I'm back with today's creative post; I managed to find the time to whip up a card for two challenges using the very versatile 'Cheer All Year' stamp set. My card uses the rather autumnal colour palette over at Fab Friday and this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout:

I thought the Fab Friday colours would be perfect for some autumnal acorns; since I'm still waiting for my Acorny hello set to arrive though, I decided to use the acorn in the 'Cheer All Year' set. Take a look:

I used an Old Olive card base and covered the whole of the front with a piece of gingham Farmers Market designer series paper in Old Olive and Very Vanilla. I cut my Very Vanilla top panel slightly smaller and offset it to show a border of dsp on two sides, then stamped by sentiment in Rich Razzleberry before adding my row of acorns in Old Olive. I stamped them again in Soft Suede on some scrap paper and cut out the tops and adhered them separately allowing the top of the uppermost one to overhang. I made a feature of one of the acorns, stamping the base of this one in Rich Razzleberry and punching out with the new Acorn builder Punch, before adding a gold button double tied with linen thread and popping it up on a couple of dimensionals. 

A quick clean and simple card - I just love those graphic acorns! 'Cheer All Year' is such a versatile set - it has something for all seasons as it is designed to accompany the 'Season To Season' Wreath Project Kit, yet can be used for so much more besides.

Back tomorrow with this week's card for our new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary; until then, happy stmapin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Acorn Builder Punch	Cheer All Year Photopolymer Stamp Set	Farmers Market Designer Series Paper	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Gold Basic Metal Buttons	Linen Thread

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for September HJQSKSW6 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Crushed Curry Baker's Twine	Everyday Chic Designer Washi Tape	Floral Frames Collection Framelits Dies
Gift Box Punch Board	Happy Heart Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies

Lots of lovelies again this week! The washi tape is perfect for adding to cards and parcels for a quick dash of pattern/colour but my favourite deal this week has to be the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies - these are perfect for packaging little treats or small gifts and make light work of mass production - and at only £27 they really are a bargain! 

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

I've a super-quick post today to share another of my stamp-a-stack cards featuring the lovely Home for Christmas designer series paper and stamp from the 'Cup of Cheer' stamp set - take a look:

This is a layout I've used before, with a very similar card here that explains in more detail the items used - I just changed up the paper and colours so that I can use some of the lovely Christmas tree paper - this paper makes me think of Christmas day and opening all of the lovely present beneath the Christmas tree.

If you are as in love with this season's new designer series papers as I am, you may want to consider joining my paper share; I am currently doing my second round of paper and accessory shares from the seasonal catalogue - you can find all the details along with links to order in the original blog post here. 

I also have another stamp-a-stack Christmas card class planned for 10th November; if you would like to come along and make your Christmas cards ready for posting then you would be more than welcome - email or call me to book your place!

Back tomorrow with another project and this week's Weekly Deals. Until then, happy stampin!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform	2" Circle Punch	Banner Triple Punch
Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Pearl Basic Jewels
Cup Of Cheer Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Gold Cording Trim

Happy Monday everyone! Today I have another of the cards that I designed for my recent Christmas stamp-a-stack featuring an adorable reindeer from the Home For Christmas designer paper. This clean and layered card is just perfect for the challenge over at The Card Concept this week, which is to feature a forest friend on your card:

Isn't that inspiration photo just the cutest? Here's the reindeer forest friend that features on my card:

I used a Soft Suede base and a couple of patterned pieces of Home for Christmas DSP, then punched a 2" circle of Very Vanilla and adhered my fussy cut reindeer on the top. I stamped the 'Have a' and 'Christmas' parts of my sentiment from the Holly Jolly Greetings set in Memento Black onto Very Vanilla, then cut a 'jolly' out of red glimmer paper using my Big Shot and Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies and adhered all of my sentiments with dimensionals for a little extra height. I just love the Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper - the retro designs are fantastic and the reindeers and santas are all decorated differently and in slightly different poses that are great for fussy cutting, although I'm not sure my ladies agreed after cutting out six of these little fellas!

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper	Holly Jolly Greetings Clear-Mount Bundle	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform
2" Circle Punch	Red Glimmer Paper	Soft Suede A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it's the turn of my talented friend the lovely Claire to host and she has a great sketch challenge for you:

Claire loves layers and this sketch certainly has lots! I decided to go with a showcase of Merry Moments Christmas DSP on mine, although that wasn't where I started out with this card - I saw that button and just knew it was the perfect opportunity to showcase one of my reindeer paper clips! Take a look:

I used two of the Merry Moments DSP patterns along with a Real Red spotted paper (this one is retired but very similar to the pattern in the Brights DSP stack), matted on either Chrry Cobbler or Mossy Meadow. I added a band and scalloped edge in Real Red, but the stars of today's card are most definitely that 'jolly' sentiment cut from red foil (I built this up on 3 layers of cardstock to give added depth) and that oh-so-cute reindeer clip, complete with Cherry Cobbler enamel dot - well, what's a Rudolf without a red nose?!

A no-stamp card that uses layers and embellishment for pattern and interest - perfect for the festive season. As for the reindeer paper clip - how cute!

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 how you interpret our sketch in your card designs. I'm off for a morning of basketball and hoping to spend a little time tidying up in the garden this afternoon, along with some baking to make use of some of our home grown raspberries - yum! 

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Real Red A4 Cardstock	Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies	Reindeer Paper Clips Embellishments	Home For Christmas Enamel Dots	Red Foil Sheets
Merry Moments Designer Series Paper	Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock

A quick - and late! - post from me today, but since I didn't post yesterday I thought I'd better squeeze one in today! I was fundraising at a MacMillan Coffee morning yesterday and have been busy with the usual flurry of household chores, homework and swimming clubs that generally occupy a Saturday in the James household today. The lovely ladies over at Less Is More have a challenge for 'something shiny' this week and I have the perfect CAS creation to fit - here's my card:

I used a simple base of Real Red and a mat of Whisper White, onto which I stamped 'have a' and 'Christmas' in red around a gold foil 'Merry' diecut, formed using my Christmas Greetings thinlits (I am so in love with these!) I cut an ornament shape out of gold foil using my Delicate Ornament Thinlits Dies and my Big Shot and backed this with a 1 3/4" circle of red glimmer paper (well what is shine without a little sparkle too?!), added a gold cord trim bow and adhered the ornament slightly off the edge of the card to look as if it was hanging from the 'y' of 'merry'. 

I designed this card as one of the makes for my all day Christmas stamp-a-stack this week and the ladies present loved it, although having to remove the tiny pieces from the ornament was proving tedious by the time they had made six of them! I'm also using the ornament dies in my October technique class in a couple of weeks time and can't wait - combined with the Embellished Ornaments stamp set (another 15% off bundle when you buy the two together!) they really are very versatile.

Back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players; come back then, you won't want to miss it!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Delicate Ornament Thinlits Dies	Holly Jolly Greetings Clear-Mount Bundle	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Gold Foil Sheets
Gold Cording Trim	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Red Glimmer Paper

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great colour challenge for you:

These colours have a real ombre feel to them and I decided to go with something pretty and floral today using the 'Garden in Bloom' stamp set. Here's my card: 

I used a Very Vanilla base and a mat of Calypso Coral to set off my Pretty Petals striped DSP. I punched a 2" wide banner of Blushing Bride with my Triple Banner Punch and overlaid this with a piece of Very Vanilla satin ribbon, then for my focal panel I stamped the sentiment and flower outlines in Watermelon Wonder and 'coloured' them in with the other two challenge colours. I love this stamp set and in photopolymer, it makes light work of two-step stamping for sure!

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's challenge colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for September HJQSKSW6 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. There have been a few issues on the Stampin' Up! website today and the weekly deals are not showing properly, however they are valid and detailed below:

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Confetti Hearts Border Punch	Handpicked Framelits Dies	Into The Woods Elements
Ornate Tag Topper Punch	Remarkable You Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Simply Scored Diagonal Scoring Plate

My pick of the week this week has to be the Ornate Tag Topper Punch on offer at £15.75; this is a great way to ensure that all your Christmas parcel tags are executed to perfection. I'll be getting the 'Remarkable You' stamp set though; this one is on my wish list, so I can't pass it up this week!

Lastly, the Clearance Rack updated yesterday - check out the new bargains here!

Back tomorrow with a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary; until then, happy shopping!

Did you know that September is classical music month? In honour of this, the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge has 'musical' as its theme and that's where I'm linking up my card today:

It might not be classical, but I had that classic of all Christmas carols, Jingle Bells, in my head when I made today's clean and simple card:

I used a base of Very Vanilla with a piece of musical notepaper (I used some retired paper) - the current 'Home For Christmas' dsp has some paper printed with Christmas carol sheet music that would be perfect for this. I then set my top panel of Very Vanilla at a jaunty angle and stamped my sentiment from the 'Jingle All The Way' stamp set in Real Red alongside the bell image from Cozy Christmas', which I coloured in using Crushed Curry and Garden Green Stampin' Write Markers, adding some red berry pearls that I coloured with a red Sharpie.

A super simple card - maybe one for my piano teacher this Christmas, I'm sure she would appreciate it!

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday deals; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cozy Christmas Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Jingle All The Way Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Many Marvelous Markers	Pearl Basic Jewels

I've been busy today with the final preparations for the first of my all day Christmas Stamp-a-Stacks later this week but today's card that I'm going to share is the final one from last month's technique class using the 'Reason For The Season' stamp set:

For this card we used a base of Real Red and decorated the front with a piece of Merry Moments DSP, then cut away a section using a 2" circle punch, so that it would fit around a 3D poinsettia flower made from Real Red card stock and adhered to the inside to the card. We used two layers of petals and a trio of leaves for our flower and wrapped a few loops of fine gold metallic thread behind it. This was a great card to get everyone used to building the 3D flower using the punch, having stamped the patterns onto the petals and leaves beforehand. These flowers also look great on festive packaging and really make the most of this versatile stamp set. This is one of the many great value bundles in the seasonal catalogue - with 15% off when you purchase the bundle, it represents a great saving. If you would like to see this stamp and punch combo in action (and a refresher for the ladies that attended my class!), here's a great video from Stampin' Up! that gives you the lowdown:

I hope you enjoyed that video. Don't forget, if you live in or around Northampton and would like more information on attending any of my classes, you can find full details here or just get in touch to confirm availability. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Reason For The Season Photopolymer Bundle	Merry Moments Designer Series Paper	Gold Metallic Thread	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Cardstock
2" Circle Punch	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad