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)

Happy Monday everyone! I have a busy week as I am playing catch up again now that the James Juniors are back at school following their half term break, so this is a quick post from me today. I'm sharing a card that uses Jen T's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, this week's Color Throwdown colours and the theme over at Just Us Girls where they are playing with leaves:

I was intrigued by Jen's sketch this week and loved the idea of three squares on a slimline card. When you look at my card you will think I made it in super-quick time - and I did, but only after an exponential amount of crafty procrastination and numerous failed attempts! Here's what I ended up with:

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

Yes - a simple trio of my favourite stitched leaves, inset into a trio of stitched squares and switched about for some mix-and-match autumn colour, with a sentiment from the 'Sparkle of the Season' stamp set. Why so difficult? Well, I couldn't decided between leaves, snowflakes, trees ... the list goes on! Then I decided I wanted to use the larger sycamore-style leaf, but try as I might I couldn't use three and create a slimline that would fit in an envelope for posting. I also fiddled with my Stitched Greenery Die - and failed to successfully adapt it for a long slimline card so gave that up as a bad job. the moral of the story? If in doubt, simple is best! Sometimes trying to complicate things just doesn't pay. Then to top it all, I struggled to get my card to lie flat for photographing - so if you're looking at it and can see a slight distortion, I'm afraid that's why. I also added a little stamping to the inside of my card:

I hope you like today's card and have enjoyed my tale of the trials of creating it! I love the finished result those - sometimes stitched dies really are all you need!

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; I'm off to grab a quick sandwich before I head back out on my second school run of today. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SPARKLE OF THE SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	STITCHED LEAVES DIES (£33.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

I have card class this morning so am getting my blog post out early! Today I'm sharing a card that uses Amy's sketch this week over at Freshly Made Sketches:

My card is also inspired by a recent Inspired By challenge photo that I loved but didn't get the opportunity to play along with at the time ( you can read all about that here). I made another Christmas card for my growing pile - take a look:

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

Seasonal Swirls - Today's card features another Seasonal Swirls wreath, this time a Christmas one adorned with holly, pine cones and mistletoe pearl berries. This die set is perfect for making endless combinations of wreath decoration! I stamped a simple 'Noel' greeting from 'Tidings and Trimmings' in the centre of my wreath.

Not So Halloween Gingham - I used the central diagonal to accommodate a gingham bow with a (retired) sparkly jewel at it's centre. You may well have missed this ribbon in the current seasonal catalogue - it's on page 51 nestled amongst the Cute Halloween suite, but I think this ribbon is a winner with all-year round appeal. 

An Acetate Trick - For the other two elements of diagonal detail, I used some of the Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Designer Acetate - but featured the reverse side which is a lovely silver colour, rather than the lilac/pink front. Using the reverse makes this great for adding a touch of festive metallic to those festive projects:

I was initially a little unsure about the diagonals on Amy's sketch, but I actually like the way the sit against my Christmas wreath and am quite pleased with how this card turned out.

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:

SEASONAL SWIRLS DIES (£32.00)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)	HYDRANGEA HILL MERCURY GLASS DESIGNER ACETATE (£10.75)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Laurie to host this week and she has a fun and seasonal theme challenge for you to work with:

I was initially a little concerned that I would struggle this week; I don't make many Halloween cards as I rarely send them as it isn't a big thing here in the UK and I don't really buy many Halloween sets as a result. I didn't even have any current Halloween paper! What to do?! I decided to take stock of all current sets and pull out anything that had something Halloween-related in it, whilst also taking inspiration from a few other challenges too, and ended up making a card really easily. Take a look at what I came up with:

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

Halloween Seasonal Swirls - The star of today's card is most definitely the Seasonal Swirls Dies. They have this fun star wreath (which along with my bat silhouettes fulfilled my 'Just Choose 2' for Just Add Ink this week) which I cut out of sparkly black glitter paper, then embellished with a trio of pumpkins and witches' brooms cut from some retired textured kraft paper I had, which along with my purple background uses this week's Color Throwdown colours which are perfect for Halloween.

Sparkle of The Season and A Wish For Everything - Alongside my diecut wreath, there isn't much stamping on my card: the sentiment on the front comes from the 'Sparkle of the Season' stamp set that is bundles with the dies; I also found this fun Halloween sentiment in the 'A Wish For Everything' stamp set that I used on the inside of my card:

Perfect for the inside of my card!

Spooky? - I wasn't sure that my sparkly wreath alone could truly be considered 'spooky', but luckily Narelle's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week came to my rescue on that front: I took that second circle shape behind, masked off and sponged in a moon with white craft and a little  silver metallic ink for shading, along with the splatter stamp in the 'Quiet Meadow' stamp set for crate-like detail and a trio of black bats from 'Sparkle of The Season' for added spooky:

A final diecut bat, along with some blended tone-on-tone colour around the edge of my purple layer, complete my suitably spooky card.

I felt like I needed a lot of help to get me going with my card this week, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Even more impressive is that it didn't include a single Halloween-specific stamp set! So if you are looking at this week's theme and thinking you don't 'do Halloween', check out the stamp sets on your shelf or get creative with some punch art - like me, you might be surprised at what you'll find!

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; today is a very special day in the James household! Tomorrow is a milestone birthday for my 'significant other' ( also known as the first Mr James! - if you missed his card, I already shared that here); since his birthday falls on a day that is filled with work, school and sport for pretty much everyone in the James household, we are celebrating today. We have cake, balloons, fizz, presents and more so whilst he is not one to make a fuss, the children and I are ready to celebrate his half-century in style!  I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SPARKLE OF THE SEASON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	BLACK 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) GLITTER PAPER (£5.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	A WISH FOR EVERYTHING CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£36.00)
UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL (£8.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jenny has asked that we create a slimline card, with a rectangular element behind a single focal image:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I created a mini slimline card and took the opportunity to combine with my entry for the current Less Is More challenge for a clean and simple card that is all about the sparkle - take a look:

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

Stitched Snowflakes - I recently picked up the new Stitched Snowflakes dies (I blame my blog friend, the lovely LeAnne Pugliese lol!) having been convinced I can never own too many snowflake dies and these ones also have a lovely stitched detail - bonus! I thought a single diecut snowflake would make a great focal point, and used one of the other dies that cuts a swirl of snowflakes into a flat panel for my rectangular element. 

Be Dazzling - The challenge over at Less Is More currently is 'sparkle' so I just had to cut my snowflake out of Be Dazzling sparkly paper - the ultimate in sparkle and free with a purchase of £45 during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion to boot! I also added a sparkly border between my mat white layers - I mean, you can never have too much sparkle, right?! Well, so long as it's balanced with lots of 'white' space to keep that clean and simple feel ;-) If you would like to get your hands on some 'Be Dazzling' paper, you have until the end of this month or whilst supplies last (whichever comes sooner) to grab some: just hop on over to my online store or give me a call to place an order.

Sparkle of a Different Kind - My sentiment comes from the 'Sparkle of the Season' wreath set - it seemed just right to pair with my sparkling snowflake on today's 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

That's all from me for now; I have lots to do following yesterday's monthly Stampin' Up! class; on the upside, the forecast is rain all day today so at least I won't be tempted to go out into the garden! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STITCHED SNOWFLAKES DIES (£32.00)

SPARKLE OF THE SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

BE DAZZLING 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£0.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)