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 clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I do love a good one layer card! I decided to use the 'everything beach' inspiration from another of my favourite clean and simple challenges, AAA Cards, to create my one layer wonder for you today - take a look:

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

One of the challenges with a one layer card is the ability to create a scene with depth, without having actual layers to do it. This is where technique such as masking and stencilling can prove really useful. For my card today, I first stamped the pelican from the 'Waves of Inspiration' stamp set in Smoky Slate. I added a touch of colour to this image with my watercolour pencils; not generally my first choice of colouring medium, but super useful when creating a one layer card, as you won't get any bleeding of colour onto the reverse, something which is unavoidable if you are colouring with Stampin' Blends markers, for example. I then stamped the same image onto a post-it note and fussy cut it to create a mask; I positioned this over the stamped image on my card so that I could add my background. 

I decided to stamp my sea in Lost Lagoon (I applied the ink to my stamp using a blending brush for a soft finish), using the sea stamp in the 'Oceanfront' stamp set. It isn't wide enough to cover the width of the card, but it was easy to extend the stamp by first stamping one side of the mask, then repositioning the card and stamping the other side, being careful to ink only the edge of the sea stamp and not overstamp the sea to the left of the mask. I then used a cloud stencil and some Pool Party ink and a blending brush to add in a hint of cloudy sky behind the pelican - you can see that better on the close up below:

Finally I added a trio of seagulls in Basic Grey and stamped my sentiment in black just above the horizon line. I didn't add any embellishments and by keeping my design to the bottom third of my card managed to preserve that all-important 'white space' of a clean and simple card 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; It's Father's Day here in the UK today so whilst I might be looking forward to enjoying another day of sunshine and relaxation (fingers crossed!), I suspect it might be the DH who will have his feet up! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WAVES OF INSPIRATION CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 1 (15.00)	LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (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 Jaydee to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I love one layer cards! had another go with a different colour combo from the palette over at Sunday Stamps (such a great colour palette!) and decided that today I would focus on creating the illusion of layers on my single layer creation using some clever diecut embossing, masking and stencilling - take a look:

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

How Many Layers? - I love one layer cards as they are great for clean and simple designs. They can be as simple as a single image and a sentiment; for today's card though, I decided to create the illusion of layers. The first thing I did was use one of my Scalloped Contour Dies to partially emboss the outline of a label. I then stencilled a butterfly on the non-embossed section, then masked it off, along with a second mask to mask off the embossed area before using an alternative stencil to emboss a pattern around the remainder of the card. At this stage the card should look something like this:

When the masks are removed, the finished card front appears to have three separate layers: the butterfly uppermost, followed by the die-embossed label outline and finally the background floral-patterned layer. The photo below shows these in more detail: 

 Finally I added a sentiment to my faux-label to complete my card. I also stamped a sentiment on the inside, with some soft stencilling around the edges - I photographed the inside of the front of my card too so that you can see the partial die-embossed label outline more clearly:

By keeping my central label clear, I've tried to preserve some 'white space' on my one layer card. Along with the absence of embellishments of any kind and the one layer that is the crux of this challenge, I have managed to keep thing clean and simple too. I love these Butterflies & Flowers Layering Decorative Masks stencils and will be so sad when they retire at the end of the month. 

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; mine will be a quiet one, having been out and about for the past couple of days. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (£33.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	FLOWING FLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (£21.60)	HAPPY & HEARTFELT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£11.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Happy hump day! Today I'm sharing a card I made with a few challenges in mind:

The team over at Less Is More are looking for a single word sentiment on a one layer card and I combined this with the current code word of 'hat' over at CASology this month. I was also inspired by Time Out's 8th Birthday celebrations where I used the colours from their badge too for my clean and simple birthday card. Although I'm too late to link up there, I thought you might like to see the badge and colours - my favourite purples! This is the card I came up with - take a look:

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

I went with a super-simple 'Celebrate' from the 'Create With Friends' stamp set in Gorgeous Grape and added a party hat coloured with Stampin' Write markers at a jaunty angle to the C - this little gem is to be found in the 'Turtle Friends' set. The two-tone confetti is courtesy of the retired stamp set 'Praiseworthy Prose', which also gave me the perfect greeting for the inside of my card:

And that's my card - stamps, ink and paper, #simplestamping at its best!

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 couple of projects. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CREATE WITH FRIENDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	TURTLE FRIENDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£15.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
MANY MARVELOUS MARKERS (£112.75)

Hurrah, it's the weekend! Anyone else feeling like that today? Today I'm sharing a super simple, one layer card for the following challenges:

Never one to shy away from the challenge of a one/no layer card, I decided to pair my entry for the autumnal one-layer theme over at Less Is More with the lovely colours over at Colour INKspiration. I haven't played along there for a while but I love their colour combo of browns with an aqua blue and warm yellow. I decided to make another card with my 'Enjoy The Moment' stampset that I used earlier this week - take a look:

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

I stamped a row of circles in alternating challenge colours using the 'Textures and Frames' stamp set from the recent Sale-A-Bration promotion, and stamped over this with a variety of seed pods and seed heads from the 'Enjoy The Moment' stamp set in Early Espresso, masking the edges so that they didn't go outside of the background circles. I added some scored lines above and below my stamped images for added definition, then finished with my sentiment below:

Layering stamped images is a great way to add colour and create depth without the need for layers and these seed heads are so perfect for an autumnal card. This card really is #SimpleStamping at its best - nothing more than stamps, ink and paper. What are you going to stamp today? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to know.

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; I am off to the hockey pitch for some spectating so will be wrapping up warm against the chillier temperatures we've been experiencing the last few days; I think it may be time for the big coat!! I'll be back tomorrow with my card for out new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ENJOY THE MOMENT CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CINNAMON CIDER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards with you. I held my monthly class online at the start of the week and it featured the Merriest Moments bundle and following the discussions we had on the call I wanted to share another couple of cards featuring the most versatile of bundles. My first card is for the current challenge over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog, where they are on 'N is for No Layer'. I made the simplest of cards using a festive red and white colour combination - take a look:

I embossed my thick basic white card base directly with the Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder and stamped my sentiment directly into the frame centre in Real Red. This embossing folder really is so pretty and whilst I did try a version adding some colour to the foliage, I didn't like it anywhere near as much as the 'naked' version - the detail of the embossing is stunning and I'm not sure that the photos do it justice:

This really is one of the easiest cards to make and would be great both for cards that need to be sent overseas and weight is an issue for example, or you simply want an impressive design that can be produced in multiples really quickly.

For my second card, I wanted to use the same embossing folder to join this week's trend week challenge over at Just Us Girls where they are asking us to experiment with a technique called heat embossed embossing folders:

If you've never tried this technique before, you should definitely watch Jennifer McGuire's video on it where she gives a thorough overview and lots of examples - you can see her video here. I've never tried it before, but though the Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder would be a great one to experiment with. For this card, I went bold with a festive Real Red and metallic gold colour combination - take a look:

I decided to use the whole embossing folder and not cut out the foliage frame, as I wanted the background detail too. I added my red panel to a red card base, and also heat embossed my sentiment into gold onto a red stitched rectangle which I popped up on dimensionals in the centre of the frame, adding a trio of red sparkly faceted dots for good measure. Check out the detail that the heat embossing adds to the foliage:

This was a really fun technique to try and I have to say I think the key to getting a good finish is to use a traditional rubber brayer to ink the flat side of your embossing folder with the Versamark - this way you don't get it into areas where you don't want to see the heat embossed detail and it picks out the surrounding space easily. This was my first attempt and will definitely be experimenting with other versions (and embossing folders!) If this technique is something that interests you, you should definitely check out the Just Us Girls DT samples and the gallery, where you will also see another sample using this embossing folder made by one of my lovely class attendees, Deborah Wheeler - how great that we were both inspired following my class!

I was asked by one of my customers last week, "If you could only choose one new bundle this Christmas, which one would it be?" This was a question that required much thought before answering, not least because I have never been known to buy just one stamp set and the beauty of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that I acquire lots and lots of stamp sets cheaply or even for free! I decided that if I was only buying one bundle, it would have to be something that was versatile; I would want to be able to do lots of things with it and not get bored due to a lack of creative opportunities. The answer I gave to that customer? The Merriest Moments Bundle - it absolutely delivers on all fronts!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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:

MERRIEST MOMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	WONDERFUL GEMS (£7.50)

Today I'm here bright and early to share a couple of cards for the new challenge over at Less Is More where I was delighted to be asked to be Guest Designer following my recent accolade as overall winner for April. 

I would like to say I am delighted - although I did break into something of a cold sweat when the lovely Anita told me the challenge for the next fortnight is not only 'Monogram' but yes - ONE LAYER monograms!

She did give me the option to defer, but never one to shy away from a challenge I started researching - this challenge really did necessitate me getting my thinking cap on! So first things first - the definition we are using for the term 'monogram' is:

Monogram: a motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.

A design consisting of two or more alphabetic letters combined or interlaced, commonly one's initials.

My first card uses my own initials. One of the challenges for me in creating a card to meet the brief was that it needed two or more letters. I explored various ways to combine the two Js in my name. I explored various ways of combining the letters and in the end went for a rotational pattern in a Tiffany & Co.-inspired design of black on Coastal Cabana - take a look:

This card uses a long-retired set called 'Sophisticated Serifs' which I'm not sure I ever blogged with, but is a set I love for its clearly defined alphabet. I added some flowers and a strong black border to draw the eye to my monogram:

Once I'd started, I tried out a few other ideas too. Another way monograms are often used is to create fun patterns for wedding or anniversary cards. The thing is, both my husband and I share exactly the same initials - JLJ - so in preference to a trio of Js, which whilst quirky wasn't that interesting, I created a second card using someone else's initials to create a fun monogram - can you guess who they belong to?

If you guessed Mickey and Minnie Mouse then you are as big a fan as I am! I created a couple of stencils using my retired Large Letter Die Framelits and sponged in the red and black base colours. I added some buttons for Mickey and a bow for Minnie - whilst this challenge is one layer, small embellishments are allowed in the LIM Rules (that's my story and I'm definitely sticking to it!) I thought this would make a fun anniversary card with an appropriate sentiment inside; I like the way that the colours and embellishments make the letters recognisable as a monogram because of how they are decorated:

I considered adding an ampersand, but decided against it, given that MM could mean both 'Mickey Mouse' and 'Mickey and Minnie', with the former really being the true monogram although my decoration suggests the latter.

This turned out to be quite a fun creative diversion - you should definitely check out the LIM gallery to see what the Design Team have created! Whilst my cards today used items from my retired stash, I hope they provide you with some inspiration. I'm also linking up with the lovely gals over at SUO Challenges today where funnily enough they also have an 'initials' theme this week (it doesn't have to be one layer though!). If you decide to have fun with initials and are using Stampin' Up! products, you should go and pay them a visit too.

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'!

I have been super busy this week preparing for the launch of the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue next week so blogging has had to take something of a back seat, although I did want to squeak in a quick post today with a card I made at the weekend for the current challenge over at Less Is More:

One layer diamonds - now that was a challenge! I employed an old die and a sentiment from the retiring 'Strong and Beautiful' stamp set to come up with this super simple card:

I used the diamond die from the retired Eclectic Layers Thinlits die set to emboss the outline of the diamond onto my card front, then infilled the facets with Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds glitter powder. I added my sentiment in Night of Navy to complete my card. Love that sentiment!!

So what do you think? It's one of those cards that meets the brief and the sparkle makes it very pretty in real life, but I feel it maybe needs a little something more? Or maybe not - you decide!

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

Delighted that this card along with my other entry earned me LIM Monthly winner for April - yay!

I've had a productive day of crafting today so have a quick card to share with you that uses the current sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I was intrigued by Karren's sketch and loved the idea of another slimline card, so perused my retiring stamp sets for something suitable and decided upon the row of birds from the 'Free As A Bird' set - take a look:

I turned the card through 90 degrees so that I could work across the width and sponged clouds using my blending brush and trusty cloud mask made from my Happy Dies for the longer element, overlapping with the row of birds, coloured with my Blends:

I decided to leave my card as a one layer card as I liked the simplicity of it. My dear friend Vicky is the hostess this week over at Addicted to CAS and has chosen the code word 'sky' for the new challenge there, so I'm linking my fluffy blended clouds there 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 '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'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FREE AS A BIRD CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SOFT SUEDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenges over at Less Is More and Addicted to CAS:

In looking for 'dotty' stamps that would work well for a one layer card, I found this great present stamp in the Bonanza Buddies stamp set that had a 'reverse' dotty pattern and used that as the basis for my card, creating a row of dotty rainbow gifts - this was my first attempt:

I ended up making two cards though as I thought this one looked a little too 'clean and simple' without a sentiment - I went for a large one that I found in my retired box - an old Sale-A-Bration set which despite its size still gives a CAS feel to my card I think with plenty of white space:

So which one do you prefer? I'm veering toward the one with the sentiment, so that's my link up today.

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'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BONANZA BUDDIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)