Happy Monday everyone - a fresh start to a new week! Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I kept my card simple with a showcase of some new designer series paper - take a look:

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

Pick A Floral Pattern - There are some great patterns in the Pick A Pattern designer series paper pack - an eclectic mix of everything from dinosaurs to mushrooms, cameras to this lovely floral pattern. The thing I love most about this pattern is that the white flowers, with the accents of green and yellow, really balance the brightness of the Flirty Flamingo, which I sometimes find a little intense. Framing in white and Emerald Envy green also helps to tone down the pink too.

Patterns and Pieces - I used the simple 'hello there' sentiment from the co-ordinating stamp set, Patterns and Pieces, for the centre of my floral accent, although I cropped it to a regular circle with my 1 3/8" circle punch rather than the slightly more fluid circle of the stamp itself.

May Flower - I decided that instead of a standard layered circle for my accent, i wanted to create something more in keeping with the flower pattern of the designer series paper. A quick sort through my framelits decided me on one of the framelits in the May Flowers set: whilst not an even-petalled flower, I think it still works to create a flower to ground my sentiment and tie in with my overall clean design. What do you think - does it work for you? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts - do leave me a comment below.

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 have time at my desk and housework planned. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Pick A Pattern Designer Series Paper	Pieces & Patterns Clear-Mount Stamp Set	May Flowers Framelits Dies	1-1/4" (3.2 Cm) Circle Punch	1-3/8" (3.5 Cm) Circle Punch
Emerald Envy A4 Cardstock	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock	Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my wonderful friend LeAnne's turn to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

I love these summery colours this week! I almost went with something 'beachy' but instead cased a layout from page 18 of the new annual catalogue for my card and used the Pretty Label bundle - take a look:

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

Label Me Pretty - The detailed florals on my Label Me Pretty label were perfect for today's colour scheme; mostly bright yellows and greens, with a single stem of bluebells to tie in with my card base. i also inked the floral sections of my stamp with my Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker and stamped them directly onto my card base for a little tone-on-tone interest. 

Pretty Label Punch Trick - Did you know the Pretty Label Punch can also be used to create mat layers for your label? Here I punched a second label in Lemon Lime Twist cardstock, cut it in half horizontally and added it to the base edges of your label to give a mat border edge. Neat, right?

Ribbons and Pearls - I added lots of 'pretties' to my card today and couldn't resist a twist of new bright yellow double stitched ribbon; the Daffodil Delight seems to tone down the brightness of the Lemon Lime Twist on this card 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 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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour palette. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are all out and about today, with one of the James Juniors singing in a choir performance all day and the other headed to his school summer fete, complete with classic car show and bouncy castles and hopefully time for a cream tea!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Label Me Pretty Clear-Mount Bundle	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad
Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Blender Pens	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad	5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon
Daffodil Delight 1/4" Double-Stitched Ribbon	Delicate White Doilies	Pearl Basic Jewels	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock

Today I've a couple more daisy cards for you - both the same design, just using alternative colourways. Here's the first one, featuring Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Emerald Envy and Gold:

Here's the second card I created using exactly the same stamps and layout, simply changing the colour palette - this time Peekaboo Peach, Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive and Silver:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Take A Strip Of Paper - Believe it or not, today's cards started out as a few designer series paper offcuts; literally leftovers from another project! I had been busy creating a bunch of customer thank you cards with full size cardfronts featuring the gorgeous patterns in the Delightful Daisies designer series paper packs to go out with this month's customer orders, and had a whole bunch of narrow strips leftover. I could have thrown them away - instead I used them to create the horizontal lines for my punched flower to rest on and to inspire the colour combinations for the rest of my card. Waste not, want not and all that!

Buy The Bundle - As my blog post title suggests, you could but the Daisy Punch alone - why would you though when you can get the Daisy Delight stamp set with it as a bundle with 10% off into the bargain? For me the bundle really is a no brainer: it has this lovely daisy stamp that I've used here to add detail and colour to your daisy petals and centres and it also comes with a number of other pretty florals that can be coloured or used for a tone-on-tone look as I have here to create my background. There's a couple of thank you sentiment combinations too. So many more creative possibilities and a great price point at £27.75. 

Add A Gem - In addition to some ribbon, I've also added one of the new faceted gems to the centre of each of my daisies - I love the sparkle these add to a 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. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Daisy Delight Photopolymer Bundle	Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock	Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin' Pad	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Clear Faceted Gems	Gold Faceted Gems
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Natural Trim	Silver 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Natural Trim

I've been busy preparing samples for my forthcoming open house using one of my favourite suites from the new catalogue: the Delightful Daisies Suite. Today I'm sharing two clean and simple cards featuring the new Daisy Punch and just two of the ways it can be used.

My first card was inspired by one made recently by Mary Fish - you can see her original card here - a simple trio of punched daisies with banner sentiment greeting from the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set:

I chose to use Night of Navy for my accent colour - I love how the simple yellow middles of the daisies - punched with a 1/2" circle punch - really pop with this crisp, fresh colour combination. My second card uses the daisy punch to make a feature of the negative space:

Here the daisies still take centre stage, however this time instead of punching out the flowers and attaching them to the cardfront, I punched the flowers out of my topmost navy card layer to 'reveal' the white daisies in the negative space below, then I added my yellow flower centres to each negative flower. I am a big fan of using negative space to make your punches and framelits work harder for you and I love the contrast that using the negative space provides with this classic colour combination. 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Daisy Punch	Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock	Brights Enamel Shapes	1/2" (1.3 Cm) Circle Punch	Banner Triple Punch

I'm a little later posting today as I had the first of this month's technique classes this morning and I wasn't quite organised enough to post beforehand. Anyway, I'm here now with a bright and colourful card to cheer your day! I have another birthday card for you - this time one that uses the current sketch over at the Fab Friday Challenge:

This circle could be so many things, but I really felt it needed words - in fact, two big ones! Take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Happy Birthday - It's big, it's bold and says it all right there: the Happy Birthday Thinlits Die really does make a big impact! Whether you pair it with flowers or balloons (the bundled stamp set 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' has both), this die makes a statement when used on a card front or birthday packaging. Here I've layered it and offset both diecuts, for added impact. This is one die that is going to get lots of use, for sure.

Reversing Birthday Memories - The paper I've used on my card today is from the Birthday Memories designer series paper from the product suite of the same name. You will no doubt like me swoon over this fabulous paper and it's adorable hand painted colourful children's illustrations, however the reverse side should also not be overlooked - it includes some great repeat patterns, along with a wonderful rainbow striped pattern and the dotty pattern that I've used on my card today. 

Blue With A Touch Of Citrus - My choice of patterned paper inspired my colour choices today, although I switched out the Soft Sky for Pool Party as I wanted a warmer blue to balance my zingy citrus colours of Lemon-Lime Twist and Pumpkin Pie. Here's today's colour combination for you to save to inspire your future creations 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 another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Bundle	Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Cardstock
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Lemon Lime Twist A4 Cardstock	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Brights Enamel Shapes	Balloon Bouquet Punch

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the Jaydee's turn to host this week and she has a fun theme for us to work with:

So many possibilities! I actually made several birthday cards with Jaydee's challenge in mind and couldn't decide which one to share; I loved the colour combo over at The Colour Throwdown and since Jaydee is also guest designer over at CTD this week that decided it! I also used the Paper Craft Crew Sketch and my Rose Garden Thinlits to come up with my card today - take a look:

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

There's not much to say about today's card; I stencilled some roses onto my panel with some powder pink ink and a sponge brayer, then added layers of gold foil, acetate and ribbon before finishing with my layered pink and gold foil-edged rose. A sentiment in navy and a few metallic enamel shapes complete my card. Whilst simple I think the gold elements make this seem more fancy than usual. One thing's for sure - I love it!

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:

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. I have more birthday cards to share with you this week, so be sure to pop buy for more birthday inspiration using some of my new catalogue products. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; we are hoping for another day of sunshine before the kiddies return to school tomorrow for the final half-term of this academic school year. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Rose Garden Thinlits Dies	Rose Wonder Photopolymer Stamp Set	Sponge Brayers	Gold Foil Sheets	Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Natural Trim
Powder Pink A4 Cardstock	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock
Metallic Enamel Shapes	Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate

Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying your weekend; I had a 'day off' yesterday and went cycling with the rest of the James clan and have spent today creating more samples for my open house catalogue launch on Thursday - here's a reminder of those details:

I would love to see you there! One of the cards I made today uses this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday:

I've been having fun with my new goodies and have used three on my card today:

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

Colour Theory - I decided to go monochrome today with the new Berry Burst in-colour balanced with white to create definition in my layers. My card features two of the contrasting crackle-glaze patterned papers from the Colour Theory DSP stack too - they add good visual interest without texture.

Lovely Words - The Lovely Words Thinlits dies set that the 'friend' centrepiece on my card comes from were one of the first things that made it into my pre-order basket. What can I say - I'm a sucker for word dies and I love that these can be used with or without the shape that they are set in and offer lots of creative possibilities for layering and using the negative space too. Expect to see lots more of these!

A Little Repetition - The Lovely Words Thinlits are available in a discounted bundle with the Lovely Inside & Out stamp set too. This is a fun set with some basic background pattern stamps along with large and small font greetings, that can be mixed and matched and used with or without the thinlits. I've used one of the sentiments to create a background panel, using my stamp-a-ma-jig to align the words to create my own DSP. It took a little time, but it was worth it for this fun effect.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Lovely Inside & Out Clear-Mount Bundle	Berry Burst A4 Cardstock	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad	Color Theory Designer Series Paper Stack	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Banner Triple Punch

The wait is over - it's June 1st and the new 2016-17 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is here! I have updated my links on the right hand side of my blog and you will find a permanent link to the new catalogue there, but for today you need look no further than the picture below which will take you straight to the new catalogue:

The catalogue is fantastic, with so many great new products to choose from. The new catalogue is posted above and will be permanently linked via my blog on the right hand side if you don’t have a paper copy and wish to browse. If you have your paper copy and just want to go straight to the shop to place your order, click here. Don't forget to add the hostess code for June B3C3DUB6 if your order is less than £150 and ensure your preferences are set to 'contactable' to receive a thank you in the post from me.

I'll be sharing my favourite items in a blog post later this week, but for now I have news of another very important promotion to share with you:

• Earn Additional Stampin' Rewards with a single order or qualifying party sales  You can earn an additional £30 in Stampin' Rewards when you place an individual order for or reach qualifying party sales of £300 or more during the month of June. Here is a reminder of the rewards you can earn when you host a party, along with the details of the promotion:

Don't forget these Stampin' Rewards can also be used towards a starter kit if you choose to join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator - making the starter kit even better value! I still have some calendar dates free in June so if you would like to host your own Stampin' Up! party and take full advantage of the extra rewards, then please do get in touch! 

• Want To Get Hands On With New Products? Save The Date - I will be holding my Annual Catalogue Open House Launch next week on Thursday 8th June - if you live in or around Northampton this is a great opportunity for you to see some of the products up close, take advantage of my BOGOF sale of retired stamp sets, do a make and take and more! If you would like to put your name down for this exclusive event then do get in touch!

That's a lot of information for one post; if I were you I would put the kettle on, put your feet up and get comfy and settle down with your new catalogue for a browse and start creating that all-important wish list!

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

Public service announcements first today - bear with me, there will be a creative post below for those that are here for the pretty stuff!

Counting down now - only 1 day to go until the new 2017-18 Annual Stampin' Up! catalogue launches!

I have sent out copies to everyone on my catalogue mailing list who has purchased from me in the last 6 months - if you're not on this list but would like to receive one, then do give me a call on 07773 421446 or drop me an email and I will pop one in the post to you today.

This also means the following: 

Today is the last day that you can order from the 2016-17 Stampin' Up! catalogue - this includes any of the 'Bundle and Save 10%' bundles. Even though many of the products they contain are being carried over to the new annual catalogue, they will not be available as a discounted bundle.

Today is the last day that you can order from the 2017 Spring-Summer Seasonal Stampin' Up! catalogue - a number of the products in this brochure are being carried over to the new annual catalogue, however we willbe saying goodbye to many items. There are still a number of stamp sets and accessories available at a discount on the Retiring List here - today is your last chance to grab a bargain!  they will not be available as a discounted bundle.

Today is also the final day to purchase either of the special Eastern Palace Suite bundles. You can read more about these fabulous bundles in my blog post here which also contains the link to the store should you wish to purchase either bundle. Whilst all of the items contained in each bundle will be available to purchase individually once the new annual catalogue launches, the bundles along with the free gifts won't. So if you have been swept up in the Eastern Palace craze, get yours today!

If you are placing an order online today, don't forget to use this month's online hostess code DXFJQZPN to receive a little thank you from me. This code will close this afternoon at 2pm, so be sure to have placed your orders online before this to benefit. If you are local to me and wish to save on postage, please ensure you have your order to me by midday to be included on this order.

