Bubble Over Large Letters Party Banner Decoration

by Joanne James31. March 2018 08:00

 

Today it's the last day to snap up a Sale-A-Bration freebie, whether that's free stamps with your starter kit when you join my team, extra hostess rewards when you place an order of £200 or more or a free gift with a purchase of £45 or more. You only have until 10.50pm this evening though, so don't leave it too late!

 

I'm sharing the last of my Sale-A-Bration makes with you today, a party banner featuring the Bubble Over stamp set and Bottles & Bubbles Framelits Dies, and the FREE Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper - take a look:

 

My banner letters are courtesy of the Letters For You stamp set and co-ordinating Large Letters framelits, on some layered circles before adding to the pennants featuring all of the designer paper designs. Here's a picture of it hanging properly at last November's Onstage event:

 

This is a great set for making part banners for a birthday or summer BBQ celebration (if it stops raining for long enough here in the UK to light one, of course!) and the Bubbles and Fizz designer papers add great colour and pattern with a fun party vibe.

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. 

I'll be back tomorrow with this week's project for our 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.

Memories And More Sweet Soiree Mini Album

by Joanne James30. March 2018 19:00

I hope you are all enjoying the start of a long bank holiday weekend. We have already enjoyed a morning of fresh air, followed by an afternoon of chocolate and a movie to avoid the return of the rain here in the UK. I am so done with winter now!

Today I thought I would share with you the first of the projects that I made with the ladies that attended my recent luxury craft weekend earlier this month. I won't be sharing any instructions on how they were made - these are reserved for those that attended - however I am sharing lots of photos of the projects that I designed as it is a great way for my readers to get a flavour of what a residential crafting retreat with me is like and the kinds of projects included. With 4 classes spread over 2 days, it's a great opportunity to tackle a variety of projects and also some that are a little more time-consuming than can be completed in a class that is of a shorter duration.

Today I'm sharing one of my favourite projects: a mini album I made featuring the Sweet Soiree Memories and More cards that are one of the current Sale-A-Bration gifts that can be yours free with a purchase of £45 or more, for just over another 24 hours:

 

Berry Burst cardstock forms the base of this expandable album and in addition to the Sweet Soiree Memories and More card pack, the Sweet Soiree Embellishment Kit has been used to decorate the cover and inside. 

This is what album looks when you first open it:

 

Fully extended, the album is four panels wide:

 

Each side then expands further to include additional flaps and pockets on both sides:

 

The album includes lots of areas to add photographs and capture memories, including this neat waterfall feature:

 

This album was certainly the most challenging of the projects we tackled during the retreat and was not for the fainthearted! The feedback was really positive though and everyone was so pleased with their creations; some ladies reported feeling truly amazed and thrilled to have tackled something like this, which they would not have ever contemplated on their own. I was personally thrilled with how positively this was received, as I've never led a class quite like this before. I'm already taking the learns from this project to create another version that is equally 'wow' yet a little easier to recreate.

If you would like to make projects like this one at a future retreat, please sign up to my newsletter by clicking on the icon in the right-hand column to ensure you receive the information for future retreats as soon as it is released or click here for more information - details for my next retreat will be announced in the coming weeks!

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 one last project featuring Sale-A-Bration item. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

New Sale-A-Bration Items Added And Color Me Happy Card Kit

by Joanne James21. March 2018 12:00

I am a little behind in sharing this one (life seems to be getting in the way of blogging lately!) but I wanted to make sure that you were all aware that new products have been added to the Sale-A-Bration gift list for the final two weeks of this fabulous promotion. You all know that this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion will end on 31st March and in addition to hosting and joining benefits (you can read about those here) you also earn a free product for every £45/90 spend - you can see the existing items here and here.

Good news: from now until the 31st March, you will also be able to choose from the catalogue items below (you must use the special code as detailed as opposed to the usual item code to get one of these items free with a £45/90 spend):

 

To make things easier for you, I've created a table linking each of the products directly to the promotional item in my online store - just click on the links below:

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

Remember, if you aren't placing your order via the above links, you need to use the special Sale-A-Bration item code for each product - these are different to the standard product codes for these items, which are still available to purchase in the annual catalogue.

One of the new products available free with a £45 spend is the Color Me Happy Project Kit - designed to be used with the Color Me Happy stamp set and launched to celebrate the release of our new Stampin' Blends alcohol markers and as it isn't a set that you can see in either of the current catalogues, I though this would be a good day to share mine here with you so that you can get a closer look. As with so many of Stampin' Up!'s kits, the kit is choc-full of embellishments and high-quality pre-printed card bases, along with foiled envelopes, so that you can stamp and colour to complete 16 gorgeous cards, 4 each of 4 designs - take a look:

Here's the first one, along with its co-ordinating envelope:

Here's the second one - a fun little card to brighten someone's day:

The third design:

 

And finally the fourth design - some of my customers will be receiving this card this month as a token of my appreciation:

 

And finally here's a shot of all four card designs together:

 

Whether you use in conjunction with the Color Me Happy stamp set or substitute with other stamps from your collection, the kit is definitely worth getting your hands on - especially if you pick it up for FREE!

Both the stamp set and card kit are still available to purchase too, at a 10% discount if you buy together as a bundle, whilst stocks last - the links for these are included below. Better still, why not purchase the stamp set and markers that you need and pick up the kit as a Sale-A-Bration item for free? This would also make for a fun crafty evening with friends - please get in touch if you'd like to talk to me about hosting one of these in either April or May - my diary is booking up fast!

If you have your eye on any of the other Sale-A-Bration items, do bear in mind that they will only be available whilst stocks last - it is possible that they could run out before the end of the promotion, so don't leave it to late to place your order. 

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.

New 2018 Sale-A-Bration Products Added!

by Joanne James16. February 2018 07:00

So much for a back to normal week of blogging! I had all good intentions this week, then had issues with my blog for the past few days that left me unable to access it at all. With the kids off on their half-term break too, I was a little limited in what I All sorted now (fingers crossed!) so hopefully I will be back on track from today.

I know how much you've all been enjoying the benefits of the Sale-A-Bration promotion; as if it couldn't get any better I just wanted to let you know that there are some new items being added to the selection of products that can be earned free, both with a £45 order and a bundle that can be earned free with a purchase of £90 or more, take a look:

 

 

A fun stamp set and some of the most gorgeous foil-embossed paper, and then a stamp set and embossing folder bundle:

 

The lovely team at the Stampin' Up! head office have also put together a short video that shows you the bundle items in more detail - you can see that by clicking on the link below:

Like the other items in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, these items will be available from now until the end of the Sale-A-Bration period, 31st March. You can see full details for each of the new product on the new Sale-A-Bration flyer here.

If you would like more information or to place an order, either go here to purchase from my online store (don't forget to add this month's hostess code 64XZCB29) or you can email me or telephone me if you would prefer. Back shortly with a new creative project; until then, happy shopping!

A Magical Knight and Baby Bear Valentine

by Joanne James5. February 2018 07:00

   

Happy Monday everyone! I have a couple of love-themed cards to share today for the challenges over at CASology, Just Add Ink and Freshly Made Sketches

      

The first one is for CASology and Just Add Ink - when I think 'swoon', I immediately think of a knight in shining armour and the romance that goes with it! Here's mine - take a look:

 

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

A Magical Knight - I just love the Magical Day stamp set: knights, dragons, mermaids, wizards and a unicorn - what's not to love? I simply stamped my knight in Memento Black onto an extra thick white cardstock base and coloured him in with my Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. 

An Inset Diecut - To add interest to my design, I decided to frame him with a Real Red heart cut with my Sweet and Sassy Framelits. I cut my heart out first, then cut the aperture of the knight's outline using the framelit of his outline from the Magical Mates Framelits set - I then popped my heart up on dimensionals around my stamped knight. 

An Everyday Hero - My sentiment is from the retired stamp set from last year 'Everyday Hero' - perfect for my card! If you don't have this set, you could always recreate the sentiment using the Labeler Alphabet, which would have been my next best 'go to' - no sentiment is out of reach with this one.

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. 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

 

My second card today is for Freshly Made Sketches:

I love a good sketch and I decided this one would be perfect to highlight an annual catalogue set I haven't used in ages - take a look:

 

Here's the low-down on the second of my cards today:

A Baby Bear Valentine - I've only used Baby Bear previously to make new baby cards and whilst I was browsing my catalogue for inspiration remembered he had a sentiment that is perfect for Valentine's Day or simply to send a card full of love too. 'Love you beary much' - both punny and sweet! I stamped my bear in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede for a traditional teddy look.

A Split Sentiment - Whilst my sentiment across the bottom as per the sketch comes from the Baby Bear stamp set, I creatively masked it to omit the word 'Love' as I had other plans for that! I snipped the word 'love' out of the 'lovely' heart diecut in the Lovely Words Thinlits set and mounted it on a Sweet and Sassy red diecut heart for my teddy bear to hold. I'm guessing it could be a cushion or maybe a box of chocolates - here's hoping anyway!

All Heart - With the neutrals of my teddy bear, I wanted some traditional red to add to my 'sending love' card, so I paired my diecut red heart with some retired 'Stacked With Love' retired designer series paper from my stash - only an abundance of red hearts will do! I love this fun colour combination - here it is if you'd like to save it for your future inspiration:

 

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. I'm also linking this card up for my second entry at SUO Challenges - my background definitely has hearts-a-plenty to fit with their theme this week!

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.

Mediterranean Moments Cafe Card

by Joanne James29. January 2018 21:00

Today I'm back with an annual catalogue faithful and sharing a card I made using a set that has been sitting on my shelf rather neglected for a little while, so I thought I would remedy that and enter a couple of online challenges at the same time:

   

I love the CAS Colours and Sketches sketch this week and then surprised myself by choosing the colours over at Just Add Ink to go with it - take a look:

 

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

Mediterranean Moments - Mediterranean Moments first appeared in last year's Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue and fortunately carried over into the annual catalogue. I love these sketched images, inspired by Million Sales Achiever Susan Nygaard - the one I've used today though is the only one in my set that I've never used before. When I saw this colour combination I wasn't sure what to make of it, despite the lovely design team cards, and then I was flicking through my catalogue looking for something else and suddenly there it was - I could see the green metal cafe chairs and I knew this stamp would be perfect! 

A Little Watercolouring - I decided to stamp my image in Versamark and heat emboss it in white, and ring the changes with a Crumb Cake card base, then give the whole thing a wash of white craft ink before watercolouring with my greens and a little more Crumb Cake ink. This was a good way to incorporate my neutral and allow my greens to blend with each other. I hand-doodled my border using my white gel pen.

A Sentiment Combination - My sentiment combination is a trimmed stamped 'hello' from the 'oh hello' stamp in the Colour Me Happy set, along with the word 'friend' snipped from the Lovely Word Thinlits. A fun pairing that is just right for the intended recipient of 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. 

This post was really meant for tomorrow but I'm putting it live early as I want to catch the CAS Colours and Sketches link up. So for Tuesday - 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.

Bird Banter Toucan Thank You

by Joanne James29. January 2018 18:00

I've had a busy but hugely productive day today (love days like those!) and am popping in with a quick post from me with a card I made yesterday to squeeze in for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches

 

This is such a lovely little sketch from Jen, it seemed a shame not to use it (although I did flip it and use the mirror image so that my bird would be pointing towards my sentiment rather than away from it). I had so much fun with Saturday's Bird Banter card (you can see that card here if you missed it) that I thought I would use the set again this time featuring the colourful toucan - take a look:

 

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

Bird Banter - Today it's the turn of the toucan and his accompanying punny sentiment - these funnies just crack me up! I searched up some images of toucans online before deciding on my colours and then used my Blends to colour him, with the exception of his eye and the top of his beak - I used my Lemon-Lime Twist Stampin' Write marker for that as I wanted to get a real zing of green. I stamped him twice: once directly onto my banner, then again on some scrap cardstock and fussy cut this out. This way I was able to fussy cut out his body only and pop it up onto dimensionals aligned with the banner image, without needing to fussy cut his legs.

A Time-Saving Tip  - Now I love a bit of fussy cutting, but I know that it's not for everyone. Whilst I was happy to fussy cut my toucan and the larger flowers, the tiny ones were too fiddly. Instead I used a small circle punch (my circle punch from the retired Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack) and punched them out; much easier and I don't think it loses anything in terms of detail - what do you think?

A Tone-On-Tone Thankyou - I could have stopped there, but instead decided to add a little tone-on-tone stamping to my background panel by stamping the 'thank you so much' stamp from Thankful Thoughts repeatedly to create a customised background that reinforces the sentiment of my card. 

I remembered to stamp and colour my envelope (yay!) and that completes my card. I just love that this set really lends itself to bright colours and fun cards - another one for my stash!

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. 

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 Bird Banter Belated Birthday Card

by Joanne James27. January 2018 21:07

A late and quick post from me today as I managed to grab a little crafting time this afternoon and made a card for a friend of mine that I'm also entering for a couple of challenges:

   

I loved the sketch over at Fusion and those bright colours at Inspire.Create were perfect for what I had in mind. No coffee cup I'm afraid - my card is all about the apology and right on the money as far as this week's theme over at CASology is concerned - take a look:

 

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

Bird Banter - Please tell me I am not the only cardmaker who frequently forgets birthdays? I mean, my intentions are always good and I have loads of cards on hand, but more often than not one of two things happens: I either don't have the 'right' card for that person on hand and so in taking the time to make it I end up late for the date, or alternatively I simply forget. It's never intentional, I'm just always so busy and I have a dreadful memory for dates and numbers, so they just don't stick. So all that said, Bird Banter is the perfect set for me - specifically, the rather punny sentiments and this one in particular: 'A little birdie told me it was your birthday ... obviously it wasn't an early bird'. How fun is that?! I received this set for free at Onstage, but I have to say it's one I would buy for that sentiment alone - it was (unfortunately) made for me!

A Hint of Stripes - I kept my card bright, clean and simple; I tucked in a little piece of the thin-striped Sale-A-Bration Bubbles & Fizz designer series paper behind my image to add a little interest and pop of blue, to compliment my bright pink background and yellow sentiment banner. 

A Stampin' Blends Tip - I used my Stampin' Blends to colour in my party parrot (the Melon Mambo ones were actually my old Blendabilties) and added a little clear Wink of Stella to his party hat and wing for a little sparkle. I fussy cut a second wing and tail piece and popped them on a dimensional so that I could overlap my sentiment banner slightly. My Stampin' Blends tip for you today is in relation to using them to colour a co-ordinating stamped image onto your envelope: before you begin colouring, place a piece of cardstock inside the envelope; this will prevent ink leaking through to the back of the envelope and spoiling its appearance.

I added one of the other birds along with the other part of the sentiment to the inside of my card - here he is:

Another handsome fella! One thing I do know - this card is on it's way to a friend, yes, whose birthday I forgot last week!

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. 

I'll be back tomorrow with my post 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.

Party Panda Spinner Card For Fab Friday

by Joanne James17. January 2018 23:00

 

Another late one I'm afraid as I've been tied (figuratively, not literally!) to my desk all day pushing paperwork. Just time to share a card for the current challenge over at Fab Friday where they have a super-bright colour combo to work with:

I love brights so was really keen to play along with one of my favourite challenges. I figured the best way to use this trio of bold colours was to ensure that I also incorporated plenty of white. I decided to get out my Party Pandas Sale-A-Bration stamp set again and do something I haven't done in a while - take a look:

 

Yes, it's a fun spinner card - isn't that party panda just the cutest?! I made this card over a week ago but delayed sharing it with you as I made a video tutorial to go with it. I still need to finish editing so will post it here once complete but in the meantime I couldn't not share this cutie! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Get Spinning - Everyone loves the fun element created by adding a spinner - young and old alike! I've made my Sale-A-Bration Party Panda the spinning star of today's card, but this technique works with lots of other stamps too. The panda looks like he was meant to cartwheel though I think! To make the panda spin, you simply attach him to two penny coins (or a dime, or a washer - you get the idea) separated by a dimensional, with the pennies sitting either side of the track. If I've lost you already, come back when I upload the video - all will become clear! 

Creating The Track - I used the Classic Label Punch to create the track for my spinning panda, by repeatedly punching along my cardfront in order to get an extended gap. This is one of the easiest ways to create a spinner track. The key to getting a freely-spinning panda though is to use Stampin' Up!'s foam strips to adhere your front panel to your card base. This ensures the gap is deep enough for the panda to spin freely.

Let's Celebrate - I pulled my sentiment from another of my free Sale-A-Bration sets, Amazing You, and inked up the words in contrasting colours. Such a great sentiment that allows this card to work for all kinds of celebrations, not just birthdays. In fact, I am going to dedicate this one to one of the Fab Friday design team members, the awesome Brian King, who at the time of posting this challenge had announced the day before that he is also joining the design team over at CAS(E) this Sketch, another great challenge blog favourite of mine - way to go Brian! 

I love these bright colours, so perfect for this fun card. Do check out the design team cards over at Fab Friday and the gallery, where there are some amazing and varied entries that will provide great inspiration.

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. 

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.

Epic Celebration Meets Bubble And Fizz Bright Birthday Card

by Joanne James17. January 2018 22:00

Today I'm sharing another card made using some of the items you can earn for free with a purchase of £45 or more during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion that I made with the ladies in my card class last week - take a look:

 

My card uses 3 of the currently available Sale-A-Bration items - can you spot them all? Here's the low-down on today's card:

An Epic Celebration - The trainers or 'sneakers' on my card today come from the Epic Celebration stamp set - perfect for discerning teens, both male and female. I stamped mine in Archival Grey ink and highlighted areas of my shoes and the sentiment with a chalk marker to accentuate some of the detail against the Bermuda Bay background. 

Bubbles and Fizz, Stars and Stripes - My background paper is another Sale-A-Bration freebie, the Bubbles and Fizz designer series paper. It has some great bottle patterns, but also great neutral patterns in bold, bright colours. I used one piece and cut a strip that I flipped over to give a fun 'stars and stripes' combination. 

Shimmer Ribbon - I covered the join of my two papers with some shiny satin Basic Grey ribbon - yes, my third free gift! This pack of three ribbons in different widths on page 9 of the Sale-A-Bration catalogue is easily overlooked, yet the gorgeous shimmer makes them worth a second glance, not to mention the fact that they co-ordinate so beautifully with the designer series paper! 

My card was inspired by this one made by Amy Koenders, with a few subtle differences - thanks for the inspiration Amy! 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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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.