Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by one of the beautiful images in the current Hand Stamped Sentiments inspiration photo:

I love so many of the photos in this inspiration picture, but today's card was totally inspired by that blueish foliage and those petal pink roses of the central photo on the top row - take a look:

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

Layers of Beauty - I adore the Layers of Beauty bundle, not least because it has a fantastic set of layering stencils with it too. Just three ink allow for so much detail and dimension - look at this close up to see what I mean:

The pink-peach tones of these roses are gorgeous, aren't they? I'm also linking up with the ladies over at Just Us Girls this week as it's stencil week; I've used these stencils for this challenge previously, but their versatility means that my card is completely different to my previous efforts - yay!

Diecut Fancy Fold - I have made such a wide variety of cards using this bundle (just search Layers of Beauty on my blog to see what I mean!) and each time I reach for it, I challenge myself to create something different. Today I thought I'd create a fancy fold using the large diecut florals. I stamped, stencilled and diecut two of the main images, then aligned them so that they crossed my card front and met in the middle, then scored them vertically and glued the outer edges to the back of my card. To open the card, the diecuts are opened left and right, to reveal the inner cardfront onto which I stamped my greeting:

 This card front can then be opened upwards to reveal the inside of the card:

I'm not sure if this kind of design has a special name - I'm just calling it 'diecut fancy fold' but if anyone believes it to have a specific name, do let me know!

Finishing Touches - I stamped and stencilled both the inside panel and the envelope at the same time as I made my card; if you stencil each layer as you go along, it doesn't take much longer to add these finishing touches. 

I love this card; I considered adding a butterfly - that's the only thing missing from the inspo photo - but I only have the Paper Butterfly Accents as current supplies and they didn't look right, and whilst I undoubtedly have something more appropriate on the retired boxes, they were proving elusive to say the least! I still love this card even without it, so I hope the HSS team will forgive this oversight ;-)

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:

LAYERS OF BEAUTY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (54.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	LOW-PROFILE DOTS (7.00)

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

I still had my Wildflower Birthday designer series papers out on my desk after making yesterday's card and I actually made a couple of cards using Ann's sketch. Both were quite different and I'll share the first one I made another time, but for today I wanted to share my favourite - take a look:

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

Everyday Arches Shaker - I decided to play with the layers of Ann's card, and create a central shaker element using the Everyday Arches Dies. I used a simple flat shaker, by filling an acetate bag with gold and teal covered sequins from my stash, along with a few gold birthday candles, and simply taped this to the reverse of my arch opening. This is a fun way to make a quick shaker and means you can keep any dimension for the other elements of your card.

Wildflower Birthday - The main focal point of my card is one of the delicious-looking over-the-top birthday cake diecuts from the Wildflower Birthday designer series paper pack. I just love these for a special birthday card! I used another of the paper designs for the frame to surround my shaker, widening the frame so that lots of the pattern is on show.

Wanted to Say - Today's card is a no-stamping card (other than the sentiment on the inside of my card). This wasn't by design - my first card that I made included a stamped sentiment - but as I put my card together, I liked the cleaner layers achieved by using bold diecuts and instead added a layered 'Celebrate' from the Wanted To Say Dies instead - this one pairs with the Birthday Celebration bundle perfectly:

This card is a non-standard size (it actually measures 15cm x 18.5cm) so will need a custom envelope. I think this is a good size to accommodate some of the larger diecut elements in the designer paper, but you could scale down and create something more compact if you prefer.

I'm linking today's card up with the ladies over at The Alphabet Challenge blog where they are at 'Y is for Yummy' - that birthday cake certainly does look delicious to me!

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; no specific plans here today, perhaps some time pottering in the garden if the weather holds. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

EVERYDAY ARCHES DIES (27.00)

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

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

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 it's clean and simple week! So along with minimal layers and embellishments and lots of white space, I have a fun theme for us to work with too:

Use just a single stamped image on your card - aside from a sentiment too if you wish, only one stamped image. A single image makes a great focal point for a clean and simple card; I paired mine with a great sketch layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and indulged in a spot of colouring on my card - take a look:

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

One More Year - I love the 'One More Year' stamp set for fun and quirky cards for both young people and the young-at-heart. In addition to a set of humorous mix and match sentiments, 'One More Year' features a trio of single stamped images that make great focal points too - I used the cheese and wine image, stamped onto a Nested Essentials diecut, adding some simple colour with my Stampin' Blends:

Clean and Simple - In addition to my stamped diecut, I added a couple of banner flags and a twist of gingham ribbon as per the sketch. Ordinarily I wouldn't use ribbon on a clean and simple card, but with such a simple design and that being the only embellishment, it adds detail whilst still allowing the card to have a clean design. 

Finishing Touches - I stamped and coloured the same image to decorate the inside of my card and stamped the other half of my sentiment to complete my card:

This is such a great set for clean and simple cards! What images do you like to use on your clean and simple cards? Leave me a comment below or better still, make a card and play along with us over at The Paper Players 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; I don't have any special plans today; I'll be spending some time in the kitchen and generally having an easy day. I'll be back tomorrow soon another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ONE MORE YEAR CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	LEMON LOLLY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BLACK & VERY VANILLA 3/8" (1 CM) LARGE CHECK RIBBON (7.50)

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 a pretty colour challenge for us to work with:

I don't often use pastel colours and certainly not exclusively, so this week was something of a challenge for me. I decided in honour of Jaydee not being a 'pink' person (I don't believe her - she often uses pink to great effect!!), that Bubble Bath would be my feature colour and when I saw the palette at Color Dare, I decided to pair it with Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam and a hint of Pool Party for my pastel vibes - take a look at where I ended up:

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

Add Colour - To achieve tones of the same colour, I diecut all of my flowers and leaves from solid colour cardstock and for the detailed top layer, I added the same colour ink with a blending brush to give a further depth of colour. 

Add Texture - This card is choc-full of texture with all of the diecut layers! Both the background die and the florals are all from the Delightful Wishes bundle and are diecut only - no stamping required. There are so many layers that with the exception of the sentiment, I didn't use any dimensionals; just by overlaying the flowers you can create depth and texture.

Add Movement - Finally I added a trio of Tiny Bee Trinkets - these little buzzy fellows don't actually move of course, but their presence gives a suggestion of movement to the card.

So what do you think - are pastels for you? Whilst they are generally not a 'go-to' for me, I really love the softness of the finished card. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone features pastels in the gallery 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; I am hoping to get out in the garden today and take advantage of the beautiful spring weather we've been having here in the UK this week - long may it continue! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DELIGHTFUL WISHES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	TINY BEE TRINKETS (8.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
BUBBLE BATH A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BUBBLE BATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SOFT SEA FOAM CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (14.00)

I had a little extra time in my craft room over the weekend so today I'm sharing a super quick clean and simple card that I made for a couple of challenges:

The CAS on Friday layout is a good one and I thought it would be fun to play along with Inkspirational who this week are all about clean and simple too, with the optional choice of ephemera. Take a look at what I came up with:

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

Do you ever look at the Memories and More packs in the Stampin' Up! catalogue? They are great for memory keeping but super useful for cards and home decor projects too. They contain both large and small cards, some of which are a cardfront in themselves, and usually a couple of sheets of ephemera or stickers. On my card today, I diecut a tag from one of the black and white patterned large cards and tied it with some black baker's twine - the twine, along with my bright yellow cardbase, were the only additional items to the Memories and More pack that I used on today's card. I cut a couple of strips from other cards in the pack to sit behind my tag, then added a circular sticker featuring tulips as my focal point:

I added a few of the individual coloured flower stickers to my tag for little pops of colour and a sentiment sticker that was also from the set to complete my card. The Mixed Media Florals Memories and More Pack really is great for this kind of quick, no stamping card; all of the elements coordinate in terms of colour and pattern, you just need to choose your favourites and create! The thing I love most about this card is the Daffodil Delight cardbase; I almost made my card with a white base, but when I'd laid it out, it looked a little 'flat'. The sunny yellow definitely fixed that!

