It's Sunday and time for the first challenge of 2017 over at The Paper Players! Did you spot our new look? Our fearless leader, the lovely Nance, has given us a refresh and makeover over the Christmas break and we are returning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and raring to go! Our new guest designers are joining us too; a warm PP welcome to Crystal, Valentyna and Deanne - we are so happy to have you join us for the first part of 2017! 

To kick off the new year, it's the turn of my good friend LeAnne to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for us to work with:

If your house is anything like mine, the festive season has generated much packaging waste and many opportunities for recycling. So this week's challenge is perfect! I took the opportunity to recycle a Christmas gift on my card today and used the sketch over at Fab Friday for my layout. Recycling Christmas gifts already?! It's not quite as bad as it sounds - take a look:

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

Join The Colouring Craze - One of my Christmas gifts was a page-a-day colouring calendar. Well, to be truthful I bought one for Rebecca and loved it so much I treated myself to one! The calendar comes in a pretty box that can be used to display our coloured pieces once completed. I decided that by recycling my pages, I could easily use them to create a birthday card. Here's my day one finished page before I trimmed it to fit my card:

Effortless Blending - I coloured my page using Stampin' Up!'s new watercolour pencils and used a blender pen to seamlessly blend the colours and give a smooth finish as the paper was too thin to blend using an aquapainter. I also adhered my coloured piece to a piece of extra thick Whisper White for extra rigidity. I love that these pencils can be used in a number of different ways and am looking forward to trying other techniques with them too.

A Fiesta of Colour - I chose to inject some bright summer colour into my card today, using a card base of Daffodil Delight and a selection of papers from the Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper set for my layers behind the coloured-in panel. I love these clashing brights - here are my main colours in case you would like to save them for future project inspiration 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I hope you like today's card; you could create the same effect using the new 'Inside The Lines' Designer Series Paper Sale-A-Bration gift (free with a purchase of £45 or more) - I will have a fun project for you using this paper later this week, so be sure to pop by and check it out.

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 fun theme 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 Pencils	Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper	Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock
Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Brights Enamel Shapes	Blender Pens

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the talented Sandy to host this week and she has a fun sketch challenge for you to work with:

 You all know me well enough by now to know how much I love a good sketch and this one is no exception - so many possibilities! I could have stamped the offset panel or featured a designer series paper; unusually for me though, I decided to showcase an embossing folder. Take a look:

Doesn't that look all warm and cosy and remind you of nights in by the fire?!  Here's the low-down on today's card:

Create An Impression With Cable Knit -  For my central panel I embossed a rectangle of Cherry Cobbler cardstock with the Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This is one of Stampin' Up!'s new Dynamic folders, made to create deep, dimensional embossed impressions and it really does - you can almost feel the knitted stitches in that would-be sweater, the grooves are so deep.

Stitched Wrapped in Warmth - I inked my sentiment, from the Wrapped in Warmth stamp set, using Cherry Cobbler, Delightful Dijon and Basic Black Stampin' Write Markers and added a stitched border using the new Stitched Shape Framelit Dies, before adding a little enamel heart embellishment too. I just love the stitched edging, so effective. 

Warmth and Cheer Colour Combo - The colour combination for my card came right out of the plaid background paper from the Warmth and Cheer paper stack, with its warm red, mustard yellow and basic black. Feel free to save it if it's a favourite of yours too:

A little ribbon and burlap to finish completes my festive, warm and cosy Christmas 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. 

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 Sandy's sketch this week. We are off for our usual Sunday morning of sport, followed by an afternoon of Christmas crafting preparations.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wrapped In Warmth Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack	Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Delightful Dijon 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Mini Striped Ribbon
5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Regals Enamel Shapes	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker	Cherry Cobbler & Garden Green Stampin' Write Markers

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of my sweet friend Claire to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

I was inspired by a few other challenges too for my cards today - yes, not one, not two but three cards to share with you! The challenge over at Fusion has a great inspiration photo (you can see it below as the card that I am entering for this challenge is further down the post) that led me to use the 'Joyful Nativity' Christmas set from the annual catalogue and with the Addicted to CAS challenge codeword is ombre and CAS Colours and Sketches calling for monochromatic blues, I dug out my Marina Mist, Dapper Denim and Night of Navy ink pads and set to work.

