Today I've a quick post with a card inspired by the following challenges:

There is a great sketch at The Paper Craft Crew this week and my card is also perfect for the seasonal thanks challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP263. I made a feature of a Cajun Craze autumn leaf, diecut with one of the large Stitched Leaf Dies and paired with a sentiment from the bundled 'Lots of Leaves' stamp set - take a look:

 My CAS card also features one of my favourite Plaid Tidings papers so I will be linking up over at CAS on Fridays where the theme is PLAID and I added a yellow bow accented with one of the gorgeous acorn trinket embellishments to finish:

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 our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Remember if you're reading this and you're in the UK, the clocks go back this evening so you get an extra hour in bed in the morning - yay! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE OF LEAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	PLAID TIDINGS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	ACORN TRINKETS (£7.50)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As You See It where it's time for my favourite, a sketch challenge:

For my card today I paired an old favourite with some new Christmas papers - a look:

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

Beautiful Boughs - The Beautiful Boughs Dies are in the annual catalogue as a carryover from the last Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue and whilst I don't have the bundled stamp set (hence choosing a greeting from 'Itty Bitty Christmas' for today's card, that most useful of Christmas sentiment sets!) I do love the dies; their beautiful layered detail is great to add bold festive greenery to a project.

Pine Cone Poinsettias - The starting point for today's card was most definitely the designer series paper (no surprises there then!) I decided to use one of the papers that is on offer as part of this month's designer series paper sale (you can read all about that here) so I chose the Poinsettia Place paper pack and a pattern that I haven't yet used featuring pine cones, hence the fit with the Beautiful Boughs dies.

A Slight Confession - Whilst the layout of today's sketch is clearly visible on my card, I chose not to follow the suggested sentiment placement, instead making mine a feature of the circle. This is in part because I was originally going to use an alternative paper and use a diecut flower as the focal point, but in the end changed my mind at the last minute as I wanted to play with a new paper design. Either way, the sketch is a suggestion and does not have to be followed to the absolute letter; as long as the broad elements are visible, artistic licence is welcome!

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.

Both of the James Juniors are now officially on half-term for a week; I've spent the last few days enjoying some quality mother-daughter time with Rebecca as Ben was still at school, and tidying up some odds and ends, hence my lack of blog posts. They are both having a 'lazy day' today though so once I've battled my way slowly through the ironing pile, I am hoping to make a card or too later :-) Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEAUTIFUL BOUGHS DIES (£33.00)	POINSETTIA PLACE DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SOFT SUEDE CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)	SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON GEMS (£6.00)
SNOWFLAKE SPLENDOR 1/4" (6.4 MM) RIBBON (£6.50)

Happy Monday everyone! I've had a busy day with a great class this morning and physio and some chores this afternoon, so a quick post from me today with a Christmas card I made using the sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches this week:

I had a few ideas for this sketch but ended up deciding to pair a returning favourite, the Feels Like Frost speciality paper with a cutaway circle, a diecut from the retired Snowfall Thinlits set and a heat embossed sentiment from the new Snowflake Wishes stamp set:

I added a few rhinestones to the foil diecut too for a little extra sparkle:

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 another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SNOWFLAKE WISHES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£24.00)

FEELS LIKE FROST 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)

LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)

WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

SILVER STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the queen of diecuts, the lovely Laurie, to host this week and she has a Clean and Simple challenge for you to work with:

I actually have a few cards for you today! First up - cake! A quick review of my stamp collection told me I had no current cake or cupcake stamps - go figure! So I decided to use Linda's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

 myI used my current Playful Alphabet Dies, along with some retired Patio Party designer series paper and last year's 'Piece of Cake' stamp set to create a couple of clean and simple cake-themed cards. Here's the first one using the negative space of the diecut letters:

And a close up of that fun sentiment:

And here's the second card, using the same paper and alternative colour base with the actual diecut letters, popped up on foam adhesive sheets:

Both cards finish with this sentiment on the inside:

Perfect for birthdays or other occasions! Here's a picture of them both together:

The Patio Party paper actually dates back to 2013 so I'm thinking there won't be many of you with some of this on your shelves (unless you are a paper hoarder like me!!) so I also made a third card using current products and this week's Global Design Project sketch:

For this card I reached for my 'Nothing's Better Than' bundle and tweaked my sentiment to create a festive cookie card:

I paired my cookies with some festive plaid from the Plaid Tidings DSP pack (15% off in this month's DSP sale!); having photographed my card, I wish I'd added a sprig of holly too (maybe I'll go back and add one on before I send it!) but to be fair this card is less clean and simple than the first two, with a few more layers and elements so probably best I quit when I did!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on the above 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 having a quiet family day today as we head into the start of the half-term holiday for one of the James Juniors at least (the other has another 4 days of school to go!). I managed to get some crafting done yesterday so will definitely be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

NOTHING'S BETTER THAN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	PLAID TIDINGS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FOAM ADHESIVE SHEETS (£7.50)	BANNER YEAR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

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 LeAnne is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

My card works for either of the diagonals: stitching, circle, diecut or gold foil, circle, designer paper today! I decided to CASe Sharon's card over at Less Is More with a trio of punched autumn leaves for a card for someone special today - take a look:

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

I featured a small area of the vanilla foiled Gilded Autumn designer paper between some curvy stitched borders (courtesy of the snowdrifts in the Freezin' Friends Dies!) and then punched a trio of leaves and mounted these on a selection of gold and copper foil and glimmer paper stitched circles at the meeting point. A gold heat-embossed fussy cut sentiment from 'Rooted In Nature' on the front was paired with this sentiment on the inside of my card:

Foil is always difficult to photograph, so I hope you can see how pretty this card is! I must say having seen some of the other cards from the design team this week, I now have a desire to go and make this card in burgundy 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

One more look at that pretty glittery leaf trio:

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 your evening; I am still resting up and will be spending my evening attending a 6th Form Virtual Open Evening with Rebecca from the comfort of the sofa whilst recovering from today's physiotherapy session. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

AUTUMN PUNCH PACK (£36.00)	GILDED AUTUMN SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	FREEZIN' FRIENDS DIES (£27.00)	ROOTED IN NATURE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£39.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)
GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	COPPER FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	GOLD STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

It's Monday and to start the week I have a short post to share a couple of cards I made with this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout:

They are both encouragement cards, this time with the optional addition of pink, perfect for the current Time Out challenge. One of my cards also features an ombre background which is the trend over at Just Us Girls this week. Here's the first one:

And here's the second one, featuring another of the papers in the Artistry Blooms paper pack: 

Both cards feature a wonderful encouraging sentiment from the 'Ridiculously Awesome' stamp set, that is rather appropriate today as I am headed off for shoulder surgery. I am putting all my faith on my surgeon, that's for sure!

So which one is your favourite? I love them both and will be making a few more with these papers this month whilst they are on offer in the DSP sale :-)

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:

RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	ARTISTRY BLOOMS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MAGENTA MADNESS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
MAGENTA MADNESS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BE MINE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! I'm back following a break last week as I was running my first virtual Creative Escapes Weekend Craft Retreat. More news on that later this week; today it's the turn of the amazing Ann to host this week and she has a seasonal colour challenge for you to work with:

These colours are just perfect for autumn; as I've been driving through the countryside on the school run this week, I have marvelled at just how wonderful the trees are looking with their blends of colour, so armed with my ink pads, some sponge daubers and the current Fusion sketch, I grabbed my 'Life is Beautiful' stamp set and set about recreating the look. This is what I came up with:

Super simple, with a couple of punched banners and stapled ribbon decoration, but oh so pretty with those variegated autumn leaves.

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 will be busy finishing up some bits and pieces before going in to hospital tomorrow for surgery on my shoulder. This will be my fourth visit in 14 months and I'm hoping this will be the last! I will still be sharing here though and will be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£16.00)	BANNERS PICK A PUNCH (£21.00)	2020–2022 IN COLOR 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	CINNAMON CIDER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CINNAMON CIDER 2020–2022 IN COLOR RIBBON (£5.50)
CINNAMON CIDER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)
CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host and I am the featured designer this week. I chose lots of autumnal elements for my board: 

I used the same layout on today's card as the one I used for Monday's Christmas card (you can see that card here if you missed it). I went across the first row of the tictactoe board, with Plaid-Pumpkin-Thankful and I embraced those fresh Color Dare colours to make a bright autumnal thank you card - take a look:

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

I stamped the pumpkin image from the 'Celebration Tidings' stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black onto a stitched rectangle and coloured this image with my Stampin' Blends, using a panel of bright Plaid Tidings designer paper for my background and some retired Old Olive ribbon from my box to add in a little more green. I used Mango Melody cardstock for my cardbase and Pumpkin Pie for my mat layer - I love how bright this card looks, compared to if I'd used darker, richer colours. Good news on that Plaid Tidings paper too - it, along with many other designs, is on sale for the whole of the month of October as part of Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Paper sale - more details to follow on that in another post later!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CELEBRATION TIDINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	PLAID TIDINGS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS PUMPKIN PIE COMBO PACK (£8.50)	MANGO MELODY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	DAFODILL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm earlier with my blog post as I was determined to be in time to share my card using Jacquie's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

Such a great sketch; so simple yet so many ways you could interpret it! I have actually used this sketch twice this week - you will see it again on Thursday in my TicTacToe Design Team challenge card - but for today's card I couldn't resist creating layers and having some fun with one of my favourite Christmas Designer Series Papers - take a look:

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

It's All About Trimming The Town - Today's card is very much all about the designer series paper. And as papers go, the Trimming The Town Designer Series Paper really has it all: cosy villages and winter scenes, whimsical homes and co-ordinating images, many of which can be cut out using the Home Together Dies, and two sheets of festive sentiments in a range of European languages. I used the paper for my snowy background, then used my Home Together Dies to cut out two houses, a wreath and a tree to decorate my card. I even fussy cut a sentiment and added this to my snowdrift. 

Layered Landscape - I decided to focus on creating my scene across the horizontal strip that features on Jacquie's FMS sketch, using two separate Whisper White 'snowdrifts' to add structure and form to my landscape, also cut using the Home Together Dies, then tucked my house in between and added my tree and sentiment to the front. This creates lots of interest and dimension, but in a small horizontal space, which keeps the clean feel of my card. You can see the layers better below:

What No Stamping? - Today's card is essentially a 'no stamping' card; I did stamp a sentiment on the inside and wanted to share it with you since the Coming Home stamp set is an image-only set. I have been trawling my other stamp sets for sentiments for house- and home-related greetings, especially because I am using the Trimming The Town Suite for my Creative Escapes Craft Retreat this weekend and I want to be able to share my suggestions with the ladies attending. The greeting I used inside today's card comes from the Poinsettia Place stamp set:

I'll share others as I use them on my cards in the coming weeks. So what do you think of this paper-based card? Does it tick your box? Do let me know in the comments 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: I'm doing one of my favourite things, making treats to go out in the boxes with my virtual retreat boxes this weekend. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TRIMMING THE TOWN DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	HOME TOGETHER DIES (£32.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	POINSETTIA PETALS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£25.00)
MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

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

I love clean and layered cards and decided to incorporate lots of layers into this week's sketch. Lots of ways to interpret it - I decided to go with something new and a returning favourite and create another Christmas card for my stash:

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

Dove of Hope - There are lots of elements to today's card but my focal point is one of the doves and sentiment from the new Dove of Hope bundle. There are two stamped doves and an additional diecut dove in the Detailed Dove Die set, and I used the only left-facing one on my card. The stamp set has a number of sentiments, including this one that is perfect for decorating the inside of your card:

Brightly Gleaming - I paired my dove with some of the Brightly Gleaming designer series paper and used this to inspire my Pretty Peacock and Very Vanilla colour scheme. The Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper is a returning favourite from last year; it's great to be able to use if again!

Brushed Metallics - I decided to add in some Brushed Metallic Cardstock in gold to tie in with my metallic edge ribbon and add an additional touch of luxury and elegance to my card. I carried this through to my card too, where on a whim I added a strip of sparkly gold washi tape to the edge of my envelope flap, but have to say I quite like it!

I really like the Dove of Hope Bundle and think it has lots of creative possibilities. It is going to be the focus bundle for my November online card class so if you like this set too, I'd love you to join me. Message me to book your place.

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; following a busy day yesterday we are having a day at home with all hands on deck as I complete the final preparations for my bi-annual retreat which is next weekend. There will be lots of diecutting from everyone! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DOVE OF HOPE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)	TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)	BRUSHED METALLIC CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	BRIGHTLY GLEAMING SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	GOLD 3/8" (1 CM) METALLIC EDGE RIBBON (£6.50)
PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)