Today it's 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 fun tic-tac-toe challenge for you to work with:

I decided to go across the top row with Flowers/Girly/Birthday and wanted to share with you a card I made using one of my most favourite stamp sets of all time, Beautiful Friendship - take a look:

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

I ADORE the 'Beautiful Friendship' stamp set and have made a ton of cards with it recently, having held an online class using this set. In between  my online classes, I have been running a whole host of online demonstration sessions either sharing different ideas using the class stamp set, revisiting previously learned techniques, or sometimes a combination of both. This card was a result of one of those sessions, where I held I refresher session showing how to use your Stamparatus to create wreaths. The single rose in the 'Beautiful Friendship' set is perfect to create a simple wreath, so armed with my favourite of the retiring in-colors, Lovely Lipstick, and ringing the changes with a 6" x 6" square card, this was what I came up with. 

Have you ever used your Stamparatus to create a floral wreath? Here's a short speeded-up clip of my demonstration (without sound) that shows how easy it is to do:

https://youtu.be/1LgZ-ttfvIE

I then added a heat-embossed fussy cut sentiment from the soon-to-be-retired 'Seriously The Best' stamp set and a simple twine bow to the front of my card and added a little decoration to the inside too:

Did you find the above speeded up video clip useful? If you would like to take part in one of my online classes or attend my online demonstration sessions, do check out my class schedule on the events section of my Facebook page or on the 'Classes' tab on my website, or just drop me a line for more information.

I'm linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where the current theme is Designer's Choice - this one is definitely one of mine!

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'll be spending mine in and out of my 'By One Get One Free' party over on my Facebook page as I clear out my retiring stamps to make way for the new, whilst sitting in the garden enjoying the warm sunshine!nI'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£20.00)	SERIOUSLY THE BEST CLING STAMP SET (£7.20)	STAMPARATUS (£46.00)	2018–2020 IN COLOR 12\" X 12\" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) CARDSTOCK (£11.75)	WHISPER WHITE 12\" X 12\" (30,5 X 30,5 CM) CARDSTOCK (£7.25)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	WHISPER WHITE SOLID BAKER'S TWINE (£3.25)

The new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue goes live next Wednesday so it's time to announce my new Product Shares!

You know that feeling - you want it all, but your budget just doesn't stretch that far? Well shares are the perfect answer! You get a little bit of everything, without having to purchase a full pack. A share can also act as a 'try before you buy' - you get to see papers, ribbons, buttons and accessories 'up close and personal' before deciding which ones you like the most and would like to purchase as a full pack.

Shares work really easily: you decide which shares and how many you would like to take part in. You place your order by emailing me at [email protected] and I will invoice you and arrange payment. Once the closing date for the first round of shares is reached, I collate the orders, place an order with Stampin' Up! for the product, then once I receive it, I package the papers and send them out to you. Simple!

So much to choose from! I am currently focusing on paper shares and have two different shares on offer:

New Annual Catalogue Designer Series Paper Share - all sheets measure 6" x 6" - £31 plus £3 P&P

• Artistry Blooms – 6
• Flowers For Every Season – 12
• Forever Greenery – 6
• In Good Taste – 12
• Ornate Garden Specialty – 6
• Peony Garden – 6
• Playing With Patterns – 12
• Playful Pets – 6
• Whale Of A Time – 12
• World Of Good Specialty – 6

In all you'll receive 84  6"x 6" sheets of Designer Series Paper!

New Colour Family Paper Share - all sheets measure 6" x 6" - £21.50 plus £3 P&P

• Brights – 20
• Neutrals – 20
• Regals – 20
• Subtles – 20 

In this share you will receive a total of 80 sheets of paper. 

Want It All? £55 - and you'll get shares of all the new Designer Series Papers and the new colour family Designer Series Paper Stacks, and that includes postage & packaging! If you choose this option, I will also include a sample of the new Rainbow Glimmer Paper for FREE!

If you would like double or more shares of any particular thing, then that's fine too. I will cut your paper shares into 6" x 12" sheets where possible to give you more crafting flexibility (for the DSP stacks you will simply get double the number of sheets since they are already pre-cut to 6" x 6").

All postage & packaging quoted is for UK only - if you would like a cost for shipping to Europe, then please email me for a separate quotation.

The deadline to sign up to the first round of shares is Tuesday 2nd June at 8pm GMT. 

If you live local to me and would like to save on postage and packaging costs, please email me with your requirements and I will happily place your order, to be ready for doorstep collection on delivery. If you have any questions, just email me at [email protected] or give me a call!

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 across the first row and down the middle column - which also means I can squeeze in an entry to TGIF Challenge's Travel theme this week -  and got a headstart on Father's Day cards - take a look:

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

Garage Gears - I used some retired vintage car patterned paper to create a trio of panels for a background, then created a collage-style collection of circles, gears and a badge before finishing with my black heat embossed car:

I added a little white pencil detail to  my windows and lights for a little contrast.

Did you spot it? - I used a new stamp on my card today - did you spot it? The grid pattern that I used on the white stitched circle is from a new set called 'Comfort and Hope'; great for simple stamping, it contains a number of texture stamps great for adding interest to backgrounds. It will be available in the new annual catalogue - not long to go now!

Don't forget the inside - I finished my card on the inside with an offcut of the paper I used on the front of my card and a sentiment:

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 day; I am off to the post office today with a mammoth amount of post and I am hoping to spend a little time in the garden. The James Juniors are going to pitch the tent later as they are looking to camp out for a couple of nights in the garden - a half-term staycation! Hubby will be out with them but I will be sticking with the comfort of my own bed; I'm not one for camping generally, but the lack of hands-on physio since the start of lockdown is taking its toll and I'm suffering with my shoulder again, especially at night, so there will be no hard ground for me - I actually have a bone fide excuse for once! I'll be the one with the tea and bacon rolls in the morning. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

GEARED UP GARAGE CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	GARAGE GEARS DIES (£18.60)	MERRY MERLOT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	MERRY MERLOT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BLACK STAMPIN' EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	GRAY GRANITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenges over at Less Is More and Addicted to CAS:

In looking for 'dotty' stamps that would work well for a one layer card, I found this great present stamp in the Bonanza Buddies stamp set that had a 'reverse' dotty pattern and used that as the basis for my card, creating a row of dotty rainbow gifts - this was my first attempt:

I ended up making two cards though as I thought this one looked a little too 'clean and simple' without a sentiment - I went for a large one that I found in my retired box - an old Sale-A-Bration set which despite its size still gives a CAS feel to my card I think with plenty of white space:

So which one do you prefer? I'm veering toward the one with the sentiment, so that's my link up today.

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:

BONANZA BUDDIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

I've had a busy day so a quick post from me today! I'm sharing a card using this week's layout over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

This is a great sketch and just perfect for me to make another quick card using the retiring 'Outdoor Barbeque' set:

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

I decided to make the beef burger the feature of my card, and paired it with some check gingham in Poppy Parade - it reminded me of a picnic table cloth! Super simple and a perfectly punny card for another of the James family BBQ-lovers!

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:

OUTDOOR BARBECUE CLING STAMP SET (£18.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

Happy Bank Holiday Monday to my UK readers and Happy Memorial Day to my USA readers! I'm sure like me you are spending your day differently since we are either still in lockdown or experiencing some form of social distancing, wherever you are. I actually have an online class today featuring the Birthday Jubilee bundle so my post needs to be a quick one. I do have a couple of cards to share with you though. So first up is a card using this week's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches: 

This layout is very similar to our Paper Players one this week, so I tried to do something different to yesterday's card and grabbed my Tropical Oasis Memories and More Cards for a colourful thank you card - take a look:

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

I paired one of the smaller colourful cards with a sheet of the Tropical Oasis paper with a rustic pattern that I embossed with the Coastal Weave Embossing Folder for added texture, then added a layered 'thanks' that I cut down from the word 'Thanksgiving' in the Word Wishes Dies. I stacked the diecut with three pieces in Early Espresso and them one in Whisper White that I offset slightly.

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 also have another quick card, it's actually notelet size, that I made using a retired Crumb Cake notelet I found as I was clearing out, along with a discarded Highland Heather mat, for the current challenge over at CASology this week:

As I was sorting through my stamps I cam across this small image in the 'Garden Shed' stamp set that was just perfect both for the challenge and to use up the bits and pieces on my desk:

I simply stamped the image, coloured with my blends, and added some linen thread to finish. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TROPICAL OASIS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (£10.25)	TROPICAL OASIS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	COASTAL WEAVE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	WORD WISHES DIES (EN) (£33.00)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	GARDEN SHED CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)

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

I struggled a little with this week's sketch - so many possibilities I was spolied for choice! In the end, I went super simple. I love the rich colours of the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink this week and they reminded me of one of the patterns in the Perennial Essence DSP pack, so that's where I ended up - take a look:

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

I mounted a piece of Perennial Essence paper onto a white mat and Pretty Peacock base, and framed it with a double-stitched rectangle frame before adding my sentiment banner. I heat embossed my sentiment, from the 'To A Wild Rose' stamp set, in gold onto the front of my card and finished with 'to call you my friend' inside my card. I added a few gold glittery enamel dots and my card was complete - I didn't want to do anything else to detract from that beautiful paper! I actually made two of these cards, and with the scrap of paper I had left over I made a third card that I added a gold foil Heirloom embossed frame to but no sentiment, but thought I would share with you as I still think it's rather a lovely goodbye to these two products:

I'm calling this one my 'Faux Monet' - up close you can see the canvas-effect detail of the paper and it's gorgeous.

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 hoping for warmer temperatures and much less wind today, as I have some flowers to plant out in the garden. Yesterday was so windy it was impossible to do anything constructive outside, especially with my overgrown lockdown hair blowing into my eyes! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TO A WILD ROSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£24.00)	PERENNIAL ESSENCE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£8.60)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
TRIPLE BANNER PUNCH (£22.00)	EMBOSSING BUDDY (£5.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	GOLD STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made with my ladies online this week to demonstrate how you can get more mileage from your dies by using them to emboss too. My card also features the colours over at Global Design Project this week:

My online class next week features the Jubilee Beauty Dies and Birthday Jubilee stamp set and they were the perfect bundle to demonstrate this technique - take a look:

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

In order to emboss with your dies, you need to use a different sandwich in your die cutting machine. I actually created two versions of the same card during my demonstration: one using the (now retired) Stampin' Up! Embossing Mats that were specifically designed for this purpose:

The other using a silicone mat in place of the thin blue rubber embossing mat - this is a great alternative and still available to purchase:

You get a slightly deeper impression using a silicone mat - if you look at the photo below, you can see the difference with the card on the left being with the embossing mat and the one on the right with the added tassle being with the silicone mat:

So which one do you prefer? One leaves a deeper impression than the other - do you have a preference? 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 JUBILEE CLING STAMP SET (£16.00)	JUBILEE BEAUTY DIES (£16.80)	BEST DRESSED TASSELS (£7.50)	SILICONE CRAFT SHEET (£5.50)	PRETTY PEACOCK 1/2\" (1.3 CM) SCALLOPED LINEN RIBBON (£7.50)
PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£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 colour challenge:

We are saying goodbye to a couple of in-colours  this week, however I used the current sketch layout over at The Paper Craft Crew (welcome back Pam and the team!) and having had my preorder unboxing with some of my excited customers this week I was inspired to crack open the contents and pair these colours with some new goodies - take a look:

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

Jar Of Flowers - First new item on today's card: the Jar of Flowers Bundle. Well, technically that's two items, as the bundle contains both a stamp set and a jar punch; yes, you heard correctly - a jar punch!! The stamps in the set include a flower collection for each season of the year and today I chose to feature the sunflowers on my card; this might well be meant for autumn, but the colours give my card a distinctly summery feel so that's what I'm going with. I stamped and punched my jar twice, the second time on vellum to give the opaque look of glass and fussy cut my flowers to allow them to pop against the yellow background:

Lovely Labels Pick A Punch - The second new and exciting item on my card is the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch that I used to make my Lovely Lipstick sentiment label. This punch is a winner - it cuts 6 different sizes and shapes of labels, but the layering combinations go way beyond this. I predict this punch will be as much of a staple as the Scallop Tag Topper or Triple Banner Punches - super useful.

Ornate Thanks - I paired my card with the 'Ornate Thanks' stamp set from the Ornate Garden Suite, also a stamp set that is new to the annual catalogue but already available to customers to order early this month. I finished the heat-embossed sentiment on the front of my card with a big bold thank you inside:

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. 

If you like my card, do check out the other Design Team members cards over on the challenge page - you will notice something of a distinct theme that stretches beyond our colour palette this week! Likewise, if you are not already a customer of mine but would like to receive a copy of the new annual 2020-21 Stampin' Up! catalogue when it launches on 3rd June, do click here to email me and request a copy.

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 colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome. 

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ORNATE THANKS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£17.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	LOVELY LIPSTICK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALL ME CLOVER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALL ME CLOVER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	EMBOSSING BUDDY (£5.50)
VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	STAMPIN' BLENDS DAFFODIL DELIGHT COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS LOVELY LIPSTICK COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS CALL ME CLOVER COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS SOFT SUEDE COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by the current Fusion Challenge that also meets the watercolour brief over at TGIF Challenges this week:

I went all-in with the Fusion sketch and photo inspiration and even created a watercolour background for my piece of Delightfully Detailed laser-cut paper -  take a look:

I generally avoid watercolour backgrounds like this as they always seem to end up a sludgy mess, but I was quite pleased to have created this one on my second attempt. I paired it with a sentiment from the 'Strong and Beautiful' stamp set which works for the Fusion theme of 'You are Enough' and split the sentiment into two parts, heat embossing the first part in white on the front of my card. This is the only thing I wish I'd done differently, as it's quite difficult to see on the photo against the pale pink background. This photo shows it a little clearer: 

I added a sprinkling of sequins and then finished my sentiment inside my card, adding another offcut of lasercut paper:

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 have the last of CE exams part one today with History first thing, followed by an online unboxing of my pre-order with my online class ladies late morning - I'm not sure who is looking forward to that more, them or me! I then have a rather boring afternoon of housework lined up - I can put it off no more! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STRONG & BEAUTIFUL CLING STAMP SET (£23.00)	DELIGHTFULLY DETAILED LASER-CUT SPECIALTY PAPER (£5.20)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (£8.25)
BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£3.50)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£3.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' INK REFILL (£3.50)	WOVEN THREADS SEQUIN ASSORTMENT (£4.75)	EMBOSSING BUDDY (£5.50)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)