Valentine Owl

My daughter actually found some store-bought window cling valentines she wanted to use this year.  But she still insisted that we make some part of it by hand, because, you know, "it's just what I do." :)

Stamps:  Punch Bunch (retired)
Inks:  Strawberry Slush, Baked Brown Sugar
Paper:  Red Glimmer, Pool Party
Other:  Heart to Heart Punch

New Occasions Catalog, Get Ready for Valentine's Day, Best of Stamps

Three news items I want to share with you:

1.  The 2014 Occasions catalog is now available!  As in the holiday catalog, there are many project samples shown in the front, followed by the stamps and other products in the back.

 

Click here to shop the 2014 Occasions Catalog

2.  There are several new Valentine stamps available, as well as some cute Valentine monsters for you sweet, little monster to make for his/her classmates or friends.  Only available through January 27th, so don't delay!

Click here to shop Valentine Products

3.  In case you didn't see the last two "Best of" stamp sets, check out Best of Snow and Best of Sale-A-Bration.  Remember, these, as with all of the "Best of" stamp set are for sale through March 31st.

 

Click here to shop Best of Stamp Sets

Finally, an announcement.....Sale-a-bration is coming soon!  Any $50 purchase between January 28th and March 31st will earn you a free Sale-a-bration product! 

The Best Valentine in the World

When I was little, the book The Best Valentine in the World was one of my many favorites.  It's the story about a fox who works hard to create a special valentine.  Maybe it's the illustrations that captured my attention so much, and why, when I think of making valentines, I always want to include a touch of purple.

The card features the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and coordinating Framelits.
Stamps:  Hearts a Flutter
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder
Inks:  Real Red, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder
Other:  Hearts a Flutter Framelits

The book is written by Marjorie Weineman Sharmat and illustrated by Lilian Obligado.  Sadly, it is out of print, but this link will take you to Amazon where you can find used copies of it for sale. 

Owl Valentine Box

Last year, I finally threw away the old shoebox-covered-with-tissue-paper Valentine Box I'd been using since I was a little girl....it had seen better days!  That meant this year, I would need to make a new box to use for my pre-kindergarten classroom, and I think this is definitely a step up from the old one.   I also made owl Valentines to give each child; check for those in the next post!

Several people have asked for directions for this Valentine Box, so I'm providing a basic outline of the steps.  Note that most of the materials listed are from Stampin' Up! so if you aren't sure what a certain item is, please ask.  Also, several of the materials used may be retired, such as the fabric, but you could easily substitute with another choice of fabric.

Body:
1. Start with an empty cereal box. Tape the top closed to provide for extra support; I used packing tape.
2. Use an Xacto knife to cut a horizontal, rectangle slot on the back.
3. Cut a straight line down to the bottom of the box, then across the bottom of the box to make a door. I used my stylus from my Simply Scored score board and a ruler to make an indention down the left side, and creased the door open and shut a few times. 

4. Cover the box with paper. I used Stampin' Up!'s textured cardstock in Real Red. Measure from the bottom of the box to the top. My 12x12 paper was very close to the same height, so I decided to leave the slight bit of overlap on the top.
5.  Wrap the paper around the box to check the width. I had the paper start at the crease of the door and wrap around to the other side of the slot.  If you lightly squeeze the sides, the paper will have the shape of the box and be easier to adhere.
6.  I used sticky tape, which I applied to the box, then applied the textured paper. I used one strip at a time to make application of the paper to the box easier.
7. Measure the size of paper needed for the door, and adhere.
8. Cover area above mail slot with paper also.  I also covered the top and bottom of the box. 
 

Latch:
1. Punch two 3/4 inch circles from cardstock.  Circles shown are in Pink Pirouette.  Punch a smaller hole in the middle of them using the 1/16 inch Handheld Circle Punch.
2.  Determine placement for your latch, and punch two small holes through the box, also using the 1/16 inch Circle Punch.
3.  Use two brads to attach the circles to the box. Shown are two Basic Gray 3/8 inch Glimmer Brads.
4.  Tie Whisper White Baker's Twine under one of the circles, then loop around both circles to complete the latch. 

Wings:
1.  Cut a medium circle (I traced something round....I don't remember what) from the Real Red cardstock.  I traced the same circle on the back of fabric and adhered the two together using my ATG double sided tape gun.  The fabric shown is Candy Cane Christmas. 
2.  Cut in half to make the two wings.

Face:
1.  I punched the large white circles using the 2 inch circle punch.
2.  I used the Scallop Punch to punch two Wild Wasabi scallops.
3.  Punch two 1 inch white circles.
4.  I used dimensionals to pop out the Bashful Blue 3/4 inch circles and heart punched from the Small Heart Punch.
5.  Her nose is created from the Full Heart Punch and Champagne Glimmer Paper.
6.  I again used my ATG glue gun to adhere the pieces together.  You could also use a different adhesive.

Feet:
1.  I punched two scallops for each foot using the Scallop Punch and Crumb Cake card stock.

Dress:
1.  I cut the material into 12 inch strips, approximately 2 inches wide.
2.  I started at the bottom and used a hot glue gun to run a bead of glue across the box and pressed the material into place.  As the layers went higher, I also glued the material together on the sides.
3.  I used Real Red Satin Ribbon across the top of her dress, and to make the bow for her head. 

Please leave comments; I'd love to hear your feedback. 

Doilies Valentine

Attempting to make a card that could be adapted to other occasions, I came up with this design featuring the Delicate Doilies stamp set.  I love the Two-Tone ribbon in Pink Pirouette/Rose Red.

Stamps:  Delicate Doilies, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Inks:  Cherry Cobbler, Wisteria Wonder, Pink Pirouette
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Wisteria Wonder
Other:  Two Tone Ribbon in Pink Pirouette/Rose Red, Word Window Punch, Modern Punch

Happy Valentine's Day

This is the Valentine's Card we made at Stamp Camp, which we finally had despite the snow!

Stamps:  Occasions Alphabet
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Red Glimmer
Ink:  Real Red
Other:  Full Heart Punch, Small Heart Punch, Heart Framelits, Dimensional, 5/8 inch Victoria Crochet Trim

Valentine Specials at Stampin' Up!

Are you ready to show your special ones some love this Valentine's Day?  Let Stampin' Up! help with 2 sweet offers. 

1.  Want to give someone some sweet treats?  With the Valentine Treat Bundle (item number 132771), you get the brand-new Happy Valentine Heart stamp and and a package of 1" x 8" cellophane bags, perfect for adding M&M's or the treat of your choice.

2.   During the My Little Valentine promotion (item number 132242), you will get the Sealed with Love Simply Sent Kit FREE-a $7.95 value-when they purchase the brand-new My Little Valentine Set. This four-piece set was created exclusively for this promotion and will not be available again after January 21!

Act now--these offers are only good until January 21st....one week from today!  

Click here to shop now!