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 my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I decided to use Claire's layout today to create a fancy fold card, specifically a star explosion pop up card featuring the Frames & Flowers specialty designer series paper. My finished card measures 5" x 7" and when closed, it follows Claire's layout and looks rather inconspicuous:

The central wreath is on a belly band that when removed, allows the card to open and the fancy fold element is revealed: 

 The outside panels are layered on Soft Sea Foam, and the inside panels layered with Petal Pink and Pretty Peacock. The inside scored layer lays flat when the card is folded closed, then when opened the central panel pops up and stands away from the card adding a little extra dimension and detail. 

The Frames & Flowers papers are really pretty and this is a new kind of paper pack that contains three sheets of double-sided paper and three sheets of pre-cut die cut pieces. I used a couple of the flowers to decorate and one of the foliage squares for the centrepiece of my card, along with a sentiment from the 'Something Fancy' stamp set:

The wreath that decorates the belly band is another of the diecut pieces, to which I added a bow using some retired Lost Lagoon velvet ribbon finished with a faceted gem and a few Petal Pink gems. The diecuts make for great quick and easy cards, or equally take all the hard work out of decorating, leaving more time to create a fancy base, as I've done here. 

I'm linking today's card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where they are asking us to use multiple patterns - I've definitely used a selection today!

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 hoping the rain stays away long enough to get out into the garden today, however the forecast doesn't look good and since it's a long Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, I guess I shouldn't be surprised! I'll be back with another project using these papers this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SOMETHING FANCY CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
FACETED GEMS TRIO PACK (7.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jane has a theme challenge for us:

It's that time of year when lots of people are getting married so Jane's choice of theme is a timely one. I decided to use one of my new stamp set and stencil sets to revisit an 'oldie but goodie' technique for my wedding card - take a look:

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

Layers of Beauty - The stamp set I featured on today's card is called 'Layers of Beauty' and comes with a set of co-ordinating dies and layering stencils and I think it's going to be a new favourite! The main stamp is a large floral arrangement of roses and can be used in so many ways. I stamped it in black onto my Basic White card base and left it uncoloured, then stamped it again on another sheet of cardstock to create my spotlight. 

Stencilled Spotlight - With my second image, I used my stencils to colour the flowers in Real Red and the leaves in Garden Green. The stencils are amazing - with only 2 colours, it's possible to create flowers that are full of depth. I chose these colours from the Color Dare challenge because red roses are the language of love and romance and whilst I wouldn't normally go so bold on a wedding card, I think it suits a demonstration of this technique. Once coloured using my inks and blending brushes, I used a Stylish Shapes Circle Dies to cut out a circle, then carefully pieced it onto my black and white design, using dimensionals for a little lift:

I was reminded of the spotlight technique with Inkspirational's current challenge; I haven't made a card using it in ages so it was a fun one to revisit.

Sentiment Creativity - I didn't have any current sentiments for a wedding card, so I went on a rummage through my retired stash to see what I could find. Interestingly I couldn't find anything that said 'wedding' specifically, although I'm sure I must have some somewhere. There were lots of congratulations and celebrate sentiments though and in the end I settled with a combination of 'celebrate together' from the retired 'Create With Friends' stamp set. I trio of white sequins complete my card.

I really love this set and can't wait to use it more. I'm also linking today's card up over at Just Us Girls where it's 'anything goes stencil week'; so happy to have added this one to my collection!

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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LAYERS OF BEAUTY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	LAYERS OF BEAUTY DECORATIVE MASKS (13.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (14.00)	ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS TRIO (7.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by the current challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

There were so many great starting points on that inspiration board; I took my jumping off point as that image that features bottom right - take a look:

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

I liked the idea of taking a scene and overlaying it with some 'words of wisdom', so I took another of the designs in my Thoughtful Journey paper pack and picked out two of the colours in the paper to build a sentiment using 6 separate sentiments in the 'Unbounded Love' stamp set. This stamp set has so many different possibilities with sentiments that work for lots of specific occasions and also for 'just because' cards too. I chose a scene with some open space in it to accommodate my sentiment, and overlapped the words in each pair slightly - you can see that more closely below:

The sentiment stamps are photopolymer so they are so easy to line up and stamp - no platform required. I added a simple stem of diecut foliage using the Thoughtful Wishes Dies, tied with frayed ribbon, for decoration and a couple of Boho Blue enamel dots to complete my card. Once again, I was reluctant to crop my sheet of designer paper too much, so chose a u-shaped card that enabled me to extend the design further to the outer edges too, whilst still enabling it to concertina fold flat and fit a standard C6 size envelope. The card stands up on its own perfectly and I added a decorated panel to the reverse to write my message:

I really like the finished effect of this card; there are a few other patterns in the Thoughtful Journey paper pack that lend themselves to a larger/feature sentiment, so I might recreate with those 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 evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

UNBOUNDED LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PETUNIA POP CLASSIC STAMPIN PAD (8.50)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PETUNIA POP A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches.This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Patricia has asked that we add a panel with 3 banners behind. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to do another showcase of one of the beautiful designs in the Thoughtful Journey paper pack on that panel - take a look:

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

I used one of the Nested Essentials Dies to cut out my scenic panel and decided to highlight three of the colours in the sky and use those for my horizontal strips. I heat-embossed my sentiment onto each in white and used words from the 'Unbounded Love' stamp set that worked well together. How gorgeous are these papers? 

A trio of co-ordinating pearls complete my card front, with a corresponding sentiment added to the inside of my card:

What do you think? This is a great design that is quick to make and really does showcase the pretty papers.

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! 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.

Finally, a quick reminder that all orders placed today over £60 are eligible for free shipping - so a great time to stock up on your new annual catalogue favourites.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

UNBOUNDED LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	ADHESIVE-BACKED PEARL TRIO (7.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PETUNIA POP A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

STOP PRESS for an important announcement: For 24 hours only, starting at 11pm UK time this evening, Stampin' Up! are offering FREE shipping on orders of £60 or more.

The key information is as follows:

• Free shipping applies after the qualifying order amount has been met.
• The minimum qualifying amount to receive free shipping is £60 or more.
• Free shipping only applies during the 24-hour period the promotion is live in each market; this means that the order must be opened and closed between 20 May 2024, at 11p.m. and 21 May 2024, at 10:59 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on new annual catalogue items that are on your wishlist, to pick up one of our all-inclusive papercrafting kits or to treat yourself to a bargain from the clearance rack. So start making those lists and head off to my online Stampin' Up! store to place your order. Remember to add the current hostess code 3NR3FB9W to receive an extra thank you in the post from me.

Happy shopping!

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 fun theme for this week's Clean and Simple challenge:

You know how I can't resist a sketch by the lovely Cecile over at Freshly Made Sketches, so since this is her week I had to grab her layout and use it for the basis of my clean and simple punny birthday card using a new stamp that I also couldn't resist that is perfect to celebrate all things birthday over at AAA Cards too - take a look:

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

HapPea Birthday - what punny fun is that?! The 'Sweet Peas' stamp set is found in the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue and is choc-full of cute images and punny sentiments for lots of occasions. For today's card I chose the birthday peas, bursting out of their pod and stamped it onto a panel cut with an (elongated) Nested Essentials Die and coloured with three of the new In Colour Stampin' Blends: Shy Shamrock, Peach Pie and Petunia Pop (and a little Shaded Spruce and retired Call Me Clover for good measure). I could have finished there, but decided to create a loose 'frame' behind my panel using one of the long pea shoot stems in the set, adding just a little outline colour and fussy cutting them to allow for some overlap and lift for interest:

Don't you just love those grinning peas?! I added another pea along with a 'let's celebrate' sentiment from the (retired) 'Simply Fabulous stamp set to the inside of my card and repeated this on the envelope flap for a little co-ordinated decoration. Shy Shamrock is such a fresh and vibrant green - I know I'm going to use it a lot. Do you love these new in-colours too? Remember in May you can receive a fabulous bundle of new in-colour products for free when you sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - you can find the details on this amazing offer here. This stamp set makes me hap-pea (pun intended!) and I just love this clean and simple birthday card. I have lots of birthdays in May and June, and this card will be headed to a dear friend who will I know appreciate the 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. 

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 don't have anything special planned today, so will be hoping for fine weather and some time in the garden. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET PEAS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
SHY SHAMROCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PETUNIA POP STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PEACH PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

Happy Monday everyone - welcome to a new week! As promised last week, I have another card showcasing the beautiful Thoughtful Journey papers, this time using Jen B's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I did tweak Jen's layout slightly, making it into a square card because I just couldn't bear to not use the whole of my sheet of designer paper - take a look to see one of the designs in all its uncut glory:

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

I split my paper into two pieces, cutting down the front of my card to house the larger portion then adding the narrower piece to the card base so that it is also visible when opened. I added a simple sentiment from 'Thoughtful Wishes' to the front of my card, anchored by a shiny pearl:

When the card is open, you can see both the edge of the scene and the insert, which I also decorated with one of the florals in the 'Thoughtful Wishes' set:

This card was so simple and easy to create - the Thoughtful Journey designer paper really does do all the hard work.

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; I am starting my week with lots more household jobs to tick off my list. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

THOUGHTFUL WISHES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

ADHESIVE-BACKED PEARL TRIO (7.00)

MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (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 Ann to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

I originally made the card that I shared yesterday with today's challenge in mind, but decided that the designer paper added too much in the way of additional colours, so I made another card and decided to create something really clean and simple that would allow Ann's colour choices to shine - take a look:

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

A simple cluster of diecut lavender and foliage in each of the challenge colours, with an additional stem in Gorgeous Grape for my extra colour. I used a neat technique that I'd seen another demonstrator, Michelle Last, use on a card, where she cut a couple of lines either either side of a stamped sentiment (mine is from the retired set 'Perennial Postage') and the posy of flowers is tucked in between the slits:

A trio of Fresh Freesia enamel dots complete my card. I used the sentiment on today's card as I thought it would be perfect for Mother's Day (a shoutout to all my overseas friends celebrating today), or in fact to celebrate Mums on any day. We've already celebrated Mother's Day here in the UK this year, but this card is perfect to send to my Mum at any time, to remind her low much she is appreciated. I'm playing along with a few additional challenges too: I'm linking my card up over at CAS on Friday and at Addicted To CAS where the theme is 'flower(s)' and over at SUO Challenges where the team are celebrating Mums.

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 will be making the most of the sunshine and enjoying our second BBQ of the year before the rain returns later in the week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

Today I've a quick post as I'm off to watch the Eurovision song contest! I'm sharing a card using this week's layout over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

Those balloons reminded me of a posy of Painted Lavender stems, so that's what I created as the focal point on my card - take a look:

I added some strips of Perennial Lavender designer series paper (I'm so pleased this has carried over and is still available) and some Lost Lagoon linen ribbon to my card, box pleating one of my strips for added interest. I tied my posy with a linen thread bow and added a tiny tag for my sentiment:

A trio of purple sparkly gems complete my card. 

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 - I'm off to see if the UK can manage a winning entry this year! I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PERENNIAL LAVENDER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jan has a recipe challenge for us:

I don't know why, but I really struggled with our challenge this week. I think it's new catalogue syndrome - you know, when you have a ton of retired product and not much new but you want to make the new stuff work? In the end, I decided to go with a still-current-but-not-new favourite and chose to make a happy and sunny hello card that very much reflects the lovely warm weather we are having here in the UK this week - take a look:

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

Busy Bees - I decided to choose yellow as my 'other colour' in addition to black and white, and using the current Sketch Saturday layout, I positioned a pair of busy bees amongst some honeycomb elements. I stamped the details using the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set in black onto both white and yellow cardstock, then punched out using my Bee Builder Punch and I also used another of the stamps in this set to add some stamped honeycomb to my white card base too. So that ticked off black, white and one other colour - check.

Hello, Hello - I decided to use a large 'hello' for my focal sentiment, so embossed and diecut it from the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder and die set. I inked the edge of the word in yellow before embossing and created an ombre effect by colouring with my Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends. This is a great way to get a little variation in colour without actually using a different colour, just making the use of both shades in the Blends pair:

My sentiment ticked off my last two recipe elements: embossing folder and diecut - check.

Finishing Touches - I added a couple of hexagons that I embossed with the (retired) Hive 3D Embossing Folder, showing both the embossed and debossed sides for added texture and interest and a sprinkling of diecut flowers and hexagon-shaped enamel shapes from my stash to complete my card. 

I really love the finished result and I already know who I'm going to send it to - hope she likes it 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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	BEE BUILDER PUNCH (23.00)	THOUGHTFUL MOMENTS HYBRID EMBOSSING FOLDER (ENGLISH) (36.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)