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!

A reminder that today is the last day of Stampin' Up!'s Online Extravaganza! Ending tonight at 10.50pm GMT, you can save up to 40% on select products. Today is also the second and final 24-hour sale featuring special offers available for today 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.

Today's specials include the ever-useful Magnetic Platform - if you own a Big Shot and don't have one, i would definitely recommend it, I use mine daily - the Flurry of Wishes bundle and the bell punch, which has 40% off and is a bargain at just £9.60.

You can see some of my favourite Flurry of Wishes cards in previous posts here and here - but for today I wanted to share a card with a difference that I made with the bell punch, also on offer today. Inspired by this card made by Amanda Bates, I just had to make my own clean and simple version of a gingerbread topiary - take a look:

What no bells? Did you spot it - the upturned bell with the end trimmed makes the perfect plant pot! My sentiment and candy cane stick was stamped with the border stamp in the 'Candy Cane Christmas' set and the bow punched with the Holly Builder Punch. The house I fussy cut from the Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper and brushed the snow on the roof with my clear Wink of Stella for added sparkle - and the best bit? There are 56 whole houses in a pack of Candy Cane paper - that's a lot of cards!  

Some great deals there - don't miss out!

Happy shopping everyone!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used on Today's Card:

Bell Punch	Candy Cane Christmas Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Candy Cane Lane Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Holly Berry Builder Punch	Pearl Basic Jewels	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the talented Sandy to host this week and she has a fun sketch challenge for you to work with:

 You all know me well enough by now to know how much I love a good sketch and this one is no exception - so many possibilities! I could have stamped the offset panel or featured a designer series paper; unusually for me though, I decided to showcase an embossing folder. Take a look:

Doesn't that look all warm and cosy and remind you of nights in by the fire?!  Here's the low-down on today's card:

Create An Impression With Cable Knit -  For my central panel I embossed a rectangle of Cherry Cobbler cardstock with the Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. This is one of Stampin' Up!'s new Dynamic folders, made to create deep, dimensional embossed impressions and it really does - you can almost feel the knitted stitches in that would-be sweater, the grooves are so deep.

Stitched Wrapped in Warmth - I inked my sentiment, from the Wrapped in Warmth stamp set, using Cherry Cobbler, Delightful Dijon and Basic Black Stampin' Write Markers and added a stitched border using the new Stitched Shape Framelit Dies, before adding a little enamel heart embellishment too. I just love the stitched edging, so effective. 

Warmth and Cheer Colour Combo - The colour combination for my card came right out of the plaid background paper from the Warmth and Cheer paper stack, with its warm red, mustard yellow and basic black. Feel free to save it if it's a favourite of yours too:

A little ribbon and burlap to finish completes my festive, warm and cosy Christmas card.

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. 

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

I look forward to seeing what you create with Sandy's sketch this week. We are off for our usual Sunday morning of sport, followed by an afternoon of Christmas crafting preparations.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wrapped In Warmth Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack	Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Delightful Dijon 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Mini Striped Ribbon
5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Regals Enamel Shapes	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker	Cherry Cobbler & Garden Green Stampin' Write Markers

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

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a colour combination for you:

So I toyed with going with a thank you card today, as it is Thanksgiving in the USA - happy Thanksgiving to my fellow team members and any other US followers today! In the end I decided to go with something a little different from me; I watched this video here by Jennifer McGuire recently and have been keen to try the embossed impressions technique; these colours were perfect for what I had in mind. Here's my card:

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

Rich Red Watercolour - I created a watercolour background for my central panel using Delightful Dijon and Cherry Cobbler inks and my aquapainter. I also spritzed my card with a mix of alcohol and clear Wink of Stella to give an all-over subtle shimmer and allowed it to dry thoroughly before moving on the next step.

Embossed Impression - To create my ornament feature, I used the round bauble from my Delicate Ornament Thinlits, inked it with Versamark then placed the thinlit onto the watercolour paper and rolled it carefully through my Big Shot. The Big Shot sandwich here is key: multi purpose platform open to Tab 2, acrylic plate, silicon mat, watercolour paper, thinlit die then lastly the final acrylic plate. This allows the die to create an inked impression on the watercolour paper, without it cutting. I then heat embossed this with gold embossing powder to give a fine line of gold detailing. I then used my gold Wink of Stella pen to highlight each of the detailed sections on the bauble for added sparkle - the close up below does show some of the detail, but I can assure you in real life it's gorgeous (even if I say so myself!):

Touches of Gold - I finished my card with a gold foil mat and a gold foil bauble hook, hung by a piece of gold thread with bow detail along with a gold foil 'merry' sentiment cut with my Christmas Greetings Thinlits and mounted on a few additional layers to add some depth. As for the kraft - I used it for my cardbase; the neutral tone really allowed my watercoloured shimmery panel to take centre stage.

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

I did manage to get myself very inky making this card, however I'm quite pleased with the results and am looking forward to trying this technique with other thinlits dies.

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

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too! This will be my last week as a designer on the Connie and Mary Thursday team; family demands have led me to have to scale back my commitments and as such I am stepping down. I have enjoyed my time with the team; this has always been one of my favourite challenges and will still play along when I can.

That's all from me; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Delicate Ornament Thinlits Dies	Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Embossing Buddy
Heat Tool (Uk)	Watercolor Paper	Gold Foil Sheets	Kraft 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Gold Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Aqua Painters

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!

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of my sweet friend Claire to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

I was inspired by a few other challenges too for my cards today - yes, not one, not two but three cards to share with you! The challenge over at Fusion has a great inspiration photo (you can see it below as the card that I am entering for this challenge is further down the post) that led me to use the 'Joyful Nativity' Christmas set from the annual catalogue and with the Addicted to CAS challenge codeword is ombre and CAS Colours and Sketches calling for monochromatic blues, I dug out my Marina Mist, Dapper Denim and Night of Navy ink pads and set to work.

The genre of 'clean and simple' tends to be rather subjective and whilst my general style is definitely 'clean' it tends toward 'clean and layered' rather than 'clean and simple'. So today I decided to take the same basic idea and create both a clean and simple and a clean and layered card to illustrate the difference! So here's my first card, a simple one layer affair stamped on extra thick Whisper White cardstock:

I stamped the angel in the centre of my 'o', brushed the stamped areas with my clear Wink of Stella brush and added a metallic shape to the star to finish my card. Super clean and simple! I also made a second version of this card, this time adding in the secondary sentiment, stamped in Night of Navy:

For my final card, I created a clean yet layered card, using this week's sketch over at the Global Design Project:

I used a cardbase of Marina Mist and switched out the angel for the Bethlehem skyline, added a piece of in-colour envelope paper for my background layer and heat embossed my sentiment in silver onto a strip of Night of Navy cardstock:

All three of the cards have a beautiful shimmer as a result of the careful brushing with my Clear Wink of Stella which adds a gorgeous subtle sparkle in real life. So 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. 

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

I look forward to seeing your clean and simple cards this week. We are off for our usual Sunday morning of sport assuming the hockey pitch hasn't frozen with the sub-zero temperatures we've been having for the last couple of days, followed by lunch, some baking for a school bake sale this week and then a birthday party to attend for the youngest of the James Juniors, so another full-on Sunday!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of an exciting new promotion for next week only; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Joyful Nativity Photopolymer Stamp Set	Metallic Enamel Shapes	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	2016-2018 In Color Envelope Paper	Marina Mist A4 Cardstock

Good evening everyone! I have been making some last minute samples for my Petals and Paisleys class next week and I decided to make a quick card to share with you using this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

This card is also perfect for the current colour challenge over at Fab Friday, since their trio of colours all feature in the Petals and Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper and the thankful challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays. Here's my card:

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

Petals and Paisleys -  I covered the lower portion of my card with a piece of patterned paper from the Petals and Paisleys DSP which features all three of the challenge colours. I used the two least dominant colours, the Rich Razzleberry and Mint Macaron, for my topper and ribbon detail for added emphasis.

Paisley Framelits - The leaf that features in the paper pattern also has a corresponding framelit, so I cut one out in Mint Macaron as the perfect co-ordinating embellishment. I backed it with a fold of purple ribbon and anchored it using a Razzleberry enamel shape. Perfect!

Stitched Thinlit Dies - My sentiment from the 'Tin of Cards' stamp set is one of my 'go to' stamps for squares, as the font and size fits perfectly. What makes this one stand out is the layering with the stitched border,cut with the new Stitched Shape Thinlits. I've been using these a lot this week and love how they add interest to an otherwise plain shape.

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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Petals & Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper	Paisley Framelits Dies	Petals & Paisleys A4 Cardstock Pack	Ribbon 3/8" (1 Cm) Trio Pack	Brights Enamel Shapes
Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a sketch for you:

I decided this sketch was perfect to hang my stocking - literally! Take a look:

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

Hang Your Stocking - My diecut stocking is cut using the Christmas Stocking Thinlits Dies. This set has lots of fun pieces to create stockings in three different sizes and add decorative trims - so many creative possibilities! It also comes with this great Noel diecut - perfect for edging a mantlepiece or adding a border trim to patterned paper, as I've done on my card today.

A Trio of Stamp Sets For Less - The diecut stocking is the clear winner on today's card, but this creation is by no means stamp-free; in fact, I used three stamps from three different stamp sets on my holiday card, all of them available this month at 25% off - what a bargain! You can read about the offer in full here along with the details of our new stitched framelit dies (these have been incredibly popular and will only now be orderable until 21st November before orders are put on hold whilst stocks are replenished - so you need to order them in the next few days to be assured of a timely delivery); in the meantime, did you spot them all? They are the stocking heel, toe and cuff detail and mini snowflakes from Hang Your Stocking, the large snowflake from Tin of Tags and the snowflake splatter from Christmas Pines. My stamping is subtle, yet each stamp contributes to the finished card.

Sparkle and Shine - I used Heat and Shine and Dazzling Diamonds along with the snowflake splatter stamp in the Christmas Pines set to add sparkle to the white section of my card. Difficult to photograph, but in real life so pretty! My Noel is also cut from a piece of red foil cardstock that I found in my scrapbox for a little extra shine and I added a sprinkle of rhinestones to finish. I love this festive colour combination, inspired by the Presents and Pinecones Designer Series Paper set - feel free to save it if it's one you like 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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set	Christmas Stockings Thinlits Dies	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tin Of Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set	Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter	Versamark Pad	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Banner Triple Punch	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a colour challenge for you to work with:

I have another Pretty Pines project for you today, but a 3D project for a change as opposed to a card. I made this home decor frame to showcase these fabulous dies - and adorn my home during the festive season of course! Take a look:

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

Pretty Pines - I love these dies and they are perfect to create festive embellishments for cards, gift packaging or a home decor project such as this one. I focused on the pine needles, berries and mistletoe pieces to make my wreath - not a pinecone in sight - as I wanted to stick to my red, green and white colour scheme. Using the Big Shot Precision Base Plate and the die brush also made light work of removing the pieces from the framelits. I added a bow in Real Red stitched edge ribbon as a finishing touch:

A Joyful Christmas and a Wonderful Year - I chose the Joyful Christmas sentiment from the 'Wonderful Year' stamp set as the focal point for my frame. This is the perfect sentiment for this frame, which I am intending to display in my hallway to welcome guests over the festive season.

Ombre, Ombre - I stamped my focal sentiment in Emerald Envy using the ombre stamping pad for added interest. I love the gradation of colour you get with these stamp pads and they really are so easy to use.

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. 

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

I look forward to seeing what you create with my colour choices this week. We are doing something a little different in terms of sporting pursuits today: Ben is off for his usual session of basketball, however Rebecca is going to be at the swimming pool bright and early as she is participating in a sponsored swim in aid of For Zachary, a charity set up in memory of a little boy who lived for only 69 days before dying from a rare neonatal lung disease. The swimmers are aiming to cover a distance of 69km in total, one kilometre for each day of young Zachary's life - and Rebecca is aiming to swim just over 3km herself. That will be no mean feat! She is still collecting sponsorship, so if you're reading this and you would like to sponsor her, here is the event's JustGiving page - many thanks and I''l let you know how she gets on.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies	Wonderful Year Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Emerald Envy Ombre Stampin' Pad	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper	Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Whisper White 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Cardstock	Real Red 3/4" (1.9 Cm) Stitched Edge Ribbon	Precision Base Plate
Big Shot Die Brush