Always...

 Here it is , the middle of January already!  Time to be thinking of Valentines, and not just for your favorite sweetie.  Valentine cards don't always have to be hearts and flowers, mushy, and all reds and pinks. What about sending out cards to those special friends that you often think about, but don't always let them know you're thinking of them.  That was the thought behind the card I'm sharing with you today.  It uses two of my favorite sets - Field of Flowers and Quite Curvy.  The first set is from the yearly catalog and the second is found in the January to June catalog.  And they both work together so well you'd think they belonged together!

The card starts out with a base of Basic White cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" folded in half.  The stamped layer is Soft Seafoam cut 5 1/4" x 4".  You also need a small scrap of Basic White to stamp the birds and bitty flowers.

First, I stamped the Always... on the Soft Seafoam cardstock using Misty Moonlight ink.  To get the placement just right on the words, I used my Stamp-a-ratus.  It makes it so easy to get the sentiments always on straight.  That always seems to be a problem for many of us!

Next the banner of leaves was stamped across the bottom of the Soft Seafoam cardstock piece.  For this I used Shaded Spruce ink.  I wanted to give the leaves a soft, watercolor look without being too precise.  An Aqua Painter with just a bit of water did the trick.  It just pulled the ink from the stamping to color each leaf instead of using the actual ink.

The little birds the Quite Curvy set are a perfect size to tuck on so many cards.  This time I stamped two of the birds using Misty Moonlight ink on Basic White cardstock.  I used Misty Moonlight and Smoky Slate Blends to color them and then used the coordinating dies to cut them out. They are popped up on the card front using Mini Dimesionals.

At this point, I wasn't sure what I was going to use to add a little more interest to the card.  Rhinestones, ribbon, sequins???  No, just not what I was looking for here.  That's when I remembered the tiny flowers in the Field of Flowers stamp set.  It stamps six flowers at once and has a coordinating punch so it's both quick and easy to add flowers when needed.  These I also stamped using Misty Moonlight ink.  They were each attached using Mini Glue Dots.  

If you notice, there are only five flowers on my card though.  One seems to have gotten misplaced.  After spending a bit of time looking for that last silly flower, I found it nicely attached to the bottom of the ink pad.  Hmmm...  guess I just won't use that one after all.  Five is a nice uneven number to use anyway!

Just in case you would like to place an order this month, please remember to use the Host Code when ordering.  I'll be able to keep track of orders and send you a little surprise next month as a 'thank you' for ordering.  I do love my customers and like to show my appreciation!  

Thanks for stopping in today.  Let's think outside the box for some of our Valentine cards this year and get creative.  Yes, when my order comes in I'll be making some Valentines that are a bit more on the traditional side, but today let's just have some fun!  It never hurts to be a little different.  I guess it would get real boring if everyone was just like me, so be different!

Many stamping hugs, 

Sharon