I hope you've all had a lovely day and for those of you like me in the UK that you've enjoyed the Bank Holiday. I managed to squeeze in a little gardening before the rain set in this afternoon, at which point I came inside to craft. I made this card for a couple of challenges:

I loved the colour palette and inspiration over at Color Throwdown this week so couldn't resist squeezing in an entry, and I used the new sketch over at Mojo Monday for my layout. Here's my card:

My card was inspired by the Color Throwdown inspiration photo and those amazing cakes and florals - here's the low-down on how I made it:

Stylish Stripes - I used Night of Navy for my card base and adhered a full panel of Night of Navy that I embossed with the Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing folder to the card front, to echo the diagonal swirls of the cake icing on the photo. This is one of my most used embossing folders and I shall be sad to see it retire at the end of this month; if you haven't got one, snap it up now before it's too late.

Happy Birthday Everyone - The sentiment on my card is from the exclusive hostess set 'Happy Birthday Everyone'. I just love this font and the accompanying finishing sentiments that go with it. I finished the inside of my card with 'to a good friend' as this is where my card is headed as one of mine has a birthday this week.

Botanical Builder Flowers - I never tire of my Botanical Builder framelits and these white and yellow flowers really pop against the navy base of my card. I also added a thin border of Daffodil Delight, cut using my retired large scallop edgelit die. 

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. 

A little extra for you today too: I bought my friend a little something to go with her card and wrapped that in a box made using some Regals designer series paper and made with my Box Buster tool and trusty Envelope Punch Board. Here's a picture:

Isn't that pretty? So nice when you can co-ordinate your card and gift and Stampin' Up! certainly does make that easy for us!

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'! 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Birthday, Everyone Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Botanical Builder Framelits Dies	Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	White Perfect Accents	Brights Candy Dots	Ornate Tag Topper Punch
Envelope Punch Board

I'm back! No blog post from me yesterday I'm afraid: I have been battling a dreadful cold this week and with my busy days a few early nights have been in order. Today I'm back with another of my technique class cards using all three products from the Botanical Garden bundle, this time a clean and simple thank you card. I made this card early last week before last week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches was published, so I couldn't quite believe it when I saw both the sketch and Amy o'Neill's FMS Design Team card, that bears many similarities to mine - spooky how that happens sometimes! Here is the card I designed for my class:

This card is all about the vine; it can be used in lots of different ways (here's another example on an earlier card here) but one thing is for sure, it makes such a beautiful edging for a card. On this card it is cut into the front piece of my extra thick Whisper White card base and a piece of Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper adhered to the back panel beneath it to show through when closed. The focal point of my card is another flower cut using my Big Shot and the Botanical Gardens framelits, but the other things that make this card special are:

Suite Sayings Sentiment - One of my favourite current sentiment sets, Suite Sayings, has a wide variety of sayings and this one is perfect for a thank you 'just because'.

Awesomely Artistic Grunge - I added a little back splatter using the grunge stamp in the Awesomely Artistic set to add a little more colour and soften my card, without obscuring too much of the all important 'white space' that adds so much to a truly CAS card.

A Trio of Embellishments - I actually managed to use three separate embellishments to my card: a White Perfect Accent for my flower middle (coloured black with my Sharpie), some strands of looped gold twine and a vellum leaf. Each of them adding a subtle detail without overwhelming.

Here's visual summary of key products used to make today's card for easy reference:

I hope you like today's card. I'll be back tomorrow with a card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Botanical Blooms Photopolymer Bundle	Suite Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Botanical Gardens Cardstock Pack	Big Shot	Precision Base Plate
Big Shot Die Brush	White Perfect Accents	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad
Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Gold Metallic Thread	Vellum A4 Cardstock	Awesomely Artistic Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Good evening lovely readers! I have had a busy day with the second of this month's technique classes this morning and a Spring concert for one of the James Juniors this afternoon. Today I'm sharing a card I made for this week's challenge over at TGIF Challenges that was also one of the cards I made with the ladies in my card class this morning. I haven't played along with the TGIF team for a while and I couldn't resist this week's sketch:

My card features all of the products in the Botanical Gardens bundle offer (buy all 3 and save 15%) - Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper, Botanical Blooms stamp set and Botanical Builder Framelits Dies - and features a fun technique. Here is my card:

Today's card is a celebration of the Botanical Gardens product suite, but there are three things that really make it special:

Customised Designer Series Paper - The paper I used for the background on my card is one of a number of patterns in the Botanical Gardens Designer Series paper pack that can be customised using the Botanical Blooms stamp set. Many of the leaves and flowers can be stamped with veins and stamens in the colours of your choice to create a variety of different looks. I had great fun adding detail to my background and this best thing is, this can be different every time. 

Fuss-free Flowers - I just love the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies for limitless floral creative possibilities, yet the two things that really make these fuss-free can't even be seen on this card: the Big Shot Die Brush and the Big Shot Precision Base Plate. Both perfect for working with intricate dies, they really do enable these flowers to pop out easily, no wax paper required. You may think you don't need these items, however whilst you could use a standard or magnetic platform, you will definitely get better results using these tools. My customers keep telling me this too, so impressed are they with the results.

A Free Sentiment - The sentiment on my card is from the Sale-A-Bration set 'Botanicals For You'. This stamp set co-ordinates with the other Botanicals products and is available free with a £45 spend before the end of the month. The Botanical Gardens bundle costs £46.75, so if you buy the bundle, you can get this set for free too - bargain!

Here is today's visual summary of the key products used and top tip for easy reference:

I hope you like today's card; I have two more to share this week using this product suite that were also makes in my technique class today, so stay tuned for those. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Botanical Blooms Photopolymer Bundle	Botanical Gardens Cardstock Pack	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Botanicals For You Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Big Shot
Precision Base Plate	Big Shot Die Brush	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	White Perfect Accents	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
2-1/2" Circle Punch	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad