Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase - #44 Sahara Sand

Sahara Sand with Wrapped Bouquet and Kangaroo & Company

Hi. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 44th 2020/2021 Colour Creations Showcase by members of the Art with Heart Team.

This week we are showcasing a great colour, Sahara Sand. It is one of Stampin' Up!'s Neutrals family of colours. It is a light sandy colour and can be combined with so many colours. Sahara Sand has been produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Designer Series Paper including the Sand & Sea DSP; and the Love You Always Foil Sheets. While the Linen Thread is just described as natural it is brilliant with Sahara Sand.

I love Sahara Sand but my creativity has not flowed easily this week - more to do with other factors than the choice of focal colour. Given time constraints I won't be providing as much detail as I usually do. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to make contact.

I have created 2 quite different cards to share tonight. Both had an element of inspiration from Emma Goddard, an amazing UK Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and a beautiful person. Emma recently held a Facebook Live where she used watercolour pencils on Sahara Sand card-stock after having painted a layer of White Craft Ink over the stamped images. I haven't painted a layer of Craft Ink but did use Stampin' Up!'s Water-colour Pencils on Sahara Sand card-stock on one project. The other project is based on a layout Emma used but is different in numerous ways - colours, stamp set, colouring tools and embellishments. While my cards are different from Emma's, her inspiration was a solid basis at the start. Thanks So much Emma. 

CARD 1: While inspired by Emma Goddard, with this card I decided to colour the white embossed bouquets using Stampin' Blends. When colouring with Blends over a coloured card-stock the card-stock colour impacts on the final colour. When using neutrals like Sahara Sand or Crumb Cake, colouring with Blends results in a more muted effect. The Blends Combos used were Petal pink, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade (on the open flower) and Balmy Blue for the tiny sprays of flowers. The leaves were fully embossed so no green was needed.

The card front had a light blending of White Craft ink using a Blending Brush. Blushing Bride twine from the Snail Mail Twine Combo Pack was wrapped around the card front and tied in a bow near the top. Three fussy cut floral sprays were arranged to the right of the card front and then adhered in place with a mix of Dimensionals and Multipurpose Liquid Glue. The right edge of the card front was fussy cut, aligning with the edges of the floral arrangement. The card was adhered directly to the Sahara Sand card base. Again the right edge was fussy cut to align with the floral arrangement.

A strip of Fine Art Floral DSP was mounted on Petal Pink card-stock and this was adhered directly to the right inner card edge leaving a thin border of Sahara Sand. A piece of Basic White card-stock was stamped top and bottom with the some of the same bouquet in Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' ink. This was adhered inside the card abutting the Petal Pink mount edge for writing a personal message.

The fussy cut edge sits over the mounted DSP inside the card and so when the card is closed the edge of the patterned DSP adds to the design of the front of the card. In thinking of a sentiment, one of the sentiments from the Many Messages bundle suited perfectly. While it was longer than I was initially thinking of I was wanting to wish my friend a special day. The full sentiment stamp was stamped in Versamark on to Petal Pink card-stock and then heat embossed using White Stampin' Emboss Powder. A thin strip of the DSP peaks out underneath the sentiment card-stock. Using the Petal Pink card-stock and DSP for the sentiment brought this colour card-stock/DSP up from just showing on the right edge of the card.

Something else was needed so the other bouquet was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with white emboss powder on Sahara Sand card-stock in the same way as the original floral sprays. The 3 flowers were coloured with Petal Pink and Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends and then fussy cut out. These flowers were added with Dimensionals. The Petal Pink Elegant Facetted Gems were perfect for adding a little sparkle.

The Basic White C6 envelope was stamped with the floral spray using Sahara Sand ink to link it with the design of the card.

CARD 2:  Kangaroos come in various shades of pale brown, to rust red and grey. I decided to build the colour of my Kangaroos on a basic of Sahara Sand using Stampin' Up!'s Water-Colour Pencils. I have both sets. Ever since seeing the cute Kangaroo & Company stamp set, I had in mind having the cute Joeys' and Mother Roo's heads poking out from die cut holes. Now was the time to give it a go.

A card front of Shimmery White card-stock was lightly coloured with Balmy Blue, Pear Pizzaz and Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' inks using Blending Brushes. A little water was sprinkled over that add textural drops. The leaf Meadows Moments Embossing folder was used at the base to add some subtle interest. (In hind site I probably could have omitted this process.)

Four circular holes were die cut using the 3 smallest Layering Circles dies. A piece of Forever Greenery DSP was layered at an angle onto the Sahara Sand card base. It was a bit strong in colour when it was seen through the holes in the card front so some White Craft Ink was added using a Blending Brush where the DSP was to be seen through the holes.

The Kangaroo, little Joeys and the flowers were stamped in Sahara Sand ink onto Sahara Sand card-stock. They were coloured with Watercolour Pencils, ie the pencil colours used for the Kangaroos were Whisper White, Early Expresso with touches of Cajun Craze. The different shades of brown were gained through different degrees of shading and addition of white. The flowers & leaves were coloured with Flirty Flamingo, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Old Olive. They were die cut using the Kangaroo dies.

The blended card front was popped up with Dimensionals and Mother Kangaroo and the Joeys were tucked in so they peaked out from the die cut holes. They are so cute and happy.

The floral sprays were added again using a mix of Dimensionals and some liquid glue. The sentiment also was stamped on some Shimmery White card-stock and it was die cut with the smallest circular die. So it blended more subtlety with the background a little ink was added to the edges. 

The Kangaroo and some little butterflies were stamped in Sahara sand ink on to Basic White card-stock to coordinate the card inner with the card design. A C6 Basic White envelope was similarly stamped. To add some extra character, I crumpled the lower left corner of the card front. We'll see if the recipient tries to straighten it out or recognises it as part of the design. Finally some self adhesive Artistry Blooms Sequins were added as the finishing touch.

I wasn't sure how my projects would go this week but after much faffing, I was pleased with the end results. I hope you like them.

Thank you for visiting. I really enjoyed creating these cards to share.

Catherine Proctor is the fantastic 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 the links to the participating blogs so you can find everyone's Sahara Sand creations. Checking out everyone's creations and their interpretation of the amazing Stampin' Up! colours is always a treat. 

I hope to see you again next week when members of the team share projects that hero Seaside Spray, a delightful light blue from the soon to retire In Colours for 2019-2021.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others.

Andrea 💕🐾