Be Inspired - Patterned Paper

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the October Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on projects using Patterned Paper in some way. However you have arrived here, whether from Annette Elias or directly here, I so appreciate that you are here.

Pattern paper can be used in so many ways in your paper crafting. Whether creating a simple card that shows the beauty of the designer series paper designs or using it along with other products for a more detailed card it always adds a special touch. I love to use patterned paper when I am creating a fun fold so that is what I am sharing in this blog hop. While planning to create a different fold to the one shown, part way through I realised the dimensions I had found on line had some issues so had to change tac.

This card features a speciality Designer Series Paper that has a Basic Black, Basic White and Gold colour combo. I love this Modern Christmas DSP so much. I have used 2 different designs within the pack - one with a black background, white circles and gold diamonds. Not wanting black to dominate, a layer of this DSP was used across the bottom third of the card. 

Dry embossing with the Waves 3D Embossing Folder was added to the top 2/3rds of the card. The panels had been cut to size before being embossed. A fine strip of Gold Foil was tucked under the lower edge of the middle panels. Two circular discs were die cut using both the Basic Shapes dies and the Spotlight on Nature dies. Trees from one of the DSP designs were fussy cut and added to the layered labels with Mini Dimensionals.

The decorated labels were adhered to the central panel with Dimensionals. A second Basic Black die cut disc was adhered behind the central panel, creating a gap that the top and bottom card panels, from the other side of the card, can slip through to hold the card closed.  A sentiment from the coordinating Ornamental Christmas stamp set was white heat embossed on Basic Black card-stock. A thin strip of Gold Foil was added to the sentiment to link to the gold in the DSP.

The finishing touch was the addition of a sprinkling of Gold Low Profile Dots.

Above is a photo of the card slightly open. Below the photo shows the inside of the card. It shows a further Christmas message and some trees. As this area is decorative, a personal message can be written on the back of the card.

Some of the gorgeous patterned paper was adhered to the flap of a Basic White C6 Envelope. I love to simply decorate the envelope so it coordinates with the card it will carry.

Thank you so much for calling in on your way around the Patterned Paper Be Inspired Blog Hop. I hope you found something to inspire your Christmas crafting preparations.

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the Patterned Paper Blog Hop.  Next in line is the amazing Lynn Cheesmur. Just click on the graphic below to head over to Lynn’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this hop is:

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Annette Elias

Andrea Sargent  <This is me

Lynn Cheesmur

#beinspired  #beinspireddesignteam  #stampinup   #stampinupofficial  #stampinupaustralia #valleyinspirations  #artisandesignteam #artisandesignteam2025  #christmasgreenery  #stampinupofficial #traditionallabels

AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #9

Christmas with Jolly Holly & Delicate Pines

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the ninth Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025. We are sharing Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you will check us out as often as you can.

I have two cards to share this week. Both were created with another end in mind but then I thought they weren’t right so left them on my desk. As I was wondering what to create for this blog hop and realising that I was extremely short on time given other demands, I saw one card and then the other. I fiddled a bit with the second card to improve it but quite liked the first card so here they are. What do you think?

CARD 1:

I created a few cards for an Artisan Assignment a few months ago and this one missed being included. It was created to feature the Jolly Holly bundle.

The background card is Pretty Peacock card-stock and the background layer is Lost Lagoon Two-tone card-stock, that was embossed with the Jolly Holly Embossing Folder and lightly sanded to expose a little of the white core.

The middle layer was water-coloured in Soft Sea Foam Classic ink and embossed with the same Jolly Holly Embossing Folder. When dry, it was mounted on Lost Lagoon card-stock. The top layer is Pretty Peacock and Basic White card-stocks - die cut with label dies from the Jolly Holly dies.

The Joy sentiment is one of the die in the set and was used to cut the sentiment from Basic White card-stock that had been layered on Adhesive Dimensional sheet. Some Berry Burst ink was blended over in an ombré fashion, then a Gold Foil die cut was layered beneath to give a gold shadow effect. The flowers were stamped in Berry Burst and die cut using the Jolly Holly bundle. The holly leaves were stamped in Soft Sea Foam. Berry Burst gems from the Purple Fine Shimmer Gems were added to the flower centres plus a couple extra.

To coordinate, a C6 Basic White Envelope was stamped with Holly Leaves in Soft Sea Foam ink. The card inner was decorated with some left over flowers and other left over bits and pieces.

CARD 2:

This second card was created for a Colour Inkspiration Challenge but at the time I didn’t like it. I have changed it a little bit today - what do you think???

This is a fancy fold, the design of the fold was created by Susan Campfield for one of Susan’s recent Crafternoon’s. When I saw it I thought it would display one of the beautiful stamped Delicate Pines snowflakes. The photo below provides a top down view.

The Colour Inkspiration Challenge was to use Shy Shamrock, Summer Splash, Gray Granite and Early Expresso as shown in the image below.

I created 2 pieces of blended card-stock that had been flicked with water droplets. One piece of card-stock was blended with Shy Shamrock and Summer Splash; the other with Gray Granite and Early Expresso. Some snowflakes from the Delicate Pines stamp set was were gold heat embossed onto the green blended panel and then die cut with coordinating dies. Pine cones were Clear Heat embossed with the small pinecones. They show the detail better in real life.

The background decorative panels were embossed with the Peace on Earth Embossing Folder to provide subtle texture. Some Summer Splash Designer Series Paper was stamped and white heat embossed to add to some of the background panels. The sentiment from the coordinating stamp set was gold heat embossed and fussy cut. Some die cut white pine sprays were tucked here and there.

A personal message can be written on the back central panel and then it will fit into a standard C6 Basic White envelope.

Thank you so much for dropping in to check out my Christmas cards. I hope you have found some inspiration for Christmas creating.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Sharon Davern. I always look forward to checking out Sharon’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations InstaHop that goes live every Wednesday night on Instagram where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to check in on us for more creative inspiration.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself.

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or would like to view the full list of participants go to Sharon Davern’s blog @ Rhapsody in Craft. Sharon is our amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  Check out her delightful creation while you are there.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue and or the September-December 2025 Mini Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact regarding any queries about these projects or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2025 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2025  #delicatepines  #jollyholly

AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #8

Christmas with Joyful Days Memories & More

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the eighth Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025. We are sharing Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you are checking us out as often as you can.

I have seen a number of people of late create quick and easy cards using the Joyful Days Memories & More cards. Being time poor this week I decided to use this Memories & More pack of cards to create Christmas cards. I love this pack for its water-colour look, the "hand drawn" plaid designs and the "Regal colours".  Using these cards with extra card-bases and card-stock for mounts makes it easy to create nice cards without taking a long time. 

I especially want to thank Cindy Schuster from the Crafty Carrot Co #thecraftycarrotco for inspiring my crafting this week.  I loved her session last week for October’s series where she used these Memories and More cards with the Keeping Traditions stamp set and shared many ideas.

Apart from changing things around I also added my own twist with ribbon/twine and embellishments to my CASEd projects. The card below uses both a large and small card from the pack on a Real Red card-stock base and Basic White mount with Mossy Meadow & Gold Trim and Gold Traditional Sparkling Sequins. The small card carries its own sentiment.

The second card is a CASE from the September - December Mini Catalogue. I love the combination of large and small M&M cards. The tree was mounted on an Old Olive panel. This and the next 3 cards all use sentiments from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack. The are a lovely gold sentiment on a white background and are thick enough to keep flat while up on Dimensionals. An Old Olive Linen Thread bow was tucked under the sentiment and glimmering Red Traditional Sparkling Sequins decorated the tree.

Card 3 features one of the large M&M cards that had been trimmed a little and mounted on a second large card. Some of the Mossy Meadow & Gold Trim was wrapped around these cards and tied in a bow. A different sentiment from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack was popped up on Dimensionals and some Red Traditional Sparkling Sequins were scattered onto a tree and near the sentiment. One of the Faceted Snowflakes was placed on the top of the tree. I think they could be interpreted as stars.

The fourth card has a piece of Country Woods Designer Series Paper mounted on a Basic White card base. One of the small M&M cards was popped up on Dimensionals and mounted on a piece of Crumb Cake card-stock. Another sentiment from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack was popped up on Dimensionals in the centre. I love the mix of sentiment shapes, including this round one - with so many options there is bound to be one that suits most requirements. Wanting a smaller embellishment, single Cherry Cobbler Adhesive-backed Berries were scattered around the wreath.

The fifth card uses one of the smaller M&M cards as a present that is wrapped with ribbon & twine. I have taken this idea from Cindy - it’s so fun. The gorgeous Real Red Shiny Ribbon was wrapped around the card with a bow tied in the centre. Another sentiment from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack was added with the Old Olive Linen Thread. Some red Traditional Sparkling Sequins added a little sparkle. Oh, the background is a piece of the Peaceful Garden DSP that was randomly stamped in Basic Beige ink with a small sprig of spruce from the Christmas Greenery stamps. 

Here is a close-up of the “present”.  

Thanks so much for dropping in on you way around the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Rosa Leyden. I always look forward to checking out Rosa’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations InstaHop that goes live every Wednesday night on Instagram where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to also drop in on us for more creative inspiration.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself.

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or would like to view the full list of this week's participants go to Sharon Davern’s blog @ Rhapsody in Craft. Sharon is our amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  Check out her delightful creation while you are there.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue and or the amazing September-December 2025 Mini Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact regarding any queries about these projects, joining as a demonstrator (there is a brilliant offer this month) or about Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2025 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2025  #memories&more #joyfuldaysmemories&more

AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #7

Christmas with 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the seventh Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025. We are continuing to share Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you will check us out as often as you can.

Stampin’ Up! have developed a gorgeous 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar. The Calendar comes with a stamp set - the 12 Days Of Christmas Advent Calendar set of Stamps. A number of the Art with Heart Team have decided to meet on-line each Friday evening to open one calendar door weekly for the 12 weeks before Christmas. We are planning to individually share a project each week featuring the newly opened product. The first week we received dies to coordinate with the stamp set, which I have used on this project.

The flowers were stamped in either Pretty in Pink or Real Red and the leaves in Old Olive ink. There were coordinating dies to cut the flowers out plus a detailed flower die that I used to cut flowers in Basic White and Gold Foil. While the flowers were not necessarily Poinsettias or other Christmas flowers, I have interpreted them as such. However, a non-traditional pink and red was used as not everyone wants a full on Christmas theme. 

Pretty in Pink was blended in the centre of the detailed die cut white flowers. A background panel of embossed Basic White card-stock was mounted onto a Pretty in Pink card base. A Basic White label was cut using one of the Textured Notes dies and this was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Pretty in Pink card-stock, which in turn was mounted on Dimensionals.

Some White 1/4” Ribbon had been tied around the top panel and into a bow on the side. (The ribbon is now on the Last Chance List and discounted.)   Some Old Olive Linen Thread was tied around the bow. The flowers, leaves and detailed die cut flowers were arranged and layered. Some gold Drusy Adhesive-backed Embellishments added sparkle to the flower centres and a couple extra were placed near the sentiment. A little Pretty in Pink ink was splattered around. 

The sentiment was selected from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack. The two words were separated and one was placed over the other using Mini Dimensionals.

A Basic White panel was added inside the card and some left over flower pieces and gold leaves decorated a bottom corner, together with a little more pink splattering. A Basic White C6 envelope was stamped with flowers down the left side (not shown).

Thank you so much for calling in on you way around the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. I so appreciate it.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Rosa. I always look forward to checking out Rosa Leyten’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations Insta Hop that goes live every Wednesday night on Instagram where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to also check in on us for more creative inspiration.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself.

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or would like to view the full list of participants go to Judy May’s blog at Just Judy Designs. Judy is our amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Support Coordinator. She stepped in to help this week.  Check out her delightful creation(s) while you are there.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue and or the September-December 2025 Mini Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact with any queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2025 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2025  #12daysofchristmasadventcalendar

AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #6

Christmas with Snowy Delights & Traditions of Christmas

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the sixth Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025. We are sharing Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you will check us out as often as you can.

This week I am sharing two projects that were started recently as extra projects for different hops but not finished in time for the hop. Here they are:

The first card, top left, was started for last Colour Creations Wednesday’s Instahop (a hop on Instagram) where we were showcasing Fresh Freesia. I created 2 large snowflakes using the Snowy Delights Masks were the first two layers were Fresh Freesia Classic ink. The third layer was Pretty in Pink and the fourth Petunia Pop. I love the detail of the snowflakes using the masks. They can then be die cut with corresponding Snowy Delights dies.

I had a card fold in mind that was similar to this one and then I saw Krista in this month’s Crafty Carrot Co session create a card with this fold. As I was watching her, my mind was planning this card. Thank you Krista for your inspiration. As you can see in the close-up below the largest die cut snowflake from the Snowy Delights dies is the central feature. Two die cuts were adhered together to give strength. A belly band was created using the white Snowflake Speciality Paper. A ribbon was tied around the belly band and into a bow. The snowflake was adhered on top with Mini Dimensionals and some Iridescent Faceted Gems strategically added. A sentiment from the Snowy Delights stamp set was white heat embossed, cut in 2 and fussy cut out.

To open the card, the belly band with a large snowflake is slid off the card. This enables the beauty of the blended snowflakes to show. They had been scored and the smaller section adhered to the back of the card.

The two blended snowflakes are lifted to reveal the next layer with the second section of the sentiment and some small snowflake stamping in Petunia Pop ink. The background is a panel of the Snowflake Speciality Paper that has some Fresh Freesia blended over the edges.

The centre panel is lifted to reveal the personal message. A panel of Basic White card-stock was stamped with more small snowflakes in Fresh Freesia and then another sentiment in Petunia Pop.

I do love this style of card with the numerous reveals, and yes, it still fits into a standard A6 Basic White envelope. The envelope was simply stamped with more small snowflakes in Petunia Pop.

CARD 2

I created 2 cards using this fold 2 weeks ago. At that time I had started to cut the card-stock and Traditions of Christmas DSP. I was so pleased with it when I finished the card this week that I wanted to share it with you. The background uses one of the Traditions of Christmas DSP designs mounted on Cherry Cobbler card-stock.

The bunch of flowers stamp from the … stamp set was stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with Gold Wow Embossed Powder. The flowers were water-coloured with Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Pretty in Pink inks. There is a coordinating die that can cut it out. The Basic White background panel was embossed with the Pressed Flowers Embossing Folder.

If you don’t want to embossed and colour this bunch of flowers you can die cut similar bunches out from the Traditions of Christmas DSP. The Easel Fold section uses Strawberry Slush card-stock as the base. Cherry Cobbler card-stock was gold heat embossed with the sentiment.

As you can see, 2 Basic White card-stock pine fronds cut using the … dies were poked behind the floral arrangement. A gold die cut sprig of leaves was also tucked behind.  Gorgeous Strawberry Slush & Pretty in Pink gems were sprinkled around with a couple coloured with a Dark Cherry Cobbler Blend.

Here you can see underneath the Easel panel. A white panel was gold heat embossed with the poinsettia stamp design and the Cherry Cobbler gold embossed piece was popped up with Dimensionals so it can act as a stopper for the easel. It can be used for writing a personal message at the top, however, I also added a Basic White panel on the back of the card (with a strip of DSP) for a more verbose personal message. A Basic White C6 envelope was gold heat embossed using the poinsettias stamp design to tie it in with the card it will hold.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Kate Morgan. I always look forward to checking out Kate’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations Blog Hop that goes live every Wednesday night where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to also check in on us on Instagram for more creative inspiration.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself.

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or would like to view the full list of participants go to Sharon Davern’s blog @ Rhapsody in Craft. Sharon is our amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  Check out her delightful creation while you are there.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue and or the new September-December 2025 Mini Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact regarding any queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2025 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2025 #traditionsofchristmas #snowydelights