A Few More Sweet Valentine Ideas

Before I run out of time before Valentine’s Day, I have just a few more ideas to share. And, if my sister-in-law is reading this, you really should stop now, if you want to be surprised!

This is a gift for one of my friends, who loves chocolate. I wanted to fancy it up a bit, so I printed a digital scrapbook paper on a sheet of address labels. They perfectly wrap around a Hershey’s Nugget. Some of these are a bit off because Princess Thundercloud insisted on helping…the friend we were making these for totally spoils her, so she wanted to return the favor. I bought the little paper purse for next to nothing, so it made a perfect container.

My kindergartener’s teacher sent a paper heart home and asked for the parents to decorate it and attach a little message. They’re to be hung in the hallway at school. The instructions said to be as creative as you like, and use lace, buttons, glitter, etc. Being a boy, he’s not going to be happy with something girly, and he loves rainbows, so I thought of this.

I’ve been wanting to try this glitter technique I saw on the Martha Stewart show…demonstrated by a very nice woman from right here in Wisconsin. She made ornaments at Christmas, but I thought nothing goes better than glitter and Valentines!

To do this, you just need a sheet of double-sided sticky paper (from the craft store) and a bunch of glitter. As I mentioned the other day, I have a set from Martha that doesn’t get enough use. First, cut out a piece of sticky paper the same shape as your heart. Then use a rule to draw lines on the liner. I made 12 segments, since I wanted to use 6 colors and have it come out in the right pattern. You could also just use strips of sticky tape, if you wanted a striped pattern.

Cut one wedge at a time and peel off one side to attach it to your paper heart. Peel the other side off and glitter that piece. Just continue to cut, place, and glitter each piece until you’re done.

I cut out a heart to write the sentiment on and added a ruffle made of Stampin’ Up!’s Silver Waffle Paper. It is so much fun to work with…I need to use it more. This took about 30 minutes, start to finish. Of course, I now need to make glittered Valentines for the other two hooligans so I won’t be accused of favoritism. But that’s okay…I love glitter!

I also wanted something with a little meaning for my husband. I think this framed art for his desk or nightstand works well.

This photo has been edited with different dates pasted over, but on the actual one, I typed the dates of our first kiss, our wedding, and the dates of our kids’ births. You, of course, could use any dates that are important to you and your love story. And, on a completely unromantic note, it’ll remind him of those dates and he’ll have no excuse for not getting you a gift.

Now I’ve got to get my mind off Valentine’s Day…we have all our classroom Valentines made, and our packages are ready for the mail tomorrow. Thundercloud and I are going to go explore a nearby town today, I think. I read on Martha’s blog about a candy store with amazing caramel apples…I can hear them calling my name, even from 20 miles away.

A Long Day at Home

Today my hooligans all get to spend the day with me. Yay. It’s above freezing here, but barely. Enough, however, that if I kick them outside, they’ll come in coated with mud from head to toe. So we’re thinking of inside activities.

I do love making Valentines for school, though, so that’s what we did all morning. I’m sure you’ve seen all of these ideas in one form or another, but I think each fits perfectly.

The oldest got to choose what to make, and after (painful for me) deliberation, went with “You Rock” attached to Pop Rocks. I found the guitar valentine at The Fickle Pickle blog. I just copied and pasted it to Photoshop Elements, added the hooligan’s name for the “from” part, and added a snazzy polka dot background. Quick and easy. All he had to do was write each classmate’s name and staple the card to the Pop Rocks. He’s all about using the stapler, so happy to do it!

The kindergartener agreed to making rainbow fish crayons and coloring this “fin-tastic” stamp for his 22 classmates. I know my time is running out for him to tolerate these puns on his name, so we spent a little more time on his. He did a great job coloring and then writing each classmate’s name, I thought. We put them in a small ziploc bag decorated with hearts. I found those at Dollar Tree.

Princess Thundercloud had these 3D Valentines last year, as well. She was much more cooperative while taking the photo this year, which was a pleasant surprise. These are fairly cheap…I added the sentiment with Photoshop Elements, then printed wallet size photos at Costco. They’re $0.39 for 4, then the lollipops were from Walmart and inexpensive.

There are tons of ideas online, if you’re still looking. I heard a newsperson say Google searches for handmade Valentine ideas is up three thousand percent over last year. Wow! They are a fun activity to do with your kids, and I look forward to it every year!

You Scratch Mine…

…And find the answer to the question! I’m so excited to show y’all this card…it’s a handmade scratch-off…and it has a maze game on it. So much to love!

Stampin’ Up supplies: Totally A-Maze-ing stamp set
Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, and Real Red cardstock
2-1/2” Circle, Large Oval, Corner Rounder, and Pinking Hearts Border punches
Signo White Gel Pen; Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine; Maze Game
Non-Stampin’ Up: Silver Metallic Acrylic Paint; Liquid Dish Soap; Clear Laminating Sheet

I made these for my hooligans for Valentine’s Day. I think they’ll love them. The process is a bit time-consuming, because you have to wait for the paint to dry, but it’s pretty simple.

To make the scratch-off part, mix 2 parts silver paint with 1 part liquid dish soap. Stir it very gently so bubbles don’t form. Paint that in a thin but even layer on a piece of laminating sheet. Clear contact paper would also work. It just needs to be clear and sticky on the back.

Let that dry COMPLETELY, then punch out or cut out in the shape you’d like.You can see my paint still have some bubbles in it when it dried. I think I needed to pop the bubble with a toothpick or something while it was wet. I didn’t stir very gently when combining, either. Oops.

While you’re waiting for your paint to dry, you can make the card. I think this new Totally A-Maze-ing stamp set from the Occasions Minicatalog is so very cool and I love that it’s so simple to use. The Maze Games (4 for $2.50) perfectly coordinate with the 2-1/2” Circle punch, so you simply stamp the background you’d like (or you could use a map or other printed scrapbook paper), punch it out, and replace the backing on the maze game.

The backing pops out easily, but be sure to keep the game upside-down and flat while you do it. Those two little balls are TINY and you’ll never find them again if they fall out! I know this through experience, unfortunately.

After you have your maze game ready, adhere it to your card. Stamp a sentiment on cardstock and punch it out, or stamp directly on the card. Just pick one that the punch will cover up when you apply your scratch-off portion.

You’re almost done! Peel the backing off the piece of painted laminating paper you’ve punched or cut out, and stick it over the sentiment. Ta-da!

Of course, you wouldn’t scratch yours off…I just did this so you could more easily see how it works.

Now, aren’t those fun? I woke up this morning thinking about what other scratch off designs I could make. And then I looked at the clock and thought, “Holy Cats, I’ve got to put the kids on the bus in 15 minutes!” So I didn’t get to pursue my line of thinking. But I will.

Sometimes, You Just Have to Girly Girl It Up

As I was thinking up things I could make for Valentine’s Day, I found this wooden frame that I got at a craft store for a dollar. With just a little time and embellishment, you’d never know it was such a steal. Never mind how much I spent on the dies and other embellishments…those are non-consumable, so you don’t have to count them in the cost! Really. I’m sure it’s written down in some crafter’s justification rule book.

Stampin’ Up supplies: Distressed Dots and Festive and Fun stamp sets
Crumb Cake and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Brights Collection DSP
5/16” Neutrals Brads; Scallop Circle and Lace Ribbon Border Punches; Hearts and Brackets Die;
Stripes, Perfect Polka Dots, Elegant Lines, and Square Lattice Embossing Folders
Very Vanilla Craft Ink; Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo Classic Inks; Dazzling Details

To start, I covered the frame with Very Vanilla Craft Ink, but just rubbing it all over with the pad. I’m high-tech that way. Let it dry…it takes a while…or use your embossing gun to speed it up. Then I stamped the Distressed Dots all over the frame using Rich Razzleberry.

