Be Inspired - June 2026 - Creative Sentiments

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

Creative Ways to Use Sentiments

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the June Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on projects that demonstrate Creative Ways To Use Sentiments . However you have arrived here, whether from Maheswari or directly here, I am so delighted that you are here.

Generally, I use a sentiment to pull my design to a focal point and to set the reason for sending a card. This card is to help a friend celebrate her birthday. To add some creativeness in the use of a sentiment I have also used a sentiment from the Words & Wishes bundle in the background, that is, repeatedly die cut the word "Happy" and adhere it randomly over the background panel to give tone on tone texture and to subtly reinforce that sentiment, ie try to heighten a wish for happiness on the recipients birthday. To add a little depth to part of the background and show the sentiment technique a little more , some Berry Burst ink blending was added to the edges of a Bubble Bath background.

The Lily of the Valley bundle was used for the focal piece and one of the Nested Essential dies was used to cut a background piece to "ground" this focal panel. It was cut from the Moonlit Flora Designer Series Paper. 

Leaves and flowers were both stamped & gold heat embossed and die cut. Both were coloured with a fine water painter and Bubble Bath, Berry Burst and Peaceful Pine inks. 

The sentiment was white heat embossed on Blackberry Bliss cardstock and fussy cut. Sunset Sparkle Sequins add a little sparkle and retired Gold Twisted Thread was sued for a double bow.

The inner panel for writing one's personal message was repeatedly stamped with a sentiment down the LHS of the panel. This is another way to use a sentiment creatively.

Some subtle Bubble Bath stamping on a C6 Basic White envelope using the smaller Lily of the Valley image ties the envelope to the card it will hold.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the Be Inspired Blog Hop. I so appreciate you spending time with me.

I am so looking forward to seeing what other members of the team have created and to check out how they have used sentiments creatively.

Next in line is the amazing Angela Meiritz-Reid. Just click on the "Next" graphic below to head over to Angela’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this Blog hop is:

Andrea Sargent  <you are here

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Annette Ball

Annette Elias

Brian King

Jaqueline Tobiczyk - only on Instagram

Lynn Cheesmur

Maheswari Rajaguru 

The list of Be Inspired Design Team Members hopping over on Instagram this month are:

Andrea Sargent @andreaksargent

Annette Ball @stampinwiththebees05

Annette Elias @de_kijkkast

Jaqueline Tobiczyk @touchofjoycs

Lynn Cheesmur @lynncheesmur

Maheswari Rajaguru @maheswarirajaguru

#instahop #cardmakersofinstagram #stampinupaustralia #ADT2026 #artisandesignteam2026 #stampinupdemonstrator #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupofficial #InstaHop #valleyinspirationswithandrea #beinspired

CASEing the Catty #568 CASE Annual Catalogue Stamp Set

CASE Stampin’ Up!s Annual Catalogue Stamps meets Flowering Meadow

Hello, welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea & #568 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 Rebecca Scurr so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues and 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 our favourite Stamps from the Retiring Annual catalogue. The card I have CASEd is found near the bottom of page 53 of the 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue.

I love so many stamps from the 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue but having to choose one, I chose the gorgeous Gallery Blooms stamps. Loving a wreath, especially one made of flowers I couldn't go past the wreath card on page 53. What I thought I would also show is CASEing with a completely different set, that is CASEing old and using new, so selected the beautiful Velvet Meadow suite. I had planned to stamp and colour my flowers but time and my body gave out on me so ended up fussy cutting flowers and leaves from the super gorgeous Velvet Meadow Speciality Designer Series Paper.

The stamp and die bundle from the suite is the Flowering Meadow bundle. This card is mainly created wth DSP and die cutting, The sentiment was stamped and white heat embossed on the new Peaceful Pine card-stock. I love this new In Colour.

With a Thick Basic White card base and mount layer, the background is one of the B sides from the SDSP - so soft and subtle. The fussy cut flowers from the DSP are Bubble Bath and Berry Burst and the leaves are Peaceful Pine. The die cut pieces are cut using the detailed dies from Basic White card-stock.

The bow is tied in the new Barely Blush ribbon. It is so subtle and I cut the ribbon down so it blended well with the colour scheme. The front design was finished with some gorgeous 2026-2028 In Colour Flat Pearls - they are so so beautiful.

The card inner is fairly simple - just a thin left over strip from the background DSP and some left over cut flowers and leaves. I love to simply tie the inside of the card with the front design.

I don't think I have mentioned previously, that I currently only add a little adhesive to the top in the inside insert so that it can be easily removed and a new one added if the recipient would like to re-use the card.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the wonderful Rebecca Scurr. 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 retiring 2025-2026 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.

 

#ctc568 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations #galleryblooms #floweringmeadow  #velvetmeadowspeciality #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2026  #artisandesignteam #stampinupofficial

Be Inspired - April 2026 - Layout that Always Works

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

A LAYOUT THAT ALWAYS WORKS

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the April Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on projects that are show a layout the always works. However you have arrived here, whether from Maheswari or directly here, I am so delighted that you are here.

I was excited to create under this theme and I hope you are inspired as you hop around to other members of the Design Team. Sometimes it can be hard to start with a blank piece of card-stock but if you have a layout in mind it makes creating so much easier - especially if they are tried and tested.

The layout I am sharing today has a central smaller panel for the focal section of the card. It is usually popped up on Dimensionals and sits over a background that complements central panel. The background can have blending - whether partial or across the full background. It could also have partial stamping of smallish images or words that compliment the reason for the card.  

I was planning on only partial blending but was carried away after seeing a beautiful photo of bluebells. The background panel was coloured in an ombre style using Shaded Spruce, Coastal Cabana, Granny Apple Green and Balmy Blue. Water and White craft ink were both splattered over the ink blended background. Some silver embossed stamping also was added to the background using the smaller Lily of the Valley image.

Leaves and flowers were die cut from Basic White card-stock using the Lily of the Valley dies. The leaves were coloured with Blending brushes with Shaded Spruce and Granny Apple Green Classic inks.  As the flowers and stems were fiddly, they were coloured with Stampin Blends, ie Shaded Spruce combo and Hydrangea Hue combo with the Colour Lifter. The die cut mesh was left white to add some subtle interest behind the flowers. 

A white ribbon was tied around the central panel with a bow just tucked underneath a white embossed sentiment from the coordinating stamp set. The finishing touch - some of the gorgeous 2026-2028 In Color Flat Pearls. While the pearls are Peaceful Pine the coordinate beautifully with this arrangement.

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

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the A Layout That Always Works Blog Hop.  Next in line is the amazing Angela Meiritz-Reid. Just click on the "Next" graphic below to head over to Angela’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this Blog hop is:

Andrea Sargent <you are here

Angela Meiritz-Reid 

Annette Elias

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Heather Thomas

Lynn Cheesmur

Maheswari Rajaguru

CASEing the Catty #563 CASE The Easter Joy Suite

CASE Stampin’ Up!s Easter Joy Suite meets Scalloped Wishes

Hello, welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea & #563 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Rochelle Blok 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 Stephens so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues and 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 showcasing the Easter Joy Suite found on pages 34-36 of the 2026 Stampin' Up! January-April Catalogue.

As you can see above, I have CASEd the 3rd card down on the 2nd half of page 36. The card has an oval of flowers with 3 daffodils featured in the centre. As soon as I saw this card I thought of the gorgeous Scalloped Wishes bundle from the latest On-line Exclusives release. I turned the card to portrait and featured 3 die cut dragon flies instead of the daffodils. Of course I also  added my own touch with a bow and gems as finishing touches.

I started with a Basic Beige card base, I added a background panel from one of my favourite Designer Series Papers - Speciality Delicate Whispers. A Basic White Scalloped Oval, that was cut using the largest Scalloped Wishes die, was lightly Bronze Heat embossed around the edges and then was popped up on Dimensionals.

Basic White leaves were cut using the 2 leaf dies from the Scalloped Wishes dies and flowers with the flowers die. Using Blending Brushes, Old Olive ink was partially blended over each of the leaves - darker at the base then lightening to white at the tip. Each of the flowers had a little Pretty in Pink ink partially blended over them.

The coloured leaves were layered around the oval near the edge. Once they were arranged nicely, Glue Dots or Multipurpose Liquid Glue was used to adhere them in place. Most of the flowers were arranged near the base of the oval and a couple of flowers were sprinkled in other spots.

A double bow was added with Glue Dots and the flowers were positioned around the centre of the bow. Pretty in Pink glittering Gems were added to the centres of the flowers and a couple extra gems near the fussy cut Bronze embossed sentiment. The dragon flies bodies were cut from Bronze Foil and the wings from the Mossy Meadows "B" side of the Speciality DSP.

The card inner was simply a Basic White panel with a strip of the same DSP as the card front. A fourth dragonfly was also added. A C6 Basic White envelope was decorated with a remaining piece of the same DSP.

Thank you so much for spending some time here with me. I so appreciate you dropping in. 

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the wonderful Peta Stephens 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 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 Easter Joy Suite. 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.

 

#ctc563 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #valleyinspirations  #scallopedwishes  #easterjoy #delicatewhispers  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2026 #artisandesignteam

Be Inspired - March 2026

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

STAMPING TECHNIQUES TO USE FOREVER

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the March Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on projects that showcase Stamping Techniques To Use Forever . 

However you have arrived here, whether from Stesha Bloodhart or directly here, I am so delighted that you are here.

I didn't need to think long about which stamping technique to choose - I adore Heat Embossing! 

I often add Heat Embossing to my creations. No doubt you know what I mean but in case someone is wondering - you stamp the image using a sticky ink, like Versamark; and sprinkle Wow Emboss Powder over the sticky ink and cardstock; then shake off the loose powder. The remaining powder on the cardstock is heated with a Heat Tool. It is always a delight to see the emboss powder melt and change. The impact is wonderfull

For my project I gold embossed the Flowers Fair stamp onto Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper and on the bottom of a Basic White card front.

The images were watercolored with a Fine Water Painter and Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Lemon Lolly and Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' inks (the first 2 are retiring In Colours that i am going to miss). Some of the flowers were fussy cut from the Fluid 100 panel and added to the central panel. The centre panel was cut with a Textured Notes rectangular die and mounted on a slightly larger piece of Pretty in Pink card-stock.

A gold embossed sentiment using the Springtime Scenes stamp set was also fussy cut and added with Dimensionals. Gold & White Ribbon and Pretty in Pink Gems gave the finishing touches.

The Basic White card inner was gold embossed with the top section of the Flowers Fair stamp.

Similarly, a Basic White C6 Envelope was also gold embossed with the same stamp. I do like to simply coordinate the card inner and envelope.

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

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the Stamping Techniques to Use Forever Blog Hop.  Next in line is the amazing Angela Meiritz-Reid. Just click on the "Next" graphic below to head over to Angela’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this Blog hop is:

Andrea Sargent <you are here

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Annette Ball

Annette Elias

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Heather Thomas

Lynn Cheesmur

Maheswari Rajaguru 

Stesha Bloodhart

#beinspired  #beinspireddesignteam  #stampinup   #stampinupofficial  #stampinupaustralia #valleyinspirations  #artisandesignteam #artisandesignteam2026  #flowersfair  #stampinupofficial #springtimescenes