It's time for a new Thursday challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch challenge for you:

Here is my card today:

I decided to make a simple floral background for my word with a trio of flowers from the 'Flower Patch' stamp set, stamped in Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe and Baked Brown Sugar. I stamped the large central flower first, then created a mask using a post-it note and the co-ordinating Flower Fair framelits to create a mask before stamping the outer flowers, so that they appeared behind the central bloom. 

For my sentiment, I chose a 'thanks' cut with my 'Hello You' thinlits dies out of Night of Navy cardstock, but before adhering to my card I coated it in Versamark and heat embossed it in clear embossing powder several times, until it became beautifully shiny and glossy. One of those 'it looks much better in real life' moments I'm afraid, as the photo doesn't really show just how pretty this looks!

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the team have in store for you - we look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery this week!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players and this week my good friend and talented papercrafter Claire has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for us:

I decided to go with the first vertical line - yellow, die-cut and flowers (or in my case, flower!) - and this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts:

I am still in need of a few Easter cards, so I thought those five circles on the sketch would make some cute Easter chicks, bright yellow and chirpy. I decided on the chick trio from the 'For Peep's Sake' stamp set but I needed five chicks, not three. My solution? I stamped the first two chicks on the right, then masked the outer chicks and just masked the central one, lining up with my stamp-a-ma-jig, then lastly stamped the two chicks on the left, masking off the one I didn't need. I stamped the chicks again a few times on some scrap cardstock, twice in Melon mambo and once in Bermuda Bay, and fussy cut out the eggshells and adhered them on top of the ones on my card. I punched a Bermuda Bay flower using the flower punch from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and added a Melon Mambo candy dot for the centre. lastly, I added my die cut 'hello'; this might seem a little odd in the context of an Easter card, but it is destined for the mail and someone I don't get to see in person, so combined with the inside greeting works just fine. 

I hope you like my card today.  There are some great cards from the Design Team this week - so many different ways of combining the elements of the grid. Do pop by their blogs and take a look:

I look forward to seeing your tic-tac-toe combinations in our gallery this week. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

For Peeps' Sake Clear Stamp Set	Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay
Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad
Brights Candy Dots

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. There were some great CAS florals last week and this week we have my favourite kind of challenge. My good friend and talented team member LeAnne has a great sketch challenge for us:

I decided this sketch would be great for a DSP showcase, so today I have a very bright and colourful card to share with you:

I covered my entire card front with a piece of one of the 'busy' patterns from the Flowerpot DSP pack then used a piece of vellum to tone down the pattern so that my 'thanks' die cut in Night of Navy would still stand out against the pattern. I wrapped a piece of Tangerine Tango around the vellum in a bow before adhering it to my card base, using glue dots where they are covered by other elements so that they don't show through. I added the second part of my sentiment from the 'Crazy About You' stamp set and layered over my banner trio, punched out of colours I had picked up from the pattern using my banner punch. Lastly, I finished with a bold orange flower finished with a candy dot.

This card has such a clash of bright and bold colours and yet I think they work with the sketch beautifully. There are some great cards from the Design Team this week, all of whom have interpreted the sketch in interesting ways. Do pop by their blogs and take a look:

I look forward to seeing your takes on this week's sketch in our gallery this week. 

No lie in for me as I am off for an early morning of hockey as today is tournament day and then hopefully home again to dinner cooked by the men in our house - this is becoming something of a habit! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper	White Vellum A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Regals Candy Dots
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride
Banner Punch	1-3/4 Inch Scallop Circle Punch

Aren't you all lucky - this is my second post of the day! I have another card to share with you that I would like to link up with this week's CAS(E) This Sketch challenge and The Color Throwdown:

I love that block-striped welly boot and I thought these colours would be perfect for a masculine birthday card that would totally work with the sketch and my 'Hello You' thinlit dies. Here's my card:

I used Crumb Cake for my base and the 'happy' thinlit, and inset the thinlit into a panel of Real Red and Night of Navy, with Tempting Turquoise centres. I then stamped the 'Birthday To You' on the red panel in Night of Navy. A couple of epoxy stars - love these! - one backed with turquoise, one backed with gold foil, and a Navy candy dot finished off my card. I love this card - I think I'm going to have to make a few more of these!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers	Gold Foil Sheets	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Tempting Turquoise A4 Card Stock	Regals Candy Dots

Today I have a card inspired by this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts:

Today's card is a super simple card, using a few offcuts from a card I made a couple of weeks ago. You can see that card here; this is today's card:

I saved the negative die cut from my original card (I am such a hoarder - I can't bear with anything that I think will come in useful at a later date!) and used it for the panel across the bottom of my card. I used the same colour combination as my original card too, so that I could use up some of the Lost Lagoon offcuts in my box - waste not, want not and all that! I think the negative die cut can make just as much of a statement on a card as the thinlit itself, as this card shows.

I mounted the 'Just Sayin'' on Lost Lagoon and popped it up on dimensionals and added a little punched flower with a candy dot to finish. A super simple card and a great way to use up the bits and pieces leftover from another project.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Subtles Candy Dots
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Today's card is for this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch, where Chrissy has this rather intriguing sketch for us to work with this week:

Whilst musing the best way to create a pattern with diagonals that had a readable sentiment and used a design that was different from the designers' inspiration (some lovely plaid patterns there), I remembered this lovely card by Heather Klump that I saw on Pinterest the other week and I decided to combine both inspirations to come up with my card today. Here it is:

Using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I carefully stamped rows of love hearts from the 'You Brighten My Day' Sale-A-Bration set in Strawberry Slush, Pink Pirouette and Pool Party, aligning them to re-create the diagonal pattern of the sketch. I used a silver foil 'you' cut with my Big Shot and my 'Hello You' thinlits, popped up on rolled glue dots, for the final piece of my sentiment. 

I love this card - another pink and pretty affair this week! Looking forward to my first Project Life class of the year this morning and catching up with some of my lovely ladies who I haven't seen since before Christmas. Back with you tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hello You Thinlits Dies	You Brighten My Day Clear Stamp Set	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack	Paper-Piercing Tool
Stampin' Pierce Mat	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Strawberry Slush	Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad
Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Silver Foil Sheets

It's Sunday and time for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players, where today Anne has a great colour challenge for us:

I also used the current sketch over at The Deconstructed Sketch as the basis for the layout of my card. So for my card today I've had the first opportunity to play with one of my most favourite products from the new Spring-Summer catalogue: the new 'Hello You' thinlits. I loved the Expressions thinlits we had previously and I still use mine and would never part with them, so I was delighted to see a whole new set of word thinlits in the new catalogue, and the fabulous 'Crazy About You' stamp set that co-ordinates with them. The number of sentiment possibilities are endless! Anyway, using Anne's colour choice today, this is what I came up with:

I went with a square card and lots of layers. The layers are Sahara Sand and Lost Lagoon, with the Sahara Sand DSP from the 'Moonlight' DSP paper stack. I die cut the word 'hello' from my central Sahara Sand square, then inlaid this with another 'Hello' diecut in Crisp Cantaloupe, allowing the Lost Lagoon from the layer below to show through into the negative space. I finished my sentiment with a 'you' stamped in Lost Lagoon on a banner of Whisper White, that I tucked under my Crisp Cantaloupe stamped flower. I diecut some leaves and a centre for my flower from Lost Lagoon cardstock using my Flower Frenzy Bigz Die, then finished it with a white button threaded with Crisp Cantaloupe thick baker's twine. I love how the 'Hello You' thinlit dies can be used in so many ways. Just look at the detail on this close-up:

I hope you like this card and are as crazy about the new thinlits dies as I am. Watch this space for lots more ideas from me!

We are back to hockey and rugby following the Christmas break today; no rest for the parents of sporty ones, it seems! At least dinner is prepared and will be in the slow cooker waiting for us on our return. Before you reach for your ink pads, do visit the other design team members to see what interesting ideas they've had this week:

I look forward to seeing your projects in the gallery this week. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Flower Frenzy Bigz L Die	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad
Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Neutrals Designer Buttons	1-3/4 Inch Scallop Circle Punch