AWH Heart of Christmas #20

Christmas with Sweet Stockings Fancy Fold

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the 20th Art with Heart Team 2021 Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. How quickly has time flown by - we only have another 2 HOC blog hops after this one.

So glad you are joining us for this Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. I had so much fun creating a fancy fold card for this Christmas blog hop. I hope it makes you smile:

The photo shows the card closed but I had burnished the card-stock so well that to wasn't lying flat.

As a dog tragic, I do love the Sweet Stockings Designer Series Paper. It is such fun. A friend of mine noticed the corgi on this DSP and was drawn to it as her sister had recently adopted a little corgi puppy. I was asked to create a card using the corgi for my friend to give to her sister at Christmastime. This is the card created. 

The card is standing up in display position.

Starting with a normal card base in Thick Basic White card-stock, it was trimmed, scored and burnished along the score-lines. Two different background designs from the Sweet Stockings Designer Series Paper were cut into appropriately sized triangles, with one design for the top triangles and the other for the standing triangles.

Here's a different angle.

There was quite a bit of fussy cutting of critters from the DSP. A mix of cats and dogs were cut including a number of corgis with his red knitted jumper. My friend has 3 cats with one a tabby and another a black cat with touches of white, so I needed to include fussy cut cats to represent her fur family.

Each of the folded panels includes a corgi and a cat, with each panel is designed to tell its own story, ie the black cat eyeing off the little mouse with its present.

The centre of the 3 folded panels needed to make a bigger statement, so it stands with greater height and detail, but there is also story, ie the grumpy cat is checking out the fish in the fish bowl. The corgi is in the middle with a snowflake (from the Wonderful Snowflakes pack) and a bow (Pool Party Striped Grosgrain Ribbon) behind him for texture and focus.

The front panel has a tabby cat in a box and the corgi popped up on Dimensionals. In fact each of the corgis are attached with Dimensionals.

There was enough happening on the card front that it didn't need the addition of a sentiment. The little bird carrying a letter on the front stopper was enough as the whole card communicates "Happy Christmas". Some Decorative Matte Dots were added to each panel as that little extra touch. They are part of the suite of products that coordinate with the DSP.

The card inner in this fancy fold card is apart of the card design. It has been covered with the same DSP design as used for the standing triangular sections, with a strip of the othert DSP design added on the LHS. Three 1" circles of the background DSP were popped up with Dimensionals on the RHS to form stoppers to hold the folded front panels. Small fussy cut critters were added to each of the stoppers with Mini Dimensionals. Their sizes were perfect. One of the sentiments from the coordinating Sweet Little Stockings stamp set was stamped in Basic Gray Classic Stampin' ink on Pool Party card-stock.

Card inner with stoppers.

As the inner panel partly shows with the card on display, the back panel was decorated with a piece of Basic White card-stock that had been stamped in Cherry Cobbler Classic ink with another sentiment from the same stamp set and another little corgi was fussy cut and added to one side. I don't like wasting any of the images on the DSP and so will use half animals from the DSP edges, like this little corgi and the cat on the envelope.

Card panel for personal message.

As referenced above, half a fussy cut cat was added to a Basic White C6 envelope. It is only a touch of coordination with the card design - but that's enough.

Card with envelope.

Thank you so much for spending time with me on my blog. I'm so glad you did.

If you are in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of Stampin' Up's 2021-2022 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 make contact with any other queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

To continue with the blog hop, click on the "onto the next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the talented Michele Taylor. I always look forward to checking out Michele's creations together with everyone else's. 

Hope to see you next week for another AWHT Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. There is so much Christmas inspiration to share using Stampin' Up!'s products and we are needing to add to our card stash with Christmas next month. Have you sent your Christmas cards to friends and family overseas? 

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

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

Andrea XXX

  

As already said, it is always a delight to see everyone's creations and the way we each use the amazing Stampin' Up! products. I am sure there will be gorgeous Christmas projects on show so don't miss checking out each blog. 

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 this week’s host of the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, very special Tina Gillespie, 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.

#heartofchristmas #heartofchristmas2021 #awhtheartofchristmas #Stampin'Up! #sweetstockings 

AWH Heart of Christmas #14

Christmas with Sweet Stockings and Penguin Place

Hello. Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and the Art with Heart Team 2021 Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. 

So glad you are joining us for this Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. I love creating for Christmas, however, the week seemed to disappear given various commitments and time was limited for creating plus I was experiencing some health difficulties. As such, I used bits and pieces previously prepared and laying around my crafting space and CASEd layouts as my inspiration was waining.

