Envelope Card using the Envelope Punch Board and 'How to' Video Tutorial

by Joanne James19. November 2013 20:29

Evening blog readers! I had to do some Christmas shopping today, but managed to squeeze in a quick hour of crafting - still so much to do before I'm ready for my very first Stampin' Up! European Convention in Manchester in 2 days time! I'm very excited (can you tell?!) and am looking forward to spending some quality crafting and partying time with Barbara and Samantha, the two of my team that are accompanying me.

More news of that later in the week, but today I have another video tutorial of you to show you how to make a very simple envelope card using your Envelope Punch Board:

I made a whole bunch of these as thank you cards to pop in with my most recent batch of customer orders; lots of my customers have already bought envelope punch boards, so I'm keen to show them lots of simple and straightforward ways that they can use it for things as well as straightforward envelopes.

Here's a picture of the cards I made, both open and closed:

And here's the link to my YouTube channel to watch the video tutorial if you would like to make your own:

 

I used Sycamore Street designer series paper for my cards, which is a retired paper but one that is still available currently on the clearance rack for only £3.59 - pop over to my online store by clicking on the image below if you would like to snap some up at this bargain price before its all gone!

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

  

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

 

 

Merry Monday - Deck The Halls

by Jason James22. October 2013 21:30

I'm having a fun week at home with the James juniors this week, but it isn't leaving much time for crafting! Once we've finished our holiday homework we should be able to do some crafting together, which will be nice; I have a few Halloween things planned which I should be able to share with you in due course.

This week's Merry Monday Challenge is #80 'Use Music or a Carol Inspired Card' and having seen the great inspiration cards, I was keen to have a go. Here's my card:

I made a simple card where I cut out a circle using my Circle Framelits to reveal the 'deck the halls' stamp on the inside of the card. I decorated simply with some punched holly tied with baker's twine. I finished the punch berries with some Crystal Effects to add a nice shine (it looks much nicer in real life!) and scored the centre of my card panel using my Simply Scored borders plate to add some texture and interest to the Baked Brown Sugar card front. A simple card, yet I have this urge to break into song: Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la! I love Christmas time.

With all of yesterday's news, I didn't get round to sharing the link to this week's new digital downloads, so here it is:

October 22, 2013

There are some fun autumn pocket cards and some recipe layouts, along with a variety of different Christmas stamps to take a look at. The free trial for MDS is still available to download, so if you haven't already why not take a look - it will open up a whole new avenue of crafting to you.

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

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

  

Birthday Clowns!

by Joanne James20. September 2013 20:48

If you're local to Northampton, you will probably have heard about the Northampton Clown - he has been big news here in the last week or so, even reaching the dizzy heights of the national press. He's been trending on Twitter, has his own hashtag and social media page - and he is the inspiration for this birthday card that I made for my Dad, who celebrates his birthday today:

I've had the idea of an abstract face with a moustache ever since I bought my Petite Curly Label Punch and decided to create a clown face, complete with red nose, specs and candy-dot topped party hat. This little trio bear absolutely no resemblance to the Northampton Clown, but were fun to create nonetheless!

Here's a close-up of one of them, showing the piercing I used to give the face shape:

Back tomorrow with the card I made for Grampa from James Juniors; until then many happy returns of the day Dad and to everyone else, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

 Petite Curly Label PunchPunch Pack - by Stampin' Up!Brights Candy DotsOccasions Paper-Piercing PackPaper-Piercing ToolTypeset Alphabet Bigz Die

Quatrefancy Mosaic

by Joanne James16. September 2013 22:32

This is a short post I'm afraid - I've already typed this once and lost it, so am furiously retyping (I'm blaming the computer rather than the operator though - bloggers prerogative!) Today I'm sharing another of the mosaic cards from last week's class, this time showcasing the Quatrefancy Speciality Designer Series Paper:

This is a CASe of a Janine Tinklenberg card that I saw on Pinterest. I love the bold colours of the designer paper and the stamped punched images really make it 'pop'. There really is so much you can do with this product suite; this card is simple in design, yet so effective.

Did you notice that all the cards in this month's class also featured the Banner Greetings stamp set? This is an exclusive hostess set that you can purchase with hostess credits earned on a qualifying party or individual order (£150 or more). There has never been a better time to host a party, with so many lovely new hostess sets in both the annual catalogue and Autumn-Winter seasonal catalogue to choose from. So what are you waiting for? Treat yourself to an early Christmas present of free crafting goodies and book a party with me today - get in touch to discuss available slots, there are still times available before Christmas.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

 Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing FolderMosaic MadnessMosaic PunchQuatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper

Punch Pack - by Stampin' Up!Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents - by Stampin' Up!Banner Greetings

Pop Up Lego City Fireman Birthday Card

by Joanne James11. August 2013 21:36

A busy weekend of birthday celebrations in the James family this weekend: yesterday my brother-in-law celebrated his 40th birthday (I was back too late and had drunk too many cocktails to blog when I arrived home yesterday evening; I will share his cards later in the week!) and today was my 'baby' the not-so-little Benjamin's 6th birthday.

I had something of a quandary when trying to decide what kind of card to make Ben; I needed something special but this birthday featured so many of the things that he loves that choosing was difficult. One of the things that he really wanted for his birthday was a Lego City Coastguard Patrol boat - he loves all kinds of Lego, but his first and enduring love is for the fire brigade - the only reason this wasn't on the wishlist is because I think he must own every mortal piece of the Fire Department and then some! His big sister bought him a Lego City Fire Chief alarm clock for his birthday and this ultimately became the inspiration for my pop-up card. This is the card from the outside:

A Lego brick number 6 (lots of glue dots used to get the pins on the bricks just right!). Then on the inside, this cheery little fellow:

I used my Pop 'n' Cuts base and modified my dress form insert to accommodate my fire chief mini figure in front of his desk. I am very pleased with how he turned out and doubly so when Ben opened it this morning and deemed his card 'totally awesome - the best card you've ever made!' Praise indeed!!

Back tomorrow with another of Ben's birthday cards - from his big sister. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Make a Wish

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Basic Grey, Crumb Cake

Ink: Real Red

Tools: Pop 'n' Cuts Base, Pop 'n' Cuts Dress Form, Big Shot, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Small Oval Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (circle), Corner Punch

 

 

 

 

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

 

Raspberry Ripple Covered Notebook

by Joanne James16. July 2013 21:59

A really quick post from me today to share a covered notebook I made for Rebecca's teacher last week to go with her end of term thank you gift. As someone who loves arts and crafts herself, Rebecca was keen to give her teacher a special book she could use to jot down notes and such like and was adamant that it should sparkle! So this is what we made:

Some More Amore DSP, glimmer paper and trusty elegant butterfly punch were all that we needed to turn a plain notebook into something special. We also added some in-colour satin stitched ribbon to the bind as a finishing touch. We also added a personal message inside, along with the poem 'Unity' by Cleo Swarat, which is all about the role of teacher and parent in educating a child and talks of the teacher being a sculptor, which given Rebecca's teacher majored in Art seemed appropriate for her.

That's all for today - back tomorrow with another project. until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Raspberry Ripple, More Amore (DSP)

Tools: Elegant Butterfly Punch, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Punches

Finishing Touches: Raspberry Ripple Satin Stitched Ribbon, Silver Glimmer Paper, Basics Rhinestones

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3D Projects

Mosaic In-Colour Card Swaps

by Joanne James15. July 2013 21:52

Today I'm sharing my team training swaps that I promised you on Saturday, but after a fun day at training yesterday was too tired to post. I completed one basic design, featuring the Mosaic Madness stamp set, but in five different colourways, each showcasing one of the new in colours. So here is the first one, with the base colour of Strawberry Slush:

The feature colours on this card are Crisp Cantaloupe and Coastal Cabana. Here is the second card, with a Crisp Cantaloupe base and feature colours of Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding:

Here is the third card, with a Baked Brown Sugar base and feature colours of Crisp Cantaloupe and Bermuda Bay:

Here is the fourth card, with a Coastal Cabana base and feature colours of Calypso Coral and Smoky Slate:

Here is the fifth and last card, with a Pistachio Pudding base and feature colours of Strawberry Slush and Smoky Slate:

The design is intentionally simple - it needs to be when there are so many to make! I liked taking the opportunity to play around with new colour combinations and also I like the stamping of the same colour ink on cardstock that I used for the main card; this isn't something I do much of, usually but I like the effect and think I'll be doing it more often. So which colour combination is your favourite? Do you have a new 'number one' in-colour? Leave me a comment below or on my Facebook page - I'd love to know what you think. It's still neck-and-neck Strawberry Slush and Coastal Cabana for me; too close to call!

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

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Happy Day

Cardstock: 2013-15 In Colours

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: As detailed above

Tools: Mosaic Punch, Itty Bitty Punch

Finishing Touches: Basics Rhinestones

 

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Cards | Stamping | Swaps

Mosaics ... And It's All Really Good!

by Joanne James3. July 2013 20:00

After all the excitement of yesterday's catalogue launch, today I'm sharing another mosaic card. This is a simple white card and features a small flag of the co-ordinating Quatrefancy Specialty paper:

This card was really easy to pull together and just goes to show you can get a nice card design without the need for a stamp-a-ma-jig to line up all the various mosaic tiles. The sentiment comes from a new greetings stamp set called 'Really Good Greetings' and is one of those general stamps that will suit lots of occasions.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stamping!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Strawberry Crush, Whisper White, Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry Crush

Tools: Mosaic Punch, Itty Bitty Punch

Finishing Touches: Basics Rhinestones, Island Indigo Bakers Twine

Best of Flowers - Scallop Daisy

by Joanne James23. June 2013 20:45

As anticipated, I didn't manage a blog post yesterday. After a full day on my feet, when I finally sat down yesterday evening I was absolutely good for nothing! Today has been a busy one too: swimming lessons and Rebecca's birthday pool party this afternoon. All good fun, if challenging as far as the weather is concerned - showers are most definitely the order of the day this weekend!

Anyway, on to today's project - I've another couple of cards to share with you, this time using the single daisy flower stamp. This is the new stamp in the set - and I love that it fits the 1 1/4" scallop circle punch. This is the first card I came up with:

A bright and cheery card - I love yellow! - with a shaped edge created by a row of punched daisies in shades of yellow with some colour blending on the petals. The centres were stamped separately and punched out with the circle from the Itty Bitty Punches pack. I also made another one with additional layering in a pink colourway:

I left this one sentiment-free as I sometimes do - I can always add the most appropriate sentiment at a later date. One last thing today before I go - as it was Rebecca's pool party today, I just thought I would share with you a picture of her amazing birthday cake:

I absolutely cannot take the credit for this work of art - it was made by Sharon, one of the ladies that attends my card classes. Isn't it just fabulous? Right down to the little flip flops. Perfect for my water baby, that's for sure.

I'll be back with something different to share tomorrow - until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Best of Flowers, Sassy Salutations

Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose

Tools: 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 3/16" Corner Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (circle)

 

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Cards | Stamping

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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.