Today it's Easter 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 clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

Remember: this is clean and simple week. What do we mean by 'clean and simple' ? Create a card that has:

• Minimal layers and embellishments
• Plenty of open space, also known as 'white space'
• Is simple and uncluttered

I struggled initially with Anne-Marie's challenge this week; I think not getting into my craft room all week hasn't helped! I had an idea for a card and then once I'd made it I really wasn't sure about it; I'll share that card tomorrow and would love you to come by and take a look and tell me what you think. Meanwhile, after a break and a change of stamp set, along with this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout and the CAS Colours and Sketches colour palette, I created a second card and felt much happier about the whole thing! So here's that card:

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

Paper Piecing - Not to be confused with 'paper piercing', paper piecing is the technique of stamping an image and then stamping either the whole or partial image again on coloured or patterned paper and fussy cutting it to piece it together on the main base image. I used it for both the skirt that my teacher is wearing (Blueberry Bushel in-colour DSP) and the pile of books she is carrying (a mix of Wood Textures DSP and solid colour cardstock). This is a fun way to add pattern to areas of your stamped image and can be used with a wide variety of stamps - those with larger areas suitable for colouring, such as those in the Hand Delivered hostess set, are particularly good. 

Primary Brights - I love this colour combination; the trio of primary colours is very bright and also seemed appropriate for a teacher thankyou card. I added further interest to my books by using a couple of different scraps of Wood Textures DSP for additional subtle detail. 

A Teacher Thank You - The sentiments in the 'Hand Delivered' stamp set suggest that the pile of books is intended to make a graduate congratulations card, yet I think they are perfect for a teacher card too. There is a thank you sentiment in this set, but I opted to use the words from the 'Picked For You' set instead, so that I could use a teacher-specific greeting on my front banner (both of the banner elements come from the Lakeside framelits set) and continued this theme with the wording on the inside too:

This card is sure to brighten someone's teacher's day! Both of the James Juniors have male form tutors this year, but Ben has plenty of female subject teachers who are worthy of a little end-of-year gift, so I think it might be heading to one of those. Both of these stamp sets are so useful for teachers cards, and both are set to retire with the current annual catalogue so if they're on your wishlist make sure you put them in your shopping basket before it's too late.

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:

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 will be having an Easter egg hunt, followed by a roast for lunch and then an afternoon in the garden making the most of the wonderfully warm weather we have been blessed with the last couple of days - we need to make the most of it as I'm sure it won't last! Wishing you a pleasant Easter bank holiday weekend however you choose to spend it. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Hand Delivered Photopolymer Stamp Set (£12.00)	In Color 2018–2020 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Ivory Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Picked For You Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Lakeside Framelits Dies (£25.00)

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of  the lovely Jaydee to host this week and we have something very special in store for you as The Paper Players is celebrating our 400th birthday - how awesome is that?! It is only right therefore that our theme challenge FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS - yes, we are running our challenge for two weeks in total, is all about celebration:

First and foremost, we are celebrating all of the lovely people who play along with The Paper Players challenge each week for 50 weeks of the year - it is for you and because of you that we are still going strong! It is without doubt the best team I have ever worked with - these gals are simply THE BEST! For our special celebration challenge this week, we are also joined by two of the original members of the Paper Players team: Ann Schach and Anne Marie Hile. And there are PRIZES this week - so many prizes!! 40 in fact, from our many generous sponsors across the crafting community - check out our post for more details but here is the full list to whet your appetite:

Listed in alphabetical order:

1. Altenew - $30 gift card
2. Atenew Academy - $20 gift card  - compliments of Jaydee
3. Avery Elle - $20 store credit
4. Butterfly Reflections - Breathe Rainbows Stamp Set (US only)
5. CAS-ual Fridays - $25 store credit
6. Cheery Lynn - $20 gift card  
7. Cheery Lynn - $20 gift card - compliments of Laurie
8. Concord & 9th - $25 gift card
9. Craftin Desert Diva's - $10 store cedit
10. Dies R Us - $15 gift card
11. Ellen Hutson -  20 gift cards - compliments of Annie 
12. Ellen Hutson $20 gift card - compliments of Eliz
13. Happy Little Stampers - $20 store credit
14. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Sets (exclusive - not available for purchase)
15. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Set (exclusive - not available for purchase)
16. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Set (exclusive - not available for purchase)
17. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Set (exclusive - not available for purchase)
18. Lawn Fawn - $25 gift card
19. My Favorite Things - $25 store credit
20. Neat & Tangled - $15 store credit 
21. Newton's Nook - $20 store credit
22. Pink & Main - $20 store credit
23. Power Poppy - $10 store credit
24. Stampendous - $20 rewards cards (US only)
25. Stampendous - $20 reward card (US only)
26. Stampendous - $20 reward card (US only)
27. Stamplorations - $20 gift certificate
28. Stampin' Up - $20 gift certificates compliments of Nance (US only)
29. Stampin' Up! $20 gift certificate - compliments of LeAnne (US only)
30. Stampin' Up! £20 gift certificate - compliments of Joanne (UK only)
31. Stampin' Up! $20 gift certificate - compliments of Claire (US only)
32. Stampin' Up $20 gift certificate - compliments of Jan (NZ only)
33. Technique Tuesday - $20 gift card
34. The Foiled Fox - $25 store credit
35. Trinity Stamps - Let it Grow and Lady Liberty Stamp Sets
36. Tutti Designs - $15 gift card
37. Uniko - any in-stock stamp set of winner's choice
38. Verve Stamps - stamp & accessory bundle - compliments of Sandy (US only)
39. Verve Stamps - stamp & accessory bundle - compliments of Sandy (US only)
40. Waffle Flower - $15 gift card

Isn't that fantastic?! All prizes will be awarded randomly between challenge participants - so if you enter, you are in with a chance of winning!

Whilst balloons are not mandatory for this challenge, I couldn't help but be inspired by the wonderful badge Nance created for us this week, so I pulled out my Hand Delivered hostess set and set to work on a fun fold for you - take a look:

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

Hand Delivered - I used my favourite of the new hostess sets, Hand Delivered, for my card today. I love the way the pieces of this set mix and match; I've used the balloons again on today's card, but unlike my previous versions, this birthday girl is wearing the flowered skirt - so pretty! This is a great set with lots of variety - I used the birthday sentiments from this set on my card too, as you can see in the picture below. It's worth hosting a Stampin' Up! party just to get your hands on this set, so if you would like to talk to me about hosting one so that you can get your hands on exclusive hostess sets like this one, then do get in touch.

Pop-Up Slider Fancy Fold Card - I decided I would mimic the 'hidden' nature of the young lady behind her balloon with a pop-up slider card. I haven't made one of these cards in ages, but I loved the idea of a hidden message too. When the card is 'closed' it lies flat as in the picture above; when you pull the ribbons upwards, the girl moves into a vertical position and the hidden messages are revealed:

Isn't that fun?! And space still available to write a personalised message too.

New In Colours - I really love the palette of 2018-20 in colours; so much so, since I still can't decide which ones I like best I used them all! They work really well together and the bright colours definitely appeal to me. I used Lovely Lipstick for my cardbase, then used a combination of all 5 colours to colour the lady with my aquapainter. I also used ribbon in all 5 colours to create my pull tassel. Lastly, a liberal coat of Wink of Stella finished my balloons. I'm also linking up my card with the team over at Fab Friday, since they are featuring the new in colours 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:

I can't wait to see how you interpret this week's theme and look forward to visiting your blogs this week and next! Enjoy the rest of your weekend - I'll be hoping to have a slightly more restful one than of late, catching up on a few chores and hopefully enjoying some of the lovely sunshine we've been having here in the UK these past few weeks. I'll be back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Hand Delivered Photopolymer Stamp Set (£12.00)	Classic Stampin' Pad Assortment In Color 2018-2020 (£31.50)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Lovely Lipstick 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	Grapefruit Grove 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)
Pineapple Punch 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	Call Me Clover 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	Blueberry Bushel 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	Watercolor Paper (£4.75)	Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad (£9.25)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink where they are asking us to embrace the eclipse technique. I also used the sketch over at Fusion for my layout and it is perfect for the numbers and letters challenge over at Stamps Ink Paper too:

Firstly, a shout out to the lovely team over at Just Add Ink for choosing this card as the winner for challenge 407 - what an honour and I'm thrilled you liked my delicately different take on the Love What You Do stamp set. I was unable to play along with last week's colour challenge, but was keen to have another go at the eclipse technique this week with a birthday card for a discerning teenager - take a look:

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

A Sneak Peak At Hand Delivered - I decided to give you a 'sneak peak' of a new stamp set today that is actually one of the exclusive hostess sets from the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue. A fun set that has a selection of items being carried by a young lady, everything from balloons to cakes to message boards, with a variety of different skirt designs and sentiments that offer a ton of creative combinations for lots of different occasions. Best of all, it's photopolymer too, so aligning the pieces is super easy - bonus!

I think this will be one of my favourite hostess sets in the catalogue - I have so many cards in the pipeline for this one, you are definitely going to want to host a party so that you can get your hands on it too. It's worth pointing out I did make a slight modification to my stamped image on this card, in that in order to fully accommodate my numbers within the bouquet of balloons, I added a couple of extra balloons to left and right - this really wasn't tricky though, I simply masked the original image and then stamped again slightly offset on each side (the uppermost green and orange balloons on my card).  

Last Chance For Large Numbers - The eclipse technique is where a word or some element of design is 'hidden' within the broader design and built up in layers so that it stands out in relief and is therefore visible as part of the overall card. I made an eclipse card previously using my Large Letters Framelits - you can see that card here - so today decided to go with the Large Numbers Framelits as I needed a card for a friend of my daughter who becomes a teenager this week. Such a milestone birthday is worthy of a number, so I decided to 'hide' mine in the collection of balloons being carried to the birthday girl, stepped up on three layers of Berry Burst cardstock.

Oh how I will miss these numbers! I can't quite believe they are retiring and they will most definitely be a 'keeper' in my collection. Incredibly, they are still available but be warned - you only have until the end of the month to add them to your crafting arsenal if you would like them; one things for sure, they are a purchase you won't regret and will get loads of use from them. 

Picture Perfect Palette - I used the colours in the Picture Perfect DSP stack that featured in my vertical border as the palette for my card and simply coloured my image with my Stampin' Write Markers, adding a liberal dose of clear Wink of Stella to my balloons. Here is the colour swatch if you would like to save it for your future project inspiration:

Lastly, I finished the inside of my card with this sentiment from the Cake Soiree stamp set:

So what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts by leaving a comment below. Also, be sure to check out the Just Add Ink designers and gallery for lots more inspiration with the eclipse technique.

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:

Hand Delivered Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Large Numbers Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Picture Perfect Party 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£9.00)	Berry Burst A4 Cardstock (£7.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Many Marvelous Markers (£99.00)	2017-2019 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (£13.50)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.25)