It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players This week it's the turn of the awesome Jaydee to host and she has a great colour challenge for us to work with:

Now as you know I sometimes find colour challenges perplexing, however Jaydee's palette this week got me all excited - so many creative possibilities! And what fourth colour to choose? I eventually settled on Tempting Turquoise, creating the perfect colour combination to ink up my Beautiful Peacock stamp with for the first time - take a look:

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

Eastern Palace Inspired - The first thing I do when I get a colour challenge is to look at what papers or accessories I have in my collection in those colours that I can work with. All three of Jaydee's chosen colours feature within the Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper so this was a natural starting point for me. 

A Beautiful Peacock - I knew I wanted to feature the denim and lime pattern that is on the right hand panel of my background; this pattern has always reminded me of peacock feathers - does it you? This led me straight to another of my free Sale-A-Bration stamp sets, Beautiful Peacock - such a gorgeous set and a perfect pairing. I decided to add in Tempting Turquoise as my fourth colour and use all four colours on my bird, with a Dapper Denim body and the remaining colours to create a graduation of colours across the tail feathers, punctuated with some retired Dapper Denim enamel dots.  You can see a close up of the detail on the photo below:

I then added some additional swirls and flowers to my panel behind. I really love this stamp - and even more so since it didn't cost me anything at all! 

A Touch Of Gold - I couldn't resist adding in a little sparkle to my project; I brushed some clear Wink of Stella onto the body of my peacock and added a trio of gold enamel shapes amongst the swirls to tie in with the gold stripes of my side strip of designer paper. 

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are having a relatively quiet day, having spent yesterday out in the cold for both netball and football fixtures. One of the James Juniors has been out on a sleepover, so once he's been collected, I'm hoping for a nice lunch and maybe even an afternoon movie - that would be nice! I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Beautiful Peacock Photopolymer Stamp Set	Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad
Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Thick Cardstock	Metallic Enamel Shapes

Today I'm sharing a card inspired by the photo over at The Paper Craft Crew and the sketch at As You See It:

I finally succumbed and bought the Eastern Palace Suite at the end of May; I had my classes scheduled through May and June and with lots of other pre-order goodies to play with so I didn't buy early. There are so many fabulous samples out there using this set though, I eventually caved and bought the bundle as I have a group of customers wanting to do a class with it in August. This is the first time I've used it to create this fabulously layered card - take a look:

After making this card, I might officially be in love with the Eastern Palace Suite! Here's the low-down on today's card:

So Many Layers - There are no less than 12 layers on my card today! This is thanks to the detail of the Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies - this set consists of 14 intricate dies that can be nested and stacked to create an almost infinite collection of shapes and designs, with or without the additional detail of the Eastern Beauty stamp set. 

Stamp A Roundabout - I chuckled when I read Heather's post over at As You See It and her reference to roundabouts! The sketch suggested a curved element around the circles and since the Easter Beauty stamp set is one of the few that has a couple of naturally circular sentiments, I had to use one to create a border for my layered centrepiece, interspersing with a swirl. I stamped directly onto my designer series paper background too - again, something I don't often do, however I think it works on today's card so maybe I should give it a go more often! Check out the other interpretations of Heather's sketch over at AYSI, including those of their new design team members, Teresa Klein and the lovely LeAnne Pugliese, my fellow teamie over at The Paper Players - great additions to the team!

Vibrant Eastern Opulence - Lemon Lime Twist , Dapper Denim and Very Vanilla all feature in the Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper and as such this a colour combination you see often on projects featuring this suite. I decided to add in some Tempting Turquoise as per the inspiration photo and I love the way even a small amount of it this lifts this colour palette even more - here it is for you to save if you'd like to experiment with 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. 

Enjoy your day; I have a class this morning followed by Ben's sports day this afternoon. The forecast is another hot one, so don't forget your suncream! I and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Bundle	Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad
Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Tempting Turquoise A4 Cardstock	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad

For all of you who have been patiently awaiting the arrivial of the new annual catalogue, I have some great news: from today you are able to get your hands on the colourful and exotic products from the Eastern Palace Suite a whole month before they’re released in the 2017-2018 annual catalogue! These products are being made available in two exclusive bundles, each of which includes a free product. Whilst these products will be available individually in the new Stampin' Up! 2017-18 Annual Catalogue, each of these exclusive bundles will be available for the month of May only:

 The following video from Stampin' Up! also shows just how easy these suites are to make beautiful cards (bear with it at the beginning as it is a little slow to start - keep watching to see the new products in action):

https://youtu.be/qF02FybBBO8

Whether you are a beginner or avid crafter, this really is a set with endless combinations and possibilities. Each bundle also contains ink pads in three of the new in-colours too. The other good news is that this bundle is also available as part of the Stampin' Up! starter kit and this is a great time to sign up as a demonstrator - as a demonstrator you will also get the opportunity to pre-order other items from the new Stampin' Up! 2017-18 Annual Catalogue too starting tomorrow! Do get in touch if you would like to chat with me about joining my team - I would love to welcome you to my Stampin' Up! family or alternatively click on the 'Join My Team' link in the sidebar. 

What's more, if you purchase either of the Eastern Palace Suite bundles from me this month, either in person or online using this month's hostess code  DXFJQZPN you will also receive a free full-colour PDF tutorial with complete instructions to make the following three cards:

Aren't they gorgeous? That's all from me today - you can see today's creative post here if you missed it - otherwise, I will be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy shopping!

Links to my online store:

Eastern Palace Starter Bundle

Eastern Palace Premier Bundle