Happy Monday! I had a little extra crafting time between Onstage presentations on Saturday so had a little play with Jacqui's current layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I made a couple of cards with the sketch, each featuring some of the current Christmas papers with some additional retired product. Here's the first one:

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

I wanted to use this 'dancing deer' paper from the Reindeer Days paper pack so used that for the main panel. This type of pattern really needs a big space to work and I didn't want to mix it with any other pattern, so added some coordinating solid colour blocks for the other three elements. It looked a little plain though and I couldn't decided where best to add my sentiment. I played with a few ideas and finally settled on some of the large wooden diecut words from last year's Santa Express Memories & More card pack:

I decided to have another go using one of my favourite patterns from the Winter Meadow designer series paper packs. This paper is a carryover from last year's mini catalogue and still available online. This time I mirrored the sketch as I wanted to position the deer in the outer corner for a more balanced design:

This time I did leave my border square and rectangles plain, picking out shades of grey from the image, and I added a stamped and fussy-cut sentiment to the cross point:

I also added some silver twine and a few rhinestones for a little festive sparkle to complete my card. I'm also linking this card up over at Inspire.Create Challenge where their current challenge is 'many shades of grey'; I'm not sure there are 50 shades on this one, but it is a Christmas card after all!

I wasn't feeling in a particularly creative mood so struggled a little with the FMS sketch this week, but it was nice to have a play - sometimes you need to just have a little crafty fun, right?

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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:

REINDEER DAYS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	GREETINGS OF THE SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

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 my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I had the idea that the central panel would be a great way to showcase one of the Winter Meadow designer series paper designs - take a look:

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

One of the designs in the Winter Meadow designer series paper pack has a deer pattern that can be split into 6 and used as card fronts. I took the one that had the deer on the right hand side of the panel and cut it down to fit my central rectangle. I added a background panel of Moody Mauve and scored in the diagonal lines (these are quite difficult to see in the photos I'm afraid, but add a lovely subtle detail in real life) and fussy cut a couple of berry stems from another of the sheets in the paper pack to decorate my sentiment, which is from the 'Brightest Glow' stamp set and cut with one of the Labels Aglow dies:

I really liked this card, although I did think that I lost a lot of the impact of the deer panel once I'd cut it down. Whilst I had the papers out on my desk, I decided to make a second card using another panel of the deer paper, this time using Kim's open layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I cut the single panel into three and built up the central section with a couple of layers of black and white cardstock, adding my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set onto a stitched label:

I let the paper do all the work as far as this card is concerned and added only a trio of three pale silver sequins to complete my card:

So two cards for you today - hope you like them! I'm also linking my first card up over at Time Out Challenges where the current challenge is Winter/Holiday.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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 back later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	LABELS AGLOW DIES (31.00)	WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (7.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)

Today I've a quick card for a couple of challenges:

I couldn't resist the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts and decided to pair it with the word prompt over at Inkspirational - take a look:

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

When I first saw the sketch I was so tempted to reach for my Shining Brightly DSP, but since by blog friend LeAnne beat me to it(you can see her fabulous card in the Atlantic Hearts gallery) I decided that I would use one of the frosty, snowy paper designs from the Winter Meadow pack and pair it with the perfect 'cold' sentiment from the retired stamp set 'Well Defined':

I added some ribbon to the border edge and used some silver twine to tie a snowflake embellishment for a finishing frosty touch. 

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 evening and I'll be back tomorrow with my Paper Players project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

SILVER & WHITE 1/2" (1.3 CM) SHEER RIBBON (8.50)

SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Yay it's Friday - almost the weekend!! Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'World Mental Health Day' which is on October 10th. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used blue, green, sparkle and metallic embellishment and this is what I came up with:

I used the sketch layout over at Sketch Saturday and decided to create a Christmas card for my stash! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Winter Meadow - The papers featured on today's card were the starting point for my creation. They are from the Winter meadow designer series paper collection and both the patterns featured are opposite sides of the same sheet. I decided to edge my card with the berry paper to allow that lovely bright blue wash to take centre stage. These papers have pretty water-coloured designs featuring festive winter foliage and are so pretty. 

Timeless Arrangements - I used a sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set and paired it with one of the labels and foliage from the Timeless Arrangement Dies - don't be afraid to mix and match your products and sets to give them a whole new look and feel. 

Silver Sparkles - My metallics and sparkle come from the silver-edged ribbon I used to join my papers, the thin strips of silver glimmer paper and those blue rhinestone berries that I added to my diecut foliage to tie in with the border pattern. Check out the sparkle:

 I heat embossed my sentiment in silver and added a trio of matt silver sequins 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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS DIES (33.00)	CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	SILVER & WHITE 1/2" (1.3 CM) SHEER RIBBON (8.50)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)