Yay it's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players - and this week I'm the hostess! With Father's Day approaching, I thought that masculine cards would make a great theme this week and it would at least encourage me to be organised!

I have lots of photos to share with you today, as I made not just one but two projects: a fun card using the mini treat bag thinlits and a matching gift bag using my new Gift Bag Punch Board - oh how I love this!

So first to my card: I've seen a few of these fun cards on Pinterest using the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Die to create a fancy shirt with a sliding insert (one of my favourites is this one by Julie Kettlewell) and have been wanting to have a go at creating my own version for a while. Here it is: 

I have used the now retired Adventure Bound DSP for my card - this paper is just so fabulous for masculine cards and I hope you all stocked up before it retired! The Mini Treat Bag Thinlits are great for making simple slider cards as well as treat bags; I added silver buttons, a pocket punched with my hexagon punch and with a snippet of Island Indigo chevron ribbon in for a handkerchief. For my insert, I cut it taller than my pocket, then snipped in a third of the way each side to create my turned down collar and added my bow tie. The picture below shows the insert with my stamped sentiment from the 'Guy Greetings' stamp set and a pair of shoes to finish off this dapper outfit:

Pleased as I was with this cute little card, I couldn't stop there; I had to create a matching gift bag using my new Gift Bag Punch Board. I think this is going to be one of my new favourite tools - it is so easy to use and offers so many creative possibilities that go beyond the constraints of the board. Here is my bag:

I made my bag using the 'L' measurements on the board and used a sheet of Whisper White cardstock measuring 9 1/2" x 12". Once I'd punched the bottom according to the board instructions, I flipped it around and did the same on the other end, cutting away all except the long flap on the back of the bag, which I then also punched in the middle to create my collar. I then used the collar as the close mechanism for my bag, by tucking it underneath the bow tie - the photo below of the open bag illustrates that more clearly:

I then added two pieces of DSP with co-ordinating lapels and a large silver button threaded with a piece of white jute ribbon trim to finish my bag. Here are both items together:

I'm really pleased with this project duo; the gift bag is large enough for a couple of pairs of socks, some toiletries, a sweet treat (or two!) - pretty much anything that might be on a Dad's wish list. I hope you like them too and they inspire you to create some fun masculine projects this week! Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week, including our three new guest designers:

I look forward to seeing your masculine creations in the gallery this week. I'm off to finish preparations for this week's technique classes and tackle my mountain of ironing. How does the saying go - no rest for the wicked?!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Gift Bag Punch Board	Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies	Guy Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set	Bow Builder Punch	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad
Island Indigo A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Whisper White 12" X 12" Cardstock	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform
Silver Basic Metal Buttons	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon

Just time to squeeze in a quick post from me today to share a really quick and easy packaging idea using the Stampin' Up! Petite Cafe gift bags and some lovely new product from the 2015-16 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue:

Isn't the little shopping trolley so cute?! This was a gift to me from my wonderful upline Monica recently and I wanted to share the lovely bag with you. It is decorated with the new Bohemian DSP and a stamped scallop circle with one of the stamps from the new 'Friendly Wishes' stamp set. The banners were punched in seconds using the new Triple Banner Punch and the bag was finished off with some Venetian Crochet Trim and Metallic Gold Baker's Twine. What was inside? Well, that would be telling...but it was yummy!

With packaging so quick and easy to recreate there really is no excuse not to add the handmade touch to your sweet treats!

Back tomorrow with a special project for the new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am the hostess this week. Come back then - I guarantee you won't want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'! 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Petite Café Gift Bags	Bohemian Designer Series Paper	Venetian Crochet Trim	Metallic Gold Baker's Twine	Delightful Dijion Classic Stampin' Pad
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch	2" Circle Punch	Banner Triple Punch	Friendly Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set

The wait is over - it's June 2nd and the new 2015-16 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is here! I have updated my links on the right hand side of my blog and you will find a permanent link to the new catalogue there, but for today you need look no further than the picture below which will take you straight to the new catalogue:

This is a day when you really can have it all though:

• Today is the last day to order from the 2015 Spring-Summer Occasions Catalogue. There are lots of great products in the 2015 Occasions Catalogue that are going away after June 2.  Read my previous blog post here for the detail.
• Today is the last day to order from the 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue.  Everything in that catalogue that isn’t carrying over to the 2015-2016 Annual Catalogue is to be found on the Retiring Lists and are available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST - today is the last day to order those items. Many of these items are discounted; there are still some bargains to be had. Check out the remaining retiring items here.
• Today is the first day that you can order from the 2015-2016 Annual Catalogue. The new catalogue is posted above and will be permanently linked via my blog if you don’t have a paper copy. If you have your paper copy and just want to go straight to the shop to place your order, click here. Don't forget to add the hostess code for June UPCSWX2C if your order is less than £150 and ensure you are set to 'contactable' to receive a thank you in the post from me.
• Earn Hostess Rewards under the “Old Plan”.  You may have noticed in the new catalogue that Stampin’ Up! has changed the customer rewards plan for purchases over £150.  In the new plan, now called Stampin’ Rewards, customers and hostesses can still earn free product for these larger orders.  While the total reward has decreased at each level (for example, the free product reward on a £150 order decreases from £25 to £15), the rewards are on a sliding scale that allow you to continue to earn for every £ you spend over and above £150. The aim is to make things more straight forward, but as the new plan doesn't take effect until June 3rd for today there is no change. An added benefit of Stampin' Rewards is that they can be used towards a starter kit if you choose to join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator - making the starter kit even better value! Which brings me on to the last 'big news' item for today:
• Earn Free Stamps in June’s Promotion for New SU! Joiners.  June 2 also kicks off a new promotion for customers to become demonstrators.  As a demonstrator on my team, you will belong to a friendly team where you get to be the first to see and order products from upcoming catalogues. You also get to earn a discount on the products you already love – with no risks or penalties if you don't meet your quarterly minimum.  Starting today when you join, you also earn two free stamp sets of your choice (they’ll be added to your starter kit). These can be any stamps at all from the new catalogue - so if you choose wisely (think alphabets and large sentiment sets!) these two stamp sets alone could be worth £60 or more. The Starter Kit is £99 for £130 of free product of your choice. My team is a mix of both hobby stampers and business demonstrators and I love and appreciate them all.  If you would like to take to me about becoming a demonstrator and joining us, please do get in touch for a no obligation chat about the benefits or call in at either of my open house events this week. Alternatively if you know this is the deal for you, don't delay and click here to join today!

That's a lot of information for one post; if I were you I would put the kettle on, put your feet up and get comfy and settle down with your new catalogue for a browse and start creating that all-important wish list!

Back tomorrow with a new project; until then, happy shopping!

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. You totally rocked Anne-Marie's sketch last week; this week it's the turn of the lovely Laurie, who has a tic-tac-toe challenge to stretch our creative brains:

I normally struggle with these, yet I seem to be on a real creative roll this week as I had a ton of different ideas and combinations for today's grid. I settled on combining my card with this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts and challenging myself to use something that I have lots of but sometimes use for little more than decorating an envelope: washi tape. I decided the sketch was perfect for showcasing some of the new Bohemian washi tape that I received with my pre-order goodies - here's my card:

I used a base of Delightful Dijon and a mat of Island Indigo, then cut a piece of Very Vanilla to the shape of the zig zag on the sketch. Starting at the zig zag end, I then covered my whole piece in strips of washi tape, creating an open herringbone effect and alternating between each of the three designs. Once I had covered the entire piece of cardstock, I adhered it to the card base using dimensionals. For my sentiment panel, I cut a rectangle of Very Vanilla and rounded the corners using my Project Life corner rounder and stamped it with the 'Hip Hip Hooray' greeting from the 'Bravo' stamp set in Island Indigo. I added a scattering of Bermuda Bay sequins to finish before popping this up on dimensionals too. I'm sure you've worked it out, but just in case I was following the top line of the tic tac toe board: washi tape, any shade of blue and sequins. I really quite like this card - it seemed almost a shame to cover my lovely pattern with the sentiment panel!

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

I look forward to seeing how many different combinations of the grid we see in the gallery this week. I'm off to prepare lunch as we have some friends visiting today and then I have to get two of the other three members of the James household ready for trips away this week - a busy, yet fun day ahead!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A4 Delightful Dijon -available 2nd June

Bohemian washi tape - available 2nd June

Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Project Life Corner Punch
Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim

We are on the 'home run' towards the weekend and as it's Thursday that means time for a new challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary. This week we have a great sketch for you:

So many possibilities with this one! I decided to use up yet more of my hoarded DSP and showcase a whole host of retiring product on my card this week:

I've used both 'Back To Black' DSP along with a retiring in-colour, Strawberry Slush, and the Petal Potpourri stamp set and co-ordinating Flower Medallion punch, in colour sequins and Black chevron ribbon - all of which are either retiring or not carrying over into the new annual catalogue next week. Not so though for my sentiment stamp, which comes from the 'Fabulous Four' stamp set (I stamped it in black and coloured it in with my Strawberry Slush marker pen), the dazzling diamonds glimmer paper or the black bakers twine - these at least will still be available! 

I'm not generally a fan of black and white on a card in vast quantities, but when paired with a bright colour such as Strawberry Slush I think it really works - you could try this combo with lots of other colours and I am sure it would look great with some of the new in-colours!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create with the sketch this week - do check out the cards made by the rest of the Design Team, there's a great variety as always!

I'm off to spend the day outdoors with friends today as we make the most of the milder weather that we've been experiencing this week; a picnic and some tree climbing is on the agenda - well, the latter for the youngsters at least!

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

So I'm back with the second of my cards for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

As the end of the school year will be upon us soon enough, I decided to combine this card with this week's theme over at The Challenge and get ahead and make a teacher thank you card:

I used a base of Pear Pizzazz and a mat of real Red - apple colours! - and having cut a stencil of the word 'Thank' using my Silhouette e-cutter, I stamped the word Thanks from the 'Another Thank You' stamp set repeatedly in Memento Black into the space and sponged over the whole space in Pear Pizzazz to give the letters more definition. To complete the sentiment, I die cut the word 'you' using my Big Shot and 'Hello You' thinlits three times out of Real Red cardstock and stuck them together to create a raised piece, then painted it in Crystal Effects to give a glossy finish. I used a snippet of chalkboard paper and stamped the word 'teacher' in white kraft ink to give a chalkboard effect (the stamp is from the retired set 'for my family' - it's a keeper!) and added both to my card, along with a cardboard apple embellishment from my Project Life Playground accessory kit and also a 'vintage' wire paper clip. This final addition also enables me to link up to 'Less is More' this week, where the recipe is to add metal to your card. 

I really love the way this card turned out; I like the collage feel it has, yet still retaining my clean and simple style - here's a close up of the stamping and stencilling detail: 

It's a little more embellished than my usual LIM cards, so I'm hoping it will still be permissible although I know the lovely ladies over there will give me some pointers if I've strayed too far from the brief :-) This is however much more what I had in mind for the sketch, so I hope the CAS(E) This Sketch team like it! The James Juniors are already arguing about which of their teachers will be receiving it - I think I might have to make a few copies before the end of term approaches!

Back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hello You Thinlits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad
Chalkboard Paper	Playground Project Life Accessory Pack

A quick card for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch where they have this rather cool sketch to play with this week:

I thought the sketch would be a great opportunity to create a montage of the new 2015-17 in-colours - take a look:

This is my first, rather literal, take on the sketch. I cut a stencil of the word 'Hi' using my Silhouette E-Cutter and then used the 'Hello' portion of the 'Hello Life' stamp in the set of the same name to fill the stencil by repeatedly stamping in each of the new in-colours: Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe and Cucumber Crush. Once I'd filled in the whole area, I stamped one of the Perfect Pennants stamps in Watermelon Wonder and popped this on a dimensional. I think this is my favourite of the new in-colours, although I'm rather taken with the greens too! Which one is your favourite? I'd love you to leave a comment letting me know which one appeals to you.

Come back later for my second, altogether different take on this sketch! Until then, happy stampin'!

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced. 

As always, if you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the Hostess Code for May FZZMG3JY and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper	Spring Flowers Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Calypso Coral Pompom Trim `
Rose Coral Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad	Yellow Citrus Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad	Aquamarine Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad
Chalkboard Paper	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Stacked With Love Designer Washi Tape

Please note - these items are still showing at full price on the Weekly Deals page at the time of uploading, but when you click on a specific product the reduced price is displayed: for example, chalk ink reduced from £4.95 to £3.71 each, and so on. 

Don't forget we also have only one more week left of the retiring list until these items are gone for good. many items have sold out but equally there are still plenty of bargains to be had. There is also only one week left to purchase from the current Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue; a number of items are carrying over into the new 2015-16 annual catalogue, but there are also a number that aren't - they are all listed below with links to the store in case they are on your wishlist:

You Plus Me Wood Stamp Set	You Plus Me Clear Stamp Set	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Stacked With Love Designer Washi Tape	Wood You Be Mine Photopolymer Stamp Set	Hey, Valentine Wood Stamp Set
Hey, Valentine Clear Stamp Set	Birthday Bash Designer Washi Sheets	Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper	Balloon Bash Photopolymer Stamp Set	Cheerful Critters Photopolymer Stamp Set	From The Herd Wood Stamp Set
From The Herd Clear Stamp Set	From The Herd Photopolymer Stamp Set	Hooray It's Your Day Card Kit	Hooray It's Your Day Photopolymer Stamp Set	Painted Petals Wood Stamp Set	Spring Flowers Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper	From The Garden Photopolymer Stamp Set	Moon Lake Wood Stamp Set	Moon Lake Clear Stamp Set	Petal Potpourri Wood Stamp Set	Petal Potpourri Clear Stamp Set
Flower Medallion Punch	Big On You Photopolymer Stamp Set	Aquamarine Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad	Aquamarine Colorbox Chalk Ink Refill	Rose Coral Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad	Rose Coral Colorbox Chalk Ink Refill
Yellow Citrus Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad	Yellow Citrus Colorbox Chalk Ink Refill	One Tag Fits All Wood Stamp Set	One Tag Fits All Clear Stamp Set	Build A Bouquet Project Kit	Build A Bouquet Photopolymer Stamp Set
Love Is Kindness Wood Stamp	For Peeps' Sake Wood Stamp Set	For Peeps' Sake Clear Stamp Set	Indescribable Gift Wood Stamp Set	Indescribable Gift Clear Stamp Set	Happy Easter Bunny Wood Stamp
Sweet Laughter Wood Stamp Set	Sweet Laughter Clear Stamp Set	Mum's Love Photopolymer Stamp Set	Sweet Dreams Designer Series Paper	Sweet Dreams Designer Washi Tape	Little Sunshine Wood Stamp Set
Little Sunshine Clear Stamp Set	Adventure Bound Designer Series Paper Stack	Adventure Awaits Photopolymer Stamp Set	Something Borrowed Designer Series Paper	Your Perfect Day Wood Stamp Set	Your Perfect Day Clear Stamp Set
Your Perfect Day Photopolymer Stamp Set	Sophisticated Serifs Photopolymer Stamp Set	Class Of 2015 Wood Stamp	So You Photopolymer Stamp Set

I've had a lovely day today; I spent the morning doing housework followed by a pleasant afternoon at the park enjoying the sunshine and catching up with friends. Following dinner I got the the bottom of the ironing basket so much has been accomplished! Added to which, today is another two-card day, this time both using the sketch over at As You See It this week: 

I'm also linking up again with the lovely Di over at Pixie's Snippets Playground as both of today's cards were made using offcuts lying around from other projects - always nice to use these up rather than store them for the sake of it! I thought this layout would work really well with some snippets of 'Stacked With Love' DSP and my Pictogram Punches stamp set and quickly set to work and came up with this:

I used a base of Basic Black and added my 'xoxo' DSP in a split vertical strip, then stamped the sentiment in White Kraft ink and heat embossed it in white, adding a little red glimmer paper heart popped up on a dimensional over the stamped one. A further snippet of DSP with a heart punched out and an offcut of red ribbon finished my card. This would make a nice CAS anniversary card for your nearest and dearest or a great Valentine's card - my I am getting organised early for 2016!

Having made this card in next to no time, I then decided to see if I could use the same layout with the other sentiment stamp in this set and create a congratulations card - here is my 'take two': 

A little more layering here and a greater expanse of DSP this time; I used a base of Night of Navy and a mat of Whisper White, then a piece of Maritime DSP with a star pattern. This time I used a piece of Night of Navy punched with the Confetti Stars Border Punch for my vertical strip, infilled randomly with some silver glimmer stars punched from a piece of silver glimmer paper. I stamped my sentiment in night of Navy on Whisper White and popped the whole thing up on dimensionals above the vertical strip, adding a larger silver glimmer star in place of the stamped one. A snippet of left over SAB Coastal Cabana ribbon and a flag of silver glimmer paper stapled to the top complete this card. 

Having made both cards, I think my favourite is the second one; I just love the colour combo and the combination of stars which is so perfect to congratulate someone on a job well done. Which one do you prefer? I'd love you to leave me a comment below and let me know which one gets your vote!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 1):

Pictogram Punches Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy
White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Red Glimmer Paper

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 2):

Pictogram Punches Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Confetti Stars Punch	Silver Glimmer Paper	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Well the Bank Holiday didn't bring the sunshine I was hoping for, but it did stay nice and dry and we managed a bracing long bike ride this afternoon, so it's all good! Today I have not one but two cards for you! The first one is my card for the current Fab Friday Challenge where they have a sketch challenge this week:

Before I share my card, a big thank you to the team over at Fab Friday for choosing my In-Colour thank you card as their Fab Fave - I'm honoured! You can see that card here. Now onto today's card:

I'm still on my quest to use up more of my Designer Series Paper (I am such a DSP hoarder!) and this sketch was the perfect opportunity to showcase some. So no 'sneak peeks' today; instead a Daffodil Delight base with some mats in Soft Suede, and two of the patterns in the Park Lane pack. I used one of my favourite retiring thank you stamps, 'One in a Million', for my sentiment, stamped in Soft Suede onto Very Vanilla, and I chose to fussy cut one of the flowers for my accent. I liked the clean lines of this card so much, I made two identical ones - if you are one of my contactable online customers, you may find one winging its way to you to you this month!

My next card is for this week's TGIF challenge:

I saw the inspiration photo and I had my Painted Petals set out on my desk preparing for my technique class next month (this is the set we are going to be using) and I just knew the two would work together. Here's my card:

I used So Saffron for my card base and matted a strip of the already retired Gingham Garden DSP (I told you I was a DSP hoarder!) onto a strip of Pear Pizzazz and adhered this to the front of my card. I stamped the flowers on a large circle of Whisper White cut out using my Big Shot and Circles framelits, inking them with one of the new in-colours, Watermelon Wonder, and adding some Blackberry Bliss using my Stampin' Write marker to the flower centres before stamping. I stamped the sentiment in Blackberry Bliss too and to finish added a few So Saffron flowers, punched using one of the Itty Bitty Accent punches and centred with pearls. I popped this circle up on dimensionals to stand away from the card. 

Please do check out the design team inspiration for both of the above challenges; they are some amazing cards on both blogs this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 1):

Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

Soft Suede A4 Card Stock

Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock

Million & One

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (Card 2):

Painted Petals Clear Stamp Set	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz
So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents