The First Sacramento Area Shoebox Card Swap

Saturday, April 18th, 15 ladies from around the Sacramento area gathered at the home of Candace in Rancho Cordova for the first shoebox card swap. Unfortunately, a few ladies that signed up could not make it. We had a great time, putting cards together, eating and getting to know each other.

A majority of the ladies are Stampin Up demonstrators and are members on SplitcoastStampers, an online website for stampers and other paper crafters. A few brought friends.

Each lady was to make up a sample card, bring enough kits for each lady attending to make their card and it was to be brought in a shoebox or basket. Then at the swap we assembled the cards. Here is a picture of those attending. I don't remember the names of 3 of the ladies; I will introduce you to the others. Not in this picture are the hostess Candace (she went to get a neighbor to take a picture of us) and myself.

Note: If you click on each picture, you will be able to see the picture a lot better. I just found this out myself. :)

In the front row, left to right is Twila from Esparto (she has lost over 100 lbs), Deb from Elk Grove (we have the same last name), and Renee from Woodland. Behind Twila is Jo from Elk Grove. Behind Jo is Nancy from Woodland (she is a friend of Renee's and she rode in to Sacramento with Twila and Renee), then Meg from Folsom. In the next row is left to right Julie and Connie (she's Jo's friend). In the next row left to right is Michelle (my friend) and Kimberly. I don't remember the names of the last 3 ladies. Everyone pictured are SU demonstrators except for Jo, Connie, Michelle and myself. Candace (not pictured) is also a demonstrator.

The first project we did is Jo's contribution. It is a little bag made with SU products. A small paper bag in the middle has some sample lotions in it. The ribbon tying the handles together is a yellow stripe with a piece of light blue tied around it. Here's a side view of it.

This is Deb's contribution. A very nice 4th of July card. Stickles were put on the flame from the firecracker. A red brad was used to dot the "i" in America. Love this card! Deb and her husband have a design studio in their home working with glass and beads. She is doing the next swap at her home.

Here is a side view of the inside of the card.

I don't remember the name of the person who did this card. I finished this card at home. I couldn't get the ribbon to work like it was suppose to so when I got home I cut a piece of it and taped it around the middle of the butterfly. Then I took the other piece and tied it around to try and make the butterfly's antennae. Not sure it works or not. Loved the paper used for the butterfly.

This next card is Candace's contribution. I finished this one at home too. I tore the bottom of the white piece and then added some ribbon. The color is a darker green, I think it looks okay. If I decide to use the card, I can stamp a sentiment on the bottom of the green piece.

This is Kimberly's contribution. A very unique card, Kimberly actually cut little squares of the two yellow papers and then adhered them to cardstock before cutting out the diecut. A few of the projects used this SU diecut. A really cute card.

I absolutely love this card. I don't remember the name of the person who made this card. I actually finished it at home. I wanted to pop up the hummingbird and sentiment layers. The colors go together so well.

This next one was made by Julie. She actually downloaded the image from a website called Papercrafter.com (I think). Another great color combination. I left the circle layers off and when I got home, I stamped a sentiment on it and then used some foam tape to adhere it. I noticed on Splitcoast this morning that Meg was asking where Julie got the image again, one of Meg's customers wanted to make the card. I haven't checked out the website yet.

I don't remember the name of the person who made this card either. I had a little bit of trouble with this one and finished it at home too. The stems had to be shortened and there are words on the stems. I messed them up so you can't see them. There was also some ribbon that was suppose to go on one of the stems, I ended up leaving it off.

This next card was made by Connie. I had trouble with this one too and yes, I finished it at home. The dp and cardstock met in the middle and then the ribbon was taped over the middle and adhered in the back. It wouldn't stay on. Thankfully I didn't royally mess it up. :)

This gatefold card was made by Renee. Love this card too. Very simple yet elegant. Renee didn't have her kits together, so those of us sitting at the same table helped her get them together.

This is Michelle's card. Some years ago she went to Pennsylvania with one of our friends from church and she made up a bunch of cards so she could send her husband a card every day. This is one of the designs she made. I really love this card, simple yet adorable! (And I'm not saying it because its Michelle). She actually stamped all those hearts and the design separating the rows of hearts. That was time consuming. She said she enjoyed herself at the swap. I'm glad, I love having her around!

Twila made this next card. This one is very nice! The lily has a shiny finish to it. I think she said she used Crystal Effects on it which gives a glossy finish.

This next one is Nancy's contribution. Very feminine and soft looking. The card is pink and white. Another favorite! She did some embossing on the white card, I'm not sure what she said she used. I don't think its a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The flower is actually 3 different pieces.

Here's Meg's card. Another pink and white card and again very soft and feminine. The butterflies are adorable. Love this card too.

These next 2 projects were things that Nancy made. Some of the girls brought things that they made. These are folders that include cards and matching envelopes. I want to try and make one of these. They look pretty simple.

And saving the best for last and as I promised, here is my card: :)

The card base is peach with a white layer that I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder on. I used a piece of designer cardstock for the peach layer and bordered it with Fiskars "threading water" punch.

I stamped the half egg shell that the chick is sitting in on the other side of the same designer cardstock I used for the peach panel and then cut it out. I used some foam tape to pop it up on the stamped image and colored everything with Copics. A very soft spring card! I love the way it turned out.

Here's a closeup of the egg.

We will be having these swaps every 2 months. The next one is the end of June and it will be a focus swap, so the hostess will pick a theme or technique and it will be a smaller group. I am hosting the August swap here at the clubhouse of our mobile home park. It will be a holiday swap, so we will do Thanksgiving, Christmas and Halloween cards.

I had a great time and looking forward to the future swaps. This has been a really long post so I hope you stuck with me to the end. :)