Another Sneak Peak - An Italian Christmas

Hello Friends

We had our team Christmas Party yesterday and it was an absolute blast!  Have I taken the opportunity to tell you how much I love and appreciate the ladies I get to work with?  Because if I haven't, now is as good a time as any!  These ladies ROCK!

I wanted to give my downline a chance to play with some of the new Spring catalogue products, but I also needed to keep the "Christmas theme" in the air....so.....remember last post when I promised you I would try to do something Christmas-sy with my new toys?........I used so many new products on this card, I started to lose count.  But here is the Christmas card I came up with:

I used the wonderful new Fringe Scissors to give my Real Red, Whisper White and Gumball Green edging some extra oomph!  The Angled Tag Topper Punch gave both ends of my stamped strip some extra character.  And I looped the luscious new Silver Baker's Twine through the top and bottom tag holes to anchor this strip to the card.  Then there is the Christmas tree image...believe it or not, from a new stamp set.  "Life In the Forest" includes all sorts of cute critter images, and also has these pines - which double quite nicely as Christmas trees if you ask me. 

So, all in all that comes to 4, yes, FOUR new Spring catalogue products used on a card that is still undoubtedly a Christmas card!  (It was pointed out to me, however, that the card also looks somewhat like the uniform for the Italian soccer team.  Can I help it if those Italians are always in the Christmas spirit??).

In addition to this card, my friends each got to make one of the gorgeous ornaments from the Festive Flurry Ornament set (order yours today!), along with 3 other really fun projects, my favourite of which I hope to show you tomorrow.  They brought wonderful food to share (I do love a good potluck!) and I think everyone went home happy!  But for right now....I am going to get busy and spend a bit of time making some of the many cards that I need to send out!

Speaking of getting busy - don't forget to register for Inspiration Stamp Day - Spring Edition (Jan 11, 2014).  We'll be making 20 different cards using fun new products from the Spring catalogue.  This is an event you won't want to miss!  Hurry and register before Dec 31 to get the Early Bird Pricing!

Back to the business at hand -- I am going to get busy now.  
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  God Bless you all.    ~Cynthia        <><

Fast & Fabulous Friday - Christmas Stampers Dozen Cards

 Hello Friends,

I am holding a Christmas Stamper's Dozen class later today, using the Christmas Banner Accessory kit to create a dozen beautiful cards.  And I realized that each and every one of these cards qualifies as a Fast & Fabulous card!!  Every single one of them.  Honest!  The 12 take no time at all to create.  And are they gorgeous?  Completely and absolutely!!  Take a look for yourself!  

 (My thank you to Krista Frattin who created these designs)

I am offering this class again on Sunday evening (Nov 24) and the following Saturday afternoon (Nov 30) for those of you who may be interested (see Upcoming Classes).  I am also going to offer this as a Class-To-Go, so if you are interested in these cards but cannot make it to my home for a class, contact me and I can send you the details! 

All right then....No time for idle chit chat - I have lots of work to do. But do let me know if you are interested in obtaining one of these kits as a class-to-go.  

You will love making them.  They truly are Fast.  And Fabulous!!

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

• Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit
• Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad
• Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
• Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad
• Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

Fast and Fabulous Friday - Merry Mini Punches

Hello Dear Friends

Ready to see some cards that are so quick to make, I almost feel 'guilty' claiming them as hand-made?

I used several products that people either don't realize we sell at all, or products from the CarryOver list from last year - meaning they are still available to purchase, but they do not appear in any current catalogue.   And despite using some 'obscure' or lesser known products, I managed to create arguably the quickest cards I have ever created in my life!  Thanks to Julie Davison for the idea!





Moving on then -- These cute little cards are fast for many reasons:

1)  I used the notecards that Stampin' Up! sells so I didn't even have to cut or score my cardstock.  These notecards are a wonderful and often-neglected item in the catalogue (go on and admit it....you didn't even *know* we had notecards, did you?!?).  And with 20 cards and 20 envelopes for $7.50, they are a bargain!









2)  The only stamping I did was the sentiment from More Merry Messages.  And I stamped that in Real Red or Gumball Green or Crushed Curry, depending on which punch I decided to use.  (So glad More Merry Messages carried over from last year.  This is my go-to set for Christmas sentiments).

3)  Okay then...FIRST punch the star or tree or bulb using the Merry Mini Punch pack, THEN punch the 1" square around it (so much easier to centre the punched void this way!).  Mount this on a postage punched piece of coloured cardstock and voila.

I told you it didn't take long to make.  Add on 10 seconds more for the placement of a rhinestone, and the card is complete!

I used a variation of this to produce an easy peasy Thank You card too.  The sentiment from Lots of Thanks was stamped using Raspberry Ripple ink.  Cut this out using the one inch square punch, then use coloured paper and the postage stamp punch, a few ribbon bits and some bling and Ta Da....we're done!

Glad this was so Fast to make since I have too much to do today to linger too long on card-making.  I will see about my reality jobs now.  As for you my friends.....I hope you enjoy a terrific day and a wonderful weekend!!   ~God Bless,    ~Cynthia   <><

Super Easy Ribbon Ornament Card

Okay.  Four kids in school this morning (3 at the High School, Grades 7, 9 and 10 - and my youngest as the last one remaining at the Elementary School - Gr 5).  Met a friend for coffee at Tim Horton's.  And now I needed to make a quick card for today's post.  This card is a lot like yesterday's card - but with a Christmas flair.  And it was so very quick and easy to make!!  Love, love, LOVE the stitched satin ribbon that Stampin' Up! is giving away FREE during September!

Supply List
Stamps - More Merry Messages
Paper - Very Vanilla
Ink - Midnight Muse
Big Shot -  Delicate Designs EF, Holiday Ornaments Framelits
Tools and Accessories - Midnight Muse and Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin Ribbon, dimensionals



I love how easy it was to make that adorable ornament.  I just used yesterday's method, with a different window shape cut into the top piece of cardstock.  I added the small knot of ribbon at the top of the ornament because it was "missing something".  Then I decided to do something easy to "step up" this card.

First on the agenda - add glitter.  Dazzling Diamonds added to the embossed edges of the card (using a 2-way glue pen) add that little bit of festive flair.  Glitter and Christmas just seem to go together....don't you think?  It might not be super-obvious in the photo, but oh how that Dazzling Diamonds glitter does sparkle and shine!

Next Up:  Add bling.  It is so easy to add bling exactly where you want it using the self-adhesive Basic Rhinestones from Stampin' Up!  And since the package comes with 3 lines of rhinestones that are already attached together, it is easy to add lines across a card, like the ones on this ornament!







So tell me.  What do you think?  Do you prefer the card as the original?  With the glitter?  Or stepped up even further with the bling?




Hope everyone is enjoying their first day of school. 
I'll have 4 excited (and hopefully ecstatic?) kids arriving home in just a few hours.  I can't wait to hear all the first-day-of-school stories!






Happy Stamping and God Bless,     ~Cynthia     <><