Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch for you:

I decided to use the 'Cupcake Party' stamp set for both the greeting and embellishment on my card today, with some splashes of gold and an interesting co-ordinating background:

Cupcake Party - I haven't used this stamp set and punch in a while - and now they are both going away! I decided to use some bright orange frosting to contrast with the blues of my card - and added a Bermuda Bay candle with a gold Wink of Stella flame. If either of these items are on your wishlist, snap them up from the online store before it's too late. 

A Happy Pattern - I've been intrigued for a while that one of the stencils in the Happy Patterns pack co-ordinates perfectly with the cupcake case in the cupcake Party stamp set. I sponged my background in Pool Party onto my Pool Party card base to create a co-ordinated yet subtle background.

Splashes of Gold - My card features quite a few gold elements for sparkle and shine today: a gold foil frame for my ombre sentiment (inked with Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay and Pool Party markers), gold Wink of Stella for my candle flame, some gold metallic thread and a sprinkle of gold sequins. On this card all that glitters most certainly is gold - I think it adds to the party feel!

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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they interpreted this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for October 9JGQEYWJ if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Banners Framelits Die

Cupcake Builder Punch

Six-Sided Sampler Wood Stamp Set

Only three offers this week, but good ones nonetheless! My favourite would have to be the Cupcake Builder Punch - a 'storecupboard staple' of the punch collection and one that can be used for lots more besides (think clouds, handbags, ice creams ...). Also the Six-Sided Sampler set is a great set for all you quilters out there!

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Yay it's Friday! I really don't know where this week has gone! I started the week on such good form, yet seem to have achieved steadily less and less as the week has flown by! No matter - we have a Bank Holiday weekend to look forward to here in the UK so I'm hoping it will stay nice enough to enable me to get outside and potter in my garden and fit in a little crafty time too!

As promised, I'm back with more sneak peeks for you today and not one, but two cards. Here's the first one using this week's sketch over at Retrosketches:

I decided to get out one of my pre-order stamp sets, 'Sprinkles of Life', this year's charity stamp set benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charity, for my card:

This card is an absolute cornucopia of new product: new in-colour inks Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe, new in-colour cardstock in Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush and Mint Macaron, Cherry on Top DSP stack, some Watermelon Wonder dotted lace trim and of course the Sprinkles of Life stamp set and the co-ordinating Tree Builder punch. I interpreted the stacking cups in the sketch as a very over-the-top ice cream cone with 3 scoops and finished it with a cherry punched from my Build A Cupcake punch that I paper-pieced and covered in Crystal Effects to give a lovely shiny finish. I just love these new bright in colours! 

This stamp is oh-so-versatile with so many possibilities - my second card today uses the same stamp set for a totally different look, and is combined with some sponged sunshine using the mask from my 'Simply Created Hooray It's Your Day' card kit:

This time my ice cream is a cloud, complete with heat-embossed silver lining, and the perfect co-ordinating sentiment. How clever is that? This stamp set really is so versatile.

I'm linking this CAS card up with the lovely ladies over at Less Is More where the theme for this week's challenge is 'Hello Sunshine' - I missed linking up my water-themed card last week so am glad I've made it in with the sunshine today. 

Here's looking forward to an equally warm and sunny weekend. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

As detailed above

I am starting this week with a quick post to share a card that I made with my ladies at one of my recent Stamp-A-Stack classes which was all about punch art and fits perfectly not only for the colours but also the inspiration photo over at The Color Throwdown this week:

I had been wanting to make an 'Up!' style card for a while and had seen lots of versions on Pinterest - here's my take with the card I made with my ladies:

Quite simple, but it needed to be as everyone was making a few each - Stamp-A-Stack is all about creating lots of cards in a - relatively! - short time.

The base is a piece of Soft Sky, onto which I adhered a few Whisper White clouds and stamped a few straight lines using the balloon string from the 'Celebrate Today' stamp set. We then stamped the house from the now retired Sale-A-Bration set in Memento Black onto Crumb Cake and punched it out with the retiring 'What's Up?' arrow punch and popped it on a dimensional at the base of the strings. The cluster of balloons is a carefully layered group of balloons made with the small oval punch and a foot from the Owl Builder punch. The sentiment is taken from the also retired winter seasonal set 'Holiday Home'. These bright primary colours are perfect for this card and so remind me of the scene where the house takes off in the Disney movie 'Up!'; I'm a big Disney fan and this movie holds special memories as it was the movie I watched with my daughter the first time we visited the cinema.

That's not quite all from me today - I have a second post which is my-fill in post from Saturday when I was at the Stampin' Up! UK Regional training event in Telford, so scroll back to read that one if you want to hear about the fun I had! 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Owl Punch	What's Up Punch	Cupcake Punch	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Pacific Point A4 Card Stock
Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Celebrate Today Photopolymer Stamp Set

Today we have a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we are working with the following colour combination:

I decided these colours were perfect for another entry into this week's challenge over at The Card Concept, this time using the current CAS(E) This Sketch for my layout:

This week's colours all feature in the inspiration photo above, and I wanted to create a card with some whitewashed painted wood like the table in the photo - this is what I came up with:

I stamped the Hardwood stamp in Sahara Sand onto a piece of Soft Sky, then 'aged' it by sponging over some Whisper White kraft ink and I really like the look. The combination of sentiments really work for me here too; this is the first time I've used the 'smile' from the 'So You' stamp set and I love it, especially paired with the cupcake one. I have something of a love-hate relationship with doilies (my regular followers will know I don't use them often and even then I'm not sure about them!) but here I felt one would be the perfect background for my cupcake, again, echoing the lace doily in the inspiration photo.

I hope you like today's card and that it inspires you to create something with this colour palette. Do check out the other Design Team member cards - we look forward to seeing you in the Create With Connie and Mary gallery this week.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

This is my second post today - you can see my Paper Players card here - as this should have been yesterday's card, but I was just too tired to type it up last night. I've been so busy and since I did not manage to get ahead of myself this week, tiredness won. Anyway, this is a card that I made for this week's Mojo Monday challenge and the current challenge over at The Card Concept:

I love those swirled cupcakes and couldn't resist creating something pink and a similarly swirled cupcake using the Mojo sketch - here is my clean and layered card:

I used a couple of retired products on my card - some Pretty in Pink cardstock for my base, to tone down the Melon Mambo and the ribbon (it reminded me of the cupcake swirl). On a mat of Melon Mambo, I used Whisper White on the upper portion and a piece of pink ombre Sweet Taffy DSP on the lower portion (even the pattern reminded me of cupcakes!) and I covered the join with my retired melon Mambo ribbon. I stamped my sentiment from 'Something to Say' in Melon Mambo, and decided a stamped and punched cupcake was the perfect embellishment. I stamped the cupcake case in Melon Mambo on Whisper White and coloured the frosting stamp with my Pink Pirouette, Strawberry Slush and Melon Mambo markers before stamping to achieve the swirl effect. Both pieces were punched out using the Cupcake Builder punch. I decided to add a little bling to my cupcake with a trio of in-colour sequins in Strawberry Slush and added a single star in the same colour to the sentiment panel to even things up.

So a very pink card with a suitably pink and swirly cupcake - good enough to eat! I haven't used this punch or stamp set in ages and I like the inspiration photo so much, I might just have to have another go at this challenge but in a different style; watch this space!

Back tomorrow with an altogether more clean and graphic card. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cupcake Party Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cupcake Punch	Something To Say Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock
Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper	2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

I have lots of upcoming birthdays and I am trying to take a much more organised approach to remembering them, at the very least making the cards a little in advance of when I need them, so today I have a bright and colourful addition to the 'ready to send' pile that uses this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for inspiration:

I started off with the stripes on the background panel - I thought the stripes on one of the pieces of Birthday Bash DSP would be perfect. Here's my card:

I adhered my DSP directly to a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock, as I didn't want a border. For my central panel I used the 'Age Awareness' stamp set to stamp the sentiment and the banner across the top of my card, which I decorated with a row of candles from the same set. To keep my layers to a minimum, I stamped the banner directly onto the central panel and fussy cut around the edge before adhering to a Night of Navy base for added definition. To finish, I added a cupcake stamped with the 'Cupcake Party' stamp set and punched out with the co-ordinating punch. I decorated the inside too and created a matching lined envelope - I'll add a picture of this later! The DSP is quite busy and bright for a CAS card, however the uber-simple central panel balances this out I think.

I hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with another one! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper	Age Awareness Photopolymer Stamp Set	Cupcake Party Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cupcake Punch	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad
Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad

Apologies for my late post today lovely blog readers - I have had a very busy 'making' day trying desperately to get ahead of myself for once, but as a result I'm late posting; I guess I just cant do it all!! So I'll keep today's post short and sweet - literally! - and share today's card that I made for this week's challenge over at Less Is More where there is a song theme again, using this week's colour scheme over at Pal Paper Arts:

The song theme over at Less is More is 'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'. I almost didn't make a card this week (I wasn't sure you wanted to see another Sea Street crab or lobster card!) when I was musing about what the seaside means to me and I found myself thinking about ice cream; I mean, a cornet is an intrinsic part of any trip to the seaside, right? When I was at the seaside in Minehead a couple of weeks ago, I had the most delicious forest fruits ice cream in an Italian waffle cone, so with this in mind I thought I would use the above colours to create my ice cream. So, here is my card:

I had some Stampin' Up! notelets out on my desk for another project and decided to use one as the base for my card, as they are more sturdy than Whisper White so perfect for a CAS card like this. I simply added a strip of Hello honey striped DSP from the Moonlight DSP paper stack and made a punch art ice cream cone, first scoring a piece of Crumb Cake with my Simply Scored Scoring Tool and cutting out by hand. For the ice cream itself, I stamped the cream swirl from the Cupcake party stamp set in Versamark, once on Hello Honey and once on Blackberry Bliss, then heat embossed with white embossing powder and punched out with my Cupcake Builder Punch. I also punched out a little Blackberry Bliss cherry using the punch, and covered it in crystal effects to add shine and dimension - this looks so cool in real life! I finished my card with the 'Sweet!' sentiment from the 'Bravo' stamp set, which somehow seemed appropriate for something so delicious!

Hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cupcake Party Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cupcake Punch	Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack	Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock	Hello Honey A4 Cardstock

It's Wednesday so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.

As always, if you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the Hostess Code for July or August (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right). 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Cupcake Punch	Delight In The Day Photobook Template - Digital Download	Finishing Touches Edgelits Dies	Gift Bow Bigz L Die
Hexagon Hive Thinlits Die	Little Book Of Coupons Designer Swatchbook Template - Digital Download	Stampin' Emboss Powder Early Espresso	Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi Tape

So what else are you waiting for? Hop on over to my online store quick pronto and snap one up! Alternatively, if you live local to me and would like to save on postage, get in touch by 8pm tomorrow and I will add to the order that I am placing Friday morning!

Back later with another creative post - until then, happy stampin'!

Well today might be Father's Day, but in the James household there has been an apparently altogether more important celebration - the oldest of my James Juniors, Rebecca, turned 9 today. Her birthday always falls near to Father's Day, but as they actually clashed today she informed Daddy that every day is Father's Day and you'll only be 9 once - so one definitely trumps the other! My lack of blog post yesterday was due to my sheer exhaustion having held a day of party celebrations at home for Rebecca with a little group of friends - I'll tell you more about this another time as this is a Project Life page in the making! - so today I thought I would share the card I made for her.

I finally had a go at one of the 'card in a box' cards that are currently all the rage in the papercrafting world and decided that mine would feature my favourite DSP for birthday cards, Birthday Basics, and one of Rebecca's favoutie foodstuffs - cake! Well, cupcakes to be precise; here is my card, which is A5 size when folded flat:

I took the opportunity to use my 'Create a Cupcake' stamp set; it's on the retiring list, but the co-ordinating punch is staying and there is more cupcake loveliness just around the corner :-) Now I know this card does look rather on the crowded side with cakes popping out all over the place and nicely wobbly on their acetate supports, but when a card is for a 9 year old, excess is the name of the game - along with a little glimmer. A nice sparkly number 9 and a few sparkly stars complete the card. And Rebecca's verdict: "Perfect!"

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Create A Cupcake - Clear-Mount Stamp	Cupcake Punch	Label Love	Artisan Label Punch
Birthday Basics Designer Series Paper	Raspberry Ripple A4 Card Stock	Raspberry Ripple Classic Stampin' Pad	Summer Starfruit A4 Card Stock	Summer Starfruit Classic Stampin' Pad
Gumball Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad
Silver Glimmer Paper	Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die	Medium Window Sheets