Monday already - where does the time go?! This week promises to be full of fun and excitement, but for today there is lots to be done! I have a Stampin' Up! party to prepare for this evening and I need to put the finishing touches to tomorrow's project class, so a nice early blog post is most definitely the order of the day! As Halloween approaches, lots of the current colour challenges have colour palettes to match - today's card uses this week's colours over at Pals Paper Arts and this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

There are some great examples on the challenge page where these colours have been used in a non-traditional way, but I decided to stick with the spooky theme and create another Halloween card - take a look:

I used a base of Basic Black cardstock, then used a panel of Tangelo Twist that is narrower than the base and popped up on dimensionals. I used my little letter thinlits to cut the word 'BOO' out of the length of the orange cardstock, then I used my Fun Fall framelits to cut two ghosts out of Very Vanilla and adhered these to the edge of the Tangelo Twist piece, aligning the 'O's to look like the ghost's mouth - they really look like they're floating off the edge of the card. I finished with a stamped sentiment and tied some black and white baker's twine around the Tangelo Twist layer and tied in a bow.

Whilst I used the negative space of the die cut letters for my card, the letters themselves didn't go to waste - I stamped some bats from 'Freaky Friends' onto a Very Vanilla envelope then adhered my 'Boo!' on top to add interest. Waste not, want not, as the saying goes!

I hope you like today's fun spooky card; back tomorrow with something altogether more Christmassy! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Fun Fall Framelits Dies	Ghoulish Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Little Letters Thinlits Die	Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Basic Black Baker's Twine
Stampin' Dimensionals

Good evening lovely blog readers! Now I know it's Sunday and for me that's normally an early post with my Design Team card for The Paper Players, right? Well, those lovely ladies have given me a week off as I'm heading to Brussels for Stampin' Up!'s European Convention later this week and so won't be around to comment on all the lovely cards in the challenge gallery or choose my favourite. This week Ann has a colour challenge for you so why not pop over to The Paper Players challenge blog for some great design team inspiration and to link up your card? If you need a little inspiration from me, check out my card for Sandy's sketch challenge a couple of weeks ago - you can find it here - as by complete coincidence I used this week's challenge colour palette on my card. I'll be back 'with the programme' next Sunday and my blog post will be scheduled to go live before I return home from Brussels, so normal service will resume then.

For those of you that don't already know, Stampin' Up!'s European Convention is an annual event that is exclusive to demonstrators and is a great opportunity to meet other demonstrators, craft, gain business insight and knowledge and be rewarded for achievements in sales and recruitment throughout the year. I will be bringing you more information about the event here on my blog later this week and will be sharing news and excitement via my Facebook Page whilst I'm away too, so if you haven't already 'liked' my page, hop on over and do it today so that you don't miss out on all the latest news, excitement and maybe even a few 'sneak peeks'.

Anyway, onto the crafty stuff! I managed to squeeze in some crafting today so made a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches, which had the following sketch for inspiration:

This is what I decided to do with it:

I decided to use my Santa Stache Santa stamp - gotta love that mustache! - which I coloured with my Blendabilities markers, and combined it with some of the bold striped paper from the Trim The Tree DSP paper stack for the patterned panel.

That's all from me for today; back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Santa Stache Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Mustache Framelits Die	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Skin Tone Assortment	Garden Green A4 Card Stock
Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Trim The Tree Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

A quick card from me today; I managed to squeeze in an hour of crafting this afternoon and thought I would have a play with this week's challenge over at Colour Q:

The colours for this week's challenge were chosen in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there is some great Design Team inspiration, so I thought I would have a little go at creating my own 'think pink' card. Here's my card:

I used a Basic Black card base and top mat and substituted Pretty in Pink with Pink Pirouette for my interim layer and embellishments. I stamped my sentiment from 'Something to Say' in Versamark and heat embossed it in Silver, then added a row of punched hearts and a symbolic pink ribbon (retired, but you could use the new seam binding ribbon in the same colour) to the front of my card. The other half of the sentiment was stamped in black on the inside of the card, along with a pink heart:

A very simple card, but one that would be perfect to reach out to someone suffering from breast cancer and remind them you are there for them - and with breast cancer rates so high, unfortunately, most of us know someone that would be a worthy beneficiary of a card like this.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock	Basic Black 12 X 12 Smooth Card Stock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder
Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Something To Say Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Hearts Border Punch	Pink Pirouette 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Groovy Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set

It's Friday - the end of the week already! Today's card uses the offcuts from the card I made earlier in the week for my Colour Me...! design card (you can see that card here). Having cut out the leaf with my Sihouette Cameo, I was left with a perfect outline to make a stencil and since that's the theme over at Addicted to CAS this week, I thought I'd have a go.

Here's my clean and simple card with a real Autumn feel: 

I used a combination of Hello Honey, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Tangelo Twist and Pumpkin Pie and sponged the colours into the stencil to create my autumn leaf. I stamped on to Naturals Ivory cardstock - this card has some lovely flecks in it and a real natural feel that suited my card. I finished my card simply with a sentiment from Good Greetings stamped in Cajun Craze and some Autumn Wooden Elements that I sponged in Chocolate Chip and tied with some linen thread.

Another clean and simple card - I'm also linking up to this week's challenge over at Less Is More where the theme is the colours of 'Autumn's Bounty'; I think my sponged leaf and acorn embellishment have a definite fall feel.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Good Greetings Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Autumn Wooden Elements	Linen Thread
Sponge Daubers	Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad

I have another Christmas card to share with you today - the card I promised yesterday is actually scheduled tomorrow (my mistake!) so if you wanted to see that one, you've another day to wait! Back to today's card - this was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch this week:

I went for a simple one layer card to add to my Christmas pile - here it is:

I stamped the 'Merry' from Seasonally Scattered in Versamark onto a base of Whisper White and heat embossed it in Pool Party embossing powder, which gives it a lovely shine. I then stamped the 'Christmas' from Watercolour Winter Too in Versamark onto a piece of Pool Party cardstock and heat embossed in white, flagged then ends then popped this onto dimensionals and positioned beneath my stamped base. Lastly, I added a few silver sequins to finish.

A super simple card but one that packs a real punch. A quick post from me today, as I have a fun day planned crafting with friends making advent calendars.

Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Seasonally Scattered Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Watercolor Winter Too Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Pool Party A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Pool Party Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Stampin' Dimensionals
Frosted Sequins

Here's today's creative post - my Design Team card for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have the striking colour combination of Cherry Cobbler and Hello Honey to work with this week:

These are great autumnal colours and I like Claire was inspired by this week's photo and those lovely leaves surrounding the bowl. I also used this week's Deconstructed Sketch layout as the basis for my design. So you want to see my card? Here it is:

Another 6" square card - my second this week - and lots of layers, so pay attention!

I decided today's card would be a perfect opportunity to try out a technique that I've seen a lot in blogland recently - the alcohol marker marbling technique, where you colour a piece of plastic with your Stampin' Up! Blendabilities, spritz with alcohol and then lay your glossy cardstock on top. I watched this tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers to get an idea of how to get the effect, although I decided to use gold foil in place of glossy white cardstock as I wanted to really emphasise the richness of the autumnal colours. I cut out my leaf using my Silhouette Cameo, but you could use the Autumn Accents Bigz Die if you have it. In keeping with the challenge, I used the darkest of the Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities and the darkest of my Daffodil Delight Blendabilities (much more like Hello Honey) to create my marbled leaf. Depending on how much alcohol you add, depends on the effect you achieve. I used very little for the leaf that I used on my card as I wanted to colours to remain quite vibrant, but I also made some that were much more subtle. When you are using this technique on gold foil cardstock, you need to be careful that you don't rub the card too much or otherwise some silver from the layer beneath will show through. You can see this in places on my leaf, but I like it that way - I think it just adds more to the finish of the leaf. Here's a 'work in progress' picture that shows the difference in the subtle effect you can achieve:

I tied my leaf with some linen thread then mounted it on a piece of Cherry Cobbler cut out with a Window Frame framelit, and backed this with a square of kraft cardstock. I crossed some Hello Honey cardstock and some textured Cherry Cobbler cardsock (retired) beneath this, along with a little label of Hello Honey that is stamped with my 'give thanks' sentiment in Cherry Cobbler, on top of a mat of kraft cardstock, stamped with the En Francais (retired) background stamp in Baked Brown Sugar ink. Another mat of textured Cherry Cobbler cardstock to finish before the kraft cardstock base.

So what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment on today's card, before hopping over to check out the amazing cards by the rest of the Colour Me...! team:

Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock	Gold Foil Sheets	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment	Hello Honey A4 Cardstock
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Window Frames Collection Framelits Dies
Linen Thread	Good Greetings Wood-Mount Stamp Set

Today I'm back with a Christmas card (haven't had one of those for a few days!!) I saw this week's sketch over at Create With Connie and Mary this week and immediately had an idea - always great when that happens! Here is the sketch that inspired my card:

This is a great sketch with many possibilities; I wanted to use the 'Mingle All The Way' stamp from the stamp set of the same name and this is the card I came up with:

I used Soft Sky for my card base and a piece of the swirly snowflake paper from the 'All is Calm' speciality DSP pack for my offset layer. I then used a plain piece of Soft Sky for my bottom banner flag and overlaid this with a vellum banner that I stamped in Versamark with snowflakes from the Endless Wishes stamp set and then heat embossed in White. For the circle, I stamped the sentiment again in Versamark and heat embossed in white, then punched it out using my 2 1/2" circle punch. To finish, I added a few snowflake sequins and a bow in white seam binding ribbon.

Without trying, I made a monochromatic card, something I usually find quite tricky. I love the calm, serene feeling of this card.

Back tomorrow with this week's Design Team card for Colour Me...! and a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Mingle All The Way Clear-Mount Stamp Set	All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper	Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Frosted Sequins	White Vellum A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky

Happy Monday everyone! It might be raining outside but I guarantee today's card will cheer you up! It's a Halloween card with a difference using this week's sketch over at The Paper Craft Crew:

This sketch is quite similar to the sketch from a couple of weeks ago (you can see my card for that sketch here - and this card earned me a Featured Artisan spot too, so thank you Paper Craft Crew!) and whilst I did choose to use the word bubbles literally, the layout of this sketch was perfect for something that I've been wanting to create for a while - a Halloween joke card! Take a look: 

Fun, eh?! Every time I've looked at using the witch and cat from 'Freaky Friends' together, the witch just looks to me like she is saying something to the cat - so I decided a suitably-themed joke was in order! I made my card 6" square and used a Whisper White card base, covering the entire front section with a piece of Motley Monsters DSP and matting my central Whisper White panel with a mat of Bermuda Bay.

I stamped the witch and cat in Memento Black ink and coloured in the open spaces with my Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand and Tangerine Tango Stampin' Write marker pens. My joke is computer-generated, which I printed out on Whisper White then inked the borders of the Just Sayin' stamps that co-ordinate with the Word Bubble framelits with my markers and stamped these over the top using my stamp-a-ma-jig for placement before rolling out with my Big Shot. I stamped the alphabet letters from the 'Tap Tap Tap' stamp in the background, colouring the individual letters with my markers, before positioning my word bubbles on top and adhering with dimensionals. To finish, I added a trio of candy dots in the corner.

I think this card is really fun; I made it to give to my 7 year old son, who is and always has been joke-mad. When he saw it he proclaimed it 'definitely funny', so I guess it passed the test. His first and favourite joke of all time is still this one:

Why did the banana go to the doctors?

Because he wasn't peeling very well!

This still sends him into fits of giggles every time he tells it!

Ok enough jokes from me today - before I go, just a reminder that today is the last day to take advantage of 'stamp, stock and save' - selected ink pads, paper, envelopes, and adhesive are available at a 15% discount! There are also a number of select stamps that are 20%! Full details of the products included in this offer can be found in the offer flyer here or you can go straight to my online store here to place your order - don't forget to include October's hostess code SFEXF44E.

That's all from me today - back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Freaky Friends Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Just Sayin'	Word Bubbles Framelits Dies	Tap Tap Tap Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Many Marvelous Markers	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay
Whisper White A4 Card Stock

It's Sunday and time for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players, where Jaydee has a fun Halloween theme challenge for us this week:

I used the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches again this week for my card (although I'm not sure my card is as 'clean' as is required; the layout was too good to pass up) as I thought it would be perfect to highlight my first Halloween pumpkin - here's my card:

I used a piece of Motley Monsters DSP on a base of Tangerine Tango for the front of my card; I love this paper and the little eyes that peek through between the trees, although I must confess this looks so much better on a sheet of 12 x 12" and it was difficult to take my scissors to it! I used the Halloween sentiment from 'Mingle All The Way', colouring the letters with a Tangerine Tango Stampin' Write marker and mounted this on a circle of Basic Black. This circle was mounted on top of a piece of chevron-embossed Crushed Curry and black chevron ribbon and the card finished with a cute little pumpkin from the Fall Fest stamp set and cut out with the matching framelit. It's tricky to see from the photo, but the pumpkin was then covered in Crystal Effects and allowed to dry, so it has a lovely dimension and shine.

That's my simple Halloween card for today; why not pop over to The Paper Players challenge blog and check out this week's inspiration from the other designers? As always, there are some great cards on show.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Fall Fest Photopolymer Bundle	Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper	Mingle All The Way Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock
Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	2" Circle Punch
Crystal Effects	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Basic Black 3/4" Chevron Ribbon	Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

I've had such a busy day today however I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours this afternoon for some cardmaking. I'm only just back from a swimming gala this evening and I almost didn't get time to blog, but as it's World Card Making Day this really is one day that I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to share with you the cards that I made.

The first card I made was a case of a fun card by Miranda Mols-Heidenrath that appeared on the Stampin' Up! UK Facebook page earlier this week, which I thought was such a fun card to celebrate WCMD: 

I love the use of the negative space of the die cut and the partial stamp to make this card, so I decided to use the same layout to make another card in an alternative colourway for someone special whose birthday it is today - take a look:

Yes, today it's my dear hubby's birthday, although you'd almost never know it given that he's hardly had a look in, although we did manage to squeeze in a special birthday lunch and a birthday cake. This was the card from the James juniors, which of course more than met with their seal of approval due to the presence of the gold glimmer star (isn't everything better with glimmer?!)

I also made my card for tomorrow's new challenge over at The Paper Players, but you're going to have to wait until the morning to see that one!

I hope you all had fun days too and managed to squeeze in a little crafting; don't forget if you need to stock up on inks, cardstock or adhesives there are some great offers on this weekend, including 20% off selected stamp sets. Get the full details in my earlier post here and hop on over to my online store to purchase (don't forget to use this month's hostess code which can be found on the right hand side of this page).

Back tomorrow with my Paper Players Design Team card - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Really Good Greetings	Little Letters Thinlits Die	Stars Framelits Dies	Something To Say Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Tempting Turquoise A4 Card Stock	Old Olive A4 Card Stock	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Gold Glimmer Paper	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents
White & Tangerine Tango Two-Tone Trim	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine