Signs of Santa and Seasonal Sale Starts Today

by Joanne James13. November 2024 09:00

Today I have another Christmas card to share with you but firstly I need to remind you that the seasonal sale that I told you about yesterday is now LIVE:

  • 20% OFF ALL STAMP BUNDLES AND DESIGNER SERIES PAPERS
  • 10% OFF SELECT INKS AND CARDSTOCK (including Blends and ink refills)

I'll do a post tomorrow with some cards I've shared previously that highlight some of the great bargains to be had. Meanwhile, today I'm sharing a card that I made for a few challenges that caught my eye:

       

Color Hues are featuring red and black as their current colour combo, so I grabbed the sketch over at TGIF Challenges (which is a keeper - super versatile!) and added in some twine so that I could play along over at Festive Friday too and got nostalgic with an old favourite - take a look:

 

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

I decided that a red and black colour combo was made for Santa Claus - so I went into my retired box to find this cutie from the 'Signs of Santa' stamp set, coloured him with my Stampin' Blends and added a piece of  textured striped Santa's Workshop paper for him to sit on. I tied this with some white baker's twine and added a trio of white loose snowflakes from the current mini - love these!

 

Whilst I had the set out on my desk, I also made a second card, this time featuring Mrs Claus:

 

This card was more faithful to the sketch as I omitted the twine and added two separate DSP strips, along with a little extra colour for the holly in her hair. Here's both cards together - Santa is still my favourite of the pair -how about you?

It was fun to delve into the retired box for this pair of fun cards and pair them with something new to give a fresh look. Do you have a favourite retired Christmas set that you can't resist pulling out year after year? Do let me 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 '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.

A Christmas Twofer To Start The Week

by Joanne James11. November 2024 12:00

Happy Monday! I had a little extra crafting time between Onstage presentations on Saturday so had a little play with Jacqui's current layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

   

I made a couple of cards with the sketch, each featuring some of the current Christmas papers with some additional retired product. Here's the first one:

 

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

I wanted to use this 'dancing deer' paper from the Reindeer Days paper pack so used that for the main panel. This type of pattern really needs a big space to work and I didn't want to mix it with any other pattern, so added some coordinating solid colour blocks for the other three elements. It looked a little plain though and I couldn't decided where best to add my sentiment. I played with a few ideas and finally settled on some of the large wooden diecut words from last year's Santa Express Memories & More card pack:

 

I decided to have another go using one of my favourite patterns from the Winter Meadow designer series paper packs. This paper is a carryover from last year's mini catalogue and still available online. This time I mirrored the sketch as I wanted to position the deer in the outer corner for a more balanced design:

 

This time I did leave my border square and rectangles plain, picking out shades of grey from the image, and I added a stamped and fussy-cut sentiment to the cross point:

 

I also added some silver twine and a few rhinestones for a little festive sparkle to complete my card. I'm also linking this card up over at Inspire.Create Challenge where their current challenge is 'many shades of grey'; I'm not sure there are 50 shades on this one, but it is a Christmas card after all!

I wasn't feeling in a particularly creative mood so struggled a little with the FMS sketch this week, but it was nice to have a play - sometimes you need to just have a little crafty fun, right?

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 another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Sophisticated Sled Ice Skates Wreath Quartet PP715

by Joanne James10. November 2024 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 Claire to host this week and she has a fabulous bright colour challenge for us to work with:

 

Bright colours may not be considered traditional for a Christmas card, but I am on a roll and so that is my starting point for everything currently! I decided the best way to highlight each of these was to balance it with lots of white and a touch of festive silver - take a look:

 

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

I've chosen to feature the ice skates and wreath from the Sophisticated Sled bundle - one of my favourite Online Exclusives bundle for the festive season. I love both the sled and the ice skates in this set - both items that I've never owned in my craft collection previously. I've used the sled on a couple of cards previously (you can see those cards here and here) but for today's card I wanted to feature the ice skates.

