A Few Valentines

 When I looked at my stash of cards a week or two ago, I realized I didn't have a stash of Valentines day cards. I think I may not have made any at all last year. Since I stopped doing the way way in advance design team things I have been trying to create more in the moment type things. So, right now without a need for a Valentine it was fun to start pulling out both things that have not been played with and heart dies and such. 

What my desk looked like last Sunday. Nope, I did not watch the superbowl. I forgot about it, I know most the people in my family root seriously for the Chiefs and they were thinking the teams who were playing this year were well matched and it should be a good game to watch but, that is seriously all I remember hearing about it. I needed to see something happy and pretty so digging through these papers and dies helped. 

I did come across this video from Nichol Spohr on YouTube doing a postage collage background (Waffle Flower die) for a Valentine and I thought Oh, I have that die and dug it out and did a couple of them. I really liked her color combo with the browns coming through so, that was a totally copy for me to dig out those colors. Tattered Rose, Salt water taffy, Candied Apple, Antique Linen Distress Oxide Inks. 

The first one on the right was more heavily influenced by her card than the one on the left, so the one on the right I am probably going to give to hubs. I just used what ever, but it did have me digging through my Tim Holtz office supplies type dies as well and I cut stacks of file folders and bitty envelopes too while I was at it. These are both A2 in real life. The one on the left I used some shimmery opal stardream paper ( a while back to emboss that plaid ish texture to and it was just handy. That chiffon ribbon wrapped around it is something I came across at Hobby Lobby in January after the holidays. I do like this and if they still have it next time I am in that store I will probably buy the other colors. 

 Then monday came and I had seen the Clean and simple challenge at SCS was to include a heart and I had received these Penny Black dies in the mail that day and so, I did cut them from some of those papers on the table and thought OK this could work. That Love diecut is something old from Poppy stamps that I did a long time ago and then you know used an eraser on it after this was shot because, there are a lot of times it's such a cave up here when it's cloudy I just don't see things the same anymore. So, its interesting and helpful to me to see them as a photograph that I can enlarge on the screen and fix bloopers after the fact. And since its just for my own amusement and I am in the whole keep it real phase I just post it and move on.

Which lead me to looking at my other Penny Black dies and I came across this pot with all the heart stems growing out of it set and cut a stack of them from some Artist loft water color paper and then added some paint to them yesterday after work. The Happy Valentines day tag is a Lili of the Valley stamp ( I believe they have gone strictly digital now but, I have physical stamps from them and I still play with mine) The mini copper-ish brad is probably from Recollections. I have a tiny jello mold on my table filled with these things because, when you could go to the store and buy them I did. ( I am glad I stocked up on them I don't see these in the stores anymore and I do like brads more than eyelets actually) 

 

So, I shot this last card early this morning way before the sun came up and so, the colors are a little off and dark. That card base is some Stampin' Up! Blushing bride ( I love that shade of pink) And the circle framing diecut in the center is something from My Creative Time called Circle card front dies. I tend to shy away from circles so, I have been die cutting and taping a bunch of these together out of these papers and some of the scraps laying around and now I have a little pile of them to play with as well. The frame part of this its a little busy so, its hard to see but, these die cuts the frame has some cute stitching details on them. I did try to tilt that pot straight here ( its on with a glue dot and it decided to just wiggle it self back to crooked again. I did run the top cover of the card base through the big shot with a Sizzix folder but, It only says sizzix on it so, I don't remember its real name anymore ( I want to say it could be an old Basic Grey Christmas one but, that is a best guess situation.) That's about it from me, I hope your doing well & thanks for stopping by.