Today I'm sharing a card that I am hoping to squeeze in for this week's Fab Friday Challenge:

They have a great sketch and I was working on something else when I had a sudden flash of inspiration - take a look:

I decided to use my Seasonal Wreath embossing folder for that large circle as a background for my jolly Santa, which offered some theraputic colouring with my Stampin' Blends. A simple sentiment also from the 'Holly Jolly Christmas set completes 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. 

Enjoy your day; I have a host of things to get done today, which thankfully are indoors, unlike poor Rebecca who is outdoors taking part in a hockey tournament all day. I made sure she was dressed for the weather and I know she will be perfectly happy with her lot, but honestly it's been so cold here this last few days I would definitely rather her than me!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Holly Jolly Christmas Cling Stamp Set (En) (£20.00)	Jolly Season Dies (En) (£31.00)	Seasonal Wreath 3D Embossing Folder (£8.25)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Call Me Clover A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Call Me Clover Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Smoky Slate Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)
Basic Black Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Daffodil Delight Dark Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)

Today marks the start of a busy week with the first of my monthly classes, so I've a quick post to share a couple of cards inspired by the CAS Colours and Sketches challenge this week where it's a double featuring both a sketch and colours:

This is a great sketch and it just so happens that I still have two of these three retired colours, so substituting the current Balmy Blue for Bashful Blue I set to work and came up with a couple of cards using my favourite 'Snowman Season' stamp set. Here's the first one that I created for the challenge:

A little bit of snowflake tone-on-tone background stamping and a stamped image, coloured with a combination of Blends and Stampin' Write markers and a blender pen, along with a sentiment banner all from the same stamp set and anchored with a couple of snowflakes cut using the Seasonal Layers dies to finish my card. I liked this card so much I created a slightly stepped-up version that flipped the base and mat colours around and included a swirly embossed layer to my card base, along with a retired snowflake embellishment:

Honestly, I'm not sure which one I prefer - here's a photo of them both together, do feel free to leave me a comment below with which one gets your top vote!

Here is the visual summary of the key current 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. 

Right that's all from me today - I still have a few things to do before I rest up for the evening so must dash! Enjoy your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with more news and another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Snowman Season Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) (£17.00)	Swirls & Curls Embossing Folder (£7.00)	Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Seasonal Layers Dies (£31.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I had a few ideas for Ann Marie's 'woodsy' theme today and decided to really go all-out to incorporate as many wood-themed elements into my card as possible. I decided to continue with another Christmas card to add to my collection and ended up creating something a little different (for me!) - take a look:

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

Knock on Wood - My card has lots of elements that tie in to the wood theme: some woodland background dry embossing, a panel of retired Wood Textures DSP, the tree trunk stamp from Rooted in Nature (stamped in Crumb Cake and then sponged with Early Espresso around the edge), as well as some greenery and a couple of pine cones that could easily be spotted on a walk through the woods.

Texture, Texture - There are lots of layers and textural elements on today's card too: in addition to the dry embossing, I added shimmery white embossing paste to my greenery for  textured snow and the glimmer paper and twine bow also adds contrast. I originally started out using Jen's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches (you can see that sketch here), but ended up adding so many layers and bits and pieces I rather lost my usual 'clean' look. Whilst I love the finished result, I will need to go back to the drawing board if I'm to put in an FMS entry this week!

Woodland Sparkle - All that wood made for a rather neutral card, with only the greens adding colour to the mix of browns. I decided to add a silver glimmer 'merry' diecut for some festive sparkle, along with some frosted epoxy droplet 'berries' and a silver and linen twine bow. I really like the finished effect.

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

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

I'm also linking up today's card to the Festive Friday Challenge (my card features silver, wood, texture, circles and green from the inspo list) and the challenge over at Paper Craft Crew where I went across the middle of the board: embossing paste/rustic/gone wild and the top left-bottom right diagonal: found in the forest/rustic/sponging)

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

Enjoy your day; we are enjoying the last day of the half-term holiday before returning the school tomorrow. We have some hockey planned and a trip to the farm shop, along with preparations for my classes this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Woodland Embossing Folder (£8.00)	Merry Christmas Dies (£26.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Rooted In Nature Cling-Mount Stamp Set (£39.00)	Flourish Dies (£27.00)
Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)	Shimmery White Embossing Paste (£8.25)	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Garden Green A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Beautiful Boughs Dies (£33.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Silver Glimmer Paper (£4.75)
Linen Thread (£4.75)	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)

It's the first of November and with that comes two exciting announcements! Following the withdrawal of our previous trimmer due to Stampin' Up!'s inability to obtain a reliable source of blades, I am pleased to announce that our brand new paper trimmer is available to all customers today and I can honestly say it’s excellent!

Demonstrators have had the last month to order and fall in love with it and let me tell you, fall in love I did. I LOVED the old trimmer and never thought it could be improved. But I was wrong. This one has awesome larger blades that cut like a knife through butter. The new trimmer has some of the great features of the old trimmer and some new ones of its own, in particular a great detailed grid cutting guide, no removable cutting track and an improved ruler across the join of the extendable arm. The attendees at my recent weekend craft retreat also road-tested the trimmer and were extremely positive about its performance.

The new trimmer is a great price too at only £23 which is cheaper than our last one. The trimmer is available now from 1st November but packs of additional blades will not be launched for sale till January. They will be sold in packs of 4 blades for £11.25 and I will remind you when they are available to buy in the New Year.

Christmastime Is Here Suite

There is also a new exclusive product suite being launched today called 'Christmastime Is Here' which has the most beautiful Christmas Rose stamps, dies, patterned paper with matching accessories. It is available whilst stocks last and is not in any publication.

You can purchase the whole bundle or purchase your favourite products from the bundle, whichever you prefer. There is even a limited edition bracelet which would make a lovely Christmas gift for someone or a treat for yourself maybe.

Links to my online store for all of the configurations of the Christmastime Is Here suite can be found below. You can go to the item in my shop by clicking the photo or simply search for 'Christmastime is Here' (Christmastime is one word with no gap in between).

If you are considering treating yourself to the whole bundle and the new trimmer a starter kit would be a great option: you will receive £130 worth of any products of your choice and it only costs £99, so there's there option to add something else in too and still make a saving. If you'd like to take advantage then click here to join my team or get in touch to discuss further - I would love to welcome you.

Back soon with another post, including some lovely makes featuring this suite. In the meantime, happy shopping!

Paper Trimmer (£23.00)	Christmastime Is Here Suite Bundle (English) (£103.50)	Christmas Rose Bundle (English) (£56.50)	Christmas Rose Stamp Set (English) (£35.00)	Roses Dies (£28.00)
Christmastime Is Here Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Shimmer Ribbon (£6.50)	Gold Glitter Enamel Dots (£7.50)	Charming Rose Bracelet (£20.00)

We are still on half term here so I have been spending time with the James Juniors this week and am resting my shoulder so have not managed much in the way of crafting. I have a quick post for you today to share a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink:

The ladies are asking us to 'just add a technique' so I decided to have another go at a Floating Frame Card - or rather, pair of floating frame cards. Here's the first one with contains the inside of the frame:

And here's the second one with the outer floating frame:

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

The floating frame technique is really easy to create with a few basic tools: some 'Press and Seal' food wrap or similar, a framelit - I used my Tropical Chic stamps and co-ordinating dies and Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies - and lots of dimensionals! You simply stamp and punch/diecut your images, lay them out, cover with Press and Seal, trim to frame size and cut out your central piece, before adhering dimensionals to the back of the diecut pieces and adhering to your chosen card base. Finally you remove the Press and Seal and your floating shapes remain in place.  

Add a sentiment and you're done! These cards are quite time-consuming, but they are fun. I'm thinking I might have to have another go with some other supplies to create a festive version  - watch this space!

Here are the visual summaries 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 evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tropical Chic Cling-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Tropical Dies (£25.00)	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Shaded Spruce A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Granny Apple Green A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.75)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£5.50)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Rooted In Nature Cling-Mount Stamp Set (£39.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

There were so many ways to go with this sketch - in the end I decided to 'Let It Snow' - in a big way! Take a look:

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

My card today is a celebration of the wintery-themed Let It Snow Specialty Designer Series Paper. This collection of cute snowmenwas at the top of my Christmas shopping list; my regular readers know how much I love DSP, and today's card uses not one, not two, not three, but four - yes four! - of the patterns in the pack. I used three of the non-glittery patterns for the layers (it was so hard not to use the sparkly designs on the reverse!) and fussy cut a glittery snowman for my corner embellishment from the fourth (I added some arms using the Snowman Builder Punch).

I added a diecut from 'Word Wishes' for the sentiment on the front of my card, although have a slight confession to make: this was supposed to be red glimmer paper for a touch of festive sparkle to compliment my glittery snowman, however could I find mine anywhere in my crafting square mile? Not a chance! I know I have some, but I couldn't find it anywhere so I resorted to some red foil instead. 

My card doesn't have a stitch of stamping on the front, although I did add a sprinkling of snowflakes and a sentiment from the 'Snowman Season' stamp set on the inside:

I love the combination of cool greens, white and red - it reminds me of candy canes - that feature in this paper pack and one thing is for sure: those glittery snowmen really are as sweet as sugar, and as sparkly too!

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:

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; today marks the official start of winter and with that an extra hour in bed - yay! My day will be a quiet one and hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Let It Snow Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Snowman Builder Punch (£17.00)	Word Wishes Dies (£33.00)	Real Red Glimmer Paper (£4.75)
Coastal Cabana A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

This is my second post for today - you can see my earlier As You See It challenge post here. I had a little extra time yesterday and managed to make another card, this time for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the challenge is to use plaid on your card:

I had some piece of leftover paper having wrapped some gift boxes for the lovely ladies on my retreat last weekend so decided to use one of them for a quick clean and simple Christmas card - take a look:

 Whilst this card looks like it has a few steps, it really did take me next to no time to make: I always have some white cardbases cut, the plaid and thin strip of red cardstock were leftovers from other projects, as was the gold foil 'Christmas' - I had a few of these in the die case that I had cut previously, complete with self-adhesive backing. So all that was left to do was cut the paper to size, glue the pieces together and stamp the 'merry' and the holly and add a trio of red rhinestone berries. I even had time to use one of my favourite sentiments from the same 'Merry Christmas To All' stamp set on the inside of my card: 

So simple and a great way to use up some of those leftover bits and pieces too!

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:

Wrapped In Plaid 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Merry Christmas Dies (£26.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Gold Foil Sheets (£4.75)	Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels (£6.50)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for the dreaded speed-stamping challenge:

 For a card in under 10 minutes I had to keep things fairly clean and simple so armed with the sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Shades of Blue - I chose Balmy Blue, Blueberry Bushel and Night of Navy as the trio of blues I wanted to feature on my card. I stamped each house in all three colours and added some balmy blue snowflakes to suggest the oval shape of the sketch. 

From Our House To Yours - I love these little houses in the 'From Our House To Yours' set and because they come in separate pieces they are easy to stamp in different colours. They're photopolymer too so they are super easy to line up. 

Speedy Stamping - The stamping on my card took just minutes - it was super quick and easy! I did spend a little extra time creating my diecut edge and adding my teeny tiny snowflake sequins; even with my Take Your Pick tool these were more fiddly than everything else put together! My card ended up taking 9 minutes 24 seconds total - which is still super quick for me!

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 check out the As you See It gallery to see what the rest of the team have created in shades of blue - and see who was the fastest this week.

Enjoy your day; I'm off to the hospital today, hopefully to sort out my pesky frozen shoulder that's been troubling me the last few months. All being well I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

From Our House To Yours Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Magnolia Memory Dies (£33.00)	Snowflake Sequins (£5.50)

I have had a couple of days off from blogging following my hugely successful Creative Escapes Craft Retreat this weekend but wanted to pop in with a quick post to let you know that  Stampin' Up! is having a rare 24 hour stamp sale from 22.50 tonight, Tuesday 22 October until 22.50 tomorrow night, Wednesday 23rd October when you can receive 15% off selected stamp sets. How about that? Here is a list of the stamps that will be on offer:

The discount applies to individual stamp sets (not bundles) and can also be used in conjunction with a starter kit. Place your order here through my online store or by clicking on the shopping bag icon in the menu on the right hand side - don't forget to include the current hostess code for an extra thank you from me. 

Don't forget to add the current hostess reward code 6W6ARCB2 for an extra little thank you from me; this will also ensure you receive a copy of the new Spring-Summer catalogue and Sale-A-Bration leaflet which will be on its way within the next couple of months!

I'll be back with more creative projects later in the week but in the meantime this is a 24 hour event only so you have to act fast to benefit from 15% off these amazing sets, so time to go shopping - don't miss out! 

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a great Clean and Simple challenge for you to work with:

As you are reading this, I am away entertaining a lovely group of ladies at my Creative Escapes weekend craft retreat where we will be Christmas crafting to the max. My cards for you today though are all about birthdays - and male birthdays at that! I made these cards a while ago when I was preparing for my 'Come Sail Away' technique card class, although I didn't feature them in the class itself and LeAnne's challenge this week is the perfect opportunity for me to share them with you. I made two cards in one sitting and wanted to share both with you, so first up the more clean-and-simple of the two: 

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

All At Sea - Both of my cards feature a background layer embossed with the High Seas embossing folder for some subtle texture. I love the detail that this gives and it’s perfect for my nautical theme. 

Ahoy The Hand Lettered Prose Dies - I used my diecutting machine and the Hand Lettered Prose Dies to diecut an a, h, and y from my Balmy Blue card layer before I added the waves embossing. This allowed me to use the negative space to show the contrast of colour with the navy cardstock behind and gave me the opportunity to make a second card using the letters I had cut out with just a little extra effort. If you like these letters, it is worth also checking out the blog of one of our current Paper Players guest designers, SU Mohr (see the link list below), who has created many wonderful projects using them.

O It's A Ship's Wheel - I substituted the ‘o’ in the word ‘ahoy’ with a ship’s wheel from the Smooth Sailing Dies to tie in with my theme and added a frosted epoxy droplet to the centre for some subtle bling. I love playing with words to create this effect! I finished my sentiment with a stamp from the ‘Broadway Birthday’ set. The second of my two cards is below, which uses an extra layer and the positive rather than negative letters, but is otherwise the same basic card:

So what do you think? Is today's sentiment loud enough to celebrate a birthday? I’m now of an age where I’m not shout from the rooftops with each passing year, however I do love to celebrate and am thankful for the many thoughtful cards i receive from friends and family near and far. 

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:

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

Enjoy your day; I'll be back later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

High Seas 3D Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Hand-Lettered Prose Dies (£35.00)	Smooth Sailing Dies (£30.00)	Broadway Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set (£16.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)