Be Strong (and subtle)

One of my favourite products introduced in the 2018/19 Annual Catalogue was the Un-inked Spectrum Pads.  I have two now, one in rainbow colours, and one in blues/greens, which I used to make the watercolour background for this card, which features the Rooted in Nature stamp set.

I like the subtle leaf background on the card base on this one, and love that keeping the reson of the card quite minimalist means that both the tree and the sentiment stand out nicely, without having to be too bold.  I love this sentiment too, incidentally - I think we could all do with a reminder of this sometimes.

Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Some Decor, Do...

Oh my, I've gone all floral!  This was going to be a wreath, but I underestimated the amount of time it would take me to punch and stick all the flowers (close to 1000, since you ask!), so I ended up stowing them away in a box I usually use to store DSP.  And they looked so nice in the square shape I decided (with the help of my badgering friends - thank you ladies!) to abandon the idea of a wreath, and glued them onto this square frame instead.

They really do brighten up my cabin, and so many people have remarked on them.  All hail the Daisy Punch!

In Every Season (but especially Spring!)

Let's stick with florals for a bit, shall we?  Here are four cards of roughly the same design, using the In Every Season stamp set.  These would also qualify for the #simplestamping challenge, because there's nothing but card, stamps and inks here.

I do enjoy a bit of therapeutic colouring, but I also like to try different things, which is why I've played around with shapes here.  I kind of like the one at the top, with different coloured tulips but just black-and-white leaves - a pop of colour lifts it, but I like the simplicity of the monochrome too.

Of course, I had to go all-out spring colours for the daffodils, though!

So Many Layers...

I'm following on from my previous #simplestamping post to share this card, made using the Bloom By Bloom stamp set.  I don't know about you, but too often I forget how many ways we can use stamps, and something like this very simple layering technique can look really effective. 

There is nothing stuck to this card - just a card blank, stamps and ink.  I'll definitely be trying this with a few more colour combos, but in the meantime I'm feeling quite spring-like looking at this!

Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

Have you been taking part in the #simplestamping challenge?  Here are two of my efforts using the Sale-a-bration set Hello Cupcake.  I've used the sprinkles and little flowers as textures on so many projects, I'll be sad to see this one go at the end of this month.

As a little aside, did you notice that I've used a PINK card blank for the bottom card, not white? I know! I nearly had to have a lie down 😂

One last reminder: Sale-a-bration finishes at the end of this month, so get in touch quick if you'd like to place an order and get any of the free items, or join up and take advantage of the £170 starter kit (usually £130) for just £99.

Affirmational Amphibians

Sale-a-bration has to be my very favourite part of the Stampin'Up! year, and there's less than a month to go!  I got these frogs because I had some extra SAB items available to redeem: I didn't think they were really my thing, but they've wormed their way into my heart - I mean, look at him!

You've only got until the end of the month to get your hands on this fella, and we've already sold out of a few of the SAB items, so if you fancy adding Mr Frog here and his friends to your stamp collection I'd get your order in sooner rather than later, just to be on the safe side.

The Gift of Giving

I like giving gift cards, but I do often have the little twinge of feeling unoriginal when I do.  My favourites to give are Amazon (mostly for young people who I have no idea what to buy for) and Costa (for busy people who appreciate a little break every now and then), as well as theatre and cinema trips and meals out.

I love this design of gift card holder, because it makes the gift-giving just that little bit more special.  It's easy to customise them to the occasion, and as a bonus it's a great way to use up scraps of DSP 😁