Beat the Clock: Clean & Simple Stamping in Under 10 Minutes

Sometimes the styles we struggle with the most end up being the most fun challenges to try.

When I spotted this week's As You See It 'Speed Stamping' Challenge, I knew I wanted to play along. As someone who usually leans heavily into layers, texture, and detail, the idea of creating something quickly and keeping it clean and simple definitely pushed me outside my comfort zone.

Choosing a Floral Stamp for the Challenge

The Beautiful Promenade stamp set features a soft open-petal floral that instantly reminded me of an open tulip, perfect for the challenge's 'Tulips and other bulb flowers' theme.
The challenge image also featured some gorgeous pink tones, so I decided to lean fully into that palette for this project. 

Creating Soft Layers with Stamping Off

One of the things I really wanted to avoid was having the background feel too harsh or overpowering. The ink colour I chose was quite bold and vibrant, so I used a simple stamping off technique to soften the look as I stamped the floral outlines.

I added the inner floral stamped image from the same set in Blushing Bride. This stamp has a really lovely striped style that adds texture without feeling too busy. I continued using the stamping off technique here, which helped create subtle variation in colour depth across the design and kept the overall card feeling light and airy.

Using Patterned Paper to Pull the Colours Together

For the sentiment layer, I used a light blue cardstock so the simply stamped black greeting would really stand out. I found a small striped pink, crumb cake, yellow and blue paper offcut that worked perfectly with the colour palette and instantly brought the whole design together.  

Racing the Clock for Extra Details

I had originally planned to keep the card very simple, but once everything started coming together, I decided to take the risk and add one extra detail, a thread bow, before the timer ran out.
Somehow, despite fumbling the bow as I became very aware of how quickly the remaining time was disappearing, I managed to hit stop on the stopwatch with only seconds to spare! I was pretty proud of that finish.
If you’d like to see the full process, including the race to finish before the 10 minute timer ended, you can watch the video below.

Beat the Clock: Clean & Simple Stamping in Under 10 Minutes

May 28, 2026

You Are Amazing

 A Simple and Sweet Card Inspired by Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I wanted to share a floral card project that’s heartfelt but simple enough to make in a quiet crafting session. This design says “You are amazing”, which makes it perfect not just for mums, but for any wonderful person in your life who deserves to feel appreciated.

It’s a feminine card, soft and uplifting, built on a Pool Party card base — a gentle blue that works beautifully with florals and fresh spring tones. If you’re not familiar with Stampin’ Up! colours, it’s a light aqua that’s easy to coordinate with.

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🖤 Upcycled Details

I couldn’t resist sneaking in a bit of upcycling too! I used a strip of black-and-white patterned toilet paper wrapping (yes, from Who Gives a Crap!) which I salvaged for its lovely design. I love reusing packaging in unexpected ways — it adds character and charm to your projects and helps reduce waste.

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🌼 Stamping the Florals

For the floral image, I turned to an old favourite stamp set called Touches of Texture. The floral spray was stamped in Melon Mambo, though I’ve also used Lovely Lipstick in earlier versions — just grab any pink that makes you smile!

I used a blender pen to pull the ink from the stamped lines and fill in the petals. I love how the colour starts out deep and then softly fades as you go, creating dimension and softness.

Then I added a bit of grungy fun by stamping the little textured spots back over the flowers using the same pink. It ties everything together and gives that signature “touch of texture.”

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🍃 Leafy Details & Speckles

For the leaves, I stamped the same textured spots in Pear Pizzazz, giving them a similar look and feel. And to finish the background, I pulled out the larger spray of speckles and added those in Pool Party over the top of everything. It’s a lovely final layer that gives the card some movement and interest.

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🖋️ Assembling the Sentiment

I walk you through this entire process step-by-step in my video — you can watch it here:
👉 You Are Amazing Card Tutorial – Watch on YouTube

It all came together with Tombow glue, and I added a strip of my salvaged wrapping paper to the left edge of the card for a unique border.

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This card is a sweet and easy way to tell someone they’re amazing — whether it’s a mum, sister, teacher, or friend. It’s also a lovely reminder that sometimes the simplest materials (and even scrap packaging!) can become part of something meaningful.

Let me know if you give this one a try — I’d love to see your version! 💙
Until next time, happy creating!

Jenn x

You Are Amazing

May 7, 2025

In Class, Quick Birthday Cards

Earlier this month I hosted a special class to celebrate the end of another year of stamping fun!  Class participants played bingo, won prizes, shared treats and of course, made some cards.  The party nature of the event was best suited to quick, simply stamped projects.  I designed two, each featuring the pre-cut foil-edged cardbases hidden away in the current Stampin' Up! holiday catalogue.

This first silver edged design featured a little Frosted Florals Specialty patterned paper, a few layered embellishments and a sentiment from the new - soon to be released - Amazing Life stamp set.

The second design went right back-to-basics with stamps and ink, also featuring this same sneak peek of the Amazing Life set.  Oh who am I kidding, I couldn't help but also add some 'Artisan' touches with the Stampin' Blends pop of colour with a little banner and bow.

We might be in the midst of the busy festive season but with quick card designs like these, no friend celebrating their birthday in December need be neglected!

Couldn't make class?  Join me in the below video tutorial as I share these two designs in detail - perfect for when you need a cute project in a hurry!

PLEASE NOTE: the foil card bases used in these projects are in the current Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalogue.  The sales period for this catalogue ENDS on the 2nd of January.  Get yours before they are gone!

I'm going to enjoy a nice break from stamping over the Christmas/end of year break.  The kids have a long hot summer school holiday starting very soon and I look forward to enjoying that with them.  I will be back with more class sessions in 2019.  Keep watch on my facebook page, or sign up to my newsletter, to keep up with the latest news!

A huge thank you to everyone for your support in 2018 xx

Warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
Love, Jenn

Supplies Used

Stamps:  Amazing Life (available in the Occasions Catalogue to be released in January 2019)

Card: Smoky Slate, Coral Calypso, Petal Pink, Whisper White

Paper: Frosted Florals Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Memento Tuxedo Black, Pool Party, Calypso Coral

Accessories & Tools: Foil Edged Cardbases and Envelopes, Coloured Doilies, Pretty Label Punch, Velvet Ribbon, Silver & Pool Party Bakers Twine, White Bakers Twine

Adhesives: SNAIL or double sided tape, Stampin' Dimensionals, Tear'n'Tape, Fine Tip Glue Pen, Mini Glue Dots

In Class, Quick Birthday Cards

December 11, 2018

Incredible Like You Gift Tags, Let's Get Hopping #16

It's the season for gift giving and so it's the perfect time for the Let's Get Hopping team to share inspiration for putting together your very own gift tags.

Whether you are dressing up a wrapped present, adding a personal touch to a gift bag, or even making a pretty tag embellishment for a greeting card, you are sure to be inspired by the many ideas in this blog hop!

I know just how hectic December can be!  For this reason, I'm sharing some simply stamped creations today.  These white tag bases were cut with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch and stamped with the brand new 'Incredible Like You' stamp set.  This set will be available on the 3rd of January when the latest Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue goes live.  If you're in Australia and would like a copy of this catalogue, don't hesitate to get in touch!

Continue the hop for heaps of fun tag ideas! The talented Eva Pottsova from the UK is up next.

Love this design? Find more of my projects on

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Supplies Used
Stamps: Incredible Like You
Card: Whisper White
Ink: Lovely Lipstick, Mossy Meadow, Basic Gray
Accessories & Tools: Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Paper Trimmer

Incredible Like You Gift Tags, Let's Get Hopping #16

December 6, 2018