Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card using the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the current colour palette at Fab Friday:

My card features a technique that is currently all the rage and I've been wanting to have a go at - the floating frame technique. This actually means I have two cards for you! Here's the first one:

And here's the second one, featuring the outer frame element:

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

Floating Frames - The floating frame technique is really easy to create with a few basic tools: some 'Press and Seal' food wrap or similar, a framelit - I used my Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies - and lots of dimensionals! You simply stamp and punch/diecut your images, lay them out, cover with Press and Seal, trim to frame size and cut out your central piece, before adhering dimensionals to the back of the diecut pieces and adhering to your chosen card base. Finally you remove the Press and Seal and your floating shapes remain in place. Jennifer McGuire has a fabulous video on this technique if you want to see one of these cards being made - you can see it here. 

Birthday Balloons - I've seen some fabulous examples of this technique, mostly using florals, but I was in need of some birthday cards and I thought the colours over at Fab Friday would be perfect for some bright and colourful balloons. I had so much fun making these cards I'm going to make a few more in alternative colour combos too - this is a great card design that would work well for both boys and girls, so makes a great storecupboard standby. I stamped my balloons with one of the stamps in the 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' stamp set before punching them for added interest and I used one of the other balloon stamps in the set to decorate the envelope, as you can see below:

No need for a naked envelope here!

A Birthday Greeting - For my second card, I needed a larger greeting to sit inside my frame so my Well Written Framelits were the perfect choice. I also added an extra balloon for balance, tied with some white baker's twine. The same design could be used with other stamps and sentiments from this set too to make cards for other occasions - how many other combinations can you come up with? 

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 your day; we are having a kit clear-out in the playroom today. So far we've made an erupting volcano, an insect hut, a flying helicopter and two solar-powered motorised dinosaurs. You've got to love the Easter holidays! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Balloon Bouquet Punch (£17.00)	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Highland Heather A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Well Written Framelits Dies (£37.00)

Today I'm sharing another of the cards from my recent technique class featuring the Happy Birthday Gorgeous bundle. The outside is a CASE (copy and share everything) of the card on page 76 of the annual catalogue:

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

Hip Hip Hooray - Today's card again features the 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' stamp set, this time focusing on the balloons rather than the flowers for decoration, and also highlights the Happy Birthday Thinlit. These items are available as a bundle and whilst the thinlit is proving popular as a standalone item with many of my customers, the stamp set really is worth a look: flowers and balloons that have universal appeal and lots of great birthday sentiments, some of which also co-ordinate with the classic label punch, that I've used for the 'hip hip hooray' on my card front today. Besides, with a 10% discount when you buy both items, you are also getting even more value from your purchases - just sayin' :-)

A Happy Birthday Surprise - So you might be thinking I've lost the plot, as I mentioned above I was featuring both items in the bundle and the Happy Birthday Thinlit is no-where to be seen. Well, look what awaits when you open the card:

There it is! I made an easy pop-up mechanism so that as the recipient opens the card, they get a big, bold birthday message - how fun is that? This is so easy to do: you just need to make a couple of slits a few centimetres in from each side along the central fold and add a couple of additional scorelines in between them, then adhere the base of your diecut to the pop-out section. 

A Hint Of Fancy Foil - Lastly, for a little pizzazz I added a few strips of the super-shiny Foil Frenzy cardstock with the Tangerine Tango pattern to both the outside and inside of my card. I will be using most of mine for boxes and packaging as it is super sturdy, although it's worth keeping any offcuts to use on cards as a little goes a long way.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Bundle	Balloon Bouquet Punch	Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series Paper	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party A4 Cardstock
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party Solid Baker’S Twine	Classic Label Punch

Today I'm sharing one of the cards that I made with the ladies in my technique class last week featuring the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set that is perfect for the current keyword theme over at The Challenge and features 4 out of 5 of the keywords:

Can you identify which four feature on today's card? Here it is:

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

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Floral Wreath - The minute I saw the 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' stamp set, I knew that the combinations of flowers, leaves and seed heads would lend themselves to a floral wreath. I stamped a basic wreath shape with the leaf stem, then fussy cut a variety of individual leaves, flowers and seed heads to embellish my wreath. This took a little while, but I hope you'll agree it was so worth it - I just love this card! 

A Fancy Fold - The card base itself is a square double z joy fold card, measuring  5 1/2" square when folded. A fancy fold is a great way to add interest to a square card and is really easy to make. The card base measures 11" x 5 1/2", scored at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2" on the long side. The smaller z fold panel measures 9 1/4" x 3 3/4" and is also scored at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2". It also allows for a fancy ribbon bow - here I've used the lovely Fresh Fig finely woven ribbon.

Petal Garden - My colour scheme was inspired by my paper choice for the rear panel of my card, which I took from the Petal Garden designer series paper stack. There are some gorgeous patterns in this pack, along with an alternative Calypso Coral colourway too. Here the rambling roses of my chosen pattern provided the perfect backdrop to my floral wreath. 

