I've managed to get a little extra cardmaking time this week, but as for writing up my blog posts - not so much! Today I'm taking a departure from the 'new' to share a Christmas card just in time for the January theme challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the theme is wreaths:

Today's card also uses their January sketch layout which I missed, but is perfect for a showcase of a sparkly layered Christmas wreath - take a look:

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

I used a piece of the now-retired (but hoarded!) Shining Brightly foiled paper to cover my cardfront and added a banner with a sentiment from 'Brightest Glow' and paired it with a navy and gold layered wreath, with a combination of gold sequin and navy gem 'berries' and a brushed gold bow:

I really love these papers and the colour scheme, so don't be surprised to see me use them throughout the year as I endeavour to play along with the team at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown to keep me on track in my Christmas card making throughout the year. If you don't have these papers though, you could easily change out this paper for an alternative Christmas design and alter the colours of your wreath accordingly.

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. 

Just a quick post from me today; I have a basket of ironing to get through before I prepare dinner and get myself ready for this evening's final episode of 'The Traitors' - anyone else out there as hooked as me? I can't wait! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project that has an altogether more Spring-like feel. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (37.00)	BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jaydee to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for us to work with:

It's beginning to look a lot like ... Christmas! It is indeed, so Jaydee has chosen the perfect theme this week! At the start of December I like to make those 'special' cards for friends and family - those over-the-top, fancy ones that you hand deliver. I set aside my usual clean-and-layered self and throw caution to the wind, so I thought I'd share one of those cards with you today - take a look:

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

A Fancy Shadow Box - Today's card is part card, part home decor. Measuring 5 3/4" square by 1/2" deep, the front of the card comprises a shadow box frame, with the main design in the centre. I've made non-festive versions of this card in a 6"x6" size that I've shared on my blog previously, but I've never made a Christmas one. This kind of card does take a little longer to make, but I think it's so worth it for a special occasion, don't you? It's also great for those who like to keep their cards and bring out year after year, as it is as much a decoration as it is a card.

Shining Brightly - I used one of the gold and vanilla patterns from the Shining Brightly specialty designer series paper to decorate the frame of my card. Now, I know this paper is now sold out in Europe, but it's been in and out of stock all season due to its popularity, so I'm hoping that for those of you who stocked up, you appreciate a project that shows it in all its glory. Given that my shadow box card has depth, I need to create a box 'envelope' to send it in and I used more of this paper for the lid. You can see my box in the photo below:

Joy of Noel - The real star of the show is the 'Joy of Noel' bundle that features in the centre of my frame. By far and away my favourite bundle from this year's mini catalogue, it really is fabulous. This bundle is still available and if you purchase it from me, you will receive a free copy of the 'Join in With Joanne & Jan' Joy of Noel tutorial that I created with my talented friend Jan Clothier. I combined gold embossed foliage and gold glitter pine needles with a gold embossed NOEL for the centrepiece - the foiling and glimmer paper add so much beautiful festive sparkle, don't you think?

A gold embossed sentiment inside completes my fancy card. What do you think? Do you like to make fancy cards for the special people in your life? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear what you think.  

I'm also playing along with a few challenges: My card follows the sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown (I hope they'll forgive me the sentiment placement), it's a glitter entry over at Inkspirational and finally I've been saving this one for my entry over at SUO Challenges - my favourite holiday catalogue product, actually products with the bundle and paper!!

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:

Enjoy your day; I will be spending mine with more Christmas preparations and getting ready for an upcoming vacation - more about that in a future post! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)

VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

SILVER & GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) ADHESIVE-BACKED GLIMMER PAPER (6.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a speed stamping challenge chosen by Deborah:

The Shining Brightly specialty designer series paper is the only current 'starry' product that I have in my stash, so that was my starting point for today's card. As I rummaged through my stamp sets and other supplies to find things that would co-ordinate, I came across some wooden stars from last year's Christmas Memories & More packs that I had previously coloured gold for another project but not used. The stars were the same design as those on the paper and so my design was born! I remembered the sketch from Sketch Saturday and grabbed a Night of Navy card base and offcut, a circle die, some gold twine, gold foil, Versamark and gold embossing powder and the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set and set my timer for just under 10 minutes. This is my finished card: 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I added my DSP to my cardfront, then diecut three circles from the Navy panel, tied it with gold trim and added it to my card with dimensionals and added a wooden star to the centre of each aperture. I then heat-embossed my sentiment and fussy cut it, then added some gold foil behind it and fussy cut that too before adding to my card:

So how long did my card take? I used the full 10 minutes, although most of that time was spent heat embossing and fussy cutting my sentiment and foil shadow. I set my timer for just under 10 minutes so that it would give me a warning time to stop fussy cutting and allow me the last bit to add dimensionals and stick it to my card. I could have added it as a straight label which would have taken much less time, but I really wanted to fussy cut it to make it narrower. So what do you think? What starry creation will you create in 10 minutes or less?

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JOY OF NOEL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and I am our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went along the bottom left to top right diagonal with gold metallic/holly/vanilla and using the fab layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday (no optional plaid I'm afraid) I made a festive Christmas card that also has a direct nod to the Global Design Project #GDP419 theme this week - take a look:

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

I just love the Shining Brightly speciality designer paper - the vanilla and navy colour scheme with embossed gold is so luxurious and perfect for fancy Christmas cards and packaging - and this paper did kind of inspire my TTT board this week, so I couldn't not feature it on my card. I used a panel of the foliage pattern on the lower portion of my card, then added a simple gold border to neaten the join of my paper to my layered foliage cut using the Christmas Classics Dies that I used to decorate the upper portion of my card. I used a combination of Very Vanilla, gold foil and distressed gold paper for texture and visual interest, finishing with some pearls and gold elegant twine trim:

My sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' sentiment was my direct nod the #GDP419 board - 'Tis The Season had me instantly singing 'Deck The Halls With Boughs of Holly, 'Tis The Season To Be Jolly, Fa La La La La ...' (I hope that's not given you an earworm!) for my simple banner greeting. I love this gold and vanilla colour combo - so elegant. What is your favourite festive colour combo? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	SHINING BRIGHTLY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	DISTRESSED GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (7.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Lucy has asked that we create a slimline card with a central sentiment panel:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I decided to have another outing with the beautiful 'NOEL' stamps and dies from the 'Joy of Noel' bundle - take a look:

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

The slimline layout worked really well to keep the square design of the 'NOEL' letters, which I heat embossed in gold onto Very Vanilla cardstock. I added the 'Joyous' on vellum, so that it didn't obscure the letters and edged the central panel with some thin strips of gold foil. Here's a close up of that layered sentiment:

Above and below that I added a couple of panels of Shining Brightly designer series paper - the starry design is open enough to still work on an otherwise clean and simple card. I adore this paper and so do many of you, judging by the speed with which it comes into and out of stock in the online store! I was hoping that when I posted my card today I would be able to tell you it was back in stock again - but alas, the most recent stocks have once again been depleted. I placed more orders yesterday for customer who had been patiently waiting for it; additional supplies are still due in soon, so keep an eye on the online store if it's on your list.

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; we are having a week of breakdowns in the James household: so far the broadband, my steam iron and the central heating are all casualties! The latter means that I am spending as little time as possible at my desk, so a short post from me as I'm off for a romp through the countryside to keep warm! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)	SHINING BRIGHTLY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a sketch challenge chosen by Heather H:

I love a good sketch and since I've been playing with my 'Joy of Noel' set this week putting the finishing touches to projects for next month's 'Create With Joanne & Jan' tutorial set, which I collaborate on with my AYSI teamie Jan Clothier, I thought this sketch lent itself to another Christmas card featuring this versatile bundle - take a look:

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

Shining Brightly - Instead of pairing the bundle with the papers in the suite, I decided to use one of the navy and gold patterns in the 'Shining Brightly' Specialty paper pack for the vertical panel. Along with the gold and vanilla patterns in the pack, these papers are truly stunning - and popular! They have been out of stock for a few weeks, but are due back in sometime next week. I will be ordering another pack for sure so if you are also wanting to add these papers to your collection, be sure to let me know so that I can notify you as soon as they come in -  I have a growing list!

Joyous Noel - I just love the sentiments in the 'Joy of Noel' set, especially the NOEL letters. Each one is individual, but since they stamp and diecut in this square pattern, I decided to use them backed with a square of gold foil for my next layer and overlay them with 'Joyous' for the last bit of my sentiment, which I fussy cut by hand. 

Going For Gold - I stamped and heat-embossed the letters in gold onto Night of Navy cardstock before diecutting them, to create a seamless look. This card is quite shiny but you can see the detailing on the stamped image below:

A trio of (retired) gold gems complete my card. This card is actually quite simple to recreate, although I did spend ages procrastinating first time around! I just love the simple elegance - this is most definitely a 'me' 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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

Enjoy your day; I am hoping to get a little extra crafting done this weekend so will hopefully be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	SHINING BRIGHTLY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that is special in more ways than one! It contains a sneak peek of some new Christmas products from the upcoming mini catalogue but more importantly I am a guest with the lovely ladies over at Freshly Made Sketches where the team are celebrating their 600th challenge - wow! I love to play along with their sketches whenever I get the opportunity and I was thrilled to be asked to join them alongside a number of other esteemed guests to celebrate this momentous occasion! This is the sketch we are basing our designs on:

I decided I would create a wreath with the circular element - this is what I came up with:  

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

I diecut a couple of Country Wreaths Dies wreaths, one in brushed gold and one in gold foil, and layered them onto a panel of Shining Brightly specialty designer series paper on a Night of Navy card base. This is one of six single-sided foiled designs in Very Vanilla and Night of Navy in the pack - and they are all gorgeous! I heat-embossed my sentiment in gold onto navy cardstock - this is also from a new stamp set called 'Christmas Classics' - and added this to my card, along with a gold twine bow and trio of matt gold sequins:

I also added a little extra stamping from the same set to the inside of my card - check out the corner detail:

I just love the gold and navy colour combination of this card - expect to see lots more in this colourway in the upcoming festive season! 

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 designs from the Freshly Made Sketches Team and the other guest designers this week - there will be some fabulous inspiration there for sure. Thank you and a huge congratulations from me to the team for inviting me to take part in the celebrations - here's to the next 600 challenges!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Friday with this week's new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (37.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	PASTEL ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)