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

For my card today I decided to play along with the challenge over at CAS on Friday where the theme is 'love' and make a super clean and simple card using the 'Just My Type' stamp set:

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

I couldn't resist the 'Just My Type' stamp set when I saw it in the annual catalogue - the cute typewriter, along with heart, flowers and rainbows makes for a fun set that is great for #SimpleStamping cards. I stamped my typewriter and sentiment onto my cardbase, then stamped a little plant that I fussy cut and popped up on a dimensional for a little extra detail:

Just stamps, ink and paper - #SimpleStamping at its best! I love that punny sentiment too - just perfect for a love note to someone special. I'm also linking today's card up over at Less Is More where the current theme is 'anything goes'.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JUST MY TYPE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

SOFT SEA FOAM CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Shannon has asked that we add a square focal point. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I took my inspiration from the symmetrical focal point and decided to create a fun good luck card featuring a cute ladybird - take a look:

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

A Confession - So first up, a confession! I actually made my card for today's challenge and it wasn't until I was writing up today's post that I realised I had my sentiment in the wrong place. I almost went with it - the sketch is a guideline, that's all - but in the end I decided to make a second version that was faithful to Shannon's layout and compare the two. So the card above is my 'take two' - my original card is the one below:

On this one I added my sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set to the card base, whereas on the sketch the sentiment in on the focal square. Here's a photo pf both cards together - which one works better for you? 

I must be honest, I'm on the fence; I like my second version more than I though I would - kudos to Shannon for her layout!

Ladybug Builder - I thought a ladybug - or ladybird as we call them here in the UK - would make a cute centrepiece for a good luck card. I wondered why ladybirds are considered lucky in many cultures and Google tells me it's simply that they are one of the chief insects to eat crop pests - the gardener's friend. The Ladybug Builder punch made light work of mine - a simple punching of the elements and some heat-embossed black dots for a little extra shine:

Remember The Inside - I designed this card with a child in mind, so couldn't resist adding another stamped comical smiling ladybird to the inside of my card with another sentiment from the 'Hello Ladybug' stamp set:

I love making good luck cards for children; so much of their lives seem to consist of exams and tests, it's nice to send some positive vibes and let you know you are wishing them every success! I am linking today's card up with the team over at Inspire.Create who are sharing cards for babies or children and at the Alphabet Challenge Blog where there are on 'F is for Flying' - my ladybird has her wings ready to go!

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. 

Today is the last full study day for both James Juniors - we are at T-1 and T-3 respectively - the end of the exam season is nigh! We have experienced some torrential downpours this morning, so I am hoping to get ahead with my crafty endeavours - I even have a second card to share with you today - I'll be back with that shortly!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HELLO LADYBUG PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	LADYBUG BUILDER PUNCH (21.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

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

For my card today I went super clean and simple with a fun card perfect for a crafty friend - take a look:

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

I decided to indulge in a spot of fussy cutting of my Zoo Crew designer paper and trim out one of the knitting llamas! The Zoo Crew paper is choc-full of animals doing all kinds of fun things - and what could be more comical than a knitting llama, right?! Some of the images are black and white, some partially coloured, and some completely coloured and ready to use. The chair and wool that the llama is knitting with were already coloured, so I just used my Blends to add in a little more light Old Olive to the wool, some Petal Pink to the ears and a little dark Smoky Slate to the skin and outline of my llama:

I added a sentiment from the 'Crafting With You' stamp set which seemed to fit the image perfectly. This is a great #simplestamping card - just stamps, ink and paper and a little designer paper. The Zoo Crew paper is another of those that are available at 15% discount in this month's designer series paper sale. If you fussy cut the images (you can also diecut many of them with the Zany Zoo co-ordinating dies too, but these are by no means essential - they are easy to cut out with scissors) you will be able to make an absolute ton of simple cards. They can be paired with whatever sentiments you have to hand - now is the time to stock up for sure! Links to the online store below - or contact me if you would like to participate in my current discounted paper share.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible. For this challenge, the colours include two of those that were retired in the recent current refresh, so feel free to substitute with Petal Pink and Old Olive as the nearest current alternatives, as I've done. 

For the second day running, it is decidedly cooler than the weather forecast and looking rather overcast. No matter - I am still wearing a summer dress and willing the sun to come out, although at this rate I may have to add socks and a cardigan later!! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ZOO CREW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.98)	CRAFTING WITH YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	PETAL PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We have five Tuesdays in the month of May so this week it is time for our double challenge, featuring a previous sketch and retired colour combination:

For my card I went with a colourful clean and simple birthday card - take a look:

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

For my card today I actually took my inspiration from a card which recently appeared in my Pinterest feed that I couldn't actually find a source for; I thought it was a great way to use up leftover cardstock strips and a neat way to include this trio of bold colours whilst preserving my 'white space' so I adapted it to suit this layout. I used my Wanted To Say Dies for my greeting, this time featuring the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment. I cut the outer sentiment from the white panel, then adhered the inner piece to a foam sheet before diecutting the main sentiment detail, so that I could inset it into the negative space in the main panel:

A trio of orange dots complete my card.  

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible. For this challenge, I didn't have any of the retired colours so I used my closest current matches: Daffodil Delight, Tahitian Tide and Pumpkin Pie.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WANTED TO SAY DIES (37.00)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Cecile has asked that we make a square card with a focal sentiment and patterned background:

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

For my card today I chose monochromatic pinks with a touch of silver to create a simple stencilled background for a feminine birthday card for a discerning teenager - take a look:

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

I took my square card base and using some stencils I made with various circle punches and some window sheet, I added Melon Mambo and Bubble Bath ink using my blending brushes, varying the intensity to give some depth to the colour. I heat-embossed part of my sentiment in silver and used a diecut 'sending' in silver foil backed with vellum as my centrepiece:

A sprinkle of basic rhinestones added a final touch of sparkle. This is one of those cards that could work in lots of colours and is thoroughly inoffensive - so perfect for the discerning teenager! Since I went with pinks, I'm also playing along over at Addicted to CAS with my monochrome pinks and also celebrating with the team over at AAA Cards as they celebrate their 9th birthday with CAS pink birthday cards too - the balloons on the inspo board also inspired my bubbly background!

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. 

Please excuse today's photos - I struggled with that foil diecut and the lighting and didn't have time to retake. I have a super-short day today as the youngest of teh James Juniors has 2 exams and is on early pick up, so just time for a speedy lunch then I'm back in the car for the school run! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	SENDING DIES (ENGLISH) (31.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BUBBLE BATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. The super-talented Cecile is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

I love Cecile's colour choices this week and since today is the official launch of the new annual catalogue, it seemed only right that my card features some new product! I took some inspiration from the sketch over at Inspired By (flipped as I need the boxes to be the other way around to suit my sentiment) and the idea of decorated boxes - although instead of white flowers on coloured boxes, I used my 'boxes' to house my sentiments and accented with coloured foliage - take a look:

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

My card features a new bundle called 'Timeless Arrangements' - a lovely set that allows you to build sentiments in one, two or three phrases and decorate them. The die set is truly fabulous - a set of labels with a pretty stitched detail and a selection of dies that both cut out some of the stamped images, and also contain some foliage on horizontal bands, that act as a guide to enable you to align them both with each other for layering and behind the sentiment label perfectly:

I used two sentiments on the front of my card and carried the detail to the inside of my card with a third sentiment and a little extra background stamping too:

This card is for all of you reading this that continue to support my Stampin' Up! business by shopping with me in person and in my online store and comment both here and elsewhere on my social media channels. It means a lot, so a big thank you to you all from the bottom of my heart!

I really love this bundle and know I am going to get so much use out of it, so be prepared to see lots more it over the next 12 months!

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (51.25)

FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Valerie has asked that we create a slimline card with a square feature and overlapping sentiment:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card but remember to make it a slimline if you'd like to be considered for the winner's spot for this challenge. 

For my card today I ended up making two cards; I'll share the first one tomorrow as it was a little less clean and simple than I'd have liked. This is the card I settled on to share with you today:

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

This is actually a no-stamping card. I used a piece of the retiring black and white Perfectly Penciled designer series paper and coloured the negative space around the florals using my Mint Macaron Blends, before cutting it out using one of my square Stylish Shapes Dies. I added this to a base of thick Basix White cardstock, and then added a layered thanks sentiment cut with the Amazing Thanks Dies on dimensionals to complete my card:

The Perfectly Penciled papers are great for colouring with your Stampin' Blends markers and this 'reverse colouring' really allows the black and white design to stand out. This paper, along with Mint Macaron and all its accessories and those fabulous Amazing Thanks Dies are all retiring at the end of this month - add them to your shopping basket whilst you still can - or maybe wait until 11pm this evening when the 24 hour free shipping promotion starts - you can read more about the free shipping promotion here!

I'm also linking today's card to the black, white and one colour challenge over at Color Dare and the current 'anything goes' challenge at Less Is More.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (10.40)

PERFECTLY PENCILED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (7.87)

MINT MACARON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (7.65)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We are in April now; Valerie chose our challenges this month and our first challenge is a lovely bright colour challenge: 

For my card today I wanted to play along with the current challenge of 'Spring' over at Addicted to CAS who are back following their extended break and the layout over at Sunday Stamps was perfect for me to play with some of my favourite retired dies - take a look:

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

I had my 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set out on my desk and was originally going to stamp three squares, but instead used this set just for the sentiment and used a trio of Floral Squares Dies to add some bright pops of spring colour. I added some retired Crushed Curry baker's twine that I had in my stash; these flowers are so easy to layer and great for clean and simple cards:

This card measures 4 1/2" x 8" so is slightly larger than usual, so also needed a custom envelope - long-time retired in-colour designer paper to the rescue for that one too! Can you tell that we are about to transition between catalogues? Trying to have a clear-out always results in the discovery of old favourites - I'm still hanging on to these ones though, I love them and so wish we had more designs of these! Apart from the colours, everything is either retired or on the way - the 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set is on it's way to the retired shelf, although I have a space ready for it as I'm not letting go of mine just yet!

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)

MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and YoonYoung has asked that we feature repeating verticals and a sentiment beneath. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to go with a collection of diecut candles courtesy of the Sentiment Silhouette Dies and a simple birthday sentiment from the co-ordinating Charming Sentiments stamp set:

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

Today's card features the 2022-24 In Colours - I just love this set of colours, as a collection they work so well together, in addition to complimenting other colours too. I added in some Mango Melody for my flames and the diecut 'glow' behind - super simple and much cleaner this week too!

COLOUR REFRESH - Whilst I used the 2022-24 In Colours on today's card, today's post serves as another reminder that the 2021-23 In Colours will shortly retire, so now is the time to stock up on any supplies in those colours that you need or any co-ordinating products, such as designer papers that feature those colours. Since Stampin' Up! have confirmed that we are having a full colour refresh this year, you should apply the same principle to all of your favourite colours in the Stampin' up! range. many colours are already showing low inventory or are already out of stock, and as soon as the full details of the refresh have been announced to demonstrators on 29th March, this situation will undoubtedly be exacerbated and stocks will disappear long before the catalogues change over in May. The full retiring list will go live to customers on 4th April - but I strongly advise you to make sure you have placed any orders before then, as those bargains will be snapped up so quickly it is likely to lead to many disappointed customers. Public service announcement over - you are now fully informed!

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)

2022–2024 IN COLOR A4 CARDSTOCK (9.00)

MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

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

I thought YoonYoung's chosen colours were fresh and summery and just right to finally break out my Sweet Citrus bundle. So I grabbed my supplies and used the sketch layout over at Just Add Ink where I haven't played along in ages, and this is what I came up with: 

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

I used a couple of stitched squares for the base, and a strip of (retired) Country Gingham designer paper in a bright white and yellow check, then proceeded to layer up my lemons, interspersed with a few green leaves and Heather-coloured flowers. The highlight of today's card is most definitely the lemons though; the Sweet Citrus bundle includes a hybrid embossing folder - this allows you to stamp your lemons and then diecut and emboss in one move. The die nestles inside the embossing folder and the lemons stamp as one and align perfectly, making this so easy. There are also multiple flower and leaf dies, to allow for multiple cuts at once. I hope the embossing is a little easier to see on the image below - it adds so much detail in real life:

This is such an awesome bundle! I must confess my card is not quite as CAS as it usual for this week's challenge; in hindsight I should have used a narrower strip of DSP to preserve more of my white space and maybe layered a little less fruit. I did get a little carried away - new product tends to do that to me lol! You should defintiely check out the rest of the design team - they did a much better job in keeping their cards clean and simple!

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET CITRUS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)