Valentine's card from a card kit featuring a serendipity heart, embossed background and layer with texture from a tracing wheel

Valentine's has come up so quickly!!  I was so happy to find a card kit from last month's Make and Take that I could use for DH card. 
I embossed my background using a heart embossing folder and adhered it to a black card.  I used the pattern tracing wheel on both long edges of the strip of embossed ivory cardstock before adhering it to my card over my background.  I added the serendipity heart die cut using 3D foam tape.  I dug through my little stash of greetings and found the XOXOX which I thought would work perfectly!!!!!  I flagged the end, sponged it a bit and then tucked in just under the end of the heart and I was good to go!!!!!!  Love having card kits on hand for last minute cards!!  Therese

Handmade card Make & Take for Valentine's Day!

This is my sample for the Valentine's card Make & Take at the Wadey Visitor Center this week which is sponsored by the Historical Society. 

I have prepped over a dozen kits and am looking forward to making cards with a new group of people. 

This card features wonderful stitched background paper which I mounted onto a black card.  I embossed and then trimmed to a flagged end a strip of ivory cardstock.  I adhered it to the card after tied on a piece of red fiber.  I layered the little laser printed oval greeting punchie (SU) onto a scalloped oval punchie in black (SU).  

Had a wonderful response to the Make & Take and all the kits were made into cards by 6 people - including one gentleman -  around the table!!  It was a great afternoon and as always they were so creative!!!  Several made more than one and the extra little greetings and accents I made up were put to good use to create a few birthday cards!! 

The Wadey Center is a wonderful little museum which was the original home of Terry's grandparents.  It was moved to the new location from up the street and renovated inside.  Very beautifully done - a wonderful space!!!   

Therese

Card from a card kit featuring a serendipity heart die cut, some thread and a sanded embossed background

This is the final kit from this class.  I love the serendipity collage paper and this card showcases it very beautifully!!  I die cut the heart from some red serendipity paper and added three little clear rhinestones which I coloured with Sharpie markers so they would coordinate.  I corner rounded the white core cardstock, embossed it with a swirl embossing folder (D'vine swirl - CB) and sanded it to reveal the white core.  The sanding also makes the surface feel very velvety - great texture!!  I wrapped the red thread around the embossed layer and tied it off before adhering it to the red card front.  I mounted the heart using 3D foam tape over the threads!!  Great for Valentine's or an anniversary - hence there is no greeting. 

Therese

Valentine's heart cards with ribbon/thread, heart punchies and a postal background

A few more Valentine's cards!!!!!!!  I created this background a while back using images from Graphics Fairy and really love how well red hearts work with it.  I found these two in my stash so decided to use them for these cards.  I mounted them to black card fronts. On the left hand card I added a length of black ribbon to which I tied a short length using a single knot which nicely simulates a bow.  I dug through my little stash of hearts and found a collection for my card.  After finding an arrangement that I liked I glued them in place using white glue in a fine tip applicator which worked really well.  I left off a greeting to make this card more versatile!!
For my second card I tied on some heavy black thread wrapping it several times around my card front before tying it off.  I added six red hearts in different shades over the thread using 3D foam tape and finally added a little laser printed greeting on the bottom right hand corner.  I will have to find the digital file I created and print off a few more and see what else I can create with it!!

Therese

Valentine's card that features a blingy heart, seam binding and a laser printed greeting

Another Valentine's card!!  I used a fun background from Melstampz which I printed a while back, trimmed to size and mounted to a black card.  I added a length of dark pink seam binding adhering the ends to the inside of my card using double sided tape.  I created a layered heart focal element using a glittered heart, a silver heart punchie (SU) and a little darker teal heart die cut (CB).  After gluing them all together I mounted this large element to my card using 3D foam tape overlapping the seam binding.  I added a little laser printed greeting just to the left below the heart.                Therese

