There is no creative post today; I am having new windows fitted at home and unfortunately there has been a problem with the one for my craft room, so my office is currently out of action and has been inaccessible for longer than I anticipated. These things happen and things are being sorted out today so hopefully I will have my CAS Colours and Sketches card for you tomorrow.

Instead, I thought I'd share some promotional news with you that I have yet to post here on the blog - my recent vacation caught me on the hop with September announcements and there is lots going on! Those of you that have been around for a while will remember Wednesday Weekly Deals: the way they work is a range of products will be discounted each week for one week only; new weekly deals will be announced every Wednesday. We won't know what they are in advance: you will simply need to go to my online DBWS store to find out what they are. Wednesday Weekly Deals are running for the month of September - so there are two weeks of deals remaining. I've included links to this week's deals below and will share next week's deals when they are announced in a separate post tomorrow. 

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.

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals, available until tomorrow evening 10.50pm - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

PEARLIZED ENAMEL EFFECTS BASICS (£12.60)	ROSE GOLD & WHITE 5/8" (1.6 CM) STRIPED RIBBON (£6.75)	SILVER 3/8" (1 CM) METALLIC EDGE COTTON RIBBON (£6.75)
STAMPIN' UP! MASKING PAPER (£6.08)	PERFECTLY PENCILED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£9.00)	LOVELY LAYERS 3-3/4" X 5" (9.5 X 12.7 CM) VELLUM (£5.18)
FAUX SEA GLASS SHAPES (£6.75)	VELLUM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) LAYERING DESIGNS (£8.55)	EDEN DIES (£26.40)
SCALLOPED KRAFT TREAT BOXES (£7.60)	EVENING EVERGREEN 3/8" (1 CM) OPEN WEAVE RIBBON (£6.08)

Back tomorrow with a new set of deals - until then, happy shopping!

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the lovely Claire's turn to host this week and she has a seasonal clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

Scarecrows and/or leaves! Well, I don't have any scarecrow stamps in my collection, so it was punch art (rarely a good choice for clean and simple cards!) or leaves! I have lots of leaf options and I thought the Stitched Greenery die would be perfect for a clean and simple card that celebrates leaves - take a look:

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

I used the neutral colour palette over at The Color Throwdown and made my Very Vanilla stitched leaves backplate the centrepiece of my card. I added a simple greeting from 'Season of Chic', anchored with a couple of leaves cut using the (retired) Stitched Leaves dies in kraft that I tied with a bow of (retired) thick Pool Party baker's twine. Check out that stitched detailing:

I love the simplicity of this card with the neutrals and the pop of aqua blue from the twine. A great seasonal notecard and so quick and easy to make 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 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 planned here today - if I can find a little crafty time I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STITCHED GREENERY DIE (£30.00)

KRAFT 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) PAPER PACK (£5.75)

VERY VANILLA A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)

SEASON OF CHIC PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£26.00)

SOFT SUEDE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'World Space Week' which is 4-10 October. 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 went festive rather than space and with the current Try Stamping on Tuesday sketch for my layout, used stars, sparkle and moving parts to create a pocket shaker card with the Lights Aglow paper and Twinkling Lights Christmas tree die - take a look:

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

This card is all about the sparkle! I used some gold foil embossed Lights Aglow designer series paper for the background of my shaker pocket and also added gold foil behind my Christmas tree diecut and with the gold glimmer star on top. I heat embossed my sentiment, from the 'Sweet Candy Canes' stamp set in gold onto Evening Evergreen cardstock - I also used another sentiment from this set on the inside of my card:

The stars and moving parts comprise the (retired) gold sequins I used for the inside of my pocket shaker - I also added some of the tiny stars to decorate my diecut Christmas tree. Isn't that just so sparkly?! 

These pocket shakers are so fun and so easy to make - you just put your background and shaker elements into a cellophane envelope and take the back shut before adding to your card. They are slimmer than a traditional shaker card, which makes them great for posting, but there is still room for the contents to move around. Have you ever tried one? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear what kinds you've experimented with.

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. 

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 Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

TWINKLING LIGHTS DIES (£27.00)	LIGHTS AGLOW 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£14.00)	SWEET CANDY CANES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£21.00)	GOLD FOIL SHEETS (£4.75)	6" X 8" (15.2 X 20.3 CM) CELLOPHANE BAGS (£5.25)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (£17.00)
VERSAMARK PAD (£9.00)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

Can’t stop staring at a certain stamp set (or two, or three)? Stock up on stamp sets at a stellar price! For one day only, you can buy select cling stamp sets at a 15% discount. This short and stamp-tacular sale only happens once a year, so get in gear—it’s time to shop ’til you drop! 

Are you ready? The biggest stamp sale of the year is today - 15th September! It’ll only last for 24 hours, so you will need to act fast to grab the goods. It actually started at 11pm  evyesterday evening here in the UK. 

For 24 hours from 14 September at 11:00 p.m. to 15 September 10:50 p.m. (UK) online, each of the stamp sets from the 2022–2023 Annual Catalogue will be available for purchase at a 15% discount (excluding host sets).

Click here for a link to a list of all of the stamp sets included in the sale and their reduced prices. 

If you see something you like, you can either place an order through me, or you can shop directly through my online store. My shop will have a category entitled “Stamp Sale” that displays every stamp set on sale to ensure a quick and easy shopping experience.

The discount applies to individual stamp sets (not bundles) and can also be used in conjunction with a starter kit - what a great way to get more bang for your buck! Place your order here through my online store or by clicking on the shopping bag icon in the menu on the right hand side - don't forget to include the current hostess code 6SQFH49A for an extra thank you from me. 

I'll be back with another creative project tomorrow, but in the meantime this is a 24 hour event only so you have to act fast to benefit from 15% off these amazing sets, so it's time to go shopping - don't miss out! 

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Valerie has asked that we include a couple of panels on our card. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

I was tempted to use both a tag and a panel of designer series paper on my card when I saw Valerie's sketch, but resisted the urge and decided to channel myself to create a card using the beautiful image and colours over at The Card Concept for my super clean and simple card today - take a look: 

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

I thought the butterfly on the inspiration photo was so striking! I so rarely use butterflies on my cards, even though I have lots of them in my collection. I masked a panel on my white cardstock and created a bokeh panel using Starry Sky and whisper white craft inks and my blending brushes and a circle stencil; to this I added a butterfly just like the one in the inspiration photo, that I cut using my Brilliant Wings Dies. I cut one in each of the colours and paper-pieced the coloured sections into the black outline. I backed each one with an adhesive sheet, so it was mess-free, if a little time consuming. So worth it though for the finished effect, don't you think? 

I added a generic sentiment from 'Charming Sentiments' as the set was still out on my desk from my previous card and I didn't have a specific occasion for this card. I love the finished effect - I think I should use these butterflies more often!

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:

BRILLIANT WINGS DIES (£41.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	STARRY SKY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BLENDING BRUSHES (£11.75)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)
UNINKED STAMPIN’ PAD & WHISPER WHITE REFILL (£9.00)	STARRY SKY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I've a colour challenge for you to work with:

I decided to change things up for this week's challenge and instead of providing a restricted palette, I would choose 6 complimentary colours that you could choose any combination of on your project. Once again I used Jen B's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for my layout this week and ended up creating a card that was completely different to the one I originally had in mind. Take a look and I'll explain:

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

Design A Daydream - The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that the colours I chose for our challenge this week can all be found in Stampin' Up!'s 'Design A Daydream' designer series paper pack. This is a bumper paper pack at 48 sheets of 12" x 12" (the number quoted in the catalogue is a misprint) for just £17 - and it can be yours when you place an order that qualifies for Host Rewards. It contains many beautiful prints and patterns and I knew immediately that this paper would feature somewhere on my card today. I was originally going to use the floral pattern that is probably my favourite in the set, however when I came to make my a few days ago, the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had just been announced and I found myself in a more sombre mood,and was drawn towards the more tranquil Pool Party blue patterns, so changed tack.

A Sentiment Shift - I decided to use the simple leaf patterned paper and the two sketch panels enabled me to also showcase the reverse of this sheet for my second tag panel. I needed a sentiment and was drawn to this one from the 'Charming Sentiments' bundle; whilst not entirely unexpected, the death of the Queen was still a shock and has left us a nation mourning the loss of a unique and selfless monarch. Whilst this period of respect will continue for days to come, I thought this sentiment, with its implied acknowledgement of both a sense of loss along with the suggestion of hope seemed perfect to sum up the country's mood.

A Trio of Diecuts - Today's card is more diecuts than stamping: I used the Tailor Made Tags for my two panels and along with the die used to cut my sentiment (this is a great feature of the Charming Sentiments bundle) I used the detailed leaf branch from the Artistic Dies to add a simple accent and focal point. Just a few enamel dots as accents as I wanted to preserve the clean feel of my card:

I'm also linking today's card up with the team over at SUO Challenges where the current theme is 'Diecutting' and at The Alphabet Blog where they are at 'L is for Leaves'. 

I never had the opportunity to meet the Queen, however feel privileged to have lived through her reign and witnessed the selfless devotion with which she served this country. She was an amazing female role model and certainly an example of a life well lived. She will be much missed - rest in peace, your Majesty.

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; we are out to lunch to quietly celebrate the second James family birthday of the month - lots of us are September babies - but are otherwise having an uneventful day. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

DESIGN A DAYDREAM 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) HOST DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£17.00)	TAILOR MADE TAGS DIES (£21.00)	ARTISTIC DIES (£33.00)	CHARMING SENTIMENTS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£49.50)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BLACKBERRY BLISS A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
BLACKBERRY BLISS CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£9.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal speed challenge:

Having cast my eye over my supplies, the only current pumpkin products I had was the 'Celebrate Everything' designer series paper which features this cute pumpkin/ghost patterned paper. So I had a good root through my retired box, grabbed a couple of retired stamp sets and my retired apple punch and decided to CASE a card I saw on social media yesterday by Yvonne Spikmans, one of the current Stampin' Up! artisan designers using my collection of bits and pieces. I started my stopwatch and set to work - this is what I came up with:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

I added my DSP to a blank card base and then created a 'torn reveal' to a piece of white cardstock. I stamped a pumpkin onto some orange cardstock (Tangerine Tango - retired) using the retired 'Harvest Hellos' stamp set and punched it out with my retired apple builder punch, then added it across my torn section. The sentiment comes from the retired 'Banner Year' stamp set and I stamped the 'Boo' onto a banner that I retrieved from my box of scraps. A bundle of twine and sprinkle of enamel dots and stars complete this fun card:

This card was actually surprisingly quick to make - I remembered to photograph my finished time:

9 minutes and 27 seconds - not too shabby and nicely under the 10 minute mark - result! The key to a quick card is most definitely to be prepared: planning your card and gathering your supplies ahead of time is allowed and will definitely make things easier. 

This card will be a good surprise note for one of the James Juniors as Halloween draws nearer.

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project or supplies list as most items I've used are retired; the design could be used in lots of different ways though - what sets would you use? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Sunday with another project for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

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 Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

I used the sketch over at Sketch Saturday for my layout and went along the centre row of the board with wood/free/fall colours and incorporated the colours, leaves and acorns of the Hand Stamped Sentiments inspiration photo for my card to welcome autumn - take a look:

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

Timber Texture - I ran my card base through the Timber Embossing Folder for my wood element, then added a piece of the now retired Sale-A-Bration Rings of Love designer series paper down the centre - the pattern is perfect to evoke an autumnal feel.

Chic Leaves - I added a sentiment from a retired set to a stitched circle and embellished this with a trio of diecut oak leaves curtesy of the Chic Dies - such a great die set, with something for every season. 

An Acorn Pair - I finished my card with a pair of diecut acorns from the Tree Rings Hybrid Embossing Folder and Dies and some retired Poppy Parade thick baker's twine. Here's a closeup of that diecut detail and those lovely autumn colours:

I love the vibrancy that is added by the pop of red from the baker's twine and the additional textures that always seem to accompany my autumn-themed cards.

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 for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

TIMBER 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER (£9.50)	CHIC DIES (£35.00)	TREE RINGS HYBRID EMBOSSING FOLDER (£34.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (£28.00)	EVENING EVERGREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£7.50)	EVENING EVERGREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SOFT SUEDE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	SO SAFFRON A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Valerie is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I decided to colour one of the fun birthday images in the 'This Birthday Piggy' stamp set - take a look:

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

I used a combination of Stampin' Blends and Stampin' Write markers to colour my image and added a strip of brights DSP to my card base for a pop of extra colour:

This pattern is retired, but I've added a link below to the current equivalent. Whilst I didn't use them on today's card, this is the perfect opportunity to mention that the 'This Birthday Piggy' stamp set also has a new set of co-ordinating dies that will be available this month only, as part of the Perfect Partners promotion. It is one of six stamp sets from the annual and June-December catalogues that feature - see the other sets below:

Stamp set and dies are available separately, but if you don't already have the stamp set you can purchase both and receive a 10% bundle saving - bonus! This promotion runs until 30th September, so grab your dies without delay.

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:

THIS BIRTHDAY PIGGY CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£22.00)	STITCHED RECTANGLE DIES (£33.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)	BRIGHTS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.25)
POLISHED PINK STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (£8.50)	BRIGHTS STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS (£30.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a seasonal theme for us to work with:

I'm back following my week off last week; I've been enjoying a well-earned break in the Florida sunshine so Ann's theme this week of 'Fall Fun' brought me back down to earth with a bump! I'm not ready for pumpkins and spiced lattes just yet though; I took my inspiration from the bright autumn leaves in our challenge badge and paired them with the lovely Kim's fantastic sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches to come up with this colourful creation - take a look:

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

Celebrate Everything - Kim's sketch features a trio of stripes - perfect to feature a trio of designer papers. A great sketch if you have some co-ordinating scraps to use up: I paired a scrap of yellow gingham with two new papers cut from the Celebrate Everything designer series paper stack; this is a hostess reward and contains 48 sheets of 12" x 12", so is such great value for many and has a range of fabulous seasonal patterns and designs. I love the colourful autumn leaves, so used a stip of this paper in the centre and built the rest of my card around it.

Simply Fabulous - I chose a sentiment from one of my most favourite stamp sets, 'Simply Fabulous', that works perfectly for a seasonal card - I think the changing colours of the autumn leaves is one of the true beauties of nature, don't you agree?

Country Wreaths Diecut Leaves - I accented my sentiment with some matte enamel dots and a trio of diecut leaves from one of the leaves in the Country Wreaths Dies set - I thought they co-ordinated nicely with that central strip of paper. I stuck one on flat and popped the other two up on dimensionals to complete my card:

That's my card complete - a seasonal notecard for my stash.

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; we are getting ready for the James Juniors to return to school this week and finishing the last of the post-vacation ironing - joy! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

CELEBRATE EVERYTHING 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£16.50)	COUNTRY WREATHS DIES (£37.00)	SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£17.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£5.75)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£8.25)
CLASSIC MATTE DOTS (£6.08)	SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	POPPY PARADE A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)
CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (£8.75)