Big and Small

Less is More's  #414 challenged me to incorporate 'Big and Small' elements in a card. The very pretty Stampin' Up stampset Thoughtful Blooms gave me 'big and small' flowers - so I enjoyed combining these on a card. I raised my bigger flowers on dimensionals, to further distinguish them from the small ones.
The card:

The Ingredients:

Stampin' Up! card (Whisper White, Thick Whisper White, Mint Macaron), ink (Mint Macaron, Lovely Lipstick, Gorgeous Grape), stamps (Thoughtful Blooms) punch (Small Bloom), black embossing powder, in season faceted dots. 

Bouquets

Two pretty challenges inspired me this week: CASOLOGY's Week 330: Bouquet, and Fusion's 'Tea and Bouquet's'.  I don't feel I use my 'Time for Tea' suite enough, so I leapt at the chance.
the card:

Ingredients: Stampin' Up! card (Whisper White, thick Whisper White) ink (Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Granny Apple Green) water colour pencil (Cherry Cobbler), stamp sets (Time for Tea, Itty Bitty Greetings, dies (Spot of Tea, Squares) and punch (Detailed Trio)

Cut out flowers

I was struck by the pleasing symmetry of 'Less is More's Challenge #378:

 and 'read' the image as two rectangles rather than four squares. I combined it with the rich colours of CAS Colors and Sketches #286: Mango Melody, Poppy Parade and Merry Merlot. I haven't yet acquired Mango Melody ink, so made do with my closest match - Peekaboo Peach. I stamped the flower image, in black, on the main card, and then (in Merry Merlot) onto card sponged with peekaboo Peach and splashed with water drops for texture. Then I mounted the coloured card onto the plain, matching the images. I used vellum for the sentiment so it would 'float' above the card. 

Ingredients:

Stampin' Up ink (Merry Merlot, Peekaboo Peach, Basic Black), card (Shimmery White), stamps (Awesomely Artistic, Big on Birthdays (sentiment)).

Other Products: My Favourite Things dienamics (Vertical Stitched Stripes), francheville pearls, Derwent watercolour pencil (Poppy Red)

Pretty colours

A lovely soft palette from Just Add Ink's challenge #408 and a pleasing sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches #271 led me to make this card - my first go with the new season's Stampin' Up release 'Make a Difference' just one tiny little stamp to dip my toe in the water!

Card Ingredients: 

Stampin' Up ink (Wild Wasabi, Powder Pink, Basic Black) watercolour pencil in Melon Mambo, card (Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Powder Pink, Wild Wasabi), stamps (Make a Difference, Petal Palette) dies (Layering Circles, Petals and More), Embossing folder.

Other products: franchville rhinestones

Bright Bunch

After a minimalist couple of cards last week, this week I went maximalist (if that's not a word, it should be). Retro Rubber's Challenge 86 'Beautiful flowers' was an invitation to use lots of colour, and Freshly Made sketch's Challenge 336 provided me with a great frame. The main stampset I used was 'Beautiful Bouquet', which first appeared in the 2017 - 2018 catalogue.
The card:

Card Ingredients:
Stampin' Up ink,(Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Basic Black), card (Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Lemon Lime Twist), stamps (Beautiful Bouquet, Big on Birthdays for sentiment), dies (Bouquet Bunch), Brights enamel dots.
Other Products: Kaisercraft Paper (Oh So Lovely), francheville diamantes, Sizzix Thinlits (Jim Holtz Small Tattered Florals)

Flower Forward

Ooh! What a gorgeous set of colours in Fab Friday's latest challenge: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive. I used them to stamp, to sponge and to watercolour on this card. Retro Rubber's sketch challenge rrcb#81 provided both the shape and the opportunity to go back to a stamp set I've always struggled to use effectively: Falling Flowers (and the accompanying dies, May Flowers) - from the 2016-2017 Annual Catalogue. The sentiment was also a year old, as it was from last year's sale-a-bration.
The card:

Made using heaps of Stampin' Up products!:

Ink: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry and Pool Party watercolour pencils 

Paper: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Shimmery White

Stamps: Falling Flowers, Petal Palette, Designer Tee

Dies: Stitched Shapes, May Flowers, Bunch of Banners

Other products: Stazon Black ink, francheville pearls

Flower Garden

I'd kind of forgotten about the Stampin' Up Beautiful Bouquet stamps until a friend reminded me the other day. Once I looked at them again, I wanted to use them - and CAS(E) this Sketch's Challenge CTS #257 and Colour Throwdown's palette #478 gave me the chance.
The card:

Made using:
Stampin' Up stamps (Beautiful Bouquet), dies (Bouquet Bunch), ink (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky, Lemon Lime Twist and Basic Black) and paper (Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist)
Other: francheville pearls

Framed Flowers

I thought the latest colour challenge from The Paper Players (#376) was great: Dapper Denim, Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide. I especially liked how we could choose one other colour to use. I sponged quite an intense background with Dapper Denim and Lemon Lime Twist and framed it with the Tranquil Tide, so chose Pink Pirouette to lightly sponge flowers and for the top layer of the sentiment - just to lighten things up.
The card:

Made using:

Stampin' Up: paper (Whisper White, Basic Black, Shimmering White, Pink Pirouette, Dapper Denim, Tranquil Tide, Lemon Lime Twist); ink (Whisper White, Dapper Denim, Lemon Lime Twist, Pink Pirouette), Celebrate you thinlits (sentiment)

Craft Creations Mega Nesting Rectangle Dies

Sizzix Jim Holtz Small Tattered Florals Thinlits

francheville rhinestones

Say thanks with flowers

At first glance, I wasn't particularly excited by the new Stampin' Up Petal Passion Suite. However, having used it extensively to make this card, in response to Time Out's challenge #100: Be Thankful; and As You See It's lovely sketch challenge #167, I'm a convert. I also had a chance to try alcohol based markers, and loved those as well. More playing ahead!
The card:

Made using:

Stampin' Up: Petal Psssion Suite (Petal Palette Stamp set and Petals and More thinlit dies), Stampin' Blends Markers (Pink Pirouette light and dark, Rich Razzleberry Light, Old Olive light and dark), ink (Sweet Sugarplum, Basic Black), card (Sweet Sugarplum, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Night of Navy) and dies (Stitched Shapes, Labels)

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

Guest design for Retro Rubber

I was extremely excited to be chosen as a guest designer by Retro Rubber - and this emotion quickly morphed into extreme nervousness!
However, the sketch was inviting and beautiful in its simplicity:

... and I do love going back to stamps that have languished a little while I'm playing with new toys. Here's the result:

For this card, I started by reverse embossing a piece of Whisper White card, using 'Falling Flowers' stamps from the 2016 - 2017 Stampin' Up catalogue, and then sponging on Marina Mist and Lost Lagoon ink. The upper card is stamped with one of the 'Petite Petals' stamps from Stampin' Up's 2015 - 2016 catalogue, in Marina Mist. The sentiment is from 'Crazy about You' stampset, also from the 2015 - 2016 catalogue. The ribbon looks like it has to be Island Indigo in colour, but I won it as a spot prize at a demonstration, so I don't know catalogue details, sorry. The matt and base card are Island Indigo and Lost Lagoon, respectively. Teh only non- Stampin' Up product I used is the little Francheville pearls.

Cheerful Daisies

I liked the colours and options suggested by the latest Hand Stamped Sentiments inspiration image (HSS#266) :

It gave me the opportunity to use my new Stitched Daisies, which I've been coveting for a while but only just acquired. I love everything about them!

here's the card: 

Made using:

Simon Says Stamp Stitched Daisies dies, diamondpress thank you ministamp and die, 

Stampin Up 

paper: kraft, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight; 

ink: Tangerine Tango and Crumb Cake

stamps: Grateful Bunch (inside) and Crazy about You (inside sentiment)

dies: Bouquet Bunch

I also used this crazy kids' paper for the matt: Little Hands' Sticky Sparkle sheets. 

Say it with flowers

This card is a response to three challenges: Retro Rubber's 'Colour My World Challenge 63: 

Fab Friday's sketch challenge 113:

and Just Add Ink's #361 to choose two from flowers, washi and watercolour.
The flowers are from the Stampin' Up set 'Awesomely Artistic', which satisfies the Retro Rubber requirement of a stamp older than a year, because it appears in the 2105/16 catalogue (it may be older, but that's when I got converted to making cards!) I loved the sketch's invitation to put the flowers front and centre, and the lines behind the circle just begged for washi tape, which meant that JAI's challenge fitted beautifully.
Anyway - here's the final result:

Made Using:
Stampin' Up: Awesomely Artistic stampset, Banners for you stampset, Bunch of Banners framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, Whisper White and Pool Party card, washi tape from Affectionately Yours suite, Basic Black Ink, Cucumber Crush and Elegant Eggplant marker pens.
Other Products: Fiskar small butterfly punch, American Craft Pow! glitter paper, Faber Castell water colour pencils, Wink of Stella (clear)