Halloween Treats - Good To the Very Last Bite!

by Joanne James31. October 2014 16:00

I'm off to a Halloween party today with friends and I wanted to do a quick post to share with you some of the treats I made to take for the children. I found these cute mini pumpkins for the girls and slightly more scary eyeballs for the boys, and just tied them in some cellophane with the White and Tangerine Tango Two-tone Trim and added some cute tags:

I also found these cute chocolate Halloween figures that I dressed up with some covers made using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch with a large oval punched out of the front section, and decorated with some colourful tags - I stamped the Halloween image from the 'Merry Everything' stamp set twice, once on Tangerine Tango then again on some scraps of retired Lucky Limeade cardstock and cut out the Dracula on the green cardstock and paper-pieced them together.

How cute are these? I'm entering these into this week's challenge over at Colour Q, as they were inspired by this week's colour scheme and challenge badge (I substituted Rich Razzleberry as my purple, since I didn't have and Concorde Grape):

Happy Halloween everyone! 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.

 

Behind The Scenes at Stampin' Up! - Shooting a Stampissimo Video

by Joanne James30. October 2014 07:00

Today I have something very special that I've had to keep under wraps for a little while: the latest Stampin' Up! UK Stampissimo video has just been published and guess what? I am the starring demonstrator! I was so excited to be asked by Paula Gorry, Stampin' Up! UK Business Development Manager, to create a project for the latest video with the theme of 'Winter Treats' that once I had a copy of the Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue in my hands, it didn't take me long to decide what I was going to use - the fabulous new Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Die. You can make all kinds of customised boxes with this die, but for the theme of 'Winter Treats' I knew I wanted to create a range of Christmas characters, with Rudolf the Red-nose Reindeer being the star of the show. It meant I could combine the box die with another of my favourite catalogue products that you've seen me use so many times on different projects - the Autumn Wooden Embellishments (LOVE these and one pot lasts an age!)

Here is the reindeer box that I demonstrate in the video - how cute is this?!

The project itself needed to be simple enough to demonstrate whilst chatting at the same time - the purpose of Stampin' Up!'s range of Stampissimo videos is to spread the word about Stampin' Up! to both crafters and non-crafters who may not have heard of Stampin' Up! and give them some insight into the products and the demonstrators who sell them. Whilst they are based around demonstrating and sharing a particular product or project, the informational nature of these videos mean they last longer than your average tutorial so you need to get comfy!

You can get the details for how I made the box above and see lots of other boxes featured in the video itself, but I wanted to share with you some of the 'behind the scenes' photos from my day and give you a little insight into the fun that I had spending the day with Paula and Kelly in the studio, along with the now infamous 'Ben and Jerry' film crew of Ben and James, who do all of the filming for Stampin' Up!'s UK events and did such a fabulous job of recording the day and producing the final video.

This is what filming looks like from behind the scenes -  a real case of lights, camera, action! There are cameras that shoot from the front and from above in order to get a full range of shots and the necessary close-ups. When I shoot video tutorials at home I use an overhead camera, but I'm sitting at my desk. When you're standing up it is quite tricky because you have to be careful not to lean over your workspace, otherwise all the viewer sees is the top of your head! Sounds obvious, but I found out there is a real art to working with your arms outstretched and not leaning too far into your workspace.

Here are a couple of shots of Ben and James, the guys that produce the video - I struggle to tell them apart - they're twins! - but as you can see, one is slightly more camera-shy than the other:

 

They really are the nicest chaps you could wish to meet and I think they did a great job with the final edit, although I'll admit I'm biased!

This is my favourite photo of Paula and I on the day, taken mid-take once we were properly relaxed and into the swing of things - we really were having fun:

Lastly, here's one of us all post filming each displaying our favourite boxes, the chaps included. They decided the boxes were so easy to make, they might even have a go themselves at making some to grace their family festive table. At the UK training day at Telford earlier this year, the Stampin' Up! demonstrators were treated to a video of Ben and 'Jerry' making their first foray into crafting Stampin' Up! style, so this may well be their second!!

Also, note the festive pot plant on the edge of the desk and the Christmas tree in the video - Kelly and Paula did their best to make the studio look festive, which was quite tricky given that this was filmed some time ago when the sun was shining gloriously outside and it was not even remotely autumnal, let alone wintery! A big thank you the lovely Kelly Francis, who took all of the above pictures - she is an absolute star!

Here are some additional pictures of some of the finished boxes that feature in the video - this is Santa's helper, the mischievous elf: 

This is the man himself, Santa Claus - with his head!:

This one is Santa - without his head! Perfect if you are short on time or want something that's a little more adult-oriented:

Then we have the cutest snowman - check out his twirly carrot nose! 

Here they are altogether - one big happy Curvy Keepsake Box festive family:

I hope you found the 'behind the scenes' tour interesting - now here's the video that you've all been waiting for:

In summary, a truly great experience and yet another of the fantastic opportunities available to me as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator working with this amazing company that allows me to share what I love, be endlessly creative, manage and motivate a great team and have a job that totally fits around my family commitments and enables me to achieve the best work-life balance I've ever had.

If you're reading this and thinking that you would like to know more about the benefits of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, then do get in touch with me on 07773 421446  - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you and tell you more.

If you would like to make Rudolf, the supplies list that links to my online store is below.

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.

 

 

Baby We've Grown Baby Card for a Colour Me...! Double Bill

by Joanne James29. October 2014 10:00

It's Wednesday and time for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have not one but two colour palettes for you to choose from this week:

  

I'm playing along with option 2 this week, so I have the colour combination of Chocolate Chip, Lost Lagoon, Blushing Bride and a neutral (I chose Very Vanilla) to work with. Using the above sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches as the inspiration for my layout (I turned it through 90 degrees), I decided to make (another!) baby card using one of my favourite baby sets, Baby We've Grown. Here is my card:

I stamped my focal image in Chocolate Chip and coloured in using ink and my blender pens, to give a slightly vintage look to my owls. I matted this panel onto a piece of Chocolate Chip Cardstock, which overlays a vertical strip that has been edged with a piece of Lost Lagoon punched with the hearts border punch. I added my sentiment, again stamped in Chocolate Chip on Lost Lagoon cardstock, to finish. Although the base is Blushing Bride, I think this could be a good unisex baby card; you could always alternate the pink and blue elements if you wanted something more masculine in appearance.

So what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment on today's card, before hopping over to check out the amazing cards by the rest of the Colour Me...! team:

And our talented guest designer for October - Jen Mitchell
 
We look forward to seeing your creative creations - which colour scheme will you choose? 
 
I'm having a fun day with friends today, with all kinds of crafting the order of the day. 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.

 

 

 

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Cards | Stamping

New Wednesday Weekly Deals!

by Joanne James29. October 2014 07:00

It's Wednesday so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.

As always, if you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the Hostess Code for October/November (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right) and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
 
A llitle bit of everything this week! As always, these offers will only be around for one week, so don't delay - get shopping!

Curvy Keepsake Pumpkin Treat Box

by Joanne James28. October 2014 22:51

I'm very late posting today - eek! - having had a fun day with the James juniors, amongst other things shopping for the contents for our annual Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes. This is something we really enjoy and is a great way to encourage the children to think of others less fortunate than themselves as we are about to embark on one of the most commercial seasons of the year and to be grateful for all they have.

With gratefulness in mind, I thought I would share a little pumpkin that I made using the Curvy Keepsake Thinlit Die - this would make a perfect Thanksgiving table favour for my American readers and equally with an alternative tag would be suitable for Halloween too. There are tons of variations on pumpkins made with the thinlit die out there in blogland, but this is my version:

So simple to make: just cut two pieces of Pumpkin Pie cardstock with the thinlit, stamp the inner sections of the box with one of the stamps from the Work of Art set, then finish with some Old Olive leaves cut using the Fun Fall Framelits, some twisted tendrils, a couple of my favourite Autumn Wooden Embellishments and a tag from the Merry Everything set, all tied on with linen thread. I love this die and have made so many gorgeous boxes with it; I am hoping to be able to share some of them with you later this week.

Meanwhile, today I'm going to leave you with a fun photo that is destined for this year's Halloween Project Life page for sure - whilst out shopping today, we treated ourselves to some Halloween 'trick or treat' donuts at Krispy Kreme; sure enough, we had one of each filling:

The oozing green filling was actually quite nice, but the appearance was definitely a surprise!

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday Deals and my Design Team post for Colour Me...! Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Fall Fest Halloween Pumpkin Card

by Joanne James27. October 2014 20:19

Happy Monday everyone! I've had a fun day today: made today's blog card first thing, caught up with a friend who's been away for a while, then spent the afternoon with the lovely ladies that attend my monthly card class - there can't be a better way to start my week! I tell you, those ladies are an absolute hoot and there are some real artists amongst them for sure (yes Chris, the reindeer was inspired!!) Pictures to follow on my Facebook page!

We used the Endless Wishes stamp set in my class today, but today's blog card is back on the theme of Halloween - I need to get the use out of my Halloween sets before they get retired for another year! I took my inspiration from the photo over at Fusion, but didn't double up and use their sketch too (I might have another go at this later in the week) - instead I used the rather interesting layout over at Pals Paper Arts:

  

I knew I wanted to use orange with a touch of black and definitely needed to incorporate the pumpkin in the photo - this is what I came up with:

I used Sahara Sand for my card base, and used a piece of the Motely Monsters DSP that is covered with happy smiling pumpkins as my first angular layer. For my top piece, I used a piece of Tangerine Tango cardstock and cut out a pumpkin shape using my Fall Fest framelits, so that the DSP beneath would show through. I then stamped another smaller pumpkin is Crushed Curry onto Whisper White, stamped a face in Memento Black, cut this out with a framelit, tied it with a piece of linen thread and adhered to the edge of the open aperture. I popped this whole section onto dimensionals to give a little extra lift and depth. To finish, I stamped my sentiment from 'Good Greetings' in Memento Black onto the base of my card.

I hope you like today's card; 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.

 

The Newborn King for The Paper Players

by Joanne James26. October 2014 07:00

Sunday means it's time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players where this week Nance has a great sketch for us to play along with:

I love a good sketch challenge so decided to use this one to make a Christmas card using The Newborn King, a set I haven't inked up in a while. Here's my card:

I stamped just the stable image on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock in Night of Navy, and stamped it again on Brushed Gold cardstock and fussy cut out the stable itself and adhered this to my stamped image. I stamped my sentiment in two halves: the first half, the 'glory' in Versamark and heat embossed in gold, and the second part in Night of Navy, masking off the respective elements in turn. I toyed with whether or not I should stamp a sentiment on this section at all, given the sketch, then having decided that the sentiment here was as much a part of my image as the nativity, I then wondered whether I should dispense with the vertical sentiment element as per the sketch. In fact, I decided to use the word 'believe' from the Good Greetings set here, as it seemed to fit with my main focal panel. I edged my vanilla cardstock with a piece of gold washi tape and matted this section onto a piece of Brushed Gold, which overhangs the many section to show a border. Lastly, I stamped the star from the Newborn King stamp set in Versamark and heat embosses in gold, the filled in the outline with my gold marker for added definition and punched it out using my mosaic punch and attached it with a dimensional. I used Night of Navy for my cardbase, which I think is the perfect pairing for the gold and vanilla elements. I liked this card so much, I managed to make two (always good for my growing pile of cards!) - at this rate, I might just be ready for Christmas in time!!

Do check out the amazing cards produced by the rest of the design team for this week's challenge; as always, the standard is incredibly high and there's lots of inspiration to choose from.

Right - I'm off to hockey and then lunch with the extended James family, which will be nice for a change. 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.

 

 

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Cards | Stamping

Regal 'Nutty or Nice?' Nutcracker

by Joanne James25. October 2014 12:15

Happy Saturday everyone! I am back into the challenge swing of things and today I have a card for this week's Merry Monday challenge where the aim is to create a card using non-traditional colours and I also took a little inspiration from the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

 

I decided to make a card using the Nutcracker stamp as it really lends itself to cards using non-traditional colours and I've been wanting to make a purple card with him for some time; here's my card: 

I used Blackberry Bliss for my base and Hello Honey for the mat and the striped DSP which is from the Midnight DSP stack. I coloured my nutcracker using a combination of Stampin' Write markers and the skin tone, Smoky Slate and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities (I sued the middle and darkest one only as these are closer to Hello Honey) and added a popped-up moustache cut out using my Big Shot and the moustache framelit. To finish, I stamped my sentiment directly onto the DSP layer. I love the Nutcracker in these colours - I think he looks very regal!

That's me done for today; I have some class prep later for next week's class and then we are meeting up with some friends later for dinner, which should be fun.

Back tomorrow with my Design Team card over at The Paper Players, where Nance has a fabulous sketch for us and there is lots more festive fun to be had!

Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

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Cards | Stamping

A Pair of Festive Robins!

by Joanne James24. October 2014 20:53

Another busy day today but I managed to shop, clean the house and catch up on some work, so a nicely productive one. Today's card is my entry for this week's challenge over at 'Less Is More' where the theme this week is 'Little Creatures' - I'm squeezing this one in right under the wire this evening, but as this is one of my favourite challenge blogs and I haven't done any challenges this week, it was worth the effort.

I decided to make a Christmas card, although my 'little creatures' didn't come from a festive set - take a look:

I thought the little bird in the 'Hello Love' hostess set would make a cute robin, so I decided to stamp a pair under the little sprig of mistletoe that features in the Project Life Holiday Cheer stamp set and then coloured them with my Cherry Cobbler and skin tone Blendabilities, highlighting with my Colour Lifter, and adding a little red bow to the hair of one to make her into the 'Mrs'. I stamped the mistletoe in Garden Green and wiped away the bow and re-drew it in Real Red, and added a few tiny pearls to look like the mistletoe berries. For my sentiment, I chose 'I love us' from the 'Good Greetings' hostess set; this set is still available until the end of the month if you host a party and have qualifying sales of £200 or more. This sentiment just seemed to suit my robins perfectly!

A simple one layer card (even though one layer isn't part of the challenge criteria this week!) which shows a useful way to adapt the 'Hello Love' set for a Christmas card.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

 

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Cards | Stamping

Halloween Frightful Wreath - Still Time To Order Yours!

by Joanne James23. October 2014 21:06

A late post from me today as I've spent the day today in London with Jason and the children at the Tower of London on a family day out. We were keen to see the amazing artwork of the poppies in the moat at the Tower of London, laid to commemorate the centenary of World War One and boy we weren't disappointed - it really is an amazing sight. I'll share some pictures another day, but for now I wanted to show you my Halloween Frightful Wreath that is currently adorning my front door, in readiness for Halloween at the end of next week. This kit is so easy to put together - everything is included except for the ink and stamp for the banner and a hot glue gun to put it all together. The result is so impressive - here's my finished wreath:

 

Here's a close up of the centrepiece, a suspended rosette stamped with a 'Trick or Treat' sentiment - I used the co-ordinating stamp set, but you could use any similar set or even leave your wreath sentiment-free:

My favourite element of all is the beautiful purple and silver beaded spider that sits on the glimmer wreath - here's a close up:

How gorgeous is that?! A little more fiddly to put together than I'm used to, but so worth the effort - it's so eyecatching. Lastly, here is my finished wreath 'in situ' adorning my front door:

What a great project - and it took only about 90 minutes to put together. There's still time for you to get hold of one of these kits and put it together in time to add it to your Halloween home décor; just click on the links below to go straight to my online store to order yours!

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.

 

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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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