Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Easter Egg Box

by Joanne James3. April 2014 21:03

Evening everyone! I promised you a special project today and here it is! Several months ago Stampin' Up! asked me if I would create an Easter box for a magazine commission and that magazine hits the shelves of the newsagents today! The box I created for Stampin' Up! is featured in the April 2014 issue of Prima Baby and Parenting and is part of an extended feature on Easter Family Fun - great things to make and do with your family this Easter. There are cute cakes and biscuits to bake and this fabulous Easter egg box to make:

 Here's another shot from a different angle showing a close up of the tag, stamped with the egg from the 'Eggstra Spectacular' stamp set:

Lastly the trio of boxes that the magazine used for the title page of the two-page spread:

Here is my photograph of the title page in the magazine itself - the facing page contains a step-by-step 'how to' tutorial showing how to make it:

The sides of the body of the finished box measures 2" x 2 1/2" which is perfect for a small Easter egg (I used the ones you can buy in packs for Easter egg hunts) but this box could be used for anything small and attractive where you want to give a glimpse of the contents.  If you would like a copy of the tutorial you can see it in this month's Prima Baby magazine - if you live in Northampton, you'd better get to the shops quick though before I buy all the copies :-) I also made a short video tutorial showing you how I made this box - click the link below to watch it:

 That's all from me today; back tomorrow with another project; happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

 

 

Life Doesn't Have To Be Perfect Frame

by Joanne James29. March 2014 22:13

A quick (and late!) post from me today - I have one of the busiest weekends ever today and tomorrow. I've been putting the final touches to my class preparation for next week today and have spent the evening at the swimming pool with Rebecca as she was participating in a swimming gala. We are having a real 'girls versus boys' weekend; we each went to our separate swimming pools today (and Granny came along to watch Rebecca for the first time today too) and tomorrow Rebecca and I are travelling to London so that she can take part in an inter-school music festival with the rest of her school choir, whilst the boys have a fun day doing their own thing at home.

Anyway, with all that in mind there will be a couple of quick posts from me over the next couple of days. Today I'm sharing a gift I made for one of my customers who celebrated her birthday recently. If you follow me on Facebook, you will have see this photograph I posted yesterday of a lovely box I made using the Sweet Sorbet papers (yours free with a £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration - only 2 more days to go to plae a Sale-A-Bration order!)and my Box Buster tool and Envelope Punch Board:

Today I thought I would share what was inside - a sweet little box frame:

Just a simple stamped sentiment, decorated with a punched butterfly and a few flowers stamped and punched using the Petite Petals stamp set and co-ordinating punch. A decorated frame makes a lovely gift.

Back tomorrow with a card (or two!); until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Spring Banner Class

by Joanne James23. March 2014 18:16

This morning I held one of my weekend project classes. They generally last longer than my monthly card classes and are a great opportunity to do something different and a little more involved. Following a successful class last December to make festive Christmas banners (you can read more about that and see our wonderful creations here), at the request of a few of the ladies who attended I decided to hold one to make a Spring/Easter banner with the other half of our banner kits. I chose a colour scheme that would compliment that of the Burlaps and Blooms wreaths that several of us made at my last weekend project class - you can see my finished wreath here. So here is my completed banner:

I chose to feature the word 'Spring' on my banner, as I am intending to leave it up to decorate for a while, but some of the ladies in my class made one that featured the word 'Easter'. We stencilled our backgrounds and letters using the now retired Build a Banner stencil kit in Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango and Pool Party with lettering in Smoky Slate.

The banner is decorated with flowers made with the Spiral Flower Originals Die and punched and die-cut butterflies. Here are some close ups of the individual banner pieces - this is the first piece, with a layered butterfly with a lightly embossed layer and some tiny ones punched out with the Itty Bitty Butterfly punch: 

Here's a close-up of one of the letters, along with a couple of the spiral flowers; a single yellow flower and a two-tone blue flower, finished with some Smoky Slate leaves cut out with the Secret Garden framelits:

This one has a So Saffron single flower and a two-tone one in Tangerine Tango and Crisp Cantaloupe, finished with an extra-large pearl, along with a bitty blue butterfly:

My banner simply served as inspiration and as is often the way with this kind of class, everyone makes theirs slightly differently and adds their own unique touch. If you hop on over to my Facebook page, you will be able to see the finished banner that Julie, one of the lovely ladies who attended the class made - different to mine, yet equally gorgeous!

If you live in Northampton and would like to join any of my card or project classes, check out my schedule of forthcoming classes here or contact me for more information.

