I've spent a lovely day outside in the fresh air today watching back-to-back hockey matches, still chilly but with glorious sunshine - at last! So I've a super quick post today to share a clean and simple card that uses the colours over at Sunday Stamps and the sketch challenge over at AAA Cards:

I went for the middle rectangle of the nine grid split and chose a cute party-going otter as my favourite animal (of the moment!) as he won't be around for much longer - take a look:

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

The Sunday Stamps challenge is entitled 'Winter Blues' but there's nothing sad about today's card! This cute little otter is from the 'Awesome Otters' stamp set: I stamped him and added a party hat from the same set and coloured him with a selection of Stampin' Blends markers (added below, plus a retired Coastal Cobana set) before finishing with a simple sentiment:

The 'Awesome Otters' stamp set is one of a number of items that can be yours FREE with a £45 purchase during Stampin' Up!'s current Sale-A-Bration promotion. If it's still on your wish list, you have until next Monday when the promotion ends to order yours before it's gone forever. Just click on the links below to go to my online store to get yours - remember to add the current host code for a special thank you from me.

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'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AWESOME OTTERS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)

NATURAL TONES STAMPIN’ BLENDS COLLECTION (£41.25)

BERMUDA BAY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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 thought the layered rectangles of this sketch provided the perfect opportunity to showcase some designer series paper - especially since lots of those in the annual catalogue are currently available at 15% off - so I had a look through my collection and settled on something wild for you today - take a look:

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

In The Wild And A DSP Paper Sale - Between July 1st and August 2nd, a number of the designer series papers in the annual catalogue are available at 15% off. As a reminder, here's a snapshot of all those that are discounted:

Lots to choose from! I chose to feature the 'In The Wild' papers on my card today. I don't have any of the other products in this suite, but I think the papers are great for snipping. I used two different patterns for my rectangles and then fussy-cut a co-ordinating tiger for my feature shape - isn't he so majestic-looking? 

You Got This - I decided my brave tiger would make a good thinking of you/encouragement card, so paired it with the sentiment 'You can do this' from the stamp set 'Forever Fern'. I think it works. When perusing my stamp shelf, I found a few other stamps that would work well with the animals in this set too; you don't always need all of the items in a suite to complete a card, you just need to get creative!

A Paper Trick - I have one last trick to share with you on my card today: when fussy-cutting shapes from designer series paper, don't disgard any shapes that are incomplete. I used one of the tigers on the edge of my paper to decorate the inside of my card; his position looks just like I intended him to be 'off the page', whereas the reality was my tiger only had half a body in the first place!

This is a great #SimpleStamping card that uses stamps, ink, cardstock and makes a feature of the designer series paper in a number of creative ways. 

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. 

 So what will you make with our sketch this week? Will you be stocking up on designer series paper whilst you can save - for those paper-addicts among us (yes, I'm one!) there's no better time than the present!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

IN THE WILD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
FOREVER FERN CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)

As if the launch of the January-June mini catalogue retiring list and a creative post wasn't enough for you today, I also have more great news - Stampin' Up!'s new line of all-inclusive craft kits launches to customers today! Designed to be the perfect introduction to paper-crafting, the Kits Collection by Stampin’ Up! is great for the beginner crafter or the crafter on the go.

You can now go online and choose from a variety of affordably priced, versatile kits for multiple occasions. Whatever your skill or experience, the kits are designed for you, the customer, to be in control and and choose the kit experience that is most comfortable for you. 

Kits are all-inclusive, pre-cut, and ready to use with complete step-by-step instructions; plus, new kits will be added to the online store regularly, so remember to check back often! The following kits are currently available in the online store: 

Kit prices range from just £11.25 to £18 each - why not head on over to the online store and check them out? Happy shopping!

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

I pass a beautiful magnolia tree on my school run each day that has just come in to bloom and that totally inspired me to use one of my retiring stamp sets and this week's Color Throwdown colours for today's speedy blossom - take a look:

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

Good Morning Magnolia - I decided to go big and bold with my quick card today and I used the large single magnolia flower from the 'Good Morning Magnolia' stamp set for my card today. This allowed me to minimise my stamping and spend my time adding colour to my magnolia blossom. The other thing I love about this stamp set is the sentiments; my simple 'thanks' finishes with beautiful wording inside too:

