Today with my second post 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 used Linda's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my card layout and went for a really clean design for my card today - take a look:

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

Layering Hugs - The Layering Hugs Dies are perfect for the central one word sentiment on the front of my card today. I cut the background floral diecut in white and then added the individual letters of the word HUGS in Crumb Cake in the same colour as the base. Neutrals? Check. Diecut? Check. One Word Sentiment? Check.

A Subtle Texture - I used the Tasteful Texture Embossing Folder to add texture to my card base layer; the detail is subtle but with the focus on neutrals, it adds an element of interest to this otherwise very clean and uncluttered card. You can see the detail slightly better on the photo below:

Embossing folder? Check.

Finishing Touches - The last element I needed to incorporate into today's design was ribbon or twine. I debated adding a bow, but eventually decided that I would add a simple trio of linen thread and white baker's twine across the centre of my card instead. It emphasises the horizontal sentiment, which is more faithful to Linda's sketch since I stretched my sentiment focal point beyond the skinny visual. I hope she likes it! Ribbon or Twine? Check. That's my recipe complete!

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.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LAYERING HUGS DIES (£26.00)

TASTEFUL TEXTILE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£8.25)

CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)

BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

LINEN THREAD (£4.75)

This is my first post of a two-post Friday and I'm here with my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'National Cookie Day' which is on 4th December. 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 cookie, brown, circles and recipe and this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Gingerbread & Peppermint - My card front features a piece of the Gingerbread & Peppermint designer series paper with a circular pattern, behind an angled panel that is anchored by a gingerbread cookie, fussy cut from a Memories & More card, and with an added stamped sentiment from the 'What's Cookin' stamp set that gives a hint as to what can be found inside. 

Memories and More - There are no actual cookies inside my card, but there is the next best thing: a recipe for ultimate easy gingerbread! Presentation of my recipe was super easy, as some of the cards included in the Gingerbread & Peppermint Memories & More pack are perfect for noting your favourite holiday recipes. As such, they are perfect not only for memory keeping and recording, but also to create a fun mini-recipe folder like this one. I used two M&M cards; I wrote my ingredients on the first one:

Ultimate Easy Gingerbread - I added a second card, this time writing out the method detailing how to make the gingerbread. I photographed it so that hopefully you can read it and pin it if you'd like to have a go - it's delicious:

I love to bake at Christmas time and I am famed for my iced gingerbread biscuits. Here's a photo of them drying before going into jars for gifting:

Baking gingerbread is one of my favourite things to do during the festive season - although my friends and family usually request the finished product, rather than the recipe!

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

Stephanie Lanzalotto

Melva Peters

Jaydee

Diane Evans

Joanne James

Enjoy your morning and I'll be back later with my project for the new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

GINGERBREAD & PEPPERMINT 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)

GINGERBREAD & PEPPERMINT MEMORIES & MORE CARD PACK (£10.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

REAL RED 3/8" (1 CM) SHEER RIBBON (£6.50)

WHAT'S COOKIN' CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)

EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Less Is More where it's lucky dip week and we are being asked to work with Winter Whites:

I decided to use a trio of diecut Christmas trees to showcase my winter whites - take a look:

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

I couldn't resist another outing for my Whimsy and Wonder skinny trees, but this time I did at least include one of the other diecut trees in the set so that it didn't feel left out! I find the best way to create an all-white card is to concentrate on adding different elements of texture and/or pattern. To this end, I diecut two trees from (retired) white glimmer paper and diecut the larger tree in white and popped it up on dimensionals with the glimmer paper layered beneath:

I added a silver heat-embossed sentiment that fitted with my sparkly trees 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

So does today's card have you dreaming of a white Christmas? I read in the press yesterday that we are in for a hard Winter here in the UK, with heavy snow forecast before the end of this month. I'm hoping that's fake news - a white Christmas is one thing, but heavy snow in November - no thank you!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS TREES DIES (£33.00)

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

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

Today I'm sharing a card that uses the current sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday that I designed with Nancy's word prompt at Just Us Girls in mind:

I had the perfect focal point to encompass Nancy's 'merry' theme - take a look:

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

Delicate Baubles Dies - You know how much I love the Christmas tree die in this set; I thought it was time to show you one of the two dies that featured a sentiment (the other is 'Joy' - I'll share that another time). I cut out the 'Merry and Bright' detailed layer in gold foil and backed it with a piece of Evening Evergreen shimmer vellum for some subtle festive shimmer and sparkle.

Ever Eden - I added a panel of foiled green Ever Eden specialty designer series paper to my card base and bordered it with some gold foil stitched scalloped edging cut with one of the Hand Penned Dies. And since 'P is for Patterned Paper' I'm also linking today's card up with the team over at The Alphabet Challenge.

Finishing Touches - Some gold gilded gems and an in-colour gem was all that was needed to complete today's card. 

I love the soothing greens of the Eden's Garden Suite; I love how the foil and the addition of some shimmer makes them perfectively festive 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. 

I've had a full-on day today, culminating in Parents' Evening for one of the James Juniors. It's amazing how focused teachers can be when each appointment lasts only 5 minutes! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DELICATE BAUBLES DIES (£33.00)	PENNED FLOWERS DIES (£28.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	EVER EDEN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	2021–2023 IN COLOR SHIMMER VELLUM (£11.25)
EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GILDED GEMS (£6.50)	2021–2023 IN COLOR JEWELS (£6.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and I designed the following sketch for us to work with:

I designed the sketch to have a layer beneath a single focal point, with an overlapping sentiment. Whilst the focal point on the sketch is a circle, you can use any shape you like. Also feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

I have been trying (and failing!) to find the time to play along with the lovely ladies over at Inspired By for several weeks, but when I saw this week's inspiration photo of that welcoming Christmas wreath, I couldn't resist! The fact that I could combine with my sketch was a bonus! Both of their inspiration photos this week feature wreaths, and having had an aborted attempt using wheatgrasses for the first one, I decided to give that up as a bad job and work with this oh-so-pretty Christmas wreath as my inspiration. I actually went on to create two cards, one being slightly less clean and simple than the other. Here's my first clean and simple one:

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

I used the leaf wreath in the Seasonal Swirls Dies set for my wreath base, snipping off the leaves to leaves just the twigs. I used the retired Pretty Pines Thinlits for my sprigs of greenery and berries, adding some sponged white ink to my Soft Succulent greenery and some large retired candy dots for berries. I finished with a gingham DSP bow and added a heat-embossed sentiment from the retired 'Arrange A Wreath' stamp set onto a little stitched rectangle of wood-effect paper which seemed to fit the photo. I backed my wreath with a scrap of white wood effect paper, reminiscent of the shiplap in the photo: 

 And that was that - card complete! I decided to make another one, identical save for one additional detail: I switched out the DSP bow for an actual one, tied with gingham ribbon that I had coloured from its original black and white to black and red with the aid of my Stampin' Blends markers:

 That showy, double-looped bow definitely crosses a CAS boundary, hence not adding it to my original card; I do love it though! Here's a close-up: 

So two cards for the price of one today! Which one gets your vote? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SEASONAL SWIRLS DIES (£32.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	DECORATIVE MATTE DOTS (£7.50)	SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Happy Monday everyone! An early and super-quick post from me today as I take a trip down memory lane with a clean and simple card inspired by a few challenges that caught my eye this week:

I couldn't resist that pink typewriter in the Fusion photo and delved into the retired stamp box to find my 'TapTapTap' stamp set that had the perfect image - take a look:

Do you remember this stamp set? The typewriter meant it was always going to be a keeper for me; for today's card I stamped it in Memento Black and coloured it with my Polished Pink Blends markers. Whilst I love the Fusion sketch too, I decided instead to use the sketch over at AAA Cards and stamped my alphabet of typed letters behind for the horizontal element. I'm also linking up over at CASology where the cue word is 'type' so today's card is right on point.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that I used a typed 'thank you' sentiment on the paper in my typewriter and if you own(ed) this stamp set, will also know that this isn't a sentiment that it includes. Some clever masking and use of my Stamparatus made it easy to create this custom sentiment using other elements of the set - for a more complete explanation, check out this older post.

No visual summary or supplies list today - today's card is simply for your viewing pleasure. I would so love to own a pink retro typewriter just like this one! Enjoy your day; I will be getting together with a bunch of lovely ladies for a class this morning, where we will be making Christmas packaging - fun! Then more class planning and blog posts to follow before I head out on my afternoon school run  - the life of a busy Mum and part-time Stampin' Up! demonstrator is always a full one!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project - my second week hosting our challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

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

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Claire's theme is a timely one although it's fair to say that there is plenty to be thankful for all year round so a card that gives thanks is always a useful one to have on hand. I couldn't resist another card with Jen M's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week (this layout is definitely a 'go to' for me!). No wreath this time though, instead totally inspired by the current challenge photo over at The Card Concept - take a look:

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

I loved the colours and foliage and pumpkin elements in the Card Concept photo, along with the striking black and white tablescape, complete with gingham napkins and I incorporated all of these elements into my clean and layered card. I used black and white mats, layers and some gingham paper from the Pattern Paper hostess DSP pack, and layered a variety of foliage around one edge of a (retired) stitched circle onto which I heat-embossed my sentiment from the stamp set 'Banner Year'. I added some of the yellow decorative matt dots to my berry sprigs for a little extra dimension and detail which I really love:

Another trio of Evening Evergreen decorative matt dots onto my base complete my card. My foliage elements were taken from various die sets - all listed in the supplies list below. This is one of those cards that turned out exactly as I intended, first time - and I love it! I often spend ages procrastinating whilst card making, so it feels like a bonus when ideas translate exactly how you envisaged, don't you think?

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 had a busy day of sport yesterday so nothing special happening here today, but I'm not complaining. The next few weekends are super busy, so I'll take the calm before the storm! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SEASONAL SWIRLS DIES (£32.00)	CHRISTMAS TRIMMINGS DIES (£25.00)	FOREVER FLOURISHING DIES (£33.00)	DECORATIVE MATTE DOTS (£7.50)	PATTERN PARTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)
BANNER YEAR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

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

I also used Jen M's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout, the colours over at Color Dare and my final entry over at Just Us Girls this week where Bobby's wild card is 'leaves'. I went across the middle of this week's Tic Tac Toe board with Autumn/Free/Wreath for my card today, but it also works for the middle column of thankful sentiment/free/any colour too. when I saw the Color Dare inspo photo of Holly Hobby this week I was taken right back to my childhood - and more recently, to my retired designer series paper pile! I had some old Comfort Cafe paper that I thought would be perfect for the challenge as it featured bluesm yellows and browns and would also provide a suitable background for my wooden, leafy wreath - take a look:

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

Seasonal Swirls - I went for a simple layered wreath of twigs and leaves today, as I didn't want to do too much to detract from the pretty background paper. I added a trio of Cajun Craze flowers, cut using my Floral Squares dies, that echo the detail on the paper, and centred each with a pearl, along with a linen thread bow and backed it with a very vanilla circle stamped with a simple sentiment from the 'Sparkle of the Season' set.

Added Texture - I love how the patterned paper has a faux-texture for added detail and interest. Having decided to add a Pool Party band to the front of my card, it looked a little too stark, so in a further nod to the paper, I added a layer of vellum over the top that I had embossed with my (retired) Subtles embossing folder. This was just enough to take the vibrancy out of the colour whilst also adding another level of detail; you can see the detail of it more closely below:

I really like this card - the paper is great for autumn and it's good to be using up more of my paper stash. If you're not a paper hoarder like me, you could easily recreate this card using the current Harvest Meadow papers, for example. A shoutout to Jen too for the perfect sketch to showcase a wreath - I think I might have to use it again this week!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SPARKLE OF THE SEASON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.25)	PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)

This is the first of two posts today - I'll be back with my creative post for this week's TicTacToe challenge later. First though I have news of a rare Stampin' Up! opportunity for you:

• Are you someone who regularly restocks their craft collection, and always wants the latest and greatest Stampin’ Up! supplies?
• Would you potentially enjoy the pile of perks that come with being a demonstrator?
• Are you a former team member who may be interested in coming back to our incredible community of crafters?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, the Start with Savings promotion may well be of interest to you! From 4–30 November, instead of the standard £99 Starter Kit—which is already a steal of a deal—aspiring demonstrators can snatch up a completely custom Starter Kit for only £75. What an absolutely unbeatable bargain for a box with a value of £130!

There’s no better time for you to transition from customer to demonstrator. Whether you just want to stock up on staples, or perhaps you've had your eye on the new Eden's Garden Collection pre-release , if you're considering an alternative or additional source of income or you would just like to build lasting connections with like-minded crafters, by joining in November you’ll be able to start your Stampin’ Up! business strong—and with big savings! 

You can choose any items for your kit, which comes with a free pack of useful business supplies: £130 of goodies for £75 and free P&P too and it can all be yours if you join Stampin' Up! before 30 November.

A reduced cost starter kit doesn't come along often, so if this is an offer that appeals to you, do get in touch if you'd like more information or alternative click here to sign up - I would love you to join my special team!

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. The lovely Vicky has handed over the reins and I am your host for the month of November. Our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

This trio of colours is one of my favourite festive colour combinations and they compliment white beautifully. I am in full Christmas card making mode right now, so I am looking forward to seeing what you make with these colours. For my card today I went with two simple clusters of Christmas Season foliage to accent a central sentiment label:

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

The 'Christmas Season' stamp set is perfect for festive foliage in these colours (it also contains some lovely pinecones, although I've not used them on today's card) and I stamped a sentiment from 'Delivering Cheer' on a label cut with the Seasonal Labels dies, which includes dies that also cut out the foliage. Another sentiment on the inside of my card from the same set and a little extra corner detail complete today's card:

I love the Real Red card base for a Christmas card - I also added a trio of rhinestones for some festive sparkle:

This is one of those cards that can be easily mass produced - just stamp a bunch of foliage pieces and sentiment labels and then have fun arranging the pieces. Kind of like flower arranging without the mess!

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'm also having another entry into Just Us Girls challenge this week with their wild card theme of 'leaves' - yesterday autumn, today winter!

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible. What will you make with my colours this week? I can't wait to find out and look forward to visiting your blogs in due course.

One last reminder: the Eden's Garden Collection pre-release is now available to order! Read all about it and order yours in this post here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS SEASON BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	DELIVERING CHEER PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£17.00)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)