It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. It's July and Patricia is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I combined the colours with the sketch and photo inspiration over at Fusion (using metallic gold instead of the icy blue tones in the photo) and decided to create a congratulations card using the 'Happiness Abounds' bundle - take a look:

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

I decided to heat emboss my rose and some leaves from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set in gold onto solid colour cardstock and cut them out with the Blossoming Happiness Dies. I considered using a Navy cardbase, but eventually went with white, adding some subtle ink blending using a retired stencil and a blending brush to add a hint of extra colour to my base behind my floral cluster. I added my sentiment to a banner backed with some (retired) gold vellum and added a number of metallic gold elements (some retired gold foil diecuts, gold twine and some of the lovely gold brushed metallic dots) to give an added feel of luxury and elegance to my clean and simple card. I also added some depth to my flower and coloured leaves using my Stampin' Blends on these elements - you can see that better on the photo below:

If you look closely at the 'spare' roses that are on the picture at the bottom of today's post, you will see that one of the roses has been left plain and the other has been shaded with Blends - this is a good way to see the difference that adding the shading makes; I think it's worth the extra effort. Apologies if the colours on today's photos are a little off - the sun was so bright when I took them, I struggled to balance the brightness. I did also use Cherry Cobbler as opposed to Merry Merlot (more by accident that design to be fair, but that also gives my rose a brighter shade of red).

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 struggled with today's card - but I love the 

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! colour 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. "Metallic Gold" can have either a shiny or a brushed finish, but we do want to be able to see that it's gold and not plain yellow. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HAPPINESS ABOUNDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (£7.00)	BRUSHED METALLIC ADHESIVE BACKED DOTS (£8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)
NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Samantha is hosting this month and this week we have a colour challenge featuring three of the five new 2022-24 Stampin' Up! in colours: 

For my card today I made a colourful cocktail card using the 'Nothing's Better Than' stamp set - take a look: 

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

Nothing's Better Than - I've used the 'Nothing's Better Than' for a colourful cocktail card previously (you can see that card here if you missed it) but this one is an altogether more clean and simple affair. 

Glimmer Shapes - I backed my stamped and die cut cocktail glass with a combination of in-colour glimmer stitched circles and backed the sentiment banner with another one in the third challenge colour - so much sparkle, yet concentrating it in a small area enables the clean and simple feel to be maintained:

I also added a trio of Tahitian Tide enamel dots to continue the circle theme.

Inside And Out - Another cocktail inside my card and a second one on the envelope completes my card - no naked envelopes or insides 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. 

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:

NOTHING'S BETTER THAN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	LOVE YOU MORE THAN DIES (£28.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (£11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)
TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	2022-2024 IN COLOR MATTE DECORATIVE DOTS (£7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Samantha has asked that we frame a sentiment as the focal point and decorate with two additional elements. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I also took my inspiration from the deep blue of the sofas in the Time Out inspiration photo, along with the touches of gold and collections of things in twos - take a look:

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

For today's card I reached for my Abstract Beauty Cards and the co-ordinating Abstract Beauty Ephemera pack - these are so great for quick cards and I knew I had everything there that I needed. My card base is pre-printed with a Night of Navy watercolour-effect background (and the envelope co-ordinates too - see the photo at the bottom of the post!) I cut a hexagon shape using my Beautiful Shapes Dies and partially inked one of the stamps in the new 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set so that I could isolate and stamp the word 'hello'. I popped this up on dimensionals, decorated with a couple of the flowers and leaves from the ephemera pack and added some (retired) gold gilded gems and Pumpkin Pie sequins from my stash to complete my card: 

Quick and easy! Sometimes this kind of card making feels a little like cheating, when it all comes together so smoothly - but these kinds of cards are great when you are pressed for time and still allow for creativity, so no complaints from me! The Abstract Beauty Cards and Envelopes and the Ephemera Pack are currently on sale, reduced by 50% and 30% respectively until the end of the month when they retire - double bargain! The perfect time to stock up - just click on the links at the bottom of the post to go straight to the online store.

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

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

Enjoy your day; mine will be a busy one, with a considerable amount of baking going on in readiness for tomorrow's birthday celebrations - we are treating the whole of Sixth Form at school! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ABSTRACT BEAUTY EPHEMERA PACK (£4.20)

ABSTRACT BEAUTY CARDS & ENVELOPES (£4.62)

BEAUTIFUL SHAPES DIES (£27.00)

SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We are into June so it's all change! Samantha is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

This trio of colours are perfect for florals so for my card today I pulled out one of my new favourites, the 'Sending Smiles' bundle, for a clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I stamped my stems and leaves directly onto my card base, and blended some additional Pear Pizzazz ink along the bottom edge of my card base, then stamped my flower heads and sentiments onto a separate piece of white cardstock and diecut them with the Sending Dies in order that they would stand out from the background. A trio of brass butterflies complete the front of my card:

I also added a little extra stamping to the inside of my card - no naked insides here: 

The 'Sending Smiles' stamp set is great for clean and simple cards and has a great variety of sentiment combinations too. Combined with this colour combination, this purple-lover couldn't be happier! 

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:

SENDING SMILES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (£9.25)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. There are 5 Tuesdays in May so we are ending the month with the double: one of our previous sketches and a retired colour combination. For Shannon's final challenge as hostess she chose the following:  

For my card today I grabbed a punch bundle that is perfect for a quick and simple thank you card that will really make the most of these retro colours - take a look:

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

I used my Basic Borders Dies for a simple angled layered border with a simple dotted detail, and used my Flowers of Friendship stamp set to heat emboss a sentiment on my Island Indigo card base and stamp a trio of flowers in Island Indigo onto the other two colours and punched them out with the flowers and Leaves punch and finished them with some retired Island Indigo enamel dot centres:  

Super simple and could be easily recreated in colours that are currently available.

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! colour 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 and news of a great new promotion too. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC BORDERS DIES (£27.00)

FLOWERS OF FRIENDSHIP CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)

FLOWERS & LEAVES PUNCH (£18.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Shannon has asked that we include a trio of any type of shape, surrounding a sentiment. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to get fussy cutting for those three shapes on Shannon's sketch and I reached for my Tea Boutique papers and a couple of designs in particular that were inspired by the gorgeous pinky-reds and blues over at Sunday Stamps - take a look:

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

I love the colour combinations in the Tea Boutique papers and decided to choose one panel for a background to 'frame' my white space in the centre and from another sheet I fussy cut a trio of teapots for my three shapes. Now I know fussy cutting isn't for everyone and these are a little fiddly, especially if you cut out the handle piece, but I find cutting quite relaxing and quite enjoyed choosing my pot designs and then cutting them out:

I allowed the handles of my teapots to overhang the white panel, with the thin white border around them helping them to stand out from the background. I added a little stamped tag for my sentiment, tied with some of the new Starry Sky in-color baker's twine. This is a little fussy for a CAS card and in hindsight I maybe should have stamped my sentiment straight onto the white panel, but it's done now so too late  - and I like 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. 

So no need to hoard that new designer series paper - this is my call to 'get snipping'!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CUP OF TEA PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)

TEA BOUTIQUE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)

2022–2024 IN COLOR BAKER'S TWINE PACK (£14.00)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Shannon is hosting this month and this week we have our second colour challenge of the month: 

I love Shannon's fresh colour palette of aquas with a touch of silver this week! These colours immediately made me think of the sea so for my card today I had to make another card using the Waves of Inspiration bundle - take a look: 

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

Waves of Inspiration - These beautiful sea greens were perfect to showcase another of those cresting waves from the Waves of Inspiration stamp set. Since this card is all about the clean and simple, I wanted to minimise the layers on my card and be sure to preserve my 'white space'. I masked off the centre of my card base so that only a portion of the wave would be visible, leaving me a wide unstamped border. The Stamparatus is a must for easily achieving this kind of stamping - masking paper would be easier, but this is how I did it using post-it notes:

To Shake Or Not To Shake? - I decided to create a simple shaker card, using a mix of sparkle & shine sequins for a touch of silver along with a few odd Coastal Cabana coloured sequins from my stash, and a simple window frame in white made using my Stitched Rectangle Dies:

I debated with myself whether a shaker card could be considered clean and simple, but having consulted with my lovely teamies we agreed it could: this card meets our 'clean and simple' criteria of 'uncluttered, with white or open space and minimal layers and embellishments' - so I hope you like it!

Silver Surfer - I decided to add a touch more silver and cut out one of the wave dies from some retired metallic silver glimmer paper and added it to the front of my shaker window for some extra sparkle. 

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! colour 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.

I'm also linking today's card up over at Paper Craft Crew where their 'shiny celebration' inspiration challenge closes today.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WAVES OF INSPIRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)	SPARKLE & SHINE SEQUINS ASSORTMENT (£6.75)	FOAM ADHESIVE STRIPS (£7.50)	BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Shannon has asked that we layer some shapes along a vertical panel. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I did just that - I turned the sketch through 90 degrees and went with a very fluid interpretation of Shannon's sketch using the Let's Set Sail bundle:

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

Let's Set Sail - The Let's Set Sail bundle is perfect for clean and simple cards and it works for everything from (masculine) birthdays and encouragement to baby cards. I added the sea directly to my white cardbase, along with my sentiment and some birds, then added my punched sailboat with dimensionals for a little extra lift. I love the sketchy appearance of the stamps in this set: 

Tuesday Tip - The Tuesday Tip that I'm sharing over in my Crafty Owl Creatives Facebook Group today is around the Sailboat Builder Punch - some clever stamping enables you to stamp and punch it out in one go:

This is such a time-saver and econimcal use of cardstock too. You can get the detail, see other Tuesday Tips and more by joining my Facebook Group 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. 

Today's card was also inspired by a couple of other challenges: the team over at Color Hues are asking us to create cards using the colours blue and tan and over at Time Out where the theme is 'vacation':

As a keen scuba diver, I am more like to be found beneath the waves rather than in a sailboat, but each to their own (and I don't have a stamp featuring a scuba diver ;-) )

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LET'S SET SAIL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£29.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches.  We are into May and so a new month means a new hostess! This month it's the turn of Shannon and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

I also used the sketch layout over at Just Add Ink for my layout. Today's card is all about the new - well it is the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue launch day, after all! I used two new stamp sets and two new dies - take a look:

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

A stitched circle courtesy of the Stylish Shapes Dies in Pale Papaya forms the backdrop for my sweet heat-embossed teacup brimming with flowers, courtesy of the new Cup of Tea bundle. A fussy cut sentiment from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set (I just love that script/font!) and a few in-colour gems complete my clean and simple card:

And that's all there is to 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. 

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:

CUP OF TEA BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	HAPPINESS ABOUNDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

00It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week it's our final challenge for the month of April and Bhavya has asked that we create something with three distinct sentiment elements for her final sketch challenge:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I ended up creating not one, not two but three cards! I'm sharing my favourite one first - a clean and simple shaker card - take a look:

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

Farewell Playful Alphabet Dies - Time to say goodbye to a craftroom staple - the Playful Alphabet Dies! Yes, they are retiring with current annual catalogue next week and newsflash - there are NO alphabet die sets in the new annual catalogue, so not only will I be hanging on to my set, if you don't have them you have just one week to nab a set! I can't recommend them highly enough: they are so useful for personalising cards, but also to create bespoke messages or greetings. Use them flat or on dimensionals, or as I've done here to create a bespoke message that I then backed with window sheet to create a fun clean and simple shaker card! How cool is this?

Rainbows or Candles? - My initial shaker was inspired by the inspiration challenge of 'make a wish - rainbows' over at TGIF Challenges this week and I paired my simple message with a paper-pieced rainbow made using my Beautiful Rainbow Dies and some scraps of cardstock in Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana and Fresh Freesia to co-ordinate with the (retired) Ice Cream Shaker Sprinkles that I used inside my shaker. I used my rainbow offcuts to add a decorative border to the inside of my card, along with a sentiment from the retiring 'Sweet Ice Cream' stamp set:

I liked this card so much, I made another one, this time using the retiring white, gold and silver Sequins For Everything (currently half price) for my shaker and a trio of (retired) gold Candle Embellishments I found on my shelf:

Check out the sparkles - how fun!

Here are both shakers together - which one do you prefer?

I honestly can't decide - I love this design so much I think I'm going to make a whole bunch more!!

A CAS Thankyou Trio - Finally I have one extra 'bonus' card for you, that was the one I made before my shakers - a super simple repeating 'thanks' sentiment using a trio of dies cut with the Amazing Thanks Dies, with each one backed by the fresh colours of the current Color Dare challenge:

By using the colour for the base layer of the diecut and making the top layer white, it allows for a white base and preserves the clean and simple feel with all that 'white space'. This is a great way to use up scraps and whilst I love the fresh colour combo I used on today's card - Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight - this simple layout would work with whatever colours you have available.

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects 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 actually made four cards for today's challenge; the first one was mediocre at best; I had an idea that just didn't look right when I made it - so much so, I'm not even going to share it with you!  So I left it and when I went back to desk 24 hours later, I started fresh and came up with my thankyou trio, quickly followed by my fun shaker cards - suddenly I was on a creative roll! Does that ever happen to you when your creating? How do you combat that feeling you get when you've made something but are just not 'feeling' it? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy your day; the James Juniors are both back to school today following the Easter break so I will be aiming to get more work done this week. This is a super-busy term, with everything from cricket fixtures to the school musical production, internal exams, speech days, university open days and lots more besides! I really do need to get organised!! On that note, I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, there's work to do - happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BRILLIANT RAINBOW DIES (£29.00)

PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)

WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)

SEQUINS FOR EVERYTHING (£5.62)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£25.00)

FOAM ADHESIVE STRIPS (£7.25)