Happy Monday everyone! An early and super-quick post from me today as I take a trip down memory lane with a clean and simple card inspired by a few challenges that caught my eye this week:

I couldn't resist that pink typewriter in the Fusion photo and delved into the retired stamp box to find my 'TapTapTap' stamp set that had the perfect image - take a look:

Do you remember this stamp set? The typewriter meant it was always going to be a keeper for me; for today's card I stamped it in Memento Black and coloured it with my Polished Pink Blends markers. Whilst I love the Fusion sketch too, I decided instead to use the sketch over at AAA Cards and stamped my alphabet of typed letters behind for the horizontal element. I'm also linking up over at CASology where the cue word is 'type' so today's card is right on point.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that I used a typed 'thank you' sentiment on the paper in my typewriter and if you own(ed) this stamp set, will also know that this isn't a sentiment that it includes. Some clever masking and use of my Stamparatus made it easy to create this custom sentiment using other elements of the set - for a more complete explanation, check out this older post.

No visual summary or supplies list today - today's card is simply for your viewing pleasure. I would so love to own a pink retro typewriter just like this one! Enjoy your day; I will be getting together with a bunch of lovely ladies for a class this morning, where we will be making Christmas packaging - fun! Then more class planning and blog posts to follow before I head out on my afternoon school run  - the life of a busy Mum and part-time Stampin' Up! demonstrator is always a full one!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project - my second week hosting our challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. Today we have a new sketch challenge for you:

When I made this card I was still waiting for my box of new catalogue goodies to arrive, so was rather restricted in terms of supplies - I was actually missing having a selection of DSP for all those layers! I decided to go with a rather loose interpretation of the sketch and build the layers using stamps; here's my card:

I decided to rotate the sketch through 90 degrees, although I stuck with the vertical shape, and use the 'tap tap tap' stamp set and create a teacher thank you card. I stamped the first two panels onto my Pool party base with the alphabet stamp in Island Indigo and the tap tap in Pool Party. I used a piece of Whisper White stamped with the notepaper stamp in Pool Party for my central panel, rounding the corners with my Project Life corner rounder. I also punched the top with my now retired spiral border punch, but you could just as easy leave this edge straight. I stamped 'TO MY TEACHER' using my Rotary Alphabet stamp - so useful for bespoke messages and sentiments - and added a bright Real Red typewriter that I stamped in Versamark then heat embossed in clear, then coloured the keys in with my black Stampin' Write marker.

There are two fun elements to my card that you might be wondering where they came from: the red apple and leaf is punched using my new Tree Builder punch and painted with Crystal Effects for added shine and secondly, the thank you sentiment on my paper pieced paper in the typewriter. This isn't one of the sentiments that comes with this set - I created it by using my stamp-a-ma-jig and inking a combination of parts of the other sentiments in the set to spell 'thank you'. The 'a' is from the word 'tap' - and I love how it stands out slightly from the others, it looks like a proper old typewriter font.

If you would like to see a more literal interpretation of this week's sketch, I also used it for yesterday's card which you can see here. Looking forward to seeing what you do with our sketch this week. As for me, I have a team meeting planned today and a bunch of household chores. I'll be back tomorrow with more creative inspiration for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

The children are back to school today so a sense of normality has been restored - or blogging normality at least, with a nice early post! Today I have a relatively quick, clean and simple card to share that uses this week's Freshly Made Sketches sketch as my inspiration:

I decided to take a break from the lovely seasonal catalogue and ink up my 'Tap, Tap, Tap' stamp set that I've had for ages, but has been languishing unused on my shelf. I thought the typewriter would make an interesting take on the 'any shape' element of the sketch - take a look at my card and see what you think:

I used Very Vanilla as my card base and stamped the alphabet border strip in black onto Coastal Cabana for my diagonal piece and after adhering to my card base, tied a piece of co-ordinating thick baker's twine around the middle of it. After stamping the 'tap, tap, tap' stamp a couple of times onto my card base, I then stamped my typewriter on a piece of Very Vanilla and coloured it with my Smoky Slate and Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities, before fussy cutting out adding to my card with a couple of dimensionals. This is where the 'relatively' quick and simple comes in, as I spent a pleasant 5 minutes or so colouring in - there may have been quicker ways to execute this card, but I find colouring in theraputically relaxing, so it was no hardship. Here's a close-up of my tyepwriter: 

I love this old-fashioned typewriter stamp and if I had a typewriter like this, it would definitely be a red one!! If like me you too are a fan of Stampin' Up! Blendabilities, don't forget you can claim a set as your free gift during Sale-A-Bration with every purchase of £45 or more. Many of my customers are using this as a great opportunity to expand their marker collections and Sale-A-Bration runs until the end of March, so there is still plenty of time to take advantage of this offer. Just click on the links below to go straight to my online store or give me a call. My next technique class on 9th March also features the new Pink Pirouette Blendabilities and the lovely stamp set 'Indescribable Gift', so if you live in or around Northampton and would like to join me, do get in touch to book your place.

That's me done for today - I'm off to finish preparations for this week's classes. I'll be back tomorrow with another project, but until then happy stampin!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tap Tap Tap Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment

Happy Monday everyone! It might be raining outside but I guarantee today's card will cheer you up! It's a Halloween card with a difference using this week's sketch over at The Paper Craft Crew:

This sketch is quite similar to the sketch from a couple of weeks ago (you can see my card for that sketch here - and this card earned me a Featured Artisan spot too, so thank you Paper Craft Crew!) and whilst I did choose to use the word bubbles literally, the layout of this sketch was perfect for something that I've been wanting to create for a while - a Halloween joke card! Take a look: 

Fun, eh?! Every time I've looked at using the witch and cat from 'Freaky Friends' together, the witch just looks to me like she is saying something to the cat - so I decided a suitably-themed joke was in order! I made my card 6" square and used a Whisper White card base, covering the entire front section with a piece of Motley Monsters DSP and matting my central Whisper White panel with a mat of Bermuda Bay.

I stamped the witch and cat in Memento Black ink and coloured in the open spaces with my Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand and Tangerine Tango Stampin' Write marker pens. My joke is computer-generated, which I printed out on Whisper White then inked the borders of the Just Sayin' stamps that co-ordinate with the Word Bubble framelits with my markers and stamped these over the top using my stamp-a-ma-jig for placement before rolling out with my Big Shot. I stamped the alphabet letters from the 'Tap Tap Tap' stamp in the background, colouring the individual letters with my markers, before positioning my word bubbles on top and adhering with dimensionals. To finish, I added a trio of candy dots in the corner.

I think this card is really fun; I made it to give to my 7 year old son, who is and always has been joke-mad. When he saw it he proclaimed it 'definitely funny', so I guess it passed the test. His first and favourite joke of all time is still this one:

Why did the banana go to the doctors?

Because he wasn't peeling very well!

This still sends him into fits of giggles every time he tells it!

Ok enough jokes from me today - before I go, just a reminder that today is the last day to take advantage of 'stamp, stock and save' - selected ink pads, paper, envelopes, and adhesive are available at a 15% discount! There are also a number of select stamps that are 20%! Full details of the products included in this offer can be found in the offer flyer here or you can go straight to my online store here to place your order - don't forget to include October's hostess code SFEXF44E.

That's all from me today - back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Freaky Friends Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Just Sayin'	Word Bubbles Framelits Dies	Tap Tap Tap Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Many Marvelous Markers	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay
Whisper White A4 Card Stock