Today 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 chosen by LeAnne:

Feathers! I thought I was going to struggle with this one as I couldn't remember any set I still had with feathers in other than bird sets, but I had a good long trawl through my shelves and managed to find not one but two feathered elements, and not a bird in sight! I grabbed the layout over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday and set to work; take a look at what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

There was a pattern in the retired Bird Ballard designer series paper pack that features feathers and no birds, so I used that for my card base. In addition, the retired stamp set 'Beautiful World', which I actually kept for the globes, contains a feathered quill and inkwell that made the perfect focal accent. I took a slight liberty with the sketch, tilting the central panel as I wanted it to look like notepaper - I stamped it with a lined pattern from the retired 'Tap, Tap, Tap' set to add to the effect:

A sentiment from the retired 'Textured Floral' set was all I needed to complete my feathered notecard. I feel like I was quite resourceful this week - it's amazing what you can achieve when you have to really look at your supplies! 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• For a Recipe Challenge use all elements of the recipe - the possibilities within those parameters are endless.
• For a Colour Challenge use all of the given colours and only those colours with these exceptions:
• White and Very Vanilla are free colours.
• In addition, you may use of ONE of these neutrals: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Basic Beige.
• For a Speed Stamping Challenge you must tell us the time it took to make your project and it must be finished in under 10 min.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

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

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by the navy blue and orange colour combination over at Color Dare: 

After yesterday's card I decided to see if I could use this colour combo to create something that was not Halloween inspired, so I went with florals and instead had another outing with my Spellbinders Press & Foil 'Thanks In Bloom' Die, this time using as a letterpress die along using ink, rather than foiling. Take a look at my finished card:

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

I inked the plate with Night of Navy ink and pressed it directly onto a panel of Timid Tiger cardstock, then used a combination of Stampin' Blends in Timid Tiger and Pumpkin Pie to add a tone-on-tone inked effect to the stamped detail, colouring the flower centres and buds with a Night of Navy Blends marker:

I added a 'thinking of you' sentiment that is also included in the set, with a piece of Navy beneath it to add some added definition and added the whole thing to a navy base. A trio of navy enamel dots complete my card. I considered colouring the leaves and stems in navy for added contrast agsinst the blooms, but decided against it having tried it on a scrap piece; the blue didn't look as sharp given that it was on orange cardstock, as opposed to white. This card does feature a lot of orange, which is not a colour I often feature in anything other than a rainbow or a Halloween card, but with the navy I quite like it!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)

NIGHT OF NAVY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£11.25)

TIMID TIGER A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

TIMID TIGER STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (£11.25)

PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£11.25)

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by a couple of challenges: 

I was almost put off by the orange and black colour combo at Color Hues as I didn't really need another Halloween card (and I don't have any tigers in my stamp collection lol!), but when I saw the tag challenge over at CAS On Friday I decided a quick Halloween card might just fit the bill - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Ordinarily I wouldn't go for a DSP background on a clean and simple card, but some of the CAS on Friday team had done something similar, so I decided this piece of retired Halloween Night Specialty Designer Paper would work nicely for a CAS tag with one of my favourite Halloween sentiments, from the retired 'Mingle All The Way' stamp set. I coloured in the outline letters with a Pupkin Pie Stampin' Write marker and added a diecut bat and orange harvest moon to my tag before finishing with a simple twine bow:

Super simple and a fun way to use this colour combo.  

Enjoy your day; it's still raining here so I will be cracking on with indoor tasks and sneaking in some quality craft time this afternooon. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'! 

It's a wet and miserable day here in the UK but I've been to the gym and am raring to go! Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by a couple of challenges: 

That mood board at Just Us Girls looked so inviting and actually was just what I needed to help me with the current SUO Challenges CASE The Catalogue Challenge - take a look at what I came up with and I'll explain all:

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

I've had this Cable Knit embossing folder for ages, but I rarely use it - that inspo photo at Just Us Girls gave me the perfect opportunity though to make it the main base for my card - isn't it great? I inked up one of the leaves in the retired Gorgeous Leaves bundle with a mix of warm yellows and browns to tuck in behind my mug - and I even managed to find a stamp with a 'Boo' and a tiny ghost (from the retired Thinking Thanks & Peace stamp set) to decorate the aperture on the mug:

I also took the opportunity to CASE the card on the left of the SUO Challenge photo.  I focused on the layout and the various elements: an embossed background, a panel of DSP and a banner with ribbon trim, along with two elements and a sentiment on a circle tucked behind - I actually used one of the stamps in the retired 'Warm Hugs' stamp set which complements the overall theme of my card. Finally a sprinkle of enamel dots complete my cosy card.

Another of those cards that makes the most of retired bits and pieces and not quite my usual style, but it was fun to make for sure.

Enjoy your day; I am meeting one of my besties for coffee this afternoon - we haven't see each other for a few months, so have lots to catch up on - then I'm off to the theatre tonight to see the comedian Sir Lenny Henry, which will I'm sure be a show full of laughs! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using Jen T's great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I actually made this card a couple of days ago, but it's taken me until now to get around to sharing with you. Firstly, take a look at my card:

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

This is a great layout from Jen that is wide open to interpretation. I kept things really simple though because I wanted to use it to showcase a new Press & Foil Glimmer plate that I got from  Spellbinders called 'Thanks in Bloom'. Yes, I have joined the hot foil fan club! And for anyone reading this who is also slow to the party like me, be warned - it's addictive! I foiled my plate in gold onto a Melon Mambo card base (my favourite pink) - it's so exciting when you peel back the foil sheet and see the foiled image beneath. I also decided to foil my sentiment in gold onto pink so that it would blend in; I trimmed it and popped it up on dimensionals to complete my card:

I do have a bonus second card to share with you today; I used my reverse hot foil plate to add the negative image on the foil sheet to another piece of cardstock (this time I used Berry Burst) to make a second card from the same print and added the sentiment in the same place:

This one is even more tricky to photograph due to all of that shiny gold - you can see some of the detail (along with the reflection of my lamp!) in the close up below:

I'm not sure I will do this every time, as in the words of my dear husband it is a 'little bit too gold' I think, but it was fun to try it out for the first time.

Right, I'm racing off to the FMS gallery and then I need to get a little more organised with my remaining blog posts for the week!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

UK/IE STAMPIN' HOT FOIL SYSTEM & CRAFT CLASS (£149.00)

REVERSE HOT FOIL DIE (£26.00)

GOLD STAMPIN' HOT FOIL ROLLS (£11.25)

MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Suzy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

These colours are so perfect for fall and my card today is super simple and oh-so-quick to create - take a look:

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

I actually had the retired 'Cheer All Year' stamp set and these punched shapes out on my desk having completed another card and when I realised the shapes were in the challenge colours, I knew I had to use them up on today's card. When I saw the challenge prompt at Inspired By, it wasn't the mugs that caught my eye, but the piece of home decor on the top shelf. I stamped my autumn sentiment in Cajun Craze and added my leaves and acorn above on dimensionals:

And that was it - so simple! I used a Very Vanilla base instead of white for a change, as I think the warmer tone seems to suit fall cards better - what do you think? I didn't even add any embellishments - a real exercise in restraint today!!

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.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. 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 Jan to host this week and she has an interesting colour challenge for us to work with:

I say 'interesting' ... I could not initially work out what to do with these colours! Then I decided they might work for a card I wanted to make to welcome a new puppy addition - take a look:

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

Puppy Love - My crafty friend Elizabeth is soon to welcome a new puppy: his name is Beau and he is adorable! He is already a couple of months old, but he won't be moving in with Elizabeth for another couple of months yet. I immediately wanted to include the puppies from 'Cutest Crew' on a card - Beau is almost white in colour and looks not unlike the first one in the row, so I coloured him accordingly. You can see that more closely on the image below.

What's In A Name? - I decided to include Beau's name on my card for a personalised welcome (the word 'welcome' is from the retired set 'Welcome Words') and diecut the letters in Azure Afternoon using the Party Alphabet Dies. I used a slimline design and overlaid the 'welcome' on top of the name (I might actually adjust this slightly as now I'm looking at the photo, I think it interferes with the 'B' of his name too much). I added the row of playful puppies to the bottom right hand corner of the card to balance the sentiment.

A Little Background Detail - I used a couple of layered panels in Azure Afternoon and Crumb Cake behind the main panel, but it looked a little bare so before I glued my letters in place I lightly stencilled the dot pattern in Crumb Cake using a decorative mask for a little extra detail. This mask comes in the set with the waves one, which I have used lots. I had actually forgotten about the dots one until Jan used it on a card last week and reminded me about it, and I really like the effect. You can see the detail more closely below, along with a close up of the colouring of the pupples:

On this closeup you can see the tiny amount of Granny Apple Green I've used on this card: just the flower leaves and the checked bandana that one of the pups is wearing. I often find one colour ends up being the 'poor relation' in a colour challenge, and this time it's green's turn!

It's not like me to be so organised to have a card ready long before I need to mail it, so I guess I have Jan and her unusual colour combo to thank for that. Now I just need to hope that Elizabeth doesn't read my blog post before she receives it!!

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; the James Junior is home from university for the weekend, as it was his annual Cricket Club awards dinner yesterday evening. Te event was followed by much celebrating with the team for the various accolades individuals achieved this year and the team's promotion to the next league for the fourth year running, so he is enjoying a lie-in this morning. Me - I'm still working my way through his laundry and a massive ironing pile, so that everything is ready to go back with him tomorrow! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CUTEST CREW BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)	PARTY ALPHABET DIES (£93.00)	WATER & DOTTED LINES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DECORATIVE MASKS (£20.00)	BASIC BLACK HYBRID STAMPIN' PAD (£11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£16.00)
AZURE AFTERNOON A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	AZURE AFTERNOON STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (£11.25)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£11.25)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£11.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)
BASICS WOW! EMBOSSING POWDER (£20.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Today I'm sharing a card using the layout over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday:

I liked this layout and decided to dig out some tiny (retired) Christmas dies that I could use to accent the vertical panels - take a look at what I came up with:

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

I decided to add a selection of coloured strips that co-ordinated with my diecut images and then using a selection of Christmas shapes from the retired Ornamental Christmas Dies, I cut one each out of an arch cut with my Everyday Arches Dies and placed them over the coloured panels, so that the colour shows through the negative space. I then accented each one with a co-ordinating enamel shape:

Some twine and a festive sentiment complete my card. My card is slightly wider than a standard A6 card as I used the width of the arches to determine it, so will require a slightly longer envelope than usual to accommodate. 

I like the idea behind this sketch; it would work for all kinds of occasions that you have small dies for - seasons, Halloween, birthdays - time to go and dig through the die collection!

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

It has rained pretty much all day here in the UK today so I took the opportunity to escape to my craft room this afternoon and get my craft on! I wasn't intending to make any Halloween cards this year and I didn't buy an new seasonal products, but a couple of Halloween challenges at both Inspire.Create and the Die Week at Just Us Girls, combined with the daily midnight musings of my blog friend Christy (if you're a fan of all things spooky you should definitely check out her blog here too) for the month of October got me wanting to create something for the occasion. 

I thought that the kittens dies in the Cutest Crew die set would make cute witch's cats, so that was my starting point for today's card - take a look:

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

I diecut a number of kittens in black in various poses and combined with with some broomsticks and pumpkins from the retired Seasonal Swirls Dies and arranged them into a circular shape. I filled in the gaps with some stamped ghosts from the retired 'Holiday Home' stamp set (I fussy cut these - I didn't have any small ghost dies), popping all of the elements up on dimensionals, and some shiny black sequins:

I added a tiny Halloween-appropriate greeting from the retired stamp set 'Spooky Fun' to complete my card. 

I love how this card turned out; it took a while to position all of the elements until I was happy with them and fix them in place - spooky fun!

Right I need to get my card into the JUGS gallery before it closes so I'm signing off but I'll be back bright and early tomorrow with another project. 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 Ann to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

Nature's landscapes - these can take so many forms, the possibilities really are endless! I was tempted to go with some photographic papers, as I do have some with lovely autumn and winter landscapes, but in the end I decided to grab the sketch over at SUO Challenges and use that large square to create my own - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Winter Dreams - My colour scheme is the same as the one I used for last week's Paper Players card (you can see that here if you missed it) as I used another of the patterns in the Winter Dreams specialty designer series paper pack on my card today. This time I went for the falling snow for my sky - perfect for my snowy landscape. The snowflakes are graduated across the sheet of paper and I have used the 'busy' end on my card so it is looking a little blizzard-like, but that's OK - I do like the texture of this paper.

Welcome Noel - My landscape is made using the Welcome Noel bundle. There are rows of trees and houses, as well as a selection of standalone houses, trees and a deer. I've used a combination of all of them to build up the layers of my snowy landscape, using different papers, textures (I used white flocked velvet paper for the tree line and white glimmer paper for the foreground) to add even more texture and interest.

All The Layers - There are nine layers on today's card, each one adding more depth and detail than the next. I have taken some liberties: I added the run of houses in Secret Sea for contrast, whereas if it was a real landscape they would be white, given the falling snow. I also added the smaller diecut house on top of the larger one, whereas for a true sense of perspective it should sit behind the larger one, but that's creative licence, right? The photo below shows more of the detail of those layers and textures:

 I added a larger sentiment from the retired Framed & Festive stamp set to finish my card; I initially went with a skinny 'Merry Christmas' that was more in keeping with the sketch, but it just got lost amongst all the other detail, so I switched it out for something bigger. 

I really like this combination of dark blue and white for a snowy scene; those Welcome Noel dies would look great in lots of other colour combinations 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. 

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

Enjoy your day; it is the hubby's birthday today, so we will be paddleboarding this morning and then returning home for a late lunch of homemade Italian ragu and a restful afternoon - bliss! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WELCOME NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)	WINTER DREAMS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£13.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SECRET SEA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SECRET SEA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£10.25)	CLOUD COVER A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£6.75)