Today I'm sharing a couple of extra Easter cards that I made for a few current challenges, using one of my favourite retired Easter sets, Easter Promise, using two different colouring techniques. The first one is for the current TicTacToe Challenge (I went across the middle row with pastel colours/CAS/flowers) and is my second entry over at Addicted to CAS where the code word is 'Bloom:

My first card is coloured with my Stampin' Blends - take a look:

 I coloured my crocus with my Stampin' Blends, sticking to pale purples with a tiny pop of orange for the stamen. I stamped and fussy cut the sentiment and added a trio of irridescent gems - don't you just love how they pick up the colour of whatever they're next to?  

My second card uses the colours over at Sunday Stamps and since it's another card featuring spring flowers, I'm sharing over at AAA Cards:

For this card I stamped the crocus image onto watercolour paper and used my inks and aqua painter, along with my watercolour pencils for highlights, to colour:

I used all of the colours on the Sunday Stamps palette (if you look closely there is the faintest wash of pink around my blooms which add a hint of Spring warmth) and diecut my finished image and added to a Lemon Lolly card base, with some coordinating enamel dots for a pop of added colour:

On this card I stamped my sentiment in brown and I think it suits the yellow tones much better. Both the insides and envelopes were stamped for a finishing touch of co-ordination. Both of these cards are off in the post already - the Easter weekend is almost upon us!

I hope you like my trip back down memory lane with one of my favourite retired Easter sets.

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

Today I've a quick post to share a clean and simple card that was inspired by the cute daisy in the photo over at Inspired By this week and the code word over at Addicted to CAS - Bloom: 

There's something about that smiley daisy that made me want to recreate it for a sunny notecard - this is what I came up with:

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

I chose a pale Lemon Lolly background inspired by the background cushion in the photo, then set about recreating my daisy using a petal from the Paper Florist Dies set and a flower centre using a circle from the Stylish Shapes Dies. My smiley face is courtesy of the (retired) 'Cute Fruit' stamp set and my sentiment is from the 'Sweetest Cherries' stamp set. I fussy cut the word 'sweet' and popped it up on dimensionals:

Super simple but so cute and I know just the person to send it to!

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:

PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

SWEETEST CHERRIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

Today I've a quick post to squeak in a card I made for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge with a great layout chosen by Narelle:

I loved the way DT member Amy used the Stitched With Whimsy Dies to frame the aperture on her card this week and it inspired me to use them in the same way, but as a 'trail' for my buzzy bee - take a look:

A well-chosen pattern from the Be My Valentine designer series papers and the perfectly-sized sentiment complete my simple 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 day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

STITCHED WITH WHIMSY DIES (27.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (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 LeAnne to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

You don't have to stick with the squares on LeAnne's sketch, but they worked for my card so I kept them. I wanted to play along with the Birds of a Feather challenge over at Just Us Girls, so I grabbed my Stampin' Blends (I went down the first column of Color Dare's TicTacToe board) and Bird's Eye view stamp set and this is what I came up with:

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

I stamped three of the birds, adding spectacles to the first one (this is my favourite bird in the set!) onto some squares cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies and placed them around the fourth square, onto which I added a diecut sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set, anchored with a Crushed Curry enamel dot:

I used a Sweet Thoughts Memories & More card for my base; the Pretty Peacock pattern complimented the colours of my birds and I added a contrasting Calypso Coral envelope to finish.

This was an easy card to pull together and the colours make for a trio of colourful feathered friends. The 'Bird's Eye View' stamp set is great if you are new to colouring: the small images are just large enough to practice your skills without any complicated details.

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 had a new bird box and camera for Mother's Day a couple of weeks ago and today is the day we are switching over. My oldest bird box has seen better days and since the blue tits have not yet moved in, I need to get the new box in place ready for them hopefully to pay a visit! My new camera is full colour and is solar-powered, so I'm very excited! It can take stills and video and there's an app to use it with my mobile phone, so if there's any activity I'll be sure to share in a future blog post. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BIRD’S EYE VIEW PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (19.00)	SWEET THOUGHTS MEMORIES & MORE CARDS & ENVELOPES (9.50)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

Today I've a quick post sharing a card for a couple of challenges:

The team over at the Flower Challenge want us to make a square card and I used the colours over at Colour Inkspiration for a bright and modern graphic floral design using a dieset that I've had for a while that hasn't been out of the packet yet - take a look:

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

Petal Patterns - The Petal Patterns Dies are so clever and their shape makes the perfect for square cards. There are 2 dies in the pack; I added a third green layer for the leaves, rotating the solid die through 90 degrees and cutting one extra row to extend the pattern behind the flowers. You can use them as they are, paper-piece them or add sequins or enamel dots as I have for flower centres - lots of options. You can also use just a part of the die; I was experimenting with layering of the colours and added a small section with a trio of flowers to the reverse of my envelope too.

Pink and Purple - I'll be honest, Moody Mauve is not one of my most favourite colours and ordinarily I would never have paired it with Melon Mambo, but the combination intrigued me and I actually quite like the end result. the brightness of Melon Mambo lifts it so much. 

Charming Sentiments - I finished my card with a diecut sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments set:

I love the embossed detail on the petals of the flowers and the square design suits these dies perfectly.

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:

PETAL PATTERNS DIES (42.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. I am hosting this month and this week's challenge is a sketch challenge:

The sketch features six elements and an overlapping sentiment. The six elements don't need to be circles, they can be any shape, and they don't all have to be identical, however there should be a common theme to your chosen images. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when creating your card. Most of all, have fun! 

For my card today I got out my paper snips once more and spent some time fussy cutting a variety of honey pots from the Bee Mine designer series paper - take a look:

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

There's so much value to be had in a pack of designer paper - especially if you have the patience to get your scissors out and start snipping! I arranged my pots across the centre of my card and then stamped my sentiment from the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set in Tuxedo black ink, highlighting the word 'sweet' by inking it with my Sweet Sorbet in-colour marker, and after fussy cutting that too, popped it up on dimensionals and laid it over my honey pots::

Another clean and simple card - I'm sure Winnie the Pooh would approve!

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's raining here (again!) so I will be spending the day indoors, trying to distract myself from doing the housework by poring over the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue that I received yesterday! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

2022–2024 IN COLOR STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (17.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

No crafting time today but I do have a quick card to share using Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I didn't go slimline (largely because I was so fixated on making my card, I totally forgot about that bit - good job it was optional!) but I couldn't wait to use Karren's layout for another card featuring my favourite Just Kiddin' designer series paper - take a look:

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

I added a panel of Boho Blue embossed with the (retired) High Seas 3D Embossing Folder to the lower portion of my white cardfront, fussy cutting along the edge of the waves - I love the dimension that this adds and it picks up the detail from the fussy cut image. My trio sailing in their cardbox box boat make the perfect focal point and broadly follow the curved shape of Karren's semi circle:

A sentiment from then (retired) 'Beautiful World' was all that was needed to complete today's fun 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 day; mine is filled with domestic bliss - the price we pay for a weekend away, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (current):

JUST KIDDIN' 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

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 it's clean and simple challenge week with a 'good luck' theme:

With two teens still in education where exams are a reasonably frequent occurence, I always need a supply of good luck cards on hand. Since it's St Patrick's Day next week and I haven't yet made a card featuring a shamrock or four leaf clover yet this year, I thought I'd take this opportunity to put that right. So today is all about the green - take a look:

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

I stamped my large 'Sending' sentiment from the 'Sending Smiles' stamp set in Shaded Spruce and finished with a truncated sentiment heat embossed in gold beneath it. I decorated my card with a cascade of lucky four leaf clovers, made from the Paper Florist Dies. I popped them up on dimensionals to make the standout a little too:

Simple, clean and full of luck - box ticked! I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational where they are also celebrating all things clean and simple (no optional balloon for me though!)

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 enjoying a rare weekend away and will be visiting the eldest of the James Juniors today, which I am looking forward to - it's been a while! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for the dreaded speed challenge, with the theme chosen by Deborah:

Spring flowers - how lovely it is to see them starting to appear in the garden! My daffodils are out and my tulips and lavender are coming along behind. My lavender in the garden doesn't usually bloom until late spring, so I'm taking the opportunity to create some of my own whilst I wait!

This week is speed stamping week, where we need to gather our supplies, set our timers and create our cards in 10 minutes or less. Being the designer series paper fan that I am, it's not uncommon for me to reach for some when I need to make a big impact in a hurry, however I've used designer paper for the last few speed challegnes so today I thought I'd challenge myself to stick to stamping only (ok, with maybe a little diecutting!) When you need a speedy card, the main thing needs to be to keep things simple - and be very organised! So here are my supplies laid out before I started:

Stamps mounted, ink cases opened, timer set - and go! This is the finished card that I created:

Now for the details! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Painted Lavender Speed Stamping - I used the tiny lavender stems from the 'Painted Lavender' stamp set on my card today - I think this is my favourite stamp in the set. It's great for quick stamping: I diecut my postage stamp first, then stamped the stems in Shaded Spruce, followed by the flowers - first two in Highland Heather then two in Gorgeous Grape (by doing light then dark, I didn't need to clean my stamp in between - another time-saving tip!). So easy to position as it's photopolymer, so you can see exactly where you're stamping. For my base, I used one of the Stampin' Up! white notecards and envelopes - another time saver, as no cutting required! I stamped my sentiment directly onto my notecard base, then added a snippet of ribbon to the back of my stamped diecut before adhering to my notecard using dimensionals. Finally, I added a couple of brass butterflies for a little extra embellishment:

 How long did all this take? Just 3 minutes and 38 seconds! So with so much extra time to go, I added some stamped butterflies to the inside of my card and added the same lavender design to the front of my envelope too before calling it a day. Total time used: 

Less than 5 minutes for the win - result!

The Multiplier Effect - At under 5 minutes, this little notecard is a great speedy make. You could even shave a little time off that total by stamping the envelope and the same time as the diecut, rather than afterwards. Which brings me to my next point - cards that are quick to create but still showcase lots of new products are just what I'm looking for when I'm making multiples to send out to my customers with a new catalogue. And that may just be where today's card came from; I haven't shared it until now, but these were the cards that my customers received in the post with their mini catalogues before they launched in January. Here's a quick shot of some of them laid out together:

Lots of lavender loveliness!

Make It With Me - Now this is where you might think me completely mad: I haven't made a video for you in a while and I chuckled when my friend and fellow teamie Jan mentioned that had decided to video her undertaking her speed stamping challenge. Whilst I did think her rather mad, the more I thought about it, I decided I'd have a go too. I haven't made a video in ages so be kind! So here you go:

Room for improvement to be sure, but I hope you found it useful. 

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 speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PERENNIAL POSTAGE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (48.50)	PAINTED LAVENDER PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (19.00)	REAL RED & BURLAP RIBBON COMBO PACK (8.50)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)	BASIC WHITE NOTE CARDS & ENVELOPES (7.50)
HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I have a double post day! I'll be back later with my card for our new challenge over at As You See It, but first I'm guesting over at CAS on Friday! I won Challenge 277 with this card, so I was asked to join the ladies as their guest this week for their new challenge where the theme is 'Easter'. I'm a little thin on current Easter-themed supplies, so I dug into my retired stash for some old sets that I could use in a new way. Here's my card for the new CAS on Friday challenge that also uses the colours over at Color Throwdown this week: 

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

I've always loved the little sign-holding characters in the retired 'Cute Critters' stamp set and I thought that the bunny would make a cute clean and simple Easter card when combined with a suitable sentiment. For my bunny I paired her with a sentiment from the retired 'Basket Bunch' stamp set and simply coloured with my Stampin' Blends:

Perfect for a simple card to accompany an Easter egg gift.

I had so much fun with this card that I decided to make another slightly stepped-up version using the chick in the 'Cheerful Critters' set, this time featuring the colours over at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I backed my card with a piece of Inked Botanicals plaid paper and used one of the Everyday Details Dies to diecut my stamped and coloured panel, with a sentiment from the another retired stamp set, 'Arrange A Wreath':

I'm also linking my second card up over at SUO Challenges where the theme is also Easter/Spring.

This was a fun dip into the retirement box to use some old stamps in new ways. Do you ever do this? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy your morning and I'll be back later with my card for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!