Feel Goods and World Of Dreams To Start The Week!

by Joanne James27. April 2015 10:33

Good morning everyone! It's Monday and I'm here bright and early with not one, but two cards for you today! The first is a chalkboard card using this week's colours over at The Color Throwdown:

I couldn't resist some bright yellow on a Monday morning, so decided to dig out my 'Feel Goods' stamp set and pair it with the sun in the 'So You' stamp set to create the following card:

I used a base of Daffodil Delight and a piece of chalkboard paper, then stamped both the sun outline and the sentiment and heat embossed them in white. I found a small piece of retired yellow polka dot paper in my scrap box and stamped the sun again onto it and cut out the pieces and paper-pieced them onto my card. I would say you could substitute with something out of the current Brights Paper Stack, but since this is on the retiring list and already sold out, you will all need to raid your current supplies for this one! To finish, I added a gel pen line around the edge of my chalkboard and just wiped over the card lightly with some Whisper White craft ink. It adds a cool chalkboard effect in real like, although the photo does just look a little 'untidy' I think! I'm also linking this card up with Diane at Pixie's Snippets Playground since I was good and actually used up some of my scrap box snippets on this card - that so hardly ever happens!

My second card is using the colours over at Colour Q and this week's Cas(E) This Sketch:

   

I'm still enjoying my re-acquaintance with my aqua painter as a means of watercolouring and when I saw this week's CAS(E) This Sketch I knew it would offer me the opportunity for a little watercolouring behind this sweet bird couple silhouette from the 'World of Dreams' stamp set: 

I stamped both the bird image and the sentiment (from the retired 'Good Greetings' stamp set) in versamark and heat embossed in black - this has a lovely sheen in real life - onto watercolour paper and then using my aquapainter, I picked up the inks in the challenge colours (I substituted Pear Pizzazz for Kiwi Kiss as I don't have this retired colour) and simply coloured in a 'halo' effect behind the silhouette image. I then adhered my finished piece to a base of Bermuda Bay cardstock. I think this will make a lovely anniversary card for my box - my own wedding anniversary doesn't come round again until next February; now that's what I call organised!

Right, that's me done for today - I have some admin to crack on with, dinner to prepare and a large basket of ironing to do - well, at least the sun is shining! Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Feel Goods Card:

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

 

World Of Dreams I Love Us card:

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

 

Well Worded Birthday Girl

by Joanne James26. April 2015 10:00

Yay! It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. We loved your watercoloured creations last week; today the lovely Ann is hosting and she has a sketch challenge for us - and you know how I love a good sketch! This is the sketch layout:

So many possibilities for this great sketch, but I decided that today I had to go with a birthday card for 2 reasons: I have lots of birthdays coming up in the next month, so I need to get into a birthday groove, but more importantly, today the lovely Ann is also celebrating her birthday, so it seemed entirely appropriate. I have sent a card (not this one!) in the post, but I'm not sure she will have received it in time for the big day so I'm playing safe with a virtual one too! I decided to use a piece of Birthday Bash paper as the inspiration for my colour scheme, and paired this with a retiring stamp set, Well Worded:

 

I used Tangelo Twist for my base and a mat of Bermuda Bay, then used a split layer with Birthday Bash DSP across the top and Whisper White along the bottom. I covered the join with pennants in co-ordinating colours, then stamped my birthday cake in Tangelo Twist with Bermuda Bay candles and cut this out with my Big Shot and Oval framelits, matting it onto a slightly larger oval that I paper pierced using my piercing template. To finish, I added a final sentiment to the bottom corner using the 'birthday girl' stamp from the 'Hooray It's Your Day' set - this set co-ordinates with the project kit of the same name, but is useful for lots of cards and can be used for some fun personalisation - this card could equally be tailored to a 'birthday boy' and you wouldn't even need to change the colours. I stamped a trio of stars from the same set in co-ordinating colours to finish my fun birthday card. 

So before you reach for your paper and inks, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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

I hope my birthday card puts you in a celebratory mood today - best wishes to Ann for a super day and I look forward to seeing what you make with our sketch this week.

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.

 

Wedding Cake For Your Perfect Day

by Joanne James25. April 2015 20:41

I've had a week of haphazard blogging this week and not much time for making, but today I managed to get a couple of cards made so hopefully that will put me back on track. Today I'm sharing a card I made using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, the first time I've managed to play along in a few weeks:

 

That long vertical panel offered so many possibilities - I decided it was time to use the wedding cake for the Your Perfect Day stamp set and more of the Something Borrowed DSP for a wedding card:

I went with a base of Blushing Bride, then matted my DSP on a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock, wrapped with some lace trim and Blushing Bride baker's twine. The wedding cake was stamped in Sahara Sand onto Whisper White and matted in the same way. I used a blender pen to add some Blushing Bride and Sahara Sand ink to the image and I split the sentiment into two parts so that it would sit more neatly on my panel. I thought my card still needed a little something, so I added a few tiny pearls - still clean, but just the right finishing touch.

That's all from me today; I'll be back tomorrow with this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players where Ann has a great sketch for us to work with. 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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Cards | Stamping | Weddings

Life In The Forest Meets So You

by Joanne James23. April 2015 08:05

It's Thursday and that means a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. This week it's colours:

   

I'm also using this week's sketch over at Retrosketches for my layout. So I debated long and hard what to do with this colour combination; then I decided I would go with something fun! I used my Life in The Forest set - not inked up in a while and soon to be retired so it seemed like a good opportunity to use it:

I used Soft Sky for my base, then created a little paper pieced scene for my racoon. I used the soft sky paper from the Painted Blooms DSP pack for my sky, then paper pieced my trees from Wild Wasabi cardstock and my racoon from a combination of Basic Grey, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock. I cut my large word bubble out using my Big Shot and oval framelits, handcutting the speech piece and stamped the sentiment from the 'So You' stamp set. I love the addition of the wild wasabi grass, cut with my fringe scissors, and the Soft Sky Painted Blooms cotton twine, but my absolute favourite part of this card? The addition of the tiny googly eyes to my little racoon:

It brings out the child in me  - so cute!!! Do hop on over to the other designers to see how they have interpreted this week's colours - I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery.

I will be back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

  • Life In The Forest
  • So You Photopolymer Stamp Set
  • Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper
  • Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
  • Ovals Collection Framelits Dies
  • Fringe Scissors
  • Painted Blooms Cotton Twine
  • Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
  • Card Stock A4 Soft Sky
  • Wild Wasabi A4 Card Stock
  • Basic Gray A4 Card Stock
  • Basic Black A4 Card Stock
  • Whisper White A4 Card Stock

 

New Wednesday Weekly Deals and Updated Retirement Lists

by Joanne James22. April 2015 23:17

It's Wednesday (still just!) so that means a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! This week's deals are included below - they will be available for one week only, before a new collection of deals is announced. 

As always, if you want to take advantage of any of the deals on offer, you can support my business by placing your order online by clicking here or using the link to my store on the right hand side of my blog page where it says 'Shop Online' or with me in person. Don't forget to add the Hostess Code for April DBJFM4DG and be sure to make sure that you don't check the 'no contact' box if you'd like to be kept updated with the progress of you order and receive a little thank you in the post from me. 

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

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
 
Don't forget the retiring lists are still going strong too - lots of the cardstock, in-colour supplies and embellishments have already been snapped up, but the are still plenty of bargains to be had - you can find the updated retirement lists by clicking here
 
Back tomorrow with this week's post for Create With Connie and Mary; until then, happy shopping!
 

Stampin' Up! 2015 Retiring Stamps And Accessories Lists Now Available and 30% Off MDS!

by Joanne James21. April 2015 07:00

The retiring lists are here! Discover what stamps and accessories, including the 2013-15 In Colours, are retiring at the beginning of June this year. Retiring products are only available WHILE STOCKS LAST, so if you've still items on your wish list from this year's annual or spring-summer seasonal catalogues, you need to check the retiring lists and if they're on it put an order in pronto!

