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

There were lots of things on this week's board that I loved - DSP, bright colours, dies and even florals - but I was slightly unnerved by the addition of watercolouring into the mix! I find watercolouring a little hit and miss (sometimes my attempts are a hot mess!) so I decided to play safe and watercolour my stamped florals and take it from there. Take a look at where I ended up:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I decided to use some of the brightly coloured Hues of Happiness DSP for my background and use this as the starting point for my card. I resisted the urge to use some of my florals diecut from another sheet in this pack and instead I stamped a whole bunch of flowers from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set onto Shimmery White cardstock and heat embossed them in black. Shimmery White cardstock is great for watercolouring as it's not too absorbent and so is very forgiving. I watercoloured my flowers in the same colours that featured on my background paper, and positioned them around a central diecut piece, also from the co-ordinating Blossoming Happiness Dies:

I heat embossed my sentiment onto a Stylish Shapes diecut banner, added a twine bow and my card is complete - all elements of the recipe included, phew!

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. 

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.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Sunday with my project for The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HAPPINESS ABOUNDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	HUES OF HAPPINESS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	WATER PAINTERS (£13.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

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 went down the middle column with house, patterned paper and tree/wood and using the sketch layout over at SUO Challenges decided to make a 'welcome to your new home' card - take a look:

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

I used one of the house pattern sheets from the Rings of Love designer series paper (free during Sale-A-Bration with a £45 purchase) and added a panel to my Mint Macaron cardbase, whilst fussy cutting another house to form the centre of my clustered focal point. I used the Label Me Lovely punch to punch a piece of white cardstock and added my welcome greeting, then tucked this behind a layered tree ring. You can't fully see the detail on this card, but I just love the new Tree Rings hybrid embossing folder and co-ordinated dies - so much texture and detail! I added some branches cut using other dies in this set that I watercoloured, along with some trees cut using the Tree Lot Dies which I watercoloured to mimic the loose colouring of the DSP and layered all of the elements together:

The papers in this pack are great and I think this is one of my favourite designs; it's just perfect for a 'new home' card. Oh, and did I mention it's FREE?! Gotta love Sale-A-Bration!

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'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

RINGS OF LOVE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	TREE RINGS HYBRID EMBOSSING FOLDER (£34.00)	TREE LOT DIES (£0.00)	SWEET SONGBIRDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£18.00)	LABEL ME LOVELY PUNCH (£18.00)	WATER PAINTERS (£13.00)
FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Nancy has asked that we use the following layout:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I am also playing along with the new Color Hues challenge in memory of their team mate Lindsey who recently lost her battle with cancer. She chose the colour scheme of blue and purple and loved clean and simple cards, so I chose to add in flowers as one of her other favourite things and use all three to create a card in her honour today - take a look:

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

I masked off a rectangle and used my blending brushes to add a combination of blues and purple ink, before spalttering lightly with water to create some additional detail. Once dry, I stamped a sentiment from 'Rings of Love' and a single flower stem from the 'Wonderful World' Sale-A-Bration stamp set in Starry Sky ink along the edge of my blended panel:

A trio of clear faceted gems complete my one layer card in memory of Lindsey - I hope I've done her memory proud.

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

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

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	ORCHID OASIS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	WONDERFUL WORLD BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)
BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)	RINGED WITH NATURE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)

Just a quick post with additional information out this week: you all know that this year's second Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 31st August and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here. Now there's more good news: from now until the 31st August, you will also be able to choose from a number of other items (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

If you would like more information or to place an order, go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code 6SQFH49A). 

Remember as with all items offered as part of the Sale-A-Bration promotion, they are only available whilst stocks last. Currently all items are still available, however current stock levels suggest that a number of the original items will have run out before the end of the month.

Back soon with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

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

So many ways to go with Jaydee's theme this week and so many choices! I am still busy cutting up my beautiful Wonderful World designer series papers so wanted to use Judy's great layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week to showcase one of my favourite flowers in the pack for today's challenge - take a look:

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

I highlighted my fussy-cut flower on a bright yellow stitched diecut circle and some diecut leaves and paired it with another of the blue-toned patterns in this pack. I experimented with different combinations of patterns for the three panels, but decided I preferred all three cut from the same paper so went with it. A few in-colour enamel dots and a fussy-cut sentiment from the 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set, stamped in Starry Sky, completes my card:

This card has a lovely clean feel with all that white space, despite its layers - and I love the way the layout highlights that single flower. What's more, this paper can be yours FREE, along with the 'Wonderful World' stamp set, when you place an online order of £90 or more between now and 31st August - yay for FREE!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WONDERFUL WORLD BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	2022-2024 IN COLOR MATTE DECORATIVE DOTS (£7.50)	SUMMER SHADOWS DIES (£32.00)

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

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Dog Day' which is on August 26th. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used dog, treat and texture and actually have a couple of co-ordinating projects for you - take a look:

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

Today's project started with the treat - dog shaped, but the human kind! I found these cute Scottie dog shortbread biscuits at the supermarket and thought they would be perfect packaged in a slim cello bag so that they could be seen in all their glory! 

I added a piece of black cardstock to back them, then closed my treat bag with topper made from the Seasonal Labels Dies folded in half in red gingham paper and finished with a diecut wreath and punched Scottie dog, along with a cute sentiment banner: 

I decided to make a co-ordinating Christmas card to go with my treat, incorporating my 'topper' into the centre of my card design:

I added in additional texture by using the (retired) Checks Embossing Folder to emboss the front panel of my card and left the front sentiment-free:

I'm thinking I might give this card and treat to my post lady in the run up to the festive season as a thank you for her care and attention as she does her daily rounds - I'm sure the irony of my Scottie dog won't be lost on her, although there is no chance of these shortbread biscuits biting back!

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

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

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS SCOTTIE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£35.00)	COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (£37.00)	SEASONAL LABELS DIES (£36.00)	GINGHAM COTTAGE 12" X 12" (30,5 X 30,5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£28.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Nancy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I decided to have another go at the nautical challenge over at Addicted to CAS and this time create an uber-CAS card - take a look:

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

A few stamped waves, a sentiment and a trio of fish all from the 'A Fish And A Wish' set, with one of the fish popped up on dimensionals with a trio of sparkly bubbles for good measure. I kept things really simple, using a Stampin' Write marker brushed lightly over my fish once I'd stamped them in Highland Heather, to give them a two-tone look:

I like the added detail that highlighting the fish pattern gives and it's a great way to tie them into the sentiment too. Super simple!

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

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

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

A super-quick post from me today - I am a busy, busy bee! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A FISH & A WISH CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

EFFERVESCENT ELEMENTS (£7.00)

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 fun theme challenge for you to work with:

Claire's board has a distinctly beachy theme this week, so I went across the middle with diecut, blue and patterned paper and yes, you've guessed it - I decided to create another shaker card featuring my favourite Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Hippest Hippos - this time a more clean and simple version than the one I shared with you a few days ago (you can see that card here if you missed it). Time to check out today's card:

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

For today's challenge I used up a little more of the (retired) Whale of A Time designer series paper to create an underwater paradise for my snorkelling hippo. This time I cut a partial circle for my frame and used the wave die from the Hippo dies to create the 'surface' of the sea for my hippo to swim along, placing my hippo outside my shaker element rather than inside as on my previous card. Once again I added a pair of handcut customised fins, along with snorkel and mask to my hippo - this time in bright Parakeet Party green:

For this card, my shaker element is a flat 'pocket' shaker - a great way to reduce bulk and a great way to introduce a shaker element to an otherwise clean and simple card. Not forgetting the inside, I used the 'Whale Done' stamp set for some co-ordinated stamping and added a strip of left over designer paper:

Today's hippo's underwater apparel was inspired by my own snorkel, mask and fins which are also bright green in colour - just to make sure Jason doesn't lose me as I'm floating around the Caribbean. I've not done that for a while - happy memories!

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 today's card up over at Sparkles Monthly Challenges for a second entry into their shaker cards challenge and over at Just Add Ink for another 'Under the Sea' card. Finally I'm linking up over at Addicted to CAS where the theme is 'nautical' - I'm pretty sure I've met that brief, I just hope they think my card is sufficiently clean and simple! 

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: 

HIPPEST HIPPOS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	HIPPO DIES (£0.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	WHALE DONE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	PARAKEET PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)

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

Today we are all about Christmas in July. I do like to get a start on Christmas cards at this time of year, but when it come to my favourite Christmas in July creation it has to be home decor and table favours; these always take longer to make than you think they will and in the busy run up to Christmas there is rarely time to devote large chunks of time to crafting, so I like to get a good headstart on these kinds of projects - it makes me feel organised! I have two projects for you today - a piece of home decor and a co-ordinating table favour. Both use the Tree Lot Dies, available free with a £90 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion - and I took the inspiration for my festive caravan and 'trees for sale' scene from the top right photo over at Hand Stamped Sentiments - what a great inspo board! First up - here's my home decoration piece:

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

I used a dome that I had in my office that I bought last year that was just waiting to be made into something, and built my little scene onto the base, having first covered the base with snowy white velvet paper (cut with a retired layering circles die). The string of lights, embellished with the pretty Festive Pearls, the trees and the 'trees for sale' sign are all one dimensional and stand with the aid of small supports behind them. The caravan is made by diecutting two of the diecut caravan pieces and adding a base (described in more detail with the table favour below) and a second curved piece of cardstock for the roof (the roof piece measures 3 1/2" x 1 1/2", scored at 1/2" on each side and 1/4" on each side respectively). I added some red ribbon to the top of my dome and red glimmer to the base of my dome for extra festive feel. Here's a close up of my little scene, with the dome removed so that you can see the detail more easily:

My finished dome measures 11cm wide by 19cm tall and that's not all - it lights up too! 

A little tricky to see since I photographed it in daylight, but a nice feature to give a cosy night time glow. In addition to my decoration, which could be used as a table centrepiece, I also created the first of a set of table favours made from the caravan die. These are quite easy to make: just cut two caravan sides, then take a piece of cardstock measuring 4 1/8" x 1 1/2", scored at 1" on each side and 1/4/" on each side respectively, to create the open box shape. They are just big enough to hold two Lindor chocolates or similar:

How cute is that?! Both of today's projects are quite easy to make, but I won't lie - there is a time-consuming element, since all of the little pieces need to be cut and glued in place. Worth it though I think - and if you start now, you will have them finished and ready to go when Christmas rolls around!

The key products used on today's project are included in the table below - no visual today. 

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 Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TREE LOT DIES (£0.00)	TREES FOR SALE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	SNOWY WHITE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) VELVET SHEETS (£4.75)	REAL RED & WHITE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (£4.75)	FESTIVE PEARLS (£6.75)	REAL RED & GARDEN GREEN 3/8" (1 CM) RIBBON COMBO PACK (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (£9.50)

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

I went right across the middle this week with enamel dots/sequins, free and shaker and - surprise, surprise! - another card featuring my favourite Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Hippest Hippos - take a look:

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

I couldn't resist another outing with Hippest Hippos and today's challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to use up some (retired) Whale of A Time designer series paper to create an underwater paradise for my snorkelling hippo. I cut my frame and background out of the same piece of paper, so that my scene extends across the whole of the front of my card. I added my stamped and diecut hippo, complete with snorkel and mask - but there is one thing missing in the Hippo Dies set: everyone knows that to scuba or snorkel effectively, you need fins, right? So I made a pair for my hippo (nothing fancy - cut by hand) - what do you think?

I filled my shaker with a collection of green, silver and clear sequins and beads and added a custom birthday sentiment, courtesy of the 'Amazing Phrasing' and 'Sending Smiles' stamp sets - thank you to the talented Melody Hyde for this great Instagram tip. 

Not forgetting the inside, I used the 'Whale Done' stamp set for some co-ordinated stamping and a fun sentiment:

So what do you think of today's hippo-tastic creation? And using free stamp sets too - yippee!

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 today's card up over at Sparkles Monthly Challenges where their theme this month is shaker cards and over at Just Add Ink where the theme is 'under the sea'.

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; nothing much to report in the James household - all told, a pretty unremarkable week! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HIPPEST HIPPOS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	AMAZING PHRASING PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	HIPPO DIES (£0.00)	WHALE DONE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)
WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)