I've had a busy day today with both my first Technique Class of the month and my monthly Project Life Memory Keeping Class. Today's card though is all about tomorrow; it's the card that we will be making at my Drop-in Coffee and Card morning at Bell of Northampton. This week we will be making a pop up card using the Party Pop-Up Thinlits - take a look:

I've featured a card front similar to this one on my blog previously (you can read the detail here) - for this one though the fun happens on the inside:

I used one of the fun Party Pop-Up Thinlits for a surprise inside greeting, cut out of Whisper White and coloured with my Stampin' Write markers to co-ordinate with the front of my card. Added gold Wink of Stella for the candle flames, of course!

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.  

I would love you to join me at Bell's tomorrow between 10-12 (you can find a reminder of the full details here) - hope to see you there!

I will be back tomorrow with one of the cards from today's technique class featuring the Rose Wonder bundle and the new, final set of Weekly Deals; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Party With Cake Clear-Mount Bundle	It's My Party Enamel Dots	Gold Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush	Lots Of Labels Framelits Dies	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad
Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Big Shot	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Many Marvelous Markers
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Party Punch Pack

I have had a busy start to my week: the James Juniors are back at school after an enjoyable Easter break so today has been spent catching up on correspondence, spending more time making my swaps for Onstage later this week and planning for my week ahead, which includes the fist of this month's Technique Classes tomorrow - more on that later this week.

Today I want to share a home decor project that I will be making at my 'Crafternoon Tea' event that I am holding at Bell of Northampton in Kingsthorpe on Saturday 7th May, featuring the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies and the 'Hello Life' stamp set:

All instruction and materials will be provided for the session and each person will leave with a decorated 9” x 9” frame to keep. Check out this close-up of the gorgeous flowers: 

Once you’ve completed your project, you can tuck into a scrumptious afternoon tea for two with scones and cakes alongside a large selection of sandwiches stuffed to bursting with egg mayonnaise, chicken and horseradish, cheddar cheese with chilli jam and many more scrumptious fillings freshly prepared by Tea and Cake @ Bell.

The session will run from 10am-2pm on Saturday 7^th May and cost £56 for two people. Buy it for yourself or as a gift! Why not treat yourself and your mum, friend or daughter to a voucher for an indulgent afternoon tea and crafting session! There are still spaces left for this event - I would love you to join me! If this is something that appeals to you, click here to make your booking online.

I'll be back tomorrow with a 'sneak peek' of the card that I will be making in my drop-in Coffee and Card Session at Bell's on Wednesday this week between 10-12 noon. Until then, happy stampin!

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

I knew when I chose my colour palette some months ago that I would do something with flowers; for my card this week I was inspired to use the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies - I just love those flowers and I knew they would be great to create the tropical flowers I had in mind with my colour scheme. I also used this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday for the layout for my card:

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

Lots of Layers - I love layers and this card has lots of them! I kept them either plain or with a unified pattern of polka dots so that they wouldn't overwhelm the sentiment and flowers that are the focal point of my card.

Subtles versus Brights - Balancing my colour choices today may be considered a challenge in itself. I used my Brights largely as accent colours, although the one thing I did differently on my card was stamp my sentiment if Soft Sky, the lightest colour. This is a real departure for me as normally I would stamp it in the strongest darkest colour for impact, yet sometimes it pays to take a more subtle approach - I hope you agree :-)

The Perfect Accent - Yes I used those White Perfect Accents for my flowers again - I love them, whether left 'naked' as here today or coloured up using my Sharpies. They make such a great flower centre.

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 this week's colours. We are off to basketball today but no hockey - one more week off for Easter until we are back on the pitch! This means cycling if the sun is shining or board games if it rains - let's see where we end up!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Botanical Builder Framelits Dies	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad
Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock	Brights Designer Series Paper Stack	Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock
Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Big Shot	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	White Perfect Accents
Melon Mambo 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon

It's the weekend and mine has started as busily as ever! I have a quick post today to share some of my customer thank you cards this month that also feature this week's colours over at Color Throwdown:

I just loved this collection of brights with a dash of Mint Macaron thrown in and the fun door wreath in the inspiration picture, so decided to create a  collection of bright spring flowers for my notecards:

This card really doesn't need much explanation: I used the challenge colours and the Endless Thanks stamp set, available at a discount as part of this week's Weekly Deals. I stamped a simple collage of flowers and leaves onto a Whisper White notecard, added a banner that I fussy cut and popped up on dimensionals for extra height and a trio of rhinestones to finish my card.

Endless Thanks is a great stamp set for mass production of thank you cards, so one I turn to frequently when I want to make customer thank you cards to pop in with their orders for example. It has a variety of sentiment combinations and will work in lots of different colour combinations 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. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a a card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. It's a colour challenge and I'm the hostess this week, so you wont want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Endless Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes	Rhinestone Basic Jewels	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

Today the lovely Kylie Bertucci, an Australian Stampin' Up! demonstrator, is hosting an international blog highlight with the theme of 'love'. I am delighted to be taking part and since I have been working with the Rose Wonder stamp set and Rose Garden Thinlits a lot lately as they feature in one of my April Stamp technique Classes, I decided to use them to create a special wedding card to share with you today:

Whilst the photograph is lovely, I can't tell you just how pretty and sparkly this card is in real life! Every part of it shines. So here's the low down on today's card:

A White Wedding - Whilst white cards can be tricky to photograph, there is nothing more stunning for a special wedding card. I used shimmery white cardstock which has a wonderful subtle sparkle and lustre and is perfect for a special card. I also kept my roses white in colour, using Dazzling Diamonds glitter in its 'raw' state to add to the purity of my card. 

Roses, Roses - My regular blog followers will know that my style generally is very clean and layered and today's card is very typical of that. I decided to create an inset panel of roses using my Rose Garden Thinlits, cutting them to fit into a frame that I'd cut out using my Big Shot and Square Framelits. As an alternative to paper-piecing the outlines and centres, I decided to try something different: I backed my frame with acetate, turned it over and painted inside the rose outlines with Crystal Effects, then sprinkled it liberally with Dazzling Diamonds glitter and left it to dry. I then flipped it over again before adhering to my card. This creates a sparkle that will even outshine glimmer paper, but has the benefit of being contained within the frame so no worries about glitter shedding from the completed card. Bonus!

A Touch of Silver - The only colour other than white that I used on my card was silver, with silver foil for my background mat layer and for my heat embossed sentiment. Just enough to frame my card and enable my sentiment to stand out - well, you can't really read white-on-white can you?!  I did toy with adding some silver satin ribbon, but decided against it as it detracted from the clean lines of my frame. 

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 check out the other cards in the blog hop for inspiration; I would love it if you could pop over and vote on my card in the gallery by clicking here - the designers of the cards with the most votes will get to participate in one of Kylie's monthly international blog hops, so your votes all count!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Rose Wonder Photopolymer Bundle	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock	Silver Foil Sheets	Window Sheets	Crystal Effects
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter	Squares Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)

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

So after everything I said about Delightful Dijon on my CCMC card last week, this week I've gone and used it again - out of choice! My card this week is all about our current in-colours, the 2015-17 In Colours to be exact:

I decided to create a washi tape striped inset background for my white butterfly, using the In Colour Designer Washi Tape that is an exclusive hostess gift which you can purchase with Stampin' Rewards when you host a Stampin' Up! party. I then chose the remaining elements of my card from there: a strip of white corrugated card for texture, a strip of watermelon wonder wide 1" stitched satin ribbon and for the back panel a piece of Colour Me Irresistible Specialty Designer Series Paper - I went with the Delightful Dijon because this is the only uncut piece in my pack! I finished my butterfly with a Mint Macaron  In-Colour Blossom Accent, finished with a rhinestone. I haven't added a sentiment to my card today as I wanted to add it to my stash of 'all purpose' cards, so will probably add one as I'm ready to send it.

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 how they interpreted this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Wednesday and time for this week's new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! There are changes afoot as far as Weekly Deals are concerned - due to improvements in stock control, this week and next are the last weeks that they will be offered. They will however be replaced with less frequent but better 'Specials' promotions on an adhoc basis - please make sure you're checking my blog regularly for details. So for the final two weeks, there really are some great deals - as always, these offers are valid for one week only. 

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 new Hostess Code for April UD3KDWM4 if your order is under £150 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. If you are local, then give me a call to place your order if you'd like to save on P&P.

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:

Bermuda Bay Thick Baker’s Twine	Endless Thanks Photopolymer Stamp Set	Flurry Of Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set	Gold 1/8" Ribbon	Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies
Leaflets Framelits Dies	Metal Rimmed Pearls	Confetti Hearts Border Punch	Greatest Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Metallics Sequin Assortment
Sonnengruß Clear-Mount Stamp Set (German)	Souhaits Rayonnants Clear-Mount Stamp Set (French)	Sunburst Sayings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Wild About Flowers Photopolymer Stamp Set

If you're tempted to place an order, do check out the clearance rack online too - additional items have been added this week and there are some good bargains to be had!

It just so happens that I've used two of the products on this week's deals on my card today - check it out here!

That's all from me; back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy shopping!

Today I have another clean and simple card for you, the second one this week using the sketch challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch. As I mentioned yesterday, I love playing along with their sketches, which can sometimes leave me lost at first glance but then often take me in an unexpected direction. This week's sketch is definitely one of those! Here is the sketch:

I spent considerable time thinking about how I was going to interpret this sketch; the Design Team have some great takes on this sketch and I was fascinated by Michelle's Design Team card in particular and the way she created the channel for her airplane. In a similar vein I created my second card:

How cute is this?!! Here's the low-down on today's card:

See Ya Later Alligator - My alligator is from the 'Zoo Babies' stamp set. Super cute on a baby card but also works for a fun 'hello' style card too. His open jaws were just crying out to be used with this sketch! I added a tiny punched heart from the Confetti Hearts Border Punch for a little pop of colour too.

Chomp Chomp - What to use to create the teeth marks I needed for my alligator's bite? I used the scalloped thinlit in the Cutie Pie Thinlit set; this enabled me to create a mirrored border to reveal my sentiment beneath, which is from the 'Greatest Greetings' set. Don't all alligators look like they are smiling - before they open their mouths at least?!

'White' Space - Like Monday's card, today's features plenty of true 'white space' - or in this case 'green' space! You can read all about white space and its function of clean and simple cards here. Today is another example that fits with this week's challenge over at Less is More, so I will be linking up for the second time this week.

This is one of those cards that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside - I just love it!

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. 

What's more, two of the products I've used on today's card - The Confetti Hearts Border Punch and Greatest Greetings set - are available at a knock-down bargain price on Weekly Deals today - get the full details here. 

Back tomorrow with a card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Zoo Babies Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Greatest Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Baker's Box Thinlits Dies	Calypso Coral A4 Cardstock	Pear Pizzazz A4 Cardstock
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Confetti Hearts Border Punch

Today I have another clean and simple card for you, this time for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I love playing along with their sketches, which can sometimes leave me lost at first glance but then often take me in an unexpected direction. This week's sketch is definitely one of those! Here is the sketch:

I spent considerable time thinking about how I was going to interpret this sketch and then ended up with not one but two very different creations! Here is the first one:

There are a number of key elements that make up this deceptively simple card:

A Cut Above - This great sentiment comes for the current hostess set in the Spring-Summer catalogue 'Love You Sew'. This exclusive set can only be purchased with Stampin' Rewards that are earned with qualifying party sales when you host your own Stampin' Up! party or place an individual order of £150 or more. Perfect for crafters, it includes a number of fun sentiments and craft-themed stamps and has been very popular with party hostesses throughout Sale-A-Bration. It is still available until the seasonal catalogue ends on May 31st, so if you would like to earn it for free then do get in touch to earn yours.

It's My Party - I love the bold and sassy colours and patterns of the It's My Party Suite and this card was perfect for a busy pattern, due to its simple design. What's more, the decision on which side to use was made easy - for today's card, both patterns are visible. Score! I simply cut a line across my DSP with my Stampin' Trimmer, then folded back the sides to create a 'v' in which to stamp my sentiment on the layer below.

Snip, Snip - The scissors stamp can be found in the 'Love You Sew' stamp set too and were the perfect embellishment for my split card front. I coloured them in with my Stampin' Write markers so that I could colour the handles and blades separately and positioned them'in action'.

Sew easy, sew simple! I just love this set and this sentiment makes for a perfect crafty congratulations - I shall probably make a few of these to keep on standby to celebrate my team members' achievements!

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. 

I've had a day of hair braiding, manicures and baking in addition to a few household chores today. I'm sure tomorrow will be equally fun! Back tomorrow with another very different interpretation of the same sketch; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Love You Sew Clear-Mount Stamp Set	It's My Party Designer Series Paper Stack	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Many Marvelous Markers
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

Another Monday, another week - welcome lovely readers! I enjoyed a lovely day yesterday, with a family lunch, a long cycle ride, more planting of seedlings for the garden and yet more Easter chocolate (we are slowly getting through it!) Today's card is for this week's challenge over at Casology where the cue word is 'washi':

I was thrilled to have my weather cards last week chosen as Honourable Mentions (you can see those cards here and here) and couldn't resist playing along again this week as I try to hone my 'clean and simple' design skills. I'm also entering today's card into this week's challenge over at Simply Less Is More where this week's challenge is to use 'white space that isn't white'. Let me show you my card and then I'll explain a little more what that means:

The key features of today's project are as follows:

Washi Feather - I have lots of washi tape (I don't hoard it quite as badly as designer series paper, but close!) and rarely use it; I consulted with my 'Things to do with Washi Tape' Pinterest board where I have saved lots of ideas and thought it was about time I tried something a little different, so settled on creating the feather you see on today's card. I used some retired tape as I liked the subtle pattern on this one, but you could use any current tape for a similar effect. It's really easy to do: you just tape both sides of a piece of baker's twine or strand of jute ribbon as I did here, then use your paper snips to shape your feather. 

White Space That Isn't White - The creation of 'white space', that is an area of your card with no image, layer, pattern or embellishment, is one of the things that designers often find tricky with this kind of card. 'White space' doesn't refer to the colour of the base layer, although often a white base is used - rather it refers to leaving an large proportion of the card blank. I chose to use Pool Party as my colour of choice today and with the exception of my feather, trio of white Perfect Accents, sentiment and thin border frame, there is nothing else on my card front, meeting the 'white space' clean and simple brief.

Make A Statement - My clean and simple card needed a clean yet bold sentiment. My feather started me thinking about Red Indians (don't ask!) and Indian braves. I remembered this sentiment in the 'Enjoy The Little Things' stamp set; whilst designed to go with the kit of the same name, it stands alone and works well with my lone feather. I stamped it in Versamark and heat embossed in white I think this would be a great card to send to someone battling an illness or difficult circumstance, where a little encouragement is needed.

Here's the visual summary of the key supplies used to make this card for you to save for future 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. 

This is the second full week of the Easter holidays for the James juniors. I'm not sure what our week will have in store, but you can be sure it will include more fun activities that don't include school work!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Enjoy The Little Things Photopolymer Stamp Set	White Perfect Accents	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	White 1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Jute Ribbon
Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)