Job #1 Meet Job #2

Hello Stamper Friends

I had so much fun tonight - because I got to use my "Creative Job' to help with my "Regular Job".  You see, tomorrow night there are 3 different couples that my boss needs to thank, and as the Executive Assistant, it fell to me to purchase the bottles of wine that will be gifted to our hosts.

I decided to go one step further.  Each recipient will receive a hand-made Thank you card with their bottle of wine.  And notice the cute little wine tags on the neck of the bottles?  I had a blast tonight combining various shades and textures of gold so that these tags would be just right for the bottles (and the people) they were created for.

I can see how Job #1 and Job #2 might overlap a wee tiny little bit sometimes, don't you?

At any rate, I'll be back tomorrow to fill you in on the specifics - but for now, I wanted you to have first crack at seeing what fun I had last night!

Wine Bottle Tag #1

Wine Bottle Tag #2

Wine Bottle Tag #3

Hope everyone is looking forward to a glorious day!     ~God Bless,      ~Cynthia   <><  














Product List

127885	124917	132622
127812	135846	132975
132983	132094	126966
101849

Thankful Thursday - Colleagues and Friends

Hello Friends

Thankful Thursday and today I want to send a shout out to the Stampin' Up! family of friends and colleagues who help me, support me and inspire me.  

In particular, I have an awesome downline - and a spectacular upline!  And tonight I get to meet with many of them -  Ladies who inspire me and challenge me.  Each of them brings something different and special to our meetings and I am so looking forward to spending some crafting time with them!

I designed this card to share with them.  And to teach them a few little tips and tricks that they might not already know.  I'll share these tips and tricks with all of you too!  But for now, I am going to make this short and simple and just keep it about being Thankful.

So to all of my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators, upline, downline, sideline and everyone else - thanks for your inspiration.  thanks for your support and encouragement.  And thanks for your friendship!

And pretty much the same to all of you.  For so many reasons - Thank You!
God Bless,     ~Cynthia   <><

Product List
Stamp : Perfectly Penned - Clear-Mount Stamp [122892]
Ink : Versamark Pad [102283]
Card Stock : Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [100730] , Gold Foil Sheets [132622] , Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum [133363]
Tools & Adhesive : Heat Tool [129053] , Simply Pressed Clay [130685]
Punch : Scalloped Tag Topper Punch [133324] , Elegant Butterfly Punch [127526] , Bitty Butterfly Punch [129406]
Ribbon & Trim : Gold Sequin Trim [132983] , Buttons Blossoms Simply Pressed Clay Molds [131272]
Accessory : Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder [109129] , Gold Baker's Twine [132975]
Big Shot : Chalk Talk Framelits Dies [129983] , Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die [119976]

My Gold Contribution (In Honour of the Olympics)

Hello Friends

Canadian athletes have performed very well at these 2014 Olympics - and they've done so with such class and dignity that it makes me awfully proud!!  In particular, the last few days have brought so much gold into our Olympic repertoire (Women's Curling, Men's Curling, Women's Hockey, Men's Hockey) that I just *had* to show you my own gold today!!





I was asked to donate an item for a Silent Auction to be held for a fundraiser here in Ottawa and this is what I came up with (inspired partly by Janet Wakeland and her innovative ideas).  I wrapped our gorgeous new gold vellum around flameless candles and topped these with Vanilla and Gold Paper Roses to create an elegant table decor trio.

Close-Up of Paper Roses on Largest (and smallest) Pillar Candles

Close-Up of Decorations on Medium Candle

I love that with the new generation flameless candles, the candles look and feel like real wax, the flames flicker, and there is even a timer so that you don't have to turn them off or on manually!

Next - I rolled a large assortment of vanilla, cherry cobbler and crumb cake roses and glued these to a styrofoam base to make a stunning rose tree.  A dusting of our gold glitter on the roses makes this tree an absolutely breathtaking and eye-catching table decoration!

I will admit, it took a few more roses to completely cover the styrofoam than I anticipated when I started.  
But since:

a) I cut 4 pieces of cardstock at a time with the Spiral Flower Die and the Big Shot and

b)  I can get 6 roses from each 8.5x11 inch piece of cardstock and

c)  I rolled most of the flowers while watching the Olympics with my family

...well you can see that making the tree was actually reasonably economical and did not take as much time as it "looks like" it might have taken!