These skates are so cute; they have separate diecuts for the blades and boots and a neat slit into which you can insert the separate diecut laces - so clever. I decided to add four pairs of skates, each with a different coloured pair of laces. In order to accommodate 4 pairs, I decided to use a slimline design. I created a mat layer comprising a panel of each of the 4 colours, then added a white panel embossed with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder (you can see this detail more clearly on the photo below). Whilst this is a narrow embossing folder, it's easy to emboss one half of the panel then move the cardstock along and emboss the other half to achieve a continuous background.

I hung each pair of skates from a silver-on-white heat-embossed wreath, decorated with clear basic rhinestones for a little added sparkle. I finished each wreath with a large co-ordinating bow (this is from the retired Pierced Blooms Dies). You can see the detail of the individual elements that make up the wreath and skates in the close-up below:

 

I added a simple sentiment, also from the 'Sophisticated Sled' stamp set to the bottom corner of my card base, to complete my card. The diecutting on this card took a little while, but I love the finished card - it was worth 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 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'll be spending mine attending more of the virtual #Stampin' Up! Backstage@Home2024 event - a training event for leaders with lots to be learned. 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.

Pink Stitched Snowflakes Whimsy And Wonder Christmas Card

by Joanne James7. November 2024 09:00

Today I'm sharing a card that uses the layout over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown that was inspired by the pink snowflakes in the top right corner of the Hand Stamped Sentiments inspiration photo:

       

It's big on layering too so I'm also linking up over at Inkspirational where that's the current theme. So let's take a look at what I made:

 

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

Today's card is a celebration of some old favourites - with just a sprinkling of something new! The starting point for my card today was the strip of retired Whimsy and Wonder pink and white snowflake-patterned designer series paper. I don't mind admitting I hoarded a stash of this oh-so-pretty paper that makes for a beautifully feminine seasonal card. I paired it with a layered base in retired Blushing Bride and Basic White, paired with a multi-layered diecut snowflake, made from a retired shiny snowflake and layered stitched diecut snowflakes, finished with a large centre gem. I added a tied snowflake trinket too and the 'new' is a sprinkling of the white loose snowflakes from the current mini catalogue; these are great for a shaker card but also work as a chunky embellishment too. Check out those layers:

 

A silver heat-embossed sentiment from another old favourite, the 'Snow is Glistening' stamp set, completes my card. I do love a non-traditional colour scheme for a Christmas card; this one would also be lovely for someone celebrating a birthday at this time of year too. A total of 8 layers, yet still clean and uncluttered - just how I like 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. 

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.

A Clean And Simple Christmas Corner

by Joanne James6. November 2024 09:00

Today I'm sharing a card that took no time at all to pull together for the current challenge over at CAS On Friday where the theme is 'corner of your card' - take a look:

 

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

A clean and simple card that took no time at all to put together - yes, you've guessed it, I've used another of those A Little Bit Festive Mix & Match diecuts - this stack of presents was perfect to decorate the corner of my card:

A simple sentiment from the retired 'Perfectly Plaid' stamp set and a trio of festive gold pearls complete my card. So easy - the A Little Bit Festive Mix & Match Specialty Designer Series Paper pack is a must-have for speedy festive crafting!

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.

Christmas Classics for CCS548

by Joanne James5. November 2024 13:00

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

      

I'm also playing along with the 'anything goes' CAS challenge over at AAA Cards but since I thought these colours would be perfect for a Christmas card, I'm not going with the optional twist of Halloween. I decided to use an old favourite for my card today that would allow me to indulge in some inlaid diecutting - take a look:

 

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

Shy Shamrock is one of this year's new in-colours but I haven't used it much to date. The retired Christmas Classics bundle is a seasonal favourite of mine and the dies were perfect to showcase both shades of green:

I think Shy Shamrock adds a real freshness to this card - I love the colour combo this week and can't wait to see what our challenge entrants make of them 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. 

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! colour 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.

An Heirloom Framed Christmas for FMS660

by Joanne James4. November 2024 15:30

Happy Monday everyone - another week rolls around! Today I'm sharing a card that I made using Judy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

 

I don't often use ovals as the focal point on a card, but I was inspired by Judy's sketch as I had some diecut foliage in the A Little Bit Festive Christmas designer series paper pack that I knew would work perfectly for that element at the bottom of the frame - take a look:

 

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

I started with that foliage swag, which might seem a little backward, but I had been wanting to use it to decorate something, so that was the first bit. I then decided to feature one of the large sentiments from the 'Greetings Of The Season' stamp set in my oval. This has to be my favourite sentiment stamp set this season - you can make all kinds of greetings by combining the words in this set and the two larger sentiments are great as a framed feature or on the inside of your card too. Finally, with decoration and sentiment sorted, I had to decide how to 'frame' it and what background to use. Turns out this step took ages; I tried all kinds of embossed and patterned paper finishes, but nothing seemed to work. Then, as I looked at Judy's sketch, the ornate detail she used to decorate her oval reminded me of my old retired Heirloom Frames 3D Embossing Folders - and the retired one fit my sentiment perfectly:

 

A plain Garden Green background to allow the plaster-like embossed detail of my frame to shine, and my card was 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.

A Little Bit Festive Oval Wreath And A Zentangle Birthday

by Joanne James27. October 2024 20:00

I had a super crafty day yesterday so I have a quick extra post with a couple of cards I made using some sketch challenges that are closing today:

   

The first is a Christmas card that uses the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches and is a no-stamping-at-all card - take a look:

 

I used a diecut wreath from the A LIttle Bit Festive speciality paper pack (I used the offcut to decorate the envelope) and a foiled diecut sentiment from the Joyful Sayings pack. A few metallic gems and a simple gold twine bow were the finishing touches that complete my card:

 

My second card is for the challenge over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge; I haven't managed to play along there in a while but since they are celebrating their 600th challenge sketch I had to play along. Not only that, the sketch was perfect for another zentangled circle creation featuring the Full Of Life designer series paper - take a look:

 

I added a panel of paper and a birthday sentiment from the 'Friends For Life' stamp set, separating the two with a black and white gingham ribbon bow:

 

A few black enamel dots complete my card. This card is heading to my nephew for his upcoming birthday - I think he will appreciate the modern design (the bow maybe less so!)

Here are the visual summaries 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 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.
 

 

A Little Bit Festive Striped Wreath Christmas Card PP713

by Joanne James27. October 2024 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! If you live in the UK I hope you enjoyed an extra hour in bed this morning as the clocks changed! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for us to work with:

    

I have another Christmas card to share with you today, which I'm also sharing with the team over at Inkspirational where they are all about seasonal cards, and this one is full-on traditional festive - take a look:

 

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

A Little Bit Festive - The A Little Bit Festive specialty designer series paper is the big hitter on today's card: I used a sheet of the red and white striped candy cane panels for the base and one of the diecut wreaths as the backing for my sentiment. This paper is so great for 'one and done' cards, with pre-diecut pieces making light work of decoration. I couldn't stop there today though; in addition to adding in some extra diecut foliage and berries, I added a few other pieces too; for more information, read on!

Greetings Of The Season - I added a heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Greetings of the Season' stamp set to the centre of my wreath, in two parts in order to fit the whole sentiment without obscuring too much of the foliage:

Joyful Sayings - Since the sentiment on the sketch was actually at the bottom of the left panel, not inside the shape, I chose some words that would allow me an extra element instead of substituting something else here; I actually used one of the pre-printed Joyful Sayings elements - it works perfectly.

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. 

I love the traditional festive look of today's card; what's your favourite kind of Christmas card design? Do let me know in the comments below.

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'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.

Santa Stache Nutty or Nice Nutcracker

by Joanne James25. October 2024 13:00

Today I'm sharing a quick card I made a couple of nights ago for the current challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the theme this week is 'Nutcracker':

   

I still have my long retired 'Santa Stache' stamp set so paired him with a layout that gave me the opportunity to use up some retired nutcracker-patterned paper I had in my stash too - take a look:

 

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

A quick stamp of my Nutcracker and coloured with my Blends. I diecut his moustache and popped it up on dimensionals for a little extra lift because, well, why not?

 

I used an offcut of patterned paper to decorate both the inside of my card and the edge of my envelope - and done.

No visual summary today - this card was simply for fun and to show some love to old Nutcrackers! 

Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

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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.