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 a timely theme challenge for us to work with:

It's beginning to look a lot like ... Christmas! It is indeed, so Jaydee has chosen the perfect theme this week! At the start of December I like to make those 'special' cards for friends and family - those over-the-top, fancy ones that you hand deliver. I set aside my usual clean-and-layered self and throw caution to the wind, so I thought I'd share one of those cards with you today - take a look:

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

A Fancy Shadow Box - Today's card is part card, part home decor. Measuring 5 3/4" square by 1/2" deep, the front of the card comprises a shadow box frame, with the main design in the centre. I've made non-festive versions of this card in a 6"x6" size that I've shared on my blog previously, but I've never made a Christmas one. This kind of card does take a little longer to make, but I think it's so worth it for a special occasion, don't you? It's also great for those who like to keep their cards and bring out year after year, as it is as much a decoration as it is a card.

Shining Brightly - I used one of the gold and vanilla patterns from the Shining Brightly specialty designer series paper to decorate the frame of my card. Now, I know this paper is now sold out in Europe, but it's been in and out of stock all season due to its popularity, so I'm hoping that for those of you who stocked up, you appreciate a project that shows it in all its glory. Given that my shadow box card has depth, I need to create a box 'envelope' to send it in and I used more of this paper for the lid. You can see my box in the photo below:

Joy of Noel - The real star of the show is the 'Joy of Noel' bundle that features in the centre of my frame. By far and away my favourite bundle from this year's mini catalogue, it really is fabulous. This bundle is still available and if you purchase it from me, you will receive a free copy of the 'Join in With Joanne & Jan' Joy of Noel tutorial that I created with my talented friend Jan Clothier. I combined gold embossed foliage and gold glitter pine needles with a gold embossed NOEL for the centrepiece - the foiling and glimmer paper add so much beautiful festive sparkle, don't you think?

A gold embossed sentiment inside completes my fancy card. What do you think? Do you like to make fancy cards for the special people in your life? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear what you think.  

I'm also playing along with a few challenges: My card follows the sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown (I hope they'll forgive me the sentiment placement), it's a glitter entry over at Inkspirational and finally I've been saving this one for my entry over at SUO Challenges - my favourite holiday catalogue product, actually products with the bundle and paper!!

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 will be spending mine with more Christmas preparations and getting ready for an upcoming vacation - more about that in a future post! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)

VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

SILVER & GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) ADHESIVE-BACKED GLIMMER PAPER (6.75)

VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

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 my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I had the idea that the central panel would be a great way to showcase one of the Winter Meadow designer series paper designs - take a look:

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

One of the designs in the Winter Meadow designer series paper pack has a deer pattern that can be split into 6 and used as card fronts. I took the one that had the deer on the right hand side of the panel and cut it down to fit my central rectangle. I added a background panel of Moody Mauve and scored in the diagonal lines (these are quite difficult to see in the photos I'm afraid, but add a lovely subtle detail in real life) and fussy cut a couple of berry stems from another of the sheets in the paper pack to decorate my sentiment, which is from the 'Brightest Glow' stamp set and cut with one of the Labels Aglow dies:

I really liked this card, although I did think that I lost a lot of the impact of the deer panel once I'd cut it down. Whilst I had the papers out on my desk, I decided to make a second card using another panel of the deer paper, this time using Kim's open layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

I cut the single panel into three and built up the central section with a couple of layers of black and white cardstock, adding my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set onto a stitched label:

I let the paper do all the work as far as this card is concerned and added only a trio of three pale silver sequins to complete my card:

So two cards for you today - hope you like them! I'm also linking my first card up over at Time Out Challenges where the current challenge is Winter/Holiday.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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 back later in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	LABELS AGLOW DIES (31.00)	WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	MOODY MAUVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	IRIDESCENT RHINESTONES BASIC JEWELS (7.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	NEUTRALS ADHESIVE-BACKED SEQUINS (7.00)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Animal Rights Day' which is on 10th December. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used alcohol markers, animals/critters/birds and stripes and I combined both the 'make a statement' and sketch inspiration over at Try Stamping On Tuesday for my card and this is what I came up with:

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

More Wishes - Ordinarily if I was going to use a large sentiment, I would make this the central focal point of my card, but the layout over at Try Stamping on Tuesday had me intrigued and I wondered if I could instead use my bold sentiment to frame my illustration. The 'More Wishes' stamp set is perfect for this approach: it's just wide enough to create a frame whilst still leaving a central aperture. I did need to get creative with my choice of sentiment and how I laid it out across the four frame elements; as you can see, my repeated sentiment actually starts and ends on the long side. I added a cute robin from 'Festive & Fun' to delineate - I think it works but I'd love to know what you think!

Festive & Fun - I chose one of the images from 'Festive & Fun' to fill the centre of my frame, stamping it in Memento Black and colouring with my Stampin' Blends to co-ordinate with my frame:

Bold Colour - My colour scheme was inspired by the palette over at Global Design Project #GDP421 this week. I stamped the words on my frame using my Stamparatus and stamped them several times each to get a good, solid ink coverage. This does make the colours slightly darker and more intense; I actually really like this colour combination for a modern, festive Christmas 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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

MORE WISHES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	FESTIVE & FUN CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POPPY PARADE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)
COASTAL CABANA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	PARAKEET PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PARAKEET PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	SMOKY SLATE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	PECAN PIE STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)

Today I'm sharing a card using the current layout over at CAS on Sunday that was inspired by the candy-can colours and festive mood board over at Just Us Girls:

I couldn't resist that colour palette over at Just Us Girls and so much festive inspiration! I had a couple of candy canes cut from retired Sweetest Christmas designer paper in my stash, so decided to use them as the basis for a clean and simple card - take a look:

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

I added my candy canes to some solid colour banners and a circle that picked up the challenge colours and added a sprig of stamped mistletoe with a trio of pearls and twine bow, along with a sentiment from the retired 'Sweet Candy Canes' stamp set:

A trio of in-colour enamel dots complete my card. Quite a simple card and would be quick to run off in multiples too - I love 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BANNERS PICK A PUNCH (26.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
SWEET SORBET 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 the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Make a tag or feature a tag on your project - just remember to keep it clean and simple! I had another vellum idea I wanted to try out and LeAnne's challenge today gave me the perfect opportunity - take a look:

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

First things first: I used a piece of retired Expressions In Ink Specialty Designer Series Paper for my card base for ease, but you could easily recreate this alcohol ink effect using some Stampin' Blends and drops of rubbing alcohol. I then cut my tag shape out of the centre of my designer paper panel, before gluing it to my white cardbase (minus the tag). I cut 5 extra tags out of white carstock and added these behind the DSP one, so that when they were glued back into the space the stacked tag would have added depth. I cut another tag out of vellum (I used a scrap of Shaded Spruce for the reinforcer) and stamped the large foliage stamp from the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set in Versamark off the edge and heat embossed it in gold. When it is added (tied not glued) to the tag stack I created earlier, the design is clear and the vellum softens the alcohol ink effect on the tag below:

A gold heat embossed sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set, along with some gold elegant trim and a trio of festive pearls, complete my card. 

I really like the finished effect - minimal layers and embellishments, lots of white space and enough gold to add a little festive flair. The foliage stamp in the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set is so versatile - although it's a line stamp, it doesn't have to be coloured - there are so many different ways to use it. If you would like even more inspiration using the 'Joy of Noel' stamp set, you can search my blog for lots more examples or better still, this is the bundle that features in this month's 'Join In With Joanne and Jan' tutorial that I have created with my NZ friend, the lovely Jan Clothier - if you purchase this bundle from me this month you will receive our  tutorial for FREE with full instructions for 4 additional projects using this fabulous set.

Back to today's project! 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. I'm also linking today's project up over at Less Is More where the theme is 'anything CAS goes'. 

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

Enjoy your day; it's a rather wet and miserable weekend here so I will be staying indoors today I think - maybe some festive baking will be on the cards! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JOY OF NOEL PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (21.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)
SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	FESTIVE PEARLS (6.75)

Happy Monday everyone! We are another week closer to Christmas, so no surprises that today I'm sharing a card for the occasion! I took my inspiration from the crate of pinecones on the Hand Stamped Sentiments  inspiration photo below:

I diecut some pinecones and greenery using the Christmas Pinecone Dies and snipped a section to frame my sentiment from the 'Christmas Classics' stamp set - take a look:

I used a piece of retired Painted Christmas designer series paper for my background; I love the fresh feel of this paper, and the white background allows the detail of the diecut pinecones to really shine:

A few sparkly gems complete my card. This card took longer to make than it took to write my post; those Christmas Pinecone Dies take a little bit of time to cut and assemble, but I think it was worth it. Plus I've still got enough leftovers to make another 2-3 cards - bonus! I'm also linking today's card up over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog, where they are currently on 'P is for Peace' - the world could definitely do with some of that at the moment, for sure.

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 PINECONE DIES (42.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

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 festive colour challenge for us to work with:

Red, green and gold is one of my favourite festive colour combinations so I wanted to see what you would all make with it this week. You can add any other colour of your choice; for today's card I added a little Old Olive and using Jen M's square layout over at Freshly Made Sketches made a traditional Christmas card to add to my growing stash - take a look:

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

The sketch layout was perfect to showcase a large panel of designer series paper, so I chose a vibrant holly pattern from the Joy of Christmas paper pack. I used the slanted panel to feature my bold sentiment from the 'Joy To You' stamp set, which I stamped in Real Red onto a white panel cut with one of the Scalloped Contour Dies to which I added a holly and pine diecut embellishment:

I wrapped my panel of DSP with some gold simple elegant trim (great for saving bulk on cards that need to be mailed at this time of year) and added a bow to my foliage to complete my card. This card actually came together quite quickly once I'd decided on my elements; the paper does much of the hard work with such a busy pattern, it really doesn't need much else. So what will you make with this week's colour combination? Whilst these colours are my festive favourites, you don't have to make a Christmas project with them - the choice is yours!

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 had a super busy day yesterday, with a flying overnight visit for my university-loving daughter and a hockey match for the youngest of the James Juniors. My laundry service has gone into overdrive once more, so today will be spent ironing and baking and hopefully squeezing in a little crafting to finish a few projects that are in bits on my desk. I'm usually one of those people that makes one thing at a time, but since I've had to snatch a quick 30 minutes here and there over the last couple of days, I've started several things and am yet to finish a single one! Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to share one of them. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

JOY TO YOU CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	JOY OF CHRISTMAS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	CHRISTMAS CLASSICS DIES (35.00)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (33.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	OLD OLIVE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'World Hello Day' which is on November 21st. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used bright colours, patterned paper, envelope and hello/hi sentiment along with the layout over at Sketch Saturday and this is what I came up with:

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

Believe it or not I actually started out making this card with the little 'hi' sentiment from the 'Just My Type' stamp set. I decided since it was so tiny, it would either need a very clean and simple layout or a bold and colourful background - as you can see, I went for the latter! I used some retired 'Sunshine and Rainbows' paper in panels for my background, then picked out the colours and images to create a little embellished focal point around my sentiment using other stamps in the set and a few additional diecut pieces from the Give It A Whirl Dies:

Cute, right?! Just the kind of note to brighten someone's day - although they might need sunglasses when they take it out of the envelope, with not a drop of black and white in sight!

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JUST MY TYPE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (37.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)
MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card using Jen T's fabulous layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

This is a sketch with so many possibilities! I decided to make a contemporary Christmas card using one of the Christmas tree designs in the Merry Bold & Bright designer series paper pack - take a look:

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

I'm also playing along with my friends at Just Us Girls again this week who have my favourite festive colour combo, red and green, as their inspiration this week. I would ordinarily go with something much more traditional, maybe Real Red and Shaded Spruce (my all-time favourite festive combo!) however the contemporary Christmas tree design in the Merry Bold and Bright designer series paper pack changes things up and pairs Lemon Lime Twist with Poppy Parade and a little white. My card was actually designed around the sentiment in the first instance, as I wanted something that would build across the three strips of the sketch and I love the way the text on the 'Joy to You' stamps gets bolder as it builds. I used both retired Stitched Stars Dies and Stitched Triangle Dies to create my accent trees; you could punch these but I like the addition of the stitched detail:

An unusual colour combination, but I actually rather like it; so much so I made two cards whilst I was at it! Here's a peek at the inside too where I added another of the stamps from the 'Joy To You' set and added a leftover strip of paper to decorate:

Perhaps this one needs a warning on the envelope to wear sunglasses on opening!!

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 having a day of catching up with lots of little jobs today - the sun is shining, so I'm feeling motivated! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

JOY TO YOU CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

MERRY BOLD & BRIGHT 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)

LEMON LIME TWIST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

POPPY PARADE 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 Anne Marie to host this week and she has a great theme challenge for us to work with:

Giving thanks - everyone needs a good supply of thank you cards, right? With Thanksgiving later this month for my American friends, November is often a month more than most when we pause to reflect on the things we are grateful for. I could have gone with a card that was similarly seasonally themed, but I decided instead to go with something bold and bright that made the most of this week's Global Design Project sketch - take a look:

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

Bold & Bright, Not Merry - For my vertical stripes, I used a panel of the Merry, Bold & Bright Designer series paper. Part of the Christmas product range, this is a paper pack with designs that really do work all year round and these stripes are perfect for my thank you card.

Many, Many Thanks - I decided to add some tone-on-tone stamping using a selection of the stamps in the 'Timeless Arrangements' stamp set. This set is choc-full of sentiments for all kinds of thank yous; I chose three different sentiments and stamped them repeatedly along the length of the stripes. This is a great way to add interest to a card and using the striped designer paper makes it really easy - no need to stress about accurately cutting your stripes to the same size. 

A Very Big Thanks - I heat-embossed another of the sentiments from the set in (retired) Blueberry Bushel embossing powder onto a vellum circle and decided I had to finish my card with  - a very big thanks, what else?! I added a layered a diecut of the retired thanks die from the Amazing Thanks Dies, slightly offset to reveal some blue beneath my bright green sentiment:

A trio of sparkly enamel dots complete my card. So what do you think? Who would you send today's colourful thank you to? Do leave me a comment below and let me know - 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; our house seems super quiet today, with only the youngest of the James juniors and I in residence - the eldest is still enjoying university life and the hubby is on an extended trip to China and Vietnam. I wonder how long it will be before we are bored with each other's company?! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TIMELESS ARRANGEMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	MERRY BOLD & BRIGHT 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	VELLUM A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BLUEBERRY BUSHEL A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
BLUEBERRY BUSHEL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LEMON LIME TWIST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	TINSEL GEMS FOUR-PACK (7.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)