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

I pondered Laurie's sketch this week and resisted the urge to go clean and simple and instead went for lots of layers and details. I'm on a mission to use up some of my designer series paper (well, I need to justify buying the new designs when the new catalogue arrives!) so decided I would make one the focus of my card - take a look:

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

Mosaic Mood - I received a free pack of Mosaic Mood paper at Onstage when the current catalogue was launched and I have to confess it wasn't a pattern that I was immediately drawn to. I didn't like the accompanying stamp set and left to my own devices I probably would not have purchased it at all. Truth is, this paper has surprised me - I have had lots of fun with it, cutting out the patterns and stripes and have made lots of projects with it. It was a good choice for my card today - I chose a background pattern and then a floral for the framed centre and decorated my frame with a fussy cut rose and leaves. Funny how things work out, right?

Heirloom Frames - I used one of the embossed Heirloom Frames to separate my two designs. The texture adds interest and detail to the layers on my card.

A Well Written Sentiment - The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring diecut sentiments on their projects for the current challenge and that was just what I needed for my sentiment still to have impact and be seen. I chose to use the 'birthday' from the Well Written Framelits - they are perfect paired with the 'Well Said' stamp set, both of which are carrying over into the new catalogue I am pleased to say - these are keepers!

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 spent the morning crafting yesterday so have lots to share with you this week! Yesterday turned into a glorious day of sunshine so we enjoyed time outside and an evening BBQ, with a welcome break from online lessons. Hopefully today will allow for more of the same! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Woven Heirlooms Bundle	Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series Paper	Well Written Dies	Well Said Cling Stamp Set	Soft Suede A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla 3/8" (1 Cm) Scalloped Lace Trim	Iridescent Sequin Assortment

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed challenge:

I also decided to inject a shot of bright colour with the CAS Colours and Sketches colour palette that I felt strangely drawn to this week for my speedily stamped card and pulled out an old favourite - take a look:

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

Top Speed Tip: Pick A Punch - So this is really my top mass-production tip, but the reason I would always use a punch rather than die-cutting machine when mass producing is really because it saves time. Punches make light work and the Daisy Punch is a case in point. I've used it today with the Daisy Lane stamp set and I can confirm that both of these items are carrying over to the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue in June; the other stamp that co-ordinates with the Daisy Punch, Daisy Delight, is not - so if you want to add this to your collection, do it now before it's gone forever. 

Always Be Prepared - Of course, if you want to create a card in under 10 minutes, the main thing is to be prepared! I had a clear idea of what I was going to create and made sure I had all of the items I needed to hand before I started the process. It's also worth keeping the design simple; this doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be one layer, but it shouldn't be overly complicated. I managed to achieve a number of different elements on my card in a short space of time: dry embossed background, heat embossed sentiment, stamped and punched flowers (x2) and a stamped and fussy cut fern, along with gemstone decoration. I was doing so well on time I decided to add a ring of rhinestones around my central clear faceted gem (I will miss these - they make such lovely daisy centres) - I just so happened to have a long strip from a retired rhinestone pack, so didn't need to place them individually which would have taken longer - I just adhered the strip in one motion. 

A Time Triumph - I am always pushing the time limit on a speed challenge, so imagine my surprise when I managed to finish this one in record time:

Yes, 7 minutes and 18 seconds, and that included stamping and punching a third daisy too, as I tore a petal off my first one as I curved the petals in haste with my bone folder! I was so pleased with myself I thought I would share a picture of my stopwatch!! How did I use my remaining minutes? Well, I took an aerial shot of my desk so that you can see the absolute chaos that creating in 7 minutes and 18 seconds takes:

Then I brushed the craft-a-math to one side to stamp a quick daisy on the inside panel too:

I really love this card - I think the bright blue background makes this bright daisy pop.

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. 

Before you put your creative thinking caps on, why not check out the blogs of the other As You See It team members:

Amy Jasper

Heather Cooper

Jan Clothier

Jane Knudsen

LeAnne Pugliese

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 colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome. 

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pineapple Punch Classic Stampin' Pad	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock	Daisy Lane Cling Stamp Set	Daisy Punch	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder
Clear Faceted Gems	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad

Today I'm sharing a card using the current sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches:

I thought I'd tackling the tilted panel on this card and use up another piece of old patterned paper (non SU) that I found in my recent clear out that I thought would work with my Free As A Bird stamp set - take a look:

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

I did keep things simple for today's card. I paired my patterned paper with a Seaside Spray cardstock base and added an edging with some Seaside Spray ribbon, split lengthways, then added some linnen thread tied in a bow before placing my stamped panel on top. Again, I stamped my image in Seaside Spray onto Very Vanilla and added a little extra colour using my blender pen, but for the most part used the image 'as stamped'. A simple tone-on-tone sentiment onto my cardbase completes the look.

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. 

Today is officially the last day of the Easter holidays for the James Juniors and both are 'back to school', if only in the virtual sense, tomorrow. I chuckled when Ben's timetable arrived with the accompanying note to parents that went to great lengths to point out that we are 'distance learning' not 'home schooling' - if I'm not mistaken, there is more than a suggestion that the children should be getting on with it under their own steam. I'm not sure that Ben would even get to his desk for 9am under his own steam without the rush to join our daily commute, but I am encouraged that once I've managed to at least get him seated at his PC I might be able to crack on with some tasks of my own - maybe even a little crafting, so watch this space! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Free As A Bird Cling Stamp Set	Stitched Rectangle Dies	Seaside Spray A4 Cardstock	Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad	Seaside Spray 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Scalloped Linen Ribbon
Linen Thread	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock

Today I have an extra card for you in addition to my Paper Players Design Team card (you can see that card here) as I'm sharing a card I made yesterday afternoon for the current Global Design Project challenge where they are doing a 'CASE The Designer' with this pretty tulip card by Janneke de Jong:

I loved the layout on Janneke's card and wanted to use it as the basis for a CASE'd card - here's what I came up with:

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

A Lesson in CASE - There are a number of different definitions in the crafting world for the term 'CASE' and the one that the GDP team uses is 'Copy and Selectively Edit'. So if you look at my card, it has a number of similarities to Janneke's card: yellow and white are the dominant colours, I used the same sketch layout along with a single floral stem and no sentiment. There are a number of differences though too - things I have changed to make this card my own. 

A Yellow Flourish - The first of these is my choice of florals. I went full-on yellow with my card and used the single stemmed floral from the Flourish Dies for my floral. I cut it twice from Daffodil Delight cardstock and glued them together to make a stronger floral as I was using it as my uppermost layer. I used the co-ordinating stampset, Flourishing Phrases, to decorate the envelope and inside of my card too; there are lots of great sentiments in this set so when I've decided what I am going to use this card for, I will add one to the inside if needs be. Here's a quick photo of the inside:

Ornate Florals - I kept the central Stitched Nested Label as per Janneke's original card and the yellow sponging around the edge on the layer beneath - this was probably my favourite thing about this card, I love the effect - and I embossed the white label too. I chose to use the new Ornate Floral 3D embossing folder for my detail - those little flowers compliment any kind of floral I think. Here's a closeup of the detail showing the layering and texture:

 I love yellow, especially on cards and flowers - this is the kind of card that makes me happy! 

 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 this card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where embossing is the theme - this time with dry embossing as my focus. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Flourish Dies	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Stitched Nested Labels Dies
Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Flourishing Phrases Cling-Mount Stamp Set

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the wonderful Anne Marie to host this week and she has a sparkly clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

I decided to go back to one of my annual catalogue favourites, Modern Heart, for today's card - take a look:

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

A Touch of Sparkle - So with the emphasis on sparkle for today's card, I started with a base of Shimmery white. Difficult to see in the photos, the whole of the cardfront has a subtle sparkle which is so pretty in real life. I paired this with my modern heart, heat embossed in gold, that I decorated with a trio of gilded gems and a tiny geometrical heart fussy cut from gold glimmer paper. 

Clean and Simple - Whilst this week is all about sparkle, it's also 'clean and simple' week. So does today's card meet the guidelines? Minimal layers and embellishments - check. Plenty of open space, aka "white" space - check. Simple and uncluttered - check. Remember to follow this check list if you are going to play along this week!

Hearts of Blue - I decided to use blues for my card colour today; every other time I've used this set it has been with female cards in mind, so I thought it would be nice to create something with a more masculine feel. The unfussy nature of this card suits a more masculine card too - check out the detail on the heart itself:

I added a little fussy cut detail to the sentiment too for an additional pop of navy blue. I'm linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where they are featuring embossing - this time I'm going with heat embossing.

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 was wet and miserable here, so perfect for crafting; I'm hoping today will be brighter and therefore offer more chance to get outside, but either way I'm sure there will be fun to be had in one form or another! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Modern Heart Cling Stamp Set	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Gilded Gems	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

Yay it's Friday! I feel more than ever the need to start my post with the day of the week just to remind myself - is it me or do they all seem to blur into one these days?! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using this week's Color Throwdown colours: 

I wanted to have a play with my new Ornate Border Dies having seen a lovely stencilled card that my friend LeAnne created with hers. When I saw these colours and the quilt in the photo though I thought they would be nice for a little inlaid diecutting - take a look:

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

Ornate Border Dies - The new Ornate Border Dies are part of the early release Ornate Garden Release. I knew I would love these dies as soon as I saw them! I did have a few erroneous cuts before I realised which side the die was cutting the outer edge on, but once I'd worked this out I was fine. I cut the die three times: once in Basic Black for my mat, then again in Smoky Slate and Real Red, and used these latter two to inlay the flowers and leaves into my black panel. 

Take Your Pick - You might think that inlaid diecutting is a tricky business and whilst it does take a little while, there is one tool that can make it really easy: the Take your Pick tool. That end with a little bob of blue tac is super useful for easily picking up tiny pieces and dropping them into the spaces in the die openings. I can highly recommend one - adding adhesive sheets to the back of your cardstock before diecutting helps from a gluing perspective too.

So Sentimental - For my panel I used a piece of retired gingham DSP from Sale-A-Bration last year and I finished my card with a thank you sentiment from the 'So Sentimental' set and cut it out with one of the co-ordinating Stitched So Sweetly Dies. I added a scrap of red ribbon and my card was done!

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 took part in a family online quiz yesterday, hosted (virtually, of course!) by some friends of ours with lots of other friends online which was great fun. Determined to continue in a similar vein and do something different again today, I joined an online 'pilates for runners' class, run by the physio that has been treating me for my frozen shoulder rehabilitation. I'm keen to get back to running but am nowhere near fit enough at the moment, plus it's more fun to cycle with the Juniors whilst they are at home. It was tough but I thoroughly enjoyed it - I'm sure my glutes will feel be feeling the effects tomorrow though! What are you doing to make each day a little different to the one that went before? Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Ornate Borders Dies	So Sentimental Bundle (English)	So Sentimental Cling Stamp Set (English)	Stitched So Sweetly Dies	Stitched Be Mine Dies
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock

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

I went with the first vertical column, Tilted-Stitched-Blue, and I'm also linking up with the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the code word is 'animal' as today's card features a furry friend - take a look:

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

Fable Friends - For some the squirrel is considered more foe than friend and certainly my chickens think that of the grey squirrels that frequent my garden, but today I decided to go with a cheery red squirrel from 'Fable Friends' for my card. This isn't a stamp I use often so thought I would dust it off and give it some love and stamped him in Memento black onto a stitched rectangle of Whisper White and coloured him with my Blends markers, using another colour I don't often use outside of autumn, Cajun Craze, for my red colour. I do think he looks quite sweet in his sailor's outfit, even if I say so myself! 

On The Tilt - I considered trying to get away with the fact that the squirrel was wearing his hat at a jaunty angle for the 'tilted' element of today's board, but instead decided to 'embrace the wonky' and used an old sketch I had as the basis for my overlaid tilted panels and tilted strip of punched flowers, just like the daisy the squirrel is holding. I'm not generally one for tilted panels, as I like things to be 'just so', but I think they work ok here - I'm not sure I'll make a habit of it though!

Sideways Sentiment - The sketch layout I used had two sentiments, one vertical and another horizontal beneath the stitched panel. I used the former and considered adding 'Hello Spring' from the same stamp set beneath the panel too, but decided against it as I have lots of friends with birthdays in the next couple of months so wanted to leave this card open with the option of adding a birthday sentiment to the inside. On reflection, I think the second sentiment might have been a nice touch, but since I embossed the cardbase with my Subtles embossing folder after stamping the first one, unless I make another identical card and add it first we will never know!

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; the sun is shining so I'm hoping to get my chores out of the way this morning and then head outside to get some gardening for done this afternoon. That's one thing with that can be said for the current lockdown - our garden has never looked so good! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Fable Friends Cling Stamp Set	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder	Stitched Rectangle Dies	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock	Cajun Craze Combo Pack Stampin' Blends
Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Balmy Blue Light Stampin' Blends Marker	Daffodil Delight Light Stampin' Blends Marker	Granny Apple Green Light Stampin' Blends Marker	Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots

A quick post today and I'm sharing a card using the current sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

I didn't manage to play along last week (I managed a so-so card, but wasn't thrilled with it and decided not to share!). All change this week though - as soon as I saw the sketch I knew what I was going to do with it. Here's my clean and simple creation:

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

I decided to go with a teacher thank you card. I know that schools here and all around the world are closed as we try and protect each other from this dreadful virus, however whether the Juniors go back to school or not next term, I figure there will still be the need for teacher thank you cards, so I'm getting organised!

I decided to add a trio of yellow pencils (this is from a retired Project Life stamp set) in the corner and over-stamped the bottom one with my thank you sentiment. I have a confession to make - as I came to write up my post I realise there were 4 stripes of ombre on the sketch, and I've only included 3 - oops! I genuinely hadn't noticed. I like to have odd numbers though, so I think my subconscious was probably responsible for the decision. I overlaid my pencils with a red apple from the 'Harvest Hellos' stamp set, coloured with Blends and punched out using my Apple Builder Punch and with a little tag and linen thread bow 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. 

The warm weather has returned today so I made the most of it, getting some washing done and the children and I went on a nice bike ride this evening after dinner. I did sneak in a little crafting time too so have lots to share with you in coming days! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Apple Builder Punch	Harvest Hellos Cling Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Linen Thread
Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack