AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #10

Christmas with Nutcracker Tags

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the tenth 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 in with us as often as you can.

While Stampin’ Up! Kits are wonderful as they are designed and bring a simple crafting experience, it is also fun to use the products in different ways. This week I am sharing the tags from the Nutcracker Tags Kit and have used two of the tags to swing on the front of a fun fold card. Here are my cards:

There are 4 different tags in the Tag Kit and you can create 3 of each design. The photo below shows 2 of the tags that didn’t make it onto a card in this crafting session.

I saw Sue Campfield, a USA Demonstrator, create a swinging element on a fun fold a couple of years ago, so when I saw the cute Nutcracker Tags Kit I remembered Sue’s swinging star and thought the tags would make a wonderful swinging feature on a card. I created a set of 4 tags by following the kit instructions. Sue’s dimensions were converted via a guess-a-mate to something that would be suitable for a standard Imperial size card.

Both cards were created in the same way, apart from choosing a different tag design and colours that went with the chosen tag. The card above has a Bubble Bath card base and Bubble Bath Two-tone card-stock as a background layer while the card below has a Pool Party card-stock base and a background layer of Pool Party Two-tone card-stock.

The card base was scored and burnished and Two-Tone card-stock was cut to size (ie a little smaller than the card base sections to allow a small mount to show). The 4 panels were laid one next to the other and stuck to the glass mat with removable tape at the end that would not be coloured. Ombre blending was added to these panels, layering Bubble Bath, Pretty in Pink and Strawberry Slush Classic inks, with the darker colour going down to the bottom. Water droplets were sprinkled over the ombre panels and Craft White ink also was splattered over the panels. They were left to dry.

The Pool Party Two Tone panels were ombre coloured with Pool Party, Coastal Cabana & Summer Splash Classic inks in the same way as described above. Once the water & craft ink splatters had dried the panels were dry embossed using the Jolly Holly Embossing Folder. A large card-board nail file from a Chemist was used to sand the embossed edges to bring out some of the white core.

Some White & Gold or Black & Gold twine was looped through the little holes at the top of the tags. The height of a standard card in Australia (or in the UK) does not give much room for a label to be used to hide the swing mechanism so I decided to try something different. Two holes (one above the other) were punched in the centre at the top of the card. The twine was pushed through the card (front to back) and then through the top hole (back to front). A bow was tied with the twine and bow loops were tied in a knot to hold it in place. Test … and it swings. Yay.

Some Strawberry Slush and Pretty in Pink Gems were added to the pink card, while Frosted Iridescent Dots were added to the Pool Party card to give the cards a little extra glimmer.

The card inner of Basic White card-stock was stamped with a sentiment from the Jolly Holly stamp set. A thin strip of Gold Foil was tucked under the inner edge of the 4th embossed and coloured panel and both were adhered to the white card inner. A Basic White C6 envelope was stamped with holly from the Jolly Holly stamp set.

Below is a top view of how the card can stand for display.

Thank you so much for calling in on your way around the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. I am looking forward to checking out everyone’s Christmas creations. Do take the Blog Hop to see everyone’s projects. They will be great. 

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 Art with Heart Team leader, the wonderful Claire Daly. I always look forward to checking out Claire’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 on Instagram 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 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 #jollyholly   #nutcackertags

CASEing the Catty #544 CASE An Embossing Folder Project

CASE Stampin’ Up!s Annual Catalogue meets A Project Featuring an Embossing Folder.

Hello, welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea & #544 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from the lovely Julia Quinn, as you take this week’s Blog Hop or perhaps arrived directly here; either way I am delighted you are here. At the end of my blog, I have linked to Rochelle Laird-Smith so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues or On-line Exclusives as inspiration and each week we have a different theme to guide our CASEing. To CASE is to "Copy And Selectively Edit" or some say "Copy And Share Everything". This week we are CASE-ing projects using Embossing Folders from either the 2025-26 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue or the 2025 September-December Mini Catalogue.

The project I am CASEing is this one from page 25 of the 2025 September-December Mini Catalogue:

I had planned to CASE a different project but then changed as I started creating. Here is my card:

I love the Most Wonderful stamp set but haven’t used it much this year so thought it deserved another go. The wreath stamp was gold heat embossed onto Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper and then the leaves were coloured in Granny Apple Green and Old Olive Classic inks. I do enjoy using 2 colours when colouring leaves. The wreath was fussy cut both inside and out.

A B-side from the Traditions of Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper was layered over a Secret Sea card base. Pine leaves from the Christmas Greenery dies were die cut from Basic White card-stock. A Basic White panel was embossed with the Dotted Circles 3D Embossing Folder and the de-bossed side was used. Some Real Red Shiny Ribbon was tied around the white embossed panel ending in a bow. The water-coloured wreath was popped up on Dimensionals and the pine tucked underneath.

The sentiment from the Most Wonderful stamp set was gold heat embossed onto Basic White card-stock and fussy cut, then added to the centre of the wreath with Dimensionals. Some of the beautiful Delightful Decorative Dots were scattered around the wreath and sentiment.

A couple of thin strips of the background SDSP were layered onto a panel of Basic White card-stock that had been partially gold heat embossed with the stamped wreath.

A Basic White C6 Envelope was also heat embossed with part of the stamped wreath. I do like some simple coordination with the card it will hold.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the CASEing the Catty Blog hop for Challenge #544 where we are CASEing a project featuring an Embossing Folder.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the wonderful Rochelle Laird Smith. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I wonder which project she has CASEd - I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project that you have created for this Challenge which has been inspired by the a current project featuring an Embossing Folder. To share, all you need to do is go to the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group on Facebook. If you aren't a member, it’s easy to request to join and once approved all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section of the group. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would so love to see your creation.

 

#ctc544 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #mostwonderful  #traditionsofchristmas #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam

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