Fast and Fabulous Friday - It's All About the Texture

Hello Friends

Today the card is Fast and Fabulous.  And the post is FAST.

This card speaks for itself.  Everything used to make the card (except for the Vanilla and Suede cardstock and the punches) is retiring as of June 2 so if you love this card as much as I do, order your supplies NOW before it is too late and they are gone for good!  Even my favourite ribbon, teh Crochet Trim, is gone in a few short weeks.

And I cannot tell you how sad I am to see the Square Lattice embossing folder retire!

I need to keep this VERY fast since my club ladies are due to arrive any minute.  (They'll even be making this card).  But to all of you --- have a wonderful weekend.  It is a long weekend here in Canada and for those of you who are traveling - be safe!

God Bless you all my friends.     ~Cynthia    <><

Thankful Thursday - Field Flowers

It's Spring.

Oh yes, I know, I am quite aware that my front lawn *still* has a foot and a half of snow (up to 3 feet in the shady areas)!  But it is Spring nonetheless!  And although my own garden lies under a mantle of white, friends of mine are reporting daffodils and crocuses and tulips poking up out of the ground, ready to bloom.

See - I don't need for it to actually *be* Spring yet.  It is the anticipation of everything coming alive that has me all giddy with Spring fever.

So today I am thankful for the promise of Spring and the new life that it entails.

Isn't life wonderful?!!!!   :)

And in honour of being thankful for Spring, my Thankful Thursday card includes flowers.  And a stamp set I have never gotten inky before!!  Although I must say, I LOVE 2-step stamping and the effect of these flowers with the darker and lighter tones.  So I will be using this set again soon (Field Flowers), trust me.

I hope the rest of you have a Spring in your step and a giddy feeling today too.  And if you do - pass it on!  The most attractive thing you can wear, after all, is a smile!

Have a thoroughly wonderful day my friends.      God Bless,      ~Cynthia    <><


Product List

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Fast & Fabulous Friday - Ampersands and More

Hello Dear Friends

At the 20-card class I held last Saturday, the ladies, quite literally, had 20 different cards to make in one day.  You can understand that some of these cards needed to be fast.  Really fast.  But fabulous nonetheless.  

So I CASEd this card and I have to tell you - it is really quick to make but boy does it ever pack a punch!

Quite literally - you emboss the Gold Foil with the Ampersand embossing folder and glue it to your card.  Add strips of washi tape and gold sequins, a single stamped Thank You and a Gold Bakers Twine bow and she's done.  Finished.  Complete.

I think it took me longer to type this than it did to make the card!!!

And in case you are wondering.....for the ends of the sequin trim and adhering that little Bakers twine bow...glue dots are your friend!   :)

So there you have it.  Fast.  Fabulous.   Trendy and terrific too!






And if you want a less elegant but equally Fast and Fabulous card (arguably even faster!) using this same Ampersand embossing folder, check this out:

I sponged Gold Encore Ink lightly over the embossed image - can you see the shimmer?  Add a few words from Fabulous Phrases and some Retro-Fresh Washi Tape and once again....a really cute card, done in a flash!

I love that Stampin' Up! offers me so many coordinating products that I can use to create fantastic cards!!

Hope you all have a chance in the coming days to create something Fabulous!  

Try this one..it's Super Quick.  
Super Fabulous.  And Super Easy. 

Ready?  
Ok then......
..........Smile!  

Well would you look at that!   You just created a Fast and Fabulous work of art -  right there on your face - for everyone to see!

Have a wonderful weekend and God Bless you all!    ~Cynthia     <><

• Ampersand Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
• Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi Tape
• Gold Sequin Trim
• Happy Watercolor [wood]
• Happy Watercolor [clear]
• Gold Baker's Twine
• Retro Fresh This And That Designer Washi Tape
• Gold Metallic Encore Pad
• Stamping Sponges
• Fabulous Phrases - Clear-Mount Stamp
• Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad
• Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad
• Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad
• Baked Brown Sugar 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Gold Foil Sheets
• Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock

Butterflies and Birthdays

Ok  Friends

Two more days.  Just two more days to take advantage of the Butterfly Bundle.  Until Sept 30, you can get the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and the Itty Bitty Butterfly Punch as a bundle at a 15% savings.  Now that's something to be thankful for!

The Itty Bitty Butterfly punch came in handy for this cute card.  Pair butterflies with the Wildflower Meadow embossing folder (I even used the de-bossed side sometimes) and sentiments from Fabulous Phrases, add a few pearls and you have before you this lovely card.  I think I used 9 or 10 different colours to create this little beauty.  But my favourites are the Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo and Perfect Plum variants.  And I am going to repeat it (for those who haven't heard me say it before) - *nothing* makes it easier to get perfect placement for your pearls, even the little teeny tiny ones, than the Paper Piercing Tool from Stampin' Up!.  This little baby has saved my sanity on more than one occasion!

I am truly thankful that butterflies make it so easy to create gorgeous thank you cards!  Each month I make between 40 and 100 thank you cards.  I have LOTS of reasons to be thankful and so many people who deserve thank you cards.  But I am sure you can understand that I need cards that are fairly quick and easy to produce.  Both of my choices this month fit that bill.  

See my second card?  

Silver Encore ink for the Flowering Flourishes, paired with the Feel Goods sentiment and some Bitty Butterflies again, and you have a card that is just perfect for saying just what you need it to - without taking too long to create!   Once again I tried at least a dozen colours to see which ones would create the cutest cards and I have to say, there were LOTS of winners!  I really liked the Real Red.  And the Bermuda Bay.  And the Elegant Eggplant.  And the Island Indigo.  And I could go on and on but I think you get the message....





 
Speaking of "get the message", did you hear?  

I have my birthday coming up next week, and so I am offering a special birthday promotion.  This is a personal special available only through me, but available to ANYONE in Canada.  From Oct 1 - Oct 7, on any order of $60 or more, I will pay the shipping and handling fees*.  That's right, s&h to be paid by yours truly, as my birthday gift to all of you.  (*regular HST fees still apply)

Make your wish list and contact me and we'll make sure my birthday celebration makes both of us happy!

Hope your weekend has been wonderful!  And hope you are looking forward to a wonderful week ahead!

God Bless,    ~Cynthia   <><

Just a Little Change - World Treasures

I was blessed and honoured at the recent Stampin' Up! Convention to get to share a bit with fellow demonstrators about Earning the Incentive Trip.  And part of what I mentioned included the fact that there are some downright brilliant and creative demonstrators out there who post gorgeous cards on their blog sites.  And the rest of us needn't always re-invent the wheel.  As long as you acknowledge where you got your inspiration, it is ok to CASE (copy and share everywhere) other people's work.  In fact, I would argue that most demonstrators who publish their works online expect to be CASEd sometimes.  Imitation is a form of flattery after all.

With this in mind, over the next little while I will share some CASE cards with you.  I came back from Convention and have been unbelievably busy with family vacations (Family Camp then my brother's cottage), family birthdays, family illness (!!) and my own classes and home parties.  So I just haven't had the energy or mojo to create from nothingness.  And that's where CASing comes in handy!

Today's instalment uses a beautiful new stamp set called "World Treasures.".   Michelle Reynolds published a beautiful (and easy) card using the flower image which I copied here:

I then used the peacock image from the same stamp set and the same card layout and colours to create a similar card.  Virtually the same card.  With a twist.  See?

Supply List
Stamps - World Treasures, Fabulous Phrases
Paper - Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Floral District DSP
Ink - Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade and Rich Razzleberry Markers
Tools and Accessories - Elegant Butterfly Punch, 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Rich Razzleberry Ribbon
 
There are so many wonderful ideas out there already....go ahead and use some of them.  Copy them (and acknowledge it!).  Or use them for inspiration and as a jumping off point to create something "similar but different".


Don't forget SU! is having a HUGE sale on Fabric and a fun Hallowe'en project incentive if you wish to join the SU! team (see both posts below).  And stay tuned - I will be announcing my holiday shares of ribbon and embellishments in the next few days and you'll want to get in on those for sure!  In the meantime, hope your weekend was wonderful and your week is starting off spectacularly!
God Bless,    ~Cynthia      <><

Quick and Easy Birthday

A friend (and customer) of mine celebrated her birthday on Monday and I wanted to make her a card to let her know how special she is to me.  Although it arrived to her late (so sorry M) I know she understands that I was thinking of her on the right day.

Supply List
Stamps - Pennant Parade, Fabulous Phrases, Friendly Phrases
Paper - Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette
Ink - Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Crumb Cake
Big Shot -  Square Lattice EF, Fancy Fan EF
Tools and Accessories - Pennant Punch, Cupcake Punch, Rhinestones


I have to admit, my inspiration came from Stampin' Up! demonstrator Heather Klump, who admitted that she took her own inspiration from somewhere altogether different again...but then again, CASEing (copy and share everywhere) is the finest form of flattery in the card-world!


Hope your day was terrific Monique!  The sentiment says it all -- "You are simply wonderful".  And I hope you had the happiest of birthdays.


Today on the other hand, is my wonderful, wonderful mother-in-law's birthday and I have made a very special card for her.  I won't post it "just in case" she visits my blog.  But tomorrow I will show you what I made!  I have been blessed with a terrific mother-in-law whom I adore and I know how very lucky I am!!  She is my friend as well as my MIL.  It doesn't get any better than that!   :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.   
God Bless,      ~Cynthia      <><

Betsy's Blossoms Thank You

Happy Saturday friends!

My various Betsy's Blossom Thank Yous

Itty Banner Framelit Banner

 I wanted to show you some of the quick and lovely Thank You cards I have been creating with Betsy's Blossoms.



Stamps - Betsy's Blossoms, Fabulous Phrases
Paper - Whisper White, Marina Mist
Ink - Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse
Accessories - Itty Banners Framelits, Large Oval Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds

Large Oval Frame

Itty Banner Framelit Frame

Decorative Label (altered) frame

I tried various means to frame my sentiment and to be honest, I cannot decide which one I prefer.  Every card has its own personality and I can't decide which style I like best.  That's where you come in.  Go ahead and leave me a comment to let me know which frame style you prefer.

Hope everyone has a spectaclar weekend!    God Bless,      ~Cynthia    <><.

Two Minute Tuesday - Elements of Style

Hi Friends
I have been very delinquent in posting regularly this past while but I really am hoping to get back into the swing of things over the next little bit.  Especially since the new catalogue has so many lovely products that I am dying to use.  My own vast (!!) box of new goodies is due Thursday (fingers crossed) and I can assure you that when they arrive, there are quite a number of stamps just dying to get inky.  But until my new treasures arrive, here is a Two-Minute Tuesday for you....

Supply List
Stamps - Elements of Style, Fabulous Phrases
Paper - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise
Ink - Midnight Muse, Tempting Turquoise
Big Shot -  Itty Banners Framelits
Tools and Accessories - Two-Way Glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals


So what do you think?  Pretty quick and simple, huh?  And much as I love the new 2012-14 In Colours (I used Midnight Muse for the sentiment), Tempting Turquoise is still one of those colours that calls out to me.  I just love how bright and cheerful it is!

And for all of you in the Ottawa area....I am having my New Catalogue Kick-Off Party and BOGO event (Buy One, Get One) on Monday, June 18th here in Ottawa.  Cards to make, Door Prizes to win, Retired products to buy and new products to be ordered - what could be better?  E-mail me if you'd like to attend so I'll know to have your projects ready for you.  It is goign to be a BLAST!  Hope you can join me.

Until then, have a wonderful day and God Bless,      ~Cynthia    <><