Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase - #33 Pear Pizazz

Pear Pizazz with Tranquil Thoughts

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 33rd Colour Creations Showcase during 2020-2021 by members of the Art with Heart Team.

This week we are focussing on a lovely soft muted green called Pear Pizazz. Yes, it is a colour similar to a green pear.  Pear Pizazz can be found in the Stampin' Up! Subtle's collection. This is such a great colour - also good for leaves. It is a colour that goes well with numerous other colours. Pear Pizazz can be found in Stampin' Up!s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads, re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Designer Series Papers, including the Subtles collections and Forever Fern; and the Flowering Cactus Product Medley. 

Pear Pizazz is another colour that I love to use, but how to use it for this blog? I decided to use this gorgeous colour with the Tranquil Thoughts bundle from the new Stampin' Up! January - June Mini Catalogue.  The corner leaf die is lovely having embossed veins in the leaves and the set of dies includes square dies featuring leaves within. This week's card incorporates a number of colouring techniques, ie blending, water-colouring and colouring stamps directly with Stampin' Write Markers. All colouring techniques that I love to play with.

The large corner die from the Tranquil dies cut a corner arrangement of leaves from Shimmery White card-stock. Four single leaves were also cut using the square die with an internal leaf. All the pieces were wet with water using the medium Water Painter and then water-coloured with Pear Pizazz, as well as a touch of Mossy Meadow and Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' inks. These leaves were put aside to dry. I will need to play further with the wet on wet water-colouring technique as the end result didn't show the hoped for variations.

The Basic White card-stock background piece was coloured with Seaside Spray Classic Stampin' ink using a new Stampin' Up! Blending Brush. These brushes are brilliant!!! So soft and apply the ink beautifully. Looking at this background as I write the blog, I think it would have been good to have flicked a little water over the blending or perhaps a light splattering of some ink to add some further interest??? What do you think?

The flowers were coloured with a Rococo Rose Stampin' Write Marker and also stamped on Shimmery White card-stock. The stamp for this little flower includes a leafy twig with the flower on top. A few flowers using the full stamp were coloured with a Pear Pizazz Stampin' Write marker over the leaves & stems with the flower coloured in Rococo Rose. As the little flowers needed to be individually fussy cut, I also fussy cut a few of the full sprays, even though there is a matching die.

The water-coloured leaves were adhered to a corner of the background piece and three individual leaves were also arranged and adhered with Dimensionals. The flowers were arranged and then adhered in place. The smallest Pearl Basic Jewels were added to the centre of each of the flowers. 

This card front was adhered to a Rococo Rose card-stock matt. A sentiment from the Tranquil Thoughts stamp set was stamped in Mossy Meadow ink on Shimmery White card-stock and fussy cut. Pear Pizazz looks to be a lighter tint of Mossy Meadow - or pretty close. The sentiment was positioned and White Twine from the Snail Mail Twine Combo Pack was wrapped around the matted card front and a bow was adhered under the sentiment. The card still needed a little something, so one of the oh so lovely dragonflies from the Dandy Laser-cut Paper was added. Again, in writing the blog, I realised the dragonfly didn't end up at the right angle - not sure how that happened?

The card inner was created by matting a piece of Basic White card-stock with Rococo Rose card-stock. This was adhered directly to the inside of a Thick Basic White card base. A water-coloured leaf and one of the stamped flower sprigs were adhered in the bottom right hand side corner. A C6 Basic White Envelope was stamped in a couple of places with the flower/leaf sprig that had been coloured direct to the stamp with Stampin' Write Markers. 

I enjoyed creating this card, even with its nuances. I hope you found something to inspired you in some way.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. 😘

Catherine Proctor is the gorgeous host of the Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase. If you haven't finished visiting all of the team's colour creations, you can visit/revisit Catherine's page at What Cathy Made, where she hosts all the links to the participating blogs so you can check out everyone's Pear Pizazz creations. Seeing everyone's blogs is  always a highlight of my week. 

I hope to see you again next week when members of the team will share projects that hero Petal Pink, a delightful soft muted pink - one of my favourite Stampin' Up! colours.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others as these strange times continue. 

Andrea 💕🐾

#colourcreationsshowcase

Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase - #31 Old Olive

Old Olive with Boho Indigo and Berry Blessings

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 31st 2020/2021 Colour Creations Showcase by members of the Art with Heart Team - our second blog hop this year.

This week we are focussing on an amazing muted green called Old Olive. As its name suggests it is a muted olive green colour that can be found in the Stampin' Up! Regal's collection. This is such a great colour for leaves. As an Aussie, I look at various gum trees and think 'Old Olive' is the colour of the leaves. It is a colour that goes well with numerous other colours. Old Olive can be found in Stampin' Up!s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads, re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Stampin' Blends; Water-colour pencils Assortment 1, numerous Designer Series Papers, including Ornate Garden, Hydrangea Hill, Ice Cream Corner & Fine Art Floral; in a couple of ribbons and in the Hello Dear Friend Card kit. 

