Mother's Day Cards

I hope everyone was able to thank that special mother, mother-in-law, stepmother, godmother and/or person who is like a mother to you. :)
My mother came here from Vietnam in the 60's as a refugee during the war. She and my father worked anywhere that would take them, and at night they would take classes to learn English. They worked very hard, and were able to eventually get great jobs working for AMD (not sure if everyone is familiar, but AMD makes computer chips and processors and other technological things like that). They were able to put a nice roof over our heads, as well as get 3 kids through college and trade schools. This is the absolute American Dream, and I know it was still a difficult road full of many sacrifices. So for that I am so grateful to such an amazing woman. (And my father, too - we'll revisit that closer to Father's Day hehe)

I made a few Mother's Day cards, mainly just 2 styles and then slight variations to them to give away and to sell (different colors, etc)

For this card I used:
Cardstock - Kraft (base), Certainly Celery and White
Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes (SU!) and a random sentiment one I got at Hobby Lobby
Inks - So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink

For this card I used:
Cardstock - Kraft (base), Almost Amethyst, Tea Time DSP and Very Vanilla
Stamps - Flowers in Silhouette (SU!) and a random sentiment one I got at Hobby Lobby
Inks - Almost Amethyst

My First Card Swap

I recently joined the Split Coast Stampers online community and discovered "swaps". Basically, you make 5 identical cards and swap with a group of 5 other people (or whatever number, can be 10+) that have made their own set of cards. That way you get 5 new ideas from people of all sorts of different crafting backgrounds. I was a little nervous, but I found a swap group for newbies. So this is my first attempt with a swap and here is what I came up with:

This swap was for full cards (4 1/4 x 5 1/2). The cards could be for any occasion with at least 1 stamp, 2 layers of good quality card stock, and at least one embellishment.

- I chose to use a great retired SU! set I found on ebay. There are a couple of really cute stamps in the set, so I am pretty happy with it.
- I also chose to use the Groovy Guava for the base. I had to get rid of it, because it is my least favorite color of the current "in colors". It actually doesn't look too bad with the things I paired it with, but I'd still never want it.
- I colored in the sweater with Rose Red ink and then put some Crystal Effects to give it that puffy look (which you can't see in the pic). I love very tactile effects.

And here is the final result! I kind of like it for my first swap, and it's a nice to be in a swap group with other people who are just learning like me, so I am thinking we might not be judged so harshly. I mean, I like my swap, but until I see someone else's I have no idea if it is crap or not. Hopefully it's in the "not". ;p

In this card:
Card stock - Groovy Guava (base), Summer Picnic DSP and White
Stamps - SU! Fashion Statements (retired)
Other - Very Vanilla Ribbon