Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed stamping challenge chosen by Deborah:

The Shining Brightly specialty designer series paper is the only current 'starry' product that I have in my stash, so that was my starting point for today's card. As I rummaged through my stamp sets and other supplies to find things that would co-ordinate, I came across some wooden stars from last year's Christmas Memories & More packs that I had previously coloured gold for another project but not used. The stars were the same design as those on the paper and so my design was born! I remembered the sketch from Sketch Saturday and grabbed a Night of Navy card base and offcut, a circle die, some gold twine, gold foil, Versamark and gold embossing powder and the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set and set my timer for just under 10 minutes. This is my finished card: 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I added my DSP to my cardfront, then diecut three circles from the Navy panel, tied it with gold trim and added it to my card with dimensionals and added a wooden star to the centre of each aperture. I then heat-embossed my sentiment and fussy cut it, then added some gold foil behind it and fussy cut that too before adding to my card:

So how long did my card take? I used the full 10 minutes, although most of that time was spent heat embossing and fussy cutting my sentiment and foil shadow. I set my timer for just under 10 minutes so that it would give me a warning time to stop fussy cutting and allow me the last bit to add dimensionals and stick it to my card. I could have added it as a straight label which would have taken much less time, but I really wanted to fussy cut it to make it narrower. So what do you think? What starry creation will you create in 10 minutes or less?

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 project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JOY OF NOEL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

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

I had the idea that the central panel would be a great way to showcase one of the Winter Meadow designer series paper designs - take a look:

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

One of the designs in the Winter Meadow designer series paper pack has a deer pattern that can be split into 6 and used as card fronts. I took the one that had the deer on the right hand side of the panel and cut it down to fit my central rectangle. I added a background panel of Moody Mauve and scored in the diagonal lines (these are quite difficult to see in the photos I'm afraid, but add a lovely subtle detail in real life) and fussy cut a couple of berry stems from another of the sheets in the paper pack to decorate my sentiment, which is from the 'Brightest Glow' stamp set and cut with one of the Labels Aglow dies:

I really liked this card, although I did think that I lost a lot of the impact of the deer panel once I'd cut it down. Whilst I had the papers out on my desk, I decided to make a second card using another panel of the deer paper, this time using Kim's open layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I cut the single panel into three and built up the central section with a couple of layers of black and white cardstock, adding my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set onto a stitched label:

I let the paper do all the work as far as this card is concerned and added only a trio of three pale silver sequins to complete my card:

So two cards for you today - hope you like them! I'm also linking my first card up over at Time Out Challenges where the current challenge is Winter/Holiday.

Here is 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. 

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 later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	LABELS AGLOW DIES (31.00)	WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (7.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card using the current layout over at CAS on Sunday that was inspired by the candy-can colours and festive mood board over at Just Us Girls:

I couldn't resist that colour palette over at Just Us Girls and so much festive inspiration! I had a couple of candy canes cut from retired Sweetest Christmas designer paper in my stash, so decided to use them as the basis for a clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I added my candy canes to some solid colour banners and a circle that picked up the challenge colours and added a sprig of stamped mistletoe with a trio of pearls and twine bow, along with a sentiment from the retired 'Sweet Candy Canes' stamp set:

A trio of in-colour enamel dots complete my card. Quite a simple card and would be quick to run off in multiples too - I love 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:

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BANNERS PICK A PUNCH (26.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (7.00)

Happy Monday everyone! We are another week closer to Christmas, so no surprises that today I'm sharing a card for the occasion! I took my inspiration from the crate of pinecones on the Hand Stamped Sentiments  inspiration photo below:

I diecut some pinecones and greenery using the Christmas Pinecone Dies and snipped a section to frame my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set - take a look:

I used a piece of retired Painted Christmas designer series paper for my background; I love the fresh feel of this paper, and the white background allows the detail of the diecut pinecones to really shine:

A few sparkly gems complete my card. This card took longer to make than it took to write my post; those Christmas Pinecone Dies take a little bit of time to cut and assemble, but I think it was worth it. Plus I've still got enough leftovers to make another 2-3 cards - bonus! I'm also linking today's card up over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog, where they are currently on 'P is for Peace' - the world could definitely do with some of that at the moment, for sure.

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:

CHRISTMAS PINECONE DIES (42.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (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 Anne Marie to host this week and she has a great theme challenge for us to work with:

Giving thanks - everyone needs a good supply of thank you cards, right? With Thanksgiving later this month for my American friends, November is often a month more than most when we pause to reflect on the things we are grateful for. I could have gone with a card that was similarly seasonally themed, but I decided instead to go with something bold and bright that made the most of this week's Global Design Project sketch - take a look:

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

Bold & Bright, Not Merry - For my vertical stripes, I used a panel of the Merry, Bold & Bright Designer series paper. Part of the Christmas product range, this is a paper pack with designs that really do work all year round and these stripes are perfect for my thank you card.

Many, Many Thanks - I decided to add some tone-on-tone stamping using a selection of the stamps in the 'Timeless Arrangements' stamp set. This set is choc-full of sentiments for all kinds of thank yous; I chose three different sentiments and stamped them repeatedly along the length of the stripes. This is a great way to add interest to a card and using the striped designer paper makes it really easy - no need to stress about accurately cutting your stripes to the same size. 

A Very Big Thanks - I heat-embossed another of the sentiments from the set in (retired) Blueberry Bushel embossing powder onto a vellum circle and decided I had to finish my card with  - a very big thanks, what else?! I added a layered a diecut of the retired thanks die from the Amazing Thanks Dies, slightly offset to reveal some blue beneath my bright green sentiment:

A trio of sparkly enamel dots complete my card. So what do you think? Who would you send today's colourful thank you to? Do leave me a comment below and let me know - 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; our house seems super quiet today, with only the youngest of the James juniors and I in residence - the eldest is still enjoying university life and the hubby is on an extended trip to China and Vietnam. I wonder how long it will be before we are bored with each other's company?! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	MERRY BOLD & BRIGHT 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	TINSEL GEMS FOUR-PACK (7.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

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 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 I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for an interesting colour challenge:

I say 'interesting' because I really like this week's colour combination - but I really struggled to make it work! I played around with a few different ideas and eventually decided to go with something clean and simple using a set that hasn't seen ink in a while, using Narelle's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week as the basis for my design. This is what I came up with: 

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

Colour Conundrum - Having discounted florals for today's card (sorry Narelle - I know you love them!) I decided that Copper Clay would be the perfect colour for some fox fur, so I grabbed my 'Playing in the Rain' stamp set and started to play. I then discovered that Copper Clay Blends were the only ones I didn't have in my collection (in short - a different colour ordered by mistake!) so I coloured the fox fur with my Stampin' Write marker and the Misty Moonlight clothes and umbrella with my Blends as usual. It gives less definition, but I figured it would be a good way to show that a) nobody's perfect and b) enable you to see the difference in both marker types on one project (well that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!!) 

A Circle Trio - I knew my card would end up being clean and simple, because I didn't have many colours to play with. I decided that the three circular elements of the FMS sketch would work really well, enabling me to have my fox represent one element, then use the additional two circles to highlight both some stamped raindrops (I chose Smoky Slate as my neutral of choice) and some stamped puddles on the lower Misty Moonlight one. I layered my circles slightly different to the sketch in order to fit in my sentiment banner and to give balance. All I needed to complete my card was a trio of Misty Moonlight tinsel gems for a touch of raindrop-like sparkle.

An Inside Tip - I wanted to share with you a little tip for decorating the inside of your cards when you are colouring onto a white cardbase. As you know, if you colour with Stampin' Blends they do give the best finish but have the disadvantage of bleeding through and being seen on the reverse of your card. To combat this, I stamped another of the images in the set directly onto my cardbase and coloured the puddle with my Stampin' Write marker only. I then stamped the same image onto an additional piece of cardstock, coloured it with my Stampin' Blends, diecut it with my Playing In The Rain Dies, then pieced it into place onto the cardbase - problem solved! 

And yes, I know there's a hint of pink and a Calypso Coral jacket on my bunny, but since it's on the inside of my card I'm not breaking the rules ;-).

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 project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

Enjoy your day. I am meeting one of my oldest friends for lunch and it looks like it's turning into an unusually warm and sunny day, so that should be nice. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLAYING IN THE RAIN CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	PLAYING IN THE RAIN DIES (33.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	TINSEL GEMS THREE-PACK (7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SMOKY SLATE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Lucy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

What a pretty trio of colours! For my card today I grabbed an old favourite, the 'Silly Goose' stamp set, along with the Just Add Ink sketch (which I love!) and set to work. This is what I came up with:

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

I used pops of these colours to highlight the details of my birthday goose with my Stampin' Blends and picked out the Fresh Freesia with a strip of (retired) Dandy Designs designer paper for some extra detail to the other side of my twine bow:

I cut out my panel using the largest square in the Stylish Shapes Dies, making it a rectangle by extending it and running it through my die cutting machine a second time.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SILLY GOOSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	FRESH FREESIA STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.75)