60th Wedding Anniversary card

I loved the colours in the latest CAS Colours and Sketches challenge (#248) - Emerald Envy, Tranquil Tide and  Metallic Silver - and they provided the basis for my thinking about a 60th wedding anniversary card for an uncle and aunt. (His brother and wife have the same anniversary this year, so I'll be making another one soon!) The metallic silver went nicely, I thought, with the 'diamond' anniversary, but I added a few diamonds (well, diamantes, but they still look good!) to keep the card appropriate for the celebration.
Here's the card:

Made Using:
Stampin' Up Products: Emerald Envy and Tranquil Tide ink and paper, Sky is the Limit stampset (for sentiment)
francheville diamantes
Kaisercraft Numbers Decorative Dies, Flutter clear stamps
Silver craft paper

Orange Light

As You See It's challenge #160 was the first time I've attempted a speed challenge, and I took the bloggers at their word and prepared before I started - my craft table looked like I was preparing for surgery. I regretted deciding on masking the card for the background cross (in fact, I confess, I had to start the whole thing again - does rehearsal count?). Anyway, I was a few seconds over in the end, but I'm still counting it!
And fortuitously, the colours of this challenge (shades of orange and neutrals) matched up with Color Throwdown's Challenge #464 - so I got double the entry for that stress!
Here's the card:

Made using:

Stampin' Up card: Whisper White, Tip top Taupe, Cajun Craze, ink: Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, stamps: Make a Medallion, dies: Layering Circles

Christmas quilted star

Here's my second play with the wonderful Christmas Quilt set by Stampin' Up - it might be replacing Totally Trees in my affections! I used CAS(E) this Sketch's challenge #241 as a starting point for the layout and, even though the DSP set isn't at all 'Christmassy', was surprised to see that the result was.
Here it is:

Made using:
Stampin' Up: Christmas Quilt stamps, Quilt Builder framelits, foil snowflakes, enamel shapes Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Garden Green ink, Garden Green, Rose Red and Whisper White paper.
Other Products: My Favorite Things Plaid Background builder stamps.

Breast cancer awareness

I was pleased to be able to combine two challenges with this card: In(k)spire Me's sketch #319 and Time Out's invitation to make a card for either friendship or breast cancer awareness - both worthy subjects. I have just bought the Christmas Quilt stamps and dies from Stampin' Up and already love them, and here, experimented with a band across the card made using some of the stamps. I used some of Stampin' Up's  newest in-season colours, because of the two lovely and very different pinks.
Here's the card:

Made using Stampin' Up products: 

Christmas Quilt  and Sending Thoughts stamps, Quilt Builder framelits, Ink (Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink), Paper (Berry Burst, Whisper White, Powder Pink), pink ribbon (sorry, don't know exact details except that I think it's the same company!)

HAPPY Birthday

A quick post with a cheerful little card, made in response to two challenges: CASology's 'Cake' cue word and Fab Friday's #121 sketch.
I liked the idea of cake-fireworks - I'll give it to someone who really loves to celebrate their birthday!

Made using:

Stampin' Up Ink (Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight), Paper (Whisper White), Stamps (Endless Birthday Wishes, In the City, and Watercolour Pencils.

Feather Flight

I've previously struggled to find an entry point for quotation/word themed challenges, but just loved Time Out's Challenge #92 sentence: "Paint The Flying Spirit Of The Birds Rather than its Feathers." I had just tried a new sponging and masking technique (thanks as always to Jan for the lesson!) and immediately thought it could be used to suggest the movement - flight - of a feather. I teamed this challenge with the colours from Just Add Ink's Challenge #377 (Lemon Lime Twist, Dapper Denim and Pool Party). I continue to be amazed with Lemon Lime Twist - it teams with so many different colour combinations - it's like an exciting neutral! 

Made Using:
Stampin' Up ink (Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party, Dapper Denim), paper (Dapper Denim, Pool Party)
Stamps: Rosie's 'spread your beautiful wings'
Other: francheville rhinestones, watercolour paper

square!

I just had to fit one more card in before taking off for 10 days to Samoa...
CASology's challenge 264, 'Square', seemed at first glance to be simple - but then when I thought a little more I realised I'm entirely used to working with rectangular card shapes. So it really was a challenge!
I kept it very simple with stitched frames and a little central image:

Made using:
Stampin' Up paper (Whisper White, So Saffron), stampin' write markers (Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Sweet Sugarplum, Dapper Denim)
Other Products: My Favorite Things stitched square framelit dies.

Double Dipper

I couldn't resist having a go at CAS Colours and Sketches' Double Challenge #238, even though I'm new enough at stamping that I didn't have any of the colours - so had to substitute the closest ones I have.
I've been feeling like I wasn't getting maximum benefit from Stampin' Up's Eastern Suite, so when I saw the circle on the sketch, I thought, 'Right! Here's my chance.'  I also used I technique which is probably familiar to a lot of people but new to me - bukeh colouring.
Here's the result:

Made using:
Stampin' Up ink (Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White), paper (Whisper White, Shimmery White, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky), stamp sets (Eastern Beauty, Grateful Bunch), dies (Eastern Medallions, Layering Circles)
Other products: francheville rhinestones

Tiny House

I've been playing around with the Stampin' Up stamp set 'In the City' for a while now, but this is the first time I've used it for a challenge. I just love miniatures, and so love the doll's house feel of these stamps. I used Paper Player's challenge PP359 as a layout inspiration, and CASE'ed (that sounds so much better than stole!) the idea for the clouds from a card made by a friend of mine, (or perhaps I should call her my card addiction enabler), Jan Clothier (her blog is here - she is an inspiration).
Here's the result:

 Made Using:
Stampin' Up ink (Marina Mist, Watermelon Wonder, Lemon Lime Twist, Basic Black, Soft Sky); paper (Whisper White, Shimmery White, Lemon Lime Twist, Island Indigo, stampin' write markers (Island Indigo, Hello Honey), Mica Flakes Trio Pack, embossing paste,  In the City stamps, Layering Circles dies
Other products: My Favorite Things dies (Stitched Basic Edges)

Thanks for lifting me upUp and Away

I loved the colour combination in Colour Throwdown;s #457 and had intended to make a very subtly coloured card, full of delicate detail. So much for that idea - the colours got stronger the more I played around. I did, however, work hard to keep the clouds light, in keeping with As you See It's sketch #157 - I liked the idea of them gently supporting the rest of the image, rather than being an overwhelming part of it. To that end, I used vellum and the outline stamp in Whisper White, rather than a bolder die cut white.
Here's the card:

Made using: Stampin' Up paper (Daffodil Delight, Sweet Sugarplum, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate, Basic Grey), ink (Basic Black, Whisper White, Smoky Slate), vellum (Botanical Gardens), Stamp sets (Lift Me Up), dies (Up and Away).
Other Products: francheville rhinestones, My Favourite Things Dies (a freebie) for the sentiment

Spring Flower birthday

I was immediately attracted to the colours in Global Design Project's #101 - a great combination, where the richness of the navy offsets the sweet Flirty Flamingo and is complemented by Bermuda Bay. I've been wanting to experiment further with two of my birthday stampsets (see below) so used this as an opportunity.
The result is colourful and bold! Here it is:

Made using:

Stampin' Up paper (Whisper White, Bermuda Bay), Ink (Night of Navy), stampin' write pens (Bermuda Bay, flirty Flamingo) stamp sets (Big on Birthdays, Happy Birthday Gorgeous), enamel shapes. 

Other products: francheville rhinestones, 

Subtle flowers

Inspiration struck late with this card - it wasn't until I saw the Just Add Ink's #374 inspiration photo  that I had an idea for Freshly Made Sketch's #302. I do struggle to use a subtle palette - I'm more inclined to splash colour all over the place - so I feel proud that I managed some restraint this time!
Here's the card:

Made using:
Stampin' Up paper (Whisper White, Chocolate Chip), ink (Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Whisper White) Stamp set (Pictogram Punches) and die (Circles Collection)
Other Products: ek mini flower punch, francheville rhinestones, washi tape (from a sale bin: I don't have details).

Father's Day

Father's Day is fast approaching in New Zealand, so I turned to two challenges as inspiration for a card for Dad. I returned to Global Design Project's 100th challenge and chose another designer to CASE - this time, Louise Sharp's crisp card. I combined her layout with the colours from CAS Colours and Sketches' Challenge #236: Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral and Crushed Curry.
I hope Dad enjoys the result:

Made using: 

Stampin' Up:

Inks: Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Basic Black and Smoky Slate

Paper: Whisper White and Bermuda Bay

Stamps: Totally Trees and Thoughtful Banners

Punch: Banners

Other products: MFT Horizontal Stitched Strips, Sizzix Tag Collection Framelits, American Crafts string

Happy 30th!

Congratulations, Global Design Project, on your 100th challenge - and what a great idea to showcase your designers and invite us to CASE one or more - I suspect I'll be returning. I'd been working on how to use the colours from Just Add Ink's challenge #372: Tranquil Tide, Pool Party and Powder Pink, and when I saw Tanja Kolar's lovely card I had an 'aha!' moment.
Here's the result:

Made using:

Stampin' Up 

Ink: Tranquil Tide, Powder Pink, Pool Party

Card: Shimmery White, Tranquil Tide

Stamps: Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Other products: francheville pearls, Kaisercraft numbers decorative dies

Spring Tulips

Congratulations, Freshly Made Sketches, on your 300th Challenge - another of the great designs you come up with:

I've gone for CAS and springlike in response - since we're holding our breath for warmer weather and the daffodils are appearing, down here in the bottom corner of the world. This gave me the chance to use the colours in Fab Friday's Challenge #118: Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist and Flirty Flamingo. 

Made using:

Stampin' Up: Whisper White and Melon Mambo Paper, Basic Black, Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo inks, spotted embossing folder, Stitched Shapes dies, Big on Birthdays stamps (sentiment)

My Favourite Things: Spring Tulips stamps

Summer Salad

I liked the vibrancy of the colours in As You See It's 'Summer Salad' colour challenge:

I was initially skeptical about the new Lemon Lime Twist, but have been surprised by how many different colours it offsets nicely. 

For the flowers, I revisited a favourite: Simon Says Stamps 'Artsy Flower Parts' -I love how the strange and wonderful shapes still manage to look like flowers. 

Made using:

Stampin' Up Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Lemon Lime Twist; Whisper White paper, Big on Birthdays Stampset (sentiment). 

Other:

My Favourite Things Horizontal Stitched Rectangles Dies

Simon Says Stamps 'Artsy Flower Parts' stamps and dies

Francheville Rhinestones

Bring on the beach

I should probably give this card to myself, to celebrate our upcoming holiday in Samoa. I hope Pacific Point really is the colour of the sky!
The card combines challenges from Paper Players - PP354 - and Hand Stamped Sentiments - #299. I'm loving Stampin' Up's shimmery white paper - a dream to sponge colour onto, and the slight shimmer survives the sponging (although not being photographed!). For the beach/shells, I turned to my trusty New Zealand koru embossing folder, lightly sponging it first with Sahara Sand and Blushing Bride inks so it looked a bit sandy and shelly.
Here's the result:

Made using:
Stampin' Up:
Inks: Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Watermelon Wonder, Real Red.
Paper: Whisper White, Shimmery White
Up and Away Thinlit dies (clouds) and Day at the Beach stamp set (starfish)
Other products: Sizzix Celebrate drop-in sentiments, francheville 'rope', craft creations koru embossing folder

New Product play

For this card, I accepted the invitation in SUO's #179 to use a new product from the Stampin' Up catalogue and used the colours in Global Design Project's #097: Crumbcake, Berry Burst and Wild Wasabi.
I can already see I'll be returning again and again to the Happy Birthday Gorgeous bundle: although then words made with the die look so prominent, there are heaps of ways to make each use different.
For example:

Made using:

Stampin' Up Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Berry Burst, Basic Black

Stampin' Up Ink: Wild Wasabi, Berry Burst, Basic Black

Other: Stampin' Up Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set and Happy Birthday Thinlits Die

Framed Daisy

For this card, I used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch's #231 and Less is More's #338: 'Anything but stamps'. It's my first play with the new Stampin' Up colours and I liked this combination more than I thought I would: the Lemon Lime Twist paper undercut the softness of the Powder Pink nicely.
I ended up without a sentiment - mainly because all my die sentiments were too big for the delicacy of the daisy and I couldn't use stamps!
Here it is:

Made using:
Stampin' Up Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Dies: Simon Says Stamp Stitched Daisies and Die-namics stitched rectangular frame.
Other: silver thread

Retro Rainbow

I love rainbows, and rainbow cards, so I was pleased to see this challenge from Retro Rubber:

I experimented with a technique I learnt in a class a couple of months ago: Joseph's Coat. I'd tried it with flower outline stamps, but wondered if it would work with something a bit more 'filled in' - like the 'I think you're great' stamp set from the 2015-2016 catalogue. Here's the result:

If I did this again, I'd probably use a lighter purple, since the Rich Razzleberry is a little lost against the Night of Navy. To frame the sentiment, I used a rectangle die that's a bit counter-intuitive, since it 'stitches' the outside of the frame - meaning that the frame becomes what you cut the rectangle out of (if you see what I mean). I liked the result:

For the inside, I tried using two of the rainbow colours together on the stamp:

Made using: 

Stampin' Up Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Daffodil Delight, Cucumber Crush, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy.

Stampin' Up paper: Shimmery White, Daffodil Delight

Stampin' Up Stamps: I think you're great (from the 2015-2016 catalogue) and Big on Birthdays

Other: Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Dies

Romantic Roses

For The Card Concept's challenge #76 (Romantic Roses), I made a clean and layered card. My response was a fairly literal take on the inspiration photo - well, what better than a bunch of red roses? - although I'm using the peony roses from Stampin' Up's new Beautiful Bouquet suite. Here's the photo:

and my card - I used the embossed panel to try to capture the texture of the shutters, and black glitter card for the wrapping for a bit of bling. 

Made using: 

Stampin' Up products:

Beautiful Bouquet stamps and dies; Stitched Shapes framelits

Whisper White paper

Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Garden Green and Basic Black ink

Christmas embossing folder

Other products:

Craftwise metallic twine, Rosie's glitter cardstock

Zigzag birthday

I was happy to call myself patriotic when working with the Fusion inspiration colours this week in their '4th of July' challenge, since the colours of the New Zealand flag are also red, white and blue. For the layout, I turned to Fab Friday's sketch #115. I love the stamp set - a recent acquisition - kind of quirky and lots of possibilities.
Here's the card:

Made using:

Stampin' Up:  Whisper White paper, DSP from 'Pop of Pink' set and inks - Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Real Red, Watermelon Wonder, Old Olive, Wild Wasabi and Basic Black. 

Stamp and Dies: Simon Says Stamp 'Artsy Flower Parts'