Basket Builder Easter Chocolate Bunny Treats

by Joanne James13. April 2017 22:31

We are into our school Easter holidays with a vengeance here in the James household and it is leaving little time for crafting! I just wanted to pop buy and share with you a cute little Easter bunny basket treat using the Basket Bunch stamp set and Basket Builder Framelit dies - retiring, but still available at a great discount at present:

 

These little 3D baskets are so easy to make with a 1 1/4" wide piece of cardstock, scored twice to create a U-shape, attached between each basket piece to hold the chocolate Lindt bunny then decorated with some stamped and cut out out flowers and a bow. I made these for each of my ladies that  attended a class with me this month as a thank you Easter treat and it's fair to say they were definitely well received!

You've still time to make these if you have the product or alternatively snap up a bargain now and be super-prepared for next year!

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

 

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

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Retirement List Items Are Flying Off The Shelves!

by Joanne James11. April 2017 09:00

So after a flurry of activity on the Stampin' Up! website last night as the retiring lists went live, things seem to have calmed down and are a little more stable this morning. Some items, particularly in-colour re-inkers and some of the retiring punches, are already unavailable. There are still though a number of great bargains to be had, including some of my favourites below - each of the items on the second row of the table is available at a whopping 50% off:

 

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
 
I also want to draw your attention to the following key basic items that you may want to stock up on before they are gone forever:
 
Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
 
Well, for me the owl builder punch is definitely an essential item!!!
 
I have another order going in this afternoon so if you are local to me and would like to save on P&P, please get your orders to me by 4pm. The only way to be sure you can get your hands on them though is to place your order online - don't forget to add this month's hostess code Y2MKPTP6 to receive a little thank you from me for all orders over £25.
 
Back later with today's creative post; unitl then, happy shopping!
 
 

Get Retiring Products Before They're Gone!

by Joanne James10. April 2017 19:00

I have a card to share today but first things first - the list of products that will be retiring from this year's annual and Spring-Summer seasonal catalogues has been announced! You can read the full list by clicking here; there are some tremendous bargains to be had - I will have a review of the things I am going to miss most tomorrow, however if you want to stock up on any of the retiring in-colour items, especially re-inkers, I would urge you to do that sooner rather than later as they are always the first things to sell out. Click on the links below to take you directly to my online shop to purchase any of the in-colour items that are still in stock at time of posting:

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

Today I'm sharing a card that uses these departing in-colours - take a look:

 

I used Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White notelets and a bold sentiment from the 'Thankful Thoughts' stamp set, cut out using my square Stitched Shape Framelits to create an elongated rectangular panel, along with a variety of combinations of the in-colour designer series paper stacks, along with some white ribbon for a finishing touch. I made a whole collection of them in each of the retiring colours and decorated the envelope flaps to co-ordinate too. Here's a glimpse of one in each colour:

 

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:

  • Thankful Thoughts stamp set
  • Whisper White Notelets and Envelopes

Flourishing Phrases and Flourish Thinlits Sympathy Card

by Joanne James10. April 2017 13:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where I am the guest designer for the month of April. I shall be joining the lovely ladies on the CAS Colours and Sketches team and each Tuesday at 1pm GMT I will be publishing my post for the new challenge for the week. It's also perfect for the current SUO Challenge, where the theme is 'Sympathy and Caring'. This week it's a sketch challenge, my favourite:

 

 I decided to go with florals again this week and turned the sketch through 90 degrees as it fitted my sentiment better - take a look:

 

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

My card today features both the Flourishing Phrases stamps and co-ordinating Flourish Thinlits - I heat embossed the large flower with clear embossing powder onto my Basic Black background and added a framed sentiment, layered flower and border piece to ground them. A tricky one to photograph, but the shiny embossed background looks lovely in real life. I wouldn't usually choose black for a sympathy card, but it was perfect to allow my bright flower and border to 'pop'; the colour combination was inspired by a dress a friend of mine was wearing when I met up with her last week and I couldn't wait to use it on a card; sometimes inspiration strikes in the funniest places.

The Flourishing Phrases/Flourish Thinlits set is a great bundle that contains a little of everything: stamps, decorative and floral framelits and a whole bunch of sentiments suitable for many different occasions that work for both the outside and inside of your card. The good news is both the stamp set and framelits are on carryover into the new 2017-2018 annual catalogue; the 10% discounted bundle price however, is not. So if you want to benefit from this, you need to place your order for the bundle using the bundle code 142323 (clear mount) or 142322 (wood mount) before 31st May.

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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what the rest of the team has created to inspire you this week. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Simple Oh So Succulents

by Joanne James9. April 2017 09:00

I'm back following a few days of blog absence due to my travels to Amsterdam for Stampin' Up!'s Onstage Live this week. More about that in another post; for 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 colour challenge for us to work with:

     

I made my card for today last week before leaving for Onstage Live in Amsterdam and was a little time-stretched so needed something quite quick and easy and the sketch layout over at Fab Friday was perfect for such a card. Having had the opportunity to have a sneak peek of some of the amazing florals from the rest of the Design Team I decided to go for an alternative look and pulled out my Oh So Succulent stamp set to create a super simple card - take a look:

 

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

Layered Succulents - I decided to stamp a variety of succulents and rather than use a mask to create dimension, I decided to cut them all out using the co-ordinating Succulent Framelit Dies and just rearrange them until I was happy, adding some of them with dimensionals for a more 3D effect. A much quicker solution and when your pushed for time, much more sensible!

Rock and Roll Succulents - I stamped some of my succulents exclusively in Mint Macaron and others in Mint Macaron then rolled the edge of the stamp into my Perfect Plum ink pad before stamping to give a variegated effect.

Back to Black - I decided to heat emboss my sentiment in white onto Basic Black cardstock instead of using black ink on white to provide a contrast to the black outlined succulents on the white panel. 

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. 

I do wish I had allowed my trailing succulent to the left of the sentiment to sit over rather than under my sentiment, but hey ho!

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'm hoping to rest up after my hectic visit and spend a quiet day at home with my family and my new Stampin' Up! catalogue! 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.

Pastels Big on Birthdays For CAS Colours and Sketches

by Joanne James4. April 2017 13:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's new challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches where for the next month I am going to be the guest designer! I shall be joining the lovely ladies on the CAS Colours and Sketches team and each Tuesday at 1pm GMT I will be publishing my post for the new challenge for the week. My first week is the following colour challenge:

   

Since all three colours are pastels I'm also linking up with the team over at Less Is More for the second time this week.

I decided to go with florals and a clean and simple birthday card - take a look:

 

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

Big On Birthdays - I used one of the sentiments from the 'Big on Birthdays' set as the focal point for my card today. A simple base of So Saffron and a Pear Pizzazz frame and all that was left was to spend some time colouring the florals in a combination of all three challenge colours. I added the co-ordinating longer floral bough on the back of my envelope and inside my card for a little extra detail and brushed the flowers on the front of my card with my clear Wink of Stella for a subtle sparkle, but it really was as easy as that!

This stamp set is great for a pretty card in a record amount of time, perfect for when you need a card at the last minute or are just short on time like me 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 '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 the rest of the team has created to inspire you this week. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Mediterranean Moments and Easter Chick Punch Art

by Joanne James3. April 2017 08:00

I've a busy this week ahead with this month's technique classes then a trip to Amsterdam for Onstage Live with thousands of other Stampin' Up! demonstrators from across Europe for the launch of the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue - a whole two months ahead of its publish date - just one of the many things I love about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. More of that in future posts for sure, so this is a week I have to be organised! Today I have a couple of cards to share: here is the first one for this week's challenges over at The Color Throwdown and CAS Colours and Sketches:

      

I love this sketch layout - perfect for a large image. I chose to use one of the sketched images from the 'Mediterranean Moments' set and unusually decided to stamp it directly onto a coloured background:

I stamped in Night of Navy rather than black and added an enamel dot to my sentiment banner, but otherwise the stamped image speaks for itself and is perfect uncoloured for a clean and simple card. I also stamped one of the other images from the Mediterranean Moments set on the inside of my card. I'm also linking this card up with the challenge over at Less Is More where the recipe this week is to use three pastel colours.

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

 

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

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

  

My second card today is for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge where the sketch was perfect for a fun Easter card idea that I had:

I saw some great Easter biscuits on Pinterest and one of them got me thinking about creating a round punch art-style chick - take a look:

 

I used my stitched shape circle framelit, a heart and flower framelit and the smallest shape from the Blossom Punch to create my fun chick and added a few co-ordinating strips of floral Brights designer series paper. My sentiment is from the Sale-A-Bration set 'Hey Chick' but if you don't have this you could add a 'Happy Easter' from Teeny Tiny Sentiments instead. A lighthearted clean and simple take on the sketch 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 '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.

