I held the second of my monthly technique classes today so I thought I would share with you one of our class cards. We have been using the 'Reason For The Season' stamp set this month and this is the first of our cards, our 'warm up' card:

I created a lovely 'tone on tone' background, by stamping the petal flower image in Real Red onto Real Red cardstock. We then created a white panel to go across the front, where we stamped the complete flower in Real Red and Garden Green, including the outline. 'Reason For The Season' is a two-step stamp set, where you stamp the outline then infill the coloured areas with separate stamps for the petals, leaves and centres. This sounds much more difficult than it actually is, when the stamps are photopolymer like this one; because the stamps are transparent it makes aligning the images a breeze, with no stamp-a-ma-jig required. 

The outline and sentiment were stamped in the new Basic Black archival ink, which gives a lovely crisp image. To finish, I added a row of gold sequins either side of the panel and some decoration to the inside of the card. This is a great stamp set with so many creative possibilities. Best of all, it has a co-ordinating punch and is one of the many fantastic bundle offers in the seasonal catalogue - buy both items and save 15%, can't get better than that!

If you live in or around Northampton and would like to attend one of my classes, please do check out my class schedule or contact me for more details. They are a great way to learn new crafting techniques and enjoy a pleasant few hours creating with like-minded individuals.

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday Weekly Deals and another creative project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Reason For The Season Photopolymer Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Gold Sequin Trim	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Cardstock

Happy Monday everyone! Today is an especially happy one for me as it's my birthday - yay! There has been lots going on today: the James Juniors are back at school today, I had the first of this month's technique stamp classes and there were lots of presents, flowers and birthday cake! Anyway, onto today's card! We are using 'Reason For the Season' stamp set in my technique classes this month and whilst I was making up some samples last week, I decided to use the set to make a card using last week's Mojo Monday sketch, although I didn't get a chance to link up. Here's my card:

I used a piece of the 'Season of Cheer' poinsettia patterned paper for my background, picking out the Mossy Meadow for my mat and Soft Sky for my card base. I stamped three flowers in Cherry Cobbler and Hello Honey on Whisper White and fussy cut them out, mounting each on a double-mounted circle and linking them together with a piece of retired Mossy Meadow satin ribbon. I stamped the sentiment in Mossy Meadow and mounted this on a panel in the centre of my card.

I wasn't sure about the busy background paper, but this is one of those cards that has really grown on me the more I look at it and I actually quite like. The 'tall and skinny' 6"x4" layout also means that it is a little different from the norm.

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with another festive project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Season Of Cheer Designer Series Paper	Reason For The Season Photopolymer Stamp Set	1-3/4" Circle Punch	2" Circle Punch	Soft Sky A4 Cardstock
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock

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 the incredibly talented Sandy and she has a great theme challenge for you:

This is rather timely for me, as both of my Juniors are returning to school to begin a new academic year tomorrow following the long summer break, so it was a great opportunity for me to make a couple of cards to tuck into their schoolbags to wish them a good day. Here's my first card, using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout:

I made this card for Rebecca - very pink and girly, but hopefully sufficiently grown up for a 10 year old about to embark on her last year of Junior School. This is a big year for her as she will be Head Girl too and whilst she was voted into this role by her peers and I know she will do a great job, she sometimes lacks confidence in herself so a card to remind her that she's amazing (to me at least!) will be just what she needs for day one.

I used a Whisper White notecard and covered the front with a piece of English Garden DSP, then stamped a little panel of flowers with some Old Olive ink and the Cottage Greetings stamp set and coloured them with my Stampin' Write markers. I stamped my sentiment banner in Mossy Meadow onto Pink Pirouette and finished with a baker's twine bow and punched Bitty Butterfly and a few pearls. I also stamped the inside (and remembered to take a photograph of it!):

I couldn't possibly make Rebecca a card without making one for Ben too, so here's my second card which uses the colours over at the Friday Mashup and the sketch over at As You See It:

For this card I used a Crumb Cake notecard base, and stamped the dino footprints from'No Bones About It' in Early Espresso, before adding my sentiment tag complete with an Into The Woods wooden leaf embellishment and a fussy cut Marina Mist triceratops, complete with googly eye. Wondering where the dinosaur's tail went? Well, it continues over the page - look:

Isn't that fun?! The sentiment is from the same set, although I selectively masked it to say 'day' instead of 'birthday' which is more appropriate for my card. The 'No Bones About It' set is just great for boys cards, with so many design possibilities. I love the idea of little surprise notes in the children's school bags and it's definitely something I don't do enough of, so this year I will defintitely be making more of an effort.

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 for Sandy's theme challenge in the gallery this week.  

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Card One: 

Cottage Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	English Garden Designer Series Paper	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes	Bitty Butterfly Punch	Hexagon Punch
Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive A4 Cardstock	Blushing Bride A4 Cardstock	Rose Red A4 Cardstock	Old Olive Baker's Twine
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Many Marvelous Markers	Pearl Basic Jewels

Card two: 

Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Crumb Cake Note Cards & Envelopes	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi A4 Cardstock	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Early Espresso 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	No Bones About It Photopolymer Stamp Set	Note Tag Punch	Into The Woods Elements

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:

I'm linking up with the talented peeps over at Stamps Ink Paper (I'm hoping they are going to allow Vanilla as my white!) and I decided to go with a Halloween theme today and as today's blog title suggests, if your arachnophobic you should look away now - there are lots of spiders! Here's my card:

This card is a total showcase of this fabby spiderweb patterned paper from the Happy Haunting designer series paper pack - like I said, not one for those that are not a fan of the creepy crawlies, but at least they are on paper and not in the bathtub!

I stamped s bunch of extra spiders from the Cheer All Year set and fussy cut them, before adhering beneath my sentiment banner. I like how they are mostly obscured, but look like they are crawling out from underneath! They took a while to cut out, but so worth it as they are quite realistic-looking I think. To add just a splash of colour to my rather monochromatic card, I stamped my sentiment in Rich Razzleberry onto a banner, having flagged the end with my hexagon punch. I added a fussy-cut bat also from the Cheer All Year set which I allowed to overhang my card and finished him with one of the lovely new Iced Rhinestone embellishments, the centre of which I coloured with a purple Sharpie to add another spot of colour.

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; my Juniors are at Granny's house today, so you can be sure my day will be a jam-packed one, full of chores and errands. You know what they say - no rest for the wicked! Back tomorrow with another 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! These offers are valid for one week only. 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 September HJQSKSW6 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:

Boys Will Be Boys Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Brights Candy Dots	Build A Banner Kit
Circle Card Thinlits Dies	Fun Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders	Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Whisper White 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon

I'm stocking up on rhinestones and candy dots this week - perfect for accents and a touch of sparkle on Christmas projects. Lots of other great offers too!

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Happy 1st September everyone! Yes, this day has finally arrived! The new Autumn-Winter Seasonal Catalogue is here - you can download an electronic copy by clicking on the image below:

There will of course be a permanent link to the catalogue in the box on the right side of my blog page until 4th January when it ends. I've already shared lots of sneak peeks and there is so much more to come! For today, put your feet up and browse the new catalogue in all its glory. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or queries - I am working my way through my outstanding emails and catching up now that I am back and fully connected! Oh and don't forget to check out my new Seasonal Product Shares - full details here.

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday Weekly Deals and more creative inspiration for you. Until then, happy browsing and get writing that wish list!

New Season Paper and Accessory Shares are here!

The new Stampin' Up! Seasonal Autumn/Winter Catalogue goes live tomorrow so it's time to announce my new Product Shares!

You know that feeling - you want it all, but your budget just doesn't stretch that far? Well shares are the perfect answer! You get a little bit of everything, without having to purchase a full pack. A share can also act as a 'try before you buy' - you get to see papers, ribbons, buttons and accessories 'up close and personal' before deciding which ones you like the most and would like to purchase as a full pack.

Shares work really easily: you decide which shares and how many you would like to take part in. You place your order by clicking on the button below, which takes you to my Paypal page to enable payment. Once the closing date for the first round of shares is reached, I collate the orders, place an order with Stampin' Up! for the product, then once I receive it, I package the papers and embellishments and send them out to you. Simple!

