the balloon on the card front too, without adhesive showing through.

All of these products are continuing into the new catalogue so you can make this card anytime without worrying about finding replacement items.  I love all of these goodies so am glad they are sticking around for at least a year!

I had to make a super quick card for this blog hop as I have very little time today.  But I think I managed to get some Baby Love into this project, don't you think?  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! Have a wonderful time hopping through baby projects!  God Bless,   ~Cynthia   <><

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   <><