Good morning - happy Monday everyone! Today I have a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches where they have a great sketch to work with this week:

I used the sketch as the basis for today's Christmas card, although I did make my card landscape rather than portrait as it seemed to fit my layers a little better. Here's my card:

I decided to use the 'Santa's on his way' sentiment from the Cup of Cheer stamp set for my focal sentiment and stamped it in Archival Basic Black on Very Vanilla, popping up the banner element which I stamped in Real Red. I backed this with an offset piece of red striped paper from the Home For Christmas DSP pack, and used a piece of the snow paper from the same set for my background. I used some retired Very Vanilla seam binding for my vertical stripe and for my second overlaid element I fussy cut one of the adorable Santa figures from the Home For Christmas DSP - I just love these papers, I am on my fourth pack already!

Today I will be putting the finishing touches to the preparations for my children's shaker Christmas Card class tomorrow. I'll be back to tell you all about it then and will have another project to share with you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cup Of Cheer Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party A4 Cardstock
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the multi-talented Nance, who not only produces fabulous cards but also designs all our challenge badges and does so much to keep our challenge blog running smoothly - thank you Nance! This week we have a clean and simple challenge for you:

I considered going with something autumnal for my card today, but in truth I've had this idea for a card in my head for a while and decided that since it fits today's brief it was about time I got it down on paper - and it's a Christmas card! Take a look:

I've been using my Vintage Leaves set a lot this week and I'm not sure whether it is meant to be or not, but the large spiky leaf definitely reminds me of holly, so I decided to use it on a Christmas card. I used Mossy Meadow for my card base and adhered a strip of the gingham patterned paper from the Merry Moments DSP stack down the left hand side. My raised panel is extra thick Whisper White cardstock, out of which I cut the spiky leaf shape using the co-ordinating Leaflets Framelits Dies - another one of the great 15% off bundles when you purchase both items together from the current catalogue - and stamped the leaf in Mossy Meadow directly onto the Mossy Meadow panel below, so that it could be seen through the aperture. I then stamped another leaf on a separate piece of Mossy Meadow and cut this out with the same framelit too, positioning it at an angle over the first one and overhanging the edge of the white panel. My 'Joy' sentiment is from the Holly Jolly Greetings set and stamped in Real Red. To finish, I added a trio of Cherry Cobbler Home For Christmas enamel dots for my berries - I love these, they add the perfect finishing touch to my card. So what do you think - do these leaves work as holly? Either way, I am pleased with the finished result.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing your CAS creations this week.

I'm having a change of sport today as Rebecca is playing in her first club hockey tournament of the season, so I'm off to cheer her team on and then we'll be home for a late lunch. Fortunately for us this weekend marks the start of our school half-term holiday, so we have a lovely two week break from our routine of homework and early mornings to look forward to, which is especially welcome given how cold and dark it has been this week  - far from jumping out of bed in the morning I am more inclined to snuggle under the duvet and hibernate! Enjoy your Sunday however you are choosing to spend it.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Vintage Leaves Photopolymer Bundle	Big Shot	Holly Jolly Greetings Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Home For Christmas Enamel Dots	Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Stack
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

Just time today to squeeze in a blog post using this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday; the talented Julee Tilman comes up with some of the best sketches and I love to play along here whenever I can. Here is this week's sketch:

The minute I saw this week's sketch I knew what I wanted to do with it and fortunately I managed to find some time this afternoon to bring my design to fruition. Here's my card:

I just knew I wanted to use one of my spider web doilies for the circular element, so my Halloween theme and everything else just came from there. A Tangelo Twist base and a piece of the large gingham-print Happy Hauntings DSP served as the background, with a panel of the fun ghostly pattern from the same set as my feature piece. I overlayed this with the spider web doily and a 'Boo' from the Cheer All Year set stamped in Tangelo Twist on Very Vanilla for my centre. I stamped my main sentiment in black on a piece of Tangelo Twist - also from Cheer All Year, although I masked it and stamped the 'happy' above the 'haunting' rather than alongside it. I was looking at my finished card and felt like it was missing a little something, so I fussy cut a spider from black glimmer paper and placed him on the spider's web (I did cut him freehand, so don't look too closely at his less-than-straight legs!). I'm also playing along with the team over at Fusion this week since my chosen theme fits with their photo inspiration a treat (right down to the lone spider!) 

I hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with this week's card for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Spider Web Doilies	Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper	Black Glimmer Paper	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Basic Black A4 Cardstock
Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock	Punch Corner Project Life	Cheer All Year Photopolymer Stamp Set	1" Circle Punch

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

Having contemplated the use of washi tape on today's card, I decided to take a more liberal interpretation and used my much loved Sleigh Ride Edgelits to create the layers on today's card:

I decided to use a piece of the rather dramatic black Winter Wonderland Specialty Designer Series Paper as the main feature paper for my card, layering this on a piece of gold foil and a base of Whisper White extra thick cardstock. This DSP is gorgeous - very glossy and with a beautiful sheen to it. I then layered my edgelits, cutting the trees out of gold glimmer paper and the houses out of Whisper White extra thick cardstock, but reversing both so that my sweeping lines went in the right direction according to the sketch! I stamped my sentiment from the co-ordinating stamp set 'Jingle All The Way' in Memento Black onto the white layer, just above the sweep of my final layer - Santa and his sleigh cut out of black glimmer paper and tied with a gold corded trim bow.  

I wasn't sure that black glimmer paper would work on a Christmas card, but I'm so glad I gave it a try; it really compliments the dsp on my card and just goes to prove that black glimmer paper has a life beyond Halloween! 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's challenge 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 all about leaves today! I've had a busy yet fun day today with a lovely bunch of ladies today making autumn wreaths. It's always fun to get together and do something a little different and it's nice to teach people to make things other than cards once in a while. I will share our project later this week; today I'm sneaking in a card to a couple of challenges I've had my eye on:

I just love this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch (patterns in threes are always good!) and the theme and colours along with the wonderful autumnal inspiration at The Challenge inspired me to create my card today:

A base of kraft cardstock with a mat of Cheery Cobbler provide the perfect backdrop for my Very Vanilla panel, which I stamped with the Hello Autumn sentiment from the 'Cheer All Year' set (such a versatile set, this one!) in Soft Suede and the leaf image from the Project Life Seasonal Snapshot 2015 set, which I stamped alternately in Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler. I added a linen thread bow to one of my leaves to finish and that's my clean and simple card for today! I love stamp sets that can be used for lots of different things and today's cards uses two such sets. 

That's all from me today; back early tomorrow with this week's post for the new challenge this week over at Create With Connie and Mary. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cheer All Year Photopolymer Stamp Set	Project Life Seasonal Snapshot 2015 Photopolymer Stamp Set	Delightful Dijion Classic Stampin' Pad	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Kraft 12" X 12" Cardstock	Linen Thread

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!

A quick post from me today to share one of the cards we made at this month's Technique class, featuring the Embellished Ornaments stamp set and Delicate Ornament Thinlits Dies. For this card, I combined it with the 'Season of Cheer' designer series paper and used it to fill the framelit space of the bauble:

I chose soft Sky and Night of Navy for the mats and layers for my card and having stamped a sentiment on the front, then also decorated the inside of the card to co-ordinate:

I layered the sentiment over the stamped bauble for extra detail and interest. This stamp set and framelits are one of the great bundle offers that you can find in the seasonal catalogue, with 15% off the combined price if you purchase both items together. Who doesn't love a bargain?!

I really like this card - the colours are rather unconventional for this kind of card yet they are the perfect match for the designer papers. I think this may actually be my favourite of this month's class cards! I set my ladies a challenge too - to use the bauble shape that was wastage on this card to create another one - I'll be sharing them on my Facebook page in due course as their entries start coming in!

If you live in or around Northampton and you would like to join me for either of next month's technique card classes, we will be featuring the 'Happy Scenes' stamp set and co-ordinating Hearth and Home framelit dies. Please get in touch for more details!

I have another class tomorrow - this time Autumn home decor is the name of the game! Come back tomorrow to see what we made and also find out what's on the latest set of Wednesday Weekly Deals and a new project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Embellished Ornaments Clear-Mount Bundle	Magnetic Platform	Big Shot	Season Of Cheer Designer Series Paper	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad
Gold Foil Sheets

As promised on Sunday, here's the other card I made using this week's colour combination over at The Paper Players:

It's another card using the Christmas Cuties stamp set, featuring the happy little elf:

I used extra thick Whisper White for my card base, with a mat of Real Red and another piece of Whisper White embossed with the Softly Falling Embossing Folder. I added a couple of circles in Real Red and Cucumber Crush, then added a large Whisper White circle stamped with the elf image in Archival Black and then coloured in using my aqua painter and Real Red and Cucumber Crush inks, with a little Crushed Curry for his hair and jingle bells and a touch of Pink Pirouette for his face and hands. To finish I added a trio of white sequins from the Metallics Sequin Assortment to the circle.

The new extra thick Whisper White is just lovely and a joy to watercolour on - especially if you use the Archival Black ink for your stamped outline; this prevents bleeding or running of ink as you paint. 

I've had a busy day today with the second of this month's technique classes. We created some fabulous cards using the Embellished Ornaments set and Delicate Ornaments Thinlits Dies which I will share with you in due course. If you like these colours, be sure to link up your creations with us over at The Paper Players - we would love to see them!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Cuties Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Magnetic Platform
Big Shot	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad	Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock
Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Aqua Painters	Fine-Tip Glue Pen	Metallics Sequin Assortment	Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock

Good morning everyone! Thank you to everyone who joined in my Halloween theme challenge over at The Paper Players last week - the gallery entries were fantastic! This week it is the turn of my fellow Brit turned American, the lovely Jaydee, to host, and she has a great colour challenge for you to play along with:

Once I'd got past wanting to make a set of traffic lights with these colours, I settled on another card using the Christmas Cuties stamp set, this time featuring the happy little elf:

I used Cucumber Crush for my card base - this is such a great bright green colour for Christmas! - and created a panel of red detail below my image, where I embossed a piece of Real Red cardstock with the Stylish Stripes embossing folder and edged it with a band of the red striped pattern from the Holiday Homes Fancy Foil Designer Vellum. Lastly, I tied my panel with a piece of Real Red striped ribbon, tied with a little jingle bell from my 'bits and bobs' drawer, just like the ones on the elf's outfit. To finish, I added a Very Vanilla circle stamped with the elf image in Archival Black and then coloured in using my aqua painter and Real Red and Cucumber Crush inks, with a little Crushed Curry for his hair and jingle bells and a touch of Pink Pirouette for his face and hands.  

I love the cute little images in this set - such fun! I made another card using the same colours and a Whisper White base panel for my alternate design, which I'll share later in the week.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing how you interpret our colour palette this week. I'm off for a morning of basketball and we still have some homework to do; we spent a chunk of yesterday visiting senior schools - can't believe in 12 months time the eldest of my James juniors will be heading off to senior school - eek! Hoping to then get some time to craft this afternoon; that would be nice!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Cuties Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Magnetic Platform
Big Shot	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Holidays Fancy Foil Designer Vellum	Real Red & Garden Green 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Striped Ribbon	Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad	Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad
Aqua Painters

I have a couple of fun punch art cards to share with you today (to make up for no post yesterday)! I was all ready to link up with the ladies at SUO Challenges but it would appear that our clocks are not coinciding this week - never mind! Check them out if you're a punch art fan as that's their theme this week. Both of these were made for my lovely husband, who celebrated his birthday this week. You will notice there is something of a common theme to my cards - here's the first one:

My husband has recently taken up learning to play the guitar; I think living in a household with three pianists and a singer, he was feeling somewhat left out! So I decided for my card to go with a simple black and white combo, using my circle framelits for the holes and my word window punch and decorative label punches for the fretboard and strings. The strings themselves are made using the new silver corded trim - perfect for my six-string - and I added an actual re guitar pick 'borrowed' from my husband's collection to add a pop of red to my card.

My second card was made from my children and includes both a punched star and a rather clever guitar made with ... the owl punch! Take a look:

I used some retired music print paper for my background and the same 'Rock Star' greeting from the 'Be The Star' stamp set, this time stamped in Pacific Point on Very Vanilla then punched out with my star punch. I also added the word 'DAD' cut with my little Letter Thinlits for further personalisation. A silver glimmer star then formed the background to highlight my punch art guitar: an owl punch body (minus the feet!) in Pacific Point, a small punched circle and a piece of Smoky Slate wound in thin silver thread for the strings with a couple of the owl hearts attached to the end for the keys that tighten the strings. Not a bad replica of the blue electric guitar he is practising on - thank heavens for headphones that plug in to his amplifier, so we are not all having to witness his Eric Clapton impressions until he is more polished!!

Back later with some exciting news for you, so watch this space; meanwhile, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

to follow.