It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I also used Jen M's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout, the colours over at Color Dare and my final entry over at Just Us Girls this week where Bobby's wild card is 'leaves'. I went across the middle of this week's Tic Tac Toe board with Autumn/Free/Wreath for my card today, but it also works for the middle column of thankful sentiment/free/any colour too. when I saw the Color Dare inspo photo of Holly Hobby this week I was taken right back to my childhood - and more recently, to my retired designer series paper pile! I had some old Comfort Cafe paper that I thought would be perfect for the challenge as it featured bluesm yellows and browns and would also provide a suitable background for my wooden, leafy wreath - take a look:

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

Seasonal Swirls - I went for a simple layered wreath of twigs and leaves today, as I didn't want to do too much to detract from the pretty background paper. I added a trio of Cajun Craze flowers, cut using my Floral Squares dies, that echo the detail on the paper, and centred each with a pearl, along with a linen thread bow and backed it with a very vanilla circle stamped with a simple sentiment from the 'Sparkle of the Season' set.

Added Texture - I love how the patterned paper has a faux-texture for added detail and interest. Having decided to add a Pool Party band to the front of my card, it looked a little too stark, so in a further nod to the paper, I added a layer of vellum over the top that I had embossed with my (retired) Subtles embossing folder. This was just enough to take the vibrancy out of the colour whilst also adding another level of detail; you can see the detail of it more closely below:

I really like this card - the paper is great for autumn and it's good to be using up more of my paper stash. If you're not a paper hoarder like me, you could easily recreate this card using the current Harvest Meadow papers, for example. A shoutout to Jen too for the perfect sketch to showcase a wreath - I think I might have to use it again this week!!

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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy the rest of your evening; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SPARKLE OF THE SEASON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)

The changeover in annual catalogues brings with it mixed feelings; excitement at the thought of lots of new stamp sets and accessories to play with, but it's also a time to say goodbye to some old ones. Today I'm sharing a 'Welcome to your new home' card that I made recently for my fellow crafty friend Issy recently when she moved house. The card uses the Hoop La La stamp set and the Comfort Café designer series papers:

This set appeals to me because it reminds me of my other hobby, cross stitch, and there are some lovely little images in this set, including a needle and embroidery hoop. I coloured the house image with markers in colours that coordinated with the Comfort Café paper, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get them perfectly aligned, then created a focal point by making a feature of the final house placing on a raised circle and adding a cute little heart from my trusty owl punch for good measure. This time I even remembered to decorate the envelope too - something I often intend to do, but often forget when I'm busy focusing on the card itself.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Hoop La La

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Cajun Craze, Comfort Café DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Cajun Craze, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1 3/4" circle punch, Circles #2 Originals Die, Owl Punch