Sweet Thoughts Memories & More Interactive Card Using Hooray For Surprises Dies

by Joanne James24. April 2024 11:00

I have another card to share with you today, this time inspired by the challenges over at Festive Friday (I chose green, thread and interactive) and the butterfly inspiration over at TGIF Challenges:

   

I love Memories & More cards both for scrapbooking and card making and I've used lots of them previously to make quick clean and simple cards. Today I've something a little different though; whilst my card still focuses on the Sweet Thoughts Memories & More card pack and card base and envelopes, I've paired with the Hooray For Surprises bundle to make a fun interactive card - take a look:

 

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

Sweet Thoughts - The Sweet Thoughts Memories & More cards and card and envelope sets are perfect for quick cards. All of the main elements I used to decorate my printed card base came from the card pack - a large butterfly and two sentiments:

 

All of them are stickers so have self-adhesive backs, but you can easily add with dimensionals too if you'd prefer a little lift as I've done here. The only other thing I added was a twine bow using some coordinating retired thread that I had in my stash.

Hooray For Surprises - I could have stopped there, but I thought another of the cards in the Sweet Thoughts pack would make a fun 'reveal'. I spent a little time marking my card front where I needed to place my Hooray For Surprises long pull tab. The die is longer than I wanted, given the addition of my large butterfly, but this wasn't a problem; I simply used a partial diecutting technique to diecut each one in two stages, which allowed me to shorten it without issue. I stamped the word 'pull' onto the end of each tab, and added a flower sticker from the card pack to embellish each one:

 

The second M&M card that I used is placed underneath the top layer, being careful to adhere around the edges and leave the tabbed area free.

The Big Reveal - So what's underneath the tabs? I created a 'false top' template using some spare card so that you can see what you'll see when those tabs are pulled:

 

So not only is the recipient sweet - but beautiful, amazing, fabulous, lovely and wonderful too! The hooray For Surprises Dies are such a great way to add a fun interactive element to card. One last thing - you will notice that I needed to trim the second M&M card down so that the sentiment would appear where I wanted to. Don't discard the spare edge piece though - I added mine as a little extra decoration to the inside of my card. 

So what do you think? A fun way to combine these products, right? I will be sending this card to my lovely daughter who is at university - I'm sure she will love it. This is a great opportunity to remind you that the Hooray For Surprises bundle is just one of those featured in the monthly tutorials I create with my good friend and fellow demonstrator Jan Clothier. This tutorial contains lots more ideas and ways to use this bundle and is yours for FREE when you purchase the Hooray For Surprises bundle from either Jan or myself. So why not add it to your basket now - add some Memories & More cards and you can have a go at today's card 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. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back on Friday with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Sending A Handmade Hug With Crafting With You

by Joanne James24. April 2024 09:00

Happy hump day everyone! I am playing blog catch-up today as I've been making more than I've had time to blog, so today will be a two-post Wednesday! First up I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Inspired By where I couldn't resist those cake pop colours and am still riding high on my win from last week (you can see that card here if you missed it). I also used the sketch layout. No cake on this card though - instead I combined with the fun quote over at Time Out Challenges:

       

I went crafty - take a look:

 

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

I diecut a dozen cotton reels using the Crafting With You Dies in the colours of those cake pops, and finished with a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set stamped into an embroidery hoop; I layered up the hoop for a little extra dimension and added both the hoop and insert to a punched 2" circle for a little extra stability:

 

Super clean and simple! I'm sending this card to my Mum, who is an avid quilter - I suspect it might lead to a request for a few more so that she can share with the ladies who attend her weekly sewing class. Good job there are double dies for the cotton reels, allowing me to cut 4 at a time! 'The Crafting With You' stamp set and dies are on carryover into the new catalogue, but not as a bundle, so you've only a week left if you'd like to take advantage of the 10% bundle savings.

A reminder that the clearance rack in the online store updated yesterday - lots of bargains still to be had! You can check it out in my online store here.

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 shortly with my second post. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Planted Paradise of New 2024-26 In Colours and a Clearance Rack Refresh

by Joanne James23. April 2024 10:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! First things first: the Clearance Rack has updated overnight in the online store and there are some fantastic bargains to be had, Especially on dies and kits - you can check out the reduced items here; if you are local to me I am placing an order today, so let me know if you'd like to add to it.

 

So that's the bargains on the retired stuff! Today I'm sharing a card that is all about the 'new' - the new 2024-26 In Colours in fact. I decided to play along with the current challenge over at Just Add Ink with the 'take two' of pots and leaves that also uses the sketch over at Global Design Project (albeit I did change the position of the bow; I do have a slightly more faithful take on this sketch for later in the week). 

   

I chose to use the 'Planted Paradise' stamp set which is on carryover for my card today as I thought it would be a perfect way to showcase those bright new in colours - take a look:

 

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

I kept my card base and background white, so as to allow my plant pots to take centre stage, adding a frame embossed with the Timeworn Brick embossing folder and a central label cut using the Everyday Details Dies. I then stamped a collection of pots and leaves and arranged them to fill the front of my card. So the new in colours are, left to right, Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop and Peach Pie, on the plant pots, with leaves in Shy Shamrock and a couple of trailing leaves just below my twine bow in Summer Splash:

 

I finished with a sentiment from the retiring 'Love For You' and a few pearls to decorate one of my pots. So what do you think - is this a set of in colours you could get on board with? Do you have an emerging favourite? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

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.

Pretty In Pink Two Tone Flora For PP686

by Joanne James21. April 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 Jaydee to host this week and she has a seasonal clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

       

I thought the palette over at Color Dare was perfect for a card featuring spring flowers so I went with the pinks and green and decided to take the opportunity to say farewell to one of the prettiest floral sets whilst trying out a new in-colour - take a look:

 

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

Two Tone Flora is such a pretty floral stamp set - I will be sad to see it leave at the end of the month. I used the new in-colour Pretty In Pink as the base colour for my flowers today - isn't it pretty? I stamped one flower in Pretty In Pink only (I stamped off one layer then stamped in the detail at full strength), then stamped two more with a base in Pretty In Pink and added the detail in Melon Mambo. I masked the two base flowers then stamped the leaves in Lemon Lime Twist. Once the base flowers and leaves were stamped in place, I cut out my label using one of the Nested Essentials Dies, then added another flower and a sentiment from the Dainty Delight stamp set - I thought this sentiment worked well for a spring card, since that's a time of growth:

The label is popped up on dimensionals, allowing a hint of the pink card base to show through. Some silver twine and a trio of rhinestones complete my card. So what do you think of the new in-colour, Pretty In Pink? It's warmer than Bubble Bath but softer than Flirty Flamingo - I love it! I'll be introducing you to the other new in-colours this week, so keep an eye out for that! I'm also linking today's card up over at CAS on Friday where the theme is also 'Spring'.

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; I'm hoping to spend a little time in the garden today and possibly get into my craft room to work on a few projects that I have on the 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.

Just Kiddin' Adventurer FMS632

by Joanne James20. April 2024 19:25

Today I'm sharing a card for the current challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

 

As soon as I saw Jen's layout this week I knew that I wanted to use one of the background panels from the Just Kiddin' designer series paper for that feature panel - take a look:

 

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

I stayed with the square card layout as it allowed me to use almost the whole piece of the outdoor scene for the feature panel. I added a panel of embossed woodgrain behind, and in addition to my little explorer, that I fussy cut from another of the Just Kiddin' designs, I added a diecut (retired Christmas) tree and some additional diecut flowers from the Timeless Arrangements Dies to the scene, along with a sentiment from another retired set, Beautiful World:

 

Isn't that little girl with her magnifying glass in her explorer hat sweet? I thought this card would make a fun card to celebrate someone leaving on a gap year adventure - what do you think? I think it's rather cute!

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.

Hello Friend Tortoise CCS535

by Joanne James16. April 2024 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. First up - a confession! I got my dates mixed up and I actually used this sketch last week for my Tuesday post - you can see that card here if you missed it - but since this week is actually CAS Colours and Sketches week, I'm showing you another way to use it! This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Rachel has asked that we use a trio of balanced shapes. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card and remember the shapes you choose don't have to be squares. 

       

I paired Rachel's fun sketch with the 'take 5' challenge over at Color Dare this week (I ended up using all 5 colours) and created a simple notecard to say hello to a friend - take a look:

 

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

I tweaked Rachel's sketch slightly and balanced my stamped and diecut tortoise from 'Playing In The Rain' onto a stacked sentiment from the 'Biggest Wish' stamp set, stamped in Flirty Flamingo. In place of the sentiment on the sketch, I added some flowers - perhaps the meadow where my tortoise had picked his daisy? 

 

My colours do seem a little off today for some reason, with my pink letters looking almost coral; my sage greens are also looking a little darker than they are in real life; notwithstanding, I like this second take on the sketch and the stacked sentiment is a fun idea too. The 'Biggest Wish' stamp set is retiring at the end of this month, although its companion set 'More Wishes' is staying, so if you are wanting to take advantage of the full combination of greetings, be sure to pick up this set before it's too late.

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.

Playing In The Rain Pink Rabbit

by Joanne James15. April 2024 08:00

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card for a couple of challenges:

    

The word of the week at Just Us Girls is 'rain' and whilst I didn't have an image of pink rainboots I could use, I loved the pinks in this week's Inspired By photo so took my inspiration from the pink coat and florals to give my puddle-jumping rabbit a pretty little raincoat - take a look:

 

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

I stamped my bunny onto my card base then stamped it again on a separate piece of cardstock and diecut it, minus the puddle. I coloured her with my Stampin' Blends and paper-pieced her raincoat with a piece of pink floral designer paper that I found in my scrapbox. I stamped my raindrops directly onto my cardbase, then added some diecut clouds, to which I added some Wink of Stella for a subtle sparkle. There is something so cute about this little bunny I think: 

 

This image so remind me of when the James Juniors were toddlers and loved nothing more than an afternoon walk in the rain, jumping in the puddles - happy memories! 

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. 

A short post from me today as I need to crack on with my decorating! 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.

Edited to add - this card was an Inspired By Winner!

Paper Florist Meet Petal Patterns PP685

by Joanne James14. April 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 Claire to host this week and she has a bright colour challenge for us to work with:

          Tic Tac Toe Challenge #245

I love brights so was excited to get to work with Claire's chosen colours this week. I decided to go square this week and use the fabulous Jen T's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week for the layout of my special birthday card - take a look:

 

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

Petal Patterns Background - Since I was going with a square card today, I decided to use my Petal Patterns Dies for my background. I diecut them in Bermuda Bay and layered them onto a piece of Melon mambo onto my Bermuda Bay cardbase. I offset the top layer and before I glued it to the solid layer, I went over the outline die with my light Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends marker to make it stand out more. I also added some rhinestones that I had coloured with my Melon Mambo Stampin' Blends marker to the centre of the flowers to highlight the pink. 

Paper Florist Dies Flower - The background would look pretty on its own, but the focal point of today's card is most certainly the over-the-top flower that I created using the Paper Florist Dies. I wanted to create a peony-type flower that was full of dimension, so I layered the centre then kept adding the outer petals until I was happy. I added some diecut leaves and flower buds behind it and a few loops of Bermuda Bay ribbon from my stash - isn't it pretty?

All those layers make this the perfect card to share with the team over at The Flower Challenge where their current challenge is to 'add layers'.

And A Charming Sentiment - I finished my card with a heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Charming Sentiments' stamp set, diecut with the co-ordinating Sentiment Silhouettes Dies. This is also the final part of my middle column for the challenge over at TicTacToe Challenge this week (square card/diecut/embossing)

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. 

Since this card won't fit into an envelope, I am going to make a co-ordinating box to present it in. This is a special card for someone with a milestone birthday later in the year, so it will be worth the effort. I really love the 3D effect of this card! Everything on this card is either retired (Bermuda Bay) or is due to retire at the end of the month; this will be the last opportunity to purchase any of the dies or the stamp set that I used on today's card, so if they are on your wishlist, you don't have long to act.

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; the hubby is off to Washington DC for the week today, so it will be just the youngest of the James Juniors and I at home. Since there is another week of school holiday to go, I am taking the opportunity to get some decorating done so my week will be a busy one. Never fear - I have some things to share here too though so be sure to pop by this 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.

Beach Day Ombre Sunshine Wishes AYSI321

by Joanne James12. April 2024 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where the lovely Heather C has a pretty colour challenge for us:

 

I almost went with florals for today's card, but I couldn't get past the idea that these colours would make a beautiful sunset so I grabbed a new bundle that I recently picked up and set to work - take a look:

 

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

I used a series of floating stripes for the sunset sky on today's card. I've used this technique before and it's really easy to do: all you need is to take your stripes in a variety of widths, adhere to a piece of window sheet acetate (the ones your stamps come on will work nicely) and cut out with a circle die or to your desired shape. I wanted an ombre effect using the challenge colours, so in order to get additional shades, I used two strips of cardstock in each of the challenge colours, then coloured one of each with the darker and lighter shades of Stampin' Blends markers respectively. The colour change is subtle, but this is a great way to gain additional variety - you can see the detail more closely below:

 

I wanted the sunset to be the main focus on my card, so created my beach scene around it using white diecuts only. The Beach Day Dies have lots of additional detail, so don't really need colour to create interest. My sentiment is stamped in Calypso Coral and from the bundled 'Beach Day' stamp set. Both the Beach Day stamp set and dies are on carryover into the new catalogue, but the bundle price isn't so if they are on your list, if you want that additional saving, you'll need to order before the end of the month. I bought this set because I love all of the little details in both the stamp and dies sets - I have so many holiday and beach day scrapbook pages to complete, I know it will come in handy - not to mention for summer-themed cards too. I added a trio of rainbow enamel dots to complete my card.

This card has me dreaming of Caribbean beaches and sunnier climes - the sun is out here in the UK for once and there's a good breeze, so it looks like it might be time to take laundry out to the washing line - I can but dream of faraway places! So what do these colours make you think of? I'd love to see your projects in the gallery this week - why not play along?

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 colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.
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.

Color And Contour You Are Amazing

by Joanne James11. April 2024 20:00

Today I'm sharing a card that used the sketch layout over at Sunday Stamps and the colour palette over at TGIF Challenges:

   

I love bright colours and thought this palette would work well for some unconventionally coloured retiring florals - take a look:

 

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

I paired a couple of stems from the Color and Contour stamp set with a vibrant background using a piece of Masterfully Made designer series paper and a fancy shredded bow beneath my sentiment:

 

The sentiment is from the same stamp set, but I tweaked the positioning to suit the sketch design better. A trio of tinsel gems complete my card.

I feel like 'Color and Contour' is an underused set, but I will miss the co-ordinating Scalloped Contour Dies so much - the labels and borders in this set have been used on so many projects! If you don't have them in your collection, you should definitely consider picking up a set before they retire if they are still available in your market. 

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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