Sale-A-Bration Swaps

I recently participated in a Sale-a-Bration Swap and just wanted to show you all the beautiful swaps and ideas I got. Ok, I don't know how to edit this any better then it is, so if anyone can lend a hand in helping me figure out how to get these pictures in and take up less space and able to put some of what I'm writing next to the pictures, please let me know. This first picture with the mirror image of the bird wasn't a Sale-a-Bration swap, but Tina added it as a bonus! It's by Michelle Zindorf. She was at our Fall Fest and taught how to do this. She is a very talented lady! the next swap is by Leslie Percival. It looks like she did Rock n' Roll, love the color! Below left is by Kelly Mahoney and right by Jen Peel.

These next 2 are by Debbie VanGieson and Donna Foster.

These two are by Chris Litchfield and Claire Lawrence. Really gotta get that DSP!

This last one is by Debby Kainu, love the bling and this new DSP in the Occasions is sparkly!

Downline Meeting

Well last night was my upline Tina Rosenkraus downline meeting. This month we talked about leadership and the exciting changes coming our way. We also had a shoebox swap. Here are the pictures of the swaps we each made. The flower to the left is by Jeannine Rubenstein and the card to the right is by Tina Rosenkraus. Jeannine also brought some show and tells that she made using the Big Shot and our die cuts, but didn't have my camera to take pics, sorry. She made head bands (die cut flowers with fabric and used a brad to attach to head band), and hair clips (also using the die cuts and the new felt pieces in the Occasions Mini) they were real cute! I had also scene a picture of someone who used the flower brads and made earrings! It was on our new Stampin' Connection, just for SU Demonstrators! It's a new way for us to be able to connect more and post our creations!

The cute little milk box was created by Debbie VanGieson and the calendar to the right was done by Louise DelVecchio. There is a magnet on the back so you can put it up on your frig! Isn't it adorable!

This cute little owl was made by Tina Rosenkraus. She copied it from our monthly Stampin' Discuss. Isn't it cute! Now I need to figure out what to do with it!

I also made a mini chipboard album, some pics below. I need to fill in some info but really happy with the way it turned out. It was a lot of fun to make! The picture to the right is the front of the album and below is just inside. That is a picture of the my grandparents on their wedding day in 1919!

The picture here to the left is me on my wedding day in 1982! Big difference!

Well I hope you enjoyed all the show and tells for today! I have some more to post but will have to wait for another day! Enjoy the rain and don't get to wet. Cyndy

January Technique Class

Well here are the other two cards from my technique class this month. This first card was a bit involved. I got this template last year from "Lets Party Hearty" and thought this would be a good one to work on. There are instructions that come with the template and they also have a video on their site. Glad I looked at the video, because there were pointers on it that weren't mentioned in the instructions and it really helped to put it together. So my suggestion is if you want to make this card, check out their site. I also used these metal sheets to make the butterfly on this card. I got the metal sheets from Marco papers, but it's made by Ten Seconds Studio. They have some really neat stuff and great tutorials, you have to also check out their site! This next card, I got the idea from Technique Junkie. It's called Medallion Window technique. It's really easy to do. You stamp your "medallion" on your cardfront, open the card and cut out your "window" from the medallion and add layers to the inside of the card. The first layer is adhered directly to the inside of the card and the additional layers you use dimensionals. I colored in the "white" parts on the card front. You can use anything you want to color in your image. I then used Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, and Gold Metallic cardstock, all from Stampin' Up! I layered the card on a piece of Brocade Blue as a base. The piece of Brocade blue in the center was stamped with the new Vintage Labels from the Sale-a-Bration catalog. So this was a FREE stamp set! And now they come so you can use them with acrylic blocks! I'm really lovin' this card, hope you do too. See you soon. Cyndy

Happy New Year!

Well the New Year has begun! Jessie has been wanting a cat for a long time and we finally were able to convince John, it was the thing to do. So "Buddy" joined our family the week before Christmas. He is such a great cat. Buddy has adapted to Jess' room and usually doesn't hide when I come in. I'm trying to get him to venture out, but want to keep the dogs at bay while he adjusts. Trigger has been very curious about this new "creature". I think Trigger thinks we got him a new toy to play with and doesn't understand why he can't play with Buddy! John also got a new pet. His is a bit larger! His name is Dakota. We adopted Dakota because the past owner was afraid to ride him because he kept on bucking every time you got on. So John has been working with him and as you can see, John is still on and Dakota hasn't once tried to buck him off! I'm glad of that! We've actually had him for a while, but it's been way too cold for me to go out and visit with him. That snow just doesn't seem to want to melt!

Well I finally got to play a bit with some of the new things I got from the Sale-a-Bration and Occasions Mini. I cased this from Splitcoast (Kristin Moore). Used the same colors (Soft Suade, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand, Whisper White), but changed the emblossing folder and used a butterfly die cut. Tried out one of the new punches (Scallop Trim Border from the Salebration). Also, just to let you know. My Technique class scheduled for this Friday is being moved to next week. It will be on Thursday at 7pm. Hope to see you there. Make sure you RSVP if you're attending! Cyndy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Hope you had a great Christmas. I just wanted to share the card I sent out to family. I have been so far behind at getting anything done this season. I didn't get my cards out until the Monday or Tuesday before Christmas! I was amazed though how quickly I got this card together! John took the picture on Saturday, I think. I got it off the camera and uploaded to Walmart and picked up the pictures, all in one day! That night I designed the card and got it all together! Jessie helped with the bubble of what Emily was saying. Hope you like the card. So beside getting my card out late, I didn't even get to bake all the cookies I usually do either. Going through menopause has really been difficult! Can't seem to stay organized and able to get things done like I used to! Well I hope you have be able to enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate. Now here comes 2010! Oh boy! Cyndy

December Technique

Well I had to reschedule my technique class again, but we finally had it! This is the side step card we made. I usually take the picture outside, but the weather hasn't been cooperating, so had to do it inside and used the flash. Well it burned it too much! The hardest part to this card is the cutting and scoring. It can be confusing, but once you get the hang of it, not too bad! We also used the embossing folder that's in the Holiday mini catalog for 3 of the ornaments. I recommend to punch the ornament out first and then run it through the embossing folder, otherwise it could get stuck in the punch! On the chocolate chip ones we used the gold shimmer paint to give it some sparkle. We also inked the other ornaments in the Classic ink then with a dauber applied the gold shimmer paint directly to the stamp and then stamped the image to give it some sparkle as well. Give it a little bit to dry before punching the image out or it can smudge.

These next 2 photos are the star ornament we made. It's not really a card, but

I've been wanting to do this for some time and this was the right time of year to do it! I tried to have the photo of it closed show first, but still figuring out how to manipulate everything! So the first photo is what it looks like when you have it open and the second is closed. This is really a very simple ornament to make. If you've ever made a "squash" book, it's the same idea. This is an origami technique and I've loved doing origami for a long time and this is a great way to bring stamping and paperfolding together!

For our third technique, it was definitely not a card! For those of you who haven't been to a technique class, I usually do cards. The techniques don't have to be done on just cards, but it's usually the easiest way to learn the technique. So this last one was another ornament using glass etching. It's really another very simple

technique, just takes a little patience and time. For this one we use the Sizzix Big Shot dies and the vinyl decor elements along with glass etching creme. If you ever try this, I would recommend putting the creme on thick. I usually this this first and then go onto to something else while the creme dries. It doesn't have to dry completely before removing, just follow the directions on the brand that you get.

Well I hoped you enjoyed the projects and can join us in January for my next class! Happy Holidays! Cyndy

December's First Snow

Well December has just begun and had our first snow storm. I got a part time job at Coldwater Creek in Chester, through a friend of mine. I had never shopped there, but after going to the store and working with all the wonderful women there. It's such a pleasant place to work and shop! Well back to my story. I had to work this weekend. They talked about snow coming but just didn't think it was going to happen. While I was at the store, the snow started to come in the afternoon. By the time I got out (4pm) there was probably a couple of inches on the ground, sticking to the roads and making a BIG mess! The drive home took a lot longer then usual. It continued to snow till about 9pm. I think we got about 4" of snow. The driveway wasn't too bad. Because of the warmer temperatures on Sunday it helped melt the snow. Thank goodness it was on the weekend and didn't have to sit in rush hour traffic! The next day, was a beautiful sunny day. I wanted to get a picture of the tree tops with the beautiful blue sky, but didn't get a chance before I had to leave for work. But John must have gotten these pictures later in the day. This is actually our 2nd snow storm for this season and it's not even winter yet!