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 I have my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

I designed a sketch with three elements - they can be any shape - and a vertical sentiment tucked alongside. My sketch was inspired by a card I made previously using squares of designer paper, however for today's card I went in a completely different direction - take a look:

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

Artfully Layered - Today's card features the 'Artfully Layered' bundle - I just love these leaves! Today's card really is about the Tropical Leaves Dies and my card makes a dramatic feature of one of the leaves, diecut in black. There is just a little stamping, with the sentiment on the front and a little extra to decorate the inside:

Inspired Abstract Watercolouring - I decided to brave it and use my aquapainter to watercolour three rounded squares for my three elements and use these as a backdrop to my leaf. I used the trio of bright colours over at Color Throwdown as I thought they would pair well with the black and painted each shape carefully, deciding not to overlap them and building colour gradually. I'm not the best when it comes to watercolouring but was totally inspired by my CAS Colours & Sketches teammate, Cecile Ribon, who creates the most amazing CAS cards using simple watercoloured shapes and outline stamped images and/or delicate diecuts - if you're not familiar with it I would urge you to take a look at her blog here, she is so artistic! Having added my watercoloured shapes, I added some black ink splatters using my Black Blends marker before adhering my diecut. I used anothe Cecile trademark of a stitch of twine at the base of my leaf, along with a trio of enamel dots, to complete my card:

What do you think? I'm really quite please with the end output so I'm going to link up over at Inkspirational too, where they are also challenging us to watercolour this week. 

An Alternative Colourway - I liked my card so much, I decided I would have another go using the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink too. I considered going in a different direction, given the distinctly autumnal feel of their photo, but I just couldn't bring myself to dig out my autumn leaves as we are just heading into summer on this side of the world! So I changed out my sentiment and chose a different diecut leaf and used the same layout for a second version. Here is the Just Add Ink inspo photo:

And here's my second card that was inspired by those warm, autumnal colours:

So what do you think of today's cards? Do you have a favourite? Do leave me a comment 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 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 at home today before the James Juniors are back to school this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ARTFULLY LAYERED BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)	BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
WATER PAINTERS (£11.25)

Hi everyone! I have a quick post today following on from yesterday's post showcasing the wave in the 'Waves of Inspiration' stamp set. I mentioned in yesterday's post that this wave would make a great #SimpleStamping card so today I wanted to show you a pared-down, basic example of that using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout courtesy of the lovely Kim:

And here's my #SimpleStamping card:

I used the same broad layout for yesterday's card (Kim's sketch is a favourite layout of mine that I often come back to) but for today's card I was completely faithful to it. I stamped my wave using my Stamparatus to build up my layers of ink colour and cropped it for fit the centre of my card. I matted it with a thin border in Night of Navy and added a birthday sentiment from the same set that I trimmed to fit:

A stamp, inks and paper; just 6 items - nothing else required! Clean and uncluttered - just my thing!

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 for our new challenge over at the Paper Players where I am the hostess. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WAVES OF INSPIRATION CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing another clean and simple card that was inspired by a few challenges:

I wouldn't normally gravitate towards the spring pastel palette over at Sunday Stamps, but the minute I saw it I couldn't help thinking it would be perfect for an Easter chick. So I paired it with the current challenge over at AAA Cards where they are looking for 'small and few' paired with Easter or spring for a fluffy chick (perfect for the CASology cue word too) and a few pastel Easter eggs hidden in the grass - take a look:

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

I used my blending brushes to create a blended corner panel of yellow 'sunrays' and a little green across the bottom for the base of my scene, then added some diecut eggs from the retired Chick Dies in two shades of pale pink behind some grass, cut using one of the Horizon dies. My Easter chick is courtesy of the Birthday Chick Dies - I had completely overlooked this little diecut chick and discovered it when I was using these dies on this card earlier this month and thought it would make the perfect tiny Easter chick:

An Easter sentiment from the retired set 'Welcome Easter' completes my card. I know Easter has already been and gone, but it's always good to have a few cards set aside for next year - when Easter rolls around I never seem to have enough!

