Yesterday saw the release of the second round of products as part of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion (you can read all about it here) so today seems a good day to share a card that is perfect for the current challenge over at Inspire.Create where it's all about Sale-A-Bration:

There are so many lovely Sale-A-Bration items to choose from but as a chicken owner one of my personal favourites is Home To Roost:

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

Home To Roost - Everyone loves a chicken stamp and the 'Home To Roost' stamp set has some great sentiments and fonts and some very useful grasses too, so is definitely worth a look. He's really easy to fussy cut too.

A New Technique - My card today is inspired by one of the samples on page 11 of the Sale-A-Bration catalogue; I was intrigued to see that the chicken and background on the green card was stamped onto Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and coloured with watercolour pencils, something I'd not tried before so I thought I'd give it a go. I really like the finished effect of colour on wood texture and this is definitely something I'll try again. 

Did You Know? -  Today's card is a great time to point out something else that is a feature both of the Sale-A-Bration leaflet and the Stampin' Up! seasonal and annual catalogues that you may not have noticed. Where you see a highlighted project, in addition to listing the products used to make the sample individually, there is also a bundle item code that includes everything that you can order with just one item number - handy, right? You can see it highlighted on the image below:

If you like today's card, the good news is if you buy everything in the bundle - which I also used on my card today - you'll qualify for the free Sale-A-Bration 'Home to Roost' stamp set for free - bonus!

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. 

One last thing: you may be wondering why the envelope featured with my card doesn't feature a chicken but a flower; I had a whole pile of projects ready for photographing and didn't realise I hadn't swapped out the envelope, but didn't realise until the time of writing - so I'm leaving this happy accident as I don't have time to retake!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Home To Roost Cards (£59.75)	Home To Roost Cling Stamp Set (£0.00)	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Nature's Poem A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Watercolor Pencils (£15.00)	3/16" (1 Cm) Braided Linen Trim (£6.50)	Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Stampin' Dimensionals (£3.75)	Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (£8.25)

I know how much you've all been enjoying the benefits of the Sale-A-Bration promotion; as if it couldn't get any better I just wanted to let you know that from today there are some new items being added to the selection of products that can be earned free, both with a £45 order and a bundle that can be earned free with a purchase of £90 or more. You can click on the image below to download the flyer:

So what's new? There is the 'All Adorned' stamp set, that is designed to work particularly well with the Stamparatus:

 There is a beautiful new Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, called Country Floral:

 Finally, there is a bundle that can be yours free with a spend of £90 or more that includes the Painted Seasons stamp set and co-ordinating designer series paper:

The lovely team at the Stampin' Up! head office have also put together a short video that shows you the Painted Season Bundle items in more detail - you can see that by clicking on the link below:

As with the other items in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue (with the exception of the ribbon, which is sold out), these items will be available from now until the end of the Sale-A-Bration period, 31st March. You can see full details for each of the new product on the new Sale-A-Bration flyer here.

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code G44UFKHH) or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. Back shortly with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Today I'm sharing a super simple card for the current challenge over at CASology:

I haven't managed to play along there for a while but I saw this week's cue word 'turn' and had a flash of inspiration for an unusual combination of products for my take on it - take a look:

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

Garage Gears - I used the new Garage Gears Thinlits for my card today; part of the Classic Garage Suite, the die set contains lots of cogs and wheels - all of which 'turn' right? I mounted them slightly of the edge for added interest, but otherwise just used one main interconnected piece with a couple of smaller cogs popped up on dimensionals.

Mind Games -  Rather than create a masculine card with this set though, I decided to go for a play on words and use these cogs along with an appropriate sentiment to suggest the cogs and wheels that turn in one's mind (most often in the early hours of the morning in my case when mine should be asleep, to be fair!). The sentiment comes from the 'Butterfly Gala' stamp set - an unusual pairing, but I think it works rather well with these cogs. 

Citrus Rainbow Metallics - I love the texture of these dies - you can really see the detail of the cogs - and decided cut them out of my Sale-A-Bration Grapefruit Grove Foil , which has a fabulous rainbow-shine effect when it catches the light. I paired it with a Gorgeous Grape card base for my 'white space' to pick up on the reflected colour and because this card is actually going to be sent to a girlfriend, so I wanted something a little more feminine.

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'll be back tomorrow with my project for The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Garage Gears Thinlits Dies (£31.00)	Butterfly Gala Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Gorgeous Grape A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets (£0.00)

I've had a busy day so just time to pop in with a quick post to share a simple birthday card that is super quick to make - take a look:

For this week's take on #SimpleStamping I have a CASE (Copy And Share Everything) of one of the samples in the current Sale-A-Bration brochure featuring the Hello Cupcake stamp set - a simple card base with a white panel and a flagged banner (I used the Triple Banner Punch to flag my ends, but you could cut them by hand using scissors), a single stamped image courtesy of the 'Hello Cupcake' stamp set, 3 ink colours and an optional sprinkle of self-adhesive sequins. Really easy to recreate with minimal supplies - just what #SimpleStamping is all about. 

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'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hello Cupcake Photopolymer Stamp Set (£0.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Petal Pink A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Coastal Cabana A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins (£6.50)	Banner Triple Punch (£22.00)

Yay - it's Friday, bring on the weekend! Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Less is More where I haven't played for a while:

I had a short window for a spot of crafting yesterday and thought I'd whip up another clean and simple card using a couple of new products that fits perfectly with their theme this week - take a look:

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

By The Bay - The seagulls paddling on the shoreline that feature on today's card are reminiscent of the ones that featured in the much loved and now retired Wetlands set (anyone else remember that set?) albeit with a little more definition, and they are one of three line-drawn images that feature with three sentiments in 'By The Bay', one of the stamp sets that can be yours free with a purchase of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration. Perfect for colouring the images are large enough to stand alone but also not so big that they take a long time to colour. I really like this set and you can be sure I will be using it more before the promotion is over. 

Another Way To Frame - To frame my image, I used a new favourite of mine, the Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies, but this time to cute an aperture frame into my cardfront. I then adhered my watercoloured image behind this. I like the subtle added detail that this gives to a clean and simple card, without adding overt layers. 

Ways With Watercolour - I feel like I've been watercolouring a lot on my cards lately; I don't consider myself to be by any means an expert at watercolouring, but I think that's why I'm enjoying it so much; on watercolour paper, it's easy to build up colour without needing to be too precise in terms of the overall effect. It would take ages if I was to attempt to properly draw and paint the image to achieve omething like this, so I'm grateful that stamps, ink and an aquapainter enable me to produce something this good in a fraction of the time! I used a combination of blues, greys and sandy neutrals to colour my image.

If you like today's clean and simple card, by purchasing the key items used below, you can earn the By The Bay stamp set for free - perfect for creating your own watercoloured masterpieces.

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 - I have a monster basket of ironing to wade through but I'm hoping if I focus I might squeeze in a little stamping time before my afternoon school run, so I'm on a mission! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)

Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)

Watercolor Paper (£4.75)

Aqua Painters (£16.00)

By The Bay Cling Stamp Set (£0.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Anne-Marie to host this week and she has a fresh colour challenge for you to work with that is perfect for Spring:

I decided some fresh spring florals were in order and using this week's Paper Craft Crew Sketch as inspiration, I decided to have a play with my new Needle and Thread bundle - take a look:

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

Pins and Needles - The new Needlepoint Nook Suite is perfect for creating the look of handcrafted embroidery with much less effort and has stamps, papers, accessories and framelits that fit the theme. My favourite aspect of this suite is definitely the Needlepoint Elements Framelits Dies - I used the largest of the needlepoint patterns for the background element of my design and added the needlepoint border to a vellum piece that co-ordinates with the Pretty Label Punch. Such a pretty touch! 

Hand-Stitched Stamping - The floral elements in the Needle & Thread set are distinctive stamps that have the almost photographic appearance of embroidered flowers, as they appear on the Needlepoint nook designer series paper that can also be found in this suite. I used my yellow and grapefuit grove to create a bright spray of flowers and added in a few additional diecut pieces too. I used a simple heat embossed sentiment in white onto Night of Navy - my chosen fourth colour - on the front of my card and used one of my favourite sentiments from this set on the inside:

I also added some of the new gingham gala sequins and a few loops of the lovely Grapefruit Grove Organdy Ribbon to finish the front of my card; this is one of the items you can receive free with a Sale-A-Bration order of £45 or more - and who doesn't love a free gift?!

A Well Written Tag Too - I often cut multiples of flowers or other elements when I'm making this kind of card as I decide on my finished design and this year I'm on a mission in my crafting to use up all the bits and pieces I get left over from a project as I craft, rather than putting them in my bits and bobs box to linger for months on end or eventually end up in the bin when I have a mad craft room tidy up! Today I made a tag with my leftovers, and added the word 'friend' from the Well Written Framelits set:

 This will make a great co-ordinating tag for a gift to go along with my card - and everything used up too! Here's one last photo of both items together:

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:

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; I am hoping for a quiet day with maybe a little crafting too! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Needle & Thread Photopolymer Bundle (£43.00)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Grapefruit Grove Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Vellum A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Organdy Ribbon Combo Pack (£0.00)	Gingham Gala Adhesive-Backed Sequins (£7.00)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Heat Tool (Uk) (£28.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Hello everyone - I'm back! Following a longer than anticipated Christmas break (sometimes, family simply has to come first) the new year brings with it lots of Stampin' Up! goodness: it's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live and from now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. 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 shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? 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:

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 3 January and 31 March. 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 the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! There are 2 fabulous joining options during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: Option 1, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £71 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. That's an extra £40 worth of product in your starter kit when compared to the usual £130. Alternatively there is option 2: for £125, you can receive £170 worth of craft items and this exclusive Craft & Carry Tote to carry it all around in too! The tote bag is absolutely fabulous and a must have for all crafters - check it out in this video:

Isn't it just great?! Plus, the whole kit ships for free! 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. 

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £40 of Stampin' Rewards - more freebies! 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 party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up but there are still lots of slots available and I would love to share these great benefits with you. 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 Spring-Summer 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. 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!

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 soon with lots of projects showcasing products from the new catalogue. Until then, happy shopping!