Welcome to Week 3 of the brand new 2025-26 AWH Colour Creations Insta Hop!
For the first five weeks of our AWH Colour Creations Insta Hop we are introducing the five new 2025-26 In Colors in alphabetical order and this week we are showcasing Secret Sea.
Secret Sea is a very dark blue-grey-green neutral colour that works beautifully with both warm and cool tones. Here’s a graphic I created to show how Secret Sea compares to the other dark blues and, grays and greens in the Stampin’ Up! range.
For this week’s project, I was inspired by the colour combination in the Boho Vibes DSP and so I’ve paired Secret Sea with Mossy Meadow, Petal Pink, and a pop of Cajun Craze for contrast.
Secret Sea provided the perfect dark background to highlight the stunning floral imagery in the Layers of Beauty bundle.
For this card I didn’t use the masks included in the bundle. I stamped the floral and leaf images from the Layers of Beauty stamp set in Secret Sea and then coloured the images using Stampin’ Blends in:
- Petal Pink (flowers)
- Cajun Craze (floral centres and smaller flowers)
- Mossy Meadow (leaves and foliage)
Once coloured, I die cut the entire panel using the coordinating Layers of Beauty dies and then cut the large floral image into three smaller pieces.
I layered the die cut pieces back onto a Secret Sea base to create a beautiful tone-on-tone effect with added dimension. You can really see the shadow and lift in the close-up photos!
TOP TIP – I used my Secret Sea Stampin’ Blend to colour the white cardstock edges of the die cut flowers and leaves.
To tie everything together, I used a splatter effect across the background – created by flicking watered-down Whisper White craft ink with a brush – for added texture.
The “Happy Birthday” sentiment comes from the Simply Said stamp set. I stamped it in Versamark Ink, heat embossed with WOW white embossing powder onto Cajun Craze card stock.
I backed the sentiment with Petal Pink cardstock to help it pop against the darker tones of the Secret Sea cardstock.
A bow of natural linen thread and a scattering of Petal Pink opaque dots adds softness and ties in with the colour palette.
The Petal Pink embellishments are from the Muted Palette Dots, which are part of the Boho Vibes Suite Collection.
Secret Sea is definitely a keeper in my craft stash. I love how it allows warmer tones like Cajun Craze and Petal Pink to shine.
Don’t forget to hop through the rest of the Art With Heart team to see more stunning Secret Sea projects!
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 window to follow the Instagram hop at any point.
Next in our Hop is Michele @taylormadedesigns58. Be sure to check out her gorgeous project/s.
The full list of this week’s InstaHop are listed below:
Michele @taylormadedesigns58
Kirsty @crafty.littlemiss
Andrea @andreaksargent
Vicki @vickiboucher
Leanne Mitchell @createwithleanne2
Theresa @teegeeinspirations
Kate @craftwithkate
Rachel W @handstamped_by_rachel
Rachel P @rachelpalmieristampin
Rosa @hum.and.stamp
Helen @apaperparadise
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
If you live in Australia, you can find and purchase the products I’ve used for my card in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store.
I’ll be back next Wednesday night with Week 4 of our 2025 – 2026 AWH Colour Creations Insta hop when we will be showcasing Strawberry Slush, another of the 2025 – 27 InColours.
I hope you can join us then.
Absolutely gorgeous.