Blast From The Past - Valentine Hug In A Mug

The original idea for Hug In The Mug came from my friend Lisa wondering wondering what to do with her left over hot chocolate sachets etc. from making Snow Man Soup packets.

This could be a simple little something children could make/give to someone special, Gran, Grandad, Aunties etc.on Valentines Day.  Contains sachet of hot chocolate drink, mini marshmallows, a chocolate heart lolly for stirring and a few Valentine chocolate coins. 

Happy Valentines Day

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a plain, black, hand cut card.

Happy Valentine’s Day! This card is so me, but I think Marc will be getting it when I see him later on in the month. Made using one of the Utee hearts I made with my Ranger melting pot a while back.  All I have added are the wings, cut using a Cuttlebug Emboss Plus die - Vintage Collage, leant to me by the aforementioned Marc and a small label made with the Duke’s old and very battered Dymo label maker, et voila!!!

With Love, Red Heart Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut, white linen effect card.

This card is made using scraps of the paper left over from the Wilkinson Christmas paper pack I got before Christmas …. and which I now wish I had bought a lot more of.  The heart I made earlier, using my Ranger Melting Pot, and has been calling me to use it for weeks now! The sentiment is made using the Duke’s old Dymo label maker and the whole card is finished off with my signature faux stitching! Done and dusted!

Quick Valentine’s Treat/Favour Bags

I have to admit to being very disappointed by the lack of “romantic” sweets available in the shops for this Valentines Day!

All I managed to get together were mini Love Hearts (£1) and some “cheap” chocolate hearts from Discount UK (99p) and a couple of nets of chocolate lips from Tesco, also £1 ……. nets of the incredibly cute Tesco ladybirds and Thornton's “love rock” seem to be a thing of the past ….. but you would have thought I would have found a few inexpensive heart shaped lollies at least!

I did have these hearts (above) that I bought back from Las Vegas from a shop called LICK, but they were pretty awful, so I just added them to my bags as confetti.

To be honest, I made them all very quickly, just as a little token gift for my friends at work, with a speedy, punched, handwritten tag. There’s not a lot of finesse to them ….. just cheap and cheerful, so everyone at least got one “Valentine”, even if it was from me!!!

The Most Beautiful Valentines Day Card In The World

I don’t think anyone will receive as lovely a Valentines card as this one ….. made by my brother, now 50, at his care unit for my mum.  As always we are under no illusion that he did much towards it, but we are sure that he would have sat at the table watching the staff put it together for him, twiddling with his jumper sleeve and perhaps humming ……..

….. We can imagine the struggle they had, just to get him to put his hand flat on the table long enough for them to draw round it….. believe me they must have been quick!!!!!  He may even have had the paintbrush put in his hand for a matter of seconds before he flung it across the room …. leaving a painty trail behind …..

….. but doesn’t really matter how much Stephen put into it, we all love it all the more because we know how devoted the staff are to him and how very much he is loved and cared for …. I cannot express how WONDERFUL these people are, words are just not enough, but on this Valentines Day I shall be thinking about them all at work and thanking them for every tiny little thing they do, not only for my brother, but for all the other adults in his unit, some who have much worse problems than he has and saying “THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVE YOU GIVE SO EFFORTLESSLY EVERY SINGLE DAY FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS” ….. true unsung heroes … THANK YOU”

Wooden Heart Card

This card measures 4in x 4ins and is made using a ribbed effect Kraft card.

No need for mucho explanation for this card today, just to say that the wooden heart was originally a natural colour but I decided to colour it with a red Whisper felt pen to give it a more Valentine flavour.

Wooden Heart Tags

Well with February being the month of “Lurvvvve”, something with hearts on today.

Made using wooden children’s dominoes (which measure 3ins x 1.5ins) ) and wooden heart embellishments from Hobbycraft, there’s a not a lot to them.  The sentiment is handwritten and on the back I’ve just added faux stitching round the edges so a message can be added if needed.

Stripy Heart Card

I’m not too sure about the stripy paper on this card, it was a bit of an experiment and to be honest I much prefer using a gingham pattern  to stripes. However on a more positive note, I was a little nervous of colouring the natural wood hearts, but they have turned out pretty well.

Chocolate Valentine Love Bugs

I always like to have a box of Elizabeth Shaw mints handy just in case I have an idea on new ways to use them.

And, as I can’t find any love bugs for Valentines Day this year I decided to make my own, using the aforementioned chocolate mints and some black and red glitter card cut using my 1 3/8 Stampin’Up circle punch.

I stuck a black circle on the top and bottom of the mint and then trimmed the red circle slightly for make the head and wings.

A couple of wobbly eyes, a line down the centre and a few small punched circles for spots finishes the idea!  Simples.

Wooden Heart Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using ribbed effect Kraft card.

Nothing fancy today, just a very simple,  less is more design using wooden hearts from a box of 45 I got from Handy Hippo:- http://www.handyhippo.co.uk/p7274-wooden-shapes-hearts-45-pieces.html.

I punched 1in scalloped squares from a Creative Paper Strips gingham print pack http://www.handyhippo.co.uk/s253-1-paper-pads-and-packs.html and then added a heart to each one, simples!

Valentine Chocolate Bars

Valentines sweets are often over priced for what they are, and this year, as I said yesterday, good quality chocolate items such as chocolate hearts  to put into sweetie bags etc. are few and far between.  Last week I saw packs of mini chocolate bars with Valentine wrappings and thought I would "Pinch" the idea.

…. by just wrapping Cadbury bars (pack of 6 from Home Bargains for £1.69) in scraps of heart patterned paper, which match the end of the chocolate bar perfectly.

Just right for popping into someone's pocket or lunchbox for a Valentines Day surprise without costing the earth!

Stripy Hearts Card

This card measures 12.5cm x 12.5cm and is made using white linen effect card.

I am not usually a stripy paper person so this card was a bit of an experiment. When I stuck down the punched hearts it all looked a bit flat, so I punched another set, folded them in half and then stuck them down the middle of the first hearts fluffing them up a bit.

I thought the hearts still needed a little bit of something else …. hence a final scattering of tiny punched hearts on the inside and outside of them … done and dusted!

Gingham Valentine Baskets

I am finding all sorts of forgotten treasure in my efforts to use up existing “stuff” rather than buying even more new bits and pieces, ……. like these papier mache baskets (£1.69 HobbyCraft).

Using a gingham print paper I drew round the baskets to get the shape and size right. I then cut out the shapes and went round the edges with a black pen to give a faux stitching effect, and finally glued the paper to the baskets, leaving to dry overnight.

Next followed several coats of Ronseal glossy, clear, quick drying varnish.

The finishing touches include a small tag made using a tag and heart shaped punch and a small wooden heart embellishment in the corner at the bottom of the basket.

I am going to fill these baskets with jelly shaped sweets for Valentines Day and see how they go.

Jar Of Hearts

Is it too early for Valentines Day yet?

A very simple idea no real skill involved other than resisting eating one or two sweets before they go into the jar!

My sister found the jelly hearts 100gms  for 99p in her local sweet shop.  The containers are small kilner type spice jars bought in a set of six for about £2.99, and 100gms of sweets fills one jar perfectly. All I have done is add a handwritten tag!

Kiss Me Frog Card

This card measures 13cm x 13cm and is made using a very rough fabric effect card that I have had for years,  it was probably from one of those Paper Cellar fill a box type displays.

I just love frogs but the thought of kissing one to see if it is really a spellbound handsome prince doesn’t really appeal, I ain’t that desperate ….. yet!

The frog was part of a huge pack of self adhesive foam frogs from Hobbycraft.  I’ve added googly eyes and a crown,  then  covered him with Ranger Glossy Accents as a successful   experiment.  The self adhesive letters are from Papermania and the lily pad and little hearts are made by using punches.

Simple Heart Garland Card

This card is A6 in size and made using ivory linen effect card.

I’ve used tiny paper flowers that I was given and stuck them on the edge of a large punched heart, which I have then stuck onto the card blank.

I’ve drawn the leaves (not sure if the darker lines are really necessary though) and then added a pink bow. I was thinking that this might make a very simple Mother’s Day card.

Happy Valentines Day with an Huge Apology

I FEEL I REALLY MUST APOLOGISE ..... I get quite a few e-mails presenting me with Blog Awards ..... and though I LOVE receiving them, I tend not to accept them because with writing two blogs with posts that usually include a lot of photography each day, I just don't have the time to meet the criteria these awards tend to set out ..... I feel awful, but I hope you will understand xxxxx

However, as most awards require the recipient to reveal something about themselves (and I tend to be quite secretive), I thought I'd show some of things I have in my Craft Room that inspire me .......

I was looking around and realised that I have quite a few hearts scattered here and there…and what better day to share a few with you, than today …..

I made this button heart years ago, it’s looking very rough round the edges now, but I can’t bear to throw it away.

Some hearts I have bought on little shopping trips to new places, this laser cut heart is a reminder of a visit to Southport and Chester this time last year.

This resin heart was in a parcel from a very special friend.

And I love, love, love, these heart pendants and other jewellery made by Mary at http://www.mary-mary.net/ - I’ve ooooohed and aghed at her lovely stuff at the Christmas Gift Fair that is usually on with the HobbyCrafts Show at the NEC in November for several years now, but so far I only possess a postcard ….. mainly because I just can’t decide which one I like best!

This heart was found in a gift shop sale at the beginning of the year ….. I wish I had bought a couple more now …….  typical!

It’s a little heart shaped glass pocket, you can put a little message in, as the paper heart opens up into a flower. I love it.

This wooden box has been with me for at least 45 years, it was to given me by a boy called Gerald O’Connor when we were at Infant School in Smethwick!

 

Anyway ….. enjoy your mooch round my craft room …..

xxxx Happy Valentines Day xxxxx