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:

So many ways I could have gone with this one! I loved the row of brightly coloured tulips across the bottom of the current inspiration photo over at HandStampedSentiments and the bright green backgrounds on the two pictures above so I thought I would create another card full of spring blooms with this week's sketch - take a look:

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

Artistry Blooms - I saw this background on a card by Tami Hewlett recently (you can see Tami's card here) and I loved the effect so was keen to re-create it. I've played around with reverse ombre before, using the Sale-A-Bration Oh So Ombre papers but as today's card shows, the Artistry Blooms paper in the annual catalogue also has some great ombre patterns that you can have some fun with too. I've featured some of the other colour combinations from this pack previously, but this yellow through green piece is the perfect backdrop for some spring flowers I think. 

Timeless Tulips - I chose to feature brightly coloured spring tulips on my card; I simply stamped and punched a whole bunch of them, along with leaves, and built them up behind the cross panel, where I chose to feature my sentiment:

 I had a couple of leaves and tulips left over so I added those the the inside of my card too:

Magnolia Memory Border - Aside from adding a sprinkling of dew-like faceted gems and some gold sparklies too, the final detail on my card is the Magnolia Memory border die that I used along the base of my inner rectangle for added interest and detail.

I know this card has an Easter sentiment and this occasion has already passed this year, but it was the perfect fit for my rectangle and I figure it's one off my list for next year - you can never be too organised!

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

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a 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.

I am busy with laundry and household chores today. With one of the James Juniors back to school following the recent break, I have only one at home. Unfortunately today he is definitely behaving like 'Kevin the Teenager' from that infamous Harry Enfield sketch: as I move from room to room, he grunts then slopes off in search of peace elsewhere - he is clearly not in helpful mood today! So back to it - enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TIMELESS TULIPS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	TULIP BUILDER PUNCH (£17.00)	MAGNOLIA MEMORY DIES (£29.70)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)
GILDED GEMS (£6.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Wei has asked that we create something with the following layout:

 Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I wanted to showcase one of my most favourite retiring circles of all time, one of the circles from the Stitched Shapes Dies (unfortunately already out of stock and discontinued by the time you read this):

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

I chose to feature Magenta Madness as the colour with my black and white colour combo today for the current challenge over at Color Dare, but this card would work paired with any colour. I cut a partial circle from the front of my card and infilled it with a piece of window sheet, and added a stitched circle to the acetate panel. I added a sheet of In-Colour DSP with a circle pattern to the inside of my card so that a small portion of it could be seen through my cardfront. Whilst the outside of my card has plenty of white space, inside there's not so much! Wondering what I did with the piece of cardstock I removed to accommodate my window sheet? I flipped it and adhered it to the inside of my card to write my greeting:

 Waste not, want not and all that! I added a stacked birthday diecut from the retiring Well Written dies along with a stamped greeting from 'A Wish For Everything' to complete the front of my card:

Super simple but I really like it! What do you think? Do leave me a comment below - I would 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 '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:

WELL WRITTEN DIES (EN) (£37.00)	2020–2022 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)
WINDOW SHEETS (£4.75)	MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	A WISH FOR EVERYTHING CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£36.00)

What is Paper Pumpkin? For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription service that offers a unique variety of paper projects for crafters of any skill level to enjoy! These all-inclusive craft kits encourage Stampin’ Up! customers to explore their creativity, try new techniques, and discover their potential in paper-crafting. For now, Paper Pumpkin is only available as a subscription in North America. But, every now and then, Stampin' Up! offers a Paper Pumpkin kit to customers across the globe!

The Bouquet of Hope Paper Pumpkin Kit is the latest kit that has been made available to all markets. It provides a way to offer comfort, care, and condolences to those enduring life’s challenges. With beautiful blooms and supportive sentiments, this kind-hearted kit will allow you to soothe others’ sorrow and share your sympathy in a heartfelt, handmade way! While you can create nine comforting cards—three each of three designs, plus coordinating envelopes—with the kit’s components, the versatile stamp set included in the kit can be used to uplift loved ones during trying times, any time. And, if you snagged a stack of Flower & Field Designer Series Paper during Sale-A-Bration, you can combine it with the kit’s extra elements and enjoy even more coordinated cardmaking!

