Today I'm sharing a card that was initially inspired by the colour palette at Hand Stamped Sentiments along with the 'O is for Oval and One Word Sentiment' over at the Alphabet Challenge blog, that quickly became a candidate for the current style challenge over at TGIF Challenges this week too:

The HSS colours all appear in the Traditions of Christmas designer series paper pack so I knew that would be my starting point; take a look at what I came up with:

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

I started out by fussy cutting one of the floral bouquets from the paper, then added in another for good measure, and added them to a Pool Party stitched oval base. I chose a Secret Sea patterned base panel, but decided that my bouquet needed something 'extra'; I ended up taking three wooden foliage sprigs from my stash and adding gold leaf to each of them for some textured shine and layered these in beneath my bouquets. I added a twist of gold-trimmed Cherry Cobbler satin ribbon and a large diecut sentiment, then added some flat gold enamel dots for a final flourish:

Now that's a lot of layers, with much more in the way of embellishments than I would normally go for, but sometimes more really is more, right?! I really love this finished card too - perfect for special festive wishes.

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. 

I am late posting today; I finally embarked on emptying my craft room so that I could decorate and reorganise it. I emptied it on Sunday and have spent the last 3 days painting and decorating. A few finishing touches tomorrow, then I'm waiting for some new flooring to be fitted before sorting out the mountain of items that came out of it and restocking it with only those things I now need. My craft room is officially out of action for a little while, but I have a few projects made and ready to share with you in the coming weeks so all is not lost! Enjoy your evening and I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TRADITIONS OF CHRISTMAS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.00)

GREETINGS FOR YOU MIX & MATCH EPHEMERA PACK (ENGLISH) (£8.00)

CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

SECRET SEA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

LOW-PROFILE DOTS (£3.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

This is a great sketch for easy cards, with the opportunity to use up scraps for those banners and choose a single focal point. It's also great for quick cards - and since both of today's cards can be made in less than 30 minutes, perfect for the challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week! I used a circle in the sketch, but your focal point can be any shape you like. I was playing with my Christmas Tags and More papers and found the perfect focal point - take a look:

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

Christmas Tags & More - The Christmas Tags and More papers are full of pretty festive patterns, including a number of sheets featuring a variety of diecuts. I chose one featuring a wreath as my focal point; I added some peppermint embellishments and a gold twine bow for a little added festive detail:

I paired my wreath with a couple of banners in Garden Green and a banner from the paper pack, a trio of gold metallic gems and a pre-diecut sentiment from the Greetings For You. Easy!

Take Two - With all of the bits and pieces out on the desk, I made a second card using the same layout and other elements in the pack:

This one features a couple of trees, one a diecut and the other fussy cut from the DSP, to which I added a couple of silver foil punched stars, along with some clear rhinestones and a retired sentiment.

I much prefer the red wreath card, but the bits and pieces in this paper pack make for endless combinations using this simple sketch layout. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone else interprets my sketch in the gallery 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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; I'll be making the most of our extra hour in bed today as the clocks go back and enjoying an early Sunday lunch before returning Junior James back to university after a weekend at home, complete with clean laundry and extra food supplies - what a life! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CHRISTMAS TAGS & MORE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) MIX & MATCH SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)	GREETINGS FOR YOU MIX & MATCH EPHEMERA PACK (ENGLISH) (£8.00)	ADHESIVE-BACKED METALLIC GEMS (£8.50)	REAL RED & WHITE ADHESIVE-BACKED PEPPERMINTS (£8.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	SILVER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)