Cozy Christmas Tag Card

by Joanne James22. November 2015 10:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the lovely Laurie to host and she has a great sketch to get our creative juices flowing this week:

    

I decided to showcase some of the lovely Home For Christmas designer series paper on my card today along with one of the Cozy Christmas stamps on today's card:

 

I love this winter village scene paper so I paired it with a sentiment and the little house from the 'Cozy Christmas' stamp set. I stamped the scene in Mint Macaron and then cropped out the tree on the left and paper-pieced the house, which I stamped in Real Red. I added dimension with some puffy snow on the roof and trees and a wooden snowflake embellishment. I created my layered tag using the Tags and Labels framelits and to finish added a twirly bow using some retired in-colour ribbon in Mossy Meadow. Having had a busy week of classes and most of my day yesterday taken up with school projects I struggled to get into the groove with this card, but time was against me so in the end I had to stop fiddling with it and finish up!

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 look forward to seeing what you make with Laurie's sketch this week. I'm off for a morning of sport and then both James Juniors are taking part in a basketball tournament this afternoon. Another busy Sunday!

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.
 

All is Calm, All is Bright Wonderland Card

by Joanne James15. November 2015 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the lovely Jaydee to host and she has a clean and simple challenge to get our creative juices flowing this week:

 

I decided to get to work with my brayer and create a starry night sky over a forest created with my Wonderland stamp set for my card today:

 

I went for a long, thin card and brayered my background in Night of Navy, masking the moon with a circle of post-it note, then stamped the trees from 'Wonderland' and the santa and reindeer from 'Cozy Christmas'. I added a few stars with my white signo gel pen and a little white kraft ink. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed this in silver on vellum, wrapping it around my card front and finishing with an iced rhinestone embellishment. 

So I have something of a confession! I saw the brief for our challenge today and the word 'Wonderland' and immediately reached for my stamp set of the same name to create my card. As I sat back to admire my handywork, I  realised that a true 'Winter Wonderland' would surely have snow on the ground and mine didn't have a single flake in sight - oops! With Onstage Live and a trip to Brussels around the corner and 

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 look forward to seeing your CAS creations this week. I'm travelling home from Onstage Live today having had an amazing time with some of my team in Brussels. I've written this post in advance, so I'm sure I'll have lots more to report this coming 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.

 

Hearth and Home Winter Snow Christmas Shaker Card

by Joanne James8. November 2015 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it's my turn to host and I have a festive colour scheme to get your creative juices flowing this week:

 

I'm not generally a big fan of black and white, but I am fascinated by the idea of black and white with pops of colour and a little sparkle - I find this can completely change the look and feel of a card. I've been spending lots of time this week playing with my Hearth and Home framelits and co-ordinating Happy Scenes stamp set, as this is what my November technique classes will be using. We are also learning how to make shaker cards so I couldn't resist making one to share with you today:

 

For my card base and window frame, I used extra thick Whisper White and covered the front with a piece of striking black and white patterned paper from the Winter Wonderland Specialty Designer Series Paper - this paper has a lovely sheen to it and looks really luxurious so was the perfect choice for my 'wallpaper'. I stamped my insert using the winter image from the 'Happy Scenes' stamp set in Memento Black on Whisper White, and I used some Tombo Glue, Dazzling Diamonds and White embossing powder to create some dimensional snow on my trees in the same way as I did on my card last Thursday. I also stamped the corner snowflakes on my window in Versamark and heat embossed in silver before adding my foam tape and filling my window with a combination of white and silver sequins and some Dazzling Diamonds. I stamped my sentiment on a simple banner beneath my window and anchored it to my card with a red poinsetta button from the Home For Christmas Designer Button set threaded with silver cord trim. The button is the only spot of additional colour on my card - and I love it! 

There's something so special about a shaker card - I guarantee if you give someone a card you can shake it will make them smile!

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 look forward to seeing what you make with my colour palette this week. I'm off for a morning of basketball and then lunch and something fun with the children in the afternoon - we might make a start on their Christmas cards for their classmates, who knows?

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.

 

Six Sayings Thankful Fall Card

by Joanne James1. November 2015 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of my good friend Claire to host and she has a seasonal theme to get our creative juices flowing this week:

    

For today's challenge I just had to use the fabulous scrolled 'Thankful' in the hostess set 'Six Sayings'. That's where I started out - here's where I finished up:

 

I also used the sketch over at The Friday Mashup and used leaves, so completed both elements of their challenge this week. Isn't that sentiment just fabulous? I decided that I would get a flavour of fall with the patterned leaf paper from the 'Into The Woods' designer series paper, layered on some Early Espresso and a base of Daffodil Delight. This allowed my gold embossed sentiment to really stand out against the Early Espresso banner. I also added a trio of Into The Woods Elements and some gold cord trim: I stamped the leaves in Versamark then heat embossed them in gold and coloured an acorn in with my Early Espresso Stampin' Write marker and stamped the acorn cap in Versamark and heat embossed that with some retired Early Espresso to give a little shine. 

This is such a colourful card and I love the Thankful sentiment - I for one have much to be thankful for and what better time to let others know how much they are appreciated. I'm also linking up with SUO challenges where their current theme is thank you cards.

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 look forward to seeing your thankful fall-themed creations this week. We are having a sport-free weekend for a change, with a lie-in following our trick-or-treat exploits yesterday and a quiet day before returning to school tomorrow. Amen to that!

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.

 

Flurry of Wishes Holidays Fancy Foil Vellum Snowflake Christmas Card

by Joanne James25. October 2015 11:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of my wonderful friend LeAnne to host and she has my favourite type of challenge, a sketch, for us to work with this week:

 

This is a sketch with lots of possibilities; I eventually settled on a silver and white snowflake-themed card - here it is:

 

I used a piece of extra-thick Whisper White cardstock for my base and for the three vertical panels, used three pieces of the silver snowflake Holidays Fancy Foil vellum, adhered to three pieces of Whisper White on to three mats of silver foil cardstock. I stamped my sentiment from the 'Flurry of Wishes' stamp set in Versamark onto Whisper White and heat embossed it in silver and matted this onto a piece of silver foil too, having flagged both ends with my Triple Banner Punch. For the circle element of the sketch, I took a bit of a liberty and stamped the medium sized snowflake from 'Flurry of Wishes' in Versamark and heat embossed in silver and punched it out using the Flower Medallion Punch. I adhered this to my card using dimensionals, with some loops of silver cord trim underneath it. For the final element of the sketch, I added one of the Winter Wonderland Embellishments to the point of my snowflake. 

I adore this card - it is so wonderfully sparkly and shimmery in real life, although it is so white it was quite difficult to photograph and the picture definitely doesn't do it justice! The Holidays Fancy Foil Vellum is just gorgeous and a little definitely goes a long way.

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 look forward to seeing how you interpret our sketch this week. The children are back this morning so I will be collecting Ben from basketball and then we are having Granny over for lunch. In the afternoon we are going to start looking at Rebecca's music assignment - half term homework, boo hoo!

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.

 

Vintage Leaves Holly Christmas Card

by Joanne James18. October 2015 10:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it is the turn of the multi-talented Nance, who not only produces fabulous cards but also designs all our challenge badges and does so much to keep our challenge blog running smoothly - thank you Nance! This week we have a clean and simple challenge for you:

 

I considered going with something autumnal for my card today, but in truth I've had this idea for a card in my head for a while and decided that since it fits today's brief it was about time I got it down on paper - and it's a Christmas card! Take a look:

I've been using my Vintage Leaves set a lot this week and I'm not sure whether it is meant to be or not, but the large spiky leaf definitely reminds me of holly, so I decided to use it on a Christmas card. I used Mossy Meadow for my card base and adhered a strip of the gingham patterned paper from the Merry Moments DSP stack down the left hand side. My raised panel is extra thick Whisper White cardstock, out of which I cut the spiky leaf shape using the co-ordinating Leaflets Framelits Dies - another one of the great 15% off bundles when you purchase both items together from the current catalogue - and stamped the leaf in Mossy Meadow directly onto the Mossy Meadow panel below, so that it could be seen through the aperture. I then stamped another leaf on a separate piece of Mossy Meadow and cut this out with the same framelit too, positioning it at an angle over the first one and overhanging the edge of the white panel. My 'Joy' sentiment is from the Holly Jolly Greetings set and stamped in Real Red. To finish, I added a trio of Cherry Cobbler Home For Christmas enamel dots for my berries - I love these, they add the perfect finishing touch to my card. So what do you think - do these leaves work as holly? Either way, I am pleased with the finished result.

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 look forward to seeing your CAS creations this week.

I'm having a change of sport today as Rebecca is playing in her first club hockey tournament of the season, so I'm off to cheer her team on and then we'll be home for a late lunch. Fortunately for us this weekend marks the start of our school half-term holiday, so we have a lovely two week break from our routine of homework and early mornings to look forward to, which is especially welcome given how cold and dark it has been this week  - far from jumping out of bed in the morning I am more inclined to snuggle under the duvet and hibernate! Enjoy your Sunday however you are choosing to spend it.

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.

 

Christmas Cutie Elf in The Snow

by Joanne James12. October 2015 09:00

As promised on Sunday, here's the other card I made using this week's colour combination over at The Paper Players:

It's another card using the Christmas Cuties stamp set, featuring the happy little elf:

I used extra thick Whisper White for my card base, with a mat of Real Red and another piece of Whisper White embossed with the Softly Falling Embossing Folder. I added a couple of circles in Real Red and Cucumber Crush, then added a large Whisper White circle stamped with the elf image in Archival Black and then coloured in using my aqua painter and Real Red and Cucumber Crush inks, with a little Crushed Curry for his hair and jingle bells and a touch of Pink Pirouette for his face and hands. To finish I added a trio of white sequins from the Metallics Sequin Assortment to the circle.

The new extra thick Whisper White is just lovely and a joy to watercolour on - especially if you use the Archival Black ink for your stamped outline; this prevents bleeding or running of ink as you paint. 

I've had a busy day today with the second of this month's technique classes. We created some fabulous cards using the Embellished Ornaments set and Delicate Ornaments Thinlits Dies which I will share with you in due course. If you like these colours, be sure to link up your creations with us over at The Paper Players - we would love to see them!

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.

 

Christmas Cuties Jingle Bell Elf

by Joanne James11. October 2015 10:00

Good morning everyone! Thank you to everyone who joined in my Halloween theme challenge over at The Paper Players last week - the gallery entries were fantastic! This week it is the turn of my fellow Brit turned American, the lovely Jaydee, to host, and she has a great colour challenge for you to play along with:

Once I'd got past wanting to make a set of traffic lights with these colours, I settled on another card using the Christmas Cuties stamp set, this time featuring the happy little elf:

 

I used Cucumber Crush for my card base - this is such a great bright green colour for Christmas! - and created a panel of red detail below my image, where I embossed a piece of Real Red cardstock with the Stylish Stripes embossing folder and edged it with a band of the red striped pattern from the Holiday Homes Fancy Foil Designer Vellum. Lastly, I tied my panel with a piece of Real Red striped ribbon, tied with a little jingle bell from my 'bits and bobs' drawer, just like the ones on the elf's outfit. To finish, I added a Very Vanilla circle stamped with the elf image in Archival Black and then coloured in using my aqua painter and Real Red and Cucumber Crush inks, with a little Crushed Curry for his hair and jingle bells and a touch of Pink Pirouette for his face and hands.  

I love the cute little images in this set - such fun! I made another card using the same colours and a Whisper White base panel for my alternate design, which I'll share later in the week.

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 look forward to seeing how you interpret our colour palette this week. I'm off for a morning of basketball and we still have some homework to do; we spent a chunk of yesterday visiting senior schools - can't believe in 12 months time the eldest of my James juniors will be heading off to senior school - eek! Hoping to then get some time to craft this afternoon; that would be nice!

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.

 

Howl-o-Ween Treat Matchbox Style Halloween Pop Up Card

by Joanne James4. October 2015 10:00

Did you have fun celebrating World Card Day yesterday? I sent the afternoon crafting, but making home decor rather than cards as Rebecca had a friend round and we spent a couple of hours putting together our Witching Decor Project kits. It did rather put me in the mood for today's new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it's my turn to host again and since it's the first Sunday in October I have a fun theme challenge for you:

 

Yes that's right - it's Halloween! I took the opportunity to have some fun with my Howl-o-ween Treat Stamp set and the co-ordinating Boo To You framelits and created something that's been on my general 'to do' list for ages - a matchbox style pop up card. Lots of photos today - here's my card from the outside:

 

My outer box sleeve is made from Tangelo Twist cardstock decorated with the fun ghost patterned paper from the Happy haunting DSP set - I've been wanting to use this pattern for ages! - and a tag punched with the Ornate Tag Topper punch attached with some Tangelo Twist satin ribbon available on the Clearance Rack currently while stocks last!) My tag is decorated with some bats courtesy of the Project Life Seasonal Snapshot 2015 set and the Trick or Treat sentiment from the Howl-o-Ween treat set. The question is though, which will it be - trick or treat? Let's take a look inside the box:

 

 I made the drawer tray using Basic Black cardstock and my trusty Envelope Punch Board, and lined it with more Happy Haunting DSP. I used my framelits to cut a 'Boo!' out of black glimmer paper - so perfect for Halloween projects - and stamped a bright green owl, complete with pumpkin basket and spider hanging down from a piece of black baker's twine. Here's another view - oh and I backed my owl with a partial spider web doily too: 

 

I made my box quite large so that I could accommodate both my pop up owl and greeting and a little something behind. If you look closely in the photo above you can just catch a glimpse of what it is - it also determined the colour of my owl. Can you see what it is? How about a brightly coloured spider to scare your nearest and dearest:

This time more trick than treat (although I've a feeling there are plenty of little ones out there who may think otherwise, given the potential for the odd practical joke or two!), however you could always include a bar of chocolate instead. I hope you like my fun Halloween card - I think the bright orange spider is my favourite!

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 look forward to seeing your Halloween-themed cards this week. I'm off for a morning of basketball and then home for birthday lunch - today it's my husband who's celebrating; I'll share his birthday cards with you 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.

 

Merry Moments Jolly Reindeer Paper Clip Christmas Card

by Joanne James27. September 2015 10:00

It's Sunday and you know what that means: time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! This week it's the turn of my talented friend the lovely Claire to host and she has a great sketch challenge for you:

 

Claire loves layers and this sketch certainly has lots! I decided to go with a showcase of Merry Moments Christmas DSP on mine, although that wasn't where I started out with this card - I saw that button and just knew it was the perfect opportunity to showcase one of my reindeer paper clips! Take a look:

 

I used two of the Merry Moments DSP patterns along with a Real Red spotted paper (this one is retired but very similar to the pattern in the Brights DSP stack), matted on either Chrry Cobbler or Mossy Meadow. I added a band and scalloped edge in Real Red, but the stars of today's card are most definitely that 'jolly' sentiment cut from red foil (I built this up on 3 layers of cardstock to give added depth) and that oh-so-cute reindeer clip, complete with Cherry Cobbler enamel dot - well, what's a Rudolf without a red nose?!

A no-stamp card that uses layers and embellishment for pattern and interest - perfect for the festive season. As for the reindeer paper clip - how cute!

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 look forward to seeing how you interpret our sketch in your card designs. I'm off for a morning of basketball and hoping to spend a little time tidying up in the garden this afternoon, along with some baking to make use of some of our home grown raspberries - yum! 

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.