It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and I am the featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I had another crack at Brian's CAS(E) This Sketch layout today and my card also uses the colours over at The Card Concept, and whilst I have stripes they aren't of the patriotic kind - take a look:

I chose the right-hand column of Punny Sentiment - Masculine - Punched Shape for my card today and this is how I achieved it:

Punny Sentiment - I love a punny sentiment and the 'Outdoor Barbeque' set in the current Spring-Summer catalogue has a few of them! I especially love this one with the picture of a steak - I mean, who puts a steak on a card, right?! This is perfect for the Dad of the James household - this is exactly how he likes his steak cooked and he is a rare breed indeed (read into that what you may!) I finished the sentiment inside my card with this stamp from the 'A Wish For Everything' set:

Masculine - I'm not sure many females would relish a juicy streak on the front of a card - I'm more a hearts and flowers girl myself! - so that definitely puts this card into male territory. Besides, our Dad is most definitely the king of the BBQ - a very masculine domain! That's where my blue striped paper comes in too; it's from the now retired Come Sail Away DSP but on my card serves as a nod to my husband's navy and white butcher-striped BBQ apron.

Punched Shape - Lastly, I used the Classic Label Punch to punch out the sentiment on the front of my card and pop it up on dimensionals; I cut a long thin strip of cardstock to stamp my sentiment on then fed it into each end of my punch in turn, as the punch was too short to get it in one go. 

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

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

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; my day today revolves around laundry, craft, CE revision - the usual! I am also expecting visit number 2 from the oven repair man (my oven is actually in bits on the kitchen floor as we speak - it seems no other Neff oven has experienced the same fault as mine, go figure!!) and a socially distanced interaction with one of my friends and neighbours, who excitedly called me yesterday to say she had managed to get her hands on some plain four and would be bringing some round for me - sometimes the little things are so exciting and this will undoubtedly be the highlight of my day today! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

OUTDOOR BARBECUE CLING STAMP SET (£18.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	A WISH FOR EVERYTHING CLING STAMP SET (EN) (£36.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
DARK CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS MARKER (£4.25)	CAJUN CRAZE DARK STAMPIN’ BLENDS MARKER (£4.25)	LIGHT SO SAFFRON STAMPIN’ BLENDS MARKER (£4.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	CLASSIC LABEL PUNCH (£17.00)

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

I love Claire's bright colour palette this week! I have been planning my next online class so had the Birthday Jubilee bundle out on my desk and along with Brian's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch this week my card came together pretty quickly - take a look:

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

I cut two panels in Melon Mambo using one of the Jubilee Beauty Dies and used them to frame my sentiment, adding a couple of floral garlands coloured with my Stampin' Blends in each of the colours. I used my old retired Melon Mambo Blendabilities for the pink flowers; I've some good news for you if you're a Blends fan though - there is a new Melon Mambo Blends combo in the new annual catalogue - woohoo! A little extra stamping inside and decoration on the envelope flap complete my card:

The Birthday Jubilee bundle is retiring at the end of the month and the Jubilee Birthday dies are currently discounted to £16.80, so if you like them now is the time to pick up a bargain! My next online class is on Monday 25th May and features this bundle. You can see the full details here; if you would like to join us, then do message me to book on. I would love to see you there!

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; happy Mother’s Day wishes to those overseas who are celebrating - I hope you are all spoiled rotten! The weather is supposed to turn here today with rain and much colder temps forecast, so I think my time sitting in the garden will be limited. I guess I might have to do some indoor jobs instead!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Jubilee Beauty Dies	Birthday Jubilee Cling Stamp Set	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party A4 Cardstock
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Glitter Enamel Dots
2" (5.1 Cm) Circle Punch

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for my favourite, a sketch challenge courtesy of the lovely LeAnne:

I have been trying to get some use out of sets that are about to retire and decided to pair today's sketch with the wedding theme over at Global Design Project and create a wedding card for the bride - take a look:

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

For The Bride - I bought the 'Wonderful Moments' set the minute it became available in the catalogue; I love the style of the artist - it's the same design as 'Beautiful You', 'Artfully Aware', 'A Good Man' and 'Beautiful Moments' - and in this particular set it was the bride image that sold it to me. That said - this is the very first time I've inked it up!! Clearly 'so many stamp sets, so little time' in my house!! For me though it is a keeper - the set has some great sentiments, and I adore this bridal image. I decide to heat emboss my image in silver which can be a little tricky to photograph, so I've added a couple of extra images so that you can appreciate the detail and shine:

Lovely In Lavender - I paired my silvers with one of my favourite and oft overlooked papers in the Best Dressed DSP stack - I love the subtle white roses on the variegated Purple Posy background and I couldn't resist using it for my background today. I have a friend who actually got married in a wedding dress that was this soft lilac colour and this card reminds me of that day. 

Outside the Frame - I wanted to use an embossed rectangular frame for one of the layers on my card (I used some retired brushed silver cardstock) but rather than frame my image, I fussy cut the bride and positioned her outside the frame for maximum impact. I really like the finished effect:

I did take one or two liberties with LeAnne's sketch, especially with the sentiment placement, which I had to move and place inside my frame (I heat embossed it on vellum and used this as another of my layers) and I downplayed the vertical strip with a piece of metallic edged ribbon, but hopefully you can see the broad layout there. Either way, I LOVE this card and hope you do too! I had no-one in mind to send my card to when I made it and Rebecca popped her head around the door as I was photographing and asked me who it was for. Jokingly, as the bride has her colouring, I said "no-one in particular; maybe I'll keep it for you." She promptly said "Put it somewhere safe then - it will be at least 25 years before I get married!!" What can I say - a typical teenage girl with other things on her mind!

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. 

Before you put your creative thinking caps on, why not check out the blogs of the other As You See It team members:

Amy Jasper

Heather Cooper

Jan Clothier

Jane Knudsen

LeAnne Pugliese

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging   project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Enjoy your day; we have a Bank Holiday here in the UK today to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) day. There was a Red Arrows flypast during one of my online demonstration sessions this morning and one of the ladies on the call was lucky enough to see them fly overhead through her skylight as we crafted. I didn't see or hear them but one of the ladies in my choir snapped this rather good photo:

They fly by so fast it's quite tricky to catch a good photo. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wonderful Moments Photopolymer Stamp Set	Heirloom Frames Dies And 3D Embossing Folder	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper	Silver 3/8" Metallic-Edge Ribbon	Woven Threads Sequin Assortment
Vellum A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	So Saffron Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
Purple Posy Stampin' Blends Combo Pack	Ivory Stampin' Blends Marker	Stampin' Blends Color Lifter

Hi everyone! Wednesday already? Oh my! I've had a busy start to my week with online card classes which are really starting to take off as we get used to the technology. I had my main class on Monday using 'Beautiful Friendship' one of my most favourite sets (cards to follow). In order to stave off boredom for a lot of my regular crafty ladies, I've been following up each class with a couple of shorter 30 minute sessions that use the same set we used in our class but using different techniques. This is more like a Facebook live but we still use Zoom so that we are in a classroom format and can all see and talk to each other as I'm demonstrating. I don't do many Facebook lives and must confess I much prefer the classroom format. If anyone is reading this and thinking they would like to know more about online classes or these little demo sessions, then do check out my Facebook page or leave me a comment below and I can add you to my group.

Anyway - time for a blog post! I've had a few server issues with my hosting company earlier this week, so if you popped by and couldn't reach my blog, please accept my apologies - things should all be sorted now I'm told! So today I'm sharing another couple of cards using the #ShareSunshine product giveback download that Stampin' Up! has released to raise funds for Covid-19 related charities - you can read all about it and purchase the download if you are interested in my previous post here. For the first one I used the current Fusion sketch for my layout (great sketch!):

I used the fun loo roll image and once printed die cut it with a stitched circle, and paired it with some retired Bubbles & Fizz Sale-A-Bration papers - take a look:

I added some striped Bermuda Bay ribbon and another of the print out sentiments to the inside of my card:

That's pretty much all we can do right?!

One of my lovely customers, Jane, shared some fabulous cards using this download over on my Facebook page and I noticed that she had used some of these papers and they actually match quite a lot of the sentiments and images, so I got to use up some paper too. If you would like to see Jane's cards, you can see them here - thanks for the inspiration Jane!

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 also managed a quick second card this afternoon, using this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

I used another or the retired Bubble and Fizz papers and paired it with the martini glass that I coloured with Blends and this fun sentiment:

It finishes inside the card like this:

Enjoy your evening. I spent my day editing and uploading some online class videos and enabling my oven repair man to do his job whilst social distancing - why do these things always break down at the most inconvenient times?! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

#ShareSunshine Digital Download: get yours here

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 fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I have been looking at the sentiments in the new #ShareSunshine product giveback download and decided to use one of the funny ones on my card today - take a look:

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

#ShareSunshine - The #ShareSunshine PDF download is the Covid-19 Product Giveback that I shared with you here last week. It includes lots of fun sentiments related to the current social distancing and unique times we find ourselves in that are great for sharing with friends and family to let them know we are thinking of them. I chose to feature the fun 'I've Just Been Working On My Homebody' sentiment and hunted through my stamp sets to find a suitably fit individual ...

We'll Walrus Be Friends - ... and the rotund walrus in 'We'll Walrus Be Friends' was just the thing! I created a repeating background with my stamp. Is it only me that feels like this chap of late? Too much cake and not enough exercise!!

Starburst Punch - The PDF download comes with a list of the ink colours used and co-ordinating products for each of the images and the one I chose fits the Starburst Punch perfectly. I cropped mine first with a 2" circle punch and mounted it onto my Mango Melody starburst; the former is carrying over but the Starburst Punch is retiring so if this is on your wishlist, now is the time to add it to your shopping basket.

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. 

I can't wait to see what happy projects you have to share with us in the Paper Players gallery this week!

Enjoy your day; I will be spending time in the garden and trying to make Sunday feel less like any other day of the week since they all seem to roll into one at the moment! I might make up more Covid cards with my download printouts too to send out to friends and family as I have a few ideas. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

We'll Walrus Be Friends Cling Stamp Set	Starburst Punch	2" (5.1 Cm) Circle Punch	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock	Mango Melody A4 Cardstock
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad	Balmy Blue Light Stampin' Blends Marker	Smoky Slate Light Stampin' Blends Marker

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 Amy is our featured designer. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I adore the bright colours of the Just Us Girls Challenge photo this week so couldn't resist combining with our board this week for a bright and sunny scene - take a look:

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

Tic Tac Toe Three Ways - I started off with Pink-Flowers-Clouds in the first column as my TTT solution, but by the time I finished realised I had also managed the first row Pink-Diecut-Grass and the diagonal Clouds-Twine-Grass. What can I say? #OverAchiever. Truth is, I was so panicked about not covering three squares, I ended up nearly covering the board!!

A Friendly Silhouette - I used the Friendly Silhouettes dies to create my grassy flower meadow, cutting the whole thing out in Granny Apple Green then again in pink, yellow and red so that I could paper-piece the flowers to the top of the stems as I didn't want a true silhouette on this occasion. I added a few pearls as flower centres. I completed my scene by punching a yellow 1/2" circle, cutting some clouds using a retired die and the two teeny tiny orange butterflies are cut using the Butterfly Beauty Dies - the perfect size for my scene.

A Darling Label Punch - I added a sentiment from the co-ordinating Friend Like You stamp set, but decided to punch it out using the punch in the Darling Label Punch Set box so that it would stand out instead of stamping it straight onto my layer. This kit is retiring so currently a bargain at £16.80 in the online store - link below if you would like to grab one. I also used the Friends Like You stamp set to decorate the inside of my card:

A nice uplifting sentiment for the times we find ourselves in. Sometimes a warm cup of tea, a walk in the sunshine with the ones we love or even a slice of cake delivers just the right amount of pleasure when there is so much going on around us that is not within our control.

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. 

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 will be spending some time crafting and creating more delights to share with you in the coming week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project - a lovely card and gift combo, even if I say so myself - you won't want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Friend Like You Bundle	Friendly Silhouettes Dies	Friend Like You Photopolymer Stamp Set	Darling Label Punch Box	Brights A4 Cardstock	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock
Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine	Pearl Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

An extra post for you with news of a product giveback that has been announced today! Stampin’ Up! is committed to making a difference in our global communities and caring about people first. As part of the company's 'Making a Difference' programme they are offering a product giveback opportunity to support organisations that are helping COVID-19 frontline responders and communities vulnerable to the pandemic.

The Share Sunshine PDF Download is a digital stamp set that’s packed with both light-hearted and heartfelt sentiments and imagery relevant to the unique COVID-19 and social distancing situation we’re currently experiencing – including many ideas that came from Stampin' Up! demonstrators and customers! The download can be used in your cardmaking and papercrafting projects. Simply print the imagery on cardstock and cut it out using our Paper Trimmer, punches, or dies. Since we are physically distanced from each other, now is a perfect time to share sunshine with our friends and family by sending cards!

When you purchase the Share Sunshine PDF Download Stampin' Up! will donate 100% of the proceeds to COVID-19 efforts. Stampin’ Up! will donate all proceeds to the following global organizations to help vulnerable communities and frontline responders:

So why not download the PDF with no need to wait for shipping and start creating right away! Buying this set is a great way to #MakeADifference and #ShareSunshine - if you use it in your makes be sure to share your creations over on my Facebook page - I would love to see them!

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

I pondered Laurie's sketch this week and resisted the urge to go clean and simple and instead went for lots of layers and details. I'm on a mission to use up some of my designer series paper (well, I need to justify buying the new designs when the new catalogue arrives!) so decided I would make one the focus of my card - take a look:

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

Mosaic Mood - I received a free pack of Mosaic Mood paper at Onstage when the current catalogue was launched and I have to confess it wasn't a pattern that I was immediately drawn to. I didn't like the accompanying stamp set and left to my own devices I probably would not have purchased it at all. Truth is, this paper has surprised me - I have had lots of fun with it, cutting out the patterns and stripes and have made lots of projects with it. It was a good choice for my card today - I chose a background pattern and then a floral for the framed centre and decorated my frame with a fussy cut rose and leaves. Funny how things work out, right?

Heirloom Frames - I used one of the embossed Heirloom Frames to separate my two designs. The texture adds interest and detail to the layers on my card.

A Well Written Sentiment - The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring diecut sentiments on their projects for the current challenge and that was just what I needed for my sentiment still to have impact and be seen. I chose to use the 'birthday' from the Well Written Framelits - they are perfect paired with the 'Well Said' stamp set, both of which are carrying over into the new catalogue I am pleased to say - these are keepers!

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 spent the morning crafting yesterday so have lots to share with you this week! Yesterday turned into a glorious day of sunshine so we enjoyed time outside and an evening BBQ, with a welcome break from online lessons. Hopefully today will allow for more of the same! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Woven Heirlooms Bundle	Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series Paper	Well Written Dies	Well Said Cling Stamp Set	Soft Suede A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla 3/8" (1 Cm) Scalloped Lace Trim	Iridescent Sequin Assortment

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed challenge:

I also decided to inject a shot of bright colour with the CAS Colours and Sketches colour palette that I felt strangely drawn to this week for my speedily stamped card and pulled out an old favourite - take a look:

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

Top Speed Tip: Pick A Punch - So this is really my top mass-production tip, but the reason I would always use a punch rather than die-cutting machine when mass producing is really because it saves time. Punches make light work and the Daisy Punch is a case in point. I've used it today with the Daisy Lane stamp set and I can confirm that both of these items are carrying over to the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue in June; the other stamp that co-ordinates with the Daisy Punch, Daisy Delight, is not - so if you want to add this to your collection, do it now before it's gone forever. 

Always Be Prepared - Of course, if you want to create a card in under 10 minutes, the main thing is to be prepared! I had a clear idea of what I was going to create and made sure I had all of the items I needed to hand before I started the process. It's also worth keeping the design simple; this doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be one layer, but it shouldn't be overly complicated. I managed to achieve a number of different elements on my card in a short space of time: dry embossed background, heat embossed sentiment, stamped and punched flowers (x2) and a stamped and fussy cut fern, along with gemstone decoration. I was doing so well on time I decided to add a ring of rhinestones around my central clear faceted gem (I will miss these - they make such lovely daisy centres) - I just so happened to have a long strip from a retired rhinestone pack, so didn't need to place them individually which would have taken longer - I just adhered the strip in one motion. 

A Time Triumph - I am always pushing the time limit on a speed challenge, so imagine my surprise when I managed to finish this one in record time:

Yes, 7 minutes and 18 seconds, and that included stamping and punching a third daisy too, as I tore a petal off my first one as I curved the petals in haste with my bone folder! I was so pleased with myself I thought I would share a picture of my stopwatch!! How did I use my remaining minutes? Well, I took an aerial shot of my desk so that you can see the absolute chaos that creating in 7 minutes and 18 seconds takes:

Then I brushed the craft-a-math to one side to stamp a quick daisy on the inside panel too:

I really love this card - I think the bright blue background makes this bright daisy pop.

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. 

Before you put your creative thinking caps on, why not check out the blogs of the other As You See It team members:

Amy Jasper

Heather Cooper

Jan Clothier

Jane Knudsen

LeAnne Pugliese

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome. 

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pineapple Punch Classic Stampin' Pad	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock	Daisy Lane Cling Stamp Set	Daisy Punch	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder
Clear Faceted Gems	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad