AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #21 Crushed Curry

Crushed Curry with Country Birdhouse  

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 beautiful deep yellow colour called Crushed Curry.  Crushed Curry is part of the Regals Colour Family and is a rich slightly muted yellow. Yellows are wonderful with grey, or blue and coordinate with many other colours, including oranges, greens etc. Crushed Curry is beautiful for flowers. 

Crushed Curry is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Stampin’ Watercolor Pencils (Assortment 2); Regals Designer Series Paper as well as a number of other products. 

This project has incorporated Crushed Curry as Classic Stampin' ink, card-stock, Stampin' Write Marker and Watercolor Pencil.

When thinking about a project to create using Crushed Curry I Googled yellow birds and found a beautiful bird with strong yellow belly and purple grey feathers. I then started to ponder what card design I could use to highlight the bird. The Country Birdhouse bundle came to mind and I started to think about a 3D project. A number of days later I saw an amazing 3D Christmas birdhouse by Mikaela Titheridge, one of Stampin’ Up!s Artisans. Then she posted a link to a U-tube video showing how she created it. I so admire Mikaela and her talent and am so appreciative of her video of the box birdhouse. Thank you so so much Mikaela.

Apart from decorating the box birdhouse differently to Mikaela I wanted to see if I could create a box with a base so that it could be used either as a box to hold a gift or as a card that folds flat to fit into an ordinary C6 Basic White envelope.

I challenged my grey matter to create a base for the box to keep the box stable and, as mentioned, so that the box could be used to hold a small gift. As I wasn’t sure how i would use this project, the base also needed to open and lie flat. I got there. There are two flaps that fold across the base and a third flap that folds over from the front and tucks in with a flap.

Three birds were stamped in Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ ink onto Basic White card-stock, one of them was initially stamped onto a Stampin’ Up! Silicon Mat and cardstock was rubbed over the stamped image so the bird would be in reverse. They were coloured with Crushed Curry, Basic Gray, Gorgeous Grape and white Watercolor Pencils. The birdhouse was covered with Country Woods Designer Series Paper - with two designs that were both sides of one sheet. The die cut trims were cut from Basic White and Crushed Curry card-stock using the coordinating Country Birdhouse dies.

Flowers and leaves were die cut from Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper using dies from the same set. Other flowers were also die cut using the Thoughtful Wishes dies. All of the die cuts were wet on wet water-coloured using Crushed Curry and Old Olive inks.

A sentiment from the Country Birdhouse stamp set was white heat embossed on Crushed Curry card-stock and then fussy cut. A Linen Twine double bow was tucked under the sentiment and a number of Iridescent Foil Gems were scattered around.

A Basic White card-stock panel was cut to size and stamped with another sentiment in Smoky Slate ink. One of the Thoughtful Wishes coloured die cuts was adhered to this panel. The Basic White C6 envelope flap was stamped with the cute little bird in Smoky Slate ink.

Thank you so much for calling in to check out my Crushed Curry Country Woods box card. I loved creating it and have decided to give it to a friend to help her celebrate her birthday.

To continue with the Crushed Curry blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a special lady, Kate Morgan. I am looking forward to checking out Kate’s creation(s). I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Daffodil Delight as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 Colour Creations Blog Hop series. 

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 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.

Living in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue or and 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! 

#colourcreationsbloghop  #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards  #stampinupdemonstrator  #papercrafting #artwithheartteam  #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #countrybirdhouse  #countrywoods  #thoughtfulwishes

Funky Folds Blog Hop #7

ANYTHING GOES WITH A FUNKY FOLD

Welcome to the seventh Funky Folds Blog Hop.

We are a group of like-minded paper crafters who love to make cards with funky folds. Funky actually means "modern and stylish in an unconventional or striking way"... so we are featuring cards that are not your usual rectangle/square portrait or landscape style. Think 'easel', 'pop-up', 'gatefold', 'z-fold', 'shaped' or 3D cards etc. The list is endless. All Blog Hops have an 'anything goes' theme using any type of 'funky' card fold. 

Here is my card. It’s not what you think …

It’s not just a square card. The fold chosen for this blog hop is an oldie, but a goodie, the Never Ending fold. You start with a square card then open the card to a different design/facade; open it again to a third design/facade and then again to a fourth design/facade. When you open the card a fifth time you are taken back to the beginning. You can keep opening the card endlessly, hence the name of the fold. Here is the second design:

I have an arty friend who started making cards a year of so ago and I wanted something special for her - something that would stretch her mind like this endless fold card. When completed this card is 6 x 6” or 15.2cm x 15.2cm for the metrically minded. The measurements are more straight forward using inches. You start with 4 panels of 3” x 6”. Here is the third design:

There are a few tricks in creating this card, but it is easier than it looks. As I wanted it to be a special card for a special birthday of a special lady, it needed to remind her of special things. This card incorporates 4 separate but related designs. Here is the fourth design:

As mentioned this card was made for a special friend and so it incorporates things that mean so much to her. i am not going to share the specifics of how this card was made as there are numerous U-tubes that show how to made an Never Ending fold. The Designer Series Paper used is a mix of the Thoughtful Journey DSP and the Country Woods DSP. They are my 2 favourite DSPs in Stampin’ Up!s 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue.

We met walking our dogs through local parks. We developed into a group of like minded folk. The linear park follows a local river and so has many beautiful aspects of nature, whether flowers, fish, skinks, birds and other native flora & fauna - all bringing delight.

I mentioned we met walking our dogs. We all love our dogs dearly and my friend is no exception. The dogs above represent different dogs that belong to individuals in our walking group. 

The dogs above represent my friend’s much loved dogs. They are so so special to her and her partner. We also meet many other dog walkers along the way and often share treats with their dogs, hence the background which was stamped with the Doggone Friends large stamp. It was stamped in Pebble Path and then clear heat embossed over to give it a little shimmer. My friend has chooks who she loves dearly so I had to bring some chickens onto the card. I used a recently retired Stampin’ Up! stamp set, Hey Chuck, as there were no current stamps showing chickens/roosters. I do love the attitude shown by the birds. Her chooks aren’t very colourful, so they have been coloured in black/grey. I couldn’t resist adding a little colour. 

Thank you so much for calling in and spending time with me checking out my blog.

Up next is the lovely Cathy Pinchbeck. I am looking forward to seeing Cathy’s funky fold and to hopping around to check out everyone’s’ creations in our 7th Funky Folds Blog Hop. Just click on the graphic below to be taken to Cathy’s blog.

Here is a list of everyone participating in Funky Folds Blog Hop - September 2024

1. Bronwyn Eastley

2. Tammy Fite, Stamp with Tammy

3. Rochelle Blok

4. Andrea Sargent

5. Cathy Pinchbeck

6. Cindy Mitchell-Clark ~ USA

7. Tracy Held - Trace Of Creativity

8. Julia Quinn - Handmade by Julia Quinn (Australia)

9. Lou Kitzelman

If you love to make cards with creative folds and would like to join in with our monthly Funky Folds Blog Hops, you are welcome to head on over to our community group on Facebook to be part of the fun.

facebook.com/groups/funkyfoldsbloghops

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

Andrea 💕🐾

If you live in Australia, don't already have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like your own copy of the Stampin' Up 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue and or the new September-December 2024 Mini Catalogue then let me know. I will be delighted to send them to you and to be your Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.  Please don't hesitate to make contact with any other queries about this project or Stampin' Up!. 

#stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #doggonefriendly  #thoughtfulwishes   #gratefulblessing   #thoughtfuljourney

CASEing the Catty #477 - CASE the Wildly Flowering DSP Colours

The Wildly Flowers DSP Colours meets Wildflower Designs

Hello, Welcome to Valley Inspirations with Andrea and #477 Challenge with CASEing the Catty.

I am so glad you have dropped by. You may have come from Rochelle Blok, as you take this week’s Blog Hop. At the end of my blog, I have linked to Julia Quinn so you can continue with the Blog Hop.

The Wildly Flowering Suite is so gorgeous and the Designer Series Paper is beautiful with its more muted colour combo. To feature the colours of the DSP I decided to fussy cut flowers directly from the DSP and use background colours of Crumb Cake and Basic White. I have also taken inspiration from the layout of the card at the top of the picture above and converted it into a Latch Fold. I hope you like what I have created to share with you.

As mentioned I took one sheet of the Wildly Flowering DSP and fussy cut a range of flowers.

The background on the front left section was another piece of the DSP that looked like hessian. This piece was embossed with the Layered Floral 3D Embossing Folder and a White Craft ink-pad was lightly dragged over the raised sections to give the embossing highlights. The embossed panel was torn to give extra textural interest. A Basic White panel was also embossed with the same folder and added to the back right hand side.

Flowers and leaves were cut from Basic White card-stock using the Thoughtful Wishes dies. Three of the Countryside Corners dies were used to cut both sections of the “latch”. The 2 larger of the 3 dies were positioned on Crumb Cake card-stock with the RHS closer to allow more room for the fussy cut flowers and die cuts to be arranged. The edge of the larger section had some blending with the White Craft ink and a Blending Brush. The middle section was stamped in Crumb Cake Classic ink with one of the wildflowers from the Wildflower Designs Stamps. A smaller Basic White piece was also cut with a smaller Countryside Corner die.

One of the sentiments from the Wildflower Designs stamps was stamped on Basic White card-stock in both Crumb Cake and Moody Mauve inks. The words were individually fussy cut to create a multicoloured sentiment.

The larger part of the “latch” was attached with Dimensionals to the front panel. The fussy cut flowers and die cuts were arranged and adhered on the latch with Multipurpose Liquid Glue then some Dimensionals were added to ensure the arrangement survived postal handling. A little splattering was added with a Crumb Cake Stampin’ Write Marker.

A Linen Twine double bow was tucked under one of the larger flowers and adhered in place with Glue Dots. A few of the coordinating Adhesive-backed Textured Dots were scattered around the sentiment.

Here is a bit of a close up of the centre of the latch.

When the latch is opened a Basic White panel  is seen that has been simply stamped (and stamped off) in Crumb Cake ink. The Basic White embossed panel is also seen more clearly. A Basic White C6 Envelope was similarly stamped with some wildflowers.

Thank you so much for spending time with me. I so appreciate it. I hope you found something to inspire in some way. x

Don’t miss any of the inspiration from the CASEing the Catty Crew. The next blog in the hop is the wonderful Julia Quinn. Just click on the "next" graphic below to be taken to her blog. I am sure her project will be something special.

Join In The Challenge: We would love you to share a project you have created that has been inspired by the new 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. To share, all you need to do for to the CASEing The Catty Challenge Group. If you aren't a member, its easy to request to join and then all you need to do is upload a photo of your project to the main section. You can click on the graphic below to be taken to the group on Facebook. We would love to see your creation.

#ctc469 #stampinup #stampinupaustralia #stampinupsouthpacific #stampinupdemo  #handmadecards #makeacardsendacard #stampinupdemonstrator #papercrafting #papercrafter  #valleyinspirations   #wildlyflowering   #wildflowerdesigns  #layeredfloral  #countrysidecorners

AWH Colour Creations Blog Hop #9 Basic Gray

Basic Gray with Sketched Butterflies

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 showcasing a deep grey called Basic Gray. Basic Gray is part of the Neutrals Colour Family and like other neutrals, it coordinates with so many colours. For me, this colour is not one I would use as a focal colour as it can be quite so be, however, it is great to use instead of black if you want to stamp in a slightly softer colour, its also wonderful for shadows, to add to other colours to give greater depth of shading. I think it is a wonderful colour to support other colours. I love grey as a combo with either pink, blue or yellow. 

Basic Gray is produced in Stampin' Up!'s card-stock, both A4 & 12"x12"; Classic Stampin' inks (ink pads, Spots & re-inkers); Stampin' Write Marker; Watercolor Pencils - Assortment One; Neutrals Designer Series Paper as well as Country Woods DSP, Calming Creek Mix & Match Cards & Envelopes; Basic Gray & Smoky Slate Pearls and the TimelessGreetings Kits. 

The card below has used Basic Gray ink, card-stock, Stampin’ Write Marker, Country Woods DSP and some of the Basic Gray (& Smoky Slate) Pearls.

As I first mused about creating a card showcasing Basic Gray, I wanted to add a strong colour. The current weather is really cloudy, overcast, raining and “grey”. I wanted to move out of the “grey” feeling so chose Melon Mambo as the main accompanying colour. I also thought of butterflies as something that could be stamped in Basic Gray and then coloured - hence my selection of the wonderful Sketched Butterflies bundle.

I also thought of Stampin’ Up!s Challenge for this month - “do you prefer ‘this’ or ‘that’ “ layout. #CreativeChallengeSU  This card was inspired by the “this” layout, with some more lateral interpretation of the smaller circles.  The side panels were created with strips of one of the Country Woods DSP designs including Basic Gray. The strips were mounted onto slightly larger Basic Gray panels.

The process started with water-colouring the central panel of the design, intensifying the ink at the top and allowing the colour dilute and drip down the panel of Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. Before adding Melon Mambo Classic Stampin’ ink a light wash of Bubble Bath ink covered the panel to dispel the cream colour of the paper. The water-coloured panel was left to almost dry before being embossed with the Cute Crochet 3D Embossing Folder. My first use of this gorgeous folder. When fully dry, some Basic Gray splattering was added with a Stampin’ Write Marker and it was mounted onto a slightly larger piece of Basic Gray card-stock.

All the butterflies from the Sketched Butterflies stamp set were stamped in Basic Gray Classic Stampin’ ink onto Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper. The butterflies were then over stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Clear Emboss Powder and a Heat Tool. They were water-coloured with Bubble Bath & Melon Mambo inks and the fine Water-Painter. When dry they were die cut with coordinating dies. A round label was die cut with one of the smaller circular dies from the Spotlight on Nature set. 

The birthday sentiment was stamped in Basic Gray ink and fussy cut. Arranging all the bits and pieces still left me feeling that something else was needed and I spied a detailed die cut on my work area - it had been die cut using the Thoughtful Wishes dies and was already trimmed into 2. It was tucked under the Spotlight On Nature label, and … it worked. Thank you for extra left over bits and pieces from previous projects. Also a left over piece of Iridescent Striped Trim was cut lengthwise into 3 before bring tied into a bow. A few delightful Basic Gray Pearls were added near the sentiment.

The “this” Stampin’ Up! layout, reminded me of a simple fun fold, where just the centre panel of the card flipped up to reveal the area for writing one’s personal message. In this instance, the Basic White panel was stamped in Basic Gray ink with a different sentiment from the same stamp set. A left over thin strip of the water-coloured panel was added to one side and remaining coloured butterflies were added with two tiny butterflies also partially showing when the card is closed.

A Basic White C6 envelope was stamped with the tiny butterflies in Basic Gray ink.

Thank you so much for dropping in on your way around the Basic Gray Colour Creations Blog Hop. I hope you like my card. I doappreciate your time spent here at Valley Inspirations with me.

To continue with the Basic Gray blog hop just click the "next" graphic below to be taken to the blog of a lovely lady, Di Furniss. I am looking forward to checking out Di’s creation(s) - I wonder if she has created one of her amazing fun folds?. I do love seeing everyone’s' projects - there is always so much inspiration.

I do hope to see you next week when we will be featuring Berry Burst as we continue the weekly 2024-2025 Colour Creations Blog Hop series. 

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 Catherine Proctor’s blog @ What Cathy Made. Cathy is our amazing 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 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue, then let me know and I will be delighted to send it 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  #CreativeChallengeSU   #sketchedbutterflies #thoughtfulwishes #spotlightonnature