Summer Card Swapping!

One of the fun things about Stampin' Up! is being able to live my values which corresponds pretty handily to SU's "inspire, create, share". I love sharing knowledge (even in my day job!), I enjoy a creative and colour ful life and I love taking in inspiration from others and sending it back out into the world.

I haven't done a team swap--or even a group swap--in forever, so I jumped at the chance back in May to sign up for one. Swaps are a great way to try a new technique or use up some supplies and the theme for my swap was use your oldest, uninked set that's still in the current catalogue..

Challenge accepted! It turned out my oldest, uninked and still current set was Jar of Flowers which also has a matching punch. I had to sneak a sentiment from another set as Jar of Flowers does not contain any. While I sketched the card to be horizontal, it would have been much easier to create it vertically. Once the flowers go on top of the jar, it's easy to run out of space. I made four of each flower for some variety.

It took a while to patiently wait for the other swaps to come in and each one was a delight to receive! Thanks gals!

And the last card came in after I made this post :-D

Don't worry, the Santa Suite blog post is coming soon!

 

January Stamping Project: 2020 Occasions Catalogue Sampler Swap

It's been a while since I did a swap--and this time it was another sampler swap. Each stamper picks a stamp set and makes five cards or papercraft items using the stamps. You don't have to use every stamp on every time. I picked French Countryside from the new 2020 Occasions Mini-Catalogue. To be honest, I didn't put much thought into my choice until I started making some sketches. Then, everything I planned went out the window!

Whereas my previous sampler swap had too many sentiments, French Countryside has no sentiments. I'll talk about each design in the order that I made them.

When in doubt, stamp it out. After I felt stuck for the first card, I stamped all over a 12x12" sheet of Purple Posy cardstock. France has a huge textile history, so I tried to make it look like antique fabric by repeating the motifs. The die cut is from Detailed Bands and the sentiment is from Butterfly Gala stamped in Pretty Peacock. I actually researched French country style for this swap and the colours tend to be very neutral or distressed. I tried embossing the front panel with the Subtle embossing folder, hated it, and then just sponged on some Crumbcake ink instead.

Click on any photo for a larger view

With card number two, I went back to basics with a simple cartoon style layout. The benefit is that each stamp is highlighted on its own. It was quick to cut the Very Vanilla panels once I figured out the dimensions. The base is Gray Granite cardstock stamped in Pretty Peacock with the All Wired Up background stamp. A little pink pencil crayon over the images gave them a boost. I did some research on French countryside colours and it turns out that neutral and subtle shades are just what I needed.

Like my papercrafters, I hoard paper. It's so precious! So pretty! I found some leftover current DSP and cut them into front panels. I still didn't know what this card was going to look like, but at least doing something would help me get over my fear of a blank card. These two stamps looked great together, so again I used Pretty Peacock. Pretty Peacock pretty much goes with everything! The hello is from Free As a Bird and the dies are from the Stitched Nested Labels set. This card let me use up some more leftover cardstock with the punched leaves.

The clock started ticking on getting the swaps done, so the fourth card was super simple. No sentiments. Just the house stamped in Crumbacake ink on Very Vanilla cardstock, followed by a die cut, embossed oval frame from the Heirloom Frames Dies And 3D Embossing Folder set. This was my first time using the set and it was a little tricky. Die cut first, then emboss. Going with tone on tone or a subtle like Purple Posy worked great!

Sometimes planning interferes with action and with this final swap card I used my Stamparatus and a paper mask to create a scene. However, I needed to put a lot of work in to pull it all off. I used sponging and pencil crayon to give the background some oomph. Then I went over the stamps with a mechanical pencil to help with the contrast. Mix blue and orange and you get brown...hence my use of Terracotta Tile for the label. I'm not happy with the label - it feels big. An ornate die would have looked better, I think. Sometimes one gets a little more arty than crafty :-D

Swapping was a ton of fun. I enjoyed the sets I received in return and I'll share them another day :-)

June Stamping Projects - My Sampler Swap Cards

Whew! Enough of the mystery. You have seen the sketches for my swap cards. You have seen some of the swap cards I received! Now it's time for the big reveal! One thing you might notice is how different the final card is from the sketches. An idea scribbled at work takes a few turns once the shapes and sizes are all laid out. Click on each picture for a larger version.

Each card had a secret challenge:

1. How to make a lot of designs with just a few stamps - stamped the bird group upside down for the border.
2. Where to place the sentiment with so much going on - tuck it on the side.
3. How to fill in some empty gaps - add die cut leaves.
4.  How to make sponging easier - make a stencil with scrap cardstock!
5.  How to add a touch of class and delicateness - die cut vellum cardstock

Balmy Blue, Very Vanilla and Crumbcake cardstock

So Saffron cardstock and Petal Pink ink for the background

Crumbcake, Very Vanilla and Soft Suede cardstock

Mint Macaron cardstock and So Saffron ink

Petal Pink and Granite Gray cardstock

I made 50 cards to be on the safe side for the swap and I really enjoyed trying to come up with new ideas by using the paper and stamps in the Bird Ballad suite. Stay tuned for next month's project!

June Sampler Swap Cards

Before I show off my swap cards, let me show off some of the ones I received. It was a super fun time to meet up with the gals, trade cards and talk about the techniques we used. Remember that everyone picked a set from the current catalogue and made five different designs, one for everybody in the swap. Click on any of the pictures to see the larger version.