Today I'm sharing a quick card I made a couple of nights ago for the current challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the theme this week is 'Nutcracker':

I still have my long retired 'Santa Stache' stamp set so paired him with a layout that gave me the opportunity to use up some retired nutcracker-patterned paper I had in my stash too - take a look:

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

A quick stamp of my Nutcracker and coloured with my Blends. I diecut his moustache and popped it up on dimensionals for a little extra lift because, well, why not?

I used an offcut of patterned paper to decorate both the inside of my card and the edge of my envelope - and done.

No visual summary today - this card was simply for fun and to show some love to old Nutcrackers! 

Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. 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 from the fabulous Heather C:

I don't mind admitting, I struggled with this one! I tried a few things but found combining all of the elements a challenge - but I guess that's kind of the point, right?! In the end it was the inspo photo over at Inspired By that unlocked things for me - take a look:

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

Oxidised Copper - I used a panel of Oxidised Copper paper, a gorgeous warm metallic, for my card base. Although I've mostly covered it with my embossed strips, its beauty still shines through. This ticked off both warm tones and metallics. 

Leaf Fall - I decided to make a feature of my dry embossing, so embossed a panel of Early Espresso with the Leaf Fall 3D embossing folder and then cut it into strips, over my oxidised copper panel. I chose this darker brown as I liked the contrast and warmth of those blankets in the Inspired By photo and wanted to evoke that in my fall card. I love the detail of those embossed leaves! Embossed texture - tick.

 Final Copper Touches - I added my sentiment from the 'Friends For Life' stamp set to a tag diecut using one of the Greetings of The Season Dies - these are so useful! - and heat embossed it in copper. A snippet of retired copper ribbon tied with some dark brown baker's twine and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it tiny retired copper pinecone that I found in my stash completed my card and allowed another nod to that Inspired By photo:

Tag and thinking of you sentiment - tick and tick. Recipe complete! So what will you cook up with this week's challenge ingredients? Do share your projects in our gallery and show us your makes!

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 or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• For a Recipe Challenge use all elements of the recipe - the possibilities within those parameters are endless.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

Enjoy your day; I'm off to tick off some chores in the hope of a little crafty time over the weekend. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LEAF FALL 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)	GREETINGS OF THE SEASON DIES (30.00)	OXIDIZED COPPER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (7.50)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)
VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the current clean and simple challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the code word is WOOD:

So many ways to interpret this code word; as I'm still very much in the festive cardmaking zone, I decided to make another one, this time featuring the stamped sled from 'Sophisticated Sled', one of my current favourite Online Exclusives - take a look:

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

I used the diecut sled previously on these cards, but thought that I would use the stamped sled for today's clean and simple version and use my Blends markers to achieve a realistic wooden effect on the slats - here's a close look:

I decorated my sled with a simple ribbon-tied bunch of berries for a little added festive colour and stamped my sentiment directly onto my white cardbase. I love the look of this traditional sled - so many of those you see today are made from brightly coloured plastic, this sled is a real touch of festive nostalgia for the way things used to be.

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SOPHISTICATED SLED BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (50.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	SUMMER SPLASH STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM DEEP COMBO (10.25)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS DEEP COMBO PACK (10.25)

Today I'm sharing a card using Narelle's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches along with this week's Color Throwdown colours:

I decided to use Narelle's rectangles to experiment with another technique using my Layers of Beauty stamp set - take a look:

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

I used my Perennial Postage Dies to create three 'postage stamps' in various colours, each featuring the 'Layers of Beauty' stamp set. I stamped and heat-embossed in white the main floral image once each onto my chosen colours of cardstock, then selected various portions of the images and cut them out. My top tip to get your sizing right on this is once you've cut your white mats, use the same dies to cut out the coloured layer too and simply trim off the decorative edge. I placed each of my stamps onto a background embossed with the hatched 3D Basics embossing folder and decorated with some diecut leaves and some flowers from the Country Flowers Dies, finished with pearl centres. Using just a portion of the main image is another way to showcase the detail of the main Layers of Beauty stamped image:

I was tempted to overlay my design with a large diecut sentiment, but instead fussy cut a sentiment from the stamp set and added it the corner of the card to allow those colourful stamps to take centre stage. 

I so love the 'Layers of Beauty' stamp set - it really is so versatile.

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; it's the start of the half term break so I am looking forward to a quieter week getting some things done at home and driving a few less miles! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LAYERS OF BEAUTY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	BASICS 3D EMBOSSING FOLDERS (28.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE DIES (31.00)	COUNTRY FLOWERS DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (7.00)

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 fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I decided to make my tag the central feature of my card and paired a new tag die with a gingerbread house courtesy of the super-cute 'Humble Home' bundle - take a look:

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

Humble Home - I heat-embossed my sentiment from the 'Humble Home' stamp set directly onto my Real Red cardbase, then separately stamped and heat-embossed the little gingerbread house onto both a piece of Pecan Pie and Real Red and punched out with the coordinating house punch, before paper-piecing the door into place for a pop of colour.

Grab A Tag - My tag is courtesy of the Greetings Of The Season Dies - they contain so many great shapes for labels and tags alike! I diecut my tag in basic white, before dry embossing with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder. The effect is subtle, but I love the addition of the snowfall behind my gingerbread house - you can see it more clearly on the closeup below:

I added a simple red and white twine bow to the top of my tag.

Snowflakes and Peppermints - I accented my little gingerbread house with some of the adhesive peppermints from the mini catalogue - how cute are they?! I also added a scrap of retired Gingerbread & Peppermints designer series paper to the lower portion of my tag, to pick up on the peppermint swirl design. 

With all that detail on my tag, I am probably pushing the boundaries of 'clean and simple' this week, but tag aside, the rest of my card is clean and uncluttered ... and I love this card so much I just had to share it! I actually do have a slightly more clean and simple version - the card that I based this one on, which is the card that I send out with my mini catalogues at the start of September - here's a picture of that card:

As you can see, less embellishments and a different colour scheme - this one was easier and quicker to make multiples of, which is always a consideration when it's catalogue mailing time. Here's a shot of lots of them together:

I guess you could say my red version is a 'stepped up' card, but since we aren't super strict with our definition of 'clean and simple' over at The Paper Players (minimal layers/embellishments, open/white space) I wanted to share it - I think the additions make this card a real festive treasure!

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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

HUMBLE HOME BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (37.75)	GREETINGS OF THE SEASON DIES (30.00)	SNOWFLAKE SKY 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)	REAL RED & WHITE ADHESIVE-BACKED PEPPERMINTS (8.00)	BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
REAL RED & WHITE BAKER'S TWINE (4.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

Today I've a quick post with a simple card that I made using the sketch layout over at TGIF Challenges:

I had the Lily Pond Lane designer series paper out on my desk as I wanted to make a card for one of my lovely downline team members who is mad about ducks and when I saw those three panels, I decided they would be perfect for me to create a simple split block scene - take a look:

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

I chose my paper pattern then cut out the vertical section that I wanted to feature and using my Stylish Shapes Dies, I creatively cut it into three rectangles and positioned them on my Pretty Peacock card base:

I added my sentiment from the 'Hooray for Surprises' stamp set to some Pretty in Pink cardstock and overlaid that directly onto one of the DSP rectangles using dimensionals for a little extra lift. I added one of the offcuts from my sheet to the inside of my card to carry the decoration through - this is a great way to use up scraps and add some quick interior detail.

That's it - super simple! My team member calls her team 'ducklings' so this paper is just made for her - I hope she likes what I did with it.

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LILY POND LANE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

PRETTY IN PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Laura has asked that we add a diagonal corner detail to our clean and simple cards:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I decided to make a feature of that corner with an offcut of Season of Green & Gold Specialty Designer Series Paper (another of my Online Exclusives favourites) that was the perfect fit:

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

Isn't that paper beautiful? I added a simple strip of gold foil and 'went large' with my sentiment, choosing one from another Online Exclusive, the 'Iconic Imagery' stamp set, and followed the line of my Old Olive cardstock base; I just love the large 'celebrate' stamp:

That's all there is to it - super simple and another Christmas card for the pile! This is such a great card design - perfect for using up scraps or strips of patterned paper and you could pair with any kind of sentiment too.

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SEASON OF GREEN & GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.00)

GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)

OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

ICONIC IMAGERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)

METALLICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using Karren's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I loved Karen's layout and loved the idea of featuring a tag, although when it came down to it I wanted to play with a Christmas bundle I hadn't yet opened and that tag shape became a sled - take a look:

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

There are some fabulous festive sets in the Online Exclusives section of the Stampin' Up! online store and the Sophisticated Sled bundle is definitely one of my favourites so I was excited to break it out for the first time today. I used a gold/vanilla pattern from the Season of Elegance specialty designer series paper to create my split background, bordered with a strip of gold foil, before adding my diecut sled. I used Cherry Cobbler for my sled base and cut the slats out of a piece of dark Country Woods designer series paper to emphasise the embossed woodgrain for a realistic finish - you can see the textural detail more closely below: 

Some greenery and berries, a gold twine bow and a simple gold heat-embossed sentiment complete my card. Having cut a panel of the Season of Elegance paper across the diagonal for my first card, I decided to make a second one with the remaining DSP for the lower portion of the card and some vanilla berries on my greenery:

Here's a photo of both cards together; my favourite is still the first one, but what do you think - do you have a favourite? 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 evening; I have to dash - I need to get my card linked up! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SOPHISTICATED SLED BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (50.25)	SEASON OF ELEGANCE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.00)	COUNTRY WOODS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	CHERRY COBBLER & PEARL ADHESIVE-BACKED BERRIES (8.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)
CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	METALLICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

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 seasonally-inspired colour challenge for us to work with:

My colour choices this week were inspired by the falling leaves on the trees here in the UK now that we are well and truly experiencing Autumn weather there are shades of orange and brown all around. Nance found me this lovely inspo photo so I had to stick with the theme and create something leafy today! I also wanted to try a fun technique using two of my embossing folders. Read on to learn more - first up, here's my card:

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

All Autumn Colour - I used a card base of Pumpkin Pie with an Early Espresso mat layer and added additional Pumpkin Pie ink using a blending brush around the edge for depth. I used every shade of orange and brown Blends marker that I own to colour my leaves and added a few brown splatters for added interest.

Double Embossing - The really interesting feature on today's card is a double-embossing technique - have you ever tried it? I first debossed my mat layer with my Timber 3D embossing folder, adding a little Early Espresso ink to the raised portion so to further highlight the embossed grooves. I then ran my panel through my diecutting machine again, but this time with my Leaf Fall Embossing folder; this adds some beautiful dimensional leaves over the top of my woodgrain, further highlighting the leaf detail by colouring them with my Blends markers. Here's a close up - what do you think?

This was so fun to try something new and I really like the finished effect. I think there are lots of different embossing folders you could pair up to achieve a similarly interesting effect - something 3D paired with something with a smaller detail would work well. Let me know if you have any tried-and-tested suggestions - I'd love to give them a go.

Iconic Imagery Sentiment - I added a handcut sentiment from the 'Iconic Imagery' stamp set which I stamped on to orange so that it would blend into the background - no neutrals, other than a sprinkle of sequins, on today's card!

I'm also linking today's card up with the team over at Just Us Girls where their word of the week is 'LEAVES' and my card has plenty of those and over at Inspire.Create where the theme is autumn/Halloween..

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; yesterday was filled with hockey and university previews, so I'm hoping for a quieter one today, with possibly a little crafting too. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TIMBER 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)	LEAF FALL 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)	ICONIC IMAGERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PECAN PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	COPPER CLAY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
PEACH PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (14.00)

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

This was a tough one - there are so many things that I love to craft with!! For sheer versatility though, I think my favourite thing to craft with has to be my diecutting machine - it really allows for so much creativity and with such a beautifully crafted finish. In case you thought my choice was going to be designer series paper, it is a very close second - so today's card is a celebration of both! I was inspired by the words of the fun blackboard inspiration over at Time Out and decided to make a coffee-themed card using one of my favourite Online Exclusive Suites, A Little Latte - take a look:

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

A Little Latte Love - The A Little Latte Suite is the perfect way to discover your inner barista and create beautiful latte art and today's card contains a little of everything: designer series paper, stamps, dies and adhesive swirl dots all add up to yummy coffee goodness! 

The Diecutting Difference - I used my diecutting machine on today's card in a number of different ways: I used the Latte Love dies to both cut out stamped images (the spoon and coffee beans) and to diecut images directly from the designer series paper (the coffee cup and more coffee beans), as well as standalone dies to create the cafetiere and some additional Spotlight on Nature dies to diecut the stamped sentiment. Each adds another element, but the cafetiere in particular is a standout - if you look at the image below, you can see that it consists of three separate diecut elements to create the finished item:

Paper Perfection - A final mention to the gorgeous A Little Latte designer series paper too. I featured a few of the patterns on today's card: two for the background and then I diecut both beans and a latte art-filled coffee cup from a couple of the other sheets - I love it when dies and paper co-ordinate too!

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 must confess I'm more of a tea drinker than coffee connoisseur, but I do enjoy a nice coffee with friends every once in a while - this card will be winging its way to one with an invitation to join me soon.

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• For a Fill In The Blank Challenge you must tell us how you filled in the blank and completed the sentence.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LATTE LOVE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (44.00)	A LITTLE LATTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	ADHESIVE-BACKED SWIRL DOTS (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)
SPOTLIGHT ON NATURE DIES (33.00)	LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	SILVER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	WINDOW SHEETS (4.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BRONZE & IVORY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)