The kit contains the following items:

• The Bouquet of Hope Stamp Set, an exclusive stamp set not available anywhere else!
• A Stampin’ Spot
• Enough materials to create nine cards, including patterned card bases, decorative die-cut pieces, embellishments, and more!
• Nine coordinating envelopes
• Adhesive

A clear block is not included. Would you like to take a closer look? Here's the video that was released in the USA to promote this kit earlier in the year:

I will be running an online craft-along with this kit on Monday 10th May, to both craft, chat and make the kit and look at alternative ways to use the contents and leftovers too. Anyone who has purchased a kit is welcome to join me - just get in touch for the details. If you would like to order one, the Bouquet of Hope Paper Pumpkin kit is available in my online store for £20, whilst supplies last. Get yours today!

BOUQUET OF HOPE PAPER PUMPKIN KIT (ENGLISH) (£20.00)

IJust popping by with some advance notice that the Clearance Rack is due to update tomorrow (which may in fact be from 11pm tonight) and there will be lots of new items available at a discount. As is always the case, popular items will sell out quickly, so don't spend too long deliberating - get in there quick! There will undoubtedly be some great bargains - why not hop on over and take a look?

Click here to go the clearance rack in my online store and grab a bargain whilst stocks last! Don't forget to include the current hostess code 3XTNB243 and make sure that I am selected as your demonstrator in order that you receive a 'thank you' in the post from me. 

Race you to the shop - first one there gets the bargains! Happy shopping! 

Happy Monday everyone! Not sure where today has gone so this post will be a quick one as The James Juniors are back to swimming this evening so I need to go at prep the dinner! I promised a second card using Jen B's Freshly Made Sketches sketch this week and I'm also entering another card over Just Add Ink, this time with a 'feathers and leaves' combo: 

I went with another border die for that wonky central column - this time from the Curvy Dies set:

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

The ivy-leaved die produces an embossed column with the ivy leaves diecut out. So I decided to use another of the dies in the set to create a hard border alongside so that I could overlay a white panel onto my Old Olive base, and then ran the die through my diecutting machine again, this time in Mossy Meadow, and then I paper-pieced the leaves into the gaps, adhering each one at an angle from the base - hopefully you can see what I mean from the photo below:

I added my sentiment from the 'Quite Curvy' stamp set directly to the cardbase, adding a bird from the same set that I perched onto the 'hello' itself. I coloured my bird like a blue tit and added another to the inside of my card 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. 

Short and sweet from me today; I'll be tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

QUITE CURVY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£38.50)

MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

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

I used Julee's Mojo Monday sketch and another of my favourite retiring stamp sets to create some less-than-traditional florals - take a look:

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

Beautiful Friendship - I chose to create a cluster of florals as the centrepiece for today's card using the 'Beautiful Friendship' stamp set. I thought those large, loose-petalled roses would be perfect in Merry Merlot, with some grape hyacinths in Misty Moonlight, along with some Crumb Cake leaves. This is not only my most favourite floral stamp set in the retiring annual catalogue, it is I think one of my favourite floral stamp sets of all time (and a keeper for sure!) 

Well Written - I decided to add a diecut sentiment using the retiring Well-Written framelits to the front of my card, cutting the word 'friend' twice and offsetting it to give a shadow - you can see the detail closer in the image below:

A ribbon bow tied with twine finished the front of my card.

And Finally - In addition to the stitched scallop rectangle that I used on the front of my card, I stamped the greeting from the stamp set on a stitched rectangle and added it to the centre of the inside of my card, along with a stamped corner floral detail:

I thought I would struggle with this colour combination, but I actually really liked LeAnne's colour choices this week. I'm also linking today's card up over at Just Add Ink - my card features petals and leaves as my chosen 'two'. 

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; it's been really cold here these past few days so I'm thinking today will be spent indoors with a little more Lego building and family fun. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£20.00)	STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	BE MINE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	WELL WRITTEN DIES (EN) (£37.00)	2020–2022 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)
MISTY MOONLIGHT 2020–2022 IN COLOR RIBBON (£5.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MERRY MERLOT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MERRY MERLOT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

This evening I've a quick post to share a card I made with this week's Color Throwdown colours and this week's Freshly Made Sketches sketch: 

 I was intrigued by Jen B's sketch this week and made a couple of cards with it (I'll share the second one on Monday). Usually I would create a channel with that sketch and focus on some DSP in that gap, but I found myself today looking at it differently. Here's what I came up with:

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

I created a layered floral border to run down the centre of my card front using one of the Ornate Borders dies, accenting some of the flowers and paper-piecing others. I added some coloured pearls to the centres and then a sentiment from the 'Lovely You' set directly onto the card front to finish:

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; 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:

CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
LOVELY YOU CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)

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

I went down the middle column with Florals, Free and Any Shape Die and used the current colours over at Less Is More for another outing with my Bloom and Grow stamp set - take a look:

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

Bloom And Grow - I stamped the same floral bough that I used on Tuesday's card, but this time just used the outline in Basic Grey and stamped it onto a piece of Rococco Rose ombre paper, having first masked off my heart shape with copy paper, as I wanted the flowers to edge my heart but the heat itself to remain uninked. 

A Subtles Ombre - Before adding my diecut heart or sentiment or adhering to my card base, I ran my sheet of stamped ombre paper through my Subtles embossing folder for a little added textural detail. I cannot believe this embossing folder is retiring - it's a real 'how will I ever live without you?' product for me! 

A Stitched Heart - I decided to make a feature of the gold element on my card. so went for a simple stitched heart outline die that sat in front of those masked florals, and I wove my sentiment strip under and over it. I added a trio of opal rounds for a little extra pink/gold sparkle to complete my card:

So what do you think? Another trio of items from my craft stash I will be sad to say goodbye to. Thank goodness there is a new Stampin' Up! catalogue on the way to soften the blow!

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 evening; I am about to join an online catalogue launch event for demonstrators - exciting stuff! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BLOOM & GROW PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£14.40)	BE MINE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SUBTLE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	OPAL ROUNDS (£7.00)

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

For my card today I used the sketch layout over at Fusion along with our colours this week for some pretty florals and start the process of saying goodbye to one of my favourite floral sets in the annual catalogue - take a look:

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

Bloom And Grow - I love the floral boughs in the 'Bloom and Grow' stamp set that a perfect for a spot of colouring and chose a simple floral that allowed for all three challenge colours to be featured then die cut with the co-ordinating Budding Blooms Dies. 

In Stitches - There are also a few stitched elements to my card today: I placed my sentiment on a Stitched Shapes circle and added a stitched scalloped border from the 'Stitched Me Mine' Dies to my white panel. Both of these die sets are also retiring at the end of the month - so if you don't have them, grab them whilst you still can.

Balancing Black - Having considered stamping my sentiment black-on-white straight onto my panel, I eventually opted for the reverse and heat embossed my sentiment on black. It provided better contrast and really compliments the Bumblebee yellow I think, whilst not encroaching overly on my 'white space':

So what do you think? I'd love you to leave me a comment below with 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 '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:

BLOOM & GROW PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£14.40)	BUDDING BLOOMS DIES (£7.75)	BE MINE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	BUMBLEBEE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	MOSSY MEADOW STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	MANY MARVELOUS MARKERS (£112.75)

Happy Easter Monday one and all!  We have recently had a couple of new families move into our street and so I was in need of a couple of welcome cards, so I combined a few current challenges to help me out in my quest:

Kim has a great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and since I was using a long-retired stamp I combined with some cheery rainbow colours so that I could play along with the team over at Retro Rubber. My stripes are also perfect for this week's challenge over at Just Us Girls. So what did I come up with? Take a look:

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

I used an old retired set from 2016 called 'Welcome Words' for today's card, heat embossing the large 'Welcome' in retired Blueberry Bushel embossing powder onto a Balmy Blue card base, then stamping a selection of houses with the remainder of my greeting onto a stitched scalloped rectangle and colouring with a selection of Blends in rainbow colours. I also added a little red resin heart floating from the chimney of one house for an extra fun detail:

I decided to create a rainbow-striped vertical panel to connect my 'welcome' to my panel of houses and the remainder of my greeting. 'Welcome Words' was such a keeper for me - it's great for cards like this.

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project as the stamp set is retired and it's the kind of project you could make with pretty much any colours. 

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