Today I have another Christmas card for you! I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch as my inspiration:

This is such a great sketch - I can see me using it for lots of cards. Today I combined it with the Merry Monday Challenge that I haven't played along with for a while - this week we are challenged to use holly on our card and I immediately reached for my favourite new Home For Christmas DSP. Holly is also the theme over at Happy Little Stampers, so I'm linking up there too. Here's my card:

I used Real Red for my base, with a piece of striped DSP across the horizontal. I then mounted a piece of the holly patterned DSP onto a mat of Mossy Meadow, then cut a striped banner with my Triple Banner Punch and popped it up on dimensionals in the centre of the holly panel. I then stamped my sentiment, from the super-useful sentiment set 'Oh What Fun', in Mossy Meadow on a piece of Very Vanilla, mounted this on a mat of Real Red and added some red berries (tiny pearls that I coloured red with a Sharpie) to add a little dimension. I rounded the corners of all my mats and panels using my Project Life corner rounder as per the sketch; this softens the sharp lines of the panels, which I rather like.

A rather simple layout, but a great way to use a combination of co-ordinating patterns and I love the added berry detail on the sentiment.

Back tomorrow with a new challenge over at The Paper Players; this week it's a colour challenge and I'm hosting, so come back then and check it out!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper	Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set	Banner Triple Punch	Punch Corner Project Life	Real Red A4 Cardstock
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Pearl Basic Jewels

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 new Hostess Code for September HJQSKSW6 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

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:

Eclectic Paper-Piercing Pack	Flower Medallion Punch	Label Bracket Punch
Metallic Foil Doilies	Metallics Sequin Assortment	Stars Framelits Dies

This is a great week of deals for items that will look great on Christmas cards: Stars framelits and piercing templates, metallic foil doilies and sequins and the medallion flower punch which co-ordinates with one of the snowflake stamps in the new Flurry Of Wishes stampset. This is the perfect opportunity to pick one up at a reduced price if you don't already have it.  

Back later with today's creative project, featuring one of this week's weekly deals, no less; until then, happy shopping!

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the incredibly talented Sandy and she has a great theme challenge for you:

This is rather timely for me, as both of my Juniors are returning to school to begin a new academic year tomorrow following the long summer break, so it was a great opportunity for me to make a couple of cards to tuck into their schoolbags to wish them a good day. Here's my first card, using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout:

I made this card for Rebecca - very pink and girly, but hopefully sufficiently grown up for a 10 year old about to embark on her last year of Junior School. This is a big year for her as she will be Head Girl too and whilst she was voted into this role by her peers and I know she will do a great job, she sometimes lacks confidence in herself so a card to remind her that she's amazing (to me at least!) will be just what she needs for day one.

I used a Whisper White notecard and covered the front with a piece of English Garden DSP, then stamped a little panel of flowers with some Old Olive ink and the Cottage Greetings stamp set and coloured them with my Stampin' Write markers. I stamped my sentiment banner in Mossy Meadow onto Pink Pirouette and finished with a baker's twine bow and punched Bitty Butterfly and a few pearls. I also stamped the inside (and remembered to take a photograph of it!):

I couldn't possibly make Rebecca a card without making one for Ben too, so here's my second card which uses the colours over at the Friday Mashup and the sketch over at As You See It:

For this card I used a Crumb Cake notecard base, and stamped the dino footprints from'No Bones About It' in Early Espresso, before adding my sentiment tag complete with an Into The Woods wooden leaf embellishment and a fussy cut Marina Mist triceratops, complete with googly eye. Wondering where the dinosaur's tail went? Well, it continues over the page - look:

Isn't that fun?! The sentiment is from the same set, although I selectively masked it to say 'day' instead of 'birthday' which is more appropriate for my card. The 'No Bones About It' set is just great for boys cards, with so many design possibilities. I love the idea of little surprise notes in the children's school bags and it's definitely something I don't do enough of, so this year I will defintitely be making more of an effort.

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

I look forward to seeing what you create for Sandy's theme challenge in the gallery this week.  

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Card One: 

Cottage Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	English Garden Designer Series Paper	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes	Bitty Butterfly Punch	Hexagon Punch
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Cardstock	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock	Rose Red A4 Cardstock	Old Olive Baker's Twine
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Many Marvelous Markers	Pearl Basic Jewels

Card two: 

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Crumb Cake Note Cards & Envelopes	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi A4 Cardstock	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Early Espresso 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	No Bones About It Photopolymer Stamp Set	Note Tag Punch	Into The Woods Elements

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 new Hostess Code for September HJQSKSW6 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

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:

Boys Will Be Boys Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Brights Candy Dots	Build A Banner Kit
Circle Card Thinlits Dies	Fun Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders	Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Whisper White 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon

I'm stocking up on rhinestones and candy dots this week - perfect for accents and a touch of sparkle on Christmas projects. Lots of other great offers too!

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Happy 1st September everyone! Yes, this day has finally arrived! The new Autumn-Winter Seasonal Catalogue is here - you can download an electronic copy by clicking on the image below:

There will of course be a permanent link to the catalogue in the box on the right side of my blog page until 4th January when it ends. I've already shared lots of sneak peeks and there is so much more to come! For today, put your feet up and browse the new catalogue in all its glory. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or queries - I am working my way through my outstanding emails and catching up now that I am back and fully connected! Oh and don't forget to check out my new Seasonal Product Shares - full details here.

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday Weekly Deals and more creative inspiration for you. Until then, happy browsing and get writing that wish list!

New Season Paper and Accessory Shares are here!

The new Stampin' Up! Seasonal Autumn/Winter Catalogue goes live tomorrow so it's time to announce my new Product Shares!

You know that feeling - you want it all, but your budget just doesn't stretch that far? Well shares are the perfect answer! You get a little bit of everything, without having to purchase a full pack. A share can also act as a 'try before you buy' - you get to see papers, ribbons, buttons and accessories 'up close and personal' before deciding which ones you like the most and would like to purchase as a full pack.

Shares work really easily: you decide which shares and how many you would like to take part in. You place your order by clicking on the button below, which takes you to my Paypal page to enable payment. Once the closing date for the first round of shares is reached, I collate the orders, place an order with Stampin' Up! for the product, then once I receive it, I package the papers and embellishments and send them out to you. Simple!

I have been running paper, ribbon and accessory shares with my local customers for a while and starting with the new seasonal Autumn-Winter Holiday catalogue I am going to be offering them to all my online customers too. Your paper, ribbon and embellishments will come beautifully packaged like this:

Here are my swatchbooks with a glimpse of all of the patterns included in the various shares:

So much to choose from! Here are the details of the various shares on offer:

New Christmas Designer Series Paper Share - all sheets measure 6" x 6" - £12 plus £3.90 P&P:

• Home for Christmas – 6 (one of each double-sided design)
• Winter Wonderland Specialty – 12 (two of each of 5 double-sided designs and one each of 2 single-sided designs)
• Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum Stack – 12
• Red Foil Sheets – 1
• Silver Foil Sheets - 1
• Gold Foil Sheets - 1
• Real Red Envelope Paper – 4
• Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Stack – 8 (4 of each design)
• Season of Cheer – 6
• Holiday Fancy Foil Designer Vellum – 6 (2 of each design)

In all you'll receive 57 6"x6" sheets of festive Designer Series Paper!

New Christmas Ribbon and Embellishment Share – £13 plus £3.90 P&P:

You will receive:

• Real Red Pompom Trim – approximately 50cm
• Home for Christmas Enamel Dots – 18 Dots (3 of each color and size)
• Very Vanilla 1-1/4” Subtle Stripes Satin Ribbon – approximately 1 metre
• Home for Christmas Designer Buttons – 6 (2 of each design)
• Snowflake Elements – 6 (2 of each design)
• Winter Wonderland Embellishments – 4
• Cording Trim - approximately 5.5m each of gold and silver
• Iced Rhinestone Embellishments – 6 (3 of each size)
• Reindeer Paper Clips – 3
• Gold & White 3/8” Glitter Ribbon – approximately 1.1m of each color
• 1/8” Striped Ribbon – approximately 1 metre of each color

With the Christmas Ribbon and Embellishment share you will receive approximately 16.7 metres of ribbon/trim and 43 new embellishments - everything you need to decorate your Christmas cards, tags and packaging!

Autumn Share - £3.60 plus £3.15 P&P:

• Into the Woods Designer Series Paper – 6
• Into the Woods 3/8” Cotton Ribbon – approximately 1 metre
• Into the Woods Elements – 6 (2 of each design)

Halloween Share - £3.40 plus £3.15 P&P:

• Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper – 6
• Black Glimmer Paper – 2
• Spider Web Doilies - 6

There are a number of bundles for further savings:

£22.50 Double Christmas Bundle for both the Christmas Designer Series Paper and Christmas Ribbon and Embellishment share - plus £3.90 postage and packaging

£6.50 Double Season Bundle for both Autumn and Halloween shares - plus £3.90 postage and packaging

Want It All? £32 - and you'll get shares of all the new Designer Series Papers, Designer Series Paper Stacks, ribbons and embellishments, and that includes postage & packaging! 

If you would like double or more shares of any particular thing, then that's fine too. I will cut your paper shares into 6" x 12" sheets where possible to give you more crafting flexibility (for the DSP stacks you will simply get double the number of sheets since they are already pre-cut to 6" x 6").

All postage & packaging quoted is for UK only - if you would like a cost for shipping to Europe, then please email me for a separate quotation.

The deadline to sign up to the first round of shares is Monday 14th September at 8pm GMT. 

If you live local to me and would like to save on postage and packaging costs, please email me with your requirements and I will happily place your order, to be collected on delivery. If you have any questions, just email me at [email protected] or give me a call!

I'm a day late with my post for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! My lack of internet access in Norfolk completely got the better of me yesterday and I didn't get my post loaded, but hey I'm here now!

This week it is the turn of the fabulous Nance, so creative and the heroine of The Paper Players team, to host and she has a fun tic-tact-toe challenge to get our creative juices flowing:

I actually have something fun to share with you today and even a slight confession - today's card was designed by me but made by ... my 10 year old daughter! At my last technique card class we were making some fun fold cards featuring the Sprinkles Of Life RMHC set. Since it is school holidays, Rebecca was keen to join in and whilst everyone else's shadow box cards, including mine, were in a blue colourway, Rebecca was determined to make her's stand out from the crowd. Here it is:

The basic construction of a shadow box card is quite simple: two pieces of cardstock, mine measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", scored at 1/2" and 1" from each side to create the box shape. The front of the card is a piece of Watermelon Wonder patterned paper from the Cherry on Top DSP stack, with a 2 1/2" hole punched out of the front. The cupcake case was stamped in Crushed Curry then the cake top stamped and punched out of Watermelon Wonder with the co-ordinating Tree Builder punch. The sprinkles were stamped in Cucumber Crush and the candle stamped, fussy cut and added to the cake, and the sentiment strip flagged with the Triple Banner Punch. When I was busy working on my card for this week, Rebecca reviewed the grid and suddenly said "I have an idea!" Off she ran to get her class card, added a row of gold sequins and said "There - now my card is finished, I knew it needed something!" So true for the child who loves anything that sparkles! Since her card was fulfilling the top line of the tic-tact-toe grid, I couldn't resist the pleading eyes (she is always asking me to put her creations on my blog!) and this time I agreed!

Just in case you were curious as to what my card looked like, here it is (not a patch on Miss Rebecca's though, I'm sure you'll agree!):

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

I look forward to seeing what combinations you come up with on your cards in the gallery this week. I am home again and fully wifi'd again, so look forward to visiting your blogs and catch up on some serious creating this week!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cherry On Top Designer Series Paper Stack	Sprinkles Of Life Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tree Builder Punch	2-1/2" Circle Punch	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad
Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock
Gold Sequin Trim	Banner Triple Punch

A quick card from me today showcasing some of the lovely papers in the Into The Woods DSP collection from the new catalogue and a rather new style of card for me: the ladies over at SUO Challenges are looking for 'cards without a sentiment' this week so I decided to have a go at creating a collage-style card. I love these, although my style is rather more 'clean and layered' so for me they are something of a challenge. Anyway, here goes - my card for today: 

I was inspired by the lovely sunflowers my CCMC colleague Connie Babbert has been creating recently - you can see one of them in the SUO Challenge DT cards for this very challenge, although I chose to create mine with the Flower Medallion punch rather than the new Poinsetta punch (still waiting for that one to arrive!) I took a selection of Into the Woods papers, using my Project Life framelits to cut a rectangle and then punched a trio of flowers in my brown and yellow colour scheme and then adhered a mix of ribbons and some fine gold twine before adhering them to my card. I layered my flower and added further texture with some candy dots to represent my sunflower seeds.

I'm not sure this is the best example of a collage card, but I do love the bright colours and textures/layers and because the card is sentiment-free, I can use this card for any number of purposes. I think it would make a nice 'get well soon' card - the yellow is so cheery. 

That's all from me today; I am having a lovely week at the seaside, but can honestly say that a week without a phone signal or internet connection is proving difficult for me! Back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Good evening lovely blog readers! You may well have to bear with me this week; I am away spending some quality time with the James juniors before returning to school in a couple of weeks time, but our coastal location is virtually devoid of a mobile phone signal and even the local wifi is hit and miss, so even with pre-prepared blog posts communicating with the online world is proving something of a challenge! Likewise I am struggling with sending and receiving emails, so if you have emailed me in the last few days, bear with me - it may take a few days longer than usual for me to respond to you!

I did send out some good old snail mail before I left for our mini-vacation; my seasonal catalogues were shipped to all of my online mail order customers, and I know from the texts and emails that have managed to get through that you are liking what you are seeing! That's all great news - there is lots be excited about! If you are reading this and don't already have yourself a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and you would like a seasonal catalogue, do email me at [email protected] and I will pop one in the post to you. 

So along with the catalogue, I had to send out a little card showcasing some of my favourite 'sneak peek' Christmas product and I though you might like to see it today - here it is, featuring the adorable penguin from the 'Snow Place' stamp set:

I stamped the penguin and sentiment in the new Basic Black Archival ink onto an extra-thick Whisper White card base, then ran the card front through the new 'Gently Falling' Textured Impressions Embossing Folder - this is the perfect finish for falling snow, so pretty! Lastly, I added some earmuffs and a matching scarf in a variety of colours - the one above is Rich Razzleberry and the one below is Watermelon Wonder (beak and feet coloured with a Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write marker):

Here's a shot showing the rainbow of colours I used - how lovely are they?! The little earmuffs and scarfs were so easy to cut out using my Big Shot and the co-ordinating Snow Frames framelits - this is also one of the many great product bundle deals on offer in the new seasonal catalogue too, making them great value. 

So not Christmas already, but we are definitely well on the way! I can guarantee you'll be seeing lots more of this little fella, along with his snowman friends, throughout the festive season; in fact, he is also making an appearance tomorrow, so come back for another great sneak peek!

Until then, happy stampin'!

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! The same as last week there are more offers than usual, with increased reductions of up to 30% on Weekly Deals this month, although there are specific allocated quantities at the increased offer price; once they're gone, the price will revert to RRP, so don't delay in ordering if there is something on your wish list. Each week items are proving very popular and some are sold out within a couple of days of the offers being published. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 new Hostess Code for August SCFAMEG2 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

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:

2014-2016 In Color Designer Washi Tape	Chalk Talk Framelits Dies	Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Fast Fuse Adhesive Refill	Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Tiny Triangles Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Embossing folders are flavour of the week this week - personally I have my eye on that in-colour washi tape though, at just £5.44 for 5 rolls!

Back later with today's creative project. Until then, happy stampin'!