I'm late posting today and am just in time to get my card for this week's 'Less is More' challenge in before the deadline. The challenge this week is 'little ones'; I had my card all planned out in my head since the start of this week but despite several attempts, I wasn't able to execute my idea well. So today, I took a break from my preparations for my next week's class and went back to the drawing board and came up with this ultra clean and simple card:

The theme of 'little ones' can be interpreted in so many ways and I had been working with the idea of lots of little things, rather than a new baby theme. On going back to the drawing board, I decided I would try and find the smallest stamped image I had and then I remembered: the Love stamp from the now retired 'Seasonally Scattered' set had some of the most perfect teeny-tiny hearts I ever did see, so decided this would be perfect for my card. I added a punched Itty Bitty Accents heart in Real Red and added the 'You' from the 'Crazy About You' set to complete my romantic sentiment.

That's all for today - short and sweet! Check out the Less is More page for more 'little ones' ideas - there is a ton of great inspiration from the designers and gallery alike. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

*Seasonally Scattered - retired

Crazy About You Photopolymer Stamp Set

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

Real Red A4 Card Stock

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Whisper White A4 Card Stock

I have lots of upcoming birthdays and I am trying to take a much more organised approach to remembering them, at the very least making the cards a little in advance of when I need them, so today I have a bright and colourful addition to the 'ready to send' pile that uses this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for inspiration:

I started off with the stripes on the background panel - I thought the stripes on one of the pieces of Birthday Bash DSP would be perfect. Here's my card:

I adhered my DSP directly to a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock, as I didn't want a border. For my central panel I used the 'Age Awareness' stamp set to stamp the sentiment and the banner across the top of my card, which I decorated with a row of candles from the same set. To keep my layers to a minimum, I stamped the banner directly onto the central panel and fussy cut around the edge before adhering to a Night of Navy base for added definition. To finish, I added a cupcake stamped with the 'Cupcake Party' stamp set and punched out with the co-ordinating punch. I decorated the inside too and created a matching lined envelope - I'll add a picture of this later! The DSP is quite busy and bright for a CAS card, however the uber-simple central panel balances this out I think.

I hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with another one! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper	Age Awareness Photopolymer Stamp Set	Cupcake Party Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cupcake Punch	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad
Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad

Today I'm sharing a card I made for this week's challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches, where they have a double week and we are challenged to work with both colours and sketch:

Now no-one is more surprised than me that I took on this week's challenge; the colour palette isn't a combination that I usually use, however I found myself strangely drawn to it - along with the sketch, although I must confess those two dots in the middle did get the better of me! Take a look at what I came up with:

I decided to make a notelet using Very Vanilla cardstock, and starting with my central panel where I stamped the linked image from the 'Choose Happiness' set in each of the challenge colours, I worked out from there. Some simple layering with panels in each of the challenge colours and the sentiment form the same set, finished with a bird stamped in Baked Brown Sugar, fussy cut and popped on a dimension in the centre of the main panel. I even decorated my Crumb Cake envelope to match. There are minimal supplies required to re-create today's card; you could change out the colours for whatever you have in your stash to create something similar. Don't you just love that sentiment though? Perfect to tell someone just how much they mean to you.

I bought this stamp set a while ago thinking it would be good to explore more collage-style papercraft - whenever I use it though, my cards still look clean and simple! There may be something in there about teaching an old dog new tricks ... oh well! I hope you like today's card regardless. Back tomorrow with a fun birthday card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Choose Happiness Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Baked Brown Sugar
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Crumb Cake Note Cards & Envelopes

Well, it's Tuesday and we woke to a light dusting of snow outside this morning. Not enough for a 'snow day', much to the children's disappointment and mercifully, unlike last week's flurry, the roads are all gritted so once we were clear of our side street the traffic was flowing freely. It might be winter outside, but today's card is reminiscent of warmer times as I have my card for this week's challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. This week there is an interesting colour palette to work with, which in itself has a distinct wintery feel:

Before I get on to my card today, I would just like to give a little shout out to both Connie and Mary and the rest of the CCMC design team; they really are a super bunch of ladies and hugely inspiring. I love their weekly challenges and play along whenever I can. I have been lucky enough to be chosen as one of their Top 3 Picks from time to time, which is always nice, however I love the colour combos and sketches these ladies come up with and it's great to play along for fun. I didn't manage last week - I had my card all designed, just didn't get enough time at my stamp desk to put it together! - but yesterday I managed to get a few cards made, including my card for this week's challenge so I'm back 'with the program'! I'm also using the sketch from Lesley Croghan's new challenge over at Always Playing With Paper - another great challenge to play along with! Without further ado, here is this week's card:

I 'stretched' the sketch as I wanted a landscape orientation for my card, as I decided to feature those little waders from the 'Wetlands' stamp set - definitely my favourite in this set, although they are all lovely to be fair. To 'colour' my image, I used a technique I've seen lots on Pinterest and took the large swoosh from the 'Work of Art' stamp set and stamped it once in Sahara Sand, having stamped off once first, and once in Lost Lagoon, having stamped off twice first, to add just a subtle colouring behind the birds. I switched my sentiment for one from the 'Teeny Tiny Sentiments' stamp set as this card is destined for the Head Groundsman at my children's school, who is retiring at the end of next week, following many years of loyal service. I mounted my image on a piece of Basic Grey and kept my Lost Lagoon flag and Sahara Sand base plain, adding a piece of patterned Basic Grey DSP from the 'Moonlight' DSP stack for background interest. I finished with a little grey metal button, double tied with linen thread, and my card was finished.

I hope you like today's card - I'm off to tackle a mountainous pile of ironing and get a few other chores completed before rewarding myself with a catch up over a cup of tea with a friend I haven't seen in a while this afternoon. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wetlands	Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad
Basic Gray A4 Card Stock	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Linen Thread
Basic Metal Buttons

Happy Monday everyone! I have a desk-based week this week and I'm looking forward to getting a headstart on preparation for my next set of classes and getting some projects prepared, following the flurry of classes and parties last week. Today's card is one I made with my Valentine in mind - very masculine and not a heart in sight! - but with a sentiment that I just know will strike a chord - take a look:

Now if you are of a similar age to me (forty-something - I'm saying no more!!) you may well have lived through the era of the American sitcom 'Friends'. My husband and I have watched every episode more times than I can count and still laugh occasionally at the things we say or do that are inspired from this classic television series. One of my favourite episodes is the one where amidst the ongoing drama of the on-off relationship between Ross and Rachel, Phoebe announces that they will get back together again because just like lobsters, who are known to fall in love and stay together for life, Rachel is Ross's lobster. After some drama, it takes a viewing of Rachel and Monica's old prom video tape for Rachel to realise that she does indeed want to be with Ross and Phoebe triumphantly declares "He's her lobster!" I've made lots of cards featuring both the crab and lobster from the Sea Street set and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a play on words with this one. I chose a simple layout featuring some of the co-ordinating Maritime DSP and used a simple font in Word for my bespoke sentiment. Whilst there's not a heart in sight, mu husband for one will appreciate the romantic gesture of this card!

If you too are nostalgic for some classic TV - or just want to know what the heck I'm rambling on about today! - here is that clip in all it's glory:

On that happy note, I will love you and leave you until tomorrow, when I will be back with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sea Street Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Maritime Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine	1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch	1 Inch Circle Punch

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players, where this week Claire has the following challenge for us:

I also used Rita's sketch layout over at Freshly Made Sketches for my card this week. Now this week's card caused me some mild consternation, as anyone who knows me knows that I've never really had a pet and so I have been known to get myself into all kinds of trouble with friends for under-estimating the depth of their feelings towards their two-and four-legged friends. I am not intentionally insensitive, it's just that I don't 'get it' - so the idea of creating a Valentine's card for or from a pet sent me into quite a spin! Both James Juniors have had goldfish as pets previously, but since I used fish on my card last week I thought today's card needed an alternative, altogether more fluffy friend - so this is what I came up with:

I created a custom sentiment using my 'Back to Basics' alphabet stamps and added a selection of banners using patterns from the 'Stacked with Love' DSP stack. For the heart-shaped centrepiece, I stamped a pair of adorable bunnies and coloured them in with my Smoky Slate Blendabilities. Do you recognise the bunnies, or should I say, bunny? The bunny on the right is from the 'Baby We've Grown' stamp set. I stamped him once, then having masked him off with a post-it note, I then stamped him again onto a piece of window sheet and using the reflection technique transferred this image onto my cardstock, overlapping the legs slightly. The tiniest drag line on the ear resulted in a cute fold-over look, so I left it, as it made the bunnies a little less symmetrical. Don't they make such a cute pair? I finished this centre piece by framing the bunnies in a Real Red heart-shaped frame cut using my Big Shot and Hearts Framelits and added a tiny punched heart with a rhinestone to the centre. If I had a bunny rabbit, I would be happy to send him this Valentine - job done! I'm also linking up with SUO Challenges today too, where the theme is 'Valentine's Wishes' - very appropriate.

Before you reach for your ink pads, do visit the other design team members to see what interesting ideas they've had this week:

I look forward to seeing your projects in the gallery this week.

I'm looking forward to a quiet day today: the hockey pitch is frozen as a result of the sub-zero temperatures we've been having this past week and poor Ben is struggling to shake his cough and cold that he's had for weeks now, so he is going to have a rugby-free week too, as running around a freezing pitch for a couple of hours is certainly not going to improve things. Rebecca and I will be completing the masterpiece that is her ancient Greek theatrical mask, the result of two weeks of paper mache and modelling clay - all being well it should be dry enough to paint. We may even manage to squeeze in another family movie afternoon; last week we watched Malificent for the first time, which was hugely enjoyable and an interesting alternative take on a classic.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Baby, We've Grown	Back To Basics Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set	Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Calypso Coral Assortment
Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

This has to be the quickest post ever amidst some incredibly busy days; I'll pop back with more of an update later, but meanwhile I'm just squeezing in today's creative post with my entry for this week's challenge over at Less is More, where we have the following sketch to work from:

I'm also linking up to Colour Q, as I've used their colour palette on my card today. 

When I saw the sketch, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it; the circle was asking to be a balloon. Here's my card:

I masked off the vertical panel and sponged it in Smoky Slate, to look like a cloudy sky. For the balloon itself, I inked the balloon stamp from the new 'Celebrate Today' set in Calypso Coral, then took a sponge dauber and added some Strawberry Slush ink to one edge, to add some dimension. I stamped the stars on top using Cherry Cobbler ink. I cut the balloon out with the co-ordinating framelits (gotta love marching framelits!) and fussy cut a balloon 'tail' before adhering to the card. A Strawberry Slush twine bow and my sentiment stamped in Cherry Cobbler and finished - wouldn't it brighten your day to see a colourful balloon like this floating across a cloudy sky?

I'm off out to host a Stampin' Up! party for the lovely Jacky tonight, so I'll pop back and update the details on my card later (edited - now done!) - happy stampin'!

 Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Celebrate Today Photopolymer Bundle	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad	Strawberry Slush Thick Baker's Twine
Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Sponge Daubers

Today I have a card inspired by this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts:

Today's card is a super simple card, using a few offcuts from a card I made a couple of weeks ago. You can see that card here; this is today's card:

I saved the negative die cut from my original card (I am such a hoarder - I can't bear with anything that I think will come in useful at a later date!) and used it for the panel across the bottom of my card. I used the same colour combination as my original card too, so that I could use up some of the Lost Lagoon offcuts in my box - waste not, want not and all that! I think the negative die cut can make just as much of a statement on a card as the thinlit itself, as this card shows.

I mounted the 'Just Sayin'' on Lost Lagoon and popped it up on dimensionals and added a little punched flower with a candy dot to finish. A super simple card and a great way to use up the bits and pieces leftover from another project.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Subtles Candy Dots
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Today its Monday and I have a card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge; I am also linking up with the Friday Mashup, where the challenge is to create a baby card, a card in brown aqua and tangerine - or as in my case, a mashup of both:

I decided that the 'any shape' allowed in the sketch was a great opportunity for me to use probably the only stamp that has never been inked up in my 'Something for Baby' stamp set - the pram. Here is my card:

I chose to use some retired 'Retro Fresh' DSP for my card, as it featured the mashup colours. Once I'd decided on my layers, this card came together surprisingly quickly, even leaving time to stamp the inside and decorate the envelope. I've not used this pram stamp previously as it's quite large - this type of sketch layout is just perfect for it though. I finished my pram wheels with a couple of candy dots for added interest and done! 

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Something For Baby Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Baby's First Framelits Die	Baby, We've Grown	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Baked Brown Sugar
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Neutrals Candy Dots	Big Shot Magnetic Platform
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

I'm just popping in to share with you a card that I made for this week's Mojo Monday challenge; I was going to share this yesterday, but was so tired when I got in from taking the James Juniors to their swimming gala I just wasn't awake enough to type! So here is this week's challenge sketch:

This is a great sketch for a feature sentiment; I built up my layers and took the opportunity to showcase not one but two of the great free gifts that you can earn with a £45 order during Sale-A-Bration: the stamp set 'Simply Wonderful', and the 'Irresistibly Yours' Speciality Designer Series Paper. Here is my card:

I stamped my sentiment in Island Indigo then added the flower stamp from the same set and a punched Itty Bitty flower finished with a candy dot centre. I layered this central circle to echo the colours and layers on the base of my card and used the central section of the base layer to feature the beautiful 'Irresistibly Yours' Specialty DSP. This white paper with its pre-embossed glossy white patterns could easily be overlooked in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, yet when you colour it, it really brings it to life. For my card today, I chose to sponge mine with Crisp Cantaloupe ink to show the embossed flowers - isn't it pretty? the stamp set or the DSP could be yours with an order of £45 - or since you get to choose one free gift for each £45 spend, why not splash out and treat yourself to both? Sale-A-Bration runs until 31st March, so you have plenty of time to take advantage. 

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper	Simply Wonderful Clear Stamp Set	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch	2" Circle Punch	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Pad
Card Stock A4 Pistachio Pudding	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Sponge Daubers