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

I got myself into something of a tizzy with this week's sketch and ended up making two cards - this one is for sure my favourite! I loved the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink this week and thought an Easter wreath would be perfect for the shape in Anne Marie's sketch - take a look:

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

Arrange A Wreath - The Arrange A Wreath bundle is perfect for an Easter wreath and this is the only type of wreath I think I've yet to make with this versatile set! I layered two pale green leaf wreath diecuts, then stamped a variety of rainbow-coloured Easter eggs and nestled them in between the leaves, mixing and matching the patterns:

Pink Patterns - I decided to use a pink background for my wreath, again inspired by the JAI photo. I used a piece of Hydrangea Hill DSP in a soft Rococo Rose pattern. I wanted my vertical panels to co-ordinate but not be too busy, as I didn't want them to detract from the detail of my wreath, so I used some of last year's retired in-colour DSP in a gingham pattern.

Going, Going ... - Today's card features so many of my favourite things that will be retiring with the annual catalogue: The Arrange A Wreath stamp set and Wreath Builder Dies, the in-colour Rococo Rose in all its forms, and my favourite embossing folder, the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. If these items are still on your wish list, you should snap them up now whilst you still can! You can find links to them in the online store 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:

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; if you're in the UK, did you remember to put your clocks back? Whilst we lose an hour, the additional hours of sunlight are always welcome - British Summer Time is here at last! I am planning on pottering in the garden today and may have to start eating the Easter eggs that are accumulating in the James household - I know Easter isn't until next weekend, but the temptation is proving too much! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ARRANGE A WREATH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	HYDRANGEA HILL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	SUBTLE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)
ROCOCO ROSE 1/2" (1.3 CM) SCALLOPED LINEN RIBBON (£7.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

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

I decided to open an as-yet unused stamp set for a fun clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I thought this sweet dachshund would make the perfect focal point for my card today! I gave him a plaid coat using some retired Plaid Tidings DSP left over from last season and did some selective masking so that he could carry a resin-heart embellished note, having coloured my heart a peach colour using my Calypso Coral Blends:

Both my choice of canine and sentiment were chosen with the current challenge over at CASology, where the codeword is  'long' - a sausage dog and a 'miss you' sentiment seemed the perfect fit! I also used the Color Dare TicTacToe Challenge colours in the first column (peach, peacock, cinnamon). I added a little extra detail to the inside of my card too:

I have made a stack of these cards and decided to pop them in the post this week to friends that I haven't had the opportunity to catch up with for some time. Here's hoping they brighten someone's day!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HOT DOG PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	CINNAMON CIDER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
CINNAMON CIDER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	RESIN HEARTS EMBELLISHMENTS (£6.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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

Today is Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day here in the UK and I chose my colour palette this week based on the products I wanted to use on the card that I was going to make for my Mum to celebrate this special day, specifically the Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Acetate which I was keen to incorporate into my card. I've lots of photos for you today and two versions of my card too, so get ready! Here's the first and original version of my card:

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

Hydrangea Hill - My Mum is not particularly precious when it comes to flowers or gifts on Mother's Day, but she does appreciate a special card, so her card was the perfect opportunity to showcase the Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Acetate in Highland Heather, alongside other elements of the Hydrangea Hill Suite. I love the idea of these coloured foil acetates, but often find them trickier to use in practice. I think they make great frames or backgrounds though, so that's where I started with today's card. Measuring 21cm x 14.9cm (a sheet of folded A4) my card is larger than usual. I created an open window for my stamped sentiment (more on that below) and layered my frame with a scallop-edged border and a beautiful diecut hydrangea. Whilst the card above is my original card, and could actually be used for a special birthday too, I knew my Mum would want to see the words 'Happy Mother's Day' front and centre on her version - ever happy to oblige, I added an additional diecut sentiment in Highland Heather using the Word Wishes Dies to the front of my card:

Layers, Layers - Despite its rather simple appearance, there are lots of layers to my card: the mercury glass acetate and framed sentiment window, along with the layered diecut elements to my flower, cut with the Hydrangea Dies. I also added a twine bow and tag to my floral stem using other elements in the set:

How beautiful is that hydrangea die? I cut it out of Balmy Blue and sponged the edges in the same colour to add depth, then lifted the petal elements and carefully sponged the tips of the petals with Highland Heather to create that two-tone look so often seen with this type of bloom. The suite has some beautiful coordinating pastel pearls, but they were too large for me to decorate the centre of my flowers. Instead, I used my dark Highland Heather Blends marker and coloured some small basic pearl jewels that were just the right size - aren't they so pretty?

All About The Paper - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use some of the beautiful Hydrangea Hill papers on my card today. The outside of my card only features the colours of my chosen palette, with a little of the Balmy Blue DSP visible through the window aperture, but the inside of my card also includes a little pink and some Gorgeous Grape on that hydrangea border paper; this paper is so perfect for additional hidden detail on the inside of the card, including my stamped message:

I also made a custom envelope from a whole sheet of 12" x 12" DSP, featuring the hydrangea flower heads and with a Highland Heather striped border on the flap:

This paper is simply too good not to use! I added a simple stitched scalloped rectangle to the front of the envelope to address it:

My card is going in the mail, so I packed it in a plain white envelope for mailing; I know my Mum will appreciate the extra pretty detail when she opens it though, so the double envelope is so worth it! I haven't seen my Mum in person for 15 months, due to ongoing restrictions in lockdowns and travel between Wales and England, however with the increasing rate of vaccination here in the UK, we shouldn't have too much longer to wait until we can all meet in safety once 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 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. 

I am looking forward to a special lunch cooked for me by my nearest and dearest, along with an afternoon bike ride if the rain holds. This is one of those days of the year that can mean many things to different people, so whether you are with your Mum or your offspring today, or whether you are missing your Mum because of Covid or other reasons, and for those who have perhaps lost a child or for whom motherhood is still to become a longed-for reality, I am thinking of you all and I hope you spend the day in a way that is meaningful to you.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HYDRANGEA HAVEN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	HYDRANGEA HILL MERCURY GLASS DESIGNER ACETATE (£10.75)	HYDRANGEA HILL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	SNAIL MAIL TWINE COMBO PACK (£6.50)
BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
LAYERING SQUARES DIES (£33.00)

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

Whilst it has been a little chillier again here in the UK this week, there are still so many wonderful signs that spring is in the air. The daffodils are starting to open, the first lambs have been born on a neighbouring farm so today's card is full of spring colour - take a look:

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

Flowers For Every Season - I decided that for today's card I wanted to see an injection of spring colour, so reached for the Flowers For Every Season designer paper pack. This pack contains some very bold, bright florals and the one I chose, with its tulips amongst other flowers, is just perfect for spring. I used the three panel layout over at Paper Craft Crew so that the pattern didn't become too overwhelming, and backed each one with a thin border of Just Jade and a fancy frame diecut with the Ornate Layers Dies in Whisper White.

Butterfly Beauty - I chose a sentiment that I thought reflects the optimism that comes with the spring season, and embellished it with a layered butterfly cut using the Butterfly Beauty dies (I snipped this one away from the larger die):

I also used another of the dies in the same set to create my horizontal pieces of greenery. 

Elongated Envelope - In order to comfortably accommodate my three panels, I made my card slightly longer than a standard card front (it measures 18cm instead of 14.9cm). The photo below shows the difference in sizes:

This meant I needed to create a custom envelope. Rather than start from scratch though, I thought I'd share with you a quick trick that you can use to convert a standard envelope to fit a larger card. All you need to do is glue the envelope closed, then slice off the end on the short side and add some some designer paper to create a new closure:

It's really straightforward: Take two strips of coordinating DSP, one measuring 4cm x 30.5cm (1 1/2" x 6") and one 4cm x 10.5cm and attach the longer one to the cut edge of the front of the envelope, with an even overhang top and bottom. Measure 18cm from the end of the envelope and score a line along your DSP, cut away the corners to create your flap then flip your envelope over to the reverse. Fold over the overhangs and glue those in place then align the shorter piece across the back of the envelope and glue to the base. Add tear and tape to the envelope flap and you're done. Here's a photo of the reverse of the envelope extension which hopefully makes some sense of my instructions above:

 I also added some Magenta Madness ribbon to cover my seam as my card will be hand delvered rather than posted - you can always leave this off if you need to be able to post your card.

What do you think? I hope you found the envelope instructions useful and you like my card full of spring colour and flowers. I'm also linking up today over at SUO Challenges, where the theme is 'things that fly' - I think my butterfly qualifies on that front!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; I am hoping to spend some time in the garden today and will be making the most of my last day at home with the James Juniors before they head back to school next week on Monday and Tuesday respectively. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	ORNATE LAYERS DIES (£34.00)	BUTTERFLY BEAUTY DIES (£36.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	PEACEFUL MOMENTS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)
JUST JADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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

So many options for today's sketch! The weather is slowly warming up as Spring approaches and whilst we may not be experiencing beach vacations for some time to come still, I decided to break out my Sand and Sea Suite and recreate that feeling with a card or two instead. So this is the first card I came up with:

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

Sand and Sea - So much to love about the Sand & Sea Suite! One of the most unique aspects is the way that the dies contain a whole joined sheet of shells and sea fronds that can be both stamped and embossed then either used as a single piece or the individual pieces can be cut away as I've done on my card. I stamped, embossed and diecut the panel in both pink, yellow and pearlescent cardstock and mixed the various elements on my card, with that large, pink circular shell as the centrepiece. I gave it a pearlescent finish by sponging with frost white shimmer paint before adding to my card - just check out the amazing texture and detail:

I added some pearls and braided trim to finish. This stamp really does have the most lovely sentiments too; one the front of my card I used the one that forms the basis of the name for this stamp set - here's a peek at the inside of my card with the second part of my greeting:

This card is headed to one of my oldest and most dear friends for her birthday - I know she will love it! I'm also linking it up with the team over at Time Out Challenges, who are also celebrating their 7th birthday this week and challenging us to make birthday cards too - way to go Time Out!

A Pearlescent Alternative - I had another piece of the Sand & Sea DSP left after making the above card, so I decided to flip it and make another card using the reverse pattern, with the same layout but changing out some of the elements and colours and going for a slightly softer look:

I actually had something of a happy accident with this pearlescent shell. I had intended to simply emboss it, but having embossed the pink shell on the card above first, I hadn't realised that some of the pink ink had rubbed off onto the embossing folder so when I removed my pearly shell from the embossing folder, it had traces of pink ink on the indents. I wiped some of it away but then decided to go with it and instead rubbed the raised areas with Blushing Bride ink to accentuate them. I decided I actually quite liked the detail so no harm done - what do you think?

So which of these cards do you prefer? This one: 

Or this one:

Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts. I am using this suite for my next monthly online stamp class and am looking forward to creating more fabulous cards with it - get in touch if you'd like more information.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's main 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; the weather has been unseasonally mild here this week, so I will be spending some time in the garden today and probably heading out on my bike for a long cycle ride with the other members of the James household to take advantage of the warmer temparatures in case winter decides to make a return! I will also be placing my last Sale-A-Bration order as the current Sale-A-Bration promotion ends today - last call for orders if you would like to earn one of the amazing free gifts that are available as part of the promotion. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FRIENDS ARE LIKE SEASHELLS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	SEASHELLS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	SAND & SEA 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	TASTEFUL LABELS DIES (£29.00)	SEASIDE SHELLS (£5.50)
PEARLESCENT SPECIALTY PAPER (£3.75)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	3/16" (4.8 MM) BRAIDED LINEN TRIM (£6.50)	BLUSHING BRIDE 3/8" (1 CM) METALLIC RIBBON (£5.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)
FROST WHITE SHIMMER PAINT (£7.50)

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

Fabulous felines - what a fun challenge this week! I used the sketch over at Fusion (come back tomorrow if you'd like to see a card that uses the Fusion photo inspiration too) to make a clean and simple birthday card - take a look:

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

Today's card is super simple! I've been wanting to make a card using this cat that features on the Playful Pets designer series paper for ages - I just love her quirky expression! - and our challenge this week was the perfect opportunity. I cut a strip of (retired) Brights DSP in a two-tone stripe that picks up the pink of the cat's neck bow, and a suitably tongue-in-cheek sentiment from Itty-Bitty Birthdays that seemed to reflect just what my fussy-cut kitty was thinking, and placed the various pieces onto my card. A quick check to our clean and simple guidelines:

I finished my sentiment on the inside of my card and added a mouse that I fussy cut from my DSP sheet too:

Since this is a birthday card, I'll be linking up over at The Spot today too where they have a birthday theme.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

to follow

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 timely colour challenge for you to work with:

I chose red and silver to pair with black and white for my card and since today is Valentine's Day I was also inspired by the glittery hearts in our challenge photo this week to create something using the Fab Friday sketch that also meets the clean and simple 'hearts' code word over at Addicted to CAS - take a look:

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

All Heart - I decided that the Fab Friday sketch panel was perfect to showcase the Detailed Hearts Dies in the annual catalogue. When I went to my dieset I discovered I had one already cut in retired red glimmer paper, as I'd used the heart pieces on a previous project, so rather than cut another in Real Red I thought I would use this one for a sparkly centrepiece.

Love Always - For my focal point I decided to add a layered 'love' diecut using my Always Dies, with a black base and silver foil centre - I just love these dies and it's nice to pair them with an older die for a fresh look. I also added another touch of silver by adding a heart charm to one of the solid hearts on my glimmer paper:

I've been looking for an opportunity to use these on a project and finally today's card provided the perfect opportunity, as the two shapes mirrored each other perfectly. 

And Forever - I finished the sentiment on the ffront of my card by stamping with the 'Forever & Always' stamp set and carried this over to the inside of my card too, and added a few more of those glittery hearts for a simple decoration:

This is one of those cards that whilst it is all love and red hearts, it doesn't have to be a Valentine's card. I will be sending mine to a certain young lady in my house who is something of a magpie as far as glitter is concerned and I know she will 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 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; are you doing anything special to celebrate Valentine's Day? We had a family Valentine's dinner yesterday evening and will be sharing a special breakfast today, along with a rather elaborate choolate fondue this evening. So it's all about the food in the James household! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DETAILED HEARTS DIES (£27.00)	FOREVER AND ALWAYS BUNDLE (£43.00)	HEART CHARMS (£7.00)	SILVER FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

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

I'm not generally into pale colours but I was really drawn to the pastels over at the Color Throwdown challenge this week, and was also inspired by their photo of those old-time Love Hearts sweets to make another Valentine card and create some love hearts of my own - take a look:

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

Today's card has no stamping at all! I decided to use a slimline card layout and create a layered square in each of the CTD challenge colours, using one each of a scallop-edged square, stitched square and a diecut heart from the Wreath Builder Die set. Each square is so simple, yet the detail of each of the diecut pieces is what makes this card so pretty:

A quartet of pastels that look good enough to eat! In additon to playing over at Color Throwdown, I'm also linking up over at Just Us Girls where their word this week is 'Valentine'. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; I've been decorating so am hoping to get a little more done today. Whilst the James Juniors are still hoping for snow, it's looking less and less likely. The arrival of the 'Beast From The East Mark Two' is threatening to push daytime temperatures below zero, so unless there's the opportunity to build a snowman, I'll be staying safely indoors! I'll be back tomorrow with another project using these colours. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WREATH BUILDER DIES (£35.00)

STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

LAYERING SQUARES DIES (£33.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

SUBTLES A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the fifth Sunday of the month so the lovely Laurie is hosting this week and she has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge board for us to work with:

I used Julee's current Mojo Monday sketch as the basis for my card and went top left to bottom right on the diagonal across the board with die cut-embossing-blue for another fruity card for you this week - take a look:

