A really quick post from me today as I have a very busy work day ahead, but a bonus project for you too today - read on! I made today's card a couple of weeks ago for one of Rebecca's friends who was celebrating her 9th birthday. It got me thinking - at 9 years old, suddenly some girls are less about cute and desperate to 'grow up', so I needed to make a card that was girly but not too 'cutesie' (I think that's a word!). Birthday Basics DSP is always my 'go to' paper for cards like this - here's my card:

I went for a 'fun fold' card featuring the Another Great Year stamp set. I stamped the main stamp onto Very Vanilla then stamped it again onto a sheet of Crisp Cantaloupe and coloured the words with markers before adhering to the vanilla layer. I then created a fun scalloped circle closure to hold the card shut, with a co-ordinating paper-pieced cupcake taking centre stage, which I adhered with a dimensional onto the panel featuring colourful birthday balloons:

Doesn't that cupcake look delicious? Below you can see how I created the card base from two pieces of cardstock, along with my stamped sentiment inside:

Another reason for my paper choice was that the gift was a gift voucher to spend at a local cycling store for accessories for a new bicycle, and the Birthday Basics paper has the perfect design for a themed gift card holder, made using my Envelope Punch Board:

I've made these gift voucher holders before (you can find instructions on a previous post here) - the colours mean that both items look great together. Today's card uses lots of retiring colours and products, so if you need to stock up on any you should hop over to my online store by clicking on the links below - the Itty Bitty Punches that I used to create the little flower on the gift card holder above have already sold out!! 

Right, must dash - I need to link today's post up with the current SUO Challenge of 'Something Yummy' - if I'm quick I might just make it! back tomorrow with another project, until then happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Another Great Year	Birthday Basics Designer Series Paper	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay	Raspberry Ripple A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe
1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch	1-3/4 Inch Scallop Circle Punch	Raspberry Ripple Classic Stampin' Pad	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Envelope Punch Board
Chalk Talk	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

Yay - it's Friday again! Boy did that come around quick! This week has been half term and having James Juniors at home for the week seems to make the week fly by! Anyway, the weather is supposed to improve this weekend so that will be good. I have a busy, busy day today with retiring lists, preorders, class preparations and more besides, so let's get to it! Today I'm sharing a card that I made for this week's challenge over at 'Less is More' where it's recipe week and we're asked to include a die cut on our card. I've also combined with the vibrant colour palette over at Colour Q this week:

I just loved the bold flowers on that shower curtain in the inspiration photo! I had to substitute a couple of the colours, as they have retired and I don't have them; I used Rich Razzleberry and Wild Wasabi in place of Orchid Opulence and Certainly Celery, so my purple is not quite so electric but my card is just as colourful - take a look: 

I actually used the same CAS(E) This Sketch layout, turned through 90 degrees, that I used for yesterday's butterfly card for today's background, although it looks totally different here. I used Simple Stems to stamp my flowers, along with the little flower from the Summer Silhouettes stamp set, then used Bermuda Bay for my card base, my die cut 'thankful' - the Expressions Thinlit Dies are currently available on the clearance rack, if you would like to pick up a set for the bargain price of £13.79, I love mine! - and stamped the 'for you' in Bermuda Bay using the Fabulous Phrases stamp set.

This is one of those cards that I finished and just love - the colours, layout, the diecut word, it's so me! Do you ever make a card and like it so much that you think you'll struggle to give it away? I think the recipient of this one will have to be someone special, so if it lands in your mailbox then you should consider yourself very lucky!!

Right - I'm off to peruse the retiring lists and write out my pre-order for goodies from the new catalogue too (and maybe do a little housework!). Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Simple Stems	Summer Silhouettes Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Fabulous Phrases - Clear-Mount Stamp	Expressions Thinlits Dies	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine

The retiring lists are here! Discover what stamps and accessories, including the 2012-14 In Colours, are retiring at the end of June this year. Retiring products are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST, so if you've still items on your wish list from this year's annual or spring-summer seasonal catalogues, you need to check the retiring lists and if they're on it put an order in pronto!

Please click on the links below to see the complete lists:

Retiring Stamps - available May 30-June 30 (while stocks last)

Retiring Accessories - available May 30-June 30 (while stocks last)

Some of the items on these lists will sell out quickly and once they're gone, they're gone. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay, shop today! Click here to go straight to my online store.

Back later with today's creative post.

A really quick post from me today as I am having a busy one! Today's card uses this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch and is an example of something that I don't do very often: it uses a long-ago retired vintage stamp set, Flight of the Butterfly. Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

I loved the sentiments that come with this stamp set and I needed a card specifically using the sentiment above, so I combined it with some naturals ivory cardstock and some colours that I had out on my desk for another project that I've been working on this week and decided that this set would work perfectly with the above sketch to create a clean and simple butterfly card. I stamped the butterflies in Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Baked Brown Sugar and punched the main one of and just shaped with my bone folder before adhering to my card. I added some linen thread to the spine to add to the natural feel of the card, but couldn't resist a sprinkling of gold sequins too. If you don't have this stamp set, you could easily re-create it with a current set, such as Papillion Potpourri and the Elegant Butterfly punch.

I hope you like today's card; don't forget the retiring list is published tomorrow so do pop back to see all of the things that we will be saying goodbye to at the end of June. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cajun Craze Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad	Linen Thread	Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock
Gold Sequin Trim

Today I have some very exciting news to share with you! From today for one month only, 28th May until 30th June, in addition to the standard £99 starter kit, Stampin' Up! UK is offering a reduced price starter kit at the bargain entry price of £50.

For one month only, you have a choice of joining options:

SIGN AND SAVE - If you already have a large stock of craft supplies and would like a lower price entry point, then the £50 starter kit is worth considering. You will receive £55 worth of product of your choice and a business supplies pack (including copies of the new 2014-15 Annual Catalogue!)

SIGN AND GET MORE - If you would like to benefit from additional free products, then the traditional £99 starter kit is still available and offers incredible value: it includes £130 worth of product of your choice, in addition to a business supplies pack (and new annual catalogues!)

Both of these packages entitle you to the all of the benefits that joining Stampin' Up! brings:

• Pre-order new products before they are released to the general market - Project Life, new Blendabilities alcohol markers, and great new catalogue items - pre-order starts in 2 days time!!
• An ongoing 20% discount on all product purchases
• Attendance at exclusive Stampin' Up! events, such as the UK Regional Training Day that I presented at recently (read all about it here)

In addition, if you join my team you will also receive an exclusive welcome pack and demonstrator handbook to help you build your new Stampin' Up! business, along with a free copy of my exclusive Product Table Builder Software worth £35 that is a must for any blogger who wishes to maximise their online sales. Not to mention the FUN! We are a close-knit team that has members far and wide and in addition to our face-to-face get-togethers and training meets, we are also part of a vibrant online community of fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators who are always on hand with advice, encouragement and support.

So whether you just want to be a hobby demonstrator and take advantage of quality Stampin' Up! products at permanently reduced prices, or whether you would like to earn an income doing something you love, please give me a call on 07773 421446 to talk about what joining my team can do for you - I would love to hear from you! of course if you've been 'on the fence' and the £50 sign up offer ticks your box, then click here to sign up today - I look forward to you joining my team!

It's Wednesday again where did that week go??! Anyway, we all know what Wednesday 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 May (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:

Eastern Elegance Designer Series Paper	Etcetera Designer Series Paper	Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	Scallops Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Spring To Life Kit - Digital Download
Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die	Strawberry Slush 3/8" Ruffle Stretch Trim

More ribbon and designer series paper offers this week, along with an MDS download and an embossing folder and die - lots of interest!

Back shortly with another post - lots going on at Stampin' Up! today, so stay tuned for an even more exciting offer than this week's Wednesday Weekly Deals - I know!!

Well, it's still raining here in the UK and I've even had to resort to turning up the central heating - in May!!! We've had a lovely day catching up with friends today, which hasn't dampened our half-term spirits. On to today's card, which I used this week's colours over at Create with Connie and Mary and LeAnne's sketch at The Paper Players:

I started out with the colours and must say the ladies over at Create with Connie and Mary almost had me stumped this week! I played around with these colours wanting to use white as my neutral - some of the CCMC design team used white to great effect with this colour combination on their cards - but in the end I went with a baby boy card and didn't use any white at all (go figure!). Here's my card:

I decided to go with a Soft Sky base and added a strip of DSP down the centre - do you recognise it? This pattern is actually one of the patterns in the Kaleidescope pack, although you could be forgiven for overlooking it as it is quite muted given the other bright and bold patterns in the set. I then used lots of layers to create interest on the main design; I stamped the 'Sweet Baby' stamp from the Baby We've Grown stamp set in Basic Grey onto Sahara Sand, and matted this onto both Soft Sky and Basic Grey. I then stamped the 'Brand New' stamp from the same set in Basic Grey, twice onto Soft Sky cardstock and once onto Sahara Sand. I cut these out with the smallest Starburst Collection framelit and then did a little fussy cutting to create a layered badge: I cut the banner in Sahara Sand and adhered this to one of the Soft Sky pieces, then took the other image stamped on Soft Sky and cut out the individual letters of the word 'NEW' and adhered them to the banner section. This button badge was then adhered to a circle punched from Basic Grey cardstock with a 1 1/4" circle punch and mounted onto my card as per the sketch.

So quite a graphic clean and layered card today and not overly 'baby cute' but still unmistakably a baby boy card I think. I'm just pleased I managed to eventually create something with this colour combination! When I went back to grab the Paper Players sketch image to insert into my blog I realised Ann Schach also used a couple of stamps from the same set to create her baby girl card - you should go check it out on the above link if you want to see an alternative take using the same sketch.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Baby, We've Grown	Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper	Starburst Framelits Dies	Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Gray A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch

Good morning everyone on this typically wet Bank Holiday Monday! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players, where the have the following sketch challenge to play along with:

When I saw this sketch, I initially wanted to create a Father's Day card with my 'Look up to Father' stamp, but having seen the great examples from Ginger and Diane, I decided to change tack totally and instead of trees, take the opportunity to use some of my High Tide DSP. Here's my card:

Whilst I loved the swirly pattern on this DSP, I've struggled to use it as it's so busy. I thought it would make a great base for this fishy-themed card though, with the cute fish bowl from Fishin' Around. The DSP gave me the colour scheme for my card, and I stamped the image twice in Pacific Point: once onto Soft Sky, which I fussy cut for my fish bowl, then a second time on Calypso Coral and fussy cut the fish and adhered them to my fish bowl. I added a little colour to the water, treasure chest and sand with my marker pens, then adhered some gold sequins to act as 'treasure' on the sand. To complete the look of my fishbowl, I cut a circle out of acetate window sheet using my Big Shot and Circles Framelits and adhered this to the bowl to look like glass. I mounted my completed fish bowl to a circle of Pacific Point and mounted this last, having first adhered the three strips of plain cardstock in Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruiit and Smoky Slate. I stamped my sentiment onto the Smoky Slate rectangle in Pacific Point ink and chose the 'You Make Me Happy' stamp from the 'Hello, Lovely' stamp set.

I bought the fishbowl set thinking it would make great children's cards, but as I put this card together it occurred to me it would make a fun anniversary/valentine card too when paired with this sentiment. Given the weather outside today, this card does seem somewhat appropriate! Back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Fishin' Around	High Tide Designer Series Paper	Hello Lovely	Medium Window Sheets	Circles Collection Framelits Dies
Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate
Smoky Slate Stampin' Write Marker	Summer Starfruit A4 Card Stock	2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Gold Sequin Trim

Sunday is always a good day, but it's doubly good when followed by a Bank Holiday - looking forward to tomorrow already! We've had a restful day today after yesterday's busy one and also managed our first BBQ of the year, albeit having brought everything inside to eat as it was rather breezy outside. Today's card uses the colours over at this week's Colour Me...! challenge and Jen Mitchell's clean rectangular sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for my layout:

 I rotated the sketch through 90 degrees to create my card and took my inspiration directly from the photo alongside the colour palette. Here is my card:

I used Soft Sky for my base and layered with a mat of Early Espresso and then a further layer of Soft Sky that I stamped with the Hardwood stamp in the same colour. I created a trellis using two pieces of Early Espresso punched with my Chevron Border punch and made the focal point of my card the cherry blossom from the Morning Meadow hostess stamp set, which I inked up with my Early Espresso and Primrose Petals marker pens then stamped onto Whisper White. I punched some flowers out of Primrose Petals cardstock using one of my Itty Bitty punches, added pearls to the centres and added these onto the stamped image on the largest flowers to add dimension and interest. I then matted this panel onto Early Espresso and added an off-centre panel of Soft Sky - this goes against the grain from a design perspective for me, but I needed to have the Early Espresso mat onto the Hardwood layer, yet broken with some Soft Sky on the opposite side so that the panel didn't just merge into the trellis and it looks so much better with than without, so convention is out of the window! I also chose not to use a sentiment on the front of my card as I didn't want to add another layer; I decided to keep my sentiment on the inside of my card.

I hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with another card. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hardwood	Morning Meadow	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Chocolate Chip A4 Card Stock	Early Espresso Stampin Write Marker
Primrose Petals A4 Card Stock	2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad	Chevron Border Punch
Punch Pack	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents

I seem to be using a lot of my favourite brights this week and today I wanted to share a card that I made using the Colour Q challenge colours this week, one of my favourite colour palettes:

Aren't those trainers so cool?! You wouldn't get lost in the crowd wearing those, for sure! I took the inspiration for my card from their bold, vibrant pattern and this is what I came up with:

I decided to use one of the wave patterns from the Eye Catching Ikat photopolymer set to create a repeat pattern in the challenge colours (I subsitituted Kiwi Kiss with Old Olive as I don't have the former colour in my collection). I went with quite a simple layered layout, because I wanted the stamped pattern to be the focal point. I still can't quite believe just how easy the photopolymer stamps are to align without the need for a stamp-a-ma-jig - this pattern really didn't take long at all to create, so much so that I made two cards in record time, I just couldn't stop stamping! I mounted my patterned layer onto a strip of Tempting Turquoise. I inked my sentiment using my Brights Stampin' Write Markers, picking up the blue and the Melon Mambo of my card base to tie in with the overall design.

Don't forget, if you would like to own the Eye Catching Ikat stamp set, it is available free with a £60 order until the end of May, so you still have a week to get your order placed. Today is a busy day for me - trampolining parties to attend (Rebecca, not me!!) and a swimming gala this evening. Hope you are all enjoying your weekends. I'll be back tomorrow with another card; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Eye-Catching Ikat Photopolymer Stamp Set	Yippee-Skippee!	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock	Tempting Turquoise A4 Card Stock
Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad