Be Inspired - July 2026 - Creating Backgrounds

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

CREATING BACKGROUNDS

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the July Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on projects that show wonderful backgrounds. However you have arrived here, whether from Melanie Hocking or directly here, I am so delighted that you are here.

As I was thinking about the type of background I would use my minds flittered around thinking “oo, I could do that; and then - well how about that … or that …. There are many types of backgrounds to try and many old favourites. In the end I decided to share one of my favourite backgrounds, that is Dry Embossed backgrounds. I love the subtle tone on tone texture that allows the focal point to shine while providing interest to the project.

You may recognise the gorgeous Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder that was used to emboss the Basic White background. This is a wonderful embossing folder. I love that some parts of the background are left in-embossed to contrast with the embossed sections.

To provide a simple focal point a Party Banner die was used to cut the end of the Basic White banner that was mounted on Hydrangea Hue In Color Shimmer Speciality Paper. Violets were both stamped and die cut using the Pressed Violets bundle. I love working with this bundle as it brings warm childhood memories of picking violets for my Mum. The violets were coloured in Hydrangea Hue and the leaves in Soft Sea Foam with a touch of Peaceful Pine to add a little shading & depth.

Iridescent Pearls Basic Jewels add a little shimmer to the flower centres and around the sentiment. White ribbon was cut in half lengthwise and tied into a double bow then ticked in between the violets and sentiment.

The card inner was simply stamped with it of the violet stamps in Secret Sea Classic ink. I often use this ink instead of black. If you have time, the violets could be coloured with Stampin’ Blends, but my time was running away with speed so it is simply stamped.

A Stampin’ Basic White C6 envelope was also stamped with the violets in Secret Sea ink.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the July Be Inspired Blog Hop. I so appreciate you.

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the Creating Backgrounds Blog Hop.  Next in line is the amazing Angela Meiritz-Reid. Just click on the "Next" graphic below to head over to Angela’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this Blog hop is:

Andrea Sargent <you are here

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Annette Ball

Annette Elias

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Lynn Cheesmur

Maheswari Rajaguru  

Melanie Hockin

 

CASEing the Catty #532 - CASE An Project Featuring Animals

CASE A Project Featuring Animals meets Hugs & Healing

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #532 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Rebecca Scurr, as you take this week’s Blog Hop or perhaps arrived directly here; either way I am delighted you are here. At the end of my blog, I have linked to Monique Fielder so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues as inspiration and each week we have a different theme to guide our CASEing. To CASE is to "Copy And Selectively Edit" or some say "Copy And Share Everything". This week we are CASE-ing projects that feature animals. The card I CASED can be found on page 95 of the 2025-2026 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

Here is my card adjacent to the  card I CASEd in the Annual Catalogue

I have been time poor & not well so I decided to create a simple CASE of a card on page 95 - one with a line drawing of a little dog. I couldn’t resist using a different dog as the focal point. The Hugs & Healing stamp set include really cute images and as I only recently heard about a friends illness this image seemed perfect.

I coloured this cute little dog with Stampin’ Blends combos, ie Cloud Cover, Misty Moonlight, Crumb Cake and Secret Sea plus my trusty Colour Lifter. He was then fussy cut.

The card base is Basic Beige as is the panel spanning the card with the sentiment. A Basic White card-stock panel was layered on the front then a smaller piece of dappled Basic Beige DSP (from the coming Peaceful Garden DSP) was dry embossed with the Mini Corrugated Embossing Folder. This embossing folder is now on the “Last Chance List” so if you like it act quickly before it sells out.

Finishing touches included adding some Basic Beige paw prints, a little Secret Sea splattering, Secret Sea Faux Linen Ribbon and some Secret Sea In Colour Flat Pearls.

Thank you so much for calling in on your way around the Blog Hop for CASEing the Catty Challenge #532.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the wonderful Monique Fielder. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I wonder which project she has CASEd - I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project that you have created for this Challenge which has been inspired by any project featuring animals. 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 once anpproved 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 so love to see your creation that you especially created for this challenge.

 

#ctc532 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #hugs&healing  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam

CASEing the Catty #526 - CASE A Tag Sketch

CASE A Tag Sketch meets Charming Day

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #526 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Julia Quinn, as you take this week’s Blog Hop or perhaps arrived directly here; either way I am delighted you are here. At the end of my blog, I have linked to Peta Stephen so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues as inspiration and each week we have a different theme to guide our CASEing. To CASE is to "Copy And Selectively Edit" or some say "Copy And Share Everything". This week we are CASE-ing the sketches for tags found on page 24 of the 2025-26 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

The tag sketch I am CASEing is the sketch on the top row and 2nd from the left.

My CASE uses some die cuts overlapping circles in the background with flowers sitting on the largest circle. Instead of landscape, my card is portrait. The sentiment is in a different position but is a long straight sentiment. That is the thing with CASEing - sometimes you can take aspects of the sketch or project, but not everything.

I had a number of different sized circular Stylish Shapes die cuts on my desk, so played with them to find a nice arrangement on a card front. Before adhering them down, the Basic White panel was de-bossed with the Pressed Flowers Embossing Folder. A little partial blending was added to a few of the die cuts to add some Darling Duckling glow.

The larger image from a coming On-Line Exclusive called Charming Day bundle was stamped onto some Basic White card-stock in one of my favourite inks from the new 2025-2027 In Colours, ie Secret Sea. The flowers are so pretty and beautiful to colour.

The flowers and leaves were coloured with Stampin’ Blends combos, that is Berry Burst and touches of Fresh Freesia for the flowers and Granny Apple Green for the leaves and touches of Colour Lifter to add highlights. This was die cut with coordinating Charming Day dies.

A piece of White ribbon from the Ribbon Starter pack was cut in half lengthwise and both pieces were tied into a bow and tucked under some of the leaves. I had some sentiments made with the More Messages stamp and dies on Secret Sea card-stock so used the Happy Birthday greeting as it was long and thin like the sketch. A few Berry Burst Purple Fine Shimmer Gems were scattered around to add a little glimmer.

Just a little simple stamping of the larger floral stamp in Secret Sea Classic ink was added to the Basic White card inner with a little Darling Duckling blending. A Basic White C6 Envelope was decorated in the same way.

Thanks so much for calling in on your way around the CASEing the Catty Blog hop for Challenge #526.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the lovely Peta Stephen . Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I wonder which sketch she has CASEd - I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project that you have created for this Challenge which has been inspired by the tag sketches shown on page 24 of the 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 once anpproved 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 so love to see your creation.

 

#ctc508 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #charmingday  #stylishshapes #moremessages #pressedflowers #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam

Funky Folds Blog Hop #11

ANYTHING GOES WITH A FUNKY FOLD

Welcome to the eleventh Funky Folds Blog Hop.

We are a group of like-minded paper crafters who love to make cards with funky folds. Funky actually means "modern and stylish in an unconventional or striking way"... so we are featuring cards that are not your usual rectangle/square, portrait or landscape style. Think 'easel', 'pop-up', 'gatefold', 'z-fold', 'shaped' or 3D cards etc. The list is endless. Most of the Blog Hops have an 'anything goes' theme using any type of 'funky' card fold. 

A male friend has a birthday coming up so I thought of him as I created this card. He is an active fella so I’m hoping he loves the beach. Here is my card …

I have created a 3D card with a hexagon base featuring the Beach Day stamps and dies. To fold the card so it can slide into an envelope, it’s pushed down in the centre, as shown below.

Keep squeezing the card till it is flat - well flattish. With all the card-stock layers it won’t be totally flat like a card with a fold in the middle. See the folded flattish card below. I must confess that I was so intent on creating this fold (for the first time), that I didn’t stop to think about placement of  all the pieces to enable the folded card to fit into an envelope. Oops!  It just means that I will need to make a specially tailored envelope for this card. The envelope will need an to be a bit bigger than a standard 15.5cm x 15.5cm square envelope.

The card base was cut and scored from Pool Party card-stock and the Beach Day pieces were either stamped on or die cut from Basic White card-stock.

Some of the pieces were stamped in Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin’ ink and then coloured with Stampin’ Blends Combos, including Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon, Granny Apple Green / Lemon Lime Twist, Crumb Cake and the Colour Lifter. The reeds were stamped in Granny Apple Green, the sandcastles with Crumb Cake and the Sea Gull in Smokey Slate inks. The Life-saver ring was partially coloured with a Real Red Dark Blend. The Life Saver station was lightly coloured with some Basic Beige ink and a Blending Brush. Similarly, the palm tree trunk was coloured with a little Pecan Pie ink and the palm leaves with Granny Apple Green. I think the latter Blending Brush may have previously been used with some Old Olive ink as the green looks a bit muted.

The outside edge of the hexagon base was decorated with some retired Designer Series Paper, called Waves of the Ocean DSP. The “B” side of the Season of Elegance Speciality DSP was used to create a sandy beach.

The “Happy Birthday” sentiment from the Beach Day Stamp set was stamped in Misty Moonlight ink onto some Pool Party card-stock. The sentiment was fussy cut and separated. The final touch, the addition of some Riverside Flattened Pearls.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around this Funky Folds Blog Hop. I do so appreciate that you spent time with me. I hope you like this fun project.

Up next is the lovely Cathy Pinchbeck. I am looking forward to seeing Cathy’s funky fold and to hop around to check out everyone’s’ creations in this March Funky Folds Blog Hop. Just click on the graphic below to be taken to Cathy’s blog.

Here is a list of everyone participating in Funky Folds Blog Hop - March 2025

1. Cindy Mitchell-Clark ~ UK 2. Tammy Fite - USA 3. Bronwyn Eastley - Australia 4. Julia Quinn - Handmade by Julia Quinn (Australia) 5. Tracy Held - Australia 6. Andrea Sargent - Australia  < You are here 7. Cathy Pinchbeck #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #beachday   #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam

CASEing the Catty #505 - CASE Saleabration

CASE the Sale-a-bration Brochure meets Corner in Bloom

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #505 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Rebecca Scurr, as you take this week’s Blog Hop or perhaps arrived directly here; either way I am delighted you are here. At the end of my blog, I have linked to Julia Quinn so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

At CASEing the Catty we love to use the samples from the Stampin' Up! Catalogues or On-Line as inspiration. Each week we have a different theme to guide our CASEing. To CASE is to "Copy And Selectively Edit" or some say "Copy And Share Everything". 

This week we are CASE-ing any project found in the Sale-a-bration Brochure.

There are numerous projects displayed in the Brochure. It was a hard choice this week. All the projects can be wonderful starting points for creating your project.  I chose to CASE the project below for this week’s challenge - CTC505:

I saw Emma Goddard, a UK SU Demonstrator, use the Corner in Bloom Sale-a-bration stamp set during last week’s Card and a Cuppa session so the set was top of my list to use and I thought it would work beautifully with a CASE of this project.  Here is my card:

The background was tone on tone stamped using a couple of stamps from the Linked Together stamp set. I do love the subtlety of tone on tone stamping, in this case Petal Pink Classic Stampin’ ink on Petal Pink card-stock, and don’t use this technique enough.

Instead of the diamond die from the Linked Together bundle, I used the largest long/thin hexagon die from the Nested Essentials dies to cut a Basic White hexagon. This was popped up on Dimensionals.

The largest floral corner stamp in the Corner in Bloom stamp set was inked with Gray Granite ink and stamped a couple of times on Basic White card-stock. The coordinating single floral image was stamped a number of times as well. The images were coloured with Stampin’ Blends combos, ie Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Old Olive together with the Colour Lifter to add highlights. All the coloured images were fussy cut with my trusty Snips. The flowers were arranged and adhered in place with either Dimensionals or Glue Dots.

“A happy day” was white heat embossed onto Petal Pink card-stock and then fussy cut. This sentiment was positioned with Mini Dimensionals. A bow was tied with the gorgeous Petal Pink Scalloped Ribbon and added with Glue Dots. (This ribbon is gorgeous - so soft and ties beautifully.) The final touch, some of the white Saleabration Purple Adhesive-backed Sequins to provide a touch of shimmer. (They too are beautiful.)

There were some coloured flowers remaining after completing the card front, so some were added to the Basic White card inner. Another strip of coloured flowers was added to a Basic White C6 envelope. I love it when leftover pieces can be used to decorate the envelope and inside the card to keep coordination throughout the project.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the lovely Julia Quinn. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I wonder which project she has CASEd - I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project that you have created for this Challenge which has been inspired by the 2025 Sale-a-bration Brochure. 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 once anpproved 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 so love to see your creation.  

#ctc505 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #linkedtogether  #cornerinbloom  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2025  #artisandesignteam