Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the current Inkspiration Colour Challenge that uses the current Atlantic Hearts sketch layout:  

I'm also playing along over at TicTacToe Challenge (I went across the first row with friendship theme/gems/layers) and decided to use this fresh colour combo to give my 'Spotlight on nature' stamp set a good workout - take a look:

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

I stamped the flower stem at opposing ends of a scalloped rectangle cut using my (retired) Scalloped Contours Dies, with the sentiment in between and coloured them with my Stampin' Blends. The most interesting part of today's card though is the butterflies: I stamped one directly from the set, them stamped another in it's mirror image and a third one that combined the two - you can see that one more closely below:

Have you ever done mirror stamping? The easiest way to do it is to use a stamping platform and a silicone mat; you simply stamp the image you want to reverse directly onto the silicone mat, carefully lay your cardstock over the silicone mat and then stamp the image again. The pressure of this stamp transfers the ink from the silicone mat onto the reverse of the cardstock and hey presto - a reversed image! To avoid having 4 antenna, you need to just remove the ink from one of each pair each time you stamp, but otherwise that's it. I brushed my butterflies liberally with clear Wink of Stella before fussy cutting and adding to my rectangle along with a trio of sparkly in-colour gems in Pretty In Pink. I added this to a Pretty In Pink card base, onto which I'd added a strip of black and white striped retired designer paper - very Audrey Hepburn-inspired! I love the line detail on the 'Spotlight On Nature' stamps and I can't wait to experiment more with this set.

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'm off outside to enjoy the sunshine! - and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	SPOTLIGHT ON NATURE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	2024–2026 IN COLOR™ SHIMMER GEMS (8.00)	PRETTY IN PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PRETTY IN PINK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (5.25)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Yay - clean and simple week! I decided to go with encouragement, as opposed to sympathy, for my card today - take a look:

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

The 'Unbounded Love' stamp set has a great selection of sentiments and that's where I found the ideal sentiment for my encouragement card:

I covered the whole of my card front with a piece of the Thoughtful Journey designer series paper; whilst this does leave me with less 'white space' than I would usually feature on a clean and simple card, it made light work of my card design. I added my sentiment label decorated with a tab of (retired) Misty moonlight ribbon, and a few tinsel dots to complete my card. I added an offcut of paper inside my card and another sentiment from 'Unbounded Love', along with a trio of hearts from 'Bee Mine':

Super simple and with minimal layers and embellishments - and an encouraging sentiment that is sure to inspire. The Unbounded Love bundle is one of the bundles that is available with an additional 10% off during the month of June, so if you purchase it this month it represents even better value. I'm also playing along over at Festive Friday with today's card; I used purple, blue, clean and simple and ribbon from their inspo list. 

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; I'll be back on Tuesday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

UNBOUNDED LOVE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.25)

TINSEL GEMS THREE-PACK (7.00)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

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 pretty colour challenge for us to work with:

When I chose these colours, I didn't have anything in particular in mind - I just love the combination of blue and yellow. That said, when it came down to it I had no idea how to use them - go figure! After playing around with a few ideas, I finally settled on some slightly unconventionally coloured florals using the Country Flowers bundle. I loved Amy's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week so I used that for my layout and set to work. This is what I came up with:

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

Eyelet Embossing - I decided to use a Lemon Lolly card base and embossed the whole of the card front using the new Eyelet 3D embossing folder. I love the design of this folder and I love the texture and detail it adds to a project.

Countryside Inn - I used a small panel of Countryside Inn designer series paper in Night of Navy for one of the rectangle elements of the sketch. Did you realise that the Countryside Inn paper is still available? It's one of a few that carried over from last year's annual catalogue. The pattern is subtle and doesn't look out of place with the embossed background detail.

Country Flowers - The focal point for today's card is my bucket of flowers from the 'Country Flowers' stamp set. I used the three challenge colours for my unconventional floral bouquet, along with some additional diecut white leaves and flowers, and used Smoky Slate as my fourth colour for my metal bucket that they are standing in - check out the detail below:

I finished my card with a sentiment from the same set, wrapped with a little Boho Blue thread pulled from a ribbon to anchor it.

The Country Flowers bundle is one of those that is discounted by a further 10% until the end of June - that's in addition to the usual 10% bundle discount, so a whopping 20% off. There's never been a better time to add a bundle to your shopping basket!

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; I'll be back later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

COUNTRY FLOWERS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (44.75)	EYELET 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	COUNTRYSIDE INN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	LEMON LOLLY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
BOHO BLUE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of our intrepid traveller, the lovely Jaydee, to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

I knew when I saw Jaydee's theme for this week it would be the perfect opportunity for me to ink up a set that is long retired, but that I have never broken the seal on - oops! It's called 'Thanks for The Laughs' and has some of the funniest sentiments for cards that are perfect to share with special friends - take a look at one of my favourites:

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

We all have those kinds of friends, right?! I added my sentiment to a Nested Label diecut, and created a fun background using lots of leftover strips of retired designer series paper, mostly from the Delightfully Eclectic pack plus a couple of others. I decorated my label with a trio of flowers diecut using the Thoughtful Wishes Dies (I thought these were similar to the flowers on the Misty Moonlight DSP strips):

The sentiment continues inside the card and I also added another couple of diecut flowers to decorate:

This card was so fun to make! My background was inspired by the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and it was a great way to use up leftover strips of patterned paper. I simply chose about half a dozen patterns, that worked together (similar colours and patterns) and started laying the onto a piece of Basic White cardstock. Once the whole front was covered, I simply trimmed away any excess - easy. I still had a few strips left over once I'd made my card, so I decided to use the to decorate my envelope flap in a similar style for a co-ordinated finish. Whilst I've used a retired stamp set and papers on my card, you could easily use the same design with current product

This card will be headed to one of my long-time friends and partners-in-crime to let her know how much I appreciate her - there's nothing like true friends!

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; I'm hoping to fit in a little crafting today - it was so cold watching Ben play cricket yesterday I feel like I've gone into hibernation mode - and it's June!! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)

THOUGHTFUL WISHES DIES (35.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

I managed to grab a little crafty time this morning, so took the opportunity to play with a new embossing folder (perfect for the 'E is for Embossing' challenge over at The Alphabet Challenge blog) and paired it with Rochelle's beautiful warm and sunny colours over at Just Add Ink:

I bought this folder because I thought it would be nice paired with other elements in the Country Woods Suite, but wanted to try it out first by making it the feature of my card  - take a look:

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

I took a piece of thick white cardstock and using my blending brushes, added the three lightest colours to the front of my card so that each blended into the next. I then sprayed the reverse of my cardstock before putting it in my embossing folder and running it through my diecutting machine. I lightly rubbed the front of my dry embossed cardstock with white kraft ink to highlight the embossed detail, then glue it to my cardbase and trimmed to size. I added a sentiment from the Wanted To Say Dies in Gorgeous Grape, layered on vellum, and added a trio of glossy enamel dots in the same colour to complete my card - you can really see the embossed detail on the close up below:

I love the detail and pattern of this embossing folder - I think it's going to prove very versatile.

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; I spent the afternoon watching the youngest of the James Juniors play cricket and was so cold that after a few hours I needed to retreat to the warmth of the car - I feel like I should have dressed in my winter hockey spectator layers! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

EYELET 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	WANTED TO SAY DIES (37.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LOLLY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (14.00)	GLOSSY DOTS ASSORTMENT (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL (10.00)	WHITE CRAFT STAMPIN' INK REFILL (6.75)

How can it be Friday already?! It's been half term for the youngest of the James Juniors this week so there hasn't been much time for crafting! I'm hoping to get a little time in my craft room tomorrow but until then I do have another card for you featuring the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and Thoughtful Journey papers, along with details of the latest Step By Step Class created with my friend and former Stampin' Up! Artisan Designer Jan Clothier, aka Thinking Stamping.

First up, my card! The Thoughtful Journey papers are so beautiful - even a small amount can go a long way:

When paired with the Thoughtful Wishes bundle, especially those fabulous diecuts, along with some dry embossing and the texture and sparkle of tone-on-tone glimmer, there's so much to love! That's why Jan and I chose this bundle and papers for our step by step class:

Our new step by step class features the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and Thoughtful Journey designer series paper. Simply purchase the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and a pack of Thoughtful Journey designer series paper from us and we’ll email you the step by step instructions to make four beautiful projects featuring them. If you already have the suite or bundle, simply purchase something else of equivalent value and we’ll email the class instructions to you.

You can shop with me if you live in the UK and Europe. 

You can shop with Jan if you live in New Zealand.

If you would like to receive the details for this step by step class, you can place your online order with me by clicking on the direct product links for the bundle and papers needed below; remember to add the current hostess code 3NR3FB9W to your order. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	THOUGHTFUL WISHES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (53.00)	ADHESIVE-BACKED PEARL TRIO (7.00)	EXPOSED BRICK 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	2024–2026 IN COLOR™ GLIMMER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (10.25)
PETUNIA POP A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

Another dreary day of rain here in the UK, but fear not - I have a card perfect to brighten someone's day that took just minutes to make!

I saw the inspiration photo over at TGIF Challenges this week and as I still had my Frames & Flowers papers out, I grabbed them to make a quick card - take a look:

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

It wasn't the colours of the challenge photo that inspired me, rather the floral framed border, the friendship sentiment and the single butterfly accent. I used one of the frames from the designer paper pack, adding a couple of panels at each side and stamped my sentiment from 'Something Fancy' in the open aperture:

A single brushed brass butterfly completes my card - so simple!

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:

SOMETHING FANCY CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Claire to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I decided to use Claire's layout today to create a fancy fold card, specifically a star explosion pop up card featuring the Frames & Flowers specialty designer series paper. My finished card measures 5" x 7" and when closed, it follows Claire's layout and looks rather inconspicuous:

The central wreath is on a belly band that when removed, allows the card to open and the fancy fold element is revealed: 

 The outside panels are layered on Soft Sea Foam, and the inside panels layered with Petal Pink and Pretty Peacock. The inside scored layer lays flat when the card is folded closed, then when opened the central panel pops up and stands away from the card adding a little extra dimension and detail. 

The Frames & Flowers papers are really pretty and this is a new kind of paper pack that contains three sheets of double-sided paper and three sheets of pre-cut die cut pieces. I used a couple of the flowers to decorate and one of the foliage squares for the centrepiece of my card, along with a sentiment from the 'Something Fancy' stamp set:

The wreath that decorates the belly band is another of the diecut pieces, to which I added a bow using some retired Lost Lagoon velvet ribbon finished with a faceted gem and a few Petal Pink gems. The diecuts make for great quick and easy cards, or equally take all the hard work out of decorating, leaving more time to create a fancy base, as I've done here. 

I'm linking today's card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where they are asking us to use multiple patterns - I've definitely used a selection today!

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; I'm hoping the rain stays away long enough to get out into the garden today, however the forecast doesn't look good and since it's a long Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, I guess I shouldn't be surprised! I'll be back with another project using these papers this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SOMETHING FANCY CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
FACETED GEMS TRIO PACK (7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by the current challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

There were so many great starting points on that inspiration board; I took my jumping off point as that image that features bottom right - take a look:

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

I liked the idea of taking a scene and overlaying it with some 'words of wisdom', so I took another of the designs in my Thoughtful Journey paper pack and picked out two of the colours in the paper to build a sentiment using 6 separate sentiments in the 'Unbounded Love' stamp set. This stamp set has so many different possibilities with sentiments that work for lots of specific occasions and also for 'just because' cards too. I chose a scene with some open space in it to accommodate my sentiment, and overlapped the words in each pair slightly - you can see that more closely below:

The sentiment stamps are photopolymer so they are so easy to line up and stamp - no platform required. I added a simple stem of diecut foliage using the Thoughtful Wishes Dies, tied with frayed ribbon, for decoration and a couple of Boho Blue enamel dots to complete my card. Once again, I was reluctant to crop my sheet of designer paper too much, so chose a u-shaped card that enabled me to extend the design further to the outer edges too, whilst still enabling it to concertina fold flat and fit a standard C6 size envelope. The card stands up on its own perfectly and I added a decorated panel to the reverse to write my message:

I really like the finished effect of this card; there are a few other patterns in the Thoughtful Journey paper pack that lend themselves to a larger/feature sentiment, so I might recreate with those 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

UNBOUNDED LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PETUNIA POP CLASSIC STAMPIN PAD (8.50)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PETUNIA POP A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme for this week's Clean and Simple challenge:

You know how I can't resist a sketch by the lovely Cecile over at Freshly Made Sketches, so since this is her week I had to grab her layout and use it for the basis of my clean and simple punny birthday card using a new stamp that I also couldn't resist that is perfect to celebrate all things birthday over at AAA Cards too - take a look:

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

HapPea Birthday - what punny fun is that?! The 'Sweet Peas' stamp set is found in the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue and is choc-full of cute images and punny sentiments for lots of occasions. For today's card I chose the birthday peas, bursting out of their pod and stamped it onto a panel cut with an (elongated) Nested Essentials Die and coloured with three of the new In Colour Stampin' Blends: Shy Shamrock, Peach Pie and Petunia Pop (and a little Shaded Spruce and retired Call Me Clover for good measure). I could have finished there, but decided to create a loose 'frame' behind my panel using one of the long pea shoot stems in the set, adding just a little outline colour and fussy cutting them to allow for some overlap and lift for interest:

Don't you just love those grinning peas?! I added another pea along with a 'let's celebrate' sentiment from the (retired) 'Simply Fabulous stamp set to the inside of my card and repeated this on the envelope flap for a little co-ordinated decoration. Shy Shamrock is such a fresh and vibrant green - I know I'm going to use it a lot. Do you love these new in-colours too? Remember in May you can receive a fabulous bundle of new in-colour products for free when you sign up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - you can find the details on this amazing offer here. This stamp set makes me hap-pea (pun intended!) and I just love this clean and simple birthday card. I have lots of birthdays in May and June, and this card will be headed to a dear friend who will I know appreciate the sentiment!

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; I don't have anything special planned today, so will be hoping for fine weather and some time in the garden. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET PEAS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
SHY SHAMROCK STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PETUNIA POP STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PEACH PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)