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 my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

LeAnne's sketch is so perfect for a showcase of patterned paper. I decided to go with one of my favourite bright and colourful paper packs, Sweet Symmetry, and used not one but two patterned papers on my card - take a look:

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

I don't often pair patterned papers on my cards, but I loved the combination of the pattern with the shades of blue for the background, with a pop of bright colour from the paper I used for my three panels; the navy stems help tie the two patterns together. I used my Stitched Rectangle Dies to crop both my three vertical panels and my horizontal sentiment. I almost left my card there, but decided to upset the symmetry that I had worked so hard to create elsewhere with the near-perfect pattern alignment by fussy cutting a trio of flowers and using them to accent my sentiment, using colours lifted from the paper pattern:

I can't tell you how much I agonised over that trio of flowers, but I decided I liked the addition so left them in. What do you think - were they a good addition? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

I love the colours and bright patterns of the products in the Sweet Symmetry suite and will be sad to see them retire. The good news though is that both the 'In Symmetry' stamp set and Sweet Symmetry designer series paper are currently on the Last Chance Products List, each with 40% off. If you don't have either now is the time to pick them up and grab yourself a bargain before they're gone! Follow the links at the bottom of this post to go straight to the Stampin' Up! store to order yours.

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; it's Mother's Day here in the UK today so I am looking forward to being spoiled and waited on all day long - here's hoping! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

IN SYMMETRY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (£9.60)	SWEET SYMMETRY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£6.45)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	NIGHT OF NAVY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)
BUMBLEBEE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	NIGHT OF NAVY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	MISTY MOONLIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

It's nearly time to see all of the lovely items that will be retiring from the current 2021-22 Annual Catalogue!  I'm just popping by to let you know that the Last-Chance Products promotion will go live at 7pm this evening, UK time. All items retiring will be available for LAST CHANCE purchase, with some items that can be discounted by up to 50% - yay for a bargain!

As soon as the list is available, I will upload it here on my blog and share in to my Crafty Owl Creatives Facebook Group.

So set your alarms if you want to be at the front of the queue - there will be bargains to be had!

The start of March sees two great promotions that I can't wait to share with you! What are these exciting promotions I hear you cry?! Well wait no longer - they are:

• Waves of the Ocean Collection - another annual catalogue early release with exclusive accessories
• Savings Are In Bloom Promotion - a discount on the Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine and select co-ordinating bundles

So first up:

Waves of the Ocean Collection

Discover the depths of the ocean—and your artistic abilities—with the Waves of the Ocean Collection! This coastal collection includes an inspiring set of stamps and detailed dies, both early-release products from the upcoming 2022–2023 Annual Catalogue. Plus, a pack of paper made from images of hand-poured paint, blue-hued foil sheets for a sea of shine, and radiant rhinestones for a splash of sparkle—each an exclusive product you can only purchase during the promotion period!

Here's a look at everything that's included in the Waves of The Ocean Collection:

Here's the detail on each product - the items can be purchase individually or as a collection:

Next up:

Savings Are In Bloom Promotion

Meet your mini crafting companion: the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine! This mini—but mighty—machine is durable, portable, and easy to use. It’s the perfect pick if you’re a budding beginner who wants to branch out, a paper-crafting pro who wants to craft on the go, or someone who’s short on storage space! Make precise cuts and embossed designs for any paper project with one pass. Originally £56.00, it can be yours for only £44.75 between 1 and 31 March! The Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine is compatible with a large selection of Stampin’ Up! embossing folders and dies. Kickstart your collection and combine your Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine with any (or all!) of the following stamp-and-die bundles—they’re also 20% off during the month of March!

So two great promotions for March! There are a some great bundle offers here, so if you've been holding off any of these, now would be a great time to pop them in your shopping basket! Direct links to the online store for all of the products above are below - happy shopping!

