Just For You Botanical Blooms Card

by Joanne James20. January 2016 09:00

It's Wednesday - hurrah! Today I have a card for this week's challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where they have the following sketch to work with:

I turned the sketch through 90 degrees for my card today and used the large sentiment from the 'Botanicals For You' Sale-A-Bration set, paired with some Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper and yes, another of those flowers made using the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies - I just can't get enough of them! Here's my card:

I just love the different flower combinations you can make with these framelit dies! Whilst I do have something different to share with you tomorrow, rest assured you haven't seen the last of these yet!

That's all from me today; I'll be spending the day in my office - I'm hoping for a productive one! I'll be back tomorrow with a card for this week's new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Enjoy The Little Things

by Joanne James19. January 2016 07:00

Good morning lovely readers! Today I am sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts:

PPA-283-Jan14

I'm not usually one to gravitate towards colour challenges (I'm more of a sketch gal as you well know!) but I thought this was a great colour combo chosen by the equally great Brian King and so that, combined with the fact that he finds my English spelling of the word 'colour' in and of itself rather quirky, I just had to play along! Here's my card:

I decided to make a bold statement using blocks of colour, with Basic Black as my base and each of the other colours cut with both the positive and negative pieces of the intricate leaf framelit from the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies and pieced together for my base. I stamped my sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it in white on an oval of Basic Black, which I then popped up on dimensionals in the centre of my card. What to use to tie the whole thing together though? I decide to have a go at making a loopy flower out of the new thick baker's twine that comes in the challenge colours; I made a few but decided one was enough to ground my sentiment and bring the whole thing together. If you've never made one of these before, they are really not that tricky when you know how. With that in mind, I made another short technique tutorial to show you how it's done - I haven't yet had time to edit it though, so will share with you later in the week. 

That's all from me today; I have a private class this morning with a wonderful group of seniors at a local residential care home and then a few jobs this afternoon before taking the James Juniors for their music lessons. Another busy 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.

 

Another Sale-A-Bration Hello!

by Joanne James18. January 2016 07:00

Hello to you from James Towers this morning! It's cold outside but we haven't had any more snow, much to the disappointment of my James juniors who were so hoping for a snow day today! 

Today's card is for the current 2 year anniversary challenge over at Fusion where they have this wonderful summery photo inspiration and optional sketch to play along with:

I used the photo and the sketch for my card today, albeit I used the sketch in a landscape rather than portrait orientation as it suited my embellishments a little better. Here is my card:

I used a base of extra thick Whisper White cardstock and covered the lower part with a piece of chevron designer series paper from last year's Brights dsp stack. I added a strip of Melon Mambo cardstock and also used it to frame my 'Hello' sentiment, from the Sale-A-Bration stamp set of the same name. I added a trio of layered flowers in pinks and yellow, for my embellishment. I cut each of them using the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies, adding some sponging for added depth. These framelits make gorgeous flowers with so much layering and interest and if you run them through your Big Shot with the Precision Base Plate and use the new Big Shot Die Brush to remove the cuts from the dies, they are incredibly easy to make.

I just love the breath of summer that the colours and flowers of today's card evoke - makes me forget the freezing temperatures outside, even if just for a little while! That's all from me today; I have a busy day with a piano lesson, some final preparation for a private class tomorrow and I'm off to watch Rebecca's first netball match of the season this afternoon - thankfully, indoors! 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 | Shop Online | Stamping

Bloomin' Heart ... it's in the air!

by Joanne James14. January 2016 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch for you:

 

This week's sketch is perfect to showcase the Bloomin' Heart thinlit die. Take a look:

 

For my card I added some of the co-ordinating stamped flowers, also cut with the flower thinlits that come with the heart, and a sentiment from the 'Bloomin' Love' stamp set that can be purchased with the dies in a bundle for 15% off - add in a Big Shot Die Brush and you could get a free Sale-A-Bration gift too - I love this time of year!! I took my Blushing Bride/Rose Red/Whisper White colour combo from the Love Blossoms designer series paper stack in the same product suite. I added a few pearls and a strip of the new Blushing Bride glimmer paper across the bottom of my card for an added touch of sparkle!

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they interpreted this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day; I'm hosting an open house with my customers today so that they can see and touch lots of lovely new product from the Sale-A-Bration and Spring-Summer catalogues. There will be tea and cake too of course!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

  • Bloomin' Love Photopolymer Bundle
  • Love Blossoms Designer Series Paper Stack
  • Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper
  • Love Blossoms Cardstock Pack
  • Whisper White A4 Cardstock
  • Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Pearl Basic Jewels

A Sale-A-Bration Hello!

by Joanne James9. January 2016 22:20

The days have been running away from me this week, with no-where near enough crafting or blogging time! The nice thing about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator though is that as my own boss I can work my hours around my family commitments and flex my diary accordingly - it really is the best job!

So a quick share from me today with the cards I sent out last week to my customers with their new Spring-Summer seasonal catalogues and Sale-A-Bration brochures:

I used the 'Hello' stamp from the stamp set of the same name in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Whisper White and cut out with my oval framelits, along with a banner and a variety of patterns of Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper for my card. Here's a view of a few of the others too:

All my customers have now have received their catalogues; if you are reading this and you would like your own copy and you don't already have a demonstrator, then get in touch and I will pop one in the post to you. 

Back tomorrow with a new challenge over at The Paper Players; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

A Happy New Year To You!

by Joanne James31. December 2015 08:05

It's New Year's Eve and it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch for you:

 

As soon as I set eyes on this sketch I knew what I was going to do with it - I just love it when that happens! I decided to use up some scraps of Winter Wonderland designer series paper and create a card to celebrate the new year - take a look:

 

I used a mix of patterns and papers for my banners and then a collection of stars, some solid and some just in outline, cut with my Big Shot and Star Framelits, some metallics star sequins and with my sentiment from the 'Six Sayings' hostess set stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in black across the front of the main star to create the focal point of today's card.

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they interpreted this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too! I will be delivering this card today to my Mother-in-Law who is hosting the annual New Year's James family gathering - I am reliably informed that my brother-in-law's gorgeous puppy Ollie is joining us too, so here's to a day that is likely to be fun and chaotic day!

I'm also linking up today's card over at SUO Challenges where the theme is new years projects.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

  • Winter Wonderland Specialty Designer Series Paper
  • Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum Stack
  • Six Sayings Wood-Mount Stamp Set
  • Stars Framelits Dies
  • Metallics Sequin Assortment
  • Gold Foil Sheets
  • Basic Black 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon
  • Banner Triple Punch
  • Big Shot
  • Whisper White A4 Cardstock
  • Embossing Buddy
  • Versamark Pad
  • Heat Tool (Uk)
  • Black Stampin' Emboss Powder
  • Basic Black A4 Cardstock

 

May The Magic Of The Season Fill Your Heart and Home

by Joanne James19. December 2015 21:30

Good evening lovely blog readers! Christmas preparations are full steam ahead here in the James household and now that the Juniors have broken up from school for the holidays I'm sure there will be even less crafting time than usual; so tough when there is a huge big box of pre-order Spring-Summer seasonal goodies sitting in the corner of my office! Luckily for you I still have some Christmas cards and projects that I haven't shared with you. So today I'm sharing one of the cards from my all day Christmas stamp-a-stack back in September - this one features the Home for Christmas DSP and one of the stamps from the Cozy Christmas set and was a favourite for the ladies who attended:

The Pacific Point really makes the colours on this card pop and the addition of the gold corded trim and the red glimmer paper poinsettia cut out using the framelit from the Delicate Ornament Thinlit Dies set adds a lovely touch of sparkle to this card. If you are in need of some last minute Christmas cards, you could knock a few of these out in no time. This sentiment is one of my absolute favourites - it says everything that is good about the holidays for me.

That's all from me tonight; The Paper Players team and I are taking a couple of weeks break over the Christmas period but fear not - I will be back tomorrow with another festive project that I think you'll like. 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 Are Here!

by Joanne James9. December 2015 09:00

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 new Hostess Code for December 99Y3W6CF if your order is under £150 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.

The deal of the week this week has to be the Precision Base Plate - essential for all Big Shot users to get the best cut on those intricate dies and thinlits and reduced to only £16.50 for one week only -  the perfect Christmas present for the seasoned crafter. 

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Nutcracker Christmas Greetings

by Joanne James4. December 2015 22:59

It's Friday and mine has been a busy one! I have another Christmas card for you today, this time using the sketch over at Mojo Monday where it's 'tall and skinny' week:

   SIP Any Challenge 25 800

I'm also linking up with the peeps over at Stamps, Ink and Paper since my card today uses a stamp from my current favourite set - Sparkly Season. Take a look:

 

I used the striped Home for Christmas designer series paper as the inspiration for the colour scheme for my card and chose Pacific Point blue as the dominant colour; an unusual Christmas colour, but combining it with red and a touch of green definitely makes it worthy. I coloured my little scene with my Stampin' Write markers and finished my framed image with a cute bow cut using my Big Shot from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits set. I heat embossed my minimalist sentiment in black on one of my two banners and added a Mossy Meadow enamel dot to finish. 

My finished card measures 4" x 8 1/4" so of course needed a custom envelope, easily achieved with a sheet of red envelope paper, my trusty Envelope Punch Board and my Envelope Expert tool - a winner every time! If you haven't yet tried it or my Box Buster tool you should check them out - custom envelopes and boxes with perfect results every time!

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.

 

Snow Friends Framelit Snowman Card

by Joanne James30. November 2015 12:48

As promised - here is my second card of the day, this time for this week's challenge over at The Color Throwdown:

I saw the colours and those adorable snowman treats and knew that I had the perfect idea for a card to play along! The feedback on this card last Thursday where I used my Snow Friends framelits to create a 'negative space' graphic snowman was well received with lots of positive comments, so today I went one step further - and added in a carrot nose! Take a look:

The best thing of all - I used one of my Snow Friends framelits to create it! Are you wondering which one? Yes, it was the ice cream cone - I simply trimmed away the icecream and it left a perfect carrot nose shape. I love it when you can multi-purpose things!! I also added in some twig arms on this card, because the colours worked so well. I think everything else is pretty self-explanatory - check out the layered die cut 'snow' too, cut using the die in the Seasonal Frame Thinlits set and adhered with ease using the fine tip glue pen - perfect for narrow elements like this! Any other questions, leave me a comment below - I read then all and will be sure to post you an answer if you have any queries on this or any of my cards!

Right, off to nurse the poorly one and hopefully fit in an hour or two at my desk before doing the school run. 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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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.