Freaky Friends Om Nom Nom Halloween Card

by Joanne James8. September 2014 22:22

It's the start of the week and I've had such a busy - and productive! - day; I love days like that! I'm late blogging though, so a quick post from me with a card I made today using this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

I've been making Halloween card samples for a party that I'm running this week, where the hostess is mad about all things Halloween! This sketch allowed me to make a really quick and simple card using one of the cute monsters from 'Freaky Friends' and probably the only piece of designer series paper in the Motley Monsters DSP pack that I really wasn't sure about. Here's my card:

So my American friends tell me the little triangles on this paper are known as 'candy corn', a popular sweet treat at Halloween. We don't have it here in the UK and wasn't sure how to use it on my card, when it came to me - I could pair it with a stamp that I'm never quite sure how to use either - the 'Om Nom Nom' stamp in the 'Ghoulish Greetings' set and one of the cute little monsters from 'Freaky Friends'. So using the DSP as my starting point, I cut a base of co-ordinating Crushed Curry cardstock and added a pennant banner of the DSP. I stamped my monster in Memento Black onto Tangerine Tango cardstock and punched it out with a 1 3/4" circle punch and mounted this on a 2" circle punched out of Basic Black. I added a decorative twine bow using the extra thick twine in the seasonal catalogue (it comes in Old Olive too) and lastly stamped my sentiment, a combination of two stamps from the 'Ghoulish Greetings' set. I was going to go with the 'Om Nom Nom' on its own - I figured this is what the monster would be saying if he was eating all the candy corn, right? - but then I added 'my little monster' as I think I will use it as a funny card for one of the James juniors - either the one who is often my little monster, or the one who never stops eating - I'll leave you to work out which is which!

Back tomorrow with another Halloween card; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Count Your Blessings Fall Card For The Paper Players

by Joanne James7. September 2014 08:00

Today's card is for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players, where Ann has a 'Happy Fall, Y'all' theme for us this week:

 

I immediately knew what I was going to do for my fall card this week; I've had my eye on a sheet of the DSP in the Motley Monsters Designer Series paper pack that I thought would be perfect for a fall-themed card, and this week's sketch over at Create with Connie and Mary provided the perfect layout. Here's my card:

This falling leaf paper is actually the top of the sheet that has the little Motley Monsters pattern across the bottom, but by only using the top section this paper is perfect for fall. In fact, of the 12 designs in the pack, half of them can be used for non-Halloween themed projects, so it's definitely worth a look for more than just Halloween. Anyway, I digress!

I took the colours for my card from the DSP, and used Sahara Sand for my base, with a vertical border of Basic Black to edge my piece of leafy DSP. I then cut an oval in Tangerine Tango using my Big Shot and Oval Framelits and embossed this with the Woodgrain embossing folder. I stamped my sentiment from the 'Gratitude For Days' set in Memento Black onto Crushed Curry and layered this on top, then finished with the real focal point of my card, a trio of wooden shapes from the Autumn Wooden Elements set, which I layered and finished off with a black and white baker's twine bow.

A simple card that reminds me of fun afternoons in the park, kicking leaves and collecting conkers on a crisp Autumn day. Do pop by and visit the other Paper Players Design Team blogs - there is some great inspiration for you out there as always this week and they would love you to leave a comment or two.

I'm having a lovely weekend: yesterday Rebecca had a great day in London - Mama Mia The Musical was excellent - and today I am expecting to be truly spoiled as it's my birthday! I am looking forward to a roast dinner with all the trimmings and a day of fun with my family.

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.

 

'It's a Birthday' Times Two!

by Joanne James6. September 2014 09:00

Today I'm sharing a birthday card I made for a dear friend of mine, who is celebrating her birthday tomorrow (I'm safe to share here, as she doesn't follow my blog although I will need to make sure I don't post it on Facebook until tomorrow, just in case!) I used this week's sketch over at the Paper Craft Crew for this card and this week's Colour Throwdown colours:

 

This is one of my favourite colour combinations,  so it was an obvious choice for this card. You see the recipient is not only a good friend of mine, but we are 'birthday buddies' - we both share the same birthday! So the card is send often the image of the card I would like to receive and features lots of my favourite things! Would you like to see my card? Here it is:

A simple card in bold colours, with a distinctly starry theme. I randomly sponged same-colour stars using my mask onto the Melon Mambo card base and edged this in a piece of Daffodil Delight that I had first embossed with the stars embossing folder. I then stamped my main birthday sentiment onto the central panel and mounted this onto a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I stamped and fussy cut two candles from the same 'Big News' stamp set and adhered these in place of the two squares on the sketch (a liberal interpretation, but it fitted with my theme!!) and replaced the flames with two stars punched from the new Confetti Stars punch and finished these with a couple of rhinestones, coloured to match with the corresponding colour of Blendabilties marker. I then added a flag with the second piece of my sentiment, stamped in white Stazon on Pumpkin Pie cardstock, using Dimensionals. To finish, I added three small punched stars to the upper right hand corner of the main sentiment panel.

Hope you like today's birthday card - it comes with a happy birthday to my friend Louise for tomorrow and a little happy birthday to me!

Rebecca and I are off to London today to see the musical 'Mama Mia' as part of the birthday celebrations of one of her school friends, so we are sure to have a fun day. Back tomorrow with this week's Design Team post for 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.

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cards | Stamping

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.
 

New Wednesday Weekly Deals Are Here!

by Joanne James2. September 2014 22:21

It's Wednesday so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced.

As always, if you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the Hostess Code for September (you can find this under the 'Shop Online' section on the right). 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

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

Today's MDS digital download is perfect for capturing back to school memories and there are plenty of opportunities to get inky with lots of reinkers on offer, along with Stampin' Up!'s  Simply Pressed Clay. This can be used to make buttons or flowers using Stampin' Up! moulds or be shaped to create ornaments or tags like this one I created here earlier this year or alternatively this festive decoration using the new Cheerful Christmas set featured on page 14 of the new seasonal catalogue - I think Stampin' Up! took their inspiration from my original project :-):

Back shortly with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Tags: , , , ,

Promotions | Shop Online | Stamping

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.

 

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.