I had a super crafty day yesterday so I have a quick extra post with a couple of cards I made using some sketch challenges that are closing today:

The first is a Christmas card that uses the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches and is a no-stamping-at-all card - take a look:

I used a diecut wreath from the A LIttle Bit Festive speciality paper pack (I used the offcut to decorate the envelope) and a foiled diecut sentiment from the Joyful Sayings pack. A few metallic gems and a simple gold twine bow were the finishing touches that complete my card:

My second card is for the challenge over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge; I haven't managed to play along there in a while but since they are celebrating their 600th challenge sketch I had to play along. Not only that, the sketch was perfect for another zentangled circle creation featuring the Full Of Life designer series paper - take a look:

I added a panel of paper and a birthday sentiment from the 'Friends For Life' stamp set, separating the two with a black and white gingham ribbon bow:

A few black enamel dots complete my card. This card is heading to my nephew for his upcoming birthday - I think he will appreciate the modern design (the bow maybe less so!)

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A LITTLE BIT FESTIVE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) MIX & MATCH SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	JOYFUL SAYINGS MIX & MATCH EPHEMERA PACK (ENGLISH) (9.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	ADHESIVE-BACKED METALLIC GEMS (8.50)
FULL OF LIFE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (7.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! If you live in the UK I hope you enjoyed an extra hour in bed this morning as the clocks changed! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I have another Christmas card to share with you today, which I'm also sharing with the team over at Inkspirational where they are all about seasonal cards, and this one is full-on traditional festive - take a look:

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

A Little Bit Festive - The A Little Bit Festive specialty designer series paper is the big hitter on today's card: I used a sheet of the red and white striped candy cane panels for the base and one of the diecut wreaths as the backing for my sentiment. This paper is so great for 'one and done' cards, with pre-diecut pieces making light work of decoration. I couldn't stop there today though; in addition to adding in some extra diecut foliage and berries, I added a few other pieces too; for more information, read on!

Greetings Of The Season - I added a heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Greetings of the Season' stamp set to the centre of my wreath, in two parts in order to fit the whole sentiment without obscuring too much of the foliage:

Joyful Sayings - Since the sentiment on the sketch was actually at the bottom of the left panel, not inside the shape, I chose some words that would allow me an extra element instead of substituting something else here; I actually used one of the pre-printed Joyful Sayings elements - it works perfectly.

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 love the traditional festive look of today's card; what's your favourite kind of Christmas card design? Do let me know in the comments below.

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: 

A LITTLE BIT FESTIVE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) MIX & MATCH SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	JOYFUL SAYINGS MIX & MATCH EPHEMERA PACK (ENGLISH) (9.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	GREETINGS OF THE SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

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)