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)

Today I'm squeezing in a card  for the current challenge over at As You See It where they have this fun sketch to work with:

The layout features a quadriptych: four panels behind the sentiment element. For a lover of designer paper like me, I was spoilt for choice! So I challenged myself to use a pattern that I hadn't before - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Shine On - The All Is Bright designer papers feature lots of photographic prints that whilst beautiful in their own right, I often struggle to use this type of print on cards. I've been using them to make crackers and they look really festive, but thought a combination of colourful tree light bulbs and stars in a repeating pattern would work for today's card.  

A Top 10 Product - I cropped my sentiment with one of the Stitched Ovals from the Stitched Shapes Framelits. This framelit set is one of my most used tools and would definitely feature in my personal Product Top 10. Unfortunately they aren't available today as they are part of the last of the 10% off Online Extravaganza sales and the allocate stock on this popular item ran out yesterday. They should be back in the store tomorrow at their usual price, so my advice would be to pick them up then - they are worth waiting for. 

Making Spirits Bright - I love the sentiment I featured on the front of today's card which comes from the Making Christmas Bright set - these words ring so true for me! Once all the hard work and preparations are done, one of the things I enjoy most about the festive season is spending quality time with friends. I added a twist of Real Red mixed satin ribbon, an All Is Bright star paper clip and a two-tone sentiment on the inside of my card to finish: 

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:

Making Christmas Bright Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	All Is Bright 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	All Is Bright A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Real Red 3/8" (1 Cm) Mixed Satin Ribbon (£5.50)	All Is Bright Paper Clips (£6.50)
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad (£6.30)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.30)

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)

I've been busy decorating so just have time for a quick post today. I'm sharing a card that I made for the current Inspire.Create Challenge where they are looking for projects featuring the following colour palette:

My simple card uses one of my absolute favourite festive papers from the Joyous Noel Suite:

I liked it so much I created two more cards with the same basic design but featuring some of the other gorgeous papers in this paper pack:

Each one also features a different colour of glimmer paper behind it too. Here's the final one with the copper background glimmer:

 These papers really are so beautiful, it's a shame they are now sold out. The simple design would work with any other papers though and the Merry Christmas To All stamps and framelits bundle is still available, which is great news. Here's a shot of all 3 cards together:

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. 

Don't forget tomorrow marks the start of the first of the Stampin' Up' Online Extravaganza 48 hour sales - read all about it in yesterday's post here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Joyous Noel 6" X 6" Glimmer Paper (£14.00)	Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Bundle (£45.75)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)
Copper Foil Sheets (£3.75)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)

I've been busy decorating today so I'm a little later with my post again. Hopefully it's worth the wait though: I'm sharing another of the pillow gifts that the lucky ladies received on my Creative Escapes Craft Retreat a few weeks ago, and a co-ordinating card that I made to go with it since I decided I liked the box design so much! Firstly, here is the pillow gift box:

I liked the box so much when I got home I made another one and decided to make a card using same design to co-ordinate with it:

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

Luscious Layers - There's so much I love about this card! My most favourite thing is the layering of the diecuts to create the focal point. I used a Stitched Label, the jumping deer from the Detailed Deer Thinlits and a 'merry' in copper foil from the Merry Christmas Thinlits dies. Gorgeous, even if I say so myself!

And More Joyous Noel - The paper I used that inspired my centrepiece is from the gorgeous copper-foiled Joyous Noel paper pack. This paper is now sold out across the globe, so I hope you already have a stash as it's my favourite this season and I still have projects using it to share with you.  

Merry Christmas In Many Ways - The Merry Christmas To All bundle allows you to create many different festive sentiment combinations for the holiday season with a combination of stamps and dies. I used two different combinations for my card and box to give you a flavour of the flexibility it offers. the diecuts are quite large and perfect if a statement sentiment is the order of the day. 

I'm linking my card up with the current challenges over at Just Add Ink where they are looking for big bold sentiments and Fusion where the sketch inspired the layout for today's Christmas card (I flipped it and used the mirror image).

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. 

Finally here is a photograph of both of my projects together:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Bundle (£45.75)	Detailed Deer Thinlits Dies (£32.00)	Stitched Labels Framelits Dies (£31.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Copper Foil Sheets (£3.75)	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Gray Granite A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

I had the opportunity to get out the 'Illuminated Christmas' stamp set last week and created a variety of cards with it, one of which uses the current sketch over at The Paper Craft Crew: 

This is one of those sets I bought because I loved it, but I haven't had the opportunity to use it in a class and just haven't had the time to play with it. This sketch gave me the perfect opportunity to use it and pair it with a classic background stamp from the annual catalogue too - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Illuminated Christmas - The Illuminated Christmas stamp set has a number of traditional festive images that are perfect for colouring; I decided to use my favourite, the angel, on my card today. I stamped the image in Versamark and heat embossed in gold, and did the same with the banner sentiment, which is also from the same set. I coloured the angel with my daffodil Delight and Pool Party Stampin' Blends and I also used the set to finish the inside of my card:

Sheet Music - We often think of angels singing at Christmas time, so for me the sheet music background stamp seemed like the obvious choice for the base of my card. I've no idea what the tune on the stamp is (I will have to sit at the piano and try it out and let you know!), but I like to think it's a carol for the purposes of my card today anyway!

All is Gold, All Is Bright  - I used lots of gold on my card today to add a real contrast to the otherwise largely white card, with gold embossing, glimmer paper, gold metallic pearls and last but not least one of the All Is Bright gold star paperclips. I love these and it was the perfect accent for my sweet angel on today's 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 evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Illuminated Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Sheet Music Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£14.00)	All Is Bright Paper Clips (£6.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)
Versamark Pad (£8.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Gold Glimmer Paper (£4.75)	Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Metallic Pearls (£6.50)