Stitched Leaves Thank You Trio TTT130

by Joanne James9. September 2021 14:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Vicky is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went across the centre of the board this week with Diecuts/Leaves/CAS and paired with the gorgeous autumnal colours over at TGIF Challenges for a simple leafy thank you  - take a look:

 

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

I used my Stitched Greenery Die to add interest to my background, then added a trio of autumnal leaves in the TGIF Challenge colours cut using my Stitched Leaves Dies - a worthy annual catalogue carryover from last year’s seasonal catalogue and I was delighted to get these back out again for this card. I tied them with a linen thread bow and added a simple ’thank you’ sentiment that is actually from the ’Sweet Ice Cream’ stamp set, but is great for a fussy cut greeting - just the right size:

 

As you can see, today’s card is definitely all about the stitching - and not a needle and thread in sight!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; so my laptop has officially died and is beyond recovery, hence no blog post yesterday and there probably won’t be one tomorrow either. Whilst I’ve still got an iPad and phone at my disposal, I really need the keyboard and software on my laptop to work efficiently, as well as screen real estate - my eyesight cannot cope with these teeny, tiny screens for any length of time! A new laptop is on its way though so I’m hoping to be back by the weekend with another project. Less tech time does mean more craft time though - the ladies that are signed up for my Background Stamps Class next week will have their work cut out when they see my samples! Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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

A Colourful Biggest Birthday Wish TTT128

by Joanne James26. August 2021 18:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and our fearless leader Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I loved Felicita's board this week and I could have chosen so many routes! I ended up using this week's Global Design Project #GDP306 sketch for my layout and going diagonally across the board from bottom left to top right with birthday/free/balloon (it also fits the second row of any colour ink/free/any shape die) for a simple and colourful birthday card - take a look:

 

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

Pattern Party - I used a sheet of fun, colourful stripey paper from the Pattern Party host pack as the background for my card - this totally inspired my bright colour scheme today! I love the way this frames my central scalloped panel.

Ombre Biggest Wish - My central panel is cut with one of the Scalloped Contours Dies and I used it to create a focal point ombre 'happy' sentiment overlaid with a fussy-cut birthday, both from the 'Biggest Wish' stamp set. Love these big, bold fonts, that are useful in lots of ways.

What No Penguin? - The balloons I featured on my card are from the 'Penguin Place' stamp set - and yes, not a penguin in sight! When I originally started my card, I was intent on adding one but in the end decided I liked it just like this. I fussy cut my balloons and strings and added them to my panel for a final pop of colour.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; I am taxi service to hockey training this evening -  we are starting to ramp up as the new season approaches! 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.

Happy Birthday Lemon Shaker Card TTT124

by Joanne James29. July 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and I am the featured designer this week! This is the fun board that I came up with: 

    

I chose lots of my favourite things for my board this week and I am thrilled that the Design Team truly rose to the challenge - especially with the fabulous shaker cards in the mix this week! I went on the top left-bottom right diagonal with fruit/designer series paper/shaker for my card today and used both the sketch layout and the lemons in those hydrangea vases over at Fusion as the inspiration for my shaker card today - take a look:

 

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

Yellow is one of my favourite colours to create with, especially bright yellow - there is something so cheery about yellow! I used some retired paper covered in lemons for the background to my shaker, and used a combination of sequins, gems and bits and pieces on my shelf for the contents of my shaker. I added a semi-circle with a sentiment from the 'In Symmetry' stamp set to the front of my shaker and modified the happy birthday sentiment from the 'In Bloom' stamp set for the inside of my card: 

 

I thought this punny sentiment would raise a smile and added a smiley lemon to finish too. I made this card for one of Rebecca's friends - I know it will appeal to her quirky sense of humour!

Here you can see my shaker elements in more detail - so sparkly!

 

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your evening; 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.

Artistically Inked CAS Hello Card TTT122

by Joanne James15. July 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Betty is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

 

I went across the middle with diecut/sentiment/metallic for my card today and decided to use my Artistic Dies to create a pretty and clean card - take a look:

 

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

Artistic Dies - This main diecut from the Artistic Dies is so very pretty! I decided to go white-on-white today with a pop of colour peeking through beneath:

 

Artistically Inked - There was an experimental element to my card today, in that I wanted to see if I could get the floral stamps in the Artistically Inked to line up with the detail of the dies. So pleased to discover that this was quite easy to do and I’m looking forward to sharing how I did this, along with some tips and tricks, with the ladies that are attending my Artistically Inked class next week as we are going to do something similar.

A Trio of Metallics - For my trio of metallics, I heat embossed my sentiment in silver, and added some silver thread and a trio of sparkly rhinestones. Just enough to add a touch of metallic for a little extra detail.

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 really like today’s card; lots of the cards I’ve made to date using this suite have included lots of elements and I think this pared back look is much more in keeping with my go-to style. That makes it a great card to link up with the girls over at SUO Challenges where they have a ‘Designer’s Choice’ challenge this week.

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; the James Juniors and I have been to the beach today which was a lot of fun - I’m sure we will sleep well tonight! 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.

Rainbow Blended Daisy Garden Anniversary Card TTT120

by Joanne James1. July 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Ashwini is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went across the middle row with embossing/flowers/anniversary and taking my inspiration from the rainbow of colours of the feathers on the fabulous peacock in the Color Dare challenge inspiration photo I decided to break out a new stamp set and have some fun with my background - take a look:

 

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

Daisy Garden - I'm not usually one for background stamps, but there are two in the current annual catalogue that I absolutely love. One is 'Festive Foliage' that I shared with you for the first time last week in this post here; the second one I'm sharing with you today and it's called 'Daisy Garden'. A field of daisies - so pretty! Today I heat-embossed them in white and then used by blending brushes to create a rainbow background (colours detailed below), adding some water droplets flicked with my aquapainter for added detail. Another great way to add colour to a background stamp!

Daisy Lane - One of the reasons I like the new Daisy Garden stamp is because it co-ordinates beautifully with the existing 'Daisy Lane' stamp set. Having used this set in my card on Tuesday (you can scroll back if you missed it), it occurred to me that the sentiment I used would make a wonderful feature on an anniversary card - so I used it again today too.

Tasteful Labels - I stamped my sentiment on a label cut with the Tasteful Labels Dies, and added some clear sequins and frosted enamel dots along with some sparkly white ribbon to finish my card:

 

What do you think - do you like to use background stamps? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; 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.

 

In Colour Monochrome Sending Hugs Friendship Cards

by Joanne James17. June 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Felicita our fearless leader is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

 

I went with the first column with Friendship/Any Colour/Sentiment and decided to make a set of cards for my in-colour club using one of my favourite new bundles - take a look:

 

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

Sending Hugs - This is the second time I've used the Sending Hugs bundle - you can see my previous card here. Today's card is similar in layout, but today I went full-on monochrome, stamping the large floral cluster tone-on-tone before adding my diecut sentiment. This is a great way to use this stamp set if you don't want to do a lot of colouring of the individual elements. 

Layering Hugs Dies - The Layering Hugs Dies are so beautiful and really do all the work on this card to turn it into something special. I paired my 'HUGS' with a stamped 'sending you', this time cut with a little label die that also comes in the set - so useful! How pretty is the layering on this card?

 

In-Colour Club - Whilst Fresh Freesia is my personal favourite of the new 2021-23 In-Colours, I made this card in each of the new in-colours to include in last month's In-Colour Club packs. Here are some of the other colourways (minus Soft Succulent):

 

Do you have a favourite new in-colour? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your evening; 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.

Lots of Heart in Blue Ombre and a FREE Card Class TTT116

by Joanne James3. June 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely LeAnne is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went down the first column with Friendship/Blue/Heart and decided to get my ombre on for the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS - take a look:

 

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

Blue Ombre - Keeping with my theme of 'hearts are for all year long, not just for Valentines' I have another 'Lots of Heart' card for you today and once again deliberately not in a pink/red colour theme. The large solid heart stamp with the swirl pattern is perfect for an ombre colourway; I used a trio of Balmy Blue, Pacific Point and Night of Navy, going from light to dark to light on my heart and using a sponge dauber to blend the colours. I also used the line of hearts stamp to create an ombre border on the inside of my notecard:

The White Details - I love the way the swirl of the heart stamp echoes the line of the horizontal heart diecut, so used this to anchor my heart (I also added a white outline heart die to give my heart a more finished look). I decided to add a bird too - for no reason other than he is also in the same die set and I thought he would add additional interest without making my card too fussy.

A Neat Trick - I stamped my sentiment in Night of Navy onto my Balmy Blue card base, but the sentiment is designed to be centred. The right side followed the curve of my heart, so in order to level up the left side and ensure good alignment, I added a tiny white resin heart embellishment. This both ties in with the heart theme and improves the symmetry and lines if my card - perfect, even if I say so myself!

 

I'm also linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges where they are looking for favourite retired/retiring/current stamp set; I'm including today's card because this is a set that I 'discovered' rather late in the current January-June mini catalogue, and it's not carrying over so will retire at the end of the month. I really like it and am finding so many ways to use it outside of the valentines/love/pink genre of card that I think it may end up being a keeper for me. If you like it too, now is the time to snap it up! What's more, both stamp set and dies have 50% off in the retiring sale so if you buy individually you can save big time - a stamp set for £8? Now that is a bargain! 

I have an extra offer for anyone else buying the 'Lots of Hearts' stamp set and co-ordinating Many Hearts Dies from me this month: if you buy both items, I will send you a written tutorial for 3 cards using this bundle for FREE. What's more, if you buy the items in the Lots of Heart bundle and spend £50 or more in my online store during June, I'll throw in the materials to make the cards too - a complete FREE card class in the post! Tutorial/materials will be sent out separately to your order at the start of July.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your day; it's cooler here today so has been a good day to get some household chores done. I'm hoping the sun returns tomorrow when I'll be back 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.

Dragonfly Garden Meadows and Bees TTT114

by Joanne James20. May 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and I am your featured designer this week! This is the fun board that I came up with for us to play along with: 

    

So many ways that I could have gone with my board this week, but I eventually settled with the first column and wings/leaves/nature as the basis for my card. I was also inspired by the wonderful inspiration photo over at The Card Concept this week in more ways than one - more on that below! Firstly, here's the card I came up with - take a look:

 

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

Dragonfly Garden - I have a class with the Dragonfly Garden bundle next week so have been working a lot with this set in recent weeks and I thought it would be perfect to create a meadow-style background for my beehive today. I stamped the long florals in a repeating pattern and then blended a trio of yellow inks across my panel, before tearing my edges and adding some additional colour to the flowers with my Stampin' Blends, reflecting the yellow black-eyed susans and the purple florals in the Card Concept photo (leaves and nature on the TTT grid - check!). I also added some outline blooms and a little ink blending to the inside of my card:

 

A Skep For A Bee - In addition to the florals, I was draw to the skep and the bee-decorated plates in the inspiration photo. Skeps are traditionally made of straw, so I used a retired die from the Detailed Bee Dies set to create an outline, covered it in a self-adhesive sheet then took some retired jute twine and created my very own rustic-looking skep. Of course I couldn't have a skep without a bee - and a beautiful gold bumblebee trinket was the perfect finishing touch (and gave me 'wings' for my grid)! Whilst bee skeps are often seen in kitchen/ceramic/artistic designs, did you know in many countries it's actually illegal to keep bees in skeps? This is because the bees cement their combs inside their skeps and they can't be removed and inspected for diseases. In addition, when the beekeeper removes the honey the bees are either killed or made homeless, which isn't the case with more modern box hives; so keeping skeps as a decorative feature seems much more sensible!

 

A Change In Style - My regular readers will now that this card is something of a departure from my usual clean and layered style. The ink blending, torn edges, textured dimensional skep and bee make my card much more 'shabby chic' (there are some great design definitions over on the Card Concept website which I highly recommend you check out if you're interested in this kind of thing). So what do you think - did I pull it off? Whilst this is a little different for me, I did have a lot of fun working outside of my comfort zone for a little while.

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your evening; 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.
 
I got Top 3 Honourable Mention for this card over at The Card Concept!

Zany Zebras Circles Boy Birthday Card TTT112

by Joanne James6. May 2021 17:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and the lovely Betty is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went down the third column with Heat Embossing/Diecuts/Circles and made another boy's birthday card with my now retired 'Zany Zebras' stamp set that I used on my Paper Players card earlier this week (if you missed it, you can see that card here) - take a look:

 

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

I used a ton of retired product on my card today: Zany Zebras, Playing with Patterns paper, Stitched Shapes Dies, enamel stars and Large Dot embossing folder to name but a few, but I think they were totally fitting for the grid and they combine to make a fun birthday card for a boy. Check out the hat on my zebra with oversized tassle too:

I also added some words and another fun zebra to the inside of my card:

 

No visual summary of the key products used on today's project today or supplies list as so much came from the storecupboard!

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge.

I'm also linking today's card up over at the Festive Friday Challenge where I chose red, blue and emboss as my 3 (I realise I also have stitching too with my circle!) and am making another entry over at SUO Challenges for their 'animals' theme.

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

This card was a Festive Faves Winner for #FF0083

FF#001 Festive Friday Faves

Bloom And Grow Masked Floral Heart TTT108

by Joanne James8. April 2021 18:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's the turn of Team X to host this week and our fearsome team leader Felicita is our featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went down the middle column with Florals, Free and Any Shape Die and used the current colours over at Less Is More for another outing with my Bloom and Grow stamp set - take a look:

 

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

Bloom And Grow - I stamped the same floral bough that I used on Tuesday's card, but this time just used the outline in Basic Grey and stamped it onto a piece of Rococco Rose ombre paper, having first masked off my heart shape with copy paper, as I wanted the flowers to edge my heart but the heat itself to remain uninked. 

A Subtles Ombre - Before adding my diecut heart or sentiment or adhering to my card base, I ran my sheet of stamped ombre paper through my Subtles embossing folder for a little added textural detail. I cannot believe this embossing folder is retiring - it's a real 'how will I ever live without you?' product for me! 

A Stitched Heart - I decided to make a feature of the gold element on my card. so went for a simple stitched heart outline die that sat in front of those masked florals, and I wove my sentiment strip under and over it. I added a trio of opal rounds for a little extra pink/gold sparkle to complete my card:

 

So what do you think? Another trio of items from my craft stash I will be sad to say goodbye to. Thank goodness there is a new Stampin' Up! catalogue on the way to soften the blow!

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. 

A tictactoe board offers so many creative possibilities - how does this week's board inspire you? Why not have a go? We would love to see you in the gallery and who knows - you might be selected for Designer's Choice and be eligible to be a guest designer on a future challenge. 

Enjoy your evening; I am about to join an online catalogue launch event for demonstrators - exciting stuff! 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.
 

Delighted that this card along with my other entry earned me LIM Monthly winner for April - yay!

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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.