CASEing the Catty #476 CASE a Sketch - page

A Sketch from page 68 meets Season of Green & Gold

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #476 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

You have probably hopped here from Monique Fielder's blog on your way around this week's Blog Hop. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's creations.

Challenge #476 is all about CASEing one of the layouts from page 68. As you 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, a technique or even an embellishment. This week its a specific sketch:

I have combined this sketch with something I recently saw and wanted to try. Earlier this month I saw Cindy Schuster of The Crafty Carrot Co fame share a Gift Card Holder featuring the Attention Shoppers bundle. I was taken with her project and wanted to CASE it - so decided to do a double CASE, ie the sketch and Cindy’s Gift Card Holder. My project is a Christmas card with a gift card holder inside. The soon to be released Season of Green & Gold Suite (an online exclusive) has been featured in this special card.

The Season of Green & Gold Speciality Designer Series Paper is so so gorgeous. One of the designs has been used for the bottom panel. It has touches of gold running throughout the leafy design. The colours of this SDSP have been used as the colour combo for the project, ie Old Olive, Garden Green, Very Vanilla and gold.

Detailed die cuts from the Golden Greenery dies were cut from Very Vanilla card-stock and 2 of the bigger die cuts were coloured with either Old Olive or Garden Green Classic Stampin’ inks and Blending Brushes. The pine fronds were left uncoloured Very Vanilla card-stock. A stitched oval from the Greetings of the Season dies was also cut from Very Vanilla card-stock and then gold heat embossed using the Greetings of the Season stamp set. Some of the luscious Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon was trimmed lengthwise and tied into a bow through the little hole in the label. Some of the pearl berries from the Cherry Cobbler and Pearl Adhesive-backed Berries were added to give some subtle shimmer.

The top panel was embossed using the Fern 3D Embossing Folder. A belly band was cut from one of the other designs in the Season of Green & Gold SDSP and the die cut pieces were arranged over the front of the band with the oval label sitting on top on Dimensionals. Peaking out from beneath the label are 2 strips of Gold Foil. The ends of the foil were angled inwards to give a sense of the fishtailed label on the sketch. The sketch could be interpreted as a simple card with different layers and an angled cut, however, for this project the embossed top section will open when the belly band is removed - the edge has been angled.  The SDSP underneath is a full panel.

When the lower section is opened, a little shopping bag is revealed. This is where a gift card is to be placed (or a small gift could be added). Isn’t it cute. The same SDSP as the front panel was used for the internal shopping bag. Some gold trim from the On-line Exclusive Gold & Silver Trim Combo was used to create the bag handles.

The bottom panel was decorated with a detailed leafy die cut, a strip of the SDSP and another sentiment - this one from the Merriest Trees stamp set.  The sentiment was gold heat embossed and cut into a strip the width of the card - and was popped up on Dimensionals.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. I hope you like this different interpretation of the sketch for Challenge #476.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this talented Crew. The next blog in the hop is the lovely Kathryn Mangelsdorf. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure her project will be wonderful.

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.

#ctc469 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #thecraftycarrotco   #goldengreenery  #greetingsoftheseason  #seasonofgreen&gold  #merriesttrees  #thecraftycarrotco

AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #9 Basic Gray

Basic Gray with Sketched Butterflies

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 showcasing a deep grey called Basic Gray. Basic Gray is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and like other neutrals, it coordinates with so many colours. For me, this colour is not one I would use as a focal colour as it can be quite so be, however, it is great to use instead of black if you want to stamp in a slightly softer colour, its also wonderful for shadows, to add to other colours to give greater depth of shading. I think it is a wonderful colour to support other colours. I love grey as a combo with either pink, blue or 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 One; Neutrals Designer Series Paper as well as Country Woods DSP, Calming Creek Mix & Match Cards & Envelopes; Basic Gray & Smoky Slate Pearls and the TimelessGreetings Kits. 

The card below has used Basic Gray ink, card-stock, Stampin’ Write Marker, Country Woods DSP and some of the Basic Gray (& Smoky Slate) Pearls.

As I first mused about creating a card showcasing Basic Gray, I wanted to add a strong colour. The current weather is really cloudy, overcast, raining and “grey”. I wanted to move out of the “grey” feeling so chose Melon Mambo as the main accompanying colour. I also thought of butterflies as something that could be stamped in Basic Gray and then coloured - hence my selection of the wonderful Sketched Butterflies bundle.

I also thought of Stampin’ Up!s Challenge for this month - “do you prefer ‘this’ or ‘that’ “ layout. #CreativeChallengeSU  This card was inspired by the “this” layout, with some more lateral interpretation of the smaller circles.  The side panels were created with strips of one of the Country Woods DSP designs including Basic Gray. The strips were mounted onto slightly larger Basic Gray panels.

The process started with water-colouring the central panel of the design, intensifying the ink at the top and allowing the colour dilute and drip down the panel of Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. Before adding Melon Mambo Classic Stampin’ ink a light wash of Bubble Bath ink covered the panel to dispel the cream colour of the paper. The water-coloured panel was left to almost dry before being embossed with the Cute Crochet 3D Embossing Folder. My first use of this gorgeous folder. When fully dry, some Basic Gray splattering was added with a Stampin’ Write Marker and it was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Basic Gray card-stock.

All the butterflies from the Sketched Butterflies stamp set were stamped in Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ ink onto Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. The butterflies were then over stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Clear Emboss Powder and a Heat Tool. They were water-coloured with Bubble Bath & Melon Mambo inks and the fine Water-Painter. When dry they were die cut with coordinating dies. A round label was die cut with one of the smaller circular dies from the Spotlight on Nature set. 

The birthday sentiment was stamped in Basic Gray ink and fussy cut. Arranging all the bits and pieces still left me feeling that something else was needed and I spied a detailed die cut on my work area - it had been die cut using the Thoughtful Wishes dies and was already trimmed into 2. It was tucked under the Spotlight On Nature label, and … it worked. Thank you for extra left over bits and pieces from previous projects. Also a left over piece of Iridescent Striped Trim was cut lengthwise into 3 before bring tied into a bow. A few delightful Basic Gray Pearls were added near the sentiment.

The “this” Stampin’ Up! layout, reminded me of a simple fun fold, where just the centre panel of the card flipped up to reveal the area for writing one’s personal message. In this instance, the Basic White panel was stamped in Basic Gray ink with a different sentiment from the same stamp set. A left over thin strip of the water-coloured panel was added to one side and remaining coloured butterflies were added with two tiny butterflies also partially showing when the card is closed.

A Basic White C6 envelope was stamped with the tiny butterflies in Basic Gray ink.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the Basic Gray Colour Creations Blog Hop. I hope you like my card. I doappreciate your time spent here at Valley Inspirations with me.

To continue with the Basic Gray blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a lovely lady, Di Furniss. I am looking forward to checking out Di’s creation(s) - I wonder if she has created one of her amazing fun folds?. 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 Berry Burst as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 Colour Creations Blog Hop series. 

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself.

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 amazing Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  She is a wonderful 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 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  #CreativeChallengeSU   #sketchedbutterflies #thoughtfulwishes #spotlightonnature 

CASEing the Catty #475 - CASE Country Woods

A Country Woods meets Country Birdhouse & Beach Day

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #475 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Rebecca-Jo Unwin , our Guest Designer, as you take this week’s Blog Hop. Below, I have linked to Rebecca Scurr, our amazing Coordinator, so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

This week, I CASEd the slimline birdhouse card on page 49 of the Stampin’ Up! 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue, pictured below.  I love a slim line card so couldn’t go past this card.  As you will see, there have been numerous changes.

Inspiration for this week’s project is two fold, firstly - the wonderful Emma Goddard, a brilliant UK Demonstrator, recently used the cute Country Birdhouse bundle to create gorgeous beach houses. As I ponded how I would CASE this card, I remembered Emma’s projects and my mind went to childhood holidays and cladded houses that were set back on the beach.

The background is a wet-on-wet watercolour wash using Balmy Blue and Azure Afternoon Classic inks on Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper with the wide brushed Water Painter.  When almost dry the panel was embossed with the So Swirly Embossing Folder. A light white splattering was added with White Craft ink. The background was mounted on a Night of Navy panel and then onto a Misty Moonlight card base.

Images from the Beach Day stamp set were stamped in either Night of Navy or Misty Moonlight Classic inks on Basic White card-stock. The grasses were stamped in Wild Wheat ink. There are coordinating dies in the Beach Day die set. Clouds were stamped in Balmy Blue ink using stamps from the Adventurous Sky stamp set. The sea gulls were lightly coloured with a light Smoky Slate Blend and a Colour Lifter. The surf board, umbrella and beach chair were coloured with Petal Pink, Calypso Coral Blends Combo together with the Colour Lifter. The clouds had a little Balmy Blue blended over with a Blending Brush. The sun was cut with a die from the Spotlight in Nature dies and lightly coloured with Lemon Lolly ink and a Blending Brush.

A sentiment from the Beach Day stamps was white heat embossed on Misty Moonlight card-stock, with white Emboss Powder, the Embossing Accessories Kit and a Heat Tool and then fussy cut. Some new Night of Navy Linen Twine was tied into a double bow and tucked under the sentiment. At the moment this twine was only available to Demonstrators who signed up for the Creativity Now event that was live yesterday. The twine is part of a suite that will be available in the September-December Mini Catalogue. This twine comes in a set of 3 Natural Tones Linen Thread. It’s gorgeous. The final touch - a few Flat Adhesive-Backed Pearls were scattered near the sentiment.

As you may know, I love to carry the theme of the card front inside the card in some way. A Basic White panel was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Night of Navy card-stock and decorated with a cloud, seagull, grass and a couple of surf boards. I had prepared them when designing the card front, but didn’t use them all so using them inside the card ensured they didn’t go to waste. I also like to decorate the envelope, but my DL sized envelopes were missing. That will be a task for another day.

Thank you so much for 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 wonderful Rebecca Scurr. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure her project will be amazing.

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.

#ctc475 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #countrybirdhouse   #beachday  #adventuroussky  

 

AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #8 Balmy Blue

Balmy Blue with Iconic Imagery +

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 light blue called Balmy Blue. Balmy Blue is one of the  Subtles Colour Family and is a delightful colour that can coordinate with so many colours. It would be wonderful for sky, water, snowflakes, cards for babies, flowers and so much more.

Balmy Blue 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; Watercolor Pencils Asst 2; Subtles Designer Series Paper as well as Mediterranean Blooms, Lily Pond Lane, Full of Life, Meandering Meadows, Countryside Inn DSPs; Say Something, Labels & Layers, Something for Everything, Fully Flowering Mix & Match Ephemera Packs; Sunny Sprigs Mix & Match Cards & Envelopes; Frog & Friends Kit; Bakers Twine Three Color Pack; Rainbow Adhesive-backed Dots and The Best Destination Kit. That is quite a list of products with this gorgeous colour.

My card has used Balmy Blue in the form of Balmy Blue Classic ink, card-stock, Stampin’ Write Marker, twine from the Bakers Twine Three Color Pack and Rainbow Adhesive-backed Dots.

Balmy Blue is the key colour with Pool Party, Fresh Freesia, Lost Lagoon and Misty Moonlight plus touches of Coastal Cabana and Night of Navy. 

I recently saw Susan Wong of The Crafty Carrot Co fame and as a past Stampin’ Up! Artisan, demonstrate this waterfall card and she inspired me to give it a go, however, having just received my pre-order with the Iconic Imagery bundle I wanted to use it instead and create a Christmas card. This is my first Christmas card for 2024 - I know, but I need to start early to be able to create enough to send to all on my Christmas Card List.

The background was stamped in Versamark ink with the snowflake from the Iconic Imagery bundle. The snowflake was white heat embossed and then Balmy Blue Classic ink was blended over the edges with a Blending Brush. The effect is due to the emboss resist process. I love it. The word “Celebrate” from the same stamp set was stamped in Misty Moonlight ink with a light Balmy Blue blending over. The word was fussy cut and added to the card front with Mini Dimensionals. I have used a number of other stamp sets as the flip panels were decorated - more details below.

The flip panels were die cut using a Countryside Corner die and Basic White card-stock before being cut in half with a Stampin’ Trimmer. The first flip panel was partially blended with Balmy Blue over a white heat embossed snowflake. A sentiment from the same stamp set was white heat embossed on Balmy Blue card-stock. The second flip panel was blended with Pool Party ink then decorated with the small bell from the Golden Greenery bundle (another pre-order of new On-Line Exclusives that will be available to all in July). The bell was stamped in Coastal Cabana ink directly onto the flip panel. Another bell was silver heat embossed onto Basic White card-stock, die cut with a coordinating die from the Golden Greenery dies. A little bow of Balmy Blue Bakers Twine from the Bakers Twine Three Color Pack was added with a Glue Dot.

The third flip panel was blended with Fresh Freesia ink then decorated with presents from the Labeled with Love stamp set - the small presents stamped in Coastal Cabana ink and the larger present with Balmy Blue ink and silver heat embossing.

The fourth flip panel had some blending with Lost Lagoon ink. The leaves were stamped in Lost Lagoon ink then silver heat embossed with the line image - both stamps from the Iconic Imagery set. The berries were stamped in Fresh Freesia and the line image was silver heat embossed.

The fifth panel was blended with Misty Moonlight ink then stamped with trees in Night of Navy ink using a stamp from the Encircled in Nature set. The silver heat embossed star came from the Iconic Imagery star stamp. A tiny Silver Foil die cut star used a die also from the Iconic Imagery dies. 

The end of the pull tab was punched using the Sparkling Snowflake punch.

The card front was adhered to a Balmy Blue card-stock base. A splattering of Balmy Blue was added with a Stampin’ Write Marker to the card front and flip panels. The final touches: a Silver Edged Sheer White Ribbon was tied around the cut out snowflake, a few Balmy Blue Rainbow Adhesive-backed Dots were scattered near the sentiment and a light splattering of Wink of Stella added a gentle little shimmer.  The bow indicates the pull tab to flip the panels.

The Basic White card inner was simply stamped with Balmy Blue snowflakes and a little Balmy Blue blending was added to the RHS and base. Similarly, a Basic White C6 Envelope was also stamped with snowflakes and a little blending.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the Colour Creations Blog Hop. Keep hopping so you won’t miss any Balmy Blue gorgeousness.

To continue with the Balmy Blue blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a special lady, Kate Morgan. I am looking forward to checking out Kate’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Basic Gray 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 brilliant Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  She is a wonderful 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 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   #encircledinnature  #goldengreenery #iconicimagery  #labelswithlove  #thecraftycarrotco  

CASEing the Catty #474 CASE a Technique

A Technique meets Citrus Blooms

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #474 Challenge with CASEing the Catty. You may have just come from Julia Quinn's Blog or perhaps another way. At the end of this post just click on the next graphic to be taken to Peta Stephen’s blog.

The Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue includes much information useful for paper-crafting, such as various techniques. This week the Challenge is to CASE a Technique. 

I have CASEd a couple of the water-colouring techniques shown on the Catalogue’s pages 118-119, specifically the “Spritz Bliss” and “Paint with Water” techniques. Combining these techniques can result in a technique known as “Loose Water-colouring”.

I coloured the larger rubber stamp from the Citrus Blooms stamp set with Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped on Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. To do this I used a positioning tool (my retired Stamparatus) so I could ink a section of the stamp and stamp it on the paper before the ink dried on the stamp. It is possible to colour a stamp with different coloured markers and then “huff” on it to breathe moisture onto the stamp so the ink is dampened. Since COVI|D, I have hesitated to “huff” on the stamp, finding stamping with a positioning tool extremely effective.

As mentioned, the red rubber stamp from the Citrus Blooms set was markered with Stampin’ Up!’s Stampin’ Write Markers, ie Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Lost Lagoon and touches of Early Expresso. A Mister that was filled with tap water and water was spritzed over the inked image then left to allow the ink to bleed (see above). As the stamped image is only an outline image, it was coloured in using the “Paint with Water” technique. While water-colouring the image, I wanted to maintain the softness of the spritzed ink and so encouraged the colours to ooze over the image’s outlines. This can be known as “Loose Water-colouring”.

Water and more ink was applied with the fine tip Water Painter. The image was coloured with Stampin’ Up!s water-based Classic inks, ie Peach Pie & Pumpkin Pie for the oranges, Lemon Lolly and Daffodil Delight for the blossoms, Lost Lagoon and Garden Green for the leaves,  touches of Early Expresso for the twigs and Balmy Blue ink for the background. Once dry the outline image was stamped again, but this time with Versamark ink and then heat embossed with Gold Emboss Powder and a Heat Tool to give definition to the image. 

The image was die cut with the large outline die from the Citrus Blooms dies. A second piece was cut out with the same die from Balmy Blue card-stock to layer behind the water-coloured panel.

A background piece of Basic White card-stock was dry embossed with the Exposed Brick 3D Embossing Folder.

Some gorgeous Iridescent Striped Trim was tied around the front panel and into a bow. A sentiment from the Unbounded Love stamp set was white heat embossed onto Balmy Blue card-stock and fussy cut. I had wanted to use one of the coordinating label dies from the Unbounded Love dies, but in this instance it wasn’t right. Having said that, the numerous labels in the set of dies are so gorgeous and well worth checking out. The final touch - a few of the delightful 2024-2026 In Color Shimmer Gems.

I love to simply decorate the inside of the card with something to coordinate with the card front so a different stamp from the same set was inked in Balmy Blue. A second sentiment - also from the Unbounded Love stamp set was stamped in Balmy Blue. As with the background, a little Balmy Blue ink was blended over the stamped image with a Blending Brush.  Similarly, a C6 Basic White envelope was stamped with the same image and a little Balmy Blue ink was lightly  blended over.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. I so appreciate it. 

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from all the participating Crew. The next blog Crew Member in the hop is the lovely Peta Stephen. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure her project will be wonderful.

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 is go to the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group on Facebook. If you aren't a member, it’s 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.

#ctc469 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #citrusblooms   #unboundedlove