Flower and Field Happy Thoughts TTT 102

by Joanne James25. February 2021 15:00

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 first column with thinking of you/stitching/flowers for my card today, that also makes the most of one of the Sale-A-Bration freebies that can still be yours for a few more days so is perfect to play along with the team over at TGIF Challenges too - take a look:

 

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

Flower and Field - Although I didn't eventually choose it, I was considering 'shades of green' as one of my board options and I immediately thought of this paper in the Flower and Field Sale-A-Bration DSP pack as it makes such a beautiful use of Just Jade as its background colour. I decided to use this paper anyway as it's so pretty and the green, pink and yellow combo give me three colours to play with the peeps over at Paper Craft Crew this week too! It's also a great reminder that there are just 3 days to go until the end of the current Sale-A-Bration promotion. If you are a regular Stampin' Up! customer, don't be caught out - the current promotion ends a whole month earlier than it has in previous years. That's no bad thing, as it means we will get a second Sale-A-Bration promotion later in the year, but if you still have things on your current SAB wishlist, you need to earn them whilst you still can!

Thinking of You - The sentiment I chose for my card today comes from the 'Happy Thoughts' stamp set, inspired by the Million Sales Achiever Jackie Bolhuis. This is a sentiment-only set, designed with beginner crafters in mind. It has great basic sentiments for every occasion, along with some longer ones that work perfectly as a feature or on the insdie of a card. What's more, this set was designed to co-ordinate with a number of our basic punches, so is really versatile and a great way to build on a beginner's collection of basic items. 

Pierced Blooms - I added a few Pierced Blooms to decorate my card - another long-awaited addition to my collection - although as I went to finishe my card with some black enamel dots on those itty bitty pink flowers I realised ... yes, I've run out! So use your imagination as I go off to order more of these craft room staples!

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.

Kick Up Your Heels With Darling Donkeys CCS 407

by Joanne James16. February 2021 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Julie is hosting this month and this week we have a colour challenge: 

   

The colour palette gave me the perfect reason to break out 'Darling Donkeys' again, which is also perfect to link up with the challenge over at Global Design Project #GDP279 where their theme this week is 'animal' - and mine is ready to party! Take a look:

 

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

Darling Donkeys - I couldn't resist these sweet little donkeys again for my card, today featuring the frolicking donkey on the front of my card, rather than the sweet seated one that I've used on all my previous cards, although I did add one of those to the inside:

 

Kick Up Your Heels - I thought this donkey would be perfect for a birthday card, and his happy demeanour reminded me of the zebras in the 'Zaony Zebras' stamp set. So I borrowed a sentiment that seemed equally appropriate for a party-going donkey as a fun-loving zebra, along with a party hat, and got my donkey ready to celebrate!

Circles, Circles - I was really pleased with how I met the 'clean and simple' brief this week - lots of white space, minimal layers and patterns and one main focal point. I did use a circle shape to tie my design together: the stitched circle background for my donkey, the circular pattern on my strips of designer paper and the polka dots on his party hat. A subtle detail but a clever way to create harmony in my CAS design:

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! color 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.

The James Juniors are on half term this week so in an effot to keep them off their screens and give them a proper break from home schooling, I am being a very hands-on parent this week. So not much crafting from me, unless they are in tow! 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.

Always in My Heart Ombre Stripe Anniversary Card

by Joanne James14. February 2021 11:00

Today I'm sharing another card using that oh-so-pretty floral die, this time using this week's Global Design Project #GDP278 sketch. Those pretty pink stripes and florals were also inspired by the pastel-striped biscuits in the good-enough-to-eat inspiration photo over at Time Out this week and I'm also having a second entry over at Addicted to CAS where the theme is hearts:

       

My card is all heart for sure with my white floral version - take a look:

 

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

I used a few narrow strips cut from some left over pieces of Oh So Ombre DSP (gotta love a Sale-A-Bration freebie!) I decided to make this card a clean and simple anniversary card, so added a silver heat-embossed sentiment to the banner that also comes in the Floral Heart Dies set. I've not used this before but I really like the way it folds and the stitched detailing. A sprinking of Rococco Rose sequins separated from my Woven Threads sequin assortment complete my card:

 

 I love the clean and delicate appearance of this card, with the soft pinks against the white. Very romantic, don't you think?!

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 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.

Bermuda Bay Oh So Ombre Valentine Darling Donkey CCS 406

by Joanne James9. February 2021 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 Julie has asked that we use the following layout:

   

 

Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card. For my card today I chose to use two of my favourite Sale-A-Bration free gifts - take a look:

 

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

Darling Donkey - Yes, the sweet donkey is here, this time bearing gifts, or more specifically the gift of love with a single red rose - how romantic! Is there anything cuter than a donkey at Valentine's, I wonder?! With only another 5 days to go until the day itself, I thought I would take the opportunity to make another card for one of my loved ones. I'm also linking up with the ladies over at Just Us Girls again as 'Valentine' is their word of the week.

Oh So Ombre - I backed my oval with a panel of patterned Oh So Ombre paper - another Sale-A-Bration freebie that I can't get enough of! My card today is uncluttered and clean, although the reduction in white space does leave me sailing close to the wind as far as our challenge CAS rules are concerned. So if you are reading this and considering playing along, you have been warned! 

Still Time To Sale-A-Brate - If either of the above products are on your wish list, you still have another 3 weeks to go before the current Sale-A-Braiton promotion ends. That is a month earlier than usual though, so bear this in mind and be sure to place your order in good time. Links to the online store are included below or get in touch if you would like me to place your order for you.

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'm hoping to complete the second room on my current house decorating quest, so that I can spend the rest of the week getting up straight and having a good tidy up. Why is it that the minute I start decorating anywhere, the rest of the house seems to descend into disorganised chaos?! Does that happen in your house 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.

A Tricolour Birthday Card Approaching Perfection CCS 405

by Joanne James2. February 2021 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Julie is hosting this month and our first challenge of the month is a colour challenge: 

     

These colours were a bit of a challenge for me originally but I thought they would work well for a birthday card for a teenage boy - and I always need those! I decided to showcase another free Sale-A-Bration stamp set today - take a look:

 

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

'Approaching Perfection' is another of the stamp sets that you can get for free with a Stampin' Up! order of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration - and you still have another month to take advantage of this promotion! Full of fun birthday sentiments, it is perfect for clean and simple cards. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to create an outer border of multi-coloured candles on my base, then add a stitched square featuring my sentiment to the centre, fussy cutting the 'news flash' so that I could highlight it in red - reminiscent of a red-top tabloid:

 

I'm also joining in with the current challenge over at Less Is More where they are looking for 'things in a row' - in addition to the rows of candles on my card, I decorated the flap of my envelope to match too:

 

A detail that might be wasted on the average teenage boy to be fair, but it made me happy! This is a great set for #SimpleStamping - you could easily forgo the stitched diecut. All you need is stamps, ink and paper - #SimpleStamping at its 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. 

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! color 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. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Berry Blessings For You PP526

by Joanne James31. January 2021 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the fifth Sunday of the month so the lovely Laurie is hosting this week and she has a fun tic-tac-toe challenge board for us to work with:

  

   

I used Julee's current Mojo Monday sketch as the basis for my card and went top left to bottom right on the diagonal across the board with die cut-embossing-blue for another fruity card for you this week - take a look:

 

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

Berry Blessings - Today's card is all about the free - free product that is! Both the stamp set and the designer series papers on today's card are part of the Berry Blessings bundle that is one of the free products available with a Stampin' Up! order of £90 or more during Sale-A-Bration. I love the designer papers that feature both the blueberries and raspberries in the bundled stamp set and also the strawberries from the Sweet Strawberry bundle - fruity patterns and also some fabulous checks and plaid. This card is all about the blues and greens, so I chose two plaids that would co-ordinate with my blueberry focal point. They just so happen to also be perfect for Stesha's takeover at TGIF Challenges this week where they are all about the plaid too. I also used the stamp set for the sentiment and a little extra stamping on the inside of my card too:

 

Stitched Shapes - The layers of Julee's sketch allowed me to fully indulge of my love of stitched shapes: rectangles for the background and then a circle as the base for my fussy cut berries. These are my most used of all my dies and the circles are for sure a staple - I just love the way they elevate a humble shape into something just a little bit more.

It's In The Details - I did a lot of fussy cutting on my berries and leaves, so wanted to add only a few extra small details. The embossing that completes my tic-tac-toe line is both dry embossing using my favourite Subtles folder on the white layer, and a white heat-embossed sentiment on my blue sentiment banner. I also added a simple white twine bow (with my banner that makes my two things from the Just Add Ink list this week) and a single pearl to the centre of my blue flower. You can see those finishing touches better below:

 

I really love how this card came together. Pacific Point was one of the first ink pads I ever bought when I started stamping, yet it isn't a colour I use often now so it was great to get it out for this card. I love that most of the rest of the product that I used was free - links to the store below if you'd like to snap up this bundle 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!

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; we were forecast more snow here in the UK this weekend, but yesterday both James Juniors were disappointed to find temperatures had plummeted but it was more like freezing rain than snow. Today they will be hoping for the proper white stuff so that we can build another snowman! If not, we have some cooking to do and we might even get cracking on a knitting project that we've been promising to start for a while. 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.

Forever and Always With Oh So Ombre

by Joanne James30. January 2021 20:40

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend so far! I'm popping by with a quick post with my card for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge:

Jen B's sketch was perfect for me to dig out my Forever & Always bundle again and try out an idea that I had using the free Sale-A-Bration Oh So Ombre paper - take a look:

 

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

I had seen this card by Mary Deatherage on Pinterest and wanted to explore the idea of diecutting the centre from a piece of Oh So Ombre DSP and flipping it and this sketch provided the perfect opportunity. I decided to use the Forever & Always bundle for my design; the key to getting a good result is to use the Stamparatus, as you need to have both flowers in an exactly opposing position and then the die needs to be placed absolutely centrally, before cutting. You then flip the central panel and add the sentiment.

I stamped a couple of flowers, then masked them to add in some leaves. I cut out my central panel using my scalloped stitched rectangle Stitched So Sweetly Dies before adding a diecut and stamped sentiment, with a few enamel dots to finish. Popping the central panel up on dimensionals also adds a shadow from the black mat below:

 

Doesn't it create such an interesting effect? Unable to stop there, I also applied the same technique on a Bermuda Bay background using the Friends Are Like Seashells set:

 

This time I stamped my shells, again with some masking, and sentiment and added some pearls to finish:

 

I used the free Sale-A-Bration Oh So Ombre papers as my background, but you could equally create your own ombre background with a sponge brayer or blender brushes. These cards are quite addictive - I think the idea could be used for lots of sets! Here's a shot of both cards together - do you have a favourite?

 

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

 

And my second card:

 

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 for this week's 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.

Sale-A-Bration Paper Blooms CAS Layered Cards

by Joanne James27. January 2021 21:19

Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made using the first sketch of the year over at Fab Friday:

 

It's definitely a keeper, and is a sketch with lots of possibilities - I would definitely suggest you check out the DT cards and those in this week's gallery, as there are some great crafty creations. I considered a few options, but ended up going super simple and making a couple of cards to showcase some of my favourite FREE Sale-A-Bration papers - take a look:

 

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

I just love the colours and bold floral patterns of the Paper Blooms paper, so decided to make a couple of cards with two of the patterns. A simple Night of Navy offset mat, sentiment in a Stitched Rectangle and added a loop of denim ribbon to each:

 

Here's the second one that I made where I flipped the colours:

 

And a shot of both cards together:

 

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.

Curvy Flower and Field CAS Birthday Card CCS 404

by Joanne James26. January 2021 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & Sketches. Today we have a sketch challenge and Jeanne has asked that we incorporate a curve into our design. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

 

Following last week's inner wrestling, for my card today I went uber clean and simple - just 4 items make today's card:

 

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

Curvy Dies - Jeanne's sketch was a gift to Curvy Dies this week! A swift run through the diecutting machine with the simple dotted edge die and my Seaside Spray panel had the necessary curve I was looking for. 

Quite Curvy - I added a birthday sentiment from the co-ordinating Quite Curvy stamp set in Tuxedo Black to my panel; it aligns to the contour of the diecut perfectly and has the bonus of being photopolymer, so is super easy to line up too.

Flower and Field - Having chosen to keep my top layer completely 'clean' (remember, 'white space' doesn't have to white in colour, just free from detail), I decided to add a little detail to the edge of my card base below with a strip of designer paper. This pattern is one of the designs in the Flower & Field Designer Series Paper pack, one of the items that can be yours FREE with a purchase of £45 during Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration promotion. The patterns in the pack are a collection of bold florals, perfect for all kinds of projects.

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 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.

Sweet Strawberry and Berry Blessings Birthday Wishes For PP525

by Joanne James24. January 2021 09:00

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's my turn to host this week and I have my favourite, a sketch challenge for you to work with:

 

I chose a simple layout for my sketch so that it give lots of creative licence. I decided to take the opportunity to break out another new bundle, or two bundles in fact. Today's card is all about the berries - take a look:

 

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

Sweet Strawberry - Today's starting point was the strawberry that I used to anchor my sentiment - courtesy of the Sweet Strawberry stamp set. The set comes complete with two-step stamps for a berry, flower, leaf and stem, in addition to a selection of varied sentiments. Interesting fact for you: did you know that technically, a strawberry is not actually a berry at all? Botanists call the strawberry a "false fruit," or a pseudocarp. A strawberry is actually a multiple fruit which consists of many tiny individual fruits embedded in a fleshy receptacle. Who knew?! I also used the stamps to decorate the inside of my card:

 

Strawberry Builder Punch Tip - A stamp set with a co-ordinating punch is always great for quick embellishments and whilst I've shared this tip with you before, I thought it worth reminding you of a great way to save even more time with a builder-type punch. Create a mask using a piece of cardstock with all of the pieces punched out as a guide to stamp the individual pieces. This way, when you put the stamped cardstock into the punch, all of the images are aligned and punch out perfectly - check out the photo below to see what I mean:

 

Berry Blessings - What could be better than one berry bundle? Well, two of course! One of this year's Sale-A-Bration freebies with a £90 purchase is the Berry Blessings bundle, comprising the Berry Blessings stamp set that features the sentiment on the front of my card along with the Berry Delightful DSP, full of great berry patterns and coloured ginghams and plaids. These bundles co-ordinate perfectly with each other and if you have one, you are probably going to want the other too - check out the hand-painted look below:

 

This is the first card I've made with these bundles, but they won't be the last - there lots more berries, patterns and colours to choose from!

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!

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

IEnjoy your day; we are forecast snow here in the UK today; the James Juniors are very excited, although I'm not sure it will be enough to build a snowman - I'll update you tomorrow! I'll be back then 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.