Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fusion where I used both the sketch and the pink and red hearts in the photo for my inspiration:

No cupcakes on today's card, although I did try and incorporate a little chocolate brown colour! I I have a card that would work for Valentine's, or any other time that you'd like to let someone know how awesome they are - take a look:

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

Today's card features one of the cute otters from the 'Awesome Otters' stamp set - one of the many items that can be yours free with a £45 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. I coloured him with my new skin tone Blends markers - so great to now have so many neutral tone Blends to choose from! - and then heat embossed a sentiment from the same set onto a red diecut heart for him to hold. I love that the heart is so big it looks like the otter can barely hold it up!

I backed the whole thing with more of my favourite Sweet Talk heart patterned paper, and for the horizontal banner added a red glimmer diecut; what to use for the horizontal caused me most of the thinking time on today's card and I tried a whole range of things before settling on this!

Did you know that otters hold hands so that they don't drift away from each other as they sleep? I think that's so sweet! My other half definitely does not display any otter-like tendencies, preferring plenty of space down the middle of the bed to ensure a good night's sleep! He's thoughtful in other ways though - and will be cooking Valentine's dinner for four this evening, so no complaints from 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 '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:

AWESOME OTTERS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SWEET TALK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM COMBO (£8.25)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM DEEP COMBO (£8.25)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went down the first column with red/heart/sentiment (my card also works for the middle row of heart/free/stitching) and I used the lovely red and pink hearts inspo over at Double D and the fabulous sketch over at Sunday Stamps (this one is a keeper ladies!) for the layout for my sweet-on-you card today - take a look:

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

Sweet Talk - The Sunday Stamps sketch was crying out for a showcase of some lovely patterned paper (check out the DT cards on the link above - they are amazing!) so I decided to go all-out pink and red hearts and use another two contrasting patterns from the Sweet Talk paper pack that I used for yesterday's card. I used one for my card base, then with a layer of Real Red in between, added a panel decorated with pink and red lollipops and hearts - so sweet!

All About The Angles - Today card is all about the angles, or more specifically, rectangles! I used two large ones for the central tilted panels, then two smaller ones for the sentiment detail. The Stitched Rectangle Dies are such a great way to frame a piece of paper or scene and add subtle detail, without detracting from the main event. 

All About Love - The die cut 'love you' sentiment on the front of my card is actually part of the larger diecut sentiment in the 'Love You More Than' Dies set, where I just used the first two words. I love to look at diecut word sets to see how they can be repurposed or reused with other sets to expand their range of use:

I fussy cut some lollipops and sweets from another of the sheets of Sweet Talk patterned paper and tucked these in just beneath my sentiment for an extra fun touch.

I added a sentiment from 'A Wish For Everything' to the inside of my card - this is one of my favourite sentiment sets:

My card can be used at any time to remind the recipient that they are loved - after all, to love is for always, not just for Valentine's!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your evening; I am out this evening attending a music recital that includes a performance of a piece of music that Rebecca wrote for her GCSE Music exam earlier this year. When I asked if she'd like to come with me, she said 'Why would I want to do that? I wrote it, so I know what it sounds like - I'm off to hockey training!' And that was the end of that - you can't fault teenage logic!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET TALK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)

LOVE YOU MORE THAN DIES (£28.00)

STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)

A WISH FOR EVERYTHING CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£36.00)

REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today I'm sharing a quick card that uses the colours and inspiration photo over at Color Dare that is perfect for the JUGS Challenge this week too:

I thought this pattern in the 'Sweet Talk' designer series paper pack, covered in love hearts is pretty much all of the colours in the inspiration photo, would be perfect for a quick card for your 'Galentine' (apparently that is a word!) - take a look:

I snipped off the corner and placed another pattern from this pack (it just so happens to be the reverse of the main sheet) underneath, adding a heart diecut border cut with one of the dies in the Floral Hearts Dies set across the join, and finished with a diecut heart in Petal Pink that I retrieved from my scrap box (it was actually cut from the centre of the large floral die in the aforementioned set) and adding a trio of 'BFF' white letters cut with my Playful Alphabets Dies for my very own 'love heart' focal point:

Super simple, no stamping and a great way to let the paper do all the hard work - I love that jumble of colourful hearts!

So is it me, or do teenagers use acronyms such as 'BFF' ('best friend forever' in case you're not familiar!) more and more these days? They creep into our family WhatsApp chats such that sometimes I feel like I need a translator to understand what's going on - I must be getting old lol! (there's another one!) And for anyone out there not familiar with the concept of 'Galentine's Day' - this is celebrated on February 13th and is a combination of the words 'gal' and 'valentine' and was coined as the perfect day to celebrate female friendships - so there's something else to add to the cardmaking calendar!

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:

SWEET TALK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)

FLORAL HEART DIES (£35.00)

PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)

PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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

Love and friendship is our theme this week and my card today is all heart (perfect for the hearts challenge over at Double D). I used the sketch layout over at Paper Craft Crew and decided to put into practice an idea I've been wanting to try with another Valentine's card using the awesome 'Nuts & Bolts' stamp set - take a look:

At first glance, my card is quite simple: some stamped tone-on-tone hearts on my pink layer, a square of heart-patterned Sweet Talk designer paper and a robot, coloured with my Smoky Slate and Real Red Stampin' Blends.

The best part about today's card though? It lights up! I used a simple circuit and a red LED to give my heart a fun Valentine's glow:

When you press the sentiment, it light up the heart - check it out on the video clip below:

This type of card is so easy to create - and the interactive element makes for a super-cute card, right?! I also used an offcut strip of paper and one of the other robots in the set to decorate the inside of my 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'm also linking today's card up for a second entry over at SUO Challenges where they are all about Valentine's Day for their current challenge.

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: 

NUTS & BOLTS CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	SWEET TALK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely LeAnne is the featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went with the first column of pink/Valentine or heart/white for my card today and took the layout from Fusion (I made it horizontal to fit everything in0!) and red, pink and black from the 'cool winter love' colour palette over at Sunday Stamps and used some new papers and a new stamp set too - take a look:

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

For The Record - The 'For The Record' stamp set on page 74 of the mini catalogue is most definitely the star of today's card! With sentiments for a range of occasions, this set is sure to be a hit with vinyl collectors and music lovers alike and has a fun retro vibe! Both my record and sentiment come from this set.

Sweet Talk - I decided to go all-out with the sweet talking on today's card, not only with the fun sentiment but also this heart-filled background designer series paper that is from the Sweet Talk pack. 

Shimmer and Shine - The detail on this record is great and totally lends itself to being heat embossed, to show the ridges and grooves. I stamped and heat-embossed the heart at the centre of the record again in black on Real Red cardstock then fussy cut it out, then filled it with Shimmery Crystal Effects for added sparkle and shine:

This card is bold, bright and full of fun - perfect for the favourite song in your life!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. Also, if you like this layout, spoiler alert - I used the same Fusion sketch as the starting point for tomorrow's card too for our new challenge over at As You See It - although that card couldn't be more different! Come back tomorrow to see my second take on this great layout.

Enjoy your evening; until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FOR THE RECORD CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	SWEET TALK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
SHIMMERY CRYSTAL EFFECTS (£4.75)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)