AWH Heart of Christmas #13

Christmas with Handcrafted Elements

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 13th Art with Heart Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2023.

This week I am showcasing the Handcrafted Elements dies with 2 different Christmas cards. 

Looking at the cards created for the Heart of Christmas Blog Hops recently I realised that I must be in my “Blue Period”, that is, nearly all of the cards included blues, whether light or dark and perhaps some greens, teals or mauves. I determined that I would use traditional Christmas reds and greens this week.

CARD 1

I had a couple of ideas to use stripes with the Handcrafted Elements die cut bauble. This is one to add stripes to part of the bauble. Some thin strips of a number of designs from the Joy of Christmas Designer Series Paper were cut and then adhered to a piece of Basic White card-stock. The bauble die was cut from a piece of Basic White card-stock and the oval die was used to include some of the striped area. Also a panel of red DSP from the Joy of Christmas DSP was adhered to the front of the card base.

A Deckled Rectangle die was used to cut a panel of Basic White card-stock. Some Shimmery Embossing Paste was applied diagonally over one of the Foursquare Decorative Masks. This was left to dry while some holly leaves from the Joy of NOEL stamp set were stamped in Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin’ ink. The holly was coloured using a Blender Pen and colour was drawn from the stamped image. The images were die cut using the coordinating dies and some pine needles were also die cut from Basic White card-stock.

The sentiment was silver embossed, using one word from the Joy of NOEL stamps and one from the Christmas Classics stamps. These stamp set were designed to intermingle. The words were fussy cut. The bauble pieces were adhered together with Mini Dimensionals and it was adhered directly over the embossed paste. The pine was coloured with some Old Olive ink and a Blending Brush.

All the pieces were arranged around the white bauble and the sentiment adhered across the base of the bauble and some Mini Dimensionals were added to firm parts of the sentiment that hung off the bauble. some of the red Loose Holly Gems & Sequins were scattered around. A double bow of White & Silver Sheer Ribbon (that had been cut in half lengthwise) was added with Glue Dots.

The Basic White card inner was stamped in Shaded Spruce ink with a different sentiment from the Christmas Classics stamps and some holly (from the same stamp set) was second generation stamped along one side. A thin strip of DSP - the same as the card background, was adhered down one side. A C6 Basic White envelope was similarly stamped down one side with the holly and Shaded Spruce ink.

CARD 2

The die cut bauble from the Handcrafted Elements dies seemed perfect for a shaker card using the Loose Holly Gems & Sequins. The bauble die was used to cut Gold Foil and a number of times in Basic White card-stock. The what baubles were layered one over the other finishing with the Gold Foil die cut. This gave solid dimension. NOEL was cut from Basic White card-stock with a layer of Foam Adhesive Sheet underneath. 

A large oval was die cut from a piece of Basic White card-stock. The larger oval die with intricate leaves was used to cut the oval. This panel was dry embossed with the Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder. As I didn’t want the embossing to overpower the decorative design but to just add some subtle texture, this panel was just run through the Cut ‘n Emboss Machine to soften the image. 

Window Sheet was adhered under the oval hole and then Adhesive Strips were added on the back around the hole. A little bit of mottled Lost Lagoon DSP from the Winter Meadows DSP was a very subtle background to the shaker section. All the layers were adhered in place to form the shaker part of the card.

Some Shaded Spruce splattering was added with a Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Write Marker. The bauble sections and NOEL were adhered over the Window Sheet with Multi-purpose Liquid Glue. Some shaded spruce holly leaves that were created at the same time of the leaves described above for the first card were added with a couple of holly gems. Red gems also from the Assorted Holly Gems & Sequins were added to the holly leaves and more were scattered around. A double bow of Gold Elegant Trim with a bow of Red & Gold Dotted Ribbon (that had been cut in half lengthwise) were added with Glue Dots.

The card inner and envelope was decorated in a similar way to card 1, above. 

Thank you so much for dropping in. I hope you found something of interest. I so appreciate you taking the time to call by.

