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

Just a quick reminder to let everyone know that the Clearance Rack has been updated and there are now lots of new items available, some with as much as 80% off. There are lots of festive papers and accessories and my most favourite ever Expressions thinlits dies too. So if you want to get a very early headstart on your Christmas projects, check it out now - I don't think some of these things will be around for long.

So, what are you waiting for - click here to go the clearance rack in my online store and grab a bargain whilst stocks last!

Yay it's Friday - it may be stormy here in the UK, but it can't dampen that Friday feeling! Especially as this weekend we have a Bank Holiday too - an extra day makes all the difference. Today's card uses the sketch layout over at Retrosketches this week:

I recently had the need the need to send two sympathy cards within a week and realised that it isn't something I keep a stock of, even though it's the type of card you often need without warning. I decided to make one using this week's sketch - here's my card:

I decided to use Real Red ink and a blender pen to colour my Simply Sketched poppy, which is stamped in black Stazon on Very Vanilla. Whilst red is often associated with love and romance, the Flanders poppies were also red and they are a traditional symbol of remembrance. I matted my poppy with a layer of Basic Black, then did the same with the circle element behind, cutting the top layer from a piece of Modern Medley designer paper using my Big Shot and Circles Framelits. To finish, I coloured some rhinestones black with a Sharpie marker pen and adhered them to the card.

A nice early post from me today; no sports fixtures this afternoon, so time for a trip to the hairdressers instead - I hope the weather is kind!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Simply Sketched	Modern Medley Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock
Jet Black Stazon Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Blender Pens	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform
Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

I had a hugely productive creative day yesterday (I love days like that!) and decided to have another go at a card with the sketch layout from CAS(E) This Sketch (although I'm too late to link up to this challenge with this sketch). I am linking up with Addicted to CAS though as I have another 'over the edge' birdie and today's card features the zingy colour palette over at Color Throwdown:

So using the color throwdown photo for inspiration, I decided to create a 'new home' card. There is only one set is the annual catalogue that features a new home welcome - the hostess set 'Sweetly Framed' - so I decided to create something using some punch art with an idea that I've had swimming around in my head for a while. Here's my card:

I used Pear Pizzazz for my base, and popped my Soft Sky panel up on dimensionals and created a little bird house by punching a 1" square out and topping with a Tangerine Tango triangle cut from half a square for the roof. I punched a Tangerine Tango bird using the bird punch and highlighted the bird's wing by using a scrap of Retro Fresh DSP, adhering with rolled glue dots to give some height. I added some punched co-ordinating coloured hearts punched with my owl punch. Lastly, what to use as a sentiment? I eventually decided on 'Yippee-Skippee!' from the stamp set of the same name, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in clear powder - not quite 'Welcome to your new home', but it's exactly how I felt when I bought a new house, both times, so it seemed more than appropriate! Another very clean and simple card, created with just a few punches and a sentiment.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

1" Square Punch	Bird Punch	Owl Punch	Yippee-Skippee!	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz
Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock	Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool - Uk Plug

Today's card is a last minute entry for this week's CAS Colours and Sketches colour challenge, which is to use the following colours:

I also used the above sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch as my starting point, although I would be the first to admit that my card isn't the most literal of interpretations; the card I've prepared for tomorrow's blog post is much better! Here is my card:

I decided to use the Morning Meadow hostess set for today's card - this set will only be available until the end of June, so if it's on your wishlist get in touch with me to book a party soon, otherwise you'll miss it. I inked the branch with my Basic Grey and Primrose Petals marker pens, then stamped the bird in Midnight Muse and fussy cut him and placed him on a dimensional, with a little rhinestone-centred punched flower for added interest. I allowed the tail of my bird to overhang the edge of the card - I think I'll join my card up to Addicted to CAS too, where the current challenge is 'off the edge'.

A quick post from me today; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Morning Meadow	Midnight Muse Classic Stampin' Pad	Midnight Muse A4 Card Stock	Primrose Petals A4 Card Stock	2012-2014 In Color Stampin' Write Markers
Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Punch Pack	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Envelope Punch Board

It's Wednesday again and they're here: today's 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:

Brights Glimmer Brads	Made From Scratch Recipes Designer Template - Digital Download	Naturals Designer Buttons	Note Card Envelopes	Primrose Petals 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon
Raspberry Ripple 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	Silver Glass Glitter