Happy St Patrick's Day! Today's card was inspired by the following challenges: 

You might have expected today's card to feature green in a big way, although instead of the luck of Irish I had an altogether different festive occasion in mind - take a look:

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

The team over at Just Us Girls are trending with embossing folders this week and I decided that a partial emboss using my Greenery Embossing Folder would lend itself to a Christmas card, when embossed on Shaded Spruce with some touches of gold - perfect for the current Color Dare Challenge. I embossed it on a panel onto which I also heat-embossed a simple sentiment in gold and added a sliver of gold glimmer paper to one edge before adhering to my card base. With a final touch of sparkle from some gold glitter enamel dots added to the berry detail of the embossed section, it is also my entry for Less Is More's current challenge to add a 'Bit of Bling' to our clean and simple cards. The enamel dots are SO sparkly - I'm not sure the photos really do it justice, but here's another close up:

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:

GREENERY EMBOSSING FOLDERS (£7.50)

TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)

SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)

Happy Monday everyone! It's the start of a busy week here in the James household and I'm squeeking in with an early post using Cecile's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches before I get ready for my final online card class of the year! Here is Cecile's sketch:

I still had those Peaceful Place papers out on my desk over the weekend and was cutting out log cabins with abandon, so knew that I had to use the sketch to feature another one - take a look:

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

I fussy cut another house and coloured my log cabin scene with my watercolour pencils and blended them with a blender pen, adding a liberal coat of clear Wink of Stella to the trees and snowy roof. Then came my moment of indecisiveness! I added a fussy cut fir tree for one of the sketch elements and I had decided that I was going to use my Stitched Snowflake Dies to add two snowflake impressions into my card base for the other two, however when I created my background in basic white it seemed a little flat. So I cut another panel, this time in Shimmery White, which was a little better, but still seemed to lack a little sparkle. So I went all-out and used a panel of (retired) white glimmer paper. This I LOVE - but it did prove difficult to photograph so that you could see the diecut snowflakes, amidst all that sparkle! I'm hoping you can see the idea a little better below:

As tricky as it was to capture on film, I absolutely love the sparkle and shimmer that a whole panel of glimmer paper adds and the diecut cut snowflake impressions are really effective in real life. A simple sentiment was all I needed to complete my card. So what do you think - is there ever something such as too much sparkle? I think not, but if you disagree, feel free to comment below! My super sparkly snowflakes are also perfect for a second play over at Inspired By this week - the first of their inspiration photos suggests they love a bit of snowflake sparkle!

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. 

It is so grey, wet and miserable here today I would definitely rather escape to my little log cabin in the snow. Alas, no such luck - my class ladies are calling and wouldn't be too impressed! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PEACEFUL PLACE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	BASIC GRAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (£11.75)
WINK OF STELLA GLITTER BRUSH (£7.50)

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

I decided to give my Delicate Baubles Dies another outing - the Christmas tree was calling my name! - so I too the first column on the Tic Tac Toe board with Christmas Tree/Bow/Green and in a fun twist decided to pair with the colour palette over at Just Us Girls this week for a rather unconventional Christmas card colour scheme - take a look:

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

This And That - The key to making today's card work is the piece of retired This and That Epic Day design series paper that I used for the frame on my card. It does such a good job of bringing all three colours together and makes the bright bauble tone in rather stand out in a way that jars, I think.

Delicate Baubles - Another bauble paper-pieced in block of the JUGS challenge colours, with some sparkly enamel dots to highlight the starbursts and a gold enamel star to top the tree. I trimmed the base of the bauble on this one so that it didn't have a double border edge.

Add A Bow - I could have added a diecut bow using the die in the Delicate Baubles die set that I used on my previous bauble cards, but decided that something more showy was needed so added a triple bow in Pool Party sheer ribbon - so pretty!

A simple 'Noel' sentiment from the 'Trimmings & Tidings' stamp set completes my card. So what do you think - is this colour scheme too unconventional for a Christmas card? Do leave me a comment below - as always, I'd love to know 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; as of this afternoon, both of the James Juniors will be officially enjoying their half term break, so I am looking forward to spending more quality time with them next week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DELICATE BAUBLES DIES (£33.00)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY 3/8" (1 CM) SHEER RIBBON (£5.50)	WONDERFUL GEMS (£7.50)

This is my second post of today - you can see my earlier Festive Friday post here in case you missed it. This is my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a colour challenge:

I really love this combination of deep Blackberry Bliss, bright Granny Apple Green and white with a dash of metallic silver. I made another Christmas card, this time using my new Delicate Baubles Dies - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

This card was actually really easy to create: I added a strip of Regals DSP to my card base, then added some adhesive sheet to my bauble background and paper-pieced the details into the top layer of my bauble in the challenge colours, adding a trio of rhinestones for extra sparkle:

A silver heat-embossed sentiment from 'Tidings and Trimmings' completes my festive 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. 

I'm a sucker for an interesting die and I love the detail on the baubles in this set - you will definitely be seeing more of them this festive season!

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 colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

Today marks the end of a three-day expedition by the eldest of the James Juniors for her silver Duke of Edinburgh award so I am expecting tired feet this evening! At the same time, the youngest of the Juniors is embarking on an army cadet weekend and will be sleeping out in the forest somewhere in the wilds of Cambridgeshire this evening under an improvised shelter. He has an Arctic sleeping bag, but I am really hoping the rain holds off! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DELICATE BAUBLES DIES (£33.00)	REGALS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)
SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (£9.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)

I have card class this morning so am getting my blog post out early! Today I'm sharing a card that uses Amy's sketch this week over at Freshly Made Sketches:

My card is also inspired by a recent Inspired By challenge photo that I loved but didn't get the opportunity to play along with at the time ( you can read all about that here). I made another Christmas card for my growing pile - take a look:

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

Seasonal Swirls - Today's card features another Seasonal Swirls wreath, this time a Christmas one adorned with holly, pine cones and mistletoe pearl berries. This die set is perfect for making endless combinations of wreath decoration! I stamped a simple 'Noel' greeting from 'Tidings and Trimmings' in the centre of my wreath.

Not So Halloween Gingham - I used the central diagonal to accommodate a gingham bow with a (retired) sparkly jewel at it's centre. You may well have missed this ribbon in the current seasonal catalogue - it's on page 51 nestled amongst the Cute Halloween suite, but I think this ribbon is a winner with all-year round appeal. 

An Acetate Trick - For the other two elements of diagonal detail, I used some of the Hydrangea Hill Mercury Glass Designer Acetate - but featured the reverse side which is a lovely silver colour, rather than the lilac/pink front. Using the reverse makes this great for adding a touch of festive metallic to those festive projects:

I was initially a little unsure about the diagonals on Amy's sketch, but I actually like the way the sit against my Christmas wreath and am quite pleased with how this card turned out.

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:

SEASONAL SWIRLS DIES (£32.00)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (£6.50)	HYDRANGEA HILL MERCURY GLASS DESIGNER ACETATE (£10.75)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
OLD OLIVE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)
PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£4.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

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

Lots of options on the board this week and I was tempted to create something fall-inspired, but in the end decided to go across the middle with masculine/free/patterned paper and create a Christmas card - take a look:

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

Peaceful Prints - The current challenge over at CAS Christmas Card Challenge is to use plaid on a Christmas card, so the Peaceful Prints designer papers, free with an order of £45 during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion, were the perfect starting point. I'm trying to share as many of these fabulous free gifts with you as possible before the promotion ends next week on 30th September- just one more week to go so time to get those orders in!

Plaid Christmas - When considering plaid options for my card, I reached for that 'oldie but goodie' Christmas set from the annual catalogue called 'Plaid Christmas'. I ended up not using it on the front of my card at all - my small, block sentiment is courtesy of the 'Tidings and Trimmings' set - but I did use it to add a plaid Christmas tree to the inside of my card:

Pine Tree Punch - I love a good sketch and the current Sunday Stamps one is a keeper - so many ways to use this layout! I couldn't wait to play along and decided to keep things simple and used the central vertical panel to showcase the negative space of my punched Christmas tree so that you could see the lovely red and black plaid below. I added a simple scored border to my rectangle for added interest. 

No fuss or frills - this is both clean and simple and masculine, after all. 

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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PEACEFUL PRINTS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	PINE TREE PUNCH (£17.00)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

This is my second post today! Technically it is in lieu of yesterday's post, but having held this month's online class yesterday morning and spent some time with the James Juniors in the afternoon now that they are on summer vacation, I haven't got around to typing up until today. I am here now though and I'm sharing a couple of cards using the current sketch over at Just Add Ink:

I haven't found the time to play along with these ladies for a while (waves enthusiastically at the JAI team!) and this week's sketch was too good to pass up! It is a perfect sketch to showcase designer series paper so I grabbed one of the packs that are currently 15% off in the DSP Sale this month and with thoughts of Christmas in mind I made a couple of cards. Here's the first one:

Both of today's cards feature the Tidings of Christmas papers, and two different sentiments from the co-ordinating tidings and Trimmings stamp set. This is a great sketch that would work for simple, flat cards, but I decided to step mine up a little by adding in some of the gorgeous co-ordinating Evening Evergreen 3/8" Chevron Weave Ribbon and creating some statement bows. On my first card I went for an over-the-top triple looped bow:

Whilst I do think is rather fabulous, it isn't ever so post-friendly. As such, I went a little more conservative on my second card with a flat bow. Here's my card, showcasing the gorgeous deep green patterned paper:

And here's a close-up of that flatter bow, which is a little more mail friendly:

Excuse the light lines on the photograph - it has been so hot and sunny here this past week that it is playing havoc with photo-taking in my south-facing office. I'm not complaining about the weather, but am definitely having to be a little more organised about when I photograph to avoid these harsh lines! Here's a picture of both cards together:

Which one do you prefer? I love the patterns in these papers so much - I will definitely be snagging another pack whilst they are discounted before the end of this month. 

The Tidings of Christmas Suite features in the annual catalogue, so if you want to get started in earnest on your Christmas crafting, these products are available now - no need to wait for the launch of the new autumn-winter catalogue on 3rd August! Furthermore, I will be featuring the Tidings and Trimmings Bundle and the Tidings of Christmas DSP in my August Online Card Class, scheduled for Monday 16th August. If you would like more information or to join me for this class, please do get in touch - I would love you to join me! 

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:

TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	TIDINGS OF CHRISTMAS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.14)	EVENING EVERGREEN (3/8" 1 CM) CHEVRON WEAVE RIBBON (£5.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SOFT SUCCULENT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	CHERRY COBBLER A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)

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

With today being the fourth of July and American Independence Day, Anne Marie's patriotic stars and/or stripes theme is very topical indeed. I wish all of my fellow teamies and readers on the other side of the pond a very happy Independence Day, yet I actually decided to jump forward to another holiday with my stars this week - yes, the (dreaded) 'C' word: Christmas! I took Amy's fabulous Sunday Stamps sketch and a little something old paired with something new for today's card - take a look:

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

Something Old - Whilst the stars in my 'something new' were the starting point for my card today, I couldn't resist digging out some of my retired Brightly Gleaming designer paper from last season to use as the basis for my colour scheme on today's card. I just love this paper and the copper/gold combination is such a winner in my book. I went with the graphic star pattern for my main panel to further compliment the 'stars and/or stripes' theme.

Something New - The starting point for today's card was most definitely some new goodies I received this week with the Tidings & Trimmings bundle from the annual catalogue. The layered star dies in this set were the first things to catch my eye, but the stamp set also includes some lovely sentiments too. In addition to the one stamped onto my label on the front of my card, I stamped this one inside:

 The real scene-stealers on today's card though are the diecut stars on the front of the card, with the centre one a combination of layered (retired) copper glimmer paper and copper foil:

Aren't those stars just fabulous?! This is such a sparkly Christmas card in real life and I love how my trio of stars has given new life to my stash of hoarded DSP too.

Holiday Bling - Last but not least, I added a Night of Navy rhinestone from the Holiday Rhinestones pack to the centre of each of my stars to compliment the navy and really draw your eye to the diecut detail.

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. 

I can't wait to play more with the Tidings and Trimmings stamp set and those Christmas Trimmings Dies - I think they are going to become a staple in my Christmas craft room and you will definitely be seeing more of them in the coming months.

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. 

Enjoy your day; I have no special plans today but am hoping to find a little crafting time and with any luck will be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£37.75)	TASTEFUL LABELS DIES (£29.00)	COPPER FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	HOLIDAY RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£5.50)