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)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and our fearless leader Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I loved Felicita's board this week and I could have chosen so many routes! I ended up using this week's Global Design Project #GDP306 sketch for my layout and going diagonally across the board from bottom left to top right with birthday/free/balloon (it also fits the second row of any colour ink/free/any shape die) for a simple and colourful birthday card - take a look:

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

Pattern Party - I used a sheet of fun, colourful stripey paper from the Pattern Party host pack as the background for my card - this totally inspired my bright colour scheme today! I love the way this frames my central scalloped panel.

Ombre Biggest Wish - My central panel is cut with one of the Scalloped Contours Dies and I used it to create a focal point ombre 'happy' sentiment overlaid with a fussy-cut birthday, both from the 'Biggest Wish' stamp set. Love these big, bold fonts, that are useful in lots of ways.

What No Penguin? - The balloons I featured on my card are from the 'Penguin Place' stamp set - and yes, not a penguin in sight! When I originally started my card, I was intent on adding one but in the end decided I liked it just like this. I fussy cut my balloons and strings and added them to my panel for a final pop of colour.

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

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

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; I am taxi service to hockey training this evening -  we are starting to ramp up as the new season approaches! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BIGGEST WISH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (£33.00)	PENGUIN PLACE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	PATTERN PARTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)