Why Did I Buy This Swap Card

I joined a swap recently on SCS. The theme was to use products that you had in your stash for more than one year and had never touched. I have plenty of those! I found this Imagination Station paper in Cayenne, Pic-nicky and Tomato Soup and paired it with some Kiwi Kiss cs. Ok, I have used the Kiwi Kiss before, but I have never inked up this stamp or used these embroidery floss colors. The eyelets were also deep in the stash, and I found the little Thank You stamp in a binder I have of dollar stamps.

The layout is from OWH Stars and Stamps blog. I was skeptical about this card as I was putting it together, but in the end I like it! Thanks for looking!

I Am A Stamping Sloth

I have done nothing all week! The challenges are piling up, and I've just been tired and frustrated and missing my mojo! But here are the fall swaps that my SBS 12 sisters created. They are truly gorgeous :)

From Rachel W (UK):

From Rachel W (US):

From Elisabeth:

Mine:

We are in the midst of a Christmas ATC swap (which I have yet to complete!), so look out for more gorgeous creations from my Sisters! Thanks for looking.

Girlfriend's Day Swap Cards

My SBS sisters recently had a swap for Girlfriend's Day, which is this Friday, August 1. Here are the fantastic cards that each participant received:

From Elisabeth:

From Rachel

From Me:

Next, let me say that I love the color combination in Rachel's card. Her main panel has paisley, flowers, swirls and other girly images in the same color combination. Nice job! And the swirl clip detail on the ribbon is a great touch.

First, let me comment on the background paper of Elisabeth's card. I love the sparkly background and the trim that is made of velvety flowers. Very pretty! And the sentiments are perfect ;)

On my card, I used the CHF pretty pattern backgrounder and some dp from the dollar store. The pink tag is from some blog candy I won and I added the sentiment from Verve and some flowers and bling. I also added a Prima to the flower on the main image, which is Sweetybellas. The ribbon is American Crafts.

Is it Friday yet?? Yikes, what a week! I found a job posting today that is a great position, but would require either an hour commute each way or moving house. We've talked about moving house, but like our neighbors. The school district is not the best, but the taxes are lower than surrounding areas. However, the job is the next move on the career ladder if I want to continue on my professional path. So do I throw my resume into the ring anyway? When DH is back in town I guess we'll have lots to talk about!

On another note, anyone have the Carl/Bidex rotary cutter? How long should I expect a blade and cutting strip to last? I've been using mine for almost a year and it feels like the cutting strip is starting to fade in performance. Any opinions are appreciated!

Oh, and one more thing. Saturday I am hosting a Home and Garden Party at my house if any of you happen to be in this neck of the woods! All my hostess benefits will be converted into a cash donation for my Avon Walk. I'm at 65% of my fundraising goal :)

Thanks for looking!

My First ATC Swap

The sisters in my SBS12 group held an ATC swap, and I decided to jump in because I have never created one of these little treasures. Truth be told, I was a little intimidated by their mini size, but oh, it was fun to make them. Here are the group's creations:

Clockwise from upper left corner: Dawn, Rachel (USA), Rachel (UK), Me, Elisabeth. Aren't they gorgeous???

This is a closeup of Rachel's card that is a tri-fold. I love the details she put into the edges, sponging the embossing.

For mine, I used Bohemia paper, Verve stamps and some ribbon I had in my stash that I found worked perfectly with the paper.

I'll be back with more this week. It was a long day at work, but DH is heading out of town tomorrow, and that means evenings are free after DS goes to bed! Thanks for looking!

Karin's Biggest Swap Ever

Karin hosted a huge international swap a couple of weeks ago, and here are the results:

I got this great card from Saskia:

This is from Dilly:

And this is from Simone, a return for one I sent her:

Aren't these gorgeous? I love the size of the European cards. And the images and embellishments are too cute. Here is the card I sent to my 2 swap-ees. Surprise, Surprise, I used the Verve Visual set, Floral Whimsey. I layered the image panels on blue and yellow, then mounted on a pink card front. Then the whole thing is on a white card base. I used rhinestones for flower centers and finished it off with pink grosgrain.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I'll be busy getting ready for our weekend away this week, but hope to pre-schedule some posts. Thursday, we are leaving and will be without internet until Monday. I don't even know if we'll have cell phone coverage where we are headed. It's not that far out, but just remote enough. We will be camping with my brother and SIL and DS will get to play with his cousins all weekend! Should be fun, as long as the weather holds!

Thanks for looking!

Biggest Swap Ever - Card #1

I got this beautiful card in the mail from Dilly, in the Netherlands. Isn't it pretty? The colors, the ribbons, the bling-ed flowers, the pin in the bow. I love it all! See other swap cards HERE.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for looking!

Blog Candy Win and Swap Card

I was the lucky winner of the blog candy offered by
Lisa for the RAK for a Cause that Andrea held.
Here are the great Goodies that Lisa gave away: MS twill tape in taupe and chocolate colors, 2 Thank You stamps and white MS glitter. I was thrilled to receive these in the mail today and will play with them tomorrow evening!

Also in today's mail was one of the swap cards from The Stampin' Soldier blog organized by Laura. I have other to post too, but need the right light to photograph them all. The days are getting shorter and I leave before full daylight and get home after dusk these days! But this card from Sandy is amazing. We could send a card to celebrate any holiday, and she chose Elephant Appreciation Day. I love this card, Sandy! She even stamped on the inside.

I have been working on Sketch 2 for the 31 days of Angelosity but have not had much time to stamp this week. We've been packing up the kitchen. Tomorrow is Demo Day and there will be nothing left to work on for us, so I'll be back to stamping! See you tomorrow night with more goodies I received today!

Thanks for looking!