Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for my favourite, a sketch challenge, chosen by Jan:

I considered how I was going to use that large central circle as my focal point and since I'm in 'use it up' mode with my retiring product right now, I decided to create a little scene using some woodland creatures from the Happy Forest Friends designer series paper in the annual catalogue. After much fussy cutting and arranging and re-arranging, this is what I came up with:

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

Several of the sheets in the Happy Forest Friends pack have printed scenes on them, so having considered how I was going to make the most of each sheet I actually fussy cut some animals, then used my largest circle Stylish Shapes Die to partially cut a circle, having firstly fussy cut the edge of the tree to sit outside of the circle border. I then added an owl, bear, bird and half a fox (good job he was peeking from behind the tree!) and layered them to create my scene. You can see the detailing a little better on the close up below:

I added a couple of panels using another of the patterns in this pack to the background, and a simple bow of Old Olive twine and a stamped and fussy cut sentiment from the 'Lovely You' stamp set that seemed to fit with my scene. The 'Lovely You' stamp set has lots of useful sentiments and is currently available at 60% off - just £9.20. What a bargain - snap one up here in my online store whilst it's still available!

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 tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

HAPPY FOREST FRIENDS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

MOSSY MEADOW CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

Click here to go right to the the online store to shop your favourite retiring items now!

These are the Last Chance Retiring Products lists updated by Stampin’ Up! on March 31.

Click here to see the retired items list for the 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue in PDF format, including the discounts that will apply beginning on April 4:

You can click here to download the retiring list for the 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue in Excel format so that you can modify and edit it.

Click here to see the retired items list for the January-April 2023 Mini Catalogue in PDF format, including the discounts that will apply beginning on April 4:

You can click here to download the retiring list for the January-April 2023 Mini Catalog in Excel format so that you can modify and edit it.

Stampin’ Up! has put together a quick video showing you the colours that are leaving and the new colours coming in, including the new In Colours!  You can see it here:

Here's a quick list of those colours that are retiring:

• Blushing Bride
• Pear Pizzazz
• Mint Macaron
• Rich Razzleberry
• So Saffron
• Merry Merlot
• Pacific Point
• Mango Melody
• Soft Suede
• Sahara Sand
• Bermuday Bay

I'll have more news with regard to the new in colours in a separate post, but for now - I'll be placing an order first thing tomorrow so if you'd like to take advantage of the bargains on the retiring list, then do get in touch.

Let me know if you have any questions. Back tomorrow with another post; until then, happy shopping!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Sale-A-Bration may be over for another year, but the first day of a new month brings exciting news with two new announcements for you. First up - Online Exclusives!

Online Exclusives offer a great opportunity for new experiences! You won’t find these products in any catalogue; they are fresh, never-before-seen products to spark your creativity and expand your crafting collection - all from the convenience of the online store. You can see all of the items that have been launched today in my online store by clicking here.

Here are images of just some of the products available:

There will be a number of Online Exclusive product releases throughout the year so be sure to keep up to date!

Secondly, the latest addition to the Kits Collection by Stampin’ Up! also launches today and can be found in the online store.

The Colorful Kaleidoscope Kit is filled with geometric shapes and unique kaleidoscopic patterns. This kit includes 9 full-size cards, 3 each of 3 designs, measuring 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (10.8 x 14 cm) and 9 coordinating envelopes and retails at £22. 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:

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

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

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where our leader and chief organiser, the lovely Heather C, has a recipe challenge for us with a distinctly feminine feel:

Recipe challenges usually send me into a bit of a spin, but this one actually worked out surprisingly well for me! I was inspired to have a go at a fancy fold card layout that was recently shared by Stampin' Up's CEO, Sara Douglas and decided to take the opportunity to make my Mother's Day card and use a new floral stamp set that will be available for just a few more days - take a look:

This is a photo-heavy post, so time to get comfy! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Beautifully Happy - The flower at the centrepiece of today's card is from the 'Beautifully Happy' stamp set - one of the items that can be yours FREE with a £90 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. Can you believe I've had this set for almost 2 months and this is the first time I've used it?! So many stamp sets, so little time! Anyway, I digress - this is a two-step stamp set, with an outline that can be used along and coloured freehand, or alternatively used with the infill stamps. I wanted to heat-emboss my flower, so my Stamparatus was key here: I stamped the flower outline in Sahara Sand, then added the infills without removing from my Stamparatus, then stamped the outline again in Versamark and heat-embossed in gold. I fussy cut the main stem and added a gold pearl for the stamen and used this flower  as the centrepiece of my card:

I also added a stemless version inside and a single bloom to my envelope label, and I used the outline for some tone-on-tone stamping on the first inside layer of my card - you can see below how the card opens:

The sentiment in the heart on the front of my card is also from this stamp set. If 'Beautifully Happy' is on your Sale-A-Bration wishlist, you have just 4 days to place your £90 order and receive this stamp set for free. Time to get shopping!

