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 as it's the fifth Sunday of the month I have a tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with:

I made a board filled with the things I love to craft with, so there are plenty of creative combinations to choose from! I chose the middle column of flowers/free/word die and decided to make a colourful rainbow slimline card - take a look:

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

Floral Impressions - Whilst I've used both the stamps and dies from the Online Exclusives Impressions Abloom on previous projects, I had not yet been brave enough to cut into my Floral Impressions paper. As a DSP lover I had considered it several times, but it was just too pretty! In the end, I decided too pretty not to use so chose my favourite sheet, showcasing a rainbow of flowers, and got my paper trimmer ready! I may or may not have already purchased a second pack of this paper this month, as it's one of the ones that has 15% off during this month's in-color sale. Today is the last day when you are able to take advantage of the in-color sale promotion, so if you need a second pack of this paper too, or any of the other in-color products included in the promotion, here's your reminder to click on the link below and place your order!

CASE The Catalogue - The eagle-eyed amongst you might feel like there's something familiar about today's card - and you may well be right. Today's card is a CASE of one on page 41 of the current Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. To CASE - Copy And Share Everything - is a great way to take a project and use it to inspire something completely different, but where you can still see the source of the inspiration. An unwritten rule is that you should change at least 3 things for your card to be considered original and distinct from the project you are CASEing. So in my CASE, I retained the slimline layout, but I changed out my strips for a rainbow of flowers in a different paper pattern. I changed the stamped banner sentiment for one based around the Sweet Blooms 'Bloom' layered diecut (one of my favourites and the perfect encouraging sentiment to play over at Time Out this week) and whilst I retained the cluster of accent flowers, I incorporated more texture and detail (more on that below). If you compare the projects side by side, it's easy to see how the first card inspired the second one, even though my card today is my original work. 

Try Something New - In CASEing the card in the catalogue, it did cause me to try something new on today's card. The flower accent on the sample consisted of a mix of diecut florals and a flower fussy cut from the Florals In Bloom designer paper. Whilst I ordinarily wouldn't mix in this way, I decided to give it a go and in the end made an accent from a variety of diecuts and florals cut from another of the papers in the Floral Impressions pack, but also added in some large golden yellow enamel dots and a fuzzy flower middle from my stash that I thought worked well, having first coloured the edges of it with my Early Espresso marker pen to tone in with the diecut florals. It's difficult to pick up the detail in the main photograph, especially as the background strips are so busy - the close up below shows a little more of the detail:

This adds more texture and dimension and whilst this is something of a departure for me, I really like the effect - and I wouldn't have tried it if the catalogue sample hadn't inspired me to give it a go. What do you think? Do you ever CASE projects in this way? Leave me a comment below - I'd love to know where you find your inspiration.

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 hoping for sunshine here to round off this weekend's second cricket game, but I'm note sure we will be in luck. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FLORAL IMPRESSIONS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.99)

SWEET BLOOMS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)

IMPRESSIONS ABLOOM DIES (£32.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at SUO Challenges where they are all about creating with the new in colours:

I decided to create a wall of florals with a bold centre sentiment using all 5 in colours - take a look:

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

Impressions Abloom - I used two of the diecut flowers from the Impressions Abloom Dies and cut a whole bunch in white to create my flower wall background. I was inspired by those flower walls that you sometimes see at parties as a photo backdrop; I thought it would be a creative way to use florals, without using green.  

A Glossy Tip - I used a different in colour for the flower centres for each horizontal row and before diecutting, I added a tip of clear packing tape to my cardstock. This resulted in an easy glossy finish, with minimal mess - you can see the shine better on the close up below:

Sweet Blooms - I finished with a statement sentiment from the 'Sweet Blooms' stamp set in the two remaining in colours, heat embossing the secret Sea diecut for additional shine.

What do you think? Does the floral wall idea work? 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 tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

IMPRESSIONS ABLOOM BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)

SWEET BLOOMS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

2025–2027 IN COLOR™ A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

SECRET SEA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the inspiration challenge over at SUO Challenges using the Sketch Saturday layout:

I took my inspiration from the cream flowers on the seat of the chair, the straw hat and that lovely green background of the SUOC photo. I grabbed my Beautiful Gallery papers as I wanted to make a feature of one of the pages featuring some pretty cream florals - take a look:

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

First things first: yes, I did take some liberties with that sketch! All of the elements are there, albeit in different proportions. I really wanted to use the Impressions Abloom frame to showcase as much of that pretty paper as possible and whilst I first made the elements proportional, that rectangle behind didn't look right. So I removed the ribbon border that I had added and replaced with a smaller rectangle with border detailing, which I embossed with my (retired) Subtles embossing folder for some added texture, inspired by that straw hat in the picture. The elements of the sketch are still there, but with a wider interpretation than usual:

A simple thank you sentiment and a few brass enamel dots complete 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; it's still roasting here in the UK so whilst I'm enjoying the warm weather, I'll be keeping out of the sun! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (£32.00)	IMPRESSIONS ABLOOM DIES (£32.00)	BEAUTIFUL GALLERY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£9.60)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	BASIC BEIGE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Firstly, apologies to anyone who struggled to link their project to our last challenge over at As You See It; we experienced some challenging IT issues that took a while to put right. All sorted now though and today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jan is hosting and it's time for a fun theme challenge:

Spots or stripes - how fun! I added flowers to my choice so that I can also play along in the current challenge over at The Flower Challenge and grabbed the pretty colours over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and the layout at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, along with some new goodies and set to work. Take a look at what i came up with:

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

Embossed Spots - I went with spots as opposed to stripes, and in a nod to Jan's love of all things embossed I decided that I would make a bold feature of mine by embossing my base layer with one of the (retired) 3D Basics Embossing Folders that has a raised spot design. This was the only EF in this trio I have never used, but I really don't know why as I really love the finished effect - especially in that vibrant Summer Splash colour. 

Impressions Abloom - I paired my embossed base with an aperture and flowers from the Impressions Abloom bundle - one of this month's Online Exclusives. The dies have a fabulous embossed diecut detail and I love that the aperture comes with a beautiful framed edge too; you can see both in more detail on the close up below:

I inked my flowers for added depth and added lots of tiny Fresh Freesia enamel dots to my sprays of white blossoms for a little added sparkle.

Finishing Touches - There isn't much in the way of stamping on today's card; just the sentiment on the front, which I paired with another in the set, along with a stamped flower, on the inside of my card:

The Impressions Abloom bundle, along with the rest of this month's release, is available now in my online store - definitely worth a second look. Click on the link on the table at the end of the post to go and take a closer look.

I wasn't sure about this colour combination when I first saw it, with two pastels and the bold aqua, but I love how it turned out! It really makes me want to use Summer Splash more - I just love the vibrancy of this 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

IMPRESSIONS ABLOOM BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)	SUMMER SPLASH A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SUMMER SPLASH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)