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 know they aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I do love a good one layer card! I decided to use the 'everything beach' inspiration from another of my favourite clean and simple challenges, AAA Cards, to create my one layer wonder for you today - take a look:

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

One of the challenges with a one layer card is the ability to create a scene with depth, without having actual layers to do it. This is where technique such as masking and stencilling can prove really useful. For my card today, I first stamped the pelican from the 'Waves of Inspiration' stamp set in Smoky Slate. I added a touch of colour to this image with my watercolour pencils; not generally my first choice of colouring medium, but super useful when creating a one layer card, as you won't get any bleeding of colour onto the reverse, something which is unavoidable if you are colouring with Stampin' Blends markers, for example. I then stamped the same image onto a post-it note and fussy cut it to create a mask; I positioned this over the stamped image on my card so that I could add my background. 

I decided to stamp my sea in Lost Lagoon (I applied the ink to my stamp using a blending brush for a soft finish), using the sea stamp in the 'Oceanfront' stamp set. It isn't wide enough to cover the width of the card, but it was easy to extend the stamp by first stamping one side of the mask, then repositioning the card and stamping the other side, being careful to ink only the edge of the sea stamp and not overstamp the sea to the left of the mask. I then used a cloud stencil and some Pool Party ink and a blending brush to add in a hint of cloudy sky behind the pelican - you can see that better on the close up below:

Finally I added a trio of seagulls in Basic Grey and stamped my sentiment in black just above the horizon line. I didn't add any embellishments and by keeping my design to the bottom third of my card managed to preserve that all-important 'white space' of a clean and simple card 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:

Enjoy your day; It's Father's Day here in the UK today so whilst I might be looking forward to enjoying another day of sunshine and relaxation (fingers crossed!), I suspect it might be the DH who will have his feet up! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WAVES OF INSPIRATION CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 1 (15.00)	LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card inspired by the photo over at Just Add Ink that also uses this week's Global Design Project #GDP398 sketch (rotated anti-clockwise 45 degrees):

The photo inspiration over at Just Add Ink this week is really beautiful and whilst I would usually make my sunset scenes with some ink blending or brayering, having had the 'Oceanfront' stamp set out on my desk for a few cards recently I decided to see if I could create a similar scene using these scenic stamps. I had a little play and this is what I came up with:

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

I stamped each of the elements - sky, sea and foreground - one at a time. My top tip is that your Stamparatus is a must for this kind of card: it makes aligning the stamps super easy, but also allows you to build up your colours gradually when you apply each one individually. I took card to not allow each colour to overlap too much as I wanted to avoid a 'muddy' line of colour. Other than that, it really was quite straightforward; once the background elements were in place, I stamped my foliage and grasses, going over each several times to get a strong black image. I used a back panel layer of Gorgeous Grape to bring out the purple of the water and having rotated the GDP sketch, I decided to use some diecut grasses (I used the retired Harvest Dies) for the final element and dispense with a sentiment: 

This card was the result of a few attempts until I achieved something I was happy with and I'm really pleased with the end result. If you have often looked at scene-building sets but have been put off by the need to 'put them together' to make something, the 'Oceanfront' stamp set is a really good set to start with: the pieces fit together to make a simple scene without too much imagination required, but this can be easily built on and by changing out colour schemes can be used to create a completely different look and feel. Why not find a photo of a favourite seascape and try and recreate it as I've done 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. 

Today is the penultimate GCSE exam for the youngest of the James Juniors - to say that he is beginning to feel demob-happy is an understatement! We have only just reached the halfway point as far as A Levels are concerned though, so the challenge for the next 2 weeks will be maintaining a state of equilibrium I feel! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

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

I decided to use Jen M's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and was also inspired by the masculine blues and browns of Laurel's Inspired By photo for my Father's Day card this week - take a look:

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

Oceanfront - I haven't used the Oceanfront stamp set in ages, so thought today's card was a good opportunity to rectify this! This is such a great stamp for making beautiful beach scenes and is so easy to use. I stamped my scene with a Boho Blue sky, Misty Moonlight ocean and Crumb Cake sand with Copper Clay grasses - done! I also added some birds in Pebble Path from the 'Beside Me' set that I had out on my desk for my sentiment and some retired pebble enamel shapes to add a little extra detail. I wanted to diecut my scene with a stitched rectangle, but since they are now retired I thought I would consider other current options first and what do you know - one of the scalloped rectangles in the Scalloped Contours Dies was the perfect size!

Fresh As A Daisy - I used two pieces of designer paper for my split panel background - do you recognise them? In addition to all of the lovely floral patterns, the Fresh As A Daisy papers have a beautiful wash reverse in each of the new in-colours. I used the Boho Blue and Copper Clay papers to echo the colours of my oceanfront scene, with the diagonal proving a useful way to combine the two.

A Sketch Liberty - Whilst I think it's clear to see how Jen's FMS sketch inspired my layout this week, you will notice I did take a few liberties with it to suit my finished design (I hope she doesn't mind!). The size of my final card is larger than usual (14.9cm x 21cm) as I wanted to be able to accommodate my scene and still have plenty of background on show. I also re-angled the diagonal of my background layer; I wanted the diagonal to follow the diagonal of the shoreline of my ocean scene, so instead of going corner to corner I cut across the the main panel. This way the design still looks cohesive and the diagonal works with my scene, rather than making everything look slightly out of kilter:

A simple heat-embossed sentiment cut out with the label (shortened to fit) from the Cheerful Daisies Dies and a fancy linen thread bow complete my Father's Day card. This one will be headed to my Dad in a couple of weeks time - hope he likes it!

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; after what has been a decidedly chilly week here in the UK, the sun is finally shining and temperatures are on the up - hurrah! I am looking forward to spending some time in the garden today, hopefully with a good book. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	BESIDE ME CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (33.00)	FRESH AS A DAISY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.98)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
COPPER CLAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BOHO BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PEBBLED PATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	CHEERFUL DAISIES DIES (32.00)

Happy Friday everyone - the weekend will soon be here! Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Wetland Day' which is on 2nd February and here's our inspiration board:

Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used grasses, green, brown, water and blue from the inspo list along with this week's sketch layout over at Inspire.Create - but my card is more coastal than wetlands, with a distinctly Caribbean influence - take a look: 

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

An Ocean Scene - I decided to break open my new 'Oceanfront' stamp set and create a tranquil coastal scene for my card. This set is so fun with endless creative possibilities! I inked my stamps then brushed additional colour onto them with a blending brush to even the tones and stamped straight onto my panel of white cardstock, beginning with the sky and working downwards until my scene was complete.  

Relax On The Horizon - Oceanfront is a sentiment-free set, so I made my banner sentiments from the 'On The Horizon' stamp set, stamping the 'Relax enjoy your day!' wording twice, once in Early Espresso for the bottom banner and once in Granny Apple Green, so that I could fussy-cut the word detail, which I then backed with a scrap of green and white gingham check from my bits box:

I played around with the banner lengths in relation to the sketch to make them work for my design and added some linen twine and a simple bow to add to the beachy feel of my card.

Another stamp from within the same set was used to finish the inside, with some added grasses:

Pick A Pebble - Finally, I added a trio of shiny brown enamel pebbles to the base of my scene for added interest - these make a great added detail for the seaside theme.

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 just love this card; it reminds me of many vacations in the Caribbean where I used to enjoy deserted beaches, warm waters and sunshine and escape the worst of the British winter each February 'BC' (before children, that is!)

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the  Festive Friday Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Stephanie Lanzalotto
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£21.00)	ON THE HORIZON CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	PEBBLES ENAMEL SHAPES (£7.00)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SAHARA SAND CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)