Today I have a nice early post for you as I'm guesting with the lovely team over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week! I won their December sketch challenge with this card so was delighted to be invited by Andreja to join them as a guest. This week it's colour week and they are inviting us to make cards using a blue and white colour combination:

For my card I used the current layout over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and grabbed some retired Storybook Gnomes designer series paper and set to work. Take a look at what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

My card started with that vertical panel of blue and white patterned paper - so pretty! I added a simple Balmy Blue banner then a sentiment from the retired stamp set 'Hug In A Mug' and a gnome that I diecut from another sheet of paper using my Gnomes Dies:

 I added a little extra detail on the inside - a sentiment from 'Gnome For The Holidays' and a partial toadstool house: 

Lots of little touches of blue for another Christmas card to add to my stash!  Thank you to the team over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for having me as their guest this week and for keeping me making Christmas cards throughout the year!

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

Today I'm sharing a card that I made using Jacquie's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches that also showcases the colour palette over at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I couldn't resist a quick FMS entry this week since Jacquie's sketch is something of a 'go to' layout for me; the large circle works to showcase either a sentiment or an image with the smaller elements also offering lots of options. Today I decided to go with a sentiment from one of my Sale-A-Bration stamp sets, called 'Heartfelt Hellos' - take a look:

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

Heartfelt Hellos - I previously showcased the 'hello' from this set (if you missed that card, you can see it here) so today I thought I'd go with the larger Mother's Day sentiment (ages away, I know but it pays to be organised!) The 'heartfelt hellos' set has 6 different sentiments that work for lots of occasions: Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Dad's Birthday, Valentine's Day, Anniversary, Birthdays and general wishes too. What's more it's FREE with a product purchase of £45 or more - bonus!

Paper Florist Bold Blooms - I used my Paper Florist Dies to create two bold blooms to accent my sentiment circle. I love the bold colour palette from Hand Stamped Sentiments, but needed to add in some white to balance these strong colours. I love how quickly these diecut flowers come together and here they pack a colourful punch:

Basics Embossing - Finally, I decided to emboss the base of my card with one of the 3D Basics Embossing Folders. I haven't used this EF on anything before, but decided that these deep colours and my otherwise clean and uncluttered card could take the addition of the embossed finish. What do you think - do you like the added texture? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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'm having a crafty start to my week so I'm off to get back to it! Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS TRIO (7.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BERRY BURST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

I am currently having a love affair with the pretty Flight and Airy paper that is one of the products that you can get FREE with a £45 order during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion and have another card to share that features it, this time using the sketch layout over at Tuesday Morning Sketches:

I could have taken the easy route and just added a piece of designer paper for the top panel of the card, but instead decided to add a piece of cross-hatched embossed paper and fussy cut a piece of the pattern featuring branches, flowers and a quintet of pretty birds:

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

I added my panel to a Petal Pink base, having added a little Petal Pink ink to my hatched panel behind the birds. Here's a close-up of the detail - time consuming, but very theraputic and so worth it for the delicate finished result:

I added a row of diecut flowers with gem centres to echo the detail of the the sketch and finished with a simple sentiment banner from 'Timeless Arrangements'. What do you think? If fussy cutting isn't your thing, you could just use the paper as a flat panel - it's so pretty, it would look great that way 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:

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

It's Tuesday and time for our first challenge of the year over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We have some new designers so do check out the refreshed team. The lovely Jeanne is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I was so tempted to go with Perennial Lavender again for today's card with this colour palette, but decided instead to change tack and break out a new stamp set that I received at our Online launch event for the mini catalogue, called 'Planted Paradise' - take a look:

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

Planted Paradise - The 'Planted Paradise' stamp set is a reversible stamp set that contains lots of different pots and leaves that you can use to build your own plants, pots and hanging baskets - so fun! I actually intended to use an alternative pot in my design, until I remembered that the stamps are actually shown at 60% of size, so they are larger than I anticipated and I had to scale down my choices. I had originally intended to use the rounded flower-patterned pot - so I added a single punched flower to the one I eventually used in homage to that! These stamps are so easy to use and offer lots of creative options - if you like the ability to just stamp and see what you can create - this stamp set is for you. 

Glorious Gingham - Everything's better with gingham, right?! I used a square of Berry Burst gingham to back my pot, as a way to incorporate a pop of berry goodness and following the Try A Sketch on Tuesday that I included above (previously Try Stamping on Tuesday). The team are doubling up with Double Trouble where they want you to choose a background that reflects your introvert or extrovert personality. Well, since today is clean and simple day it's no surprise that I chose a clean white base, which I guess could fit either - which works for me, as I can be both introvert and extrovert!

Heartfelt Hellos - The 'Planted Paradise' stamp set is sentiment-free, so I needed to find one from elsewhere to complete my card. I wanted a 'Just For You' type set so that I could play along over at CAS on Friday this week as that is their theme, so I decided to ink up 'hello' from a new, FREE, set called 'Heartfelt Hellos' that can be yours too with a purchase of £45 or more. This is such a useful set with a mix of sentiments for a variety of occasions - I particularly love the font of the greeting I used on today's 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 later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLANTED PARADISE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	GLORIOUS GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (10.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's our first challenge of 2024 and the fabulous Ann is hosting this week. A new year is a time for celebration and to kick off 2024 Ann has a challenge with celebration of a different kind in mind:

We are celebrating birthdays this week! So many new goodies to play with and so much new product to choose from; I decided to use the sketch layout over at Global Design Project #GDP426 for my card this week as the large central panel is perfect to showcase some lovely new paper - take a look:

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

Perennial Lavender - As a lover of all things purple, the Perennial Lavender papers quickly caught my eye. The beautiful watercolour designs in a mix of purples and white on Crumb Cake don't disappoint! I cut one of the sheets into 6 pieces each that fit a cardfront, and trimmed one of them slightly to fit the panel on today's card.

Perennial Postage - My sentiment is from one of the two stamp set bundles in the Perennial Lavender Suite, called 'Perennial Postage'. There isn't a specific happy birthday sentiment, but I think this one works quite well, for birthdays and other occasions. I stamped it onto a banner cut with my favourite Stylish Details Dies and decorated with some diecut lavender stems that I cut from Crumb Cake cardstock and watercoloured with my aquapainter to tie in with the look and feel of the paper - you can see both in more detail below:

A few sparkly shimmer gems in various shades of purple and some linen thread complete the front of my card.

Inside Detail - I added another sentiment from the same stamp set to the inside of my card to continue the birthday theme and stamped a couple of lavender stems for a little extra decoration:

These papers do have a slightly 'vintage' feel to them which is not my normal 'go to', but they really are so beautiful it would be a shame not to embrace them! I love how this card turned out and I am looking forward to making more projects with them 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. 

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 will be making the most of the last couple of days before the youngest of the James Juniors returns to school and I am back to my daily school run commute. Hoping to find a little crafty time so fingers crossed I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PERENNIAL LAVENDER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)	PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	WATER PAINTERS (13.00)
LINEN THREAD (4.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Happy New Year everyone - the cardmaking has officially begun! Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where our first challenge for the new year is my favourite, a sketch challenge, designed by our wonderful challenge leader and chief organiser, Heather C:

I love Heather's cascade of hearts - I thought it would be perfect for a cascade of buzzy bees and a showcase of some of the lovely new papers in the new January-April Mini Catalogue - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Bee Mine - Today's card is all about the paper - no surprise there then! The Bee Mine designer series paper has so many beautiful bee-inspired patterns. I chose a rather busy one for my background and added a simple diecut panel that I stamped with some 'bee lines' using one of the stamps in the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set to create a little space to showcase my cascade of bees.

Snip, Snip - For my bee cascade, i used my paper snips scissors to fussy cut four different bees from another of the sheets in the pack, each with a different expression - they really are so comical! - and popped these up on dimensionals on top of my card base, having already added my sentiment banner too. Here's a close up for you:

Stampin' Up!'s Paper Snips Scissors really do make light work of fussy cutting shapes from paper in this way - the super sharp and pointed tips make it easy to get into even the smallest nooks and crannies. If you don't own a pair, I would highly recommend you invest in some - you won't regret it.

No Matter What - The sentiment from the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set does have love as its theme, but like many of the greetings in this set they have a much broader use than for Valentine's Day alone. This one is heading to one of the James Juniors - I think it is a great reminder of a parent's unconditional 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. 

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:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	PAPER SNIPS SCISSORS (10.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (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 speed stamping challenge chosen by Deborah:

The Shining Brightly specialty designer series paper is the only current 'starry' product that I have in my stash, so that was my starting point for today's card. As I rummaged through my stamp sets and other supplies to find things that would co-ordinate, I came across some wooden stars from last year's Christmas Memories & More packs that I had previously coloured gold for another project but not used. The stars were the same design as those on the paper and so my design was born! I remembered the sketch from Sketch Saturday and grabbed a Night of Navy card base and offcut, a circle die, some gold twine, gold foil, Versamark and gold embossing powder and the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set and set my timer for just under 10 minutes. This is my finished card: 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I added my DSP to my cardfront, then diecut three circles from the Navy panel, tied it with gold trim and added it to my card with dimensionals and added a wooden star to the centre of each aperture. I then heat-embossed my sentiment and fussy cut it, then added some gold foil behind it and fussy cut that too before adding to my card:

So how long did my card take? I used the full 10 minutes, although most of that time was spent heat embossing and fussy cutting my sentiment and foil shadow. I set my timer for just under 10 minutes so that it would give me a warning time to stop fussy cutting and allow me the last bit to add dimensionals and stick it to my card. I could have added it as a straight label which would have taken much less time, but I really wanted to fussy cut it to make it narrower. So what do you think? What starry creation will you create in 10 minutes or less?

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:

JOY OF NOEL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	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 the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I had the idea that the central panel would be a great way to showcase one of the Winter Meadow designer series paper designs - take a look:

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

One of the designs in the Winter Meadow designer series paper pack has a deer pattern that can be split into 6 and used as card fronts. I took the one that had the deer on the right hand side of the panel and cut it down to fit my central rectangle. I added a background panel of Moody Mauve and scored in the diagonal lines (these are quite difficult to see in the photos I'm afraid, but add a lovely subtle detail in real life) and fussy cut a couple of berry stems from another of the sheets in the paper pack to decorate my sentiment, which is from the 'Brightest Glow' stamp set and cut with one of the Labels Aglow dies:

I really liked this card, although I did think that I lost a lot of the impact of the deer panel once I'd cut it down. Whilst I had the papers out on my desk, I decided to make a second card using another panel of the deer paper, this time using Kim's open layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I cut the single panel into three and built up the central section with a couple of layers of black and white cardstock, adding my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set onto a stitched label:

I let the paper do all the work as far as this card is concerned and added only a trio of three pale silver sequins to complete my card:

So two cards for you today - hope you like them! I'm also linking my first card up over at Time Out Challenges where the current challenge is Winter/Holiday.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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 in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	LABELS AGLOW DIES (31.00)	WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (7.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card using the current layout over at CAS on Sunday that was inspired by the candy-can colours and festive mood board over at Just Us Girls:

I couldn't resist that colour palette over at Just Us Girls and so much festive inspiration! I had a couple of candy canes cut from retired Sweetest Christmas designer paper in my stash, so decided to use them as the basis for a clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I added my candy canes to some solid colour banners and a circle that picked up the challenge colours and added a sprig of stamped mistletoe with a trio of pearls and twine bow, along with a sentiment from the retired 'Sweet Candy Canes' stamp set:

A trio of in-colour enamel dots complete my card. Quite a simple card and would be quick to run off in multiples too - I love 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:

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BANNERS PICK A PUNCH (26.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (7.00)

Happy Monday everyone! We are another week closer to Christmas, so no surprises that today I'm sharing a card for the occasion! I took my inspiration from the crate of pinecones on the Hand Stamped Sentiments  inspiration photo below:

I diecut some pinecones and greenery using the Christmas Pinecone Dies and snipped a section to frame my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set - take a look:

I used a piece of retired Painted Christmas designer series paper for my background; I love the fresh feel of this paper, and the white background allows the detail of the diecut pinecones to really shine:

A few sparkly gems complete my card. This card took longer to make than it took to write my post; those Christmas Pinecone Dies take a little bit of time to cut and assemble, but I think it was worth it. Plus I've still got enough leftovers to make another 2-3 cards - bonus! I'm also linking today's card up over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog, where they are currently on 'P is for Peace' - the world could definitely do with some of that at the moment, for sure.

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:

CHRISTMAS PINECONE DIES (42.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)