AWH Heart of Christmas #1

Christmas with Trucking Along 

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the first Art with Heart Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2023.

This week I am showcasing the Trucking Along bundle in a Christmas card. I actually started this card for last week’s Colour Creations Blog Hop, colouring the truck in Blueberry Bushel but decided I wouldn’t complete it in time given numerous interruptions. So here it is.

My card was inspired by the wonderful Charlett Mallet, a Stampin’ Up! Artisan, who demonstrated projects using the Trucking Along Bundle at Stampin’ Up!s Creativity Now Online event. I’ve also seen a number a projects by other Artisans. It’s a great bundle with the Trucking Along stamp set and a coordinating punch. This bundle is only available on line as an On-line Exclusive.

A piece of Basic White card-stock was first coloured with Balmy Blue & a touch of Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin’ inks and a Blending Brush. Some Wild Wheat ink was applied lightly as indicative of the dried grassy hills we see in Australia during summer. The road was lightly coloured with Pebbled Path ink and lightened out at the base. This panel was die cut with the largest Deckled Rectangle die. The die was repositioned to cut the coloured panel into a square.

The coloured panel was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Basic White card-stock and then onto 2023-2025 In Colour Luster Speciality Paper. A piece of Silver ribbon - an Online Exclusive ribbon bundle was added and adhered at the back of the panel. This piece was popped up with Dimensionals onto the card front that had been covered fully with one of the designs of the Countryside Inn Designer Series Paper.

Clouds had been white heat embossed in the ‘sky’ using Versamark ink, White Emboss Powder and a Heat Tool and road lines had been stamped in Pebble Path ink on the coloured panel prior to the layering process described above. Onto another piece of Basic White card-stock the truck was stamped twice in Blueberry Bushel ink; the tree in Garden Green ink; and a tower of presents with Balmy Blue ink. To stamp the tower of presents, the lower set of presents was masked and presents were stamped on top. This process was repeated to build the stack. While the stamp set has in-fill stamps, I wanted to colour the images with Alcohol Stampin’ Blends. The truck and trailer were coloured with Blueberry Bushel, Boho Blue, Balmy Blue, Wild Wheat, Pebbled Path and Smoky Slate Blends combos plus my trusty Colour Lifter. The pine tree was coloured with Granny Apple Green and Old Olive Blends combos. The presents were partially coloured with the previously mentioned range of blues and some Wink of Stella. The trucks were punched out with the coordinating punch and the front of the second truck was trimmed away to create the trailer. The presents and tree were fussy cut. The coloured images were adhered in place with either Mini Dimensionals or Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

As I had initially coloured a normal A6 card front with blending, a section of the sky was trimmed away when I decided to create a square card. The Christmas sentiment from the Trucking Along stamp set in Blueberry Bushel ink onto the discarded piece of blended sky. The sentiment was fussy cut into two and then added with Mini Dimensionals. The card was finished with a number of white sequins from the Adhesive-backed Sequins Trio. I had planned to add a bow on one side or the other of the centre panel but decided it only detracted rather than embellished.

The card inner was simply a square piece of Basic White card-stock with presents stamped in Boho Blue ink along the bottom edge before being mounted on a larger piece of the same Countryside Inn Designer Series Paper before being adhered inside the Basic White Thick card base. I will need to create a square envelope using the same DSP. That’s a job for tomorrow.

Thanks so much for dropping in. I do so appreciate you spending time with me.

There is much more Christmas creativity so do continue with the blog hop. Just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Theresa Gerrard. I am looking forward to checking out Theresa’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyones' projects - there is always so much inspiration to help our preparations for Christmas.

I hope to see you next week as we continue the weekly Heart of Christmas 2023 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 Sharon Davern’s blog @ Rhapsody in Craft. Sharon is our wonderful Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  She is a very special 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 and or the September - December 2023 Mini Catalogue 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!. 

#colourcreationsbloghop  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #truckingalong