A Celebration of Let It Snow PP465

by Joanne James27. October 2019 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 fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

 

There were so many ways to go with this sketch - in the end I decided to 'Let It Snow' - in a big way! Take a look:

 

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

My card today is a celebration of the wintery-themed Let It Snow Specialty Designer Series Paper. This collection of cute snowmenwas at the top of my Christmas shopping list; my regular readers know how much I love DSP, and today's card uses not one, not two, not three, but four - yes four! - of the patterns in the pack. I used three of the non-glittery patterns for the layers (it was so hard not to use the sparkly designs on the reverse!) and fussy cut a glittery snowman for my corner embellishment from the fourth (I added some arms using the Snowman Builder Punch).

I added a diecut from 'Word Wishes' for the sentiment on the front of my card, although have a slight confession to make: this was supposed to be red glimmer paper for a touch of festive sparkle to compliment my glittery snowman, however could I find mine anywhere in my crafting square mile? Not a chance! I know I have some, but I couldn't find it anywhere so I resorted to some red foil instead. 

My card doesn't have a stitch of stamping on the front, although I did add a sprinkling of snowflakes and a sentiment from the 'Snowman Season' stamp set on the inside:

I love the combination of cool greens, white and red - it reminds me of candy canes - that feature in this paper pack and one thing is for sure: those glittery snowmen really are as sweet as sugar, and as sparkly too!

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; today marks the official start of winter and with that an extra hour in bed - yay! My day will be a quiet one and hopefully 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.

CAS Perfectly Plaid Merry Christmas Card

by Joanne James25. October 2019 14:00

This is my second post for today - you can see my earlier As You See It challenge post here. I had a little extra time yesterday and managed to make another card, this time for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS where the challenge is to use plaid on your card:

I had some piece of leftover paper having wrapped some gift boxes for the lovely ladies on my retreat last weekend so decided to use one of them for a quick clean and simple Christmas card - take a look:

 

 Whilst this card looks like it has a few steps, it really did take me next to no time to make: I always have some white cardbases cut, the plaid and thin strip of red cardstock were leftovers from other projects, as was the gold foil 'Christmas' - I had a few of these in the die case that I had cut previously, complete with self-adhesive backing. So all that was left to do was cut the paper to size, glue the pieces together and stamp the 'merry' and the holly and add a trio of red rhinestone berries. I even had time to use one of my favourite sentiments from the same 'Merry Christmas To All' stamp set on the inside of my card: 

 

So simple and a great way to use up some of those leftover bits and pieces too!

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 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.

Feels Like Frost Christmas Trees For AYSI 211

by Joanne James11. October 2019 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 a theme challenge:

    

I saw the wonderful autumn trees on Heather's badge this week and had an idea to create something inspired by this, but I couldn't get out of the Christmas zone that I am in this week as I plough ahead with the final preparations for my forthcoming Creative Escapes weekend craft retreat the weekend after next and with the beautiful Feels Like Frost papers still out on my desk following my technique class earlier this week, I couldn't resist another card featuring them - take a look:

 

This week's Inspire.Create sketch was perfect for a large centrepiece and this photographic image of snowy fir trees is worthy of a showcase. The photographer has managed to capture the sunlight peeking through the trees and the bokeh along with the soft pink sky make for a stunning image I think. I bordered my DSP with a couple of strips of sparkle glimmer paper to add to the feeling of frost and snow and used a Purple Posy card base - an unusual choice for a Christmas card, yet I think it ties n with the paper nicely.

Today's card really does feel a little like cheating, as I couldn't even bring myself to stamp a sentiment on the front of my card. The only stamping was this sentiment from 'Perfectly Plaid' that graced the inside, along with a tiny offcut of DSP from the front of my card (waste, not, want not!):

 

This card really would take no time at all to create, even though in reality it took me ages as I deliberated over whether to add a sentiment or not - does that ever happen to you when making a card? Still, at least now I can go and make a few more using the other sheets of this paper in the pack in record time!

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 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.

Feels Like Frost Snowy Pine Branch CAS Christmas Card

by Joanne James10. October 2019 20:00

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I can't believe it's Thursday already - as usual the week is flying by! Tonight I have a super quick post with an even quicker card that I made for the current challenge over at Just Us Girls:

Once I saw that the word of the week was Designer Paper how could this self-confessed designer series paper addict not play along?! Here's my super-simple Christmas card featuring the Feels Like Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper:

 

I mounted my DSP onto a Night of Navy mat and an extra-thick Whisper White cardbase, having first stamped my sentiment from the Frosted Foliage stamp set directly onto my DSP. And that's it! So simple. I made a version of this card in my technique class earlier this week; we were featuring the Feels Like Frost Suite and this card was voted the unanimous favourite - it just goes to show that sometimes stamps, ink and paper (of the patterned kind!) is all you need! A great example of #SimpleStamping.

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 lunchtime with my card for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

#Elfie - Such A Christmas Cutie!

by Joanne James7. October 2019 17:30

Today I'm squeezing in my card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge that I intended to blog on Saturday, but, well, the day was just too busy!

 

I made my card on Saturday afternoon as I was enjoying some World Card Making Day craftiness and indulged in two of my favourite past-times, colouring and fussy cutting to create this festive card - take a look:

 

My card features this fun Christmas elf from the #Elfie stamp set, inspired by Million Sales Achiever Karen Duke and I just love him! I fussy cut each of my three stamped images and mounted them on white stitched squares as I liked the added definition, then added my heat-embossed sentiment. A little stamping to the inside completed my card:

 

Easy as that! On reflection I'm wondering whether on this occasion I should have snipped away the bauble from the bottom image on the front of my card just to give a better balance - what do you think? 

Either way, I still love this cute little chap!

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. 

I've started the week with my monthly technique class this morning which was a lot of fun (I'll share some of those cards later in the week) and some of the usual cooking and cleaning that seems an ongoing task in the James household. As is the ironing - that's where I'm headed next, wish me luck! 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.

A Gift From Santa Christmas Card

by Joanne James4. October 2019 19:00

Friday already? Where did that week go?! I am just popping in with another Christmas card that I made for my stash inspired by the following challenges over at Sunday Stamps and Christmas Kickstart:

I couldn't resist using the sketch to showcase some fabulous festive designer series paper - take a look:

 

Since Christmas Kickstart is all about the presents, I decided that this gift-filled paper from the Night Before Christmas DSP pack would make a perfect centrepiece. This card is all about #SimpleStamping - the only stamping on the front of the card is my sentiment, which I thought it would be fun to make it look like a tag from the man in red himself - well, everyone knows that's who really brings the gifts at Christmas time, right?

I did do a little more stamping inside my card, using a sentiment from the 'Greatest Part of Christmas' stamp set, an exclusive hostess set available in the current Autumn-Winter catalogue that can be yours if you host a party before the end of the year, along with a few more gifts:

 

Isn't that a great sentiment for a loved-one at Christmas time?

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.

Brightly Gleaming Meets So Many Stars for PP460

by Joanne James22. September 2019 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 delightful Claire to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

 

Tall and skinny - what fun! I love occasionally to change things up and give cards a completely different look by altering their size and shape. It didn't take me long to decide where to take Claire's sketch this week - take a look:

 

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

I took two of my favourite things - the navy and copper star patterned paper from the Brightly Gleaming set and my Stitched Stars Dies - along with some copper foil and star and foil elements, and created a layered star centrepiece. I heat embossed my sentiment from the 'So Many Stars' set in copper onto Night of Navy cardstock, fussy cut around it and popped it up on a stack of dimensionals to complete my 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'm linking my card up with SUOChallenges where they currently have a Designer's Choice challenge. I love this card - so much so, I made a second one straight afterwards! I just need to use my trusty BoxBuster tool to make a couple of bespoke envelopes now ready to send them!

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; I am singing with my choir in a harvest festival service this morning, then will be home to assist in finishing homework and the like in the afternoon. 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.

Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements CAS Bauble Christmas Card

by Joanne James21. September 2019 21:15

I am a bad blogger! I've had such a busy week that I have managed very little to either create or blog. So a quick share from me with another all-out copper clean and simple metallic, inspired by last week's Paper Players challenge that uses this week's CAS(E) This Sketch layout:

 

I created another super clean and simple Christmas card, this time featuring a couple of Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements baubles and a heat embossed sentiment from the 'Perfectly Plaid' stamp set - take a look:

 

 
My card is a simple extra thick Whisper White card base, a layer of copper foil cut with the Rectangle Stitched Framelits, then my copper heat-embossed sentiment on a panel of Whisper White with two foil element baubles hanging from some retired copper metallic thread - definitely clean and simple!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

 to follow

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. 

Enjoy your evening; I'll be back tomorrow with this week's card for 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.

Clean and Simple Copper Metallic Christmas Tree for PP459

by Joanne James15. September 2019 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 fabulous Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

 

I couldn't resist going all-out copper for my metallic and created a super clean and simple Christmas card featuring a heat embossed tree from the 'Perfectly Plaid' stamp set - take a look:

 

Since it is clean and simple week, it's worth a reminder of what we at The Paper Players mean by Clean and Simple:

  • Minimal layers and embellishments
  • Plenty of open space, aka "white" space
  • Simple and uncluttered
My card is a simple extra thick Whisper White card base, a layer of copper foil cut with the Rectangle Stitched Framelits, then my copper heat-embossed Christmas tree on a panel of Whisper White with the addition of a simple single copper star embellishment - I didn't even add a sentiment to the front of my card. Just 3 layers with a single image and embellishment and a ton of white space - definitely clean and simple!

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. I loved this CAS challenge; I created another card for this theme too which I will hopefully share with you later in the week!

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 hoping to make the most of what is turning out to be a pleasantly warm weekend with possibly the last BBQ of the year, along with homework and more cooking of our gluts of home-grown produce. 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.

Let It Snow For A Kickstart Into Christmas

by Joanne James9. September 2019 07:00

Happy Monday everyone! I'm here with a Christmas card to start the week as I've a card for a new-to-me challenge called Christmas Kickstart (thank you Vicky for sharing this one!) that also uses the current Fab Friday sketch: 

   

The theme over at Christmas Quickstart is to create a card inspired by the challenge blog header. The moment I saw it I knew it would give me the opportunity to use some of the gorgeous designer paper in my favourite suite in the new Stampin' Up! Autumn-Winter catalogue, Let It Snow - take a look:

 

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

Let It Snow - The weather outside might be frightful, but crafting is so delightful with the fun 'Let It Snow' themed paper. With basic patterns on one side, the other side has collections of glittery snowmen and winter images - this paper is just too cute for words! I used a pattern of tiny snowmen and women in comical poses to cover the whole of the front of my card, along with a striped strip from the reverse of one of the other sheets offset behind my sentiment. 

Snowman Season - My sentiment is from the co-ordinating 'Snowman Season' stamp set. Sentiment aside, the only other stamping is a sentiment and stamped image inside my card and another to decorate the envelope - this card really is all about the paper! 

Marvellous Mittens - I decided that instead of the bow in the sketch, I would add a pair of felt mittens to my card as a final embellishment; whilst mittens feature elsewhere on other dsp patterns in this set, none of my tiny snowmen are wearing them - but given that the snowman in the Christmas Kiickstart header is sporting a pair in festive red, I figured if they were good enough for him they would work on my card too! I added some string to keep them together, just like the ones my children used to have when they were younger to prevent them from losing them; did you do this for your children too?

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 have my first stamp class of the month and a mountain of ironing to get through today so mine will be a busy one, along with all of the extra-curricular activities that the James Juniors participating in being back on in full today. 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.

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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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