Two New Kits and Bundle Bargains For June

by Joanne James5. June 2024 10:00

 

Everyone loves a good deal, which is why Stampin' Up! is offering an additional 10% off all stamp and die bundles! Between 5 and 30 June, take advantage of the sale and add some new bundles to your collection. Plus, save 10% on the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine and the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. These machines make the perfect crafting partner for stamp and die bundles. With this offer, you and can save time and money!

In addition, today sees two new kits added to the online collection:

First up - the Expressions of Kindness card kit: 

Share heartfelt cards with the Expressions of Kindness Kit. Featuring nostalgic-looking floral designs in beautiful colour tones, this kit is perfect for all-occasion cards for friends and loved ones. Pair the desired sentiment and images from the kit to quickly create timeless cards. Wish happy birthday, send a friendly note, or more, and let the people in your life know you care! Also available in French and German.


Kit includes:
* Expressions of Kindness Photopolymer Stamp Set
* Blackberry Bliss Stampin’ Spot
* Pre-designed projects
* Step-by-step instructions
* Pre-cut pieces (No prep work! Get right to crafting)
* Make 8 cards, 4 each of 2 designs
* 8 printed card bases
* 8 printed envelopes
* Folded card: 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" (14 x 10.8 cm)
* Printed die-cut images and gold foil labels
* Adhesive-backed gold sparkle gems
* Enough adhesive to complete projects
 
This kit costs £22 - how pretty are these finished cards?

EXPRESSIONS OF KINDNESS KIT (ENGLISH)

 The second kit is The Scenic Route Travel Journal Kit:

Make a handmade travel journal with the Scenic Route Travel Journal Kit. This kit is great for memory keeping. Use it to document a special moment or trip spent with loved ones and friends! You can arrange the included fold-out pages the way you desire, as well as the sentiments and images, and create the words of your choice using the adhesive-backed alphabet sheets. The sticker sentiments are available in English, French, German, and Dutch.

Kit includes:
* Step-by-step instructions and guided layouts
* Pre-cut pieces (No prep work! Get right to crafting)
* Make 1 travel journal
* 2 fold-out pages with pockets
* 2 tri-fold pages
* Size of the travel journal: 5-3/4" x 9-1/4" x 7/8" (14.6 x 23.5 x 2.2 cm)
* Printed adhesive-backed die-cut alphabets, sentiments, and images
* Paper die-cut journalling pieces
* Enough adhesive to complete projects

Product colours: Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Lost Lagoon, Petal Pink, Wild Wheat
 
This travel kit costs £21 and would be a great way to capture memories of a specific vacation or special trip.
 
Both kits can be found in the online store - links are below.
 
Back on Friday with another project; until then, happy shopping!
 
 
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

CAS Balloon Trio Birthday Card

by Joanne James5. June 2024 08:00

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card that I made for the following challenges:

      

The sketch over at AAACards was perfect for a trio of balloons, the code word at Addicted to CAS this week and I had to use the trio of colours over at Color Dare since they are celebrating their 12 year anniversary - what an achievement! Here's the clean and simple card I made for the occasion:

 

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

I used an acetate sheet to create a stencil using my retired Balloon Bouquet Punch, then using my blending brushes added three balloons in the challenge colours, overlapping them to form a cluster. I used a retired stamp set to add some balloon strings in Encore silver ink, then finished my card with 'celebrate' sentiment cut from silver foil using my Wanted To Say Dies, and layered on vellum:

 

I originally made a version of this card where I added some stencilled confetti in silver, but thought it looked too 'busy', so I made a second one that is very clean - I much prefer it! This is a great standby birthday card design that could be made in any colour combo and would suit pretty much any participant - I might have to make a few more!

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.

Country Flowers CAS Frame Card CCS 538

by Joanne James4. June 2024 13:00

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

    

Shannon's fresh colour palette are perfect for summer and I decided to use them for some pretty florals. I grabbed the new layout over at Sketch Saturday and a few new products and set to work. This is what I came up with:

 

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

I used a sentiment from the new 'Country Wishes' stamp set and added it to a label from the Unbounded Love Dies, adding a second one in Daffodil Delight for a hint of shadow. I stamped a floral bouquet from Country Wishes and coloured it in the challenge colours with my Stampin' Blends and popped it up on some dimensionals:

A twist of (retired) Daffodil Delight ribbon, tied with white baker's twine completes 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 '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 another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Layers of Beauty Spotlight Wedding Card AYSI 324

by Joanne James24. May 2024 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jane has a theme challenge for us:

       

It's that time of year when lots of people are getting married so Jane's choice of theme is a timely one. I decided to use one of my new stamp set and stencil sets to revisit an 'oldie but goodie' technique for my wedding card - take a look:

 

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

Layers of Beauty - The stamp set I featured on today's card is called 'Layers of Beauty' and comes with a set of co-ordinating dies and layering stencils and I think it's going to be a new favourite! The main stamp is a large floral arrangement of roses and can be used in so many ways. I stamped it in black onto my Basic White card base and left it uncoloured, then stamped it again on another sheet of cardstock to create my spotlight. 

Stencilled Spotlight - With my second image, I used my stencils to colour the flowers in Real Red and the leaves in Garden Green. The stencils are amazing - with only 2 colours, it's possible to create flowers that are full of depth. I chose these colours from the Color Dare challenge because red roses are the language of love and romance and whilst I wouldn't normally go so bold on a wedding card, I think it suits a demonstration of this technique. Once coloured using my inks and blending brushes, I used a Stylish Shapes Circle Dies to cut out a circle, then carefully pieced it onto my black and white design, using dimensionals for a little lift:

 

I was reminded of the spotlight technique with Inkspirational's current challenge; I haven't made a card using it in ages so it was a fun one to revisit.

Sentiment Creativity - I didn't have any current sentiments for a wedding card, so I went on a rummage through my retired stash to see what I could find. Interestingly I couldn't find anything that said 'wedding' specifically, although I'm sure I must have some somewhere. There were lots of congratulations and celebrate sentiments though and in the end I settled with a combination of 'celebrate together' from the retired 'Create With Friends' stamp set. I trio of white sequins complete my card.

I really love this set and can't wait to use it more. I'm also linking today's card up over at Just Us Girls where it's 'anything goes stencil week'; so happy to have added this one to my collection!

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

 

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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.

Faith Hope Love CCS 537

by Joanne James21. May 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 Patricia has asked that we add a panel with 3 banners behind. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

 

For my card today I decided to do another showcase of one of the beautiful designs in the Thoughtful Journey paper pack on that panel - take a look:

 

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

I used one of the Nested Essentials Dies to cut out my scenic panel and decided to highlight three of the colours in the sky and use those for my horizontal strips. I heat-embossed my sentiment onto each in white and used words from the 'Unbounded Love' stamp set that worked well together. How gorgeous are these papers? 

A trio of co-ordinating pearls complete my card front, with a corresponding sentiment added to the inside of my card:

 

What do you think? This is a great design that is quick to make and really does showcase the pretty papers.

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.

Finally, a quick reminder that all orders placed today over £60 are eligible for free shipping - so a great time to stock up on your new annual catalogue favourites.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

FREE SHIPPING - 24 Hours Only

by Joanne James20. May 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 20 May 2024, at 11p.m. and 21 May 2024, at 10:59 p.m (UK).

This is a great time to stock up on new annual catalogue items that are on your wishlist, to pick up one of our all-inclusive papercrafting kits 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 3NR3FB9W to receive an extra thank you in the post from me.

Happy shopping!

Thoughtful Moments Hello Bees AYSI 323

by Joanne James10. May 2024 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where Jan has a recipe challenge for us:

    

I don't know why, but I really struggled with our challenge this week. I think it's new catalogue syndrome - you know, when you have a ton of retired product and not much new but you want to make the new stuff work? In the end, I decided to go with a still-current-but-not-new favourite and chose to make a happy and sunny hello card that very much reflects the lovely warm weather we are having here in the UK this week - take a look:

 

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

Busy Bees - I decided to choose yellow as my 'other colour' in addition to black and white, and using the current Sketch Saturday layout, I positioned a pair of busy bees amongst some honeycomb elements. I stamped the details using the 'Bee My Valentine' stamp set in black onto both white and yellow cardstock, then punched out using my Bee Builder Punch and I also used another of the stamps in this set to add some stamped honeycomb to my white card base too. So that ticked off black, white and one other colour - check.

Hello, Hello - I decided to use a large 'hello' for my focal sentiment, so embossed and diecut it from the Thoughtful Moments hybrid embossing folder and die set. I inked the edge of the word in yellow before embossing and created an ombre effect by colouring with my Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends. This is a great way to get a little variation in colour without actually using a different colour, just making the use of both shades in the Blends pair:

My sentiment ticked off my last two recipe elements: embossing folder and diecut - check.

Finishing Touches - I added a couple of hexagons that I embossed with the (retired) Hive 3D Embossing Folder, showing both the embossed and debossed sides for added texture and interest and a sprinkling of diecut flowers and hexagon-shaped enamel shapes from my stash to complete my card. 

I really love the finished result and I already know who I'm going to send it to - hope she likes it too!

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

 

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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.

Unbounded Love CAS Birthday Wreath CCS536

by Joanne James7. May 2024 13:00

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

    

I used the layout over at AAA Cards to make a birthday card using some of my new catalogue goodies - take a look: 

 

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

I decided to use Pebbled Path as my card base for a change and added some Pebbled Path ink with a blending brush to the the area where I was going to build my wreath to add depth. In addition to a wide variety of labels and frames, there are lots of great little foliage dies in the Unbounded Love bundle and I thought they would make a neat clean and simple wreath. I combined three different pieces and then added in some flowers with pearl centres from the Lovely & Sweet Dies set too:

 A silver twine bow and a fussy cut sentiment complete my card. I really like the finished result, especially with the darker card base.

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

 

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

As a reminder, for our colour challenges, you must use all of the stated challenge colours. You may also use neutral colours; however, the challenge colours should be the most noticeable ones featured on your card. We use Stampin' Up! color names for reference, but you are welcome to use any other companies' products as long as you match the challenge colours as closely as possible.

Enjoy your day; I'm having new carpets fitted today so my day will be a busy one. 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.

Gorgeous Garden Half Panel Card AYSI322

by Joanne James26. April 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 an interesting 'fill in the blank' challenge from the lovely Heather H:

    

The colour I use least in my crafting - intriguing! I used the sketch over at Global Design Project #GDP442 for my layout this week and I made a card that features only two colours; can you guess which one I don't use very often?

 

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

Yes - it's Wild Wheat! I must confess I am not a fan of this one of last year's in-colours and actually don't use it very often at all so for today's card I decided that I would try something different and pair it with one of my most-used colours and all-time favourite, Night of Navy, to see if the colour combo would make Wild Wheat more appealing.

I used a Night of Navy card base and covered it with an entire panel of Wild Wheat - brave! I decided to add a diecut panel using the leaf die from the Gorgeous Garden Dies to the centre of my card. I've used these dies many times before and the eagle-eyed amongst you will realise that the whole die covers an entire card front, so you may be wondering how I managed to halve it to create my panel. It actually wasn't that tricky: I cut my Night of Navy Panel to size then aligned my die at the outside edge and partially diecut it towards the other end. I then removed the die and using a craft knife, I used a metal ruler and carefully cut away the edge of the loose pieces to create a narrow border on the other side of the panel. Yet another way to use these fabulous dies!

