High Tide By The Shore

by Joanne James18. March 2017 21:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches that also fits the current code word over at Addicted to CAS:

I decided to create a little scene for that central panel using the High Tide stamp set - take a look:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

High Tide - High Tide is one of those sets that has oodles of possibilities: great for masculine cards and beach scenes, with some great sentiments too. The lighthouse is a two-step stamp, but because it is photopolymer this makes the stamps really easy to align the images. 

By The Shore - The colours for my card today were inspired by that wonderful striped panel from the By The Shore Designer Paper. It actually reminds me of old fashioned deckchairs on the beach, so reminiscent of my childhood when I spent many hours happily whiling away my summer days at the beach. 

The Obvious Mistake - Did you spot the obvious mistake on my card today? I didn't until I glued my card together; the funny thing is, I then stamped an alternative panel without the mistake and it wasn't as well balanced - so I went with my original design! If you've spotted it then do leave me a comment below and let me know if you think I should have changed it; if you're reading this and wondering what I'm talking about, then I guess it's not as obvious as one might think - and you should continue, none the wiser!

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 card for the new challenge over at The Paper Players where I am the hostess this week. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

So Detailed Thinlit Die Mother's Day Card

by Joanne James17. March 2017 17:00

Now I know since it's St Patrick's Day I should probably be sharing something green, however my plans today took a different turn so instead with Mother's Day only just over a week away here in the UK I'm sharing a Mother's Day card with you instead - take a look:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

So In Love - The inspiration for my card today came from the patterned paper that forms the base of my card. A busy, detailed outline pattern that features the same floral that can be found in the 'So In Love' stamp set (featured behind my sentiment) and the largest image in the So Detailed Thinlits Dies. I used this die to create a feature detail on the left of my card, backing it with vellum so that the detail continues to stand out from the paper behind it. My card measures a slightly larger than usual 6" x 6".

Love At First Sight - The sentiment that I featured on my card is from the 'First Sight' stamp set in the annual catalogue; beautiful words that seem so appropriate to show appreciation on Mothering Sunday. It's easy to overlook the annual catalogue when we have a seasonal with so many new and exciting sets, yet it contains many hidden gems, including ones that work for seasonal occasions such as Mother's Day so don't forget to take a look when your deciding on products for your projects.

A Little Flower - I added some vanilla ribbon and one of those gorgeous vanilla Falling in Love floral embellishments to finish off my card today. I kept to neutral colours to avoid any clash with the other more detailed elements of my design.

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 is the card that I've made for my Mum for Mother's Day (I'm safe to post it early as she doesn't read my blog) and I've already made another identical one for a friend's Mum too. 

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.
 

Party Animal Surprise Birthday Card

by Joanne James16. March 2017 06:00

I had a busy day yesterday, part of which was spent kicking off a new project that I will be sharing with you soon, but alas no time to blog. I'm back nice and early today though to share a card inspired by the sketch over at TGIF Challenges:

 #tgifc98 Card Sketch Challenge

 The moment I saw the sketch I saw a present! Can you see it too? I rotated the sketch anti-clockwise and this is what I came up with:

 

Fun, right? This is a card with a surprise though - read on to find out more!

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

Be A Party Animal - My card today was inspired by the bright colours and patterns of the Party Animal Suite of products - bright and fun, just perfect for a birthday celebration.

A Hidden Message - I added an 'open me already!' tag to my parcel as there is more to my gift than meets the eye: I used the tag topper pieces of the Balloon Pop-Up Thinlits Dies to create a parcel-shaped tag that fits inside a gift sleeve and reveals a hidden birthday greeting - take a look:

 

Here's my greeting tag, stamped with a sentiment from the 'Big On Birthdays' stamp set, completely removed:

Adventures On The Inside - I also added a little birthday fun to the inside of my card too:

I love this kind of card - a truly universal birthday greeting that can't fail to raise a smile!

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.
 
 

Falling For You Anniversary Card

by Joanne James14. March 2017 07:00

Today I'm here nice and early sharing a card for the current sketch challenge over at Fab Friday:

This team have such great sketch designs and I've been playing with this one a lot of the weekend. I instinctively wanted to avoid using a doily for that bottom semi-circle, but I had a card design in mind that wouldn't go away and suited a doily perfectly so I went with it - take a look:

 

It's all about the pretty today! Here's the low-down on today's card:

Falling For You - Do you ever buy a stamp set because it contains one sentiment that resonates with you and you just have to have, regardless of whatever else the set has to offer? I do - and this is one of those sets! 'Falling For You' contains some lovely sentiments in a fabulous swirly, romantic font that work for weddings and anniversaries, but this one for me sells it - who wouldn't want to receive a card that says 'Every heart needs one special person to love - you're my person'? Maybe I'm an old romantic at heart, but it's fair to say I definitely fell for this stamp set hook, line and sinker!

Falling In Love Too - I used a piece if the Falling In Love designer series paper for my background and embellished with some of the other products in the Falling In Love Suite - including that doily! I'm not overly partial to a doily, but I do like these ones - the sharp laser-cut design and the versatility of them being white on one side and vanilla means they don't look as out of place with my clean and layered style. 

A Romantic Colour Combo - I took today's colour combination straight from the Falling In Love papers too - perfect for softer cards that evoke that marriage of romance and shabby chic. Feel free to save it if you would like to try it out too:

I just love the soft colours, falling hearts pattern and romantic feel of this card - all I need now is to find someone to send it to me!!!

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 - perhaps an alternative take on the same sketch! Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Sunshine Sayings Meets Thankful Life

by Joanne James13. March 2017 10:55

Good morning and welcome to another week! Mine is going to be a busy one so without further ado I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

These ladies have some great sketches and this one from Jen M is no exception - I love the layering of the panels. I went bright today - take a look:

 

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

Get A Vase of Flowers For Hosting A Stampin' Up! Party - Yes, that's right - today's card features the vase of flowers from the hostess set in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue, 'Thankful Life', a set available to purchase exclusively to customers who host a Stampin' Up! party or place a single order of £150 or more. Extra Stampin' Rewards during Sale-A-Bration make this an excellent time to host, although stamp sets like this one make it worth hosting a party all year round. The stamps are photopolymer and so easy to line up to create a vase of colourful blooms that will last so much longer than fresh ones! This set will be available to hostesses until the Spring-Summer catalogue ends on 31st May, so if it's a set you would like to own, do get in touch with me to arrange a night for your crafty night in with friends. 

You Brighten My Day - The 'Thankful Life' hostess set does come with two sentiments of its own, however both were too too big for the embellishment 'button' that I wanted to create. I opted instead for this one from 'Sunshine Sayings' that seemed particularly appropriate given my colour choices for today's card.  

A Fiesta Of Colour - I took the inspiration for my colour combination straight from the Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper that I used for my background panel - as a brights girl these colours really appeal to me and I just love the mix of patterns they contain: 

Here is the colour combination if you would like to save it to use on your projects too:

 

What a great combination of bold and bright colours - guaranteed to cheer!

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.

Thankful Thoughts Meets Succulent Garden

by Joanne James12. March 2017 09:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the wonderful Jaydee to host this week and she has a fun colour challenge for us to work with:

 

I love green, especially bright greens - Cucumber Crush is one of my all time favourites! - but for today's challenge I decided to go with an altogether more subtle green in Mint Macaron - take a look:

 

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

Succulent Garden - I chose to use a 'tricky' piece of designer series paper on my card today from the Succulent Garden pack. I have been at a loss as to how I should use some of the papers and patterns in this pack and I felt that this sheet in particular lent itself to a monochromatic card in green and white, so used is to cover my entire card front.

A Bold Sentiment - With such a busy paper pattern, I needed a simple, bold sentiment so I chose this bold thank you from the 'Thankful Thoughts' stamp set. I stamped in Mint Macaron onto Whisper White and I used my Stitched Shape Framelits to add a little interest to my otherwise plain circle. With the exception of my row of stamped cacti inside my card and on the front of my co-ordinating envelope, this is all the stamping to feature on my card.

Triple Banners That Sparkle - I added a trio of banners to anchor my sentiment circle, one each in green and white and the third in Mint Macaron glimmer paper, the latest in the Sale-A-Bration free product offering. The sparkle and texture of the glimmer paper introduces another element yet is still in keeping with the overall monochromatic feel 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 Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

So a super simple card today, but one with a very calming colour scheme that I hope Jaydee will appreciate.

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 colour palette. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; 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.

Designer Tee When In Doubt STAMP Card

by Joanne James8. March 2017 21:48

I've had a busy week so far but it's about time I squeezed in a quick blog post! I realise I haven't shared the card that I sent out to my lovely customers with my Spring-Summer catalogues and Sale-A-Bration catalogues at the beginning of January and since it's super clean and simple (well, I had a lot of them to make!) this is a great time to share it - take a look:

 

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

Design Your Tee FOR FREE - Each of my cards features a cute t-shirt featuring one of the stamps from the Sale-A-Bration Designer Tee set, stamped onto Whisper White cardstock and cut out using one of the T-Shirt Builder Framelit Dies in the Spring-Summer catalogue. A number of this year's SAB products co-ordinate with bundles in the Spring-Summer catalogue, which is such a plus; this Designer Tee stamp set extends the creative possibilities of the Customer Tee Bundle even further and I thought the stamp on my t-shirt was just perfect to send to a bunch of people who share my love of all things Stampin' Up! Better still, if you buy the Custom Tee bundle you are well on your way to receiving the Designer Tee stamp set - or any other SAB promotional item - for FREE! We are in the third and final month of this year's Sale-A-Bration promotion - if you haven't yet reaped the benefits, there's still time!

Itty Bitty Flower - I added a punched flower to my t-shirts, finished with a rhinestone for a little girly bling. So many of you lament the retiring of the Itty Bitty Punch Pack, but did you know that the Tree Builder Punch has this tiny flower that is very similar and just as useful? What's more it's a current product and is still available to purchase.

Perpetual Birthday Flowers - I wanted to add a little background to my cards, so I went to one of my 'go to' stamp sets for a little background pattern - Perpetual Birthday. I love the little motifs in this set, so useful for backgrounds, creating your own designer paper and seasonal projects. I guess you could say this set is my personal 'Gorgeous Grunge', a set that I know is a stamp room staple for many of my customers - a little more gorgeous and a little less grunge!

When I'm mass-producing cards in this volume, I also like to make the same card in a rainbow of colours (it stops me from getting bored!) and I often reach for my favourite brights - here's a little shot showing the colours I used:

 

If you received one of these, which colour did you get? Feel free to leave a comment below or better still upload a picture of you and your card on my Facebook page - I would love to see! If you didn't receive one, it will be because you're not on my customer list; if you don't already have a demonstrator and would like to receive a catalogue, just get in touch and I can pop one in the post to you.

Lastly, check out this video from the Stampin' Up! Home Office Team that shows you lots of other cool things you can do with this stamp set:

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.

Birthday Blast Diecut Pop Up Card

by Joanne James5. March 2017 09:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fantastic Sandy to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

 

Now I know from the outside of my card you could be forgiven for thinking that I was working to the wrong theme this week; with the exception of a punched circle and a snipped banner, there isn't any evidence of punching, cutting or snipping: 

 

A fun and colourful front featuring the 'Birthday Blast' stamp set - but look what I did with the inside of my card: 

 

I created a bright pop-up using the largest piece in the Star Blast Edgelits die set! How cool is that?!

Here's a close-up of the pop-up:

 

I lined my card with Daffodil Delight and attached my Real Red diecut to my simple pop-up fold so that as the card is opened, it looks just like a starburst. I added a few extra stars that were the waste from the same piece cut in each of the other feature colours and some gold metallic enamel stars for extra sparkle. 

This card was so easy to make and such a fun way to showcase this edgelit die; if you would like to see more detail on how I made it including measurements, pop back later this week and I will have a short video tutorial for you that explains all.

To complete my project, I also decorated up one of the white gift boxes with another starburst, some leftover stars and some extra thick Bermuda Bay baker's twine to create a little co-ordinated packaging for an accompanying birthday treat:

 

Lastly, here's my card and box together:

 

This set would work in lots of different colourways and is great for young and old - I think I'm going to have to make a few more of them to have on hand! Thank you Sandy for such a great challenge this 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 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:

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 our fun theme this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; 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.

Carousel Circle Trio Birthday Card

by Joanne James1. March 2017 12:00

I've had a busy couple of days making costumes for World Book Day which is today and helping with some fundraising project that Rebecca is involved with so no time to blog. Good news is though I'm back today and I'm sharing a card using items from the Cupcakes and Carousels Suite - take a look:

 

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

All The Fun Of The Fair - Cupcakes and Carousels Suite is described in the Stampin' Up! literature as 'funfair imagery with vintage flair'. This is one of those sets that didn't overly appeal to me at first glance, but having seen so many lovely things made with it by fellow demonstrators my mind was changed. The carousel horse is a definite favourite and I love how the images work together with the unusual retro styling of the fonts.  

An alternative Approach to Layers - Today's card is based on this week's Paper Players sketch. You can see my Design Team card here in Sunday's post; I also created this one still with three images, but as the images were larger I decided to stamp the ferris wheel directly onto the background paper, then added a vanilla doily behind the carousel horse image on the medium sized circle before finishing with the smallest one up front.

A Colourful Combo - The colour scheme for my card was inspired by the starburst-style sheet of designer series paper I chose from the Cupcakes and Carousels Paper Stack. Rich tones of Early Espresso, with the bright red and orange along with a hint of vanilla - feel free to save this combination if it's one that appeals to you:

 

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. 

In addition there is still time to play along with our challenge over at The Paper Players - you can get the full details here.

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.

Baking Makes Life Sweeter - Perfect Mix Card

by Joanne James26. February 2017 09:00

It's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! My good friend LeAnne is the hostess this week and she has a sketch for us to work with:

 

Now you know me - I love a good sketch and this one is a keeper! I had a couple of ideas for this sketch and made two quite different cards. The one I'm sharing today is very much in keeping with my style (maybe that's why it won the James family vote 2 to 1 when I conducted a quick poll!) I went with my signature 'clean and layered' style and took the opportunity to make another card using my 'Perfect Mix' stamp set - take a look:

 

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

It's In The Detail - My card today is my usual clean and layered style. I toyed with adding some additional background pattern or even designer series paper, however the size of my circle elements would have made this too busy. Instead I opted to create detail in other ways: I used my circle Stitched Shape Framelits to cut out my stamped images and layered these onto some punched circles to add a thin border of colour. I also used the partial die cutting technique to add interest by allowing part of the image to overhang the circle. The mixer I inked using my Stampin' Write marker so that I could omit the sentiment that goes with it. I also stamped my oven glove onto coloured cardstock and fussy cut it before popping up on a dimensional for added colour and impact.

Rule of Threes - It is a known principle that things that come in threes are somehow more satisfying or more effective than other numbers. LeAnne's sketch uses three circular elements; I also added a trio of enamel shapes to echo my layered circles and continue the harmony of my card.

A Perfectly Purple Colour Combination - I love purple but it's not a colour I use often on a card, so I chose to use a combination of purples and neutrals today for a change - here it is if you'd like to try it too:

 

This is such a great stamp set! I love the punny sentiments but if you, like me, are a baker then you will find so many uses for these images.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

 **To be updated - Stampin' Up! Website currently unavailable due to overrunning maintenance work. Online ordering currently offline.**

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:

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 our sketch this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'm off to spend the day at the swimming pool as Rebecca is racing in her rescheduled Counties Competition. I don't know which I'd rather - the gale-force icy winds I experienced as I stood outside watching her play in her netball match yesterday morning or the sauna-like temperatures of the swimming pool today! The things us mothers do for love!. I'll be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

To be updated - Stampin' Up! Website currently unavailable due to overrunning maintenance work.

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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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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.