had a little crafty time today and was creating with more of my pre-order stash and decided I just about had time to squeeze in a card for the current challenge over at Less Is More (this was my starting point for today's card but I'm too late to link up unfortunately) which also fits the bill over at Stamp Ink Paper and ATCAS this week:

I went with a rather less obvious vehicle for my one layer card today - take a look:

Since the dictionary definition of 'vehicle' is 'a thing used for transporting people or goods, especially on land, such as a car, lorry, or cart' I think my donkey more than qualifies; not the most common mode of transport granted, but one that transported Mary on that momentous journey to Bethlehem so many years ago. 

I've used a combination of stamps from one of my favourite sets in the new Stampin' Up! Autumn-Winter catalogue called 'Night In Bethlehem' to create my card today. It has a set of co-ordinating framelits which I will share another day; today's card uses the stamp set alone, with some additional masking and brayering to create the illusion of depth and layers, finished with an embossed star. I also stamped the verse that comes with this set on the inside too (in my second colourway):

Little more than stamps, ink and paper today - and I love this card! In fact I liked it so much I made a second version in an alternative colour combination too:

Which one do you prefer? Leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear 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 '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:

Night In Bethlehem Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Sponge Brayers	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

My week has been whizzing by as usual, but I've had a few snatched opportunities to create with my pre-order goodies and managed to whip up a quick card using this week's CAS(E) This Sketch using some new products:

I used a new stamp set called Christmas Quilt and some new co-ordinating designer series paper called Quilted Christmas for my border for my clean and simple Christmas card:

Such a versatile set with a wonderful homespun feel that will be useful for Christmas and beyond and is sure to appeal to the seamstresses out there. A lovely sentiment for the inside 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 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

The items used on today's card will be available to purchase when the new seasonal catalogue goes live on 1st September; if you're not already on my mailing list and don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator of your own and would like me to send you a catalogue, please get in touch with your details and I will pop one in the post to you when mine go out within the next week or so. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Quilted Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper	Christmas Quilt Photopolymer Stamp Set	Quilt Builder Framelits Dies	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad

What a great start to a Tuesday - I logged on this morning to find a surprise update to the Clearance Rack. There are now lots of new items available, some with as much as 60% off. As is always the case, popular items will sell out quickly, so don't spend too long deliberating - get in there quick! There are some great paper bargains, including many designer series papers, accessories, kits, framelits and even a few punches. The gorgeous Affectionately Yours DSP is there along with the Jolly Hat Builder Punch too at 50% off - perfect for Christmas makes. I could go on, but the best thing you can do is hop on over and take a look.

Click here to go the clearance rack in my online store and grab a bargain whilst stocks last! Don't forget to include the current hostess code 3HFYNMYT make sure that 'allow your demonstrator to contact you' is ticked in order that you receive your special 'thank you' in the post from me. 

Race you to the shop - first one there gets the bargains! Happy shopping! 

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! Firstly, thanks to everyone who left such lovely comments on my High Tide square pop out swing card last week; I have a few more cards made using the same design and will be sharing a more detailed 'how to' for this fun fold, so stay tuned for more information on this one. Back to today: it's the turn of the awesomely-inspiring Sandy to host this week and she has a colour challenge for us to work with:

I must say I did find this colour palette rather challenging; the green got me thinking of flowers, but I was struggling to make the three colours work together. Instead I chose to focus on the blue and I took the opportunity to get out my Bike Ride stamp set and create a fun birthday card - take a look:

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

Build A Bike Made Simple - This is the first time I've use my Bike Ride stamp set with the co-ordinating Build A Bike Framelits, as the cards I made with it previously were having returned from Onstage in Amsterdam where we received the stamp set only as an all-attendee giveaway but not the framelits. What a difference they make - I pieced together the pieces of my bicycle with ease and got to use the little wire basket too - love it!

Flip The Sketch And Chop The Bike - I used the sketch over at CAS Colours & Sketches for my layout today (I figured a bike is about as non-rectangular a shape as you can get!), rotating it through 180 degrees as I wanted my bike to be riding onto my card rather than off it. Patricia's sketch shows the shape appearing to hang off the edge of the card so there was nothing else for it - I chopped off the end of my bicycle! I think it works though - if anything, it adds to the sense of movement I think. 

Coffee Break Border - My card is predominantly blue, with the Pear Pizzazz and Calypso Coral featuring only in small quantities: the flowers in the basket, a heart enamel dot. I almost left it there, but I felt like I wanted to ground my bicycle and include a little more of one of the colours so added a strip of Coffee Break designer series paper with a subtle green and white stripe.

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 look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we are continuing with Ben's weekend of birthday celebrations, so lots of fun to be had here! I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Bike Ride Photopolymer Bundle	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad
Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Silver Foil Sheets	Brights Enamel Shapes	Subtles Enamel Shapes
Coffee Break Designer Series Paper	Dragonfly Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set

Friday already - where did the week go?! I've been having fun with my not-so-little ones - and today my youngest James Junior turned 10 years old so now I have two children in double digits - I really don't know where the time goes! We have had a fun day of games, football, dinner out and a trip to the cinema so all in all a lovely end to the week. Following a few absent days, I thought it was time for a quick post to share more of my makes with the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set. I actually used the set to create a one sheet wonder, that I turned into eight cards that I then duplicated for my thank you cards to go out with my customer orders this month. Here's one of the cards in the set:

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

Bright Colour Combo - I chose a bright colour combination of hot pink, orange and red with a contrasting touch of blue for my set of cards - the Marina Mist blue is definitely the wild card here, however I think it breaks up the other colours in a good way. Here's the colour combination if you'd like to save it for future use:

Step It Up - I could have simply added my one sheet wonder panels to my card bases, along with a sentiment stamped on a basic square or punched circle, to complete my cards in record time. I decided to step them up slightly with the aid of my Stitched Shape Framelits, Layered Squares and Circles Framelits and some additional stamped flowers that I then diecut with the co-ordinating Bouquet Bunch Framelits. Completion took a little more time for sure, however I think it was worth it - sometimes it's the details that count and really make the difference.

The Wonder Of One Sheet - A one sheet wonder is a fun way to create your own patterned paper and can be a quick solution if you want to create a bunch of cards. I made up my own cut template for this one, with a set of easy cuts to make the most out of my single sheet of A4 cardstock. Here's a shot showing all the cards I made just to give you a flavour off the set:

I used a variety of base and mat colours - the tiny flowers make Beautiful Bouquet a great set to use for a one sheet wonder. Why not give it a try with some of your favourite colour combinations?

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 on Sunday with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Bundle	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Layering Squares Framelits Dies
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock
Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad	Marina Mist A4 Cardstock	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad

Well, you can tell the children must be on their school summer holiday here in the UK as it's pouring with rain with no signs of let up! We have had an aborted trip to the zoo today and had to make do with indoor swimming and trampolining instead, which the James Juniors seem to have enjoyed despite the constant drizzle. It also means we are home slightly earlier than planned leaving me time to share a quick project with you and the lovely ladies over at As You See It who have a fun challenge theme this week:

It made me smile as this is definitely something I can identify with! I usually lose my mojo when I get delivery of a large new box of goodies during the pre-order period of a new Stampin' Up! catalogue; I have all these wonderful new sets and papers to play with and suddenly don't know where to start! When I get like this, I often turn to my Stampin' Up! catalogue for inspiration and CASE (Copy And Selectively Edit) a card from within. This is usually enough to get me back on track and get the ideas flowing. Here is one such card:

The eagle-eyed amongst you will recognise my card as a CASE of the card on page 93 of the 2017-18 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue that features the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set. I've changed a few things: I used a different palette of colours, layered my sentiment on a stitched circle and added some Powder Pink ribbon as opposed to linen thread along with a couple of sparkly faceted gems for good measure, but the basic layout and the loose spritzed watercolour technique is the same. 

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. 

'CASE-ing the catalogue' is also a great way to try something different - this sample encouraged me to think about using the Beautiful Bouquet set in different ways, rather than simply stamping and die cutting. I am expecting delivery of my Autumn-Winter catalogue pre-order tomorrow, so I give it about 24 hours before the loss of crafting mojo kicks in and you can guess where I will be headed - yes, the pages of my new seasonal catalogue for inspiration!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Bundle	Decorative Ribbon Border Punch	Watercolor Paper	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Faceted Gems	Powder Pink 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Stampin' Spritzer

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The wonderful Nance is the hostess this week and she has a fun theme for us to work with:

The great outdoors can be interpreted in so many ways: I needed some masculine birthday cards so decided to dig out my High Tide stamp set and take a trip to the coast for my card today - take a look:

Today's card is a fancy fold and I've closed it above so that you can see what it looks like flat with the overstamped birds; the photo below shows it at an angle in it's popped-out position:

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

High Tide - High Tide is a stamp set that can be used to build seascapes quickly and with ease, with the photopolymer stamps making it easy to see how the pieces align in order to create a scene and for the two-step stamping of the lighthouse. The set contains some lovely sentiments too, one of which I used on the inside of my card. I needed something more birthday-related for the front of my card, so went to one of my 'go to' sets, Butterfly Basics, for this one. I also over-stamped the gulls and wader birds onto the main image and the surrounding frame for extra interest.

A Fancy Fold - I wanted to use a fancy fold to add a little extra interest to today's card, so I decided to make a square pop-out swing card. I often find masculine cards difficult to add a 'special touch' to as embellishments tend to make them look quite feminine, but a fancy fold can sometimes be a good way of making a card special without adding to much in the way of frills or requiring a vast quantity of supplies. My card front measures 5 3/4" square (a slightly odd measurement to be fair, but I couldn't find any 12" x 12" in Sahara Sand so had to use a sheet of A4). I was cutting a few bases at a time so for speed used the largest square in my retired Squares Framelits set to cut the aperture in the front, but you could just as easily cut this out using you trimmer and leaving a 1" frame on all sides. Here is another shot so that you can see what the card looks like when properly opened:

A Nautical Colour Combination - I used a combination of primary colours and neutrals for my calming beach scene, with the addition of the birds top and bottom stamped in Basic Grey. Here's my colour combination to save for 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Whilst I had all my supplies out I also made a flat clean and simple card using this set which I will share some other time, but it was fun to make something a little different to share today and I love that this card is flat for posting too. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we spent the day at a country show yesterday so are going to be taking it easy today. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

High Tide Photopolymer Stamp Set	Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Stamp Set	Sahara Sand A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad

Happy Friday everyone! School holidays have got the better of me this week and with an all-day technique class too and pre-order of my seasonal goodies from the new Autumn-Winter catalogue, I've just not had the opportunity for blogging. I've plenty of makes to share with you though and today to thank you for your patience this week I thought I would show you not one, not two but three cards - another trio from simple to stepped up, this time featuring the Beautiful Bouquet Bundle that you can find on pages 92-93 of the 2017 Annual Stampin' Up! catalogue.

The Beautiful Bouquet stamp set has a wonderful collection of both florals and sentiments that are suitable for a wide variety of occasions and when paired with the co-ordinating Bouquet Bunch Framelits Dies can be used to make the most amazing 3D floral bouquets. The set really does offer something for every kind of crafter; I started out with the following basic colour combination and set to work:

Clean and Simple - Quick And Easy - If you're short on time or new to crafting, this set is great for a simple one layer card like this one:

All you need to do is take a sheet of Extra Thick Whisper White for your card base, stamp your stems and a few carefully chosen blooms directly onto the card front along with a sentiment of your choice, add a few rhinestones and your card is done. Bright colours that compliment each other and some contrasting flower centres really help this simple card to have a big impact.

Step It Up - If you have a bit more time and are feeling more adventurous, using a few extra tools and embellishments will allow you to 'step up' your card and create something with a little more depth and detail, whilst still relatively easy to make:

My second card follows the same basic layout as the first, however this time I've used the framelits to cut out the bow and the flower heads and popped them up on dimensionals, and some circle punches to punch out my sentiment and layer it onto some Berry Burst cardstock for extra pop. In addition to the rhinestones, I've added a little tab of Daffodil Delight Double-Stitched Ribbon to my sentiment circle for an extra touch.

Going For Gold - Stepped Up To The Max - If you have the time and want to really explore a wide range of techniques, tools and embellishments, it's possible to use the Beautiful Bouquet Bundle to create something really special:

My third card is a CASE of the card on page 93 of the Stampin' Up! catalogue and really goes to town: the framelits have been used to diecut the entire bouquet, having stamped the flower heads first, and layered onto some background-stamped squares cut with the Layering Squares Framelits and an embossed background (my card uses the retired Large Polka Dot TIEF but you could of course use the current Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder as per the catalogue sample). There are some additional colours, doilies, linen thread and a sprinkling of the gorgeous glitter enamel dots that really help to make this card something special.

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects 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. 

So which of the above cards is your favourite? Do leave me a comment below, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I love them all and as I have the bundle, like the fact that I can choose my style depending on how the mood - or in my case time available - takes me! I have a few more cards to share using this set, so stay tuned next week if florals are your thing.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project, quite possibly with something of a more seasonal nature. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Bundle	Layering Squares Framelits Dies	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad
Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch	1-3/8" (3.5 Cm) Circle Punch	Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Glitter Enamel Dots	Linen Thread	Delicate White Doilies	Wild Wasabi A4 Cardstock	Berry Burst A4 Cardstock
Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad	Pearl Basic Jewels

It's Sunday, I'm back after my two week vacation and excited to be back with my lovely team over at The Paper Players! This week we are all about team here at The Paper Players: the lovely Laurie was due to host this week but has unfortunately had to deal with a family bereavement and needed some time out so I am lending a helping hand. Laurie has done all the hard work and has designed a fun tic-tac-toe board to challenge us all as it's the fifth week of the month; I am picking up with the comments and visits to your blogs and get the honour of choosing this week's top pick. So, without further ado, here is this week's challenge board:

When considering my make for today, I just knew I would have to include the option of 'diecut' since I consider Laurie to be the absolute queen when it comes to diecutting, her creativity knows no bounds. I decided to go down the first vertical column and took the opportunity to make a baby card using the current sketch over at Fab Friday - it turns out I also fulfilled the bottom horizontal row too - take a look:

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

A Little Wild - So how adorable is that little elephant?! I know - he is off the cuteness scale, for sure! He comes from the stamp set 'A Little Wild' and is part of a trio that includes a sweet bear and a lion too that is perfect for baby makes. The best part though? He is actually double-sided; each animal comes with a front and back and the co-ordinating Little Loves Framelits Dies will cut both pieces out as one, enabling them to be used as a gift tag too. I actually cut my elephant away here as I just wanted to the front, but I couldn't resist adding the reverse to the inside of my card:

Blue For A Boy - I decided to use a piece of the Bundle of Love Specialty Designer Series Paper for the blue for my card; it was tough not to use the gorgeous gold embossed foil pattern on the reverse, however I did use the Soft Sky/Very Vanilla/Gold colour combination to bring the elements of my card together. I added some subtle Soft Sky shading to my elephant using ink and a blender pen just to give him a little more depth and dimension.

Touches Of Gold - I wanted to add a touch of luxury to my card, the birth of a baby is a special occasion after all, and inspired by the designer series paper, added in a few gold elements - a die cut, layered scalloped circle, gold natural trim ribbon, some gold heat embossing and metallic enamel dots - to finish. 

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. 

I just love this card and can't wait to make a pink one for a girl and some co-ordinating packaging adorned with little elephant tags too!

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing what you create with our board this week. All of the Design Team love it when your return our visits and leave a friendly blog comment or two, however this week more than most it would be great if you could pop by Laurie's blog at Stampin' Up North and leave her a little Paper Players love - I know she would appreciate it. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend; I have some trampolining to attend to (watching not bouncing thankfully!) and some preparation for the first of this month's technique classes on Tuesday.

I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A Little Wild Clear-Mount Bundle	Bundle Of Love Specialty Designer Series Paper	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Natural Trim
Metallic Enamel Shapes	Gold Foil Sheets	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Thick Cardstock
Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Blender Pens

Today I'm sharing a set of cards I made a while back to showcase the new in-colours at my Annual Catalogue launch event but just haven't got around to blogging. I also used this design as the basis for the cards that I sent out to my customers and anyone who had requested a catalogue from me with their copy of the new catalogue. Here's the first one:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Label Me Pretty - Label Me Pretty is one of the new bundles in the annual catalogue featured on page 27, comprising the 'Label Me Pretty' stamp set and the Pretty Label Punch. Just like the new daisy punch, the introduction of this punch to the Stampin' Up! punch collection has proved incredibly popular with demonstrators and customers alike, and it's easy to see why: this versatile label is great to use on cards or packaging alike, and the layering options that the stamp set and addition of a few circle punches gives allows for lots of creative possibilities.

In-Colour Quintet - As I mentioned above, I created the same card using each of the new in-colours. Having worked with them for some months now, my favourites are still Berry Burst and Lemon Lime Twist, the latter especially when combined with other colours such as Night of Navy - I just love it! Here's a shot showing glimpses of each of the cards in the collection:

Background Tip - The construction of my card is simple and the photograph fairly self-expanatory - well, it needs to be an easy make when mass-production is called for! I did just want to point out how I stamped the background flowers on the card base. If you look closely, you will see that they are the flowers from the 'Happy Birthday' stamp in the Label Me Pretty set, yet the wording isn't visible. I actually stamped the image, then turned it through 180 degrees so that the bottom of each image overlapped (you can't see this as it's covered by the label) to provide some extra florals to frame my label. This was a tip I picked up at Onstage in Amsterdam earlier this year from Donna Morgan at the Home Office I think, if my memory serves me correctly - so thank you Donna!

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. 

So which of the in-colours is your favourite, or is there any one you find a real challenge to work with? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Label Me Pretty Clear-Mount Bundle	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock	2017-2019 In Color Classic Stampin' Pads	1-3/4" (4.4 Cm) Circle Punch
Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine