I (heart) Valentine’s Day

Christmas is long gone …. the new year is a week old … which means it’s almost Valentine’s Day! I love making Valentines to send to my besties, so let’s get this party started!

This one-layered card is relatively easy, and the reveal (when you pull of the mask) is so much fun! I created a heart mask, which I placed in the middle of my cardstock. Then I used some small flower and leaf images to stamp around the mask. Easy peasy. When I removed the mask, ta dah — a heart-shaped spot to stamp a sentiment! The sentiment above is from Stampin’ Up’s Bloomin’ Love set, as are some of the flowers.

Here’s another in the same mode:

I could do this all day! The XOXO is a Teresa Collins/Fiskars punch.

Easy-Peasy Gift Card Holders

‘Tis the season to give gifts … and gift cards.

I couldn’t stop making these fast and easy gift card holders from Lawn Fawn. So easy to make using this great Small Stitched Envelope die.

Take a look:

The set also comes with the label (which makes a very cute tiny note card or gift tag), three word dies and some hearts!)

Here’s the inside:

You just die cut, fold, glue and decorate. Easy-peasy!

I have another adorable mini-tote die-based project, also from Lawn Fawn, so stay tuned.

(*This die was provided to me by Lawn Fawn for a magazine project.)

Fabulous Finds Friday: Easy Pop-up Card

Would you believe I have never made a pop-up card? My goodness! It seemed so complicated to me … until I got the Stitched Hillside Pop-Up die from Lawn Fawn:

Of course, I had to play with it ASAP … so I started this card completely backwards with no idea of what I wanted to do. I just wanted to see how the pop-up was created. I cut the die from white card stock and attached it to a white card base, just to see how it fit together and how easy it was to construct. It was so cute I decided to go ahead and create a winter scene.

Here’s the inside:

I stamped and fussy cut trees using some old Hero Arts stamps and stuck them on. Of course, it was still too plain so I added some silver snowflakes (also from Hero Arts). And then the greeting. Totally unplanned; I just kept building the card.

I felt kinda dumb, because now I had a plain white front that would be difficult to stamp on. But then … ta da! … I watched this great Lawn Fawn tutorial and I loved the way Kelly Marie created a belly band for the front of her card! So simple!

And now I’m hooked! It’s not the greatest card, but it was fun and surprisingly easy — a good learning experiment!

Thanks for tuning in.

 

Fab Finds Friday — Coastal Christmas

It’s always such fun to discover a new stamp company! So when I checked out Flourishes, I immediately fell in love with this *Coastal Christmas set.

First, I played with the boat, which was perfect for coloring:

I used a variety of colored pencils and my Kuretake Gansai Tambi to watercolor this scene, which was first stamped in VersaMark black on watercolor paper. (The card is a 4Bar (7″x7 7/8″, folded to 3 1/2 x 4 7/8). And added a touch of Wink of Stella clear to some of the packages. It felt unbalanced, so I added a strip of a scrap paper to the left side.

The next card features the pretty beachy wreath:

Images were stamped and embossed in white on blue cardstock, colored in with various gel pens, edged with Aegean Silver glitter powder (Judikins). The pieces were mounted on a silver shimmer cardstock from Paper Source.)

That same wreath and sentiment also made quick cards with simple white embossing:

*Disclaimer: This stamp set was provided to me by Flourishes. Thank you, Flourishes!

Valentine’s Flowered Heart

It was instant love when I saw this flowered die set (and coordinating stamps) from Stampin’ Up! The die is so beautiful that it does all the hard work for you, whether you are making a Valentine’s Day card, a wedding card, or anything in between.

Look at how easy it is to change the look with just a change of colors. These are very simple, but can easily be used on a more elaborate card.

Enjoy:

I did use the Sizzix Precision Cutting Mat to cut this on my Big Shot — the mat made a huge difference in how well this intricate die cut. The flowers were also die cut and added using Glue Dots™ Minis. Self-stick rhinestones add a bit of sparkle.  The sentiment (Hero Arts) was embossed in white.

Basically the same card. The pink card stock is from World Win and cuts like a dream.

The faux stitching is done with a white gel pen. The sentiment here was stamped in Wendy Vecchi’s Potting Soil archival brown. I love that color.

Thanks for stopping by!

Valentine Heart

I’m taking a brief break from CHA reporting to delve into Valentine’s Day! This is probably my favorite card making holiday. (Last year I sent 40 Valentines, each one just a bit different) to my best gal buddies.

Here’s the first of this year’s batch, a quick-and-easy heart in non-traditional colors:

So easy! I die cut the heart (Hero Arts) three times from white card stock, glued the three together and embossed the top with WOW! gold glitter powder.

I built my card base (using some older card stock from Stampin’ Up!) and affixed the heart on top. The banner was stamped (old Hero Arts sentiment) on white scrap paper, trimmed, and affixed with thin foam squares. Easy peasy!

Continuing March of the Ornaments

For my next batch of ornament cards, I went a little rogue, going for non-traditional Christmas colors. (Again, it’s mostly Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted.)

The ornament is die cut from an old greeting card using Stampin’ Up!’s Delicate Ornament set. (Diamond Stickles has been added to the petals, though it is hard to see here.) The sentiment, gold embossed and layered on gold paper, is from Stampin’ Up!’s Embellished Ornament stamps. The background is embossed using Sizzix  damask and regal Texture Fades embossing folder.

For the next card, I stamped, then cut the ornament:

I inked the stamp using various Ranger Distress Inks, misted slightly and stamped on watercolor paper. The background is made using Stampin’ Up!’s Falling Snow embossing folder; the sentiment, gold embossed, is by Hero Arts. (This is from an old set, so simply substitute any appropriate sentiment.)

More rogue cards coming!

 

 

More Ornament Cards

Once I had my ornaments cut out from Stampin’ Up’s Delicate Ornaments die set (as mentioned in my last post!) it was fast, easy and fun to create the cards. Here are some more:

First, I created the holly background using a large Hero Arts stamp, stamped in VersaMark and embossed in Judikins Detail Metallic Gold powder. The inside (or base) of the ornament was die cut from an old greeting card, then covered with the red outer piece. A few punched pine sprigs (Tim Holtz punch) gives the impression that the ornament is hanging on a tree (although to be more realistic, I should have die cut the hanger piece that comes in the die set. Sigh.)

I started here by die cutting the ornament from the plaid paper (Paper Source) and again from a scrap of white card stock, which I then heat embossed using Zing! gold glitter embossing powder. I mounted the plaid paper to a white card base, glued in the glittery ornament and added some Ranger red stickles. The sentiment (from (Stampin’ Up’s Embellished Ornaments stamp set, which matches some of the dies) was also gold embossed, layered and added using foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by! But wait … there’s more coming ….

Thanksgiving Fun

Ack! How did Thanksgiving get so close?

If you have children coming to dinner (or even if you don’t) check out this great Thanksgiving Activity Book (from Penguin):

It has everything you need for a crafty event, from easy-to-make decorations (including a turkey centerpiece), stickers, games, easy recipes, and more.

And here’s an easy Thanksgiving card:

For the above card, I stamped and black embossed an old Hero Arts stamp (probably discontinued), colored the wheat using Sparkling H2Os, and just kept layering card stock. Fast and easy!

Thanks for popping in!

 

Straight From the Heart

Yikes! It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I’ve only posted one of the many heart cards I’ve made! I love making Valentines, and I love sending them to my girlfriends.

Let’s kick off my Valentine extravaganza with these fun ones made using Simon Says Stamp’s Hearts on Parade die (and lots of scraps!):

I love making these cards (as you can see by the assortment!) Piecing the cards together reminds me of the puzzles I used to work on with my mother — such pleasant memories. There is something so relaxing about matching pieces to die cut openings.

Here’s a closer look at just one card:

As I was die cutting the pieces, I wound up with odds and ends. Never one to let anything go to waste, I used some leftover pieces on this tag …

… and on this kind of strange card:

I’ll be back with more Valentine’s day cards, using another Simon Says Stamp die.