I'm having a busy day today; productive though, so I'm not complaining! Today's post is a quick one - I'm sharing my card for Less is More this week where the colour challenge is to use black, metallic and one other colour on your card. Now I must confess, this card was embarrasingly quick to put together, but I am also rather pleased with the finished result - here it is:

I decided to use Basic Black for my card base, then layered with a red glimmer heart cut out with my Big Shot and Heart Framelits and topped with a black moustache onto which I stamped the corresponding stamp from the 'Well Worded' stamp set in Versamark and heat embossed in gold, before cutting out with my moustache framelit. To finish, I stamped my hashtag sentiment from the '#hello' stamp set and heat embossed in gold onto the base of my card. Simple right? It really is as easy as that! Don't get me wrong, I experimented with lots of different versions of this card before I decided on this one as my preferred version to share, but end to end you could produce this card in minutes - and who doesn't love a moustache?! I think this makes a great guy card, despite the glimmer.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Well Worded Clear-Mount Stamp Set	(Hashtag) Hello Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder
Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Mustache Framelits Die	Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Red Glimmer Paper
Basic Black A4 Card Stock

Good morning everyone! Today I have my card for this week's challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary which uses a fun colour combo:

I was immediately drawn to the new 'Stacked with Love' DSP stack for my card, as the challenge colours are three of those that feature in the pack. As I was musing how to tie the colours in with the black elements and what stamps I should use, I saw this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday and knew immediately what direction I was going to go in. Here is my card:

I am always a little wary of mixing DSPs on a card; I am a secret hoarder of DSP yet tend to use it quite sparingly on cards and must confess that I wasn't sure that I was ever going to use the big ampersand piece of DSP on a card, yet the minute I saw this sketch I knew it would be perfect to tie the other DSP to my sentiment. I stamped the sentiment from the 'Yippee Skippee' stamp set in Versamark and heat embossed it in black so that it has a nice shine, (although it is difficult to see that from the photograph), having first stamped two hearts in the challenge colours, one overlaid on top of the other. The heart is from the Perfect Pennants set; today's card is a great example of how you can find sentiments and images in 'generic' sets that will enable you to make a themed card such as this one for an anniversary or Valentine's Day, without needing a theme-specific stamp set. I finished my card with some of the now retired satin ribbon from the seasonal catalogue as I liked the shine, but some 1/4" red cotton ribbon would work just as well.

That's my card for today; I'm off to stamp some more samples using my lovely Sale-A-Bration goodies ready for an informal Open House gathering that I'm hosting for my customers on Friday. If you love in or around Northampton and would like to attend, please get in touch for more details.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack	Yippee-Skippee!	Perfect Pennants	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Black Stampin' Emboss Powder	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Card Stock
Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon

It's Wednesday so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.

As always, 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 Hostess Code for January (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right) 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:

2013-2015 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack	Blushing Bride 12" X 12" Cardstock	Book Of Birthdays Swatchbook Template - Digital Download	Envelope Punch Board
Gold Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Pear Pizzazz 12" X 12" Cardstock	Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper

There are some great offers on cardstock and designer series paper this week, but why do I think these Wednesday Weekly Deals are the best ever? Well, because my beloved Envelope Punch Board is on offer - I think it's a steal at its full price of £17.95, but at this week's offer price of £13.46 there really is no excuse for everyone not to own one!!

This really is such a versatile piece of kit and when you combine it with my Envelope Expert and Box Buster tools, the sky really is the limit! Nothing more to say other than get yours today!!

Back shortly with today's creative post - happy shopping!

Given that today is all about the start of Sale-A-Bration and the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue, today's card had to celebrate that! You can read the full scoop on my previous post here, but right now I'm sharing a card made with 2 of the 3 co-ordinating products that can be yours free with each £45 purchase and a new punch from the Spring-Summer catalogue that is sure to be a hit! I used the sketch layout over at As You See It for my card today:

Here is my rather 3-dimensional card today - check out those bows:

A simple card base of Sahara Sand, stamped with the 'Best Day Ever' stamp from the stamp set of the same name (the hearts are also from the same set) and decorated with some ribbons from the 'Best Year Ever' accessories pack. Instead of tying bows with this lovely silky ribbon, I decided to finish this otherwise simple card with some overstated punched bows, made using the new Bow Builder punch - how cute are they?! These are just perfect for decorating little treat boxes and gifts and are made in a jiffy - check out this video from Stampin' Up! that shows you just how easy they are to make:

How clever and easy is that?! I can see us all getting through a whole bunch of glue dots with these - don't forget to add those to your order!!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Best Day Ever Photopolymer Stamp Set	Best Year Ever Accessory Pack	Bow Builder Punch	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock
Mini Glue Dots

Shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live andfrom now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. You can click on the icon above or the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or go directly to my online shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, party or join:

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 6 January and 31 March. This includes the Blendabilities assortments in the annual catalogue -woohoo!

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £50 of hostess credits - more freebies!

Sale-A-Bration is a great time to join Stampin' Up! In addition to your £99 starter kit and additional £31 of free product, you can choose one of the following options: either one of the great new project kits from the Spring-Summer catalogue or 2 of the Sale-A-Bration promotional items. Plenty of choice and flexilibity, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your 20% discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you.

If you would like to host a party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up fast and I would love to share these great benefits with you. If you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue - full of gorgeous new products, including the bunch of flowers on the front cover, which is one of the new kits:

How gorgeous is that?! Just click on the image above on in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

Thanks so much for popping by today - it's always nice to share good news! Check out today's creative post to see a card made with some of the gorgeous new Sale-A-Bration products - click here for more details!

I'm back today with a card for this week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts, where they have this striking colour combination to play with this week:

My card today features another 'sneak peek' (only one more day to go!) - this time of a fabulous new stamp set from the new Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue called 'Painted Petals'. It's a lovely two-step stamp set that has some fabulous sentiments and was perfect for the card I had in mind today:

I used a base of Wisteria Wonder matted with Night of Navy and added a piece of silver striped vellum to this base. I stamped the flowers in Wisteria Wonder and Night of Navy on Whisper White, then stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat-embossed in silver. I matted this stamped piece in Night of Navy and Wisteria Wonder then adhered this to my base. I added three navy candy dots to the bottom of the vellum panel to add balance to my image. I just love this stamp set and know it's one that is going to get lots more use this season.

That's all from me today - I hope you've all placed your final orders from the current Autumn-Winter catalogue and year-end closeouts, because we are all-change from tomorrow: Sale-A-Bration will be here and Spring-Summer is most definitely on its way!

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Silver Fancy Foil Designer Vellum	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad
Wisteria Wonder A4 Card Stock	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Versamark Pad	Embossing Buddy
Regals Candy Dots

Welcome to my Sunday posting for The Paper Players where today Anne-Marie has a fun challenge to kick start us into the new year:

I also used Narelle's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for the layout of today's card. So "Everything Old is New Again" - use a recycled or re-purposed item on your project. So many possibilities! Here is my card for this week's challenge - can you see what my re-purposed item is?

I used the lovely bird stamp from one of the exclusive 2015 Sale-A-Bration stamp sets called 'A Happy Thing' which is perfect for colouring with Stampin' Up! Blendabilities. I'm not sure what bird this is supposed to be, but to me it looks like a kingfisher, hence my colouring with Pumpkin Pie and Bermuda Bay (yes, I know - a new colour coming in the Spring-Summer catalogue) Blendabilities. I cut my coloured image out with one of my circle framelits and mounted it on a window frame in Island Indigo. Did you identify my re-purposed item yet? It's my 'designer series paper' - the patterned paper is actually the inside cover of the Sale-A-Bration promotional wrapper that is attached to the outside of the new 2015 Stampin' Up! Spring-Summer catalogue! Take a look at the photo below and you'll see what I mean:

The moment I saw this paper I thought it would make a useful 'DSP' and it was perfect for the large expanse of background for today's card as the subtle pattern wouldn't detract from my stamped image and the blue-green colourway was perfect to suggest a watery scene for my bird. So not only does the new Spring-Summer catalogue have a ton of great new products for you, it comes with some free 'DSP' too! I have started distributing catalogues to my customers in readiness for this week's launch; if you are reading this and you don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like to be added to my customer mailing list, then please do get in touch.

I'm off to start de-Christmas-ing the house; before you go off in search of items that you can recycle on your projects this week, do visit the other design team members to see what interesting ideas they've had this week:

I look forward to seeing your projects featuring recycled and repurposed items in the gallery this week. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

* 'A Happy Thing' stamp set - available 6th January - 31st March during Sale-A-Bration. Bermuda Bay Blendabilties - available 6th January.

Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Window Frames Collection Framelits Dies	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Pumpkin Pie Assortment
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Alcohol Marker Color Lifter	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock
Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment

I finally feel like I'm nearing the end of our Christmas celebrations today: we have enjoyed our annual visit to the pantomime with friends (and Granny!) and as much as I love the holiday season, I'm looking forward to taking our decorations down, which is I think a job for tomorrow. Today I'm sharing a card I made for Julee's sketch this week over at Mojo Monday:

It is 'tall and skinny' week so I made my card to the dimensions 3.5" x 5.5" and since I'm having a complete run on 'Best Year Ever' Sale-A-Bration designer series paper, I just had to use it again on my card today:

I used the large polka dot embossing folder on my card base, then having first paper-pierced the edges of my strip of Crushed Curry, created a belly band to wrap around the front of my card to which I attached my focal point - the hello stamp from the '#hello' stamp set, stamped in Calypso Coral on Whisper White and mounted on two offset scalloped circles.

To finish, I even made a bespoke envelope to match my tall and skinny card, also using the Best Year Ever paper - so easy with the help of my Envelope Expert Tool, this makes any bespoke envelope size a breeze.

Back tomorrow with my first card of the year for The Paper Players, this time as a permanent member of the design team too - woohoo! We have a great challenge for you to start the year, so do come back and find out all about it tomorrow. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

*Best Year Ever Designer Series Paper - available 6th January - 31st March 2015 Sale-A-Bration.

Whisper White A4 Card Stock	(Hashtag) Hello Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	2" Circle Punch	2-3/8 Inch Scallop Circle Punch
Paper-Piercing Tool	Stampin' Pierce Mat	Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack	Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Project Life Corner Punch	Envelope Punch Board

I've had a fun day today, amongst other things transforming my kitchen table into a table tennis court and hosting a craft party for an enthusiastic group of ten year olds this afternoon. But enough about my day; I managed to make a quick card yesterday for the current challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

This is such a simple sketch layout with so many possibilities and it was perfect for a simple 'I love you' card featuring one of the stamps from Pictogram Punches:

I used a Whisper White card base and created my bottom panel from a piece of Real Red cardstock edged with the Hearts border punch and overlaid this with a piece of Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock that I first dry embossed with the new Happy Heart Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, coming shortly in a few days time with the new Spring-Summer catalogue (I fussy cut the edge following the line of the hearts). I stamped my sentiment in Crisp Cantaloupe above the layered section, then using Real Red ink I overlaid a new 'love' stamp onto the heart - this stamp is from an exclusive Sale-A-Bration set called 'You Brighten My Day', available free with every order of £45 or more between January 6th - March 31st. It fits perfectly and makes the heart 'pop' a little. To finish, I added a thick baker's twine bow. 

I hope you like today's card. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

* Happy Heart TIEF and You Brighten My Day Stamp set available 6th January.

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Hearts Border Punch	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad
Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine	Pictogram Punches Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Happy New Year everyone! Today I'm sharing a Valentine's cad with you - there is method in my madness, as it's only January 1st: this card uses the 'love' stamp from the 'Seasonally Scattered' set in the current seasonal catalogue, which is only available for another 5 days. I've used the other two stamps in the set countless times, so am getting in an early Valentine's with this one:

I decided to make a fun shaker card, inspired by this festive version of Justin Krieger's from a couple of weeks ago, using a couple of new product 'sneak peeks' too: the background paper I used is from the new 'Stacked with Love' DSP stack and along with some silver and in-colour sequins, I punched some red hearts using the new Confetti Heart border punch to make the confetti for my shaker. Isn't it fun? 

Right, I'm off to finish my glass of champagne and watch the end of that all time classic love story - Titanic. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

*Confetti Hearts Border Punch and Stacked with Love DSP stack available 6th January.

Seasonally Scattered Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Medium Window Sheets	Whisper White A4 Card Stock