A modern, contemporary autumn...

Hey!

Well it's the 10th of the month which means that it's time for a new Clearly Besotted Stamps challenge!

We're back after a summer break from the challenges and just in time for autumn, so it seems rude not to dedicate this month's challenge to it. Yup, we want to see autumnal creations with some Clearly Besotted Stamps  goodies.

Only this week have I started to experience that warm, fuzzy feeling I get when autumn is approaching. It's my favourite season of the year by far and it might sound strange, but I love those foggy, sometimes frosty, mornings and watching the colours of the leaves turn into rich, beautiful shades of red and gold. Pass me my boots, I'm totally ready to embrace the season (and maybe pick a conker or two!) LOL!

I took a modern, contemporary take on the challenge with my focus on autumn being a die-cut of CBS's gorgeous maple leaf from the Autumn Flowers Die Collection. The colours share a hint of autumn courtesy of a scrap of gold Cricut iron-on material I had on my desk and a splattering of gold Ranger Perfect Pearls mixed with water. I'm going to 'fess up that I have our forthcoming wedding on the brain and these are our chosen colours so it's no surprise that they ended up on this card. :)

I really hope you can find the time to join in the fun with us! If you haven't already, please pop across to CBS HQ where you can find full deets of the challenge and see what the rest of the CBS DT inked up - you won't be disappointed!

That's all from me today. I actually have today booked off from the day job - feels pretty weird to be able to book days off by choice when you've had your holiday time decided for you for the past 10 years! Still, it's going to be anything but relaxing with more planning to do but it's amazing to think how much you can plan when you have an impending deadline looming! ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Products used

Clearly Besotted Stamps A Little Sentimental	*Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD	*Neenah Classic Crest **110 LB** SMOOTH SOLAR WHITE Paper Pack 25 Sheets	PTI True Black Cardstock
PTI Vellum Cardstock	Clearly Besotted Stamps Autumn Flowers Die Collection	Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine	Cricut - Iron-On Glitter Gold Material
Ranger - Super Fine 1oz. Embossing Powder, Black	*Ranger Perfect Pearls PERFECT GOLD Individual Pigment Powder

InLinkz.com

Bauble/Fairy Light Stamp = Flower/Poinsettia Stamp

Hey!

I'm stopping by today to share with you the results of a stamping adventure with Simon Says Stamp in aid of Stamptember®. Yup, forget September, it's all about Stamptember® - having fun stamping the month away with Simon Says Stamp goodies, competitions, inspiration and much more!

Simon Says Stamp were extremely sweet and sent me this fabulous Ornaments stamp set to play with and I can confidently say that it's confirmed my Christmas card design this year (yup, gonna have to mass produce a couple of designs this year seeing as we have a wedding to plan for in January - more on that later...!)

But you know me. I like to see just how far I can stretch a set and this Ornaments set has oodles of value. Peeps might see a little bauble/fairly light stamp in this set, but I saw a poinsettia/petal stamp and by simply rotating the stamp through 360 degrees I'd created this flower. Add some pearls to the centre et voila! a poinsettia. :)

All it need then was a lovely sentiment from the set and a card base. I was going to reach for my dark green cardstock - it's a natural reaction when I'm Christmas crafting - but then my eye turned to the gorgeous Tropical Teal cardstock and the rest was history. I love how bright and fun the colour combo is for the festive season. To add more interest to that gorgeous-coloured card base I used my Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow stencil with gold Sparkle Medium. :)

• To use this set to create a generic flower simply change the centre to one large gem/brad.
• Due to the repetition of the stamping, the ink layers as you stamp over pre-stamped petals which gives the effect of an additional layer of petals. 
• It's much easier to stamp and then die-cut the circle than to try and precisely stamp the flower in the centre of a circle. :) 

So there you have it. A bauble/fairy light transforms into a flower/poinsettia stamp in six easy stamps!

Right, must dash. I know I say that all the time but my guy and I have made the crazy decision to get married sooner rather than later - we have a wedding to plan for January and all I've purchased so far are my shoes! We have have lots lot lists to make...good job my guy loves planning and organising LOL!

Thank you so much for stopping by today and be sure to pop across the Simon Says Stamp for the rest of the Stamptember® shenanigans!

Products Used

Simon Says Stamp Ornaments stamp set	*VERSAMAGIC Archival Chalk Ink Pad RED MAGIC	*Tsukineko MEMENTO Full Size Ink Pad TUXEDO BLACK	Papertrey Ink - Tropical Teal Card
*Neenah Classic Crest **110 LB** SMOOTH SOLAR WHITE Paper Pack 25 Sheets	Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine	Spellbinder Circle Nestability Die	*RESERVE Simon Says Stamp Stencil FALLING SNOW 121324
Sparkle Medium - Gold Shine	*Hero Arts 42 Accent Pearls LIGHT YELLOW CH198

InLinkz.com

Getting into the 'spirit' of Halloween

Hey!

Ready for day two of the Clearly Besotted Stamps sneaky peeks of the new release? I hope so! If you're playing catch-up then check out yesterday's sneak peek here. The new release is available to purchase on Friday 5th September at 10pm (UK time).

Yesterday I got a little festive with Eastern Delights. Today it's time for something a little more spooky with a grown-up twist for Halloween. Halloween Spirit is a simply spook-tacular stamp set featuring fun (and creepy!) images and sentiments. My eyes were immediately drawn to the sentiment used here and although I'm sure Stephanie was thinking of spirits associated with Halloween when designing this, my mind turned to the kind of spirits you can drink *wink*.

So cue a custom-made label to put on my bottles filled with a special brew containing a spirit (or two!). I love the fact that word 'spirit' is the focal point of the sentiment - totally perfect for this idea! It might be hard to see on my picture, but I stamped the tiny cobweb stamp repeatedly to build a spooky background to my label and then simply stamped the sentiment, a spider and a bat. I'm not kid ding when I say that this literally took minutes to create so it could be easily mass-produced for a party.

Well that's enough of the spirits for me at this time of the morning LOL! Why not pop across to Stephanie over at CBS HQ to check out even more sneaky peeks with links to the rest of the Design Team who are sharing teasers too? Who knows, you might even find a few more spirits on your blog hopping adventures today *wink*.

As always, thank you soooooooo much for stopping by today. It feels good to be back blogging again - I've missed you guys! :)

An Eastern Christmas...

Hey!

Happy Tuesday! Happy September! Happy Clearly Besotted Stamps sneaky peek time! :D

Yup, I can't believe that time is flying past so fast, but I'm not complaining when there's fun to be had with the new Clearly Besotted Stamps release. The release is available for purchase on Friday 5th September 10pm (UK time!).

I was spoilt for choice for what to tease you with today. The whole release is fabulous (I know I say that every month, but it's true!) and I've managed to find time to whip up a few projects. I guess it's always easier to create when you're totally inspired by the goodies sitting on your desk *wink*.

Today's card features the new set, Eastern Delights, and I've put a little spin on it to cater for Christmas. The set features beautiful, intricate Eastern designs that are perfect for pattern-building. I couldn't resist stamping Christmas trees with it. I'm quite impressed that I've made a start on my Christmas crafting already! The colour scheme is certainly not traditional when it comes to Christmas, but puts a little nod towards the Eastern influence of the stamp set. :)

Right. Gotta keep it extremely short and sweet for today, but I'll be back tomorrow with more CBS sneaky peeks for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime, why not pop across to CBS HQ to check out sneaky peeks of the release - you won't be disappointed!