Love Bug Valentine!

Here's the card I made for my hubby for V-Day!!! I LOVE it! I saw a card in a gallery with a VW Bug made with punches and added to it. I created the landscape with a retired pack of DSP from last years SAB. I have tons of it left and am really trying to use it up. I wish the picture really showed the hood of the car better, but I waited until nighttime to shoot it. There's a lot of little details added to this card, and it was SO much fun. I LOVE Punch Art and do it all the time, but this was the most fun I have had with punches in a while!

As a teen, I was addicted to VW Beetles. I bought my first one with my own money when I was 15. My Dad and I worked on it together. When I graduated from High School in 99, my Dad surprised me by driving up to my cookout/party in the most beautiful shiny white 72' bug!!! Fully restored to be exact as it was new, perfect condition and ran like a dream. There's no more uncomfortable car in the summer, so we installed a fan in the floor and I loved this car for years! I just recently sold it, *sigh*. I haven't driven it since I had kids, so it sat for 6 years. I miss her very much. My hubby (whom I didn't know till I was 18) grew up driving bugs, too. So, I thought this card would be perfect!

The list of punches is long, and I may accidentally leave one or two out, but here's my best shot without my notes:

Word Window
Horizontal Slot
Modern Label
1 3/8" Circle
3/4" Circle
1/2" Circle
2 x 1 3/8" Oval
1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval
1 3/8" x 5/8" Oval

And the top body part of the car is a 2 3/4" circle from a cutting system.

I ♥ YOU Valentine!

Here is a No-Stamping Valentine's card I made for a swap consisting of super talented SU Demos! It's not often that I create a card without ever inking a stamp, so this is kind of a big deal;) The clouds, balloon and sentiment are rub-ons called Love Impressions. They are AWESOME! The DSP is the Whisper White pattern (with light gray words) from the Neutrals DSP Stack. All around the DSP, curving with the pink circle, I used a Mat Pack and Paper Piercer to pierce the edges. I work quicker without the guide, so I pierce free hand, using a ruler to keep me in line, but not for spacing. This only took a few seconds. If you're scared of a mistake, I suggest the Guide that comes with the Mat Pack. I use it for brad placement, and when I need a strip of exactly spaced pierces. I lived on the edge for this one;)

Supplies:
Paper, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Real Red cardstock. Pink Pirouette Textured CS, Neutrals DSP, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink: NONE
Punches: Small Heart, Eyelet Border, Modern Label
Accessories: Love Impressions Rub-Ons, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, SNAIL, Dimensionals

Hope you like it and will visit soon for more!

Love You Much

First of all...LOVING my brand new Nikon D3000 from the wonderful hubby for Christmas. I have a LONG way to go to really learn to use this camera, but I actually took this shot with all manual settings, so I am learning, slowly but surely.

I am a member of an awesome SU Demo group for demos who live in the great state of North Carolina, and we do lots of swaps. For the month of January, I get to send one card every Monday to a fellow demo. It's called Monday Mailers, and it's a lot of fun. The theme for this month is Valentines, red and pink. So, I am trying to keep the theme while using some traditional and some non-traditional stamps for this theme. This one is non-traditional, in that I didn't use hearts, etc. The deets are below, I hope you like it, it was a lot of fun to make, and I hope Martinette will love it!

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Well-Scripted

Paper: Naturals White, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette

Wide Oval Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Vintage Wallpaper Texture Folder, Big Shot

Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Tombow Multi, SNAIL

Another Mystery Package....

I know I have posted before about the online swap group I take part in. I love it! We do monthly Mystery Swaps. The partners are random, and we send 'ingredients' to our partner so she can make a card with them and post a picture on our online forum for the rest of the group to see. It's fun, and it forces me to work with products and things I normally wouldn't. Here's the package I just received for July... Now, red is my fave color, so I thought this would be SO easy. But, I do not, ever, under any circumstance use stickers of any kind on my creations. So, that threw me for a loop. We do not have to use every single thing sent, and can add minimal items to it. I left out only the bow sticker. Here's what I came up with.

The card base was bigger than my standard fave size of A2, so I trimmed it down. Then it was too white for the other papers, so I sponged some Cherry Cobbler lightly around the edges. The red paper was too bright for the base then, so I covered it with torn and battered velleum. The papers were run through the Big Shot with the Top Note Die. I then cut strips and matched it up alternating the heart paper with the shimmery white paper. I punched the stamped image, and used stickers to adhere the vellum over it. I wrapped the whole card base in crochet thread before adhering the top layer. I like it. I wanted a vintage feel so the colors really needed muting. I didn't waste paper either, here's what I did with the die cut negative...

I framed the inside of the card where the sentiment and written message will go. Someone is definitely getting this for V-Day in 2011 :) Now, I just have to work on Christmas!

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Hope you all like it. Supplies are unknown as everything was sent to me. Dies and punches, as well as inks I added are SUO as always:)

Chloe's Handmade Valentine's

This is my 5 yr old, Chloe, and her 3 yr old sister, Tara. Not sure what's up with Chloe's goofy grin! These are the Valentine's we sat and made tonight for her Preschool class party tomorrow. We used two images from Pun Fun, and some DCVW cardstock (I think that's what it's called, I only use SU, and let the kids use the other stuff). We stamped the images, and she colored them with SU Color Pencils. I scored and punched holes in these to hold the suckers she picked to give to her friends. Her sister separated the colored ones into piles for me to finish cutting out. We had a lot of fun making these, and I think they are cuter than anything storebought...plus it was a great experience. Below are some more pics!

The boys are getting blue with the Rocket stamp, and the girls are getting pink with the Skunk stamp (that my daughter insists is a squirrel, hence they are brown). The Skunk says 'I stink you're sweet', and the Rocket says 'You're a Blast'. I thought these were perfect for Preschool Valentine's.

The close up. I will be reading her the comments, so if you like what she did, drop a comment for me to share with her. I think she did a good job, and she's only 5!

My January Club Projects....

Hey, friends! It's great to be back in the blogging loop! The holidays were wonderful, and I enjoyed them immensely, but am glad to be back to the routine of everyday life! My Jan hostess club theme was 'Be My Valentine'. I generally focus on a Holiday coming up the next month so my club members have time to plan and order for it. This card is our 'Man' card for Valentine's Day! I used the NEW set from the Occasions Mini, called I (Heart) Hearts. I am the proud new owner of ALL the SU Clear Blocks and am blown away by their beauty and quality! So, I have this set in the Clear Mount. This is a wonderful heart set! The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

CS--Real Red, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink -- Read Red, Soft Suede
Punches -- Modern Label, Word Window, 1/4" Circle, 1 1/4" Square
Stamps -- I (Heart) Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes

I like including a 3D item, gift, or package idea at each meeting. This month we did paper bows made of out Designer Series Paper. They were a huge hit! They are easy to make, and seeing how you can make 24 large ones out of a $9.95 pack of DSP, you can't even buy NICE bows for that price at the store! This tutorial is on SCS. However, it is only for the large size. I created the small size by switching from 6x12 paper to 3x6, and making my cuts at 1/2" instead of 1". It worked well, but is a little harder to hold together before using the brads. I cannot wait to make more of these! This particular DSP is retired, it is called Bella Rose.

And this little one was lots of fun! These are the NEW Hugs Notes from the Occasions Mini. The Whisper White CS is already cut into the scalloped rectangle! They sell in packs of 20 for $4.95! What a deal! I think I will buy extra packs to use as focal points on card fronts when I am too lazy to pull out my Big Shot ☺ The vase is the Ornament Punch, with the bottom point cut off.

CS -- Real Red, Hug Notes, DSP from a retired Hostess Pack, Whisper White

Ink -- Read Red, Garden Green (marker)

Stamps -- I (Heart) Hearts

Punches -- Ornament, Heart to Heart

-- Dimensional -- under the checkered heart

I hope you all enjoy these! I loved making them, and my club seemed to really enjoy these projects! I love Valentine's Day!

My Hubby's Valentine...

I just realized that I had forgotten to upload this card. This is what I made my husband for Valentine's Day this year. I saw a very similiar card on SCS a while back and loved it, so I wanted to do something like it. The set is Boatloads of Love. The DSP is Fall Flowers, CS is Really Rust, Old Olive and Baja Breeze. The image is stamped on watercolor paper, and colored with watercolor crayons, reinkers and Aquapainters. I used some natural hemp twine, and a piece of Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware. I like it, and was pleased with it. Since making this I saw a tip someone posted about heat embossing images before watercoloring, and am doing that now, it does work much better for staying in the lines with the brush. Still overall, I like this one, so did he!

Starbucks Bottle Transformed...

This is the Valentine's gift I made for my sister. It's a Starbucks bottle decorated and it holds Jelly Belly's. I wrapped Bella Rose DSP around it, added some ribbon and punches, her initial with Lovely Letters, added a Hero Arts bling to the 'E', and filled her up! I must say, Juicy Pear, Strawberry Cheesecake and Cherry match the paper pretty well!

I wrapped the edge of the lid in Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, then topped it with some punched paper to tie it all together. This was quick and easy to make, I enjoyed making it, and my sister loved it! She's going to put it on her desk at work.

Love tags Card...

This is another card I created for my monthly hostess club to make today. Everyone needs a good 'man' card for holidays, and I really struggle. Every time I need a 'man' card I pull out Lovely As A Tree, well, I wouldn't let myself use it this time! But, I think I pulled off a decent enough card that is man friendly! It's simple, but looks really nice.

I should have taken a pic of the inside. We did a white Big Shot Top Note Die on the inside and stamped HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY and sponged the edges in Riding Hood Red ink, looks incredible inside!

Stamps: Lovely Letters (alphabet), All Holidays
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose DSP, Whisper White CS
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
Acc/Tools: SU Tag Punch, SU Designer Label, SU Red Hemp Twine, 1" and 3/4: SU circle punches. (Big Shot Top Note Die from SU on inside)

Crimped Envelope Valentine

This was one of the projects I created for my club to make today. The tutorial is on SCS, and when I got my Weekly Inkling, I just knew I had to give this a try. Here it is all put together...







And this is what it looks like open, this shot shows the inside pull-out piece. The pocket card itself is a standard A2 envelope, these are quick, easy, and I love the look of them. I punched a partial scallop circle out of the top open end so the recipient can see the card inside...

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Holiday&Wishes, All Holidays

Paper: SU Medium Whisper White envelope, Riding Hood Red CD, Bella Rose DSP scrap

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss

Acc/Tools: Fiskars Crimper from SU, SU Square Scallop punch, SU Scallop Circle punch, 1", 3/4" and 1/2" SU circle punches, SU Glue Dots, Sponges, and paper flowers by Kaiser Scrapbooks.

Prissy Valentine...

I just sat down and whipped this up. I must say ahead of time that I got the idea to make this box from a very talented lady on SCS, her SCS name is girls3boys0. Mine turned out bigger than hers as I added side panels to make it deeper, but it's her idea, I just changed it to work for me.

Supplies:
Sizzix BigShot for SU
Sizzix Bigz Scallop Envelope Die (exclusive to SU)
Pink Pirouette CS
Bella Rose DSP
Chocolate Chip ink
Sm Oval Punch
Pretty In Pink Organdy ribbon - retired
Silver brad
(Sentiment) Holidays & Wishes ('for you') All Holidays
Pearls are Crystal Stickers by Mark Richards (love these!)
Flowers are Kaiser Scrapbook

Ok, so I didn't stick to my clean out the stash rule on this one, I don't think I will keep that resolution...LOL!

I cut 2 envelopes and put Sticky Strip on the outside of the 2 small flaps (do on both). With the scrap CS, I cut 2 pieces 1 3/4x2 1/4 and adhered to those, using them to make the sides of the box. Then I added SS to the outside of one bottom flap, and stuck 'em together. Clear as mud? Good, I will move on! DSP is cut to 1 3/4 x 11 and I used SNAIL to glue it on, using SS only one the end in the back. I then put on the front of the flap (front side) and folded it down to create the front of the box. The GREAT thing about this die is that those preforations (sp, I am tired) are made into the die, achieving that pierced look. Then I glued the ribbon down in the back, again with SNAIL just so it doesn't slip down. Tied the knot in the front. Stuck the flower on with the Silver brad, and stamped FOR YOU in Choc Chip ink on a scrap of Bella Rose DSP (I swear I collect scraps...LOL!), sponged the edges, and glued it on sticking out from the flower. Then I decided it looked empty, so I added 3 pearls to the bottom corner, and VOILA! I love this!

PS--Before adhering box, I stamped Happy Valentine's Day upside down on the flap...got a little smear of ink, but in respect for my resolution to become a thriftier crafter, I kept going with it!

I made this just a minute ago, and loved it so much I had to blog it right now! I also sponged the edges of the entire box with Choc Chip ink for some depth. This will hold special chocolates for my Mom for V-Day...

***All items SU unless I specify otherwise in the description. Off to make another one!

Special Delivery...

These are Target Dollar Spot mailboxes that I bought about a year ago and have been stashing away waiting for something to use them for. I finally decided that they would be valentine's for my two little girls. I will fill them with sweet treats and a small toy item each. The supply list for these will be hard for me, as I have resolved to start using things I have had for ages, and this project appears to be my kickoff to using up those old things.

Paper is Miss Elizabeth's called Be Mine from Dollar Tree 2 years ago.
Thin ribbon is SU Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain
Organdy is SU, retired, Pretty in Pink
Chipboard letters are from Michael's, years ago, brand unknown.
Flowers are a couple years old, I do not know brand.
Frosted Lace Stickles.

---I cut a small slit in the side to the flag and used SU 1/2" circle punch for the flag.

Sorry for now knowing where all the products are from, I must get my stash under control!

I am finally working on V-day, on to cards, and gift sets for it, and I will for once, be ahead of the game!