It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host again this week and I have a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I've had the need for a few baby cards recently - all girls, funnily enough, whereas the last time I had a run on baby cards it was all boys, funny how that happens! So I decided that this week's challenge would be a great opportunity to replenish my stock, especially as we have some great new Stampin' Up! baby sets in the Spring-Summer Catalogue. I decided to create two cards today, identical in design but one each in a boy and girl colour scheme, using this week's sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches - I'm also linking up with the team over at TGIF Challenges where their challenge this week is also all things baby:

I couldn't wait to ink up my 'Moon Baby' stamp set again for my cards today - take a look, here's the baby boy card:

And here is the baby girl card:

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

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - I stamped the moon baby onto Shimmery White cardstock and watercoloured them using my inks and aquapainters. I used my Stitched Shape Framelits to cut out my circle and added a layer of Clear Wink of Stella for added sparkle to my moon. I also added a gold metallic shape star to each of my cards for a fun detail.

Tone on Tone - To add interest to my background, I stamped the trio of stars randomly in the same colour ink as my cardstock base. This is a great way to add extra detail and interest whilst still keep your card clean and simple.

Blue For A Boy, Pink For A Girl - I used a duo of light and dark colours for each of my cards, with the darker colour for my card base and the lighter colour picked up in the banner. Here is my colour combination if you would like to save it:

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 just love the images in the 'Moon Baby' stamp set - it makes for such cute baby cards! I can't decide which of these colour combinations I like the most - if you have a preference, why not let me know in the comments below - I love to hear your thoughts!

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

I look forward to seeing your clean and simple creations in the gallery this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - the James household is busy today with one of the James Juniors playing in a hockey tournament, whilst the other is attending a skills day in connection with school which will see him learning shooting and fencing (I think I'll be taking cover!!)

I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Moon Baby Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock	Metallic Enamel Shapes
Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Rose Red A4 Cardstock	Pink Pirouette A4 Cardstock	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad
Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches that also fits the current code word over at Addicted to CAS:

I decided to create a little scene for that central panel using the High Tide stamp set - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

High Tide - High Tide is one of those sets that has oodles of possibilities: great for masculine cards and beach scenes, with some great sentiments too. The lighthouse is a two-step stamp, but because it is photopolymer this makes the stamps really easy to align the images. 

By The Shore - The colours for my card today were inspired by that wonderful striped panel from the By The Shore Designer Paper. It actually reminds me of old fashioned deckchairs on the beach, so reminiscent of my childhood when I spent many hours happily whiling away my summer days at the beach. 

The Obvious Mistake - Did you spot the obvious mistake on my card today? I didn't until I glued my card together; the funny thing is, I then stamped an alternative panel without the mistake and it wasn't as well balanced - so I went with my original design! If you've spotted it then do leave me a comment below and let me know if you think I should have changed it; if you're reading this and wondering what I'm talking about, then I guess it's not as obvious as one might think - and you should continue, none the wiser!

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'll be back tomorrow with this week's card for the new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am the hostess this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

High Tide Photopolymer Stamp Set	By The Shore Designer Series Paper	Banner Triple Punch	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock
Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral A4 Cardstock	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock
Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

Now I know since it's St Patrick's Day I should probably be sharing something green, however my plans today took a different turn so instead with Mother's Day only just over a week away here in the UK I'm sharing a Mother's Day card with you instead - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

So In Love - The inspiration for my card today came from the patterned paper that forms the base of my card. A busy, detailed outline pattern that features the same floral that can be found in the 'So In Love' stamp set (featured behind my sentiment) and the largest image in the So Detailed Thinlits Dies. I used this die to create a feature detail on the left of my card, backing it with vellum so that the detail continues to stand out from the paper behind it. My card measures a slightly larger than usual 6" x 6".

Love At First Sight - The sentiment that I featured on my card is from the 'First Sight' stamp set in the annual catalogue; beautiful words that seem so appropriate to show appreciation on Mothering Sunday. It's easy to overlook the annual catalogue when we have a seasonal with so many new and exciting sets, yet it contains many hidden gems, including ones that work for seasonal occasions such as Mother's Day so don't forget to take a look when your deciding on products for your projects.

A Little Flower - I added some vanilla ribbon and one of those gorgeous vanilla Falling in Love floral embellishments to finish off my card today. I kept to neutral colours to avoid any clash with the other more detailed elements of my 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. 

This is the card that I've made for my Mum for Mother's Day (I'm safe to post it early as she doesn't read my blog) and I've already made another identical one for a friend's Mum too. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Falling In Love Cardstock Pack	Falling In Love Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Satin Ribbon	Falling In Love Embellishments	Vellum A4 Cardstock
Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad	So In Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set	So Detailed Thinlits Dies	So In Love Clear-Mount Bundle
First Sight Clear-Mount Stamp Set

I had a busy day yesterday, part of which was spent kicking off a new project that I will be sharing with you soon, but alas no time to blog. I'm back nice and early today though to share a card inspired by the sketch over at TGIF Challenges:

 The moment I saw the sketch I saw a present! Can you see it too? I rotated the sketch anti-clockwise and this is what I came up with:

Fun, right? This is a card with a surprise though - read on to find out more!

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

Be A Party Animal - My card today was inspired by the bright colours and patterns of the Party Animal Suite of products - bright and fun, just perfect for a birthday celebration.

A Hidden Message - I added an 'open me already!' tag to my parcel as there is more to my gift than meets the eye: I used the tag topper pieces of the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies to create a parcel-shaped tag that fits inside a gift sleeve and reveals a hidden birthday greeting - take a look:

Here's my greeting tag, stamped with a sentiment from the 'Big On Birthdays' stamp set, completely removed:

Adventures On The Inside - I also added a little birthday fun to the inside of my card too:

I love this kind of card - a truly universal birthday greeting that can't fail to raise a smile!

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:

Balloon Adventures Photopolymer Bundle	Party Animal Designer Series Paper	Big On Birthdays Photopolymer Stamp Set	Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangerine Tango A4 Cardstock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock

Today I'm here nice and early sharing a card for the current sketch challenge over at Fab Friday:

This team have such great sketch designs and I've been playing with this one a lot of the weekend. I instinctively wanted to avoid using a doily for that bottom semi-circle, but I had a card design in mind that wouldn't go away and suited a doily perfectly so I went with it - take a look:

It's all about the pretty today! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Falling For You - Do you ever buy a stamp set because it contains one sentiment that resonates with you and you just have to have, regardless of whatever else the set has to offer? I do - and this is one of those sets! 'Falling For You' contains some lovely sentiments in a fabulous swirly, romantic font that work for weddings and anniversaries, but this one for me sells it - who wouldn't want to receive a card that says 'Every heart needs one special person to love - you're my person'? Maybe I'm an old romantic at heart, but it's fair to say I definitely fell for this stamp set hook, line and sinker!

Falling In Love Too - I used a piece if the Falling In Love designer series paper for my background and embellished with some of the other products in the Falling In Love Suite - including that doily! I'm not overly partial to a doily, but I do like these ones - the sharp laser-cut design and the versatility of them being white on one side and vanilla means they don't look as out of place with my clean and layered style. 

A Romantic Colour Combo - I took today's colour combination straight from the Falling In Love papers too - perfect for softer cards that evoke that marriage of romance and shabby chic. Feel free to save it if you would like to try it out too:

I just love the soft colours, falling hearts pattern and romantic feel of this card - all I need now is to find someone to send it to me!!!

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 - perhaps an alternative take on the same sketch! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Falling For You Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Falling In Love Designer Series Paper	Lace Doilies	So Detailed Thinlits Dies	Falling In Love Cardstock Pack
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad

Good morning and welcome to another week! Mine is going to be a busy one so without further ado I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

These ladies have some great sketches and this one from Jen M is no exception - I love the layering of the panels. I went bright today - take a look:

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

Get A Vase of Flowers For Hosting A Stampin' Up! Party - Yes, that's right - today's card features the vase of flowers from the hostess set in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue, 'Thankful Life', a set available to purchase exclusively to customers who host a Stampin' Up! party or place a single order of £150 or more. Extra Stampin' Rewards during Sale-A-Bration make this an excellent time to host, although stamp sets like this one make it worth hosting a party all year round. The stamps are photopolymer and so easy to line up to create a vase of colourful blooms that will last so much longer than fresh ones! This set will be available to hostesses until the Spring-Summer catalogue ends on 31st May, so if it's a set you would like to own, do get in touch with me to arrange a night for your crafty night in with friends. 

You Brighten My Day - The 'Thankful Life' hostess set does come with two sentiments of its own, however both were too too big for the embellishment 'button' that I wanted to create. I opted instead for this one from 'Sunshine Sayings' that seemed particularly appropriate given my colour choices for today's card.  

A Fiesta Of Colour - I took the inspiration for my colour combination straight from the Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper that I used for my background panel - as a brights girl these colours really appeal to me and I just love the mix of patterns they contain: 

Here is the colour combination if you would like to save it to use on your projects too:

What a great combination of bold and bright colours - guaranteed to cheer!

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:

Thankful Life Photopolymer Stamp Set	Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise A4 Cardstock	Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies
Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Sunburst Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the wonderful Jaydee to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

I love green, especially bright greens - Cucumber Crush is one of my all time favourites! - but for today's challenge I decided to go with an altogether more subtle green in Mint Macaron - take a look:

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

Succulent Garden - I chose to use a 'tricky' piece of designer series paper on my card today from the Succulent Garden pack. I have been at a loss as to how I should use some of the papers and patterns in this pack and I felt that this sheet in particular lent itself to a monochromatic card in green and white, so used is to cover my entire card front.

