CASEing The Catty #483 CASE MARKET DSP COLOURS

CASEing COLOURS of the To Market DSP meets Rustic Crate & To Market

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #483 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Peta Stephens, a member of the CASEing the Catty Design Team, as you take this week’s Blog Hop or perhaps you have joined me another way; 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 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 the colours of the To Market Designer Series Paper found on pages 38-39 of the 2024 - 2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

The To Market Suite colours are Garden Green, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie and Blackberry Bliss. One way to CASE the colours is to feature the Designer Series Paper itself. That is what I have  done this week.

This card was designed around the bunches of flowers DSP design. Five bunches were fussy cut out and a number of individual tiny flowers were fussy cut using part bunches from the edge of the DSP.

A second DSP design panel was mounted onto a Basic White card-base. As this lovely background tended to fight the central panel for dominance, a layer of white speckled vellum from the Graceful Greenery Vellum pack was added over the background. I love using vellum to subtly soften a background as it maintains the effect of the background and just mutes it a tad. 

A die cut crate from the Rustic Crate bundle was cut out of Pecan Pie card-stock. A little Classic Pecan Pie ink was added to the front of the crate with a Blending Brush to strengthen the effect of the woodgrain texture. Some sprigs of leaves and twigs were cut from Basic White card-stock or Copper Textured Metallic Foil using 2 dies from the Painted Lavender dies. Some Garden Green ink was blended over with a Blending Brush.

A Basic White panel was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Copper Textured Metallic Foil. A little splattering was added with a Garden Green Stampin' Write Marker. Some Linen Twine was wrapped around the panel and a double Linen Twine bow was added with a Glue Dot.

After arranging 3 bunches of flowers, leaves and twigs in the little crate, the back of the crate was adhered to the central panel and a few Dimensionals were added to give dimension to the bunches of flowers. The tiny fussy cut flowers were added with Mini Dimensionals. A sentiment from the Layers of Beauty stamp set was Copper heat embossed on Basic White card-stock and fussy cut. This too was added with Mini Dimensionals. The final touch - a few Adhesive-backed Metallic Gems.

The card inner was decorated with a little strip of the background DSP on the outer edge. A bunch of flowers was also added. A Basic White C6 Envelope was also decorated with another bunch of flowers. It was a simple way to link the envelope to the card it will hold.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. I so appreciate it. I hope you found something to spike your interest. x

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this wonderful Crew. The next blog in the hop is the lovely Julia Quinn. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project you have created that has been inspired by the colours of the To Market DSP in the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. To share, all you need to do go to the Facebook site for the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group. If you aren't a member, its easy to request to join and then 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 love to see your creation.

#ctc469 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #tomarket   #layersofbeauty  #rusticcrate  #paintedlavender. #483  #caseingthecatty

Funky Folds Blog Hop #6

 ANYTHING GOES WITH A FUNKY FOLD

Welcome to the sixth 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. All Blog Hops have an 'anything goes' theme using any type of 'funky' card fold.

My project for this Blog Hop is a mini photo album that I will be giving to a friend for her birthday. The colours, flowers and style were chosen with my friend in mind. I thought of a mini album as my friend’s daughter is over from the USA for a number of weeks and I know my friend will miss her daughter terribly when she heads back home. My idea was that the album could be filled with memories of her daughter so she could look at it and feel a warm glow.

When the album is fully open, it can form a star that will be seen from above and when approaching the album from different angles different pages will be seen. I was inspired by a Stampin’ Up! Artisan, Zsuzsánna Balázs, who showed how this album could be created in a Stampin’ Up! Facebook post. The article was posted on 29 March this year (2024) if you want to check it out. 

I altered the dimensions slightly but I think the original dimensions would be fine as well. I adore the Layers of Beauty bundle that comes with a stamp set, coordinating dies and coordinating masks. The masks make colouring the image so easy once you have chosen your colours. All you need are some Blending Brushes and ink pads. My colours were selected to coordinate with the gorgeous Designer Series Paper that was used to cover the mini album. It’s from the Country Woods DSP.

The colours used to stamp & colour the large floral image were Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Lost Lagoon, Misty Moonlight and touches of Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ inks. The ribbon tied around the mini album is from the Petal Pink & White Diagonal Trim Combo Pack. A number of Brushed Brass Butterflies are flying around the album, both inside and out.

The Mini Album pages were created with Misty Moonlight, Petal Pink and Basic White card-stocks. The inner Basic White card-stock was covered with a range of designs from the Country Lace Designer Series Paper pack.

Each of the 7 double openings have different DSP designs and different sections of the large floral image. The image on the right hand side only has 1 layer of ink as I envisage that the photo or other type of memory could go on this side while the left hand side could have journalling. The inks used were the same on each page so there is some consistency throughout. As the colouring of the image is on different coloured DSP the end colours look a different, however, there is still a sense of similarity throughout.

The images are a bit different on each double page as you will see below.

I so hope my friend likes her birthday present and it brings comfort after she and her daughter fill it with memories.

Thank you so much for dropping by and spending time with me.

Up next is the lovely Cindy Mitchell-Clarke from the USA. I am looking forward to seeing Cindy’s funky fold and to hopping around to check out everyone’s’ creations in our 6th Funky Folds Blog Hop. Just click on the graphic below to be taken to Monique’s blog.

If you love to make cards with creative folds and would like to join in with our monthly Funky Folds Blog Hops, you are welcome to head on over to our community group on Facebook to be part of the fun.

facebook.com/groups/funkyfoldsbloghops

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself.

Andrea 💕🐾

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue and/or the coming September-December Mini Catalogue, then let me know. I will be delighted to send them to you and to be your Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.  Please don't hesitate to make contact with any other queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

#stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #layersofbeauty  

AWH Heart of Christmas Blog Hop #1

Christmas with Layers of Beauty

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the first Art with Heart Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2024. We are starting this series early August and will be hopping every week until the end of November. I hope you can check us out each week as I know there will be a multitude of different projects on display and a range of ideas to help your Christmas preparations.

I love creating for Christmas and sharing creativity with you. I’m hoping that you will be inspired in your preparations for Christmas. This week I have created a Christmas card using the Layers of Beauty bundle, a general product not necessarily designed for Christmas. I do like to revisit my Annual Catalogue products to think about whether they can be used for Christmas. Sometimes one needs to “think out of the box”.  I love this bundle and thought of Christmas roses using Christmasy colours.

A couple of my favourite colours for Christmas are Cherry Cobbler and Shaded Spruce. To add a little extra life I included Granny Apple Green with Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin’ inks for the leaves. The roses were coloured with Cherry Cobbler ink alone and the daisies with Pretty in Pink ink. The large floral arrangement stamp was gold heat embossed with Versamark ink, Gold Emboss Powder (from the Metallic Emboss Powder Pack), the Embossing Accessories Kit and a Heat Tool. It was stamped onto Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper and the images were water-coloured using the fine Water Painter. A tad of Daffodil Delight ink was added to the daisy centres.  I love colouring images in different ways and the effect of water-colouring is gorgeous. This bundle includes a set of masks and gives beautiful details, however, this project was water-coloured for a different approach.

The large floral arrangement was tamped twice, coloured and then fussy cut. While there is a coordinating die, as the image was going to be cut into smaller sections, I thought it would maintain consistency to fussy cut it all. A number of smaller leaves were die cut from Gold Foil Sheets.

The thin panel to the left is Cherry Cobbler card-stock and was dry embossed using the Layered Florals 3D Embossing Folder and a little White Craft ink was blended over the larger flowers with a Blending Brush. A thin strip of Gold Foil Sheet was adhered to the right edge and the panel was popped up on Dimensionals over a panel of Basic White card-stock that had a little Granny Apple Green ink lightly blended. A Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Write Marker was used to add a little splatter.

A sentiment from Greetings of the Season stamp set was white heat embossed and fussy cut. This was added with Dimensionals and a trimmed piece of Iridescent Striped Ribbon was tucked under the sentiment. The final touch - the scattering of a few Blooming Pearls - green.

Here is a close up:

A panel of Basic White card-stock was added inside the card. To carry the card theme through inside, a different sentiment from the Greetings of the Season stamp set was gold embossed and two remaining sections of water-coloured flowers were adhered in opposite corners.

Part of the large floral stamp was gold heat embossed onto a Basic White C6 Envelope. When initially stamped I must not have pressed firmly over a large rose, so it didn’t print well. I did think I would need to re—stamp on another envelope but didn’t want to be wasteful, so decided to use the stencils to colour the stamped section. This colouring draws the eye away from the missed stamped section and unless you were specifically looking at the details the overall image looks great. 

Thank you so much for joining us for our first Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2024. I hope you are enjoying this blog hop and are being inspired for your Christmas paper crafting. It’s only August, you say! From my experience from here, time goes quicker & quicker. The four months will disappear, especially when sending Christmas greetings overseas.

There is more Christmas creativity so do continue with the blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the amazing Judy May. I am looking forward to checking out Judy’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyones' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations Blog Hop that goes live every Wednesday night where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. It would be fantastic if you could also check 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 participants go to Sharon Davern’s blog @ Rhapsody in Craft. Sharon is our wonderful 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 coming September-December 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 this project or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2024 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #greetingsoftheseason  #layersofbeauty

AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #12 Blueberry Bushel

Blueberry Bushel with Layers of Beauty + Seaside Wishes

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 mid-blue colour called Blueberry Bushel.  Blueberry Bushel is part of the Regals Colour Family and is a rich blue that can coordinate with many colours, including yellows (I love blue and yellows together), other blues, neutrals, etc and it would be wonderful for berries, sea scenes, flowers …  and anything needing a mid- blue.

Blueberry Bushel is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Stampin’ Blends Combos; Regals Designer Series Paper as well as Full of Life, Meandering Meadows, Winter Meadows and Bright & Beautiful DSPs; plus Hooray for Honeycomb and Confetti Birthday Kits. 

These projects have incorporated Blueberry Bushel as Classic Stampin' ink, card-stock, Stampin' Write Marker and Tinsel Gems Four Pack.

CARD 1

The current Colour Inkspirations Challenge incorporates Blueberry Bushel together with Misty Moonlight, Night of Navy and Basic Beige. My project for this Challenge used the Layers of Beauty masks (well the whole bundle). Two floral arrangements were prepared and then I only needed one for the CIC card as I separated the various flowers and only used a number of the sections. The second coloured floral arrangement was crying out to be used and as it included Blueberry Bushel, a quite different card was created with it for this Colour Creations blog hop.

The rose arrangement had been first stamped with Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin’ ink. The first and second layers coloured the roses with Blueberry Bushel and then Night of Navy ink was laid down to complete the roses. The leaves/stems used two layers of Basic Beige ink. Adding the woodgrain background from the Country Woods Designer Series Paper gives a different feel to the card.

The Pocket Thoughts bundle was used to cut the larger pocket from Basic Beige card-stock. As we use A4 card-stock in Australia, I decided to re-fold the pocket to make it narrower, so that there was an even surrounding border. The Take Your Pick Tool's scoring tip was used to re-score the pocket's side tabs. The diagonal edge at the bottom corners were trimmed with Snips.  While die cutting, some leaves were cut using detailed dies from the Layers of Beauty dies in Basic White and Basic Beige card-stocks.

To finish the card front a sentiment from the Layers of Beauty stamps was white heat embossed on Blueberry Bushel card-stock. Some Night of Navy Linen thread from a new Online Exclusive Natural Tones Linen Thread pack was tied into a double bow and tucked under the sentiment. Some of the gorgeous Blueberry Bushel Gems from the Tinsel Gems Four Pack were scattered around the sentiment.

The pocket on the front of the card isn’t just for show but is to hold a gift card. Some Basic Beige card-stock was cut to fit in the pocket and it was covered with the same DSP. Before adhering the DSP just around the edges, diagonal slits were cut in the DSP to hold a gift card.

A left over flower was adhered to the little gift card panel. A couple of Tinsel Gems were added, as well as some Basic Beige Bordered Ribbon and Night of Navy Linen Thread as a pull tab.

The card opens as usual showing a Basic White card inner that was partially stamped in Blueberry Bushel ink with the large floral image and a thin DSP strip was added down the edge.

A Basic White C6 envelope was also stamped with the large image.

If you didn't want to use the card with a gift card, you could also add a special extra message or attach a seperate note and slip it into the pocket.

CARD 2

As mentioned, Blueberry Bushel is a wonderful colour for sea themes. I started the second card by using a separate panel of card-stock that was the same size as the card front, and a circular hole was cut with a Deckled Circle die. This panel was layered over the card front. About 5 drops of Blueberry Bushel Re-inker were added into a mug, together with a little water and some dish-washing detergent. A straw was used to blow bubbles - ie enough bubbles to fill the mug and bubble up over the top. The bubbles were scooped up and added over the circular hole. This process was repeated until the hole was covered with bubbles. As the bubbles dissipated the card-stock was coloured with a gorgeous bubbly effect. I love it. As the Blueberry Bushel ink is quite intense the 5 drops was sufficient to give beautiful colouring. When dry, the larger sea plant from the Beauty of the Deep stamp set was white heat embossed over some of the bubbly coloured area - only a little is seen but it does add extra texture and interest.

The sand dollars were lightly water-coloured with diluted Basic Beige ink misted into the Seaside Wishes Embossing Folder. It is hard to see the subtle water-colour effect in the photos. The embossing folder together with the coordinating die can emboss and cut the sea dollars at the same time - so clever. The detailed coral dies were used to die cut Basic White card-stock. To give a different effect, the edges of the die cuts were trimmed off with Snips. 

The star fish from the Seaside Wishes stamp set were stamped in Calypso Coral ink. A long thin sea plant from the Beauty of the Deep stamps was white heat embossed onto a sheet from the On-line Exclusive pack of Graceful Greenery Vellum, ie the sheet with white speckles. Coordinating dies from both bundles can be used to die cut the stamped images.

This close up shows the bubbly coloured effect. A sentiment from a different stamp set - ie the Happy Little Things set (it's another Online Exclusive), was white heat embossed onto Blueberry Bushel card-stock, and then fussy cut. Linen Thread was wrapped around the card front that had been mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Blueberry Bushel card-stock. The final touch - some gorgeous Flat Adhesive-backed Pearls.

A Basic White card inner was stamped with a few Blueberry Bushel star fish. A C6 Basic White envelope was similarly stamped.

The self made mask that had been used to create a circular bubbly area had been covered with bubbles as well. This panel was used to cover the Thick Basic White card-base - as they say, waste not want not and this panel brings a more subtle edge with some coordinating colour.

Thank you so much for calling in to check out my Blueberry Bushel projects. I hope you found something to spark your interest.

To continue with the Blackberry Bushel 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 - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Boho Blue as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 Colour Creations Blog Hop series. 

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 participants 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.

Living in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send it 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  #stampinupdemonstrator  #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #layersofbeauty  #seasidewishes  #pocketthoughts