FREE SHIPPING 18 September for 24 Hours Only

by Joanne James17. September 2024 20:00

 

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 £60 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 £60 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 17 September 2024, at 11p.m. and 18 September 2024, at 10:59 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to grab some Christmas crafting supplies, stock up on either of this month's kits which are now in stock, or to treat yourself to a bargain from the clearance rack. So start making those lists and head off to my online Stampin' Up! store to place your order. Remember to add the current hostess code JQEHTZGK to receive an extra thank you in the post from me.

Happy shopping!

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A Little Bit Festive Joyful Sayings CCS 545

by Joanne James17. September 2024 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches.This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Nancy has asked that we add any non-square shape and a sentiment banner:

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I used another of the diecuts from the A Little Bit of Festive designer paper pack - take a look:

 

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

I masked off a panel on my card and used my blending brush to add a strip of Cherry Cobbler ink, onto which I heat embossed part of my sentiment and then added a diecut element from the Joyful Sayings pack to complete my greeting. I used a pair of drums from my paper pack as my irregular shape:

That's all there is to it - super simple and another Christmas card for the pile.

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.

Iconic Imagery Peace on Earth and Christmas Tree Trio

by Joanne James16. September 2024 10:49

Another week, another Monday! Today I'm sharing a couple of Christmas cards that I made at the weekend using a mix and match of old and new. First up is a card that was inspired by the lovely Kim S's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches this week:

    

Kim wants us to make a focal feature of a large sentiment. I love a large sentiment, whether a diecut or stamp, and there is some great inspiration from both the design team and in the gallery this week, so if you're a fan or need some inspiration on how to use a large sentiment, I urge you to check out this week's challenge. I perused my collection of large sentiments and decided that I had the perfect one in my retired collection that I could give a fresh look to with some new product - take a look:

 

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

'Peace on Earth' is one of my favourite large sentiments from the retired 'Thinking Thanks and Peace' stamp set. I often use it on its own (if you use the 'search' function you can find lots of clean and simple cards using this stamp elsewhere on my blog) but one of the things I love to do with a large sentiment is frame it in some way. I was excited to see that one of the patterns in the Online Exclusives Iconic Celebrations pack is of a repeating dove, that is similar in style to the one that forms part of the sentiment stamp - perfect!  I used a sheet of DSP to cover the whole of the base of my card, then heat embossed my sentiment in white onto Misty Moonlight card and placed it in the centre. I cropped my sentiment quite tightly to allow the image on the background to be seen. Here's a close up:

 

Since my card is monochromatic too I'm also linking this card up over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where I've not played along in ages. I've also just realised that Kim's design team card used both the same colour scheme and sentiment, albeit using completely different supplies - clearly I was channelling her in more ways than one this week!

Since I had the Iconic Celebrations designer paper stack out on my desk and I was on a roll, I made another card - this time using the layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and the muted colour scheme at Color Throwdown:

   

The tree paper pattern had 2 of the 3 muted, woodsy colours in it, so again I used this as my base, before diecutting a stitched rectangle and adding a trio of stamped Christmas trees using the coordinating Iconic Imagery bundle:

 

The stamps in this set are two-step, super easy to line up and give a lovely dimensional effect to the completed image. I used Cherry Cobbler for a subtle pop of red on the sentiment and carried the colour over the sentiment on the inside of my card:

 

I love the fonts of the sentiments in this set - they were what prompted me to add it to my collection. I was trying to resist the paper, but well it coordinates so beautifully and makes for a relatively quick card too. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects 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; time for me to crack on with some household tasks before I can hopefully squeak in a little extra crafting time later. 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.
 

