It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely LeAnne is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I decided to give my Delicate Baubles Dies another outing - the Christmas tree was calling my name! - so I too the first column on the Tic Tac Toe board with Christmas Tree/Bow/Green and in a fun twist decided to pair with the colour palette over at Just Us Girls this week for a rather unconventional Christmas card colour scheme - take a look:

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

This And That - The key to making today's card work is the piece of retired This and That Epic Day design series paper that I used for the frame on my card. It does such a good job of bringing all three colours together and makes the bright bauble tone in rather stand out in a way that jars, I think.

Delicate Baubles - Another bauble paper-pieced in block of the JUGS challenge colours, with some sparkly enamel dots to highlight the starbursts and a gold enamel star to top the tree. I trimmed the base of the bauble on this one so that it didn't have a double border edge.

Add A Bow - I could have added a diecut bow using the die in the Delicate Baubles die set that I used on my previous bauble cards, but decided that something more showy was needed so added a triple bow in Pool Party sheer ribbon - so pretty!

A simple 'Noel' sentiment from the 'Trimmings & Tidings' stamp set completes my card. So what do you think - is this colour scheme too unconventional for a Christmas card? Do leave me a comment below - as always, I'd love to know your thoughts.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; as of this afternoon, both of the James Juniors will be officially enjoying their half term break, so I am looking forward to spending more quality time with them next week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DELICATE BAUBLES DIES (£33.00)	TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	POOL PARTY 3/8" (1 CM) SHEER RIBBON (£5.50)	WONDERFUL GEMS (£7.50)

It's Wednesday and they're here: week 2 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.

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:

Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper	Crisp Cantaloupe 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim	Fancy Flower Punch	Floral District Photobook Template - Digital Download	Polka Stampin' Around Builder Wheel
Silver Glimmer Paper	This And That Epic Day Designer Series Paper

Well, that was a week! One of my busiest and I sure am glad it's the weekend. Tonight I thought I would share with you one of the cards we made at my classes this week. All the cards we made featured Sale-A-Bration products that could be yours free with an order of £45 or more. Today's card is another featuring the 'You Make Me Happy' stamp from the 'See Ya Later' stamp set:

We stamped the sentiment onto the centre of our 'sun', which we constructed from layered circles and either triangles created with the new triangle punch or banner pieces using the banner punch (my sample shows triangles). I cut a tiny cloud out of an offcut of silver foil and added it to the front on a dimensional to add interest, and added a strip of This and That washi tape below the embossed panel just to bring a little colour and create definition.

If you would like to be the proud owner of this stamp set, then pop on over to my online store via the product links below to place your order. If you live local to me in Northampton and the surrounding area, why not come to one of my monthly card classes or my weekend project classes? My full class schedule can be found here; you don't need to have any previous knowledge or experience, we are a friendly bunch and all are welcome. Do give me a call if you'd like to know more.

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

Stampin' Up! Products Used:

Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock
Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Epic Day This And That Designer Washi Tape	2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circles #2 Originals Die
Silver Foil Sheets	Triangle Punch

Today I'm sharing a card that I made a few weeks ago, but couldn't share at the time. I actually made this card for my husband's birthday, but as he photographs all my cards for me I couldn't share until after the event. I used my This and That DSP as the inspiration for the colour scheme for my card (it's not just for journaling with!) and a stamp from the retired set 'Word Play' as the feature for this card:

I chose the hexagon map paper to fit with the globe in the sentiment; I stamped the sentiment twice and punched out one of the globes and coloured it with markers before putting on a dimensional. A nice shiny button tied with twine and done; these buttons are now available on Clearance Rack for only £2.19 - bargain!

Hope you like it; back tomorrow with another rather special project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Today is Father's Day and I can finally share the Father's Day card that I made for the James Juniors to give to Daddy on Father's Day. This has been something of a closely guarded secret in our house, but we managed to get to the official envelope-opening before he saw it, so that's pretty good going! I tried something new for this card and broke into my This and That Washi Tape for the first time - take a look:

It is so easy to tape and reposition this tape and it's great for card detail, as well as to hold photos and keepsakes into your journal. Wondering where I got the sentiment from? The 'To My Dad' is from the soon-to-be retired 'For My Family' set (can't believe this set is going - it is SO useful for card personalisation!) but the 'You are the best' is a combination of words taken from a couple of the 'Feel Goods' stamps - with careful use of my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig and some selective colouring with my Basic Grey marker pen, I created my very own sentiment that summed up exactly what I wanted to say. Some stars, linen thread and designer button, along with a co-ordinating envelope, finished off the card worthy of the best Dad - in our eyes, anyway! And as if to prove the point, it has to be said his day was very similar to most Sundays and with the exception of a card and gift, he wasn't treated any differently to any other day - but in his own words, every day is his day so he was fine with that. I can't promise the same will be said next time Mother's Day comes round, but there we go!

So Happy Father's Day - to my husband and Daddy to my children, to my own Dad and everyone else who shares this day.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: For My Family, Feel Goods

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral, basic Grey, This and That Designer Series Paper

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Grey

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Merry Minis Punch (star)

Finishing Touches: Basics Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, This and That Washi Tape, 1/8" Mini Brads

Two posts in one day - aren't you lucky?! If you haven't read this morning's post about the new 'This and That' journal bundle, make sure you scroll back and read it after this one; if you like scrapbooking but fancy something a bit more immediate, or even if you have never got into scrapbooking for this reason, you should check it out. The bundle of products including a blank journal, 12 sheets of designer paper, 4 sheets of over 100 stickers, 3 rolls of washi tape and a rotary stamp can be purchased at the discounted price of £29.24 during the month of May only - that's 15% cheaper than the standard catalogue price that will be charged when 'This and That' is part of the annual catalogue from July. 

So for this post, I thought I'd share another card made with the Dress Up framelits, this time using the framelits on a standard card. They really are so versatile, you can achieve so many different effects. This is a case of a card I saw on Stampin Connection - Im afraid I don't know who designed it - and since I was working with my Tea for Two Designer papers too it totally fitted the bill for a birthday card I needed to make for a friend of mine who celebrated her birthday earlier this week:

I am in love with the spotty paper in this set - I've made another card with one of these dresses too - I think the muted coral and vanilla look really nice against the black, which gives it quite a modern feel. This sentiment is from one of my favourite sets too: One in a Million is a set of stamps that can be used alone in some instances but are designed to be used in pairs - the other half of this sentiment that appears inside this card says "...that makes you one in a million!"

Back tomorrow with another project; until then don't forget to drop me a line at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk if you would like to order a 'This and That' bundle, to be delivered directly to your door. Happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: One in a Million

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Tea for Two DSP

Ink: Basic Black

Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Big Shot

Finishing Touches: Basics Pearls, 3/8" Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon

Today is going to be 'Two Post Wednesday' (I know catchy!!) as there's big news as well as beautiful cards to share!

Calling all scrapbookers and journal writers - 'This and That' has arrived! If like me, you're always living life in the fast lane, but love to capture the funny and memorable moments in everyday life, this is the set for you - true journalling 'on the go'.

Check out this video to get a great look at everything that's on offer as part of this new package:

This and That will debut in the 2013-2014 annual catalogue, but Stampin' Up! is giving you the chance to get it now. During the month of May, there is an exclusive 15% product discount on this 5 item bundle when all 5 items are purchased together. The items can be purchased separately, but why would you do that when you can buy the bundle and save 15%? The 'This and That' range will be added to as time goes on, but the bundle discount is valid from 1st-31st May only and the items will only be available to purchase individually and at full price in the new annual catalogue from 1st July. The bundle contains plenty of stickers, washi tape and designer series paper, such that you will have enough to make cards and decorate other items too - lots of new, fun crafting items with tons of uses; can't wait to share my creations!

Click on the image below to download the details of the products on offer:

If you would like to order a 'This and That' product bundle, don't delay and contact me today to place your order. There's no limit to how many bundles you can purchase - which is great news, as this would make a great gift set for a crafty child or even reluctant writer; a great way to encourage handwriting practice without it seeming a chore!

Back later with today's project post. until then, happy stampin'!