Today I have a quick card to share  that I made using Jen B's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I love this layout - especially the way Verena used the die I used on yesterday's card on her DT card - but I didn't want to copy and as I was making yesterday's card, I realised that I still had some of the scenes in the retired Cute As A Bug paper pack that I hadn't used, so chose one for the central panel and used the reverse pattern to frame it   - take a look:

I actually had two of the same scene, so fussy cut the saxaphone-playing butterfly and the grasshopper harpist and added them with dimensionals for added lift and interest:

I did take a couple of liberties with the sketch: I rotated it through 90 degrees and altered the position of the sentiment slightly so that it didn't obscure my musical creature but the layout is still there to see. This card is a little larger than usual, A5 instead of A6 as I didn't want to cut down the central scene. I'm also linking today's card up for a second outing over at Time Out since my bug orchestra is definitely making music of sorts!

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; I have to scoot to get this linked up over at FMS before the close; I went to the gym first thing then spent an hour or so paddleboarding along the river this morning, and despite my best intentions the heat properly overwhelmed me this afternoon and I fell asleep! I now need to make up for lost time and catch up on a few of the other things I was hoping to do today - at 35 degrees plus it's a record-breaking Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK temperature wise, but I'm definitely not complaining! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

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

I really like this sketch - the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed I used this layout for the speed stamping card I made on Friday (you can see that card here if you missed it)  and I have another card later this week that uses it too. On each of these cards, I've tried to use the panels in different ways. For today's card, I'm using some cute retired Cute As A Bug designer paper and one of my favourite dies for that rectangular panel - take a look:

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

I decided to add a piece of DSP featuring tiny flowers to the front of my card (this is one of the Cute As A Bug patterns); this allowed me to make a feature of the rectangular panel with the circles panel diecut from the Lovely Arrangements bundle. I added a stitched circle as the base for my fussy-cut insect carrying her flower and paired her with a sentiment from the Lovel Arrangements bundle too:

A heart and a couple of enamel flowers from my stash were the finishing touches for this otherwise quite simple card. I was enjoying fussy cutting whilst I had this pack of paper out on my desk, so took the opportunity to make a second card using it too - I'll share that one with you tomorrow. This really is a great sketch - I can't wait to see what you all make with is this week!

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; it's a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and for once the sun is shining and it's glorious! I will be spending my day in the garden, reading and soaking up the beautiful weather whilst it lasts! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVELY ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by those pretty floral clothes pegs and the the layout over at Inspired By this week:

I wanted to use up a few more of those Easter time Mix & Match Ephemera pieces, so chose some in similar colours to the florals on the pegs and set to work. Take a look at what I came up with:

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

I used my Lovely Arrangements circle panel die for the lines, by diecutting it into separate rows (I used retired Mint Macaron for this), then layered the ephemera on top and stamped my thank you sentiment between the rows directly onto my white card base:

A few co-ordinating twine bows and some gems complete my thank you card. I really love that Lovely Arrangements die that I used to create my rows - it really is so versatile.

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:

LOVELY ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)

AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

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 theme challenge for us to work with:

We are all about cards for the ladies this week! I toyed with going pink and delicate for my card, but instead decided to go with something bright and colourful using Jen M's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week - take a look:

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

I still had some of the Easter Time Mix & Match Ephemera left and wanted to use them up, so my starting point for today's card was the pretty watering can filled with flowers. For my layered panels, I used a piece of Daffodil Delight gingham from my stash and an Azure Afternoon panel cut with that Lovely Arrangements circle panel die (adjusted to make a bigger panel). I added a double twine bow and a simple sentiment from the same bundle:

A few enamel dots finish my super simple design. I love bright colours - not everything feminine has to be pink and delicate right? That said, I made two more cards whilst I was in my craft room making this one and they all have a floral, feminine theme so you have more inspiration on this theme to come this week!

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; the youngest of the James Junior is home from uni this weekend and is playing cricket today, so we are hoping that the dry weather continues and rain doesn't stop play! We might even manage another BBQ this evening - fingers crossed! I'll be back in a couple of days with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVELY ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)	RAINBOW ADHESIVE-BACKED DOTS (£5.10)	AZURE AFTERNOON A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

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

Baby animals! I knew exactly where I was going with this one, so I grabbed the sketch over at Inkspirational and the colour palette at Just Add Ink and set to work - take a look at today's card:

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

Cutest Crew - I'm sure my regular readers would have guessed that the 'Cutest Crew' stamp set might make an appearance today - after all, those kitties and puppies are just too cute! I actually bought this set originally because of the dogs, but until now I've only used the birds and the cats - go figure. Today's card was the perfect opportunity to remedy that though, so puppies for the win! Instead of stamping the row intact, I stamped each puppy individually, masking off the others each time, so that I could then diecut 4 squares as per the sketch. I coloured them with my Stampin' Blends - you can see the detail more closely below:

Hydrangea Hue Blue - I made a card earlier in the week that used the Just Add Ink inspiration and I love their colour combo so much that I wanted to play again, this time featuring the browns too. I used the upcoming new in-colour, Hydrangea Hue, for my card base - I think this might be my new favourite blue! Think the retired Boho Blue, but with a slight purple hue - lovely!

Finishing Touches - As it's clean and simple week, I wanted to keep layers to a minimum, keep plenty of clean 'white' (or in my case blue) space with a few well-chosen embellishments. I used a small sentiment from the Lovely Arrangements stamp set, added some In Colour pearls and left the only other decoration to a simple stamped border inside my card: 

There you go - clean and simple and a cute crew indeed! This card is going into the pile that I keep to send to Ben when ever I'm sending care packages to him at uni. I like to send him little surprises in the post - although sometimes it's things he's forgotten too, such as cricket whites earlier this week! He certainly keeps me on my toes.

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. 

Which baby animals are you going to feature on your cards this week? Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you:

Enjoy your day; my niece and her partner recently bought their first home so Jason and I are going to visit for the grand tour today, then I am going to my sister-in-law's for afternoon tea, so I have a fun day planned! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card for the current challenge over at The Card Concept that is also perfect for the spring challenge over at CAS on Friday:

Those cute and colourful wellingtons filled with spring tulips inspired me to dig out a couple of retired sets to recreate them for my spring card - take a look:

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

I stamped the wellington boots from the 'Under My Umbrella' stamp set and them masked off elements of the 'Love is Kindness' set to fill the boots with tulips. I coloured the completed images with my Stampin' Blends markers in the same colours as the inspiration picture, then added them to a Lovely Arrangements diecut and a (retired) Tahitian Tide cardbase to bring out the blue of the boots:

A simple sunny sentiment completes my card. Do you ever combine sets to create something new in this way? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear about any of your stamp set combinations.

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'!

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and as it's the 5th Sunday of the month she has a fun tictactoe challenge for us to work with:

I  went across the top row and also down the middle column with diecut/twine/sentiment and twine/flowers/patterned paper and cut into more of my Lovely Blossoms papers for today's card - take a look:

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

I made this card at the same time as I made this one a couple of weeks ago, but for this one went with the pale pink/peach, blue and white colour scheme. I used a white cardbase and a mat of two white dicut circle panels, then created a montage of papers in two different sized squares, cut with the Stylish Shape Dies. I then added a stamped flower and some leaves, and a simple skinny block sentiment, all from the Lovely Arrangements bundle:

A twine bow and some enamel dots complete my card. This one feels cleaner than the last card I made with this set, but still showcases the pretty colours and patterns of those papers. I'm so glad I bought this suite!

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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Sunday Stamps where they have this beautiful colour palette:

All of these colours are featured in the Lovely Blossoms designer series paper so I knew I was going to have to create a card to play along. I used all of the colours except for the pale peach - take a look at my finished card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Lovely Blossoms - Today's card is about two of my favourite things: designer series paper and layers (I know, shocker, right?!) I don't normally mix lots of patterns, but the papers in the Lovely Blossoms pack co-ordinate so beautifully which each other, it makes mixing them easy. I also wanted to use part of the strip of smaller squares of pattern that borders the mixed design sheet, so I chose that as my starting point and used this against the edge of my card. I then cut another could of squares in co-ordinating shades to sit alongside this, diecutting some detail into the green panel that is bottom left, so that my card base was a patchwork of green, white and blue patterns. 

Lovely Layers - I then wanted to create a layered central focal point, so first embossed a square of Secret Sea cardstock with the Lovely Lines embossing folder (difficult to see in the photos), followed by the circles panel diecut in Cloud Cover. I then added another strip of Crumb Cake florals before adding some simple flowers, stamped and diecut using the Lovely Arrangements bundle, and finishing with my sentiment:

Finishing Touches - I added some co-ordinating enamel dots and an Old Olive twine bow to complete my card. So lots going on with this design, but I really love the finished 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; we are finally experiencing some lovely weather here in the UK, so I am going to spend the day outdoors making the most of it and cracking on with those gardening jobs. I might even wash the cars! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made using the layout over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday:

As soon as I saw this layout I knew it would be perfect to showcase more of the papers in the Lovely Blossoms pack - take a look:

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

I used one of the printed images from the pack as my focal point and added three co-ordinating patterns (2 from this pack and one from Florals in Bloom) for the background, adding torn edges for texture and interest. 

Some enamel dots and a stamped and diecut sentiment were all that was needed to complete my card. I love it when the patterned paper does all the heavy lifting!

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:

LOVELY BLOSSOMS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

LOVELY ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

MOODY PALETTE GLOSSY DOTS (£7.50)

SECRET SEA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

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 an interesting sketch challenge for us to work with:

A slimline card design with four shapes and a sentiment. As you know, I love a good sketch and I must say this one took on a life of its own! I have been really enjoying using my Lovely Arrangements suite of products and new that the flowers in the set would be perfect for those four focal points. I set to work and a considerable time later, I came up with this:

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

Lovely Arrangements - I  wanted the florals to be the centrepiece of each focal point, so echoing the colours in the panel of Lovely blossoms DSP I used for the background, I inked them in Cloud Cover then added some Secret Sea to the stamens with a sponge dauber before stamping. I backed each flower with a couple of diecut layered circles, having first run the top one through the dicutting machine with the background die to allow some of the colour behind to show through. I then added in some diecut leaves from the set, along with some additional ones cut using the Friendly Foliage Dies to add interest to the clusters:

There's a lot going on in each of these clusters, but I really like the full effect.

A Border To Die For? - Continuing in my exploration of different ways in which to use the rectangle-of-circles die in the Lovely Arrangements set, I cut several and used them to create an additional layered panel behind my DSP - did you spot it? It looks like a large scallop border - another great way to use this super-versatile die.

Words Of Beauty -  There's so much going on with this card, I thought it needed a big, bold sentiment - cue those Words of Beauty Dies, i just love them! This was the perfect sentiment for a special card to send to a friend who has been struggling recently and because of health issues, has needed to spend a lot of time isolating. I hope this will go some way to brightening her day.

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 have been enjoying the company of the youngest of the James Juniors this weekend, as he has been at home since he has a module break at university this week so decided to come home. We are not allowing ourselves to be consumed by the inevitable January blues though, and have booked a last-minute mini-break in search of some winter sunshine - so tomorrow we are off to Morocco! We feel a little guilty at leaving the hubby holding the fort since he can't join us due to work commitments (but not so guilty that we aren't going to go!!) I'll be back here on Friday with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVELY ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)	LOVELY BLOSSOMS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)	WORDS OF BEAUTY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	FRIENDLY FOLIAGE DIES (£23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	SPOTLIGHT ON NATURE DIES (£33.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CLOUD COVER A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SECRET SEA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SECRET SEA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)