It's Wednesday so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.

As always, 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 Hostess Code for October (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right) 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:

Ampersand Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Basic Metal Buttons	Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Jumbo Sticky Rounds
Regals Designer Buttons	Spook Central Designer Ensemble - Digital Download	Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

This week is all about Textured Impressions Embossing Folders - there are three different ones to choose from! Along with buttons, this week's MDS ensemble and jumbo sticky rounds, useful for flowers!

As always, these offers will only be around for one week, so don't delay - get shopping!

DON'T FORGET: 2 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE FREE PACK OF PAPER FOR 6 MONTHS SIGN UP DEAL ENDS - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN MY STAMPIN' UP! TEAM TODAY!

It's Wednesday and time for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have a playful colour palette for you to work with this week:

For my card, I took my inspiration straight from this week's challenge badge and those lovely spooky mason jars and decided to create a similar effect with the aid of my Silhouette Cameo - take a look:

I couldn't find a suitable file in My Digital Studio to work with, so I downloaded this Halloween Graveyard scene from the Silhouette store and cut it out of Basic Black. For the background, I sponged a panel of Whisper White using each of the challenge colours, having first masked off a circle with a post-it note punched with a 1 3/4" circle punch for my moon. I'm surprised at just how well these three colours blend together to create the spooky scene - it's really quite atmospheric. I left the front of my card sentiment-free and added one to the inside, as I didn't want to interrupt my picture.

So what do you think? This card was surprisingly easy to create with my e-cutter. Feel free to leave a comment on today's card, before hopping over to check out the amazing cards by the rest of the Colour Me...! team:

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad
Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad	Stamping Sponges	1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch

Well, Stampin' Up! 2014 Inspire Create Share Convention - what a blast! I had the best ever time and for those of you following my Facebook page you will have seen some of the photos of what I got up to. Here are some of my favourite pictures, along with the Convention highlights video:

This is me with (from left to right) Katie Adams, from the Stampin' Up! USA Home Office, and my fellow 'In a Nutshell' presenters: Kerry Timms, Pip Todman and Miriam van Eyden at our pre-Convention live theatre run through.

Me and the world famous Mannekin Pis - well, no visit to Brussels is complete without this photo, right?!

 My big moment - the start of the second of my presentations on 'Simple, Fun Experiences' - the highlight of my Convention for sure.

One of my camera-shy downlines, Samantha, showing off her special pin to commemorate her milestone 10K Sales achievement - I'm so proud of her!

Pip, Miriam and I at the after-awards night party - looking altogether more relaxed with our presentations out of the way!

Goofing around with two of my fellow Passionettes, Netty Turner and Monica Gale, my Stampin' Up! Grandma!

This is the chocolatier in the window of the Godiva shop dipping strawberries in chocolate; Samantha and I shared a cone, because we convinced ourselves this was definitely one of our five a day!

This is me with one of my new Dutch Pinkie friends, Caroline van der Straaten - Samantha and I shared a hotel with 28 Pinkies and they are such a good bunch, really fun! So much so, I was made an honorary Pinkie - with team shirt and co-ordinating luggage!

Lastly, another team photo and the official Convention highlights video (look out for me!):

Doesn't that look like fun?! If you would like to join my team and I at next year's Convention, which will be held from 12-14 November 2015 in Brussels, what better time to get on board? There's just 3 days left until the current sign up deal that includes a free pack of Designer Series Paper each month for the next 6 months ends - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN MY STAMPIN' UP! TEAM TODAY!

We are a fun, team with a mix of business and hobby demonstrators and I would love to welcome you to join us.

Back tomorrow with my Design Team card for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! and a new set of Wednesday weekly deals. Until then, happy stampin'!

DON'T FORGET: 4 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE FREE PACK OF PAPER FOR 6 MONTHS SIGN UP DEAL ENDS - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN MY STAMPIN' UP! TEAM TODAY!

I'm back from Convention and will have more news on that tomorrow. Today has been all about catching up with my family, but I wanted to write a quick post to let you know that today Stampin' Up! has launched a new supplement to the Autumn-Winter Seasonal catalogue with a handful of new products that are guaranteed to get you in the mood for the festive season: 

If you click on the above image, it will take you to the full supplement. There are two main great products that I would really like to highlight to you:

The Many Merry Stars Simply Created Kit - everything you need to create 26 stars that can be used as home décor or boxes for festive packaging and the largest of which measures a whopping 38 cm in diameter and would make a lovely alternative to a wreath with the addition of some wide ribbon. Check out the picture below showing just some of what's included, as demonstrated by Pam Morgan at the European Convention in Brussels this past weekend:

There is a also the 'Hello December' Project Life kit - perfect if you like to keep a 'daily December' record during the festive season.

I will be offering classes using both of the above products - I already have a Many merry Stars class scheduled for 24th November so if you'd like to attend call or email me for more details, more details on additional classes to follow - but meanwhile, do take a look at the supplement as all the items contained within it are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST - if you want to get you hands on them, I suggest you hop on over to the online store or give me a call as soon as possible to add your order to the one I'm placing tomorrow.

Back tomorrow with more creativity and fun; until then, happy stampin'!

Many Merry Stars Simply Created Kit	Hello December Project Life Card Collection	Hello December Project Life Accessory Pack	Project Life December Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set
Many Merry Stars Photopolymer Stamp Set	12 Days Of Christmas Wood-Mount Stamp Set

DON'T FORGET: 5 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE FREE PACK OF PAPER FOR 6 MONTHS SIGN UP DEAL ENDS - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN MY STAMPIN' UP! TEAM TODAY!

As you read this I'll be on my way home from Stampin' Up!'s European Convention and will undoubtedly have some pictures to share later this week, but meanwhile it's time for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players and Sandy has a clean and simple yet glitzy challenge for us this week:

We are using silver or gold on our cards this week - think Encore ink, embossing, sequins, glitter - so many possibilities! I decided to go with silver paired with white, and chose to use the lovely Bright and Beautiful stamp set and co-ordinating star framelits for my clean and simple card:

I used Whisper White as my card base and stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder. I did the same with the middle-sized star in the set, but cut this out using a framelit and layered it on a second star cut out of Brushed Silver cardstock using dimensionals, having glued the silver star to my card base. I added a sprinkling of Frosted Sequins to finish my clean and simple card. This would be a great card to make a lot of if you wanted to make a dent in your Christmas cards - you could switch the base card colours and even make in gold too to ring the changes and it doesn't take a large volume of supplies.

Hope you like today's card - check out this week's challenge page over at The Paper Players to see what the rest of the Design Team have been up to - there are some amazing cards to see as always. We look forward to seeing what you come up with this week!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bright & Beautiful Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Stars Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Frosted Sequins	Brushed Silver A4 Card Stock

DON'T FORGET: 9 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE FREE PACK OF PAPER FOR 6 MONTHS SIGN UP DEAL ENDS - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN MY STAMPIN' UP! TEAM TODAY!

It's Wednesday and time for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have a subtle colour palette for you to work with this week:

This colour palette presented me with the perfect opportunity for a card using the 'colour blocking' technique that I've had in my head for a while. Take a look at my card and then I'll explain:

Colour blocking is the technique of using large blocks of colour to create a solid background and works really well as a background for silhouette shapes in black or white or where you have one large image that you can reverse-block on top, as I've done here with the babygro onesie. I created my colour block background out of three equal pieces of cardstock in the challenge colours running horizontally across my card. I stamped my sentiment in the darkest colour, Island Indigo, onto the lightest one, Crisp Cantaloupe, and then picked out each of the colours in the embellishments: a Soft Sky button, some Island indigo baker's twine and a trio of Crisp Cantaloupe hearts.

Deceptively easy but rather effective I think and a technique that could work with lots of different colour combinations. So what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment on today's card, before hopping over to check out the amazing cards by the rest of the Colour Me...! team:

Baby's First Framelits Die	Baby, We've Grown	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe
Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment	Subtles Designer Buttons
Whisper White A4 Card Stock

It's Wednesday so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.

As always, 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 Hostess Code for October (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right) 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:

Cannery Set Framelits Dies	Circle card Thinlits Die	Floral Frames Framelits Dies	Label Card Thinlits Die
Spooky Treats Designer Template - Digital Download	Tag A Bag Gift Bags	Truly Grateful

Lots of framelits this week - the retired cannery set, but also the lovely circle and label thinlit flip card dies - great for making cards that are a little different. The Floral Frames thinlits are on offer too! There's also the Truly Grateful stampset for some last minute Thanksgiving/harvest cards, an MDS download for Spooky Treats but the real bargain of the week has to be the Tag a Bag Gift Bags - just £2.81 for a pack of 10 food-safe bags, perfect for festive treats!

So what are you waiting for? Click on the links and head off to the shop! Back later with today's creative post. Until then, happy shopping!

DON'T FORGET: 10 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE FREE PACK OF PAPER FOR 6 MONTHS SIGN UP DEAL ENDS - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN MY STAMPIN' UP! TEAM TODAY!

As promised, I have a Christmas card for you today! When I saw the colour palette over at Create with Connie and Mary this week I knew it was time to dust off my Wondrous Wreath set which hasn't seen much action of late and put it to good use:

 Before we get onto today's card, I want to give a big shout out to the lovely ladies over at the Create With Connie and Mary Design Team - I was fortunate to be one of their top picks for my Mingle All The Way snowflake card last week and as always have pinned the winners badge to my Pinterest page with pride (click here if you would like to check my progress against all the challenges I enter!) They are an amazing bunch who often share amazing cards and projects and I highly recommend you check them out. So, on to my card! I thought these colours would be perfect for a Christmas Wreath on a nice Hardwood front door, so this is what I came up with:

I created my panelled door using a base of Baked Brown Sugar and then layered some pieces in the same colour stamped with the Hardwood stamp in Baked Brown Sugar ink, having stamped the edges to add some definition. For my wreath, I decided to stamp the same colour ink onto the cardstock for both my wreath and flowers to give a deeper and more intense finish and added a die cut ribbon and bow to hang it from the door. I finished my flowers with some tiny pearls to add a little interest and contrast. I decided to mount my wreath flat so that my card can be added to my 'post friendly' pile. However I am in something of a quandary; this is one of the few cards I've made with no sentiment on the front because I wanted to be able to see my door, and whilst I really like it, I keep looking at it and wondering if it needs a red and white sentiment banner across the bottom. What do you think? I'm still undecided - feel free to leave a comment below if you think it needs modifying!

Back tomorrow with my Design Team card for Colour Me...! and the new Wednesday Weekly Deals - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wonderous Wreath Photopolymer Bundle	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Hardwood	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad
Card Stock A4 Baked Brown Sugar	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Garden Green A4 Card Stock
Basic Pearls Jewel Accents

Monday already - where does the time go?! This week promises to be full of fun and excitement, but for today there is lots to be done! I have a Stampin' Up! party to prepare for this evening and I need to put the finishing touches to tomorrow's project class, so a nice early blog post is most definitely the order of the day! As Halloween approaches, lots of the current colour challenges have colour palettes to match - today's card uses this week's colours over at Pals Paper Arts and this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

There are some great examples on the challenge page where these colours have been used in a non-traditional way, but I decided to stick with the spooky theme and create another Halloween card - take a look:

I used a base of Basic Black cardstock, then used a panel of Tangelo Twist that is narrower than the base and popped up on dimensionals. I used my little letter thinlits to cut the word 'BOO' out of the length of the orange cardstock, then I used my Fun Fall framelits to cut two ghosts out of Very Vanilla and adhered these to the edge of the Tangelo Twist piece, aligning the 'O's to look like the ghost's mouth - they really look like they're floating off the edge of the card. I finished with a stamped sentiment and tied some black and white baker's twine around the Tangelo Twist layer and tied in a bow.

Whilst I used the negative space of the die cut letters for my card, the letters themselves didn't go to waste - I stamped some bats from 'Freaky Friends' onto a Very Vanilla envelope then adhered my 'Boo!' on top to add interest. Waste not, want not, as the saying goes!

I hope you like today's fun spooky card; back tomorrow with something altogether more Christmassy! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Fun Fall Framelits Dies	Ghoulish Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Little Letters Thinlits Die	Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Basic Black Baker's Twine
Stampin' Dimensionals

Good evening lovely blog readers! Now I know it's Sunday and for me that's normally an early post with my Design Team card for The Paper Players, right? Well, those lovely ladies have given me a week off as I'm heading to Brussels for Stampin' Up!'s European Convention later this week and so won't be around to comment on all the lovely cards in the challenge gallery or choose my favourite. This week Ann has a colour challenge for you so why not pop over to The Paper Players challenge blog for some great design team inspiration and to link up your card? If you need a little inspiration from me, check out my card for Sandy's sketch challenge a couple of weeks ago - you can find it here - as by complete coincidence I used this week's challenge colour palette on my card. I'll be back 'with the programme' next Sunday and my blog post will be scheduled to go live before I return home from Brussels, so normal service will resume then.

For those of you that don't already know, Stampin' Up!'s European Convention is an annual event that is exclusive to demonstrators and is a great opportunity to meet other demonstrators, craft, gain business insight and knowledge and be rewarded for achievements in sales and recruitment throughout the year. I will be bringing you more information about the event here on my blog later this week and will be sharing news and excitement via my Facebook Page whilst I'm away too, so if you haven't already 'liked' my page, hop on over and do it today so that you don't miss out on all the latest news, excitement and maybe even a few 'sneak peeks'.

Anyway, onto the crafty stuff! I managed to squeeze in some crafting today so made a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches, which had the following sketch for inspiration:

This is what I decided to do with it:

I decided to use my Santa Stache Santa stamp - gotta love that mustache! - which I coloured with my Blendabilities markers, and combined it with some of the bold striped paper from the Trim The Tree DSP paper stack for the patterned panel.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Santa Stache Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Mustache Framelits Die	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Skin Tone Assortment	Garden Green A4 Card Stock
Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Trim The Tree Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad