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

LeAnne's sketch is perfect to showcase some designer series papers and I couldn't resist another card using the Gilded Autumn speciality designer series papers - take a look:

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

Gilded Autumn Goodness - The Gilded Autumn papers are beautiful, with some fabulous foil detailing. I paired my chosen patterns with a sentiment and label from the 'So Sentimental' bundle and added some of the ribbon from the suite to my label too.

A Copper Acorn - I used some retired dies for my diecut leaves (from the Beautiful Bouquet die set) as they had a shape that works well with the patterns on the paper and added a double linen thread bow. I stopped there on my two additional cards as I wanted them to be post-friendly, however I couldn't resist adding one of the lovely copper acorn trinkets from the suite to one of my cards - these are just so pretty:

I'm going to link this card up over at Hand Stamped Sentiments too - I just love their inspiration photo this week, it's so perfect for the season!

And Two Makes Three - As I mentioned above, having cut 3 rectangular pieces of DSP, and then cut all three together at the same angle on my guillotine, I made another two cards to use up all of the pieces. Here's my second card:

And my third card:

A little simple stamping using the 'Beautiful Autumn' set inside finished each card:

Here's all three of my cards together - do you have a favourite? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts.

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

GILDED AUTUMN SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	ACORN TRINKETS (£7.50)	BASKETWEAVE & METALLIC RIBBON COMBO PACK (£7.50)	SO SENTIMENTAL BUNDLE (EN) (£45.00)	BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)
CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

Yay it's Friday! I feel more than ever the need to start my post with the day of the week just to remind myself - is it me or do they all seem to blur into one these days?! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using this week's Color Throwdown colours: 

I wanted to have a play with my new Ornate Border Dies having seen a lovely stencilled card that my friend LeAnne created with hers. When I saw these colours and the quilt in the photo though I thought they would be nice for a little inlaid diecutting - take a look:

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

Ornate Border Dies - The new Ornate Border Dies are part of the early release Ornate Garden Release. I knew I would love these dies as soon as I saw them! I did have a few erroneous cuts before I realised which side the die was cutting the outer edge on, but once I'd worked this out I was fine. I cut the die three times: once in Basic Black for my mat, then again in Smoky Slate and Real Red, and used these latter two to inlay the flowers and leaves into my black panel. 

Take Your Pick - You might think that inlaid diecutting is a tricky business and whilst it does take a little while, there is one tool that can make it really easy: the Take your Pick tool. That end with a little bob of blue tac is super useful for easily picking up tiny pieces and dropping them into the spaces in the die openings. I can highly recommend one - adding adhesive sheets to the back of your cardstock before diecutting helps from a gluing perspective too.

So Sentimental - For my panel I used a piece of retired gingham DSP from Sale-A-Bration last year and I finished my card with a thank you sentiment from the 'So Sentimental' set and cut it out with one of the co-ordinating Stitched So Sweetly Dies. I added a scrap of red ribbon and my card was done!

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. 

We took part in a family online quiz yesterday, hosted (virtually, of course!) by some friends of ours with lots of other friends online which was great fun. Determined to continue in a similar vein and do something different again today, I joined an online 'pilates for runners' class, run by the physio that has been treating me for my frozen shoulder rehabilitation. I'm keen to get back to running but am nowhere near fit enough at the moment, plus it's more fun to cycle with the Juniors whilst they are at home. It was tough but I thoroughly enjoyed it - I'm sure my glutes will feel be feeling the effects tomorrow though! What are you doing to make each day a little different to the one that went before? Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Ornate Borders Dies	So Sentimental Bundle (English)	So Sentimental Cling Stamp Set (English)	Stitched So Sweetly Dies	Stitched Be Mine Dies
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock

Today I'm sharing a card that uses both the CAS(E) This Sketch layout and the theme over at Time Out this week:

I have a combination of old and new for my card today! I've been desperately trying to increase my stash of on-hand birthday cards and use up some of my stash of retired designer series paper so the above challenges gave me the perfect opportunity - take a look:

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

So Sentimental - I used the 'This calls for confetti!' stamp from the new 'So Sentimental' stamp set as the starting point for today's card, picking up on the theme over at Time Out and paired this with some retired Picture Perfect Party DSP that has a fun scattered confetti photographic print for a fun birthday party vibe - which just so happened to perfectly fit the CAS(E) This Sketch layout too.

Label Me Fancy - I heat embossed my sentiment into silver onto some Pool Party cardstock and punched it out with the new Label Me Fancy punch, and backed it with one in a contrasting colour that I'd split in half so that you can just see a border. I added a tiny piece of retired ribbon from my scrapbox for a little extra detail (this ribbon is currently available on the Clearance Rack if you would like to stock up on a ribbon bargain!). 

Sending You Thoughts - I used the Sale-A-Bration free stamp set, Sending You Thoughts, for the inside of my card, along with a little sprinkle of stamped confetti to finish off my celebratory card:

I also added the offcut of my DSP to the envelope flap for a little extra envelope decoration. So a super simple card that meant I could run off a few to add to my stash of birthday cards for when the James Juniors need one for a friend in a hurry!

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. 

So it's Shrove Tuesday today - hands up who's having pancakes for dinner this evening? I have been badgered all the way to school today to make some this evening - but just to whet your appetite, here are some American-style ones I had for brunch at the weekend - can you spot the 'hidden Mickey' (or Minnie, with the bacon bow!) - fellow Disney fans, this one is for you!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Label Me Fancy Punch (£17.00)	So Sentimental Cling Stamp Set (English) (£20.00)	Sending You Thoughts Cling Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)
Versamark Pad (£8.75)	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Berry Burst 3/8" (1 Cm) Metallic-Edge Ribbon (£2.60)

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

I used the current sketch over at Fab Friday and went with the top line of the board - Diecut, CAS, Purple - take a look:

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

Best Dressed - This Purple Posy floral paper from the Best Dressed DSP pack was the starting point that inspired my whole card today. So soft and pretty, with a delicate ombre effect I couldn't resist using a whole panel on my card.

So Sentimental - I used a simple thank you sentiment from the So Sentimental stamp set, masked off and inked in a combination of Highland Heather and Basic Grey and cut out using the co-ordinating Stitched So Sweetly Dies. This label is one of 4 in the set, along with the stitched scalloped rectangles that I showcased previously on this card.

A Pop of Colour - I fussy cut a flower from one of the other patterns of paper in the Best Dressed pack to embellish my sentiment with and picked out the colours of the flower centre and leaves to use for the banners behind my sentiment for a little added pop of colour.

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. 

I love this sketch and think I'll be using it again! What about the board though? 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 your day; the weather here is still wet and grey, so following indoor climbing yesterday the Juniors are breaking up their mock exam revision with indoor roller skating this afternoon - I will be watching safely from the sidelines! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

So Sentimental Bundle (English) (£45.00)	Best Dressed 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Purple Posy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Old Olive A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)