Another Valentine for You

Happy Sunday Friends!  Hope you're staying dry and warm today.  It's raining again and the temps are hovering just below 40!  Oh my goodness, it's chilly here!  At least it isn't snow.  Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that out loud.  😆  It really was nasty going out for church this morning, but it was worth it.  Great service and Paster Schuyler talked about Christian maturity.  Now tell me, who doesn't need to work on that?  I know I do!

Getting back to stamping, I needed to make another valentine or two (or more!), but I wanted to use stamps that weren't strictly for Valentine's Day.  I had fun going through my stash of cards and decided to use the Count on Me stamp set.  It's so cute, but I keep overlooking it for some of the flashier sets.  Time to show it some love!

This little bear is just the sweetest ever.  He's got his back turned and he's carrying a heart.  Doesn't that work for a valentine?  

I started with a card base of Sweet Sorbet measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that's scored in half and folded.  Next, I chose the heart print from the Country Floral Lane Designer Series Paper found on page 9 of the January-April Mini Catalog.  It measures 5" x 3 3/4.  I added a backing layer of Petal Pink to define it but kept it real skinny.  The Petal Pink layer measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8".  The two layers are attached together, then attached to the card front with adhesive.  If you use this paper, make sure you pay attention to the direction of the pattern.

The Petal Pink strip with the hearts to accent this layer is the back side of the first print.  It's 1" wide and is attached with adhesive.

Next comes our little bear.  He's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a Basic White piece of cardstock.  I colored him with Crumb Cake Blends in the Light tone first and went back to shade with the same color.  After he'd been finished and sitting aside for awhile, I felt he was too blah, so I went back and colored with the Crumb Cake Dark Blends.  It makes all the difference in the world!  I was surprised that he already looked shaded because I had shaded him already with the Light Blends.  Love his soft look!  His heart was colored with Real Red Light and Dark Blends.  The muzzle was colored with Ivory Blends.  When I was happy with his look, he was fussy cut and ready to go on the card.

I was looking for a die to cut a layer for my bear to reside on.  I checked the new Something Fancy Dies.  You can find these on page 17 of the January-April Mini Catalog.  The larger label seemed the perfect size for my little bear.  It's cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock which is one of the colors listed to match the DSP.  I used the smallest label die of the same shape from the set to die-cut some Basic White cardstock.  I stamped one of the sentiments from the coordinating Something Fancy set using Mossy Meadow ink.

The bear was attached to the Mossy Meadow label with Dimensionals.  The stamped label was attached partially underneath the right side of the Mossy Meadow label.  They were both attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  A double bow of 2022-2024 In Color Baker's Twine in the Sweet Sorbet color was attached near the corner of the label by using a Mini Glue Dot.  And another one of those retired Resin Hearts was attached to the sentiment label.

For the inside of the card, I stuck with a more geometric look.  There is a 1/8" strip of Mossy Meadow cardstock added to the bottom of a Basic White layer.  Then a 1/4" strip of Petal Pink was added to the side.  This way the colors from the front are brought inside the card, but it still leaves lots of room for writing your thoughts.

 Hope you're having fun making a few valentines for your favorite people.  It's a great way to let those special people know how much you care about them.  And don't forget to add chocolate - both for you while you're making the card and for your special someone too.  Stamping and chocolate - a perfect pairing!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Pastel Count on Me Card

Hello there!  Back again with another idea for you.  The card I have would make a lovely card to welcome a new baby, but since I have no new babies to welcome, I chose different wording.  I think my friend might like this card since she's like me and loves pastels.  So here we go...

Isn't this just a sweet card?  The design is a mixture of old and new, so feel free to mix up your designs and use whatever you have on hand.  It's an easy fun fold too, so it's a win-win situation as far as I can see.  You could change up the sentiment, cardstock and DSP colors to use this for just about any occasion you please.  I wanted to use the Count on Me stamp set because I've neglected it badly.  You can find the set on page 61 of the Annual Catalog.  There are six different darling images to choose from and five sentiments to coordinate with them.  Of course, you don't have to use the sentiments just because it's a set.  I chose to use a sentiment from the Catch You Later stamp set from last year's catalog.  I had my friend in mind and thought this worked well.

Start with a card base of Pool Party that measures 11" x 4 1/4".  Score it at 1" and 5 1/2".  Next the Hive 3D Embossing Folder was used to give the front some texture.  After that, fold back the 1" part of the card front that you scored.  I added a piece of the Design a Daydream DSP that is a Host pick in the Annual Catalog.  The little piece was a leftover from a different project and measures 3/4" x 4".  It's attached with adhesive.  Then 3 Dimensionals were placed behind the flap to hold it closed to the front of the card.

Next two rectangles were cut using the Stitched So Sweetly dies.  I used the 2nd largest to cut a Blushing Bride layer, and the 3rd largest die to cut a Basic White layer.  On the white layer, the little hugging koalas were stamped near the top using Gray Granite ink.  To balance them, the sentiment was stamped near the bottom with Gray Granite ink also.  I used watercolor pencils to color the koalas and a Blender Pen to lightly blend the colors.

The two die-cut layers were attached together with Dimensionals.  A length of Pool Party Grosgrain Ribbon was wrapped around the two layers and tied into a bow.  The Pool Party Ribbon is new in the January-April Mini Catalog on pages 15 & 87.  This was attached to the card front with Dimensionals also.  

Three Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels were added to the card front for a little bling.  They were a perfect match for the pastel colors used on this card.

Here's the inside of the card.  A piece of Basic White cardstock was cut to 5 1/4" x 4".  I had a skinny 1/4" strip of Blushing Bride in my scraps that I added to the edge of the card.  I thought it was a nice accent both when the card was closed or open.  It's attached with a bit of adhesive.

I used a stamp from the new Country Bouquet set found on page 10 of the January-April Mini Catalog on the inside of the card.  Since I'll be using this card to send a note, I thought the words fit just right.  They are stamped with Gray Granite ink too.

That's it for today's card post.  If you make a card with this fun fold idea, please share your creation with me.  I'd love to see what you're making.  I'm sorry I used so many retired products today, but I know many of you have those exact things I used.  If you don't, please go through your stash of goodies and find something that will work just as well - or maybe even better.  If you don't have rectangle dies of some sort, try circles or ovals.  The sky is the limit when it comes to stamping!

I don't usually push Paper Pumpkin Kits to you, but there is what looks to be an adorable kit coming up next month.  You might want to think about getting a one-time order just for that kit.  It also coordinates with the Playing in the Rain suite of stamps and products that are so cute.  I've just been playing with them and trying to finish a card or two to share with you.  They really are cute!

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Happy stamping and creating!

Sharon