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

I was inspired by Nance's challenge badge this week so decided to go down the houseplant route and ink up another soon-to-be retired stamp set, but with a sneak peek of something new too - take a look:

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

Goodbye Just Because - The houseplant on today's card is from one of the hostess sets in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue, 'Just Because'. These exclusive sets are sometimes overlooked, but they are a great perk for party hostesses who can claim them with Stampin' Rewards for a special price when they host a qualifying party. They can also be claimed if you place one large qualifying order and are always worth a look. I can confirm that the new annual catalogue has some fabulous hostess sets, so if you would like to host a party post the new catalogue launch, then do get in touch with me now to book a suitable date.

An Embossed Frame - The houseplant on today's card is rather green and uninteresting on its own, so I needed something that would add interest whilst still keeping to Laurie's 'clean and simple' theme. I decided on a stitched embossed frame, placed at a jaunty angle. I used my rectangle stitched framelits to cut a frame that I then ran through my Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder; an easy way to draw the eye to the image and sentiment.  

Hello New 2019-21 In-Colours - My jaunty frame also gave me an opportunity to give you a sneak peek of the new 2019-21 in-colours. My main card showcases my favourite, Purple Posy, and I created a set with a frame in each new in-colour: left to right you can just see Terracotta Tile, Pretty Peacock, Rococo Rose, Seaside Spray and Purple Posy. 

My cards are a little 'unfinished' in as much as I wanted to add one of the new in-colour faceted dots to the right of my sentiment on each card, but alas we are having shipping issues here in the UK and mine hadn't arrived in time to make my card. For anyone local to me that is attending my Open House catalogue launch event on 5th June, you will be able to see the 'completed' 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 am hoping to spend some time pottering in my garden and enjoying the sunshine. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Just Because Cling Stamp Set (£12.00)	2019-2021 In Color A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.25)	Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)
Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Hurrah for the weekend! Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made using the current sketch over at Fab Friday that are also perfect for the celebrations over at AsYouSeeIt where it's all about the twos as they celebrate their 200th challenge - woohoo!:

I needed an anniversary card so decided to make something using my Botanical Tags Thinlits as one of them features a pair of birds - take a look:

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

Botanical Tags - I bought this bundle because I fell in love with the detail on these tags, but I think this is the first time I've used them properly on a card and the detail is so pretty. I decided to go with a dark colour and back it with a handcut tag using a scrap of Wood Textures DSP left over from another project. I think this tag works well for a wedding or anniversary card - they could be love birds, right? 

Layers and Textures - My card feels quite busy for me: tags, twine, banners, an embossed background and a stitched rectangle sentiment and foliage branch - that's a lot going on in one place! Aside from the diecut tag, the shapes are all quite simple and my patterned papers are used in quite small quantities so as not to overwhelm and I quite like the effect.  

Take Two In Green - I liked my first card so much, I decided to create another one in a green Mint Macaron/Tranquil Tide colourway. I switched out the embossed background from Subtle to Layered Leaves which adds a little more detail, and the back piece of DSP comes from the Tranquil Textures DSP as opposed to Share What You Love, and I added a flower embellishment to my slightly larger sentiment piece, but otherwise the cards are the same:

The colour scheme for the first card was inspired by the piece of floral DSP I used for my banner, but I quite partial to greens, particularly in home decor. What do you think - which one do you prefer? 

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:

Botanical Tags Thinlits Dies (£25.00)	Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper (£25.00)	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Rich Razzleberry A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Petal Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Old Olive A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Best Birds Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)
Linen Thread (£4.75)	Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.25)	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Frosted Flower Embellishments (£6.50)
Faceted Dots (£5.50)

Happy Friday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Less Is More this week where the challenge is to feature a beverage on your card:

This card (minus the ribbon) is also another one that is perfect for this month's #SimpleStamping challenge which is to make a simple card using stamps, ink and paper along with a retiring stamp set - the departing Half Full set is great for simple cards:

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

Half Full - So if you're in the UK I'm sure you're wondering why I'm sharing a Christmas card, having had a week of beautifully warm and sunny weather; I'm blaming this stamp set, which is perfect for non-Christmas and festive cards alike! If you search my blog you will find lots of examples of both - this is a set that totally appeals to me and is perfect for cards for many of my friends! I love the humour - the split sentiment that I've used on today's card resolves on the inside of my card as follows:

It also includes a really useful tag that is great for a quick stamp and punch with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch to dress up a wine bottle in a hurry so there's no excuse for a naked bottle when visiting friends! For me this set is a keeper - if you don't have it, snap it up now before it's too late! 

