Valentine flower

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Grateful Greetings
Paper: Crumb Cake cardstock; Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Fun Flowers die, small heart punch, Sending Love epoxy brads, corner rounder, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I generally like to make valentines that are cute and festive but not "mushy." For this simple card, which is sized to fit in a Stampin' Up! note card envelope, I made the focal image a large layered flower. I used two prints from the Sending Love Specialty DSP to die cut the flower shapes, snipped between the petals of the smallest flower and attached them together with a coordinating brad. I added a strip of DSP and a punched heart near the bottom of the card and then used Dimensionals to adhere the flower to the card. I stamped the sentiment, rounded the two bottom corners, and that's it!

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Sweet lollipops

A couple of weeks ago I was at the craft store and came across some packs of Pixies sticks from Doodlebug designs. They looked like coffee stirrers but in many different colors. I was intrigued and waiting in line to check out (impulse-purchase alert!) so I decided to buy a package. I chose the brown color because I thought they would make cute tree trunks or lollipop sticks on cards. Since I have candy on the brain with Valentine's Day approaching (OK, let's face it, I always have candy on the brain), I decided to start with a lollipop card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Central Park (Raisin Boat), Storybook Friends
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding
Accessories: Decorative Dots embossing folder, white organdy ribbon (unknown), Pixies sticks - bon bon (Doodlebug Design Inc.), Glue Dots, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals, 1/8" Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

I stamped the lollipop image three times and cut them out. I cut the sticks in half and used liquid glue to adhere a stick to the back of each lollipop. While those were drying, I embossed the card base with some fun polka dots and stamped the "so sweet" banner. When the lollipops were ready, I tied a ribbon around one of the sticks and adhered them to the card base: I used a few Dimensionals placed on the back of each lollipop (around the stick) and a small piece of 1/8" Scor-Tape on the bottom end of the stick. To adhere the banner to the middle lollipop, I placed three Glue Dots on the back of the banner, adhered the middle Glue Dot to the stick and the Glue Dots on each end to the card base.

I think this would be adorable as a valentine or even a little girl's birthday card, depending on what you stamp or write inside the card. Or you could change the "so sweet" banner to say "Happy Valentine's Day" or "Happy birthday."

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Kids animal valentines

Every year I like to give a little Valentine's Day treat and handmade card to the toddlers in my class. This February we will be having a zoo theme in our room, so I thought the perfect valentine combo was a little box of animal crackers -- you know the circus-looking boxes with the string handles -- with an animal-themed tag. (Yes, I realize that 1-1/2 year-old children won't make the connection to our zoo theme at all, and their parents probably won't, either, for that matter. But it makes my little heart happy when things work out that way.) And the perfect stamp set to use for the tags was Tree's Company from Raisin Boat.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Tree's Company (Raisin Boat)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Pool Party, Strawberry Slush
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Real Red, Pool Party, Strawberry Slush, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Corner rounder, 1/16" hole punch, white crochet thread (DMC), Dimensionals

I think they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I stamped and colored the tree/branch and heart "leaves" for each card on a 2-3/4" square piece of Whisper White cardstock. I rounded the corners and mounted each white piece on a 3" x 3" piece of colored cardstock. I stamped the animals on another piece of Whisper White cardstock, colored them, cut them out and adhered them to the tags with Dimensionals. Then I stamped the sentiment on each tag, punched a hole in the corner and tied on a piece of crochet thread. I wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" and my name on the back of each tag, and when it's time to pass out the treats, I'll just tape the crochet thread to the box of animal crackers.

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Simple valentine with banner

I love the Banner Blast stamp set and the coordinating Banner punch from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration catalog. I combined those two products with a pack of Designer Series Paper (DSP), some linen thread and a few pearls to make a super simple but very cute valentine.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Banner Blast
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla cardstock; Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Linen thread, Banner punch, pearls, Glue Dots

This card is about 4-3/4" x 3-1/4", just the right size to fit in Stampin' Up!'s note card envelopes. Of course you could easily use this layout for a larger or smaller card by simply adjusting the length of the banner.

I stamped and punched out the "love" image and then punched out five more banner pieces from a pack of DSP. (Or you could eliminate the stamped image and just use DSP banner pieces.) To assemble the banner, I first tied a knot at one end of a piece of linen thread and then stretched out the thread along my work surface. I adhered a Glue Dot on the back of each banner piece (near the top) and stuck them on the linen thread, spacing them about 1/8" apart. I tied a knot and trimmed the other end of the linen thread and then flipped over the banner. I placed another Glue Dot on top of each one already on the banner pieces, so the linen thread was sandwiched between the Glue Dots. I adhered the banner to the Crumb Cake card base, added a few pearls and that's it! A quick and easy design you could use for almost any occasion by changing the stamped image and DSP -- and it's a great way to use up those little scraps of DSP that you just can't bear to throw out.

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Pristine snow

We received a few inches of fresh fluffy snow overnight, and when I went out to shovel this morning I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the pristine snow in the yard, while it is still perfectly white, sparkling in the sun and unmarred by any tracks.

Beautiful, isn't it? It really was sparkling, although that didn't come through in the picture. I do my fair share of grumbling about the snow and all the hassles it causes, but it does create such a feeling of peace.

I have been feeling not-so-peaceful this week while fighting a nasty cold. My head has finally cleared some, but I still fill a bit like a few of the Seven Dwarfs -- namely Sneezy, Sleepy and their long-lost cousin Sniffly. I hope to get some crafty projects done this weekend so I will have more cards to share with you soon.

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