 

Reindeer Days Christmas Wreath PP707

by Joanne James15. September 2024 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

    

The woodland animals on our badge this week are so sweet, but I have new goodies and am trying to rapidly increase my stock of Christmas cards, so I grabbed the sketch over at Try A Sketch on Tuesday and set to work - take a look:

 

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

Reindeer Days - The starting point for today's card was my festive reindeer, that I fussy cut from a piece of Reindeer Days designer series paper. There are some great reindeer patterns in this pack; some of them fit the co-ordinating Reindeer Fun Dies too. You can see my reindeer more closely in the photo below:

All Around Wreath - Taking my cue from the wreath around my reindeer's neck, I added a layered wreath, diecut using my All Around Wreath Dies and decorated with red rhinestones, in place of the oval on the sketch. My strip on red was inspired by the wreath's bow.

Greetings Of The Season - A simple sentiment from the 'Greetings of the Season' stamp set and some sparkly green enamel dots complete my clean and simple 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. 

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

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Enjoy your day; we are spending the day with family to celebrate my Mother-in-law's 80th birthday; birthday cake two weeks running - gotta love September birthdays! 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 Little Bit Festive Red Truck For AYSI330

by Joanne James13. September 2024 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 a sketch challenge, designed by me:

    

I had a card designed in my head for this sketch, but as is often the way my time has not been my own this week and I did not have the luxury of a peaceful few hours to pull it together. So - time to pivot and instead I grabbed my new 'A Little Bit Festive' designer series paper pack and a few other new items and rustled up a quick Christmas card - take a look:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

A Little Bit Festive - Those of you who are regular visitors know what a fan I am of the 'Frames & Flowers' paper pack ion the annual catalogue; well think of 'A Little Bit Festive' as its Christmas equivalent! Full patterned paper sheets, combined with diecuts and fabulous frames, the pack is great for all kinds of festive projects and is definitely one of my favourite things in the new mini catalogue. On today's card I used a strip of striped paper and a cute red truck, complete with Christmas tree in the back - you can see the diecut detail more closely below:

 

Just One Stamp - With the diecut elements bringing most of the detail to my clean and simple card, I only needed to add a stamped greeting to my card - no other stamping required. I used a sentiment from the new 'Greetings of the Season' stamp set and am linking up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges where this is actually their theme this week. 

Tag or Label - I added my sentiment to a label - or is it a tag? - from the coordinating 'Greetings of the Season' Dies. These dies look like labels but actually have a hole that makes them into a tag; perfect on today's card to tie a twine bow to finish off the red twine that I'd wrapped around my card base. A trio of Garden Green enamel dots complete my clean and simple Christmas card. I can't wait to make a few more using these papers - I think they will help me to build my Christmas card stocks nicely!

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 or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
  • Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
  • Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
  • You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
  • We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back over the weekend 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.

 

Bee My Valentine

by Joanne James8. September 2024 08:00

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

    

Elizabeth's trio of primary colours are perfect for a back-to-school or teacher appreciation card, but since I didn't need either of these I decided I would challenge myself to use these colours in another way. I had some great options with retired sets, but I wanted to use something current. So armed with the Tuesday Morning Sketches layout, this is what I came up with - take a look:

 

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

Bee Builder - I settled on a bee as the focal point for my card, since it ticked the box for one of my three colours. I heat embossed my bee's face and stripes in black for a little extra shine before punching him out and added a pair of heat-embossed vellum wings. I also added a couple of punched red hearts - so cute!

Bee My Valentine - Don't be fooled by the name, as the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set stretches well beyond the 14th February and is perfect to let a loved one know how special they are. In addition to my bee and sentiment, I decided to use two of the other stamps in the set to add some decoration to my layers: some tone-on-tone honeycomb to the yellow layer, and some bold flowers to the red panel. This is a great way to stretch your stamps and add interest as an alternative to embossing or designer paper; it's always worth considering if stamps in a set can be used in this way.

Spotlight on Beauty Threads - I added my bee to a circle diecut using one of the circle dies in the Spotlight on Beauty Dies set. These circular dies have such pretty decorative edges; the one I used on today's card also lends itself to threading with some linen thread or baker's twine, so I threaded mine with some (retired) black and white twine and finished with a double bow detail:

Voila - my card is complete! The primary colour palette makes for a bold and bright card - I quite like the finished result. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else does with them 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:

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Enjoy your day; I don't have much planned, just family lunch and maybe a spot of gardening and of course looking forward to polishing off the remainder of my birthday cake. I'll be back soon though 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.

2024 September December Mini Catalogue is Here Plus New Scrapbooking Range and Two New Kits

by Joanne James4. September 2024 09:00

It's time to get festive - the new Stampin' Up! mini catalogue is here! Paper copies of the catalogue are on their way to those customers who have shopped with me in the last 6 months (slightly later than usual due to my vacation). If you don't have one, never fear - the catalogue is available right now for you to download by clicking here or on the image below:

 

It will be available until it ends on 6 January 2025 by clicking on the image on the right hand sand of my blog page. So many great stamp sets, papers and more for your Halloween, Autumn and Christmas projects.

Also launching today is the new Digital Scrapbooking Catalogue. Further to the purchase of Close To My Heart, Stampin' Up! is expanding it's 12x12" scrapbooking line. There are new packs of 12x12" coloured cardstock, new two-tone cardstock and some fabulous scrapbooking kits too. The scrapbooking catalogue is only available in digital format and the full product line will be available online and through me as your Stampin' up! demonstrator whilst supplies last. New products will be added to this line on an ongoing basis.  The catalogue is available right now for you to download by clicking here or on the image below:

 

Here are some useful links that show some of the new scrapbooking product in more detail - the first shows the new two-tone cardstock (this is an addition to our current solid core cardstock, not a replacement):

The second gives a closer look at the new scrapbooking kits in more detail:

I also want to bring to your attention two new kits that will be available later this month. The release date has not yet been confirmed, but as with other recent kits they are likely to be popular (the Haunted House Kit sold out in days!) so if either of these kits appeals to you, please let me know and send through your order now so that I can order for you as soon as they release to avoid any disappointment. The first of the kits is a Card Keeper Kit:

 CARD KEEPER KIT

Step up your handmade card collection with our Card Keeper Kit! This kit comes with everything you need to make 10 beautiful all-occasion cards. With a variety of sentiments, you can create an assortment of cards fit for birthdays, saying thanks, and more. And don’t miss the coordinating card container! This cute storage option is the perfect solution for keeping these all-occasion cards organised and ready to go. The printed sentiments are available in Dutch, English, French, and German.

Kit includes:
* Pre-designed projects
* Step-by-step instructions
* Pre-cut pieces (No prep work! Get right to crafting)
* Makes 10 cards: 5 each of 2 designs, and 1 card container (includes lid)
* Folded card size: 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" (14 x 10.8 cm)
* Card container size: Approx. 8-1/4" x 6-1/4" x 6" (21 x 15.9 x 15.2 cm)
* 10 pre-printed envelopes
* Enough adhesive to complete projects
* A 9-1/8" x 6-3/4" x 1-7/8" (23.2 x 17.2 x 4.8 cm) printed designer box for storage or crafting on the go
 
The second kit coming later this month is the Christmas Ornaments Kit:
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS KIT
 
Get into the Christmas spirit with our Christmas Ornaments Kit! This craft kit comes with everything you need to make 9 beautiful Christmas ornaments, including pre-cut paper greenery, pinecones, bright berries, and festive details. Whether you gift it to a friend or keep it for yourself, this kit is the perfect solution for quick and easy Christmas crafting projects.

Kit includes:
* Pre-designed projects
* Step-by-step instructions
* Pre-cut pieces (No prep work! Get right to crafting)
* Makes 9 4" (10.2 cm) & 3" (7.6 cm) metal ring ornaments: 3 each of 3 designs
* Enough adhesive to complete projects (or use hot glue for easier assembly; hot glue not included.)
* Plastic pinecones and faux berries
* Pre-tied satin bows
* Metallic string
* A 9-7/8" x 6-1/2" x 2-3/4" (25.1 x 16.5 x 7 cm) printed designer box for storage or crafting on the go

Featured colours: Basic Beige, brown, Cherry Cobbler, gold, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Pretty Peacock 

Both kits will retail at £24 each and make great gifts too. The ornaments would also be great to make with children  -a half-term project perhaps?

I'll let you know when they are available to purchase, but if you're interested you should get in touch now so that your order is ready to go. Back soon with a new project and some samples from new mini catalogue makes.

Friends For Life CAS Thinking Of You Card

by Joanne James3. September 2024 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Nancy is hosting this month and our first challenge is a colour challenge: 

 

Nancy's colours are all from the Neutrals family and whilst I like each of them, I'll confess I struggled to know how to use them effectively together. So I decided the best thing to do was keep it simple - take a look:

 

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

I still had the Friends For Life bundle out on my desk having made Sunday's card, so decided to choose 3 elements - a sentiment and two diecuts - and created a simple layout making a feature of the structured leaf stem and added a trio of Blackberry Bliss enamel dots to complete my card:

 

Turns out I actually rather like the finished result - sometimes less really is more, right?

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! colour 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 news of the new mini catalogue. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Latte Love Trio CCS543

by Joanne James2. September 2024 09:00

I took the week off from my last challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches as I was on vacation. So I decided to use the sketch and create a clean and simple card with t using the current colour challenge over at Color Dare, to use white, brown and one other colour. Deborah's sketch shows a trio of images in a column:

    

For my card I went super clean and simple: one layer, one stamp set and just two ink colours - I chose one of my favourite pinks, Melon Mambo, as my choice colour. This is what I came up with:

 

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

I stamped a trio of Latte Love coffee cups in Melon Mambo and added my sentiment and coffee swirls in Pecan Pie, changing out the coffee art on the central cup and nestling the sentiment in between:

 Done - #simplestamping, that's all there is to it! A quick and easy card to invite a friend on a long overdue coffee date because everyone loves a good catch up, right? If you want to play along with this sketch, you have one more day to get your entry in.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Thank You For Being A Friend Friends For Life PP704

by Joanne James1. September 2024 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 fun theme for us to work with:

    

Spots or stripes - you choose! Or if you can't make up your mind, use both! I decided to go with spots to create a card for a special friend of mine. I used Jen T's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches for my card (with a liberal interpretation of that oval shape) - take a look:

 

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

Thank You For Being A Friend - First up - apologies if the sentiment on today's card has you singing the theme tune from the TV classic 'The Golden Girls' all day - it is just what I needed for today's card for one of my special and most caring friends. The 'Friends For Life' stamp set allows you to make a variety of sentiments by combining the stamps and diecuts it contains, all of them perfect for sharing with a friend. I snipped my stamped sentiment to fit above my layered diecut and popped it up on dimensionals so that it would stand out:

 

Full of Life Zentangles - For the main panel on my card, I decised to use a piece of brightly coloured spotty paper from the Full of Life designer series paper pack. Since I decided to go with a black and white sentiment, I added some zentangle doodles using a black fine liner to each of the spots (something I picked up from the lovely Melody Hyde of HammondAndPenny on Instagram) to give them a little extra definition; I really like the way it changes the pattern. I also added a bold black border for added definition along the edge of the panel.

A Hidden Mickey - Finally, I added some black enamel dots to randomly accent a number of the spots - except in one area where I created a 'hidden Mickey' - did you spot it? The recipient of this card is a huge fan of the famous mouse and since this card is to accompany a suitably themed gift that I bought her whilst visiting the most famous mouse of them all, I had to include one. In case you didn't spot it, here's a close-up:

 

Cute, right?! I know my friend loves those little details as much as I do and will totally appreciate it!

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

 

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

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

Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN!

Enjoy your day; I returned from my vacation which was wonderful but unfortunately brought the dreaded Covid with me so have been struggling for a few days. I feel like I'm just about turning the corner now though, although my tissue box is never far away! The joys of being back to reality. 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.