It's the weekend - hurrah! It's always nice when the weekend rolls around, although I must confess this week has been a little easier than usual in terms of my usual activity schedule, with both James Juniors being on their half term holiday break. We have been enjoying time with friends, indoor climbing and outdoor play, making the most of the mild autumnal weather. I need to make the most of this weekend as that is all-change again come Monday with one of them at least back to school.

So, today I have a change from Christmas! I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Just Add Ink where the challenge is all about cake:

 My card features cake two ways - take a look:

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

A Neat Trick With Birthday Friends - The little girl holding the cupcake on my card has come straight from the Birthday Memories designer series paper (currently available as part of the 'buy3, get 1 free' paper promotion) but I didn't have to fussy-cut her; one of the framelits in the Birthday Friends Framelits set fits her shape perfectly. I simply lined them up on the big Shot, ran them through and voila - one little girl, complete with cupcake, and not a paper snip in sight!  

A Co-ordinated Background - I wanted to add some detail to my background without detracting from my sentiment or sweet little girl, so decided to continue the 'cake' theme with some tone-on-tone stamping in Blushing Bride using the cupcake in the 'Sweet Cupcake' stamp set to create a subtle background wallpaper.

From My Kitchen - I think the little girl has a slightly mischievious look about her and certainly looks like she is peeking around the side of something. I decided to make a feature of the sentiment and this one from the 'Label Me Pretty' stamp set is the perfect fit. 

All in all a sweet card - all I need now is a home-baked cupcake to go with it!

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. 

So tomorrow it will be back to Christmas with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players, however in the meantime I would really like to hear your thoughts: I'm mindful that I have been sharing a lot of Christmas projects lately as it is often what I'm making at this time of year, but as my readers how do you feel about this? Are you happy to get as much Christmas inspiration as possible, or would you prefer a mix of projects? Do leave me a comment below - I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this. 

Until tomorrow - happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sweet Cupcake Photopolymer Stamp Set	Label Me Pretty Clear-Mount Bundle	Birthday Friends Framelits Dies	Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock

Wednesday already - where is the week going?! I'm late posting my card today as whilst I had it made, I am behind with photographing and have had a busy day today getting ready for a special birthday in the James household - more on that tomorrow! Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the sketch challenge over at TGIF Challenges - take a look:

This is one of those layouts that can be used in so many ways - I decided that it was the perfect sketch for me to send a message - take a look:

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

Sorry For... Everything - Today's sketch is perfect for a split sentiment, especially one that has an extra-large element such as the 'sorry' here. So here's the thing: I might be a cardmaker, but I am one of the world's worst at getting cards sent on time. It's not for a shortage of cards - I always have lots! - rather, it's because I never have the 'right' card and like to make something specifically with the recipient in mind. Trouble is, my cards then often arrive late or the special card never gets made and a belated card is in order. So this stamp set was made for me! I love the large 'sorry' greeting and then a whole range of additional sentiments that work on a wide range of cards when an apology or sympathy is required. I stamped my 'Sorry' in Cherry Cobbler, then inked up the second part of the greeting with my Cherry Cobbler and Pacific Point Stampin' Write markers and stamped it onto my Blushing Bride Banner. I also added the 'forgive me?' sentiment to the inside, that you can see above at the start of my post.

Birthday Memories - I chose the bold red and white birthday patterned paper from the Birthday Memories designer series paper pack for the background to my card. This paper is bright and has a busy pattern so is the perfect background for my white sentiment panel. 

Make Framelits Your Friend - I added a little birthday present instead of a bow to finish my card - take a close look at my and you'll see it's not stamped though. Fussy cut? No - I used my Birthday Friends Framelits to crop this adorable gift from a sheet of Birthday Memories designer series paper. I love how a number of the framelits cut out not only the images from the 'Birthday Delivery' stamp set but the painted image from the designer series paper. This is the ultimate in co-ordinating suites!

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sorry For Everything Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper	Birthday Friends Framelits Dies	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Many Marvelous Markers
Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock