A Tricolour Birthday Card Approaching Perfection CCS 405

by Joanne James2. February 2021 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Julie is hosting this month and our first challenge of the month is a colour challenge: 

     

These colours were a bit of a challenge for me originally but I thought they would work well for a birthday card for a teenage boy - and I always need those! I decided to showcase another free Sale-A-Bration stamp set today - take a look:

 

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

'Approaching Perfection' is another of the stamp sets that you can get for free with a Stampin' Up! order of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration - and you still have another month to take advantage of this promotion! Full of fun birthday sentiments, it is perfect for clean and simple cards. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to create an outer border of multi-coloured candles on my base, then add a stitched square featuring my sentiment to the centre, fussy cutting the 'news flash' so that I could highlight it in red - reminiscent of a red-top tabloid:

 

I'm also joining in with the current challenge over at Less Is More where they are looking for 'things in a row' - in addition to the rows of candles on my card, I decorated the flap of my envelope to match too:

 

A detail that might be wasted on the average teenage boy to be fair, but it made me happy! This is a great set for #SimpleStamping - you could easily forgo the stitched diecut. All you need is stamps, ink and paper - #SimpleStamping at its best!

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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.

Sale-A-Bration Paper Blooms CAS Layered Cards

by Joanne James27. January 2021 21:19

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made using the first sketch of the year over at Fab Friday:

 

It's definitely a keeper, and is a sketch with lots of possibilities - I would definitely suggest you check out the DT cards and those in this week's gallery, as there are some great crafty creations. I considered a few options, but ended up going super simple and making a couple of cards to showcase some of my favourite FREE Sale-A-Bration papers - take a look:

 

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

I just love the colours and bold floral patterns of the Paper Blooms paper, so decided to make a couple of cards with two of the patterns. A simple Night of Navy offset mat, sentiment in a Stitched Rectangle and added a loop of denim ribbon to each:

 

Here's the second one that I made where I flipped the colours:

 

And a shot of both cards together:

 

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.

Sale-A-Bration 2021 Is Here And A New 2021 Spring Mini Catalogue Too!

by Joanne James6. January 2021 09:00

Apologies everyone - this post was scheduled to go live yesterday but didn't publish (operator error, I'm afraid!) so here it is today!

We may be in a tier 5 national lockdown here in the UK, but that does mean at least lots of time for crafting! So what better time to announce that the first of this year's Sale-A-Bration 2021 promotions is here! Yes, this year times are a-changing and instead of just one 3 month long Sale-A-Bration at the start of the year, there will instead be two, slightly shorter promotions. The second one will be in July to coincide with the launch of the new annual catalogue, but the first one is happening now and runs from 5th January until 28th February. You can click on the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page or below to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or click on the icon above or on the right to go directly to my online shopto place an order - we are LIVE!

 

So how does Sale-A-Bration work? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, join or host. You can earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 5 January and 28 February. There is also the opportunity to earn even bigger rewards with a £90 purchase. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

It’s also one of the best times of the year to join Stampin’ Up! There is a fabulous joining option during this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion: as usual, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £130 of FREE products for your Starter Kit. In addition to an extra £31 worth of product in your starter kit, exclusive to Sale-A-Bration, you will also receive a free stack of our Regals, Subtles, Neutrals, Brights, and 2020—2022 In Color Designer Series Paper along with your Starter Kit! There couldn’t be a better time to join the Stampin’ Up! family. Plus, the whole kit ships for free! There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you. 

Hosting is also even more rewarding during Sale-A-Bration. When you host a party and reach a certain amount in sales (see the Stampin’ Rewards chart in the Sale-A-Bration brochure for more information), you can earn a free stamp set! Even if you reaches the qualifying amount on your own outside of a party, you can earn the same free stamp set too, both in person and when shopping in my online store. What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

If you would like to host a virtual party, please do get in touch. Equally if you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new January-June 2021 mini catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

 

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator; paper copies have been sent to my regular customers. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

If you would like more information on any of the above, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

Thanks so much for popping by - it's always nice to share good news! Back soon with lots of projects showcasing products from the new catalogue. Until then, happy shopping!

Back To School CAS Inspiration PP504

by Joanne James16. August 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 amazing Claire to host this week and she has a timely Clean and Simple challenge for you to work with:

       

Back to school is still a few weeks away here in the UK, but I'm all for getting organised! Hopefully the Juniors will be returning to school properly; this is a big year for us, with one about to embark on GCSEs and the other moving schools for the start of year 9. So I have a couple of cards to share with you today, each made with them in mind. Here's the first one, that was inspired by the current sketch, colours and photo over at Sugar Pea Designs:

 

I used the sweet image of a young lady reading a book whilst sheltered under a tree from the annual catalogue hostess set, 'Summer Days', and coloured with my Blends in the likeness of Miss Rebecca, before cropping with my (retired) Circle Framelits and mounting on a Night Of Navy card base, with a Cherry Cobbler banner piece tied with some twine from my stash. The sentiment on the front of my card is from the 'Rooted In Nature' stamp set and I used another stamp from this set to complete the inside of my card:

 

My second card uses this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout from Jen B where I challenged myself to embrace the diagonal and got creative with my diecut sentiment - take a look:

 

I added a 'd' from the 'adventure' die and added it to the 'inspire' die in the Sweet Silhouettes set and combined with a 'be' from the Rooted In Nature set to create my sentiment and backed it with a black strip for a chalkboard effect, then anchored it with a stamped and punched red apple that I added a couple of clear epoxy dots too for a little shine:

 

And I finished off the inside with an inspirational quote from the 'Silhouette Scenes' stamp set: 

 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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 have no special plans today and the weather is looking pretty poor, so I think it will be baking and board games for us! 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.
 
 
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Bonus Days Are Back - Earn In July, Spend In August!

by Joanne James5. July 2020 10:47

 

Good morning everyone! I am playing catch up slightly due to a busy week. I hope you are enjoying your weekends and if you're in the UK are enjoying the return of the sunshine, even if it's windy enough to lose your hat! 

I just wanted to let you know that BONUS DAYS ARE BACK! Do you remember this promotion from last year? It was so successful, Stampin' Up! have decided to repeat it this year. 

For every £45.00 you spend between 1 July and 3 August (before delivery), you’ll get a £4.50 Bonus Days coupon that you can use between 4 and 31 August. Our new annual catalogue has been out for a month now, so I'm sure you will still have long wish lists; this is a great opportunity to shop from it and make savings when you shop again in August with your coupons! 

There are some details in terms of small print that you need to take note of, as follows: 

  • Promotion period: 1 July –3 August 2020
  • Redemption period: 4–31 August 2020
  • An email address is required to participate in this promotion; Bonus Days coupon codes can only be delivered via email.
  • If a participant earns multiple codes from a single order, they will receive one e-mail with multiple codes. If they earn multiple codes from multiple orders, they will receive separate e-mails for each code earned.
  • It is strongly recommended that you both save emails containing their Bonus Days coupon codes AND write down the coupon codes in a safe place. Codes cannot be resent if the email is lost, and lost codes cannot be recovered.
  • Bonus Days coupon codes can be redeemed for any product, excluding Starter Kits.
  • There is no limit to the number of coupons you can receive per order or throughout the duration of the promotion.
  • There is no limit on the number of coupons you can use on an order during redemption.

With redemption of any coupons earned coinciding with the launch of the new Autumn Winter catalogue too, you will have the perfect excuse to put them to good use! In the meantime, happy shopping!

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!

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue Kickoff Celebration - Extra Stampin' Rewards When YOU Host!

by Joanne James31. May 2020 10:00

 

The brand new 2020–2021 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue is going live on 3 June 2020, and Stampin’ Up! is having a celebration!

Anyone who places an order of £200+ or holds a party with £200+ in sales during the month of June will receive £20 in extra Stampin’ Rewards!!  So that means that you’ll earn £44 at least in Stampin’ Rewards with any order or party of £200+ that is submitted between June 3 and June 30! Yay!!

Here are the details:

  • Customer, workshop and online order types all qualify for this promotion.
  • Starter Kit orders do not qualify for this promotion.  But you CAN use your host cash toward the purchase of your Starter Kit, ask me for details!
  • The qualifying amount must be reached with merchandise prior to shipping and tax.
  • The £20 additional Stampin’ Rewards for this promotion will only be awarded once per order/party.
  • Order Deadline:  June 30, 2020; 10:50 PM (BST)

Here is a flyer with the details:

 

Want to host a catalogue party?

Just because we are still social distancing, doesn't mean you can't still host a Stampin' up! party! If you would like to gather virtually with some friends, I can set up a host code for you and you can have your stamping friends place orders with your host code online.  If your party reaches £250 in sales, you’ll get that extra £25 in host cash when we close out your party! If you’re interested, ask me for details!

 

Do You Need A Copy Of The New 2020-2021 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue?

If you have placed an order with me in the last 6 months, then your catalogue is on its way to you, if you haven't received it already. If you are not a current customer of mine but would like to be and you live in the UK, email your address to me at [email protected] and I’ll get your copy of the new 2020-2021 Stampin’ Up! catalogue in the mail ASAP!

 

Join In The Fun!

I am having my own kickoff celebration this week to celebrate the launch of the new annual catalogue over on my Facebook Page. If you are a UK customer and don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like to join us, please click here to join in the fun! There is a 'Buy one, get one free' BOGOF sale of retired product happening, along with lots of info, fun, shares, quizzes and giveaways - you'd be mad to miss it!

Let me know if you have any questions.  Back soon with another project; until then, have fun making your shopping list!

 

 

 

Sale-A-Bration 2020 Release 3 - New Items Available for FREE!

by Joanne James27. March 2020 22:48

 

Just popping by with a quick update post for you all; you all know that this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 31st March and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here and here. Please note the Kerchief Card Kit and the Golden Honey Specialty Designer Series Paper are both sold out and no longer available. 

Plenty of good news though: from now until the 31st March, you will also be able to choose from a number of other catalogue items (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

 

As you can see, this new selection includes some gorgeous Designer Series Paper packs, embellishments, Blends and more that can be yours free with a spend of £45/£90 or more. 

To make things easier for you, I've created a table linking each of the products directly to the promotional item in my online store - just click on the links below:

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

 

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code RDJNFTTJ) or you can email or telephone me if you would prefer. Please note there will be no local pickups or deliveries at the present time, due to the countrywide lockdown restrictions, but product is shipping as normal and can be posted as usual.

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

Flowering Foils Metallics Birthday Card for AYSI 222

by Joanne James27. March 2020 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where for this fortnight we have a fun recipe challenge for you:

    

I often struggle with this kind of recipe challenge, but must confess that along with Julee's Mojo Monday sketch for my layout (sketch 3) today's card came together quite easily - take a look:

 

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

Flowering Foils - I decided to use the Flowering Foils Specialty Designer Series Paper as the basis for today's card. This is one of the second-release items that can be yours FREE with a purchase of £45 or more during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion and has been super popular with my customers, so I was keen to show them how they could use it. I used a rose-gold hatch patterned piece along with a piece of silver foil cut using my Stitched Rectangle Framelits for two of my layers, then fussy cut one of the flowers from another sheet to form the centrepiece of my card. I backed my flower with a stitched vellum circle to preserve the shape of the sketch but not detract from the detail of the bloom itself. These papers are so, so pretty and the photographs in today's post really don't do them justice - it is so difficult to photograph foil!  

Sparkle, Sparkle - To compliment the foiled papers, I decided to add lots of sparkle and shine. I used some white ribbon with a silver metallic edge for my bow, along with some silver twine behind my flower and a sprinkling of champagne rhinestone jewels and clear epoxy droplets for extra sparkle. I even added a silver (retired) tassle - then had to stop myself before I went really overboard!! 

Label Me Bold - Whilst this card would make a lovely wedding card, I have no need for one so decided instead that it would work equally well as a special birthday card. I inked up my 'Label Me Bold' stamp set for the first time to add a simple silver heat-embossed sentiment to my card. You can see that better on the photo below:

  

This sentiment stamp set was one of the first I bought from the new seasonal catalogue as I've been wanting a set like this for ages, but this is the first time I've inked it up. I love the clean, block font which is perfect to cut through the detail on a card like this.

So what do you think? Do you love these Flowering Foils as much as me?

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. 

Before you put your creative thinking caps on, why not check out the blogs of the other As You See It team members:

Amy Jasper

Heather Cooper

Jan Clothier

Jane Knudsen

LeAnne Pugliese

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • 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.

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.

Sale-A-Bration 2020 Second Release - New Items Added!

by Joanne James3. March 2020 08:00

As promised, today I have Sale-A-Bration news for you! I know how much you've all been enjoying the benefits of the Sale-A-Bration promotion; as if it couldn't get any better I just wanted to let you know that from today there are some new items being added to the selection of products that can be earned free, both with a £45 order and two stamp sets that can be yours with a purchase of £90 or more. You can click on the image below to download the flyer:

 

So what's new? There is the silver and rose-gold foiled Flowering Foils Specialty papers - you can check them out in this video here from the Stampin' Up! Home Office:

 Aren't they gorgeous? These papers are sure to be popular!

 There is a great masculine stamp set called 'Well Dressed', perfect for easy masculine projects:

 

There is some coloured and embossed vellum 'So Very Vellum' that is perfect for dressing up your projects:

Each of the above products can be yours FREE with a £45 product purchase.

In addition, there are two stamp sets that are available with a £90 spend. The first is a stamp that coordinates with the Label Me Fancy and Label Me Lovely punches called 'Tags in Bloom':

 

Finally, there is the 'Rise and Shine' stamp set that co-ordinates with the carryover Cup of Cheer Dies:

 

As with the other items in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue (with the exception of the Kerchief Card Kit which is now sold out), these items will be available from now until the end of the Sale-A-Bration period, 31st March whilst stocks last. You can see full details for each of the new product on the new Sale-A-Bration flyer via the link above and there will be more samples made with each of them over on my Facebook page today.

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code C3HMK9CP) or click on the links below. Alternatively or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. Back shortly with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

 

Links to the new Sale-A-Bration items in the online store: 

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

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!

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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.