Mosaic Madness Christmas Card

by Joanne James1. August 2013 21:00

I know, I know - 145 days until Christmas, but as a crafter it pays to be prepared! I have been busy this week preparing for an all day Christmas workshop this weekend when we will be making a headstart on our 3D projects and gifts for the festive season.

As such, today seems like a good day to share another of our quarterly team training projects designed by Monica Gale: this time a Christmas card using the Mosaic Madness stamp set. I love this set and still have so many more projects to make with it. It is great for all kinds of cards, and the main mosaic shape does have something ornamental about it, so it works really well for a Christmas card. So here is the finished card:

 The hanging ornament is made by scoring four punched pieces vertically then adhering together around the bakers twine and is then suspended in the negative space of a punched circle. The nice thing about this card is that although it's very multi-dimensional, it still folds flat for posting. Also, if you're wondering where that piece of crumb cake DSP with the chevrons came from, you might be looking for some time as it's actually a strip cut from a Tag a Bag - these just have so many uses!

So the first of many Christmas cards and projects to come; I will share our weekend workshop projects next week, guaranteed to really get you in the festive spirit! This is also a good time to mention that Mosaic Madness is the stamp set that I'll be featuring in my September card classes. If you would like more information about my classes or to book a place, please get in touch to find out more.

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

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Greetings of the Season

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler

Tools: Mosaic Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Finishing Touches: Baker's Twine (Tag A Bag Accessory Kit), Tag A Bag

Tag A Bag Pocket Book

by Joanne James30. July 2013 14:35

An early post from me today (or a late one from yesterday, depending on your perspective!) as I'm off to London; not to see the Queen, but to meet the nice people at DK Books to talk about all things crafty - should be fun! For today's post, I've another project made at our recent quarterly team training session, this time a Pocket Book designed by Bekka Prideaux and made using the Tag A Bag Gift Bags as pockets in a book. Here's a picture of the finished mini-album, with one of the Tag A Bag Accessory Kit Gift Tags making a nice cover label:

 

This is another project that makes use of the Crushed Curry/Bermuda Bay colour combination and features the Flower Shop stamp set, both on the cover and inserts and punched to make the flower embellishment on the front of the card. This is what the book looks like inside:

The bags are decorated with alternating colour stamps and each small section has a section of card in the corresponding colour. This little pocket book could be used in a variety of ways; you can write on the bag pages and card inserts, fill the bags with small items and seal using the other items in the accessory kit (twine, mini pegs, tags and tape) or use to mount photos or clip notes to. The whole thing fastens neatly with chevron ribbon. One last picture to show you a close up of the lovely embellishment on the front cover:

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

  

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Flower Shop

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry

Tools: Simply Scored, Pansy Punch

Finishing Touches: Tag A Bag Gift Bags, Tag A Bag Accessory Kit, Crushed Curry 3/4" Chevron Ribbon, Coastal Cabana In Colour Boutique Details

 

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3D Projects | Stamping

Tag-A-Bag Gift Bag Hostess Gift

by Joanne James28. July 2013 19:50

After all the excitement of yesterday's pop-up card, today I'm sharing another of the projects I made at my recent quarterly training. The new annual catalogue has some great new packaging options; today's project is a great way to dress up one of the bags from the 'Tag a Bag Gift Bag' kits for a quick gift:

A simple outer open fronted box adds some structure and the addition of a bright Chalk Talk gift tag, with a flower punched from one of the tags in the gift bag kit, finished with a Strawberry Slush embellishment and a showy bow of Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon; a simple bag is turned into something truly gift-worthy with little effort. Great for a small thank you or hostess gift.

Back tomorrow with another project featuring the Tag-a-Bags; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Chalk Talk

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Strawberry Slush

Tools: Chalk Talk, Pansy Punch

Finishing Touches: Tag A Bag Gift Bag, Tag A Bag Accessory Kit, Crushed Curry 3/4" Chevron Ribbon, Strawberry Slush, In Colour Boutique Details

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3D Projects | Boxes | Host a Party | Stamping

Angry Birds Spiral Pop-Up Birthday Card

by Joanne James27. July 2013 20:23

Today I have a very special card to share with you. As my regular blog followers are aware, my soon-to-be six year old son and his friends are Angry Bird mad; I swear if we didn't ration access to all touch devices in our house he would turn into one of those little feathered creatures!! Anyway, a friend of his celebrates his birthday today and in addition to the card I made from us, which I will share with you another time, his Mum also asked me if I would make him a special birthday card. I saw a very simple Angry Bird pop up card by Julie Davidson a while ago which I loved (you can see Julie's card that was the inspiration for mine here), but I must confess I had something much more 'explosive' in mind. So this was the front of my card:

 

Lots of little pigs hiding amidst the wood and boulders, along with a box of TNT for good measure and a red Angry Bird ready for action. Open the card to reveal what happens once there's been a hit:

 

Birds, pigs and stars literally 'explode' out of the card. The decoration is all attached to a spiral pop-up, which is simply a large circle cut into a spiral with one end attached to each side of the card. Its really easy to do and if you made the spiral the same colour as the base card, it blends into the background and allows the birds to really 'fly'. Here's a close up of the pigs so that you can see what I mean:

I added a number 6 and some glimmer stars and used the new Simply Sketched alphabet stamps to add the 'Ready, Aim ... Fire!' and a personalised message for the recipient. It has to be said, this card was something of a 'labour of love' - creating all the birds and pigs takes an absolute age, but it was so worth it for the impact of the resulting card, which I am reliably informed was well received!

It sounds like our very own TNT explosion in the garden at the moment; the thunder and lightening is flashing and crashing as I write and whilst lawns and gardens everywhere are I'm sure benefiting from the downpour, I'm personally hoping it is just a brief interlude in the glorious weather we've been having of late.

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

 

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers, Woodgrain

Cardstock: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Grey, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise

Inks: Real Red, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey, Whisper White

Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Handheld Circle Punch (retired), Small Heart Punch, Full Heart Punch, Owl Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (circle), Corner Punch, Merry Minis Punch (star), Sponge Dauber, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Silver Glimmer Paper

 

Flower Shop Make-and-Take

by Joanne James26. July 2013 20:51

Today's card is one I made at my recent quarterly team training and features lots of new items from the 2013-14 annual catalogue: new colours, a new stamp set, new embellishments. Take a look a the finished card:

It features three of the lovely flower stamps from the Flower Shop stamp set, including one that has been punched out with the co-ordinating punch. This is one of the many great value bundles available in this year's catalogue: there are a number of items which when purchased together, such as the Flower Shop stamp set and co-ordinating Pansy Punch, will receive a 15% discount.  The main card is in the new in-colour Coastal Cabana, and the punched flower is finished with one of the new in-colour embellishments in Baked Brown Sugar, which is echoed in the border edging. The rich yellow is the new Regal Crushed Curry, which is also the colour of the chevron ribbon bow - the star of the show as far as this card is concerned; I LOVE this ribbon!

This ribbon was one of my 'must haves' from the new catalogue; my only dilemma was exactly which colour I should purchase first! If you've now had a chance to look at the new annual catalogue and you too have a long wishlist of products you would like, why not get together with some friends and host a party? This is a great way to earn free products and you could make a version of the above card and have an evening of fun into the bargain. If you would like to host a party, please contact me today to book a date in the diary.

Back tomorrow with another project - a very special birthday card for a very special little boy. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Flower Shop, Perfectly Penned

Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Baked Brown Sugar

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Pansy Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Finishing Touches: Crushed Curry 3/4" Chevron Ribbon, Baked Brown Sugar In Colour Boutique Details

Another Best of Flowers Bouquet

by Joanne James25. July 2013 21:05

What can I say? Busy, busy, busy! Now that my little ones are on holiday, I'm struggling to find blog time; usually I'm short on time to make up my creations (well, there's never enough time to put all one's creative ideas into practice!) but having got ahead of myself on the making front, I now can't seem  to get in front of my laptop. Hey ho - I am going to try and schedule a few posts starting tomorrow, so that should make things easier.

Now that I am here, I wanted to share with you the other of my 'Best of Flowers' cards featuring the floral bouquet. This time I went for a more colourful look and took the opportunity to use up some of my Tea For Two designer series paper:

I stamped the bouquet in Early Espresso, then picked up the colour of the rose on the DSP with my marker pen to create the central focus of my bouquet. I made this card notecard size, to fit in one of the crumb cake notelet envelopes. Quite different to the last card using this stamp, but altogether very pretty.

More fun in the sun tomorrow, but all being well will have something new to share with you too, so do pop back to see. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla Tea For Two Designer Series Paper (retired)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Ovals Framelits

We're Going to Miss Your Style!

by Joanne James22. July 2013 21:27

Having just heard the Royal baby news, I really should be blogging a baby boy card today, but since I don't have one of those prepared I'm sharing a leaving card instead!

This card was a commission for someone who needed a leaving card for a colleague. The person in question is known for her keen sense of style and for always having a bag, jewellery and accessories to co-ordinate with any outfit, even her flipflops match; she is also known for her love of animal prints. With this in mind, I set about creating a card that would reflect her personality and one of the things her colleagues love and would miss most about her. This is what I came up with:

 

A tic-tac-toe of shoes, handbags and jewellery, ready to mix and match. Here's a close up of the flipflops (I made a template by hand for these) - aren't they just the cutest?

The handbags were made using either a3/4" circle the vest from the owl punch, or in the case of the one below the cupcake builder punch and the petite curly label punch:

I used Basic Black and More Mustard as my base colours and created a custom sentiment. If you're looking at the sentiment panel and thinking it's the right shape but the wrong size for the Decorative Label Punch, you would be right; I created a custom label using My Digital Studio (MDS) and printed it out on my computer. You may have noticed the advert for MDS on the back cover of the new annual catalogue; as demonstrators we are getting early access to this new software and I'm really enjoying playing with it. I'll have more to share in the coming months, but for now it was the ideal solution to finding just the right words to finish off my card.

Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, More Mustard (retired), Animal Print Papers - from my craft box (non SU)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black

Tools: 1" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch (retired), Owl Builder Punch, Petite Curly label Punch, Cupcake Builder Punch

Finishing Touches: Mini Brads, Basics Rhinestones

 

 

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Cards | Punch Art

Best of Flowers - Double Embossed Vintage Class Card

by Joanne James21. July 2013 20:07

So I have a confession: I don't like all the stamps that Stampin' Up! has to offer! I like modern, clean and unfussy design and don't really go in much for the vintage, distressed look. So whilst I loved three of the four stamps in June's 'Best of Flowers' set, I struggled with the fourth one. The bouquet of roses had a real 'old fashioned' look I thought and I would probably have left it in the box uninked. I could happily spend endless hours creating things with the other three stamps in the set, each of which I love, but for the fact that I had decided to use this set for this month's card class and therefore felt I should use each of the stamps equally. After much huffing and puffing, I came up with a couple of cards and this is one, of them:

This is something of a departure from my usual style, but I quite like the way it turned out. It was also a great opportunity to teach the ladies in my class the double embossing technique, which enabled me to make the stamp the focal point, without creating an overly fussy design. Some sponging of Crumb Cake ink over the surface and some ruched seam binding ribbon were all that I needed to finish it off.

I think maybe it's the kind of card that grows on you; the more you look at it, the more appeal it has - some 'olde worlde' charm, perhaps! if you would like to own the 'Best of Flowers' set, it is still available to purchase for £13.95 until 31st March 2014. Equally, if you would like to join one of my card classes, do get in touch for more details - our September class will feature the new 'Mosaic Madness' stamp set, along with the coordinating punch and embossing folder.

Back tomorrow with another card I made using this stamp; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Crumb Cake

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber

Finishing Touches: Crumb Cake `1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon

 

Punch Art Underwear Gift Card

by Joanne James20. July 2013 21:14

I've been taking advantage of the cooler temperatures today and spending some time in my craft room working on some punch art cards. I'll share these with you in due course, but today wanted to share a punch art card I made to accompany a lingerie gift voucher I gifted a good friend of mine on her birthday a little while ago. So here is my card:

There are lots of examples of how to create this kind of card on the internet and this is my take on it. The colour combo was inspired by the gift voucher itself, which you can just see inside the card: Rich Razzleberry on Pool Party. I then used my scoreboard to add the patterned edges to my layer with some pearls to finish off.

I love the fun nature of this card, which was shared by its recipient. Above all, so much nicer than the plain card I received from the shop when I purchased the gift voucher!

Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stamps: Tea Shoppe (retired)

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Brights DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party

Tools: Heart Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Simply Scored Borders Plate

Finishing Touches: Basics Pearls

Mosaic Trellis

by Joanne James18. July 2013 21:09

I'm back after another busy card class last night, which was great fun but I was home too late to post so am back on track this evening. We were using the 'Best of Flowers' set at yesterday's class and everyone made some great cards - I 'll share these another time. Today I have another Mosaic Madness card for you; something a little different:

To create this card, I used the mosaic stamp set along with the co-ordinating embossing folder and punch, but this time created a 'trellis' from the embossed sheet using the punch, and then stamping a two-tone pattern on the trellis so that it would really 'pop' against the Coastal Cabana ink and cardstock duo. I've been playing around with this idea in my head for a few days and having finally committed it to paper I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

This set really is so versatile; I hope you're not tired of it yet, as there's lots more where this came from! I'll be featuring this stamp set in September's card class, so if you live in Northampton and would like to experience a little Mosaic Madness for yourself, then do get in touch for further details - whether an experienced crafter or first-time card maker, you will be more than welcome. We are not having a monthly card class in August due to the summer holidays, although on Saturday 3rd August I am holding an-all day Christmas Crafts Workshop, where we will be getting a headstart on our Christmas preparations - it pays to be organised, especially if you're a crafter!

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

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe

Tools: Mosaic Punch, Mosaic Embossing Folder, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Basics Rhinestones

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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.