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 since it's the fifth Sunday of the month she has a tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with. here's the board:

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities and my card today is a case in point; I had decided to use the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for my layout and was planning on going across the bottom row, but ended up settling on the first column of designer paper/sparkle/flowers - take a look:

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

I had a couple of floral stamp sets out on my desk and was intending to stamp a whole bunch of pastel flowers, however as I went on the hunt through my DSP for a piece to use to my background panel, I found a pack of flowers that I had diecut ages ago from the (retired) Hues of Happiness designer series paper and decided instead to use those up. I gathered a selection of flowers in yellow and blue, along with some diecut leaves, and set to work. Since I was using designer paper for my flowers, I decided to emboss my Lemon Lolly background panel with the hatched Basics 3D embossing folder. I added in some white foliage diecuts and decided on a Nested Essentials Dies label with a greeting from the 'Textured Floral' stamp set, stamped in Coastal Cabana and Early Espresso:

A trio of golden sparkly enamel dots to pick up on the warm yellow tones complete both my tictactoe column and my card. I love how this card turned out and it was a great way to use up those diecut flowers 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; I am looking forward to a delicious Easter lunch today followed by the spoils of the morning Easter egg hunt that is obligatory in the James household (apparently the offspring are NEVER too old for such activity where chocolate is concerned!) I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL BUNDLE (49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! Happy Mother's Day to all the UK Mums out there! It's the turn of our globe-trotting team member Jaydee to host this week and she has a colour challenge for us to work with:

I used the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches for my layout (the large yellow flowers represent the hexagons) and went down the right hand column of the board over at TicTacToe Challenge with floral/embossing (I heat embossed my sentiment)/favourite colour (mine is yellow) and decided to create a large card full of bright and cheery florals - take a look:

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

I decided to use my 'Textured Floral' stamp set and coordinating dies since they haven't seen much love lately, and stamped a collection of flowers and greenery. Since we are using generic colours this week, I used a couple of shades of yellow and pink for my flowers to add interest. I added Daffodil Delight ink to my central panel with a blending brush along with some splatters, before adding my florals. To bring out the black and white elements, I added in some extra diecut foliage and a twist of gingham ribbon behind my sentiment label:

I do love the contrast of the neutrals with the bright colours! A few colourful sequins and gems complete the front of my card; I also added some of my leftover florals to decorate the inside of my card:

This card is larger than usual (it is A5 in size) with lots of dimension - it will make a lovely birthday card for someone special. The Textured Floral bundle is beautiful for blousy floral displays - I really should use it more often!

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; since it's Mother's Day here in the UK today, I am looking forward to a roast dinner and being spoiled by the youngest of the James Juniors! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL BUNDLE (49.50)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (6.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

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

These colours immediately made me think 'Halloween', but I really didn't want to make a Halloween card - so I challenged myself to make something floral! I'm using this week's Global Design Project #GDP414 sketch for my layout and this is also my entry for this month's Flower Challenge of 'anything goes' - and since they are celebrating their 7th birthday, I went with a birthday theme too. This is what I came up with:

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

I decided to use the Textured Floral bundle on my card. I stamped a selection of blooms in Highland Heather and Pumpkin Pie, stamping off the larger flowers once, and leaves in Old Olive, diecut them and used them to frame my aperture that I'd cut out using the largest circle in my Stylish Shapes Dies. I added a piece of black and white Zoo Crew designer paper inside my aperture, along with some additional black diecut foliage, a heat-embossed black and white sentiment and a large black and white gingham bow to finish:

I think the black and white elements balance the colours and whilst adding a touch of drama make my card look less Halloween-y. What do you think? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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'm hoping to get out into the garden today and get some jobs done and make the most of the unusually warm weather we are having for the last couple of days. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL BUNDLE (49.50)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (6.75)	ZOO CREW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	CLASSIC MATTE DOTS (6.75)

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

I love these warm colours together! I paired them with Jen T's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and grabbed one of my new sets to create a pretty birthday card - take a look:

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

Textured Floral - You know when you think you have enough floral sets and you couldn't possibly need another one? Yep, that was so not me when we had the recent stamp sale! I picked up the Textured Floral stamp set and couldn't wait to create something with it. The texture on these stamps adds so much detail and whether you use in conjunction with the co-ordinating dies and layer or use the stamps along to create more of a collage feel, this is a stamp set with lots of possibilities. It's a great set for a beginner stamper too - you really can't go wrong with it! I stamped a mirrored collection of florals in opposing corners and added some additional Calypso Coral ink with a blending brush to achieve even greater warmth and colour.

A Straightforward Sketch? - I love Jen's sketch this week and it was perfect for me to experiment with my corner florals. When it came to that sentiment though, I dithered for ages! I did consider a simple horizontal sentiment stamped directly onto my floral panel (a more literal interpretation of the FMS layout), but my sentiment was overpowered by the bold florals. I ended up trying diecut sentiments in various shapes/colours, eventually settling on a white-on-black sentiment cut with one of my circular Stylish Shapes Dies. I added a twist of gingham ribbon behind it for a little extra detail:

I like this version better and I think with these bold colours the addition of black as a neutral works well. 

Finishing Touches - Finally you can see a hint of the decoration I added to the front of the envelope; I carried the design to the inside of the card too. No naked envelopes or insides here! I have lots of September birthdays to prepare for, so this one will be heading into my stash. I am looking forward to having more opportunities to play with this set!

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; we have nothing on, so will just be enjoying the peace and quiet! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (6.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)