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 later with my card for our new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

MIXED MEDIA FLORALS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (10.75)

BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

At last - March has arrived! 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 seasonal theme challenge for us to work with:

Spring flowers - I am so ready for spring! It has been beautifully crisp and sunny here in the UK for the last few days and finally there are signs of spring. Snowdrops and crocuses are blossoming, and daffodils are starting to bloom, with tulips not far behind. I knew that for today's card I wanted to create something bright and colourful using the tulips stamp in the Mixed Florals stamp set - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Full Of Life - My colour scheme for today's card was inspired by the piece of pink and orange ombre paper from the Full of Life pack. Like me, Claire is a fan of bright colours and I thought this injection of brights is just what was needed to propel us into spring! 

Mixed Florals - I used the large image featuring tulips on the front of my card - along with daffodils, tulips are the flower that most represents spring to me. I used lots of colours to get the blend of colours for my florals; I added some brass butterflies along with a Lemon-Lime Twist diecut piece behind, but really wanted the coloured florals to take centre stage:

I finished the front of my card with a diecut sentiment from the Greetings For All pack - I needed a bold sentiment to balance out the design.

Everyday Arches - I used one of the Everyday Arches Dies to frame my ombre designer paper on the front of my card, then used the insert to back another and create a simple pop-up design on the inside of my card for extra interest, and added another floral stem to decorate:

This kind of pop-up/out is so easy to use (you just need to score a strip of paper and create a four-sided 'box' to sit between the base and the panel you want to pop) and is a great way to do something a little different to add interest. 

Yay for brights and spring flowers - I can't wait to see what you create for this week's challenge. 

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'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

MIXED FLORALS BUNDLE (54.00)	EVERYDAY ARCHES DIES (27.00)	GREETINGS FOR ALL MIX & MATCH EPHEMERA PACK (ENGLISH) (6.75)	FULL OF LIFE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PEACH PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	LEMON LIME TWIST STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a couple of challenges:

The sun was finally shining here in the UK today and it had me thinking that spring might finally be on its way! I had the colours out on my desk along with my Floral Delight Suite as I wanted to make something 'sunny'  for the challenge over at Sunday Stamps and then I saw Linda's layout this week over at Freshly Made Sketches and it had me immediately inspired! Take a look at what I came up with:

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

Delightful Wishes - The Delightful Wishes bundle has so many pretty florals that are perfect for spring. I'm not sure what flower the stem is supposed to be. As a child, my neighbour's garden had a huge forsythia tree and this set so reminds me of it, especially when stamped in yellow. Those blooms are so cheery too, so that's what I went for as the central element of Linda's sketch, and placing the sentiment either side of it on the other side.  

Gingham Vellum - The Floral Delight Suite has two different sets of designer series paper: in addition to the Floral Delight paper, there is a Floral & Gingham Vellum pack, which includes a pretty Pool Party and White vellum. I used this to provide the background for the front of the card, and picked up the aqua with a trio of glossy dots too:

Inside Extra - I used a diecut and stamped stem on the front of my card and added a small stamped one to decorate the inside:

And I managed to use all of the colours on the Sunday Stamps palette too - bonus! I am so done with winter and ready for spring now - bring on the lighter, brighter days!

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:

DELIGHTFUL WISHES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	FLORAL & GINGHAM VELLUM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
SOFT SEA FOAM CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PECAN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	GLOSSY DOTS ASSORTMENT (7.50)

Happy hump day everyone! Today I'm sharing a super quick card that I made using the current layout over at AAA Cards:

 

I had some seagulls cut and coloured left over from another project, so I decided that a trio of them would work perfectly for that sketch - take a look:

 

I used a sentiment from the set, altering the layout slightly to work better for the sketch:

 

Finally, I added another seagull and some chips to the inside of my card for a final touch of decoration:

 

I think the 'Friendly Seagulls' stamp set is my favourite Sale-A-Bration free item of the whole promotion - so fun! There are just two more days remaining of this year's Sale-A-Bration, so if you have your eye on this set or any other free product, you have just a couple more days to place an order and get your hands on them.

