Afternoon Picnic Birthday Card PP169

by Joanne James31. October 2013 23:15

A late post from me today and it was supposed to be all about Halloween, but as I'm behind this week and the current Paper Players challenge ends tomorrow, I need to have a switch around so that I can link up today's card. This week's challenge over at The Paper Players is a sketch by the lovely Ann Marie - here it is:

I love sketch challenges as you know and I've actually used this layout for several card designs this week (still in the making and not blogged yet, in case you're thinking you haven't seen them!) The card that I'm going to link up though is the one that is most 'true to sketch' and is actually the birthday card I designed for my Mum - here it is:

Now it's not my Mum's birthday until Saturday, so I'm taking a chance here, but as she rarely looks at my blog I think I'm safe! I took the inspiration for my colour scheme from some of the papers in the Afternoon Picnic DSP stack and it was an opportunity to use a colour that I rarely do: Wisteria Wonder. I actually had some out on my desk as I've been using it for another project recently, but must confess it's a colour I don't find myself drawn to. I love the idea of lilac, but I find too much Wisteria Wonder rather overpowering. Here I've tried to temper that by using a Very Vanilla background and making good use of Pear Pizzazz, the other main colour in the patterned paper. I used my Stampin' Write markers to colour the flower from the 'Oh Hello' stamp set, which so looks like the flowers that you see in this paper stack and I used an embossed strip across the centre of my card because whilst I think it would have looked nice with a strip of chevron ribbon, I wanted it to be post-friendly and I like the way the embossed dots again echo the pattern of the paper.

So that's my card. I may well share some of today's Halloween makes with you tomorrow (call it early planning for next year!) Whilst I don't tend to go in for Halloween cards and as my regular readers will know, I haven't featured a single Halloween project, one of the things that is really big in the James household is pumpkin carving. Each year we try to grow our own pumpkins in the garden and this year we managed to grow four, two of which were the biggest ever! Our record breaking pumpkin was 1.38m in circumference and weighed 17.9kg - only 2kg lighter than my 6 year old son!!! The children and I spent the happiest of days today carving all four of our pumpkins, so I thought I should share some pictures with you:

 This is Rebecca's pumpkin, that she carved herself:

This is Ben's pumpkin, that he too managed himself for the first time this year:

 

And lastly here are both Ben and Rebecca, with our two 'monster' pumpkins, the largest of which was big enough for a double Monsters University-inspired carving:

 

Not a piece of cardstock in sight, but very creative, nonetheless! I'll be back tomorrow with another project, meanwhile why not pop over to The Paper Players and see what the designers and other participants have done with the above sketch? Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

My Digital Studio: 30% Off Holiday Downloads

by Joanne James30. October 2013 21:14

My second post today with the second new offer of the week:

Stampin' Up! are offering a fantastic 30% off selected holiday digital downloads from now until 30th November. There's a wide variety of downloads that are reduced, everything from cards to tags, from pictures to frameables.

With downloads starting at as little as £1.05, it's never been a better time to embrace the digital festivities!

Lastly, here's the link for this week's new digital downloads:

October 29, 2013

If digital is your thing, keep watching my blog for more news later this week to coincide with Digital Scrapbooking Day!

That's me caught up with all the news! If you need any more information on either of this week's new offers, do get in touch. Back tomorrow with a creative project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

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My Digital Studio | Promotions | Shop Online

New Tag It Box Bundle Offers: 20% Off!

by Joanne James30. October 2013 20:36

Good evening to you blog readers! I'm having a catch up this evening, since in addition to it being MDS Weekly Download Day I have another two fantastic offers to share with you this week. The first of this week's new offers is perfect for personalised packaging with minimum fuss and maximum convenience and impact:

There are 2 separate bundles available:

Bundle 1 - Holiday Tag It Extra Large Box Bundle at £16.95, comprising:

  • a Stamp A Tag Kit
  • 3 Extra Large Gift Boxes
  • a 9.1m roll of Cherry Cobbler 1" (2.5cm) Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

 

Bundle 2 - Holiday Tag It Decorative Box Bundle at £17.95, comprising:

  • a Stamp A Tag Kit
  • 6 Decorative Window Gift Boxes
  • a 9.1m roll of Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Both of these bundles represent a 20% saving on the individual prices, so now there's no excuse for every parcel to be packaged with the hand-finished touch. This offer is valid until 30th November, so if you would like to order either click on either of the above pictures to go straight to my online store or contact me to add to a local order today!

Back shortly with an MDS Offers post; until then, happy stampin!

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Boxes | Promotions | Stamping

Birthday Netballs!

by Joanne James29. October 2013 23:12

Today's blog post is a late one as I've been out this evening and had a reasonably hectic day and didn't get a chance to do it beforehand. I used sketch #64 over at Paper Craft Crew Challenges as the basis for this card and I'm just in time to sneak in a link up, so thought I'd better get typing! I had a commission card request for a female birthday card that featured netball. Whilst I knew the basketball stamp in 'Great Sport' would make the perfect netball, I was wondering how I was going to pull it all together. I decided to use the PPCC sketch this week as the basis for my design layout. Here's the sketch inspiration:

Stampin Up challenge blog card sketch

So, sunglasses at the ready - here is my interpretation:

The card is very orange, but having played around with various other colour combinations this really did seem to work best (and luckily, the recipient loves the colour orange!) Any of the colours I would ordinarily have paired with Tangerine Tango made the card look too masculine and really didn't work. I did use some Real Red as an accent colour and a little Basic Grey. Wondering how I created the netball hoop and net? I simply used my large oval punch to cut some thin strips of cardstock and adhered them to each other in a weave pattern.

And the moral of the story? Orange is for all cards, not just Halloween ones! Pop over to the Paper Craft Crew Challenge page and see how the designers and other participants have interpreted this week's sketch.

Back tomorrow with news of more great offers from Stampin' Up; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

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Cards | Punch Art | Stamping

My Digital Studio Thank You Card

by Joanne James28. October 2013 22:00

Today I have something a little different for me and for you: a card created using My Digital Studio. I have been using it more and more lately, not as a substitute for my more traditional cards, but as a useful addition to my crafting repertoire. I decided that I would create the thank you cards that went out with the last batch of my customer orders using MDS to show just how easy it is to create a simple card. Here is my finished card:

I decided upon a simple design and used only elements that come with the standard MDS offering. I chose Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Midnight Muse and Whisper White as my colours and chose a snowflake-type shape as I really am all about Christmas at the moment! I used a light drop shadow on my Thank You sentiment, just to give it some dimension and lift and I even added rhinestones; you could of course add the real thing post-print, but I wanted to show my customers what they could achieve with just some Whisper White cardstock, MDS and their imagination.

I'm quite pleased with the result, not least because it took no time at all to create and once done I could print sheets of them at a time - so much quicker than hand stamping and great if you need to produce a lot of cards and are short on time. Some of my customers have been having great results with MDS with several of them printing their own DSP to make traditional cards and also some lovely hybrid examples. I keep forgetting to take my camera whenever we have card class so end up without pictures that I can share with you. I've left a reminder in my calendar for next week's classes though, so hopefully I'll get better! If you haven't already downloaded a copy of My Digital Studio, I can thoroughly recommend it; just click on the picture icon below and start creating.

Well, we survived the stormy weather here in the UK today, although many have not been as lucky. A friend of mine had two enormous trees uprooted in her garden and my brother-in-law had something of a challenging journey into and out of the city today due to the chaotic transport situation. We stayed indoors for much of the day, venturing out only for a spot of lunch and for Ben to shoot hoops (not a day goes by when this doesn't happen!) I for one am thankful for the lovely new front door we had fitted at the James residence last week, which is doing an excellent job of keeping the drafts out.

Back tomorrow with a very bright birthday card (sunglasses required!); until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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Cards | My Digital Studio

Mosaic Bauble Thinlit Card and Punch Tip Video

by Joanne James26. October 2013 22:16

We have had a lovely day today; we've stayed indoors out of the howling winds and had some family over for Sunday lunch. It's been lovely to spend time with my brother- and sister-in-law, nephew and niece, as we don't do it nearly often enough with the busy lives we all lead.

As promised, I have another Thinlit card for you today, this time with a Mosaic Madness bauble design - take a look:

I created a simple 'layered' bauble using a circle punch and the mosaic punch, then layering by raising the outer circle on dimensionals and creating a ribbon hanger. Here's a close-up of my bauble:

For a greeting on this card, I used a pair of sentiments from the 'Petite Pairs' stamp set, stamping one half on a layered label on the front of the card and the other half on the reverse of the flipped circle:

Lastly, are you wondering what punches I used for my raised sentiment label on the front of my card? Here's a closer look:

No, it's not a new label punch or two, I actually used my Mosaic Punch to create them! I'm all for making your tools work harder for you and this punch is great for creating labels as well as straight forward mosaic shapes. I shot a short video to show you how to make these labels; I actually made it a while ago, but didn't make a card to go with it, so haven't shared it until now. This also explains why the stamped pieces I used in the video are not the actual ones you see on today's card. If you're feeling confused, just watch the video - it will all make sense! Here's the link:

Just to recap on the measurements in the video: I recommend the narrow label is a maximum of 1.5cm in width, and the wider label 3.0cm in width. Either label can be of any length. I hope you found the video tutorial useful.

Lastly, don't forget, you have only until 11pm tomorrow night to order any of the 25 stamp sets that are 25% off - for details on the stamps on offer, click here.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Best of Christmas Santa Thinlit Card

by Joanne James25. October 2013 19:45

Apologies for the lack of blog posts for the last couple of days: Hubby has had a few days off so with him and the children, I've rather had my hands full! Yesterday however I had a largely child-free day as the James juniors were at Grandma's so, whilst the kiddies were away it was definitely an excuse to play and catch up on some crafting! Today I'm going to share my first Thinlits card with you, featuring the jolly Santa stamp from the 'Best of Christmas' anniversary set:

 I kept the card design quite simple as I wanted the detail on the santa stamp to take centre stage. I coloured him with markers and a blender pen, adding a little Dazzling Details to the fur on his hat for a little sparkle. Here's a close up: 

I then cut him out using the scalloped circle framelit that is one of the pieces that comes with circle thinlit set and adhered him to the card base. A little DSP on the back panel just finishes the card off.

So what do you think? These cards are so easy to make - they take just minutes to cut and roll and have lots of fun extra pieces in addition to the card body. I have another thinlit card to show you tomorrow, with a little video too, so I hope you'll pop back then and take a look. Already prepared as we have family coming for dinner tomorrow, so there will be little time for crafting. Hope to see you tomorrow; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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Cards | Stamping

Merry Monday - Deck The Halls

by Jason James22. October 2013 21:30

I'm having a fun week at home with the James juniors this week, but it isn't leaving much time for crafting! Once we've finished our holiday homework we should be able to do some crafting together, which will be nice; I have a few Halloween things planned which I should be able to share with you in due course.

This week's Merry Monday Challenge is #80 'Use Music or a Carol Inspired Card' and having seen the great inspiration cards, I was keen to have a go. Here's my card:

I made a simple card where I cut out a circle using my Circle Framelits to reveal the 'deck the halls' stamp on the inside of the card. I decorated simply with some punched holly tied with baker's twine. I finished the punch berries with some Crystal Effects to add a nice shine (it looks much nicer in real life!) and scored the centre of my card panel using my Simply Scored borders plate to add some texture and interest to the Baked Brown Sugar card front. A simple card, yet I have this urge to break into song: Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la! I love Christmas time.

With all of yesterday's news, I didn't get round to sharing the link to this week's new digital downloads, so here it is:

October 22, 2013

There are some fun autumn pocket cards and some recipe layouts, along with a variety of different Christmas stamps to take a look at. The free trial for MDS is still available to download, so if you haven't already why not take a look - it will open up a whole new avenue of crafting to you.

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

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

  

Thinit Card Framelits Are Here!

by Joanne James22. October 2013 20:58

For my second post today, I am delighted to announce that the new Thinlit Card Dies are here and available in my online store NOW! If you've ever made a 'flip' card the long way, you will love these new framelit dies - they make making cards like this a breeze!

Here's one made by one of Stampin' Up!'s designers:

Label Card Thinlits Die

This is how it opens ...

