Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal 'fill in the blank' challenge:

I used Jacqui's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for my layout this week - can you guess how I filled in the blank? Here's my card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

For Me The Spookiest Thing on Halloween Is Always - .. the fact that there are even more spiders than usual! I'm all for appreciating all creatures great and small, but I draw the line at spiders and wasps! I've been stung by a wasp on three separate occasions - each of them memorable and none of them pleasant and as for spiders, well they just give me the heebie-jeebies, especially furry ones or ones with the long, spindly legs!! So today's card had to feature spiders! It actually started with the stamped one, which comes from the Cottage Wreaths stamp set. Ironically, one of the reasons I bought this set was for the spider and the 'boo' greeting, as it allowed for versatility given that I didn't want to buy lots of Halloween sets but I honestly haven't been able to bring myself to create a Halloween wreath featuring this particular arachnid - every time I go to visit another blog to leave a comment and I see this spider featured on a card, it literally makes my skin creep!

I decided to pair both the spider and greeting with some (retired - Happy Hauntings) designer paper squares, also featuring a similar spider, and create a simple feature where this one looks like he's escaping the paper via his 'web' line of pierced dots courtesy of my Take Your Pick Tool. I also added an embossed spider's web to the black mat layer, although this is difficult to see in the photos and I embossed the envelope flap too for additional spooky effect. Against my better judgement, here's a close-up of the escapee:

Whilst I actually like the finished card, I have absolutely no idea who to send it too - does anyone out there actually like spiders?! Answers below please - I will happily send this card your way! I am also going to share the loveliness of today's Halloween creation with the ladies over at SUO Challenges where they are all about Halloween for a second entry.

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

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.

Enjoy your day - it's Friday so my cleaning day and the housework beckons - off to do battle with the real-life spiders and their cobwebs, which are always more prevalent at this time of year as they come indoors to escape the chillier autumn weather. Wish me luck! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COTTAGE WREATHS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£18.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)

VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

TAKE YOUR PICK (£9.50)

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

Apologies for the lateness of today's post - life sometimes gets in the way! I used the Atlantic Hearts sketch for my layout and the colours over at Colour Inkspiration and went down the first column of the board with foliage, acorn/berries and trees/wood - take a look:

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

I used the Ringed with Nature stamp set and co-ordinating Tree Rings Hybrid Embossing Folder to stamp some leaves, florals and berries onto my vanilla layer (having stamped-off first), along with some splatters, then added a diecut tree ring, layered with diecut and stamped elements that I fussy cut, a linen twine bow and a Textural Elements wooden berry sprig, to which I added a trio of (retired) Cherry Cobbler enamel dots. I stamped and fussy cut my sentiment and added that alongside:

This is one of those cards that just evolved into the finished product as I added and removed bits and pieces until I was happy with it. I love the texture of the diecut elements and by sponging them with additional colour it really adds depth. In fact, I liked the colours so much I made a second card - I'll share that with you on Saturday!

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: 

RINGED WITH NATURE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£50.25)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	QUIET MEADOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	TEXTURAL ELEMENTS (£7.50)

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

 For my card today I used the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday and used my Country Wreaths bundle to create a thank you card that is great for using up scraps - take a look:

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

A Colour Confession - First up - a colour confession! I was feeling totally pleased with myself for having made my card for this challenge much earlier than I usually do, until I went to upload it and realised I had used the wrong colours - I made a card using Pumpkin Pie instead of Michal's chosen Pale Papaya!! So I quickly went and made a duplicate in the correct colours. I had already worked up all my photos though, so I am sharing both with you here. On the upside - you get a two for one and we can have a debate on white card you like best!!

A Liberal Sketch Interpretation - I often get asked how I go about interpreting a sketch when I make a card and today's card is a good example of a less than literal one, so worthy of some explanation! I really liked the offset layers of the TSOT sketch but decided to make both my base and first mat white, so as not to detract from the clean and simple feel of my card. For the third 'layer', I added a selection of strips in the challenge colours and staggered their lengths to add interest; this is a great way to incorporate blocks of colour in a small area and it uses up scraps too, so win-win! I used this as the basis for my neutral-toned wreath, stamped with the 'Cottage Wreaths' set, with white diecut detail behind. I added some additional leaf sprigs and a gingham bow focal point. Finally, those three dots? I added three sequins on my initial card and a trio of gems on my remake but scattered them around my wreath.

This is a stretch from the sketch - but the elements of the sketch are all there. I love sketches - they are a great jumping-off point for a card.

This or That? - Here's a photo of both of my cards - one slightly bolder than the other. Which one is your favourite?

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

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

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COTTAGE WREATHS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	SAHARA SAND CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	SAHARA SAND A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PACIFIC POINT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	ADHESIVE BACKED SEASONAL SEQUINS (£6.75)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)

Today I'm sharing an extra card that I made earlier this week that was inspired by the fun challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP364 this week:

It's CASE The Designer week featuring the talented Madeleine Mrotzek, who makes the most beautiful cards! Madeleine's cards often feature rainbows of colour, small images and lots of white space. I couldn't resist the opportunity to play along - take a look:

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

I kept with the white slimline basic layout and followed her rainbow of colour, but instead of stamped balloons opted for a sprinkling of tiny stamped snowflakes (from the retired 'Snowflake Wishes' stamp set overlaid with a row of rainbow Cottage Wreaths diecuts. I finished with a silver heat-embossed sentiment from 'Christmas Banners' and a sprinkling of iridescent rhinestones - don't you just love how they pick up the colours of everything they reflect:

The larger wreaths fill this Christmas card with a rainbow of festive colour and the slimline design is a great way to showcase these pretty dies.