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

Berry Blessings - Today's card is all about the free - free product that is! Both the stamp set and the designer series papers on today's card are part of the Berry Blessings bundle that is one of the free products available with a Stampin' Up! order of £90 or more during Sale-A-Bration. I love the designer papers that feature both the blueberries and raspberries in the bundled stamp set and also the strawberries from the Sweet Strawberry bundle - fruity patterns and also some fabulous checks and plaid. This card is all about the blues and greens, so I chose two plaids that would co-ordinate with my blueberry focal point. They just so happen to also be perfect for Stesha's takeover at TGIF Challenges this week where they are all about the plaid too. I also used the stamp set for the sentiment and a little extra stamping on the inside of my card too:

Stitched Shapes - The layers of Julee's sketch allowed me to fully indulge of my love of stitched shapes: rectangles for the background and then a circle as the base for my fussy cut berries. These are my most used of all my dies and the circles are for sure a staple - I just love the way they elevate a humble shape into something just a little bit more.

It's In The Details - I did a lot of fussy cutting on my berries and leaves, so wanted to add only a few extra small details. The embossing that completes my tic-tac-toe line is both dry embossing using my favourite Subtles folder on the white layer, and a white heat-embossed sentiment on my blue sentiment banner. I also added a simple white twine bow (with my banner that makes my two things from the Just Add Ink list this week) and a single pearl to the centre of my blue flower. You can see those finishing touches better below:

I really love how this card came together. Pacific Point was one of the first ink pads I ever bought when I started stamping, yet it isn't a colour I use often now so it was great to get it out for this card. I love that most of the rest of the product that I used was free - links to the store below if you'd like to snap up this bundle 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 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; we were forecast more snow here in the UK this weekend, but yesterday both James Juniors were disappointed to find temperatures had plummeted but it was more like freezing rain than snow. Today they will be hoping for the proper white stuff so that we can build another snowman! If not, we have some cooking to do and we might even get cracking on a knitting project that we've been promising to start for a while. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BERRY BLESSINGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SWEET STRAWBERRY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£17.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	SUBTLE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)
TRIPLE BANNER PUNCH (£21.00)	SNAIL MAIL TWINE COMBO PACK (£6.50)	PACIFIC POINT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)

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 chose a simple layout for my sketch so that it give lots of creative licence. I decided to take the opportunity to break out another new bundle, or two bundles in fact. Today's card is all about the berries - take a look:

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

Sweet Strawberry - Today's starting point was the strawberry that I used to anchor my sentiment - courtesy of the Sweet Strawberry stamp set. The set comes complete with two-step stamps for a berry, flower, leaf and stem, in addition to a selection of varied sentiments. Interesting fact for you: did you know that technically, a strawberry is not actually a berry at all? Botanists call the strawberry a "false fruit," or a pseudocarp. A strawberry is actually a multiple fruit which consists of many tiny individual fruits embedded in a fleshy receptacle. Who knew?! I also used the stamps to decorate the inside of my card:

Strawberry Builder Punch Tip - A stamp set with a co-ordinating punch is always great for quick embellishments and whilst I've shared this tip with you before, I thought it worth reminding you of a great way to save even more time with a builder-type punch. Create a mask using a piece of cardstock with all of the pieces punched out as a guide to stamp the individual pieces. This way, when you put the stamped cardstock into the punch, all of the images are aligned and punch out perfectly - check out the photo below to see what I mean:

Berry Blessings - What could be better than one berry bundle? Well, two of course! One of this year's Sale-A-Bration freebies with a £90 purchase is the Berry Blessings bundle, comprising the Berry Blessings stamp set that features the sentiment on the front of my card along with the Berry Delightful DSP, full of great berry patterns and coloured ginghams and plaids. These bundles co-ordinate perfectly with each other and if you have one, you are probably going to want the other too - check out the hand-painted look below:

This is the first card I've made with these bundles, but they won't be the last - there lots more berries, patterns and colours to choose from!

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. 

IEnjoy your day; we are forecast snow here in the UK today; the James Juniors are very excited, although I'm not sure it will be enough to build a snowman - I'll update you tomorrow! I'll be back then with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET STRAWBERRY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£30.50)	BERRY BLESSINGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)