Noel, Noel - Hang Your Christmas Stocking!

by Joanne James17. November 2016 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a sketch for you:

 

I decided this sketch was perfect to hang my stocking - literally! Take a look:

 

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

Hang Your Stocking - My diecut stocking is cut using the Christmas Stocking Thinlits Dies. This set has lots of fun pieces to create stockings in three different sizes and add decorative trims - so many creative possibilities! It also comes with this great Noel diecut - perfect for edging a mantlepiece or adding a border trim to patterned paper, as I've done on my card today.

A Trio of Stamp Sets For Less - The diecut stocking is the clear winner on today's card, but this creation is by no means stamp-free; in fact, I used three stamps from three different stamp sets on my holiday card, all of them available this month at 25% off - what a bargain! You can read about the offer in full here along with the details of our new stitched framelit dies (these have been incredibly popular and will only now be orderable until 21st November before orders are put on hold whilst stocks are replenished - so you need to order them in the next few days to be assured of a timely delivery); in the meantime, did you spot them all? They are the stocking heel, toe and cuff detail and mini snowflakes from Hang Your Stocking, the large snowflake from Tin of Tags and the snowflake splatter from Christmas Pines. My stamping is subtle, yet each stamp contributes to the finished card.

Sparkle and Shine - I used Heat and Shine and Dazzling Diamonds along with the snowflake splatter stamp in the Christmas Pines set to add sparkle to the white section of my card. Difficult to photograph, but in real life so pretty! My Noel is also cut from a piece of red foil cardstock that I found in my scrapbox for a little extra shine and I added a sprinkle of rhinestones to finish. I love this festive colour combination, inspired by the Presents and Pinecones Designer Series Paper set - feel free to save it if it's one you like 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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back soon 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.

Paisleys Framelits Thankful Card

by Joanne James10. November 2016 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a colour combination for you:

 

I was immediately drawn to the Petals and Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper as all of these colours can be found in this pack. I ended up only using a small piece of it though - here's my card:

 

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

Copper Specialty Banner - I chose to use a piece of my favourite paper, the beautifully navy with copper-embossed pattern for the banner accent on my card. So pretty!

All About Copper - There are so many copper elements to my card: the foil die cuts and mat, the designer series paper and the copper-embossed sentiment - they all go together beautifully and I love them!

A Paper-Pieced Trio -  I die cut my shapes - not sure whether they are supposed to be leaves, feathers or fans...answers on a postcard! - and having die cut two in Mint Macaron and another in Night of Navy, I carefully paper-pieced the outer elements and in-filled the pattern. This is fiddly with such small pieces, but worth the effort I think. I then finished each shape with an enamel dot.

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

 

I love the simple design of today's card, with the small details adding real interest.

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

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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.

Petals and Paisleys Thankful Card

by Joanne James6. November 2016 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely Laurie to host this week and she has a timely theme challenge for you to work with:

 

 Ultra clean and layered today (no surprise there then!) - I chose to showcase a wonderful sentiment and some fabulous paper on my card today - here it is:

 

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

Petals and Paisleys - I chose to use one of the 'busy' papers from the Petals and Paisleys Specialty Designer Series Paper on my card today - a bold colour scheme with lots going on, so definitely a paper that needs to be allowed to shine on its own. 

I Am Blessed - Some lovely paisley stamps in the Paisleys and Posies stamp set, however it also contains great sentiments and this one is perfect to make a statement of thankfulness. I cropped mine with the Layered Ovals Framelits and backed with a scalloped oval, and a simple folded ribbon detail to tie the whole thing together.

A Rich Autumnal Colour Combination - There are so many wonderful colours in these papers - I focused in on Delightful Dijon, Night of Navy and the addition of Rich Razzleberry to emphasise the rich colours of the season. Feel free to save this combination if it appeals to you 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. 

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 what you create with this week's theme. As you read this I will be travelling back from a few days away at our regional Stampin' Up! Onstage event in Telford, no doubt bursting with ideas for the Spring and Summer season. Don't worry - I won't be sharing on my blog here for a while, I still have so many Christmas projects to share!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project as my normal blogging schedule will resume; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Snow Place Snowmen Family Large Christmas Card

by Joanne James3. November 2016 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a sketch for you:

 

I saw this sketch and immediately saw ... snowmen! Take a look:

 

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

Snow Place Like The Front of a Christmas Card - Apologies for the pun, but these snowmen - and women - definitely deserve to be showcased on the front of a Christmas card. 'Snow Place' is such a fun stamp set with infinite dress up possibilities for the snowmen and penguin in the set. What's more, the co-ordinating Snow Friends Framelits Dies make cutting out the shapes easy-peasy.

Go Large - Bigger is not always better, granted, however to accommodate my snow family of five I needed more cardfront, so I decided to make my card A5 size (21cm x 14.9cm) instead of a more standard A6. This allowed me enough room for my mats and layers, without my family needing to jostle too much for a space on my card.

A Pattern Surprise - Do you recognise my patterned paper? Are you wondering where I found my seasonal snowfall? This paper isn't from one of the festive seasonal packs at all; it's actually one of the patterns in the Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper. As with many of our DSP packs, the reverse of the feature papers often has a more repetitive pattern with spots, stripes or solid colours. This gorgeous mix of navy and white papers hides this spotted pattern which makes perfect snow. The moral of the story? Always check both sides of your papers and don't assume that because a pack isn't designed with Christmas in mind, there won't be a hidden gem that is perfect for your 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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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.

Presents and Pinecones Large Square Double Display Christmas Card

by Joanne James1. November 2016 20:00

This is my second post of today - if you missed the first one about the new Stitched Shapes Framelits you are going to want to check that out here. No blog post yesterday as I still have one of the James Juniors on half term this week and then my evening was spent trick or treating. Today I've had full day with back to back classes, one of which was my first technique class of the month featuring the Christmas/Pretty Pines bundle. I've made lots of projects with this bundle, although I've yet to blog them all (so many projects, so little time!) Click here to see one of the cards that I've shared previously using this set, that was also one of our makes in our class. 

Today I want to share a card that I CASE'd from the lovely Amanda Bates over at The Craft Spa, who is for me the queen of fancy folds. She has made lots of versions of her Large Square Double Display Card but this one using the Presents and Pinecones Designer Series Paper and the Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies really caught my eye and I just had to have a go at re-creating it. Here's my card:

 

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

Presents & Pinecones - What can I say, the Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper is definitely the star of this card. Four of the twelve designs in this pack are showcased here, such a great layout to really let these papers shine. What's more, they are the perfect pairing for the Christmas/Pretty Pines stamp set thinlits combo. The colours are traditional yet fresh and modern, with the addition of the mint and white to the red and Emerald Envy green.

Christmas Pines - Whilst it's rare that I advocate buying a stamp set or thinlit set without its counterpart when it's available as a bundle (and this is most definitely not one of those times!), it is easy to focus on the detail of the thinlits with this set and rather overlook the stamp set. This would be such a mistake though, as it's a set choc full of great scripted sentiments in a variety of sizes, along with some useful border stamps, a fancy frame and a snowy background stamp that will have tons of uses on so many Christmas cards. This card showcases two of the sentiments and the snowflake background stamp, which adds subtle interest and detail to the panels on the front and inside. This set is definitely worthy of a place on your shelf!

The 'How' - I made a few tweaks to Amanda's tutorial when I made this card, so thought I would share the details with measurements below. This card is measured in cm and is a metric template for standard A4 cardstock; if you would like to make one in inches or using 12" x 12" cardstock, do check out Amanda's blog via the above link where she has lots of useful tutorials to follow. Here goes:

To make this A4 metric large square double display card, you will need:

  • Thick Whisper White A4 Cardstock 15x 29cm
  • Whisper White Cardstock 15cm Square
  • Early Espresso Cardstock 10 cm Square
  • Presents & Pinecones Paper Mint Macaron Mini Chevron 9.5cm Square (x2)
  • Presents & Pinecones Paper White Cones and Pines 4.5cm x 9.5cm (x2)
  • Presents & Pinecones Paper White Cones and Pines 4.5cm x 2cm (x2)
  • Presents & Pinecones Paper Stripes 4.5cm x 2cm (x4)
  • Stamps & Dies – Christmas Pines Stamp Set and Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies Bundle 
 Instructions:
  • PORTRAIT (short side): 
  • Line up at 2.5cm across the top ruler
  • Cut from 2 to 12cm. LIFT. Cut from 17 to 27cm
  • Turn 180 degrees and repeat both steps above.
  • LANDSCAPE (long side):
  • Score across whole width at 4.5cm and 9.5cm 
  • Score top and bottom sections only at 2cm and 12cm 
  • Turn 180 degrees and repeat both steps above.
  • From the PORTRAIT end (short side):
  • Fold the outer creases into a mountain, valley, mountain, valley set of folds
  • Fold the centre section score lines into first a mountain fold then a valley fold 
  • This gives you the basic layout for the base of your card.

I just love this card - a little time and effort but well worth it for the end result. Thank you Amanda for the inspiration!

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.

Detailed Santa Thinlits Shaker Card

by Joanne James30. October 2016 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the lovely LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun tic tac toe challenge for you to work with:

 

Normally I find these such a challenge (I know, I know - that's the whole point!) but today I knew exactly where I was going on the grid: straight down the left with Red, Santa and Diecut. I ended up making a couple of cards (if you check out the card on yesterday's post here you will see it also fits this column) but today's card is definitely one of my most favourite  - take a look:

 

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

Detailed Santa Thinlits Die - Today I've used the whole of the diecut Santa image to create the front for my shaker card. I cut it in extra thick Whisper White and added a piece of window sheet behind, so that you could see both my white heat embossed 'ho ho ho' sentiment and the contents of my shaker. I left a wider border at the bottom in order to accommodate my embellishments and Real Red stamped sentiment - a line from my most favourite festive poem, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas', by Clement C. Moore. I recited this poem at Christmas concerts as a child on a number of occasions and I still know all the words -  I now read it to my own children each Christmas, it has become a James family tradition.

Snowy White - I used the white Mica Flakes on page 41 of the seasonal catalogue for my shaker card contents today. These are one of those products that could be easily overlooked  yet I love these soft flakes - perfect for snow, beards and great for shaker cards! I rubbed my Embossing Buddy over the inside of the window to reduce static so that they would shake freely and the whole thing is held in place using foam adhesive strips - they really do make shaker cards so easy. Check out the detail here of the mica flakes and the diecut:

 

Jingle All The Way - To finish my card today, I added some red and white Candy Cane Lane baker's twine and a couple of mini jingle bells, perfect for my red and white colour scheme today.

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 can't tell you how much I love this card, I might even have to send it to myself - shakers are such fun! 

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 what you create with this week's tic tac toe board. We have a week off from hockey so it's only basketball that's calling today, then I have a few errands to run but hopefully a restful afternoon in store before Rebecca returns to school tomorrow. Ben has another week off, much to Rebecca's dismay! Well, I guess you can't have everything! 

One last reminder: the 'Buy 3, Get 1 Free' offer on designer paper ends tomorrow. You can read the full details here if you need to refresh your memory about what's included. 

B3G1DSP_DemoHeader_UKSP

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; 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.

Detailed Santa Thinlits Banner Card

by Joanne James29. October 2016 19:37

I hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend. Today I have a card using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I've finally managed to break the seal on Detailed Santa Thinlits Dies and been putting them through their paces. Today's card also features a new background stamp - take a look:

 

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

Detailed Santa Thinlits Die - Although I haven't used it before, this Santa die was one of my first purchases from the seasonal catalogue. I adore the detail of his face and beard and there are so many ways in which he can be used. Here I've cut a section of the image in Whisper White and mounted it on a banner of Real Red. You can't see in the photograph, but the whole of the white layer has been brushed with clear Wink of Stella and has a lovely subtle shimmer to it.

Put A Label On It - I stamped my sentiment from the co-ordinating 'Greetings From Santa' stamp set and cut it out with one of my Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits, great for memory keeping but perfect for card making too.

A Merry Medley - For my base, I chose to use the 'Merry Medley' background stamp, stamped in Soft Suede onto neutral kraft cardstock. I like that it adds interest without fuss and too much detail, yet is in keeping with the festive theme of my 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. 

I'll be back tomorrow with another santa project, this time for this week's new challenge over at 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.

Banners For Christmas Candy Cane Card

by Joanne James28. October 2016 08:00

Yay it's Friday - the weekend is almost upon us! Today I have a clean and simple Christmas card inspire by the great photo over at The Challenge this week:

I was totally inspired by the gift on the left to create this festive card:

 

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

Christmas Pines - For the background to my candy cane, I both stamped a pine sprig from teh 'Christmas Pines' stamp set and added a couple of Garden green Pretty Pines diecuts for a little extra dimension.

Banners for Christmas - My oversize candy cane is from the 'Banners for Christmas' set, stamped in Real Red and fussy cut. I also used the sentiment and banner, evocative of the blue ribbon on the parcel in the inspiration photo, from the same set. 

A Sweet Colour Combination - My colour palette for today's card was pulled directly from the inspiration photo and is one that works really well for a fresh, festive take on Christmas. Here it is if you would like to save it to use on your seasonal projects:

 

I added a little striped washi tape and sentiment inside my card and then - card complete! 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.

Spooky Fun Halloween Notelets

by Joanne James27. October 2016 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a colour combination for you:

 

It would be fair to say I struggled big time with these colours this week! I couldn't get away from the idea of Halloween, yet making them work was definitely a challenge! I ended up making two cards and I must confess I'm not completely happy with either of them! That said, I'm sharing my notelets with you anyway - here's the first one:

 

And here's the second one:

 

Both use a combination of the challenge colours and the Spooky Fun stamp set and co-ordinating Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies. The second one also includes a sentiment from the 'Suite Seasons' stamp set and a background created with the spots stamp in the 'Perpetual Calendar' set, along with a sentiment banner on each. Each would be quick and easy to create, although first time around they took me longer than I would have liked!

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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day - we are off to Brick Live to play Lego all day, a James family passion! Hope you enjoy your day too 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.

Halloween Night Card and Treat Box

by Joanne James26. October 2016 10:00

Today I have more Halloween fun for you, with a card and some co-ordinating Halloween treats that are again perfect for this week's TGIF Challenge where treats are most definitely the order of the day:

   

 

So I've made both a treat box and a matching card today using one of the gorgeous foil specialty sheets in my Halloween Night DSP pack. Here's my treat box, which holds a stack of chocolate coins adorned with spiders and filled with popping candy:

 

So much shine with all that foil! Here's a close up of my treat box:

My treat box measures 4 1/2" x 1 1/2" finished size, and is made from a piece of designer series paper measuring 7 1/2" x 6". I added a little trick or treat banner tag and a silver mini tassle tied on with black baker's twine. Instructions to make if you'd like to have a go are as follows:

  • Score paper on short side at 1 3/8", 2 6/8", 4 1/8" and 5 1/2"
  • Score paper on long side at 1/2", 1 1/2", 6" and 7"
  • Cut an aperture in one of the long central sections using your Big Shot and Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits
  • Fold on the score lines on the short side to make a long thin box, then pinch the ends and glue/staple one end, fill with chocolate then pinch and glue/staple the other end closed.
  • Add tag and twine to complete.

 Finally, here's my card featuring those large Letter Framelits again: 

 

Check out the cute dangling spider in the 'O' - isn't he just so fun?! I stamped him in Versamark and heat embossed him in silver then coloured him in with my black Stampin' Write marker. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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 a card (or two!) for this week's Connie and Mary Challenge. 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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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.