Friday already - where did that week go?! I've had a lovely day today, with lots of people coming and going for my informal open house to showcase the best of this year's Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration offering. Today's card is one that I designed for this week's challenge over at Fusion where they are celebrating their first birthday - I used the photo inspiration but not the sketch, instead using the sketch over at Retrosketches this week for my layout:

The photo inspiration was the perfect opportunity to make a card with my new Chalkbox Chalk inks and blackboard paper, along with the 'Big Day' stamp set - yours free with each purchase of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration. Here is my card:

On a base of Pink Pirouette, I added a few layers including another of the great patterns from the 'Stacked with Love' DSP stack. I stamped my chalkboard using Rose Coral chalk ink on blackboard paper, stamping the banner separately in pink and stepping up on dimensionals. I added a side tag, stamped with a sentiment from 'Simply Wonderful', another Sale-A-Bration set. I stamped the cake on pink cardstock and coloured with my Blendabilities pens and popped this up on glue dots. I also decorated the inside (but forgot to photograph it - doh!) The chalk inks have a lovely finish on the smooth blackboard paper that give a rather realistic finish.

I hope you like today's card; my technique class next week is featuring chalk inks and by popular request from my class ladies today this will be one of the cards that we will be making! If you live in or around Northampton and would like to join me for one of my classes, You can find my 2015 updated class schedule here. Crafters of all abilities are welcome so whether you've stamped before or fancy trying out a new hobby, do get in touch to find out more. We would love you to join us! Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Chalkboard Paper	Rose Coral Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Big Day Wood Stamp Set	Simply Wonderful Clear Stamp Set
Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Pink Pirouette Assortment Stampin' Blendabilities Markers	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment

Today it's a special day: the Colour Me...! challenge is celebrating its first birthday and so the co-creators, the lovely Hayley and Tara, are hosting a party to celebrate! As one of the outgoing designers, I was invited to choose any previous challenge colour combination and create a card for this week's showcase. I decided to go with the creative choice from week 5, which enabled me to use some of the gorgeous new 'Best Year Ever' DSP from the 2015 Sale-A-Bration offering; I also used this week's sketch layout over at Create With Connie and Mary, as this layout was perfect for what I had in mind: 

As much as I've enjoyed making Christmas cards these past few months, I am so ready for a change! The colours of the promotional designer series paper and co-ordinating embellishment packs are like a breath of spring air - take a look:

I based the colour scheme for my card on the feature colours of the Best Day Ever papers - Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede and Sahara Sand, with white as my neutral - isn't it a gorgeous colour combination for Spring? I used two pieces of the same paper for my card, paired with a couple of blocks of solid colour, as the background for my card, then used another Sale-A-Bration promotional item, the 'Big Day' stamp set to create my focal point. What better than a birthday cake with a single candle for a first birthday?! The sentiment is from the same set. I stamped them both in Soft Suede, before colouring with my Calypso Coral and Coastal Cabana Blendabilities. Did you know that Stampin' Up! Blendabilities work with many of the standard Stampin' Up! coloured ink pads, in addition to Memento Black? Sometimes an alternative colour outline works really well and can give a different effect. I decided to create a little 'badge' to anchor my sentiment, using a punched circle, a number 1 cut with my retired Typeset alphabet Bigz Die (you could use the Perfect Print Bigz Number Die as an alternative) and a punched gold glimmer star. I coloured the envelope to match and I even created a fancy sentiment inside my card:

Both the Best Day Ever DSP and the Big Day stamp set are items that could be yours free with a purchase of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration; Slae-A-Bration starts early this year on 6th January, so not long to wait now! I made this card to congratulate Hayley and Tara on their first Colour Me...! anniversary, however it would work just as well for a child's first birthday I think in this colour scheme.

That's all from me today; do pop by the Colour Me...! challenge blog and see what other birthday delights are in store. I hope you have a fun New Year's Eve planned - mine will be a quiet one - and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

* Best Day Ever Designer Series Paper and Big Day stamp set available 6th January.

Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Calypso Coral Assortment	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Coastal Cabana Assortment	Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch
1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Gold Glimmer Paper	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig