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:

My second post of the day today, so a quick creative one this time! I just wanted to share some thank you cards I made recently for some customers to pop into the bags with their orders. I made quite a few, so needed something that was quick to execute. I decided to use a selection of the butterflies in the Papillion Potpourri stamp set to create this simple one layer card:

I used the lovely pre-cut and scored Stampin' Up! notelets and the colour scheme was inspired by the Birthday Basics DSP that I also had out on my desk to make the card I'm going to share with you tomorrow. A simple sentiment and a co-ordinating stamped envelope and voila - a pretty card set in no time at all!

Don't forget, the Papillion Potpourri stamp set and co-ordinating Bitty Butterfly punch bundle is available to order at a 15% discount during the month of September, so you have just under a week to take advantage of this offer. If you live local to me, I will be placing an order later this week so if you would like to save on p&p contact me to add you order to it. Otherwise just go to my online store to place your order by clicking on the supplies links below or for the bundle on the right hand side of my blog page.

Also, if you haven't yet checked out the Clearance Rack in my online store, go take a look! There are some great bargains to be had, with some items as much as 80% off.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Today's card is one I made for a dear friend of mine to celebrate a recent achievement. It was also my first attempt at rolled paper flowers! Here is the card I made:

I used the lovely new Afternoon Picnic papers as the basis for my colour scheme, as I seem to have lots of the Wisteria Wonder lilac card in my box which I never use (much more of a Brights girl!). I love how it tones in with the Coastal Cabana blue and the ruffle trim and paper flowers make for a very feminine card. This stamp from the 'Feel Goods' stamp set is one of my favourites and is perfect for someone celebrating a milestone or achievement, or even motivating along the way.

The funny thing is, my friend surprised herself with her achievement, yet it didn't surprise me one bit - I knew she could do it. Isn't it funny how sometimes others have more faith in us than we have in ourselves? So whilst she didn't 'believe she could' beforehand, as I wrote inside her card I don't have a stamp that says 'She believed she couldn't ...' - it just wouldn't be right! I made the front oval section of the card detachable though and attached a magnet to the back, so that when she's done looking at the card she can attach the oval section to her fridge door and use the magnet to remind her that she can do great things - sometimes we just need to believe in ourselves.

That's my motivational talk over for today - back tomorrow with some butterflies! until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today I've a quick post to share the second of the cards I made for my Dad's birthday. This one was from the grandchildren - a classic punch art card, which is fitting as he's a keen golfer:

This card took no time at all to make - the most complicated thing was creating the dimples on the golf ball with my Simply Scored stylus, hardly time-consuming!

In between playing golf, my Dad is also a keen gardener and has kept an allotment for many years. For some time now, he and his fellow allotmenteers have been plagued by a once tame pet rabbit gone wild, which is eating large quantities of their carefully tended crops. Ben thinks the whole thing is fascinating and spends much of his time hatching plans to catch the rabbit and discussing their merits with Grampa. Ben is utterly convinced that he is going to be the one to catch the rabbit; if he ever succeeds, I'll let you know!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Small Oval Punch, Simply Scored, Stamp-ma-jig, For my Family (retired), Brights DSP (retired)

If you're local to Northampton, you will probably have heard about the Northampton Clown - he has been big news here in the last week or so, even reaching the dizzy heights of the national press. He's been trending on Twitter, has his own hashtag and social media page - and he is the inspiration for this birthday card that I made for my Dad, who celebrates his birthday today:

I've had the idea of an abstract face with a moustache ever since I bought my Petite Curly Label Punch and decided to create a clown face, complete with red nose, specs and candy-dot topped party hat. This little trio bear absolutely no resemblance to the Northampton Clown, but were fun to create nonetheless!

Here's a close-up of one of them, showing the piercing I used to give the face shape:

Back tomorrow with the card I made for Grampa from James Juniors; until then many happy returns of the day Dad and to everyone else, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Did you know that 16-23rd September is National Cupcake Week here in the UK? Not that I need an excuse for a good cupcake, but this is surely reason enough! With this in mind, I have a cupcake card for you today, but alas of the paper rather than edible kind! Here's my card:

Starburst cards are very popular at the moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity to use up some of my retired Patio Party DSP which has a number of cake-themed papers to echo the punched cake that features in the foreground. This card would work equally well with any of the current papers though, if you wanted to create something similar. As you can see, the sentiment uses a combination of one of the ones in the Create a Cupcake stamp set and another personalisation from my retired 'For My Family' set. This was the card I made from the children for Granny's birthday last week, although I must confess the cakes on the card look somewhat more tasteful than the chocolate-covered rainbow sugar creations the children made the last time they baked with Granny - they definitely wouldn't taste as good though!

Back tomorrow with the first of my projects using some of my new Christmas goodies; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

This is a short post I'm afraid - I've already typed this once and lost it, so am furiously retyping (I'm blaming the computer rather than the operator though - bloggers prerogative!) Today I'm sharing another of the mosaic cards from last week's class, this time showcasing the Quatrefancy Speciality Designer Series Paper:

This is a CASe of a Janine Tinklenberg card that I saw on Pinterest. I love the bold colours of the designer paper and the stamped punched images really make it 'pop'. There really is so much you can do with this product suite; this card is simple in design, yet so effective.

Did you notice that all the cards in this month's class also featured the Banner Greetings stamp set? This is an exclusive hostess set that you can purchase with hostess credits earned on a qualifying party or individual order (£150 or more). There has never been a better time to host a party, with so many lovely new hostess sets in both the annual catalogue and Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue to choose from. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to an early Christmas present of free crafting goodies and book a party with me today - get in touch to discuss available slots, there are still times available before Christmas.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hope you've all enjoyed a lovely weekend; mine's been great, but I must confess to not enjoying the weather; it feels like autumn has arrived with a vengeance and I don't much care for it. I am missing the Florida sunshine! Anyway, today's card is one we made in last week's Mosaic Madness class:

I've seen a few versions of this card on Pinterest and this is my take - bold and bright in Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay. This was one of the more complicated cards we tackled, as it involves two-step stamping and accurate placement using the stamp-a-ma-jig to place the mosaic stamps accurately on the white flag. Some of my ladies chose to cheat a little and stamp their images onto scrap card and then punch them out and glue them to the flag, trimming to fit; that's fine too.

I really love this colour combination and the combination of the stamps with matching embossing folder is just right. This embossing folder is one of the most versatile and the pattern can be used either embossed or debossed, each giving a different effect. One last thing before I go - I hope you like the new-look supplies list at the end of this post. From now on, the idea is to show each of the products used with a direct line to my online store. This will make it really easy for you to purchase items and take advantage of any online hostess codes or offers or simply order your items any time, day or night. You may notice a few tweaks over the next few days as I make this happen, but if you have any questions about online ordering, please get in touch.

I'll share our other class cards with you this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies used:

Last week it was my mother-in-law's birthday and today I'm sharing the birthday card I made for her, using my Chalk Talk set for the first time:

I had some of the lovely pink wide ribbon left over from the Spring-Summer Seasonal Catalogue earlier in the year and I wanted this to be a real feature of this card, so the actual stamping is understated. I really love the sentiment on this Chalk Talk stamp and for someone who is such an integral part of our family, it was especially appropriate for this card. Also, did you notice the background paper - wondering where I got this from? Well, I made it myself using the 'Mum' stamp from the retired 'For My Family' stamp set. I'm really pleased with how it turned out - and I didn't even use a stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up! I love the colour combo too - I'm really into Bermuda Bay at the moment and I think it works really well with the pinks in this card.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Chalk Talk, For My Family (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits, Extra Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Magnetic Platform

Finishing Touches: 1 1/4" Two Tone Ribbon (retired), Basics Rhinestones

A quick post from me today, as I'm still recovering from last night's 'Mosaic Madness' card class. Today's card is a punch art birthday card. When trying to decide what kind of card to make for this discerning young male teenager, I decided it had to have something to do with either bikes, skateboards or music. So a quick search for inspiration (gotta love Pinterest!) and I decided on a punch art iPod. Here's my finished card:

I must confess I don't actually own an iPod, so I hope it's sufficiently true to design to be recognisable! Either way, it's the thought that counts, right?! I hope so, as this was also belatedly delivered; but both I and the recipient were on holiday on the day itself, so mitigating circumstances I think!

Hope you like it; back tomorrow with another birthday card. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pacific Point, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Brights DSP (retired)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Pacific Point

Tools: Circle Punches (various), Corner Punch