It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun tic tac toe challenge for you to work with:

Normally I find these such a challenge (I know, I know - that's the whole point!) but today I knew exactly where I was going on the grid: straight down the left with Red, Santa and Diecut. I ended up making a couple of cards (if you check out the card on yesterday's post here you will see it also fits this column) but today's card is definitely one of my most favourite  - take a look:

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

Detailed Santa Thinlits Die - Today I've used the whole of the diecut Santa image to create the front for my shaker card. I cut it in extra thick Whisper White and added a piece of window sheet behind, so that you could see both my white heat embossed 'ho ho ho' sentiment and the contents of my shaker. I left a wider border at the bottom in order to accommodate my embellishments and Real Red stamped sentiment - a line from my most favourite festive poem, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas', by Clement C. Moore. I recited this poem at Christmas concerts as a child on a number of occasions and I still know all the words -  I now read it to my own children each Christmas, it has become a James family tradition.

Snowy White - I used the white Mica Flakes on page 41 of the seasonal catalogue for my shaker card contents today. These are one of those products that could be easily overlooked  yet I love these soft flakes - perfect for snow, beards and great for shaker cards! I rubbed my Embossing Buddy over the inside of the window to reduce static so that they would shake freely and the whole thing is held in place using foam adhesive strips - they really do make shaker cards so easy. Check out the detail here of the mica flakes and the diecut:

Jingle All The Way - To finish my card today, I added some red and white Candy Cane Lane baker's twine and a couple of mini jingle bells, perfect for my red and white colour scheme today.

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 can't tell you how much I love this card, I might even have to send it to myself - shakers are such fun! 

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 tic tac toe board. We have a week off from hockey so it's only basketball that's calling today, then I have a few errands to run but hopefully a restful afternoon in store before Rebecca returns to school tomorrow. Ben has another week off, much to Rebecca's dismay! Well, I guess you can't have everything! 

One last reminder: the 'Buy 3, Get 1 Free' offer on designer paper ends tomorrow. You can read the full details here if you need to refresh your memory about what's included. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Greetings From Santa Clear-Mount Bundle	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Mini Jingle Bells	Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Window Sheets	Foam Adhesive Strips	Mica Flakes Trio Pack	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)

I hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend. Today I have a card using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I've finally managed to break the seal on Detailed Santa Thinlits Dies and been putting them through their paces. Today's card also features a new background stamp - take a look:

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

Detailed Santa Thinlits Die - Although I haven't used it before, this Santa die was one of my first purchases from the seasonal catalogue. I adore the detail of his face and beard and there are so many ways in which he can be used. Here I've cut a section of the image in Whisper White and mounted it on a banner of Real Red. You can't see in the photograph, but the whole of the white layer has been brushed with clear Wink of Stella and has a lovely subtle shimmer to it.

Put A Label On It - I stamped my sentiment from the co-ordinating 'Greetings From Santa' stamp set and cut it out with one of my Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits, great for memory keeping but perfect for card making too.

A Merry Medley - For my base, I chose to use the 'Merry Medley' background stamp, stamped in Soft Suede onto neutral kraft cardstock. I like that it adds interest without fuss and too much detail, yet is in keeping with the festive theme of my card.

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

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another santa project, this time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Greetings From Santa Clear-Mount Bundle	Merry Medley Clear-Mount Stamp	Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits Dies	Kraft 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Banner Triple Punch

Yay it's Friday - the weekend is almost upon us! Today I have a clean and simple Christmas card inspire by the great photo over at The Challenge this week:

I was totally inspired by the gift on the left to create this festive card:

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

Christmas Pines - For the background to my candy cane, I both stamped a pine sprig from teh 'Christmas Pines' stamp set and added a couple of Garden green Pretty Pines diecuts for a little extra dimension.

Banners for Christmas - My oversize candy cane is from the 'Banners for Christmas' set, stamped in Real Red and fussy cut. I also used the sentiment and banner, evocative of the blue ribbon on the parcel in the inspiration photo, from the same set. 

A Sweet Colour Combination - My colour palette for today's card was pulled directly from the inspiration photo and is one that works really well for a fresh, festive take on Christmas. Here it is if you would like to save it to use on your seasonal projects:

I added a little striped washi tape and sentiment inside my card and then - card complete! 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:

Banners For Christmas Photopolymer Set	Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Bundle	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Cardstock	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a colour combination for you:

It would be fair to say I struggled big time with these colours this week! I couldn't get away from the idea of Halloween, yet making them work was definitely a challenge! I ended up making two cards and I must confess I'm not completely happy with either of them! That said, I'm sharing my notelets with you anyway - here's the first one:

And here's the second one:

Both use a combination of the challenge colours and the Spooky Fun stamp set and co-ordinating Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies. The second one also includes a sentiment from the 'Suite Seasons' stamp set and a background created with the spots stamp in the 'Perpetual Calendar' set, along with a sentiment banner on each. Each would be quick and easy to create, although first time around they took me longer than I would have liked!

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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day - we are off to Brick Live to play Lego all day, a James family passion! Hope you enjoy your day too and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Spooky Fun Photopolymer Bundle	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes	Perfect Plum A4 Cardstock	Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Cardstock
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Silver Metallic Thread	Perpetual Birthday Calendar Photopolymer Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Today I have more Halloween fun for you, with a card and some co-ordinating Halloween treats that are again perfect for this week's TGIF Challenge where treats are most definitely the order of the day:

So I've made both a treat box and a matching card today using one of the gorgeous foil specialty sheets in my Halloween Night DSP pack. Here's my treat box, which holds a stack of chocolate coins adorned with spiders and filled with popping candy:

So much shine with all that foil! Here's a close up of my treat box:

My treat box measures 4 1/2" x 1 1/2" finished size, and is made from a piece of designer series paper measuring 7 1/2" x 6". I added a little trick or treat banner tag and a silver mini tassle tied on with black baker's twine. Instructions to make if you'd like to have a go are as follows:

• Score paper on short side at 1 3/8", 2 6/8", 4 1/8" and 5 1/2"
• Score paper on long side at 1/2", 1 1/2", 6" and 7"
• Cut an aperture in one of the long central sections using your Big Shot and Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits
• Fold on the score lines on the short side to make a long thin box, then pinch the ends and glue/staple one end, fill with chocolate then pinch and glue/staple the other end closed.
• Add tag and twine to complete.

 Finally, here's my card featuring those large Letter Framelits again: 

Check out the cute dangling spider in the 'O' - isn't he just so fun?! I stamped him in Versamark and heat embossed him in silver then coloured him in with my black Stampin' Write marker. 

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 '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 a card (or two!) for this week's Connie and Mary Challenge. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Halloween Night Specialty Designer Series Paper	Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits Dies	Basic Black Solid Baker's Twine	Mini Tassels	Large Letters Framelits Dies
Spooky Fun Photopolymer Stamps	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely Jaydee to host this week and she has a great sketch for you to work with:

I decided to combine my card with the challenge over at Merry Monday and use some of the lovely plaids featured in the Warmth and Cheer designer series paper stack. I actually made two cards for today's challenge and couldn't decide which one I liked best, so thought I'd share them both! Here's my first card:

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

Warmth and Cheer - Both of my warm plaids are from the Warmth and Cheer designer series paper pack, which is choc full of great plaid patterns that work for both autumnal and Christmas cards. Here I've combined two of the plaid patterns, each featuring Cherry Cobbler, for my vertical panel and mat. 

Oh What Fun - I was prompted to use this sentiment from the 'Oh What Fun' set following a conversation with one of my team members this week. This set is choc-full of great sentiments and having featured in last year's seasonal catalogue this year has made the transition to the annual catalogue. It was perfect for my card today, allowing me to ink up each half with Delightful Dijon and Cherry Cobbler markers on a 1 3/4" punched circle and separated by a fussy cut Cherry Cobbler banner. 

Dijon Doily - To finish I added a 2015-17 In-Color Doily in Delightful Dijon behind my circle sentiment. I often forget to use doilies yet I like the added detail it adds to my circle here without being overly fussy, clean and simple person that I am! 

Here's the second card that I made - this one has a few less layers and features only one piece of plaid, along with a couple of metallic sequins:

Lastly, 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. 

So which one of today's cards do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below with your thoughts - I love reading them!

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 sketch.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set	Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack	2015-2017 In Color Doilies	1-3/4" (4.4 Cm) Circle Punch	Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Metallics Sequin Assortment

Hurrah for the weekend and what's more, the start of the half term holiday for the James juniors! They each have at least a week off (one has two!) so we are looking forward to a rest from our full-on daily routine. I managed to get some time this afternoon to make a card for this week's sketch challenge over at The Global Design Project:

I decided to add another Christmas card to my stash - here's my card:

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

Presents and Pinecones - For my background I used a piece of the Presents and Pinecones Designer Series Papers, another of the packs that is available with the 'Buy 3, get 1 free' offer this month - you can read all about it here. This is a great sketch to really make a feature of a piece of designer series paper; check out the Global Design Team's creations for some inspiring examples of this.

It's That Time of Year - I used the large sentiment from 'Time of Year', one of the sets exclusively available to hostesses from the annual catalogue, for my focal point, stamped using the Emerald Envy ombre ink pad to co-ordinate with the lovely greens of the DSP. I also stamped the holly from this set on a piece of Whisper White and fussy cut it before adding to the edge of the rectangle to balance my sentiment and banner. This is such a great set with options to create a number of sentiment combinations for different occasions and great if you want your sentiment to make a statement on a card.

All That Glitters -  I decided to use a piece of red glimmer paper for the panel behind the sentiment to add a little sparkle to my project. I then cut a few different banners, but was struggling with the fact that they were masking out too much of the lower portion of my main sentiment. I decided to stamp onto acetate to allow for some transparency to the sentiment below and decide to use some red glitter embossing powder for a final glittery pizzazz - job 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. 

That's all from me; I'll be back tomorrow with this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper	Emerald Envy Ombre Stampin' Pad	Time Of Year Photopolymer Stamp Set	Red Glimmer Paper	Real Red Glitter Stampin' Emboss Powder
Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Window Sheets	Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

I had a great workshop yesterday with a fabulous group of ladies making family tree home decor frames and watched the semi-finals of The Great British Bake Off on TV yesterday evening in lieu of a blog post. Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a sketch for you:

Now you all know how much I love a good sketch, but I must admit this one had me stumped for a little while until I figured out what to do with it. I was totally in the Christmas zone, but once I stepped away from the festive season it came to me - an umbrella! Take a look:

A seriously bright card to brighten someone's day! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Dimension and Layers - I used the fun Umbrella Weather Framelits from the annual catalogue to create the umbrella, clouds and shower of hearts on my card today. There's lots of layering and dimension on today's card, with the blue panel popped up to allow the hearts to stand in relief against the pink card base and the clouds around the umbrella.

Weather Together - The sentiment is from the co-ordinating stamp set 'Weather Together' and perfect for a cheery pick-me-up kind of card. I stamped my sentiment in Melon mambo to accentuate the colour of my card base, and added an enamel heart shape in the same colour to one of my clouds too.

Buy 3, Get 1 Free Paper Offer - Time To Party! - My colour scheme today was inspired by the colours in the Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper pack and I used the stripy pattern from this set for my umbrella canopy. This is one of the papers available as part of the October 'Buy 3, Get 1 Free' Designer Series Paper offer:

You can read all about it in this blog post here - a great offer and the perfect time to stock up so don't delay and get your party on!

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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Another busy day today with a meeting first thing then an afternoon of housework in store. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper	Weather Together Photopolymer Bundle	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise A4 Cardstock
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad	2016-2018 In Color Enamel Shapes	Rhinestone Basic Jewels

It's Tuesday and today I have a Christmas card for you using this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts:

This is such a great sketch with so many options; I decided today to make a Christmas card that is all about baubles - take a look:

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

Warmth and Cheer - My strips of festive paper come from this season's 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper stack, Warmth and Cheer. A mix of warm reds, greens and yellows, with everything from sweater patterns to plaids, baubles, pine trees and stars, these papers will take your projects from autumn through to winter and the festive season with ease.

Merry Tags Bauble - I took my inspiration from my DSP strips and diecut a bauble in Real Red using the Merry Tags Framelits for the circular element of my card. I stamped my sentiment from the Merriest Wishes stamp set and heat embossed it in black for added shine. I added a Garden Green bow cut using the Perfect Pines Framelits and finished with a metallic enamel shape.

Decorative Stripes - They are very subtle, however if you look closely at my bauble you will see I sponged some diagonal stripes in Real Red ink using one of the Seasonal Decorative Masks onto my bauble before I embossed my sentiment, to echo the stripe of the baubles on the DSP and just add a little extra interest without stamping.

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 that will start with the children attending their Speech and Drama exams - wish them luck! I hope your day is a good one too. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack	Merry Tags Framelits Dies	Merriest Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)
Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Seasonal Decorative Masks

Happy Monday everyone! I'm here with a nice early blog post - let's hope that the week continues in this vein! Today I have a card for this week's CASOLOGY challenge where the code word is 'spooky', that uses this week's TGIF Challenge sketch and the colours over at Colour Q:

I decided I had to ink up one of my Cookie Cutter Halloween stamps for today's card - take a look:

A spooky skeleton - how cute is he?! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Not Just For Christmas - What's better than a punch and a co-ordinating stamp set? Why, a punch and TWO co-ordinating stamp sets! The skeleton I used on my card today is from the Cookie Cutter Halloween stamp set. This is a second set that, like Cookie Cutter Christmas, also co-ordinates with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch and has a number of fun Halloween characters, including a scarecrow that is also perfect for autumn cards. I stamped him in Archival Black onto Very Vanilla cardstock and punched him out.

Ways With Washi - I used some retired Halloween washi tape to create my striped panel behind my skeleton. The newsprint includes stories about Halloween and the skulls provided a contrast whilst still fitting in with my skeletal theme. 

He's All Heart - My spot of colour really is just that, in the form of a bright Real Red enamel heart shape. It adds just enough dimension and shine to really make the colour pop!

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 appointments and errands today, so will be kept more than busy. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cookie Cutter Halloween Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cookie Cutter Builder Punch	Spooky Fun Photopolymer Stamps	Brights Enamel Shapes	Basic Black A4 Cardstock
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad