A Bike Ride With Two New In-Colours

by Joanne James25. April 2017 12:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where this is the last of my guest designer posts this month. This week it's a sketch challenge: 

    

I also decided to use the inspiration photo over at Fusion as a starting point for my card today, which features another sneak peek of the forthcoming 'Bike Ride' stamp set and a few other new products besides - take a look:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

New Stamps - Not one, but two new stamps from the forthcoming new Stampin' Up! annual catalogue on my card today! The lovely Bike Ride bicycle, this time in Smoky Slate (not quite a truck, but still transport, right?) with a cascade of flowers in the front basket. I stamped and fussy cut these so that I could pop them onto a dimensional; not tricky, but I'm still looking forward to ordering my co-ordinating framelits! The sentiment is from a new set too called 'Happy Birthday Gorgeous' that has some wonderful sentiments in pretty scripts and fonts - more on this another day.

New In-Colours - Two new in-colours on my card today too: my cardbase and bicycle highlights are the new Powder Pink, a delicate soft pink that is almost a neutral, and Berry Burst - a rich, berry red with warm undertones, the colour that I used for my scalloped top border and enamel dots. Did you spot those lovely new accessories too? Glitter enamel dots, in various sizes and shades of Berry, with a wonderful glittery sparkle. I am going to need a TON of these!

New Tools - Wondering how I made that scalloped border? Yes, another something 'new' from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits is a scalloped border edge thinlit; I know this will be useful for all kinds of projects.

Isn't that a whole lot of new loveliness for a clean and simple 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. 

Be sure to check out the other DT cards over at CAS Colours and Sketches and look out for me in the gallery from next week onwards!

Enjoy the rest of your day; the James Juniors are (finally) back to school so today I am loooking to move mountains and get into the thick of my significant 'to do' list. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: No product table today, as most of the items on today's card will not be available to purchase until the new catalogue launches. Item numbers are included on the visual above though, so why not add this to your Pinterest board and contact me when the catalogue is live to place your order?

Attention All Bargain Hunters - The Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack Has Updated!

by Joanne James25. April 2017 09:00

 

What a great start to a Tuesday - I logged on this morning to find a surprise update to the Clearance Rack. There are now lots of new items available, some with as much as 60% off. As is always the case, popular items will sell out quickly, so don't spend too long deliberating - get in there quick! There are some great paper bargains, including many designer series papers, accessories, kits, framelits and even a few punches. My favourite Warmth and Cheer DSP stack is there along with those gorgeous Petals & Paisleys Designer Series Papers too - I could go on, but the best thing you can do is hop on over and take a look.

Click here to go the clearance rack in my online store and grab a bargain whilst stocks last! You might also want to check out this week's round of new weekly deals too and pop one or two of those in your basket - you can find them here. Don't forget to include the current hostess code Y2MKPTP6 make sure that 'allow your demonstrator to contact you' is ticked in order that you receive your special 'thank you' in the post from me. 

Race you to the shop - first one there gets the bargains! Happy shopping! 

Sunshine Wishes Glimmer Wedding Card PP341 and #GDP083

by Joanne James23. April 2017 21:02

A quick post with my second card today; you can see my card for this week's Paper Players Challenge here - this card is my second entry this week for the challenge over at Global Design Project and also happens to use this week's Paper Players sketch:

   

Whilst I loved my earlier entry for this week's Global Design Project challenge - you can see it here in case you missed it - I wanted to have another go with much more obvious sparkle and bling and this is what I came up with:

 

A little Falling In Love designer series paper, a Falling Petals embossed vellum overlay and not one but two glimmer papers: Blushing Bride for my Sunshine Wishes heart and Gold for my sentiment diecut from the same set and border. A gold metallic enamel heart shape, some gold thread and a little gold heat embossing finish my card. Very blingy for me and much more in keeping with the GDP challenge this week!

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. 

It's the last day of the Easter school holidays here tomorrow; I'll be back on Tuesday 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.

Party On Party Animal For The Paper Players

by Joanne James23. April 2017 11:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The awesomely talented Sandy is the hostess this week and she has a great sketch for us to work with:

 

I took the opportunity to use up some of my retiring designer series paper and create a fun birthday card using products from the Party Animal Suite - take a look:

 

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

Be A Party Animal - I chose to feature the paper covered in a quirky animal print, complete with party hats, on my central panel. This is such a fun design with unisex appeal. Such fun for a birthday card, and even better value now that it's reduced in price to only £7 a pack!

Add A Party Hat - I added a fun party hat embellishment, tied with an Emerald Envy Taffeta bow, above my sentiment banner for my focal point. I backed it with a plain stitched square in Crushed Curry for an added pop of colour. 

A Party Bright Colour ComboThe Party Animal Suite is full of bright, bold colours for wild adventures and birthday celebrations and my card today features four of the main ones:

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. 

This sketch is a real keeper - I can think of so many ways to use it! Thanks Sandy for the inspiration.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

The Paper Players Design Team
 
 
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! 

 

I am looking forward to spending time pottering in the garden today, making the most of the lovely weekend weather. I can't wait to see what you create with our sketch this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'm looking forward to 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.

Dragonfly Dreams Layered Dragonfly Card for #GDP083 And A New Class To Go

by Joanne James20. April 2017 20:54

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at The Global Design Project where it's all about the sparkle and bling:

I immediately thought 'glimmer paper' for this challenge, but ended up creating a card that had plenty of shine from the copper elements and my glimmer sparkle was somewhat understated - take a look:

 

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

Copper Trio - Most of the shine on my card comes from the trio of copper elements I've used for the mat, dragonfly and sentiment: copper foil, copper embossing powder and copper metallic thread. These co-ordinate beautifully with the white and Blushing Bride elements elsewhere on my card and definitely add a luxurious feel.

A Glimmer Of Dragonflies - I created a collection of silhouetted dragonflies by using one of the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits to create a stencil that I then used to sponge my central panel with some Blushing Bride ink. Did you know that the collective term for a group of dragonflies is generally acknowledged to be a 'cluster', but in some circles it is also believed to be a 'glimmer' or a 'beauty'? How lovely is that?

Farewell, Blushing Bride Glimmer - Finally I layered my large diecut dragonfly, using a base of Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper, then vellum and finally copper foil. The angle of the photo doesn't reveal much of the soft pink glimmer paper and it is much easier to see all three layers distinctly in real life - it adds a subtle sparkle that ties in with the sponged panel perfectly. Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper is another of those products on the retirement list that will be leaving us by the end of May but would be easy to overlook, so if you need to stock up be sure to do so whilst stocks last.

This is one of the cards that I designed for my recent Dragonfly Dreams Technique class that featured a variety of ink techniques using this set and I think has to be my favourite of the trio. I'm so glad that this stamp set and framelits are carrying over into the new annual catalogue, although this will be without the 10% bundle saving for purchasing both items together. I will be running this technique class again in person on Monday 3rd July if you live in or around Northampton and would like to attend; however I also have a special offer for anyone who purchases the Dragonfly Dreams bundle through my online store before the 31st May - you will receive this class as a 'Class To Go' with the materials, full written instructions and accompanying step-by-step video tutorials FOR FREE in the post following your purchase (please remember to quote the current hostess code in the sidebar in order to qualify).

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'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.

 

Designer Tin Of Cards Kit - A Retirement Kit Bargain!

by Joanne James19. April 2017 20:00

My team and customers know what a fan I am of Stampin' Up!'s kits - they make for a perfect crafty evening in with friends, whether you are a seasoned crafter or have never crafted before and would like to try something new. Today I want to share with you one of the two popular card kits in the Stampin' Up! range that are retiring at the end of May with the end of the current annual catalogue. 

The Designer Tin of Cards Project Kit features on page 160 of the annual catalogue. Here's a picture of everything that's included:

This generous kit contains blanks and envelopes to create 16 cards and comes with a lovely card organiser storage tin and dividers to keep them in when you're done. Add a Designer Tin of Cards stamp set (this set contains some great stamps to decorate your envelopes and the inside of your cards too), a couple of ink pads and some adhesive and you are good to go! Or if you're an existing crafter with supplies, you could use any ink pads and sentiment stamp set to achieve great results. Here's a picture of the finished cards in the set:

First, fiesta-inspired birthday cards:

 Moroccan-inspired thank you cards:

Floral-inspired sending love and best wishes - great for a variety of occasions:

Lastly, some pretty congratulations cards:

Aren't they great? What's more, the kit has been reduced from £24.50 to just £14.70 - that's less than £1 per card and a fabulous tin to store then all in! 

If you would like to order the above kit, please click on the links below to order from my online store or if you live in or around Northampton, please email me or give me a call to get them added to my next order. What's more, if you would like a bargain impromptu get-together with friends where you each get to make one of these kits, then do get in touch and we can book a date in the diary.

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy shopping!

 

Links to my Stampin' Up! Store - Designer Tin of Cards Kit:

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

Succulent Garden Meets You've Got This

by Joanne James18. April 2017 13:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where I am the guest designer this month. This week it's a colour challenge:

   

Since each of these colours appears in the Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper (still available on the retiring list - grab it while you can!), I used that as my starting point for my card today - take a look:

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

Clean and Simple with Designer Series Paper - I decided to use a piece of the Succulent Garden designer series paper that I hadn't previously cut into for my card today. Whilst 'clean and simple' is all about the clean space with minimal layers and embellishments, it is possible to use DSP on a clean and simple card - you just have to use it sparingly. I used just a small 2.5" x 2.5" square, cut out with my square Stitched Shape Framelit for a little added detail. By keeping the rest of my cardfront plain, it retains an overall 'CAS' feel.

A Two Tone Sentiment - Inking up your sentiment with Stampin' Write Markers is a great way to ring the changes with a stamped sentiment. My chosen sentiment from the 'You've Got This' stamp set has two different font styles so really lends itself to different colours. I've used Old Olive and Tip Top Taupe; next time you're crafting get your markers out and try this with your sentiment stamps, I'd love to see what you create!

CASE Your CAS - My card today is a CASE 'copy and selectively edit' of this CAS 'clean and simple' card made a few weeks ago by my friend and Paper Players team mate LeAnne Pugliese. I changed out the paper, used an oval instead of a circle for my sentiment and switched flowers for succulents to make this card my own, but the similarities are clear to see. Thank you for the inspiration LeAnne!

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.

Bon Voyage Swirly Bird Boat Card

by Joanne James17. April 2017 04:00

Happy Easter Monday everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your fill of chocolate eggs yesterday - I know that we had more than our fair share here in the James household for sure! Today I'm sharing a card for this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I love Jen's sketch this week and knew immediately what I wanted to do with it; eventually on Saturday I managed to find some time to create - take a look:

 

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

A Swirly Boat and Scribble - I used the edge of my wavy sea thinlit in my Swirly Scribble set to create the curved line as per in the sketch (I actually flipped my Very Vanilla piece over and used the reverse so that my wave followed the same contours as the sketch). This was the starting point for my card and everything else followed from there. I stamped my Swirly Bird boat and background splatters onto the Vanilla section, then fussy cut the sail and popped it up on a dimensional, having heat embossed the Calypso Coral sail with copper embossing powder for added shine. The Swirly Bird stamp set and co-ordinating Swirly Scribble thinlit dies are one of my favourite bundles in the current annual Stampin' Up! catalogue and I'm so pleased that they are carrying over into the new 2017-18 catalogue. The discounted bundle price won't be carrying over though, so if you want to save 10% by purchasing them together be sure to order them before the new catalogue goes live on 1st June.

By The Sea Shore - I used a layer of the retiring By The Shore paper for the bottom part of my card to provide the perfect seascape. I will be so sorry to see this paper leave us! It's still available on the retiring list whilst stocks last, so snap some up now before it's too late.

A Bon Voyage Banner - I decided to use a pair of curved sentiments from the 'Banners For You' set on my card today; they followed the contours of the curved edge perfectly and made for a fun 'Bon Vogage' type 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.

Stampin' Up! Sneak Peek - Bike Ride For The Paper Players

by Joanne James16. April 2017 10:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the amazing LeAnne to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

 

So I couldn't resist sharing a sneak peek of a brand new stamp set with you today - a fabulous two-step stamping set called 'Bike Ride', that I received as part of an all-attendee giveaway at Onstage in Amsterdam last week - take a look:

 

Isn't that fun?! Read on for the low-down on today's card:

Demonstrator Perks And A Sneak Peek - One of the best perks about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is being able to get your hands on new products before anyone else does! I came home from Onstage last week with some new stamp sets including this fun bicycle stamp set. I was also able to participate in an event-only pre-order which means I am expecting another box of new goodies on Tuesday morning - can't wait! If you are excited by getting your hands on new products early, do get in touch with me about joining my team now so that you can take advantage of these pre-order demonstrator perks too.

A Bike Ride For Teacher - Today's sneak peek is a set called 'Bike Ride'. Such a fun two-step stamp set with lots of little accessories - everything from flowers to apples and books to an adorable puppy dog! You can build endless combinations to make your two-wheeled creations totally unique. The best bit? This set also has some co-ordinating Build A Bike framelits that will make putting your creations together as easy as can be! My CAS card today uses just the stamp set - I created a few masks to enable me to stamp my bicycle as a single layer and adapted the basket to fit the front of my bike. For my first card I stamped my bicycle slightly off the page and added a basket of apples with an overlaid thanks diecut from the retiring 'Hello You' thinlit set (I cut this out 3 times, stacked them and heat embossed with clear embossing powder for added dimension and shine) and the word teacher stamped with my Layered Alphabet set -so useful for custom greetings. 

Teacher Thank You Take Two - I was having so much fun with my set, I created a second card to share with you too! This time I stamped the whole of my bicycle on the card front so that in addition to my basket of apples (accented with my fine tip glue pen) I could add a stack of books to the rear. I also grounded my bicycle with a little sponging and some stamped grass (from the retiring 'Basket Bunch' stamp set) and stamped the word teacher in bold block lettering and cut it out and popped it up on dimensionals for added impact:

 

I had so much fun playing with this set and making an early start on my teacher thank you cards for the end of next term. I've lots more ideas for this set and I can't wait to get my hands of the framelits when the new catalogue goes live on June 1st! 

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:

The Paper Players Design Team
 
 
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! 

I look forward to seeing your clean and simple creations in the gallery this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we will be either hunting for or eating chocolate as our primary activities today - I think we might need a bike ride later to work some of our calories off! I'll be back tomorrow with another project, also with a travel theme so be sure to tune on for that, Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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

Circle Of Spring 3D Easel Drawer Card

by Joanne James14. April 2017 18:10

Today I'm sharing a card using this week's colours over at Color Throwdown:

These colours are so very pretty and I was also inspired by the florals to create a 3D easel drawer card today using the retiring stamp set 'Circle of Spring' - take a look:

 

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

Circle Of Spring - I stamped the floral wreath from Circle of Spring and coloured it in with my Calypso Coral, Peekaboo Peach, So Saffron and Wild Wasabi Stampin' Write markers. I then cut it out with my Wondrous Wreath framelits and added a diecut bow too. Both the stamp set and framelits that I've used on my card today are retiring from the annual catalogue at the end of May and are available only whilst stocks last. The Circle of Spring stamp set is currently showing as low inventory, so if this is on your 'must have' list then do order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

A Card And Gift In One - I recently made some easel drawer cards similar to this one for Mother's Day with a group of 21 Girl Guides - this stamp set also contains a 'happy Mother's Day' greeting - who had a lot of fun colouring their stamped images. They used a variety of pastel colours and they all looked so pretty when complete (it's a shame I was too busy to take a photograph of them all together - you'll have to take my word for it!) We made our cards on top so that they would open to enable a personal message to be written inside. The most exciting part though for the girls was the fact that this is a gift and card in one - the drawer pulls open to reveal 4 chocolates fitting perfectly inside:

 

The hardest thing for the girls was to not eat a chocolate or two whilst they were crafting! 

All You Need Is A Sheet of 12" x 12" - The easel drawer card is really easy to make using just one sheet of 12" x 12". It needs to be cut as follows:

  • One piece of 6" x 6", scored at 1.5" on each side for the drawer itself
  • One piece of 3" x 10", scored at 2", 3.5", 6.5" and 8" on the long side, to form the wrap for the drawer
  • One piece of 3" x 6", scored at 3" and 4.5" on the long side, with the 3" section adhered to the top of the drawer wrap at the front and the 1.5" scored sections folded towards you like a mountain.
  • One piece of 3" x 6", scored at 3" on the long side for the card - this is adhered to the front section of the 1.5" x 3" section above (see the photo).

I hope that all makes sense - a video tutorial for another time, I think! To finish, I decorated the drawer section with co-ordinating paper from the Subtles DSP stack. 

These little boxes would also make nice wedding favours - you can get two box cards out of 3 sheets of 12" x 12" cardstock so they would be pretty economical too. 

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

 

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

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

 

 

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!

Follow Me

Monthly Newsletter

Box Builder

Click the button above to use Box Buster to create your custom box design using the Envelope Punch Board!

Kits Collection Now Available!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The new Kits Collection from Stampin' Up! is now available!

Click here to see the current kits available and order yours online today.

I Design For

 

 

 

Stampin' Up Stuff

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.