It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Shannon is hosting this month this week's challenge is a sketch challenge:

Shannon has asked that we create a design featuring 9 rectangles, each of white should be white/plain and pattern-free. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. I don't mind saying that the idea of 9 completely blank rectangles almost threw me for six, but I eventually made 2 cards! 

Here's the first one that I made:

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

Perennial Postage - I decided to use the Perennial Postage Dies for my 9 rectangles and whilst a whole panel of DSP is usually a no-no for a CAS C&S card, since it was going to be mostly covered with my white rectangles, I grabbed a piece of (retired) Iconic Celebrations heart-patterned paper and added this to my base.

Greetings For All - I chose a co-ordinating diecut sentiment from the 'Greetings For All' pack and added a couple of punched hearts behind to pick up the colour and design of the paper:

Take Two - Having made this card, I decided to make another one, but this time choosing a piece of (retired) Sunshine & Rainbows designer series paper that featured white in its pattern, to see if this would create a more clean and simple feel:

I followed the same design and chose another sentiment in the pack and added a Pool Party heart accent:

The monochromatic colour scheme and addition of white in the pattern I think does give this second card a more CAS feel, so this is the one that I used as my challenge card this week, but I thought I'd share both and my thought process. No stamping either! I'm looking forward to see how our challenge participants tackle this challenge this week - why not have a go yourself and come and join us?

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:

PERENNIAL POSTAGE DIES (£31.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

I've had a busy Bank Holiday weekend and not managed to find much time for blogging but now it's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Laura is hosting this month and our second challenge is a colour challenge: 

I wasn't sure what to do with this week's colours, then I saw the challenge over at AAA Cards where they have a fun 'follow the leader' CASE challenge and I was inspired! I grabbed my new Party Alphabet Dies and set to work; this is what I came up with:

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

I retained the vertical design and went with a modern block sentiment to create a thank you card with a clean, masculine feel. I colour blocked the diecut letters with strips behind, then added a trio of thank you sentiments - a perfect card when you need something a little less feminine - and another great way to use those Party Alphabet Dies! Here's the card turned around so you can read the sentiment more easily:

I really like this design - I might have to have another play with those letter dies and the vertical element - so many creative possibilities!

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:

PARTY ALPHABET DIES (£93.00)	SAYING HEY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£8.00)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£12.00)	THOUGHTFUL WISHES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£12.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
BLUEBERRY BUSHEL A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Laura who is hosting has asked that we create a square card with a quartered centrepiece:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I used the colours over at Color Throwdown and decided to create an Andy-Warhol inspired centrepiece, featuring a comical canine favourite - take a look:

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

Yes - it's the dog from the 'One More Year' stamp set - but not quite as you know it! For today's card, I stamped him four times onto white cardstock, coloured with Blends and fussy cut him out, minus his party hat. I backed each image with a square of retired spotty DSP in the challenge colours and mounted each onto a postage die base. I finished with a simple 'hello' sentiment from the new 'Sweet Blooms' stamp set, anchored with an enamel dot:

Super simple and a fun way to give this stamp a different look. This card is going in my stash to send to the youngest James Junior when he is living away at uni - I know this will make him smile!

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ONE MORE YEAR CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE DIES (£31.00)	SWEET BLOOMS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	GRAY GRANITE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£10.25)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM LIGHT COMBO PACK (£10.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. I'm hosting this month and my final challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I used a lovely stamp called 'Grateful Blessing' that I'm pleased to say will be on carryover from the current annual catalogue, because I haven't used it anywhere near enough! Here's my card:

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

Today's card really is so simple! The bell floral stamp in the Grateful Blessing stamp is perfect if you want to do just a little colouring with your Stampin' Blends, or if colouring isn't your thing there is an infill stamp so you can simply stamp it instead. I decided to do something a little different with today's card though: I used Balmy Blue and Shy Shamrock to colour my bluebells using my Stampin' Write markers, using just the outline of the stamp:

This technique is really easy to do; it works better on red rubber stamps than photopolymer, but if you stamp your flowers using a stamp positioning tool, you can repeat it a few times and increase the depth of colour. I stamped one of the sentiments in the set alongside my bluebells in Night of Navy, then added a simple scored border to complete my card. 