Valentine's card with a doily, heart focal element and some embossing and thread

It is time to think of Valentine's!!! I am making a few cards for my stash.  I started with the focal element - a vintage heart digital which I laser printed a while back.  I used my Circle cutter to trim it out of the sheet because I did not have a circle die the right size.  Worked really well!!  I layered it onto this beautiful white paper doily and wanted some contrast so I added a circle of gold foil in behind.  The foil is from Ferraro Rocher chocolates!!!  Chocolate is always good and if it provides crafting supplies that is a double good!!!  I embossed a coordinating red card front with a script stamp (SU) and embossed it with gold embossing powder to create my background.  Added gold embroidery thread to create some upward movement in the background adhering the ends in the center where they will be covered by the focal element.  I glued my large heart/doily element to my card using 3D foam tape after stabilizing it with a circle of cardstock on the back.  I found the greeting in my stash, trimmed it before layering it with red and mounting it to my card using 3D foam tape.  Worked out well!!!!!!!!!  Therese

You warm my heart card with an embossed and watercoloured heart, thread and a sanded embossed background

Working on Valentine's cards for my stash and decided that this greeting created a card that could easily be given to any family member on Valentine's or any other occasion as well.  I used solid white core cardstock, embossed it with a polka dot embossing folder and sanded it to reveal the core.  Love the look and texture of this layer!!  I trimmed the four corners with my corner rounder punch, added gold embroidery thread from top to bottom before adhering it to a blue card front.  I mounted the heart - gold embossed and watercoloured - over the thread using 3D foam tape.  I trimmed the laser printed greeting, flagged the end and tucked it underneath the heart adhering it with double sided tape.  A cute little card!!!!

Therese

Little pick up truck cards for Valentine's and birthdays

My sister bought the stamp and die set for the little pick up truck a while back and I have used it several times to make some little trucks for my card making!!   I made several in the last few days.  I used blue decorative paper to create the sky.  It is a very subtle floral pattern and works very well as it shows a bit like clouds.  I cut rectangles and glued them to the top of coordinating cards.  I sponged a green tree line on the top right and stamped pine trees on the other three.  I also added a torn strip to those three along with another green layer which I cut with my wavy cutter.  For the one on the top right I used a diecut green border which was cut from a green cardstock collage.  It works very nicely as well to create a tree line.  I embossed the bottoms with embossing folders that would created texture to simulate a road - distressed lines and some rough texture on the edge of one of Tim Holtz embossing folders.  I watercoloured the bottom edge of the trucks to coordinate with their colour and used a clear glitter gel pen to colour the lights, hubcaps, windshield, door handle and bumper.  I mounted the trucks with 3D foam tape leaving space in the back to add my accent elements.  I used punched balloons tied with thread for one, a variety of different sized and coloured red hearts for another one and created gifts for the other two.  I took die cut rectangles and tied thread to them from bottom to top tying a bow to finish them off.  I embossed afterwards which gave them much more texture which I liked much better.  The embossing did not bother the thread.  I mounted the gifts with 3D foam tape at the top edges and double sided on the bottom edges to keep them in place.  I stamped Happy Birthday on the bottom two and just added a few birds in the sky for the top two.
In the end, the truck filled with hearts can certainly be an anniversary card instead of a Valentine's one so I appreciate it's versatility.  Really love these cards and they are great for guy birthdays!!       Therese

January Cardmaking - die cut openings, thread and some sequins

For our second card I used a card off of Splitcoast Stampers which had openings on the left hand side which had been created using a large floral border die.  I do not own a border die which would be suitable so I decided to use individual dies to create a similar effect.  I used two dies from a Cuttlebug set of four hearts for this card.  I was careful not to have any extra marks on my cardstock as I die cut each individual opening.  Happy with how that worked out!!  I stamped my greeting next and then stamped a script background and a few flourishes to finish off the background.  I tied a green thread from one of the openings to the right hand side of the card and simply let the ends hang.  I used a piece of floral scrapbook paper to cover the back of the openings.  I mounted this large element to the front of a dark brown card.  To finish off the card I added three brown sequins using double sided tape.   For my second card, I used a large star die and them a long reach star punch to create the openings and backed them with gold foil from Ferraro Rocher chocolates.  I added gold embroidery thread and embossed the birthday greeting (SU) in gold.  

It was fun to use a card as inspiration and make it my own using the tools I have on hand.  This sketch is quite versatile as it can be changed up with colour, dies and greetings to accommodate a variety of occasions.    Therese

For a special guy on this special day!!

I chose to make another of these washi tape cards for my DH for Valentine's!!  I used a light linen distress ink and a yellow Oxide ink to make the background with my new DIY foam stamp.  I added three strips of handmade washi tape created using double sided tape and tissue paper.  You can check out the tutorial here.  The left hand one is red tissue paper stamped with black Versafine ink, the middle one is printed decorative tissue paper and the right hand one is medical tape stamped with a small heart stamp in black Versafine ink.  I really like the combination of these for this card.  After adding the three lengths of washi tape I manually embossed hearts all the way around with a hammer and then glued this large layer to a red card front.  I found some coordinating sequins in green, gold and red and added them using double sided tape.  I watercoloured the laser printed die cut greeting (SU) and mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape.  I added clear dimensional paint to the little heart greeting (image font) and while I was at it I decided to add some "drops" as well which look pretty cool now that they were dry!! 
We never go out for dinner on Valentine's Day though we usually cook a meal together at home to celebrate.  It has been a very busy weekend and the day is upon us so we will be making plans to celebrate in the next few days instead.  Our celebrations always include good food!!

Therese

January Cardmaking - a cute little truck filled with fun!!

Last time our cardmaking group met one of the girls wanted some Valentine cards for her grandsons that featured trucks filled with hearts!!  So I spoke to my sister, Sylvia, who has a little truck stamp and die set and we got together to stamp and cut a few.  We stamped in black and embossed in black then die cut them.  The set includes items you can put in the back like the tree on this first card.  I did a bit of research on line to see what others were putting in the back of their pick ups.  Hearts, gifts, pumpkins, eggs, dogs, etc so I came up with a few images that would be suitable including backhoes and so on.

So for my first card I started with a light gray card and glued on a piece of swirly blue paper to create a sky. I added a torn white strip to simulate a snowbank because I was creating a Christmas card.  I added some stippling on the bottom and a bit of brown watercolour to simulate a winter road.  I chose a little red truck and coloured in the tires with black marker and the windshield, headlight and hubcaps using a clear glitter pen.  I did add a bit of colour to the fenders on the back and front to add a bit of definition and depth.  I used double sided tape to adhere it to the front of my card leaving the back without glue so I could add my little tree.  I used the stipple stamp with green ink on the tree before tucking it in the back of the truck.  I added a layered greeting - laser printed words punched with the Word Window punch (SU) layered onto a red Modern Label punchie.  I added it to my card using 3D foam tape.

For my second card, I use a black card front and added a blue paper at the top and then a green torn strip to simulate a tree line.  I added green scribbles with three different colour pencils on the bottom edge to simulate grass in the ditch.  I used a white gel pen to add a dashed line to simulate pavement.    I glued my embellished red truck in place with double sided tape and then went about adding items into the back.  I had printed off a little dog so I fussy cut it and then added four balloon punchies adding strings with a fine tip Sharpie marker.  I love how it worked out.  To finish off my card I added a small laser printed font greeting with a flagged end.
I am look forward to adding more fun stuff to the back of the other trucks!!         

Here are some of the trucks filled with hearts!!!!  I have left off the greetings so that they can be customized for the recipients!!  The hearts are die cuts in two sizes  (CB) which used up a few scraps from my red scrap buckets.  I like that the hearts are all different colours!!!
 Therese

Valentine cards with some awesome decorative paper hearts

I am working on Valentine's Day cards and found these beautiful hearts in my decorative paper stash!  I have been hoarding them for many years though I have used a few over the years.  There originally were nine on the 12"x 12" sheet.  I have used up the last of them and I am very happy with the beautiful cards they made!!
The hearts were cut from the sheet to about 4"x 4".  As luck would have it I found a coordinating piece of decorative red harlequin paper in my stash!  I trimmed a couple strips of about 1.25" and added a piece to each heart.  I used a variety of ribbons to cover the joint before gluing this layer to my card fronts.  For the first one, I simply added a little gold die cut heart and I was done!!  With no greeting it is a bit more versatile as it can be used as an anniversary card as well.  The next two are very similar in that I added a gold embossed vellum greeting with torn edges.  I attached them to my card fronts using two tiny gold brads.  A short length of ribbon tied to the one on the card simulates a bow.

 For the last two, I added a heart embellishment which was created by layering two heart die cuts - one from red velvet paper and the other from gold packaging.  On the left hand card the joint was so seamless that I did not have to cover the joint with ribbon.  I simply embossed my greeting on the bottom strip and added my heart embellishment with double sided tape.  For the other I added an embossed vellum greeting along with the heart embellishment.  I love how these turned out!! 
Therese

Pink anniversary or Valentine's card

My sister, Sylvia, makes lots of her cards without greetings so they are appropriate for several occasions.  Love the versatility!!  So I decided to challenge myself to doing the same.  For this card I started with a white card and added an embossed pink background layer which I embossed with a floral flourish embossing folder (SU).  I like that it nicely fills the right hand side of the card with texture.  I added a length of white vintage seam binding and tie on another short piece with a single knot to simulate a bow.  I layered a pink heart punchie (SU) over a gold die cut (SU) which I mounted using 3D foam tape over a small piece of roses decorative paper layered over white cardstock leaving a very small border.  I mounted the heart focal element over the seam binding using double sided tape.  Love how it turned out!!  This card would be appropriate for a wedding, anniversary, Valentine's or possibly a birthday for someone special and I am encouraged to consider making more of my cards without greetings to make them more versatile!! 
Do you sometimes make cards without greetings??  I am coming to see the value of doing it especially when making cards for my stash. 

Therese

Fun with digital stamps and heart punchies!

Looking for inspiration for Valentine's cards I got distracted with this hexagon digital stamp (SU - Lemonade Stand).  I created several honeycomb patterns using the single hexagon in the digital set and added greetings and images from a image font (2Peas - Peas).  The fun part of using an image font is that the images are instantly colourable!!
For the first card,  I added the "much love" image and coloured it red and left the honey comb pattern in black before printing it.  I trimmed it to size (4" x 5.25") and added heart punchies in each hexagon in a variety of red colours - the dark ones are actually shiny red which adds some fun to the card.  Thinking it needed just a bit of something I did some manual embossing with a hammer around the edges and near the greeting using the Swiss Dot embossing folder (CB).  I glued this embellished layer to a red card front.  A great card for anyone on Valentine's Day!!
For the second card I added a cute little daisy image and a font birthday greeting, laser printed it and trimmed it to size.  I added three little heart punchies and watercoloured the daisy to coordinate.  Did a little manual embossing with a hammer before gluing it to a purple card front. 
Had fun with these backgrounds!!  I have two more printed so they will show up in the next little while!!                   Therese

White on white anniversary or Valentine's card

After some success with making a white on white anniversary card I was on a roll so I worked on this card. 
The central medallion was created by layering three lace doily die cuts (SX) to which I added a pearly daisy punchie and a small round flower punchie.  I tied them all together using a rhinestone brad layered over a silver sequin.  I layered the embossed heart background over a white card after adding the length of white satin ribbon near the bottom.  I tied a short piece of white fiber to the left hand side with a double knot to add some interest and texture.  I adhered the medallion with 3D foam tape and then used white glue from a fine tip applicator to adhere the "love" (SX) die over the ribbon.  I placed a bit of weight on it until the glue was dry to keep it in place and flat. 
This card would certainly be appropriate for a wedding, anniversary or Valentine's Day!!  Gotta love versatility!!   
Therese

