AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop # 1

Christmas with the Modern Christmas suite

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the first Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025. We will be 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 had another Christmas card in mind for this blog hop but as I was getting ready to create my plan changed to using different products (most were already on my desk) and an idea I have wanted to create for quite a while. Here is what developed.

If you saw my CASEing the Catty project that was shared last night you may recognise the same Modern Christmas Designer Series Paper, although this card uses different designs. While writing up the blog I have decided to remove the gold ribbon that spans across this card. I think it doesn’t work so well with the double line across the middle. What do you think???

The background panel came from a ‘B’ side of the Modern Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper. The letters were cut with the Party Alphabet dies from the White speciality Snowflake paper. This doesn’t show well in the photos but adds some extra texture in real life. The bauble was cut using the Ornamental Christmas dies and the trees were fussy cut from one of the designs of the Modern Christmas SDSP.

A sentiment from the Traditional Labels stamp set was white heat embossed on Basic Black card-stock. It was then fussy cut leaving behind the word ‘joy’ as the letters and bauble spell ‘JOY’.

The bow was created with … which is available in the LAST CHANCE section @stampinupofficial . Some gold Drewsy … were added to give some extra shimmer.

Trees from the Ornamental Christmas stamps and another sentiment from the Traditional Labels stamp set were stamped to decorate inside the card, A C6 Basic White envelope was also stamped with the trees. 

Thanks so much for calling in on your way around the first Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025.

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 Judy May. I always look forward to checking out Judy’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much Christmas 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 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 in this week’s Hop 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. I wonder if it will be a fancy fold? Sharon is the queen of Fancy Folds.

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

CASEing the Catty #535 - CASE the Annual Catalogue

CASE Stampin’ Up!s Annual Catalogue meets Ornamental Christmas

Hello, welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea & #535 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Monique Fielder, 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 Peta Stephen so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from Stampin' Up! Catalogues & 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 the projects found in the 2025-2026 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

I am CASEing one of the cards on page 40 that has been created to showcase the Florals in Bloom Suite. I love the layout of the card at the top of the page and also the lateral use of one of the wonderful Party Banner dies. CASEing those aspects I have used parts of the Modern Christmas suite (a soon to be released On-line Exclusive) together with the Words for the Season bundle (from the coming September-December Mini Catalogue).

While I have been someone who uses very little Black in my projects I am really taken with the Modern Christmas Speciality Designer Series Paper. It is luscious and striking featuring Basic Black, Basic White & Gold. The stunning gold stars on a black background design was used as the background for this card. 

The trees were stamped and die-cut using the Ornamental Christmas bundle. One of the techniques used was heat embossing on speciality papers, that is on Gold Foil and the gorgeous  Secret Sea Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper. I hadn’t stamped on this type of speciality paper previously so was excited to see the results. It opens up new horizons.

A panel of Thick Basic White card-stock was cut with a Party Banner die. I do like to use this card-stock when I am going to pop it up on Dimensionals. The two black trees were adhered directly to the banner where-as the gold and white tree was also popped on Dimensionals. A section of Gold Foil was adhered to part of an Adhesive Foam Sheet before being die cut with a die from the Words for the Season dies. The word “Greetings” was white heat embossed onto Basic Black card-stock and cut with a die from the same set of dies. This was popped on Mini Dimensionals - they are the perfect size.

Final touches included some Basic Black splattering, a double bow using the Black & Gold Twine from the Modern Christmas suite. A number of Black Shimmer Star Foam Stickers were strewn around.

The inside of the card was stamped with trees from the Ornamental Christmas stamp set and the sentiment is from the Words for the Season stamps. A Basic White C6 envelope was also stamped with the same trees.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the CASEing the Catty Blog Hop for Challenge #535. I do so appreciate it.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the lovely Peta Stephen and Marvi. 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 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 current Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue. 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 anpproved all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would so love to see your creation.

