It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and I designed the following sketch for us to work with:

I designed the sketch to have a layer beneath a single focal point, with an overlapping sentiment. Whilst the focal point on the sketch is a circle, you can use any shape you like. Also feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

I have been trying (and failing!) to find the time to play along with the lovely ladies over at Inspired By for several weeks, but when I saw this week's inspiration photo of that welcoming Christmas wreath, I couldn't resist! The fact that I could combine with my sketch was a bonus! Both of their inspiration photos this week feature wreaths, and having had an aborted attempt using wheatgrasses for the first one, I decided to give that up as a bad job and work with this oh-so-pretty Christmas wreath as my inspiration. I actually went on to create two cards, one being slightly less clean and simple than the other. Here's my first clean and simple one:

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

I used the leaf wreath in the Seasonal Swirls Dies set for my wreath base, snipping off the leaves to leaves just the twigs. I used the retired Pretty Pines Thinlits for my sprigs of greenery and berries, adding some sponged white ink to my Soft Succulent greenery and some large retired candy dots for berries. I finished with a gingham DSP bow and added a heat-embossed sentiment from the retired 'Arrange A Wreath' stamp set onto a little stitched rectangle of wood-effect paper which seemed to fit the photo. I backed my wreath with a scrap of white wood effect paper, reminiscent of the shiplap in the photo: 

 And that was that - card complete! I decided to make another one, identical save for one additional detail: I switched out the DSP bow for an actual one, tied with gingham ribbon that I had coloured from its original black and white to black and red with the aid of my Stampin' Blends markers:

 That showy, double-looped bow definitely crosses a CAS boundary, hence not adding it to my original card; I do love it though! Here's a close-up: 

So two cards for the price of one today! Which one gets your vote? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SEASONAL SWIRLS DIES (£32.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	DECORATIVE MATTE DOTS (£7.50)	SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm nice and early with my post as I am out with the James Juniors for a day of watersports with a view to keeping cool in the heatwave we are experiencing here in the UK, which is a good thing as it means I just have time to squeeze in my entry for the challenge at Just Add Ink this week, where I just couldn't resist that photo inspiration, that also works for the Christmas in July theme over at TGIF Challenges:

I went with a clean, white base so that my glittery baubles and sentiment could really shine - take a look:

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

I'm afraid I have used some retired bits and pieces on my card today (Pretty Pines Thinlits, Detailed Baubles Thinlits, Red Glimmer Paper, black and white DSP) because there was no other way to capture the elements of inspiration from those lovely festive lanterns, but the fabulous Merry Christmas Dies carried over to the annual catalogue and so will be seeing lots of action this season too and are available if you would like to get your hands on a set.

I am trying to use up a little of my retired stash to create some cards for my box and it feels good to mix in a little old with the new every now and again. Have any of you started Christmas crafting in earnest yet? Do leave me a comment below or even feel free to share your creations here on my Facebook page - I would love to see them!

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:

Merry Christmas Dies (£26.00)

Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

Gold Glimmer Paper (£4.75)

Silver Glimmer Paper (£4.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Sandy to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I struggled a bit with Sandy's sketch this week - I've had a super busy week and not managed to get much time in my craft room; this is never good for the crafting mojo! Those panels were screaming out for some designer series paper and I was sorely tempted to break out my new Spring-Summer goodies, but as I'm still in need of Christmas cards I decided against it and instead challenged myself to use some of the paper that I had been hoarding - take a look:

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

All Is Bright - I love this piece of paper featuring a photographic image of lots of baubles in shades of gold that features in the All Is Bright designer series paper pack but had been waiting for the right card on which to use it. I decided that today was the day and I went all in, covering the front of my card with it. Even with the vertical panels and diecut bauble, this paper shines through - so pretty.

A Beautiful Bauble - I used the Beautiful Bauble Thinlits to diecut a bauble from gold glimmer paper and I backed it with a circle of DSP with a subtle bokeh print that is also from the All Is Bright DSP pack, as I didn't want to lose the intricate details against the panels. I added a retired sentiment ot my banner and a bow cut using the Pretty Pines Thinlits to finish it off.

Shades of Gold - My card features lots of gold today so I'm also linking up with the team over at CAS-ual Fridays as this ties in with their theme perfectly: the baubles in my chosen paper are lots of shades of gold, along with a gold foil panel embossed with the Swirls and Curls Embossing Folder and a second panel of retired acetate that is patterned with gold polka dots, in addition to my gold glimmer border and gold heat embossed sentiment banner. You would be forgiven for thinking that I used one of the gold foil-edged cards for my base card today, although as I only have silver ones in the house I employed a neat trick to create my own: I simply sponged the edge of my card with Versamark and then heat embossed with gold embossing powder to create a similar effect.

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:

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

In addition, a reminder that today also heralds the start of the second of Stampin' Up's three online extravaganzas. Today and tomorrow it's the turn of stamps and kits - you can read all about it in last week's blog post here and shop directly for everything that is included in the sale via the dedicated page in my online store. if ordering online please be sure to include the current hostess code BPCXMYGW. If you are local and would like to reduce your P&P costs, please get your order to me by 8pm tomorrow evening and I will add them to a collective order.

Enjoy your day; we are minus one James Junior, as Rebecca is spending the weekend in Bath playing in a school hockey tournament (all yesterday's matches were wins or draws, so let's hope the team is similarly successful today); I will be spending the day doing homework with the other one and then attending the first of the season's Christmas parties - ice skating with our swimming club. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Detailed Baubles Thinlits Dies (£29.00)	All Is Bright 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Swirls & Curls Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Gold Foil Sheets (£3.37)	Gold Glimmer Paper (£4.27)	Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies (£24.00)	Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies (£25.00)
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.27)

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a colour challenge for you to work with:

I have another Pretty Pines project for you today, but a 3D project for a change as opposed to a card. I made this home decor frame to showcase these fabulous dies - and adorn my home during the festive season of course! Take a look:

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

Pretty Pines - I love these dies and they are perfect to create festive embellishments for cards, gift packaging or a home decor project such as this one. I focused on the pine needles, berries and mistletoe pieces to make my wreath - not a pinecone in sight - as I wanted to stick to my red, green and white colour scheme. Using the Big Shot Precision Base Plate and the die brush also made light work of removing the pieces from the framelits. I added a bow in Real Red stitched edge ribbon as a finishing touch:

A Joyful Christmas and a Wonderful Year - I chose the Joyful Christmas sentiment from the 'Wonderful Year' stamp set as the focal point for my frame. This is the perfect sentiment for this frame, which I am intending to display in my hallway to welcome guests over the festive season.

Ombre, Ombre - I stamped my focal sentiment in Emerald Envy using the ombre stamping pad for added interest. I love the gradation of colour you get with these stamp pads and they really are so easy to use.

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. 

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

I look forward to seeing what you create with my colour choices this week. We are doing something a little different in terms of sporting pursuits today: Ben is off for his usual session of basketball, however Rebecca is going to be at the swimming pool bright and early as she is participating in a sponsored swim in aid of For Zachary, a charity set up in memory of a little boy who lived for only 69 days before dying from a rare neonatal lung disease. The swimmers are aiming to cover a distance of 69km in total, one kilometre for each day of young Zachary's life - and Rebecca is aiming to swim just over 3km herself. That will be no mean feat! She is still collecting sponsorship, so if you're reading this and you would like to sponsor her, here is the event's JustGiving page - many thanks and I''l let you know how she gets on.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies	Wonderful Year Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Emerald Envy Ombre Stampin' Pad	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Whisper White 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock	Real Red 3/4" (1.9 Cm) Stitched Edge Ribbon	Precision Base Plate
Big Shot Die Brush

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a sketch for you:

I spent some time deciding what to use on my card and eventually decided another Christmas card was the order of the day - take a look:

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

Pretty Pinecones - The Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies were the starting point for my card today. I have been wanting to use these gorgeous detailed dies to create a festive pine embellishment and today's layout was perfect for this. I used two different pinecones - the uppermost one has the pieces that can be pushed out, but I kept mine in place as I liked the effect (they can be held in place with a little tape behind).

Presents and Pinecones - I love the fresh reds and greens of the Presents and Pinecones designer series paper and knew they would be the perfect background to my embellishment. I actually cut one length from my DSP and used one side - the stripes - for the first panel, then the reverse - the pinecones - for the uppermost panel. The best of both worlds!

And Christmas Pines Makes Three - I used a sentiment from the bundled stamp set 'Christmas Pines' in Cherry Cobbler to complete my card. 

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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Pines Photopolymer Bundle	Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper	Presents & Pinecones A4 Cardstock Pack	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Banner Triple Punch	Rhinestone Basic Jewels