This week the Art With Heart team is showcasing Early Espresso, the richest brown in the Stampin’ Up! Neutrals family. I love how this deep, warm neutral can work as a strong base colour while also adding contrast and depth to lighter shades.
For this card I’ve paired Early Espresso with softer colours: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Petal PInk and Pecan Pie.
My card was inspired by a gorgeous housewarming card created by former Artisan, Tammy Wilson. Tammy used the Weekend Adventures Stamp Set and I realised that although this stamp has been designed for memory keeping, it also works really well for cardmaking too. It might have accidentally fallen into my card when I placed my next order, LOL!
I CASED Tammy’s idea of idea of creating a mug rack with hooks, but instead of a housewarming card, I stamped my mugs with snowflakes from the Delicate Pines stamp set to create a soft country Christmas vibe.
How to make my Early Espresso Country Christmas card
The “mug rack” and card base feature the Country Woods DSP, perfect for creating that timber look. Each mug is “hung” on a Neutral Matte Dot, acting as little hooks.
The card front is embossed with the Exposed Brick EF, giving subtle texture and a rustic feel. The “It’s the most magical time of the year” sentiment on the front comes from Delicate Pines Stamp Set, stamped in Early Espresso.
I stamped the mugs from the Weekend Adventures stamp set using the Saddle Brown Stazon ink and coloured in using the following Stampin’ Blends:
Left mug: Pool Party + Light Crumb Cake
Middle mug: Pecan Pie + Light Crumb Cake
Right mug: Light Pretty in Pink + Petal Pink
The snowflakes are also stamped using Saddle Brown Stazon, with Traditional Sparking Sequins adding a touch of sparkle in the centres for that frosty, magical feel. Die cut greenery adds dimension and uses dies from the Delicate Pines dies.
Fussy Cutting the Mugs
Taking the extra time to fussy cut really makes the mugs pop, and the open handles add a professional finish.
Inside, I stamped a message from Gift of Joy: “Wishing you a season wrapped in love and tied up with joy” with additional stamped snowflakes for decoration.
This was such a fun project to make, and it really shows how versatile Early Espresso can be for Christmas crafting. It pairs effortlessly with both pastels and warm tones, giving a grounded, cosy vibe.
Take a look at some more Early Espresso inspiration on our Insta Hop!
Our blog hop is now an Instagram hop but the good news is that you don’t need to have an Instagram account to view all of the other projects!
Simply copy any of the Insta handles below into a new search engine window to follow the Instagram hop at any point.
Next in our Hop is Kate @craftwithkate. Be sure to check out her gorgeous project/s.
The full list of this week’s InstaHop is listed below:
Kate @craftwithkate
Andrea @andreaksargent
Kirsty @crafty.littlemiss
Helen @apaperparadise
Sharon @sharondaverncreates
Leanne @createwithleanne2
Claire @clairedalycreates
Rachel @rachelpalmieristampin
Theresa @teegeeinspirations
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing Flirty Flamingo.
Looking for some more Christmas card inspiration?
Our Heart of Christmas blog hop is back for 2025 and we will go live at 8pm (EAST) every Monday night with Christmas card inspiration. This hop is a traditional blog hop (not an Insta Hop) so you can see all of the team’s creations by reading my blog and clicking through to the next person .
Are you ready for some more Christmas crafting inspiration?
It’s week three of the 2025 Heart of Christmas blog hop and our Art With Heart team have plenty more inspiration for your Christmas projects.
My Christmas card this week combines products from the Peaceful Garden Suite Collection and the Modern Christmas Suite. I love it when products from different suites work so well together!
The Ornamental Christmas dies are part of the Modern Christmas Suite and they include two large Christmas bauble dies with ornament cap dies, just perfect for showcasing beautiful patterns in DSP.
I’ve seen a few Christmas cards that have used the Bauble Blooms Dies with the Peaceful Garden 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Designer Series Paper, so I thought I’d see if it also worked with the Ornamental Christmas dies and I’m really happy with the result!
I’ve used the ornament cap dies to die cut the Peaceful Garden 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Glimmer Paper, adding a touch of shimmer to my Christmas card. I had to photograph my card outside this week to capture the glimmer – I think this photo shows it the best.
Such a pretty card deserves a handmade envelope, so I made one using the Peaceful Garden 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Designer Series Paper .
The “Happy Christmas” sentiment is stamped in Secret Sea using a sentiment from a gorgeous stamp set called the Gift of Joy Stamp Set.
Take a look at some more Christmas Card inspiration on our Heart of Christmas blog hop!
Now it’s time to hop in over to our next participant, the lovely Sharon Davern. I can’t wait to see what Sharon has made this week!
If the next button link is not working or you’d like to see the entire list of participants go to Sharon Davern‘s blog. Sharon does an amazing job of hosting our Heart of Christmas blog every Monday.
Our AWH team will be back on Wednesday night, showcasing Early Espresso on our Insta Hop. I hope you can join us then!
This week we’re showcasing Daffodil Delight, a sunny, happy yellow from the Brights family.
As soon as I saw the “Happy Place” stamp set in the new September – December catalogue I knew it would work perfectly with the Sunrise Sailing bundle!
To create my sunrise scene I’ve used a mix of colours. The inks I’ve blended on the Basic White cardstock layer to create my sunrise are Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Peach Pie and Balmy Blue.
The Stampin’ Blend colours I used to colour in the “Happy” stamp are Daffodil Delight, Petal Pink and Pool Party. And the card base is Basic Black cardstock.
How to partially emboss a cardstock layer
For my sunrise layer I wanted the texture of the sea underneath my blended sunrise, without the embossed image of the sail boat. To achieve this effect I simply embossed the bottom section of the Sunrise Sailing EF by rotating it 90 degrees and only running the lower section through the Stampin’ Up! Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.
This image shows how I’ve extended most of the embossing folder off the edge of the embossing platform. NOTE: the Specialty Plate (Plate 4) only covers the area of the cardstock I want to emboss.
Blending and shading to create a sunrise.
Blending brushes make it easy to create a sunrise/sunset scene. I started at the centre with the Daffodil Delight, adding a touch of Peach Pie to darken the centre of the Daffodil Delight, then I blended the Balmy Blue and Night of Navy for the rest of the sky. The ocean is also Night of Navy.
I used stampin blends to colour in the “Happy” stamp and then I cropped the “birthday” from a “Happy Birthday” greeting in the Greetings for All Mix & Match Ephemera Pack.
The cute little sail boats and seagulls are all from the Sunrise Sailing bundle, die cut in Basic Black and Basic White.
Take a look at some more Daffodil Delight inspiration on our Insta Hop!
Our blog hop is now an Instagram hop but the good news is that you don’t need to have an Instagram account to view all of the other projects!
Simply copy any of the Insta handles below into a new search engine window to follow the Instagram hop at any point.
Next in our Hop is Kate @craftwithkate. Be sure to check out her gorgeous project/s.
The full list of this week’s InstaHop is listed below:
Kate @craftwithkate
Helen @apaperparadise
Andrea @andreaksargent
Kirsty @crafty.littlemiss
Leanne @createwithleanne2
Sharon @sharondaverncreates
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing the darkest of the neutrals: Early Espresso.
Looking for some Christmas card inspiration?
Our Heart of Christmas blog hop is back for 2025 and we will go live at 8pm (EAST) every Monday night with Christmas card inspiration. This hop is a traditional blog hop (not an Instahop) so you can follow along by reading my blog.
It’s week two of the 2025 Heart of Christmas blog hop and hopefully our Art With Heart team will provide you with plenty more inspiration for your Christmas projects.
This week I’ve created two gatefold cards using products from the Peaceful Garden Suite Collection. One is a vertical gatefold card and the other is a horizontal gatefold card.
This is the template I’ve created to show you how I made two gatefold cards from one sheet of Misty Moonlight cardstock. For both cards I’ve designed the fold so it reveals the middle of the inside layer of the card, even when the card is closed.
All of the DSP, glimmer foil, embellishments, sentiments and ribbon used on both these cards comes from the Peaceful Garden Suite, which you’ll find in the September – December 2025 Catalogue.
Card 1 – Vertical Gatefold Card
This starry Secret Sea/Cloud Cover DSP is my favourite DSP design from the Peaceful Garden 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Designer Series Paper and it pairs perfectly with the other Cloud Cover DSP I’ve used for the inside sentiment and the side layering piece with the doves.
I have to admit I had originally stamped the sentiment directly onto the inside Basic White cardstock panel, however I accidentally smudged some ink so I covered it up with a strip of DSP and I really like the effect!
For both cards I’ve die cut the Peaceful Garden 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Glimmer Paper using the star dies from the Peace on Earth Bundle to create my embellishments.
The other die I love in this bundle is the tiny envelope die that fits in the doves’ mouths. I die cut it from Cloud cover cardstock for card one.
Here’s what the card looks like when you open it up. I simply used a single glue dot to hold closed the side layering piece with the doves.
Card 2 – Horizontal Gatefold Card with a Belly Band
Card two has exactly the same measurements for the card base as card one, however it has been flipped vertically and a belly band has been added to secure it closed.
I created the belly band using a strip of cloud cover cardstock and a length of the Misty Moonlight & Silver Edged 1/2″ (1.3 cm) Ribbon from the Peaceful Garden Suite,
Here’s what the card looks like on the inside with the belly band removed.
For both cards I stamped the sentiments in Secret Sea, sometimes just partially stamping the “Peace, Love & Joy” sentiment to make it fit into my design.
Take a look at some more Christmas Card inspiration on our Heart of Christmas blog hop!
Now it’s time to hop in over to our next participant, the lovely Kate Morgan. I can’t wait to see what Kate has made this week!
If the next button link is not working or you’d like to see the entire list of participants go to Sharon Davern‘s blog. Sharon does an amazing job of hosting our Heart of Christmas blog every Monday.
Our AWH team will be back on Wednesday night, showcasing Daffodil Delight on our Insta Hop. I hope you can join us then!
This week we’re showcasing Crushed Curry, a rich golden yellow from the Regals family, and I’ve used it with the amazing Scenic Adventure dies to create a sunrise Father’s Day card for my husband.
Although I usually gravitate towards more monochromatic colour palettes, for this card I took my inspiration from nature and used colours I would not normally pair together: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Petunia Pop, Blackberry Bliss, Basic Black and Shaded Spruce.
The Scenic Adventure dies are part of a bundle with the Scenic Adventure stamp set, however on this card I’ve only used the Scenic Adventure dies, as well as a circle die from the Stylish Shapes dies to make the Crushed Curry sun. The only stamping is the sentiment.
Adding extra detail with hand embossing
To emphasise the Crushed Curry sun and add extra texture to this card I decided to add some hand embossing.
On a Basic White cardstock layer I stamped a sun in Crushed Curry using the semicircle stamp in the Sunshine Vibes stamp set and then I stamped the Sun rays in Crushed Curry all round the sun.
To add texture, I used the stylus from my Simply Scored Scoring Tool and a ruler to emboss lines that extend the sun rays. I then used a small blending brush and Crushed Curry Ink to add the glow of the sun in the sky as it rises above my mountain scene.
The white heat embossed “Father Day” sentiment is from the Trusty Tools stamp set, heat embossed onto Basic Black card stock.
I really love the vibrant, graphic quality this unusual colour combination gives to my sunrise scene and i hoipw my husband likes it too!
Take a look at some more Crushed Curry inspiration on our Insta Hop!
Our blog hop is now an Instagram hop but the good news is that you don’t need to have an Instagram account to view all of the other projects!
Simply copy any of the Insta handles below into a new search engine window to follow the Instagram hop at any point.
Next in our Hop is Kirsty @crafty.littlemiss . Be sure to check out her gorgeous project/s.
The full list of this week’s InstaHop is listed below:
Kirsty @crafty.littlemiss
Kate @craftwithkate
Helen @apaperparadise
Leanne @createwithleanne2
Sharon @sharondaverncreates
Andrea @andreaksargent
Vicki @vickiboucher
Cathy @whatcathymade
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing another yellow: Daffodil Delight!
Looking for some Christmas card inspiration?
Our Heart of Christmas blog hop is back for 2025 and we will go live at 8pm (EAST) every Monday night with Christmas card inspiration. This hop is a traditional blog hop (not an Instahop) so you can follow along by reading my blog.
