Hi everyone! I've been recovering from Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event and making the most of the Easter vacation with the James Juniors this week, so crafting time has been non-existent and blogging opportunities even less so! Today though the sun is shining and I am spending a glorious afternoon in the garden, so thought I would take the opportunity to share with you a card that I actually made as a second one that I made for the challenge set by my fellow Paper Players teamie the lovely LeAnne last week to use plaid or check on your card. Here's my card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Christmas Plaid - Ok, so the irony of sharing a Christmas card on Good Friday isn't lost on me! However given that Stampin' Up!'s retiring lists were announced earlier this week (if you missed my post you can read all about it here) this is actually a great time to share this card as it showcases 2 products that are on that list and will be going away for good. The first of these is this fabulous plaid designer series paper that is from the 'Under the Mistletoe' pack. As is always the way, all of the designer series papers in the annual catalogue will be leaving us to make way for the new, so if you have a favourite then now is the time to stock up. If you're the type of person that 'does Christmas' all year round or likes to get ahead and work on Christmas projects during the summer months, then you should seriously consider stocking up on this paper as I can tell you that the new annual catalogue doesn't contain any festive Christmas-themed designer series paper designs, so it will be September before we have the new seasonal range on sale. You have been warned! 

Large Letters - The second retiring item on today's card are those fabulous Large Letter Framelits, which along with the co-ordinating 'Letters For You' stamp set are retiring with this catalogue. I know that the old has to make way for the new, but I will be so sad to see these go! They have been a staple in my craft collection and whilst they might leave the catalogue, they will always have a space in my die collection - they are SO useful! These will most definitely not be going into my retiring products BOGOF sale in July, so if you want a set, you need to order them now! 

A Festive Colour Combination - The paper really does do all the hard work on this card and sets the colours for each of the other elements with a can't-go-wrong festive colour combination. If this is a colour combination that appeals to you, feel free to save the image below for your future 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. I'm off for a James family gathering for dinner. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Large Letters Framelits Dies (£92.00)	Under The Mistletoe Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Under The Mistletoe A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a fresh colour challenge for you to work with:

What a pretty trio of spring colours Ann has for us this week! I knew exactly how I was going to use these colours. As I have been busy at Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event these last few days I needed a straightforward layout and the sketch over at Fab Friday was perfect for what I had in mind (I rotated it through 180 degrees) - take a look:

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

Fable Friends - Having resisted it for many months, I eventually caved and purchased the adorable collection of farmyard animals that is the 'Fable Friends' stamp set. I have seen one too many examples of loveliness as far as this set is concerned and decided I 'needed' to add it to my stamp collection. The mama duck and her trio of ducklings seemed just perfect for a spot of colouring with this week's colours.

A Trio of Blends - I used the combo packs of Balmy Blue, Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight to colour my little duckiest, along with a little Ivory for feather detail and light Smoky Slate to ground them. So super-cute is the little trio of ducklings, I had to repeat them on the inside of my card too. I added a close-up here so that you could see how I had coloured them and to show that you don't have to be a colouring expert to get a good result:

Frame It - I used a simple frame made from two Rectangle Stitched Framelits and a piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock to provide the border outline for my picture, along with some Gingham Gala check to add to the theme. My greeting is from the same set and I stamped it on Balmy Blue to make it stand out from the white space surrounding my image.

I really love this fresh, spring-inspired card - now I just need to decide who to send it to!

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; mine will be a quiet one as I feel I need to recover from the last 2 days of Onstage, which were long and hectic, whilst also fun and a great opportunity to catch up with friends. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Fable Friends Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a collection of cards that have been designed for this month's timely #SimpleStamping challenge which is to feature the 2017-19 soon-to-be-retiring in-colours, on a project using nothing more than stamps, ink and paper. I decided to use the Accented Blooms stamp set that I used on this card yesterday, with a clean and simple card that really lets these in-colours shine. 

So first of all, let's take a look at the five in-colours that we've all loved for the last two years and will soon be leaving us:

Clockwise from the left: Fresh Fig, Powder Pink, Berry Burst, Lemon-Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide in the centre. 

Do you have a favourite? Whilst I find these colours a challenge to use together on a project, you will find some great examples of projects that feature these colours in a variety of combinations elsewhere on my blog. I think if pushed I would rate Berry Burst as my favourite, but it's a close call. Each of these colours has something to offer. Here's a close-up of my favourite one:

For today's #SimpleStamping project I simply stamped the main floral image from the 'Accented Blooms' stamp set in my chosen in-colour onto a square of Whisper White cardstock measuring 9cm x 9cm and adhered it to a card base in the same in-colour, then stamped the sentiment in the same colour on a separate piece of Whisper White and cut it out by hand; you could use the Tailored Tag Punch for this for speed, but the shape is great for #SimpleStamping projects as it can be easily fussy-cut by hand too. I then popped this onto a couple of foam dimensionals and added to my project. Voila! It's that easy - I created on in each of the in-colours. Here's a peek:

I haven't yet had time to put the a quick and easy #SimpleStamping videos that demonstrate how easy this card is to put together - when I do you will see all five of these cards. Onstage has got in the way of video production this week so I'll update this post at some point early next week with the necessary demonstration!

The Accented Blooms stamp set is another one that is great for colouring but also works well with a monochromatic design too. For these cards all you need is the stamp set, one or more of the in-colours and the corresponding colour of cardstock, along with a pair of scissors and adhesive, and you are good to go! The Stamparatus will enable you to get a good solid image of the sentiment in particular, but this is by no means an essential tool to create this 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. 

If you're new to these colours you only have a few more days to guarantee their availability; when the retiring list goes live on Monday 15th April (at 8pm) these will undoubtedly be one of the first things to sell-out - and once they're gone, they're gone! 

If you are a crafter who has been enjoying these colours and can't bare to see them go, make sure you stock up on re-inkers, cardstocks and accessories now to keep you going in the months to come! You can purchase everything you need from my online store via the links below:

Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Fresh Fig Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Ink Refill (£3.50)	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Ink Refill (£3.50)	Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Ink Refill (£3.50)	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Ink Refill (£3.50)	Fresh Fig Classic Stampin' Ink Refill (£3.50)
Powder Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Berry Burst A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Fresh Fig A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	2017-2019 In Color 12" X 12" Cardstock (£11.25)	In Color 2017–2019 Classic Stampin' Pad Assortment (£31.50)	2017-2019 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (£13.75)	In Color 2017–2019 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)
Powder Pink 3/8" (1 Cm) Mini Ruffled Ribbon (£7.50)	Lemon Lime Twist 3/8" (1 Cm) Mini Ruffled Ribbon (£7.50)	Tranquil Tide 3/8" (1 Cm) Mini Ruffled Ribbon (£7.50)	Berry Burst 3/8" (1 Cm) Mini Ruffled Ribbon (£7.50)	Fresh Fig 3/8" (1 Cm) Mini Ruffled Ribbon (£7.50)
2017–2019 In Color Flower Buttons (£6.50)

Enjoy your day. I'm travelling to Onstage today with my teamies and looking forward to a CentreStage leadership reception this evening so if you want to see all things new be sure to follow my Facebook page where I will do my best to share the fun and excitement 'real time'. I am organised for once and I will be back here tomorrow with another project, so do pop back for more creative inspirationfacebook. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Accented Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)

Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

In Color 2017–2019 Classic Stampin' Pad Assortment (£31.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current Inspire.Create colour challenge which is black and white:

Easier said than done, without the merest hint of colour, however the design team and gallery has lots of great inspiration. I wanted to create something that was not a sympathy card, which is often where these colours take me as a default - this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I used the 'Accented Blooms' stamp set for today's card; would you believe this was one of the first sets I bought when the annual catalogue launched last year and this is the first time I've used it - oops! I thought the image would be great for colouring, so doubly ironic that the first time I use it it's in black and white! I think it works really well though, with the fine detail of the florals and the contrasting white-on-black sentiment. I used my Staparatus to get a good, solid image - it's a boon with this kind of stamp - and I used the Tailored Tag Punch to punch out the sentiment and popped it up for a little extra dimension. Some of my stash of retired Sale-A-Bration Butterfly Gala for my background and a retired clear faceted button and some black baker's twine for a little extra detail finished 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. 

Enjoy your day; I am making some last minute plans for my trip to Onstage this weekend with some of my team and getting some household chores done before heading out for some family fun this afternoon. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Accented Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	Tailored Tag Punch (£17.00)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Basic Black Solid Baker's Twine (£2.75)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card using the vibrant colour palette over at TGIF Challenges and the theme challenge over at Less is More: 

I had struggled for a while to come up with something suitable for the 'shine a light' LIM challenge, especially as I have a distinct lack of light-related stamps, when it occurred to me that I just needed to look at the subject differently. When I think about light shining, one of the first things that comes to mind is the beautiful colours of light streaming through a stained glass window. Paired with the bold colours at TGIF I suddenly had my 'aha' moment - take a look:

An Easter card using the Graceful Glass Designer Vellum and the Painted Glass stamp set! Here's the low-down on today's card:

The Graceful Glass Vellum is one of those 'easily overlooked' products in the annual catalogue, yet has some great patterns and designs that are perfect for colouring with Stampin' Blends. I chose one of sheets made up of vertical floral panels and cut out the strip featuring lilies as I thought this would be perfect for a focal panel on my card. I coloured the reverse of my vellum with both light and dark shades of Stampin' Blends in each of the challenge colours and inset it between a split panel white card front. I stamped my sentiment from the 'Painted Glass' stamp set on the wider front panel and finished it on the inside with the words 'Easter Blessings' from the 'Itty Bitty Greetings' stamp set.

I like this card so much I made another card, this time a birthday card, with another of the strips from the same vellum panel and a combination of Lovely Lipstick, Call Me Clover and Soft Sea Foam Blends:

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

Graceful Glass Easter Card:

Graceful Glass Birthday Card:

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:

Graceful Glass 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.X Cm) Designer Vellum (£10.25)	Painted Glass Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£17.00)	Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Mango Melody Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at As You See It where the ladies have a great sketch to play with:

This is one of those versatile sketches that is a 'keeper' and can be used in so many ways. I still had my gingham papers out on my desk following Sunday's cards and decided it was perfect for a baby card - take a look:

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

First Steps - My focal point sentiment comes from the 'First Steps' stamp set, an adorable collection of sweet baby images that are perfect for cards, invites, showers, samplers and more. I stamped my sentiment using my Stamparatus so that I could ink it several times and get a really solid image, then having stamped off first stamped the tiny footprints behind it in the same colour.  

Subtle Textures - I embossed my top panel with the Subtles embossing folder to add a little texture without detracting from the sentiment. I added a little more detail with the soft organdy ribbon and used my layers and scalloped border/mat detail to add a little more interest and to tie in my panel of Balmy Blue gingham check across the bottom. 

Monochromatic Blue - I kept my card simple with a monochromatic Balmy Blue and Whisper White colour combination however this design could be easily replicated in pink for a girl or any of the other colours in the Gingham Gala designer series paper stack for a more gender-neutral design.

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:

First Steps Cling Stamp Set (£16.00)	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Layering Circle Framelits Dies (£33.00)
Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies (£31.00)	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card using the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the current colour palette at Fab Friday:

My card features a technique that is currently all the rage and I've been wanting to have a go at - the floating frame technique. This actually means I have two cards for you! Here's the first one:

And here's the second one, featuring the outer frame element:

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

Floating Frames - The floating frame technique is really easy to create with a few basic tools: some 'Press and Seal' food wrap or similar, a framelit - I used my Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies - and lots of dimensionals! You simply stamp and punch/diecut your images, lay them out, cover with Press and Seal, trim to frame size and cut out your central piece, before adhering dimensionals to the back of the diecut pieces and adhering to your chosen card base. Finally you remove the Press and Seal and your floating shapes remain in place. Jennifer McGuire has a fabulous video on this technique if you want to see one of these cards being made - you can see it here. 

