Painted Lavender Clean and Simple Florals PP689

by Joanne James12. May 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 Ann to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

       

I originally made the card that I shared yesterday with today's challenge in mind, but decided that the designer paper added too much in the way of additional colours, so I made another card and decided to create something really clean and simple that would allow Ann's colour choices to shine - take a look:

 

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

A simple cluster of diecut lavender and foliage in each of the challenge colours, with an additional stem in Gorgeous Grape for my extra colour. I used a neat technique that I'd seen another demonstrator, Michelle Last, use on a card, where she cut a couple of lines either either side of a stamped sentiment (mine is from the retired set 'Perennial Postage') and the posy of flowers is tucked in between the slits:

A trio of Fresh Freesia enamel dots complete my card. I used the sentiment on today's card as I thought it would be perfect for Mother's Day (a shoutout to all my overseas friends celebrating today), or in fact to celebrate Mums on any day. We've already celebrated Mother's Day here in the UK this year, but this card is perfect to send to my Mum at any time, to remind her low much she is appreciated. I'm playing along with a few additional challenges too: I'm linking my card up over at CAS on Friday and at Addicted To CAS where the theme is 'flower(s)' and over at SUO Challenges where the team are celebrating Mums.

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; we will be making the most of the sunshine and enjoying our second BBQ of the year before the rain returns later in the week. 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.

Perennial Lavender Bouquet

by Joanne James11. May 2024 19:15

Today I've a quick post as I'm off to watch the Eurovision song contest! I'm sharing a card using this week's layout over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

 

Those balloons reminded me of a posy of Painted Lavender stems, so that's what I created as the focal point on my card - take a look:

 

I added some strips of Perennial Lavender designer series paper (I'm so pleased this has carried over and is still available) and some Lost Lagoon linen ribbon to my card, box pleating one of my strips for added interest. I tied my posy with a linen thread bow and added a tiny tag for my sentiment:

 

A trio of purple sparkly gems 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 evening - I'm off to see if the UK can manage a winning entry this year! I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Painted Lavender CAS Notecards AYSI319

by Joanne James15. March 2024 13:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for the dreaded speed challenge, with the theme chosen by Deborah:

 

Spring flowers - how lovely it is to see them starting to appear in the garden! My daffodils are out and my tulips and lavender are coming along behind. My lavender in the garden doesn't usually bloom until late spring, so I'm taking the opportunity to create some of my own whilst I wait!

This week is speed stamping week, where we need to gather our supplies, set our timers and create our cards in 10 minutes or less. Being the designer series paper fan that I am, it's not uncommon for me to reach for some when I need to make a big impact in a hurry, however I've used designer paper for the last few speed challegnes so today I thought I'd challenge myself to stick to stamping only (ok, with maybe a little diecutting!) When you need a speedy card, the main thing needs to be to keep things simple - and be very organised! So here are my supplies laid out before I started:

 

Stamps mounted, ink cases opened, timer set - and go! This is the finished card that I created:

 

Now for the details! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Painted Lavender Speed Stamping - I used the tiny lavender stems from the 'Painted Lavender' stamp set on my card today - I think this is my favourite stamp in the set. It's great for quick stamping: I diecut my postage stamp first, then stamped the stems in Shaded Spruce, followed by the flowers - first two in Highland Heather then two in Gorgeous Grape (by doing light then dark, I didn't need to clean my stamp in between - another time-saving tip!). So easy to position as it's photopolymer, so you can see exactly where you're stamping. For my base, I used one of the Stampin' Up! white notecards and envelopes - another time saver, as no cutting required! I stamped my sentiment directly onto my notecard base, then added a snippet of ribbon to the back of my stamped diecut before adhering to my notecard using dimensionals. Finally, I added a couple of brass butterflies for a little extra embellishment:

 

 How long did all this take? Just 3 minutes and 38 seconds! So with so much extra time to go, I added some stamped butterflies to the inside of my card and added the same lavender design to the front of my envelope too before calling it a day. Total time used: 

 

Less than 5 minutes for the win - result!

The Multiplier Effect - At under 5 minutes, this little notecard is a great speedy make. You could even shave a little time off that total by stamping the envelope and the same time as the diecut, rather than afterwards. Which brings me to my next point - cards that are quick to create but still showcase lots of new products are just what I'm looking for when I'm making multiples to send out to my customers with a new catalogue. And that may just be where today's card came from; I haven't shared it until now, but these were the cards that my customers received in the post with their mini catalogues before they launched in January. Here's a quick shot of some of them laid out together:

 

Lots of lavender loveliness!

Make It With Me - Now this is where you might think me completely mad: I haven't made a video for you in a while and I chuckled when my friend and fellow teamie Jan mentioned that had decided to video her undertaking her speed stamping challenge. Whilst I did think her rather mad, the more I thought about it, I decided I'd have a go too. I haven't made a video in ages so be kind! So here you go:

Room for improvement to be sure, but I hope you found it useful. 

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. 

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
  • In a speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete. 
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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.
 

Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly CCS532

by Joanne James5. March 2024 13:00

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

  

For my colour palette today, I chose the most recent addition to my ink pad collection (Azure Afternoon), the very first ink pad I ever purchased (Old Olive) and Balmy Blue to balance the mix. Just like the lullaby that inspired the title of today's blog post, I thought these colours would be perfect for lavender, so I grabbed my 'Painted Lavender' stamp set and my Perennial Postage bundle and set to work. This is what I came up with: 

 

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

Painted Lavender - I chose the tiny lavender sprigs to feature on two of my three postage die pieces, repeat stamping them in Azure Afternoon and Old Olive to fill the space. 

Masked Perennial Postage - To give the appearance of a postage stamp, I masked off the edges of my diecut and then used a blending brush to add a Balmy Blue 'sky' to the centre of the rectangle, blending from top to bottom. I then removed the masking tape to reveal the crisp, white borders - lovely! 

Inked Embossing - I stamped my sentiment on the central diecut piece, off-centering it so that I could add an embossed postmark. This die is from the Perennial Postage Dies; to make it standout I added Balmy Blue ink to the die before embossing it onto the diecut, so that it leaves both and inked and embossed detail; you can see it more closely below:

I love the addition of the postmark - such a neat detail! I used a strip of Azure Afternoon cardstock to bring my 3 postage diecuts together and 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. 

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.

White Painted Lavender Clean and Simple

by Joanne James15. January 2024 12:10

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

    

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

 

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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.

White Painted Lavender Clean and Simple

by Joanne James15. January 2024 12:10

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made using the current Color Throwdown colour palette (which coincidentally is very similar to our colour palette over at CC&S this week) and the layout over at Freshly Made Sketches, where the lovely Cecile has provided the sketch:

    

Anyone who reads my blog regularly know how much I love a Freshly Made Sketch layout and especially when it's designed by Cecile - I just love her clean and simple style and always feel that her sketches really challenge me to hone my CAS skills. I was so tempted to go with one of the foliage branches in the Gorgeously Made die bundle, but instead thought I would 'go white' with my new Painted Lavender Dies - take a look:

 

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

Tackling The Sketch - The first thing I had to decide was what to do with the three straight elements in the sketch. There are so many ways these could be represented: designer paper offcuts, watercolour swooshes, stamps, stencils - so many possibilities! I decided to go with 'stamped swooshes' of colour to represent the petals and foliage of my lavender stems. I used a couple of retired stamp sets for my brushstrokes, as they really go where I want if I'm free forming and I like the finished effect. If you are interested in other alternatives, I would urge you to check out the FMS Design Team cards - they really have outdone themselves this week, with such a variety of takes on the sketch. 

White Lavender - Having laid down my colour, I decided to add a bunch of lavender stems cut from thick white cardstock. This really adds to the clean and simple feel and is a technique that Cecile often uses in her cardmaking. 

Finishing Touches - To finish, I added a couple of gems, a silver twine trim bow and a silver heat-embossed sentiment from the new 'Perennial Postage' set. This is slightly difficult to see on my main photo because of the lighting, but is clearer on the close-up below:

This is one of those cards that took much longer to make the first time than it would to make a second one, but I think sometimes that's the beauty of a good clean and simple card; just because a design is clean and simple, doesn't mean it is devoid of thought or care. And there endeth today's lesson!

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.

Perennial Lavender Birthday Card PP671

by Joanne James7. January 2024 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's our first challenge of 2024 and the fabulous Ann is hosting this week. A new year is a time for celebration and to kick off 2024 Ann has a challenge with celebration of a different kind in mind:

    

We are celebrating birthdays this week! So many new goodies to play with and so much new product to choose from; I decided to use the sketch layout over at Global Design Project #GDP426 for my card this week as the large central panel is perfect to showcase some lovely new paper - take a look:

 

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

Perennial Lavender - As a lover of all things purple, the Perennial Lavender papers quickly caught my eye. The beautiful watercolour designs in a mix of purples and white on Crumb Cake don't disappoint! I cut one of the sheets into 6 pieces each that fit a cardfront, and trimmed one of them slightly to fit the panel on today's card.

Perennial Postage - My sentiment is from one of the two stamp set bundles in the Perennial Lavender Suite, called 'Perennial Postage'. There isn't a specific happy birthday sentiment, but I think this one works quite well, for birthdays and other occasions. I stamped it onto a banner cut with my favourite Stylish Details Dies and decorated with some diecut lavender stems that I cut from Crumb Cake cardstock and watercoloured with my aquapainter to tie in with the look and feel of the paper - you can see both in more detail below:

A few sparkly shimmer gems in various shades of purple and some linen thread complete the front of my card.

Inside Detail - I added another sentiment from the same stamp set to the inside of my card to continue the birthday theme and stamped a couple of lavender stems for a little extra decoration:

These papers do have a slightly 'vintage' feel to them which is not my normal 'go to', but they really are so beautiful it would be a shame not to embrace them! I love how this card turned out and I am looking forward to making more projects with them 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 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:

  
We have our two new guest designers for 2024, Cynthia and Jolanda, on board (waves enthusiastically!) - do pop by and visit their blogs and welcome them to the 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!

Enjoy your day; I will be making the most of the last couple of days before the youngest of the James Juniors returns to school and I am back to my daily school run commute. Hoping to find a little crafty time so fingers crossed 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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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.