I know Valentine's Day passed quite a while ago but I really enjoyed making Valentines this year, and you could adapt these to use for any holiday or birthday.
The first cards I made were sent to family - my son's grandparents, godparents, and aunts and uncles. I rarely make square cards but I felt like doing something different when I sat down to make them. These were 4.25" square so that they would fit in an A2 size envelope and wouldn't cost any extra for mailing.
I started with the 6x6
Be Mine collection from Echo Park. I looove these papers! So cute and sized just right for cards. I coordinated the card stock and baker's twine once I decided on which sheets to use, and once I decided on layout I made these assembly-style using my Cuttlebug to cut all of the circles, flowers, and banners ahead of time. I made these over several days, but if I had make them in one shot it really wouldn't have taken much time. I made a total of 8, but I just photographed my favourites. :)
Here is my supplies list:
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Melon Mambo textured, Very Vanilla, Whisper White. Echo Park "Be Mine" collection 6x6 pad.
Stamps: Fancy Pants
"Little Star" clear set.
Ink: Color Box Chalk ink Charcoal, Rouge, and Dark Peony.
Ribbon: We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Baker's Twine. Pink satin ribbon from my stash.
Adhesives: Tombo Mono adhesive runner, foam squares.
Dies: Spellbinders Standard Circles, Large. Cottage Cutz Flower mini.
Other tools: Sponge, paper trimmer.
I also made a card for my husband. This was our 10th Valentine's day together, and while we didn't do a whole lot to celebrate I wanted to make a special card for him.
Again I started with the "Be Mine" papers from Echo Park. Since I don't have a whole lot of Valentine stamps, I chose the sheet that had the sentiment "so In love with you" in the corner. At first I considered cutting out the sentiment by hand, but my cutting skills aren't the greatest, and since the sentiment was flush into the corner I didn't have a die that I could use to cut it out evenly, so I decided to use one of my circle dies to cut it off center, and then I would just put the sentiment in the corner of the card, like it was on the sheet I took it from.
The circle set the tone for rest of the card. I cut various circle shapes from the sheet the sentiment came from, and a music sheet from the pack to layer together. I also used Cuttlebug's "Seeing Spots" embossing folder to add more circles to the background. Some ink, an arrow to emphasize the sentiment, and some sparkles I couldn't resist finished off the card. This card turned out to be one of my favourites and my husband loved it too. :)
The only change I would make is that the arrow and strip at the bottom was die cut from a sheet I embossed first, so the emboss flattened a bit when I ran the dies through my Cuttlebug. You can still see the emboss though so I wasn't concerned enough to start over, just something to remember for next time.
Here are the supplies I used:
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Basic Grey, Melon Mambo textured. Recollections Kraft. Echo Park "Be Mine" 6x6 pad.
Ink: Color Box Chalk Ink Charcoal, and Rouge.
Dies: Spellbinders Standard Circles Large. Quik Kutz (Lifestyle Crafts) Arrows Cookie Cutter dies.
Embossing Folders: Cuttlebug Seeing Spots. Quik Kutz (Lifestyle Crafts) Hounds Tooth.
Other tools: Ranger Inksentials blending tool.
Adhesive: Scotch Quick Dry.
Embellishments: Pink gems from my stash.
