Today I have two posts for you! First up I'm sharing a card inspired by a few challenges:

The team over at Just Us Girls have 'lucky' as their word of the week. When I think 'lucky', four-leaf clovers and black cats come to mind, so I'm also entering today's clean and simple card over at Addicted To CAS where their codeword is 'feline', with green and gold being the only colours to feature outside of the black and white neutrals - perfect for my second entry over at Color Hues, this time with the colour scheme they originally intended for the current challenge. I also used the sketch and silhouette combo over at AAA Cards for my layout. That sounds like a lot of inspiration, but my card actually came together really easily - take a look:

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

I went on a hunt through my current stamps for a four leaf clover as I often do at this time of year, and when I came across my 'Flowers of Friendship' set I had a flash of inspiration: I could use the co-ordinating Flowers & Leaves Punch to make a stencil! I think I am becoming a little stencil-obsessed of late!! Anyway, I made a couple of small stencils using both this punch and a tiny four-leafed retired Itty Bitty Punch, cutting out stems by hand. I masked off a circular shape and then stencilled my clovers in randomly using a sponge dauber and some Just Jade ink. I added a punched black cat silhouette on dimensionals and added a gold twine bow detail:

My 'lucky me' sentiment is from the 'Happy and Heartfelt' stamp set and completes on the inside of the card with 'I have you'. A clean and simple card to let a friend know how lucky I am to have them! How does the word 'lucky' inspire you? Do let me know in the comments below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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 lots of jobs to do today so mine will be a busy one! I'll be back later though with my card for the new challenge over at TicTacToe this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HAPPY & HEARTFELT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	CAT PUNCH (£17.00)	FLOWERS & LEAVES PUNCH (£17.00)	JUST JADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (£7.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

I have been super busy this week preparing for the launch of the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue next week so blogging has had to take something of a back seat, although I did want to squeak in a quick post today with a card I made at the weekend for the current challenge over at Less Is More:

One layer diamonds - now that was a challenge! I employed an old die and a sentiment from the retiring 'Strong and Beautiful' stamp set to come up with this super simple card:

I used the diamond die from the retired Eclectic Layers Thinlits die set to emboss the outline of the diamond onto my card front, then infilled the facets with Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds glitter powder. I added my sentiment in Night of Navy to complete my card. Love that sentiment!!

So what do you think? It's one of those cards that meets the brief and the sparkle makes it very pretty in real life, but I feel it maybe needs a little something more? Or maybe not - you decide!

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

Delighted that this card along with my other entry earned me LIM Monthly winner for April - yay!

Today I'm sharing a late post with a card I made for the current challenges over at Just Us Girls and Time Out:

I was totally inspired by those red tulips on the JUGS inspiration photo and when I was rummaging on my retired shelf earlier this week I came across a stamp set that not only had some tulips but also the perfect sentiment for the challenge at Time Out too - take a look:

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

The retired stamp set 'Love Is Kindness' was perfect for not only the tulips but also that lovely sentiment, which along with a hand-picked bunch of tulips from the garden seemed so fitting for the quote over at Time Out. I stamped it on a scallop stitched rectangle and mounted it on a Real Red card base. Inspired by the greens of the JUGS inspo photo, I also bordered my floral bunch with a light Soft Sea Foam Blends marker and blended it with my Colour Lifter. I don't usually add a halo of green (I usually use blue or grey) and whilst difficult to see on the photo, actually adds a lovely freshness to the card in real life.

I kept this stamp as I love that sentiment - after all, without kindness what is there in life? 

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 (current product only):

STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm here with an extra card that I made yesterday just for fun for a few challenges:

The challenge over at CASology closes tomorrow but I had been musing over an idea that I wanted to try for a few days, so paired it with the Color Throwdown colours which had a lovely rust colour included, perfect for a fox, and made the following card:

I used a whole host of retired product on this one, most notably my Foxy Friends stamp set and Fox Builder Punch, to create a Foxy face in lieu of the 'o' in my 'FOXY' word created using the Playful Alphabet Dies and paired it with the word 'Lady' from part of a sentiment in the retired 'Little LadyBug' stamp set to create my custom wording. I used the Color Throwdown colours in a quartet of stripes for my diecut letters and carried them across my card base to unify my layers. I added an additional stamped fox to the inside of my card:

Lastly, no foxy lady is complete without a sassy magenta flower in her fur, right?! So I added a punched flower for an added touch of femininity: 

I love this clean and simple card - it turned out just as I imagined. The big question is, who would you send a card like this to? I'd be really interested in your thoughts!

I'm also linking today's card up over at Addicted to CAS where the code word for the next fortnight is 'animal'.

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 and news of an early prrelease from teh forthcoming annual catalogue. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (current supplies only):

PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)
MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

A lockdown weekend with pouring rain gave me extra crafting time today so I thought I'd squeeze in a second post with a thanksgiving card that I made for a friend of mine, that was inspired by a number of challenges:

I used Julee's fabulous-as-always Mojo Monday sketch and the Card Concept inspiration photo with its rich oranges and browns and pumpkins galore inspired me to use the gold-embossed pumpkin paper from the Gilded Autumn paper pack for my clean and layered card. I decided to pair it with one of my favourite sentiments from 'Country Home' for a Cajun Craze monochromatic card - take a look:

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

My Gilded Autumn embossed paper was the starting point for today's card. I just love it! I added a stitched gold foil border and a layered pumpkin, made from one of my retired Patterned Pumpkin Dies and then with the pumpkin coloured with Cajun Craze Blends and splattered with gold shimmer paint, before adding some die cut leaves and vines:

I finished my sentiment banner with a double bow of Cajun Craze metallic ribbon and gold twine for some extra shine. So what do you think? I don't use Cajun Craze that often and there's a lot of it on this card, but I think the gold really takes things up a notch and compliments it beautifully. This almost feels like a Cinderella-esque rags to riches card, metaphorically speaking! I'm also linking this card up over at SUO Challenges where the theme is thanksgiving.

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:

GILDED AUTUMN SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	COUNTRY HOME PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	BE MINE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
GOLD STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	BASKET WEAVE & METALLIC RIBBON COMBO PACK (£7.50)	WONDER OF THE SEASON RIBBON COMBO PACK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

Today I've a quick post with a card inspired by the following challenges:

There is a great sketch at The Paper Craft Crew this week and my card is also perfect for the seasonal thanks challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP263. I made a feature of a Cajun Craze autumn leaf, diecut with one of the large Stitched Leaf Dies and paired with a sentiment from the bundled 'Lots of Leaves' stamp set - take a look:

 My CAS card also features one of my favourite Plaid Tidings papers so I will be linking up over at CAS on Fridays where the theme is PLAID and I added a yellow bow accented with one of the gorgeous acorn trinket embellishments to finish:

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 my card for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Remember if you're reading this and you're in the UK, the clocks go back this evening so you get an extra hour in bed in the morning - yay! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE OF LEAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	PLAID TIDINGS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	ACORN TRINKETS (£7.50)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards that I made using the sketch layout over at TGIF Challenges this week:

I thought this was the perfect layout to showcase a couple of panels I made in one of my online Zoom demonstrations yesterday morning - take a look:

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

Lovely You - Further to my class featuring the 'Lovely You' stamp set last week, I have been continuing my online demonstrations showcasing additional ideas and techniques that can be used with this set. The little leaves and flowers in this stamp set are useful for so many things and particularly good for creating patterned backgrounds.

Baby Wipe Technique - I created a variegated ink pad using a trio of reinkers and a stack of baby wipes that I then used t create my multi-coloured background. If you've never tried this technique, I recommend you give it a go - it is really fun and you can achieve a unique result each time. Here are the colours I used to create my ink pad:

Delightful Tag Topper Punch - When is a tag not a tag? Well, when it's used to create an interesting design feature on a card! I love the way the sketch has this split panel - perfect for 2 tags punched with the Delightful Tag Topper punch and after heat embossing with my sentiment, I tied them both together with some soft white seam binding ribbon.

I liked the sketch so much I created two panels then mounted each separately, one onto an Old Olive base and one on to Mint Macaron. The ladies on my call were unanimous in their preference for the Old Olive base, but I thought I'd share the alternative with you too:

Lastly, here's both cards together:

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

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

I am loving my online sessions with my ladies; we are having an Autumn-Winter pre-order unboxing on Thursday this week - if you would like to join us just let me know!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVELY YOU CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	DELIGHTFUL TAG TOPPER PUNCH (£21.00)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£3.50)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£3.50)	MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£3.50)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) CRINKLED SEAM BINDING RIBBON (£7.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Happy Monday everyone! Today is a special day - not one, but two, yes both of the James Juniors are back to school! There was much excitement in the James household this morning and whilst it's only for a couple of weeks, and for one it's only for a couple of days each week, the excitement at seeing friends and teachers face to face again was palpable! The house is now eerily silent, but it does mean that I am racing through my jobs today and am getting my blog post in early too! Today I'm sharing a card that I made inspired by the lovely Amy's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

A super versatile sketch I'm sure you'll agree and I decided to get snipping for my floral creation today - take a look:

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

Flowers For Every Season - Whilst flowers are by no means mandatory for this sketch, I initially reached for my Flowers For Every Season Memories and More cards as I wanted to incorporate the adhesive sentiments into my card. I couldn't find any flowers that worked for me though, so I reached for my co-ordinating papers and decided to get fussy cutting! I wanted to create some layering with my flowers, with some behind and some in front of my label, so separated the flowers to make this work. 

A Sweet Label - My sentiment label is from the Stitched So Sweetly Die set - such a great set for labels with a good variety of shapes and sizes. 

Textile Texture - I added some texture to the top layer of my Misty Moonlight cardstock using the new Textile Texture embossing folder which is lovely for a little extra detail.

This card was simple to put together once the fussy cutting was completed. I used another leftover edge piece of DSP to decorate the inside of my card too:

Waste not, want not and all 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. 

Enjoy your day. I'm racing through my jobs before early school pick up. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON MEMORIES & MORE CARD (£10.25)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

So today is the hottest August Bank Holiday Monday on record here in the UK and I am sharing a Christmas card with you - go figure!! I managed to play along with week 3 of the Freshly Made Sketches 400th birthday celebrations so it just had to be done:

I thought the panels would be perfect to showcase some designer series paper, so I used another of the patterns in my Night before Christmas paper pack and this is what I came up with:

I created a couple of layered panels then decided to make my sentiment the focal point of my Stitched Oval and used one of the festive dies from the Jolly Season dies that are also in the Night Before Christmas Suite, with a little offset layering to make it stand out. I fussy cut a santa hat from a leftover scrap of paper and added this at a jaunty angle to bring the whole thing together. The only stamping on my card was the sentiment on the inside of my card:

And my card was done!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Jolly Season Dies (En) (£31.00)

Night Before Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)

Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)

Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's colour challenge over at As you See It:

I've not managed to play along with this lovely group for a couple of weeks but when I saw this week's fabulous bright colour palette it was another one that I couldn't resist! Heather's inspiration photo is very 'copacabana' (yes, I have been signing the song ever since I read the challenge post!)  and I decided to try an idea that I saw on one of the samples in the Spring-Summer catalogue that I've never tried before - take a look:

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

I like large single-image stamps as they can be great for clean and simple and more layered cards and both of the main stamps in the 'Birthday Statements' stamp set lend themselves to this. I don't usually stamp them in a bright colour though unless I'm leaving them uncoloured, so the sample on page 19 of the catalogue intrigued me. I stamped my image in Lovely Lipstick, then coloured it with a combination of light and dark Blends markers in Pineapple Punch, Pink Pirouette (retired but the closest I could get to Powder Pink) and light Lovely Lipstick. I decided to carry on the bright theme and mount my coloured panel on a Lovely Lipstick card base with a strip of Pineapple Punch in-colour DSP and finished the whole thing off with some Lovely Lipstick ribbon and a bow. 

I think I like this colour variation; it makes for one bright card, but I have plenty of soon-to-be-teenager classmates of Ben's that I know will love it!

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:

Birthday Statements Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Lovely Lipstick 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	In Color 2018–2020 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)
Lovely Lipstick Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Pineapple Punch Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)