Back tomorrow with a card to share; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Hello You - You Could Be Next!

by Joanne James21. March 2014 20:48

There are 10 days left until the end of Sale-A-Bration. Lots of you have taken advantage of the extra hostess benefits on offer to host a party or received one or more of the great free gifts on offer with every £45 spend. Today I thought I would take the opportunity to remind you of the benefits of joining Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration:

  • The starter kit will be £99 and includes products of your choice up to the value of £150 - this is a whopping £51 of extra product!
  • You will also receive a business supplies pack including annual and seasonal catalogues, order forms, etc.
  • You will receive a 20% discount on every order you place
  • You will also receive a 30% discount on the first order you place over £150 within the first 30 days of sign up
  • You will receive 2 free months of Demonstrator Web Services
  • If you reach £225 sales within the first quarter (ending 30th June 2014), you will maintain your demonstrator status until 30th September. If you don't, your demonstrator status will lapse, but without penalty; you have no obligation to purchase anything other than your starter kit if you don't want to.
  • If you join my growing team, you will get to benefit from my knowledge, help and support in addition to that of one of the UK's most successful teams of demonstrators and the considerable resources provided by Stampin' Up itself. You will receive your own team welcome pack from me, along with your own complimentary copy of my demonstrator software Product Table Builder worth £35 

Here's part of the welcome pack I sent to one of the lovely ladies who joined my team recently, designed to co-ordinate with a card I made for the Mojo Monday challenge recently (you can read more about how I made the card here):

In addition she also received a handbook and other items that will be useful as she grows her Stampin' Up! business. Whether you want to feed your own crafting habit by having access to discounted craft supplies, or would like to earn a little (or a lot!) extra income and run your own business, I am here to support you in any way I can.

You have just 10 days to take advantage of the enhanced Sale-A-Bration sign up offer: contact me on 07773 421446 or [email protected] if you would like to know more or alternatively sign up here 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.

 

 

 

Video Tutorial 3: Make Any Size Box Using Your Envelope Punch Board and Box Buster from The Crafty Owl - Mini Easter Egg Boxes

by Joanne James7. March 2014 19:25

Hello everyone! From the home of 'cool time-saving tools' (if you're reading this and you're an SU! demonstrator you should also check out my Product Table Builder application) today I have the third of this week's video tutorials showing you how to make a super cute Easter mini-egg treat box using your Envelope Punch Board and my new Box Buster tool. You can use your Envelope Punch Board to make boxes of all shapes and sizes - including some rather dinky small ones. Check out this box that I made to hold 5 foil-wrapped mini eggs ready for Easter:

It measures just 20mm x 20mm x 85mm and it was so easy to work out the paper dimensions and punch points with the help of the Box Buster tool. Here's the video that shows you how I did it, along with a 'top tip' when creating narrow boxes like this:

This size box would also make a great wedding favour - it's the perfect size for sugared almonds if you're looking for something traditional. I hope you found today's video useful; why not use the Box Buster tool to create your own small or narrow boxes? You can use either millimetres or inches (to 1/8 of an inch) and create the box size of your choice?

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.

 

 

Video Tutorial 2: Make Any Size Box Using Your Envelope Punch Board and Box Buster from The Crafty Owl

by Joanne James5. March 2014 09:52

Good morning blog readers and crafters! Back nice and early this morning with the second of my video tutorial posts showing you how to make any size box using your Envelope Punch Board and my new Box Buster tool. I've started early on my Easter treat boxes, so today's box shows you how to make this cute box:

The finished dimensions of today's box are 100mm x 75mm x 15mm. It was designed to fit a specific Easter treat - but you'll have to watch the video below to find out what it was! My new Box Buster from The Crafty Owl tool is just great for that - you can easily create a box to fit your chosen contents, without any hassle or wasted paper - you just measure the thing you want to put in the box, input the dimensions into the Box Buster tool and it does all the hard work for you: it will tell you exactly what size paper you need and where to make your first and second punch markings.

Today's project was worked out in millimetres, but the Box Buster tool will let you construct your box in either millimetres or inches - you choose! Here's the link to today's video tutorial:

 

Wasn't that SOOO easy?! Keep following this week as there are more box tutorials to come, showcasing a variety of box types with handy hints and tips for making the most of your Envelope Punch Board and my new Box Buster tool.

Back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin' (and box making!)

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Video Tutorial: Make Any Size Box Using Your Envelope Punch Board and Box Buster from The Crafty Owl

by Joanne James3. March 2014 22:26

Good evening readers! Another busy day today with my first class of the month. The ladies in today's class made some great cards using their Happenings Simply Created Card Kits - pop by my Facebook page tomorrow if you would like to see what they created as I will be uploading some photos of their work.

Meanwhile, I promised you a special second blog post today that showed you how to make a box that can be used to hold four of the notelets created from part of the Happenings Simply Created Card Kit - so here it is! I've shot a few videos previously using the Envelope Punch Board, however this is the first box video. The reason I'm excited to share this particular video with you though is that I used a new tool of mine - Box Buster from The Crafty Owl - to work out the dimensions for my box and it was SO easy!!

For any of you that have made boxes using your Envelope Punch Board previously, you will know that the trickiest thing is working out where to make your first and second punches in order to create a box of the correct dimensions. It's easy for a square-based box, as the dimensions simply need to be divisible by 3, but what about when you want to create rectangular boxes of different heights, widths and depths? Following many templates and a considerable amount of test paper, I have developed a tool that means you can input your three chosen dimensions, in either millimetres or inches, and the Box Buster will calculate the size of the paper that you require and where you need to make both your first and second punches.

Watch the video to see just how easy it is to use (you will need to make a volume adjustment for sound during the middle section of the video; the section that shows the Box Buster in action uses different recording software to my usual video recordings and the sound volume settings are not only different but I've been unable to edit post-production - I do now know for next time though!):

 

You can find Box Buster from The Crafty Owl on my website here or via the permanent link on the right hand side of my blog page. Box Buster is a free tool and will be permanently available for anyone to use - why not visit the page now and add it to your 'favourites' so that you can access it quickly and easily the next time you need to make a box using your Stampin' Up! Envelope Punch Board? Whilst you're there, why not also check out the Product Table Builder from The Crafty Owl - a great tool if you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator with an online store. And if you haven't already got an Envelope Punch Board, what are you waiting for? Click on the link at the bottom of today's post and purchase one from my online store today!

I'll be making more video tutorials this week showing you how easy it is to make boxes in a variety of different shapes and sizes, in both metric and imperial measurements, using Box Buster from The Crafty Owl and The Stampin' Up! Envelope Punch Board; do come back and check them out or subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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.

 

 

 

Burlaps and Blooms Spring Wreath

by Joanne James23. February 2014 21:11

I've had quite the busy weekend and today I had my first weekend project class of the year. I love weekend project classes; they allow a little more time than we have at our monthly card class to do something a bit more involved. Today we made the Burlaps and Blooms Spring Wreath - such a lovely welcome nod to Spring after the cold of winter and the wet weather of late. So without further ado, here is my completed wreath:

This wreath comes as a kit (minus the chevron ribbon) and with the aid of a hot glue gun contains everything you need to put it together. There are several different flower types that form part of the decoration. Here are some close up shots that show the detail - here's the large bloom made up of individual petals:

 Here's one of the fringed flowers on a large flower base:

And lastly another fringed flower with a one of the layered flowers secured with a silver brad:

Isn't this wreath just so pretty? If you'd like to see the wreaths that the ladies at my class made today, do pop on over to my Facebook page to take a look (feel free to give me a 'like' at the same time!); they look similar to mine, but both have their individual touches that make their wreaths unique.

Half term is over so James Juniors are back to school tomorrow - normality (or at least, as 'normal' as it gets!) returns! I'll be here tomorrow with a fun card; 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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3D Projects | Classes

Video Tutorial: Extra Wide Pouches Using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch

by Joanne James20. February 2014 21:28

Good evening everyone! Today I have a video tutorial to share with you that I prepared a couple of weeks ago that shows you how to make an extra-wide pouch using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. Here's the finished extra-wide pouch:

Here is a standard size treat pouch made with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch - you can find my previous video tutorial on how to make this here:

As you can see, when compared to the standard-size punch, the extra-wide version is about 1" or 2.5cm wider and taller. The video tutorial shows you how to adapt your punch and shares my top tip for a smooth punch every time - go and take a look:

 

Here are the measurements I used in the video in case you didn't catch them:

Cardstock: 2 3/4" x 7 3/4" or 7cm x 19.5cm

Score at: 3 3/4" and 4" or 9.5cm and 10cm

I hope you found this video tutorial useful - this is such a versatile punch with so many uses beyond a standard tag. The treat pouches make great little wedding favours too.

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.

 

Spiral Flower Bird Cage

by Joanne James16. February 2014 20:50

I've had a busy but productive day today exhibiting at the Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair at Diana's Health and Fitness Club in Wellingborough. Thank you to all of the lovely brides to be that came to say 'hello' to me in the Ruby lounge today - it was lovely to meet you all and I'm really looking forward to chatting with you again soon to begin the process of turning your stationery dreams into reality. Today I'm sharing one of the table decorations that I made for my exhibition display that received lots of positive feedback today - a birdcage decorated with flowers made with the new Spiral Flower Die:

I made these flowers in three co-ordinating colours of cardstock and finished the centre of each flower with a pearl, then added some satin stitched ribbon to finish. You could make something similar in any colour to tie in with your chosen wedding colour scheme - it would make a lovely table centre.

That's all from me today; I am crafting at a children's birthday party tomorrow so will share one of the projects we are doing with you in tomorrow's post.

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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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.