Quickie Valentines

I don't like to spend a ton of time on the kids' Valentines. I like them to be cute, but the fact is that kids just want the candy! I saw these packets of Wonka Fun Dip Valentines at Aldi, and I knew they would be perfect for a fast project.

You'll need a sheet of 12x12 paper for every 3 Valentines. You'll also need the free printable located here: Secret Agent Josephine

Cut your paper at 9.25 inches. Turn and cut at 8 inches and 4 inches to get 3 strips at 4 inches by 9.25 inches. Holding paper horizontally, score at 5/8 inch, and then turn and score at 4.25 inches. Turn up the short tab and staple close to the fold. Decorate your cover and tack your treat inside. Easy!

Jumping on the bandwagon

I think everyone has bought the Top Note die from Stampin' UP! Mine finally arrived last week, and I just got some time to sit down and play with it. First, I die cut the Top Note in Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point. I cut off the outer border of the Tempting Turquoise piece, and used my Quickie Glue Pen to attach the thin border to the Pacific Point piece. I'll put aside the inner piece to use on another project.

For the focal image, I stamped the butterfly image from Stampin' UP! Garden Collage set in Ranger Archival black ink. I used watercolor paper, so that I could go in with my watercolor pencils to color the image. Just a bit of blending with an Aquapainter and it looks great! Then I coated the image with 4 layers of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. When the last layer had cooled completely, I gave the piece a gentle crack. I rubbed a bit of Ranger Distress ink in Broken China over the image and wiped it off with a tissue to give the cracks a bit of depth.

Everything is layered up on a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock stamping in Going Grey with the Floral backgrounder (all items are from Stampin' UP!).

Cool new Purple Onion stamps

I recently stumbled upon the new Note Block stamps at Purple Onion. Not only did I like the bold graphics, but I loved the potential for super quick cards that these stamps afforded. I was supposed to be cleaning up the office today, but I stole five minutes to whip up a quick holiday card.

First I stamped the Happy Holidays Note Block stamp on to some striped paper. I quickly cut it out with a craft knife and matted it on some tomato red paper. I created a card base with Stampin' UP! Garden Green cardstock which was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder. I tied some Stampin' UP! striped grosgrain ribbon around the card front, and mounted my stamped image on some dimensionals. Easy peasy!

Send a little love

One of my message boards roped me in. I had no intention of following the crowd. But then they appeared. The cute little tin mailboxes in the Dollar Spot at Target. I picked up four--I was very restrained. Many thanks to Emily Giovanni and her tutorial here:
Stamping and Stuff

My daughter and I both made mailboxes. Hers is on top, and my creation is below. I made the first one for DS's teacher, and DD will be giving hers to her teacher.