It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Patricia has asked that we incorporate an angled element overlaid with a sentiment. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

This is an interesting sketch with so many possibilities for that angled section. For my card today I decided to use it to highlight some new speciality paper and create a clean and simple Christmas card - take a look:

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

Snowflake Vellum - I cut a strip of one of the patterns of the new Snowflake Speciality Vellum and tucked it behind the triangle 'v' shape that I cut out of my top white card layer. The vellums in this pack are gorgeous - a variety of snow patterns, some of which are fuzzy white velvet and some of which are silver holographic foil, one of which I used here. They are so pretty - difficult to photograph, but so shiny in real life! I used the remainder of the vellum strip to decorate the flap of my envelope - you can see that on the photo at the bottom of the post.

A Hidden Gem - I love a good word diecut and was disappointed to not find any new ones in the new seasonal catalogue. But wait - there is a hidden gem! In the Santa Express Memories and More card pack, there are two - yes two! - sheets of wooden diecut sentiments - score! These are great for adding dimension and detail to all kinds of projects. They are naturally the colour of whitewashed wood, but I coloured mine silver with a retired silver encore ink pad before adding to my card:

The Santa Express Memories and More pack has some great cards for both both memory keeping and card making, but I have to say I think the pack is worth it for the diecut sentiments alone - such a great way to create an impact!

Sparkle and Shine - I finished my card with a sprinkle of Sparkle and Shine Sequins to highlight my sentiment and bring out the sparkle of the vellum. Not too many - today is clean and simple day, after all! 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SNOWFLAKE 12 X 12 (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY VELLUM (£9.50)

SANTA EXPRESS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (£11.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

SPARKLE & SHINE SEQUINS ASSORTMENT (£6.75)

BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Patricia is hosting this month and this week she has another colour challenge for us: 

For my card today I couldn't resist another of those Hippest Hippos. This time I paired this little guy with a fun sentiment from another Sale-A-Bration stamp set that can be yours free with a £90 purchase called 'Amazing Phrasing' - take a look:

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

'Amazing Phrasing' is one of those useful stamp sets that you can use to create lots of different sentiment combinations. I thought this hippo looked like he was definitely sweet on someone, so I chose this sentiment and paired it with one on the inside from the 'Hippest Hippos' set:

I went back to a grey hippo today, so with my So Saffron cardbase had to really look at ways to incorporate a little more of the other two colours. In addition to the flower he's holding, I added some pink diecut hearts and stamped part of my sentiment onto Soft Sea Foam and fussy cut it to add in a little more green too:

And that's all there is to it - another clean and simple hip hippo!

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; I got up and crafted early this morning, as my craft room will be like a sauna from mid-morning in this heatwave we are experiencing here in the UK. No complaints here though - I shall be taking it easy and catching up on a good book beneath a fan, probably whilst lying on the stone tiles to keep cool! The weather is supposed to break tomorrow so the temperatures should be easing off a little. Stay safe and enjoy your day wherever you are and I'll be back tomorrow with another hippo project for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HIPPEST HIPPOS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	HIPPO DIES (£0.00)	AMAZING PHRASING PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SOFT SEA FOAM STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Patricia has asked us to create something with the layout below. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to go for a clean and simple birthday card with a pop of bright colour courtesy of the Butterfly Kisses designer paper - take a look:

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

I added a piece of Butterfly Kisses designer paper to my card base, then overlaid the front section with a piece of Basic White cardstock that I cut with one of my Basic Borders Dies to give it the curve of the sketch. To this I added a butterfly cut with one of the Build A  Butterfly Dies and a sentiment from the 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set. I did add my sentiment to the lower portion of my card rather than where it was suggested on the sketch as I wanted it to stand out better and not get lost in the pattern of the paper. I also added a greeting and small decoration from the same stamp set to the inside of my card: 

I chose two of the colours that feature in the paper for my sentiment and butterfly respectively to give the whole thing a sense of cohesiveness. One of those cards that is simple and yet so effective I think:

A great sketch too with loads of creative possibilities. Looking forward to see what's in the gallery 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BUILD A BUTTERFLY DIES (£29.00)

BUTTERFLY KISSES 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)

BASIC BORDERS DIES (£27.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

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)