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   <><
 

Sweetie Pie - Quick and Cute With Word Bubbles

Hello Friends

I was right - each person in my family took their Sweetie Pie card and read it and smiled from ear-to-ear, knowing it was designed specifically with them in mind!

As for today's quick and cute installment....it is just that.  Quick and Cute.  Sweetie Pie makes it so easy.  

And just in case you don't recognize where the cute little X's and O's came from......the Circle Card Thinlit Die has nine bonus framelit pieces, aside from the actual card base thinlit itself.  And this xoxo string is one of those framelits.

Pretty cute, huh?
And oh, so simple to make.

Hope you are still enjoying my adventures with the Sweetie Pie stamp set.  I have a few more up my sleeve too.  Come back soon for another glimpse.

In the meantime, I hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful week.  
God Bless,   ~Cynthia   <><

Sweetie Pie Photopolymer Stamp Set [136849]

Contact me today to get your Sweetie Pie stamp set:

Product List
Stamp : Just Sayin' [english, clear] [133203] , Just Sayin' Clear-Mount Bundle [134820], Sweetie Pie [photopolymer] [136849]
Ink : Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949] , Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad [126952] , Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad [126980]
Card Stock : Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [100730] , Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [121045] , Real Red 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [102482]
Accessory : Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]
Big Shot : Circle card Thinlits Die [133480] , Word Bubbles Framelits Dies [132968]

Open House Party Cards

Good Morning Friends

It's been long enough.  I mean....I really do need to show you more gorgeous cards, right?  San Diego was great and the pictures are beautiful.  New products are wonderful and exciting.  But this is a card-maker's blog and if you are anything like me, you want to see cards!!

So without further ado --I held my Holiday Catalogue Open House and BOGO on Saturday and it was absolutely wonderful!  I got to spend time with some of my favourite people and get inky with them.  You have to understand, for me, crafting on a rainy Saturday morning and creating beauty out of cardstock and glitter...well, that is my definition of happiness!  And here are the 2 cards that my friends made.

We paired Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green with the Joyful Christmas stamp set to create a beautiful poinsettia card.  Don't you just love how the Petals-a-plenty embossing folder on the card base gives the illusion that the whole card is framed in poinsettias?!









And our Deck The Halls flip card uses Coastal Cabana and the Festive Flurry stamp set to create just a bit of winter-wonder.  Of course, the piece-de-resistance for both cards is the glitter that was used to add sparkle and glitz.  The new gold glitter from the holiday catalogue spices up the centre of our flower, while dazzling diamonds adds an aura of glistening to the snowflakes.  Much to my surprise, I was not sparkling with glitter formm every pore when I returned hoe on Saturday.  That has GOT to be a first!

At any rate - sorry to have kept you card-less for so long.  Stay tuned for an exciting announcement from me later today.  I have a personal special that I am offering for the first week of October and believe me, you want to take advantage of it!  Can't tell you anymore about it right now...you'll just have to comeback and check for yourself!

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

Thinlit Flip Card - and Kisses and Hugs

Hello Friends

A very quick post today to show you a few of the cute cards we made at our downline meeting on Sunday.  

Sample 1

We used the Thinlit Circle Die again to create a flip card - but we also got to play with some new toys.  

Close-up of Scalloped Border

Notice the scalloped edge on the right side of the card (see close-up).  We used the new rotary blade attachments to easily cut this border using the Stampin' Trimmer.  Easy peasey piece of cake!  And I want to call your attention to the X's and O's on the front of this card.  So easy to cut out.  So easy to adhere to the card.  I can see a LOT more kisses and hugs in my future.  Well - on cards at least!

Sample 2 - Closed

Sample 2 - Open

Going to keep this short since tomorrow is a busy busy day!  D



Don't forget though - only 4 more days to take advantage of some superb specials.  
These offers are only good until Aug 31:

1)  Sign up to receive your starter kit - and in addition to 20% off all your purchases, you get to choose a Free Kit as a signing bonus.  you'll get to come to my meetings and learn fantastic techniques and make cute cards (like today's).  Get more details or sign up here.

or,

2)  Sign up for Paper Pumpkin and get your first 2 months at half price! Get more details or sign up here.

Have a super day!  And God Bless you - today and always.    ~Cynthia     <><

Thinlit Circle Die Video - Delightful Dahlia Flip Card

Hello Friends

It took me a while but I managed to figure out the "video thing" without the help of my teenagers.  I am certain I will get better at it as time goes by.  But for now, here is the video How-To for this morning's Thinlit Circle Die card.

The Circle Thinlit Die (cat # 133480) and all the wonderful accompanying framelits can be seen here.

And the Label Framelit Die (cat #133479) and all the cool things that come with it can be seen here.

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

Holiday Catalogue is Live and NEW THINLITS are Here!!

Hello Friends

I don't have a card for you today - instead I am dying to tell you about the new thinlits that are available starting today.  As you know, the Holiday Catalogue goes live today so you can order from it.  But there is a new product that isn't even in any of the published catalogues yet - that you can order, starting today!

Thinlits that create a flip-card, or swinging card.  Easily.  Presto.  No fuss.  No muss!  There's a "Label" Shape.  And a "Circle" shape.  And I intend to order BOTH!!  Let me know if you want one (or both) for yourself.

NEW! Stampin' Up! Thinlits Card Dies

Available August 1, 2013
They've been called flip cards, flip flop cards, swing cards, and more-but they have always been a bit tricky to create. Not anymore! Our amazing new Thinlits Card Dies (available Aug. 1) cut and score to create a card that flips in just one step.

These new card dies come with extra die pieces that have versatile designs, so you can use them on other projects, not just flip cards. (The Circle Card Thinlits Die comes with 10 total pieces; the Label Card Thinlits Die comes with nine total pieces.)

Click Flyer for Larger View

Here are some great combinations of the dies with current Stampin' Up! stamps.

Label Card Thinlits Die (item 133479):

• Happy Day Stamp Set (item 130294 W, item 130297 C)

Circle Card Thinlits Die (item 133480):

• Worth the Wait Stamp (item 131091 W)
• Five-Way Flower Stamp (item 131088 W)

Both card dies pair well with:

• Oh, Hello Stamp Set (item 131931 W, item 130733 C)
• Yippee-Skippee! Stamp Set (item 131341 W, item 131344 C)
• Really Good Greetings Stamp Set (item 130330 W, item 130333 C)
• Regarding Dahlias Stamp Set (item 130324 W, item 130327 C)
• These dies also work well with our new magnetic platform* (item 130658) so you can place the dies exactly where you want them!