A Waterfront Sunset TTT68

by Joanne James11. June 2020 09:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

My card fits the vertical column - summer, scene, free - and also the diagonal - summer, sunset, black/white (although not exclusively) - and for today's card I decided to challenge myself to use a set I haven't used much to create a peaceful scene - take a look:

 

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

Build A Scene - I decided to get creative with my 'Waterfront' stamp set for today's card. Just like 'My Meadow' and 'Snowfront', this is a build-a-scene stamp set with so many creative possibilities. I think for me that is sometimes the problem though; I am so attracted to these sets, but then struggle to make something that I'm happy with. The miserable weather here in the UK this week though got me thinking of sunnier climes and holidays gone by in sunny St Lucia, so I decided to create a sunset over the famous Pitons. Once I'd got started, it was actually really easy and a lot of fun! I stamped my mountains first, then the sea and then everything else, having created a simple post-it note mask over my mountains to maintain perspective.

Sunset Colours - I did reach for some retired Grapefruit Grove cardstock for my cardbase, because I found Pumpkin Pie too 'orange' with my Petal Pink and Calypso Coral colours. But You could vary this - the great thing about these kinds of sets is that you can create in whatever colours you have to hand and create a different look and feel to you scene each time.

Don't Forget The Inside - I added a little additional detail to the corner of the inside of my card too, just carrying the tropical feel into the inside:

 

I'm also linking up with the ladies over at Just Us Girls this week where the code word is 'sunshine' so I'm hoping that extends to sunsets too! You should definitely check out their gallery this week - it's so full of light and sunshine!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; I am trying to catch up on indoor chores as the weather outside really is frightful! I shall be dreaming of Caribbean beaches as I go! I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

 Table to follow.

 

Rain or Shine Rainbow Under My Umbrella - PP494

by Joanne James7. June 2020 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

    

I used Julee's current Mojo Monday sketch for my layout and decided to use my 'Under My Umbrella' stamp set that really hasn't seen that much ink since I had it so I decided to remedy that - take a look:

 

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

I used some retired Sale-A-Bration raindrop patterned paper for my vertical panel, then created a rainbow from a series of narrow strips for the horizontal one. I then added some fussy cut wellies filled with punched flowers and a bright yellow umbrella, punched with my Umbrella Builder punch, along with my sentiment on a stitched square, to finish. This card was quite quick to complete once I'd decided what to do and is rather bright and cheery; in hindsight, all it's missing is some sunshine. What can I say - aren't we all!

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!

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; we are making pizzas from scratch today and if the weather continues to be cold and wet me might embark on another game of Monopoly, since yesterday's game was terminated prematurely due to bedtime! 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.

A Summer Day At The Beach

by Joanne James6. June 2020 20:49

The weather has been so wet and cold today it has been really miserable! I had a little time this afternoon to squeeze in a quick card and I couldn't resist pulling one of my retired stamp sets off the shelf to make a bright card for a few challenges:

RRCB 136      

 I had been considering what to use for a summer-themed card for Festive Friday, and a retired stamp set that I've had since 2017, Day At The Beach, had just the images that I needed to start ticking off that inspo list! It also means I can link my card up over at RetroRubber too! So armed with the current Fab Friday sketch too I set to work and came up with a colourful summer collage - take a look:

 

I grabbed a selection of summer stamps and set to work: sunshine, flip flops, ice lollies, beach ball, umbrella, sunglasses, bucket and spade, sunhat - everything you would need for a beach vacation and a bunch of my Blends markers and coloured in my bright pattern. I paired it with a bold, diecut sentiment to finish. A summer beach vacation seems like a distant memory right now, so it was nice to live life through my card for just a little while today.

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.

Movie-Inspired In-Color Hello Card for AYSI 227

by Joanne James5. June 2020 12:00

No blog yesterday as I was still super busy with new catalogue launch day activities and making sure that all the bundles were ordered for my online  'Blossoms in Bloom' class on June 15th - there's still time to sign up if you'd like to join me! Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a fun 'fill in the blank' challenge:

 

Like many of the team this week I procrastinated for ages over this card! I love movies and I could think of so many different cards, I struggled to narrow down my ideas. In the end I went with an iconic movie quote from my most favourite movie of all time - take a look:

 

Do you recognise it? Yes, it's Renee Zellweger's classic line when her husband, the handsome Tom Cruise, returns from his road trip in the movie 'Jerry Maguire'. This is a movie packed with famous quotes: "Show me the money!" and "Did you know bees and dogs can smell fear?" to name just two. 

I decided to make a bold statement using diecut letters in black for the first part of the quote adhered directly to my card mat, then switched for 'hello' by diecutting this out of the mat itself and then adding snippets of each of the new Stampin' Up! 2020-22 in-colours directly to the cardbase below, and popping the mat up on dimensionals: 

 

I added a little Magenta Madness pink heart to the centre of the 'o', courtesy of the dog builder punch (such a useful little heart!) to complete my card.

I used the retired Little Letters Thinlits Dies to create my card today, but it's a good opportunity to point out that the new Stampin' Up! catalogue has at last a new set of alphabet dies to purchase - something that many of you have missed from the last one, judging by the number of enquiries I get! The new set is called 'Playful Alphabet' (page 178) and is very similar in size and style to the thinlits I used on my card although there are a couple of great additions: duplicate letters for commonly used characters, such as vowels, as well as numbers and a set of characters, including a question mark, accents and a hashtag - and all for a very reasonable price of £32. As such, this is the set I've linked to below should you wish to purchase from my online store and re-create my card.

I don't have a photo of the inside of my card, as I wrote a personal message in it as soon as my card was made. I know my husband will totally 'get' this card as he knows how much I love this card, but I will confirm I did begin my message with another memorable quote from the movie: "You complete me" - it just had to be done! If you haven't seen this movie and have no idea what I'm talking about today, I can highly recommend it; grab your tissues and watch this little  clip, courtesy of movies.com, to whet your appetite: 

 And on that beautiful note - 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. What is your favourite movie? Do leave me a comment below or better still, make a card to illustrate it and play along with us this week!

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging   project that fits the challenge.
  • Fill in the blanks with the words that are right for you and then create your project with those words in mind. Tell us, in your blog or on your site, what words you used.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.

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

I am spending this morning in my office, whilst young Master James basks in the glory of CE exam completion and enjoys a 'day of rest', otherwise known as chatting and playing online with his friends, along with virtual pizza night this evening to celebrate. He is back on it next week as he begins what is usually a month of post CE exam fun, not with a week of outward bound activities in the Lake District with his class mates as planned, but instead video production to enable the Year 8 fashion show that they've been busy creating outfits for to happen online. I am off to school this afternoon to collect the 8 foot-high tree that I declined to bring home on the final day of school before lockdown because I couldn't fit it in my car along with all of the school books, files and sports kit and I couldn't believe it would be essential. Clearly I was wrong!!

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.

Stampin' Up! 2020-21 Annual Catalogue Live and Host and Join Promotions Too

by Joanne James3. June 2020 13:52

The wait is over - it's June 3rd and the new 2020-21 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue is here! I will be updating my links on the right hand side of my blog and you will find a permanent link to the new catalogue there, but for today you need look no further than the picture below which will take you straight to the new catalogue:

 

The new catalogue is fantastic, with so many great new products to choose from. I've sent paper copies to everyone who has shopped with me in the last 12 months; a digital copy of the new catalogue can be accessed via the image above and it will be permanently linked via my blog on the right hand side if you don’t have a paper copy and wish to browse. If you have your paper copy and just want to go straight to the shop to place your order, click here - ordering systems have now fully transitioned from the old stock items to the new so you are good to go! Also, remember to add the current hostess code for June NSKDEXBA if your order is less than £150 and ensure your preferences are set to 'contactable' to receive a thank you in the post from me.

Here's a quick video that Stampin' Up! have produced given a quick catalogue walk through of some of the highlights to wet your appetite:

 There are a number of items that are already on backorder and the main things that feature in the new catalogue that are not available on launch are the new die cutting machines - I will let you know as soon as these are going to be available to purchase. Most items are ready and waiting to be bought though!

As mentioned previously, this year's catalogue launch is online over on my Facebook Page. This is a great opportunity for you to see some of the products, take advantage of my BOGOF sale of retired stamp sets, and have some fun even if you don't live in or around Northampton! Click here to browse the BOGOF list.

There are also a couple of promotions that go live today to coincide with the launch of the new catalogue:

The first is the hostess promotion that I talked about in this post. As a reminder, you can earn an additional £20 of hostess rewards when you have party sales of £200 or more throughout the month of June: 

 

Just because we are socially distancing, doesn't mean we can't get together. if you would like to organise a virtual party with me, just let me know - numbers are unlimited and it can be a great way to connect with friends far and wide for a session of crafty fun! 

If your wishlist is long, you might also want to consider a cracking good join promotion that is running through the month of June too: 

 

 I will write more about this another time, but the deal is simple: for £99 receive £130 of products of your choice and in addition any stamp/tool bundle FREE. Yes, any of the stamp/punch bundles on p.168-169 or stamp/die bundles p.173-179 in the new catalogue - so potentially another £55 of free product - what a great deal! As always, you can always find the link to join my team on the right hand side of my blog page; alternatively it's right here if you fancy jumping right in!

I also have a number of classes lined up in coming months featuring products from the new catalogue - the first of which are detailed below:

  • 15th June - Blossoms in Bloom
  • 6th July - Lovely You Bundle
  • 27th July - Arrange A Wreath Bundle

Full details for these classes can be found on my Facebook Events Page  or alternatively under the 'Events/classes' tab on my website.

That's a lot of information for one post; if I were you I would put the kettle on, put your feet up and get comfy and settle down with your new catalogue for a browse and start creating that all-important wish list!

Back tomorrow with a new project; until then, happy shopping!

 

 

 

Celebrate Sunflowers Birthday Card Times Two

by Joanne James2. June 2020 11:19

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards that started with the current challenge over at Just Add Ink but are also perfect for the current challenge over at Just Us Girls and Global Design Project too:

       

I decided to go with the same base papers - some retired wood patterned DSP and retiring brights DSP in Daffodil Delight - and make a feature of one of the sunflowers in the new Celebrate Sunflowers bundle that launches tomorrow in the new 2020 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. The trouble, is I couldn't decide which one to choose! Instinctively, I reached for the smaller flower first: 

 

I coloured it with my Blends and then added a heat-embossed sentiment, some ruched ribbon and a scattering of pearls. But I couldn't help thinking what would it look like with one of those huge layered sunflowers instead - so I made another one!

 

What do you think? Isn't that amazing detailed sunflower die just something?! Both images were stamped in Early Espresso before colouring instead of black, which I think works better for the sunflower and also compliments the diecut in the same colour. I also decorated the inside of each card:

 

Normally I would never choose a flower so large with a sketch like that, but some of the JAI DT had gone with larger flowers and I loved the effect, so thought I would experiment - and I love it! The only dilemma now, is which one should I link up for each challenge?! I think I'll go with the smaller flower for Just Add Ink and Just Us Girls, since it's the one most faithful to the sketch and has most of the designer paper visible. I'll add my larger sunflower to the gallery over at Global Design Project #GDP243 - I feel it has to be shared somewhere! Here's photo of both cards together:

 

So which one is your favourite? I'd love to know!

Here is the visual summaries 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. Equally, if you would like to buy this fabulous sunflower bundle I'd be delighted - it will be available from 9am tomorrow morning in my online store and I will update this post in the morning with the direct clickable links.

Enjoy your day; mine is being spent in a flurry of online activity as my retired 'BOGOF' sale gathers pace in my online catalogue launch party group and I am busy collating new catalogue orders, paper share requests, in-color club bookings and having a lot of fun too! I am sharing most of this info via my Facebook page so either hop on over there, search my blog or drop me a line if you would like more info on any of the above. All of this whilst currently invigilating the third of Master James' exams today - Biology. The silence in what is usually such a noisy household is deafening! I'll be back tomorrow with another post to celebrate everything exciting that is happening in June and hopefully I will have another creative project for you too. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

To be updated.

  

Outdoor Barbeque BBQ Invitation

by Joanne James1. June 2020 18:37

It's catalogue launch week so a busy start to the week for me! Just time to squeeze in a quick post with my entry for Freshly Made Sketches this week:

 

I pondered Cecile's sketch and those odd shaped verticals, then inspiration struck - take a look:

 

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

One more opportunity to make a card using 'Outdoor Barbeque' before it retires tomorrow - this time having coloured and fussy cut each of the elements to make a fun BBQ invitation; with the easing of lockdown here in the UK from today, it might not be too much longer before I can safely send it out!

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; I'm off for an evening bike ride to blow off the cobwebs. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

 

Mini Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

The mini catalogue is now live! Read and download your copy here.

Shop Online

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

Current March hostess code:

S9F2XJJW

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! 

Latest Kit!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The Rock Legend Kit has all you need to make 8 cards with coordinating envelopes. Along with the new Panda Friends Kit, both are available from January 4th for just £14 each - get yours here!

2023-24 Annual Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

Click on the catalogue for a full list of current SU! supplies - if you would like to order any of the items featured, please drop me a line at [email protected] or give me a call on 07773 421446 - I'd be happy to help.

New Online Exclusives

There will be new products available exclusively in the online store from 5 March - 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.