Category Archives: Stampin’ Retreats

Stampin’ Retreat: Dragonfly Dreams

Posted in RETIRING, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Today I want to share with you another sneak peek into our stamping retreat along with another card that our stampers made.

Here is our new stamping room, all set up and waiting for our stamping friends! Their bags are filled with all of their pre-cut projects … only a little cutting or BigShotting because this is a retreat … no stress zone!

There we go … doesn’t it look better when filled with all of these lovely ladies! I have been blessed over the past 10 retreats to have an array of wonderful stampers who join us.

Today’s project required some cutting as they learned how to do a “Step Card”.  This is one of my favorite folds because it’s so easy to do but very dramatic.

The card was created with the “Dragonfly Dreams” bundle and the “Falling in Love” Designer series paper. Our dragonfly is actually cut out of the beautiful Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper.

Don’t forget … ALL BUNDLES in the Annual Catalog and Occasions catalog will be retiring!! Even if the stamp sets carry over – the chance to save 10% will be gone.

Thank you for checking back with me, I appreciate it.

Have yourself a wonderful day!

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Here are the products I used to make my projects shown today. You can purchase these and other Stampin’ Up! products at my online store by clicking on the links below each products. Below you will find links to all the RETIRING PRODUCTS … just click on the picture.

 

2017 Annual Spring Stampin’ Retreat: Welcome

Posted in 2017 Occasions Catalog, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

I thought you might enjoy a closer look at our annual stampin’ retreats. Each year I host 2 retreats, one in the spring and one in the fall.

Our retreats were created with our stampin’ friends in mind … A true retreat, a fun and relaxing get-a-way! The lodging, food for the entire stay, and all the projects are included in your price.

The cards/ projects are all cut and ready for you … except for a few minor exceptions where we are teaching a new fold or technique.

So sit back and join me as I take you through some of our retreat. All this week I will be sharing pics of the retreat and some of the awesome swap cards that our guests made!!

This is just a shot of the decorations / welcome on the fireplace mantle …

Each of the boxes were hand made by me and the help of my granddaughter Katara. We used the Window Box Thinlits Dies along with the Tasty Treats Designer Series paper. These cute little boxes decorate the dining room until it is time to go home … then each guest gets to take one home!

On Friday night after a dinner of soups and salad … we gathered to stamp.  We tried out a new stamping area this spring and it is bigger than our last and much brighter as it has windows surrounding us on three sides! It didn’t take us long to get comfortable in here. (Wish I would have taken some extra photos … next time!)

Our cards and project were centered around the Window Shopping Bundle which features the Window Box Thinlits dies we used for the mantle gifts. This session showed them different ways to use the die pieces to create cards!

Here is a “close up” picture of our project …

We used the “Blushing Bride” glimmer paper along with the doilies (sold out) and the Falling in Love embellishments.

It was a fun evening of stamping. When the guests retired for the evening, they found a “pillow gift” containing a package of the Blushing Bride glimmer paper, the Falling in Love embellishments and the Enamel Shapes (you’ll see why tomorrow!)

Hope you enjoyed our Friday evening as much as we did.  It is a pleasure to stamp with such a wonderful group of ladies.

Thanks for stopping by today …

I hope yours is a good one!

Today’s List of Stampin’ Supplies …

 

Off to our Stampin’ Retreat!

Posted in Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

I am off to our annual Stampin’ Retreat … Spring 2017.  This is our 10th retreat and we are excited to gather with fellow stampers. We stay at a 1930’s English Tudor house …

I took this photo of the house (facing beautiful Green Lake) as the sun was setting at our last retreat.  We host one every Spring and Fall.

We’ll have a few new faces this time, it’s just a great time to gather as friends.  All the projects are cut and ready for them … no fuss, just fun!

It’s a weekend to stamp, eat, kick back and relax.

You can follow our fun and antics on my facebook page: Linda’s Stampin’ Escape

Thanks for stopping by.

See you Monday!

Star of Light Trio of Cards …

Posted in 2016 Holiday Catalog, Christmas, HOLIDAYS, Product Wow, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

First let me say “Happy Veterans Day” … a big THANK YOU to all our current and past military men and women who put their lives on the line, and those who sacrificed their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms here at home. I ❤ U.

Today I want to share 3 beautiful cards that we made at our Annual Holiday Stamping Retreat featuring one of my favorite stamp sets from the Holiday Catalog … the Star of Light stamp set and Thinlits.

