It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary! This week we have a great sketch challenge for you:

This was one of those sketches that the minute I saw it, I knew exactly what I was going to do with those 'flowers' - to me, they looked just like the donuts with a bit taken out that feature on both one of the Cherry on Top DSP stack patterns and the Sprinkles on Top stamp set on page 7 of the annual catalogue. I don't have the latter but am definitely in love with the former, so that's where I was headed for my card this week:

I stayed with the square shape for my card and used a base of Pool Party with mats in Whisper White and Bermuda Bay. I then used another of the patterns from the Cherry on top DSP stack as my top layer and stamped my sentiment from the 'Bravo' stamp set in Watermelon Wonder directly onto the DSP. I then used a long, slim panel of Bermuda Bay, with one corner rounded t echo the shape of the base card, then adhered four little donuts, punched out of the DSP using my 3/4" circle punch, onto the panel using dimensionals. I finished with a double loop of Whisper White baker's twine to complete my card. 

So what do think - is this card sweet to you? Do check out how the other design team members have interpreted this week's sketch as we've all taken a different approach. As for me, I'll be back tomorrow with another project to share. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

This is my second post of the day - you can find my earlier post detailing this week's weekly deals here. This is a quick creative post from me today with a card I made this morning for a couple of challenges: another one for Less Is More's red, white and blue challenge and also for Addicted to CAS where the theme is 'patriotic:

My talented colleague over at The Paper Players, the lovely Jaydee, also designs for ATCAS and she chose the codeword for the current challenge. Whilst Jaydee lives in the USA, she is actually British so I thought that I would make a card with her in mind (oh, and the other current Brit of the moment, Andy Murray, who today got through to the Wimbledon semi-finals - woohoo!): 

I used the extra thick Whisper White cardstock as my base and then paper-pieced a union jack flag in Real Red, Whisper White and Pacific Point. My intention originally was to use the letters that I cut using my Bigshot and the Little Letters thinlits, but when I lined up the letters the flag wasn't as obvious as I'd hoped and the negative space worked much better, so I used this instead. Fortunately I managed to do a reasonable job of aligning the letters, although it was quite tricky as the magnets in the magnetic platform have a tendency to make the letters jump about! A no stamp card too!

I hope you like my take on patriotism for today's card; I did contemplate making something more in keeping with my own heritage (I'm Welsh!) although my stamp collection has a complete absence of dragon stamps and punch art would definitely not have fitted with the 'clean and simple' approach!

I'll be back tomorrow with our new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Little Letters Thinlits Die	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Pacific Point A4 Cardstock

Today I have a card using the sketch challenge over at Paper Craft Crew and the colours over at Pals Paper Arts as the inspiration for my teacher thank you card:

Now I know I entered a teacher thank you card into last week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts (if you missed it you can see that card here) but what can I say - I need lots of them! I love the bright colour combination here so took the opportunity to do a little doodling - take a look:

I used Night of Navy for my card base which measures 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" and matted a strip of Cucumber Crush striped envelope paper with a strip of Watermelon Wonder cardstock. For my central panel, I embossed a piece of Whisper White with the large polka dot embossing folder for added texture, although difficult to see in the photograph, and then overlaid this with my circle stencil and used my Watermelon Wonder Stampin' Write Marker to doodle an apple shape. I added my stem and leaves freehand and finished with a navy seam binding ribbon bow, some Cucumber Crush lace trim and a trio of white candy dots. I finished with the thank you sentiment from the 'Tin of Cards' stamp set - this is such a great set, I've used it lots already and haven't even made my tin of cards yet!! - stamped in Night of Navy on Watermelon Wonder, and finished with a juicy green apple punched using my tree builder punch. 

I think the colours of this card really pack a punch and my non-standard card size meant a custom envelope would be the order of the day. What better way to finish than with a co-ordinating envelope made from the gorgeous new Cucumber Crush envelope paper? This lightweight paper makes beautifully crisp envelopes and with the aid of my trusty Envelope Expert from The Crafty Owl it was easy to work out what size paper and punch markings I required (9 1/4" and 4 5/8" respectively, in case you were wondering!)

I hope you like today's card; I'll be back tomorrow with a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals and another project for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Dots & Stripes Decorative Masks	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set	2015-2017 In Color Envelope Paper
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Tree Builder Punch	Envelope Punch Board	Cucumber Crush 1" Dotted Lace Trim	Night Of Navy 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock	Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock	1-3/4" Circle Punch
Big Shot

Happy Monday everyone! I have had my first of this week's technique card classes this month and spent a pleasant morning catching up with my ladies, who all left very pleased with their cards. I will share these cards in due course once all my classes are complete (I don't want to spoil the surprise for the next group of ladies!). Meanwhile, today I have a card made with this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I'm also linking this card up with the ladies over at Less Is More this week, where the challenge is to use red, white and blue on your card, which I most certainly have - take a look: 

I decided to pair my bright Real Red with the softer tones on Sky Blue for today's card and added some detail to my main panel using some retired 'Back To Black' DSP although the new Everyday Chic paper would work just as well. I coloured both pieces with my retired Soft Sky Blendabilities pens. My sentiment is from the new 'Friendly Wishes' stamp set and I finished my caard with a few pops of Real Red: some cotton ribbon, an Itty Bitty Accents punched flower (or two!) and a retired button from my storecupboard, tied with some white baker's twine.

I really love the way the combination of bright red with the pale blue, and I think the set off the black and white of the DSP and sentiment beautifully. 

That's all from me today; a basket of ironing awaits, although hopefully I'll catch another match at Wimbledon on the TV as I go, so much less of a hardship than usual! Back tomorrow with another card and a new product share! until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Friendly Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
Whisper White Baker's Twine	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Brights Candy Dots	Subtles Candy Dots	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the lovely Ann to host and she has the following theme challenge for us: 

The great outdoors: now I know our challenge badge this week shows trees, flowers and wildlife, but for me when I thought about what 'the great outdoors' meant to me, it was more about camping, rambling and cycling - so off I went in search of stamp sets to fit the bill. After much fruitless searching, suddenly there it was just staring me in the face - the top sheet in the open pack of Schoolhouse designer series paper on my desk was the perfect feature for my card:

Bicycles! We are a family of cyclists and are fortunate to live near to lots of great cycle paths and countryside that is accessible to cyclists. so often ride out together as a family. I really wanted the paper to take centre stage, so I went on the hunt for a small, suitable sentiment to pair it with and decided upon this one from the Project Life 'Moments Like These' stamp set which was just enough to finish my card. Another great example of where these sets can be used for memory keeping and a lot more besides!

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

Your cards can be inspired by any aspect of life outdoors so get your thinking caps on and I look forward to seeing what you make of our theme in the gallery this week. I am hoping that today will be another warm and sunny one, with a BBQ lunch on the menu. Some time in the garden and a restful day is on the cards!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Schoolhouse Designer Series Paper	Project Life Moments Like These Photopolymer Stamp Set	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad
Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

A quick post from me today as I've had a full-on busy day: each of the James Juniors has had a birthday party to attend today, followed by a swimming gala, the first for Ben at this venue. Both had great swims with some great personal best timings, so a god day had by all. Today's trio of cards are another entry for the Fab Friday challenge where in colours are the order of the day:

I wanted to create a card that use all five colours and decided to go with a simple design that showed off the fabulous new in-colour lace trim - take a look:

I used a card base of extra thick Whisper White cardstock, matted with an in colour (this one is Cucumber Crush), followed by a Whisper White panel embossed with the Large Dolka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing folder then a random colour pattern of dots using all of the in colours with the spot from the Work of Art stamp set. I finished with a co-ordinating piece of in colour lace trim, tied with a bow of white baker's twine. I wanted to make a couple of cards that were post-friendly and this lace trim is great for a non-bulky trim, however it also makes a beautiful bow - take a look at the Delightful Dijon bow below:

Isn't that just so pretty? I also made a post-friendly version in Watermelon Wonder: 

Since the outside is sentiment-free, I wanted to be sure to include one on the inside:

These are thank you cards destined for some of my customers so a big 'thank you' is definitely appropriate! Do you love this year's new in colours? Which one is your favourite? Do let me know in your comments below.

Back tomorrow with a new challenge over at The Paper Players; until then, happy stampin'! 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Work Of Art Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Big Shot	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	2015-2017 In Color A4 Cardstock & Classic Stampin' Pads Kit
Cucumber Crush 1" Dotted Lace Trim	Delightful Dijon 1" Dotted Lace Trim	Watermelon Wonder 1" Dotted Lace Trim	Whisper White Baker's Twine	Fabulous Four Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Good morning everyone! It's Thursday and time for a new challenge at Create with Connie and Mary where we have a great colour challenge for you this week:

I chose to use this week's layout over at CAS(E) This Sketch for my card this week and went for some bold pops of colour against my neutral background:

I used Crumb Cake for my card base, and instead of leaving it completely plain, I stamped the hatched background stamp from 'You've Got This' in Crumb Cake to add a little interest to the main body of the panel. This is such a useful stamp and can be used in so many ways, not just with the flower in the set with it. I then added a layered flower cut with the Flower Fair framelits and finished with a Real Red candy dot (I get through these faster than any other colour!) and my die cut sentiment. Super simple and very easy to recreate and would work in lots of other colourways too. 

Short and sweet from me today - do check out what the rest of the DT have been up to and I look forward to visiting your gallery creations this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Wednesday and today I have a card for this week's challenge over at Less is More. I always follow this great challenge site, although don't always find time to enter as often as I'd like (and even when I do things don't always go to plan - my attempt for last week's stencilling challenge was something of a disaster and ended up in the dustbin!) This week these lovely ladies have a sketch challenge though and never one to turn down a good sketch, this week's attempt was much more successful. Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I actually made this card to send to a friend who has been having a tough time of it recently and needed to know that it's ok to 'offload' once in a while - that's what friends are for. I so love this sentiment and it was the perfect message. I stamped the tree in a combination of Crumb Cake and Wild Wasabi with a sprinkle of purple flowers beneath it. I did add a border layer to my image and sentiment panels in Perfect Plum, but I was careful to leave my image uncluttered and as much 'white space' as possible around the panels to retain the clean and simple feel. The sentiment is one long stamp, but I split it here and inked the first word in a different colour, for emphasis and simply to fit it on the panel. I even remembered to add a little envelope decoration too - bonus!

I hope you like today's card; don't forget to check out this week's extended range of Wednesday Weekly Deals and the updated Clearance Rack - find full details on my earlier post here. I will be back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at create with Connie and Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sheltering Tree Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Perfect Plum A4 Cardstock	Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad

Good morning everyone! I have had a most enjoyable morning with two of my newest Stampin' Up! team members carrying out some induction training, all finished off with a little cream tea to reward them for their efforts! Today is the last day of the '2 free stamp sets' sign up offer where you can get any 2 catalogue stamp sets of your choice for free in addition to your £130 of goods for £99.

You don't want to miss out on this opportunity! You can get the full scoop here or if you're ready to sign up, just click here to join my team. If you're on the fence and are still wondering if my team is for you, then do give me a call for a chat before making your decision - I would love to tell you more.

Today I have a quick post for you to just squeeze in an entry to this week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts where they have a great sketch challenge this week:

My card this week was very much inspired by the one that Mary Fish made using this sketch - you can see her card here, I just love her clean and graphic style - and I knew this layout offered me the perfect opportunity to add to my stash of end of term teacher thank you cards with a really quick make - take a look:

I decided to add to my collection of teacher thank you cards and combined a card base of Basic Grey with a mat and strip of Whisper White and a 2 1/2" circle of the Schoolhouse DSP in the alphabet pattern with an apple that I cut with my Silhouette Cameo e-cutter and a 'thanks' die cut using the new Greetings Thinlits in Basic Black. 

