AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #3 Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink with Country Birdhouse

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop. As we commence this new year of Blog Hops, initially we are working though the new In Colours before we focus on the remainder of the Stampin' Up! colours in alphabetical order. We feature one colour each week.

This week’s Blog Hop is featuring on a pretty mid pink called Pretty in Pink. Pretty in Pink is part of the 2024-2026 In Colour Family and is a lovely pink. I’m teaming it with Smoky Slate tonight as I love pink and grey. I’m still exploring other colour combos with this pretty colour. This colour would be lovely for flowers and anything that you wanted pink.

Pretty in Pink is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Stampin’ Blends Combo; In Colour Designer Series Paper and Unbounded Beauty DSP; plus In Color Resin Dots; In Color Shimmer Gems; and Pretty in Pink Bordered Ribbon, to name a few.  

This project uses Pretty in Pink Classic ink, card-stock, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write Marker and In Color Shimmer Gems, together with a range of non-Pretty in Pink products.

One of the large double suites in the new 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue is the Country Woods suite. It contains 2 stamp sets with coordinating dies, 2 different sets of Designer Series Paper, an embossing folder, ribbons and pearls. I love so many different aspects about this suite. In choosing to use the Country Birdhouse bundle I wanted to use some of the oh so gorgeous Country Woods DSP for the birdhouse and Pretty in Pink for most of the flowers.

I created a fancy fold card to show a different way to use the Country Birdhouse dies. I won’t go through the various trials and errors that occurred while creating this project. I am thankful I got there in the end, even with COVID brain. (Yes, I took a RAT last night and it showed positive.) I’m not sure of the name of this fold - I remembered seeing Mikaela Titheridge, a UK Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator create a card using it. I think it’s some sort of flip fold. The Basic White background had a little Pool Party Classic Ink blended over to provide a sense of sky behind the birdhouse.

Numerous flowers from the Country Birdhouse stamp set were stamped in Smoky Slate Classic ink on Basic White card-stock. They were coloured in a mix of Stampin’ Blends, ie Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop, Lemon Lolly, Shaded Spruce, Lost Lagoon, and touches of Granny Apple Green Combos to harmonise with the little bird that was coloured with Pretty in Pink, Granny Apple Green and Smoky Slate Combos. Of course a Colour Lifter was nearby to add highlights.

I so love Stampin’ Up!s coordination with dies that match the stamped images plus the addition of extra dies that, in this case, cut stand alone flowers and leaves. These flowers and leaves were cut out from Basic White card-stock. Some of the white die cut leaves and flowers were tucked in & around the coloured leaves and flowers. I had wondered about blending a little colour over the die cuts but in between crafting today, I watched Cindy Schuster from the Crafty Carrot Co as she created a home decor piece using the Country Flowers bundle. During the Facebook Live she acknowledged that she loved adding white flowers to her projects. Remembering that, I didn’t add any colour to the die cut flowers & leaves - and I am so glad as the white lifts the overall design so much. The Crafty Carrot Co are hosting on Facebook, a free series of sessions featuring the Country Flowers bundle. The are talented ladies and so worth checking out.

The dies were also used to die cut pieces for the roof and trimmings, as well as the decorative pole that the birdhouse sits on. You may notice that the Smoky Slate roof, stand and dowel for the bird to sit on all had a little tinge of Silver heat embossing in places.

A sentiment from the Country Birdhouse stamps was white heat embossed on Pretty in Pink card-stock and fussy cut out. A little bow of White & Silver Sheer Ribbon (which had been cut lengthwise to cut away the silver edge) was tied into a bow and tucked under part of the sentiment. A number of the beautiful Pretty in Pink In Color Shimmer Gems were scattered around.

When this card opens the birdhouse flips to the inside of the card. Another sentiment is stamped inside the card in Smoky Slate ink and a few extra flowers and bird decorate the card inner. A C6 Basic White envelope was stamped with a small floral arrangement in Smoky Slate ink along the bottom of the envelope.

As you can see below, the card partially flips when it stands partially open. 

Thank you so much for dropping by on you way around the Pretty in Pink Colour Creations Blog Hop. 

To continue with the Pretty in Pink blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Christine Blain. I am looking forward to checking out Christine’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring another new In Colour, Shy Shamrock as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 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. 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 2024-2025 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 or Stampin' Up!. 

#colourcreationsbloghop  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #countrywoods  #countrybirdhouse   #thecraftycarrotco

CASEing the Catty #469 Mix & Match

Mix & Match meets Stippled Roses

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and a CASEing the Catty Blog Hop.

This week we are focussing on challenge #469 and choosing a project to CASE from the Mix & Match section over pages 18 - 21. As you may know, CASE stands for Copy And Share Everything or Copy And Selectively Edit. When CASEing you may be inspired by a layout, a colour combination or a technique or even an embellishment.

If you started the blog hop at the beginning from the CASEing the Catty Facebook Page then you would have come to me from the talented Rebecca Scurr. I am looking forward to checking out Rebecca’s blog together with everyone’s projects who are joining in on CASEing the Mix & Match section of Stampin' Up!s new 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue. There is always so much inspiration. 

I CASEd a card on page 20 with the dark blue background, 3 feathers and a sentiment.

I was enticed by the layout and the sense of textured background. Here’s my card:

As you can see, this card is quite different from the card in the catalogue - different images, colours & texture - but the same layout. For those that know me, I tend to love adding detail and techniques to my projects so this layout was a bit of a challenge. Having said that I do so appreciate the beauty of simplicity in other crafters’ works of art. It’s worth persevering with the challenge.

The first challenge was to find an image small enough to repeat three times across the front of the card. Even though I could have turned the card to landscape to enable a larger image, I do love the images sitting near the top with an expanse of undecorated card below. I settled on the small Stippled Roses stamped image, stamping it in Smoky Slate Classic Ink on Basic White card-stock.

The roses were coloured with Stampin’ Up!s Alcohol Blends. The colours used were Bubble Bath combo with a touch of Light Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lolly combo and a touch of Light Peach Pie, Fresh Freesia combo and a touch of Light Highland Heather, as well as Granny Apple Green and Soft Sea Foam combos for the leaves. The leaves were fussy cut to seperate them from the flowers.

Small leaves were die cut from Basic White card-stock using a Stippled Roses die. The background was embossed with the Distressed Tile 3D Embossing Folder. The background was lightly splattered using Lemon Lolly, Bubble Bath and Fresh Freesia Stampin’ Write Markers.

I couldn’t resist adding some Silver & White Sheer Ribbon and White Bakers Twine as well as a scattering of the White Adhesive-backed Sequins Trio.

I love adding something inside a card and on the envelope to coordinate with the card design. The small rose was stamped on a piece of Basic White card-stock and a thin strip of the left edge was embossed with the same embossing folder. A C6 Basic White Envelope was also stamped with the small rose with Smoky Slate ink.

Thank you so much for dropping in and spending time with me. I so appreciate you. 

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this talented Crew. The next blog in the hop is the amazing Judy May. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure you won’t want to miss her project.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project you have created that has been inspired by the Mix & Match section of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. To share, all you need to do is go to the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group in Facebook. If you aren't a member, it’s easy to request to join (answering a couple of questions) and then all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would love you to join us and to share your creation.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the new Stampin' Up 2024-2025 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 or if you would like to join Stampin' Up!. There is a brilliant joining offer this month. I would love to help you.

#ctc469 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #stippledroses   #distressedtile3d  

AWH Colour Creations Blop Hop # 2 Petunia Pop

Petunia Pop with Layers of Beauty

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop. In beginning the 2024-2025 series of blog hops we are focussing on the newly introduced colours and then we will continue to work though the Stampin' Up! colours in alphabetical order, focussing on one colour each week.

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a clear purple called Petunia Pop. Petunia Pop is part of the 2024-2026 In Colour Family and is a lovely purple that leans toward a red-purple. As this colour is newly released I am experimenting with colours that will coordinate beautifully with it. It would be lovely for flowers and anything with purple.

Petunia Pop is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Stampin’ Blends Combo; In Color Designer Series Paper and Unbounded Beauty DSP; plus In Color Resin Dots; In Color Shimmer Gems; and Petunia Pop Bordered Ribbon, to name a few.

This project uses Petunia Pop Classic ink, card-stock and In Color Shimmer Gems, together with a range of non-Petunia Pop products.

I am regularly invited to be a guest teacher at a local church Craft Group and one of the ladies who attends the group is tuning 90 very soon. I thought she would like Petunia Pop so I created this card with her in mind. I have been keen to have a play with the Layers of Beauty bundle and I thought it would work well with Petunia Pop. And so this card came into being.

I wouldn’t have said that I was a “purple” person but with Fresh Freesia and after playing with Petunia Pop - I have found that I love these colours. For this card, Petunia Pop has been paired with Blackberry Bliss (oops - I missed adding this colour in the photo above), Bubble Bath, Lemon Lolly, Gray Granite and Lost Lagoon and a little Textured Metallic Paper.

The large image from the Layers of Beauty stamp set was stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink onto Basic White card-stock. The Layers of Beauty masks were used with Blending Brushes to colour a couple of the images. A really gentle layer of Bubble Bath ink was laid down first. The second layer of the flowers were Petunia Pop for the roses and stronger Bubble Bath for the daisies. The third layer was a darker layer of Petunia Pop for the roses and Lemon Lolly for the daisy centres. The fourth layer was Gray Granite over the leaves and the fifth layer was some Lost Lagoon to give the leaves a little detail. As I was working with the stencils and blending brushes I was like an excited child playing with a new toy, letting out little squeals of delight each time I lifted up a mask to reveal the results. So much fun.

The coloured floral arrangements were fussy cut apart. The arrangements can be cut out with a coordinating die, but knowing I was going to cut it apart further, for consistency, everything was cut apart with Snips. The pieces were then re-arranged around the edge of a Basic White card-stock background panel (that had been de-bossed with the Distressed Tile 3D Embossing Folder) and either adhered in place with Dimensionals or Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

The word “Celebrate” from the Wanted to Say dies was cut from the Textured Metallic Speciality Paper. The final touch was a few 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems.

Like the card front the Basic White card inner was mounted on a piece of Petunia Pop card-stock. A sentiment from Simply Said stamp set was stamped in Petunia Pop ink and a remaining piece of coloured leaves & flowers was adhered in the corner. An envelope was custom made using a Petunia Pop piece of the Unbounded Beauty DSP. A place to write the recipients name was created using some Basic White card-stock and a Deckled Rectangle die. 

Thank you so much for dropping by on your way around the Petunia Pop Colour Creations Blog Hop. 

To continue on with the Petunia Pop blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a friend and fellow South Aussie, Tina Gillespie. I am looking forward to checking out Tina’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Pretty in Pink as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 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 then go to Catherine Proctor’s blog @ What Cathy Made. Cathy is our brilliant Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  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 new Stampin' Up 2024-2025 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 or Stampin' Up!. 

#colourcreationsbloghop  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #layersofbeauty   #simplysaid  #wantedtosay

CASEing the Catty 5 May 24

Unbounded Beauty Meets Nature’s Sweetness

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #468 Blog Hop with CASEing the Catty.

I am so excited to have been invited to join the CASEing the Catty Crew. This is my first Blog Hop with these talented creatives. 

The new Stampin’ Up! Catalogue for 2024-2025 launched on the 1st May and this Blog Hop, #468 is focusing on the whole Catalogue. There is so much gorgeousness so it was hard to choose a card to CASE. I selected a card featuring the Unbounded Beauty Suite on page 53. Here is a photo of my card alongside the card I CASEd. 

I’m sure you know what can happen when best intentions meet multiple issues - it’s not only one thing that goes astray, but there can be multiple impediments. That is what happened to me while preparing this blog. I am so thankful for the patience of others, including Monique Fielder & Kathryn Mangelsdorf, who helped me overcome some newby issues.

I love the delicate focus on die cuts. I have used different colours and Designer Series Paper, plus there are a few other differences. One of the gorgeous DSPs that has continued into the new Catty is the wonderful Nature’s Sweetness Speciality DSP. One side of the SDSP includes gold into the designs. One of these beauties was selected as the background.

I was initially thinking of a neutral colour scheme, but couldn’t resist adding some Petal Pink. It works so well with the new Basic Beige, Pecan Pie, Nature’s Sweetness Speciality DSP and Gold Textured Metallic Speciality Paper.

The leaves and flowers were die cut using the Flowers of Beauty dies and Basic White card-stock. They were coloured with either Basic Beige, Pecan Pie or Petal Pink Classic Stampin’ inks and Mini Blending Brushes. I love the colour variation with this technique. The frames in the background were cut using an Unbounded Love die and the gold foil from the Textured Metallic Speciality Paper.

The sentiment is from the Unbounded Love stamps and was gold embossed on some Basic Beige card-stock and fussy cut. Some gold trim from the Gold & Silver Combo Trim Pack was cut in half lengthwise, frayed a little, tied into a bow then tucked behind the sentiment. The finishing touch was a few dragonflies from the On-line exclusive Adhesive-backed Dragonflies & Birds.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. I so appreciate it. Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this talented Crew. The next blog in the hop is the wonderful Rochelle Blok. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure her project will be a stunner.

 Or you may want to head back to Monique Fielder, the previous Blog 

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project you have created that has been inspired by the new 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. To share, all you need to do for to the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group. If you aren't a member, its easy to request to join and then all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would love to see your creation.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the new Stampin' Up 2024-2025 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 or Stampin' Up!. I would love to help you.

#ctc468 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #unboundedlove #flowersofbeauty #unboundedbeauty

AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #1 Peach Pie

Peach Pie with Easter Lilies

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop. This week we are starting to work though Stampin’ Up!s newly introduced colours and will then continue with the other Stampin' Up! colours in alphabetical order, focussing on one colour each week.

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a strong apricot colour called Peach Pie. Peach Pie is part of the 2024-2026 In Colour Family and as the name suggests, is a peachy colour. This colour is lovely for fruit, flowers and anything with a deep peachy colour.

Peach Pie is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Stampin’ Blends Combo; 2024-2026 In Color Designer Series Paper as well as Unbounded Beauty and Thoughtful Journey DSPs; In Colour Glimmer Speciality Paper, Thoughtful Designs Speciality DSP; Thoughtful Journey Memories & More card pack; Peach Pie Bordered Ribbon, 2024-2046 In Color Resin Dots and In Color Shimmer Gems. 

Peach Pie ink, card-stock, Bordered Ribbon and Shimmer Gems have been used in the creation of this project plus a range of non-Peach Pie bits and pieces.

When attending On Stage in March, I participated in a formal card swap and had plans to also create a similar but different card to swap with others, however, ran out of time. This card uses the layout that I had in my mind. I started by blending an ombre background using Lemon Lolly and Peach Pie Classic Stampin’ inks and a Blending Brush.  A little water was splattered over the blended background and when dry, some ink splattering.

The archway die from the Garden Meadows dies cut a large hole in a panel of Basic White card-stock to layer over the blended background. It was popped up with Dimensionals.  Dies from the Easter Lilies bundle cut out leaves and pieces to build a large lily from Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. Little stems were cut from the Pretty Peacock design of the Oxidized Copper Speciality DSP. The flower and leaf pieces were wet on wet water-coloured with Peach Pie ink for the flower and Garden Green & Shy Shamrock inks for the leaves. I love the way ink flows up channels in die cut pieces with this water-colour technique.

With all the layers of the floral arrangement, I wanted the sentiment to blend in so decided to stamp directly onto the background panel. With a deep breath and a prayer, a sentiment from the new Unbounded Love stamp set was stamped in Pebble Path ink. 

Beautiful Bordered Ribbon is available in each of the new In Colors. A piece of the Peach Pie ribbon was cut in half length-wise and tied into a bow with some White Bakers twine (from the Bakers Twine Essentials Pack). The final touch was a scattering of a few Peach Pie 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems. They are gorgeous. I do love a little bling.

The coordinating Easter Lilies stamp set was used for the card inner, stamping in second generation Pebble Path ink. A leftover piece of Oxidized Copper SDSP and part of a water-coloured leaf were also added. As with the card front, the Basic White panel was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Peach Pie card-stock. A little piece of Peach Pie ribbon was laid across the bottom of the panel and tucked behind to glue down the edges. Somehow, a little dash of green appeared near the stamping, so to camouflage it,  some splattering was added. While the unwanted mark is still there, it’s only noticed with a careful look.

A C6 Basic White envelope was stamped with second generation Pebbled Path ink, with a little blending over the top. You may notice some difference in the colour of this blending on the envelope. I had loaned my Peach Pie ink pad to a friend before I stamped the envelope, so I used a little Calyso Coral ink for the blending. Calypso Coral would work harmoniously with Peach Pie, with the latter being brighter and with a little more yellow in its makeup. 

Thank you so much for dropping by on your way around the first Colour Creations Blog Hop for 2024-2025. I look forward to sharing the other new colours with you over coming weeks.

To continue with the Peach Pie blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a friend & talented crafter, Rachel Woollard. I am looking forward to checking out Rachel’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Petunia Pop as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 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.  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 2024-2025 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 or Stampin' Up!. I would love to help you.

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

#unboundedlove. #thoughtfulwishes #gardenmeadows