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

I saw this sketch and immediately saw ... snowmen! Take a look:

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

Snow Place Like The Front of a Christmas Card - Apologies for the pun, but these snowmen - and women - definitely deserve to be showcased on the front of a Christmas card. 'Snow Place' is such a fun stamp set with infinite dress up possibilities for the snowmen and penguin in the set. What's more, the co-ordinating Snow Friends Framelits Dies make cutting out the shapes easy-peasy.

Go Large - Bigger is not always better, granted, however to accommodate my snow family of five I needed more cardfront, so I decided to make my card A5 size (21cm x 14.9cm) instead of a more standard A6. This allowed me enough room for my mats and layers, without my family needing to jostle too much for a space on my card.

A Pattern Surprise - Do you recognise my patterned paper? Are you wondering where I found my seasonal snowfall? This paper isn't from one of the festive seasonal packs at all; it's actually one of the patterns in the Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper. As with many of our DSP packs, the reverse of the feature papers often has a more repetitive pattern with spots, stripes or solid colours. This gorgeous mix of navy and white papers hides this spotted pattern which makes perfect snow. The moral of the story? Always check both sides of your papers and don't assume that because a pack isn't designed with Christmas in mind, there won't be a hidden gem that is perfect for your 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. 

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!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Snow Place Photopolymer Stamp Set	Snow Friends Framelits Dies	Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)	Chocolate Chip A4 Cardstock	Pearl Basic Jewels	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad

Wednesday already? Happy 'hump day' everyone! Today I have a 3D project for a change - I want to share the trio of Christmas trees I made using the Forever Evergreen Project Kit in the seasonal catalogue. My regular readers will know what a fan I am of Stampin' Up!'s kits: they are great for everyone from the complete novice to the seasoned crafter and are the perfect option for a fun afternoon or evening activity with friends.

The Forever Evergreen kit comprises three Christmas trees, one 33cm tall and two 27.9cm tall - complete with decorations. You then need some additional basic items to complete the project: the Forever Evergreen stamp set, ink pads and adhesives. Here are my trees in all their glory - first the largest one in Garden Green:

The second, smaller one also in Garden Green:

And lastly, the final smaller one, this time in Wild Wasabi:

I have to say the catalogue really doesn't do these trees justice; they are way more impressive in real life and having had them on display at the craft show I exhibited at recently they were the subject of many 'oohs' and 'aahs'. Many of my customers have passed comment on them as they've been in and out for classes too. If you would like to purchase these kits to make at home, Stampin' Up! has produced a very helpful video that is worth watching before you start putting the kit together:

If you would like to get together with me in person to make this kit, you have a couple of options: you can gather with friends and purchase a kit each and have me bring the extra supplies needed for a crafty afternoon or evening in with friends. Alternatively you could join me for my next Crafternoon Tea at Bell's in Kingsthorpe, Northampton, on Saturday 19th November from 10am-2pm, when we will be making this kit and finishing with an afternoon tea prepared by the Cafe @ Bells in store - contact me to book your place. 

I hope you've enjoyed your day today; I enjoyed a crisp autumn day kicking leaves in the country park and a hockey match (unfortunately no win today, but another match on Saturday so hopefully their luck will change!). I'll be back tomorrow with a Christmas card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Forever Evergreen Project Kit

Forever Evergreen Photopolymer Stamp Set

This is my second post of today - if you missed the first one about the new Stitched Shapes Framelits you are going to want to check that out here. No blog post yesterday as I still have one of the James Juniors on half term this week and then my evening was spent trick or treating. Today I've had full day with back to back classes, one of which was my first technique class of the month featuring the Christmas/Pretty Pines bundle. I've made lots of projects with this bundle, although I've yet to blog them all (so many projects, so little time!) Click here to see one of the cards that I've shared previously using this set, that was also one of our makes in our class. 

Today I want to share a card that I CASE'd from the lovely Amanda Bates over at The Craft Spa, who is for me the queen of fancy folds. She has made lots of versions of her Large Square Double Display Card but this one using the Presents and Pinecones Designer Series Paper and the Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies really caught my eye and I just had to have a go at re-creating it. Here's my card:

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

Presents & Pinecones - What can I say, the Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper is definitely the star of this card. Four of the twelve designs in this pack are showcased here, such a great layout to really let these papers shine. What's more, they are the perfect pairing for the Christmas/Pretty Pines stamp set thinlits combo. The colours are traditional yet fresh and modern, with the addition of the mint and white to the red and Emerald Envy green.

Christmas Pines - Whilst it's rare that I advocate buying a stamp set or thinlit set without its counterpart when it's available as a bundle (and this is most definitely not one of those times!), it is easy to focus on the detail of the thinlits with this set and rather overlook the stamp set. This would be such a mistake though, as it's a set choc full of great scripted sentiments in a variety of sizes, along with some useful border stamps, a fancy frame and a snowy background stamp that will have tons of uses on so many Christmas cards. This card showcases two of the sentiments and the snowflake background stamp, which adds subtle interest and detail to the panels on the front and inside. This set is definitely worthy of a place on your shelf!

The 'How' - I made a few tweaks to Amanda's tutorial when I made this card, so thought I would share the details with measurements below. This card is measured in cm and is a metric template for standard A4 cardstock; if you would like to make one in inches or using 12" x 12" cardstock, do check out Amanda's blog via the above link where she has lots of useful tutorials to follow. Here goes:

To make this A4 metric large square double display card, you will need:

I just love this card - a little time and effort but well worth it for the end result. Thank you Amanda for the inspiration!

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 project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Pines Photopolymer Bundle	Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Early Espresso A4 Cardstock	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock	Rhinestone Basic Jewels

I'm back today with some great news for the start of November: from today we have the early release of a new product from the 2017-18 annual catalogue, Stitched Shapes Framelits, and a product promotion!

A Great New Product

Let’s start with the Framelits: the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies are a set of 12 dies that include four circles, four ovals and four squares that coordinate with our Layering Circles, Ovals and Squares.  Brilliant!

These new dies are available for purchase beginning November 1 – that’s today!

So, what makes these Framelits a necessity?  When run through the Big Shot, these dies leave a detailed stitch around the edge of the Framelit.  The stitched look is so on-trend right now and will add a great extra touch to your stamped projects. Here’s a video with details about the new dies and some great project ideas:

Aren't they great? You are definitely going to want to add these to your framelit collection.

Here are the measurements for these new shapes:

Circles:  1-3/8″, 1-7/8″, 2-3/8″, 2-7/8″

Squares: 1-3/16″, 1-5/8″, 2-1/8″, 2-5/8″

Ovals: 1-3/4″ x 13/16″, 2-1/4″ x 1-5/16″, 2-3/4″ x 1-13/16″, 3-1/4″ x 2-5/16″

25% Off Selected Stamp Sets

What's more, there's a promotion to run alongside the launch of these new framelits too! As if the new Stitched Shapes Dies weren’t great enough…there is also a long list of stamp sets from the Autumn-Winter Catalogue and Annual Catalogue are available for 25% off during November.  Yes, you heard it - 25% OFF! here's the complete list:

Right - I'm off to put in my order for these fabulous new framelits and then get on with my busy day of back-to-back classes. I will be back later with today's project blog post; until then, happy shopping! Oh and don't forget to use this month's hostess code SQN297RD when placing your order online to get a little thank you in the post from me!

Greetings From Santa Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Greetings From Santa Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set	Merry Mice Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Merry Mice Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Tin Of Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set	Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set	Blooms & Wishes Photopolymer Stamps

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