Another Christmas card and another challenge today! I'm loving the Season of Style paper stack, which is just perfect for making lots of Christmas cards and here's one of the designs in all its glory:

I'm entering this card for the Retrosketches #82 Challenge which has this great layout sketch as inspiration:

I stayed with the square shape and orientation and made a feature of the fun 'All I want for Christmas' stamp in the Christmas Messages stamp set. It comes with a co-ordinating stamp, which I've used here on the inside of my card:

The links to the products I used for this card are included below. Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

I'm finally catching up with my festive card making this week and today I'm very excited to be sharing a Christmas card that I've decided to enter into my first ever challenge! I often take my creative inspiration from challenge sketches or colour schemes, but have never before actually entered one of my card creations. So, here goes - this is today's card:

I'm entering my card into The Paper Players Challenge #164: Sandy's Sketch Challenge, which has the following sketch as the inspiration:

I was quite brave as whilst I kept the layout, I swapped out my scalloped circle and edging for chevrons and a more angular look, but since the sketch is for inspiration and doesn't have to be followed literally I'm hoping that's ok. I've been waiting to use Dasher's little brother on a Christmas card, as I was quite upset at the thought of not blogging about his big brother since his retirement at the end of last year, so this card gave me the perfect opportunity. The Early Espresso base is also quite a departure for me, but it seemed right given my reindeer starting point and I like the masculine feel of this card.

Welcome to any new Paper Players who are reading this! I hope you like the card; back tomorrow with another Christmas card to share. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

My second post of the day today, so a quick creative one this time! I just wanted to share some thank you cards I made recently for some customers to pop into the bags with their orders. I made quite a few, so needed something that was quick to execute. I decided to use a selection of the butterflies in the Papillion Potpourri stamp set to create this simple one layer card:

I used the lovely pre-cut and scored Stampin' Up! notelets and the colour scheme was inspired by the Birthday Basics DSP that I also had out on my desk to make the card I'm going to share with you tomorrow. A simple sentiment and a co-ordinating stamped envelope and voila - a pretty card set in no time at all!

Don't forget, the Papillion Potpourri stamp set and co-ordinating Bitty Butterfly punch bundle is available to order at a 15% discount during the month of September, so you have just under a week to take advantage of this offer. If you live local to me, I will be placing an order later this week so if you would like to save on p&p contact me to add you order to it. Otherwise just go to my online store to place your order by clicking on the supplies links below or for the bundle on the right hand side of my blog page.

Also, if you haven't yet checked out the Clearance Rack in my online store, go take a look! There are some great bargains to be had, with some items as much as 80% off.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Today's card is one I made for a dear friend of mine to celebrate a recent achievement. It was also my first attempt at rolled paper flowers! Here is the card I made:

I used the lovely new Afternoon Picnic papers as the basis for my colour scheme, as I seem to have lots of the Wisteria Wonder lilac card in my box which I never use (much more of a Brights girl!). I love how it tones in with the Coastal Cabana blue and the ruffle trim and paper flowers make for a very feminine card. This stamp from the 'Feel Goods' stamp set is one of my favourites and is perfect for someone celebrating a milestone or achievement, or even motivating along the way.

The funny thing is, my friend surprised herself with her achievement, yet it didn't surprise me one bit - I knew she could do it. Isn't it funny how sometimes others have more faith in us than we have in ourselves? So whilst she didn't 'believe she could' beforehand, as I wrote inside her card I don't have a stamp that says 'She believed she couldn't ...' - it just wouldn't be right! I made the front oval section of the card detachable though and attached a magnet to the back, so that when she's done looking at the card she can attach the oval section to her fridge door and use the magnet to remind her that she can do great things - sometimes we just need to believe in ourselves.

That's my motivational talk over for today - back tomorrow with some butterflies! until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Did you know that 16-23rd September is National Cupcake Week here in the UK? Not that I need an excuse for a good cupcake, but this is surely reason enough! With this in mind, I have a cupcake card for you today, but alas of the paper rather than edible kind! Here's my card:

Starburst cards are very popular at the moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity to use up some of my retired Patio Party DSP which has a number of cake-themed papers to echo the punched cake that features in the foreground. This card would work equally well with any of the current papers though, if you wanted to create something similar. As you can see, the sentiment uses a combination of one of the ones in the Create a Cupcake stamp set and another personalisation from my retired 'For My Family' set. This was the card I made from the children for Granny's birthday last week, although I must confess the cakes on the card look somewhat more tasteful than the chocolate-covered rainbow sugar creations the children made the last time they baked with Granny - they definitely wouldn't taste as good though!

Back tomorrow with the first of my projects using some of my new Christmas goodies; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

This is the first of two posts today, as there's lots of news to share! Firstly, I'm excited to announce that there is a new series of never-before seen single stamps available from today, all with a Christmas theme:

These stamps are available as clear-mount only (blocks available separately) and won't be sent in typical SU! cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four separately (these are available in the main catalogue).

There are 8 different stamps to choose from, starting from £4.50. These stamps are only available through 31 January 2014 and will be great for cards and tags during the festive season, so get them while you can! Choose one or collect all eight - the choice is yours.

Secondly, as today is Tuesday it's the day for this week's My Digital Studio (MDS) downloads - click on the date buttons below to link to my online store to view them in more detail and to purchase. I've also included the links to the downloads for the last two weeks in case you're new to all this and want to catch up!

This week's downloads include the new in-colour ribbons, the Thankful brush and tablescape kit and some of the Christmas stamps from the current seasonal catalogue. 

If you haven't already looked at MDS, you should really consider downloading the free trial version from my store: you get a really comprehensive trial version for 30 days absolutely free, to help you decide whether you would like to go ahead and purchase the full version for £13.95. I would urge you to download it and take a look: whatever your area of interest - scrapbook pages, photo albums, cards, home décor and more - you will be amazed at the things you can create.

I'll be sharing some of my own MDS projects here on my blog in coming weeks - if you've already downloaded and started creating, do share your creations with me - I would love to see them.

Back shortly with today's creative post; until then, happy stampin!

This is a short post I'm afraid - I've already typed this once and lost it, so am furiously retyping (I'm blaming the computer rather than the operator though - bloggers prerogative!) Today I'm sharing another of the mosaic cards from last week's class, this time showcasing the Quatrefancy Speciality Designer Series Paper:

This is a CASe of a Janine Tinklenberg card that I saw on Pinterest. I love the bold colours of the designer paper and the stamped punched images really make it 'pop'. There really is so much you can do with this product suite; this card is simple in design, yet so effective.

Did you notice that all the cards in this month's class also featured the Banner Greetings stamp set? This is an exclusive hostess set that you can purchase with hostess credits earned on a qualifying party or individual order (£150 or more). There has never been a better time to host a party, with so many lovely new hostess sets in both the annual catalogue and Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue to choose from. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to an early Christmas present of free crafting goodies and book a party with me today - get in touch to discuss available slots, there are still times available before Christmas.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hope you've all enjoyed a lovely weekend; mine's been great, but I must confess to not enjoying the weather; it feels like autumn has arrived with a vengeance and I don't much care for it. I am missing the Florida sunshine! Anyway, today's card is one we made in last week's Mosaic Madness class:

I've seen a few versions of this card on Pinterest and this is my take - bold and bright in Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay. This was one of the more complicated cards we tackled, as it involves two-step stamping and accurate placement using the stamp-a-ma-jig to place the mosaic stamps accurately on the white flag. Some of my ladies chose to cheat a little and stamp their images onto scrap card and then punch them out and glue them to the flag, trimming to fit; that's fine too.

I really love this colour combination and the combination of the stamps with matching embossing folder is just right. This embossing folder is one of the most versatile and the pattern can be used either embossed or debossed, each giving a different effect. One last thing before I go - I hope you like the new-look supplies list at the end of this post. From now on, the idea is to show each of the products used with a direct line to my online store. This will make it really easy for you to purchase items and take advantage of any online hostess codes or offers or simply order your items any time, day or night. You may notice a few tweaks over the next few days as I make this happen, but if you have any questions about online ordering, please get in touch.

I'll share our other class cards with you this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies used:

Last week it was my mother-in-law's birthday and today I'm sharing the birthday card I made for her, using my Chalk Talk set for the first time:

I had some of the lovely pink wide ribbon left over from the Spring-Summer Seasonal Catalogue earlier in the year and I wanted this to be a real feature of this card, so the actual stamping is understated. I really love the sentiment on this Chalk Talk stamp and for someone who is such an integral part of our family, it was especially appropriate for this card. Also, did you notice the background paper - wondering where I got this from? Well, I made it myself using the 'Mum' stamp from the retired 'For My Family' stamp set. I'm really pleased with how it turned out - and I didn't even use a stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up! I love the colour combo too - I'm really into Bermuda Bay at the moment and I think it works really well with the pinks in this card.

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Chalk Talk, For My Family (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits, Extra Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Magnetic Platform

Finishing Touches: 1 1/4" Two Tone Ribbon (retired), Basics Rhinestones

Well, I can't believe it's actually been six days since I last posted a blog entry, but it has! It's not that I've not been 'making', far from it; just that I've had some urgent makes that I sent even before photographing (oops!) and it was my birthday at the weekend and whilst I didn't make myself a card, my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary on the same day and I have two friends who also share my birthday so I was busy sorting cards for them. I have lots of friends and family with birthdays in September, so am still trying to finish these cards before I really get into the Christmas spirit! And this week I have two card classes too, so busy, busy!

Anyway, today's share is a quick 'make' and birthday card with the 'Great Outdoors' stamp set. I play an active role in the Parents' Association at James Juniors' school and last weekend was the now annual Dads, Lads and Lasses Camping Weekend. No Mums allowed, except to help with the planning, organising and shopping beforehand! The weekend was choc-full of great activities: a treasure hunt, mini beast hunt, stargazing and campfire breadmaking to name but a few. Another of the activities was to create a mini camp journal; everyone had a mini journal to stamp, colour and decorate and the 'Great Outdoors' stamp set was just perfect for this. Here's the simple one I created to give the children some inspiration:

The children created some fantastic journals and filled them with tales and memories of their weekend. The photo at the end of the post shows Rebecca's 'work in progress' (and this is just the outside of the book!) alongside mine.

I have one other photo to show you from the weekend; not a great picture I'm afraid, but it was a last-minute one taken with my phone - shock, horror!! One of the young campers was celebrating his birthday on the Sunday, so I made a themed card for the children to sign collectively as a special way to remember how he spent his 7th birthday. Here it is: 

I made a mask to enable me to stamp the tents in a row and fussy-cut the campfire and popped it up on dimensionals. Lastly, here's a picture of my happy campers eating their campfire-baked bread with jam:

I will be back tomorrow with another of my recent cards; hopefully blog normality is about to be restored! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: The Great Outdoors, ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet, Memorable Moments

Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Old olive, Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip

Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch