Today I'm sharing a card for this week's TGIF challenge where they have a product spotlight on embossing powder and the team at Less is More where they are all about Metallics:

Metallics and embossing powder were the perfect combination but with three metallic powders in my desk drawer, which one to choose? In the end, I decided on all of them - take a look:

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

I went long and thin with today's card and paired my embossed gold Merry Christmas sentiment with three identical pine trees, also from the new Perfectly Plaid stamp set, each of them heat embossed in a different metallic onto Thick Whisper White cardstock: silver, copper and gold respectively. I added a thin border of gold foil to the top and bottom of my panel before using dimensionals to adhere it to my cardbase. It was helpful that my metallic powders were an odd number -  odds often look better than evens on cards I think!

I have a tip for you when stamping objects in threes: always stamp the outer two first, then the central one; it's much easier to ensure they are evenly spaced that way. 

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. 

The first of the James Juniors is back to school properly today; one down, one to go! In the meantime, we have a fun girly day planned with Junior number two who has another day before she is back too. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£16.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Gold Foil Sheets (£4.75)

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's sketch challenge over at Just Add Ink:

I was intrigued with the angled lines of this sketch, and whilst my instinct was to reach for my beloved designer series papers and start layering, I resisted and instead reached for another new Christmas stamp set and continued with my clean and simple streak - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Snow Front - If you are a lover of the 'Waterfront' set that features in the annual catalogue, then the 'Snow Front' set in the new Autumn-Winter catalogue will most certainly make it onto your wish list. With similar brushstroke designs and lots of scenic motifs, this set offers great creative possibilities. The stamp set I used for my snow is actually from the Waterfront set - go figure!

A Clean And Simple Scene - I decided to use the angular lines of the sketch as the basis for the structure of my scene. I used a row of trees for the back point, then a combination of a large pine tree and a path in the snow for the point at the front. I decided to make a feature of my log cabin and stamp it on a stitched circle to accentuate it, before adding in to my scene. I really let the stamps do the talking on today's card - I did add some clear Wink of Stella to the tops of my trees, the falling snow, the roof of my log cabin and snowman, but whilst it looks very pretty in real life, is nigh on impossible to see in the photo so you'll have to take my word for it.

A Pop of Red - I used a predominantly neutral palette for my card with the exception of Shaded Spruce and even after stamping my sentiment I still felt it needed something else. I settled for a red bird balanced on the word 'Christmas' and a thin red mat border for a pop of additional festive colour.

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 have a day of errands today combined with pre-season rugby practice for the youngest of the James Juniors who is back to school tomorrow. Whatever you have planned, I hope you enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and the launch of the new Stampin' Up! 2019 Autumn-Winter catalogue - woohoo! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Snow Front Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Shaded Spruce A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£16.00)

Today I've a short post to share a clean and simple Christmas card using this week's sketch over at CAS Colours & Sketches:

I had my Dashing Deer Dies out on my desk for another project I had been working on and it suddenly occurred to me that the two smallest deer would work perfectly for the shapes on the sketch:

I stamped one on the cardbase and then added a top layer with the diecut overlay (a process made much easier with the use of my trusty Stamparatus), then stamped the second one and popped it in front on a dimensional. I added a stamped sentiment with a diecut floral embellishment, finished with a faceted dot and I was done. It took longer to think about the design of this card than to make 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

We started today with our very first family 5k parkrun, then had an afternoon where the boys and girls of the James household divided and conquered: the boys went to watch the local football match and the girls did a little shopping and music making. A fun day!

Remember today is your last chance to spend your bonus coupons or take advantage of the current 'Extra, Extra' joining promotion that is happening this month. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Dashing Deer Cling-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Detailed Deer Dies (£32.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad (£7.00)
2019-2021 In Color Faceted Dots (£6.00)	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Today I'm sharing another Christmas card, this time for the current challenges over at As You See It and Festive Friday:

I was determined to have another go at the current AYSI sketch and go with it the right way up and since metallics are a big feature of my card today it is also perfect for the challenge over at Festive Friday too - take a look:

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

Brightly Gleaming - This fabulous copper detailed designer series paper from the Brightly Gleaming specialty designer series paper is the inspiration for the colour scheme of my card today. The Brightly Gleaming Suite is one of the new suites in the forthcoming autumn-winter seasonal catalogue and the specialty paper is most definitely the star of the show in my opinion! Seasonal stars and bauble images combined with all-purpose patterns, with half of the designs having copper foil accents that truly make this paper shine. 

Christmas Gleaming Ornaments - I stamped and heat embossed all of the elements of my decorated bauble ornament and added some Night of Navy colouring with my Stampin' Blends for added detail, before punching out with the co-ordinating ornament punch. This was so quick, a little fussy cutting with the holly and berries was totally worth it. I also did a little stamping inside my card:

Copper Cabana - If you're still reading then please accept my apologies for the dodgy Barry Manilow reference :-) Today's card really is a celebration of metallics, and copper in particular. That gorgeous copper foil-accented paper, a full copper foil mat, the heat embossed sentiment and ornament detail, along with the addition of one of the foil elements that also form part of this suite, all serve to give this card a truly luxurious 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 '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:

Christmas Gleaming Bundle (En) (£46.75)	Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Copper Foil Sheets (£4.75)	Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements (£6.50)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)
Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Night Of Navy Dark Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)

So today is the hottest August Bank Holiday Monday on record here in the UK and I am sharing a Christmas card with you - go figure!! I managed to play along with week 3 of the Freshly Made Sketches 400th birthday celebrations so it just had to be done:

I thought the panels would be perfect to showcase some designer series paper, so I used another of the patterns in my Night before Christmas paper pack and this is what I came up with:

I created a couple of layered panels then decided to make my sentiment the focal point of my Stitched Oval and used one of the festive dies from the Jolly Season dies that are also in the Night Before Christmas Suite, with a little offset layering to make it stand out. I fussy cut a santa hat from a leftover scrap of paper and added this at a jaunty angle to bring the whole thing together. The only stamping on my card was the sentiment on the inside of my card:

And my card was done!

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 keep cool! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Jolly Season Dies (En) (£31.00)

Night Before Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)

Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)

Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

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

This is a great sketch with so many creative possibilities! I've finally found time to start playing with my pre-order goodies and I know how much you all like a 'sneak peek' so I have a few of those in store for you this week. My first one comes today is the form of new stamps, papers and a punch to make this brightly coloured Christmas card: 

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

A Night Before Christmas - This sheet of bauble-patterned paper inspired the colour scheme for my Christmas card today. It is part of the 'A Night Before Christmas' paper pack which is actually part of the suite of the same name and is full of traditional Christmas imagery. The jewel colours of red, yellow, green, blue and silver against the navy background are echoed throughout my card and the circle of Laurie's sketch was the perfect place to showcase this bold patterned paper.

Christmas Gleaming - I wanted to add a little something to make my card a little more fancy, so firstly I created a tone-on-tone background panel by stamping the small bauble from the 'Christmas Gleaming' stamp set in Night of Navy in a pattern on my mat layer. Although it's from an entirely different suite it co-ordinates with my chosen DSP perfectly. For my shape I chose a bauble from the same set. I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla cardstock and coloured in part of the design with my Dark Poppy Parade marker, before punching out with the co-ordinating punch. To decorate my bauble,  I took inspiration from my wonderful PP teamie the talented Ann Schach, lover of pearls in all shapes and sizes (although I don't think she's used any on her card this week!), and added a whole bunch of silver metallic pearls to my ornament pattern, finishing with a bow in some retired silver twine. I love the added detail this gives.

A Simple Joy - My sentiment today comes from the new set 'So Many Stars', which also has some lovely mini verses that are perfect for the inside of your card:

So what do you think? Is today's sneak peek of new Christmas products making you excited for the arrival of the Autumn-Winter catalogue? It is still another couple of weeks before it will be available to customers for ordering on September 4th, however if you really can't wait then it's worth considering taking advantage of the current joining offer: for anyone joining Stampin' Up! before the end of August, for £99 you will receive an extra £25 of product, so £155 for £99, in addition to an £8 bonus coupon to use next month and all of the other ongoing benefits that being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator offers. If this is something that interests you and you would like to know more, then do read all about it here or get in touch - I'd love to help you decide if this is something that could work for you.

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; we are enjoying a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and so far the weather has been glorious. We have been enjoying a weekend of BBQs and fun with friends and so are hoping for more of the same as the weekend continues. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Christmas Gleaming Bundle (En) (£46.75)	Night Before Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Stitched Shapes Dies (£28.00)	So Many Stars Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£24.00)	Metallic Pearls (£6.50)	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Poppy Parade Dark Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)

Today I'm nice and early with my post as I am out with the James Juniors for a day of watersports with a view to keeping cool in the heatwave we are experiencing here in the UK, which is a good thing as it means I just have time to squeeze in my entry for the challenge at Just Add Ink this week, where I just couldn't resist that photo inspiration, that also works for the Christmas in July theme over at TGIF Challenges:

I went with a clean, white base so that my glittery baubles and sentiment could really shine - take a look:

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

I'm afraid I have used some retired bits and pieces on my card today (Pretty Pines Thinlits, Detailed Baubles Thinlits, Red Glimmer Paper, black and white DSP) because there was no other way to capture the elements of inspiration from those lovely festive lanterns, but the fabulous Merry Christmas Dies carried over to the annual catalogue and so will be seeing lots of action this season too and are available if you would like to get your hands on a set.

I am trying to use up a little of my retired stash to create some cards for my box and it feels good to mix in a little old with the new every now and again. Have any of you started Christmas crafting in earnest yet? Do leave me a comment below or even feel free to share your creations here on my Facebook page - I would love to see them!

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:

Merry Christmas Dies (£26.00)

Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)

Gold Glimmer Paper (£4.75)

Silver Glimmer Paper (£4.75)

Firstly an apology if you are here to see the masculine birthday card I promised - I mixed up my days, that one is coming tomorrow! Today I'm sharing a Christmas card for the current challenges over at As You See It and Just Add Ink:

That AYSI recipe took me a little while to work through but I got there in the end and since the JAI girls are looking for seasonal cards of any kind, it works for them too. I pulled out one of my favourite festive items in the annual catalogue that I think is rather overlooked to make today's card - the seasonal wreath embossing folder. Here's my finished card:

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

A Seasonal Wreath - This Seasonal Wreath embossing folder really is in my opinion one of the unsung heroes of the Stampin' Up! catalogue; in one run through the Big Shot, you have the basis for a card. I must confess that I have only ever used it on a Christmas card, although the seasonal challenge over at Just Add Ink did get me thinking I should create another three so that I have a wreath for all seasons - so watch this space! I think the detail of the texture is difficult to capture in a photo, but in real life it's beautiful.  

A New Merry Christmas - I've used this wreath before with the Merry Christmas dies from last year's seasonal catalogue (and still available in the current annual) but thought I would use the Merry Christmas words from the new Word Wishes die set, which are smaller in size and sit rather neatly across the middle of the wreath. I heat embossed the lower part of the diecuts with silver embossing powder for a little added interest and to tie in with my decoration, but you could just as easily leave it plain - you can't go wrong with red and green for a perfectly festive colour combo.

Stars and Stripes - I decided to decorate my wreath with some silver retired metallic stars that I found in my box (I have almost run out and wish I had stockpiled a few more of these!), along with some red berries (I punched out the eye on the Elephant Builder Punch) and added a piece of (also retired) Poppy Parade mini striped ribbon tied with some silver metallic thread to finish. There was very little stamping on this card - only the inserts with one of my favourite stamps for inside a Christmas card from Merry Christmas To All:

I went with a square design because I had a 12" x 12" pack of Garden Green and Poppy Parade cardstock left over from the last seasonal catalogue and liked this card so much I decided to cut up the whole pack and mass-produce an entire set of these to make a real dent in my Christmas stash! My husband did think I'd lost to plot when he saw me cutting and embossing not one but more than 20 Christmas cards whilst watching the Wimbledon tennis finals on Sunday, but actually this was a super-easy card to make en-mass from a pack of 12" x 12" (if you would like the measurements, the card base is 6" x 6", the red matt measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" (the offcuts were used for the word dies) and the central green square is 4" x 4"), especially as the only stamping was on the inside. I will need to get creative with my stars for the remaining cards - I will probably punch some out of silver glimmer paper, but I am thoroughly chuffed with my efforts!

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:

Seasonal Wreath 3D Embossing Folder (£8.25)	Regals 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock (£11.75)	Word Wishes Dies (£33.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)

Happy Friday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Less Is More this week where the challenge is to feature a beverage on your card:

This card (minus the ribbon) is also another one that is perfect for this month's #SimpleStamping challenge which is to make a simple card using stamps, ink and paper along with a retiring stamp set - the departing Half Full set is great for simple cards:

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

Half Full - So if you're in the UK I'm sure you're wondering why I'm sharing a Christmas card, having had a week of beautifully warm and sunny weather; I'm blaming this stamp set, which is perfect for non-Christmas and festive cards alike! If you search my blog you will find lots of examples of both - this is a set that totally appeals to me and is perfect for cards for many of my friends! I love the humour - the split sentiment that I've used on today's card resolves on the inside of my card as follows:

It also includes a really useful tag that is great for a quick stamp and punch with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch to dress up a wine bottle in a hurry so there's no excuse for a naked bottle when visiting friends! For me this set is a keeper - if you don't have it, snap it up now before it's too late! 

A Lesson In Composition - When I originally stamped this card, I was intending to make it a super clean and simple one layer card. It just didn't work though; I thought I would share with you the original and then how a small change (or two) can make such a difference. So here is a quick snap of my original card:

With the white wine in my glasses, which was necessary to tie in with the sentiment, the whole thing just looked flat and rather insipid. By picking out the colour of the holly and adding a panel of Real Red above my row of stamped and coloured glasses, along with a piece of Call Me Clover in-colour ribbon, it makes my card look much more festive and the red border edge and ribbon trim draw the eye to the stamped glasses and sentiment, rather than them be 'lost' in the white space.

Just One Addition - Today's card is another #SimpleStamping project that can be created with just 5 key ingredients: Thick Whisper White cardstock, Real Red cardstock, a black ink pad, a stamp set and some markers/inks. I did add one extra thing to my card which was the green ribbon; like I said, I just couldn't resist :-)

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:

Half Full Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Many Marvelous Markers (£112.75)
Call Me Clover 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)

Hi everyone! I've been recovering from Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event and making the most of the Easter vacation with the James Juniors this week, so crafting time has been non-existent and blogging opportunities even less so! Today though the sun is shining and I am spending a glorious afternoon in the garden, so thought I would take the opportunity to share with you a card that I actually made as a second one that I made for the challenge set by my fellow Paper Players teamie the lovely LeAnne last week to use plaid or check on your card. Here's my card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Christmas Plaid - Ok, so the irony of sharing a Christmas card on Good Friday isn't lost on me! However given that Stampin' Up!'s retiring lists were announced earlier this week (if you missed my post you can read all about it here) this is actually a great time to share this card as it showcases 2 products that are on that list and will be going away for good. The first of these is this fabulous plaid designer series paper that is from the 'Under the Mistletoe' pack. As is always the way, all of the designer series papers in the annual catalogue will be leaving us to make way for the new, so if you have a favourite then now is the time to stock up. If you're the type of person that 'does Christmas' all year round or likes to get ahead and work on Christmas projects during the summer months, then you should seriously consider stocking up on this paper as I can tell you that the new annual catalogue doesn't contain any festive Christmas-themed designer series paper designs, so it will be September before we have the new seasonal range on sale. You have been warned! 

Large Letters - The second retiring item on today's card are those fabulous Large Letter Framelits, which along with the co-ordinating 'Letters For You' stamp set are retiring with this catalogue. I know that the old has to make way for the new, but I will be so sad to see these go! They have been a staple in my craft collection and whilst they might leave the catalogue, they will always have a space in my die collection - they are SO useful! These will most definitely not be going into my retiring products BOGOF sale in July, so if you want a set, you need to order them now! 

A Festive Colour Combination - The paper really does do all the hard work on this card and sets the colours for each of the other elements with a can't-go-wrong festive colour combination. If this is a colour combination that appeals to you, feel free to save the image below for your future inspiration:

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. I'm off for a James family gathering for dinner. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Large Letters Framelits Dies (£92.00)	Under The Mistletoe Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Under The Mistletoe A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)