Today I want to share one of the fabulous kits that was first introduced with the Spring Summer seasonal catalogue earlier this year and has since been carried over into the main catalogue: the Perpetual Birthday Calendar kit. Now I'm a big fan of kits for a number of reasons:

1. I think they make great gifts, for crafters and non-crafters alike
2. Combine with a stamp set, glue and an ink pad or two, they contain everything you need to complete your project - including step-by-step instructions
3. They are great for travelling and 'crafting on the go'
4. They are great for the time-strapped crafter - you can complete a whole project or significant number of cards in a short space of time
5. For someone like me, who uses a lot of creative energy designing my own cards and classes for others, they can be truly relaxing - little thought required!

I spent a pleasurable afternoon with my good friend and downline Barbara recently and we made up our kits together. Here's a quick photograph of the front of my finished calendar:

And here are some great photos courtesy of Stampin' Up! that show firstly everything that you get in the box:

And secondly what some of the other months look like completed:

There are more than enough bits and pieces to make the kit (SU! kits are very generous and usually have plenty of spares leftover!) and the nice thing about this kit is that the box can be used as a giftbox, with ribbon to finish, so if you didnt want to gift the actual kit to someone to make, you could have all the fun of making it and then gift the finished article to someone - win, win! And who doesn't need a birthday calendar?? (Or are you all so much better at remembering birthdays than I am?!) The co-ordinating stamp set is also great for creating quick and easy cards and notelets too, either on its own of combined with other sets. 

If you needed further convincing, watch this great little video from Stampin' Up! that demonstrates just what a great kit this is:

I really recommend you watch the video before commencing this project as the written instructions are quite small and it also gives lots of hints and tips about putting the project together. Alternatively, you can contact me to express an interest in attending my next project class for this calendar kit or arrange for to hold a private class for you in your home with a group of friends - I'll bring the ink, stamps, adhesives and kits and we can spend a fun few hours putting them together!

That's all from me today - back tomorrow with a new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Perpetual Birthday Calendar Project Kit	Perpetual Birthday Calendar Photopolymer Stamp Set	Multipurpose Liquid Glue	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

Good morning everyone - it's Friday! I'm sure you are all more pleased than I am since it might be nearing the end of the week but for me it means that there are only a few more days left of my vacation before I return to the dreary weather of the UK. Oh well, let's not dwell on that!

Today I have a card that I made with one of my card class customers in mind, that features the bold patterns of the English Garden DSP. Here is my card:

We had been perusing through my DSP samplers whilst taking orders for the latest round of paper shares and the English Garden DSP came in for much comment. It was universally liked but some of my customers were unsure just how they would go about using paper with such bold patterns of a card. We chatted about it but since 'a picture tells a thousand words' as the saying goes, I thought some examples would better explain and today's card is a great example. Some of the patterns in the pack have smaller patterns so can be used in smaller quantities to add interest to a card, however others such as the paper I've used on today's card really need to be a feature of the card, rather than an add-on - the bold patterns work best when you can see as much of them as possible. 

On this card I used a base of Soft Suede, then cut a large piece of DSP into three equally sized panels and mounted each of these onto a piece of Night of Navy to give a narrow border before adhering them to my card. I could just as easily have stopped there, however on this occasion I added some retired Baked Brown Sugar thick baker's twine and a sentiment from the 'A Whole Lot of Lovely' hostess, coloured with my co-ordinating Stampin' Write markers, and added this to the front of my card. It compliments the paper without overshadowing it.

Another great example of how to use the bold patterns in this pack can be seen on this card, by my friend and fellow Paper Player the lovely LeAnne Pugliese:

This too allows the paper to take centre stage with a sentiment treatment that compliments and not overshadows it. I hope you like both my card and LeAnne's - please do leave me a comment below with your thoughts and pop over to LeAnne at her Wee Inklings blog to leave he a comment on her card too - and I hope these cards inspire you to 'be bold' with the patterns in the English Garden Designer Series Paper Pack.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

English Garden Designer Series Paper	Soft Suede A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	A Whole Lot Of Lovely Wood-Mount Stamp Set
2" Circle Punch	Many Marvelous Markers

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

As soon as I saw these colours I knew they would be another great combination for work with my Awesomely Artistic stamp set, this time with the fabby new Brick Wall embossing folder:

I used Mint Macaron for my base with a mat of Perfect Plum, then on a piece of Whisper White I stamped the flower spray in Mint Macaron and a few grunge splatters in Perfect Plum, before running it through my Big Shot with the Brick Wall embossing folder in order to create my cottage garden effect. It's important you stamp before running this piece through the embossing folder rather than the other way around, otherwise you will be unable to achieve an even stamp on account of the cement grooves (I hope that makes sense!) I then sponged the whole of my card front with Sahara Sand ink to emphasise the brick shapes and texture of the wall. I wrapped a piece of Blackberry Bliss Striped Cotton Ribbon around my card front (the colour is sufficiently muted on the cotton that it is a good match for Perfect Plum) before adhering to the base, then tucked in the circle embellishment behind it before adding my sentiment, which I heat embossed in white onto Mint Macaron, and the beautiful dragonfly, which I stamped in Perfect Plum and Versamark then sprinkled liberally with Iridescent Ice to add a lovely sparkle. A last minute sprinkle of pearls finishes my card. 

I love the versatility of this set. On account of working ahead this card was made a couple of weeks ago, however I wanted to give a little 'shout out' to a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator friend of mine, Julie Kettlewell, who blogged something quite similar last week (I am abroad and sans stamping supplies, so have had no opportunity to work up something substantially different!). Julie has made some lovely cards using the Awesomely Artistic stamp set, so if this is a set that appeals to you, I recommend you check out her Pinterest board for more inspiration. Also, do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's challenge colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Right, I'm off to top up my tan! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! The same as last week there are more offers than usual, with increased reductions of up to 30% on Weekly Deals this month, although there are specific allocated quantities at the increased offer price; once they're gone, the price will revert to RRP, so don't delay in ordering if there is something on your wish list. Each week items are proving very popular and some are sold out within a couple of days of the offers being published. 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 July YMCTDF6N 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:

Cherry Cobbler Thick Baker’S Twine	Choose Happiness Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Color Me Irresistible Specialty Designer Series Paper	Metallics Sequin Assortment
Neutrals Envelope Paper	Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack	Pumpkin Pie 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon
Wisteria Wonder 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Work Of Art Wood-Mount Stamp Set

More creative loveliness this week, with speciality papers and gorgeous ribbons to name but a few of the nice things on offer - the highlight has to be Pretty Petals paper stack though at just £5.08 - what a bargain! I've already made so many projects featuring this paper - if you search 'Pretty Petals' on my blog you will see them all - and there is still so much more to come, it really is a winner!

So what are you waiting for? Get clicking over to my online store - the time to stock up on that paper is now, before I snap it all up!

That's all from me today; I'll be back tomorrow with this week's card for our new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary this week.

Until then, happy shopping!

Good morning everyone! Today I have another of the cards from my July technique lass featuring the stamp set 'You've Got This': 

I was inspired by this card of Patsy Waggoner's and wanted to create a similar card showing how the focal flower could also be used as a background stamp to create an alternative effect. Of course I had to pair mine with my most favourite Pretty Petals DSP with that cute Pacific Point flower, which I then used in the candy dots of the same colour to bring focus to the sentiment banner - a cinch to create with my Triple Banner punch. Pacific Point and Old Olive seem an unlikely colour combo, yet the Pretty Petals DSP shows how they work so perfectly together, especially when teamed with Very Vanilla as the neutral.

This card was another success with the ladies at my technique class; combined with the third card (this one - the card that started it all!) which was the most complicated of the three, we managed to make three cards to be proud of.

Back tomorrow with a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals - don't forget you still have one more day to take advantage of my Weekly Deals Giveaway this week - to remind yourself of the offer, please click here! Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

You've Got This Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Banner Triple Punch	Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack	Sahara Sand A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Cardstock	Brights Candy Dots

It's the start of the working week (for some!) and today I'm sharing one of the cards I made at last month's technique classes featuring the stamp set 'You've Got This':

The layout for this card is inspired by the one in the annual catalogue that features this stamp set. For my card I chose a base of Rich Razzleberry and a mat of Sahara Sand, then stamped the hatched background stamp image onto a piece of Whisper White  in Sahara Sand, having stamped off once first, and then overlaid this with the outline of the flower in Rich Razzleberry. This is a really versatile set - there is so much you can do with the flower stamp in terms of colouring (or not), fussy cutting (or not!) and the background stamp is one of those that will be useful for all kinds of projects. I wrapped a piece of Sahara Sand trim tightly around my layers before adhering to my base card and stamped my sentiment and punched it out with the note tag punch and tying it to the lace with some linen thread. I added a few pearls and my card was finished. The ladies in my class loved the simplicity of this card and how it could be recreated in lots of alternative colourways to achieve a different look.

My card was made with a specific friend of mine in mind. The lovely Pip Todman, of Queen Pip Cards, is a fellow SU! demonstrator who I presented with at Stampin' Up!'s European Convention in Brussels last October and has been working very hard to achieving some goals in her SU! business this year. She still has a little way to go but I wanted to send her this card to let her know I was thinking of her and send a few words of encouragement - I do believe 'good things are going to happen' for Pip this year and I am looking forward to celebrating with her when I see her in Brussels again in November. Do pop over to Pip's blog via the above link and leave her some Stampin' love, or better still if you live in or around Ash Vale or the surrounding Hampshire area, do check out Pip's classes - she would love to welcome you along! 

On the other hand, if you live in or around Northampton or just across the border into Leicestershire or Buckinghamshire, I would love to see you at one of my papercraft classes sometime soon. I run a variety of classes, from technique-based, to stamp-a-stack, 3D home decor and project-based classes, as well as Project Life memory keeping. My current schedule of classes can be found here or sign up to my newsletter for reminders and other news and information. My next technique classes for August feature the RMHC Sprinkles of Life stamp set and will be held on Tuesday 4th and 11th August - do get in touch if you would like to join me.

That's all from me today; I have another of the class cards using this stamp set tomorrow, so do pop back to see another take on this gorgeous set. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

You've Got This Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Pearl Basic Jewels	Sahara Sand 7/8" (2.2 Cm) Lace Trim	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Sahara Sand A4 Cardstock
Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzleberry A4 Cardstock	Note Tag Punch

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the tun of the super-talented Sandy to host and she has my favourite kind of a challenge for you - yes, it's a sketch:

This is a great sketch and gave me the opportunity to use some of my very favourite items from the annual catalogue: another Expressions Natural Element sentiment, some Pretty Petals DSP and a butterfly cut with the Bold Butterfly Framelits - take a look at my card today:

I used a cardbase of Very Vanilla for my card today, with a border strip of Typeset DSP to compliment the diagonal lines of the Pretty Petals paper that I used to cover the rest of my cardfront. I decided to use Basic Black for my tag, punched with the Ornate Tag Topper Punch, to give a strong contrast to the vanilla elsewhere and I created a layered butterfly that echoes the design of those in the paper pattern, with a solid vanilla base then two of the Bold Butterfly thinlit butterflies - one in Calypso Coral adhered directly to the base butterfly, and one in Pacific Point that I adhered in the middle only so that the layer beneath could be seen. I did reverse the positioning of the butterfly and sentiment on my tag to the sketch - I thought the sentiment was too heavy to put above the butterfly as I didn't want to overshadow it - what do you think, smart move or should I have stuck to the sketch more literally? A few Old Olive candy dots, some satin Very Vanilla ribbon and some black and white baker's twine finish my card. No stamping on this one - not on the outside, anyway! I'm also linking up with the ladies over at Just Add Ink this week where the theme is 'Butterflies'.

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

The tag on this week's sketch is a real fun detail; I look forward to seeing how you interpret it and the rest of Sandy's sketch in the gallery this week. Time for me to return to my sunbed to top up my tan - enjoy the rest of your weekend, however you choose to spend it.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Expressions Natural Elements	Bold Butterfly Framelits Dies	Butterflies Thinlits Dies	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform
Ornate Tag Topper Punch	Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack	Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Basic Black A4 Cardstock
Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Brights Candy Dots	Calypso Coral A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon	Basic Black Baker's Twine

I have a quick card to share today that is set to brighten the days of those of you in the UK suffering from winds and rain (as I sit here in my deckchair enjoying the sunshine - sorry, enough about me!!!) - perhaps a rainbow is the order of the day:

This is a super clean-and-simple rainbow thank you notelet; I made a whole batch of these, along with co-ordinating tags, to pop in with my last batch of customer orders. I used Stampin' Up!'s ready folded notelets and envelopes for speed and used only one stamp set: The Layered Letters Alphabet. Great for stamping big words and the set includes two handy background stamps that you can use to add colour behind each letter to add the effect of another layer, whilst sticking to just one. In order to get my rainbow background, I had to clean the stamp each time, so I set up a mini production line and stamped the word on each notelet first, then all the red panels, all the orange panels, and so on until each of the colours were stamped. This meant the whole lot really took no time at all - here's a 'work in progress' shot of my desk:

You could use the same idea for any word with whatever combination of ink colours you have to hand - why don't you give it a go? I am linking my card today with the lovely ladies over at Addicted To Stamps - I have played along with them for a while and their theme this week is CAS - perfect!

I'll be back tomorrow with a new challenge over at The Paper Players; make sure you tune in, the lovely Sandy is hosting and you are not going to want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Layered Letters Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad
Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

So as I type this sat in blisteringly hot temperatures (I'm not complaining - the sun is heavenly!) I can't quite believe that today I'm going to share a Christmas card with you. Yes, that's right - a Christmas card!! Today I've been able to get my first look at the new Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue that will be available to customers September 1st - and all I can say is, my wish list is long!!! I will be sharing more on that in coming weeks once our pre-order period starts, however right now if you can't wait for your copy, then get in touch with me and lets chat about becoming a demonstrator - I would love you to join the 'ooos' and 'aaahs' that I'm having with my current team members as we drool over the catalogue sneak-peek together!

Meanwhile, you may have noticed that Stampin' Up! has reintroduced a permanent line of Christmas stamps and papers in our annual catalogue too - great news for those of us who like to prepare for Christmas all year round! - and some of the stamps included are some favourites from last Christmas, such as the one that features on today's card: Wondrous Wreath. I made this card at our recent team quarterly training session, which was all about making use of what is already avialable to get a jump start on preparing for the festive season. Here's my card:

This card was designed by Monica Gale and is similar in concept to one I designed last season which you can see here. This one is easier to recreate and uses the Woodgrain embossing folder to create the wooden effect on the door. It also features some other products that can now be found in the annual catalogue that are perfect for festive projects: the Bow Builder Punch, the Merry Moments DSP and my favourite Expressions Natural Elements.

That's all the festive fun I have for today - I'm off to get a cooling glass of Sangria after all that typing! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Wondrous Wreath Photopolymer Stamp Set	Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies	Magnetic Platform	Big Shot	Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Expressions Natural Elements	Gold 5/8" Satin Ribbon	Merry Moments Designer Series Paper	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Bow Builder Punch	Crumb Cake A4 Cardstock

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 is such a versatile sketch with so many possibilities, in the end though I settled for something that is a little unusual for me - take a look at today's card:

I was keen to use another of the papers on the Pretty Petals DSP stack as my background layer, so matted this on a base of Old Olive and Mint Macaron. I used Calypso Coral for my banner, effortlessly punched with my Triple Banner Punch (how did I ever manage without this in my life?!) and tucking a sliver of retired Old Olive ribbon beneath it (there is not a single ribbon in this colour in the current catalogue - let's hope that the Winter seasonal brings us something here in this staple colour!) I coloured my sentiment, from the 'A Whole Lot Of Lovely' hostess set (chat to me about booking a party or joining my next hostess club if you would like to own this set too!) in Pacific Point, Mint Macaron and Calypso Coral Stampin' Write markers and stamped onto Very Vanilla cardstock, that I cut out with my Big Shot and Oval Framelits.

Then for the bit that really isn't my usual style - I covered the back of the oval with Tear and Tape (how great is this product?! No more static red peel to stick to you!)and ruched some Mint Macaron lace trim all the way around the edge before adhering to my card front. I really love this pale green colour however was finding myself not really using is much in my card making, unlike it's counterparts Watermelon Wonder and Cucumber Crush (how did I ever live without these in my stamping cupboard?!) so this card is the first that seeks to rectify that. To finish, I added an Old Olive flower punched with the Petite Petals punch as leaves for the base of my Watermelon Wonder blossom accent - whilst not Calypso Coral, it is sufficiently close to compliment the coral elsewhere on my card.

So definitely more frilly than usual and this card would work just as well without the lace trim (and be more post-service friendly) but nice for a change I think! Do visit the other Design Team members to checkout their interpretations of this week's challenge sketch; and if you didn't read my Weekly Deals post yesterday, do check it out here - it contains a special offer exclusive to my customers!

Right, I'm off to top up my tan! Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: