AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #37 Orchid Oasis

Orchid Oasis with Hot Air Balloon & Stargazing

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 beautiful deep blue/purple called Orchid Oasis. Orchid Oasis is one of the 2022-2024 In Colours that will be retiring in May. I love both this colour and Starry Sky even though initially I thought they were too similar. This colour is lovely with mauves & purples or with blues or pinks.

Orchid Oasis 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; 2022-2024 In Colors Designer Series Paper as well as Stargazing, Meandering Meadows and Perennial Lavendar DSPs; In Colour Metallic Woven Ribbon, Bakers Twine Pack; and 2022-2024 In Colour Pearls. 

Orchid Oasis ink, card-stock, Stampin’ Blends, Stampin’ Write Marker, Stargazing DSP Bakers Twine and In Colour Pearls have been used in the creation of these projects plus a range of non-Orchid Oasis bits and pieces.

I need to create 3 birthday cards for fellas - so I took up the challenge to create two of the cards using Orchid Oasis. They say for males that an interactive card is a good idea - so they are both fun folds, though different folds.

I used the Hot Air Balloon bundle from the January - April Mini Catalogue for the first card. I have seen similar folds called “Inside Out” style folds as part of the card inner can be seen from the outside. Two Basic White card-stock panels were partially die cut with the cloud like die from the Basic Borders dies to give the card a sense of clouds enveloping Hot Air Balloons floating in the sky. I needed to partially cut down one side, then move the die to cut nearer the bottom of the panel. The white panel had been cut wide enough to go across the card front plus 1cm to score and fold and adhere to the back and the central Orchid Oasis card panel.

Another panel of Basic White cardstock was coloured to give an impression of clouds. A separate piece of card-stock had been cut with the clouds border die and repeatedly positioned and coloured over using a Blending Brush with Balmy Blue and Boho Blue Classic Stampin’ inks - gradually getting darker as I moved up the panel. Similar blending was lightly added to the side cloud panels.

Using the Hot Air Balloon stamp set, 2 different sized balloons were stamped in Orchid Oasis and Lemon Lolly Classic inks on Basic White card-stock. They were cut out with the coordinating dies. Extra decorative pieces were cut from Basic White card-stock. While die cutting some clouds were also cut out. The die cut clouds and the balloon baskets also had a touch of Balmy Blue blending added. It’s not picked up in the photos, but the little baskets were dry embossed with the Twisted Rope 3D Embossing Folder. While no one may notice this little addition - it made me smile to add the texture.

The background panel was sprinkled with a little water to add some extra texture.  Some Orchid Oasis was also splattered on each panel using a Stampin’ Write Marker. The hot air balloons and clouds were positioned on the various panels with either Multi-purpose Liquid Glue or Dimensionals, ensuring a cohesive scene from the front and when the card was opened. I wanted to add some birds in the sky, but realised I didn’t have any current stamp sets with tiny birds so I drew them in with a Smoky Slate Stampin’ Write Marker.

The final touches were the addition of a hidden sentiment from the same set of stamps that was white heat embossed onto Orchid Oasis card-stock and die cut with a curved label die from the coordinating dies. I couldn’t help myself - so I added some twisted and knotted Orchid Oasis Bakers Twine around the sentiment and a few Iridescent Basic Rhinestone Jewels - just a very subtle touch of bling. 

A Basic White panel for writing a personal message was adhered to the back of the centre panel. Before the writing panel was added, an Orchid Oasis Light Blend was used to colour the edges of the white card-stock that had been adhered to the back of the card to hold the cloud panels in place. The writing panel was coloured with some blended clouds and another sentiment (from the Softly Said stamp set) was stamped in Orchid Oasis ink.  A Basic White C6 envelope was also coloured with some blended clouds. 

CARD 2:

Here it is from a different angle.

This fancy fold has been around for a number of years but recently I saw Sue Campfield, a US Demonstrator, create cards using a similar fold. I converted her Imperial measurements to suit our A4 card-stock, ensuring this card would only take half an A4 sheet of Orchid Oasis card-stock. Also, I have folded it a different way - slightly.

The scored and cut sections were covered with one of the amazing designs of the Stargazing DSP. Both the front and back sections were able to be covered using only 1 piece of DSP with a couple of strips remaining. Two designs included various colours of planets. Planets were cut using the coordinating dies from one of the sheets. A planetary ring was cut from the darker Holographic Speciality Foil. The smaller eclipse shape needed to be extended to fit around the mid size planet. Some stars were also die cut from the same Holographic Foil.

The planets and stars were adhered in place with either Multipurpose Liquid Glue or Dimensionals. A sentiment from the Season of Chic stamp set was white heat embossed on Orchid Oasis card-stock and fussy cut out. Some gorgeous Orchid Oasis 2022-2024 In Color Pearls were the finishing touch for the card front.

As mentioned, the back of the card was also covered with this beautiful DSP. I needed to fiddle a little to keep the colour and design flowing.  Extra planets were positioned and trimmed so some planets flowed across folds. A Basic White panel was added to the centre section for writing a personal message. A sentiment from the Dainty Delight stamp set was stamped in Orchid Oasis. 

A C6 Basic White Envelope had a couple of part planets from the edge of the DSP adhered in place and part of a left over strip of DSP was adhered to the envelope flap. And yes, it does fold into a C6 Envelope.

Thank you so much for dropping by on your way around the Orchid Oasis Colour Creations Blog Hop. I am sure there will be so much Orchid Oasis inspiration as you hop around. Don’t miss it.

To continue with the Orchid Oasis 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 - we always show a range of ways to use the focal colour.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Parakeet Party as we continue the weekly 2023-2024 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 just 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 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue and or the new January-April 2024 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 these projects or Stampin' Up!. 

#colourcreationsbloghop  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #hotairballoon   #stargazing  #basicborders

AWH Heart of Christmas #7

Christmas with Magical Meadow

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

This week I am showcasing the Magical Meadow bundle as Christmas card and little Gift Box. As soon as I saw the Winter Meadow suite I fell in love with it. I love the colour combination, the design, dies, sheer ribbon and gorgeous Designer Series Paper.

I have combined this delightful suite with a number of other dies, including the Radiating Stitches dies (its an online exclusive), as well as the Basic Borders dies and the Paper Florist dies that are found in Stampin’ Up!s Annual Catalogue.

I started with a piece of DSP from the Winter Meadow DSP for the card background. I didn’t want to waste the DSP that would be hidden so used the Stampin’ Trimmer to cut out a centre section. Basic White card-stock was cut with the largest Radiating Stitches die. This was trimmed down a little to enable more of the DSP to show. A strip of Thick Basic White card-stock was scored 2 mm in from the edge and the ‘V’ shaped die, from the Basic Borders dies cut a large notch from the top edge. This panel was positioned with Dimensionals.

A range of foliage was die cut from Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper using the Magic Meadows dies together with some petals from the Paper Florist dies. The foliage was wet on wet water-coloured with Lost Lagoon, Pretty Peacock and Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin’ inks using a different colour for different designed foliage. The die cut petals were water-coloured with Blueberry Bushel ink. They were put aside to dry. 

Two of the sprays of foliage included berry shapes. Metallic silver berries were added to one style of foliage and pearlised white berries to the other style of foliage using Enamel Effects. It is important to resist the temptation to touch the berries to check if they are set - they take a while. I walked away and took my dog for a walk.

The die cut background was splattered with Lost Lagoon, Pretty Peacock and Blueberry Bushel Stampin’ Write Markers. The ‘V’ cut panel was stamped with a sentiment from the Magical Meadow stamps prior to it being positioned with Dimensionals. The sentiment was coloured with Misty Moonlight and Blueberry Bushel Stampin’ Write Markers with “season of sparkle” coloured with the latter. Must admit, even in real life, it is difficult to discern the the difference.

All the foliage were positioned with Multipurpose Liquid Glue. Each of the flowers were created using the 4 sets of petals and white die cut stamens. The flowers were added to the card with Dimensionals.

A bow was tied with White and Silver Sheer Ribbon that had been cut in half lengthwise. This was adhered in place with Glue Dots. Iridescent Pearl Basic Jewels were added to the flower centres and scattered around. To add a little extra shimmer Wink of Stella also was splattered over the card.

A Basic White card inner was decorated with the ‘V’ that had been die cut from the front strip and a left over thin strip of DSP.  A C6 Basic White envelope was stamped with one of the foliage & berry sprays in Lost Lagoon ink.

Project 2

Stampin’ Up! have Scalloped Gift Card Boxes available through their Annual Catalogue. They are cute little boxes that include an extra panel with a couple of slits to hold a gift card. They are really easy to fold & burnish and don’t need any glue to form the box.

The DSP that has been cut from the centre of the card background (above) was adhered to the lid of one of the little boxes. A thin strip of the DSP was adhered to the flap to hide a blue ink smudge that mistakenly appeared. Some White & Silver Sheer Ribbon, was cut in half and tied around the lid of the box and tied into a bow. A strip of Thick Basic White card-stock was cut to the width of the box, splattered as described above and adhered over part of the ribbon with Dimensionals.

The foliage that had been die cut, water-coloured and Enamel Effects added as described above were arranged and adhered in place. A flower was added with Dimensionals. Iridescent Pearl Basic Jewels were added to the flower centre and some extra pearls were scattered.

There is much more Christmas creativity so to continue with the blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely and talented Michele Taylor. I am looking forward to checking out Michele’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyones' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week as we continue the weekly Heart of Christmas 2023 Blog Hop series. We are also blog hopping this Wednesday night featuring Daffodil Delight for the Colour Creations Blog Hop. We would love you to join us.

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 brilliant Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  She is a 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 new September-December 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 these projects or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2023  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #magicalmeadow  #radiatingstitches #paperflorist  #basicborders  #wintermeadow

AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #15 Cajun Craze

Cajun Craze with Cheerful Daisies

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 rich burnt orange called Cajun Craze. Cajun Craze is one of the Regals Colour Family and is rusty colour. This colour is lovely when used for terracotta pots, flowers/flower centres and is a great colour when creating with a fella in mind.

Cajun Craze 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; Regals Designer Series Paper as well as One Horse Open Sleigh, Les Shoppes, Delightfully Eclectic & Fresh as a Daisy DSPs; Dry Brushed Metallic Speciality Designer Series Paper; Timeless Greetings Kit; Cosy & Bright Kit; and the Wreath of Blooms Kit.  That is quite a list.

Cajun Craze card-stock and ink have been used in the creation of this project plus a range of non-Cajun Craze bits and pieces.

When thinking about the project I would create to hero Stampin’ Up!s Cajun Craze, I attended a Zoom Session with Emma Goddard, a UK Demonstrator and past Artisan. One of the projects she created was an upright flower pot. This sparked my imagination and I have been pondering how I could CASE the project, yet make it my own. Thank you Emma for sharing yourself and being so inspirational.

Changing dimensions, I created a wide-ish low pot from Thick Very Vanilla card-stock. The curved sides were shaped using the curved Basic Border die. An extra strip was cut to give the pot’s top extra depth. Cajun Craze Classic Stampin’ ink was applied to the front of the card with a Blending Brush. Colour was also applied to the extra strip. The patchy text stamp from Gorgeously Made stamps was partially stamped near edges of the “pot” and the strip with 2nd generation Cajun Craze ink. The strip was added with Dimensionals. Some water was misted over the pot to add a little extra texture. A Stampin’ Mister was used so water droplets were fine.

Using the Stampin’ Trimmer, a slit was cut in the top fold leaving 1.5cm un-cut on each end. A piece of Cajun Craze card-stock was cut wide enough to fit through the slit and was taller than the “pot” so it poked out at the top. I needed to shape the lower edges so the inner panel would not stick out from the shaped pot. A piece of Very Vanilla card-stock was cut slightly smaller.

I initially planned to create a pot of pansies but as I was about to die cut many pansy pieces to water-colour and form numerous pansies; but then … I remembered I still had a number of die cut daisy pieces that had been prepared for a demonstration of ‘water-colouring die cut pieces’. I only needed to die cut a few more pieces using the Cheerful Daisies dies. The daisies were wet on wet water-coloured with either Lemon Lolly and a little Daffodil Delight inks or Petal Pink ink. The leaves and twigs were water-coloured with Mossy Meadow ink. They were left to air dry.

All of the die cut and water-coloured pieces were formed into layered daisies and arranged using either Dimensionals, Glue Dots or Multipurpose Liquid Glue. Some of the arrangement was adhered to the pot and other pieces were adhered to the inner section so that flowers would decorate the card inner as well as the pot.

The other consideration was to ensure the finished card would fit into a normal C6 envelope.

A sentiment from the Cheerful Daisies stamp set was white embossed onto Cajun Craze card-stock, using Versamark ink, White Emboss powder (from the Basics Embossing Powder set), the Embossing Accessory kit (this is brilliant) and a Heat Tool. The sentiment was fussy cut into 2 pieces. A triple Linen Twine bow was adhered between the daisies with Glue Dots and numerous Iridescent Basic Rhinestones were scattered for touches of sparkle.

The inner section is to be used for writing one’s personal message. The only problem is - as it is so pretty with the water-coloured daisies I’m not sure if I could add my handwritten scrawl. A Very Vanilla C6 Envelope was stamped in Cajun Craze ink with the small daisies stamp from the Cheerful Daisies stamp set.

Thank you so much for calling ink to check out my Cajun Craze pot of daisies. I so appreciate your visit to the Valley Inspirations with Andrea blog.

There is more Cajun Craze creativity so continue with the 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 everyones' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Calypso Coral as we continue the weekly 2023-2024 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.  She is a 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 new Stampin' Up 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue and or the new Sept-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   #cheerfuldaisies   #gorgeouslymade  #basicborders