Happy Monday everyone! As promised yesterday, I have another card for you using the Special Reason bundle and this week's colour palette over at Fab Friday:

In the process of making my card for our challenge over at The Paper Players this week, I had lots of bits and pieces left over, including the very piece I started out with that included a stamped flower. So often these end up in my scrapbox never to see the light of day again; to avoid this happening, I set about making another card right away - here it is:

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

A Special Reason to Rock 'n' Roll - As I mentioned yesterday, I love how the pale blue and warm vanilla tone down the Sweet Sugarplum in the above colour combination, as I sometimes find this purpley-pink a little stark when paired with stronger colours. I thought I'd use the rock and roll technique to add a little plum to the tips of the petals of my blue inked flower taken from the Special Reason stamp set; I also used a cotton bud (aka 'cue tip' for my USA friends!) to add a little to the inner petals too; I love how this gives subtle added definition to the form of the flower itself.

Ways With Stylish Stems Framelits - In addition to my large diecut flower and leaf, I also used my Stylish Stems Framelits to add some subtle detail to my stamped flower: if you look closely, you will see I partially die cut the mat in order to have my flower hang over that lovely piece of Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate and the metallic ribbon. It adds dimension without bulk and the need for an extra layer.

Fancy Some Free Metallics? - In addition to the strip of gold scallop pattern Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate (I just love this stuff!) I added a strip of ribbon and a bow to my card, using the gorgeous vanilla and gold ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack (the other ribbon in the pack is white and woven with silver). This ribbon has a soft, almost velvety feel and ties the most beautiful bows - check out this fabulous gift packaging too:

This is one of the items that can be yours free during Sale-A-Bration with a £45 order - you are definitely going to want some!

I also used one of the two-part sentiments from the Special Reason stamp set - the inside of my card reads "...except to let you know how special you are!" How lovely is that?! Perfect to send to a friend of mine 'just because'.

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'll be back tomorrow with another project; I'm finally getting back into the swing of things here in blog land! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Special Reason Clear-Mount Bundle	Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Stylish Stems Framelits Dies	Special Reason Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)	Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate	3/8" Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack

It's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live and from now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. You can click on the icon above or the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or go directly to my online shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, join or host:

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 4 January and 31 March. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

It’s the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! During Sale-A-Bration, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £30 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. Plus, the kit ships for free! There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you. In addition, you can choose two free stamp sets of your choice - that could be worth as much as another £93 to you!

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £40 of Stampin' Rewards - more freebies! What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

If you would like to host a party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up but there are still lots of slots available and I would love to share these great benefits with you. If you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

Thanks so much for popping by today - it's always nice to share good news! Back tomorrow with a project showcasing some of the products from the new catalogue. Until then, happy shopping!

I've been busy with my Spring-Summer pre-order and my Daily December memory keeping class today. More about that tomorrow, but for today I just want to make sure you're aware that Stampin' Up! has today launched its year end closeouts, with a combination of clearance rack, retiring and current products, some available at as much as 60% off. There are lots of bargains to be had, so why not pop across to my online store and treat yourself - don't forget to support my business by using this month's hostess code YMY44Q6R when you place your order.

Back tomorrow with Daily December news - untile then, happy shopping!

Wednesday already?! Where does the time go! Firstly today I have a reminder for you: today is the last day you can take advantage of 25% off selected stamp sets as part of the Stitched From the Heart promotion - you can read full details, including the sets that are on offer, in my previous post here. For today I have another card that uses Sandy's sketch over at The Paper Players this week, but one that is quite different to my Design Team card from Sunday and that includes one of the stamps from the current offer sets:

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

Book A Party, Earn An Owl -  One of the hostess sets in the current seasonal catalogue is 'Cozy Critters', which includes a sweet fox along with this adorable owl, which co-ordinates with the Owl Builder Punch for easy assembly. This stamp set is exclusively available to customers who either host their own party or place a single order of £150 or more and has been incredibly popular. This set will only be available until the 3rd January and will not be available on the retired list or clearance rack; I don't have any slots left for pre-Christmas parties now, but if this set is on your wishlist you still have time to place a qualifying order and grab yours with your Stampin' Rewards. 

Woodland Trees - I used that panel for an embossed piece again - this time the Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. Difficult to see in the photograph, but I brushed the debossed areas in between the trees with my clear Wink of Stella, along with the owl's oversized hat and co-ordinating scarf - this card is so, so sparkly!

Not Just For Tags - The sentiment and background snowflake are from the versatile Tin Of Tags stamp set. This stamp set co-ordinates with the Tin of Tags kit in the seasonal catalogue, however can be used for so much more besides and are perfect in a layered stitched circle on a card. This set is available for today only at a discounted 25% - £14.25 instead of £19. Why not buy one with a Tin of Tags kit (£20) and give someone a pre-Christmas gift that will not only provide some creative respite in the run up to the big day, but result in a set of beautiful handcrafted tags to add the finishing touch to their gift packaging:

I know I would appreciate a gift like this at this time of year!

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'm also linking my card up with one of the other teams that the lovely Sandy designs for - Stamps, Ink, Paper - where the challenge is embossing, dry or heat. 

I'll be back tomorrow with news of another great set of pre-Christmas offers from Stampin' Up! which you won't want to miss; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Tin Of Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set	Cozy Critters Photopolymer Stamp Set	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Layering Circle Framelits Dies
Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Owl Builder Punch
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Pink Pirouette A4 Cardstock	Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Another week over! Mine has been a busy one, with two full days of classes, Christmas preparations and not a minute to spare, hence the lack of blog posts. So I hope you have all been making the most of this week's Online Extravaganza; I know that Monday's flash sale was popular with my customers and I am already receiving orders for the second one, to take place next Monday.

Today I have another 3D home decor project for you and it uses items from the Forever Evergreen Project Kit on page 35 of the seasonal catalogue - one of the products that is available at a 10% discount during this week's sale and the co-ordinating Forever Evergreen stamp set is also available at a 20% discount. This project is a CASE of one that was included in our Demonstrator-only quarterly magazine and it's a great way to get more mileage from the stamp set if you've invested in it to complete your trees and use up lots of leftover bits and pieces from the kit. Here's a reminder of what those fabulous Christmas trees look like (you can read my previous blog post on those here):

Using one of the tree sections, some leftover sequins, card and by adding a few other supplies, I created this lovely piece of wall art:

It's shown here without its frame as it was easier to photograph and has some lovely detail. Here's a close up of the white holly berries (liberally coated in clear Wink of Stella for a wonderful sparkle) with the pinecone embellishment:

There are also a number of paper-toled gold heat embossed ornaments:

Lastly, check out the Noel sentiment from the Christmas Pines set (this could be substituted with one of those in the Forever Evergreen set) - stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold, then fussy cut, layered and finished with gold ribbon:

Making cards or additional home decor projects such as this one is a great way to extend the usefulness of both the kit and co-ordinating stamp set.

Now for the good news! Would you like to make this project? Every customer who purchases a Forever Evergreen Project Kit and a co-ordinating Forever Evergreen stamp set from me either in person or through my online store will receive a written tutorial from me FOR FREE with complete instructions on how to make the above piece of Christmas Tree Home Decor Wall Art, along with an extra piece of green tree so that you don't have to use one from your kit. Isn't that just something?!

This offer will last until the end of the current seasonal catalogue, but since both the kit and stamp set have 10% and 20% respectively off before 10.50pm GMT on Monday (28th November 2016) and are now available only while stock lasts, I wouldn't leave it too long before placing your order if this is an offer that you would like to take advantage of. Tutorials will be sent separately by me directly to you once your order has been shipped - please note if you are ordering online you will need to ensure you have not ticked the 'no contact' box in order for me to be able to access your details.

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. 

Right I'm off to a swimming gala (helping not participating of course!); I'll be back tomorrow with a card (or two!) for this week's new challenge from the lovely Sandy over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Forever Evergreen Project Kit

Forever Evergreen Photopolymer Stamp Set

Stampin' Up!'s Online Extravaganza is here! Starting tonight at 11pm GMT for one week only, 21-28 November, you can save up to 40% on select products. To sweeten the deals, we will be having 24-hour sales on the first and last day of the promotion, featuring special products available for that day only. 

Select items (those marked with an asterisk), including those that will be on the future autumn/winter catalogue retiring list, are available only while supplies last.

The all-important details for the promotion are as follows:
• You must use the bundle item codes provided. Discounts will not be applied if individual item numbers are entered separately. 
• Some bundles are exclusive to Online Extravaganza and will not be available after the promotion ends. 
• There is no minimum purchase required in order to receive the discounted price. 
• Additional products from current catalogues may be purchased on the same order.

Here is the full list of deals this week:

You can download a PDF version of the deals list by clicking here.

Don't forget, the first of the 24 hour flash sales begins tonight at 11pm GMT and includes the following items with some great discounts available:

Some great deals there, with the enamel dots and gift bag punch board being two of my favourites - no excuses to not have your Christmas packaging sorted! 

Happy shopping everyone!

I'm back today with some great news for the start of November: from today we have the early release of a new product from the 2017-18 annual catalogue, Stitched Shapes Framelits, and a product promotion!

A Great New Product

Let’s start with the Framelits: the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies are a set of 12 dies that include four circles, four ovals and four squares that coordinate with our Layering Circles, Ovals and Squares.  Brilliant!

These new dies are available for purchase beginning November 1 – that’s today!

So, what makes these Framelits a necessity?  When run through the Big Shot, these dies leave a detailed stitch around the edge of the Framelit.  The stitched look is so on-trend right now and will add a great extra touch to your stamped projects. Here’s a video with details about the new dies and some great project ideas:

Aren't they great? You are definitely going to want to add these to your framelit collection.

Here are the measurements for these new shapes:

Circles:  1-3/8″, 1-7/8″, 2-3/8″, 2-7/8″

Squares: 1-3/16″, 1-5/8″, 2-1/8″, 2-5/8″

Ovals: 1-3/4″ x 13/16″, 2-1/4″ x 1-5/16″, 2-3/4″ x 1-13/16″, 3-1/4″ x 2-5/16″

25% Off Selected Stamp Sets

What's more, there's a promotion to run alongside the launch of these new framelits too! As if the new Stitched Shapes Dies weren’t great enough…there is also a long list of stamp sets from the Autumn-Winter Catalogue and Annual Catalogue are available for 25% off during November.  Yes, you heard it - 25% OFF! here's the complete list:

Right - I'm off to put in my order for these fabulous new framelits and then get on with my busy day of back-to-back classes. I will be back later with today's project blog post; until then, happy shopping! Oh and don't forget to use this month's hostess code SQN297RD when placing your order online to get a little thank you in the post from me!

Greetings From Santa Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Greetings From Santa Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set	Merry Mice Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Merry Mice Clear-Mount Stamp Set
Tin Of Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Suite Seasons Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set	Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set	Blooms & Wishes Photopolymer Stamps

A four day blogging break - that has to be the longest in a while! Did you miss me? Last week went by in something of a whirlwind as I was exhibiting at the Great British Craft Show in Stoneleigh Park with my good friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator Louise Sims, so my time was taken up with last minute preparations for the show and then attending the show itself. Here's a picture of us in front of our stand on Saturday morning raring to go:

We had a great couple of days and it was lovely to meet so many wonderful crafters who we were able to introduce to Stampin' Up! and I am very much looking forward to seeing them again in the future at an event, class or online. 

Whilst I have lots of wonderful projects to share with you here in the coming days and months, today I'm sharing two special offers that you definitely need to know about. The first is one that ends tomorrow, so get in quick!

To celebrate World Card Making Day last Saturday, there are a limited number of products on offer until 5th October:

Lots of great card making staples in there, including great deals on Fast Fuse and in-colour cardstock and envelope paper. Best of all though has to be the offer price on the Envelope Punch Board and the Designer Tin of Cards Kit - you know what a fan I am of Stampin' Up! kits, well this one really doesn't disappoint. A great product for a fun crafty night in with friends or it would make a lovely early Christmas gift. Do get in touch if you'd like to purchase; I will be putting in an order tomorrow night and if you are local to me you are welcome to add to my order and save on postage.

As if that wasn't enough, there is also an amazing offer on designer papers for the entire month of October:

This sale includes Designer Series Paper from both the annual catalogue and the recently released autumn/winter catalogue (not including Specialty Designer Series Paper or Designer Series Paper Stacks). Here are the full details of the paper collections that are included: 

I will be sharing lots of samples using these papers - in fact, pop back tomorrow and you will see the first of many!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Just popping by with a quick post to let you know that the clearance rack has updated. Lots of bargains to be had, some items with up to 60% off. You can see the full range of items by clicking here.

Don't forget there are still a range of special offers including main catalogue products. The current items will be on offer until 11pm tomorrow, when they will change to the last week of special offers. You can see the current list here.

Back tomorrow with some stamping; until then, happy shopping!

I've been enjoying a nice couple of days of rest and relaxation but today am back to it from my sun lounger! I have a nice and easy Foxy Friends card for you, featuring the cute fox! Take a look:

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

Take One Fox - I stamped the fox in Calypso Coral directly onto a circle of Whisper White, then stamped his head again onto a piece of scrap paper, punched it out and popped it over the main image on dimensionals. 

Spots and Chevrons - I paired the fox with a couple of pieces of patterned paper: the chevron pattern is from the A Little Foxy DSP Stack and the polka dot banner from the Subtles stack (my paper is actually the old design as I was using up some of my stash, but there is an almost identical pattern in the current Subtles DSP stack - the dots are just slightly bigger).

Add A Happy Hello - I finished my card with a sentiment from one of my 'go to' sentiment sets, Tin of Cards, stamped in Archival Black. I love the sentiments in this set - the font seems to go with everything and they are a great size for most cards.

I also added a piece of retired Basic Grey stitched ribbon, as this was all that I had to hand when I made this card; the new Smoky Slate stitched Ribbon would work beautifully for this card though - I've included the link for this in the supplies table below.

This is the card that I made at my last Coffee and Card session at Bell of Northampton before we broke up for the summer and this little chap proved very popular. The Foxy Friends bundle just has so many creative possibilities! If you haven't bought yours yet, this month would be the perfect time to do so; if you purchase the bundle and a pack of the 'A Little Foxy' Designer Series Paper Stack together you will have spent £45 and so you will earn yourself a £4.50 money-off coupon any purchases next month too - bargain! Just click on the links below to hop on over to my online store to order yours today - and don't forget to add this month's hostess code 63RNATE3 to get a little thank you in the post from me 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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Foxy Friends Photopolymer Bundle	A Little Foxy Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Smoky Slate 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Stitched Ribbon	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set