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 bright colour challenge for us to work with:

I love brights so was excited to get to work with Claire's chosen colours this week. I decided to go square this week and use the fabulous Jen T's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for the layout of my special birthday card - take a look:

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

Petal Patterns Background - Since I was going with a square card today, I decided to use my Petal Patterns Dies for my background. I diecut them in Bermuda Bay and layered them onto a piece of Melon mambo onto my Bermuda Bay cardbase. I offset the top layer and before I glued it to the solid layer, I went over the outline die with my light Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends marker to make it stand out more. I also added some rhinestones that I had coloured with my Melon Mambo Stampin' Blends marker to the centre of the flowers to highlight the pink. 

Paper Florist Dies Flower - The background would look pretty on its own, but the focal point of today's card is most certainly the over-the-top flower that I created using the Paper Florist Dies. I wanted to create a peony-type flower that was full of dimension, so I layered the centre then kept adding the outer petals until I was happy. I added some diecut leaves and flower buds behind it and a few loops of Bermuda Bay ribbon from my stash - isn't it pretty?

All those layers make this the perfect card to share with the team over at The Flower Challenge where their current challenge is to 'add layers'.

And A Charming Sentiment - I finished my card with a heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set, diecut with the co-ordinating Sentiment Silhouettes Dies. This is also the final part of my middle column for the challenge over at TicTacToe Challenge this week (square card/diecut/embossing)

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. 

Since this card won't fit into an envelope, I am going to make a co-ordinating box to present it in. This is a special card for someone with a milestone birthday later in the year, so it will be worth the effort. I really love the 3D effect of this card! Everything on this card is either retired (Bermuda Bay) or is due to retire at the end of the month; this will be the last opportunity to purchase any of the dies or the stamp set that I used on today's card, so if they are on your wishlist, you don't have long to act.

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

Enjoy your day; the hubby is off to Washington DC for the week today, so it will be just the youngest of the James Juniors and I at home. Since there is another week of school holiday to go, I am taking the opportunity to get some decorating done so my week will be a busy one. Never fear - I have some things to share here too though so be sure to pop by this week.  I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PETAL PATTERNS DIES (21.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (11.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (13.20)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

Today I'm sharing a card that used the sketch layout over at Sunday Stamps and the colour palette over at TGIF Challenges:

I love bright colours and thought this palette would work well for some unconventionally coloured retiring florals - take a look:

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

I paired a couple of stems from the Color and Contour stamp set with a vibrant background using a piece of Masterfully Made designer series paper and a fancy shredded bow beneath my sentiment:

The sentiment is from the same stamp set, but I tweaked the positioning to suit the sketch design better. A trio of tinsel gems complete my card.

I feel like 'Color and Contour' is an underused set, but I will miss the co-ordinating Scalloped Contour Dies so much - the labels and borders in this set have been used on so many projects! If you don't have them in your collection, you should definitely consider picking up a set before they retire if they are still available in your market. 

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:

COLOR & CONTOUR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (12.00)	MASTERFULLY MADE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (7.05)	LEMON LIME TWIST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	TINSEL GEMS FOUR-PACK (7.50)

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

Sunshine and rainbows! You can take your inspiration from anything relating to sunshine, rain and rainbows with some great inspiration on our badge this week. I decided to take Anne Marie's theme quite literally and built my card around a sentiment from the 'Just My Type' stamp set that includes both elements - take a look:

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

Saying Goodbye - It's that time of year when we are getting ready to say goodbye to lots of products in both the mini and annual catalogues and today's card is a celebration of some of my favourites: the 'Just My Type' stamp set that my sentiment hails from, the 'Rays of Light' background stamp that I used to create my sunshine shining through the clouds, the Basic Borders Dies that I used for my cloud cutaway, the Lighter Than Air rainbow-striped paper and the iridescent gems are all leaving us at the end of the month. Many of these will be available at a substantial discount from 9th April onwards and all will be available only whilst stocks last - so be sure to place your order in a timely manner if you don't want to miss out!

Lighter Than Air Rainbow Stripes - Instead of stamping a rainbow alongside my rays of sunshine, I decided to use a sheet of rainbow-striped pastel designer series paper from the Lighter Than Air pack. I made my stamped layer slightly smaller than my card base to give a rainbow border then used one of my Basic Borders Dies to create the cloud-shaped cut-away, revealing the detail of the paper in all of its striped glory. Since the team over at Time Out are asking us to feature stripes for their current challenge, I'm linking my card there too.

Borders and Clouds - Having used my cloud-shaped Basics Borders Die to create the corner cutaway to reveal more of my rainbow stripes, I decided that I wanted to put my sentiment into a cloud too. Since I didn't have a die large enough, I used my border die to create my own custom cloud:

A triple coloured twine bow and a sprinkling of iridescent gems complete today's card. 

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

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

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

Enjoy your day; I am enjoying having the eldest of the James Juniors home from university so will be making the most of the next few days before she returns to her studies for the final term of the year - I can't quite believe her first year is almost done! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JUST MY TYPE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	RAYS OF LIGHT CLING STAMP SET (17.00)	BASIC BORDERS DIES (27.00)	LIGHTER THAN AIR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
LEMON LOLLY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BAKER'S TWINE THREE COLOR PACK (7.50)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (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 Ann to host this week and since it's the fifth Sunday of the month she has a tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with. here's the board:

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities and my card today is a case in point; I had decided to use the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for my layout and was planning on going across the bottom row, but ended up settling on the first column of designer paper/sparkle/flowers - take a look:

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

I had a couple of floral stamp sets out on my desk and was intending to stamp a whole bunch of pastel flowers, however as I went on the hunt through my DSP for a piece to use to my background panel, I found a pack of flowers that I had diecut ages ago from the (retired) Hues of Happiness designer series paper and decided instead to use those up. I gathered a selection of flowers in yellow and blue, along with some diecut leaves, and set to work. Since I was using designer paper for my flowers, I decided to emboss my Lemon Lolly background panel with the hatched Basics 3D embossing folder. I added in some white foliage diecuts and decided on a Nested Essentials Dies label with a greeting from the 'Textured Floral' stamp set, stamped in Coastal Cabana and Early Espresso:

A trio of golden sparkly enamel dots to pick up on the warm yellow tones complete both my tictactoe column and my card. I love how this card turned out and it was a great way to use up those diecut flowers 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Enjoy your day; I am looking forward to a delicious Easter lunch today followed by the spoils of the morning Easter egg hunt that is obligatory in the James household (apparently the offspring are NEVER too old for such activity where chocolate is concerned!) I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL BUNDLE (49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I've a quick post to share a clean and simple card that was inspired by the cute daisy in the photo over at Inspired By this week and the code word over at Addicted to CAS - Bloom: 

There's something about that smiley daisy that made me want to recreate it for a sunny notecard - this is what I came up with:

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

I chose a pale Lemon Lolly background inspired by the background cushion in the photo, then set about recreating my daisy using a petal from the Paper Florist Dies set and a flower centre using a circle from the Stylish Shapes Dies. My smiley face is courtesy of the (retired) 'Cute Fruit' stamp set and my sentiment is from the 'Sweetest Cherries' stamp set. I fussy cut the word 'sweet' and popped it up on dimensionals:

Super simple but so cute and I know just the person to send it to!

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

You can see all of my '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:

PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

SWEETEST CHERRIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

Today I've a quick post to squeak in a card I made for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge with a great layout chosen by Narelle:

I loved the way DT member Amy used the Stitched With Whimsy Dies to frame the aperture on her card this week and it inspired me to use them in the same way, but as a 'trail' for my buzzy bee - take a look:

A well-chosen pattern from the Be My Valentine designer series papers and the perfectly-sized sentiment complete my simple card.

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

STITCHED WITH WHIMSY DIES (27.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

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

You don't have to stick with the squares on LeAnne's sketch, but they worked for my card so I kept them. I wanted to play along with the Birds of a Feather challenge over at Just Us Girls, so I grabbed my Stampin' Blends (I went down the first column of Color Dare's TicTacToe board) and Bird's Eye view stamp set and this is what I came up with:

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

I stamped three of the birds, adding spectacles to the first one (this is my favourite bird in the set!) onto some squares cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies and placed them around the fourth square, onto which I added a diecut sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set, anchored with a Crushed Curry enamel dot:

I used a Sweet Thoughts Memories & More card for my base; the Pretty Peacock pattern complimented the colours of my birds and I added a contrasting Calypso Coral envelope to finish.

This was an easy card to pull together and the colours make for a trio of colourful feathered friends. The 'Bird's Eye View' stamp set is great if you are new to colouring: the small images are just large enough to practice your skills without any complicated details.

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 had a new bird box and camera for Mother's Day a couple of weeks ago and today is the day we are switching over. My oldest bird box has seen better days and since the blue tits have not yet moved in, I need to get the new box in place ready for them hopefully to pay a visit! My new camera is full colour and is solar-powered, so I'm very excited! It can take stills and video and there's an app to use it with my mobile phone, so if there's any activity I'll be sure to share in a future blog post. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BIRD’S EYE VIEW PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (19.00)	SWEET THOUGHTS MEMORIES & MORE CARDS & ENVELOPES (9.50)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

Today I've a quick post sharing a card for a couple of challenges:

The team over at the Flower Challenge want us to make a square card and I used the colours over at Colour Inkspiration for a bright and modern graphic floral design using a dieset that I've had for a while that hasn't been out of the packet yet - take a look:

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

Petal Patterns - The Petal Patterns Dies are so clever and their shape makes the perfect for square cards. There are 2 dies in the pack; I added a third green layer for the leaves, rotating the solid die through 90 degrees and cutting one extra row to extend the pattern behind the flowers. You can use them as they are, paper-piece them or add sequins or enamel dots as I have for flower centres - lots of options. You can also use just a part of the die; I was experimenting with layering of the colours and added a small section with a trio of flowers to the reverse of my envelope too.

Pink and Purple - I'll be honest, Moody Mauve is not one of my most favourite colours and ordinarily I would never have paired it with Melon Mambo, but the combination intrigued me and I actually quite like the end result. the brightness of Melon Mambo lifts it so much. 

Charming Sentiments - I finished my card with a diecut sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments set:

I love the embossed detail on the petals of the flowers and the square design suits these dies perfectly.

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:

PETAL PATTERNS DIES (42.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

No crafting time today but I do have a quick card to share using Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I didn't go slimline (largely because I was so fixated on making my card, I totally forgot about that bit - good job it was optional!) but I couldn't wait to use Karren's layout for another card featuring my favourite Just Kiddin' designer series paper - take a look:

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

I added a panel of Boho Blue embossed with the (retired) High Seas 3D Embossing Folder to the lower portion of my white cardfront, fussy cutting along the edge of the waves - I love the dimension that this adds and it picks up the detail from the fussy cut image. My trio sailing in their cardbox box boat make the perfect focal point and broadly follow the curved shape of Karren's semi circle:

A sentiment from then (retired) 'Beautiful World' was all that was needed to complete today's fun card. 

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

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

Enjoy your day; mine is filled with domestic bliss - the price we pay for a weekend away, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (current):

JUST KIDDIN' 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

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 it's clean and simple challenge week with a 'good luck' theme:

With two teens still in education where exams are a reasonably frequent occurence, I always need a supply of good luck cards on hand. Since it's St Patrick's Day next week and I haven't yet made a card featuring a shamrock or four leaf clover yet this year, I thought I'd take this opportunity to put that right. So today is all about the green - take a look:

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

I stamped my large 'Sending' sentiment from the 'Sending Smiles' stamp set in Shaded Spruce and finished with a truncated sentiment heat embossed in gold beneath it. I decorated my card with a cascade of lucky four leaf clovers, made from the Paper Florist Dies. I popped them up on dimensionals to make the standout a little too:

Simple, clean and full of luck - box ticked! I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational where they are also celebrating all things clean and simple (no optional balloon for me though!)

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

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

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

Enjoy your day; I am enjoying a rare weekend away and will be visiting the eldest of the James Juniors today, which I am looking forward to - it's been a while! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)