Today I'm here with some exciting news! You know how much I like to play along over at Just Us Girls whenever I get the chance and I was delighted to be asked by the lovely Vicki to be their guest designer for the month of June. Our first challenge for the month of June is Die Week - with layers:

I decided to have a play with the new Pretty Florals Bundle stamps and dies and have a mammoth stamping session! I grabbed the coral and green colour palette over at Color Hues and used the themes of 'bold' and repeat' from the 'choose 2' theme over at Time Out. Here's the card that I came up with:

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

Layered Pretty Florals - I do love a good diecut and a layer or two, so this week's JUGS challenge was perfect for me! I decided to really go to town on this card and, somewhat inspired by the framed sample featured on page 47 of the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue, I decided to stamp duplicates of each of the flowers in the Pretty Florals stamp set and then create my layout. Each flower comes in two pieces - a flower head and a stem, with each stem suiting two different flowers. The flower heads are a two-step stamp, but they are super easy to line up. Once I had my images diecut and constructed, I layered them overlapping slightly onto my white cardbase and when I was happy with my layout, I glued them in place and cut off any excess overhanging the edges. 

Shades of Coral - I'm not really an orange person (although I do love the new In Colour, Timid Tiger) but there's something about Calypso Coral, a mid point between pink and orange that really appeals to me. In order to get shades of coral for my flowers, I stamped some of the flower bases in Petal Pink (this is much more of a pale coral than a true pink in my view), both stamped off and full strength, and some of the bases in Calypso Coral that I stamped off first, then stamped the second layer on all of the flowers in full-strength Calypso Coral. This gave a good variety and depth of colour, whilst maintaining the overall coral hue. I love the Coral and Garden Green pairing too for a bold and colourful card.

Postage Window Frame - The idea for my frame came from a similar idea I saw on Pinterest. The vellum softens the frame and still allows the edge-to-edge flowers to show through, whilst the postage frame, with a stitched rectangle cut out of the centre adds additional layering and interest. I added a sentiment from Sweet Florals (more layers!) and allowed the diecut portion to overhang the frame slightly:

A few random enamel gems complete my card. I really love this card - so much colour from only three inks and such a bold design! I think if I made it again, I would make a horizontal version rather than a vertical layout to better accommodate that diecut sentiment, but I had that thought after I glued down the base - so that's an idea to try another time! Also, both the Pretty Florals Bundle and Sweet Blooms Bundle are available in the current Stampin' Up! 50% off suite sale (read all about it here if you missed it) - if you buy one bundle, you could get the second half price - what a steal!

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. 

So what dies do you have in your collection that you could layer up and share with us over at Just Us Girls this week? The Design Team have made some amazing cards - why not dig out your dies and join us and play along? Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PRETTY FLORALS bundle (£47.50)	SWEET BLOOMS BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (£48.50)	PERENNIAL POSTAGE DIES (£31.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	GARDEN GREEN A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	GARDEN GREEN CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)
PETAL PINK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)	CALYPSO CORAL CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

Do you love to scrapbook? Are you committed to memory keeping or would like to start? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this event is for you! This is a brand-new event that’s unlike anything Stampin' Up! has ever done before! During this three-day, virtual event, you’ll create 12 scrapbook spreads using the Month by Month Album Retreat 2025 kit, craft with customers and Stampin' Up! demonstrators who love scrapbooking, learn new techniques, and connect on a personal level with fellow crafters and Stampin’ Up! staff. We’ll even have some fun giveaways!

Details for the event are as follows:

You can participate in some or all of the event live, or alternatively watch or re-watch the sessions at your leisure - the recordings will be available immediately as each session ends.

Here's a close up of the first two pairs of layouts so that you can see them in more detail:

You don't have to register the event; you will need to purchase the kit in advance and once you've ordered your kit, you will be sent a link to join the virtual event Facebook group. Take a look at everything that the kit contains:

The kit contains exclusive stamp sets and everything is prepared and neatly packaged by month so that you can easily grab the layout you're ready to work on.

The Virtual Retreat Scrapbooking Kit is now available to order - it costs £233 and you can get yours by clicking this link to it in my online store. What's more, Stampin' Up! are also running a competition over on Instagram to win a kit so that you can participate in this event for FREE - find full details and make your entry here. 

Hope to see you there!

Today I'm sharing a card made with more of the bits and pieces I cut from my Celebratory Sips papers yesterday - this one is a much more clean and simple version using the sketch over at Sunday Stamps this week:

This is a great sketch that can be dressed up or kept simple - love it! I'm also linking up over at TGIF Challenges and Inkspirational for a second entry too. The composition of the block is similar to the ones I made for yesterday's card, but this time I decided to focus on the colour:

I added lots of sparkle with a selection of enamel dots and sequins from my stash and finished with a tiny 'congratulations' sentiment that I took from the retired 'Sweet Songbirds' stamp set, that finishes with this wording inside the card:

I think I'll be using this sentiment a lot with the Celebratory Sips papers, especially on a clean and simple card. The Celebratory Sips papers have so much potential, whether cocktails or mocktails are your thing, they are perfect for a celebration!

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:

CELEBRATORY SIPS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

GORGEOUS GRAPE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

The month of June sees one of the best promotions for this time of year, when wishlists are long and there are lots of new suites to choose from. Starting 3 June, all available suites and suite products from the 2025–2026 Annual Catalogue and Online Exclusives are buy one, get one 50% off! If you’ve had your eye on a new suite from the annual catalogue or you really like the look of a stamp set from an Online Exclusives suite, you don’t have to choose—you can get both!

Details of the promotion are as follows:

• All available suites and suite products from the 2025–2026 Annual Catalogue and Online Exclusives are buy one, get one 50% off.
• When you shop the sale, the 50% off discount will apply to the lower-priced item (for example, if you buy a suite collection and a stamp set from a suite, the suite would be full price, and the stamp set would be 50% off).
• Suite collections are available if all items are in stock; if all items are not in stock, you can still shop the available suite products.
• You don’t have to buy a suite and suite products all from the same suite collection for the discount to apply. You can buy any suite products from any suite.
• The discount will appear in your basket once you’ve added two items within the sale parameters to your basket.
• Products are available only while supplies last.

The suites included in the promotion are as follows: - click on any of the images to be taken to the online store to see the products in more detail:

So much to choose from! The important thing to remember though to maximise your savings is - be strategic:

• The 50% off discount will apply to the lower-priced item.
• Maximize your BOGO savings! Purchase Bundles or Suites together.
• If you are buying two Suites, skip adding individual items like Designer Series Paper from a Suite, since the paper may end up being the item that’s 50% off instead of the higher-priced Suite.
• Place multiple orders to ensure the 50% off is maximized in each transaction - even with multiple P&P it will work out cheaper in the long run.

If you have any questions, do get in touch. Meanwhile, happy shopping!

It's the beginning of June and there's lots happening here this month so I'll split it into a few separate posts - buckle up!

I'm here with a quick post to let you know that the Last Chance Products section of the online store has updated. There are hundreds of new and discounted products from the mini and annual catalogues and online exclusives. You can check them all out HERE; go take a look, there are some great bargains to be had.

There are also two new kits available in the online store:

 The Pop Up Pals Kit

The second kit this month is the Make A Memory Scrapbooking Kit:

You can find out more information on any of these kits by visiting the Kits Collection section of the online store - links below.

Happy shopping! 

POP-UP PALS KIT (£9.50)

MAKE A MEMORY SCRAPBOOKING KIT (£34.00)

I've had a very indulgent day in my craft room trying to get ahead with a bunch of design projects, but I couldn't resist making something for fun too so I have a quick post to share a card I made for a few challenges:

The ladies over at TGIF Challenges have a product spotlight on the Celebratory Sips Suite and what better way to celebrate with the Inkspirational team than with cocktails? The layout over at Just Add Ink was perfect for something I wanted to try with the Celebratory Sips designer series papers (I turned the sketch through 90 degrees) so I grabbed my paper snips and set to work! Here's my card: 

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

The Celebratory Sips designer series paper pack is full of vivid, watercoloured patterns featuring blocks, cocktails, fruit, flowers and more - everything you need to get the party started! I fussy cut a quartet of blocks, then layered these with various smaller images of fruit, glasses, bottles and jugs cut from another sheet, co-ordinating the colours for each panel:

I used another of the patterns as a matting layer and picked up the Cloud Cover colour to use as the base for my diecut sentiment from the (retired) Wanted To Say Dies, which I popped up on dimensionals and placed across the middle between the blocks. A few co-ordinating sequins from my stash complete my card.

Whilst this post may be quick, the card was a labour of love and did take me a little while - a triumph of fussy cutting, if you will and not a stamp set in sight for this one!

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:

CELEBRATORY SIPS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

WANTED TO SAY DIES (£11.10)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

CLOUD COVER A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

Happy Monday everyone - I'm starting the week with a card I made using Jen B's fab layout this week over at Freshly Made Sketches:

This is one of those layouts that's perfect for showcasing patterned paper and the focal rectangle offers limitless creative possibilities! I knew this was my opportunity to spend a happy few minutes cutting into a new pack of paper and indulging in a little fussy cutting too - take a look:

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

Yes - today's card features the new Turtle-y Cute Designer Series Paper! It has some great patterns, along with a number of designs featuring turtles doing everything from swimming, to gardening, to playing the drums - so fun! I decided to use one of the turtleshell patterns for the bottom panel and I paired this with some (retired Sale-A-Bration) Sunshine & Rainbows featuring patterned clouds to give my background an abstract sense of landscape. 

I then added a stitched rectangle for my central panel and added a fussy cut BBQ chef and accompanying fussy cut kettle BBQ to create my focal image. I don't have the Turtle-y Awesome stamp set and dies, so I paired my images with a suitable sentiment from the retired stamp set bank called 'Outdoor Barbeque' (I flipped Jen's sketch as I needed the sentiment on the left rather than the right to fit) - I think it works, right?

We love to BBQ during the summer months and my husband loves all things related to outdoor living - so this card will definitely make him smile!

If you're a fan of fussy cutting, stay tuned: I have lots more of these little turtles cut out and can't wait to make them into other projects, so watch this space!

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:

TURTLE-Y CUTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

TUXEDO BLACK MEMENTO INK PAD (£7.50)

POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

SHADED SPRUCE A4 CARDSTOCK (£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 Jan to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

OK - hands up: how many of you save little bits and pieces thinking 'I'm sure they will come in handy'? Well, this week Jan's recycling challenge is the perfect opportunity for you to get them out and turn them into something! I received a gift last Christmas that had the little wooden tag on that I used on today's card attached - and it has been sat in my embellishments box ever since. So today was the perfect opportunity to turn it into a new project - take a look at what I came up with:

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

In the spirit of the challenge, not only did I recycle this wooden tag, but the paper and diecuts on my card were also leftovers from other projects that I found in my scrapbox. The paper is from the Winter Meadow DSP pack which is still available (link at the bottom of this post). I had one small piece, so cut a horizontal patterned piece then cut another using the blue pattern on the reverse to sit behind it. The diecuts were also leftovers from my box: the Lost Lagoon pieces I snipped from a larger pinecone diecut and the Shaded Spruce pine sprigs were also a good match for the paper, so I used those too! I tied the wooden sentiment tag with some (retired) silver twine and added a sprinkle of rhinestones for some added wintry sparkle:

Since the sentiment was etched onto the wooden tag, this became a no-stamping card - other than for a sentiment on the inside. So quick, easy and used up lots of bits and pieces - and another Christmas card for my stash!

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: 

WINTER MEADOW 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)

RHINESTONE BASIC JEWELS (£5.75)

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jan is hosting and it's time for a speed challenge with an interesting theme:

Water - in all it's forms! I don't mind saying, I procrastinated for ages before making my card today; I was convinced I didn't have any current product that would fit the bill, but after a quick conversation with my fellow teamie Jan and a peruse through the Stampin' Up! catalogue, I saw this week's sketch over at Global Design Project and I knew exactly what to do! This is my finished card:

But how did I get there? Here's the low-down on today's card:

Beautiful Gallery - I actually had a few items with a water theme - the Otterly Adorable suite and the Waves Embossing Folder to name a couple - and I used one of the seascapes in the Beautiful Gallery pack for my panelled card over at The Paper Players at the start of the week (you can see that card here if you missed it). My conversation with Jan prompted me to revisit the pack to see if there were any other designs that featured water. I found one, so chose a stamp set, gathered the remainder of my supplies and set my stopwatch - go!

I chose Lost Lagoon and Secret Sea as my coordinating colours, and trimmed my DSP and a panel of Lost Lagoon, then split my image into three sections:

With Sympathy - I did choose a retired stamp set for my sentiment: a previous Sale-A-Bration stamp set called 'Heal Your Heart', which has some lovely sentiments for sympathy cards. I am low on sympathy cards and thought that the tranquility of this image would work well for this kind of card, especially one with a masculine feel. If you want a current set with similar sentiments, 'The Right Words' on page 89 of the catalogue would be a good choice.

A Close Call - Basic card complete in just a few minutes and that's when I decided to go on the hunt for a suitable embellishment - and realised I didn't have any to hand! I filddled with a Mossy Meadow twine bow (nope!) followed by a quick rifle through the embellishment basket let me to a simple trio of Lost Lagoon enamel dots  - better! - to complete my card. Did I get there in time?

At 9 minutes 36 seconds, I was still within my 10 minute limit - phew! The moral of the story though - gather EVERYTHING you need (or might need!) before you start - in a speed challenge, that is most definitely the key to success!

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 or packaging project that fits the challenge.
• For a Speed Stamping Challenge you must tell us the time it took to make your project and it must be finished in under 10 min.
• Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
• Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
• Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
• You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
• We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BEAUTIFUL GALLERY 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (£11.75)

RAINBOW ADHESIVE-BACKED DOTS (£8.50)

SECRET SEA CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)

SECRET SEA A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)

I've had a busy Bank Holiday weekend and not managed to find much time for blogging but now it's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Laura is hosting this month and our second challenge is a colour challenge: 

I wasn't sure what to do with this week's colours, then I saw the challenge over at AAA Cards where they have a fun 'follow the leader' CASE challenge and I was inspired! I grabbed my new Party Alphabet Dies and set to work; this is what I came up with:

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

I retained the vertical design and went with a modern block sentiment to create a thank you card with a clean, masculine feel. I colour blocked the diecut letters with strips behind, then added a trio of thank you sentiments - a perfect card when you need something a little less feminine - and another great way to use those Party Alphabet Dies! Here's the card turned around so you can read the sentiment more easily:

I really like this design - I might have to have another play with those letter dies and the vertical element - so many creative possibilities!

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 tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

PARTY ALPHABET DIES (£93.00)	SAYING HEY PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£8.00)	FRIENDS FOR LIFE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£12.00)	THOUGHTFUL WISHES CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (£12.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (£16.00)	GORGEOUS GRAPE A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)
BLUEBERRY BUSHEL A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK A4 CARDSTOCK (£14.00)	PRETTY PEACOCK CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (£8.50)