Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's a colour challenge, chosen by Deborah:

I love Melon Mambo - the original and best pink in my view so this was always going to be a popular colour combo with me! I was still in a stencilling move after making yesterday's card, so decided to grab the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge (although I was slightly contrary, adding the pattern inside my arch rather than on the base panel) and set to work - take a look:

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

I decided to use the primrose-type flowers in the Thankful Garden pack, stamping and colouring the petals twice and fussy cutting and layering my Peach Pie centre onto my Melon Mambo main petals. I placed my flowers inside a layered arch and used the same floral stamp to create a light background in Peach Pie - something I'd seen my team mate Jan do on one of her cards recently and I liked the effect, so wanted to try it myself; you can see that detail better below:

A thankyou sentiment and a few colourful enamel dots complete my card, along with an outline stamp detail on the inside of my card and the corner of my envelope - no naked layers here! 

Another reminder too that the Thankful Garden Suite is one of a number of suites that are part of this month's 'Buy one, get one at 50% off' promotion - so whether it's the bundle or the whole suite that has taken your fancy, there are great savings to be had. You can read more about the promotion here - there are just 3 more days to go to make the most of it, so what are you waiting for? Check out the featured suites in the online store today!

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.
• For a Colour Challenge use all of the given colours and only those colours with these exceptions:
• White and Very Vanilla are free colours.
• In addition, you may use of ONE of these neutrals: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige.
• 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:

THANKFUL GARDEN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£62.00)	EVERYDAY ARCHES DIES (£27.00)	PEACH PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	PEACH PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SUNNY DAY IRIDESCENT DOTS (£6.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

It's my fourth and final week as Guest Designer over at Just us Girls and this week it's Stencil Week and anything goes. 

Stencils are also the theme over at Inkspirational this week, with the optional theme of geometric, so I went on the hunt for something vaguely geometric in style and grabbed the clashing colours over at Color Dare and set to work. Take a look at what I came up with:

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

I'm often drawn to bright, clashing colours (especially where they feature orange outside of Halloween season!) and I thought this trio would look great balanced with an abundance of white for a fun stencilled background. I grabbed my retired Loveliest Layers Decorative Masks and created a fun chequered background in Pumpkin Pie and Berry Burst, masking the edges to create an even border. A simple Pretty Peacock border and layered diecut sentiment was all I needed to complete my card:

I could really do with more stencils in my collection - they are so versatile and fun to create with. Check out the other JUGS designers for some fabulous stencil inspiration; why not see what you can find in your craft stash to play along 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Thanks to the lovely ladies over at Just Us Girls for having me as their guest designer this month - it's been a blast and I can't wait to play along with you all again soon! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for out new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDS FOR LIFE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)

It's time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches! I'm a little late with my card as we went live yesterday (sometimes life just gets in the way!) but I'm here now. Shannon is hosting this month and our second challenge is a colour challenge: 

The blue in this trio of colours made me think of water (perfect for the challenge over at Addicted to CAS too!) and whilst given the time of year, you might have thought I would go for beachy waves, I decided inside to use an old favourite whilst it's still available on the last chance list - take a look:

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

That sweet bunny in the 'Playing In The Rain' stamp set looks great in these colours doesn't she? I simply stamped her and coloured with my Stampin' Blends, then added some extra stamped raindrops to complete the picture:

Stamps, ink, paper - done! I'm also linking today's card up over at AAA Cards where the theme is 'anything CAS goes'.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for my final guest appearance over at Just Us Girls. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLAYING IN THE RAIN CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£10.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)	FRESH FREESIA STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (£10.25)	BUBBLE BATH STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (£10.25)	AZURE AFTERNOON STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (£10.25)
AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO 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 Elizabeth to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

Yes this week it's a sketch challenge with a difference - no specific layout; instead the challenge is to make a one layer card design. I knew exactly where I was going with this, although it did take me a while to get there (more on that to follow!) For now, here's my card - take a look:

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

One Layer Definition - For the avoidance of doubt, we are using the following as our definition of a one layer card:

"A one-layer card is a simple card made from a single piece of cardstock or paper, with no additional layers or embellishments. The design is directly printed, stamped, or drawn onto the surface of the card base”.

In other words, if you need glue - it isn't one layer! 

Peaceful View - A background stamp such as 'Peaceful View' is great for a one layer card, in as much as the entire scene is laid out in one go. Ideally, you need a card base that is smaller than the main image, so that the image goes off the edge, however I decided I'd try something a little more complicated and stamp the image leaving a border around the edge, to give the illusion of another layer. I also wanted to heat emboss the main image (perfect for my entry into 'E is for Embossing' over at The Alphabet Challenge) to add more depth. I'm not going to lie, both of these things complicate a one layer card and it did take me a couple of attempts to achieve the end result. In case you want to give it a go, this is how I did it, step by step:

• Use a stamping platform - essential for even stamp coverage with a large stamp with solid blocks of colour like this
• Mask a border around your cardfront using masking tape
• Use an embossing buddy liberally over the cardfront before you stamp to reduce static
• Ink the image with Versamark and use a Versamrk pen to touch up the edges where the stamp borders the masking tape to ensure good coverage and clean, straight edges
• Emboss the image with black embossing powder
• Ink with a blending brush/es to colour as desired
• Wipe with a tissue or soft cloth to remove any excess ink on the embossed areas
• Remove the masking tape to reveal the border

The touching up of the edges before embossing is key to achieving a clean finish - skip this step and you will lose the effect.

Summer Sunset - There are lots of ways that you could colour the finish image; I decided to go with a summer sunset (perfect for the 'Summer' challenge over at CAS on Friday) and I was actually inspired by a sunset I saw in a movie a couple of weeks ago ('Sicario' by Taylor Sheridan if you were wondering - not up to Yellowstone standards in my view, but the sunset was amazing!) and it just so happened that the team at Color Hues were using the exact same two colours I decided to use: peach and cobalt. I used Peach Pie and (retired) Starry Sky respectively (although you could use Blueberry Bushel for a close match if you don't have Starry Sky) and I used my blending brushes to create a gradient of colour, with just two inks:

I left my card sentiment-free; I could have placed one on that area of open sky between the bird on the fence and the tree, but I really didn't want to detract from the beauty of the scene itself. I didn't add a single embellishment or other detail to my card - and I can honestly say, I love the finished result! What a great challenge - I can't wait to see what you do with it 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 James Junior and I are 'home alone' this week as the hubby is in China on business, but since A-Levels are now officially over and the youngest of the James Juniors is 'unemployed' until he hopefully starts university in September, we have lots of fun planned. Today we are off to the home of British Formula 1 racing, Silverstone, for an advanced driving skills day with our local police force (unfortunately I don't get to drive - just spectate), followed by a pub meal on the way home - so looking forward to that! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PEACEFUL VIEW CLING STAMP SET (£19.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)	BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (£20.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)	PEACH PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)
BLUEBERRY BUSHEL 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)

Today I have a second post for a card I made for the challenges over at TGIF Challenges and Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I can never resist a good sketch and I was totally inspired by the pretty colour palettes over at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week (I chose the one on the right). I decided to heat-emboss my flower in white for a change - allowing me a second entry over at The Flower Challenge too. To my card - take a look:

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

I used both the pinks and lilacs of the HSS colour palette and the hydrangeas in the photo above to create the focal point of a single hydrangea, heat-embossed in white and blended with a trio of colours, and also added extra petals that I'd snipped from a second flower for added dimension. I emphasised the circular element of the sketch by stamping my base with the circular stamp from 'Elements of Text' along with some splatters - you can see that detail on the background better in the close up below:

I added a strip of (retired) Lighter Than Air DSP across the bottom below my repeated sentiment and some extra diecut leaves, ribbon and pearls to finish. It's a little bit busier than my usual style, especially with the loopy ribbon, but I love the finished effect - especially with the repeated sentiment banner.

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 - it's still hot, hot, hot here! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

THANKFUL GARDEN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£62.00)	ELEMENTS OF TEXT CLING STAMP SET (£25.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (£20.00)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	BUBBLE BATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	PRETTY IN PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHITE CRAFT REFILL (£10.00)

It's my third week as Guest Designer over at Just us Girls and this week it's Mood Board Week and we have a beautiful summery scene to inspire you:

How beautiful are those poppies on the beach? For my card I reached into my retired box to find my Painted Poppies stamp set, to create a clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I must confess I had a couple of attempts at this one - for the first one I went all-in trying to create the various elements of this beautiful beach scene, but I ended up binning it as it was 'too much' - does that ever happen to you? For my second attempt, I stamped a single poppy, coloured it with my Stampin' Blends, then masked both it and a rectangle around it, and used a combination of two blues and a yellow added with a blending brush to evoke the sky, sea and sand of the scene, with just a little tone-on-tone stamping of grains of sand and seashells in one corner:

A trio of iridescent faceted enamel dots and a simple sentiment from the 'Peaceful moments' stamp set (also retired), popped up on dimensionals, complete my card.

Poppies do make for a lovely sympathy/remembrance card, hence my chosen sentiment, and I think paired with these summery colours make for an uplifting clean and simple card. How does this beachy scene inspire you? Why not play along and join us over at Just Add Girls 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 '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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£10.25)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£10.25)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)

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

Fresh and fruity - but in a clean and simple style! I  - couldn't resist another Celebratory Sips creation, with a focus on citrus fruits for today's card - take a look:

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

There's really not much to this one: a clean white card base, stamped in Cloud Cover with a retired sentiment from the 'Sweet Citrus' stamp set, and three glasses, one orange, one lemon and one lime adorned with fruit slices, fussy cut from the designer paper and popped up on dimensionals and a selection of sequins and enamel dots in coordinating colours from my collection to finish:

Doesn't that look so refreshing?! So what fresh and fruity creations do you have up your sleeve? We'd love you to share them with us, just remember to keep them clean and simple, which we define as:

• Lots of clean 'white' space (it doesn't have to be white in colour - just free of pattern)
• Minimal layers
• Minimal embellishments

This should be the overriding focus of your card - the fruity theme runs secondary to this.

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 we will be celebrating one of the best here in the James household. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CELEBRATORY SIPS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

CLOUD COVER CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£5.25)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's a sketch challenge, designed by yours truly:

I liked the idea of three 'somethings' overlaid with a sentiment and I think this is a sketch with so many creative options - the team have certainly done a fab job with it! I couldn't resist using it to showcase some pretty designer paper - fussy cut, of course! Take a look at what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Yes, I fussy cut a trio of birthday cakes from the Wildflower Birthday papers and added a simple heat embossed birthday sentiment from the (retired) 'Sending Smiles' stamp set. This paper does have a faint pink background, so I added some Pretty in Pink ink with a blending brush both behind my cakes and on my card base to give a soft, feminine feel:

A trio of faceted iridescent dots and a simple gold twine bow to pick up on the gold embossing on the paper complete my pretty birthday card. So what do you think when you see those 3 panels? Why not have a go and add your card to our challenge gallery?

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:

WILDFLOWER BIRTHDAY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

PRETTY IN PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)

It's my second week as Guest Designer over at Just us Girls and this week it's Word Week and the word is 'number':

Lots of ways to go with this one! I actually started my card with letters, rather than numbers - take a look and I'll explain more:

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

Party Alphabet Dies - I have a whole list of ideas I want to try with those new larger-than-life Party Alphabet Dies and today's number challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to try one! Given the size of the letter dies, there's a limit to how many you can fit onto a standard size card front, so today's greeting is in an easy-to-understand shorthand: HB2U! I diecut the letters from a piece of Basic Black cardstock ready to position some fun patterned paper behind, then used a (retired) Large Numbers Framelit of the number '2' to diecut my number. You could use a number die from the current Alphabet A La Mode Dies, but I wanted something a little more chunky.

Broadway Bound - I have been having fun playing along with the challenges over at TGIF Challenges lately and this week's almost neon colour palette totally caught my eye. It reminded me of the (retired) Broadway Bound designer series paper, covered in candles, cakes and party hats so I decided to hunt some out of my retired stash to use as the backing for my letters. It was then I discovered that my mind had somewhat played tricks on me, as the pink in this paper isn't actually my favourite hot pink, Melon Mambo, but the retired in-colour, Lovely Lipstick. By now I was committed to my idea though, so decided since there wasn't much in it I'd plough ahead - hopefully the ladies at TGIF Challenges will forgive me this oversight ;-) 

A Touch of Glimmer - Since we are all about the numbers over at Just Us Girls this week, I wanted to make mine standout. I popped it up on some dimensionals, overlapping the letters behind it and some Lemon-Lime Twist glimmer paper from my stash was just the thing for added impact:

A few sequins were the only additional decoration to complete my card. I was hoping that the graphic letters and bold colour scheme would make this card suitable for boys as well as girls; a quick consult with the youngest of the James Juniors suggested he would not be offended to either receive or send this card to one of his mates, so I think I'm safe!

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. 

So how do you like to feature numbers on your cards? The Just Us Girls Team have some fabulous inspiration for you too so why not take a look and add your numbered creation to the gallery at the same time?

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PARTY ALPHABET DIES (£93.00)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

LEMON LIME TWIST A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)