Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fab Friday where they have a great sketch:

You all know how much I love a good sketch, although if truth be told I almost didn't make it to using this one; all that open space I was spoilt for choice as to how to interpret it. In the end, as I was sorting out my retiring supplies inspiration struck and this is what I came up with:

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

A Fabulous Sentiment - A sI was clearing the shelves, it occurred to me that the sentiment on today's card, from the retiring 'Stitched All Around' stamp set, would compliment the Best Dressed designer series papers perfectly. So I stamped it on a banner flagged with that most useful of punches, the Triple Banner Punch, and off I went!

Best Dressed - I love the 'Best Dressed' papers; whilst the stamp set and dies in the Best Dressed Suite are on carryover, the other items, including these papers aren't, so if you love them too you need to stock up now.

Finishing Touches - A card for a fabulous person needs a rather fabulous bow to finish I think, so made a double bow combining some Lovely Lipstick ribbon with some white polka dot tulle ribbon. I also fussy cut a couple of perfume bottles from the leftover scraps of DSP to decorate the inside of my card - waste not, want not and all that:

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. 

Today sees the last of the Common Entrance exams for Master James this week. We then have another week of half-term revision before the final week of back to back exams the week after. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STITCHED ALL AROUND CLING STAMP SET (EN) (£18.00)	BEST DRESSED DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	TRIPLE BANNER PUNCH (£22.00)	LOVELY LIPSTICK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
WHISPER WHITE 5/8\ (£7.00)

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 courtesy of the lovely LeAnne:

I have been trying to get some use out of sets that are about to retire and decided to pair today's sketch with the wedding theme over at Global Design Project and create a wedding card for the bride - take a look:

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

For The Bride - I bought the 'Wonderful Moments' set the minute it became available in the catalogue; I love the style of the artist - it's the same design as 'Beautiful You', 'Artfully Aware', 'A Good Man' and 'Beautiful Moments' - and in this particular set it was the bride image that sold it to me. That said - this is the very first time I've inked it up!! Clearly 'so many stamp sets, so little time' in my house!! For me though it is a keeper - the set has some great sentiments, and I adore this bridal image. I decide to heat emboss my image in silver which can be a little tricky to photograph, so I've added a couple of extra images so that you can appreciate the detail and shine:

Lovely In Lavender - I paired my silvers with one of my favourite and oft overlooked papers in the Best Dressed DSP stack - I love the subtle white roses on the variegated Purple Posy background and I couldn't resist using it for my background today. I have a friend who actually got married in a wedding dress that was this soft lilac colour and this card reminds me of that day. 

Outside the Frame - I wanted to use an embossed rectangular frame for one of the layers on my card (I used some retired brushed silver cardstock) but rather than frame my image, I fussy cut the bride and positioned her outside the frame for maximum impact. I really like the finished effect:

I did take one or two liberties with LeAnne's sketch, especially with the sentiment placement, which I had to move and place inside my frame (I heat embossed it on vellum and used this as another of my layers) and I downplayed the vertical strip with a piece of metallic edged ribbon, but hopefully you can see the broad layout there. Either way, I LOVE this card and hope you do too! I had no-one in mind to send my card to when I made it and Rebecca popped her head around the door as I was photographing and asked me who it was for. Jokingly, as the bride has her colouring, I said "no-one in particular; maybe I'll keep it for you." She promptly said "Put it somewhere safe then - it will be at least 25 years before I get married!!" What can I say - a typical teenage girl with other things on her mind!

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. 

Before you put your creative thinking caps on, why not check out the blogs of the other As You See It team members:

Amy Jasper

Heather Cooper

Jan Clothier

Jane Knudsen

LeAnne Pugliese

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Enjoy your day; we have a Bank Holiday here in the UK today to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) day. There was a Red Arrows flypast during one of my online demonstration sessions this morning and one of the ladies on the call was lucky enough to see them fly overhead through her skylight as we crafted. I didn't see or hear them but one of the ladies in my choir snapped this rather good photo:

They fly by so fast it's quite tricky to catch a good photo. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wonderful Moments Photopolymer Stamp Set	Heirloom Frames Dies And 3D Embossing Folder	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper	Silver 3/8" Metallic-Edge Ribbon	Woven Threads Sequin Assortment
Vellum A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	So Saffron Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
Purple Posy Stampin' Blends Combo Pack	Ivory Stampin' Blends Marker	Stampin' Blends Color Lifter

As promised I have another quick make to share with the lovely team over at TGIF Challenges as they are featuring the Best Dressed Suite this week:

This time a fun gift bag using the papers from the Best Dressed suite along with some Purple Posy cardstock and a fun keyring made from shrinky plastic - take a look:

The sweet little bag was easy to create using the All Dressed Up Dies - just diecut everything and put together. I used some scraps of gold foil for the button and buckle clasps - I just love that added detail! - and added a tag stamped and punched with the new Label Me Fancy Punch and just tucked it into the pocket. My little bag houses this cute keyring that I also stamped using the 'Dressed To Impress' stamp set then coloured with Blends and punched out using the other new label punch, the Label Me Lovely punch, before putting into the oven to shrink and adding to my keychain with a co-ordinating ribbon - here's a closeup of my keyring:

In hindsight I should have taken a 'before' they went into the oven photo too so you can see how much smaller they are - I will try and remember to take one next time! I love that sentiment - I thought it would be perfect for a little keyring embellishment. It has become customary for the ladies attending my Creative Escapes Weekend Craft Retreats to receive a keychain like this at the end of the weekend - the regular attendees have quite the collection now! Here's a photo of all of them jumbled before packing:

 - to be updated -

And one last one of both the bag and keychain together:

So what do you think - have you ever used shrink plastic in any of your projects? Better still, would you like to receive a keyring just like this one, or to be more precise the one that I will be designing for my next residential weekend craft retreat? If you need something to look forward to (and right now, I'm thinking we could all do with a little of that!) my October retreat, to be held 3-4th October 2020, is now open for booking and I'd love you to join me! You can see full details on my website here or just get in touch with any questions.

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. 

Back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It; Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Dressed To Impress Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) (£17.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	All Dressed Up Dies (£33.00)	Purple Posy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Gorgeous Grape 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Mini Striped Ribbon (£7.50)

Hi all! Apologies for the lack of posting (again!) I have been rather under the weather for a week or so and have just not managed to muster enthusiasm for crafting (I know - shocker!) - it has been all I could do to keep the James Juniors 'on task'. I was feeling a little better yesterday though so decided to spend a few hours giving my craft room a much-needed spring clean and then I sat down and made a card for this week's CAS(E) This Sketch challenge - a retro sketch of their first ever sketch! I didn't play then but I can just squeeze in under the wire if I'm quick! Here's the sketch:

I had a few ideas as to how I could use this sketch (love this sketch - it's so versatile!) and I debated whether or not to use the circles literally. I decided not and came up with this using what has turned out to be my favourite sets and sentiments in the Spring catalogue  - take a look:

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

I must confess I had a little packet of shoes and handbags that I had fussy cut previously from the Best Dressed DSP, with a view to CASEing the card on page 54 of the catalogue, but I hadn't got around to it (please tell me I'm not the only one who does that!) The sketch was perfect to create my little shelf of purses, handbags and shoes; I used a piece of DSP for some 'wallpaper' backing on my white cardbase, then added my shelf (I used the die in the set but shortened it to fit my card) and added my bags and purses, popping my pink shoes up on dimensionals since they are the item I wanted to highlight. I finished with my sentiment stamped below in Blackberry Bliss - I also rather inadvertently created an entry for Color Throwdown this week too, where they are featuring pink, purple and white as their colours of choice this week. I'm also linking up with TGIF Challenges as they are featuring the Best Dressed Suite this week; I actually have another project to share with those lovely ladies too, so come back later if you would like to see that.

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. 

This card actually uses very little in the way of supplies - all it requires is a little patience for the fussy cutting!

How are you finding your days of lockdown and social isolation? The James Juniors have adapted quite well with their distance learning and only seeing their friends online. I count myself lucky at times like this that they remain each other's best friends so at least can enjoy each other's company and make their own fun. Enjoy your day and I'll be back later with a Sale-Bration update and another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)

Dressed To Impress Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) (£17.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

All Dressed Up Dies (£33.00)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host and the lovely Amy Ottmers is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I used the current sketch over at Fab Friday and went with the top line of the board - Diecut, CAS, Purple - take a look:

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

Best Dressed - This Purple Posy floral paper from the Best Dressed DSP pack was the starting point that inspired my whole card today. So soft and pretty, with a delicate ombre effect I couldn't resist using a whole panel on my card.

So Sentimental - I used a simple thank you sentiment from the So Sentimental stamp set, masked off and inked in a combination of Highland Heather and Basic Grey and cut out using the co-ordinating Stitched So Sweetly Dies. This label is one of 4 in the set, along with the stitched scalloped rectangles that I showcased previously on this card.

A Pop of Colour - I fussy cut a flower from one of the other patterns of paper in the Best Dressed pack to embellish my sentiment with and picked out the colours of the flower centre and leaves to use for the banners behind my sentiment for a little added pop of colour.

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. 

I love this sketch and think I'll be using it again! What about the board though? A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; the weather here is still wet and grey, so following indoor climbing yesterday the Juniors are breaking up their mock exam revision with indoor roller skating this afternoon - I will be watching safely from the sidelines! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

So Sentimental Bundle (English) (£45.00)	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Purple Posy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Old Olive A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

My sketch involves an element of repeating pattern, which can be any shape you like. Whilst I used my stitched circles as a background for my pattern repeat, today's card is all about the shoes - and some rather special shoes at that! Take a look:

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

Words To Live By - I love the sentiments in the 'Dressed to Impress' stamp set but my favourite is without doubt this one - I mean, has there ever been a truer word spoken?! I am one of those people who love shoes; I don't own as many pairs now as I once did and I've never owned a pair of floral high heels, but I would love to - so I would love to receive a birthday card like this! I used the florals in the stamp set to decorate the inside too, with a birthday sentiment from the Peaceful Moments stamp set:

Best Dressed Shoes - This is one of those cards that looks pretty simple, but took a long time to execute! I stamped twelve shoes onto Whisper White cardstock and used my All Dressed Up Dies to cut them out, then added some colour to the Petal Pink and Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends to the inside contours of the shoes for a little contrast. Then I stamped twelve shoes (plus two for the envelope) onto a selection of the Best Dressed Designer Series papers, choosing a selection of the small floral patterns and making sure that the shoes were stamped in a similar orientation so that the designs would co-ordinate and the shoes would look like pairs, then I fussy cut the outsides of the shoes and paper-pieced them onto the white backgrounds. Time consuming yes, but I love the finished effect!

Pick of The Pastels - I decided to mount each of my pairs of shoes on a stitched circle and used a selection of pastels inspired by the Best Dressed DSP (although I used Pool Party Instead of Mint Macaron as the latter was too dark). My sentiment was stamped in Blackberry Bliss on a shortened Stitched Rectangle to complete my 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:

I'm looking forward to visiting your blogs this week and taking a look at your interpretation of this week's sketch.

Enjoy your day; we did all our sport Friday and yesterday, so today it's a quiet day with homework, ironing and maybe a movie. Enjoy the rest of your weekends and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Dressed To Impress Bundle (English) (£45.00)	Dressed To Impress Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) (£17.00)	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Purple Posy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Petal Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

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

I knew immediately where I was going with today's card and using the current layout over at CAS Colours & Sketches ended up making not one but two cards!  Laurie's theme gave me the perfect excuse to break out my new 'Dressed To Impress' stamp set and co-ordinating Best Dressed designer series papers to create a couple of clean and simple cards perfect for a fashionista. Here's the first one, featuring the lipstick:

I coloured my image with my Stampin' Blends and added just a small piece of designer paper behind to preserve the all-important white space. Finally I stamped the scrolled word in a contrasting colour and popped it up over my black sentiment for added interest.

I liked this card so much I made another, this time featuring the shoe:

On each of my cards, I stamped my lipstick/shoe image on a post-it note and masked my main image to stamp a second one. My first lipstick looked lonely and as for the shoes, it had to be a pair - I mean, who buys a single shoe?! 

And here's another picture of both cards together:

So which one do you prefer? I liked the solid pink lipstick DSP on the first one ... until I used the shoes DSP which whilst it has larger images, is on a white background so feels a little 'cleaner'. So now I'm not so sure - as always, I welcome your thoughts! Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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:

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; we have a family lunch planned and a day of homework for the Juniors and ironing for me! Hope you have an enjoyable rest of your weekend. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Dressed To Impress Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) (£17.00)	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)
Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Highland Heather Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Stampin' Blends Color Lifter (£4.25)