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

As I'm writing my post today there is finally a break in the rain - hurrah! I hope that everyone here in the UK had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend, despite the dreadful weather across most of the country yesterday. I am now home, having spent a long weekend away in Somerset with my extended family, celebrating my Mother-in-law's forthcoming 70th birthday. We were fortunate to have had wonderful weather and spent a great weekend on the beach, fossil hunting, playing rounders and generally having a relaxing time.

Today I'm sharing a card I made a while ago as one of the samples for the UK Regional Training Day where I was asked to do a 'wow' technique presentation using the Traveler stamp set. This card is one of the ones that was actually inspired by the set, rather than featuring it directly, although the old fashioned brownie camera that inspired my card does feature on the inside. I decided to try my hand at a shaker card and created it to look like an old fashioned camera - here's the front of my card:

I used Soft Suede, Baked Brown Sugar and Brushed Gold cardstock and a variety of circle punches and both circle and deco label framelits to construct my shaker, and filled the window with gold sequins and some confetti squares cut using my fringe scissors from baked Brown Sugar cardstock and Champagne glimmer paper. I used the Petite Pairs sentiment set and heat embossed the first half of my sentiment in gold on the inside of my shaker frame. This was then continued on the inside of the card:

I also finished with the camera stamp. So what do you think - does my punch art camera shaker card bear any resemblance to the real thing? I thought this would make a fun masculine shaker card - proving even grown ups can be fun!

Back tomorrow with my Design Team card for this week's Colour Me...! challenge - and I have a fun 'sneak peek' Christmas card to share with you!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Traveler Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Petite Pairs - Clear-Mount Stamp	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Embossing Buddy
Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Suede A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Baked Brown Sugar	Neutrals Candy Dots	Candy Dots Brad Bases	Gold Sequin Trim
Champagne Glimmer Paper	Shaker Frames	Medium Window Sheets	Brushed Gold A4 Card Stock	1/2 Inch Circle Punch
1-3/4 Inch Circle Punch	Project Life Corner Punch

I have a special post to start the week today: my dear friend LeAnne from Wee Inklings invited me to participate in a Creative Blog Hop! It’s just a little way for readers to get to know various crafters (not just stampers) here in blog land! LeAnne has been a friend of mine for some time and is one of the most creative, encouraging and supportive fellow bloggers I know! She is a fellow designer with my on The Paper Players design team and also designs for a number of other challenge blogs (Colour Q, Merry Monday to name but a few!). She writes a daily blog that is a delight to read, not only for the amazing stamped artwork she produces but also for her daily musings as the proud Grammy of Cassidy, her beautiful four year old grand-daughter. If you don't already follow her blog, you should definitely go and check out her work.

So the Hop asks four questions - here goes!

What am I working on now?

As always, I have a number of projects on the go at any one time! I am currently in the process of finishing the planning and samples for my card and project classes between now and the end of the year, featuring lots of Halloween and Christmas projects from the new Stampin' Up! seasonal catalogue and I am in the process of adding another regular card class to my monthly schedule. In addition, I have my current regular design commitments for The Paper Players and Colour Me...! and a couple of commissions I'm working on. This week, amongst other things, I also have a bunch of thank you cards to make for this month's customer orders and I need to start thinking about my Convention swaps - Stampin' Up! European Convention is only 7 weeks away!!

How does my work differ from others of my genre?

I guess if I had to define my style, 'clean and layered' probably describes it best. I like clean lines and graphic designs, and this would be the style I'm most at home with. That said, I like to try new techniques and the inspiration for a design my influence the style I use for my project and I'm a big fan of punch art, especially for children's cards. I have created some fun Lego-inspired punch art that I'm particularly proud of!

Why do I create what I do?

I have always been interested in art and design and enjoy a number of creative hobbies, such as calligraphy, cross stitch and biscuit decorating. I love papercraft though because it gives me the opportunity to create something new and unique every single day and through my blog I'm able to share that with the world. Blogging is my creative therapy - I think I'm really a frustrated journalist at heart - and I love to inspire, share my skills and teach others new things.

How does my creative process work?

I can be inspired by most anything - a sketch, a colour combination, a fashion catalogue, in-store home furnishings, a movie, children's toys - I see inspiration everywhere. And if I'm ever stuck for inspiration, there's always Pinterest! I carry a little book around with me that was a Christmas gift from my husband with the cover page entitled 'Evil Plans and Stuff' that I use to make notes and capture my ideas, whatever the time of day and night - it makes me smile! I am fortunate to have my own office at home that is choc full of my stamps, inks and papers and as it's south-facing it's a very bright workspace - this is where my plans and ideas take shape and become finished pieces. I always work with the radio playing in the background and I'm at my most creative when I take my morning shower - this is when I have my best ideas :-) (hope that wasn't too much information!) As a busy mum of two, I also like to use my time efficiently and save it for the important things; this has led me to create a number of time-saving tools, such as my popular Box Buster and Envelope Expert tools for the Envelope Punch Board and Product Table Builder, that benefit both customers, fellow papercrafters and other SU! demonstrators alike.

So that's a small insight into my creative world - I would now like to nominate another stamper whose work I admire:

Pauline Adamson - Pollycraft

Pauline is a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator, member of my downline and Project Life addict! Her style is quite different to mine and that is why I find her work so inspiring - it encourages me to think outside of my 'creative box'.

"Hi, my name is Pauline and I live in Carnoustie, Scotland.  I first found my addiction to paper, ink and all things gluey only a few years ago, joining the best club ever very late in life.  I began as a way of helping my daughter who was being bullied in school discover art journalling, a month on she was fed up and I was hooked.   Initially I found Graphic 45 and all their amazing collections and started making photo albums.  To help fund my addiction I discovered Stampin' Up! becoming an independent demo earlier this year.  I am now proud to admit I am once again a complete addict for all things Stampin' Up! Come on over to my blog and follow the trail of 'The Creative Blog Hop'.  I hope you're not disappointed." 

Thanks Pauline - be sure to check out her blog next week to find out more - and thanks again to LeAnne for the nomination!

That's all from me today - back tomorrow with a new project! Until then, happy stampin'!

Today I'm sharing my Design team card for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players. This week Jaydee is hosting and she has the following sketch layout for us:

I love a good sketch layout and this one is no exception - I'd designed 3 cards with it within minutes of looking at it, so don't be surprised if you see this layout inspiring more of my creations in the coming weeks. For today though, I have another seasonal catalogue 'sneak peek' for you (I know, I'm such a tease!) - this time, with a Halloween theme: 

I don't normally purchase any Halloween items as I usually plough straight into Christmas, but this year I couldn't resist - there are some fantastic items to choose from! Today's card features the 'Motley Monsters' DSP and stamps from both the 'Freaky Friends' stamp set (the cat) and the 'Mingle All the Way' stamp set (sentiment). I heat embossed the cat in black so that he would be nice and shiny and coloured in the open letters of the sentiment with marker colours that co-ordinated with the DSP. The banner flag is made from a piece of Tangerine Tango cardstock covered with Retro Fresh washi tape in the same colour.

I hope this gets you in the mood for a spooky spooky halloweeny! Do pop over to The Paper Players to see what the other designers have come up with - there are some amazing takes on today's sketch.

Back tomorrow with a post for Bank Holiday Monday; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

* Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper, Freaky Friends and Mingle All The Way - available 28th August

Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Circles Collection Framelits Dies
Card Stock A4 Crushed Curry	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Black Stampin' Emboss Powder
1 Inch Circle Punch	Retro Fresh This And That Designer Washi Tape

A quick post from me! Today's card is a thank you card inspired by the sketch over at Seize the Sketch this week:

A nice simple sketch that lent itself to a nice simple card using the 'Another Thank You' stamp set - here is my card:

I took my colour inspiration for my card from the Flashback paper that I used as a background; there are some great patterns in this DSP set and the colours mean that they work well for both male and female projects. The card make-up I pretty self-explanatory, but if there's anything you'd specifically like to know, then please leave me a comment below and I will answer it. A little Essentials paper clip and some black baker's twine finish off today's card.

Back tomorrow with my Design Team card for the Paper Players; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Another Thank You Photopolymer Stamp Set	Flashback Designer Series Paper	Very Vanilla A4 Card Stock	Pool Party A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock
Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Pad	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Black Baker's Twine
Essentials Hardware Clips

Yay - it's Friday and a two-post day! If you haven't seen my earlier post about this week's enhanced sign up offer, please scroll back or click here for more information. Valid for one week only, it's worth checking out!

So for today's creative post, I was inspired by the beautiful colours and inspiration photo over at Colour Q this week:

So here's the thing - I love the colour purple. If you asked me my favourite colour, I wouldn't say purple (I'd say blue or yellow, in case you were wondering!) however as one of my downlines pointed out to me once, I must like purple - lots of my clothes are shades of purple and I do find myself drawn to it as a colour. All that said, it's not a colour I often use in my cardmaking either, so when I saw this challenge, I thought I should at least remedy that in part - here's my entry to this week's challenge:

I used the Old Olive for the flower stems, then focused my card around the other three colours. I created a mask and sponged a panel blending the remaining three colours, then stamped the flower stems over the top, stamping off the Wisteria Wonder flowerhead once first to give a paler flower and then stamping the second layer in Rich Razzleberry, using my stamp-a-ma-jig to ensure perfect placement. Lastly, I added a sentiment and a bow using some retired stitched grosgrain ribbon (you could substitute the new cotton ribbon in the same colour) and a few rhinestones to finish. The result? I love it - maybe I should make purple cards more often!

That's me done for today - it's a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, the last one before the kiddies go back to school in just over a week's time, so we have some family activities planned (more on that next week).

Enjoy your weekend; back tomorrow with another project, until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Too Kind	Sponge Daubers	Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents	Wisteria Wonder A4 Card Stock	Rich Razzleberry A4 Card Stock
Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Yesterday the beach, today Christmas! I follow the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge all year round, but must confess I don't often manage to enter 'out of season', even though I tell myself that this would be a good way to be more prepared with my own Christmas card stash! With lots of new pre-order items to play with though, this week there was no excuse! This week Sue's challenge is to use black, silver and gold on your Christmas card:

I don't usually use both gold and silver together on a card (I don't know why!), but when I saw this challenge I knew exactly what I wanted to make (I love it when that happens!) Here is my card featuring a new stampset called 'The Newborn King' from the new seasonal autumn-winter catalogue out next week (28th August - not long now!): 

I stamped the single image in Versamark onto Basic Black cardstock and then heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I then took my gold Stampin' Dazzle marker and went over a few areas of the image and coloured them in. Slightly more tricky to see on my phototgraph, I then coloured in Joseph and Mary's clothes with the silver Stampin' Dazzle marker and their headdresses using my white gel pen. Lastly, I mounted this piece onto a mat of brushed silver then adhered this to my Basic Black card base.

I would not have thought of using black on a Christmas card in this way had it not been for the challenge and I'm really pleased with how this turned out. Also, it's embellishment-free, so is post-friendly too - bonus! Check out the lovely ladies over at Merry Monday for more festive design inspiration using this colour combination.

That's all from me today - back tomorrow with a one-week only sign-up deal that will knock your socks off; if you've been thinking about joining Stampin' Up!, then make sure you come back tomorrow for the low-down - this is one pre-Christmas deal you're not going to want to miss!

Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

*The Newborn King - available 28th August

Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Heat Tool - Uk Plug	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder	Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker
Silver Stampin' Dazzle Marker	Brushed Silver A4 Card Stock	Basic Black A4 Card Stock

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

This week I have another Sea Street card for you! These pinky-peach tones reminded me of lobsters and I had a piece of the Lost Lagoon wavy paper from the All Abloom stack sat on my desk leftover from another project, so I decided to go with an idea that I've had floating around in my head for a while! Here's today's card:

Using a base of Lost Lagoon, I adhered a couple of strips of the wavy paper from the All Abloom DSP paper stack to give the feeling of the sea, then created a mat using Burlap ribbon - I used three pieces, removed the side stitching and frayed the edge. I then took a pieces of Naturals Ivory cardstock and using my stamp-a-ma-jig, lined up 8 lobsters stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe in a grid shape. I stamped the ninth lobster in Calypso Coral, punch him out using the small oval punch them adhered him onto my card upside down, using a dimensional. I finished the panel with the sentiment 'Be unique' and a vintage button threaded with some linen twine, in keeping with my beach/rustic feel. Again, using my Alphabet Rotary stamp, I finished this sentiment on the inside of my card, as you can see below:

I made this card with Rebecca in mind; she will be back at school shortly and as children go, she is the ultimate conformist. I sometimes need to remind her that it's ok to be different and she should be confident to step away from the crowd at times, that uniqueness is something to be celebrated. I just love the Alphabet Rotary stamp for these kinds of one-off messages - so easy! I'm finding it really useful with my Project Life documenting too.

I hope you like my fun card this week - 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	Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock	Sea Street Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock
Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Alphabet Rotary Stamp	1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon	Linen Thread
Very Vintage Designer Buttons	Small Oval Punch

Today I'm sharing another of the cards we made at our quarterly training session last month, designed by Monica Gale. Yes, it is a Christmas card, but with the exception of the sentiment, uses products that can all be purchased from the Annual Catalogue. Here is the card we made:

Using Mossy Meadow for the card base, we then cut a piece of kraft cardstock, embossed with the dots embossing folder and lightly wiped with white kraft ink to give the impression of snow. We cut a piece of Naturals Ivory cardstock and punched the edge with the scallop punch, then layered a couple of pieces of DSP from the All Abloom DSP stack on top. Real Red cotton ribbon was wrapped around this section and tied in a bow across the join, and a few green stems punched from the bird punch tucked in around the bow before adhering the bird on top, along with a trio of tiny pearls: the bird is from the 'Choose Happiness' stamp set and is stamped in Real Red on naturals Ivory and fussy cut. Lastly, the sentiment was stamped in Real Red onto Naturals Ivory and punched out with the Decorative Label punch, and adhered using dimensionals. 

This sentiment is from the set 'Christmas Messages', which is one of the sets that is available on the Autumn/Winter carryover list until August 27th. Full details of all items on the carryover list can be found in the box on the right-hand side of my blog page and they can be purchased either by clicking directly on the links in the product table below or by clicking the 'shop online' icon that will take you directly to my online store, or of course you can email me or give me a call if you prefer and I can take your order over the phone.

That's me done for today; back tomorrow with a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals and my Design Team card for this week's Colour Me...! challenge. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Choose Happiness Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Christmas Messages Clear-Mount Stamp Set	All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock	Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents	Scallop Edge Border Punch	Bird Punch
Decorative Label Punch	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock

Well, it's Monday and the start of a new week! I managed to survive the shoe shop outing yesterday (took 3 hours and 20 minutes just in the shoe shop!!) On the bright side, new school shoes and trainers, times two, and football boots, have been purchased - yay! This afternoon's 3D Home Décor class was a lot of fun - got to catch up with a couple of ladies I haven't seen in a while, so that was an added bonus. I'm later than I would have liked posting today's card: I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches last week although am too late to link up. I am however linking today's card up with Less is More where the challenge this week is to include an animal on your card. When I saw this I knew immediately which one I was going to feature - I've been itching to get out my new Smoky Slate Blendabilities and colour the cute koala bear on the Kind Koala stamp since they arrived - so here is my card:

I used a Night of Navy card base with a So Saffron mat and a couple of offset strips of Flowerpot DSP, followed by the stamp (minus the stamped flowerhead) on a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I matted on Night of Navy. This little koala is so cute and I love the grey Blendies! Instead of stamping the flower, I replaced it with one punched from the Petite Petals punch, with a tiny circle and candy dot centre in colours that co-ordinate with the one of the flowers on the DSP. I also shaded the lettering on 'You' with my Tangerine Tango marker pen.

I really love this card - I think I will send it to my Aussie friend who is moving back to Australia to live once she's arrived to let her know I'm still thinking of her.

That's me done for today; back tomorrow with another project, so until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Kind Koala Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Smokey Slate Assortment	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Flower Pot Designer Series Paper	Petite Petals Punch
Regals Candy Dots	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Brights Stampin' Write Markers	Whisper White A4 Card Stock