This Birthday Piggy Birthday Card

by Joanne James5. June 2022 11:30

I had a little crafty time yesterday so today I'm sharing an extra card that uses this week's Global Design Project #GDP345 colour palette and the sketch layout over at Just Add Inktake a look:

 

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

I thought the GDP colours would be perfect to colour one of the 'This Birthday Piggy' images so I decided to make this moped-riding porcine the focus of my colouring today and used my Stampin' Blends in each of the challenge colours to bring him to life.

The sketch layout was great to showcase some designer series paper; I decided to go with a tone-on-tone look using some of my In-Color designer paper in Starry Sky to match my cardbase - I thought the pattern co-ordinated with the confetti coming from the birthday piggy's moped - what do you think?

 

I finished my sentiment on the inside of my card and added another partially stamped image to decorate:

 

I think this is a fun image that would appeal to young and old alike. I'll be adding it to my stash of cards for young boys - I always need some of those! I'm also entering it over at SUO Challenges for my second entry into their 'kids cards' challenge.

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 and I'll be 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.

   

Nothing's Better Than In-Color Glimmer Cocktails PP594

by Joanne James5. June 2022 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 Anne Marie to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for you to work with:

 

I still had my Nothing's Better Than set out on my desk from Friday's cards out on my desk, so I decided to use the current Atlantic Hearts sketch layout and play along with the In-Color challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and set about recreating the colourful cocktails on our challenge board this week - take a look:

 

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

I cut a whole bunch of stitched rectangles in glimmer paper in each of the new in-colours and laid them on my card base in alternating colours, with the lighter shades at the top and the darker shades bottom. I then added my sentiment and my colourful cocktail glass. I brushed my cocktail with clear Wink of Stella - along with the glimmer paper, this makes for one sparkly card!

I finished my sentiment on the inside of my card and added another cocktail for good measure:

I also added a stamped cocktail to the front of my envelope - it's definitely happy hour for the recipient of this card!

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 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.

   

Nothing's Better Than Coffee And Cocktails AYSI276

by Joanne James3. June 2022 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 theme challenge:

 

I was tempted to do something with lemons, as I love the bright yellow of the lemons against the blue in our inspiration photo today, however I have had a rainbow-themed idea percolating in my head for a little while so decided to try that out instead. As a result, I ended up wtih not one but two cards for you today - take a look:

 

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

Rainbow Pastels Coffee - I started off with this card that was inspired by the pastel rainbow colours over at Fusion (you can see them on the badge at the bottom of this post). I stamped and diecut a collection of coffee cups using the Nothing's Better Than stamp set and Love You More Than co-ordinating dies, and adhered them across the centre of my slimline card. I added a simple stamped sentiment either side, with the diecut 'coffee' added on top using adhesive foam sheet:

 

 I carried the sentiment and coffee cup theme through to the inside (and did the same with my second card too):

 

 I was going for a clean and simple card with lots of white space and could have stopped there, but decided that it would be fun to add a selection of sequins from my stash that co-ordinated with my rainbow colours around the cups for a little extra sparkly detail - it's also a nod to the round plates in the Fusion photo. Check out how pretty they shine:

 

Rainbow Brights Cocktails - Having completed this card, I thought it would be fun to make another card with the same idea, this time using the cocktail glass in the Nothing's More Than set. I changed up my rainbow of colours from pastels to brights (I was thinking more of a day to night vibe!) for my second card:

 

The cocktail glasses are larger than the coffee cups, so I went for a more uniform positioning across the centre of the card and placed my stamped sentiments to either side for better balance. I wanted to preserve my white space so didn't add as many sparkles this time; I still couldn't resist a few iridescent rhinestones to add to my cocktail party feel though!

 

So which are you - Team Coffee of Team Cocktails? Today it's a Bank Holiday here in the UK to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee - 70 years on the throne, wow! I think this means I'll be doing both as the day progresses; any excuse to raise a glass, ma'am!

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 project or packaging project that fits the challenge.
  • Please include the challenge graphic and link back to the challenge in your blog post. Turn off word verification so we can leave you lots of lovely comments. Make sure you link the post not the whole blog to the Linky. Use #AYSIXXX when uploading to a public gallery.
  • If you’re unsure about ‘the rules’, check the details under the Challenge Guidelines tab on the As You See It Challenge homepage.
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.

   

Design A Daydream Bicycles TTT164

by Joanne James2. June 2022 16:00

It's Thursday and time for a new challenge over at TicTacToe! It's my turn to host this week and this is the fun board that Team X and I are playing along with: 

          

I went on the diagonal from top left down with Spots or Stripes (I chose stripes), Circle and Free and decided to take Carol's fun inspo photo over at Just Us Girls along with the sketch over at Try Stamping on Tuesday to showcase more fabulous new designer series paper - take a look:

 

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

I took my inspiration from the pastel bicycles in the JUGS inspo photo and chose two contrasting patterns of paper from the 'Design A Daydream' designer series paper pack, one featuring bold stripes and the other featuring pastel-coloured bicycles to feature on my card today. Design A Daydream is an exclusive 48-sheet pack of designer series paper that can be yours when you earn hostess rewards as a result of either hosting a party or placing a qualifying order and has lots of other great patterns too. I added a simple hello sentiment from the 'Sentimental Swirls' stamp set to the top banner and finished with a focal point of a Petal Pink single diecut bicycle from the Windmill Field Dies with a (retired) flower embellishment to decorate its basket:

 

What do you think? If you are dreaming of bicycles too and would like to get your hands on some of this paper, give me a call to chat about arranging a party - I would love to hear from you and book something in the diary.

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 for the second day of our Bank Holiday Jubilee weekend here in the UK with my card 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.

He's The Man Masculine Anniversary Card

by Joanne James1. June 2022 09:00

Today I'm sharing a quick masculine card, perfect for the challenge over at Inspire.Create that uses the current sketch over at Sketch Saturday:

   

I thought this was a great sketch layout that was perfect to showcase the new He's The Man designer series papers - take a look:

 

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

The papers in the He's The Man Suite are fabulous - a great selection of masculine designs covering everything from cars, to camping, cooking and lots more besides. Better still, the paper pack includes two whole sheets of pre-diecut pieces that can be used to embellish your cards - no stamping required! I used to different paper patterns and one of the diecuts from the pack, along with some retired Crushed Curry twine that picked up the yellow on the tent and a couple of diecut trees from the (retired) Christmas Trees Dies that reflected the shape of the trees on the DSP:

 

That's it - simple as that! I'm also entering today's card over at The Alphabet Challenge where they are on 'D is for Diecuts' this week - the diecuts in this set really are the best!

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. 

I love these papers so much I am going to feature them in an upcoming class - you can read all about it here and do get in touch if you'd like to register.

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.

Retro Flowers And Friendship Thank You Card For CCS 472 Double

by Joanne James31. May 2022 12:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. There are 5 Tuesdays in May so we are ending the month with the double: one of our previous sketches and a retired colour combination. For Shannon's final challenge as hostess she chose the following:  

    

For my card today I grabbed a punch bundle that is perfect for a quick and simple thank you card that will really make the most of these retro colours - take a look:

 

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

I used my Basic Borders Dies for a simple angled layered border with a simple dotted detail, and used my Flowers of Friendship stamp set to heat emboss a sentiment on my Island Indigo card base and stamp a trio of flowers in Island Indigo onto the other two colours and punched them out with the flowers and Leaves punch and finished them with some retired Island Indigo enamel dot centres:  

 

Super simple and could be easily recreated in colours that are currently available.

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.

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of a great new promotion too. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Simple Stamping With In Colours And Sentimental Swirls

by Joanne James30. May 2022 08:00

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing a card that uses the sketch layout over at Hand Stamped Sentiments that showcases four out of the 5 new in-colours - perfect for the challenge over at Colour Inkspiration CI#122 too:

    May be an image of text that says "Sweet Sorbet intts Parakeet Party COLOUR InSPRTN #122 CHALLENGES aht Tahitian of Tide 3 least at Choose Orchid Oasis n Starry Sky"

I decided to start the week with some #simplestamping using a set that is perfect for the beginner stamper and the banner on the HSS layout was the ideal place to showcase it - take a look:

 

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

Sentimental Swirls The 'Sentimental Swirls' stamp set was inspired by our very first £1m sales achiever in the UK, Sam Hammond. It comprises a basic swirl, with additional swirls, leaves, flowers, a bird, a butterfly and some simple, sentiments perfect for the most popular types of cards - birthdays, thank yous and general hellos. The set has endless creative possibilities and as it's photopolymer, it's really easy to line up the images or the infills. I created a leafy swirl that fills my banner and stamped a bird onto one of the vines, before adding my flowers and sentiment separately. I also added a little extra decoration to the inside of my card:

 

Step It Up With Punch Co-ordination - Sentimental Swirls is great for one layer stamping, but it's also easy to step up your designs by using the Flowers and Leaves punch from the annual catalogue, which punches out one of the flowers in the set. That's what I did on my card, adding some Orchid Oasis enamel dots to the centres and curving the petals slightly with my bonefolder before adding my flowers to my card:

 

I used a panel of in-colour designer series paper in a floral design behind my banner for a touch of extra detail.

An Added Extra - I also used this set for some thank you cards to pop in with some recent customer orders and for the bag tags. The smaller flower in the set also co-ordinates with the flower of the (now retired) Strawberry Builder Punch - you can see that on the tags below:

 

So if you already have this punch in your collection, you will have even more creative possibilities available to you with this set.

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. 

Sentimental Swirls is such a great set for simple cards that can be easily stepped up by adding in a punch (or two). It's in the January-June mini catalogue and whilst I've had it since I made my pre-order, I haven't shown it on my blog until now - which is a shame, as it's a great set that didn't carry over to the new annual catalogue, so you only have until the end of June to get your hands on it. The good news though is that on Wednesday this stamp will hit the Last-Chance list so you will be able to pick it up for just £14.70 - that's a 30% discount on the catalogue price, bargain!

I love the way that the in-colours coordinate so well together too; today's card features all of them except Tahitian Tide (you can glimpse a butterfly in this colour on one of my tags if you need a quick fix!)

 

A quick reminder that the current joining promotion that features an in-color kit in addition to the £130 of product of your choice - and all for £99 - closes tomorrow. Read all about it here if you'd like a reminder - I would love to welcome you to my team. Alternatively, I still have places left in my current in-colour club - details on the same link above.

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.

Flowing Flowers Note Of Thanks PP593

by Joanne James29. May 2022 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 Ann to host this week and since it's the fifth Sunday of the month we have a tic tac toe challenge for you to work with:

 

I went down the centre of the grid with embossing, floral and rhinestones and decided to take the opportunity to take part in this week's CASE The Designer challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP344 - take a look:

 

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

Copy And Selectively Edit - At GDP they are asking us to CASE one of Charlet Mallet's cards (you can see it on the badge below). I used the same die for my panel, the largest one on the Scalloped Contours die pack, but I switched out my florals for the Flowing Flowers stamp set and whilst I still using purple and green, I went with a more pastel colour palette, and also incorporated some Pool Party blue in the inked splatters and in my cardbase (reflecting the colours of the current Color Dare challenge). I used a heat-embossed white-on-black sentiment from the 'Sending Smiles' stamp set, using one featuring three pieces rather than a repeating word. I finished my cardfront with a sprinkling of iridescent sparkling rhinestones:

Finishing Touches - I carried the stamping through to both the inside of my card and the envelope for a pretty, co-ordinated look: 

This floral image is so easy to stamp and can be easily inked up in different colours using sponge daubers. I spent a lot of time thinking about my card and choosing which elements to incorporate, but it's actually really easy to execute. The design would also work well in a wide range of alternative colour schemes 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 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; exams are over and the James Juniors are on half-term next week, so we will be spending ours relaxing and doing not very much! 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.

   

Ladybug Builder Flashback Inspiration

by Joanne James28. May 2022 19:49

Today I've a quick post to share a card that I made using Judy's angled sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches that was inspired by the colour palette over at Color Throwdown this week:

   

I remembered I had some old designer paper (Flashback Designer Series Paper - hence in part today's post title|!) that featured these colours and I thought this would be a great opportunity to use some up. This is what I came up with:

 

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

The circle pattern on the paper led me to choose a punched ladybird for my focal point as it echoed the round shape and I used one of my Basic Borders Dies for the angled edge and added a banner behind my ladybird cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies with a similar diecut edge pattern:

 

The sentiment is from the retired 'Little Ladybug' stamp set - I paired it with another on the inside, along with a fun ladybug stamped border to complete my card:

 

I think this makes a fun inspirational/motivational card for a child; I'm actually going to send mine to my niece who is soon to graduate university and has just been successful in gaining her first job - this sentiment seemed the perfect way to celebrate this achievement and is also spot on for the current theme over at SUO Challenges where they are making cards for kids this week.

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; we went to the cinema this afternoon to watch the new Tom Cruise 'Top Gun - Maverick' movie. This is the first time we have been to the cinema since pre-Covid and it was so worth it - this is most definitely a film to be watched on the big screen! Now I'm typing this with the dulcit tones of the Football Premiership Champions League final in the background - so rock and roll! I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Abstract Beauty Grateful For Your Friendship FF110

by Joanne James27. May 2022 08:00

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday where this week we are celebrating 'National Best Friends Day' which is on June 8th.

    

Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used feminine, pink, sparkle and patterned paper along with the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts for my layout and this is what I came up with:

 

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

Abstract Beauty - I made a simple card today using two contrasting pieces of Abstract Beauty designer series paper: an abstract background and a bright, floral central strip. These papers are sized perfectly for A5 cards. I chose a couple of flowers and some leaves from the co-ordinating ephemera pack that complimented the floral strip to decorate my sentiment oval. 

Full of Love - The sentiment on my card comes from the new 'Full of Love' stamp set. I stamped it on the swirly rectanglular diecut from the Beautiful Shapes Dies set from the same suite:

 

Finishing Touches - I added a few (retired) gold gilded gems for a little extra sparkle to compliment the gold foiling of the floral paper and having used only a strip of floral paper on the centre of my card, I used the remainder to line my envelope for a little extra touch of 'pretty':

 

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. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the  Festive Friday Challenge Design team:

Ann Schach
Beth McCullough
Sharon Hashimoto Burkert
Melanie Hungerford
Helen Jennings
Stephanie Lanzalotto
Melva Peters
Jaydee
Diane Evans
Joanne James

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.

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Hi I'm Joanne and live in Northampton and when I'm not looking after my husband and two beautiful children, am an avid crafter with a passion for all things Stampin' Up!

I must confess that I have never been a big rubber stamper - until I discovered Stampin' Up! that is. I love the fact that I can get such great results with co-ordinating stamps, inks, papers and punches - the possibilities are endless! Join me on my stamping journey as I share the things I love and be inspired to create amazing things yourself!

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This is my personal blog and is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up! I hope you find it a plentiful source of ideas and personal inspiration but please don't copy my designs for contest submission or use for classes, publication or sale without express permission.