A Fish And A Wish Rainbow Thank You FF131

by Joanne James31. March 2023 09:00

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge

    

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'National Pet Day' which is on 11th April. 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. I am not much of a pet person, but that didn't stop me perusing my stamp collection for a starting point for today's challenge. This week I used twine, fish and embossing folder and this is what I came up with:

 

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

I paired one of the fishes from the stamp set 'A Fish and a Wish' with the rainbow macaron colours of the current Inkspirational mood board and created a vertical rainbow of fishes, reversing the stamp each time I stamped it. I added a simple thank you sentiment, co-ordinating Starry Sky twine and a few clear gems, along with a little extra stamping on the inside and outside envelope of my card. I added an embossed layer to my cardfront using the (retired) Seabed 3D Embossing Folder - you can see the detail on the close up below:

This is such a versatile set and so easy to use. Both the stamp set and the co-ordinating fish builder punch are retiring when the annual catalogue finishes at the end of April; the stamp set will also be 30% from next Tuesday, so time to pick up a bargain, perhaps? I'm also linking up today's card with the team over at The Alphabet Challenge Blog where they are celebrating reaching the end of the alphabet with 'Z is for Zodiac' and all things related; these fish are perfect for Pisces, the twelfth sign of the zodiac. Did you know that Pisces is actually the Latin word for 'fish'? Obvious when you think about it, but as a linguist the origin of words fascinates 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. 

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 Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

 

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Ink Blended Penned Flowers Easter Card TTT202

by Joanne James30. March 2023 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 took the third column of diecuts, pastel colours and Easter and using the colour palette over at Hand Stamped Sentiments I created an Easter card for the theme at Global Design Project #GDP387 - take a look:

 

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

The design of my card was inspired by a summer-themed card I'd seen on Pinterest that featured a modern block sentiment when I was looking for ink blending inspiration. I wanted my sentiment to fit inside a square, so used my (retired) Playful Alphabet Dies as they were just the right shape and size. I blended all three colours using blending brushes onto a sheet of white cardstock - once in defined rows (I cut my sentiment square from this piece) and then on randomly on a larger area; I used this piece to diecut my two flower elements using the Penned Flowers Dies. I recommend you colour your cardstock before you diecut the pieces rather than afterwards, as this helps you avoid dark edges. Once I'd coloured my square and cut it out using the Stylish Shapes Dies, I diecut out the letters, then cut the same letters again in white and inset them into the negative space:

 

 I backed the whole thing onto a panel of neutral Smoky Slate grey and added a few iridescent rhinestones for a little extra sparkle. The letters I diecut from the outside square panel didn't go to waste; I used them for the sentiment on the inside of my card, with an extra diecut piece for decoration:

 

I also decorated the envelope with the stamp from the Hand Painted Petals stamp set for a little extra detail. Not a bunny, chick or Easter egg in sight, but I think this is a pretty Easter card nonetheless and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. It just goes to show you don't always need to have themed supplies in order to make a card for a particular occasion - you just have to get creative with what you have in your stash!

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. 

Apologies that it's been a little quiet around here; I've been single parenting this week and so have had very little opportunity to get in my craft room and when I have, my creative mojo has been struggling to craft under pressure! I still feel like I'm catching up on that lost hour from the clocks going back on Sunday; the James Juniors break up for the Easter holidays tomorrow and I have to say, the end of term can't come soon enough! I'll be back tomorrow with another project for our new challenge over at Festive Friday. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

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

Rain or Shine Brighten Your Day With A Turtle PP633

by Joanne James26. March 2023 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 sketch challenge for us to work with:

    

I love a good sketch and had a few ideas as to how I was going to work with this one, but in the end I kept things pretty simple. I thought I would run with the theme over at Time Out of the changing weather so typical of March days, courtesy of the Dickens quote on their challenge badge  - take a look:

 

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

I used two patterns from the Rain and Shine Specialty designer series paper pack for my two vertical panels - one featuring grey skies and driving rain (it's difficult to see in the photos, but this sheet has a fabulous clear embossed rain detail) and the other featuring a sunny spring day and accented my card with a sweet flower-bearing turtle also fussy cut from another sheet in this pack:

I stamped my sentiment, from the retired set 'Special Moments' onto a layered banner cut with the Stylish Shapes Dies. That's all there is to it - pretty straightforward but hopefully the perfect mix of sunshine and showers to brighten someone's day.

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; hopefully if you're in the UK you remembered to turn the clocks forward last night - another sign that lighter evenings are on the way! 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.

Singing In The Rain Clean and Simple

by Joanne James25. March 2023 09:00

Today I'm sharing a super quick and easy clean and simple card for the current theme over at AAA Cards:

Make a card inspired by a movie, song or book - how fun! Here's my CAS card:

  

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

Ever since I saw the cute animals splashing in the puddles on the Rain or Shine designer series paper, I thought this sweet little rabbit looked like it was dancing and ...singing in the rain! I know Gene Kelly has an umbrella when he sings the title song to this iconic movie, but the fox with the umbrella on this paper doesn't look anywhere near as cheery as the sweet bunny, so I snipped a bunny and his puddle from the designer paper, then added some raindrops around him with my Balmy Blue watercolour pencil and accented these with some (retired) clear epoxy raindrops over the top. Cute, right?!

 

I don't have the co-ordinating stamp set from the Rain or Shine Suite Collection, so I used a sentiment from the (retired) set 'Yippee Skippee' that I thought matched the rabbit's demeanour. And that's all there is to it!

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. Mine will be spent at the hockey pitch as I'm covering all games today. If you like today's card do pop back tomorrow to see a more involved card using more of the Rain Or Shine papers for my Paper Players team card. Until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Beside Me Quick Father's Day Card AYSI295

by Joanne James24. March 2023 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 our monthly speed challenge, this time with a theme chosen by Jan - I also used one of the current Try Stamping On Tuesday sketches for my layout and the fresh colour palette over at Sunday Stamps ( I used dark blue, light blue and red):

    

The great outdoors! I decided I didn't want to go with anything floral or scenic for my card, so my mind wandered to sport and outdoor pursuits and I decided to ink up a new and as yet unused stamp set called 'Beside Me' and make a Father's Day card; I know Father's Day is still some time away here in the UK (it falls on 18th June) but the 'Beside Me' stamp set has such great images and if not carried over will be retired by then, so I'm getting in on the action now. Here's the card I came up with:

 

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

It's All In The Preparation - As we always say when we have a speed challenge, the key is to be prepared. Gather all your supplies up front and plan what you are going to do - this can all be done before the stopwatch starts. I decided on my design and colour scheme and got everything ready, including my cardstock, paper, twine, embellishments, Stampin' Blends, ink pads and tools such as mu Stamparatus. My cardbase was already cut as I keep a stack of white ones ready as these are the ones I use most and the large piece of DSP was already cut to size as I had this cut for a previous project but didn't use it. I worked out the sizes needed for my other two layers, mounted my stamps on my platform, then started my stopwatch!

A False Start - The first thing I planned to do was stamp and colour my image. I thought my design would allow me time to roughly colour this small image, but alas - my timer went off just as I finished colouring. Here's the first image I coloured - this alone took me 10 minutes:

 

I know colouring can be time-consuming, but I clearly under-estimated this one! So I set that image aside, thought about how I could use way less time, got a new piece of black white cardstock and reset the timer. Take two!

Back To The Drawing - or Colouring - Board - I decided that the key to speedy colouring would rely on focusing on the outline of the image along, rather than colouring it, so I changed up the colours and stamped it in Starry Sky instead of black and stamped the sentiment in Sweet Sorbet. This was so quick, I decided to then just add some rough highlighting to the image and scribbled my lightest Balmy Blue Blend around the image to highlight it. No blending, just a rough colour - I think it works though, what do you think?

 

I then quickly rounded the corners and put the whole thing together, adding my baker's twine and two trios of heart embellishments to finish. I quickly stopped my timer - 9 minutes and 58 seconds, get in! Most of the time was spent trying to get the hearts straight!! This is such a simple way to use a line image designed for colouring and it's perfect for a quick card or if you're just not a fan of colouring with markers or pencils. 

I so love the images in this set - this one reminds me of when my husband was teaching Ben to ride his bike, so I just had to have it!

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 speed stamping challenge, please time yourself and say in your post how long your card took to complete
We look forward to seeing your creations in the AYSI gallery.

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

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

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

Sending A Big Squeeze With Tea Boutique

by Joanne James23. March 2023 14:42

Today I'm sharing a card that uses one of the current Try Stamping on Tuesday layouts (love the layering on this one!) that was inspired by the fabulous mood board over at Just Us Girls this week:

   

Yellow is one of my favourite colours and I couldn't pass up that sunny, sunshine-filled board! I decided to go with the lemons as my inspiration, but I really liked the green and yellow chalks in the photo next to it too, so decided that instead of another Sweet Citrus creation, I would showcase some of the lovely white, green and yellow lemon paper from the Tea Boutique pack - take a look:

 

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

These papers were great for the split panels and I combined a partial stamped sentiment from the 'Sweet Citrus' stamp set with the large diecut from the Sending Dies:

 

I did add a lemon segment and flower that I stamped, diecut and embossed with the 'Sweet Citrus' bundle (well, I couldn't not use it at all!!) and a ribbon tied with twine for a final embellishment. 

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 the youngest of the James Juniors at home today having been blessed with a stinker of a cold from a generous classmate, so some of are feeling very sorry for ourselves! He definitely needs a squeeze or two and some hot lemon today! Me? I'm cracking on with some crafting in the peace and quiet and hoping he isn't quite as generous in sharing his germs with me! 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.

Charming Sentiments Clean and Simple Birthday Candles CCS 507

by Joanne James21. March 2023 13:00

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at CAS Colours & SketchesThis week's challenge is a sketch challenge and YoonYoung has asked that we feature repeating verticals and a sentiment beneath. Feel free to flip or rotate the sketch when making your card.

 

For my card today I decided to go with a collection of diecut candles courtesy of the Sentiment Silhouette Dies and a simple birthday sentiment from the co-ordinating Charming Sentiments stamp set:

 

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

Today's card features the 2022-24 In Colours - I just love this set of colours, as a collection they work so well together, in addition to complimenting other colours too. I added in some Mango Melody for my flames and the diecut 'glow' behind - super simple and much cleaner this week too!

 

COLOUR REFRESH - Whilst I used the 2022-24 In Colours on today's card, today's post serves as another reminder that the 2021-23 In Colours will shortly retire, so now is the time to stock up on any supplies in those colours that you need or any co-ordinating products, such as designer papers that feature those colours. Since Stampin' Up! have confirmed that we are having a full colour refresh this year, you should apply the same principle to all of your favourite colours in the Stampin' up! range. many colours are already showing low inventory or are already out of stock, and as soon as the full details of the refresh have been announced to demonstrators on 29th March, this situation will undoubtedly be exacerbated and stocks will disappear long before the catalogues change over in May. The full retiring list will go live to customers on 4th April - but I strongly advise you to make sure you have placed any orders before then, as those bargains will be snapped up so quickly it is likely to lead to many disappointed customers. Public service announcement over - you are now fully informed!

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 hopefully 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 Citrus Clean and Simple Thank You Card

by Joanne James20. March 2023 15:25

Happy Monday everyone! Today I've a quick post to share an even quicker clean and simple card that I made that was inspired by both the 'signs of spring' inspiration photo over at The Card Concept and uses Judy's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches:

   

When I saw Judy's sketch that trio of circles took me straight to my Sweet Citrus bundle again and the colours and lemons at The Card Concept, along with the pattern on the blue and white vase, I knew where I was headed - take a look:

 

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

I used a Night of Navy card base as I wanted my blue and white patterned paper as an accent border behind my lemons, and went hunting through my stash of retired papers for the patterned paper. It's a little more like a tile pattern rather than Delft pottery, but I think it works. I added a strip across the width of my card, added a trio of lemons, stamped and embossed and cut in one using my Sweet Citrus Hybrid Embossing Folder, tucked in a couple of pairs of leaves left over from another project and added a trio of enamel dots and a simple heat embossed sentiment from 'Sending Smiles' as I was in need of thank you cards:

That's all there is to it - so straightforward, yet the bright citrus colours against the navy and white and the dry embossed detailing make this an interesting clean and simple card. I had more of the designer paper left over, so I used it to decorate the envelope flap too - do you ever do that? It's a great way to add a pop of colour and pizzazz - I like to think it cheers up not just the recipient but the postman 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. 

I took a break from today's household chores to type this, so I think it's time to get back to it! 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.

Clean and Simple Flowering Tulips Thank You Card PP632

by Joanne James19. March 2023 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 she has a seasonal theme challenge for us to work with:

    

It's clean and simple week and Ann has asked us to feature a spring flower on our card. here's a quick reminder of what we mean by 'clean and simple at The Paper Players:

We mean a card that:
  • Has minimal layers and embellishments
  • Has plenty of open space, aka "white" space
  • Is simple and uncluttered

After much deliberation, I decided to use my 'Flowering Tulips' stamp set as I haven't yet inked it up this spring. I chose the lovely bright colours palette over at Just Add Ink and created this really simple card - take a look:

 

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

I stamped a couple of tulips in the same colour as the cardstock, stamping off one of the layers to get a depth of colour and cut them out using the Tulips Dies and heat embossed the stamens in black for a little extra shine. I added my tulips to a matt layer onto which I'd stamped my sentiment and used one of the dies in the set to cut a pattern to reveal colour from the card base below:

I added a simple diecut silhouette border to the inside of my card to complete my design: 

 

Super simple and so bright and cheery, tulips, alongside daffodils, are one of my most favourite spring flowers.

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.

By My Side for FF130

by Joanne James17. March 2023 09:00

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. I used the great sketch below from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge for my layout and the theme of dots or stripes (I went with dots) over at AAA Birthdays for my birthday card - take a look:

       

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'International Children's Book Day' which is on 2nd April. 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 children's sentiment, children (child), bright colours, patterned paper and square and this is what I came up with:

 

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

I promised you another card this week using the 'By My Side' stamp this week and this is it! This time I decided to use the little girl with her sweet bluebird friend to make a bright and colourful birthday card. I used one of the sentiments from the set on the front of my card and finished the inside with a 'Happy Birthday' greeting. I was initially going to use squares of coloured cardstock for my background, but in the spirit of using up my scraps as encouraged by my friends over at SUO Challenges this week, I grabbed some of my retired Brights Collection designer series paper and pulled out offcuts from previous projects and used my Stylish Shapes Dies to diecut a selection of squares, all with a playful, dotty design to create a harmonious background (I've included a link to the current pack of Brights DSP at the bottom of today's post in case you'd like to recreate this card):

 

I love the versatility of this stamp set: sweet images, great sentiments and fun for both the young and the young at heart!

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 Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge Design team:

 

Enjoy your day; I have my parents visiting at the moment for our delayed Christmas celebrations that didn't take place due to illness. At least we managed to fit it in before Easter - the James Juniors are very much looking forward to an influx of chocolate!! 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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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.