a Valentine treat

Hello stamping friends!! I have a super cute Valentine treat bag to share today:

I was going to help a group of teachers make this treat bag and some corner bookmarks on Tuesday, but it snowed like crazy, so we had to reschedule for next month. (Is anyone else really sick of winter???) I'm sharing the treat bag today, and I'll share the bookmarks with a simple tutorial in another post.

First, I embossed the Gift Bag using the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder with the tiny little hearts. Then I attached the whole focal point with Dimensionals.
To create the focal point: I used the Circles #2 Die to die-cut the Red Glimmer Paper, and tied some Linen Thread around the circle for some extra "pretty." The Hearts A Flutter stamp set and coordinating Framelits, along with Real Red, Blushing Bride, and Soft Sky ink, create the three stamped pieces. I also stamped "love you" (from the Express Yourself hostess stamp set) inside the larger heart. The last heart is courtesy of the adorable Small Heart punch and Blushing Bride card stock.
Wouldn't this be the cutest packaging for a simple gift of candy or a gift card??  :}

On a personal note: I've really missed sharing with all of you, and a big "aww, thanks" to those of you who check in on me from time to time. I know I won't be posting every day again anytime soon, but I will pop in here and there to share a variety of projects.
If there's one thing I've learned in the past few months, it's that moving stinks even more than I already knew! I can't believe it's been a year since we closed on our house in Wisconsin... and I'm so dismayed at how slow the "settling in" has gone. Just when I think we are back on track, BAM - Aaron's asthma goes bonkers. Or BAM - plumbing leak. I know we'll get done, eventually... 
Being cooped up in the house with the unusually cold temperatures and extra snow this past month has been sort-of a good thing for me. It's given me a little time to focus some energy in my craft space - YAY!!! I'm having a hard time trying to fit everything in to a smaller space. I try things one way for a while, and when it doesn't work I move it all around again. Sigh... at least it's exercise, right???

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous day. I have a quick post to share with you tonight... a little Valentine's love I left in the teacher's lounge (at the kids' school) today  :} 

I simply covered a can of coffee with some Twitterpated DSP and card stock. The cute little coffee cup stamp is from one of the stamp sets you can get for free right now during Sale-a-Bration  -- Patterned Occasions (w:129621  c:129624) 

I used the 3-1/2" Circle die to create the perfect background to cover the lid. The heart Embosslit and Punches made it easy to add pretty details. If you don't already have the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, add it to your cart - it has 24 greetings to cover almost every occasion! 

How about a bonus project tonight??? Here's the Valentine card Aaron chose for his teacher:

He likes the images from the Up, Up & Away stamp set... but what kid doesn't like baloons??? 

 Thanks for dropping by!! Love ya... mmmmwaaah!  :} 

Chalkboard Art for Valentine's Day

I really wanted to create a card using a hot trend in crafting and decorating right now -- chalkboard art... so I made one for Valentine's Day.  :} 

SMILE!! It turned out so cute!  And I was surprised at how easy this technique is. For my card, I started with Pretty in Pink card stock and a layer of Twitterpated DSP. 

To create the chalkboard background:
Start with a layer of Basic Black card stock (on this card: 4-3/4" x 3-1/2").
If you want an embossed image, stamp your image in Whisper White Craft ink, sprinkle with White Embossing Powder, and heat set with a Heat Tool (the image on this card is from the Hearts a Flutter stamp set).
Using a section of a Stamping Sponge, lightly rub / swirl some Whisper White Craft ink in random spots to create the look of eraser marks. 
Using a White Pencil, add lines or images for a hand-drawn look. 

Add stamped / die-cut images to create a focal point. Adhering some of the images with Dimensionals makes layering a breeze. And of course a bit of ribbon and bling are the perfect little details!

So what do you think? Are you ready to try some chalkboard art today?

inspiration

Not only do I enjoy looking through a new catalog and finding tons of pretties that I must have, I love when I find project ideas that inspire me to create my own goodies! Today's card (and sketch- yay!) is inspired by the card sample on page 12 of the Spring Catalog. 

I made this card for tomorrow's class at the bakery, so I wanted to simplify some of the details. A layer of More Amore DSP creates a great background over the Very Vanilla card base, and there are so many cute patterns in this paper for me to choose from! My sentiment (Seasonal Sayings) is stamped in Primrose Petals ink, and the Real Red Taffeta ribbon adds a nice feminine touch. 

