Another Valentine's Day card today - well, only one more day to go!

I was playing about with my new Petite Curly Label punch and the Pretty Petites (just one of the stamp sets available free if you spend £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration 2013) and Ciao Baby! stamp sets that fit it perfectly and thought how the little punched shapes would make cute love letters ... if only I could find some super-small envelopes! So, some quality time with my Simply Scored Scoreboard later, and done - 4 envelopes that are the perfect size for the punched love tokens.

A set of 4 makes a great card; you could even write a mini note on the blank one and hide inside for your loved one to find.

I finished off with a 'love' stamp coloured with a real red marker and blender pen; this stamp is from the retired set 'Outlined Occasions' but it just finished this card off nicely.

I hope this leaves you inspired to create - until next time, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Pretty Petites, Ciao, Baby!, Outlined Occasions (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red

Inks & Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red

Tools: Petite Curly Label Punch, Blender Pen, Simply Scored

So today, I thought I'd share something a little different. I have been playing with another new Sale-A-Bration stamp set, this time 'Feeling Sentimental'. I have to confess it's not the sort of set that immediately appeals to me - a little too vintage for my liking! - however it does us all good to move outside of our comfort zone every once in a while, so I've created a set of 6 notelets using 3 different stamps in this set and using a few different techniques to illustrate how you can achieve some quite different effects whilst still keeping things simple. 

So, first up, that quintessentially British icon, the telephone box. These are fast becoming few and far between, so it's probably time they are immortalised in a stamp. I've used a Real Red card base and ink - well, you can't really use anything else can you? On one, I've stamped in red straight onto the card and left it at that, apart from the 'hello' sentiment - this is the centre of one of the new Pretty Petites stamps, inked with a marker pen so that I could stamp it without the surround. It reminded me of an old-fashioned curly telephone receiver cord. The second card I stamped in Basic Black, then used a blender pen and Real Red ink to colour in. This gives a sharper outline, but I think more character with the blended infill. The latter is my favourite - which one do you prefer?

I'll be back with more cards featuring the other stamps in this set over the next few days - a Penny Farthing bicycle and a fairground ferrris wheel, but until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental

Paper: Whisper White, Real Red

Ink: Basic Black, Real Red

Tools: Blender Pen

Yesterday I held my first Stampin' Up party - thanks to all the lovely ladies who attended for being so kind to me on my first outing! I thought I would do a quick post today to share with you the gift I made for the hostess as a thank you.

It's a set of four notelets in a co-ordinating box, featuring the Madison Avenue and Vintage Verses stamp sets and the Sycamore Street designer series paper and designed by the lovely Monica Gale for our recent training event. You can check out her blog here - and spookily, as I've just gone to create the link I can see she has blogged her own set today; clearly great minds think alike!!!!

If you would like to receive a similar gift set, then all you have to do is get in touch with me and arrange to host your own Stampin' Up party - it's a great opportunity to get together with your crafty family and friends, make a project and receive lots of free goodies; in addition to free products of your choice depending on your party sales, you can also receive some of the lovely silver glimmer paper featured in the cards above with orders above £150. This is a great product - it doen't shed, like some glitter card, it can be coloured with the aid of ink and rubbing alcohol to match specific projects and a little goes a long way!

Come back tomorrow for some more cards on a Valentine's theme and the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue.

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Madison Avenue, Vintage Verses

Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Sycamore Street (DSP), Silver Glimmer Paper

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Bitty Butterfly Punch, Oval Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Small Heart Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Apothocary Accents Framelits

Finishing Touches: 1/4" Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

As promised, I have lots more Sale-A-Bration to share with you: today, a trio of cards featuring the other flower stamp in the Madison Avenue stamp set, along with some beautiful co-ordinating papers.

Two of the cards also highlight one of the new Pretty Petites stamps, effortlessly puched out with the new Petite Curly Punch. The Pool Party and Tangerine Tango ribbons and the button are also from the Sycamore Street Ribbons and Buttons Pack - and did you notice the embossing on the third card? This is courtesy of the new Vine Street Embossing Folder; I love the subtle texture - it gives the card an 'extra' dimension.

So, 6 new products - and you could have any of them free for every £45 spent during the Sale-A-Bration promotion. Sale-A-Bration runs until 22nd March, so who knows - if you start now, maybe you could collect them all?!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Madison Avenue, Pretty Petites

Paper: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Sycamore Street (DSP)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango

Tools: Vine Street Embossing Folder, Petite Curly Label Punch, Circles Die, Scallop Border Punch

Finishing Touches: Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack

At last - the best party of the year has begun, and will last right through until the 22nd March 2013! Stampin' Up's Sale-a-bration is here and has to be one of the best times in the Stampin' Up calendar to get involved: whether you're an avid crafter or a newbie who fancies some free gifts to get you started, then read on for ways in which you can join the party!

PARTY ON YOUR OWN - During Sale-a-bration, you can earn a free gift for every £45 you spend. There are 17 different items to choose from and best of all you can order as many times as you like! The full set of sale-a-bration items can be seen below:

Better still, get together or host a PARTY WITH FRIENDS who share your love of crafting and you can get even more for your money:

WITH ORDERS OF £150 OR MORE, you will receive:

• A free sale-a-bration gift for every £45 spent
• A free pack of silver glimmer paper
• At least £25 of free products from any current catalogue too!

WITH ORDERS OF £300 OR MORE, you will receive:

• A free sale-a-bration gift for every £45 spent
• A free pack of silver glimmer paper
• At least £50 of free products from any current catalogue
• A great free sale-a-bration product bundle (Sycamore Street designer paper, Madison Avenue stamp set and Sycamore Street ribbon & button embellishment pack)
• At least one item at 50% DISCOUNT as well!!

PARTY ALL THE TIME - As if that wasn't enough, there are also great benefits to joining Stampin' Up as a demonstrator during sale-a-bration: you'll get 25% more in your starter kit than usual, that's £162.50 worth of products for £99 and you can choose what you'd like - your kit, your way. I'm quite new to Stampin' Up but I love being a demonstrator and sharing my ideas; if you'd would like to share my enthusiasm and become a member of my team, please email me at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk or call me for a chat - I would be happy to talk about the possibilities and where I can add value.

I've already shown you a couple of card sets made with the Bloomin' Marvelous stamp set and today I would like to share with you some of the swaps I made for a recent team training that showcase a number of additional free products: 

So what are you waiting for? All this and more could be yours! Drop me a line at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk and arrange to book a party or place an order today.

Keep watching my blog for lots of other great ideas and ways in which you can use the great free sale-a-bration gifts.

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Madison Avenue, Vintage Verses

Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Sycamore Street (DSP)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Summer Starfruit

Tools: Scoreboard, 11/4" circle punch

Finishing Touches: Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack