It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Betty is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went down the first column with thinking of you/stitching/flowers for my card today, that also makes the most of one of the Sale-A-Bration freebies that can still be yours for a few more days so is perfect to play along with the team over at TGIF Challenges too - take a look:

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

Flower and Field - Although I didn't eventually choose it, I was considering 'shades of green' as one of my board options and I immediately thought of this paper in the Flower and Field Sale-A-Bration DSP pack as it makes such a beautiful use of Just Jade as its background colour. I decided to use this paper anyway as it's so pretty and the green, pink and yellow combo give me three colours to play with the peeps over at Paper Craft Crew this week too! It's also a great reminder that there are just 3 days to go until the end of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. If you are a regular Stampin' Up! customer, don't be caught out - the current promotion ends a whole month earlier than it has in previous years. That's no bad thing, as it means we will get a second Sale-A-Bration promotion later in the year, but if you still have things on your current SAB wishlist, you need to earn them whilst you still can!

Thinking of You - The sentiment I chose for my card today comes from the 'Happy Thoughts' stamp set, inspired by the Million Sales Achiever Jackie Bolhuis. This is a sentiment-only set, designed with beginner crafters in mind. It has great basic sentiments for every occasion, along with some longer ones that work perfectly as a feature or on the insdie of a card. What's more, this set was designed to co-ordinate with a number of our basic punches, so is really versatile and a great way to build on a beginner's collection of basic items. 

Pierced Blooms - I added a few Pierced Blooms to decorate my card - another long-awaited addition to my collection - although as I went to finishe my card with some black enamel dots on those itty bitty pink flowers I realised ... yes, I've run out! So use your imagination as I go off to order more of these craft room staples!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PIERCED BLOOMS DIES (£34.00)	HAPPY THOUGHTS CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	FLOWER & FIELD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
JUST JADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)	FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON RIBBON COMBO PACK (£9.25)

Today I'm sharing another card using that oh-so-pretty floral die, this time using this week's Global Design Project #GDP278 sketch. Those pretty pink stripes and florals were also inspired by the pastel-striped biscuits in the good-enough-to-eat inspiration photo over at Time Out this week and I'm also having a second entry over at Addicted to CAS where the theme is hearts:

My card is all heart for sure with my white floral version - take a look:

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

I used a few narrow strips cut from some left over pieces of Oh So Ombre DSP (gotta love a Sale-A-Bration freebie!) I decided to make this card a clean and simple anniversary card, so added a silver heat-embossed sentiment to the banner that also comes in the Floral Heart Dies set. I've not used this before but I really like the way it folds and the stitched detailing. A sprinking of Rococco Rose sequins separated from my Woven Threads sequin assortment complete my card:

 I love the clean and delicate appearance of this card, with the soft pinks against the white. Very romantic, don't you think?!

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:

ALWAYS IN MY HEART BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)

OH SO OMBRE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)

WOVEN THREADS SEQUIN ASSORTMENT (£4.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

SILVER STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Julie is hosting this month and our first challenge of the month is a colour challenge: 

These colours were a bit of a challenge for me originally but I thought they would work well for a birthday card for a teenage boy - and I always need those! I decided to showcase another free Sale-A-Bration stamp set today - take a look:

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

'Approaching Perfection' is another of the stamp sets that you can get for free with a Stampin' Up! order of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration - and you still have another month to take advantage of this promotion! Full of fun birthday sentiments, it is perfect for clean and simple cards. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to create an outer border of multi-coloured candles on my base, then add a stitched square featuring my sentiment to the centre, fussy cutting the 'news flash' so that I could highlight it in red - reminiscent of a red-top tabloid:

I'm also joining in with the current challenge over at Less Is More where they are looking for 'things in a row' - in addition to the rows of candles on my card, I decorated the flap of my envelope to match too:

A detail that might be wasted on the average teenage boy to be fair, but it made me happy! This is a great set for #SimpleStamping - you could easily forgo the stitched diecut. All you need is stamps, ink and paper - #SimpleStamping at its best!

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:

APPROACHING PERFECTION CLING STAMP SET (£0.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
JUST JADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the fifth Sunday of the month so the lovely Laurie is hosting this week and she has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge board for us to work with:

I used Julee's current Mojo Monday sketch as the basis for my card and went top left to bottom right on the diagonal across the board with die cut-embossing-blue for another fruity card for you this week - take a look:

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

Berry Blessings - Today's card is all about the free - free product that is! Both the stamp set and the designer series papers on today's card are part of the Berry Blessings bundle that is one of the free products available with a Stampin' Up! order of £90 or more during Sale-A-Bration. I love the designer papers that feature both the blueberries and raspberries in the bundled stamp set and also the strawberries from the Sweet Strawberry bundle - fruity patterns and also some fabulous checks and plaid. This card is all about the blues and greens, so I chose two plaids that would co-ordinate with my blueberry focal point. They just so happen to also be perfect for Stesha's takeover at TGIF Challenges this week where they are all about the plaid too. I also used the stamp set for the sentiment and a little extra stamping on the inside of my card too:

Stitched Shapes - The layers of Julee's sketch allowed me to fully indulge of my love of stitched shapes: rectangles for the background and then a circle as the base for my fussy cut berries. These are my most used of all my dies and the circles are for sure a staple - I just love the way they elevate a humble shape into something just a little bit more.

It's In The Details - I did a lot of fussy cutting on my berries and leaves, so wanted to add only a few extra small details. The embossing that completes my tic-tac-toe line is both dry embossing using my favourite Subtles folder on the white layer, and a white heat-embossed sentiment on my blue sentiment banner. I also added a simple white twine bow (with my banner that makes my two things from the Just Add Ink list this week) and a single pearl to the centre of my blue flower. You can see those finishing touches better below:

I really love how this card came together. Pacific Point was one of the first ink pads I ever bought when I started stamping, yet it isn't a colour I use often now so it was great to get it out for this card. I love that most of the rest of the product that I used was free - links to the store below if you'd like to snap up this bundle 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:

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 were forecast more snow here in the UK this weekend, but yesterday both James Juniors were disappointed to find temperatures had plummeted but it was more like freezing rain than snow. Today they will be hoping for the proper white stuff so that we can build another snowman! If not, we have some cooking to do and we might even get cracking on a knitting project that we've been promising to start for a while. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BERRY BLESSINGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SWEET STRAWBERRY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£17.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	SUBTLE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)
TRIPLE BANNER PUNCH (£21.00)	SNAIL MAIL TWINE COMBO PACK (£6.50)	PACIFIC POINT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made using the first sketch of the year over at Fab Friday:

It's definitely a keeper, and is a sketch with lots of possibilities - I would definitely suggest you check out the DT cards and those in this week's gallery, as there are some great crafty creations. I considered a few options, but ended up going super simple and making a couple of cards to showcase some of my favourite FREE Sale-A-Bration papers - take a look:

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

I just love the colours and bold floral patterns of the Paper Blooms paper, so decided to make a couple of cards with two of the patterns. A simple Night of Navy offset mat, sentiment in a Stitched Rectangle and added a loop of denim ribbon to each:

Here's the second one that I made where I flipped the colours:

And a shot of both cards together:

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:

PAPER BLOOMS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	HYDRANGEA HAVEN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£24.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SEASIDE SPRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	3/8" (1 CM) DENIM RIBBON (£6.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

I chose a simple layout for my sketch so that it give lots of creative licence. I decided to take the opportunity to break out another new bundle, or two bundles in fact. Today's card is all about the berries - take a look:

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

Sweet Strawberry - Today's starting point was the strawberry that I used to anchor my sentiment - courtesy of the Sweet Strawberry stamp set. The set comes complete with two-step stamps for a berry, flower, leaf and stem, in addition to a selection of varied sentiments. Interesting fact for you: did you know that technically, a strawberry is not actually a berry at all? Botanists call the strawberry a "false fruit," or a pseudocarp. A strawberry is actually a multiple fruit which consists of many tiny individual fruits embedded in a fleshy receptacle. Who knew?! I also used the stamps to decorate the inside of my card:

Strawberry Builder Punch Tip - A stamp set with a co-ordinating punch is always great for quick embellishments and whilst I've shared this tip with you before, I thought it worth reminding you of a great way to save even more time with a builder-type punch. Create a mask using a piece of cardstock with all of the pieces punched out as a guide to stamp the individual pieces. This way, when you put the stamped cardstock into the punch, all of the images are aligned and punch out perfectly - check out the photo below to see what I mean:

Berry Blessings - What could be better than one berry bundle? Well, two of course! One of this year's Sale-A-Bration freebies with a £90 purchase is the Berry Blessings bundle, comprising the Berry Blessings stamp set that features the sentiment on the front of my card along with the Berry Delightful DSP, full of great berry patterns and coloured ginghams and plaids. These bundles co-ordinate perfectly with each other and if you have one, you are probably going to want the other too - check out the hand-painted look below:

This is the first card I've made with these bundles, but they won't be the last - there lots more berries, patterns and colours to choose from!

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. 

IEnjoy your day; we are forecast snow here in the UK today; the James Juniors are very excited, although I'm not sure it will be enough to build a snowman - I'll update you tomorrow! I'll be back then with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET STRAWBERRY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£30.50)	BERRY BLESSINGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

Friday already? Where did that week go?! Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for my favourite, a sketch challenge:

I need to warn you up front - this is a photo-heavy post with lots to look at! I took the sketch quite literally and decided to use that layered shape to make another card using my Floral Hearts Dies. Here's the card I made - take a look:

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

Photographing Foil - I couldn't resist another of those fabulous foil floral hearts, so decided to go with Rococco Rose foil again and a Rococco Rose/White colour scheme. I addition to my heart, I layered a cluster of layered flowers and leaves to the right of my heart. Foil is super tricky to photograph though, whether in natural or artificial light, because of it's reflective qualities. Here's another shot below - I just can't explain how beautiful this foil is in real life:

Reverse Ombre Kaleidescope Heart - I had seen a sunburst-type technique using the Oh So Ombre paper (yours free with a £45 purchase during Sale-A-Bration before the end of 28 February) and decided that with the floral cluster on the right of the heart, this would provide the perfect anchor for a similar effect on the centre of my heart. This technique is really easy to achieve: You need to cut two identical shapes, in my case hearts, but with the ombre design of the paper reversed each time, i.e. the first one needs to go light to dark from left to right, and the the second one needs to go dark to light from left to right. You then cut them identically into sections, and switch out alternating pieces before piecing back together. I used the very pale side of the paper for my heart, and I just love the subtle effect. You can see it more closely below:

Even More Foil - I loved this card so much, I decided to make another using Very Vanilla and Blushing Bride, this time using the Love You Always Specialty Foil Papers for the centre of my heart:

 Both cards feature the same sentiment and the first one is decorated with the edge of some linen scalloped ribbon, whilst this one has a tab of the pretty metallic Blushing Bride ribbon that features in the suite - check out those specialty foils below:

So, so pretty! I also remembered to take a picture of the inside of this one - I finished it with a sentiment from the Bloom & Grow stamp set:

I'm linking the first of today's cards up over at Global Design Project #GDP275 for their Love theme this week, and the second one over at SUO Challenges where they too are celebrating with a Love theme for their current challenge.

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

 And the second one:

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 sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

Enjoy your day. I have a day of household chores today, but will be rewarded with dinner being cooked for me today - young Master James has his practical Food & Nutrition lesson today and is cooking rissotto, so we are delaying the 'lesson' until dinner so that we can enjoy the fruits of his labour fresh from the stove. I'm looking forward to it already! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ALWAYS IN MY HEART BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	LOVE YOU ALWAYS FOIL SHEETS (£9.25)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	ROCOCO ROSE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
OH SO OMBRE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	ROCOCO ROSE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	ROCOCO ROSE 1/2" (1.3 CM) SCALLOPED LINEN RIBBON (£7.50)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
LOVE YOU ALWAYS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLUSHING BRIDE 3/8" (1 CM) METALLIC RIBBON (£5.50)

Today I have a couple of cards to share, the first one is this one that I made using Linda's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and the Color Throwdown colour palette: 

Linda's sketch is a keeper so I just had to play along and those bright colours were perfect for lifting my spirits as I looked out at yet another grey sky on Saturday morning. I thought I would break out one of my new Sale-A-Bration free sets for some super simple stamping - take a look:

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

Today's card is so easy to recreate: the 'A Touch of Ink' stamp set, yours FREE with a Stampin' Up! purchase of £90 or more during Sale-A-Bration, is a two-step stamp set that contains outlines and infills and lots of great sentiments. I stamped the leaves in Granny Apple Green directly onto my stitched rectangle of basic white cardstock and added some flower heads in Melon Mambo, that I had stamped onto a scrap piece and roughly cut by hand (the outline and infills don't line up directly so are great for beginners or quick cards - no need to be super-accurate!), giving them a bit of a crumple before adding them to my card. I finished the centres of these with a few basic pearls, then added a fussy cut hummingbird, stamped in all three challenge colours (I inked my stamp up using a sponge dauber) and popped this up on dimensionals, adding a liberal brushing of clear Wink of Stella for some subtle sparkle. And that's it - stamps, ink and paper (save the stitched rectangle detail, which you could easily forgo). #SimpleStamping - there's nothing to it! 

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 love this colour combo and used my retired Blueberry Bushel ink and cardstock as my blue as I wanted something vibrant (and hence why it isn't listed below). Did you know today is know as 'Blue Monday', unofficially the most depressing day of the year when we are all suffering our post-Christmas blues? In the current lockdown here in the UK there is certainly lots to make us feel fed up; I am still trying to look on the bright side though and will be sending this card to someone today to let them know I am thinking of them and hopefully brighten their day too!

Enjoy your day; I have lots on but will be back later as I have another card to share. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A TOUCH OF INK PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)

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

I used the sketch over at Global Design Project for my layout (I rotated it through 180 degrees) and was also inspired by the snowman and the blue and white winter sentiment over at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week for my clean and simple snow card - take a look:

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

I used the Oh So Ombre free Sale-A-Bration paper as the base for my card and heat-embossed the cute skyward-looking snowman onto the ombre paper in white, adding a little extra white with a chalk marker. I added my sentiment, finishing with the word 'snow' made out of the Playful Alphabet letters in white and replacing the 'o' with a glittery white glimmer paper snowflake. Finally I added a sprinkling of sequins from a selection of mixes in my stash amongst the falling snow:

I think I might add this card to next year's Christmas card stash - not that it ever snows here in the UK at Christmas, much to the disappointment of the James Juniors who continue to live in hope! We had the tiniest dusting yesterday morning first thing but it didn't hang around, and we are forecast a return to drizzle and grey skies by today! Hope my little snowman brings some cheer your way in lieu of some sunshine.

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; nothing much happening here this weekend as we continue to endure lockdown. I am enjoying having more time to read and build Lego and as a family we seem to have rediscovered chess this past week as we finished watching 'The Queen's Gambit' on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, I can highly recommend it. And you can't bit a game of chess for immersive distraction! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SNOWMAN SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£17.00)	PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
WHITE STAMPIN' CHALK MARKER (£3.25)	OH SO OMBRE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	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 the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has an interesting colour challenge for us to work with:

Now I know I said Ann had an 'interesting' colour challenge for us this week ... what I really meant to say was 'incredibly difficult'!! Or at least, it was for me this week! Whilst I don't mind any of these colours in their own, or even paired, as a trio I struggled with them. All three are featured in the new Dandy Garden designer series paper, and usually DSP would be my first port of call for a colour challenge, but the truth is I am not a fan of this pack! Or at least, I should qualify that by saying I'm not a fan of the sides with mixed colours - the monochromatic patterns in this pack are just lovely! Anyway, I had to call in help for this one, both in the form of this week's Paper Craft Crew sketch and a certain James Junior - take a look at what we came up with:

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

A Trio Of Triangles - I was drawn to this week's PCC sketch with its three triangles, as I had been having a team chat this week with one of my team who has been using her stitched triangles as part of an ongoing challenge and I mentioned that I had bought these before Christmas but not yet used them and I thought the sketch would be a good way to remedy that. The trio would also enable me to work in this week's colours, so provided a great starting point.

A Darling Donkey - I then needed to decide upon my neutral colour; this is where Rebecca, the self-confessed 'brains' behind today's card, suggested I go with grey and a donkey from the super cute 'Darling Donkeys' stamp set, one of the sets that can be yours free with a £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration. So I coloured one of the funny kicking donkeys and fussy cut it out - perfect!

Hinge-Step HeeHaw - Finally, I just had to work out what to do use for the horizontal background panel. I decided to go with a tri-colour sentiment block, made up of alternating colours of 'heehaw!', one of the sentiments in the Darling Donkeys set. I used my Stampuratus and moved the plates up and down the hinge to perfectly space my words to create a seamless flow across the page. The Stamparatus made light work of the stamping, although 'the hands' (Rebecca's reference to my contribution!) were definitely not working as quickly as 'the brain' (apparently, since it was all her idea!!) I finished my card with a birthday sentiment and a trio of enamel dots. 

Despite my initial reservations about this week's colours, I'm actually pretty pleased with the end result. What do you think? Did Team James pull it off?! Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'll be linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges too where they have 'Designer's Choice' themes 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 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; I'm hoping to do a little crafting and maybe wrap up and brave the elements for a brisk walk - but I'll see what the temperatures are like first! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STITCHED TRIANGLES DIES (£33.00)	DARLING DONKEYS CLING STAMP SET (£0.00)	CLASSIC LABEL PUNCH (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	2020–2022 IN COLOR ENAMEL DOTS (£7.50)