Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had lovely weekends; mine was busy as always, with a Stampin' Up! party on Friday night, followed by the usual weekend of sport and a morning stood out in the driving rain watching my first rugby match yesterday (hockey is definitely a cleaner game!) Other highlights of my weekend included reaching the bottom of my ironing basket (to be celebrated!) and the addition of a new pet to the James household - Olivia the goldfish has joined Goldie, who was feeling lonely following the recent departure of Fishy.

So, onto today's card! Today I have a clean and simple card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches, where Cindy has another great sketch for us:

I took inspiration from another of the designs in the Nordic Noel DSP pack and paired it with the sentiment stamp from Cheerful Christmas for my card today:

I used Soft Sky as my base and a piece of the Nordic Noel DSP featuring the acorns and pine sprigs for the left panel of my card. I stamped my feature sentiment in Garden Green on Whisper White and matted this onto a piece of Garden Green cardstock, rounding the corners on the right-hand side of both pieces. I used some Soft Sky and Calypso Coral Candy Dots to add a little colour to the main panel. Lastly, I added a strip of Garden Green and finished with a double loop of Baked Brown Sugar baker's twine. I love this thick twine - it's great for packaging but also works as a substitute for ribbon and ties a lovely bow. 

I love the fresh look of this card; the Garden Green is definitely a festive colour, but pairing it with Soft Sky, Baked Brown Sugar and Calypso Coral and Whisper White adds a real crispness to it I think. That's all from me - I'm off to get ready for today's class featuring the Many Merry Stars kit; click here to order yours if you haven't already, before they're all gone. 

Back tomorrow with another project and news of a fantastic one-week only demonstrator sign up offer - come back and check it out, you are not going to want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cheerful Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Project Life Corner Punch	Subtles Candy Dots	Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker's Twine

It's Sunday and time for another challenge over at The Paper Players where this week LeAnne has a great sketch for us: 

Sketch challenges are my absolute favourite and I had tons of ideas for this one; you may see some of the others later this week, but for today I'm sharing this Christmas card featuring some of my favourite Nordic Noel designer series paper:

I kept my layout really simple as the paper is quite busy, but used lots of layers to incorprate the colours in the DSP. I added a piece of white seam binding ribbon tied with some baker's twine and a Nordic Noel button and to the bottom opposing corner a co-ordinating ornament in Garden Green that I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white, with a trio of pearls coloured with my Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities for effect. A sentiment from 'Good Greetings' finishes off my card.

I'm off to hockey and then have a date with an overflowing basket of ironing this afternoon. If you have something altogether more fun lined up and have time for a spot of crafting, then check out the cards by the other Paper Players designers this week for some great inspiration and then see what you can come up with? We would love to see you in the gallery this week.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cheerful Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper	Nordic Designer Buttons	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Card Stock
Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder
Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	White Baker's Twine	Whisper White 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Scallop Edge Border Punch
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents

It's the weekend - yay! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at the Merry Monday Card Challenge, where Sue has the following challenge for us this week:

Hmmm - bells! These designers are really keeping me on my toes this week, as this is another one of those where investigation of my extensive supplies led me to conclude not a single bell image, die cut or embellishment of any kind! Not to be beaten, I decided it was time to think laterally; the obvious choice was to run to my e-cutter, but instead I thought I would try and create some jingle bells using punches. Here is my finished card:

I had the urge to create something really glitzy today, so chose a plain background of Garden Green and decided on gold glimmer paper for my bells. They were surprisingly easy to make: I punched a 1" circle, then punched a star out of the top half. I punched two small circles with my crop-a-dile on the bottom half and used my paper snips to create the openings. Lastly, I punched a round edge using my 1 3/4" circle punch, adhered it to the centre of my bell and trimmed the ends. I also created a couple of gold bell hooks, but you can't really see these beneath the ribbon. I layered these onto my card base, popping one on a dimensional for a little lift, then finished with a rather extravagant bow. This red satin ribbon curls so beautifully I couldn't resist - even though this card is SOOO impractical for mailing!

My sentiment is a combination of the die cut using my Little Letters thinlits to spell 'jingle' and backed with Real Red cardstock, and the 'all the way' from the Mingle All The Way stamp set, which I selectively coloured with my Garden Green marker. 

I'm also entering this card for the challenge over at Less is More where the theme this week is aptly 'Jingle All The Way', although I have another card planned with a slightly different slant for later in the week and it didn't occur to me that this one probably fits the theme slightly better!

I'm really pleased with my shiny jingle bells - what do you think? I'm off for my usual Saturday of sport today; back tomorrow with my Design Team card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Mingle All The Way Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Little Letters Thinlits Die	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Gold Glimmer Paper
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Garden Green A4 Card Stock	Regals Stampin' Write Markers	1 Inch Circle Punch	1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch
Real Red 3/8" Satin Woven Ribbon

Today's Christmas card uses the somewhat unconventional festive colour scheme over at The Challenge paired with the current Retrosketches layout for inspiration:

I decided to create another snowflake card using the Endless Wishes set, along with a few of the stamps in the Project Life December Wonder set that I happened to have out on my desk. This is such a great set, and not just for memory-keeping. Take a look:

A Pink Pirouette base with a mat of Rich Razzleberry for a pop of colour, then a selection of snowflakes stamped in pink and grey and interspersed with some Razzleberry stars. I added a few rhinestones for a little sparkle and decided to use my sentiment from the Project Life set, stamped and framed and cut out with the co-ordinating framelits and popped up on a couple of dimensionals. Very simple, but quite pretty and super quick to put together.

Back tomorrow with another Christmas card with some fun punch art; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set	Project Life December Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set	Cards & Labels Project Life Framelits Dies	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock
Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzleberry A4 Card Stock	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine

Today's card has been made with a few challenges in mind: The Card Concept has the theme of a Krafty Christmas and a lovely inspiration photo and I decided to use the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for my layout, although I'm too late to link up there today:

Since my design is definitely CAS, I am also using this as my entry for 'Less is More' this week where the theme is more than one tree. So, on to my card! I love the Card Concept inspiration photo and decided to use the idea of the punched shapes and colours on my card:

This sketch proved trickier to work with than I anticipated - I think it was all the angled lines! I punched a couple of panels of Crumb Cake with my retired mini tree punch and my star punch (I would have liked a snowflake punch, but alas I don't own one so a star had to do!) and backed them with Real Red and Whisper White, following the contours of the sketch. I stamped my sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder. Then came the dilemma - I felt like my card was too CAS, as if it was missing something. I fiddled about and eventually decided to try it with a Real Red satin ribbon bow; I'm not sure if this then goes too far the other way, but thought I'd include both photos - perhaps you'll leave me a comment as to which one you prefer!

I'm off to school to watch a class assembly this afternoon - Rebecca is role playing the teacher today, so she went to school with her hair up in a bun this morning because 'that's what teachers do', even though I don't think I've ever seen one at her school with one! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Project Life December Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set
Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Real Red 3/8" Satin Woven Ribbon

Happy Monday everyone! I have spent a pleasant morning catching up with a friend, whilst making a whole bunch of Christmas crackers for a little service project that I have going on - they are for a community senior citizen's Christmas luncheon in a couple of weeks time. Today I'm sharing with you my card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches where Kim has a great sketch for us to work with; I also used the colour scheme over at Color Throwdown:

I decided to rotate the sketch through 90 degrees for my card - whilst most other cards in the gallery seem to have used the sketch conventionally, there are a few of us who chose to rotate, so a real variety of inspiration for you if this is a layout that appeals. Here is my card:

I used the stampset 'Bearing Gifts' for my card today, having 'borrowed' it from my daughter, who is currently using this set to make her own Christmas sets.It's a great set to stamp and colour so I took the opportunity to get my Stampin' Up! Blendabilities out again and set to work colouring the trio of gift givers on top of the polar bear. I used my Pumpkin Pie and Night of Navy sets, focusing on the lightest of the two blues, and did stray from the colour palette twice: once for the wreath around the bear's neck, which I coloured with Smoky Slate (I thought this would be OK as technically grey is a neutral) although not sure I will be forgiven for the red Santa hat. The thing is, try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to colour it in any other colour - they just have to be red, right?!

I mounted my panel on a piece of Marina Mist and the a piece of Soft Sky, and having masked the sentiment off the main stamped image, decided to stamp it vertically directly onto the card base, as this suited my layout better. I used a piece of retired Marina Mist polka dot DSP behind my image, and tied a Naturals white button with a piece of Tangerine Tango baker's twine to finish.

Hope you like today's card - back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bearing Gifts Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Neutrals Designer Buttons	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Pumpkin Pie Assortment
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Night Of Navy Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Tangerine Tango Baker's Twine	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky
Marina Mist A4 Card Stock

Today I'm sharing my card for this week's Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge, where this week the challenge is to create a Christmas card with ornaments that are sliver/grey and blue:

I went for a little 'something old, something new' for today's card: I had a piece of last year's Winter Frost DSP on my desk, so decided to combine it with a couple of ornaments from this year's Cheerful Christmas set for today's card:

I used a single piece of Island Indigo to back my folded base of Smoky Slate and cut a square out of the front using my Big Shot and Square framelits, using the next size up to create an embossed frame. I used a square of Winter Frost DSP inside the framed area, and added a couple of baubles, one in Coastal Cabana and one in Island Indigo, both of which I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in silver then fussy cut out with my paper snips. I popped one of on with a glue dot and the other with a dimensional and finished with my sentiment banner, which I finished with a row of tiny rhinestones for a little extra sparkle.

That's all from me for today; back tomorrow with my Design Team card for The Paper Players, where Ann has a new themed challenge for us. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Squares Collection Framelits Dies	Cheerful Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad
Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder
Embossing Buddy	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Versamark Pad	Mini Glue Dots	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents
Stampin' Dimensionals

Today I thought I would share with you the Christmas star wreath I made at my class yesterday. I used the All is Calm Speciality Designer Series Paper for my version, which looks like this:

I layered a circle of Lost Lagoon flat stars, cut out with my Stars framelits, onto my wreath base, then cut 12 stars out of the All Is Calm Speciality DSP for the 3D stars. Each of these stars was scored from the point to the opposite side then pinched together to create the dimension and once glued to the wreath base, finished with a selction of Brights, Neutrals, Subtles and silver buttons:

To finish, a length of the luxurious In-Colour Lost Lagoon satin ribbon to create a bow and hanging loop:

You can see another example of this wreath made with the Under The Tree Speciality DSP over on my Facebook page - it looks lovely in the kraft and more traditional, red, greens and browns, so do check it out. I have another of these classes next week where the ladies will be making them using other papers of their choice.

I hope you like today's project; this is going to be my indoor wreath as it matches my dining room colours perfectly; I have another two wreaths to share with you in coming weeks, so if home decor is your thing, keep an eye out for the other versions!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Stars Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform
Lost Lagoon 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon	Simply Scored	Mini Glue Dots	Basic Metal Buttons	Brights Designer Buttons
Subtles Designer Buttons	Neutrals Designer Buttons

Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at Less is More, where the focus for this week's one layer challenge is a 'starry, starry night'. I was aiming for an early LIM entry this week and this post was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but best laid plans and all that .... So two days later, here it is:

So how did I create today's card? Well, I've been wanting to create a sponged snowy scene for a while, so this card was the perfect opportunity. I masked off a horizontal panel, added a masked circle for my moon and then created a 'hill' mask to create my landscape itself. I sponged in my sky using Night of Navy ink and used the same colour to highlight the edges of the snow dunes and some subtle tree shadows (I did this bit after I stamped in the trees). Once I'd created my snowscape, I used the tip of the pine tree from the Festival of Tree stamp set to add in my trees. I stamped them in Memento Black ink, being careful to keep my mask in place each time so that the trees were behind the surface of the snow. To finish, I used some Encore silver ink to sponge in some tiny stars using a stencil I created with my Confetti Stars punch, along with a few dots added with my Silver marker. I also lightly sponged some Encore Silver onto some areas of the sky to add a subtle sheen. To finish, I stamped my sentiment from the 'Good Greetings' stamp set beneath my scene. Here's a closeup of the scene itself so that you can see it in more detail: 

For such a 'blue' card, this really is very pretty and for a one layer card has so much going on. I think I might have to make a few more like this!

Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Confetti Stars Punch	Festival Of Trees Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Silver Stampin' Dazzle Marker	Silver Metallic Encore Pad	Stamping Sponges

It's Monday - yay! I've spent most of my day at the swimming pool watching both James juniors taking part in an inter-school gala. The school team didn't win, but there was some stiff competition and all of the children put in a sterling effort. I got home and managed to get a couple of cards made, so all in all a good day. Today's card is for the challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where this week its a colour challenge and a new (to me) challenge that I've come across called Addicted to Stamps where the inspiration photo caught my eye:

With these colours and that fabulous sparkly bauble, I just had to make a Christmas card; here it is:

I used Real Red for my card base and then matted a panel of Very Vanilla with Brushed Gold. I stamped a sentiment from the Bright and Beautiful sentiment in Real Red, then created two baubles, each made from a circle punched out of Real Red cardstock with a 1 3/4" circle punch and punched with the Confetti Stars punch to reveal the gold foil stars underneath (this is a second 1 3/4" gold foil circle adhered behind). One of my baubles is adhered directly to the card an one popped up on dimensionals. Each is finished with a ribbon bow of sparkly gold ribbon. I'm not sure the photo really does this card justice - the gold stars on the baubles do have more shine in real life.

That's me done for today. Back tomorrow with another Christmas card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Confetti Stars Punch	Bright & Beautiful Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Gold Foil Sheets	Brushed Gold A4 Card Stock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Gold 1/8" Ribbon	1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch