It's been all busy here at the James' today: I have had the first of my Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue Launch Open House sessions and enjoyed welcoming lots of guests to share in the delights of the new catalogue. More on that later in the week, meanwhile for all you lovely blog readers I have a card that I made for a few challenges today: CAS(E) This Sketch, CAS-ual Fridays who are calling for use of tan, white and one bright colour and Less Is More, where they are looking for two legs or four:

So with all that in mind and Fathers Day just around the corner, here is today's card:

I thought the sketch was an interesting one and whilst my choice of two legs might not seem altogether adventurous, this is the only stamp in my Guy Greetings stamp set that I haven't inked up to date since as much as I love the set, I'm not sure about this fella! I did all my stamping in Soft Suede, stamping the man again on Tangerine Tango cardstock and fussy cutting out his trousers and paper piecing them onto my card base. The arrows I used with my sentiment are from an old photopolymer set (can't remember the name) and I popped the 'DAD' onto a small punched oval over some Tangerine Tango baker's twine for a little more added colour and emphasis. 

That's all from me for today; I'll be back tomorrow with a card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary using a brand new stamp set, so do pop back as you're not going to want to miss it. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Guy Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set

Tangerine Tango A4 Cardstock

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

Soft Suede A4 Cardstock

Whisper White A4 Cardstock

Happy Monday everyone! I have a busy week ahead so I'm starting it with a quick post for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge that also features the current colours over at Fab Friday:

The FMS sketch has been designed by the super-talented Karren Johnson, currently guesting with us over at The Paper Players, so I just had to play along. I decided to make a little 'encouragement' card today - with a fun shaker twist too:

I used Marina Mist for the base of my card and created a frame of Night of Navy using my big Shot and Square Framelits, which I backed with a piece of acetate window sheet. I wanted a 'flat' shaker for this card, so having punched some stars in each of the challenge colours and some gold glimmer paper using my Confetti Stars Border Punch, I stamped my 'be the star' sentiment in navy onto Whisper White, laid the stars on top, then attached this to the back of the window. To finish, I added a trio of stars in Hello Honey, two stamped in Hello Honey and the larger one stamped in Night of Navy, from the 'Be The Star' stamp set, attaching the larger one with dimensionals for added lift and adding some gold glimmer stars to the star centres.

I chose to feature the blues primarily on my card, as Hello Honey is not a favourite of mine and is not a colour I am immediately drawn to, however I think the Fab Friday crew settled upon a great colour combo here as the yellow looks really quite nice with the blue; I may well use this colour combo again!

That's all from me today; I'm off to prepare more goodies for my Open House sessions later this week (you can read full details here). Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Be The Star Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Confetti Stars Punch	Squares Collection Framelits Dies	Stars Framelits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Medium Window Sheets	Gold Glimmer Paper	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad	Hello Honey A4 Cardstock
Marina Mist A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. You totally rocked Anne-Marie's sketch last week; this week it's the turn of the lovely Laurie, who has a tic-tac-toe challenge to stretch our creative brains:

I normally struggle with these, yet I seem to be on a real creative roll this week as I had a ton of different ideas and combinations for today's grid. I settled on combining my card with this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts and challenging myself to use something that I have lots of but sometimes use for little more than decorating an envelope: washi tape. I decided the sketch was perfect for showcasing some of the new Bohemian washi tape that I received with my pre-order goodies - here's my card:

I used a base of Delightful Dijon and a mat of Island Indigo, then cut a piece of Very Vanilla to the shape of the zig zag on the sketch. Starting at the zig zag end, I then covered my whole piece in strips of washi tape, creating an open herringbone effect and alternating between each of the three designs. Once I had covered the entire piece of cardstock, I adhered it to the card base using dimensionals. For my sentiment panel, I cut a rectangle of Very Vanilla and rounded the corners using my Project Life corner rounder and stamped it with the 'Hip Hip Hooray' greeting from the 'Bravo' stamp set in Island Indigo. I added a scattering of Bermuda Bay sequins to finish before popping this up on dimensionals too. I'm sure you've worked it out, but just in case I was following the top line of the tic tac toe board: washi tape, any shade of blue and sequins. I really quite like this card - it seemed almost a shame to cover my lovely pattern with the sentiment panel!

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

I look forward to seeing how many different combinations of the grid we see in the gallery this week. I'm off to prepare lunch as we have some friends visiting today and then I have to get two of the other three members of the James household ready for trips away this week - a busy, yet fun day ahead!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A4 Delightful Dijon -available 2nd June

Bohemian washi tape - available 2nd June

Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Project Life Corner Punch
Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim

Today I'm sharing a card I made for this week's Mojo Monday challenge using a stamp I've yet to use even though it is about to retire (oops!) Here is this week's sketch:

This week is 'tall and skinny' week so my card is taller than usual - my actual dimensions are 7" x 4" - and has a distinctly nautical theme:

I am continuing my quest to use more DSP on my cards and this one features the retiring Maritime papers, one of my favourites. I used a base of Real Red and a mat of Night of Navy, then covered the front of the card with a piece of DSP. I cut a banner out of a co-ordinating piece of Maritime DSP and a double-ended one from Coastal Cabana cardstock, both of which were made using my new Triple Banner Punch. I then added a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, slightly wider than my card, and tied with a sailor's knot in Coastal Cabana thick baker's twine. The main focal point of my card is the round sailor stamp from the stamp set 'Adventure Awaits', which I stamped twice, once in Night of Navy on Whisper White and once in Real Red, and fussy cut the words from the centre of the red one and overlaid them onto the navy one. My friend LeAnne did this on a card a while ago and I loved the effect, so was keen to include it here. You can see LeAnne's original card here. I can't believe we are three days before the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue ends and I'm only just using this stamp! 

This card is so fresh and fun and would be great to send to a friend who needed a little motivation and encouragement. That's all from me today; back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Adventure Awaits Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine

We are on the 'home run' towards the weekend and as it's Thursday that means time for a new challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary. This week we have a great sketch for you:

So many possibilities with this one! I decided to use up yet more of my hoarded DSP and showcase a whole host of retiring product on my card this week:

I've used both 'Back To Black' DSP along with a retiring in-colour, Strawberry Slush, and the Petal Potpourri stamp set and co-ordinating Flower Medallion punch, in colour sequins and Black chevron ribbon - all of which are either retiring or not carrying over into the new annual catalogue next week. Not so though for my sentiment stamp, which comes from the 'Fabulous Four' stamp set (I stamped it in black and coloured it in with my Strawberry Slush marker pen), the dazzling diamonds glimmer paper or the black bakers twine - these at least will still be available! 

I'm not generally a fan of black and white on a card in vast quantities, but when paired with a bright colour such as Strawberry Slush I think it really works - you could try this combo with lots of other colours and I am sure it would look great with some of the new in-colours!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create with the sketch this week - do check out the cards made by the rest of the Design Team, there's a great variety as always!

I'm off to spend the day outdoors with friends today as we make the most of the milder weather that we've been experiencing this week; a picnic and some tree climbing is on the agenda - well, the latter for the youngsters at least!

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

So I'm back with the second of my cards for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

As the end of the school year will be upon us soon enough, I decided to combine this card with this week's theme over at The Challenge and get ahead and make a teacher thank you card:

I used a base of Pear Pizzazz and a mat of real Red - apple colours! - and having cut a stencil of the word 'Thank' using my Silhouette e-cutter, I stamped the word Thanks from the 'Another Thank You' stamp set repeatedly in Memento Black into the space and sponged over the whole space in Pear Pizzazz to give the letters more definition. To complete the sentiment, I die cut the word 'you' using my Big Shot and 'Hello You' thinlits three times out of Real Red cardstock and stuck them together to create a raised piece, then painted it in Crystal Effects to give a glossy finish. I used a snippet of chalkboard paper and stamped the word 'teacher' in white kraft ink to give a chalkboard effect (the stamp is from the retired set 'for my family' - it's a keeper!) and added both to my card, along with a cardboard apple embellishment from my Project Life Playground accessory kit and also a 'vintage' wire paper clip. This final addition also enables me to link up to 'Less is More' this week, where the recipe is to add metal to your card. 

