My Special Valentine

As promised, here is the Valentine I made for my husband. He loved it - A man after my own heart, he confesses he loves the sparkles too ;) Inside, I wrote that he is booked for a "stress-relief" massage on Sunday, since he's been working like a crazy man lately!

I saw a card made like this one (it folds closed like you would close a box), and Had to try it. It turned out nicely, I think. I have to say that the longer I've been doing this, the more "ingredients" I accumulate, but also the more techniques I learn and the braver I get! I'm always attempting something "new" (to me anyway) lately, which feels really good. And having everything I need to complete a project makes me a very happy stamper indeed!

Valentine's For Everyone!

On Monday a group of ladies came to my Valentine's Day card class, to make 10 cards each. Before I offered this class, I hadn't really thought that people gave Valentine's cards to very many people. Sure, their most loved ones (spouse, kids, grandparents), kid's classmates, and maybe even the teacher, but I had thought that was about it. Along came a good friend who said she needed to make 25 Valentine's cards, and would I hold a class? Wow! I thought - why would she need 25 cards?? Well, turns out (and she's not the only one) that she's giving them to family, friends, and co-workers too! Not all of them have declarations of love (which I hadn't thought of either!); some have friendship sayings, and others sentiments of appreciation. What a nice thought, to let everyone around you know you care and are thinking of them! So, the class was born, and we had a blast!

Here is the first card we did. I love the color combo in this card! We used Stampin' Up! cardstock in Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink and White. The stamps we used are from the following sets: Little Pieces, Loving Hearts, Canvas Background and Everyday Flexible Phrases. We used Soft Subtles eyelets, and Rose grosgrain ribbon.

The second card we did, I faught with for 2 hours while designing it, until I was finally happy with it! I actually gave the ladies a couple of choices for this one: The "Love You!" stamp could be replaced by the "Be My Valentine" stamp from the "Tags So Much" Hostess set, also using the 2 tag punches instead of the square punches. The paper is Real Red and White, and the stamp sets used were Brushstroke Alphabet and Loving Hearts. We used red wide organdy ribbon, as well as criss-crossed gold cord. Nice and simple!

The third card we did is my favorite. I just love sparkles, and "Simply Said" is one of my favorite stamp sets!

Using Real Red and White cardstock, I stamped the heart and flowers using Real Red ink. Then I pulled the color from the image using a blender pen, to color in some of the flowers. To get the sparkles on, I used a two-way glue pen, then sprinkle on the glitter. The heart is stamped on a separate piece of cardstock, and attached underneath with dimensionals. Add a piece of red gingham ribbon, and - Voila! So simple, but so sweet!

The last card we did was a little "teaser" for the ladies. First we stamped the "Big Blossom" Sell-A-Bration stamp on a piece of cardstock, and cut it out. Then we used a paisley stamp from the "Polka Dots & Paisley" stamp set that is not yet available to customers (get this stamp set from March 1 to June 30th!), and stamped on the flower. The background dots are also from the "teaser" stamp set; the hearts are from the "Love It" Hostess set, and "SO" and "loved" are from the Sell-A-Bration set "So Very". We also used the Crafter's Tool Kit to make the small holes around the "SO" circle.

So, a very fun class, and of course I showed my husband the cards we made, which means I now have to make him a different one! I'll post that one next time... :)

Valentine Suprises

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I look after an 18 month old little girl every Wednesday, and this morning when I opened her bag, I received a really nice surprise! Inside the bag was a beautiful Valentine card! I have to tell you, it just made my day. Nothing makes a person feel better than when someone shows they care! What a wonderful way to start my day!

Later this morning, I printed off some projects for the girls, and they made Valentines for our little friends' mommy and daddy, and one for Kaitlyn's daddy. They had a lot of fun coloring and gluing the pieces on! They got to use crayons AND markers, and I also let them dip their fingers into my stamp pads and "color" with fingerprints. They were such a mess after, but very happy with themselves!

All Wrapped Up!

Wow, have cards ever been flying off my stampin' table lately! It seems I need to make one every time I turn around! Today I'm posting one that I'm particularly proud of. I made it for my daughter's friend who turned 2 last weekend. It's the first time I've used the little frog, and I just love him! The frog and jar are from the "All Wrapped Up" Stampin' Up stamp set, the background is Canvas, and I used Watercolor Wonder Crayons with my aqua painter to paint the frog and jar. What fun I had! I also liked the fold of the card, which (I don't know if you can tell from the picture) is a tri-fold card. Just something a little different. I think I'll use this little guy a lot, now that I've discovered how much I love him; especially since my daughter knows so many boys! Well - I better get back to stamping!

Our Technique Projects

Since I'm new at this blogging thing, I haven't figured out how to put pictures in different parts of the text, or even know if it's possible. So instead I'm posting 3 times today!

At my stamp club, I teach my ladies 2 techniques each month, and they make a project using each technique. Above are the two cards we made. The first one is made with the Sell-A-Bration set "Delight in Life", using the Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and the technique was called "Watercoloring with Crayons". The other card was made also using a Sell-A-Bration set called "Big Blossom", and the "Paisley" background stamp. This card also uses our new "In Color" color Cool Caribbean, and the ribbon is from our Winter Mini Catalog, Ribbon Originals in Flirty. The technique we used for this card was called "the Kissing Technique". Very cool! The middle of the flower also has micro beads set in Crystal Effects. I love the look of these beads, but boy, can they be messy! Use them when you're ready for a bit of crafting adventure!

I mentioned in my last post that this was the last month for this stamp club. No fear - we're starting another one next month that will go for another 6 months! My usual ladies have re-signed for the next club, and our two guests at this months meeting have decided to join us as well! So stay tuned for our next club meetings - Which techniques will we use, and what will our projects look like?? :)

More Pictures!

I love my stamp club! My ladies have been meeting since August last year, and this month was the last for this club. I've made some good friends from this club, and have such a fun time with them, that I decided to give them a little something special as a thank you. I made each of them a purse box (hand-stamped and decorated with SU products), and inside I added 1 re-inker in their favorite color, 2 sponge daubers, 1 yard of each ribbon in their color choice (from our "Ribbon Originals"; 5 yards total), and a full sheet of Stampin' Dimensionals! We also had 2 ladies join us as guests that night, and I felt I couldn't leave them out, so I made them little gift bags with chocolate almonds wrapped in a cello-bag and topped with a piece of ribbon from our Ribbon Originals, in Sweet Shop. Can you tell I had SO much fun?!?!

My First Uploaded Picture!

Wow, where does the time go?? I really meant to post a LOT sooner than this, but I guess life got in the way! Oh well, here I am now!
I've been very busy this month, with 2 stamp club meetings, my daughter's 2nd birthday party, my husband's birthday 3 days later, and tonnes more.
I'm very proud of the birthday card I made for Kaitlyn, who LOVES Dora the Explorer.

The kids had a great time at Kaitlyn's birthday party. I hired her Kindermusic teacher (Miss Carly) to come and entertain the kids for 1/2 hour. They sang songs, made a cute giraffe with fingerprint painting, played with a parachute, and danced. To thank her, I made her a card, and a purse box filled with chocolate almonds. I hope she likes it!