Peterborough Training July 2011

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the quarterly training event held by Monica Gale and Bekka Prideaux this month.

I'd been asked to make up to 40 'swap cards' on a Christmas theme, using stamps from the current Ideas Book & Catalogue. After the initial shock of making 40 swaps wore off I got my thinking cap on and got to work. I really wanted to do something that I hadn't seen done before, and I only had one set of stamps that were specifically Christmas stamps. In the end I decided I should stick to a simple design, for ease of replication, but have the 'wow factor' by using a stamp in an original way. Then it came to me... mistletoe stamped using part of the tree stamp from the 'Hopeful Thoughts' set!

The beauty of Stampin' Write markers is that you can use them to ink up as little or as much of a stamp as you like, making partial stamping a breeze. I used my Old Olive marker and stamped onto Crumb Cake card. It looked a little bare as it was so I added white berries using the Signo Gel Pen (which is amazing on dark colours too). Voila! Instant Mistletoe...


I used Versamark to stamp the flourish from Baroque Motifs onto Concord Crush CS and then punched out a frame for my sentiment using the Decorative Label punch.The sentiment is from Contempo Christmas and I've used the markers again to colour 'Merry' in Real Red with the rest in Old Olive.

Just take a look at all the gorgeous swap cards I received in return....

They were all fab but I'd like to give a special mention to the following:-

Cutest = Carole Claxton's cheeky snowman and Sandra's (C&S Cards) super sweet candy cane mouse.

Most original = Elaine's (Sassy Stampers) wine glass charms and Jo Press' punch art choir boy.

Designs with hidden gems = Ann Willis' treat holder with xmas owl inside. I love the button fastening that is actually made of card and stamped. Last but not least, Ali Wilkins' gift card holder.

Here's a look at the inside of those last two...