The weather has been so wet and cold today it has been really miserable! I had a little time this afternoon to squeeze in a quick card and I couldn't resist pulling one of my retired stamp sets off the shelf to make a bright card for a few challenges:

 I had been considering what to use for a summer-themed card for Festive Friday, and a retired stamp set that I've had since 2017, Day At The Beach, had just the images that I needed to start ticking off that inspo list! It also means I can link my card up over at RetroRubber too! So armed with the current Fab Friday sketch too I set to work and came up with a colourful summer collage - take a look:

I grabbed a selection of summer stamps and set to work: sunshine, flip flops, ice lollies, beach ball, umbrella, sunglasses, bucket and spade, sunhat - everything you would need for a beach vacation and a bunch of my Blends markers and coloured in my bright pattern. I paired it with a bold, diecut sentiment to finish. A summer beach vacation seems like a distant memory right now, so it was nice to live life through my card for just a little while today.

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:

PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STAMPIN' BLENDS POPPY PARADE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS MANGO MELODY COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS DAFFODIL DELIGHT COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS BERMUDA BAY COMBO PACK (£8.50)
STAMPIN' BLENDS PUMPKIN PIE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS POOL PARTY COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

No blog yesterday as I was still super busy with new catalogue launch day activities and making sure that all the bundles were ordered for my online  'Blossoms in Bloom' class on June 15th - there's still time to sign up if you'd like to join me! Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a fun 'fill in the blank' challenge:

Like many of the team this week I procrastinated for ages over this card! I love movies and I could think of so many different cards, I struggled to narrow down my ideas. In the end I went with an iconic movie quote from my most favourite movie of all time - take a look:

Do you recognise it? Yes, it's Renee Zellweger's classic line when her husband, the handsome Tom Cruise, returns from his road trip in the movie 'Jerry Maguire'. This is a movie packed with famous quotes: "Show me the money!" and "Did you know bees and dogs can smell fear?" to name just two. 

I decided to make a bold statement using diecut letters in black for the first part of the quote adhered directly to my card mat, then switched for 'hello' by diecutting this out of the mat itself and then adding snippets of each of the new Stampin' Up! 2020-22 in-colours directly to the cardbase below, and popping the mat up on dimensionals: 

I added a little Magenta Madness pink heart to the centre of the 'o', courtesy of the dog builder punch (such a useful little heart!) to complete my card.

I used the retired Little Letters Thinlits Dies to create my card today, but it's a good opportunity to point out that the new Stampin' Up! catalogue has at last a new set of alphabet dies to purchase - something that many of you have missed from the last one, judging by the number of enquiries I get! The new set is called 'Playful Alphabet' (page 178) and is very similar in size and style to the thinlits I used on my card although there are a couple of great additions: duplicate letters for commonly used characters, such as vowels, as well as numbers and a set of characters, including a question mark, accents and a hashtag - and all for a very reasonable price of £32. As such, this is the set I've linked to below should you wish to purchase from my online store and re-create my card.

I don't have a photo of the inside of my card, as I wrote a personal message in it as soon as my card was made. I know my husband will totally 'get' this card as he knows how much I love this card, but I will confirm I did begin my message with another memorable quote from the movie: "You complete me" - it just had to be done! If you haven't seen this movie and have no idea what I'm talking about today, I can highly recommend it; grab your tissues and watch this little  clip, courtesy of movies.com, to whet your appetite: 

 And on that beautiful note - 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. What is your favourite movie? Do leave me a comment below or better still, make a card to illustrate it and play along with us this week!

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging   project that fits the challenge.
• Fill in the blanks with the words that are right for you and then create your project with those words in mind. Tell us, in your blog or on your site, what words you used.
• 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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

I am spending this morning in my office, whilst young Master James basks in the glory of CE exam completion and enjoys a 'day of rest', otherwise known as chatting and playing online with his friends, along with virtual pizza night this evening to celebrate. He is back on it next week as he begins what is usually a month of post CE exam fun, not with a week of outward bound activities in the Lake District with his class mates as planned, but instead video production to enable the Year 8 fashion show that they've been busy creating outfits for to happen online. I am off to school this afternoon to collect the 8 foot-high tree that I declined to bring home on the final day of school before lockdown because I couldn't fit it in my car along with all of the school books, files and sports kit and I couldn't believe it would be essential. Clearly I was wrong!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)

WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

2020–2022 IN COLOR A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

DOG BUILDER PUNCH (£17.00)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards that started with the current challenge over at Just Add Ink but are also perfect for the current challenge over at Just Us Girls and Global Design Project too:

I decided to go with the same base papers - some retired wood patterned DSP and retiring brights DSP in Daffodil Delight - and make a feature of one of the sunflowers in the new Celebrate Sunflowers bundle that launches tomorrow in the new 2020 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. The trouble, is I couldn't decide which one to choose! Instinctively, I reached for the smaller flower first: 

I coloured it with my Blends and then added a heat-embossed sentiment, some ruched ribbon and a scattering of pearls. But I couldn't help thinking what would it look like with one of those huge layered sunflowers instead - so I made another one!

What do you think? Isn't that amazing detailed sunflower die just something?! Both images were stamped in Early Espresso before colouring instead of black, which I think works better for the sunflower and also compliments the diecut in the same colour. I also decorated the inside of each card:

Normally I would never choose a flower so large with a sketch like that, but some of the JAI DT had gone with larger flowers and I loved the effect, so thought I would experiment - and I love it! The only dilemma now, is which one should I link up for each challenge?! I think I'll go with the smaller flower for Just Add Ink and Just Us Girls, since it's the one most faithful to the sketch and has most of the designer paper visible. I'll add my larger sunflower to the gallery over at Global Design Project #GDP243 - I feel it has to be shared somewhere! Here's photo of both cards together:

So which one is your favourite? I'd love to know!

Here is the visual summaries 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. Equally, if you would like to buy this fabulous sunflower bundle I'd be delighted - it will be available from 9am tomorrow morning in my online store and I will update this post in the morning with the direct clickable links.

Enjoy your day; mine is being spent in a flurry of online activity as my retired 'BOGOF' sale gathers pace in my online catalogue launch party group and I am busy collating new catalogue orders, paper share requests, in-color club bookings and having a lot of fun too! I am sharing most of this info via my Facebook page so either hop on over there, search my blog or drop me a line if you would like more info on any of the above. All of this whilst currently invigilating the third of Master James' exams today - Biology. The silence in what is usually such a noisy household is deafening! I'll be back tomorrow with another post to celebrate everything exciting that is happening in June and hopefully I will have another creative project for you too. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

To be updated.

It's catalogue launch week so a busy start to the week for me! Just time to squeeze in a quick post with my entry for Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I pondered Cecile's sketch and those odd shaped verticals, then inspiration struck - take a look:

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

One more opportunity to make a card using 'Outdoor Barbeque' before it retires tomorrow - this time having coloured and fussy cut each of the elements to make a fun BBQ invitation; with the easing of lockdown here in the UK from today, it might not be too much longer before I can safely send it out!

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 for an evening bike ride to blow off the cobwebs. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

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 tic-tac-toe challenge for you to work with:

I decided to go across the top row with Flowers/Girly/Birthday and wanted to share with you a card I made using one of my most favourite stamp sets of all time, Beautiful Friendship - take a look:

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

I ADORE the 'Beautiful Friendship' stamp set and have made a ton of cards with it recently, having held an online class using this set. In between  my online classes, I have been running a whole host of online demonstration sessions either sharing different ideas using the class stamp set, revisiting previously learned techniques, or sometimes a combination of both. This card was a result of one of those sessions, where I held I refresher session showing how to use your Stamparatus to create wreaths. The single rose in the 'Beautiful Friendship' set is perfect to create a simple wreath, so armed with my favourite of the retiring in-colors, Lovely Lipstick, and ringing the changes with a 6" x 6" square card, this was what I came up with. 

Have you ever used your Stamparatus to create a floral wreath? Here's a short speeded-up clip of my demonstration (without sound) that shows how easy it is to do:

https://youtu.be/1LgZ-ttfvIE

I then added a heat-embossed fussy cut sentiment from the soon-to-be-retired 'Seriously The Best' stamp set and a simple twine bow to the front of my card and added a little decoration to the inside too:

Did you find the above speeded up video clip useful? If you would like to take part in one of my online classes or attend my online demonstration sessions, do check out my class schedule on the events section of my Facebook page or on the 'Classes' tab on my website, or just drop me a line for more information.

I'm linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where the current theme is Designer's Choice - this one is definitely one of mine!

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 spending mine in and out of my 'By One Get One Free' party over on my Facebook page as I clear out my retiring stamps to make way for the new, whilst sitting in the garden enjoying the warm sunshine!nI'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£20.00)	SERIOUSLY THE BEST CLING STAMP SET (£7.20)	STAMPARATUS (£46.00)	2018–2020 IN COLOR 12\" X 12\" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) CARDSTOCK (£11.75)	WHISPER WHITE 12\" X 12\" (30,5 X 30,5 CM) CARDSTOCK (£7.25)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	WHISPER WHITE SOLID BAKER'S TWINE (£3.25)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely LeAnne is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went across the first row and down the middle column - which also means I can squeeze in an entry to TGIF Challenge's Travel theme this week -  and got a headstart on Father's Day cards - take a look:

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

Garage Gears - I used some retired vintage car patterned paper to create a trio of panels for a background, then created a collage-style collection of circles, gears and a badge before finishing with my black heat embossed car:

I added a little white pencil detail to  my windows and lights for a little contrast.

Did you spot it? - I used a new stamp on my card today - did you spot it? The grid pattern that I used on the white stitched circle is from a new set called 'Comfort and Hope'; great for simple stamping, it contains a number of texture stamps great for adding interest to backgrounds. It will be available in the new annual catalogue - not long to go now!