The whole thing can be created in minutes by running your chosen cardstock through the Big Shot with the Thinlit layout of your choice - there is both a circle and label layout to choose from. Both sets come with a variety of additional pieces to add to your creativity, either on your flip cards or can be used separately with other cards and projects - this is what they look like:

Stampin' Up have produced a great video showing the Thinlits in action; take a look:

 

 

Aren't they great? I'm looking forward to sharing some of my creations with you in the coming days and weeks; if you can't wait and need to order either of the framelit sets now, then pop along to my online store or give me a call today - at only £29.95 they are great value and offer endless possibilities!

I'll be back tomorrow with a card to share; until then, happy stampin'!

 

 

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Cards | Promotions | Shop Online

Stampin' Up is Having a Party - 25% off 25 Stamp Sets for One Week Only!

by Joanne James22. October 2013 20:11

 As promised lovely blog readers, there is lots of news and information today, so there are few posts to cover it all!

The first news today is that as you now this year is Stampin' Up's 25th Anniversary and whilst it has been celebrating all year round, this week is the week of the actual birthday, 25th October - so there is a fantastic offer to celebrate: a sale on stamps, 25% off 25 sets to be exact!

 

 

Check out the stamp sets included in the sale offer below (both wood and clear mount are included, and English, French and German language sets, although the links below will take you to the English language clear-mount sets in my online store):

 

25 Stamps

Image

Item

Stamp Description

Catalogue Price

Sale Price

1

 A Dozen Thoughts

131056

A Dozen Thoughts Wood-Mount

32,95 € /£23.95

24,71 € /£17.96

 

131059

A Dozen Thoughts Clear-Mount

25,95 € /£18.95

19,46 € /£14.21

2

 Zoo Babies

130453

Zoo Babies Wood-Mount

33,95 € /£24.95

25,46 € /£18.71

 

130456

Zoo Babies Clear-Mount

26,95 € /£19.95

20,21 € /£14.96

3

 Lots of Thanks

129687

Lots of Thanks Wood-Mount

27,95 € /£20.95

20,96 € /£15.71

 

129690

Lots of Thanks Clear-Mount

21,95 € /£16.95

16,46 € /£12.71

4

 Happy Day

130294

Happy Day Wood-Mount

26,95 € /£19.95

20,21 € /£14.96

 

130297

Happy Day Clear-Mount

21,95 € /£15.95

16,46 € /£11.96

5

 Gifts of Kindness

130441

Gifts of Kindness Wood-Mount

30,95 € /£22.95

23,21 € /£17.21

 

130444

Gifts of Kindness Clear-Mount

24,95 € /£17.95

18,71 € /£13.46

6

 Hearts a Flutter Clear-Mount Stamp Set

131922

Hearts a Flutter Wood- Mount

30,95 € /£22.95

23,21 € /£17.21

 

129252

Hearts a Flutter Clear- Mount

24,95 € /£17.95

18,71 € /£13.46

7

 Hello Lovely

130240

Hello, Lovely Wood-Mount

39,95 € /£29.95

29,96 € /£22.46

 

130243

Hello, Lovely Clear-Mount

31,95 € /£23.95

23,95 € /£17.95

8

 Crazy, Mixed-Up Love

131068

Crazy, Mixed-Up Love Wood-Mount

23,95 € /£17.95

 

17,96 € /£13.46

 

131071

Crazy, Mixed-Up Love Clear-Mount

18,95 € /£13.95

14,21 € /£10.46

9

 Bright Blossoms - Clear-Mount Stamp

128424

Bright Blossoms Wood- Mount

20,95 € /£14.95

15,71 € /£11.21

 

125497

Bright Blossoms Clear- Mount

16,95 € /£11.95

12,71 € /£8.96

10

 Itty Bitty Banners Clear-Mount Stamp Set

132022

Itty Bitty Banners Wood- Mount

18,95 € /£13.95

14,21 € /£10.46

 

126257

Itty Bitty Banners Clear- Mount

14,95 € /£10.95

11,21 € /£8.21

11

 Yippee-Skippee!

131341

Yippee-Skippee Wood- Mount

22,95 € /£16.95

17,21 € /£12.71

 

131344

Yippee-Skippee Clear- Mount

17,95 € /£13.95

13,46 € /£10.46

12

 Gorgeous Grunge

130514

Gorgeous Grunge Wood- Mount

29,95 € /£21.95

22,46 € /£16.46

 

130517

Gorgeous Grunge Clear- Mount

23,95 € /£17.95

17,96 € /£13.46

13

 Ornament Keepsakes Clear-Mount Stamp Set

128048

Ornament Keepsakes Wood-Mount

41,95 € /£30.95

31,46 € /£23.21

 

128051

Ornament Keepsakes Clear-Mount

33,95 € /£24.95

25,46 € /£18.71

14

 Apothecary Art - Clear-Mount Stamp

128415

Apothecary Art Wood- Mount

41,95 € /£30.95

31,46 € /£23.21

 

125527

Apothecary Art Clear- Mount

33,95 € /£24.95

25,46 € /£18.71

15

 Cuddles & Kisses Clear-Mount Stamp Set

131913

Cuddles & Kisses Wood- Mount

30,95 € /£22.95

23.21 € /£17.21

 

127314

Cuddles & Kisses Clear- Mount

24,95 € /£17.95

18,71 € /£13.46

16

 Oh, Hello Clear-Mount Stamp Set

131931

Oh, Hello Wood-Mount

30,95 € /£22.95

23,21 € /£17.21

 

130733

Oh, Hello Clear-Mount

24,95 € /£17.95

18,71 € /£13.46

17

 Label Love

130619

Label Love Wood-Mount

29,95 € /£21.95

22,46 € /£16.46

 

130622

Label Love Clear-Mount

23,95 € /£17.95

17,96 € /£13.46

18

 Christmas Star Clear-Mount Stamp Set

134813

Christmas Star Single Stamp

11,95 € /£8.95

8,96 € /£6.71

19

 A Gift for You Clear-Mount Stamp Set

134765

A Gift for You Single Stamp

5,95 € /£4.50

4,46 € /£3.38

20

 Betsy's Blossoms Clear-Mount Stamp Set

131955

Betsy's Blossoms Wood- Mount

34,95 € /£25.95

26,21 € /£19.46

 

126006

Betsy's Blossoms Clear- Mount

27,95 € /£20.95

20,96 € /£15.71

21

 Morning Post Alphabet Clear-Mount Stamp Set

132042

Morning Post Alphabet Wood-Mount

56,95 € /£41.95

42,71 € /£31.46

 

126592

Morning Post Alphabet Clear-Mount

45,95 € /£33.95

34,46 € /£25.46

22

 Gently Falling Clear-Mount Stamp Set - by Stampin' Up!

128430

Gently Falling Wood-Mount

47,95 € /£35.95

35,96 € /£26.96

 

123804

Gently Falling Clear-Mount

37,95 € /£28.95

28,46 € /£21.71

23

 Snowflake Soiree Clear-Mount Stamp Set

127922

Snowflake Soiree Wood-Mount

35,95 € /£26.95

26,96 € /£20.21

 

127925

Snowflake Soiree Clear-Mount

28,95 € /£21.95

21,71 € /£16.46

24

 Jewish Celebrations Clear-Mount Stamp Set

128042

Jewish Celebrations Wood-Mount

30,95 € /£22.95

23,21 € /£17.21

 

128045

Jewish Celebrations Clear-Mount

24,95 € /£17.95

18,71 € /£13.46

25

 That's the Ticket Clear-Mount Stamp Set

131946

That's the Ticket Wood-Mount

27,95 € /£20.95

20,96 € /£15.71

 

128075

That's the Ticket Clear-Mount

21,95 € /£16.95

16,46 € /£12.71

These stamps are available at this price for one week only, until 28th October; afterwards they will return to their standard catalogue price. As always, you can order directly from my online store by clicking on any of the images above. Don't forget to use this month's Hostess Code -  4DS9WR2Q - in order to go into the draw for this month's hostess benefits. Alternatively, if you live local to me and would like to add you items to my order and collect from me, then give me a call or email your order through and you will save on postage.

25 great savings to be had - which one (or two!) will you be treating yourself to?

Back shortly with more news; until then, happy stampin'!

 

 

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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! 

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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!

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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.