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 she has a seasonal theme challenge for us to work with:

It's clean and simple week and Ann has asked us to feature a spring flower on our card. here's a quick reminder of what we mean by 'clean and simple at The Paper Players:

• Has minimal layers and embellishments
• Has plenty of open space, aka "white" space
• Is simple and uncluttered

After much deliberation, I decided to use my 'Flowering Tulips' stamp set as I haven't yet inked it up this spring. I chose the lovely bright colours palette over at Just Add Ink and created this really simple card - take a look:

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

I stamped a couple of tulips in the same colour as the cardstock, stamping off one of the layers to get a depth of colour and cut them out using the Tulips Dies and heat embossed the stamens in black for a little extra shine. I added my tulips to a matt layer onto which I'd stamped my sentiment and used one of the dies in the set to cut a pattern to reveal colour from the card base below:

I added a simple diecut silhouette border to the inside of my card to complete my design: 

Super simple and so bright and cheery, tulips, alongside daffodils, are one of my most favourite spring flowers.

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: 

FLOWERING TULIPS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	TULIPS DIES (33.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	FLOWERS OF FRIENDSHIP CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. I used the great sketch below from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for my layout and the theme of dots or stripes (I went with dots) over at AAA Birthdays for my birthday card - take a look:

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Children's Book Day' which is on 2nd April. 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 children's sentiment, children (child), bright colours, patterned paper and square and this is what I came up with:

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

I promised you another card this week using the 'By My Side' stamp this week and this is it! This time I decided to use the little girl with her sweet bluebird friend to make a bright and colourful birthday card. I used one of the sentiments from the set on the front of my card and finished the inside with a 'Happy Birthday' greeting. I was initially going to use squares of coloured cardstock for my background, but in the spirit of using up my scraps as encouraged by my friends over at SUO Challenges this week, I grabbed some of my retired Brights Collection designer series paper and pulled out offcuts from previous projects and used my Stylish Shapes Dies to diecut a selection of squares, all with a playful, dotty design to create a harmonious background (I've included a link to the current pack of Brights DSP at the bottom of today's post in case you'd like to recreate this card):

I love the versatility of this stamp set: sweet images, great sentiments and fun for both the young and the young at heart!

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 Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

Enjoy your day; I have my parents visiting at the moment for our delayed Christmas celebrations that didn't take place due to illness. At least we managed to fit it in before Easter - the James Juniors are very much looking forward to an influx of chocolate!! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BY MY SIDE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)
NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

Today I'm sharing a card for the clean and simple challenge over at CAS On Friday which closes today where the theme is 'Friendship'. I also used the sketch over at Hand Stamped Sentiments for my layout:

I decided to use a set from the annual catalogue that I picked up ages ago on a stamp sale day, but still had yet to ink up: By My Side. This is the card that I came up with:

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

I love the innocent, child-like images in this set and it has some beautiful friendship sentiments that can be used for all kinds of occasions - thank you, congratulations, hello, thinking of you, birthday or simply to celebrate the friendship of someone you hold dear. I stamped the sweet little boy and his faithful puppy friend and coloured them both with my Stampin' Blends, adding in some ground and just a hint of colour applied with my blending brush and a cloud stencil above the first part of my sentiment. I added a second sentiment at the bottom of my card, masking off to stamp it in a straight line rather than two rows as per the set.

I was a little liberal with my interpretation of the HSS sketch, in that I used it in a horizontal rather than portrait format and didn't curve the top of my panel, as the straight lines suited my clean and simple design better. This layout is actually a really good one for CAS cards - the addition of the coloured strip behind the panel is a great way to add a little more colour and interest without cluttering that all important 'white space'. 

I have something different for you tomorrow, but if you like this card I've made another one featuring some of the other stamps in this set to share with you on Friday, so make sure you pop back then.

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 going to be spent playing catch-up at my desk and trying to get organised for the crafting week ahead! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BY MY SIDE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS DEEP COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM DEEP COMBO (8.50)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)

Here's today's second post as promised with the second of my cards using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

This time my interpretation was much more literal - take a look: 

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

The Sweet Citrus bundle was my first thought when I saw the sketch and clearly Amy had worked along similar lines using lemons for her DT card. I wanted to make my card look different to hers even though we used the same starting point, so I went with oranges instead of lemons, a super-bright colour scheme and a fully embossed background, as opposed to designer paper. I just love the texture that the Sweet Citrus embossing folder adds to both the background and the individual fruit segments and the fact that it's a hybrid folder and embosses and diecuts in one pass through the Big Shot is a total time-saving bonus! Check out the texture on the close-up below:

I also used a different sentiment for today's card to the one I've showcased on previous cards using this bundle, both on the outside and the inside:

This thank you card will be winging its way to one of my sweetest customers to thank her for a recent order.

Completely different to my previous card using this layout, but I love it just as much! I'm also linking today's card up over at The Alphabet Challenge where it's 'Y is for Yummy' - I know oranges are healthy, but they are also delicious! When I was pregnant with my first child, they were one of the things I craved and ate in vast quantities - bizarre, I know! A thank you shout-out to the Alphabet Blog team too for choosing my entry for 'X is for XOXO - hugs and kisses as their winner (if you missed it you can see that card here). 

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. 

Apologies for the lateness and brevity of both of today's posts; it took me 3 hours to complete my school run this morning due to a serious car accident that led to me being part of a road closure; fortunately I wasn't involved although my prayers are with the families of those who were. As for me, I'm running much later than usual for a Monday - but grateful to be here writing nonetheless!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET CITRUS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

Today will be a two post day as I managed to squeak in a little extra crafting time over the weekend and managed to make not one but two cards using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

Here's the first one:

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

I don't normally gravitate towards this kind of layout, but I was so inspired by Jennifer Timko's FMS Design Team card, that I decided I would try something similar. So I grabbed my paper snips and fussy cut an entire bouquet of flowers from the oh-so-pretty Awash in Beauty designer series paper pack and used this as the centrepiece for my card, with the individual flowers representing those sketch circles. I backed this with a piece of pink paper from the same pack and a simple white lattice diecut from the Organic Beauty Dies, adding a few white opaque adhesive backed gems to decorate:

I finished with a simple sentiment from the 'Sending Smiles' stamp set - I thought this would make a nice card for someone who needed a little 'lift'. 

This card felt a little brave for me as I normally interpret the sketch more literally, but I really like the end result!

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'll be back shortly with my second take on Amy's sketch - a completely different take so stay tuned! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AWASH IN BEAUTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

ORGANIC BEAUTY DIES (40.00)

SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

OPAQUE ADHESIVE-BACKED GEMS (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 LeAnne to host this week and she has a bold and bright colour challenge for us to work with:

I used the sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout and thought LeAnne's colours were perfect for a fun birthday card featuring one of the birds in the 'Silly Goose' stamp set - take a look:

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

I used some in-colour designer paper for my base, then stamped my partying goose onto a stitched rectangle and coloured it with my Stampin' Blends in the challenge colours. This is such a fun stamp set, with some great sentiments. I could have made this a straightforward birthday card, but instead decided to add this sentiment inside to send belated birthday wishes:

Fun, right?! I finished my card but decided that since I'd only used Granny Apple Green on my goose's party hat, I need to add a little extra, so I hunted through my stash and found these sparkly Granny Apple Green enamel dots so added these for a little extra celebratory sparkle:

That's all there is to 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 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: 

SILLY GOOSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR™ 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	TAHITIAN TIDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)

A late post today - I'm afraid it's been one of those days! So I've a quick post to share a card I made using this week's gorgeous colours over at Just Us Girls and embossing (heat and dry) and white as my 2 items from the Just Add Ink board too:

I couldn't resist another outing with my Sweet Citrus bundle and hybrid embossing folder - I love it with this bold colour scheme:

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

I also chose to CASE Kim's card over at Global Design Project #GDP384. I switched out the florals for lemons and changed up my colour scheme, but retained the diagonal patterned background and white base, stitched circle and white-on-black heat embossed sentiment. I just love the texture that the dry embossing gives these fruit segments - check it out on the close-up below:

I even used the embossing folder to add texture to the envelope flap - a quick way to add detail. And that sentiment - my favourite of the moment for sure!

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:

SWEET CITRUS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

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 I've a theme challenge for us to work with:

We are still some weeks away, but it's always good to be prepared so I thought we could get a start on our Easter cards. I used Karren's super-versatile layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and set to work. I ended up making two cards - take a look at the first one:

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

Country Lane and a Punched Easter Bunny - I haven't used these papers for a while, but I knew that this pretty floral from the Country Lane designer series paper pack would be the perfect pattern to form the basis of the colour scheme for today's card. I wanted a clean white bunny as my focal point and the darker background sets it off perfectly:

I added a little punched flower to my bunny for a little extra decoration.

A Step Up - Having made my initial card, I decided to create a second one with an extra layer and some tied baker's twine - just a small extra detail but it does add a little something extra:

 The sentiment is from a retired set called 'Welcome Easter' - obviously, any of the current Easter sets could be substituted. Here's a photo of both cards together so that you can compare:

A Little Interior Decoration - Another sentiment and a border of leftover paper decorates the inside of my card:

That's all there is to it - nice and straightforward! I love the Easter Bunny Punch but wasn't so keen on the drawings in the coordinating stamp set but I think this card shows that it works without 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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

EASTER BUNNY PUNCH (18.00)	COUNTRY FLORAL LANE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (33.00)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'St Patrick's Day' which is on March 17th. 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. I used the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday (and their option of stripes) and I used green, gold, clover, gnomes and luck from the inspo board to create my good luck card this week - take a look:

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

I used a mix of the sadly now retired Dandy Designs papers for my background and frame - Sale-A-Bration may be over again for another year but I love these papers so don't be surprised to still see me use them from time to time and stamped my girly gnome onto a stitched rectangle and coloured her with my Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends. I coloured her hair with Pumpkin Pie - I went for a stereotypically Irish look to compliment one of my favourite good luck sentiments, from the retired set 'A Wish For Everything'. An oversized punched four-leaf clover with a gem centre and two gold pearl shoe buckles complete my card:

I just love this cute gnomie and it will be perfect to wish the eldest of the James Juniors good luck when she starts her A Level exams. I am going to have to make another one using a boy gnome in this set since the youngest of the Juniors is also sitting GCSEs at the same time and couldn't possibly be left out, so watch this space!

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'm also linking today's card up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges where they have the theme of shades of green/St Patrick's Day - and my card today has a touch of both!

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 Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDLY GNOMES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

I managed to squeeze in a little crafty time today to make a card just in time for this week's challenge over at Just Us Girls:

It's Clean and Simple Week and the theme of colouring - two of my favourite things, so I'm so glad I managed to find a little time for some mindful colouring today. I still had my Friendly Gnomes stamp set out on my desk from tomorrow's project (consider this one an 'extra'!) and stamped and cut out one of the gnomes out with the co-ordinating Gnomes Dies for my card - take a look:

I paired my gnome with an 'XOXO' sentiment, made with my Alphabet A La Mode Dies, replacing the last O with my heart-hugging gnome. I coloured my gnome with my Stampin' Blends (listed in the table below). These are my favourite medium to colour with; my top colouring tip is to use lots of colours and to work in small, circular motions, from the outside of the shape inwards, blending as you go. To get a smooth, blended look, be prepared to go over and over each layer of colour until you have achieved a look you are happy with. As a final touch, I added some clear Wink of Stella to the heart that the gnome is holding.

That's all there is to it! I finished the inside with the sentiment 'There's GNOME-ONE BETTER than you' - got to love a good pun! I'm also linking today's card up over at The Alphabet Challenge where they are on 'X is for XOXOXO'.

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:

FRIENDLY GNOMES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	GNOMES DIES (29.00)	ALPHABET À LA MODE DIES (40.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
BERMUDA BAY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (7.50)