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'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Just Add Ink where they have a photo for inspiration this week:

Hmmm - a virtually all-white floral card! I've created with all-white before and it can be fun although a devil to photograph. I'm not sure today's pictures do it justice, so you're just going to have to take my word for it that in real life this is SO pretty! I pulled out some of my retiring products for a last run around the block for my card - take a look:

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

Falling Flowers - I wanted to use a single stamp set for today's card and I did pretty much manage that (except for my sentiment which comes from 'Thoughtful Banners'). I decided to use the retiring 'Falling Flowers' set as this is a set that exclusively features florals. I also like the fact that the co-ordinating May Flowers Framelits (also retiring) includes both some dies that cut out the stamped images and additional stand-alone dies, including the large dahlia-like one that I used in combination with my stamped images. 

Ways With White - When working with white alone, it's important to create interest and detail with shape, texture and layers so that it doesn't all look the same. I stamped the large vertical image in Versamark onto my base panel first and heat embossed it with some (retired) Irredescent Ice sparkly embossing powder, for some subtle background texture and detail. I then layered a combination of images stamped on both white and vellum and heat embossed in white, along with the large diecut dahlia and arranged them around my sentiment. I also brushed my main stamped flower liberally with clear Wink of Stella before adding some small pearls to the centre to finish for added sparkle and shine.

A Subtle Hint of Green - I added the tiniest hint of pale green to my stamped flower with a light Soft Sea Foam Blends marker and then worked it with the colour lifter to add just enough colour to highlight the embossed detail of the petals. I also used the green to stamp my sentiment.

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. 

One last reminder before I go: the limited edition So Shelli Paper Pumpkin Kit goes on sale tonight at 11pm, so be ready to order yours. If you missed the announcement, you can read all about it here.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Falling Flowers Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£19.00)	May Flowers Framelits Dies (£29.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	Soft Sea Light Foam Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Stampin' Blends Color Lifter (£4.25)
Vellum A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Embossing Buddy (£5.50)	Versamark Pad (£8.25)	White Stampin' Emboss Powder (£4.75)	Pearl Basic Jewels (£4.75)
Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Thoughtful Banners Photopolymer Stamp Set (£20.00)	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (£7.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a cheery colour challenge for you to work with:

I decided to use my chosen colours with the current Mojo Monday sketch and create a fresh and colourful tribute to a stamp set that will be leaving us with the end of this annual catalogue - Jar of Love. This is what I came up with:

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

When I originally chose this colour palette, I had intended to do something floral using the 'All That You Are' stamp set, but in the meantime I created this card using these colours with that set, so instead decided to focus on 'Jar of Love' since it is soon to retire and deserved at least one last swansong!

There really isn't much to say about this card as the layout is simple, with some pastel Subtles DSP for the outer mat and some stitched detailing courtesy of the stitched rectangle framelits for the inner panels. The effort is all in the flowers: I stamped lots of flowers in each of the colours and then arranged them in my jar, overlapping until I achieved the look I was after. For some of the greenery I stamped off first, to allow for a lighter green and did the same for the two-step stamping on the pink and yellow flowers, to achieve depth with the tone-on-tone effect.

I coloured a few pearls yellow with my Stampin' Blends then added a birthday greeting to my banner, courtesy of the 'Beautiful Bouquet' stamp set - this set has great sentiments for floral cards. I love the dimension the layering of the flowers adds, even though the card itself isn't that bulky at all and would still be post-friendly.

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 - Happy Mother's Day wishes to all my non-UK readers today! We have a busy day of sport in the James household, with one James Junior taking part in regional hockey finals and the other in a short-course swimming gala, so we will be out and about all day. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Jar Of Love Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Everyday Jars Framelits Dies (£31.00)	Beautiful Bouquet Photopolymer Stamp Set (£25.00)	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Banner Triple Punch (£22.00)
Subtles 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Pool Party A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Pearl Basic Jewels (£4.75)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Fusion where I used both the sketch and inspiration photo for my card:

Given that it features butterflies, it's also my second link up with Stamp Ink Paper this week. My card turned out to be a more literal interpretation of the Fusion brief than I'd intended - take a look:

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

A Quick Butterfly Wreath - My original plan was to create a wreath of layered diecut butterflies using the tiny butterflies in the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits set that I used on other cards that I shared with you earlier this week, however when I put it together the butterflies were a little too small and overwhelmed by the overall proportions of my card. As I was browsing my collection of patterned papers to decide what to use for the horizontal banner, I came across some leftover Botanical Butterfly paper from Sale-A-Bration. I punched out some small butterflies using my duet butterfly punch (this is finally back in stock now in the UK - hurrah!) and they were the perfect size for my project. I love the realistic details on each and because all I did was punch the out the effect took no time to create; perfect! I then used a plain piece of So Saffron cardstock for the horizontal panel to tie in with the colours. 

