During the restrictions of COVID, our Paper Adventures Team participated in three challenges that we used as the basis for a card swap.

The first one was to send the materials required to make 4 cards with photos to inspire the recipient’s versions.

The second one was to send all the materials to make 3 cards, but no inspiration photos.

The third one was a card base with an attached piece of DSP and a couple of extra pieces to get the recipient started with their own version.

We had so much fun in each challenge, we thought we’d extend the theme through to our team hop for this month.  We welcome Joanne James from the UK to share in the fun with us!

Here’s the brief – projects must include a square piece of DSP, a piece of ribbon at least 4″ long, a trinket or embellishment and dry or heat embossing.  I can’t wait to see what the team makes!

I have the most fun with challenges when they extend my thinking and take me away from what I would normally make.  The need to use a square piece of DSP inspired me to create a 3D project using a 6″x6″ square piece of DSP as the starting point.  My new catalogue DSP finally arrived, just in time to create for this challenge!

This treat bag style bag & box in one was designed by Kim Price.  You can see her original projects including instructions and a video by clicking here.

It has a square base and curved sides and is super cute.  And the best part – it starts with a piece of 6″x6″ DSP which means you can create it using any of the DSP designs in the 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue.  I’ve used the Artistry Blooms DSP for the treat bag paired with images from the Whale of a Time DSP.

The finished size is 4-3/4″ tall by 2-3/4″ wide.  I plan to fill these boxes with chocolates as gifts for a workshop I have booked tomorrow night with some lovely local ladies.

The whale for the blue treat bag has been cut with the coordinating Whale Builder Punch.  The turtle for the pink treat bag was fussy cut from the same DSP pack.

With so many new things to play with at the moment, I’m enjoying mixing & matching between sets.  The tag is cut using one of the label dies from the Hippo & Friends Dies, with a slot die – which is also part of this set. I also used this on the top of the bag, placing the slot at a point where I could line up the bag and tag together.

The Hippo & Friends Dies are one of the best value sets in the catalogue with 25 dies including three different stitched  label options (in multiple sizes), accessory pieces and dies to match the characters from the Hippo Happiness stamp set.  I can’t wait to show you some projects with those cute little stamps!!!

To complete the challenge, I used twine & ribbon from the Flowers for Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack through the slot to close the bag, Basic Pearls & Basic Rhinestones as the embellishment and white heat embossing for the sentiment.  The ‘thanks’ sentiment is from the Whale Done stamp set. I’ve used masking tape to cover the bottom half of the sentiment and just stamp out the ‘thanks’.

I’m excited to see how the rest of the team uses the 4 elements of the challenge to create their amazing projects.  The next creative queen is Lisa Whitehead.

Thanks again to Joanne James for joining us!  We love having international guests on our hop and are very grateful when they say yes to join us despite the challenges with time zones!

If you’re curious about Stampin’ Up! and becoming part of our Paper Adventures team, please let me know via a message on Facebook.  There’s a great bonus in the Starter Kit for this month with zero long term commitment or expectation.  Jump on board to see how it all works!!!  It may be the best decision you ever make!  If you live in Australia and you’re ready to join us, click here for all the Starter Kit info.

Have a great weekend!  I hope the forecast includes lots of stamping!

Participant List