I received some good news from Stampin' Up! HQ this morning and wanted to pop by to quickly share it with you: as we approach the end of our Last-Chance Products promotion, Stampin' Up! has announced that it has now identified some items that can be discounted by up to 25% - yay for a last-minute bargain!

Click here to see the list of discounted items from the Spring-Summer Catalogue.

Click here to see the list of discounted items from the 2018 Annual Catalogue.

The discount pricing will go into effect at 7:00 p.m. (UK) time this evening Thursday, 30 May. For anyone local to me, I will be putting through one last order which you are welcome to add to if you would like to save on P&P, but you need to message me by 8pm this evening. 

Many thanks and happy bargain hunting!

Today I'm sharing a card for both the current one-layer challenge over at TGIF Challenges and the fabulous bright colour combination over at Global Design Project this week:

This card is also perfect for this month's #SimpleStamping challenge which is to make a simple card using stamps, ink and paper along with a retiring stamp set - the departing Birthday Sentiments set is great for one-layer cards:

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

A Big Hooray - My regular readers know how much I love single image stamps for quick and easy #SimpleStamping cards and they usually satisfy my love of colouring too! This big 'Hooray' stamp is one of two in the 'Birthday Statements' stamp set that is in the Spring-Summer catalogue and retiring at the start of June. I've featured this stamp on a more detailed card here yet both of the large stamps in this set are perfect for one layer cards too. I used my Stamparatus to stamp the image in black onto my Whisper White card base so that I could stamp a few times to ensure a good solid image and then my card was ready to colour. 

Portable Pencils - As my card was a simple one layer, I made a batch of these cards and decided to add them to my portable colouring kit for my 'crafting on the go' and colour them with my watercolour pencils. I featured my DIY Craft Kit On The Go in this post some time ago and continue to use this as an easy way to always have something with me for when I'm out and about and have a spare moment.Using watercolour pencils on one layer cards also avoids any issues with 'bleeding' on the reverse of my coloured image as happens when colouring with Blends (and I didn't have all of the challenge colours needed in marker form either). I used both the set of watercolour pencils that is currently on sale in the annual catalogue for the yellow (I used Daffodil Delight as a substitute for Pineapple Punch) and then the Gorgeous Grape and Coastal Cabana pencils from the limited-time set that was on sale this time last year. If you missed this set, I have some good news - it will be joining the original set in the new annual catalogue, yay! 

Just One Addition - My #SimpleStamping one layer card needs only 5 items to make a batch of these cards: Thick Whisper White cardstock, a black ink pad, a stamp set and a pack - or in this case 2 - of watercolour pencils. I did add one extra thing to my card for a little birthday sparkle and that was some enamel dots in the challenge colours. I just couldn't resist :-)

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Birthday Statements Cling Stamp Set (£20.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad (£9.25)	Watercolor Pencils (£15.00)	Glitter Enamel Dots (£6.50)
Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots (£6.50)

Just a reminder that the Hugs From Shelli Paper Pumpkin Kit is now available, whilst stocks last. If you missed my recent post, you can read more details about this special offer here. Order yours via the link below:

Hugs From Shelli Paper Pumpkin Kit (£20.00)

Today I want to share with you news of another special kit that will be coming to the UK for the first time this month: Paper Pumpkin! For those of you that may not be aware, Paper Pumpkin is a monthly papercrafting kit offered by Stampin’ Up! that is currently only available in the United States and parts of Canada. This month's kit is a particularly special one as it was inspired and co-created by the founder of Stampin' Up! herself, Shelli Gardner. Because the 'Hugs from Shelli' kit is so special, Stampin' Up! has decided to give demonstrators and customers everywhere the chance to experience it. As such, the Shelli kit will be available as an exclusive, limited release in all of our global (Europe, South Pacific, Japan, and Quebec, Canada) markets starting 15 May.

The exact contents of the kit are as always a closely guarded secret, but here's a short video by Shelli herself that gives a flavour of what the kit has in store: 

Part of what makes a Paper Pumpkin kit special is that Stampin' Up! don’t reveal the projects inside the box ahead of time so when it arrives there's always a sense of excitement and anticipation for the good things inside. Shelli describes the kit as “A touch of earthy and elegant spring with lots of layers and texture.” I was lucky enough at Stampin' up!'s recent Onstage event to make one of the cards in the kit - here's a picture of what that card looks like:

Isn't that so pretty? Even the envelope is beautifully decorated inside and out. No more sneak peeks, but I can confirm the Shelli kit from Paper Pumpkin includes the following:

• An exclusive stamp set not available anywhere else
• One Classic Stampin’ Spot® from our Classic ink collection
• Paper and crafting materials to create 12 cards (3 cards of 4 unique designs)
• 12 exclusive, coordinating envelopes
• Adhesives and embellishments for all 12 cards
• NOTE: A clear block is NOT included with this kit.

In addition, the kit will coordinate with the following Stampin’ Up! colours: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Petal Pink, Pool Party, Pretty Peacock, Soft Suede, and Very Vanilla.

So how can you get your hands on one? The 'Hugs From Shelli' kit goes on sale on 15 May and will be available only whilst supplies last. Kits are expected to be popular and to sell out quickly, so either be ready to put your order in online or contact me in advance in order that I can arrange to order your kit for you; you won't want to miss it!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project until then, happy stampin'!

Just a quick post to let you know that the Everything Is Rosy Product Medley is now available to order. You can read all about this kit in my earlier post here; also here's a quick reminder of what is included:

Contact me to order yours or alternatively click on the link below that will take you directly to my online store to purchase:

Everything Is Rosy Product Medley (£74.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's colour challenge over at Just Add Ink:

I've not managed to play along with this lovely group for a couple of weeks but when I saw this week's fabulous bright colour palette I couldn't resist! I decided to go for a bold design to really make the most of all that colour and used my Butterfly Beauty Thinlits Dies for the very first time - take a look:

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

A Blended Background - I wanted something with lots of colour for my background but not too much detail so as to detract from the butterflies, so decided to use the two lightest colours and apply them using a sponge dauber in a circular motion until the colours were blended and covered the whole layer. I used Shimmery White cardstock for my base; I find this helps the colours blend better and I also love the subtle shimmer it adds to the card. 

Butterfly Beauties Indeed - I loved these butterflies the moment I saw them and I've had them for months, so I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get them out of the packet as they really are gorgeous and the star of the show for sure on today's card. I used both of the large dies and layered them together, with a smaller layered butterfly to anchor my sentiment; the set rally is choc-full of butterflies in all shapes and sizes though - lots of creative possibilities. I'm so glad these are carrying over into the main catalogue as it will give me lots more opportunities to play with them. Just a quick reminder that whilst both the Beauty Abounds stamp set and the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits Dies are carrying over, the 10% bundle discount price will not, so if you want to take advantage of that you need to order before the new catalogue goes live on 4th June.

Friendship Abounds - The dies in the Beauty Abounds bundle are rather spectacular, but the stamp set is rather special too: alongside some generic sentiments, it has two great pairs of sentiments that are just perfect for that special friend in you life. The one I used on my card today finishes on the inside with '...out of a whole world of people' (I forgot to take a photo so you'll have to take my word for it!!) How lovely is that?

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 early posting for a change and mine is shaping up to be a busy one. and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beauty Abounds Cling Bundle (£51.25)	Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Coastal Cabana A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)
Pineapple Punch A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Pineapple Punch Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Sponge Daubers (£4.75)	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock (£8.25)

Today I've been battling a mountain of ironing and watching one of the James Juniors playing back-to-back hockey games in storm-grade winds (a dedicated sportswoman indeed!) so I'm late with today's post but wanted to share a quick card I made for the current challenge over at Inspire.Create where they have a great sketch to work with:

My card features stamp, papers, ribbon and a sentiment from the Memories and More kit from the Happiness Blooms Suite  - take a look:

I just love this suite and am so sad it is going to retire as it's one of my favourites from the Spring-Summer catalogue - i love the contemporary design and bright colours and the Bitty Blooms punch pack is super-useful too! 

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 my post for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bloom By Bloom Photopolymer Stamp Set (£16.00)	Happiness Blooms 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Calypso Coral 3/8" (1 Cm) Satin Ribbon (£5.50)	Happiness Blooms Enamel Dots (£6.50)	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Calypso Coral A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Call Me Clover Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Happiness Blooms Memories & More Card Pack (£9.25)

What a great start to a Tuesday - I logged on this morning to find a surprise update to the Clearance Rack. There are now lots of new items available, some with as much as 60% off. As is always the case, popular items will sell out quickly, so don't spend too long deliberating - get in there quick! There are some great paper bargains, including many designer series papers, accessories, kits, framelits and even a few punches. 

Click here to go the clearance rack in my online store and grab a bargain whilst stocks last! Don't forget to include the current hostess code FRRF6WRW make sure that 'allow your demonstrator to contact you' is ticked in order that you receive your special 'thank you' in the post from me. 

Race you to the shop - first one there gets the bargains! Happy shopping!