Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a bright and colourful colour challenge chosen by the lovely Heather H:

I decided these bold colours called for a bold card so I grabbed my Gorgeous Garden Dies, specifically the floral one, and set to work - take a look at what I came up with:

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

Gorgeous Garden Florals - The Gorgeous Garden Dies are a pair of dies found on page 164 of the annual catalogue that can be easily overlooked, since they do not have a co-ordinating stamp set. That said, they are certainly not to be dismissed - they make fabulous cards! I featured the floral die on my card today and having created a tone-on-tone base in Mossy Meadow, I used the three additional colours to add bright pops of colour to the flowers themselves. 

Did someone say FREE? - I have mentioned it previously, but today's post is a great opportunity to remind you that the Gorgeous Garden Dies feature in the current 'Join In With Joanne and Jan' tutorial collection that I have designed in collaboration with my As You See It teamie and good friend Jan Clothier:

This tutorial features 4 main projects with a couple of extras thrown in too featuring a range of techniques and of course the Gorgeous Garden Dies. The projects that feature in the tutorial are exclusive to the tutorial itself and you won't find them on our blogs or anywhere else. How can you get it? Well, if you purchase the Gorgeous Garden Dies from either Jan or myself, then the tutorial with photos and full detailed instructions will be yours FREE - it's as simple as that. 

Celebrating Friends - I finished my card with a diecut sentiment from the 'Love For You' bundle, which seems appropriate since today is 'New Friend Appreciation Day' - isn't there a day for everything these days?! You can see it in more detail below, including the layering detail that I just love: 

I think these dies are an annual catalogue 'hidden gem' - they really are so versatile. I'm linking today's card up with the ladies over at Just Add Ink where their theme this week is 'Just Add ... Florals'.

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

GORGEOUS GARDEN DIES (40.00)	LOVE FOR YOU DIES (ENGLISH) (30.00)	LOVE FOR YOU PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	GLOSSY DOTS ASSORTMENT (7.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)
AROUND THE BEND DIES (31.00)	MOSSY MEADOW A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	CRUSHED CURRY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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:

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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:

PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)
MELON MAMBO CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	GRANNY APPLE GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SIMPLY ELEGANT TRIM (7.00)

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

I decided to use red for my pop of colour and using the layout over at Sunday Stamps to create a modern 'love you' card - take a look:

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

Stamped With Love - My main 'pop of colour' comes from the vintage-style post box from the 'Stamped With Love' stamp set. I heat-embossed it in black onto Real Red cardstock and fussy cut it, then did the same again on Basic White cardstock and fussy cut the envelope before paper-piecing it in place and adding a (retired) red resin heart:

Hearts and Kisses - I paired my vintage post box with some black and white paper from the Delightfully Eclectic designer series paper pack. I added an additional layer of detail with more red resin hearts between the black 'kisses' - I love the effect and it ties the design to my postbox nicely. It also makes my card perfect for the theme of 'hearts' over at Global Design Project #GDP427 this week.

Inside Detail - The sentiment on the front of my card comes from the 'Country Bouquet' stamp set. I finished it with the other part on the inside of my card, stamping it inside some red hearts from the same set and an offcut of the designer paper I used on the front of my card

I also added some of the DSP to my envelope flap for some additional co-ordination. I really like this card - I think it will make a nice notecard for the youngest of the James Juniors, as it's modern and not too feminine. What do you think? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts

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:

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

STAMPED WITH LOVE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (19.00)	COUNTRY BOUQUET PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (22.00)	DELIGHTFULLY ECLECTIC 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (28.00)	BASIC BLACK A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)

Today I'm sharing a card that I made a few days ago just for fun! A number of challenges combined to inspire this clean and simple New Year card:

The sketch over at AAA Cards, combined with the colours at TGIF Challenges and the similar palette and clean and graphic designs at Inkspirational caused me to root through my scrap box for a gold foil made me think of stars and specifically the starry swirl in the retired Stitched Stars die set:

I cut it out of gold foil, then infilled the gaps with some sparkly stars in gold, silver and black metallic glimmer paper and added a few more around the outside, before finishing with a simple new year sentiment from another retired set 'Gnome For Christmas':

The glimmer paper makes this simple card so sparkly - perfect for the challenge over at SUO Challenges too where they are currently all about the glitter!

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

It's Tuesday and time for our first challenge of the year over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We have some new designers so do check out the refreshed team. The lovely Jeanne is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

For my card today I was so tempted to go with Perennial Lavender again for today's card with this colour palette, but decided instead to change tack and break out a new stamp set that I received at our Online launch event for the mini catalogue, called 'Planted Paradise' - take a look:

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

Planted Paradise - The 'Planted Paradise' stamp set is a reversible stamp set that contains lots of different pots and leaves that you can use to build your own plants, pots and hanging baskets - so fun! I actually intended to use an alternative pot in my design, until I remembered that the stamps are actually shown at 60% of size, so they are larger than I anticipated and I had to scale down my choices. I had originally intended to use the rounded flower-patterned pot - so I added a single punched flower to the one I eventually used in homage to that! These stamps are so easy to use and offer lots of creative options - if you like the ability to just stamp and see what you can create - this stamp set is for you. 

Glorious Gingham - Everything's better with gingham, right?! I used a square of Berry Burst gingham to back my pot, as a way to incorporate a pop of berry goodness and following the Try A Sketch on Tuesday that I included above (previously Try Stamping on Tuesday). The team are doubling up with Double Trouble where they want you to choose a background that reflects your introvert or extrovert personality. Well, since today is clean and simple day it's no surprise that I chose a clean white base, which I guess could fit either - which works for me, as I can be both introvert and extrovert!

Heartfelt Hellos - The 'Planted Paradise' stamp set is sentiment-free, so I needed to find one from elsewhere to complete my card. I wanted a 'Just For You' type set so that I could play along over at CAS on Friday this week as that is their theme, so I decided to ink up 'hello' from a new, FREE, set called 'Heartfelt Hellos' that can be yours too with a purchase of £45 or more. This is such a useful set with a mix of sentiments for a variety of occasions - I particularly love the font of the greeting I used on today's 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back later this week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PLANTED PARADISE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	GLORIOUS GINGHAM 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (10.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's our first challenge of 2024 and the fabulous Ann is hosting this week. A new year is a time for celebration and to kick off 2024 Ann has a challenge with celebration of a different kind in mind:

We are celebrating birthdays this week! So many new goodies to play with and so much new product to choose from; I decided to use the sketch layout over at Global Design Project #GDP426 for my card this week as the large central panel is perfect to showcase some lovely new paper - take a look:

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

Perennial Lavender - As a lover of all things purple, the Perennial Lavender papers quickly caught my eye. The beautiful watercolour designs in a mix of purples and white on Crumb Cake don't disappoint! I cut one of the sheets into 6 pieces each that fit a cardfront, and trimmed one of them slightly to fit the panel on today's card.

Perennial Postage - My sentiment is from one of the two stamp set bundles in the Perennial Lavender Suite, called 'Perennial Postage'. There isn't a specific happy birthday sentiment, but I think this one works quite well, for birthdays and other occasions. I stamped it onto a banner cut with my favourite Stylish Details Dies and decorated with some diecut lavender stems that I cut from Crumb Cake cardstock and watercoloured with my aquapainter to tie in with the look and feel of the paper - you can see both in more detail below:

A few sparkly shimmer gems in various shades of purple and some linen thread complete the front of my card.

Inside Detail - I added another sentiment from the same stamp set to the inside of my card to continue the birthday theme and stamped a couple of lavender stems for a little extra decoration:

These papers do have a slightly 'vintage' feel to them which is not my normal 'go to', but they really are so beautiful it would be a shame not to embrace them! I love how this card turned out and I am looking forward to making more projects with them soon.

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:

Enjoy your day; I will be making the most of the last couple of days before the youngest of the James Juniors returns to school and I am back to my daily school run commute. Hoping to find a little crafty time so fingers crossed I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

PERENNIAL LAVENDER 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	PURPLE FINE SHIMMER GEMS (7.50)	PAINTED LAVENDER DIES (30.00)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	WATER PAINTERS (13.00)
LINEN THREAD (4.75)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	HIGHLAND HEATHER CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BERRY BURST CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)
LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	SHADED SPRUCE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Happy New Year everyone - the cardmaking has officially begun! Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where our first challenge for the new year is my favourite, a sketch challenge, designed by our wonderful challenge leader and chief organiser, Heather C:

I love Heather's cascade of hearts - I thought it would be perfect for a cascade of buzzy bees and a showcase of some of the lovely new papers in the new January-April Mini Catalogue - take a look:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Bee Mine - Today's card is all about the paper - no surprise there then! The Bee Mine designer series paper has so many beautiful bee-inspired patterns. I chose a rather busy one for my background and added a simple diecut panel that I stamped with some 'bee lines' using one of the stamps in the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set to create a little space to showcase my cascade of bees.

Snip, Snip - For my bee cascade, i used my paper snips scissors to fussy cut four different bees from another of the sheets in the pack, each with a different expression - they really are so comical! - and popped these up on dimensionals on top of my card base, having already added my sentiment banner too. Here's a close up for you:

Stampin' Up!'s Paper Snips Scissors really do make light work of fussy cutting shapes from paper in this way - the super sharp and pointed tips make it easy to get into even the smallest nooks and crannies. If you don't own a pair, I would highly recommend you invest in some - you won't regret it.

No Matter What - The sentiment from the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set does have love as its theme, but like many of the greetings in this set they have a much broader use than for Valentine's Day alone. This one is heading to one of the James Juniors - I think it is a great reminder of a parent's unconditional love. 

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

• Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
• If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
• In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEE MINE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	BEE MY VALENTINE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (20.00)	STYLISH SHAPES DIES (28.00)	PAPER SNIPS SCISSORS (10.25)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)
DAFFODIL DELIGHT A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)

Happy New Year everyone! I took an extended blog break over Christmas to spend time with family and loved every minute of it. That said, it's the 4th January and time for a new mini-catalogue and our 2024 Sale-A-Bration promotion so today I'm back to tell you all about it! Once again this year there will be only one Sale-A-Bration promotion: it runs from today until 29th February. You can click on the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page or below to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or click on the icon above or on the right to go directly to my online shopto place an order - we are LIVE!

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

You can earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 4 January and 29 February. There is also the opportunity to earn even bigger rewards with a £90 purchase. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for FREE! 

If you host a party or place an individual order with purchases of £275 or more, you can choose an additional £27.50 of products in addition to your standard rewards for FREE!

It’s also one of the best times of the year to join Stampin’ Up! There are two fabulous joining options during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: 

• OPTION 1: Spend £99 and receive £130 of product of your choice and a Stampin' Glass Mat Studio (retail value £56)

The Stampin’ Glass Mat Studio is a paper crafter’s dream! The heavy-duty glass mat comes printed with a ruler and grid lines for easy measuring, while the large surface space gives ample room for spreading out while paper crafting. The safety-tempered glass has a heat and scratch resistant surface that wipes clean with the included cloth and water—no chemicals needed. The reusable cloth also cleans ink off your stamps! The nonslip, heat resistant, waterproof silicone mat features four palette squares for mixing custom ink colours or for holding small ink spots in place while crafting. Each component can be used separately or you can use all three items together for a multipurpose paper crafting studio that’s both functional and elegant. 

The Stampin’ Glass Mat Studio includes:

GLASS MAT
* 5 mm thick
* 17" x 14" (43.2 x 35.6 cm)
* Safety-tempered
* Heat and scratch resistant
* Wipes clean with water or alcohol
SILICONE MAT
* 8-3/8" x 6" (21.3 x 15.2 cm) 
* Multiuse, nonslip
* Waterproof, heat resistant
* 4 palette squares for custom-colour mixing or holding Stampin’ Spots
* Product colour: white
CLEANING CLOTH
* 8-1/4" x 8-1/4" (21 x 21 cm) 
* Durable, reusable
* Lint free
* Cleans stamps and other surfaces with only water
* Product colour: dark grey

If the Stampin' Glass mat Studio isn't of interest to you, you might prefer the following alternative:

• OPTION 2: Spend £99 and receive £160 of product of your choice.

There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your 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. Above all else, it's a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals united through a common love of crafting.

If you would like to host a virtual or in-person party, please do get in touch. Equally 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 and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new January-April 2024 mini catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or 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 and you don't already have a demonstrator; paper copies have been sent to my regular customers. 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!

Finally, two new kits have also been added to the online store today:

If you would like more information on any of the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

Thanks so much for popping by - it's always nice to share good news! Back tomorrow with a creative post that uses some exciting new product! That post will go live at noon. Until then, happy shopping!

ROCK LEGEND KIT (14.00)

PANDA FRIENDS KIT (14.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Claire to host this week and she has a bright colour challenge for us to work with:

I am still in festive card making mode, so thought I would use these colours for a card to play along with the 'Christmas' theme over at Inspire.Create and the the 'Christmas Animals (with hats)' theme over at Double D Challenges and create another card using the 'Festive & Fun' stamp set - take a look:

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

I used a Melon Mambo card base and added a strip of Real Red cardstock that I had added some strips of (retired) red glimmer paper to, then set about creating my Christmas tag. I decided to use the fun image of the rhino pulling a sleigh full of Christmas gifts and robins, and created my tag by just snipping off the corners of my rectangle - no die required! I added just a hint of the three main challenge colours to my design using my Stampin' Blends markers; slightly unconventional, but I think it works?

 I added a trio of enamel dots and a sentiment fussy cut from the 'Merry Christmas To You' stamp set, before incorporating my black and white with my trusty gingham ribbon, wrapped around the card and tied to my tag with a bow. Such a bold colour scheme was asking for a similarly bold sentiment inside my card too:

What do you think? I really rather like these colours for a Christmas card - it's fun to ring the changes with an unconventional colour palette. Are you done with your Christmas card making yet? I've written most of mine now, so any more Christmas makes will be heading into the 2024 pile!

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:

This will be our last Paper Players challenge of the year, and is also the time when we say goodbye to our wonderful 2023 guest designers, Suzy, Fran and Tara. Ladies you have been amazing - we will miss you! We have some exciting new guests lined up for 2024, so keep an eye out on The Paper Players blog for a future announcement!

Enjoy your day; I am recovering from the festivities of last night's office Christmas party (Jason's, not mine!) and we are collecting the eldest of the James Juniors from university, having just completed her first term - that just flew by! I will also be packing for a last minute pre-Christmas vacation - more on that another time! So all in all, a busy day. I'll be back soon with another project but until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

FESTIVE & FUN CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	JOY TO YOU CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (23.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (6.25)	BLACK & WHITE 1/4" (6.4 MM) GINGHAM RIBBON (6.75)	MELON MAMBO A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	REAL RED STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	MELON MAMBO STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	TAHITIAN TIDE STAMPIN' BLENDS COMBO PACK (9.50)	REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MORE WISHES PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (24.00)