Today I'm sharing a quick card that uses the sketch layout at Paper Craft Crew (I substituted the square with a circle) and this week's colours over at Colour Throwdown:

I love those bright primary colours and I couldn't resist the adorable inspiration photo! I decided to use some retired product and dug out my Harvest Hellos stamp set and Apple Builder Punch to create a teacher card for my stash - take a look:

A super simple design, I created a base of floating lines in blue and green and added my apple behind my heat-embossed sentiment:

No supplies list as the key items featured are retired, but if you have any specific queries, then pop a comment below and I will happily answer them.

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

Today will be a two post day! I will be back later with my TicTacToe inspiration for our new challenge, but first I'm sharing a card that I made for a very special occasion: the fabulous team over at Freshly Made Sketches are celebrating their 500th challenge and a decade of sketch inspiration - how amazing is that?! These wonderful ladies are a constant source of challenge and inspiration and I play along whenever I can and certainly couldn't miss out on the opportunity to play with Linda's fabulous sketch this week!

I decided to pair with the new mini catalogue inspiration over at TGIF Challenges, which I had been mulling over as I have been playing with a CASE of one of the cards in their inspiration photo. It wasn't really working for me so instead I decided to take that vertical panel of the FMS sketch and instead take my inspiration from the featured Whimsy & Wonder Suite - take a look at what I came up with:

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

All About The Layers - Linda's card has five layers, one for each of the decades the challenge team are celebrating. I wanted to feature the beautiful tree print in the Whimsy & Wonder specialty designer paper for my third layer, but didn't want to obscure it completely with layer 4, as I wanted the tree that is layer 5 to feel 'part' of it. So I used vellum to create my layer 4 panel, cut with one of the Ornate Layers Dies. It provides a distinct background for my focal point diecut tree, but ensures my background whilst softened can still be seen.

Trimming The Tree - I diecut the largest tree in the Christmas Tree Dies set in Mint Macaron, then added a garland cut from (retired) sparkly white glimmer paper and added tiny baubles cut from the silver holographic striped paper in the Whimsy & Wonder pack, to tie in with the holographic stars on the background paper design. I almost didn't add the baubles, but the tree definitely looks better with than without! 

Finishing Touches - I added a simple 'joy' sentiment and underpinned this with a piece of white glittered organdy ribbon tied with some silver twine. I love the addition of the subtle sparkle to complete the final element of my design.

This is my first outing with the Whimsy and Wonder Suite but I think I'll be using it again very soon!

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:

WHIMSICAL TREES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£47.50)	WHIMSY & WONDER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	WHITE 3/8'' (1 CM) GLITTERED ORGANDY RIBBON (£8.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	ORNATE LAYERS DIES (£34.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses Lou's fabulous sketch over at Just Add Ink this week and is also my entry for the current challenge over at SUO Challenges titled 'plant life':

Before I show you my card, I need to say a big thank you to the team over at Just Add Ink for choosing my Dahlia card as their Top Pick last week - thank you ladies! If you missed that card, you can see it here. For this week's card, I was tempted to go with something clean and simple but instead decided that the ribbon divider on the sketch would give me the perfect focal point for a row of leafy plants - take a look:

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

I've been wanting to fussy cut some of the plants from the 'Bloom Where You're Planted' designer paper for ages, so added a brick wall bottom border edged with some (retired) green ribbon, then added a selection of fussy cut, leafy pot plants:

I added a simple thank you sentiment from the 'Art Gallery' stamp set to complete my card - you can never have enough thank you 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

We are shopping for new school shoes amongst other things today - that can only mean one thing, the start of term is drawing near! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)

EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of our queen of diecuts, the lovely Laurie to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I loved the layering of Laurie's sketch and decided it was a great layout to showcase some pretty designer series paper - and I've always got plenty of that! In addition to my patterned paper, I added layers (6 in total!) and a gingham ribbon bow for my three items from this week's Festive Friday inspo list to create my bright and cheery card - take a look:

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

In Symmetry - A big Calypso Coral flower with a double set of Night of Navy leaves make up the flower from the 'In Symmetry' stamp set that features on my angled panel today. I fussy cut the leaves and flower head and popped them up on dimensionals, adding a Bumblebee enamel dot and some Bumblebee gingham ribbon for a pop of yellow too. 

Envelope Detail - I added another of the flowers from the stamp set inside my card and added some extra stamped detail to the back of the co-ordinating envelope flap; no naked envelopes here! 

Sweet Symmetry Backdrop - The colours of my stamped flower were taken from the Sweet Symmetry designer series paper pattern that featured on the main background panel of my card. This is one of my favourite papers in this pack - I just love these bold, retro papers; they remind me of the patterns synonymous with the Irish fashion designer, Orla Kiely, don't you think?

I just love this card, even with the quirky angled panel which I thought I might struggle with, but it turns out not a bit!

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:

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; yesterday the weather was unexpectedly dire here, so if it brightens up today I will be looking forward to spending some time in the garden. I'm hoping to squeeze in a little crafting time too. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

IN SYMMETRY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	SWEET SYMMETRY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BUMBLEBEE 1/4" (6.4MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

A quick card from me this evening that was inspired by Jen Mitchell's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and the festive inspiration at Inspired By:

I thought those corners would be great for some layered foliage to frame a festive sentiment - take a look at what I came up with:

Lots of foliage, holly, pine cones and berries stamped and cut using the 'Christmas Season' stamp set and dies, and layered to frame a sentiment from the 'Merriest Moments' stamp set:

I wanted to add in a couple of candy canes too, but do you think I could find my retired candy cane dies? Nope, not anywhere! Too many craft supplies and not enough office space, that's my issue!!

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 for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS SEASON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	MERRIEST MOMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SAHARA SAND CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

I'm late with my post today as I held my monthly card class this morning, but I did manage to squeeze in a little crafty time afterwards so today I'm sharing a card that takes it's inspiration from the challenge prompt photo over at Just Add Ink this week:

So much to love about that photo! The colours, flowers and textures ... I decided to pair those with some free Sale-A-Bration product for my card today - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Delicate Dahlias - The focal point flower on my card is the outline flower from 'Delicate Dahlias' - a stamp set that can be yours with a purchase of £90 or more during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. I heat embossed the flower in gold onto some Cajun Craze cardstock, then added tone-on-tone colour with my Stampin' Blends markers. The sentiment on today's card is also from this set.

Blended Colour - Having used Cajun Craze for my flower and (retired) Pretty Peacock for my card base, I brought both colours together by blending them from the outside in on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock at the centre of my design.

Texture, Texture - I tried to incorporated lots of textural elements from the inspiration photo on my card: the texture from the vase is similar to my dry embossed card base, and the texture from the cushion is on the gold metallic specialty paper beneath my sentiment. I also added other golden elements through my heat embossing, ribbon and gems.

So what do you think? Can you see how the photo inspired my card today? I would love to know what you use to inspire your crafting - do leave me a comment below.

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

 to follow

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:

DELICATE DAHLIAS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	GOLD & ROSE GOLD 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) METALLIC SPECIALTY PAPER (£4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GOLD 3/8" (1 CM) SHIMMER RIBBON (£7.50)	GILDED GEMS (£6.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

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

With GCSE exam results announced here in the UK last week, I have had the need for lots of exam congratulations cards, including some for boys, so today's clean and simple masculine challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to come up with another quick and easy-to-replicate design - take a look:

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

I used Jen Timko's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout and kept things simple by creating only in 'shades of blue', in keeping with the colour challenge over at Less Is More. I used a piece of retired Whale Of A Time designer series paper featuring ombre blue waves inside my oval aperture, and added a Night of Navy stamped whale and sentiment from the 'Whale Done' stamp set. I kept my card base white and didn't add any additional embellishments in order to preserve that all-important 'white space' and masculine feel:

Super simple and not at all girly - this whale has been getting lots of use lately! Perfect to send congratulatory wishes. This week was a big one for the James family: my nephew received A Level results and Rebecca received her GCSE results. Both of them had worked very hard and did very well, with a full set of A*s and As between them, so we had lots to celebrate. More importantly, they both achieved everything they need to move on to the next stage of their education, which is the most important thing. This year has been tough for all those in examination years and I think all GCSE and A Level students should be mighty pleased with their achievements at all levels. 

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:

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; no big plans here, so hoping I'm lucky enough to squeeze in some crafting!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WHALE PUNCH (£17.00)

WHALE DONE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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 colour challenge for you to work with:

These colours immediately made me think of florals, then Christmas and since I had just taken delivery of some new goodies that ticked both boxes I couldn't wait to try them out - take a look:

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

Merriest Moments - Merriest Moments, like the Art in Bloom bundle in the annual catalogue, is a 3 in 1 bundle comprising a stamp set, dies and a hybrid embossing folder that enables you to get beautifully textured die-cut images in seconds.

Perfect for the challenge over at Just Add Ink this week, where they are asking us to 'use a frame' on our cards, the Merriest Moments hybrid embossing folder adds a beautifully textured frame, choc full of festive foliage. I embossed my card base, then embossed and cut my frame and I added some sponged white kraft ink to give it some highlighting:

I added a sentiment panel and a trio of red and yellow Christmas poinsettias to accent it. I also stamped another flower and a sentiment inside my card to finish:

This bundle has everything you need to make your Christmas cards in one go - just add your colours and create! This bundle will feature in my class on October 11th so if it appeals to you, then do drop me a line to be added to class list. Meanwhile, I can't wait to create more cards with this bundle!

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:

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 am looking forward to a catch-up day today, since I've been out of action decorating for the last few days. I'm hoping to squeeze in a little crafting too so that I can be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

MERRIEST MOMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL (£8.75)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card inspired by a couple of challenges:

AAA Cards are looking for designs 'along the edge' with an optional twist of dry embossing and over at The Alphabet Challenge they are on 'I is for Insect'. I embraced all three to come up with a super simple card - take a look:

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

I embossed my panel of thick Basic White with the Greenery embossing folder; it goes off the edge on both sides, but here I just ran it through along one edge. I added a get-well soon sentiment in Night of Navy and to finish could resist a golden bumble bee trinket for my insect:

And that's it - super simple but I hope you'll agree quite effective nonetheless.

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:

GREENERY EMBOSSING FOLDERS (£7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

BUMBLEBEE TRINKETS (£7.00)

FLOWERS OF FRIENDSHIP CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses Judy's current sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the fresh colour palette over at Just Add Ink:

I though the panels on Judy's sketch would be perfect to break out another new stamp set, Celebrate With Flowers - take a look:

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

I added elements of the flowers from the set into two of the boxes and saved my sentiment for the third one. I stamped my stem and leaves in black and the flowers in the other two colours and fussy cut them before adding with dimensionals. I added in-colour gems to the centres and stamens in each of the colours for a little extra sparkle:

The paper behind the panels is some of the Beautifully Penned black and white paper that can be yours free with an order of £45 or more from tomorrow when our next Sale-A-Bration campaign begins.

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. 

Before I go, a reminder that today is your last chance to receive 15% off in the designer series paper sale - you can read all about it here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATE WITH FLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	2021–2023 IN COLOR JEWELS (£6.50)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)