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 my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I saw Ann's sketch and immediately knew what I wanted to do with it - I love it when that happens! I mirror-flipped the sketch on the vertical and this is what I came up with - take a look:

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

A Christmas Shaker - Who can resist a shaker, let alone one that is this colourful and festive?! I thought that central frame would be perfect for a feature shaker, filled with red, white and silver sequins. I made a frame using my Rectangle Stitched Framelits and used one of the patterned acetates from the Santa Express Memories and More Cards for my shaker front: 

I chose some complimentary papers from the Santa Express designer series paper pack in Poppy Parade and a colourful 'ho, ho, ho' design for my frame and central border element to tie in with my shaker frame.

Ho Ho Santa - I accented my shaker frame with a jolly santa that I fussy cut from one of the Santa Express Memories and More cards, to which I added one of the flat jingle bell trinkets using some co-ordinating (retired) festive baker's twine.

Don't Forget The Inside - I finished the inside of my card with another offcut of designer paper and a sentiment from the Sweet Candy Canes stamp set - I also used a narrow one from the same set on the front of my card:

I just love this card - so fun!! The Santa Express Memories & More cards are just fantastic - so useful for cards and scrapbooking alike! This is the first one of the included acetates that I've used; I also love the wood word diecuts too. An all-round, super useful set!

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 taking it easy following our early start; I think ironing and an afternoon movie might be required! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SANTA EXPRESS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (£11.25)	SANTA EXPRESS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	SWEET CANDY CANES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	SPARKLE & SHINE SEQUINS ASSORTMENT (£6.75)
FLAT JINGLE BELL TRINKETS (£7.00)	FOAM ADHESIVE STRIPS (£7.50)

Today I'm sharing an extra card that I made earlier this week that was inspired by the fun challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP364 this week:

It's CASE The Designer week featuring the talented Madeleine Mrotzek, who makes the most beautiful cards! Madeleine's cards often feature rainbows of colour, small images and lots of white space. I couldn't resist the opportunity to play along - take a look:

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

I kept with the white slimline basic layout and followed her rainbow of colour, but instead of stamped balloons opted for a sprinkling of tiny stamped snowflakes (from the retired 'Snowflake Wishes' stamp set overlaid with a row of rainbow Cottage Wreaths diecuts. I finished with a silver heat-embossed sentiment from 'Christmas Banners' and a sprinkling of iridescent rhinestones - don't you just love how they pick up the colours of everything they reflect:

The larger wreaths fill this Christmas card with a rainbow of festive colour and the slimline design is a great way to showcase these pretty dies.

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:

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (£37.00)	CHRISTMAS BANNERS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

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 used Judy's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout and found some wheels on Santa's Express train for my no-stamping clean and simple card - take a look:

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

Today's card really is so simple! I used a pair of Santa Express Memories & More cards to create my fun scene: I trimmed one down for the background then fussy cut my santa express train from another to create my snowy scene. I added a couple of borders, some (retired) Petal Pink ribbon to the bottom border and a few (retired) adhesive snowflakes to complete my scene:

I didn't even have to stamp a sentiment as there was already one printed onto the Memories & More card! These are great for quick cards and the acetates and wooden diecut words that are also included in the pack make this set great value for Christmas crafting. 

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 will be catching up on homework following another university open day visit yesterday for one of the James Juniors, whilst the other will be recovering from an army cadet sleepout under an improvised shelter and looking forward to a few home comforts! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SANTA EXPRESS MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (£11.25)

PENNED FLOWERS DIES (£28.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. 

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 bowed to the theme and used pumpkin, orange, stars, black and ghost and using the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

My card started out with the starry and pumpkin/ghost patterned paper from the 'Celebrate Everything' hostess designer series paper pack - these papers really are the pack that keeps on giving with a pattern for every occasion! Normally I wouldn't mix two such bold papers, but the yellow stars on the pumpkin/ghost sheet mean the two work together perfectly. I used my Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends markers to colour the pumpkins on the designer paper instead of leaving the whole design white - I love that you can do this! - and I added these papers to my cardbase, then used a strip of black glimmer paper and a collection of diecuts (all retired - Boo to You, Harvest Hellos, Apple Punch and Stitched Stars Dies) to create a focal point that picked out the detail of the papers:

Cute, right?! I really wanted to stamp 'trick or treat' on the orange banner, but could I find a retired stamp anywhere in my collection with those words? Nope. I'm sure there's one here somewhere ... I just have to find it!

I am also linking this card up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges where their theme is 'Halloween' currently 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. 

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 Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert - off this week
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	CLASSIC MATTE DOTS (£6.75)

Hi everyone! I've a quick post this evening with a cute card I made using the triple dare colours over at Color Dare for the 1/9ths challenge over at AAA Cards, with the optional twist of gnomes:

I went for a cute girly gnome - check her out:

Some simple colouring with Stampin' Blends and a paper-pieced hat using some retired plaid paper in my scraps box. I diecut my stamped image using my Gnomes Dies and added some Balmy blue ink with a blending brush behind my sweet gnome:

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

KINDEST GNOMES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

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

I say interesting because Laurie's colours immediately made me think of Halloween, but since I rarely send Halloween cards and I don't have much in the way of current Halloween product, I was determined to use these colours on anything but a Halloween card! So much so, I started creating and ended up with not one but two cards to share with you today - and neither remotely anything to do with October 31st! Here's the first one using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week - take a look:

Here's the low-down on my first card:

Staying faithful to Amy's sketch, I added a band of Brights designer series paper to my Gorgeous Grape card base and decided to create a nature-inspired watercolour as my focal point. I stamped the echinacea from the 'Nature's Harvest' stamp set in Stazon onto watercolour paper, then loosley watercoloured my image using the challenge colours and my aquapainters. Once I'd painted my image, I added some speckles by flicking my black Stampin' Blends marker across the image before cutting out with the largest circle in my Stylish Shapes Dies:

I added a white-on-black sentiment from 'Art Gallery' to complete my card. I liked this card so much, I thought I'd use one of the dies in the co-ordinating set to try out a watercolour print technique that I'd seen on Pinterest. My first attempt was a hot mess, but taking my learns and a different die from the Meadow Dies set I had a second attempt and like this one much better! Here's the card in question:

Have you ever tried the watercolour print technique using diecuts? It's actually quite straightforward: diecut your flower from watercolour paper and colour with Stampin' Write markers. Once coloured, place the flower onto a blank piece of watercolour paper and lightly spritz with water. The water 'spreads' the ink from the diecut one the blank piece - you can also 'stamp' this piece with the wet, coloured flower (but I didn't do that here). Allow both pieces to dry then add to your card; I cut a frame out of my spritzed piece and then added my diecut flower offset from the relief image on the frame. I added some clear faceted gems and a sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set that, when paired with the words 'faith over fear' stamped on the inside were the perfect words of encouragement needed for a card to send to a friend battling breast cancer right now:

What do you think? I quite like the effect and will definitely be trying this with other dies in other colours. I am also linking my second card up over at Time Out since the sentiment is perfect for their theme this week.

Here are the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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. 

So what do these colours say to you - Halloween, or something else completely? 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 on Tuesday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

NATURE'S HARVEST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (£8.50)	WATER PAINTERS (£13.00)	JET BLACK STAZON PAD (£9.50)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	MEADOW DIES (£36.00)
CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)	MANY MARVELOUS MARKERS (£123.00)

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 timely theme challenge for you to work with:

I chose Changing Seasons and the arrival of Autumn as my theme this week. With cooler temperatures and shorter days already making an appearance here in the UK, it seems appropriate. When I think of Autumn, I think of the changing colours of the leaves and that was the inspiration for my card today - take a look:

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

I went with a square card for a change and inspired by a similar layout I'd seen on Pinterest, I created a series of layered circles with my changing colours below and a circle of Crumb Cake above that had a leaf shape cut out with the oak leaf in the Country Wreaths die set, so that the colour showed through the negative space:

My ninth and final circle was  where I stamped my simple sentiment, adding one of the die cut leaves, along with a twine bow and enamel dot as a final embellishment.

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 range of colours, from greens through to yellows, oranges red and rust - a great showcase of Stampin' Up! cardstock too! What do you think of today's card and what does Autumn mean to you? Do leave me a comment below, as always I'd love you to share your thoughts. Or you could even play along with this week's challenge!

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: 

COTTAGE WREATHS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BRUSHED METALLIC ADHESIVE BACKED DOTS (£8.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

Happy World Card Making Day everyone! No cardmaking for me today as both the James Juniors were hosts at their respective school open days this morning then one played hockey and I took the other to the theatre to watch 'An Inspector Calls'. I thought I'd pop by with a quick post to share a card that was inspired by the challenge over at AAA Cards that I made last week and have finally found time to blog.

I love the bright colours of the inspo photo and went with the option of dots & spots too for today’s no-stamping card - take a look:

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

I used the Dots and Spots die for my background and cut it in each of the colours, so that once I’d put my Coastal Cabana panel onto my white card base, I could use some dots in the remaining colours to fill in some of the holes.

I added a layered diecut sentiment from the Amazing Thanks dies popped up on some dimensionals to complete my card:

That’s it - done! A perfect quick thank you and no stamping required!

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 and I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's Paper Players challenge where I am the hostess this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DOTS & SPOTS DIE (£30.00)	AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (£26.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Farmer's Day' which is on October 12th. 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 gingham, die cut, kraft card and a thank you sentiment, along with the sketch layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and the colour palette over at Color Throwdown this week and this is what I came up with:

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

Timber Texture - For my base layer, I added some texture to my kraft 'frame' using the Timber 3D embossing folder. I really like the effect of the added texture, which adds to the rudtic feel of my card. 

Cottage Wreath - The star of today's card is the autumn wreath, decorated with acorns (and pumpkins) courtesy of the Cottage Wreaths bundle. There are some great standalone wreath dies in this set, but today I chose to diecut one of the stamped versions, full of leaves. I went neutral and decorated my wreath, before finishing with a gingham bow cut from the Country Gingham DSP pack:

A Throwback Trio - I did use a trio of retired products on today's card - did you spot them all? They were Misty Moonlight cardstock for my layers, a piece of Harvest Meadow DSP for the central panel as the blue design coordinated perfectly and finally my pumpkins were cut using the retired Seasonal Swirls Dies, which I rediscovered when I was hinting for retired pumpkin goodies for the pumpkin speed stamping challenge a couple of weeks ago! Some things will always have a use in the craft space, right?! 

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 Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

Enjoy your day; mine is going to be a busy one and it includes a visit to the hairdressers for an overdue colour. I might be happy to grow old(er) gracefully but go grey in the process - I'm afraid not! I'll be back tomorrow with another quick project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COTTAGE WREATHS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	TIMBER 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.50)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	KRAFT 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) PAPER PACK (£5.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)
PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GINGHAM COTTAGE 12" X 12" (30,5 X 30,5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£28.00)	SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

Here's my second card for today! This one was inspired by both the colours and inspiration photo over at Color Throwdown and uses the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday for my layout:

Another card with a dark background - this time courtesy of some (retired) Pretty Peacock cardstock - the perfect base for some vibrant sunflowers - take a look:

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

I used an embossed tree ring for the centre of my card and added my quartet of sunflowers, coloured with a combination of Stampin' Write and Blends markers, and some diecut green leaves around this. I added a heat embossed sentiment with some twine and enamel dots for extra touches of gold. Whilst it's tricky to see on the main photo, I did add in the option of stencilling to the card base, by using some tone-on-tone blending through a stencil made from one of my Sunflower Dies - you can see it a little better on the photo below:

I also used my (retired) Pretty Peacock Blends to colour the edges of my stamped sunflower images to remove the harsh white border against my background. I haven't used the oldie-but-goodie 'Celebrate Sunflowers' stamp set in ages, but it is so perfect for this time of year as summer fades all too quickly into autumn. Another thank you card that will be winging its way to one of my lovely customers this month!

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 our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SUNFLOWERS DIES (£31.00)	CELEBRATE SUNFLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	BRUSHED METALLIC ADHESIVE BACKED DOTS (£8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	REGALS STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (£30.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)