Timeless Tulips Artistry Blooms Ombre Easter Card AYSI 248

by Joanne James16. April 2021 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 my favourite, a sketch challenge:

    

So many ways I could have gone with this one! I loved the row of brightly coloured tulips across the bottom of the current inspiration photo over at HandStampedSentiments and the bright green backgrounds on the two pictures above so I thought I would create another card full of spring blooms with this week's sketch - take a look:

 

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

Artistry Blooms - I saw this background on a card by Tami Hewlett recently (you can see Tami's card here) and I loved the effect so was keen to re-create it. I've played around with reverse ombre before, using the Sale-A-Bration Oh So Ombre papers but as today's card shows, the Artistry Blooms paper in the annual catalogue also has some great ombre patterns that you can have some fun with too. I've featured some of the other colour combinations from this pack previously, but this yellow through green piece is the perfect backdrop for some spring flowers I think. 

Timeless Tulips - I chose to feature brightly coloured spring tulips on my card; I simply stamped and punched a whole bunch of them, along with leaves, and built them up behind the cross panel, where I chose to feature my sentiment:

 

 I had a couple of leaves and tulips left over so I added those the the inside of my card too:

 

Magnolia Memory Border - Aside from adding a sprinkling of dew-like faceted gems and some gold sparklies too, the final detail on my card is the Magnolia Memory border die that I used along the base of my inner rectangle for added interest and detail.

I know this card has an Easter sentiment and this occasion has already passed this year, but it was the perfect fit for my rectangle and I figure it's one off my list for next year - you can never be too organised!

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. 

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.
  • In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

I am busy with laundry and household chores today. With one of the James Juniors back to school following the recent break, I have only one at home. Unfortunately today he is definitely behaving like 'Kevin the Teenager' from that infamous Harry Enfield sketch: as I move from room to room, he grunts then slopes off in search of peace elsewhere - he is clearly not in helpful mood today! So back to it - 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.

Well Written In Colour Circles Birthday Wishes CCS 415

by Joanne James13. April 2021 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Wei has asked that we create something with the following layout:

    

 Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I wanted to showcase one of my most favourite retiring circles of all time, one of the circles from the Stitched Shapes Dies (unfortunately already out of stock and discontinued by the time you read this):

 

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

I chose to feature Magenta Madness as the colour with my black and white colour combo today for the current challenge over at Color Dare, but this card would work paired with any colour. I cut a partial circle from the front of my card and infilled it with a piece of window sheet, and added a stitched circle to the acetate panel. I added a sheet of In-Colour DSP with a circle pattern to the inside of my card so that a small portion of it could be seen through my cardfront. Whilst the outside of my card has plenty of white space, inside there's not so much! Wondering what I did with the piece of cardstock I removed to accommodate my window sheet? I flipped it and adhered it to the inside of my card to write my greeting:

 

 Waste not, want not and all that! I added a stacked birthday diecut from the retiring Well Written dies along with a stamped greeting from 'A Wish For Everything' to complete the front of my card:

 

Super simple but I really like it! What do you think? Do leave me a comment below - I would love to hear your thoughts!

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.

Bouquet of Hope Paper Pumpkin Is Now Available!

by Joanne James13. April 2021 07:00

What is Paper Pumpkin? For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription service that offers a unique variety of paper projects for crafters of any skill level to enjoy! These all-inclusive craft kits encourage Stampin’ Up! customers to explore their creativity, try new techniques, and discover their potential in paper-crafting. For now, Paper Pumpkin is only available as a subscription in North America. But, every now and then, Stampin' Up! offers a Paper Pumpkin kit to customers across the globe!

The Bouquet of Hope Paper Pumpkin Kit is the latest kit that has been made available to all markets. It provides a way to offer comfort, care, and condolences to those enduring life’s challenges. With beautiful blooms and supportive sentiments, this kind-hearted kit will allow you to soothe others’ sorrow and share your sympathy in a heartfelt, handmade way! While you can create nine comforting cards—three each of three designs, plus coordinating envelopes—with the kit’s components, the versatile stamp set included in the kit can be used to uplift loved ones during trying times, any time. And, if you snagged a stack of Flower & Field Designer Series Paper during Sale-A-Bration, you can combine it with the kit’s extra elements and enjoy even more coordinated cardmaking!

The kit contains the following items:

  • The Bouquet of Hope Stamp Set, an exclusive stamp set not available anywhere else!
  • A Stampin’ Spot
  • Enough materials to create nine cards, including patterned card bases, decorative die-cut pieces, embellishments, and more!
  • Nine coordinating envelopes
  • Adhesive

A clear block is not included. Would you like to take a closer look? Here's the video that was released in the USA to promote this kit earlier in the year:

 

I will be running an online craft-along with this kit on Monday 10th May, to both craft, chat and make the kit and look at alternative ways to use the contents and leftovers too. Anyone who has purchased a kit is welcome to join me - just get in touch for the details. If you would like to order one, the Bouquet of Hope Paper Pumpkin kit is available in my online store for £20, whilst supplies last. Get yours today!

 

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

Quite Curvy Ivy Hello

by Joanne James12. April 2021 15:39

Happy Monday everyone! Not sure where today has gone so this post will be a quick one as The James Juniors are back to swimming this evening so I need to go at prep the dinner! I promised a second card using Jen B's Freshly Made Sketches sketch this week and I'm also entering another card over Just Add Ink, this time with a 'feathers and leaves' combo: 

    

I went with another border die for that wonky central column - this time from the Curvy Dies set:

 

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

The ivy-leaved die produces an embossed column with the ivy leaves diecut out. So I decided to use another of the dies in the set to create a hard border alongside so that I could overlay a white panel onto my Old Olive base, and then ran the die through my diecutting machine again, this time in Mossy Meadow, and then I paper-pieced the leaves into the gaps, adhering each one at an angle from the base - hopefully you can see what I mean from the photo below:

 

I added my sentiment from the 'Quite Curvy' stamp set directly to the cardbase, adding a bird from the same set that I perched onto the 'hello' itself. I coloured my bird like a blue tit and added another to the inside of my card 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. 

Short and sweet from me today; I'll be tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Ornate Borders Just Because

by Joanne James10. April 2021 20:20

This evening I've a quick post to share a card I made with this week's Color Throwdown colours and this week's Freshly Made Sketches sketch: 

    

 I was intrigued by Jen B's sketch this week and made a couple of cards with it (I'll share the second one on Monday). Usually I would create a channel with that sketch and focus on some DSP in that gap, but I found myself today looking at it differently. Here's what I came up with:

 

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

I created a layered floral border to run down the centre of my card front using one of the Ornate Borders dies, accenting some of the flowers and paper-piecing others. I added some coloured pearls to the centres and then a sentiment from the 'Lovely You' set directly onto the card front to finish:

 

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. 

Short and sweet from me today; I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our 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.

Bloom And Grow Masked Floral Heart TTT108

by Joanne James8. April 2021 18:00

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

    

I went down the middle column with Florals, Free and Any Shape Die and used the current colours over at Less Is More for another outing with my Bloom and Grow stamp set - take a look:

 

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

Bloom And Grow - I stamped the same floral bough that I used on Tuesday's card, but this time just used the outline in Basic Grey and stamped it onto a piece of Rococco Rose ombre paper, having first masked off my heart shape with copy paper, as I wanted the flowers to edge my heart but the heat itself to remain uninked. 

A Subtles Ombre - Before adding my diecut heart or sentiment or adhering to my card base, I ran my sheet of stamped ombre paper through my Subtles embossing folder for a little added textural detail. I cannot believe this embossing folder is retiring - it's a real 'how will I ever live without you?' product for me! 

A Stitched Heart - I decided to make a feature of the gold element on my card. so went for a simple stitched heart outline die that sat in front of those masked florals, and I wove my sentiment strip under and over it. I added a trio of opal rounds for a little extra pink/gold sparkle to complete my card:

 

So what do you think? Another trio of items from my craft stash I will be sad to say goodbye to. Thank goodness there is a new Stampin' Up! catalogue on the way to soften the blow!

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

 

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Enjoy your evening; I am about to join an online catalogue launch event for demonstrators - exciting stuff! 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.
 

Delighted that this card along with my other entry earned me LIM Monthly winner for April - yay!

Bloom And Grow Yellow Floral Thank You CCS 414

by Joanne James6. April 2021 13:00

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

     

For my card today I used the sketch layout over at Fusion along with our colours this week for some pretty florals and start the process of saying goodbye to one of my favourite floral sets in the annual catalogue - take a look:

 

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

Bloom And Grow - I love the floral boughs in the 'Bloom and Grow' stamp set that a perfect for a spot of colouring and chose a simple floral that allowed for all three challenge colours to be featured then die cut with the co-ordinating Budding Blooms Dies. 

In Stitches - There are also a few stitched elements to my card today: I placed my sentiment on a Stitched Shapes circle and added a stitched scalloped border from the 'Stitched Me Mine' Dies to my white panel. Both of these die sets are also retiring at the end of the month - so if you don't have them, grab them whilst you still can.

Balancing Black - Having considered stamping my sentiment black-on-white straight onto my panel, I eventually opted for the reverse and heat embossed my sentiment on black. It provided better contrast and really compliments the Bumblebee yellow I think, whilst not encroaching overly on my 'white space':

So what do you think? I'd love you to leave me a comment below with your thoughts! 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.

Good Morning Magnolia #SimpleStamping Thank You Card AYSI 247

by Joanne James2. April 2021 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 speed challenge:

    

I pass a beautiful magnolia tree on my school run each day that has just come in to bloom and that totally inspired me to use one of my retiring stamp sets and this week's Color Throwdown colours for today's speedy blossom - take a look:

 

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

Good Morning Magnolia - I decided to go big and bold with my quick card today and I used the large single magnolia flower from the 'Good Morning Magnolia' stamp set for my card today. This allowed me to minimise my stamping and spend my time adding colour to my magnolia blossom. The other thing I love about this stamp set is the sentiments; my simple 'thanks' finishes with beautiful wording inside too:

 

Speedy Colouring - Even with only one bloom, 10 minutes still isn't long for colouring! I focused my efforts on the petals themselves, adding Melon Mambo to the outer petals and a combination of Flirty Flamingo and a little extra Melon Mambo to the insides. I didn't add any colour to my leaves, just giving them a quick swipe with a blender pen. I love that the Very Vanilla base adds a warmth to the card that you wouldn't get with white:

 

#SimpleStamping - This card is all about the stamps, ink and paper: simple layering, no fancy die cutting and one focal image, with a simple sentiment. By keeping things simple, they can be quick 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. 

 

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.
  • In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 
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.

Love Is Kindness Real Red Tulips

by Joanne James1. April 2021 22:04

Today I'm sharing a late post with a card I made for the current challenges over at Just Us Girls and Time Out:

   

I was totally inspired by those red tulips on the JUGS inspiration photo and when I was rummaging on my retired shelf earlier this week I came across a stamp set that not only had some tulips but also the perfect sentiment for the challenge at Time Out too - take a look:

 

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

The retired stamp set 'Love Is Kindness' was perfect for not only the tulips but also that lovely sentiment, which along with a hand-picked bunch of tulips from the garden seemed so fitting for the quote over at Time Out. I stamped it on a scallop stitched rectangle and mounted it on a Real Red card base. Inspired by the greens of the JUGS inspo photo, I also bordered my floral bunch with a light Soft Sea Foam Blends marker and blended it with my Colour Lifter. I don't usually add a halo of green (I usually use blue or grey) and whilst difficult to see on the photo, actually adds a lovely freshness to the card in real life.

 

I kept this stamp as I love that sentiment - after all, without kindness what is there in life? 

I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used (current product only):

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

Blessed Easter Tulips

by Joanne James31. March 2021 11:54

Today I'm sharing a quick Easter card that I made for the current challenge over at Inspired By:

I love the textured paint effect of those brightly coloured tulips and I needed a couple of extra Easter cards, so I brought out my retired 'Blessed Easter' stamp and got colouring - take a look:

 

I went for a simple 'stamp and colour' although I did take the opportunity to frame my spring tulips with one of the new Stitched With Whimsy Dies for an extra touch of detail to my panel. I liked this card so much I made another too, this time on a Daffodil Delight card base - here's a photo of them 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 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.

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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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