Happy Monday everyone! We are another week closer to Christmas, so no surprises that today I'm sharing a card for the occasion! I took my inspiration from the crate of pinecones on the Hand Stamped Sentiments  inspiration photo below:

I diecut some pinecones and greenery using the Christmas Pinecone Dies and snipped a section to frame my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set - take a look:

I used a piece of retired Painted Christmas designer series paper for my background; I love the fresh feel of this paper, and the white background allows the detail of the diecut pinecones to really shine:

A few sparkly gems complete my card. This card took longer to make than it took to write my post; those Christmas Pinecone Dies take a little bit of time to cut and assemble, but I think it was worth it. Plus I've still got enough leftovers to make another 2-3 cards - bonus! I'm also linking today's card up over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog, where they are currently on 'P is for Peace' - the world could definitely do with some of that at the moment, for sure.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS PINECONE DIES (42.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Cecile is hosting this month and she has our second colour challenge of November: 

I usually struggle with colour challenges, but Cecile has chosen some great ones this month - I love them all! For my card today I decided these colours were perfect for another Christmas card - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Masked Blending - I started by adding a couple of strips of masking tape to my white card base and using a blending brush, blended my Soft Succulent ink from the corner across my card, fading at the edges. I then removed the masking tape to give a nice border to frame my main focal image. 

Christmas Pinecones and A Blending Trick - I decided these colours would be perfect for some pine needles and pinecones, so I cut some using my Christmas Pinecone Dies and snipped out a section that could be used to fit my corner. I created two-tone colours by adding the same colour ink to deepen the colour on one of the layers - this is a useful trick to create two tones of the same colour easily. I added some puffy snow and some iridescent gems for a little extra detail:

Christmas To Remember - The sentiment on the front of my card comes from the 'Christmas To Remember' stamp set, and I used another from the same set on the inside of my card. I stamped it in Early Espresso to compliment my pinecone detail.

This card does have more detail than I usually choose for a CC&S card, however it is still clean and simple with some clean, white space. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day. I am spending today with one of my dear crafty friends that I don't get to see often face-to-face and we have lots to catch up on, so I'm really looking forward to it! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS PINECONE DIES (42.00)	CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
SOFT SUCCULENT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (7.00)

I had a little extra crafty time yesterday in between completing some design team projects and made a quick card for the current challenge over at Inspired By that I wanted to share today:

Those pinecones totally made me think of the design in the Painted Christmas designer series papers - do you know the one? Check out my card below to see:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

I also used the Inspired by sketch this week and paired my painted pinecone paper with an Evening Evergreen strip with a sentiment that was part heat-embossed with 'merry' from the 'Christmas Banners' stamp set and a 'Christmas' diecut from the now retired Merry Christmas Thinlits Dies. I added a couple of diecut pinecones as a simple embellishment to complete my card:

Quite a simple card but one that packs a big impact - and good to use up some designer series paper too!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; I need to dash as it's time for the school run! I'll be back tomorrow with another post. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PAINTED CHRISTMAS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	CHRISTMAS BANNERS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	CHRISTMAS PINECONE DIES (42.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)