It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Nancy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

I thought these colours would work perfectly for a Christmas card, but feel free to use them any way you choose. Here's my card for today:

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

Those bright red 'NOEL' letters will by now be familiar to my regular readers - the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set is my number one stamp set this Christmas. I added them to foam adhesive sheets before diecutting with the co-ordinating die. For today's card I've paired them with the other die set in the suite, the Christmas Classics Dies, and added them to the holly decorative label that I cut from Mossy Meadow. I added a little Boho Blue ink to my Basic White card base with a blending brush and added some Real Red (retired) glittered enamel dot berries to the stems for a pop of festive colour. Check out the sparkle when they catch the light:

This is one of those cards that really is so quick and easy - I think the simple design is really effective though and the label really draws the eye to those fabulous letters.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS DIES (35.00)	JOY OF NOEL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BOHO BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We have a third Tuesday in the month so Patricia has designed a retro-double for us, featuring a retired colour palette and a sketch we've used previously: 

These colours were perfect for autumn so for my card today I decided to feature the 'Season of Chic' stamp set and co-ordinating Chic Dies - take a look:

I blended all three colours and added some autumnal stencilling using one of the Abundant Beauty Decorative Masks into the triangles. I tied some twine to define the triangle borders and added a couple of diecut leaves as a focal point:

Inking my sentiment in two colours added a little extra interest and completed 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ABUNDANT BEAUTY DECORATIVE MASKS (10.00)	SEASON OF CHIC PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (26.00)	CHIC DIES (35.00)	CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
CRUSHED CURRY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Lucy has asked that we create a slimline card with a central sentiment panel:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I decided to have another outing with the beautiful 'NOEL' stamps and dies from the 'Joy of Noel' bundle - take a look:

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

The slimline layout worked really well to keep the square design of the 'NOEL' letters, which I heat embossed in gold onto Very Vanilla cardstock. I added the 'Joyous' on vellum, so that it didn't obscure the letters and edged the central panel with some thin strips of gold foil. Here's a close up of that layered sentiment:

Above and below that I added a couple of panels of Shining Brightly designer series paper - the starry design is open enough to still work on an otherwise clean and simple card. I adore this paper and so do many of you, judging by the speed with which it comes into and out of stock in the online store! I was hoping that when I posted my card today I would be able to tell you it was back in stock again - but alas, the most recent stocks have once again been depleted. I placed more orders yesterday for customer who had been patiently waiting for it; additional supplies are still due in soon, so keep an eye on the online store if it's on your list.

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; we are having a week of breakdowns in the James household: so far the broadband, my steam iron and the central heating are all casualties! The latter means that I am spending as little time as possible at my desk, so a short post from me as I'm off for a romp through the countryside to keep warm! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)	SHINING BRIGHTLY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Lucy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

What a pretty trio of colours! For my card today I grabbed an old favourite, the 'Silly Goose' stamp set, along with the Just Add Ink sketch (which I love!) and set to work. This is what I came up with:

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

I used pops of these colours to highlight the details of my birthday goose with my Stampin' Blends and picked out the Fresh Freesia with a strip of (retired) Dandy Designs designer paper for some extra detail to the other side of my twine bow:

I cut out my panel using the largest square in the Stylish Shapes Dies, making it a rectangle by extending it and running it through my die cutting machine a second 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SILLY GOOSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	FRESH FREESIA STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Have you missed me? I have been rather absent from my blog in recent weeks - with the eldest of the James Juniors having left to begin university life, it hasn't left much time or opportunity for crafting. This week should see normal blog service resume, starting with this post! This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Rachel has asked that we add three connected shapes and a sentiment:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I did just that - take a look:

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

Ordinarily this is the kind of sketch that would lead me to use three uniform shapes and probably a little designer paper too, but coming to my desk fresh for the first time in a couple of weeks, I went in a completely different direction! I decided to rotate the sketch through 90 degrees and use the vertical as a flower/grass stem, which I stencilled using a stencil made using one of the Meadow Dies onto a loose column of ombre colour that I created first using inks and blending brushes. I then added a simple stamped sentiment from the 'Season of Chic' stamp set and a trio of diecut butterflies that I diecut from Basic Black cardstock and popped up on dimensionals:

Before adding my butterflies, I used a dry brush to add a fine splatter of white frost shimmer paint to my ombre panel; it adds a subtle shimmer, albeit one that is difficult to see in the photographs. 

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Today's card was inspired by the challenge to create a silhouette over at SUO Challenges and the beautiful ombre night sky above the houses on the left of the Inkspirational inspo photo and I'm also linking up over at Just Add Ink where they are asking us to 'just add wildlife' - I think my butterflies qualify.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

MEADOW DIES (36.00)	SEASON OF CHIC PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (26.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Rachel is hosting for the month of September and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I paired these lovely summery colours with the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday and the 'choose 2' challenge over at Just Add Ink (I chose tearing and twine) to make a baby card for the challenge over at CAS on Friday:

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

My card is a pretty straightforward combination of elements and it was something of a happy accident that it worked for each of the challenges that I'm linking up with today. Let me explain! So I started with Rachel's summery colours and combined with the late return of summer sunshine here in the UK I was inspired to look through summery sets on my shelf. I happened upon my Sailboat Builder Punch, which has been neglected of late now that the co-ordinating stamp set has retired, so I pulled it off the shelf to give it some love. I am not a big one for tearing paper as my regular readers will know but when I saw Lou Kitzleman's card over at Just Add Ink this week I totally fell in love with it (you can see her fabulous card here) and whilst I will undoubtedly CASE her card another time for fun, I wanted to use the idea of the torn strips on my card today. In order to preserve my 'white space' I used the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday (love their layouts!) and created a corner detail of torn cardstock using some old Coastal Cabana coloured coredinations cardstock from my stash to give the feeling of waves. I punched out my sailboat using a scrap of Starry Sky cardstock and another of Lemon Lolly striped Bright & Beautiful designer series paper for the sails and finished with a sentiment from the 'Sweet Songbirds' stamp set. I added everything to my card and finished my sailboat with a twine bow:

I just love these bright colours for a slightly less traditional new baby card and I'm so pleased with how this card came together.

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. 

What will you make with this week's colours? As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Patricia is hosting this month and as we have a fifth Tuesday in this month we have an additional double colour and sketch challenge: 

For my card today I decided to make a simple thank you card using my Dainty Delight Dies to create an arch of flowers in the challenge colours:

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

I didn't have any of the old retired colours, so I substituted with Fresh Freesia, Moody Mauve and Mossy Meadow as my closest match (this is allowed within the terms of the challenge). I added a simple stamped sentiment from the co-ordinating Dainty Delight stamp set to complete my card. Check out the detail on the interwoven pieces that make up the floral arch - so pretty, right?

These dies cut delicate pieces with subtle embossed detail - beautiful in these muted purples, and just about any other colour combo 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! colour names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Sue has asked that we contain our design to one vertical half of our card:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. 

For my card today I decided to use a few more of the fruity Pink Fresh Studio washi diecuts that my friend Elizabeth shared with me and pair them with a gold foil diecut sentiment cut using the Wanted To Say Dies for a clean and simple get well soon card:

The gold detailing on the washi compliments the gold foil and since grapes are the traditional food gift when visiting someone who is under the weather these, along with the figs, were just right. I added a few glittery gold enamel dots to complete my card:

Clean and simple - I'm also linking up over at Just Add Ink where that just so happens to be their theme 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

WANTED TO SAY DIES (37.00)

GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Sue is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I chose to make a clean and simple thank you card using the Gorgeously Made bundle:

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

The stamps in the Gorgeously Made stamp set are perfect for loose, collage-style stamping so I took three different ones including my sentiment and inked each in one of the challenge colours, then overlaid my stamped foliage with a pointed diecut one in Cajun Craze:

I used Very Vanilla for my card base as it seemed to compliment this trio of warm, naturalistic colours. And that's all there is to it - a quick and easy thank you 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

GORGEOUSLY MADE BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (47.50)

CAJUN CRAZE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

CAJUN CRAZE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

PECAN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

WILD WHEAT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we feature a vertical panel with any shape:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to grab some brightly coloured inks and my new 'It's A Science' stamp set and create a fun card for a science fanatic - take a look at what I came up with:

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

I stamped a row of atoms in my chosen colours down the length of my white card base; I used my Stamparatus and the hinge-step technique to space them evenly down the card front. I stamped my sentiment and microscope onto some basic white cardstock, I fussy cut the microscope and added some highlights with my Smoky Slates Blends markers and added it to my cardfront with dimensionals for a little extra lift:

I finished my card with some sequins from my stash in colours that complimented the colours of my atoms. I just love this set - both my kids are science nerds and since one of them is hoping to study Bio-Chemistry at university in September, I know this is a set that's going to see lots of ink.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

IT'S A SCIENCE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PUMPKIN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)