Valentine Flair

As promised, here is a look at the fun & elegant valentines we created at my last card-making workshop!

We began with this card which uses January's Stamp of the Month, suitably named "Happy Valentine's". This card was fun for two reasons: we used the large roses stamp to create a tone-on-tone background for the top section of the card and we used CTMH's new alcohol-based markers to color and shade the stamped roses that we used for the focal point. Very cool. This stamp set is so gorgeous - I had to resist using it for every card we did that day! The patterned paper, for those of you who are dying to know, is from the "Clementine" paper pack.

This next card is kind of fun & whimsical. My favorite part of this card is the flower. It was created using the "Just For You" stamp set. You start by stamping the stitched outline (here in gray) onto your precut flower piece from the Cricut "Art Philosophy" cartridge. On a separate piece of Blush cardstock, stamp six of the "petals" in Hollyhock ink and cut out. Adhere them into the spaces on the stitched flower cutout. Add a punched circle of Silver Glitter Paper (sneak peek!) and a button, and you've got yourself one gorgeous flower! The wood-grain patterned paper is from the "Dakota" paper pack, and the strips of glitter in the background are the self-adhesive Silver Shimmer Trim. The sentiment on this card could be anything!

This is a very pretty card which uses several of my favorite products. The first of which is the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge which was used to cut the heart-shaped card and the heart for the sentiment. My second favorite product is the gorgeous Colonial White Rosette Ribbon - what a quick and simple way to add texture, dimension and elegance to your projects! My third favorite product is the Spray Pen. It was used with brown reinker and water to tone down the bright white of the sentiment heart, as well as add that "aged" look - love it. The sentiment is the "Love" stamp, and the patterned paper is from the "Pear & Partridge" paper pack - yes, you can use "Christmas" paper for other things!

Lastly, we put together and embellished one of the treat tubes from the National Papercrafting Month's special, "Whoo's Your Valentine?" Kit. The cute little boxes come pre-cut & scored - all you have to do is stamp it (if you choose), fold it up, and glue it together. Then you can embellish any way you'd like! The kit comes with it's own D-sized stamp set with plenty of options for spicing up your treats! We had a lot of fun - then we filled them with Valentine candy corn and/or Cherry M 'n M's...yum.

I hope this inspires you to create a special valentine for your special someone! Come back next Wednesday when I'll be sharing...well, I don't know yet, so it'll be a surprise! I LOVE surprises! :-)