It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Betty is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I went across the middle with florals/free/sparkle to create another card using my free Sale-A-Bration Favoured Flowers designer series paper - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Further to this card I created last week using purple shades, I used the coral toned flowers to create another card using the same products and layout. I fussy cut a trio of flower heads, adding in a couple of buds and a few diecut leaves for added interest:

My sparkle is courtesy of my trio of Petal Pink Elegant Faceted Gems; subtle, yet they have a lovely sparkly in real life. Here's one last photo showing this card alongside it's purple 'sister' - which one do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

The Favoured Flowers papers are just fabulous and so easy to work with - and free!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CALYPSO CORAL A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	PETAL PINK A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)	SUNFLOWERS DIES (31.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)
ELEGANT FACETED GEMS (7.00)	ARTISTICALLY INKED CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)

Today I'm sharing a quick clean and simple card for this week's colour challenge over at TGIF Challenges:

I thought this trio of colours would be perfect for a card using the new 'Love Cats' stamp set and a piece of Country Gingham paper in Balmy Blue - take a look:

This card really did come together in a flash; I stamped the cat image partially onto white cardstock and partially onto the gingham (your Stamparatus will make light work of this) and butted both pieces together and adhered to a thick white cardbase:

I masked off the hearts so that I could stamp them in separately in pink and masked and partially stamped the sentiment - this is a great way to make what is a Valentine's sentiment something more generic.

I really love this set - I am not a cat lover at all, but these quirky felines are so fun!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LOVE CATS CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)

COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

EARLY ESPRESSO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

POLISHED PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's first challenge of the new year over at The Paper Players! We have three fabulous new guest designers Suzy, Fran and Tara, and this week it's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

Use a tag on your project! I decided to go all-out with the Country Floral Lane Suite for today's card and use lots of different elements to create a pretty card for a friend - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Country Floral Lane - Today's card features both the Country Gingham and Country Floral Lane DSPs, both of which feature in this suite. Hearts, flowers and gingham in co-ordinating colours of Balmy Blue, Sweet Sorbet, Mint Macaron and Petal Pink - what's not to love?! 

Seasonal Labels - I made a bespoke tag for my project, using the Seasonal Labels Dies and cutting a straight age across the bottom so that it made a tag as opposed to a label shape. I cut my tag from one of the floral patterns and used it as the base element for the focal point of my card, using an additional (shortened) label from the same set to add my sentiment.

Finishing Touches - I decorated my tag with another heart-shaped flower (you will be seeing a lot of these in coming weeks!), this time punched directly from the Country Floral Lane designer paper and added some foliage from the Country Bouquet set that I stamped and fussy cut, along with a scattering of a few tiny hearts fussy cut from the Country Floral Lane paper:

A little (retired) ribbon tied with some in-colour baker's twine complete my tag and card. I love that this set can be used in so many ways and embraces 'love' in the broadest sense. I'm linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where the theme is Designer's Choice - this is definitely mine!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Enjoy your day; nothing special happening here today; it is officially the last day of the school holidays so with the return of the James Juniors to school this week I should see something of a return to a normal schedule. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

COUNTRY GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	COUNTRY FLORAL LANE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)	COUNTRY BOUQUET BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (36.00)	SEASONAL LABELS DIES (36.00)	PAINTED LABELS DIES (33.00)	2022–2024 IN COLOR BAKER'S TWINE PACK (14.00)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

Happy Saturday everyone! A quick card from me today as I managed to squeeze in a little extra crafting time (also known as I avoided standing in the rain on the sidelines of two very wet hockey matches today!) so I'm playing along with this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout from Amy:

I spent an evening earlier in the week fussy cutting flowers from my Favoured Flowers designer series paper that I received as one of my free Sale-A-Bration gifts and thought Amy's sketch was perfect to put some of them to good use - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

First things first: the Favoured Flowers designer series paper is designed to coordinate with the Fragrant Flowers stamp set and die bundle on page 21 of the new mini catalogue, however I did not buy this bundle - but this didn't stop me claiming my free paper! Every time you see me use this paper, I will be co-ordinating with other stamp sets that might be similar. I hope you find this useful and a good way to show that you don't always have to have everything 'matching' to make something work.

I used one of the DSP patterns for the central panel then layered three large flowers for the circles of the sketch, having separated the leaves from the flowers so that I could tuck in a few of those too, along with a couple of diecut ones. I added a sentiment on a label and a trio of the new opaque dots in Fresh Freesia for a little extra sparkle:

The colours of this paper pack are really rich but they are great to work with, especially if you incorporate the lighter tones too. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

ARTISTICALLY INKED CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (33.00)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	FRESH FREESIA A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	SUNFLOWERS DIES (31.00)
OPAQUE ADHESIVE-BACKED GEMS (7.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (5.75)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Chinese New Year' which is on 22nd January. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used red, gold, rabbit, envelopes, heat embossing and new year sentiment and decided I would stick with our theme this week and create a card for Chinese new year - this is what I came up with:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Year of the Rabbit - Since this Chinese new year is the Year of the Rabbit, my new Easter Rabbit punch came in handy! I used a punched rabbit for the centrepiece of my card; whilst my whole card was in red and gold, I wanted it to stand out a little more without adding in another colour, so I swiped my Poppy Parade cardstock with my ink pad in the same colour for a deeper shade - the photo below shows the difference:

Brightest Glow - I used a new year sentiment from the 'Brightest Glow' stamp set and another of the co-ordinating diecuts from the Labels Aglow Dies to reveal the gold foil of my mat layer to 'frame' the rabbit:

Red Envelopes - I completed my card with a few envelopes snipped from the 'Full of Love' stamp set that I heat embossed in gold on red. Did you know that red envelopes, often with gold detailing and containing money or gift cards, are traditionally given to children to celebrate Chinese new year and are considered to bring good luck, health and prosperity?

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'm also linking today's card up over at Global Design Project where their theme is 'party'.

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the  Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

Enjoy your day; mine will be a busy one, as I'm going into Birmingham for some shopping and a trip to the theatre this evening - exciting! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

EASTER BUNNY PUNCH (18.00)	FULL OF LOVE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	BRIGHTEST GLOW CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)	LABELS AGLOW DIES (31.00)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	POPPY PARADE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
GOLD FOIL SHEETS (4.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)

For today's creative post I'm sharing a couple of versions of the same card. Since it's the first day of the new mini catalogue, it's the perfect time to showcase a new punch bundle - take a look at the first of today's cards:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Country Bouquet - Both of today's card feature a stamped and punched flower courtesy of the Country Bouquet bundle. Punch bundles are always great for quick and easy card making and I love that this bundle, whilst heart-shaped and does contain Valentine sentiments, has a much broader appeal with lots of other useful phrases and floral elements too. The heart pairs with the leaves and males a sweet flower that can be used in lots of ways. Both of the hearts are on one stamp and both of the leaves on another, and the punch punches all four elements in one go. My top tip for using this kind of stamp/punch combo is to create a punch mask using a piece of window sheet. You can then use this when stamping to position your stamps and ensure that when you come to punch out, all four stamped elements align perfectly. Better still, if you position your mask in your Stamparatus, you can easily run off lots in one go - and potentially punch your blanks before stamping.

Thanks and Hello - I paired my heart-shaped flower with an embossed panel, courtesy of the Thanks and Hello embossing folders. I love the added texture this gives - hopefully you can see it better in the photo below:

A Perfect Pair - Having made a few thank you cards to send to customers who purchased with me at the end of December, I decided to replicate my card using the 'Hello' embossing folder as the card to include with my Mini Catalogue mailing - a great way to combine products from the existing and new range too:

The texture of the embossed panel really makes it, don't you think?

Here's both cards together:

Here's another shot of lots of my cards together before they went into the mailbags:

Creating these cards is always a labour of love as mass production on this scale takes a lot of time, however it's so worth it when I get a message from a customer to say how much they liked their card - it makes it all worthwhile!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I am linking today's thank you card up over at The Alphabet Challenge where they are on 'T is for Thank you' and my Hello card over at Inspire.Create where their theme is 'New To You' - both my punch bundle and embossing folders are new to me and I you can be sure you'll be seeing plenty more of them too in future weeks! It's been fun creating with lots of new product and I can't wait to share more of it with you.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

COUNTRY BOUQUET BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (36.00)	THANKS & HELLO EMBOSSING FOLDERS (7.50)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	ORCHID OASIS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)
BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

It's the 5th January and time for a new mini-catalogue and our Sale-A-Bration promotion! This year there will be only one Sale-A-Bration promotion: it runs from today until 28th February. You can click on the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page or below to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or click on the icon above or on the right to go directly to my online shopto place an order - we are LIVE!

So how does Sale-A-Bration work? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, join or host. You can earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 5 January and 28 February. There is also the opportunity to earn even bigger rewards with a £90 purchase. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

It’s also one of the best times of the year to join Stampin’ Up! There is are three fabulous joining options during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: 

• OPTION 1: Spend £99 and receive £170 of product of your choice.
• OPTION 2: Spend £125 and receive £170 of product of your choice and an exclusive limited edition Boho Blue Mini Cut & Emboss Machine
• OPTION 3: Spend £125 and receive £170 of product of your choice and a white Mini Cut & Emboss Machine

There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you. Above all else, it's a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals united through a common love of crafting.

Hosting is also even more rewarding during Sale-A-Bration. When you host a party and reach a certain amount in sales (see the Stampin’ Rewards chart in the Sale-A-Bration brochure for more information), you can earn a free stamp set!

Even if you reaches the qualifying amount on your own outside of a party, you can earn the same free stamp set too, both in person and when shopping in my online store. What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

If you would like to host a virtual party, please do get in touch. Equally if you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new January-April 2023 mini catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator; paper copies have been sent to my regular customers. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

Finally, a new kit has also been added to the online store today:

Say thank you to the people who make your day, every day with the Saying Thanks all-inclusive card kit! This month’s kit has everything you need to show appreciation to family and friends who light up your life! Make nine bright, colourful cards in no time to say thank you, recognise friends, and share your gratitude with a bright watercolour wash that won’t go unnoticed! You’ll never miss an opportunity to express gratitude with this colourful kit!

This kit retails at £13 and includes:

• Enough supplies to create 9 cards—3 each of 3 designs—and 9 coordinating envelopes.
• Printed and foil die-cut words, pre-cut pieces, and enough adhesive to complete projects.
• White bakerʼs twine and iridescent diamond sequins.
• Finished card size: 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" (14 x 10.8 cm).
• Coordinating colours: Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Poppy Parade, Tahitian Tide.

If you would like more information on any of the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

Thanks so much for popping by - it's always nice to share good news! Back later today with today's creative post that uses some exciting new product! That post will go live at 0900 GMT. Until then, happy shopping!

It's Tuesday and time for our first challenge of the new year over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We are changing things up in 2023: we are welcoming a new trio of designers to our permanent team - waves to Lucy, Rachel and Sue - and whilst we will keep our format of colour, sketch and double challenges, our challenges are moving from a weekly to a fortnightly schedule, so even more time for you to participate! The super-talented Michal is hosting the month of January and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I decided to leave behind the excesses of the festive season and start the year with some fresh fruit - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

This week's colours reminded me of morello cherries, so I grabbed my 'Sweetest Cherries' stamp set from the annual catalogue and stamped a pair of juicy fruits, blending my colours on the stamp with a sponge dauber before stamping, then fussy cut them, along with the word 'sweet' which I stamped in Blackberry Bliss, and added these with dimensionals to a white card base trimmed with a piece of Cherry Cobbler designer paper from the Regals pack.

I stamped the first part of the sentiment directly onto the card base, and finished the sentiment on the inside with another cherry to decorate:

A great #simplestamping project to get you started with your new year crafting - and one of your '5 a day' too! I'm also linking today's project up over at TGIF Challenges where they are 'keeping it simple'.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

SWEETEST CHERRIES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (17.00)

REGALS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.25)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)

GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

CHERRY COBBLER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made with the leftovers of this card that I just haven't gotten around to sharing yet - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

This is a smaller, cleaner version of my original card, that uses the same holly label and leaves and berries cut from the piece of ink blended cardstock I made for my original project. I added some silver twine too to balance my design:

And of course I could resist some variegated holly on the inside and outside of the envelope too:

I really love the Leaves of Holly bundle and I'm so sad that it isn't carrying over; I will be holding on to my set for sure. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I have made and sent all my Christmas cards for this year and yesterday took receipt of my first pre-order from the new Stampin' Up! January -April catalogue. I can't promise this means an end to festive shares here, but I am excited to be crafting with new things! Today sees the first of the James Juniors to finish school for the Christmas break, with the second one finishing tomorrow, so I will be entering a slightly more 'relaxed' period of blogging over the next couple of weeks. Rest assured though there will be plenty going on and I have some very exciting things planned for 2023. I will be back soon with more to share; meanwhile, enjoy your day and until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

LEAVES OF HOLLY BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (48.50)	REAL RED & WHITE 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) GLIMMER PAPER (4.75)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)	SILVER FOIL 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) SPECIALTY PACK (9.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (11.75)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (8.75)
STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	PACIFIC POINT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BALMY BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.25)	RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (5.75)

STOP PRESS for an important announcement: For 24 hours only, starting at 11pm UK time this evening, Stampin' Up! are offering FREE shipping on orders of £60 or more.

The key information is as follows:

• Free shipping applies after the qualifying order amount has been met.
• The minimum qualifying amount to receive free shipping is £60 or more.
• Free shipping only applies during the 24-hour period the promotion is live in each market; this means that the order must be opened and closed between 14 December 2022, at 11p.m. and 15 December 2022, at 10:59 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on last-chance items, to pick up one of our all-inclusive papercrafting kits or to treat yourself to a bargain or some stocking fillers from the clearance rack. So start making those lists and head off to the online Stampin' Up! store to place your order. Remember to add the current hostess code Q7VHHWQD to receive an extra thank you in the post from me.

Happy shopping!