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

Remember: this is clean and simple week. What do we mean by 'clean and simple' ? Create a card that has:

• Minimal layers and embellishments
• Plenty of open space, also known as 'white space'
• Is simple and uncluttered

Having had a clear out of retired stampsets, I had a minor panic when I realised that today's challenge was all about summer beverages; when I went through my collection, I realised I had only one set that had anything even remotely drink-related. In the end this made things easier - less choice can be liberating! Last week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout was just what I needed to bring my card to life - take a look:

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

Colourful Seasons Summer Drinks - Yes, the little drink in the Colourful Seasons stamp set was the only one in my crafting arsenal, but it was perfect for a long, cool summer beverage - complete with a slice! Easy to stamp and then cut out with the co-ordinating Seasonal Layers Thinlits, this little glass was this week's saving grace. Phew!

Tropical Colour Trio - I decided to balance the white of my CAS card with a trio of tropical colours: Grapefruit Grove, Pineapple Punch and Granny Apple Green. Each of my little circles features all three colours, interchanging the background colour, juice glass and slice of oange, lemon or lime respectively, each of which I coated with a liberal dose of Wink of Stella for a lovely sparkle. I added a strip of each colour to the base behind the greeting, to tie in with the circles above and below. This is a great fresh and zingy colour combo; here it is for you if you would like to save to use on future projects:

An Itty Bitty Birthday Greeting - Lastly, follwig another hunt through my depleted stamp sets, I found a suitable sentiment from the 'Itty Bitty Birthdays' set that was a perfect match for my colourful glasses and added to my card using Memento black ink.

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; we are celebrating Father's Day here in the UK and yesterday it was also one of the James Junior's birthdays, so we will be rounding off a busy week with a few more celebrations before Rebecca heads off to the Lake District for a week of outward bound activities with her school mates tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Seasonal Layers Dies (£31.00)	Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Itty Bitty Birthdays Cling Stamp Set (£21.00)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)
Grapefruit Grove A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Grapefruit Grove Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pineapple Punch A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pineapple Punch Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Granny Apple Green A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

I've had a busy few days with the launch of the new Stampin' Up! catalogue and lots going on in the world of the James family and no time to blog, however today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Playersso here I am! It's the turn of the fabulous Anne-Marie to host this week and she has a colour challenge for you to work with:

Anne Marie's palette choice includes three of my favourite colours and I couldn't wait to create with them this week! Using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout I decide to go for a fresh and summery card featuring the gorgeous new stamp set from the Bird Ballad Suite - take a look:

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

I stamped the birds from the 'Free As A Bird' stamp set and coloured them with my Stampin' Blends and added a sentiment from the same set to a stitched rectangle in Highland Heather. I also added a  piece of Highland Heather gingham paper behind to add a hint of contrasting colour and some texture to the base using the Subtles embossing folder. I'm not sure if you can get purple birds with yellow tummies, but I guess when they are being coloured, 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 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 will be spending mine getting some jobs done and preparing for the busy week ahead: tomorrow is the first of this month's card classes and the oldest of the James Juniors has 3 performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'CATS' to perform in at school this week (she is playing the role of Gus, the Theatre Cat). We also have cricket, summer hockey, a visit from my parents, 3 birthdays and Father's Day this week amongst other things - I think it's going to be a busy one! I'll be back tomorrow with another project featuring these feathered friends, so do pop by and take a look. Until then, enjoy your day and happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Free As A Bird Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Linen Thread (£4.75)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Highland Heather Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Smoky Slate Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Stampin' Blends Color Lifter (£4.25)

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

I was inspired by Nance's challenge badge this week so decided to go down the houseplant route and ink up another soon-to-be retired stamp set, but with a sneak peek of something new too - take a look:

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

Goodbye Just Because - The houseplant on today's card is from one of the hostess sets in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue, 'Just Because'. These exclusive sets are sometimes overlooked, but they are a great perk for party hostesses who can claim them with Stampin' Rewards for a special price when they host a qualifying party. They can also be claimed if you place one large qualifying order and are always worth a look. I can confirm that the new annual catalogue has some fabulous hostess sets, so if you would like to host a party post the new catalogue launch, then do get in touch with me now to book a suitable date.

An Embossed Frame - The houseplant on today's card is rather green and uninteresting on its own, so I needed something that would add interest whilst still keeping to Laurie's 'clean and simple' theme. I decided on a stitched embossed frame, placed at a jaunty angle. I used my rectangle stitched framelits to cut a frame that I then ran through my Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder; an easy way to draw the eye to the image and sentiment.  

Hello New 2019-21 In-Colours - My jaunty frame also gave me an opportunity to give you a sneak peek of the new 2019-21 in-colours. My main card showcases my favourite, Purple Posy, and I created a set with a frame in each new in-colour: left to right you can just see Terracotta Tile, Pretty Peacock, Rococo Rose, Seaside Spray and Purple Posy. 

My cards are a little 'unfinished' in as much as I wanted to add one of the new in-colour faceted dots to the right of my sentiment on each card, but alas we are having shipping issues here in the UK and mine hadn't arrived in time to make my card. For anyone local to me that is attending my Open House catalogue launch event on 5th June, you will be able to see the 'completed' 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. 

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 am hoping to spend some time pottering in my garden and enjoying the sunshine. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Just Because Cling Stamp Set (£12.00)	2019-2021 In Color A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.25)	Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)
Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Just a quick creative post from me today following on from my earlier share about the 'Everything Is Rosy' limited edition product medley that is coming later in the week (you can read all about that here if you missed it). I'm sharing a quick card that I made at the weekend that was initially inspired by last week's CASology challenge theme of 'Africa' (now closed but you can check out their amazing gallery here) that inspired me to use up some of my epic stash of retired designer series papers with this rather intriguing sketch from the CAS Colours and Sketches team:

So here is my card: 

A selection of 'Go Wild' retired animal print papers, inset beneath a trio of apertures cut using my rectangle stitched framelits dies and a sentiment from the retiring 'A Little Wild' stamp set - that's all there is to it! It definitely felt good to use up some of those retired papers too.

I'm also linking up my clean and simple card with the team over at Addicted To CAS where their current theme is 'contrast' and I think my varied animal skin-inspired prints are definitely that!

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'll be back tomorrow with another project and compared to today's you might need sunglasses for it - bright is the word! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

A Little Wild Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)

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 you to work with:

What a pretty trio of spring colours Ann has for us this week! I knew exactly how I was going to use these colours. As I have been busy at Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event these last few days I needed a straightforward layout and the sketch over at Fab Friday was perfect for what I had in mind (I rotated it through 180 degrees) - take a look:

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

Fable Friends - Having resisted it for many months, I eventually caved and purchased the adorable collection of farmyard animals that is the 'Fable Friends' stamp set. I have seen one too many examples of loveliness as far as this set is concerned and decided I 'needed' to add it to my stamp collection. The mama duck and her trio of ducklings seemed just perfect for a spot of colouring with this week's colours.

A Trio of Blends - I used the combo packs of Balmy Blue, Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight to colour my little duckiest, along with a little Ivory for feather detail and light Smoky Slate to ground them. So super-cute is the little trio of ducklings, I had to repeat them on the inside of my card too. I added a close-up here so that you could see how I had coloured them and to show that you don't have to be a colouring expert to get a good result:

Frame It - I used a simple frame made from two Rectangle Stitched Framelits and a piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock to provide the border outline for my picture, along with some Gingham Gala check to add to the theme. My greeting is from the same set and I stamped it on Balmy Blue to make it stand out from the white space surrounding my image.

I really love this fresh, spring-inspired card - now I just need to decide who to send it to!

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; mine will be a quiet one as I feel I need to recover from the last 2 days of Onstage, which were long and hectic, whilst also fun and a great opportunity to catch up with friends. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Fable Friends Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card using the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the current colour palette at Fab Friday:

My card features a technique that is currently all the rage and I've been wanting to have a go at - the floating frame technique. This actually means I have two cards for you! Here's the first one:

And here's the second one, featuring the outer frame element:

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

Floating Frames - The floating frame technique is really easy to create with a few basic tools: some 'Press and Seal' food wrap or similar, a framelit - I used my Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies - and lots of dimensionals! You simply stamp and punch/diecut your images, lay them out, cover with Press and Seal, trim to frame size and cut out your central piece, before adhering dimensionals to the back of the diecut pieces and adhering to your chosen card base. Finally you remove the Press and Seal and your floating shapes remain in place. Jennifer McGuire has a fabulous video on this technique if you want to see one of these cards being made - you can see it here. 

Birthday Balloons - I've seen some fabulous examples of this technique, mostly using florals, but I was in need of some birthday cards and I thought the colours over at Fab Friday would be perfect for some bright and colourful balloons. I had so much fun making these cards I'm going to make a few more in alternative colour combos too - this is a great card design that would work well for both boys and girls, so makes a great storecupboard standby. I stamped my balloons with one of the stamps in the 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' stamp set before punching them for added interest and I used one of the other balloon stamps in the set to decorate the envelope, as you can see below:

No need for a naked envelope here!

A Birthday Greeting - For my second card, I needed a larger greeting to sit inside my frame so my Well Written Framelits were the perfect choice. I also added an extra balloon for balance, tied with some white baker's twine. The same design could be used with other stamps and sentiments from this set too to make cards for other occasions - how many other combinations can you come up with? 

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects for you to pin for easy reference:

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

Enjoy your day; we are having a kit clear-out in the playroom today. So far we've made an erupting volcano, an insect hut, a flying helicopter and two solar-powered motorised dinosaurs. You've got to love the Easter holidays! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Balloon Bouquet Punch (£17.00)	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Well Written Framelits Dies (£37.00)

I've had a busy week that's kept me away from my blog but I have managed to get lots made over the past couple of days so I should be better prepared this week! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink that also uses the sketch layout at The Paper Craft Crew:

I missed playing with the ladies over at Just Add Ink last week as I just didn't manage to get my card finished and blogged (one for another time!) but as soon as I saw their inspiration photo this week I knew exactly which set I was going to use. Here's my card:

Mediterranean Moments is a stamp set that I've used many times, but not recently so it was a good opportunity to dust off this favourite from the annual catalogue and get to work. The photo reminded me of the cafe scene so this formed the basis of my main focal point, stamped on white and coloured with my Stampin' Blends. I used the PPC sketch to push me to consider a different layout to any I've used previously with this set. I did some tone-on-tone stamping using one of the other stamps in the set and embossed the main panel with a brick pattern for added texture and interest, and added a few wooden leaf embellishments from my box. I added a sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings to finish my 'just because' note 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Mediterranean Moments Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£33.00)	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Powder Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Flirty Flamingo Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Basic Black Light Stampin' Blends (£4.25)

Today I've just got time for a quick post to share another card made using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set 'By The Bay' that I made a while ago but haven't got around to blogging. Here's my card:

A simple scene watercoloured on shimmery white paper with inks and an aquapainter, layered with a tone-on-tone panel of Balmy Blue embossed with the Stripes embossing folder and paired with some burlap and leaves and a sentiment with stitched edge detail. Easy as that! You have only 4 more days to snap it up for free with a £45 order so if it's on your list, get your order in before the weekend. 

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

By The Bay Cling Stamp Set (£0.00)	Simple Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon (£6.50)	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Wonderful Floral Framelits Dies (£32.00)

Another Monday and a new start to the week! Today I'm sharing a card a baby card using this week's sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches that also fits this week's challenge over at Just Add Ink:

I still had my Animal Expedition papers out on my desk from the card that I will be sharing tomorrow so decided to make a quick new baby card - take a look:

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

J is For Joey - So today's card features the cute koala/kangaroo combo that I cropped from the Animal Expedition papers using my Animal friends framelits. I was reminded when I read the post over at Just Add Ink that 'joey' is another name for a young kangaroo and that this would therefore work for their challenge this week. This is a bonus entry for me though, as I thought this little joey would be perfect for my baby card today - my scheduled Just Add Ink entry is coming up tomorrow and you are definitely going to want to pop by and see where my musings over the letter 'J' took me - it was just too easy to go with the Design Team's suggestions! Another tip from me when cropping these animals from your designer series paper: crop the identical shape out of extra thick white cardstock and adhere your DSP diecut to it for a more rigid element to prevent it getting squashed in the post.

A Hidden Gem - I used one of the other dies in the Animal Friends set for the vertical 'banner' element of the sketch - an inset vine that has some leaves that are remove completely and some that are attached, allowing them to be brushed up and add a little interest to the design. I genuinely hadn't noticed this die in the set before, hence my reference to it as a 'hidden gem'; I really like it and I can see me using it on lots of cards for added subtle detail.

Subtle Texture - After diecutting the vertical vine element, I ran my layer of Blushing Bride cardstock through the Big Shot with my Subtle embossing folder for a little extra texture and interest. It is indeed subtle, but I think it makes a nice addition before adding my sentiment and diecut animal pair on top.

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:

Animal Friends Thinlits Dies (£27.00)	Animal Outing Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Animal Outing Clear-Mount Bundle (£42.25)	Animal Expedition Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)
Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)

I've had a busy week with preparations for classes and my forthcoming weekend craft retreat, so I've had to take a short blogging break. Today I'm sharing a card that was totally inspired by the vibrant colour palette over at TGIF Challenges this week:

This colour palette is so bright I just couldn't resist! I decided that these colours would be perfect for a tropical orchid and set to work - take a look:

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

Climbing Orchid - I must confess this is the first time I've used this stamp; I bought it having seen the fabulous creations my wonderful Paper Players friend Nance Leedy created with it and following the stunning birthday card she sent me with it last year (you can see her card here but if you search for 'Climbing Orchid' on Nance's blog you will see lots of fabulous samples using this set). As I was musing what to do with these colours, another of my Paper Players teamies, the lovely LeAnne Pugliese of WeeInklings, posted a photo on her blog of a fabulous real-life orchid that has just bloomed having nurtured it for a whole year (apparently an ice cube a day is the secret!) and as I mused that I have never managed to keep a houseplant going for that long, it dawned on me that an orchid would be perfect for this colour combo. I stamped my orchids in Berry Burst directly onto Pineapple Punch cardstock as I didn't want to see white borders on my flowers, then I also added a little sponged Berry Burst ink to the petals. 

More Stitched Frames - I mounted my orchid on a tone-on-tone stitched rectangle frame and card base and stamped my sentiment on the inner panel. What can I say - these frames are a winner and I love them!

A Post-Friendly Version - I used the co-ordinating Orchid Builder framelits to cut out the layered petals and shaped them with my bone folder for a dimensional effect on the card above, which is headed to someone special who has a birthday coming up who I know will appreciate the effort involved. I am also able to hand-deliver, as this card is not particularly post-friendly. I did however create a second, slightly less involved and more post-friendly version using one of the other sentiments in the set which will be heading overseas that I thought I would also share with you for comparison:

And here's a picture of the two cards together:

I love these cards - why ever did I wait so long to use this set?! I think I'm going to make one of these 3D versions in a pot to keep on my windowsill - I'm sure this is the only houseplant likely to survive in the James household for a year or more! I'm also linking today's card up with the ladies over at SUO Challenges where the theme is 'flowers'.

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:

Climbing Orchid Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Orchid Builder Framelits Dies (£23.00)	Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies (£31.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Coastal Cabana A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Pineapple Punch A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock (£8.00)