Sale-A-Bration Co-ordination Is Here and New Sale-A-Bration Items Added!

by Joanne James1. March 2019 09:00

 

It's Friday 1st March - the end of the week and a Happy St David's Day to all my Welsh friends reading this! Lots of business news today - so get comfy! First up - Sale-A-Bration Co-ordination!

From today until the end of the month, you can choose from a selection of exclusive, limited-time products that have been designed specifically to co-ordinate with existing Sale-A-Bration items - take a look at the items on offer:

 

If you're not a fan of fussy cutting, there are some super-useful framelits in there! A great stamp set that you'll be seeing me using and an interesting shaped label punch. If these new items appeal to you, just click on the links to these products in my online store  below:

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

Here's a sneak peek of a card we made in my last Sale-A-Bration class that is a CASE of one of the catalogue samples that shows just what a difference the Hop Around Framelits make - such a crisp, even border:

 

Next up: you all know that this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 31st March and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here and here.

Good news: from now until the 31st March, you will also be able to choose from a number of other items (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

As you can see, this new selection also includes the gorgeous Painted Seasons Designer Series Paper that is now available minus the stamp set that it comes with in the £90 spend bundle and can be yours free with a spend of £45 or more. 

To make things easier for you, I've created a table linking each of the products directly to the promotional item in my online store - just click on the links below:

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

Remember, if you aren't placing your order via the above links, you need to use the special Sale-A-Bration item code for each product - these are different to the standard product codes for these items, which are still available to purchase in the annual catalogue.

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code G44UFKHH) or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. I'm off to finish packing for the first of my Creative Escapes Craft Retreat which takes place this weekend - so exciting!

Back shortly with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

 

 

 

Strong & Beautiful Country Floral Monochromatic Card

by Joanne James26. February 2019 22:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Just Add Ink where the focus is on embossing:

 

Dry embossing, heat embossing, embossing paste - so many possibilities and all are in the mix with some great samples from the design team this week. I'm also linking up over at SUO Challenges for #SUOC217 since I am using one of my current favourites from the second Sale-A-Bration release that went live on 15th February, the new Country Floral Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder: 

 

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

Country Floral - I really wanted to make the most of those flowers and decided to try out a technique that I hadn't tried before, where I inked the inside of my embossing folder before embossing my white cardstock so that my flowers remained white on an inked negative space. Whilst I liked the effect, the ink was too bold for the effect I wanted, so I decided to try something else that was new to me - I used my Light Petal Pink Blends marker and coloured the space completely. Time consuming? Yes. Worth it? Totally! The card looks even better in real life than in the photo; so soft and pretty.

Strong And Beautiful - Whilst my card is delicate and feminine in colour and style, the sentiment is from a great set in the seasonal catalogue that is perfect for cards for strong, confident women. It's called 'Strong and Beautiful' and contains some wonderful and uplifting sentiments. I stamped mine using Petal Pink ink on Whisper White and punched it out using the Everyday Label Punch and positioned it alongside a fancy bow made from the Floral Romance Variegated Ribbon which ties beautiful, soft bows. My sentiment resolves on the inside of my card with 'Thank you for always being there for me'. How lovely is that?

One Colour Wonder - I've made a few monochromatic cards lately - I must be on a roll! This one is particularly soft and pink and feminine and with good reason: it's headed to a dear friend of mine who is Mum to two boys so, along with her husband, is rather outnumbered in her household so rarely does the 'girly' thing so this is most definitely for her.

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 really love this embossing folder and have another card showcasing an alternative colouring technique to share with you later this week, so do pop back if you would like to see more samples.

Enjoy your evening 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.

