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 create something with a crescent shape as the main feature on our card:

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

For my card today I was tempted to go with a spray of florals or even dig out a retired baby stamp that would be perfect for this card (in fact, if you'd like to check out this old post you will see two cards that I made for this very challenge using the exact set that I had in mind!), but in the end decided to go with something a little more obtuse that ended up ultra-CAS - take a look:

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

I decided to go with the dog from 'Pampered Pets' for today's card - you can see the distinct curved shape of my pooch, right?!

I heat embossed my dog in white onto Basic Black cardstock for a change and used the Pets Dies to diecut out the shape with ease. The angle of the dog fitted around the sentiment perfectly and all I needed to do was add a red resin heart for a pop of colour on my otherwise monochromatic pet sympathy card. I actually started with a card that had a lot more going on (I actually turned that card into something else so will share another time) but for a variety of different reasons evolved beyond the sketch, so I decided to pare things right back and go ultra CAS. I debated with adding twine or even some sponging behind my pooch, but decided to go with the 'less is more' look after the positive comments I received on the one layer floral I created for last week's challenge. Besides, when it comes to the loss of a beloved pet, I'm not sure that any amount of frills or card details take away from the sense of loss that an owner feels. 

I am also linking today's card up over at Addicted to CAS where their codeword is 'Animal' and I'm hoping they will appreciate my CAS efforts. The simplicity of today's card rely does not reflect the thought and effort that went into it - I find that's often the way where 'clean and simple' is concerned!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I am 'home alone' today for the first time in months as both James Juniors are now officially Covid-free and back at school. So I shall be playing the radio at full blast and making tea whenever I like, without fear of remonstration! Sometimes one must delight in the simple pleasures of life!! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PAMPERED PETS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£36.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	RESIN HEARTS EMBELLISHMENTS (£6.50)

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

Fabulous felines - what a fun challenge this week! I used the sketch over at Fusion (come back tomorrow if you'd like to see a card that uses the Fusion photo inspiration too) to make a clean and simple birthday card - take a look:

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

Today's card is super simple! I've been wanting to make a card using this cat that features on the Playful Pets designer series paper for ages - I just love her quirky expression! - and our challenge this week was the perfect opportunity. I cut a strip of (retired) Brights DSP in a two-tone stripe that picks up the pink of the cat's neck bow, and a suitably tongue-in-cheek sentiment from Itty-Bitty Birthdays that seemed to reflect just what my fussy-cut kitty was thinking, and placed the various pieces onto my card. A quick check to our clean and simple guidelines:

I finished my sentiment on the inside of my card and added a mouse that I fussy cut from my DSP sheet too:

Since this is a birthday card, I'll be linking up over at The Spot today too where they have a birthday theme.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

to follow

I've had a few card- and blog-free days as I enjoy time with the James Juniors who are on half-term this week. There has been lots of cooking, walking and cycling and crafting of a different kind (I'll share more about that in a few days time!) I did get a few cards made today though, including this one for the current challenge over at Less Is More:

These kings and queens of CAS are celebrating their 10th birthday with chocolate so as a self-confessed chocolate lover myself, I thought it would be rude not to partake in a little celebration with them! I channelled my clean and simple self and came up with the following #SimpleStamping card using just stamps, ink and paper:

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

A simple base of Very Vanilla, with a border of Early Espresso and some (retired) Chocolate Chip chocolates, with the outline detailing and the 'chocolate' word in my sentiment stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with some (retired) Early Espresso embossing powder for an additional touch of shine and texture:

I finished my greeting on the inside of my card like this and with a few more chocolates:

I'm sure, like me, that there are days when you feel like this too!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

 to follow

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'm also linking today's card with a new-to-me challenge called The Dream Factory, which uses films as the starting point to inspire our crafty creations - and this month's film is appropriately 'Chocolat'.

Enjoy your evening; I'll be back tomorrow with another project also featuring chocolate - so if you are watching your waistline and would like to indulge in chocolate without the calories, do join me then. Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Today we have a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we incorporate a curve into our design. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

Following last week's inner wrestling, for my card today I went uber clean and simple - just 4 items make today's card:

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

Curvy Dies - Jeanne's sketch was a gift to Curvy Dies this week! A swift run through the diecutting machine with the simple dotted edge die and my Seaside Spray panel had the necessary curve I was looking for. 

Quite Curvy - I added a birthday sentiment from the co-ordinating Quite Curvy stamp set in Tuxedo Black to my panel; it aligns to the contour of the diecut perfectly and has the bonus of being photopolymer, so is super easy to line up too.

Flower and Field - Having chosen to keep my top layer completely 'clean' (remember, 'white space' doesn't have to white in colour, just free from detail), I decided to add a little detail to the edge of my card base below with a strip of designer paper. This pattern is one of the designs in the Flower & Field Designer Series Paper pack, one of the items that can be yours FREE with a purchase of £45 during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion. The patterns in the pack are a collection of bold florals, perfect for all kinds of projects.

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:

QUITE CURVY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£38.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

SEASIDE SPRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

FLOWER & FIELD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)

Happy Monday everyone! My week has started at full speed as usual but I'm here today with two projects that are both quite different that feature projects from the Heartwarming Hugs Suite. First up is a clean and simple card using the colours over at Just Add Ink this week (thank you ladies for selecting my candle card as a winner for the 'Just Add Two' challenge last week!) and this week's sketch layout over at CAS Colours and Sketches where they have a great sketch requiring a small, repeating image of some kind:

I decided to go with the coffee cup in the Warm Hugs stamp set and paired it with a sentiment from the same set that I've been wanting to use for a while - take a look:

 The sentiment is quite long so I turned my card to make use of a wider card front, and having stamped my mugs in alternating colours, I added a sentiment across the central row that I heat-embossed in silver on vellum so that it didn't totally obscure the mugs. I also added small rhinestones to the top and bottom row of mugs for a little added silver sparkle:

Finally some stamping to decorate the envelope and inside my card to finish:

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on this 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.

The 'Warm Hugs' stamp set is part of the Heartwarming Hugs Suite which includes lots of fun items and packaging ideas, including mini coffee cups and carriers. I made a few hot chocolate sets to share with some of my lovely customers as gifts recently using the items in the suite and decorated the cups and carriers with some of the papers in the Heartwarming Hugs designer paper pack, with a hot chocolate-filled cup and a bag of marshmallows to go with them and this seemed like a good opportunity to share a project that shows how easy it is to create a heartfelt yet relatively inexpensive gift to share with someone. Here's a close up of my completed carrier:

And here's a photo showing the detail on my decorated hot-chocolate themed cup:

I love the traditional colours that feature in this suite - isn't the dressed mug just adorable?! The textured coffee collar and sentiment added to the cup adds a nice personal touch I think. I'm linking this project up over at Color Throwdown where they are featuring the exact palette of kraft, reds and greens that feature on my decorated cup and gingham carrier.

 Here is the visual summary of the key products used on this 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.

Everyone that I've given one of these to so far has loved them - I'm thinking of making them for my UPS delivery driver and postman too, for them to take home for a warming drink after their rounds! Who would you give one to?

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of two fabulous new launches: the new Paper Pumpkin kit and the Curvy Celebrations bundle! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WARM HUGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£44.00)	WARM HUGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	WARM WRAPS DIES (£33.00)	MINI COFFEE CARRIER (£4.75)	MINI COFFEE CUPS (£7.00)
WRAPPED IN TEXTURE EMBOSSING FOLDERS (£7.50)	MOSSY MEADOW 3/8" (1 CM) DIAGONAL STRIPE RIBBON (£7.00)	HEARTWARMING HUGS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	SILVER STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by quite a few challenges - I started with a couple in mind but my card just kind of snowballed:

