Today I've a quick post as I'm off to watch the Eurovision song contest! I'm sharing a card using this week's layout over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

Those balloons reminded me of a posy of Painted Lavender stems, so that's what I created as the focal point on my card - take a look:

I added some strips of Perennial Lavender designer series paper (I'm so pleased this has carried over and is still available) and some Lost Lagoon linen ribbon to my card, box pleating one of my strips for added interest. I tied my posy with a linen thread bow and added a tiny tag for my sentiment:

A trio of purple sparkly gems complete 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your evening - I'm off to see if the UK can manage a winning entry this year! I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PERENNIAL LAVENDER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jan has a recipe challenge for us:

I don't know why, but I really struggled with our challenge this week. I think it's new catalogue syndrome - you know, when you have a ton of retired product and not much new but you want to make the new stuff work? In the end, I decided to go with a still-current-but-not-new favourite and chose to make a happy and sunny hello card that very much reflects the lovely warm weather we are having here in the UK this week - take a look:

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

Busy Bees - I decided to choose yellow as my 'other colour' in addition to black and white, and using the current Sketch Saturday layout, I positioned a pair of busy bees amongst some honeycomb elements. I stamped the details using the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set in black onto both white and yellow cardstock, then punched out using my Bee Builder Punch and I also used another of the stamps in this set to add some stamped honeycomb to my white card base too. So that ticked off black, white and one other colour - check.

Hello, Hello - I decided to use a large 'hello' for my focal sentiment, so embossed and diecut it from the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder and die set. I inked the edge of the word in yellow before embossing and created an ombre effect by colouring with my Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends. This is a great way to get a little variation in colour without actually using a different colour, just making the use of both shades in the Blends pair:

My sentiment ticked off my last two recipe elements: embossing folder and diecut - check.

Finishing Touches - I added a couple of hexagons that I embossed with the (retired) Hive 3D Embossing Folder, showing both the embossed and debossed sides for added texture and interest and a sprinkling of diecut flowers and hexagon-shaped enamel shapes from my stash to complete my card. 

I really love the finished result and I already know who I'm going to send it to - hope she likes it 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. 

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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	BEE BUILDER PUNCH (23.00)	THOUGHTFUL MOMENTS HYBRID EMBOSSING FOLDER (ENGLISH) (36.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

Today I'm having a lovely day sat in my office with the sunshine streaming through the window and working on some projects to share with you. Whilst I was working on some design commitments, I decided to make a quick card to squeak in an entry over at Sunday Stamps, where their current sketch is too good to pass up:

I've been working my way through a pack of Thoughtful Journey designer series paper as I design projects for my upcoming Thoughtful Wishes Tutorial with my lovely friend Jan Clothier and whilst I haven't shared any of them with you yet, this layout was just asking to showcase one of the beautiful designs in this fabulous paper pack - take a look:

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

I created both of the layers from my card from one sheet of paper, showcasing the warm Cajun Craze shaded grasses and using the right-hand side of the sheet with the lighter colours for the layer behind for a hint of contrast. I diecut my banner pieces in Old Olive using one of the Nested Essentials Dies and added a simple thanks sentiment from 'Thoughtful Wishes':

A simple green linen twine bow and sprinkle of copper sequins was all that I needed to complete my card. The thoughtful Journey papers really do contain such beautiful scenes, it's a shame to cover them up too much. I will have lots more cards to share featuring these papers in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned.

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 the rest of your day; it does feel strange to be making a card in autumnal colours given that I think summer has finally arrived here in the UK, so much so that I enjoyed lunch in the garden today. Dare I say if this keeps up, we might even be able to BBQ at the weekend - fingers crossed! I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

THOUGHTFUL JOURNEY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	THOUGHTFUL WISHES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Patricia is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

I used the layout over at AAA Cards to make a birthday card using some of my new catalogue goodies - take a look: 

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

I decided to use Pebbled Path as my card base for a change and added some Pebbled Path ink with a blending brush to the the area where I was going to build my wreath to add depth. In addition to a wide variety of labels and frames, there are lots of great little foliage dies in the Unbounded Love bundle and I thought they would make a neat clean and simple wreath. I combined three different pieces and then added in some flowers with pearl centres from the Lovely & Sweet Dies set too:

 A silver twine bow and a fussy cut sentiment complete my card. I really like the finished result, especially with the darker card base.

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; I'm having new carpets fitted today so my day will be a busy one. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

UNBOUNDED LOVE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (52.00)	LOVELY & SWEET DIES (30.00)	PEBBLED PATH A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PEBBLED PATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (7.00)

I've been decorating today so a super quick card to share that I made yesterday. I was continuing to challenge myself with diagonal layouts and made a super quick card for the challenge over at Time Out Challenges using up a bunch of retired Playful Pets designer paper that was perfect for their inspiration photo this week:

Here's my card:

I used the retired 'Biggest Wish' stamp set for my diagonal greeting and paired my puppy paper with some Pecan Pie gingham.

That's all from me - back with a card made using lots of new things tomorrow!

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

Animal antics - what fun! I decided to embrace the diagonal of Kim's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week - I usually shy away from diagonals, but since I hadn't had the opportunity to play along for a couple of weeks and the Design Team had produced such beautiful cards as always, I thought it was time to remedy that - and also played along with the 'music' theme over at Global Design Project #GDP443 this week. I have two things I need to say upfront: today's card does feature a whole bunch of recently retired product (I'm still trying to use up some favourites!) and secondly, I apologise now if today's card leaves you with an earworm you can't stop singing! Time to share my card - take a look:

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

Celebrate Good Times Come On - Yes - who else is now singing along to that classic 80s hit by Kool and the Gang?! Kim envisaged a large sentiment along her diagonal, so I decided to feature the 'celebrate' diecut from the Wanted to Say Dies. I paired it with the words 'good times' stamped from the retired set 'Let The Good Times Roll' to complete my greeting and of course I needed a singer for my song; enter in the singing tortoise from the retired Zoo Crew designer paper - the perfect pop star!

A Star Is Born - I used three different starry elements on my card to create a cohesive design: a panel embossed with the retired Lucky Stars Embossing Folder, a piece of star-patterned designer paper from the retired Bright & Beautiful paper pack and finally some Lemon Lolly stars diecut using another of the dies in the Wanted To Say Dies set. I think it's fair to say that my singing tortoise, just like the intended recipient of my card, has 'star' quality:

Take Two - I originally wanted to use a piece of circle patterned paper for my card, but only had a few scraps left. Once I'd made my starry version, I decided I would go back and make another one using my originally chosen paper. I had to alter the angle of the diagonal slightly in order to make it work. Instead of the embossed panel, I stamped some circles using the retired 'Circle Sayings' stamp set in coordinating colours. Here's my second card:

I thought I would prefer this card, but actually ended up liking my starry version better - go figure! Which one do you prefer? 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 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; it was a beautiful day yesterday, which is just as well since the youngest of the James Juniors had his first cricket match of the season with his new club. He received his cap, did some great bowling and fielding and came home happy as the team won their game too. I'm hoping for another warm day today, but we do have a Bank Holiday long weekend here in the UK this weekend, so that usually means rain! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WANTED TO SAY DIES (37.00)	AZURE AFTERNOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
LEMON LOLLY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)

Hello! I finally managed to get some time in my craft room today so managed to whip up a few projects to share with you this coming week. Today I'm sharing a quick card I made using the layout over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday that was perfect for a monochromatic card featuring one of the new in-colours, Petunia Pop:

Here's my card  - take a look:

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

I used one of my Around The Bend Dies to cut a curved piece of in-colour designer paper, and paired it with a stamped flower from the 'Hooray For Surprises' stamp set, along with some white foliage and a sentiment from the same set. I finished my card with a trio of sparkly glimmer dots:

This card came together really easily and it was fun to play with another of the new in-colours. Do you have a favourite yet? I need to have a bit more of a play before I decide which one gets my top vote, but in the meantime I'd love to hear your thoughts so 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 '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:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	AROUND THE BEND DIES (31.00)	HOORAY FOR SURPRISES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	HOORAY FOR SURPRISES DIES (30.00)	2024–2026 IN COLOR™ 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	PETUNIA POP CLASSIC STAMPIN PAD (8.50)
2024–2026 IN COLOR™ SHIMMER GEMS (8.00)

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 us to work with:

There are so many was I could have used my sketch; I wanted to have a play with the Latte Love online exclusives suite, so thought I would make a fun coffee-themed card - take a look:

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

I used three different patterns of the A Little Latte designer series paper on my card: one for the swirly background, another in a contrasting plaid pattern for the four squares that I diecut using the Stylish Shapes Dies and a third for the coffee cup itself, which I diecut from the designer paper itself:

A heat-embossed sentiment and a trio of swirl dots were all I needed to complete my card. This card actually came together really quickly once I'd chosen my patterns; I really love those creamy coffee swirls that I used for the background. It's really worth checking out the range of exclusives in the online store; These online exclusive products are available outside of catalogue publications, so will be available whilst stocks last for the foreseeable future.

I'm also playing along with my old teamies over at TicTacToe Challenge (waves enthusiastically!) this week: I went across the bottom row with gem or embellishment/patterned paper/diecuts.

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 can't wait to see how you interpret my sketch this week. I'll be back later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LATTE LOVE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (44.00)

A LITTLE LATTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

ADHESIVE-BACKED SWIRL DOTS (7.50)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

PECAN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for an interesting 'fill in the blank' challenge from the lovely Heather H:

The colour I use least in my crafting - intriguing! I used the sketch over at Global Design Project #GDP442 for my layout this week and I made a card that features only two colours; can you guess which one I don't use very often?

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

Yes - it's Wild Wheat! I must confess I am not a fan of this one of last year's in-colours and actually don't use it very often at all so for today's card I decided that I would try something different and pair it with one of my most-used colours and all-time favourite, Night of Navy, to see if the colour combo would make Wild Wheat more appealing.

I used a Night of Navy card base and covered it with an entire panel of Wild Wheat - brave! I decided to add a diecut panel using the leaf die from the Gorgeous Garden Dies to the centre of my card. I've used these dies many times before and the eagle-eyed amongst you will realise that the whole die covers an entire card front, so you may be wondering how I managed to halve it to create my panel. It actually wasn't that tricky: I cut my Night of Navy Panel to size then aligned my die at the outside edge and partially diecut it towards the other end. I then removed the die and using a craft knife, I used a metal ruler and carefully cut away the edge of the loose pieces to create a narrow border on the other side of the panel. Yet another way to use these fabulous dies!

I added some Night of Navy twine and a simple gold heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Timeless Arrangements' stamp set, accented with a brass metallic dot to finish:

A piece of co-ordinating Wild Wheat in-colour DSP to decorate the flap of the envelope completes my card. Whilst I'm still not a fan of Wild Wheat, I must confess I do rather like this colour combo!

This is a great opportunity to remind you that the Gorgeous Garden bundle is just one of those featured in the monthly tutorials I create with my AYSI teamie, good friend and fellow demonstrator Jan Clothier. This tutorial contains lots more ideas and ways to use the Gorgeous Garden Dies and is yours for FREE when you purchase the Gorgeous Garden Dies from either Jan or myself. These dies are only available until the end of the month before they retire; they are currently almost half price at £24 for the pair - bargain! 

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 colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

GORGEOUS GARDEN DIES (24.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

WILD WHEAT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

I have another card to share with you today, this time inspired by the challenges over at Festive Friday (I chose green, thread and interactive) and the butterfly inspiration over at TGIF Challenges:

I love Memories & More cards both for scrapbooking and card making and I've used lots of them previously to make quick clean and simple cards. Today I've something a little different though; whilst my card still focuses on the Sweet Thoughts Memories & More card pack and card base and envelopes, I've paired with the Hooray For Surprises bundle to make a fun interactive card - take a look:

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

Sweet Thoughts - The Sweet Thoughts Memories & More cards and card and envelope sets are perfect for quick cards. All of the main elements I used to decorate my printed card base came from the card pack - a large butterfly and two sentiments:

All of them are stickers so have self-adhesive backs, but you can easily add with dimensionals too if you'd prefer a little lift as I've done here. The only other thing I added was a twine bow using some coordinating retired thread that I had in my stash.

Hooray For Surprises - I could have stopped there, but I thought another of the cards in the Sweet Thoughts pack would make a fun 'reveal'. I spent a little time marking my card front where I needed to place my Hooray For Surprises long pull tab. The die is longer than I wanted, given the addition of my large butterfly, but this wasn't a problem; I simply used a partial diecutting technique to diecut each one in two stages, which allowed me to shorten it without issue. I stamped the word 'pull' onto the end of each tab, and added a flower sticker from the card pack to embellish each one:

The second M&M card that I used is placed underneath the top layer, being careful to adhere around the edges and leave the tabbed area free.

The Big Reveal - So what's underneath the tabs? I created a 'false top' template using some spare card so that you can see what you'll see when those tabs are pulled:

So not only is the recipient sweet - but beautiful, amazing, fabulous, lovely and wonderful too! The hooray For Surprises Dies are such a great way to add a fun interactive element to card. One last thing - you will notice that I needed to trim the second M&M card down so that the sentiment would appear where I wanted to. Don't discard the spare edge piece though - I added mine as a little extra decoration to the inside of my card. 

So what do you think? A fun way to combine these products, right? I will be sending this card to my lovely daughter who is at university - I'm sure she will love it. This is a great opportunity to remind you that the Hooray For Surprises bundle is just one of those featured in the monthly tutorials I create with my good friend and fellow demonstrator Jan Clothier. This tutorial contains lots more ideas and ways to use this bundle and is yours for FREE when you purchase the Hooray For Surprises bundle from either Jan or myself. So why not add it to your basket now - add some Memories & More cards and you can have a go at today's card 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 day and I'll be back on Friday with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HOORAY FOR SURPRISES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (44.00)

SWEET THOUGHTS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (6.65)

SWEET THOUGHTS MEMORIES & MORE CARDS & ENVELOPES (6.65)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)