Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Claire to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I'm also playing along with the team over at Just Add Ink where their current challenge is to 'Just Add Wings' - I'm featuring a cute bookish ladybird on today's card :

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

Cute As A Bug - Given that I am really trying to ration my purchase of new papers, I didn't get this paper on my iniitial catalogue pre-order. Big mistake! My PP teamie Ann has been making fabulous cards with it and she convinced me I 'needed' it in my collection, only for me to have to settle in for a long wait, as it's been out of stock here in the UK for absolutely ages! I finally managed to get my hands on some, so I had to cut into it for Claire's sketch challenge today! 

I chose a bold toadstool pattern for the background and then diecut a circle out of another design, before fussy-cutting my cute book-reading ladybird to sit on top:

I allowed my diecut circle to overhang the left-hand side edge of my card, as I needed to allow space for my sentiment on the right and I didn't want to use a smaller circle and risk cropping out that ginormous todastool!

I paired my new paper with a bunch of retired bits and pieces - Layered Circles Framelits, Layered Leaves Dynamic Embossing Folder and the Brilliant Rainbow Dies for the scalloped borders - and a sentiment from the current 'Nature's Symphony' stamp set, as it seemed to fit my sweet ladybird perfectly.

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:

Enjoy your day; I'm out for a family brunch this morning and then will be enjoying a later dinner with the youngest of the James Juniors as he is home from university for a few days enjoying a weekend of back-to-back hockey, amongst other things! I'll be back later this week with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

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

I had so many options this week, but wanted to use my new Flowers Fair background stamp again - it's perfect for clean and simple cards. Take a look at today's card:

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

Flowers Fair - The Flowers Fair background stamp really is versatile - you can use the whole or just part of the stamp and it lends itself to lots of colourways and techniques. Today I went for a simple, monochromatic look with no colouring required - great for a clean and simple look. I left some white space at the top of the panel - it is CAS week! - and I kept the body of my card to a single layer, the only additional layering being that of my sentiment.

Words of Beauty - I paired my background florals with a Words Of Beauty sentiment - this layers beautifully and I don't think I'll ever tire of it!

In addition to my sentiment, a sprinkle of sequins is the only other addition to my card.

Last Chance for 2024 In Colours - Today's card is stamped in Petunia Pop, one of the 2024-26 In Colours that will be retiring next month. This is your friendly reminder that if you need reinkers, cardstock or embellishments in any of these outgoing colours, you should get them ordered before stocks run out \9which may well be before the  catalogue end date). I will miss Pretty In Pink and Emerald Envy from this set - I have used both lots!

Since we're talking in-colours, would you like a sneak-peek of the new 2026-28 In Colours? Well, here you go:

We are going to be all about the pastels! Do you have an early favourite? I think mine might be the soft blue, Hydrangea Hue. The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot that the ink pad design is changing too; the new design will be phased in gradually over the next 12 months or so, starting with this year's In Colour collection.

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:

Enjoy your day; since it's Mother's Day here in the UK I will be both entertaining my Mother-In-Law whilst also enjoying a leisurely day myself. The James Juniors are not going to be home - the youngest is back next weekend, but since I've already got cards and gifts waiting for me, I know that I haven't been forgotten! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FLOWERS FAIR PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£22.00)

WORDS OF BEAUTY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

PETUNIA POP CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

PETUNIA POP A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Firstly, apologies to anyone who has tried to visit my blog in the last week and found it offline. I have had a number of serious issues that meant it had to be taken down with no notice. As you can see, I am back currently but I'm not sure for how long. In the meantime, I am making a concerted effort to post on both my Instagram and Facebook pages, so if you come back and find my blog has disappeared again without warning, do head over to my socials and find me there!

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 colour challenge for us to work with:

I chose the colours of the rainbow for our colour challenge this week! Actual rainbows are optional, but you need to show a rainbow of colours on your projects. I grabbed Karren's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and set to work to create a card that I have had in my mind for ages that I wanted to have a go at using the cute llama in the 'Long Time No See' stamp set - take a look:

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

I had the idea that I could create a flock of llamas with one that stood out amongst the others wearing his rainbow scarf, loud and proud. I created four llama masks, the proceeded to stamp an entire panel of llamas, each overlapping the next. I stamped them all in Grey Granite and added only a hint of rough colour to the majority, whilst colouring my focal llama in fully using my Stampin' Blends. I used a strip of Full Of Life DSP for the narrow panel on the sketch and mirrored the colours in the stripes of the llama's scarf. I then trimmed my llama panel to size and popped it up on dimensionals, using a white panel embossed with the Soft Waves embossing folder on the other side of the DSP strip. Check out my masked stamping in more detail below:

I finished off with a diecut tag stamped with a sentiment from a long-retired set called 'In your Words', which seemed appropriate for my image. I was really pleased how this card came out - it's always nice when an idea translates into something at the end of 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:

Enjoy your day; Aquapaddle was cancelled last week due to high winds, so the hubby is aiming to be back out on the water today instead. I'm going along to take pictures, so no chance of me getting wet! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the first of a new month - Happy St David's Day to my fellow patriots! - and the turn of the fabulous Christy to host this week. She has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

Mythical creatures - mermaids, dragons, unicorns and more! I had to dig into my retired stash for this one and had a lot of fun!! I'm also playing along with the CASE The Designer Challenge over at SUO Challenges with my card this week - take a look and I will explain all:

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

Myths and Magic - So I had a stash of retired Myths & Magic designer series paper that I had preserved and decided this was a good time to cut into some! I spent a good few evenings fussy cutting mermaids and the teeny-tiny seahorses you can see on today's card, but also unicorns, knights and dragons from the other sheets too. I paired my mermaid with a sentiment from the Magical Mermaids stamp set that is also retired:

 I also used the stamps in this set to add a little additional decoration to the inside of my card:

CASE The Designer - I had a lot of fun CASEing Tammy's card over at SUO Challenges this week! I chose a teal mythical underwater theme as opposed to a pink love hearts theme for my card, switched out the sentiment banner for a circle and used the tiny seahorses instead of the dimensional hearts on Tammy's card, but I retained the layout, the embossed-DSP-embossed background panel combination, albeit featuring the beautiful Soft Waves 3D embossing folder for an under the sea look and feel, combined with the sparkly column of bubbles. My card looks distinctly different to Tammy's, but it's clear to see where and how I CASEd her card as my inspiration.

You Slay Bonus Card - Given that today is St David's Day I had to take the opportunity to make a card with a dragon (or two!) as well, so I went a little 'left field' for my next creation. The slang term 'slay' is quite popular with young people; Wikipedia states that it is used to express admiration or success, so with this in mind, I thought that I would pair a custom sentiment using the Mini Alphabet Dies with some of the knights and dragons from the Myths & Magic paper for a tongue-in-cheek congratulations card, using the sketch layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments. Here's their layout:

And here's the bonus card that I made for today's challenge:

I absolutely love the sparkly detail on this paper!

Possibly not a card for everyone, but I know Ben will love it!

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

Enjoy your day; nothing remarkable happening chez James today. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)

SOFT WAVES 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£10.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jan to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

As soon as I saw Jan's sketch, I knew it would be perfect for another outing with my Friendly Foliage bundle. The collection of monochromatic greens over at The Card Concept influenced the colour scheme for my clean and layered card - take a look:

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

I chose a strip of Florals In Bloom DSP for my horizontal strip, as it included lots of greens and the leaf shape ties in with the overall theme. I stamped my foliage square in Shaded Spruce onto two-tone cardstock - this is a great way to introduce a lighter shade of Granny Apple Green and lets the diecut stand out a little more from the background. I placed a piece of Shy Shamrock behind the open aperture for another pop of contrasting green:

Some green enamel dots and a get well sentiment from the same set complete my card. I love shades of green and find it a restful colour, so I think it works well for a pick-me-up 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 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:

Enjoy your day; I'll be driving the James Junior back to university after a few days at home, so hoping it will be dry at least. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FRIENDLY FOLIAGE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£36.75)	FLORALS IN BLOOM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)	SHY SHAMROCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) TWO-TONE CARDSTOCK (£9.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Stef to host this week and she has a fun theme for this week's clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I was considering how to tackle Stef's challenge this week and had been perusing my shelves for balloon-themed supplies, then I saw Verena's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I knew exactly where I was headed - I love it when that happens! Another combination of old and new for you today with a simple balloon-filled birthday card - take a look:

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

I turned Verena's layout through 90 degrees and went for a large card (it measures 21cm x 14.9cm) to accommodate my diecut bunch of balloons that I found in my Wildflower Birthday designer series paper stash that works perfectly for the ellipse in the sketch. I added a panel of pink gingham check and another sentiment combination from Words of Beauty - this bundle is never off my desk at the moment! 

A thin strip of gold foil to join the panels and a trio of gold enamel dots to tie in with the gold detailing complete my card - with lots of white space to preserve the clean and simple feel. 

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:

Enjoy your day; I'm out walking today, weather permitting, with an organised group - and I'm bringing along my vegan brownie that I was experimenting with last week - it was a great success!

Leave me a comment below if you'd like me to email you the recipe - anything with chocolate is a winner in my book but this one really did surprise me! Who knew baking without dairy could taste so good?! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

WORDS OF BEAUTY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)

PRETTY IN PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a pretty colour challenge for us to work with:

I decided Ann's colours were perfect for a first-time outing for a stencil I bought a while ago but hadn't yet had the opportunity to use and decided to have another go with Kim's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week, this time paying a little more attention and being more faithful to it - take a look:

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

The stencil is called Cheerful Flowers by Kristina Werner and Concord and 9th and made short work of incorporating Ann's chosen colour palette. I stencilled a whole panel then trimmed it down to fit my cardfront, adding some solid colour banners and a layered diecut sentiment along with some Lost Lagoon enamel dots to finish:

I liked this card so much, I wanted to use some of my stencilled offcuts too so made a second card using the layout over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge which was just perfect to highlight a stencilled panel:

And here's my card:

For this card I added my panel to a Lost Lagoon card base, added a banner of Calypso Coral and finished with one of my favourite Stampin' Up! Words of Beauty Dies, this time using all three layers: 

 I finished with an uplifting sentiment - perfect for the challenge over at Alphabet Challenge Blog where the current theme is 'U is for Uplifting' this week. So here's a photo of both cards together - which one do you prefer? Do let me know in the comments 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 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:

Enjoy your day; I am experimenting today with vegan baking; not something I do often, but I need to take a vegan bake to an event in a few weeks time, so thought I'd best have a dry run first - wish me luck! I've found a brownie recipe that uses sweet potatoes and almond butter, so I'm going to give it a go! I'll be back later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£14.00)	LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)
PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	WORDS OF BEAUTY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)

Yay it's the first of February - the January blues are behind us! Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Claire to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for us to work with:

Our theme this week is perfect for Valentine's Day which is just around the corner, but your card doesn't have to be for Valentine's - any card celebrating your love for someone will fit the bill. I wanted to make a fun love note with my Party Alphabet Dies - take a look:

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

The size of my card today was totally dictated by my Party Alphabet Dies, so ended up being a mini slimline. I diecut my letters from some retired heart-patterned designer series paper (you could use the Made With Love DSP as a current equivalent) and backed them with Real Red cardstock, that I trimmed to size by hand. I added these to a Bubble Bath card base and replaced the 'O' with a diecut heart (I used the retired Sweet & Sassy Framelits for mine but the current Endless Love Dies would enable you to achieve the same effect), pierced with an arrow and overlaid with a 'you' diecut from last year's Love For You Dies:

I finished my greeting on the inside with some hearts and diecuts from the same set:

A super simple notelet to tuck in someone's lunch box perhaps to let them know how you feel and brighten their day!

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

Enjoy your day; I have spent a wonderful week in Marrakech soaking up some winter sun and making memories with the youngest of the James Juniors, who is back to university to today ready to begin his next module tomorrow. I did all of the holiday laundry yesterday, so whilst I have a few things in my diary this week, I am hoping to get back in my craft room and get creating too. I'll be back on Tuesday with another project for our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PARTY ALPHABET DIES (£93.00)

BUBBLE BATH A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jaydee to host this week and she has an interesting sketch challenge for us to work with:

A slimline card design with four shapes and a sentiment. As you know, I love a good sketch and I must say this one took on a life of its own! I have been really enjoying using my Lovely Arrangements suite of products and new that the flowers in the set would be perfect for those four focal points. I set to work and a considerable time later, I came up with this:

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

Lovely Arrangements - I  wanted the florals to be the centrepiece of each focal point, so echoing the colours in the panel of Lovely blossoms DSP I used for the background, I inked them in Cloud Cover then added some Secret Sea to the stamens with a sponge dauber before stamping. I backed each flower with a couple of diecut layered circles, having first run the top one through the dicutting machine with the background die to allow some of the colour behind to show through. I then added in some diecut leaves from the set, along with some additional ones cut using the Friendly Foliage Dies to add interest to the clusters:

There's a lot going on in each of these clusters, but I really like the full effect.

A Border To Die For? - Continuing in my exploration of different ways in which to use the rectangle-of-circles die in the Lovely Arrangements set, I cut several and used them to create an additional layered panel behind my DSP - did you spot it? It looks like a large scallop border - another great way to use this super-versatile die.

Words Of Beauty -  There's so much going on with this card, I thought it needed a big, bold sentiment - cue those Words of Beauty Dies, i just love them! This was the perfect sentiment for a special card to send to a friend who has been struggling recently and because of health issues, has needed to spend a lot of time isolating. I hope this will go some way to brightening her day.

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:

Enjoy your day; I have been enjoying the company of the youngest of the James Juniors this weekend, as he has been at home since he has a module break at university this week so decided to come home. We are not allowing ourselves to be consumed by the inevitable January blues though, and have booked a last-minute mini-break in search of some winter sunshine - so tomorrow we are off to Morocco! We feel a little guilty at leaving the hubby holding the fort since he can't join us due to work commitments (but not so guilty that we aren't going to go!!) I'll be back here on Friday with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVELY ARRANGEMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£45.75)	LOVELY BLOSSOMS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)	WORDS OF BEAUTY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	FRIENDLY FOLIAGE DIES (£23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	SPOTLIGHT ON NATURE DIES (£33.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	CLOUD COVER A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SECRET SEA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	SECRET SEA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	IRIDESCENT PEARL BASIC JEWELS (£7.00)

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 timely theme for this week's clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Signs of winter! For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we are currently in the depths of winter with freezing temperatures, changeable weather (we've had torrential rain, dark cloudy days, bright sunshine and even a few days of snow during January) and more besides. So this week's challenge is all about those things that let you know the season of winter is here: I'm thinking snow, scarves, hats and mittens, warming hot chocolate after a winter walk, outdoor activities typical of the season - but specifically not Christmas!  And remember, it's clean and simple week so keep your creations simple, with lots of white space and minimal layers and embellishments. I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!

I have mixed views about snow, but must confess to loving a good downfall that leaves everything crisp and white and allows for us to get outside and enjoy things that aren't possible without it. One of my favourite things to do when I myself was much younger, and when the James Juniors were little, was to go tobogganing. So I dug out an old favourite retired stamp set, Freezin' Fun, and paired it with the retired embossing folder, Softly Falling, for a trip down memory lane  - take a look:

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

My little racoon is sledging his heart out down a slope of snowy white velvet paper, against a snowy embossed sky and clearly having the time of his life! I coloured him with Blends and diecut him with co-ordinating framelits for a little extra lift:

I paired him with another of his pals on the inside of the card:

A simple notecard to send winter wishes and a reminder that winter doesn't have to be about hibernating indoors during the winter season - if the sun is shining, wrap up warm and go out and have fun! I'm also linking today's card up over at Just Add Ink where they are asking us to 'Just Add Something Seasonal' and if snow isn't your thing, these lovely ladies are all based in the southern hemisphere so their blogs are much warmer and showcasing everything that is good about summer, so do check them out if you'd like to warm up! I'm also linking up over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where their theme this week is 'winter sports' - and sledging is as close to winter sports as I get!

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

Enjoy your day; I spent yesterday at Bletchley Park, learning all about the World War II codebreakers, which was fascinating and attending an exhibition about the future of AI. Bletchley Park isn't that far from where I live but I'd never visited; so interesting, I love discovering treasures in my own backyard. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ALL SEASON VELVET 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£11.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)