Little Kindness Elephant For TTT 56

by Joanne James19. March 2020 11:00

Apologies for my blog-free days so far this week; as I'm sure is the same for you, things have been anything but normal this past couple of weeks and I seem to have been pulled every which way and not once in the direction of my craft room. Far from being excited at the prospect of no school until September, both of the James Juniors are finding that an unwelcome concept and combined with the enforced closure of all of their sporting activities, they have needed much encouragement to find an upside to the current state we find ourselves in. I'm sure we will work it all out; meanwhile it's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely LeAnne is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went down the middle with Blue-Umbrella-Designer Paper but my card also works for the diagonal Yellow-Umbrella-Bow. I used the current Fab Friday sketch for my layout (although I inadvertently centred my squares - I was distracted by the gingham!) along with an 'oldie but goodie' stamp set from the annual catalogue - take a look:

 

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

Little Elephant - When I was considering what to work with today, I pulled out both the 'Under My Umbrella' set and the 'Little Elephant' stamp set as both feature umbrellas. I made a card with each, but preferred this one - such a long time since I've used this set! - and I don't think I've ever used the little umbrella before, so this was a good opportunity. I did a little masking on the front to make it look as if the elephant was holding the umbrella over the bluebird and also stamped the larger elephant with some hearts on the inside too:

In Stitches - I used both a stitched square for my main image and a stitched rectangle for my heat embossed sentiment panel for a little subtle extra detail. I wouldn't be without my Stitched Shapes Framelits and love that extra something they add to a shape.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - I decided to add a few raindrops from the 'Under My Umbrella' set above the umbrella to add to my little scene and some white twine tied in a bow completes my card. 

A sweet and cheery little card with all that yellow and a sentiment that seems so appropriate given the unprecedented times we find ourselves in at the moment. I encourage you to show someone a little kindness today, because yes, it is a big thing and for some can make all the difference.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; I am hoping to regain my creative mojo and spend some time crafting once I've tackled my ironing pile, since it will be all too soon before I am home-schooling the James Juniors from next week, when I suspect my crafting time might be further squeezed. I'll definitely be back tomorrow with another project - I might even share my alternative umbrella project! Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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

Celebrate Your Day With A Little Elephant Birthday Card

by Joanne James14. July 2019 09:00

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 colour challenge for you to work with:

       

I really liked LeAnne's colour combo this week and I have a real shortage of male birthday cards in my box at the moment, especially for young boys (a whole bunch of Ben's friends have had birthdays lately with still more to come in the next couple of months), so that's where I decided to focus my efforts this week. I have two cards to share with you today, both featuring the Little Elephant set. They both use this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch; here's the first one:

 

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

I did some simple layering and inset my punched elephant carrying his balloons inside a circle aperture cut with my Layering Circle Dies, then overlayed a stacked diecut sentiment, cut with the Well Written Framelits, that I brushed with clear Wink of Stella for added sparkle. I also made a super clean and simple version that I am going to link up over at Less Is More for their theme of 'Celebrations' this week:

 

I switched the colours around and punched out the elephant's ear to ring the changes and for both cards I decorated the envelopes and the insides too. My Stamparatus made it easy to line up the balloon and the elephant's trunk - love that tool!

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. 

Having made these cards I decided they were maybe a little too youthful for my 'pre-teens' so I used this colour combo to make another masculine, more grown up card that I will share with you on Tuesday, so if you like this colour combo, be sure to pop back then and take a look.

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; I will be glued to the TV this afternoon enjoying the Wimbledon Men's Final - the culmination of two fantastic weeks of grass court tennis and spending some quality time with my boys since we are still Rebecca-less, as she continues to experience the delights of life with a German family (only 3 more days t go!) 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.

Little Elephants Friendship Card PP428

by Joanne James10. February 2019 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the lovely Laurie's turn to host this week and she has a sweet colour challenge for you to work with:

 

I love the colour combination of pink and grey and it's one I've used before on this card; in order to get both shades of grey in and see some contrast I decided that some sweet little elephants were the order of the day:

 

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

Little Elephants - This pair of little elephants were perfect for overlaying back to back to show both greys. I stamped them both directly onto my Whisper White stitched rectangle, and then stamped them again in the alternate greys and punched out their ears with the Elephant Builder Punch for a little contrast. I stamped the trumpeting heart in Melon Mambo and picked up this colour again with a panel of dotty Melon Mambo paper from the Brights DSP pack. 

It's In The Details - There are a few little details that step this card up a little: the punched ears, a couple of pearl eyes, coloured black with my Basic Black Stampin' Blends marker and finally the Smoky Slate gingham ribbon bow; unfortunately this ribbon is now retired, but I couldn't resist using it for the perfect finishing touch to the front of my card.

Don't Forget The Envelope - The finishing touches don't end there though: I also stamped an elephant and hearts onto the front of my envelope and the second part of my sentiment inside my card, along with the little bird that also comes in the Little Elephant stamp set:

 

I love adding a finishing touch to the envelope - I like to think it gets the recipient excited for what is to come inside from the moment the mail drops onto the doormat.

This card is headed for a friend of mine who moved from the UK to live in the USA last year. We still correspond the old-fashioned way by snail mail and look forward to receiving each others' letters - I think this will make her smile!

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; we are having a quiet day here in the James household and keeping our tissues close at hand - I think today might be a movie afternoon, with a view to regaining some of our energy to enable us to face the week ahead! 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 Elephant As We Continue to Celebrate PP400

by Joanne James8. July 2018 10:00

It's Sunday and time for a reminder that we are still celebrating over at The Paper Players! It's our 400th birthday and our theme challenge is running for two weeks in total, to give you all plenty of time to play along. Some of us are back with some additional mid-theme inspiration for you, where we continue to be all about celebration:

   

Before I get to my card, a reminder of all of the fabulous prizes you can win - 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!

I was fairly short on time this week, having had a class, a bunch of end of term activities for one James Junior and a wedding to attend this weekend, so clean and simple was most definitely the order of the day. Unintentionally I ended up with another card with balloons too - take a look:

 

How cute is that little elephant?! 

I reached for my new Little Elephant stamp set and along with my co-ordinating Elephant Builder punch and a few favourite colours, I set to work. I punched out the elephant and his ear for added dimension and added some balloons punched with my now retired tiny balloon punch, added some clear Wink of Stella and then done! This is one of those great quick cards that is a simple combination of stamps, ink and paper and can be put together in a jiffy - great when you are short on time!

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 is running for two weeks (the challenge closes on Friday 13th July). 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.

There are already some fabulous cards in the gallery but there's still more time for you to enter. Whatever you're celebrating, share it with us! Enjoy the rest of your weekend - I'll be returning from the wedding and spending the day painting before the kitchen fitting begins this week. 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.

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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.