I added some Night of Navy twine and a simple gold heat-embossed sentiment from the 'Timeless Arrangements' stamp set, accented with a brass metallic dot to finish:

 

A piece of co-ordinating Wild Wheat in-colour DSP to decorate the flap of the envelope completes my card. Whilst I'm still not a fan of Wild Wheat, I must confess I do rather like this colour combo!

This is a great opportunity to remind you that the Gorgeous Garden bundle is just one of those featured in the monthly tutorials I create with my AYSI teamie, good friend and fellow demonstrator Jan Clothier. This tutorial contains lots more ideas and ways to use the Gorgeous Garden Dies and is yours for FREE when you purchase the Gorgeous Garden Dies from either Jan or myself. These dies are only available until the end of the month before they retire; they are currently almost half price at £24 for the pair - bargain! 

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

 

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
  • In a colour challenge, black or other neutral can be used in outlines and sentiments but no other colours should be included. Stampin’ Up colours are used for reference but colours that are a close match are welcome.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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.

Hello Friend Tortoise CCS535

by Joanne James16. April 2024 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. First up - a confession! I got my dates mixed up and I actually used this sketch last week for my Tuesday post - you can see that card here if you missed it - but since this week is actually CAS Colours and Sketches week, I'm showing you another way to use it! This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Rachel has asked that we use a trio of balanced shapes. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card and remember the shapes you choose don't have to be squares. 

       

I paired Rachel's fun sketch with the 'take 5' challenge over at Color Dare this week (I ended up using all 5 colours) and created a simple notecard to say hello to a friend - take a look:

 

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

I tweaked Rachel's sketch slightly and balanced my stamped and diecut tortoise from 'Playing In The Rain' onto a stacked sentiment from the 'Biggest Wish' stamp set, stamped in Flirty Flamingo. In place of the sentiment on the sketch, I added some flowers - perhaps the meadow where my tortoise had picked his daisy? 

 

My colours do seem a little off today for some reason, with my pink letters looking almost coral; my sage greens are also looking a little darker than they are in real life; notwithstanding, I like this second take on the sketch and the stacked sentiment is a fun idea too. The 'Biggest Wish' stamp set is retiring at the end of this month, although its companion set 'More Wishes' is staying, so if you are wanting to take advantage of the full combination of greetings, be sure to pick up this set before it's too late.

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.

Sale-A-Bration 2025

It's time for Sale-A-Bration 2025! Shop, host and earn benefits between 7 January - 28 February. Download your copy of the Sale-A-Bration brochure here!

Mini Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

New Year, new products - the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue is here! For more details and to download your copy click here

Shop Online

Access my online shop 24 x 7, 365 days of the year:

Current February hostess code:

 3JRGYMXT

Shop Online

Join My Team

And when you join during Sale-A-Bration, new team members can build your starter kit by choosing £130 worth of products for only £99 + free business supplies + free shipping and either TWO Stampin' Write marker sets and the exclusive Handmade Designs stamp set OR an additional £30 in FREE products. Stampin' Up! has something for everyone: join my growing team and benefit from my support to enjoy Stampin' Up! however you choose.

If you're interested, call me for a chat to understand how I can help you realise your goals. Alternatively, if you have already decided to sign up and you just can't wait, please click here for the link to the online form where you can sign up and order your starter kit right away! 

Scrapbooking

Stampin' Up! has introduced a new range of 12x12" scrapbooking product and kit - the full range is now available to purchase online. To download a copy of the new digital Scrapbooking Catalogue click here.

Latest Kits!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The Birthday Bash Kit is just one of the latest kits in the online store - get yours here!

2024-25 Annual Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

Click on the image to download your copy of the 2024-25 annual catalogue. For a full list of current SU! supplies, go to my online store. If you would like any help or advice, please drop me a line at joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk or give me a call on 07773 421446 - I'd be happy to help.

New Online Exclusives

There are new products available exclusively in the online store from 7 January - check them out here.

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.

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Check out 3 popular designer series paper designs in fresh new colourways! Available exclusively in the online store from 3 December - check them out here