 

Please click on the links below to see the complete lists:

           

Retiring Stamps & Accessories - available April 21-June 2 (while stocks last)

 

     

My Digital Studio - 30 % off available April 21-June 2

 

Don't forget - as mentioned previously, the annual catalogue transition takes place on the earlier date of 2nd June, not 30th June as previously communicated. This means that you have just over 5 weeks left to shop from the current catalogue. Some of the items on these lists will sell out quickly and once they're gone, they're gone. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay, shop today! Click here to go straight to my online store - remember to include this month's hostess code DBJFM4DG to receive a special thank you from me. if you live in or around Northampton, I will be putting in an order this evening so if you would like to save on postage and collect your order on delivery, please email me on [email protected] or phone me with your order by 6pm today.

I have a class this morning so will be back later with today's creative post; until then, happy shopping!

 

Artisan Embellishment Watercoloured Roses Card

by Joanne James20. April 2015 11:27

Well it's a lovely sunny spring day here in the UK today - what a lovely start to the week! As promised, I have another watercolour for you today - this time using the colours over at Colour Me...! and this week's Paper Craft Crew sketch:

   

Isn't that a pretty colour palette? I thought these colours were perfect for a soft and pretty, rather feminine card and perfect for some watercoloured roses - take a look:

I used Pistachio Pudding for my base and front, with a layer of Blushing Bride in between, then watercoloured a circle of watercolour paper with a blend of all three colours and my aquapainter, using one of the diecuts from the Artisan Embellishments kit as a stencil. The flower outlines aren't perfect yet I like this - I think it adds to the overall effect. I finished with a pierced border, a Blushing Bride rose cut from the trim that is also included in the kit, a thick baker's twine bow and a flag in rose red and a couple of banners, one of which I stamped with the 'love' from the 'Hello Life' stamp set - a perfect fit and it just so happened to be out on my desk from another project. 

If you would like to recreate this card, don't forget the Artisan Embellishment kit is on offer this week as one our Wednesday Weekly Deals - you can pick one up for just £6.71 and there are lots more bits and pieces in there too, including some rather lovely Blackberry Bliss velvet trim!

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of exciting news - tomorrow is the day that the Stampin' Up! retiring list launches - all of the products that will not be carrying over to the new annual catalogue, including the 2013-15 in-colours will be announced. Many of these products will then be available at a discounted price, only whilst stocks last. So do pop back then to check it out! 

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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Cards

Bloom With Hope Watercolour Daisy For The Paper Players

by Joanne James19. April 2015 10:00

It's Sunday - my favourite day of the week! - and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. Thanks to everyone who joined in with my colour challenge last week - the standard of entries was incredibly high. This week it's 'Clean and Simple' week and the amazingly talented Nance has chosen watercolouring as her theme:

    

It's been ages since I did any proper watercolouring, so it was nice to dig out some paper, re-acquaint myself with my aquapainter and get painting. I played around with lots of different watercolouring techniques and once I had started, couldn't stop and ended up whiling away a pleasant few hours in my sunny creating a few different cards. Here's my clean and simple creation for today, using this week's sketch over at Pals Paper Arts, although with a little less slant to the horizontal element (hopefully I'll be forgiven for this slight stray from the sketch!):

There really isn't much to explain here: I stamped the daisy from the Bloom with Hope hostess set in Versamark onto watercolour paper and heat embossed it in white, then using my aquapainter and a variety of inks I coloured my image. I adhered it to a base of Daffodil Delight and finished it with a bold Pacific Point blue 'hello' cut using my Expressions thinlits and adhered it using some rolled glue dots to give just a little dimension.

So before you reach for your paper and inks, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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

I hope you like my creation - I'm already looking forward to seeing your watercolour cards and projects in our gallery this week. I love the bright colours of today's card, but if it's a little loud for you come back tomorrow to see an altogether more subtle watercoloured card!

Back tomorrow with another watercoloured card; 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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Cards | Stamping

Painted Petals Meets Adventure Bound

by Joanne James17. April 2015 20:22

It's Friday and I almost don't know how I got here!! This week has been a busy one: the children are back to school following their Easter break, although Ben was only in for a day before departing for a three-day residential trip. He came home today, tired and a little grubby, but having had the best time! I've also had a couple of technique classes and my Project Life memory keeping group this week, and a couple of late nights, so it would be fair to say that I am happy that Friday is here and I'm looking forward to a lie-in in the morning, even if only a short one!

I haven't managed as much creative time this week as I would have liked, so today I thought I would share one of the cards I made at team training on Sunday. We made lots of projects using the Adventure Bound DSP stack; this is such a great stack for masculine cards and has some fabulous natural photographic prints. My card today though shows that these papers can equally be used for beautifully feminine cards - take a look:

A piece of hardwood print was randomly stamped with the flowers and stems from the Painted Petals set in Strawberry Slush and Mossy Meadow and adhered to a base of Strawberry Slush. The same colour was used to stamp the sentiment on a piece of Whisper White and then this was edged with a piece of Soft Sky, with a scalloped edge, tied with some Painted Blooms cotton twine, then attached to the card with an antique brad. To finish, I stamped a couple of extra flowers and leaves and fussy cut them out and popped them up on a couple of dimensionals. 

So what do you think of today's card? I rather like the hardwood background and it certainly shows how versatile this paper stack can be. 

That's all from me today. Don't forget to check The Paper Players blog tomorrow if you would like to see who won headliner for my challenge this week. 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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Cards | Stamping

Sea Street Maritime Paper Tole Card

by Joanne James16. April 2015 08:05

It's Thursday and time for another challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary, where this week we have a new sketch challenge for you:

I took quite an unusual approach with this card and decided to try out a new technique that was highlighted on a recent Splitcoast Stampers newsletter - paper tole, where you cut elements of your one layer card using a craft knife to create a raised almost 3D effect. Take a look at my card and then I'll share with you some tips:

I decided to use a sheet of highly patterned Maritime Designer Series Paper for my card front; I haven't used this paper in a while and it is one of my favourites, so thought it opportune to give it some love again for a change! It also has lots of great co-ordinating patterns that made it easy to add my angled layers on the left hand side. 

I decided to use the octopus as the focal point for my card, and based my cutting line around that. To create the paper tole effect, I cut some of the upper 'layers' of his legs and rubbed the reverse side with the rounded end of my pokey tool to create a raised cardfront, that is accentuated by placing dimensional behind the cut pieces. You can see that better in the photo below:

I wasn't sure this would work with DSP as the technique suits a thicker cardstock or watercolour paper, but it actually worked quite well and I'm pleased with the overall result. I included some minimal stamping, in the little banner that the octopus is holding, but otherwise, this card is all about the paper! 

I was having an interesting discussion with one of my customers yesterday about sketch challenges and I thought I would just take the opportunity in my post to just mention a few of the things that we were talking about - if you've ever considered having a go at one, but were holding back because you weren't sure, you may find the following useful:

  • The sketch is for inspiration - it should be used as a guide.
  • You don't have to interpret the sketch literally, but your challenge card should bear a resemblance to it and share key elements. So for example, with the sketch above, I would expect to see a focal image, but it can usually be any shape and doesn't have to be exactly the same as the one in the sketch (I used the octopus) some form of flag/embellisment/sentiment banner (I used my Hi! banner garland) and some form of treatment on the left (I layered my DSP).
  • The number of mats and layers isn't prescriptive; I did choose to go edge-to-edge with my DSP for this card, largely to fit everything in and because I didn't want a border to distract, however had I been using a punched image for my focal point, I might have created a bordered mat - that would have been ok too.
  • You should take note of the challenge rules; all challenges are different, e.g. the Create With Connie and Mary Challenge requires you to use Stampin' Up! products only, others may restrict the number of challenge entries you can combine or have other guidelines to be adhered to.

You will notice that all of the design team have interpreted this week's sketch challenge differently, yet all of them bear a resemblance to the sketch - hence you get lots of additional creative inspiration on how to interpret the sketch and use your SU! products. So enough from me - go get your inks, stamps and paper and see what you can make of this week's sketch  - we look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery. 

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

  • Maritime Designer Series Paper
  • Back To Basics Alphabet Photopolymer Stamp Set
  • Banner Punch
  • Paper-Piercing Tool
  • Stampin' Pierce Mat
  • Basic Black Baker's Twine
  • Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock
  • Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Whisper White A4 Card Stock

 

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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.