I have been running paper, ribbon and accessory shares with my local customers for a while and starting with the new seasonal Autumn-Winter Holiday catalogue I am going to be offering them to all my online customers too. Your paper, ribbon and embellishments will come beautifully packaged like this:

Here are my swatchbooks with a glimpse of all of the patterns included in the various shares:

So much to choose from! Here are the details of the various shares on offer:

New Christmas Designer Series Paper Share - all sheets measure 6" x 6" - £12 plus £3.90 P&P:

• Home for Christmas – 6 (one of each double-sided design)
• Winter Wonderland Specialty – 12 (two of each of 5 double-sided designs and one each of 2 single-sided designs)
• Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum Stack – 12
• Red Foil Sheets – 1
• Silver Foil Sheets - 1
• Gold Foil Sheets - 1
• Real Red Envelope Paper – 4
• Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Stack – 8 (4 of each design)
• Season of Cheer – 6
• Holiday Fancy Foil Designer Vellum – 6 (2 of each design)

In all you'll receive 57 6"x6" sheets of festive Designer Series Paper!

New Christmas Ribbon and Embellishment Share – £13 plus £3.90 P&P:

You will receive:

• Real Red Pompom Trim – approximately 50cm
• Home for Christmas Enamel Dots – 18 Dots (3 of each color and size)
• Very Vanilla 1-1/4” Subtle Stripes Satin Ribbon – approximately 1 metre
• Home for Christmas Designer Buttons – 6 (2 of each design)
• Snowflake Elements – 6 (2 of each design)
• Winter Wonderland Embellishments – 4
• Cording Trim - approximately 5.5m each of gold and silver
• Iced Rhinestone Embellishments – 6 (3 of each size)
• Reindeer Paper Clips – 3
• Gold & White 3/8” Glitter Ribbon – approximately 1.1m of each color
• 1/8” Striped Ribbon – approximately 1 metre of each color

With the Christmas Ribbon and Embellishment share you will receive approximately 16.7 metres of ribbon/trim and 43 new embellishments - everything you need to decorate your Christmas cards, tags and packaging!

Autumn Share - £3.60 plus £3.15 P&P:

• Into the Woods Designer Series Paper – 6
• Into the Woods 3/8” Cotton Ribbon – approximately 1 metre
• Into the Woods Elements – 6 (2 of each design)

Halloween Share - £3.40 plus £3.15 P&P:

• Happy Haunting Designer Series Paper – 6
• Black Glimmer Paper – 2
• Spider Web Doilies - 6

There are a number of bundles for further savings:

£22.50 Double Christmas Bundle for both the Christmas Designer Series Paper and Christmas Ribbon and Embellishment share - plus £3.90 postage and packaging

£6.50 Double Season Bundle for both Autumn and Halloween shares - plus £3.90 postage and packaging

Want It All? £32 - and you'll get shares of all the new Designer Series Papers, Designer Series Paper Stacks, ribbons and embellishments, and that includes postage & packaging! 

If you would like double or more shares of any particular thing, then that's fine too. I will cut your paper shares into 6" x 12" sheets where possible to give you more crafting flexibility (for the DSP stacks you will simply get double the number of sheets since they are already pre-cut to 6" x 6").

All postage & packaging quoted is for UK only - if you would like a cost for shipping to Europe, then please email me for a separate quotation.

The deadline to sign up to the first round of shares is Monday 14th September at 8pm GMT. 

If you live local to me and would like to save on postage and packaging costs, please email me with your requirements and I will happily place your order, to be collected on delivery. If you have any questions, just email me at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk or give me a call!

I'm a day late with my post for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! My lack of internet access in Norfolk completely got the better of me yesterday and I didn't get my post loaded, but hey I'm here now!

This week it is the turn of the fabulous Nance, so creative and the heroine of The Paper Players team, to host and she has a fun tic-tact-toe challenge to get our creative juices flowing:

I actually have something fun to share with you today and even a slight confession - today's card was designed by me but made by ... my 10 year old daughter! At my last technique card class we were making some fun fold cards featuring the Sprinkles Of Life RMHC set. Since it is school holidays, Rebecca was keen to join in and whilst everyone else's shadow box cards, including mine, were in a blue colourway, Rebecca was determined to make her's stand out from the crowd. Here it is:

The basic construction of a shadow box card is quite simple: two pieces of cardstock, mine measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", scored at 1/2" and 1" from each side to create the box shape. The front of the card is a piece of Watermelon Wonder patterned paper from the Cherry on Top DSP stack, with a 2 1/2" hole punched out of the front. The cupcake case was stamped in Crushed Curry then the cake top stamped and punched out of Watermelon Wonder with the co-ordinating Tree Builder punch. The sprinkles were stamped in Cucumber Crush and the candle stamped, fussy cut and added to the cake, and the sentiment strip flagged with the Triple Banner Punch. When I was busy working on my card for this week, Rebecca reviewed the grid and suddenly said "I have an idea!" Off she ran to get her class card, added a row of gold sequins and said "There - now my card is finished, I knew it needed something!" So true for the child who loves anything that sparkles! Since her card was fulfilling the top line of the tic-tact-toe grid, I couldn't resist the pleading eyes (she is always asking me to put her creations on my blog!) and this time I agreed!

Just in case you were curious as to what my card looked like, here it is (not a patch on Miss Rebecca's though, I'm sure you'll agree!):

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 combinations you come up with on your cards in the gallery this week. I am home again and fully wifi'd again, so look forward to visiting your blogs and catch up on some serious creating this week!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cherry On Top Designer Series Paper Stack	Sprinkles Of Life Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tree Builder Punch	2-1/2" Circle Punch	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad
Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Cucumber Crush Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry A4 Cardstock
Gold Sequin Trim	Banner Triple Punch

Good morning everyone - yay, it's the weekend! Today I'm sharing one of the cards from my last technique class using the Sprinkles of Life stamp set:

This is an example of a Flap Fold Card - Julie Davidson has a great tutorial which you can find on Splitcoast Stampers here. The 'how to' on this card is fairly straightforward to see from the pictures, but if you have any questions then leave me a comment below and I will happily provide more detail. This was our easy 'warm up' card for a class that also featured a couple of other fun folds, along with the great 'Sprinkles Of Life' set - this year's Stampin' Up! stamp set that fundraises for the Ronald McDonald House Charities charity. Here's a photo of the inside so that you can see how the fold works: 

My next technique classes are on the 7th and 8th of September and will feature the new 'Reason For The Season' stamp set and co-ordinating Festive Flower Builder Punch. The class will cost £26 per person and this will include your own stamp set to take home. Alternatively, you can also purchase the co-ordinating punch at the time of class booking and pay £30 - this will mean your class will cost a mere 25 pence. if that's not great value, I don't know what is! All class reservations need to be made by tomorrow Sunday 31st August, so if you haven't already reserved a place and would like to join me, contact me by email at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk to reserve your place. 

I'm off on a boat trip today into the Wash along the north Norfolk coast in the hope we can spot some native seals; wish me luck!

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

A quick card from me today showcasing some of the lovely papers in the Into The Woods DSP collection from the new catalogue and a rather new style of card for me: the ladies over at SUO Challenges are looking for 'cards without a sentiment' this week so I decided to have a go at creating a collage-style card. I love these, although my style is rather more 'clean and layered' so for me they are something of a challenge. Anyway, here goes - my card for today: 

I was inspired by the lovely sunflowers my CCMC colleague Connie Babbert has been creating recently - you can see one of them in the SUO Challenge DT cards for this very challenge, although I chose to create mine with the Flower Medallion punch rather than the new Poinsetta punch (still waiting for that one to arrive!) I took a selection of Into the Woods papers, using my Project Life framelits to cut a rectangle and then punched a trio of flowers in my brown and yellow colour scheme and then adhered a mix of ribbons and some fine gold twine before adhering them to my card. I layered my flower and added further texture with some candy dots to represent my sunflower seeds.

I'm not sure this is the best example of a collage card, but I do love the bright colours and textures/layers and because the card is sentiment-free, I can use this card for any number of purposes. I think it would make a nice 'get well soon' card - the yellow is so cheery. 

That's all from me today; I am having a lovely week at the seaside, but can honestly say that a week without a phone signal or internet connection is proving difficult for me! Back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!