You have to love technology!

I thought it would be interesting to do the Stamping Top 50 sites, just to see where I would be. Seeing as how this blog is only a few weeks old, I didn't exactly have high hopes...especially considering two of my favs are #1 and #7: Splitcoast and AmyR's blog, respectively. Yep, I came in at 343!! We'll see how that increases over the next few weeks, as I've actually already had 250 hits on this site. I wish you all would leave comments so I know who you are! Also, send me an email if you'd like to link my site on your blog, and I'll do the same!

I haven't had many opportunities to stamp this week, as I've started another class for my Master's in Education. However, I did manage two swaps last weekend that I've sent off, and can't wait to see what I get back! The first one is for my Stampin' Up upline group, and we were supposed to do a full SU swap with a Mother's Day theme and using Designer Series paper.

I had a lot of fun doing this, as I love using Versamark to essentially "create" a craft ink. To do this, you first ink your stamp in Versamark ink, then immediately ink it again in whatever color you want (here I used Cranberry Crisp, which is unavailable in Craft Ink). Then you can use whatever you want to emboss, and I used Iridescent Ice to give it a little sparkle. I sponged the edges of the flower piece and roughed it up with the Cutter Kit from SU. And I love the Recollections DS paper from SU...so I finally used all SU stuff and had to FORCE myself to not use a PaperTrey set!

Supplies all by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks

Ink: Versamark, Cranberry Crisp, Mellow Moss

Paper: Recollections Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Cranberry Crisp

Accessories: Cream Organdy Ribbon, Cutter Kit, Stampin' Sponges, Iridescent Ice EP, Eyelets

The next swap was one I found on Splitcoast, and was a Mega ATC Technique swap. I chose to do the Glitter Window, which is a very easy way to give a unique twist to any card. To do this, all you need is white cardstock, glitter (I used Dazzling Diamonds by SU), packing tape, and a big punch (at least bigger than 1", unless you have stamps you can use that are small and precise). Stamp your image on the white cardstock, then color as usual. Punch a hole wherever you want the white image to pop through on your main piece of cardstock, then adhere the packing tape to the back of the cardstock. Adhere the white image to the back as well, then apply glitter to the front so it sticks to the packing tape. If this didn't make much sense, check out the tutorial on Splitcoast. Sometimes it makes sense in my head...and not so much on paper. :-)

Supplies all by Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Doodle That, Warm Words

Paper: Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, Barely Banana marker, Certainly Celery marker

Accessories: Celery Grosgrain, eyelets, Color spritzer tool (barely banana marker on the barely banana paper), packing tape (obviously not Stampin' Up...hee hee), Dazzling Diamonds glitter