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 my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I wanted to make another card using some of the birds that I'd fussy cut from the Flight & Airy designer series paper, so I chose 5 of the large birds for my elements and set to work - take a look:

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

I went for a simple, skinny slimline with just a few layers and a border of Orchid Oasis and Night of Navy to pick up the blues of the feathers:

A simple sentiment from 'Pansy Patch' and some co-ordinating baker's twine for my birds to balance on completes my card. The beauty of so much Sale-A-Bration free paper? Plenty spare to make a pretty, custom co-ordinating envelope too!

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

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

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

Enjoy your day; I am looking forward to a day of cooking and Lego building, having treated myself to a kit in a recent sale. I haven't built any in a while, so that should be fun! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PANSY PATCH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

ORCHID OASIS A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

2022–2024 IN COLOR BAKER'S TWINE PACK (14.00)

I am currently having a love affair with the pretty Flight and Airy paper that is one of the products that you can get FREE with a £45 order during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion and have another card to share that features it, this time using the sketch layout over at Tuesday Morning Sketches:

I could have taken the easy route and just added a piece of designer paper for the top panel of the card, but instead decided to add a piece of cross-hatched embossed paper and fussy cut a piece of the pattern featuring branches, flowers and a quintet of pretty birds:

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

I added my panel to a Petal Pink base, having added a little Petal Pink ink to my hatched panel behind the birds. Here's a close-up of the detail - time consuming, but very theraputic and so worth it for the delicate finished result:

I added a row of diecut flowers with gem centres to echo the detail of the the sketch and finished with a simple sentiment banner from 'Timeless Arrangements'. What do you think? If fussy cutting isn't your thing, you could just use the paper as a flat panel - it's so pretty, it would look great that way 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 evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

I've managed to get a little extra cardmaking time this week, but as for writing up my blog posts - not so much! Today I'm taking a departure from the 'new' to share a Christmas card just in time for the January theme challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the theme is wreaths:

Today's card also uses their January sketch layout which I missed, but is perfect for a showcase of a sparkly layered Christmas wreath - take a look:

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

I used a piece of the now-retired (but hoarded!) Shining Brightly foiled paper to cover my cardfront and added a banner with a sentiment from 'Brightest Glow' and paired it with a navy and gold layered wreath, with a combination of gold sequin and navy gem 'berries' and a brushed gold bow:

I really love these papers and the colour scheme, so don't be surprised to see me use them throughout the year as I endeavour to play along with the team at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown to keep me on track in my Christmas card making throughout the year. If you don't have these papers though, you could easily change out this paper for an alternative Christmas design and alter the colours of your wreath accordingly.

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. 

Just a quick post from me today; I have a basket of ironing to get through before I prepare dinner and get myself ready for this evening's final episode of 'The Traitors' - anyone else out there as hooked as me? I can't wait! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project that has an altogether more Spring-like feel. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (37.00)	BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we use a diagonal along with a central focal point:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card and the heart doesn't have to be a heart - you can choose an alternative shape too. For my card today I did that and I used a pair of birds that I fussy cut from the Flight & Airy designer series paper that is one of the gifts that can be yours FREE with an order of £45 during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. Here's my card:

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

I spent ages trying to decide how best to use the diagonal. I wanted to avoid using a piece of designer paper for half of the panel so instead used a piece of Boho Blue watercolour, also from the Flight & Airy pack, as a layer beneath a piece of white card, across which I diecut a diagonal line using one of the new Essential Details Dies. It doesn't quite go corner-to-corner, as I wanted to preserve the horizontal/vertical aspects, but it follows the intent of the sketch and allows some of that lovely blue paper to peek through:

Fussy cutting the birds was a labour of love but so worth it as they make a lovely centrepiece. I added a few sequins and a sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set to finish. This card is a notecard to send to someone I've not spoken to in a while, to share news and let them know I'm thinking of them. Sometimes a card is better than a text, right?

I'm also playing along with my old teamies over at TicTacToe with my card today; I followed the diagonal diecut/patterned paper/pink.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

EVERYDAY DETAILS DIES (32.00)

CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

LOOSE SILVER SEQUINS (6.25)

I've had a major cleaning day today, so decided to grab some time to create a quick card inspired by Judy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches before I start preparing dinner:

I debated how to make the most of this layout then decided on a punny masculine Valentine's card - take a look:

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

This is a great layout from Judy - the square could be the sentiment or a focal point. I went with the latter, since I decided that the narrow vertical would make a great measuring rule, which then dictated how I wanted to use the other elements. My card features three of the patterns in the Trusty Toolbox designer series paper pack - a fun set of papers that can be yours free with a £45 purchase as part of the current Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration promotion. The main panel is a dotted design that looks like a tool storage panel; the reverse of this is the ruler design I used for the vertical and finally I substituted the square element with a pencil and measuring tape that I fussy cut from another of the Trusty Toolbox designs. I paired my papers with a tongue-in-cheek sentiment from the 'Perennial Postage' stamp set that seemed the perfect choice:

A trio of adhesive-backed hearts complete my card, which I'm also sharing with my old teamies over at Festive Friday (waves enthusiastically!) - I used red, hearts and love sentiment from their inspo list.

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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

COPPER CLAY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS COLLECTION (126.00)

ADHESIVE-BACKED HEARTS & FLOWERS (7.50)

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

Winter fun! I was totally inspired by our challenge badge this week, so grabbed this week's Color Throwdown colours and the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches with my Penguin Place stamp set and got to work - take a look:

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

I added my penguin sliding down some snowy slopes and cut him out with the largest of the Tailor Made Tags Dies and tied it with some sparkly twine:

I added it to a base onto which I stencilled some Boho Blue snowflakes using one of my Abundant Beauty Decorative Masks; I ran this through my diecutting machine with an embossing mat and the stencil in place to give it a slightly embossed look, although this is quite difficult to see in the photos. A simple stamped sentiment from the same stamp set completes my clean and simple card.

The 'Penguin Place' stamp set is great for winter fun cards - it is also currently available on the Clearance Rack in the online store for the bargain price of £4.75. What's more you can even purchase the co-ordinating punch too for just £4.25 - what are you waiting for?! I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational where they are asking us to use stencils on our projects.

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

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (21.00)

BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BOHO BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BUBBLE BATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a bright and colourful colour challenge chosen by the lovely Heather H:

I decided these bold colours called for a bold card so I grabbed my Gorgeous Garden Dies, specifically the floral one, and set to work - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Gorgeous Garden Florals - The Gorgeous Garden Dies are a pair of dies found on page 164 of the annual catalogue that can be easily overlooked, since they do not have a co-ordinating stamp set. That said, they are certainly not to be dismissed - they make fabulous cards! I featured the floral die on my card today and having created a tone-on-tone base in Mossy Meadow, I used the three additional colours to add bright pops of colour to the flowers themselves. 

Did someone say FREE? - I have mentioned it previously, but today's post is a great opportunity to remind you that the Gorgeous Garden Dies feature in the current 'Join In With Joanne and Jan' tutorial collection that I have designed in collaboration with my As You See It teamie and good friend Jan Clothier:

This tutorial features 4 main projects with a couple of extras thrown in too featuring a range of techniques and of course the Gorgeous Garden Dies. The projects that feature in the tutorial are exclusive to the tutorial itself and you won't find them on our blogs or anywhere else. How can you get it? Well, if you purchase the Gorgeous Garden Dies from either Jan or myself, then the tutorial with photos and full detailed instructions will be yours FREE - it's as simple as that. 

Celebrating Friends - I finished my card with a diecut sentiment from the 'Love For You' bundle, which seems appropriate since today is 'New Friend Appreciation Day' - isn't there a day for everything these days?! You can see it in more detail below, including the layering detail that I just love: 

I think these dies are an annual catalogue 'hidden gem' - they really are so versatile. I'm linking today's card up with the ladies over at Just Add Ink where their theme this week is 'Just Add ... Florals'.

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 (40.00)	LOVE FOR YOU DIES (ENGLISH) (30.00)	LOVE FOR YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	GLOSSY DOTS ASSORTMENT (7.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
AROUND THE BEND DIES (31.00)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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:

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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:

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

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

I decided to use red for my pop of colour and using the layout over at Sunday Stamps to create a modern 'love you' card - take a look:

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

Stamped With Love - My main 'pop of colour' comes from the vintage-style post box from the 'Stamped With Love' stamp set. I heat-embossed it in black onto Real Red cardstock and fussy cut it, then did the same again on Basic White cardstock and fussy cut the envelope before paper-piecing it in place and adding a (retired) red resin heart:

Hearts and Kisses - I paired my vintage post box with some black and white paper from the Delightfully Eclectic designer series paper pack. I added an additional layer of detail with more red resin hearts between the black 'kisses' - I love the effect and it ties the design to my postbox nicely. It also makes my card perfect for the theme of 'hearts' over at Global Design Project #GDP427 this week.

Inside Detail - The sentiment on the front of my card comes from the 'Country Bouquet' stamp set. I finished it with the other part on the inside of my card, stamping it inside some red hearts from the same set and an offcut of the designer paper I used on the front of my card

I also added some of the DSP to my envelope flap for some additional co-ordination. I really like this card - I think it will make a nice notecard for the youngest of the James Juniors, as it's modern and not too feminine. What do you think? 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; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STAMPED WITH LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	COUNTRY BOUQUET PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	DELIGHTFULLY ECLECTIC 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (28.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)