Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'St Patrick's Day' which is on March 17th. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. I used the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday (and their option of stripes) and I used green, gold, clover, gnomes and luck from the inspo board to create my good luck card this week - take a look:

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

I used a mix of the sadly now retired Dandy Designs papers for my background and frame - Sale-A-Bration may be over again for another year but I love these papers so don't be surprised to still see me use them from time to time and stamped my girly gnome onto a stitched rectangle and coloured her with my Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blends. I coloured her hair with Pumpkin Pie - I went for a stereotypically Irish look to compliment one of my favourite good luck sentiments, from the retired set 'A Wish For Everything'. An oversized punched four-leaf clover with a gem centre and two gold pearl shoe buckles complete my card:

I just love this cute gnomie and it will be perfect to wish the eldest of the James Juniors good luck when she starts her A Level exams. I am going to have to make another one using a boy gnome in this set since the youngest of the Juniors is also sitting GCSEs at the same time and couldn't possibly be left out, so watch this space!

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'm also linking today's card up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges where they have the theme of shades of green/St Patrick's Day - and my card today has a touch of both!

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDLY GNOMES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
SHADED SPRUCE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

I managed to squeeze in a little crafty time today to make a card just in time for this week's challenge over at Just Us Girls:

It's Clean and Simple Week and the theme of colouring - two of my favourite things, so I'm so glad I managed to find a little time for some mindful colouring today. I still had my Friendly Gnomes stamp set out on my desk from tomorrow's project (consider this one an 'extra'!) and stamped and cut out one of the gnomes out with the co-ordinating Gnomes Dies for my card - take a look:

I paired my gnome with an 'XOXO' sentiment, made with my Alphabet A La Mode Dies, replacing the last O with my heart-hugging gnome. I coloured my gnome with my Stampin' Blends (listed in the table below). These are my favourite medium to colour with; my top colouring tip is to use lots of colours and to work in small, circular motions, from the outside of the shape inwards, blending as you go. To get a smooth, blended look, be prepared to go over and over each layer of colour until you have achieved a look you are happy with. As a final touch, I added some clear Wink of Stella to the heart that the gnome is holding.

That's all there is to it! I finished the inside with the sentiment 'There's GNOME-ONE BETTER than you' - got to love a good pun! I'm also linking today's card up over at The Alphabet Challenge where they are on 'X is for XOXOXO'.

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:

FRIENDLY GNOMES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	GNOMES DIES (29.00)	ALPHABET À LA MODE DIES (40.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
BERMUDA BAY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (7.50)

Happy Wednesday everyone! Sale-A-Bration may be over for another year, but the first day of a new month brings exciting news with two new announcements for you. First up - Online Exclusives!

Online Exclusives offer a great opportunity for new experiences! You won’t find these products in any catalogue; they are fresh, never-before-seen products to spark your creativity and expand your crafting collection - all from the convenience of the online store. You can see all of the items that have been launched today in my online store by clicking here.

Here are images of just some of the products available:

There will be a number of Online Exclusive product releases throughout the year so be sure to keep up to date!

Secondly, the latest addition to the Kits Collection by Stampin’ Up! also launches today and can be found in the online store.

The Colorful Kaleidoscope Kit is filled with geometric shapes and unique kaleidoscopic patterns. This kit includes 9 full-size cards, 3 each of 3 designs, measuring 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (10.8 x 14 cm) and 9 coordinating envelopes and retails at £22. You can order yours in the online store by clicking here and here's a link to the unboxing video if you'd like a closer look:

That's all for today! Remember if you are shopping with me in the online store, remember to use the host code for March in order to receive a little thank you from me in the post.

Back soon with a creative post - until then, happy shopping!

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 a sketch challenge for us to work with:

This is a great sketch from Jaydee this week and although we have the option to use any shape, I decided that the square format with a large central focal point would be a great opportunity to play with the largest of the Pretty Pop Up Dies which I haven't used for a while. So I grabbed the fresh colour palette over at Inkspirational and this is what I came up with:

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

Have you seen the Pretty Pop Up Dies? They are another of those 'hidden gems' in the annual catalogue. You can find them on page 173 and they are a set of standalone dies without a co-ordinating stamp set. They consist of a range of shaped panels and individual pieces that have this amazing pop-up detail. The panel dies cut in one run through the die cutting machine - so easy! I cut mine on a piece of Whisper White, then coloured the individual pieces with my Stampin' Blends. I added some clear Wink of stella to my butterfly and dragonfly wings and added some (retired) Daffodil Delight pearls to the small flower centres:

I used a (retired) large circle die to cut out the panel and cut a circular frame in Tahitian Tide to tie it in to the background. I added in some foliage around my centre, made up by cutting the corner foliage piece from the Around the Bend Dies and creating a square (-ish) shape, layering four cut from Granny Apple Green cardstock and another four in Whisper White that I coloured with my light Granny Apple Green Blends marker and offsetting them to allow the colours to blend.

This is a completely no-stamping card; I just couldn't bring myself to cover up any of that pretty diecut detail, so I will make up for that on the inside. 

So what do you think of today's card? 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 am catching up today following my 2 day visit to Newcastle. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PRETTY POP-UPS DIES (30.00)	AROUND THE BEND DIES (31.00)	TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	2022–2024 IN COLOR™ 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)
TAHITIAN TIDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where our leader and chief organiser, the lovely Heather C, has a recipe challenge for us with a distinctly feminine feel:

Recipe challenges usually send me into a bit of a spin, but this one actually worked out surprisingly well for me! I was inspired to have a go at a fancy fold card layout that was recently shared by Stampin' Up's CEO, Sara Douglas and decided to take the opportunity to make my Mother's Day card and use a new floral stamp set that will be available for just a few more days - take a look:

This is a photo-heavy post, so time to get comfy! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Beautifully Happy - The flower at the centrepiece of today's card is from the 'Beautifully Happy' stamp set - one of the items that can be yours FREE with a £90 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. Can you believe I've had this set for almost 2 months and this is the first time I've used it?! So many stamp sets, so little time! Anyway, I digress - this is a two-step stamp set, with an outline that can be used along and coloured freehand, or alternatively used with the infill stamps. I wanted to heat-emboss my flower, so my Stamparatus was key here: I stamped the flower outline in Sahara Sand, then added the infills without removing from my Stamparatus, then stamped the outline again in Versamark and heat-embossed in gold. I fussy cut the main stem and added a gold pearl for the stamen and used this flower  as the centrepiece of my card:

I also added a stemless version inside and a single bloom to my envelope label, and I used the outline for some tone-on-tone stamping on the first inside layer of my card - you can see below how the card opens:

The sentiment in the heart on the front of my card is also from this stamp set. If 'Beautifully Happy' is on your Sale-A-Bration wishlist, you have just 4 days to place your £90 order and receive this stamp set for free. Time to get shopping!

Texture Chic - The recipe ingredient of 'distressed paper' sent me immediately reaching for my Distressed Gold Specialty Paper and Texture Chic Specialty Designer Series Papers - both add a distressed look without any tearing or self-made grunge, neither of which are my style! The Texture Chic papers also include various shades of pink to compliment my Petal Pink stamped flower and lots of faux-texture. I also added actual texture with my Painted Texture Embossing Folder on the panel behind my fussy cut flower stem. 

The Distressed Gold paper is just beautiful; I used it to add some hatched diecut details on both the front and left inside panels:

Here's a close-up of that detail on the left (the diecut sentiment uses the now retired Word Wishes Dies):

I also used the Distressed Gold Paper to create a pocket using the Split Textures Dies:

I handwrote my Mother's Day message, along with a poem, on a separate card that I tucked in here after photographing.

Fancy Inside and Out - A fancy card with a little bulk requires a fancy envelope too, so I created a simple file folder style, adding some retired ribbon and a scalloped address label. You can see in properly below:

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. 

It's not Mother's Day here in the UK until next month (March 19th) but it pays to be organised! Equally, if you don't make or send Mother's Day cards, this could be easily adapted and used as a fancy birthday card for someone special. These kinds of card do take a long time to make, however for someone special it's totally worth it. I'm linking up today's card over at The Flower Challenge where they are asking us to use our newest flower stamps and dies - it looks like I'm getting there just in time!

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. I'm off to the hairdressers first thing then am collecting the eldest of the James Juniors and a friend for a trip up north to Newcastle for a university offer day tomorrow, so that should be fun. I'll be back Sunday with my project for this week's Paper Players challenge so do join me then. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHIC DIES (35.00)	PAINTED TEXTURE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (8.50)	SPLIT CARD TEXTURES DIES (27.00)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)	DISTRESSED GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (4.75)	TEXTURE CHIC 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (14.00)
SUBTLES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) CARDSTOCK (13.00)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	SOFT SUCCULENT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)

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 Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went across the middle row with Easter, free and floral and had some fun fussy cutting some of my Sale-A-Bration designer series papers - take a look:

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

The Dainty Flowers designer series papers that are free with a £45 purchase during Sale-A-Bration are just lovely! I made a few different cards with these papers for my open house, but haven't gotten around to sharing them here. There is one sheet that has some beautiful oval frames of wildflowers and whilst you could use them as a simple frame for a stamped sentiment I had cut out some of them and wanted to show my customers how they can be used in different ways. I created a split panel using a sheet with a half oval and another half featuring one of the other patterns in the pack, and added a sentiment combining elements of the Love For You Dies with a retired Easter sentiment and added another staggered layer of fussy cut flowers: 

You do need to be a fan of fussy cutting to achieve this effect as these flowers are tiny, but I think it's worth it! The addition of a trio of brushed brass butterflies completes my Easter card.

The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring Sale-A-Bration products so I'm linking today's card there - and remember, if you'd like to snap up these Dainty Flowers papers you have just 5 more days to do so, so head on over to my online store now!

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: 

LOVE FOR YOU DIES (ENGLISH) (30.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)

Today I'm sharing a quick card that I made with the Favored Flowers designer series paper that is currently available free with a £45 purchase during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion:

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

I used up a few more of my fussy cut flowers and this time I paired with a sentiment from the 'Peaceful Moments' stamp set and some co-ordinating banners using papers from the same pack.

These papers are bold and beautiful! The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring Sale-A-Bration products this week so I'm linking today's card there - and remember, if you'd like to snap up these Favored Flowers papers you have just 6 more days to do so, so head on over to my online store now!

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:

PEACEFUL MOMENTS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and I've designed a sketch with a split horizontal panel that offers lots of possibilities:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I wanted to try out an idea I've had brewing for a while - take a look:

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

You know how much I love these 'Love Cats' and here I've used the lounging feline again; this time not on a ledge of designer paper though - I though the the background stencil in the Loveliest Layers Decorative Masks could be made to look like a quilted bedspread; I'm sure there are plenty of cat-lovers out there who allow their pets to lounge on their beds, so this card is for them! I stamped my cat in Basic Grey, masking the hearts and stamping separately in pink, then masked the whole cat with masking paper and added my stencil detail, using Tahitian Tide first, then rotating the stencil and filling in the gaps with Starry Sky to create my quilted effect. I added a scrap of stitched white cardstock to one end to suggest a folded sheet and my sentiment to finish my card. Here's a closer look at the stencilling:

So the question is - did you see what I saw with these stencils? I'm wondering if I should have added a scallop-edged 'pillow' with my sentiment to further add to the effect - maybe next time! I am thoroughly enjoying exploring with stencils - I'm also linking up for a second entry over at Inkspirational where they are focusing on stencils for their current challenge. If like me you are discovering the delights of stencils, do check out their design team cards and gallery too - lots of lovely stencil inspiration. 

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:

LOVE CATS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	LOVELIEST LAYERS DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

Today I've a quick post in between my housework to share a card I made for a few challenges:

I was intrigued by Kim's stripes on her Freshly Made Sketches layout this week and wanted to try and use them for a slightly different, slightly abstract card using the trio of blues over at Color Dare - take a look:

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

I added a panel of alternating stripes and used these as a backdrop for a pair of waves in white and (retired) night of Navy foil, cut with my Waves Dies - I thought these colours had quite a nautical feel to them. A simple birthday sentiment from the co-ordinating 'Waves of Inspiration' stamp set completed the front of my card:

I added a little decoration to the inside of my card, this time stamping the wave and adding a trio of stripes to extend it to the edge, along with another sentiment from the set:

A clean and simple card that will be perfect for a masculine birthday - so I'm linking up over at Sparkles too where they are creating for 'men only' this month and over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog where they are on 'W for Water'.

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. 

Short and sweet from me today - dinner needs to be prepared and there is an overflowing ironing basket to be tackled! Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WAVES DIES (32.00)

WAVES OF INSPIRATION CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

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 clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Isn't a cup of tea the cure for all ills? It is in my house, for sure! As such I reached for the 'Cup of Tea' stamp set and set about creating a soothing paper-based version for the perfect pick-me-up, using this week's Color Throwdown colours and the layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments - take a look:

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

Claire has chosen 'get well soon' as our theme however since it is clean and simple week, it's worth a reminder of what we at The Paper Players mean by Clean and Simple:

• Minimal layers and embellishments
• Plenty of open space, aka "white" space
• Simple and uncluttered

I have taken a slight liberty with my card today - ordinarily I would have not included the dots & spots diecut layer, but I liked this additional detail, especially with the three panels, and it seemed a little too 'clean' without, so I decided to go with it! My card is otherwise simple and uncluttered, with minimal layers and embellishments, so that's all good.

I added a cup of tea, stamped and filled with flowers as the focal point for my card and added a couple of lemon slices and my fussy cut sentiment to finish:

If you are under the weather, I think this card would be the perfect way to send get well wishes.

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: 

CUP OF TEA BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (43.00)	DOTS & SPOTS DIE (30.00)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)