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)

Friday already - wow, that was a quick week! Thank you to everyone who placed orders during the 24 hour stamp sale - there will be lots of lovely bargains heading your way next week! For those of you that missed out - please be sure that you are following my blog and social media channels I'm sh to be reminded of special offers and events and make sure you are signed up for my newsletter by clicking here.

Back to today and I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a theme challenge:

I was struggling to be creative with my AYSI card this week (too many other things on my mind I think!), so I paired up with those intriguing colours over at Color Throwdown and the Autumn theme over at Paper Craft Crew and decided to go with some atypical leaves - take a look at what I came up with:

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

All About The Stitching - Today's card is definitely all about the stitching! I was tempted to use my most favourite of stitched items, my Stitched Shapes Dies, on today's card, but for once they don't feature at all! I decided to go with the Lovely Leaves bundle and Stitched Leaves Dies. Not only do they have those lovely leaf outlines with detailed dies for the centre, there is the fabulous stitched lines die that I used on the panel behind my leaves, which is great for adding interest on all kinds of cards. I also used my Rectangle Stitched Framelits to cut out this panel for added stitch detail. 

Beautiful Autumn - I could have used a sentiment from the Lovely Leaves set on today's card, but I had someone in mind for today's card and instead reached for one of my personal favourites from the 'Beautiful Autumn' stamp set, which is more appropriate. I stamped it in Early Espresso as opposed to black as it fitted in better with the autumnal feel of my card.

Stitched Detail Tip - The other lovely thing about the central stitched detail pieces is that they can be used to add detail to stamped leaves too, even if they haven't been cut out. I've shown this on my envelope flap before and I also added this detail onto my inner lining:

Whilst Cinnamon Cider and Sahara Sand are the dominant colours on today's card, the pop of colour from my blue and aqua leaves really brightens up my card, don't you think? It makes a nice change from the reds and yellows in my view, but 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. 

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.

We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE OF LEAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	STITCHED LEAVES DIES (£33.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)
SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CINNAMON CIDER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SEASIDE SPRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	3/16" (4.8 MM) BRAIDED LINEN TRIM (£6.50)

Are you ready? The biggest stamp sale of the year is coming up on 23 September - that's tomorrow! It’ll only last for 24 hours, so you will need to act fast to grab the goods. It actually starts at 11pm this evening here in the UK. 

For 24 hours from 22 September at 11:00 p.m. to September 23 10:59 p.m. (UK) online, a select number of cling and photopolymer stamp sets from the 2020–2021 Annual Catalogue will be available for purchase at a 15% discount.

Here's a list of all of the stamp sets included in the sale:

If like me, you're more of a visual person, then you may find the following pictoral summary more useful so that you can see 'at a glance' the stamp sets that are included:

If you see something you like, you can either place an order through me, or you can shop directly through my online store. My shop will have a category entitled “Stamp Sale” that displays every stamp set on sale to ensure a quick and easy shopping experience.

The discount applies to individual stamp sets (not bundles) and can also be used in conjunction with a starter kit. Place your order here through my online store or by clicking on the shopping bag icon in the menu on the right hand side - don't forget to include the current hostess code TSEGA7FU for an extra thank you from me. 

I'll be back with more creative projects later in the week but in the meantime this is a 24 hour event only so you have to act fast to benefit from 15% off these amazing sets, so time to go shopping - don't miss out! 

Tuesday already! This is my first post for today; you will definitely want to check out my next post too about tomorrow's 24 hour flash stamp sale and details of my upcoming classes - you can see that here.

For today's creative post I'm sharing a card for a couple of challenges:

The team at Just Add Ink are asking us to 'Just Add A' to our cards and from the inspo list over at Festive Friday I chose stars, metallics and blue - with a little added glitter thrown in! The team at Festive Friday are celebrating World Space Week and whilst there are no planets on my card, I did feature a celestial being of another kind - take a look:

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

A Is For ... - ... Angel! I adore this whimsical line-drawn angel in the 'Flight of Fancy' stamp set - she looks just like she stepped off the set of a primary school nativity play! I decided to give mine ginger red hair, a coat of clear Wink of Stella and super-sparkly Dazzling Diamonds wings for an overdose of cuteness. 

B Is For ... - ... Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper! This fabulous copper-foiled paper is a returning favourite from last year and mine was still on the shelf; my Paper Player teamie Ann, who also designs with the Festive Friday team, used the same paper on her card this week and it reminded me how fabulous it is. It inspired the whole colour scheme for my card - so pretty!

C Is For ... - ... Copper Brushed Metallic Cardstock! I used this cardstock for my mat and to diecut a swirly star die cut to tuck behind my main image for some added detail. I wanted to see how it paired with the starry paper and whilst it isn't as super shiny as copper foil, it does add a beautiful sheen to compliment it.

This little angel totally reminds me of a play that the James Juniors did at Christmas once when they were at primary school called 'Whoops-A-Daisy Angel' (hence the title of today's blog post) - is there anything more adorable than little children, with wings and halos all askew, singing along at the tops of their voices to Christmas carols? Priceless!

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:

FLIGHT OF FANCY CLING STAMP SET (£19.00)	BRIGHTLY GLEAMING SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	BRUSHED METALLIC CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	WONDERFUL GEMS (£7.50)	STITCHED STARS DIES (£35.00)
STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	ITTY BITTY CHRISTMAS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STAMPIN' BLENDS NIGHT OF NAVY COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CINNAMON CIDER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS SEASIDE SPRAY COMBO PACK (£8.50)	WINK OF STELLA CLEAR GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)

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

I used this week's sketch over at The Paper Craft Crew which was perfect for a clean and simple card, grabbed my Playful Pets designer paper and set to work - take a look:

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

Pampered Pets - I pulled out my Playful Pets designer paper and after adding a strip, I diecut one of the dogs from the set and layered it with a scalloped rectangle and a sentiment banner. The only stamping on the front of my card is the sentiment and some sponged pawprints. 

Inside Action - I added a sentiment and a stamped outline of the same puppy from the Pampered Pets stamp set on the inside of my card:

Clean and Simple - A reminder that this week is clean and simple week, so in addition to the theme of 'pets', your cards should meet the following criteria:

I think the fact that it's taken me longer to write this post than make my card is probably a good indicator that I ticked the 'clean and simple' box, but the distraction of the comedy I'm watching on TV might also have something to with that! 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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PAMPERED PETS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£36.75)	PLAYFUL PETS DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)
STITCHED SO SWEETLY DIES (£30.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SMOKY SLATE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	ITTY BITTY BIRTHDAYS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and this week's board was designed by Amy. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

We are rapidly approaching autumn and this week's board has lots of elements that would suit a fall card, but I combined it with the current Fab Friday sketch and went straight to Christmas as I continue to build my card stash! The Fab Friday sketch has a lovely open panel that is open to all kinds of interpretation and after some deliberation I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for - take a look:

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

Centre Stage Embossing - I'm not generally a big user of embossing folders, although I do have my favourites: any that create a lightly textured background (bring on Subtle or Tasteful Textile 3D!) or embossing folders that make a statement in their own right (past favourites include Seasonal Wreath or Winter Wonder). The current Autumn Winter catalogue includes an embossing folder that can be used either as a background or a centrepiece - love a double-duty solution! The Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing Folder has a ton of texture and whilst it doesn't need to be confined to Christmas projects, I wanted to showcase it today as a forest of potential Christmas trees - just look at the depth of the embossed detailing:

It's In The Detail - I went down the first column of the TicTacToe board for today's card - Trees, Embossing, Diecut - and whilst it's easy to see where the first two elements are on my card, blink and you could miss the last one! I used a Rectangle Stitched Die to cut out my heat embossed sentiment (tick!) and backed this with a simple punch banner. The colours on today's card were inspired by this retired piece of Wrapped in Plaid designer series paper that I chose so that I could highlight my lovely green embossed trees and tie in the gold sentiment and brushed gold foil matting too.

Perfectly Plaid Inside Too - I continued the plaid theme onto the inside of my card too with a stamped plaid Christmas tree and sentiment from the annual catalogue set, 'Perfectly Plaid':

I like this card so much I think I'll make a few more - a great excuse to use up some of that retired plaid paper 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

EVERGREEN FOREST 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.25)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	BRUSHED METALLIC CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	GOLD STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)	ARRANGE A WREATH PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	BANNERS PICK A PUNCH (£21.00)

I'm flitting between Autumn and Winter/Christmas projects at the moments so I'm back with more leaves today, although the wonderfully warm temperatures here in the UK this week are prolonging our Summer just a little longer and are determined to stave off the change in seasons for as long as possible. No complaints from me on that front! Back to my card, that was inspired by both this week's Global Design Project #GDP258 sketch and the trend over at Just Us Girls this week, where they are looking for cards divided into thirds:

I love things in threes so this sketch really appealed to me - it also gave me the opportunity to create another card using my Stitched Leaves Dies - take a look:

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

Autumnal Plaid Tidings - I used one of the warm plaid patterns from the Plaid Tidings DSP pack as the basis for the colour scheme for today's card; those warm orange, red and purple tones reminded me of warm flannel shirts and are a great colour combination for autumn.

Positive and Negative - Leaves, that is! I decided to break up my trio and use both the positive diecuts of the leaves with their stitched detailing, backed by a plaid stitched rectangle, and in the centre the negative stitched outline of the same leaf, with the plaid showing in the negative space. I added a stitched banner in keeping with my theme and one of my favourite uplifting sentiments of the moment from the coordinating 'Love of Leaves' set across the centre to complete my card. Just check out all that lovely stitched detail:

Stitched Envelope Detail - I left the inside of my card blank, apart from some stamped leaf detail on the corner, however in addition to stamping leaves on my envelope, I added the embossed stitch detail to the leaf on the rear envelope flap for an interesting textural detail. This is really easy to do: simply stamp the leaf and run the centre part of the die through your diecutting machine, without the outline piece.

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 later with my card for this week's new TicTacToe challenge. 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 (£10.75)	TASTEFUL LABELS DIES (£29.00)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
RICH RAZZLEBERRY CARDSTOCK A4 (£8.25)	RICH RAZZLEBERRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

As promised here's my second card today that was inspired by the super simple sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches this week:

I was immediately drawn to that straight horizontal line; but instead of choosing a panel of designer series paper, which you may be forgiven for thinking would have been my 'go to' for a sketch like this, I actually went with one of the Sweetest Borders Dies - take a look:

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

The holly border die in this set sits on a straight horizontal line, so seemed the perfect choice. I cut if out of Garden Green cardstock and adhered to a thick Whisper White cardbase, and then used the red and green foils to paper-piece the holly and berry detail into the negative space. Easy to do and so pretty in real life - the foil shine adds a real touch of luxury to my otherwise clean and simple card:

A heat embossed greeting on the front and a little stamping on the envelope and inside of my card complete today's 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 evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEETEST TIME BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	RED & GREEN FOIL SHEETS (£9.25)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN’ EMBOSS POWDER (£5.50)
GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Happy Monday everyone! A busy day for me today with a busy online class featuring the Poinsettia Petals bundle (cards to be shared another day!) which was lovely to see my ladies, virtually at least! I did make a couple of CAS cards to share with you today - here's the first one using Amy's great layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

So many ways to go with this classic layout; I decided to try out the new Celebration Tidings bundle - take a look:

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

Inspired By ... - In addition to the sketch, the starting point for my card today was the lovely Old Olive/Pretty Peacock reversible ribbon in the annual catalogue. Not two colours I would ordinarily put together, I love the sheen of this ribbon and so decided to use this colour pairing with Whisper White for the basis of my card.

Celebration Tidings - The 'Celebration Tidings' stamp set has decorative elements for lots of seasonal occasions that span the autumn/winter months. I used the sprig of festive foliage in each corner of my card, stamped in Pretty Peacock and coloured with Old Olive Blends with a touch of clear Wink of Stella, along with a sprinkling of pearls for the berries.  

Celebration Labels - The Celebration Labels Dies are great for home decor frames, bag toppers and more, but on today's card I used them to create a layered centre with my greeting heat embossed in white and accented with a mistletoe sprig. I love the stitched detailing - it really adds a lovely detail. I like anything with stitching!!

And done!

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; I'll be back shortly with my second card. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATION TIDINGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£44.00)	OLD OLIVE/PRETTY PEACOCK 3/8" (1 CM) REVERSIBLE RIBBON (£7.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)	WHISPER WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WHITE 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 amazing Anne Marie to host this week and she has a colour challenge for you to work with:

I thought these colours would be perfect for modern autumn leaves and combined them with the current Just Add Ink sketch and my new Stitched Leaves Dies for my card today - take a look:

I used some retired copper glimmer paper for my background panel (our current copper foil would work too but I liked the idea of the added texture of glimmer paper) and cut a leaf in each colour, backing with a Very Vanilla stitched square. My sentiment is from the stamp set in the bundle, called 'Love of Leaves'; I heat embossed it in copper and cut it out with a stitched rectangle. The front of my card is mostly diecuts - perfect for another link up over at SUO Challenges where the current challenge is to use dies/punches on your card - although I did add a little more stamping from the same set to the inside of my card:

I also added a border of leftover scraps of colours to create a co-ordinating border 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. 

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; my day will consist of cooking, laundry, hockey and BBQ - not necessarily in that order! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVE OF LEAVES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.00)	STITCHED SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	RECTANGLE STITCHED DIES (£33.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN’ PAD (£7.00)