Today I'm sharing another of this week's class Christmas cards. This one uses the 'Merry Little Christmas' stamp and some of the papers in the Season of Style paper stack:

I love that the designer series paper stacks in the seasonal catalogue enable you to make some great cards with minimal stamping as the paper does a lot of the work for you in terms of colour and pattern; at £6.25 a stack they are great value for cardmakers too, and each stack has 4 different paper designs to choose from. For this card we stamped a simple flag and layered on some DSP edged with Chocolate Chip and created a couple of smaller flags made from offcuts from other projects. Did you notice the little button beneath the twine bow on the card? We were aiming to keep all of our cards post-friendly and largely flat in design, so instead of adding a real button we instead used a cardstock button made with the Sweet Buttons Embosslits to allow for added detail but without the bulk.

I had my second class of the week last night with a great bunch of ladies, who made me laugh so much my eyes watered! I was also delighted to see some of the great cards they've been making with My Digital Studio having downloaded their 30 day free trial. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, so couldn't take any pictures but will be sure to get some next time to share with you. I was particularly pleased to hear them say how easy they found it to use, with no prior knowledge or experience. If you haven't downloaded your copy yet, I urge you to go to my online store and download your free trial version today. Equally, if you would like to join one of my monthly card classes, do get in touch for more details.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas

Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Season of Style DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Cherry Cobbler

Tools: Sweet Buttons Embosslits, Big Shot, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

A quick post from me today as I'm out again this evening preparing for our school annual bonfire and fireworks display. I promised to share a card with you today, so thought I'd share this lovely festive flurry card that we made in my card class yesterday:

This is a case of a Mary Fish card (you can see her original card here) minus the frosted finish embellishment. Whilst I love the embellishment and you will see them on future blog cards, our class cards are all intended to be post-friendly, so the frosted embellishment on this card had to go! We replaced with a large rhinestone instead to give a little sparkle but not add too much bulk. I love the Winter Frost colours of this card - they have a real fresh and modern feel.

Lastly, it's Tuesday, also known as Digital Download Day. Click on the link below to see all of the new digital downloads available in the online store this week:

There are some great new downloads this week, including calendar and photobook templates that would make lovely Christmas presents. Why not have a click and take a look?

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

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

So I almost didn't blog today for the second day in a row, I've had such a busy couple of days (husband's birthday, daughter's hockey match and swimming gala, birthday lunch, theatre outing and more!) but since today is World Cardmaking Day, I felt I couldn't end the day without sharing a card.

Here's one I made for one of the childrens' friends who celebrated his 8th birthday this week. He was having a spy-themed birthday party, so since we had decided on a suitably themed gift, I had to make a card that was in keeping too. This is what I came up with:

A simple black card base, with a 'Top Secret' stamp on a label fixed with dimensionals and a magnifying or 'spy' glass, made using my Circles Framelits and a piece of clear window sheet. The inside of the card is stamped with 'Happy 8th birthday' which is visible through the magnifying glass. This is quite a cute little card and I'm not sure the photo does it justice; also made a nice change as it's been a few weeks since I last made a boy card!

Hope you've all managed to get more cardmaking done than me today - good job I have a few in reserve! Hoping that I'll manage to squeeze in some time tomorrow to do a little more.

Happy World Cardmaking Day and until next time, happy stampin'.

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a friend of mine who had a very special day today. She is beginning a new chapter in her life and today marked a key milestone - the opening of her new beauty salon. I wanted to make her a card to wish her luck and encourage her look forward and not back. This is the card I made for her:

It's a simple card using the two-stepped stamping of the Too Kind stamp set in Crisp Cantaloupe and Calypso Coral, on a white background that I cut out with a Circle Framelit and part-pierced to add a little interest and draw the eye to the flagged sentiment. The flag is finished with one of the in-colour embellishments. I used the week 139 #10 sketch at Less is More as my inspiration for this card:

As for me, I hand-delivered this card to the recipient today as I was booked in to have a manicure at the same time - too good an opportunity to pass up I think! If you're local to Northampton, I would recommend you check out Pamper Me Beauty - you can link to their Facebook page here and find out more about the services on offer. My nails look lovely; I might have to shoot a video tutorial for you so that I can show them off - any preferences on what you would like to see?

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A quick post from me today to share a wedding card and gift box I made for my friends and neighbours, Annette and Jason, who got married at the weekend. The theme of the wedding was bright pink and the gerbera was a feature flower, both in the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets and on the invitations and wedding favours. Having made the wedding invitations (I will share these in a future post - I have 'mislaid' the photographs I took on completion!), I decided to make a wedding card that was pink but not flower-themed, but I did design a gift box that complemented the overall décor to house their gift.

Here is the card, using the lovely 'From This Day Forward' stamp, inspired by a similar card by Monica Gale here:

I also created a gift box with a belly band with a gerbera design, that echoed the design of the wedding stationery and favours. My box was inspired by this mini version by Sam MacDonald of Pootles Paparcraft here, and although whilst the shape is the same, the overall dimensions are considerably larger! here is my full size version:

Very large, with a 9cm x 9cm square base, and very pink, but more sturdy than a gift bag and much more personal. I finished it off with some retired Melon Mambo organza ribbon (currently available to purchase on the Clearance Rack!) and a die-cut flower with co-ordinating Chalk Talk gift label. here's a close up of the detail:

The sun shone and the wedding day was perfect - what more can you ask for? Congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Harrison - wishing you a happy future together.

Back tomorrow with another project and the detail behind the 2 week £25 sign up offer that begins on October 7th; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used (for the card only):

I promised a creative post today (technically this is a bonus, as I already shared some MDS creativity with you earlier, but I'm not one to split hairs :-)), so here it is. I was inspired by the fabulous autumnal cards I'm seeing on the internet at the moment and when I saw the colour challenge at Create with Connie and Mary this week I thought I'd join in. So here's the colour palette for this week's challenge:

I don't own any of the lovely leafy stamp sets in the current annual and seasonal catalogues (shock, horror!), but I am still the proud owner of a retired 'French Foliage' stamp set, so I combined this set with one of the fabulous new thinlits to create my card:

I stamped off the leaves on some scrap paper first to give a less intense colour, then used the 'thankful' thinlit, layered on some burlap and chevron ribbon to create the true focal point for my card. I love these thinlits and think the 'thankful' just pops on this card in the Bermuda Bay colour cardstock! My top tip to release the cut card easily from the thinlit is to line it with waxed paper first, which enables it to press out easily.

I am also linking this card up to CAS(E) This Sketch #47 this week, where the layout sketch is as follows:

If you would like to purchase any of the supplies used to make this card (except for the stamp set, although there are lots of similar current sets available) please click on the item links to my online store below. My children have a harvest festival at school today and this reminds us all it is a good time to give thanks. I'm sure you, like me, have lots to be thankful for so readers, crafters and customers alike - this card is for you! Back tomorrow with more creative loveliness! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

So not only is it the first of the month, but it's Tuesday, which is also Digital Download Day for the latest My Digital Studio (MDS) Releases. Here is the linky button to the new downloads in my online store:

I've also included the pictures below of this week's downloads just to whet your appetite for what's available - lots of Christmas-themed items to choose from:

These pictures are not clickable - for full details, click on the date icon above which will take you directly to the online store.

For those of you who have taken advantage of the 30 day free trial of the MDS software, I hope you are enjoying exploring the opportunities that MDS has to offer. For those of you that haven't, what are you waiting for?! I have a few projects on the go which I will share with you in future posts, but today I thought I would share a simple postcard I made in MDS just to show you how easy it is. At the recent Stampin' Up! creative tour event I attended in Loughborough, we were challenged to create a postcard in MDS and complete the sentence "I love Stampin' Up! because..."

I used the basic stamps, punches and papers that come with the full £13.95 version of MDS - there are lots and lots to choose from! - and took my inspiration from my answer to the sentence. So here's the front of my postcard: 

I incorporated a number of tricks and techniques that I have picked up following the many learning video tutorials that are available online and just generally having a play. This was the reverse of my postcard:

So what do you think? I don't profess to be an expert, but honestly I really don't think you have to be to create great things. I have been using it to create scrapbook and photo book pages and this appeals to me much more than traditional scrapbooking. It's also a good way to display the many thousands of family photographs I have that just sit on my hard drive and never get seen by anyone but me!

If you would like to explore MDS, go to my online store and download either the 30 day free trial or the full version for just £13.95. For everyone that purchases MDS through my online store, I am happy to provide an 'Introduction to MDS' either in person, by phone or online, to enable you to get started. I will be sharing more of my creations as I complete them and would love to see your makes as you explore MDS too.

Back shortly with yet another post; until then, happy stampin'!

Apologies for the lack of blog posts for the last couple of days - I've had a streaming cold (back to school sniffles passed on by James Juniors - gotta love 'em!) and I also spent all day yesterday at the wedding of my friend and neighbour Annette. I'll share the wedding card and makes another time, but today I've been feeling much better so have managed some crafting and I'm going to sneak in a last minute entry to this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge (and not a stamp in sight!). This is this week's sketch:

When I first saw this sketch, I immediately knew what I was going to do with it - I thought it would make a great Christmas present, topped off with a lovely bow; so, here's my interpretation:

I know this card will need a box rather than an envelope due to the size of the bow on the front, but I just couldn't resist - the new die cut bow provides a great focal point. I angled the ribbon 'ends' downwards rather than out to the sides, because I still wanted the four boxes and the connecting lines to be visible. These bows are so easy to make - they will be decorating lots of my festive packages this season.

I'm also going to link up with Just Add Ink where the challenge this week is 'bows' (JAI #184).

I think I've got the bug for challenges now; I was delighted that my Dasher card from last week was chosen by LeAnne Pugliese as one of the 'A Cut Above' runners up with the Paper Players - if you missed it, you can check it out here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Another Christmas card and another challenge today! I'm loving the Season of Style paper stack, which is just perfect for making lots of Christmas cards and here's one of the designs in all its glory:

I'm entering this card for the Retrosketches #82 Challenge which has this great layout sketch as inspiration:

I stayed with the square shape and orientation and made a feature of the fun 'All I want for Christmas' stamp in the Christmas Messages stamp set. It comes with a co-ordinating stamp, which I've used here on the inside of my card:

The links to the products I used for this card are included below. Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

I'm finally catching up with my festive card making this week and today I'm very excited to be sharing a Christmas card that I've decided to enter into my first ever challenge! I often take my creative inspiration from challenge sketches or colour schemes, but have never before actually entered one of my card creations. So, here goes - this is today's card:

I'm entering my card into The Paper Players Challenge #164: Sandy's Sketch Challenge, which has the following sketch as the inspiration:

I was quite brave as whilst I kept the layout, I swapped out my scalloped circle and edging for chevrons and a more angular look, but since the sketch is for inspiration and doesn't have to be followed literally I'm hoping that's ok. I've been waiting to use Dasher's little brother on a Christmas card, as I was quite upset at the thought of not blogging about his big brother since his retirement at the end of last year, so this card gave me the perfect opportunity. The Early Espresso base is also quite a departure for me, but it seemed right given my reindeer starting point and I like the masculine feel of this card.

Welcome to any new Paper Players who are reading this! I hope you like the card; back tomorrow with another Christmas card to share. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used: