Social Stamping - #19 Merry & Bright

Merry & Bright with In the Pines

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 19th and final for 2020 Social Stamping Blog Host. Thank you so much Kelly for instigating and coordinating the Social Stamping Blog Hop. For me, this blog hop has certainly helped me through this very strange year of COVID-19. Sharing paper crafting is such a delight.

This month's Social Stamping theme is Merry & Bright, which I have interpreted as a happy Christmas theme. When thinking about what I would make, I decided to create a card based on a ATC I created earlier in the year - that's right, it was only last month. What is an ATC you ask? The letters stand for Artistic Trading Cards. They are similar to Sporting Trading Cards. I am part of the Art with Heart team and for many years a number of us have been creating ATCs based around a technique or theme to share with others in the share. It has been a brilliant way to learn new techniques and challenge myself to design within  2.5" x 3.5". Here is the ATC I created for the Plaid challenge last month, where we needed to create our own plaid/tartan with watercolour. 

I have been intending to create full size cards based on my ATCs, but haven't created many, so decided to try with this design. Here is my Christmas card for you in this final 2020 Social Stamping Blog Hop:

The first task in creating this card was to create a plaid. I used Shimmery White card-stock cut a little bigger than the strip I needed so I could trim it down if the edges were a bit mucky. I painted a stripe every 3/4" in watered down Rococo Rose Classic Stampin' ink using the mid size Water Painter. Then I painted a stripe in Petal Pink Classic Stampin' ink next to the Rococo Rose stripe, leaving an un-inked white stripe. The card-stock piece was turned 90 degrees and the same painting process was carried out. 

Once dry, Rococo Rose and Petal Pink Stampin' Write markers were used to draw a thin stripe on the edge of the same colour stripe using the thicker nib. Then using the thinest tip of the Rococo Rose marker two thin stripes were drawn near the thicker Rococo Rose stripe. All the stripes were drawn and then the card-stock was again turned 90 degrees and the same stripes were drawn at 90 degrees to the first stripes. As you can see, the plaid is not perfect like a woven tartan or printed design. That's fine - ! love the relaxed water-colour bleeding of colours. 

The background is a piece of Petal Pink card-stock that was embossed with the Evergreen Forrest 3D embossing folder. Some White Craft ink was lightly dragged over the embossed trees with a Sponge Dauber to delicately highlight the trees in the background. To add some "stars" to the sky, Frost White Shimmer Paint was splattered using the Water Painter. This background was adhered directly to the Rococo Rose card-stock base.

The plaid piece was positioned with Dimensionals. Three trees were die cut with the Pine Woods dies from Shimmery White card-stock. I little of the Frost White Shimmer Paint was painted on the trees, reminiscent of snow on the tips of the branches, to add a little shimmer. I so love the In the Pines bundle, as you may have guessed if you follow by blog.

A circle of Vellum, cut with the Layered Circle dies, was adhered to one side over the plaid. The two smaller trees were partially tucked under the Vellum circle and adhered directly to the plaid. The larger tree was placed over the Vellum circle with Mini Dimensionals. A sentiment from the coordinating In the Pines stamp set was stamped in Versamark on Rococo Rose card-stock and heat embossed with White Emboss Powder. The sentiment was fussy cut and positioned with both Multipurpose Liquid Glue and Mini Dimensionals. Snowflake Adhesive-backed Embellishments were added as the finishing touch. They are so pretty.

A piece of Whisper White card-stock was stamped a couple of times with the group of little trees from the In the Pines stamp set using Petal Pink and Rococo Rose Classic Stampin' inks. The stamp was inked in Petal Pink and then bits of the stamp were daubed with Rococo Rose and then stamped. A thin strip of the plaid was also adhered to the bottom of the card inner. A C6 Whisper White envelope was similarly stamped with the little trees across the bottom front of the envelope.

I hope you are enjoying this month's Social Stamping Blog Hop which has focused on the "Merry & Bright" theme. If you started at the beginning with our amazing Social Stamping Host, Kelly Kent, then the next in line is the lovely Sandra Collet at Sanzstamps. Use this link to see her gorgeous creation or click on the 'Next' graphic below. 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 all the individual links that can take you to each person's blog.

I hope to see you again next year - let's hope it is a better year for us all. I'm not sure whether the Social Stamping Blog Host will continue - keep an eye on Kelly Kent's blog.

Do look after yourself and your loved ones. I hope you enjoy an amazing Christmas and New Year. Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others in these strange times. 

Andrea 😘

  

Heart of Christmas - November 2020

Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas 2020 with In the Pines

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the final Heart of Christmas Showcase for 2020. It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here next month.

While I have needed to take a break from blogging for a few weeks due to health and other  demands, I couldn't resist participating in this last 2020 Heart of Christmas Showcase. 

The two cards that I am sharing had their genesis in the Highland Heather Colour Creations Showcase. I needed to pull out of that Showcase but had already started some creating, including the water-coloured background used in Project 1 and the water-coloured trees used on Project 2.

PROJECT 1:

To create the background, Fluid 100 Water-color paper was heat embossed with a sentiment from the For Unto Us stamp set, using a Versamark ink pad, White Stampin' Emboss powder and a Heat Gun. The background used the wet on wet water-colouring technique with Balmy Blue, Highland Heather and Pool Party Classic Stampin' ink. 

The water-colour emboss resist technique gives an amazing effect. After being left to dry naturally, the water-coloured paper was trimmed to size and then dry embossed with the oh so gorgeous Evergreen Forrest 3D Embossing folder. This background was mounted on a piece of Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper (DSP) and then to the Highland Heather card  base.

The white trees were die cut from Shimmery White card-stock with the Pine Woods dies and a number of trees were also cut from Vellum card-stock. The Vellum trees were adhered directly to the water-coloured backgrounded the Shimmery White trees were popped up on a thin strip of Dimensionals positioned at the centre of the tree.

A sentiment from the In the Pines stamp set was heat embossed using Versamark ink and White Stampin' Emboss powder on Highland Heather card-stock. This was fussy cut and then partially adhered to the top tree with Multi-purpose Liquid glue and Mini Dimensionals under the word 'You'.

Finishing touches were made with the addition of some Snowflake Adhesive-Backed embellishments. A piece of the Misty Moonlight/Silver twine from the Flowers for Every Season Ribbon Combo pack was coloured with a Dark Highland Heather Blend and tied around the spine of the card and tied in a bow near the top of the card.

A piece of Whisper White card-stock was stamped a couple of times with a group of little trees from the In the Pines stamp set using Balmy Blue and Highland Heather Classic Stampin' inks. Part of the stamp was inked in Balmy Blue and then the other section of the stamp was inked with Highland Heather and then stamped. A thin strip of the water-coloured paper was also adhered to the card inner. A C6 Whisper White envelope was similarly stamped across the bottom front of the envelope.

PROJECT 2:

The second card has a similar colour scheme and uses many of the same products, though the areas coloured and areas in white are reversed.

The background of the card front was created from a piece of Whisper White card-stock that was dry embossed with the Evergreen Forest 3D Embossing folder. This was adhered to a Purple Posy card base with Multi-purpose Liquid Glue. A star from the Curvy Christmas Stamp set was stamped above the trees in Balmy Blue Classic Stampin ink and stamped off twice.

To add some texture and dimension, a piece of Whisper White card-stock the same width of the card front was die cut with the simpler curvy die from the Pine Wood dies and some White Embossing Paste was smeared over to represent uneven snow texture. Once dry, this piece was popped in place at the bottom of the card front with Dimensionals.

The trees were cut from Shimmery White card-stock and water-coloured with Balmy Blue, Pool Party and Highland Heather Classic Stampin' ink. This effect was achieved by tapping the ink onto a block and lightly spritzing with some water. The wet inks were finger painted directly onto the die cut trees with a gloved hand. Finger painting the trees was such fun and let my inner child play. The trees were left to dry naturally.

Once dry the trees were lightly painted with some Frost White Shimmer Paint to add a little sparkle and a sense of snow. The coloured trees were positioned with some Vellum trees underneath. The Vellum trees were adhered to the background with Multi-purpose Liquid Glue and the water-coloured trees were popped in place with thin strips of Dimensionals.

A sentiment from the Wrapped In Christmas stamp set was stamped in Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' ink on Whisper White card-stock and then cut with a small die from the Ornate Frames dies. The label was positioned with Dimensionals. Some Snowflake Adhesive-backed Embellishments added the finishing touch.

The card inner was created from a piece of Whisper White card-stock that was stamped with a sentiment from the For Unto Us stamp set in Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' ink. This darker shade of purple was chosen to more clearly define the sentiment. 

As with the first project, above, trees were stamped across the base of the card inner using Balmy Blue and Purple Posy Classic Stampin' ink. (As a Demonstrator, I was able to order the 2019-2021 In Colours prior to the Purple Posy ink being discontinued. This lighter shade of purple could also be achieved by stamping off Highland Heather Classic ink.) The envelope was similarly stamped with the same stamp and ink across the bottom front of a C6 Whisper White envelope.

Thank you for sharing the Heart of Christmas 2020 Showcase for November. I hope you are enjoying the blog hop and finding inspiration. We are always excited to see each others creations and always inspired by one another.

Judy May, our amazing coordinator (who does a wonderful job of keeping us in line), has all the links to the other participant's blogs for this November's Heart of Christmas 2020 Showcase. Click here to visit/revisit to Judy's blog at Just Judy Designs to find more Christmas inspiration. 

It is such a blessing to share with my talented colleagues and so I am sure there will be wonderful projects to inspire in each blog, so do drop by.  

I hope you have enjoyed the Heart of Christmas Showcase for 2020 and found inspiration over the past months. I really appreciate you dropping by and visiting Valley Inspirations.

Also, please don't hesitate to contact me if you are in Australia and would like a copy of the  Stampin' Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalogue or the August - December 2020 Mini Catalogue; or if you have any queries that I could help with. If you are interested in buying Stampin' Up! products, I would privileged to help you. A new mini catalogue is arriving soon for January to June 2021. I have had a sneak peak and there will be gorgeous products available.

I hope you are coping in these difficult times. There are so many challenges being faced. Look after yourself and your loved ones. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay sane.

Andrea 😘

#awhtheartofchristmasshowcase