It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we use a curve and non-geometrical shape in our designs.

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. i did just that today and rotated the sketch through 90 degrees to create a landscape card. If you are a card maker you will undoubtedly have seen the flood of blue and yellow cards in support of #cardsforukraine. The lovely peeps over at Color Hues are having a double challenge in honour of this and are also featuring the colours of the Ukranian national flag in a bonus colour combo for this challenge, so I decided it was time for me to show my support and play along. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine and whilst I have one of those cards in the pipeline to share with you in another post, for today's challenge I decided to use the row of tulips in the Tulips Dies set for that wiggly line - take a look:

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

This card really is super simple to execute - the effort here was in the planning! A Pacific Point card base, then overlaid a panel of Daffodil Delight for the diecut tulips. I chose to feature a stamped windmill as my non-geometrical shape and stamped it in Pacific Point onto Daffodil Delight, stamping the sentiment from the Flowering Tulips set below it - the words seemed appropriate in the circumstances as the people of Ukraine are most definitely in our thoughts. 

This card is all about the bold blocks of just two colours; it is unusual for there to be no white at all on this card, but having tried a few different things the blue-on-yellow windmill was definitely the way to go - the windmill is much more a part of the landscape and it emulates the horizontal lines of the Ukrainian flag. The only white was for my stamped panel on the inside of my card:

Do you ever use blocks of colour in this way in your crafting? Bold blocks of colour can have a big impact and by avoiding clutter that clean-and-simple feel and 'white space' is preserved. 

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! color 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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TULIPS DIES (£33.00)

TULIP FIELDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£17.00)

FLOWERING TULIPS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

PACIFIC POINT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Happy Monday everyone! After a weekend out of action, I am feeling slightly better today and this morning had time to finish my card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge:

I love Karren's sketch this week - wide open to interpretation. So much so, the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed I used the same layout for my Paper Players card that I posted yesterday (you can see that card here if you missed it). I didn't link that one up as whilst I loved the end result I felt it wasn't really 'clean' enough to do Karren's sketch justice. Not the case for today's card though - take a look:

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

Slim Card Dies Trellis - The central panel of the sketch is perfect to showcase diecut detail; I used one of the Slim Card Dies in gold foil to create something that reminds me of a Moroccan trellis, cut down though to fit a standard sized card front. Just because the dies are made for slimline cards, doesn't mean they can't be used in this way too.  

Jewels of Colour - The colour scheme for today's card comes from the palette over at TGIF Challenges this week. This is not a trio of colours I would usually use together, but I thought they would make a rich blended backgound of graduated colour - the perfect backdrop for my trellis. As a bonus, I wanted to pick out elements of the trellis design with rhinestones or similar, and following a perusal of my collection found that the 2020-22 In Color Enamel Dots were perfect; two of the colours were spot on, and the Cinnamon Cider ones worked for the Soft Suede portion of my card where I only needed a couple because of my sentiment position (which I chose with this in mind). I think the addition of the enamel dots really makes a feature of the design:

Amazing Thanks - This is one of those rather rare no-stamping cards; I chose to use a layered 'thanks' diecut from the Amazing Thanks dies for my sentiment, layering gold foil onto Magenta madness layered with vellum to tone down the pink. These dies really are a keeper - so very useful! There will be some stamping on the inside of this card, but for the time being it's blank as I might use it for a specific type of thank you card. 

I really like this card and whilst this isn't a colour combo I would ordinarily have chosen (and in fact I originally made this card in an alternative colourway) I think it really makes it. I think it has a  very Aladdin and Arabian Nights vibe!

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. 

Right - I'm off to squeeze in a few jobs before heading out on the school run. Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SLIM CARD DIES (£55.00)	AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£25.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)

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 a timely seasonal theme challenge for you to work with:

Nothing says spring to me more than daffodils and tulips, so I decided to go all out and diecut a spring bouquet for the front of my card that have these as the centrepiece - take a look:

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

I added a panel of (retired) Sale-A_Bration Friendly Hello DSP to the centre of my card and overlaid this with a slimline die coverpiece, leaving the long inset pieces intact, then built up my bouquet from Daffodil Delight and So Saffron daffodils and Fresh Freesia tulips:

I finished with an over-the-top ribbon bow and a layered 'you are amazing' diecut sentiment cut with my Amazing Thanks Dies. This card is larger than usual (15cm x 21cm) to accommodate my spring blooms. I'm afraid I succumbed to the most dreadful cold this week, so I haven't finished decorating the inside of this card. Hence no inside photos - a job for another day.

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 will be hiding under my blanket with a box of tissues feeling sorry for myself! Hope normal service will resume soon! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DAFFODIL DIES (£35.00)	TULIPS DIES (£33.00)	AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£25.00)	SLIM CARD DIES (£55.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	FRESH FREESIA 3/8" (1 CM) OPEN WEAVE RIBBON (£6.50)	2021–2023 IN COLOR JEWELS (£6.50)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday:

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'World Planting Day' which is on 20th March. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used flowers, green, brick and bugs/insects and this is what I came up with:

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

Quiet Meadow Honeybee - This card is something of a departure from my usual style, as I don't tend to go in for collage-style stamping, but I think the images in both the 'Quiet Meadow' and 'Honeybee Home' stamp sets really lend themselves to this style. I used a Bumblebee coloured cardbase and added some tone-on-tone stamping in the same colour, along with some bees and splatter in black and used a blender brush to add colour to the outer edges. I also stamped a single flower on one circle, and for my main focal point I used my markers to add a buttercup in Bumblebee with a Just Jade stem. I also added a little extra collage-style stamping to the inside of my card: 

Layers and Textures - This card is all about textures and layers. In addition to my stamping, I added layered circles and diecut flower stems to build up my design. The circles were a combination of hive embossed gold vellum, some embossed brick and some (retired) Harvest Meadow designer series paper, along with a few in-colour enamel dots. This give lots of visual interest, despite the limited colour palette. 

A Trinket To Finish - Even though I added stamped bees to my background, I couldn't resist adding a gold bumblebee trinket to my stamped circle focal point:

A sentiment from the 'Honeybee Home' set completes my card. So what do you think? Not my usual style, but I had a lot of fun putting it together and stepping outside my comfort zone for a while. I've had a head cold this week and have definitely found myself being drawn to yellow - I think I've subconsciously been cheering myself up! It's also perfect for the current challenge over at The Alphabet Blog, where they are on the letter 'X is for xanthic' - which apparently means 'relating to the colour yellow' - who knew?! I am a bit of a logophile (that means lover of words if it's not a word you are familiar with) so I am delighted to add 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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the  Festive Friday Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach - out this week
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Stephanie Lanzalotto
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

QUIET MEADOW BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£44.00)	HONEYBEE HOME CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	HIVE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	BRICK & MORTAR 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	JUST JADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	JUST JADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BUMBLEBEE TRINKETS (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a quick card I made with a few challenges in mind - I used the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday and the option of watercolouring (albeit when I added my banner to my card I inadvertently put it too far to the left - oops!) and used the new Color Throwdown palette along with the Easter bunny inspiration over at Just Us Girls:

I don't have any current Easter sets featuring bunnies, eggs or carrots - but having posted this card a while ago on my social media, one of my customers commented that the bunny from 'Nature's Beauty' would work well for an Easter card too, so I thought I'd give it a try. This is what I came up with:

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

I stamped my bunny onto watercolour paper then coloured him in using my waterpainter. When dry I used my Stamparatus to re-stamp the outline again in Crumb Cake over the top to add the definition of the rabbit's fur. I also watercoloured in some sky and grass, adding some stamped tufts of grass and a few hand-drawn orange flowers to tie in to the colour of my card base.

I cut the rabbit out using my Layering Circle Thinlits and added a sentiment from 'A Wish For Everything' before adding to my (retired) Grapefruit Grove card base with gingham banner and crinkle ribbon bow. My watercolouring isn't brilliant, but my customer was right - I think this stamp does make a cute Easter bunny!

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

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

I am feeling a little under the weather today as if I am trying to ward off a cold. The dark, grey day with constant drizzle has done nothing to lift my spirits - where oh where are the sunny days of spring?! Nothing to do other than stay in, keep warm and craft! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

NATURE'S BEAUTY CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	A WISH FOR EVERYTHING CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£36.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) CRINKLED SEAM BINDING RIBBON (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (£8.25)	WATER PAINTERS (£11.25)

The start of March sees two great promotions that I can't wait to share with you! What are these exciting promotions I hear you cry?! Well wait no longer - they are:

• Waves of the Ocean Collection - another annual catalogue early release with exclusive accessories
• Savings Are In Bloom Promotion - a discount on the Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine and select co-ordinating bundles

So first up:

Waves of the Ocean Collection

Discover the depths of the ocean—and your artistic abilities—with the Waves of the Ocean Collection! This coastal collection includes an inspiring set of stamps and detailed dies, both early-release products from the upcoming 2022–2023 Annual Catalogue. Plus, a pack of paper made from images of hand-poured paint, blue-hued foil sheets for a sea of shine, and radiant rhinestones for a splash of sparkle—each an exclusive product you can only purchase during the promotion period!

Here's a look at everything that's included in the Waves of The Ocean Collection:

Here's the detail on each product - the items can be purchase individually or as a collection:

Next up:

Savings Are In Bloom Promotion

Meet your mini crafting companion: the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine! This mini—but mighty—machine is durable, portable, and easy to use. It’s the perfect pick if you’re a budding beginner who wants to branch out, a paper-crafting pro who wants to craft on the go, or someone who’s short on storage space! Make precise cuts and embossed designs for any paper project with one pass. Originally £56.00, it can be yours for only £44.75 between 1 and 31 March! The Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine is compatible with a large selection of Stampin’ Up! embossing folders and dies. Kickstart your collection and combine your Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine with any (or all!) of the following stamp-and-die bundles—they’re also 20% off during the month of March!

So two great promotions for March! There are a some great bundle offers here, so if you've been holding off any of these, now would be a great time to pop them in your shopping basket! Direct links to the online store for all of the products above are below - happy shopping!

WAVES OF THE OCEAN SUITE COLLECTION (ENGLISH) (£75.00)	WAVES OF INSPIRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	WAVES OF INSPIRATION CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	WAVES DIES (£32.00)
WAVES OF THE OCEAN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BLUE FOILS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£9.50)	RHINESTONE WAVES BASIC JEWELS (£6.25)

MINI STAMPIN' CUT & EMBOSS MACHINE (£44.75)	ALL SQUARED AWAY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£36.75)	ART GALLERY BUNDLE (£41.50)	BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)
CELEBRATE SUNFLOWERS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)	GARDEN WISHES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)	HYDRANGEA HAVEN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	PANSY PATCH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)
QUIET MEADOW BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£44.00)	SEASCAPE BUNDLE (£38.25)	SWEET AS A PEACH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£30.25)	WELCOMING WINDOW BUNDLE (£41.50)
WHAT'S COOKIN' BUNDLE (£37.50)	WILD CATS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£32.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. It's the first of March and a new month means a new hostess! Jeanne is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

Since it's the first of March and St David's Day I feel like I should be using daffodils on my card, but Jeanne's colour choices don't really lend themselves to my national flower! Instead my card today features some pierced blooms and uses the sketch layout over at Fusion:

I used all three colours for my duo of diecut blooms and added them to a simple layered background. A 'thanks' sentiment from 'Artistically Inked' and a trio of Fresh Freesia rhinestones complete today's card and goes across the centre middle row of the Paper Craft Crew TicTacToe board 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. 

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! color 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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PIERCED BLOOMS DIES (£34.00)	ARTISTICALLY INKED CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	2021–2023 IN COLOR JEWELS (£6.50)

Today I'm sharing a second card that I made last week; squeaking this one in for the current challenge over at The Card Concept - check out their inspiration photo:

I love the nautical colours and strong geometrical prints in the inspiration photo and though they would be perfect for a similarly coloured clean and layered card featuring the Slim Card Dies - take a look at what I came up with:

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

I diecut the slim card die with the angles lines out of 4 different colours of cardstock, then paper-pieced the negative pieces back into the diecut outline for some fun nautical stripes. 

I didn't have a boat that was the right size for this card (the new Sailboat Builder Punch would have been perfect, but the boats in the 'Sailing Home' set were both too small) but on closer inspection I noticed there were a number of black dogs in the photo too, so thought a black labrador silhouette punched with my now retired Dog Builder Punch would work a treat. I added him to a sentiment stamped with the 'Biggest Wish' stamp set that was stamped and cut out with one of the Painted Labels Dies: 

And that was my card complete! Stampin' Up! even has a new range of slimline envelops the perfect size for my finished card, so I don't have to make my own - bonus!

I have a friend with a black labrador that looks just like this one so I think that's where this card will be headed when their birthday rolls around. The Slim Card Dies are super easy to use and great for paper-piecing; not only that, if you save all of the pieces you can make a number of cards in one go - here's a shot of the other cards I started to make whilst making this one:

One of them still needs a sentiment and they both require additional decoration, but it's good to have the bases already made. 

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 the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and some exciting news for the month of March. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SLIM CARD DIES (£55.00)	BIGGEST WISH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	SLIMLINE ENVELOPES (£9.25)	PAINTED LABELS DIES (£33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

I had a productive card making session last week so I have an extra couple of cards to share today - this one uses Cecile's intriguing sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

This is a great layout that was perfect to highlight another of my favourite 'Nuts & Bolts' stamp set robots - take a look:

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

I chose a bright Mango melody card base and stamped my robot on a (retired) diecut stitched square. I decided to have a go at some 'rusty' colouring with my Blends. This was so much fun and not as difficult to achieve as I thought it might be. You just start with orange and browns and blend them in to your greys. I also added another rusty robot to the inside of my card:

Cecile's sketch is at first glance fairly straight forward, with a focal point square and sentiment beneath it. The thing that most intrigued me about it were the arrow-like details at opposing top and bottom corners. I wanted something to highlight this detail and remembered I had some retired spanner embellishments in my stash; given the otherwise clean and simple nature of my card, I decided to use them as a fun addition:

I wonder if those spanners are slightly too small to accent my square panel - or maybe it's just that I don't usually use an embellishment in this way, but I kind of like it so I went with it!

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. 

LAST CALL!! One last reminder that today is your last chance to snap up a Sale-A-Bration free product or take advantage of the current enhanced joining offer - head on over to the online store or get in touch if you'd like to take advantage!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

NUTS & BOLTS CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	HOLIDAY RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£5.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£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 Anne Marie to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I do love a good sketch and this week I really went to town! I have been making lots of cards with the 'Tulip Fields' bundle as it was the feature bundle for my online class last week and I decided that the layout of Anne Marie's sketch was perfect for a diecut windmill for the central focal point and the beginnings of what turned out to be a rather special card - take a look:

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

Many Layers - This is a card of many layers - which means I'm also playing along with the ladies at Just Add Ink this week where I chose 'layers' and patterned paper as my two things. More on patterned paper in a moment, but firstly those layers! I can count 13 on the front of my card alone (not including the band of ribbon!) - and there are even more inside! I used a (retired) stitched oval diecut as a base for my windmill cut using the Windmill dies and added a sentiment combining stamped words taken from 'Art Gallery' and a layered 'amazing' cut using the Amazing Thanks Dies. I attached these to a horizontal band as the focal point for the front of my card.You can see the layered loveliness in more detail below:

A Belly Band Surprise - The layered windmill is in fact attached to a belly band decorated with a strip of DSP, which when removed reveals the beautiful red, pink and white tulips of the Flowering Fields DSP in all it's glory, along with a sentiment made from a combination of some partial stamping from a stamp in the 'Flowering Tulips' stamp set and the word 'Mother's' cut using the Word Wishes Dies:

With Mother's Day here in the UK only a few weeks away, this was a great opportunity to get ahead and make my Mother's Day card. I love that the layered circle greeting sits below the windmill oval of the belly band and is only revealed when the belly band is removed. 

Mother's Day Details - The surprises don't end there though. My card has an additional flap, so when it's opened you see this panel, also decorated with another piece of Flowering Fields DSP and a trio of tulips cut with the Tulips Dies:

 These Tulips Dies are amazing - they create the most amazing dimensional tulips! I cut mine from another pattern in the Flowering Fields DSP pack; it is actually a Petal Pink sky with white and red clouds, but I like the mottled effect that it gives the tulips and they compliment the pattern on the front of the card:

The sentiment, along with the one on the inside of the card is from the retired stamp set 'Strong and Beautiful'. This set is a keeper - the words in this set are so perfect for special female cards. when you open the next flap, the inside panel is revealed. I bordered the edge of the bottom panel with a trio of tulip border dies (I might add another diecut windmill behind these tulips - now that I am looking at it again this panel is a little light on decoration compared to the others):

 And here's a close-up of the innermost panel, decorated with some layered tulips stamped with the 'flowering Tulips' stamp set:

As you can imagine, all those layers make for a bulkier than usual card, so I will be making a custom box-envelope to enclose it in. That's a job for another day though! This kind of card does take a long time to make, but it is worth it - I love the end result and know my Mum will appreciate 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 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 hoping for another restful Sunday, mainly centred around cooking and eating - we are cooking a Turkish recipe for dinner today for the first time, so that should be fun! I'm also hoping to squeeze in another movie this afternoon - last week's 'Encanto' proved a big hit so this week we might go for 'Sing 2' - hope it's as good as the first one!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FLOWERING TULIPS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	WINDMILL FIELDS DIES (£31.00)	FLOWERING FIELDS 12” X 12” (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£25.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	WORD WISHES DIES (EN) (£33.00)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)