I'm also linking today's card up for a second run over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog where the theme is 'W For Wings'. 

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

 

 

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)

SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

REAL RED 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 Stef to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

Full disclosure - I LOVE this sketch - there are so many creative possibilities! So much so, I have not one but three cards to share with you that all have it as the starting point. So first up, my challenge card! I had another idea that I wanted to try with the Thankful Garden stamp set, so I decided to use the blue/mauve colour combination 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:

Thankful Garden - I've made no secret of how much I love this bundle, that will launch with the new wave of Online Exclusives on 4th March. For today's card, I put the stencils to one side and used my Stampin' Write markers to outline colour the flower head and stem:

If you're not a fan of detailed colouring, this is a great way to use your Stampin' Write markers. You can currently receive not one but TWO colour family sets of Stampin' Write markers in addition to £130 of product for £99 when you join Stampin' Up! during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. That's also the only way you can receive the Thankful Garden bundle before the 4th March launch date - by adding it to your starter kit. Now there's two reasons to sign up before the promotion ends on Friday :-) I added a couple of white diecut leaves and embossed a panel of Fresh As A Daisy DSP with the (retired) Painted Texture Embossing Folder behind my blossom, a few gems and a sentiment I fussy cut from the Greetings For All Ephemera pack to complete my card. I debated whether or not to use up some ribbon and add a bow and really couldn't decide:

I decided on balance I preferred it without, but what do you think? Do leave me a comment and let me know!

Goodbye Boho Blue - Boho Blue and Moody Mauve are the featured blue and purple on today's card; both are 2023-25 In Colours that are due to retire at the end of April. I will be featuring these and the other in-colours in this set in the next couple of months, but take this as your first reminder: now is a great time to stock up on re-inkers and any other 2023-25 in-colour supplies. They often run out before the end of the catalogue sales period, so don't leave it too late. Besides, if you add them to your basket and spend £55 or more before the end of the month, you can add a free product to your basket too - win-win!

Take Two and Three - As I mentioned above, I think this sketch is a keeper and so versatile. Whilst I used the flower as my shape for my PP card, I created two more cards that were more faithful to the circle. The first one was an Easter card using the Frames and Flowers DSP and one of the diecut wreaths, along with a sentiment from one of my favourite retired Easter sets, 'Easter Promise':

This paper pack really is the pack that just keeps on giving, I've made so many cards using it. 

My third card was the the current challenge over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog where they are on 'W for Wings' and this time I used a full panel of Lily Pond Lane DSP, overlaid with a panel out of which I diecut a circle to frame and highlight the mama and her brood of ducklings:

Aren't they just so cute?! This card is actually for one of my team, to celebrate the addition of the new 'ducklings' that she has welcomed to her Stampin' Up! team during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion - she loves ducks! I could have kept going with this sketch - I'm so looking forward to see what everyone else does with it in the PP gallery this week!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's main 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 am making banoffee pie today - yum! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

GREETINGS FOR ALL MIX & MATCH EPHEMERA PACK (ENGLISH) (6.75)

2023–2025 IN COLOR STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (17.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

I've been playing more with my Thankful Garden bundle and since The Flower Challenge are asking for pink florals this month, I went pink to create a clean and simple card for the current 'friends' challenge over at Addicted to CAS too:

I'm also linking up for a second time over at Just Us Girls since 'friend' is also their word of the week and at Festive Friday where I chose pink, glossy dots, ink blending and words of encouragement/kindness from the inspo list. Take a look at what I came up with:

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

I kept things simple, this time stamping my flower directly onto my cardbase before stencilling to colour. I paired one of the sentiments in the set with a layered diecut 'friend' from the Friends for Life bundle to change it up a little: 

 A trio of enamel dots complete my card. I really like this card - these stencils really are great!

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 on Friday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDS FOR LIFE DIES (ENGLISH) (32.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	PRETTY IN PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)
MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)