While the frame was drying, I made the rest. For inside the frame, I ran a piece of Crumb Cake paper through the Big Shot with the Stripes Embossing Folder. I dragged the Very Vanilla Pad across it to highlight the embossing. I stamped the sentiment on Crumb Cake, colored it a little with markers, and highlighted it with Dazzling Details. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed in how the Dazzling Details make classic ink smear. It still looks cool, and I use it quite a bit, but I would use it even more if it stayed crisp! Anyway, then I mounted the sentiment piece on Rich Razzleberry and got to work on the frame embellishments.

The border is just punched from Crumb Cake, using the Lace Ribbon Border Punch. For the hearts, I cut a bunch of different ones using the Hearts and Brackets die (which is, sadly, retired). After cutting them, I used various embossing folders on them to add texture. I freely admit I'm a little obsessed with Embossing Folders. They can do wonders to dress up a simple, plain background on a card.

Next came the flowers, which I made up myself and really like.

First, cut 5 scallop circles using your punch.

Then, for four of the circles,

1) Fold in half, then

2) Fold again to make quarters, and

3) Using sharp scissors, fringe the petals.

Adhere to the remaining circle. I have it pretty well covered with
adhesive, although you can’t see it in the photo.

Punch a hole in the center, and put in a brad large enough to hide the tips of the “petals.” It needs to be something with prongs, to further hold the petals and base together.

Now make a whole bunch of these, and you’re done!

And now I need to share a little bit of backstory on this post…I wrote most of it last night and only needed to take some photos of how to make the flowers this morning. Just as I finished (but of course before I saved) the power flashed and all was lost.

This morning I was all ready to retype and add photos, but first needed to go salt the driveway. Our temperature got above 40 overnight and it was raining, so the snow was melting, but forming large amounts of ice on the driveway. I couldn’t even drive my car back up the drive to the garage after taking the boys to the bus this morning, it was so slick.

So out I went to salt. After scattering an entire 50 lb bag, cupful by cupful, I walked over to my car to see if I could drive up the driveway yet. Instead, I ended up flat on my back on the ice, whacking my head soundly. I’m fine…my husband came home to deal with the ice, and I took a long shower and several Motrin. I really hope none of my neighbors was within earshot, however. Not to mention eyeshot, although that may have been pretty comical.

As a result, I took these photos post-fall, but I think I’m still a little dazed and they’re not as clear as I would like. But, I wanted to get this posted. I think you can get the gist of how to make the flowers, though.

Thanks for listening to my tale o’woe, and be careful out there!

Hearts for My Sweetheart

We celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary last weekend. We dated (off and on) for 8 years before that, so, basically, we’ve been a couple since we were toddlers. Or something like that.

Our wedding was a small, hand-crafted affair. I planned the menu and my aunt organized the prep and relatives contributed their specialties; my mom and I made all the flower arrangements and such. We were even cutting edge and printed our invitations on the computer on some new-fangled invitation cardstock. Amazing, the energy we had then!

My husband’s favorite items at the reception (it was just appetizers, cake, and punch…I’m from a small town that doesn’t believe in big, sit-down dinner receptions…or didn’t back then) were the cream cheese mints my aunt made. Hers were pretty rosebuds, with crystallized sugar. This is my version, which I’ve made every year since for our anniversary and Valentine’s Day. It’s kind of silly…he gets two batches of them, a month apart. Oh, well, he’s lucky I still care enough to make them, right?

Cream Cheese Mints

3 oz cream cheese, softened…I use lowfat, like it matters
1 Tbsp butter, softened but NOT MELTED
3 cups powdered sugar
3 drops peppermint oil Gel food coloring of choice

Combine the cream cheese and butter until well blended, then add in the powdered sugar. It will be really stiff, so I usually finishing combining it with my hands. When it’s a heavy dough, knead in the peppermint oil and food coloring. I make some with the white dough, then partially knead in the coloring so it looks marbleized the second time I roll it out. It becomes more homogeneously colored each time you roll the dough. So plan accordingly.

To form the mints, either

1) Use a candy mold made for just such a purpose. Pinch off a small amount of your dough, roll in sugar, and press into the mold. Pop them out and let dry until firm.

2) Roll half the dough to a 1/4” thickness, then use small cookie cutters to cut out. This is the method I use, because I have a cute set of small heart cookie cutters. I bought it the year we were married, but I’m sure Wilton still makes something similar. I line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place the mints in a single layer on the waxed paper. Then I find somewhere I can hide them and let them dry for a few days, turning then over once. Usually the top shelf of a kitchen cabinet is a good choice. Nothing can get to them there.

Lucky me, this is the 9th house we’ve lived in for an anniversary since our wedding. So I’ve been able to explore my creativity by finding new hiding places for the mints in each house! My GI Joe gives and gives and gives, I’m telling you. Of course, that means he’s had to find just as many hiding places for the container. I rarely am offered one, once I’ve gifted them to him. Our kids don’t even know these mints exist.

Now go make some mints for your sweetie…they’ll be greatly appreciated! Probably not shared, but appreciated nonetheless.

More Heart-y Cards

As I was creating cards for my Stampin’ Up! night this week, I came up with these two variations of the same sketch. So I’m putting them both in the post, since I really like both. I’m still not sure which we’ll make Friday night. Have you an opinion?

All Stampin Up! supplies: Candy Conversations and Distressed Dots stamps
Crumb Cake and Whisper White cardstock; Brights Collection DSP
Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Marina Mist, Lucky Limeade, and Regal Rose markers
Scallop Border punch; Blushing Bride Pleated Ribbon; Crumb Cake Classic Ink

Using markers to color the single Candy Conversations stamp really increases its appeal. It really takes very little time…just color each heart, then “huff” a breath on it to remoisten the ink, and stamp. I love this new pleated ribbon, as well. You can cut it to the correct length, then use Sticky Strip to attach it. No tying, wrapped, pleating, or sewing to get this really on-trend look. The Candy Conversations stamp($8.95) and the pleated ribbon (4 colors, $6.95) are both in the Occasions Mini Catalog, if you find yourself needing them.

All Stampin’ Up! supplies: Three Little Words and Distressed Dots stamp sets
Whisper White, Real Red, and Crumb Cake cardstock; Brights Collection DSP
Rich Razzleberry and Real Red Classic Ink; Word Window, Small Heart, and
Medium Oval punches; Signo White Gel Pen; Red Gingham Ribbon (sadly, retired)

When making this, I punched the small hearts out of the Real Red cardstock so that the Rich Razzleberry stripes show through. You could more easily just punch the hearts out of the DSP and not have to worry about aligning them as you punch. The “I Love You” oval is popped out using Dimensionals.

These are both great examples of easy-to-make, yet polished cards, due to the details. A touch of ribbon, a bit of punched border…it makes the difference!

Hope you are enjoying a creative day and keeping warm. When I was in town picking up from preschool at noon, it was 9 degrees. When I got back home, it was only 1 degree in our driveway...those townfolk have it easy, basking in the warmth there!

Passing Love Notes

I wanted to design a Valentine card that was a little grunged, and, of course, quick and easy.

Stampin’ Up! Supplies: Festive and Fun stamp set (from the Holiday Mini)
White Notecard; Rich Razzleberry DSP; Real Red CS; a non-SU! piece of notebook paper
Full Heart and Small Heart punches; Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine; Rhinestone
Basic Gray Classic Ink; Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz; Signo White Gel Pen

I started this process on Friday and had absolutely no stampin’ mojo going. So I finally threw in the towel until Sunday, when things went much more smoothly. I blame my husband (who else?) because he was 1) home on Friday for a DONSA (day of no scheduled activity…the Army has such catchy names for a day off, huh?), which always throws my whole plan for the day off a bit and B) it was our anniversary weekend, so I really needed to be finishing his gift. Obviously his fault.

But back to the card. I love Rich Razzleberry…I wear lots of purple and use different shades often in designing, but this is my favorite. It has more red in it so it’s a little edgier and not so sweet, I think. I really like combining Real Red with it, too. This card does both, plus it used actual loose leaf paper inside, which is a cool grungy touch. I just cut the notebook paper the same size as the inside, crunched it up really well and then smoothed it out…and repeated a couple of times. I spritzed it with Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz. It’s a little darker than I wanted, but so goes life. It’s not as dark as it appears in this photo. Really.

I also used a Stampin’ Up! notecard for the card base. These are really economical…20 cards and envelopes for $5.95. You can make up a bunch of simple thank-you notes or all occasion cards and it makes a snazzy teacher or hostess gift.

The whole card reminds me of high school and passing notes with doodled hearts on them. Not that I would ever do that because I was a model student. Probably because I knew the faculty would narc on me in a second to my mom. Whatever works, right?

Enjoy the day, if that’s what you choose to do!

Hearts on My Mind

I’m having a Stampin’ Up! get together next Friday (if you’re in my neck of the woods…I mean that literally…stop by!) and I need to design some super cute, super easy projects for new stampers.

Here’s one I may (or may not) include:

All Stampin’ Up!: Short and Sweet Stamp Set
Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette, and Brights Patterns Stack paper
Basic Gray ink, Paper Crimper, Rhinestones ...
and some staples which are not from Stampin’ Up!

Patterned Paper can really add some “oomph” to a card and you don’t have to use a whole lot of it. Here I cut 1” x 4 1/4” strips for the top and bottom, yet it appears to be one large piece. Clever, eh? Same with the pink paper…it’s a 1 1/2” x 4 1/4” strip, torn in half so that I can use both edges. I’m obviously going to mourn the day Stampin’ Up! decides to retire the Short and Sweet stamp set…I use it constantly!

Also, as far as accessories, I have pulled out the paper crimper for 10 years now, and am always thrilled at the texture it adds in a minute; same with punches. It’s all about saving time, right? I like the look of staples, as well, especially with the bling of the rhinestones.

And I bet you thought I just threw some stuff on a card…who knew I actually think about the balance, colors, textures, etc.? I even wake up with card ideas pretty often…but usually I wake up with thoughts of all the household stuff I’ve got to do! Speaking of, my “free” time’s almost up…gotta go make the doughnuts! (And I hope at least some of you are old enough to get that reference.)

Hearts on My Door

Somehow in our last move, all of my Valentine decorations have been misplaced. I’m sure they’re somewhere in the basement, but I was not in charge of unpacking and organizing the basement. Ahem. Guess who was? Obviously 4382 pounds of Army gear that will never see the light of day until he’s back in a tactical unit should be stored in front of all the seasonal decor that I use every year.

However, there’s a silver lining…I need new Valentine decorations! So I made this wreath:

Pretty cute, huh? Not to mention quick and inexpensive, two of my favorite adjectives when crafting! I saw the original idea on Pinterest, but it was just the paper hearts. I tried that, but the paper is not sturdy enough to hold a circle shape, and who wants an elongated oval wreath? Not me.

To start, I chose 4 sheets of double-sided Designer Series Paper (from Stampin’ Up!) and cut 3 strips from each that were 2” x12”. I folded each in half, then put a small piece of Sticky Strip where the inside of the heart joins. Easy-peasy so far.

I placed the hearts as I wanted them in the circle, then used a couple of glue dots to join each. So far so good.

Then I hung it on the wall…and it stretched out. So I tried using little pieces of scotch tape behind to secure it in the circle shape. It worked…for about 30 minutes. Then the tape let go and I had an oval again.

After a quick trip to the Dollar Tree to get a wreath for (yep!) $1, I glued the paper hearts wherever they touched the wreath. After threading a ribbon through, it made a pretty (and new) decoration for the front door.

Well, there’s my creativity for the day…now it’s off to make dinosaur sandwiches for Princess Thundercloud. She’s had a vigorous morning of Wii-ing, since her brothers are at school and she’s alone to play. She works so hard at it, she usually is stripped down to just underwear and socks by the time she’s done. Hopefully she outgrows that tendency before college!