It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Suzy has asked that we layer a couple of shapes with the sentiment behind:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to create a simple birthday card using the Birthday Celebration stamp set and Wildflower Celebration papers - take a look:

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

This card was so simple to make: I stamped my sentiment onto a stitched circle and for my accent added a cupcake, complete with candle, that I fussy cut from one of the mixed sheets in the Wildflower Celebration paper pack:

A few party dots complete the front of my card. I used a combination of the other sentiments in the Birthday Celebration stamp set to create this oversize greeting inside my card too:

Easy as that - the Birthday Celebration Suite is perfect for quick and easy birthday cards.

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:

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (39.50)	WILDFLOWER BIRTHDAY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (16.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
PARTY DOTS (7.50)

Today I've a quick post to share a card that I made for a friend of mine who is celebrating the arrival of her first grandchild - what a wonderful occasion! I used the sketch over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday for my layout and am also linking up over at Time Out where their theme is 'new beginnings':

My friend Deborah is welcoming the birth of a grandson, Xander, so there was only one set to use - the retired 'Treasures of Life stamp set. Take a look at my simple card:

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

The sentiments in this set are just perfect for a card to send to grandparents to celebrate a new grandchild, so I couldn't resist using two either side of the main image on my card. This did mean I had to square-off those shapes on the sketch in order to fit everything in, but I think it works. I did all my stamping in Basic Grey as it gives a softer edge - perfect for a new baby card. I also used a neutral grey base, so that I could highlight my Balmy Blue ribbon bow and my main image, which I coloured with my watercolour pencils. I was tempted to use my go-to Stampin' Blends markers, but decided that pencils would add to the softness and enable me to colour the woman's hair better. I don't have a photo to prove it, so you'll just have to take my word for it, but the slightly spooky thing about this image, is that it actually looks uncannily like my friend from behind - so I decided to colour it in her likeness.

My friend Deborah is a fellow crafter and a lover of all things clean and simple, so I hope she likes today's card.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (14.00)	BLENDER PENS (14.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)
BASIC GRAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's our final challenge of the year and it's a sketch challenge, designed by Jane:

I don't know whether it's pre-Christmas overwhelm, but I struggled with Jane's sketch this week. I decided to make a Christmas card and feature some of the cute reindeer on the Reindeer Days designer series paper - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I started with the image of the cute baby reindeer building a snowman and used my Stylish Shaped Dies to cut it out to give a little detail to the border edges. I backed this with a panel of snowflake-embossed white cardstock and added this to my Pool Party cardbase before adding a couple of additional strips of designer paper:

I took a slight liberty with the sentiment in terms of positioning; I used a pre-printed tag from last year's retired Memories & More Kit, tied with a little silver twine. Quite a quick and easy card, even with all the layers. This was actually the second card I made - here's the first one:

On this card I used one of the horizontal elements for the sentiment, again using a retired Memories & More banner sticker. I prefer my second card though - I think that little reindeer building his snowman is super cute! Here's a photo of both cards together - which one is your 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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• 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 bright and early with another Christmas card as I am guesting over at AAA Cards. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

REINDEER DAYS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

SNOWFLAKE SKY 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

Today I'm sharing a super-quick card that I made for the current sketch challenge over at AAA Cards:

This card is a real 'scraps off the desk' card; I had lots of animals cut from retired Penguin Playmates designer paper in my scraps box and I thought they would make a fun trio peeking out of those diecut aperture windows:

I added a sentiment from the retired 'Penguin Place' stamp set that is also in triplicate and - job done!

This card is going into my box of cards ready to send to Ben when he hopefully heads off to uni next year - I think it makes for a fun, seasonal 'hello' card.

Enjoy your day; I'm catching up with a friend and I'll be back here tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

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

I used some old favourites with some current ones to make a card for Elizabeth's theme of 'giving thanks' this week - take a look:

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

As a lover of designer paper, I couldn't resist this oxidised copper paper, but I find myself in a love-hate relationship with it; I have such great ideas of how to use it, but they never quite turn out as planned! I thought that the Leaf Fall Embossing Folder would make for a lovely embossed finish with this paper and whilst in real life, my card looks really pretty, I'm not sure the photograph does it justice - it's quite difficult to see the embossed detail against the shine of the paper. You can see it better on the close-up below:

I paired my shiny embossed background with one of my favourite thankful sentiments from the retired stamp set 'Lighthearted Leaves' that I heat embossed in copper and added a couple of retired copper metallic leaf embellishments to complete my card. I made a second card with the same design but in the Pecan Pie colour of oxidised copper paper too:

 Again, the embossed detail shows up better on the close-up below:

Two pretty cards that are perfect to send some seasonal thanks - even if the detail was tricky to capture in a photo!

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: 

LEAF FALL 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (10.25)	OXIDIZED COPPER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (7.50)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)
PECAN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

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'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. Laura is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

These colours had a real autumnal feel for me so I decided to play along with the challenges over at CAS on Friday where the challenge theme is 'Leaves' and AAA Cards where they are all about autumn and create a clean and simple card featuring one of my favourite leaves - take a look:

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

'Lighthearted Leaves' is a leaf set that I've had in my collection for a long time and will never part with! It contains one of my favourite sentiments for autumn cards (I used that on Sunday's card - you can see that here if you missed it) and I love the intricate design of the leaves, that are so perfect for a spot of quick colouring. I created a Night of Navy square frame using my Stylish Shapes Dies and used the challenge colours to colour my leaf with my Blends. I then I tied my leaf with Night of Navy baker's twine and added a snipped sentiment stamped on orange cardstock for an additional pop of autumnal colour:

My regular readers will know I'm not a fan of Wild Wheat generally, but I must confess I love it in this colour combination, so thank you Laura! I think colours can sometimes be like tasting vegetables - sometimes you just need to try cooking them a different way!

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	WILD WHEAT STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)

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

I decided to use the middle column of patterned paper/diecut/fall and using the layout over at Sketch Saturday set to work. I loved the autumnal inspirational quote at Time Out and knew I had the perfect piece of paper in my retired box that embodied the rich colours of autumn leaves - take a look:

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

Last season's All About Autumn designer series papers had some wonderful photographic leaf prints and this one of a tree canopy taken from above shows the changing colours of the leaves in all their glory. I wanted to feature as much of it as possible, so layered the same image with just a narrow border of copper foil in between. I picked up the copper tones with a diecut leaf that I used to decorate one of my favourite sentiments for autumn cards - am Emily Bronte quote from the retired 'Lighthearted Leaves' stamp set - I think it compliments the paper beautifully:

A couple of brass enamel dots was all I needed to complete my card. The designer paper really is so evocative and I love the warm colours associated with the changing seasons.

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 made a couple of other cards yesterday that I didn't get the opportunity to blog so will pop back later to share those with you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

TEXTURED METALLIC 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (8.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (13.00)

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

I thought these colours would be perfect for some clean and fresh florals, so I grabbed this week's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and a stamp set I haven't used in a while, and set to work - take a look:

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

I used my Cheerful Daisies Dies to create a trio of diecut layered daisies, and mounted each onto a stitched square of Lemon Lolly. I added Flirty Flamingo to the top petal layer with a sponge dauber, to soften the intensity of the colour. I added some additional detail to my centre flower, with a trio of pale lemon pearls in the centre and a simple white twine bow and added a heat-embossed sentiment beneath it:

I almost left the card base plain, but as a nod to our hostess this week, my lovely friend Jan, who does love an embossed card front, I instead embossed it using my Eyelet 3D embossing folder. I must say I really do love the result.

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; we are celebrating the youngest of the James Juniors reaching the ripe old age of 17 today - finally able to begin driving lessons in earnest, hurrah! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CHEERFUL DAISIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	CHEERFUL DAISIES DIES (32.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	EYELET 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (10.50)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)
LEMON LOLLY A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	LEMON LOLLY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (10.25)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (10.75)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (20.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)