For The Record Valentine TTT146

by Joanne James27. January 2022 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 the lovely LeAnne is the featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

       

I went with the first column of pink/Valentine or heart/white for my card today and took the layout from Fusion (I made it horizontal to fit everything in0!) and red, pink and black from the 'cool winter love' colour palette over at Sunday Stamps and used some new papers and a new stamp set too - take a look:

 

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

For The Record - The 'For The Record' stamp set on page 74 of the mini catalogue is most definitely the star of today's card! With sentiments for a range of occasions, this set is sure to be a hit with vinyl collectors and music lovers alike and has a fun retro vibe! Both my record and sentiment come from this set.

Sweet Talk - I decided to go all-out with the sweet talking on today's card, not only with the fun sentiment but also this heart-filled background designer series paper that is from the Sweet Talk pack. 

Shimmer and Shine - The detail on this record is great and totally lends itself to being heat embossed, to show the ridges and grooves. I stamped and heat-embossed the heart at the centre of the record again in black on Real Red cardstock then fussy cut it out, then filled it with Shimmery Crystal Effects for added sparkle and shine:

 

This card is bold, bright and full of fun - perfect for the favourite song in your life!

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. Also, if you like this layout, spoiler alert - I used the same Fusion sketch as the starting point for tomorrow's card too for our new challenge over at As You See It - although that card couldn't be more different! Come back tomorrow to see my second take on this great layout.

Enjoy your evening; until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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

Spirited Snowmen Love Never Melts

by Joanne James26. January 2022 20:56

Today I'm sharing a quick card that I made for a few current challenges:

         

I saw the badge over at Just Us Girls and that inspiration photo immediately reminded me of the retired stamp set 'Spirited Snowmen' so I dug it out and paired it with the Color Dare challenge colours for a sweet love-filled card:

 

Stamped, coloured and mounted using my Layered Squares dies, with some added clear Wink of Stella to make that heart shine:

 

No supplies list today as the stamp set is retired (I also used up some Tempting Turquoise card too!). I'm also linking up with TGIF Challenges and Global Design Project #GDP327 where both are asking for love-themed cards - it's clearly the season!!

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

Delft Blue-Inspired Tulip Fields For CCS454

by Joanne James25. January 2022 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Can you believe it's the last Tuesday of the month already and my hosting duties are nearly done? Where did that month go?! I am rounding out the month with a sketch challenge and this week I'd like to see a split panel with a sentiment and clear focal point that bridges the divide: 

     

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

For my card today I decided to go Dutch, with a colour scheme inspired by the famous Delftware pottery and that lovely jug that is bottom left on the Double D Challenge board (no winter though!) - take a look:

 

This card is not as tricky as it looks; the Stamparatus makes light work of stamping those rows of tulips (see today's 'Tuesday Tip' in my Crafty Owl Creatives Facebook Group for the best way to get a great result!). I left the sky portion blank to preserve my 'white space', added a simple white diecut fence and a small windmill as my focal point, stamped in Night of Navy and with some added colour using my Blends then cut out using the Windmill Fields Dies - I just love these!

 

A simple thank you sentiment from the 'Pansy Patch' stamp set completes my card. A palette of blues may seem an unusual choice for the first outing with this stamp set, but I think the monochromatic palette contributes to the clean and simple feel of the card. What do you think? I'm also linking today's card up over at SUO Challenges for a second play, since they are challenging us to create 'Clean and Simple' cards this week 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. 

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 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.

 

Sunshine And Rainbows Clean And Simple PP575

by Joanne James23. January 2022 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Jaydee to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch, challenge for you to work with:

 

I love Jaydee's sketch this week and could have made a ton of different cards with it! Having seen the lovely Jaydee's card before I made mine, I noticed she had focused on the top portion with her design. I was naturally drawn to filling the bottom section, so decided to take my inspiration from Jaydee's interpretation of the sketch and instead focus on creating detail on the top portion of my card. This is what I came up with:

 

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

I decided to use a piece of the Sale-A-bration Sunshine & Rainbows designer paper to decorate the top portion of my card, and then the rainbow border die to edge my white panel below. I paper-pieced my rainbows across my border edge and then added a sentiment using the rainbow-topped diecut that also features in the Brilliant Rainbows Dies pack. In addition to paper-piecing a larger rainbow on the top of my sentiment tab, I added a sentiment from the 'Rainbow of Happiness' stamp set and added a trio of clouds and a tiny resin heart that I coloured pink using my Magenta Madness Blends marker:

I didn't set out to make a clean and simple card this week, but I really love the end result! I am linking my card up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges too as they are focusing on clean and simple cards for their current 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 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; we are having a quiet day and I'm hoping to squeeze in a little crafting so that I'll have something to share with you tomorrow. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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

Relax At The Oceanfront FF101

by Joanne James21. January 2022 09:00

Happy Friday everyone - the weekend will soon be here! Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday. The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Wetland Day' which is on 2nd February and here's our inspiration board:

    

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 grasses, green, brown, water and blue from the inspo list along with this week's sketch layout over at Inspire.Create - but my card is more coastal than wetlands, with a distinctly Caribbean influence - take a look: 

 

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

An Ocean Scene - I decided to break open my new 'Oceanfront' stamp set and create a tranquil coastal scene for my card. This set is so fun with endless creative possibilities! I inked my stamps then brushed additional colour onto them with a blending brush to even the tones and stamped straight onto my panel of white cardstock, beginning with the sky and working downwards until my scene was complete.  

Relax On The Horizon - Oceanfront is a sentiment-free set, so I made my banner sentiments from the 'On The Horizon' stamp set, stamping the 'Relax enjoy your day!' wording twice, once in Early Espresso for the bottom banner and once in Granny Apple Green, so that I could fussy-cut the word detail, which I then backed with a scrap of green and white gingham check from my bits box:

 

I played around with the banner lengths in relation to the sketch to make them work for my design and added some linen twine and a simple bow to add to the beachy feel of my card.

Another stamp from within the same set was used to finish the inside, with some added grasses:

Pick A Pebble - Finally, I added a trio of shiny brown enamel pebbles to the base of my scene for added interest - these make a great added detail for the seaside theme.

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 just love this card; it reminds me of many vacations in the Caribbean where I used to enjoy deserted beaches, warm waters and sunshine and escape the worst of the British winter each February 'BC' (before children, that is!)

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 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.

Daffodil Daydream Meets Daffodil Afternoon For Sunday Stamps

by Joanne James20. January 2022 13:28

Today I'm sharing a card that is a 'sneak peek' of one of the cards that I am making with the lovely ladies signed up form my 'Daffodil Daydream' online card class that is taking place next week; I used the great sketch over at Sunday Stamps for my layout, so am linking up with their current challenge. Here's their sketch:

And here's the card that I made using it as my starting point:

 

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

Daffodil Afternoon - I knew I wanted to use this particular design of Daffodil Afternoon designer series paper as my background. Bold designs on dark backgrounds can be intimidating, so I chose it as I wanted to give my class attendees ideas how to use them. Taking advantage of the split panel and choosing the lighter colours for both the card base and mat layer both serve to lighten this pattern. Lots to love about this paper pack, but most of all - it's FREE with a £45 purchase during the current Sale-A-Bration promotion! If you buy the Daffodil Daydream stamp set and die bundle, this makes a great free product choice to accompany it as it co-ordinates beautifully.  

Daffodil Dies - And so onto those Daffodil Dies! There are lots of die pieces in this set but they go together really easily when you know how. We will be going through that in class, so it was only right that I make up a couple of flower heads and use them to decorate my sentiment label. I cut them from colours that matched the daffodils on the paper, then added some ink with a blender brush to each piece to bring a little more depth to the colours. 

And A Beautiful Shape - Finally, I did start out with a circle shape as per the sketch, albeit I then layered it with my sentiment label and daffodil heads almost covering it up! You can see that circle. courtesy of a new die in the Beautiful Shapes set, a little closer on the photo below, where the debossed detail can just about be seen:

 

I know this die is one I'll be using lots; the added detail makes it a nice centrepiece. It's no stitched circle, granted, but it is a nice alternative!

I'm looking forward to making a version of this card in my 'Daffodil Daydream' online card class next week. I have lots of other classes and events planned in the coming months - if you would like more information, then do get in touch - I'd love you to join me!

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 have been granted a free pass on the school run this afternoon, so am fortunate to be getting a little extra crafting time (I might even make a head start on tomorrow's chores too!). 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.

Daffodil Daydream CAS Easter Card CCS453

by Joanne James18. January 2022 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. I am hosting this month and this week it's my second colour challenge of the month and I chose some fresh, spring colours to create with: 

     

For my card today I used the layout over at Paper Craft Crew and created a frame using two offset layering circle dies to highlight a single daffodil stem that I coloured with Blends in each of the three challenge colours:

 

The daffodil is one of my favourite spring flowers (along with tulips!) and I couldn't resist the new 'Daffodil Daydream' stamp set and bundle as a result. I stamped the detailed border from the same set for my horizontal element and finished off with an Easter sentiment and a trio of Daffodil Delight sequins that I found in my embellishment stash. The flower is so easy to colour and the co-ordinating Daffodil Dies make it a cinch to cut out perfectly:

 

This is a great set if you are new to colouring and want to give it a try as you only need a couple of colours to start off with and the flowers themselves won't take too long to complete. I love to colour and having had so much fun colouring the stem for my cardfront, I decided to stamp another one on the front of my envelope too - no naked envelopes here today!

Whether you are new to colouring or it's your passion, I have another great tip that I'm sharing in my Crafty Owl Creatives customer Facebook group today that is all about using Blends markers - why not pop over and take a look? If you're not already a member, click here to find the group and request to join - everyone is welcome and it's the place to share projects, ask questions and where I share lots of tips and tricks. 

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; it's super frosty here so no more excuse needed to run indoors on the treadmill and keep warm and craft until it's time for the school run! 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.

Nature's Beauty In Winter Clean and Simple PP574

by Joanne James16. January 2022 09:00

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

          

Winter animals - so many options! I decided to dig out a rather neglected stamp set of late and using Judy's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and very much inspired by the snow and blue tones over at AAA Cards  set to work on my clean and simple card - take a look:

 

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

 I diecut a circle from my white cardfront and added a piece of Beauty of the Earth paper with a watercoloured blue behind and stamped some bushes and twigs in Versamark across the aperture and heat embossed them in silver. I then also stamped and fussy cut a leaf branch and arctic fox, heat embossed them both in silver then added some shading with my Smoky Slate Blends, before finishing with a sentiment from 'timeless Tulips' and a sprinkling of sequins. You can see the detail on the fox and the shine of the metallic slightly better below:

 

A quick reminder to all of you playing along over at The Paper Players this week, in addition to the theme of winter animals, it is more importantly 'clean and simple' week. What does this mean?

  • minimal layers and embellishments
  • clean, white space

 I liked this card so much I made another one, mirroring the sketch and using the arctic rabbit as the focal point:

 

 I used a different sentiment on this one - this one comes from the new 'Honeybee Home' set - but I like this card just as much as the fox. Again, you can see the shine and detail slightly better below:

 

Since my second card also uses this week's colours over at Just Us Girls of white, silver and light blue, I'll be linking it up there.

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. 

And one last photo of both cards together - which one do you prefer? I like them both and it was nice to give this stamp some love again.

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; having spent yesterday outside in the freezing fog watching the oldest of the James Juniors play hockey whilst hubby went to watch the youngest do the same (fun games and wins all round, so that helped!), we are all looking forward to a day indoors enjoying the warmth today! 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.
 
Edit: Kim chose my card for Princess of Clean for FMS518 - yay!
See the source image

Sale-A-Brate with a Pool Party Friendly Hello AYSI 266

by Joanne James14. January 2022 12:00

Today I'm sharing my design team card for our first challenge this year over at As you See It where it's time for a sketch challenge designed by the lovely LeAnne:

    

A short and sweet post from me today as I've a lot on so need to make it brief. I decided to use one of my Sale-A-Bration freebies for my card today - take a look:

 

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Today's card features the pretty 'Friendly Hello' stamp set and co-ordinating papers - one of the co-ordinating bundles that can be yours free as part of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion with a £90 purchase. The line images of the stamp set co-ordinate with the florals and spring colours of the papers perfectly. I left my stamped bird image black and white and coloured the circle behind with my Pool Party Blends to give the same effect as the background papers and added a fussy cut heat-embossed sentiment, with some sparkly ribbon and black enamel dots to finish. The shimmer from the ribbon seems to almost reflect the blue, don't you think?

 

I usually struggle with a diagonal, but my card for today came together quite easily. The black, white and Pool Party colour combination is also perfect for the Color Dare challenge of neutrals plus one colour of your choice so I'm linking up today's card there too.

If you would like to snap up this bundle of products for FREE, just place an order for £90 or more in my online store before the end of February. Gotta love free craft products!

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.
  • In a sketch challenge, you are welcome to rotate or flip a sketch. You can replace shapes used such as substituting a circle panel for a square panel. However, we must be able to still see the basis of the original sketch in your finished product.
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

Enjoy 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.

Beauty of The Earth Wintry Thank You TTT144

by Joanne James13. January 2022 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 I am the featured designer this week. This is the fun board that we are playing along with: 

    

I went down the first column with Winter/Sentiment/Circle and made a simple wintry thank you card - take a look:

 

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

Wintry Blues - The Beauty of the Earth designer papers contain lots of wonderful leafy images featuring trees and greenery and I used lots of them during the autumn in particular and I have been wanting to create something with this beautiful blue and grey watercolour-inspired pattern. I didn't get the opportunity to incorporate it into a Christmas card, but thought it would made a lovely centrepiece for a simple wintry thank you. 

A Surprise Sentiment - When looking for the right sentiment for my card, I came across this one that was perfect - and actually from a set that couldn't be further from the winter season. Do you recognise it? It actually comes from the 'Sweet Ice Cream' stamp set. I thought it would work just as well with a frosty scene, paired with a simple 'thank you' on the inside of my card from the same set. What do you think? Always worth perusing the catalogue - you may be surprised what you will find. Have you ever made any other unusual stamp and paper pairings? Do let me know in the comments below - I'd love to hear about them!

A Subtle Sparkle - Finally, honestly, too difficult to see on the photo, but I brushed each of the watercoloured trees with my clear Wink of Stella brush for an oh so pretty subtle sparkle. I also added a single rhinestone to my heart for a more obvious shine:

 

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. 

I'm also linking today's card up over at The Alphabet Challenge blog where they are currently on 'T is for Trees'. 

Enjoy your day; 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.

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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.