Today will be a two post day! I will be back later with my TicTacToe inspiration for our new challenge, but first I'm sharing a card that I made for a very special occasion: the fabulous team over at Freshly Made Sketches are celebrating their 500th challenge and a decade of sketch inspiration - how amazing is that?! These wonderful ladies are a constant source of challenge and inspiration and I play along whenever I can and certainly couldn't miss out on the opportunity to play with Linda's fabulous sketch this week!

I decided to pair with the new mini catalogue inspiration over at TGIF Challenges, which I had been mulling over as I have been playing with a CASE of one of the cards in their inspiration photo. It wasn't really working for me so instead I decided to take that vertical panel of the FMS sketch and instead take my inspiration from the featured Whimsy & Wonder Suite - take a look at what I came up with:

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

All About The Layers - Linda's card has five layers, one for each of the decades the challenge team are celebrating. I wanted to feature the beautiful tree print in the Whimsy & Wonder specialty designer paper for my third layer, but didn't want to obscure it completely with layer 4, as I wanted the tree that is layer 5 to feel 'part' of it. So I used vellum to create my layer 4 panel, cut with one of the Ornate Layers Dies. It provides a distinct background for my focal point diecut tree, but ensures my background whilst softened can still be seen.

Trimming The Tree - I diecut the largest tree in the Christmas Tree Dies set in Mint Macaron, then added a garland cut from (retired) sparkly white glimmer paper and added tiny baubles cut from the silver holographic striped paper in the Whimsy & Wonder pack, to tie in with the holographic stars on the background paper design. I almost didn't add the baubles, but the tree definitely looks better with than without! 

Finishing Touches - I added a simple 'joy' sentiment and underpinned this with a piece of white glittered organdy ribbon tied with some silver twine. I love the addition of the subtle sparkle to complete the final element of my design.

This is my first outing with the Whimsy and Wonder Suite but I think I'll be using it again very soon!

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:

WHIMSICAL TREES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£47.50)	WHIMSY & WONDER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	WHITE 3/8'' (1 CM) GLITTERED ORGANDY RIBBON (£8.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	ORNATE LAYERS DIES (£34.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (£7.00)

This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Bhavya has asked that we overlay a repeating sentiment with a focal point shape. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will already have noticed that I used this sketch layout for my CAS Colours & Sketches last week; I really liked this layout and couldn't wait to have a play with it! For my card today I went with a Christmassy theme:

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

I stamped a repeating sentiment from the 'Penguin Place' stamp set and a punched penguin, all dressed up as a reindeer, complete with red Rudolf nose:

Super simple and so cute! I really like this layout for a clean and simple card and will definitely be using it again. I can't wait to see what entries we have in the gallery this week!

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. 

We are off to visit friends today for lunch and to catch up on our holiday news. Whatever your plans, enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PENGUIN PLACE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£29.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses Lou's fabulous sketch over at Just Add Ink this week and is also my entry for the current challenge over at SUO Challenges titled 'plant life':

Before I show you my card, I need to say a big thank you to the team over at Just Add Ink for choosing my Dahlia card as their Top Pick last week - thank you ladies! If you missed that card, you can see it here. For this week's card, I was tempted to go with something clean and simple but instead decided that the ribbon divider on the sketch would give me the perfect focal point for a row of leafy plants - take a look:

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

I've been wanting to fussy cut some of the plants from the 'Bloom Where You're Planted' designer paper for ages, so added a brick wall bottom border edged with some (retired) green ribbon, then added a selection of fussy cut, leafy pot plants:

I added a simple thank you sentiment from the 'Art Gallery' stamp set to complete my card - you can never have enough thank you cards!

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. 

We are shopping for new school shoes amongst other things today - that can only mean one thing, the start of term is drawing near! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)

EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of our queen of diecuts, the lovely Laurie to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I loved the layering of Laurie's sketch and decided it was a great layout to showcase some pretty designer series paper - and I've always got plenty of that! In addition to my patterned paper, I added layers (6 in total!) and a gingham ribbon bow for my three items from this week's Festive Friday inspo list to create my bright and cheery card - take a look:

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

In Symmetry - A big Calypso Coral flower with a double set of Night of Navy leaves make up the flower from the 'In Symmetry' stamp set that features on my angled panel today. I fussy cut the leaves and flower head and popped them up on dimensionals, adding a Bumblebee enamel dot and some Bumblebee gingham ribbon for a pop of yellow too. 

Envelope Detail - I added another of the flowers from the stamp set inside my card and added some extra stamped detail to the back of the co-ordinating envelope flap; no naked envelopes here! 

Sweet Symmetry Backdrop - The colours of my stamped flower were taken from the Sweet Symmetry designer series paper pattern that featured on the main background panel of my card. This is one of my favourite papers in this pack - I just love these bold, retro papers; they remind me of the patterns synonymous with the Irish fashion designer, Orla Kiely, don't you think?

I just love this card, even with the quirky angled panel which I thought I might struggle with, but it turns out not a bit!

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; yesterday the weather was unexpectedly dire here, so if it brightens up today I will be looking forward to spending some time in the garden. I'm hoping to squeeze in a little crafting time too. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

IN SYMMETRY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	SWEET SYMMETRY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BUMBLEBEE 1/4" (6.4MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

A quick card from me this evening that was inspired by Jen Mitchell's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and the festive inspiration at Inspired By:

I thought those corners would be great for some layered foliage to frame a festive sentiment - take a look at what I came up with:

Lots of foliage, holly, pine cones and berries stamped and cut using the 'Christmas Season' stamp set and dies, and layered to frame a sentiment from the 'Merriest Moments' stamp set:

I wanted to add in a couple of candy canes too, but do you think I could find my retired candy cane dies? Nope, not anywhere! Too many craft supplies and not enough office space, that's my issue!!

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 for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS SEASON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	MERRIEST MOMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SAHARA SAND CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Hello everyone! A few blog-free days as I've been busy enjoying time with the James Juniors, cycling and activities with friends as we continue to enjoy the summer vacation. Today I'm back though and I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a recipe challenge:

Heather came up with today's recipe and I really like it, although I did struggle with one element of it! Here's my card - can you tell which ingredient had me stumped?

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

I dry embossed my background panel with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder (tick) and then added a collection of strips of Harvest Meadow designer paper in Crumb Cake (tick) and Misty Moonlight, both of which feature wheat (tick) as does my sentiment from the 'Thinking Thanks and Peace' stamp set. I threaded my diamond weave ribbon with some linen twine (tick) and tied in a bow. Which just leaves gingham! I did struggle a little with this one, as I didn't have any gingham patterns that I could make work with the other recipe elements, so I resorted to some Crumb Cake monochrome plaid as my closest substitute and used it to back my sentiment, so there is just a thin border of it showing - it could pass for gingham, right?!

I really like the colour combo that I ended up using today; this background of strips is also great for using up those leftover scraps and offcuts and would work with lots of other patterned papers 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. 

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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HARVEST MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	THINKING THANKS & PEACE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	3/8" (1 CM) DIAMOND WEAVE RIBBON (£9.25)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Bhavya is hosting this month and this week it's a colour challenge: 

I love this colour palette and as soon as I saw it I knew which set I wanted to create with - take a look:

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

My grandmother had an old-fashioned pair of Pool Party-coloured weighing scales with a red needle and I've been itching to ink up my 'Measure of Love' stamp set in memory of her and the many hours we spent having fun in the kitchen together. I added a yellow bowl of red cherries to my scales, coloured and fussy cut them and placed them over my repeated sentiment to complete 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. 

I was having so much fun having made this card, I decided to create another, stepped-up one using the same set, this time adding in green and more black for the brief over at the Paper Craft Crew this week and using the layout over at TGIF Challenges:

Here's my second card:

This time I used a background of buffalo check DSP, that I coloured with my Pool Party ink and a blender brush, added some hearts and cherry stalks to my bowl of cherries and backed this with a circle that I outlined with flowers and added a fussy cut embossed sentiment and cute gingham yellow bow:

So which one do you prefer? Either way, this set makes great cute cards and I'm looking forward to creating more with this set.

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:

MEASURE OF LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

MEASURE OF LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PATTERN PARTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)	BUMBLEBEE 1/4" (6.4MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)
SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)
STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

I'm late with my post today as I held my monthly card class this morning, but I did manage to squeeze in a little crafty time afterwards so today I'm sharing a card that takes it's inspiration from the challenge prompt photo over at Just Add Ink this week:

So much to love about that photo! The colours, flowers and textures ... I decided to pair those with some free Sale-A-Bration product for my card today - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Delicate Dahlias - The focal point flower on my card is the outline flower from 'Delicate Dahlias' - a stamp set that can be yours with a purchase of £90 or more during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. I heat embossed the flower in gold onto some Cajun Craze cardstock, then added tone-on-tone colour with my Stampin' Blends markers. The sentiment on today's card is also from this set.

Blended Colour - Having used Cajun Craze for my flower and (retired) Pretty Peacock for my card base, I brought both colours together by blending them from the outside in on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock at the centre of my design.

Texture, Texture - I tried to incorporated lots of textural elements from the inspiration photo on my card: the texture from the vase is similar to my dry embossed card base, and the texture from the cushion is on the gold metallic specialty paper beneath my sentiment. I also added other golden elements through my heat embossing, ribbon and gems.

So what do you think? Can you see how the photo inspired my card today? I would love to know what you use to inspire your crafting - do leave me a comment below.

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

 to follow

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:

DELICATE DAHLIAS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	GOLD & ROSE GOLD 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) METALLIC SPECIALTY PAPER (£4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GOLD 3/8" (1 CM) SHIMMER RIBBON (£7.50)	GILDED GEMS (£6.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

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 clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

With GCSE exam results announced here in the UK last week, I have had the need for lots of exam congratulations cards, including some for boys, so today's clean and simple masculine challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to come up with another quick and easy-to-replicate design - take a look:

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

I used Jen Timko's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout and kept things simple by creating only in 'shades of blue', in keeping with the colour challenge over at Less Is More. I used a piece of retired Whale Of A Time designer series paper featuring ombre blue waves inside my oval aperture, and added a Night of Navy stamped whale and sentiment from the 'Whale Done' stamp set. I kept my card base white and didn't add any additional embellishments in order to preserve that all-important 'white space' and masculine feel:

Super simple and not at all girly - this whale has been getting lots of use lately! Perfect to send congratulatory wishes. This week was a big one for the James family: my nephew received A Level results and Rebecca received her GCSE results. Both of them had worked very hard and did very well, with a full set of A*s and As between them, so we had lots to celebrate. More importantly, they both achieved everything they need to move on to the next stage of their education, which is the most important thing. This year has been tough for all those in examination years and I think all GCSE and A Level students should be mighty pleased with their achievements at all levels. 

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; no big plans here, so hoping I'm lucky enough to squeeze in some crafting!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WHALE PUNCH (£17.00)

WHALE DONE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

I so enjoyed making the card I shared with you on Sunday, that I decided to make another card using the Merriest Moments bundle for the challenge over at Just Add Ink, this time inspired by the modern colour palette over at TGIF Challenges: 

I just loved that colour palette and thought it would work well for a modern Christmas card. I also changed the orientation for today's card - take a look:

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

A chalkboard style sentiment, this time surrounded with a white frame cut from the Snowy White Velvet sheets - these are amazing! I hope you can see some of the gorgeous embossed detailing on the velvet below:

It's so pretty in real life! I used some Pattern Party patterned paper for my background, and centred my Coastal-Cabana stamped poinsettias with some of my favourite black matte dots too.

A few loops of Coastal Cabana (retired) sheer ribbon for an added pop of blue complete my card, with a little extra stamping on the inside:

Before you think I'm completely mad choosing to feature these traditionally red or cream flowers in bright blue, a quick internet search showed that blue poinsettias are actually a thing - who knew?! I absolutely love this card - I'm definitely going to make a few more in this colourway.

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; today is the youngest of the James Juniors 14th birthday and we have a fun day of activities planned, all to be finished off with an Oreo cookie ice cream cake! I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

MERRIEST MOMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	SNOWY WHITE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) VELVET SHEETS (£4.75)	PATTERN PARTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)