It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! Our amazing leader Nance is the hostess this week and she has a sketch for us to work with:

I love a good sketch and this one has lots of creative possibilities. I couldn't resist trying out another technique with my embossing paste, this time adding colour to it and creating a brick wall  - take a look:

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

Add Colour To The Texture - I am having fun with my embossing paste and for my card today I decided to add a little Smoky Slate re-inker to my paste before spreading it across my brick Pattern Party Decorative Mask, to create my brickwork background. This paste is so easy to colour - just add a few drops of re-inker and mix with a palette knife and it's good to go.

Grown With Love - I was inspired to use the 'Grown With Love' stamp set, with my bright yellow flowers and copper-embossed watering can, by the recent challenge picture over at Just Add Ink. This is challenge is from a couple of weeks ago but the photo stayed with me and I was keen to create something with this source of inspiration and Nance's sketch offered the perfect fit. I've included the picture here so that you can see what I mean:

I loved the combination of copper, brick and wood, along with the white and yellow flowers and the dark green foliage - you can see how I've incorporated them on my card. I added a Tranquil Tide In-Color Bitty Bow to my jug in lieu of the horizontal banner on Nance's sketch. Normally I would have used this for a sentiment, however as the sentiment is in the centre of the flowers I thought a bow would make a nice alternative, if less literal, interpretation.

Another Border, Another Wood Texture - As with last week's card, I decided to use another strip of the Wood Textures designer series paper for the border edge, this time in a grey wood to tone in with my bricks. Whilst I love these papers, I wasn't sure how I was going to use them on my projects, so I'm enjoying experimenting with the patterns in small quantities to add texture and pattern to my cards.

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with our sketch this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Grown With Love Clear-Mount Bundle	Pattern Party Decorative Masks	Embossing Paste	Palette Knives	Glitter Enamel Dots
2017-2019 In Color Bitty Bows	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	So Saffron A4 Cardstock	Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock
Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Versamark Pad	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

It's the weekend and an activity-filled one here in the James household! Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches where the lovely Karren has an interesting sketch to work with:

I'm on a bit of a roll with my FMS cards lately -thank you Kim for choosing me as your Princess of Clean last week (if you missed it, you can see that card here) so thought I'd try my hand with Karren's sketch. I've been playing with embossing paste this week and this sketch was perfect for something I wanted to try - take a look:

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

Pattern Party - The sweeping arch on the right-hand side of Karren's sketch was perfect for creating a textured design using my embossing paste and this medallion-inspired design with one of the Pattern Party Decorative Masks. The decorative design of the mask was such that I could use it to make my textured panel a real feature of my card.

Metallic Medallion - There is lots you can do with embossing paste: you can use it 'neat', colour it with re-inkers and also add colour using sponge daubers or Stampin' Spritzers. Here though I decided to see what it would look like if I sprinkled my wet embossing paste with copper embossing powder and heat set it to give a shiny metallic finish. This was really easy to do and whilst it doesn't give a perfect finish, it's easy to get pretty even coverage and it adds additional texture and interest as well as shine to the card. Along with the copper foil mat, this card has a real luxurious feel - I love it!

Dapper Denim Ombre - I used a piece of Dapper Denim ombre paper from the Color Theory designer series paper stack for the background to my textured medallion. It adds just enough additional interest without detracting from the star of the show. I added a circular sentiment from the Eastern Beauty stamp set to finish - it's in broadly the right place when compared to Karren's sketch, but I have used a little artistic licence here as it worked for 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. 

If you liked this card do pop back over the next few days, as I have additional examples of cards I've made using embossing paste and a variety of different techniques. Enjoy your day; I'm off to spend the rest of mine at the swimming pool (spectating rather than swimming!) and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pattern Party Decorative Masks	Embossing Paste	Palette Knives	Color Theory Designer Series Paper Stack	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock
Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Copper Foil Sheets	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder	Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set	2" (5.1 Cm) Circle Punch

I've had a couple of quiet blog days as I've either been busy in my office creating or single parenting and running around after the James Juniors - there is so much activity with only a few more weeks of this academic year to go. I've finally found time to share: today I've a card I made for this week's challenge over at Less Is More although I'm blogging a little too late to link up. Here's the link though in case it's a theme you'd like more inspiration on:

This week's theme is 'personalise it' - I thought this would be perfect for one of the teacher thank you cards that I will be needing in coming weeks:

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

To Personalise Or Not - That is the question! We have some quite strong views on this in the James household, largely influenced by a certain member of our family who seems to live by the motto 'if a name will fit, print it on' so we all have many personalised items, ranging from glasses to boot bags and everything in between. Personalisation is a great way to add a special touch and make something unique for the recipient and if you want to personalise a card, the one thing you will need is an alphabet stamp set. I own a few but my absolute 'go to' alphabet set for this kind of custom greeting is definitely the Labeler Alphabet stamp set. With two fonts, it's both easy to stamp as it's made from photopolymer and also very forgiving if it's not 100% straight. It was therefore right and proper that I used it for Ben's teacher's name, Mr White, on my card.

Thank You Teacher - I used my retired 'Writing Notes' background stamp to create my lined paper base and stamped the star and 'you're the best' sentiment from the Watercolour Words stampset on my card. Such a great set for a simple thank you card. I also added these lovely words from another retired set to the inside of my card:

An Apple For The Teacher - I can't resist adding an apple to any school-related thank you cards; I'm sure no-one brings their teacher an apple these days, but I love the tradition. My apple is from the retired 'Thoughtful Branches' set with a hand-drawn leaf - I just love this set and it will forever sit on my shelf!

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. 

We have had a busy day, nicely rounded off with the year 5 class picnic in the park, along with a healthy dose of rounders and football to finish the week. Our weekend is also jam-packed with activity so I'll be back early tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Labeler Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set	Watercolor Words Photopolymer Stamp Set	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

Today I'm sharing a card inspired by the photo over at The Paper Craft Crew and the sketch at As You See It:

I finally succumbed and bought the Eastern Palace Suite at the end of May; I had my classes scheduled through May and June and with lots of other pre-order goodies to play with so I didn't buy early. There are so many fabulous samples out there using this set though, I eventually caved and bought the bundle as I have a group of customers wanting to do a class with it in August. This is the first time I've used it to create this fabulously layered card - take a look:

After making this card, I might officially be in love with the Eastern Palace Suite! Here's the low-down on today's card:

So Many Layers - There are no less than 12 layers on my card today! This is thanks to the detail of the Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies - this set consists of 14 intricate dies that can be nested and stacked to create an almost infinite collection of shapes and designs, with or without the additional detail of the Eastern Beauty stamp set. 

Stamp A Roundabout - I chuckled when I read Heather's post over at As You See It and her reference to roundabouts! The sketch suggested a curved element around the circles and since the Easter Beauty stamp set is one of the few that has a couple of naturally circular sentiments, I had to use one to create a border for my layered centrepiece, interspersing with a swirl. I stamped directly onto my designer series paper background too - again, something I don't often do, however I think it works on today's card so maybe I should give it a go more often! Check out the other interpretations of Heather's sketch over at AYSI, including those of their new design team members, Teresa Klein and the lovely LeAnne Pugliese, my fellow teamie over at The Paper Players - great additions to the team!

Vibrant Eastern Opulence - Lemon Lime Twist , Dapper Denim and Very Vanilla all feature in the Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper and as such this a colour combination you see often on projects featuring this suite. I decided to add in some Tempting Turquoise as per the inspiration photo and I love the way even a small amount of it this lifts this colour palette even more - here it is for you to save if you'd like to experiment with it:

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 class this morning followed by Ben's sports day this afternoon. The forecast is another hot one, so don't forget your suncream! I and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Bundle	Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad
Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Tempting Turquoise A4 Cardstock	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad

This is my second card for today (you can see my first one here if you missed it). Today's card uses Cecile's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

Before I share my card, I would like to take a moment to give a quick shout to Amy on the FMS team for choosing my card in last week's challenge as her pick for the 'Princess of Clean' (you can see that card here) - thanks Amy, so great to be recognised! This week's sketch was perfect for an idea I had in mind following a crafty conversation with one of my customers recently. Here's my card completely flat: 

This is not how I normally photograph my cards, but is necessary for you to properly see the similarity to the sketch because this is what it looks like when stood up - because it's a trifold card!

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

Ways With Nesting Dies - I had a recent conversation with a lovely customer of mine (hello Gill!) who shared with me a trifold card featuring a diamond aperture. I had been thinking about ways to use my range of Stampin' Up!'s shaped layering dies to create a similar effect when Cecile's sketch this week provided me with the perfect opportunity. Whatever your shape of choice, you can either layer them centrally or as I've done here to remian faithful to the sketch by offsetting them slightly, which I personally really like. This card is really simple to create once you've worked out the measurements: for the base, you need a piece of cardstock measuring 14.9cm (5 3/4") by 29.7cm (11 3/4") and scored on the long side at 10.5cm (4") and 21cm (8"), with 3 additional panels (one white) measuring 14.9cm (5 3/4") x 10.2cm (3 7/8"). Here are some other shots to show you what the card looks like when opened:

And this one completely opened:

Apertures are created in the outer flaps and the piece that lines the middle section, and the white lining piece, so that each layer of colour can be seen. 

A Purple Trio - I decided to go with purples as opposed to pinks for today's card - I think I've overdosed on Flirty Flamingo of late! - and kept my card pattern-free in order that the diecuts would have maximum impact. Here's my ombre colour palette should you wish to use it on your future projects:

Love And Sunshine Wishes - I finished my card with another diecut, the love from the Sunshine Wishes thinlits set, in white. I cut it from extra thick Whisper White three times, having first added some multipurpose adhesive sheets to the back of the top two pieces of cardstock, for mess-free adhesion - love these! I wanted it to be a little more sturdy as it was only attached to the cardbase on one side. There almost wasn't any stamping - I did add a 'you' on my white panel from Sunshine Sayings, but if you don't have this set or something similar I think it would work fine without. 

I actually really like this card and can see me making a few more using different shapes for other occasions, so thank you Cecile and Gill 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. 

Enjoy your day. It's hot, hot, hot here in the UK so I am enjoying the nice weather from the confines of my office as I prepare for the first of this month's technique classes tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sweet & Sassy Framelits Dies	Sunshine Wishes Thinlits Dies	Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock	Rich Razzleberry A4 Cardstock	Fresh Fig A4 Cardstock
Fresh Fig Classic Stampin' Pad	Sunshine Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards with you  - the first one for this week's challenge over at the Color Throwdown that also fits this week's masculine theme at TGIF Challenges (and I've used last week's TGIF challenge sketch again too!):

Lots of the Color Throwdown Design Team cards were inspired by the whale and nautical theme of the inspiration photo, however I decided that the bookshelf itself would be my starting point - take a look:

Here's the low-down on this card:

Bookcase Builder - I used the Bookcase Builder stamp set to stamp a shelf full of objects in the challenge colours and finished with my sentiment stamped in Night of Navy on Lemon Lime Twist for some zing!  A little navy baker's twine and an enamel heart complete my card. 

This card is perfect for my husband in this colourway, although I'm sure when he reads the sentiment he'll be telling me it's one for me, given the quantity of stamps I own!!

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:

Bookcase Builder Photopolymer Stamp Set	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Regals Enamel Shapes	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

I had a little time to catch up with my crafting today whilst it was still cool in my craft room so I'm sharing another card with you that fits with the following challenges:

I don't usually combine so many challenges, but having decided on my design using the Stamps Ink Paper sketch that used the scene from the Mediterranean Moments stamp set to include my Vespa scooter 'wheels' for the Global Design Project, I changed my colour scheme at the last minute to one inspired by the photo over at Inspired By All The Little Things and did a little watercolouring - take a look:

Doesn't that vibrant Pacific Point blue really stand out against the pink? A warm, Mediterannean scene with a fun aqua scooter out front - the makings of a fun vacation, perhaps? I added my sentiment from the 'Layering Love' stamp set to finish 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. 

Do check out the various challenge galleries for lots of inspiration - especially the wheely great inspiration over at GDP this week!

I'll be back tomorrow with another couple of projects. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Mediterranean Moments Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Layering Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock
Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Aqua Painters	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely Jaydee to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

This was a great week for a CAS challenge - I was short on time and the glorious weather we've been having here in the UK these last few days has meant that my south-facing craft room has been like a sauna and not conducive to extended periods of crafting. I needed something that was quick to create so I reached for my Best Birds stamp set and co-ordinating Birds and Blooms Framelits along with this week's sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches and this is what I came up with:

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

Take One Stamp Set - My fellow Paper Player, the lovely LeAnne, has made so many fabulous cards with the Best Birds stamp set (you can see them via the link to her blog below), she finally convinced me that I had to add this set to my collection. This is the first time I've used this set and I'm not disappointed. A pair of birds, a branch, flowers, a great variety of sentiments and an interesting background stamp mean this set gives lots of options for layering and creating scenes, and all with a single stamp set. Thank you LeAnne for being such an enabler! I coloured my little bird to look like a blue tit with my inks and aquapainter - I love these birds!

Add Some Dimension - I stamped the hatched background stamp directly onto my card base then cut out the branch and my bird with the co-ordinating Birds and Blooms Thinlits Dies, adhering the branch directly to the base and popping my bird up on dimensionals for a little lift without too many layers so that it still feels CAS.

Texture Without Depth - I added a strip of the photographic Wood Textures Designer Series Paper to the edge of my card which give the illusion of texture and a trio of glitter enamel dots for a little sparkle and interest without compromising the overall clean and simple feel 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 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:

I look forward to seeing your clean and simple creations in the gallery this week. It's Father's Day here in the UK so we shall be spoiling Mr James today and hopefully continuing to enjoy the glorious sunshine we have been experiencing recently. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Best Birds Photopolymer Stamp Set	Birds & Blooms Thinlits Dies	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack	Glitter Enamel Dots	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
Aqua Painters	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad
Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	White Stampin' Chalk Marker

Yay it's Friday! Another busy day for me and I'm starting it by sharing today's card for this week's Less Is More challenge with you:

One layer week and a theme of 'sweet things'. I've pondered this theme all week and whilst I was originally thinking ice-creams, on Wednesday afternoon as I iced Rebecca's birthday cakes I suddenly had a brainwave - take a look:

How cute is this little chap?! Here's the low-down on today's card:

A Birthday Chef - This little chef with his piping bag is just one of the fun images in the Birthday Delivery stamp set. I stamped him in Memento Black and dry-coloured him in with my watercolour pencils, stamping him on Crumb Cake so that his chef whites would really stand out. You can see a close-up of him above.

Ice, Ice Baby - The Happy Birthday' sentiment I used on my card looks just like icing so was the perfect choice to accompany my piping chef. I stamped my sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it with white embossing powder in order to give a little more depth, dimension and shine to my one layer card. 

Oodles of Doodles - I created a border around the front of my card with one of the stamps in the retired 'Tin Of Cards' stamp set. You could just as easily use a fineliner and doodle your own.

What's sweeter than icing sugar? Such a fun 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. 

What a fun one layer challenge - I hope the ladies at LIM like today's card. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Birthday Delivery Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Watercolor Pencils	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Versamark Pad
Embossing Buddy	White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Today is a special day in the James household: the eldest of my juniors turns 12. I'm not sure where those years went by, although I do know that what was once my chubby little baby girl is now rapidly turning into a wonderful young woman with thoughts, hopes and dreams. So today I thoughts I would share the birthday card I made for Rebecca - take a look:

When I came to make Rebecca's card, I knew there were a number of things I needed to include: pink, sparkle and a big birthday wish and today's card is the result! Here's the low-down on my card:

Berry Burst: A Grown Up Pink - Whilst Rebecca isn't a girly-girl, she is most definitely a lover of pink! One of the new in-colours, Berry Burst, was my choice of pinks for her card; I think this pink is a rather grown-up pink and perfectly suited to a card for a discerning young lady. It also has some lovely co-ordinating accessories such as the 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon, which ties beautiful bows.

Move Over Glimmer, There's A Foil Frenzy Going On! - So I had to include a small piece of silver glimmer paper on my card - Rebecca just loves the stuff! - but the real shimmer and shine comes from the new Berry Burst spotty Foil Frenzy kraft cardstock. With bright, colourful designs, this heavyweight foiled kraft cardstock will be perfect for boxes and I can't wait to start constructing, but for today it made a great base for the front of my card. 

Stacked Diecuts Made Easy - For my sentiment I used the new Happy Birthday Thinlit to create my focal point, cutting and stacking three diecut pieces and brushing with clear Wink of Stella for a subtle sparkle before heat embossing with clear embossing powder a further three times. Effort? Yes. Worth it? Totally!  There is a new adhesive that you may not have noticed in the new catalogue that makes light work of stacking and adhering die cuts - the new Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (page 203 - you are welcome!) are such a timesaver. Simply stick your cardstock to an adhesive sheet before rolling your thinlit through the Big Shot, then you can peel away the backing and your diecut is ready to stick - no mess, no fuss. 

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'm pleased to report that Rebecca's card received the official 'thumbs up', which is really all you can ask for when you're making a card with a special someone in mind.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Birthday Thinlits Die	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Bundle	Foil Frenzy Specialty Designer Series Paper	Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets	Berry Burst 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon
Berry Burst A4 Cardstock	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Versamark Pad	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder
Silver Glimmer Paper	Layering Circle Framelits Dies