Sorry For The Loss of Your Furry Friend - One Layer Pet Sympathy Cards

by Joanne James25. February 2019 08:00

The James Juniors are back to school today following the half term break and I am here with a nice early post for you! Today I'm sharing a card that combines a few challenges: the current challenge over at Less Is More where it is one layer with the focus on sentiment and the current CASology challenge. My card also fits the photo inspiration at Fusion:

        

It's something of a happy accident that I am combining each of these in today's card - it just so happened that I had an idea that works for all three - and I have two cards for you! I decided to create a couple of pet sympathy cards; first up, a dog one:

 

I also created one for a cat lover too that is exactly the same design, just mirrored:

 

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

Sorry For Your Loss - I recently spotted this card on Pinterest and loved the clean lines created by the fun punch art idea and monochromatic colour scheme. It inspired me to think about using a similar idea to create a one-layer card using the same 'Sorry For Everything' stamp set - such a great set where you need a sentiment to take centre stage and useful for lots of different circumstances, including the loss of a furry friend. 

Cats And Dogs - I used a retired Sweet and Sassy Framelit heart, along with a punched cat and dog respectively, to create a mask through which I could sponge my heart. By using a different colour to the sentiment, which I stamped in black, it gives the illusion of another layer and whilst I didn't use the punches directly on my card, the silhouette created by the negative space makes my furbabies easily identifiable. 

Crossing The Rainbow Bridge - My colourful heart whilst perfect for the Fusion rainbow photo was actually inspired by a blog post a couple of week's ago by my Paper Players teamie and committed dog lover Ann Schach. As any of you who follow my blog will know, I am relatively new to the idea of pets having never had one as a child. Ann made this card for a friend of hers that was going through a tough time and she mentioned one of the things her friend was having to deal with was the loss of a pet, which she described as having 'crossed over the Rainbow Bridge'. I thought this was a lovely idea and so tried to incorporate the idea of a rainbow by sponging one into my masked heart, with a little purple heart to accent each pet. I really love the effect - what do you think? I also carried the rainbow theme onto the inside of my card with a set of rainbow footprints around my sentiment, that is courtesy of the new 'Happy Tails' stamp set:

 

A fitting sentiment for this kind of card I think and the rainbow colours are really uplifting. So two cards inspired by others in lots of ways, yet unique to me. Do check out the respective challenges for lots more 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. 

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.

 

You're A Classic Garage Card PP430

by Joanne James24. February 2019 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

 

I could think of so many ways to use this sketch! I decided to challenge my self to retain the 'any shape' oval element, since I don't often use ovals on my projects and work with a new-to-me stamp set too - take a look:

 

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

Masculine Classic Garage - The Classic Garage Suite in the Spring-Summer catalogue is perfect for projects to celebrate the men in your life: cars, keys, tools, perfect for those who love motors or anyone with aspirations to be a petrol-head. The designer series papers include some fabulous bright colours too and I used them to influence the colour scheme of my card, both in the papers that I used for my layers and the bold blocks of colour that feature my sentiment and focal point image.

Geared Up - I chose the classic car from the 'Geared Up Garage' stamp set as my focal image, stamped in black onto Tranquil Tide cardstock. I stamped it again onto vellum and fussy cut the windows before gluing to my car and covering them with a layer of fine tip glue for added shine. I'm not big into cars and I'm not sure what car type this is, however it does remind me of old-fashioned cars in the 1970s and I remember my Dad driving a car that was turquoise green in colour at the time and since this will be his Father's Day card I think he will appreciate the similarity and it is sure to evoke a few memories. I used another of the stamps from the set for the sentiment on the inside too:

Keys To The Car - Or key, to be precise! The silver metal keys and spanners that make up the Classic Garage Metal Elements are perfect for tooling up cards and packages and I couldn't resist adding one with a little bow of black twine to finish off 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 Product and '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:

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!

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; we have a family sport-free day today so will be making the most of it before the Juniors return to school tomorrow. 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.

Wonderful Floral Faux Layered Diecut Monochromatic CAS Card

by Joanne James22. February 2019 20:15

It's Friday and almost time for the weekend! My week has been a fun one with the children home for a change and a slightly less frantic pace than usual, which is nice. I haven't had much time to get in my craft room but did manage to create a couple of quick cards yesterday whilst simultaneously coaching Rebecca through her Music Theory in readiness for her Grade 4 exam in a couple of week's time. Today I'm sharing one of those cards with a technique I've been wanting to have a go at that is perfect for the current challenge over at StampsInkPaper who, like us over at The Paper Players for our clean and simple challenge, also chose to have 'monochromatic' as their theme this week:

Having watched this video by the uber-talented Jennifer McGuire a few weeks ago, I was keen to have a go at a card using the same technique and the border die from the Wonderful Floral Framelit Dies set. This is what I came up with:

 

I simply layered three of the Wonderful Floral border diecut pieces, one each in Granny Apple Green, Call Me Clover and Shaded Spruce front the back to the front, along the left hand vertical edge of my card, overlapping each one a fraction to the left of its predecessor. This die is often used with the leaf pattern along the outer edge, but here I laid the pieces with the leaf shape to the centre of my card so that the layered leaves would really stand out against my white card base. You can really see the effect of the overlaying of the diecuts in this photo here:

 

It also allowed me to position my gold heat-embossed sentiment along the straight edge. This actually looks shinier in real life, although looking at the photograph I think that heat embossing in white might have been a better idea. Next time, perhaps!

And that's all there is to it! 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 really like this effect and am definitely going to revisit my collection of dies to see what other cards I can create using this technique. 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.

Notes of Kindness Card Kit - Everything You Need To Craft Like A Pro Made Simple

by Joanne James21. February 2019 21:00

Today I have a card for the current challenge over at As you See It, where the team are asking us to complete the sentence 'When I think simple, I think of...':

Now today's post feels a little bit of a cheat as far as the challenge is concerned, however hear me out. My regular readers will know what a fan I am of Stampin' Up!'s kits and for me, 'When I think of SIMPLE, I think of KITS' every time! Especially all-inclusive kits, with everything in the box ready to go, including instructions and layouts - no thinking required! So today I'm sharing with you one of the latest all-inclusive kit offering from the annual catalogue - the Notes of Kindness Card Kit and one of my current 'go to' kits.

Here is an example of one of each the finished cards from the set:

 

 

 

 

And here's an image that shows all of the cards that can be made with this kit:

 

Here's the low-down on the Notes of Kindness Card Kit and why I think they are perfect for just about anyone and everyone:

All Inclusive - The Notes of Kindness Card Kit kit is one that contains everything you need to create 20 cards, 5 each of 4 designs: card bases, co-ordinating envelopes, die cut images and shapes, a Stampin' Spot ink pad, set of 6 photopolymer stamps and an acrylic block, along with a range of accessories and embellishments. Simply add your choice of adhesive and you are good to go. 

Great Value For Money - At £33.00, this kit offers exceptional value for money - where else could you buy 20 handcrafted greetings cards at £1.65 each and have a stamp set, ink spot, block and a range of embellishments left over to create even more things with too? Not to mention the creative fun you will have putting them together along the way! And if you like it, refill kits of the consumable elements are available so you can make even more for less too.

The Perfect Gift -  Whether young or old, experienced crafter or new to crafting, this kit is perfect for you. Follow the instructions included or unleash your own creativity and do your own thing - and if you're trying to buy for 'the person who has everything' - I bet they don't have one if these! The kit comes in a lovely recyclable gift box too, so all you need is some ribbon and a tag and you are done.

Here is a reminder of this fantastic kit if you are getting organised and want to pin it 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. 

Like all of the kits in the Stampin' Up! catalogue, the Notes of Kindness Card Kit is the perfect way to bring your creativity to life like a pro MADE SIMPLE - with everything except glue included. So I hope the ladies over at AYSI will forgive me this indulgence of creating a kit card for this week's challenge - for me a kit is escapism in a box!

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.

Petal Promenade and Time For Tea - A Great Combination

by Joanne James19. February 2019 21:00

It's half-term here in the UK this week so with both James Juniors at home I didn't manage a post yesterday, but I'm back for a quick one today and I'm sharing a card inspired by both the photo inspiration and sketch over at Fusion that also works for the current challenge over at TGIF Challenges this week:

    

I love that inspiration photo and took my cue from the pink roses and the tea cup. My card is all about the gorgeous Petal Promenade DSP, which is the perfect background for my lightly watercoloured  'Tea Together tea cup - take a look:

I love this set, especially with the Tea Time Framelits that are one of the Sale-A-Bration free items; no need for fussy cutting, one roll through the Big Shot and they pop right out - so easy. I also added a little stamped/punched detail to the square that my cup sits on; I wasn't sure about it initially, but I think it breaks up the bold paper and unifies the various elements of the design.

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 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.

Dandelion Wishes Easy Layered Card PP429

by Joanne James17. February 2019 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

    

Remember: this is clean and simple week. What do we mean by 'clean and simple' ? Create a card that has:

  • Minimal layers and embellishments
  • Plenty of open space, also known as 'white space'
  • Is simple and uncluttered

I chose one of my favourite colours - Melon Mambo - to work with this week. I combined with black and white for a simple monochromatic design:

 

Today's card is super simple: all of the stamping is in black (except for the pop of pink on the co-ordinating envelope), with some background detail on my card base and a narrow scalloped border to edge my central panel. A layered banner to showcase my sentiment, along with a twine bow and glitter dot accents complete my card. By keeping this card monochrome, it is really easy to recreate and would work in lots of other colours 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 Product and '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:

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!

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; we have a hockey match but otherwise will be taking it easy as it's the start of our half-term break this week - yay! 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.

Home To Roost - A Free Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set

by Joanne James16. February 2019 19:00

Yesterday saw the release of the second round of products as part of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion (you can read all about it here) so today seems a good day to share a card that is perfect for the current challenge over at Inspire.Create where it's all about Sale-A-Bration:

There are so many lovely Sale-A-Bration items to choose from but as a chicken owner one of my personal favourites is Home To Roost:

 

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

Home To Roost - Everyone loves a chicken stamp and the 'Home To Roost' stamp set has some great sentiments and fonts and some very useful grasses too, so is definitely worth a look. He's really easy to fussy cut too.

A New Technique - My card today is inspired by one of the samples on page 11 of the Sale-A-Bration catalogue; I was intrigued to see that the chicken and background on the green card was stamped onto Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and coloured with watercolour pencils, something I'd not tried before so I thought I'd give it a go. I really like the finished effect of colour on wood texture and this is definitely something I'll try again. 

Did You Know? -  Today's card is a great time to point out something else that is a feature both of the Sale-A-Bration leaflet and the Stampin' Up! seasonal and annual catalogues that you may not have noticed. Where you see a highlighted project, in addition to listing the products used to make the sample individually, there is also a bundle item code that includes everything that you can order with just one item number - handy, right? You can see it highlighted on the image below:

 

If you like today's card, the good news is if you buy everything in the bundle - which I also used on my card today - you'll qualify for the free Sale-A-Bration 'Home to Roost' stamp set for free - bonus!

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. 

One last thing: you may be wondering why the envelope featured with my card doesn't feature a chicken but a flower; I had a whole pile of projects ready for photographing and didn't realise I hadn't swapped out the envelope, but didn't realise until the time of writing - so I'm leaving this happy accident as I don't have time to retake!

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.

Sale-A-Bration 2019 - New Items Added!

by Joanne James15. February 2019 08:00

I know how much you've all been enjoying the benefits of the Sale-A-Bration promotion; as if it couldn't get any better I just wanted to let you know that from today there are some new items being added to the selection of products that can be earned free, both with a £45 order and a bundle that can be earned free with a purchase of £90 or more. You can click on the image below to download the flyer:

 

So what's new? There is the 'All Adorned' stamp set, that is designed to work particularly well with the Stamparatus:

 

 There is a beautiful new Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, called Country Floral:

 

 Finally, there is a bundle that can be yours free with a spend of £90 or more that includes the Painted Seasons stamp set and co-ordinating designer series paper:

 

The lovely team at the Stampin' Up! head office have also put together a short video that shows you the Painted Season Bundle items in more detail - you can see that by clicking on the link below:

As with the other items in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue (with the exception of the ribbon, which is sold out), these items will be available from now until the end of the Sale-A-Bration period, 31st March. You can see full details for each of the new product on the new Sale-A-Bration flyer here.

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code G44UFKHH) or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. Back shortly with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

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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.