Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the fifth Sunday of the month so my fellow Brit-turned Yank, the lovely Jaydee is host this week and she has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for you to work with:

I always struggle with tic-tac-toe boards - almost too much choice! - so armed with this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the Hand Stamped Sentiments colour palette I set to work and this is what I came up with:

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

I liked this week's FMS sketch so much I ended up using it for a second time (which is weird, as I hardly ever use ovals on my cards - you can see tomorrow's card using the same sketch here). I thought that the HSS colours were perfect for an autumn-inspired card. I decided on a truck full of multi-coloured pumpkins and gourds, courtesy of the 'Holiday Haul' stamp set, one of the new sets exclusive to hostesses from the Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue. I inked some of the pumpkins in Grapefruit Grove and added some Terracotta Tile with a sponge dauber for shading, then stamped some of the others in Mint Macaron and Pretty Peacock and fussy cut those and added them in. I created a Pretty Peacock frame for my oval using my Stitched Shapes Framelits and adhered my oval to my layered cardfront. My central panel was stamped tone-on-tone in Terracotta Tile all over with a cluster of leaves from a retired stamp set called 'A Little Something'. I couldn't find an appropriate sentiment in my stamp stash, so decided to leave it blank.

After all my fretting about which line of the tic-tac-toe board to complete, I ended up completing column 1 (fall, orange, leaves), row 3 (leaves, CAS, pumpkin) and the diagonal top left to bottom right (fall, diecut, pumpkin) - go figure!

My card will make the perfect notelet to send to my British penpal friend who now lives in the USA; she loves the way Americans embrace the season and I know she will already have started her collection of pumpkins to decorate her doorstep. If you like this fun set, it could be yours free with qualifying Stampin' rewards when you host a Stampin' Up! party - contact me to arrange yours.

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:

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; we will be finishing our homework, having had a day of sport yesterday. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Holiday Haul Host Photopolymer Stamp Set (£9.00)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Terracotta Tile A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Grapefruit Grove A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad (£7.00)	Terracotta Tile Classic Stampin’ Pad (£7.00)	Grapefruit Grove Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

I've been a busy bee this week with not much opportunity for blogging, but never fear! 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:

I went around the houses on this one for a while before I managed to come up with an idea that incorporated each of the elements, however I got there eventually with the help of the troubled giraffe from the 'Back On Your Feet' set - take a look:

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

Back On Your Feet - I decided to feature the knotty giraffe from the 'Back On Your Feet' set on my card today. Perfect for a get well card, or even someone who's having a rough time of it, this comical giraffe and punny sentiment is sure to raise a smile. A simple stamp and colour with my Stampin' Blends and he was complete. The one thing that I was struggling to incorporate on this week's card was a diecut then I had a lightbulb moment (yes, sometimes it does happen!!) I used one of the dies from the Animal Friends Thinlits to create a giraffe-patterned background to tie in with my tag. Sorted!  

A Delightful Tag - I used the new Delightful Tag Topper Punch to create the tag that features my giraffe today. My trusty Scalloped Tag Topper Punch is one of my most-used punches - great for gift wrapping, customer bag tags and cards alike. Don't worry, this punch hasn't been replaced - I just added to it with another, slightly more fancy-topped one. If you don't have a tag punch, you should really consider investing in one - they will make creating your Christmas tags super quick and easy.

And The Rest Makes Three - Some stamped and punched leaves, Crumb Cake Nature's Twine and my punny sentiment (one the inside of my card it says "Hope things get better soon.") cropped with a rectangle stitched shape finish off this week's recipe board - and my card!

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 do love giraffes and learned lots about them when I visited South Africa on safari many years ago. Did you know you can tell whether they are a girl or a boy by the amount of hair on the end of their horns? Females usually still have hair, whereas males' horns are usually bare from wrestling with each other for the affections of said females. I wonder if this is also the reason for premature balding in males?! 

On that quizzical note I look forward to seeing what you make with this week's recipe challenge when I visit your blogs. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Back On Your Feet Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Animal Friends Dies (£27.00)	Delightful Tag Topper Punch (£22.00)	Nature's Twine (£8.25)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Soft Suede A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Smoky Slate Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Crumb Cake Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pear Pizzazz A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Leaf Punch (£15.00)
Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)

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

Tall and skinny - what fun! I love occasionally to change things up and give cards a completely different look by altering their size and shape. It didn't take me long to decide where to take Claire's sketch this week - take a look:

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

I took two of my favourite things - the navy and copper star patterned paper from the Brightly Gleaming set and my Stitched Stars Dies - along with some copper foil and star and foil elements, and created a layered star centrepiece. I heat embossed my sentiment from the 'So Many Stars' set in copper onto Night of Navy cardstock, fussy cut around it and popped it up on a stack of dimensionals to complete my card. 

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'm linking my card up with SUOChallenges where they currently have a Designer's Choice challenge. I love this card - so much so, I made a second one straight afterwards! I just need to use my trusty BoxBuster tool to make a couple of bespoke envelopes now ready to send them!

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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; I am singing with my choir in a harvest festival service this morning, then will be home to assist in finishing homework and the like in the afternoon. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements (£6.50)	Star Designer Elements (£8.25)	So Many Stars Bundle (En) (£53.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Copper Foil Sheets (£4.75)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)

I am a bad blogger! I've had such a busy week that I have managed very little to either create or blog. So a quick share from me with another all-out copper clean and simple metallic, inspired by last week's Paper Players challenge that uses this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout:

I created another super clean and simple Christmas card, this time featuring a couple of Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements baubles and a heat embossed sentiment from the 'Perfectly Plaid' stamp set - take a look:

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

 to follow

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. 

Enjoy your evening; I'll be back tomorrow with this week's card for The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements (£6.50)	Copper Foil Sheets (£4.75)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)
Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£16.00)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

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 fun clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

I couldn't resist going all-out copper for my metallic and created a super clean and simple Christmas card featuring a heat embossed tree from the 'Perfectly Plaid' stamp set - take a look:

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 loved this CAS challenge; I created another card for this theme too which I will hopefully share with you later in the week!

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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; we are hoping to make the most of what is turning out to be a pleasantly warm weekend with possibly the last BBQ of the year, along with homework and more cooking of our gluts of home-grown produce. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£16.00)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)
Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Copper Foil Sheets (£4.75)	Star Designer Elements (£8.25)

It's Friday - hurrah! Who else is ready for the weekend? Today before I share my card with you, I have an exciting announcement: I am joining the As You See It Challenge Team as one of their new designers! Those of you who follow my blog will know how much I enjoy playing along with the AYSI fortnightly challenges, so I was delighted when the lovely Heather Cooper asked me to join their team, especially as it includes a number of my fellow blogger friends, including Jan Clothier of Thinking Stamping and my faithful team mate over at The Paper Players, the lovely LeAnne Pugliese of WeeInklings fame. So today's card is my first for the AYSI team and we have a great theme for you this week - check it out here:

This one was a really easy one for me - my most-used tool in my craft room (after my die-cutting machine) is my set of Stitched Shapes Dies, specifically my Stitched Circles Dies; I use them all of the time! I love the way they add just the right amount of detail to a sentiment shape and that is how I used it today on my card, based on the current Global Design Project #GDP206 sketch (included at the bottom of today's post). Here's my card:

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

Grandma's House - Whilst lots of the team created Christmas cards this week, not me: September is the month of birthdays in my family with many of us, myself included, who are celebrating. This does mean it is a super-busy time for cardmaking and keeps me working on non-Christmassy things too at this time of year! Yesterday it was the turn of my Mother-In-Law, who is also the much-loved Granny to my James Juniors and has another 2 grandchildren to boot. As soon as I saw the 'Grandma's House' stamp set in the annual catalogue, I knew that I would have to get it - so many of the sentiments in this set apply to our very own Grandma!  

Stitched Shapes For Everything - I used my Stitched Circle to house my sentiment at the centre of the main focal point of my card. I just love these Stitched Shapes - I use them in so many ways (just search 'Stitched Shapes Dies' on my blog and you will get a ton of inspiration!) and think that extra detail finishes off an ordinary shape perfectly.  

A Festive Flower - I decided that instead of just leaving my stitched circle as a single layer, I would use it as the centre of a flower to tie it in with my floral border that is stamped with another of the stamps in the 'Grandma's House' set and coloured with my Blends. I added a punched circle for a thin border then created a bunch of petals using ... can you tell what punch I used? It's actually the Christmas Bulb Builder punch (top marks if you spotted it!!) I punched a few then snipped through the base of each approx. 1cm and overlapped the ends and glued them in place, then added them to my centre to create a slightly dimensional flower. I added a little wooden heart from my stash that I heat embossed with (retired) Lovely Lipstick coloured embossing powder and a couple of enamel dots to finish my card front. I love these fresh colours, courtesy of the current challenge over at SUO Challenges, carried my design through to the inside of my card 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. 

So what is your 'go to' die or punch? Do leave me a comment below - I would love to know what your favourite item is and why! Why not make something with it and share with us over at As You See It too - you can check out the inspiration from the other As You See It team members whilst you're there and see if they share your favourites.  

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Grandma's House Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Stitched Labels Dies (£31.00)	Christmas Bulb Builder Punch (£17.00)	Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Mango Melody Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Mango Melody A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots (£6.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current Time Out challenge using Julie's Mojo Monday sketch:

I liked Julie's sketch this week which has lots of creative potential and was perfect for showcasing some motivational words of wisdom that feature in one of the current hostess sets that were perfect for the Time Out theme - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Believe You Can - The motivational statement on my card today is a famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt. No-one seems to know the circumstances for these now famous words, but there's a lot to be said for the idea that a belief in yourself gets you halfway to your goal, even before you've taken the first step. That is so true - we need to believe we can do something, in order to make success a reality. Of course as I often tell my team without a plan too you'll never reach your final goal or destination, but that's the practical side in me! For now, we are lucky to have this stamp in 'Believe You Can', one of the exclusive hostess sets in the annual catalogue. If you would like to own it, then do get in touch about hosting a Stampin' Up! party - doesn't an evening with friends for a spot of pre-Christmas crafting sound like fun?

Deconstructed Rainbows - When deciding what designer series paper to feature for the panel behind my sentiment, I came across the fun pattern in the Dinoraur DSP pack. Not a dino in sight; instead, a host of deconstructed rainbows! Only me that thought this when they saw this paper? Ah well, the creative mind work in mysterious ways! Remember during September you can benefit from 'Buy 3, Get 1 Free' on selected packs of DSP and the Dinoroar papers are included in the set so if you like it, now is a great time to snap it up!

Scenic Brights - I used the colours in my Dinoroar DSP to colour my sentiment with Blends as each of the featured colours are available (yay!) and for the base and layers of my card. Here are the colours in case you would like to save them for a future project:

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. I have another busy one - so far I've cleaned the oven, finished my ironing, put on two loads of washing and prepared dinner for this evening - it must be time for elevenses before I crack on with bathrooms and escape to my craft room! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Believe You Can Photopolymer Stamp Set (£12.00)	Dinoroar Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Pretty Peacock Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Pineapple Punch Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Mango Melody Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)

Happy Monday everyone! I'm here with a Christmas card to start the week as I've a card for a new-to-me challenge called Christmas Kickstart (thank you Vicky for sharing this one!) that also uses the current Fab Friday sketch: 

The theme over at Christmas Quickstart is to create a card inspired by the challenge blog header. The moment I saw it I knew it would give me the opportunity to use some of the gorgeous designer paper in my favourite suite in the new Stampin' Up! Autumn-Winter catalogue, Let It Snow - take a look:

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

Let It Snow - The weather outside might be frightful, but crafting is so delightful with the fun 'Let It Snow' themed paper. With basic patterns on one side, the other side has collections of glittery snowmen and winter images - this paper is just too cute for words! I used a pattern of tiny snowmen and women in comical poses to cover the whole of the front of my card, along with a striped strip from the reverse of one of the other sheets offset behind my sentiment. 

Snowman Season - My sentiment is from the co-ordinating 'Snowman Season' stamp set. Sentiment aside, the only other stamping is a sentiment and stamped image inside my card and another to decorate the envelope - this card really is all about the paper! 

Marvellous Mittens - I decided that instead of the bow in the sketch, I would add a pair of felt mittens to my card as a final embellishment; whilst mittens feature elsewhere on other dsp patterns in this set, none of my tiny snowmen are wearing them - but given that the snowman in the Christmas Kiickstart header is sporting a pair in festive red, I figured if they were good enough for him they would work on my card too! I added some string to keep them together, just like the ones my children used to have when they were younger to prevent them from losing them; did you do this for your children 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; I have my first stamp class of the month and a mountain of ironing to get through today so mine will be a busy one, along with all of the extra-curricular activities that the James Juniors participating in being back on in full today. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Snowman Season Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£17.00)	Let It Snow Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Let It Snow Embellishment Kit (£10.25)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Coastal Cabana A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine (£3.25)

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 a rather seasonal colour challenge for you to work with:

It has turned unseasonably cold here in the UK this week and the falling temperatures, combined with Ann's warm colour palette immediately turned my thoughts to Autumn leaves and warm and cozy check blankets, both of which inspired my card today - take a look:

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

Autumn Plaid - I chose Crumb Cake as my neutral of choice (I didn't count the Very Vanilla since I took white or vanilla as a given!) and used it as the base to create a cosy strip of plaid to tie together the main colours on my card. I used the plaid stamp from the new 'Tiny Keepsakes' stamp set for my plaid; I could have used the 'Buffalo Check' background stamp but the plaid stamp in the 'Tiny keepsakes' set has a smaller check that worked better for my design. I stamped it in Merry Merlot, then added plaid lines with my Cajun Craze and Pretty Peacock Stampin' Write markers.

Seasonal Skeletal Leaves - For the focal decoration of my card, I cut three skeleton leaves using the Seasonal Layers Framelits in each of the main challenge colours, and tucked them in loosely behind my sentiment and swirl of burlap on a stitched rectangle of Very Vanilla. This die set is another perennial favourite of mine and I'm so glad it stayed in the annual catalogue this year - these framelits, along with the co-ordinating 'Colourful Seasons' stamp set, has served me well and I have used both many times, for all sorts of projects. 

Harvest Thanks - I took one of my favourite sentiments for this type of card, from the'Painted Harvest' stamp set, stamped it in Merry Merlot onto Very Vanilla and added this to a banner cut using the Lakeside Framelits, along with a couple of Pretty Peacock faceted dots to anchor it to my finished card.

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:

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; I have no big plans today and am looking forward to continuing to enjoy my birthday weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Seasonal Layers Dies (£31.00)	Lakeside Dies (£25.00)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Tiny Keepsakes Cling Stamp Set (En) (£19.00)
Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Merry Merlot A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Cajun Craze A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	2019-2021 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (£13.75)	Many Marvelous Markers (£112.75)	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon (£6.50)	2019-2021 In Color Faceted Dots (£6.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's TGIF challenge where they have a product spotlight on embossing powder and the team at Less is More where they are all about Metallics:

Metallics and embossing powder were the perfect combination but with three metallic powders in my desk drawer, which one to choose? In the end, I decided on all of them - take a look:

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

I went long and thin with today's card and paired my embossed gold Merry Christmas sentiment with three identical pine trees, also from the new Perfectly Plaid stamp set, each of them heat embossed in a different metallic onto Thick Whisper White cardstock: silver, copper and gold respectively. I added a thin border of gold foil to the top and bottom of my panel before using dimensionals to adhere it to my cardbase. It was helpful that my metallic powders were an odd number -  odds often look better than evens on cards I think!

I have a tip for you when stamping objects in threes: always stamp the outer two first, then the central one; it's much easier to ensure they are evenly spaced that 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. 

The first of the James Juniors is back to school properly today; one down, one to go! In the meantime, we have a fun girly day planned with Junior number two who has another day before she is back too. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£16.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Gold Foil Sheets (£4.75)