It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It just so happens there are 5 Sundays in April, so we have an extra challenge week! It's my turn to host and as it's tic-tac-toe week there really are so many creative possibilities. Check out my board: 

Choices, choices! I decided to use this week's sketch over at Just Add Ink for my layout and grabbed my Blends again for a spot of colouring to share with the teams at Stamp Ink Paper and SUO Challenges and went across the bottom of my board - yellow, circle, bird (my card also works for the central column of die-cut, ribbon, circle too) - for a sweet baby card, take a look:

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

Flying Home - I love the bird house designs in this set and will be sad to see this set retire next month. Perfect for welcome cards - new home, new baby or even new team member - the selection of images are perfect for colouring too. This is the first time I've used this sweet mama bird and her babies; I went with bright yellow for a unisex baby card and coloured with my Blends; I actually made a whole batch of these so that I have some blanks and can colour the other birds specifically pink or blue too if I need something a little more tailored. 

Circles, Circles - There are lots of different circle elements to my card: the Picture Perfect Party background paper has a fun circle pattern and my main image has been cut out with the largest of my Stitched Circle Framelits. Even the sprinkle of Pool Party sequins add to the theme.

What No Bear? - My sentiment comes from the 'Baby Bear' stamp set. split between the little front banner and finished on the inside of my card. No bears, just birds on today's baby card ;-). Here's a look at the inside, finished off with a couple of yellow birdies 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:

I can't wait to see what you create with this week's board - there really are so many different combinations! I'm so looking forward to visiting your blogs this week! Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Flying Home Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£16.00)	Picture Perfect Party 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£9.00)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£27.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)
Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£7.25)	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock (£7.25)	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)	Daffodil Delight 1/4" Double-Stitched Ribbon (£6.25)	Iridescent Sequin Assortment (£4.50)
Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set (£23.00)

Happy Monday everyone! I have a couple of love-themed cards to share today for the challenges over at CASology, Just Add Ink and Freshly Made Sketches. 

The first one is for CASology and Just Add Ink - when I think 'swoon', I immediately think of a knight in shining armour and the romance that goes with it! Here's mine - take a look:

Here's the low-down on the first of today's cards:

A Magical Knight - I just love the Magical Day stamp set: knights, dragons, mermaids, wizards and a unicorn - what's not to love? I simply stamped my knight in Memento Black onto an extra thick white cardstock base and coloured him in with my Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. 

An Inset Diecut - To add interest to my design, I decided to frame him with a Real Red heart cut with my Sweet and Sassy Framelits. I cut my heart out first, then cut the aperture of the knight's outline using the framelit of his outline from the Magical Mates Framelits set - I then popped my heart up on dimensionals around my stamped knight. 

An Everyday Hero - My sentiment is from the retired stamp set from last year 'Everyday Hero' - perfect for my card! If you don't have this set, you could always recreate the sentiment using the Labeler Alphabet, which would have been my next best 'go to' - no sentiment is out of reach with this one.

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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Magical Day Clear-Mount Bundle	Sweet & Sassy Framelits Dies	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack
Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack	Ivory Stampin' Blends Marker	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad

My second card today is for Freshly Made Sketches:

I love a good sketch and I decided this one would be perfect to highlight an annual catalogue set I haven't used in ages - take a look:

Here's the low-down on the second of my cards today:

A Baby Bear Valentine - I've only used Baby Bear previously to make new baby cards and whilst I was browsing my catalogue for inspiration remembered he had a sentiment that is perfect for Valentine's Day or simply to send a card full of love too. 'Love you beary much' - both punny and sweet! I stamped my bear in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede for a traditional teddy look.

A Split Sentiment - Whilst my sentiment across the bottom as per the sketch comes from the Baby Bear stamp set, I creatively masked it to omit the word 'Love' as I had other plans for that! I snipped the word 'love' out of the 'lovely' heart diecut in the Lovely Words Thinlits set and mounted it on a Sweet and Sassy red diecut heart for my teddy bear to hold. I'm guessing it could be a cushion or maybe a box of chocolates - here's hoping anyway!

All Heart - With the neutrals of my teddy bear, I wanted some traditional red to add to my 'sending love' card, so I paired my diecut red heart with some retired 'Stacked With Love' retired designer series paper from my stash - only an abundance of red hearts will do! I love this fun colour combination - here it is if you'd like to save it for your future inspiration:

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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. I'm also linking this card up for my second entry at SUO Challenges - my background definitely has hearts-a-plenty to fit with their theme this week!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set	Sweet & Sassy Framelits Dies	Lovely Words Thinlits Dies	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

I'm back today with some great news for the start of November: from today we have the early release of a new product from the 2017-18 annual catalogue, Stitched Shapes Framelits, and a product promotion!

A Great New Product

Let’s start with the Framelits: the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies are a set of 12 dies that include four circles, four ovals and four squares that coordinate with our Layering Circles, Ovals and Squares.  Brilliant!

These new dies are available for purchase beginning November 1 – that’s today!

So, what makes these Framelits a necessity?  When run through the Big Shot, these dies leave a detailed stitch around the edge of the Framelit.  The stitched look is so on-trend right now and will add a great extra touch to your stamped projects. Here’s a video with details about the new dies and some great project ideas:

Aren't they great? You are definitely going to want to add these to your framelit collection.

Here are the measurements for these new shapes:

Circles:  1-3/8″, 1-7/8″, 2-3/8″, 2-7/8″

Squares: 1-3/16″, 1-5/8″, 2-1/8″, 2-5/8″

Ovals: 1-3/4″ x 13/16″, 2-1/4″ x 1-5/16″, 2-3/4″ x 1-13/16″, 3-1/4″ x 2-5/16″

25% Off Selected Stamp Sets

What's more, there's a promotion to run alongside the launch of these new framelits too! As if the new Stitched Shapes Dies weren’t great enough…there is also a long list of stamp sets from the Autumn-Winter Catalogue and Annual Catalogue are available for 25% off during November.  Yes, you heard it - 25% OFF! here's the complete list:

Right - I'm off to put in my order for these fabulous new framelits and then get on with my busy day of back-to-back classes. I will be back later with today's project blog post; until then, happy shopping! Oh and don't forget to use this month's hostess code SQN297RD when placing your order online to get a little thank you in the post from me!

Greetings From Santa Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Greetings From Santa Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set	Merry Mice Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Merry Mice Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Tin Of Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set	Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set	Blooms & Wishes Photopolymer Stamps

I had a lovely day yesterday in my memory keeping workshop with a lovely group of mums, however was utterly worn out last night! I've had a busy day today however I'm squeezing in a quick post this evening with a sweet card I made this afternoon for a couple of challenges:

I love this week's Mojo Monday sketch and knew immediately what I wanted to do with it; my card today also features one of my favourite new designer series papers - perfect for this week's challenge over at SUO Challenges where this is what they are asking us to use. Here's my card:

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

Thank You Beary Much Baby Bear - I was lucky enough to win this coveted Baby Bear stamp in a prize patrol at Onstage in April and whilst I've used her lots and experimented with different colours and techniques, this is the first time I've shared her on my blog. She is a triple-layer stamp and has such wonderfully textured fur, just like an old fashioned traditional teddy bear. I find it easier to stamp the images in reverse to get better alignment - here I've stamped layer 3 in Soft Suede, layer 2 in Soft Suede stamped off once and layer 1 in Crumb Cake stamped off once.

Affectionately Yours - The Affectionately Yours designer series papers are just lovely; the copper embossed papers are very special, however my favourites are the prints that include Night of Navy - they are so different to anything we've had in a while, and I just love the vibrant colours. My choice today was deliberate, both to tie in with my Crumb Cake teddy bear and also because I had a plan for those flowers - read on...

Not Just A Tree Builder Punch - I decided to add a punched flower necklace to my bear, along with a flower pinned to her head (hence her being a female bear) that would echo the print on the paper. I used the little flower on the Tree Builder Punch to create my embellishments - just the right size to pretty up my bear - and I added a few pearls to the centres to complete them.

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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another project for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper	Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tree Builder Punch	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Banner Triple Punch	Pearl Basic Jewels