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 - flowers, bright, birthday and square were my four - check out the design team cards over at The Challenge to see how they were inspired by the keywords.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set	Petal Garden Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Fresh Fig A4 Cardstock	Fresh Fig Classic Stampin' Pad
Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Fresh Fig 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon

Today is a special day in the James household: the eldest of my juniors turns 12. I'm not sure where those years went by, although I do know that what was once my chubby little baby girl is now rapidly turning into a wonderful young woman with thoughts, hopes and dreams. So today I thoughts I would share the birthday card I made for Rebecca - take a look:

When I came to make Rebecca's card, I knew there were a number of things I needed to include: pink, sparkle and a big birthday wish and today's card is the result! Here's the low-down on my card:

Berry Burst: A Grown Up Pink - Whilst Rebecca isn't a girly-girl, she is most definitely a lover of pink! One of the new in-colours, Berry Burst, was my choice of pinks for her card; I think this pink is a rather grown-up pink and perfectly suited to a card for a discerning young lady. It also has some lovely co-ordinating accessories such as the 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon, which ties beautiful bows.

Move Over Glimmer, There's A Foil Frenzy Going On! - So I had to include a small piece of silver glimmer paper on my card - Rebecca just loves the stuff! - but the real shimmer and shine comes from the new Berry Burst spotty Foil Frenzy kraft cardstock. With bright, colourful designs, this heavyweight foiled kraft cardstock will be perfect for boxes and I can't wait to start constructing, but for today it made a great base for the front of my card. 

Stacked Diecuts Made Easy - For my sentiment I used the new Happy Birthday Thinlit to create my focal point, cutting and stacking three diecut pieces and brushing with clear Wink of Stella for a subtle sparkle before heat embossing with clear embossing powder a further three times. Effort? Yes. Worth it? Totally!  There is a new adhesive that you may not have noticed in the new catalogue that makes light work of stacking and adhering die cuts - the new Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (page 203 - you are welcome!) are such a timesaver. Simply stick your cardstock to an adhesive sheet before rolling your thinlit through the Big Shot, then you can peel away the backing and your diecut is ready to stick - no mess, no fuss. 

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'm pleased to report that Rebecca's card received the official 'thumbs up', which is really all you can ask for when you're making a card with a special someone in mind.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Birthday Thinlits Die	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Bundle	Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series Paper	Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets	Berry Burst 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon
Berry Burst A4 Cardstock	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Versamark Pad	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder
Silver Glimmer Paper	Layering Circle Framelits Dies

I've been busy preparing samples for my forthcoming open house using one of my favourite suites from the new catalogue: the Delightful Daisies Suite. Today I'm sharing two clean and simple cards featuring the new Daisy Punch and just two of the ways it can be used.

My first card was inspired by one made recently by Mary Fish - you can see her original card here - a simple trio of punched daisies with banner sentiment greeting from the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set:

I chose to use Night of Navy for my accent colour - I love how the simple yellow middles of the daisies - punched with a 1/2" circle punch - really pop with this crisp, fresh colour combination. My second card uses the daisy punch to make a feature of the negative space:

Here the daisies still take centre stage, however this time instead of punching out the flowers and attaching them to the cardfront, I punched the flowers out of my topmost navy card layer to 'reveal' the white daisies in the negative space below, then I added my yellow flower centres to each negative flower. I am a big fan of using negative space to make your punches and framelits work harder for you and I love the contrast that using the negative space provides with this classic colour combination. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Daisy Punch	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Brights Enamel Shapes	1/2" (1.3 Cm) Circle Punch	Banner Triple Punch

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where this is the last of my guest designer posts this month. This week it's a sketch challenge: 

I also decided to use the inspiration photo over at Fusion as a starting point for my card today, which features another sneak peek of the forthcoming 'Bike Ride' stamp set and a few other new products besides - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

New Stamps - Not one, but two new stamps from the forthcoming new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue on my card today! The lovely Bike Ride bicycle, this time in Smoky Slate (not quite a truck, but still transport, right?) with a cascade of flowers in the front basket. I stamped and fussy cut these so that I could pop them onto a dimensional; not tricky, but I'm still looking forward to ordering my co-ordinating framelits! The sentiment is from a new set too called 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' that has some wonderful sentiments in pretty scripts and fonts - more on this another day.

New In-Colours - Two new in-colours on my card today too: my cardbase and bicycle highlights are the new Powder Pink, a delicate soft pink that is almost a neutral, and Berry Burst - a rich, berry red with warm undertones, the colour that I used for my scalloped top border and enamel dots. Did you spot those lovely new accessories too? Glitter enamel dots, in various sizes and shades of Berry, with a wonderful glittery sparkle. I am going to need a TON of these!

New Tools - Wondering how I made that scalloped border? Yes, another something 'new' from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits is a scalloped border edge thinlit; I know this will be useful for all kinds of projects.

Isn't that a whole lot of new loveliness for a clean and simple card?!

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. 

Be sure to check out the other DT cards over at CAS Colours and Sketches and look out for me in the gallery from next week onwards!

Enjoy the rest of your day; the James Juniors are (finally) back to school so today I am loooking to move mountains and get into the thick of my significant 'to do' list. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: No product table today, as most of the items on today's card will not be available to purchase until the new catalogue launches. Item numbers are included on the visual above though, so why not add this to your Pinterest board and contact me when the catalogue is live to place your order?