We Create Blog Hop: Have a Heart

Good afternoon! It's a new month and that means a fun new blog hop! With Valentine's Day right around the corner, today's hop is all about love!

My card is pretty simple, but I'm really happy with it. In fact, if you took off the little droplets, it totally qualifies for #simplestamping! But I like the droplets so I kept them, haha!

Supplies:
Stamps: Forever Lovely
Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Real Red & Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White & Basic Black card stocks
Accessories: Frosted Epoxy Droplets

My card fits three current challenges, which was a big help trying to get back in to stamping after being sick. I used the color challenge from Global Design Project, the SC784 sketch from Splitcoaststampers.com and since I used flowers, I'm putting it with the SUO Floral Challenge! AND! This card is definitely going to be part of my upcoming class!

Now, hop on over to Libby's blog and then hop on thru the whole group to see what we've created for you today! Leave us your thoughts- we all enjoy feedback!

February 2020 We Create Blog Roll:

Kimberley Morris

Sharon Dalton

Tanya Harvey

Libby Fens

Cheryl Curtis

Julie Davidse

Jeanna Kay

Anastasia Radloff

Tricia Butts

Retired Valentines!

Are you still making Valentine's cards- maybe a little something with dinner?! haha...
Well I finally got something made for my kiddos. I started by searching for a sketch. I picked the latest from TGIF Challenges.
Then I had to rummage thru all my retired supplies! Really, the only thing current on these three cards is the Whisper White card stock and the ink pads. And then I decided to make them all pretty much identical! The sentiments come from the same Paper Pumpkin kit, and the glitter paper came from the same pack, so that made it come together quickly!

Supplies:
Stamps: Old Paper Pumpkin kit
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Mint Macaron, Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Glimmer Paper Asst (retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Dimensionals, unlabeled SU! Ribbon (retired), Sweetheart Punch (retired) Heart Dies (retired)

What are your Valentine's traditions? At our house, the kids wake up to a card and some candy at their seat at the table.

(and someone got a bonus gift to keep the peace of sharing....)

I got beautiful roses delivered yesterday morning!

My husband and I hardly ever go out on Valentine's Day, but often a different day the same week. We've done nice dinners as a family, and heart themed dinners, and personally I love having our hot artichoke dip with toasted baguette slices as part of our Valentine's meal. This year I'm making our peanut butter cup (bars) but cutting them out with heart cutters and topping them with some fun Valentine sprinkles. hee hee. It's all about the little things! I might also do some cake mix sugar cookies (smaller batch!) for decorating later...

Hey Love!

Today's card uses a technique I learned at the very first Stampin' Up! workshop I ever attended, waaay back in 2003. Yep. For the Make & Take, we used a stamp set that was all images, and a stamp set that was all words and repeated the word of our choice in Versamark, as subtle "patterned paper". We used one image to go along with it, and we used silver cord, haha! I didn't even realize the metallic thread connection til I typed that sentence! Anyway, back then everything I did was very much considered #simplestamping. I was trying to save money on supplies by not buying them, haha, and saving {hoarding?} what I did buy. I even know who I mailed that first card to.

For this card, I used the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, and built the card around the stamp set I wanted to play with. This is easily the most Valentine-y card I have in my upcoming class. The colors, the jar of hearts, and the repeated sentiment make it very festive, haha! With all the pink, it is likely going to go to my daughter. But I really like how it turned out and I hope my class attendees do too!

Supplies:
Stamps: Jar Of Love
Ink: Memento Black, Berry Burst, Powder Pink
Paper: Powder Pink, Whisper White & Berry Burst card stock
Accessories: Gold Thread, Dimensionals

annnd a less washed-out view, that is too dark, ha...

Tips-
- I mounted both the "HEY," and the "Love" on the block at the same time and stamped that way.
- I inked the Powder Pink hearts before the Berry Burst. Maybe that's obvious, but maybe it isn't, but it can be important with the clear, photopolymer stamp sets.
- I don't really know how to make thread look good, haha, I just stick Dimensionals all over the back and twist the thread around. Then it's stuck! haha!

Cards In the Mail!

Sometimes everyone is a bit of a slacker, (thanks a lot, Life!) but that means I got two straggling swaps this past week! Hooray for that!! And they are cute Valentine ideas so I need to share them in time, right?

First this sweet card could be valentine, anniversary or anytime you need to tell someone you love them!

And this one uses a Sale-A-Bration stamp set, so if you love this cute panda, you need to place a $50 or more order before March 31 and get him FREE!

 This particular card is a fancy-fold, check it out!

There are SO many fun ideas out there! Now pull out your stamps, ink and paper and get creating! That's what I'm off to do!!

Paper Pumpkin Valentines!

January's Paper Pumpkin kit was a cute treat bag, perfectly designed for Valentines (but perfectly usable for any occasion!). In organizing the house, I had pulled out all of my Paper Pumpkin boxes once more, and realized I had a few options for my daughter's last year in grade school- which is the last year they exchange valentines with classmates. I showed her the options and she loved the newest kit, and that gave me pictures for a blog post! haha...

One of the nights she did the stamping and assembled the arrows...

 another night she put together the bags, added a few "Fave-Red Starbursts" to each, and was done!

Full disclosure: To make all 24, this kit definitely took more than 30 minutes. But unless you're doing it for a class, I don't know when you would need all 24 in one shot. For past treat kits I have put together a few at a time as needed.

Valentine's Prep!

I have created things, just not stampy things... until this morning, when I crammed all of my Valentine prep!
At our house, my husband and I put out very small Valentine gifts at everyone's spot at the table for them to wake up to. Its not really a big deal, but it is fun to see something special just for you!
~~~
I have one child still in elementary school, which means a class Valentine exchange. Tuesday I put the kids to work peeling wrappers off the broken crayons in our stash...and I chopped them all into smaller bits.

Then we stuffed this silicone heart mold full of crayon bits.

We learned to put them in standing up to get fuller hearts. We used THIS and THIS post via Pinterest to figure out how, but the gist is that I put the mold in the oven on 230* for 15 mins, let it cool on the counter about 7 minutes and then cool in the freezer about 10 mins. Then you pop them out and laugh at how different they look on the bottom than the top!
In between melting crayons, she wrote out her paper valentines to her classmates.

Thursday, she chose which crayon went to which person (just like her mother that way...) while I started hot gluing crayon hearts to the valentines.

 And once she had selected them all, she got to do the hot gluing!

Also Thursday when I was at the store I texted my husband- did he want me to pick up Valentine gifts for the kids?? Sometimes I get them, sometimes he gets them. As I browsed, I found reason after reason not to buy any of the things.....and then I remembered that my Paper Pumpkin kit -which I hadn't got to play with yet- was perfect for this!!!
So I picked up a few kinds of candy we like and this is how I spent my Friday morning!

The January Paper Pumpkin kit is these die cut paper hearts and banners, which can be embellished with stamps or sequins, and turned into either a conversation heart Valentine banner, or little gift pouches. I made them all different. It was so quick and easy!

Ready to go! 

And we'll set these out Saturday night, along with a card from my January class! How easy is that?!

If I did them all as treat pouches, there are still enough hearts to make 12 more! My Pinterest board also has idea for making them into cards! And I have ideas for scrapbooking and other fun ways to use the remaining embellishments and the stamps! I love Paper Pumpkin!

Cards In The Mail

I was thinking I need to get my swaps going, and I started getting several in the mail, so it must be time to share them! *grin
Names are on each photo for proper credit!

This first one comes entirely from the Holiday Mini. However, only the snowflake DP has retired!

And I really should get mine done this week...!

Valentines - Round 5

Today's card uses half the stamps in the Going Global set, because I really love this set, haha! Everything about it!!
I used the first January sketch from the Viva La Verve blog for the layout.
I cheated, giggle, in that I used a retired circle die to punch out the three large circles. I don't even care - it's what I own that fits! You (and I!!) could (should?) get the Circles Collection Framelits to make it work, and have a slightly smaller one for the compass and words!
And I stuck to an In Color palette for this one.

Supplies:
Stamps: Going Global
Ink: Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder
Paper: Whisper White card stocks, In Color Envelope Paper
Accessories: Sweetheart Punch, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Seasonal Frame Thinlit Die (retired!)

Once again, I can't decide if this will be a part of my card class or not....I know I really like it! But...maybe its too much stuff?

haha! ...too much, too little...I just can't be happy here, haha!
What do YOU think? 

Valentines -Round 4

Today's card is pretty simple but I really like how it turned out.
However, because it is so simple, I may not use it in my class after all... If I get a chance to create something else, I might swap it out-we'll see!
And again, this doesn't have to be a Valentine's card, it could go to anyone, any time!
This one also used last week's sketch from the TGIF Challenge blog.

Supplies:
Stamps: Going Global
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Love Blossoms Embellishment Kit, World Traveler Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Hexagon Punch, Glue Dots

Valentines - Round 3

Today I'm sharing a Valentine card....even if it looks like a wedding/anniversary card! But that's the point- we'll make five "Valentine" cards at my upcoming class, but you don't have to use all -or any!- of them as specifically Valentines. Switch up the greeting and use it for any occasion you need!

Personally, this is kinda what my husband's birthday and Father's Day cards turn out like...and any other time I think he needs a pick-me-up, or just a tiny reminder of how much I love and appreciate him. So I could make five Valentines and be just fine. But I try hard to make my classes apply to anyone who signs up, so I need to mix it up! I also like that this is not specifically wedding, nor anniversary, but either way!

Also, I used the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

Supplies:
Stamps: Beautiful Ride
Ink: Memento Black, Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride, Island Indigo, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Pear Pizazz
Paper: Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler & Whisper White card stocks, Love Blossoms DP
Accessories: Love Blossoms Embellishment Kit (doily, pearls, heart), Blender Pens, Stamping Sponges, Dimensionals

Valentines - Round 2

Okay, have you seen the Sale-A-Bration mini? Do you know how it works?? For every $50 you spend, you can choose a Sale-A-Bration exclusive item for FREE. This is my favorite Stampin' Up! promotion every year because there is always something I fall in love with- often lots of things! These things are only available as Sale-A-Bration freebies, and they are only available until it ends, which this year is March 31.
Something else important to notice...today's featured stamp set is found on page 16. This, along with the DP and the stamp set found on page 19 are only available until February 15th!!! That's even more limited-time than the whole promotion is! So if you love any of those three items, you'll want to grab them ASAP!
This fabulous airplane had to come home with my latest order because I have a weird obsession with all things travely, haha!

Today I have another two cards for you, haha, but this time it was totally deliberate. I wanted to use last week's Mojo Monday sketch with this stamp set, I just didn't get to play in time. My greeting square is much smaller than the sketch called for, but it works.
I also chose this greeting to show the versatility of the same supplies for any occasion you might need.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sky Is The Limit
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Smoky Slate
Paper: Lost Lagoon, Very Vanilla card stocks, Going Places DP
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Dimensionals

Then I had to adjust the sketch to fit the heart in the jet stream (what do you call it when it isn't coming from a jet??) so that it can be part of my Valentines Class!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sky Is The Limit
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Smoky Slate
Paper: Lost Lagoon, Very Vanilla card stocks, Going Places DP
Accessories: Natural Chevron Ribbon, Dimensionals

What do you think?? Well, I think the non-traditional colors totally work for Valentines with an airplane! It's a great man-card! And it happens to be a great man-card any time of year!!
And because the stamp set is only going to be around for six weeks, you can definitely expect to see it more too!

Valentines- Round 1

I have been trying to plan projects for an upcoming Valentines Class, and yesterday I finally got to start. I had two ideas in my head for this card and I strongly prefer one over the other, haha! That's okay- its good to try things even when they don't work, haha!

I used a sketch for both tries. First up, a loose interpretation of the latest from the TGIF Challenge blog, haha.... I kept it pretty simple because this is for a class, with all levels of experience attending. The only trick is trimming the edges off the die cut piece, and adding glue dots to all the right places on the ribbon, haha.

Supplies:
Stamps: Honeycomb Hello
Ink: Rose Red, Blushing Bride
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake card stocks
Accessories: Love Blossoms Embellishment Kit (ribbon & sequins), Big Shot, Hexagon Hive die, Glue Dots

This card uses most of the same supplies, and the latest Mojo Monday sketch. I kept the hive die to go with the bee, and I chose one of the least "busy" flower prints in the DP but I don't think it worked out.

Supplies:
Stamps: Honeycomb Hello
Ink: Rose Red
Paper: Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake card stocks, Love Blossoms DP
Accessories: Paper Doilies, Big Shot, Hexagon Hive die, Dimensionals

Valentine Week #5

Happy Valentines Day to you!
Today's is not a card we made at my impromtu class- it is just a card I put together to display. Look familiar? It should...It's just the heart I cut out of these cards, put on a different base, stamped, and done! Another super simple card but I really like it.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Life
Ink: Real Red, Memento Black
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Stacked with Love Washi Tape, Big Shot, Hearts Die

Valentine Week #4

Today's card was one that was thrown together as soon as I decided to do a Valentine class rather than a typical workshop! *grin It is very simple but still fun, happy and I think perfect for Valentines! We used two ink pads, and just stamped off on our scratch paper to get the paler shades of pink!

Supplies:
Stamps: Work of Art
Ink: Melon Mambo, Basic Gray
Paper: Melon Mambo, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Melon Mambo taffeta ribbon

Valentine Week #3

Today's cards are the ones I designed for the Make & Take on Saturday!
This one had options- which I hardly ever do, but I thought there just might be a preference...and there was! I saw the idea on Susan's blog and absolutely had to try it!
I started by cutting the heart out of the white card stock (...funny how the light caught it in this photo, because in the card you can't see the outline of the die!). I stamped this long heart image coming from the heart hole, to past the edge of the paper, and added the strip of Stacked With Love Washi Tape. Then I chose a sheet from the super cute Stacked With Love DP, and cut it in half. I laid it on the inside of the card, covering the heart so that one of the prints showed thru! I added the gold button and called it done!

 Here's the inside...and since I cut the page in half, it doesn't cover like Susan's did...

So I thought I'd try matting it, in case people preferred that...and of those who came, they all picked this one! haha! So, same idea, different stamp in the set, and this is the flip side of the same DP, annd I forgot the Washi Tape...

But there are two more Valentine ideas for you!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Life
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red card stocks, Stacked With Love DP
Accessories: Stacked With Love Washi Tape, Gold Buttons, White Baker's Twine, Big Shot, Hearts Die, Glue Dots

Valentine Week #2

Today I have the second card from my impromptu Valentine class! This is a card I made to display, and it's really very simple, but I like it!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Life
Ink: Real Red, Calypso Coral, Crisp Canteloupe
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Paper Doilies, White Jute Ribbon, Dimensionals

Valentine Week #1

So, Saturday I had a Sale-A-Bration workshop. I invited a bunch of people but the only ones able to come already have a decent stamp stash of their own, haha! I had been disappointed I didn't have time to schedule a Valentine card class, so 15 minutes into the workshop I started prepping other cards and we turned it into a card class instead, haha!! That means I have several cards to showcase this week, in case you're looking for some Valentine's inspiration!

Today I'm starting with the card that was originally the card to demonstrate! This card uses the photopolymer stamp set Snuggles and Smooches, which is not in the catalog, but can be viewed HERE. Yep, Stampin' Up! is still releasing a new photopolymer stamp set each month, and this one is so cute! I used the Banners die for the pennant with the LOVE stamped on it, but I used the Hexagon Punch to make the other strips pennant shaped. We used the Calypso Coral Blendabilities to color the LOVE in an ombre' style (which totally shows up better IRL), and to color one of the pearls. And the strips come from the cute Stacked With Love paper stack!

Supplies:
Stamps: Snuggles & Smooches
Ink: Memento Black, Smoky Slate, Calypso Coral Blendabilities
Paper: Calypso Coral & Whisper White card stocks, Stacked With Love DP
Accessories: Big Shot, Banners Die, Hexagon Punch, Pearls

Paper Pumpkin Valentines!

Today I have some alternate cards made with the January Paper Pumpkin kit. The sketches this week worked so well with the kit, it was irresistible! I had to use it!

First I used the kit with the Mojo Monday sketch and with some card stock I had on hand- how easy is that?!

Supplies:
Stamps: January Paper Pumpkin
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Blushing Bride, Real Red & Whisper White card stock
Accessories: January Paper Pumpkin

Second, I used the Nacho Average Challenge sketch, and the same supplies! ...too bad you can't see the shiny gold hearts on the paper...but that's one of the topper strips I cut in half and laid next to itself!

Supplies:
Stamps: January Paper Pumpkin
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White card stock, January Paper Pumpkin
Accessories: January Paper Pumpkin

What do you think? Aren't these kits awesome?! haha! I am sure loving them!