Back in the swing of things

I've been absent from my stampin' fun for entirely too long! I lost my mojo for just a bit, due to a series of life changing events, but I am happy to say I am in a really great place right now, thanks to the support of my family and friends. I'm super grateful.

I have a new job, and even though I work later than I am used to, I've been in a much happier mood. So with that, I have a card I worked very hard on for a swap. It was a Twilight themed swap. I finished the first book, am on the second and still have not seen the movie - ACK!

With that, I have pictures, although...not to pat myself on the back too hard, but the pictures don't really do the card justice I think. I was very happy with the way they turned out!

Here is the front of the card


I tried a different fold this time, still a standard sized card though. The front seal I made took 4 layers of UTEE and one of red glitter embossing powder. I really wish my camera could really capture the color and texture, it was really pretty. I tried to get a close-up but you still can't tell too much.


Here is the inside of the card - lots of work, but so worth it. I used a brayer technique I learned from Kim from Stamp-a-rama who learned it from Michelle Zindorf. I took a piece of glossy photopaper, punched out a circle and temporarily affixed it to the paper, then using a brayer I rolled Baja Breeze ink all over the paper, then I used Pacific Point around the edges with the brayer. Then with a sponge, I used Basic Gray. Then when you take off the circle piece of paper, you have a bright white moon. Then using StazOn ink in Jet Black I used the tree stamp for a cool silhouette effect. I wanted to give this a really dark and romantic feel, so I used the cursive background stamp.

Here is a close-up so you can see the quote I chose for the card. I think it's very fitting.


I am super excited to see what kinds of swaps I will receive, and I hope that whoever gets mine really enjoys it.

On a side note, I should also mention that my stamping room that I complained about earlier, is fully functional and AWESOME!  I couldn't be more ecstatic that I have my own working space now.

More to come, I'm working on some Valentine's Day cards. I got some great gifts over the holidays that I've been itching to use, among them the SU! Valentine's Bundle. (You've seen the heart punch in action already!)

I used:
Card Stock - Black (base), Riding Hood Red, White and Glossy paper
Stamps - SU! En Francais, SU! Nature Silhouettes

Sad Swapper - EDIT Grateful Swapper

So it is sad news...I sent off my Thank You Swap a long time ago and then I received an empty envelope back. :(
I guess the swaps that were going to be sent to me fell out of the envelope, but now there's nothing that can be done. Wish that there was though. ..::sigh::..

EDIT
I would like to share some news on this matter. My swap hostess felt bad that I didn't get my swap and she decided to send me some of her own. I was really touched that she chose to, since essentially it wasn't either one of our faults that things didn't get to the final destination. But I am super appreciative and it really says so much about why I care so much about stamping - the community shows me that even if life doesn't go as you expect, there are people out there that care and are willing to go above and beyond to remind us of that. That is why I like making cards and giftables, and am proud to be a part of the stamping community. Thank you to ChicagoGirl on SCS - for being a sweet hostess.