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 since it is the fifth Sunday of the month I have a tic-tac-toe challenge for you to work with:

I designed this board with lots of things that I wanted to use so that when it came to making my card, I was spoilt for choice! In my excitement I duplicated the 'birthday' square and didn't notice until my dear teamie Nance had already made the challenge graphic, so I decided to go with it - we all need lots of excuses for birthday cards, right?! That said, I ended up going in a completely different direction! I used the layout from Jen M's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week (I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to the left and flipped it on the vertical edge for a mirror image) and went across the top row of my board with rainbow/sparkle/diecut and made a fun rainbow shaker card - take a look:

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

A Brilliant Rainbow - Having firstly used some Pool Party ink and a blending brush to create a cloudy sky background, I used the largest of the Brilliant Rainbow Dies to cut the windows for my half rainbow. I backed these with a piece of window sheet, ready to create my shaker. 

Frosted Shaker - I chose the four colours for my rainbow stripes, then selected some co-ordinating beads from the frosted beads assortment in the mini catalogue for my shaker element. For added sparkle, I brushed the coloured back panels with clear Wink of Stella. The rainbow shaker effect is so pretty - here's a close-up to show it in more detail:

I used the foam adhesive strips to create four individual shaker elements so that I could keep the colours separate. It's worth noting that because of the size of the frosted beads, the shaker does need a double thickness of foam strips to allow your beads to shake freely. This does made the card quite thick, but I think it's worth it!

All Things Stitched - I used my Basic Borders Dies to create a border of white clouds and to make a stencil for my background, with a combination of a stitched circle and four layered stitched triangles behind for my sunshine. The sentiment is from the free Sale-A-Bration set 'Special Moments' and I paired it with another from the same set on the inside, with some faintly stencilled clouds behind:

I think this will make a nice special card to show appreciation for someone who went the extra mile, don't you?

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRILLIANT RAINBOW DIES (£29.00)	FROSTED BEADS ASSORTMENT (£7.00)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	SPECIAL MOMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	BASIC BORDERS DIES (£27.00)	FOAM ADHESIVE STRIPS (£7.25)
WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
STITCHED TRIANGLES DIES (£33.00)	PICTURE THIS DIES (£32.00)	BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)

Edit: Jen B chose my card as one of the princesses for FMS520 - yay!

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As You See It where it's time for a colour challenge from the lovely Heather C:

I am using the current Fusion sketch again today for my layout (in the correct orientation this time ;-)) and another first-time outing for a new stamp set - take a look:

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

Catch You Later - Today's card features the cat and goldfish combination from the 'Catch You Later' stamp set, found on page 63 of the mini catalogue. An unlikely pair of friends perhaps, but the sentiment suggests they share a definite affection between them! I like this set because it contains lots of small images that are easy to colour. 

Circles, Circles - I added my stamped image to a pair of layered circles in each of the challenge greens and also used a strip of Soft Succulent in-colour designer paper with a circle motif across my card to tie the whole thing together. 

A Pop Of Extra Colour - I actually chose to use this image for today's challenge because I thought the goldfish would be the perfect animal to showcase Calypso Coral. When my card was almost complete, I decided I wanted to add a little more coral to accentuate it; luckily I found a few retired enamel hearts in my stash that were just the job!

The funniest thing about today's card? I didn't even register that our challenge badge also featured a cat until after I had loaded up my card into my blog post! Heather must have been sending me inspirational vibes in more ways than one!

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.
• 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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CATCH YOU LATER CLING STAMP SET (£22.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	2021–2023 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SUCCULENT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

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 LeAnne is the featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went with the first column of pink/Valentine or heart/white for my card today and took the layout from Fusion (I made it horizontal to fit everything in0!) and red, pink and black from the 'cool winter love' colour palette over at Sunday Stamps and used some new papers and a new stamp set too - take a look:

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

For The Record - The 'For The Record' stamp set on page 74 of the mini catalogue is most definitely the star of today's card! With sentiments for a range of occasions, this set is sure to be a hit with vinyl collectors and music lovers alike and has a fun retro vibe! Both my record and sentiment come from this set.

Sweet Talk - I decided to go all-out with the sweet talking on today's card, not only with the fun sentiment but also this heart-filled background designer series paper that is from the Sweet Talk pack. 

Shimmer and Shine - The detail on this record is great and totally lends itself to being heat embossed, to show the ridges and grooves. I stamped and heat-embossed the heart at the centre of the record again in black on Real Red cardstock then fussy cut it out, then filled it with Shimmery Crystal Effects for added sparkle and shine:

This card is bold, bright and full of fun - perfect for the favourite song in your life!

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. Also, if you like this layout, spoiler alert - I used the same Fusion sketch as the starting point for tomorrow's card too for our new challenge over at As You See It - although that card couldn't be more different! Come back tomorrow to see my second take on this great layout.

Enjoy your evening; until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FOR THE RECORD CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	SWEET TALK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
SHIMMERY CRYSTAL EFFECTS (£4.75)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Can you believe it's the last Tuesday of the month already and my hosting duties are nearly done? Where did that month go?! I am rounding out the month with a sketch challenge and this week I'd like to see a split panel with a sentiment and clear focal point that bridges the divide: 

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

For my card today I decided to go Dutch, with a colour scheme inspired by the famous Delftware pottery and that lovely jug that is bottom left on the Double D Challenge board (no winter though!) - take a look:

This card is not as tricky as it looks; the Stamparatus makes light work of stamping those rows of tulips (see today's 'Tuesday Tip' in my Crafty Owl Creatives Facebook Group for the best way to get a great result!). I left the sky portion blank to preserve my 'white space', added a simple white diecut fence and a small windmill as my focal point, stamped in Night of Navy and with some added colour using my Blends then cut out using the Windmill Fields Dies - I just love these!

A simple thank you sentiment from the 'Pansy Patch' stamp set completes my card. A palette of blues may seem an unusual choice for the first outing with this stamp set, but I think the monochromatic palette contributes to the clean and simple feel of the card. What do you think? I'm also linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges for a second play, since they are challenging us to create 'Clean and Simple' cards this week too. 

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

You can see all of my '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! colour 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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TULIP FIELDS BUNDLE (£43.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	PANSY PATCH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£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 Jaydee to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch, challenge for you to work with:

I love Jaydee's sketch this week and could have made a ton of different cards with it! Having seen the lovely Jaydee's card before I made mine, I noticed she had focused on the top portion with her design. I was naturally drawn to filling the bottom section, so decided to take my inspiration from Jaydee's interpretation of the sketch and instead focus on creating detail on the top portion of my card. This is what I came up with:

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

I decided to use a piece of the Sale-A-bration Sunshine & Rainbows designer paper to decorate the top portion of my card, and then the rainbow border die to edge my white panel below. I paper-pieced my rainbows across my border edge and then added a sentiment using the rainbow-topped diecut that also features in the Brilliant Rainbows Dies pack. In addition to paper-piecing a larger rainbow on the top of my sentiment tab, I added a sentiment from the 'Rainbow of Happiness' stamp set and added a trio of clouds and a tiny resin heart that I coloured pink using my Magenta Madness Blends marker:

I didn't set out to make a clean and simple card this week, but I really love the end result! I am linking my card up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges too as they are focusing on clean and simple cards for their current challenge.

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; we are having a quiet day and I'm hoping to squeeze in a little crafting so that I'll have something to share with you tomorrow. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

RAINBOW OF HAPPINESS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£41.25)	SUNSHINE & RAINBOWS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Happy Friday everyone - the weekend will soon be here! Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Wetland Day' which is on 2nd February and here's our inspiration board:

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 grasses, green, brown, water and blue from the inspo list along with this week's sketch layout over at Inspire.Create - but my card is more coastal than wetlands, with a distinctly Caribbean influence - take a look: 

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

An Ocean Scene - I decided to break open my new 'Oceanfront' stamp set and create a tranquil coastal scene for my card. This set is so fun with endless creative possibilities! I inked my stamps then brushed additional colour onto them with a blending brush to even the tones and stamped straight onto my panel of white cardstock, beginning with the sky and working downwards until my scene was complete.  

Relax On The Horizon - Oceanfront is a sentiment-free set, so I made my banner sentiments from the 'On The Horizon' stamp set, stamping the 'Relax enjoy your day!' wording twice, once in Early Espresso for the bottom banner and once in Granny Apple Green, so that I could fussy-cut the word detail, which I then backed with a scrap of green and white gingham check from my bits box:

I played around with the banner lengths in relation to the sketch to make them work for my design and added some linen twine and a simple bow to add to the beachy feel of my card.

Another stamp from within the same set was used to finish the inside, with some added grasses:

Pick A Pebble - Finally, I added a trio of shiny brown enamel pebbles to the base of my scene for added interest - these make a great added detail for the seaside 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I just love this card; it reminds me of many vacations in the Caribbean where I used to enjoy deserted beaches, warm waters and sunshine and escape the worst of the British winter each February 'BC' (before children, that is!)

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£21.00)	ON THE HORIZON CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	PEBBLES ENAMEL SHAPES (£7.00)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SAHARA SAND CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that is a 'sneak peek' of one of the cards that I am making with the lovely ladies signed up form my 'Daffodil Daydream' online card class that is taking place next week; I used the great sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout, so am linking up with their current challenge. Here's their sketch:

And here's the card that I made using it as my starting point:

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

Daffodil Afternoon - I knew I wanted to use this particular design of Daffodil Afternoon designer series paper as my background. Bold designs on dark backgrounds can be intimidating, so I chose it as I wanted to give my class attendees ideas how to use them. Taking advantage of the split panel and choosing the lighter colours for both the card base and mat layer both serve to lighten this pattern. Lots to love about this paper pack, but most of all - it's FREE with a £45 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion! If you buy the Daffodil Daydream stamp set and die bundle, this makes a great free product choice to accompany it as it co-ordinates beautifully.  

Daffodil Dies - And so onto those Daffodil Dies! There are lots of die pieces in this set but they go together really easily when you know how. We will be going through that in class, so it was only right that I make up a couple of flower heads and use them to decorate my sentiment label. I cut them from colours that matched the daffodils on the paper, then added some ink with a blender brush to each piece to bring a little more depth to the colours. 

And A Beautiful Shape - Finally, I did start out with a circle shape as per the sketch, albeit I then layered it with my sentiment label and daffodil heads almost covering it up! You can see that circle. courtesy of a new die in the Beautiful Shapes set, a little closer on the photo below, where the debossed detail can just about be seen:

I know this die is one I'll be using lots; the added detail makes it a nice centrepiece. It's no stitched circle, granted, but it is a nice alternative!

I'm looking forward to making a version of this card in my 'Daffodil Daydream' online card class next week. I have lots of other classes and events planned in the coming months - if you would like more information, then do get in touch - I'd love you to join me!

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; I have been granted a free pass on the school run this afternoon, so am fortunate to be getting a little extra crafting time (I might even make a head start on tomorrow's chores too!). I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DAFFODIL DAYDREAM BUNDLE (£51.25)	DAFFODIL AFTERNOON 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	BEAUTIFUL SHAPES DIES (£27.00)	PIERCED BLOOMS DIES (£34.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PEAR PIZZAZZ A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. I am hosting this month and this week it's my second colour challenge of the month and I chose some fresh, spring colours to create with: 

For my card today I used the layout over at Paper Craft Crew and created a frame using two offset layering circle dies to highlight a single daffodil stem that I coloured with Blends in each of the three challenge colours:

The daffodil is one of my favourite spring flowers (along with tulips!) and I couldn't resist the new 'Daffodil Daydream' stamp set and bundle as a result. I stamped the detailed border from the same set for my horizontal element and finished off with an Easter sentiment and a trio of Daffodil Delight sequins that I found in my embellishment stash. The flower is so easy to colour and the co-ordinating Daffodil Dies make it a cinch to cut out perfectly:

This is a great set if you are new to colouring and want to give it a try as you only need a couple of colours to start off with and the flowers themselves won't take too long to complete. I love to colour and having had so much fun colouring the stem for my cardfront, I decided to stamp another one on the front of my envelope too - no naked envelopes here today!

Whether you are new to colouring or it's your passion, I have another great tip that I'm sharing in my Crafty Owl Creatives customer Facebook group today that is all about using Blends markers - why not pop over and take a look? If you're not already a member, click here to find the group and request to join - everyone is welcome and it's the place to share projects, ask questions and where I share lots of tips and tricks. 

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! colour 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; it's super frosty here so no more excuse needed to run indoors on the treadmill and keep warm and craft until it's time for the school run! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DAFFODIL DAYDREAM BUNDLE (£51.25)

LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£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 seasonal clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Winter animals - so many options! I decided to dig out a rather neglected stamp set of late and using Judy's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and very much inspired by the snow and blue tones over at AAA Cards  set to work on my clean and simple card - take a look:

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

 I diecut a circle from my white cardfront and added a piece of Beauty of the Earth paper with a watercoloured blue behind and stamped some bushes and twigs in Versamark across the aperture and heat embossed them in silver. I then also stamped and fussy cut a leaf branch and arctic fox, heat embossed them both in silver then added some shading with my Smoky Slate Blends, before finishing with a sentiment from 'timeless Tulips' and a sprinkling of sequins. You can see the detail on the fox and the shine of the metallic slightly better below:

A quick reminder to all of you playing along over at The Paper Players this week, in addition to the theme of winter animals, it is more importantly 'clean and simple' week. What does this mean?

• minimal layers and embellishments
• clean, white space

 I liked this card so much I made another one, mirroring the sketch and using the arctic rabbit as the focal point:

 I used a different sentiment on this one - this one comes from the new 'Honeybee Home' set - but I like this card just as much as the fox. Again, you can see the shine and detail slightly better below:

Since my second card also uses this week's colours over at Just Us Girls of white, silver and light blue, I'll be linking it up 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. 

And one last photo of both cards together - which one do you prefer? I like them both and it was nice to give this stamp some love again.

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

Enjoy your day; having spent yesterday outside in the freezing fog watching the oldest of the James Juniors play hockey whilst hubby went to watch the youngest do the same (fun games and wins all round, so that helped!), we are all looking forward to a day indoors enjoying the warmth today! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

NATURE'S BEAUTY CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)

BEAUTY OF THE EARTH 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)

LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)

SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our first challenge this year over at As you See It where it's time for a sketch challenge designed by the lovely LeAnne:

A short and sweet post from me today as I've a lot on so need to make it brief. I decided to use one of my Sale-A-Bration freebies for my card today - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Today's card features the pretty 'Friendly Hello' stamp set and co-ordinating papers - one of the co-ordinating bundles that can be yours free as part of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion with a £90 purchase. The line images of the stamp set co-ordinate with the florals and spring colours of the papers perfectly. I left my stamped bird image black and white and coloured the circle behind with my Pool Party Blends to give the same effect as the background papers and added a fussy cut heat-embossed sentiment, with some sparkly ribbon and black enamel dots to finish. The shimmer from the ribbon seems to almost reflect the blue, don't you think?

I usually struggle with a diagonal, but my card for today came together quite easily. The black, white and Pool Party colour combination is also perfect for the Color Dare challenge of neutrals plus one colour of your choice so I'm linking up today's card there too.

If you would like to snap up this bundle of products for FREE, just place an order for £90 or more in my online store before the end of February. Gotta love free craft products!

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.
• 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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDLY HELLO BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)