AWHT Colour Creations #31 Mossy Meadows

Mossy Meadows with Leaves of Holly Fancy Fold

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, featuring one colour each week. 

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a deep muted green called Mossy Meadows. Mossy Meadows is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and is a strong and dark olive green colour that can coordinate with many other colours. This colour is lovely when used for leaves, trees and so many other images. 

Mossy Meadow is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Stampin' Blends Combo; Soft Pastels Assortment; Neutrals Designer Series Paper as well as Boughs of Holly, Rustic Harvest, Awash in Beauty, Happy Forest Friends and Hues of Happiness  DSPs; A Million Thanks Kit; and Solid Faceted Gems. That is quite a list demonstrating the colour's versatility.

My card uses Mossy Meadow card-stock, ink, Stampin' Write Marker and Boughs of Holly DSP plus a range of non-Mossy Meadow bits and pieces. While Mossy Meadow is a dark-ish colour, using it with techniques like partial blending and other colours means the project doesn’t need to be dark & somber. Here is my card:

For me, holly leaves are a part of Christmas and as I was pondering what I would create using Stampin’ Up!s Mossy Meadow, the Leaves of Holly bundle seemed a great choice as it would also add to my Christmas card stash. I thought I had created sufficient Christmas cards, but I recently more accurately calculated my needs and realised more cards were required. There may be extra Christmas cards over the next couple of weeks of blog hops. Let’s see.

I decided to use one of the packets of Designer Series Papers that include Mossy Meadow in their colour combos - the Boughs of Holly DSP seemed the obvious choice. I used 2 designs from this DSP - a coordinating neutral abstract design that was added to the top section of the card design and a mottled deep green design that was added behind the large label’s holly leaves. As I considered the design, I thought of using a simple fancy fold - one that reminds me of a barn door. I’m not sure what it is called.

After trimming the top section from the front of the card, a Basic White card-stock panel was added inside the card to the base. A strip of the neutral design of the DSP was adhered over the top section of the Basic White panel and a thin strip of Brushed Bronze foil from the Brushed Metallic foil card-stock was added over the seam. An extra piece of Basic White card-stock was stamped along the top edge with holly leaves from the Leaves of Holly stamp set using Mossy Meadow and a dabbing of Evening Evergreen Classic inks. A splattering of Mossy Meadow was also added with a Stampin’ Write Marker. 

Holly leaves were also stamped on an extra piece of Basic White card-stock and then die cut using the coordinating dies from the Holly Berry dies. Another fine strip of Bronze Foil was layered over the top edge. Detailed holly leaves were also die cut from Basic White card-stock. These detailed die cut leaves were partially coloured with a Blending Brush using Mossy Meadow ink. I really love the effect created. The larger holly leaf label die was used with the copper Brushed Metallic foil card-stock to cut the central label. The coordinating dies include a die to cut a backing for the label’s holly leaves. This was cut from the dark green DSP design that includes a significant amount of Mossy Meadow. The stamped and blended holly leaves were layered together.

The Bronze label was centred on the front layer using Dimensionals and the stamped and blended holly leaves were arranged, with one leaf sitting on the back section. A sentiment from the same stamp set was white heat embossed using Versamark ink, White Emboss Powder and a Heat Tool. It was die cut with the smaller label die. A small strip of Cherry Cobbler card-stock was layered underneath before the sentiment was added with Dimensionals. A bow of White Glittered Organdy ribbon was tucked under the edge of the sentiment label using Glue Dots. A number of Cherry Red Adhesive-Backed Seasonal Sequins were sprinkled around to give a touch of complementary colour and sparkle.

To further decorate the inner panel that will be used for the personal message, a second stamped and blended holly leaf was added as well as some extra red sequins. A Basic White C6 envelope was also decorated with the final holly leaf.

Thank you for spending time with me on my blog. I really enjoyed creating this card to share with you.

There is more Mossy Meadows creativity. To continue with the blog hop, click the  "onto the next" graphic below and be taken to the blog of the lovely Fiona Bell Ryan. I am looking forward to checking out Fiona's creation. I do love seeing everyones' projects as there is always so much inspiration.

I hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Night of Navy as we continue the weekly 2022-2023 Colour Creations Blog Hops.  

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others. 

