Today I'm just popping by with a quick blog post to share a quick card with you - the last of my cards from my technique class featuring the Painted Harvest bundle earlier this month. Our final card is a real showcase of the fabulous Painted Autumn designer series papers in the form of a triple fold card - take a look:

Continuing with our 'thankful' theme, the triple fold design of this card showcases the gorgeous Painted Autumn papers, with five different panels of paper on the main Very Vanilla folded section and a sixth on the belly band that holds it closed. There is a hidden circle on the inside of the back panel on which to write your greeting and the belly band is decorated with another of those lovely sunflowers and another of the sentiments in the Painted Harvest set. I can't find my photo of the card when open, showing the inside - if I manage to track it down in my backed up projects I'll come back and update this post. In the meantime, I'm sure you get the idea!

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. 

If you've enjoyed the outputs of this class, I have a similar one featuring the Delightful Daisy Suite on Monday 4th December with a couple of spaces left - you can see the full details here. Contact me for more information or to book your place - I would love you to join us!

Don't forget 9PM tomorrow is the first opportunity you will have to go online and reserve the new Stamparatus stamp positioning tool - you can read all about it here. I'll be back tomorrow with another reminder and hopefully a creative project too. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Peekaboo Peach 5/8" Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon	Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper
Very Vanilla 12" X 12" Cardstock	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Layering Circle Framelits Dies

I've had a busy day with the last of this month's technique classes - I'll share these cards later this week - and a couple of hours of garden tidying ready for the winter. Today I'm sharing another card using our sketch this week over at The Paper Players. Here's a reminder of the sketch:

You can see my original card here; I liked this sketch so much I made a second card too - take a look:

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

Quilted Christmas - I used two of the Quilted Christmas patterned papers on today's card. The festive papers and colours in this pack make co-ordination easy and I love this traditional red and green colour combination. 

Add A Banner - The simple banner on my card is 2" wide and was punched with the Triple Banner Punch. This is one of my most useful and most used punches and whilst it gets lots of love I don't often give it a shout-out in my blog write-ups as it's one of those punches that I almost take for granted and there always seems to be something more exciting to talk about. Well, not today - three cheers for the Triple Banner Punch!

All About The Stitching - There is a common thread (pardon the pun!) running through today's card design and that is 'stitching'. From the patterns of my paper, to the stitched border that I used for my sentiment panel, along with the baker's twine bow and that pretty stitched felt star embellishment, stitching links them all and results in a clean and simple card with a seamless design. 

A simpler version of Sunday's card using the same layout, yet I love it - might have to knock a few more of these out to boost my Christmas card stocks! 

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:

Quilted Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper	Banner Triple Punch	Stitched Felt Embellishments	Christmas Quilt Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card that is actually a Christmas card but uses the Painted Harvest stamp set - take a look:

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

A Christmas Wreath - The Painted Harvest stamp set really is so versatile: stamped in festive green, either singly or using both stamps, it's easy to change the look from a sunflower to a Christmas wreath. You can then either use the small dot stamp to stamp your berries or a few Real Red enamel dots as I've done here; finish with a bow of Quilted Christmas ribbon and there you have it - a simple Christmas wreath. I am featuring the Painted Harvest bundle at my monthly stamp class on Monday 6th November; this is a popular class with space now limited. If you would like to join me to explore this stamp set, do get in touch and book your place before it's too late!

Gorgeous Gingham - I backed my stitched square with a panel of Gardden Green gingham, one of the patterns in the Quilted Christmas designer series paper. This 6" x 6" paper stack has some fabulous designs both for Christmas and beyond. I also backed my DSP with a piece of extra thick Whisper White for added stability. I'm partial to a nice gingham to add a classic touch to my projects and the stack includes a Real Red gingham too - gorgeous!

Merry Christmas - My teeny-tiny sentiment is stamped in red onto Whisper White so that the words are in relief - can you tell what stamp set it comes from though? You might be surprised - I cropped it from one of the banner stamps in the Brightly Lit Christmas stamp set. I've circled it on the image below:

This stamp set is one of those reduced by 15% to for World Card Making Day until tomorrow and will also feature in its bundle at my Brightly Lit Christmas class on Tuesday 24th October. You can find full details of my classes on my Facebook page or on my website here. The important thing is to always look at all the stamps in your collection - you may find the perfect sentiment in the most unexpected if places!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set	Brightly Lit Christmas Photopolymer Stamp Set	Quilted Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper	Quilted Christmas 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Ribbon	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Cardstock	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Brights Enamel Shapes	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! I am your host this week and I have a colour challenge for us to work with:

I took the opportunity to make a fall-inspired thank you card this week that works for a few additional challenges too; I used the sketch over at Just Add Ink, the middle vertical column of the tictactoe board over at Paper Craft Crew and the theme challenge over at Global Design Project:

My starting point for today's card was this gorgeous patterned paper from the Painted Harvest designer series paper pack - take a look:

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

Even More Painted Autumn For Your Pennies - You all know how much I love designer series paper, and the Painted Autumn collection is definitely up there as one of this season's favourites. Bold, watercoloured images in beautiful autumnal colours what could be better? How about more for less? Yes, Painted Autumn is one of the designer series papers that is included in the 'Buy 3, get 1 free' sale that is running throughout October. You can read more about that here or purchase directly from my online store - I for one will be stocking up for sure. 

Give Thanks For Labels To Love - I used the sentiment and border stamp from the 'Labels To Love' stamp set on my card today. This set, on page 45 of the seasonal catalogue, is an additional set that coordinates with the Everyday Label Punch besides the 'Merry Little Labels' set that the punch is bundled with. There are some great sentiments in this set but I think this one is my favourite - we all have so much to be thankful for. I added a couple of the Touches of Nature wooden flowers that I heat embossed with some now-retired Crushed Curry embossing powder to my label, along with some vellum leaves and a leaf-embossed stitched circle behind to create a bit of a collage of my focal point. 

Not Just An Everyday Label - The Everyday Label Punch is proving a very popular choice for many of my customers and it's easy to see why: in addition to punching out the standard shape, there are a number of ways the punch can be used to make either shorter or longer labels, to create layers or even to create different shapes. By shortening my punched label I created more of a square shape for the sentiment on my card today. I love a punch that is versatile and has lots of alternative uses! 

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; my niece is celebrating her 18th birthday this coming week so we are off for a family gathering of 'cake and cocktails' this evening to celebrate, which we are all looking forward to.

I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Painted Autumn Designer Series Paper	Labels To Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Touches Of Nature Elements	Leaf Punch	Everyday Label Punch
Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Crushed Curry Solid Baker’S Twine	Crushed Curry 3/8" Mini Chevron Ribbon	Vellum A4 Cardstock

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's TGIF Challenge and uses the sketch layout over at Fusion:

I'm back with a Christmas card today featuring another of the festive Christmas Around The World DSP patterns - take a look:

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

Driving Home For Christmas - I'm still in Christmas mode as far as my card making is concerned, but that didn't stop me joining with the TGIF team this week - with sleighs, donkeys and so much more besides, there are festive transportation options a-plenty! I decided to have another crack at using the Christmas Around The World designer series paper and specifically another of the larger designs featuring festive cars and bicycles, all transporting Christmas trees and piles of luggage and festive gifts across the sheet. The design on this sheet of paper totally makes me think of the Christmas song made famous by Chris Rea called 'Driving Home For Christmas' - I made this card and was humming the tune for ages afterwards (apologies if that's you now having read today's post!) Whilst I used a smaller piece of the paper compared to my nutcracker card earlier this week (you can see that card here), I still made sure I cut a piece that fitted with the theme of my card so that the little cards and bikes  are clearly identifiable.  

And Hearts Too - I matched my paper with a sentiment from the 'Hearts Come Home' stamp set, which also fit perfectly with my theme. I stamped it on a stitched circle and added a couple of Real Red enamel hearts and a trio of snowflakes from the 'Hang Your Stockings' set across the bottom for additonal decoration. 

There's Always Room For  A Bow - Lastly, I added a wooden bow from the co-ordinating Christmas Around The World embellishment set. A nice finishing touch to bring the elements 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. 

I have another busy day today so enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Around The World Designer Series Paper	Christmas Around The World A4 Cardstock Pack	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Christmas Around The World Embellishments	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Brights Enamel Shapes	Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set

I've been absent from my blog for a few days - once again precious time with my Juniors this week as we make the most of our school summer holidays hasn't left me time for blogging during the latter part of this week. Luckily for you today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The lovely Laurie is the hostess this week and she has a sketch for us to work with:

I tried a few different things for my card today, but kept wanting to put a sentiment in the circle! Since I was trying to be truly faithful to Laurie's sketch, I kept at it then it hit me - the answer was in a piece of paper I have been saving for just such an opportunity! Take a look:

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

What Birthday Memories Are Made Of -  In the end this card makes me feel like a little bit of a cheat, since there is very little stamping and the gorgeous sheet of Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper does all the hard work! There are some gorgeous papers in this pack, all of which contain intricate and colourful birthday imagery reminiscent of days gone by. The sheet I've used today is a design that covers the whole of the 12" x12" sheet and is really one that is hard to cut into. It makes a beautiful gift box lid or gift bag where you can see the entire animal parade.

Big Is Beautiful - I happened to have a half-width of this sheet of designer paper left over from another project, so decided to upsize my card to the larger size of 14.9cm x 21cm in order to accommodate as much of the design as possible, including those fun floating balloons. To emphasise the shape of the sketch, which I represented with the little racoon, I decided to fussy-cut another identical racoon out of one of the other sheets of DSP and pop it up on dimensionals, allowing it to hang over the edge of my central panel. 

Don't Forget The Envelope - The only stamping on my card front was for my sentiment I couldn't resist embellishing with a gift that I also cut out of the DSP too), and on the inside. I also used the 'Birthday Delivery' stamp set to stamp and decorate my envelope front and back though - a special handmade card shouldn't stop at the card front, although I don't often photograph mine to share with you. For some great examples of this be sure to check out my teamie Nance's blog - her cards always look as fabulous on the inside as on the outside :-)

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. 

This paper is truly gorgeous and it's almost as if it was made for Laurie's sketch this week. I love this card - I just need to find a special little person to send it it to now! 

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

I look forward to seeing what you create with our sketch this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are lucky that we have a Bank Holiday here in the UK so it's a slightly longer one than usual - I'm hoping for some sunshine! I'll be back this week with some of the projects from my last class and maybe even another sneak peak or two of some great sets from the upcoming Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue, so stay tuned. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper	Birthday Delivery Photopolymer Stamp Set	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Basic Gray A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

Friday already - where did the week go?! I've been having fun with my not-so-little ones - and today my youngest James Junior turned 10 years old so now I have two children in double digits - I really don't know where the time goes! We have had a fun day of games, football, dinner out and a trip to the cinema so all in all a lovely end to the week. Following a few absent days, I thought it was time for a quick post to share more of my makes with the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set. I actually used the set to create a one sheet wonder, that I turned into eight cards that I then duplicated for my thank you cards to go out with my customer orders this month. Here's one of the cards in the set:

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

Bright Colour Combo - I chose a bright colour combination of hot pink, orange and red with a contrasting touch of blue for my set of cards - the Marina Mist blue is definitely the wild card here, however I think it breaks up the other colours in a good way. Here's the colour combination if you'd like to save it for future use:

Step It Up - I could have simply added my one sheet wonder panels to my card bases, along with a sentiment stamped on a basic square or punched circle, to complete my cards in record time. I decided to step them up slightly with the aid of my Stitched Shape Framelits, Layered Squares and Circles Framelits and some additional stamped flowers that I then diecut with the co-ordinating Bouquet Bunch Framelits. Completion took a little more time for sure, however I think it was worth it - sometimes it's the details that count and really make the difference.

The Wonder Of One Sheet - A one sheet wonder is a fun way to create your own patterned paper and can be a quick solution if you want to create a bunch of cards. I made up my own cut template for this one, with a set of easy cuts to make the most out of my single sheet of A4 cardstock. Here's a shot showing all the cards I made just to give you a flavour off the set:

I used a variety of base and mat colours - the tiny flowers make Beautiful Bouquet a great set to use for a one sheet wonder. Why not give it a try with some of your favourite colour combinations?

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'll be back on Sunday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Bundle	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Layering Squares Framelits Dies
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad	Marina Mist A4 Cardstock	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad

Well, you can tell the children must be on their school summer holiday here in the UK as it's pouring with rain with no signs of let up! We have had an aborted trip to the zoo today and had to make do with indoor swimming and trampolining instead, which the James Juniors seem to have enjoyed despite the constant drizzle. It also means we are home slightly earlier than planned leaving me time to share a quick project with you and the lovely ladies over at As You See It who have a fun challenge theme this week:

It made me smile as this is definitely something I can identify with! I usually lose my mojo when I get delivery of a large new box of goodies during the pre-order period of a new Stampin' Up! catalogue; I have all these wonderful new sets and papers to play with and suddenly don't know where to start! When I get like this, I often turn to my Stampin' Up! catalogue for inspiration and CASE (Copy And Selectively Edit) a card from within. This is usually enough to get me back on track and get the ideas flowing. Here is one such card:

The eagle-eyed amongst you will recognise my card as a CASE of the card on page 93 of the 2017-18 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue that features the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set. I've changed a few things: I used a different palette of colours, layered my sentiment on a stitched circle and added some Powder Pink ribbon as opposed to linen thread along with a couple of sparkly faceted gems for good measure, but the basic layout and the loose spritzed watercolour technique is the same. 

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. 

'CASE-ing the catalogue' is also a great way to try something different - this sample encouraged me to think about using the Beautiful Bouquet set in different ways, rather than simply stamping and die cutting. I am expecting delivery of my Autumn-Winter catalogue pre-order tomorrow, so I give it about 24 hours before the loss of crafting mojo kicks in and you can guess where I will be headed - yes, the pages of my new seasonal catalogue for inspiration!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Bundle	Decorative Ribbon Border Punch	Watercolor Paper	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Faceted Gems	Powder Pink 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Stampin' Spritzer

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The awesomely talented Laurie is the hostess this week and she has a sketch for us to work with:

I love a good sketch and this one was perfect for me to open a new stamp set that I won at Onstage in April but hadn't inked up yet - take a look:

Isn't that little piggy cute?! Here's the low-down on today's card:

This Little Piggy - This fun set of animated pigs in a variety of poses is set to be hugely popular if the 'oohs' and 'aahs' that accompanied Charlotte Harding's demonstration at Onstage are anything to go by. Who doesn't love a pig or know someone who does? The excitement in the room when this set was offered up as a prize patrol was palpable, but that was nothing compared to how I reacted when I won it - I think it's fair to say I gave a piggy squeal of delight! I've used the 'serious' pig on my card today, that can be paired with one of two sentiments. I stamped the image and sentiment separately on my card and completed the sentence inside my card, complete with kisses:

Isn't that sweet? A perfectly fun anniversary card for this week's challenge over at As You See It too - this card is perfect for my hubby!

Lots Of Layers - I took the opportunity to add some layers to my focal image with a mix of stitched shapes and layered squares. On this card I punched my sentiment out with the classic label punch, rather than stamp it directly onto the patterned paper layer as I did on the card below.

Paper Pick 'n' Mix - I'm taking the opportunity to use up my retiring papers so this card features some polka dots from the Brights stack as well as some Pop of Pink DSP for the horizontal band. I also created a second card using the Playful Palette DSP stack papers with an alternative sentiment pairing - take a look:

And here's the inside:

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

Here's the details for my second card:

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with our sketch this week. Do leave me a comment and let me know which of these little pigs you prefer and if they are on your wishlist too! Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we have a Bank Holiday on Monday so an extra long one, which is great. I am hoping for a continuation of this lovely weather and another BBQ, possibly followed by a bike ride. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Playful Palette Designer Series Paper Stack	Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies
Layering Squares Framelits Dies	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Classic Label Punch
Brights Enamel Shapes

Did you miss me? I've been away from my blog this week simply because, well, life got in the way! I've been busy preparing for a big team training event that I'm hosting the weekend after next and I've had preparation for next week's classes to take care of, so whilst I've content prepared for both that I will share in due course, I seem to have struggled to find the time to write any posts.

Anyways, I'm here a little earlier this evening and thought I would share with you one of the makes from one of last month's technique classes, featuring the Window Box Thinlits dies. In addition to using them to make an Easter basket and a pretty box, we also made a simple card that featured the co-ordinating Window Shopping stamp set and one of the decorative pieces. Here it is:

The card features the bright colours that are a feature of the candle-printed designer series paper from the Party Animal Suite: Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Emerald Envy, Crushed Curry. A bold happy birthday sentiment, along with a Stitched Framelit square that w as run through the Big Shot for a second time with the candle die from the Window Box thinlit set form the basis of the central panel. Wondering how I coloured my candles? I used Party Animal Washi Tape, just running a few strips across the base before adding the diecut popped up on dimensionals. You can see the detail more closely here:

This is one of those 'go to' cards - quick and easy to put together and in this colour combination pretty much suitable for anyone. A great standby card or one to make if you're short on time and need a card in a hurry!

I'm so glad that the Window Shopping stamp set and Window Box Thinlits are carrying over into the new annual catalogue - they are so useful. The current discounted bundle price won't carry over though, so if you would like get the 10% bundle discount for purchasing before products, be sure to purchase before the end of May.

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'll be back tomorrow with one of the other projects from last month's technique class featuring the Window Box Thinlits. If you live in or around Northampton, I would love to see you at one of my classes. You can see the current list here but do check back regularly for updates as new classes are added from time to time. Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Window Shopping Clear-Mount Bundle	Party Animal Designer Series Paper	Party Animal Designer Washi Tape	Tangerine Tango A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad
Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies