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

Today we are all about Christmas in July. I do like to get a start on Christmas cards at this time of year, but when it come to my favourite Christmas in July creation it has to be home decor and table favours; these always take longer to make than you think they will and in the busy run up to Christmas there is rarely time to devote large chunks of time to crafting, so I like to get a good headstart on these kinds of projects - it makes me feel organised! I have two projects for you today - a piece of home decor and a co-ordinating table favour. Both use the Tree Lot Dies, available free with a £90 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion - and I took the inspiration for my festive caravan and 'trees for sale' scene from the top right photo over at Hand Stamped Sentiments - what a great inspo board! First up - here's my home decoration piece:

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

I used a dome that I had in my office that I bought last year that was just waiting to be made into something, and built my little scene onto the base, having first covered the base with snowy white velvet paper (cut with a retired layering circles die). The string of lights, embellished with the pretty Festive Pearls, the trees and the 'trees for sale' sign are all one dimensional and stand with the aid of small supports behind them. The caravan is made by diecutting two of the diecut caravan pieces and adding a base (described in more detail with the table favour below) and a second curved piece of cardstock for the roof (the roof piece measures 3 1/2" x 1 1/2", scored at 1/2" on each side and 1/4" on each side respectively). I added some red ribbon to the top of my dome and red glimmer to the base of my dome for extra festive feel. Here's a close up of my little scene, with the dome removed so that you can see the detail more easily:

My finished dome measures 11cm wide by 19cm tall and that's not all - it lights up too! 

A little tricky to see since I photographed it in daylight, but a nice feature to give a cosy night time glow. In addition to my decoration, which could be used as a table centrepiece, I also created the first of a set of table favours made from the caravan die. These are quite easy to make: just cut two caravan sides, then take a piece of cardstock measuring 4 1/8" x 1 1/2", scored at 1" on each side and 1/4/" on each side respectively, to create the open box shape. They are just big enough to hold two Lindor chocolates or similar:

How cute is that?! Both of today's projects are quite easy to make, but I won't lie - there is a time-consuming element, since all of the little pieces need to be cut and glued in place. Worth it though I think - and if you start now, you will have them finished and ready to go when Christmas rolls around!

The key products used on today's project are included in the table below - no visual today. 

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 Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TREE LOT DIES (£0.00)	TREES FOR SALE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	SNOWY WHITE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) VELVET SHEETS (£4.75)	REAL RED & WHITE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (£4.75)	FESTIVE PEARLS (£6.75)	REAL RED & GARDEN GREEN 3/8" (1 CM) RIBBON COMBO PACK (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (£9.50)

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, with this week's colour palette chosen by me:

I loved the sky in the inspiration photo, so thought I would try and recreate it on a couple of Christmas cards. I grabbed my ink pads and blending brushes, along with some new embossing folders and this is what I came up with - take a look:

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

Charming Landscapes - Both of today's cards feature a panel embossed with each of the new Charming Landscapes embossing folders. These folders are great for adding embossed background layers to your cards, but I wanted to pair them with a bold, blended sky and make them the main feature. One includes a mountain scene, the other a village scene - I couldn't decided which one to use so having started with the village scene, I decided to create a second one using the mountain scene too:

Blended Sky - I used all four of the challenge colours to create my blended sky, starting with the lightest colour pink then progressing to the darkest blues. To pick out the snowy/starry details of the embossing across the sky, I them too a dry aquapainter and painted each of the embossed elements with some (retired) Frost White shimmer paint; if you don't have any of this, you could use a white craft re-inker or even the new pearlised enamel effects on page 59 of the seasonal catalogue. This was a time-consuming process, but so worth it to pick out the detail. I also flicked the sky with my clear Wink of Stella pen for a subtle extra sparkle:

Aren't these skies just so pretty?

Masking Magic - In order to keep my blended colour to the sky portion of my scene only, I created masks for each embossing folder, by running it through my Big Shot with some acetate window sheet and using a scissors to cut around the mountains/houses. I attached each to my white embossed cardstock and held in place before adding my ink colours, then removed when complete. These can be easily cleaned and re-used, which is a good job; I like these cards so much I can't wait to create more using different colour combinations. I added a simple sentiment from the 'Christmas To Remember' stamp set and another to the inside of my card to finish. Here are both of my cards together - which one do you prefer?

Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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

And the second one:

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 was a little concerned that the team wouldn't take to my choice of colours this week, but I can honestly say they've outdone themselves - you should definitely check out their cards this week. 

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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHARMING LANDSCAPES EMBOSSING FOLDERS (£7.50)	CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	ORCHID OASIS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)

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

Since today celebrates the launch of the new July-December mini catalogue and the start of the second Sale-A-Bration promotion of the year, I couldn't resist the opportunity to create with some new goodies! I'm not quite in the Christmas zone yet though, so decided to pair the summery colour palette over at Global Design Project #GDP349 this week and the inspiration phrase of "Fun In The Sun" over at Try Stamping On Tuesday (but not the sketch for obvious reasons) and use two of my FREE Sale-A-Bration products to create a splashy pool-inspired card featuring a trio of hip hippos - take a look:

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

Hippest Hippos - So how adorable are these hippos??! The stamp set contains 4 sentiments and a trio of hippos in a variety of poses - and the co-ordinating Hippos Dies extend the versatility of these semi-aquatic mammals further with the inclusion of a boat, bath tub and lots of accessories too. I 'dressed' my hippos in sunglasses, a snorkel and mask and cleverly adapted the ballet dancer in the set by adding an inflatable rubber ring that I made out of a retired stitched oval die to create a trio that are ready for some water-based fun.  

A Trio Of Dies - In addition to using the Sale-A-Bration Hippos Dies to cut out the hippos and their accessories, I also used the 'waves' die in the set for some partial diecutting to create the base for my stitched circle apertures that I wanted my hippos to sit in. The circles were diecut using the Stylish Shapes Dies and my panel cut using the Rectangle Stitched Dies. I like the way you can see the wave impressions beneath the die on the solid coloured cardstock, but the Tahitian Tide In-Color DSP beneath peaks through, a little like the sparkle of light on water. I added some splashes cut from this paper to my top layer, but I think they get a little lost - I think if I did them again I might use some in-color glimmer paper; what do you think?

Watercolour Pencil Wonder - I stamped my hippos directly onto Grey Granite cardstock, then added highlights and shading using my watercolour pencils, blended out with a blending pen. This is quite a neat way to use watercolour pencils and is a great way to add a little depth to your image without having to do lots of colouring. Did you know too that July is National Watercolour Month? Watercolouring can take lots of forms besides the traditional 'brush, water and paint' method. I look forward to sharing more watercolouring tips and tricks during the coming month. 

Both the 'Hippest Hippos' stamp set and the Hippo Dies can be yours FREE with a purchase of £45 (you will need two £45 purchases to get both items - they can be purchased separately). To get yours just click on the links to the online store below and place your order - you know you want 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. 

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.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Sunday with my card for our new theme challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HIPPEST HIPPOS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	HIPPO DIES (£0.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR™ 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)
PARAKEET PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRAY GRANITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK 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 fun speed stamping challenge:

I chose this theme; I can't be the only cardmaker who sometimes realises I'm late, late ... for a very important date, right?! Sometimes the realisation that you need a birthday card super quickly since it should have been received yesterday means speed is of the essence. I have several retired stamp sets that I've kept that are perfect for belated birthday cards; I thought I'd combine one of these with a trio of colours from the Sunday Stamps palette and a sneak peek of a brand new set that can be yours as part of the Sale-A-Bration promotion that runs from 1st July-31st August - take a look:

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

The key to a speed challenge is preparation - here's all of my equipment gathered before I started, with my stamp pads open in front of me just out of shot:

I used a combination of layer sizes that I always keep precut to save time and odd scraps from my card box.

Oops! - The stamped sentiments on today's card are from a new set called 'Amazing Phrasing' - free with a £90 purchase during Sale-A-Bration. The set is photopolymer, so really easy to line up without a Stamparatus, which saves time - good when you don't have much of it! 

Simple Layout - My layout is actually cased from a similar card that features in the Sale-A-Bration brochure. Simple layers, cut with a trimmer - no dies required! An added layer of vellum helps soften the stamped background and create focus to the main image:

Slowly Does It - I combined this new set with my trusty retired 'Turtle Friends' set and added a simple stamped and punched turtle to the front of my card and carried through the belated theme to the inside of my card with another stamp from this set:

Is my stamping perfect? No; my turtle shell is a little smudged, but I didn't want to redo because of the time constraint but I think it's ok for a speed challenge. And done! How long did it take? I used all of my allotted 10 minutes - I was coming in at about 8 and a half minutes so decided to stamp and fussy cut a party hat for my turtle too!

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

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

Enjoy your day; I am spending the day in Bath today; no post from me tomorrow as I'm off to Warwick but I'll be back on Sunday with my project for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.50)	PEAR PIZZAZZ A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

Today 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 tempted to do something with lemons, as I love the bright yellow of the lemons against the blue in our inspiration photo today, however I have had a rainbow-themed idea percolating in my head for a little while so decided to try that out instead. As a result, I ended up wtih not one but two cards for you today - take a look:

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

Rainbow Pastels Coffee - I started off with this card that was inspired by the pastel rainbow colours over at Fusion (you can see them on the badge at the bottom of this post). I stamped and diecut a collection of coffee cups using the Nothing's Better Than stamp set and Love You More Than co-ordinating dies, and adhered them across the centre of my slimline card. I added a simple stamped sentiment either side, with the diecut 'coffee' added on top using adhesive foam sheet:

 I carried the sentiment and coffee cup theme through to the inside (and did the same with my second card too):

 I was going for a clean and simple card with lots of white space and could have stopped there, but decided that it would be fun to add a selection of sequins from my stash that co-ordinated with my rainbow colours around the cups for a little extra sparkly detail - it's also a nod to the round plates in the Fusion photo. Check out how pretty they shine:

Rainbow Brights Cocktails - Having completed this card, I thought it would be fun to make another card with the same idea, this time using the cocktail glass in the Nothing's More Than set. I changed up my rainbow of colours from pastels to brights (I was thinking more of a day to night vibe!) for my second card:

The cocktail glasses are larger than the coffee cups, so I went for a more uniform positioning across the centre of the card and placed my stamped sentiments to either side for better balance. I wanted to preserve my white space so didn't add as many sparkles this time; I still couldn't resist a few iridescent rhinestones to add to my cocktail party feel though!

So which are you - Team Coffee of Team Cocktails? Today it's a Bank Holiday here in the UK to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee - 70 years on the throne, wow! I think this means I'll be doing both as the day progresses; any excuse to raise a glass, ma'am!

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

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

NOTHING'S BETTER THAN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	LOVE YOU MORE THAN DIES (£28.00)	FOAM ADHESIVE SHEETS (£7.50)	SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	ORCHID OASIS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)

Happy Friday everyone - the weekend is in sight! 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 made a very special card to share with you today! You know when you get an idea and you just can't rest until you make it a reality? Yes, that was today's card! My card to welcome a new baby features the new Sweet Songbirds bundle - take a look:

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

Sweet Songbirds - Everyone loves a good punch bundle and the Sweet Songbirds bundle, comprising the stamp set of the same name and the Songbird Builder Punch, is definitrly a great addition to your crafting collection. Perfect to welcome someone to a new home or to welcome a new baby, for thank yous, news notes or any kind of celebration (even Christmas - these birds would make great robins!), the Sweet Songbirds bundle has it all. The punch will either punch the stamped image of the large bird in the set, or allow you to simply punch a bird from cardstock. This is particularly useful to easily create mirrored birds, as I've done on my card today. 

Double Slider Reveal - What might not be immediately obvious at first glance, is that today's card is a double slider card. When you pull the tab at the side of the card, the mama and papa birds slide out to reveal their baby bird in the nest:

I might be biased, but I think this is such a cute idea! 

Here's a short video clip showing you how that works:

I'm mindful that today's post doesn't show the detail of the 'how' I created my double slider; I watched a number of actually very frustrating YouTube videos, and ultimately ended up re-engineering the mechanism until it is so super easy! It really needs a video to explain it though and I didn't then have time to film one this week, but I will pick this up and share in another post with you next week since I feel like I owe it to the crafting community to demystify this type of card!! I finished my sentiment and re-stamped my baby songbird on the inside of my card to finish.

A Recipe For Success - Whilst I was all about bring my creative ideas to fruition this week, it's recipe week over at As You See It and so worth me recapping on how I incorporated the elements of the recipe in my card:

• Diecut or punch - Songbird Builder Punch and Basic Borders Dies (I used the cloud shaped as a stencil to add clouds to my background with a blending brush and some Balmy Blue ink)
• Embossing folder - Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder (This covers my slider mechanism)
• Something beginning with 'B' - Birds and baby
• Pastel colours - Balmy Blue, So Saffron and Polished Pink
• Something shiny - A sparkly in-colour vellum flower and single rhinestone jewel to decorate mama bird (almost missed this one!)

That's everything - phew! What a sweet little pair:

This was such a fun card to make!

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

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET SONGBIRDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£32.25)	MERRY MELODY 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.50)	BASIC BORDERS DIES (£27.00)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£5.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)

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

I used this week's Global Design Project colour palette and the sketch layout over at Sunday Stamps and chose a set that might surprise you for my card this week - take a look:

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

A Mother's Love - We have already had Mother's Day here in the UK, so instead of making a Mother's Day card I decided to make a card to send to my daughter. I filled in the blank for today's challenge with 'The best thing about Mothers is ...unconditional love' and I thought this sweet image of two birds from the 'Catch You Later' stamp set, alongside the sentiment of 'I'll always be here for you' sums this up nicely. The image of the protective mother bird keeping her little one close underlines the idea that a Mother is the one person who loves you - no matter what. As a Mother of two myself, that's exactly how I feel about my offspring and this simple card is a great way to make sure that they know it. 

Stylish Circles and Banners - I used the Stylish Shapes Dies both to edge my cutaway circle - I love that these dies have the stitched detail on both sides of the cut line - and for the trio of stitched banners that house my sentiment. This dieset is an absolute must-have!

Beautiful Blends - I coloured my pair of birds in this week's GDP colours; I think these birds are supposed to be quails, but since these are rather uninteresting, neutral coloured birds to look at, I thought a brighter look with a funky top feather was much more fun! 

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 Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

Enjoy your day; I've a super busy end to my week but will hopefully be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CATCH YOU LATER CLING STAMP SET (£22.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PALE PAPAYA STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a shades of blue colour challenge chosen by the lovely LeAnne:

I have been busy preparing for my upcoming 'Waves of The Ocean' card class and this trio of blues is just perfect for waves, so I thought I'd share a variation of a card that I'll be making with my ladies next week, including a fun technique - take a look at my card:

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

Waves of Inspiration - This fabulous tidal wave is the real scene-stealer in the 'Waves of Inspiration' stamp set and can make a card all by itself (more on that later!) For this card, I used my Stamparatus to ink the whole wave in Balmy Blue, then I inked a second time, adding Pacific Point and Night of Navy to select areas of the stamp using a sponge dauber, to give me the variegated colour. The Stamparatus is most definitely your friend when using this stamp - it allows you to align the image and add layers of colour with ease. 

Foamy Waves - I decided I wanted to add some dimension and texture to my wave to give it a truly foamy feel; you can see it on the card above but I thought you would appreciate a closer look below:

In real life this texture looks so good! 

Want To Know More? - Creating the textured foam really is easier than it perhaps looks: all you need is some liquid glue, white embossing powder and a heat gun to make the magic happen. Here's a link to a short video I made some years ago where I used the same technique to create puffy clouds and snow that demonstrates it better than I can explain it:

In addition to the basic technique, to add a little extra sparkle to today's card I went back over some of the raised areas with my liquid glue and added some fine loose glitter, but you could forgo this step if glitter isn't your thing. 

In designing my classes I always try to use all of the stamps in a set, but also to introduce new ideas or ways of using stamps that my ladies perhaps haven't thought of or that I haven't seen used elsewhere in the creative blogosphere. I hope my ladies like this one!

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.

Enjoy your day; we are taking it easy following a very late night in London yesterday. It was so worth it though - the ALW production of 'Cinderella' was AMAZING!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project and I have several more 'Waves of Inspiration' cards to share too, so stay tuned. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WAVES OF INSPIRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	MULTIPURPOSE LIQUID GLUE (£4.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)

Happy Friday everyone - the end of the week is here! This also means I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a fun sketch challenge:

I paired our sketch full of horizontals with this week's Color Throwdown colours and set to work. Initially this sketch had me stumped; my 'go to' would normally be designer series paper but I just wasn't inspired (check out what some of my teamies did with DSP though - amazing!) I perused my catalogue and then happened upon a retiring die that I thought would make a pretty repeating design - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Do you recognise this die? Or actually dies, as it uses two? Both the stitched rectangle and the floral line are from the retiring Ornate Layers Dies. In addition to the fancy frames in this set, there are two pretty floral diecut elements too and this is one of them. What this card lacks in supplies - you need literally just a handful of items to recreate it - it more than makes up for in time: all of the tiny floral elements have been paper-pieced into the negative of the white rectangles and yes it took a while! It's so worth it though; I considered leaving the panels white with the negative space unfilled and also considered cutting the panels from coloured cardstock, but they just didn't look as good. Instead I cut five rectangles with the negative die inset, then diecut the floral band an additional five times each in Coastal Cabana and Soft Sea Foam and using some Press 'n' Seal and the putty end of my Take Your Pick Tool, paper-pieced the pieces into each white panel (having first adhered it to a piece of cardstock using an adhesive sheet. 

For the gold elements, instead of using gold foil I rubbed the remaining areas with gold gilded leafing; this stuff gets everywhere, but I love the bright shine and slightly textured effect that it gives - you can see it more closely below:

I finished with a sentiment from the retiring 'All Things Fabulous' which has sadly already sold out here in the UK (love this set!) So what do you think? This card took a while but was so worth it - I love it! I'm also linking today's card up over at The Flower Challenge where they want us to add a heart to our floral cards; is it me, or are those not 'hidden' gold hearts on their sides either side of the central flower? For all you Walt Disney World fans out there, think of it like a hunt for 'hidden Mickey's' - you see them, right?!

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 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.

Enjoy your day; I have my usual list of Friday chores to complete today, including amongst other things trying to line-dry my washing in between the April showers (so far this week the score is 'Weather 2 - Joanne 0'!) but I'm hoping since I have a helper or two I met get done quicker and be able to squeeze in a little crafty time too. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where the lovely Heather H had a speed stamping challenge for us:

Heather's theme initially had me scratching my head this week, as I have no current stamps that are wellington boots or umbrellas; then I suddenly realised 'staying dry' can be as simple as taking the outside in! That thought led to another and I was away - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Yes, another rainbow for you today! I still had the 'In The Moment' stamp set out on my desk having prepped for my class using this set earlier this week. In my class, we looked not only at how to colour with Stampin' Blends, along with pencils, Stampin' Write markers and blending tips for each medium, but also different ways in which you can use line drawn images, including ways of colouring beyond the obvious. This card is a 'bonus' for the ladies that attended my class as it looks at another way to colour an image that might not be immediately obvious: here I've focused less on the inside and more on the outside - what can be seen beyond the scene, which in this case is the stormy grey sky and a beautiful rainbow through the window itself.

I used all 10 minutes of my allotted time for this week's speed challenge, first cutting my card base, mat and white pieces and stamping the image and sentiment in Memento Black, using my Stamparatus to get a nice solid image, then I used the remainder of the time to colour my image. I went with a traditional rainbow and coloured it with my Blends, simply drawing in the arch of colour and blending between each to get a smooth-ish finish. I added some clear Wink of Stella to give my rainbow some sparkle and a few clear enamel raindrops to add to the effect:

In the interests of time, I coloured the rest of my sky in Smoky Slate and added a few grey highlights to the image of lady, but that was all. I really like the effect - the lack of colour on the main image really draws the eye to the rainbow outside and the pop of colour it adds. 

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. 

This is my second entry over at The Paper Craft Crew's rainbow colour challenge this week - traditional rainbow colours this time - and another entry for the rain/rainbow challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP335.

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. 

I hope you're enjoying my rainbows in all of their various guises this week because - spoiler alert! - I have another rainbow card for you tomorrow! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

IN THE MOMENT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FRESH FREESIA STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	SILVER & CLEAR EPOXY ESSENTIALS (£4.38)