I'm a little later posting today as I had the first of this month's technique classes this morning and I wasn't quite organised enough to post beforehand. Anyway, I'm here now with a bright and colourful card to cheer your day! I have another birthday card for you - this time one that uses the current sketch over at the Fab Friday Challenge:

This circle could be so many things, but I really felt it needed words - in fact, two big ones! Take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Happy Birthday - It's big, it's bold and says it all right there: the Happy Birthday Thinlits Die really does make a big impact! Whether you pair it with flowers or balloons (the bundled stamp set 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' has both), this die makes a statement when used on a card front or birthday packaging. Here I've layered it and offset both diecuts, for added impact. This is one die that is going to get lots of use, for sure.

Reversing Birthday Memories - The paper I've used on my card today is from the Birthday Memories designer series paper from the product suite of the same name. You will no doubt like me swoon over this fabulous paper and it's adorable hand painted colourful children's illustrations, however the reverse side should also not be overlooked - it includes some great repeat patterns, along with a wonderful rainbow striped pattern and the dotty pattern that I've used on my card today. 

Blue With A Touch Of Citrus - My choice of patterned paper inspired my colour choices today, although I switched out the Soft Sky for Pool Party as I wanted a warmer blue to balance my zingy citrus colours of Lemon-Lime Twist and Pumpkin Pie. Here's today's colour combination for you to save to inspire your future creations too:

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	Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Brights Enamel Shapes	Balloon Bouquet Punch

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

So many possibilities! I actually made several birthday cards with Jaydee's challenge in mind and couldn't decide which one to share; I loved the colour combo over at The Colour Throwdown and since Jaydee is also guest designer over at CTD this week that decided it! I also used the Paper Craft Crew Sketch and my Rose Garden Thinlits to come up with my card today - take a look:

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

There's not much to say about today's card; I stencilled some roses onto my panel with some powder pink ink and a sponge brayer, then added layers of gold foil, acetate and ribbon before finishing with my layered pink and gold foil-edged rose. A sentiment in navy and a few metallic enamel shapes complete my card. Whilst simple I think the gold elements make this seem more fancy than usual. One thing's for sure - I love it!

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. I have more birthday cards to share with you this week, so be sure to pop buy for more birthday inspiration using some of my new catalogue products. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are hoping for another day of sunshine before the kiddies return to school tomorrow for the final half-term of this academic school year. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Rose Garden Thinlits Dies	Rose Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set	Sponge Brayers	Gold Foil Sheets	Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Natural Trim
Powder Pink A4 Cardstock	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
Metallic Enamel Shapes	Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate

Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying your weekend; I had a 'day off' yesterday and went cycling with the rest of the James clan and have spent today creating more samples for my open house catalogue launch on Thursday - here's a reminder of those details:

I would love to see you there! One of the cards I made today uses this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday:

I've been having fun with my new goodies and have used three on my card today:

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

Colour Theory - I decided to go monochrome today with the new Berry Burst in-colour balanced with white to create definition in my layers. My card features two of the contrasting crackle-glaze patterned papers from the Colour Theory DSP stack too - they add good visual interest without texture.

Lovely Words - The Lovely Words Thinlits dies set that the 'friend' centrepiece on my card comes from were one of the first things that made it into my pre-order basket. What can I say - I'm a sucker for word dies and I love that these can be used with or without the shape that they are set in and offer lots of creative possibilities for layering and using the negative space too. Expect to see lots more of these!

A Little Repetition - The Lovely Words Thinlits are available in a discounted bundle with the Lovely Inside & Out stamp set too. This is a fun set with some basic background pattern stamps along with large and small font greetings, that can be mixed and matched and used with or without the thinlits. I've used one of the sentiments to create a background panel, using my stamp-a-ma-jig to align the words to create my own DSP. It took a little time, but it was worth it for this fun effect.

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'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Lovely Inside & Out Clear-Mount Bundle	Berry Burst A4 Cardstock	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad	Color Theory Designer Series Paper Stack	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Banner Triple Punch

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The awesomely talented Laurie is the hostess this week and she has a sketch for us to work with:

I love a good sketch and this one was perfect for me to open a new stamp set that I won at Onstage in April but hadn't inked up yet - take a look:

Isn't that little piggy cute?! Here's the low-down on today's card:

This Little Piggy - This fun set of animated pigs in a variety of poses is set to be hugely popular if the 'oohs' and 'aahs' that accompanied Charlotte Harding's demonstration at Onstage are anything to go by. Who doesn't love a pig or know someone who does? The excitement in the room when this set was offered up as a prize patrol was palpable, but that was nothing compared to how I reacted when I won it - I think it's fair to say I gave a piggy squeal of delight! I've used the 'serious' pig on my card today, that can be paired with one of two sentiments. I stamped the image and sentiment separately on my card and completed the sentence inside my card, complete with kisses:

Isn't that sweet? A perfectly fun anniversary card for this week's challenge over at As You See It too - this card is perfect for my hubby!

Lots Of Layers - I took the opportunity to add some layers to my focal image with a mix of stitched shapes and layered squares. On this card I punched my sentiment out with the classic label punch, rather than stamp it directly onto the patterned paper layer as I did on the card below.

Paper Pick 'n' Mix - I'm taking the opportunity to use up my retiring papers so this card features some polka dots from the Brights stack as well as some Pop of Pink DSP for the horizontal band. I also created a second card using the Playful Palette DSP stack papers with an alternative sentiment pairing - take a look:

And here's the inside:

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

Here's the details for my second card:

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with our sketch this week. Do leave me a comment and let me know which of these little pigs you prefer and if they are on your wishlist too! Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we have a Bank Holiday on Monday so an extra long one, which is great. I am hoping for a continuation of this lovely weather and another BBQ, possibly followed by a bike ride. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack	Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies
Layering Squares Framelits Dies	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Classic Label Punch
Brights Enamel Shapes

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fusion:

I went with both the sketch and photo inspiration for my card today - I loved the navy and white colour combination and the strong pattern influence in the inspiration photo:

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

Label Me Pretty - The focal point for my card is a layered label from the new Label Me Pretty set. I featured one of the other labels in this set in my Saturday post (if you missed it you can see it here); for today's card I punched out my main label using the new Pretty Label Punch and added some additional layering to the circles in the centre. 

Floral Boutique - I love the patterns in the Floral Boutique designer series paper pack and will be sorry to see this paper retire. Fear not though, there is a silver lining: 4 of the patterns in this pack are returning in the new In-Colour Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper Pack, including the one I've used on my card today. Hooray - now I can re-create my card in the new in-colours too!

An Added Detail - In addition to some retired Sale-A-Bration metallic ribbon, I added one final detail to my card today; well actually, to the envelope! I took a co-ordinating piece of paper from the Floral Boutique stack and added it to my envelope flap for some pretty additional detail. This is a nice way to add a touch of colour to an otherwise plain envelope - after all, envelopes should never be naked!

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:

Label Me Pretty Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Pretty Label Punch	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	1-3/8" (3.5 Cm) Circle Punch
1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch

Happy Monday everyone! Lots to achieve this week so I'm trying to be organised with this week's blog posts. Today I'm just in time to share a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

So many possibilities here for this sketch and that object/shape! I eventually decided on a 'something old, something new' for a birthday card - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I thought the easel from the 'Painter's Palette' stamp set would look great paired with the new 'Pick A Pattern' designer series paper, so I stamped it twice so that I could add a little dimension between the easel and the canvas, added some paint splatters to the canvas in some of the colours that feature in the paper, paired with a bright Emerald Envy card base and that was my card done. An artistic start to the week! 

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:

Painter's Palette Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Pick A Pattern Designer Series Paper	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock	Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Sahara Sand A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of our amazing and fearless leader Nance to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I took the opportunity to use this week's Paper Craft Crew Sketch for my card today as I haven't played along over there for a while:

This simple layout was perfect for a clean and simple card with a feature butterfly - take a look:

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

Watercolour Wings - I decided to use the larger of the Watercolour Wings butterflies to create the focal point on my card today. I used the same set for my sentiment, that I chopped up by hand. This is a great set for a clean and simple card - I really should use it more often!

Fluttering White Space - I wanted to keep my 'white space' white and uncluttered, however decided to add interest by embossing my background with my Fluttering Embossing Folder. 

Loving Lemon-Lime Twist - I decided to feature one of the new in-colours on my card today: Lemon-Lime Twist. I paired it with Dapper Denim and Night of Navy for my butterfly, along with a little Night of Navy baker's twine and Navy on Lime for my sentiment - I so love these two colours together! This green is so zingy and fresh - it is a definite new favourite of mine! Here's my colour combination in case you would like to try it on a future project:

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:

I look forward to seeing your clean and simple creations in the gallery this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Watercolor Wings Photopolymer Stamp Set	Bold Butterfly Framelits Dies	Fluttering Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Night Of Navy Solid Baker's Twine	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my wonderful friend Claire's turn to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

I love Claire's palette of bold, bright colours and took the opportunity to use some of my new pre-order products that have been bursting to get out of the box and create a card for a friend that uses this week's Mojo Monday sketch layout - take a look:

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

A Sentiment That Says It All - I chose to feature the largest sentiment in the new 'Lovely Friends' stamp set on the front of my card today. This is a stamp set choc-full of heartfelt sayings to put on a card to your very best friend (or friends - why stop at one?!) and this one is pretty much a card in itself. I incorporated the colours in a few added florals from the same set and the layering and banners behind, yet it is the sentiment that does all the work here. 

A Hidden Surprise - I could have stopped there; instead I chose to use the co-ordinating Lovely Laurel Thinlits Dies to create a fun pop-up inside my card. When you open this card, this is what you see:

Isn't that just such a fun surprise? These thinlits are really easy to use and make light work of creating this impressive pop-up feature. I love the flowing script of the banner font too and the subtle embossed detail on the banner itself.

There's Nothing Blue About This Card - Ok, well other than the card itself, of course! I chose to use Tempting Turquoise as my dominant colour of those in Claire's palette today and I think it really allows the red and orange to pop and the lovely green laurel wreath to shine. This is one of those truly uplifting cards that is guaranteed to raise a smile - or maybe even a 'wow' when opened up and the surprise inside is revealed. I think this card is cheeriness in an envelope!

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. Happy Mother's Day to my fellow team mates and all my lovely readers who are stateside and have had to wait until today to celebrate and be celebrated; Mother's Day in the UK is in March and already seems like so long ago. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I have a quiet few hours this afternoon so am going to get some things prepared to share with you next week in the hope that my normal blog schedule will be resumed. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Lovely Friends Photopolymer Bundle	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad
Brights A4 Cardstock	Pear Pizzazz A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Banner Triple Punch

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The lovely LeAnne is hosting host this week and she has a fun theme for us to work with:

Sweet treats - yummy! So many delicious possibilities; I'm a real lover of ice-cream so decided to break out my Cool Treats Suite and using this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday created my very own ice-cream sundae - of the paper variety, of course! Take a look at what I came up with:

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

Lots of Layers - I was attracted to this week's Mojo Monday sketch and all those lovely layers - I've used 10 in total on my card! I am often wary about mixing paper patterns however the Tasty Treats papers have some great co-ordinating patterns that make mixing and matching easy. I used three different ones on today's card sticking to one small pattern design, one larger design and a banner of stripes. Neither one overwhelms another so can be used together effectively to create a cohesive design.

Tasty Treats - I took the colour scheme for my card directly from the Tasty Treats Specialty Designer Series Paper and instead of a square for one of the layers of the sketch I used my Frozen Treat Thinlits to create a three-scoop ice cream sundae, complete with sprinkles and glossy hot fudge sauce (courtesy of my fine tip glue pen). Such a shame we are soon to say goodbye to this paper, however I'm thrilled that the stamp set and thinlits are being carried over to the new annual catalogue.

Two-Tone Sentiment - I finished with a two-tone sentiment by masking and inking my stamp with Watermelon Wonder and Early Espresso respectively. I gave the same treatment to my sentiment on the inside and added a cherry, because, well every sundae needs one, even if it's on the inside:

This card is a great example of what I love about Stampin' Up! - effortless colour and product co-ordination. Inks that match stamps that match cardstock that match paper - there's nothing better! 

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are embarking on exam season here in the James household, so it will be revision and not a lot else here today. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Cool Treats Photopolymer Bundle	Tasty Treats Specialty Designer Series Paper	Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Fine-Tip Glue Pen

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The lovely Jaydee is the hostess this week and as it's the fifth week of the month she has a fun tic tac toe board for us to work with:

I decided to go across the bottom row - pink, leaves and flower - and took the opportunity to create a card with a modern collage feel, a little different to my usual style. Take a look:

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

So In Love Watercolouring - I heat embossed the large flower from 'So In Love' onto Shimmery White cardstock and used my aquapainter and a variety of pink inks to watercolour it. When dry, I added a liberal brush of clear Wink of Stella for added sparkle. I used the same outline flower for some tone-on-tone stamping and added some white diecut leaves.

Bits And Pieces - I love collage-style cards, but find them such a challenge to create and have them look natural! I gathered lots of bits and pieces - ribbon, sequins, doilies and a wooden flower - and set to work. I also gave my finished card a liberal flick of Wink of Stella - you can't see the shine on the photograph, but this card is oh so pretty in real life!

Freestyle Collage - So the trick with this kind of freestyle collage card is to somehow take an eclectic selection of items and bring them together into a cohesive design. This card took me longer than it should have, as I was very considered with my elements, however I'm really pleased with the result - a lovely, feminine card that would work for a variety of different occasions. I am also linking up with the ladies over at SUO Challenges today with this card where there theme is 'all that's feminine'.

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with our tic tac toe board this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we have a long one as tomorrow is a Bank Holiday here in the UK, so we are all enjoying the extra day that comes with a public holiday - let's just hope the weather stays fine! I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

So In Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Aqua Painters	Silver 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Natural Trim	Pink Pirouette A4 Cardstock
Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad	Sending Love Embellishments