Texture Chic - The recipe ingredient of 'distressed paper' sent me immediately reaching for my Distressed Gold Specialty Paper and Texture Chic Specialty Designer Series Papers - both add a distressed look without any tearing or self-made grunge, neither of which are my style! The Texture Chic papers also include various shades of pink to compliment my Petal Pink stamped flower and lots of faux-texture. I also added actual texture with my Painted Texture Embossing Folder on the panel behind my fussy cut flower stem. 

The Distressed Gold paper is just beautiful; I used it to add some hatched diecut details on both the front and left inside panels:

Here's a close-up of that detail on the left (the diecut sentiment uses the now retired Word Wishes Dies):

I also used the Distressed Gold Paper to create a pocket using the Split Textures Dies:

I handwrote my Mother's Day message, along with a poem, on a separate card that I tucked in here after photographing.

Fancy Inside and Out - A fancy card with a little bulk requires a fancy envelope too, so I created a simple file folder style, adding some retired ribbon and a scalloped address label. You can see in properly below:

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. 

It's not Mother's Day here in the UK until next month (March 19th) but it pays to be organised! Equally, if you don't make or send Mother's Day cards, this could be easily adapted and used as a fancy birthday card for someone special. These kinds of card do take a long time to make, however for someone special it's totally worth it. I'm linking up today's card over at The Flower Challenge where they are asking us to use our newest flower stamps and dies - it looks like I'm getting there just in time!

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.

Enjoy your day. I'm off to the hairdressers first thing then am collecting the eldest of the James Juniors and a friend for a trip up north to Newcastle for a university offer day tomorrow, so that should be fun. I'll be back Sunday with my project for this week's Paper Players challenge so do join me then. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHIC DIES (35.00)	PAINTED TEXTURE 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (8.50)	SPLIT CARD TEXTURES DIES (27.00)	BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)	DISTRESSED GOLD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PAPER (4.75)	TEXTURE CHIC 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (14.00)
SUBTLES 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) CARDSTOCK (13.00)	PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	MANGO MELODY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	FLIRTY FLAMINGO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	SOFT SUCCULENT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went across the middle row with Easter, free and floral and had some fun fussy cutting some of my Sale-A-Bration designer series papers - take a look:

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

The Dainty Flowers designer series papers that are free with a £45 purchase during Sale-A-Bration are just lovely! I made a few different cards with these papers for my open house, but haven't gotten around to sharing them here. There is one sheet that has some beautiful oval frames of wildflowers and whilst you could use them as a simple frame for a stamped sentiment I had cut out some of them and wanted to show my customers how they can be used in different ways. I created a split panel using a sheet with a half oval and another half featuring one of the other patterns in the pack, and added a sentiment combining elements of the Love For You Dies with a retired Easter sentiment and added another staggered layer of fussy cut flowers: 

You do need to be a fan of fussy cutting to achieve this effect as these flowers are tiny, but I think it's worth it! The addition of a trio of brushed brass butterflies completes my Easter card.

The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring Sale-A-Bration products so I'm linking today's card there - and remember, if you'd like to snap up these Dainty Flowers papers you have just 5 more days to do so, so head on over to my online store now!

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. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

LOVE FOR YOU DIES (ENGLISH) (30.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BRUSHED BRASS BUTTERFLIES (9.50)

Today I'm sharing a quick card that I made with the Favored Flowers designer series paper that is currently available free with a £45 purchase during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion:

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

I used up a few more of my fussy cut flowers and this time I paired with a sentiment from the 'Peaceful Moments' stamp set and some co-ordinating banners using papers from the same pack.

These papers are bold and beautiful! The team over at TGIF Challenges are featuring Sale-A-Bration products this week so I'm linking today's card there - and remember, if you'd like to snap up these Favored Flowers papers you have just 6 more days to do so, so head on over to my online store now!

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:

PEACEFUL MOMENTS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)

BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)

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

I thought these colours were perfect for a card to welcome a new baby so I grabbed Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and my 'Adorable Owls' stamp set and set to work. I This is what I came up with:

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

I added a piece of Balmy Blue Country Gingham to the lower portion of my cardfront, then added a horizontal panel of clouds cut using the Basic Borders Dies. I stamped and coloured two owls in the challenge colours with my Stampin' Blends, then fussy cut them out. I sat my baby owl on her own cloud, courtesy of the Give It A Whirl Dies, popped up on dimensionals, then added my second owl. My baby owl has a pink bow since Rebecca's piano teacher has just become a father to a beautiful daughter named Harriet, so this card will be winging its way to him to congratulate the family on their new arrival. My heat-embossed sentiment is from the 'Charming Sentiments' bundle, which I diecut with the co-ordinating dies: 

These sentiments come in two halves - I used the second one on the inside of my card:

'Adorable Owls' is such a cute stamp set and even better because it's free with a £45 order during Sale-A-Bration which runs until the end of the month - got to love a free stamp set, right?!

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; the James Juniors are on half term this week, so this will be a week of exam revision mixed with a little R&R before getting back to it. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

BASIC BORDERS DIES (27.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (49.50)	GIVE IT A WHIRL DIES (37.00)	COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	BALMY BLUE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.75)
TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	CRUMB CAKE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	BALMY BLUE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	PETAL PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	SO SAFFRON STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (8.50)	STAMPIN' BLENDS COLOR LIFTER (4.25)
VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS 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 fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

I  used Jen's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and the fresh colour palette over at Color Dare (I used all of the colours except Linen) and made a thank you card featuring a sweet songbird - take a look:

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

I used a stencil I had made previously using one of the Basic Border Dies along with a blending brush to create a cloudy sky using Pool Party ink, then added a solid panel in the same colour that I had embossed with music using the Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder as the backdrop for my songbird. I stamped my branch and the bird's legs onto a piece of white cardstock and fussy cut them, then stamped my bright blue songbird in Tahitian Tide, punched it out using my co-ordinating Songbird Builder Punch and popped the bird up on dimensionals for a little extra lift. A stamped punny musical greeting and a trio of additional music notes complete my scene:

I like the addition of the texture behind the bluebird and love that this bundle worked for our music theme - I haven't used it nearly enough! Not to mention I was a little pressed for time this week, so I was pleased that this card came together quite easily. I wanted to make a few in alternative colourways, but they will have to wait for another time!

If the Sweet Songbirds bundle is on your wishlist, you might be pleased to know that the Songbird Builder Punch can now be yours FREE with a £45 purchase as one of the additional products that are available this month as part of Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion - for full details read last week's post here.

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; ours will be a homework-filled one! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

SWEET SONGBIRDS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (32.25)	MERRY MELODY 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (9.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	TAHITIAN TIDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
PALE PAPAYA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PEAR PIZZAZZ CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	CRUMB CAKE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

We are in our second and final month of this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: you all know that this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 28th February and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here.

Good news: from now until the 28th February, there are more reasons to celebrate! You will also be able to choose from the catalogue items below (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

Remember, you need to use the special Sale-A-Bration item code for each product - these are different to the standard product codes for these items, which are still available to purchase in the annual catalogue. 

If you have your eye on any of the other Sale-A-Bration items, do bear in mind that they will only be available whilst stocks last - it is possible that they could run out before the end of the promotion, so don't leave it to0 late to place your order. 

I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy shopping!

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 'Galentine's Day' which is on 13th February. This celebration, falling the day before Valentine's Day, is all about celebrating female friendships. 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 I really went to town and used a friendship sentiment, hearts, pink, purple, twine and something shiny and this is what I came up with:

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

I wanted to use another of the comical felines in the 'Love Cats' stamp set for today's card and chose the one that paired best with the sentiment I wanted to use. I think 'I love hanging out with you' is the perfect sentiment to share some female love and let your bestie know how much you enjoy their company, don't you? 

I had a whole other layout originally planned for this card, until I saw the Try Stamping on Tuesday sketch layout - I rotated it through 90 degrees and thought the curve would be perfect for my acrobatic cat. In order to tuck the banner underneath the front of the cat to preserve the sense of perspective, I stamped the cat twice and carefully fussy cut the top half of one, so that I could adhere the banner and then add the upper portion of the cat over the top If you look closely you can see how I did this below:

I aligned the banner with the wire and stamped the sentiment in one straight line rather than as it is laid out on the original stamp as I wanted a long slim banner. It does make for a long banner, but I love the effect - and the long twine bow that ties my heart trinket follows the same contours, so I think it works. I found this little shiny heart in my retired embellishment stash and it was the exact same size as the stamped one, so was a perfect fit - serendipity indeed!

My colour scheme was inspired by the Dandy Designs designer paper I used on my car base - one of my favourite Sale-A-Bration free items this year - have you earned yours yet? You still have one more month to take advantage of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. so don't miss out.

Finally, I'm also linking today's card up for a second entry over at Global Design Project #GDP379 where their theme this week is 'love'.

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE CATS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (33.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)