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

I went down the first column with Winter/Sentiment/Circle and made a simple wintry thank you card - take a look:

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

Wintry Blues - The Beauty of the Earth designer papers contain lots of wonderful leafy images featuring trees and greenery and I used lots of them during the autumn in particular and I have been wanting to create something with this beautiful blue and grey watercolour-inspired pattern. I didn't get the opportunity to incorporate it into a Christmas card, but thought it would made a lovely centrepiece for a simple wintry thank you. 

A Surprise Sentiment - When looking for the right sentiment for my card, I came across this one that was perfect - and actually from a set that couldn't be further from the winter season. Do you recognise it? It actually comes from the 'Sweet Ice Cream' stamp set. I thought it would work just as well with a frosty scene, paired with a simple 'thank you' on the inside of my card from the same set. What do you think? Always worth perusing the catalogue - you may be surprised what you will find. Have you ever made any other unusual stamp and paper pairings? Do let me know in the comments below - I'd love to hear about them!

A Subtle Sparkle - Finally, honestly, too difficult to see on the photo, but I brushed each of the watercoloured trees with my clear Wink of Stella brush for an oh so pretty subtle sparkle. I also added a single rhinestone to my heart for a more obvious shine:

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. 

I'm also linking today's card up over at The Alphabet Challenge blog where they are currently on 'T is for Trees'. 

Enjoy your day; I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BEAUTY OF THE EARTH 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	SWEET ICE CREAM PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PICTURE THIS DIES (£32.00)
RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)

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 Vicky is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went across the centre of the board this week with Diecuts/Leaves/CAS and paired with the gorgeous autumnal colours over at TGIF Challenges for a simple leafy thank you  - take a look:

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

I used my Stitched Greenery Die to add interest to my background, then added a trio of autumnal leaves in the TGIF Challenge colours cut using my Stitched Leaves Dies - a worthy annual catalogue carryover from last year’s seasonal catalogue and I was delighted to get these back out again for this card. I tied them with a linen thread bow and added a simple ’thank you’ sentiment that is actually from the ’Sweet Ice Cream’ stamp set, but is great for a fussy cut greeting - just the right size:

As you can see, today’s card is definitely all about the stitching - and not a needle and thread in sight!

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 your day; so my laptop has officially died and is beyond recovery, hence no blog post yesterday and there probably won’t be one tomorrow either. Whilst I’ve still got an iPad and phone at my disposal, I really need the keyboard and software on my laptop to work efficiently, as well as screen real estate - my eyesight cannot cope with these teeny, tiny screens for any length of time! A new laptop is on its way though so I’m hoping to be back by the weekend with another project. Less tech time does mean more craft time though - the ladies that are signed up for my Background Stamps Class next week will have their work cut out when they see my samples! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STITCHED LEAVES DIES (£33.00)	STITCHED GREENERY DIE (£30.00)	SWEET ICE CREAM PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CINNAMON CIDER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	LINEN THREAD (£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 Ann to host this week and she has a seasonal theme challenge for us to work with:

We have a fun challenge for you this week - 'signs of summer'. As the weather has warmed up here in the UK this past week I am definitely seeing signs of summer in my garden! The swimming pool is out, the parasol is up and the BBQ is lit. One of my main indulgences when summer comes is ice cream - I love it! - so I decided that should definitely feature on my card today. I paired mine with the sketch layout over at Global Design Project to create a card good enough to eat - take a look:

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

Sweet Ice Cream - My triple-scoop ice cream cone comes courtesy of the Sweet Ice Cream bundle: a stamp set and co-ordinating ice-cream cone builder punch. Punches are great for quick and easy cards and my ice cream came together really quickly as a result. I added some spots to the scoops and waffle detailing to the cone and fussy cut a sentiment from the same set for the front of my card, which I finished off with a birthday greeting inside:

Ice Cream Corner - The colours on my card today were taken from the Ice Cream Corner designer series paper. Whilst the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set and punch is carrying over into the annual catalogue, the paper isn't. This is now sold out in the UK; there are lots of bundles carrying over from the suites that feature in the January-June mini catalogue, but the papers and accessories often don't. Lots of them are now discounted whilst stocks last, so if you like any of them, now is a good time to stock up before they are gone for good.

Ice Cream Texture - Once I'd stamped my scoops of ice cream, I ran them through my diecutting machine with the Painted Texture Embossing Folder for some added texture and detail - you can just see it on the photo below:

I don't need any reason to treat myself when it comes to ice cream, so I might need to send this card to myself!

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 spending my day in the garden hoepfully enjoying the sunshine before the James Juniors are back to school again tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEET ICE CREAM BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£29.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PAINTED TEXTURE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)