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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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