Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

Sunshine and rainbows! You can take your inspiration from anything relating to sunshine, rain and rainbows with some great inspiration on our badge this week. I decided to take Anne Marie's theme quite literally and built my card around a sentiment from the 'Just My Type' stamp set that includes both elements - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Saying Goodbye - It's that time of year when we are getting ready to say goodbye to lots of products in both the mini and annual catalogues and today's card is a celebration of some of my favourites: the 'Just My Type' stamp set that my sentiment hails from, the 'Rays of Light' background stamp that I used to create my sunshine shining through the clouds, the Basic Borders Dies that I used for my cloud cutaway, the Lighter Than Air rainbow-striped paper and the iridescent gems are all leaving us at the end of the month. Many of these will be available at a substantial discount from 9th April onwards and all will be available only whilst stocks last - so be sure to place your order in a timely manner if you don't want to miss out!

Lighter Than Air Rainbow Stripes - Instead of stamping a rainbow alongside my rays of sunshine, I decided to use a sheet of rainbow-striped pastel designer series paper from the Lighter Than Air pack. I made my stamped layer slightly smaller than my card base to give a rainbow border then used one of my Basic Borders Dies to create the cloud-shaped cut-away, revealing the detail of the paper in all of its striped glory. Since the team over at Time Out are asking us to feature stripes for their current challenge, I'm linking my card there too.

Borders and Clouds - Having used my cloud-shaped Basics Borders Die to create the corner cutaway to reveal more of my rainbow stripes, I decided that I wanted to put my sentiment into a cloud too. Since I didn't have a die large enough, I used my border die to create my own custom cloud:

A triple coloured twine bow and a sprinkling of iridescent gems complete today's card. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I am enjoying having the eldest of the James Juniors home from university so will be making the most of the next few days before she returns to her studies for the final term of the year - I can't quite believe her first year is almost done! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JUST MY TYPE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	RAYS OF LIGHT CLING STAMP SET (17.00)	BASIC BORDERS DIES (27.00)	LIGHTER THAN AIR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
LEMON LOLLY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BAKER'S TWINE THREE COLOR PACK (7.50)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (7.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Rachel is hosting for the month of April and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I used the layout over at Sketch Saturday and used Rachel's fresh colour combination for a pretty floral thank you card - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

I stamped my sentiment from the 'Timeless Arrangements' stamp set onto a label from the same set, and backed it with a selection of diecuts in the challenge colours. I also stamped and coloured a couple of flower stems and added them to the mix. I used diecuts that broadly followed the diagonal shape of the lines on the sketch and added seven scored lines with my scoring tool to my white cardbase - you can see the detail if you look closely below:

The scored lines add a real touch of elegance to the card and are a great way to incorporate the stripes in a more subtle way. A trio of pink pearls was all I needed to complete my card. 

I will so miss the Timeless Arrangements bundle when it retirees - it makes the prettiest thank you cards.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (51.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SOFT SEA FOAM STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and since it's the fifth Sunday of the month she has a tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with. here's the board:

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities and my card today is a case in point; I had decided to use the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for my layout and was planning on going across the bottom row, but ended up settling on the first column of designer paper/sparkle/flowers - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

I had a couple of floral stamp sets out on my desk and was intending to stamp a whole bunch of pastel flowers, however as I went on the hunt through my DSP for a piece to use to my background panel, I found a pack of flowers that I had diecut ages ago from the (retired) Hues of Happiness designer series paper and decided instead to use those up. I gathered a selection of flowers in yellow and blue, along with some diecut leaves, and set to work. Since I was using designer paper for my flowers, I decided to emboss my Lemon Lolly background panel with the hatched Basics 3D embossing folder. I added in some white foliage diecuts and decided on a Nested Essentials Dies label with a greeting from the 'Textured Floral' stamp set, stamped in Coastal Cabana and Early Espresso:

A trio of golden sparkly enamel dots to pick up on the warm yellow tones complete both my tictactoe column and my card. I love how this card turned out and it was a great way to use up those diecut flowers too!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I am looking forward to a delicious Easter lunch today followed by the spoils of the morning Easter egg hunt that is obligatory in the James household (apparently the offspring are NEVER too old for such activity where chocolate is concerned!) I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL BUNDLE (49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for my favourite, a sketch challenge designed by the lovely Jan:

I love our sketch this week; it's the kind of layout that can be dressed up or down, with a clean and simple or much more detailed design - lots of possibilities! I decided to go over-the-top with this one and go big on designer series paper - there are no less than 5 different patterns used on this card! Too much? Here's my card - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Nature's Sweetness - It's that time of year when we are getting ready to say goodbye to lots of product from the Stampin' Up! annual and mini catalogues and time to get using up that designer series paper! On today's card I used 5 different patterns from the Nature's Sweetness specialty designer series papers - can you spot them all? One for the background, a couple for the strips behind the circle (another one) and finally the cocoa pods have been diecut from another of the sheets, bringing the total to 5. I wouldn't normally use so many on one card, but I think the colours and patterns work sufficiently well together to not be too overwhelming. 

A Touch of Colour - I used a diecut cocoa pod for the focal point on my card - I'm hoping this is ok for the theme of 'Just Add Chocolate' over at Just Add Ink this week - I'm sure they were thinking chocolate eggs and bunnies, but I don't have any of those in my current stash so I'm hoping my cocoa pods as the purest form of the brown stuff still ticks the box. I added a touch of colour to the designer paper with my Soft Sea Foam and Pecan Pie Stampin' Blends to make my pods stand out against the background detail:

Accessorize, Accessorize - I added a few leafy diecuts, some elegant gold trim and gold sequins as finishing touches to my card. I trimmed down to a simple 'thanks' sentiment and also stamped the inside of my card and the envelope with the 'Notes of Nature' stamp set to complete my card.

 I was a 'late bloomer' as far as this suite is concerned (I have Jan to thank for finally convincing me I needed it in my life), so definitely feel as if I'm making up for lost time!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

Enjoy your Good Friday. Amongst other things, I will be visiting the farm shop today and driving to Birmingham to collect the oldest of the James Juniors who is coming home for the Easter break - we are all excited! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

NATURE'S SWEETNESS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.00)	LOVELY & SWEET DIES (30.00)	NOTES OF NATURE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)
PECAN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	PECAN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PECAN PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	SOFT SEA FOAM STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)

Today I'm sharing a couple of extra Easter cards that I made for a few current challenges, using one of my favourite retired Easter sets, Easter Promise, using two different colouring techniques. The first one is for the current TicTacToe Challenge (I went across the middle row with pastel colours/CAS/flowers) and is my second entry over at Addicted to CAS where the code word is 'Bloom:

My first card is coloured with my Stampin' Blends - take a look:

 I coloured my crocus with my Stampin' Blends, sticking to pale purples with a tiny pop of orange for the stamen. I stamped and fussy cut the sentiment and added a trio of irridescent gems - don't you just love how they pick up the colour of whatever they're next to?  

My second card uses the colours over at Sunday Stamps and since it's another card featuring spring flowers, I'm sharing over at AAA Cards:

For this card I stamped the crocus image onto watercolour paper and used my inks and aqua painter, along with my watercolour pencils for highlights, to colour:

I used all of the colours on the Sunday Stamps palette (if you look closely there is the faintest wash of pink around my blooms which add a hint of Spring warmth) and diecut my finished image and added to a Lemon Lolly card base, with some coordinating enamel dots for a pop of added colour:

On this card I stamped my sentiment in brown and I think it suits the yellow tones much better. Both the insides and envelopes were stamped for a finishing touch of co-ordination. Both of these cards are off in the post already - the Easter weekend is almost upon us!

I hope you like my trip back down memory lane with one of my favourite retired Easter sets.

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I've a quick post to share a clean and simple card that was inspired by the cute daisy in the photo over at Inspired By this week and the code word over at Addicted to CAS - Bloom: 

There's something about that smiley daisy that made me want to recreate it for a sunny notecard - this is what I came up with:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

I chose a pale Lemon Lolly background inspired by the background cushion in the photo, then set about recreating my daisy using a petal from the Paper Florist Dies set and a flower centre using a circle from the Stylish Shapes Dies. My smiley face is courtesy of the (retired) 'Cute Fruit' stamp set and my sentiment is from the 'Sweetest Cherries' stamp set. I fussy cut the word 'sweet' and popped it up on dimensionals:

Super simple but so cute and I know just the person to send it to!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

SWEETEST CHERRIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

Today I've a quick post to squeak in a card I made for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge with a great layout chosen by Narelle:

I loved the way DT member Amy used the Stitched With Whimsy Dies to frame the aperture on her card this week and it inspired me to use them in the same way, but as a 'trail' for my buzzy bee - take a look:

A well-chosen pattern from the Be My Valentine designer series papers and the perfectly-sized sentiment complete my simple card.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

STITCHED WITH WHIMSY DIES (27.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

You don't have to stick with the squares on LeAnne's sketch, but they worked for my card so I kept them. I wanted to play along with the Birds of a Feather challenge over at Just Us Girls, so I grabbed my Stampin' Blends (I went down the first column of Color Dare's TicTacToe board) and Bird's Eye view stamp set and this is what I came up with:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

I stamped three of the birds, adding spectacles to the first one (this is my favourite bird in the set!) onto some squares cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies and placed them around the fourth square, onto which I added a diecut sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set, anchored with a Crushed Curry enamel dot:

I used a Sweet Thoughts Memories & More card for my base; the Pretty Peacock pattern complimented the colours of my birds and I added a contrasting Calypso Coral envelope to finish.

This was an easy card to pull together and the colours make for a trio of colourful feathered friends. The 'Bird's Eye View' stamp set is great if you are new to colouring: the small images are just large enough to practice your skills without any complicated details.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I had a new bird box and camera for Mother's Day a couple of weeks ago and today is the day we are switching over. My oldest bird box has seen better days and since the blue tits have not yet moved in, I need to get the new box in place ready for them hopefully to pay a visit! My new camera is full colour and is solar-powered, so I'm very excited! It can take stills and video and there's an app to use it with my mobile phone, so if there's any activity I'll be sure to share in a future blog post. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BIRD’S EYE VIEW PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (19.00)	SWEET THOUGHTS MEMORIES & MORE CARDS & ENVELOPES (9.50)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

Today I've a quick post sharing a card for a couple of challenges:

The team over at the Flower Challenge want us to make a square card and I used the colours over at Colour Inkspiration for a bright and modern graphic floral design using a dieset that I've had for a while that hasn't been out of the packet yet - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Petal Patterns - The Petal Patterns Dies are so clever and their shape makes the perfect for square cards. There are 2 dies in the pack; I added a third green layer for the leaves, rotating the solid die through 90 degrees and cutting one extra row to extend the pattern behind the flowers. You can use them as they are, paper-piece them or add sequins or enamel dots as I have for flower centres - lots of options. You can also use just a part of the die; I was experimenting with layering of the colours and added a small section with a trio of flowers to the reverse of my envelope too.

Pink and Purple - I'll be honest, Moody Mauve is not one of my most favourite colours and ordinarily I would never have paired it with Melon Mambo, but the combination intrigued me and I actually quite like the end result. the brightness of Melon Mambo lifts it so much. 

Charming Sentiments - I finished my card with a diecut sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments set:

I love the embossed detail on the petals of the flowers and the square design suits these dies perfectly.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PETAL PATTERNS DIES (42.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. I am hosting this month and this week's challenge is a sketch challenge:

The sketch features six elements and an overlapping sentiment. The six elements don't need to be circles, they can be any shape, and they don't all have to be identical, however there should be a common theme to your chosen images. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when creating your card. Most of all, have fun! 

For my card today I got out my paper snips once more and spent some time fussy cutting a variety of honey pots from the Bee Mine designer series paper - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

There's so much value to be had in a pack of designer paper - especially if you have the patience to get your scissors out and start snipping! I arranged my pots across the centre of my card and then stamped my sentiment from the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set in Tuxedo black ink, highlighting the word 'sweet' by inking it with my Sweet Sorbet in-colour marker, and after fussy cutting that too, popped it up on dimensionals and laid it over my honey pots::

Another clean and simple card - I'm sure Winnie the Pooh would approve!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; it's raining here (again!) so I will be spending the day indoors, trying to distract myself from doing the housework by poring over the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue that I received yesterday! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

2022–2024 IN COLOR STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (17.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)