Giggle Greetings - The Perfect Birthday Card For A Grumpy Old Man!

by Joanne James5. September 2014 12:00

Finally it's Friday - although I'm not quite sure where this week went! Today I have a fun card that I made using the sketch and colour inspiration from a new-ish challenge appropriately called The Challenge that the talented Lesley Croghan is running on her blog Always Playing With Paper, which I'm entering for the first time:

I decided to use both the sketch and colour palette and since September is probably one of my biggest personal card-making months - many birthdays and anniversaries - took the opportunity to get cracking and add a birthday card to my pile. Here is my card:

I started out with the intention of making a female birthday card, but I quickly decided that the colour combination was better suited to a masculine card - and this fun stamp and sentiment from the 'Giggle Greetings' set would be perfect for a grumpy old man (I didn't have one in mind as I worked, but choosing a recipient won't be too difficult I'm sure!) I used my Coastal Cabana and Smoky Slate Stampin' Up! Blendabilities sets to colour my main image, and mounted this onto a layered mat of Night of Navy and Smoky Slate. I used Coastal Cabana for my card base and when I went to lay up my card, I felt it was a little bare, even for my 'clean and layered' style. So I decided to create my own tone-on-tone stamped background using the 'Congratulations' stamp from the 'Bravo' stamp set and some Coastal Cabana ink - I love how it turned out!

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.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cards | Stamping

Sweet Ice Cream - Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

by Joanne James4. September 2014 22:14

Apologies for my late post today lovely blog readers - I have had a very busy 'making' day trying desperately to get ahead of myself for once, but as a result I'm late posting; I guess I just cant do it all!! So I'll keep today's post short and sweet - literally! - and share today's card that I made for this week's challenge over at Less Is More where there is a song theme again, using this week's colour scheme over at Pal Paper Arts:

The song theme over at Less is More is 'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'. I almost didn't make a card this week (I wasn't sure you wanted to see another Sea Street crab or lobster card!) when I was musing about what the seaside means to me and I found myself thinking about ice cream; I mean, a cornet is an intrinsic part of any trip to the seaside, right? When I was at the seaside in Minehead a couple of weeks ago, I had the most delicious forest fruits ice cream in an Italian waffle cone, so with this in mind I thought I would use the above colours to create my ice cream. So, here is my card:

I had some Stampin' Up! notelets out on my desk for another project and decided to use one as the base for my card, as they are more sturdy than Whisper White so perfect for a CAS card like this. I simply added a strip of Hello honey striped DSP from the Moonlight DSP paper stack and made a punch art ice cream cone, first scoring a piece of Crumb Cake with my Simply Scored Scoring Tool and cutting out by hand. For the ice cream itself, I stamped the cream swirl from the Cupcake party stamp set in Versamark, once on Hello Honey and once on Blackberry Bliss, then heat embossed with white embossing powder and punched out with my Cupcake Builder Punch. I also punched out a little Blackberry Bliss cherry using the punch, and covered it in crystal effects to add shine and dimension - this looks so cool in real life! I finished my card with the 'Sweet!' sentiment from the 'Bravo' stamp set, which somehow seemed appropriate for something so delicious!

Hope you like today's card; 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.

 

Sweet Baby Duck New Baby Card for Colour Me...!

by Joanne James3. September 2014 09:30

Wednesday already? This week is zipping by! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have a monochromatic colour palette to work with:

Daffodil Delight yellow - a favourite of mine! - and white. I used this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for my layout and this is what I came up with:

A simple card where the feature is this lovely piece of Daffodil Yellow DSP from the All Abloom DSP paper stack (the little white spots remind me of bubbles!). I overlaid this with my angled panel of Whisper White, having used my Big Shot and Baby's First framelits to cut out the duck shape to allow the DSP to peek through. I finished the duck with a simple white baker's twine bow before adding my Bitty Banner 'Sweet Baby' sentiment on dimensionals for added height.

A great 'welcome baby' card that is the perfect store cupboard standby as it would be suitable for a boy or a girl - I'm also linking up with SUO Challenges as it fits nicely with their 'clean and simple' theme. Why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

And our talented guest designer for September - Holly Endress
 
We look forward to seeing your bright monochromatic creations. 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.
 

Plaid Partridge & Pears Christmas Card

by Joanne James2. September 2014 21:12

Another busy day today - getting ready for the return to school tomorrow of my beloved James Juniors, including an early visit to meet Ben's new teacher, as it has changed over the vacation to the one he was expecting prior to the end of last term. I love having them at home during holiday time and we have had lots of fun, but I think we will all benefit from a little more routine in our lives (although this time next week I might disagree!)

So today a quick share of another card I made with the 'Partridge & Pears' stamp, this time in reds and browns and stamping onto Sahara Sand as my base, rather than Whisper White. It give a totally different look and feel - take a look and see what you think:

I used Early Espresso as my card base, with a layer of the lovely Cherry Cobbler plaid patterned paper from the Trim The Tree DSP paper stack, the stamped my main image in Early Espresso on Sahara Sand. I coloured the image with my standard Stampin' Write markers and only used my Blendabilities on the pears (Old Olive) and the partridge's breast (skin tones). You have to be really careful when using Blendabilties on coloured cardstock, as they bleed into the paper much more quickly than with Whisper White. I added some colour to the leaves with my chalk marker. I finished my card with a sentiment from the 'Watercolor Winter Too' set stamped in Cherry Cobbler on Sahara Sand and cut it out with my Big Shot and Project Life framelits, then matted it onto a piece of Early Espresso which I just snipped the corners away from with a circle punch to echo the shape of the framelit.

I really like the more muted colours of this card - it's just a little bit different. Back tomorrow with my Design team post for the Colour Me...! challenge, so do pop by to see what our theme is this week, along with a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals.

Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

 

  

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Cards | Stamping

Fun Gatefold Partridge & Pears Christmas Card

by Joanne James1. September 2014 19:59

Happy Monday everyone! Mine has been a fun one; I had the first of my classes this month this afternoon and made Christmas cards for the first time - yay! This month's class featured the new 'Partridge & Pears' set from the seasonal autumn-winter catalogue as we also used it as an opportunity to get more practise using Stampin' Up! Blendabilities alcohol marker pens, following on for last month's class where we used them for the first time.

Today I'm sharing one of the cards I designed for the class, using a gatefold-type closure - here is the card:

The tree is stamped in Momento Black ink on Whisper White and coloured with a combination of Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Pumpkin Pie and Skin Tones Blendabilites then cut out with the Big Shot and Circle Framelits. It is mounted on a Cherry Cobbler circle cut with the next size framelit up and the completed circle is scored and folded and adhered between the base and liner layer. The other front section is covered with a piece of Old Olive that has been embossed with the Mosaic embossing folder. The closure for the fold is made by stamping the pear from the same set onto Whisper White and punching out with the 1" circle punch, which is matted on a piece of Cherry Cobbler cut with the 1 1/4" circle punch, and attaching with to the front of the card with a Stampin' dimensional, so that the main circle can 'hook' underneath it as in the picture above.

When the card is open, it looks like this: 

Lastly, a quick peek at the inside - there's still room for a sentiment over to the left, as it's hidden beneath the main front panel: 

I hope you liked today's card; it's a little different and a fun way to ring the changes with a stamp like this. I'll share one or two more cards from my class later in the week. If you live in Northampton or the surrounding areas and would like to attend any of my classes, do drop me a line - all ages and abilities are welcome.

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.

 

Cheerful Christmas Tic Tac Toe for The Paper Players

by Joanne James31. August 2014 08:00

No blog post yesterday I'm afraid, as I was busy with family activities and just couldn't find the time. Today though it's Sunday and time for my Design Team card for The Paper Players, where this week Nance has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for us:

I had such fun trying to decide which boxes of the grid to use - in the end I went for the diagonal of 'patterned paper, embossing, buttons' and made my first Christmas card using the 'Cheerful Christmas' stamp set - I took the inspiration for my layout from this week's sketch over at Fab Friday

This stamp set appealed to me the moment I saw it - I love the Scandanavian-inspired patterns that look so great in traditional Christmas reds and greens, along with white and kraft. For this card, I matted my Real Red base with Garden Green, then adhered a piece of Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper to the top of the card; this DSP carries on the Nordic theme and lots of the papers in this set co-ordinate with these stamps - I love it! I stamped the main flower stamp in the set in Versamark on Real Red and heat embossed in white, then adhered this to my card using dimensionals. Lastly, I added a flag of Calypso Coral and stamped my sentiment, from the new hostess set 'Good Greetings' in Garden Green, onto a flag of Whisper White and tucked it beneath my flower square. Lastly, I finished by wrapping around some white baker's twine and adhering one of the red and white Nordic Designer Buttons to finish.

I even took the time to decorate the inside of my card and the envelope - I thought I'd make the most of it now, as by the time I get to the last minute rush these little acts of prettiness will be all but out the window! Pop over to the rest of the team to see what they did with this week's challenge - there's a huge variety in there this week and as always some great designs.

In the James household, swimming lessons resume today before the new term starts and then I will be doing the final preparations for my first monthly card class featuring Christmas cards tomorrow - yippee! Hope you enjoy your Sunday, however you are spending it.

Lastly, in case you needed a reminder - today is the last day of the Big Shot offer - see here for details.

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.

 

Autumn /Fall Home Decor Frame

by Joanne James29. August 2014 19:08

It's Friday and I've had the most productive day today - and it's not over yet! Today I'm sharing a lovely piece of autumn (or fall, if you're American) home décor, similar to a piece by Sara Douglas that Shelli Gardner shared on her blog recently. It features a lovely new stamp set from the new seasonal catalogue called 'Gratitude For Days', along with some gorgeous Autumn Wooden Elements embellishments that are also a new item. Here is my finished frame:

I used the stamps in the set to create a circular wreath-like pattern, using a cotton bud (cue-tip) to add some sponged colour to the centre of the leaves. I added three wooden leaves and some gold sequins, finishing with the sentiment, which I stamped in Baked Brown Sugar onto Hello Honey cardstock, and finished with a bow tied in gold baker's twine. Here's a close up of the detail:

A great reminder that we have lots to be thankful for and quite simple to create. I'm really pleased with the result - I'm already working on a winter-themed one so that I will have a seasonal pair.

Short and sweet from me today; 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 New Stampin' Up! Autumn Winter Catalogue Here - And It's Time To Party!

by Joanne James28. August 2014 20:05

Well, today is August 28th and that can only mean one thing - the new Stampin' Up! seasonal Autumn-Winter catalogue is LIVE!!

If you're not in possession of a paper copy, you can click on the image above and it will take you straight to the electronic version of the catalogue to browse. If you would like a paper copy and you do not already have a demonstrator, then please drop me an email at [email protected] and I will happily put one in the post to you. This also applies to any of my online 'no contact' customers who are reading this - if you have placed an order at any point and selected the 'no contact' option, I do not have contact details for you and I am unable to either post you a catalogue or email you with details of offers, etc. I can't even send you a thank you card for placing your order, which of course I would love to be able to do as I appreciate your custom!

I know I said it when the new annual catalogue went live, but the same applies to this seasonal catalogue - Stampin' Up! really have pulled out all the stops on this one, with great stamps, papers, kits and accessories for autumn, Halloween and Christmas - believe me, you will want it ALL! I've already given you a few 'sneak peeks' of some of the delights in store and I promise there's much more to come on that front!

Did I say the 28th August meant only one thing? Well, actually I meant two! Along with the new seasonal catalogue, there is also an added incentive to all customers who host a party between 28th August -31st October - all party hostesses with qualifying party sales of £200 or more will earn the exclusive 'Good Greetings' stamp set absolutely FREE; this is in addition to their hostess credits, that they can spend on any items they choose! The Good Greetings stamp set contains 19 stamps and really is a most versatile sentiment set, with everything from seasonal greetings to everyday occasion sentiments. Here's a close up of the sentiments included:

If you've been thinking of hosting a party, then call me now on 07773 421446 or email me at [email protected] to book a party slot - it's a great way to earn items on your wish list for free and have a fun night in with friends at the same time! Or host a virtual party - if you would like to take a 'catalogue basket' into work or pass it around your friends to gather orders so that you can get more hostess benefits, I can arrange that too!

Before I go just a reminder that the 'Short and Sweet' promotional offer where you can join Stampin' Up! for £99 and receive an extra £20 of free goodies (£150 instead of £130) ends at 10pm tomorrow evening, so if you'd like to talk to me about joining my team don't leave it too late! To read all about it and sign up just click here.

Also, the current Big Shot promotion is due to end 31st August, that's this coming Sunday - so if you want to get your hands on a free or discounted bundle, you only have a few more days to place your order. You can get the full offer details here.

I think that's everything for today; I'll be back tomorrow with a 3D home décor project made using product from the new catalogue, so be sure to pop by.

Until then, happy browsing - and I'm waiting for your call to make that party booking!

 

 

Colour Me...! Nutty or Nice? Nutcracker Christmas Card

by Joanne James27. August 2014 09:00

It's Wednesday so time for the challenge over at Colour Me...! where this week we have a playful palette to work with:

What do you see when you look at these colours? They are quite clashing - pink, vanilla, orange and blue - from different areas of the colour wheel, yet they can work together. I decided to go with an unconventionally coloured Christmas card, using the new nutcracker stamp from the Santa Stache stamp set. Here is my card:

I used Marina Mist for my card base, then layered a strip of spotty Tangerine Tango DSP from the Flowerpot stamp set before creating a paper pieced layered image of the nutcracker. To do this, I stamped the nutcracker 5 times, once each on a piece of Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette and Smoky Slate. Using the Very Vanilla piece as my base mat, I then fussy cut the pieces from the remaining images and paper-pieced them together, layering the edges on the hat and jacket for added dimension. I used some now-retired Pink Pirouette mini brads to accent the buttons on the nutcrackers jacket, hat and the edge of my card front for balance - these were lurking in the back of my drawer and were just the right size and shape for the domed effect I was after, but you could use candy dots or maybe small enamel dots in lace of these for a similar effect. Lastly, I cut out the Smoky Slate moustache using the moustache framelit and adhered to my paper pieced image with dimensionals. This vanilla base was matted onto both Marina Mist and Tangerine Tango before adhering to my card base and a little flag with the fun sentiment 'nutty or nice?' added just underneath.

I hope you like my unconventional card this week - only one more day to go until you can order this fun set for yourself. meanwhile, why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

And our talented guest designer for August - Stephanie K
 
We look forward to seeing what interesting ways you choose to use this colour palette in your designs. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!
 
 
Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:
* Santa Stache - Available 28th August
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cards | Stamping

So Many Smiles ... Begin With You Brownie Camera Shaker Card

by Joanne James26. August 2014 15:30

As I'm writing my post today there is finally a break in the rain - hurrah! I hope that everyone here in the UK had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend, despite the dreadful weather across most of the country yesterday. I am now home, having spent a long weekend away in Somerset with my extended family, celebrating my Mother-in-law's forthcoming 70th birthday. We were fortunate to have had wonderful weather and spent a great weekend on the beach, fossil hunting, playing rounders and generally having a relaxing time.

Today I'm sharing a card I made a while ago as one of the samples for the UK Regional Training Day where I was asked to do a 'wow' technique presentation using the Traveler stamp set. This card is one of the ones that was actually inspired by the set, rather than featuring it directly, although the old fashioned brownie camera that inspired my card does feature on the inside. I decided to try my hand at a shaker card and created it to look like an old fashioned camera - here's the front of my card:

I used Soft Suede, Baked Brown Sugar and Brushed Gold cardstock and a variety of circle punches and both circle and deco label framelits to construct my shaker, and filled the window with gold sequins and some confetti squares cut using my fringe scissors from baked Brown Sugar cardstock and Champagne glimmer paper. I used the Petite Pairs sentiment set and heat embossed the first half of my sentiment in gold on the inside of my shaker frame. This was then continued on the inside of the card:

I also finished with the camera stamp. So what do you think - does my punch art camera shaker card bear any resemblance to the real thing? I thought this would make a fun masculine shaker card - proving even grown ups can be fun!

Back tomorrow with my Design Team card for this week's Colour Me...! challenge - and I have a fun 'sneak peek' Christmas card to share with you!

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.