That's the announcements and reminders done - now for the pretty! Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Less Is More:

I haven't managed to play along with the lovely ladies over at LIM for a little while but having been perusing my depleted collection of stamp sets I came across another uninked one that I thought would be perfect for this week's challenge - take a look:

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

Fluttering Fairies - As with yesterday's card, I'm rediscovering sets that have been sitting unused on my shelf as we transition from one catalogue to another. The 'Fairy Celebration' stamp set is new to me - I love the little whimsical fairies that are perfect for colouring and as someone who often creates with and for children, I knew this set would have lots of appeal. I also love how for the fairy that I featured on my card today you can punch out the wings with the retiring Bitty Butterfly punch for a 3D effect. 

Shimmer, Shimmer - When I thought about the word 'shimmer', I immediately thought Shimmery White cardstock, clear Wink of Stella and Dazzling Diamonds glitter - and fairy wings of course! I used all of the above products on my fairy card, heat embossing the stardust trail and glittery fairy wings and adding additional Wink of Stella to the vellum wings to add further iridescence. Along with the Shimmery White card base, I must confess this is one of those cards where it is difficult to capture how very pretty and shimmery this card is in real life - you will just have to take my word for it!

No Line Watercolouring - I stamped the fairy in Powder Pink and watercoloured her using the no-line watercolouring technique as I wanted her to be rather undefined and allow the shimmer to take centre stage. 

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. 

We are off for a picnic in the park today with friends; the weather hasn't been as warm this last few days, but if it stays dry I'm sure plenty of fun will be had by all. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with the official launch of the new 2017-18 Stampin' up! Annual Catalogue - how exciting! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Fairy Celebration Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Shimmery White A4 Cardstock	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter	Versamark Pad	Embossing Buddy
Berry Burst A4 Cardstock	Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad	Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Aqua Painters
Vellum A4 Cardstock	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

Counting down now - only 2 days to go until the new 2017-18 Annual Stampin' Up! catalogue launches!

I have sent out copies to everyone on my catalogue mailing list who has purchased from me in the last 6 months - if you're not on this list but would like to receive one, then do give me a call on 07773 421446 or drop me an email and I will pop one in the post to you.

We are on the home straight for purchases from the current annual and spring-summer catalogue; there will be a full reminder of everything that is closing tomorrow, however meanwhile if you still have an order to place this month, don't forget to use the current online hostess code DXFJQZPN to receive a little thank you from me. This code will close tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, so be sure to have placed your orders online before this to benefit. If you are local to me and wish to save on postage, please ensure you have your order to me by midday tomorrow to be included on this order.

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

This sketch was perfect for an idea I've had in my head for a while using a stamp set from the annual catalogue - take a look:

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

Layering Love - A new catalogue often means much less current stock in the stamp room, as old makes way for new and new consists of some select pre-order items. This has its advantages though - it encourages a look through those stamp sets that are carrying over from one annual catalogue to the next with fresh eyes - and in some instances, as with today's card, results in a set that has been languishing to be inked up for the first time (yay!) I bought the set some time ago because I love the big, bold feature sentiments it contains. The one I've used on today's card was the clincher though - not only is this a sweet sentiment for a new baby card, but is perfect for memory keeping and scrapbook pages or even a framed piece of wall art. I just had to have it - shame it's taken me so long to ink it up! The sentiment stamps are also designed to fit perfectly inside the various layering shapes framelits - bonus!

Sneak Peeks Times Two - I've mixed the old with the new on my card today too: I used the heart from a new set called 'Wood Words' to create a tone-on-tone border along the bottom part of my card using my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig to get my hearts neatly lined up and for my embellishment I added a sweet bunny that I fussy cut from the new Pick-A-Pattern Designer Series Paper. Full of eclectic hand-drawn images and quirky animals - I love this paper!

A Modern Colour Combo - I was tempted to go pink all the way with my card today, but decided to introduce black to tie in with my fussy-cut outlined bunny and I think it makes for a fresh and modern colour combination and tempers the brightness of Flirty Flamingo - feel free to save it if you would like to try it out on your projects:

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'm a little later than anticipated posting today; the joys of having the James Juniors home for the half-term holiday! We spent the day running errands, posting and delivering catalogues and purchasing some things ready for one of them to embark on a Geography field trip next week. I'll be back tomorrow with another project, hopefully posted before our day begins. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Layering Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies	Wood Words Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies	Pick A Pattern Designer Series Paper
Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock	Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad