Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone! As is typical it's raining here in the UK so it's a great day for crafting! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using this week's colours over at Color Throwdown for an ombre blended background for another crack at the challenge over at TGIF Challenges this week. I also used the sketch over at Inspired By:

Here's my card that also bids farewell to another retiring stamp set:

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

I created an ombre background using all three colours and my blending brushes, then over-stamped this with the floral stem from the 'Friend Like You', adding the flowers to my Pear Pizzazz stems in Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride. I added a pair of black dragonflies in place of the circle on the sketch, although in hindsight I wish I'd masked off a circle to give it more prominence. I added a black diecut for an additional silhouette of meadow flowers over the top and finished with a sentiment from the same set. I adhered the diecut at the base only, allowing the diecut piece to float freely:

So today's card is a final reminder that this evening is the last time you will be able to order those products that are retiring from the annual catalogue as a new one goes live tomorrow. Many items have sold out, but there are still bargains to be had - check them out in the online store here, but you have to be quick!

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; following a quick visit to the garden centre this morning in what felt like arctic winds, it has rained constantly all day. So I've put gardening on hold in favour of crafting! I'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches and of course the launch of the new Stampin' up! annual catalogue - I can't wait!  Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIEND LIKE YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£12.00)	BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)

A super late post today as I have been busy celebrating - as of today I am officially the mother of not one, but two, teenagers! Lots of present opening, special meals, ice cream cake and candles and no time for crafting, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Luckily I made a card last week using the inspiration photo and sketch over at Inspired By so thought I'd share that with you today. Here's the inspiration photo and sketch:

It just so happens that I used the same dies, the Friendly Silhouettes Dies, that I used for my last Inspired By entry - here's a different take:

Some simple diecuts ( I used the retired 'Celebrate You' celebrate die for my sentiment) brought my card together in a jiffy, with a little stamping using the 'Friend like You' stamp set on the inside to finish: 

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:

FRIENDLY SILHOUETTES DIES (£30.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLES DIES (£33.00)	FRIEND LIKE YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

As the winds howl and the storm clouds threaten here today in the UK for the second day running, I'm here with thoughts of sunnier days and tropical vacations for today's card! My card was inspired by the following challenges:

That fabulous surfboard in the Inspired By photo is so eye-catching that it totally got me thing of tropical summer beaches and sunsets, so armed with the Inspired by sketch too and the Festive Friday inspo list (I used pink, circles, diecut and summer fun from the inspo list) - I created my dream summer landscape - take a look:

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

Friendly Silhouettes - The palm tree dies form the Friendly Silhouettes dies gave me the perfect palm tree pair for my card. These are actually the negative space of the die, so I carefully kept the diecut and used it as a template to piece my palm branches into the correct place to make my scene.

Artistry Blooms - I decided to reach for my designer series papers for my sunset and chose one of the patterns from the Artistry Blooms stamp set. I chose my piece carefully and I can't quite believe how much like a sunset it looks; just what I had in mind and so much easier than creating one with a brayer! 

A Little Added Sparkle - After adding my sentiment to a couple of layered punched circles and popping it up on a dimensional, I looked at my card and felt like it needed a little something more. I reached for a few pots of sequins and carefully went through and chose a few in co-ordinating pinks and oranges and added them randomly across my card, for a little tone-on-tone sparkle. I love the finished result - you can see it better here:

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. We have a day of tasks and errands today, nothing too exciting. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDLY SILHOUETTES DIES (£30.00)	FRIEND LIKE YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£20.00)	ARTISTRY BLOOMS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

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 Amy is our featured designer. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I adore the bright colours of the Just Us Girls Challenge photo this week so couldn't resist combining with our board this week for a bright and sunny scene - take a look:

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

Tic Tac Toe Three Ways - I started off with Pink-Flowers-Clouds in the first column as my TTT solution, but by the time I finished realised I had also managed the first row Pink-Diecut-Grass and the diagonal Clouds-Twine-Grass. What can I say? #OverAchiever. Truth is, I was so panicked about not covering three squares, I ended up nearly covering the board!!

A Friendly Silhouette - I used the Friendly Silhouettes dies to create my grassy flower meadow, cutting the whole thing out in Granny Apple Green then again in pink, yellow and red so that I could paper-piece the flowers to the top of the stems as I didn't want a true silhouette on this occasion. I added a few pearls as flower centres. I completed my scene by punching a yellow 1/2" circle, cutting some clouds using a retired die and the two teeny tiny orange butterflies are cut using the Butterfly Beauty Dies - the perfect size for my scene.

A Darling Label Punch - I added a sentiment from the co-ordinating Friend Like You stamp set, but decided to punch it out using the punch in the Darling Label Punch Set box so that it would stand out instead of stamping it straight onto my layer. This kit is retiring so currently a bargain at £16.80 in the online store - link below if you would like to grab one. I also used the Friends Like You stamp set to decorate the inside of my card:

A nice uplifting sentiment for the times we find ourselves in. Sometimes a warm cup of tea, a walk in the sunshine with the ones we love or even a slice of cake delivers just the right amount of pleasure when there is so much going on around us that is not within our control.

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 will be spending some time crafting and creating more delights to share with you in the coming week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project - a lovely card and gift combo, even if I say so myself - you won't want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Friend Like You Bundle	Friendly Silhouettes Dies	Friend Like You Photopolymer Stamp Set	Darling Label Punch Box	Brights A4 Cardstock	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock
Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine	Pearl Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock