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 Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went across the middle row with Easter, free and floral and had some fun fussy cutting some of my Sale-A-Bration designer series papers - take a look:

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

The Dainty Flowers designer series papers that are free with a £45 purchase during Sale-A-Bration are just lovely! I made a few different cards with these papers for my open house, but haven't gotten around to sharing them here. There is one sheet that has some beautiful oval frames of wildflowers and whilst you could use them as a simple frame for a stamped sentiment I had cut out some of them and wanted to show my customers how they can be used in different ways. I created a split panel using a sheet with a half oval and another half featuring one of the other patterns in the pack, and added a sentiment combining elements of the Love For You Dies with a retired Easter sentiment and added another staggered layer of fussy cut flowers: 

You do need to be a fan of fussy cutting to achieve this effect as these flowers are tiny, but I think it's worth it! The addition of a trio of brushed brass butterflies completes my Easter card.

The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring Sale-A-Bration products so I'm linking today's card there - and remember, if you'd like to snap up these Dainty Flowers papers you have just 5 more days to do so, so head on over to my online store now!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVE FOR YOU DIES (ENGLISH) (30.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)

Today I'm sharing a quick card that I made with the Favored Flowers designer series paper that is currently available free with a £45 purchase during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion:

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

I used up a few more of my fussy cut flowers and this time I paired with a sentiment from the 'Peaceful Moments' stamp set and some co-ordinating banners using papers from the same pack.

These papers are bold and beautiful! The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring Sale-A-Bration products this week so I'm linking today's card there - and remember, if you'd like to snap up these Favored Flowers papers you have just 6 more days to do so, so head on over to my online store now!

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:

PEACEFUL MOMENTS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a fresh colour challenge for us to work with:

I thought these colours were perfect for a card to welcome a new baby so I grabbed Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and my 'Adorable Owls' stamp set and set to work. I This is what I came up with:

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

I added a piece of Balmy Blue Country Gingham to the lower portion of my cardfront, then added a horizontal panel of clouds cut using the Basic Borders Dies. I stamped and coloured two owls in the challenge colours with my Stampin' Blends, then fussy cut them out. I sat my baby owl on her own cloud, courtesy of the Give It A Whirl Dies, popped up on dimensionals, then added my second owl. My baby owl has a pink bow since Rebecca's piano teacher has just become a father to a beautiful daughter named Harriet, so this card will be winging its way to him to congratulate the family on their new arrival. My heat-embossed sentiment is from the 'Charming Sentiments' bundle, which I diecut with the co-ordinating dies: 

These sentiments come in two halves - I used the second one on the inside of my card:

'Adorable Owls' is such a cute stamp set and even better because it's free with a £45 order during Sale-A-Bration which runs until the end of the month - got to love a free stamp set, right?!

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:

Enjoy your day; the James Juniors are on half term this week, so this will be a week of exam revision mixed with a little R&R before getting back to it. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BASIC BORDERS DIES (27.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (37.00)	COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PETAL PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I  used Jen's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and the fresh colour palette over at Color Dare (I used all of the colours except Linen) and made a thank you card featuring a sweet songbird - take a look:

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

I used a stencil I had made previously using one of the Basic Border Dies along with a blending brush to create a cloudy sky using Pool Party ink, then added a solid panel in the same colour that I had embossed with music using the Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder as the backdrop for my songbird. I stamped my branch and the bird's legs onto a piece of white cardstock and fussy cut them, then stamped my bright blue songbird in Tahitian Tide, punched it out using my co-ordinating Songbird Builder Punch and popped the bird up on dimensionals for a little extra lift. A stamped punny musical greeting and a trio of additional music notes complete my scene:

I like the addition of the texture behind the bluebird and love that this bundle worked for our music theme - I haven't used it nearly enough! Not to mention I was a little pressed for time this week, so I was pleased that this card came together quite easily. I wanted to make a few in alternative colourways, but they will have to wait for another time!

If the Sweet Songbirds bundle is on your wishlist, you might be pleased to know that the Songbird Builder Punch can now be yours FREE with a £45 purchase as one of the additional products that are available this month as part of Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion - for full details read last week's post here.

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:

Enjoy your day; ours will be a homework-filled one! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET SONGBIRDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (32.25)	MERRY MELODY 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

We are in our second and final month of this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: you all know that this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 28th February and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here.

Good news: from now until the 28th February, there are more reasons to celebrate! You will also be able to choose from the catalogue items below (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

Remember, you need to use the special Sale-A-Bration item code for each product - these are different to the standard product codes for these items, which are still available to purchase in the annual catalogue. 

If you have your eye on any of the other Sale-A-Bration items, do bear in mind that they will only be available whilst stocks last - it is possible that they could run out before the end of the promotion, so don't leave it to0 late to place your order. 

I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy shopping!

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Galentine's Day' which is on 13th February. This celebration, falling the day before Valentine's Day, is all about celebrating female friendships. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I really went to town and used a friendship sentiment, hearts, pink, purple, twine and something shiny and this is what I came up with:

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

I wanted to use another of the comical felines in the 'Love Cats' stamp set for today's card and chose the one that paired best with the sentiment I wanted to use. I think 'I love hanging out with you' is the perfect sentiment to share some female love and let your bestie know how much you enjoy their company, don't you? 

I had a whole other layout originally planned for this card, until I saw the Try Stamping on Tuesday sketch layout - I rotated it through 90 degrees and thought the curve would be perfect for my acrobatic cat. In order to tuck the banner underneath the front of the cat to preserve the sense of perspective, I stamped the cat twice and carefully fussy cut the top half of one, so that I could adhere the banner and then add the upper portion of the cat over the top If you look closely you can see how I did this below:

I aligned the banner with the wire and stamped the sentiment in one straight line rather than as it is laid out on the original stamp as I wanted a long slim banner. It does make for a long banner, but I love the effect - and the long twine bow that ties my heart trinket follows the same contours, so I think it works. I found this little shiny heart in my retired embellishment stash and it was the exact same size as the stamped one, so was a perfect fit - serendipity indeed!

My colour scheme was inspired by the Dandy Designs designer paper I used on my car base - one of my favourite Sale-A-Bration free items this year - have you earned yours yet? You still have one more month to take advantage of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. so don't miss out.

Finally, I'm also linking today's card up for a second entry over at Global Design Project #GDP379 where their theme this week is 'love'.

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE CATS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (33.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

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

I went down the first column with diecut, heart and patterned paper and had another play with those Adorable Owls, taking my inspiration too from the scattering of red hearts in the inspiration photo over at Hand Stamped Sentiments - take a look:

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

I went with a similar layout to the card I shared with you previously, as I wanted to create another sentiment using my Alphabet A La Mode Dies. This time I added my 'Hoot!' having stamped a shower of hearts behind the 'O', and finished my sentiment with a heat-embossed one from the Adorable Owls stamp set. I used the other two owls in the set, again coloured with my Stampin' Blends and popped up on dimensionals on wither side of the central panel: 

I used a piece of the Country Lane Floral DSP for my base this time as I wanted even more hearts - it is a Valentine's Day card, after all!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

ALPHABET À LA MODE DIES (40.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	COUNTRY FLORAL LANE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SOFT SUEDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jaydee to host this week and she has a fun Clean and Simple challenge for us to work with:

Time to feature a bird on our cards! I used the fresh colour palette over at Global Design Project and the sketch layout at Try Stamping on Tuesday to make a clean and simple card for a friend using another new set featuring a comical feathered friend - take a look:

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

Today's card features one of the comical feathered friends in the 'Silly Goose' stamp set; a great set with lots of fun small images that are great for colouring. I chose to use the image of the goose, complete with straw hat, floating in her rubber ring with her friend the frog. Simply coloured with my Stampin' Blends and cut out using one of the Stylish Shapes Dies, I backed it with a couple of strips of spotted designer paper, one retired and one from the Dandy Designs Sale-A-Bration pack - they tie in with the spots on the goose's rubber ring:

I added a simple banner sentiment to complete my card (anybody else singing that song from Toy Story now?) I originally made yesterday's cards for today's challenge, but decided they weren't quite clean and simple enough - if you missed yesterday's post and you'd like to see a couple more cards made with a different bird, then be sure to check it out here. 

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:

Enjoy your day; we may or may not be off to the hockey pitch again today, if the temperatures rise high enough above zero for the ice to melt. If not, a warm afternoon in my craft room beckons! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SILLY GOOSE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards using Jacquie's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

Today's cards feature three new products, and two of them can be yours FREE with a qualifying Sale-A-Bration purchase - take a look at the first one:

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

Alphabet A La Mode - I used the big open space of the sketch to feature part of my sentiment, diecutting the word 'PARTY' minus the 'A' using the new Alphabet A La Mode Dies. This is a great value set of letters, numbers and punctuation that are perfectly sized to make custom sentiments for your cards. 

Adorable Owls - The star of today's card though is the cutest little owl from the 'Adorable Owls' stamp set - one of the products that can be yours FREE with a £45 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. I stamped the owl, complete with party hat, coloured him with my Blends and fussy cut him, before popping him up on dimensionals and adding him to my sentiment in place of the letter 'A':

Dandy Designs - Both cards feature patterns from the Dandy Designs designer series paper for the frame - a great bumper pack of 48 sheets in fresh pastel colours. I loved the first card so much, I made a second one featuring a more girly colour palette, with another of the Dandy Designs patterns as the basis for my colour scheme:

Here's a close up of this card - I went with violet eyes for this little owl:

I love both of these cards - the Adorable Owls are just my favourite Sale-A-Bration freebie during this promotion. They are just so cute!

Here's a photo of both cards together:

Which one do you prefer? Do 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. 

It has been freezing here again today - so no hockey at all, although I did enjoy a frosty walk in the countryside as an alternative. The canal that runs close to our house has totally frozen over - all of the ducks were sheltering under the bridges where the water was a little warmer and not yet turned to ice, poor things. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ALPHABET À LA MODE DIES (40.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
FRESH FREESIA STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PETAL PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SOFT SUEDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	COASTAL CABANA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'National Wear Red Day' which is on February 3rd - who knew?! Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week my card  is definitely 'wearing' red; I used red, ribbon and texture from the inspo list and grabbed another of those Sale-A-Bration freebies that I haven't shared with you yet and this is what I came up with:

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

Around The Bend - Today's card features another of those Country Lane designer papers which inspired the overall colour scheme, and was perfect to pick out the red which I highlighted with two layered pieces cut using the Around The Bend Dies. These dies offer lots of decorative and layering options - here I've used both the scalloped curve die and the curved perforated stitched layer on top, which allows more of my red to show through. 

Sending Support - The sentiment is from 'Sending Support' - another of the stamp sets you can receive free with a £45 order. It's full of encouraging and uplifting sentiments - I added a second one with a diecut heart to the corner of the inside too:

So Much Texture - The Around The Bend Dies are great for adding detail and texture: the layers, along with the embossed diecut flowers and leaves which are from the same set, along with the woven ribbon all add texture and interest to my card:

These dies are great for adding texture and interest to a card with minimum effort - I can't wait to share more samples with you.

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AROUND THE BEND DIES (31.00)	COUNTRY FLORAL LANE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	SWEET SORBET A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	SWEET SORBET CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	DOUBLE OVAL PUNCH (18.00)