Today I'm sharing a card that uses the same products to create two different looks. I used the sketch layouts over at Tuesday Morning Sketches and Inspire.Create for each of my cards:

Both cards feature a sentiment 'Hooray For Surprises', a label cut with the Everyday Details Dies and designer series paper from the free Sale-A-Bration Flight & Airy pack. Here's the first card, with a blue colour scheme:

Here's the second card, with a pink colour scheme; I've also added some (retired) Garden Green ribbon and a bow to this version:

You know how much I love the Flight & Airy papers - no fussy cutting today though! The pattern detail of these papers lends them to be used on clean, uncluttered cards. The panel designs of both of the layouts are a great way to add interest. I love the diecut detail on the labels too:

These are great designs if you need to knock out multiples too. I'll be sending these to members of my team to celebrate their Stampin' Up! anniversaries - the inside of my cards reads 'you are simply amazing' - because they are. With Sale-A-Bration being a great time to join Stampin' Up!, there are always anniversaries to celebrate at this time of year!

Finally, here's a photo of both cards together:

Which design do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HOORAY FOR SURPRISES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	EVERYDAY DETAILS DIES (32.00)	BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a 'fill in the blank' challenge chosen by my dear friend Jan:

Time to confess, crafty shoppers - what was the last thing you purchased? At first glance you might be thinking I'm pulling your leg today, as my card features the 'Sweet Songbirds' stamp set and co-ordinating punch, both of which I've had for ages and shared several times before. Look more closely though and you will see I paired them with my most recent craft purchase: the 'Hooray For Surprises' bundle - take a look:

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

Hooray For Surprises - The 'Hooray For Surprises' bundle is so fun! The dies create perforated edges with a tab that allow you to easily create your own interactive cards. Simply pull the tab to reveal the message inside! I've been creating with this bundle a lot in recent weeks as it features in the next 'Join In With Joanne and Jan' craft tutorial bundle that I create with the lovely Jan Clothier. There are so many different ways you can create with the stamp set and dies together in this bundle, but for my card today I wanted to use one of the dies to show that there are tons of possibilities when you combine them with other sets too. I used Jen T's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week as my starting point (turned through 90 degrees) and paired the largest of the round circle tab dies with my pair of birds and nest for a fun gender reveal card.

Here's the card front with a close up of the tab before opening:

It's A ... - When the tab is removed, there is a message underneath that reveals whether or not the mummy and daddy bird parents are expecting a boy or a girl - check it out below:

Isn't that so fun?! I made two cards, showing both boy and girl inserts. Here's a close up of the baby girl version: 

 And here's the baby boy version:

I stamped the surprise greeting with a combination of sets: the 'It's a' is from a couple of the sets in the Sweet Songbirds set and the 'Baby Boy/Baby Girl' comes from a long-retired set called 'Itty Bitty Baby', but you could just as easily hand write your own message or type one on the computer. So what do you think? I think this would make a lovely card to announce an impending birth to soon-to-be grandparents, for example, but I'd love to hear your thoughts - why not leave me a comment below!

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. 

Remember if you purchase the 'Hooray For Surprises' bundle from either myself if you are in the UK or Europe or Jan if you are in New Zealand, then you will receive our tutorial featuring this set for FREE, along with access to our Private Facebook Group for more tips and tricks too. In addition, if you purchase before the end of February you will only be £1 away from a free Sale-A-Bration gift too!

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 Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HOORAY FOR SURPRISES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (44.00)	SWEET SONGBIRDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (18.00)	SONGBIRD BUILDER PUNCH (21.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PECAN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BUBBLE BATH A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made with a a few challenges in mind:

As we approach Valentine's Day next month love is definitely in the air, so I decided to have some fun and grabbed a little 'something old, something new' and set to work. Take a look at what I came up with:

You may be wondering how inspiration can come from a variety of sources - well, read on and all will become clear! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Stencil Times Two - I so wanted to play with the ladies over at Just Us Girls where this week it's anything goes with stencils; I decided to go clean and simple and create a stencilled sky then when I saw the badge over at TGIF Challenges I thought 'why not make my sky heart-shaped?' so it decided me on my layout, a pink sky inset within a heart. These were both stencils I created myself using dies in my collection. Firstly, I placed my heart stencil, then using my Bubble Bath ink and blending brush I overlaid my cloud stencil and working down the heart, added in clouds across my soft pink sky - which is also perfect for the challenge over at Addicted to CAS this week.

Love is ... - I decided to have some fun with my sentiment, so took the 'Love' die from the Love For You Die set, diecut it then snipped the L away from the OVE, and adhered them to my card base, overlaying my stencilled heart sky, leaving space for my hot air balloon in place of the O. I completed my sentiment with a stamp from the old retired stamp set 'Sunshine Sayings'.

...in the Air - Having seen the optional theme of 'Love is in the air' over at AAA Cards, I thought this would be a great time to feature the heart-shaped hot air balloon in the new Hot Air Balloon bundle, which I think worked perfectly in place of the O in the word LOVE. Nothing else needed for my card which, for something so simple, actually involved much thought and was inspired by each of the above challenges in their own way. This sweet card would work perfectly for Valentine's or any time to let someone know you love them.

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:

HOT AIR BALLOON DIES (28.00)	LOVE FOR YOU DIES (ENGLISH) (30.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BUBBLE BATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made using Jacquie's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches that also showcases the colour palette over at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

I couldn't resist a quick FMS entry this week since Jacquie's sketch is something of a 'go to' layout for me; the large circle works to showcase either a sentiment or an image with the smaller elements also offering lots of options. Today I decided to go with a sentiment from one of my Sale-A-Bration stamp sets, called 'Heartfelt Hellos' - take a look:

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

Heartfelt Hellos - I previously showcased the 'hello' from this set (if you missed that card, you can see it here) so today I thought I'd go with the larger Mother's Day sentiment (ages away, I know but it pays to be organised!) The 'heartfelt hellos' set has 6 different sentiments that work for lots of occasions: Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Dad's Birthday, Valentine's Day, Anniversary, Birthdays and general wishes too. What's more it's FREE with a product purchase of £45 or more - bonus!

Paper Florist Bold Blooms - I used my Paper Florist Dies to create two bold blooms to accent my sentiment circle. I love the bold colour palette from Hand Stamped Sentiments, but needed to add in some white to balance these strong colours. I love how quickly these diecut flowers come together and here they pack a colourful punch:

Basics Embossing - Finally, I decided to emboss the base of my card with one of the 3D Basics Embossing Folders. I haven't used this EF on anything before, but decided that these deep colours and my otherwise clean and uncluttered card could take the addition of the embossed finish. What do you think - do you like the added texture? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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

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

I'm having a crafty start to my week so I'm off to get back to it! Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PAPER FLORIST DIES (35.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS TRIO (7.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BERRY BURST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

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

I wanted to make another card using some of the birds that I'd fussy cut from the Flight & Airy designer series paper, so I chose 5 of the large birds for my elements and set to work - take a look:

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

I went for a simple, skinny slimline with just a few layers and a border of Orchid Oasis and Night of Navy to pick up the blues of the feathers:

A simple sentiment from 'Pansy Patch' and some co-ordinating baker's twine for my birds to balance on completes my card. The beauty of so much Sale-A-Bration free paper? Plenty spare to make a pretty, custom co-ordinating envelope too!

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

You can see all of my 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:

Enjoy your day; I am looking forward to a day of cooking and Lego building, having treated myself to a kit in a recent sale. I haven't built any in a while, so that should be fun! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PANSY PATCH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

ORCHID OASIS A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

2022–2024 IN COLOR BAKER'S TWINE PACK (14.00)

I am currently having a love affair with the pretty Flight and Airy paper that is one of the products that you can get FREE with a £45 order during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion and have another card to share that features it, this time using the sketch layout over at Tuesday Morning Sketches:

I could have taken the easy route and just added a piece of designer paper for the top panel of the card, but instead decided to add a piece of cross-hatched embossed paper and fussy cut a piece of the pattern featuring branches, flowers and a quintet of pretty birds:

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

I added my panel to a Petal Pink base, having added a little Petal Pink ink to my hatched panel behind the birds. Here's a close-up of the detail - time consuming, but very theraputic and so worth it for the delicate finished result:

I added a row of diecut flowers with gem centres to echo the detail of the the sketch and finished with a simple sentiment banner from 'Timeless Arrangements'. What do you think? If fussy cutting isn't your thing, you could just use the paper as a flat panel - it's so pretty, it would look great that way too.

