Well, it's Monday and the start of a new week! I managed to survive the shoe shop outing yesterday (took 3 hours and 20 minutes just in the shoe shop!!) On the bright side, new school shoes and trainers, times two, and football boots, have been purchased - yay! This afternoon's 3D Home Décor class was a lot of fun - got to catch up with a couple of ladies I haven't seen in a while, so that was an added bonus. I'm later than I would have liked posting today's card: I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches last week although am too late to link up. I am however linking today's card up with Less is More where the challenge this week is to include an animal on your card. When I saw this I knew immediately which one I was going to feature - I've been itching to get out my new Smoky Slate Blendabilities and colour the cute koala bear on the Kind Koala stamp since they arrived - so here is my card:

I used a Night of Navy card base with a So Saffron mat and a couple of offset strips of Flowerpot DSP, followed by the stamp (minus the stamped flowerhead) on a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I matted on Night of Navy. This little koala is so cute and I love the grey Blendies! Instead of stamping the flower, I replaced it with one punched from the Petite Petals punch, with a tiny circle and candy dot centre in colours that co-ordinate with the one of the flowers on the DSP. I also shaded the lettering on 'You' with my Tangerine Tango marker pen.

I really love this card - I think I will send it to my Aussie friend who is moving back to Australia to live once she's arrived to let her know I'm still thinking of her.

That's me done for today; back tomorrow with another project, so until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Kind Koala Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper	Petite Petals Punch
Regals Candy Dots	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Brights Stampin' Write Markers	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Today I'm sharing my Design team card for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players. This week LeAnne is hosting and she has a clean and simple challenge to create a child's birthday card this week:

Those of you who follow LeAnne's blog, Wee Inklings, regularly will know that today young Miss Cassidy is celebrating her fourth birthday - hooray! having seen the other Design Team members cards this week, I can vouch for the fact that mine looks quite different to everyone else's! My cards today are not made with four year old girls in mind (nowhere near enough pink for that!) however as the mother of two young children, I make lots of children's cards. Whilst they are sometimes stamped, I am often asked to make something that reflects the current favourite game/toy/theme of the moment. Those of you who follow my blog will know I am partial to Lego and have created some great Lego punch art in the past (see my most recent one here), although this can be time-consuming and not all that clean and simple. Today though I am sharing two of my tried and tested punch art cards for young boys.

First I am sharing another of Ben's birthday cards from last week; this time, the one I made for him from his big sister. Now as is true for most young boys of his age, Minecraft is a game that provides hours of endless entertainment for him. I've made a few creeper cards that I haven't shared previously (creepers are the monsters that come out at night and take your life, so I'm told) - they really are so easy to make! - but I thought I'd share this one, as after a browse on Pinterest I saw this card and decided I wanted to make a creeper card with a difference. Here's the outside of my card:

A simple creeper face made from 1" punched squares, along with 2 pieces of 1" x 1 1/2", one cut in half lengthways, on a background of now retired Gumball Green (I think this is the best creeper colour, but you could substitute with Garden Green if you don't have any), then when you open the card, he really comes to life:

A simple pop-up - how fun is that?! This must be a record in terms of supplies, given that you can make one of these cards with some basic cardstock and not much else; it's also another 'no stamping' card - that's two in a week! Now I have to admit, as cards go it's not really my cup of tea, but then I'm not the target audience. The verdict? Rebecca thought it was awesome and Ben loved it, so if it ticks the box of the now seven year old, it's good enough for me!

I also wanted to share another clean and simple birthday card that I have made so many of, I can't quite believed I've never blogged before! All children seem to love shaped cards, and this cute Angry Bird is so easy to create using a few punches and a base made using the Circle Thinlits and the Big Shot:

A custom envelope from some co-ordinating Brights DSP made using the Envelope Punch Board and you are good to go. Two cards that are really clean and simple, quick and easy. Do pop over to The Paper Players to see what the other designers have come up with - I promise they will be quite different to mine!

It's Sunday and I'm off to town today to collect some frames for a private home décor class I'm teaching tomorrow along with a visit to the shoe shop for new trainers and school shoes for the children in readiness for the new school year. Still two more weeks to go, yet I'm sure it will fly by.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

1" Square Punch	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Garden Green A4 Card Stock	Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Sweetheart Punch	1 Inch Circle Punch	3/4 Inch Circle Punch	Chevron Border Punch
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen

I've spent a pleasant afternoon today with the ladies at my local hair and beauty salon celebrating their 3rd anniversary since opening (Pamper Me Hair & Beauty in Northampton - if you're local look them up, they're a lovely bunch). So another quick share today - I'm linking up with The Card Concept where the theme is to make a wedding card:

As much as I loved the photo inspiration for this challenge, I wanted to use Shimmery White and silver for my card - I had a clear idea in mind of what I wanted to create. Here's my card: 

This card uses some of my favourite 'vintage' stamps and tools of all time - Expressions Thinlits and that beautiful Flowerfull Heart stamp. The card is still my usual clean and layered style, but I do think the silver elements and the bow give a real 'classy and elegant' feel. This is one of those cards that looks so much better in real life - so very opulent, even with a relatively simple design.

That's all from me today - back tomorrow with my Design Team post this week for The Paper Players - and it's a fun one!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Shimmery White A4 Card Stock	Silver Foil Sheets	Expressions Thinlits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform
Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Whisper White 5/8 Inch Organza Ribbon

No blog post yesterday as I took the James juniors to the zoo for the day and had a team get-together in the evening and didn't manage to squeeze one in! We had a great day at the zoo and managed to dodge the worst of the rain showers, so all good. Today I'm sharing a quick shaker card designed by Monica Gale that we made at our last quarterly team training day:

Not the best of photos I'm afraid as I struggled to beat the refection and glare on the window sheet, but hopefully good enough to get the idea. Shaker cards are all the rage at the moment and whilst you can build a window with depth for a card with real 'shake-ability (I'm sure it's a word!), you can also get the effect simply and easily by creating a pocket behind a punched opening and adding just a few elements - I added some glitter stars and square confetti created with my fringe scissors. The front of the card is simply decorated with a few strips of All Abloom DSP, some stars punched from the new Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper and a tied bow made with 1/4" Real Red cotton ribbon.

Short and sweet today! Back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Pictogram Punches Clear-Mount Stamp Set	2" Circle Punch	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper	Medium Window Sheets
Fringe Scissors	Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock

Time for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have this striking colour palette to work with this week:

After much thought, I decided that a fun card was the order of the day so I got to work creating another card with a custom sentiment using my Alphabet rotary stamp - such a useful stamp. Here's the outside of my card:

I used Tempting Turquoise for my base, then cut a Tangelo Twist starburst sun and adhered this to my base. I tore a couple of strips of naturals Ivory cardstock to look like sand, then randomly stamped a row of crabs across the front in Tangelo Twist ink and added the first party of my sentiment to the sky, stamped in Tempting Turquoise. The remainder of the sentiment continues on the inside of the card:

Fun, eh?! Let's face it - we all have times when we're grumpy and maybe others are on the receiving end of our less than happy demeanour - this would be the perfect fun apology! The Alphabet Rotary stamp is so useful for this kind of thing - you can create custom sentiments in a snap (pardon the pun!)

I hope you like today's card; why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sea Street Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Alphabet Rotary Stamp	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise A4 Card Stock
Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock	Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock

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 August (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right). 

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:

Artisan Label Punch	Designer Rosette Bigz Xl Die	Fancy Fan Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Marina Mist 3/4" Chevron Ribbon
Oval Accent Bigz Clear Die	Tea Time Ii Digital Kit - Digital Download	Wisteria Wonder 3/4" Chevron Ribbon

More great deals on Big Shot Dies this week, along with the gorgeous chevron ribbon and the ever-useful Artisan Label Punch.

Back later with today's creative post - happy stampin'!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for this week's challenge over at Less is More that is full of sneak peeks from the new seasonal Autumn-Winter catalogue that is launching at the end of the month. This week it's a one layer challenge with the focus on foliage; the minute I saw the theme, I knew exactly what I wanted to create. Here is my card:

I have used the new Wondrous Wreath set for my card today. This set comprises layered elements to create a beautiful Christmas wreath and also comes with a set of co-ordinating framelits, that make light work or cutting out. It's a photopolymer set too, which makes for incredibly easy alignment of the images - no stamp-a-ma-jig required! For today's card though I used the stamps alone - they are also great for a one layer card. I stamped the base wreath in Pear Pizzazz, then stamped the second section in Old Olive. I then stamped the berries and bow in Versamark and heat embossed with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder to leave a lovely sheen. Lastly, I added the sentiment from the same set in Cherry Cobbler ink.

The seasonal catalogue is choc-full of amazing products, but I think this may turn out to be my favourite of the Christmas sets due to its sheer versatility. If you like the look of this set, you only have another 16 days to wait until the new catalogue launches.

Following yesterday's fun day of Lego building, a trip to the cinema and birthday cake, today I'm partying of a different kind - I'm demonstrating at a Stampin' Up! party this afternoon. Wish me luck! Back tomorrow with this week's Design Team card for the Colour Me...! card challenge. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

*Wonderous Wreath - available 28th August

Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Embossing Buddy
Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Versamark Pad	Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Emboss Powder

It's Monday and today I have a special card for a special day - today my youngest James Junior turns 7! I can't quite believe it - some days I'm not sure where the last 7 years have gone. So today I'm sharing a birthday card I made for Ben to celebrate his special day. I used this week's sketch over at the Paper Craft Crew as my inspiration: 

My card is slightly larger than usual - A5, 21cm x 14.9cm - and features a fun shaker element along with my favourite Sea Street stamp set:

The shaker is made using the surround from the On Film framelit set and filled with fussy cut starfish, crabs, lobsters, gold sequins and some fish and anchors cut with my now retired Oh Whale! clearlit. I stamped the 'Hip Hip Hooray' onto the background before putting the shaker together and carried the sentiment on to the inside of the card:

We have a fun day planned today, including a visit to the cinema and maybe even a cycle ride on his new bicycle if the weather holds! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Sea Street Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set	Fabulous Four Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Starburst Sayings	On Film Framelits Dies
Starburst Framelits Dies	3/4 Inch Circle Punch	Small Oval Punch	Banner Punch	Medium Window Sheets
Gold Sequin Trim	Gold Baker's Twine	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point A4 Card Stock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform

Yay - it's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! Today Nance has an interesting colour challenge for us:

Today I have an unusual card to share with you, in more ways than one! When I saw Nance's colour palette, I immediately thought of the Simply Created Banner Kit that I used for the decorations for Rebecca's recent birthday party; I knew I had a few offcuts and leftover pieces of DSP from the kit and that Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride and Basic Grey were 3 of the feature colours of the add-on kit, so using this week's sketch over at Create with Connie and Mary as my starting point (perfect for using up scraps!) I set to work. Here is my finished card:

Using Calypso Coral as my base, I layered a number of strips of DSP in varying widths/lengths across the front of my card, alternating between the Calypso Coral/Blushing Bride chevron pattern and the Basic Grey/Smoky Slate chevron pattern. I then embossed a strip of Blushing Bride cardstock with the Arrows Embossing Folder and cut one end to a point. I layered some Calypso Coral chevrons that I had cut out with one of the framelits from the Circle Thinlit card, then created a tag, again using a pre-printed leftover tag from the kit. I added some black chevron ribbon (a little bit of a liberty as far as the colour scheme is concerned, but the closest match I could get from my stash!) and tied it with some retired Calypso Coral baker's twine in a double bow. I finished my tag with a die cut 'thank' in Hello Honey, part of the 'thankful' framelit from the now retired Expressions Thinlits set (still available on the European Clearance Rack if you fancy snapping up a bargain!) and the YOU cut out of Basic Grey with my Big Shot and the new Perfect Print Alphabet Bigz die. lastly, I added an Essentials Hardware Clip to my tag before adhering it to my card with dimensionals.

I love the idea of collage cards but find them really difficult to create, so am quite pleased with the way this arrow-filled card turned out. Also, on completion I realised that I hadn't done any stamping at all on this card - how unusual is that??! For more inspiration from the Design Team and to see the fabulous cards they've made using this colour palette, pop on over to The Paper Players blog to see what they've created and to link up your own card.

Back tomorrow with a fun birthday card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Calypso Coral Celebration Add-On Kit	Celebration Basics Kit	Perfect Print Alphabet Bigz Die	Expressions Thinlits Dies	Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Hello Honey A4 Cardstock	Basic Gray A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride	Essentials Hardware Clips
Basic Black 3/4" Chevron Ribbon	Circle card Thinlits Die	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Stampin' Dimensionals

Yesterday we spent a fun day with friends and I was out in the evening, so didn't manage to squeeze in a blog post. However today I'm sharing two cards to make up for it! These are a couple of cards I made for Stampin' Up! using the Traveler stamp set that I demonstrated at the Stampin' Up! UK Regional Training Day in Telford at the end of May. The Traveler stamp set consists of a number of travel-themed sketch images and I created the cards that I'm sharing today to show that masculine cards don't always have to be dark or brown colours - take a look at the first one:

Both cards follow the same basic design: this one has a Marina Mist card base, with a Wild Wasabi panel stamped with the World Map stamp in the same colour, then the Very Vanilla tag is punched with the Angle Tag Topper Punch, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder and the globe sponged with Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi. An early Espresso bker's twine double bow finished it off and it is adhered to the card with dimensionals. The final banner is cut from Marina Mist and stamped in Early Espresso and embellished with a tag left over from my Hip Hip Hooray Simply Created card kit.

I created exactly the same card, this time using a much brighter colour combination just to pep things up a bit:

This time I used a Pumpkin Pie card base, stamped the map in Cherry Cobbler and embossed the tag in Silver on Night of Navy, tied with some silver baker's twine and finished with an Essentials Hardware Clip. As we enter the season for exam results during the next couple of weeks, I think these cards would make great congratulations cards for someone who has passed and is about to embark on a new phase - be that further study, travel, a new job.

So, thoughts - which colour scheme do you prefer? Leave me a comment below - I'd love to know what you think.

Back tomorrow with my design team card for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players; unitl then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Traveler Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Really Good Greetings	World Map	Angled Tag Topper Punch	Marina Mist A4 Card Stock
Wild Wasabi A4 Card Stock	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad
Early Espresso Baker's Twine	Embossing Buddy	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Stampin' Emboss Powder Early Espresso	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder
Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Silver Baker's Twine	Essentials Hardware Clips	Stampin' Dimensionals