Just a quick post to let you know that the latest addition to the Kits Collection by Stampin’ Up! can now be found in the online store:

 The Forever Friends Kit has all you need to create beautiful floral cards with green foil accents to share with all your friends! This kit retails at £20 and includes:

• Enough supplies to create 8 cards—4 each of 2 designs
• 8 coordinating envelopes
• One Forever Friends photopolymer stamp set
• One Night of Navy Ink Spot
• Printed card bases, printed foil envelopes, foil die cuts, adhesive, twine, and a clear block
• Finished card size: 5-1/4" x 4-1/4" (13.3 x 10.8 cm)
• Coordinating colours: Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Petal Pink

 You can order yours in the online store by clicking here and here's a link to the unboxing video if you'd like a closer look:

Pretty, right? 

That's all from me for today! Remember if you are shopping with me in the online store, remember to use the host code for April in order to receive a little thank you from me in the post.

Back tomorrow with a creative post - until then, happy shopping!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made last week when I had my 'Begin With A Dream' stamp set out on my desk making this card. 

Today's card uses the layout above from Try Stamping on Tuesday and embraces the inspiration of 'rainbow' too - take a look:

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

Fairly straightforward here - a diecut rainbow using the retired Rainbow Dies for the curved element and a panel of the repeating image of people holding hands, coloured with my Stampin' Blends and finished with a heat-embossed sentiment: 

I had intended to stick with the colours of my diecut arches but did get a little carried away with colouring the people - there is so much colour on this card it is truly a rainbow! I still love the fun, colourful feel though and I think it would be a great card for someone who needs a little mood boost (a teacher, maybe?) The 'Begin With A Dream' stamp set is really useful for this kind of card - it also features a really useful globe stamp that I've yet to feature on a card (so many stamps, so little time!)

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 am in the middle of a serious office clear-out so my day will be a busy one; I need to make progress before I can reward myself with some time crafting with my new annual catalogue preorder goodies that finally arrived yesterday! I'll definitely be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEGIN WITH A DREAM HOST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (12.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (6.12)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

Stampin' Blends: Various

I've a late post today but as promised I'm sharing a card that uses the same layout as yesterday's, this time using a trio of colours from the current Sunday Stamps palette:

I chose the two pinks and Starry Sky as my co-ordinating dark blue for a bright slimline birthday card - take a look:

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

The card has a few more layers than yesterday and is all about the colour! I used the fabulous large floral die as my focal point then overlaid with the other diecut sentiment in the Amazing Thanks set, having combined this with a stamped sentiment from the Art Gallery set for a colourful birthday card:

This card is still easy to pull together and impactful with the hot pink! I thought this card might work with the addition of a sparkly diecut number as I have lots of friends and family celebrating milestone birthdays in the next few months. I need a card for an 18th birthday, so consulted with the James Juniors for their thoughts and was told in no uncertain terms that this was a card more suitable to older (much older!!) ladies! Oh well - clearly I might be the mother of two teenagers, but what do I know?! Back to the drawing board on that one!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (10.40)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (8.40)	ARTISTIC DIES (33.00)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	SLIMLINE ENVELOPES (5.70)

An important second post today! For 24 hours only, starting at 11pm UK time this evening, Stampin' Up! are offering FREE shipping on orders of £60 or more.

The key information is as follows:

• Free shipping applies after the qualifying order amount has been met.
• The minimum qualifying amount to receive free shipping is £60 or more.
• Free shipping only applies during the 24-hour period the promotion is live in each market; this means that the order must be opened and closed between 18th April 2023, at 11 p.m. and 19 April 2023, at 11:00 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on retiring in-colours or stamps, pick up a bundle that you've had your eye on and more! So start making those lists and head off to my online Stampin' Up! store after 11pm - remember to add the current hostess reward code 6CFWAKVR at check out - or message me with your order.

Happy shopping!

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Valerie has asked that we create a slimline card with a square feature and overlapping sentiment:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card but remember to make it a slimline if you'd like to be considered for the winner's spot for this challenge. 

For my card today I ended up making two cards; I'll share the first one tomorrow as it was a little less clean and simple than I'd have liked. This is the card I settled on to share with you today:

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

This is actually a no-stamping card. I used a piece of the retiring black and white Perfectly Penciled designer series paper and coloured the negative space around the florals using my Mint Macaron Blends, before cutting it out using one of my square Stylish Shapes Dies. I added this to a base of thick Basix White cardstock, and then added a layered thanks sentiment cut with the Amazing Thanks Dies on dimensionals to complete my card:

The Perfectly Penciled papers are great for colouring with your Stampin' Blends markers and this 'reverse colouring' really allows the black and white design to stand out. This paper, along with Mint Macaron and all its accessories and those fabulous Amazing Thanks Dies are all retiring at the end of this month - add them to your shopping basket whilst you still can - or maybe wait until 11pm this evening when the 24 hour free shipping promotion starts - you can read more about the free shipping promotion here!

I'm also linking today's card to the black, white and one colour challenge over at Color Dare and the current 'anything goes' challenge at Less Is More.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AMAZING THANKS DIES (ENGLISH) (10.40)

PERFECTLY PENCILED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (7.87)

MINT MACARON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (7.65)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

MINT MACARON A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a few current challenges:

I'm using Cecile's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and the colour combination over at Colour Inkspirational (I chose my retiring in-colour as Polished Pink - love this pink!) and am also linking up over at Inkspirational where the theme is clean and simple. I'm also using a retiring stamp set - for the first time! Take a look:

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

When I saw Cecile's sketch, I was initially tempted to go with the 'clean and layered' look, however I decided I'd challenge myself to embrace my 'inner Cecile' and create something altogether more clean and simple. I already had the 'Cottage Rose' stamp set out on my desk as I wanted to give it at least one use before it goes away, so I decided I would use that for my focal point, masking and stamping in an extra set of leaves too, in black onto Very Vanilla cardstock.

If you too are a fan of Cecile's work, you will know she is the queen of clean and simple cards and lots to add colour to line stamped designs using a paintbrush and watercolours - her current Design Team cards both at FMS and at CAS Colours & Sketches are good examples of this. I wasn't sure I could pull this off though, so instead I decide to go for a more bokeh effect and using both a blending brush and sponge dauber to achieve different depths of colour, I added Polished Pink and (retired) Encore Gold ink using stencils made with a variety of circle punches and some leftover window sheet to the main flower. A simple gold-on-black heat embossed sentiment completes my card:

I added the same floral detail both inside the card and on the front and flap of my coordinating envelope to complete the look. I resisted the urge to add some enamel dots and just allowed the flower to take centre stage. What do you think? Have you ever tried this kind of technique before? Do leave me a comment below - I would love to hear your thoughts. I don't mind saying I just love this card!! A mix of traditional floral and modern, abstract colouring - so fun! Thank you Cecile for a fabulous sketch and design inspiration this week!

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:

COTTAGE ROSE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.20)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (6.00)	SPONGE DAUBERS (4.75)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS 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 lovely LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Use a craft image on your card - hmm, this should be an easy one right? Turns out I had nothing in my current product stash that fitted the bill and due to the sorting out of stamp sets I couldn't find any stamps in my retired stash either (even though I know I have some somewhere!!) Then I remembered that I has a retired Memories and More pack called 'What a Year' that had some quirky images in - and today's no-stamping card was born! Here it is:

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

A few of the cards in this pack feature scissors, so I chose one of them, added a background of (retired) Mango Melody Dandy Designs paper left over from Sale-A-Bration, and one of the sentiment stickers from the Memories & More pack too. The only extra I added was a diecut circle and banner behind:

And that was it - done! A little light on 'white space', but no stamping, minimal layers and embellishments and it took barely 10 minutes to put together - clean and simple at its best!

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project or supplies list, as apart from the Stylish Shapes Dies and basic cardstock I used, everything else is retired. I think this makes a fun and colourful notecard for a crafty friend - I'd love a fancy pair of scissors like the ones on this card too, wouldn't you?

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

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

Today I'm sharing my third card for my Guest Designer spot over at Just Us Girls. This week it's photo/moodboard week:

 So much to love about this mood board! I was inspired by all of the pretty pinks and the florals in the middle picture on the top row, and the sentiment below it, for my guest designer card this week - take a look:

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

I knew that I wanted to focus on the pinks for my card this week, in particular that pretty piece of designer paper that I used for my base panel from the Awash in Beauty paper pack. I have been holding on to this for just the right opportunity and I decided this card was it! used the sketch over at Paper Craft Crew for my layout; I like the way the white horizontal strips break up the background pattern but still allow it to shine. For my focal point, I went with a sentiment from my favourite 'Simply Fabulous' stamp set in Merry Merlot - I will so miss this set when it retires! - and framed it with more pretty pink blooms that I fussy cut from the reverse side of the background paper. A sprinkle of sequins completes my card:

I really love how this card turned out - these papers are soo pretty! How does the mood board inspire you? Check out what the design team over at Just Us Girls have created this week and have a go and join us!

