AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #46 Smoky Slate

Smoky Slate with Magnolia Mood

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 pale grey called Smoky Slate. Smoky Slate is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and is a wonderful light silvery grey that can coordinate with so so many colours. This colour can be used in many ways - consider a coloured flower with Smoky Slate leaves, or a Smoky Slate stamped image instead of using Black ink - it’s much softer; or it could be used as a neutral background - perhaps trees or mountains in the background.

Smoky Slate is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Stampin’ Blends Combo; Neutrals Designer Series Paper as well as Winter Meadows DSP; Faceted Gems Trio Pack; and the Celebrate Today Magnet Board Kit. 

Smoky Slate ink, card-stock and Stampin’ Write Marker plus the Smoky Slate design within the Winter Meadows Designer Series Paper have been used in the creation of these projects together with a range of non-Smoky Slate bits and pieces.

CARD 1

While so many colours can go with Smoky Slate I do especially love either yellow, pink or pool party with grey - so I chose pink this week, ie Bubble Bath and Berry Burst with a touch of Old Olive to go with the Magnolia Mood On-line Bundle. I adore this bundle.  I decided to have the magnolia flower stamped in Smoky Slate and either leave the flowers uncoloured with coloured background shapes or a coloured Magnolia with Smoky Slate background shapes. I couldn’t make my mind up as to which one so I created both. The two cards that are similar, but different. However, I do adore the coloured Magnolia.

As mentioned, the large magnolia stamp from the Magnolia Mood stamp set was stamped in Smoky Slate Classic Stampin ink. This produces a softer image with less contrast between the outline and the colouring, however, Smoky Slate ink is still strong enough to define the image well. This image was coloured with Stampin’ Blends, ie Bubble Bath, Berry Burst and Old Olive Blends Combos, plus the Colour Lifter to give soft highlights.

Some leaves and a flower were die cut from Basic White card-stock using the Magnolia Mood dies. Some colour was added with a Blending Brush, ie Bubble Bath ink on the flower and Old Olive ink on the leaves. Background shapes were also cut using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. The large label was cut from the Smoky Slate mottled design from the Winter Meadows DSP - this provided a subtle textured background with little effort. The smaller background shapes were die cut from Smoky Slate card-stock, with the small solid shape striped with a Light Smoky Slate Blend and a little Smoky Slate blending added with a Blending Brush.

A Basic White card background was embossed with the Leaf Fall 3D Embossing Folder - currently an On-line Exclusive. A thin strip of Berry Burst Glimmer Speciality Paper - another On-line Exclusive that comes with Old Olive and White Glimmer Speciality Papers, was laid across the centre of the embossed panel and the other elements were arranged.

A sentiment from the stamp set was stamped in Smoky Slate ink on the Winter Meadows DSP and fussy cut out. I had planned on adding the other two rows of the sentiment inside the card - but just remembered now - oops! Some of the beautiful Pastel Adhesive-backed Sequins were added near the sentiment and a little White Bakers Twine bow was tucked under the sentiment. It still needed a little something so some splattering was added with a Smoky Slate Stampin’ Write Marker.

The card inner was simply stamped with a Smoky Slate Magnolia and a strip of the Glimmer Paper adhered over. A C6 Basic White envelope was also stamped with a Smoky Slate Magnolia.

And now a card with a Smoky Slate Magnolia and coloured background shapes.

CARD 2

As mentioned, this card is similar but different. The background panel was embossed with the beautiful Layered Florals 3D Embossing Folder. The featured magnolia is simply stamped in Smoky Slate ink. The detail of this stamp is beautiful in just one colour. Some leaves were die cut from Smoky Slate card-stock. The flower and leaves sit on a Basic White label cut using a  Thoughtful Expressions die. The background shapes also used the Thoughtful Expressions dies, with the large shape cut from the Bubble Bath design from the Bright and Beautiful DSP. The smaller shapes and a thin strip were cut from a different speciality paper, the Soft Shimmer Speciality Paper - this gives a beautiful shimmer. It is retiring soon so don’t miss out.

A sentiment was stamped in Smoky Slate ink and fussy cut out. The final touch was a double Elegant Trim bow and some Bubble Bath sequins from the Subtle Adhesive Backed Sequins. Splattering was added with both a Smoky Slate Marker and the light Berry Burst Blend.

The card inner and Basic White C6 Envelope were decorated in the same way as the first card described above.

Thank you so much for dropping by on your way around the Colour Creations Blog Hop. I know there will be so much Smoky Slate inspiration throughout the Blog Hop.

To continue with the Smoky Slate blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Christine Blain. I am looking forward to checking out Christine’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - we use the same colour in so many ways.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Soft Sea Foam as we continue the weekly 2023-2024 Colour Creations Blog Hop series. 

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 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.

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 new January-April 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!. 

#colourcreationsbloghop  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #magnoliamood  #thoughtfulexpressions

Colour Inkspiration Challenge #159

I am so excited to have joined the Colour Inkspiration Crew. Colour Inkspiration Challenge #159 is a gorgeous colour combination and here is my project featuring this combo:

To showcase these colours I stamped the Stippled Roses images in 2nd generation Smoky Slate ink and then coloured them with Berry Burst and Pretty Peacock Alcohol Blends Combos, with the Colour Lifter to reinforce the highlights on the petals and leaves.

The Stippled Roses die cut the coloured images and 2 different dies were used to cut leaves from Basic White card-stock. A gorgeous label was cut from Thick Basic White card-stock using the Thoughtful Moments dies.

The Thick Basic White card-base was cut to create a fun fold card where the top front panel fold down from above and the white embossed lower panel folds in from the right side with the pieces meeting diagonally from top right down to bottom left.  The Smoky Slate panel was coloured with Smoky Slate Classic Stampin ink and the new Stampin’ Brayer onto Basic White cardstock. The brayer added the ink at different angles and strengths. Some water was misted over to enable the shading to blend and soften. The Exposed Brick 3D embossing folder was used on a Basic White panel that was adhered to the bottom diagonal section.

Some Pretty Peacock splatters were added with a Pretty Peacock Stampin’ Write Marker. The central floral arrangement was adhered to the gorgeous label that had been partially adhered to the top Smoky Slate Panel. The white die cut leaves were tucked under the coloured flowers and leaves. A little bit of blending added some Smoky Slate to a couple of leaves. Some leaves needed a little pruning to remove a few tiny leaves.

A sentiment from the Stippled Roses stamps was stamped in Smoky Slate and fussy cut. A double White Bakers Twine bow was tucked under the sentiment and a few Iridescent Pearls were sprinkled around the sentiment. Finally a little Wink of Stella was splattered over the card.

The card inner was created with a Basic White panel stamped with part of the Stippled Roses in Smoky Slate. It was mounted on a slightly larger Smoky Slate panel. A Basic White C6 Envelope was also stamped with part of the Stippled Roses stamp in Smoky Slate ink. (not pictured)

Thank you so much for dropping in. 

AWHT Colour Creations #46 Smoky Slate

Smoky Slate with Heron Habitat Fancy Fold

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop. We are working though the amazing Stampin' Up! colours in alphabetical order, focussing on one colour each week.

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a light grey called Smoky Slate. Smoky Slate is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and is a very versatile colour. This colour is lovely when used for so many things, including herons and it works with so many colours. 

Smoky Slate 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; Neutrals Designer Series Paper as well as Happy Forest Friends and Abigail Rose DSPs; plus Slimline Envelopes, Celebrate Today Magnet Board Kit and a couple of Clearance items. 

Smoky Slate card-stock, ink and Stampin’ Blends Combo have been used in this project plus a range of non-Smoky Slate bits and pieces. Here is my card:

I have often seen a heron when walking my dog along the Sturt River, so as I was planning my project to showcase Smoky Slate my mind immediately went to Stampin’ Up!s Heron Habitat bundle. I also thought of a fancy fold demonstrated recently by USA Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, Sue Campfield. She designed two folds, ie the Flying Seagull and the Flying Finch fancy folds. This card is based on the Flying Finch design but I amended the dimensions to work with A4 cardstock.

By the Bay Speciality DSP was used for the card’s background panels and they were mounted on slightly larger Smoky Slate card-stock. A little blending with Balmy Blue ink had been added to the upper edge of the SDSP. One of the dies from the coordinating Heron dies was used to cut near the base. The cut off section was added back with a some overlap using Dimensionals. The 2 Basic White side panels were embossed with the Painted Texture 3D embossing folder.

Two of the larger herons from the Heron Habitat stamp set were stamped on Basic White card-stock. Extra depth was added to the stamped images with the Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends and the Color Lifter. A little Pool Party was also added to the white areas using the Pool Party Blends Combo. The images were die cut with coordinating dies from the Heron dies. The same set of dies were used to cut a number of reeds. The reeds were coloured with retired Pretty Peacock Stampin’ Blends together with the Color Lifter. Demonstrators have had a little early insight that Pretty Peacock will be returning with the coming colour refresh so I used this colour to give a hint of what is to come. It won’t be long before we know more about the colour refresh.

A sentiment from the Heron Habitat stamps was stamped in Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ ink and cut out with the small label die from the coordinating set. The label seemed a little large so the top and bottom sections were fussy cut off. It was then tied around the centre section with White Bakers twine that had been coloured with Light Smoky Slate and Light Pretty Peacock Blends. The herons and reeds were arranged and adhered in place with a mix of Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Dimensionals and Glue Dots. The panel needed something else.  So a circle of Vellum card-stock was punched out with the recently returned 1 3/4” punch and coloured with a little So Saffron ink and a Blending Brush. This was tucked behind the flying heron to symbolise the sun. A couple of tiny birds were also stamped in Smoky Slate ink.

The ends of the coloured Bakers Twine was unravelled a bit and a mix of Faux Sea Glass Shapes were sprinkled around as the finishing touch. These Sea Glass Shapes are amazing - I love them. 

A thin panel of Basic White card-stock was stamped (and stamped off) with the tiny birds and added to a section of the back folds that sits behind the main front panel. A “Happy Birthday” sentiment was also stamped in Smoky Slate. A C6 Basic White Envelope was stamped with the flying heron to provide some coordination with the card that it will hold.

While the card spreads out when standing, it does fold up to fit into a normal envelope, as shown below. I have just realised that I forgot to photograph the card from an angle that shows the open wings. I’ll add it tomorrow.

Thank you so much for dropping in. I so appreciate that you spent time with me.

There is more Smoky Slate creativity. To continue with the blog hop, click the  "onto the next" graphic below and be taken to the blog of the lovely Kate Morgan. I am looking forward to checking out Kate’s creations. I do love seeing everyones' projects - there is always inspiration.

I hope to see you next week when we will be featuring So Saffron, one of the Subtles Colour family as we continue the weekly 2022-2023 Colour Creations Blog Hops.  Only 4 more hops for this round of Colour Creations Blog Hops.

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

Andrea 💕🐾

If you find a broken link or you would like to view the full list of participants then go to Catherine Proctor’s blog @ What Cathy Made. Cathy is our  Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  She is a wonderful 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 and or the January - April 2023 Mini Catalogue then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you. The new annual catalogue that will be coming soon. 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   #heronhabitat #bythebay

AWHT Colour Creations #43 Smoky Slate

Smoky Slate with Crane of Fortune and a Bowl Gatefold

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Colour Creations Blog Hop. We are continuing to work though all the Stampin' Up! colours in alphabetical order. 

This week’s Blog Hop is focussing on a soft grey called Smoky Slate. Smoky Slate is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and is a very versatile grey. It is another of my favourite Stampin' Up! colours. The colour is delightful when used with pinks such as Petal Pink or Blushing Bride or yellows, including Daffodil Delight or Mango Melody.  Smoky Slate goes well with so many colour combinations and I have paired it with Soft Succulent and Gold. A second card was planned and started but I ran out of time to complete it. 

Smoky Slate is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Stampin' Blends, Textured Ribbon, Slimline Envelopes and Neutrals Designer Series Papers as well as the Symbols of Fortune and In Good Taste Designer Series Papers. The card below has used Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' ink, and the Symbols of Fortune DSP, plus a range of other non-SS bits and pieces.

Here is my card to showcase Smoky Slate:

As a neutral, Smoky Slate is a great colour to use in a range of ways. 

CARD 1:

This card features the beauty of the Symbols of Fortune Speciality Designer Series Paper. I  wanted to use this SDSP and also to try out a recently seen fancy fold, so this card came into being. 

A piece of Soft Succulent card-stock was cut to size, scored and burnished; then folded into a bowl gate fold card. A piece of Symbols of Fortune SDSP was cut in half and both halves were mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Basic White card-stock. The mounted SDSP was adhered directly to the front sections of the card base. Here is a photo of the back of the folded card.

A piece of Shimmery White card-stock was water-coloured with Smoky Slate ink and partially dried with a Heat Gun to maintain variations in shading. As I was working on the creamy Shimmery White card-stock the final effect was a different grey to the DSP. Ah well, I hadn't factored the creamy card-stock in. Once it was fully dried the card-stock was cut with the second largest circle from the Layering Circles dies. The coordinating and very slightly larger scalloped die was used to cut a piece of Gold Metallic Speciality Paper. 

The Ginkgo die from the coordinating Good Fortune dies cut a couple of sprays from Basic White card-stock. The sprays were snipped into 3 sections. The luscious Soft Succulent Satin Shimmer Ribbon was wrapped around the gatefold card and tied in a bow. The water-coloured circular piece was added with Dimensionals to the left side of the gatefold card over the ribbon.

A fussy cut crane (cut from the SDSP) was popped up on Dimensionals. A mix of die-cut and fussy cut dragonflies were added with Mini Dimensionals. A sentiment from the Crane of Fortune stamp set was White heat embossed on Soft Succulent card-stock. Some Polished Dots added some shimmer.

The card inner is yet to be added (sorry, but I ran out of time). A piece of Basic White card-stock will be fitted into the centre inner panel and stamped with some dragonflies in Smoky Slate ink. A Basic White C6 Envelope had a piece of the SDSP adhered to the back flap.

I had fun creating this fold after seeing it demonstrated on uTube. Next time I create this fold, I hope to have some extra time so I can convert the inches to centimetres and our standard card size.

CARD 2:

As mentioned, I had plans to create another card and made a start, but this is as far as I got. This was actually started first but then I became excited to create the Bowl Gatefold and it was put aside.

Thank you so much for dropping by. I do value the time you spent with me.

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of Stampin' Up's 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue or the coming 2022-2023 Annual Catalogue and or the January - June 2022 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!. 

There is more Smoky Slate creativity. To continue with the blog hop, click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely, Rachel Woolard. I always look forward to checking out Rachel's creations (I wonder what she has in store this week). I do love seeing everyones' projects - so many ideas and such great inspiration.

Hope to see you next week when we will be featuring another versatile colour So Saffron as we continue the weekly 2021-2022 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, our wonderful Art With Heart Team Colour Creations Coordinator.  I so appreciate all Cathy does in coordinating this blog hop each week. She is such a special lady. Check out her wonderful creation while you are there.

#colourcreationsbloghop  #colourcreationsbloghop2022  #stampinup #stampinupdemo  #stampinupdemonstrator #artwithheartteam  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #papercrafting #craneoffortune

Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase - #47 Smoky Slate

Smoky Slate with Hand Penned Petals

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 47th Colour Creations Showcase by members of the Art with Heart Team. After tonight, we have 3 colours plus the new In Colours to complete our showcase of Stampin' Up!s amazing collection of colours.

This week we are showcasing a versatile colour, Smoky Slate. It is a light grey and as one of the Neutrals Colour Family, it is able to be used with so many other colours and in various ways. I love grey with pink so have chosen this as my colour combination to showcase Smoky Slate.

Smoky Slate has been produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Markers; Stampin' Blends, Designer Series Paper including the In Good Taste DSP; and the new Smoky Slate Textured Ribbon.

As I was planning for tonight's blog hop, I wanted to use one of the new bundles from the newly launched 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue. I so love the sketchy nature of the Hand Penned Petals stamp set and the coordinating dies are delightful. I also wanted to use one of the Scalloped Contour dies as I wasn't pleased with the project I blogged last week and felt I hadn't shown these dies well - I wanted to redress it this week. Having made a start, I separately watched a replay of Emma Goddard's Sunday night Facebook live. One of Emma's layouts was similar to what I had in mind. I'd like to say "great minds think alike" however, I don't put myself in Emma's league. I did think of changing tack but my week has gone somewhat haywire and time was limited so decided to CASE a couple of other elements of Emma's card by adding some blending and stamping to the background as well as the positioning of the ribbon. Thanks Emma for your inspiration. You are amazing.

As mentioned, to create the background for the card front some Soft Succulent Classic Stampin' ink was applied with a Blending Brush to the centre of a piece of Basic White card-stock. A little stamping also was added using stamped-off Soft Succulent Classic Stampin' ink. This panel was then dry embossed using the Tasteful Textile 3D embossing folder. At the same time the top Basic White panel was similarly embossed.

The Basic White background panel was adhered to the Smoky Slate card base. A mid size Scalloped Contour die was used to cut a Smoky Slate panel. The slightly smaller embossed white panel was adhered directly to the scalloped contour panel.

The floral spray from the Hand Penned Petals stamp set was stamped twice onto Basic White card-stock in Smoky Slate Classic Stampin ink. The stamped floral sprays were coloured with Stampin' Up!s amazing Stampin' Blends. The colours used were: Smoky Slate, Soft Succulent & Petal Pink combos and a touch of Light Polished Pink. I am delighted that all of the new In Colours have coordinating Stampin' Blends - I can see more colouring in the future. The 3 larger flowers were fussy cut from one  spray while the other floral spray was cut out using the coordinating die.

The 3 larger flowers were hand shaped and adhered to the full spray, with a little glue at the centre. A piece of gorgeous Soft Succulent Open Weave ribbon was tied around the centre panel ending in a bow. Then the coloured flower spray was adhered on top with Dimensionals. The whole panel was added to the centre of the card background with Dimensionals.

To finish the card front design a sentiment from the same stamp set was stamped in Smoky Slate ink onto a scrap of Basic White card-stock. It was fussy cut into 2 pieces and adhered with a mix of tiny pieces of Dimensionals and Multipurpose Liquid Glue. My fingers felt HUGE as I tried to layer tiny pieces of Dimensionals - looking at the sentiment I had chosen I had to keep saying to myself "anything is possible"! Some In Colour Soft Succulent Jewels were the finishing touch. These jewels are amazing.

To create the card inner, the floral spray was stamped in the corner in Smoky Slate ink and a little Soft Succulent ink was lightly blended at the edges. The C6 Basic White Envelope was decorated in the same way.

Thank you so much for visiting Valley Inspirations with Andrea. I loved creating this card to share with you. I hope you like it too.

As mentioned, Stampin' Up's 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue was launched this week. If you are in Australia and don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and you would like your own copy of the Catalogue then let me know and I will be delighted to send one to you.

Catherine Proctor is our delightful host of the Art with Heart Colour Creations Showcase. If you haven't finished visiting all of the team's colour creations, you can visit/revisit Catherine's page at What Cathy Made, where she hosts the links to the participating blogs so you can find everyone's Smoky Slate creations. Checking out everyone's creations and their interpretation of the amazing Stampin' Up! colours is always a treat and I am sure there will be inspiring Smoky Slate projects on show.

I hope to see you again next week when members of the team share projects that hero So Saffron from the SU Subtles Colour family.

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

Andrea 💕🐾