Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout:

I thought Kim's sketch this week was great with so many possibilities, especially for a patterned paper lover like me! I decided that I would try and be faithful to the diagonal stripes too so reached for my Playful Patterns pack and created a teen-inspired birthday card - take a look:

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

I used my Playful Alphabet Dies to create a 'text speak' birthday sentiment and layered them onto a stitched square, using the colours of the designer series paper to determine my colour choices. I then added some simple stamping to the inside of my card:

A few Playful Patterns resin dots complete my card. I liked this card so much, I made another one in a similar colourway using another strip of the same paper:

Here they are together - which colourway do you prefer?

I know this kind of text speak isn't to everyone's taste, but as I find myself making more and more birthday cards for teenagers, I know this will be a top choice when the children go rifling through by box looking for a last-minute 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. 

Another quick Monday post for me as I've been busy today preparing for a milestone birthday of one of the James Juniors tomorrow - more on that later in the week! Enjoy your envening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLAYING WITH PATTERNS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)	PLAYING WITH PATTERNS RESIN DOTS (£7.50)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PURPLE POSY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a colour challenge for you to work with:

I love a bright colour palette and my choices today were inspired by a one sheet wonder I made a little while ago. I loved the colours together so much I decided to see what you would make of my colour combination. For today's card I used the current Inspire.Create Challenge sketch for my layout and decided these colour would be perfect for a balloon-carrying hippo - take a look:

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

I used the 'Hippo Happiness' stamp set and co-ordinating Hippo & Friends Dies to stamp and cut out my cute hippo and balloons and mounted him on a stitched shaped panel that is also found in the Hippo & Friends die set. I mounted this on a stitched rectangle of Pool Party cardstock and added this to a Melon Mambo base, to which I'd added a Tasteful Textile embossed panel and strip of co-ordinating Brights DSP. I couldn't resist adding some co-ordinating decoration to the inside of my card along with the second part of my punny sentiment too:

The stamping for today's card was pretty straightforward, however I do have one top tip for you with regard to stamping the hippo: he is a two-step stamped image and I found it much easier to align the stamps if I stamped the uppermost stamp (i.e. the navy one on my card) first, with the full body (i.e. the one I stamped in Pool Party) second.

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; we enjoyed spending the day with friends yesterday, basking in the glorious weather we have been enjoying here in the UK. Today we shall be spending time in the garden and enjoying another BBQ before the weather breaks later this week!  I'll be back later with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HIPPO HAPPINESS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLES DIES (£33.00)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	MELON MAMBO CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)
POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

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

I went with the diagonal of primary colour (red or black), square and animal for today's card and paired some old papers with a fun new stamp set - take a look:

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

Today's card features the fun new stamp set 'Way To Goat'; I just love this set, I mean check out the expression on that goat's face - priceless! I stamped my goat and coloured him with Smoky Slate Blends, cut him out with a Stitched Square Framelit and paired him with some retired Broadway Birthday designer series paper. I couldn't stop there though - I had to add this cheeky soul to the inside too:

And I liked this card so much, I made a a few more for my box: 

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WAY TO GOAT CLING STAMP SET (EN) (£18.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STAMPIN BLENDS SMOKY SLATE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

The wait is over but the day has finally arrived! The new Autumn-Winter Seasonal Catalogue is here - you can download an electronic copy by clicking on the image below:

Physical catalogues have gone out in the post to my existing customers and anyone else who requested a copy; there will of course be a permanent link to the catalogue in the box on the right side of my blog page until 3rd January 2021 when the sales period ends. I've already shared a few sneak peeks and there is so much more to come! For today, put your feet up and browse the new catalogue in all its glory.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or queries. Don't forget to use this month's current hostess code CVAQTGE2 if you are placing an order online to receive an extra thank you from me.

Remember too to add any Bonus Day codes that you earned last month - you have until 31st August to spend your £4.50 coupons. This is where you need to add them to your online order:

Alternatively, if you are placing your order with me by phone, please have them to hand so that I can take the details or forward me the email notification..

Back soon with more creative inspiration for you. Until then, happy browsing and get writing that wish list! 

Today I'm sharing a card - or 4! for this week's fun challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches: 

Yes the talented Linda Callaghan has left this week's sketch very much open to interpretation - as long as our cards are slimline; how fun! Slimline cards are very much on trend right now and whilst I've created a few horizontal ones recently, I haven't created any vertical ones. So I decided that's where I would start today and in fact, ended up creating 4 - take a look:

I decided to be brave and cut into this fabulous single sheet image from the new 'Trimming The Town' DSP pack that launches in the Autumn-Winter catalogue that launches tomorrow - here's the sheet I'm talking about:

And this is how I cut it:

This gave me 4 vertical slimline pieces and 3 additional pieces from the bottom section, that I will make up and share with you another day. I mounted each of my paper pieces on either Poppy Parade with a Misty Moonlight base, or Misty Moonlight with a Pool Party base. Here is each of the finished cards:

Card one:

Card two:

Card three: 

Card four:

These cards are completely 'no stamping' (on the front at least) - I snipped the sentiments from another of the sheets in this DSP pack, and mounted them on dimensionals as you can see on the photo below:

And that, as they say, is that! The hardest thing was committing to cutting into the sheet of patterned paper! Four cards for my Christmas card stash - how excited are you that the new Autumn-Winter catalogue is launching tomorrow? Only one more sleep to go!

I've had a super busy day so am just squeezing today's post in between last-minute Stampin' up! orders to earn Bonus Days coupons - today is your last day! - and cooking dinner and fixing a bicycle tyre puncture - oh the life I lead! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow 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 Laurie to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I struggled a little with today's card as I don't know anyone getting married and I just couldn't seem to get into the zone! In the end I decide to flip the Paper Craft Crew Sketch and make an anniversary card using a new stamp from the upcoming Autumn-Winter catalogue - take a look:

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

This cute cupid comes from the new 'Flight of Fancy' set. The set also features a whimsical angel and a witch on a broomstick, and whilst I think this cupid may have been designed with Valentine's Day in mind, paired with this sentiment from the 'Heartfelt' stamp set and a row of Stitched Be Mine stacked diecut hearts, I think he makes a sweet anniversary card too. Simply coloured with Blends and a liberal dose of clear Wink of Stella, plus some (retired) gold Wink of Stella to highlight his curls and bow, along with a sprinkling of rhinestones, makes for quite the cherub, don't you think?

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:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HEARTFELT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£16.00)	STITCHED BE MINE DIES (£33.00)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	LAYERING OVALS DIES (£33.00)
BRONZE & IVORY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WINK OF STELLA CLEAR GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	STAMPIN' BLENDS DAFFODIL DELIGHT COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a sketch challenge:

I designed this week's sketch and decided to use some of the new in-colours and make a blue card - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Today's card features two different patterns from the Flowers For Every Season designer series paper stack. Some simple layering, a couple of co-ordinating floral embellishments from the Flowers For Every Season Memories and More pack and a simple heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Celebrate Sunflowers' set. And that's it - super simple! I must say, having seen the amazing cards from the rest of the team mine looks positively mediocre - they all came up with some fabulous takes on this week's sketch!

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'll be linking up with the team over at Inspire.Create as my card today features three of the 5 new in-colours: Misty Moonlight, Just Jade and Cinnamon Cider.

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table to follow

Today I'm just squeaking in my card for the current Fab Friday challenge, helped along by the sketch at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I love these bold, bright colours, but they did cause me to procrastinate over how to use them to best effect! There are some lovely cards in the gallery that use them as accents against a primarily white background, which looks great. In the end I decided to go full-on colour and even add a little sparkle  - take a look:

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

Anyone For Cocktails? - I decided to make another card using the 'Nothing's Better Than' stamp set and co-ordinating dies and featuring a colourful cocktail. These tropical colours reminded me of those fabulous rainbow-ombre type cocktails that you get that have red in the bottom, rising through orange to yellow and I wanted to recreate that on my card. It's really easy to do: just ink your stamp in yellow, then with a sponge dauber add orange and then lastly red to the bottom of the stamp respectively before stamping to achieve an easy ombre effect.

Ombre Sparkle - I cut into my Rainbow Glimmer Paper to create a fun, sparkly orange/yellow ombre diecut to mimic the colours and effect of my cocktail. I also added some clear WInk of Stella to my cocktail glass too for a little added shimmer - check it out here:

Stitched Rectangles Windows - Instead of adding mats to the top of my card as per the HSS sketch, I decided to get creative with my Rectangle Stitched Dies and create a custom aperture in my Bermuda Bay card base, then added some in-colour DSP in Bermuda Bay featuring the circle design, to echo my feature circle, behind.

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 was supposed to post this card yesterday but my day just seemed to run away with me - do you ever have days like that? I've just finished a fun online demonstration session this morning so wanted to squeeze this in before cracking on with the rest of today's activities, which unfortunately do not include consuming cocktails!! Ah well, never mind. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

To follow.

Today I'm sharing a card that I made at the weekend still with a 'Christmas In July' theme going on (desperately trying to get into Christmas crafting!) that is for a few current challenges:

The lovely team at Less Is More are doing a one layer card Christmas in July theme and I chose one of my retired stamps, 'Dove Of Peace', which I thought would make a lovely image for Time Out's challenge to be 'Peaceful'. It also gave me an opportunity to get out my Stampin' Blends for a spot of colouring which is what the ladies over at SUO Challenges are all about this week:

I coloured the detail on my dove with a combination of Bermuda Bay, (retired) Coastal Cabana and Pool Party Blends. I then took a dry aquapainter (the new fine one is perfect for this) and painted the remainder of the body of the dove in white shimmer paint. This was quite time consuming, but so worth it; the photo really doesn't do it justice - it has such a soft shimmer in real life. I think I'll make a few more of these in alternative colourways - they will be great for sending to my overseas friends. 

This is one of my favourite retired Christmas stamps and great for one layer cards; do you have a favourite stamp for one layer creations? Do leave me a comment and let me know - I'd love to hear about your favourite Christmas sets, old or new.

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 tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

As the winds howl and the storm clouds threaten here today in the UK for the second day running, I'm here with thoughts of sunnier days and tropical vacations for today's card! My card was inspired by the following challenges:

That fabulous surfboard in the Inspired By photo is so eye-catching that it totally got me thing of tropical summer beaches and sunsets, so armed with the Inspired by sketch too and the Festive Friday inspo list (I used pink, circles, diecut and summer fun from the inspo list) - I created my dream summer landscape - take a look:

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

Friendly Silhouettes - The palm tree dies form the Friendly Silhouettes dies gave me the perfect palm tree pair for my card. These are actually the negative space of the die, so I carefully kept the diecut and used it as a template to piece my palm branches into the correct place to make my scene.

Artistry Blooms - I decided to reach for my designer series papers for my sunset and chose one of the patterns from the Artistry Blooms stamp set. I chose my piece carefully and I can't quite believe how much like a sunset it looks; just what I had in mind and so much easier than creating one with a brayer! 

A Little Added Sparkle - After adding my sentiment to a couple of layered punched circles and popping it up on a dimensional, I looked at my card and felt like it needed a little something more. I reached for a few pots of sequins and carefully went through and chose a few in co-ordinating pinks and oranges and added them randomly across my card, for a little tone-on-tone sparkle. I love the finished result - you can see it better 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. We have a day of tasks and errands today, nothing too exciting. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDLY SILHOUETTES DIES (£30.00)	FRIEND LIKE YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£20.00)	ARTISTRY BLOOMS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)