Hand Delivered Balloons Pop-Up Slider Card To Celebrate The Paper Players 400th Birthday!

by Joanne James1. July 2018 09:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of  the lovely Jaydee to host this week and we have something very special in store for you as The Paper Players is celebrating our 400th birthday - how awesome is that?! It is only right therefore that our theme challenge FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS - yes, we are running our challenge for two weeks in total, is all about celebration:

   

First and foremost, we are celebrating all of the lovely people who play along with The Paper Players challenge each week for 50 weeks of the year - it is for you and because of you that we are still going strong! It is without doubt the best team I have ever worked with - these gals are simply THE BEST! For our special celebration challenge this week, we are also joined by two of the original members of the Paper Players team: Ann Schach and Anne Marie Hile. And there are PRIZES this week - so many prizes!! 40 in fact, from our many generous sponsors across the crafting community - check out our post for more details but here is the full list to whet your appetite:

Listed in alphabetical order:

  1. Altenew - $30 gift card
  2. Atenew Academy - $20 gift card  - compliments of Jaydee
  3. Avery Elle - $20 store credit
  4. Butterfly Reflections - Breathe Rainbows Stamp Set (US only)
  5. CAS-ual Fridays - $25 store credit
  6. Cheery Lynn - $20 gift card  
  7. Cheery Lynn - $20 gift card - compliments of Laurie
  8. Concord & 9th - $25 gift card
  9. Craftin Desert Diva's - $10 store cedit
  10. Dies R Us - $15 gift card
  11. Ellen Hutson -  20 gift cards - compliments of Annie 
  12. Ellen Hutson $20 gift card - compliments of Eliz
  13. Happy Little Stampers - $20 store credit
  14. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Sets (exclusive - not available for purchase)
  15. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Set (exclusive - not available for purchase)
  16. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Set (exclusive - not available for purchase)
  17. Heffy Doodle - Sticky Friends Stamp Set (exclusive - not available for purchase)
  18. Lawn Fawn - $25 gift card
  19. My Favorite Things - $25 store credit
  20. Neat & Tangled - $15 store credit 
  21. Newton's Nook - $20 store credit
  22. Pink & Main - $20 store credit
  23. Power Poppy - $10 store credit
  24. Stampendous - $20 rewards cards (US only)
  25. Stampendous - $20 reward card (US only)
  26. Stampendous - $20 reward card (US only)
  27. Stamplorations - $20 gift certificate
  28. Stampin' Up - $20 gift certificates compliments of Nance (US only)
  29. Stampin' Up! $20 gift certificate - compliments of LeAnne (US only)
  30. Stampin' Up! £20 gift certificate - compliments of Joanne (UK only)
  31. Stampin' Up! $20 gift certificate - compliments of Claire (US only)
  32. Stampin' Up $20 gift certificate - compliments of Jan (NZ only)
  33. Technique Tuesday - $20 gift card
  34. The Foiled Fox - $25 store credit
  35. Trinity Stamps - Let it Grow and Lady Liberty Stamp Sets
  36. Tutti Designs - $15 gift card
  37. Uniko - any in-stock stamp set of winner's choice
  38. Verve Stamps - stamp & accessory bundle - compliments of Sandy (US only)
  39. Verve Stamps - stamp & accessory bundle - compliments of Sandy (US only)
  40. Waffle Flower - $15 gift card

Isn't that fantastic?! All prizes will be awarded randomly between challenge participants - so if you enter, you are in with a chance of winning!

Whilst balloons are not mandatory for this challenge, I couldn't help but be inspired by the wonderful badge Nance created for us this week, so I pulled out my Hand Delivered hostess set and set to work on a fun fold for you - take a look:

 

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

Hand Delivered - I used my favourite of the new hostess sets, Hand Delivered, for my card today. I love the way the pieces of this set mix and match; I've used the balloons again on today's card, but unlike my previous versions, this birthday girl is wearing the flowered skirt - so pretty! This is a great set with lots of variety - I used the birthday sentiments from this set on my card too, as you can see in the picture below. It's worth hosting a Stampin' Up! party just to get your hands on this set, so if you would like to talk to me about hosting one so that you can get your hands on exclusive hostess sets like this one, then do get in touch.

Pop-Up Slider Fancy Fold Card - I decided I would mimic the 'hidden' nature of the young lady behind her balloon with a pop-up slider card. I haven't made one of these cards in ages, but I loved the idea of a hidden message too. When the card is 'closed' it lies flat as in the picture above; when you pull the ribbons upwards, the girl moves into a vertical position and the hidden messages are revealed:

Isn't that fun?! And space still available to write a personalised message too.

New In Colours - I really love the palette of 2018-20 in colours; so much so, since I still can't decide which ones I like best I used them all! They work really well together and the bright colours definitely appeal to me. I used Lovely Lipstick for my cardbase, then used a combination of all 5 colours to colour the lady with my aquapainter. I also used ribbon in all 5 colours to create my pull tassel. Lastly, a liberal coat of Wink of Stella finished my balloons. I'm also linking up my card with the team over at Fab Friday, since they are featuring the new in 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 specifically for this challenge.
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.  Please be considerate of our requests; entries that do not follow any of these rules will be deleted without notification and will not be eligible for our prizes.
5.  Have FUN!
 
We also have an additional rule for this challenge only: please do not submit more than TWO cards for this challenge. This is simply so that everyone can have an equal opportunity to win a prize.
 
Remember: PP400 will run for two weeks (the challenge closes on Friday 13th July)- the Design Team will be posting a second card for our theme next Sunday, to give you even more inspiration and encouragement to participate All challenge winners will be announced on Saturday, June 14th. All prizes awarded to participants will be drawn from random.org from ALL participants and announced with our reminder post for challenge PP401 on Wednesday 18th July.

I can't wait to see how you interpret this week's theme and look forward to visiting your blogs this week and next! Enjoy the rest of your weekend - I'll be hoping to have a slightly more restful one than of late, catching up on a few chores and hopefully enjoying some of the lovely sunshine we've been having here in the UK these past few weeks. 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.

High Tide Square Pop Out Swing Card For The Paper Players PP356

by Joanne James6. August 2017 10:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! The wonderful Nance is the hostess this week and she has a fun theme for us to work with:

 

The great outdoors can be interpreted in so many ways: I needed some masculine birthday cards so decided to dig out my High Tide stamp set and take a trip to the coast for my card today - take a look:

 

Today's card is a fancy fold and I've closed it above so that you can see what it looks like flat with the overstamped birds; the photo below shows it at an angle in it's popped-out position:

 

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

High Tide - High Tide is a stamp set that can be used to build seascapes quickly and with ease, with the photopolymer stamps making it easy to see how the pieces align in order to create a scene and for the two-step stamping of the lighthouse. The set contains some lovely sentiments too, one of which I used on the inside of my card. I needed something more birthday-related for the front of my card, so went to one of my 'go to' sets, Butterfly Basics, for this one. I also over-stamped the gulls and wader birds onto the main image and the surrounding frame for extra interest.

A Fancy Fold - I wanted to use a fancy fold to add a little extra interest to today's card, so I decided to make a square pop-out swing card. I often find masculine cards difficult to add a 'special touch' to as embellishments tend to make them look quite feminine, but a fancy fold can sometimes be a good way of making a card special without adding to much in the way of frills or requiring a vast quantity of supplies. My card front measures 5 3/4" square (a slightly odd measurement to be fair, but I couldn't find any 12" x 12" in Sahara Sand so had to use a sheet of A4). I was cutting a few bases at a time so for speed used the largest square in my retired Squares Framelits set to cut the aperture in the front, but you could just as easily cut this out using you trimmer and leaving a 1" frame on all sides. Here is another shot so that you can see what the card looks like when properly opened:

 

A Nautical Colour Combination - I used a combination of primary colours and neutrals for my calming beach scene, with the addition of the birds top and bottom stamped in Basic Grey. Here's my colour combination to save for future 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Whilst I had all my supplies out I also made a flat clean and simple card using this set which I will share some other time, but it was fun to make something a little different to share today and I love that this card is flat for posting too. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

The Paper Players Design Team
 
 
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! 

 

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - we spent the day at a country show yesterday so are going to be taking it easy today. 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 Hey Chick Peek A Boo Card

by Joanne James19. February 2017 22:00

I know technically it's still Sunday, but this is Monday's post as I want to link up to the Stamp Ink Paper challenge which closes late this evening - so I'm early! Here's their colour palette this week:

      

I'm also linking up with CAS Colours and Sketches as I used their sketch for my card, SUO Challenges who are looking for projects featuring Sale-A-Bration sets and the ladies over at TGIF Challenges where they have a 'birds of a feather' theme that my chickens are perfect for! I thought it was about time I broke out the most popular of all this year's Sale-A-Bration free gifts this year  - take a look:

 

This is the outside of my card - read on for more details and a fun reveal inside! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Hey, Chick - What's better than a new stamp set? Well, it has to be a new FREE stamp set, right? The comical chicks in the 'Hey, Chick' stamp set are proving the runaway success of this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion and could be yours free too with a purchase of £45 or more. I cropped the two large, feathered birds top and bottom using my Stitched Shape Framelits looking up and down respectively on the little 'egg on legs' and coloured with my Stampin' Write markers.

Peek A Boo - There is another chicken that features in this set, perhaps my most favourite of all - the crazy-haired Polish Frizzle Bantam White. Where's mine? Well, take a look inside my card where all will be revealed:

 

 As the card is opened, the shutters pull back to reveal the funky chicken that I like to think hatched out of that egg - isn't that just the most fun? I like this card so much it's made the cut for my next Sale-A-Bration class - you can see details of my class listings here and I would love you to join me!

Playful Palette - Some Playful Palette designer series paper and some Bermuda Bay stitched satin ribbon 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. 

I'll be back on Tuesday with another project. Until then, enjoy the start to your week and happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Jar of Love Freestanding Pop Up Card

by Joanne James20. July 2016 07:00

Today I'm sharing the third and final card from my second of this month's technique class featuring the very on-trend Jar of Love stamp set and co-ordinating Everyday Jars Framelits Dies. Each of the ladies received the bundle and as always I was on a mission to use as wide a variety as possible of the stamps in this set to showcase its versatility.

This card is a lovely freestanding pop-up card that was inspired by this card created by Lou Kitzelman. I loved it so much I had to have a go at making my own so here's my version:

 

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

Jar of Flowers - Here I've used the Jar of Love set to create a jam jar full of pretty flowers. I love the little flowers in this set and the co-ordinating Everyday Jar Framelits make light work of cutting them out. Each flower is done in a single colour, with the base flower stamped off once to give the contrast with the smaller piece. I chose a mix of purples, pink and orange for my little posy - feel free to hover and pin this colour combination if it's one that appeals to you too:

 

Kraft Hardwood Table - I used some retired pre-embossed kraft cardstock in my class, however by stamping the Hardwood stamp in Versamark and clear embossing on plain kraft cardstock you can achieve a similar woodgrained effect for your 'table' base.

Another Fun Fold - This freestanding pop-up card is easier to re-create than it looks. It is a great statement card that also folds completely flat for postage which is always a bonus. 

Here's a quick step-by-step tutorial should you wish to have a go:

Freestanding Pop-Up Jar of Love card - Metric Version

Using the diagram below as your guide:

  • Cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 10.5cm wide x 28cm long
  • Stamp the cardstock in Versamark with the Hardwood stamp and heat emboss with clear embossing powder for a woodgrain effect.
  • LANDSCAPE score as per dotted lines:
  • 2.5cm, 7cm, 9.5cm, 18.5cm, 21cm and 25.5cm
  • At 14cm, punch a small hole using a 1/8" punch or crop-a-dile 1.5cm in from both ends and cut a narrow channel approx. 2mm wide between them (i.e. 1.5-9cm)
  • Fold each of the score lines with mountain folds
  • Cut a small strip of Whisper White measuring 3cm x 8cm and attach this using fast fuse in the centre of the end panel on the front (right side)
  • Turn the base over, and folding the end section in a mountain fold from the front back on itself, feed this white piece through the slit from the back of the card to the front.
  • Folding the base in on itself to form a figure 8 shape, adhere both of the front ends together, making sure the white card is through the slit as this is what your jar will be stuck to. As you pull this piece upwards, your freestanding table mechanism forms.
  • This completes your base - you then need to adhere your jars and flowers to the front of the white piece of card, and add a plain jar to the back when complete to neaten things up and give you space to write your sentiment.
 
Isn't this such a fun way to create a pop-up? I'm sure there are lots of other ways that this design could be used 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. 

The Jar of Love and Everyday Jars Framelits bundle is another of those that has just has so many creative possibilities! If you haven't bought yours yet, this month would be the perfect time to do so; if you purchase the bundle at £48.50 you will earn yourself a £4.50 money-off coupon any purchases next month too - bargain! Just click on the links below to hop on over to my online store to order yours today - and don't forget to add this month's hostess code 63RNATE3 to get a little thank you in the post from me too.

I'll be back tomorrow with the second of the cards from my Jar of Love class; come back then, you won't want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Jar of Love Mini Centre Step Easel Card

by Joanne James19. July 2016 07:00

Today I'm sharing the second of the cards from my second of this month's technique class featuring the very on-trend Jar of Love stamp set and co-ordinating Everyday Jars Framelits Dies. Each of the ladies received the bundle and as always I was on a mission to use as wide a variety as possible of the stamps in this set to showcase its versatility.

This card was a punny fun-fold card using the goldfish and a feline friend - take a look:

 

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

Here Fishy, Fishy - I wanted to create something using the punny 'Best Fishes' sentiment and decided to have a little fun. Whilst my goldfish is swimming innocently in his jar, he is being watched by a mischievous pussy cat - and he has no idea! I stamped both my goldfish and my stalking kitty directly onto a panel of Whisper White (I stamped and punched his tail separately so that it would overhang) then stamped my jar separately and using the framelit cut out the centre too. To this I adhered a piece of window sheet that I had coloured with one of my retired Blendabilities - a light blue Sharpie or similar would also do the job - and stuck this over the top of the stamped panel. Lastly, I added a few bubbles with my white gel pen.

Serene Scenery Parquet - I used a couple of the patterned papers from the Serene Scenery DSP stack to decorate my card: a spotted one to highlight my greetings label, and one of the photographic images with a pattern that reminds me of a wooden parquet floor to the sides. 

A Fun Fold - I chose to create a centre step easel card to showcase my kitty and jar. I have admired a number of versions of this type of card create by my fellow demonstrator, the talented Amanda Bates at the Craft Spa however I wanted a card that would still fit into a C6 envelope when complete, so I created my own mini version.

Here's a quick step-by-step tutorial should you wish to have a go:

Mini Centre Step Easel Card (portrait) - Metric Version

Using the diagram below as your guide:

  • Cut A4 cardstock to 10.5cm wide ( xA4L i.e. 29.7cm long)
  • PORTRAIT at 2cm on Top Bar RHS ( i.e. to Right Hand Side)
  • Cut 2.5 to 13cm
  • PORTRAIT at 2cm on Top Bar LHS ( i.e. to Left Hand Side)
  • Cut 2.5 to 13cm 
  • LANDSCAPE With cuts to Left Hand Side, score as per dotted lines:
  • 2.5 cm on Top Bar (LHS) Score outside sections ( i.e. 0-2cm; LIFT; 8.5 to 10.5cm)
  • 5cm on Top Bar (LHS) Score outside sections ( i.e. 0-2cm; LIFT; 8.5 to 10.5cm)
  • 13cm on Top Bar (LHS) Score outside sections ( i.e. 0-2cm; LIFT; 8.5 to 10.5cm)
  • LANDSCAPE With cuts to Left Hand Side:
  • 10.5cm on Top Bar (LHS) Score across middle section. ( i.e. 2 to 8.5cm)
  • 21cm on Top Bar (LHS) Score across whole card drop ( i.e. 0 to 10.5cm)
  • Fold lightly:
  • Outer Sections – 2.5cm Mountain, 5cm Valley, 13cm Mountain
  • Middle Section at 10.5cm – Mountain
  • Whole Section at 21cm – Mountain
This then gives you the basic shape to which you can add your Designer Series Paper and stamped panels. 
 
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. 

The Jar of Love and Everyday Jars Framelits bundle is another of those that has just has so many creative possibilities! If you haven't bought yours yet, this month would be the perfect time to do so; if you purchase the bundle at £48.50 you will earn yourself a £4.50 money-off coupon any purchases next month too - bargain! Just click on the links below to hop on over to my online store to order yours today - and don't forget to add this month's hostess code 63RNATE3 to get a little thank you in the post from me too.

I'll be back tomorrow with the second of the cards from my Jar of Love class; come back then, you won't want to miss it! Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Sweet Cupcake Double Z-Fold Card

by Joanne James23. June 2016 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a colour combination for you:

 

I am on a total new product kick this week and decided that today's colours were perfect for a fun fold and a sweet cupcake - take a look:

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

A Fancy Fold - Today's card is called a double z-fold card and is really easy to create. My card measures 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square and was made out of one sheet of A4 Watermelon Wonder cardstock (I could have used my offcut for my strip across the front, but I didn't on this occasion as I wanted this to be a different colour, Whisper White). You can make this card using any size base: just choose your desired finished card height and width, cut your card base to the required height (e.g. 5 1/2") then if your desired width is 5 1/2", you will need a piece of cardstock 11" wide, and scored at a quarter of the width, so 2 3/4" and at the halfway point at 5 1/2". For your z-band, cut a piece of the same length and 1 1/2" wide, score at the same point, but fold along the scorelines in the opposite way to your card base and then rotate it through 180 degrees before adhering to your card. 

Sweet Layered Cupcake - I used all three of the challenge colours to create my delicious-looking cupcake, using triple-time stamping and the new 'Sweet Cupcake' stamp set. For the cupcake case I used Pool Party for all 3 layers, stamping off the first two stamps twice and once respectively to get layered colour. For the frosting, I stamped the first two layers in Blushing Bride, stamping off the first layer once and stamping the second layer full strength. The final layer is stamped in Watermelon Wonder, stamped off first to give a less intense finish. I then also brushed this layer with a liberal dose of clear Wink Of Stella for a sparkly shine.

Cupcake Cutouts - Sweet Cupcake is another stamp set with a co-ordinating framelit set that is available as a bundle at a 10% discount: the Cupcake Cutouts Framelits make light work of creating the perfect cupcake shape and also include other useful framelits and two very useful diecut words that can be used with the sentiments in the 'Sweet Cupcake' stamp set or on their own. Here I've used the 'sweet' overlaid on my cupcake to add a punch in Watermelon Wonder to finish 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. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see what they did with this week's colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

  • Sweet Cupcake Photopolymer Bundle
  • Watermelon Wonder A4 Cardstock
  • Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Whisper White A4 Cardstock
  • Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack
  • Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

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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! Stampin' Up! is a registered trademark of Stampin' up! Inc. I hope you find my blog 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.