A Bright Puzzle Thank You Card For Mental Health Awareness Week

by Joanne James18. May 2020 11:00

Today I'm sharing a card that I made using this week's CAS Colours and Sketches layout and the bright colour palette over at Just Us Girls this week:

    

Did you know that today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week and since I'm always partial to a bright colour (or 4!) this combination was perfect for a bright and cheery card to recognise this event - take a look:

 

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

Love You To Pieces - The stamping on today's card comes from the retiring 'Love You To Pieces' stamp set. The idea of a jigsaw and puzzles seemed the perfect set and as the theme of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week is 'kindness' the sentiment is an ideal way to recognise someone who has been there to help and support through tough times. I love this set and the co-ordinating Puzzle Pieces Dies and for me they will be a 'keeper' as they really are so useful and versatile.

Spot The Starburst - I punched my sentiment with a 1 3/4" punch and layered it with a starburst for a pop of pink. The starburst punch is retiring at the end of the month, along with all but three of the standard circle punches (the 1 3/4" punch retired last year). The starburst punch is already out of stock but if you still have circle punches on your wishlist, be sure to pick them up now before it's too late.

So Long White Twine - Yes, you read it correctly - there is no Whisper White baker's twine in the new annual catalogue! I'm not sure how I am going to manage without this crafting storecupboard staple, so I have stocked up - take this as your call for last orders if you would like to do the same!

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. 

 

In the spirit of Mental Health Awareness week, please take a moment to think about someone who may be struggling, particularly in the current environment, and who perhaps hasn't overtly made a fuss or asked for help. Check in with them and make sure they know you are there and generally let's all try and show each other a little more kindness this week!

I hope this sunny Monday finds you well. This is going to be a busy week for me: I have a few online demonstrations planned, I have to get my class kits for next week's Birthday Jubilee class into the post and the end of the month sees a whole host of birthdays, so I need to lots of cards written and in the mail. I have also started the major craft room clear out of retiring stock to get ready for my catalogue launch 'By One, Get One Free' sale and make way for the new. We also start Common Entrance exams this week, with our first one, Geography, already completed this morning. I had to chuckle when I put on my stern invigilator voice to read young Master James the instructions and he said "Oo Mum, you make a mean invigilator; are you getting paid for this?" Such is the mind of an enterprising almost-teenager - I wish! 

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.

The 2019-20 Retiring Lists Explained

by Joanne James23. April 2020 12:00

 

Following the announcement of the 2019-20 Annual Catalogue and 2020 Spring-Summer catalogue retiring lists, I just thought I would pop by with a quick post to highlight some of the key points of note and some of the things that I will miss the most. The lists are so long (and tiny!) that it can be easy to miss some key points. So here goes: 

  • Stampin' Blends are NOT RETIRING! They will still be available in teh new catalogue (and with more colours too!) but they will be unavailable as singles, only as a Light & Dark Combo pack. They are on the retiring list because of this and the new combo packs will have a different number to the one they have currently.
  • Some of the bundles are retiring but only as a BUNDLED ITEM. Each item will still be available individually, but no longer at the 10% bundled price. This primarily impacts Annual catalogue bundles; for the first time, a number of the seasonal catalogue bundles are carrying forward into the new catalogue as a bundle, retaining their discount. 
  • Some dies are NOT RETIRING! The old packaging and product numbers are retiring. Due to a change in supplier/manufacturer, these dies will still be available but will have new product numbers. 

There are a number of items on the retiring lists that are key items/tools in a crafter's arsenal or that you may be surprised to see depart that I want to make sure you are aware of that are leaving that might get lost amongst the stamp sets, and they are:

  • Embossing Buddy
  • Circle punches - various
  • Glimmer paper
  • Copper embossing powder
  • Stamparatus metric plates pack
  • 12"x12" Memories and more album and page protectors

There are also some amazing bargains, especially on kits: one of my favourites is the 'Notes of Kindness' card kit that at 60% off is just £13.20 - bargain!!

Retiring products are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST, so if you've still items on your wish list from this year's annual or spring-summer seasonal catalogues, you need to check the retiring lists and if they're on it put an order in pronto! Don't forget to add this month's online hostess code: WG4Q4WQV

Hop online to get the latest on stock availability and place your orders. Some retiring items are discounted by up to 60% so these may well be snapped up quickly. 

I will be back tomorrow with a creative post; until then, happy shopping!

Last Chance - The List of 2020 Retiring Products Has Been Announced!

by Joanne James22. April 2020 20:00

 

It's here - the list of products that will be retiring from this year's annual and Spring-Summer seasonal catalogues has been announced!

You can see and download the full list of items retiring from the current Spring-Summer catalogue by CLICKING HERE.

You can see and download the full list of items retiring from the current Annual catalogue by CLICKING HERE.

Retiring products are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST, so if you've still items on your wish list from this year's annual or spring-summer seasonal catalogues, you need to check the retiring lists and if they're on it put an order in pronto! Don't forget to add this month's online hostess code: WG4Q4WQV

If you want to stock up on any of the retiring in-colour items and you haven't already done so, especially re-inkers, I would urge you to do that sooner rather than later as they are always the first things to sell out - please see my earlier post here for full details and direct links for these products to the online store. 

Hop online to get the latest on stock availability and place your orders. Some retiring items are discounted by up to 60% so these may well be snapped up quickly. 

I hope to be back tomorrow with a creative post and an update on the retiring list; until then, happy shopping!

Last Chance to Purchase Retiring Products from the 2019 Autumn Winter Catalogue

by Joanne James1. January 2020 10:00

Happy new year everyone! I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year. As has become customary for this time of year, my life is too full to accommodate blogging across the festive season so I have taken my usual break, but I'm now starting to (slowly!) get back into it so thought I would just give you a quick reminder of some important promotional news:

 

There are so many retiring products that are going to go away on January 2 when Stampin’ Up!’s 2019 Autumn-Winter Catalogue period ends. PLEASE be sure to click on the image above to see all of the retiring items in my online store - I don’t want you to miss out.

Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack Updated stampwithbrian.com

It’s always a good day when Stampin’ Up! updates the items in its Clearance Rack – some items have been reduced up to 60%. Woo hoo! There were lots of items added into the Clearance Rack earlier this month. They are there on a “while supplies last” basis – and there are still some great items left, so if you haven't checked them out it's worth a look before you complete your order.

So a reminder - those year end closeouts end tomorrow (last online orders to be placed by 10.50pm GMT). I'll be back on Friday with news of this year's Spring-Summer Mini Catalogue and 2020 Sale-A-Bration Offering, along with my first design team post for the new year over at As You See It.

Until then, happy shopping!

Last-Minute Discounts on Last Chance Products From 7pm Today!

by Joanne James30. May 2019 08:00

I received some good news from Stampin' Up! HQ this morning and wanted to pop by to quickly share it with you: as we approach the end of our Last-Chance Products promotion, Stampin' Up! has announced that it has now identified some items that can be discounted by up to 25% - yay for a last-minute bargain!

 

Click here to see the list of discounted items from the Spring-Summer Catalogue.

Click here to see the list of discounted items from the 2018 Annual Catalogue.

 

The discount pricing will go into effect at 7:00 p.m. (UK) time this evening Thursday, 30 May. For anyone local to me, I will be putting through one last order which you are welcome to add to if you would like to save on P&P, but you need to message me by 8pm this evening. 

 

Many thanks and happy bargain hunting!

Perfectly Paired Decoupage Welcome New Baby Card

by Joanne James3. May 2019 08:00

Today I'm sharing a card for the current baby theme challenge over at Inspire.Create:

 There are a couple of cute baby sets in the Spring-Summer catalogue and both are set to retire at the end of the month. I used my favourite, Perfectly Paired, to create a colourful and fun baby card - take a look:

 

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

I've created a whole host of cards with the Perfectly Paired stamp set (check out this post here if you missed it) but they have all involved using the stamp in a single colour. This is such a fabulous stamp set to colour though and I spent a pleasant couple of hours with my Blends markers creating this card. I haven't listed them all out in the table below as I pretty much used all of them in one way or another! I stamped the image twice and coloured a few of the animals and fussy cut them and popped them up on dimensionals to create a fun decoupage detail. you can see that in this close up here:

I added a border using my favourite gingham paper and a stitched diecut edge using the Be Mine Stitched Framelits to finish 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 '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.

Paper-Pieced Graceful Garden CAS Card

by Joanne James24. April 2019 21:00

I'm not sure how Monday turned into Wednesday, but sometimes that's just how it goes! So a quick share today with my second paper-pieced card that I originally made for our challenge over at The Paper Players this week: clean an simple paper piecing. I am totally 'on the fence' about this card - it didn't look as good as it did in my mind, so I ended up making another one for the challenge, but thought I'd share with you as I'd love to hear what you think. So here is my card:

This card used the retiring Graceful Garden stamp set and features a rose that I more often have coloured rather than paper-pieced, but I wondered what it would look like in some rose-patterned paper. I used one of the beautiful pink rose designs from the Petal Promenade pack for the flower and some Floral Romance paper for the stem. A little background stamped detail, a few artisan pearls and a sentiment finish my card. So what do you think - does it work? I really would welcome your thoughts on this one!

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 hopefully 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.

Under The Mistletoe Plaid Merry Christmas Wishes

by Joanne James19. April 2019 15:00

Hi everyone! I've been recovering from Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event and making the most of the Easter vacation with the James Juniors this week, so crafting time has been non-existent and blogging opportunities even less so! Today though the sun is shining and I am spending a glorious afternoon in the garden, so thought I would take the opportunity to share with you a card that I actually made as a second one that I made for the challenge set by my fellow Paper Players teamie the lovely LeAnne last week to use plaid or check on your card. Here's my card:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Christmas Plaid - Ok, so the irony of sharing a Christmas card on Good Friday isn't lost on me! However given that Stampin' Up!'s retiring lists were announced earlier this week (if you missed my post you can read all about it here) this is actually a great time to share this card as it showcases 2 products that are on that list and will be going away for good. The first of these is this fabulous plaid designer series paper that is from the 'Under the Mistletoe' pack. As is always the way, all of the designer series papers in the annual catalogue will be leaving us to make way for the new, so if you have a favourite then now is the time to stock up. If you're the type of person that 'does Christmas' all year round or likes to get ahead and work on Christmas projects during the summer months, then you should seriously consider stocking up on this paper as I can tell you that the new annual catalogue doesn't contain any festive Christmas-themed designer series paper designs, so it will be September before we have the new seasonal range on sale. You have been warned! 

Large Letters - The second retiring item on today's card are those fabulous Large Letter Framelits, which along with the co-ordinating 'Letters For You' stamp set are retiring with this catalogue. I know that the old has to make way for the new, but I will be so sad to see these go! They have been a staple in my craft collection and whilst they might leave the catalogue, they will always have a space in my die collection - they are SO useful! These will most definitely not be going into my retiring products BOGOF sale in July, so if you want a set, you need to order them now! 

A Festive Colour Combination - The paper really does do all the hard work on this card and sets the colours for each of the other elements with a can't-go-wrong festive colour combination. If this is a colour combination that appeals to you, feel free to save the image below for your future inspiration:

 

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'm off for a James family gathering for dinner. 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.

Last Chance - The List of Retiring Products Has Been Announced!

by Joanne James15. April 2019 20:00

 

It's here - the list of products that will be retiring from this year's annual and Spring-Summer seasonal catalogues has been announced!

You can see and download the full list of items retiring from the current Spring-Summer catalogue by CLICKING HERE.

You can see and download the full list of items retiring from the current Annual catalogue by CLICKING HERE.

It's worth noting that there are some clear mount stamp sets that are included on the annual catalogue retiring list that are included because they are retiring in clear mount. They will still be available in the new annual catalogue, but in a new cling-mount version. Should you order one of these sets and stock of clear-mount sets already be depleted, you will be sent a new cling-mount version ahead of the new catalogue release, The affected stamp sets are as follows:

CARRY-OVER STAMP SETS NOW IN CLING:
Pop of Petals
Label Me Pretty
Special Celebrations
Itty Bitty Greetings
Botanical Bliss
This Little Piggy
Flourishing Phrases
Stitched All Around
Hold on to Hope
Heartland
Peaceful Place
Barn Door
Accented Blooms
Birthday Backgrounds
Perennial Birthday
Dashing Deer
Winter Woods
Kindness & Compassion
Dandelion Wishes
Healing Hugs
Sorry for Everything
Love You to Pieces
Tropical Chic
Bee Thankful
Animal Outing
Little Elephant
Beautiful You
Painted Glass
Little Twinkle
Beautiful Day
Magical Mermaid
First Frost
Rooted in Nature
Country Road
Lilypad Lake
Sea of Textures
Artisan Textures
Gallery Grunge
Bokeh Dots
Crafting Forever

Retiring products are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST, so if you've still items on your wish list from this year's annual or spring-summer seasonal catalogues, you need to check the retiring lists and if they're on it put an order in pronto! Don't forget to add this month's online hostess code: FRRF6WRW

Some of the things I will miss most that feature on this list include:

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

I will do a further review tomorrow, however if you want to stock up on any of the retiring in-colour items and you haven't already done so, especially re-inkers, I would urge you to do that sooner rather than later as they are always the first things to sell out.

Click on the links below to take you directly to my online shop to purchase any of the 2017-19 in-colour items that are retiring:

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

I will be putting in an order this evening at 8.30pm, so if you're a customer who lives local to me and would like to save postage, get your order to me by then and I will add it to mine. Alternatively hop online to get the latest on stock availability. There are no initial discounts on retiring items, however these may be introduced at a later date depending on stock levels. 

I hope to be back tomorrow with a creative post and an update on the retiring list; until then, happy shopping!

Important Stampin' Up! News: Stampin' Trimmer Discontinuation and DieCutting and Embossing Changes

by Joanne James9. April 2019 20:00

Today saw two very important announcements from Stampin' Up! that I need to make you aware of. The first of these is in relation to the Stampin' Trimmer:

 

Stampin’ Up! has decided to retire the Stampin’ Trimmer as of 3 June 2019, including all accessories—replacement cutting blades, scoring blades, and cutting mats. They have experienced challenges with the supplier and are taking the opportunity to research and explore a replacement option for this product, which will not be the same as the current Stampin’ Trimmer. 

While the replacement cutting blades will also retire with the trimmer and will not be featured in the annual catalogue, Stampin' Up! has ordered what would normally be six months of inventory based on recent historical patterns to help  customers during this transition away from the current trimmer. When the retiring list goes live on 15 April, the order limit for the blades will increase from three to six (and the limit will remain at six until they’re no longer available). From now until September, Stampin' Up! will receive intermittent shipments from the supplier. But please know that this news could cause faster inventory depletion. Throughout these months, we anticipate times when the blades will not be orderable (and not offered as a backorder) - this is currently the case here in the UK. During those downtimes, you will have the option to enter an e-mail address to receive notification when the blades are available again.

Click the images below to head right over to my online store to start shopping for the Stampin’ Trimmer and the replacement consumable items:

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

The second Big News item of the day is that Stampin’ Up! also announced that they’ll be transitioning to a new manufacturer for their dies and embossing folders moving forward.

Stampin’ Up! is moving to a direct-to-manufacturer relationship. This means that they will work directly with the factories who manufacture their dies and folders instead of working with another company who then works with different factories. This gives them greater control and potential for increased speed to market, which can only be a good thing. 

TRANSITION TO NEW DIE-CUTTING AND EMBOSSING LINE

Here’s a look at how this transition will unfold:

Through

June 3, 2019

Die and Folder Supply: While Supplies Last and Interruptions

  • Inventory on some retiring dies may be depleted before the end of the 2019 occasions and 2018–2019 annual catalogue sales period; Stampin’ Up! will not replenish inventory on any retiring dies and folders that sell out.
  • Inventory on some dies and folders carrying over into the 2019–2020 catalogue may be depleted; if this happens, they may go on backorder or may not be available to order until they have replenished the inventory.

April 15–

June 3, 2019

Retiring List
  • The old-style die-cutting & embossing machine will be on the retiring list while supplies last. This also includes related products such as plates and platforms.
  • Dies and embossing folders included on the retiring list will not be offered in the new catalogue in any format.
  • Dies and standard embossing folders NOT included on the retiring list will be carried over into the 2019–2020 annual catalogue. Stampin’ Up! will use up their current inventory before starting to ship new-style dies, so even if you place an order in 2020, you might receive an old-style die or folder.

Beginning

June 4, 2019

2019–2020 Annual Catalogue
  • All new dies and embossing folders (denoted with a “New” icon in the catalog) will be produced by their new supplier and made in the new style with a different and high-quality product design.
  • For carryover dies and non-3D embossing folders, Stampin’ Up! will use up their current inventory before starting to ship new-style dies, so even if you place an order in 2020, you might receive an old-style die or folder.
  • All new and carryover 3D embossing folders will be produced by their new supplier and made in the new style with a different and high-quality product design.
  • Carryover 3D embossing folders (previously named Dynamic) will not be available to order beginning with the catalogue launch but they are in process on getting these ready to go and they’ll be available as soon as possible. Stampin’ Up! will let you know when they are ready.
  • No die-cutting & embossing machine will be available for purchase from Stampin’ Up! in the 2019–2020 annual catalogue.
 
One of the biggest impacts of this change is that there will be no die-cutting and embossing machine in the 2019-20 annual catalogue. The Big Shot and its associated accessories will therefore be retiring so if you have been considering a Big Shot purchase you should do it now. Now would also be a good time to stock up on consumable Big Shot accessories, such as the die brush and replacement cutting pads. Head over to my online store to purchase yours via the links below:
 
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
 

HIGHLIGHTS: NEW-STYLE DIES AND EMBOSSING FOLDERS

Since Stampin’ Up! is using a new supplier for their dies and embossing folders, they’ll be manufactured differently, which means the way you use them will be a little different. A few of the changes between the old-style and new-style products are listed below. In the future, Stampin’ Up! will also provide videos to show how to craft with the new-style dies and embossing folders and better showcase the features described below.

Here are some of the changes you’ll notice with our new-style dies and embossing folders:

  • The new-style open dies (those that coordinate with stamps) use a high quality metal that’s thinner than before but still as strong and durable.
  • The new-style dies have an added lip to the inside of the blades.
  • On old-style dies, when you place an open die (dies that coordinate with stamps) over a stamped image, a small border of cardstock is visible around the stamped image. With new-style dies, the die hugs the edge of the stamped image. Instead of aligning the die to the space around the stamped image, you will align it to the edges of the stamped image. When the image is cut, there will still be a cardstock border around the image.

OLD STYLE ALIGNMENT

2019_DIE_COMPARISON__1
2019_DIE_COMPARISON__3

NEW STYLE ALIGNMENT

2019_DIE_COMPARISON__2
2019_DIE_COMPARISON__4
  • They’ve improved the adhesive that secures the dies to the insert sheet in the package so that it’s not too sticky. It’s easier to remove dies from the insert sheet, and the adhesive won’t cling to the dies.  (Hurrah for this update!!)
  • They’ve standardized the size of the die inserts for easier storage. There are now only two insert sizes: 5″ x 7″ (12.7 x 17.8 cm), which coordinate in size with the stamp cases, and 6″ x 6″ (15.2 x 15.2 cm). The standard sizes will allow uniform storage in whatever system you use. The envelopes that the dies come in will be slightly larger.
  • With old-style Dynamic folders, they recommended that you spritz cardstock before embossing to soften the fibers so you got a better impression. Now, that extra step will not be necessary because the new-style folders usually create a crisp impression without spritzing. The way the new folders are manufactured also gives options for more detailed and intricate designs in the future.
  • 3D folders are thinner than the old-style Dynamic folders. Because they are thinner, you will need to use a shim, depending on the die-cutting & embossing machine you use.

I will be attending Stampin' Up!'s Onstage event here in the UK this weekend and am looking forward to getting my hands on the new dies and learning more about these changes. I will continue to share updates here and on my Facebook Page as they occur. In addition, a quick note for anyone reading this who is either an online or in-person customer of mine - please do request to join my Facebook VIP Customer Group if you're not in it already - this way you can be sure that you will receive news and updates as soon as they are happen!

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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.