CHRISTMAS CARD 1:

While staying overnight with a friend, Kathryn Mangelsdorf, who was holidaying at Middleton, I took the Sweet Stockings DSP with me and a pair of snips and relaxed with some fussy cutting in the evening. A range of cats, dogs, mouse & bird had been fussy cut - so were ready and waiting. I also had the Basic White slimline card base sitting on my desk. 

I thank Emma Goddard, a UK Demonstrator, for inspiration for this card. I attended one of Emma's fabulous classes by Zoom over the weekend where the Penguins Place bundle was the focus. It was a fun time with great projects. 

With a spare slimline card base and a number of fussy cut critters, I CASEd one of Emma's project layouts to create this card, using a range of different products.

The background had some blending with Pool Party Classic Stampin' ink and a Blending Brush; then some little stars from the Sweet Little Stockings stamp set were stamped in Pool Party ink. The fussy cut critters were arranged and were either adhered with Multipurpose Liquid Glue or popped up on Dimensionals. I certainly had fun arranging the animals, trying to align expressions with  placement, ie a cat checking out the mouse with the present and another cat eyeing off the fishbowl. I know, I have a pixie-ish sense of humour sometimes.

A sentiment from the same stamp set was stamped in Cherry Cobbler Classic ink onto Basic White card-stock and then fussy cut with my trusty Snips. The sentiment was layered on Dimensionals and a fussy cut bird added on a Dimensional as well.

The Basic White card front was adhered directly to a Thick Basic White slimline card-stock base with liquid glue. A few of the Matte Decorative Dots were added near the sentiment and some Wink of Stella flicked over (although this isn't picked up by the camera).

The card inner was created with some of the stars stamped in Pool Party ink on the Basic White card inner. "Sending lots of love" also from the Sweet Little Stockings stamp set was stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink and a strip of DSP that was also used to create an envelope, was added at the bottom of the card inner. The DSP used for the custom made envelope came from the Sweet Stockings DSP.  A pre-cut label (cut using the Stitched So Sweetly dies) was adhered to the fronton the envelope for writing the address. 

CHRISTMAS CARD 2:

My second card is a slightly stepped up version of a card that was made in one of my classes about 6 weeks ago. I had a few kits left over from the class and as the sample card was misplaced at the class, I used one of the kits to create this card.

The card front was embossed with the Evergreen Forrest 3D Embossing Folder and some Just Jade from the Dark Just Jade Stampin' Blend was splattered over the trees. The largest circle from the Layering Circle dies cut a "sky" circle of DSP from the Beauty of the Earth DSP. This was popped up on Dimensionals.

I had a little stamped penguin sitting on my desk that had been stamped using the Penguins Place bundle with Momento ink, Mango Melody and Highland Heather Classic ink. The sunglasses were created with Basic Black card-stock and the Penguin punch. The Penguin was popped up on a Wobbler so that when he is touched he will wobble. It makes me smile.

Balloons were stamped in Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green and Highland Heather, with the strings stamped in Momento. They were fussy cut and then adhered with liquid glue except the Highland Heather balloon that was popped up on a Dimensional. I realised as I was taking the photos that I had adhered the clouds upside down - that's me at the moment, a bit upside down!  I also realised that the clouds had been cut using the Sheep dies, that are now a retired Sale-a-bration product - oops.

To finish off the card, a sentiment from the Penguin Place stamp set had been stamped in Misty Moonlight ink, fussy cut and was added with Dimensionals. Some gorgeous Subtle Shimmer Sequins were added and a little Wink of Stella was flicked over the card.

I ran out of time to add a card inner (a job for the next few days as I don't like to leave naked inners), but a couple of stamped balloons were added to a C6 Basic White envelope.

Thank you so much for spending time with me on my blog. I'm so glad you dropped in.

If you are in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of Stampin' Up's 2021-2022 Annual Catalogue and or the July - December Mini Catalogue then let me know and I will be delighted to send them to you. Also, please don't hesitate to make contact with any other queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

To continue with the blog hop, click on the "onto the next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of the delightful Ros Davidson. I always look forward to checking out Ros's creations plus everyone else's. 

Hope to see you next week for another AWHT Heart of Christmas Blog Hop. I heard we only have 12 weeks to Christmas - it will be here before we know it. I hope you have started creating. There is so much Christmas inspiration to share using Stampin' Up!'s products. Even though I have been Christmas card making since July I think i need to step it up so I can send cards overseas and have sufficient for my Aussie friends. 

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

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

Andrea XXX

  

As mentioned, it is always a delight to see everyone's creations and the way they each use the amazing Stampin' Up! products. I am sure there will be gorgeous Christmas projects on show. Don't miss checking out each blog. 

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 this week’s host for the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, Tina Gillespie, 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.

#heartofchristmas #heartofchristmas2021 #awhtheartofchristmas