It's Sunday and time for another challenge over at The Paper Players. Thank you to everyone who played along with my CAS bird challenge last week - there were some fabulous entries. This week the lovely Sandy is hosting and she has a sketch challenge for us - my favourite! Here is her sketch:

I decided to use the colour palette over at Colour Me for my card today - I haven't had the opportunity to play along with these lovely ladies since I finished my Design Team post over there at the start of the year, so time to say 'hello ladies!' to Hayley, Tara and the team. I just so happen to be using another stamp in the 'Time To Celebrate' hostess set that I used on my Paper Players card last week - take a look:

The temptation to use a feather in my design as per the sketch was high, however there are some wonderful examples using feathers by other members of the Design Team, so I decided to look at what else I could use and settled on the hot air balloon instead. My top mat layer is a piece of 'Flashback' DSP, the circle pattern perfect to echo the central circle of the sketch. I embossed a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with the now retired 'Cloudy Day' embossing folder and sponged the sky in Pool Party around the clouds and framed this with a Real Red circular frame cut with my Big Shot and Circle Framelits. I added a simple sentiment banner with a little fussy cutting around the 'y' in 'you', then mounted the hot air balloon with dimensionals for a little lift. I stamped the balloon on very Vanilla and coloured it with my So Saffron Stampin' Write marker and the lightest of my Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities. I also added a little Crystal Effects to my stars for some additional dimension, although that's quite difficult to see in the photo below: 

That's my card done and I hope you like it. I love the stamps in the 'Time To Celebrate' hostess set - if they are your thing too, please get in touch if you would like to host a party to lay your hands on your very own set. Before you reach for your ink pads, do visit the other design team members to see what interesting ideas they've had this week:

I look forward to seeing how you interpret Sandy's sketch this week - so many possibilities! 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Time To Celebrate Clear Stamp Set	Flashback Designer Series Paper	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Sponge Daubers	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Card Stock
Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers

Finally I'm back with the program! Apologies for my lack of blog posts over the last few days; it has been a busy half term holiday week with the children at home and whilst we have had a fun week and I had a couple of classes too, I've had little opportunity for stamping and blogging. Anyway, what better way to get back into it than to enter this week's Mojo Monday challenge where the talented Julee Tilman has the following sketch for us to work with:

I also used this week's colour palette over at Colour Q for my card today, although I substituted the now retired Raspberry Ripple for Rose Red as this was the closest match I had. I decided to ink up the two step flower from the 'Mum's Love' set for the first time today - here's my finished card:

I kept my layers simple, with a Whisper White card base, thin border of Blackberry Bliss and then Wisteria Wonder for the main panel. I stamped the flower outline in Blackberry Bliss then in-filled with Rose Red - this stamp set is photopolymer so it makes two-step stamping really easy, no stamp-a-ma-jig required! I also used Rose Red for the smaller mat layer beneath the image and used gold foil cardstock for the diagonal. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed in gold, finishing with a punched gold foil flower with candy dot centre. I love the solid blocks of colour on this card and the pink and purples are such a lovely colour combination, with a touch of gold for added glamour.

I'm back tomorrow with this week's card for the new challenge over at the Paper Players; if you would like to see who I chose as the headliner for my ' CAS feathered friends' challenge, please click here for today's Paper Players post. 

Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Mum's Love Photopolymer Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug
Gold Foil Sheets	Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Rose Red A4 Card Stock	Wisteria Wonder A4 Card Stock	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad
Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch

Today is the first day of the half-term holiday, so that makes for a late blog post today! Just time to squeeze in a card for this week's challenge over at The Color Throwdown where there have a lovely bright colour palette to work with this week:

I had another of the birds from the 'Time to Celebrate' stamped and laying on my desk, so decided to colour him up using my Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler and Wisteria Wonder Blendabilities - here's my card:

A different layout to yesterday's card and again using some 'Sweet Taffy' DSP but both combined to give quite a different look and feel to yesterday's card. I have taken a real shine to this bird stamp - there's something so whimsical about it and the other stamps in this set. The 'Time To Celebrate' stamp set is a hostess set that can be earned exclusively by hosting a party (or placing an individual order of £150 or more). If you would like to host a party, please do get in touch. 

That's all from me today - short and sweet! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Time To Celebrate Clear Stamp Set	Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Real Red A4 Card Stock
Old Olive A4 Card Stock	Perfect Plum A4 Card Stock	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Wisteria Wonder Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Old Olive Assortment
Bermuda Bay Assortment Stampin' Blendabilities Markers

It's Sunday and time for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players - and this week it's a double does of excitement as I am hosting my very first challenge with this wonderfully talented group of ladies. 'Feathered friends' is the theme of my clean and simple challenge this week so I'm looking for a bird (or two!) on your card! Here is the wonderful challenge badge that the lovely Nance has created for this week's challenge:

This is one of those challenges when I was truly spoilt for choice - there are lots of great bird images around at the moment. I decided after my busy week that I was definitely in need of some theraputic colouring, so decided to reach for the quirky bird stamp in the Spring-Summer hostess set, 'Time To Celebrate':

Since this bird doesn't look like any I've ever seen in my garden, I decided to throw caution to the wind and colour him in some totally tropical colours and really go to town! I used my Daffodil Delight and Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities markers and a Tempting Turquoise Stampin' Write marker and got colouring. I love that you can colour images like this and you really don't need to be any kind of expert to get a good result. Here's a close up of my bird so that you can see just how imprecise my colouring is: 

I really would urge anyone who is reading this and not tried colouring with Blendabilities to give it a go - I guarantee you'll like the results! I paired my bird with a piece of brightly coloured 'Sweet Taffy' paper and added a few simple banners in co-ordinating colours to finish off my card. I love the colours I used on my card today - Brights are my favourite of the Stampin' Up! colour families, and whilst there isn't a huge amount of 'white space' on my card due to my piece of bold, patterned DSP I love the finished card, which I think still has a clean feel with minimal layers and embellishments.

Before you reach for your ink pads, do visit the other design team members to see what interesting ideas they've had this week:

I look forward to seeing your bird projects in the gallery this week, whether chirpy, quirky or just plain feathered! The children are on half-term holiday this week so we are having a more restful week than usual. I was almost ready for a sport-free day today, when Ben was selected to play in a basketball tournament this afternoon. He is really excited about it though as it's his first one and he LOVES basketball, so is really looking forward to it.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Time To Celebrate Clear Stamp Set	Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Circles Collection Framelits Dies
Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Rich Razzleberry A4 Card Stock
Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Tempting Turquoise A4 Card Stock	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Rich Razzleberry Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment	Brights Stampin' Write Markers

I hope you all received lots of Valentine's cards today - I certainly sent plenty! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using the Butterfly Basics stamp set to share with the ladies that attended my technique class earlier this week. In addition to the cards that I design for us to make in the class, I produce a selection of alternative samples to provide further ideas and ways in which they can use the stamp set and practise the techniques that we have covered. There are times when one of these cards produces so many 'oohs' and 'aahs' that it makes me wonder if I should have included the card as the class card - this is one of those cards!! The ladies made me promise I would blog it share with all of you, so here it is:

A monochromatic purple card on a base of Elegant Eggplant, featuring the lovely outlined bloom in the stamp set along with the lacy butterfly. There are lots of touches of sparkle on this card which in real life really add a touch of luxury: the thin strip of silver glimmer paper, the silver heat-embossed sentiment, the sparkling rhinetones and the vanilla smooch spritz sprayed onto the Wisteria Wonder butterflies that adds a subtle pearlescent finish.

I hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with this week's card for our new challenge over at The Paper Players - and it's my first one!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Bundle	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Silver Glimmer Paper	Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz
Elegant Eggplant A4 Card Stock	Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad	Perfect Plum Classic Stampin' Pad	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Yay it's Friday! It's been a long week and I'm glad the weekend is finally here. As it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, both James Juniors were keen to take some sweet treats into school to share with their class mates. I found these lovely heart-shaped jelly beans, that fitted perfectly into the thin cello bags:

This is just the first few - production became quite intense at one point and included boy- and girl themed packaging. You can see pictures of the total effort over on my Facebook page. These pretty pink ones were of course headed in the direction of the young ladies; we were stamping the tab top from the 'Hey, Valentine' set in a variety of pinks and colouring in with Blendabilities. Here's a close-up:

I definitely like the Melon Mambo one best (I'm such a 'brights' girl at heart) but they all look cute, especially with the addition of a heart-shaped Hodgepodge clip too. This little bag topper is a perfect fit for these cello bags and will work just as well at any other time of year too, not just Valentines. I also made a batch for a children's birthday party that I am hosting tomorrow afternoon, in pinks and purples. Our cello bags are great value at 50 for £2.25 and make such a nice way to create beautifully decorated party favours.

I'm told that the treats were well received by everyone which is nice to know and provided the perfect start to our forthcoming week-long half-term break.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hey, Valentine Clear Stamp Set	1" X 8" Cellophane Bag	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Melon Mambo Assortment	Pink Pirouette Assortment Stampin' Blendabilities Markers	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Basics Hodgepodge Clips

Another quick, clean and simple Valentine's card for you today - a second crack at the 'hugs and kisses' challenge over at Addicted to CAS and Can You Case It:

My card was inspired by Kylie's in the ATCAS Design Team - it reminded me of the little 'xoxo' framelit in the circle thinlits set, which was perfect for the fun little game I had in mind - here's my card:

I cut out a few of the 'xoxo' in both Real Red and Basic Black, then snipped them apart so that I could use them for my game of tic-tac-toe. I created my 'board' by piercing some holes in my Whisper White layer and threading them with black baker's twine - here's a close up so that you can see it in more detail:

I substituted my final 'x' with a little red heart, popped up on a dimensional - sweet! Another no stamping card too - that doesn't happen often!!

Today's post is short and sweet too - I have a very busy day ahead so I'm off to get started. Back with another project tomorrow - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circle card Thinlits Die	Basic Black Baker's Twine	Basic Black A4 Card Stock
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Paper-Piercing Tool	Stampin' Pierce Mat	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack

I still have a couple more Valentine's cards to share with you this week, all of them quick and easy to execute though if you are making a last-minute card for your loved one! Today's card has been made using this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch and I am also entering it into the 'Hugs and Kisses' challenge over at Addicted to CAS and the colour challenge at Can You CASE IT:

This is one of those 'go to' sketch layouts for clean and simple cards and is also great for showcasing designer series paper, as I've done here with the hugs & kisses pattern from the 'Stacked With Love' DSP stack. Take a look: 

For the other half of my base layer, I used another of the black and white patterns in the stack, and used a heart framelit to create a die cut in my top red layer that allowed an element of the paper design to show through. I finished my card with a 'vintage' love die cut with my now retired Expressions thinlits - these are still available on the clearance rack and can be picked up for a bargain £13.79 and lastly rounded the bottom right corner of my card. Not a stamp in sight either - no risk of inky fingers with this one!

Simple but effective I hope you will agree! Back tomorrow with another Valentine's card to share with you; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Expressions Thinlits Dies	Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Basic Black A4 Card Stock
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Project Life Corner Punch

It's Wednesday so 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 January/February (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right) 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:

Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Calypso Coral 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Chalkboard Banner Simply Created Kit	Gift Card Envelope & Trims Thinlits Dies
Label This Kitchen Designer Template - Digital Download	Marina Mist 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Mustache Framelits Die	Party Pennants Bigz L Die

There are some lovely ribbons and a useful MDS download this week, but the real stars of the show are the Magnetic Platform - no Big Shot should be without one! - and the framelits and dies that are on offer - all really useful and great bargains to boot!

Back shortly with today's creative post; meanwhile, race you to the shop!

Today I have not one but two cards for you! Both cards fit this week's colour challenge over at Pals Paper Arts, where there is a gorgeous colour palette to work with this week:

I absolutely love this colour combination and couldn't wait to create something pink and pretty with it. Here is my first card:

I layered the colours in two sections and in the central section used one of the lovely rose die cut panels from the Artisan Embellishment kit as a stencil and stencilled the roses in the two shades of pink, adding in touches of Basic Grey for the flower leaves. These die cuts are so beautiful - it's a shame there are only two in the kit! Here's a close up of the sponged area:

The form of the roses is just so pretty I think and looks really beautiful. I added a bow in luxurious silver satin ribbon and stamped my sentiment on the wide mat layer of Pink Pirouette, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in pewter. This card is full of romance, but I think it would work equally well as a birthday card.

My second card today uses exactly the same colour palette, but is altogether a more clean and simple affair. This week the team over at Less is More is celebrating its 4th birthday and have a colour challenge of 'pink and grey'. Here is my card for this week's challenge:

My card started out as a two-tone pink and grey affair, with an inlaid split sentiment - I die cut the word 'love' using my Little Letters thinlits, then did the same with the cardstock the other way around top and bottom in order that I could paper-piece the reverse colours into the negative space. The more I looked at it though, the more it needed a little something else - I toyed with a scrap of Rose Red that sat on my desk leftover from the first card and the addition of the tiny heart with a tiny sparkle was just what it needed. You can see the detail of the die cut and inlaid letters below:

Congratulations to Chrissie and the team on their 4th birthday - you are an awesome bunch who run a most successful weekly challenge and are truly an inspiration. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Card 1: 

Artisan Embellishment Kit	Hello Life Photopolymer Stamp Set	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock	Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Rose Red A4 Card Stock	Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Gray A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Silver 5/8" Satin Ribbon

Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock	Rose Red A4 Card Stock	Basic Gray A4 Card Stock	Little Letters Thinlits Die	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents