As is customary these days, I'm here with a late and quick post on a Saturday evening with a card I made using Narelle's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the inspiration photo at Just Add Ink:

I loved Narelle's sketch, although the splatters made me nervous (mine are so subtle you can barely see them!) and the inspiration photo at Just Add Ink was just asking for a final farewell to the blousy flower in the 'To A Wild Rose' stamp set - take a look:

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

I paired my wild rose with a diecut from the Birds and More Dies to add interest to my circle element and stamped my flower in Daffodil Delight and So Saffron, with the leaves in Garden green and outlined in the new in-color, Evening Evergreen. I added some fine splatter with my So Saffron Stampin' Write marker, a heat embossed sentiment and a trio of white elegant faceted gems to finish:

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 and I'll be back tomorrow with another project (or two!) for tomorrow's new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am the hostess this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BIRDS & MORE DIES (£32.00)	WILD ROSE DIES (£8.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I have a couple of cards for you - hence my somewhat random blog title! The first for the current colour challenge over at Color Throwdown, using the sketch over at TGIF Challenges and with a stamp and embossed background that also fits the bill over at Christmas Kickstart who are partnering with a new-to-me challenge Squash It this time around:

That is a fairly hefty set of linkups, but when you look at my card it's super easy to see how each and every one inspired my project - take a look:

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

Snowman Season - When I saw those Color Throwdown colours, I immediately thought 'snowman' and was delighted that they gave me an excuse to break out one of my much-loved stamp sets from last year, 'Snowman Season'. This set was carried over into the annual catalogue, but hasn't seen any love from me yet this season, with so many new stamp sets taking precedence! Today's card rectifies that though - how adorable is this chap, heat embossed in silver and carefully coloured with Pool Party and Poppy Parade Blends? 

Oval Centrepiece - The sketch over at #TGIFC290 was just perfect to showcase my snowman and it also encouraged me to use another shape I don't naturally gravitate towards - ovals! I went with a stitched oval to frame my snowman and added a Poppy Parade scallop-edged oval background mat, to allow it to pop against the Pool Party embossed background. 

Winter Snow - Lastly, to the embossed background! I ran my Pool Party layer through Stampin' Up!'s Winter Snow embossing folder to create a pretty background of delicately embossed snowflakes, which I felt complimented my snowman perfectly. Check out the detail on the angled shot below:

I love that something old can pair so well with something new - it's almost as if they were meant for each other!

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. 

And for my second card today I am playing along with this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge and the photo inspiration over at Just Add Ink:

Karren's FMS sketch is a real go-to for me (if you search my blog you'll see lots of cards with this layout) so I thought I would challenge myself to rotate the sketch and work with it in the horizontal orientation and, inspired by those brightly coloured trees in the JAI photo, I created an unconventionally coloured Christmas card, again pairing something old with something new - take a look:

Here's the lowdown on this card:

Pine Tree Punch - I decided to use my Pine Tree Punch to create some bold block-colour Christmas trees, and went with a layered white background to allow the colours to really pop. I used a single (retired) enamel star in an alternating colour to top each one.

Plaid Tidings - In the absence of any dotty paper like the background trees in the inspiration photo, I decided to take inspiration for my bright colour combination from the trio of colours featured in my chosen design of Plaid Tidings designer series paper: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Seaside Spray. I love that this paper pack contains some unusual plaid colours and whilst unconventional, I like the effect of these colourful trees.

Banner Year Sentiments - The sentiment on my card is from the 'Banner Year' sentiment set, embellished with a silver-painted (retired) wooden star from my stash, and finishes inside my card as follows:

I really like the way this card turned out - unconventional colours on Christmas cards really change things up and I'm pleased I managed to stretch my use of this great layout 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. 

That's me done for today! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used - Card 1:

SNOWMAN SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£17.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	LAYERING OVALS DIES (£33.00)	WINTER SNOW EMBOSSING FOLDER (£7.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	SILVER STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used - Card 2:

PINE TREE PUNCH (£17.00)	PLAID TIDINGS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	RICH RAZZLEBERRY CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)	RICH RAZZLEBERRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SEASIDE SPRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MELON MAMBO CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	BANNER YEAR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the talented Sandy to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

I haven't been getting as much time to get in my office and craft as much as I'd like lately, so decided that today I was going to make a card using a set that was at the top of my wish list as soon as I set eyes on the Spring-Summer catalogue, along with the Fusion sketch for my layout - take a look:

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

Beautiful You - I loved this set the moment I saw it! Sketched outlines of the female form and some great sentiments in fonts that combine script and print; now who wouldn't want to receive a card with the sentiment 'Happy birthday, Gorgeous'? That's guaranteed to raise a smile. Here I stamped the elegant lady in the hat in Archival Black in watercolour paper and coloured her in with Melon Mambo ink and my aquapainter. This set has so many creative possibilities, I'm really looking forward to using it in lots of other ways too.

A Pop of Pink - Having chosen pink as my 'colour', I spent some time experimenting with different layouts and pattern combinations and decided on a plain Melon Mambo central panel with a piece of Pop of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper beneath it.

Stitched Framelits are back! - I chose to cut out my elegant lady with my Layered Oval Framelits and frame it with a simple stitched oval in mat black. Why am I teasing you with something you can't get hold of, I hear you cry? Well, fear not - as of tomorrow, 16th January, Stitched Framelits are back in stock and available to order - woohoo! These are the perfect way to add the finishing touch to a border or frame. Order yours tomorrow!

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. 

I'm also linking my card up with the challenge over at Stamp, Ink Paper where this week the challenge is also black, white and one colour; what are the odds?!

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are off to watch the National League basketball finals today - the tickets were one of Ben's Christmas presents. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Beautiful You Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Pop Of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper	Aqua Painters
Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	White Perfect Accents	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Watercolor Paper

It's Sunday and time for the first challenge of 2017 over at The Paper Players! Did you spot our new look? Our fearless leader, the lovely Nance, has given us a refresh and makeover over the Christmas break and we are returning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and raring to go! Our new guest designers are joining us too; a warm PP welcome to Crystal, Valentyna and Deanne - we are so happy to have you join us for the first part of 2017! 

To kick off the new year, it's the turn of my good friend LeAnne to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for us to work with:

If your house is anything like mine, the festive season has generated much packaging waste and many opportunities for recycling. So this week's challenge is perfect! I took the opportunity to recycle a Christmas gift on my card today and used the sketch over at Fab Friday for my layout. Recycling Christmas gifts already?! It's not quite as bad as it sounds - take a look:

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

Join The Colouring Craze - One of my Christmas gifts was a page-a-day colouring calendar. Well, to be truthful I bought one for Rebecca and loved it so much I treated myself to one! The calendar comes in a pretty box that can be used to display our coloured pieces once completed. I decided that by recycling my pages, I could easily use them to create a birthday card. Here's my day one finished page before I trimmed it to fit my card:

Effortless Blending - I coloured my page using Stampin' Up!'s new watercolour pencils and used a blender pen to seamlessly blend the colours and give a smooth finish as the paper was too thin to blend using an aquapainter. I also adhered my coloured piece to a piece of extra thick Whisper White for extra rigidity. I love that these pencils can be used in a number of different ways and am looking forward to trying other techniques with them too.

A Fiesta of Colour - I chose to inject some bright summer colour into my card today, using a card base of Daffodil Delight and a selection of papers from the Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper set for my layers behind the coloured-in panel. I love these clashing brights - here are my main colours in case you would like to save them for future project inspiration 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. 

I hope you like today's card; you could create the same effect using the new 'Inside The Lines' Designer Series Paper Sale-A-Bration gift (free with a purchase of £45 or more) - I will have a fun project for you using this paper later this week, so be sure to pop by and check it out.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing what you create with our fun theme this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Watercolor Pencils	Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper	Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock
Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Brights Enamel Shapes	Blender Pens