It's Christmas at Sweet Stampin'!

 No prizes for guessing the theme of our last challenge for 2025 - it's Christmas!  The Sweet Stampin' challenge will be open for the duration of the month, so there's plenty of time for you to enter your Christmas creations.

I opted for a Concord & 9th stamp and die combo, so that I could build a row of houses.  The house die has a tab on the right-hand side making it easy to attach more die cut houses.  There are plenty of choices when it comes to decoration, with both stamps and dies to create different looks for each house.

I used Concord & 9th and Spellbinders cardstock to cut out the shapes and used inks to stamp the bricks, wooden slats and the detailing on the doors.  For a tiny bit of sparkle I used Sakura glitter pens on the banner and fairy lights; I used ceramic dots to create the baubles on the trees.

We'd love you to share your Christmas cards, tags etc so do take a look at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog. You'll find inspiration from the Sweeties plus the challenge details.

Hope to see what you've made!

xx

It's our birthday!

 Happy Birthday to us!  Sweet Stampin' has it's birthday this week and we'd love you to celebrate with us.

Our challenge theme, unsurprisingly, is Birthdays and we can't wait to see your birthday creations.  I have only relatively recently become a fan of the Greetery (Seven Hills Crafts has all of the Greetery goodness in their online shop) and I treated myself to this slightly older stamp and stencil set.

I chose a range of colours from an assortment of companies for my design - the possible colour combos for this set are endless, so I made a few in readiness for other cards.  As the stamped image is so busy I kept the rest of the card nice and simple, creating a thin black mat for the main image and echoing this in the sentiment panel.  A few gems from my stash completed the design.

We hope you can play along with us this fortnight and if nothing else it will give you a break from  your Christmas cards!

xxx

Red for Remembrance at Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog

 I've been dying to use this beautiful press plate/stencil set from Altenew and our Red for Remembrance challenge starting today seemed the perfect opportunity.

Did you know that you can use your press plates in our Sweet Stampin' challenges?  After all, they're essentially just another way of stamping.

I ran the plate through my Betterpress machine using gold ink from Lisa Horton (these inks are AMAZING btw).  Once the ink was thoroughly dry I attached my stencils and inked the different sections using Pink Fresh Studio inks in Coral Reef, Passion Fruit, Berrylicious and Candy Apple.

I cut a frame for the image from co-ordinating cardstock, allowing for a thin white border to make the image really stand out.  I adhered a couple of gems from my stash and the job was done.

I really hope you can play along with us this fortnight while we give our thanks to all of those who served so that we can be safe and free.  My heart goes out to all of those affected by the horrific wars going on today across the world.  When will people ever learn?

You'll find all of the challenge details, along with lots of lovely inspiration from the Sweeties, here.

Take care xx

Inspired by a book, song or film

 We have a new challenge starting over at Sweet Stampin' today.  This fortnight we'd like your project to reflect inspiration from either a book, a song or a film.

I'll be honest, I usually struggle to get started with these challenges and this one was no exception.  I tried quite a few ideas but wasn't happy with any of them.  Fortunately, when I was deliberating whether I could show the French film Intouchable to my third years, inspiration struck! The central character in the film is a big fan of Kool and the Gang, and I knew I had a press plate that would link to the song Celebration.

I decided that I would keep the design fairly simple so that the bold lettering could take centre stage.  The press plate set comprises two plates, giving you the option to layer the design.  I hot-foiled the letters in matte gold and then used the Betterpress to stamp the flowers over the top.  I was so pleased how this turned out!

I cut a gold mat to go behind the focal panel and adhered this to an A2 card base.  I added a few moonstone dew drops for some subtle embellishment and called it done.

I hope you can join in our Inspired by... challenge.  All the details, as well as inpiration from the Sweeties, are over on the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a great weekend

xx

Use a die/die cuts - Sweet Stampin'

 While Sweet Stampin' is very much a stamping challenge blog, we also appreciate the role die cutting has to play in creating lovely cards, tags, gift boxes and layouts.  So, this fortnight, we're celebrating dies and die cut images for our challenge, although you must include some stamping as well!

Provided the pieces aren't too small, I love a bit of die-cut inlay, so that was my choice for my DT make

The die set is from Concord and 9th and I used mostly C&9th cardstock.  If you're into batch-creating, these cover dies are a dream to work with.  There are a few ways of doing this, but what works best for me is to cover my card base with a double-sided adhesive sheet (tape would also work).  I cut a few panels in co-ordinating cardstock and choose one of these as my base cardstock panel, popping out the pieces before adhering the panel to the card base.  After that it's just a question of choosing your colours and filling in the gaps.

The banner and sentiment are also from C&9th; the sentiment was heat embossed in gold and I popped up the banner using some foam squares.  I added a few sequins and dew drops from my stash to complete my design.

We'd love you to play along with us and you have two weeks to upload your creation over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have fun!

xxx

Animals!

 A new challenge starts today at Sweet Stampin'.  This time our theme is animals, wild or domestic!

I opted for man's best friend for my DT card and was inspired to try colour blocking after seeing this technique used so brilliantly by Yana Smakula.

I started by stamping, colouring and die cutting these cute pups using a set from MFT.  I used Copic markers as usual, adding a little bit of Sakura black gloss pen to the wee noses.

I cut squares of cardstock as individual mats for my images, using card from my scrap folder. I think the colours are Spellbinders Beeswax, Indigo and Barely Peach, plus Gina K Seaglass.  I cut a banner from Concord and 9th Lakefront and stamped the "thanks" sentiment from a mini stamp set by Altenew.  The banner was a saving grace as it goes some way towards hiding the fact that I had a hard time lining up the cardstock squares!

Do grab a cuppa and head along to the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog to check out the inspiration makes created by the Sweeties.  You have just under 2 weeks to submit your entries.

Enjoy your weekend!

xxx

Sweet Stampin' - Use a Stencil

 It's time for a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin'.  This fortnight we're asking you to use a stencil as part of your design (although you still need to include some stamping somewhere).

I treated myself to this Kristina Werner stencil from the last Concord & 9th release.  It's a fair old size, so you can crop out the portion you like best if you're making a smaller card.

I would recommend using Pixie spray on the first layer as the area masking the stems it liable to move about while you're applying your ink.  The other layers are less delicate and you wouldn't necessarily need to apply adhesive to them unless you really wanted to.

I used a number of different ink brands for my colours. The background is C&9th Pebble, applied with a very light hand using the first stencil.  The leaves and stems were done using Gina K inks (Key Lime and Fresh Asparagus, if I remember rightly) and the flower centres were created with Pink Fresh Studio inks from the orange ink cube set.  I wanted white flowers so I didn't use that stencil.

The inked panel was cropped down and matted onto cream and chocolate brown cardstock layers before applying to my card base.  I white heat-embossed the stamped sentiment onto the same chocolate cardstock, cut it out with a rectangle die and glued it to my image.

We'd love you to play along with us this fortnight, so grab a cuppa and head over to the Sweet Stampin' blog for the challenge details and some great inspiration from the Team Wends Sweeties.

Enjoy your weekend!

xx

Anything but a Square

Today sees the start of a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin' and this one is all about shape - any shape, in fact, as long as it's not a square.  So we'd like to see your take on non-square card designs.

I decided to use a recently bought die and stencil set  which I thought would make a lovely easel card.  The all-in-one die cuts out the entire image in one pass, so all I had to do was colour it and make the easel base.  

I stencilled the image first using a mixture of inks in my stash, then cut it. I also cut two other layers from white cardstock and glued all 3 together to give the image panel some strength.  I used Concord and 9th Powder cardstock to create the easel (I find their cardstock to be quite a good weight for card  bases). I cut the card in half length ways and folded it in half to create an A2 card base.  I then scored and folded the front of the cardbase about halfway up.  I then glued just the lower portion of the die cut panel to the folded section.

I stamped the sentiment onto white cardstock and attached this to the inside of the card using foam squares.  The card folds flat for posting but the sentiment panel acts as a stopper to keep the die cut panel upright.  I added a few pearls for a tiny touch of bling and although I contemplated adding some tone on tone stamping to the base, I decided that less was more.

Next time I think I'll try this with acetate to get a completely see-through front panel.

We'd love you to play along with our challenge this fortnight.  The Sweeties have some fabulous inspiration over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog and you'll find all the challenge details over there too.

Enjoy your weekend! 

xxc

Christmas in July - Sweet Stampin'

 And we're over half-way through the year already!  I personally love the Christmas in July challenge as I love making Christmas cards at any time of year.

I went for a Concord and 9th set that I absolutely adore for my DT card

I mass produced these for my Christmas cards for this year and tried my best to avoid ultra-traditional colour schemes.  Here are a couple of examples

I found it useful to have a few small pots on my table to keep the die cuts separate. I also used adhesive sheets behind the base layer cardstock to make the placement of the trees both quick and easy.  

I hope you'll be able to play along with our Christmas in July challenge.  The details and lots of inspiration can be found on the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a great weekend.

xxx

Bring me sunshine!

 It's time for another challenge at Sweet Stampin' and this one will be particularly appropriate for those of our followers in parts of the UK and Europe as some of you are experiencing sunny weather and very high temperatures.  Not so much here in SW Scotland - it's warm and humid but the bright sunshine has definitely been in short supply thanks to lots of cloud.  

My DT card features a couple of items from MFT: a stamped image and a sea-and-sunshine die.  The image was coloured with Copics and was adhered slightly offset on the die cut background.  The background was cut from yellow, blue and light teal cardstock (a mixture of Concord & 9th, Taylored Expressions and Gina K) but I used coordinating inks to add a bit of depth to the individual pieces.  I also painted on some shimmer which unfortunately looks white in the photo but in real life gives a lovely subtle sparkle.

We hope you can play along with this fortnight's challenge - we love to see your creations.  You'll find all the details plus great inspiration from the Sweeties over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a fabulous weekend

xxx

Sweet Stampin' challenge - Boys, boys, boys!

 We'd like to see your masculine makes over at Sweet Stampin' this fornight.  Our new challenge starts today and you'll find all of the details here.

I used a stamp from MFT for my DT card

I stamped the image and sentiment onto white card and coloured the image with Copics.  I made a green cardstock mat and mounted this onto a brown card base.  All in all this was a quick and pretty easy make!

It would be great if you would play along with us this fortnight - we love to see what you make!

xx

Clean and Simple at Sweet Stampin'

 Our latest challenge at Sweet Stampin' starts today and our theme is CAS.  I love a clean and simple card with lots of white space but find them really tricky to photograph. My DT card was no exception!

The image is a stamp and stencil combo: you stencil the leaves then stamp the stem over the top.  I used soft purple inks (Altenew, if I remember correctly) and then stamped the stems in Versamark so that I could heat emboss them in gold.  I added a simple scripty sentiment and called it done.

I hope you can play along with our challenge this fortnight.  Over on the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog you'll find all the challenge details plus some lovely inspiration from my amazing teamies.

Have a great weekend!

xx

Feminine Designs

 We had a quick about-turn over at Sweet Stampin' HQ when we realised that we had only fairly recently had a "special woman" challenge.  So, we've opened up this fortnight's challenge theme to be a bit more general by asking for feminine designs.

I used an old favourite hAnglar and StAnglar stamp for my DT card:

I coloured the image with Copics and used some design paper and a doily from my stash.  The flowers are from my now dwindling supply - once upon a time I added flower clusters to every card I made!

I hope you can play along with this fortnight's challenge.  You can check out the challenge details and the fab inspiration from my teamies over at the Sweet Stampin' blog.

Have a great weekend!

xxx

For a Special Lady

 We're starting a new challenge theme at Sweet Stampin' today. We're celebrating the special women in our lives, so whether they are family members, friends or colleagues, we'd like to see how you will show them that you care.

My DT card was made for a friend who was having a hard time at work

I loved colouring this Stamping Bella image and for this card I chose Copics in the rich red and dark grey shades.  I added a bit of bling with a gold gel pen on the crown and some shimmer pen on her dress. The sentiment which comes with this set was perfect for the situation my friend was in, too!

It would be great if you would play along with us this fortnight.  You'll find all the challenge details plus inspiration from the Team Susan Sweeties over on the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Love, love, love!

 It's time to celebrate Love at Sweet Stampin'! For this fortnight's challenge theme we'd like to see your designs based around love for anyone or anything.

I kept my DT card nice and simple so that it can be used for a variety of occasions:

Hanglar and Stanglar stamps are still go-to's for me when I want a simple image that is easy to colour but still packs a punch.  I went for traditional red and white and used my Copics to colour in my image.

I hope you can play along with us. If you need more inspiration, please head over to the Sweet Stampin' blog where you'll find designs by my teamies plus the challenge details.

Looking forward to seeing what you make!

xx

Thank You!

 I thought I'd join in with Team Wends for this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin'. Our theme is Thank You and is one of my favourites as I try to have these on hand for whenever I might need them.

I made a one-layer card using a Concord and 9th stencil set and stamp. I used mostly Concord and 9th inks with a fairly light hand to get a soft effect.  A couple of dew drops are the only embellishments as there is enough going on in the main image.

You'll find the challenge details and plenty of inspiration over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog, so do play along with us - we love to see what you make!

Have a great weekend

xx

All things New at Sweet Stampin'

 Happy New Year!

For our first challenge of 2025 we'd like to see anything new in your designs. It could be the New Year, a new member of the family, new crafty goodies... as long as there is some stamping on your project then you can enter our challenge.  Your stamping can also be done with the Betterpress system, just in case some of you were lucky enough to have this in your stocking!

I went with the New Year as the theme for my DT card

I chose a Stamping Bella image and sentiment for my card, colouring the image with Copics and a gold gel pen. I also added some glossy black to the sunglasses using a Sakura glaze pen.

I cut black cardstock to be just a hair bigger than the image mat and adhered this to my card base to create a fairly simple card.

You'll find the challenge details and inspiration from the Sweet Stampin' team over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.  Hope you can play along this fortnight!

xx