It's nearly time to see all of the lovely items that will be retiring from the current 2021-22 Annual Catalogue!  I'm just popping by to let you know that the Last-Chance Products promotion will go live at 7pm this evening, UK time. All items retiring will be available for LAST CHANCE purchase, with some items that can be discounted by up to 50% - yay for a bargain!

As soon as the list is available, I will upload it here on my blog and share in to my Crafty Owl Creatives Facebook Group.

So set your alarms if you want to be at the front of the queue - there will be bargains to be had!

The new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue goes live today and it's time to announce my new Product Shares!

You know that feeling - you want it all, but your budget just doesn't stretch that far? Well shares are the perfect answer! You get a little bit of everything, without having to purchase a full pack. A share can also act as a 'try before you buy' - you get to see papers, ribbons, buttons and accessories 'up close and personal' before deciding which ones you like the most and would like to purchase as a full pack.

Shares work really easily: you decide which shares and how many you would like to take part in. You place your order by emailing me at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk and I will invoice you and arrange payment. Once the closing date for the first round of shares is reached, I collate the orders, place an order with Stampin' Up! for the product, then once I receive it, I package the papers and send them out to you. Simple!

So much to choose from! I am currently focusing on paper shares and have two different shares on offer:

New Annual Catalogue Designer Series Paper Share - all sheets measure 6" x 6" - £28.50 plus £3 P&P

• Beauty of the Earth – 12
• Bloom Where You're Planted – 12
• Expressions in Ink – 12
• Hand Penned - 12
• In The Wild – 12
• Pansy Petals – 12
• Simply Elegant – 12
• Sweet Symmetry – 12
• Tidings of Christmas – 12
• You're A Peach – 12

In all you'll receive 120  6"x 6" sheets of Designer Series Paper! You can check out the details of the papers in the online catalogue here.

New Colour Family Paper Share - all sheets measure 6" x 6" - £21.50 plus £3 P&P

• Brights – 20
• Neutrals – 20
• Regals – 20
• Subtles – 20 

In this share you will receive a total of 80 sheets of paper. 

Want It All? £50 - and you'll get shares of all the new Designer Series Papers and the new colour family Designer Series Paper Stacks, and that includes postage & packaging! If you choose this option, I will also include a sample of the new Pattern Party hostess papers for FREE!

If you would like double or more shares of any particular thing, then that's fine too. I will cut your paper shares into 6" x 12" sheets where possible to give you more crafting flexibility (for the DSP stacks you will simply get double the number of sheets since they are already pre-cut to 6" x 6").

All postage & packaging quoted is for UK only - if you would like a cost for shipping to Europe, then please email me for a separate quotation.

The deadline to sign up to the first round of shares is Friday 7th May at 9am GMT. 

If you live local to me and would like to save on postage and packaging costs, please email me with your requirements and I will happily place your order, to be ready for doorstep collection on delivery. If you have any questions, just email me at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk or give me a call!

The wait is over - it's May 4th and the new 2021-22 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is here! You will find a permanent link to the new catalogue on the right hand side of my blog but for today you need look no further than the picture below which will take you straight to the new catalogue: 

The new catalogue is fantastic, with so many great new products to choose from. I've sent paper copies to everyone who has shopped with me in the last 6 months; a digital copy of the new catalogue can be accessed via the image above and it will be permanently linked via my blog on the right hand side if you don’t have a paper copy and wish to browse. If you have your paper copy and just want to go straight to the shop to place your order, click here - ordering systems have now fully transitioned from the old stock items to the new so you are good to go! Also, remember to add the current hostess code for May 6N4HU7SN if your order is less than £150 and ensure your preferences are set to 'contactable' to receive a thank you in the post from me.

There are also a couple of promotions that go live today to coincide with the launch of the new catalogue:

The first is the hostess promotion that I talked about in this post. As a reminder, you can earn an additional £20 of hostess rewards when you have party sales of £200 or more between May 4th - June 14th: 

Just because we are still experiencing some social distancing, doesn't mean we can't get together. If you would like to organise a virtual party with me, just let me know - numbers are unlimited and it can be a great way to connect with friends far and wide for a session of crafty fun! 

If your wishlist is long, you might also want to consider a cracking good join promotion that is running through the month of May too: 

It’s a fabulous time to join Stampin’ Up! From 4–31 May, new team members get even MORE FREE products in their customisable Starter Kit: new team members can get £130 £154 worth of products for only £99 + free business supplies + free shipping + all the fun being a part of Stampin’ Up! I would love to chat with you about the benefits of joining my team and being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator; as always, you can always find the link to join my team on the right hand side of my blog page; alternatively it's right here if you fancy jumping right in!

I also have a number of classes lined up in coming months featuring products from the new catalogue - the first of which are detailed below:

• May 10th: Paper Pumpkin Bouquet of Hope Craft Along
• May 24th: Monthly Class: Dragonfly Garden
• June 21st: Monthly Class: Pansy Patch

Full details for these classes can be found on my Facebook Events Page  or alternatively under the 'Events/classes' tab on my website.

That's a lot of information for one post; if I were you I would put the kettle on, put your feet up and get comfy and settle down with your new catalogue for a browse and start creating that all-important wish list!

Back later this morning with today's creative post; until then, happy shopping!

The brand new 2021–2022 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue goes live tomorrow on 4 May 2021, and Stampin’ Up! is having a celebration!

Stampin' Up! is all about connecting with others and sharing our love of crafting. Now when you connect and craft, you'll also collect the rewards! Anyone who places an order of £200+ or holds a party with £200+ in sales between May 4 - June 14 will receive £20 in extra Stampin’ Rewards!!  So that means that you’ll earn £44 at least in Stampin’ Rewards with any order or party of £200+ that is submitted between these dates! Yay!!

Here are the details:

• Customer, workshop and online order types all qualify for this promotion.
• Starter Kit orders do not qualify for this promotion.  But you CAN use your host cash toward the purchase of your Starter Kit, ask me for details!
• The qualifying amount must be reached with merchandise prior to shipping and tax.
• The £20 additional Stampin’ Rewards for this promotion will only be awarded once per order/party.
• Order Deadline:  June 14, 2021; 10:50 PM (BST)

Here is a flyer with the details:

Want to host a catalogue party?

Just because we are still social distancing, doesn't mean you can't still host a Stampin' up! party! If you would like to gather virtually with some friends, I can set up a host code for you and you can have your stamping friends place orders with your host code online.  If your party reaches £200 in sales, you’ll get that extra £20 in host cash when we close out your party! If you’re interested, ask me for details!

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Claire to host this week and she has a sketch challenge for us to work with:

I embraced the layers of Claire's sketch this week and decided to play with some more new goodies from the forthcoming 2021 Annual Catalogue to bring you another 'sneak peek' - this time featuring the Pansy Petals Suite - take a look:

This is what I affectionately like to call a 'kitchen sink' card - because it uses pretty much everything but the kitchen sink! It features three new in-colours: Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen and Polished Pink, along with the Pansy Patch stamp set and co-ordinating Pansy Dies, two different patterns of Pansy Petals designer series paper, some Polished Pink open weave ribbon and even a little gold Bumblebee trinket:

I wanted to get to grips with the layering of the pansy dies so this card was a great way to do that. I did go to town with my new goodies this week - I just couldn't help myself!! I'm linking today's card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where the theme is designer series paper; I really should have used it as an opportunity to use up some of my retiring paper, but when I came to make my card the pansies won out! Are you excited for the arrival of the new annual catalogue? Just over a week to go until it's here - copies will be going out in the post to everyone who has shopped with me in the last 6 months this week. If you would like a copy and you aren't on my mailing list, please get in touch. Meanwhile, I will have more goodbyes to retiring products to share this week!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; I'll be spending mine in the garden enjoying the lovely weather that we've been lucky enough to experience here in the UK this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Laurie to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

I finally received my first pre-order from the new annual catalogue on Friday so couldn't wait to have a play! I decided to take the current Fusion sketch layout and this week's colours over at Just Us Girls to test drive one of my new stamp sets - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Party Puffins - Today's card features a trio of Party Puffins from the new stamp set of the same name. This is such a cute new set; for my card today I stamped and fussy cut two puffins and a birthday cake for the front of my card and popped them up on dimensionals. The third puffin? He was hiding out on the inside of my card:

Black and White ... - This week's theme is 'clean and simple', so a focus on white space, limited layers and little/no embellishments. With this in mind the Fusion sketch was perfect for constraining my design to no more than half of my card front. I used a strip of black-on-white geometric patterned paper from the True Love DSP pack to ground my design and tie in with the black and white of my puffins:

... And A Trio of Colour - I grounded each of my stamped elements on a stitched square in one of the JUGS challenge colours and used the same trio of Blends combos to add colour to my cake and the legs, beaks and party hat of my puffins:

Are these cheeky little chappies not the cutest?! I just love them! Not to long to go until they go on general sale; the new 2021-22 Stampin' Up! annual catalogue will be live on 4th May. I will be packaging mine this week to send out to those customers who have purchased from me in the last 6 months; if you are reading this and you're not on my mailing list and don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like a copy of the new catalogue, then do get in touch with your contact details and I will arrange to get one out to you too.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

The weather has been much brighter here in the UK the last couple of days so I am hoping to get out on my bike today with the rest of the James family. No other fixed plans; whatever you are doing, I hope you are enjoying some nice weather and fresh air too! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TRUE LOVE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMNGO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

Sale-A-Bration may be over for another year, but that's no reason for the excitement to end! From today you can get blooming with an exclusive early release from our new annual catalogue that is due to launch at the beginning of May - the Butterfly Brilliance Suite. Bring in the beauty of nature with the artistic designs of the Butterfly Brilliance Bundle and coordinating designer series paper, along with textured specialty paper that will put a pop of brilliance on every project. 

The suite consists of the following products: 

Prepare yourself for a burst of butterflies with the Butterfly Brilliance Background Stamp. Use this stamp to create projects for Mother's Day, weddings, and more. Pair this stamp with greetings of your choice to customize it for the season or occasion. Stamp the line-art image and add color with your choice of coloring technique, or apply different colors of ink to the stamp before stamping to create a unique look. Whatever you do with it, the results will be glorious.  Create beautifully detailed butterflies for all of your paper crafting projects with the Brilliant Wings Dies. Once you've cut out a swarm of butterflies, you can create a background, make a focal point, or use them as accents. There's so much you can do with these dies - and there's a saving when you but stamps and dies as a bundle - bonus!

Add lovely texture to your creations with the Natural Touch Specialty Paper. The pale woodgrain is versatile enough for any project and any time of year. You can stamp on it, emboss it, and use it with dies. Use large pieces of it as a background or cut out pieces to use as accents. 

This is an exclusive specialty paper that will only be available during the Butterfly Bouquet promotion and while supplies last.

Some people call a group of butterflies a kaleidoscope, and that's what you'll get with the Butterfly Bijou 6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm) Designer Series Paper. Choose from glorious butterfly patterns in shades of aqua, pink, and yellow or watercolored patterns that coordinate beautifully. You can't go wrong with these unforgettable patterns.   

This is also an exclusive Designer Series Paper that will be available only during the Butterfly Bouquet promotion and while supplies last.

Love it all? Why not treat yourself to the Butterfly Brilliance Collection and get butterflies galore! This is also only available for the duration of the current promotion and won't carry over into the annual catalogue when it launches.

So what do you think? Have these butterflies got your heart all a-flutter today? If you can't wait to get your hands on yours, click on the links below to order from my online store:

BUTTERFLY BRILLIANCE CLING STAMP SET (£16.00)	BRILLIANT WINGS DIES (£41.00)	BUTTERFLY BRILLIANCE BUNDLE (£51.25)
BUTTERFLY BIJOU 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	NATURAL TOUCH SPECIALTY PAPER (£4.75)	BUTTERFLY BRILLIANCE COLLECTION (£66.75)

I'll be back shortly with today's post for our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. In the meantime, happy shopping!