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

I love this week's colour palette, although the bold colours did mean I had to get my thinking cap on. I decided they would be perfect for me to try out an idea I've had buzzing around for a while - take a look:

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

Simply Fabulous - I've made no secret of how much I love the 'Simply fabulous' stamp set - to me, it is just that! So versatile, with great sentiments and fonts and bold floral images, if you do a search you'll find lots of examples of where I've used it on other cards. Instead of stamping in colour, I wanted to see what it would look like stamped in black onto a coloured base. The images are small and easy to combine and the subtle leaf detail on some of the images mean this works really well. I used my Stamparatus to stamp clusters of images at a time, reinking to make sure I had a nice solid black image. I also added a little additional detail on the inside:

DIY Stencils - I decided that I would use some circle shapes to highlight my clusters of silhouetted images and use a combination of blended colours in each one. I made my own set of circle stencils, using some window sheet and my Layering Circles Dies, so carefully positioned them where I wanted my images, starting with the large ones and adding a few smaller ones around the edge to fill in the gaps. I used my blending brushes to add a combination of two colours to each circle. I love using stencils and don't have many in my collection, but I'm always looking at ways in which I can use my dies to create custom stencils - do you do this too? My stencilling here is simple but I think quite effective; I'm linking up with the challenge over at Inkspirational where they are asking us to use stencils this week - do check out the DT and gallery cards, there are some great examples of the way stencils can be used on your projects.

Finishing Touches - To finish my card, I added a few matte black dots to the outer borders of the larger circles as an accent:

I really love this card and am glad I used a slimline design too as it meant I got more circles onto my card front. If I could change one thing, I think I would stamp my sentiment in black rather than Starry Sky; I wanted to tie it in to the mat layer, but I think black would have given a crisper finish. I'll save that for my next one! 

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. Mine will be filled with laundry and housework and maybe a little crafting! I am on late pickup this evening, as one of the James Juniors has a social evening and quiz night at school, which after this morning's rush hour I am particularly thankful for: a beer tanker had overturned and completely blocked the dual carriageway that is only minutes into our journey, necessitating a massive diversion and delay - not what you need when you have a 60 mile round trip to embark on at 7.15am! Still, everyone got to school on time and I'm thankful we weren't involved in the incident itself, so all good. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Betty is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

Lots of seasonal delights on today's board! I went across the middle row with orange, free and autumn leaves to make a clean and simply thank you card - take a look:

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

Today's card is clean and simple in style, although took a little effort to achieve. My Cajun Craze cardbase with heat embossed sentiment from 'Lovely You' was easy enough, but for the top layer I wanted to create a diecut edge detail using the oak leaf die in the Chic die set. It may look at first glance as if this card is simply a split panel with a trio of leaves adhered in a diagonal on top, but that's not the case! I created a mask using a trio of diecut leaves and some masking paper, and used this to mask the Vanilla panel and then added colours to the area below the mask where my leaf diecuts would ultimately sit. I used the Color Dare colours (bottom row, plus top left orange), then adhered my distressed gold leaf diecut leaves on top, so that my blended colour showed through. Finally I trimmed my border to the bottom outer edge of my leaf shapes. This was a little time-consuming, but I really love the effect - the leaves look so autumnal to me and the touches of gold with the distressed paper I used for the outlines and a few sequins to finish add to the richness:  

I am super happy with my clean and simple card so will also be linking up with the lovely peeps over at Addicted to CAS where the codeword is 'Autumn' - for me, synonymous with the changing colours of the leaves. I hope you like today's creation!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy the rest of your day; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CHIC DIES (£35.00)	LOVELY YOU CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	DISTRESSED GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£4.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)	ADHESIVE BACKED SEASONAL SEQUINS (£6.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We are starting a new month and the lovely Michal is our host for October. We are starting the month with a colour challenge: 

For my card today I decided to use the sketch design (but not the colours/inspo photo) over at Fusion for a bright and cheery card that has a distinctly summery feel - take a look:

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

I thought Michal's colour choices were perfect for a bold flower and sentiment, courtesy of my favourite 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set. I stamped them onto a diecut circle and used a sunny Daffodil Delight card base, with a piece of 'Celebrate Everything' gingham paper across the top of the panel. I resisted the urge to add some white baker's twine and finished my flower centre with nothing more than an enamel dot embellishment:

A co-ordinating flower on my envelope and inside complete this easy 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. 

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! color 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; I'm having a desk day as there is lots of Stampin' Up! news to impart so I've quite a few posts to write - and of course there's shopping to take advantage of today's free shipping offer - yay! I'll be back on Thursday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.50)

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)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Today we have Valerie's final sketch challenge: 

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. I thought this was a great sketch and perfect to enable me to play along with a few other challenges too: the ladies over at Just Add Ink have a 'Choose 2' challenge this week, at Less is More the theme is 'friendship' and since over at CAS on Friday the theme is Christmas, I am playing there too! So - to my card:

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

Masked Merriest Moments - I decided to properly rise to the challenge over at Just Add Ink this week and would use not just two but all three of their options! For my foliage and masking, I used the Merriest Moments stamp set - one of my all-time Christmas festive favourites. I used a circle framelit to cut a circle of masking paper, then stamped a selection of festive foliage around the edge, masking the individual pieces too to create a sense of depth and dimension. Once the masking paper was removed, I stamped my sentiment in the clear circle in the centre and used a thin (retired) gold hoop embellishment to outline the edge of my masked circle, then added some diecut red berries and a poinsettia to the front of the hoop - I like the subtle depth that this gives and pop of additional colour amongst the greens of the foliage:

Words of Friendship - My festive friendship sentiment comes from the 'Christmas To Remember' stamp set - a set of sayings perfect for this time of year. I used another two to add detail to the inside of my card, along with a little more festive foliage decoration:

Simple as that! I wish in hindsight I'd taken step by step photos of the construction process for this card, because whilst easy to explain contained a fair number of steps to achieve the desired effect. I really like the finished card though and I know that when one of my oldest, dear friends who I don't see often, but is always in my thoughts, receives this card she will love it too!

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	MERRIEST MOMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	MERRIEST FRAMES HYBRID EMBOSSING FOLDER (£37.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	EVENING EVERGREEN 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)

Happy Monday everyone! I managed to spend some quality time in my craft room over the weekend and as a result of trying to overcome my 'crafting hiatus' I've a couple of extra cards to share with you today! The first one uses Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and the fabulously bold Colour Inkspiration colour palette:

I really wanted to make the most of the bright blue and mango of the inspiration photo, so I went with a bold use of colour - take a look:

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

I used one of my (retired) stencils to add some tone-on-tone colour to my Starry Sky card base, then added a cluster of Meadow Dies flowers to the right hand side in the challenge colours, having added a light touch of Starry Sky ink to my cornflower and embellished my Mango Melody flowers with some sparkly rhinestones.

For the horizontal element of the sketch, I layered a diecut 'Sending' in silver foil on white with the remainder of the sentiment stamped and heat embossed in silver directly onto the cardbase. I finished the inside of my card and the corner of my envelope with a collage of stamped images in co-ordinating colours from the 'Quiet Meadow' stamp set:

A liberal interpretation of this week's FMS sketch for me, although the shapes are clearly visible - I just love this card! 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 '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 shortly with card number two. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SENDING DIES (ENGLISH) (£31.00)	MEADOW DIES (£36.00)	SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (£9.50)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)
MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	QUIET MEADOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£5.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)

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

I decided to go with another Christmas card today and spent some time fussy cutting a host of cute and cuddly animals, gnomes and toadstools from my Storybook Gnomes designer series paper to create a sweet festive scene - take a look:

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

If you don't mind a little fussy cutting, this card comes together really easily. I added a panel of patterned paper to my Balmy Blue card base, then built my little scene for the horizontal element. The gnome and toadstool can be cut out with the Gnomes Dies - only the remaining animals require fussy cutting. Here's my completed lineup:

 A sprinkling of (retired) adhesive snowflakes, a simple stamped sentiment from the 'Kindest Gnomes' stamp set and a little stamping on the inside completes my card:

I am also linking up today's card over at Alphabet Challenge Blog where they are currently on 'M is for Magic', so my magical gnome and friends should fit right in!

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 having a day of catching up with homework, ready to start the new school week. I managed a little crafty time yesterday so I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STORYBOOK GNOMES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)

KINDEST GNOMES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)