The flowers are so delicate when only the outlines are coloured; do you ever use this technique with your outline stamps? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to know how you are using your Stampin' Write markers. 

I also made a second card using the same stamp set, layout and colours, but this time heat-embossing the image in white onto Night of Navy cardstock:

To colour the flowers, I first painted the flower with diluted white kraft ink to give a base for the colour to key to, then when dry I added the colour on top using watercolour pencils:

This gives quite a different look. Two techniques with one stamp set - do you have a favourite? 

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

And the second card:

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! colour 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:

GRATEFUL BLESSING PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£19.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

2024–2026 IN COLOR™ STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (£17.50)

SUBTLES STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (£35.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£10.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and I've designed my layout with a narrow vertical border and sentiment across the wide panel. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to make a card that showcased the greenery diecut in the Mixed Florals bundle - the one that was hidden by all the flowers on Sunday's card (you can see that card here if you missed it):

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

There are three things that each have a significant role to play on today's card:

The Mixed Florals Diecut - The detail of this diecut deserves to showcased in all its glory once in a while - and today's card is it!

The Oxidised Copper Designer Paper - This paper, with its beautiful copper foil highlights, is really lovely and works best when it is allowed to take centre stage; so a border and the diecut itself allows it to stand out against the Pretty Peacock cardbase, whist still retaining a clean and simple feel.

Thinking Of You Sentiment - This sentiment comes from one of my favourite sentiment sets, 'Friends For Life'. I love the combination of typeface and the shine of the embossed copper and it's just the right size to balance the diecut:

Just the sentiment for this week's 'YOU' word challenge over at Just Us Girls this week too; I can't quite believe I've managed to join in with each of their challenges for the last three weeks - I must be on a roll!

The only other thing to mention is that I used one of the Everyday Arches Dies to diecut my sentiment label; this is the first time I've used one as a label rather than an arch, but it just goes to show how useful these are. A few copper sequins complete my card. 

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

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

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:

MIXED FLORALS BUNDLE (54.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	OXIDIZED COPPER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (7.50)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (12.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)
PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	EVERYDAY ARCHES DIES (27.00)

It's Tuesday and April already in Australia, so time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. I'm hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

This is quite a rich colour palette for the time of year, but I wanted to celebrate two of Stampin' Up!'s departing In-Colours, Moody Mauve and Pebbled Path, before they retire at the end of the month. I thought these colours would be great for some earthy coloured mushrooms, so I grabbed my 'Terrific Toadstools' stamp set and my aquapainter and decided on a spot of clean and simple watercolouring - take a look:

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

I diecut a rectangle of watercolour paper using my Nested Essentials Dies and stamped a single toadstool onto it. I inked the stamp using my sponge daubers, using Basic Beige for the stem and highlighting with pebble Patch, which I also used for the gills. The cap was inked in Moddy Mauve and Blackberry Bliss. Once I'd stamped the mushroom, I used my aquapianter to paint a watercoloured background behind it:

I added a couple of tabs of In-Colour ribbons as a little extra highlight to complete my focal point and added it to a Basic Beige card base. I didn't add a sentiment to the front of my card, as I thought it would make a nice simple notecard that could be used for any occasion. Having made this card, I actually made a second one, this time on a Moody Mauve card base. This one was slightly easier: a watercoloured base and two mushrooms stamped onto basic white cardstock, fussy cut and added to my watercoloured panel:

Two mushrooms allowed for a little extra colour contrast. I also added a sentiment from the 'Terrific Toadstools' stamp set to complete my card:

Which of these cards do you prefer? Do leave me a comment and let me know - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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! colour 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:

TERRIFIC TOADSTOOLS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (18.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	WATER PAINTERS (13.00)	FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (8.50)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MOODY MAUVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
PEBBLED PATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC BEIGE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC BEIGE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Nancy has asked that we create a mini slimline card with any shape as the focal point:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I chose a sea turtle from the stamp set of the same name as the focal point for my mini slimline card - take a look:

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

I stamped my sea water bubbles in Azure Afternoon, overstamped with a couple of shoals of Calypso Coral fish and added a turtle that I fussy cut and popped on dimensionals:

A simple 'miss you' sentiment from the Friends For Life' stamp set completes my card. A simple stamps, ink and paper make for today - a quick and easy 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; I'm meeting a friend for a long-overdue catch up, which will be nice. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SEA TURTLE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (20.00)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	AZURE AFTERNOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Nancy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

What a great set of fresh and zingy colours! For my card today I'm also playing along with the 'anything CAS' challenge over at AAA Cards with the optional twist of spring/spring colours with a simple thank you card packed with spring floral details - take a look:

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

Thoughtful Moments - I decided to use the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Embossing Folder and Dies for the sentiment on my card today as I haven't used them for ages! I inked my embossing folder with Berry Burst ink to get the word outline before embossing and diecutting, then used my Berry Burst Blends to create a dip-dyed ombre look, before adding to my card base. It's difficult to see in the photos, but the embossing adds a really nice detail to a clean and simple card.  

Pretty Petals - I decorated my sentiment with clusters of flowers, stamped using the Pretty Petals stamp set. I stamped the stems directly onto the card base, in a mix of the greens, then stamped the petals in Berry Burst and diecut them before adding with dimensionals for a little extra depth:

The Pretty Petals stamps have an almost watercoloured effect, giving them a soft, airy feel - perfect for spring. In addition to individual blooms, you can stamp and diecut larger elements too - check out the set in more detail by clicking on the link to the Online Exclusives section of the store in the product table below. What's more, both the stamps and dies are currently reduced - so you could pick up a bargain too!

Finishing Touches - A white baker's twine bow and trio of white faceted gems complete 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. 

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 later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PRETTY PETALS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (8.50)	PRETTY PETALS DIES (9.60)	THOUGHTFUL MOMENTS HYBRID EMBOSSING FOLDER (ENGLISH) (36.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BERRY BURST STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Suzy has asked that we layer a couple of shapes with the sentiment behind:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to create a simple birthday card using the Birthday Celebration stamp set and Wildflower Celebration papers - take a look:

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

This card was so simple to make: I stamped my sentiment onto a stitched circle and for my accent added a cupcake, complete with candle, that I fussy cut from one of the mixed sheets in the Wildflower Celebration paper pack:

A few party dots complete the front of my card. I used a combination of the other sentiments in the Birthday Celebration stamp set to create this oversize greeting inside my card too:

Easy as that - the Birthday Celebration Suite is perfect for quick and easy birthday cards.

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:

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (39.50)	WILDFLOWER BIRTHDAY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
PARTY DOTS (7.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Suzy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

Whilst I love this week's trio of colours, I struggled to make them work together. I tried big and bold but ultimately settled on using each sparingly for a pop of CAS colour - take a look:

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

One More Year - I do love a funny card, so as soon as I saw the 'One More Year' stamp set I knew I'd have to add it to my collection. Fun images and quirky sentiments, what's not to love? I used the pug on my birthday card today and used the challenge colours for the pup's tongue and party hat with a touch of neutrals for the dog himself:

Centre Focus - The team over at Addicted To CAS currently have 'centre focus' as their theme and my birthday pug was just perfect for a single image to create a central focal point. There's something about his comical expression that just draws you in I think. I'm also linking up over at Inspire Create Challenges where the theme is clean and simple - right in my wheelhouse.

Birthday Fun - The 'One More Year' stamp set is full of fun, quirky sentiments - the one on the front of today's card pairs with this one on the inside:

I used Stampin' Blends to colour my pup, but Stampin' Write markers to colour my sentiment in a combination of Summer Splash and Basic Black; selective inking and a quick huff on the stamp to moisten it before you stamp, this is an easy effect to create. Use a stamping platform too to make alignment easy. Now to decide who to send my quirky pup to!

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! colour 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:

ONE MORE YEAR CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	SUMMER SPLASH STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)
CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	2024–2026 IN COLOR™ STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (17.50)