Valentine's card for a special guy

I have been on a Valentine's card kick lately and I thought I should make DH before moving on to other things!  He loves music so I like to include that theme on his card.
You may recognize this background from my Christmas thank you cards.  I saved this one aside especially for this card!!  I sponged the edges and layered it onto an ivory quarter sheet which I had trimmed to leave a small border when I put it on an A2 card.  I forgot how slowly this paper absorbs ink so you can see that I mucked up the top right hand corner a bit.  Oh well!  I punched a heart hole in this background, penciled in a line, added the reused red and gold ribbon gluing the ends to the back and then stitched the line to make the heart look like it was hanging.  Next, I added a short piece of ribbon and tied it with one knot to the one on the card.  There was writing (ferraro rocher) on the back side so I was careful to not make it show.  I die cut a little heart (CB) out of duplex cardstock, embossed it with a swirl embossing folder (TH-SX) and then sanded it until some of the white showed through the red.  It did not coordinate with the ivory all that well so I sponged the white with a little yellow ink just enough to tone it done and have it coordinate better.  I positioned my background on my card and glued my little heart into place and then stitched it there.  I lifted the two sides so they would be dimensional.  I glued my background in place on my red card front.  I wanted a subdued greeting so I colour washed a white laser printed oval greeting punchie with yellow to help it coordinate with the card and then sponged the edges with red.  I adhered it to the front of the card using 3D foam tape.  Very happy with how it turned out!!  Therese

Vintage Valentine's cards with collaged hearts

This Valentine's card features a beautiful collaged heart element which I laser printed and then die cut with my round Nestibilities.  I layered the die cut onto a scalloped circle which I also cut with my Nestibilities from kraft cardstock.  I glued them together and then added dots in each scallop using a white gel pen.  For my background I trimmed a piece of decorative paper and added short length of ribbon to the bottom edge which echoed the scallop design element very nicely.  I used double sided tape to attach my background to my brown card front and properly secure my lace at the bottom.  I added a strip of red cardstock then layered my focal element over it.  I trimmed both ends of my laser printed greeting and adhered it to my card front using a small piece of 3D foam tape in the middle and double sided tape on both ends which gives it a bit of dimension.  Pretty happy with this one too!!

Therese

Serendipity background on this Valentine's card

Another Valentine's card for my stash!!  This one features a serendipity background which has been hanging around in my stash for a while.  I layered gold gift wrap on the front of my red card before I adhered my background to which I had already attached a red organza ribbon.  I laser printed this digital heart image (Melonheadz) on white cardstock, fussy cut it and coloured it with watercolour.  I adhered it to the front of my card using 3D foam tape positioning it over my ribbon then tied on a short piece of ribbon using one knot to simulate a bow just above my image.  Done!  I love using serendipity backgrounds because they are so interesting!!

Therese

Two love birds framed in floral paper for Valentine's

Valentine's is coming fast and I have made another card for my stash!  This one features a love bird image which I downloaded from Paper Crafts Magazine a while back.  I started with my decorative paper frame which I used on my class cards - four strips of gift wrap neatly cut to make a nice frame on an A2 sized card.  I cut a piece of black cardstock to fit inside (2.25" x 3.5"), added my watercoloured image then added faux stitching around the edge using a white gel pen and hand lettered the little greeting.  I glued this to the inside of my frame to finish off my card.  We all know couples who immediately come to mind when we hear a reference to "love birds".  A perfect card for them!!

Therese

Valentine's cards featuring vintage images and embossed layers

Another few Valentine's cards.  These ones feature colour printed vintage images from Sweetly Scrapped.   The first one features a couple of very cute clowns.  I laser printed them, trimmed around the edges and rounded the corners. I custom embossed a white layer using my chipboard embossing tool and some custom lines that I added using my scoring tool.  I positioned the image on the back to help ensure that the space I left between the lines would accommodate my image.  I adhered my image with 3D foam tape and then added a length of white fiber before gluing this whole element to the front of a red card.  I dug through my heart punchies stash and found these three little hearts that accented my card perfectly!!  Love it!!

My second card features a cute little girl with an umbrella in a forest of birch trees.  I laser printed the image, trimmed around it then rounded the corners by hand. I embossed a peach piece of cardstock with this beautiful delicate flourish then added a length of white vintage seam binding.  I adhered my image using 3D foam tape positioning it over the seam binding.  I glued the whole element to the front of a green card.  After tying on a short piece of seam binding to the length I already had, it still needed a bit of something so I went looking for some options.  I found these ivory/pink sequins which worked perfectly!  I adhered them to the front of my card using glue dots and then added little dots of iridescent glitter glue in the centers.  Really happy with how it all worked out!!   My third card is very similar to my first one - vintage image with rounded corners added to a white custom embossed layer embellished with three little heart punchies!!  The images already have enough message that these cards really did not need any additional greetings!!

Therese