Valentines for Friends

Just a quick share for a couple of Valentine's Day cards I made for friends this year. I was very late starting on them and had a difficult time deciding between "cute" and "pretty." Indecision often comes to visit in the Attic and when it does, I make it easy on myself and opt for one of each! 

I had a few days of fun and crafty play, and now that the cards  have been received, I can share them here.

The only difference between these two cards are the hearts in some of the "O's" on the border strip. I discovered those in my bag of die cuts after I completed the first card and thought a few more hearts wouldn't hurt anything! I purchased the Lawn Fawn "Bee Mine" set  as soon as it came out in December, primarily because I could see doing so many things with the heart trail. The dancing mouse is from Hero Arts, a stamp I've had for quite some time, but remained ink-free until now. He was quite fun to paper piece with some new Doodlebug-Love Birds paper for the scarf and an older paper from Making Memories - Love Struck, for the sweater. There's a bit of glitter pen added to the hearts in the sweater, too.  This little guy is quite talented! Not only does he leave a trail of hearts when he dances, but he balances all those hugs and kisses, too! This design came out just as I imagined - pure play and entertainment all along the way! Thanks to my friend, Judy, I was able to "borrow" her brand new Memory Box Hugs & Kisses die before I mailed it to her! A kind and generous spirit she is! You can visit her delightful blog here and see the lovely cards she's been creating, too.

Velveteen Stamping Technique and Inside

This is the other card I made - quite different from my original idea, but I am pleased with the result. It was one of those crafty sessions where I really had to convince myself to "try a different plan." I realize the photo is a bit dark, but it was the only way to highlight the velveteen stamping technique discovered by Shari Carroll on the Hero Arts blog. Here is the tutorial and video from last March if you'd like to see how it's done. I love this technique and it was perfect for the Hero Arts Challenge this month - Love and Lace. Three types of lace were used on this card - the Hero Arts Lace Background stamp, a lace border made with a Martha Stewart border punch, and a piece of lace from my ribbon stash. The satin ribbon is a lovely color called Autumn Rose from Papertrey Ink. All of this lace and ribbon called for a few pearls sprinkled in, too - just a little more love for Valentine's Day! Can there ever be too much ribbon and lace, or too many pearls? Just take a look around the Attic and the answer is quite obvious!

I am entering each of these cards in the Hero Arts Love and Lace Challenge this month. They have a sketch and technique challenge as well and there's still time to play along!

Thanks for coming to visit friends! I so enjoy our chats and Abbey is loving new laps for snuggling. 

I hope your days are filled with lots of lacy goodness and love! Always love.

 

Materials: Mouse Card: Paper: Neenah Solar White; Memory Box (MB); Making Memories-Love Struck; Doodlebug-Love Birds; Stamps: Hero Arts F5279 Dancing Mouse; Lawn Fawn Bee Mine; Dies: MB Hus & Kisses; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Hero Hues Punch; Other: Prisma Color Pencils, Spica Clear Pen, Martha Stewart (MS) Heart border punch (on inside).

Tulips Card: Paper: Neenah Solar White, My Minds Eye Lost & Found Blush; Stamps: Hero Arts K5576 Newspaper Tulips, S5341 Lace Background, CL311 Valentine Flourishes, Paper Trey Ink Tiny Tags; Dies: Spellbinder Label 18, Paper Trey Ink Tiny Tags; Ink: Colorbox Frost White, Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-Tone Wet Cement, Distress Ink Pumice Stone, Distress Ink Marker Bundled Sage,  Memento Pink Markers; Other: Paper Trey Ink Ribbon-Autumn Rose, Martha Stewart Arched Lattice Border Punch, Pearls-Michaels, Crochet thread and lace from the ribbon basket.