Friday already - wow, that was a quick week! Thank you to everyone who placed orders during the 24 hour stamp sale - there will be lots of lovely bargains heading your way next week! For those of you that missed out - please be sure that you are following my blog and social media channels I'm sh to be reminded of special offers and events and make sure you are signed up for my newsletter by clicking here.

Back to today and I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a theme challenge:

I was struggling to be creative with my AYSI card this week (too many other things on my mind I think!), so I paired up with those intriguing colours over at Color Throwdown and the Autumn theme over at Paper Craft Crew and decided to go with some atypical leaves - take a look at what I came up with:

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

All About The Stitching - Today's card is definitely all about the stitching! I was tempted to use my most favourite of stitched items, my Stitched Shapes Dies, on today's card, but for once they don't feature at all! I decided to go with the Lovely Leaves bundle and Stitched Leaves Dies. Not only do they have those lovely leaf outlines with detailed dies for the centre, there is the fabulous stitched lines die that I used on the panel behind my leaves, which is great for adding interest on all kinds of cards. I also used my Rectangle Stitched Framelits to cut out this panel for added stitch detail. 

Beautiful Autumn - I could have used a sentiment from the Lovely Leaves set on today's card, but I had someone in mind for today's card and instead reached for one of my personal favourites from the 'Beautiful Autumn' stamp set, which is more appropriate. I stamped it in Early Espresso as opposed to black as it fitted in better with the autumnal feel of my card.

Stitched Detail Tip - The other lovely thing about the central stitched detail pieces is that they can be used to add detail to stamped leaves too, even if they haven't been cut out. I've shown this on my envelope flap before and I also added this detail onto my inner lining:

Whilst Cinnamon Cider and Sahara Sand are the dominant colours on today's card, the pop of colour from my blue and aqua leaves really brightens up my card, don't you think? It makes a nice change from the reds and yellows in my view, but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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

You can see all of my '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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE OF LEAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	STITCHED LEAVES DIES (£33.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)
SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CINNAMON CIDER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SEASIDE SPRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	3/16" (4.8 MM) BRAIDED LINEN TRIM (£6.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a recipe challenge:

I feel like I need to start off with an apology for the sheer amount of different stamp sets and general bits and pieces that I've used on today's card! The truth is, I pulled out everything I had that fitted the recipe ... then used most of it on my card! Take a look:

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

Blue Birthday Wishes - I couldn't resist the colours over at Global Design Project #GDP257 this week - they were my favourite colour duo that I used for the last AYSI Challenge, with the addition of Misty Moonlight, so I decided to use them on my card for this challenge, but this time to create a card that was anything but Christmas, even though it does use some seasonal product. I used the sketch at Paper Craft Crew for my layout, where the oval was perfect for showcasing a birthday 'B' from the Monogram Messages set. 

Butterfly Gala Beauty - I originally intended to use the little butterfly in the Monogram Messages set for my butterfly, but it was too small. Instead I went for a layered butterfly from 'Butterfly Gala', with one punched in Balmy Blue Glimmer Paper for a sparkly base and then another stamped in Misty Moonlight and clear embossed on vellum, with the detail coloured with Highland Heather Blends and embellished with a Balmy Blue Gilded Gem - so pretty:

Recipe Check and An Inside Finish - So that has birthday sentiment and butterfly covered, along with both diecut (stitched shapes oval) and punch. The circles were courtesy of the bokeh dots from another butterfly stamp set, 'Beauty Abounds'; I stamped them tone-on-tone in Highland Heather on my card base, and carefully went over each one with my clear Wink of Stella pen for extra sparkle. For my DSP I used a strip of Balmy Blue/Highland Heather watercoloured paper from the Snowflake Splendor pack, and overlaid it with some polka dot tulle ribbon (more circles!). That was my recipe complete - and as if I didn't have enough out on my desk already, I added a sentiment from yet another stamp set, 'So Sentimental', for my inside greeting:

A twine bow and some blue gilded gems as well, I really went to town with this card - you can only imagine the state of my desk when it came to clear up time!!

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

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

 A pretty result though that show the versatility of these colours I think too. An interesting challenge for me too - I've decided I don't use butterflies much on my cards these days, so I really need to try and use them more often!

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

MONOGRAM MESSAGES CLING STAMP SET (£19.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BUTTERFLY GALA PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	BUTTERFLY DUET PUNCH (£17.00)	BEAUTY ABOUNDS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)
BANNERS PICK A PUNCH (£21.00)	BLUE ADHESIVE-BACKED GEMS (£7.50)	BALMY BLUE GLIMMER PAPER (£4.75)	SNOWFLAKE SPLENDOR DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	WHISPER WHITE 5/8" (1.6 CM) POLKA DOT TULLE RIBBON (£7.00)
WINK OF STELLA CLEAR GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CLEAR STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	STAMPIN' BLENDS HIGHLAND HEATHER COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON RIBBON COMBO PACK (£9.25)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a 'fill in the blank' challenge:

There are lots of colour combinations that I love, but must confess that one of my current favourites is Balmy Blue and Highland Heather. I have always been a fan of purple, but the beautiful papers featuring this combo in the Snowflake Splendor Suite have me creating a lot with this colour combo at the moment. For today's card I decided to share one of the cards that I created on one of my live Zoom demonstration sessions with my lovely customers last week that showed them how to step up their shaker cards with embossing folders - take a look:

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

Snowflake Splendor - I've mentioned previously how much I love this suite; having started creating with it for my class last month, I am quite hooked and have been using it for lots of projects lately, some of which I've shared here already. I love the papers, that give the patterns a hand-painted feel, with wonderful watercoloured patterns too.  

A Fresh Winter Colour Combo - I love the way the colours combine in the Snowflake Splendor papers and I think the addition of Highland Heather amongst the blues really rings the changes and freshens up this wintery colour scheme. For my shaker, I paired a watercolour design frame with a background printed with white snowflakes, and added a fussy cut snowflake stamped in my colour duo (in the interests of full disclosure, I did also add a little Pacific Point to this particular snowflake), along with some diecut snowflakes in Balmy Blue glimmer paper for added sparkle:

A Winter Snow Shaker - Before mounting my shaker window, I ran my window sheet through the Winter Snow Embossing folder. This was a tip I saw recently shared by one of Stampin' Up!'s artisan designers, Stesha Bloodhart, using the Seabed 3D embossing folder, and couldn't wait to try it with the snowflakes. If you look carefully at the photo below you can see the snowflake impressions:

I think this is such a great way to step up a shaker card as it adds lovely texture and detail.

If you'd like to see a little video clip of my shaker in action, in all its snowflake shaker glory, you can see that on my Facebook page here.

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.
• Fill in the blanks with the words that are right for you and then create your project with those words in mind. Tell us, in your blog or on your site, what words you used.
• 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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Enjoy your day. Mine is going to be a rather special one, as young Master James finally gets to attend his Year 8 Prize Giving Ceremony today. For him and the other year 8 pupils, this year has not been full of the post-Common Entrance Examination rewards that might have been in different times, but today we will have a special year 8 only socially-distanced Speech Day, with Prize Giving and picnic lunch, followed by family cricket (weather permitting) and then the children will be having a disco and hog roast in the evening, in lieu of their Leaver's Ball. They are all very much looking forward to it and it will be a wonderful way to end this special period of his educational journey before moving to his new school and the next chapter.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SNOWFLAKE SPLENDOR DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	WINTER SNOW EMBOSSING FOLDER (£7.00)	SNOWFLAKE WISHES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£51.25)	BALMY BLUE GLIMMER PAPER (£4.75)	WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)
VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLES DIES (£33.00)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	SNOWFLAKE SEQUINS (£5.50)

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 my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a sketch challenge:

I designed this week's sketch and decided to use some of the new in-colours and make a blue card - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Today's card features two different patterns from the Flowers For Every Season designer series paper stack. Some simple layering, a couple of co-ordinating floral embellishments from the Flowers For Every Season Memories and More pack and a simple heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Celebrate Sunflowers' set. And that's it - super simple! I must say, having seen the amazing cards from the rest of the team mine looks positively mediocre - they all came up with some fabulous takes on this week's sketch!

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'll be linking up with the team over at Inspire.Create as my card today features three of the 5 new in-colours: Misty Moonlight, Just Jade and Cinnamon Cider.

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 sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table to follow

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed challenge:

A card in under 10 minutes - always a challenge! I took my inspiration from the ocean scenes and beautiful shades of turquoise in the Hand Stamped Sentiments photo and set to work - take a look:

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

Seaside Notions - I purchased the stamp set 'Seaside Notions' a while ago, following so many marvellous cards that my friend and fellow AYSI teamie Jan Clothier had made with this set, but I had yet to ink it up so this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity. I love this seahorse and whilst my rough blue colouring with my watercolour pencils is not typical of these shy creatures in the wild, I wanted to contrast with my Crumb Cake background and white embossing. I'm also linking up with the team over at SUO Challenges where their current challenge is 'Animals'.

Quickfire Crafting - As always, the secret of quick card making is to be organised! I got everything out on my desk before I started and I already had the stitched rectangle in my card box leftover from another project, along with the card base and mats, so my energies went into speedy stamping and heat embossing with a quick scribble of colour. I used my blender pen to even out the pencil lines and added a little Wink of Stella to the backbone of each seahorse for some added sparkle:

From The Mouths of Babes - So how long did my card take me? I squeezed it in under the wire at 9 minutes 24 seconds - and left the usual craftermath in my wake:

When having the discussion over dinner with the James Juniors as to who I would send this card to, they immediately agreed it should go to one of my scuba diving friends who lives in Canada, called Cathy. They then proceeded to question why I was making a card with three seahorses on anyway; as I explained that I needed three of something and my card needed to be completed in under 10 minutes, Rebecca promptly announced "Well that's easy - why didn't you just make a one layer Christmas card with the three wise men on it? You'd have been done in minutes!" Oh if only I'd engaged her earlier in the crafty process!

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SEASIDE NOTIONS CLING STAMP SET (EN) (£21.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)
WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (£11.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WINK OF STELLA CLEAR GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	BLENDER PENS (£11.25)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal theme challenge:

I was all set to go with sunsets and palm trees for today's cards, then I saw some of the other Design Team cards and the new challenge over at Time Out and as I perused the stamp sets on my shelf decided to go in an entirely different direction - take a look:

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

Holiday Nostalgia - I'm sure that many of you, myself included, have vacation plans have been put into disarray this year, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't remember all that is good about a vacation. The image on my card today comes from the stamp set 'Beautiful Moments' and is one I haven't used before. It reminds me of childhood summer vacations at the seaside, paddling in rock pools, building sandcastles and shell collecting, always with a bucket and spade in hand and this image could well have been my sister and I some 40+ years ago! I coloured it with my Stampin' Blends in pastel shades for a feeling of softness. 

Texture and Layers - I split the colours on my base and panels to loosely represent sand and sea/sky and added a panel of vellum to blur the join. I also ran the whole of the layered panel through my Subtles embossing folder to add some subtle texture and interest and wrapped the join with a linen thread bow.

A Beachcomber Embellishment - I was intrigued by Time Out's optional twist to add an embellishment; normally I would have left my card alone at this point, but on the windowsill in my office I have a vase filled with shells. These shells were all collected in the Caribbean as an adult and I keep them because they are beautiful and remind me of happy times and warm, sunny days and most of them are quite large, but there are also some that are teeny-tiny. I selected a pretty, tiny pearlescent shell from my jar and adhered it next to my bow - job done! I am also linking today's card over at Global Design Project as it fits with their theme this week of fun in the sun.

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Today is a bittersweet day in the James household: young Master James is spending the last day at the prep school he has attended for the last 4 years, before embarking on pastures new in September. He has had the best time at this school and we are thankful that he has been able to return to school for the last 2 weeks to have some goodbye fun with his friends and fellow leavers before they all embark on pastures new in September, but we are all sad to be going our separate ways too. I think tissues will be needed at pickup today! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	SUBTLE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)
LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	STAMPIN' BLENDS POOL PARTY COMBO PACK (£8.50)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS SO SAFFRON COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS FLIRTY FLAMINGO COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS MINT MACARON COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS PURPLE POSY COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a recipe challenge:

I thought I'd go simple with my card today, but I reached for some new goodies and by the time I had incorporated all the elements of this week's recipe, I ended up creating something altogether more fancy - take a look:

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

I decided to create a square card with a wreath in the centre as I wanted to play with my new 'Arrange A Wreath' bundle as I am running an online class with it on 27th July so wanted to start getting the ideas flowing. I decided to go with hearts and flowers so that I could incorporate my 'pink' and 'repeating images' elements. I ended up creating a fancy fold style card, with an outer wrap that I added a couple of panels to that I embossed with one of the new 'Greenery' embossing folders, and diecutting a circle in the centre to reveal my wreath on the inner card below. The outer flaps are held closed by some silver twine wrapped around a couple of mini brads, that when untwined open up to reveal the body of the card inside:

This is the layer where I created my wreath, which is a combination of stamped and diecut pieces. Fortunately there is a die in the Wreath Builder Die set that has the word 'love' cut out of a heart, so I used that for my one-word sentiment (check) and added a bow of white spotted tulle ribbon (check!). This card layer then opens as a conventional card to reveal the inside where you can write your greeting:

I added a little tone-on-tone sentiment and the letters that diecut out of the heart on the front, along with a strip of Petal Pink DSP leftover from another project (check!!)

I have no idea what kind of fold this is called - I saw one similar on Pinterest but without any details, and I had a search but am honestly none the wiser! So if it has a name that you know of, do let me know! Either way, it definitely constitutes 'fancy' in my book so I will be linking up with the team over at Just Add Ink where that is their challenge theme this week:

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

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

What do you think? When I'd finished I wondered if I'd got a little carried away, as this card is certainly a little busier than my usual cards. 

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

And talking of Just Add Ink - I have some exciting news today! In an hour's time there will be another blog post from me as I am guesting with the lovely Kelly Kent, one of the JAI design team, and her Paper Adventures team on a blog hop so be sure to come back and check it out. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ARRANGE A WREATH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	GREENERY EMBOSSING FOLDERS (£7.50)	WHISPER WHITE 5/8" (1.6 CM) POLKA DOT TULLE RIBBON (£7.00)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	BRIGHTS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) CARDSTOCK (£11.75)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
JUST JADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

No blog yesterday as I was still super busy with new catalogue launch day activities and making sure that all the bundles were ordered for my online  'Blossoms in Bloom' class on June 15th - there's still time to sign up if you'd like to join me! Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a fun 'fill in the blank' challenge:

Like many of the team this week I procrastinated for ages over this card! I love movies and I could think of so many different cards, I struggled to narrow down my ideas. In the end I went with an iconic movie quote from my most favourite movie of all time - take a look:

Do you recognise it? Yes, it's Renee Zellweger's classic line when her husband, the handsome Tom Cruise, returns from his road trip in the movie 'Jerry Maguire'. This is a movie packed with famous quotes: "Show me the money!" and "Did you know bees and dogs can smell fear?" to name just two. 

I decided to make a bold statement using diecut letters in black for the first part of the quote adhered directly to my card mat, then switched for 'hello' by diecutting this out of the mat itself and then adding snippets of each of the new Stampin' Up! 2020-22 in-colours directly to the cardbase below, and popping the mat up on dimensionals: 

I added a little Magenta Madness pink heart to the centre of the 'o', courtesy of the dog builder punch (such a useful little heart!) to complete my card.

I used the retired Little Letters Thinlits Dies to create my card today, but it's a good opportunity to point out that the new Stampin' Up! catalogue has at last a new set of alphabet dies to purchase - something that many of you have missed from the last one, judging by the number of enquiries I get! The new set is called 'Playful Alphabet' (page 178) and is very similar in size and style to the thinlits I used on my card although there are a couple of great additions: duplicate letters for commonly used characters, such as vowels, as well as numbers and a set of characters, including a question mark, accents and a hashtag - and all for a very reasonable price of £32. As such, this is the set I've linked to below should you wish to purchase from my online store and re-create my card.

I don't have a photo of the inside of my card, as I wrote a personal message in it as soon as my card was made. I know my husband will totally 'get' this card as he knows how much I love this card, but I will confirm I did begin my message with another memorable quote from the movie: "You complete me" - it just had to be done! If you haven't seen this movie and have no idea what I'm talking about today, I can highly recommend it; grab your tissues and watch this little  clip, courtesy of movies.com, to whet your appetite: 

 And on that beautiful note - 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. What is your favourite movie? Do leave me a comment below or better still, make a card to illustrate it and play along with us this week!

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging   project that fits the challenge.
• Fill in the blanks with the words that are right for you and then create your project with those words in mind. Tell us, in your blog or on your site, what words you used.
• 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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

I am spending this morning in my office, whilst young Master James basks in the glory of CE exam completion and enjoys a 'day of rest', otherwise known as chatting and playing online with his friends, along with virtual pizza night this evening to celebrate. He is back on it next week as he begins what is usually a month of post CE exam fun, not with a week of outward bound activities in the Lake District with his class mates as planned, but instead video production to enable the Year 8 fashion show that they've been busy creating outfits for to happen online. I am off to school this afternoon to collect the 8 foot-high tree that I declined to bring home on the final day of school before lockdown because I couldn't fit it in my car along with all of the school books, files and sports kit and I couldn't believe it would be essential. Clearly I was wrong!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)

WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

2020–2022 IN COLOR A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

DOG BUILDER PUNCH (£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 a colour challenge:

We are saying goodbye to a couple of in-colours  this week, however I used the current sketch layout over at The Paper Craft Crew (welcome back Pam and the team!) and having had my preorder unboxing with some of my excited customers this week I was inspired to crack open the contents and pair these colours with some new goodies - take a look:

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

Jar Of Flowers - First new item on today's card: the Jar of Flowers Bundle. Well, technically that's two items, as the bundle contains both a stamp set and a jar punch; yes, you heard correctly - a jar punch!! The stamps in the set include a flower collection for each season of the year and today I chose to feature the sunflowers on my card; this might well be meant for autumn, but the colours give my card a distinctly summery feel so that's what I'm going with. I stamped and punched my jar twice, the second time on vellum to give the opaque look of glass and fussy cut my flowers to allow them to pop against the yellow background:

Lovely Labels Pick A Punch - The second new and exciting item on my card is the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch that I used to make my Lovely Lipstick sentiment label. This punch is a winner - it cuts 6 different sizes and shapes of labels, but the layering combinations go way beyond this. I predict this punch will be as much of a staple as the Scallop Tag Topper or Triple Banner Punches - super useful.

Ornate Thanks - I paired my card with the 'Ornate Thanks' stamp set from the Ornate Garden Suite, also a stamp set that is new to the annual catalogue but already available to customers to order early this month. I finished the heat-embossed sentiment on the front of my card with a big bold thank you inside:

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. 

If you like my card, do check out the other Design Team members cards over on the challenge page - you will notice something of a distinct theme that stretches beyond our colour palette this week! Likewise, if you are not already a customer of mine but would like to receive a copy of the new annual 2020-21 Stampin' Up! catalogue when it launches on 3rd June, do click here to email me and request a copy.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ORNATE THANKS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£17.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	LOVELY LIPSTICK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALL ME CLOVER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALL ME CLOVER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	EMBOSSING BUDDY (£5.50)
VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	STAMPIN' BLENDS DAFFODIL DELIGHT COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS LOVELY LIPSTICK COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS CALL ME CLOVER COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS SOFT SUEDE COMBO PACK (£8.50)