It's Friday - who doesn't love a Friday?! Today I have a rather special birthday card to share that is rather appropriate for this week's Can You Case It? Challenge where they too are celebrating their third birthday anniversary:

We have a choice of 'black, white and elegant' or 'black, white and fun': my project today is definitely the former - a lovely 6" shadow box frame birthday card featuring the Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper. My papers are black and vanilla rather than black and white, but I'm hoping the CYCI team will allow this! Here's the card:

To make the card itself, I followed this tutorial by the talented Amanda Bates. For the central panel, I used one of the patterned papers and added just a hint of sponged colour in Blushing Bride and I heat embossed my greeting in gold over the top. I then used a co-ordinating pattern for my frame decoration. Isn't that just lovely? I made this card for my mother-in-law who loves a black and white colour combination; I also made a co-ordinating gift bag and tag for her present using my Gift Bag Punch Board and a box to present my card in:

Whilst I'm not a massive fan of black and white as a colour combination, I do love the patterns in these papers and I think the colour combination can indeed look very elegant. More importantly, this card was made more with the recipient in mind rather than the creator and, since she loved it, I guess that's all that counts!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper	Neutrals 12" X 12" Cardstock	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad	Sponge Daubers	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)	Happy Birthday, Everyone Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Gift Bag Punch Board
Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon

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

I struggled a little with this colour combo - having seen Lisa Martz, one of the other Design Team members, adorable chick card I couldn't see how to use these colours for anything else (does that ever happen to you when you see something that was in your mind's eye all along?!) Finally this week's sketch over at Retrosketches helped me out and I came up with this:

I used Lost Lagoon for my card base then covered this with a piece of the raindrop patterned paper from the Sale-A-Bration 'Wildflower Fields' designer series paper pack and a top layer of Whisper White, stamped with my 'hello' greeting in Memento Black. I added a bright red frame cut with my Big Shot and square framelits and a Hello Honey sun, also from the Silhouettes and Script' hostess stamp set, which I fussy cut and popped up on dimensionals. I added an epoxy heart, adhered to Real Red cardstock, as a little embellishment.

A super clean and simple card that brings these colours together in a slightly unconventional way; it might not be that chick, but I like it!

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 another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Wednesday - hurrah! Today I have a card for this week's challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where they have the following sketch to work with:

I turned the sketch through 90 degrees for my card today and used the large sentiment from the 'Botanicals For You' Sale-A-Bration set, paired with some Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper and yes, another of those flowers made using the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies - I just can't get enough of them! Here's my card:

I just love the different flower combinations you can make with these framelit dies! Whilst I do have something different to share with you tomorrow, rest assured you haven't seen the last of these yet!

That's all from me today; I'll be spending the day in my office - I'm hoping for a productive one! I'll be 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:

Botanicals For You Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Botanical Builder Framelits Dies	Big Shot Die Brush	Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper	Big Shot
Ovals Collection Framelits Dies	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Hello Honey A4 Cardstock	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
It's My Party Enamel Dots

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 January W2ZHBH2D 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. 

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:

Berry Basket Bigz L Die

Fast Fuse Adhesive Refill

Hamburger Box Bigz Xl Die

Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Good morning lovely readers! Today I am sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts:

I'm not usually one to gravitate towards colour challenges (I'm more of a sketch gal as you well know!) but I thought this was a great colour combo chosen by the equally great Brian King and so that, combined with the fact that he finds my English spelling of the word 'colour' in and of itself rather quirky, I just had to play along! Here's my card:

I decided to make a bold statement using blocks of colour, with Basic Black as my base and each of the other colours cut with both the positive and negative pieces of the intricate leaf framelit from the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies and pieced together for my base. I stamped my sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it in white on an oval of Basic Black, which I then popped up on dimensionals in the centre of my card. What to use to tie the whole thing together though? I decide to have a go at making a loopy flower out of the new thick baker's twine that comes in the challenge colours; I made a few but decided one was enough to ground my sentiment and bring the whole thing together. If you've never made one of these before, they are really not that tricky when you know how. With that in mind, I made another short technique tutorial to show you how it's done - I haven't yet had time to edit it though, so will share with you later in the week. 

That's all from me today; I have a private class this morning with a wonderful group of seniors at a local residential care home and then a few jobs this afternoon before taking the James Juniors for their music lessons. Another busy day!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Baker's Twine Combo Pack	Botanical Builder Framelits Dies	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock
Big Shot	Ovals Collection Framelits Dies	It's My Party Enamel Dots	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)

Hello to you from James Towers this morning! It's cold outside but we haven't had any more snow, much to the disappointment of my James juniors who were so hoping for a snow day today! 

Today's card is for the current 2 year anniversary challenge over at Fusion where they have this wonderful summery photo inspiration and optional sketch to play along with:

I used the photo and the sketch for my card today, albeit I used the sketch in a landscape rather than portrait orientation as it suited my embellishments a little better. Here is my card:

I used a base of extra thick Whisper White cardstock and covered the lower part with a piece of chevron designer series paper from last year's Brights dsp stack. I added a strip of Melon Mambo cardstock and also used it to frame my 'Hello' sentiment, from the Sale-A-Bration stamp set of the same name. I added a trio of layered flowers in pinks and yellow, for my embellishment. I cut each of them using the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies, adding some sponging for added depth. These framelits make gorgeous flowers with so much layering and interest and if you run them through your Big Shot with the Precision Base Plate and use the new Big Shot Die Brush to remove the cuts from the dies, they are incredibly easy to make.

I just love the breath of summer that the colours and flowers of today's card evoke - makes me forget the freezing temperatures outside, even if just for a little while! That's all from me today; I have a busy day with a piano lesson, some final preparation for a private class tomorrow and I'm off to watch Rebecca's first netball match of the season this afternoon - thankfully, indoors! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Botanical Builder Framelits Dies	Hello Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock
Pink Pirouette A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Big Shot	Ovals Collection Framelits Dies

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the lovely Sandy to host and she has a timely clean and simple theme for you to play along with:

For my card this week I was inspired to use the Sale-A-Bration set ''Sky is The Limit' to create my clean and simple Valentine's card - I was so keen to make a card with a red bi-plane! Here it is:

I used a base of Soft Sky and a piece  of diagonal striped black and white paper from the neutrals paper stack for a mat, then took a piece of watercolour paper that I washed with my aqua painter and some Soft Sky and Pool Party inks for a hint of colour. Once my sky panel was thoroughly dry, I stamped the clouds and smoke trail in Versamark and heat embossed them in white, the stamped the sentiment and heat embossed that in black. I then went back to my clouds and smoke trail and used the effect I shared with you previously on this card here, where I filled in the space with Tombo, covered in White embossing powder and then heat embossed until the powder set and the glue bubbled. This effect not only works for snow as on my previous card but for clouds and smoke trails too!

I also added a touch of Melon Mambo within the heart to make it stand out a little. Finally, I stamped my bi-plane in Real Red onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock and fussy cut it out, adding a small piece of window sheet cut using my flower builder punch (the stamen) and a silver mini-brad to accentuate the propeller, before popping it on a couple of dimensionals and adding to my card - here's a close up:

Isn't that fun? I hope you like today's card - this is a set with so many uses, not just Valentines. It's a limited time Sale-A-Bration offer and is only available until 15th February. Plenty of time to get it in order to make a love-themed card for a special person though, so don't forget to add it to your next £45 order for free!

I've edited today's post to include a little video tutorial that I filmed this afternoon that shows exactly how I created the effect I described above:

I hope you enjoyed that - I haven't made a video in ages but there have to be some advantages to waking up to snow on the ground - more time to craft!

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 theme. We have no hockey due to the freezing weather here in the UK and a frozen pitch; in fact, snow on the ground meant that snowball fights even won out over basketball today. As for me - the results of my endeavours are included above!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Sky Is The Limit Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Watercolor Paper	Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Versamark Pad
Embossing Buddy	Aqua Painters	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)	Black Stampin' Emboss Powder
1/8" Silver Mini Brads	Window Sheets	Stampin' Dimensionals	Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Wow almost half the weekend gone already! Here's today's post which follows a busy day of sport and culture: Rebecca and I went to see the St Petersburg Ballet perform 'The Nutcracker Suite' this afternoon, then Rebecca swam in a pentathlon gala swimming event this evening. I did squeeze in a little crafting time this morning, but not enough to blog too, hence the even later than usual post! Today's card is for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the theme is 'Cake':

I used the slice from the new 'Party With Cake' set along with a tricolour sentiment to create both the focal point of my label and some tone-on-tone custom designer series paper for my card base for today's card:

A trio of candy dots, a punched candle with a little gold Wink of Stella for the flame complete my super quick card today with no more explanation required!

Back tomorrow with this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players, when the lovely Sandy has a fun theme challenge for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Party With Cake Wood-Mount Stamp Set	It's My Party Enamel Dots	Lots Of Labels Framelits Dies	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Party Punch Pack	Gold Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush
Big Shot

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:

This week's sketch is perfect to showcase the Bloomin' Heart thinlit die. Take a look:

For my card I added some of the co-ordinating stamped flowers, also cut with the flower thinlits that come with the heart, and a sentiment from the 'Bloomin' Love' stamp set that can be purchased with the dies in a bundle for 15% off - add in a Big Shot Die Brush and you could get a free Sale-A-Bration gift too - I love this time of year!! I took my Blushing Bride/Rose Red/Whisper White colour combo from the Love Blossoms designer series paper stack in the same product suite. I added a few pearls and a strip of the new Blushing Bride glimmer paper across the bottom of my card for an added touch of sparkle!

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; I'm hosting an open house with my customers today so that they can see and touch lots of lovely new product from the Sale-A-Bration and Spring-Summer catalogues. There will be tea and cake too of course!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

As promised on Sunday, I have another card today using this week's colour over at The Paper Players:

I decided to use one of my favourite Sale-A-Bration sets, 'Hello', for my bold and bright, clean and simple birthday card today:

Some simple layers, a banner and a fun party hat topped with a cute Melon Mambo enamel dot - well, hello birthday girl!

I've used this set a couple of times already and I just know I am going to get a lot more use out of it as it's perfect for quick birthday and 'any day' cards. It's a limited time offer though, so if it's on your wish list then don't leave it too late - you have until 15th February to pop it in your shopping basket for free with a £45 spend!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hello Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Tempting Turquoise A4 Cardstock	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	White Stampin' Emboss Powder
Heat Tool (Uk)	It's My Party Enamel Dots