Thoughtful Journey Happy Birthday Card AYSI329

by Joanne James2. August 2024 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our new challenge over at As you See It where it's time for a recipe challenge from Heather H:

    

I used the lovely layered sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout and set to work - take a look at how I incorporated my recipe elements:

 

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

Thoughtful Journey - Unlike the rest of the team, I didn't go exclusively with 'shades of green'; I used a sheet of the Thoughtful Journey designer series paper featuring some fir trees for my focal point. I used another piece of the same paper for my matting layer, to echo some of the other colours. For my embossed layer, I embossed a piece of Mossy Meadow cardstock with the (retired) Evergreen Forest 3D embossing folder and cut this panel into three, which echoes the trees on the paper.

Happy Birthday Wishes - I fussy cut my birthday greeting from the 'Unbounded Love' stamp set and tucked this into my scene, near my Mossy Meadow linen twine bow. I also added a trio of Wild Wheat enamel dots, to pick up on the colour of my card base. Not my favourite colour to be fair, but I find mixing it with other strong colours makes it more palatable! There are so many layers to this card - you can see the detail below:

Finishing Touches - In addition to another sentiment inside my card, I used a scrap of the same designer paper to add a border and bring the colour through to the inside of the card:

I also added a border to the edge of the front of my envelope too - you can see that in my main photo. I don't often decorate the front of my envelope in this way, but it is the perfect solution to using up a leftover scrap if you have a piece that is the correct size/orientation and gives a lovely hint as to what's inside for the recipient.

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

 

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

Here's a summary of our challenge rules:

  • Create any card, scrapbooking page, 3D or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • For a Recipe Challenge use all elements of the recipe - the possibilities within those parameters are endless.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your post.
  • Make sure you link the specific post and not the whole blog to the Linky. Use AYSI#(insert challenge number) when uploading to a public gallery
  • Please turn off word verification so that we can send you lots of feedback.
  • You can combine our challenge with up to 3 other compatible challenges. 
  • We do reserve the right to delete, or not consider for Top Pick and Featured Artist, entries that do not comply with these guidelines.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Unbounded Love Hope Clean and Simple PP694

by Joanne James16. June 2024 08:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous LeAnne to host this week and she has a clean and simple challenge for us to work with:

    

Yay - clean and simple week! I decided to go with encouragement, as opposed to sympathy, for my card today - take a look:

 

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

The 'Unbounded Love' stamp set has a great selection of sentiments and that's where I found the ideal sentiment for my encouragement card:

I covered the whole of my card front with a piece of the Thoughtful Journey designer series paper; whilst this does leave me with less 'white space' than I would usually feature on a clean and simple card, it made light work of my card design. I added my sentiment label decorated with a tab of (retired) Misty moonlight ribbon, and a few tinsel dots to complete my card. I added an offcut of paper inside my card and another sentiment from 'Unbounded Love', along with a trio of hearts from 'Bee Mine':

 

Super simple and with minimal layers and embellishments - and an encouraging sentiment that is sure to inspire. The Unbounded Love bundle is one of the bundles that is available with an additional 10% off during the month of June, so if you purchase it this month it represents even better value. I'm also playing along over at Festive Friday with today's card; I used purple, blue, clean and simple and ribbon from their inspo list. 

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. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

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!

Enjoy your day; I'll be back on Tuesday 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.

A New Thoughtful Wishes Step By Step Class

by Joanne James31. May 2024 08:00

How can it be Friday already?! It's been half term for the youngest of the James Juniors this week so there hasn't been much time for crafting! I'm hoping to get a little time in my craft room tomorrow but until then I do have another card for you featuring the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and Thoughtful Journey papers, along with details of the latest Step By Step Class created with my friend and former Stampin' Up! Artisan Designer Jan Clothier, aka Thinking Stamping.

First up, my card! The Thoughtful Journey papers are so beautiful - even a small amount can go a long way:

 

When paired with the Thoughtful Wishes bundle, especially those fabulous diecuts, along with some dry embossing and the texture and sparkle of tone-on-tone glimmer, there's so much to love! That's why Jan and I chose this bundle and papers for our step by step class:

Our new step by step class features the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and Thoughtful Journey designer series paper. Simply purchase the Thoughtful Wishes bundle and a pack of Thoughtful Journey designer series paper from us and we’ll email you the step by step instructions to make four beautiful projects featuring them. If you already have the suite or bundle, simply purchase something else of equivalent value and we’ll email the class instructions to you.

You can shop with me if you live in the UK and Europe

You can shop with Jan if you live in New Zealand.

If you would like to receive the details for this step by step class, you can place your online order with me by clicking on the direct product links for the bundle and papers needed below; remember to add the current hostess code 3NR3FB9W to your order. 

Back soon 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.

