AWHT Colour Creations #16 Early Expresso

Early Expresso with Nature's Harvest & Quiet Meadow

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart 2021-2022 Colour Creations Blog Hop.

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a dark brown called Early Expresso. Early Expresso is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and is a wonderful colour for trees, twigs & the like and great when creating for fellas. It is an essential colour, however, not one I usually choose to hero on a project. This week's project was inspired by silhouettes seen while walking my dog at dusk.

Early Expresso is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Watercolor Pencils; the Neutrals & Gingerbread & Peppermint, Blackberry Beauty, You're A Peach, Painted Christmas, Beauty of the Earth, In Good Taste Designer Series Papers; Gingerbread & Peppermint Memories & More Card pack; Gingerbread & Peppermint Memories & More Cards & Envelopes, Blackberry Beauty Ephemera pack and Faux Suede Trim. The card below has used Early Expresso card-stock and Classic ink, plus a range of other bits and pieces.

In accordance with its name, Early Expresso is reminiscent of strong black coffee, so I was going to use the Love You More Than bundle for tonight's project. I also was thinking of using Painted Christmas Suite as the pine cones would stamp brilliantly in Early Expresso. I still want to try out my ideas, however the Early Expresso project ended up by using Early Expresso to represent nature's silhouettes as the sun is setting. 

The blended background was created on a piece of Shimmery White card-stock using Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight and Night of Navy Classic Stampin' inks with Stampin' Up!'s delightful Blending Brushes. Water droplets were flicked over the blended background and once dry some White Craft ink was also flicked over the background.

The little sketchy grassy flowers from the Garden Birdhouses stamp set were stamped over the base of the background in Early Expresso ink. A range of plants were die cut from Early Expresso card-stock using a mix of dies from both the Harvest and Meadows die sets. Each piece had White Craft ink added on the edges with a Sponge Dauber to add sense of dimension. They were adhered in place with a mix of Multipurpose Liquid Glue and Mini Dimensionals.

Strips of both Early Expresso card-stock and Copper Foil paper were added to the left edge of the card-front panel and then it was mounted onto a piece of Basic White card-stock. In turn this card front was mounted on a Sahara Sand card-stock base. A sentiment from the Nature's Harvest stamp set was stamped in Versamark onto an off-cut from the blended background and heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss powder and a Heat Gun. The sentiment was fussy cut and added to the card with thin strips of Dimensionals, A bow was tied with Gold Elegant Trim and White Crinkled Seam Binding and added with Glue Dots to the left of the sentiment. The final touch was the addition of some Genial Gems and a little butterfly die cut from Copper Foil. 

The card inner was created with a piece of Basic White card-stock and a few left over die cut Early Expresso plants; as well as an off cut of the blended background and a thin strip of Early Expresso card-stock. I ran out of time to create a custom made envelope. My plan is to use the DSP shown in the photos as a backdrop to create a specially sized envelope

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I hope you find some inspiration through my card and or the whole Blog Hop. We all enjoy creating to share with you each week.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of Stampin' Up's 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue and or the July - December 2021 Mini Catalogue & Sale-a-bration Leaflet (don't forget Sale-a-bration finishes soon), then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you. Please don't hesitate to make contact with any other queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

There is more Early Expresso creativity. To continue with the blog hop, click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a very special and talented friend, Rachel Palmieri. As always, I am looking forward to checking out Rachel's creation and everyone else's. I do love seeing everyones' projects - so many ideas and such great creations

Hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Flirty Flamingo; and don't forget that the AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop is launched every Monday evening at 8pm AEST until mid-December.

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

Andrea 💕🐾

  

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the full list of participants on Catherine Proctor’s blog, our amazing AWHT Colour Creations Coordinator.  Check out her amazing creation while you are there.

#colourcreationsbloghop  #colourcreationsbloghop2021