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 Clean and Simple challenge for you to work with:

I love our challenge badge this week and decided to embrace the fun of our challenge photo and go with a card that is all about playing with leaves - take a look:

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

I stamped this super-cute image of this little chap playing in a big pile of leaves with his kitty from the 'Seasons of Fun' current seasonal hostess set onto a panel cut with the Whimsy Dies (the swirly border reminded me of a breeze!) and coloured with my Stampin' Blends markers: 

That's all there is to it - super clean and really simple to achieve!

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. 

I'm linking today's card up for another entry over at The Alphabet Challenge where they are on 'L is for Leaves' and over at SUO Challenges where the current theme is 'people'. 

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: 

SEASONS OF FUN HOST CLING STAMP SET (£11.00)	STITCHED WITH WHIMSY DIES (£27.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CHERRY COBBLER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	CAJUN CRAZE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	OLD OLIVE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)
BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BRONZE & IVORY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (£4.25)	CINNAMON CIDER STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card with the current challenge over at Global Design Project  #GDP309:

This is another of my cards using the Festive Foliage stamp as my background, this time paired with the robin from the Happy Holly-Days stamp set - take a look:

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

I kept to a black and white colour scheme for my background and sentiment label, with a pop of Real Red for my third choice - the perfect way to emphasise my lovely robin red breast and bring in a flash of festive colour:

I added some red sheer ribbon and rhinestone jewels 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FESTIVE FOLIAGE CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	HAPPY HOLLY-DAYS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	TASTEFUL LABELS DIES (£29.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)
BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (£4.25)	RED RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£6.50)	REAL RED 3/8" (1 CM) SHEER RIBBON (£6.50)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

I'm back with my second post today and my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed stamping challenge with a humorous twist:

Speedy wit - what a challenge! Here's my card:

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

I decided that I would go for some sideways humour and use the Halloween greeting from the 'Well Defined' stamp set. I stamped it in black and cut it out using one of the Hippo and Friends Dies, and paired it with some fun retired Halloween Motley Monsters designer series paper from my stash. I added a ribbon tab to my sentiment to finish 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. 

This really was a super speedy card, largely because the DSP does all the work. My finished time?

3 minutes and 41 seconds - I think this must be a personal speed stamping record! 

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 speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WELL DEFINED CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)

HIPPO & FRIENDS DIES (£33.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

Today will be a two-post day as I have some news: I am joining the Festive Friday Challenge team! This is a fortnightly challenge that is inspired by a particular day of the year that I have played along with on a number of occasions. 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.

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Balloons Around The World Day' which is on 1st October. I often only use three or four elements when I play along, but when I saw this week's board I knew exactly what I wanted to create - and ended up using balloons, red, purple, clouds, sun, stripes, twine and paper-piecing!

This is the card I created:

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

I grabbed my 'Counting Sheep' and co-ordinating Sheep Dies, both freebies with the current Sale-A-Bration promotion and created a little scene. I used a (retired) stitched square for my scene and layered this onto a striped banner and then a stitched rectangle, to tie in with the stitched detail on the sun. The one thing you may be asking yourself is 'where is the paper-piecing?' It's subtle, but I assure you it's there: I paper-pieced my sheep's wool with the Snowy White Velvet Sheets - it gives the sheep's coat a fun, almost fuzzy felt, feel and you can see it better on the close-up below:

How cute is that?! And all the better for being made with free products too! If you'd like to get your hands on this bundle, you still have a couple of weeks to place your order before the Sale-A-Bration promotion ends. Bear in mind that products are only available whilst stocks last and as we near the end of the promotion, there is a chance that popular items will sell out, so don't leave it too late!

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:

COUNTING SHEEP CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SHEEP DIES (£0.00)	SNOWY WHITE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) VELVET SHEETS (£4.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)
HIGHLAND HEATHER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for this week's Inspired By challenge - I went with the holiday option as I couldn't resist the white and turquoise of the inspiration photo:

I've been making lots of samples using my Festive Foliage background stamp for my online technique class that I held earlier this week and these colours were perfect to demonstrate heat embossing and the use of less traditional colours for a foliage-rich card - take a look:

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

Festive Foliage - I heat embossed the 'Festive Foliage' background stamp in white onto Bermuda Bay cardstock and added a simple white mat border to accentuate it. Background stamps are a great way to cover a cardfront, but they don't need always need to be coloured. I did brush over the leaf details with some clear Wink of Stella; it's quite difficulty to see in the photos, but it adds a lovely subtle shimmer in real life.

Winter Wishes - I decided to add a 'Winter' sentiment to the front of my card using some retired Bermuda Bay ombre paper from Sale-A-Bration earlier in the year, popped up on a label and backed with a couple of co-ordinating ribbons. 

Well Defined - There was a reason why I chose 'Winter' as the greeting on the front of my card; I wanted it to follow through to my sentiment from 'Well Defined that I used on the inside:

Whilst this card would work for the holiday season, I thought it would be perfect for seasonal greetings or even to send to someone who celebrates a birthday during the winter months.

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:

FESTIVE FOLIAGE CLING STAMP SET (£20.00)	TASTEFUL LABELS DIES (£29.00)	PLAYFUL ALPHABET DIES (£32.00)	OPAL ROUNDS (£7.00)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	WHITE 3/8'' (1 CM) GLITTERED ORGANDY RIBBON (£8.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jenny has asked that we create a slimline card, with a rectangular element behind a single focal image:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I created a mini slimline card and took the opportunity to combine with my entry for the current Less Is More challenge for a clean and simple card that is all about the sparkle - take a look:

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

Stitched Snowflakes - I recently picked up the new Stitched Snowflakes dies (I blame my blog friend, the lovely LeAnne Pugliese lol!) having been convinced I can never own too many snowflake dies and these ones also have a lovely stitched detail - bonus! I thought a single diecut snowflake would make a great focal point, and used one of the other dies that cuts a swirl of snowflakes into a flat panel for my rectangular element. 

Be Dazzling - The challenge over at Less Is More currently is 'sparkle' so I just had to cut my snowflake out of Be Dazzling sparkly paper - the ultimate in sparkle and free with a purchase of £45 during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion to boot! I also added a sparkly border between my mat white layers - I mean, you can never have too much sparkle, right?! Well, so long as it's balanced with lots of 'white' space to keep that clean and simple feel ;-) If you would like to get your hands on some 'Be Dazzling' paper, you have until the end of this month or whilst supplies last (whichever comes sooner) to grab some: just hop on over to my online store or give me a call to place an order.

Sparkle of a Different Kind - My sentiment comes from the 'Sparkle of the Season' wreath set - it seemed just right to pair with my sparkling snowflake on today's 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. 

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.

That's all from me for now; I have lots to do following yesterday's monthly Stampin' Up! class; on the upside, the forecast is rain all day today so at least I won't be tempted to go out into the garden! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STITCHED SNOWFLAKES DIES (£32.00)

SPARKLE OF THE SEASON PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)

BE DAZZLING 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£0.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

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 colour challenge for you to work with:

Ann's colour palette this week is a wonderful palette of pinks and purples. I paired them with the current TGIF Challenges sketch layout and some of the most gorgeous papers from the seasonal catalogue - take a look:

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

I couldn't wait to use the Blackberry beauty papers for today's card as it features all of Ann's chosen colours. I added Cinnamon Cider as my colour of choice and chose the really busy pattern that features owls and leaves for my central panel, with a trio of strips of the pattern that features on the reverse added to my Rich Razzleberry card base. I stamped my sentiment from the 'Beauty of Tomorrow' stamp set onto a label and added some gold shimmer ribbon and some gold enamel dots to finish:

The foil detailing on these papers really is beautiful. I also added some further decoration to the inside:

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: 

BEAUTY OF TOMORROW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	BLACKBERRY BEAUTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	GOLD 3/8" (1 CM) SHIMMER RIBBON (£7.50)	GILDED GEMS (£6.50)	RICH RAZZLEBERRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CINNAMON CIDER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	TASTEFUL LABELS DIES (£29.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)

Hurrah - my new laptop has arrived - normal blogging can now resume! Today I'm sharing a quick card that uses Jen B's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I'm also linking up over at Inkspirational and the Alphabet Challenge who are all about leaves, and autumn leaves in particular. I took Jen's layout and used that panel to feature one whole large sentiment, from the 'Beauty of Tomorrow' stamp set - take a look:

I covered my card front with some retired Nature's Poem designer series paper - I love those almost skeletal leaves in colours that change from green to rust. I added a piece of folded gingham ribbon tied with twine below my sentiment, along with a sponged embossed leaf trio as an accent:

I love the clean and fresh feel of this card, even though the colours are definitely reminiscent of cooler days and changing seasons.

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

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

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with my project for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEAUTY OF TOMORROW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£20.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
FLOWERS FOR EVERY SEASON RIBBON COMBO PACK (£9.25)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (£10.25)

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

I went across the centre of the board this week with Diecuts/Leaves/CAS and paired with the gorgeous autumnal colours over at TGIF Challenges for a simple leafy thank you  - take a look:

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

I used my Stitched Greenery Die to add interest to my background, then added a trio of autumnal leaves in the TGIF Challenge colours cut using my Stitched Leaves Dies - a worthy annual catalogue carryover from last year’s seasonal catalogue and I was delighted to get these back out again for this card. I tied them with a linen thread bow and added a simple ’thank you’ sentiment that is actually from the ’Sweet Ice Cream’ stamp set, but is great for a fussy cut greeting - just the right size:

As you can see, today’s card is definitely all about the stitching - and not a needle and thread in sight!

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

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

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

Enjoy your day; so my laptop has officially died and is beyond recovery, hence no blog post yesterday and there probably won’t be one tomorrow either. Whilst I’ve still got an iPad and phone at my disposal, I really need the keyboard and software on my laptop to work efficiently, as well as screen real estate - my eyesight cannot cope with these teeny, tiny screens for any length of time! A new laptop is on its way though so I’m hoping to be back by the weekend with another project. Less tech time does mean more craft time though - the ladies that are signed up for my Background Stamps Class next week will have their work cut out when they see my samples! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STITCHED LEAVES DIES (£33.00)	STITCHED GREENERY DIE (£30.00)	SWEET ICE CREAM PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£16.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CINNAMON CIDER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)

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

For my card today I decided to pair a couple of cute turtle friends for a sweet clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I thought the two greens would make great turtle colours and the pink a bright accent, so I stamped a little turtle onto my panel, having first run the bottom edge of the panel through my dots embossing folder, added some grass and hearts and a little bird directly to the base before adding a larger turtle which I coloured and punched out and popped on some dimensionals for added lift:

A super simple little scene with a sweet sentiment that makes this a fun school snack box love note for one of the James Juniors as they are headed back to school this week (obviously with the pink toenails this one is headed to Rebecca - definitely wouldn’t suit Ben’s cool kid status to have pink varnished toenails!!)

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. Today it’s my birthday so I will be taking it easy (ish!) And definitely partaking in a Colin the Caterpillar birthday cake at tea time - it’s tradition! I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with another project but my laptop is currently with the IT doctor so it might be Thursday until service is temporarily restored (that post is already written and schedule). Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TURTLE FRIENDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£28.75)	CHECKS & DOTS EMBOSSING FOLDERS (£7.50)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POLISHED PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	EVENING EVERGREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	SOFT SUCCULENT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)