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 is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I was a little stuck for current sets that fit the bill so decided to dig into my recently retired stash and use up some of my designer series paper. I decided to go across the top row of the board with masculine, diecut and beer or drink and this is what I came up with, using the current sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout:

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

I used two panels of retired He's The Man designer series paper, rotating the pattern on the smaller one to follow the same diagonal lines as the base one (rather than the horizontal/vertical), added a banner of Mango Melody to pick up on the yellow in the diecut that I used as my focal point. This diecut was one on a pre-printed sheet in the paper pack, and I backed it with a scalloped diecut circle in Sahara Sand to neaten the edge:

I added a trio of Mango Melody resin dots to complete the front of my card and added the only stamping with a sentiment from the current 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set to the inside to finish my card:

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project or supplies list as almost everything I used on today's card - except for the Early Espresso ink and cardstock and the stamp set I used inside - is retired. I hope that it inspires you regardless to keep creating with your retired product or gives you an idea of how you can adapt it to work with the new.

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 heading out to a champagne reception this evening to celebrate the eldest of the James Juniors final formal week of school - something of a milestone! I'll be back tomorrow with another project for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. Until then, happy stampin'!

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)

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 fresh colour challenge for us to work with:

I thought these colours were perfect for a card to welcome a new baby so I grabbed Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and my 'Adorable Owls' stamp set and set to work. I This is what I came up with:

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

I added a piece of Balmy Blue Country Gingham to the lower portion of my cardfront, then added a horizontal panel of clouds cut using the Basic Borders Dies. I stamped and coloured two owls in the challenge colours with my Stampin' Blends, then fussy cut them out. I sat my baby owl on her own cloud, courtesy of the Give It A Whirl Dies, popped up on dimensionals, then added my second owl. My baby owl has a pink bow since Rebecca's piano teacher has just become a father to a beautiful daughter named Harriet, so this card will be winging its way to him to congratulate the family on their new arrival. My heat-embossed sentiment is from the 'Charming Sentiments' bundle, which I diecut with the co-ordinating dies: 

These sentiments come in two halves - I used the second one on the inside of my card:

'Adorable Owls' is such a cute stamp set and even better because it's free with a £45 order during Sale-A-Bration which runs until the end of the month - got to love a free stamp set, right?!

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; the James Juniors are on half term this week, so this will be a week of exam revision mixed with a little R&R before getting back to it. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BASIC BORDERS DIES (27.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (37.00)	COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PETAL PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'National Cake Day' which is on 26th November. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used birthday sentiment, candle and patterned paper and using the current sketch layout over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Charming Sentiments - For today's card I used both a sentiment and dies from the Charming Sentiments bundle. This is a great sentiment set with dies that cut out each of the sentiments exactly; but did you also know that the dieset has a number of very useful extras, including stars and candles for example? That's where I got the candles from that feature on my card today - so useful, everything you need in one bundle! 

Celebrate Everything - I took the colour scheme for my card today from the stripes in the paper that I featured on the bottom half of my card front, that comes from the 'Celebrate Everything' DSP pack - you know how much I love these papers, right?! I did take a little liberty with the sketch, as my stripes are diagonal rather than straight - but it's clear where the inspiration has come from:

A Surprise Inside - This is a birthday card that's something of a two-in-one - I added a pocket to the inside to hold some money too:

A little extra paper to the envelope flap completes this colourful card that is winging its way to my nephew whose birthday it is next week.

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.50)	PACIFIC POINT A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Laurie to host this week and she has an interesting colour challenge for us to work with:

I say interesting because Laurie's colours immediately made me think of Halloween, but since I rarely send Halloween cards and I don't have much in the way of current Halloween product, I was determined to use these colours on anything but a Halloween card! So much so, I started creating and ended up with not one but two cards to share with you today - and neither remotely anything to do with October 31st! Here's the first one using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week - take a look:

Here's the low-down on my first card:

Staying faithful to Amy's sketch, I added a band of Brights designer series paper to my Gorgeous Grape card base and decided to create a nature-inspired watercolour as my focal point. I stamped the echinacea from the 'Nature's Harvest' stamp set in Stazon onto watercolour paper, then loosley watercoloured my image using the challenge colours and my aquapainters. Once I'd painted my image, I added some speckles by flicking my black Stampin' Blends marker across the image before cutting out with the largest circle in my Stylish Shapes Dies:

I added a white-on-black sentiment from 'Art Gallery' to complete my card. I liked this card so much, I thought I'd use one of the dies in the co-ordinating set to try out a watercolour print technique that I'd seen on Pinterest. My first attempt was a hot mess, but taking my learns and a different die from the Meadow Dies set I had a second attempt and like this one much better! Here's the card in question:

Have you ever tried the watercolour print technique using diecuts? It's actually quite straightforward: diecut your flower from watercolour paper and colour with Stampin' Write markers. Once coloured, place the flower onto a blank piece of watercolour paper and lightly spritz with water. The water 'spreads' the ink from the diecut one the blank piece - you can also 'stamp' this piece with the wet, coloured flower (but I didn't do that here). Allow both pieces to dry then add to your card; I cut a frame out of my spritzed piece and then added my diecut flower offset from the relief image on the frame. I added some clear faceted gems and a sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set that, when paired with the words 'faith over fear' stamped on the inside were the perfect words of encouragement needed for a card to send to a friend battling breast cancer right now:

What do you think? I quite like the effect and will definitely be trying this with other dies in other colours. I am also linking my second card up over at Time Out since the sentiment is perfect for their theme this week.

Here are 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

So what do these colours say to you - Halloween, or something else completely? 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 on Tuesday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

NATURE'S HARVEST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (£8.50)	WATER PAINTERS (£13.00)	JET BLACK STAZON PAD (£9.50)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	MEADOW DIES (£36.00)
CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)	MANY MARVELOUS MARKERS (£123.00)

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 include a couple of panels on our card. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

I was tempted to use both a tag and a panel of designer series paper on my card when I saw Valerie's sketch, but resisted the urge and decided to channel myself to create a card using the beautiful image and colours over at The Card Concept for my super clean and simple card today - take a look: 

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

I thought the butterfly on the inspiration photo was so striking! I so rarely use butterflies on my cards, even though I have lots of them in my collection. I masked a panel on my white cardstock and created a bokeh panel using Starry Sky and whisper white craft inks and my blending brushes and a circle stencil; to this I added a butterfly just like the one in the inspiration photo, that I cut using my Brilliant Wings Dies. I cut one in each of the colours and paper-pieced the coloured sections into the black outline. I backed each one with an adhesive sheet, so it was mess-free, if a little time consuming. So worth it though for the finished effect, don't you think? 

I added a generic sentiment from 'Charming Sentiments' as the set was still out on my desk from my previous card and I didn't have a specific occasion for this card. I love the finished effect - I think I should use these butterflies more often!

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:

BRILLIANT WINGS DIES (£41.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)
UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL (£9.00)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

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've a colour challenge for you to work with:

I decided to change things up for this week's challenge and instead of providing a restricted palette, I would choose 6 complimentary colours that you could choose any combination of on your project. Once again I used Jen B's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for my layout this week and ended up creating a card that was completely different to the one I originally had in mind. Take a look and I'll explain:

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

Design A Daydream - The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that the colours I chose for our challenge this week can all be found in Stampin' Up!'s 'Design A Daydream' designer series paper pack. This is a bumper paper pack at 48 sheets of 12" x 12" (the number quoted in the catalogue is a misprint) for just £17 - and it can be yours when you place an order that qualifies for Host Rewards. It contains many beautiful prints and patterns and I knew immediately that this paper would feature somewhere on my card today. I was originally going to use the floral pattern that is probably my favourite in the set, however when I came to make my a few days ago, the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had just been announced and I found myself in a more sombre mood,and was drawn towards the more tranquil Pool Party blue patterns, so changed tack.

A Sentiment Shift - I decided to use the simple leaf patterned paper and the two sketch panels enabled me to also showcase the reverse of this sheet for my second tag panel. I needed a sentiment and was drawn to this one from the 'Charming Sentiments' bundle; whilst not entirely unexpected, the death of the Queen was still a shock and has left us a nation mourning the loss of a unique and selfless monarch. Whilst this period of respect will continue for days to come, I thought this sentiment, with its implied acknowledgement of both a sense of loss along with the suggestion of hope seemed perfect to sum up the country's mood.

A Trio of Diecuts - Today's card is more diecuts than stamping: I used the Tailor Made Tags for my two panels and along with the die used to cut my sentiment (this is a great feature of the Charming Sentiments bundle) I used the detailed leaf branch from the Artistic Dies to add a simple accent and focal point. Just a few enamel dots as accents as I wanted to preserve the clean feel of my card:

I'm also linking today's card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where the current theme is 'Diecutting' and at The Alphabet Blog where they are at 'L is for Leaves'. 

I never had the opportunity to meet the Queen, however feel privileged to have lived through her reign and witnessed the selfless devotion with which she served this country. She was an amazing female role model and certainly an example of a life well lived. She will be much missed - rest in peace, your Majesty.

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 to lunch to quietly celebrate the second James family birthday of the month - lots of us are September babies - but are otherwise having an uneventful day. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DESIGN A DAYDREAM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)	TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (£21.00)	ARTISTIC DIES (£33.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)