Birthday Balloons - I've seen some fabulous examples of this technique, mostly using florals, but I was in need of some birthday cards and I thought the colours over at Fab Friday would be perfect for some bright and colourful balloons. I had so much fun making these cards I'm going to make a few more in alternative colour combos too - this is a great card design that would work well for both boys and girls, so makes a great storecupboard standby. I stamped my balloons with one of the stamps in the 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' stamp set before punching them for added interest and I used one of the other balloon stamps in the set to decorate the envelope, as you can see below:

No need for a naked envelope here!

A Birthday Greeting - For my second card, I needed a larger greeting to sit inside my frame so my Well Written Framelits were the perfect choice. I also added an extra balloon for balance, tied with some white baker's twine. The same design could be used with other stamps and sentiments from this set too to make cards for other occasions - how many other combinations can you come up with? 

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects 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; we are having a kit clear-out in the playroom today. So far we've made an erupting volcano, an insect hut, a flying helicopter and two solar-powered motorised dinosaurs. You've got to love the Easter holidays! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Balloon Bouquet Punch (£17.00)	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Well Written Framelits Dies (£37.00)

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 a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I decided to get making with my Gingham Gala designer series paper and made not one, not two but three cards for today's challenge - all of which use this week's Fusion sketch too (turned through 90 degrees):

I didn't get overly creative with my gingham panels as I wanted to use them as backgrounds in their own right and really let them shine.

So, to my cards! Each of them also coincidentally features a stamp from the stamp set, 'A Good Day', for my feature circles.  Here is the first one:

This card is my favourite from a creative point of view, as I love the sun/rain rainbow idea and the bright yellow check just makes this such a happy card!

For my second card I created one that uses not only the Fusion sketch but the theme too - no Easter eggs sure, but the cutest of Easter bunnies:

I stamped part of my sentiment on the banner. which I also bordered with one of the the edgelits in the Be Mine Stitched Framelits set and continued it on the inside of my card. I forgot to take a photo of my 'corrected' inside, but if you're interested and fancy a giggle you can pop over to my Facebook page to see the original one!

For my final card, I was inspired by this week's Global Design Project #GDP183 theme of 'A Day At The Park':

For me a day at the park is not complete without a ride on the swings, so this sweet little tree swing was perfect to fit this theme and paired with a sentiment from the Sale-A-Bration set 'Part of My Story' and the fresh green gingham makes for a sweet, uplifting card:

This is the card that I like most in terms of layout - whilst each of the images needs a different sized circular element, this is the one that I like the most in terms of overall proportion. 

Here are the visual summaries 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 hope you like my gingham trio; I also created a 'bonus' card using plaid as the main feature of my design so do pop back later in the week to see another example using this week's theme.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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

Enjoy your day; we are having a restful one with a roast dinner with all the trimmings for lunch and then we'll be watching the Oxford-Cambridge boat race on TV in the afternoon - armchair sportsmen for once! I'll be back tomorrow with another super-fun project that you are not going to want to miss. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	A Good Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£17.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Layering Circle Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

I've had a busy week that's kept me away from my blog but I have managed to get lots made over the past couple of days so I should be better prepared this week! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink that also uses the sketch layout at The Paper Craft Crew:

I missed playing with the ladies over at Just Add Ink last week as I just didn't manage to get my card finished and blogged (one for another time!) but as soon as I saw their inspiration photo this week I knew exactly which set I was going to use. Here's my card:

Mediterranean Moments is a stamp set that I've used many times, but not recently so it was a good opportunity to dust off this favourite from the annual catalogue and get to work. The photo reminded me of the cafe scene so this formed the basis of my main focal point, stamped on white and coloured with my Stampin' Blends. I used the PPC sketch to push me to consider a different layout to any I've used previously with this set. I did some tone-on-tone stamping using one of the other stamps in the set and embossed the main panel with a brick pattern for added texture and interest, and added a few wooden leaf embellishments from my box. I added a sentiment from Itty Bitty Greetings to finish my 'just because' note 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Mediterranean Moments Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£33.00)	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Powder Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Flirty Flamingo Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Basic Black Light Stampin' Blends (£4.25)