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CI#216 Happy 90th Nancy

I really struggled with these colours- they sat on my desk for weeks, I played with various ideas but nothing worked. Then one morning I had a little idea and in the end the card came together quite quickly. Does this ever happen to you? I really wanted to try layering some frames and so I used the stitched shapes ( squares and arches ) to create two different frames and layered them over a timber look piece diecut from the Nature's Symphony dies , and the large leaf spray from the same set. Picture credit  https://unsplash.com/photos/round-white-icing-covered-cake-_TN1m5R1pF Starting with a colour combination can be fun, and it's a great way to get your creative ideas flowing. I love greens, and the Soft Sea Foam is a lovely colour but it is very soft, so pairing it with a strong colour like Blackberry Bliss can be tough - but you only have to look at all the samples from the design team to see that many different looks are possible. Check out the Colour INKspiration Facebook ...
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CI#214 - not going backwards - Just playing catchup!

Using up my stash - I have such a lot of beautiful paper, and tons of little elements cut and ready in 'The Useful Box", so I have enjoyed using limited crafting time to put ready made pieces onto crafted backgrounds, even the sentiment was cut and ready! I used 1"squares of DSP pieces in Melon Mambo, Fresh Freesia and Berry Burst to create a little patchwork background and then ran it all through an embossing folder to give it that 'quilted' look. This is an old technique which I have used a lot and it always works so well. Because the colours were so bold I simply added white flowers for my focal point, and sponged a touch of both greens onto the leaves. Simple, and done! I do love a square card. Isn't this photo just gorgeous. Picture credit - photo taken by Lou. This is taken at Yuushien Garden, Daikonshima, Japan in May this year during the floating peony display during Golden Week. Truly something else! INKspired to join the challenge? It's so easy....
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CI#215 Twist & Pop Birthday Card

2026 is a big year in our family- quite a few Significant Number Birthdays- so a card that's stepped up a little seems appropriate. I love a fancy fold and this ones a lot of fun, as you open it the four panels pop out to celebrate with you. I've used the fabulous Artisan Sketched Garden papers and my alcohol blends to decorate the images for this card. The Lazy Daisy embossing folder always adds a nice touch. I've said it before - a girl can never have too many flowers. I am trying to use up some of my hoard of paper and really enjoying discovering some which I've held onto for a while, as well as embracing old favourite stamp and die sets. Stampin Up! products are such good quality they should be used and not stored. What do you have in your stash that needs a little love? Picture credit  https://inside-out.visitlink.me/Cb5n2I I have often paired hot pink with navy but I really love the effect of the coral. And in keeping with using things from my stash this favouri...
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CI#210 NEW IN COLOURS for a set of cards.

Welcome to another colour INKspiration challenge. I am loveing the new In colours for 2026-2028 and had quite a bit of fun creating this set to showcase them. The amazing Artisan Sketched Garden paper is beautiful to colour and I love the 2 tone Cardstock to showcase the subtle depth of colour with the lighter tone. These cards were easy to put together and I have created a few sets - perfect for gift giving. For the inside and the envelope I used a few images from Fern and Flora, and the sentiment is from Fragrant Layers. But really I lke them completely blank. Guest Designer - Anne Matasci and Picture credit -  https://www.stampinup.com.au/ INKspired to join the challenge? It's so easy. Firstly, get some INKspiration by checking out all of the creations of the Colour INKspiration Crew in the challenge album on our Facebook page . Then you have 12 days from today to make and upload your creation to the Facebook Colour INKspiration Group . You don't have to have a blog to part...
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CI#209 Swirled Designs playing with pattern

Welcome back for another great colour challenge, and with purples it always IS a challenge for me - what about you? Picture credit -  picture credit Today’s picture which has inspired our colour palette was chosen by Colour INKspiration Crew Member, Rose Packer. Our guest designer this week is Rochelle Laird Smith. We love her work in the past and are excited to see what she creates for us with these lovely strong colours. I wanted to play with a set, that's been in my new product pile for a little bit, although when I created the card it was still on the Last Chance list I fear that now it is discontinued. That's such a shame because the design images in the set allow for a lot of options to create your own background.  I had a few tries but in the end liked a simple layered approach with tone on tone texture lines over the distinktive background colour swatch- a faux watercolour look. The dies cut a range of ovals, stars and diamonds as well as some tiny flowers which were e...
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Colour INKspiration #208 - Farewell Beautiful colours of 2024-26

Sadly it's time to farewell these 5 fresh colours, I have loved all of them. We welcome Yvonne Spikmans - Van Bruggen as our Guest Designer this week. She always has such fresh and fun cards to inspire us all. These are a few simple cards I made using up some of the DSP in these colours and a current Stamp set called a Round of Hello's - which coordinates beautifully with the large Circle Punch. Picture credit - https://www.stampinup.com.au/products/2024-2026-in-color-classic-stampin-pads I love a quick card and these came together easily. A touch of glimmer paper, a dash of wink of stella and various strips of coordinating paper.  As an added touch of texture I embossed the panels once the DSP had been adhered to the base- a  quick and easy pop of depth. The Round of Hello's is a versatile and easy stamp to use for many different occasions. It coordinates with the 2-3/8" and 2" circle punches. I did also use the stitched circel die from the Stylish Shapes set fo...
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CI# 204 Boxed set of "Fragrant Layers" Cards for Gifting

How nice to be back crafting and creating cards to give away. I love to give handmade cards as gifts so that a handwritten note can be an easy task. I'm working on rebuilding my collection of finished sets. The new Fragrant Layers stamp and die bundle are just gorgeous so these cards came together quite quickly, and I created a box to put them in for easy gift giving. This week's colour combination is so soft and fresh. Picture credit -  https://sugareuphoria.com/french-impressionist-inspiration/ I am also trying very hard to use up some of the kits and sets that I have collected over the years including this set of blank These Memories and More cards and envelopes. It just happens that the Colours- Soft Sea Foam and Pool Party match the tones of this week's challenge colours. I've had fun watercolouring the floral spray with both pink tones and layering it under the diecut window. The die cuts the little window from the card, I have layered the flowers behind and then ...
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