Speedy Colouring - Even with only one bloom, 10 minutes still isn't long for colouring! I focused my efforts on the petals themselves, adding Melon Mambo to the outer petals and a combination of Flirty Flamingo and a little extra Melon Mambo to the insides. I didn't add any colour to my leaves, just giving them a quick swipe with a blender pen. I love that the Very Vanilla base adds a warmth to the card that you wouldn't get with white:

#SimpleStamping - This card is all about the stamps, ink and paper: simple layering, no fancy die cutting and one focal image, with a simple sentiment. By keeping things simple, they can be quick 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:

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIA CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£33.00)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMNGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BLENDER PENS (£11.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO 1/4" (6.4 MM) FAUX SUEDE TRIM (£6.00)

Today I have a couple of cards to share, the first one is this one that I made using Linda's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and the Color Throwdown colour palette: 

Linda's sketch is a keeper so I just had to play along and those bright colours were perfect for lifting my spirits as I looked out at yet another grey sky on Saturday morning. I thought I would break out one of my new Sale-A-Bration free sets for some super simple stamping - take a look:

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

Today's card is so easy to recreate: the 'A Touch of Ink' stamp set, yours FREE with a Stampin' Up! purchase of £90 or more during Sale-A-Bration, is a two-step stamp set that contains outlines and infills and lots of great sentiments. I stamped the leaves in Granny Apple Green directly onto my stitched rectangle of basic white cardstock and added some flower heads in Melon Mambo, that I had stamped onto a scrap piece and roughly cut by hand (the outline and infills don't line up directly so are great for beginners or quick cards - no need to be super-accurate!), giving them a bit of a crumple before adding them to my card. I finished the centres of these with a few basic pearls, then added a fussy cut hummingbird, stamped in all three challenge colours (I inked my stamp up using a sponge dauber) and popped this up on dimensionals, adding a liberal brushing of clear Wink of Stella for some subtle sparkle. And that's it - stamps, ink and paper (save the stitched rectangle detail, which you could easily forgo). #SimpleStamping - there's nothing to 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. 

I love this colour combo and used my retired Blueberry Bushel ink and cardstock as my blue as I wanted something vibrant (and hence why it isn't listed below). Did you know today is know as 'Blue Monday', unofficially the most depressing day of the year when we are all suffering our post-Christmas blues? In the current lockdown here in the UK there is certainly lots to make us feel fed up; I am still trying to look on the bright side though and will be sending this card to someone today to let them know I am thinking of them and hopefully brighten their day too!

Enjoy your day; I have lots on but will be back later as I have another card to share. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A TOUCH OF INK PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)

Today I'm sharing a card using the current Fab Friday sketch and this week's palette over at Color Throwdown:

I procrastinated over this sketch for some time - should I showcase some patterned paper? In the end my need for a new home card led me to create a great #SimpleStamping card using nothing more than stamps, ink and paper - take a look:

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

Life Is Beautiful - The tree and sentiment on today's card come from the new stamp set 'Life Is Beautiful', inspired by Million Sales Achiever LeeAnn Greff. This is a lovely set with the ability to dress the tree for all seasons. I chose to use the CTD fresh, summery colours along with the cute bird house and bird pair from the set for my card. 

Welcome Home -  I thought the bird house would make this a perfect set for a 'new home' card. I needed one for a dear friend of mine who has left her life in London where she has lived for some 20 years to return to Wales and the town where we grew up. I used a sentiment on the inside of my card from a retired set because 'welcome home' seemed appropriate:

#SimpleStamping - I decided not to use any framelits or diecuts on today's card as I wanted to give an example of #SimpleStamping with nothing more than stamps, ink and paper. I really love the result - sometimes less really is more! 

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'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses the current Colour Inkspiration challenge colour palette and the photo and sketch inspiration over at Fusion:

I spotted that cute little melon in the Fusion photo and immediately thought of the Colour Inkspiration colours and how combining the two could make a fun fruity card:

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

Cute Fruit - I used my 'Cute Fruit' stamp set again to create my melon slices and stamped that fun punny sentiment in white on my horizontal black panel. I fussy cut the melon segments to allow them to be popped up on dimensionals.

#SimpleStamping - The 'Cute Fruit' stamp set features in the Stampin' Up! beginner's brochure and is great for those new to stamping. It makes easy one layer cards, but can also be easily 'stepped up' with some designer series paper and a little fussy cutting as I've done here. And everyone knows someone who is 'one in a melon', right?! 

A Little Extra Detail - I could have stopped there, but I found some retired raindrop epoxy shapes in my stash that I thought would be great to highlight the melon seeds. I coloured them black with my Blends marker and added them to the spaces outlined on the stamped image - I think the added shine and detail adds a nice extra little 'something':

If you don't have any of these in your stash you could always make some with a fine tip glue pen.

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. 

Yesterday was a scorcher here in the UK and thankfully today was a little cooler so enabled me to run without flaking out in the heat first thing and then get a few gardening jobs done. It was even cool enough for me to spend a little time in my craft room! Following brunch, young Master James spent the day at the lake with one of his friends, waterskiing, jetski riding and bouncing on inflatables. He had a ball and will I'm sure sleep well tonight! I hope you have enjoyed your day and I'll be back tomorrow with my card for our new challenge at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CUTE FRUIT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£15.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	JUST JADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Friday already? Where did that week go?! I am just popping in with another Christmas card that I made for my stash inspired by the following challenges over at Sunday Stamps and Christmas Kickstart:

I couldn't resist using the sketch to showcase some fabulous festive designer series paper - take a look:

Since Christmas Kickstart is all about the presents, I decided that this gift-filled paper from the Night Before Christmas DSP pack would make a perfect centrepiece. This card is all about #SimpleStamping - the only stamping on the front of the card is my sentiment, which I thought it would be fun to make it look like a tag from the man in red himself - well, everyone knows that's who really brings the gifts at Christmas time, right?

I did do a little more stamping inside my card, using a sentiment from the 'Greatest Part of Christmas' stamp set, an exclusive hostess set available in the current Autumn-Winter catalogue that can be yours if you host a party before the end of the year, along with a few more gifts:

Isn't that a great sentiment for a loved-one at Christmas time?

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'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Night Before Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad (£7.00)	Greatest Part Of Christmas Host Cling Stamp Set (En) (£12.00)	Holly Jolly Christmas Cling Stamp Set (En) (£20.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fusion where both the sketch and inspiration photo got my creative juices flowing this week, so much so that I made two cards! Today I'm sharing a clean and simple one layer card inspired by the photo that is also perfect for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS and I will be back with a stepped up card that uses the sketch too tomorrow.

My card also fits the bill over at SUO Challenges and this month's Stampin' Up! #SimpleStamping challenge since it is a simple combination of stamps, ink and paper to make a birthday card - take a look:

This card really was super simple to make: I positioned my sentiment and stamped it in Memento Black ink onto extra thick whisper white cardstock, then took one of the boughs of flowers from the 'Bloom and Grow' stamp set and stamped it both above and below if along the fold of the card, stamping off the edge to add interest. I coloured them with my Stampin' Blends and added a graduated aqua border to make the flowers stand out and mimic the colour of the inspiration photo.

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:

Bloom & Grow Photopolymer Stamp Set (£24.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Shaded Spruce Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)
Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Bermuda Bay Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Stampin' Blends Color Lifter (£4.25)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of my sweet friend Claire to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for you to work with:

Many schools in the USA have returned or are about to return to school already. Here in the UK we have another 4 weeks of summer vacation, however this week's challenge is ensuring I stay organised and on schedule so my back to school cards will be completed in good time! I paired this week's theme with the colours from Color Throwdown which I thought were perfect for a school theme and used a new stamp set - check it out (literally!): 

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

Check You Out - I couldn't wait to snap up the 'Check You Out' stamp set as I knew this set would be perfect for teacher thank yous, back to school cards and lots more besides - and it has an owl, yay! My card uses just this one stamp set and each of the images has been stamped and fussy cut (except for the Crumb Cake library card wallet, which is stamped on the base layer) and then paper-pieced together to create my fun little combo. 

An Apple For The Teacher - I can't make a school-related card or teacher thank you without including an apple at least somewhere on my card. Today I created one using a 1" circle punch, that I cut a notch out of top and bottom and added some leaves courtesy of my leaf punch and a handcut stem. I stamped my sentiment onto it as it was a great way to highlight it on this fun back-to-school card.

#SimpleStamping - Today's card is a great example of #SimpleStamping: just one stamp set and inks and paper. Search the Stampin' Up! hashtag #SimpleStamping for lots of other examples that use minimal products that are great for quick and easy creative makes that are aimed at beginner and experienced crafters alike.

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; mine will be a lazy one pottering round the garden and trying to get a few outdoor jobs done before the weather turns this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Check You Out Photopolymer Stamp Set (£15.00)	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Call Me Clover A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	1" (2.5 Cm) Circle Punch (£12.00)
Leaf Punch (£15.00)	Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots (£6.50)