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 us to work with:

This was something of a challenge for me this week as I don't have any stamp sets that feature space images. I do have the fabulous space-inspired Stargazing designer series paper though so this is where I started for my card. I grabbed Karren's Freshly Made Sketches layout and set to work - take a look:

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

I fussy cut one of the large ringed planets from one of the planet-covered designs (if you have the Reach For The Stars Dies they actually fit the paper but it was easy enough to do by hand) and popped this up on dimensionals on a base that featured one of the other space designs. I added a sentiment from the retired stamp set 'Stepping Stones' that I heat embossed in silver:

A sprinkling of rhinestone jewels to highlight some of the stars complete my card. This turned out to be rather simple in the end - the Stargazing paper really did do the heavy lifting. 

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 off to visit Rebecca at university today with a few home-cooked treats in hand and the promise of lunch out. She is perfectly able to look after herself but I think some home comforts will be appreciated! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STARGAZING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

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

The weather here has become much more autumnal this week, so I found myself feeling inspired by the beautiful autumn wreath that is bottom left of the Hand Stamped Sentiments inspiration photo and decided to recreate it with the Color Dare colours above (I used my closest colours for all 6) for a pretty autumnal card - take a look:

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

I chose a striped pattern from the Countryside Inn designer series paper pack to accentuate the lines of the horizontal panels of the sketch as my starting point, then added my leafy wreath that I diecut using the Country Wreath Dies, with some pumpkins in Smoky Slate and Very Vanilla added from the retired Seasonal Swirls die set:

A fussy cut sentiment from 'Season of Chic', a linen thread bow and a trio of speckled dots complete my card. I had a few leftover bits and pieces so used them to add a little additional decoration to the inside of my card:

I love the softness of the Very Vanilla with the mix of browns and I think they compliment the blues nicely 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 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'm planning on spending my day baking an gardening in equal measure! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (37.00)	COUNTRYSIDE INN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	SEASON OF CHIC PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (26.00)	BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
PECAN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	ADHESIVE-BACKED SPECKLED DOTS (7.50)

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 an interesting colour challenge for us to work with:

I paired Jaydee's colours with the sketch at Hand Stamped Sentiments and since I had a little more time this week decided I would have a little play with some new product - take a look:

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

Exposed Brick Texture - First up is a new-to-me product, the Exposed Brick 3D embossing folder that I used to emboss not only a piece of Pebble Path-coloured designer paper from the Fresh As A Daisy pack, but also the solid coloured trio of panels that sit on top of the base. I don't use a lot of embossing as a rule, but isn't that texture just something? It is great for adding detail to backgrounds and I really love the effect.

Abundant Beauty Sunflowers - It will be no surprise to my regular readers that the Abundant Beauty masks were one of the first things onto my pre-order shopping list - I do love a good stencil! This is a great pack with a herringbone design, autumn and snowflake panels and a layering stencil that includes a trio of sunflowers. These are the stencils I used today - I used my blending brushes to apply colour to my flower trio - I used Crushed Curry as my additional colour to 'brighten' my sunflowers and allow for more graduated colour - and some additional leaves, then fussy cut them out and pieced them onto my frame/panel background. Check out the texture and detailing on the close up below:

Charming Sentiments - To finish I added a simple sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' set and diecut it with the coordinating die. I love that this stamp set has such a great variety of phrases for each and every occasion, and they can be diecut perfectly with no need to fussy cut - bonus!

I'll be honest I did find Jaydee's colour palette a challenge this week and I wasn't sure about this card once finished but having let it sit a while, I've decided it looks just fine, even if those leaves are a slightly unorthodox choice! What do you think? How would you use these colours? What do you have to be grateful for today? 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 still in the grips of the late summer heatwave we've been experiencing here in the UK this week, so as much as I'd love to type more posts and share more things with you, my craft room is a veritable sauna, so I am spending as little time in it as possible - the garden and BBQ beckons! I'll be back later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ABUNDANT BEAUTY DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	PEBBLED PATH A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	WILD WHEAT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	WILD WHEAT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	FRESH AS A DAISY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	2023–2025 IN COLOR™ DOTS (7.50)	COPPER CLAY 3/8" (1 CM) TEXTURED RIBBON (7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	EXPOSED BRICK 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)

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 a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

I feel like I need to start today's post with a confession! I am hosting this week - and for a variety of reasons I have been super busy with family commitments and not had a moment to craft all week! So when it came to making my card with limited time to spare, I remembered I had the cutest family of four-legged friends that would enable me to make a super-quick card - take a look:

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

Yes - the Beary Christmas Memories & More Cards to the rescue! For this week's card, I used not only one of the printed cards but also a pre-printed card base with co-ordinating envelope; all I needed was to add a little ribbon loop detail and pop the card up on dimensionals and I was done. By using the pre-printed bases, this card was even quicker to pull together than last week. And isn't this cute family of polar bears just the cutest?

The Memories & More cards are perfect for crafting when time is of the essence - and this set of four legged friends is just adorable! They are making me sleepy just looking at them - so contented.

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

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 us to work with:

I thought that the main panel on LeAnne's sketch was crying out to frame something, so decided to create a quick and easy Christmas card using the panel with an aperture to frame a Memories & More card from the Beary Christmas set in the upcoming mini catalogue. - take a look:

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

The new Beary Christmas Memories & More cards feature polar bears, trees, presents and patterns and are just great for quick and easy Christmas cards. I added a small one featuring a large sentiment and trimmed slightly to a Balmy Blue card base, then taking a smaller panel of Balmy Blue, cut a square aperture using the Stylish Shapes Dies then ran the whole panel through my diecutting machine with my (retired) Wintry 3D embossing folder - check out the lovely embossed effect in more detail on the close up below:

I added a Real Red ribbon and bow to complete my card. So simple, yet the embossing adds a really pretty detail. I'm linking today's card up over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where they are asking us to make Christmas cards that feature an embossing folder 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 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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

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 clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I love clean and simple week! With the theme of 'insects' I was tempted to make another bee card this week, but instead decided to make a card showcasing one of the prettiest embellishments in the current catalogue - take a look:

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

Brass butterflies - did you spot them? I stamped a simple spray of flowers and thank you sentiment from the 'Dainty Delight' stamp set, coloured my flowers with a variety of Blends (I've shared those that are still current below) and added a trio of brass butterflies for my insect embellishment:

These butterfly embellishments are small but pack a punch - when the catch the light they are so pretty! A super simple card today - #simplestamping at its best!

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. 

I'm also linking up today's card over at Color Dare; I went across the bottom row paprika/shortbread/mocha and also used honey yellow too.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DAINTY DELIGHT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

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 warm colour challenge for us to work with:

I love these warm colours together! I paired them with Jen T's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and grabbed one of my new sets to create a pretty birthday card - take a look:

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

Textured Floral - You know when you think you have enough floral sets and you couldn't possibly need another one? Yep, that was so not me when we had the recent stamp sale! I picked up the Textured Floral stamp set and couldn't wait to create something with it. The texture on these stamps adds so much detail and whether you use in conjunction with the co-ordinating dies and layer or use the stamps along to create more of a collage feel, this is a stamp set with lots of possibilities. It's a great set for a beginner stamper too - you really can't go wrong with it! I stamped a mirrored collection of florals in opposing corners and added some additional Calypso Coral ink with a blending brush to achieve even greater warmth and colour.

A Straightforward Sketch? - I love Jen's sketch this week and it was perfect for me to experiment with my corner florals. When it came to that sentiment though, I dithered for ages! I did consider a simple horizontal sentiment stamped directly onto my floral panel (a more literal interpretation of the FMS layout), but my sentiment was overpowered by the bold florals. I ended up trying diecut sentiments in various shapes/colours, eventually settling on a white-on-black sentiment cut with one of my circular Stylish Shapes Dies. I added a twist of gingham ribbon behind it for a little extra detail:

I like this version better and I think with these bold colours the addition of black as a neutral works well. 

Finishing Touches - Finally you can see a hint of the decoration I added to the front of the envelope; I carried the design to the inside of the card too. No naked envelopes or insides here! I have lots of September birthdays to prepare for, so this one will be heading into my stash. I am looking forward to having more opportunities to play with this set!

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 have nothing on, so will just be enjoying the peace and quiet! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (6.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)

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

It is more like winter here in the UK at the moment, with rain and chilly winds and generally quite miserable weather-wise, so it was great to see the warm summer colours and images on the badge for Claire's theme this week - so there will be summer vibes inside, even if not outside! My card today features a staple of summer - ice cream, although I can eat it all year round, to be honest! My summer ice-creams were inspired by the cones in the Inspired By photo this week - mine are not in an upturned tower though, instead they are filled with colourful ice cream - take a look:

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

With no current stamp sets featuring ice cream, I had to get creative! These fun ice cream cones were fussy cut from the Les Shoppes designer series paper, curved with my bone folder then layered onto my Very Vanilla cardbase. I paired them with a stamped sentiment from the 'Sweetest Cherries' stamp set, stamped in Calypso Coral and Balmy Blue with the 'sweet' fussy cut and positioned across the cones:

I added a sprinkling of sequins for a little extra summer sparkle to complete my card, which I'm also linking up over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog where the current challenge is 'I is for ice cream'.

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'll be sheltering from the stormy weather so I'll be inside keeping warm - I see a day of crafting, cooking, jigsaws and movies ahead! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEETEST CHERRIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)

LES SHOPPES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

PASTEL ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.50)

VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

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 as it's the fifth Sunday of the month she has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with:

I had chosen a collection of products that would enable me to meet a number of the boxes on Jaydee's grid; by the time I'd finished my card I actually covered the whole of the grid with the exception of 'masculine'! Atlantic Hearts have a great slimline sketch this week so I combined it with this week's Color Throwdown colours and decided to make a special birthday card - take a look:

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

I have been spending time experimenting with the various combinations of pieces in the Paper Florist Dies recently so I decided I would put my time to good use and create a cascade of using the 'Best Family Ever' stamp set.  flowers in my favourite new Bubble Bath and Lemon Lolly colours, with bright green leaves, clustered around a central sentiment label, onto which I heat embossed a customised sentiment:

This stamp set is perfect to create all kinds of special sentiments; the set doesn't actually include the word 'NANNA', so I created it by combining letters from other names in the set. I also added some stencilling to the card base using a retired decorative mask and some Azure Afternoon ink, blending out from the centre and fading into the white of the base. Stencilling is a great way to add extra detail to the background, without distracting from the detail of the flowers themselves. I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational where they are asking us to use stencils this week too. A couple of loops of Bubble Bath ribbon and a trio of pink pearls complete my card. This card is for the James Juniors to send to their Nanna for her birthday; it's still a few months away, but hey it can't hurt to be organised!

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'm off to Nottingham for more hockey today, so cross your fingers for a fine day! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BEST FAMILY EVER PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	3/8" (1 CM) SHEER RIBBON COMBO PACK (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
BUBBLE BATH A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	AZURE AFTERNOON A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	PARAKEET PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)

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 us to work with:

The eagle-eyed amongst you might recognise this layout - I actually based it on the Berry Burst card that features the Cheerful Daisies bundle on the front page of the Stampin' up! catalogue. I love layers, so this card layout was right up my street. No Cheerful Daisies today though - instead I'm featuring the Gorgeously Made bundle. Take a look:

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

I used a Night of Navy base, with a tone-on-tone embossed layer featuring the hatch design that is one of the online exclusive embossing folders. Then I added a bright, floral piece of Masterfully Made designer series paper, that I had cut top and bottom using the edge dies in the Gorgeously Made bundle - how beautiful is this paper?! I added a vellum circle to allow the paper to show through, before diecutting two pieces of foliage that highlight two of the colours in the designer paper and adding a sentiment from the bundle using the label die:

I added a (retired) flower embellishment and a couple of sparkly enamel dots to complete my card. I just love the bright colours on this card; I kind of wish I had cut the label shorter and left off the flower embellishment, but hey ho - next time!

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 returned from a two-week vacation yesterday so I am feeling rested, relaxed - and ready to hit the hockey pitch today! I am driving the eldest of the James Juniors to Nottingham today for an umpiring training day, so am hoping at least that it will be dry, if not as warm and sunny as I've been used to! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

GORGEOUSLY MADE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (47.50)	MASTERFULLY MADE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	TINSEL GEMS THREE-PACK (7.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)