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 theme challenge for you to work with:

So many ways to go with Jaydee's theme this week and so many choices! I am still busy cutting up my beautiful Wonderful World designer series papers so wanted to use Judy's great layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week to showcase one of my favourite flowers in the pack for today's challenge - take a look:

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

I highlighted my fussy-cut flower on a bright yellow stitched diecut circle and some diecut leaves and paired it with another of the blue-toned patterns in this pack. I experimented with different combinations of patterns for the three panels, but decided I preferred all three cut from the same paper so went with it. A few in-colour enamel dots and a fussy-cut sentiment from the 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set, stamped in Starry Sky, completes my card:

This card has a lovely clean feel with all that white space, despite its layers - and I love the way the layout highlights that single flower. What's more, this paper can be yours FREE, along with the 'Wonderful World' stamp set, when you place an online order of £90 or more between now and 31st August - yay for FREE!!

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: 

WONDERFUL WORLD BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	2022-2024 IN COLOR MATTE DECORATIVE DOTS (£7.50)	SUMMER SHADOWS DIES (£32.00)

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

Claire's board has a distinctly beachy theme this week, so I went across the middle with diecut, blue and patterned paper and yes, you've guessed it - I decided to create another shaker card featuring my favourite Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Hippest Hippos - this time a more clean and simple version than the one I shared with you a few days ago (you can see that card here if you missed it). Time to check out today's card:

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

For today's challenge I used up a little more of the (retired) Whale of A Time designer series paper to create an underwater paradise for my snorkelling hippo. This time I cut a partial circle for my frame and used the wave die from the Hippo dies to create the 'surface' of the sea for my hippo to swim along, placing my hippo outside my shaker element rather than inside as on my previous card. Once again I added a pair of handcut customised fins, along with snorkel and mask to my hippo - this time in bright Parakeet Party green:

For this card, my shaker element is a flat 'pocket' shaker - a great way to reduce bulk and a great way to introduce a shaker element to an otherwise clean and simple card. Not forgetting the inside, I used the 'Whale Done' stamp set for some co-ordinated stamping and added a strip of left over designer paper:

Today's hippo's underwater apparel was inspired by my own snorkel, mask and fins which are also bright green in colour - just to make sure Jason doesn't lose me as I'm floating around the Caribbean. I've not done that for a while - happy memories!

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. 

I'm also linking today's card up over at Sparkles Monthly Challenges for a second entry into their shaker cards challenge and over at Just Add Ink for another 'Under the Sea' card. Finally I'm linking up over at Addicted to CAS where the theme is 'nautical' - I'm pretty sure I've met that brief, I just hope they think my card is sufficiently clean and simple! 

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: 

HIPPEST HIPPOS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	HIPPO DIES (£0.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	WHALE DONE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	PARAKEET PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)

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

I wasn't sure how to tackle today's sketch initially, but I thought the focal point 'any shape' might lend itself to some fussy cutting, so I decided to reach for some of my designer papers and see where the mood took me! I settled on the lovely browns and neutrals of the Abigail Rose Suite and ended up creating a 'kitchen sink' of a focal point - take a look:

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

I decided to use this bold pattern of white florals on a brown scripted background for my base, then fussy cut more of the flowers and used those as the basis for the decoration for my focal point. I used a stitched circle for my base, blending some inks to create an ombre effect and then layering a selection of leafy diecuts in shades of browns, along with some (retired) wooden leaves and sprigs and my trio of fussy cut flowers for decoration. I added a touch more colour to my fussy cut flowers using my Stampin' Blends, to give them a little more definition and added some Elegant Faceted Gems for a touch of sparkle:

I just kept layering and adding in bits and pieces until I felt happy with the way the decoration framed my sentiment (taken from the 'Hand Penned' stamp set) - hence my 'kitchen sink' reference! I decided to make my vertical banner element from vellum, so that it didn't obscure too much of the pattern beneath it. I also added some layered ribbon for detail and texture and to pick up the colour scheme (the Crumb Cake ribbon I used is retired but I've included a link below to a suitable current alternative). 