Using three hearts from the Hearts a Flutter stamp set, I stamped onto Very Vanilla and Primrose Petals card stock. These hearts and the bottom DSP heart are easily die-cut with a Hearts a Flutter Framelit. All four hearts are then adhered using Dimensionals. 

I like how cute and easy this card was to make. Here's the simple card sketch for you, so you can make your own... and many others.  Happy stamping!!  :}

tickets to my heart

I like making Valentine's Day cards. It's just so much fun using lots of "girlie" colors, frilly papers, and ribbons.  :}

For this card I started with a Pretty in Pink card base, and then layered on Riding Hood Red card stock (distressed around the edges) and Tea For Two DSP. 

The two card stock hearts are die cut using the Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit and the Fashionable Hearts Embosslit. For some extra pattern, I die cut the largest heart from Twitterpated DSP with a Framelit from the Hearts Collection.
Three stamps from That's the Ticket and the coordinating Ticket Duo punch make it super easy to add more pretty layers to this card. And of course I couldn't skip the ribbon!!  :} 

I don't make a ton of Valentine's Day cards, so I like to make each one unique. How many Valentines do you send each year?

family first

Hello again stamping friends... long time no "see." The past two months have been so topsy-turvy for me and my family! One of the great things about this job, is that I can fit it around my life. With Christmas, school activities, Scouts, church, packing boxes and loading UHauls so we could close on our house, and comforting my children consuming our days, I decided to take some time off from stamping. I'm so glad I could be there for my family! And now I'm slowly easing myself back into my crafting obsession.  :}  In fact, I have a lovely Valentine's Day card to share with you today!

This is just cute, cute, CUTE! And it went together pretty fast. I started with a Pretty in Pink card base and added a strip of Tea For Two DSP. Then I tied on some Pretty in Pink stitched grosgrain ribbon. I stamped my greeting (Seasonal Sayings) in Calypso Coral ink.

The Hearts a Flutter Framelits made it super easy to die-cut six hearts... three from the Tea For Two DSP, and three that I stamped first using the Hearts a Flutter stamp set. The hearts are adhered to a layer of Crumb Cake card stock, which is layered over Lucky Limeade card stock, and then attached to the card with Dimensionals.

I hope you are feeling the "love" and it keeps you warm on this chilly day!

the Gift Box

Today I kicked off a new round of my Hostess club! It's soooo much fun to spend time stamping with friends. At my "breakfast club," my ladies get to eat some yummy breakfast goodies, drink coffee and juice, make a free project, and spend time working on their own projects. It doesn't get any better than that!
For the January club project, I came up with this cute little Valentine box using the Kraft gift boxes (these are awesome- $2.95 for four boxes!!) as the base. Then I added a bunch of pretty layers.

A torn strip of the Twitterpated Designer Fabric is tied in a simple knot to dress up the sides of the box. A 3-1/4" square piece of Twitterpated DSP is adhered to the lid. Then the fun begins...

I used the new Designer Rosette Bigz XL die and two 12" long strips of Twitterpated DSP to create the medallion. For the next layer, I die cut two circles of White Waffle Paper using the Circles #2 die. Those are adhered to a 1-3/4" punched circle of Whisper White card stock with SNAIL, and then adhered to the medallion. From the new Take It to Heart stamp set, I stamped the largest heart (in this project) in Riding Hood Red, and the other heart in Blushing Bride. After snipping both out, I adhered the larger heart to a layer of Blushing Bride card stock that was die cut with one of the new Hearts Collection Framelits dies. I used a Riding Hood Red marker to stamp the sentiment (from the Loving Thoughts stamp set), and then snipped that out and adhered it behind the larger heart. I used Dimensionals to attach the heart/banner layer. The smaller stamped heart and another punched heart (Small Heart) are attached with Glue Dots, and a teeny tiny Basic Pearl finishes it off. Love, it, love it, love it!! I so wish you could see it in person... it's even prettier. Especially since the hearts, banner, and DSP square are spritzed with my mixture of Frost White Shimmer Paint (in rubbing alcohol). If only I could capture that pretty shimmer with a camera, sigh.
So what are you giving to your Valentine this year?