Magnolia Lane Memories and More No Stamping Card

by Joanne James19. August 2019 21:00

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a super quick card using the CAS Colours and Sketches layout and the theme over at Just Add Ink:

    

I was thrilled to see the JAI theme this week; when you're busy and short on crafty time, what can be better than a 'no stamping' card? I had the Magnolia Lane Memories and More Card pack out on my desk still following last week's class, so chose card and set to work:

 

I backed my card with a panel of Early Espresso, added a sentiment sticker, some co-ordinating twine and a trio of pearls to my Petal Pink card base, that I had already run through my Subtles embossing folder and I was done! I even added a larger M&M card to the inside for a pre-decorated interior:

Seriously - it took longer to photograph and watermark my card and type up this post than it did to make it!

 As a result I did manage to get a couple more cards made this afternoon, so I will share those with you tomorrow.

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.

His and Hers Over the Moon Birthday Cards for PP455

by Joanne James18. August 2019 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and it's c'lean and simple' week, with the added theme of 'cards for kids'. Your cards can be for any occasion - birthday, back to school, encouragement, congratulations, get well soon - but they must be aimed at children and they must be in a 'clean and simple' style. What do we mean by 'clean and simple'? We would like you to create a card that has:

  • Minimal layers and embellishments
  • Plenty of open space, also known as 'white space'
  • Is simple and uncluttered

       

I had so many ways I could go with this as I make lots of cards for both of the James Juniors and their friends, but I just couldn't resist creating with those cute cows from the 'Over The Moon' set - take a look:

 

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

A Sketch Confession - Having had little time for crafting or blogging this past couple of weeks (the curse of the long school summer holiday!), I was disappointed to not get a card made for last week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches where they are celebrating their 400th anniversary - way to go ladies!! I was therefore delighted to see their super simple sketch this week that would be perfect for me to use for my clean and simple Paper Players card so that I could celebrate along with the FMS team for week 2 of the celebrations. With my card made, imagine my surprise when I then caught up with my blog reading yesterday and saw that the sketch for another of my favourite challenges, As You See It, is very similar - a horizontal mirror image - and the placement of my cow and sentiment matches the sketch exactly! In an ideal world, I'd have made another card for FMS, but I have house guests this weekend and that is not going to happen so instead I am linking to both and will aim to make another for AYSI that is exactly as is (it's in my head already, I just need the time to get into my craft room - don't you hate it when that happens?!)

Party Til The Cows Come Home - I had to use this fun cow from the 'Over The Moon' set for my card today. This set is comical, so works well for young and old alike and whilst this cow could be dreaming, without his dream bubble I also think he looks like he's enjoyed a night out on the town - a real party animal! I stamped him in Memento Black, coloured him with my Blends and then fussy cut him and popped him up on dimensionals balanced on the horizontal line of the sketch, which grounds him perfectly.

His And Hers Colours - Since my cow is black and white, I needed to introduce some colour and decided to use my favourite in-color gingham DSP. I made one in Rococco Rose and liked it so much I made a second one in Pretty Peacock - a his and hers colour combo! Here's my second card:

 

Here they are together - which one do you prefer? They were both easy to create and came together in no time, with just a few key supplies; another clean and simple #SimpleStamping too!

Finally, 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; I have house guests for the weekend so am on entertainment duty. It is the balloon festival here in Northampton this weekend, so we may go along to watch the balloons later and maybe even chase a few. All being well 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.

Silhouette Scenes Brother Birthday Card PP454

by Joanne James11. August 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 lovely Jaydee to host this week and she has an interesting colour challenge for you to work with:

    

I had an idea of I wanted to do with this week's colour palette and the sketch from TGIF Challenges was just what I needed to turn my idea into a reality (although I made my base horizontal rather than vertical and used an extra-large card base) - take a look:

 

Today is a special day in the James household: the youngest of the James Juniors celebrates his 12th birthday. I'm not sure where those years have gone, but I did need as a result need a couple of special birthday cards to celebrate. Today's card is the card I made for Ben from Rebecca and features Blueberry Bushel as my featured additional colour. Here's the low-down on today's card:

When Is An Adventure Not An Adventure? - The two figures on today's card from the Silhouette Scenes stamp set so remind me of Ben and Rebecca. I can honestly say they truly are each others best friends and always have been. Even as they approach their teens, they still enjoy each others company more than anyone else's - and I love that about them! So it seemed only right to feature them together on my card. I could have stamped the sentiment 'as is', however I wanted to feature the 'adventure' diecut to tie in with the sketch - but I needed it in the plural. Luckily for me, the Sweet Silhouettes dies also incude the word 'inspire' - so I diecut this too, snipped away the letter 's' and paper-pieced it seamlessly to my 'adventure'. Clever, right? :-) I diecut both twice, once in Blueberry Bushel and again in Basic Black and offset this one behind; this allows the diecut to stand out from the background a little better.

A Starry Sky - Since I only had one colour to pair with my black and white, a sponged or brayered sky wasn't really an option. The starry stamp in the 'Bokeh Dots' set came to the rescue; the distinktive nature of this stamp meant that even with one colour, there would be enough variation to create interest. 

Sisterly Love - Lastly, not content with my tinkering of sentiments, I did the same on the inside. Do you recognise this sentiment from an existing stamp set? I'll give you a clue - it's in the 'A Wish For Everything' stamp set, but it doesn't look quite like this:

 

Did you spot it? I took the stamp that reads 'First my Mother...forever my friend' and masked out the 'Mo' of Mother and replaced it with the 'Br' from another stamp in this set that reads 'Hope this new year is filled with promises of many bright tomorrow's':

 

It took a little while to ink and mask with my Stampin' Write marker, but I'm really pleased with the result. Do you look for opportunities to create your own customised sentiments out of your stamp collection when you don't have the perfect fit? Do share any that you've created - I'd love to know what other combinations there are.

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; we will be celebrating with cake, an escape room outing and a best friend sleepover - wish me luck! I have my monthly technique class tomorrow but 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.

We'll Walrus Be Friends Walrus Thank You Card

by Joanne James9. August 2019 20:00

 

Today I'm sharing a card for the current sketch challenge over at Fab Friday:

This is one of those great sketches that is so versatile with so many possibilities. I used the opportunity to break out a new stamp set - take a look:

 

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

We'll Walrus Be Friends - I love a punny sentiment and am finding myself doing more and more colouring these days, so 'We'll Walrus Be Friends' was always going to be on my list! A great set with words for lots of occasions and images that are small enough to colour quickly but also give a satisfying few minutes of relaxation, this is a great fun set. 

High Seas - I coloured my image in with my Stampin' Blends and I embossed the mat layer on my card base with the High Seas embossing folder to tie in with the waves on my stamped image. I don't tend to use a lot of texture on my cards, but I love the extra layer of detail this embossing gives. 

Not Quite CAS - I started out intending this card to be my entry for the current Less Is More challenge where the challenge this week is to use orange, aqua and white on your card, but decided once I'd added the embossed layer that this probably wasn't clean and simple enough for the strict rules that the LIM ladies follow - back to the drawing board on that one! I do love the fresh colour combo though - here it is if you would like to save it for future reference:

 

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; 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.

Come Sail Away Brusho Lighthouse Anchor Card

by Joanne James5. August 2019 21:00

I've just got time to squeeze in my entry for the current challenge over at Festive Friday where the challenge is to feature a lighthouse and/or rays on your card:

 #festivefridaychallenge, #FF0039, Lighthouse Day, Light Rays/Starburst

I did a technique card last week featuring the Come Sail Away suite so have been making lots of lighthouse cards in readiness for this - here's one of them:

 

I had been doing some experimenting with inked backgrounds and on this card used some blue Brusho on Shimmery White cardstock, covered with scrunched up cling film before leaving to dry and then removed the cling film. I then covered with a liberal spritz of champagne shimmer and I added a collage of stamped and diecut bits and pieces from the Come Sail Away suite to complete my card. No rays of light - I was trying to capture stormy seas behind my lighthouse. This is quite a different card for me - watercoloured backgrounds and collage-style cards are not my forte, but it was fun to create and this is the first time I've used Brusho and really liked the finished effect.

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 have another card similar to this one which I will hopefully share later this week in an alternative colourway.

This is my card for Tuesday so I hope you 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.

Check You Out Back To School Card PP453

by Joanne James4. August 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 my sweet friend Claire to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for you to work with:

     

Many schools in the USA have returned or are about to return to school already. Here in the UK we have another 4 weeks of summer vacation, however this week's challenge is ensuring I stay organised and on schedule so my back to school cards will be completed in good time! I paired this week's theme with the colours from Color Throwdown which I thought were perfect for a school theme and used a new stamp set - check it out (literally!): 

 

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

Check You Out - I couldn't wait to snap up the 'Check You Out' stamp set as I knew this set would be perfect for teacher thank yous, back to school cards and lots more besides - and it has an owl, yay! My card uses just this one stamp set and each of the images has been stamped and fussy cut (except for the Crumb Cake library card wallet, which is stamped on the base layer) and then paper-pieced together to create my fun little combo. 

An Apple For The Teacher - I can't make a school-related card or teacher thank you without including an apple at least somewhere on my card. Today I created one using a 1" circle punch, that I cut a notch out of top and bottom and added some leaves courtesy of my leaf punch and a handcut stem. I stamped my sentiment onto it as it was a great way to highlight it on this fun back-to-school card.

#SimpleStamping - Today's card is a great example of #SimpleStamping: just one stamp set and inks and paper. Search the Stampin' Up! hashtag #SimpleStamping for lots of other examples that use minimal products that are great for quick and easy creative makes that are aimed at beginner and experienced crafters alike.

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; mine will be a lazy one pottering round the garden and trying to get a few outdoor jobs done before the weather turns this week. 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.

Magical Mermaid Brights Birthday Card

by Joanne James3. August 2019 20:00

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at TGIF Challenges where they have a gorgeous bright colour palette this week:

 

I used these colours for Rebecca's birthday card from Ben as they were perfect for what I had in mind - take a look:

 

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

Magical Mermaid - I bought this set to make a set of pictures for my very own water baby - with her long, blond hair and swimming skills Rebecca could definitely pass for a mermaid! I heat embossed this one in gold onto shimmery white cardstock and fussy cut it, then coloured the tail with a combination of Gorgeous Grape and Melon Mambo, then added another coat of shimmer with my clear Wink of Stella pen - it is so sparkly in real life!

A Watery Scene - My watercolour skills generally leave a lot to be desired, so I stayed simple and watercoloured using Sahara Sand as my neutral for sand and overstamped with some shells for added detail, and used a wash of Coastal Cabana for the sea, with some bubbles stamped in full strength over the top. I also added some strands of seaweed in green for added detail, blending them in at the base.

A Touch of Sparkle - I stamped my sentiment on a stitched circle in Gorgeous Grape and before it was dry, sprinkled it with gold embossing powder and heat set it so that I managed to create gold highlights where the powder stuck. In addition to the sparkly mermaid tail this adds a lovely shimmer - essential for any card destined for Rebecca, that's for sure!

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.

Daisy Lane Fussy Cut Daisy Friend Card

by Joanne James2. August 2019 20:00

Friday already? Where did this week go?! Today I'm sharing a card that I've been trying to share all week for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS but time has simply run away with me:

 

Clean and simple was definitely the name of the game for me this week so I created another simple card using the Daisy Lane stamp set:

 

This card was super simple: a Coastal Cabana card base embossed with the Subtles embossing folder for a little texture, a stamped daisy stem that I then fussy cut and added to my card base. This took a little longer than stamping directly onto my base, but I do find fussy cutting quite relaxing so it was no hardship. A stamped sentiment from the same set punched out with the new Timeless Label Punch completes 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 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.

We Are Cut Out To Be Friends Crafty Card

by Joanne James29. July 2019 20:00

This is really Saturday’s post, which I wasn’t able to put live as I was away, so it has now turned in to Monday! I used last week's theme over at Global Design Project which was 'for the love of craft' for a last-minute entry to this week's Color Throwdown palette and current CAS Colours and Sketches sketch: 

       

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew it would give me the opportunity in combination with the other two challenges to create a card that I’ve had percolating for some time - take a look:

 

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

Crafting Forever - ‘Crafting Forever’ is one of those sets that is a firm favourite with crafters, especially if you are making cards for other crafters, as we often do! That said, you don’t need to be a crafter to enjoy this set - the sentiments in this set are fun for anyone.

Ombre, Ombre - I decided to create a background of randomly stamped scissors, that I then heat embossed in white so that I could use my sponge brayer to create my bright ombré background. The scissors bring my card together and by brayering all three colours it makes the people on my card really stand out.

A Play on Words - So I haven’t used the sentiment featured on my card before, but I do love a punny sentiment and this one always makes me think of those chains of paper dolls that I used to make as a child. Anyone else spend hours on end cutting out little people and then dressing them and decorating them with different faces? I couldn’t resist creating two paper chain dolls for the elements of the sketch (I used copy paper so that it would have the same look and feel as my paper dolls I made as a child) and adhered them under the sentiment, which I masked onto my horizontal strip to suit the sketch layout. This funny punny card just makes me smile and I already know who I’m going to send it to! 

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.

A Beautiful Friendship For PP45

by Joanne James28. July 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 my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

 

I love all the layers on Anne Marie’s sketch and thought that central panel would be perfect for me to break open a new stamp set and create with florals - take a look:

 

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

A Beautiful Friendship - I must confess the stamp set I used on my card today, ‘Beautiful Friendship’, is one I totally overlooked on my first pass of the catalogue. I always tell myself I don’t need any man re floral stamps, but for this one I just had to make an exception once I’d seen some of the lovely cards others had created with it - it has some great sentiments and a fab collection of florals that are so easy to use to create so many different floral arrangements and in so many different colours - I am officially hooked! 

#SimpleStamping Without The Stitched Rectangle - I stamped my florals (with a little bit of post-it note masking, because I wanted to fit a lot onto my panel) and cut out with a Stitched  Rectangle die as I didn’t want to add another mat to this central piece, however you could just as easily not and this would be perfect for this month’s Stampin’ Up! challenge to create a card using nothing more than stamps, inks, paper and DSP. ‘Beautiful Friendship’ is a great set for #SimpleStamping - it works on a multi-or single layered card and can be easily ‘dressed up’ or used alone to create some fabulous cards. 

Color Collection DSP - I decided on a fresh and summery blue and yellow colour combo for my card today, using a strip of yellow and a base of blue and white gingham for my framed layer. I used a piece of retired gingham paper from the Spring catalogue, but we are so lucky that we now have it in every colour in the in-Color and Color Collection - yay! I’ve linked to the Subtles Color Collection below if you need to stock up! I stamped my sentiment in Night of Navy directly onto my DSP frame, as I didn’t want to use a label. 

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; I am spending day 2 at the London Aquatic Centre and the 2012 Olympic pool for the second day of Rebecca’s swimming meet. Yesterday was a good day and not too hot (I am thankful we cut a break in the heatwave here in the UK because poolside would otherwise have been unbearable!). Enjoy the rest of your weekend; I'll be back later 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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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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