AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #8

Christmas with Joyful Days Memories & More

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the eighth Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2025. We are sharing Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you are checking us out as often as you can.

I have seen a number of people of late create quick and easy cards using the Joyful Days Memories & More cards. Being time poor this week I decided to use this Memories & More pack of cards to create Christmas cards. I love this pack for its water-colour look, the "hand drawn" plaid designs and the "Regal colours".  Using these cards with extra card-bases and card-stock for mounts makes it easy to create nice cards without taking a long time. 

I especially want to thank Cindy Schuster from the Crafty Carrot Co #thecraftycarrotco for inspiring my crafting this week.  I loved her session last week for October’s series where she used these Memories and More cards with the Keeping Traditions stamp set and shared many ideas.

Apart from changing things around I also added my own twist with ribbon/twine and embellishments to my CASEd projects. The card below uses both a large and small card from the pack on a Real Red card-stock base and Basic White mount with Mossy Meadow & Gold Trim and Gold Traditional Sparkling Sequins. The small card carries its own sentiment.

The second card is a CASE from the September - December Mini Catalogue. I love the combination of large and small M&M cards. The tree was mounted on an Old Olive panel. This and the next 3 cards all use sentiments from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack. The are a lovely gold sentiment on a white background and are thick enough to keep flat while up on Dimensionals. An Old Olive Linen Thread bow was tucked under the sentiment and glimmering Red Traditional Sparkling Sequins decorated the tree.

Card 3 features one of the large M&M cards that had been trimmed a little and mounted on a second large card. Some of the Mossy Meadow & Gold Trim was wrapped around these cards and tied in a bow. A different sentiment from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack was popped up on Dimensionals and some Red Traditional Sparkling Sequins were scattered onto a tree and near the sentiment. One of the Faceted Snowflakes was placed on the top of the tree. I think they could be interpreted as stars.

The fourth card has a piece of Country Woods Designer Series Paper mounted on a Basic White card base. One of the small M&M cards was popped up on Dimensionals and mounted on a piece of Crumb Cake card-stock. Another sentiment from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack was popped up on Dimensionals in the centre. I love the mix of sentiment shapes, including this round one - with so many options there is bound to be one that suits most requirements. Wanting a smaller embellishment, single Cherry Cobbler Adhesive-backed Berries were scattered around the wreath.

The fifth card uses one of the smaller M&M cards as a present that is wrapped with ribbon & twine. I have taken this idea from Cindy - it’s so fun. The gorgeous Real Red Shiny Ribbon was wrapped around the card with a bow tied in the centre. Another sentiment from the Greetings for You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack was added with the Old Olive Linen Thread. Some red Traditional Sparkling Sequins added a little sparkle. Oh, the background is a piece of the Peaceful Garden DSP that was randomly stamped in Basic Beige ink with a small sprig of spruce from the Christmas Greenery stamps. 

Here is a close-up of the “present”.  

Thanks so much for dropping in on you way around the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Rosa Leyden. I always look forward to checking out Rosa’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations InstaHop that goes live every Wednesday night on Instagram where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to also drop in on us for more creative inspiration.

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 this week's participants go to Sharon Davern’s blog @ Rhapsody in Craft. Sharon is our amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas 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 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue and or the amazing September-December 2025 Mini Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact regarding any queries about these projects, joining as a demonstrator (there is a brilliant offer this month) or about Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2025 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2025  #memories&more #joyfuldaysmemories&more