Friendship, love and hugs

I don't know about you and your neck of the woods, but I am sooo done with winter. We're at the stage now where it's warm enough during the day that the snow is starting to melt. Nice! But then it cools off again at night and everything refreezes, leaving the sidewalks covered with ice. Blech! And March is typically our snowiest month, so I'm sure we're not out of the woods yet.

But today I'm (finally!) going to share the rest of my Valentines Day / all-year love-and-friendship cards that will bring warm fuzzies to your loved ones, even if it's still cold outside.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Quick Critters stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Florence sequins (Close to My Heart), Wonky Stitched Circle dies (My Favorite Things), Small Stitched Rectangle Stackable dies (Lawn Fawn), Dimensionals

The first three cards use the same stamp and die combo from Taylored Expressions as well as the same pad of patterned paper. And of course I used my favorite note cards and envelopes.

For this card I die cut two owls, using a patterned paper that reminded me of feathers. I stamped their faces, adhered them to a circle of woodgrain-style paper and added a banner stamped with a sentiment. For the background I used a die-cut stitched rectangle of the same paper I used for the owls. I used Dimensionals to adhere the focal piece to the card base and then added a few sequins for embellishment.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Quick Critters stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, Blushing Bride card stock, The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Coral Reef sequins (Close to My Heart), Mini Dimensionals

I had lots of little scraps from the paper pad, so I decided to use some of them to make a background panel for this card. I cut a piece of white card stock to the size I wanted for the panel and then glued the strips to the card stock, trimming the ends along the edge of the card stock.

I die cut a pink pig for the focal image -- I love her cute little curly tail! -- and stamped her face. I attached the pig to the panel with Dimensionals and (surprise!) added three sequins. I stamped the sentiment below the panel to finish the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Quick Critters stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Triple heart punch, Subtles enamel shapes, Mini Dimensionals

For this card I used one of the stamps from the stamp and die combo, but not the dies. Instead I punched small hearts from a few different patterned sheets from the paper pad. I adhered the hearts in a line about one-third of the way up the card, using Mini Dimensionals to overlap some of the hearts.

I stamped the sentiment just above the middle of the card base and stamped it again on a scrap of light blue gingham paper. I cut the "hugs" banner out of the paper and used Mini Dimensionals to adhere it over the image on the card base. I finished the card with one more punched heart and two enamel hearts just off the upper right corner of the sentiment.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Pocketful of Sunshine stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, Whisper White card stock, Th Sweetest Thing - Tangerine paper pad (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Basic Gray, Poppy Parade, Warm Gray No. 3 marker (Copic)
Accessories: Dimensionals

The next three cards are all variations of the same layout. I stuck with the note cards and same patterned paper pad, but I switched to a different stamp and die combo. And I kept them very clean and simple by not using any embellishments.

For these cards I used two patterns from the paper pad: a woodgrain print and a red/white polka dot. One of the patterns was the background, and the other was the pocket. I stamped the letters on white card stock, shaded them with a light gray alcohol marker, cut them out and glued them to the back of the die-cut pocket. Then I used Dimensionals to adhere them to the background panel.

For two of the cards I stamped the sentiment on a strip of white card stock and added it as a banner. For the third card, I stamped the sentiment directly on the card base below the background panel. Which layout do you like better?


Thanks for stopping by!