There is more Christmas creativity so to continue on with the blog hop just click the "next" graphic below and you will be taken to the blog of the lovely 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. Also, many of us are participating 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 couple join us then.

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 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 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   #handcraftedelements  #joyofnoel  #christmasclassics

AWH Heart of Christmas #4

Heart of Christmas Blog Hop: Hippest Hippos

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

Here we are - nearly at the end of July. I am so glad I have made a start with my Christmas creations as I am sure the coming months will speed by. I had a bit of fun creating my project for this blog hop using non traditional stamp and dies for a 3D Christmas card.

I had the water-colour panel left over from last week's creativity, so decided to use it as the background. As previously mentioned, July is Watercolor Month internationally. The paper was water-coloured with Orchard Oasis and Highland Heather Classic Stampin' inks and a wide brush Water Painter on Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. Before it had fully dried the paper was passed through a Cut 'n Emboss machine with the Merry Melody 3D embossing folder.

The dancing hippo from the Hippest Hippos stamp set was stamped in Basic Gray Classic ink on Basic White card-stock. This stamp set is so cute and can be earned for free with a qualifying order of $90 in Australia during the Sale-a-bration promotion. The coordinating dies are another Sale-a-bration product and can cut out the Hippos plus many other cute accessories. It is brilliant! The hippos were coloured with Stampin' Blends, including Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride, Pool Party, Polished Pink, Tahitian Tide, Orchard Oasis combos and the Colour Lifter to add highlights.

The tree from the Majestic Mountain dies was used to cut 3 trees from Basic White card-stock. The die cuts were adhered together down the centre, which allowed the boughs to be separated to give the white "Christmas" tree some dimension. 

The card base used Balmy Blue card-stock that was cut into 2 pieces which were scored on each end. I scored twice at 6mm and 12mm in from each end. However, the space between the scores should have been larger - upto 1cm to enable more dimension for the scene and also more stability for the card to stand on display. I wasn't using pre-tried measurements so am keen to try again to be surer of my measurements. A stitched rectangle from the Stitched Rectangles dies cut a hole in the centre of the front panel. The frame die from the Fabulous Frames Die Set cut a couple of frames that were layered to strengthen the front panel. Here is the top view.

As the dancing hippo started me thinking about the Nutcracker Ballet which is based on a story set at Christmas Eve I had decided on a Theatre scene. The top scalloped pelmet and the curtains used some of the delightful Awash In Beauty Designer Series Paper. The scalloped pelmet was cut with a die from the Scalloped Contours dies.

To ensure the card recipient and other viewers easily understood the Christmas card's theme, I needed to make reference to the Nutcracker Ballet, however, there was only room for small lettering so decided to print from my computer to card-stock. My printer was temperamental and wouldn't accept the thickness of card-stock. In the end, the words were printed on printer paper and some Balmy Blue and Fresh Freesia inks were blended over the words using a Blending Brush. It was cut down with Stampin' Up!s Trimmer. 

2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds were added to the tree and Adhesive-Backed Stars were added to the background. As I was writing this blog and adding the photos, I was becoming more and more concerned with the bow, so I have now removed it and added 3 more Opal Rounds. I love adding embellishments to my projects but the photos reinforced to me the bow wasn't right. It is dark outside so can't re-take photos now. Will do so tomorrow.

A left over strip of the water-coloured embossed background was added to a piece of Basic White card-stock and an extra ballerina hippo and a star embellishment also were adhered. A 5th hippo was adhered to a C6 Basic White Envelope. When colouring the hippos, I hadn't decided how the hippos would be arranged so stamped and coloured 5 hippos. It was the perfect number for this project.

Thank you so much for calling in and spending some time with me. I do appreciate you. I hope the Hippo Ballet gave you a smile.

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 the talented Rachel Woolard. I always look forward to checking out Rachel's creations together with everyone else's. 

Don't forget the weekly Colour Creations Blog Hop by the Art with Heart Team that also launches every Wednesday at 8.00pm AEST. 

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 #hippesthippos #merriestmelody