So, as promised, a creative post at last today! I've been busy this weekend preparing for next week's Christmas card classes, so I have lots to share with you this week, including a couple of videos. Today's card is another made with the circle thinlits card and I'm just in time to link up with this week's Merry Monday Challenge over at Always Playing With Paper, where this week's challenge is to make a Christmas card featuring Santa:

My very first thinlit card was using the 'Best of Christmas' santa, but today I thought I would go for something a little different and so am using the cute santa from the 'Colour Me Christmas' stamp set. Here's my card:

I used a bright red and white colour scheme and coloured my santa with my Stampin' Write markers to give a bold finish. I then cut out my stamped image using the scalloped circle framelit from the thinlit set, which I layered on an offset red scalloped circle for interest. I also used the mini-chevron framelit to create a border edge to my card and finished with a button and some ribbon, and added some Dazzling Diamonds to the trim on santa's hat and coat with the aid of my two-way glue pen just to give a little added sparkle. Well, it is a Christmas card after all!

I hope you like my card; do pop over to the Merry Monday page and see what the designers and other participants have come up with on this theme. Back tomorrow with a card and video for you, as well as a quick post with the digital deal of the day. I also have my first Christmas card class of the week tomorrow, which I'm very much looking forward to and a trip to the cash & carry in readiness for our school bonfire and fireworks display next weekend: a packed day in store, but with the children back at school tomorrow following their half-term break that will be one less thing to think about! Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

There will be a creative post today, I promise, but firstly a quick post with today's digital download offer. Today is Day 3 of Digital Scrapbooking Days and for today only you can order the All Time Fave Photobook at 50% off. Here's a picture of some of the things in this great kit - if you'd like to buy it, just click on the image and it will take you directly to my online store. 

Check back tomorrow for the next Digital Scrapbooking deal! Back in a bit with today's creative post.

Today is officially Digital Scrapbooking Day and today there are two ways to celebrate! Today's 50% off set is the Hello There Kit:

This is a really versatile set. If you would like to see some great projects made with this set, then go to today's post at MyDigitalStudio.net to see what some of the designers have created with this kit - and just for today you can purchase it by clicking on the image above for just £3.48. And if that wasn't enough, there is a TOTALLY FREE digital download kit available to everyone for one day only! Here it is - the Moments Ago stamp brush set:

This set of handwritten phrases would be great for cards and scrapbook projects alike and I can think of lots of uses for them. If you haven't already, go and download your copy - only a couple more hours to go! Don't forget to check back tomorrow for another set with 50% off - tomorrow it's the turn of the All Time Favourite Photobook template.

That's my digital post for today; back soon with another fun project, but until then, happy stampin'!

Tomorrow 2nd November is Digital Scrapbooking Day over at Mydigitalstudio.net, but Stampin' Up! is celebrating not just tomorrow but for eight days, starting today!

Every day from today until the 8th November, Stampin' Up! is offering a digital download at 50% off - here's the full list if you would like to check them out:

• 11/1 Amped Up Ampersands Kit
• 11/2 Hello There Kit + FREE Moments Ago Stamp Brush Set
• 11/3 All Time Fave Photobook Template
• 11/4 Modern Medley Overlays Kit
• 11/5 Be Brave Pocket Cards
• 11/6 Nobody’s Business Photobook Template
• 11/7 Autumn Traditions Kit
• 11/8 Afternoon Daydream Kit

I'll feature a link to each of the discounted sets via my blog every day, but remember - they are valid for one day only; don't delay in visiting my online store to purchase yours!

Here's the link to today's kit set, the 'Amped Up Ampersands' kit - so useful for both cards and scrapbooking: 

If you'd like to see some great projects made using this set, hop on over to mydigitalstudio.net to see what the designers there have been creating. Pop back tomorrow when there will be a FREE download to celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day, in addition to another 50% off deal.

Until then, happy stampin!

Two more posts with business news today  - the first and most important is that at last the envelope punch board is here!

Lots of my customers will have heard me extol it's virtues, since as a demo I've had one for a couple of weeks now and I can honestly say that it is one of the best bits of kit we've had since the magnetic platform (and you all know how much I love that!!)

The board enables you to create customisable envelopes in up to 66 different sizes and with the many different paper options, the possibilities really are endless. The board is small and lightweight, with an integrated punch for both your envelope indents and to round the flap points and it also has a scorer that slots into the back of the board for storage when not in use. You can also use it for more than just envelopes: boxes, envelope liners and other items can be created with the board. Watch this short video from Stampin' Up! to see the board in action: 

At just £17.95, this versatile tool is great value too. If you would like to order one, I recommend you get your order in sooner rather than later, as Stampin' Up! seem to be having a hard time anticipating just how much we will all love these new products, so they end up on backorder in next to no time. I'll be sharing lots of makes, both envelopes and lots of other fun things, hopefully with a few videos too, in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Back shortly with some exciting digital news; until then, happy stampin'!

Order your Envelope Punch Board in my online store now: 

A late post from me today and it was supposed to be all about Halloween, but as I'm behind this week and the current Paper Players challenge ends tomorrow, I need to have a switch around so that I can link up today's card. This week's challenge over at The Paper Players is a sketch by the lovely Ann Marie - here it is:

I love sketch challenges as you know and I've actually used this layout for several card designs this week (still in the making and not blogged yet, in case you're thinking you haven't seen them!) The card that I'm going to link up though is the one that is most 'true to sketch' and is actually the birthday card I designed for my Mum - here it is:

Now it's not my Mum's birthday until Saturday, so I'm taking a chance here, but as she rarely looks at my blog I think I'm safe! I took the inspiration for my colour scheme from some of the papers in the Afternoon Picnic DSP stack and it was an opportunity to use a colour that I rarely do: Wisteria Wonder. I actually had some out on my desk as I've been using it for another project recently, but must confess it's a colour I don't find myself drawn to. I love the idea of lilac, but I find too much Wisteria Wonder rather overpowering. Here I've tried to temper that by using a Very Vanilla background and making good use of Pear Pizzazz, the other main colour in the patterned paper. I used my Stampin' Write markers to colour the flower from the 'Oh Hello' stamp set, which so looks like the flowers that you see in this paper stack and I used an embossed strip across the centre of my card because whilst I think it would have looked nice with a strip of chevron ribbon, I wanted it to be post-friendly and I like the way the embossed dots again echo the pattern of the paper.

So that's my card. I may well share some of today's Halloween makes with you tomorrow (call it early planning for next year!) Whilst I don't tend to go in for Halloween cards and as my regular readers will know, I haven't featured a single Halloween project, one of the things that is really big in the James household is pumpkin carving. Each year we try to grow our own pumpkins in the garden and this year we managed to grow four, two of which were the biggest ever! Our record breaking pumpkin was 1.38m in circumference and weighed 17.9kg - only 2kg lighter than my 6 year old son!!! The children and I spent the happiest of days today carving all four of our pumpkins, so I thought I should share some pictures with you:

 This is Rebecca's pumpkin, that she carved herself:

This is Ben's pumpkin, that he too managed himself for the first time this year:

And lastly here are both Ben and Rebecca, with our two 'monster' pumpkins, the largest of which was big enough for a double Monsters University-inspired carving:

Not a piece of cardstock in sight, but very creative, nonetheless! I'll be back tomorrow with another project, meanwhile why not pop over to The Paper Players and see what the designers and other participants have done with the above sketch? Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

My second post today with the second new offer of the week:

Stampin' Up! are offering a fantastic 30% off selected holiday digital downloads from now until 30th November. There's a wide variety of downloads that are reduced, everything from cards to tags, from pictures to frameables.

With downloads starting at as little as £1.05, it's never been a better time to embrace the digital festivities!

Lastly, here's the link for this week's new digital downloads:

If digital is your thing, keep watching my blog for more news later this week to coincide with Digital Scrapbooking Day!

That's me caught up with all the news! If you need any more information on either of this week's new offers, do get in touch. Back tomorrow with a creative project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Good evening to you blog readers! I'm having a catch up this evening, since in addition to it being MDS Weekly Download Day I have another two fantastic offers to share with you this week. The first of this week's new offers is perfect for personalised packaging with minimum fuss and maximum convenience and impact:

There are 2 separate bundles available:

Bundle 1 - Holiday Tag It Extra Large Box Bundle at £16.95, comprising:

• a Stamp A Tag Kit
• 3 Extra Large Gift Boxes
• a 9.1m roll of Cherry Cobbler 1" (2.5cm) Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Bundle 2 - Holiday Tag It Decorative Box Bundle at £17.95, comprising:

• a Stamp A Tag Kit
• 6 Decorative Window Gift Boxes
• a 9.1m roll of Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Both of these bundles represent a 20% saving on the individual prices, so now there's no excuse for every parcel to be packaged with the hand-finished touch. This offer is valid until 30th November, so if you would like to order either click on either of the above pictures to go straight to my online store or contact me to add to a local order today!

Back shortly with an MDS Offers post; until then, happy stampin!

Today's blog post is a late one as I've been out this evening and had a reasonably hectic day and didn't get a chance to do it beforehand. I used sketch #64 over at Paper Craft Crew Challenges as the basis for this card and I'm just in time to sneak in a link up, so thought I'd better get typing! I had a commission card request for a female birthday card that featured netball. Whilst I knew the basketball stamp in 'Great Sport' would make the perfect netball, I was wondering how I was going to pull it all together. I decided to use the PPCC sketch this week as the basis for my design layout. Here's the sketch inspiration:

So, sunglasses at the ready - here is my interpretation:

The card is very orange, but having played around with various other colour combinations this really did seem to work best (and luckily, the recipient loves the colour orange!) Any of the colours I would ordinarily have paired with Tangerine Tango made the card look too masculine and really didn't work. I did use some Real Red as an accent colour and a little Basic Grey. Wondering how I created the netball hoop and net? I simply used my large oval punch to cut some thin strips of cardstock and adhered them to each other in a weave pattern.

And the moral of the story? Orange is for all cards, not just Halloween ones! Pop over to the Paper Craft Crew Challenge page and see how the designers and other participants have interpreted this week's sketch.

Back tomorrow with news of more great offers from Stampin' Up; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today I have something a little different for me and for you: a card created using My Digital Studio. I have been using it more and more lately, not as a substitute for my more traditional cards, but as a useful addition to my crafting repertoire. I decided that I would create the thank you cards that went out with the last batch of my customer orders using MDS to show just how easy it is to create a simple card. Here is my finished card:

I decided upon a simple design and used only elements that come with the standard MDS offering. I chose Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Midnight Muse and Whisper White as my colours and chose a snowflake-type shape as I really am all about Christmas at the moment! I used a light drop shadow on my Thank You sentiment, just to give it some dimension and lift and I even added rhinestones; you could of course add the real thing post-print, but I wanted to show my customers what they could achieve with just some Whisper White cardstock, MDS and their imagination.

I'm quite pleased with the result, not least because it took no time at all to create and once done I could print sheets of them at a time - so much quicker than hand stamping and great if you need to produce a lot of cards and are short on time. Some of my customers have been having great results with MDS with several of them printing their own DSP to make traditional cards and also some lovely hybrid examples. I keep forgetting to take my camera whenever we have card class so end up without pictures that I can share with you. I've left a reminder in my calendar for next week's classes though, so hopefully I'll get better! If you haven't already downloaded a copy of My Digital Studio, I can thoroughly recommend it; just click on the picture icon below and start creating.

Well, we survived the stormy weather here in the UK today, although many have not been as lucky. A friend of mine had two enormous trees uprooted in her garden and my brother-in-law had something of a challenging journey into and out of the city today due to the chaotic transport situation. We stayed indoors for much of the day, venturing out only for a spot of lunch and for Ben to shoot hoops (not a day goes by when this doesn't happen!) I for one am thankful for the lovely new front door we had fitted at the James residence last week, which is doing an excellent job of keeping the drafts out.

Back tomorrow with a very bright birthday card (sunglasses required!); until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: