A quick post from me this evening with a card inspired by the following challenges:

I don't often use diagonals, but funnily enough had designed a rectangular card using a layout similar to Jen's Freshly Made Sketches design for this month's class featuring the Friends Are Like Seashells bundle (I can't share that one yet as I don't want to spoil the surprise for the ladies attending Monday's class!) so decided to change it up and make an altered square version along with blue, patterned paper and square card from the Festive Friday inspo list to create another card using the Sand and Sea Suite - take a look:

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

I used some sand and sea-inspired DSP for my background triangles, cutting the blue sea piece freehand along the line of the waves for a more natural effect, placing my sentiment in a stitched square in the centre and embellishing it with a selection of shells, seaweed, pearls and split braided linen trim. I used some of the pearlescent paper for my large, embossed shell - isn't it so pretty?

I just love the sentiments in this set too; this is how I finished the inside of my card:

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

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

That's all from me; 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:

SAND & SEA 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	FRIENDS ARE LIKE SEASHELLS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	PEARLESCENT SPECIALTY PAPER (£3.75)	SEASIDE SHELLS (£5.50)
3/16" (4.8 MM) BRAIDED LINEN TRIM (£6.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today has not quite gone according to plan so I'm a little late sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It - and it's my choice of theme this week too! For our new challenge we have a seasonal theme challenge:

Easter! Whether you are looking forward to potentially gathering face-to-face with friends or your congregation for the first time in a while, or simply enjoying hot cross buns and the prospect of a chocolate egg or two, Easter is I am going for a less traditional take on Easter today and instead, somewhat inspired by the chocolate bunny in our challenge photo, I'm going with a cute spring lamb to decorate my Easter card today - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

My little lamb decorated with flowers is from the new 'Springtime Joy' stamp set, a set full of cute animals along with some lovely sentiments. I actually coloured two and made a couple of cards, paired with some retired All Ablooms designer paper that is covered in spring flowers (these papers feature the retired in-colours Strawberry Slush and Pistachio Pudding - remember those?) that I thought would work perfectly with my sweet lambkins. Here's the second one, using a different paper from the same pack:

I added some extra DSP to my envelope flap and a liner too (great ways to dress up your card further and use up paper if you have lots of it going spare!) From the outside, my card could potentially be for any occasion - I added my favourite sentiment from the stamp set to the inside of my card:

Because Easter is the perfect reminder of new beginnings, I think.

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

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 over at The Paper Craft Crew where they are all about cards featuring our favourite critters this week - I think my sweet lamb qualifies. We have a farm near where we live and as it's currently lambing season, Rebecca takes any and every opportunity to head over on foot or bicycle so that she can visit the newborn lambs in the field or take a peek into the lambing shed. I must confess, they are adorable! 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SPRINGTIME JOY CLING STAMP SET (£19.00)

STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

I promised you a second post today and here it is! For 24 hours only, starting at 11pm UK time this evening, Stampin' Up! are offering FREE shipping on orders of £35 or more.

The key information is as follows:

• Free shipping applies after the qualifying order amount has been met.
• The minimum qualifying amount to receive free shipping is £35 or more.
• Free shipping only applies during the 24-hour period the promotion is live in each market; this means that the order must be opened and closed between 16 March 2021, at 11 p.m. and 17 March 2021, at 11:00 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on soon to be retiring in-colours, pick up a bundle that you've had your eye on and more! So start making those lists and head off to the online Stampin' Up! store or message me with your order.

Happy shopping!

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. YoonYoung is hosting this month and today we have a colour challenge: 

For my card today I decided to go with some triple-step stamping and a sunny yellow rose for a cheery Easter card - take a look:

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

To A Wild Rose - I'm not sure I've used this set on my blog before, but the 'To A Wild Rose' stamp set has some wonderful blousy blooms, that have great dimension just by layering colour - perfect for clean and simple cards. I used each of the challenge colours to create my layers, stamping off the third layer of both the leaves and the petals in order to get the depth of colour with only 3 inks.  

Bricks and Mortar - Over at Just Us Girls this week Bobby has asked us to embrace the trend of embossing folders. I decided to use a So Saffron card base so that I could use a white circle embossed with the Bricks and Mortar embossing folder to highlight my yellow rose. I'm sure there will be some wonderful and creative uses of embossing over in the JUGs gallery, but in an effort to keep things clean and simple I used a simple punched circle of texture on my card:

 Sometimes less is more I think!

Blessed Easter Wishes - I love the font of the large 'Blessed' stamp in the 'To A Wild Rose' stamp set, which works beautifully with the other friendship-themed sentiments included. I used a little creative licence and heat-embossed it in gold before I paired it with some other stamps from the super-versatile 'A Wish For Everything' stamp set to create my Easter greeting, which you can see in more detail below:

Do you ever combine stamp sets in this way? I love that with lots to choose from, the possibilities are endless! I also added a trio of sparkly enamel dots - I just couldn't help myself!

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; I have a date with the ironing pile but will be back later with a quick post about something very exciting that's happening tomorrow! I'll be back later! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TO A WILD ROSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£24.00)	WILD ROSE DIES (£32.00)	A WISH FOR EVERYTHING CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£36.00)	BRICK & MORTAR 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	GOLD STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£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 my turn to host this week and I have a colour challenge for you to work with:

Today is Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day here in the UK and I chose my colour palette this week based on the products I wanted to use on the card that I was going to make for my Mum to celebrate this special day, specifically the Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Acetate which I was keen to incorporate into my card. I've lots of photos for you today and two versions of my card too, so get ready! Here's the first and original version of my card:

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

Hydrangea Hill - My Mum is not particularly precious when it comes to flowers or gifts on Mother's Day, but she does appreciate a special card, so her card was the perfect opportunity to showcase the Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Acetate in Highland Heather, alongside other elements of the Hydrangea Hill Suite. I love the idea of these coloured foil acetates, but often find them trickier to use in practice. I think they make great frames or backgrounds though, so that's where I started with today's card. Measuring 21cm x 14.9cm (a sheet of folded A4) my card is larger than usual. I created an open window for my stamped sentiment (more on that below) and layered my frame with a scallop-edged border and a beautiful diecut hydrangea. Whilst the card above is my original card, and could actually be used for a special birthday too, I knew my Mum would want to see the words 'Happy Mother's Day' front and centre on her version - ever happy to oblige, I added an additional diecut sentiment in Highland Heather using the Word Wishes Dies to the front of my card:

Layers, Layers - Despite its rather simple appearance, there are lots of layers to my card: the mercury glass acetate and framed sentiment window, along with the layered diecut elements to my flower, cut with the Hydrangea Dies. I also added a twine bow and tag to my floral stem using other elements in the set:

How beautiful is that hydrangea die? I cut it out of Balmy Blue and sponged the edges in the same colour to add depth, then lifted the petal elements and carefully sponged the tips of the petals with Highland Heather to create that two-tone look so often seen with this type of bloom. The suite has some beautiful coordinating pastel pearls, but they were too large for me to decorate the centre of my flowers. Instead, I used my dark Highland Heather Blends marker and coloured some small basic pearl jewels that were just the right size - aren't they so pretty?

All About The Paper - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use some of the beautiful Hydrangea Hill papers on my card today. The outside of my card only features the colours of my chosen palette, with a little of the Balmy Blue DSP visible through the window aperture, but the inside of my card also includes a little pink and some Gorgeous Grape on that hydrangea border paper; this paper is so perfect for additional hidden detail on the inside of the card, including my stamped message:

I also made a custom envelope from a whole sheet of 12" x 12" DSP, featuring the hydrangea flower heads and with a Highland Heather striped border on the flap:

This paper is simply too good not to use! I added a simple stitched scalloped rectangle to the front of the envelope to address it:

My card is going in the mail, so I packed it in a plain white envelope for mailing; I know my Mum will appreciate the extra pretty detail when she opens it though, so the double envelope is so worth it! I haven't seen my Mum in person for 15 months, due to ongoing restrictions in lockdowns and travel between Wales and England, however with the increasing rate of vaccination here in the UK, we shouldn't have too much longer to wait until we can all meet in safety once more.

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. 

I am looking forward to a special lunch cooked for me by my nearest and dearest, along with an afternoon bike ride if the rain holds. This is one of those days of the year that can mean many things to different people, so whether you are with your Mum or your offspring today, or whether you are missing your Mum because of Covid or other reasons, and for those who have perhaps lost a child or for whom motherhood is still to become a longed-for reality, I am thinking of you all and I hope you spend the day in a way that is meaningful to you.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HYDRANGEA HAVEN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	HYDRANGEA HILL MERCURY GLASS DESIGNER ACETATE (£10.75)	HYDRANGEA HILL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	SNAIL MAIL TWINE COMBO PACK (£6.50)
BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
LAYERING SQUARES 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 I have the honour of being the featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

Lots of options for you to create with this one! I went down the first column with animal, stitching and birthday for a fun card with a difference today - take a look:

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

Woodland Wonder - I don't have any really little people in my life, however I couldn't resist the Woodland Wonder stamp set! In addition to birthday cards, it's also great if you need to make a card from lots of people or even if you use elements of the set for a different purpose - that pink bunny could totally be going on an Easter egg hunt, right?! 

A Fun Fold - Whilst my card looks pretty standard at first glance, you may have noticed the fold across the centre - that's because it's a concertina fun fold. I loved the sample on page 53 of the January-June mini catalogue, so thought I'd have a go at making one myself. Once you slide the tulle ribbon bow off the cardfront, the card opens up to reveal the remainder of the bunny's friends:

I had a lot of fun stamping and colouring the various elements of this card, which folds up to a standard card size. The stamps are really easy to align; my one top tip for you is that you make sure you know where the front fold will sit on your back panel when closed, so that you don't have any elements that end up being partially visible when it's closed up, such as a cloud or part of an animal (ask me how I know!!)

Behind the concertina fold the card also opens up in the conventional way, for you to write a message. I couldn't resist adding another trunk full of cute critters waving their respective birthday wishes:

Isn't that just the cutest?! This is what the card looks like when it stands up in its concertina design:

It's In The Details - There are only two other main elements to my card besides my fun fold and stamped design: the lovely soft polka dot tulle ribbon that holds the card closed for mailing, and the stitched banner diecut I used for my happy birthday sentiment, that is from the Smooth Sailing Die set - such a useful little die:

I think this card could be adapted for lots of other uses too, such as welcome to the team, farewell and good luck cards and more besides!  

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. 

I'm also linking today's card up over at Just Us Girls where the theme is 'animals' and at SUO Challenges for a second entry in the 'things that fly' - today's card has birds, butterflies an owl - and at a stretch, a balloon too!

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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WOODLAND WONDER PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE 5/8" (1.6 CM) POLKA DOT TULLE RIBBON (£7.00)
SMOOTH SAILING DIES (£30.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I've another quick post to share a card using the glorious colours over at TGIF Challenges this week and the sketch at Fusion (rotated through 90 degrees):

I loved these bright colours and thought they would be perfect for a bunch of spring tulips - take a look:

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

Jar Of Flowers - My card uses the spring florals from 'Jar of Flowers' - but as per the title of my blog post, without the jar! I made a bunch of flowers and tied them with some paper and twine to cover the join between the florals and stems. I coloured the blooms with my Stampin' Blends, adding in another purple alcohol marker to give me the Gorgeous Grape colour, as we don't have Blends in this colour unfortunately.  I think these colours are so lovely together:

Purple Passion - Given that the Fusion inspo photo was all about green, you may well have thought I would use this for the base of my card today. Truth is, I love purple and I think Gorgeous Grape is one of my favourites, so I made it the main colour on my card today and used it for my card base, designer paper panel and the oval that backs my flowers. Too much? I think you can never have too much purple!

The Joys of Spring - I decided to use a sentiment from the new 'Springtime Joy' stamp set which compliments my florals perfectly. This set has some lovely sentiments for this time of year - here's another on the inside:

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 later with this week's post for our new challenge over at TicTacToe. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JAR OF FLOWERS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£21.00)	SPRINGTIME JOY CLING STAMP SET (£19.00)	ORNATE BORDERS DIES (£32.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	ALL DRESSED UP DIES (£33.00)
BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	HIGHLAND HEATHER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	JUST JADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)

Thursday already??! The James Juniors are back at school and I should have more time, but the week is whizzing by! Today I'm squeezing in an extra post with a card for the current Fab Friday Challenge that I almost missed in the chaos of my week using Linda's fabulous Freshly Made Sketches layout this week:

That Fab Friday colour palette was perfect for my ongoing play time with the Flowering Cactus Product Medley, so I reached for more of those fun diecuts along with that fun 'prickly' border that I thought would be perfect for Linda's FMS sketch this week:

This is such a fun set with awesome papers - and you know how I love a good patterned paper! Check out the detail on those diecuts:

Today's card features probably my favourite sentiment in the Flowering Cactus stamp set - which finishes on the inside of my card with another stamped cactus just for fun:

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. 

Life certainly can get prickly - and busy too! I will be back later to share more of my makes, but for now I'm racing to catch the peeps at Fab Friday! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FLOWERING CACTUS PRODUCT MEDLEY (ENGLISH) (£65.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and YoonYoung has asked that we create something with a crescent shape as the main feature on our card:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.  

For my card today I was tempted to go with a spray of florals or even dig out a retired baby stamp that would be perfect for this card (in fact, if you'd like to check out this old post you will see two cards that I made for this very challenge using the exact set that I had in mind!), but in the end decided to go with something a little more obtuse that ended up ultra-CAS - take a look:

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

I decided to go with the dog from 'Pampered Pets' for today's card - you can see the distinct curved shape of my pooch, right?!

I heat embossed my dog in white onto Basic Black cardstock for a change and used the Pets Dies to diecut out the shape with ease. The angle of the dog fitted around the sentiment perfectly and all I needed to do was add a red resin heart for a pop of colour on my otherwise monochromatic pet sympathy card. I actually started with a card that had a lot more going on (I actually turned that card into something else so will share another time) but for a variety of different reasons evolved beyond the sketch, so I decided to pare things right back and go ultra CAS. I debated with adding twine or even some sponging behind my pooch, but decided to go with the 'less is more' look after the positive comments I received on the one layer floral I created for last week's challenge. Besides, when it comes to the loss of a beloved pet, I'm not sure that any amount of frills or card details take away from the sense of loss that an owner feels. 

I am also linking today's card up over at Addicted to CAS where their codeword is 'Animal' and I'm hoping they will appreciate my CAS efforts. The simplicity of today's card rely does not reflect the thought and effort that went into it - I find that's often the way where 'clean and simple' is concerned!

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 am 'home alone' today for the first time in months as both James Juniors are now officially Covid-free and back at school. So I shall be playing the radio at full blast and making tea whenever I like, without fear of remonstration! Sometimes one must delight in the simple pleasures of life!! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PAMPERED PETS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£36.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	RESIN HEARTS EMBELLISHMENTS (£6.50)

Today I'm sharing an extra card with you! I made it earlier in the week using the current Mojo Monday sketch for the challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and had hoped to share yesterday, but simply ran out of time!

So I thought I'd grab a quick few minutes to share my make with you - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

This card was my first outing with the Flowering Cactus Product Medley and it was perfect for that inspiration photo over at Hand Stamped Sentiments - cactus galore and pops of colour. I've not showcased a Product Medley on my blog before, so if it's a concept that's unfamiliar to you, let me explain! A Product Medley contains stamps, dies, papers and accessories that co-ordinating with each other perfectly and no instructions - leaving you free to create whatever you want. I'm not usually attracted to cactus stamps, but I particularly liked the dies and sentiments in this stamp set so thought I'd get one and have a play. I went big with the layers on this card, with lots of dimension:

I mostly used diecuts, paper and elements from the kit on this card, with the only stamping for my sentiment and on the inside of my card:

I really like the effect though and am pleased with my first attempt. Can't wait to make more with this box of prickly loveliness!

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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FLOWERING CACTUS PRODUCT MEDLEY (ENGLISH) (£65.00)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
PEAR PIZZAZZ A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)