Vintage Vogue and Great Friend swap...

I believe this is Brandy's swap. It uses the Vintage Vogue stamp set, along with Great Friend and some Vanilla Hodgepodge and white organza ribbon.

Brandy's Great Friend make & take card...

Brandy used a variety of purple shades for her make & take, which used the Great Friend stamp set.

We sponged around the top Whisper White layer, which had So Saffron behind it.

The designer paper is from the Shades of Spring pack in the Occcasions Mini.

For embellishments, we used a few silver brads and a half pearl from a Pretties Kit.

Night & Day Herringbone Technique card...

This Night & Day Specialty paper is so fun to play with. Here, I used strips on a shipping label in what is called the Herringbone Technique for my Technique Lover's Class this month.

To do the Herringbone Technique: Lay a strip at an angle across the entire sticky surface. Then lay strips on either side of that one at a 90-degree angle, which make triangles. Keep laying additional strips at 90-degree angles to the last, filling up every space. Trim off the strips and layer and create your card. It's that easy!

The FYI stamped sentiment is stamped in Basic Black ink and punched using the Word Window Punch, then layered on a Modern Label punched piece of Basic Black card stock.

I used a knot of 1/4" Basic Black grosgrain in keeping with the black and white look, then stamped and cut out the butterfly from Great Friend, adhering it with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Retreat swaps...

I had a wonderful time at our American Ink group stampin' retreat last Friday thru Sunday. We stamped, scrapbooked, ate, chatted, made make & takes and swapped.

If you'd like to join us at our next retreat, join my American Ink group today! Just visit http://TheRubberRoom.stampinup.net and click on JOIN. My recruiter password: Terry Blais.

At top is a textured Whisper White card with Ever After stamps inked in Basic Black from Frankie. I love the simple elegance of this card and plan to use it at an upcoming event.

Next, is a fun punch card swap by Heather using the Under the Stars stamp set. She CASE'd the idea, which happened to be perfect for our Hawaiian theme.

My favorite part of the card is the adorable grass skirt on the bear.

Bea made her swap with the Polka Dot background stamp and Petal Pizzazz. She even decorated the inside of the card. The sentiment is from the Great Friend stamp set, and there's a knot of Chocolate Chip grosgrain too.

The 6" x 6" page is Heather's swap, using Under the Stars again. I had a photo in mind - and on hand - when I received this. It's one of my son and his friends on a field trip to a place called Pioneer Farms.

The page features cut-out stars adhered with dimensionals, double-stitched Chocolate Chip ribbon, and a Not Quite Navy photo mat.