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 CHICK DIES (ENGLISH) (£12.50)	HORIZON DIES (£31.00)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SEA FOAM CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)

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 timely clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

April showers! None of those here today though as the UK celebrates its warmest days of the year so far for a wonderful Easter bank holiday weekend! My card today does feature raindrops - and sunshine and the best thing to result from both after an April shower: rainbows!  I used the current sketch layout over at CAS on Friday for my clean and simple card today (I was thrilled to be a winner there last week with this stencilled card - look out for my guest spot there soon!):

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

I took a piece of retired Sale-A-Bration Sunshine and Rainbows designer series paper and overlaid it with some stitched clouds cut with my Basic Borders Dies and a row of rainbows cut with one of the Brilliant Rainbows Dies. I then stamped a sentiment from the retiring 'Celebrate With Flowers' set twice, once in Magenta Madness onto a circle of So Saffron and a second time in Mango Melody on white and fussy cut the word 'sunshine' and layered the two together. To finish, I added a trio of iridescent rhinestones for a little added sparkle:

I used lots of different bits and pieces on today's card, but my minimising my layers and embellishments and focusing my design into the main square, I preserved my all-important 'white space', a key feature of clean and simple cards.

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 spent yesterday at the farm visiting all of the baby animals - bottle feeding the lambs was a definite highlight! - and today we will be Easter egg hunting and enjoying Sunday lunch in the garden - bliss! I hope you are all enjoying a restful weekend break too! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRILLIANT RAINBOW DIES (£29.00)	BASIC BORDERS DIES (£27.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. I used the great sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout too:

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Dance Day' which is on 29th 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. I received my new annual catalogue pre-order earlier this week and couldn't wait to open it and start creating! So on today's card I used blue, rhinestones, patterned paper and diecuts from the inspo list and I have a sneak peek of new products for you - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Hues of Happiness Suite - Today's card features a number of products from the new 'Hues of Happiness' Suite. Behind my layered circle I used the beautiful trellis patterned diecut from the Blossoming Happiness Dies, but the star of today's card is most definitely the beautiful flowers that were cut from the Hues of Happiness designer series paper. The Blossoming Happiness Dies fit the flowers and leaves on two of the paper patterns perfectly; beautifully coloured flowers that can be cut out with ease - bonus! Here's a close up of these beautiful blooms: 

Aren't they just gorgeous?! I have cut up a whole pack of this paper already and will definitely be needing more of it!!

Happiness Abounds - The sentiment on the front of my card is from the 'Happiness Abounds' set that is also part of this suite; I added another two to the inside of my card. along with some outline floral detail:

This stamp set will be great for colouring too - I am so looking forward to working with it again.

Finishing Touches - A sprinkling of iridescent rhinestones and a couple of strips of retiring Gorgeous Grape glimmer paper complete my card.

If you think you don't need any more florals, the Hues of Happiness Suite will most definitely change your mind! I can't wait to share more new products with you. 

Would you like a copy of the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue? If you have placed an order with me in the last 6 months, then great news - you are already on my mailing list to receive a new annual catalogue. If you haven't and would like one, please do get in touch to request one and I can add you to my list!

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

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

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	OMBRE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£5.55)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a card I made at the weekend that uses Jen M's great layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and also uses the current Color Hues combination of pink and green:

Jen's sketch has a lovely open panel that can be used in so many different ways. I decided it would be a great place to have one last hurrah with my Dandelions 3D embossing folder - take a look:

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

I simply embossed my dandelions on a panel of white cardstock and added Polished Pink to the seed heads and Pear Pizazz to the stems lightly with a blender brush for just a hint of colour to the raised elements. I added them to a base covered with a piece of Polished Pink In-Colour designer paper and added a simple heat embossed sentiment from 'Flowing Flowers' and a trio of iridescent rhinestones for some subtle sparkle:

I think this embossing folder is so pretty and a great way to make texture a feature on an otherwise clean and layered 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. 

Just a quick post from me today - I have a long 'to do' list that I'm trying to rattle through and a new annual catalogue pre-order that has just arrived that I want to get the opportunity to play with!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

I have an extra card today to share a card a special card I made for Rebecca and her hockey team mates to say goodbye to one of their members who is leaving at the end of the season to go to university. I thought the motley crew of animals in the retiring 'From All of Us' stamp set would be perfect for a team farewell - take a look:

I used a bright and fun unconventional colour scheme to colour my group of animals and fussy cut them and placed on the centre of a larger A5 card, over a simple scored panel of Coastal Cabana - I needed room for lots of messages inside! I added a 'good luck' message using a retired alphabet set either side of my colourful gang:

I added one other stamp to the inside to finish:

Cute, right?! This is a great stamp if you need a collective card from a group.

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 sharing this card over at SUO Challenges with the theme is 'animals and critters' and The Alphabet Challenge where their theme is 'A for Animal Antics' - I think my collective definitely look they could get up to some mischief!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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 bright colour challenge for us to work with:

I love Anne Marie's bright and sunny colours this week and ended up making a couple of cards. First up I used this week's layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and went with some florals, care of my Pierced Blooms Dies - take a look:

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

I diecut a trio of layered flowers and leaves and paired them with a piece of Daffodil Delight coloured Hand Penned designer series paper and used white as my neutral. A few polished pink gems add a touch of sparkle to the front of my card:

And a little extra stamping inside completes my card:

I wanted to try and use these colours on something other than flowers, so made a second card using the retiring 'Hippo Happiness' stamp set and co-ordinating Hippo & Friends Dies:

Some simple stamping and diecutting is all there is to it. The best part about this card is definitely the punny sentiment though - Hippo birthday...

... 2 ewe! Isn't that just so sweet?!

I used the sketch over at TGIF Challenges this week for the layout for this card and I am also linking up over at SUO Challenges where they are all about 'animals and critters' for their current challenge.

Two very different cards but I think both work with these colours. Which one do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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 have some chores to take care of and we are out to lunch - should be a good day! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (where still available): 

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 fun theme challenge for you to work with:

Laughter is the best medicine - so true! I had a rummage amongst my stamps for something funny and using Jen T's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week (it's a keeper!) for my layout I set to work. This is what I came up with:

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

I actually don't have that many stamps that are out-and-out funny, but plenty that can raise a smile and 'Hey Birthday Chick' is definitely one of them! I love that sentiment 'you're still a spring chicken' so I decided to pair it with the chicken in this set that always looks to me like she's dancing! I added some rainbow glimmer bunting and some stamped confetti, and having coloured my chicken decided to add a ribbon ruffle skirt by running a stitch through a piece of Polished Pink ribbon - doesn't it look as if she's doing the can-can?!

Very 'oo la la'!! What do you think - comical enough to raise a smile? It made me chuckle anyway :-) I added another chicken along with another sentiment from this set to decorate the inside of my card to finish:

'Hey Birthday Chick' and the co-ordinating Birthday Chick Dies are on the retired list, so if they tickle your funny bone and you'd like to add them to your collection, they are currently both available at 50% off - a real bargain! Rainbow glimmer paper is also on the retired list - I am so sad to see this go! Here's hoping there is more glimmer paper on the way in the new annual catalogue ... 

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 mid-way through a 'Mum and son' weekend with the youngest of the James Juniors: we spent yesterday watching Manchester United play at home in Old Trafford, stayed overnight and today we are doing the stadium tour - so we are all about the football, for sure! A lovely way to start the Easter school break though. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HEY BIRTHDAY CHICK CLING STAMP SET (£10.00)	BIRTHDAY CHICK DIES (ENGLISH) (£12.50)	RAINBOW GLIMMER PAPER (£4.40)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	MAGENTA MADNESS STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	POLISHED PINK 3/8" (1 CM) OPEN WEAVE RIBBON (£6.50)
SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (£33.00)

Yay - the end of the week! Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday:

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'World Art Day' which is on April 15th. 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 decided to go all-out with the theme of our challenge and used paint splats, easel, primary colours and a little masking and this is what I came up with:

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

I delved into my collection of retired stamps for today's card - the retired 'Painter's Palette' set from a few years ago had everything I needed! I stamped a bunch of paint splats onto my white card base in primary colours (along with a little green for good measure) along with an easel, then stamped the easel along with a birthday sentiment and decorated with a few more paint splats (this is where the masking came in so that the dots stayed within the frame) and added this to my card base with dimensionals: 

A few retired enamel dots, along with some additional paint splats both inside my card and on the envelope completed my card - perfect for the budding artists amongst us!

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 - that's me!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)