It's Sunday and time for another challenge over at The Paper Players, where this week Ann has a clean and simple challenge with a 'thankful' theme for us:

Inspired by the leaves in our challenge badge this week, I decided to use up a few more of my much-loved Autumn Wooden Elements and create a colour-block card using the colours over at Colour Q (substituting for the closest match in my collection) - I'm also linking up with Catherine & Cathy Creates where the theme is 'thankful for fall'. Here is my card:

I used a base of Old Olive, then matted the front with a piece of Whisper White that I had stamped in the corner with my 'thanks' sentiment from Another Thank You in Chocolate Chip. I then took a piece of Old Olive and I added 4 panels to it, one each in Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze and Old Olive.  I then lined up my Fall Fest Framelits and cut a shaped edge, that mirrors the shape of the wooden leaves. This panel was adhered to the base using dimensionals - this allows the wooden leaves to fit right into the shaped edge - here's a closer look:

To finish, I added some Early Espresso baker's twine across the top and tied it in a bow. A super-CAS card using some fun techniques. Do pop by The Paper Players challenge blog to check out what the other designers have come up with this week - there is great inspiration there, as always.

We are having a quiet sport-free weekend this week; both James Juniors have been poorly this week and we are keen that they recover themselves enough to survive the rest of what is a busy half-term for them. We do have a little treat in store this afternoon though; I'll let you know well it's received tomorrow!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Fun Fall Framelits Dies	Autumn Wooden Elements	Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform
Stampin' Dimensionals	Old Olive A4 Card Stock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Cajun Craze A4 Card Stock	Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad
Chocolate Chip A4 Card Stock	Early Espresso Baker's Twine

Today I have something very special that I've had to keep under wraps for a little while: the latest Stampin' Up! UK Stampissimo video has just been published and guess what? I am the starring demonstrator! I was so excited to be asked by Paula Gorry, Stampin' Up! UK Business Development Manager, to create a project for the latest video with the theme of 'Winter Treats' that once I had a copy of the Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue in my hands, it didn't take me long to decide what I was going to use - the fabulous new Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Die. You can make all kinds of customised boxes with this die, but for the theme of 'Winter Treats' I knew I wanted to create a range of Christmas characters, with Rudolf the Red-nose Reindeer being the star of the show. It meant I could combine the box die with another of my favourite catalogue products that you've seen me use so many times on different projects - the Autumn Wooden Embellishments (LOVE these and one pot lasts an age!)

Here is the reindeer box that I demonstrate in the video - how cute is this?!

The project itself needed to be simple enough to demonstrate whilst chatting at the same time - the purpose of Stampin' Up!'s range of Stampissimo videos is to spread the word about Stampin' Up! to both crafters and non-crafters who may not have heard of Stampin' Up! and give them some insight into the products and the demonstrators who sell them. Whilst they are based around demonstrating and sharing a particular product or project, the informational nature of these videos mean they last longer than your average tutorial so you need to get comfy!

You can get the details for how I made the box above and see lots of other boxes featured in the video itself, but I wanted to share with you some of the 'behind the scenes' photos from my day and give you a little insight into the fun that I had spending the day with Paula and Kelly in the studio, along with the now infamous 'Ben and Jerry' film crew of Ben and James, who do all of the filming for Stampin' Up!'s UK events and did such a fabulous job of recording the day and producing the final video.

This is what filming looks like from behind the scenes -  a real case of lights, camera, action! There are cameras that shoot from the front and from above in order to get a full range of shots and the necessary close-ups. When I shoot video tutorials at home I use an overhead camera, but I'm sitting at my desk. When you're standing up it is quite tricky because you have to be careful not to lean over your workspace, otherwise all the viewer sees is the top of your head! Sounds obvious, but I found out there is a real art to working with your arms outstretched and not leaning too far into your workspace.

Here are a couple of shots of Ben and James, the guys that produce the video - I struggle to tell them apart - they're twins! - but as you can see, one is slightly more camera-shy than the other:

They really are the nicest chaps you could wish to meet and I think they did a great job with the final edit, although I'll admit I'm biased!

This is my favourite photo of Paula and I on the day, taken mid-take once we were properly relaxed and into the swing of things - we really were having fun:

Lastly, here's one of us all post filming each displaying our favourite boxes, the chaps included. They decided the boxes were so easy to make, they might even have a go themselves at making some to grace their family festive table. At the UK training day at Telford earlier this year, the Stampin' Up! demonstrators were treated to a video of Ben and 'Jerry' making their first foray into crafting Stampin' Up! style, so this may well be their second!!

Also, note the festive pot plant on the edge of the desk and the Christmas tree in the video - Kelly and Paula did their best to make the studio look festive, which was quite tricky given that this was filmed some time ago when the sun was shining gloriously outside and it was not even remotely autumnal, let alone wintery! A big thank you the lovely Kelly Francis, who took all of the above pictures - she is an absolute star!

Here are some additional pictures of some of the finished boxes that feature in the video - this is Santa's helper, the mischievous elf: 

This is the man himself, Santa Claus - with his head!:

This one is Santa - without his head! Perfect if you are short on time or want something that's a little more adult-oriented:

Then we have the cutest snowman - check out his twirly carrot nose! 

Here they are altogether - one big happy Curvy Keepsake Box festive family:

I hope you found the 'behind the scenes' tour interesting - now here's the video that you've all been waiting for:

In summary, a truly great experience and yet another of the fantastic opportunities available to me as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator working with this amazing company that allows me to share what I love, be endlessly creative, manage and motivate a great team and have a job that totally fits around my family commitments and enables me to achieve the best work-life balance I've ever had.

If you're reading this and thinking that you would like to know more about the benefits of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, then do get in touch with me on 07773 421446  - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you and tell you more.

If you would like to make Rudolf, the supplies list that links to my online store is below.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Fuse Fast Adhesive
Autumn Wooden Elements	Chocolate Chip A4 Card Stock	Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker	Basic Black A4 Card Stock
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Skin Tone Assortment
Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set	1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch	Owl Punch	Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive

I'm very late posting today - eek! - having had a fun day with the James juniors, amongst other things shopping for the contents for our annual Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes. This is something we really enjoy and is a great way to encourage the children to think of others less fortunate than themselves as we are about to embark on one of the most commercial seasons of the year and to be grateful for all they have.

With gratefulness in mind, I thought I would share a little pumpkin that I made using the Curvy Keepsake Thinlit Die - this would make a perfect Thanksgiving table favour for my American readers and equally with an alternative tag would be suitable for Halloween too. There are tons of variations on pumpkins made with the thinlit die out there in blogland, but this is my version:

So simple to make: just cut two pieces of Pumpkin Pie cardstock with the thinlit, stamp the inner sections of the box with one of the stamps from the Work of Art set, then finish with some Old Olive leaves cut using the Fun Fall Framelits, some twisted tendrils, a couple of my favourite Autumn Wooden Embellishments and a tag from the Merry Everything set, all tied on with linen thread. I love this die and have made so many gorgeous boxes with it; I am hoping to be able to share some of them with you later this week.

Meanwhile, today I'm going to leave you with a fun photo that is destined for this year's Halloween Project Life page for sure - whilst out shopping today, we treated ourselves to some Halloween 'trick or treat' donuts at Krispy Kreme; sure enough, we had one of each filling:

The oozing green filling was actually quite nice, but the appearance was definitely a surprise!

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday Deals and my Design Team post for Colour Me...! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Dies	Merry Everything Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Note Tag Punch	Fun Fall Framelits Dies
Autumn Wooden Elements	Work Of Art Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Linen Thread
Fuse Fast Adhesive

It's Friday - the end of the week already! Today's card uses the offcuts from the card I made earlier in the week for my Colour Me...! design card (you can see that card here). Having cut out the leaf with my Sihouette Cameo, I was left with a perfect outline to make a stencil and since that's the theme over at Addicted to CAS this week, I thought I'd have a go.

Here's my clean and simple card with a real Autumn feel: 

I used a combination of Hello Honey, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Tangelo Twist and Pumpkin Pie and sponged the colours into the stencil to create my autumn leaf. I stamped on to Naturals Ivory cardstock - this card has some lovely flecks in it and a real natural feel that suited my card. I finished my card simply with a sentiment from Good Greetings stamped in Cajun Craze and some Autumn Wooden Elements that I sponged in Chocolate Chip and tied with some linen thread.

Another clean and simple card - I'm also linking up to this week's challenge over at Less Is More where the theme is the colours of 'Autumn's Bounty'; I think my sponged leaf and acorn embellishment have a definite fall feel.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Good Greetings Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Autumn Wooden Elements	Linen Thread
Sponge Daubers	Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing another autumn-inspired card using this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts and this week's colours at Colour Q as my inspiration:

I love this colour palette and resisted the urge to recreate that check shirt, which is adorable! Instead I decided to use my Fall Fest framelits to recereate the layout of the sketch and make a bright Autumnal card - here it is:

I used Kraft cardstock for the body of my card, which has a lovely texture and thickness to it. I matted a square panel of Night of Navy onto the base, then stamped some leaves in orange and yellow onto Whisper White cardstock and overlaid this with another piece of kraft attached with dimensionals with the same leaf shapes cut out so that you can see the stamped leaves beneath. The leaves are edged in white, which just helps add to their definition. In space of the fourth square, I didn't cut out - instead I tied an acorn and leaf wooden embellishment together with a piece of Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon and some linen thread and attached them to my card. A little bulky for mailing, but a nice statement for a hand delivered card.

I added the sentiment to a banner on the bottom, using another of the stamps from the Good Greetings set (available as a hostess exclusive until the end of October) and mounted this on a piece of Night of navy wrapped with linen thread.

That's all for today; I have a Christmas card class to look forward to later using Festival of Trees, which should be fun! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Good Greetings Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Fall Fest Photopolymer Bundle	Autumn Wooden Elements	Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock	Linen Thread
Daffodil Delight 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad
Whisper White A4 Card Stock

I know it's still Sunday, but as I went to schedule this post for tomorrow I realised that one of the challenges that it's for closes in the early hours of the morning, so I thought I'd post it early (let's hope this bodes well for the rest of my week!) When I saw the colours over at Pals Paper Arts this week, I thought they would be perfect for another Autumn-inspired card. I also used this week's Mojo Monday layout:

I rotated the sketch through 90 degrees for my card and used the 'thanks' stamp from 'Seasonally Scattered' for my card - take a look:

I used Always Artichoke for my base (twice in as many days - that's almost unheard of, yet it goes perfectly with the other colours here) and used a piece of Crushed Curry DSP from the Flowerpot range as my background mat layer. I stamped my main sentiment onto Very Vanilla, having inked the stamp with Crushed Curry and then selectively added Cajun Craze and Always Artichoke with my sponge daubers before stamping to give the graduated finish. I then matted this panel onto a piece of Cajun Craze. I knew I wanted to use one of my favourite Autumn Wooden Elements as the motif on my card, but when it came to choosing a ribbon, I became momentarily unstuck - I wanted something in either Cajun or Artichoke, but had neither. Then I had a light bulb moment - why not make my own ribbon, incorporating all three challenge colours? I used a piece of 7/8" cotton ribbon and stamped leaves and swirls from Gratitude For Days onto it directly - here's a close up of the finished ribbon:

I then used some Crushed Curry baker's twine to attach my wooden leaf embellishment to it. To complete my card, this panel was then adhered to the card base using dimensionals.

I'm really pleased with how this card turned out: I love this stamp and of course my card gave me another reason to use one of my Autumn Wooden Elements! I love them and think they are the perfect embellishment for a fall card. There are also lots in a pot so they last for ages and are great value! I'm also linking this card up with the current challenge over at SUO Challenges where the designers are asking us to use embellishments this week. A big thank you too to the team over at SUO for choosing my monochromatic baby card as one of their 'Top 3 Picks' for the 'clean and simple' challenge (you can see that card here if you missed it).

That's all from me; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Seasonally Scattered Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Gratitude For Days Photopolymer Stamp Set	Autumn Wooden Elements	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Cajun Craze A4 Card Stock
Always Artichoke Classic Stampin' Pad	Always Artichoke A4 Card Stock	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper
Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon	Crushed Curry Baker's Twine	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock

Today's card is for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players, where Ann has a 'Happy Fall, Y'all' theme for us this week:

I immediately knew what I was going to do for my fall card this week; I've had my eye on a sheet of the DSP in the Motley Monsters Designer Series paper pack that I thought would be perfect for a fall-themed card, and this week's sketch over at Create with Connie and Mary provided the perfect layout. Here's my card:

This falling leaf paper is actually the top of the sheet that has the little Motley Monsters pattern across the bottom, but by only using the top section this paper is perfect for fall. In fact, of the 12 designs in the pack, half of them can be used for non-Halloween themed projects, so it's definitely worth a look for more than just Halloween. Anyway, I digress!

I took the colours for my card from the DSP, and used Sahara Sand for my base, with a vertical border of Basic Black to edge my piece of leafy DSP. I then cut an oval in Tangerine Tango using my Big Shot and Oval Framelits and embossed this with the Woodgrain embossing folder. I stamped my sentiment from the 'Gratitude For Days' set in Memento Black onto Crushed Curry and layered this on top, then finished with the real focal point of my card, a trio of wooden shapes from the Autumn Wooden Elements set, which I layered and finished off with a black and white baker's twine bow.

A simple card that reminds me of fun afternoons in the park, kicking leaves and collecting conkers on a crisp Autumn day. Do pop by and visit the other Paper Players Design Team blogs - there is some great inspiration for you out there as always this week and they would love you to leave a comment or two.

I'm having a lovely weekend: yesterday Rebecca had a great day in London - Mama Mia The Musical was excellent - and today I am expecting to be truly spoiled as it's my birthday! I am looking forward to a roast dinner with all the trimmings and a day of fun with my family.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper	Autumn Wooden Elements	Gratitude For Days Photopolymer Stamp Set	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Ovals Collection Framelits Dies
Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Basic Black Baker's Twine	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock
Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock

It's Friday and I've had the most productive day today - and it's not over yet! Today I'm sharing a lovely piece of autumn (or fall, if you're American) home décor, similar to a piece by Sara Douglas that Shelli Gardner shared on her blog recently. It features a lovely new stamp set from the new seasonal catalogue called 'Gratitude For Days', along with some gorgeous Autumn Wooden Elements embellishments that are also a new item. Here is my finished frame:

I used the stamps in the set to create a circular wreath-like pattern, using a cotton bud (cue-tip) to add some sponged colour to the centre of the leaves. I added three wooden leaves and some gold sequins, finishing with the sentiment, which I stamped in Baked Brown Sugar onto Hello Honey cardstock, and finished with a bow tied in gold baker's twine. Here's a close up of the detail:

A great reminder that we have lots to be thankful for and quite simple to create. I'm really pleased with the result - I'm already working on a winter-themed one so that I will have a seasonal pair.

Short and sweet from me today; back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Gratitude For Days Photopolymer Stamp Set	Autumn Wooden Elements	Gold Sequin Trim	Gold Baker's Twine	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Hello Honey A4 Cardstock	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad