Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for our monthly speed challenge, this time with a theme chosen by Jan - I also used one of the current Try Stamping On Tuesday sketches for my layout and the fresh colour palette over at Sunday Stamps ( I used dark blue, light blue and red):

The great outdoors! I decided I didn't want to go with anything floral or scenic for my card, so my mind wandered to sport and outdoor pursuits and I decided to ink up a new and as yet unused stamp set called 'Beside Me' and make a Father's Day card; I know Father's Day is still some time away here in the UK (it falls on 18th June) but the 'Beside Me' stamp set has such great images and if not carried over will be retired by then, so I'm getting in on the action now. Here's the card I came up with:

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

It's All In The Preparation - As we always say when we have a speed challenge, the key is to be prepared. Gather all your supplies up front and plan what you are going to do - this can all be done before the stopwatch starts. I decided on my design and colour scheme and got everything ready, including my cardstock, paper, twine, embellishments, Stampin' Blends, ink pads and tools such as mu Stamparatus. My cardbase was already cut as I keep a stack of white ones ready as these are the ones I use most and the large piece of DSP was already cut to size as I had this cut for a previous project but didn't use it. I worked out the sizes needed for my other two layers, mounted my stamps on my platform, then started my stopwatch!

A False Start - The first thing I planned to do was stamp and colour my image. I thought my design would allow me time to roughly colour this small image, but alas - my timer went off just as I finished colouring. Here's the first image I coloured - this alone took me 10 minutes:

I know colouring can be time-consuming, but I clearly under-estimated this one! So I set that image aside, thought about how I could use way less time, got a new piece of black white cardstock and reset the timer. Take two!

Back To The Drawing - or Colouring - Board - I decided that the key to speedy colouring would rely on focusing on the outline of the image along, rather than colouring it, so I changed up the colours and stamped it in Starry Sky instead of black and stamped the sentiment in Sweet Sorbet. This was so quick, I decided to then just add some rough highlighting to the image and scribbled my lightest Balmy Blue Blend around the image to highlight it. No blending, just a rough colour - I think it works though, what do you think?

I then quickly rounded the corners and put the whole thing together, adding my baker's twine and two trios of heart embellishments to finish. I quickly stopped my timer - 9 minutes and 58 seconds, get in! Most of the time was spent trying to get the hearts straight!! This is such a simple way to use a line image designed for colouring and it's perfect for a quick card or if you're just not a fan of colouring with markers or pencils. 

I so love the images in this set - this one reminds me of when my husband was teaching Ben to ride his bike, so I just had to have 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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 speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BESIDE ME CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	2022–2024 IN COLOR BAKER'S TWINE PACK (14.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses one of the current Try Stamping on Tuesday layouts (love the layering on this one!) that was inspired by the fabulous mood board over at Just Us Girls this week:

Yellow is one of my favourite colours and I couldn't pass up that sunny, sunshine-filled board! I decided to go with the lemons as my inspiration, but I really liked the green and yellow chalks in the photo next to it too, so decided that instead of another Sweet Citrus creation, I would showcase some of the lovely white, green and yellow lemon paper from the Tea Boutique pack - take a look:

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

These papers were great for the split panels and I combined a partial stamped sentiment from the 'Sweet Citrus' stamp set with the large diecut from the Sending Dies:

I did add a lemon segment and flower that I stamped, diecut and embossed with the 'Sweet Citrus' bundle (well, I couldn't not use it at all!!) and a ribbon tied with twine for a final embellishment. 

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 have the youngest of the James Juniors at home today having been blessed with a stinker of a cold from a generous classmate, so some of are feeling very sorry for ourselves! He definitely needs a squeeze or two and some hot lemon today! Me? I'm cracking on with some crafting in the peace and quiet and hoping he isn't quite as generous in sharing his germs with me! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TEA BOUTIQUE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	SWEET CITRUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	SENDING DIES (ENGLISH) (31.00)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS 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 YoonYoung has asked that we feature repeating verticals and a sentiment beneath. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to go with a collection of diecut candles courtesy of the Sentiment Silhouette Dies and a simple birthday sentiment from the co-ordinating Charming Sentiments stamp set:

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

Today's card features the 2022-24 In Colours - I just love this set of colours, as a collection they work so well together, in addition to complimenting other colours too. I added in some Mango Melody for my flames and the diecut 'glow' behind - super simple and much cleaner this week too!

COLOUR REFRESH - Whilst I used the 2022-24 In Colours on today's card, today's post serves as another reminder that the 2021-23 In Colours will shortly retire, so now is the time to stock up on any supplies in those colours that you need or any co-ordinating products, such as designer papers that feature those colours. Since Stampin' Up! have confirmed that we are having a full colour refresh this year, you should apply the same principle to all of your favourite colours in the Stampin' up! range. many colours are already showing low inventory or are already out of stock, and as soon as the full details of the refresh have been announced to demonstrators on 29th March, this situation will undoubtedly be exacerbated and stocks will disappear long before the catalogues change over in May. The full retiring list will go live to customers on 4th April - but I strongly advise you to make sure you have placed any orders before then, as those bargains will be snapped up so quickly it is likely to lead to many disappointed customers. Public service announcement over - you are now fully informed!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)

2022–2024 IN COLOR A4 CARDSTOCK (9.00)

MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I've a quick post to share an even quicker clean and simple card that I made that was inspired by both the 'signs of spring' inspiration photo over at The Card Concept and uses Judy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

When I saw Judy's sketch that trio of circles took me straight to my Sweet Citrus bundle again and the colours and lemons at The Card Concept, along with the pattern on the blue and white vase, I knew where I was headed - take a look:

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

I used a Night of Navy card base as I wanted my blue and white patterned paper as an accent border behind my lemons, and went hunting through my stash of retired papers for the patterned paper. It's a little more like a tile pattern rather than Delft pottery, but I think it works. I added a strip across the width of my card, added a trio of lemons, stamped and embossed and cut in one using my Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder, tucked in a couple of pairs of leaves left over from another project and added a trio of enamel dots and a simple heat embossed sentiment from 'Sending Smiles' as I was in need of thank you cards:

That's all there is to it - so straightforward, yet the bright citrus colours against the navy and white and the dry embossed detailing make this an interesting clean and simple card. I had more of the designer paper left over, so I used it to decorate the envelope flap too - do you ever do that? It's a great way to add a pop of colour and pizzazz - I like to think it cheers up not just the recipient but the postman 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. 

I took a break from today's household chores to type this, so I think it's time to get back to it! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET CITRUS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	ENAMEL DOT ESSENTIALS (7.50)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

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

It's clean and simple week and Ann has asked us to feature a spring flower on our card. here's a quick reminder of what we mean by 'clean and simple at The Paper Players:

• Has minimal layers and embellishments
• Has plenty of open space, aka "white" space
• Is simple and uncluttered

After much deliberation, I decided to use my 'Flowering Tulips' stamp set as I haven't yet inked it up this spring. I chose the lovely bright colours palette over at Just Add Ink and created this really simple card - take a look:

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

I stamped a couple of tulips in the same colour as the cardstock, stamping off one of the layers to get a depth of colour and cut them out using the Tulips Dies and heat embossed the stamens in black for a little extra shine. I added my tulips to a matt layer onto which I'd stamped my sentiment and used one of the dies in the set to cut a pattern to reveal colour from the card base below:

I added a simple diecut silhouette border to the inside of my card to complete my design: 

Super simple and so bright and cheery, tulips, alongside daffodils, are one of my most favourite spring flowers.

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: 

FLOWERING TULIPS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	TULIPS DIES (33.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	FLOWERS OF FRIENDSHIP CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. I used the great sketch below from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for my layout and the theme of dots or stripes (I went with dots) over at AAA Birthdays for my birthday card - take a look:

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Children's Book Day' which is on 2nd April. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used children's sentiment, children (child), bright colours, patterned paper and square and this is what I came up with:

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

I promised you another card this week using the 'By My Side' stamp this week and this is it! This time I decided to use the little girl with her sweet bluebird friend to make a bright and colourful birthday card. I used one of the sentiments from the set on the front of my card and finished the inside with a 'Happy Birthday' greeting. I was initially going to use squares of coloured cardstock for my background, but in the spirit of using up my scraps as encouraged by my friends over at SUO Challenges this week, I grabbed some of my retired Brights Collection designer series paper and pulled out offcuts from previous projects and used my Stylish Shapes Dies to diecut a selection of squares, all with a playful, dotty design to create a harmonious background (I've included a link to the current pack of Brights DSP at the bottom of today's post in case you'd like to recreate this card):

I love the versatility of this stamp set: sweet images, great sentiments and fun for both the young and the young at heart!

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

Enjoy your day; I have my parents visiting at the moment for our delayed Christmas celebrations that didn't take place due to illness. At least we managed to fit it in before Easter - the James Juniors are very much looking forward to an influx of chocolate!! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BY MY SIDE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)
NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Vicky is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with for our 200th (yes, 200th!) challenge: 

I went on the diagonal from bottom left to top right with stencil, flower, sentiment and took the opportunity to have another play with my Loveliest Layers Decorative Masks, this time using both the flower and background stencil and a little fussy cutting - take a look:

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

Double Decorative Masks - I wanted to play along with this month's challenge over at The Flower Challenge where they are using floral diecuts or stencils, so stencilled a flower and leaves using the floral stencil, but instead of stencilling directly onto my card base as I have previously, I fussy cut it and set it to one side whilst I created a background using the other stencil in the set. I created an ombre background using the same shade of pink and purple that I used for my flower using my blending brushes, then used my background stencil to apply shimmery white embossing paste over the top. This adds both a touch of sparkle and some textural interest; be sure to clean your stencil quickly though once you've used is with paste, to avoid it drying onto it and proving difficult to remove. You can see the detail of both stencils more clearly below:

Best Family Ever - The sentiment on my card comes from a stamp set called 'Best Family Ever' - so useful for customisable greetings and great value too. I stamped it in Highland Heather onto a white circle punched with my 1 3/4" circle punch.

Online Exclusives - Before you wonder where the word 'retired' was in front of the reference above to my 1 3/4" circle punch, fear not - it's not there because circle punches are back! Well a 1 3/4" and a 2" version at least, as part of the Online Exclusives range that launched at the start of the month. As you would expect, these items can be found under the 'Online Exclusives' section of my online store - they can be ordered online directly or by placing your order with me, but the important thing to note is that just like our range of craft and card kits, they will not appear in any catalogue publications. Purchase your circle punch and see the rest of the current Online Exclusives range in my online store here. 

I finished my card with some sparkly ribbon, twine and a collection of pearls, gems and enamel dots to compliment my colour scheme.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; my day has been a busy one, but since I have a Parents' School Exchange Meeting at school this evening, I am being rewarded with dinner out with the youngest of the James Juniors in order that we can fit everything in - what a treat! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVELIEST LAYERS DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	BEST FAMILY EVER PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	1-3/4" (4.4 CM) CIRCLE PUNCH (21.00)	WHITE 3/8'' (1 CM) GLITTERED ORGANDY RIBBON (8.00)	PASTEL PEARLS (6.25)
OPAL ROUNDS (7.00)	ENAMEL DOT ESSENTIALS (7.50)	SHIMMERY WHITE EMBOSSING PASTE (8.50)	PALETTE KNIVES (4.75)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BLUSHING BRIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)

Today I'm sharing a card for the clean and simple challenge over at CAS On Friday which closes today where the theme is 'Friendship'. I also used the sketch over at Hand Stamped Sentiments for my layout:

I decided to use a set from the annual catalogue that I picked up ages ago on a stamp sale day, but still had yet to ink up: By My Side. This is the card that I came up with:

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

I love the innocent, child-like images in this set and it has some beautiful friendship sentiments that can be used for all kinds of occasions - thank you, congratulations, hello, thinking of you, birthday or simply to celebrate the friendship of someone you hold dear. I stamped the sweet little boy and his faithful puppy friend and coloured them both with my Stampin' Blends, adding in some ground and just a hint of colour applied with my blending brush and a cloud stencil above the first part of my sentiment. I added a second sentiment at the bottom of my card, masking off to stamp it in a straight line rather than two rows as per the set.

I was a little liberal with my interpretation of the HSS sketch, in that I used it in a horizontal rather than portrait format and didn't curve the top of my panel, as the straight lines suited my clean and simple design better. This layout is actually a really good one for CAS cards - the addition of the coloured strip behind the panel is a great way to add a little more colour and interest without cluttering that all important 'white space'. 

I have something different for you tomorrow, but if you like this card I've made another one featuring some of the other stamps in this set to share with you on Friday, so make sure you pop back then.

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; mine is going to be spent playing catch-up at my desk and trying to get organised for the crafting week ahead! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BY MY SIDE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS DEEP COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM DEEP COMBO (8.50)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS LIGHT COMBO PACK (8.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)

Here's today's second post as promised with the second of my cards using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

This time my interpretation was much more literal - take a look: 

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

The Sweet Citrus bundle was my first thought when I saw the sketch and clearly Amy had worked along similar lines using lemons for her DT card. I wanted to make my card look different to hers even though we used the same starting point, so I went with oranges instead of lemons, a super-bright colour scheme and a fully embossed background, as opposed to designer paper. I just love the texture that the Sweet Citrus embossing folder adds to both the background and the individual fruit segments and the fact that it's a hybrid folder and embosses and diecuts in one pass through the Big Shot is a total time-saving bonus! Check out the texture on the close-up below:

I also used a different sentiment for today's card to the one I've showcased on previous cards using this bundle, both on the outside and the inside:

This thank you card will be winging its way to one of my sweetest customers to thank her for a recent order.

Completely different to my previous card using this layout, but I love it just as much! I'm also linking today's card up over at The Alphabet Challenge where it's 'Y is for Yummy' - I know oranges are healthy, but they are also delicious! When I was pregnant with my first child, they were one of the things I craved and ate in vast quantities - bizarre, I know! A thank you shout-out to the Alphabet Blog team too for choosing my entry for 'X is for XOXO - hugs and kisses as their winner (if you missed it you can see that card here). 

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. 

Apologies for the lateness and brevity of both of today's posts; it took me 3 hours to complete my school run this morning due to a serious car accident that led to me being part of a road closure; fortunately I wasn't involved although my prayers are with the families of those who were. As for me, I'm running much later than usual for a Monday - but grateful to be here writing nonetheless!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET CITRUS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

Today will be a two post day as I managed to squeak in a little extra crafting time over the weekend and managed to make not one but two cards using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week.

Here's the first one:

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

I don't normally gravitate towards this kind of layout, but I was so inspired by Jennifer Timko's FMS Design Team card, that I decided I would try something similar. So I grabbed my paper snips and fussy cut an entire bouquet of flowers from the oh-so-pretty Awash in Beauty designer series paper pack and used this as the centrepiece for my card, with the individual flowers representing those sketch circles. I backed this with a piece of pink paper from the same pack and a simple white lattice diecut from the Organic Beauty Dies, adding a few white opaque adhesive backed gems to decorate:

I finished with a simple sentiment from the 'Sending Smiles' stamp set - I thought this would make a nice card for someone who needed a little 'lift'. 

This card felt a little brave for me as I normally interpret the sketch more literally, but I really like the end result!

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 shortly with my second take on Amy's sketch - a completely different take so stay tuned! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AWASH IN BEAUTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

ORGANIC BEAUTY DIES (40.00)

SENDING SMILES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (21.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

OPAQUE ADHESIVE-BACKED GEMS (7.50)