Follow Your Dreams Caravan Card

by Joanne James10. January 2016 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper PlayersThis week it is the turn of my sweet friend Claire to host and she has a great colour palette for you to play along with:

    

I love this bold and bright colour palette and actually created a couple of cards with it. One is very 'me' so I saved that for another day; today's card uses this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday and has a rather different feel to it - I think it's the marbled paper! - take a look:

 

I paired a piece of the Tempting Turquoise Perfectly Artistic marbled patterned paper with some retired heart-patterned DSP, as a backdrop for my colourful little caravan from 'You're Sublime', which I coloured with my inks and an aquapainter (the body is paper-pieced with a piece of the marbled paper on the reverse). A punched heart, some ribbon, sequins and another pink heart topped with an epoxy sticker for added dimension finish my card. 

I love the rather subtle colouring that the marbled paper adds; I am looking forward to experimenting with this paper further. It's available free with a £45 spend until £15th February as one of the Sale-A-Bration 'limited time' offers, so if it's on your list it's one to get sooner rather than later. As for that little caravan - how cute! This card is destined for Gail, one of my team, who is often holidaying to interesting destinations in her caravan. She is about to become an official warden for The Caravan Club so this image is so appropriate and the sentiment perfect.

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

The Paper Players Design 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! 

 

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colours. We have a day of sport today, with basketball and hockey in store as we fully get back into the new season. I'm hoping to squeeze in a little craft time too.

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 Sale-A-Bration Hello!

by Joanne James9. January 2016 22:20

The days have been running away from me this week, with no-where near enough crafting or blogging time! The nice thing about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator though is that as my own boss I can work my hours around my family commitments and flex my diary accordingly - it really is the best job!

So a quick share from me today with the cards I sent out last week to my customers with their new Spring-Summer seasonal catalogues and Sale-A-Bration brochures:

I used the 'Hello' stamp from the stamp set of the same name in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue, stamped in Blackberry Bliss on Whisper White and cut out with my oval framelits, along with a banner and a variety of patterns of Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper for my card. Here's a view of a few of the others too:

All my customers have now have received their catalogues; if you are reading this and you would like your own copy and you don't already have a demonstrator, then get in touch and I will pop one in the post to you. 

Back tomorrow with a 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.

 

Awesomely Artistic Banner Punch Card

by Joanne James6. January 2016 20:00

I can't quite believe that it's Wednesday already - this week is just zipping by! I've had two days of classes and a great start to Sale-A-Bration. So a quick post from me today sharing another of the cards from my technique card this week using the 'Awesomely Artistic' stamp set:

 

This time with a Mint Macaron base, a little Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper and a double flagged banner across the centre to draw the eye to the collage panel and trio of dragonflies and add interest to the overall design. More Wink of Stella on the dragonfly wings (clear this time) and a coloured enamel dot to highlight the sentiment completes my card. Oh and a co-ordinated envelope too!

 

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

 

Wednesday Weekly Deals Are Here!

by Joanne James6. January 2016 09:00

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

If you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the new Hostess Code for January W2ZHBH2D if your order is under £150 and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

Here's a summary of this week's one-week only Wednesday deals - click on each item to go to the online store to purchase:

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

Some goodies in there, especially the magnetic platform if you don't already have one.

Back later with today's creative project; until then, happy shopping!

Awesomely Artistic Collage Card

by Joanne James5. January 2016 07:05

A two-post day today! This year's Sale-A-Bration promotion and the launch of the Stampin' Up! 2016 Spring-Summer catalogue is today and you can get the full scoop here; for today's creative post I am sharing a card that we are making in my technique class this month. Our class is using the 'Awesomely Artistic' stamp set and looking at collage techniques. This is one of the cards we made and it features one of my favourite new products from the new catalogue for adding a touch of sparkle to your projects - take a look:

 

The glimmer on the dragonfly's wings is tricky to capture on a photograph, but I can assure you in real life they have a beautiful golden shimmer! The Wink of Stella Glitter brushes are the perfect tool to add sparkle and shine to your projects. There are two different pens on page 24 of the new Spring-Summer catalogue and we used the gold one on this card. We used the clear brush on our other two cards; I'll share these another day. 

My February technique classes will feature the beautiful Bloomin' Hearts Thinlits Die and the co-ordinating Bloomin' Love stamp set. If you live in or around Northampton and you would like to join me for crafting enjoyment with like-minded individuals, please do get in touch for more details. We had a new lady join us today for the first time so if you're reading this, a big hello to you Fran - I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we enjoyed your company and look forward to seeing you again soon.

I have another full day of classes today; I'l 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.

 

 

 

 

Sale-A-Bration and The New Stampin' Up! 2016 Spring-Summer Catalogue Is Here!

by Joanne James5. January 2016 07:00

 

It's time to shake off the January blues, today is THE day - yes, the highlight of the Stampin' Up! calendar, Sale-A-Bration is here! No more sneak peeks - the catalogue is available, the shop is live and from now until 31st March the benefits are yours for the taking. You can click on the icon above or the catalogue on the right hand side of my blog page to access the Sale-A-Bration leaflet to download a copy or go directly to my online shop to place an order - we are LIVE!

So what is Sale-A-Bration? For anyone who hasn't come across it before, it's Stampin' Up!'s annual promotion that is loaded with offers whether you shop, party or join:

     

Earn a free Sale-A-Bration product for every £45 you spend between 5 January and 31 March. It's the perfect time to purchase those products you've had on your wish list and earn more products for free! 

Pages 4–15 of the Sale-A-Bration brochure show products available throughout the entire Sale-A-Bration sales period (5 January–31 March 2016); Pages 16–19 show limited-time products available only until 15 February, after which another batch of limited-time products will arrive on 16 February!

Earn an additional £20 in hostess credits when you host a party and have party sales of £200 or more (this also applies to individual orders). So for party sales of £200, that makes a whopping £40 of Stampin' Rewards - more freebies! What's more, you can even apply your Stampin' Rewards to a Starter Kit and become a demonstrator yourself - I would love to welcome you to my team!

It’s the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! During Sale-A-Bration, you can become a demonstrator for just £99 and choose £30 more of FREE products for your Starter Kit. Plus, the kit ships for free! There is plenty of choice and flexibility, whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator and just use your discount to enable you to purchase craft supplies more cheaply, or alternatively would like to build a flourishing direct sales business and sell supplies to others - it's entirely up to you.

If you would like to host a party, real or virtual, please do get in touch; my diary is filling up fast and I would love to share these great benefits with you. If you've ever thought about becoming an SU! demonstrator, now is a great time to do so - I would love to have a no-obligation chat with you about joining my team and the benefits.

As if that wasn't enough, today also sees the launch of the new Spring-Summer catalogue - full of gorgeous new products:

Just click on the image above or in the sidebar on the right to browse the catalogue online, or contact me on 07773 421446 if you would like a paper copy posted out to you and you don't already have a demonstrator. If you are as excited as me and just can't wait, here's the link to my online store - everything is available to purchase from today!

Thanks so much for popping by today - it's always nice to share good news! Check out today's creative post to see a card made featuring a lovely new catalogue product that you are going to be seeing a lot of - click here for more details!

Birthday Bouquet For You

by Joanne James4. January 2016 08:00

Happy Monday everyone! I've had the first of my classes this year this morning (I'll share one of those cards with you tomorrow) but for today I have my last sneak peek for you, this time featuring some of the gorgeous new Birthday Bouquet designer series paper from the forthcoming Spring-Summer Stampin' Up! catalogue. This set has some beautiful patterns, featuring everything from confetti to ice creams, balloons to spots and stripes; my card today highlights one of the two flower patterns in the set:

I used some simple layers in Old Olive and Soft Sky to co-ordinate with the designer paper and stamped a sentiment from the co-ordinating 'Birthday Blooms' stamp set on a wide cross panel of Blushing Bride. I finished with a small Itty Bitty Accents punched flower and that's my card - done! I did add a little stamping on the inside but this card really was so quick I made two at the same time as it really didn't take twice as long. I love it when the paper does all the hard work for you!

So only one more sleep to go then it's here - the new 2016 Stampin' Up! Spring-Summer catalogue and the start of this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion! The catalogues have all been mailed to my online customers and my local customers will receive theirs either at their classes this week or at my open house next week on Thursday 14th January 10am-2pm. If you live in or around Northampton and would like to attend, please get in touch for details.

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Available 5th January:

140557 Birthday Bouquet Designer Series Paper

140658 Birthday Blooms Stamp Set (clear mount)

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

 

It's My Party Balloon Birthday Shaker Card

by Joanne James3. January 2016 10:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's our first challenge of the new year and the first thing to do is welcome our three new guest designers that are joining us from today: Linda Callaghan, Hannelie Bester and Colleen Begley, we are so happy you are joining us and sharing your collective talents over the next 6 months.

This week it is my turn to host the first challenge of the new year and I have a fun theme for you to play along with:

    

It's all about numbers! You can use them in any way on your cards and can make a card with any theme - as long as it features at least one number. For my card this week I was inspired to use the layout over at Fusion and my new Large Numbers Framelits Dies to create a fun shaker card: 

 

I used my numbers to create a shaker card by backing them with a piece of window sheet in the negative space, through which you can see both the fun It's My Party balloon-festooned designer series paper behind and also the mix of metallics and brights sequins inside. My greeting is stamped from the co-ordinating 'Number of Years' set and a trio of balloons punched with my new Balloon Bouquet Punch and tied with two-tone baker's twine finish my card.

Here's a close up view of the shaker:

Rebecca and many of her friends will be turning 11 this year, hence my choice of number - her Christmas shaker cards proved very popular and now they are requesting birthday equivalents! I am loving the bright colours and patterns of the new It's My Party suite - only two more days to go until the Spring-Summer catalogue launches and I just know you are going to love it too!

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

The Paper Players Design 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 three challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN! 

 

I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's theme. We are off to basketball today but no hockey for another week yet; then we are going to start taking the Christmas decorations down this afternoon and if we get everything finished we may even fit in a visit to the cinema - watch this space!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Available 5th January:

140811 - Number of Years & Large Numbers Framelits Dies Bundle

140609 - Balloon Punch

140552 - It's My Party Designer Series Paper Stack

140718 - It's My Party Cardstock Pack

140555 - Baker's Twine Combo Pack 

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

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Cards | Shop Online | Stamping

Love Blossoms With The Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Die

by Joanne James2. January 2016 08:00

Today I have another 'sneak peek' card for you, featuring some beautiful new designer series paper and a most beautiful die. I used the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for the layout for today's card:

   SIP Challenge 28 - No Christmas 800

I'm also linking up with the team over at Stamps Ink Paper who are asking for anything so long as it's not Christmas! The 'Love Blossoms' suite on the new Spring-Summer catalogue includes a stamp set, papers, thinlit die, pink glimmer paper and an accessory kit and my card today uses each of the first three:

The thinlit die looks great in a single colour with or without the flowers highlighted, but for my card today I chose to cut out my heart in Garden Green, adding additional flowers in Rose Red and Blushing Bride that I cut with the other thinlits in the set and also paper-piecing some flowers into the negative spaces of the die. I highlighted the hearts in pink and added some tiny pearls to break up the green further. 

You can see the detail of the subtle layering and finish on the close-ups below: 

The die itself is so intricate, yet with another new tool available with the new catalogue, the Big Shot Die Brush, it is really easy to separate into its various parts - just look at the detail on the flowers themselves:

The sentiment is from the 'Bloomin' Love' set and the banner cut out with the co-ordinating framelit from the 'Large Numbers' framelits dies, also available in the new catalogue.

Whilst the Love Blossoms set and in particular the Bloomin' Heart thinlit die makes for beautiful Valentine's Day cards, it is versatile enough to be used for anniversaries, weddings, birthdays or even Mother's Day too. I paired my outer sentiment with one from another set, 'First Sight', on the inside of my card to make a very fitting tribute to a Mum - take a look:

A beautiful sentiment for the prettiest of cards!

That's all from me today; I'll be back tomorrow with my card for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players. I am the hostess for our first challenge of the new year, so do pop back to see what I've chosen as the challenge this week. Until then, I have a few jobs to do today and we are back to the pool for our first swimming following the Christmas break. I'm almost envious that it's only the James Juniors getting in the water; I could do with losing a few post-Christmas pounds and this seems like it could be a good place to start! Happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Available 5th January:

140818 Bloom' Love Stamp Set and Bloomin' Hearts Thinlits Dies Bundle

140548 Love Blossoms Designer Series Paper Stack

140685 First Sight (clear mount) 

140603 Big Shot Die Brush

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

 

Smooshing Into 2016 With A New Technique

by Joanne James1. January 2016 09:00

A new card for a new year! I know I shared a new year card with you yesterday - well, I have another one for you today! As a rule I only send one happy new year card each year, to my mother-in-law for hosting our family New Year's gathering, however when I saw that the theme this week over at Global Design Project was CASE The Designer and set eyes on Bibi Cameron's gorgeous card, inspiration most definitely struck. Here is her original card:

Isn't it lovely? I was really attracted to the background and decided to have a go at another technique that my good friend Kim Fee over at Simply Fairies affectionately calls the 'smooshing technique' as the basis for my card. So here is my card:

 

You might wonder why I struggled with this background - looks simple enough, right? Well, having thrown away many a piece of ruined cardstock I would have to disagree - there is clearly an art to getting it right! The lovely Kim recently made a short video after much pleading by myself and other smoosh-challenged friends; you can watch it here and I seriously recommend you do if you want to try this technique as it contains some great hints and tips. 

I used extra-thick Whisper White cardstock for my base, then created my inked layer on a piece of shimmery white cardstock using Pacific Point, Island Indigo and Night of Navy inks. The cardstock gives the card a wonderful all over shimmer in real life. I then used the stars stamp from Holly Jolly Greetings (a carryover set, yay!) stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold for added interest, then used some gold glimmer numbers, diecut using the new Large Numbers Framelits Dies (love these!). My Hello is from the 'Crazy About You' stamp set, which I popped up on dimensionals and finished with a trio of gold metallics sequins.

I really love the randomness of this background, which is quite different from my usual style, even though the card still feels true to me. So thanks Bibi and Kim for the inspiration for today's card. I hope it inspires you too to create something a little different this week - the new year is full of new creative possibilities and I am so looking forward to sharing them with you!

Happy New Year wishes to you all, my customers, blog and social media followers and friends and the ladies over at SUO Challenges where I'm linking up my second New Year card. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Available January 5th:

140622 Large Numbers Framelits Dies

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.