Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's clean and simple week and it's my turn to host and I've a fun theme for you:

I chose birthdays - because everyone needs birthday cards, right? The important thing to remember though is that it's Clean and Simple (CAS) week and over at the Paper Players that means: 

• minimal layers and embellishments
• plenty of open space
• simple and uncluttered

I decided to make another card using my 'Sweet Peas' stamp set, this time featuring a row of partying happy peas - take a look:

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

I added a strip of Full Of Life square patterned designer paper featuring a range of greens, then stamped a row of single peas, complete with party hats and party blowers, and coloured them with various Stampin' Blends before popping the final one up on dimensionals and adding my birthday greeting:

I added a sprinkling of coloured rhinestones around my partying peas for a little sparkle, then finished the sentiment using stamps from the 'More Wishes' stamp set inside, along with a few more peas for good measure: 

I stamped one more pea pod on the front of my envelope to complete my card. I just love these peas - their comical expressions make me chuckle and I can't resist a good pun!

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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I spent a couple of days visiting family in Wales at the end of last week, so today I'm catching up on a few jobs with nothing much else planned. Hope you are all looking forward to a restful Sunday too! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET PEAS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	FULL OF LIFE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	AZURE AFTERNOON STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a few current challenges that are all celebrating the delights of summer:

The team over at Just Us Girls are celebrating all things summertime, Addicted to CAS has the codeword of SUMMER and AAA Cards is looking for anything clean and simple, with the optional twist of summer.  

I have made a few cards using the 'Beach Day' set recently, mostly featuring the dies which I love. I wanted to try something more CAS that focused on the stamps alone - take a look at what I came up with:

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

This card really is super simple - I stamped a trio of images using my stamping platform for a crisp outline, added in some extra sand to extend the horizontal line and added a sentiment beneath. I coloured my images with my watercolour pencils, smoothing them with my blending pen:

This was my first experiment with the new neutral, Basic Beige, that I used for my card base. This really is a lovely neutral and makes a great soft, sand base for a beach-themed card. I haven't made a #simplestamping card like this one in ages, so it was fun to go back to basics. The Beach Day bundle is perfect for this kind of card, with so many images that can be combined to make fun little scenes. All we need here in the UK now is a little more sunshine - so far the summer has been rather damp!

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; I am off to the hairdressers later, which is always a joy. A good natter and an uninterrupted cup of coffee that I can still drink whilst hot - bliss! I'll be back Friday with my project for As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEACH DAY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)

BLENDER PENS (14.00)

WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 1 (17.00)

BASIC BEIGE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses this week's sketch over at Just Add Ink and is super clean and simple and also plays to CAS on Friday's current nature theme:

I unfortunately need a sympathy card this week and as I still had the Frames & Flowers papers on my desk from making yesterday's card, it occurred to me that one of the partial wreath diecuts with its simple string of leaves would fit the sketch perfectly:

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

I added my sentiment from the Country Flowers stamp set in Pretty Peacock and added a trio of co-ordinating enamel dots to a Granny Apple Green cardbase:

The leaves in the wreath co-ordinate with a wide range of colours and I chose Granny Apple Green as opposed to Lost Lagoon which has been my 'go to' with these papers up to now, as I wanted something brighter and more uplifting and I really like the effect. The Frames & Flowers papers really do make light work of clean and simple card designs - I love them!

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:

COUNTRY FLOWERS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Yay - clean and simple week! I decided to go with encouragement, as opposed to sympathy, for my card today - take a look:

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

The 'Unbounded Love' stamp set has a great selection of sentiments and that's where I found the ideal sentiment for my encouragement card:

I covered the whole of my card front with a piece of the Thoughtful Journey designer series paper; whilst this does leave me with less 'white space' than I would usually feature on a clean and simple card, it made light work of my card design. I added my sentiment label decorated with a tab of (retired) Misty moonlight ribbon, and a few tinsel dots to complete my card. I added an offcut of paper inside my card and another sentiment from 'Unbounded Love', along with a trio of hearts from 'Bee Mine':

Super simple and with minimal layers and embellishments - and an encouraging sentiment that is sure to inspire. The Unbounded Love bundle is one of the bundles that is available with an additional 10% off during the month of June, so if you purchase it this month it represents even better value. I'm also playing along over at Festive Friday with today's card; I used purple, blue, clean and simple and ribbon from their inspo list. 

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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I'll be back on Tuesday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

UNBOUNDED LOVE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.25)

TINSEL GEMS THREE-PACK (7.00)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for our speed stamping challenge - and I chose the theme:

Thank you cards! I use thank you cards more than any other kind of card and it's good to have some speedy designs on hand. I was actually a little short on crafty time this week so speed stamping week couldn't have come at a better time! I knew exactly where I was headed for my quick card - take a look at what I came up with and then I'll fill you in on the details:

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

Ready, Set ... - As we always say with a speed challenge, preparation is key. Think about your design and gather your supplies before the timer starts - this will make for a quicker execution. Mount your stamps, open your ink pads and you will be ready to start with the stopwatch. Here are all my supplies, in addition to my Tombo glue and trimmer, which is just out of view:

For a really quick card think about shortcuts - my shortcut on today's card is the Frames & Flowers designer series paper. The precut die-cut designs in the pack are a huge timesaver - a ready made decoration. I chose a sheet of patterned paper for my background, then one of the co-ordinating large foliage diecuts that had space for a printed sentiment.

Go! - Now to the timed action! I took my card base and added a pieces of designer series paper to the front of it. I then stamped the word 'thanks' in Pretty Peacock across the centre of the diecut (I used the retired 'Biggest Wish' stamp set but I've included a shop link below to a current one that would make a great alternative) the added this to the centre of my card base, using dimensionals:

I finished with a selection of co-ordinating gems to finish my card.

Result - That's all there is to it - a great #simplestamping card where the designer paper definitely takes the strain! How long did it take to make this card? 

Just 2 minutes and 42 seconds - at that speed, you could even make multiples in the space of 10 minutes! The Frames & Flowers papers really are fabulous and great for all kinds of speedy cards; at £9.50 for a pack, they're super reasonable 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 and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Shop link to the Frames & Flowers 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper £9.50: click here

PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

MY SMALL BUSINESS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (18.00)

PETAL PINK & PRETTY PEACOCK FOILED GEMS (7.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme for this week's Clean and Simple challenge:

You know how I can't resist a sketch by the lovely Cecile over at Freshly Made Sketches, so since this is her week I had to grab her layout and use it for the basis of my clean and simple punny birthday card using a new stamp that I also couldn't resist that is perfect to celebrate all things birthday over at AAA Cards too - take a look:

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

HapPea Birthday - what punny fun is that?! The 'Sweet Peas' stamp set is found in the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue and is choc-full of cute images and punny sentiments for lots of occasions. For today's card I chose the birthday peas, bursting out of their pod and stamped it onto a panel cut with an (elongated) Nested Essentials Die and coloured with three of the new In Colour Stampin' Blends: Shy Shamrock, Peach Pie and Petunia Pop (and a little Shaded Spruce and retired Call Me Clover for good measure). I could have finished there, but decided to create a loose 'frame' behind my panel using one of the long pea shoot stems in the set, adding just a little outline colour and fussy cutting them to allow for some overlap and lift for interest:

Don't you just love those grinning peas?! I added another pea along with a 'let's celebrate' sentiment from the (retired) 'Simply Fabulous stamp set to the inside of my card and repeated this on the envelope flap for a little co-ordinated decoration. Shy Shamrock is such a fresh and vibrant green - I know I'm going to use it a lot. Do you love these new in-colours too? Remember in May you can receive a fabulous bundle of new in-colour products for free when you sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - you can find the details on this amazing offer here. This stamp set makes me hap-pea (pun intended!) and I just love this clean and simple birthday card. I have lots of birthdays in May and June, and this card will be headed to a dear friend who will I know appreciate the sentiment!

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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I don't have anything special planned today, so will be hoping for fine weather and some time in the garden. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET PEAS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
SHY SHAMROCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PETUNIA POP STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PEACH PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

Happy hump day everyone! I am playing blog catch-up today as I've been making more than I've had time to blog, so today will be a two-post Wednesday! First up I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Inspired By where I couldn't resist those cake pop colours and am still riding high on my win from last week (you can see that card here if you missed it). I also used the sketch layout. No cake on this card though - instead I combined with the fun quote over at Time Out Challenges:

I went crafty - take a look:

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

I diecut a dozen cotton reels using the Crafting With You Dies in the colours of those cake pops, and finished with a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set stamped into an embroidery hoop; I layered up the hoop for a little extra dimension and added both the hoop and insert to a punched 2" circle for a little extra stability:

Super clean and simple! I'm sending this card to my Mum, who is an avid quilter - I suspect it might lead to a request for a few more so that she can share with the ladies who attend her weekly sewing class. Good job there are double dies for the cotton reels, allowing me to cut 4 at a time! 'The Crafting With You' stamp set and dies are on carryover into the new catalogue, but not as a bundle, so you've only a week left if you'd like to take advantage of the 10% bundle savings.

A reminder that the clearance rack in the online store updated yesterday - lots of bargains still to be had! You can check it out in my online store 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. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back shortly with my second post. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CRAFTING WITH YOU BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (51.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

No crafting time today but I do have a quick card to share using Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I didn't go slimline (largely because I was so fixated on making my card, I totally forgot about that bit - good job it was optional!) but I couldn't wait to use Karren's layout for another card featuring my favourite Just Kiddin' designer series paper - take a look:

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

I added a panel of Boho Blue embossed with the (retired) High Seas 3D Embossing Folder to the lower portion of my white cardfront, fussy cutting along the edge of the waves - I love the dimension that this adds and it picks up the detail from the fussy cut image. My trio sailing in their cardbox box boat make the perfect focal point and broadly follow the curved shape of Karren's semi circle:

A sentiment from then (retired) 'Beautiful World' was all that was needed to complete today's fun card. 

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

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

Enjoy your day; mine is filled with domestic bliss - the price we pay for a weekend away, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (current):

JUST KIDDIN' 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

Good evening everyone! I am spending the week clearing out my loft (a job long overdue!) so today I'm sharing a quick clean and simple card for a couple of challenges:

AAA Cards would like anything CAS with the optional twist of birthday, so I did both and also went with the CAS on Friday theme of male/boy. I made a fun, cute card for a little boy who is celebrating his birthday - take a look:

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

I created a subtle sweep of Azure Afternoon ink to highlight my sweet hula-hooper that I fussy cut from the Just Kiddin' designer series paper, adding some stamped hearts and stars in the same colour:

A simple sentiment from the 'Hooray For Surprises' set completes my card. Just a few key items needed to create this super cute card. 

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

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

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I love a good clean and simple challenge and we all have 'forever friends' that we can send this kind of card to, right? I used Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week (rotated through 90 degrees) and grabbed my Just Kiddin' designer series paper and my scissors and set to work. This is what I came up with:

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

Just Kiddin' - Just Kiddin' is one of my most favourite designer papers - ever! Perfect for cards, children's home decor and scrapbooking, it contains children being children, doing all kinds of things: playing, reading, baking, dressing up, painting and lots more besides. What's more, it is a showcase of diversity: there are children of every colour, wheelchair users, amputees, members of the deaf community and lots more besides - it's so inclusive. I fussy-cut my sweet pair of friends making their heart paper chain directly from one of the pages. This paper appears in the mini catalogue and during February is also available as a free Sale-A-Bration item with a £45 purchase - time to stock up before the end of the month, race you to the shop!!

Country Bouquet - I mounted my fussy cut pair onto an oval that I stamped with a sentiment from the 'Country Bouquet' stamp set that I thought suited these friends perfectly:

Are they not just sooo cute?!  A diagonal panel of the retired Country Floral Lane designer paper with a heart design to pick up on the detail of the image completed my card. I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational for another play along with their 'hearts' theme. If you like this card, check out yesterday's post too that features another sweet pair from the Just Kiddin' paper.

What Is Clean And Simple (CAS) - I love a good CAS card; as a reminder, when we talk about 'clean and simple' over at The Paper Players we mean:

• Have minimal layers and embellishments
• Have plenty of open space
• Are simple and uncluttered

My card definitely fits the brief this week - designer paper, a little fussy cutting and a well-chosen sentiment - and done! 

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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I am looking forward to a Sunday roast and a relaxing day today. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JUST KIDDIN' 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)