I really love the way this card turned out; I like the collage feel it has, yet still retaining my clean and simple style - here's a close up of the stamping and stencilling detail: 

It's a little more embellished than my usual LIM cards, so I'm hoping it will still be permissible although I know the lovely ladies over there will give me some pointers if I've strayed too far from the brief :-) This is however much more what I had in mind for the sketch, so I hope the CAS(E) This Sketch team like it! The James Juniors are already arguing about which of their teachers will be receiving it - I think I might have to make a few copies before the end of term approaches!

Back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hello You Thinlits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad
Chalkboard Paper	Playground Project Life Accessory Pack

A quick card for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch where they have this rather cool sketch to play with this week:

I thought the sketch would be a great opportunity to create a montage of the new 2015-17 in-colours - take a look:

This is my first, rather literal, take on the sketch. I cut a stencil of the word 'Hi' using my Silhouette E-Cutter and then used the 'Hello' portion of the 'Hello Life' stamp in the set of the same name to fill the stencil by repeatedly stamping in each of the new in-colours: Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe and Cucumber Crush. Once I'd filled in the whole area, I stamped one of the Perfect Pennants stamps in Watermelon Wonder and popped this on a dimensional. I think this is my favourite of the new in-colours, although I'm rather taken with the greens too! Which one is your favourite? I'd love you to leave a comment letting me know which one appeals to you.

Come back later for my second, altogether different take on this sketch! Until then, happy stampin'!

I've had a lovely day today; I spent the morning doing housework followed by a pleasant afternoon at the park enjoying the sunshine and catching up with friends. Following dinner I got the the bottom of the ironing basket so much has been accomplished! Added to which, today is another two-card day, this time both using the sketch over at As You See It this week: 

I'm also linking up again with the lovely Di over at Pixie's Snippets Playground as both of today's cards were made using offcuts lying around from other projects - always nice to use these up rather than store them for the sake of it! I thought this layout would work really well with some snippets of 'Stacked With Love' DSP and my Pictogram Punches stamp set and quickly set to work and came up with this:

I used a base of Basic Black and added my 'xoxo' DSP in a split vertical strip, then stamped the sentiment in White Kraft ink and heat embossed it in white, adding a little red glimmer paper heart popped up on a dimensional over the stamped one. A further snippet of DSP with a heart punched out and an offcut of red ribbon finished my card. This would make a nice CAS anniversary card for your nearest and dearest or a great Valentine's card - my I am getting organised early for 2016!

Having made this card in next to no time, I then decided to see if I could use the same layout with the other sentiment stamp in this set and create a congratulations card - here is my 'take two': 

A little more layering here and a greater expanse of DSP this time; I used a base of Night of Navy and a mat of Whisper White, then a piece of Maritime DSP with a star pattern. This time I used a piece of Night of Navy punched with the Confetti Stars Border Punch for my vertical strip, infilled randomly with some silver glimmer stars punched from a piece of silver glimmer paper. I stamped my sentiment in night of Navy on Whisper White and popped the whole thing up on dimensionals above the vertical strip, adding a larger silver glimmer star in place of the stamped one. A snippet of left over SAB Coastal Cabana ribbon and a flag of silver glimmer paper stapled to the top complete this card. 

Having made both cards, I think my favourite is the second one; I just love the colour combo and the combination of stars which is so perfect to congratulate someone on a job well done. Which one do you prefer? I'd love you to leave me a comment below and let me know which one gets your vote!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 1):

Pictogram Punches Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy
White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Red Glimmer Paper

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 2):

Pictogram Punches Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Confetti Stars Punch	Silver Glimmer Paper	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Well the Bank Holiday didn't bring the sunshine I was hoping for, but it did stay nice and dry and we managed a bracing long bike ride this afternoon, so it's all good! Today I have not one but two cards for you! The first one is my card for the current Fab Friday Challenge where they have a sketch challenge this week:

Before I share my card, a big thank you to the team over at Fab Friday for choosing my In-Colour thank you card as their Fab Fave - I'm honoured! You can see that card here. Now onto today's card:

I'm still on my quest to use up more of my Designer Series Paper (I am such a DSP hoarder!) and this sketch was the perfect opportunity to showcase some. So no 'sneak peeks' today; instead a Daffodil Delight base with some mats in Soft Suede, and two of the patterns in the Park Lane pack. I used one of my favourite retiring thank you stamps, 'One in a Million', for my sentiment, stamped in Soft Suede onto Very Vanilla, and I chose to fussy cut one of the flowers for my accent. I liked the clean lines of this card so much, I made two identical ones - if you are one of my contactable online customers, you may find one winging its way to you to you this month!

My next card is for this week's TGIF challenge:

I saw the inspiration photo and I had my Painted Petals set out on my desk preparing for my technique class next month (this is the set we are going to be using) and I just knew the two would work together. Here's my card:

I used So Saffron for my card base and matted a strip of the already retired Gingham Garden DSP (I told you I was a DSP hoarder!) onto a strip of Pear Pizzazz and adhered this to the front of my card. I stamped the flowers on a large circle of Whisper White cut out using my Big Shot and Circles framelits, inking them with one of the new in-colours, Watermelon Wonder, and adding some Blackberry Bliss using my Stampin' Write marker to the flower centres before stamping. I stamped the sentiment in Blackberry Bliss too and to finish added a few So Saffron flowers, punched using one of the Itty Bitty Accent punches and centred with pearls. I popped this circle up on dimensionals to stand away from the card. 

Please do check out the design team inspiration for both of the above challenges; they are some amazing cards on both blogs this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 1):

Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

Soft Suede A4 Card Stock

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock

Million & One

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 2):

Painted Petals Clear Stamp Set	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz
So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! There were some beautiful girly thank you cards in our gallery last week - this week it is the turn of the lovely Anne-Marie to host and she has a great sketch challenge for us to play with:

I love a good sketch and couldn't resist using this one to showcase some more 'sneak peek' products using the new in-colours, the RMHC stamp set 'Sprinkles of Life' and the co-ordinating Tree Builder Punch, the Cheery on Top DSP stack and another new product that I'm using for the first time - check out my card:

I used two of the 'Cherry on Top' patterned papers for the background and the strip across the middle, matting each onto Watermelon Wonder and then Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry respectively and for my focal point, I kept the square shape and used it to feature yet another combination from the 'Sprinkles of Life' stamp set - a cute basket filled with flowers. I stamped the basket in Crushed Curry onto the same colour cardstock and stamped the top in Cucumber Crush on Cucumber Crush cardstock, then using the same tone on tone stamping, stamped and either punched out or fussy cut the flowers and paper pieced them, finishing the centres of the larger flowers with candy dots. I adhered this to a piece of Pool Party cardstock, and I also used this colour for my sentiment flag. The final 'sneak peek' product is the trio of In-Colour Blossom Accents that I used for the circles on the sketch - how gorgeous are they?! They add great dimension to a card and just one would be enough to make a big impact - I can see me getting through lots of these!

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

I look forward to seeing how you interpret our sketch this week. I'm off to the tip to dispose of a couple of trailer-loads of garden rubbish and then for Sunday lunch cooked by my mother-in-law - what an exciting life I lead! 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

All sneak peek product today - purchase details to be updated when available.