Today I have a super quick post since I'm sneaking in a last minute entry over at Freshly Made Sketches - I couldn't resist Kim's fabulous sketch! 

I'm also playing over at Just Us Girls where you will see immediately how their photo inspired my clean and simple card - take a look:

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

When I saw Kim's sketch I was still in 'one layer card' mode and I decided to make a super simple beachfront scene using my retired 'Waterfront' stamp set, with each of the horizontal elements represented by the sea, sandy beach and the row of beach huts. I stamped the beach and sea and for each of my beach huts, used my Stampin' Write markers to colour and add each one individually:

I masked them off and added a hint of blue sky behind using my blending brush to complete my scene. I decided in the end to not make this a one layer card, and snipped my stamped 'HELLO' sentiment from the 'Gorgeously Made' stamp set and popped it up on dimensionals to complete my clean and simple card.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)

BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

2022–2024 IN COLOR STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (17.50)

STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS COLLECTION (126.00)

GORGEOUSLY MADE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

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: 

My card fits the vertical column - summer, scene, free - and also the diagonal - summer, sunset, black/white (although not exclusively) - and for today's card I decided to challenge myself to use a set I haven't used much to create a peaceful scene - take a look:

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

Build A Scene - I decided to get creative with my 'Waterfront' stamp set for today's card. Just like 'My Meadow' and 'Snowfront', this is a build-a-scene stamp set with so many creative possibilities. I think for me that is sometimes the problem though; I am so attracted to these sets, but then struggle to make something that I'm happy with. The miserable weather here in the UK this week though got me thinking of sunnier climes and holidays gone by in sunny St Lucia, so I decided to create a sunset over the famous Pitons. Once I'd got started, it was actually really easy and a lot of fun! I stamped my mountains first, then the sea and then everything else, having created a simple post-it note mask over my mountains to maintain perspective.

Sunset Colours - I did reach for some retired Grapefruit Grove cardstock for my cardbase, because I found Pumpkin Pie too 'orange' with my Petal Pink and Calypso Coral colours. But You could vary this - the great thing about these kinds of sets is that you can create in whatever colours you have to hand and create a different look and feel to you scene each time.

Don't Forget The Inside - I added a little additional detail to the corner of the inside of my card too, just carrying the tropical feel into the inside:

I'm also linking up with the ladies over at Just Us Girls this week where the code word is 'sunshine' so I'm hoping that extends to sunsets too! You should definitely check out their gallery this week - it's so full of light and sunshine!

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 day; I am trying to catch up on indoor chores as the weather outside really is frightful! I shall be dreaming of Caribbean beaches as I go! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

 Table to follow.

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's sketch challenge over at Just Add Ink:

I was intrigued with the angled lines of this sketch, and whilst my instinct was to reach for my beloved designer series papers and start layering, I resisted and instead reached for another new Christmas stamp set and continued with my clean and simple streak - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Snow Front - If you are a lover of the 'Waterfront' set that features in the annual catalogue, then the 'Snow Front' set in the new Autumn-Winter catalogue will most certainly make it onto your wish list. With similar brushstroke designs and lots of scenic motifs, this set offers great creative possibilities. The stamp set I used for my snow is actually from the Waterfront set - go figure!

A Clean And Simple Scene - I decided to use the angular lines of the sketch as the basis for the structure of my scene. I used a row of trees for the back point, then a combination of a large pine tree and a path in the snow for the point at the front. I decided to make a feature of my log cabin and stamp it on a stitched circle to accentuate it, before adding in to my scene. I really let the stamps do the talking on today's card - I did add some clear Wink of Stella to the tops of my trees, the falling snow, the roof of my log cabin and snowman, but whilst it looks very pretty in real life, is nigh on impossible to see in the photo so you'll have to take my word for it.

A Pop of Red - I used a predominantly neutral palette for my card with the exception of Shaded Spruce and even after stamping my sentiment I still felt it needed something else. I settled for a red bird balanced on the word 'Christmas' and a thin red mat border for a pop of additional festive colour.

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. 

I have a day of errands today combined with pre-season rugby practice for the youngest of the James Juniors who is back to school tomorrow. Whatever you have planned, I hope you enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and the launch of the new Stampin' Up! 2019 Autumn-Winter catalogue - woohoo! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Snow Front Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Shaded Spruce A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£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 Ann to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for you to work with:

I went clean and simple this week so will also be playing along over at CASology where the cue card is 'Summer'. I used my Waterfront stamp set to create a beach scene reminiscent of my favourite Caribbean vacations - take a look:

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

A Waterfront Beach - Waterfront is one of those sets that I don't feel I've used anywhere nearly enough and I'm so glad it's carrying over into the new annual catalogue. It's a great set for creating unique scenery and landscapes for all seasons so was perfect for my bright beach huts on the shore under the bright sun and shade of the palm trees. I decided to feature the 2018-20 In Colours on my card today; these are such a great co-ordinating set of brights they were just perfect for my card today. 

A Nested Label - Did you spot the new label I used for the scene on my card? It's from the Stitched Nested Labels that co-ordinate with the Bird Ballad Suite in the upcoming new catalogue and they have such pretty stitched border detail. The whole label is symmetrical; I cut the point off mine on the right side as I wanted my label to align to the right of my card. 

Making Waves - I added a little interest and texture to my Blueberry Bushel background by running it through the retiring Seaside embossing folder. I love this embossing folder and use it lots so will be sad to see it go. 

And that's all there is to it, other than to say do you think if I wish hard enough I could jump into my card and find myself relaxing on that sunny beach 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:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set (£16.00)	Stitched Nested Labels Dies (£33.00)	Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.00)	In Color 2018–2020 Classic Stampin' Pad Assortment (£31.50)	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
3/4" (1.9 Cm) Circle Punch (£12.00)	1" (2.5 Cm) Circle Punch (£12.00)	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that I designed for this week's challenge over at Just Add Ink. I also used this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout and coincidentally my card also features the current colour palette over at the Global Design Project:

Here's my card that I created - take a look:

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

Just Add K - I have been enjoying playing along with the team over at Just Add Ink lately but must confess that this week I nearly did not rise to the challenge! Just Add K - despite their helpful suggestions and lovely design team cards, when it came down to it, nothing beginning with K came to mind. Intrigued, since this really did now feel like a challenge, I got a pencil and paper and got my thinking cap on. Not only did I come up with one K, but three. Can you spot them? Yes, my three Ks are Kindness, Kraft and Knots! 

A Label For Everyday - The K for Kindness comes from the sentiment that can be found in the Waterfront stamp set. I stamped it in Blakberry Bliss onto Mint Macaron cardstock and punched it out with my Everyday Label Punch, snipping off the bottom piece and slipping it behind my horizontal coloured strip.

Three Colours - The three colours on my card were inspired by the Nature's Twine that I used for my knots around contrasting strips of coloured cardstock. I also used a piece of Nature's Poem Blackberry Bliss patterned paper for my mat layer. My third and final K is for Kraft (a handy storecupboard neutral). I found this piece of clear pre-embossed kraft cardstock in my scraps box (its retired and I can't remember what it was called) that I decided to use for my central panel for subtle pattern and interest. 

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. 

So what do you think of this card? Whilst it was fun to solve the 'k conundrum', I'm not sure about the end result. The knots are a little rustic for me and this trio of colours is a little harsh. Oh and did I mention that every time I look at the sentiment label I see a tombstone?! Must be the time of year!! Not my finest creation perhaps but I figured I'd share with you anyway to see what you think. Do leave me a comment below - I'm really interested to hear your thoughts!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set (£16.00)	Nature's Twine (£8.25)	Nature's Poem Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Share What You Love A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Everyday Label Punch (£17.00)
Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)