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

I needed a couple of new home cards so I used Amy's fab sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout and set to work. This is what I came up with:

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

On The Horizon - I have been making samples for my next class so had the Horizon Dies out on my desk and thought the trio of houses would be perfect for today's card. I combined them with a piece of green New Horizons designer paper for the horizontal element (I stacked three of the diecut house pieces for extra thickness). I diecut a circle from the same sheet of New Horizons paper and stamped the trees onto it directly in Garden Green to sit behind the houses and give depth to my simple scene.

Stitched Detail -  The stitched detail on my circle and banner are courtesy of the new Stylish Shapes Dies - I just love the subtle extra detail:

I also added a pink enamel heart to accent one of the houses to complete the front of my card.

New Home - The sentiment on the front of my card is also from the 'On the Horizon' stamp set and I thought it would work for a 'new home' card. I added another sentiment to the inside of my card to continue the theme, this time from the retired 'Home life' set

I think this trio of house dies are perfect for a clean and simple new home card - how about you? 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 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; the James Juniors both start end of year exams at school next week so we will be interspersing revision with a trip to the poultry centre to see the new delivery of hens that has just arrived (although the children have been warned we will not be bringing some home with us!) I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ON THE HORIZON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£47.50)	NEW HORIZONS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)
SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

Today I have a second post for you in addition to my Festive Friday post: this time with a card for the new challenge over at CAS on Friday where I am the Guest Designer this week following my previous win in their sketch challenge (here's that winning card if you missed it). The theme for the new challenge is 'butterflies'; take a look at what I came up with:

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

Beautiful Wings - I haven't featured butterflies on a card for some time, however the Beautiful Wings Dies have been sitting on my shelf for some time so this was the perfect opportunity to get them opened for their first outing! There are a ton of dies in this set, both for individual detailed diecuts like the one on today's card but also one single die that cuts out all of the stamped images in one go from the co-ordinating 'Butterfly Brilliance', along with a number of dies that are great for adding diecut splatter and brick detail. If you're thinking of adding butterflies to you collection, the Beautiful Wings Dies are worth a look!

Colour Inspiration - I took inspiration for the layout for today's card from this week's Global Design Project sketch #GDP342 but the colours for my 1cm vertical strips (I added two pieces of each colour for subtle additional depth) were inspired by something else entirely: the new Glossy Dots Assortment on page 143 of the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. Always a fan of an enamel dot (or three!), I couldn't resist adding these to my shopping basket. Each pack contains the four colours on today's card, and includes dots in three sizes, which you can see more closely on the photo below:

Isn't that shine just gorgeous?! I can see many more packs of these in my crafting future ;-)

Heartfelt Congratulations - Finally, the sentiment on today's card comes from the 'Happy & Heartfelt' stamp set in the January-June mini catalogue. Featuring lots of sentiments in this fun, handwritten-style font, it was perfect for a final touch of whimsy to today's card.

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

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

Enjoy your day; mine will be full of chores unfortunately but they have to be done at some point, right?! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BRILLIANT WINGS DIES (£41.00)	GLOSSY DOTS ASSORTMENT (£7.50)	HAPPY & HEARTFELT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

Happy Friday one and all! Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday:

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'World Bee Day' which is on May 20th. 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 totally went with the bee theme and used bees, yellow, black, embossing, twine and hexagons and this is what I came up with:

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

Hello Ladybug Bundle - The bees on my card today are courtesy of the Ladybug Builder Punch. I know, it's its first outing and I'm not making ladybirds, but bees - go figure! I paired my bee duo with a sentiment from the 'Hello Ladybug' stamp set. I think it works just as well for bees as ladybirds and makes for such a great card to send to a friend to let them know they can always count on you. 

Ladybug Builder Punch Tip - I want to share a tip that makes getting perfect stripes on your bee a doddle! Just cut a number of strips of yellow cardstock (I used 3 which were each 5mm wide) and glue them to some basic black cardstock (use a spare one as a 'space' to make sure they are equally spaced). Once dry, simply feed your already striped cardstock into the punch and punch out your bee. Perfectly smooth edges and fuss free! Here's the negative space from my punched cardstock strip that shows what I mean:

You're welcome! I added some wings punched from vellum and brushed with some clear Wink of Stella for a subtle sparkle.

Hive 3D  - I backed my bees with a panel of Daffodil Delight, embossed with the Hive 3D Embossing Folder - the perfect way to add some co-ordinating texture to my clean and simple card. I wrapped it with some black baker's twine, adding a couple of notches to keep it straight and enable it to sit neatly. This is a useful trick -  you can just see the detail on the close-up 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. 

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 Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Stephanie Lanzalotto
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

Today's cards was also inspired by the following challenges: over at Color Dare the challenge is to use black, white and one colour (I obviously chose yellow!) and at Addicted to CAS where the codeword is 'Friendship'.

Today is Friday 13th - not unlucky for you, as this is a two-post Friday! Are you superstitious about this kind of thing? I can't say I am and am not averse to putting an umbrella up in the house to dry, although I don't go out of my way to walk under ladders! Do you have any superstitions that you follow? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear about them! Enjoy your day and remember to check out today's second post here. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HELLO LADYBUG BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£30.50)	HIVE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Shannon has asked that we layer some shapes along a vertical panel. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I did just that - I turned the sketch through 90 degrees and went with a very fluid interpretation of Shannon's sketch using the Let's Set Sail bundle:

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

Let's Set Sail - The Let's Set Sail bundle is perfect for clean and simple cards and it works for everything from (masculine) birthdays and encouragement to baby cards. I added the sea directly to my white cardbase, along with my sentiment and some birds, then added my punched sailboat with dimensionals for a little extra lift. I love the sketchy appearance of the stamps in this set: 

Tuesday Tip - The Tuesday Tip that I'm sharing over in my Crafty Owl Creatives Facebook Group today is around the Sailboat Builder Punch - some clever stamping enables you to stamp and punch it out in one go:

This is such a time-saver and econimcal use of cardstock too. You can get the detail, see other Tuesday Tips and more by joining my Facebook Group 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. 

Today's card was also inspired by a couple of other challenges: the team over at Color Hues are asking us to create cards using the colours blue and tan and over at Time Out where the theme is 'vacation':

As a keen scuba diver, I am more like to be found beneath the waves rather than in a sailboat, but each to their own (and I don't have a stamp featuring a scuba diver ;-) )

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LET'S SET SAIL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£29.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

Today 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 colour challenge featuring some of my favourites for you to work with:

I used the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday (including the optional of florals as this works for Just Us Girls this week too) and paired it with stencilling and heat embossing from the Just Add Ink 'choose 2' challenge this week to create what turned out to be a rather simple card - take a look:

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

It just so happens that all three of my chosen colours appear in the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper so I knew this would have to feature on my card - I just adore these papers! I already had a bunch of flowers and leaves that I had diecut, some of which were from the edge of the paper, so perfect for today's design. I lightly stencilled some Fresh Freesia ink onto my card front using a blending brush and one of my Butterfly and Flowers Decorative Masks, blending in a circular shape then fading out across my cardfront, then added a navy banner with a white heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set, anchoring this with my diecut flowers. A sprinkling of clear iridescent gems complete my card:

I'm really pleased with how this card turned out, especially the background stencilling; I love the subtle detail this adds. 

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 having a quiet one since I am recovering from being the late-night (or should that be very early this morning?!) taxi service to and from the annual hockey club black tie dinner yesterday. At least it's just tiredness not a hangover I'm having to cope with though, so I'm thankful for that! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HUES OF HAPPINESS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	HAPPINESS ABOUNDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	BUTTERFLIES & FLOWERS LAYERING DECORATIVE MASKS (£9.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	FRESH FREESIA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)

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

I used this week's Global Design Project colour palette and the sketch layout over at Sunday Stamps and chose a set that might surprise you for my card this week - take a look:

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

A Mother's Love - We have already had Mother's Day here in the UK, so instead of making a Mother's Day card I decided to make a card to send to my daughter. I filled in the blank for today's challenge with 'The best thing about Mothers is ...unconditional love' and I thought this sweet image of two birds from the 'Catch You Later' stamp set, alongside the sentiment of 'I'll always be here for you' sums this up nicely. The image of the protective mother bird keeping her little one close underlines the idea that a Mother is the one person who loves you - no matter what. As a Mother of two myself, that's exactly how I feel about my offspring and this simple card is a great way to make sure that they know it. 

Stylish Circles and Banners - I used the Stylish Shapes Dies both to edge my cutaway circle - I love that these dies have the stitched detail on both sides of the cut line - and for the trio of stitched banners that house my sentiment. This dieset is an absolute must-have!

Beautiful Blends - I coloured my pair of birds in this week's GDP colours; I think these birds are supposed to be quails, but since these are rather uninteresting, neutral coloured birds to look at, I thought a brighter look with a funky top feather was much more fun! 

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 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; I've a super busy end to my week but will hopefully be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CATCH YOU LATER CLING STAMP SET (£22.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PALE PAPAYA STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)

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: 

I went down the middle column with twine, flowers and leaves and today paired something old with something new - take a look:

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

Color Throwdown - Today's card features the colours over at Color Throwdown this week - check out these fresh colours:

I was supposed to be this week's Featured Stamper over at Color Throwdown following my win with this card here a couple of weeks ago. But I got my dates muddled and thought I needed to be ready for next week not this week! So I added some twine to the card I'd prepared and thought I'd share with you today instead. Isn't this a great mix of colours?

Slimline Stripes - Today's card was not only inspired by the colours but also the striped pattern on the dress of the CTD inspiration photo. I thought the Slimline Dies would be a great way to incorporate the colours but also add interest to the front of my card, don't you think? The Mint Macaron co-ordinates beautifully with the slimline envelopes too.

Sending Smiles - I couldn't resist another outing with the Sending Smiles bundle on today's card. I backed my flower stem with a circle of vellum so that it wouldn't get lost against the background. The real star of today's card though is the sentiment; I just love that layered 'sending' diecut and it's so versatile as it can be paired with lots of other greetings in the set:  

I'm also linking up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges who are featuring sentiments for their current challenge. They are also celebrating their 300th challenge - way to go!

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; I'm out at an art exhibition this evening, so looking forward to that. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SENDING SMILES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	SLIM CARD DIES (£55.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.50)	SLIMLINE ENVELOPES (£9.25)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)
POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SO SAFFRON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MINT MACARON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

Today I'm sharing the card that I sent out with the paper copies of the new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue to my loyal customers. I used the new 'Sending Smiles' bundle and my card also features each of the new in-colours - take a look:

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

Sending Smiles - I had lots of these cards to make, so purposely designed a fairly clean and simple, almost one layer (save the diecut sentiment) card. For this kind of mass production the Stamparatus is a must: I added flower stems, each set of petals and then the sentiment to separate platform plates, then without needing to move my card, stamped each colour in turn. Once all my card bases were stamped, I added my diecut sentiment; I added adhesive sheets to the reverse of my Tahitian Tide cardstock to speed up the gluing process and added some Tombo behind the vellum to attach it to the cardbase.

New In Colors - Let's take a look at those new 2022-24 In Colors: 

Whilst the In Color collections aren't designed to be used together, the colours in this collection compliment each other beautifully, don't you think? 

Want Them All? - Would you like to add these colours to your ink collection? Stampin' Up! have made that even easier for you this month. Between 3-31 May, when you join Stampin' Up! as a new demonstrator, you receive not only £130 of product for £99, but you will get an additional £62.50 worth of In-Color products FOR FREE! 

You will receive a full set of in color ink pads, a mixed pack of in color cardstock, in color designer series paper and a pack of in-color grid paper in your FREE product bundle. Your kit is sent postage-free and there are a range of ongoing benefits, from product discounts to training and most of all the opportunity to grow a business that works for you and have fun and build friendships as part of the wider Stampin' Up! community.

If this isn't for you, then you might like to consider joining my new In Color Club. 

2022-24 In Color Club Details

To help you spread the cost and gradually grow your new in-colour collection, I am offering an in-colour club (UK customers only). It begins this month and runs for the next 5 months, up to and including September. Each month, you will receive a collection of products for one of the colours, with each month featuring a different colour. You will be sent a reminder on the 1st of the month, and your in-color club invoice will need to be paid by the 15th of the month in order that items can be ordered in good time.

Each month, you will receive: 

• 1/2 pack of A4 cardstock (12 sheets)
• 1/2 roll of 1/8" (1cm) In Color Metallic Woven Ribbon
• 1 ink pad
• 1 ink refill
• 1 Stampin' Write Marker
• 30 In Color Matte Decorative Dots
• Eight 6”X6” In Color DSP sheets
• Four sheets 6" x 6" In Color Glimmer paper
• In Color Baker's Twine
• A hand stamped card featuring your in-colour of the month

Since all of the colours are also available as Stampin' Blends, there is the option to add on a Stampin' Up! Blends Marker Combo Pack each month for an additional £8.50.   

Details:

Basic Pack Cost: £31.65 plus postage and packaging (Royal Mail 2nd Class Signed For) every month May through September. If you are local, you can avoid the cost of shipping and arrange to collect. 

Payment can be made by Paypal or bank transfer (or cash/cheque for local customers).

If you would like to join my new colour club this month, then you can email me to sign up 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. 

I am also linking my card up over at The Alphabet Challenge where they are currently on 'B is for Blooms' as we go back through the alphabet once more.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SENDING SMILES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)

2022–2024 IN COLOR CLASSIC STAMPIN' PADS (£33.75)

TAHITIAN TIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches.  We are into May and so a new month means a new hostess! This month it's the turn of Shannon and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

I also used the sketch layout over at Just Add Ink for my layout. Today's card is all about the new - well it is the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue launch day, after all! I used two new stamp sets and two new dies - take a look:

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

A stitched circle courtesy of the Stylish Shapes Dies in Pale Papaya forms the backdrop for my sweet heat-embossed teacup brimming with flowers, courtesy of the new Cup of Tea bundle. A fussy cut sentiment from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set (I just love that script/font!) and a few in-colour gems complete my clean and simple card:

And that's all there is to 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. 

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:

CUP OF TEA BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	HAPPINESS ABOUNDS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

As promised, today I have a second card for you. I started this card on Saturday but only managed to finish it this afternoon. It uses Jen B's fabulous layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and the colours over at Color Throwdown (and was inspired by the geometric triangle pattern on the cushion in the inspo photo too):

Here's my card - take a look:

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

At first glance, there really is nothing that remarkable about this card: a simple card base in Bumblebee, a mat in Night of Navy and then a vertical sentiment from the 'Celebrate With Flowers' stamp set in triplicate with a pattern in between formed from some tiny triangles in the challenge colours and diecut with the Stitched Triangle Dies. This card should have been super-simple to execute and the idea came to me in a flash when I saw Jen's sketch; normally I would have chosen one of my (many!) beloved patterned papers for those three shapes, however the stamp set was still on my desk from a previous project and I thought it would be fun to rotate the sketch through 180 degrees and flip the sentiment and decorative elements. Easy, right? Famous last words!! I actually started making two cards, the one you see above and a one layer one, but all in all I must have made about 6 versions, all of which ended up in the dustbin, before I finally finished one. There were mis-aligned sentiments, misaligned diecut borders, changes of cardbase colour, smudged ink - you name it, it happened on this card! Eventually I cut down my one layer version for the above card and added my diecut triangles so that I could at least say I finally finished one!

I think this makes a good clean and simple masculine birthday card, but I can't say I'll be making another one anytime soon - this one may well be unique! The moral of the story here? Well, stick to the sketch and go with your first instinct. Oh and even the most experienced of us cardmakers sometimes fail to get it right first, second ... or even fifth time!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my crafting trials and tribulations! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and links to the new catalogue - woohoo! Until then, happy stampin'!