SHOEBOX SWAP AND SOME FUN HALLOWEEN CARDS

Hi all!!! Oh, I am enjoying this long weekend!!! I did not want to do anything really but rest and stamp, and that is what I have been doing....feels sooooo good!!!! And, I wanted to share the fun time I had with my girlfriends last weekend at the shoebox swap in Sacramento - soooo worth the drive!!! We met some fabulous ladies, made some gorgeous cards, ate great food, and laughed all day - what a great way to spend a Saturday!! And, guess what??? My swap card took first place, WHOOOHOOOO!!! Yep, that's right - there were prizes for the top three and me and Kerry(my gf) took first and third with ours!!!! I got a really fun scrappy toy and Kerry got a whole package of designer paper so we were both thrilled!! This picture is us with our winning cards and our goodie bags - look at those smiles! Since we had never been to a shoebox swap before we did not know what to expect and I tell ya, these ladies outdid themselves - there was wonderful food, all the tables were nicely decorated and each place had a small goodie bag for each of us - how nice, right? The swaps were wonderful and we just had fun!! Check out these two beautiful ladies - they made this event really fabulous!! The gorgeous lady on the left is Betty and the one on the right is Candice - they are not only both very talented, but amazingly sweet and fun to be around!! We are already looking forward to the next swap in October....oh yeah, we will sooooo be there!! TONS of fun - I really needed it!! And, what better way to spend a day than with two of my favorite ladies? Kerry and Wendy are wonderful friends that I met through my SU! business and I feel soooo blessed to have them in my lives - they are truly wonderful friends!! Here are the three of us together.....we really did have a great girls day and I can't wait to do it again!! And, since I was in the mood for Halloween, I decided to share a couple more of my cards that I made with my fun new spooky sets!!! It's funny, I don't really like Halloween itself, but I love to make Halloween cards, lol!! For both of these cards I used the set Beware Pirates which I can honestly say is one of my favorites because I think it can be used for lots of different things, not just Halloween. I have all kinds of plans for this set, heehee!! I also used the Cast-a-Spell Designer Series Paper Pack for both cards, I just love all the great colors and patterns in this set! I kept the layout pretty simple since the image and sentiment are pretty large by themselves, but I did add some silver brads to give the card a little pop. And, I could not resist - I added some paper piercing because I think it really adds a lot to a card! The second card uses the same stamp set and paper pack, but just different elements of each and the cards look completely different!! So much you can do with one stamp set and a pack of designer paper!! I actually used one of my sizzix texture plates on the card stock that runs down the left side of the card, and I also tore the edges to add to the look. After I ran it through my Big Shot, I sponged the whole piece of card stock with Elegant Eggplant classic ink to give it a shabby look which really looks fabulous IRL. And, I could not help myself, I added the Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon....although my dh told me that Halloween cards should not have ribbon(well, I like it!!!) Again, I added some black brads for some dimension and also used my Modern Label Punch for the sentiment since it fits soooo perfectly!! It is popped up on dimensionals and I went with the silver brads for some contrast. I had fun making these two halloween cards....and I have some more to share tomorrow!!! Thanks for stopping by and seeing me - I love all your comments, and really appreciate you taking the time to leave them!! Now, I am off to blog hop - oh, how I love to drink my coffee and check out your fabulous creations!!!