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:

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (£37.00)	CHRISTMAS BANNERS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Halloween' which is on October 31st. 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 bowed to the theme and used pumpkin, orange, stars, black and ghost and using the sketch layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

My card started out with the starry and pumpkin/ghost patterned paper from the 'Celebrate Everything' hostess designer series paper pack - these papers really are the pack that keeps on giving with a pattern for every occasion! Normally I wouldn't mix two such bold papers, but the yellow stars on the pumpkin/ghost sheet mean the two work together perfectly. I used my Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends markers to colour the pumpkins on the designer paper instead of leaving the whole design white - I love that you can do this! - and I added these papers to my cardbase, then used a strip of black glimmer paper and a collection of diecuts (all retired - Boo to You, Harvest Hellos, Apple Punch and Stitched Stars Dies) to create a focal point that picked out the detail of the papers:

Cute, right?! I really wanted to stamp 'trick or treat' on the orange banner, but could I find a retired stamp anywhere in my collection with those words? Nope. I'm sure there's one here somewhere ... I just have to find it!

I am also linking this card up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges where their theme is 'Halloween' currently 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. 

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 - off this week
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)	PUMPKIN PIE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	CLASSIC MATTE DOTS (£6.75)

Hi everyone! I've a quick post this evening with a cute card I made using the triple dare colours over at Color Dare for the 1/9ths challenge over at AAA Cards, with the optional twist of gnomes:

I went for a cute girly gnome - check her out:

Some simple colouring with Stampin' Blends and a paper-pieced hat using some retired plaid paper in my scraps box. I diecut my stamped image using my Gnomes Dies and added some Balmy blue ink with a blending brush behind my sweet gnome:

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. 

Clean and simple - done! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

KINDEST GNOMES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£46.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Michal has asked that we focus our design on opposing corners with a central sentiment.  Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to use the lovely autumnal browns, oranges and cream of the Sunday Stamps colour palette to give an autumnal feel to my clean and simple thank you card - and since that is the theme over at Just Us Girls I can link today's card up there too - how nice to be on-trend! I decided to go for off-the-edge sunflowers for my corner detail - take a look:

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

The large sunflower image in the 'Celebrate Sunflowers' stamp set is perfect for adding a partial image to decorate my opposing corners; it's clear what the image is, even though only part of it is shown. I coloured my sunflowers with my Stampin' Blends and used a thank you sentiment from the same set for ease:

I like the idea of these orange sunflowers; whilst the large, yellow ones are more common, they do come in lots of different colours from yellow and orange through to a dark red and these seem to evoke autumn and the changing seasons more so than a sunny, summery yellow I 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CELEBRATE SUNFLOWERS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	PUMPKIN PIE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN’ BLENDS DEEP COMBO PACK (£8.50)
STAMPIN’ BLENDS MEDIUM DEEP COMBO (£8.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Laurie to host this week and she has an interesting colour challenge for us to work with:

I say interesting because Laurie's colours immediately made me think of Halloween, but since I rarely send Halloween cards and I don't have much in the way of current Halloween product, I was determined to use these colours on anything but a Halloween card! So much so, I started creating and ended up with not one but two cards to share with you today - and neither remotely anything to do with October 31st! Here's the first one using Amy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week - take a look:

Here's the low-down on my first card:

Staying faithful to Amy's sketch, I added a band of Brights designer series paper to my Gorgeous Grape card base and decided to create a nature-inspired watercolour as my focal point. I stamped the echinacea from the 'Nature's Harvest' stamp set in Stazon onto watercolour paper, then loosley watercoloured my image using the challenge colours and my aquapainters. Once I'd painted my image, I added some speckles by flicking my black Stampin' Blends marker across the image before cutting out with the largest circle in my Stylish Shapes Dies:

I added a white-on-black sentiment from 'Art Gallery' to complete my card. I liked this card so much, I thought I'd use one of the dies in the co-ordinating set to try out a watercolour print technique that I'd seen on Pinterest. My first attempt was a hot mess, but taking my learns and a different die from the Meadow Dies set I had a second attempt and like this one much better! Here's the card in question:

Have you ever tried the watercolour print technique using diecuts? It's actually quite straightforward: diecut your flower from watercolour paper and colour with Stampin' Write markers. Once coloured, place the flower onto a blank piece of watercolour paper and lightly spritz with water. The water 'spreads' the ink from the diecut one the blank piece - you can also 'stamp' this piece with the wet, coloured flower (but I didn't do that here). Allow both pieces to dry then add to your card; I cut a frame out of my spritzed piece and then added my diecut flower offset from the relief image on the frame. I added some clear faceted gems and a sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set that, when paired with the words 'faith over fear' stamped on the inside were the perfect words of encouragement needed for a card to send to a friend battling breast cancer right now:

What do you think? I quite like the effect and will definitely be trying this with other dies in other colours. I am also linking my second card up over at Time Out since the sentiment is perfect for their theme this week.

Here are the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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. 

So what do these colours say to you - Halloween, or something else completely? Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

NATURE'S HARVEST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)
PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLUID 100 WATERCOLOR PAPER (£8.50)	WATER PAINTERS (£13.00)	JET BLACK STAZON PAD (£9.50)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	MEADOW DIES (£36.00)
CHARMING SENTIMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (£7.00)	MANY MARVELOUS MARKERS (£123.00)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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