Believe it or not my starting pint was the Just Add Ink challenge and that lovely yellow and pink colour combo, along with the tassels. I had already decided to make a lion birthday card inspired by the Hand Stamped Sentiments photo and I wondered whether I could make a bushy mane from tassels. I used the sketch layout courtesy of AAA cards (no optional twist - this lion doesn't fly!) but given that he is a lion, I am linking up Leo over at CASology where the keyword is 'zodiac' and entering over at Addicted to CAS too! So that's how I got to my card - now to tell you the story of the bushy mane! Firstly, here's my finished card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Bonanza Buddies - I used my Bonanza Buddies stamp set for the lion with his balloons, and stamped them and my sentiment directly onto my card base. Then, instead of diecutting the head and mane using the stamp provided and popping it up, I stamped it but fussy cut the face and put my bushy mane behind - here's a close up of that detail:

The Mane Event - So how did I create my mane? I knew I had some tassels in my stash, but the closest I had to yellow was gold and it looked a little too 'bling', so I grabbed some retired Crushed Curry baker's twine and created my own by punching a small 1/2" circle of cardstock with a smaller hole in the centre to create a ring, then looped a bunch of 2" pieces of twine around it then trimmed it to fit. Here's a close-up photo so you can see what it looked like before I added it to my card:

I think glued this to my card and glued my lion's face, complete with party hat, to the middle.

Clean And Simple? - Having completed my card, I did have some doubts as to whether my card would pass the 'CAS' test; it does have a single focal point, lots of white space and minimal layers but whilst it only has one embellishment, it is rather a fancy one! I hope I haven't offended anyone in the AAA Cards, Addicted to CAS or CASology camps as I try and hone my CAS skills, but do leave me a comment if you think I've still more to learn on this front - I'm sure my sweet PP teamie and queen of CAS, the lovely Jaydee who is hosting at Addicted to CAS this week will put me 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. 

As I trimmed my lion's mane, it reminded me of cutting both Mr James and the James Juniors' hair last week. We are all missing our regular trims during lockdown, and the boys in particular decided we should take matters into our own hands. Having purchased some clippers, I set to work and surprised myself at what a good job I did. So much so I bought a pair of hairdressing scissors and cut Rebecca's hair too! It appears I have found a new skill - it's just a shame I can't practise it on myself and I certainly don't trust anyone else if the James household to cut my hair, so the ladies that see me on my online classes at the moment will have to witness my increasingly unruly mop for a while longer yet!! So have you discovered any new skills you didn't know you had whilst you've been in lockdown? Do share - I would love to hear about them! 

I have lots to share with you today so will be back later with a couple more posts, so be sure to stay tuned or depending on when you are reading this scroll forwards to catch up on everything that 's happening! Enjoy your day and I'll be back later. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bonanza Buddies Photopolymer Stamp Set	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad
Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad	1/2" (1.3 Cm) Circle Punch	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock

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

I decided to go back to one of my annual catalogue favourites, Modern Heart, for today's card - take a look:

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

A Touch of Sparkle - So with the emphasis on sparkle for today's card, I started with a base of Shimmery white. Difficult to see in the photos, the whole of the cardfront has a subtle sparkle which is so pretty in real life. I paired this with my modern heart, heat embossed in gold, that I decorated with a trio of gilded gems and a tiny geometrical heart fussy cut from gold glimmer paper. 

Clean and Simple - Whilst this week is all about sparkle, it's also 'clean and simple' week. So does today's card meet the guidelines? Minimal layers and embellishments - check. Plenty of open space, aka "white" space - check. Simple and uncluttered - check. Remember to follow this check list if you are going to play along this week!

Hearts of Blue - I decided to use blues for my card colour today; every other time I've used this set it has been with female cards in mind, so I thought it would be nice to create something with a more masculine feel. The unfussy nature of this card suits a more masculine card too - check out the detail on the heart itself:

I added a little fussy cut detail to the sentiment too for an additional pop of navy blue. I'm linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where they are featuring embossing - this time I'm going with heat embossing.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; yesterday was wet and miserable here, so perfect for crafting; I'm hoping today will be brighter and therefore offer more chance to get outside, but either way I'm sure there will be fun to be had in one form or another! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Modern Heart Cling Stamp Set	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Gilded Gems	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! I am the hostess this week and I have a clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

The daffodils are blooming in my garden and after an extremely wet and windy winter here in the UK, I am so ready for Spring! In addition to that, and the current battoning down the hatches in light of the Corona virus worldwide, I think we could all do with a little colour in our lives, so I hope you will play along with my challenge this week!

Remember in addition to the theme of "Spring Flowers", this week is a Clean-and-Simple (CAS) challenge!  What do we mean by CAS?

• Minimal layers and embellishments
• Plenty of open space, aka "white" space
• Simple and uncluttered

I've made lots of projects using the Timeless Tulips bundle but haven't shared many of any on my blog so thought that today would be a good opportunity to remedy this! I grabbed the fabulous sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch this week and set to work - take a look:

I deliberated for ages over my card, as I so often do when it's clean-and-simple week, but in the end came up with something that was so easy to create. I added a strip of gingham check to the edge of my card, stamped my sentiment in Basic Grey then added a trio of short stemmed tulips stamped in Flirty Flamingo pink, one in each size that is included in the set, and either fussy cut them or used the co-ordinating Tulip Builder punch. I adhered them at the base so that they had a slight lift and added some small epoxy dots to symbolise raindrops to the petals to finish. As easy as that - another #SimpleStamping card this week, we all need some of those!

Just 6 items is all it took to create this sweet tulip 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 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 with the lovely ladies over at Festive Friday where they are celebrating spring - my choices from the inspo list are flowers, green, pastels (and raindrops!)

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 wet and miserable here today and I was hoping to hibernate to my craft room, but against all my better judgements I might have to venture out to the supermarket, since all of the panic buying has resulted in my regular weekly shop being delivered minus much of what I ordered so I'm not quite sure how I am going to feed the James family this week! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Timeless Tulips Bundle (English) (£30.50)

Brights 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)

Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards that I made for my 2020 Christmas card stash; I always try and make some Christmas cards throughout the year, although I must confess I often get sidetracked as the year goes on! I was encouraged by a few challenges that are currently running:

The theme over at Christmas Kickstart Challenge is 'penguin parade' so I decided to use one of my (now retired) penguin stamps from the 'Making Everyday Bright' stamp set, along with the CASology cue word 'repeat' to create this little festive gang - take a look:

I used my Stamparatus to get all of my penguins in an even row across the centre of my Whisper White card base, and taking my cue from the current challenge over at Less Is More, used my Calypso Coral and Blueberry Bushel Stampin' Write markers to add colour to their hats. I punched out the central one and gave him a coral retired enamel heart to hold. I stamped my sentiment, from the (retired) 'Christmas Crowd' set in Blueberry Bushel and popped it up on dimensionals, using it to ground my row of penguins, and finished the inside with another sentiment from this set:

I had a few aborted attempts at getting my penguins in a neat line, but I liked the above card when I was done so I used my Christmas Bulb Builder Punch to punch out some of my leftovers and this time stuck them in a neat line (in hindsight I should have done this the first time, it would have been much quicker!) and coloured them in with a festive Real Red and Call Me Clover colour combo:

Here are both of my cards together:

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. 

The 'Making Spirits Bright' stamp set is one of the (many!) retired stamp sets I own that didn't see much love first time around, so it was fun to revisit it for today's cards. 

I have the first of my monthly card classes today using the Beautifully Braided Bundle so will be sharing some of those creations with you later this week. In the meantime, enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

No product table today as the stamp sets used on today's cards are retired; current colours are listed above.