Woohoo! Today it's Sunday and it's time for the first challenge of the year over at The Paper Players! We have all enjoyed the Christmas break and are back with a fresh new blog header and some snazzy challenge badges courtesy of Nance and two amazing guest designers: Su Mohr and Wanda Cullen. If you missed my introductory post over at The Paper Players earlier this week you can read all about these lovely ladies here. We are thrilled that they are going to be sharing their creative talents with us and you in 2019 - a big Paper Players welcome to both of you! 

For our first challenge of 2019 it's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I had so many choices for today's card; in fact, I ended up making not one, not two - but four different cards for this week's theme, and then couldn't decide which one to use! I blogged one of them featuring a sweet little bumble bee yesterday - if you missed it, you can see that card here - and decided today to go with something old and something new with a card and matching treat box that is a tribute to all four-legged friends. First up, here's my card:

Now I must confess I almost didn't blog this card today, as my fellow teamie LeAnne also used the sketch layout from Global Design Project for her layout this week and used the new 'Nine Lives' stamp set that is the feline equivalent of the 'Happy Tails' set I chose to use and so there is a distinctly similar look and feel to our cards this week as a result. I figured though that whether you are a cat or dog lover, between us we have you covered so I decided to go ahead! You can check out LeAnne's card on the Paper Players blog post and read more about the detail of her card over on her blog WeeInklings which is well worth a follow. 

In the meantime, here's the low-down on today's card:

Happy Tails - The 'Happy Tails' bundle is one of my favourite bundles in the new Spring-Summer catalogue. The stamp set has a realistic dog with a collection of fun sentiments and decorative bits and pieces - a kennel, heart, collar and bone and a great selection of sentiments for all kinds of cards for the dog-lovers amongst us. The #GDP170 sketch was perfect to highlight lots of these co-ordinating words and images - and I chose to use this sentiment on the inside of my card too, with a few more pawprints for good measure:

Dalmation Dog - I created a dalmation with my black-on-white spots and added a red background so that he would really stand out. As if the stamp set wasn't great enough, it has a co-ordinating Dog Builder Punch too so that you can punch your puppy dog straight out with ease - no fussy cutting required!

A Kennel Treat Box - The minute I saw the dog builder punch I just knew I would need to create a little dog kennel for him using my retired Home Sweet Home thinlits - the box is the perfect size! I actually made this first and then took the embossed striped panels of my kennel and bright Poppy Parade red roof and incorporated the same texture and colour into my co-ordinating card. The roof of my box opens to hold a few chocolates or maybe even some doggy treats - I added a tag using another sentiment from the Happy Tails set, along with a punched heart, also courtesy of the Dog Builder Punch:

I hope you like my pair of projects today - they were fun to make! 

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'm hoping to get a little more time in my craft room and have some quality family time since our sporting commitments don't ramp up fully until next week. Either way, enjoy your Sunday and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Happy Tails Photopolymer Bundle (£29.50)	Simple Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Poppy Parade Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Poppy Parade A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

I've been back in my craft room for a few hours today and yes, it felt good! I have some new makes to share with you this week as a result too. This evening I'm just popping in with a quick post to share a couple of super simple thank you cards that are perfect for the current challenge over at StampInkPaper:

Here's a close up of my card - I did a little basic ombre colouring on the lettering using two shades of the same colour Blend marker:

I made these with the James Juniors over the Christmas period - they make great thank you cards to send for gifts received. I encourage my children to keep up this polite tradition and they are not always that accommodating, however they had fun with this set and whilst they didn't write reams, it's the thought that counts and I'm sure the gesture will be appreciated.

These cards are also great examples of #SimpleStamping - a pack of notelets, a single stamped image courtesy of the 'Bee Thankful' stamp set in the annual catalogue and some Stampin' Blends and a little time for some colouring and 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. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another project for the first challenge of the year over at The Paper Players - don't miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bee Thankful Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£13.00)

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes (£6.00)

Hello everyone - I'm back! Following a longer than anticipated Christmas break (sometimes, family simply has to come first) the new year brings with it lots of Stampin' Up! goodness: it's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live and from now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. You can click on the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page or below to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or click on the icon above or on the right to go directly to my online shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, join or host:

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 3 January and 31 March. There is also the opportunity to earn even bigger rewards with a £90 purchase. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

It’s the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! There are 2 fabulous joining options during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: Option 1, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £71 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. That's an extra £40 worth of product in your starter kit when compared to the usual £130. Alternatively there is option 2: for £125, you can receive £170 worth of craft items and this exclusive Craft & Carry Tote to carry it all around in too! The tote bag is absolutely fabulous and a must have for all crafters - check it out in this video:

Isn't it just great?! Plus, the whole kit ships for free! There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you. 

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £40 of Stampin' Rewards - more freebies! What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

If you would like to host a party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up but there are still lots of slots available and I would love to share these great benefits with you. If you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

If you would like more information on any of the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

Thanks so much for popping by - it's always nice to share good news! Back soon with lots of projects showcasing products from the new catalogue. Until then, happy shopping!

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and for our final challenge this year I have a festive colour challenge for you to work with:

Red, green and a colour of your choice - to retain the festive theme! I have not one but two Christmas cards to share with you this week both of which feature a traditional flower for this time of year. My cards are identical, I simply used Shaded Spruce for the base of one and Real Red for the base of the other. Take a look at the first one on the base of Shaded Spruce:

And here's the second one, on a Real Red base:

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

Peaceful Poinsettia - I'm not sure whether my colour scheme inspired my choice of poinsettia for today's card, or the other way around - maybe a bit of both! Either way I thought that the two were a perfect match, so used an inverted pair of the festive boughs from the Peaceful Poinsettia stamp set to frame this sentiment from the same set which seemed fitting for our final Paper Players challenge of the year. 

Detailed Poinsettia Embossing - I used the Detailed Poinsettia Thinlits Dies to cut out my floral boughs but also used the corner pieces and smaller detailed dies to create an embossed panel for the base of my card by using the Big Shot embossing mat to emboss using the thinlits rather than diecut with them. I love the effect this gives and the subtle detail it adds.

Added Floral Sparkle - For added sparkle to my poinsettias, I chose silver as my additional colour of choice and used the same technique that I used on this card here where you stamp onto a piece of acetate window sheet using Stazon ink and flip it over and colour the reverse with Stampin' Blends. This is then backed with silver glimmer paper for a sparkly coloured effect. This is such a fun technique and really very pretty in real life.

I'm not sure which of these cards I prefer - that's why I shared both; I'd love to know which one is your favourite. 

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

Whilst I've included the link to the bundle below, the Peaceful Poinsettia  stamp set is currently available at 20% off and the dies at a whopping 30% off as part of the year-end closeouts, so if they are on your wish list, now is the time to snap them up at a bargain price before they retire for good. You can access the complete Year-End Closeouts list here. 

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

I can't wait to see what you create with this week's colours and look forward to visiting your blogs this week. This is our last challenge before we take a two-week break to celebrate the Christmas period with our families, so we hope you'll find the time to join us! We will be taking a two week break before returning with a fresh new set of challenges for 2019 starting on Sunday 6th January 2019. Thanks to everyone who plays along each week, to this year's guest designers Jan, Elizabeth and Annie, and everyone of you who visits our blogs and leaves us encouraging comments each week - it's great to know that you enjoy our creations! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly. I am hoping to decorate the house for the holidays today and put the Christmas tree up. I made a wreath for the front door yesterday however at the moment due to family and sports commitments that is the extent of the decorations, so it's about time we rectified that! I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Peaceful Poinsettia Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£14.00)	Detailed Poinsettia Thinlits Dies (£24.80)	Peaceful Poinsettia Clear-Mount Bundle (£45.75)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Shaded Spruce A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Window Sheets (£4.75)	Silver Glimmer Paper (£4.75)	Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad (£9.25)	Big Shot Embossing Mats (£14.00)
Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Shaded Spruce Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)

Well it's taken me a few days as I've had a couple of classes and am knee-deep in all that comes with the preparations for the festive season, but today I'm here and sharing the last of the three cards that I designed for a recent technique class using the Beautiful Blizzard bundle - take a look:

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

A Swirly Snowflake Blizzard - This card has the simplest of stamped backgrounds. I used a variety of the swirls and snowflake stamps in the set in both blues to create a stamped swirly snowflake blizzard. This is one of those very forgiving, easy stamped projects, perfect for a beginner and would work on a single layer card too.

Shimmery White Textured Snowflakes - The real 'wow' on this card is very difficult to see on the above photo: I made a mask using the Blizzard Thinlits and added a layer of textured snowflakes using shimmery white embossing paste. This looks so sparkly in real life and adds real texture and interest to the card design. I finished with some diecut snowflakes and a simple heat embossed sentiment.

A Sweet Sentiment - The sentiment on the inside of my card is one that just makes me go all warm and fuzzy inside:

Isn't that just so sweet?!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Beautiful Blizzard Clear-Mount Bundle (£42.25)	Frost White Shimmer Paint (£7.50)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)
Shimmery White Embossing Paste (£8.25)	Palette Knives (£4.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players - yay! It's the turn of the queen of florals, the lovely Jaydee,  to host this week and she has a festive theme challenge for you to work with:

Jaydee has been kind to us with a broad theme this week - pretty much anything festive goes! I decided that I would take my inspiration from the snow in our badge picture this week and share a card that I made at a recent technique class using the Beautiful Blizzard bundle - take a look:

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

An Embossed Blizzard - On this card I used the Blizzard Thinlits Die to create an embossed (as opposed to a diecut) panel to add interest to the fold behind my sentiment panel. I then sponged this liberally with Frost White Shimmer Paint for a subtle snowy sparkle. I love that the Big Shot Embossing Mats make this really easy and make our dies go further, opening up a whole new range of creative possibilities.

A Fancy Fold - This card uses a fancy fold that is quite simple to recreate - a z-fold - it's a great way to allow for overhanging diecuts without having to increase the overall size of the card and shows just a hint of the decoration inside too. Here's a picture of my card opened out so that you can see the inside fully:

A Drop of Frost - The stamping on my card is a random combination of the stamps in this set, with a few of the snowflakes left over from this card added for dimension. I finished one of these with a frosted droplet - these make perfect centres for a wintery snowflake.

I'm a little pressed for time with all that is going on in the James household during the holiday season, so no the visual summary of the key products used on today's project today although the table at the bottom of this post will of course take you directly to my online store if you would like to purchase any of the items featured on today's card. 

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 shall be recovering from my first Christmas party yesterday and tacking a mountain of ironing today but I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Beautiful Blizzard Clear-Mount Bundle (£42.25)	Frost White Shimmer Paint (£7.50)	Night Of Navy Medium Baker's Twine (£2.75)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Big Shot Embossing Mats (£14.00)

Today I'm sharing the first of three cards that I designed for a recent technique class using the Beautiful Blizzard bundle - take a look:

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

A Snowflake Blizzard - On this card I used the Blizzard Thinlits Die to cut a full panel of snowflakes. I used a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I first covered with an adhesive sheet on the reverse, then sponged the whole of the front liberally with Frost White Shimmer Paint for a subtle snowy sparkle. The use of a multi-purpose adhesive sheet is key for making this an easy project, as it means that the snowflakes and the surround can be used by simply peeling them off the backing paper. No fiddling around trying to add liquid adhesives to the narrow snowflake stems! This card features the 'negative' of the diecut; I'll be sharing the other two cards that use the rest of the snowflakes tomorrow and later in the week.

A Stitched Label - The label that features the sentiment on the front of my card is from the Stitched Labels Framelits; so pretty and perfect for the first part of my sentiment, along with a few stamped snowflakes too. 

A Sweet Sentiment - I love the sentiment on this card, which carries over from the front of the card to complete on the inside:

Without the 'season's greetings', this sentiment would be lovely for someone celebrating a winter birthday too. 

I'm a little pressed for time with all that is going on in the James household during the holiday season, so no the visual summary of the key products used on today's project today although the table at the bottom of this post will of course take you directly to my online store if you would like to purchase any of the items featured on today's card. 

Enjoy your evening - I am out at my first Christmas party this evening but I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's Paper Players challenge which will also feature snowflakes! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Beautiful Blizzard Clear-Mount Bundle (£42.25)	Frost White Shimmer Paint (£7.50)	Night Of Navy Medium Baker's Twine (£2.75)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Stitched Labels Framelits Dies (£31.00)

Back today with a card that is inspired by the wintery woodland photo inspiration over at Just Add Ink and this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

I went with a clean and modern graphic interpretation of the JAI theme - take a look:

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

Wintery Woodland Inspiration - Inspiration comes in many ways and forms; I didn't have a suitable Christmas tree stamp to hand, so decided to take a different route and feature these snowy trees from the Santa's workshop Designer Series Paper that I still had out on my desk from making yesterday's card. I love the subtle green diagonal stripe pattern of this paper too, which looks almost textured in appearance. More of a graphical design, yet still inspired by the photo.

Christmas Traditions - Today's sentiment is another from the Christmas Traditions Punch Box that I used yesterday and is featured on pages 2-3 of the Autumn/Winter catalogue: 

This festive-themed tin is choc-full of crafting goodies for creating through the festive season: with a block, two ink spots, set of 6 stamps and a Christmas Traditions Punch, all you need is to add some cardstock and adhesives and you are all set for some festive fun! Perfect for tags, cards and embellishments for your home-baked goodies, this set would make a lovely seasonal gift for a crafter or someone who likes to add a personal touch to their packages during the festive season. I stamped the sentiment with the line of trees to echo my DSP pattern in Versamark and heat-embossed in white embossing powder.

Winter Colour Duo - My card features only two colours today: Garden Green and Whisper White. Garden Green is the major contributor however the white has more than a passing role to play: In addition to the trees,which are echoed in the heat embossed sentiment, its use to mat the DSP and the short banner behind the punched sentiment shape gives definition to those elements, which might otherwise be lost without it. I also added a strip of retired sparkly white ribbon for the vertical element in the sketch - for a little sparkle and texture. 

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 hope you like today's card; I have another one featuring another of the stamps in the Christmas Traditions Punch Box in the coming week or so, so be sure to come back and check it out. I have a few more errands before I get back into my painting and decorating - it's a long job! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Traditions Punch Box (£42.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Santa's Workshop 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Garden Green A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)

Another Monday, another week! Hope you all had lovely weekends -  did you spend them shopping for Black Friday deals? I did start my Christmas shopping at last - I'm suddenly feeling under pressure to start ticking things off that particular list. i can't quite believe that one month today will be Boxing Day!! Anyway, let's not dwell on that - today I'm sharing a card using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

The lovely Kim has a great sketch this week, with lots of creative possibilities. I decided my card was going to be all about the holly - take a look:

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

A Jolly Holly Christmas - I decided that holly was going to be the theme for my card today and used the square shape to feature a piece of the holly patterned paper from the Santa's Workshop designer series paper and tied my sentiment and holly embellishment (one of the self-adhesive pieces from the Santa's Workshop Memories & More card pack) into my theme. I even carried it over to the inside of my card and added a stamped sprig of holly alongside my sentiment from the super-useful Merry Christmas To All stamp set:

Christmas Traditions - I found the perfect holly-related sentiment for my card in the Christmas Traditions Punch Box that is featured on pages 2-3 of the Autumn/Winter catalogue: 

Just like the Darling Label Punch Box in the annual catalogue (which incidentally has 10% off in the current stamp and kit sale as part of today's Online Extravaganza - order yours here), this festive-themed tin is choc-full of crafting goodies for creating through the festive season: with a block, two ink spots, set of 6 stamps and a Christmas Traditions Punch, all you need is to add some cardstock and adhesives and you are all set for some festive fun! Perfect for tags, cards and embellishments for your home-baked goodies, this set would make a lovely seasonal gift for a crafter or someone who likes to add a personal touch to their packages during the festive season. 

Lots of Layers - I added some texture to my card base with the Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, but otherwise all of the detail and interest on today's card is focused around the square element. In order to really draw the eye to it, I stacked the base behind the holly DSP with 3 layers, made easy with the Layering Square Framelits, using the base colours of the paper and adding a piece of Poppy Parade ribbon for a pop of red - so festive!

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 hope you like today's card - tomorrow's card also features the Christmas traditions Punch Box, so be sure to come back and check it out. I have a few more errands before I get back into my painting and decorating - it's a long job! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Traditions Punch Box (£42.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Santa's Workshop 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Poppy Parade 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Textured Weave Ribbon (£7.00)	Layering Squares Framelits Dies (£33.00)
Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Garden Green A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine (£2.75)

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

I struggled a bit with Sandy's sketch this week - I've had a super busy week and not managed to get much time in my craft room; this is never good for the crafting mojo! Those panels were screaming out for some designer series paper and I was sorely tempted to break out my new Spring-Summer goodies, but as I'm still in need of Christmas cards I decided against it and instead challenged myself to use some of the paper that I had been hoarding - take a look:

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

All Is Bright - I love this piece of paper featuring a photographic image of lots of baubles in shades of gold that features in the All Is Bright designer series paper pack but had been waiting for the right card on which to use it. I decided that today was the day and I went all in, covering the front of my card with it. Even with the vertical panels and diecut bauble, this paper shines through - so pretty.

A Beautiful Bauble - I used the Beautiful Bauble Thinlits to diecut a bauble from gold glimmer paper and I backed it with a circle of DSP with a subtle bokeh print that is also from the All Is Bright DSP pack, as I didn't want to lose the intricate details against the panels. I added a retired sentiment ot my banner and a bow cut using the Pretty Pines Thinlits to finish it off.

Shades of Gold - My card features lots of gold today so I'm also linking up with the team over at CAS-ual Fridays as this ties in with their theme perfectly: the baubles in my chosen paper are lots of shades of gold, along with a gold foil panel embossed with the Swirls and Curls Embossing Folder and a second panel of retired acetate that is patterned with gold polka dots, in addition to my gold glimmer border and gold heat embossed sentiment banner. You would be forgiven for thinking that I used one of the gold foil-edged cards for my base card today, although as I only have silver ones in the house I employed a neat trick to create my own: I simply sponged the edge of my card with Versamark and then heat embossed with gold embossing powder to create a similar 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. 

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. 

In addition, a reminder that today also heralds the start of the second of Stampin' Up's three online extravaganzas. Today and tomorrow it's the turn of stamps and kits - you can read all about it in last week's blog post here and shop directly for everything that is included in the sale via the dedicated page in my online store. if ordering online please be sure to include the current hostess code BPCXMYGW. If you are local and would like to reduce your P&P costs, please get your order to me by 8pm tomorrow evening and I will add them to a collective order.

Enjoy your day; we are minus one James Junior, as Rebecca is spending the weekend in Bath playing in a school hockey tournament (all yesterday's matches were wins or draws, so let's hope the team is similarly successful today); I will be spending the day doing homework with the other one and then attending the first of the season's Christmas parties - ice skating with our swimming club. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Detailed Baubles Thinlits Dies (£29.00)	All Is Bright 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Swirls & Curls Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Gold Foil Sheets (£3.37)	Gold Glimmer Paper (£4.27)	Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies (£24.00)	Bunch Of Banners Framelits Dies (£25.00)
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.27)