Happy new year everyone! I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year. As has become customary for this time of year, my life is too full to accommodate blogging across the festive season so I have taken my usual break, but I'm now starting to (slowly!) get back into it so thought I would just give you a quick reminder of some important promotional news:

There are so many retiring products that are going to go away on January 2 when Stampin’ Up!’s 2019 Autumn-Winter Catalogue period ends. PLEASE be sure to click on the image above to see all of the retiring items in my online store - I don’t want you to miss out.

It’s always a good day when Stampin’ Up! updates the items in its Clearance Rack – some items have been reduced up to 60%. Woo hoo! There were lots of items added into the Clearance Rack earlier this month. They are there on a “while supplies last” basis – and there are still some great items left, so if you haven't checked them out it's worth a look before you complete your order.

So a reminder - those year end closeouts end tomorrow (last online orders to be placed by 10.50pm GMT). I'll be back on Friday with news of this year's Spring-Summer Mini Catalogue and 2020 Sale-A-Bration Offering, along with my first design team post for the new year over at As You See It.

Until then, happy shopping!

I received some good news from Stampin' Up! HQ this morning and wanted to pop by to quickly share it with you: as we approach the end of our Last-Chance Products promotion, Stampin' Up! has announced that it has now identified some items that can be discounted by up to 25% - yay for a last-minute bargain!

Click here to see the list of discounted items from the Spring-Summer Catalogue.

Click here to see the list of discounted items from the 2018 Annual Catalogue.

The discount pricing will go into effect at 7:00 p.m. (UK) time this evening Thursday, 30 May. For anyone local to me, I will be putting through one last order which you are welcome to add to if you would like to save on P&P, but you need to message me by 8pm this evening. 

Many thanks and happy bargain hunting!

Today I'm sharing a card for the current baby theme challenge over at Inspire.Create:

 There are a couple of cute baby sets in the Spring-Summer catalogue and both are set to retire at the end of the month. I used my favourite, Perfectly Paired, to create a colourful and fun baby card - take a look:

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

I've created a whole host of cards with the Perfectly Paired stamp set (check out this post here if you missed it) but they have all involved using the stamp in a single colour. This is such a fabulous stamp set to colour though and I spent a pleasant couple of hours with my Blends markers creating this card. I haven't listed them all out in the table below as I pretty much used all of them in one way or another! I stamped the image twice and coloured a few of the animals and fussy cut them and popped them up on dimensionals to create a fun decoupage detail. you can see that in this close up here:

I added a border using my favourite gingham paper and a stitched diecut edge using the Be Mine Stitched Framelits to finish my card.

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Perfectly Paired Cling Stamp Set (£18.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

I'm not sure how Monday turned into Wednesday, but sometimes that's just how it goes! So a quick share today with my second paper-pieced card that I originally made for our challenge over at The Paper Players this week: clean an simple paper piecing. I am totally 'on the fence' about this card - it didn't look as good as it did in my mind, so I ended up making another one for the challenge, but thought I'd share with you as I'd love to hear what you think. So here is my card:

This card used the retiring Graceful Garden stamp set and features a rose that I more often have coloured rather than paper-pieced, but I wondered what it would look like in some rose-patterned paper. I used one of the beautiful pink rose designs from the Petal Promenade pack for the flower and some Floral Romance paper for the stem. A little background stamped detail, a few artisan pearls and a sentiment finish my card. So what do you think - does it work? I really would welcome your thoughts on 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Graceful Garden Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£18.00)	Petal Promenade Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Floral Romance 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	1-3/8" (3.5 Cm) Scallop Circle Punch (£15.00)	1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch (£15.00)	1" (2.5 Cm) Circle Punch (£12.00)
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Share What You Love Artisan Pearls (£5.50)

Hi everyone! I've been recovering from Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event and making the most of the Easter vacation with the James Juniors this week, so crafting time has been non-existent and blogging opportunities even less so! Today though the sun is shining and I am spending a glorious afternoon in the garden, so thought I would take the opportunity to share with you a card that I actually made as a second one that I made for the challenge set by my fellow Paper Players teamie the lovely LeAnne last week to use plaid or check on your card. Here's my card:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Christmas Plaid - Ok, so the irony of sharing a Christmas card on Good Friday isn't lost on me! However given that Stampin' Up!'s retiring lists were announced earlier this week (if you missed my post you can read all about it here) this is actually a great time to share this card as it showcases 2 products that are on that list and will be going away for good. The first of these is this fabulous plaid designer series paper that is from the 'Under the Mistletoe' pack. As is always the way, all of the designer series papers in the annual catalogue will be leaving us to make way for the new, so if you have a favourite then now is the time to stock up. If you're the type of person that 'does Christmas' all year round or likes to get ahead and work on Christmas projects during the summer months, then you should seriously consider stocking up on this paper as I can tell you that the new annual catalogue doesn't contain any festive Christmas-themed designer series paper designs, so it will be September before we have the new seasonal range on sale. You have been warned! 

Large Letters - The second retiring item on today's card are those fabulous Large Letter Framelits, which along with the co-ordinating 'Letters For You' stamp set are retiring with this catalogue. I know that the old has to make way for the new, but I will be so sad to see these go! They have been a staple in my craft collection and whilst they might leave the catalogue, they will always have a space in my die collection - they are SO useful! These will most definitely not be going into my retiring products BOGOF sale in July, so if you want a set, you need to order them now! 

A Festive Colour Combination - The paper really does do all the hard work on this card and sets the colours for each of the other elements with a can't-go-wrong festive colour combination. If this is a colour combination that appeals to you, feel free to save the image below 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. 

Enjoy your day. I'm off for a James family gathering for dinner. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Large Letters Framelits Dies (£92.00)	Under The Mistletoe Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Under The Mistletoe A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)

Today saw two very important announcements from Stampin' Up! that I need to make you aware of. The first of these is in relation to the Stampin' Trimmer:

Stampin’ Up! has decided to retire the Stampin’ Trimmer as of 3 June 2019, including all accessories—replacement cutting blades, scoring blades, and cutting mats. They have experienced challenges with the supplier and are taking the opportunity to research and explore a replacement option for this product, which will not be the same as the current Stampin’ Trimmer. 

While the replacement cutting blades will also retire with the trimmer and will not be featured in the annual catalogue, Stampin' Up! has ordered what would normally be six months of inventory based on recent historical patterns to help  customers during this transition away from the current trimmer. When the retiring list goes live on 15 April, the order limit for the blades will increase from three to six (and the limit will remain at six until they’re no longer available). From now until September, Stampin' Up! will receive intermittent shipments from the supplier. But please know that this news could cause faster inventory depletion. Throughout these months, we anticipate times when the blades will not be orderable (and not offered as a backorder) - this is currently the case here in the UK. During those downtimes, you will have the option to enter an e-mail address to receive notification when the blades are available again.

Click the images below to head right over to my online store to start shopping for the Stampin’ Trimmer and the replacement consumable items:

Stampin' Trimmer (Metric) (£28.00)

Stampin' Trimmer Cutting Blades (£5.50)

The second Big News item of the day is that Stampin’ Up! also announced that they’ll be transitioning to a new manufacturer for their dies and embossing folders moving forward.

Stampin’ Up! is moving to a direct-to-manufacturer relationship. This means that they will work directly with the factories who manufacture their dies and folders instead of working with another company who then works with different factories. This gives them greater control and potential for increased speed to market, which can only be a good thing. 

Standard Cutting Pads (£10.25)	Big Shot Embossing Mats (£14.00)	Big Shot Die Brush - New Configuration (£11.75)	Magnetic Platform (£37.00)	Precision Base Plate (£23.00)	Big Shot Platform (£24.00)
Big Shot (£102.00)

Good news - today the list of products that will be retiring from this year's annual and Spring-Summer seasonal catalogues has been updated and some of the products are now available at a discount! You can see the list of discounted products here or just click on the image below to read and download the full PDF:

For a reminder of the full list, you can see and download the full list of items retiring from the current Spring-Summer catalogue by CLICKING HERE.

You can see and download the full list of items retiring from the current Annual catalogue by CLICKING HERE.

Retiring products are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST, so if you've still items on your wish list from this year's annual or spring-summer seasonal catalogues, you need to check the retiring lists and if they're on it put an order in pronto! Don't forget to add this month's online hostess code: W4TSQCWY

Here are the links to the online store for those items that are now discounted. including their reduced price:

Picnic Basket Builder Framelits Dies (£20.25)	Sweet Soirée Decorative Masks (£2.55)	Itty Bitty Fruit Punch Pack (£10.50)	Myths & Magic Glimmer Paper 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) (£6.75)	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock (£6.16)	Pink Pirouette A4 Cardstock (£6.16)
6" X 17" (15.2 X 43.2 Cm) Gusseted Cellophane Bags (£3.00)	Brights Enamel Shapes (£6.19)	Subtles Enamel Shapes (£6.60)	Bell Punch (£12.00)	Holly Berry Builder Punch (£8.00)	Birthday Friends Framelits Dies (£21.00)
Celebration Thinlits Dies (£20.25)	Alles Palette Clear-Mount Stamp Set (German) (£12.80)	Rosenzauber Photopolymer Stamp Set (German) (£16.80)	Feierliches Duo Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (German) (£4.13)

Items are discounted by between 15-50%, so a few bargains to be had. The item I will miss the most out of that little lot has to be the enamel shapes - time to stock up I think!!

Remember stocks of all products featuring retiring ink colours are now officially whilst stocks last, so if you haven't ordered yours yet this really is your last chance.

I'll be back tomorrow with a creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Happy Monday everyone! It's a tad chilly here in the UK but the sun is trying to shine, so I'll take that as the start to a good week! Today is the last day of the Easter holidays for one of the James Juniors at least so we are making the most of it! I'm sharing a card that I made at the weekend for one of my favourite challenges, As You See It (it's been too long since I've played along with these lovely ladies!) and uses the fresh Spring colour palette over at The Color Throwdown:

My card today says farewell to one of my favourite florals from the Annual Catalogue - which makes it perfect for the current challenge over at SUO Challenges too - take a look:

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

Farewell Flower - 'You've Got This' is one of my favourite florals and I will be sad to see it retire next month, I love that single peony-like bloom and the hatched background is so useful, both as a background for this flower and lots of other projects too. Here I've used it in one of my favourite ways, fussy cutting the flower and popping up on dimensionals. I stamped the background onto my white cardbase in Pool Party and coloured my flower with my Daffodil Delight Blends and retired Wild Wasabi Blendabilities alcohol markers.  

Raindrops On Petals - I added a few glitter epoxy raindrops onto my flower petals and leaves for a little sparkle and detail, without detracting from the flower itself. You can see them better on the close-up here:

As You See It - I was intrigued by the current As You See it sketch: whilst my hatched background is not as brave as some of the beautiful watercoloured or inked backgrounds of the design team, I think it does a good job of representing the idea of the sketch. The thing I like the most about the sketch though is the positioning of the sentiment; having rotated the sketch through 90 degrees, this put my sentiment running sideways along the central fold of my card. This is not a position that I would have naturally chosen for my wording, yet I think it really rings the changes and I love the finished card. I love how sketches encourage us to push the boundaries of convention sometimes.

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. 

Yes, I will miss this stamp and the wonderfully uplifting and encouraging sentiments that go with it - I 'm not too sad though, a new catalogue always provides opportunities for new favourites to come along!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

You've Got This Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£25.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£6.50)

Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes (£6.25)

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)

Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad (£6.50)

I have another information post lined up for you today with even more information on the Colour Revamp and the new ink pads, but first it's time for a little creative inspiration for this week's challenge over at Addicted to CAS that will hopefully bring a little colour to yet another grey, wet and miserable UK day as far as the weather is concerned:

My card is super simple with a loose, watercoloured rainbow background - take a look:

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

Watercolour Rainbow - To create my background, I simply took a selection of inks - Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry - and using my aquapainter, wet my watercolour paper and brushed the various colours across the background, allowing them to blend as I painted. No science to it - as simple as that! 

Farewell, Umbrella Weather - Once dried, I used my Umbrella Weather Framelits to cut out some clouds from my watercolour panel to reveal the grey clouds below. My black diecut umbrella is from the same set. Both the framelits and co-ordinating 'Weather Together' stamp set are retiring at the end of May, so if these are on your wishlist still you need to purchase them now before they are gone for good.

Epoxy Glitter Raindrops - These little glittery raindrops from the seasonal catalogue really are so pretty and really make this card; they catch the light and reflect the rainbow of colours beneath. 

This is one of those cards that definitely looks better in real life - so pretty with the variagated colour and the sparkly raindrops! A lovely pick-me up to brighten someone's day.

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Weather Together Photopolymer Stamp Set (£19.00)	Umbrella Weather Framelits Dies (£22.00)	Watercolor Paper (£4.50)	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock (£7.25)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£7.25)
Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad (£6.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes (£6.25)