Today I'm sharing my design team card for our first challenge of the new year over at As you See It where it's Jane's turn to host and she has a great sketch challenge for us:

I thought that large panel was crying out to showcase some beautiful designer paper and obviously I have lots to choose from!! I decided to make a couple of cards, both showcasing one of the beautiful designs in the new Dainty Flowers paper pack. Here's the first one:

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

Dainty Flowers - There's a fabulous sheet of paper in the Dainty Flowers pack that has a faux-watercolour print of wildflowers along two sides, which is perfect for cutting into 6 to make multiple cards; this is hat I used for the main panel on my card. I would say it looks like I painted it, but who am I kidding?! I paired it with a contrasting strip in Starry Sky that is another of the patterns in this pack for the card above; for my second card, I picked up the purples and used a piece of Regals DSP in Blackberry Bliss for the border edge:

This paper is beautiful and all the better for being FREE during Sale-A-Bration with any £45 purchase. Gotta love a freebie!

Dainty Delight - The sentiment on both cards is from the Dainty Delight stamp set, part of the Dainty Delight bundle that the paper coordinates with - you can find it on page 55 of the mini catalogue.  

Label Me Fancy - I added my sentiment to a simple punched label courtesy of the Label Me Fancy punch. A simple twist of ribbon and a couple of brushed brass butterflies complete each card. In the photos below you can see the faux texture of the watercolour paper - so realistic:

And here's the purple version:

Here's a photo of both cards together - which one do you prefer? 

Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to know what you think. I honestly love them both - this paper is so pretty! Very little stamping on today's cards - the paper definitely does all the heavy lifting.

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

Enjoy your day; I'm looking forward to hosting an informal open house this morning to share some of my favourite things from Sale-A-Bration and the new mini catalogue - you can be sure today's cards will feature! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LABEL ME FANCY PUNCH (18.00)	DAINTY DELIGHT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BLUSHING BRIDE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	REGALS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	STARRY SKY 1/8'' (3.2 MM) METALLIC WOVEN RIBBON (8.50)	FRESH FREESIA 3/8" (1 CM) OPEN WEAVE RIBBON (6.75)
BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed challenge chosen by Jan:

The dreaded speed challenge! I had both paper and dies featuring ornaments to hand, but no current stamps, so this week was definitely a case of 'go hard or go home', so I grabbed the Sketch Saturday layout and decided to go for it! This is what I came up with:

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

Today's card was all about the planning! I designed my card and wrote a list of the sizes I needed to cut my layers to and gathered my scraps of coloured cardstock and paired them with each die ready for cutting. I put my sentiment stamp into my Stamparatus and once I had everything to hand, set my stopwatch and started cutting! The real highlight of today's card is the brightly coloured, ornament patterned paper from the 'Celebrate Everything' hostess paper pack - I cut a panel of this then diecut an ornament using my Spruced Up Outlines Dies for a co-ordinated focal point:

I added a simple sentiment from 'Framed & Festive' that I diecut at the same time as my ornament to save time and as I still had time I added a black twine bow for a final finishing touch just as my 10 minute timer went off - not a second to spare! My desk was an absolute bomb site - a true 'craftermath', but I did it! A stamped ornament would have made for a much quicker card and I did contemplate just using the designer paper and a sentiment, but where's the fun in that, right?! It's not a speed challenge if there's no pressure!

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

Enjoy your day; I have a day of housework and errands and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.50)	FRAMED & FESTIVE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a theme challenge chosen by Heather C:

I was really tight on time to create a card for today's challenge so decided to share one that I made earlier in the year that features the retired Horizon Dies that I didn't get around to sharing at the time that sums up the perfect vacation activity - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Watching the sunset - for me there's nothing nicer after a long day relaxing than sitting out on a warm summer evening watching the sun go down over the horizon. My colourful scene is evocative of this and was created by simply layering some of the dies to create my scene, adding some blended ink behind the sun and a simple sentiment to finish:

Isn't that a relaxing scene? I can almost feel the holiday warmth of that setting sun, a ball of fire reflecting on the lake and turning it red. The sentiment of today's card just about sums up my week - and breathe ...

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a recipe challenge:

I normally struggle with recipe challenges, but this one came together really easily, especially with the layout over at Atlantic Hearts this week - take a look:

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

My starting point for today's card was the Storybook Gnomes designer series paper, and specifically the pattern that I used for the rectangular panels at the back that you can barely see on the finished card! It has a lovely mix of blues and earth tones, so ticked off two of my ingredients. Having layered these panels, I decided to build a scene using a combination of stamped diecut elements (my toadstool - check) and some other elements I'd already cut out from other patterns in this pack, namely the moose and the gnome. I added in a precut snowflake and some smaller snowflakes cut with the Chic Dies, to which I added some glittery gems - even a masculine card can have a little sparkle, right?!

I added a panel with my stamped sentiment and wrapped this in some (retired) white and Early Espresso baker's twine (check) to continue the earthy tones and tick off my final ingredient. 

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. 

This is one of those cards that just evolved with a mish-mash of bits and pieces until I felt like I had a cohesive scene. I think I'll send this to an old university friend who has an adorable little boy - I think Mr Gnome will be right up his street!

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.

Enjoy your day; I have a helper to complete my chores today as the oldest of the James Juniors is enjoying an extended half-term break. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather stays dry this evening please as we are off to a fireworks display at the school of James Junior number 2. It is usually a fantastic display and as it's within the school grounds, far enough away from residential housing to cause undue trauma to the neighbourhood cats and dogs. I'll be back on Sunday with my project for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

KINDEST GNOMES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (46.75)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	CHIC DIES (35.00)	STORYBOOK GNOMES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	FINE SPARKLE ADHESIVE BACKED GEMS (7.00)	WONDERFUL SNOWFLAKES (5.75)
ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (7.00)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal 'fill in the blank' challenge:

I used Jacqui's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for my layout this week - can you guess how I filled in the blank? Here's my card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

For Me The Spookiest Thing on Halloween Is Always - .. the fact that there are even more spiders than usual! I'm all for appreciating all creatures great and small, but I draw the line at spiders and wasps! I've been stung by a wasp on three separate occasions - each of them memorable and none of them pleasant and as for spiders, well they just give me the heebie-jeebies, especially furry ones or ones with the long, spindly legs!! So today's card had to feature spiders! It actually started with the stamped one, which comes from the Cottage Wreaths stamp set. Ironically, one of the reasons I bought this set was for the spider and the 'boo' greeting, as it allowed for versatility given that I didn't want to buy lots of Halloween sets but I honestly haven't been able to bring myself to create a Halloween wreath featuring this particular arachnid - every time I go to visit another blog to leave a comment and I see this spider featured on a card, it literally makes my skin creep!

I decided to pair both the spider and greeting with some (retired - Happy Hauntings) designer paper squares, also featuring a similar spider, and create a simple feature where this one looks like he's escaping the paper via his 'web' line of pierced dots courtesy of my Take Your Pick Tool. I also added an embossed spider's web to the black mat layer, although this is difficult to see in the photos and I embossed the envelope flap too for additional spooky effect. Against my better judgement, here's a close-up of the escapee:

Whilst I actually like the finished card, I have absolutely no idea who to send it too - does anyone out there actually like spiders?! Answers below please - I will happily send this card your way! I am also going to share the loveliness of today's Halloween creation with the ladies over at SUO Challenges where they are all about Halloween for a second entry.

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

Enjoy your day - it's Friday so my cleaning day and the housework beckons - off to do battle with the real-life spiders and their cobwebs, which are always more prevalent at this time of year as they come indoors to escape the chillier autumn weather. Wish me luck! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COTTAGE WREATHS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£18.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)

VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

TAKE YOUR PICK (£9.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a bold colour challenge:

I love this week's colour palette, although the bold colours did mean I had to get my thinking cap on. I decided they would be perfect for me to try out an idea I've had buzzing around for a while - take a look:

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

Simply Fabulous - I've made no secret of how much I love the 'Simply fabulous' stamp set - to me, it is just that! So versatile, with great sentiments and fonts and bold floral images, if you do a search you'll find lots of examples of where I've used it on other cards. Instead of stamping in colour, I wanted to see what it would look like stamped in black onto a coloured base. The images are small and easy to combine and the subtle leaf detail on some of the images mean this works really well. I used my Stamparatus to stamp clusters of images at a time, reinking to make sure I had a nice solid black image. I also added a little additional detail on the inside:

DIY Stencils - I decided that I would use some circle shapes to highlight my clusters of silhouetted images and use a combination of blended colours in each one. I made my own set of circle stencils, using some window sheet and my Layering Circles Dies, so carefully positioned them where I wanted my images, starting with the large ones and adding a few smaller ones around the edge to fill in the gaps. I used my blending brushes to add a combination of two colours to each circle. I love using stencils and don't have many in my collection, but I'm always looking at ways in which I can use my dies to create custom stencils - do you do this too? My stencilling here is simple but I think quite effective; I'm linking up with the challenge over at Inkspirational where they are asking us to use stencils this week - do check out the DT and gallery cards, there are some great examples of the way stencils can be used on your projects.

Finishing Touches - To finish my card, I added a few matte black dots to the outer borders of the larger circles as an accent:

I really love this card and am glad I used a slimline design too as it meant I got more circles onto my card front. If I could change one thing, I think I would stamp my sentiment in black rather than Starry Sky; I wanted to tie it in to the mat layer, but I think black would have given a crisper finish. I'll save that for my next one! 

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

Enjoy your day. Mine will be filled with laundry and housework and maybe a little crafting! I am on late pickup this evening, as one of the James Juniors has a social evening and quiz night at school, which after this morning's rush hour I am particularly thankful for: a beer tanker had overturned and completely blocked the dual carriageway that is only minutes into our journey, necessitating a massive diversion and delay - not what you need when you have a 60 mile round trip to embark on at 7.15am! Still, everyone got to school on time and I'm thankful we weren't involved in the incident itself, so all good. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for my favourite, a sketch challenge:

I love a good sketch, but I don't mind admitting this week's card was a struggle! Too little craft time and a chaotic craft room are not a good mix, so with my card making deadline looming, I was feeling the pressure. A few failed attempts and I decided therefore that simple would be best. I had seen the inspiration photo earlier in the day over at The Card Concept (there are actually two now for their second challenge of the month - fun!) and whilst I wasn't inspired by the travel theme, I loved their first inspo photo of brightly coloured stylised prints and the one for Bali was the inspiration for my card design today. The bold colours on a dramatic black background with bright pink floral accents led me to grab another of the designs in the 'Celebrate Everything' designer series paper pack and pull together a simple clean and layered Christmas card - take a look:

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

I cut a panel of this brightly patterned paper, double mounted it onto Polished Pink and Shaded Spruce, and added it to a Basic Black cardbase. I added a sentiment from the 'Candy Canes Christmas' stamp set that seemed to fit this bold, fun design and accented it with a couple of diecut holly leaves (taken from the retired Poinsettia Dies, as they were just the right shape and style). I added some detail to the embossed lines with a Shaded Spruce marker to echo the holly design on the paper and finished with a trio of large red glittery enamel dot berries, taken from my stash:

So what do you think? Are you a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas colour schemes or do you like to break the mold every now and again and go with something more contemporary? I admit a black card base is not my usual Christmas card 'go to', but I think it works. I'm not sure I'm going to win any awards with this one (haha!) and the design team over at As You See It have created some AMAZING cards with this sketch, so you should definitely check those out. One thing's for sure I love the 'Celebrate Everything' designer series paper pack - this is definitely the paper that keeps on giving!

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

Enjoy your day; I'm off to a funeral - the wet and gloomy day definitely is reflective of that mood. I am hoping to be back in my craft room tomorrow though, so will hopefully be ready to share another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.50)	SWEET CANDY CANES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal speed challenge:

Having cast my eye over my supplies, the only current pumpkin products I had was the 'Celebrate Everything' designer series paper which features this cute pumpkin/ghost patterned paper. So I had a good root through my retired box, grabbed a couple of retired stamp sets and my retired apple punch and decided to CASE a card I saw on social media yesterday by Yvonne Spikmans, one of the current Stampin' Up! artisan designers using my collection of bits and pieces. I started my stopwatch and set to work - this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I added my DSP to a blank card base and then created a 'torn reveal' to a piece of white cardstock. I stamped a pumpkin onto some orange cardstock (Tangerine Tango - retired) using the retired 'Harvest Hellos' stamp set and punched it out with my retired apple builder punch, then added it across my torn section. The sentiment comes from the retired 'Banner Year' stamp set and I stamped the 'Boo' onto a banner that I retrieved from my box of scraps. A bundle of twine and sprinkle of enamel dots and stars complete this fun card:

This card was actually surprisingly quick to make - I remembered to photograph my finished time:

9 minutes and 27 seconds - not too shabby and nicely under the 10 minute mark - result! The key to a quick card is most definitely to be prepared: planning your card and gathering your supplies ahead of time is allowed and will definitely make things easier. 

This card will be a good surprise note for one of the James Juniors as Halloween draws nearer.

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project or supplies list as most items I've used are retired; the design could be used in lots of different ways though - what sets would you use? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Sunday with another project for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a recipe challenge:

There were lots of things on this week's board that I loved - DSP, bright colours, dies and even florals - but I was slightly unnerved by the addition of watercolouring into the mix! I find watercolouring a little hit and miss (sometimes my attempts are a hot mess!) so I decided to play safe and watercolour my stamped florals and take it from there. Take a look at where I ended up:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I decided to use some of the brightly coloured Hues of Happiness DSP for my background and use this as the starting point for my card. I resisted the urge to use some of my florals diecut from another sheet in this pack and instead I stamped a whole bunch of flowers from the 'Happiness Abounds' stamp set onto Shimmery White cardstock and heat embossed them in black. Shimmery White cardstock is great for watercolouring as it's not too absorbent and so is very forgiving. I watercoloured my flowers in the same colours that featured on my background paper, and positioned them around a central diecut piece, also from the co-ordinating Blossoming Happiness Dies:

I heat embossed my sentiment onto a Stylish Shapes diecut banner, added a twine bow and my card is complete - all elements of the recipe included, phew!

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Sunday with my project for The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HAPPINESS ABOUNDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	HUES OF HAPPINESS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	WATER PAINTERS (£13.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a festive 'fill in the blank' challenge:

Today we are all about Christmas in July. I do like to get a start on Christmas cards at this time of year, but when it come to my favourite Christmas in July creation it has to be home decor and table favours; these always take longer to make than you think they will and in the busy run up to Christmas there is rarely time to devote large chunks of time to crafting, so I like to get a good headstart on these kinds of projects - it makes me feel organised! I have two projects for you today - a piece of home decor and a co-ordinating table favour. Both use the Tree Lot Dies, available free with a £90 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion - and I took the inspiration for my festive caravan and 'trees for sale' scene from the top right photo over at Hand Stamped Sentiments - what a great inspo board! First up - here's my home decoration piece:

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

I used a dome that I had in my office that I bought last year that was just waiting to be made into something, and built my little scene onto the base, having first covered the base with snowy white velvet paper (cut with a retired layering circles die). The string of lights, embellished with the pretty Festive Pearls, the trees and the 'trees for sale' sign are all one dimensional and stand with the aid of small supports behind them. The caravan is made by diecutting two of the diecut caravan pieces and adding a base (described in more detail with the table favour below) and a second curved piece of cardstock for the roof (the roof piece measures 3 1/2" x 1 1/2", scored at 1/2" on each side and 1/4" on each side respectively). I added some red ribbon to the top of my dome and red glimmer to the base of my dome for extra festive feel. Here's a close up of my little scene, with the dome removed so that you can see the detail more easily:

My finished dome measures 11cm wide by 19cm tall and that's not all - it lights up too! 

A little tricky to see since I photographed it in daylight, but a nice feature to give a cosy night time glow. In addition to my decoration, which could be used as a table centrepiece, I also created the first of a set of table favours made from the caravan die. These are quite easy to make: just cut two caravan sides, then take a piece of cardstock measuring 4 1/8" x 1 1/2", scored at 1" on each side and 1/4/" on each side respectively, to create the open box shape. They are just big enough to hold two Lindor chocolates or similar:

How cute is that?! Both of today's projects are quite easy to make, but I won't lie - there is a time-consuming element, since all of the little pieces need to be cut and glued in place. Worth it though I think - and if you start now, you will have them finished and ready to go when Christmas rolls around!

The key products used on today's project are included in the table below - no visual today. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TREE LOT DIES (£0.00)	TREES FOR SALE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	SNOWY WHITE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) VELVET SHEETS (£4.75)	REAL RED & WHITE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (£4.75)	FESTIVE PEARLS (£6.75)	REAL RED & GARDEN GREEN 3/8" (1 CM) RIBBON COMBO PACK (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (£9.50)