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 for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

AWASH IN BEAUTY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (15.30)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

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 'Global Pay It Forward Day' which is on April 28th. 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 works perfectly for our theme: I used kindness sentiment, hearts and hands along with the trio of retiring colours being showcased over at Inspire.Create and this is what I came up with:

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

Begin With A Dream - The 'Begin With A Dream' stamp set is a host set, exclusively available to those who earn Stampin' rewards when they host a Stampin' Up! get-together with friends or place a single order of £150 or more. All about love and kindness, this set is perfect for the theme of 'paying it forward'. I used the row of people to create a custom DSP panel and layered my sentiment over a stamped pink heart for a pop of extra colour:  

You can still get this stamp set with a qualifying order before the end of the month, so if it's on your list don't delay - get to my online store!

Bye Bye Brights - All three of the colours on today's card are retiring as part of the upcoming colour refresh. Polished Pink is a departing 2021-23 in-colour (I will miss this pink!) and Mango Melody and Bermuda Bay are retiring from the Brights family. I love all three of these colours, but wasn't sure I could make a project that featured all three on one card. I decided simple was best, so used Bermuda Bay as my main colour, with Mango Melody for my base and a pop of Polished Pink for accent colour. I think it works - what do you think? Will you miss any or all of these colours? 

All Heart - As I looked at my almost finished card, I decided it needed a touch more pink than just the heart stamped behind my sentiment. I decided to add in a trio of cascading punched hearts for a little extra colour and the small heart on the Country Heart Punch was the perfect size and shape for the job. Love it when that happens!

This card took way more thought than it did execution time, but I really like the cheery result and will be perfect to pair with a treat for someone who is least expecting it. How will you 'pay it forward' later this month?

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 for my GD spot over at Just Us Girls. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEGIN WITH A DREAM HOST CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (12.00)	MANGO MELODY A4 CARDSTOCK (6.12)	BERMUDA BAY A4 CARDSTOCK (6.12)	BERMUDA BAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (6.00)	POLISHED PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (6.00)
COUNTRY BOUQUET PUNCH (18.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

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 across the bottom with floral, embossing and stitching and took the opportunity to work with the current Color Hues palette of peach and kraft and decided to try out a fun technique that I saw on Instagram recently - take a look:

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

Graffiti Art - I saw a reel on Instagram recently by the New Zealand demonstrator, Jacque Williams, where she created a fun graffiti art-style card and I really wanted to give it a go! It's actually not that tricky to do: you choose your background wall colour (I used Crumb Cake) then ink one side of your Bricks and Mortar embossing folder before inserting your card and running it through your Big Shot machine. This gives you your inked 'cement' lines and the base onto which you then stamp the rest of your design. Simple! This embossing folder is great for this technique and makes a great background too. I can't believe it's retiring - if you don't have one, I'd seriously consider adding to your collection whilst you still can!

Floral Art Gallery - I chose to add some bold florals for my wall art, using the large bloom from the Art Gallery stamp set, with a Pale Papaya base and top layer of Calypso Coral for some pretty peachy florals, and I stamped the stems in a neutral brown. I also added some splatters in Crumb Cake randomly across my wall to add to the artsy feel.

Art Gallery is another stamp set I haven't used in ages but is leaving us with the current outgoing annual catalogue. I'll be keeping mine though - these florals are a no-brainer and the simple block sentiments are so useful with all kinds of cards, not to mention the large diecut sentiment in the set too. Pale Papaya is leaving too - so get yours now whilst you still can!

Tailormade Tag - I finished my card with some Crumb Cake baker's twine and a tiny tailor made tag with a simple thank you sentiment. I am sending this card to a dear customer of mine who loves a messy card - mixed media and grunge are totally her thing, so I know she will appreciate my attempt at getting even close to her signature style!!

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. You should definitely check out the design team's cards this week too - they are amazing!

Enjoy your day; I'm hoping to get a few cards made today in between errands and laundry. I'm hopeful to be able to use the washing line today, as right now it's a lovely bright and breezy day. Not sure I'll be still in luck by the time the washing machine cycle has finished - we are experiencing proper April showers here in the UK at the moment. The constant to and fro the washing line is definitely keeping me fit though! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BRICK & MORTAR 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	ART GALLERY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (8.40)	TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (21.00)	BAKER'S TWINE ESSENTIALS PACK (10.25)	PALE PAPAYA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (6.75)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)