Social Stamping - #15 Change

Change with Lovely You & Forever Flourishing

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 15th Social Stamping Blog Host. This is the last blog hop of the weekly Social Stamping Block Host where our themes reflect life with COVID-19, however, Kelly Kent, our amazing Coordinator and Blog Host has offered to continue in this role on a monthly basis with more recognised themes.

This week our theme is "Change". They say, change is a constant, and yes, change is always with us in some form. In the past I would become anxious at change, until it dawned on me that while change may mean we enter into the unknown, it can also mean that the situation improves. Well it wasn't that easy, but I did relax more and became more proactive. Often there is an opportunity to be involved in the change or at least be proactive in handling the change. This can provide some form of influence and potential control at least over how the change may affect you. Change is often small and incremental rather than cataclysmal.

In current times we have certainly experienced change and living with COVID will be different from life pre-COVID. While for many, life has been difficult, we have also learnt much - about ourselves and those we interact with, about general hygiene principals, about technological ways of keeping in touch, the list could go on. 

So what does all this mean in terms of this weeks projects? I have chosen a layout that I first saw Emma Goddard use. After starting my cards I realised that "Just Add Ink" are using a similar layout for their challenge this week.

I started with 3 card front panels that were all the same size. One was a piece of Whisper White card-stock that had been stamped all over with the Lovely You stamp set using the Baby Wipe technique. I had used bottles of Re-inkers, ie Blackberry Bliss, Rococo Rose and Blushing Bride; dripping these colours randomly onto folded baby wipes. This became my stamp pad. I love the soft blending of colours created using this method. The other panels were Blackberry Bliss card-stock and a piece of Rainbow Glimmer paper. Each of the front panels were stacked together and two cuts were made creating 3 angled pieces in each panel. These pieces were swapped around so that new card fronts would be created using one of each of the different panels. 

This changing of panel pieces, created 3 different and individual card fronts. Each is unique and each is beautiful in its own way. This change created a new beauty.

To reinforce and support the beauty of the differences, the cards were further created with different features. The front panels of the cards directly above and below were adhered to a Rococo Rose card front with a small gap between the angled pieces and a small boarder around the edge. They were directly adhered to the Blackberry Bliss card-stock base. The labels for these 2 cards were created using the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch, although one sentiment was heat embossed with Whisper White Emboss Powder while the other was stamped in Blackberry Bliss. Differing card-stock was also used.

Different die cut pieces using the Forever Flourishing dies were added as focal pieces, that is different leaf sprays cut from different card-stock. The embellishments were different as well, as the first card has a bow from discontinued Whisper White Bakers Twine. I used the Bakers Twine as it has a similar look to the white embossed sentiment. The second card has a bow created from Whisper White Crinkled Seam Binding that was coloured with Blackberry Bliss (Dark) Blend. Both card fronts were finished with a few Basic Rhinestone Jewels that were also coloured with the Dark Blend.

With the 3rd card, the card front pieces were adhered directly to the Blackberry Bliss card-stock card base and no gap was left between pieces.

The sentiment from the Forever Fern stamp set was stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink on a label die cut from the Tasteful Label dies and a circle punched out using a 2" Circle punch. All the labels were popped up on Dimensionals. A leaf spray was cut from the Rainbow Glimmer paper using a different die from the Forever Flourishing dies. Coloured Basic Rhinestones were also added, but no ribbon.

All cards have a similar card inner with a softly variegated leaf spray stamped on the inner panel and a thin strip of Rainbow Glimmer paper. You may notice in some of the photos, that I also like to stamp on the envelope so that it ties in with the card it holds. A leaf spray was stamped on each envelope in Blackberry Bliss ink.

The set of cards are all similar, however, numerous aspects have been changed. For me, these changes are interesting and create different, though still lovely, effects. Changes we face may not be easy, but we can make the best of them if we face the changes positively and proactively. Thank you for allowing me to share one of the lessons I have learnt over many years.

I do appreciate that you have taken time to visit the Valley Inspirations blog. Please contact me if you would like any further information about the cards in this blog; or if you live in Australia and would like a new Annual Catalogue posted to you; or if I can help in any other way.

I hope you are enjoying this week's Social Stamping Blog Host that has focused on the theme - "Change". If you started at the beginning with our amazing Social Stamping Host, Kelly Kent, then you can either click here to be transferred to Shannon Kissane at the Crafting Engineer to see her gorgeous creation or click on the 'Next' graphic below; or if you would prefer to go to the full list of participants click on this link to be taken to Kelly Kent's Host blog post at My Papercraft Journey where you will find individual links that can take you to each person's blog.

Do look after yourself and your loved ones in these changing times. 

Hope to see you again later in the month (Saturday, 25 July) when the Social Stamping Blog Host theme is "sympathy". This will be the first blog hop of our monthly Social Stamping Blog Hop.

Andrea 😘

  

List of Products used to create these cards:

Stamps, Dies & Punches

• Lovely You stamp set - #152525
• Forever Flourishing dies - #152714
• Tasteful Labels dies - #152886
• Lovely Labels Pick a Punch - #152883
• 2" Circle Punch - #133782

Inks & Applicators

• Blackberry Bliss ink pad - #147092
• Blackberry Bliss Classic ink refill - #133648
• Petal Pink ink refil - #147169
• Rococo Rose ink refil - #150089
• Versamark ink pad - #102283
• White Stampin' Emboss Powder - #109132
• White Craft Stampin ink pad - #147277
• Sponge Daubers - #133773
• Blackberry Bliss Stampin Blends Combo -  #154877

Paper

• Whisper White card-stock - #106549
• Blackberry Bliss card-stock - #133682
• Rococo Rose card-stock - #150888
• Vellum Card-stock - #106584
• Rainbow Glimmer Paper- #153056
• C6 Whisper White envelopes - #106589

Embellishments

• Rhinestone Basic Jewels - #144220
• Whisper White Crinkled Seam Binding - #151326
• Whisper White Butchers Twine - Discontinued

Adhesives

• Multipurpose Liquid Glue - #110755
• Mini Glue Dots - #103683
• Tear & Tape Adhesive - #138995
• Mini Stampin' Dimensionals - #144108
• Stampin' Dimensionals - #104430

Tools

• Take Your Pick Tool - #144107
• Bone Folder - #102300
• Paper Snips - #103579
• Paper Trimmer - #152392
• Stamparatus - #148187
• Block D - #118485
• Block E - #118484
• Block H - #118490
• Grid Paper - #130148
• Silicone Craft Mat - #127857
• Stamping Sponge - #141337
• Simple Shammy - #147042
• Heat Tool - #129056
• Stampin Cut & Emboss Machine - #149653
• Magnetic Cutting Plate - #149656

Social Stamping - #13 Thinking of You

Thinking of You with Forever Greenery Suite +

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Social Stamping Blog Hop for another week. This is our 13th week of blog hopping together with huge Thanks to Kelly Kent - our amazing coordinator. Our theme this week is "Thinking of You".

I hope you have been enjoying all the projects that have been inspired by the "Thinking of You" theme.  Even though we are gradually moving out of intense COVID-19 restrictions, there are still many limitations, including crossing State borders (that is in a number of states) requiring quarantining. We are still limited in visiting family and friends who live over state borders or overseas. Sending a "Thinking of you" message across the miles/kilometres is so important so special folk know that you care. Here's my card that will be travelling across borders, as its not easy for me to cross Australia:

This was one of those cards that didn't fall into place easily. Initially, I had a different type of leaf spray in mind but when it didn't balance well, I changed plans, removed some elements and added flowers. Even though I love the Forever Greenery colour palette, I thought I would use a different colour scheme. I am very partial to the combination of Very Vanilla, Petal Pink and Gold and have also added a hint of Crumb Cake.

The card base was cut from Thick Very Vanilla card-stock. The card front was created with a central panel of Very Vanilla card-stock that was mounted on Petal Pink card-stock and thin strips were cut from Gold Foil card-stock. The central piece of Very Vanilla was embossed using one of the Greenery embossing folders. Both embossing folders are gorgeous; and this one has leaf sprays from both the top and bottom.

One of the card's design feature is the gorgeous fine Gold Hoop embellishment. Just love it. It appears to be hung in place with the soft ribbon and gold thread from the Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack. Another beautiful element is a gold spray of leaves from the Forever Gold Laser-cut Speciality Paper. The tiny gold leaves pop out from behind the flowers. Other sprays of leaves were cut in Vellum card-stock using the lovely Forever Flourishing dies. The camera hasn't picked up the vellum leaves very well to show their subtle effect. I had stamped and cut a range of different leaves from the delightful Forever Fern stamp set (a distinktive designed set). While these leaves will be used on another project, the splatter stamp from the set was used to add some light Petal Pink & Crumb Cake splatters. The sentiment came from the new Lovely You stamp set and was stamped in Flirty Flamingo ink to enable the sentiment to stand out more than if I had used Petal Pink. The colour is similar, just a little brighter. I quite often like to use a strong colour that compliments the card's colour scheme as a change from the sentiment being in black.

The flowers were die cut from Petal Pink card-stock using the Ornate Borders dies. To add extra interest and softness, the flower edges were sponged using a Sponge Dauber with Petal Pink ink and some White Craft Pigment ink was sponged lightly on the centre of the flowers. Each flower was squished into firm foam to give shape before being adhered to the card front. Basic Pearls were added to the centre of each flower and 3 small pearls were also scattered nearby.

The card inner was created with a centralised panel of Very Vanilla card-stock with 2 thin strips of Petal Pink card-stock adhered on either side. This lessened the bulk of another layer of card-stock. The Forever Fern splatters were stamped in Petal Pink ink with small Crumb Cake and vellum leaf sprays that were tied with the Gold Trim. A 'Thinking of You' sentiment from the Beautiful Moments stamp set was stamped in Flirty Flamingo ink and fussy cut in 2 pieces. 

Thank you for visiting the Valley Inspirations blog. I do appreciate you spending time with me. Please contact me if you would like any further information about the card; or if you live in Australia and would like a new Annual Catalogue posted to you; or if I can help in any other way.

I hope you are enjoying this week's Social Stamping Blog Hop that has focused on the theme - Thinking of You. If you started at the beginning with our amazing Social Stamping Host, Kelly Kent, then you have hopped through to the last blog for this week. If you started 'hopping' part way through, or have jumped around, then either click here to be transferred to Kelly Kent at My Papercraft Journey to see her gorgeous creation or click on the 'Next' graphic below; or if you would prefer to go to the full list of participants click on this link to be taken to Kelly Kent's Host blog post where you will find individual links that can take you to each person's blog.

Do look after yourself and your loved ones in these strange times.

Hope to see you again next week when the Social Stamping Blog Hop theme is "Out of the Box".

Andrea 😘

  

List of Products used to create these cards:

Stamps, Dies & Punches

• Forever Fern stamp set - #152559
• Lovely You stamp set - #152525
• Beautiful Moments stamp set - #151677
• Forever Flourishing dies - #152714
• Ornate Borders - #152724

Inks & Applicators

• Petal Pink ink pad - #150080
• Crumb Cake ink pad - #102283
• Flirty Flamingo ink pad - #147118
• White Craft Stampin ink pad - #147277
• Sponge Daubers - #133773

Paper

• Very Vanilla card-stock - #106550
• Very Vanilla Thick card-stock - #144238
• Petal Pink card-stock - #147009
• Forever Gold Laser-cut Speciality Paper - #152493
• Vellum Card-stock - #106584
• Gold Foil - #132622
• C6 Very Vanilla envelopes - #106589

Embellishments

• Pearl Basic Jewels - #144219
• Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack - #152479
• Gold Hoops Embellishments - #152474

Adhesives

• Multipurpose Liquid Glue - #110755
• Mini Glue Dots - #103683
• Tear & Tape Adhesive - #138995
• Mini Stampin' Dimensionals - #144108
• Stampin' Dimensionals - #104430

Tools

• Greenery Embossing Folders - #152716
• Take Your Pick Tool - #144107
• Bone Folder - #102300
• Paper Snips - #103579
• Paper Trimmer - #152392
• Stamparatus - #148187
• Block D - #118485
• Block E - #118484
• Block H - #118490
• Grid Paper - #130148
• Silicone Craft Mat - #127857
• Simple Shammy - #147042
• Heat Tool - #129056
• Stampin Cut & Emboss Machine - #149653
• Magnetic Cutting Plate - #149656

Art With Heart Creative Showcase - June 2020

Wow. Gorgeous New Stampin’ Up! Products

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Team's Monthly Creative Showcase for June.

This week we are featuring projects using some of our favourite products from the new Stampin’ Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue. The new catalogue is full of amazing new stamp sets, some bundled with dies or punches. The range of kits, papers and accessories complete a new catalogue of great products and you will see some of the loveliness featured in this month's Showcase.

I have been stalking the delivery vans for my order of new products from the new Annual Catalogue and at last it arrived ... this afternoon. No time to open it before this blog goes live, however, as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, we have a special opportunity to purchase select new products the month prior to the Catalogue 'go live' date. It is one of the great privileges of being a Demo. 

I bought the gorgeous In Good Taste Suite during pre-order. I so love this suite; the images, the labels, the coordinating Designer Series Paper and the embellishments. Another love from the new catalogue is the Forever Greenery Suite - so gorgeous. I've used products from both the Good Taste  and the Forever Greenery Suites in my card.

This card uses one of the stunning designs from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper as the background. There are so many wood, tile, marble and woven neutral designs. A piece of the tile DSP was mounted on Whisper White card-stock. (I won't describe the problems I had with this simple step - enough to say that in the end 2 pieces of the white card-stock were adhered and then trimmed down, with the front panel finally mounted on a 3rd piece of Whisper White card-stock.)  I chose this DSP design as it coordinated well with the Rococo Rose stamped roses from the Tasteful Touches stamp set. The roses were stamped on a seperate piece of Whisper White card-stock, coloured with Stampin' Blends and then fussy cut. The leaf spray from the same stamp set was stamped diagonally on the card front in Gray Granite ink. A piece of Rococo Rose Scalloped Linen Ribbon was adhered across the middle (some Tear & Tape adhesive worked brilliantly). There is a luscious Gold Metallic Trim in the Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack. I divided out a couple of threads from a piece of this trim and circled them over the DSP.  

One of the leaf dies from the Forever Flourishing dies was used to cut a couple of leaf sprays in Vellum and 4 small dies cut little leaf sprays in Champagne Foil. (It's great the way Stampin' Up! provide multiple dies of certain pieces that you are likely to cut multiple elements for a card as it reduces the number of passes through the Die Cutting Machine.) A few wooden leaf accents from the In Good Taste Elements were selected as well. All these pieces were arranged, with some adhered directly to the card front and the flowers popped up with Dimensionals. 

The sentiment came from the continuing Butterfly Wishes stamp set and it was stamped in Versamark ink on Rococo Rose card-stock and heat embossed using White Stampin' Emboss powder. The sentiment was cut out using the Paper Trimmer and the ends flagged with Paper Snips. To finish the card front, a few Gilded Gems were added. The card front was adhered to a Gray Granite card-stock card base.

As usual I have added a coordinating piece of Whisper White card-stock inside the card that had the rose also stamped in Rococo Rose ink and a strip of the same DSP at the bottom.

I only have one card to share for this Showcase. I had a couple of other cards also designed in my mind - but time has run out. I hope my card has spiked some ideas for you to try.

 

Thanks for visiting Valley Inspirations. I do really appreciate you spending time with me.

 

The next Art With Heart Team member to share their new catalogue project is Amie McIlroy at Eager to Stamp. Click on Aimie's name or the Graphic below to see her project featuring gorgeous new products.

  

I am so blessed to be apart of such a talented team. Knowing each of my colleagues in this Creative Showcase, I am sure that they have some amazing projects to share with you. Don't miss checking out each of their blogs. If you have a broken link or have come to this blog hop midway, you can view all the participants' blogs listed below. Click on their names to be taken to their respective blogs:

Rachel Woollard

Rebecca Jacovou

Sharon Davern

Tina Gillespie

Vicki Boucher

Caroline Manwaring

Catherine Proctor

Andrea Sargent <You are here>

Amie McIlroy

Kathryn Mangelsdorf

Kate Morgan

Michele Taylor

Do come back next month for July's Art With Heart Team Creative Showcase. We are going to be showcasing various colouring techniques. It will be so much fun - as you can tell, I love colouring and are continuing to learn new techniques and improve my skill level.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you are in Australia and would like a copy of the newly released Stampin' Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue, or if you have any queries that I could help with.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones,

Andrea 😘

List of Products used to create these cards:

Stamps, Dies & Punches

• Tasteful Touches stamp set - #152562
• Butterfly Wishes stamp set - #149346
• Forever Flourishing dies - #152714

Inks

• Rococo Rose ink pad - #150080
• Versamark ink pad - #102283
• Gray Granite ink pad - #147118
• Colour Lifter Stampin Blends - #144608
• Rococo Rose Light & Dark Stampin Blends - #154900
• Petal Pink Light & Dark Stampin Blends - #154893
• White Stampin' Emboss Powder - #109132

Paper

• Whisper White card-stock - #106549
• Whisper White Thick card-stock - #140490
• Gray Granite card-stock - #147008
• Rococo Rose card-stock - #150888
• In Good Taste Designer Series Paper - #152494
• Vellum Card-stock - #106584
• Champagne Foil - #144748
• C6 Whisper White envelopes - #106588

Embellishments

• Gilded Gems - #152478
• Rococo Rose Scalloped Linen Ribbon - #149704
• Gold Trim in the Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack - #152479
• In Good Taste Elements - #152476

Adhesives

• Multipurpose Liquid Glue - #110755
• Mini Glue Dots - #103683
• Mini Stampin' Dimensionals - #144108
• Tear & Tape Adhesive - #138995
• Stampin' Dimensionals - #104430

Tools

• Take Your Pick Tool - #144107
• Bone Folder - #102300
• Paper Snips - #103579
• Paper Trimmer - #152392
• Stamparatus - #148187
• Block D - #118485
• Block E - #118484
• Block H - #118490
• Grid Paper - #130148
• Silicone Craft Mat - #127857
• Simple Shammy - #147042
• Heat Tool - #129056
• Stampin Cut & Emboss Machine - #149653
• Magnetic Cutting Plate - #149656

Art With Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop - #2 Basic Gray

Basic Gray with Tasteful Touches

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and to the 2nd Colour Creations Showcase by members of the Art with Heart Team. Each week we will hero one of Stampin' Up!s colours and over the coming year we will work through all current colours, that is all the colours in the colour families, ie Subtles, Brights, Regals and Neutrals; plus two years of In Colours, ie 2019-2021 & 2020-2022. I hope you have been enjoying all the projects that have been inspired by this week's colour - 'Basic Grey'.

Our projects this week must include Basic Gray but we can use any other current colours in the project. Basic Gray is classified as one of Stampin' Up!s Neutral colour families. This is not a colour I have played with very much, but I have enjoyed working with it this week. As a Neutral colour, it is able to be combined with many other colours. Both my projects have combined Basic Gray with Petal Pink - a delightful combination. In one of the cards I have also used Pool Party and with my second card I have added some gold. 

For my first card I stamped the delightful rose from the Tasteful Touches stamp set in Basic Gray ink. The rose was stamped on Whisper White card-stock at various angles without overlapping and covered the card front. The card front was then fully coloured with Stampin' Blends - Dark & Light Petal Pink for the flowers (with a touch of Light Flirty Flamingo) and the background was coloured with Dark & Light Pool Party (and accidentally a touch of Bermuda Bay). This colour scheme was inspired by retired Speciality Designer Series Paper, ie the Parisians Blossoms SDSP. I wasn't sure of the colour combo once completing the colouring and was going to colour another card front - however, I ran out of time with unplanned happenings taking all spare moments. I will try to make another card and hope to upload it in a couple of days to give something to compare this one with.

The card front was mounted on Petal Pink card-stock and then on Basic Gray card base. An extra rose was stamped in Basic Gray ink on a spare piece of Whisper White card-stock, coloured with Stampin' Blends and then fussy cut. One of the sentiments from the Tasteful Touches stamp set was also stamped in Basic Gray ink and fussy cut. Two of the coordinating Tasteful Labels were die cut from Whisper White card-stock.

The labels, fussy cut rose and sentiment were arranged together with a piece of Metallic Edged ribbon (coloured with a Petal Pink Dark Stampin' Blend) in the centre of the card front. A few Gold Gilded Gems were scattered to finish the card design.

A piece of Whisper White card-stock, stamped with the same Basic Gray roses, was adhered inside the card to tie the whole card together.

My second card was based on a card designed by Emma Goddard and made during an on-line class. As part of my COVID-19 Survival Plan I have participated in a number of Emma Goddard's On-line classes, including her Card and a Cuppa classes every Friday. Emma is such a gem and it has been delightful to get to know her and the lovely ladies that also signed up for Emma's classes. This card is similar but different to Emma's. Emma used the gorgeous Celebrate Sunflower stamp set and different colours, leaves and embellishments, etc, etc. The layout and concept is similar and I have included it in this blog as we both used Basic Gray ink. I love, love, love Petal Pink with Basic Gray - which is the colour combo for my card.

The card front has been partially embossed with one of the new Greenery Embossing folders. The round Swirly Frame was stamped in Basic Gray ink and die cut with the largest circle from the Stitched Shapes dies. The gorgeous rose was also stamped in Basic Gray and coloured with Light and Dark Petal Pink Stampin Blends. A little So Saffron was added to the flower centre. The rose was fussy cut. Leaves were die cut in Vellum, Basic Gray and Gold Foil card-stock using the new Forever Flourishing dies (I love them too). A piece of Gold Metallic Edge Ribbon was coloured with a Dark Petal Pink Blends pen. A sentiment from the Tasteful Touches stamp set was stamped in Basic Gray and fussy cut.

The Swirly Frames label was popped up on Dimensionals. All the other elements were arranged, as you can see.

A piece of Whisper White card-stock was stamped and coloured in a similar way to the rose on the card, to tie the card front and card inner.

Thanks for dropping by to check out my 'Basic Gray' projects for this week's Colour Creations Showcase for 2020-2021. I hope you like the cards. I would love to hear if something caught your attention.

There will be so much more inspiration in the weeks to come, so pease join us over the coming weeks. The Creative Showcase will go live at 8.00pm EST each Wednesday. 

The lovely Catherine Proctor is hosting the Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase each week. If you haven't finished checking out the team's colour creations, you can visit Catherine's page, at What Cathy Made, where she has links to all the other Showcase participants.

Take care and look after yourself and your loved ones.

Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Andrea  😘

List of Products used to create these cards:

Stamps & Dies

• Tasteful Touches stamp set - #152562
• Tasteful Labels dies - #152886
• Forever Flourishing dies - #152714

Inks

• Basic Gray ink pad - #149169
• Petal Pink ink pad - #147169
• Colour Lifter Stampin Blends - #144608
• Petal Pink Light & Dark Stampin Blends - #154893
• Pool Party Light & Dark Stampin Blends - #154894
• Flirty Flamingo Light Stampin Blends - #154884
• Bermuda Bay Light Stampin Blends - #154878

Paper

• Whisper White card-stock - #106549
• Whisper White Thick card-stock - #140490
• Basic Gray card-stock - #121689
• Petal Pink card-stock - #147009
• Vellum card-stock - #106584
• Gold Foil - #132622
• C6 Whisper White envelopes - #106588

Embellishments

• Gold Gilded Gems - #152478
• Pearl Basic Jewels - #144219
• Metallic Edged Ribbon - #144146

Adhesives

• Multipurpose Liquid Glue - #110755
• Mini Glue Dots - #103683
• Mini Stampin' Dimensionals - #144108
• Stampin' Dimensionals - #104430

Tools

• Greenery embossing folder - #152716
• Take Your Pick Tool - #144107
• Bone Folder - #102300
• Paper Snips - #103579
• Paper Trimmer - #152392
• Stamparatus - #148187
• Block D - #118485
• Grid Paper - #130148
• Silicone Craft Mat - #127857
• Simple Shammy - #147042
• Stampin Cut & Emboss Machine - #149653
• Magnetic Cutting Plate - #149656