Just popping by with a quick update post for you all; you all know that this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 31st March and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here and here. Please note the Kerchief Card Kit and the Golden Honey Specialty Designer Series Paper are both sold out and no longer available. 

Plenty of good news though: from now until the 31st March, you will also be able to choose from a number of other catalogue items (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

As you can see, this new selection includes some gorgeous Designer Series Paper packs, embellishments, Blends and more that can be yours free with a spend of £45/£90 or more. 

To make things easier for you, I've created a table linking each of the products directly to the promotional item in my online store - just click on the links below:

Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels (X2) (£0.00)	Mini Shipping Boxes (X2) (£0.00)	Follow Your Art Designer Series Paper (£0.00)	Dinoroar Designer Series Paper (£0.00)	Woven Threads Designer Series Paper (£0.00)
Shimmer Detailed Laser-Cut Specialty Paper (£0.00)	Rococo Rose Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£0.00)	Butterfly Duet Punch (£0.00)	Wild Rose Dies (£0.00)

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 RDJNFTTJ) or you can email or telephone me if you would prefer. Please note there will be no local pickups or deliveries at the present time, due to the countrywide lockdown restrictions, but product is shipping as normal and can be posted as usual.

Back tomorrow with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

As promised, today I have Sale-A-Bration news for you! 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 two stamp sets that can be yours 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 silver and rose-gold foiled Flowering Foils Specialty papers - you can check them out in this video here from the Stampin' Up! Home Office:

 Aren't they gorgeous? These papers are sure to be popular!

 There is a great masculine stamp set called 'Well Dressed', perfect for easy masculine projects:

There is some coloured and embossed vellum 'So Very Vellum' that is perfect for dressing up your projects:

Each of the above products can be yours FREE with a £45 product purchase.

In addition, there are two stamp sets that are available with a £90 spend. The first is a stamp that coordinates with the Label Me Fancy and Label Me Lovely punches called 'Tags in Bloom':

Finally, there is the 'Rise and Shine' stamp set that co-ordinates with the carryover Cup of Cheer Dies:

As with the other items in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue (with the exception of the Kerchief Card Kit which is now sold out), these items will be available from now until the end of the Sale-A-Bration period, 31st March whilst stocks last. You can see full details for each of the new product on the new Sale-A-Bration flyer via the link above and there will be more samples made with each of them over on my Facebook page today.

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 C3HMK9CP) or click on the links below. Alternatively or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. Back shortly with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Links to the new Sale-A-Bration items in the online store: 

Flowering Foils Specialty Designer Series Paper (£0.00)

Rise & Shine Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)

Well Dressed Cling Stamp Set (£0.00)

So Very Vellum Specialty Designer Series Paper (£0.00)

Tags In Bloom Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)

I have a super quick post today as I have had a Valentine's home decor class today and have a school music recital to attend this evening, so I need to quickly squeeze in a couple of cards I made over the weekend using the gorgeous 'Little Ladybug' stamp set that is a free gift for anyone hosting a Stampin' Up! party with qualifying party sales. The first is for the current challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

Some simple stamping and Blends colouring with a sponged background and split sentiment, highlighting the word FLY:

 The second is for the current challenge over at Less Is More where the challenge is 'tiny and few':

This seemed perfect for that itty-bitty row of ladybirds with a fun sentiment:

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

And for the super clean and simple card:

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 evening and I'll be back (earlier!) tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Little Ladybug Host Cling Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Basic Black Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Ivory Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.75)	Stitched Labels Dies (£31.00)

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 fun colour challenge for you to work with:

Ann's colours this week are perfect for Valentine's however armed with the 'blank slate' over at InspireCreate this week I decided to use a little of something old with a little of something new to create my card today - take a look:

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

Power of Hope - So first to my something new! The pagoda and sentiment on today's card are from one of the free Sale-A-Bration stamp sets, called 'Power of Hope'. This set has some lovely oriental images, including a chinese lantern and geisha girl. I used the pagoda and one of the uplifting sentiments in the set.

Embossed Stone - The Power of Hope stamp set is combined with the Stone 3D embossing folder as one of the bundles of items that you can receive free with a £90 (as opposed to £45) Sale-A-Bration purchase. I used it emboss my card base and create a textured frame for my stamped area although I think it will prove useful on other projects too.

Seasonal Layers - For my 'something old', I used my perennial favourite, the Seasonal Layers Thinlits to add a diecut cherry blossom branch to the front of my card. I added colour to the centres of the flowers using my Stampin' Blends markers and the co-ordinating Colourful Seasons stamp set, which I also used to add a touch of decoration to the inside of my card:

Whilst I haven't used them for a while, this stamp set and dies are one of the most used bundles in my collection. They really are so useful on so many projects, whatever the season. As for the Japan-influenced Power of Hope bundle, whilst I wouldn't ordinarily choose this style of stamp set, it's different to anything else I own and will I'm sure have its uses. Bottom line is it was free, so I'm most certainly not complaining! 

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; one of the James Juniors is off to a paintballing party today (rather him than me!). The rest of us will be battoning down the hatches and staying indoors away from the stormy winds that are expected in the UK today. I'll be back tomorrow with another project (or two!). Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Power Of Hope Bundle (£0.00)	Seasonal Layers Dies (£31.00)	Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Real Red Combo Pack Stampin' Blends (£8.50)	Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

I'm here today with a quick post to let you know about a new co-ordination product release that launches today and runs until the 31st March whilst stocks last. There is a collection of exclusive products that co-ordinate with Sale-A-Bration and the January-June mini catalogue items. Check them out:

One other thing to note is that Stampin' Up! has confirmed that the Nature's Thoughts Dies that co-ordinate with the Positive Thoughts stamp set and the Special Day Dies that co-ordinate with the Special Someone stamp set will both be carrying over into the new annual catalogue so will be available again to purchase from 4th June. 

There is no limit on how many items you can order, however they are only available for a limited time and whilst supplies last. Last year's co-ordination products sold out really quickly with some popular dies selling out within days, so don't leave it too long to get your hands on yours!

 My personal favourites are the Ladybugs Dies and the Happy Birrthday Dies, along with the Pleased as Punch paper - I can't resist a nice paper, especially one where you can punch out all the patterns!

You can find links to these items and the products they co-ordinate with in the online store are below - any questions, do get in touch. Happy shopping!

Nature's Thoughts Dies (£27.00)	Positive Thoughts Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)
Special Day Dies (£27.00)	Special Someone Photopolymer Stamp Set (£16.00)
Ladybugs Dies (£27.00)	Little Ladybug Host Cling Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)
Sending Flowers Dies (£25.00)	Sending You Thoughts Cling Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)
Birthday Dies (£25.00)	Happy Birthday To You Cling Stamp Set (English) (£0.00)

Pleased As Punch Designer Series Paper (£10.75)

Small Bloom Punch (£0.00)

Heart Punch Pack (£32.00)

Umbrella Builder Punch (£17.00)

Tulip Builder Punch (£17.00)

Hello everyone - it's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration 2020 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 shopto 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 also the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! There is a fabulous joining option during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: as usual, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £130 of FREE products for your Starter Kit. In addition to an extra £31 worth of product in your starter kit, exclusive to Sale-A-Bration, you will also get the following items FREE:

• A new Mini Paper Cutter
• A 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper Sampler pack
• Your choice of any stamp set offered in current catalogues (host sets and Sale-A-Bration sets excluded)

Isn't that 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. 

It's also a great time to host a Stampin' Up! party. When you host a party and have party sales of £275 or more (this also applies to individual orders), you will earn the exclusive Little Ladybug stamp set for FREE in addition to your usual Stampin' Rewards. Party sales of £400 or more also earn one 50% off item. 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. Equally 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; paper copies have been sent to my regular customers. 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!

Happy new year everyone! I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year. As has become customary for this time of year, my life is too full to accommodate blogging across the festive season so I have taken my usual break, but I'm now starting to (slowly!) get back into it so thought I would just give you a quick reminder of some important promotional news:

There are so many retiring products that are going to go away on January 2 when Stampin’ Up!’s 2019 Autumn-Winter Catalogue period ends. PLEASE be sure to click on the image above to see all of the retiring items in my online store - I don’t want you to miss out.

It’s always a good day when Stampin’ Up! updates the items in its Clearance Rack – some items have been reduced up to 60%. Woo hoo! There were lots of items added into the Clearance Rack earlier this month. They are there on a “while supplies last” basis – and there are still some great items left, so if you haven't checked them out it's worth a look before you complete your order.

So a reminder - those year end closeouts end tomorrow (last online orders to be placed by 10.50pm GMT). I'll be back on Friday with news of this year's Spring-Summer Mini Catalogue and 2020 Sale-A-Bration Offering, along with my first design team post for the new year over at As You See It.

Until then, happy shopping!

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As You See It where we have a rather interesting colour challenge:

These were definitely not colours for Christmas but were perfect for a congratulations card that I needed to make for a dear friend of mine - take a look:

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

Bloom And Grow - I adore the 'Bloom & Grow' stamp set - it's right up there as one of my favourite floral sets and is a cinch to cut out with the co-ordinating budding Blooms Dies. This particular floral bough that I've used today is a great one when you have only three colours to play with too. I used a piece of in-colour designer series paper (last year's design) to tone down the brightness of the Pineapple Punch card base and for the first time used the scalloped pieces in the dies set to create a channel either side of my stamped sentiment and tucked the florals in, similar to one of the samples on page 131 of the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue. 

Let's Celebrate Today - I love that larger than life ' you are simply wonderful' sentiment in this stamp set and combined it with another of the word stamps in this set 'let's celebrate you' on the inside of my card. This card is headed overseas to none other than my fabulous AYSI teamie Jan Clothier of Thinking Stamping fame; this week she was crowned as one of the Stampin' Up! Artisan designers for 2020 and I couldn't be more pleased for her - a definite cause for celebration! There's also reason for you, the reader, to celebrate today - if you don't already own the 'Bloom and Grow' bundle you might be please to know that it is available at a 15% discount as part of the current Online Extravaganza that ends tonight; so don't delay, pop your set into your shopping basket right away by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post! 

Just Choose Two - In addition to playing along at Time Out (I did not go for the optional extra of one layer on this occasion but may come back to this another time!) I am also playing along with the lovely peeps over at Just Add Ink where they have a great 'Just Take Two' challenge this week. My two were spots (on my DSP) and sparkle - this is unfortunately not as obvious in the photograph to see, but each of those yellow flowers is brushed liberally with clear Wink of Stella and the blue berries each have a coating of Shimmery Crystal Effects - trust me, in real life this card is so sparkly!!

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'm off to the hospital for a second procedure to try and sort out my constantly aching and rather immobile frozen shoulder - wish me luck! Depending on my mobility I may or may not be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bloom & Grow Bundle (£47.03)	Pineapple Punch A4 Cardstock (£7.01)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	2018-2020 In Color 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.75)
Pineapple Punch Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	In Color 2018–2020 Stampin' Write Markers (£13.75)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)	Shimmery Crystal Effects (£4.75)

It's the first of November and with that comes two exciting announcements! Following the withdrawal of our previous trimmer due to Stampin' Up!'s inability to obtain a reliable source of blades, I am pleased to announce that our brand new paper trimmer is available to all customers today and I can honestly say it’s excellent!

Demonstrators have had the last month to order and fall in love with it and let me tell you, fall in love I did. I LOVED the old trimmer and never thought it could be improved. But I was wrong. This one has awesome larger blades that cut like a knife through butter. The new trimmer has some of the great features of the old trimmer and some new ones of its own, in particular a great detailed grid cutting guide, no removable cutting track and an improved ruler across the join of the extendable arm. The attendees at my recent weekend craft retreat also road-tested the trimmer and were extremely positive about its performance.

The new trimmer is a great price too at only £23 which is cheaper than our last one. The trimmer is available now from 1st November but packs of additional blades will not be launched for sale till January. They will be sold in packs of 4 blades for £11.25 and I will remind you when they are available to buy in the New Year.

Christmastime Is Here Suite

There is also a new exclusive product suite being launched today called 'Christmastime Is Here' which has the most beautiful Christmas Rose stamps, dies, patterned paper with matching accessories. It is available whilst stocks last and is not in any publication.

You can purchase the whole bundle or purchase your favourite products from the bundle, whichever you prefer. There is even a limited edition bracelet which would make a lovely Christmas gift for someone or a treat for yourself maybe.

Links to my online store for all of the configurations of the Christmastime Is Here suite can be found below. You can go to the item in my shop by clicking the photo or simply search for 'Christmastime is Here' (Christmastime is one word with no gap in between).

If you are considering treating yourself to the whole bundle and the new trimmer a starter kit would be a great option: you will receive £130 worth of any products of your choice and it only costs £99, so there's there option to add something else in too and still make a saving. If you'd like to take advantage then click here to join my team or get in touch to discuss further - I would love to welcome you.

Back soon with another post, including some lovely makes featuring this suite. In the meantime, happy shopping!

Paper Trimmer (£23.00)	Christmastime Is Here Suite Bundle (English) (£103.50)	Christmas Rose Bundle (English) (£56.50)	Christmas Rose Stamp Set (English) (£35.00)	Roses Dies (£28.00)
Christmastime Is Here Specialty Designer Series Paper (£13.00)	Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Shimmer Ribbon (£6.50)	Gold Glitter Enamel Dots (£7.50)	Charming Rose Bracelet (£20.00)

I have had a couple of days off from blogging following my hugely successful Creative Escapes Craft Retreat this weekend but wanted to pop in with a quick post to let you know that  Stampin' Up! is having a rare 24 hour stamp sale from 22.50 tonight, Tuesday 22 October until 22.50 tomorrow night, Wednesday 23rd October when you can receive 15% off selected stamp sets. How about that? Here is a list of the stamps that will be on offer:

The discount applies to individual stamp sets (not bundles) and can also be used in conjunction with a starter kit. 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 for an extra thank you from me. 

Don't forget to add the current hostess reward code 6W6ARCB2 for an extra little thank you from me; this will also ensure you receive a copy of the new Spring-Summer catalogue and Sale-A-Bration leaflet which will be on its way within the next couple of months!

I'll be back with more creative projects later in the week 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 time to go shopping - don't miss out!