Today I'm sharing a card that's a little more involved so perfect for a spot of weekend crafting! I used the fabulous sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches for my layout:

I've made quite a few cards with my 'Joy of Noel' bundle and wanted to try something a little different with this slimline layout - take a look:

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

Joy Of Christmas - The colour scheme for today's card was inspired by the beautiful piece of Joy of Christmas Designer Series Paper I used for the first layer on my card. A white background covered in red berries and festive holly and pine foliage, this paper is perfect for a traditional Christmas card. Whilst much of this panel is covered by the other layers of the card, enough of it can be seen to tie in the other elements. 

Joy of Noel - Most if not all of my other cards using the NOEL 'Joy of Noel' stamps and dies have positioned the letters in a square. This slimline format allowed for me to use the letters in a column (still broken with 'joyous') - this works really well. I originally stamped my letters in Real Red onto Basic White, but they didn't have enough impact. I swapped them for Real Red cardstock embossed with silver and liked this much better. The silver picks up on the grey outlines of the base DSP and the silver and red combo stands out much better and the red ties in with both the red frame I used for the sentiment panel and the two strips of Real Red cotton ribbon I used on the base DSP layer.  

Christmas Classics - For the square layers of the sketch, I used a couple of diecuts of the Christmas Classics foliage border square die. I originally used a sild colour of green for this layer, but it was too stark. Eventually I cut the layers out of a piece of (retired) Garden Green check paper that resulted in a softer, more interesting variegated look. I added some extra detail with a green Blends marker, along with a few red rhinestones for a little extra red berry detail:

This card has seven layers, but I think each of them serves a purpose and makes a valuable contribution to the overall design, which I love. What do you think - does this celebration of festive foliage remind you of a traditional Christmas? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.  

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 my card for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS DIES (35.00)	JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)	JOY OF CHRISTMAS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)
REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

I was feeling a little under the weather today, so I retreated to my craft room to play along with a couple of challenges that enabled me to use up some of my retired bits and pieces!

First up a pink Christmas card to play along with the ladies over at Jingle Belles that uses the current Try Stampin' On Tuesday layout:

The retired Whimsy and Wonder designer paper was perfect for a pink Christmas card and a couple of stitched snowflakes and sentiment from the 'Merry Snowflakes' stamp set, which I heat embossed in silver - you can see that a bit better on the photo below:

My second card is a 'dies only' card for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS that uses three of the four colours on the Color Dare board (all except Glacier) that is also for the 'Anything Spooky' theme over at AA Cards:

I made my ghost using the retired Boo To You and Fall Fun Framelits; it's for my daughter, hence the pink card base and I added the 'Boo!' with foam for a little added depth:

I added googly eyes and a flower for a feminine touch, although I think this makes my ghost rather more sweet than spooky!

A couple of cards that used up some of my retired stash, so no supplies list today. It is really dark and stormy here today too with the arrival of Storm Babet, so it made photographs a little trickier too - hopefully still a few creative ideas for you though! 

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

Card 1:    

Card 2:       

Today I have an additional late post to share a card I made for the following challenges:

I had been mulling over the lovely colour palette at Just Add Ink for a few days and when I saw the new sketch over at Hand Stamped Sentiments today I had an idea! Since the Great British Bake Off was replaced by World Cup Rugby on the TV schedules this evening, I took the opportunity to grab some extra craft time and make my idea a reality - take a look:

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

I thought these colours would make a slightly unconventional Christmas card and I had the 'Christmas Classics' bundle out on my desk, looking for an opportunity to use the fabulous label and foliage dies. I decided to use the foliage-embellished label for the diagonal element, extending it from a label to stretch across the width of my cardfront. I cut the label again out of Berry Burst and paper-pieced the berries to the Pretty Peacock base. To add a little extra interest, I diecut a couple of holly leaves out of some variegated Bright & Beautiful DSP and added these behind a circle of distressed gold paper:

I finished my card with a few Fresh Freesia Tinsel Gems. I like this unusual Christmas colour scheme; what are your favourite unconventional colour combinations? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	DISTRESSED GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (4.75)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	TINSEL GEMS THREE-PACK (7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a seasonal clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Signs of autumn - this can mean so many things but for me is summed up above all in the changing colours of the leaves on the trees as I drive through the countryside each day. The 'Framing Foliage' host stamp set has a lovely autumnal frame made of leaves, fruit and berries that is perfect for clean and simple cards - take a look:

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

#SimpleStamping - Firstly, did you miss the Framing Foliage stamp set in the current mini catalogue? It's on page 79 and is an exclusive stamp set that can be purchased with Stampin' Rewards earned when you host your own Stampin' Up! party (or place a single order of a qualifying amount). For my clean and simple design I decided to go with a one layer, #simplestamping card: stamps, ink and paper and nothing more. I stamped the frame, my 'thanks' sentiment from 'Biggest Wish' stamp set in Early Espresso on a kraft notecard and having added a little Crumb Cake ink to the edges of my card base with a blending brush, I coloured the details of the frame with my watercolour pencils. I also stamped a partial frame onto the outer envelope flap and coloured that to coordinate. Super simple - done! I don't make smaller notecards often, although it's a great size to pop into customer order bags, so I made a few of these and that's where they'll be headed.

Stepped Up - Whilst I had everything out on my desk, I thought I'd also create a second, stepped up version to show how a few additional elements can enhance the basic design. This time I used a standard size card base and added a pattern to my cardfront using a blending brush and some Copper Clay ink with the houndstooth pattern Abundant Beauty Decorative Mask. I stamped the frame onto a second piece of cardstock, cropped it closely then this time coloured the elements with my Stampin' Blends markers. 

Before adding my stamped panel to my cardbase with dimensionals, I punched a couple of holes and thread some linen thread through, tying in a bow. I could have just glued on my bow, but one of our Guest Designers currently, the lovely Fran Wing, has such creative ways of adding thread to her cards I thought I'd take a leaf out of her book and try something a little different!

So one design, two ways - which one do you prefer? Both are fairly clean and simple and I think I prefer the second one if I'm honest, but the first one is I think a great example of #SimpleStamping and how you don't need much in the way of supplies to create a decent card. 

I'm linking up my first card today with the team over at CASOnSunday where their current challenge theme is also autumn; my second card I'm linking up over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog where they are currently on 'N is for Nature'. 

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:

Enjoy your day; I have no special plans so am hoping to enjoy some cooking and crafting in equal measure! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FRAMING FOLIAGE HOST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (14.00)	BIGGEST WISH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (16.00)	ABUNDANT BEAUTY DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	KRAFT NOTE CARDS & ENVELOPES (9.50)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	COPPER CLAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 1 (15.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (11.75)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)

Today I've a quick post with a card I made for a couple of challenges which gave me the opportunity to use up some of the retired bits and pieces in my stash - take a look:

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

I saw the layout that I've used on today's card over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown last week but didn't have time to play along, but no matter - it was perfect for this warm and cosy (retired) Festive Farmhouse patterned plaid paper, along with a trio of rustic retired wooden snowflake embellishments. I added them to a piece of neutral coloured ribbon and tied this with some Cherry Cobbler twine, to which I added a little tag featuring the sentiment from the 'Brightest Glow' stamp set - this was a fun way to add a sentiment without obscuring the plaid:

I'm linking this card up over at Global Design Project #GDP415 for their current 'pattern' challenge and I'm playing along over at SUO Challenges where they are making cards with a masculine theme. I know this is a Christmas card, but I think the rustic feel makes it a perfect masculine card; I hope so anyway, because I made this with a male relative in mind!

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project as most of them are retired - I will provide links to the online store for those that are current below.

Enjoy the rest of your evneing and I'll be back tomorrow with my projects for the new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)

TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (21.00)

VERY VANILLA C6 ENVELOPES (8.00)

VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

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 'Halloween' which is on October 31st. 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 black, silver, spooky sentiment and ghosts and this is what I came up with:

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

I have no current Halloween product, so delved into my retired box of favourites for this one! I decided to create a card that has a distinctly Halloween feel, so used some retired silver-foiled black paper and added that to my card base, then added a black strip, onto which I heat-embossed my 'faBOOlous' sentiment in silver from the retired 'Six Sayings' stamp set, bordering this with some silver glimmer paper. To add the fun, spooky feel, I heat embossed a trio of ghosts in white (from the retired 'Holiday Home stamp set) onto vellum, fussy get these and added them to my card 'floating' out of the OO:

How fun! My sentiment was inspired by the famous advertising strapline that the L'Oreal cosmetic brand uses: because you're worth it (cue Jennifer Anniston hair flick!) I will be sending this to my daughter with a few Halloween treats at university - because she is afterall, faBOOlous!

I am also sharing this card over at Inspire.Create Challenges where their current theme challenge is Autumn/Halloween.

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; if you're superstitious about Friday 13th, wishing you a lucky one; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (current product only):

CIRCLE SAYINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a colour challenge for us to work with:

These colours immediately made me think 'Halloween', but I really didn't want to make a Halloween card - so I challenged myself to make something floral! I'm using this week's Global Design Project #GDP414 sketch for my layout and this is also my entry for this month's Flower Challenge of 'anything goes' - and since they are celebrating their 7th birthday, I went with a birthday theme too. This is what I came up with:

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

I decided to use the Textured Floral bundle on my card. I stamped a selection of blooms in Highland Heather and Pumpkin Pie, stamping off the larger flowers once, and leaves in Old Olive, diecut them and used them to frame my aperture that I'd cut out using the largest circle in my Stylish Shapes Dies. I added a piece of black and white Zoo Crew designer paper inside my aperture, along with some additional black diecut foliage, a heat-embossed black and white sentiment and a large black and white gingham bow to finish:

I think the black and white elements balance the colours and whilst adding a touch of drama make my card look less Halloween-y. What do you think? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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:

Enjoy your day; I'm hoping to get out into the garden today and get some jobs done and make the most of the unusually warm weather we are having for the last couple of days. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TEXTURED FLORAL BUNDLE (49.50)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (6.75)	ZOO CREW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	CLASSIC MATTE DOTS (6.75)

Happy World Card making Day everyone! Today I've a quick post to share a birthday card that I made for a couple of challenges - I used the layout over at Try Stampin On Tuesday (including the option to feature patterned paper - no surprise there!) and this week's colour palette over at The Color Throwdown:

Each of the CTD challenge colours appear in a piece of designer paper from the Les Shoppes pack that I had yet to use so that was the starting point for today's card. I thought it had a vaguely Mexican feel too, so I paired it with the pinata image in the 'Taco Fiesta' stamp set for a fun birthday card - take a look:

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

This card was actually really simple: a little Blends colouring and blocks of solid colour to highlight the elements and really allow that fabulous patterned paper to 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; the boys are out at hockey today and I shall be taking advantage of the fact that it's World Card Making Day and indulging in my hobby! Remember Stampin' Up! is running a virtual event today that you are all welcome to attend, even if you haven't registered - read all about it here.

I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TACO FIESTA PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (18.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	LES SHOPPES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

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 fun theme challenge for us to work with:

This was something of a challenge for me this week as I don't have any stamp sets that feature space images. I do have the fabulous space-inspired Stargazing designer series paper though so this is where I started for my card. I grabbed Karren's Freshly Made Sketches layout and set to work - take a look:

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

I fussy cut one of the large ringed planets from one of the planet-covered designs (if you have the Reach For The Stars Dies they actually fit the paper but it was easy enough to do by hand) and popped this up on dimensionals on a base that featured one of the other space designs. I added a sentiment from the retired stamp set 'Stepping Stones' that I heat embossed in silver:

A sprinkling of rhinestone jewels to highlight some of the stars complete my card. This turned out to be rather simple in the end - the Stargazing paper really did do 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 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 am off to visit Rebecca at university today with a few home-cooked treats in hand and the promise of lunch out. She is perfectly able to look after herself but I think some home comforts will be appreciated! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STARGAZING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

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)