I've been busy decorating today so I'm a little later with my post again. Hopefully it's worth the wait though: I'm sharing another of the pillow gifts that the lucky ladies received on my Creative Escapes Craft Retreat a few weeks ago, and a co-ordinating card that I made to go with it since I decided I liked the box design so much! Firstly, here is the pillow gift box:

I liked the box so much when I got home I made another one and decided to make a card using same design to co-ordinate with it:

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

Luscious Layers - There's so much I love about this card! My most favourite thing is the layering of the diecuts to create the focal point. I used a Stitched Label, the jumping deer from the Detailed Deer Thinlits and a 'merry' in copper foil from the Merry Christmas Thinlits dies. Gorgeous, even if I say so myself!

And More Joyous Noel - The paper I used that inspired my centrepiece is from the gorgeous copper-foiled Joyous Noel paper pack. This paper is now sold out across the globe, so I hope you already have a stash as it's my favourite this season and I still have projects using it to share with you.  

Merry Christmas In Many Ways - The Merry Christmas To All bundle allows you to create many different festive sentiment combinations for the holiday season with a combination of stamps and dies. I used two different combinations for my card and box to give you a flavour of the flexibility it offers. the diecuts are quite large and perfect if a statement sentiment is the order of the day. 

I'm linking my card up with the current challenges over at Just Add Ink where they are looking for big bold sentiments and Fusion where the sketch inspired the layout for today's Christmas card (I flipped it and used the mirror image).

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. 

Finally here is a photograph of both of my projects together:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Bundle (£45.75)	Detailed Deer Thinlits Dies (£32.00)	Stitched Labels Framelits Dies (£31.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Copper Foil Sheets (£3.75)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Gray Granite A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulously creative Jaydee to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I decided to continue getting a headstart on my Christmas card making preparations (so my projects are perfect for the challenge over at TGIF Challenges too this week) and spent a few hours making a more involved boxed Christmas card with a matching gift box too. First things first - here's my card:

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

Diagonal Swirly Snowflake Border - Whilst I love a good sketch, I often struggle with the concept of a diagonal. I decided to alter the dimensions of Jaydee's sketch and create a horizontal fold out card as I wanted to use my Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies to create a layered diagonal edge and I needed the extra width to balance my card and fit the entire border in (I'm sure she will allow me this liberty ;-) ). I snipped away the straight edge of my copper foil snowflakes and added a sentiment embossed in white, before adding my embellishment (more on that below). My card opens from the right to reveal a complete panel of my favourite copper-embossed Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper, then the left hand side lifts to reveal the sentiment inside, embellished with a narrow strip of copper washi tape:

Christmas Copper Snowflakes - I created a layered embellishment on the front of my card, using one of the copper snowflake wire elements as the centrepiece. I layered this with a Shimmery White diecut from the Eastern Medallions Thinlits set, with a centre of a clear epoxy droplet on a copper sequin, all layered up on a fancy double bow in the gorgeous Merry Merlot and Copper Reversible Ribbon. This showy embellishment adds a lot of dimension to the front of my card, so much so that it wouldn't fit in a standard envelope. Instead, I made a box with a co-ordinating belly band closure:

A Gift Box To Match - This kind of card takes a little while to make and is destined for someone who I know will appreciate the effort and time taken to create it. Whilst I was fully 'in the zone', I decided to create a co-ordinating gift box with a magnetic closure. The box measures approx. 15cm x 6cm x 5cm, so not huge but large enough for a small gift to accompany my card. I created a triangular box with a decorative flap created using the Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits for the border detail, based on this one I'd seen on Pinterest. I decorated the front panel of my box with more of that gorgeous Joyous Noel DSP too: 

And here's one last photo of all three of my project elements together - I hope you will agree, a lovely Christmas set in rich, festive colours:

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. 

Thank you Jaydee for a great sketch - who would have thought that it would have resulted in 3 projects in one go!

Enjoy your day; the weather has been dreadful here the past couple of days so I'm hoping I get the longer straw and get to stay home and craft whilst hubby takes the James Juniors to hockey trials this afternoon. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies (£28.00)	Joyous Noel 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Snowflakes & Stars Wire Elements (£7.00)	Merry Merlot & Copper 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Reversible Ribbon (£7.00)
Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)	Metallics Sequin Assortment (£4.75)	Merry Merlot A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Copper Foil Sheets (£3.75)	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies (£31.00)

Today I'm sharing a card and co-ordinating chocolate slider gift package that I actually made for last week's challenge over at Just Add Ink  but didn't get to photograph in time to play along;luckily for me, it is perfect for this week's Just Add Ink challenge too - if you take a look at the challenge badges, you will see what I mean: 

I absolutely loved the JAI colour palette last week and I couldn't resist breaking out some of my new products to create a card and matching gift packaging - luckily there's plenty of texture in there too! Firstly, here's the card I created:

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

Country Home - From the Country Lane Suite in the new Autumn-Winter catalogue, the Country Home stamp set is all about country living, with some great thanks sentiments and it's perfect for colouring too. I used my Blends to add colour to my Fall florals and fussy cut them out ready to layer onto my card. I also stamped a border using the tiled stamp in the set for some 'faux texture' with some Bermuda Bay tone-on-tone stamping, tucked under my sentiment.

Tin Tile Metallics - The background panel of my card is a piece of silver foil cardstock that has been embossed with the new Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and given a slightly aged/distressed look by sponging with some Soft Suede ink. I just love the embossed pattern of this folder; it's so pretty. I know I'm going to use it lots!

Thankful For ... Chocolate - I loved my card so much, I thought I would create a matching slider gift package using exactly the same layout and design to make a slider wrap for one of my favourite bars of chocolate, ready to gift to someone; it's always nice to be able to share a sweet treat, especially when beautifully packaged I think - I love going to the trouble to make something quite ordinary appear to be rather special: 

These wraps are very straightforward - and when you pull the ribbon bow and tag, the chocolate bar slides outwards:

Finally, here's a shot of both items together:

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. 

I think this set will be heading for my local postmaster as a thank you for his help with my Autumn-Winter catalogue mailings this week (yes, if you're one of my customers the catalogues are in the post!) He is used to me appearing with bags full of catalogues to be mailed at this time of year and we have a great system going now, which makes the process efficient and keeps ongoing queues to a minimum! I like to give him a bar of chocolate as a thank you for his help and to keep him sweet :-) On the subject of Autumn-Winter catalogues: if you don't have a demonstrator and would like me to add you to my list, then do get in touch and I can pop one in the post to you too. The electronic version of the catalogue will be available here online tomorrow when it launches.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Country Home Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Silver Foil Sheets (£3.75)	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Heat Tool (Uk) (£28.00)	Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Soft Suede A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)	Scalloped Tag Topper Punch (£22.00)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)

It's Saturday and today I have a special post for you since I, along with the talented Kayla Macaulay, am a guest with the lovely ladies over on the Stampin' Creative Design Team Blog Hop:

You may have just arrived from the colourful Pip Todman over at Queen Pip Cards or alternatively this may be your first stop. Either way, welcome and be sure to continue to the next stop along the hop by clicking on the next name in the list below for more creative ideas. This month the theme is 'party central' and there are lots of ideas and inspiration for parties for many different occasions throughout the hop. 

When I started thinking about what I was going to create today, I immediately jumped to my collection of new catalogue products wondering which new set to use. But in actual fact, I ended up using one of the most long-standing staple items in my crafting arsenal for the majority of my makes today: my Layering Circles Framelits. The next party that I need to plan will be that of the youngest of the James Juniors and whilst we've had lots of debate about what form it will take, one thing is for sure - no party that centres around 11 year old boys is complete without some form of Nerf battle these days, so I decided to get ahead and take the opportunity to start making with this in mind. 

First up is a birthday card that I actually made for a friend of his who is celebrating his birthday today: I used the currently popular 'impossible card' fancy fold and along with some partial diecutting to create a Nerf target for the popped-up section. These cards are really not at all tricky to make, despite their name! You simply score across the horizontal and then make a single cut at the centre of one panel at right angles to this (I made mine at 3"), followed by two cuts wherever you like on the facing panel (mine are at (1 5/8" in from each edge) and then fold each half in opposite directions, leaving a gap front and back and creating the central pop-up. I kept the colour scheme really simple, using the new in-colours Blueberry Bushel and Grapefruit Grove, both of which are a perfect match for Nerf guns and foam bullets, and having layered my diecut target circles added a sight and a bullet popped up on dimensionals for a fun touch. Some in-colour Blueberry Bushel patterned paper and a sentiment courtesy of the Perennial Birthday stamp set finish my card.

This 'impossible card' fold is a fun way to add dimension and interest to a card whilst still enabling it to be folded flat for mailing. My card is an irregular size, since the size of the base was determined by the diameter of the outer target circle. The card measures 5 1/4" x 6" when flat, so requires a bespoke envelope which I created using my trusty Envelope Punch Board with the help of my Envelope Expert tool. 

 The other targets you can see in the forefront of my card are some cake toppers I made. I am currently in the middle of a kitchen renovation and have only a microwave and the BBQ for cooking, so there was no opportunity to bake any cakes to put them in but I'm sure you get the idea!

I also created a fun party favour using Stampin' Up!'s Mini Pizza Boxes. I'm so glad these made it into the annual catalogue, they really are so useful for dressing up for all kinds of things. I brayed my box with Bluberry Bushel ink then created a belly band with another target on top and a thank you tag. Can you guess what is inside?

Yes, more foam Nerf bullets! The Mini Pizza Boxes are the perfect size to house 14 bullets and since the children seem to use hundreds of these when they are playing in their Nerf battles, I figured a few more each wouldn't go amiss!

 Lastly for today I also created a set of freestanding spinning Nerf targets, based on this one I saw over at Frugal Fun 4 Boys. If you click on the link you can follow the instructions to make your own - I simply used a collection of layered circles, adding in some Whisper White and Granny Apple Green for more colour variety. This is great for indoor or outdoor use, so I'm sure will be added to the toybox supplies. This is my tester in action, declaring it to be too easy - I think he needs to move further away so that it's more of a challenge!

I hope you liked my collection of fun party ideas, that in fact require very little in the way of supplies to make. I have another Nerf-themed birthday card to share, which is the one I have made for Ben's birthday, but will save that for another time!

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. 

For now, why not continue the blog hop for more creative party ideas? Do check out them rest of the Stampin’ Creative team to see what celebrations they have been preparing for. To carry on with the hop click on the names in the list below:

Enjoy the rest of your day. Mine will be a busy one, with a Family Fun Day, birthday party and sleepover (thankfully not at my house!) and the final performance of The Sound of Music for my eldest singing superstar - can't wait. I'll be back tomorrow with this week's post over at The Paper Players where the celebrations continue as we are celebrating our 400th birthday! We have a very special challenge for you as a result with lots of prizes to give away too so do pop back then - you are not going to want to miss it. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Layering Circle Framelits Dies (£33.00)	1/2" (1.3 Cm) Circle Punch (£5.50)	Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Grapefruit Grove A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Granny Apple Green A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	In Color 2018–2020 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Mini Pizza Boxes (£5.50)	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Envelope Punch Board (£19.00)

Today is the last day for lots of things - you can read all about those in my earlier post here - but for today's creative post I'm sharing a piece of framed home decor that I made recently for a recent event and my upcoming new catalogue launch to illustrate to my customers the new Stampin' Up! colour collections following the colour revamp, whilst also highlighting both current sets of in-colours. 

I wanted something that would serve as a conversation-starter for questions and enable comparison of the new colour families so decided to take the opportunity to highlight one of my favourite bundles from the new catalogue, the Lined Alphabet bundle, to create a colour-themed piece of home decor - take a look:

This is a rather large framed piece, measuring a whopping 17 1/2" x 17 1/2" square (or 45cm x 45cm), so I've photographed it quite tightly so that you can see the detail. You might recognise the quotation - it is attributed to the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, famed for painting the first works of modern abstract art in the 20th century. In defining life, painting and the psychological impact of colour, he is quoted as saying:

"Colour is a power which directly influences the soul. Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammer, the soul is the strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul" (V. The psychological working of Colour: Quoted in: Hajo Düchting (2000) Wassily Kandinsky, 1866-1944: A Revolution in Painting. p. 17). 

This seemed perfectly suitable for my interpretation of the Stampin' Up! colours. All 53 colours feature: the new 2018-20 In-colours feature first (I repeated the Lovely Lipstick and Grapefruit Grove colours as I needed 6 colours for this word and a seventh panel to give me the symmetry for my overall design, but otherwise all colours feature just once). You can see each of the families in sequence, highlighted below - a little messy to label to be fair, as two of the colour families span more than one horizontal line, but hopefully you can make them all out:

This is then complimented by the three basics of Whisper White, Very Vanilla and Basic Black to make up the background.

What do you think of the new Lined Alphabet and the co-ordinating Layering Alphabet Edgelit Dies? I love them! Rest assured, these are an investment item and I will be getting my money's worth out of them so you will see lots more projects using them in the coming months for sure. They are really easy to use - I actually cut the letters first then stamped afterwards, but you could do the other way around which is the more conventional approach I guess. I like the subtle line detail that stamping the diecut letter adds for just that little bit of extra definition and the marker lines on the dies make it easy to get the words lined up. This is just one of the ways that I will be sharing the new colours with my customers - along with colour swatches, guides and the new in-color bookmarks that I sent out with my catalogues too.

I will be having a couple of new catalogue drop-in sessions next week for anyone who is local to me and would like to have a look at my new product displays including this frame in more detail, pick up their new catalogue, shop my 'buy one, get one free' stash of retired stock and more. These drop-ins will be on Wednesday 6th June 10am-12 noon and then again on Thursday evening 7th June from 6-8pm - please get in touch and let me know if you would like to attend either via email or my Facebook page.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with news of the new catalogue. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Lined Alphabet Photopolymer Bundle (£133.00)	In Color 2018–2020 A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock (£7.25)	Neutrals A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Brights A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Subtles A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Regals A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Classic Stampin' Pad Assortment In Color 2018-2020 (£31.50)

It's the week before Easter already and so today I'm sharing a couple of really simple 3D projects that I made with a group of wonderful ladies last month that are perfect for holding Easter treats and also fit with the challenge over at Global Design Project this week:

The first one is an super easy Easter basket made with one of my most favourite tools EVER, the Envelope Punch Board  - take a look:

I love the Envelope Punch Board - my Envelope Expert and Box Buster tools are testament to that! - but it's great for lots more fun projects besides. Here I made my basket out of one of the Delightful Daisy DSP papers, decorated with some stamped and punched daisies and some faceted gems - a rather grown-up Easter basket, if you will, given the absence of bunnies! These little baskets are so easy to make and will hold a small full size egg or a collection of smaller ones. Here are the instructions in case you would like to make one too: 

• Take a sheet of paper measuring 6” x 6”
• Punch and score using your Envelope Punch Board at 1 ½” on all four sides
• Turn over the sheet and repeat the step above on the reverse
• Cut the flaps on each side to the first score line
• Fold flaps either inside or outside to create your side panel and decorate with daisies or your chosen embellishment
• Trim centre ends if desired (as I've done here) or adhere to the outside of the basket
• Cut handle 15cm x 1.5cm and attach to sides

You can see more of these baskets in lots of other colours over on my Facebook page here, including some pictures of the ladies crafting 'in action'.

We also made some of the smaller egg carrier baskets, again using a piece of 6" x 6" paper and the Envelope Punch Board, this time using some of the Petal Garden DSP and some of the lovely free Sale-A-Bration Calypso Coral Shimmer Ribbon (only 4 more days to get your hands on this!) and a sweet Easter tag:

Instructions for this basket are as follows:

• Take a sheet of paper measuring 6” x 6”
• Punch and score using your Envelope Punch Board at 1¾” and 4” on the first side then use the score lines and guide to punch and score the remaining sides
• Use a 3/4" circle punch to create the handles on the inner pieces and bring these up on the inside, adhering your flaps on the outside of these 

I'm mindful the instructions are not the easiest to follow without a video - watch this space and I'll see if I can make a quick one later! 

I had such a fun evening with my hostess Jane and her family and friends making these projects, and, having placed their orders, enabling Jane to earn rewards and free product, further boosted by the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. Whilst Sale-A-Bration is coming to an end in 4 days time, I am still taking party bookings into April, May and beyond, so if you would like a fun evening in with friends, crafting fun projects and earning some free Stampin' Up! product into the bargain, do get in touch.

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects 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 the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Envelope Punch Board (£18.00)

Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper (£10.00)

Daisy Delight Photopolymer Bundle (£27.75)

Gold Faceted Gems (£4.50)

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)

Envelope Punch Board (£18.00)

Petal Garden Designer Series Paper Stack (£9.00)

3/4" (1.9 Cm) Circle Punch (£11.50)

Classic Label Punch (£16.00)

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)

3/8" (1 Cm) Shimmer Ribbon Pack (£0.00)

Today I'm sharing a 3D project with you that is the ultimate showcase of the Sale-A-Bration Bubbles & Fizz papers, so is perfect for this week's Global Design Project challenge:

Why is it the ultimate DSP showcase? Well there's not a single bit of stamping on today's project - take a look:

A multi-coloured and fully functional working clock - how fun is that?! Here's the low-down on today's project:

No Stamping Required - This is another of the projects that I showcased at Onstage back in November and is a real favourite of mine. You know how much I love those Bubbles and Fizz papers and this project showcases 3 of the designs (4 if you count the decorated pizza box I used to gift wrap it!): the multi-coloured bubble background, the bottle tops indicating where the numbers are and the bottles that form the clock hands. All three papers work really well together and leave no need for any stamping on this project.  

Bottles and Tops - Well, Bottles and Bubbles actually - well framelits that is, that fit the Bottles and Fizz paper perfectly. On each of these sheet designs every bottle and top can be cut out perfectly with the co-ordinating framelits, so there is no wastage. 

A Touch of Gloss - I added a layer of fine tip glue to my bottles and tops before attaching the to my clock face, to give a layer of shine and protection. That's all there is to it!

This project uses a simple clock kit that you can buy at any craft store and is great if you have customers who like home decor projects but are not big stampers (I have a group of those!) The clock is also fun - great for decorating the bedroom of a discerning teenager or maybe a student away from home. It really doesn't use much in the way of supplies and whilst you only need the framelits for this project, you are definitely going to want to buy the bundle to benefit from the stampset too and explore further creative opportunities.

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 weekend; I will be hosting my first two day residential Stampin' Sanctuary luxury craft retreat so will not be blogging tomorrow. I'll be back on Sunday with another project for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players though so be sure to tune in then. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper

Bottles & Bubbles Framelits Dies

Fine-Tip Glue Pen

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players- what's more, it's the last one of 2017! It's the turn of my good friend, the lovely and talented Claire, to host this week and she has a bright colour challenge for us to end the year with:

This is a palette with lots of options - you could still craft for Christmas, or use these colours for a non-festive project, it's up to you. Our design team this week has done a little of both, so there's lots of inspiration for you. I took the opportunity to squeeze in another Christmas project, but went with a 3D gift box rather than a card today. In fact, a Christmas stocking - take a look:

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

Trim Your Stocking - These colours were perfect for a pink and girly Christmas stocking, complete with spotty heel, toe and cuff trim then finished off with a sprig of festive greenery. I've used the Trim Your Stocking Thinlits on this card previously but whatever your project, this set has an abundance of useful dies that are perfect for all kinds of embellishments. 

It's What's Inside That Counts - I love this sentiment! Whether it's a little chocolate - the content of choice of Rebecca - or money (most definitely the content of choice for my teenage niece!), the pillow box on the reverse of this stocking is just big enough for either. I haven't yet decided who this stocking will be heading for and for me how it looks on the outside is the most important thing, but one thing is for sure, for the recipient it's definitely what's inside that counts!

A Little Added Sparkle - I couldn't resist adding in a little sparkle to my festive stocking, with a silver foil bell, some mini sequin trim and a liberal dose of clear Wink of Stella on the lime green pieces - I'm hoping Claire considers silver (almost) a neutral such that I can get away with it - I just couldn't resist, those jingle bell dies are my 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 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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. As I mentioned above, this is our last challenge for 2017; we will be taking a two week break before returning with a fresh new set of challenges for 2018 starting on Sunday 7th January 2018. Thanks to everyone who plays along each week, to this year's guest designers, Crystal and Valentyna, Deanne, Jan and Annie, and everyone of you who visits our blogs and leaves us encouraging comments each week - it's great to know that you enjoy our creations! We will be announcing our new guest designers for the first half of 2018 this coming Wednesday, in my mid-week reminder post, so be sure to check back then to see who will be joining us to kick off the Paper Players fun at the start of 2018!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are hoping to put our Christmas tree up and decorate the house tomorrow - then it really will feel like Christmas! I'll be back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Tags & Trimmings Clear-Mount Bundle*	Powder Pink A4 Cardstock	Garden Green A4 Cardstock	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Silver Mini Sequin Trim	Silver Foil Sheets	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The lovely Laurie is the hostess this week and she has a rather delicious seasonal theme for us to work with:

I'm also linking up with the team over at Stamp Ink Paper this week who are looking at Christmas wrapping and packaging solutions. I love to make gingerbread at this time of year but it's still a little early for me to have baked and wrapped creatively, so instead I decided to share with you a little something that I've been preparing for Ben's school Christmas Fayre the week after next that fits Laurie's theme perfectly. They are having a 'Jam Jar Tombola' stall, so I've been busy making up jars of all kinds for the children to win, including some jars of dry ingredients that they can use for their own festive baking. Here's one of my jars for gingerbread cookies - take a look:

These really are so easy to make: you simply layer the dry ingredients into a kilner jar, then decorate and add a tag with the details of any ingredients you need to add and the method. 

I used the 'December Deliciousness' stamp from the 'My Little Things' stamp set to decorate my jar, using my markers to selectively colour each of the elements in and adding a heat-embossed sentiment banner across the middle to create a decorated top to my jar. I paired it with some retired paper that fits perfectly with my theme for a folded tag that includes the ingredients and recipe, some ribbon and a wooden spoon that I will be tying to the side of the jar too ready for stirring - you could also add a gingerbread cutter if you have one.

I'm a big fan of homemade gifts at Christmas and there is no limit to the things you can put in a jar; with a little decoration this kind of thing can make a thoughtful, presentable gift.

If you would like to make a jar like mine, I've included the details from the inside of my folded tag below:

Easy Gingerbread Biscuits

This jar contains:

• 100g soft light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ginger, ¼ tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp cinnamon, 225g plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

You will need to add:

• 150g melted butter
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 egg yolk

Method:

• Mix 150g melted butter with 1 tbsp golden syrup and 1 egg yolk.
• Add to the dry ingredients, mix well, then knead to a dough.
• Chill for 15 mins then roll out.
• Cut into biscuits and bake at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 8-10 mins. Cool on a wire rack.

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; my Christmas festivities have truly started in earnest this week and I am busier than ever! I am off to run a pre-Christmas Stampin' Up! party for a customer and her friends this afternoon, then will be returning home to put the finishing touches to my class preparations for my Delightful Daises Technique Class tomorrow and complete my 100 card challenge for the Ronald McDonald Christmas Cheer campaign that is happening in the UK this weekend.

I'll be back as soon as time allows with more projects; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

The Little Things Clear-Mount Stamp Set*	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Many Marvelous Markers	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! My dear friend Claire is the hostess this week and she has a fun and timely theme for us to work with:

I know some of my readers in other countries have already seen a return to school, but for us this week Wednesday is the day, so this week's challenge is a timely one. Is it me or do all Mums especially get just a little excited at the prospect of the start of a new academic year and a return to school after the long summer break? Don't get me wrong, I love having my two Juniors at home and am thankful for the break from the sometimes relentless activities that comprise the school routine, however all good things must come to an end and so it is that we are getting ready to begin a new school year, with the excitement, opportunities and challenges that this will undoubtedly bring.

I've double projects for you today as I needed some gift packaging for a teacher gift this week, so took the opportunity to create a fun gift box and co-ordinating card - take a look:

The gift box is rather large (approx. 18 inches long) so was something of a challenge to photograph but hopefully the detail below will enable you to see how I made it. Here's the low-down on today's projects:

A Window Turned Pencil Box - Having made an elongated box with my Window Box previously with the ladies in one of my technique classes earlier this year, I knew that I could use the same idea to create my pencil-shaped box. I cut one piece of the window box without cutting straight through and elongated this for the length of my sheet of A4 Crushed Curry cardstock. I then cut another piece that was the same length and the width of three sides, for the opposite 3 sides of my pencil, but without a bottom/lid. Instead I used some Maths to create a template for my pencil point in Crumb Cake, and adhered this inside the end of the tube to create my pencil point:

Here's a shot showing you how the main body of the pencil box opens to accommodate the main gift:

In addition to the main box, I also made a complete box using my Window Box Thinlits in Blushing Bride for my eraser and adhered this to the top of my pencil, which also opens separately - just big enough to add a little treat or two inside to accompany my main gift:

Finally I added a sleeve created from silver foil, to hold the pencil box closed securely - it just slides off to create access to the main box. A banner tag decorated with an apple - every teacher project has to have one, right? - finished my box. 

Pieces And Patterns For A Co-ordinating Card - I wanted a card to co-ordinate with my gift box, so decided to replicate the pencil design on a simple card using the pencil stamp from the Pieces and Patterns set. I masked a square and created my own repeating pattern - thank heavens for a stamp-a-ma-jig! - and then added a banner sentiment from the same set, again anchored with an apple (made using an old die I have in my stash):

Back To School Colours - My back-to-school pencil and apple colours fit perfectly with the colour palette and photo inspiration over at The Color Throwdown this week (I hope I'll be allowed my pink eraser and a few neutrals (the pencil really wouldn't be complete without it). I'm also linking my card up with the challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the code word is 'apples' and both of my projects fit the bill over at Paper Craft Crew where they have extended their 'back to school' challenge for another week:

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Window Box Thinlits Dies	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Silver Foil Sheets	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Pieces & Patterns Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad