Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fusion where I used both the sketch and inspiration photo for my card:

Given that it features butterflies, it's also my second link up with Stamp Ink Paper this week. My card turned out to be a more literal interpretation of the Fusion brief than I'd intended - take a look:

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

A Quick Butterfly Wreath - My original plan was to create a wreath of layered diecut butterflies using the tiny butterflies in the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits set that I used on other cards that I shared with you earlier this week, however when I put it together the butterflies were a little too small and overwhelmed by the overall proportions of my card. As I was browsing my collection of patterned papers to decide what to use for the horizontal banner, I came across some leftover Botanical Butterfly paper from Sale-A-Bration. I punched out some small butterflies using my duet butterfly punch (this is finally back in stock now in the UK - hurrah!) and they were the perfect size for my project. I love the realistic details on each and because all I did was punch the out the effect took no time to create; perfect! I then used a plain piece of So Saffron cardstock for the horizontal panel to tie in with the colours. 

Wood Textures - I used a piece of Wood Textures designer series papers for my background, inspired by the door in the Fusion photo. I recall when I saw these papers unveiled at an Onstage event a couple of years ago, a fellow demo friend Karen was in raptures about them and all the awesome projects she could imagine making with them. I remember thinking she was mad, as I didn't think they were something I would use much - how little faith I had! As it turns out I've used these papers lots in my crafting and will be sad to see them go when they retire next month - yes, I have stocked up and suggest you do the same too!

Textured Textures - Whilst it's difficult to see in the photo, I added extra texture and interest to my Wood Textures DSP by running it through my BigShot with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder before adding to my card. This is something I often do if I'm using this paper for a background - it adds a lovely tactile dimension and interest to an otherwise simple 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. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am hostess this week and I have a fun colour palette for you! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beauty Abounds Cling Stamp Set (£21.00)	Butterfly Duet Punch (£17.00)	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	So Saffron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players - yay! It's the turn of my wonderful friend Claire to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for you to work with that I know she would love you to play along with:

I know that Claire loves Thanksgiving and whilst it isn't something we celebrate here in the UK, the underlying theme of being grateful and thankfulness is one we should all celebrate. I used both the sketch layout and photo inspiration over at Fusion and CASual Fridays as starting points for today's card: warm autumn leaves and wood textures feature heavily on my card this week - take a look:

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

Textured Layers -  I wanted to create texture on my card and did something quite unusual for me: used not one, but two embossing folders on my background panels. To recreate the grey weatherboard effect, I used my Simple Stripes embossing folder on a panel of Smoky Slate. For my feature panel, I used a piece of Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and added further texture by running this through my Pinewood Planks embossing folder. I love the effect this gives - it adds so much interest and detail.

A Wreath of Twigs and Leaves - I stamped the wreath from the Wishing You Well stamp set in Early Espresso onto a stitched circle of Very Vanilla and punched out the middle using my 1 1/4"  circle punch, so that more of the textured wood panel could be seen. I coloured a selection of pearls in various sizes with my Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight and Cajun Craze Blends markers to suggest leaves and then added a trio of actual leaves cut with my Seasonal Layers Thinlits to frame my sentiment (I sponged the edges of the leaves to add depth).

Something For The Thanksgiving Table - When I started my card, I wanted to create a wreath like the one in the Fusion inspiration photo. I made a wreath in autumnal colours using my sprig punch that I really loved, but when it came to adding it to my card, it was a little too bulky so I went back to the drawing board. I didn't want my punched wreath to go to waste though, so instead I attached it to a band of Very Vanilla stamped with my Buffalo Check stamp in Crushed Curry, added a banner sentiment and a braided linen twine bow and made a napkin ring - perfect for the Thanksgiving table. Here's a photo of my finished napkin ring:

I'm linking my napkin ring up with the ladies over at SUO Challenges where they are looking for home decor items for the Thanksgiving table. This was so easy to make yet really effective - you could make a while bunch of these to decorate the Thanksgiving table in a relatively short space of time. 

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; it is the last day of the James Juniors' half term and there is hockey to be played along with a little down time before the return to school tomorrow. I'll be back here tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used - For the card: 

Wishing You Well Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£18.00)	Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Simple Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.00)
Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies (£31.00)	1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch (£15.00)	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Cajun Craze A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pearl Basic Jewels (£4.75)	Linen Thread (£4.75)	Daffodil Delight Dark Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Pumpkin Pie Dark Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used - For the napkin ring: 

Sprig Punch (£17.00)	Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Cajun Craze A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies (£25.00)	3/16" (1 Cm) Braided Linen Trim (£6.50)

I took a few days away from my blog - call it a little birthday gift to myself as I was celebrating being another year older on Friday! It hasn't stopped me creating though and as it's Sunday you all know what that means: it's time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of our returning Player, the lovely Anne Marie Hile, to host this week and she has a gorgeous colour challenge for you to work with:

These colours were asking for something natural and autumnal and I decided to do another make using products from one of my current favourite suites, the Country Lane Suite, for my card today and I used the current sketch over at Inspire.Create for the layout of my card - take a look:

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

My Colour Of Choice - I decided to use the Country Lane designer series paper that you see as the two outer vertical border strips as the starting point for my card today, so decided that my colour of choice in addition to the Mint Macaron, Crumb Cake and Blackberry Bliss chosen by Anne Marie would be Early Expresso - a rich, dark brown that outlines the cotton on the paper. I used it to heat emboss the outlines of my jug and floral stem arrangement, and to ink my Pinewood Planks embossing folder for my background stitched circle, then finally for my sentiment strip. Whilst there is a lot of white elsewhere on my card, I am counting this as a neutral rather than a colour in its own right.

Lots of Layers -  I couldn't resist adding lots of layers to my focal point; in addition to my fussy cut flower jug, I added an embossed stitched circle and a stitched label in Blackberry Bliss. Sometimes it just has to be the way to go!

An Embellishment or Two - I finished my card with some Blackberry Bliss natural twine and faceted jewels; this adds a bold pop of colour in addition to the purple berries in my floral jug. 

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 really love this Country Lane set - it is so versatile and lends itself to lots of great autumn-inspired cards and the blooms are great for a spot of colouring with Blends too.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I can't wait to see what you create with this week's colours and look forward to visiting your blogs this week! Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Country Home Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Country Lane 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Stitched Labels Framelits Dies (£31.00)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)
Nature's Twine (£8.25)	Faceted Dots (£5.50)	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)
Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Blackberry Bliss Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

I'm back with another of the cards made at yesterday's technique class featuring the Painted Autumn Suite, which also uses the current sketch over at The Paper Craft Crew:

I love the fact that the sketch had lots of bits and pieces which allowed me to use lots of the items in the Painted Autumn Suite:

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

Painted Autumn Patterns - I decided to use the panel to feature a piece of the gorgeous Painted Autumn DSP that I hadn't used previously. I hope you, like me, stocked up on this paper when it was part of the 'buy 3, get 1 free' offer -  the designs really are beautiful. I took my inspiration from the swirly leaves and branches of the paper and using the sketch built my design from there.

All About Texture - This card is full of elements that add texture: ribbon, burlap, enamel dots, punched leaves, touches of nature elements, punched border - all of which add to the loose, collage feel. 

Realistic Planks - The background panel is embossed with the Pinewood Planks Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This 3D, dynamic folder creates deep and realistic dimensional embossed impressions that look just like the grain of pinewood planks - the perfect way to add interest to my background without detracting from the other elements.

I'm also linking up with the gals over at SUO Challenges today where they currently have a 'thankful' theme going on. 

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. 

I am managing an early post today as I have an all-day Christmas stamp-a-stack and then I'm out talking to a local women's group about festive packaging this evening. I hope you have a great day; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Painted Harvest Photopolymer Bundle	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon	Touches Of Nature Elements
Peekaboo Peach 5/8" Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon	Regals Enamel Shapes	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi A4 Cardstock
Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Cajun Craze A4 Cardstock	Decorative Ribbon Border Punch	Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper