It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. There were some great CAS florals last week and this week we have my favourite kind of challenge. My good friend and talented team member LeAnne has a great sketch challenge for us:

I decided this sketch would be great for a DSP showcase, so today I have a very bright and colourful card to share with you:

I covered my entire card front with a piece of one of the 'busy' patterns from the Flowerpot DSP pack then used a piece of vellum to tone down the pattern so that my 'thanks' die cut in Night of Navy would still stand out against the pattern. I wrapped a piece of Tangerine Tango around the vellum in a bow before adhering it to my card base, using glue dots where they are covered by other elements so that they don't show through. I added the second part of my sentiment from the 'Crazy About You' stamp set and layered over my banner trio, punched out of colours I had picked up from the pattern using my banner punch. Lastly, I finished with a bold orange flower finished with a candy dot.

This card has such a clash of bright and bold colours and yet I think they work with the sketch beautifully. There are some great cards from the Design Team this week, all of whom have interpreted the sketch in interesting ways. Do pop by their blogs and take a look:

I look forward to seeing your takes on this week's sketch in our gallery this week. 

No lie in for me as I am off for an early morning of hockey as today is tournament day and then hopefully home again to dinner cooked by the men in our house - this is becoming something of a habit! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper	White Vellum A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Regals Candy Dots
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride
Banner Punch	1-3/4 Inch Scallop Circle Punch

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

Well, it's Monday and the start of a new week! I managed to survive the shoe shop outing yesterday (took 3 hours and 20 minutes just in the shoe shop!!) On the bright side, new school shoes and trainers, times two, and football boots, have been purchased - yay! This afternoon's 3D Home Décor class was a lot of fun - got to catch up with a couple of ladies I haven't seen in a while, so that was an added bonus. I'm later than I would have liked posting today's card: I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches last week although am too late to link up. I am however linking today's card up with Less is More where the challenge this week is to include an animal on your card. When I saw this I knew immediately which one I was going to feature - I've been itching to get out my new Smoky Slate Blendabilities and colour the cute koala bear on the Kind Koala stamp since they arrived - so here is my card:

I used a Night of Navy card base with a So Saffron mat and a couple of offset strips of Flowerpot DSP, followed by the stamp (minus the stamped flowerhead) on a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I matted on Night of Navy. This little koala is so cute and I love the grey Blendies! Instead of stamping the flower, I replaced it with one punched from the Petite Petals punch, with a tiny circle and candy dot centre in colours that co-ordinate with the one of the flowers on the DSP. I also shaded the lettering on 'You' with my Tangerine Tango marker pen.

I really love this card - I think I will send it to my Aussie friend who is moving back to Australia to live once she's arrived to let her know I'm still thinking of her.

That's me done for today; back tomorrow with another project, so until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Kind Koala Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper	Petite Petals Punch
Regals Candy Dots	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Brights Stampin' Write Markers	Whisper White A4 Card Stock