A Bold Sentiment - With such a busy paper pattern, I needed a simple, bold sentiment so I chose this bold thank you from the 'Thankful Thoughts' stamp set. I stamped in Mint Macaron onto Whisper White and I used my Stitched Shape Framelits to add a little interest to my otherwise plain circle. With the exception of my row of stamped cacti inside my card and on the front of my co-ordinating envelope, this is all the stamping to feature on my card.

Triple Banners That Sparkle - I added a trio of banners to anchor my sentiment circle, one each in green and white and the third in Mint Macaron glimmer paper, the latest in the Sale-A-Bration free product offering. The sparkle and texture of the glimmer paper introduces another element yet is still in keeping with the overall monochromatic feel 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

So a super simple card today, but one with a very calming colour scheme that I hope Jaydee will appreciate.

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

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Thankful Thoughts Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Banner Triple Punch
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad	Glitzerpapier-Set 6" X 6" (15,2 X 15,2 Cm)

I've a busy day today - out for a netball match this morning, then school Spring fair and a swimming gala for both James Juniors this evening, so I'm squeezing in my blog post whilst everyone else is doing homework before heading out the front door again for the next activity of the day!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made whilst preparing for this month's technique class featuring the Dragonfly Dreams bundle. In addition to featuring a particular technique in these classes, I also try and use each of the stamps in the set. My technique classes are product-based and always feature one particular stamp set or product bundle and I like to give my class attendees as many ideas as possible for how they can continue to create with their sets long after the class has finished. The techniques in this month's class are all around sponging in various forms and as this card doesn't have any sponging, it didn't make the class cut. I still love it though and since I'm always encouraging my ladies to check out my blog for additional ideas, it's right and proper that I share it with you today - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Dragonfly Dreams of Bees - I chose to use the bee stamp from the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set for my card today, stamping and fussy cutting two of them to frame my circle of honeycomb. I could have just as easily cut these bees out with their coordinating thinlit, however I didn't want to loose the detail on the wings for my card. I left the bee bodies matt black with just a little yellow coloured in, but their wings in real life are so pretty: I brushed each liberally with clear Wink of Stella then when dry covered that with a further layer of fine tip glue and left it to dry. The result is some beautifully glossy, shimmery wings - just like the real thing.

Hexagonal Honeycomb - I placed my bees either side of a 1 3/4" punched circle, with a layer of Daffodil Delight behind that I had embossed with my Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (TIEF). This is one of the new embossing folders that gives a deep, dimensional embossed impression - just like real honeycomb!

Pollen Border - To finish, I added a border of dots using the border stamp in the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set, along the bottom of my card. This is one of those really useful stamps that will work both with the stamps in the same set and others; here it reminded me of pollen, given that my bees were not too far away! It's also perfect for the new challenge over at As You See It - check out their 'seeing spots' sketch inspiration this week:

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 like this card and would be interested in my Technique Class featuring the Dragonfly Dreams Bundle, do get in touch. I will be offering this as a 'Class to Go' free with a purchase of the Dragonfly Dreams Bundle from my online store and will be featuring further cards from this set later this week, so stay tuned.

Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's new colour challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set	Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	1-3/4" (4.4 Cm) Circle Punch	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock
Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Regals Stampin' Write Markers	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Fine-Tip Glue Pen

Hooray it's Friday! This week feels like a long one and has finished with what feels like a day at the wheel of my Mum Taxi! I did manage to finish a card I started yesterday for this week's challenge over at Less is More although I am too late to link up - you should totally check out the DT and gallery cards though, they are gorgeous: 

I love the idea of 'mainly teal' for this week's colour challenge and I've had an idea for this card that has been with me all week, just waiting for some time in my craft room to execute it  - take a look:

I decided to go with a simple layered flower and leaves, cut with my Stylish Stems Framelits Dies, in Bermuda Bay and Pool Party cardstock and some of the gorgeous new Sale-A-Bration Glimmer Paper in Bermuda Bay for my flower outline and border edge. To create the same effect with the leaves, I used my Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker to colour some Dazzling Diamonds white glimmer paper to mimic this. A border of retired Cherries On Top DSP and a sentiment from Butterfly Basics finishes 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. 

This new Sale-A-Bration glimmer paper is gorgeous and I love the way that just a little sparkle adds to this otherwise clean and simple design.

A really quick post from me today - should be back with an earlier one tomorrow though! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Stylish Stems Framelits Dies	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party A4 Cardstock
Subtles Stampin' Write Markers	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper	Glitzerpapier-Set 6" X 6" (15,2 X 15,2 Cm)