Swapping and Stepping!!

I have been so busy working on 5 different cards for swaps that I am in!  I’m not complaining as it is time to create in my Happy Place (the studio!).  I wanted to share one of those cards with you today, and you will get to see others in the future as well-

What is Swapping and Stepping you ask??

Swapping is one of my favorite parts about Stampin’ Up!  A swap is when one person makes a set number of the same card and then swaps with that number of different people so that they end up with that number of different cards!  So for this swap, I made 25 of the same card and will get back 25 different cards in return…make sense?  It is a fabulous way to get new ideas and see all kinds of creativity!  Stepping refers to “stepping it up” which is a way of adding more techniques or embellishments to a project to make it more complex.  It is adding those things that are a little extra to make it really special!

On to the card!

The first stamp set to catch my eye in the new Annual Catalog was the Gorgeous Posies set.  Mainly because it was designed for the Gorgeous Posies Project Kit which is in all shades of PURPLE!!  And that happens to be my favorite color.  (You can see the kit HERE)  For the Creative Stampers swap coordinated by Beth Olsen for my Nana-upline Jill Olsen, I challenged myself to use this set outside of the kit.  Continuing to flip through the catalog, I found a sample on page 115 that inspired me.  Here is my basic first draft and a great example of Simple Stamping using just stamps, ink, and paper-

I really loved the soft feel of Soft Sea Foam, So Saffron, and Pear Pizzazz together.  Now it was time to step it up a bit, so I used some dies and a punch.  The dies I chose were the scallop border from the Peony set and a butterfly from the Butterfly Beauty set.  I cut my Soft Sea Foam strip to 3/4″ by 4 1/8″ and used the new Lovely Labels Pick a Punch to punch both ends before stamping.  Note that I used Wink of Stella on the flower centers and the butterfly for some soft sparkle-

But of course I couldn’t stop there!  Playing off of the scallops I had going on, I pulled out one of the new Square Vellum Doilies and “pounced” my Pear Pizzazz ink pad over it.  After it was dry, I cut it into a strip that I adhered behind the sentiment piece.  I also inked up a piece of vellum cardstock and cut it with a different butterfly from the same dies.  And for more sparkle, I added some Gold Glitter Enamel Dots.  Here is the final result-

My final swap card ended up being a mix of the last two versions.  That is part of the fun of papercrafting and working with Stampin’ Up!’s amazing products!  There are so many possibilities.

I hope you enjoyed my stepping up adventure.  Please let me know what you think with a comment below!  Until next time,

Rubber Hugs and Happy Stamping!