It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is my turn to host and I have my very first sketch challenge for you:

You know how much I love a sketch challenge - it's so exciting to have designed my first one for you to play along with this week! I am still pre-occupied with my pre-order goodies, so I decided to use this week's Color Throwdown colours to create not something floral as per the inspiration photo, rather a decidedly spooky Halloween treat for you. Here's my card:

So many lovely things to share on my card this week! The background paper is a piece of the new Halloween DSP pack 'Happy Haunting' - there are some great patterns in this pack. For the large circle on my sketch, I used one of the new Spider Web doilies - I think these may be my actual most favourite Halloween product in the new catalogue! They are so dramatic and such great value, at just £4.25 for a pack of 24. I will be using these everywhere! for the smaller circle, I just had to use the owl from the Howl-o-ween Treat set - isn't he adorable?! The stamp set comes with a co-ordinating set of 'Boo To You' framelits dies and what's more they are available as a bundle too - great news! The framelits are a must as they make cutting out the shapes, such as the wand, the pumpkin basket and the hat, so easy. This card is choc full of texture too: I accented the eyes with a couple of round Itty Bitty Epoxy Sticker Accents and stamped the hat in Versamark and heat embossed it in black to add a lovely shine against the Cucumber Crush cardstock of the hat - you can see it better here in this close-up photo:

I also used the awesome new black glimmer paper for my sentiment, again cut out using my Big Shot and the 'Boo To You' framelits. Just look at how sparkly it is: 

Lastly, I added a Cucumber Crush banner punched with my Triple Banner Punch and the Confetti Stars Border Punch and I infilled the star shapes by paper-piecing with black glimmer paper stars for added sparkle. I also decorated the inside of my card and what's more, remembered to take a photo of it:

How cute is that?! I hope you like today's Halloween card and that it has you even more excited for the fun things still to come in the new seasonal catalogue. 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 how you choose to interpret my sketch on your cards in the gallery this week. I'll be spending today in the garden; yesterday's BBQ and vegetarian menu was a huge success, so today we are following that with another lunch of vegetables from our garden - with sausages too though, of the meat variety! 

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

* Howl-o-ween treat - available September 1st

* Boo To You Framelits - available September 1st

* Spider Web Doilies - available September 1st

* Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper - available September 1st

* Black Glimmer Paper - available September 1st

Banner Triple Punch	Confetti Stars Punch	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Heat Tool (Uk)	Black Stampin' Emboss Powder	Big Shot	Magnetic Platform	Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock
Cucumber Crush A4 Cardstock	Gold Foil Sheets	Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch challenge for you:

As I'm still excited to be working may way through my box of seasonal preorder goodies, I have another Christmas card to share with you today using the All Ye Faithful stamp set and Winter Wonderland Specialty Designer Sseries Paper and washi tape. Here's my card: 

My colour scheme today was inspired by the Winter Wonderland product suite - a mix of black, white and gold, with foil accents and real sparkle. Using Basic Black for my base with a mat of gold foil, then used a piece of Winter Wonderland DSP with a crackle-glaze pattern for the front of my card. I edged a piece of Whisper White with gold striped washi tape, then stamped my sentiment in Memento Black on the right hand edge. This sentiment does actually come on one line, so in order to make it work for my card and the sketch I carefully masked off parts of it to enable me to stamp it in three separate sections. For the oval, I stamped Mary and Joseph in Versamark onto Basic Black card and heat embossed it in gold. I backed this with an oval that was cut to the same size using my Big Shot and Ovals Framelits, then cut in half vertically; this then creates a frame that enables the oval to stand out, but isn't too wide, as it would have been if I'd used the next size framelit up. To finish, I added a trio of flags punched using my Tripe Banner Punch, featuring more of the patterns in the Winter Wonderland DSP suite. 

Whilst this isn't a colourway I would necessarily have been drawn to of my own accord, it is very on-trend and I do love the way the entire suite of products make co-ordination so easy - good old Stampin' Up! I love the All Ye Faithful stamp set too - one of my favourite religious sets in the new catalogue, it comes with two other feature stamps and a verse sentiment too that I used on the inside of my card:

I hope you like today's card. Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's challenge sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another sneak-peek project, one for Halloween this time. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

 * All Ye Faithful - available September 1st

* Winter Wonderland Specialty Designer Series Paper - available September 1st

*Winter Wonderland Washi Tape - available September 1st

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! The same as last week there are more offers than usual, with increased reductions of up to 30% on Weekly Deals this month, although there are specific allocated quantities at the increased offer price; once they're gone, the price will revert to RRP, so don't delay in ordering if there is something on your wish list. Each week items are proving very popular and some are sold out within a couple of days of the offers being published. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for August SCFAMEG2 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

And Many More Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Banner Punch	Brights Sequin Assortment
Early Espresso 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Striped Scallop Thinlits Die	Zig Zag Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Some great deals this week: 'And Many More' is one of those ever useful sentiment stamp sets with something for every occasion, the banner punch is also great for making quick and easy cards and bunting embellishments and at only £8.63 would make a great stocking filler (yes, I am totally thinking Christmas already!) and the Brights Sequin Assortment is perfect for adding the finishing touch to your festive cards and Halloween projects - at £3.38 the best bargain this week!

Back shortly with today's creative post; until then, happy shopping!

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of my good friend the super-talented LeAnne to host and she has a great clean and simple challenge for you:

With the arrival of my Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue pre-order goodies last week I have been catapulted forwards into the festive season and this card was a challenge, especially since the weather in the UK has been anything but summery this week! In an effort to bring me back to summer, I got to thinking about what the beach means to me: on the one hand it conjures up memories of warm Carribean seas and scuba diving on coral reefs, but on the other hand where my children are concerned, it's all about paddling in the waves, sandcastles, stripy deckchairs and beach huts, so often found along UK beaches. So whilst my card doesn't feature sun, sand or sea this week, it does feature a couple of beach huts and some stripy paper reminiscent of old fashioned deck chairs. Here's my card, using the challenge sketch over at Fab Friday for my layout:

I used Pacific Point for my base, and used a piece of Schoolhouse DSP for my stripy layer (this so reminds me of deckchairs!) I followed this with a panel of Pool Party on which I placed my punch art paper-pieced beach huts: I punched two huts using the now-retired Arrows Punch (you could just as easily cut freehand though or combine square and triangle punch shapes) from the whitewashed woodgrain pattern in the Farmers Market DSP then added brightly coloured roofs and doors. A simple sentiment banner edged with some retired Epic Day washi tape and finished with a Daffodil Delight button and grey baker's twine finishes my card. My card does have a few more layers than I would like for a truly CAS card, but I kept my design simple with minimal embellishments, so I'm hoping I've more or less managed to meet the brief! 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

For my international readers who may never have seen beach huts along the UK coast before, here's an old photo of mine at the seaside when my daughter was small - you can see the colourful little beach huts along the edge of the beach in the background:

Happy days! So what images does the beach conjure up for you? I look forward to seeing your clean and simple beach-themed creations in the gallery this week. I'm having a relaxing day at home today with the family. I'll be back tomorrow with another card (or two!). Until then, happy stampin'! 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A Dozen Thoughts Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Farmers Market Designer Series Paper	Schoolhouse Designer Series Paper	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Pool Party A4 Cardstock
Banner Triple Punch	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Punch Corner Project Life	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! The same as last week there are more offers than usual, with increased reductions of up to 30% on Weekly Deals this month, although there are specific allocated quantities at the increased offer price; once they're gone, the price will revert to RRP, so don't delay in ordering if there is something on your wish list. Each week items are proving very popular and some are sold out within a couple of days of the offers being published. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for August SCFAMEG2 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

2015-2017 In Color Blossom Accents	Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers
Scalloped Tag Topper Punch	Silver 5/8" Satin Ribbon	Summer Silhouettes Wood-Mount Stamp Set

More great deals this week - the in-colour blossom accents and epoxy stickers are great deals for cute embellishments but my favourite weekly deal this week has to be the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch - this is my 'go to' tag punch and is perfect to get a headstart on Christmas gift tags, so at the reduced price of £15.75 it's one to snap up this week! 

That's all from me; back later with today's creative post. Until then, happy shopping!

Happy Monday everyone! I am starting my week with a fun birth congratulations card for the challenges over at Freshly Made Sketches and Pals Paper Arts this week:

I love the sketch but was initially perplexed when I saw the PPA colours this week as I wasn't sure I could make the Mint Macaron and Pool Party work together; I loved the colour combo though so thought I'd give it a bit more consideration and this is what I came up with:

With both Pool Party and Tip Top Taupe featuring in the Sweet L'il Things Designer Series paper pack, I decided to go with a new baby card - a boy of course! I just love the cloud pattern on the DSP sheet (it comes in the alternate colourway of Pool Party cloud outlines on Very Vanilla too) and whilst this is by no means only of use for a baby card, it provided the perfect backdrop for my little panel of 'zzzzz's' and my Very Vanilla panel with cute Pool Party babygro cut using my Baby's First Framelits. I paper-pierced the babygro to add interest and added a 3/4" Very Vanilla circle with a Mint Macaron punched heart, that I covered with one of the heart-shaped Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers - this looks so lovely in real life! The heart and banner were just enough Mint Macaron I think with the other two colours and I'm so pleased with my final card. It also made me realise just how much I love Tip Top Taupe - this isn't a colour I've used much at all to date, yet its soft tones work so well with pastels and paler colours, I must try and use it more often.

That's all from me; I am expecting a visit from my parents today, which is making Ben very excited since with his birthday tomorrow he is virtually assured of presents! - and I'm also expecting the arrival of my pre-order of SU! goodies from the new seasonal catalogue. I am beyond excited!!!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Baby's First Framelits Dies	Eclectic Paper-Piercing Pack	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Big Shot	Sweet Li'l Things Designer Series Paper
Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers	Banner Triple Punch	Tip Top Taupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Tip Top Taupe A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock
Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	3/4" Circle Punch	A Dozen Thoughts Clear-Mount Stamp Set

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of my wonderful friend and talented crafter Claire, to host and she has a great colour challenge for you:

I immediately knew what stamp set I was going to use for my card this week - Sheltering Tree - and I wanted to have a go at making a swing easel card to showcase it. Here's my card:

The stamped panel is easy enough to create and uses all three of the challenge colours. I chose Old Olive as my main colour, with just a little Crumb Cake and Bermuda Bay to allow the latter to really stand out on the bicycle and border. I followed Amanda Bates tutorial here to make my swing easel card (there is a small correction required to the instructions - step 13 should say 'Line up at 5"' not 1"). She is a real whizz with fancy folds! I used two of the Old Olive patterns in the Pretty Petals DSP to decorate my card. The nice thing about this card is that it folds completely flat for mailing, so long as you keep the embellishments to a minimum as I have here:

I hope you like today's card. 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 how you use Claire's chosen challenge colours on your cards in the gallery this week. This is a birthday weekend for us: the youngest of my James juniors will be 8 on Tuesday so following yesterday's birthday sleepover, today we will be continuing our birthday celebrations. 

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock	Sheltering Tree Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tin Of Cards Photopolymer Stamp Set	Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack
Very Vanilla A4 Cardstock	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Cardstock	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
Banner Triple Punch	Big Shot	Squares Collection Framelits Dies	Magnetic Platform

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch challenge for you:

Having placed my pre-order for items from the forthcoming Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue this week, I am totally in the Christmas groove. My new goodies haven't arrived yet, but luckily for me the annual catalogue now has a Christmas section again, so that's where I went for some supplies for today's card. Here's my card: 

I used the new set 'Lots of Joy' and combined this with the lovely 'Merry Moments' DSP. I took the three diagonal stripes as inspiration for my card rather than literally - this paper has a lovely stripe pattern of varying thicknesses, so I think it works quite well. I stamped my bauble twice, once in Real Red and once in Smoky Slate, then cut the bauble top from the Smoky Slate one and adhered it behind my red bauble, before adding a silver ribbon bow. I stamped my sentiment in Real Red, then decided to paper-piece the little Christmas tree over the top in Old Olive - here's a close up photo so that you can see it in more detail:

This was quite easy to do - I simply stamped the sentiment again on a scrap of green cardstock, snipped out the tree and reversed it before adhering to my card. The pencil-thin stripe in the DSP is Old Olive and this was a great way to bring a little green into my predominantly red and grey coloured card. I hope you like today's card - I have another Christmas card using the same set to share with you tomorrow! Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another Christmas project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! The same as last week there are more offers than usual, with increased reductions of up to 30% on Weekly Deals this month, although there are specific allocated quantities at the increased offer price; once they're gone, the price will revert to RRP, so don't delay in ordering if there is something on your wish list. Each week items are proving very popular and some are sold out within a couple of days of the offers being published. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for August SCFAMEG2 if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Envelope Punch Board	Flower Patch Photopolymer Stamp Set	Gold 1/8" Ribbon
Hearts Border Punch	Silver Basic Metal Buttons	Simply Scored Metric Scoring Plate

Not quite as many deals to be had this week, but those that are there are all good! The must-have has to be the Envelope Punch Board; I know they have been featured several times, but at £13.50 this truly is a bargain! The Metric Scoring Plate is a great deal too; it makes light work of scoring card blanks and is a great deal at only £8.25.

So what are you waiting for? Get clicking over to my online store!

I'll be back later with a quick creative post. Until then, happy shopping!

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! The same as last week there are more offers than usual, with increased reductions of up to 30% on Weekly Deals this month, although there are specific allocated quantities at the increased offer price; once they're gone, the price will revert to RRP, so don't delay in ordering if there is something on your wish list. Each week items are proving very popular and some are sold out within a couple of days of the offers being published. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for July YMCTDF6N if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Cherry Cobbler Thick Baker’S Twine	Choose Happiness Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Color Me Irresistible Specialty Designer Series Paper	Metallics Sequin Assortment
Neutrals Envelope Paper	Pretty Petals Designer Series Paper Stack	Pumpkin Pie 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon
Wisteria Wonder 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	Work Of Art Wood-Mount Stamp Set

More creative loveliness this week, with speciality papers and gorgeous ribbons to name but a few of the nice things on offer - the highlight has to be Pretty Petals paper stack though at just £5.08 - what a bargain! I've already made so many projects featuring this paper - if you search 'Pretty Petals' on my blog you will see them all - and there is still so much more to come, it really is a winner!

So what are you waiting for? Get clicking over to my online store - the time to stock up on that paper is now, before I snap it all up!

That's all from me today; I'll be back tomorrow with this week's card for our new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary this week.

Until then, happy shopping!