This is my second post for today - you can see my earlier As You See It challenge post here. I had a little extra time yesterday and managed to make another card, this time for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the challenge is to use plaid on your card:

I had some piece of leftover paper having wrapped some gift boxes for the lovely ladies on my retreat last weekend so decided to use one of them for a quick clean and simple Christmas card - take a look:

 Whilst this card looks like it has a few steps, it really did take me next to no time to make: I always have some white cardbases cut, the plaid and thin strip of red cardstock were leftovers from other projects, as was the gold foil 'Christmas' - I had a few of these in the die case that I had cut previously, complete with self-adhesive backing. So all that was left to do was cut the paper to size, glue the pieces together and stamp the 'merry' and the holly and add a trio of red rhinestone berries. I even had time to use one of my favourite sentiments from the same 'Merry Christmas To All' stamp set on the inside of my card: 

So simple and a great way to use up some of those leftover bits and pieces 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:

Wrapped In Plaid 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Merry Christmas Dies (£26.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Gold Foil Sheets (£4.75)	Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels (£6.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for the dreaded speed-stamping challenge:

 For a card in under 10 minutes I had to keep things fairly clean and simple so armed with the sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Shades of Blue - I chose Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel and Night of Navy as the trio of blues I wanted to feature on my card. I stamped each house in all three colours and added some balmy blue snowflakes to suggest the oval shape of the sketch. 

From Our House To Yours - I love these little houses in the 'From Our House To Yours' set and because they come in separate pieces they are easy to stamp in different colours. They're photopolymer too so they are super easy to line up. 

Speedy Stamping - The stamping on my card took just minutes - it was super quick and easy! I did spend a little extra time creating my diecut edge and adding my teeny tiny snowflake sequins; even with my Take Your Pick tool these were more fiddly than everything else put together! My card ended up taking 9 minutes 24 seconds total - which is still super quick for 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. 

Do check out the As you See It gallery to see what the rest of the team have created in shades of blue - and see who was the fastest this week.

Enjoy your day; I'm off to the hospital today, hopefully to sort out my pesky frozen shoulder that's been troubling me the last few months. All being well I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

From Our House To Yours Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Magnolia Memory Dies (£33.00)	Snowflake Sequins (£5.50)

I have had a couple of days off from blogging following my hugely successful Creative Escapes Craft Retreat this weekend but wanted to pop in with a quick post to let you know that  Stampin' Up! is having a rare 24 hour stamp sale from 22.50 tonight, Tuesday 22 October until 22.50 tomorrow night, Wednesday 23rd October when you can receive 15% off selected stamp sets. How about that? Here is a list of the stamps that will be on offer:

The discount applies to individual stamp sets (not bundles) and can also be used in conjunction with a starter kit. Place your order here through my online store or by clicking on the shopping bag icon in the menu on the right hand side - don't forget to include the current hostess code for an extra thank you from me. 

Don't forget to add the current hostess reward code 6W6ARCB2 for an extra little thank you from me; this will also ensure you receive a copy of the new Spring-Summer catalogue and Sale-A-Bration leaflet which will be on its way within the next couple of months!

I'll be back with more creative projects later in the week but in the meantime this is a 24 hour event only so you have to act fast to benefit from 15% off these amazing sets, so time to go shopping - don't miss out! 

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

As you are reading this, I am away entertaining a lovely group of ladies at my Creative Escapes weekend craft retreat where we will be Christmas crafting to the max. My cards for you today though are all about birthdays - and male birthdays at that! I made these cards a while ago when I was preparing for my 'Come Sail Away' technique card class, although I didn't feature them in the class itself and LeAnne's challenge this week is the perfect opportunity for me to share them with you. I made two cards in one sitting and wanted to share both with you, so first up the more clean-and-simple of the two: 

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

All At Sea - Both of my cards feature a background layer embossed with the High Seas embossing folder for some subtle texture. I love the detail that this gives and it’s perfect for my nautical theme. 

Ahoy The Hand Lettered Prose Dies - I used my diecutting machine and the Hand Lettered Prose Dies to diecut an a, h, and y from my Balmy Blue card layer before I added the waves embossing. This allowed me to use the negative space to show the contrast of colour with the navy cardstock behind and gave me the opportunity to make a second card using the letters I had cut out with just a little extra effort. If you like these letters, it is worth also checking out the blog of one of our current Paper Players guest designers, SU Mohr (see the link list below), who has created many wonderful projects using them.

O It's A Ship's Wheel - I substituted the ‘o’ in the word ‘ahoy’ with a ship’s wheel from the Smooth Sailing Dies to tie in with my theme and added a frosted epoxy droplet to the centre for some subtle bling. I love playing with words to create this effect! I finished my sentiment with a stamp from the ‘Broadway Birthday’ set. The second of my two cards is below, which uses an extra layer and the positive rather than negative letters, but is otherwise the same basic card:

So what do you think? Is today's sentiment loud enough to celebrate a birthday? I’m now of an age where I’m not shout from the rooftops with each passing year, however I do love to celebrate and am thankful for the many thoughtful cards i receive from friends and family near and far. 

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:

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'll be back later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

High Seas 3D Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Hand-Lettered Prose Dies (£35.00)	Smooth Sailing Dies (£30.00)	Broadway Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set (£16.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)

The weather has been frightful today here in the UK so I escaped the rains and winds and had a day full of crafting in the warmth of my office. I have been making lots of treats that I am looking forward to sharing with the ladies that are booked to attend my Creative Escapes weekend craft retreat this forthcoming weekend. Before I finished up this evening, I had time to made a quick card that had been percolating all day for a few current challenges:

I thought the CAS Colours & Sketches sketch would be perfect for a card using the 'From Our House to Yours' set (with my 'H' for Just Add Ink being 'House/Home') and I decided to make them rainbow-coloured for Less Is More - take a look:

Some simple stamping on Whisper White, with the sentiment finished inside:

This is a great set with lots of little bits and pieces. I am sending this card to an old neighbour of mine who now lives a long way away and who I miss having around; we chat on the phone but I like to send her some 'happy mail' every now and again, so this one is for her.

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:

From Our House To Yours Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of our queen of dies, the lovely Laurie, to host this week and she has a seasonal colour challenge for you to work with:

Laurie's Halloween-inspired colours were tough for me this week - I rarely make Halloween cards as they aren't a big thing here in the UK and I don't have many seasonal stamps that would work with all four of these colours. So I decided to go in a completely different direction and armed with Jacquie's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches went for something more reminiscent of sunnier climes - take a look:

I used my Tropical Chic stamp set and dies to create a vibrant thank you card with a layered base, framing the diecut panel with a thin frame of Gorgeous Grape and adding a trio of blooms stamped in Pumpkin Pie and edged in Gorgeous Grape with a sponge dauber. A pair of dramatic black fern leaves and a glittery enamel dot complete my card.

So what do you think - does it work? This is one of those card that I think will pass, but I'm not sure I love it! Good job the rest of the team have some great cards to inspire you this 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 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:

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 am hoping to get some crafting done with more preparations for my retreat next weekend and maybe a catch a movie whilst I battle through an enormous pile of ironing - joy! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Tropical Chic Cling-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Tropical Dies (£25.00)	Gorgeous Grape A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Glitter Enamel Dots (£6.50)

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

I saw the wonderful autumn trees on Heather's badge this week and had an idea to create something inspired by this, but I couldn't get out of the Christmas zone that I am in this week as I plough ahead with the final preparations for my forthcoming Creative Escapes weekend craft retreat the weekend after next and with the beautiful Feels Like Frost papers still out on my desk following my technique class earlier this week, I couldn't resist another card featuring them - take a look:

This week's Inspire.Create sketch was perfect for a large centrepiece and this photographic image of snowy fir trees is worthy of a showcase. The photographer has managed to capture the sunlight peeking through the trees and the bokeh along with the soft pink sky make for a stunning image I think. I bordered my DSP with a couple of strips of sparkle glimmer paper to add to the feeling of frost and snow and used a Purple Posy card base - an unusual choice for a Christmas card, yet I think it ties n with the paper nicely.

Today's card really does feel a little like cheating, as I couldn't even bring myself to stamp a sentiment on the front of my card. The only stamping was this sentiment from 'Perfectly Plaid' that graced the inside, along with a tiny offcut of DSP from the front of my card (waste, not, want not!):

This card really would take no time at all to create, even though in reality it took me ages as I deliberated over whether to add a sentiment or not - does that ever happen to you when making a card? Still, at least now I can go and make a few more using the other sheets of this paper in the pack in record time!

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:

Feels Like Frost Specialty 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£13.00)

Sparkle Glimmer Paper (£4.75)

Purple Posy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Purple Posy Classic Stampin’ Pad (£7.00)

Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£16.00)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I can't believe it's Thursday already - as usual the week is flying by! Tonight I have a super quick post with an even quicker card that I made for the current challenge over at Just Us Girls:

Once I saw that the word of the week was Designer Paper how could this self-confessed designer series paper addict not play along?! Here's my super-simple Christmas card featuring the Feels Like Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper:

I mounted my DSP onto a Night of Navy mat and an extra-thick Whisper White cardbase, having first stamped my sentiment from the Frosted Foliage stamp set directly onto my DSP. And that's it! So simple. I made a version of this card in my technique class earlier this week; we were featuring the Feels Like Frost Suite and this card was voted the unanimous favourite - it just goes to show that sometimes stamps, ink and paper (of the patterned kind!) is all you need! A great example of #SimpleStamping.

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 lunchtime with my card for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Feels Like Frost Specialty 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£13.00)

Frosted Foliage Cling Stamp Set (En) (£19.00)

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

Today I'm squeezing in my card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge that I intended to blog on Saturday, but, well, the day was just too busy!

I made my card on Saturday afternoon as I was enjoying some World Card Making Day craftiness and indulged in two of my favourite past-times, colouring and fussy cutting to create this festive card - take a look:

My card features this fun Christmas elf from the #Elfie stamp set, inspired by Million Sales Achiever Karen Duke and I just love him! I fussy cut each of my three stamped images and mounted them on white stitched squares as I liked the added definition, then added my heat-embossed sentiment. A little stamping to the inside completed my card:

Easy as that! On reflection I'm wondering whether on this occasion I should have snipped away the bauble from the bottom image on the front of my card just to give a better balance - what do you think? 

Either way, I still love this cute little chap!

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've started the week with my monthly technique class this morning which was a lot of fun (I'll share some of those cards later in the week) and some of the usual cooking and cleaning that seems an ongoing task in the James household. As is the ironing - that's where I'm headed next, wish me luck! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

#Elfie Cling Stamp Set (En) (£20.00)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	In Color 2018–2020 Stampin' Write Markers (£13.75)
Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Call Me Clover Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Ivory Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)
Versamark Pad (£8.75)	White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)

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

At this time of year our thoughts often turn to giving thanks so I thought this would be a good theme for this week. I created not one but two cards this week, both using the colour combination over at TGIF Challenges. The first one uses this week's Fusion sketch (sketch only). I wanted to use the Country Home set for my cards today; it's one of my favourite sets for autumn thank you cards. For my first card I paired my milk churn of autumn foliage with some of the gorgeous patterned papers from the Woven Threads suite, along with some Grapefruit Grove coloured ribbon and pearls:

I tweaked my sentiment by replacing the stamped word 'happy' with a diecut from the Word Wishes Framelits set for added emphasis and finished my sentiment on the inside of my card:

My second card for Just Add Ink uses one of the other sentiments and foliage arrangements from the same set, this time with a piece of linen effect designer series paper from the Pressed Petals Specialty DSP that I embossed with my Tin Tile Embossing Folder for added texture:

You can see it more closely here, along with the detail on my cotton balls:

In Europe, due to ongoing customs issues we have been unable to obtain the Snowfall Accents Puff Paint on page 19 of the Autumn-Winter catalogue since the catalogue launch, which is a shame as it would be perfect to use on these. This week we learned that this product will not arrive before the catalogue end and as such has now been withdrawn from sale. Never fear though - I have a plan! I created exactly the same effect using some Tombo adhesive and white embossing powder using the same technique I used previously for an aeroplane smoke trail. I even made a video - here it is in case you aren't familiar with this technique and would like to see how it's done:

Give it a try and let me know how you get on and what you use it for - I'd love to see your projects!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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:

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 am busy with preparations for my upcoming luxury weekend crafting retreat so I will hopefully be spending some time in my craft room ticking a few more jobs off my list, in between the usual weekend homework and a birthday party run for one of the James Juniors tomorrow afternoon. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Country Home Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Woven Threads Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder (£9.25)
Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad (£7.00)	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Grapefruit Grove 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	Pretty Peacock 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Scalloped Linen Ribbon (£7.50)	Linen Thread (£4.75)	Pretty Peacock Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)