Wood Textures - I used a piece of Wood Textures designer series papers for my background, inspired by the door in the Fusion photo. I recall when I saw these papers unveiled at an Onstage event a couple of years ago, a fellow demo friend Karen was in raptures about them and all the awesome projects she could imagine making with them. I remember thinking she was mad, as I didn't think they were something I would use much - how little faith I had! As it turns out I've used these papers lots in my crafting and will be sad to see them go when they retire next month - yes, I have stocked up and suggest you do the same too!

Textured Textures - Whilst it's difficult to see in the photo, I added extra texture and interest to my Wood Textures DSP by running it through my BigShot with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder before adding to my card. This is something I often do if I'm using this paper for a background - it adds a lovely tactile dimension and interest to an otherwise simple 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 for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am hostess this week and I have a fun colour palette for you! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beauty Abounds Cling Stamp Set (£21.00)	Butterfly Duet Punch (£17.00)	Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)	Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (£10.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	So Saffron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Stamps Ink Paper where they are all about winged things this week:

After I made this card for our challenge over at The Paper Players on Sunday, the frugal crafter in me couldn't bear to throw away the rectangle of foil that I cut my butterflies for the pop-up out of, so I save it, along with the inset pieces, and diecut more black butterflies using the large die in the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits set and created a second card by piecing together my offcuts - take a look:

Once I'd pieced the whole thing together, I added some ribbon and sequins beneath my sentiment banner then decorated the inside of my card with the co-ordinating Beauty Abounds stamp set:

The paper-piecing here was something of a labour of love, but that Lovely Lipstick foil is just too pretty to allow any of it to go to waste!

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. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Beauty Abounds Cling Bundle (£51.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Black 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Satin Ribbon (£6.50)
Lovely Lipstick 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	Silver Mini Sequin Trim (£5.50)	Lovely Lipstick Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)

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'!

Today we have a public holiday here in the UK so we are enjoying an extra-long weekend - well, as much as you can when both James Juniors are revising for end-of-year exams and the weather outside is rather grey and chilly! We are at least enjoying the slower pace and I'm hoping I might even sneak in a little crafting later too. First up I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Just Add Ink where the team are making sympathy cards:

These are sometimes difficult cards to make and it's sometimes good to have a few of these on hand that you can simply reach for when needed rather than need to make from scratch. There is a gorgeous set in the Spring-Summer catalogue that will sadly be retiring next month but is perfect for this type of card - take a look:

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

Dear Doily - So when I first saw the Dear Doily set in the seasonal catalogue, it wasn't at the top of my wish list, however my dear crafty friend Jan Clothier had this set and created so many fabulous samples with it (check them out on her blog here) that I eventually decided I 'needed' it and now I'm sad that this set is going away! The Doily Builder Thinlits are already sold out in the UK and have been for some time, however the stamp set is still available. It has some beautiful images but it's really the words in this set that get me; the gorgeous swirly font for the main words I used on the front of today's card that can then be paired with a number of alternatives depending on whether your card is to show thanks, friendship or sympathy. I used the latter on the inside of my card:

For a sympathy card, it is often difficult to find the right words and I think this set really hits the mark as far as that is concerned.

Make Your Mark With Markers - I kept my card fairly simple, using the Doily Builder Thinlits to create both some inset diecutting on the back panel and a frame for my sentiment which I really wanted to be the focal point of my card, but I did choose to add a single stem of lavender using one of the other stamps in this set. I coloured it with my Stampin' Write markers, colouring the stem in Tranquil Tide and the buds in Powder Pink with a little edging in Blackberry Bliss to create a variation in colour. Using your markers is a great way to add variagated colour to a single stamp; just ink them up and 'huff' on your stamp, and it will stamp a beautiful multi-coloured image.

A Fresh Colour Combination - I kept my colour palette subtle for today's card, with the exception of Blackberry Bliss which acts as a strong accent colour for my focal point. if this is a colour combination that appeals to you, please feel free to save it for future inspiration:

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. 

There is some great inspiration from the team and in the gallery over on the Just Add Ink page so you should definitely click on the link and check them out if this is something you often struggle with. Meanwhile, enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Dear Doily Cling Stamp Set (£22.00)	2017-2019 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (£13.75)	Stampin' Write Markers New Color Assortment (£44.00)	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock (£7.25)	2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (£9.25)

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

Cards for friends are the best kind to make and I had a few different cards made that fitted this theme, but decided to share a special card that I made for one of my best friends who is celebrating a milestone birthday next month. This card is also perfect for the #SUOC222 celebratory theme over at SUO Challenges this week. My card is is bright, sparkly and features one of her favourite things - butterflies. First of all, here's the outside:

A selection of butterflies, loosely watercoloured in Melon Mambo and Lovely Lipstick and painted with Wink of Stella, along with the bokeh stamp from the Beauty Abounds stamp set, were flicked with ink and white shimmer paint, along with a liberal sprinkle of white metallic sequins form the basis for the background to my extra-large cardfront (it measure 15cm x 21cm) which provide a colourful background for my focal sentiment, which I accented with some layered diecut butterflies cut using pieces of the main large die in the Butterfly Beauty Thinlits set.

The Beauty Abounds stampset has such great sentiments for friendship cards; this one is completed on the inside of my card along with a fun pop-up surprise:

My simple pop-up includes the whole of the large butterfly thinlit, layered in black over Lovely Lipstick foil (ssaved from Sale-A-Bration). Difficult to photograph well, but it's really impressive in real life and I know my friend will love it! I added the second part of the sentiment; ours is indeed a friendship over many years, that started with the birth of our first babies but has grown in to something much more - it is not that one thing but a million little things that keep it going as the years go by.  I included some sparkly numbers (there comes a time when a milestone birthday is worth celebrating but does not necessarily need to be seen on the front of the card in my view!) along with a little more decoration and a birthday sentiment from the 'Beautiful Day' set that the watercoloured butterfly on the front also came from. 

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; we had a busy day yesterday with sport and a quick shopping trip for new school shoes for the youngest of the James Juniors who seems to be having a major growth spurt this year, (no blog post as I got too engrossed in a movie about Ted Bundy that I was watching last night and struggled to multi-process) so are looking forward to a slightly quieter one today, which will culminate with the final episode of the current season of 'Line of Duty' on TV tonight; any of my UK readers also looking forward to this 'who dunnit?' finale? We are also lucky to have a public holiday here in the UK this weekend, so will be making the most of the extra day tomorrow even though the weather is no great shakes - it's cold and showery and we even had hail yesterday! I'll be back then with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Beauty Abounds Cling Bundle (£51.25)	Beautiful Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set (£20.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Melon Mambo A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Basic Black A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Metallics Sequin Assortment (£4.75)
Silver Metallic Thread (£3.25)	Watercolor Paper (£4.75)	Aqua Painters (£16.00)

Today I'm sharing a card for the current baby theme challenge over at Inspire.Create:

 There are a couple of cute baby sets in the Spring-Summer catalogue and both are set to retire at the end of the month. I used my favourite, Perfectly Paired, to create a colourful and fun baby card - take a look:

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

I've created a whole host of cards with the Perfectly Paired stamp set (check out this post here if you missed it) but they have all involved using the stamp in a single colour. This is such a fabulous stamp set to colour though and I spent a pleasant couple of hours with my Blends markers creating this card. I haven't listed them all out in the table below as I pretty much used all of them in one way or another! I stamped the image twice and coloured a few of the animals and fussy cut them and popped them up on dimensionals to create a fun decoupage detail. you can see that in this close up here:

I added a border using my favourite gingham paper and a stitched diecut edge using the Be Mine Stitched Framelits to finish my 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:

Perfectly Paired Cling Stamp Set (£18.00)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)	Be Mine Stitched Framelits Dies (£33.00)	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's colour challenge over at As you See It:

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 it was another one that I couldn't resist! Heather's inspiration photo is very 'copacabana' (yes, I have been signing the song ever since I read the challenge post!)  and I decided to try an idea that I saw on one of the samples in the Spring-Summer catalogue that I've never tried before - take a look:

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

I like large single-image stamps as they can be great for clean and simple and more layered cards and both of the main stamps in the 'Birthday Statements' stamp set lend themselves to this. I don't usually stamp them in a bright colour though unless I'm leaving them uncoloured, so the sample on page 19 of the catalogue intrigued me. I stamped my image in Lovely Lipstick, then coloured it with a combination of light and dark Blends markers in Pineapple Punch, Pink Pirouette (retired but the closest I could get to Powder Pink) and light Lovely Lipstick. I decided to carry on the bright theme and mount my coloured panel on a Lovely Lipstick card base with a strip of Pineapple Punch in-colour DSP and finished the whole thing off with some Lovely Lipstick ribbon and a bow. 

I think I like this colour variation; it makes for one bright card, but I have plenty of soon-to-be-teenager classmates of Ben's that I know will 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 '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)	Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Lovely Lipstick A4 Cardstock (£8.00)	Lovely Lipstick 1/8" (3.2 Mm) Grosgrain Ribbon (£5.50)	In Color 2018–2020 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)
Lovely Lipstick Light Stampin' Blends Marker (£4.25)	Pineapple Punch Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)