 

#ctc535 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #modernchristmas  #wordsfortheseason #ornamentalchristmas  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam

Be Inspired - Bright & Bold

 Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the August Be Inspired Blog Hop.

BRIGHT AND BOLD

This Blog Hop has a theme of BRIGHT & BOLD. As I was musing on the theme I was walking with my dog and saw a number of local Rainbow Lorikeets. They are a beautiful Aussie bird and certainly Bright & Bold, so I decided to build my project around these gorgeous birds.

I had the Feathered Fun Stamp set and had previously thought of colouring the images to be reminiscent of Aussie birds. The 2 images were stamped in Versa-mark ink and Gold heat embossed, then water-coloured the birds with Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade and Blueberry Bushel. Once fully dry the images were fussy cut.

The coming Reaching Out bundle was also used on this card, ie to gold heat emboss branches and pine sprays. A little Pool Party was lightly blended in the background. Some twigs also were die cut and lightly coloured with Pecan Pie and Granny Apple Green. Two sizes of the Branching Out labels were cut in Basic White card-stock with the smaller label framing the branches, etc. The Basic White background panel was embossed with the coming Traditional Wreath 3D Embossing Folder.

A sentiment from the Branching Out stamp set was White heat embossed onto a strip of Blueberry Bushel card-stock. Mossy Meadow & Gold Ribbon and Low Profile Sparkle Dots. added that final touch.

The card inner was simply Gold embossed with one of the bird images and a little Pool Party blending was added. A C6 Basic White envelope was also gold heat embossed with a cute bird.

Thank you so much for calling in on your way around the August Be Inspired Blog Hop. 

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the Bright and Bold theme.  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:

Maheswari Rajaguru

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Heather Thomas

Stesha Bloodhart

Angela Meiritz-Ried

Annette Elias

Andrea Sargent <you are here 

Lynn Cheesmur

Annette Ball

#beinspired  #beinspireddesignteam  #stampinup   #stampinupofficial  #stampinupaustralia #valleyinspirations  #artisandesignteam #artisandesignteam2025  #featheredfun #stampinupofficial #branchingout

CASEing the Catty #532 - CASE An Project Featuring Animals

CASE A Project Featuring Animals meets Hugs & Healing

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #532 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Rebecca Scurr, 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 Monique Fielder so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues 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 that feature animals. The card I CASED can be found on page 95 of the 2025-2026 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

Here is my card adjacent to the  card I CASEd in the Annual Catalogue

I have been time poor & not well so I decided to create a simple CASE of a card on page 95 - one with a line drawing of a little dog. I couldn’t resist using a different dog as the focal point. The Hugs & Healing stamp set include really cute images and as I only recently heard about a friends illness this image seemed perfect.

I coloured this cute little dog with Stampin’ Blends combos, ie Cloud Cover, Misty Moonlight, Crumb Cake and Secret Sea plus my trusty Colour Lifter. He was then fussy cut.

The card base is Basic Beige as is the panel spanning the card with the sentiment. A Basic White card-stock panel was layered on the front then a smaller piece of dappled Basic Beige DSP (from the coming Peaceful Garden DSP) was dry embossed with the Mini Corrugated Embossing Folder. This embossing folder is now on the “Last Chance List” so if you like it act quickly before it sells out.

Finishing touches included adding some Basic Beige paw prints, a little Secret Sea splattering, Secret Sea Faux Linen Ribbon and some Secret Sea In Colour Flat Pearls.

Thank you so much for calling in on your way around the Blog Hop for CASEing the Catty Challenge #532.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the wonderful Monique Fielder. 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 any project featuring animals. 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 anpproved all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would so love to see your creation that you especially created for this challenge.

 

#ctc532 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #hugs&healing  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam

Be Inspired - Floral Fun

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

Hello, welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea. I am delighted to be part of the Be Inspired Design Team. This month it’s time for some:

FLORAL FUN

I had recently used the amazing Sunflower 3D Embossing Folder and have fallen in love with it. The embossing it creates is beauuuutiful so it is perfect for some floral fun. Also, I was in the mood for some fussy cutting. Here is what I came up with:

I must admit I love creating with flowers, though am unsure of my flower arranging as I am not great at arranging the real thing. Recently, I had been looking at the beautiful Floral Impressions Designer Series Paper so took my Snips and started fussy cutting a range of leaves and flowers. Some of this gorgeous DSP to create a slim-line envelope to fit the card.

With a Basic White card base and front panels, one of the front panels was embossed with the gorgeous Sunflower 3D Embossing Folder had been lightly swiped with a Stampin’ Up! Basic Beige Classic inkpad. A Mini Blending Brush lightly dabbed over any heavy ink sections before a Basic White panel was embossed. I love the subtle effect - it is a pity it doesn’t show as well on the photos.

A thin panel of Basic White Card-stock was laid over the bottom of the embossed panel and a thin strip of coming Secret Sea Glimmer Paper was adhered over the mid line.

All the flowers were arranged and a Basic Beige ribbon was cut in half lengthwise, tied into a bow and tucked in amongst the flowers. I had a heat embossed sentiment sitting on my work station which worked perfectly with the card - it just needed fussy cutting. A number of the lovely Strawberry Slush & Pretty In Pink Gems were sprinkled around. 

Just a couple of touches were added to link the inside with the card front. I will add a Secret Sea stamped sentiment when I know who will be receiving the card.

Thank you so much for calling in on your way around the Be Inspired Blog Hop.

I am looking forward to checking out the projects created by everyone in this July Be Inspired 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:

Maheswari Rajaguru

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Heather Thomas

Angela Meiritz-Ried

Annette Elias

Andrea Sargent <you are here 

Lynn Cheesmur

Jaqueline Barradas - See her creation over on Instagram @touchofjoycs

Annette Ball

#beinspired  #beinspireddesignteam  #stampinup   #stampinupofficial  #stampinupaustralia #valleyinspirations  #artisandesignteam #artisandesignteam2025  #floralimpressions #stampinupofficial #sunflower3dembossing

CASEing the Catty #529 - CASE A Card Kit

CASE a Card Kit meets By Your Side Kit

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #529 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from 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 Peta Stephen so you can continue on with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues 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 any of the current Card Kits found on-line in the Kits Section at Stampin’ Up! @stampinupofficial

What a choice! There are numerous current kits with many different cards to consider. They can be a wonderful starting point when wanting to create, whether making the projects as suggested within the kits or stepping them up or using the products to create something different. For this week’s challenge I decided to use the By Your Side Kit to make an alternative project:

The fun fold is one that can have the box section at the bottom, whether making a landscape or portrait card. This time I decided to have the box on the side. I have used a Crumb Cake card-stock base and used the card-base in the kit to create the top fold section and to decorate the base.

The front panel from the kit included a pre-cut hole so another hole, a bit smaller was punched out of the panel underneath. The picture below shows the card folds a little more.

As I wanted to add some scenic features behind the cute little dog. The friend who will be receiving this card is a fellow dog lover and we often walk together through linear parks surrounded by natural beauty, so it was important to include some trees and bushes etc. They were die cut from Basic White card-stock using some of the Scenic Adventure dies, then coloured with Old Olive & a little Calypso Coral ink.

Here is a close up of the central section.

I added a Basic White panel to the back of the card. and stamped the dog paws in Old Olive. The sentiment on the back is from the Scenic Adventure stamps.

A little bit of left over paper was added to the base. The top sections of the folds used the flap of the envelope. A piece of the envelope was added to the envelope below.

Thank you very much for calling by on your around the CASEing the Catty Blog Hop. I so appreciate it.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the lovely Peta Stephen. 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 you have created for this Challenge that has been inspired by the 2025 Saleabration Brochure. 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 then all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would love to see your creation.

#ctc529 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #scenicadventures  #byyourside  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam