Apologies for my late post today lovely blog readers - I have had a very busy 'making' day trying desperately to get ahead of myself for once, but as a result I'm late posting; I guess I just cant do it all!! So I'll keep today's post short and sweet - literally! - and share today's card that I made for this week's challenge over at Less Is More where there is a song theme again, using this week's colour scheme over at Pal Paper Arts:

The song theme over at Less is More is 'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'. I almost didn't make a card this week (I wasn't sure you wanted to see another Sea Street crab or lobster card!) when I was musing about what the seaside means to me and I found myself thinking about ice cream; I mean, a cornet is an intrinsic part of any trip to the seaside, right? When I was at the seaside in Minehead a couple of weeks ago, I had the most delicious forest fruits ice cream in an Italian waffle cone, so with this in mind I thought I would use the above colours to create my ice cream. So, here is my card:

I had some Stampin' Up! notelets out on my desk for another project and decided to use one as the base for my card, as they are more sturdy than Whisper White so perfect for a CAS card like this. I simply added a strip of Hello honey striped DSP from the Moonlight DSP paper stack and made a punch art ice cream cone, first scoring a piece of Crumb Cake with my Simply Scored Scoring Tool and cutting out by hand. For the ice cream itself, I stamped the cream swirl from the Cupcake party stamp set in Versamark, once on Hello Honey and once on Blackberry Bliss, then heat embossed with white embossing powder and punched out with my Cupcake Builder Punch. I also punched out a little Blackberry Bliss cherry using the punch, and covered it in crystal effects to add shine and dimension - this looks so cool in real life! I finished my card with the 'Sweet!' sentiment from the 'Bravo' stamp set, which somehow seemed appropriate for something so delicious!

Hope you like today's card; back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cupcake Party Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Cupcake Punch	Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack	Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock	Hello Honey A4 Cardstock

Wednesday already? This week is zipping by! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have a monochromatic colour palette to work with:

Daffodil Delight yellow - a favourite of mine! - and white. I used this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for my layout and this is what I came up with:

A simple card where the feature is this lovely piece of Daffodil Yellow DSP from the All Abloom DSP paper stack (the little white spots remind me of bubbles!). I overlaid this with my angled panel of Whisper White, having used my Big Shot and Baby's First framelits to cut out the duck shape to allow the DSP to peek through. I finished the duck with a simple white baker's twine bow before adding my Bitty Banner 'Sweet Baby' sentiment on dimensionals for added height.

A great 'welcome baby' card that is the perfect store cupboard standby as it would be suitable for a boy or a girl - I'm also linking up with SUO Challenges as it fits nicely with their 'clean and simple' theme. Why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock
Baby's First Framelits Die	White Baker's Twine	Bitty Banners Framelits Die	Itty Bitty Banners Clear-Mount Stamp Set

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 September (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right). 

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:

Back To School Ensemble - Digital Download	Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Pool Party Classic Stampin Ink Refill	Simply Pressed Clay
Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink Refill

Today's MDS digital download is perfect for capturing back to school memories and there are plenty of opportunities to get inky with lots of reinkers on offer, along with Stampin' Up!'s  Simply Pressed Clay. This can be used to make buttons or flowers using Stampin' Up! moulds or be shaped to create ornaments or tags like this one I created here earlier this year or alternatively this festive decoration using the new Cheerful Christmas set featured on page 14 of the new seasonal catalogue - I think Stampin' Up! took their inspiration from my original project :-):

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

Another busy day today - getting ready for the return to school tomorrow of my beloved James Juniors, including an early visit to meet Ben's new teacher, as it has changed over the vacation to the one he was expecting prior to the end of last term. I love having them at home during holiday time and we have had lots of fun, but I think we will all benefit from a little more routine in our lives (although this time next week I might disagree!)

So today a quick share of another card I made with the 'Partridge & Pears' stamp, this time in reds and browns and stamping onto Sahara Sand as my base, rather than Whisper White. It give a totally different look and feel - take a look and see what you think:

I used Early Espresso as my card base, with a layer of the lovely Cherry Cobbler plaid patterned paper from the Trim The Tree DSP paper stack, the stamped my main image in Early Espresso on Sahara Sand. I coloured the image with my standard Stampin' Write markers and only used my Blendabilities on the pears (Old Olive) and the partridge's breast (skin tones). You have to be really careful when using Blendabilties on coloured cardstock, as they bleed into the paper much more quickly than with Whisper White. I added some colour to the leaves with my chalk marker. I finished my card with a sentiment from the 'Watercolor Winter Too' set stamped in Cherry Cobbler on Sahara Sand and cut it out with my Big Shot and Project Life framelits, then matted it onto a piece of Early Espresso which I just snipped the corners away from with a circle punch to echo the shape of the framelit.

I really like the more muted colours of this card - it's just a little bit different. Back tomorrow with my Design team post for the Colour Me...! challenge, so do pop by to see what our theme is this week, along with a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals.

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Partridge & Pears Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Old Olive Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Skin Tone Assortment	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Cards & Labels Project Life Framelits Dies
Watercolor Winter Too Photopolymer Stamp Set	Trim The Tree Designer Series Paper Stack	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad	Early Espresso A4 Card Stock	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock
White Stampin Chalk Marker	Cherry Cobbler Stampin Write Marker	Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad

Happy Monday everyone! Mine has been a fun one; I had the first of my classes this month this afternoon and made Christmas cards for the first time - yay! This month's class featured the new 'Partridge & Pears' set from the seasonal autumn-winter catalogue as we also used it as an opportunity to get more practise using Stampin' Up! Blendabilities alcohol marker pens, following on for last month's class where we used them for the first time.

Today I'm sharing one of the cards I designed for the class, using a gatefold-type closure - here is the card:

The tree is stamped in Momento Black ink on Whisper White and coloured with a combination of Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Pumpkin Pie and Skin Tones Blendabilites then cut out with the Big Shot and Circle Framelits. It is mounted on a Cherry Cobbler circle cut with the next size framelit up and the completed circle is scored and folded and adhered between the base and liner layer. The other front section is covered with a piece of Old Olive that has been embossed with the Mosaic embossing folder. The closure for the fold is made by stamping the pear from the same set onto Whisper White and punching out with the 1" circle punch, which is matted on a piece of Cherry Cobbler cut with the 1 1/4" circle punch, and attaching with to the front of the card with a Stampin' dimensional, so that the main circle can 'hook' underneath it as in the picture above.

When the card is open, it looks like this: 

Lastly, a quick peek at the inside - there's still room for a sentiment over to the left, as it's hidden beneath the main front panel: 

I hope you liked today's card; it's a little different and a fun way to ring the changes with a stamp like this. I'll share one or two more cards from my class later in the week. If you live in Northampton or the surrounding areas and would like to attend any of my classes, do drop me a line - all ages and abilities are welcome.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Partridge & Pears Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Old Olive Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Pumpkin Pie Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment
Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Skin Tone Assortment	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Circles Collection Framelits Dies	1-1/4 Inch Circle Punch	1 Inch Circle Punch	Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Old Olive A4 Card Stock
Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock

No blog post yesterday I'm afraid, as I was busy with family activities and just couldn't find the time. Today though it's Sunday and time for my Design Team card for The Paper Players, where this week Nance has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for us:

I had such fun trying to decide which boxes of the grid to use - in the end I went for the diagonal of 'patterned paper, embossing, buttons' and made my first Christmas card using the 'Cheerful Christmas' stamp set - I took the inspiration for my layout from this week's sketch over at Fab Friday: 

This stamp set appealed to me the moment I saw it - I love the Scandanavian-inspired patterns that look so great in traditional Christmas reds and greens, along with white and kraft. For this card, I matted my Real Red base with Garden Green, then adhered a piece of Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper to the top of the card; this DSP carries on the Nordic theme and lots of the papers in this set co-ordinate with these stamps - I love it! I stamped the main flower stamp in the set in Versamark on Real Red and heat embossed in white, then adhered this to my card using dimensionals. Lastly, I added a flag of Calypso Coral and stamped my sentiment, from the new hostess set 'Good Greetings' in Garden Green, onto a flag of Whisper White and tucked it beneath my flower square. Lastly, I finished by wrapping around some white baker's twine and adhering one of the red and white Nordic Designer Buttons to finish.

I even took the time to decorate the inside of my card and the envelope - I thought I'd make the most of it now, as by the time I get to the last minute rush these little acts of prettiness will be all but out the window! Pop over to the rest of the team to see what they did with this week's challenge - there's a huge variety in there this week and as always some great designs.

In the James household, swimming lessons resume today before the new term starts and then I will be doing the final preparations for my first monthly card class featuring Christmas cards tomorrow - yippee! Hope you enjoy your Sunday, however you are spending it.

Lastly, in case you needed a reminder - today is the last day of the Big Shot offer - see here for details.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cheerful Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper	Nordic Designer Buttons	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Heat Tool - Uk Plug	White Stampin' Emboss Powder	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Garden Green A4 Card Stock
Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad	White Baker's Twine

It's Friday and I've had the most productive day today - and it's not over yet! Today I'm sharing a lovely piece of autumn (or fall, if you're American) home décor, similar to a piece by Sara Douglas that Shelli Gardner shared on her blog recently. It features a lovely new stamp set from the new seasonal catalogue called 'Gratitude For Days', along with some gorgeous Autumn Wooden Elements embellishments that are also a new item. Here is my finished frame:

I used the stamps in the set to create a circular wreath-like pattern, using a cotton bud (cue-tip) to add some sponged colour to the centre of the leaves. I added three wooden leaves and some gold sequins, finishing with the sentiment, which I stamped in Baked Brown Sugar onto Hello Honey cardstock, and finished with a bow tied in gold baker's twine. Here's a close up of the detail:

A great reminder that we have lots to be thankful for and quite simple to create. I'm really pleased with the result - I'm already working on a winter-themed one so that I will have a seasonal pair.

Short and sweet from me today; back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Gratitude For Days Photopolymer Stamp Set	Autumn Wooden Elements	Gold Sequin Trim	Gold Baker's Twine	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Hello Honey A4 Cardstock	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad	Tangelo Twist Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to take advantage of Stampin' Up!'s enhanced joining promotion - if you join Stampin' Up! you will receive an extra £20 worth of products of your choice with the standard £99 starter kit - that's £150 worth of products instead of the usual £130 and all for just £99 cost to you (and free postage!).

Don't forget that in addition, to the benefits you receive on joining Stampin' Up!, if you join my team you will also receive an exclusive welcome pack and demonstrator handbook to help you build your new Stampin' Up! business, along with a free copy of my exclusive Product Table Builder Software worth £35 that is a must for any blogger who wishes to maximise their online sales. Not to mention the FUN! We are a close-knit team that has members far and wide and in addition to our face-to-face get-togethers and training meets, we are also part of a vibrant online community of fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators who are always on hand with advice, encouragement and support.

So whether you just want to be a hobby demonstrator and take advantage of quality Stampin' Up! products at permanently reduced prices, or whether you would like to earn an income doing something you love, please give me a call on 07773 421446 to talk about what joining my team can do for you - I would love to hear from you! You have until 10pm GMT this evening to sign up and benefit from this enhanced joining offer - if you've been 'on the fence' and the opportunity to get your hands on even more free goodies is too good to refuse, then click here to sign up today - I look forward to you joining my team!

Back later with today's creative post!

Well, today is August 28th and that can only mean one thing - the new Stampin' Up! seasonal Autumn-Winter catalogue is LIVE!!

If you're not in possession of a paper copy, you can click on the image above and it will take you straight to the electronic version of the catalogue to browse. If you would like a paper copy and you do not already have a demonstrator, then please drop me an email at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk and I will happily put one in the post to you. This also applies to any of my online 'no contact' customers who are reading this - if you have placed an order at any point and selected the 'no contact' option, I do not have contact details for you and I am unable to either post you a catalogue or email you with details of offers, etc. I can't even send you a thank you card for placing your order, which of course I would love to be able to do as I appreciate your custom!

I know I said it when the new annual catalogue went live, but the same applies to this seasonal catalogue - Stampin' Up! really have pulled out all the stops on this one, with great stamps, papers, kits and accessories for autumn, Halloween and Christmas - believe me, you will want it ALL! I've already given you a few 'sneak peeks' of some of the delights in store and I promise there's much more to come on that front!

Did I say the 28th August meant only one thing? Well, actually I meant two! Along with the new seasonal catalogue, there is also an added incentive to all customers who host a party between 28th August -31st October - all party hostesses with qualifying party sales of £200 or more will earn the exclusive 'Good Greetings' stamp set absolutely FREE; this is in addition to their hostess credits, that they can spend on any items they choose! The Good Greetings stamp set contains 19 stamps and really is a most versatile sentiment set, with everything from seasonal greetings to everyday occasion sentiments. Here's a close up of the sentiments included:

If you've been thinking of hosting a party, then call me now on 07773 421446 or email me at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk to book a party slot - it's a great way to earn items on your wish list for free and have a fun night in with friends at the same time! Or host a virtual party - if you would like to take a 'catalogue basket' into work or pass it around your friends to gather orders so that you can get more hostess benefits, I can arrange that too!

Before I go just a reminder that the 'Short and Sweet' promotional offer where you can join Stampin' Up! for £99 and receive an extra £20 of free goodies (£150 instead of £130) ends at 10pm tomorrow evening, so if you'd like to talk to me about joining my team don't leave it too late! To read all about it and sign up just click here.

Also, the current Big Shot promotion is due to end 31st August, that's this coming Sunday - so if you want to get your hands on a free or discounted bundle, you only have a few more days to place your order. You can get the full offer details here.

I think that's everything for today; I'll be back tomorrow with a 3D home décor project made using product from the new catalogue, so be sure to pop by.

Until then, happy browsing - and I'm waiting for your call to make that party booking!

It's Wednesday so time for the challenge over at Colour Me...! where this week we have a playful palette to work with:

What do you see when you look at these colours? They are quite clashing - pink, vanilla, orange and blue - from different areas of the colour wheel, yet they can work together. I decided to go with an unconventionally coloured Christmas card, using the new nutcracker stamp from the Santa Stache stamp set. Here is my card:

I used Marina Mist for my card base, then layered a strip of spotty Tangerine Tango DSP from the Flowerpot stamp set before creating a paper pieced layered image of the nutcracker. To do this, I stamped the nutcracker 5 times, once each on a piece of Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette and Smoky Slate. Using the Very Vanilla piece as my base mat, I then fussy cut the pieces from the remaining images and paper-pieced them together, layering the edges on the hat and jacket for added dimension. I used some now-retired Pink Pirouette mini brads to accent the buttons on the nutcrackers jacket, hat and the edge of my card front for balance - these were lurking in the back of my drawer and were just the right size and shape for the domed effect I was after, but you could use candy dots or maybe small enamel dots in lace of these for a similar effect. Lastly, I cut out the Smoky Slate moustache using the moustache framelit and adhered to my paper pieced image with dimensionals. This vanilla base was matted onto both Marina Mist and Tangerine Tango before adhering to my card base and a little flag with the fun sentiment 'nutty or nice?' added just underneath.

I hope you like my unconventional card this week - only one more day to go until you can order this fun set for yourself. meanwhile, why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

Mustache Framelits Die	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad
Marina Mist A4 Card Stock	Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock	Tangelo Twist A4 Cardstock	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate