Gorgeously Made Clean and Simple Thank You CCS 517

by Joanne James1. August 2023 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Sue is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

  

For my card today I chose to make a clean and simple thank you card using the Gorgeously Made bundle:

 

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

The stamps in the Gorgeously Made stamp set are perfect for loose, collage-style stamping so I took three different ones including my sentiment and inked each in one of the challenge colours, then overlaid my stamped foliage with a pointed diecut one in Cajun Craze:

 

I used Very Vanilla for my card base as it seemed to compliment this trio of warm, naturalistic colours. And that's all there is to it - a quick and easy thank you 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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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.
 

Sweetest Borders Dies Christmas Holly FMS596

by Joanne James31. July 2023 14:00

Happy Monday everyone! It's grey and miserable here in the UK today but I'm not complaining - it gave me time to squeeze in an entry to this week's Freshly Made Sketches where I couldn't resist this fab sketch by Judy:

 

A split panel with nothing below the line - so many possibilities! I've missed playing along with these ladies whilst I've been on vacation and was excited by this week's layout as I knew exactly where I was headed - take a look:

 

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

A couple of my Paper Players teamies have been making Christmas cards in earnest and I was beginning to get itchy feet for the festive season, so this sketch was a good opportunity to remedy that. I am currently planning my preorder for the new mini catalogue that features Stampin' Up!'s new Christmas range, so for today's card I delved into my retired box for an old favourite, the Sweetest Borders Dies, and chose the holly one. My colour scheme of Pretty Peacock and Old Olive was inspired by memories of some two-tone ribbon we had in this colour combo ages ago, which I loved. It always struck me that this was an unusual pairing, but one that worked surprisingly well. I cut my holly border just above the half-way line and stamped my sentiment in Pretty Peacock on the Old Oliver panel, before adding a selection of pearl berries:

 

I used standard iridescent pearls, with the exception of the extra large ones that are now sadly retired. Whilst we are perhaps more accustomed to red berries with holly, some varieties do have white berries and I think these ones make an elegant statement on my otherwise clean card. Yay - a card for this year's Christmas card stash - 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. 

Final reminder that as today is the last day in July, it's your final opportunity to take advantage of the current Bonus Days promotion. Enjoy the rest of 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.

Paper Florist Slimline Birthday Card PP651

by Joanne James30. July 2023 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jaydee to host this week and as it's the fifth Sunday of the month she has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for us to work with:

          

I had chosen a collection of products that would enable me to meet a number of the boxes on Jaydee's grid; by the time I'd finished my card I actually covered the whole of the grid with the exception of 'masculine'! Atlantic Hearts have a great slimline sketch this week so I combined it with this week's Color Throwdown colours and decided to make a special birthday card - take a look:

 

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

I have been spending time experimenting with the various combinations of pieces in the Paper Florist Dies recently so I decided I would put my time to good use and create a cascade of using the 'Best Family Ever' stamp set.  flowers in my favourite new Bubble Bath and Lemon Lolly colours, with bright green leaves, clustered around a central sentiment label, onto which I heat embossed a customised sentiment:

This stamp set is perfect to create all kinds of special sentiments; the set doesn't actually include the word 'NANNA', so I created it by combining letters from other names in the set. I also added some stencilling to the card base using a retired decorative mask and some Azure Afternoon ink, blending out from the centre and fading into the white of the base. Stencilling is a great way to add extra detail to the background, without distracting from the detail of the flowers themselves. I'm also linking today's card up over at Inkspirational where they are asking us to use stencils this week too. A couple of loops of Bubble Bath ribbon and a trio of pink pearls complete my card. This card is for the James Juniors to send to their Nanna for her birthday; it's still a few months away, but hey it can't hurt to be organised!

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!

Enjoy your day; I'm off to Nottingham for more hockey today, so cross your fingers for a fine day! 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.

Rays of Summer Sunshine For AYSI 304

by Joanne James28. July 2023 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a seasonal 'fill in the blank' challenge chosen by the lovely Jane:

    

There's so much to love about summer: vacations, an abundance of home grown vegetables, trips to the beach, longer days ... but for me the best thing of all about summer is an abundance of sunshine! I don't need the heat but I definitely welcome the brightness that the extra sunshine brings; it lifts my mood and I am so much more productive too. So my clean and simple card today focuses on sunshine and I decided to CASE the designer, Susan Wong, over at Global Design Project too - take a look:

 

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

Copy and Selectively Edit - I used the same layout as Susan's card, the inked ombre effect and a banner tag sentiment details, but no nighttime camping scene for me! I masked a circle on my white cardbase and stamped the 'Rays of Light' stamp inside it, using Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Calypso Coral inks and building the colour from the centre of the sunshine outwards. I added a couple of diecut clouds and added my sentiment to a yellow banner tag, as my sun was very hot and orange in colour and I wanted to bring out more yellow. I tied my tag with gold twine and added a trio of (retired) gold glimmer enamel dots to complete my card:

I'm also linking today's card up over at CAS on Friday where they currently have a theme of 'summer' too. As an aside, I will be guest designer for them for their next challenge, so you will definitely want to check them out :-) It's actually been quite grey here in the UK this week, so I'm hoping that August will see the return of the summer sunshine that I crave!

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
  • In a Fill in the Blank challenge, complete the sentence in the Challenge Banner with the phrase that is true for you and create your project using the words you used. Tell us what you said in your blog or on your site.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Sunday 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.

Masterfully Made For PP650

by Joanne James23. July 2023 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

 

The eagle-eyed amongst you might recognise this layout - I actually based it on the Berry Burst card that features the Cheerful Daisies bundle on the front page of the Stampin' up! catalogue. I love layers, so this card layout was right up my street. No Cheerful Daisies today though - instead I'm featuring the Gorgeously Made bundle. Take a look:

 

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

I used a Night of Navy base, with a tone-on-tone embossed layer featuring the hatch design that is one of the online exclusive embossing folders. Then I added a bright, floral piece of Masterfully Made designer series paper, that I had cut top and bottom using the edge dies in the Gorgeously Made bundle - how beautiful is this paper?! I added a vellum circle to allow the paper to show through, before diecutting two pieces of foliage that highlight two of the colours in the designer paper and adding a sentiment from the bundle using the label die:

 

I added a (retired) flower embellishment and a couple of sparkly enamel dots to complete my card. I just love the bright colours on this card; I kind of wish I had cut the label shorter and left off the flower embellishment, but hey ho - next time!

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!

Enjoy your day; I returned from a two-week vacation yesterday so I am feeling rested, relaxed - and ready to hit the hockey pitch today! I am driving the eldest of the James Juniors to Nottingham today for an umpiring training day, so am hoping at least that it will be dry, if not as warm and sunny as I've been used to! 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.

Cheers Congratulations Card FF0139

by Joanne James21. July 2023 08:00

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge

 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Beer Day' which is on August 4th. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. I don't have any current product that fits with this theme, so I delved into my box of retired dies as I knew I had a combination that work perfectly. I used gold, acetate, cheers sentiment and bubbles and this is what I came up with:

 

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

I went with a simple congratulations card that would be perfect for lots of celebrations and using my retired Sip and Celebrate Dies to diecut a couple of champagne glasses from a panel of basic white thick cardstock. I backed them with acetate, then fussy cut two pieces of distressed gold paper to look like champagne and diecut some bubbles out of them before glueing to my acetate glasses. I then added this panel to my white cardbase, before adding my diecut Cheers! sentiment cut form gold foil over the top:

 

Simple yet elegant, I think you'll agree - I think I'll add this to my engagement card pile!

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

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.

 

Cheerful Daisies Square Floating Frames Cards TTT218

by Joanne James20. July 2023 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and our leader, the lovely Felicita, is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

 

I went down the first column with Friendship/Any Colour/Any Shape Die and actually made two cards today, the fist one of which is for our challenge - take a look:

 

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

Floating Frame - I haven't made a floating frame card in ages and I thought the new Cheerful Daisies bundle, with lots of differently shaped and sized pieces, would be perfect to showcase this technique. I decide to make two square cards (more on that in a moment) and stamped lots of daisies and leaves in my chosen colours, before diecutting and laying out on my craft mat to a cover a space slightly larger than my 6" card front. When I was happy that the whole area was covered with no large gaps, I adhered a sheet of Press 'n' Seal over them and ran through my diecutting machine with the largest of the square Stylish Shapes Dies, to cut out my central square. I set this to one side, then flipped over my frame and added dimensionals to each of the pieces, before flipping back over, centering and adhering to my cardfront. Once all elements were stuck down, I removed the Press 'n' Seal and trimmed any pieces that were overhanging the edge. I then added my heat-embossed sentiment and a single enamel dot to the square inside the frame I created to finish:

 

Isn't that something?! I love the effect of this technique. 

Sentiment Style - I still had my central square so I made a second card, this time using Bubble Bath cardstock as my card base. Here's that finished card: 

 

I followed the same process, adding dimensionals to the reverse and centering the square panel before removing the Press 'n' Seal. This time, I decided to make a feature of another of the sentiments in the Cheerful Daisies set and repeat it four times along each edge of my square panel - I really like this effect. If you look closely at the close up below, you can also see the stitched detail of the square die around the edges of the diecut pieces too:

 

So what do you think? Do you like this style of card - is it something you've tried, either with this set or others? If you do a search on my blog you will find several other examples where I've used this technique. Do let me know what sets you've used - I'd love to know in the comments below!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Another reminder too that for more great ideas on how to make the most of the Cheerful Daisies bundle, if you purchase it from me before the end of the month (or place an order of equivalent value) you will receive a copy of the tutorial I've created with my friend Jan Clothier and access to our private Facebook group.

 

Enjoy your day; 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.

24 Hour Stamp Sale - 15% Off All Annual Catalogue Stamp Sets!

by Joanne James19. July 2023 08:07

Can’t stop staring at a certain stamp set (or two, or three)? Stock up on stamp sets at a stellar price! For one day only, you can buy select cling stamp sets at a 15% discount. This short and stamp-tacular sale only happens once a year, so get in gear—it’s time to shop ’til you drop! 

Are you ready? The biggest stamp sale of the year is today - 19th July! It’ll only last for 24 hours, so you will need to act fast to grab the goods. It actually started at 11pm yesterday evening here in the UK. 

For 24 hours from 18 July at 11:00 p.m. to 19 July 10:50 p.m. (UK) online, each of the stamp sets from the 2023–2024 Annual Catalogue will be available for purchase at a 15% discount (excluding host sets).

If you see something you like, you can either place an order through me, or you can shop directly through my online store. My shop will have a category under the menu item 'Specials' entitled “Stamp Sale” that displays every stamp set on sale to ensure a quick and easy shopping experience.

The discount applies to individual stamp sets (not bundles) and can also be used in conjunction with a starter kit and the current Bonus Days promotion - what a great way to get more bang for your buck! Place your order here through my online store or by clicking on the shopping bag icon in the menu on the right hand side - don't forget to include the current hostess code 2A6EXGJ4 for an extra thank you from me. 

I'll be back with another creative project tomorrow, but in the meantime this is a 24 hour event only so you have to act fast to benefit from 15% off these amazing sets, so it's time to go shopping - don't miss out! 

Clean and Simple Science Fun For CCS516

by Joanne James18. July 2023 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & SketchesThis week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we feature a vertical panel with any shape:

 

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to grab some brightly coloured inks and my new 'It's A Science' stamp set and create a fun card for a science fanatic - take a look at what I came up with:

 

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

I stamped a row of atoms in my chosen colours down the length of my white card base; I used my Stamparatus and the hinge-step technique to space them evenly down the card front. I stamped my sentiment and microscope onto some basic white cardstock, I fussy cut the microscope and added some highlights with my Smoky Slates Blends markers and added it to my cardfront with dimensionals for a little extra lift:

I finished my card with some sequins from my stash in colours that complimented the colours of my atoms. I just love this set - both my kids are science nerds and since one of them is hoping to study Bio-Chemistry at university in September, I know this is a set that's going to see lots of ink.

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. 

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

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.

Hey There Zoo Crew Clean and Simple PP649

by Joanne James16. July 2023 08:00

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

    

I used the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday and also played along with their optional twist of camping/campfire and got fussy cutting with my paper snips and some Zoo Crew Designer Series Paper to come up with today's fun clean and simple notecard - take a look:

 

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

Today's card is all about the designer paper! I had lots of images fussy cut from the Zoo Crew designer paper so I chose this one of the lion, added some additional colour to him with my Stampin' Blends markers and adhered him and some trees that I also fussy cut from the paper to a stitched oval, to which I'd added some Starry Sky and Parakeet Party inks with some blending brushes to ground my campfire scene (I also added a flick of clear Wink of Stella to give my sky a starry night feel, although it is difficult to see this on the photo). I anchored my oval with a trio of strips featuring some of the black and white patterns from the Zoo Crew papers and stamped a vertical sentiment from the 'charming Sentiments' stamp set:

Whilst you might be forgiven at first glance for thinking I missed the point of Anne Marie's challenge this week, you will see my lion is busy roasting his pink marshmallows over his open campfire. yum - s'mores, anyone?! Fussy cutting the individual images is such a fun way to use designer paper! A little goes a long way and this kind of minimalist layout is perfect for clean and simple cards. I'm also linking today's card up over at CAS on Friday where designer paper is the theme of their current challenge 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!

Enjoy your day; it's sun loungers rather than campfires for me, but I'm not complaining! I'll be back on Tuesday 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.

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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.