Very little stamping on today's card and just like my last one another card with lots of bits and pieces, but actually easy to recreate - the paper definitely does the 'heavy lifting' and I love the way the fussy cut flowers tie in with the base below. I'm also linking my card up with the ladies over at TGIF Challenges who are crafting with their favourite things this week - anyone who knows me well can attest to my love of designer series paper - I love it all, any pattern, any size and this card is definitely a showcase of that!

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; not much going on here 'chez James' this weekend - just enjoying a relaxing weekend in the garden, hopefully with a little crafty time thrown in now things have cooled down a little. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ABIGAIL ROSE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS DEEP COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (£4.25)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	EDEN DIES (£33.00)
FOREVER FLOURISHING DIES (£34.00)	HAND-PENNED PETALS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
EARLY ESPRESSO 1/4" (6.4 MM) FAUX SUEDE TRIM (£6.25)	NATURAL FINISH 7/8" (2.2 CM) RIBBON (£8.00)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£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 Ann to host this week and she has a fun Clean and Simple challenge for us to work with as we celebrate another milestone with our 600th challenge:

Cards for kids - what fun! I used Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week which was perfect to highlight my ballet dancing hippo - take a look:

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

I couldn't resist another outing with my 'Hippest Hippos' Sale-A-Bration stamp set and co-ordinating Hippo Dies, this time I decided to feature the sweet ballet dancing hippo. My colours were taken from the palette over at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week. This is my first foray into the world of coloured hippos - I usually stick with the grey kind! I stamped, coloured and diecut one, backed with a couple of rectangles of DSP (these are from retired collections but I've included the links to the current equivalents below). I also gave my hippo a flower in her 'hair' and added a liberal does of clear Wink of Stella to her tutu and ballet shoes:

I finished with a birthday sentiment from a retired set in a co-ordinating font and another coloured hippo inside my card:

And that's all there is to it! Remember this is clean and simple week - so your card should:

• Have minimal layers and embellishments
• Have plenty of open, or "white" space
• Be simple and uncluttered

I think my blue hippo fits the bill - and is a fitting way to celebrate our 600th challenge 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:

Enjoy your day; I'll be keeping out of the sun, enjoying a BBQ lunch and enjoying the glorious weather we are having here at the moment. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HIPPEST HIPPOS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	HIPPO DIES (£0.00)	ORCHID OASIS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)
ORCHID OASIS STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	SUBTLES 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	2022-2024 IN COLOR MATTE DECORATIVE DOTS (£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 bright and fresh colour challenge for us to work with:

I haven't had much time to play beyond my design commitments lately, but can never resist a good sketch so I decided to combine this week's trio of colours with the fabulous sketch over at Just Add Ink this week (hello ladies!). I resisted the urge to go floral and inspired by the glorious weather we are having in the UK at the moment cast my mind back to memories of childhood holidays and created a summery card with some new (free!) dies - take a look:

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

Tree Lot Dies - Both the caravan and the trees on today's card were cut using the Tree Lot Dies - one of a number of products that can be yours FREE during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. Designed to co-ordinate with the 'Trees For Sale' stamp set in the new July-December mini catalogue, a number of the dies work well on their own too - and not just for Christmas cards either. The Tree Lot Dies can be yours free with an order of £90 or more - why not buy the co-ordinating stamp set as a starting point?

Get Creative With Colour - LeAnne's colour palette this week is an interesting one; the inclusion of white alongside two colours might at first glance seem limiting, but the are lots of ways to get creative with these colours and create interest. I used a piece of Tahitian Tide in-colour designer paper as my base - this gives both pattern and shades of colour. I also used some in-colour ombre glimmer paper for the flags on my caravan and used a neat trick to create two shades of Parakeet Party for my trees: I cut both layers of my tree from parakeet Party cardstock, then coloured each base tree all over with my dark Parakeet Party Stampin' Blends marker. This gave this piece a darker finish and allowed contrast with the detailed top layer.

Texture Tricks - In addition to variation in colour, I used texture to add interest to my card design: the caravan die has lots of embossed detailing, I layered my trees, I added some subtle blended background colour to my banner before I built my scene (I used a retired Stitched Nested Label Die for the banner itself), added some stitched diecut clouds courtesy of the Give It A Whirl Dies, the glimmer paper pennant banner, a baker's twine bow and lastly a heat-embossed sentiment, from the 'Let's Set Sail' stamp set - you can see these details more closely below:

I actually wanted a sentiment from the retired 'Glamper Greetings' set that said 'Home is where you park it' but I couldn't find my stamp set anywhere in the chaos that is my craft room - it is long overdue a thorough clean-out! 'Adventure Awaits' didn't quite suite the sketch as well, but was still an appropriate sentiment for my card, which is headed to a previous team member of mine who in a few month's time is about to embrace retirement and depart on a belated gap-year in her motor home - I'm sure many adventures await her on her travels.

So what do you think? I love this fresh colour combination - do leave me a comment below with your thoughts, I'd love you to share your views.

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 am still playing catch up, but will definitely be taking some time out this afternoon to watch the men's singles final at Wimbledon; it should be a great match and I've definitely earned it - I might even treat myself to a Pimms too; well, it would be rude not to!! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TREE LOT DIES (£0.00)	LET'S SET SAIL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (£37.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR™ 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	2022–2024 IN COLOR BAKER'S TWINE PACK (£14.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (£11.25)
TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PARAKEET PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PARAKEET PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's Laurie's turn to host this week and she has a theme challenge for us to work with:

We are a green-fingered bunch in the James household, however at this time of year the only flowers are those that have a fruit or vegetable attached - strawberries, climbing beans, courgettes and tomatoes to name a few. I don't have any vegetable stamps though, but never fear - this week's challenge can include everything from greenery, houseplants flowers and everything in between! I love flowers and with so many creative options, I was spoiled for choice. I was a little short on time though, so I decided to choose a beautiful new designer paper and let it do the heavy lifting - take a look:

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

The beautiful Awash In Beauty designer paper makes a card all by itself - beautiful watercoloured blooms, with no effort! I added a diecut sentiment and a few iridescent rhinestones, and my card is complete!

I liked this card so much I used another one with the other half of the paper and changed up the sentiment for one from the 'Sending Smiles' bundle:

Check out the subtle sparkle from the rhinestones - so pretty!

I ended up liking this one the best! What about you - do you have a favourite?

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: 

AWASH IN BEAUTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	SENDING SMILES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£26.00)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	MERRY MERLOT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MERRY MERLOT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

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 sketch with layers today that can be interpreted in lots of ways. I decided to use my main panel to showcase another pattern of a new designer series paper - take a look:

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

I chose a colourful, floral paper from the Lovely Linen designer paper - this linen-effect paper is so pretty. I added a banner and sentiment from my favourite 'Sending Smiles' bundle and added a couple of layered flowers diecut using the Summer Shadows Dies as an anchor for my sentiment: 

These diecut florals aren't designed to co-ordinate with the Lovely in Linen Suite, which has it's own co-ordinating stamp set and punch, but I think the shapes work quite well, don't you? A sprinkling of pearls completes my 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 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 having a quiet one at home, catching up on the things that I've missed whilst I've been out on my travels. I'm looking forward to seeing how you interpret my sketch this week! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SENDING SMILES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	SUMMER SHADOWS DIES (£32.00)	LOVELY LINEN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£5.75)

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 clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I love one layer cards! had another go with a different colour combo from the palette over at Sunday Stamps (such a great colour palette!) and decided that today I would focus on creating the illusion of layers on my single layer creation using some clever diecut embossing, masking and stencilling - take a look:

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

How Many Layers? - I love one layer cards as they are great for clean and simple designs. They can be as simple as a single image and a sentiment; for today's card though, I decided to create the illusion of layers. The first thing I did was use one of my Scalloped Contour Dies to partially emboss the outline of a label. I then stencilled a butterfly on the non-embossed section, then masked it off, along with a second mask to mask off the embossed area before using an alternative stencil to emboss a pattern around the remainder of the card. At this stage the card should look something like this:

When the masks are removed, the finished card front appears to have three separate layers: the butterfly uppermost, followed by the die-embossed label outline and finally the background floral-patterned layer. The photo below shows these in more detail: 

 Finally I added a sentiment to my faux-label to complete my card. I also stamped a sentiment on the inside, with some soft stencilling around the edges - I photographed the inside of the front of my card too so that you can see the partial die-embossed label outline more clearly:

By keeping my central label clear, I've tried to preserve some 'white space' on my one layer card. Along with the absence of embellishments of any kind and the one layer that is the crux of this challenge, I have managed to keep thing clean and simple too. I love these Butterflies & Flowers Layering Decorative Masks stencils and will be so sad when they retire at the end of the month. 

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; mine will be a quiet one, having been out and about for the past couple of days. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (£33.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	FLOWING FLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (£21.60)	HAPPY & HEARTFELT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£11.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK 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 Claire to host this week and she has a patriotic colour challenge for us to work with:

 I started out today's card not wanting to use anything other than Claire's trio of chosen colours, but also not wanting to create a patriotic Fourth of July card, since living in the UK we don't celebrate American Independence Day so I don't have much cause to send this kind of card. I did end up going a little rogue - take a look at my card below and you'll see what I mean:

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

All About The Background - I had seen a great Instagram post recently by the talented Melody Hyde where she used the Sailboat Builder punch to create a fun background (you can see that card here) so decided I would have a go at creating something similar. I punched a whole bunch of red, white and blue sails, then decided to create a pattern using the red and blue ones. How fun is that?!

Patriotism Of Sorts - Having laid out my background, it did look a little plain so I decided to experiment with some tone-on-tone stamping. I did end up using both stars and stripes, creating my patterns using a tiny star from the 'Penguin Place' stamp set (available again 1st July) and some stripes using an old retired set called 'Your Presents'. Now before the eagle-eyed amongst you point out that my stars and stripes are the wrong way around for the American flag: I know - I stamped a whole bunch of sails, with red stars, blue stars, red stripes and blue stripes and decided this was the pattern combo I liked best - and since I wasn't setting out to create a 4th July card, that was fine. When I came to write up my post though I did have second thoughts and I did wonder if I should have gone with blue stars and red stripes, for fear that my American readers might question my patriotic allegiance or flag knowledge - but I'm hoping my explanation is sufficient to prevent me from a barrage of patriotic fury! Or even a different pattern altogether!! Of course, if you wanted to use this idea to create a stars-and-stripes 4th July card, be my guest - and do share your version with me!

Anyway, back to the card - you can see the detail of my tone-on-tone stamping below; I really like the resulting effect:

Amazing Thanks - I finished my card with a simple 'you are amazing' die cut sentiment using the Amazing Thanks Dies - I can use this card as a card to celebrate any kind of achievement. The sentiment also works well if you do want to use a similar layout and idea for a truly patriotic card to celebrate the achievements of those who fought for the independence of the USA from the British Empire all those years ago - you just need to switch those stars and stripes!

So what do you think? I love the way the Sailboat Builder Punch is used in such an unexpected way to create a fun background. Do you have any other punches that you use in interesting ways? Do leave me a comment below - I would love to hear your ideas!

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 will be having some early birthday celebrations today, as the eldest of the James Juniors turns 17 this week but since it's a super busy school week, we are spreading out the celebrations and going with a 'little and often' rather than 'one and done' approach! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£25.00)	SAILBOAT BUILDER PUNCH (£17.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PACIFIC POINT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK 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 Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I still had my Nothing's Better Than set out on my desk from Friday's cards out on my desk, so I decided to use the current Atlantic Hearts sketch layout and play along with the In-Color challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and set about recreating the colourful cocktails on our challenge board this week - take a look:

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

I cut a whole bunch of stitched rectangles in glimmer paper in each of the new in-colours and laid them on my card base in alternating colours, with the lighter shades at the top and the darker shades bottom. I then added my sentiment and my colourful cocktail glass. I brushed my cocktail with clear Wink of Stella - along with the glimmer paper, this makes for one sparkly card!

I finished my sentiment on the inside of my card and added another cocktail for good measure:

I also added a stamped cocktail to the front of my envelope - it's definitely happy hour for the recipient of this 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 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: 

NOTHING'S BETTER THAN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	LOVE YOU MORE THAN DIES (£28.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (£11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)