AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #11 Basic Gray

Basic Gray with Sweet & Precious

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop. We are working though the Stampin' Up! colours in alphabetical order, focussing on one colour each week.

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a deep grey called Basic Gray. Basic Gray is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and is a dark steel grey. This neutral can be used for earthen pots, animals, instead of black for a slightly softer look and with white & pops of colour for striking effect. I love grey with pink or yellow but have used it in this project with blues and a touch of yellow.

Basic Gray is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads, spots & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Watercolor Pencils Assortment 1; Neutrals Designer Series Papers as well as Timeless Greeting, The Best Remedy, Kindness Card and Christmas Whimsy Card Kits; plus Classic Matte Dots.

Basic Gray card-stock, ink, Stampin’ Write Marker and Watercolor Pencil have been used in the creation of this project plus a range of non-Basic Gray bits and pieces.

Basic Gray is an essential neutral in a colour range, yet initially I struggled as to how I would hero this colour, but then … I remembered the gorgeous Sweet & Precious stamp set, with the delightful parent/child penguins. Initially, I was thinking of a gray & white card with a possible pop of colour. As often happens the design evolved along the way.

A friend traveled to Antarctica in January and so I had his holiday and photos in mind as I created. I thought of the bright blue skies and expanse of white ice. This led to a blue water-colour background using Azure Afternoon and Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin’ inks on Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper with the wide Water Painter brush. Once dry this panel was to be mounted on a slightly larger piece of Basic Gray card-stock and a Basic White Thick card base.

The Mother & Child penguin image was stamped on Basic White card-stock using Basic Gray ink. The image was fussy cut with Stampin’ Up!s brilliant Snips. I felt it was important to trim out the white space between the 2 penguins and the new hobby blade attachment was perfect for this. The hobby blade is part of the new Take Your Pick Crafter Tips. A little Crushed Curry and Basic Gray was added to the image with Watercolour Pencils. Very carefully a little water was added with the fine tip Water Painter to blend the Crushed Curry colouring. Some Shimmery White Embossing Paste was applied over one of the Foursquare Decorative Masks with a Palette Knife. When I went to apply the paste I realised I didn’t have any Matte Paste (it’s now on my list). If I was to create something similar I would change the way I applied the paste to have it look more ‘ice’ like.

A number of finishing touches included some splattering using the Basic Gray Stampin’ Write Marker. The sentiment (from the same set of stamps) was stamped in Basic Gray ink on Basic White card-stock and fussy cut. I saw a piece of trimmed-in-half Balmy Blue & White Variegated Ribbon on my workspace from another project. A number of lengths were frayed off, circled around my fingers and adhered behind the penguins. The penguins and sentiment were positioned with Dimensionals. A number of Loose Silver Sequins were scattered around and adhered with a tiny dot of Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

The card inner was simply decorated with another stamped image of the penguins and a thin strip of Basic Gray card-stock. A C6 Basic White envelope was partially stamped with the same image in Basic Gray ink.

Thank you for dropping in. I do so appreciate your visit to my Blog for the Colour Creations Blog Hop.

There is more Basic Gray creativity so continue with the Blog Hop. Just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Aime McIlroy. I am looking forward to checking out Aime’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyones' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Berry Burst, one of Stampin’ Up!s Brights, as we continue the weekly 2023-2024 Colour Creations Blog Hop series. 

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

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or would like to view the full list of participants go to Catherine Proctor’s blog @ What Cathy Made. Cathy is our wonderful Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  She is an amazing lady. Check out her delightful creation while you are there.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send it to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact with any other queries about this project, Stampin' Up! or becoming a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. 

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