Founders Circle Friends Swap - Three-Windowed Swap Card - the Video

Hello Friends.  

I have had a LOT of interest in this card I posted last week (see the original post HERE) and I promised you a video to show you how easy it is to produce so here you go.

Enjoy watching.  And I hope your summer is fantastic so far.  

Mine?  My summer has been SPECTACULAR!  And it is not over yet!     :)

Have a wonderful rest-of-your-weekend and God Bless,    ~Cynthia   <><

Thankful Thursday - Thankful For Family

Hello Dear Friends

Visiting my parents with 2 of my kids and enjoying being a daughter again (instead of always a wife or mother).  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being both a wife and mother.  But I know my days of being a daughter (at least an earthly one) are numbered, so time with my parents is gold!

So while I am thankful for a chance to visit my parents, I thought I'd show you this GORGEOUS thank you card I received from one of my friends the other day.  She used the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set from last year's Sale-A-Bration along with some masking, some sponging and some expert marker-colouring, to create an absolutely beautiful card!

And she said she was inspired by the pattern on a tissue box!!

I love the card Sylvie gave me.  I love even more, the wonderful sentiment inside.  It is always special to receive a hand-made card since I am only too aware of the time and effort and thoughtfulness it takes to create even a simple one.  

So thank you Sylvie.  For the gorgeous card.  For the thoughtful writing inside.  And for giving me a beautiful image to post while I am Thankful for Family, *without* me having to take time away from my family time to create a card!!!   :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far.    God Bless you all,      ~Cynthia    <><

Dahlias Are Delightful!

Hello Friends
It is hotter than blazes here in Southern Ontario - but I am still finding time to stamp (using make-shift tools as clear blocks).  I can certainly tell you this, I am missing my new Stampin' Up! ink pads - you know, the firm foam ones!!  I guess I hadn't realized how wonderful they are until I've had to spend a week using my mother's older, felt pads.  Don't get me wrong - even old Stampin' Up! ink pads are great.  But the new firm foam ink pads are definitely superior and are the best thing on the market!

As for todays' cards, I used Melon Mambo to stamp a single Dahlia for the first card, and used a mask to stamp multiples of the Dahlia on the second, Razzleberry card.  An Aquapainter to blend the shaded petals just a bit, and voila -- gorgeous cards - without too much time or difficulty!

Supply List     
Stamps - Regarding Dahlias (w130324, c130327)
Paper - Whisper White (100730)
Ink - Melon Mambo (126948), Rich Razzleberry (126950)
Tools and Accessories - Aquapainter (103954), Dimensionals (104430), Dazzling Diamonds (Melon Mambo card only) (102023)






I really love the effect of using an Aquapinter to blend the shaded petals of the Dahlias.  It reminds me of the children's paint-books we had as kids where the outlines of all the pictures are dried paint, and you just used a wet paint-brush to revive the paint and drag it into the image spaces.  Well my friends, that is essentially what I did here!  And if you are interested in doing this (and more), then join me on August 14 for a Delightful Dahlias class.  You'll get your stamp set (to keep) and some gorgeous cards - along with a few stunning techniques.  Check out my class schedule for more details, but I'll hope to see you then.


In the meantime - stay cool!!  And enjoy your weekend.    God Bless,    ~Cynthia     <><

Fast and Fabulous Inspired By Nature

Happy first-long-weekend-of-the-summer to all my Canadian friends!!  Here in Ottawa our weather is slated to be gorgeous so no one wants to be inside stamping for most of the day.  Instead, let's make some Fast and Fabulous cards so we can get outside and enjoy the weekend!

Inspired By Nature is retiring but I wanted one more chance to play with the set.  And this quickie card is just the ticket to showcase just how gorgeous this flower image is.


The sentiment was stamped at the bottom of the card and then a hill was "masked" using post-it notes.  Stampin' Write markers were used to colour directly on the flower stamp, then it was 'huffed on' (to re-activate any drying ink) and stamped.  The hill at the bottom was sponged in and clouds were sponged lightly using a scallop circle mask.  Simple and quick.  Do you know I think it took me longer to type out these directions than to make the card!  But for a quick card it is pretty effective, don't you think?


Supply List
Stamps - Inspired By Nature (retiring), Heard From the Heart (retiring)
Paper - Whisper White
Ink - Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso and Old Olive markers. Early Espresso, Old Olive and Bashful Blue ink pads
Accessories - 1 3/4" Scallop Circle (to mask the clouds), sponges, Post-it notes







I have a second card to show you too.  This was one of May's monthly club cards and it was inspired by Catherine Pooler's card here.  And believe it or not, this card actually goes together rather quickly too!  Just emboss the image and sponge around it with bright sunset colours (I took the 'brightness' off of the lace by sponging a faint bit of black ink on it).  Easy Peasy!

Supply List
Stamps - Inspired By Nature (retiring)
Paper - Whisper White, Basic Black, Crumb Cake
Ink - Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose and Rich Razzleberry Classic inks, Black Craft Ink.
Accessories - Clear embossing powder, heat gun, sponges, Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim


Trust me - this card has WOW-factor but it does not take a long time to create!   And you can change up the background colours quite easily to achieve a variety of different effects.

So how about it?  Now that you've seen these quick cards, are you "inspired" by nature too?!?

Hope everyone has a chance to enjoy their weekend.  I know I will!!

God Bless,     ~Cynthia    <><

Let's Fix That. Here's a Fixer-Upper card

Have you ever created a card and right when you thought you had it pretty much done....you did something to "ruin" it??  I have had this happen more times than I care to remember.  So today's post is devoted to "fixing" a mistake and turning lemons into lemonade.

Take this card.  I stamped the Just Believe image in Not Quite Navy onto a piece of Whisper White card stock, then masked a moon and sponged the same NQN ink all over the card.  I had it pretty much the way I liked it, then wouldn't you know it, I dripped a few drops of water onto the card.  Don't ask me how it happened.  It was stupid and does not bear repeating.
Do you see that large "bleached out" spot near the upper left of the card and the one near the centre bottom of the stems?  Man oh man I thought the whole card was ruined.  Then I had an "aha" moment.  A brainstorm.  What if I made it so that the water-droplet bleached spots were intentional?  What if I gave those bleached out spots a lot of buddies? So I flicked more water all over the card and got an assortment of water spots.  Sheer inspiration borne out of an accident! 

This is what I ended up with!  I added an embossed white panel, a little bit of tearing and distressing down the Elegant Eggplant panels, a few pearls and voila!  Not sure about you but I happen to like it.  It could have been sent to the garbage, but now this card is meant for a dear friend!
So what you think?  Was this a decent save or what?  Would you have even known it wasn't intentional if I hadn't told you?  Didn't think so!    :)

I am enjoying my visit home with family - in fact, last night I did a workshop for one of my sisters who is also part of my downline.  It was a small but wonderful group of ladies and I had a terrific time.  I always love to see the 'personal touch' each lady brings to the table.  I am constantly amazed at the way the same card can turn out so differently in different people's hands.  Their creativity often becomes a jumping off point for my own inspiration.  You'll have to check back later to see what they've inspired me to do next!

Have a wonderful week and God Bless!    ~Cynthia     <><