At Retreat and all my stamping events …. it is my mission to show the versatility of the stamp sets or bundles. Here we went from a simple card to beautiful elegance …

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Let’s begin with the center card, created using Elegant Eggplant and Wisteria Wonder. Simple but pretty and it highlights the stamps, ink and greetings with just a touch of bling to draw your eye to the focal point of the card, the star.

The card on the left uses Pool Party and Island Indigo a fun color combination turned elegant when we sponged the background and used the Silver Foil paper for our star, topped with a beautiful die cut. (This card was cased from a fellow demonstrator) I wish the photo would have reflected the silver so you could see how stunning it really is. We also used the new Metallic Enamel Shapes on the card which works so well with the Silver Foil paper … this was one of our “All attendee Gifts”(also known as Pillow Gifts as they get a package of goodies on their beds as a Thank You for joining us)

Our last card on the right seems to be everybody’s favorite. It was really quite simple to make, but so elegant when done in Very Vanilla and Basic Black.  The Enamel Shapes were also used on this card – the package comes with both Silver and Gold.  The designer paper we used comes from the Annual Catalog called “This Christmas”. It’s a specialty designer paper because it is a little thinner than our normal designer paper… but you get more!!

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I hope you enjoyed today’s card share, I would love it if you would please “LIKE” this post at the bottom if you did, and then tell me which one is your favorite!! The key ingredients to make these cards are listed below.

Thank you for spending a part of your Friday with me …

I hope you have a marvelous day!

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Today’s Stampin’ Supply List …

 

Star of Light … Retreat Style

Posted in 2016 Holiday Catalog, Christmas, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

A little more news from our Holiday Stampin’ Retreat. Hope you don’t mind if I share a bit of our adventures …. it’s only because we wish everyone could join us.

Here are a few more of our retreat guests …

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We were set up a little different than in years past because of some renovations they are doing.

One of the stamp sets that we highlighted for our projects was the “Star of Light” stamp set and Thinlets. This was also the card that Kathie said was her husbands favorite, also the favorite of my daughters … and many at retreat.

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I saw many samples before I sat down to create my cards for retreat.  One thing I noticed was I didn’t see any samples with the inside die that I used for this card and I wanted my guests to see the full extent of what this bundle can do.

The greeting “Star of Wonder” immediately made me think of the musical notes designer paper from the “This Christmas” Specialty paper. I also maintained the basic colors for this card including the gold, however that gold star really creates the WOW factor on this card.

After our cardmaking session we broke away for lunch and were greeted by this beautiful sight …

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Amazing … It looks like the heavens are reaching out to touch us. It was a wonderful day and I really do feel blessed to be able to host such fun events for my stampin’ friends.

Let me know if you have any questions about my retreats or the card I shared with you today.

Thank you for coming to my blog today.

Have a wonderful day ~

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Stampin’ Supply List …

Although this designer paper is not included with the “Buy Three, Get One Free” special, I just wanted to give a little reminder …

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Tags for Christmas … Holiday Retreat Style

Posted in 2016 Holiday Catalog, 3-D Projects, Christmas, Holiday Retreat, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Today I’m going to share a little piece of our Holiday Retreat with you.  Much of our time is carved out for stamping, but we also reserve a little time to explore the beautiful grounds around the lake.

Yesterday I shared one of our cute little houses from the “Sweet Home” bundle … today I want to show you what they looked like adorning the fireplace in the dining room. I think they would look so cute as ornaments on a Christmas tree!

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Friday night we made some really cute “Christmas Tags” and we decked out a tin to hold all our tags in. The card was actually made on Saturday, but all the projects shown were created from our “Candy Cane Lane” product suite.

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Our Saturday morning began with a stunning sunrise … Wow. 

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The color was to vivid that is reflected onto the window of our house and turn everything a pretty shade of pink! We couldn’t of asked for a nicer weekend.

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This fall our Holiday Stampin’ Retreat not only “Sold Out” but we had to turn some away. We limit the number of guests at our retreats so we can take care of and pamper our guests better. Quality over quantity… We would be open to offering an additional retreat for your group. Our next retreat will be our 2017 Spring Retreat.

Here are a few of our stampin’ guests …

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Here is one guests comment …

Thank You again Linda for a wonderful weekend!! Everything turned out absolutely perfect. The cards are beautiful. Roger really likes them and commented on how talented you are. I thought the deer one would be his favorite but nope, his favorite was the star with the music designer paper! Shows what I know….. all the cards are just gorgeous! The food was also excellent! And the stamping group….what a nice group of ladies. As I said, everything was perfect!!!!! Please tell Eileen Thank You also! What a great team you make! Can’t wait until the spring retreat……
Many Blessings,
Kathie

Kathie is right, we were also blessed with a wonderful group of ladies. We have met some awesome people through our stamping retreats… and stamping in general!

I will be back again tomorrow with a few more pics for you.

Thanks for joining me today! Hope yours is beautiful.

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Stamping Supply List …

 

A Holiday Welcome …

Posted in 2016 Holiday Catalog, Gift Giving ideas, Holiday Retreat, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

I am back from our Annual Holiday Stampin’ Retreat. Today I have a quick post for you to share how we welcome our stampin’ guests to the Holiday Retreat!

Each of our guests has a “Name Tag” on their door that not only designates their room, but greets them as they come in. These would also make cute little place markers for a holiday dinner table.

I used the “Father Christmas” stamp set from the Holiday Catalog. The stamp set already includes the frame that I used and also has a beautiful holly branch and Santa’s bag, so it will be very versatile in your cardmaking and / or scrapbooking.

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To add a pop of color to our tag, I grabbed my “Holly Berry Happiness” bundle and stamped some holly leaves and punched them out. I’ve used this stamp set many times already … the greetings and verses are awesome!

The cute little houses were made from “Sweet Home” Bundle … I’ve seen the cutest houses made from this bundle that I just had to share with our guests.  These little houses (and we had different styles & colors) adorned the mantle in the dining room. We wanted the retreat to feel warm and inviting as they entered.

The fun part was that each guest got to pick out their favorite at the end of our retreat stay and take one home with them. It’s a token of our appreciation for being our guest and a little reminder of the fun we had this weekend and that Eileen and I are honored to share the “Holiday Retreat” home with such marvelous women.

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I’ll be sharing more about our retreat along with some photos of the awesome cards, both from the retreat and the swap cards! Let me say … these ladies are “very” talented!

Thanks for stopping by today, and please join me tomorrow to see a little more about our retreat.

Have a great day ~

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STAMPIN’ SUPPLY LIST …

 

Our 2016 Holiday Retreat …

Posted in Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Ladies ~

I am off to our annual Holiday Retreat were I host an awesome group of stampers. We stay in a 1930 English Tudor home were they enjoy cozy lodging, beautiful grounds on Green Lake, and all their meals – everything is included in the price of course.

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Also included in their price are all the stamping projects they get to do! It’s a wonderful weekend away, and I can’t wait for our guests to arrive this afternoon.

I’ll be back on Sunday to share more with you.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Fancy Fold Card: Masculine

Posted in Birthday, Stampin' Retreats, Techniques by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Welcome to my blog and welcome to the weekend! I am really excited because I am leaving tomorrow to begin my vacation / stamping getaway! While basking in the beauty of Door County Wisconsin, we will also be catching up on some stamping (I did get a few items from the new catalog pre-order … I love being a demonstrator!)

Speaking of getaways … Today’s card share comes from my 2016 Annual Spring Stamping Retreat. It was one of several masculine cards that we made. The minute I saw the “Into the Meadow” stamp set, I knew I had to have it. We will be combing a fancy fold with the watercoloring technique for a truly stunning card.

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Don’t you just love it? Although I didn’t have time on today’s blog for a full tutorial on this card, I will post one in the near future for you.

I stamped my image in StazOn onto the Thick Whisper White cardstock (you may use the watercolor paper, but we did not for this project). I used the Aqua Painters and the ink refills *colors listed below, to simply watercolor my images. Stampin’ Up! makes me look like an artist!

The “You Are Totally Awesome” comes from the stamp set “Grateful Bunch” which comes from the Occasions Catalog, which ends soon; May 31st!

The card stays nicely closed by tucking the top flap under the pretty “Antique Brad” from our Annual Catalog. This item will be retiring so if you like it … Don’t forget to place your order before they are gone for good…. May 31st.

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The brad is secured to the Marina Mist cardstock which was embossed with the “Chevron” embossing folder to give it some added texture. Our base card is Basic Black.

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As you open the flap you will see additional stamping and watercoloring (on the Thick Whisper White) The inner or top flap is mounted on the base which was covered in this cute pattern that is found in the “Cherry on Top” Designer Series Paper Stack! That is a fun pack of paper!

I love how the 2 pieces of the card interconnect folds … it’s like a note card on a big card meshed together to create one fun card!

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Keep an eye out as I will be posting a tutorial on “how to” make this style of card. Till then, I hope you enjoyed.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to stop back tomorrow to see a new card share from my Simply Sunday series and a fun announcement!

Thanks ~

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TODAY’S STAMPIN’ SUPPLY LIST …

 

 

World Traveler …

Posted in Man Cards, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Today I’d like to share with you one of the masculine cards that we made at our Spring Stampin’ Retreat. I got the idea from a couple of cards I found on Pinterest and combined them into this card!

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To create the card I used a bit of everything from the “Going Places” product suite.  I started with the Going Places cardstock pack and embossed with the World Traveler Embossing Folder.

Once we embossed the cardstock with the World Traveler … we cut it along the equator line to split the cardstock and have our Going Places Designer Paper show through. The embossed cardstock was popped up to create some fun dimension and really highlight the designer paper.

We sponged area’s on the map and compass along with the inside of our card to age it a bit.

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We then stamped our compass with the Going Global stamp set both on the Lost Lagoon and Very Vanilla cardstocks. They were punched out and layered to create even more dimension. We created a focal point by adding the “Antique Brad” into the center.

To complete the card we added our “banner” greeting with the words from the Going Global stamp set and the Banner Punch. It was a big hit at retreat!

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Thank you for joining me today …

I hope your day is blessed with kindness and beauty.

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Product Highlights for Today’s Card …

 

Masculine Card … Thinking of You

Posted in Man Cards, Stampin' Retreats, Techniques, Thinking of You / Hello Friend by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Hope this weekend finds in well and feelin’ good! I’m happy to have the day off of work so I can head down into my Stampin’ Studio and create!!

With Mother’s Day upon us, I thought I would share a masculine card and get your thinking about Father’s Day. Masculine cards are one of the most requested classes I get.

Today we will be using the “In the Meadow” stamp set and the Woodland embossing folder (will be in the upcoming catalog). This fun technique I’m about to share creates awesome dimension on your card with little effort!

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Begin with a light background … I used Soft Sky on my card. Then you will ink up your deer image and stamp it directly onto the folder. Yes, directly onto the folder. You are stamping on the area that will show the heads of the deer.

There are two ways to color your tree’s … I love white birch!! I use either the brayer with the White Craft Ink or you can use your Chalk Marker, either one works great. The brayer is faster … however, you may get some white spots on the blue area of the card.

The brown spots on the birch tree were created by using the writing tip of the marker in the recessed areas on the tree (super simple).

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I stamped an extra deer and cut out just the fawn … then I colored all the deer and added some color to the grass with a marker. The fawn is then popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it a 3-D look. The deer on the blue will color differently than the fawn stamped on white cardstock, but I love the way it darkens them and makes it look as if they really are in that forest!!

A simple greeting on a banner created with the banner punch and anchored with one of the beautiful Antique Brads (retiring) and a twist of Linen Thread complete my card.

This is one of the masculine cards that we made at our Spring Stamping Retreat. I like to share different styles, techniques and occasions at the Spring Retreat. For more information about our retreats, click on the tab at the top of my blog.

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I’d love to hear what you think about today’s card share.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, have a wonderful Saturday!

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TODAY’S STAMPIN’ SUPPLY LIST …

 

Butterfly, Blooms & Birthdays …

Posted in Birthday, Stampin' Retreats, Techniques by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Today I’d like to share one of the cards that our attendee’s made at our 2016 Annual Spring Retreat. My goal for our projects is to share different ways that you can use your stamp sets and accessories so they create a better value for you.

Today’s card truly demonstrates that goal …

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The Bloomin’ Love bundle was one of the stamp sets and accessories that we highlighted at this retreat and we used the Bloomin’ Heart Thinlits Die in a very different way! We used it as a pattern behind our butterfly!

Using the beautiful Wisteria Wonder cardstock for our card front, we cut out our butterfly shape from the Bold Butterfly Framelits, and then tucked the beautiful lace heart behind it.

(Don’t forget what I told you about bundles … current bundles will not be bundled in the upcoming catalog. Save 15% by purchasing your bundles before May 31st) Please use Hostess Code: HEESBTSZ

We embossed our birthday greeting from the stunning Rose Wonder stamp set (also has a bundle)

We also embossed the flowers which come from the Grateful Bunch stamp set (another bundle) and added them to our card. The flowers were attached at different heights by popping some up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

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Oh yes we did … we added a strip of the rhinestones to create our butterfly! Each of our flower centers also got a rhinestones! In fact, our attendee’s could add as much as they wanted because they each got a full package of rhinestones included in there projects bag.

So … did we inspire you to become creative with your framelits and thinlits? They are so much fun to play with.

Thank you for stopping by ~

Have a beautiful day!

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TODAY’S STAMPIN’ SUPPLY LIST …

 

Two for Tuesday: Stampin’ Retreat Card Swap

Posted in Birthday, Guest Stamper, Quick -n- Easy, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Today I have two beautiful cards created by two of our retreat guests! Each retreat we host a card swap/contest … they make the cards, they vote, and the winner gets a Stampin’ Up! Gift Certificate from me.

Our two retreat guests featured today, both used the Butterfly Basics stamp set. Let’s begin with Peggy K’s card – This was Peggy’s first Stampin’ Retreat of mine and she came all the way from Oklahoma!

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A simply beautiful card … I love the pop of color Peggy used by adding her blue butterfly. I’m not sure if that is Lost Lagoon but I can see she used the Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow. Fabulous color combination!

Did you know that the Butterfly Basic stamp set bundles with the Butterflies Thinlets? Remember, that even though the stamp sets and thinlets will carry over into the new catalog … they will NOT be bundled, so if you like it … purchase it before May 31st.

Our next card comes from Sandy B. and she has attended 6 of our annual retreats; both the Spring and Holiday retreats!

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Sandy also used the Butterfly Basics Stamp set and Thinlits Bundle, however her pop of color comes from the Two Step Stampin’ stamp set; Watercolor Wings. This stamp set also coordinates with the Butterfly Thinlits … gotta love the way Stampin’ Up! coordinates several different products to make our purchases a real value!

The black die cut butterfly that tops the “watercolor” butterfly is very striking and really draws the eye to the center of the card.

We love hosting the card swap at our annual retreats … everyone always goes home with extra cards with totally different styles and stamp sets.  They are a blast, and if you haven’t tried one yet, you should think about it!!

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AMD … said “I can’t believe the projects get better at each retreat! We enjoy meeting all the new people and have so much fun.”

Thanks for sharing a part of your day with me, I hope the ladies cards inspired you as much as they have inspired me! I love my job! It is all about sharing and building relationships.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

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STAMPIN’ SUPPLY HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Simply Sunday: Botanical Birthday

Posted in Birthday, Quick -n- Easy, RETIRING, Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

I’m here today with a pretty and simple card that made a big hit at our Annual Spring Stamping Retreat. Sometimes less is more, and still makes a big statement …

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Today it’s a Birthday Card, created with the Exclusive Hostess Stamp set; Happy Birthday Everyone. As a hostess stamp set … it will be retiring and gone for good at the end of May.  In fact, everything except the Mint Macaroon cardstock and inks are retiring.

Our greeting is stamped in Mint Macaroon and complimented with Cajun Craze. The colors were picked from the designer paper; Botanical Gardens. Mint Macaroon was also used for the base of our card and a banner along with a Cajun Craze banner.

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The banners were spotlighted with the pretty “Botanical Gardens Jewels” … so pretty and really adds a nice touch to the card. The entire greeting was raised with Stampin’ Dimensionals to add a bit of dimension to the card.

Sweet and Simple … this describes our card to a tee!

Thank you for joining me on this Sunday ~

Have a beautiful day!

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TODAY’S STAMPIN’ SUPPLY LIST:

 

Spring Retreat Swaps …

Posted in Stampin' Retreats by

Hello Stampin’ Friends ~

Today I’m going to share 2 of our swap cards with you, and as promised … I will show you the winner.

Our first card is from Peggy, she used the “Bear Hugs” stamp set …

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A sweet and simple card that will bring some lovin’ to anyone who receives it.

OK … while I was taking photos of my card share today, I had a little helper – my great grandson who wanted to climb up my pant legs and check out the cards close up! He loves being in my stamping studio.

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Our next card is from Linda K. She chose to use the “Flower Patch” stamp set. Oh, the flowers you can make with the images from this set! It’s got all the shapes and sizes you’ll want plus great greetings and several stems for endless possibilities.

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This is a Two-Step Stampin’ set, which gives you so many creative options–combine individual stamps to build the final image you want in the colors you want, and the card Linda created was fabulous, and our winner!

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I will be sharing more cards from our retreat and from the ladies swaps as the weeks progress. It will be fun.

Thanks much for checking out today’s blog post.

Have a great day!

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STAMP SETS USED ON SWAP CARDS …