Window Box Thinlits Easter Basket and Punch Art Easter Bunny

by Joanne James2. April 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 lovely Laurie to host this week and she has a fun and timely theme challenge for us to work with:

 

I took the opportunity to take a break from cards this week and have a couple of quick and easy 3D items perfect for Easter treats for you to choose from. The first one is a basket made with the Window Box Thinlits to hold these cute chocolate carrots that I found when out shopping recently:

 

The Window Box Thinlits are so versatile and make the cutest Easter baskets! Of course I had to add a little tag with a bunny and fun sentiment and some Peek-a-boo Peach ribbon bows for decoration.

Sticking with the Easter bunny theme, I also made a punch art 'bow bunny' to decorate my little bucket of chocolate mini eggs:

 

I made my bunny using a combination of my Bow Builder, Festive Flower Builder and Owl Builder Punches, adding a few pearl eyes and some whiskers drawn in with my Stampin' Write marker. Not so sure about this one (I think perhaps his eyes are too far apart!)  Still, an easy way to decorate a treat container or Easter package.

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

Happy Easter With Suite Sayings MM490

by Joanne James31. March 2017 21:00

 

I've had a busy day today with the end of Sale-A-Bration and both of my James Juniors have broken up for the Easter vacation too, so lots going on! I'm sharing a quick card card I made using this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday:

I decided this sketch was perfect to showcase one of my favourite Easter sentiments from the Suite Sayings set - take a look:

 

I paired my sentiment panel with some layers featuring two of the beautiful floral patterns in the Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper and some gorgeous Cucumber Crush striped ribbon. I will miss these in-colour ribbons when they retire at the end of May; stocks of in-colour items are already running low, so if you are reading this and still have re-inkers or other 2015-17 in colour items on your wishlist, you should consider ordering them sooner rather than later, since as we all know once the retirement list publishes in a couple of week's time they will be the first things to sell out.

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. 

A bright and colourful card with minimal supplies, yet the ribbon adds a real touch of luxury.

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.

Flourish Thinlits Framed Sentiment Card

by Joanne James29. March 2017 10:00

Today I'm sharing a card for this week's challenge over at CAS(E) This Sketch which is also my second entry over at Less Is More this week:

    

Here's my card:

 

 

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

Diecuts and Layers - When designing my card, I couldn't decide whether to stamp my base layer and diecut the sentiment, as suggested by the sketch, or whether to work it the other way around. The great thing about a sketch is that it's a starting point and always open to interpretation. I eventually opted for the latter, stamping my sentiment on my absolute base layer of Smoky Slate and heat embossing it in white, then creating a diecut oval in my top layers to frame my sentiment and then decorate this with my Flourish Thinlit diecut flowers. 

A Heartfelt Sentiment - Stampin' Up! sells some great stamp sets that have religious sentiment at the heart of their design and whilst they aren't for everyone there are a number that have a good mix and can be appreciated whatever your preference. Flourishing Phrases is one of those sets: some wonderful words of sympathy and marriage congratulation alongside some of general greeting and thanks. They also come in two parts: the inside of today's card is stamped with the second part of the one shown above, which reads "so he made you" - perfectly appropriate for the intended recipient of today's card.

A Flirt With 'That' Pink - When choosing my colour combination today, I started knowing that I wanted to use white for my floral diecut and so needed to choose a colour for my base that would highlight my embossed sentiment and another that would both compliment it and show off my white florals. I decided to go with Flirty Flamingo for my card front 'white space'; this is one of those colours that I find can be a little harsh when stamped, especially on white (you can see if on the envelope beneath my card in the photo above) yet the cardstock has a wonderful rich, yet soft warm pink tone and compliments Smoky Slate beautifully. Feel free to save this colour combination if it's one that appeals to you 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. 

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

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About Me

Hi I'm Joanne and live in Northampton and when I'm not looking after my husband and two beautiful children, am an avid crafter with a passion for all things Stampin' Up!

I must confess that I have never been a big rubber stamper - until I discovered Stampin' Up! that is. I love the fact that I can get such great results with co-ordinating stamps, inks, papers and punches - the possibilities are endless! Join me on my stamping journey as I share the things I love and be inspired to create amazing things yourself!

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This is my personal blog and is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up! I hope you find it a plentiful source of ideas and personal inspiration but please don't copy my designs for contest submission or use for classes, publication or sale without express permission.