Hip Hip Hooray - Sea Street Shaker Birthday Card

by Joanne James11. August 2014 08:00

It's Monday and today I have a special card for a special day - today my youngest James Junior turns 7! I can't quite believe it - some days I'm not sure where the last 7 years have gone. So today I'm sharing a birthday card I made for Ben to celebrate his special day. I used this week's sketch over at the Paper Craft Crew as my inspiration: 

My card is slightly larger than usual - A5, 21cm x 14.9cm - and features a fun shaker element along with my favourite Sea Street stamp set:

The shaker is made using the surround from the On Film framelit set and filled with fussy cut starfish, crabs, lobsters, gold sequins and some fish and anchors cut with my now retired Oh Whale! clearlit. I stamped the 'Hip Hip Hooray' onto the background before putting the shaker together and carried the sentiment on to the inside of the card:

We have a fun day planned today, including a visit to the cinema and maybe even a cycle ride on his new bicycle if the weather holds! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Paper Players Guest Designer Announcement - And A Happy Day Card!

by Joanne James25. June 2014 13:00

Today I was all set to share the card I made for this week’s challenge over at The Paper Players, where Nance has this great sketch for us to work with:

 

But before I get to my card, there is an exciting news announcement over on the Paper Players blog today involving yours truly: I have been asked to feature as one of their guest designers, starting July 6th - how great is that?!

I am excited and truly honoured that this wonderful bunch of papercrafters have asked me to join them for a three month period through to September. You can check out the details and the other guest designers that will be featuring at the same time by clicking on the link here and you will of course be able to see my weekly submissions right here on my blog in weeks to come.

Anyway - back to today's card! I love a good sketch challenge and Nance's sketch can be used in so many ways. Given that we are transitioning between catalogues, my choices for my card today were driven by the (relatively!) fewer stamps that I currently have in my collection and also a desire to use another piece of Designer Series Paper that hasn’t yet made the cut – here’s my card:

I decided to use the ‘Oh Happy Day’ stamp from the Starburst Sayings stamp set and wanted to use the bold black and white zebra-like pattern from the Kaleidescope DSP set; this layout allows for the use of a bold patterned paper without it overwhelming the rest of the card. Black and white alone was a little stark for me though – but I had the perfect antidote with a burst of Melon Mambo, a great hot pink to liven things up a bit! I used the black and white DSP for my central panel, matting this on a piece of Basic Black and then a strip of Melon Mambo, before adhering to my Basic Black card base. I stamped my sentiment focal point in Versamark on Basic Black and then heat embossed in Melon Mambo, which adds great texture and sheen, and cut out using the co-ordinating framelit. I then popped the starburst onto a Melon Mambo circle cut with my Circle Framelits using dimensionals to give added depth. I also decided this card was worthy of some serious ‘bling’ and adhered small rhinestones to each of the circles on the word ‘happy’ – this made this card so sparkly! To finish, I added two small banners cut with framelits as per the sketch, finished with a Melon Mambo button and a few extra rhinestones for good measure.

I think this card has a real ‘rock chick’ feel to it and would be great for an uber-cool teenager; I have a very discerning teenage niece that this card will be perfect for and as her birthday isn’t until October, I guess that makes me look super organised too – win, win! Or I could just send it to myself since today is indeed a happy day, given the announcement that I am going to be a Paper Players Guest Designer - yay! Decisions, decisions....

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.

 

Dad You Make The World A Better Place

by Joanne James8. June 2014 21:36

This has been the busiest of weekends, with so much going on: we bought Ben a new bike as an early birthday present yesterday - it has become quite apparent as we've been cycling since this year that he had outgrown his previous one and the middle of August was such a long time to wait - and he doesn't seem to have been off it since, along with the usual homework, swimming and a special golden wedding anniversary party today. Not much time for crafting although I did make a quick card using this week's Mojo Monday sketch layout and Pals Paper Arts colours, so a really quick post from me to share it with you:

 

I haven't played along with Mojo Monday for a while and saw this sketch and had a few ideas of what to do with it and thought that this week's PPA colours would work well for a brighter masculine card. I must confess that things didn't come together quite how I planned though and with limited time I eventually settled on this card:

Some simple layers and patterns in So Saffron and Baked Brown Sugar and a pop of Pacific Point in the stamp from Starburst Sayings, echoed in the mat for the So Saffron panel with 'Dad' in a double-layer of sketched and outline alphabets. I made this card with Father's Day in mind and the thing I like most about the card is the sentiment - there are two James children in this house who absolutely would agree with this statement.

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! Coram Cards For Keeps Charity Auction

by Joanne James26. April 2014 21:06

I've been busy preparing for next week's classes today; I'll share those cards with you later next week, however today thought I would share something a little different. If any of you are followers of Stampin' Up! UK's Facebook page, you will probably already be aware of Stampin' Up!'s 'Cards For Keeps' charitable auction that is due to take place on Ebay in May. For those of you that aren't, Stampin' Up! have joined forces with Coram, the oldest UK children's charity, to celebrate its 275 year anniversary by inviting a wide range of stars from sport, stage, screen, music and art to create a unique card using Stampin' Up! supplies.

Stampin' Up! demonstrators have also been invited to submit a card for a pre-auction competition; the winning card will also be entered into the 'Cards for Keeps' auction, alongside those of the participating celebrities. In trying to decide on a design for my contest submission, I did a little research about Coram. Through services such as adoption and creative therapies, Coram helps some of the UK’s most vulnerable children to feel safe and loved and have access to the education and opportunities in life all children need. I read several inspirational stories about the work they do and the difference they make to the lives of so many young people, they really are a charity worthy of our support.

So without further ado, let me share the card I designed;for me, this card sums up everything that Coram stands for:

My colour scheme of Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White was inspired by Coram's logo and corporate colours. I decided to make a square card with a strong focal point - the 'you make the world a better place' stamp from the Starburst Sayings set. For me, this stamp sums up the work of Coram so well - they make the world a better place for thousands of children each and every year. l brought in lots of detail to my card with layers and textures: I stamped the image in Versamark and heat embossed in Cherry Cobbler embossing powder, cutting out the 'World' banner and popping it up on a couple of dimensionals for extra emphasis. I then matted my starburst on white and Cherry Cobbler circles, followed by a final starburst of Pumpkin Pie. I cut my banner using the Banner Framelits and a piece of Cherry Cobbler Cored'inations cardstock. The base of the card is Pumpkin Pie, with Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White mats and a central panel of Polka Dots DSP in Pumpkin Pie. A Cherry Cobbler seam binding double bow tied with white baker's twine and a Pumpkin pie button finish my card.

The inside had a little treatment too, before I added my personalised message:

If you would like to see some of the celebrity cards that have been created for the 'Cards For Keeps' online auction, check them out here on the Cards For Keeps Pinterest board. There are sure to be some sought-after auction lots, with celebrities from Benedict Cumberbatch to Liza Tarbuck, and Axel Scheffler to Twiggy.

I'll let you know if my autographed version is lucky enough to join them, but for now I'm off to work out which ones I'm going to bid on - so far my favourite is Jo Brand and the Jelly Babies (yes, for real!)

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.