Today I'm sharing a quick card using the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches and the inspo list at Festive Friday (I chose pink, white, any shape other than a rectangle (heart and square) and supportive sentiment): 

And here's my card:

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

Just Kiddin' - Just Kiddin' is one of my most favourite designer papers - ever! Perfect for cards, children's home decor and scrapbooking, I fussy-cut my sweet pair of friends whispering to each other and framed them with a pattern from the Delightfully Eclectic designer paper pack.. 

More To Sale-A-Brate - Both the Just Kiddin' and the Delightfully Eclectic designer series papers have been added to the products available as a free Sale-A-Bration item with a £45 purchase during February - the whole collection is shown on the graphic below:

You've Got A Friend - I used one of my favourite sentiments from the 'Silly Goose' stamp set in a diecut heart to complete my card; it just seemed to suit my whispering (or are they gossiping?!) pair and will be perfect for any number of my friends - who doesn't love a good natter, 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 '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 featuring the Just Kiddin' paper for my card over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JUST KIDDIN' 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	DELIGHTFULLY ECLECTIC 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (37.00)
SILLY GOOSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BUBBLE BATH A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BERRY BURST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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:

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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:

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

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 have a seasonal clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Signs of autumn - this can mean so many things but for me is summed up above all in the changing colours of the leaves on the trees as I drive through the countryside each day. The 'Framing Foliage' host stamp set has a lovely autumnal frame made of leaves, fruit and berries that is perfect for clean and simple cards - take a look:

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

#SimpleStamping - Firstly, did you miss the Framing Foliage stamp set in the current mini catalogue? It's on page 79 and is an exclusive stamp set that can be purchased with Stampin' Rewards earned when you host your own Stampin' Up! party (or place a single order of a qualifying amount). For my clean and simple design I decided to go with a one layer, #simplestamping card: stamps, ink and paper and nothing more. I stamped the frame, my 'thanks' sentiment from 'Biggest Wish' stamp set in Early Espresso on a kraft notecard and having added a little Crumb Cake ink to the edges of my card base with a blending brush, I coloured the details of the frame with my watercolour pencils. I also stamped a partial frame onto the outer envelope flap and coloured that to coordinate. Super simple - done! I don't make smaller notecards often, although it's a great size to pop into customer order bags, so I made a few of these and that's where they'll be headed.

Stepped Up - Whilst I had everything out on my desk, I thought I'd also create a second, stepped up version to show how a few additional elements can enhance the basic design. This time I used a standard size card base and added a pattern to my cardfront using a blending brush and some Copper Clay ink with the houndstooth pattern Abundant Beauty Decorative Mask. I stamped the frame onto a second piece of cardstock, cropped it closely then this time coloured the elements with my Stampin' Blends markers. 

Before adding my stamped panel to my cardbase with dimensionals, I punched a couple of holes and thread some linen thread through, tying in a bow. I could have just glued on my bow, but one of our Guest Designers currently, the lovely Fran Wing, has such creative ways of adding thread to her cards I thought I'd take a leaf out of her book and try something a little different!

So one design, two ways - which one do you prefer? Both are fairly clean and simple and I think I prefer the second one if I'm honest, but the first one is I think a great example of #SimpleStamping and how you don't need much in the way of supplies to create a decent card. 

I'm linking up my first card today with the team over at CASOnSunday where their current challenge theme is also autumn; my second card I'm linking up over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog where they are currently on 'N is for Nature'. 

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 have no special plans so am hoping to enjoy some cooking and crafting in equal measure! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FRAMING FOLIAGE HOST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (14.00)	BIGGEST WISH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (16.00)	ABUNDANT BEAUTY DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	KRAFT NOTE CARDS & ENVELOPES (9.50)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	COPPER CLAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 1 (15.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (11.75)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)

Today I'm squeaking in a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches that was also inspired by the lovely greens and nature theme over at Just Add Ink:

I couldn't resist the chance to rediscover my 'inner Cecile' (her style is so fabulous!) and decided to go uber-clean and simple with my Gorgeously Made Bundle - take a look:

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

I added a couple of swathes of green using the textured stamp (I masked it to shorten the stamped image and flipped it for the second colour to reverse the shape) then added my favourite leaf stem, which I diecut 3 times and stacked if for a chunky stem with depth:

A simple stamped 'hello' completes my card. I just love Cecile's style so it's always fun to use it as a jumping off point; the additions of the monochromatic greens gives the card a nice serene, peaceful quality too I think - and is also perfect for the 'M is for Monochromatic' challenge over at The Alphabet Challenge blog.

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; a short post from me as I'm off to brave the school run! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

GORGEOUSLY MADE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (47.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

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 fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I love clean and simple week! With the theme of 'insects' I was tempted to make another bee card this week, but instead decided to make a card showcasing one of the prettiest embellishments in the current catalogue - take a look:

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

Brass butterflies - did you spot them? I stamped a simple spray of flowers and thank you sentiment from the 'Dainty Delight' stamp set, coloured my flowers with a variety of Blends (I've shared those that are still current below) and added a trio of brass butterflies for my insect embellishment:

These butterfly embellishments are small but pack a punch - when the catch the light they are so pretty! A super simple card today - #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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'm also linking up today's card over at Color Dare; I went across the bottom row paprika/shortbread/mocha and also used honey yellow too.

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 tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DAINTY DELIGHT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

This is my second post of the day as today I'm guesting over at CAS on Friday further to my recent win (here's the link to my winning card if you missed it!) The theme of the new challenge is 'Holiday'. I initially thought about sunny beaches and the sea, but then realised that whilst us Brits tend to use the word 'holiday' as an alternative to 'vacation', in other countries, particularly the USA, the word 'holiday' is often used in connection with the festive season so yes, you've guessed it - I have another Christmas card for you! Take a look:

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

Do you recognise this ballet dancing reindeer? She is actually one of the characters on the Zoo Crew designer paper! I've shared cards made with other animals fussy cut from this paper before; I just added a hint of colour to her antlers and a pop of festive red and a sparkly rhinestones to the flower on her skirt, added a couple of pieces of retired festive paper from my scrap box behind and finished with a stamped Christmas sentiment from the current 'Ringed With Nature' stamp set:

And that's all there is to it! There are a few sets in the annual catalogue that are Christmas-themed or are not designed as such but can be used to make cards for the holiday season. So if you want to get started early on your Christmas crafting, go ahead and take a look. You could also treat yourself to a Christmas card kit as they are discounted with up to 30% this month or even sign up to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - you would then benefit from the perk of being able to order items from the mini catalogue right away, a whole month ahead of customers - yay!

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. 

Be sure to check out the projects made by the CAS On Friday designers - I know they will have some fabulous inspiration to share.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

RINGED WITH NATURE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	ZOO CREW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)
OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

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

I used the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday and also played along with their optional twist of camping/campfire and got fussy cutting with my paper snips and some Zoo Crew Designer Series Paper to come up with today's fun clean and simple notecard - take a look:

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

Today's card is all about the designer paper! I had lots of images fussy cut from the Zoo Crew designer paper so I chose this one of the lion, added some additional colour to him with my Stampin' Blends markers and adhered him and some trees that I also fussy cut from the paper to a stitched oval, to which I'd added some Starry Sky and Parakeet Party inks with some blending brushes to ground my campfire scene (I also added a flick of clear Wink of Stella to give my sky a starry night feel, although it is difficult to see this on the photo). I anchored my oval with a trio of strips featuring some of the black and white patterns from the Zoo Crew papers and stamped a vertical sentiment from the 'charming Sentiments' stamp set:

Whilst you might be forgiven at first glance for thinking I missed the point of Anne Marie's challenge this week, you will see my lion is busy roasting his pink marshmallows over his open campfire. yum - s'mores, anyone?! Fussy cutting the individual images is such a fun way to use designer paper! A little goes a long way and this kind of minimalist layout is perfect for clean and simple cards. I'm also linking today's card up over at CAS on Friday where designer paper is the theme of their current challenge 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 sun loungers rather than campfires for me, but I'm not complaining! I'll be back on Tuesday 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 (11.75)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (7.50)	WILD WHEAT STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	BUBBLE BATH STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

Today I have been in full on craft mode but I'm taking a break from making to share a card that I made for a few challenges using Cecile's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

Now my regular readers will know how much I admire the lovely Cecile's work and it's always fun to have a go at creating with one of her sketches. I have to say, I've been working on this one on and off for the last week and having binned a few attempts I almost gave up. I so wanted to go with a sailboat, but that did seem too obvious, but using those shapes in a different had me stumped. In the end I decided not to take those triangles literally and focus on creating something clean and simple and this is what I came up with:

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

I thought it was high time I played with a new stamp set that I've had for a little while that had yet to see ink called 'Hey Chuck'. I couldn't resist this stamp set; it co-ordinates with the chicken sets we've had previously, is in a bundle with co-ordinating dies and those chickens are just so comical - so perfect for the current challenge over at Time Out too. Firstly I made a stencil using the sun die, doubling it to make a whole sun and I used this to sponge a Daffodil Delight sun directly onto my card base. I then stamped both my skateboard - the perfect outdoor activity for the challenge over at AAA Cards - and my punny congratulations sentiment (yet another exam congratulations card in the bag and perfect for the current celebrations over at Addicted to CAS) directly onto my cardbase, before stamping my chicken separately and colouring him with various Stampin' Blends markers. I then diecut him and popped him up on dimensionals to complete my card:

What could be funnier than a skateboarding chicken, right?! When we had our first set of chickens, the James Juniors built them their own swing that they suspended from the apple tree in our garden and spent ages trying to get the chickens to use it, but our feathered guests were having none of it! Maybe they should have tried a skateboard ... So not a literal take on Cecile's sketch today, but very much in tune with her clean and simple cardmaking style.

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 for our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches - incidentally with my teamie, Cecile! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HEY CHUCK BUNDLE (48.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	PRETTY PEACOCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

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)