Super simple, ultra modern and easy to re-create if you've lots of cards to make.

I hope you like today's card; I'll be back tomorrow with another creative project and news of this week's weekly deals, which from tomorrow until 4th August will be even better than usual, with lots more items with 30% off until the allocated stock at that price is gone, when it will revert back to standard catalogue price. The Clearance Rack is also due to update, with many items 60% off, so keep your eye out for some bargains!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Greetings Thinlits Dies	Schoolhouse Designer Series Paper	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Basic Gray A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Garden Green A4 Cardstock	Chocolate Chip A4 Cardstock	2-1/2" Circle Punch	Brights Candy Dots
Big Shot

Happy Monday everyone! Well, we didn't manage to barbeque yesterday as it was the worst weather day of the week here in the UK, but no matter - this week is supposed to be a scorcher, despite the fact that it's the start of Wimbledon Tennis Fortnight (a sure recipe for rain!) so I'm sure there will be lots of opportunity. My week is shaping up to be a busy one - with only three weeks until the end of the school term, there is something on pretty much every other day between now and the end of term so forgive me if my blogging becomes brief! Anyway, a good start to the week as I've two cards to share today! This first is my card for this week's challenge over at Colour Q:

Don't you just love those flip flops?! The colours along with the butterflies prompted me to create a fun 'cutting edge' card that I am also linking up with the current challenge over at SUO Challenges where they are asking us to create a card that features a cut edge that is something other than a straight line. This is what I came up with:

I used Soft Sky for my card base, then diecut four butterflies in Night of Navy using the smallest butterfly in the new Bold Butterfly framelits and adhered them to the edge of my card, carefully cutting around them by hand to remove the edge of the card base and expose the back panel. I then cut another two butterflies each in Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist and paper-pieced the small pieces into the navy butterflies. I stamped the sentiment from Watercolour Wonder onto the front of my card in Night of Navy and stamped the spotty strip repeatedly along the back inside edge of the card in Soft Sky for some added detail behind the butterflies, although you can't see this in the above photo as it's not flat and only visible when closed (I need to take another picture which I will add to this post later - these type of cards are so tricky to photograph!). This card looks so pretty in real life - the fussy cut edge really lifts this card and makes it something special.

My second card today is using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches where the lovely Jen Mitchell has a great sketch that would work so well for so many layouts:

I flipped the sketch through 180 degrees (it's allowed!) to create a rather topical card that was inspired by a cupcake of all things that appeared in my Facebook feed over the weekend, commemorating the decision by the US Supreme Court over the weekend to legalise same sex marriage across all US states:

I used a rainbow of strips of cardstock, punching each with my Hearts Border punch before adhering to my base of extra-thick Whisper White cardstock (love this for card bases!) I then took the punched out hearts and adhered these individually in a row beneath the negative punched space on the strip above. My focal point is a couple of 2" circles, the first in Whisper White and stamped with one of the sentiments in the 'Groovy Love' stamp set, inked up with Pacific Point and Real Red Stampin' Write markers. The second circle was punched from Real Red cardstock, with a heart punched out of the centre using the Sweetheart punch so that the sentiment could show through the negative space and popped up over the first on Dimensionals for added depth. Very 'gay pride' with the hearts and rainbows, don't you agree? I am also entering this card into a demonstrator-only challenge that Stampin' Up! are currently running with the tagline #punchitup where we have to use a combination of two of four specific punches and as you can see, I went with hearts!

That's my creative post for today; I will be back tomorrow with another project and may be back in the meantime with other news, depending on how far I get through today's 'to do' list so do pop back later! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Card One:

Magnetic Platform	Big Shot	Bold Butterfly Framelits Dies	Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Stamp Set	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Marina Mist A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad

Sweetheart Punch	Hearts Border Punch	2" Circle Punch	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Brights Stampin' Write Markers
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock	Tempting Turquoise A4 Cardstock
Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Rich Razzleberry A4 Cardstock