Poor Old Frosty the Snowman

Hello Friends.

I have seen a TON of cute snowman cards this winter but by far the cutest one I think is the melting snowman.  
 
As far as my neighbourhood goes, so far this year there are no snowmen in sight!
Not yet at any rate.
Because let's face it - Despite the fact that I live in CANADA, we just haven't had snowman weather!  The first 2 weeks of December have been unusually warm here (~10 C / 50 F).

Melted puddle below Frosty.....

So here is my version of how December feels right about now.   I used the Sprinkles of Life stamp set and Tree Builder Punch to create my melted Frosty.  And a sponge dauber with versamark and clear embossing powder did the trick to make the puddle.

I will try to get a quick video up and running in a day or 2 to show you how quickly and easily this card goes together.  For now though, enjoy the card and have a wonderful week ahead!

God Bless,   ~Cynthia    <><

Back To The Drawing Board

Good Morning My Friends

Well, I thought I had it.  I mean, I really thought I had it!  

One of my friends reminded me the other day about a technique I showed her several years ago - you cover an image with versamark and apply clear embossing powder on top of that and then you heat it.  You repeat this versamark-plus-clear embossing powder-then-heat 2 or 3 times until there is a shiny layer of clear embossing powder over the image....and I thought this would be just the thing to make my Gentle Peace stamp set come alive. 

I figured this would emulate glass much better than the Iridescent Ice embossing powder I tried a few days ago (which ended up being a little bit of a disappointment).

So I tried the layers of clear embossing powder.  Underwhelmed, for sure.

Don't get me wrong.  It's nice.  It is just a bit different.  But Wowzer?  Not really.  Not this time.

So, it'll be back to the drawing room to figure out some combinations of colours that please me in terms of this set.  Come back again tomorrow and you can see how far I've gotten.

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

Happy Birthday Friend!!

I warned you that I have birthdays on the brain, right?

Well, today is the birthday of one of my very good friends!  Someone I respect and admire and I feel blessed and honoured to know.  She ia a beautiful woman inside and out and not only is it her birthday today, but in just a few short weeks it will be the "birth" day of her third child.  I am very excited for her and her growing family.  And I sent this card to her to let her know how much I cherish and appreciate her.

I CASed this card directly from the internet because I loved it from the moment I saw it - and I used it as one of our September club cards to remind my ladies that tone-on-tone can be one of the most beautiful colour combinations.  In fact, most of the stamping on this card is versamark (followed by clear embossing powder) so the darker images on the Soft Suede card really are tone-on-tone.  And Pool Party, combined with the Suede, is such a gorgeous punch of colour.

A bitty vellum butterfly atop the Suede/Pool Party larger one, and there is just enough dimension and 'movement' on the card to keep it bright and  interesting.

And speaking of interesting - you heard about my birthday special, right?  
From Oct 1-Oct 7, I will pay the shipping and handling on any order greater than $60.  Regular HST fees still apply.  But the s&h will be covered by me.  It is the week of my birthday and I am sharing my happiness with all my friends.   Contact me and take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING this week!

Back to work I go - so much to do to prepare for my World Card-Making Day Event this weekend!  Are you going to visit us on Saturday between 10 and 3 to take part in the BOGO?  Or come and take my Delightful Dahlias or Wetlands or Simply Sent Classes.  You won't regret it!

In the meantime and until then -- Have a wonderful evening my friends and God Bless,    ~Cynthia     <><

Emboss Resist Intense Butterflies

I've realized that my butterfly offerings over the last few days have been soft and pastel-like and although there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I thought you might like to see something bold, vibrant and intense.

Presenting.....Intense emboss-resist butterflies for your viewing pleasure!

Just a bit of versamark and the Papillon Potpourri stamp set (and clear embossing powder), followed by heavy sponging with Island Indigo and Elegant Eggplant makes this a stand-out 'Wow' sort of card.  Don't the butterflies pop right up off the page at you?

I have always loved the emboss resist technique, and this card is a fast but sure-fire reason to demonstrate why.

Hope your week is looking bright.  All 4 of my kids left for school this morning for the first time since June and I have yet to get much accomplished at home.  Guess it's time for me to buckle down and get to it, so I'll keep this short.

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

Founder's Circle Card ... Yes I'm Excited!

Okay - to start off with I am going to post a card that I made last night.  It is a little "different" from my usual style.  But I hope you'll like it!

This is my version of a Nautical Card and you'll see where my inspiration came from if you continue reading through this post.

Supply List
Stamps - The Open Sea, Teeny Tiny Wishes. Woodgrain
Paper - Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Ink - Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist, Baja Breeze, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Versamark
Tools and Accessories - Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Early Espresso Tulle, Crumb Cake Tulle, 7/8" Cotton Ribbon, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder


I took various strips of Vanilla and Crumb Cake and Soft Suede cardstock and swiped my coloured ink pads across them to get the weathered-looking strips down the left-hand side.  This technique, as my club members know, is called "Direct to paper".  The compass was embossed with clear embossing powder to give it a "glassy" appearance.  And the gorgeous tulle from the holiday catalogue?  Well I tore it into misshapen pieces so it looked like netting.  A bit of rough handling and sponging to the cotton ribbon and I think this card looks like it could have washed up on any old pier.

Now on to my inspiration.....Remember I told you that I was awarded one of Stampin' Up!'s most prestigious awards?  I get to go to Founder's Circle in 2 short weeks.

I was excited before.
Honest-to-goodness excited.

But now?  Now I am fairly bursting with bubbly excitement!

Remember this?   -------->

The gorgeous canvas designer bag that I was given as part of my Founder's Circle achievement award?





Well.....I returned home from my vacation to find a plump express mail envelope waiting for me.  And inside I found this!
<---------
A lovely canvas 'wallet' to match the Founder's Circle bag


 Of course, the wallet had something inside of it....

My flight itinerary for getting to Founder's Circle.  A couple of really cute luggage tags.  And loads of information about Founder's.

Then I started cluing in....the "canvas" bags, the luggage tags with the seashore motif, the information pamphlet with the weathered boards look to it.....I am guessing (?!) that Founder's Circle this year will have an Ocean or Nautical Theme.

Last year's theme was "Tea Party" so there is precedence for a themed retreat.  If I had to wager money on it, I'd say that this year's theme will be Nautical.  So I decided to create something to go with that theme.  I don't own the stamp set "By the Seashore" (that looks like where the seashell, crab and starfish images came from) - but I knew I had enough stamps in my arsenal to give this self-imposed challenge a good try.

So I created this fun card.
Don't you think it resembles the Founder's pamphlet I was sent in the mail?  I apologize that my lighting is somewhat screwy so the colours do not appear as true as they should.  But trust me when I say that in real life, the card is a pretty decent match to the pamphlet.  

Of course, before I get too excited, I still have 120 (identical) swap cards to design and make to exchange with all of the other ladies who will be at Founder's.  My club ladies and customers will get a chance to see the 120 cards I bring home from all of those wonderful creative ladies.  Can you imagine?  I will have a card sample made by the Top 100 US Demonstrators and the top 20 demonstrators in all of Canada!  And my customers will get to see them all!  To be honest - I can't wait to see them myself!  And I still can't believe I am part of this elite group this year.  Excited.  Humbled.  And thoroughly blessed!~

So...I guess I'd better get to work and finish my 120 cards, right?  I'll make sure I post a copy for all of you to see  --  but not until Sept 12 when I am at the awards retreat.  Wouldn't want to post it before the recipients even get a chance to see the original, right?

In the meantime, more cards to make, more cards to post, and coming up I'll be part of a fantastic Blog Hop.  What's that you say?  I'm going to give you a chance to visit 50 blogs over the next 2 months and collect Treasure Hunt clues (easy peasy ones, don't worry).  Collect all 50 and I'll draw one name to receive a gift from me, and the Blog Hop "leader" will draw a name to award one lucky person with a $150 shopping spree!!  Yippee!

So let's make a deal, you and I.  I'll be excited about my upcoming Founder's award retreat.  You be excited about the Blog Hop.  And we can all share some excitement together!    In the meantime, have a great day!
God Bless,     ~Cynthia      <><