Well stampers, I have to tell you this past weekend more than met my expectations! My downline Ethel and I attended Stampin' Ups "My Way" Regional Meeting in Tacoma Washington on Saturday and we had a ball!
We set out early Friday morning, enjoying a leisurely coffee and muffins in Linden, then did some shopping in Bellingham (can you say an hour in Michael's with no one bugging us "how much longer"), followed by a quick lunch and some casino time at theTulalip. We arrived in Tacoma shortly after 3pm after a hectic but uneventful drive to Tacoma. Awesome!
We stayed at the Best Western Tacoma Dome hotel, which was 
located in close proximity to the Tacoma Dome, Glass House, Zoo and Historic Car Museum. During a short walk we found free transportation to the Convention center just blocks away at the historic Freight House Square. This old fashioned mall which stretches along several blocks, is a hub for a multi-modal commuter station and shopping district.
located in close proximity to the Tacoma Dome, Glass House, Zoo and Historic Car Museum. During a short walk we found free transportation to the Convention center just blocks away at the historic Freight House Square. This old fashioned mall which stretches along several blocks, is a hub for a multi-modal commuter station and shopping district.
The shop keepers were very friendly and helpful. One shop called Reclamation Candle Company run by Barney and Tammi Loucks proved to be a terrific place to browse. The owners were more than friendly showing us all their wares and they had tons of great things including fun funky jewelry, antiques, candles and small inexpensive gift items. We bought ultra blingy lanyards for our event badges and I got a Mandles Cup O' Joe coffee scented soy candle that's to die for!
 |
| View of our lovely room at the Best Western Tacoma Dome. |
 |
| Freighthouse Square Shopping District |
 |
| Ethel and I waiting for the free commuter train which runs every 20 minutes. It's a lot like Sky Train on tracks. |
We met up with several members of Kristina Koch's Colourful Impressions stamping group during our stay. Kristina wasn't able to come but sent her best wishes to everyone for a good time. It was wonderful seeing members of this group as it's been awhile since we've had a gathering.
Ethel and I had a few laughs when we saw this sign outside the Freighthouse Square and had to share it with our group. Although spelled the American way, this signage was quite a coincidence! Inside the shop they had lots of paper crafting supplies, including some Stampin' Up cards for sale.
 |
| Some members of Colourful Impressions .... Debbie, Sandra Farrell, Jenn Picard, Paul Jensen. What an awesome group! |
The following are some pictures of our swap cards and convention highlights.
 |
For my first card swap I chose the Jolly Jingles Jumbo Wheel and Four Seasons Hostess Set. I embossed the images from the Jolly Jingles wheel with Silver Embossing Powder on Midnight Muse cardstock base. The other layers are Brushed Silver, Midnight Muse and Whisper White cardstocks. Some Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added for a little bling.
|
 |
The card base measures 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" and is scored at 3" and 4 1/2". Front fold will be a mountain and inside fold a valley.
Tip: If you make this style of card, make sure the layers all match up. To do this, assemble the inside layers first and secure with adhesive to the inside of the card. Next, assemble the front layers. Press down on the front fold of the card so it lays flat, then line up the front brushed silver layer with the inside brushed silver layer, before securing with adhesive. The other layers will automatically line up as long as you have made them all the same distance around.
|
 |
My second card is made with Button Buddies and the Mixed Medley Hostess sets. The card base is Sahara Sand and I've used a 4 x 1" strip of striped DSP from the Be of Good Cheer Christmas paper pack. The Cherry Cobbler layer is 4 1/2" x 3 1/2", the Gumball Green layer is 4 1/4 x 3 1/4" and the Whisper White layer is 4" x 2".
The snowmen are coloured with Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green Markers. A 2/8" strip of Red Glimmer Paper is adhered on top of a 4" strip of Gumball Green cardstock that was punched out with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. This is a really fun card to make and my card class stampers really enjoyed making it. Tip: To get those little snowmen lined up in a straight row I recommend using the Stamp-a-ma-jig tool. It makes stamping so much easier. Start by colouring and stamping the center snowman first (if you're doing a class get everyone to do this step then switch to the other colours). Then, clean off your stamp and ink up with the Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black markers and then stamp the snowmen on either side of the center image, matching up the little twig arms. You'll have to reink the snowman image in between stamping each of the Cherry Cobbler images to ensure a bright, crisp image. Voila 3 little snowmen in a perfect row! The rest of the card is just layering and a little bling. I used Rhinestone Basic Jewels and some of the awesome Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon on the embellisment. |
 |
Here is Ethel DeTemple's beautiful swap card. The card base is in Whisper White and the next layer which is embossed with the Framed Tulips Folder, one of my all-time favourite embossing folders, is in Baja Breeze. Her little angel is fan folded using Snow Festival Designer Series Paper featured on page 10 of the Holiday Catalogue. She used the Simply Scored scoring tool to make those folds a 1/4" apart. The halo is punched from Silver Glimmer paper using the large oval punch. She used the Scalloped Oval punch for the sentiment. Layered Boho Blossoms were used for the embellisment on the front of the angels dress.
|
On Friday evening we spent some time with Paula Jensen, Sandra Farrell and Jenn Picard. Jenn and Sandra, both placed in last year's Stampin' Up! Artisan Award Contest Top Ten, and let me tell you they are both such awesome and talented papercrafters, we could see why. Ethel and I got to watch them assemble these swap cards, and let me tell you we were amazed at their assembly techniques, not the least of which was speed and craftsmanship. We were star struck!
 |
Jenn Picard's Swap card features one of the lovely ornaments from Delightful Decorations from the Seasonal Celebrations section of the Idea Book and Catalogue. Her sentiment stamp is from the Greetings of the Season stamp set featuredon page 8 of the Holiday Catalogue. Both winners and when paired up with the beautiful First Edition Specialty Paper and the Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, absolutely sensational.
|
 |
 |
Sandra's second swap card is equally awesome. It's made with the Christmas Wishes hostess stamp set from page 39 of the Holiday Catalogue. This card layout is perfect for this stamp set and would just as easily showcase the other two stamps from this set (minus the clouds of course)
|
Okay, well that's it for today, but I'll be back with more cards from the Tacoma Regionals that you're sure to love. Come back again!