Don't forget the inside - I finished my card on the inside with an offcut of the paper I used on the front of my card and a sentiment:

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; I am off to the post office today with a mammoth amount of post and I am hoping to spend a little time in the garden. The James Juniors are going to pitch the tent later as they are looking to camp out for a couple of nights in the garden - a half-term staycation! Hubby will be out with them but I will be sticking with the comfort of my own bed; I'm not one for camping generally, but the lack of hands-on physio since the start of lockdown is taking its toll and I'm suffering with my shoulder again, especially at night, so there will be no hard ground for me - I actually have a bone fide excuse for once! I'll be the one with the tea and bacon rolls in the morning. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

GEARED UP GARAGE CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	GARAGE GEARS DIES (£18.60)	MERRY MERLOT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	MERRY MERLOT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BLACK STAMPIN' EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	GRAY GRANITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenges over at Less Is More and Addicted to CAS:

In looking for 'dotty' stamps that would work well for a one layer card, I found this great present stamp in the Bonanza Buddies stamp set that had a 'reverse' dotty pattern and used that as the basis for my card, creating a row of dotty rainbow gifts - this was my first attempt:

I ended up making two cards though as I thought this one looked a little too 'clean and simple' without a sentiment - I went for a large one that I found in my retired box - an old Sale-A-Bration set which despite its size still gives a CAS feel to my card I think with plenty of white space:

So which one do you prefer? I'm veering toward the one with the sentiment, so that's my link up today.

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:

BONANZA BUDDIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

I've had a busy day so a quick post from me today! I'm sharing a card using this week's layout over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

This is a great sketch and just perfect for me to make another quick card using the retiring 'Outdoor Barbeque' set:

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

I decided to make the beef burger the feature of my card, and paired it with some check gingham in Poppy Parade - it reminded me of a picnic table cloth! Super simple and a perfectly punny card for another of the James family BBQ-lovers!

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:

OUTDOOR BARBECUE CLING STAMP SET (£18.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

Happy Bank Holiday Monday to my UK readers and Happy Memorial Day to my USA readers! I'm sure like me you are spending your day differently since we are either still in lockdown or experiencing some form of social distancing, wherever you are. I actually have an online class today featuring the Birthday Jubilee bundle so my post needs to be a quick one. I do have a couple of cards to share with you though. So first up is a card using this week's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches: 

This layout is very similar to our Paper Players one this week, so I tried to do something different to yesterday's card and grabbed my Tropical Oasis Memories and More Cards for a colourful thank you card - take a look:

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

I paired one of the smaller colourful cards with a sheet of the Tropical Oasis paper with a rustic pattern that I embossed with the Coastal Weave Embossing Folder for added texture, then added a layered 'thanks' that I cut down from the word 'Thanksgiving' in the Word Wishes Dies. I stacked the diecut with three pieces in Early Espresso and them one in Whisper White that I offset slightly.

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 also have another quick card, it's actually notelet size, that I made using a retired Crumb Cake notelet I found as I was clearing out, along with a discarded Highland Heather mat, for the current challenge over at CASology this week:

As I was sorting through my stamps I cam across this small image in the 'Garden Shed' stamp set that was just perfect both for the challenge and to use up the bits and pieces on my desk:

I simply stamped the image, coloured with my blends, and added some linen thread to finish. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TROPICAL OASIS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (£10.25)	TROPICAL OASIS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	COASTAL WEAVE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	WORD WISHES DIES (EN) (£33.00)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	GARDEN SHED CLING STAMP SET (£21.00)

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 you to work with:

I struggled a little with this week's sketch - so many possibilities I was spolied for choice! In the end, I went super simple. I love the rich colours of the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink this week and they reminded me of one of the patterns in the Perennial Essence DSP pack, so that's where I ended up - take a look:

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

I mounted a piece of Perennial Essence paper onto a white mat and Pretty Peacock base, and framed it with a double-stitched rectangle frame before adding my sentiment banner. I heat embossed my sentiment, from the 'To A Wild Rose' stamp set, in gold onto the front of my card and finished with 'to call you my friend' inside my card. I added a few gold glittery enamel dots and my card was complete - I didn't want to do anything else to detract from that beautiful paper! I actually made two of these cards, and with the scrap of paper I had left over I made a third card that I added a gold foil Heirloom embossed frame to but no sentiment, but thought I would share with you as I still think it's rather a lovely goodbye to these two products:

I'm calling this one my 'Faux Monet' - up close you can see the canvas-effect detail of the paper and it's gorgeous.

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 for warmer temperatures and much less wind today, as I have some flowers to plant out in the garden. Yesterday was so windy it was impossible to do anything constructive outside, especially with my overgrown lockdown hair blowing into my eyes! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TO A WILD ROSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (EN) (£24.00)	PERENNIAL ESSENCE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£8.60)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
TRIPLE BANNER PUNCH (£22.00)	EMBOSSING BUDDY (£5.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	GOLD STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)