One of perks I love about being a demonstrator is participating in the fun events that both Stampin' Up! (the company) and our various teams sponsor. One of the events my team (Paper Dreamers) holds is a monthly card swap – usually centered around a specific theme. For this month's Card Swap I challenged everyone to create a card that could be made with $80 or less in product (not counting s/h & tax). Something a total novice stamper could make from start to finish.
Ok, so I'll bet you're already thinking, "So that's not too tough", right? You just throw in a small set of stamps, some cardstock and ink, and you could whip something up for half of that, huh? Well, noooo, not exactly….. because not only did we have to choose a versatile stamp set, but also had to consider that a new stamper would have to purchase any required tools and accessories, too. (Um, and oh yeah, don't forget that one-time purchase of acrylic blocks, if necessary – and gotta include envelopes!) Ok, so because of those restrictions we WERE permitted to assume use of ordinary household supplies such as basic scissors, pencils and rulers. But all "craft" type stuff had to come from Stampin' Up! and be included in the $80 budget.
As I expected, this turned out to be quite the challenge for those of us accustomed to just pulling out whatever we have in our craft rooms. In fact, it may have been the toughest swap challenge I've ever proposed. (Based on the numbers of questions that arose while everyone was working on their designs.) But in the end, our swappers came through with flying colors and turned in amazing results! I'm super, duper proud of those who accepted this challenge!
Now personally, I got kind of excited about the whole concept and didn't stop at just 1 design; in fact, as long as I was in that $80 mode, I made 3. (But then if you know me at all, you already assumed that, huh?) And then once the swap cards arrived I put together a display of several of them so you'll be able to see that at my next gig.
Here's one similar to what I included in the swap; it squeaks in at just under the limit – at $79.60 in product – and yields 20 cards with envelopes.
For my design I knew I really wanted to simulate the effect of layers of cardstock, but the budget wasn't up for allowing multiple colors of real cardstock. So I called on one of my "go to" techniques: adding color to white cardstock with a dauber or sponge. (In this case, I used 2 of the 5 daubers in a package: one for Daffodil Delight and the other for Rich Razzleberry.)
And I do love the versatility of that Painted Petals stamp set, so naturally the next card in this $80 series featured that, too.
And hey! Before I close out today, just wanted to remind y'all that the list of retiring products is due out tomorrow (Tuesday, April 21). So that means that TODAY is the best day to grab those "gotta have" items that may still be on your wish list, because once they get published to "THE LIST", the most popular ones are prone to selling out in a flash! So take a few moments today to review your wish list (especially regarding ribbons & trims, punches, Project Life by Stampin' Up!® and anything in the 2013 – 2015 In-Colors) and seriously consider ordering them today!
Product List
|
|
|
|
