Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal theme challenge:

This week's theme of 'harvest' left me musing when it came to making my card, as I seem to have an abundance of floral stamp sets at the moment but not much else - so it was time to get creative! Today's card was where I ended up - take a look:

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

When I think about harvest at this time of year, to me that generally means bucketfuls of fruit picked from the trees in my garden, or gathering fruit from the hedgerows, or pumpkins as in our inspiration photo. But when browsing through my supplies, I saw the bee keeper on the Turtle-y Cute designer paper - and I started thinking about bees harvesting nectar, and in turn the bee keeper harvesting honey from his hives. Grabbing Linda's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout (I had been wondering how to use this sketch then suddenly it occurred to me that it could form the basis for a landscape, and that trio of circles could be my hives!), I created my little scene by cutting my background piece into layers, then adding my fussy cut hives and bee keeper with dimensionals to add depth. I even fussy cut some teeny tiny bees and added them to my scene: 

I added a sentiment from 'Bee My Valentine' to complete my card. This card will be perfect for my nephew's birthday next month; beekeeping is one of his hobbies and he has recently expanded the number of hives in his garden. This has been a bumper year for his honey harvest too - so this card is completely on point.

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Nancy is hosting this month and her final challenge is a sketch challenge, with a sentiment layered over a shaper that is layered over two horizontal elements: 

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I wanted to use another of the cute turtles that I snipped from the Turtley Cute designer series paper - this really is the paper that just keeps on giving! Take a look:

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

I used two of the other sheets in the pack for my spots and stripes background strips and since today's turtle is baking a birthday cake, I used a diecut 'celebrate' sentiment from the retired Wanted to Say Dies for my sentiment: 

A trio of Darling Duckling enamel dots to pick up on the colour of the sentiment complete my card - the perfect simple birthday card that works for girls and boys alike. I added a couple of senitments to the inside of my card from the new 'The Right Words' set - it contains some lovely greetings that work for both the inside and outside of your cards:

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. 

This is a great sketch from Nance this week - I will definitely be using it again. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with news of hands-down the best offer we've had to join Stampin' Up! in a very long time, so stay tuned! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

THE RIGHT WORDS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£25.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

DARLING DUCKLING A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

2025–2027 IN COLOR™ FLAT PEARLS (£8.00)

Today I'm sharing a card using Narelle's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I love things in threes so I knew I would have to play along with this sketch. I had so many ideas for this sketch but in the end I went super simple - take a look:

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

I used my retired Stitched rectangle dies to cut two rectangles of note patterned paper from the Turtle-y Cute designer series paper, then a third one from Basic White, to which I added my tongue-in-cheek sentiment (from the retired 'Music From The Heart ' stamp set), then added a fussy cut accordion-playing turtle as my focal point:

And that's all there is to it! I considered adding some extra embellishments, but honestly didn't think it needed it - a simple card that was ready in a jiffy! I am using a lot of notecards lately since the youngest of the James Juniors has left for university. Whilst he generally prefers a video chat, usually because he is after some cooking or laundry advice, I like to send him little notes and care packages just to let him know he's in my thoughts and these fun turtles always raise a smile. 

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:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£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 Elizabeth to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I knew if we were featuring 'critters' on our clean and simple cards this week I would be reaching for those Turtle-y Cute papers again, so I grabbed them and Verena's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and set to work - take a look:

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

It has been all about the celebrations here in the James household this week: following the youngest James Junior's birthday at the start of the week, we had A Level Results Day on Thursday (a university place is dependent on success, so these are important exams). I am delighted to share that Ben's hard work paid off and he got the grades he needed to confirm his place at his first choice university, so we are all thrilled.

I thought this cute trumpeting turtle would be perfect for another congratulations card and I dug into my retired stamp collection again for the perfect sentiment to go with it. I was intrigued by Verena's FMS sketch this week and found the perfect sentiment stamp in the 'Here's To Cheers' stamp set. I stamped the sentiment in Garden Green, then stamped it again in Darling Ducking and fussy cut the word 'celebrate' so that it extended beyond the circle, as in the sketch. I added my sentiment circle in front of my turtle with dimensionals, having glued him directly to my cardbase, along with a few stamped music notes and sparkly enamel dots:

And that's it! Lots of white space, minimal layers and embellishments - clean and simple, done! This is a less-than-conventional take on the FMS sketch for me, putting the turtle behind the circle, but I think it works - 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; we are out and about today; Ben is off to watch the cricket at Edgbaston and Jason is heading out to the water to go paddleboarding - I think I'm tagging along as official photographer! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.99)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	LOW PROFILE SPARKLE DOTS (£7.65)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	DARLING DUCKLING CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.23)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As You See It where it's time for a seasonal theme challenge chosen by Heather H:

Having made this card for my paper Players DT card last Sunday, I knew that I was going to go a similar route for today's creation, given that there was an empty picnic scene in the Turtle-y Cute designer series paper pack that was just waiting to be filled - take a look:

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

These Turtle-y Cute papers are so fun, especially if you like fussy cutting! I simple added the scenic background to my card base, then decorated it with a whole bunch of fussy cut elements:

My turtles are enjoying a picnic of ice-cream and watermelon; even the birds are getting in on the action! I finished with a sentiment from the retired stamp set 'Picnic With You', which suited my scene perfectly. These little scenes are so fun to build, but I have used so many dimensionals this week - I am definitely going to need to add more to my next Stampin' Up! order! 

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.=
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Deborah is hosting this month and our first challenge is a sketch challenge: 

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

You'll notice a theme to my cards this week - they all feature turtles! Take a look at today's card:

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

I elongated that oval and featured another of the turtles fussy cut from the Turtle-y Cute designer series paper, this time the gardener turtle, and paired her with a die cut sentiment from Sweet Blooms and a co-ordinating strip of designer paper from a retired pack that co-ordinated:

I stamped the remainder of my sentiment on the inside of my card, along with a little DSP accent and flower, to complete my card:

Simple! I'm also linking today's card up over at CAS On Friday where the current theme is 'animal', so my turtle definitely fits the bill.

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 in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

SWEET BLOOMS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

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

I haven't had any craft time this past week as I've been decorating (creativity of a different kind!) but had plenty of time to ponder what I was going to feature on my card today. I was initially thinking of rivers and lakes, but then I remembered the scene backgrounds in the Turtle-y Cute designer series paper pack and that one of them featured a beach scene - and today's card was born. I decided to use Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches for my card (albeit I made it in a horizonal rather than portrait orientation as I couldn't bear to lose too much of the background) as it is perfect for this kind of design - take a look:

I added the background to my card then built my scene using images from other sheets in the DSP pack. I added an appropriate sentiment from the retired 'Friends Are Like Seashells' stamp set along with a red enamel heart to complete the outside of my card:

I cut my solid red borders straight so as not to detract from my scene. I also added a little additional decoration to the inside, continuing the beach theme:

That's all there is to it - lots of fussy cutting, many dimensionals and a cute card for someone special, where the paper really does do the heavy lifting. Today's card reminds me that my recent beach holiday already seems like too long ago; time to start browsing the holiday brochures and planning another vacation, I 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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

STAMPIN’ DIMENSIONALS (£4.00)

Today I managed to get into my craft room for the first time in over a week and in addition to prepping my upcoming design team cards ready to share with you, I managed to make a card for fun for the current Summer Vibes inspiration challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments (since I kept my card CAS I'm also squeaking in an entry over at AAA Cards with Summer+Holiday):

I was inspired by that refreshing yellow cocktail, complete with umbrella, in the bottom left hand corner. I considered making that the focal point of my card, but decided that I wanted to incorporate the other elements too, such as the sea/beach and palm tree in the background - and so I set about creating my own scene - take a look:

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

I had already fussy cut this fun sunbathing turtle from one of the sheets in my Turtle-y Cute designer series paper packs and decided that she would be the perfect focal point - complete with cocktail in hand! I created a background using a piece of embossed cardstock for the sea and a sandy beach in front of that and added a diecut palm tree along with a sentiment from this an old retired set 'Stitched All Around', which seemed to compliment my body-beautiful turtle perfectly!

Some lightly stencilled clouds completed my clean and simple beach scene.

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:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)	SOFT WAVES 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£10.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
PECAN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	STAMPIN’ DIMENSIONALS (£4.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)