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

For me tulips, along with daffodils, are the epitome of spring flowers.I don't have any current daffodil stamps so I decided to go with tulips. I used the sketch layout over at Inspire.Create and the Easter colour inspiration over at Color Dare, choosing bright Magenta tulips with green leaves and a subtle So Saffron spots and stripes background, inspired by those yellow marshmallow bunnies in the photo. Here's my card:

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

Timeless Tulips - I used the 'Timeless Tulips' stamp set for my flowers, stamping the stems in Granny Apple Green directly onto my panel and the either punching or fussy cutting my flower heads and leaves. I also added a couple of frosted epoxy droplets to mimic raindrops:

Ornate Layers - I mounted my bunch of tulips onto a white panel cut with one of the Ornate Layers Dies; I like the small amount of detail around the panel - just enough to add interest without detracting from my flowers. I heat-embossed my sentiment, also from the Timeless Tulips stamp set, and snipped it into pieces, adding the first two pieces to the front of my card then stamping the remainder inside with a small tulip bud for decoration:

Raffia Ribbon - You may not recognise the ribbon that I used to tie a bow around my bunch of blooms; it's actually a strip of In Colour Magenta Madness 1/4" Ribbon. I cut the edge off and stripped the vertical strands away to create a soft, raffia-like bunch of threads to make my bow. I love to try and use our ribbons in different ways - do you ever do things like this with items in your stash?

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; today I am looking forward to a delicious Sunday roast and the obligatory traditional Easter egg hunt, amongst other things - I'm not sure my children will ever outgrow this activity, especially not when there's chocolate involved! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TIMELESS TULIPS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	TULIP BUILDER PUNCH (£17.00)	ORNATE LAYERS DIES (£34.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	FROSTED & CLEAR EPOXY DROPLETS (£8.25)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed challenge:

I pass a beautiful magnolia tree on my school run each day that has just come in to bloom and that totally inspired me to use one of my retiring stamp sets and this week's Color Throwdown colours for today's speedy blossom - take a look:

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

Good Morning Magnolia - I decided to go big and bold with my quick card today and I used the large single magnolia flower from the 'Good Morning Magnolia' stamp set for my card today. This allowed me to minimise my stamping and spend my time adding colour to my magnolia blossom. The other thing I love about this stamp set is the sentiments; my simple 'thanks' finishes with beautiful wording inside too:

Speedy Colouring - Even with only one bloom, 10 minutes still isn't long for colouring! I focused my efforts on the petals themselves, adding Melon Mambo to the outer petals and a combination of Flirty Flamingo and a little extra Melon Mambo to the insides. I didn't add any colour to my leaves, just giving them a quick swipe with a blender pen. I love that the Very Vanilla base adds a warmth to the card that you wouldn't get with white:

#SimpleStamping - This card is all about the stamps, ink and paper: simple layering, no fancy die cutting and one focal image, with a simple sentiment. By keeping things simple, they can be quick 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIA CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£33.00)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMNGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BLENDER PENS (£11.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO 1/4" (6.4 MM) FAUX SUEDE TRIM (£6.00)

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 sharing a quick Easter card that I made for the current challenge over at Inspired By:

I love the textured paint effect of those brightly coloured tulips and I needed a couple of extra Easter cards, so I brought out my retired 'Blessed Easter' stamp and got colouring - take a look:

I went for a simple 'stamp and colour' although I did take the opportunity to frame my spring tulips with one of the new Stitched With Whimsy Dies for an extra touch of detail to my panel. I liked this card so much I made another too, this time on a Daffodil Delight card base - here's a photo of them 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STITCHED WITH WHIMSY DIES (£27.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. It's the fifth Tuesday of March, and you know what that means:  Timeless Tuesday Double Challenge!  We're throwing back with a trio of retired Stampin' Up colours and one of our past sketch challenges, combining them into one color and sketch challenge:  

For our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutrals such as white, ivory, black, brown, grey, or metallics; however, no other colours should be added to your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.  Also, you're free to flip or rotate the sketch when creating your card.  Just remember to keep it clean and simple in style!

For my card today I decided to create a fun tongue-in-cheek good luck card for my favourite chicken expert - take a look:

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

A Colour Challenge - This week's colours were something of a challenge for me, as whilst I still have a Tempting Turquoise ink pad to hand, the same can't be said of the other two colours so some creative colour-matching was required! Fortunately the light Pumpkin Pie Blends marker is very close to Peekaboo Peach, and the light Night of Navy my closest match to Marina Mist, so they are the colours I used for my balloon and chicken respectively. I kept with the square format of the sketch, and the orange dotty paper you can see to the left of my card is the customised envelope flap of the co-ordinating envelope (just in case you were wondering!)

Happy Dies Masking - I used some large post-it notes and a stencil made using the cloud die from the Happy Dies set to create a column of masked sky and clouds, using my blending brush and Tempting Turquoise ink to work down the card. I then positioned my chicken (in lieu of the circle on the sketch) to the right of this and added my sentiment to the corner of my white space. I am pleased with my clean and simple look this week - so much so, I am also linking up with the lovely peeps over at Less Is More who are looking for CAS inking on no more than a third of your card - I think I managed it!

Best of Cluck: Spot The Difference - So I have two versions of my card today; the second one is below. Can you spot the difference? 

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that in order to comply with our colour challenge, I did not colour the comb of my chicken on my original card. I really missed that pop of red though, so subsequently added it to version two! Did you know that not all chickens have red combs, with some breeds of chicken displaying purple or even black combs, although I must confess I've never seen one. Did you know that chickens are attracted to red, but not in a positive sense? If a chicken sees red blood on another chicken, they will turn cannibal and left untreated, peck at it until the wounded chicken eventually dies. Gruesome, I know! My investigation into comb colours caused me to wonder why, given the former, those with red combs don't automatically all attack each other; it turns out that comb size and redness is one of the things that chickens use to establish their pecking order and will peck each other within a flock until this has been established, however not usually to the lengths of devouring each other to oblivion!

I made today's card for Rebecca, who is currently studying for her GCSEs and still has exams to sit next term after the Easter break in order to form part of the teacher assessment criteria, as I knew she would find it funny. She loves all things chicken-related and is an absolute mine of information as far as her feathered friends is concerned. We keep chickens and in order to prevent the scenario outlined above, one of them is currently bright purple, curtesy of a liberal dose of antiseptic spray to confuse the others - she really does look funny! As the saying goes, no harm, no fowl - or something like 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HEY BIRTHDAY CHICK BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£40.50)

HAPPY DIES (EN) (£28.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

Today I have another card to share that I made using Julee's Mojo Monday layout and those yummy pastels over at The Color Throwdown this week: 

I needed a few more Easter cards and those bunny-ear cakes definitely lend themselves to a cute Easter card  - take a look:

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

I used Highland Heather for my card base and gingham panel and used the sweet bunny from the 'Springtime Joy' stamp set as the focal point of my card, added some pretty colours to her flowers, then picked up the flower colour and detail in the horizontal border, by adding a trio of flowers made using the medium daisy punch. I finished each with some oversize retired sparkly gems and tucked in my 'Welcome Spring' sentiment that I stamped on an Everyday Label punched piece. I added another sentiment from the set to the inside of my card:

How sweet are those pretty colours? Gorgeous! I love the added sparkle from the gems 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

That really is it from me today! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for the new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches where it's the double this week! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SPRINGTIME JOY CLING STAMP SET (£19.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	MEDIUM DAISY PUNCH (£15.00)	EVERYDAY LABEL PUNCH (£17.00)
HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMNGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a couple more cards using Jen Timko's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

In my quest to continue using up DSP, I chose my favourite pattern in the Ornate Garden DSP pack, a non-floral metallic and decided to make another couple of cards, but this time flipping the design to use the DSP on one each of the panels and an alternative diecut sentiment using the Always Dies from the mini catalogue. Here's the first one:

For the second one, I used the DSP panel as the bottom border and switched out the colours for the diecut layers of the sentiment to create an even cleaner design:

On both I kept the sentiments simple, and went for a big, bold sentiment inside my card, keeping the monochromatic colour scheme:

I like the idea that you can send an 'I love you' card at a time other than Valentine's, with no reds or pinks in sight. The second, cleaner card is definitely my favourite so that's the one I'm going to link up over at FMS - but what do you think? Here's both of them together:

This gold-embossed pattern is probably my favourite in the whole pack and is much more 'me' than the last pair I made using Jen's sketch. All were a great way to use up some retiring patterned paper, although having looked through the fabulous cards in the gallery, I know I could have been much more creative with this sketch!! 

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 later with another post. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ALWAYS DIES (£31.00)

ORNATE GARDEN DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£12.60)

MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards that I was meant to share on Saturday but having had a frustrating afternoon of creativity, ran out of time so thought I'd squeeze them in today! Jen Timko has a great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I so wanted to play along:

I had been using one of the patterns in the Ornate Garden DSP pack, originally for my Paper Players card, although I ended up not really liking the end result so made a different one (in case you're getting confused, having already read yesterday's post!) Part of the problem was that these papers have such bold, bright colours that they really don't lend themselves to anything too layered and fussy in my view, so I decided to use them instead with Jen's sketch to make a couple of thank you cards with an altogether more clean and simple look. I made a couple of cards - here's the first one:

This one is my favourite with the daisy-only pattern, but I also made a second one using another of the busy floral papers in the pack:

On both I kept the sentiments simple, layering a couple of offset thanks diecuts from the retiring Well-Written Dies onto a stitched rectangle, with a border using the already out-of-stock retiring Ornate Borders die. So here's both of them together - do you have a preference?

I'm not sure I will ever love these papers, however I was pleased with these cards - more than the one I started out with, 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 day and I'll be back shortly with another couple of posts - including another one using Jen's fabulous sketch! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WELL WRITTEN DIES (EN) (£37.00)	ORNATE GARDEN DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£12.60)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

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

I got myself into something of a tizzy with this week's sketch and ended up making two cards - this one is for sure my favourite! I loved the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink this week and thought an Easter wreath would be perfect for the shape in Anne Marie's sketch - take a look:

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

Arrange A Wreath - The Arrange A Wreath bundle is perfect for an Easter wreath and this is the only type of wreath I think I've yet to make with this versatile set! I layered two pale green leaf wreath diecuts, then stamped a variety of rainbow-coloured Easter eggs and nestled them in between the leaves, mixing and matching the patterns:

Pink Patterns - I decided to use a pink background for my wreath, again inspired by the JAI photo. I used a piece of Hydrangea Hill DSP in a soft Rococo Rose pattern. I wanted my vertical panels to co-ordinate but not be too busy, as I didn't want them to detract from the detail of my wreath, so I used some of last year's retired in-colour DSP in a gingham pattern.

Going, Going ... - Today's card features so many of my favourite things that will be retiring with the annual catalogue: The Arrange A Wreath stamp set and Wreath Builder Dies, the in-colour Rococo Rose in all its forms, and my favourite embossing folder, the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. If these items are still on your wish list, you should snap them up now whilst you still can! You can find links to them in the online store below.

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; if you're in the UK, did you remember to put your clocks back? Whilst we lose an hour, the additional hours of sunlight are always welcome - British Summer Time is here at last! I am planning on pottering in the garden today and may have to start eating the Easter eggs that are accumulating in the James household - I know Easter isn't until next weekend, but the temptation is proving too much! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ARRANGE A WREATH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	HYDRANGEA HILL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	SUBTLE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)
ROCOCO ROSE 1/2" (1.3 CM) SCALLOPED LINEN RIBBON (£7.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Firstly, if you didn't see yesterday's post about the list of products that will be retiring with the current annual catalogue, please go and check it out here - the retiring lists are worth a look with big discounts to be had, long whilst supplies last! Then come back and read today's post too!

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely LeAnne is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went down the last column with leaves, green and diecut for my card today with another card using those lovely Forever Greenery papers - take a look:

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

Forever Greenery -  Today's card just like this one that I shared earlier this week features lots of elements from the Forever Greenery Suite. The Forever Greenery paper was once again the starting point for today's card. These papers have some beautiful patterns featuring lush greenery and today I chose a subtle background design combined with a busy foliage-filled designs, and layered them and used them as the inspiration for my foliage sprig. 

Forever Fern - I stamped similar pieces of leaf foliage from the Forever Fern stamp set in the same colours as those that feature on the papers and diecut it with the corresponding Forever Flourishing Dies. The detail on these stamps really is amazing - they are another of the Distinktive range that appear almost 3-dimensional when stamped. So pretty! 

Touches of Gold - I used some gold foil for a border and tiny foliage pieces, along with gold twine to embellish my card but the star of the show is the gold hoop embellishment that frames my sentiment - such a wow in real life:

I have really enjoyed working with this set this week and am so glad that it is carrying over to the new annual catalogue, even though the papers and gold elements in the suite aren't; it will give me lots more opportunity to play 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FOREVER GREENERY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	FOREVER FERN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	GILDED GEMS (£6.50)	GOLD HOOPS EMBELLISHMENTS (£7.00)	FOREVER GREENERY TRIM COMBO PACK (£8.25)
JUST JADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	JUST JADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PEAR PIZZAZZ A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)