Today I'm sharing a card for the current Inspire.Create colour challenge which is black and white:

Easier said than done, without the merest hint of colour, however the design team and gallery has lots of great inspiration. I wanted to create something that was not a sympathy card, which is often where these colours take me as a default - this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I used the 'Accented Blooms' stamp set for today's card; would you believe this was one of the first sets I bought when the annual catalogue launched last year and this is the first time I've used it - oops! I thought the image would be great for colouring, so doubly ironic that the first time I use it it's in black and white! I think it works really well though, with the fine detail of the florals and the contrasting white-on-black sentiment. I used my Staparatus to get a good, solid image - it's a boon with this kind of stamp - and I used the Tailored Tag Punch to punch out the sentiment and popped it up for a little extra dimension. Some of my stash of retired Sale-A-Bration Butterfly Gala for my background and a retired clear faceted button and some black baker's twine for a little extra detail finished 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 day; I am making some last minute plans for my trip to Onstage this weekend with some of my team and getting some household chores done before heading out for some family fun this afternoon. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Accented Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	Tailored Tag Punch (£17.00)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Basic Black Solid Baker's Twine (£2.75)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card using the vibrant colour palette over at TGIF Challenges and the theme challenge over at Less is More: 

I had struggled for a while to come up with something suitable for the 'shine a light' LIM challenge, especially as I have a distinct lack of light-related stamps, when it occurred to me that I just needed to look at the subject differently. When I think about light shining, one of the first things that comes to mind is the beautiful colours of light streaming through a stained glass window. Paired with the bold colours at TGIF I suddenly had my 'aha' moment - take a look:

An Easter card using the Graceful Glass Designer Vellum and the Painted Glass stamp set! Here's the low-down on today's card:

The Graceful Glass Vellum is one of those 'easily overlooked' products in the annual catalogue, yet has some great patterns and designs that are perfect for colouring with Stampin' Blends. I chose one of sheets made up of vertical floral panels and cut out the strip featuring lilies as I thought this would be perfect for a focal panel on my card. I coloured the reverse of my vellum with both light and dark shades of Stampin' Blends in each of the challenge colours and inset it between a split panel white card front. I stamped my sentiment from the 'Painted Glass' stamp set on the wider front panel and finished it on the inside with the words 'Easter Blessings' from the 'Itty Bitty Greetings' stamp set.

I like this card so much I made another card, this time a birthday card, with another of the strips from the same vellum panel and a combination of Lovely Lipstick, Call Me Clover and Soft Sea Foam Blends:

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects for you to pin for easy reference:

Graceful Glass Easter Card:

Graceful Glass Birthday 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Graceful Glass 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.X Cm) Designer Vellum (£10.25)	Painted Glass Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£17.00)	Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Mango Melody Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at As You See It where the ladies have a great sketch to play with:

This is one of those versatile sketches that is a 'keeper' and can be used in so many ways. I still had my gingham papers out on my desk following Sunday's cards and decided it was perfect for a baby card - take a look:

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

First Steps - My focal point sentiment comes from the 'First Steps' stamp set, an adorable collection of sweet baby images that are perfect for cards, invites, showers, samplers and more. I stamped my sentiment using my Stamparatus so that I could ink it several times and get a really solid image, then having stamped off first stamped the tiny footprints behind it in the same colour.  

Subtle Textures - I embossed my top panel with the Subtles embossing folder to add a little texture without detracting from the sentiment. I added a little more detail with the soft organdy ribbon and used my layers and scalloped border/mat detail to add a little more interest and to tie in my panel of Balmy Blue gingham check across the bottom. 

Monochromatic Blue - I kept my card simple with a monochromatic Balmy Blue and Whisper White colour combination however this design could be easily replicated in pink for a girl or any of the other colours in the Gingham Gala designer series paper stack for a more gender-neutral design.

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:

First Steps Cling Stamp Set (£16.00)	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Layering Circle Framelits Dies (£33.00)
Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies (£31.00)	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card using the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the current colour palette at Fab Friday:

My card features a technique that is currently all the rage and I've been wanting to have a go at - the floating frame technique. This actually means I have two cards for you! Here's the first one:

And here's the second one, featuring the outer frame element:

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

Floating Frames - The floating frame technique is really easy to create with a few basic tools: some 'Press and Seal' food wrap or similar, a framelit - I used my Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies - and lots of dimensionals! You simply stamp and punch/diecut your images, lay them out, cover with Press and Seal, trim to frame size and cut out your central piece, before adhering dimensionals to the back of the diecut pieces and adhering to your chosen card base. Finally you remove the Press and Seal and your floating shapes remain in place. Jennifer McGuire has a fabulous video on this technique if you want to see one of these cards being made - you can see it here. 

Birthday Balloons - I've seen some fabulous examples of this technique, mostly using florals, but I was in need of some birthday cards and I thought the colours over at Fab Friday would be perfect for some bright and colourful balloons. I had so much fun making these cards I'm going to make a few more in alternative colour combos too - this is a great card design that would work well for both boys and girls, so makes a great storecupboard standby. I stamped my balloons with one of the stamps in the 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' stamp set before punching them for added interest and I used one of the other balloon stamps in the set to decorate the envelope, as you can see below:

No need for a naked envelope here!

A Birthday Greeting - For my second card, I needed a larger greeting to sit inside my frame so my Well Written Framelits were the perfect choice. I also added an extra balloon for balance, tied with some white baker's twine. The same design could be used with other stamps and sentiments from this set too to make cards for other occasions - how many other combinations can you come up with? 

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects 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; we are having a kit clear-out in the playroom today. So far we've made an erupting volcano, an insect hut, a flying helicopter and two solar-powered motorised dinosaurs. You've got to love the Easter holidays! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Balloon Bouquet Punch (£17.00)	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Well Written Framelits Dies (£37.00)

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 a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I decided to get making with my Gingham Gala designer series paper and made not one, not two but three cards for today's challenge - all of which use this week's Fusion sketch too (turned through 90 degrees):

I didn't get overly creative with my gingham panels as I wanted to use them as backgrounds in their own right and really let them shine.

So, to my cards! Each of them also coincidentally features a stamp from the stamp set, 'A Good Day', for my feature circles.  Here is the first one:

This card is my favourite from a creative point of view, as I love the sun/rain rainbow idea and the bright yellow check just makes this such a happy card!

For my second card I created one that uses not only the Fusion sketch but the theme too - no Easter eggs sure, but the cutest of Easter bunnies:

I stamped part of my sentiment on the banner. which I also bordered with one of the the edgelits in the Be Mine Stitched Framelits set and continued it on the inside of my card. I forgot to take a photo of my 'corrected' inside, but if you're interested and fancy a giggle you can pop over to my Facebook page to see the original one!

For my final card, I was inspired by this week's Global Design Project #GDP183 theme of 'A Day At The Park':

For me a day at the park is not complete without a ride on the swings, so this sweet little tree swing was perfect to fit this theme and paired with a sentiment from the Sale-A-Bration set 'Part of My Story' and the fresh green gingham makes for a sweet, uplifting card:

This is the card that I like most in terms of layout - whilst each of the images needs a different sized circular element, this is the one that I like the most in terms of overall proportion. 

Here are 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I hope you like my gingham trio; I also created a 'bonus' card using plaid as the main feature of my design so do pop back later in the week to see another example using this week's theme.

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

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

Enjoy your day; we are having a restful one with a roast dinner with all the trimmings for lunch and then we'll be watching the Oxford-Cambridge boat race on TV in the afternoon - armchair sportsmen for once! I'll be back tomorrow with another super-fun project that you are not going to want to miss. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	A Good Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£17.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Layering Circle Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

I've had a busy week that's kept me away from my blog but I have managed to get lots made over the past couple of days so I should be better prepared this week! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink that also uses the sketch layout at The Paper Craft Crew:

I missed playing with the ladies over at Just Add Ink last week as I just didn't manage to get my card finished and blogged (one for another time!) but as soon as I saw their inspiration photo this week I knew exactly which set I was going to use. Here's my card:

Mediterranean Moments is a stamp set that I've used many times, but not recently so it was a good opportunity to dust off this favourite from the annual catalogue and get to work. The photo reminded me of the cafe scene so this formed the basis of my main focal point, stamped on white and coloured with my Stampin' Blends. I used the PPC sketch to push me to consider a different layout to any I've used previously with this set. I did some tone-on-tone stamping using one of the other stamps in the set and embossed the main panel with a brick pattern for added texture and interest, and added a few wooden leaf embellishments from my box. I added a sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings to finish my 'just because' note 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 and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Mediterranean Moments Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£33.00)	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Powder Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Flirty Flamingo Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Basic Black Light Stampin' Blends (£4.25)

I've had my first class of the month today and today I have a couple of cards to share with you: one from my class and one that my class card was based on, both of which were inspired by the lovely Julee Tilman's current Mojo Monday sketch (turned through 90 degrees):

Here's the first card I created using the beautiful All My Love suite - take a look:

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

Whilst the papers in the All My Love suite feature classic romantic colours, these papers are not just about hearts - they feature some fabulous florals too. This card features one of my personal favourites and compliments the Soft Sea Foam background beautifully. 

Along with the die cut detail of the sentiment panel, this makes for a simple yet pretty card. 

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

Here is the second similar card that we made in my class, using an alternative colourway, this time with a couple of diecut flowers to compliment the patterned paper:

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:

Forever Lovely Photopolymer Bundle (£45.00)

All My Love 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)

Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

Linen Thread (£4.75)

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 as it's the fifth Sunday of the month we have a tic-tac-toe challenge for you to work with:

I really struggled with my card today - too many options to choose from on Laurie's fabulous board! I was also under a little time pressure having left my card to the last minute, which is never good for creativity! I also used this week's sketch over at Stamp Ink Paper which is great for a blank canvas with a central focal sentiment and my card also happens to use the colours over at Color Throwdown this week (as close as I have to them). So after much deliberating, I went down the left hand row of Laurie's TicTacToe board to create an Easter card (I've just realised it works for the diagonal too!) - take a look:

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

Sale-A-Bration Shades of Purple - I chose to feature this pretty floral paper from the Sale-A-Bration Botanical Butterfly paper pack as the background for my card today. Such a pretty pattern - if you like it as much as I do, then you only have today to still snap it up as this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion is finally coming to an end. I softened it with a piece of vellum, so that it didn't distract from my main design yet still adds a delicate pattern detail.

Cross Of Hope - Today's Easter card features a layered cross as the basis for the centre piece: a simple cross cut from Wood Textures DSP and overlaid with a simple silver one at its centre. There are some beautiful cross dies in this framelit set (check out my fellow paper Player LeAnne's card for an example of one of my favourites) however simple was my choice for today to allow my florals to shine. 

Easter Greetings - I inked my floral stem with my Stampin' Write markers and overlaid the whole thing with an uplifting sentiment from the 'Hold on To Hope' stamp set, which I heat embossed in silver onto white - I think this is a lovely banner for Easter. A linen twine bow and some glitter enamel dots finish my card. 

So what do you think? In hindsight I think my card might have needed to be smaller in size or with a few extra layers behind, as the centre still seems a little overwhelmed by the background, but in the end I just decided to go with it! Feel free to let me know what you think in a comment below - it may prompt a rework!

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. 

It's Mother's Day here in the UK and we still have our German exchange student staying with us, so having experienced the delights of traditional British fish and chips yesterday, we are out to afternoon tea today. I'll try and remember to take a picture to share with you tomorrow! I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of the fabulous new range of Stampin' Up! storage that will be on sale from April 1st - and that's no joke! Until then, enjoy your day and happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cross Of Hope Framelits Dies (£25.00)	Hold On To Hope Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Vellum A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Many Marvelous Markers (£112.75)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Glitter Enamel Dots (£6.50)
Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Silver Foil Sheets (£3.75)	Old Olive Linen Thread (£4.75)	Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper (£0.00)

Today I've just got time for a quick post to share another card made using the Sale-A-Bration stamp set 'By The Bay' that I made a while ago but haven't got around to blogging. Here's my card:

A simple scene watercoloured on shimmery white paper with inks and an aquapainter, layered with a tone-on-tone panel of Balmy Blue embossed with the Stripes embossing folder and paired with some burlap and leaves and a sentiment with stitched edge detail. Easy as that! You have only 4 more days to snap it up for free with a £45 order so if it's on your list, get your order in before the weekend. 

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:

By The Bay Cling Stamp Set (£0.00)	Simple Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon (£6.50)	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Wonderful Floral Framelits Dies (£32.00)

No post yesterday I'm afraid as my day was long and busy, from the moment the youngest James Junior got dropped off at school at the crack of dawn to go on his school trip to Paris to an evening spent helping out with a local Brownie pack followed by Girl Guides doing a spot of Mother's Day crafting. Today has seen the arrival of our German language school exchange student, but a long journey has resulted in an early night so I've time to sit and blog this evening. Today I'm sharing the most popular card from my last Sale-a-Bration class that features not one, but three of the fabulous products that can be yours free with a purchase of £45 or more:

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

A Trio of Sale-A-Bration Goodness - Today's card features three of the Sale-A-Bration goodies that are still available for you to receive free with a spend of £45 - can you spot them all? The wooden butterfly from the Butterfly Elements, and a piece of Grapefruit Grove foil sheet that has been embossed with the Country Florals Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This card is so simple to recreate and would work in lots of alternative colours too - the ladies in my class loved it! Check out the detail of the foil embossing - it really is lovely. 

Shop, Host, Join: There's Still Time - So whether you are going to shop and spend £45 or more (you get one free item for each £45 spend, or one of the higher-value ones for a £90 spend) or host your own party (an online party - or single qualifying order if your shopping list is a long one! - are still options at this stage), you still have 5 days to do so, so get those orders in. 

Join My Team For An Extra Sweet Reward - Whether you are a hobbyist or would like to build a business of your own, there's never been a better time to invest in a Stampin' up! starter kit. Not only will you receive £170 of product of your choice for a £99 spend, if you pay an additional £26 you can receive the fabulous and super-useful craft and carry tote too. You can read more about all of the Sale-A-Bration offers in my earlier post here; if you've any further offers, or would like to chat to me and find out the details of a special incentive that I am offering for qualifying joiners this week, do get in touch - I would love you to join my team.

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:

Butterfly Elements (£0.00)	Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets (£0.00)	Country Floral Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£0.00)	Butterfly Gala Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Merry Merlot A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch (£15.00)