Swaps

Recently I participated in a card swap with Alisa's group. The cards were all made with stamps from the new mini catalogue and we had two groups. I was the coordinator for the swap, for the purely selfish reason of getting to see all the creations first....yes I'm like that, comes from being the eldest of 5 kids! There were 2 groups of 6 and I was initially intending to only participate in one group, but due to one lady having to pull out, I ended up being in both groups. In the end I was really happy about it, because it meant I got twice as many lovely creations!

Now that the cards are on their way to their new homes, I thought that I would post my creations here. I think that Mad is the only one of the ladies who regularly reads my blog, so I don't think I'm spoiling any surprises (cause she's already seen them). And even if the others do lurk around, well the cards always look better IRL than in my crappy pictures!
***{ETA: I didn't mean that Mad is the only person that ever reads my blog....I know that there are a lot of you...well 5 or 6 at anyway...what I meant was of the ladies that are participating in the swaps. This edit was prompted by Kristy noting in the comments that she regularly reads my blog...I know that honey and I thank you for it!!!}

This first card was for group one:

The stamp set was "One of a Kind" and I also used the matching Boho Blossom punch. Strangely enough, the Berry Bliss DSP co-ordinates perfectly with this stamp set...actually it's not really strange at all, but rather one of the things I really like about Stampin' Up! is that a lot of the stamps, punches and papers are made to match one another, not to mention the colours in the DSP matches CS. It just makes life so much easier when you don't have to stress over finding things to match. Anyway, I've used Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate and Whisper White CS, Pomegranate and Choc Chip ink, and finished it off with a Cocoa button threaded with hemp twine. I really struggled with this one for some reason, and had made about 4 different samples before deciding on this. In the end I quite liked it....but not as much as I liked my card for the second group.This card uses my favourite stamp set of the moment, Bloomin' with Beauty. I love that pot of flowers and it's heaps of fun to colour. I've gone with in-colours for this one: Purely Pomegranate (again! can you tell I love this colour?), Wild Wasabi and River Rock for the CS and inks. The Blossom sentiment is stamped in Wasabi and the flowers are coloured with Pomegranate, the leaves Wasabi and the pot in River Rock using the aqua painter and ink on the lid on the ink pads. There's some Pomegranate stitched ribbon and a couple of Antique Brass brads to finish it off. And look....I tore the paper again and did some distressing!!!

Hope you all have a fabulous day wherever you are! This sun is actually shining here today and so I'm feeling much more cheerful! Still have to go do some work though :(
Kristie