Not to mention the fact that it was fun.  And terribly satisfying.  Once it was completed and I saw how stunning it was, I knew I'd have to make a second one to keep here at home!

Brushed-Pewter Picture Frame with Paper Roses

Then I adhered some of the leftover roses to a brushed-pewter-toned picture frame to create the perfect addition to the decor ensemble.





Lastly, I made up a set of 12 note cards to complete the gift and add a practical aspect to the otherwise decorative collection.

Silent Auction Prize - Decorated Frame, Flameless Candles, Rose Tree and Note Card Set

I am so very pleased with the way this collection came together.  The prize includes some coupons, a free class for the recipient and a free Private Card Class for 4, but these decorative items are the bit that had me grinning from ear to ear.   I love how they turned out, don't you?  And with all that gold paper and gold glitter, I feel truly like I shared some of the Olympic golden moments with the rest of Canada.

I hope the recipient enjoys receiving these items as much as I did making them.  Tune in tomorrow for a quick video on how to make the rolled roses in a flash!  Till then, hope you enjoyed a spectacular weekend with lots of your own "golden" moments!

God Bless,     ~Cynthia      <><

Thankful Thursday - Chauffeur No-More!

Howdy Howdy Howdy Friends

Thankful Thursday today is all about being thankful for the little things.  Like my 16 yr old getting her driver's license last week.  Because it wasn't until she drove her sisters and brother to Youth Group at the church that same night - while Dad and I stayed home, comfortable on the couch - that I realized just how much driving I have done over the last dozen years or so.  

Four kids.  
One vehicle.  
You do the math.

To be honest, I am equally thankful that my daughter is a good driver.  A very good driver.  Hence us giving her the car just hours after she passed her driving test.  We trust her.  And she appreciates that trust.  We've been pretty blessed with all our kids.  But that is an entire years'-worth of Thankful Thursdays for another time.

So for now - I am just thankful that for both of the last 2 nights, when I had club ladies here creating up a storm in my basement, I didn't have to be the one driving my kids out and about to the places they needed to be.  Darling daughter had it all under control.  And I got to just teach and ink and glue and cut in peace. 

Thankful?  Who me?  You betcha!!

So who actually gets this Thank You card?   Hmmm.   Daughter?   Driving Instructor?  Driving Examiner?  All of the above - or none of the above?  Could be that this is just one for my stash.  But the gratitude I feel to all those people who contributed to this outcome so that I have just a bit more freedom than I had before......well I kid you not, I am thankful indeed!

Hope everyone has a chance to focus on all the things they are thankful for, be they big or small.  And that you feel blessed beyond compare!  Have a lovely day and God Bless,    ~Cynthia     <><

• Yippee-Skippee! Wood-mount Stamp Set
• Yippee-Skippee! Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper
• Label Card Thinlits Die
• Gold Baker's Twine
• 1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon
• Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die
• Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad
• Baked Brown Sugar 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Tangerine Tango 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Coastal Cabana 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Stamping Sponges
• Stampin' Dimensionals

A Different Angle - Peaceful Petals

Hi Friends

Ever notice that when you find a nice, flowery stamp set, you feel locked into a type and cannot get past the flowers to think outside the box?  I was in that mode with Peaceful Petals.  Love, love, LOVE the set....but only saw girlie cards.

Until I tried.

Here's a card using just the leaves from amongst those stamp images, in green and gold tones. And I must say, it looks completely different from every other card I've made using that set.

What do you think?  Surprised it was Peaceful Petals, weren't you?!

I've got a few more Peaceful Petals cards to show you over the next little while (but they are more along the lines of what you might be expecting....) .  And they'll all use a quick and cool little technique that I've been playing with quite a bit lately.

But until then, I will keep this short and sweet.  Feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this particular Peaceful Petals card - and come back soon to see its sister cards.

Hope you all have a terrific weekend!   God Bless,      ~Cynthia    <><

• Peaceful Petals [wood]
• Peaceful Petals [clear]
• Always Artichoke 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Always Artichoke Classic Stampin' Pad
• Naturals Ivory 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Gold Baker's Twine
• Aqua Painter
• Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die
• Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

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