Hearts, Hearts, and More Hearts

Hi Friends. Whew! This is the last Valentine's card I have to make. Good thing I don't have to mail it, or it would be so late. ;)

This is the Valentine-iest card I've ever made--a zillion hearts, sparkle, and pink and red out the wazoo! But, I know my daughter is going to love it! She is as girly as they come. :)

The layout is from Viva la Verve's February 2013 Week 1 sketch, and it was perfect for this card. Did you notice the progression of hearts in the dp's? The teeny little hearts are on the back layer, on the next layer the hearts are just a little bit bigger, the long horizontal layer is ever bigger, and it's topped off with that pretty lattice heart--kind of symbolic of how my love has grown for my daughter over the years.

I did some distressing, and that was a good thing because my sewing machine went a little bonkers for a few minutes. All that bizarre zig zag stitching was not intentional, but it added to the distressed look, so I kept it in.

I used Corner Chompers to create the Deco and rounded corners, and added eyelets to the middle layer so that I could add a twine bow there. The bow is topped with a button and rhinestone.

I got the idea for the peek-a-boo corner from Kathy at The Daily Marker. She comes up with so many fun ideas! Behind the rolled back corner, I stamped a little "From the heart" stamp, and added Glossy Accents to the heart there.

The lattice heart is backed with a solid heart cut from the bg polka dot dp, and I glued 3 layers of the lattice hearts together for added dimension. Those cute little pink pearls are a Pearl Pen. It always amazes me when they dry in a round shape instead of flattening out.

I used the Photo Cut Corner Chomper to create the photo corners on the inside of the card. On the sentiment panel, I sponged Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar Distress Ink along the inside of the die and drew red faux stitches, then I printed the sentiment directly to the cs. I normally would have printed the sentiment onto a transparency and rubbed it on, and I did try that, but had a little trouble with the red not showing up clearly with that method.

The large die cut heart was cut from white cs. I sponged several pink and red Distress Inks over it, then spread glitter glue over the heart, leaving the edges clean.

Well, I think that will do it for me and Valentine's cards this year. I better get going on Easter cards or I'll be doing the last minute thing all over again!!!

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge: VLVFeb2013 Week 1
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #207: Put Your Heart On It!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Valentine's Day!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Tiny Flowers & Tags (Flourishes)
Paper: Sweet Cakes (Doodlebug Designs)
Ink: Distress Ink, Colorbox, Sharpie Marker 
Dies: Labels Twenty-Five, Classic Hearts (Spellbinders); Timeless Amour (Spellbinders for Heartfelt Creations)
Accessories: Crop-a-Dile Corner Chompers (Deco, 1/2" rounded, Photo Cut); white embossing powder; rhinestones; eyelets; button; acrylic paint; sewing thread; twine (The Twinery); foam dots; Glossy Accents; Stickles; Pearl Pen; sentiment created in Word
Size: A2 (5.5" x 4.25")

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Love is the Key

Hi Friends! One last card before I finish packing up for my trip to visit my Savannah friends! Yaaaayyy! :~D

I made a Valentine's card today, using the Viva la Verve January 2013 Week 2 sketch, and since distressing in any form is my favorite technique, I made this one vintage-y. I used a pink Glitter Finish embossing powder to emboss the Lace Heart image onto a dp that already looked aged, then I ran the edges through my Distrezz-it-All (I love that thing!). After inking the edges with Distress Ink, as well as sponging it along the edges of the back, I misted water onto my craft mat, then dragged some of the edge through it, both to make the ink run, and to soften the dp so I could roll it up. When I do that, then hit it with my heat gun, it dries and becomes very crinkly and stiff, as though it really is old. I did the same thing with the two die cuts behind the heart. For the bg, I layered two pieces of cs, distressed the edges, using Picked Raspberries Distress Ink along the edges of the light pink cs, to make it appear to have been stained from the darker pink cs. Then I did some sloppy sewing. I randomly switched my machine from straight to zig zag, varied the width and length of the stitches, and pulled some of them loose. I added a thick twill ribbon, then tied a key charm to it using brown jute.

In the lower left corner, just below where the lock hangs, I stamped an old fashioned lock with Distress Ink, then scratched it up with a rasp.

For the inside, I created a sentiment in Word, printed it onto a transparency, then rubbed it on.

I die-cut the heart from red textured cs, spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mist, distressed the edges, then stamped the Je t'aime sentiment. I stamped the 7 Gypsies text image onto the pink cs after adhering the heart so that part of the stamp "dirtied" the edge of the heart.

Well, that's it for me for a few days. I'll be stamping all day on Saturday, so I may have a few cards to share with you next week.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Flourishes Love Letters Challenge, FLLCJan13
Viva la Verve January 2013 Sketch Challenge, Week 2
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Embrace the Old

Thanks for stopping by, and have a crafty weekend!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Lace Heart, Hearts & Flowers (Flourishes); Under Lock & Key (Our Craft Lounge); Venice (7 Gypsies)
Paper: Kissing Booth (Basic Grey); Que Sera Sera (K&Co) 
Ink: Distress, Memento
Dies: Labels Three, Lotus Pendant, Postage Stamp, A2 Matting Basics, Classic Hearts (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Decorative Tile Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug); Glitter Finish Embossing Powder (Zing); twill ribbon; key charm; jute; Perfect Pearls Mist; sewing thread; Distrezz-it-All; transparency rub-on
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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PPRS February 2012 Sketch Challenge: Heart Pocket

Hi there, Friends! It's the 15th, and you know what that means...Prickley Pear Sketch Challenge time! We've got a really cool sketch this month, that may have you thinking a little bit out of the box.

When I first saw all those circles, I immediately thought of buttons, or flowers, or some other grouping of round items--you know, the obvious choices. But, I don't always like to go with the obvious. So, for this month's challenge, I opted to think in hearts instead, with February being the month of love, and all. :)

I'll be interested in seeing all the different ways people interpret this sketch. The possibilities are endless. You can mosey over to the Prickley Pear blog to see what the rest of the design team came up with, then show us what you've come up with by linking your creation on the PPRS blog post by the end of the month. There is a $15 gift certificate up for grabs for one lucky participant!

Thanks so much for visiting me, and have a fantastic day!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Heart with Daisy's (Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps)
Paper: Summer Song (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Distress Ink; Staz-On
Dies: Classic Hearts (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Love is in the Air embossing folder (Cuttlebug); ribbon (Berwick); Mod Podge; glitter; Stickles; Prismacolor pencils
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Love You Always

Hi Friends! I have another Valentine's Day card to share with you today. This one is for my DD to give to her daddy, my DH. She calls him Papa, and she absolutely adores him. She's in the second grade, and reads at a sixth grade level, but she still wants her Papa to read to her every night. It's their "thing." Their plan is to do this until she grows up and moves away. Isn't that sweet?

I used another older Mojo Monday sketch (#170) for my layout. The theme for Our Craft Lounge OCL104 is Vintage Love, and the Flourishes Bring Back Beautiful challenge this month is BBB19: The Beauty of Love, so I think this card handles both of those pretty well.

I am loving my new By Lori Designs digital images. This one is Suzy, and she reminds me of my DD, with all that curly hair and demure expression.

I colored Suzy with Copic markers, fussy cut her out, added little dots of Liquid Pearls for buttons, then popped her up with foam dots. After stamping the hearts beside her, I sponged Victorian Velvet Distress Ink in them and added pink rhinestones for sparkle. I used a Pearl Pen for the pearls on the Fleur de Lis Rectangle die cut. The Valentine ticket is stapled onto the card with a mini stapler.

After die cutting the blue heart, I sponged Victorian Velvet Distress Ink around the edges while it was still in the die. Then stamped a burlap design on it in Stormy Sky Distress Ink. Using my Distrezzer, I distressed the edges of the heart, ticket, and main panel, sponged Walnut Stain, then randomly dabbed water here and there to smear the ink, rolling up some of the edge, too. I stitched the main layers by randomly changing between zigzag and straight stitching, and also changed up the width and length of the stitches as I sewed.

The inside is a little unusual. See what you think, then I'll explain my thoughts behind it:

Since this card is from my DD, I wanted it to "feel" like it was from her. When she makes cards, she tends to get really carried away when she likes a particular stamp or ink or glitter glue (I may have to put my Stickles under lock and key!)  So, when I decorated the inside of this card, I used the "lots & lots of love" sentiment, then stamped the "Happy Valentine's Day" sentiment lots & lots of times, along with that little heart stamp. To my DD, the more she emphasizes something, the more it means to her, and she would really, really, really, want her Papa, my DH, to know that she loves him and wants him to have a Happy Valentine's Day. She's such a Sweetheart!

Well, that's it for today! Hope your day is filled with crafty fun!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Puddle Jumper-Suzy--Digi Stamp (By Lori Designs); Valentine Savings (Hero Arts); Burlap background (Stamp Camp)
Paper: Kissing Booth, Oxford (Basic Grey); Vintage Style Valentine Tickets (Miss Cutiepie Inspiration)
Ink: Copic Markers; Distress Ink
Dies: Classic Hearts, Classic Scalloped Hearts, Fleur de Lis Rectangles (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Ribbon (Offray); pearls; sewing thread; Glossy Accents; Liquid Pearls; rhinestones; Pearl Pen; mini staples
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Big Love

Happy Friday, Friends! It's another Noon Time Challenge at Flourishes: You've Been Framed (FLLCFEBRW2). You have to use a frame in some way on your card or project. I had a ball making this card.

I love distressed cards--the more distressed, the better. So, for my "frame" I cut a Fleur de Lis Rectangle die cut from kraft cs, then cut a rectangle out of that. I sponged Walnut Stain Distress Ink on the frame, then spritzed Gold Shimmer Spritz lightly over it. The pearls in the corners are Pearl Pen pearls. Then, I took the rectangle that had been cut out of the middle of the frame, spread a thin layer of glue over it, and sprinkled Ultra Fine Flower Soft all over it (another purchase at the stamp convention last weekend).

To assemble it, I adhered the Flower Soft die cut to the front of the card, then tilted the frame over that slightly, gluing the corners so that the sides slightly bowed up. I left the upper corner of the frame completely loose. I colored the rose heart with Copics and added just a tiny bit of glitter to it. Then, I put foam dots on the upper right corner of the heart and glue on the left side and bottom of the heart, tucked the left hand side of the heart under the frame and the right hand side slightly over the edge of the frame. My thought was that the heart had so much love that it couldn't be contained in the frame. :)

In the lower right corner, I tore the dp a little, inked up the edge and underneath, curled it slightly, then did some stitching. In this photo, you can see the "cross stitches" on the right hand side of the card, and straight stitching on the bottom edge.

I also purposefully left the upper right corner unsewed and left long threads hanging, then I curled the corner back to give the card a worn look.

The Love sentiment was stamped on a strip of floral dp, using a glue pad, then I sprinkled glitter over it. I adhered that strip to a tag from the Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two set and put two small gold pearls at the top and bottom of the tag. The lower corner looked a little bare, so I hot glued two buttons in that area.

Here's a look at the inside:

Isn't the font used for the sentiment gorgeous! I think of this card as a Valentine's Day card, but it really could be for just about anything to do with love, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and have a wonderful weekend!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Hearts & Flowers, Lace Heart (Flourishes)
Paper: Kissing Booth (Basic Grey)
Ink: Memento; Copic markers; Distress Ink
Dies: Classic Rectangle, Fleur de Lis Rectangle; Fancy Tags Two (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Paper Lace II embossing folder (Cuttlebug); pearls; button; twine (The Twinery); sewing thread; foam dots; glitter (Martha Stewart); Pearl Pen; Shimmer Spritz; Ultra Fine Flower Soft
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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You Take My Breath Away

Happy Wednesday, Blog Friends! I hope you've been having a good week. I'm still on a high from the convention this past weekend, so my week has been terrific! :)

With only one week left before Valentine's Day, though, I decided I better get busy with my Valentine cards, so that's what I have to share with you today.

The sketch is from the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #151, and the Our Craft Lounge Blog challenge #103 is to use images that take us "Up In the Air," which was perfect for me because when I won the Lily Pad Palette Color Challenge about a week ago, OCL was the sponsor and one of the stamps I got was an adorable hot air balloon called "Spilling Over."

I paper pieced the balloon with black and tan dp's and used a dp for the background that is covered in mathematical equations. I used black waxed linen thread between the different pieces of the balloon and to connect the balloon to the basket. The red heart on the balloon was colored with Copics, adhered, then covered with Glossy Accents.

For the basket and spilled hearts, I colored them with Copic markers then added Stickles to the hearts. The entire balloon and basket are popped up with foam dots. I glued the spilled hearts to the card, in lieu of the three embellies on the sketch.

Here's a look at the inside:

My goal was to end up with a masculine Valentine card. I think it works for that.

My friend, Tera, is the Guest Designer for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday this month. Be sure to pop over to her blog and say hi and see her absolutely gorgeous card for this week's challenge. Here's the link for the Timeless Tuesday challenge--you won't want to miss that either!

Thanks for popping in, and have a wonderful day!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Spilling Over (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: Oxford, Little Black Dress (Basic Grey)
Ink: Distress Ink; Copic markers; Memento
Dies: Std Circles Lg, Classic Scalloped Circles Lg, Parisian Accents (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Binding Edge edger (EK Success); waxed linen thread; Glossy Accents; Stickles; Enamel Accents; Pearl Pen; Perfect Pearls Mist; sewing thread; foam dots
Size: 4.5" square

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Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge #132: Kiss Kiss

Hi Blog Friends! Happy Tuesday! Ready for a challenge? Well, Tuesday Morning Sketches has another good one for you. It's sponsored by Paper Pretties, and they have some seriously cute stamps--both clear and digital. Just wait until you see the digi stamp I used today--I guarantee it will make you smile!

Isn't this Q-Pig digi stamp sweet? Are you smiling yet? I colored this little fella with Copics, added Stickles to his wings and hearts, and a drop of Liquid Pearls to his arrowhead.


Now, here's the sketch that Theresa came up with for us this week:

And, my finished card:

The text on the two hearts was typed in Word and printed on transparencies to make rub-ons. The scalloped heart die cuts were white paper that I stamped with a beautiful Lacier Heart stamp by Inkadinkado. They look a little orange in the photo, but in real life they're red. Even so, now that the card is finished, I wish I'd stamped them in a pinker shade.

The "Kiss Kiss" sentiment is embossed duct tape (of course, I first stuck the tape to cs before embossing). I used the same embossing folder as I did on the bg paper. I used a Copic marker to color the letters. Boy, those markers come in handy.

I made the pleated ribbon by taping the pleats to the cardstock first, then I stitched a line right down the middle.

The bg is white cs that I dry embossed, then I sponged Spun Sugar Distress Ink lightly across the raised areas. I've been hearing that leaving the cs in the embossing folder while sponging helps to keep the ink on the raised parts and off the recessed parts. Guess what? It's true! If you haven't tried it that way, give it a go. I think you'll be please with the result.

The Q-Pig, hearts, and Kiss Kiss sentiment are all popped up with foam dots. You can see the layers in the photo above.

And, here's a peek at the inside:

So, there you have it. Now, be sure to click over to the Tuesday Morning Sketches site to see the rest of the Design Team's fabulous creations, then make your own project and direct link it up there with the Inlinkz Widget.  One name will be randomly chosen to win something fun from Paper Pretties! And, you know you want it to be you! :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and have a glorious week!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Q-Pig (Paper Pretties); Lacier Heart (Inkadinkadoo); Scroll (Studio G); I Love You (Craftsmart)
Ink: Copic markers; Distress Ink; Colorbox
Dies: Big Scalloped Ovals Sm, Ironwork Accents, Classic Hearts, Classic Scalloped Hearts (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Love is in the Air embossing folder (Cuttlebug); ribbon (Berwick); Stickles; Liquid Pearls; Shimmer Spritz; silver duct tape; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Flourishes Timeless Tuesday--FTTC153: Head Over Heels

[If you're looking for my Tuesday Morning Sketch post, click here.]

Hi Friends, and Happy Tuesday to you! Don't you just love a good challenge? I know I do, and this week's Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge, FTTC153, is a great one.

Cindy has asked us to create a center stair step card, and like the tri-fold card a few weeks ago, this was something I'd never done before. I've always been a little intimidated by all those complicated looking folds and cuts. I even skipped a challenge once just because I would have had to make a center step card. Well, being the Guest Designer for FTTC this month, I didn't have the luxury to skip the challenge this time, and I'm so glad, because it's a fantastic card base to work with, and way easier than I ever imagined. If you've never made one, just visit the SCS center step card tutorial. I promise you, it's easy peasy, and really impressive to your non-cardmaking friends. :D And, if you enter it in the Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC153) this week, you even have a chance to boost your stamp inventory with a Flourishes gift certificate!

Here's mine all decked out:

Isn't that just the coolest card? I love all the angles and openings. I used the TCP Tuesday 193 color challenge palette of pale pink, melon, and brown and the Lace Heart stamp from Flourishes to turn it into a Valentine card, which fits the Paper Pretties Monday Challenge PPMC23, also.

I started with a melon card base, then covered the side panels with pale pink cs, then brown cs, then a striped dp that matched the TCP Tuesday 193 colors. The edges of the striped paper are sponged with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink. For a little interest, I put three clear gems on each side, also.

The bottom panel is just a strip of pink and white glitter cs, sponged along the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink that is trimmed with a length of brown cotton lace. It didn't seem sturdy enough to me when opening the card, so there is a matching strip of the pink and white cs mounted on brown cs on the reverse side. 

For the main, center panel of the card, I zigzagged the brown dp to a pale pink cs, then glued a glittered chipboard flourish to the lower left corner. (Whoo Hoo! Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge 189 is to use glitter on your card-I'm in!) I heat embossed the Lace Heart design with chocolate embossing powder onto pale pink cs, cut it out with a Spellbinders Classic Heart die, sponged Victorian Velvet Distress Ink on the edges while it was still in the die, sponged Walnut Stain Distress Ink just on the edges of the heart, then filled the little center heart with Glossy Accents. After that dried, I covered it with a thin coat of Glam Pink Stickles.

The Lace Heart is lifted up with two layers of crimped scrap cs (rather than pop dots) onto a brown scalloped heart that I edged with a gold opaque marker. That was then popped up with foam dots over the chipboard flourish.

I tied a bow through the jump ring of a metal charm, placing the charm slightly over the edge of the heart and used pop dots under the corner of the charm to hold it in place. I've never seen anyone hot glue the knots of bows in tutorials, but I usually try to put a little bit on the back of mine to keep it from untying and to hold it in place on the card, then I secured the ends of the twine on the back of the cs with more hot glue. Finally, I attached the entire panel to the card base.

For the inside, I cut a Fleur de Lis Rectangle out of brown cs and put Liquid Pearl dots along the edges, then cut a rectangle of pale pink cs, which I stamped with the Elizabeth Barrett Browning verse from the same Lace Heart stamp set. There is a teeny little heart on the "H" and I filled that with Crystal Stickles.

When I started this card, I thought it might work as a masculine card with the striped side panels and heavy brown lace, but I guess with all that pink...not so much. :) I do like that it's feminine without being frilly, though. 

Okay. Now it's time for you to "step up" with your own center step card. You can find all the details and link your card to the challenge at the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday 153 blog post. And, be sure to feast your eyes on the beautiful, inspiring creations by the rest of the Timeless Tuesday Design Team. This is a seriously talented team of ladies:

Beate

Cindy

Heather

Makiko

Mona

Silke

Tammy

I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hope you have a marvy week!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Lace Heart (Flourishes)
Paper: Garden Party (DCWV); Love Nest (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Distress Ink; Memento
Dies: Classic Hearts, Classic Scalloped Hearts, Fleur de Lis Rectangles, Classic Rectangles (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Embossing Powder (Zing); lace (Fancy Pants Design); Glitter Flourish chipboard (Making Memories); Embossed Charm-Love (Making Memories); gold opaque marker; mini round gems (Recollections); Glossy Accents; Stickles; Liquid Pearls; sewing thread; twine; foam dots
Size: 5.5" square

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