To My Hunny Bunny - A Valentine's Day Card

Some of my favorite cards are the ones that are pretty easy to put together.  I get to use up my stash items, and fun finds, and BOOM...I'm done!  This is the perfect way to use up scraps, alphabet stickers, die-cut stickers, mist, and rub-ons!

There's lots of Studio Calico goodness here for you!  Studio Calico was gracious enough to provide some Scrapbook News and Review staffers with fun goodies to use in an SNR event a couple years ago.  These were one of my favorite manufacturers to work with.

Here are some fun elements of the card:

1) I used leftover strips and showcased the different patterned papers and patterned die-cut stickers on this card.  Just arrange them in a way that pleases you or use a sketch to help you with your design.

2) Instead of stamps or fancy sentiment embellishments, spell out your greeting with alphabet stickers.  If you're a hoarder like me, you probably have tons of these laying around!  Mix and match fonts from leftover sticker sheets!  As long as the colors work, you're golden!

3) Same with rub-ons - hunt through your stash and find phrases that would work with your card.  Team them up with letter stickers to create your sentiment.

4)  For a splash of fun color, I spritzed some green mist onto my card before I added the rub-ons and letters.

5)  Not sure how to use veneer pieces?  I just added them to this card just the way they were.  Use some strong glue to stick them onto each other and onto the front of your card.  I like E-6000!

See where your creative mind takes you.  Gather some coordinating papers, embellishments, stickers, rub-ons, and any other stash items you need to use up and go to town!  Make more than one card in one sitting and save them for future use!

I have a photo box full of cards I create for an event or on a whim.  If you need some therapeutic time to yourself, this is the perfect project for you!  Throw on some music, sip on some coffee (or wine) and you'll finish knowing you've created some cards to use later, you've had time to decompress from your daily duties, and hopefully you feel refreshed and productive all at the same time!

What crafty projects bring you the most joy?  Do you use scrappy creating as therapy?

This year as part of my Goals of 2014, I plan on dedicating some time here and there to creating cards.  What I like about creating cards is I GIVE them away and they don't take up room in my craft room!  Start now to build your card stash or plan to create a lovely scrapbook for a beloved family member or friend.  If you start now, you'll have an impressive scrapbook to gift by the Holidays!

Happy Heart's Day - Creating a Quick and Inexpensive Valentine's Day Card: How to Mass-Produce a Valentine's Day Card for the Classroom

Because I've planned ahead this year, I've been able to design a quick card for the kids to give away at school on Valentine's Day.  I mean, I've got TONS of paper, ink, and know-how so WHY do I need to buy them at the store?

I designed them to be 2.5" x 3.5" which is ATC size.  I chose Kraft cardstock, a Valentine themed outline stamp, black ink, and a heart punch.  I'll go over some fun ways to add detail for those of you that want something just a tad bit more fancy.

I also have this tutorial up in video form, so if you like, check that out too!



Supplies
Kraft cardstock (use scraps if you have them)
Valentine's Day stamp or one that would work with this theme
Black ink
Heart punch
Red cardstock (or any color for hearts)
Liquid Pearls (any color - or use glitter, gems, pearls, etc)
Glossy Accents

Since I'll be creating 23 cards for my son's class and about 30 for my daughter's class, I had to make sure the design was cute but simple.  To add a splash of color, I punched the hearts out of red cardstock and dotted the middle of the flower with some Liquid Pearls in Petal Pink.

I'll go over some brief steps so you can easily mass produce this card design efficiently.

Step One:  Start but cutting down your Kraft card stock into 2.5" x 3.5" pieces.

Step Two:  If you have a corner rounder, round out the top right hand corner of each card.

Step Three:  It would be a good time to punch out or hand cut enough red hearts for all the cards you're going to make.  I had a multiple heart punch so was able to punch out 3 hearts out at one time.  I decided I wanted to use only the two biggest hearts so I punched enough to make all the cards needed for both kids' class.

Step Four:  Now, if you also have a "to/from" stamp", stamp it in an area that works for the card design.  If you're stamping this on the back of the card, work on finishing the BACK of the card first before the front since you'll be jazzing up the front of the card with Liquid Pearls and maybe even some Glossy Accents later.  That way, you don't have to wait for the front to dry before finishing the back of your card.

Step Five:  Its time for stamping.  Stamp your image with black ink on each card.  If the kids have the manual dexterity, they can probably handle the stamping.  Next glue on the hearts.  The kids can help with this part too!

Now your cards are almost done.  Add some color, texture and depth with Liquid Pearls and/or Glossy Accents (Ranger).  I simply dotted the flower centers with some pink colored Liquid Pearls and accented the top right side of each heart with some Glossy Accents.  Set aside to dry in a safe corner.

All you have left to do is tape each dum-dum/lollipop to the back of each card with some good old clear/invisible tape!

For some fabulous card making tutorials, check out my class offerings:

If you're looking for more Valentine's Day inspiration, check out my previous posts here:

Go HERE for the blog post for the above scrapbook page.


Go HERE for the blog post for the above scrapbook page.


Happy Crafting!