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the full list of participants on Catherine Proctor’s blog @ What Cathy Made. Cathy is our  Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  She is an amazing 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 Stampin' Up's 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue, the July - December 2022 Mini Catalogue or the coming January-April 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  #stamper  #valleyinspirations   #boughsofholly #leavesofholly 

AWH Heart of Christmas #15

Heart of Christmas Blog Hop: Leaves of Holly

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2022. 

I am so glad you are joining us for our fifteenth 2022 Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. I have had fun creating these cards using the Leaves of Holly bundle from the July-December 2022 Mini Catalogue. Here are a couple of my cards:

 

In one of Emma Goddard’s recent Card & Cuppa sessions, I saw Emma create a set of Autumnal cards using the Baby Wipe technique. This led me to think about using this technique for a set of Christmas cards. It is a great way to create 4 lovely cards relatively simply.

I started with an A4 piece of Basic White card-stock and the Leaves of Holly stamp set. Four different green inks, ie Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce, Mint Macaron & Parakeet Party Classic Stampin’ re-inkers were dripped onto some layered and folded Baby Wipes creating a multi-coloured ink pad. The 2 more detailed holly leaves were stamped down and across the centre areas. Another “ink pad” was created with Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride & So Saffron re-inkers and the holly berries were stamped. This sheet was then cut into quarters, pictured above. Some splatters were added using the Evening Evergreen and Cherry Cobbler Markers.

I actually stamped 2 A4 sheets as the first set of stamping initially appeared to be a little washed out. I wondered if this was due to the baby wipes having dried out. I tried again, first misting the baby wipes before adding ink and I added a few more drops of ink. The picture shown above was the second try which was a tad darker than the first. As they both looked good, I decided to turn both sheets into cards. The set below were created from the first stamping.

Each quarter was trimmed to card-front size and layered onto a card base. I decided to use 4 different colours for the bases - selecting from the ink colours, ie Basic White, Evening Evergreen, Shaded Spruce and Cherry Cobbler card-stocks. As such, 2 cards were made in each colour of card base. To give variation, half of the cards were created in portrait and half in landscape. 

As you can see, different sentiments were used and different labels. Most of the sentiments were white heat embossed, using Versamark ink, White Emboss Powder and a Heat Tool. Some cards had ribbon added and a number didn’t. The ribbons used were the Real Red & Garden Green Ribbon Combo Pack. Most cards were embellished with Real Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels and the Basic White based cards with Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Confession time: After die cutting both labels in Basic White card-stock using the Holly Berry dies and stamping a sentiment from the Leaves of Holly stamp set, the small label die dropped and cannot be found as yet. So I haven’t finished one of the Cherry Cobbler based cards as I wanted to use that label. Also, I ran out of time creating the 8 cards and so haven’t yet added Holly stamped card inners nor have the envelopes been stamped. I will finish the cards later.

I really enjoyed playing with the Baby Wipe technique again.  The stamping layout is different from a fully stamped design and creates similar but different cards to add to my Christmas card stash. How are you going at creating your Christmas cards? If I had more time, I was thinking of doing a similar process but use the Sweet Candy Cane bundle. I wonder how it would go???

Thank you for dropping in to check out my Christmas project. I so appreciate it.

It is always a delight to see everyone's creations and I am sure there will be gorgeous Christmas projects on show so don't miss checking out each blog. To continue with the blog hop, click the  "onto the next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Christine Blain. I always look forward to checking out Christine’s creations as well as everyone else's. 

Don't forget the weekly Colour Creations Blog Hop by the Art with Heart Team that launches every Wednesday at 8.00pm AEST. This week we will be featuring Granny Apple Green.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others.

Andrea XXX

If at any time you find a broken link and the next blog doesn’t come up or you started part way through, please head to the blog of our Heart of Christmas Blog Hop Host, the very special Sharon Davern, and she will have the list of all Art With Heart Team members who are participating in this blog hop. Check out her beautiful creation while you are there.

If you are in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of Stampin' Up's 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue and or the July - December Mini Catalogue then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you. Pease don't hesitate to contact me with any other queries about these projects or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas #heartofchristmas2022  #Stampin'Up! #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #stamper  #valleyinspirations #Leavesofholly #christmasbanners #hopeandpeace

AWH Heart of Christmas #13

Heart of Christmas Blog Hop: Boughs of Holly and Celebrate Everything

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2022. 

So glad you are joining us for our thirteenth 2022 Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. 

I had fun crafting with a friend on Saturday were we created a pack of Gift Cards. Later I made a stepped up version especially for Christmas. Here is the stepped up Christmas Gift Card Pack using the delightful Boughs of Holly Designer Series Paper:

This project is based on a u-Tube by the Paper Pixie where she created a no glue folded card holder for 3"x3" gift cards. As Julie DiMatteo provides a great tutorial, if you want to create something similar, I suggest you watch her uTube (Episode 252). Here are some brief details & photos to give you a sense of the process.

A sheet of 12x12 Boughs of Holly DSP was cut, scored and burnished. Then the card holder is folded into shape. There is no adhesive holding it together. It can be opened fully as shown here - showing both sides of the opened project.

To shape the ends of the top tags on the holder, the Very Best Trio Punch was used. It was also used to punch the slots for the ribbon that will hold it all together with a bow. The tag dies from the Holly Berry dies cut both tags in Basic White card-stock. The small tag was stamped with sentiments from the Leaves of Holly stamp set in Old Olive Classic Stampin ink. A piece of the muted green "B" side of one of the Boughs of Holly DSP sits behind the larger label.

The above photo shows the inside of the card holder. The photo below shows the No Glue Mini Gift Card Holder with its contents - 8 Christmas Gift Cards.

The gift cards end up as 3"x3" cards and can fit in the small square envelopes available from Stampin' Up!. I thought I had a few packs of these envelopes but couldn't find them so ... either they are put away in a "safe place" or I forgot that they were all used. They will be added to my next order. Back to the gift cards. Each gift card is cut to 3" x 6" and scored at 3". A piece of Basic White card-stock, cut to 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" is added to the inside of each card.

Two cards were made using the same DSP design and 4 different designs were used. The smaller tag from the Holly Berry dies was used with Basic White card-stock. The sentiments from the Leaves of Holly stamp set were stamped in inks coordinating with the colours in the relative DSPs, ie Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Shade Spruce or Evening Evergreen Classic inks. 

The die cut holly leaves that are part of the larger label die and were cut from Basic White card-stock and added behind the smaller label. To change the holly leaf arrangement on some of the cards the leaves were cut apart and added in a different way.

A hole was punched in the folded corner of the Christmas Gift Cards using the Label Me Fancy punch and some fine ribbon was looped through the hole. Some retired Stampin' Up! ribbon was used as I couldn't find what I was looking for. The final touch was the addition of some Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Here are some photos of the No Glue Mini Gift Card Holder and Gift Cards that were made when crafting with a friend. We used the Celebrate Everything Designer Series Paper to create the cardholder and gift cards. Stampin' Up!s DSP is fantastic with designs on both sides. It is wonderful for use where both sides of the paper will be seen. Handmade Wishes stamp set was used for the sentiments and some decorative touches.

Below is a photo of the Gift Card Holder and the set of Gift Cards. Of the 8 gift cards, 4 are Christmas specific and the other 4 could also be used at other times as well.

I have been asked as a guest demonstrator at a craft group in a few days time so we will make the Christmas gift cards shown below (together with another project).

Thank you for dropping in and spending some time with me. I do appreciate it.

It is always a delight to see everyone's creations and I am sure there will be gorgeous Christmas projects on show so don't miss checking out each blog. To continue with the blog hop, click on the "onto the next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of my friend, the lovely Christine Blain. I always look forward to checking out Christine's creations as well as everyone else's. 

Don't forget the weekly Colour Creations Blog Hop by the Art with Heart Team that launches every Wednesday at 8.00pm AEST. We will be featuring Garden Green this coming Wednesday.

Stay well, stay safe and be kind to yourself and others.

Andrea XXX

If at any time you find a broken link and the next blog doesn’t come up or you started part way through, please head to the blog of our Heart of Christmas Blog Hop Host, the very special Sharon Davern, and she will have the list of all Art With Heart Team members who are participating in this blog hop. Check out her beautiful creation while you are there.

If you are in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of Stampin' Up's 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue and or the July - December Mini Catalogue then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you. Pease don't hesitate to contact me with any other queries about these projects or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas #heartofchristmas2022  #awhtheartofchristmas #Stampin'Up! #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #stamper  #valleyinspirations #boughsofholly #celebrateeverything #handmadewishes #leavesofholly