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

Back to school is still a few weeks away here in the UK, but I'm all for getting organised! Hopefully the Juniors will be returning to school properly; this is a big year for us, with one about to embark on GCSEs and the other moving schools for the start of year 9. So I have a couple of cards to share with you today, each made with them in mind. Here's the first one, that was inspired by the current sketch, colours and photo over at Sugar Pea Designs:

I used the sweet image of a young lady reading a book whilst sheltered under a tree from the annual catalogue hostess set, 'Summer Days', and coloured with my Blends in the likeness of Miss Rebecca, before cropping with my (retired) Circle Framelits and mounting on a Night Of Navy card base, with a Cherry Cobbler banner piece tied with some twine from my stash. The sentiment on the front of my card is from the 'Rooted In Nature' stamp set and I used another stamp from this set to complete the inside of my card:

My second card uses this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout from Jen B where I challenged myself to embrace the diagonal and got creative with my diecut sentiment - take a look:

I added a 'd' from the 'adventure' die and added it to the 'inspire' die in the Sweet Silhouettes set and combined with a 'be' from the Rooted In Nature set to create my sentiment and backed it with a black strip for a chalkboard effect, then anchored it with a stamped and punched red apple that I added a couple of clear epoxy dots too for a little shine:

And I finished off the inside with an inspirational quote from the 'Silhouette Scenes' stamp set: 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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; we have no special plans today and the weather is looking pretty poor, so I think it will be baking and board games for us! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SUMMER DAYS HOST CLING STAMP SET (£12.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STAMPIN' BLENDS NIGHT OF NAVY COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS CHERRY COBBLER COMBO PACK (£8.50)
SOFT SUEDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS BALMY BLUE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS GRANNY APPLE GREEN COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BRONZE & IVORY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN BLENDS SMOKY SLATE COMBO PACK (£8.50)

SWEET SILHOUETTES DIES (EN) (£33.00)	ROOTED IN NATURE CLING STAMP SET (EN) (£39.00)	APPLE BUILDER PUNCH (£17.00)	HARVEST HELLOS CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SUEDE CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Festive Friday where they are celebrating National Dog Day which i'm also linking up over at The Card Concept where they have a cute inspiration photo featuring a dog front and centre: 

I have been looking for an opportunity to break into the products in my Pampered Pets suite and this challenge gave me the perfect reason - take a look:

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

Pampered Pets - A collection featuring cute cats and dogs, the Pampered Pets Suite is perfect for cards for animal lovers. I decided to make a birthday card for a dog-mad friend of one of the James Juniors. She loved it! Today's card is definitely all about the layers - there are 11 in total!

Pets Dies - The dies in the suite not only cut out the images in the stamp set, but also fit some of the dogs on the DSP and since I was featuring several of the paper designs on my card today, I also die cut one of the cute dogs too. Check out another neat die trick - did you notice that the horizontal die piece that features pawprints? Don't throw away the inside pieces if you are going to use the negative space diecut - the 'paws' also make cute hearts when turned the other way up - I used mine in front of my dog. You're welcome ;-)

Suite Treats - The Pampered Pets Suite has a ton of cute elements that can be used to decorate your creations, including ribbon, twine and these cute heart and bone trinket embellishments, one of which I added to my dog's collar:

I know I only needed three items from the inspo list on my card today, but I couldn't resist going to town on this card: I included red, black, baker's twine, heart, paw print, dog, bone and embossing (heat-embossed sentiment). I think stripes and a love/loyalty sentiment are the only two things I didn't include!!

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:

PETS DIES (£21.00)	PLAYFUL PETS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	ITTY BITTY BIRTHDAYS CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)	PLAYFUL PETS TRINKETS (£8.00)	PLAYFUL PETS TRIM COMBO PACK (£7.00)
STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED 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:

Whilst sunflowers are by no means mandatory for this week's colour challenge, my card today was totally inspired by this week's challenge badge - take a look:

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

Not A Jar of Sunflowers - I used one one of the flower toppers featuring sunflowers from the Jar of Flowers set to create both a stemmed bunch and a layered group on today's card. For the layered bunch in the bottom window, I used my Stamparatus to stamp a mirror image, so that it would create a uniform display. I coloured them with my Blends (I used a combination of Dark Mango Melody and Dark Daffodil Delight to achieve a colour close to Crushed Curry) and fussy cut them, before popping them up on dimensionals. I tucked in some wooden stems and added a double-linen bow to my tied bunch for added decoration. 

Peek A Boo Florals - My florals and sentiment are nestled in the apertures cut using one of the new Peek A Boo dies; co-ordinating with the fabulous 'Have A Hoot' stamp set, I decided to use this window die piece to create a focal point for my florals and sentiment instead of owls today. I also embossed this panel with the Pinewood Planks 3D embossing folder for added texture, again inspired by our challenge photo.

Banner Year Greeting - Finally the greeting on my card comes from the new 'Banner Year' stamp set. This will be a super useful set with lots of teeny tiny images and sentiments for this time of year. Again, this set is designed to co-ordinate with the new Banners Pick A Punch punch, but I decided to mask it to enable me to stamp the words one under each other to fit my square. A Cajun Craze enamel heart from my stash finished 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. 

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. The temperatures are blissfully cooler in the UK today and this can only mean one thing - no excuse now to not do the cleaning! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PEEK-A-HOOT DIES (£32.00)	JAR OF FLOWERS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£21.00)	PINEWOOD PLANKS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)	BANNER YEAR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	STAMPIN' BLENDS BERMUDA BAY COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS CAJUN CRAZE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS MANGO MELODY COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card using the current Fab Friday sketch and this week's palette over at Color Throwdown:

I procrastinated over this sketch for some time - should I showcase some patterned paper? In the end my need for a new home card led me to create a great #SimpleStamping card using nothing more than stamps, ink and paper - take a look:

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

Life Is Beautiful - The tree and sentiment on today's card come from the new stamp set 'Life Is Beautiful', inspired by Million Sales Achiever LeeAnn Greff. This is a lovely set with the ability to dress the tree for all seasons. I chose to use the CTD fresh, summery colours along with the cute bird house and bird pair from the set for my card. 

Welcome Home -  I thought the bird house would make this a perfect set for a 'new home' card. I needed one for a dear friend of mine who has left her life in London where she has lived for some 20 years to return to Wales and the town where we grew up. I used a sentiment on the inside of my card from a retired set because 'welcome home' seemed appropriate:

#SimpleStamping - I decided not to use any framelits or diecuts on today's card as I wanted to give an example of #SimpleStamping with nothing more than stamps, ink and paper. I really love the result - sometimes less really is more! 

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:

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

A super late post today as I have been busy celebrating - as of today I am officially the mother of not one, but two, teenagers! Lots of present opening, special meals, ice cream cake and candles and no time for crafting, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Luckily I made a card last week using the inspiration photo and sketch over at Inspired By so thought I'd share that with you today. Here's the inspiration photo and sketch:

It just so happens that I used the same dies, the Friendly Silhouettes Dies, that I used for my last Inspired By entry - here's a different take:

Some simple diecuts ( I used the retired 'Celebrate You' celebrate die for my sentiment) brought my card together in a jiffy, with a little stamping using the 'Friend like You' stamp set on the inside to finish: 

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:

FRIENDLY SILHOUETTES DIES (£30.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLES DIES (£33.00)	FRIEND LIKE YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout:

I thought Kim's sketch this week was great with so many possibilities, especially for a patterned paper lover like me! I decided that I would try and be faithful to the diagonal stripes too so reached for my Playful Patterns pack and created a teen-inspired birthday card - take a look:

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

I used my Playful Alphabet Dies to create a 'text speak' birthday sentiment and layered them onto a stitched square, using the colours of the designer series paper to determine my colour choices. I then added some simple stamping to the inside of my card:

A few Playful Patterns resin dots complete my card. I liked this card so much, I made another one in a similar colourway using another strip of the same paper:

Here they are together - which colourway do you prefer?

I know this kind of text speak isn't to everyone's taste, but as I find myself making more and more birthday cards for teenagers, I know this will be a top choice when the children go rifling through by box looking for a last-minute 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. 

Another quick Monday post for me as I've been busy today preparing for a milestone birthday of one of the James Juniors tomorrow - more on that later in the week! Enjoy your envening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLAYING WITH PATTERNS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)	PLAYING WITH PATTERNS RESIN DOTS (£7.50)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PURPLE POSY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

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 colour challenge for you to work with:

I love a bright colour palette and my choices today were inspired by a one sheet wonder I made a little while ago. I loved the colours together so much I decided to see what you would make of my colour combination. For today's card I used the current Inspire.Create Challenge sketch for my layout and decided these colour would be perfect for a balloon-carrying hippo - take a look:

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

I used the 'Hippo Happiness' stamp set and co-ordinating Hippo & Friends Dies to stamp and cut out my cute hippo and balloons and mounted him on a stitched shaped panel that is also found in the Hippo & Friends die set. I mounted this on a stitched rectangle of Pool Party cardstock and added this to a Melon Mambo base, to which I'd added a Tasteful Textile embossed panel and strip of co-ordinating Brights DSP. I couldn't resist adding some co-ordinating decoration to the inside of my card along with the second part of my punny sentiment too:

The stamping for today's card was pretty straightforward, however I do have one top tip for you with regard to stamping the hippo: he is a two-step stamped image and I found it much easier to align the stamps if I stamped the uppermost stamp (i.e. the navy one on my card) first, with the full body (i.e. the one I stamped in Pool Party) second.

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 enjoyed spending the day with friends yesterday, basking in the glorious weather we have been enjoying here in the UK. Today we shall be spending time in the garden and enjoying another BBQ before the weather breaks later this week!  I'll be back later with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HIPPO HAPPINESS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLES DIES (£33.00)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	MELON MAMBO CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)
POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

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 is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went with the diagonal of primary colour (red or black), square and animal for today's card and paired some old papers with a fun new stamp set - take a look:

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

Today's card features the fun new stamp set 'Way To Goat'; I just love this set, I mean check out the expression on that goat's face - priceless! I stamped my goat and coloured him with Smoky Slate Blends, cut him out with a Stitched Square Framelit and paired him with some retired Broadway Birthday designer series paper. I couldn't stop there though - I had to add this cheeky soul to the inside too:

And I liked this card so much, I made a a few more for my box: 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WAY TO GOAT CLING STAMP SET (EN) (£18.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STAMPIN BLENDS SMOKY SLATE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

The wait is over but the day has finally arrived! The new Autumn-Winter Seasonal Catalogue is here - you can download an electronic copy by clicking on the image below:

Physical catalogues have gone out in the post to my existing customers and anyone else who requested a copy; there will of course be a permanent link to the catalogue in the box on the right side of my blog page until 3rd January 2021 when the sales period ends. I've already shared a few sneak peeks and there is so much more to come! For today, put your feet up and browse the new catalogue in all its glory.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or queries. Don't forget to use this month's current hostess code CVAQTGE2 if you are placing an order online to receive an extra thank you from me.

Remember too to add any Bonus Day codes that you earned last month - you have until 31st August to spend your £4.50 coupons. This is where you need to add them to your online order:

Alternatively, if you are placing your order with me by phone, please have them to hand so that I can take the details or forward me the email notification..

Back soon with more creative inspiration for you. Until then, happy browsing and get writing that wish list! 

Today I'm sharing a card - or 4! for this week's fun challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches: 

Yes the talented Linda Callaghan has left this week's sketch very much open to interpretation - as long as our cards are slimline; how fun! Slimline cards are very much on trend right now and whilst I've created a few horizontal ones recently, I haven't created any vertical ones. So I decided that's where I would start today and in fact, ended up creating 4 - take a look:

I decided to be brave and cut into this fabulous single sheet image from the new 'Trimming The Town' DSP pack that launches in the Autumn-Winter catalogue that launches tomorrow - here's the sheet I'm talking about:

And this is how I cut it:

This gave me 4 vertical slimline pieces and 3 additional pieces from the bottom section, that I will make up and share with you another day. I mounted each of my paper pieces on either Poppy Parade with a Misty Moonlight base, or Misty Moonlight with a Pool Party base. Here is each of the finished cards:

Card one:

Card two:

Card three: 

Card four:

These cards are completely 'no stamping' (on the front at least) - I snipped the sentiments from another of the sheets in this DSP pack, and mounted them on dimensionals as you can see on the photo below:

And that, as they say, is that! The hardest thing was committing to cutting into the sheet of patterned paper! Four cards for my Christmas card stash - how excited are you that the new Autumn-Winter catalogue is launching tomorrow? Only one more sleep to go!

I've had a super busy day so am just squeezing today's post in between last-minute Stampin' up! orders to earn Bonus Days coupons - today is your last day! - and cooking dinner and fixing a bicycle tyre puncture - oh the life I lead! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!