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

I've managed to get a little extra cardmaking time this week, but as for writing up my blog posts - not so much! Today I'm taking a departure from the 'new' to share a Christmas card just in time for the January theme challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the theme is wreaths:

Today's card also uses their January sketch layout which I missed, but is perfect for a showcase of a sparkly layered Christmas wreath - take a look:

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

I used a piece of the now-retired (but hoarded!) Shining Brightly foiled paper to cover my cardfront and added a banner with a sentiment from 'Brightest Glow' and paired it with a navy and gold layered wreath, with a combination of gold sequin and navy gem 'berries' and a brushed gold bow:

I really love these papers and the colour scheme, so don't be surprised to see me use them throughout the year as I endeavour to play along with the team at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown to keep me on track in my Christmas card making throughout the year. If you don't have these papers though, you could easily change out this paper for an alternative Christmas design and alter the colours of your wreath accordingly.

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. 

Just a quick post from me today; I have a basket of ironing to get through before I prepare dinner and get myself ready for this evening's final episode of 'The Traitors' - anyone else out there as hooked as me? I can't wait! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project that has an altogether more Spring-like feel. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (37.00)	BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we use a diagonal along with a central focal point:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card and the heart doesn't have to be a heart - you can choose an alternative shape too. For my card today I did that and I used a pair of birds that I fussy cut from the Flight & Airy designer series paper that is one of the gifts that can be yours FREE with an order of £45 during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. Here's my card:

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

I spent ages trying to decide how best to use the diagonal. I wanted to avoid using a piece of designer paper for half of the panel so instead used a piece of Boho Blue watercolour, also from the Flight & Airy pack, as a layer beneath a piece of white card, across which I diecut a diagonal line using one of the new Essential Details Dies. It doesn't quite go corner-to-corner, as I wanted to preserve the horizontal/vertical aspects, but it follows the intent of the sketch and allows some of that lovely blue paper to peek through:

Fussy cutting the birds was a labour of love but so worth it as they make a lovely centrepiece. I added a few sequins and a sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set to finish. This card is a notecard to send to someone I've not spoken to in a while, to share news and let them know I'm thinking of them. Sometimes a card is better than a text, right?

I'm also playing along with my old teamies over at TicTacToe with my card today; I followed the diagonal diecut/patterned paper/pink.

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

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

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

EVERYDAY DETAILS DIES (32.00)

CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

LOOSE SILVER SEQUINS (6.25)

I've had a major cleaning day today, so decided to grab some time to create a quick card inspired by Judy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches before I start preparing dinner:

I debated how to make the most of this layout then decided on a punny masculine Valentine's card - take a look:

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

This is a great layout from Judy - the square could be the sentiment or a focal point. I went with the latter, since I decided that the narrow vertical would make a great measuring rule, which then dictated how I wanted to use the other elements. My card features three of the patterns in the Trusty Toolbox designer series paper pack - a fun set of papers that can be yours free with a £45 purchase as part of the current Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration promotion. The main panel is a dotted design that looks like a tool storage panel; the reverse of this is the ruler design I used for the vertical and finally I substituted the square element with a pencil and measuring tape that I fussy cut from another of the Trusty Toolbox designs. I paired my papers with a tongue-in-cheek sentiment from the 'Perennial Postage' stamp set that seemed the perfect choice:

A trio of adhesive-backed hearts complete my card, which I'm also sharing with my old teamies over at Festive Friday (waves enthusiastically!) - I used red, hearts and love sentiment from their inspo list.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

COPPER CLAY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS COLLECTION (126.00)

ADHESIVE-BACKED HEARTS & FLOWERS (7.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Claire to host this week and she has a seasonal clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Winter fun! I was totally inspired by our challenge badge this week, so grabbed this week's Color Throwdown colours and the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches with my Penguin Place stamp set and got to work - take a look:

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

I added my penguin sliding down some snowy slopes and cut him out with the largest of the Tailor Made Tags Dies and tied it with some sparkly twine:

I added it to a base onto which I stencilled some Boho Blue snowflakes using one of my Abundant Beauty Decorative Masks; I ran this through my diecutting machine with an embossing mat and the stencil in place to give it a slightly embossed look, although this is quite difficult to see in the photos. A simple stamped sentiment from the same stamp set completes my clean and simple card.

The 'Penguin Place' stamp set is great for winter fun cards - it is also currently available on the Clearance Rack in the online store for the bargain price of £4.75. What's more you can even purchase the co-ordinating punch too for just £4.25 - what are you waiting for?! I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational where they are asking us to use stencils on our projects.

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:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (21.00)

BOHO BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BOHO BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BUBBLE BATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)