"Heat of the Moment" Valentine Card

Thanks to an episode of Supernatural, the song "Heat of the Moment" by Asia has been stuck in my head. So, I turned the earworm into a not-very-traditional Valentine card:







On the back, I couldn't resist putting a reference to the episode of Supernatural that features this song:

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Patterned paper by We R Memory keepers
Letters cut using Silhouette Cameo
Heart punch by Recollections
Brad by Recollections
Baker's twine by Martha Stewart

I entered this card into the Ribbon Carrousel Challenge.

Valentines Jar Cards

I made a couple of Valentines Day cards based around a jar stamp:

Supplies

Patterned paper by Recollections
Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento
Markers: Magenta by Memento, Spun Sugar by Distress Marker, brown by Tombo
Stamps: Mason Jar by Inkadinkado, peony by Paper Source
Punches: Hearts Border Punch by Fiskars, big heart by Marvy Uchida
Washi tape by Recollections
Ribbon from a gift I got (yay for recycling!)

Double Birthdays

On February 12th, two of my close friends -- one male, one female -- have birthdays. Here are the cards I made for them:





This is a slider card, and pulling the arrow tab will reveal the word "Hadouken!"



Considering my friend is a huge Street Fighter fan, and Ryu his favorite character, I'm sure he'll like this card. I added a lacy sarong just for the heck of it; my friend may not understand it, but he'll surely laugh.

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Punching symbol (based on Pokemon card Fighting Energy) and arrows cut using Silhouette Cameo
Ryu printed out
Black lace washi tape by Recollections

The chalkboard look is really trendy lately, and while I'm not typically one to follow trends for their own sake, it looks too cute for me to ignore. I tried my hand at it and was very satisfied with the result. I'll definitely keep this style in my arsenal, even long past the trend loses its luster. The stars, cupcake, and sentiment were all stamped using white pigment ink, and I zapped them all with my heat gun to make sure everything was dry. I then colored in certain details using red, white, and brown colored pencils.

I used a ruler to draw lines in colored pencil for the border. I also smudged more pigment ink around the card using my finger, to help make the chalkboard look more authentic.

Supplies

Cardstock by Recollections
Stamps: "Claire's abcs" and "Happy Everything" by Lawn Fawn, star from "Year Round Fun" by Recollections, cupcake and "sweet" by Recollections
Ink: Frost White pigment ink by Colorbox
Colored pencils by Prismacolor

Valentine's Advent Calendar

I made a nine-day advent calendar for Valentine's Day. If I had planned it far enough in advance, I could've created a fourteen-day calendar that reads "Happy Valentine" -- which sounds a bit awkward, but at least it would allow for one card for each day in February leading up to Valentine's Day. Alas, I got a late start; I was away from all my crafting supplies this weekend, since I visited my parents to watch the Super Bowl together. So I only have nine days, one for each letter in the word "Valentine."

It was quick and easy to make, using some 3x3-inch cards and envelopes, paperclips with ribbon on them, and string. I decorated each card by embossing the words "I love you" on the front of them and writing a different personal message inside each one. On the back of the envelopes, the word "VALENTINE" is spelled out. I didn't have stamps large enough to make the letters readable around the room, so I opted to write them myself using colored pencils. I alternated colors since Michaels sold multiple styles of 3x3 card-envelope sets, and I bought the two types I liked.

Here are some close-up shots of the card and envelope:

Although the dates go from Feb 6-14 (instead of the more logical 1-14), I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I'll definitely try this again with other holidays, but with better planning.

Supplies

Card and envelope sets by Recollections
Ribbon-adorned paperclips by Recollections
Colored pencils by Prismacolor
"I love you" stamp by craftsmart
Detail white embossing powder by Stampendous!
kitchen twine

Meet Max the Corgi Pup!

My buddy Howard got a puppy a few weeks ago, and it might be the most photogenic little creature on Earth!

Say hello to Max, the corgi at 10 weeks of age, being cuddled by his owner Howard:

"Where did Howard go?"

Max enjoyed licking my boyfriend Grant's face:

"Wow, this Grant fellow is yummy."

Max helped me study for my quantum mechanics midterm.

"Hermitian operators are so exciting!"

"...and they're yummy, too!"

More photos of him to come as I watch this little pup grow.

Owl I Want for Christmas...

Today I made a card using the Lawn Fawn set "Winter Owl", and I'm entering it into the Lawnscaping Challenge Color Inspiration:



This is a perfect color scheme for a card I can give to my boyfriend, because kraft lends itself well to masculine cards. More importantly, my boyfriend's favorite color is red, and I love all types of blues, especially the hues leaning towards the turquoise side of the spectrum. This color combination was the perfect chance for me to break out that hearts washi tape by Freckled Fawn.

Without further ado, here is the card I made:

Here's a close-up of the cute little owls:

I used the Paper Smooches "Dude Block" to mirror the owl, and I made the little bow on the girl owl myself. (This is my first attempt at carving a stamp, so be gentle!) It was especially fun to paper piece this, because those patterns by BasicGrey were just made to become scarves. To personalize this for my boyfriend and me, I monogrammed the scarves using a mini-wooden alphabet set by Recollections.

Here, of course, is the adorable sentiment that came with the Winter Owl set. It's so darling, I wish I could use it year-round!

Here's a peek at the inside of the card, before I wrote my message:

Supplies

Kraft cardstock from Recollections
Patterned paper: BasicGrey "nordic holiday"
Stamps: "Winter Owl" by Lawn Fawn, small letters (g and j) by Recollections, mittens by Studio G, "Dude Block" by Paper Smooches
(I carved the bow stamp myself.)
Ink: Memento "Tuxedo Black" and "Rich Cocoa"
Prismacolor colored pencils
Gems by Recollections
Washi tape: music notes by Recollections, hearts by Freckled Fawn
Twine by Martha Stewart

Thanks and Congrats card

This is a simple "thank you" card I made.



I'm entering this in PDCC158:


Stamps:"Special Bouquet" by Inkadinkado, "thanks" by studioG (Hampton Arts)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Magenta from the ColorBox Paintbox "Brights" set
Distress Markers by Tim Holtz: Spun Sugar, Broken China, and Bundled Sage
Patterned paper by American Crafts


Also, I challenged myself to make a monochromatic card, so I decided to make a 3 inch by 3 inch card to make it easier. I kept it brown to keep with in line with fall colors. The only things that aren't brown or white are the owl's beak and claws.



Stamps: Claire's ABCs by Lawn Fawn, owl from Ink 'n' Stamp: Spring Messages by Hero Arts
Ink: Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Memento Rich Cocoa
Colored pencils by Prismacolor
Embossing folder by Tim Holtz
Twine from Martha Stewart