Thoughtful Journey U Fold Card

by Joanne James22. May 2024 19:00

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by the current challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments:

There were so many great starting points on that inspiration board; I took my jumping off point as that image that features bottom right - take a look:

 

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

I liked the idea of taking a scene and overlaying it with some 'words of wisdom', so I took another of the designs in my Thoughtful Journey paper pack and picked out two of the colours in the paper to build a sentiment using 6 separate sentiments in the 'Unbounded Love' stamp set. This stamp set has so many different possibilities with sentiments that work for lots of specific occasions and also for 'just because' cards too. I chose a scene with some open space in it to accommodate my sentiment, and overlapped the words in each pair slightly - you can see that more closely below:

 

The sentiment stamps are photopolymer so they are so easy to line up and stamp - no platform required. I added a simple stem of diecut foliage using the Thoughtful Wishes Dies, tied with frayed ribbon, for decoration and a couple of Boho Blue enamel dots to complete my card. Once again, I was reluctant to crop my sheet of designer paper too much, so chose a u-shaped card that enabled me to extend the design further to the outer edges too, whilst still enabling it to concertina fold flat and fit a standard C6 size envelope. The card stands up on its own perfectly and I added a decorated panel to the reverse to write my message:

 

I really like the finished effect of this card; there are a few other patterns in the Thoughtful Journey paper pack that lend themselves to a larger/feature sentiment, so I might recreate with those 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 your evening and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

 

Faith Hope Love CCS 537

by Joanne James21. May 2024 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches.This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and Patricia has asked that we add a panel with 3 banners behind. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Thoughtful Journey Square Split Panel Card FMS635

by Joanne James13. May 2024 08:00

 

Happy Monday everyone - welcome to a new week! As promised last week, I have another card showcasing the beautiful Thoughtful Journey papers, this time using Jen B's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I did tweak Jen's layout slightly, making it into a square card because I just couldn't bear to not use the whole of my sheet of designer paper - take a look to see one of the designs in all its uncut glory:

 

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

I split my paper into two pieces, cutting down the front of my card to house the larger portion then adding the narrower piece to the card base so that it is also visible when opened. I added a simple sentiment from 'Thoughtful Wishes' to the front of my card, anchored by a shiny pearl:

 

When the card is open, you can see both the edge of the scene and the insert, which I also decorated with one of the florals in the 'Thoughtful Wishes' set:

 

This card was so simple and easy to create - the Thoughtful Journey designer paper really does do all the hard work.

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; I am starting my week with lots more household jobs to tick off my list. 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.

Thoughtful Journey Autumn Thanks

by Joanne James9. May 2024 15:02

Today I'm having a lovely day sat in my office with the sunshine streaming through the window and working on some projects to share with you. Whilst I was working on some design commitments, I decided to make a quick card to squeak in an entry over at Sunday Stamps, where their current sketch is too good to pass up:

I've been working my way through a pack of Thoughtful Journey designer series paper as I design projects for my upcoming Thoughtful Wishes Tutorial with my lovely friend Jan Clothier and whilst I haven't shared any of them with you yet, this layout was just asking to showcase one of the beautiful designs in this fabulous paper pack take a look:

 

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

I created both of the layers from my card from one sheet of paper, showcasing the warm Cajun Craze shaded grasses and using the right-hand side of the sheet with the lighter colours for the layer behind for a hint of contrast. I diecut my banner pieces in Old Olive using one of the Nested Essentials Dies and added a simple thanks sentiment from 'Thoughtful Wishes':

 

A simple green linen twine bow and sprinkle of copper sequins was all that I needed to complete my card. The thoughtful Journey papers really do contain such beautiful scenes, it's a shame to cover them up too much. I will have lots more cards to share featuring these papers in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned.

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; it does feel strange to be making a card in autumnal colours given that I think summer has finally arrived here in the UK, so much so that I enjoyed lunch in the garden today. Dare I say if this keeps up, we might even be able to BBQ at the weekend - fingers crossed! I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at As You See It. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Current Promotions

Stampin Cut and Emboss

Save up to 30% off on all your favourite kits from 1 to 31 October! 

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

Join My Team

It's always a great time to join Stampin’ Up! During October you can get even more in your starter kit! New team members can get £160 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! 

Shop Online

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

Current October hostess code:

4XPEYCB9

Shop Online

Scrapbooking

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

Mini Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

'Tis The Season - the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue is here! For more details and to download your copy click here

2024-25 Annual Catalogue

BROWSE THE CATALOGUE

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

Latest Kits!

Stampin Cut and Emboss

The Christmas Ornaments Kit and Card Keeper Kit are the latest kits in the online store - get yours here!

New Online Exclusives

There are new products available exclusively in the online store from 5 November - 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.