Today has been a fun day, with my first class of the year. A fun - if quiet! - time was had by all, with all my ladies being very accommodating of my continued voiceless state. I'll share more on our class makes later in the week, but today I'm sharing a card that I am entering for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge, PPA186, which is to use the following colours:

With this in mind, I inked up my Flowerfull Heart stamp again but this time made a slider card - take a look:

I stamped the heart in Versamark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder, then layered the heart on another one made from gold foil. When the ribbon end is pulled, it reveals the message inside:

The inside of the slider card is stamped with my favourite stamp from the 'Follow My Heart' set on the lower inside panel, and the valentine stamp from the 'Delightful Dozen' on the extending top section (I replaced the stamped heart with a gold foil one). I think this would make a lovely masculine valentine's card; the gold foil and embossing adds a real luxurious feel.

I will be sharing a video tutorial on how to make this card as soon as my voice returns, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, check out the inspiration from the designers and participants over at Pals Paper Arts here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Flowerfull Heart Wood-Mount Stamp	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Follow My Heart Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Delightful Dozen - Clear-Mount Stamp	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Gold Foil Sheets	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad
Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Small Heart Punch

Today I'm sharing another card using my current 'stamp of the moment', the Flowerfull Heart, but this time on a non-romantic card that could be used for a birthday or just to send someone 'happy post'. I've also got a sneak peek of some new product that will be available at the end of the month as part of this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion. Excited? Well, let's take a look! Here's my card:

Aren't those Spring colours so fresh, after the darker winter colours that we've been using so much of in recent months? The base of my card is Crisp Cantaloupe, one of the feature colours of the Designer Series Paper that I've used, which is one of the products that will be available during Sale-A-Bration this year. I used Sahara Sand for my flag, which I embellished with an In-Colour Boutique Detail and some Calypso Coral baker's twine, but the star of the show is once again the Flowerfull Heart. Sale-A-Bration is always a great time to earn additional products and benefits, and is one of the best times of the year to host a party. I am already taking booking for parties during the Sale-A-Bration period, which runs from 28th January - 31st march 2014, so if you'd like to get in on the action, call me on 07773 421446 or email me joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk to arrange a party today.

A busy day for me tomorrow, with the first of this month's classes. Likely to be something of a challenge, as I have been completely without voice for the last 2 days, nothing more than a faint whisper. I'll let you know how it goes - I think I might have to take a whistle!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Flowerfull Heart Wood-Mount Stamp	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe
Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	In Color Boutique Details	Calypso Coral Baker's Twine	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock
Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad	A Dozen Thoughts

I've another busy day today, so a quick post from me with another 5" square card made using the Flowerfull Heart stamp. This time paired with Strawberry Slush Core'dinations cardstock. So here is today's card:

This card has a lovely textured surface and can be sanded to reveal a monochromatic inside layer which can add real interest to a card. I also like the effect you get when you stamp on it as a result of the textured surface. I edged my heart in Strawberry Slush Ruffle Stretch Trim, which gives this card a rather feminine look. I must confess this card is a little pink and frilly for my taste, but as anticipated, when my daughter looked through my recent samples she declared this card her out and out favourite. Knowing her as I do, there are only two things that could be added to improve further: glitter and sequins!! Maybe not this time, but perhaps that should be my starting point for another card ...

Hoping for a quieter day tomorrow that will allow some time for crafting. Either way my blog post is prepared so I will have something lovely to share with you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Flowerfull Heart Wood-Mount Stamp	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Raspberry Ripple A4 Card Stock
Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Strawberry Slush	Strawberry Slush 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim	2013-2015 In Color Core'dinations

Good day, blog readers! I am sounding cheerier than I am feeling today; having got through Christmas without so much as a sniffle, I'm paying for it now. Since New Year's Eve I have been battling the worst cold I've had in ages - typical. Anyways, not to be deterred, today I have a special announcement - I have a new love in my life! I know you often here me say I love new products, but I an honestly say that I've never had as much fun with a single stamp as I'm having with the 'Flowerfull Heart' stamp that's available as part of the 'Whole Lot of Love' promotion. Along with the other items in this promotion, this stamp is only available until the end of January, but I can assure you I'll be sharing lots of ideas using this stamp this month.

Whilst this stamp is heart-shaped, the flower design means this stamp lends itself to a wide variety of cards, and not all valentine-related. All that said, for my first card I decided upon a classically elegant anniversary card:

I went with the classic colours of Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler and stamped both the image and sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed in Cherry Cobbler embossing powder. You can just see the texture in the photo, but you can't really appreciate the glossy finish which looks beautiful in real life. the other thing I love about this stamp is that it fits inside one of the Hearts Framelits perfectly, so makes cutting out a cinch.

This card is very 'me' and true to my style; I'll be back to share another card I made with this stamp tomorrow. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Flowerfull Heart Wood-Mount Stamp	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Emboss Powder	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Express Yourself	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform
Hearts Collection Framelits Dies

Another quick post from me today in between continuing festivities. We had one of our two annual trips to the pantomime today: this one our family visit to one of the smaller theatres in town, which is always guaranteed to put on a good show. This year was no exception - the performance of 'Wind In The Willows' was one of the best I've seen in some time and we all had a lovely time. If you're local to Northampton you really should visit the Royal before the run finishes - you won't regret it.

Now for today's project! As my regular blog readers will know, one of my other hobbies is biscuit baking and decorating. I've made lots of them in the last few weeks, mostly as gifts for teachers, friends and neighbours. I've packaged them in lots of different ways and often use jars tied with ribbon for my bite-size cookies, but one of my favourite methods of presentation for standard size biscuits has to be the Tag a Bag Gift Boxes - you can decorate and embellish, but I love the 'sneak peek' you get of the contents inside through the acetate sleeve. These boxes are also super sturdy, which is great for transporting their reasonably fragile contents. Many of my boxes were made and gifted before I got the chance to photograph them, but I managed to get a shot of my very last box before its departure: 

I finished the box with a belly band of Pool Party layered with a strip of Winter Frost DSP through the centre and finished with a pretty triple-layered snowflake, just right for my festive snowflake iced gingerbread biscuits in a co-ordinating colourway. This particular box of biscuits was destined for Aaron, the UPS man who delivers my Stampin' Up! parcels all year round; just one of the many people I like to show my appreciation for, especially at this time of year.

Tomorrow I have a special project to share: not a Christmas themed project, but rather something I made for a dear friend of mine as a Christmas gift. Here's a little glimpse just to whet your appetite: 

Hopefully you're intrigued - pop back tomorrow to see the whole thing. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tag A Bag Gift Boxes	Festive Flurry Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Festive Flurry Framelits Dies	Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad
Pool Party A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug
Pool Party Stampin' Emboss Powder	Medium Window Sheets	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

Today I'm going to share another of my Christmas projects, this time a fun packaging solution for a cute chocolate snowman that I bought at my local supermarket. From the outside, it looked like a fairly straightforward nicely packaged box, complete with bow:

It's when the box is opened that the 'reveal' happens - the snowman is sitting in the middle with the inside of the box decorated with four co-ordinating stamped 'snow day' snowmen:

I love the snowman stamp set in the 'Snow Day' set and as soon as I saw the chocolate snowman I knew the two belonged together. The box base uses one 12" x 12" sheet of Crumb Cake cardstock and is a great way to turn a simple chocolate gift into something extra-special.

Today is going to be an early night for me I think; after all the food and excesses of the last few days and a lovely long walk in the fresh air this afternoon, I am absolutely shattered! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Gift Bow Bigz L Die	Season Of Style Designer Series Paper Stack	Snow Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Real Red A4 Card Stock
Crumb Cake 12 X 12 Smooth Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad
Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

Well, it's here at last - Merry Christmas lovely blog readers! We've had a lovely day today that has involved much present unwrapping, eating and Lego building - don't you just love Christmas?!

I still have a few Christmas things that I haven't shared with you, so today thought I would share the Christmas cards I made for my little James juniors. I was inspired by Lizy Bartaby's card here - I loved the idea of the Santa Monster Hugs but took my cards a step further by making them into pop-ups using my Pop 'n' Cuts base; I'm always looking for new ways to use this. So I made a co-ordinating pair of his and hers santa monster hugs. Here's the little girl santa monster:

Cute, huh? Here's the little boy monster that is her partner-in-crime:

How cute are these? I made my hats using an oval punch with a section cut out using the word window punch to create the curve of the hat. I made the brim using a 'squashed' scallop circle as I don't own a scalloped oval punch, which would of course make this slightly easier. A pop up card and chocolate coins - I'm not sure which the children thought was best (who I am kidding - the chocolate, of course!)

I'm sure this won't be the last we'll be seeing of these little guys - but for now, I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa brought you everything that was on your wish list.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Monster Hugs Boy	Monster Hugs Girl	Season Of Style Designer Series Paper Stack	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Christmas Messages Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Merry Minis Punch Pack	Silver Glimmer Paper	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Card Base Pop' N Cuts	Dress Form Pop' N Cuts

Today a quick post to share the Christmas cards I made for my Mum and Dad and Mother-in-law respectively - and a little 'sneak peek' of some new product that will be available in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue at the end of January. I wanted to use the single stamp 'Christmas Star' for my cards; this is such a great statement stamp but feel like I haven't used it anywhere near enough this season. I was inspired by this Brian King card I saw a while ago here. For my version, I decided to use the same design for each card, but create it in two different colourways. Here's the first one in silver and Midnight Muse:

I wanted the star to take centre stage, so kept the design fairly simple and embossed the star then hand cut and scored along the point lines to create a lovely 3-dimensional effect. I adhered the star to the card with rolled glue dots at the end of each point; this is a better option where you don't want the bulk of a dimensional. To finish I added the Christmas sentiment from the 'Delightful Dozen' stamp set.

For the second version, I used gold and Cherry Cobbler:

Did you spot the 'sneak peek' of the new product? Yes, shiny gold sequins - just one of a number of new gold products that will make their appearance in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue in just over a month's time. I just couldn't resist using a few to finish off my Christmas projects.

So here's a picture of both cards together; the question is, which one do you prefer?

I must say, I think it's a tough call - I like them both, and I'm not sure which I would choose as my favourite. Both were well received by the recipients, so I guess that's the main thing!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so will be a day of food preparations for the big day, along with a few fun things too. I'll be back to share another Christmas project too; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Star Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Midnight Muse A4 Card Stock	Midnight Muse Classic Stampin' Pad	Brushed Silver A4 Card Stock
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Brushed Gold A4 Card Stock	Versamark Pad
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Delightful Dozen - Clear-Mount Stamp	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

Well it's been another busy few days here in the James household with a trip to the movies on Friday, a fun trip iceskating yesterday and swimming, grocery shopping and a pre-Christmas festive family get-together this evening. The big day is almost upon us, but I finally managed to get some photographs taken today in between all my last minute Christmas preparations and today would like to share some of my quick but attractive festive packaging ideas for stocking-fillers and small gifts. Here's the first one - a simple pouch made using the envelope punch board:

I made lots of these in various colours to tie in with the Winter Frost DSP stack to package some little gifts for the lovely ladies who have attended my classes over the past year (I can't tell you what's inside though - it's not Christmas Day yet ;-)! )

The second of my projects is a little stocking filler I made for my daughter - a pair of hairclips decorated with Frosted Finishes Embellishments and packaged in a cute little triangular carton that I made using a sheet of the Winter Frost DSP stack:

I embossed the 'warm wishes' sentiment from the 'Snow Day' stamp set using silver embossing powder and it added a real feel of luxury to the finished packaging. For the clips, I simply adhered a Frosted Finishes Embellishments using Crystal Effects to a couple of standard hair clips.

My last packaging idea that I'm going to share today is one of the lovely little muslin bags, which I stamped with the 'Love and Joy' single stamp and decorated with another Frosted Finishes embellishment, a ribbon tie and a little Dazzling Diamonds for some extra sparkle:

These bags are a great size and perfect for a little sweet treat or a small gift such as nail polish or some candles, or maybe a miniature bottle of a favourite tipple, a pack of playing cards or a micro torch for a more masculine gift.

So some easy ideas to make those little gifts extra special.

I have a date with a very large ironing basket tomorrow evening (the exciting life I lead!), but all being well will be back with another post as I've a few more Christmas-themed things to share and am running out of time in which to do it.

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Envelope Punch Board	Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Silver Glimmer Paper
1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch	1 Inch Circle Punch	Merry Minis Punch Pack	Frosted Finishes Embellishments	Silver 1/8" Ribbon
Linen Thread	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Mini Muslin Bags
Love & Joy Wood-Mount Stamp	Marina Mist 3/4" Chevron Ribbon	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details

Well, what can I say - a seven day absence from my blog - unheard of!! I know this is a busy time of year and I've certainly no shortage of lovely things to share with you, but my real issue has been keeping up, both with the photography (lots of makes are leaving the house before being photographed!) and blog writing itself. The James juniors have finished school for the Christmas holidays already, and in addition to all of the usual pre-Christmas preparations, I have been having so much fun with them I've had little time for anything else this past week.

No festive project to share today - instead the alternative trio of cards made following the same layout used in my December Christmas card class (you can see the Christmas versions here) but with distinctly non-Christmas card designs. So here they are:

This one uses some of the Print Poetry paper stack that is currently available to buy on the clearance rack, whilst stocks last. The second one:

This one has quite a retro feel, with the colour scheme inspired by the retired Sycamore Street SAB paper - my customers love this paper, so are still looking for ideas and ways to use it. Lastly, the third card featuring a bow made with the Gift Bow Bigz Die:

This card actually uses a couple of the things we used to make the Christmas card version - the Seasons of Style paper stack paper and the 'Wishing You' stamp set and proves that these things can be used for non-Christmas as well as Christmas cards if you use alternative colours.

I liked the way all three of these cards turned out and the fact that they gave me a few cards to add to my stash ready for the year ahead. This really is a quick post from me, but before I go I thought I'd share one festive picture of the masterpiece created by my super-creative children today - our very first gingerbread house, from scratch! We made the house yesterday and they built and decorated it today. I'm pleased to say it's all their own work - I for one, think it's rather impressive:

Complete with gingerbread boy and girl and Christmas tree in the garden and following a considerable 'snowfall', of course! Tomorrow I have a day of present wrapping in store, so with Christmas music and tape in hand will be a woman on a mission!

I will hopefully not leave it so long before my next post; until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Standard Cutting Pads	Gift Bow Bigz L Die	Sticky Strip	Mini Glue Dots
Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive	1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch	Wishing You Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Season Of Style Designer Series Paper Stack	Circles Collection Framelits Dies
Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies	Feel Goods Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Express Yourself	Brights Candy Dots	Raspberry Ripple Classic Stampin' Pad
Raspberry Ripple A4 Card Stock	Gumball Green A4 Card Stock	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Wisteria Wonder A4 Card Stock
Summer Starfruit A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzleberry A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock