“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”
— Orson Welles
Almost two decades ago I was in a LiveJournal (now defunct) stamping group, and it was there that I started participating in card swaps. I loved swapping with others because it inspired me to try new techniques with my own supplies. Swappers made enough cards to share with everybody in the swap, including one for the coordinator (plus return postage). Within a couple of weeks, we all received our swaps — to either use or admire. I still have most of mine!
Since joining Stampin’ Up! last year, I’ve had several opportunities to swap with my fellow demonstrators, and like before, the swap guidelines challenge me to look at what I have in a different way, or to use something I haven’t tried yet. (Or to finally use my Pinterest boards and rediscover pins I saved for the stamp sets I have). The turnaround time is less than a week, because we include enough for return postage via USPS Priority Mail. This recent swap requirement was that we use supplies that will still be available in the new Annual Catalog, or to use new stamps sets demonstrators were able to preorder.
I chose Very Versailles because it met the swap guidelines and I couldn’t wait to use it! The card base is Crumb Cake, and layers are Whisper White, Old Olive, and Pretty Peacock. I stamped the white Stitched Nested Die in Old Olive and Soft Sea Foam with images from the stamp set. The decorative die cuts on the top layers are from the Stitched So Sweetly die set.
If you’d like to join my team and start swapping with us, please let me know in the comments!