I decided to play with watercolour for this blog hop and was delighted with the way Old Olive Classic Stampin' ink reacted. Apart from being lighter (being diluted) it was also brighter. The photos don't pick up the true colour on the cards. I had trouble with my photography today as it took me longer to find some satisfaction in the arrangements and addition of various elements so the outside lighting and shadows were problematic. I'll try to rephotograph and re-upload tomorrow.

I purposely kept some elements the same on both cards to bring some compatibility between the cards, however, numerous differences ensure each card is individual. As you can guess, both cards use Old Olive and as mentioned, both cards include water-colouring techniques. Both cards also have an Old Olive card base and use the same Stitched Whimsy die. I love this new set of dies from the January-June 2021 Mini Catalogue.

CARD 1: My first card started with the creation a water-colour background on Shimmery White card-stock using Seaside Spray Classic Stampin' ink with a medium Water Painter. Once almost dry, this background panel was dry embossed with a Subtle 3D embossing folder. Dry embossing over a panel that has been water-coloured helps flatten out the panel. The second largest Stitched Whimsy die was used to add stitching imprints.

Two extra pieces of Shimmery White card-stock were also water-coloured; one just using Old Olive Classic Stampin' ink and the other using Old Olive, Garden Green and Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' ink for a different leaf.  Three leaves from the Boho Indigo dies were used to cut two of each of the larger leaves from the extra pieces of water-coloured card-stock and one-and-a-half twigs of tiny leaves were cut from Old Olive card-stock.

The larger vase from the Boho Indigo stamp set was stamped in Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin' ink and die cut with the coordinating die. Some Linen Thread was wrapped around the neck of the vase and tied in a bow. Following experimentation with the arrangement, the vase was popped up on Dimensionals. The leaves were arranged and adhered with a mix of Multipurpose Liquid Glue and Dimensionals.

One of the sentiments from the Boho Indigo stamp set was stamped on White card-stock (I still have Whisper White card-stock but Stampin' Up are in the process of changing to Basic White card-stock). The sentiment was fussy cut, trimming off the top line of the greeting as I wanted a narrower sentiment. It was positioned with Dimensionals. The card front was adhered directly to an Old Olive card base.

A piece of Whisper White card-stock was added inside the card. Two of die cut leaves were added, adhering flat to the card inner. The same vase used on the card front was stamped on the front of a C6 Whisper White envelope.

The card was finished with paper flowers from the Boho Indigo Product Medley pack. I accidentally knocked a bead off one of the flower centres so decided to remove the beads and add small Basic Pearl Jewels that were coloured with a Light Pretty Peacock blend.

CARD 2: The second card also started with the creation of a water-colour background on a panel of Shimmery White card-stock. Only Old Olive Classic Stampin' ink was used with a Medium Water Painter from the Water Painter set. To add a little more interest to the background the long thin leaf spray from the Berry Blessings Sale-a-bration stamp set was stamped partially on the water-coloured area with Old Olive Classic Stamping' ink.

Once the water-colour background had dried, it was dry embossed with a 3D Subtle embossing folder and further imprinted with the second largest Stitched with Whimsy die. Apart from flattening the water-colour panel, I so love the subtle texture and the effect of the stitching lines. Some Old Olive ink was mixed with Frost White Shimmer Paint and lightly splattered over the background, before being adhered directly to an Old Olive card base.

Using the Sale-a-bration Berry Blessings stamp set the outlines of both leaf stamps were stamped on Whisper White card-stock in Old Olive ink. The berries were stamped in Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' ink. (I also stamped the blueberries in Pacific Point ink but decided when arranging the pieces to only use the blackberries.) Initially, I had hoped to watercolour the leaves and berries but "life happened" and I needed to undertake the colouring away from my workstation, so I reverted to colouring with Stampin' Blends - a much more portable option. I used the Old Olive and Blackberry Bliss Combos with the Color Lifter. 

The leaves and berries were fussy cut, shaped and then arranged on the water-colour background. The pieces were adhered with a mix of Multipurpose Liquid Glue and Dimensionals. The design needed something to lift it, so little flowers were punched out of white card-stock with the Confetti Flowers Border punch. Various sizes of the little flowers were scattered over the card. The smallest Basic Pearl Jewels were added to the centre of each flower.

A Whisper White card-stock panel was added to the centre of the Old Olive card base. A sentiment from the Berry Blessings stamp set was stamped in Old Olive ink and a fussy cut leaf spray and berry were added to the card inner. A C6 Whisper White Envelope was also decorated with fussy cut leaves and punched flowers. A dot of Old Olive ink (using a Stampin' Write Marker) was added to the centre of the flowers.

I tried to add either natural Linen Thread or Braided Linen Trim but they really didn't add anything - so no trim on this card.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. 😘

Catherine Proctor is the amazing host of the Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase. If you haven't finished visiting all of the team's colour creations, you can visit/revisit Catherine's page at What Cathy Made, where she hosts all the links so you can check out everyones Old Olive creations. It is always a highlight to my week. 

I hope to see you again next week when members of the team will share projects that hero Pacific Point, a bright blue.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others as these strange times continue. 

Andrea 💕🐾

#colourcreationsshowcase

Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase - #30 Night of Navy

Night of Navy with Art Gallery and Best Plaid Builder

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 30th 2020/2021 Colour Creations Showcase by members of the Art with Heart Team - our first one for the new year.

This week we are focussing on an amazing blue called Night of Navy. As its name suggests it is a deep navy blue that can be found in the Stampin' Up! Neutral's collection. Depending on the project, I sometimes use Night of Navy instead of black and, like black, it can be used with most colours. Night of Navy can be found in Stampin' Up!s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads, re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Stampin' Blends; Water-colour pencils Assortment 2, many, many Designer Series Papers, including the Boho Indigo Product Medley, Twine and Embellishments. It is such a versatile colour!

I combined a number of ideas that had been buzzing around in my head in the creation of the card for this blog hop. I love navy and yellow so that is the focal colour combination for this first card. I also want to participate in this week's Casing the Catty Challenge so I created a blended background that enabled me to made two backgrounds at the same time.

To create this background I started with a Whisper White card front and also die cut two pieces of Whisper White card-stock using both dies from the Best Plaid Builder die set. The two die cut pieces were layered on top of the card front. This was my first use of the amazing Stampin' Up! Blending Brushes.  I used one brush to apply Seaside Spray Classic Stampin' ink and another to apply Misty Moonlight, Pacific Point and Night of Navy inks.The brushes are so soft and smooth and applied colour brilliantly, sliding over the die cut layers easily without catching on the edges. The aim was to have patches of different colours and light and dark variations.

Once coloured, the two die cut pieces were trimmed down and adhered to a piece of Night of Navy card-stock that had some Night of Navy ink blended on the edge and some Whisper White Craft ink blended in the centre to add light and shade to this layer. This piece was mounted on a piece of Daffodil Delight card-stock leaving a fine boarder. 

Flowers from the Art Gallery Stamp set were stamped in Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' ink on Whisper White card-stock. Using the Stamparatus, touches of Mango Melody were added to the stamp with a Stampin' Write Marker pen to add depth of colour. The spray of flowers was also stamped in Granny Apple Green Classic Stampin' ink. The floral sprays were cut out with the coordinating set of dies, the Floral Gallery dies and the Daffodil Delight flowers were fussy cut. The individual flowers were slightly shaped and adhered over the green spray with Dimensionals. The small floral arrangement was also stamped in Daffodil Delight ink and die cut with the coordinating die. I so love Stampin' Up!'s coordination of products. 

The flowers were arranged from corner to corner. As I write this blog I keep looking at the arrangement and I am realising that it could do with a few more leaves. I am no flower arranger and it can take time for me to work out what to do to improve an arrangement. No time to fix it up, re-photograph and upload today, but I hope to make the changes in the next day or two. Keep an eye out.

A sentiment from the same Art Gallery stamp set was stamped in Versamark ink on to Night of Navy card-stock and heat embossed using White Stampin' Emboss powder. The sentiment was die cut using the larger label from the coordinating Floral Gallery dies. Some of the new Night of Navy twine from the Well Suited Twine Combo pack was wrapped around the card front twice and tied in a bow slipping on a little silver heart trinket from the Heart Charms pack.

The card front was adhered directly to the Night of Navy card base. To complete the card front some Bumblebee 2020-2022 In Colour Enamel Dots were added to both sets of flower buds. A little Wink of Stella was added to parts of the flowers and lightly splattered over the card front. The camera hasn't been able to capture this sparkle. 

To create the card inner, the smaller floral arrangement stamp was stamped in Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' ink along one side of a piece of Whisper White card-stock. This was layered on a piece of Daffodil Delight card-stock leaving a very fine boarder of yellow, and then added inside the Night of Navy card base. The same stamp and ink were used on a C6 Whisper White envelope, so it matched the card.

Once my second card has been finished and entered into this week's Casing the Catty Challenge I will add it here to show the second blended background that was created at the same time as the background used on this card. This week's Casing the Catty Challenge is to "Step Up a project from the current Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue". I'm planning to use different flowers and a different colour.

Here is the card using the blended background after the removal of the two layers of plaid.

Catherine Proctor continues as the wonderful host of the Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase. If you haven't finished visiting all of the team's colour creations, you can visit/revisit Catherine's page at What Cathy Made, where she hosts all the links to the other Showcase participants. Thank you so much Cathy for taking up coordination of the Colour Creations Showcase again this year - you are a Champion. I'm looking forward to checking out everyone's Night of Navy creations. It is always a blessing to be a part of this amazing blog hop of wonderful projects.

I hope to see you again next week when members of the team will share projects that hero Old Olive. This is another versatile colour.

I hope the New Year has started well for you and your loved ones. Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others in these strange times. 

Andrea 💕🐾

#colourcreationsshowcase