In an effort to be organised in 2018, I am going to make a concerted effort to make Christmas cards throughout the year so I'm having a break from the 'new' today and have a Christmas card to share with you that was inspired by the following challenges:

The team over at SUO Challenges are inviting cards that fit with the theme of 'Brr! Baby it's cold outside', which I paired with the sketch over at Handstamped Sentiments, a new-to-me challenge and a little dry embossing for Stamps Ink Paper to come up with this cosy little number:

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

Wrapped In The Warmth of Christmas - I used the sentiment from 'Snowflake Sentiments' as the starting point for my card. I'm so glad this set is on carryover and will be available for a little longer. No snowflakes on this card though - it's all about the warm and cosy! 

A Chunky Knit - I added some great texture with my dry embossed background - a little difficult to see in the photos because of the contrast in colours and I'm a little over-exposed, but it is definitely reminiscent of warm, woollen sweaters which is exactly what I think of when it's cold outside. 

Sweater Weather - I needed a little bit of pattern to bring my elements together and found this piece of retired DSP that was just what I was looking for to complete my card. A few candy dots to finish and my first Christmas card of 2018 is complete! 

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:

Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Banner Triple Punch	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Layering Squares Framelits Dies

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! I hope you have all enjoyed a restful Christmas and are ready to join us for some crafty fun. The super-talented Sandy is kicking off a new year of Paper Player challenges for us with a seasonal theme with a little humour too:

Now I love a good pun, yet I initially had a little panic when I saw Sandy's theme this week as I couldn't find a single 'punny Valentine' stamp on my shelf. I thought I was going to have to get really creative and 'think outside the box' when I was saved by my lovely downline Helen, who was coming over for a 'planning and play' session and brought with her the perfect stamp set for this week's theme  - take a look:

Hedgehugs - how cute is that?! I grabbed the current Freshly Made Sketches sketch and set to work. I inked up my prickly pair with my Stampin' Write markers, colouring the hedgehogs in Early Espresso (I added a little Crumb Cake with a blender pen afterwards) and the flower in a combination of Sweet Sugarplum and Old Olive, to compliment the florals of the strip of Petal Garden designer series paper that I used behind. I stamped my punny sentiment along with another flower and popped it up on a circle between my hedgehogs - this is one of those cards where if you can't see the sentiment, it kind-of doesn't make sense! A little floral tone-on-tone stamping on the bottom half of my card was added for extra interest. I'm also linking my card up with the team over at Inspired By All The Little Things, where this week's inspiration is all about wild animals. My inspiration was the hedgehog but I might have to have another go over there this week as there are so many little woodland cuties to choose from!

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. 

I love a punny sentiment and this little hedgehog pair is super cute - thanks to Helen for helping me out too! If you'd like to see what else we got up to, check out this post on Helen's blog this week. As one of a special team of demonstrators at Stampin' Up!, I was fortunate to receive my much-anticipated Stamparatus this week and having shared a video with my team already, Helen was keen to have a play. I videoed Helen in action - you can see the full version and the card we made, along with lots of her other creations, over on her blog, Love-A-Duckie. 

Back to today's challenge! Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week, including the lovely Eliz Stewart of My Paper Sweetness who is joining our team of guest designers for the next six months for the first time today. Some of the team have created some truly inspiring and inspired cards with their stamps this week, so do check them out:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Hedgehugs Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Petal Garden Designer Series Paper Stack	Sweet Sugarplum Classic Stampin' Pad	Sweet Sugarplum A4 Cardstock	Old Olive A4 Cardstock
Many Marvelous Markers	Blender Pens	1-1/2" (3.8 Cm) Circle Punch	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

I hope you are all enjoying browsing your new Spring-Summer catalogues and making your Sale-A-Bration wishlists! I have had a fun 'planning and playing' day today with one of my downline team members (more on that soon!) but I also have a quick post to share with you a pretty little card that was one of the 'make&takes' at our Stampin' Up! UK Onstage event in Solihull last November that features some of the gorgeous new products from the 'Petal Passion' suite - take a look:

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

Express Your Inner Artist - The Petal Passion Suite comprises a stamp set with gorgeous, brushstroke-style imagery, with a varied saturation in the design that creates realistic watercolour effects. If you would like to discover your inner artist without even needing to pick up a paintbrush, this set is for you!

Black and White Watercolour - This brushstroke style carries through into the co-ordinating designer series paper, which contains watercolour designs in shades of black and white that can be used as they are or customised with your favourite colouring techniques, such as adding a little Calypso Coral ink with a blender pen to the flowers as I've done on the central panel on my card for an added touch of colour.

Petal Passion Embellishments - There are some great acessories in this suite too: a pair of textured embossing folders, along with some beautiful soft and sheer white organza ribbon and flower and leaf metal embellishments, the latter two of which add a little detail to the focal point of today's card.

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:

Petal Palette Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Petal Passion Designer Series Paper	Whisper White 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Organza Ribbon	Petal Passion Embellishments	Blender Pens
Calypso Coral A4 Cardstock	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock	2" (5.1 Cm) Circle Punch

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 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. This year for the first time 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! During Sale-A-Bration, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £30 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. Plus, the 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. In addition, you can choose two free stamp sets of your choice (except for bundles, kits or Sale-A-Bration items) - that could be worth as much as another £90 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!

Here's a fun little video too that showcases some of the excitement that lies within:

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 tomorrow with a project showcasing some of the products from the new catalogue. Until then, happy shopping!

Hello lovely readers - and a happy new year to you all! Today I'm sharing a card that I made for some friends with whom welcomed in the new year - I was still enjoying the 'morning after the night before' yesterday so from a blog perspective today heralds the beginning of the end of my festive blog break! I'm also linking up with a couple of challenges - the current challenge over at Global Design Project where the theme is all about celebrating at home and the lovely ladies over at As You See It who are all about the sparkle for their first challenge of the year:

My card was inspired by my 2017 new year card, minus the owl of course (you can see that card in a previous post here) and has a little 'something old ... and lots new' about it - take a look:

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

A Window Into 2018 - I used my much-loved Large Numbers Framelits to create fun shaker-card windows in the front of my card. This is so easy to do; you just need to remember to keep the middle of the 0 and 8 to complete the negative image. If you place the numbers that you've cut out over the window sheet without sticking them down, they will allow you to position the negative pieces in just the right position when you remove the numbers again. 

All That Glitters - My decision to create a shaker card was largely because I was looking for an opportunity to use these amazing gold glitter flakes from the new Spring-Summer catalogue that launches tomorrow. Check out the close-up below - aren't they gorgeous? So sparkly! 

Celebrate ... Amazing You - The main front panel of my card features a stamp from a new Sale-A-Bration set, Amazing You (stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold and silver) and the word 'celebrate' cut from silver glimmer paper using another of this year's Sale-A-Bration free items - a set of thinlits dies called 'Celebrate You' that co-ordinate with the stamp set and are available free with a £90 purchase. More news on Sale-A-Bration tomorrow, but I hope these sneak-peeks have got you all excited about the fabulous things that are to come!

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 all of the news and information on the 2018 Sale-A-Bration promotion and the launch of the new Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Large Numbers Framelits Dies	Amazing You Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Celebrate You Thinlit Dies	Gold Glitter Flakes	Silver Foil Sheets
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder
Silver Glimmer Paper	Window Sheets	Foam Adhesive Strips

Today is the last day for posting here in the UK to guarantee your Christmas cards will arrive in time for Christmas. If, like me, you have been making Christmas cards all season but still need a few extra at the last minute, the Watercolor Christmas Project kit is definitely a quick solution.

I am a big fan of Stampin' Up!'s kits, which are very generous and of extremely high quality and the Watercolor Christmas Project Kit s no exception. Here are each of the designs in the kit:

Each kit makes 20 cards, 5 each of 4 designs, which look time-consuming but in fact take only minutes to assemble. Which is good news, given that I made up a pack last night for sending out today! I love the co-ordinating Watercolor Wishes stamp set too, however the kit can be used with other sentiment sets you have if you prefer. These kits are on offer as part of the year-ed sale, so I would highly recommend you grab a few and make them up now ready for next year - it will give you a great head start for your cardmaking and you will hit the festive season running!

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. 

Back soon with another project; until then, happy shopping!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Watercolor Christmas Project Kit*

Watercolor Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set*

Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad

I've been away for a few days with my family to experience the delights of the German Christmas markets and enjoy some much-needed pre-Christmas R&R, but have just managed to squeeze in a post for you this evening amidst some last-minute card writing to share the second part of my Brightly Lit Christmas set and possibly one of my favourite cards of the season - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

A Framed Christmas Lampost - I created my delightful snowy lampost scene and use the crossbar lampost framelit to create a gorgeous frame for my mini focal point, something I picked up from a wonderful crafty friend of mine, the talented Amanda Bates over at The Craft Spa; thanks for the inspiration, Amanda!

Light The Lamps - The best bit of this stepped-up card? The lamps light up! I used a Chibi circuit kit to create a circuit behind the main panel and when you press the presents, the lamps light as you can see on this zoomed-in photo below:

How cool is that?! These circuits are easy to create although with three bulbs on this card, a little pricey and only really suitable for a special card, but a fun way to step up a card with the Christmas Lampost Thinlits Dies for sure.

Pick A Piece Of Paper - The only stamping on my card is the little 'Merry' banner across my wreath; the wreath itself and the presents were diecut from the Christmas Around The World Designer Series Paper. This paper is the one I initially found the most difficult to work with, yet in reality have used most - it's amazing how creative you can be when challenged! 

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 soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Christmas Lamppost Thinlits Dies*	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Christmas Around The World Designer Series Paper*	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper	Basic Black A4 Cardstock
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Sweet Home Photopolymer Stamp Set	Vellum A4 Cardstock

It's a little while since I shared a 'one stamp set, three ways' post with you showing you three cards using one suite and how to use the products within that suite to create cards that range from simple to stepped up. Today is the first of two posts that will do just that - this time featuring the Christmas Around The World Suite and the Brightly Lit Christmas Bundle that you can find on pages 28-29 of the 2017 Autumn-Winter seasonal Stampin' Up! catalogue that I used in a class a couple of months ago.

The Brightly Lit Christmas stamp set has a fun collection of festive banners that co-ordinate with a basic lamppost design and when paired with the co-ordinating Christmas Lamppost Thinlits Dies can be used to make the most ornate and detailed 3D traditional lamppost designs. The set is great for quick and easy and more complex cards with a real 'wow' factor.  

Clean and Simple - Quick And Easy - If you're short on time or new to crafting, this set is great for a simple card like this one:

All you need to do is take a sheet of Extra Thick Whisper White for your card base and mat layer, stamp your lamppost and hanging banner directly onto the card front and sponge a little yellow ink for lamp light, use the wreath bauble stamp to add some snowflakes (stamp in Versamark and add Dazzling Diamonds glitter) and a red ribbon bow and your card is done. Festive red and the subtle sparkling snowflakes help this simple card to have a big impact.

Step It Up - If you have a bit more time and are feeling more adventurous, using a few extra tools and embellishments will allow you to 'step up' your card and create something with a little more depth and detail, whilst still relatively easy to make:

My second card follows the same basic layout as the first, still using just the stamps from the Brightly Lit Christmas set, however this time I've stamped only the top portion of the lamppost and masked off the lower portion and used the Carols of Christmas stamp set and co-ordinating Card Front Builder Dies to cut out some festive poinsettia flowers to adorn the lamppost, centred with some gold enamel shapes, added a couple of twists of red and gold ribbon behind and a couple of background banners using the Triple Banner Punch, one of which is a contemporary tartan to add a bold splash of colour. 

My third card is a real 'wow' - but you'll have to come back for Part 2 for that one!

Here are the visual summaries of the key products used on today's projects for you to pin for easy reference:

Card 1:

Card 2:

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 soon with the third card in this set, which is my absolute favourite. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Card 1:

Brightly Lit Christmas Photopolymer Stamp Set*	Versamark Pad	Embossing Buddy	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter	Real Red 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Solid Ribbon
Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

Card 2:

Brightly Lit Christmas Photopolymer Stamp Set*	Versamark Pad	Embossing Buddy	Real Red 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Solid Ribbon	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Carols Of Christmas Clear-Mount Bundle*	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red A4 Cardstock	Banner Triple Punch	Christmas Around The World Designer Series Paper*	Metallic Enamel Shapes	Gold 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Ribbon

Today I've been invited by my good friend and team leader over at The Paper Players, the lovely Nance Leedy, to be the Guest Designer over at Inspired By All The Little Things - what an honour!

I love this challenge, also set up originally by the creative powerhouse that is the lovely Lesley Croghan, and although I don't get to play along as often as I would like I can often be found browsing the gallery each week, for inspiration from the awesome team of designers, the challenge for the week and also to have a little nosey at the invited guest - you see they have a fun feature where they do a little interview  and you get to find out what inspires them, along with some interesting things that you might not know about the featured designers. Yes, that includes me - I included one or two fun things that even my regular readers might not know about me too, so hop on over and have a read if you'd like to find out more! You could even have a go at this week's challenge - I would love to see what you make of it!

And so to my card! Here is the inspiration photo for this week's challenge:

Now I must confess, I thought long and hard about this card and had a false attempt too before I produced something that I felt embodied the feeling of 'party' evoked in the inspiration picture. Here's what I came up with:

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

Inspired By All The Little Things - I thought I would give you a little insight into how I used the inspiration photo to get to my final card design today, as I often get asked "where do you start?" when making a card. The photo has lots of elements: black, gold, peach, vellum, white, confetti, hexagons, squares, circles, art deco, party blowers, glitter balls, happy new year, a rosette, a champagne glass to name just some -  and whilst I could have used any or all of them on my card, I chose to zone in on a few. I decided to major in on the black and gold colours for my colour scheme, with just a pop of peach, and create a card with a party theme that could be used for new year but would also work for any other kind of party celebration. Then I browsed my stamp sets and accessories to see what would work and set to work.

A Playful Background - I originally set about creating some rather fancy art deco-inspired hexagons using gold washi tape and black cardstock, but eventually decided these were too busy on my card so they are now waiting in my scrap box for another project! I decided to go with something less geometrical and create a background using one of the stamps in the Playful Backgrounds stamp set that mimicked the mat beneath the peach party cup in the photo (I selectively inked it so that the little dots on the stamp are omitted from my design) and heat embossed it in gold. I then did the reverse colour combination for my sentiment, i.e. black heat embossed on gold foil, so that it provides contrast yet is still in keeping with my theme.

A Picture Perfect Party - My card needed a focal point, so what better than a couple of party blowers? And a new stamp set that I acquired at Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event recently provided just the thing - the 'Picture Perfect Birthday' set has ribbon bows, candles, confetti and party sentiments galore, but also has the bits to construct a party blower - how fun! I made two and gave them each a vellum frill that I cut with my fringe scissors, as another nod to the inspiration photo. I wanted to make them stand out from the rest of the card, hence to addition of my Peekaboo Peach stitched circle behind; I didn't want peach to be a major feature of my design yet it serves a useful purpose here to highlight my blowers and ensure they don't get lost against the busyness of the background pattern. Picture Perfect Birthday is in the new Spring-Summer Stampin' Up! catalogue out on January 3rd - be sure to get in touch with me if you'd like a copy.

And that's how I did it! I'm also linking my card up with the team over at Freshly Made Sketches - what can I say, I love a good sketch :-)

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 for the last challenge of the year (gulp!) over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Picture Perfect Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set	Playful Backgrounds Photopolymer Stamp Set	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Gold Glimmer Paper	Gold Foil Sheets
Versamark Pad	Embossing Buddy	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Vellum A4 Cardstock	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies
Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock

It's Friday and finally I've managed to squeeze in a blog post to share with you - hurrah! Today I'm sharing another card using the Snowflake Sentiments bundle - and just like my card for The Paper Players on the Sunday before last (you can see that card here if you missed it), it uses the thinlits in a rather unusual way. I'm also linking up with the team over at Stamp Ink Paper who are looking for snow-themed creations this week:

I decided to make an easel card  - this is what it looks like closed:

This is what it looks like open:

And finally here's another shot from above, that shows the detail of the front edge and my sentiment, which I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed onto a label punched with the Everyday Label Punch:

I wanted to make a special card that really showcased the versatility of the Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies, so I used the edge thinlits to create two layered squares and finished it with a stitched square, onto which I stamped a snowflake from the co-ordinating Snowflake Sentiments set in Versamark and heat embossed it in gold. I finished with one of the super-sparkly faceted gems to create a focal centrepiece. Creating a card like this is not for the faint-hearted - it took a fair amount of partial die cutting and snipping of the gold piece to remove excess pieces in order to have a symmetrical design, but it was so worth it - the finished card has a real 'wow' factor, I love it!

I'm pleased to see that the Snowflake Sentiments stamp set and Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies are on carryover and will remain available beyond the end of the Autumn-Winter catalogue - this means lots more opportunities to create with this set! They won't be available as a bundle though, so if you want the 10% saving, be sure to snap them up before January 2nd - just click on the link in the supplies list at the bottom of today's post.

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 around lunchtime tomorrow with a special post as I'm the guest designer over at Inspired By All The Little Things this week. My project contains a Spring-Summer sneak-peek too so be sure to come back and take a look. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Bundle*	Gold Foil Sheets	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad
Embossing Buddy	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Gold Faceted Gems	Everyday Label Punch