A Party Puffins Pair For The Double CCS 426

by Joanne James29. June 2021 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. It's Shannon's last challenge this month and since it's the fifth Tuesday of the month we have a double - a trio of retired colours and an old sketch to be used together:

 

I was struggling to work out what to do with this trio of colours this week, then I had a brainwave - and ended up making not one but two cards! Both of which feature some cute party puffins - here's the first one: 

 

I substituted Peekaboo Peach for Peach Parfait, as I don't have this colour. I used the peach for my base and added Tangerine Tango banners on both cards, then stamped my puffin and cake onto a scalloped edge diecut piece, incorporating the pink into the icing on my cake and added a heat-embossed sentiment:

 

I chose another of the puffin images for my second card:

 

How cute is that little goldfish present he's holding?!

 

I also added a little detail to the inside of both cards:

 

So which one of these is your favourite? Here's a photo of them together:

 

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! color 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.

I'm a little late posting today; I have spent the last couple of days recovering form my second Covid jab, which truly knocked me for six. I'm thankfully feeling much better today and am now fully vaccinated, so it was worth it! 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.

Hand Penned Create With Friends PP547

by Joanne James27. June 2021 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 Laurie to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

 

I decided that the central rectangle was perfect to showcase a piece of designer paper so I grabbed a pretty pattern from the Hand Penned DSP pack and set to work. This is what I came up with:

 

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

Hand Penned - I chose a beautiful pattern of soft blues, pinks and yellow from the Hand Penned paper pack and used one of the Hand Penned Memories and More Cards for my base for additional subtle colour and pattern. These watercolour effect papers are so pretty!

Penned Flowers - I added one of the detailed diecuts from the co-ordinating Penned Flowers Dies in white, having backed it with vellum cut with the larger outline die. This enabled the diecut to standout from the patterned paper a little more, whilst still giving a hint of colour and pattern behind. I added some loop fronds of stripped Pool Party sheen ribbon behind my diecut and added a sprinkling of pink and white Elegant Faceted Gems to decorate.

 

Amazing You - I finished my card with a fussy-cut sentiment from the 'Create With Friends' set. This is a set that allows you to create an endless combination of words to make a wide range of phrases and sentiments.

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 had a busy day yesterday with the final school cricket match of the season (where did that term go?!) and a long bike ride around Grafham Water before finishing the day with my second Covid vaccination. Fortunately today should be a quiet one, so if I am feeling at all under the weather I will have the perfect excuse to craft or put my feet up and watch a movie! 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.

One Layer Monograms for Less Is More

by Joanne James26. June 2021 07:00

Today I'm here bright and early to share a couple of cards for the new challenge over at Less Is More where I was delighted to be asked to be Guest Designer following my recent accolade as overall winner for April. 

 

I would like to say I am delighted - although I did break into something of a cold sweat when the lovely Anita told me the challenge for the next fortnight is not only 'Monogram' but yes - ONE LAYER monograms!

 

She did give me the option to defer, but never one to shy away from a challenge I started researching - this challenge really did necessitate me getting my thinking cap on! So first things first - the definition we are using for the term 'monogram' is:

Monogram: a motif of two or more interwoven letters, typically a person's initials, used to identify a personal possession or as a logo.

A design consisting of two or more alphabetic letters combined or interlaced, commonly one's initials.

My first card uses my own initials. One of the challenges for me in creating a card to meet the brief was that it needed two or more letters. I explored various ways to combine the two Js in my name. I explored various ways of combining the letters and in the end went for a rotational pattern in a Tiffany & Co.-inspired design of black on Coastal Cabana - take a look:

 

This card uses a long-retired set called 'Sophisticated Serifs' which I'm not sure I ever blogged with, but is a set I love for its clearly defined alphabet. I added some flowers and a strong black border to draw the eye to my monogram:

 

Once I'd started, I tried out a few other ideas too. Another way monograms are often used is to create fun patterns for wedding or anniversary cards. The thing is, both my husband and I share exactly the same initials - JLJ - so in preference to a trio of Js, which whilst quirky wasn't that interesting, I created a second card using someone else's initials to create a fun monogram - can you guess who they belong to?

 

If you guessed Mickey and Minnie Mouse then you are as big a fan as I am! I created a couple of stencils using my retired Large Letter Die Framelits and sponged in the red and black base colours. I added some buttons for Mickey and a bow for Minnie - whilst this challenge is one layer, small embellishments are allowed in the LIM Rules (that's my story and I'm definitely sticking to it!) I thought this would make a fun anniversary card with an appropriate sentiment inside; I like the way that the colours and embellishments make the letters recognisable as a monogram because of how they are decorated:

 

I considered adding an ampersand, but decided against it, given that MM could mean both 'Mickey Mouse' and 'Mickey and Minnie', with the former really being the true monogram although my decoration suggests the latter.

This turned out to be quite a fun creative diversion - you should definitely check out the LIM gallery to see what the Design Team have created! Whilst my cards today used items from my retired stash, I hope they provide you with some inspiration. I'm also linking up with the lovely gals over at SUO Challenges today where funnily enough they also have an 'initials' theme this week (it doesn't have to be one layer though!). If you decide to have fun with initials and are using Stampin' Up! products, you should go and pay them a visit too.

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'!

 

Festive Foliage Shaded Spruce Monochrome Christmas Card AYSI 253

by Joanne James25. June 2021 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for our speed-stamping challenge:

 

I usually have to spend a long time planning for a speed challenge, however my idea this week came together in a jiffy - take a look:

 

I went all-out for Christmas with my card today! Here's the low-down:

Festive Foliage - My favourite new background stamp in the new annual catalogue is the Festive Foliage stamp I've used on my card today - so perfect for festive Christmas backgrounds and featuring holly, pine, mistletoe and more. Using my Stamparatus, I stamped it tone-on-tone in Shaded Spruce on the same colour cardstock - this is one of my favourite Christmas greens. 

Playful Alphabet - I added the word 'NOEL' in gold foil and cut with my Playful Alphabet dies, raised on foam adhesive sheets, across my card front for a simple sentiment. I added a liberal sprinkling of (retired) gold glitter enamel dots in place of some of the dots in the stamped design.

Keep It Simple - The key to a speed challenge is always to 'keep it simple' and this card definitely does: the stamping took no time at all using my Stamparatus and I stamped it on a panel to make it easy to cut to an even size afterwards, a simple gold foil diecut sentiment and a liberal sprinkling of glittery enamel dots. My card was completed in 9 minutes 8 seconds - and most of that time was taken peeling and placing my enamel dots! They add a nice touch of sparkle amongst the green though, don't you think?

 

After I'd completed today's card, I went back to my Stamparatus and stamped another bunch of these green panels to make a few more stepped-up cards; I'll share those with you another day.

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.
 
It just so happens that today is the 25th of the month so the perfect time to link up with this month's Rudolf Days Challenge where their latest Christmas card challenge goes live today. There is something quite satisfying not only about creating a card in under 10 minutes, but a Christmas card for my stash to boot! 

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.

FREE SHIPPING For 24 Hours Only On 24 June

by Joanne James23. June 2021 08:00

STOP PRESS for an important announcement: For 24 hours only, starting at 11pm UK time this evening, Stampin' Up! are offering FREE shipping on orders of £35 or more.

The key information is as follows:

  • Free shipping applies after the qualifying order amount has been met.
  • The minimum qualifying amount to receive free shipping is £35 or more.
  • Free shipping only applies during the 24-hour period the promotion is live in each market; this means that the order must be opened and closed between 23 June 2021, at 11p.m. and 24 June 2021, at 11:00 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on last-chance items, to pick up one of the new all-inclusive papercrafting kits or to treat yourself to something from your wishlist for the the new annual catalogue. So start making those lists and head off to the online Stampin' Up! store or message me with your order - I will be placing an order tomorrow evening if you are local to me and would like to add anything to it.

Happy shopping!

Flowers of Friendship Punched Floral Trio CCS425

by Joanne James22. June 2021 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Shannon has asked that we add three similar shapes to a panel across the centre of our card. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

    

For my card today I decided to go pastel with pale blue and yellow which is the current colour challenge over at Less Is More and I created a pretty row of punched flowers backed with gingham - take a look:

 

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

The flowers on today's card are courtesy of the new 'Flowers of Friendship' stamp set. I stamped them in Basic Grey onto So Saffron cardstock and added a little extra tone-on-tone shading with my So Saffron Blends. I punched the two different-sized flowers with the co-ordinating Flowers & Leaves Punch and layered a row of three against a simple stitched rectangle of Balmy Blue gingham, finishing the centre of each with pale blue pearls. I added a sentiment from the same set to 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! color 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.

Gather Happy Moments with Hand Penned Memories and More

by Joanne James22. June 2021 08:00

Today I'm sharing a card using the sketch layout over at Paper Craft Crew and the colours from the latest Color Dare Challenge

    

Purple is one of my favourite colours and I thought the sketch would be perfect to showcase a Memories and More card so my card came together pretty quickly - take a look:

 

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

I took one of the floral Memories and More cards that features purple and yellow flowers (yellow and green are my additional colours to accompany my Highland Heather purple) and I trimmed down the card, adding the floral section to a stitched scalloped mat. I added a second panel of a co-ordinating Highland Heather pattern from the Hand Penned patterned paper pack. A tied bow of crinkle white ribbon and a trio of clear sequins along with the printed sentiment that was fussy-cut from the remainder of the Memories and More card 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. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back later with this week's project for our new CAS Colours & Sketches challenge. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Friends Are Like Seashells Glossy Shell Trio Card

by Joanne James21. June 2021 19:25

I've had a busy day today, having spent the morning with a group of lovely ladies hosting my latest online class. That was all about pansies; the card I'm sharing here today though is all about seashells for the current Fusion challenge:

I used both the sketch and the jar of seashells as my inspiration and this is what I came up with:

 

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

This card really did evolve as I made it. The starting point for my card was the sand dollar-patterned DSP I used on my card base and I decided to use the same colours for my trio of shells. Rather than stamp them though, I fussy cut them from another of the sheets of Sand and Sea DSP as I wanted to use these shell designs but not ones that were as large as the stamped versions. I fussy cut my shells, embossed them with the Seashells 3D embossing folder, added some frosted white shimmer paint then added clear Crystal Effects to give them a glossy shine:

 

Having heat-embossed my sentiment in white, I added a shadow by stamping again in Early Espresso to make the words stand out a little better against the sandy background. A few opal rounds complete my card.

I really love the effect of those glossy shells - with the frosted shimmer inside and the embossed detail beneath the glossy exterior, they really are quite eye-catching in real life.

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 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.

Clean and Simple Sweet Strawberry Card PP546

by Joanne James20. June 2021 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have a clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

          

Fruit and berries - you can use either, or both, on your card this week but remember to keep it clean and simple! I decided to go with strawberries for my fruit today and paired them with this week's Color Throwdown colours and the CAS(E) The Designer challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP296 this week - take a look:

 

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

I was intrigued by the idea of CASEing the lovely Emma Goddard's card and decided to use the strawberry blossom stamp and single strawberry from the 'Sweet Strawberry' stamp set in stamped-off Gray Granite to create the soft stamped panel that forms the basis of my card front. I added a panel of block stripes using the CTD colours which are perfect for strawberries along the left-hand side. I added a white-on-black heat-embossed sentiment onto a stitched label from the Tasteful Labels Dies and mounted it on some (retired) Poppy Parade ribbon. A trio of clear sequins complete my clean and simple card:

I haven't made a card like this before but I really like the effect. I think it could be quite addictive - I can think of lots of sets that would work in this way. 

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; as it's Father's Day that will be the focus here today. I'm not sure that it will be dry enough for a BBQ - the last few days have been quite a bit cooler, but either I'm sure there will be fun in store! 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.

Sweet Strawberry Thank You Card FMS490

by Joanne James19. June 2021 20:37

Happy Saturday - it's the weekend! Today I'm sharing a card inspired by Jen B's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I had the Sweet Strawberry bundle out on my desk, so thought I'd combine a little something old with something new for today's card - take a look:

 

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

Sweet Strawberries - I used the Sweet Strawberry stamp set and Strawberry Builder Punch as the focus for my card today, retaining Jen's circle and using it as a base for a couple of punched strawberries and leaves.  I also added a little additional decoration inside my card:

Something Old - My 'something old' is the Berry Blessings DSP that I used, that was one of the free gifts with Sale-A-Bration earlier this year. I used if for my card base and stitched rectangle, and also punched my strawberries from the paper. Don't you just love this bold red and green combo?

Something New - My 'something new' is the checked embossing folder I used on my white panel. This check reminds me of picnic baskets so I thought would work well with the summery strawberries! Not that there's much chance of a picnic here at the moment - our beautiful sunny weather has been replaced with torrential rain all day yesterday!

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 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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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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