It's half term week so with the kiddos around, I haven't had much time for crafting or blogging, but I am popping by today I'm sharing a card that I made for a couple of challenges that are allowing me the opportunity to indulge my new-found love of stencils:

The team at AAA Birthday are asking for birthday cards featuring stencils and the team at Inkspirational are also using stencils - with an optional addition of splatter. I went all-in and used both on my card - take a look:

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

Nothing too complicated here: I stencilled my flower using the Loveliest Layers Decorative Masks in Petal Pink and Calypso Coral, with leaves in Soft Succulent, then added splatters both with a Soft Succulent marker and a mix of adhesive and water, that I then sprinkled with gold and heat embossed. You can see that detail more closely below:

I finished my card with a fussy cut gold heat-embossed sentiment that continues inside my card with 'and wishing you a happy birthday' and a trio of enamel dots. I don't usually add splatters to my clean and simple cards, but I quite like the effect for a change. 

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:

LOVELIEST LAYERS DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)
PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	SOFT SUCCULENT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	MULTIPURPOSE LIQUID GLUE (4.50)

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

I thought these colours were perfect for a card to welcome a new baby so I grabbed Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and my 'Adorable Owls' stamp set and set to work. I This is what I came up with:

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

I added a piece of Balmy Blue Country Gingham to the lower portion of my cardfront, then added a horizontal panel of clouds cut using the Basic Borders Dies. I stamped and coloured two owls in the challenge colours with my Stampin' Blends, then fussy cut them out. I sat my baby owl on her own cloud, courtesy of the Give It A Whirl Dies, popped up on dimensionals, then added my second owl. My baby owl has a pink bow since Rebecca's piano teacher has just become a father to a beautiful daughter named Harriet, so this card will be winging its way to him to congratulate the family on their new arrival. My heat-embossed sentiment is from the 'Charming Sentiments' bundle, which I diecut with the co-ordinating dies: 

These sentiments come in two halves - I used the second one on the inside of my card:

'Adorable Owls' is such a cute stamp set and even better because it's free with a £45 order during Sale-A-Bration which runs until the end of the month - got to love a free stamp set, 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 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; the James Juniors are on half term this week, so this will be a week of exam revision mixed with a little R&R before getting back to it. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BASIC BORDERS DIES (27.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (37.00)	COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PETAL PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

Today I've a quick post to share a couple of cards I made using this week's Color Throwdown palette and SUO Challenges #SUOC319 theme of Galentine's Day:

I created two cards in the same design - take a look:

This card uses some striped Country Floral Lane DSP in Sweet Sorbet; I also created a second, brighter version, using Poppy Parade and some retired host DSP from the previous mini catalogue:

The coolest thing about both cards is the sentiment:

I made a custom 'Happy Galentine's Day' sentiment using the Valentine's stamp in the 'Love For You' stamp set and stamping it by masking the 'v' and heat embossing the sentiment in gold, then selectively masking the 'g' in the word 'gets' on one of the other sentiments in the set and then heat embossing for a second time. This results in the perfect sentiment for the occasion:

A few gold enamel shapes added a final touch of sparkle to my cards. Finally, here's a photo of both cards together:

Galentine's Day is traditional celebrated on 13th February - will you be sending girly greetings to the women in your life?

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 day at the side of the hockey pitch again; spring is clearly on the way - I managed a short coat and could still feel my toes when the final whistle blew - progress! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COUNTRY FLORAL LANE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

LOVE FOR YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)

SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

Today I've a quick post to share a card that was inspired by the pretty rainbow stencilled card over at Time Out:

I decided to keep with the layout and rainbow-coloured ink blending for my CASE of the pretty Gina K card, but wanted to try something with the candles in the Sentiment Silhouette dies that I had out on my desk. This is what I came up with:

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

I adhered a collection of diecut candles to a white panel that I had masked off the edges and I adhered them with low tack adhesive (I actually used Tombo, that I allowed to dry and go 'tacky' so that my diecuts would be repositionable and removable after colour had been applied), before adding a rainbow of colour with blending brushes, then removing the diecuts to give a 'stencillled' effect. I added a heat embossed 'celebration' sentiment from 'Simply Fabulous' to complete my clean and simple card:

Simple but effective - a birthday card with universal appeal!

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:

SENTIMENT SILHOUETTES DIES (33.00)	SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)

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 fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I  used Jen's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and the fresh colour palette over at Color Dare (I used all of the colours except Linen) and made a thank you card featuring a sweet songbird - take a look:

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

I used a stencil I had made previously using one of the Basic Border Dies along with a blending brush to create a cloudy sky using Pool Party ink, then added a solid panel in the same colour that I had embossed with music using the Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder as the backdrop for my songbird. I stamped my branch and the bird's legs onto a piece of white cardstock and fussy cut them, then stamped my bright blue songbird in Tahitian Tide, punched it out using my co-ordinating Songbird Builder Punch and popped the bird up on dimensionals for a little extra lift. A stamped punny musical greeting and a trio of additional music notes complete my scene:

I like the addition of the texture behind the bluebird and love that this bundle worked for our music theme - I haven't used it nearly enough! Not to mention I was a little pressed for time this week, so I was pleased that this card came together quite easily. I wanted to make a few in alternative colourways, but they will have to wait for another time!

If the Sweet Songbirds bundle is on your wishlist, you might be pleased to know that the Songbird Builder Punch can now be yours FREE with a £45 purchase as one of the additional products that are available this month as part of Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion - for full details read last week's post 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 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; ours will be a homework-filled one! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET SONGBIRDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (32.25)	MERRY MELODY 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Galentine's Day' which is on 13th February. This celebration, falling the day before Valentine's Day, is all about celebrating female friendships. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I really went to town and used a friendship sentiment, hearts, pink, purple, twine and something shiny and this is what I came up with:

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

I wanted to use another of the comical felines in the 'Love Cats' stamp set for today's card and chose the one that paired best with the sentiment I wanted to use. I think 'I love hanging out with you' is the perfect sentiment to share some female love and let your bestie know how much you enjoy their company, don't you? 

I had a whole other layout originally planned for this card, until I saw the Try Stamping on Tuesday sketch layout - I rotated it through 90 degrees and thought the curve would be perfect for my acrobatic cat. In order to tuck the banner underneath the front of the cat to preserve the sense of perspective, I stamped the cat twice and carefully fussy cut the top half of one, so that I could adhere the banner and then add the upper portion of the cat over the top If you look closely you can see how I did this below:

I aligned the banner with the wire and stamped the sentiment in one straight line rather than as it is laid out on the original stamp as I wanted a long slim banner. It does make for a long banner, but I love the effect - and the long twine bow that ties my heart trinket follows the same contours, so I think it works. I found this little shiny heart in my retired embellishment stash and it was the exact same size as the stamped one, so was a perfect fit - serendipity indeed!

My colour scheme was inspired by the Dandy Designs designer paper I used on my car base - one of my favourite Sale-A-Bration free items this year - have you earned yours yet? You still have one more month to take advantage of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. so don't miss out.

Finally, I'm also linking today's card up for a second entry over at Global Design Project #GDP379 where their theme this week is 'love'.

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE CATS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (33.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

Today I'm squeaking in another entry for the challenge over at Time Out that was also inspired by the current AAA Cards Challenge of white on white and this week's Global Design Project #GDP379 theme of Love:

I love that Beth Pearson quote on the Time Out badge and it got me thinking about love in the context of weddings - the time when everyone should feel this way about the person they are standing in front of, right? I love the purity of white for a wedding card so couldn't resist the opportunity to create a clean and simple wedding card featuring a little of 'something old, something new' - take a look:

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

All About Texture - When working with white-on-white, it's good to think about layers and texture to create interest. For a clean and simple card, there's a need to create interest without overwhelm and still preserve unpatterned 'white space'. The new Dainty Delight Dies are perfect for adding a delicate touch; each of the skinny flowers and stems has a subtle embossed detail that is perfect for clean and simple cards. I created a bough of flowers and greenery, and tucked it under my diecut sentiment and allowed it to flow freely across the front of my card. 

Forever and Always - I used a sentiment from the retired 'Forever and Always' bundle, heat-embossing the words 'Forever &' in silver and then adding the large diecut 'Always' as the main focus of my card. I do love a good sentiment diecut and can honestly say I will never part with my 'Always' dies. 

A Standout Cut - I adhered my thick white cardstock to a foam adhesive sheet before cutting out the word 'Always' as I wanted to create a little height another way to add interest to an all-white, clean and simple white-on-white card:

I really love this card - all I need now is the good news that anyone I now is getting married so that I have the opportunity to send 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DAINTY DELIGHT DIES (34.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

FOAM ADHESIVE SHEETS (7.50)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

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 my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I took my inspiration from the pink and red hearts and flowers in the top right corner of the Hand Stamped Sentiments inspiration board and decided to make a slightly fancier card for a loved one today featuring the Love For You bundle - take a look:

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

Today's card is a trifold card. I wanted to use the Love For You layered dies in a different way, so decided to make a two-colour tri fold card and cut each piece out of the alternating layers. I cut the largest aperture from the front section, then cut the second aperture from the second flap, having first added a piece of gingham to the centre of the panel:

 The last skinny set of diecuts were adhered to the inside of the card, with the 'so much love' being adhered with foam sheets for added dimension. I also added a small stamped sentiment and a sprinkle of hearts. The card has a double ribbon bow tie closure, tied through a couple of diecut slits. Here's another photo of the front that shows the detail of the layering, depth and dimension, along with the the pretty stamped pearl-centred flowers and diecut leaves that I used to accent my focal sentiment:

 A few hearts and a sprinkle of in-colour dots complete my card. I love the layered effect of these dies and the trifold really steps it up, yet is easy to achieve. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts - do leave me a comment below.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVE FOR YOU BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (44.00)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)
SWEET SORBET 1/8'' (3.2 MM) METALLIC WOVEN RIBBON (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	2022-2024 IN COLOR MATTE DECORATIVE DOTS (7.50)	FOREVER FLOURISHING DIES (34.00)	PASTEL PEARLS (6.25)	FOAM ADHESIVE SHEETS (7.50)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing another card using Jacquie's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, this time paired with the palette over at Color Throwdown:

I thought Jacquie's layout was perfect to showcase a beautiful piece of designer series paper and I had just the sheet - take a look:

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

Do you ever buy a pack of paper that you just don't want to cut into? This particular design in the Sun Prints pack was one of those for me! The botanical prints are so delicate and the cyanotype style of the papers gives them a beautiful soft and organic feel. I carefully chose a corner of my sheet and cut it to fit my centre panel, using a piece without a print for my mat layer and diecut sentiment. The Color Throwdown palette immediately made me think of the SunPrints papers, as grey is also a colour that features in this pack, albeit not on the sheet I wanted to use. The banner across the front of the sketch was a great way to incorporate the grey and add a touch of contrast though so both elements fitted together perfectly: 

That paper is so beautiful - sometimes you have to just #loveitchopit! 

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. Mine will be filled with household chores, but needs must! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SUN PRINTS 12” X 12” (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (26.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

GRAY GRANITE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

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

Time to feature a bird on our cards! I used the fresh colour palette over at Global Design Project and the sketch layout at Try Stamping on Tuesday to make a clean and simple card for a friend using another new set featuring a comical feathered friend - take a look:

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

Today's card features one of the comical feathered friends in the 'Silly Goose' stamp set; a great set with lots of fun small images that are great for colouring. I chose to use the image of the goose, complete with straw hat, floating in her rubber ring with her friend the frog. Simply coloured with my Stampin' Blends and cut out using one of the Stylish Shapes Dies, I backed it with a couple of strips of spotted designer paper, one retired and one from the Dandy Designs Sale-A-Bration pack - they tie in with the spots on the goose's rubber ring:

I added a simple banner sentiment to complete my card (anybody else singing that song from Toy Story now?) I originally made yesterday's cards for today's challenge, but decided they weren't quite clean and simple enough - if you missed yesterday's post and you'd like to see a couple more cards made with a different bird, then be sure to check it out 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 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 may or may not be off to the hockey pitch again today, if the temperatures rise high enough above zero for the ice to melt. If not, a warm afternoon in my craft room beckons! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SILLY GOOSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)