Detailed Deer Christmas PP718

by Joanne James1. December 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 LeAnne to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

          

Now you don't have to make a Christmas card for this week's challenge - any card that features a deer is acceptable. I considered making another card using the same Reindeer Days papers that I featured on last week's PP card, but when I saw Linda's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches my mind went in a completely different direction! I paired the layout with the seasonal colours over at Sunday Stamps (I used gold, silver, (retired) Evening Evergreen and Very Vanilla) and ended up making two slightly different cards. Here's the first one that I made:

 

I added a trio of festive pines cut from glimmer paper using one of the (retired) Christmas Tree Dies to my card base (I mirrored Linda's sketch as I wanted my panels to rise left to right rather than drop left to right, as if fitted better with the shape of my deer) and overlaid this with a gold foil deer cut from my favourite deer set of all time: the (retired) Detailed Deer Thinlit Dies. I love this deer - it's so elegant! I added a simple silver twine bow and a gold heat-embossed sentiment from 'Greetings of the Season'. I loved the finished card and since I'd cut enough trees and deer for two cards, I decided to change up my second one slightly and emboss my card base with the Snowflake Sky 3D embossing folder. 

Here's the second one:

 

I wasn't sure if the embossing would be too much alongside the contrasting foil and glimmer paper texture, but the embossed detail really adds an extra dimension to this card - you can see it better on the close up below. Isn't it beautiful?

 

I decided this second card was my favourite, even though my first one is much more my true style. I'm also linking up over at TGIF Challenges where their theme is 'Winter Wonderland' this week - the addition of the snowflakes definitely adds to the wintery feel. Which one do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm really pleased with how these cards turned out; I have a few more Christmas cards to make and share, but need to think about writing and posting them soon!

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; today we are putting up the tree and decorating the James house for Christmas. This is earlier than we usually do, but Ben and I have been listening to Christmas songs whilst on the school run for over a week already, so are excited to be getting into the festive spirit! 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.

Strawberry Builder Punch Gnome Art PP568

by Joanne James21. November 2021 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 Laurie to host this week and she has a fun Clean and Simple challenge for you to work with:

       

I couldn't resist another crack at Kim's fabulous layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week and paired with the colours over at Color Dare (I added Cherry Cobbler red as my fourth colour) for today's card - take a look:

 

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

I started out planning today's card with some trepidation; whilst I still have my retired 'Gnome for the Holidays' stamp set, I have no other current gnome stamp sets. I decided though that I would rise to the challenge and embark on trying to create one using some current supplies to fashion some gnome punch art. A quick perusal of Pinterest, I chose a cute cuddly gnome to base my design on, grabbed some current supplies and tools and set to work! I used the largest of the skinny Christmas trees from the Christmas Tree Dies and my Strawberry Builder Punch to make my gnome. I used some offcuts of Peaceful Place designer paper for my gnome body and the top horizontal strip above my sentiment, along with some Snowy White Velvet Paper for his beard and moustache for some subtle texture and a matt dot for his nose. A piece of snowflake behind and a tiny one on his hat, along with a sentiment from 'Penguin Place' complete my clean and simple gnome card:

I created a basic crib sheet so that you can see the main elements of my gnome and how I trimmed them, in case you fancy having a go at making one yourself - feel free to save this for future use:

I based the design of my punch art gnome on one of the ones in the retired 'Gnome For The Holidays' stamp set, which I stamped on the inside of my card for added decoration:

 As you can see, I decided I liked this card so much I made another - I think these little gnomes are rather cute, even if I say so myself!

I think I did a pretty good job of meeting the 'clean and simple' brief too - remember in addition to featuring a gnome (or elf, or fairy!) on your card it should also be clean and simple:

  • minimal layers
  • little/no embellishments
  • lots of clean white space (no pattern)
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; mine is shaping up to be a rather uneventful one - here's hoping anyway! 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.
 
Edit: This card was a WINNER! Kim chose me as her Queen of Clean for FMS512 - woohoo!
 

White Christmas Tree Trio

by Joanne James11. November 2021 08:00

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Less Is More where it's lucky dip week and we are being asked to work with Winter Whites:

I decided to use a trio of diecut Christmas trees to showcase my winter whites - take a look:

 

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

I couldn't resist another outing for my Whimsy and Wonder skinny trees, but this time I did at least include one of the other diecut trees in the set so that it didn't feel left out! I find the best way to create an all-white card is to concentrate on adding different elements of texture and/or pattern. To this end, I diecut two trees from (retired) white glimmer paper and diecut the larger tree in white and popped it up on dimensionals with the glimmer paper layered beneath:

I added a silver heat-embossed sentiment that fitted with my sparkly trees to complete my card.

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

 

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

So does today's card have you dreaming of a white Christmas? I read in the press yesterday that we are in for a hard Winter here in the UK, with heavy snow forecast before the end of this month. I'm hoping that's fake news - a white Christmas is one thing, but heavy snow in November - no thank you!!

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.

Whimsy And Wonder Christmas Tree Trio For Color Throwdown

by Joanne James20. October 2021 07:00

Today I'm sharing a very special card as it was made for this week’s new challenge over at Color Throwdown, where I am delighted to be the featured designer this week!

This is the colour palette we are working with:

 

How pretty is that trio of pastels?! I am in a real groove with Christmas card making at the moment, so no ghosts for me! I decided on a trio of Christmas trees instead - take a look:

 

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

Christmas Tree Dies - These skinny Christmas trees are from the Christmas Tree Dies and I think they are my absolute favourites in the set! They can be used in traditional and less conventional colours and still look great. I cut a tree in each colour and also used a piece of watercolour-effect designer paper that was from last year‘s winter mini catalogue that featured the same heather and aqua tones.

Texture and Pines - I used this week’s Global Design Project layout #GDP314 for my card today and for square element used some shimmer white cardstock embossed with the Evergreen embossing folder. This adds a lovely sheen and great texture and dimension as a background detail. 

Seasonal Swirls - I decided to use the star wreath piece from the Seasonal Swirls Dies for the round element of the design, cut from retired white glimmer paper for a full-on winter sparkle. I also added a few sequins and flicked my background with my clear Wink of Stella pen for added shimmer.

 

I added a sentiment from the 'Sparkle of The Season' stamp set, anchored with a pink enamel heart to complete my card.

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

 

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

Enjoy your day; you should definitely check out the Color Throwdown design team creations to see what they made of this sugared-almond inspired colour palette this week.

 

Remember too that the 24 hour stamp sale is now in full swing - full details on yesterday’s post here. You have until 10.50pm this evening to snap up a bargain!

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.

Clean and Simple Christmas Tree Trio CCS 440

by Joanne James5. October 2021 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. We are now in October which means a new host and a new guest designer. My CAS-loving friend Vicky is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

  

For my card today I decided to go Christmas and use up some of my Sale-A-Bration freebies! I know - these colours aren't a typical festive colour palette, but I think they work - take a look:

 

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

Christmas Tree Trio - I used the Christmas Tree Dies from the 'Whimsy and Wonder' Suite to create my trio of white Christmas trees and incorporated the colour with a set of overlapping inked circles in the challenge colours behind using the round stamp in the Sale-A-Bration 'Textures and Frames' stamp set. This is the kind of set that I struggle to use and am generally doesn't draw me in, much to the amusement of some of my customers and friends who always see the potential of these kinds of sets. I like the idea of using the stamps as a base to showcase something else as I've done here. 

A Whimsical Tree - Not much stamping on the front of my card, but I did use the 'Whimsical Trees' stamp set on the inside of my card for a little extra decoration:

 

Sparkle and Texture - I couldn't resist adding a sparkly garland to the white Christmas trees on the front of my card using another Sale-A-Bration freebie, the Be Dazzling paper; I love the shimmer and texture it adds, without detracting from the overall clean feel of my card: 

I know the Sale-A-Bration promotion is now over for another year, but hopefully you picked up some of these free items and are still looking for fun ways to use them. 

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.

Bright Whimsical Christmas Tree Trio For CCS 435

by Joanne James31. August 2021 12:00

It's time for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches and since it's the 5th Tuesday of the month it's time for the double: a combination of an old sketch and colour palette, combined. Bhavya has chosen the following combination:

 

I struggled a little with this week's challenge! I don't have any of those retired colours, so went with my closest current match and after going through a ton of stamp sets and dies, I finally decided to go with an unconventionally coloured Christmas card featuring a trio of skinny trees for my shapes:

 

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

These tree dies are from the Christmas Trees Dies set in the Whimsy and Wonder suite and are the trees that caused me to invest in this set - I love the textured, skinny design. I layered them into the corner of my panel and used a greeting from the Whimsical Trees stamp set in the same bundle, having coloured it with my Stampin' Write Markers so that I could highlight the scripted words in Magenta Madness pink:

 

Super simple with only four products needed. I quite like the unconventional colour scheme for Christmas, but if you're more of a traditionalist it would work in reds and greens 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! 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; we are going swimming and are making meatballs today amongst other things! 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.

Whimsy and Wonder Mint Macaron Christmas Tree for FMS500

by Joanne James26. August 2021 10:00

Today will be a two post day! I will be back later with my TicTacToe inspiration for our new challenge, but first I'm sharing a card that I made for a very special occasion: the fabulous team over at Freshly Made Sketches are celebrating their 500th challenge and a decade of sketch inspiration - how amazing is that?! These wonderful ladies are a constant source of challenge and inspiration and I play along whenever I can and certainly couldn't miss out on the opportunity to play with Linda's fabulous sketch this week!

   

I decided to pair with the new mini catalogue inspiration over at TGIF Challenges, which I had been mulling over as I have been playing with a CASE of one of the cards in their inspiration photo. It wasn't really working for me so instead I decided to take that vertical panel of the FMS sketch and instead take my inspiration from the featured Whimsy & Wonder Suite - take a look at what I came up with:

 

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

All About The Layers - Linda's card has five layers, one for each of the decades the challenge team are celebrating. I wanted to feature the beautiful tree print in the Whimsy & Wonder specialty designer paper for my third layer, but didn't want to obscure it completely with layer 4, as I wanted the tree that is layer 5 to feel 'part' of it. So I used vellum to create my layer 4 panel, cut with one of the Ornate Layers Dies. It provides a distinct background for my focal point diecut tree, but ensures my background whilst softened can still be seen.

Trimming The Tree - I diecut the largest tree in the Christmas Tree Dies set in Mint Macaron, then added a garland cut from (retired) sparkly white glimmer paper and added tiny baubles cut from the silver holographic striped paper in the Whimsy & Wonder pack, to tie in with the holographic stars on the background paper design. I almost didn't add the baubles, but the tree definitely looks better with than without! 

 

Finishing Touches - I added a simple 'joy' sentiment and underpinned this with a piece of white glittered organdy ribbon tied with some silver twine. I love the addition of the subtle sparkle to complete the final element of my design.

This is my first outing with the Whimsy and Wonder Suite but I think I'll be using it again very soon!

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.

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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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