Reason For The Season Decoupage Poinsettia Card

by Joanne James17. September 2015 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great sketch challenge for you:

 

I decided to use the lovely 'Reason For The Season' stamp set on my card again today. Here's my card: 

 

I decided to use the tone on tone stamping on my Real Red card base as it was so popular on my earlier card here. I used a band of Garden Green and a Garden Green mat for my Whisper White oval, cut with my Big Shot and Oval Framelits, and added a band of Real Red striped Holiday Fancy Foil Designer Vellum to the central band to add a little shine. I stamped my sentiment in black and then for my embellishment, I stamped the poinsettia three times on Whisper White and fussy cut each one, creating different layers of petals as I did so, so that when they were adhered on top of each other they have a real 3D effect. I also coloured some pearls with a yellow Sharpie and added those to the centre of my flower. Here's a closeup of the detail:

 

I love the effect you get with some good old fashioned fussy cutting and layering and for this card, no punch required. This set really is so versatile!

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's challenge sketch; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

  • Reason For The Season Photopolymer Stamp Set
  • Holidays Fancy Foil Designer Vellum
  • Ovals Collection Framelits Dies
  • Big Shot
  • Whisper White A4 Cardstock
  • Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Real Red A4 Cardstock
  • Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Garden Green A4 Cardstock
  • Pearl Basic Jewels

 

New Wednesday Weekly Deals Are Here!

by Joanne James16. September 2015 09:00

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 new Hostess Code for September HJQSKSW6 if your order is under £150 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.

More great deals again this week. my favourite has to be the oh so versatile hexagon punch - great for little banners and so many more uses besides. At only £10.88 a bargain too! 

Back tomorrow with this week's challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary; until then, happy shopping!

Wicked Awesome!

by Joanne James14. September 2015 20:42

It's Monday - what else is there to say?! Today's card was using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, although I am too late to link up today, although I can still join in with The Friday Mashup where the challenge is to use glitter on your card and/or combine with a 3D project (I just went with the glitter). Here's the sketch:

   

Lots of possibilities. I wanted to try out an idea I'd had buzzing around my head for a while - here's my card:

So my card today is very 'green' courtesy of Cucumber Crush - but with good reason! I wanted to create a card reminiscent of the musical 'Wicked' that would serve as a celebratory card, and use a combination of blacks for contrast. I stamped my witch's hat from Howl-O-Ween Treat in Archival Basic Black ink, then stamped my 'wicked' sentiment from the new Project Life 'Seasonal Snapshot 2015 set in Versamark and heat embossed it in black a couple of times to give it real profile and shine. I added the 'awesome' from Endless Birthday Wishes, some shiny black sequins from the metallics sequin assortment (another use for one of this week's Weekly Deals!) and some silver Dazzling Details to the stars and band on the hat. 

This is one of those cards that looks so much better in real life - it has real sparkle and shine that s difficult to capture on film. My daughter really loves it though, so this is one that will be heading her way in due course I think!

That's all from me today; I have a class tomorrow with a lovely group at a local residential care home along with some mass Christmas card production for an event later 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.

 

Lighthearted Leaves For The Paper Players

by Joanne James13. September 2015 10:00

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! As you may well have already read on our home page, the lovely and so talented Ann Schach, one of our longest serving members, is stepping down; we will all miss her dreadfully but at the same time we wish her well for the future she both wants and deserves. Love you Ann!!

I am therefore hosting this week and I would like to share Ann's last great colour challenge with you:

    

I am loving the Lighthearted Leaves set and given the lovely comments I received on the card I made last week (if you missed it you can see it here), and inspired by the leaves on our badge this week, I thought I would use this set again for today's card:

 

I also used the sketch over at The Challenge (welcome back ladies!) for my layout. I used Tangelo Twist for my card base, and partially covered this with a piece of Into The Woods DSP with a bold leaf pattern - I've been longing to use this paper with the Lighthearted Leaves, the two seem made for each other, don't you think? I decided to use So Saffron for my main panel on a mat of Lost Lagoon. I stamped my sentiment in Lost Lagoon and stamped a zentangle-like border, also in Lost Lagoon, around the edge using one of the border stamps from the Tin Of Cards stamp set. I then stamped two if the leaf shapes in Versamark and heat embossed in white, onto one each of Lost Lagoon and Tangelo twist cardstock and using my Stampin' Write markers, I coloured in some of the pattern just to add a little more depth of colour before cutting them out with my Leaflets framelits. The orange leaf I adhered directly onto the top panel, and for my larger Lost Lagoon leaf I popped it up onto a double height of dimesionals, having tied a bow with some of the retired SAB thick baker's twine in Tangelo Twist and highlighting the spots with pearls (that's my nod to the lovely Ann this week :-))

This card took longer to come together in reality than it did in my head (does that ever happen to you?!) but now that it's finished I really rather like it. What do you think? 

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
Anne Marie Hile - on leave
 
 
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 have a morning of sport to look forward to today followed by a family lunch in honour of my mother-in-law, who is celebrating her birthday this weekend. I look forward to seeing how you use my chosen challenge colours on your cards in the gallery 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.

 

'Tis The Season Holly Christmas Card

by Joanne James12. September 2015 21:43

Today I have another Christmas card for you! I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch as my inspiration:

   

This is such a great sketch - I can see me using it for lots of cards. Today I combined it with the Merry Monday Challenge that I haven't played along with for a while - this week we are challenged to use holly on our card and I immediately reached for my favourite new Home For Christmas DSP. Holly is also the theme over at Happy Little Stampers, so I'm linking up there too. Here's my card:

I used Real Red for my base, with a piece of striped DSP across the horizontal. I then mounted a piece of the holly patterned DSP onto a mat of Mossy Meadow, then cut a striped banner with my Triple Banner Punch and popped it up on dimensionals in the centre of the holly panel. I then stamped my sentiment, from the super-useful sentiment set 'Oh What Fun', in Mossy Meadow on a piece of Very Vanilla, mounted this on a mat of Real Red and added some red berries (tiny pearls that I coloured red with a Sharpie) to add a little dimension. I rounded the corners of all my mats and panels using my Project Life corner rounder as per the sketch; this softens the sharp lines of the panels, which I rather like.

A rather simple layout, but a great way to use a combination of co-ordinating patterns and I love the added berry detail on the sentiment.

Back tomorrow with a new challenge over at The Paper Players; this week it's a colour challenge and I'm hosting, so come back then and 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.

 

Festival Of Trees in Green and Gold Christmas Card

by Joanne James11. September 2015 20:51

Yay it's Friday! This has been a busy week, but a good one nonetheless. Today I'm sharing a card that I made earlier this week for this week's Less Is More challenge but am only just getting the opportunity to share - how does that happen?! Anyway, the LIM girls have a challenge this week to use the colours green and gold on your card (with lots of white space!) and I just couldn't resist. Here's my card:

I decided to use Cucumber Crush as my green as I think it has a real vibrancy with the gold and white for a Christmas card. I heat embossed the pattern on my tree using the Festival of Trees stamp set in gold and combined this with a piece of Cherry on Top check DSP, my sentiment which is a combination of a gold foil 'merry' cut using the new Christmas Greetings thinlits and the stamped 'Christmas' from the Holly Jolly Greetings on a white banner. I added a couple of loops of gold corded trim and a sprinkle of gold star sequins - on offer on weekly deals this week and so easy to adhere with my new fine tip glue pen! - and that's my card done. 

A super modern CAS Christmas card that would be easy to mass-produce and in tradition colours. Maybe this will make the 'shortlist for mass production' pile this holiday season!

That's all from me today; my week has worn me out! 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.

 

Mirrored Lighthearted Leaves Autumn Card

by Joanne James10. September 2015 08:05

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary and this week we have a great colour challenge for you:

 

Delightful Dijon is probably the most under-utilised of my current in-colours, so today's card was a good opportunity to redress the balance a little. I thought these colours would work well for an Autumn/Fall card, so that's where I went with this combination. Here's my card: 

 

I am loving the new Lighthearted Leaves set, so perfect for colouring, and a doddle to cut out with the co-ordinating Leaflets Framelits! I was inspired to create a card with a rather geometric yet zentangle feel having been browsing on Pinterest (as you do ;-). For today's card, I used a Delightful Dijon base with a mat of Night of Navy then a further layer of So Saffron. I cut a strip of Delightful Dijon lengthways at half the width, then stamped three leaves in Night of Navy and cut them out using the Leaflets framelits. I coloured a couple of these with my blender pen and Night of Navy ink, then having positioned the negative die cut on top of the So Saffron layer, I stamped three additional leaves in Navy onto the So Saffron layer in the spaces. I coloured these leaves using a blender pen and my Night of Navy and Delightful Dijon markers. 

To complete the design, I adhered the negative die cut to my card base using dimensionals, then aligned two of the cut-out leaves to the right side top and bottom, again using dimensionals, then stamped the sentiment in navy directly onto the So Saffron layer in the centre of the card. 

Do visit the other Design Team members to see how they used this week's challenge colours; there's lots of inspiration over on their blogs too!

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

  • Lighthearted Leaves Photopolymer Stamp Set
  • Leaflets Framelits Dies
  • So Saffron A4 Cardstock
  • Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
  • Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock
  • Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock
  • 2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers
  • Blender Pens
  • Big Shot
  • Magnetic Platform

 

New Wednesday Weekly Deals Are Here!

by Joanne James9. September 2015 09:00

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: a new collection of Wednesday Weekly Deals! These offers are valid for one week only. As always, a new collection of deals will be announced next Wednesday.

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 new Hostess Code for September HJQSKSW6 if your order is under £150 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.

This is a great week of deals for items that will look great on Christmas cards: Stars framelits and piercing templates, metallic foil doilies and sequins and the medallion flower punch which co-ordinates with one of the snowflake stamps in the new Flurry Of Wishes stampset. This is the perfect opportunity to pick one up at a reduced price if you don't already have it.  

Back later with today's creative project, featuring one of this week's weekly deals, no less; until then, happy shopping!

Reason For The Season Tone on Tone Poinsettia Card

by Joanne James8. September 2015 20:03

I held the second of my monthly technique classes today so I thought I would share with you one of our class cards. We have been using the 'Reason For The Season' stamp set this month and this is the first of our cards, our 'warm up' card:

I created a lovely 'tone on tone' background, by stamping the petal flower image in Real Red onto Real Red cardstock. We then created a white panel to go across the front, where we stamped the complete flower in Real Red and Garden Green, including the outline. 'Reason For The Season' is a two-step stamp set, where you stamp the outline then infill the coloured areas with separate stamps for the petals, leaves and centres. This sounds much more difficult than it actually is, when the stamps are photopolymer like this one; because the stamps are transparent it makes aligning the images a breeze, with no stamp-a-ma-jig required. 

The outline and sentiment were stamped in the new Basic Black archival ink, which gives a lovely crisp image. To finish, I added a row of gold sequins either side of the panel and some decoration to the inside of the card. This is a great stamp set with so many creative possibilities. Best of all, it has a co-ordinating punch and is one of the many fantastic bundle offers in the seasonal catalogue - buy both items and save 15%, can't get better than that!

If you live in or around Northampton and would like to attend one of my classes, please do check out my class schedule or contact me for more details. They are a great way to learn new crafting techniques and enjoy a pleasant few hours creating with like-minded individuals.

Back tomorrow with this week's Wednesday Weekly Deals and another creative project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Cards | Stamping

Reason For The Season Meets Season Of Cheer Christmas Poinsettia Card

by Joanne James7. September 2015 21:09

Happy Monday everyone! Today is an especially happy one for me as it's my birthday - yay! There has been lots going on today: the James Juniors are back at school today, I had the first of this month's technique stamp classes and there were lots of presents, flowers and birthday cake! Anyway, onto today's card! We are using 'Reason For the Season' stamp set in my technique classes this month and whilst I was making up some samples last week, I decided to use the set to make a card using last week's Mojo Monday sketch, although I didn't get a chance to link up. Here's my card:

I used a piece of the 'Season of Cheer' poinsettia patterned paper for my background, picking out the Mossy Meadow for my mat and Soft Sky for my card base. I stamped three flowers in Cherry Cobbler and Hello Honey on Whisper White and fussy cut them out, mounting each on a double-mounted circle and linking them together with a piece of retired Mossy Meadow satin ribbon. I stamped the sentiment in Mossy Meadow and mounted this on a panel in the centre of my card.

I wasn't sure about the busy background paper, but this is one of those cards that has really grown on me the more I look at it and I actually quite like. The 'tall and skinny' 6"x4" layout also means that it is a little different from the norm.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cards | Shop Online | Stamping

Mini Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

The mini catalogue is now live! Read and download your copy here.

Shop Online

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

Current March hostess code:

S9F2XJJW

Shop Online

Join My Team

It's always a great time to join Stampin’ Up! New team members can get £130 worth of products for only £99 + free business supplies + free shipping + all the fun being a part of Stampin’ Up! 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! 

Latest Kit!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The Rock Legend Kit has all you need to make 8 cards with coordinating envelopes. Along with the new Panda Friends Kit, both are available from January 4th for just £14 each - get yours here!

2023-24 Annual Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

Click on the catalogue for a full list of current SU! supplies - if you would like to order any of the items featured, please drop me a line at [email protected] or give me a call on 07773 421446 - I'd be happy to help.

New Online Exclusives

There will be new products available exclusively in the online store from 5 March - 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!

Follow Me

Monthly Newsletter

Box Builder

Click the button above to use Box Buster to create your custom box design using the Envelope Punch Board!

Kits Collection Now Available!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The new Kits Collection from Stampin' Up! is now available!

Click here to see the current kits available and order yours online today.

I Design For

 

 

 

Stampin' Up Stuff

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.