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

I decided to use one of my Beary Christmas Memories & More cards with a pre-printed sentiment for the front layered panel of my card and the rest of the design evolved from there. Take a look at my finished card:

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

I cut down one of the large Memories & More cards and used the colours of the card to create my card base and layers. Although I used the co-ordinating envelope from the co-ordinating pack, I didn't use the card base. Instead I added a Very Vanilla layer that I added some soft stencilling to using one of the retired Butterflies and Flowers Layering Decorative Masks, adding some red rhinestones to pick out the pattern centres. I also added some Real Red baker's twine to the card and a wooden snowflake element from my stash:

These Memories & More cards are great to use for quick and easy Christmas cards; they are easy to step up too with the addition of a few additional bits and pieces. I think this card has something of a Scandinavian feel to it - what do you think? Leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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; we are having a relaxing weekend as it is the start of the half-term break. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BEARY CHRISTMAS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (9.50)	BEARY CHRISTMAS MEMORIES & MORE CARDS & ENVELOPES (9.50)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Happy Monday everyone! I managed to spend some quality time in my craft room over the weekend and as a result of trying to overcome my 'crafting hiatus' I've a couple of extra cards to share with you today! The first one uses Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and the fabulously bold Colour Inkspiration colour palette:

I really wanted to make the most of the bright blue and mango of the inspiration photo, so I went with a bold use of colour - take a look:

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

I used one of my (retired) stencils to add some tone-on-tone colour to my Starry Sky card base, then added a cluster of Meadow Dies flowers to the right hand side in the challenge colours, having added a light touch of Starry Sky ink to my cornflower and embellished my Mango Melody flowers with some sparkly rhinestones.

For the horizontal element of the sketch, I layered a diecut 'Sending' in silver foil on white with the remainder of the sentiment stamped and heat embossed in silver directly onto the cardbase. I finished the inside of my card and the corner of my envelope with a collage of stamped images in co-ordinating colours from the 'Quiet Meadow' stamp set:

A liberal interpretation of this week's FMS sketch for me, although the shapes are clearly visible - I just love this card! What do you think? Do leave me a comment below, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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 shortly with card number two. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SENDING DIES (ENGLISH) (£31.00)	MEADOW DIES (£36.00)	SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (£9.50)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)
MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	QUIET MEADOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£5.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)

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

I love one layer cards! had another go with a different colour combo from the palette over at Sunday Stamps (such a great colour palette!) and decided that today I would focus on creating the illusion of layers on my single layer creation using some clever diecut embossing, masking and stencilling - take a look:

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

How Many Layers? - I love one layer cards as they are great for clean and simple designs. They can be as simple as a single image and a sentiment; for today's card though, I decided to create the illusion of layers. The first thing I did was use one of my Scalloped Contour Dies to partially emboss the outline of a label. I then stencilled a butterfly on the non-embossed section, then masked it off, along with a second mask to mask off the embossed area before using an alternative stencil to emboss a pattern around the remainder of the card. At this stage the card should look something like this:

When the masks are removed, the finished card front appears to have three separate layers: the butterfly uppermost, followed by the die-embossed label outline and finally the background floral-patterned layer. The photo below shows these in more detail: 

 Finally I added a sentiment to my faux-label to complete my card. I also stamped a sentiment on the inside, with some soft stencilling around the edges - I photographed the inside of the front of my card too so that you can see the partial die-embossed label outline more clearly:

By keeping my central label clear, I've tried to preserve some 'white space' on my one layer card. Along with the absence of embellishments of any kind and the one layer that is the crux of this challenge, I have managed to keep thing clean and simple too. I love these Butterflies & Flowers Layering Decorative Masks stencils and will be so sad when they retire at the end of the month. 

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; mine will be a quiet one, having been out and about for the past couple of days. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (£33.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	FLOWING FLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (£21.60)	HAPPY & HEARTFELT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£11.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host again this week and I have a colour challenge featuring some of my favourites for you to work with:

I used the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday (including the optional of florals as this works for Just Us Girls this week too) and paired it with stencilling and heat embossing from the Just Add Ink 'choose 2' challenge this week to create what turned out to be a rather simple card - take a look:

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

It just so happens that all three of my chosen colours appear in the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper so I knew this would have to feature on my card - I just adore these papers! I already had a bunch of flowers and leaves that I had diecut, some of which were from the edge of the paper, so perfect for today's design. I lightly stencilled some Fresh Freesia ink onto my card front using a blending brush and one of my Butterfly and Flowers Decorative Masks, blending in a circular shape then fading out across my cardfront, then added a navy banner with a white heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set, anchoring this with my diecut flowers. A sprinkling of clear iridescent gems complete my card:

I'm really pleased with how this card turned out, especially the background stencilling; I love the subtle detail this adds. 

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 having a quiet one since I am recovering from being the late-night (or should that be very early this morning?!) taxi service to and from the annual hockey club black tie dinner yesterday. At least it's just tiredness not a hangover I'm having to cope with though, so I'm thankful for that! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HUES OF HAPPINESS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	HAPPINESS ABOUNDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at CAS on Friday where the challenge is to use a stencil. I chose a favourite colour combination of yellow and navy blue and came up with this sunny creation to contrast with the grey clouds that seem ever present here in the UK at the moment:

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

Instead of stencilling the whole of the floral image across the centre, I added a partial stencil along two edges of my main panel, in order to preserve the all important 'white space'. I layered a selection of yellows for depth, then inked a sentiment from 'Create With Friends' and overstamped the edge of one of my floral clusters:

A couple of thin borders completes 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

If I was making this card again, I'd probably move the florals in the bottom left corner out even further, showing less florals and more white - next time! I really love these stencils; I do have to be careful to not get either too enthusiastic with my blending brushes or put my inky fingers across the clean white areas on my card. If this happens to you too, all is not lost; with a 'ruined' card that was the pre-cursor to today's creation, I simply chopped around the offending smudge and converted the remains into gift tags for my in-person customer orders:

Waste not, want not and all that! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	CREATE WITH FRIENDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£9.60)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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

I went both across the bottom row Diecut/Spring Colours/Floral and down the middle column with Butterfly/CAS/Spring Colours this week, also using the beautiful trio of pastels over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and the layout (but not the colours - I may have another go with some blues next week!) over at Fusion for my fresh thank you card - take a look:

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

Flowers Layering Masks - As I said in my earlier post today, I think I am really enjoying experimenting with stencils, and this particular flower stencil in the Butterflies and Flowers Layering Decorative Masks is definitely one of my favourites! Today I incorporated two different coloured flowers, using the same colour to build up the layers on each, before adding leaves. I also added a touch of stencilling to the inside corner of my card:

Pretty Pastels - This is such a pretty spring colour combination that the HSS team chose this week. It just so happens to be the same colour combination I used for my daffodils and tulips Paper Players card earlier in the week too; you can see that card here if you missed it. I used Fresh Freesia for my card base and added a panel of in-color designer paper for a subtle tone-on-tone layer of pattern detail.

Brass Butterflies - To finish my card I added a couple of in-colour gems to my purple flowers and a couple of brass butterflies for a fun extra detail - you can just see the shine as they catch the light on the one on the upper left portion of the photo below:

A simple stamped sentiment from 'Flowing Flowers' in Basic Grey completes 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. 

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; I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (£9.25)	STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	2021–2023 IN COLOR JEWELS (£6.50)	2021–2023 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
FLOWING FLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (£24.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a couple of current challenges:

I just loved Lori's colours over at Color Throwdown this week and when I saw the photo inspiration over at Paper Craft Crew I knew it was time to dig out my new Butterflies and Flowers Layering Decorative Masks and get stencilling to create some floral love with a thank you card for one of my lovely customers - take a look:

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

Stencilling is very on-trend right now and I've been wanting to experiment more with background stencilling so couldn't wait to have a go with these new Layering Decorative Masks. I chose to feature the florals on my card today and I can honestly say they are so easy and fun to work with! I added the first layer of colour in Blushing Bride and then added the detail in Highland Heather, using a blending brush to build up the intensity of the colour. I then swapped out the masks and added two lots of leaves in two shades of green. It really takes no time at all to create these fun floral patterns. I then added a layered 'thanks' using some vellum and picking out the Highland Heather for the main sentiment - love these Amazing Thanks Dies too! A trio of clear elegant faceted gems complete my card:

I actually think I could get quite addicted to stencilling with these flowers - look out for lots more in different colours in the coming weeks!

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. 

I have a busy week so today is being spent largely at my desk in an effort to get organised! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of an exciting pre-release from the upcoming annual catalogue. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£25.00)	BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)
HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	JUST JADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)