WAVES OF THE OCEAN SUITE COLLECTION (ENGLISH) (£75.00)	WAVES OF INSPIRATION BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	WAVES OF INSPIRATION CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	WAVES DIES (£32.00)
WAVES OF THE OCEAN 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£10.75)	BLUE FOILS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (£9.50)	RHINESTONE WAVES BASIC JEWELS (£6.25)

MINI STAMPIN' CUT & EMBOSS MACHINE (£44.75)	ALL SQUARED AWAY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£36.75)	ART GALLERY BUNDLE (£41.50)	BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)
CELEBRATE SUNFLOWERS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)	GARDEN WISHES BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)	HYDRANGEA HAVEN BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£43.00)	PANSY PATCH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£42.25)
QUIET MEADOW BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£44.00)	SEASCAPE BUNDLE (£38.25)	SWEET AS A PEACH BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£30.25)	WELCOMING WINDOW BUNDLE (£41.50)
WHAT'S COOKIN' BUNDLE (£37.50)	WILD CATS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£32.00)

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

I used Kim's fabulous sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for my layout and decided to create something fresh with a hint of spring - take a look:

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

Special Moments - I love Kim's sketch this week and will most definitely be CASing her card using my favourite Floral Squares Dies. I decided to use the square to feature my sentiment and the circle for my floral decoration. I love this sentiment from the current Sale-A-Bration set 'Special Moments' - it is a paired sentiment that finishes like this on the inside of my card:

Isn't that so sweet? Perfect to let a friend know how much they mean to you. I layered my sentiment square and added a strip of Sunshine and Rainbows designer paper behind - another Sale-A-Bration freebie!

Pierced Blooms and Stitched Greenery - In addition to my sentiment, my card is all about stitched detailing. I used the Pierced Blooms Dies to create my trio of flowers and leaf stems in the challenge colours to add to the corner of my sentiment square and diecut the background with the Stitched Greenery Dies.

Brass Butterflies - As a finishing touch, I added a couple of teeny tiny brass butterfly embellishments to my sentiment square; these are in the mini catalogue - aren't they sweet?

I really like LeAnne's colour choices this week - they are just the thing to bring a breath of fresh air and spring colour on a cold winter'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 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 have no plans so will be spending it enjoying the start of the half-term break. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SPECIAL MOMENTS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	SUNSHINE & RAINBOWS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	STITCHED GREENERY DIE (£30.00)	PIERCED BLOOMS DIES (£34.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
SOFT SEA FOAM A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (£9.25)

This is my second card for today, again using the 'Driving By' stamp set that I made with a few challenges in mind:

It uses the current Color Throwdown colours and is most definitely a clean and simple take on the codeword at Addicted to CAS this week which is 'Hearts' - and it's another vehicle for the 'V is for Vehicle' challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge blog. I was inspired by a few clean and simple cards that one of the Stampin' Up! Artisans had posted on Instagram that used white ink on a kraft cardbase, so decided to take the fun open top sports car from 'Driving By' and replace the oval balloons with some heart-shaped ones - take a look:

The car and sentiment is stamped in white kraft ink and not heat-embossed, hence the paler appearance (in hindsight, I think I should maybe have used my Stamparatus to get a stronger image - I'll remember that next time!) I used the heart stamp from 'Here Together' and stamped the heats onto the ends of my freehand strings, adding highlights and some dots between the tiny stamped hearts with my chalk marker (these tiny hearts are from the 'Rainbow of Happiness' stamp set). I coloured my trio of hearts using my dry watercolour pencils in Cherry Cobbler, Melon Mambo and Flirty Flamingo to allow for some grainy shading: 

My sentiment is from the 'Happy & Heartfelt' stamp set and I finished with a freehand squiggly frame and some linen thread.

So what do you think? This was a bit of an experiment for me as I rarely use Crumb Cake as a base, but I do like the way it really highlights the three pink hearts. Besides, it's always fun to try something new - especially when the stamp was a freebie to boot! Yay for free products and Sale-A-Bration - you have until the end of the month to get your hands on yours!

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:

DRIVING BY CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL (£8.75)	WHITE STAMPIN' CHALK MARKER (£3.25)	LINEN THREAD (£4.75)	WATERCOLOR PENCILS (£15.00)
WATERCOLOR PENCILS ASSORTMENT 2 (£11.75)	HAPPY & HEARTFELT CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£23.00)	RAINBOW OF HAPPINESS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)

Today I have a couple of quick posts for you using stamps from the 'Driving By' stamp set, one of the products you can receive FREE with a £45 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. For this first one, I made a trio of cards using Linda's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches - here it is:   

Having pondered those criss-crossed lines on Linda's sketch, I decided to use the horizontal one as a road and the vertical for part of my sentiment. Take a look at my first card and you'll see what I mean:

I used a chalk marker to add some white lines down the centre on my road, and stamped my VW Beetle onto either vanilla or white cardstock (this one is on vanilla) and fussy-cut the car, minus the presents that feature on the roof, and coloured it with my Stampin' Blends, before adding to my card with some dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment onto my vanilla cardbase, having masked out the word 'hi' as I wanted to finish my sentiment with my wooden 'Congrats' diecut, which I added last. Check out the dimension that this adds:

Finally, I added a sentiment from 'Happy & Heartfelt' and a learner (L) plate to the inside of my card to finish:

I liked this layout so much, I created a couple more cards, using different papers. On the one below, I backed my Mint-Macaron car with a red heart (this card will be for my daughter when she passes her driving test - one of her aims in 2022!):

For my third card, I went with a multi-coloured map and a bright yellow car, and I heat-embossed my wooden sentiment with some retired Blueberry Bushel embossing powder for added shine:

 Check out that shine - I love it!

I used up a ton of retired product on these cards - all three of the map papers are from a variety of retired packs, as are the wooden 'congrats' sentiments, however you could substitute a stamped or diecut sentiment and even some of the current vellum layering designs (p.33, mini catalogue) in place of my paper choices. Rebecca will be 17 later this year (where did that time go?!) and suddenly all of her friends have either started learning to drive or will be within the next few months, so I am expecting to need lots of 'Congratulations on passing your driving test' cards and this set is going to get a good workout!

Finally, here's one last picture of all three cards together:

I'm also linking today's cards up over at the Alphabet Challenge blog where they are currently on 'V for Vehicle' - how appropriate! 

If you like these cars, check out my next post where I have another card with a totally different theme, using another car from the 'Driving By' Sale-A-Bration stamp set. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DRIVING BY CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£0.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)

REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

MINT MACARON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

DAFFODIL DELIGHT STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that is a 'sneak peek' of one of the cards that I am making with the lovely ladies signed up form my 'Daffodil Daydream' online card class that is taking place next week; I used the great sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout, so am linking up with their current challenge. Here's their sketch:

And here's the card that I made using it as my starting point:

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

Daffodil Afternoon - I knew I wanted to use this particular design of Daffodil Afternoon designer series paper as my background. Bold designs on dark backgrounds can be intimidating, so I chose it as I wanted to give my class attendees ideas how to use them. Taking advantage of the split panel and choosing the lighter colours for both the card base and mat layer both serve to lighten this pattern. Lots to love about this paper pack, but most of all - it's FREE with a £45 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion! If you buy the Daffodil Daydream stamp set and die bundle, this makes a great free product choice to accompany it as it co-ordinates beautifully.  

Daffodil Dies - And so onto those Daffodil Dies! There are lots of die pieces in this set but they go together really easily when you know how. We will be going through that in class, so it was only right that I make up a couple of flower heads and use them to decorate my sentiment label. I cut them from colours that matched the daffodils on the paper, then added some ink with a blender brush to each piece to bring a little more depth to the colours. 

And A Beautiful Shape - Finally, I did start out with a circle shape as per the sketch, albeit I then layered it with my sentiment label and daffodil heads almost covering it up! You can see that circle. courtesy of a new die in the Beautiful Shapes set, a little closer on the photo below, where the debossed detail can just about be seen:

I know this die is one I'll be using lots; the added detail makes it a nice centrepiece. It's no stitched circle, granted, but it is a nice alternative!

I'm looking forward to making a version of this card in my 'Daffodil Daydream' online card class next week. I have lots of other classes and events planned in the coming months - if you would like more information, then do get in touch - I'd love you to join me!

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 have been granted a free pass on the school run this afternoon, so am fortunate to be getting a little extra crafting time (I might even make a head start on tomorrow's chores too!). I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

DAFFODIL DAYDREAM BUNDLE (£51.25)	DAFFODIL AFTERNOON 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£0.00)	BEAUTIFUL SHAPES DIES (£27.00)	PIERCED BLOOMS DIES (£34.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.00)
BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PEAR PIZZAZZ A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.00)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our first challenge this year over at As you See It where it's time for a sketch challenge designed by the lovely LeAnne:

A short and sweet post from me today as I've a lot on so need to make it brief. I decided to use one of my Sale-A-Bration freebies for my card today - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Today's card features the pretty 'Friendly Hello' stamp set and co-ordinating papers - one of the co-ordinating bundles that can be yours free as part of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion with a £90 purchase. The line images of the stamp set co-ordinate with the florals and spring colours of the papers perfectly. I left my stamped bird image black and white and coloured the circle behind with my Pool Party Blends to give the same effect as the background papers and added a fussy cut heat-embossed sentiment, with some sparkly ribbon and black enamel dots to finish. The shimmer from the ribbon seems to almost reflect the blue, don't you think?

I usually struggle with a diagonal, but my card for today came together quite easily. The black, white and Pool Party colour combination is also perfect for the Color Dare challenge of neutrals plus one colour of your choice so I'm linking up today's card there too.

If you would like to snap up this bundle of products for FREE, just place an order for £90 or more in my online store before the end of February. Gotta love free craft products!

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

FRIENDLY HELLO BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£0.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	POOL PARTY STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£7.75)	VERSAMARK PAD (£8.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.50)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)	LAYERING CIRCLES DIES (£33.00)	MATTE BLACK DOTS (£6.50)

It's the 4th January and the first Sale-A-Bration promotion of the year is here! It runs from today until 28th February. You can click on the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page or below to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or click on the icon above or on the right to go directly to my online shopto place an order - we are LIVE!

So how does Sale-A-Bration work? 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. You can earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 4 January and 28 February. There is also the opportunity to earn even bigger rewards with a £90 purchase. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

It’s also one of the best times of the year to join Stampin’ Up! There is a fabulous joining option during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: as usual, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £130 of  products for your Starter Kit. In addition to an extra £31 worth of product in your starter kit, exclusive to Sale-A-Bration, you will also receive TWO stamp sets of your choice along with your Starter Kit ABSOLUTELY FREE! There couldn’t be a better time to join the Stampin’ Up! family. Plus, the whole 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. Above all else, it's a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals united through a common love of crafting.

Hosting is also even more rewarding during Sale-A-Bration. When you host a party and reach a certain amount in sales (see the Stampin’ Rewards chart in the Sale-A-Bration brochure for more information), you can earn a free stamp set!

Even if you reaches the qualifying amount on your own outside of a party, you can earn the same free stamp set too, both in person and when shopping in my online store. 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 virtual party, please do get in touch. Equally 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 January-June 2022 mini 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; paper copies have been sent to my regular customers. 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!

If you would like more information on any of the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

Thanks so much for popping by - it's always nice to share good news! Back later today with my first post of the year for our new round of challenges over at CAS Colours & Sketches that uses some exciting new product! That post will go live at 1300 GMT. Until then, happy shopping!