I have another quick post for you today with some extra cards that I managed to make in the last couple of days for a few challenges: the first is using a retired set that is perfect for the current challenge over at Retro Rubber where 'anything goes' this week, that uses the Freshly Made Sketches layout and uses red/blue/superheroes and appreciation sentiment from the Inspo List over at Festive Friday: 

I wanted a couple of quick cards to send to some nursing friends who are currently working really hard during the Corona virus pandemic in hospitals to let them know what an awesome job they are doing so inspired too by the lovely Jen Timko's take on her own FMS sketch this week I dug out my retired 'Everyday Hero' stamp set from 2017 which had just the sentiment I needed:

I went really clean and simple and stamped the cape onto a stitched oval and coloured it with my Blends before adding a star punched out of gold glimmer paper because, well, even a super hero needs some bling, right? And here's a picture showing both the outside of the card and how the sentiment resolves on the inside:

This card was actually quite a quick make so I am going to run a few more of these off - there are so many everyday heroes at the moment keeping the country both safe and moving, from doctors and nurses to supermarket staff and refuse collectors, that I thought it would be nice to have a pile on hand to give out whenever I came across one of mine.  

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference - the stamp set is retired but the other basic items are available:

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 Shapes Dies

Whisper White A4 Cardstock

Pacific Point A4 Cardstock

Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends

Gold Glimmer Paper

Another Monday, another week! I have two cards for you today, both using Jen's fabulous layout at Freshly Made Sketches. This first one also uses the colour palette over at Color Throwdown:

I loved Jen's sketch and decided to create a split panel, with the navy panels raised on yellow, and a wreath made using the Sweetly Swirled stamp set that has been sat on my shelf uninked for months and is now about to retire (don't you just hate it when that happens?!):

I stamped my wreath and some greenery directly onto a stitched circle, then fussy cut some additional stamped flowers and leaves and simply layered them on top. I heat embossed my sentiment in white onto my navy panel, which I split and popped up on a Daffodil Delight card base. 

This card is just my kind of card and whilst this is the first time this stamp set has seen ink, it is one I will be keeping in my collection, not least because I love the swirly font of the sentiments 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. 

Enjoy your day; it is looking considerable more grey here today in the UK and the weather outlook for the next 10 days is rain, rain and more rain. It hasn't started here yet so since the children are getting on with their distance learning, I'm spending the day outside to get on with my outside jobs whilst I still can; my blog posts are all prepped for the week so I can leave the crafting until it starts to rain! I'll be back shortly with another card that I made using Jen's sketch for some very special people. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sweetly Swirled Photopolymer Stamp Set	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Dies	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder

I have another quick post for you today with an extra card that I made yesterday for a couple of challenges using the colours over at InspireCreate and the sketch over at Fusion:

I used the designer series paper from the Peaceful Poppies Suite that features all of the challenge colours and stamped a sentiment on the cross strip from the Peaceful Moments stamp set and used a diecut poppy as my accent:

I added a little decoration to the inside and the envelope to finish things off:

This is a great colour combo - I have a couple of other projects that use it too from one of last month's classes that it occurs to me I haven't shared with you - hopefully I will get to these later this week.  

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Peaceful Moments Bundle (English)	Peaceful Poppies Designer Series Paper	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad	Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Old Olive A4 Cardstock	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock

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

I pondered Laurie's sketch this week and resisted the urge to go clean and simple and instead went for lots of layers and details. I'm on a mission to use up some of my designer series paper (well, I need to justify buying the new designs when the new catalogue arrives!) so decided I would make one the focus of my card - take a look:

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

Mosaic Mood - I received a free pack of Mosaic Mood paper at Onstage when the current catalogue was launched and I have to confess it wasn't a pattern that I was immediately drawn to. I didn't like the accompanying stamp set and left to my own devices I probably would not have purchased it at all. Truth is, this paper has surprised me - I have had lots of fun with it, cutting out the patterns and stripes and have made lots of projects with it. It was a good choice for my card today - I chose a background pattern and then a floral for the framed centre and decorated my frame with a fussy cut rose and leaves. Funny how things work out, right?

Heirloom Frames - I used one of the embossed Heirloom Frames to separate my two designs. The texture adds interest and detail to the layers on my card.

A Well Written Sentiment - The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring diecut sentiments on their projects for the current challenge and that was just what I needed for my sentiment still to have impact and be seen. I chose to use the 'birthday' from the Well Written Framelits - they are perfect paired with the 'Well Said' stamp set, both of which are carrying over into the new catalogue I am pleased to say - these are keepers!

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 spent the morning crafting yesterday so have lots to share with you this week! Yesterday turned into a glorious day of sunshine so we enjoyed time outside and an evening BBQ, with a welcome break from online lessons. Hopefully today will allow for more of the same! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Woven Heirlooms Bundle	Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series Paper	Well Written Dies	Well Said Cling Stamp Set	Soft Suede A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla 3/8" (1 Cm) Scalloped Lace Trim	Iridescent Sequin Assortment

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 also decided to inject a shot of bright colour with the CAS Colours and Sketches colour palette that I felt strangely drawn to this week for my speedily stamped card and pulled out an old favourite - take a look:

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

Top Speed Tip: Pick A Punch - So this is really my top mass-production tip, but the reason I would always use a punch rather than die-cutting machine when mass producing is really because it saves time. Punches make light work and the Daisy Punch is a case in point. I've used it today with the Daisy Lane stamp set and I can confirm that both of these items are carrying over to the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue in June; the other stamp that co-ordinates with the Daisy Punch, Daisy Delight, is not - so if you want to add this to your collection, do it now before it's gone forever. 

Always Be Prepared - Of course, if you want to create a card in under 10 minutes, the main thing is to be prepared! I had a clear idea of what I was going to create and made sure I had all of the items I needed to hand before I started the process. It's also worth keeping the design simple; this doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be one layer, but it shouldn't be overly complicated. I managed to achieve a number of different elements on my card in a short space of time: dry embossed background, heat embossed sentiment, stamped and punched flowers (x2) and a stamped and fussy cut fern, along with gemstone decoration. I was doing so well on time I decided to add a ring of rhinestones around my central clear faceted gem (I will miss these - they make such lovely daisy centres) - I just so happened to have a long strip from a retired rhinestone pack, so didn't need to place them individually which would have taken longer - I just adhered the strip in one motion. 

A Time Triumph - I am always pushing the time limit on a speed challenge, so imagine my surprise when I managed to finish this one in record time:

Yes, 7 minutes and 18 seconds, and that included stamping and punching a third daisy too, as I tore a petal off my first one as I curved the petals in haste with my bone folder! I was so pleased with myself I thought I would share a picture of my stopwatch!! How did I use my remaining minutes? Well, I took an aerial shot of my desk so that you can see the absolute chaos that creating in 7 minutes and 18 seconds takes:

Then I brushed the craft-a-math to one side to stamp a quick daisy on the inside panel too:

I really love this card - I think the bright blue background makes this bright daisy pop.

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 you put your creative thinking caps on, why not check out the blogs of the other As You See It team members:

Amy Jasper

Heather Cooper

Jan Clothier

Jane Knudsen

LeAnne Pugliese

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:

Pineapple Punch Classic Stampin' Pad	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock	Daisy Lane Cling Stamp Set	Daisy Punch	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder
Clear Faceted Gems	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad

Today I'm sharing a card using the current sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches:

I thought I'd tackling the tilted panel on this card and use up another piece of old patterned paper (non SU) that I found in my recent clear out that I thought would work with my Free As A Bird stamp set - take a look:

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

I did keep things simple for today's card. I paired my patterned paper with a Seaside Spray cardstock base and added an edging with some Seaside Spray ribbon, split lengthways, then added some linnen thread tied in a bow before placing my stamped panel on top. Again, I stamped my image in Seaside Spray onto Very Vanilla and added a little extra colour using my blender pen, but for the most part used the image 'as stamped'. A simple tone-on-tone sentiment onto my cardbase completes the look.

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. 

Today is officially the last day of the Easter holidays for the James Juniors and both are 'back to school', if only in the virtual sense, tomorrow. I chuckled when Ben's timetable arrived with the accompanying note to parents that went to great lengths to point out that we are 'distance learning' not 'home schooling' - if I'm not mistaken, there is more than a suggestion that the children should be getting on with it under their own steam. I'm not sure that Ben would even get to his desk for 9am under his own steam without the rush to join our daily commute, but I am encouraged that once I've managed to at least get him seated at his PC I might be able to crack on with some tasks of my own - maybe even a little crafting, so watch this space! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Free As A Bird Cling Stamp Set	Stitched Rectangle Dies	Seaside Spray A4 Cardstock	Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad	Seaside Spray 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Scalloped Linen Ribbon
Linen Thread	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock

Today I have an extra card for you in addition to my Paper Players Design Team card (you can see that card here) as I'm sharing a card I made yesterday afternoon for the current Global Design Project challenge where they are doing a 'CASE The Designer' with this pretty tulip card by Janneke de Jong:

I loved the layout on Janneke's card and wanted to use it as the basis for a CASE'd card - here's what I came up with:

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

A Lesson in CASE - There are a number of different definitions in the crafting world for the term 'CASE' and the one that the GDP team uses is 'Copy and Selectively Edit'. So if you look at my card, it has a number of similarities to Janneke's card: yellow and white are the dominant colours, I used the same sketch layout along with a single floral stem and no sentiment. There are a number of differences though too - things I have changed to make this card my own. 

A Yellow Flourish - The first of these is my choice of florals. I went full-on yellow with my card and used the single stemmed floral from the Flourish Dies for my floral. I cut it twice from Daffodil Delight cardstock and glued them together to make a stronger floral as I was using it as my uppermost layer. I used the co-ordinating stampset, Flourishing Phrases, to decorate the envelope and inside of my card too; there are lots of great sentiments in this set so when I've decided what I am going to use this card for, I will add one to the inside if needs be. Here's a quick photo of the inside:

Ornate Florals - I kept the central Stitched Nested Label as per Janneke's original card and the yellow sponging around the edge on the layer beneath - this was probably my favourite thing about this card, I love the effect - and I embossed the white label too. I chose to use the new Ornate Floral 3D embossing folder for my detail - those little flowers compliment any kind of floral I think. Here's a closeup of the detail showing the layering and texture:

 I love yellow, especially on cards and flowers - this is the kind of card that makes me happy! 

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

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. I'm also linking this card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where embossing is the theme - this time with dry embossing as my focus. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Flourish Dies	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Stitched Nested Labels Dies
Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Flourishing Phrases Cling-Mount Stamp Set

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

I decided to go back to one of my annual catalogue favourites, Modern Heart, for today's card - take a look:

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

A Touch of Sparkle - So with the emphasis on sparkle for today's card, I started with a base of Shimmery white. Difficult to see in the photos, the whole of the cardfront has a subtle sparkle which is so pretty in real life. I paired this with my modern heart, heat embossed in gold, that I decorated with a trio of gilded gems and a tiny geometrical heart fussy cut from gold glimmer paper. 

Clean and Simple - Whilst this week is all about sparkle, it's also 'clean and simple' week. So does today's card meet the guidelines? Minimal layers and embellishments - check. Plenty of open space, aka "white" space - check. Simple and uncluttered - check. Remember to follow this check list if you are going to play along this week!

Hearts of Blue - I decided to use blues for my card colour today; every other time I've used this set it has been with female cards in mind, so I thought it would be nice to create something with a more masculine feel. The unfussy nature of this card suits a more masculine card too - check out the detail on the heart itself:

I added a little fussy cut detail to the sentiment too for an additional pop of navy blue. I'm linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where they are featuring embossing - this time I'm going with heat embossing.

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 was wet and miserable here, so perfect for crafting; I'm hoping today will be brighter and therefore offer more chance to get outside, but either way I'm sure there will be fun to be had in one form or another! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Modern Heart Cling Stamp Set	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Gilded Gems	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder