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 a colour challenge for us to work with:

When I had my Charming Landscapes embossing folder out on my desk when I made this card a few weeks ago, I wondered if there was the opportunity to turn these little houses into gingerbread houses and create a different look with this embossing folder. The Christmas in July challenge over at Just Add Ink and Stef's colour palette gave me the perfect colour combination to do so - take a look:

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

The first thing I did was to emboss the panel in white, then mask off the foreground, houses and trees and using my blending brushes, I inked in the sky using a combination of Coastal Cabana and (retired) Bermuda Bay inks. I then embossed the deign onto both Crumb Cake and Real Red cardstocks, and fussy cut the houses and roofs, before piecing the together and gluing them in pace. I added a peppermint embellishment to the door of one of the houses in place of a wreath, coloured in the snowflakes with a white gel pen and added some white glossy enamel dots for a little extra snowy detail:

I wasn't sure what to do about a sentiment, but in the end I added one from a 'go to' retired set called 'Brightest Glow', adding some Real Red ribbon behind and tying with some peppermint-striped twine for a final festive flourish. This card did require a little effort over and above a simple embossed card front, but it was nice to use this embossing folder in a different way. And I've another Christmas card for my stash!

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; today is officially the start of the James Junior's birthday week; since his actual birthday falls midweek, today we are having family for lunch so birthday cake is the order of the day! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	REAL RED & WHITE ADHESIVE-BACKED PEPPERMINTS (£8.00)
BLENDING BRUSHES (£16.00)

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

Cards for little ones - babies and young children. I don't have many of those in my family these days, but this week's challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to make another card with my SilIy Old Bear suite, so we're all good! It's CASE A DT Week over at Just Us Girls and having checked out the Design Team cards, I decided I would CASE Carol's card for my card today. First up - take a look at my card:

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

Here's a picture of Carol's card that I decided to CASE: 

Like Carol's, my card is for a child and uses vintage papers, however mine features the beloved Winnie the Pooh and Piglet on a winter walk and features the Silly Old Bear Papers and the Sweet Words & Labels bundle. I switched my card to landscape, but used the same layout as Carol's card, with similar layering and sentiment position. I accented my aperture with some diecut acorns that are included in the set:

I think the sentiment on this card is one of my favourites in the set - what better than a message of unconditional love?

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'!

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

I love things in threes so this sketch is right up my street! I also knew immediately what I was going to do with it - take a look:

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

The 'Capturing Smiles' Online Exclusives stamp and die set bundle has a little film strip with three images that worked perfectly for the sketch so that's what I used. I coloured the snapshots and glued them behind the film reel, then added a sentiment and a little camera accent:

I continued the design to the inside of my card, with a partial image of the larger camera and the last piece of my sentiment, tucked in the bottom corner:

Although it's not clean and simple week, this sketch definitely lends itself to clean and simple cards. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed I used this sketch for the layout of my beachy CAS card last week too. Thank you Christy for a great sketch. :-)

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: 

CAPTURING SMILES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£44.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

BASIC BLACK HYBRID STAMPIN' PAD (£11.25)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£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 LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun Clean And Simple challenge for us to work with:

Going to the beach - how fun! Given that the beach is all about sand and sea, I knew today's card was going to have to feature both. How to keep this clean and simple though? I decided that a three square layout was the answer. Take a look at what I came up with:

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

Using a Crumb Cake base, I layered on some Azure Afternoon waves and white sea foam using the Rolling Waves Dies, then used a square Stylish Shapes Dies to diecut three squares from it, just to add interest to the layout and design. A simple sentiment from 'Splash & Relax' anchored by a pair of pink dotty flip flops complete my clean and simple card:

Lots of 'white' space and minimal layers and embellishments - clean and simple, done! I'm also linking today's card up over at Time Out where the current challenge theme is 'water'.

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 are going to enjoy a BBQ lunch and I'm hoping to fit in a little baking too, but otherwise taking things easy. I'll be back shortly with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ROLLING WAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	SPLASH & RELAX BUNDLE (£42.25)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	BASIC BLACK HYBRID STAMPIN' PAD (£11.25)	AZURE AFTERNOON A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£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 Jaydee to host this week and she has a beautiful colour challenge for us to work with:

I thought I'd make another card using the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, this time using Jaydee's chosen colours with an old favourite - take a look:

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

I was hunting through my die collection and came across Floral Squares, an old favourite of mine, that I thought would be perfect for the sketch and our colour palette this week. I used Lemon Lime Twist for a zesty green and then Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight and Flirty Flamingo for a second pink to highlight the flower petals:

A few accent sequins in coordinating colours and a simple heat-embossed sentiment from the Lovely Arrangements stamp set complete my card. 

This is such a simple card really, yet I love the effect of the bright colours and clean lines against the white background - so fresh, don't you think?

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 shall be trying not to melt as this third heatwave of the summer here in the UK shows no signs of abating - oh and watching the Men's Final at Wimbledon on the TV, with my glass of Pimms in hand - the culmination of two great weeks of tennis! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I've a super quick post to share a quick card I made using the sketch over at Sunday Stamps:

The layout was perfect to showcase one of the prints on the Silly Old Bear designer series paper - take a look:

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

A simple banner behind and a sentiment cut with one of the label dies was all that was needed to accompany the sweet image of Piglet and Pooh on a Golden Glow cardbase:

I added a little extra stamped detail to the inside to complete my card:

That sentiment is so perfect for the image, don't you think? The new in-colours compliment the papers in this suite perfectly.

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'!

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 a theme challenge for us to work with:

I wasn't quite sure where to go with Ann's theme this week, so I started with a browse of my stamp set shelf for inspiration. I saw this quote and that's where this week's project began - take a look:

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

Enjoy Life - The quote is featured in the retired 'Enjoy Life' stamp set and whilst not about romantic love per se, I thought that it would make a lovely centrepiece for a summer-inspired project. I stamped it onto white cardstock and diecut using my Nested Essentials Dies.

New Horizons - I leafed through my (extensive) designer series paper collection and found this lovely sunny landscape in the retired New Horizons pack that worked perfectly for my background.

It's In The Detail - Trying to decide how to bring my chosen quote and paper together, I happened upon the Inspired By Challenge inspiration this week and finally had the answer! Not the beachy theme, the colour scheme or the cookies - but the sketch layout. I decided to take some of the other stamps from the 'Enjoy Life' stamp set and stamp them in black onto an identical piece of designer paper to the one I was using for my background, cutting them out with my square Stylish Shapes Dies. I popped the diecut pieces up on dimensionals to add interest to the landscape and frame the quote in an interesting way:

I used the whole of the 6x6" sheet of DSP and decided I liked it so much that I would frame it and hang it on the wall of my craft room, which I recently painted in a sunny shade of yellow. Here's the finished piece in its frame:

Whilst my project does not embody romantic love, there is a definite nod to summer and a love of life, so I'm hoping Ann thinks I'm close enough to what she was looking for to meet the brief ;-).

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 will be enjoying a BBQ lunch in the summer sun and just pottering around the house today. I am still aching from Friday's strenuous gym session and paddleboarding excursion combined, so I need to rest in order to do it all again next week! We are forecast a third heatwave here this week, so I am trying to make the most of the reasonable temperatures before it's too hot to move. Besides, there will also be tennis at Wimbledon so if that's not an excuse to watch the TV, I'm not sure what is! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (£32.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

BASIC BLACK HYBRID STAMPIN' PAD (£11.25)

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 I have my favourite, a sketch challenge, for us to work with:

Not only do I have a great sketch (even if I say so myself!), I also have some very special new goodies to work with - take a look:

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

I have the Silly Old Bears Suite!! Now first things first: a confession. If you are one of my UK customers, this suite is unfortunately not available to purchase in the UK; Stampin' Up! only have the copyright to produce and sell this product in the USA. As a lifelong Winnie The Pooh fan, I was super disappointed to hear this. Fortunately for me though, I have generous and helpful American friends that meant my recent trip Stateside meant I could come home with my very own suite - yay! So you will be seeing me use it on my blog, as my international readers will hopefully still enjoy the inspiration.

My card showcases the Silly Old Bear papers, and for the feature panel I added a piece of Very Vanilla that I embossed with the Hundred Acre Woods embossing folder - perfect for the 'E is for Embossing' challenge over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog this week. Check out the dimension:

I also used it to emboss the envelope flap for some co-ordinated detail. A sentiment from the Sweet Words and Labels Bundle, another of the bundles in the suite, and a Pooh and Piglet diecut from another of the DSP sheet, complete my card. I LOVE this suite - and will be making lots more with it 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:

It has been absolutely roasting here in the UK this week so my south-facing craftroom has been well and truly out of bounds. Enjoy your day; I'll be back later in the week with another project, weather permitting! Until then, happy stampin'!

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

I am all about the sunshine so I wanted to reflect that in my card today - take a look:

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

I created my rays by stamping the sunray stamp from the Joyful Squares stamp set twice and added my sentiment from Splash & Relax in Azure Afternoon to a diecut circle, embellished with a pair of cool sunnies for good measure: 

And that's it - super simple, super fun! If you haven't given Joyful Squares a second look, you can still pick it up for a song on the last chance section of the online store - such a great stamp for scrapbooking and cardmaking alike.

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 arriving back from a two week vacation in the USA today and hoping to bring the sunshine with me! I'll be back later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SPLASH & RELAX BUNDLE (£42.25)	JOYFUL SQUARES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£13.80)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£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 Christy to host this week and she has a bright colour challenge for us to work with:

I thought these colours were perfect for summer and the Just Us Girls Challenge this week, and I’m also linking up over at Time Out Challenges with ‘summer’ and ‘water’ as my chosen words - take a look at what I came up with:

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

I decided to use my Party Alphabet Dies to create a punny sentiment as the focal point of my card. I added some water stencilling to the letters before adding some diecut foam from the Rolling Waves bundle (I did both of these steps before I diecut the letters) then layered some fun leaves, shells and umbrellas using the other dies in the Rolling Waves bundle to add a little extra summery feel:

I thought this was a fun way to create a ‘sea card with a difference’ - what do you think? 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 later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PARTY ALPHABET DIES (£93.00)	ROLLING WAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	WATER & DOTTED LINES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DECORATIVE MASKS (£20.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£16.00)	LINEN THREAD (£5.75)
LEMON LIME TWIST A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	STRAWBERRY SLUSH A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
STRAWBERRY SLUSH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£9.50)