Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a shades of blue colour challenge chosen by the lovely LeAnne:

I have been busy preparing for my upcoming 'Waves of The Ocean' card class and this trio of blues is just perfect for waves, so I thought I'd share a variation of a card that I'll be making with my ladies next week, including a fun technique - take a look at my card:

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

Waves of Inspiration - This fabulous tidal wave is the real scene-stealer in the 'Waves of Inspiration' stamp set and can make a card all by itself (more on that later!) For this card, I used my Stamparatus to ink the whole wave in Balmy Blue, then I inked a second time, adding Pacific Point and Night of Navy to select areas of the stamp using a sponge dauber, to give me the variegated colour. The Stamparatus is most definitely your friend when using this stamp - it allows you to align the image and add layers of colour with ease. 

Foamy Waves - I decided I wanted to add some dimension and texture to my wave to give it a truly foamy feel; you can see it on the card above but I thought you would appreciate a closer look below:

In real life this texture looks so good! 

Want To Know More? - Creating the textured foam really is easier than it perhaps looks: all you need is some liquid glue, white embossing powder and a heat gun to make the magic happen. Here's a link to a short video I made some years ago where I used the same technique to create puffy clouds and snow that demonstrates it better than I can explain it:

In addition to the basic technique, to add a little extra sparkle to today's card I went back over some of the raised areas with my liquid glue and added some fine loose glitter, but you could forgo this step if glitter isn't your thing. 

In designing my classes I always try to use all of the stamps in a set, but also to introduce new ideas or ways of using stamps that my ladies perhaps haven't thought of or that I haven't seen used elsewhere in the creative blogosphere. I hope my ladies like this one!

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 colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

Enjoy your day; we are taking it easy following a very late night in London yesterday. It was so worth it though - the ALW production of 'Cinderella' was AMAZING!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project and I have several more 'Waves of Inspiration' cards to share too, so stay tuned. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WAVES OF INSPIRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	MULTIPURPOSE LIQUID GLUE (£4.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host and the lovely Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

In addition to the Try Stamping on Tuesday board for my layout and a little tulip inspiration, I went down the middle column of this week's Tic Tac Toe board with florals/patterned paper/any shape die cut and made a very purple birthday card featuring one of my retiring favourites, the Floral Squares Dies and some Flowering Fields designer series paper - take a look:

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

I diecut one of the floral squares in Evening Evergreen then added additional flowerheads to echo the colours of the tulips that feature on the three squares of Flowering Fields patterned paper; I also added a ribbon bow of retired Blackberry Bliss ribbon to tie the whole design together:

A little extra stamping and a few extra diecut pieces to decorate complete the inside of my card:

I do love the colour purple and I'm so happy I got the opportunity to use some of that pretty Flowering Fields tulip paper at last!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

A last reminder: the 24 hour free shipping promotion ends at 11pm this evening so if you have an order to place and would like to take advantage of free postage, be sure to get it in before then.

Enjoy your day; I have had a special one with a James family outing to London today, the highlight of which is a trip to the theatre to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Cinderella' musical this evening - I will report back tomorrow!  Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FLORAL SQUARES DIES (£25.00)	ALL SQUARED AWAY CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)	FLOWERING FIELDS 12” X 12” (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	2021–2023 IN COLOR JEWELS (£5.20)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

An important second post today! For 24 hours only, starting at 11pm UK time this evening, Stampin' Up! are offering FREE shipping on orders of £60 or more.

The key information is as follows:

• Free shipping applies after the qualifying order amount has been met.
• The minimum qualifying amount to receive free shipping is £60 or more.
• Free shipping only applies during the 24-hour period the promotion is live in each market; this means that the order must be opened and closed between 20th April 2022, at 11 p.m. and 21 April 2022, at 11:00 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on retiring in-colours or stamps, pick up a bundle that you've had your eye on and more! So start making those lists and head off to the online Stampin' Up! store or message me with your order.

Happy shopping!

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Bhavya is hosting for the month of April and it's time for our second colour challenge of the month: 

I thought these colours would be perfect for a bowl of cherries for a sweet friend - so I grabbed the retiring 'Measure of Love' stamp set and set to work - take a look:

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

 A simple bowl of cherries, backed with some Pattern Party black and white gingham and with an added Cherry Cobbler scalloped border detail to finish:

A super clean and simple 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. 

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:

MEASURE OF LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£12.80)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (£33.00)	PATTERN PARTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by a few current clean and simple challenges:

Over at AAA Cards they are asking us to create a design that is both along the edge and represents your country. Since I am Welsh I considered daffodils, but settled on one of the other things that my homeland is famed for - take a look:

Yes, a Welsh lamb! Perfect for the animal challenge over at Addicted to CAS and the code word 'Fluffy' over at CASology too!

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

A Welsh Lamb - The 'Peekaboo Farm' stamp set was perfect for today's card: I extended my brick wall to run along the edge of the base of my card, with the lamb peeking over the top. The eagle-eyed amongst you will see this is a slightly doctored image - the lamb in the stamp set has horns, but since I wanted the emphasis on 'fluffy' I thought I'd remove them. I fussy-cut my lamb, minus the horns, and popped him over the wall using a couple of glue dots:

Take 5 - This is a great #simplestamping card that uses only five key supplies: white cardstock, black ink, a stamp set and my watercolour pencils that I used dry - perfect for a beginner. I'm generally prefer my Blends markers for colouring as I like the more saturated colour they give, but since this is a (largely) one layer card, I went with pencils to avoid the issue of colour bleeding through to the reverse of my cardstock. On closer inspection I think my pencil blending needs a little work, but it was nevertheless fun to create - I might have to make another card to practice my technique!

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:

PEEKABOO FARM PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)

WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (£11.75)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at CAS on Friday where the challenge is to use a stencil. I chose a favourite colour combination of yellow and navy blue and came up with this sunny creation to contrast with the grey clouds that seem ever present here in the UK at the moment:

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

Instead of stencilling the whole of the floral image across the centre, I added a partial stencil along two edges of my main panel, in order to preserve the all important 'white space'. I layered a selection of yellows for depth, then inked a sentiment from 'Create With Friends' and overstamped the edge of one of my floral clusters:

A couple of thin borders completes my 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. 

If I was making this card again, I'd probably move the florals in the bottom left corner out even further, showing less florals and more white - next time! I really love these stencils; I do have to be careful to not get either too enthusiastic with my blending brushes or put my inky fingers across the clean white areas on my card. If this happens to you too, all is not lost; with a 'ruined' card that was the pre-cursor to today's creation, I simply chopped around the offending smudge and converted the remains into gift tags for my in-person customer orders:

Waste not, want not and all that! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	CREATE WITH FRIENDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£9.60)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Bhavya is hosting for the month of April and it's time for her first sketch challenge of the month: 

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I decided to grab my retiring 'What's Cookin'' stamp set and Cookin' Dies and create a simple card for the baker or would-be chef in your life - take a look:

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

I almost passed over the colours at Just Add Ink this week, when it occurred to me that they really reminded me of Cornishware pottery, with its distinctive blue or red and vanilla stripes, so I decided that a Cornishware-inspired mixing bowl, along with a little texture from my neutral chopping board and mixing spoon and a pop of red from a Cherry Cobbler sentiment and twine bow were just what I needed for today's clean and simple card. Check out the texture that the die gives the chopping board on the closeup below:

I also added a little additional decoration to the inside of my card - aren't those miniature chef hats just the cutest?!

I can't believe this set is on the retiring list this year; I had so many more plans for it and am really sad to see it leave the annual catalogue. I will definitely be holding on to mine - I love to spend time in the kitchen and I know I'll find many more uses for it. If you would like to be the proud owner of the What's Cookin' stamp set and co-ordinating Cookin' Dies, they will only be around for another couple of weeks, and even then only whilst stocks last, so do get your order in sooner rather than later! I'm also sharing today's card over at Less Is More where the theme this week is 'occupations'  - this set is perfect for chefs, bakers and kitchen enthusiasts! 

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 love to cook and my family suggest I'm quite good at it. Whilst out for lunch at the weekend, my son was tucking into his lasagne and when asked if everything was ok with his meal, he announced "It's good - but not as good as my Mum's!" I'm not sure there's anything you can reply to that; if only all problems could be solved with a homemade lasagne!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WHAT'S COOKIN' CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	COOKIN' DIES (£27.00)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SAHARA SAND CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Happy Friday everyone - the end of the week is here! This also means I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a fun sketch challenge:

I paired our sketch full of horizontals with this week's Color Throwdown colours and set to work. Initially this sketch had me stumped; my 'go to' would normally be designer series paper but I just wasn't inspired (check out what some of my teamies did with DSP though - amazing!) I perused my catalogue and then happened upon a retiring die that I thought would make a pretty repeating design - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Do you recognise this die? Or actually dies, as it uses two? Both the stitched rectangle and the floral line are from the retiring Ornate Layers Dies. In addition to the fancy frames in this set, there are two pretty floral diecut elements too and this is one of them. What this card lacks in supplies - you need literally just a handful of items to recreate it - it more than makes up for in time: all of the tiny floral elements have been paper-pieced into the negative of the white rectangles and yes it took a while! It's so worth it though; I considered leaving the panels white with the negative space unfilled and also considered cutting the panels from coloured cardstock, but they just didn't look as good. Instead I cut five rectangles with the negative die inset, then diecut the floral band an additional five times each in Coastal Cabana and Soft Sea Foam and using some Press 'n' Seal and the putty end of my Take Your Pick Tool, paper-pieced the pieces into each white panel (having first adhered it to a piece of cardstock using an adhesive sheet. 

For the gold elements, instead of using gold foil I rubbed the remaining areas with gold gilded leafing; this stuff gets everywhere, but I love the bright shine and slightly textured effect that it gives - you can see it more closely below:

I finished with a sentiment from the retiring 'All Things Fabulous' which has sadly already sold out here in the UK (love this set!) So what do you think? This card took a while but was so worth it - I love it! I'm also linking today's card up over at The Flower Challenge where they want us to add a heart to our floral cards; is it me, or are those not 'hidden' gold hearts on their sides either side of the central flower? For all you Walt Disney World fans out there, think of it like a hunt for 'hidden Mickey's' - you see them, right?!

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 sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

Enjoy your day; I have my usual list of Friday chores to complete today, including amongst other things trying to line-dry my washing in between the April showers (so far this week the score is 'Weather 2 - Joanne 0'!) but I'm hoping since I have a helper or two I met get done quicker and be able to squeeze in a little crafty time too. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Thursday and today's card is for a couple of challenges: 

I used the colour palette over at TGIF Challenges (love those colours!) and the new sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for a birthday card to pay homage to a favourite retiring stamp set and some of my most favourite ever dies - take a look:

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

Happiest of Birthdays - I used the big sentiment from 'Happiest of Birthdays' front and centre - the size of this greeting really makes a card, with nothing more than some decoration required.

Farewell Pierced Blooms - For said decoration, I used my Pierced Blooms Dies to cut some flowers and leaves and layered them to decorate both the outside and the inside of my card, where I also used another of the sentiments in the set:

Finishing Touches - A strip of contrasting Brights designer paper, some 'retired) sparkly enamel dots and a pair of tiny brushed brass butterflies add some final finishing touches:

Some of my favourite retiring products today though, both of which will be 'keepers' for me; it's not all sad though - I'm sure there will be some great new ones arriving soon!

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Bhavya is hosting for the month of April and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I decided to have one last outing with my retiring Turtle Friends bundle for a fun bleated birthday card - I used the current Inspire.Create sketch for my layout:

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

I did add a few layers to today's card, including a strip of Pansy patch gingham, but otherwise was very careful to preserve my 'white space' and keep my design simple. A punched turtle, complete with party hat, was simply stamped and some highlights added with tone-on-tone Blends markers, along with a touch of chalk marker to highlight his eye:

It's always good to have a belated birthday card on hand - for a card maker, I seem to need all too many of these! I love the 'Turtle Friends' set and will be sorry to see it go; the turtle punch is already sold out, but the stamp set is still available as part of the Last Chance Products Promotion; as is the retiring Pansy Patch paper and the chalk marker - a super-useful crafting staple. 

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 do have a bonus card for you using today's colours too; I was playing around with the colours and originally made this card, using this week's Paper Craft Crew Sketch and the retired 'Flowering Cactus' bundle:

It is a little more clean and simple than my turtle card to be fair, but I didn't like it as much so moved it to second place - but I thought I'd share it with you anyway! And here's the PPC sketch:

Enjoy your day; I have a mountain of ironing to get through - wish me luck! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: