I have worked in publishing all my life, and whether books are found in libraries, bookshops or stacked at home, they bring me an enormous amount of comfort, inspiration and joy.
So for Week 37 of Colour Creations I knew I wanted to create something that celebrated that love of books using a combination of the On Display bundle and the book themed paper from the Hobby Haven DSP.
My bookcase was die cut from Pecan Pie card stock using the largest bookcase die in the bundle. Once the bookcase was adhered to the card base, I carefully fussy cut the shelves to open up each compartment. Yes, this happened after I had already glued it down. Oops!
I’ve filled the shelves with individually fussy cut images from the Hobby Haven DSP. Stacked books, an open book, a coffee cup, a little lamp and a vase of flowers all come together to create a cosy, collected look.
I deliberately arranged the books so they feel a little imperfect and well-loved, rather than styled and symmetrical, much like a real bookcase that has grown over time.
The sentiment, a simple “hello”, is stamped in Pecan Pie using the On Display Stamp Set, which is part of the same bundle. It sits neatly in the top right shelf, almost like the greeting is tucked in among the books themselves.
Take a look at some more Pecan Pie 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
Rosa @hum.and.stamp
Helen @apaperparadise
Vicki @vickiboucher
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
Thank you for joining me for Week 37 of Colour Creations. We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing Petal Pink. I hope you can join us then.
Welcome to Week 36 of Colour Creations, where we are playing with the soft warmth of Peach Pie.
For this project, I paired Peach Pie with a Secret Sea card base to create strong contrast and visual depth. These two colours work beautifully together. The Peach Pie really pops against the deep, moody background, while Secret Sea anchors the design and keeps it feeling polished rather than pastel-heavy.
The layout of my card was inspired by the scrapbook page on page 2, inside the front cover of the new January–April Mini Catalogue.
I loved how the squares were set on an angle in the 12 x 12 inch layout, so I scaled that idea down for a 5 x 5 inch square card. I’ve cut squares of the Square Snippets Designer Series Paper, which pairs perfectly with the Joyful Squares Bundle.
By cutting smaller squares and tilting them, I was able to recreate the look of the scrapbook page in a card-friendly format without losing the impact of the original design.
The simple “hello” sentiment is heat embossed in white on some of the Square Snippets Designer Series Paper. I then stamped the corner stamps from the Joyful Squares Bundle to frame the hello and white heat embossed those too as well as the further stamping on the card base.
The embellishments are from the Rainbow Adhesive-Backed Dots.
The “hello” sentiment comes from the January Product of the Month, the Fabulous Sayings Stamp Set. This set includes sentiments for just about every occasion, making it one of those go-to basics you will reach for again and again. At just $9, it is an easy addition to any craft stash.
Inside the card I’ve added a Basic White insert and stamped it using stamps from the Joyful Squares bundle. The handmade envolope is made from a 6×12 inch piece of the the Lovely & Beautiful 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper.
Peach Pie brings warmth and softness, while Secret Sea adds drama and contrast. Together, they create a balanced combination that feels modern, fresh and very versatile. If you are ever unsure how to make a lighter colour stand out, pairing it with a deep neutral like Secret Sea is a great place to start.
Take a look at some more Peach Pie 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
Andrea @andreaksargent
Kate @craftwithkate
Helen @apaperparadise
Rosa @hum.and.stamp
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
Thank you for joining me for Week 36 of Colour Creations. We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing Pecan Pie. I hope you can join us then.
Welcome to Week 25 of Colour Creations, where we are working with the ever versatile Old Olive. Old Olive is my favourite green and it seems to be the most “natural” of all of the Stampin’ Up! greens, along with Mossy Meadow.
This week’s creation is a scrapbook page documenting part of our 2025 New Zealand trip, something I have not done in a very long time. Cardmaking has been my creative focus for years, but this trip was such a special moment in time that it felt important to record it in a different way.
Slowing down, printing photos and telling the story on a full 12″ x 12″ page felt right. and the Nature’s Walk DSP was the perfect background for my photos of Arrowtown, New Zealand.
Our day trip to Arrowtown was the only wet day of our entire trip but even in the rain Arrowtown was spectacular with its mossy greens, historic weathered timber buildings, stone walls and flowing river.
The organic patterns and layered greens of the Nature’s Walk Designer Series Paper mirror the landscape beautifully and really anchor the photos without overwhelming them.
For the title, I used the Alphabet À La Mode Dies to spell out ARROWTOWN. I love how bold alphabet dies help ground a scrapbook page and instantly tell you where you are before you even take in the details.
The Joyful Squares Bundle was perfect for adding small focal elements, recording the date and framing some of the journaling. I kept the embellishing minimal, letting the photos do the talking, but these little details help guide the eye around the page.
The sentiment pieces come from the Exploring Nature Stamp Set, which could not have been more appropriate. Phrases like “Not lost, just exploring” captured exactly how this trip felt.
And even though I hate my handwriting, one of my favourite details on the page is the small journaling note about the rain. Sometimes the imperfect moments are the ones you remember most.
Take a look at some more Old Olive 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 Andrea @andreaksargent. Be sure to check out her gorgeous project/s.
The full list of this week’s InstaHop is listed below:
Andrea @andreaksargent
Kate @craftwithkate
Kirsty @crafty.littlemiss
Helen @apaperparadise
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
Thank you for joining me for Week 25 of Colour Creations. I hope this page encourages you to revisit an old photo, a special trip or a memory that deserves to be told on paper.
We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing Peach Pie. I hope you can join us then.
Welcome to Week 25 of Colour Creations, where we are working with the timeless and elegant Night of Navy.
It was my mum’s birthday on January 1 and I decided to use the gorgeous On Display Bundle, an Online Exclusive that combines detailed bookshelf dies with coordinating stamps and witty, book-themed sentiments. Mum loves books, cats and the colour blue so this was the perfect card for her birthday!
I’ve also used the I also used the January 2026 Product of the Month, the True Blue Florals 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Designer Series Paper, in several places throughout the project.
The Product of the Month is a new exclusive product with a new one released each month. The Product of the Month costs just $9 (with any single order of $125 or more).
You can see the the True Blue Florals DSP used on the pot plant pot (top left shelf), the bottle (far right, second shelf from the top), and as the artwork inside the picture frame (far left, middle shelf).
I also used this Designer Series Paper to create a coordinating handmade envelope, which ties the entire card together beautifully and makes the finished piece feel extra special.
My colour combination for this project includes Night of Navy, Garden Green, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Balmy Blue, and Basic White.
I chose to pair Night of Navy with Balmy Blue because these are the two colours in the True Blue Florals DSP.
The sentiments on the front and the inside of the card are all from the On Display stamp set.
Take a look at some more Night of Navy 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
Vicki @vickiboucher
Rosa @hum.and.stamp
Cathy @whatcathymade – you are here!
We’ll be back next Wednesday when we are showcasing Old Olive. I hope you can join us then.
Tonight’s our final Heart of Christmas blog hop for 2025 AND it’s only a month to Christmas? Have you made your Christmas cards yet?
I’ve got six cards to share with you tonight, all made using the Calm & Bright Kit. You get everything you need to make nine cards, three of three different designs. This gorgeous kit does not photograph well on the website, however, in real life it is stunning!
Here is the photo from the website:
I love the stamp set that’s included in the kit!
These are the three cards I made following the instructions with a few small tweaks.
Can you see how much more vibrant these cards are in real life? The main reason they are more vibrant is that I’ve used the Lost Lagoon ink spot (included in the kit) for all my stamping, whereas the sample images on the instructions actually use Gray Granite instead.
These are the tweaks I made on each of the cards.
For the card one I used one of the larger layering pieces from the card kit as there are a lot of trees on this design.
For card two I’ve removed the twine wrapped around the base and replaced the star stamped bauble with a simple bow of the white twine.
Card three has one of the smaller layering rectangles and I’ve simplified the design by removing the wrapped twine and the star tag.
These cards are so pretty with their soft colour combination of Pretty in Pink, Lost Lagoon and so much white space!
I then made three more cards, changing the designs around and adding in some Basic Beige card bases to match the envelopes that come in the kit.
For this card I’ve cut down one of the white card bases that come in the kit and layered it onto a Basic Beige card base. I’ve kept the card design similar to the kit design, simply changing where the bow, foliage and tag is placed.
This might be my favourite version of all the cards I’ve created from this kit. I’ve stamped the tiny star stamp on the tree multiple times and added some of the tiny pink dots to the Lost Lagoon tree. I loved stamping the tiny house stamp on the tag to match the pink house above the sentiment!
This final card uses one of the card bases from the kit, but once again I’ve mixed up the design.
Here are all three of my versions of the cards from the kit. Do you have a favourite?
Take a look at some more Christmas Card inspiration!
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 has done an amazing job of hosting our Heart of Christmas blog every Monday. Thank you so much, Sharon.
Our AWH team will be back on Wednesday night, showcasing Lost Lagoon on our Insta Hop. I hope you can join us then!
