AWH Heart of Christmas - #6

Christmas with Welcome Noel

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the ninth Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2026. We are sharing Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you will check us out as often as you can.

Again being time poor I decided to re-create a fun fold I had used the day before as I thought it would be quicker. Having said that, I found some of my choices didn't gel as well as I had hoped and having run out of time I have just photographed the open view of the card and not the closed aspect.

Here is a couple off close ups of the open card:

Here is the back of the card including the panel for writing a personal message.

Here is a top-down view:

Thank you so much for dropping in to check out my Christmas card. I hope you have found some inspiration for Christmas creating.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the lovely Sharon Davern. I always look forward to checking out Sharon’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations InstaHop that goes live every Wednesday night on Instagram where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to 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 amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  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 2025-2026 Annual Catalogue and or the September-December 2025 Mini Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact regarding any queries about these projects or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2026 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2025  #  #

AWH Heart of Christmas - #5

Christmas with A Little Christmas

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the fifth Art with Heart Team Heart of Christmas Blog Hop for 2026. We are sharing Christmas inspiration each Monday evening until the end of November. I do hope you will be able to check us out as often as you can.

With health and time issues, I again needed something that would come together easily. My choice this week was to fussy cut images from the Oh so cute A Little Christmas Designer Series Paper. There is so much cuteness in this DSP, but I couldn't go passed the carolling mice and some of the critters on the same sheet of DSP. There was some time fussy cutting the images out and being careful not to cut mice tails but I had so much fun in creating a scene on a mini slimline card.

The background was built on a Basic White panel that, once blended and stamped was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Basic White cardstock. Pool Party ink was lightly blended near the top of the background panel using a Blending Brush. Also, it was stamped with snowflakes in Pool Party Classic Stampin ink.  Te panel was then adhered to a Pool Party cardstock base. Some torn pieces of Basic White cardstock were layered near the base of the card to give a sense of snow drifts/ground.

As mentioned, images were fussy cut with Stampin' Snips and then arranged over the background panel. Both Multipurpose Liquid Glue or Dimensionals were used to adhere the fussy cut images in place.

A sentiment from the coordinating Christmas Mice stamp set was white heat embossed onto Pool Party cardstock and then fussy cut out. A White Twine double bow was tucked under the sentiment and adhered with Glue Dots. The final touch - some Basic Rhinestone Jewels were coloured with a Pool Party Blend and scattered around the sentiment and over the card to add a little sparkle.

A Basic White panel formed the card inner. I little blending and some stars were added at the top of the panel. A leftover fussy cut mouse and bits of holly were added together with a sentiment from the same stamp set.  A little blending and some stars were added to a Slim Line envelope to provide a little coordination.

Thank you so much for dropping in to check out my Christmas card. I hope it gave you a smile.

There is more Christmas creativity, so do continue with this blog hop to the Art with Heart Team Leader, the amazing Claire Daily. I always look forward to checking out Claire’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is so much inspiration.

Also, many of us participate in the Colour Creations InstaHop that goes live every Wednesday night on Instagram where we showcase one of Stampin’ Up!s colours each week. We would love you to 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 amazing Art With Heart Team Heart of Christmas Coordinator.  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 2026 September-December Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send it to you.  Please don't hesitate to make contact regarding any queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

#heartofchristmas  #heartofchristmas2026 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #artisandesignteam  #artisandesignteam2026  #christmasmice  #alittlechristmas

CASEing the Catty #590 - CASE All Wrapped Up Colours

CASE Stampin’ Up!s ALL WRAPPED UP Colours meets 

Hello, welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea & #590 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Peta Stephen, as you take this week’s Blog Hop or perhaps arrived directly here; 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 and OnLine Exclusives as inspiration and 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 All Wrapped Up suite found on pages 22 - 23 of the 2026 Stampin' Up! September-December Catalogue.

This week we are CASEing the colours of the All Wrapped Up Suide, that includes Cloud Cover, Misty Moonlight, Lost Lagoon, Peaceful Pine, Real Red and Secret Sea. It is a lovely colour combo. As I thought of the colours I decided to also feature one of the bundles in the suite - the Elegantly Wrapped bundle with the beautiful bows. Each colour is shown on a different bow. The feel of card reminds me of Berdien, a fellow Artisan this year. I adore her creations.

Starting with a Thick Basic White cardstock base a panel of the All Wrapped Up Speciality Designer Series Paper (SDSP) forms the background. Basic White squares were die cut using a small Tile Garden die and then they were mounted on slightly larger pieces of Basic White cardstock.

The mid and smaller sized bows from the Elegantly Wrapped stamp set were stamped in Classic Stampin' inks - Lost Lagoon, Misty Moonlight, Secret Sea, Real Red, Peaceful Pine and Cloud Cover. They were each coloured in a Light Stampin' Blend of the same colour with highlights added with a Colour Lifter. To add some extra highlights/texture, the Stampin' White Gel Pen was used to add lines or dots.

A Peaceful Pine Shimmer pen was used to add fine splatter and a little shimmer. The in colour Shimmer Pens are so much fun.

The Opal Foiled sentiment was found in my stash, together with tiny candy canes. Previously I had created a set of sentiments using my new Stampin' Up! Hot Foil machine and the Magical Christmas Hot Foil dies. I love this product as you make a number of sentiments in one process and can then have them sitting on your creative space waiting for the right project. Together with the sentiments you also get the candy canes and a number of stars.

I was going to use some Basic Rhinestone Jewels as embellishments but they were hiding under another project so I found a retired embellishment - the Faceted Snowflakes. You could also think of them as stars - either way they add a bit of silver shine to coordinate with the SDSP.

Thank you so much for dropping in to check out my project.

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from this creative CASEing The Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is by the wonderful Julia Quinn. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I wonder how she has CASEd the colours - I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project that you have created for this Challenge which has been inspired by the the beautiful colours of the All Wrapped Up suite. To share, all you need to do is go to the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group on Facebook. If you aren't a member, it’s easy to request to join and once anpproved all you need to do is upload a photo of your project that was created for this challenge to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would so love to see your creation.

 

#ctc590 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations  #thankfulgarden  #allwrappedup #elegantlywrapped  #tilegarden  #caseingthecatty #artisandesignteam2026  #artisandesignteam

Be Inspired - September 2026 - Neutrals Only

 Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

USING ONLY NEUTRALS

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the September Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on a colour challenge to showcase only Neutrals. However you have arrived here, whether from Melanie Hockin or directly here, I am so delighted that you are here.

While I love Neutrals and incorporate many in projects; to create a project with only Neutrals has been a bit of a challenge. To give myself a little leeway I decided to select from the Stampin' Up!s family of Neutrals. A number of years ago Stampin' up combined four deep colours to the Neutral Colour Family. They are Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Mossy Meadow and Blackberry Bliss. Beautiful colours that work so will with a range of colours.

This year is a year for Christmas Neutrals; so I have created a Christmas card featuring Noel Tidings and Welcome Noel bundles together with the Neutral Noel Speciality Designer Series Papers. The bundles and paper is part of an amazing suite that incorporates pine, houses and trees.

A Pecan Pie, Gold and pine design of the Neutral Noel SDSP forms the background on a Very Vanilla cardstock card base. A panel of Very Vanilla cardstock was embossed with the Textured Tree Ring 3D Embossing Folder. This panel was mounted on a slightly larger piece of Basic White cardstock and popped up on Dimensioinals. It forms the base for the focal design.

Tiny houses from the Welcome Noel dies were die cut from Basic Beige cardstock together with the pine wreath from the Noel Tidings dies. Some blending was added to each one, ie the long house with Crumb Cake ink; the tall house with Blackberry Bliss ink and the pine oval wreath with Pecan Pie ink. Trees from the Welcome Noel stamps were stamped in Pecan Pie ink and 2nd generation Pecan Pie. They were die cut out too. As I was arranging the pieces, I felt something else was needed so fussy cut pine/pine cones from the Winter Alpine Designer Series Papers (it’s an Online Exclusive).

White Craft ink was splattered over the card. A sentiment from Noel Tidings stamps was stamped in Pecan Pie ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock. A double Linen twine bow was tucked under the sentiment strip and some Gold Adhesive-backed Dots were scattered around.

The card inner was simply decorated with a left over strip of background SDSP, a second generation tree and a little house. Another sentiment was stamped inside too. A Basic White C6 envelope was stamped with a number of trees to bring some coordination with the card.

Thank you so much for spending some time here with me.

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the Neutrals Only Colour Challenge Blog Hop.  Next in line is the amazing Angela Meiritz-Reid. Just click the "Next" graphic below to head over to Angela’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this month's Blog hop is:

Andrea Sargent <you are here

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Annette Ball

Annette Elias

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Heather Thomas

Jaqualine Tobiczyk - Instagram Only

Maheswari Rajaguru 

Melanie Hockin

The list of Be Inspired Design Team Members hopping over on Instagram this month are:

Andrea Sargent @andreaksargent

Angela Meiritz-Reid  @stampingbeautynz

Annette Ball @stampinwiththebees05

Annette Elias @de_kijkkast

Emma Goddard @coastalcrafter

Jaqueline Tobiczyk @touchofjoycs

Maheswari Rajaguru @maheswarirajaguru

Melanie Hockin @melsinkyfingers

#instahop #cardmakersofinstagram #stampinupaustralia #ADT2026 #artisandesignteam2026 #stampinupdemonstrator #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupofficial #InstaHop #valleyinspirationswithandrea #beinspired

Be Inspired - July 2026 - Creating Backgrounds

Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

CREATING BACKGROUNDS

Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the July Be Inspired Blog Hop where we are focusing on projects that show wonderful backgrounds. However you have arrived here, whether from Melanie Hocking or directly here, I am so delighted that you are here.

As I was thinking about the type of background I would use my minds flittered around thinking “oo, I could do that; and then - well how about that … or that …. There are many types of backgrounds to try and many old favourites. In the end I decided to share one of my favourite backgrounds, that is Dry Embossed backgrounds. I love the subtle tone on tone texture that allows the focal point to shine while providing interest to the project.

You may recognise the gorgeous Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder that was used to emboss the Basic White background. This is a wonderful embossing folder. I love that some parts of the background are left in-embossed to contrast with the embossed sections.

To provide a simple focal point a Party Banner die was used to cut the end of the Basic White banner that was mounted on Hydrangea Hue In Color Shimmer Speciality Paper. Violets were both stamped and die cut using the Pressed Violets bundle. I love working with this bundle as it brings warm childhood memories of picking violets for my Mum. The violets were coloured in Hydrangea Hue and the leaves in Soft Sea Foam with a touch of Peaceful Pine to add a little shading & depth.

Iridescent Pearls Basic Jewels add a little shimmer to the flower centres and around the sentiment. White ribbon was cut in half lengthwise and tied into a double bow then ticked in between the violets and sentiment.

The card inner was simply stamped with it of the violet stamps in Secret Sea Classic ink. I often use this ink instead of black. If you have time, the violets could be coloured with Stampin’ Blends, but my time was running away with speed so it is simply stamped.

A Stampin’ Basic White C6 envelope was also stamped with the violets in Secret Sea ink.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the July Be Inspired Blog Hop. I so appreciate you.

I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else has created for the Creating Backgrounds Blog Hop.  Next in line is the amazing Angela Meiritz-Reid. Just click on the "Next" graphic below to head over to Angela’s blog.

The full list of those participating in this Blog hop is:

Andrea Sargent <you are here

Angela Meiritz-Reid

Annette Ball

Annette Elias

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Lynn Cheesmur

Maheswari Rajaguru  

Melanie Hockin