A Lesson In Composition - When I originally stamped this card, I was intending to make it a super clean and simple one layer card. It just didn't work though; I thought I would share with you the original and then how a small change (or two) can make such a difference. So here is a quick snap of my original card:

With the white wine in my glasses, which was necessary to tie in with the sentiment, the whole thing just looked flat and rather insipid. By picking out the colour of the holly and adding a panel of Real Red above my row of stamped and coloured glasses, along with a piece of Call Me Clover in-colour ribbon, it makes my card look much more festive and the red border edge and ribbon trim draw the eye to the stamped glasses and sentiment, rather than them be 'lost' in the white space.

Just One Addition - Today's card is another #SimpleStamping project that can be created with just 5 key ingredients: Thick Whisper White cardstock, Real Red cardstock, a black ink pad, a stamp set and some markers/inks. I did add one extra thing to my card which was the green ribbon; like I said, I just couldn't resist :-)

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:

Half Full Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Many Marvelous Markers (£112.75)
Call Me Clover 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for both the current one-layer challenge over at TGIF Challenges and the fabulous bright colour combination over at Global Design Project this week:

This card is also perfect for this month's #SimpleStamping challenge which is to make a simple card using stamps, ink and paper along with a retiring stamp set - the departing Birthday Sentiments set is great for one-layer cards:

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

A Big Hooray - My regular readers know how much I love single image stamps for quick and easy #SimpleStamping cards and they usually satisfy my love of colouring too! This big 'Hooray' stamp is one of two in the 'Birthday Statements' stamp set that is in the Spring-Summer catalogue and retiring at the start of June. I've featured this stamp on a more detailed card here yet both of the large stamps in this set are perfect for one layer cards too. I used my Stamparatus to stamp the image in black onto my Whisper White card base so that I could stamp a few times to ensure a good solid image and then my card was ready to colour. 

Portable Pencils - As my card was a simple one layer, I made a batch of these cards and decided to add them to my portable colouring kit for my 'crafting on the go' and colour them with my watercolour pencils. I featured my DIY Craft Kit On The Go in this post some time ago and continue to use this as an easy way to always have something with me for when I'm out and about and have a spare moment.Using watercolour pencils on one layer cards also avoids any issues with 'bleeding' on the reverse of my coloured image as happens when colouring with Blends (and I didn't have all of the challenge colours needed in marker form either). I used both the set of watercolour pencils that is currently on sale in the annual catalogue for the yellow (I used Daffodil Delight as a substitute for Pineapple Punch) and then the Gorgeous Grape and Coastal Cabana pencils from the limited-time set that was on sale this time last year. If you missed this set, I have some good news - it will be joining the original set in the new annual catalogue, yay! 

Just One Addition - My #SimpleStamping one layer card needs only 5 items to make a batch of these cards: Thick Whisper White cardstock, a black ink pad, a stamp set and a pack - or in this case 2 - of watercolour pencils. I did add one extra thing to my card for a little birthday sparkle and that was some enamel dots in the challenge colours. I just couldn't resist :-)

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:

Birthday Statements Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad (£9.25)	Watercolor Pencils (£15.00)	Glitter Enamel Dots (£6.50)
Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots (£6.50)

As promised, I have another quick card that use this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout:

It's a little more open to interpretation and uses a ton of retired product: Carried Away Sale-A-Bration designer series paper from last year and my Sunburst Thinlits Dies for the sun itself, but is a great sketch to make a fun card that showcases the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits and co-ordinating Sunshine Sayings stamp set that will soon be leaving us to make a cheery card to brighten someone's day:

I'm loving this colour combo and will definitely be using it again. Here it is if you would like to save if for future use too:

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

I love those Sunshine Wishes Thinlits and will be holding on to mine long after they've left the catalogue. Sometimes it's just nice to make a card because you can - and it was definitely good to use us some of my retired paper collection! Enjoy your evening - I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sunshine Wishes Thinlits Dies (£25.00)	Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£21.00)	Mango Melody A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards that use this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout:

I thought this would be a great design for a couple of birthday cards; I seem to be running out of these so need to stock up! This is what I came up with:

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

Broadway Bound - My card started with a strip of Broadway Bound specialty DSP across the bottom edge of the front of my card. This pack has some fabulous foil designs but today's card features one of the reverse patterns - a row of fun party hats, perfect for a celebratory birthday card. These papers are designed to co-ordinate with the Broadway Birthday Bundle and form part of the Broadway Bound Suite. Whilst the other items in the suite are carrying over to the new annual catalogue, these papers are not so if you like them you only have a few more weeks to snap them up. The same goes for the in-colour Lemon-Lime Twist cardstock that I used for the base of my card; this is no longer available in a single colour pack or the Broadway Bound cardstock pack, however it is still available in the in-colour A4 collection (link below).

A Wish And A Sparkle - The centralised sentiment is the focal point of my card, with a combination of both a stamped element and the diecut 'Wish', which I embellished with a host of sparkly rhinestones to add to the marquee-feel of this fun card.  

Broadway Birthday Bundle - The Broadway Birthday stamp set and Broadway Lights framelits dies are available as a bundle in the current annual catalogue and whilst they are both carrying over to the new catalogue, they will not be available at the discounted bundle price. If you would like to take advantage of the additional 10% saving when you buy these items together, then order your bundle now whilst you still have the opportunity to do so.

I loved this card so much I made another one in more masculine colours too that is perfect for this week's challenge over at Stamp Ink Paper which is cards for men: 

Here's my masculine version:

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

And here's the details for the second card:

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 loved this sketch and made another card with it which I will link up later, along with a couple of alternative cards using the Broadway Birthday Suite which I will share with you another day. I have to get a few more jobs done then I'm off to watch one of the James Juniors play cricket this afternoon; it looks like he might just get to play his first game of the season without wind, rain or cancellation due to a waterlogged pitch. Today's sunny day is just perfect for cricket!

Enjoy your day - I hope you get to enjoy some sunshine wherever you are too. Until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Broadway Birthday Photopolymer Bundle (£38.50)	Broadway Bound Speciality Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Gray Granite A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Rhinestone Basic Jewels (£4.75)

Just a reminder that the Hugs From Shelli Paper Pumpkin Kit is now available, whilst stocks last. If you missed my recent post, you can read more details about this special offer here. Order yours via the link below:

Hugs From Shelli Paper Pumpkin Kit (£20.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink where they have a photo for inspiration this week:

Hmmm - a virtually all-white floral card! I've created with all-white before and it can be fun although a devil to photograph. I'm not sure today's pictures do it justice, so you're just going to have to take my word for it that in real life this is SO pretty! I pulled out some of my retiring products for a last run around the block for my card - take a look:

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

Falling Flowers - I wanted to use a single stamp set for today's card and I did pretty much manage that (except for my sentiment which comes from 'Thoughtful Banners'). I decided to use the retiring 'Falling Flowers' set as this is a set that exclusively features florals. I also like the fact that the co-ordinating May Flowers Framelits (also retiring) includes both some dies that cut out the stamped images and additional stand-alone dies, including the large dahlia-like one that I used in combination with my stamped images. 

Ways With White - When working with white alone, it's important to create interest and detail with shape, texture and layers so that it doesn't all look the same. I stamped the large vertical image in Versamark onto my base panel first and heat embossed it with some (retired) Irredescent Ice sparkly embossing powder, for some subtle background texture and detail. I then layered a combination of images stamped on both white and vellum and heat embossed in white, along with the large diecut dahlia and arranged them around my sentiment. I also brushed my main stamped flower liberally with clear Wink of Stella before adding some small pearls to the centre to finish for added sparkle and shine.

A Subtle Hint of Green - I added the tiniest hint of pale green to my stamped flower with a light Soft Sea Foam Blends marker and then worked it with the colour lifter to add just enough colour to highlight the embossed detail of the petals. I also used the green to stamp my 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

One last reminder before I go: the limited edition So Shelli Paper Pumpkin Kit goes on sale tonight at 11pm, so be ready to order yours. If you missed the announcement, you can read all about it here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Falling Flowers Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	May Flowers Framelits Dies (£29.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Soft Sea Light Foam Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Stampin' Blends Color Lifter (£4.25)
Vellum A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Pearl Basic Jewels (£4.75)
Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Thoughtful Banners Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)

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 cheery colour challenge for you to work with:

I decided to use my chosen colours with the current Mojo Monday sketch and create a fresh and colourful tribute to a stamp set that will be leaving us with the end of this annual catalogue - Jar of Love. This is what I came up with:

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

When I originally chose this colour palette, I had intended to do something floral using the 'All That You Are' stamp set, but in the meantime I created this card using these colours with that set, so instead decided to focus on 'Jar of Love' since it is soon to retire and deserved at least one last swansong!

There really isn't much to say about this card as the layout is simple, with some pastel Subtles DSP for the outer mat and some stitched detailing courtesy of the stitched rectangle framelits for the inner panels. The effort is all in the flowers: I stamped lots of flowers in each of the colours and then arranged them in my jar, overlapping until I achieved the look I was after. For some of the greenery I stamped off first, to allow for a lighter green and did the same for the two-step stamping on the pink and yellow flowers, to achieve depth with the tone-on-tone effect.

I coloured a few pearls yellow with my Stampin' Blends then added a birthday greeting to my banner, courtesy of the 'Beautiful Bouquet' stamp set - this set has great sentiments for floral cards. I love the dimension the layering of the flowers adds, even though the card itself isn't that bulky at all and would still be post-friendly.

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 - Happy Mother's Day wishes to all my non-UK readers today! We have a busy day of sport in the James household, with one James Junior taking part in regional hockey finals and the other in a short-course swimming gala, so we will be out and about all day. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Jar Of Love Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Everyday Jars Framelits Dies (£31.00)	Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Banner Triple Punch (£22.00)
Subtles 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Pearl Basic Jewels (£4.75)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fusion where I used both the sketch and inspiration photo for my card:

Given that it features butterflies, it's also my second link up with Stamp Ink Paper this week. My card turned out to be a more literal interpretation of the Fusion brief than I'd intended - take a look:

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

A Quick Butterfly Wreath - My original plan was to create a wreath of layered diecut butterflies using the tiny butterflies in the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits set that I used on other cards that I shared with you earlier this week, however when I put it together the butterflies were a little too small and overwhelmed by the overall proportions of my card. As I was browsing my collection of patterned papers to decide what to use for the horizontal banner, I came across some leftover Botanical Butterfly paper from Sale-A-Bration. I punched out some small butterflies using my duet butterfly punch (this is finally back in stock now in the UK - hurrah!) and they were the perfect size for my project. I love the realistic details on each and because all I did was punch the out the effect took no time to create; perfect! I then used a plain piece of So Saffron cardstock for the horizontal panel to tie in with the colours. 

Wood Textures - I used a piece of Wood Textures designer series papers for my background, inspired by the door in the Fusion photo. I recall when I saw these papers unveiled at an Onstage event a couple of years ago, a fellow demo friend Karen was in raptures about them and all the awesome projects she could imagine making with them. I remember thinking she was mad, as I didn't think they were something I would use much - how little faith I had! As it turns out I've used these papers lots in my crafting and will be sad to see them go when they retire next month - yes, I have stocked up and suggest you do the same too!

Textured Textures - Whilst it's difficult to see in the photo, I added extra texture and interest to my Wood Textures DSP by running it through my BigShot with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder before adding to my card. This is something I often do if I'm using this paper for a background - it adds a lovely tactile dimension and interest to an otherwise simple 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 day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am hostess this week and I have a fun colour palette for you! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beauty Abounds Cling Stamp Set (£21.00)	Butterfly Duet Punch (£17.00)	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	So Saffron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)