The genre of 'clean and simple' tends to be rather subjective and whilst my general style is definitely 'clean' it tends toward 'clean and layered' rather than 'clean and simple'. So today I decided to take the same basic idea and create both a clean and simple and a clean and layered card to illustrate the difference! So here's my first card, a simple one layer affair stamped on extra thick Whisper White cardstock:

I stamped the angel in the centre of my 'o', brushed the stamped areas with my clear Wink of Stella brush and added a metallic shape to the star to finish my card. Super clean and simple! I also made a second version of this card, this time adding in the secondary sentiment, stamped in Night of Navy:

For my final card, I created a clean yet layered card, using this week's sketch over at the Global Design Project:

I used a cardbase of Marina Mist and switched out the angel for the Bethlehem skyline, added a piece of in-colour envelope paper for my background layer and heat embossed my sentiment in silver onto a strip of Night of Navy cardstock:

All three of the cards have a beautiful shimmer as a result of the careful brushing with my Clear Wink of Stella which adds a gorgeous subtle sparkle in real life. So which one do you prefer? 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 '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 cards this week. We are off for our usual Sunday morning of sport assuming the hockey pitch hasn't frozen with the sub-zero temperatures we've been having for the last couple of days, followed by lunch, some baking for a school bake sale this week and then a birthday party to attend for the youngest of the James Juniors, so another full-on Sunday!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of an exciting new promotion for next week only; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Joyful Nativity Photopolymer Stamp Set	Metallic Enamel Shapes	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	2016-2018 In Color Envelope Paper	Marina Mist A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a colour challenge for you to work with:

I have another Pretty Pines project for you today, but a 3D project for a change as opposed to a card. I made this home decor frame to showcase these fabulous dies - and adorn my home during the festive season of course! Take a look:

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

Pretty Pines - I love these dies and they are perfect to create festive embellishments for cards, gift packaging or a home decor project such as this one. I focused on the pine needles, berries and mistletoe pieces to make my wreath - not a pinecone in sight - as I wanted to stick to my red, green and white colour scheme. Using the Big Shot Precision Base Plate and the die brush also made light work of removing the pieces from the framelits. I added a bow in Real Red stitched edge ribbon as a finishing touch:

A Joyful Christmas and a Wonderful Year - I chose the Joyful Christmas sentiment from the 'Wonderful Year' stamp set as the focal point for my frame. This is the perfect sentiment for this frame, which I am intending to display in my hallway to welcome guests over the festive season.

Ombre, Ombre - I stamped my focal sentiment in Emerald Envy using the ombre stamping pad for added interest. I love the gradation of colour you get with these stamp pads and they really are so easy to use.

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. 

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 my colour choices this week. We are doing something a little different in terms of sporting pursuits today: Ben is off for his usual session of basketball, however Rebecca is going to be at the swimming pool bright and early as she is participating in a sponsored swim in aid of For Zachary, a charity set up in memory of a little boy who lived for only 69 days before dying from a rare neonatal lung disease. The swimmers are aiming to cover a distance of 69km in total, one kilometre for each day of young Zachary's life - and Rebecca is aiming to swim just over 3km herself. That will be no mean feat! She is still collecting sponsorship, so if you're reading this and you would like to sponsor her, here is the event's JustGiving page - many thanks and I''l let you know how she gets on.

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:

Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies	Wonderful Year Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Emerald Envy Ombre Stampin' Pad	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Whisper White 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock	Real Red 3/4" (1.9 Cm) Stitched Edge Ribbon	Precision Base Plate
Big Shot Die Brush

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

 Ultra clean and layered today (no surprise there then!) - I chose to showcase a wonderful sentiment and some fabulous paper on my card today - here it is:

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

Petals and Paisleys - I chose to use one of the 'busy' papers from the Petals and Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper on my card today - a bold colour scheme with lots going on, so definitely a paper that needs to be allowed to shine on its own. 

I Am Blessed - Some lovely paisley stamps in the Paisleys and Posies stamp set, however it also contains great sentiments and this one is perfect to make a statement of thankfulness. I cropped mine with the Layered Ovals Framelits and backed with a scalloped oval, and a simple folded ribbon detail to tie the whole thing together.

A Rich Autumnal Colour Combination - There are so many wonderful colours in these papers - I focused in on Delightful Dijon, Night of Navy and the addition of Rich Razzleberry to emphasise the rich colours of the season. Feel free to save this combination if it appeals to you 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. 

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. As you read this I will be travelling back from a few days away at our regional Stampin' Up! Onstage event in Telford, no doubt bursting with ideas for the Spring and Summer season. Don't worry - I won't be sharing on my blog here for a while, I still have so many Christmas projects to share!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project as my normal blogging schedule will resume; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Petals & Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper	Paisleys & Posies Photopolymer Stamp Set	Ribbon 3/8" (1 Cm) Trio Pack	Petals & Paisleys A4 Cardstock Pack	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies
Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely Jaydee to host this week and she has a great sketch for you to work with:

I decided to combine my card with the challenge over at Merry Monday and use some of the lovely plaids featured in the Warmth and Cheer designer series paper stack. I actually made two cards for today's challenge and couldn't decide which one I liked best, so thought I'd share them both! Here's my first card:

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

Warmth and Cheer - Both of my warm plaids are from the Warmth and Cheer designer series paper pack, which is choc full of great plaid patterns that work for both autumnal and Christmas cards. Here I've combined two of the plaid patterns, each featuring Cherry Cobbler, for my vertical panel and mat. 

Oh What Fun - I was prompted to use this sentiment from the 'Oh What Fun' set following a conversation with one of my team members this week. This set is choc-full of great sentiments and having featured in last year's seasonal catalogue this year has made the transition to the annual catalogue. It was perfect for my card today, allowing me to ink up each half with Delightful Dijon and Cherry Cobbler markers on a 1 3/4" punched circle and separated by a fussy cut Cherry Cobbler banner. 

Dijon Doily - To finish I added a 2015-17 In-Color Doily in Delightful Dijon behind my circle sentiment. I often forget to use doilies yet I like the added detail it adds to my circle here without being overly fussy, clean and simple person that I am! 

Here's the second card that I made - this one has a few less layers and features only one piece of plaid, along with a couple of metallic sequins:

Lastly, 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 which one of today's cards do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below with your thoughts - I love reading them!

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 sketch.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set	Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack	2015-2017 In Color Doilies	1-3/4" (4.4 Cm) Circle Punch	Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Metallics Sequin Assortment

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the super-talented Sandy to host this week and she has a great fall/Halloween-inspired colour palette for you to work with:

Having missed Claire's Halloween themed challenge last week, I decided to take Sandy's colours and use them for a fun Halloween card this week; take a look:

I also used this week's sketch over at The Paper Craft Crew's Challenge for my layout. Here's the low-down on today's card:

A Halloween Scene - I used my Spooky Fun stamp set and co-ordinating Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies to create the spooky scene on my card. I used my Layered Circle Framelits to cut a Whisper White circle for my oversize moon, then used the spooky tree and witch framelits to give my scene structure. I just love that tree - it reminds me of the whomping willow in the Harry Potter books!

A Wicked Witch - I decided to use the green on my card for the sentiment banner and the witch - after all, aren't all wicked witches green?! I stamped it in black on to Wild Wasabi cardstock and then coloured in some of the detail with my black Stampin' Write marker.

Background Detail - I used the wash stamp in the Perpetual Calendar stamp set for the orange detail on my card base beneath my strip of Halloween Nights designer series paper and added in a couple of spooky fun bats, some sequins and silver metallic thread to complete my 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. 

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 colours. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies	Halloween Night Specialty Designer Series Paper	Perpetual Birthday Calendar Photopolymer Stamp Set	Silver Metallic Thread	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Metallics Sequin Assortment	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Many Marvelous Markers	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad
Wild Wasabi A4 Cardstock

As promised on Sunday, I have another mouse card today using the same stamp set and layout that I used yesterday, based on my sketch this week over at The Paper Players but using an alternative colour scheme and feature paper:

You can see yesterday's card here. Now for today's card:

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

Merry Mouse - Once again I featured the carol-singing mouse from the 'Merry Mice' set on my panel. This time I stamped him on Extra thick Whisper White in Archival grey ink and coloured him with inks and my aquapainter. I added a liberal does of clear Wink of Stella and stamped my sentiment directly onto the panel just below.

Fancy Frost - For my background panel, I used a piece of the new Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper. Over the past several years, Stampin’ Up! has released several white-on-white specialty papers that come with a clear, heat-embossed pattern.  This paper is different – this paper is dry-embossed (the paper is pressed from one side to create a design you can easily run you finger over).  The patterns are quite beautiful and whether you add ink or leave it as-is as I've done on my card today, this paper is going to be a firm favourite; check out this zoom in on the detail of that gorgeous pattern:

Cool Colours - Unlike yesterday's bold colours, I chose to use cooler colours on my card today, with Whisper White for my card and base panel, along with some silver glimmer paper and some clear Wink of Stella with my Smoky Slate mouse. Feel free to save this colour combination if it appeals to you 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. 

I must confess I prefer today's card to yesterday's; it was my original choice for the challenge, but I was struggling to photograph the detail of the Fancy Frost Specialty paper and without it the card looked rather plain, whereas in real life it has a real 'wow'. Which of the two cards when compared do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below and share your thoughts.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Merry Mice Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper	Aqua Painters	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad
Silver Glimmer Paper

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a great sketch for you to work with:

This is one of my 'go to' layouts; I used it most recently on this card here. It works for so many designs. I decided today to use one of the cute little mice from the 'Merry Mice' set. Here's my card:

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

Merry Mouse - I featured the carol-singing mouse from the 'Merry Mice' set on my panel. I stamped him on Very Vanilla in Archival black ink and coloured him with inks and my aquapainter. I added a few pearl snowflakes and stamped my sentiment directly onto the panel just below.

Music This Christmas - For my background panel, I used the music paper from the This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper. This is one of the great reverse patterns in this pack, that works for Christmas but will also come in handy for other cards too. This is the perfect background to compliment my festive carol singer.

Primary Colours - I chose to use Pacific Point for my card and panel base today, along with some Real Red baker's twine and a little Emerald Envy green too with my Tip Top Taupe mouse. The blue is not a colour that I normally use on a Christmas card, but I think it works. Feel free to save this colour combination if it appeals to you 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. 

This is one of those sweet little cards that you could stamp a whole bunch of then colour in at your leisure - produce a whole bunch of Christmas cards and get some relaxation therapy into the bargain! I actually created a second version of this card too which is quite different that I will share with you tomorrow.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week - their cards are varied and awesome:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's sketch. We are off to basketball today and have plans for an otherwise restful day before the busy week ahead. Enjoy your Sunday - I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Merry Mice Clear-Mount Stamp Set	This Christmas Designer Series Specialty Paper	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock
Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine	Aqua Painters	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad
Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Pad	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad	Pearl Basic Jewels

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely Laurie to host this week and she has a great clean and simple theme for you to work with:

I toyed with some time about my card this week: pumpkins, apples, acorns - what to choose? I browsed through my new goodies and when I happened across this pumpkin patterned DSP hidden away in the Halloween Night Specialty pack, I knew what I wanted to do. I also used this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts for my layout today. Here's what I came up with:

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

Not Just for Halloween - Whilst many of the papers in the Halloween Night Specialty Designer Series Paper Pack are overtly Halloween-inspired, this pattern of watercoloured pumpkins can also be used on more general Fall projects, as can the spotted paper I used for my banner and the stripes and checked patterns in the pack. This paper became the starting point for my card.

Spooky Pumpkin Fun - My layered square was the perfect place for my sentiment from the 'Spooky Fun' stamp set, along with a popped up trio of pumpkins, coloured with my Pumpkin Pie ink and a blender pen and cut out with the co-ordinating Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies.

Festive Fall Colours - The colour scheme for today's card comes straight from the Halloween Night DSP: the warm orange tones of Pumpkin Pie, contrasted with Basic Black, Whisper White and Smoky Slate. More Halloween than Fall granted, but by emphasising the warmth of the orange, I think it works. Feel free to save this colour combination if it's one you'd like to try:

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. 

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 CAS challenge. We have a day of sport and birthday parties today - we are most certainly back into the swing of things as far as the new school term is concerned!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Halloween Night Specialty Designer Series Paper	Spooky Fun Photopolymer Bundle	Halloween Night Enamel Dots	Layering Squares Framelits Dies	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Blender Pens	Banner Triple Punch	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad