Wildflower Birthday Floral Trio AYSI344

by Joanne James21. March 2025 13:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where we have a sketch challenge designed by Deborah:

 

This is a great sketch with so many creative possibilities! I decided to use up some of the diecuts from my Wildflower Birthday designer series paper pack for my card today - take a look:

 

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

Wildflower Birthday - The Wildflower Birthday Specialty Designer Series Paper is so beautiful. In addition to the beautiful foiled patterns, there are two whole sheets of diecuts that are useful for so many cards. I used a trio of flower clusters for my card and used the colours to tie in the other elements.  

Perennial Postage - I added each of my floral clusters to a diecut square cut with the Perennial Postage Dies, to which I'd added a hint of coordinating ink with a blending brush to lift it from the base. You can see that hint of colour more closely below:

 

Party Dots - I finished my card with a scattering of coordinating party dots and a sentiment from the 'Friends For Life' stamp set and left the inside blank as I want to use this card to write a longer message.

This card came together pretty quickly once I'd decided on which diecuts to use. I spent longer switching out pieces and trying to decide, than I did making it - with so much to choose from in the Wildflower birthday pack, I was spoiled for choice, for sure!

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.
  • 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.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Sea Turtle Miss You Mini Slimline CCS556

by Joanne James18. March 2025 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & SketchesThis week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Nancy has asked that we create a mini slimline card with any shape as the focal point:

  

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I chose a sea turtle from the stamp set of the same name as the focal point for my mini slimline card - take a look:

 

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

I stamped my sea water bubbles in Azure Afternoon, overstamped with a couple of shoals of Calypso Coral fish and added a turtle that I fussy cut and popped on dimensionals:

 

A simple 'miss you' sentiment from the Friends For Life' stamp set completes my card. A simple stamps, ink and paper make for today - a quick and easy 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. 

Enjoy your day; I'm meeting a friend for a long-overdue catch up, which will be nice. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Aging Fine Like Cheese and Wine Birthday Card PP729

by Joanne James16. March 2025 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and it's clean and simple week! So along with minimal layers and embellishments and lots of white space, I have a fun theme for us to work with too:

    

Use just a single stamped image on your card - aside from a sentiment too if you wish, only one stamped image. A single image makes a great focal point for a clean and simple card; I paired mine with a great sketch layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and indulged in a spot of colouring on my card - take a look:

 

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

One More Year - I love the 'One More Year' stamp set for fun and quirky cards for both young people and the young-at-heart. In addition to a set of humorous mix and match sentiments, 'One More Year' features a trio of single stamped images that make great focal points too - I used the cheese and wine image, stamped onto a Nested Essentials diecut, adding some simple colour with my Stampin' Blends:

 

Clean and Simple - In addition to my stamped diecut, I added a couple of banner flags and a twist of gingham ribbon as per the sketch. Ordinarily I wouldn't use ribbon on a clean and simple card, but with such a simple design and that being the only embellishment, it adds detail whilst still allowing the card to have a clean design. 

Finishing Touches - I stamped and coloured the same image to decorate the inside of my card and stamped the other half of my sentiment to complete my card:

This is such a great set for clean and simple cards! What images do you like to use on your clean and simple cards? Leave me a comment below or better still, make a card and play along with us over at The Paper Players this week!

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:

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Enjoy your day; I don't have any special plans today; I'll be spending some time in the kitchen and generally having an easy day. I'll be back tomorrow soon another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Delightful Wishes Layered Pastel Florals For PP728

by Joanne James9. March 2025 08:00

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

    

I don't often use pastel colours and certainly not exclusively, so this week was something of a challenge for me. I decided in honour of Jaydee not being a 'pink' person (I don't believe her - she often uses pink to great effect!!), that Bubble Bath would be my feature colour and when I saw the palette at Color Dare, I decided to pair it with Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam and a hint of Pool Party for my pastel vibes - take a look at where I ended up:

 

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

Add Colour - To achieve tones of the same colour, I diecut all of my flowers and leaves from solid colour cardstock and for the detailed top layer, I added the same colour ink with a blending brush to give a further depth of colour. 

Add Texture - This card is choc-full of texture with all of the diecut layers! Both the background die and the florals are all from the Delightful Wishes bundle and are diecut only - no stamping required. There are so many layers that with the exception of the sentiment, I didn't use any dimensionals; just by overlaying the flowers you can create depth and texture.

Add Movement - Finally I added a trio of Tiny Bee Trinkets - these little buzzy fellows don't actually move of course, but their presence gives a suggestion of movement to the card.

So what do you think - are pastels for you? Whilst they are generally not a 'go-to' for me, I really love the softness of the finished card. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone features pastels in the gallery this week!

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:

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Enjoy your day; I am hoping to get out in the garden today and take advantage of the beautiful spring weather we've been having here in the UK this week - long may it continue! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Speedy Bee Builder Punch Lucky Clover Card AYSI343

by Joanne James7. March 2025 13:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for the oft-dreaded speed challenge:

          

This one was chosen by me: you have to create a card using a punch or punches, in under 10 minutes! I didn't have anything in mind when I chose this challenge, other than I wanted to use my Bee Builder Punch - but not necessarily to punch a bee! Thanks to a great sketch over at Sunday Stamps and the green and white colour combo over at Color Hues - perfect for the St Patricks Day inspired board at Festive Friday too ( I chose green, clover leaf and rainbow from the board) - the idea for my card came together pretty quickly too! Take a look at the card I created then read on for the detail:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Gather Your Supplies - The key to a speed stamping challenge is preparation - and this can be done before the stopwatch starts! I had my Bee Builder Punch and decided that the heart shape that forms the bee's wings would also be perfect for the basis of a lucky four-leaf clover. I wanted to keep things simple, so focused everything around one main green - Shaded Spruce. I grabbed that ink pad and some green cardstock, trawled through my (extensive!) designer paper collection for three papers I could use for those background layers that all featured Shaded Spruce as the primary colour (all 3 are retired) and grabbed those, grabbed a precut white card base and diecut circle - I keep a box of pre-cut white cardbases on my desk as these are the ones I use most, and a box of precut shapes for those I use the most and went on the hunt for a current stamp set with a 'lucky' sentiment - I settled on 'Country Flowers'. Here are my supplies, all ready to go:

 

I also had my embellishment box to hand, with any green or white ones at the front in case I wanted to add them at the end. Then I set my stopwatch - go, go, go!

Bee Builder Punch - My card is fairly straightforward: three overlapping panels of DSP, my Stylish Shapes diecut circle and the focal point: my four leaf clover, this is where my Bee Builder punch comes in! I punched 5 hearts from Shaded Spruce cardstock, overlapped four of them and cut a curved stem from the fifth one and glued them to the circle to create my lucky clover:

 

I added some green tinsel gems to cover the join and add some sparkle and used the 'best friend' sentiment for the front of my card, adding the 'lucky' one to the insde of my card:

I think it's fun to see what else you can use punches for, other than their main purpose. This isn't the first time I've used a punch or die to create a four leaf clover either - if you do a search on my blog, you will find many examples over the years!

The Result - So how long did my card take? An impressive 7 minutes and 51 seconds, even if I say so myself! 

 

The key is in the preparation - and keeping it simple, with minimal stamping. So what are your favourite ways to use your punches for a speedy card? Do leave me a comment below and better still, play along with our challenge this week!

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.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Pretty Petals Thoughtful Moments CAS Thank You Card CCS555

by Joanne James4. March 2025 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Nancy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

     

What a great set of fresh and zingy colours! For my card today I'm also playing along with the 'anything CAS' challenge over at AAA Cards with the optional twist of spring/spring colours with a simple thank you card packed with spring floral details - take a look:

 

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

Thoughtful Moments - I decided to use the Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Embossing Folder and Dies for the sentiment on my card today as I haven't used them for ages! I inked my embossing folder with Berry Burst ink to get the word outline before embossing and diecutting, then used my Berry Burst Blends to create a dip-dyed ombre look, before adding to my card base. It's difficult to see in the photos, but the embossing adds a really nice detail to a clean and simple card.  

Pretty Petals - I decorated my sentiment with clusters of flowers, stamped using the Pretty Petals stamp set. I stamped the stems directly onto the card base, in a mix of the greens, then stamped the petals in Berry Burst and diecut them before adding with dimensionals for a little extra depth:

 

The Pretty Petals stamps have an almost watercoloured effect, giving them a soft, airy feel - perfect for spring. In addition to individual blooms, you can stamp and diecut larger elements too - check out the set in more detail by clicking on the link to the Online Exclusives section of the store in the product table below. What's more, both the stamps and dies are currently reduced - so you could pick up a bargain too!

Finishing Touches - A white baker's twine bow and trio of white faceted gems complete 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 in the week with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Mixed Media Florals Ephemera Thank You Card

by Joanne James4. March 2025 09:47

I had a little extra time in my craft room over the weekend so today I'm sharing a super quick clean and simple card that I made for a couple of challenges:

   

The CAS on Friday layout is a good one and I thought it would be fun to play along with Inkspirational who this week are all about clean and simple too, with the optional choice of ephemera. Take a look at what I came up with:

 

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

Do you ever look at the Memories and More packs in the Stampin' Up! catalogue? They are great for memory keeping but super useful for cards and home decor projects too. They contain both large and small cards, some of which are a cardfront in themselves, and usually a couple of sheets of ephemera or stickers. On my card today, I diecut a tag from one of the black and white patterned large cards and tied it with some black baker's twine - the twine, along with my bright yellow cardbase, were the only additional items to the Memories and More pack that I used on today's card. I cut a couple of strips from other cards in the pack to sit behind my tag, then added a circular sticker featuring tulips as my focal point:

 

I added a few of the individual coloured flower stickers to my tag for little pops of colour and a sentiment sticker that was also from the set to complete my card. The Mixed Media Florals Memories and More Pack really is great for this kind of quick, no stamping card; all of the elements coordinate in terms of colour and pattern, you just need to choose your favourites and create! The thing I love most about this card is the Daffodil Delight cardbase; I almost made my card with a white base, but when I'd laid it out, it looked a little 'flat'. The sunny yellow definitely fixed that!

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 later with my card for our new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Mixed Florals Everyday Arches Pop-Up Card

by Joanne James2. March 2025 08:00

At last - March has arrived! 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 seasonal theme challenge for us to work with:

 

Spring flowers - I am so ready for spring! It has been beautifully crisp and sunny here in the UK for the last few days and finally there are signs of spring. Snowdrops and crocuses are blossoming, and daffodils are starting to bloom, with tulips not far behind. I knew that for today's card I wanted to create something bright and colourful using the tulips stamp in the Mixed Florals stamp set - take a look at what I came up with:

 

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

Full Of Life - My colour scheme for today's card was inspired by the piece of pink and orange ombre paper from the Full of Life pack. Like me, Claire is a fan of bright colours and I thought this injection of brights is just what was needed to propel us into spring! 

Mixed Florals - I used the large image featuring tulips on the front of my card - along with daffodils, tulips are the flower that most represents spring to me. I used lots of colours to get the blend of colours for my florals; I added some brass butterflies along with a Lemon-Lime Twist diecut piece behind, but really wanted the coloured florals to take centre stage:

I finished the front of my card with a diecut sentiment from the Greetings For All pack - I needed a bold sentiment to balance out the design.

Everyday Arches - I used one of the Everyday Arches Dies to frame my ombre designer paper on the front of my card, then used the insert to back another and create a simple pop-up design on the inside of my card for extra interest, and added another floral stem to decorate:

 

This kind of pop-up/out is so easy to use (you just need to score a strip of paper and create a four-sided 'box' to sit between the base and the panel you want to pop) and is a great way to do something a little different to add interest. 

Yay for brights and spring flowers - I can't wait to see what you create for this week's challenge. 

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:

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Floral Delight Gingham Best Wishes

by Joanne James27. February 2025 19:00

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a couple of challenges:

   

The sun was finally shining here in the UK today and it had me thinking that spring might finally be on its way! I had the colours out on my desk along with my Floral Delight Suite as I wanted to make something 'sunny'  for the challenge over at Sunday Stamps and then I saw Linda's layout this week over at Freshly Made Sketches and it had me immediately inspired! Take a look at what I came up with:

 

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

Delightful Wishes - The Delightful Wishes bundle has so many pretty florals that are perfect for spring. I'm not sure what flower the stem is supposed to be. As a child, my neighbour's garden had a huge forsythia tree and this set so reminds me of it, especially when stamped in yellow. Those blooms are so cheery too, so that's what I went for as the central element of Linda's sketch, and placing the sentiment either side of it on the other side.  

Gingham Vellum - The Floral Delight Suite has two different sets of designer series paper: in addition to the Floral Delight paper, there is a Floral & Gingham Vellum pack, which includes a pretty Pool Party and White vellum. I used this to provide the background for the front of the card, and picked up the aqua with a trio of glossy dots too:

 

Inside Extra - I used a diecut and stamped stem on the front of my card and added a small stamped one to decorate the inside:

 

And I managed to use all of the colours on the Sunday Stamps palette too - bonus! I am so done with winter and ready for spring now - bring on the lighter, brighter days!

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Friendly Seagulls CAS Trio And A Final Sale-A-Bration Reminder

by Joanne James26. February 2025 20:00

 

Happy hump day everyone! Today I'm sharing a super quick card that I made using the current layout over at AAA Cards:

 

I had some seagulls cut and coloured left over from another project, so I decided that a trio of them would work perfectly for that sketch - take a look:

 

I used a sentiment from the set, altering the layout slightly to work better for the sketch:

 

Finally, I added another seagull and some chips to the inside of my card for a final touch of decoration:

 

I think the 'Friendly Seagulls' stamp set is my favourite Sale-A-Bration free item of the whole promotion - so fun! There are just two more days remaining of this year's Sale-A-Bration, so if you have your eye on this set or any other free product, you have just a couple more days to place an order and get your hands on them.

I'm also linking today's card up for a second run over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog where the theme is 'W For Wings'. 

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

 
 
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Mini Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

New Year, new products - the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue is here! For more details and to download your copy click here

Shop Online

Access my online shop 24 x 7, 365 days of the year:

Current March hostess code:

 3JRGYMXT

Shop Online

Join My Team

It's always a great time to join Stampin’ Up! New team members can get £130 worth of products for only £99 + free business supplies + free shipping + all the fun being a part of Stampin’ Up! Stampin' Up! has something for everyone: join my growing team and benefit from my support to enjoy Stampin' Up! however you choose.

If you're interested, call me for a chat to understand how I can help you realise your goals. Alternatively, if you have already decided to sign up and you just can't wait, please click here for the link to the online form where you can sign up and order your starter kit right away! 

Scrapbooking

Stampin' Up! has introduced a new range of 12x12" scrapbooking product and kit - the full range is now available to purchase online. To download a copy of the new digital Scrapbooking Catalogue click here.

Latest Kits!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The Birthday Bash Kit is just one of the latest kits in the online store - get yours here!

2024-25 Annual Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

Click on the image to download your copy of the 2024-25 annual catalogue. For a full list of current SU! supplies, go to my online store. If you would like any help or advice, please drop me a line at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk or give me a call on 07773 421446 - I'd be happy to help.

New Online Exclusives

There are new products available exclusively in the online store from 7 January - check them out here.

About Me

Hi I'm Joanne and live in Northampton and when I'm not looking after my husband and two beautiful children, am an avid crafter with a passion for all things Stampin' Up!

I must confess that I have never been a big rubber stamper - until I discovered Stampin' Up! that is. I love the fact that I can get such great results with co-ordinating stamps, inks, papers and punches - the possibilities are endless! Join me on my stamping journey as I share the things I love and be inspired to create amazing things yourself!

Follow Me

Monthly Newsletter

Box Builder

Click the button above to use Box Buster to create your custom box design using the Envelope Punch Board!

Kits Collection Now Available!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The new Kits Collection from Stampin' Up! is now available!

Click here to see the current kits available and order yours online today.

I Design For

 

 

 

Stampin' Up Stuff

This is my personal blog and is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up! I hope you find it a plentiful source of ideas and personal inspiration but please don't copy my designs for contest submission or use for classes, publication or sale without express permission.

DSP Special Release

Check out 3 popular designer series paper designs in fresh new colourways! Available exclusively in the online store from 3 December - check them out here