The Most Precious Valentine Card In The The World

Special Guest Card Maker this Valentines Day is my brother who made this card for my mum at his Special Needs Centre – no card I, (or anyone else could make) could be more precious or beautiful.

The Art of Fiddle Fart At It’s Finest – New House Card!

I surpassed myself today fiddle farting!

The houses are made using a small house punch (I think it came from Hobbycrafts) – but it wasn’t enough for me to just stick them onto a blank card, no, I had to doodle the details on each one using a very fine liner pen  and then colour them in very roughly with pale colours from my Whispers pen set!

 

….. this was after I stuck a small panel of card behind each house so I could have a door to colour in as well!

I also made the back panel using two strips of textured  paper.

To finish the card I added a few clouds in the sky using a white gel pen and a fence, using a black fine liner pen.

Nothing Much In The Shops

I had a quick whizz around yesterday but all I got was three packs of A4 envelopes (10 in a pack for £1) from a stall on Penkridge Market (Staffs) for my mate Lisa.

I wouldn’t know where to start making a card that big!

Felt Heart Brooches

I had forgotten I had these felt hearts until I found them in a box on my shelves, they are quite thick and firm so I thought I would have a go at making some little Valentine brooches with them.

The hearts are from http://www.rhinestonesonline.co.uk and I have just glued them on with PVA glue.

I added very small brooch fastenings to the back, this time using Bostick as I think it is a bit stronger than PVA.

Then I fiddle-farted about with the packaging!

Lisa’s Brilliant Idea - Valentines Treat Bag!

Lisa is my best crafty mate, we go craft and moochy shopping together whenever we can and The Hobbycrafts Show at the NEC every November, last year we even managed to sneak into a trade fair!

We both bought these chocolate tokens from Home Bargains, but we weren’t too keen on the naff sentiments on them.

I will leave Lisa to explain and get full credit  ………. click on this link to go to her blog

This is my version of her inspired idea!

Two Very Quick & Simple Valentine Cards

Who says cards have to be complicated ?

This is a case of less is more.

The stickers are from packs of puffy animals from Assessorize - £1.75.  One pack can go a very very long way when used like this.

Get Your Coat …..

I think I may have lowered the tone of this blog with this card ……

It’s just a bit of nonsense …..

Inside the card

I found the Sizzix “coat” in a box of bits and pieces and it set me off thinking!

Paperclip Heart

 

The heart embellishment on this card is a 7 Gypsies paperclip and I have to admit, getting it to stick down (using pva glue) was a bit tricky.

I used a set of wavy edged square punches (a gift from my friend Lisa - Craftfairy)  for the centre mat, which is mat and layered and then backed with a couple of foam pads for added dimension.

I added the larger plain backing square to spread the design and fill up the space subtly, drawing the eye into the centre of the card.

 
I have some other heart shaped paperclips that would have looked equally as good …. well perhaps not the turqouise one!

What’s On My Desk Wednesday

It’s frightening how fast Wednesdays come around.

I have been cutting card blanks (5 x 5 in) a job I hate doing but if I do a job lot now it means I can just sit at my desk and crack on, instead of mucking around with scorers and guillotines. I am running short of white linen card so an order to The Paper Mill Shop is imminent.

My desk often looks tidy because on the other side of the room is a big shelf heaving with stuff that I need to put away, or is there because I am “thinking about what to do with it”  Agh.

Panda Birthday Card

My apologies for the poor quality of these photos, the light in my craft room is shocking.

Yes, the stickers are from Accessorize (£1.75), but to be honest, I wasn’t too sure about them, pandas don’t do a lot for me …..

…… so the packet has been sitting on my desk for the past two weeks staring at me, then last night I had a eureka moment, use the hearts as balloons!

The rest was simples, just a bit of mat and layering and doodling.

 

Hmmm, perhaps if I make the card again I should add a bit of green to the grass, but the basic idea is there.

Lovely Sweetie Packs

This idea would be suitable  for both  Valentines Day and Mother’s Day

I’ve used Twilight mints, using one wrapper to make the template from .  I left the other wrappers on and just put the new wrapper over them, it was less fiddly.

The paper I have used is by Making Memories from the Love Notes range and have stuck the ends down with double sided tape.

I have added a small wooden heart and a clear flat back gem for extra fiddlefart.

The cello bag I have used is very narrow (2ins x 9ins)  and can be found on e-bay as either pretzel or lolly bags. They cost about £1.99 for 50 plus p&p. I always have a good stock of them, as they are brilliant for little sweetie projects like this.

When I made these, I used Twilight Mints leftover from Christmas, but I have a funny feeling that the makers have only recently changed the wrapper to one single plasic wrapper (instead of the foil and paper layers) - but I am not 100% sure - it might be worth double checking, if you can, as it will have an effect on the overall appearance! Bum! I am now on the look out for a substitute mint!

Hug in A Mug and Lovebug Treat Bags

Yesterday was a weird Saturday, nothing came out as I planned and my head felt like it was full of cotton wool. I fiddle farted around with these ideas for ages, nothing looked right, colours didn't match, embellishments looked pants – perhaps I should have a “what’s in my bin Sunday” because mine is full!

Anyway, this is what I came up with, using sachets of hot chocolate, mini marshmallows and chocolate “Love Tokens” I got from Home Bargains  (39p) – the name “Hug in A Mug” came from my mate Lisa.

I am thinking, I might try the same idea for Easter - "Bunny Brew" (not really sure about the name yet) - at the moment I am looking for chocolate Easter lollies to use as stirrers.

The second idea uses caramel filled chocolate ladybirds I got from Tesco (£1.04 for 13) the other day.

It’s an idea I’ve used lots of times here before, same old, same old, just a different sweetie and occasion,  using Nestablities Label dies to make the bag toppers.


WHAT’S IN THE SHOPS …………………………………….


My sister found these for me is Asda – filled with soft chocolate - £1.00 for about 10 – not sure what to do with them yet ……

Winged Heart Card

There’s nothing much to this card at all.

The card blank and centre panel are made using ivory linen card.  White card looks to harsh with gold, ivory/cream is much subtler.

The heart is made from wood and available from most craft shops. All I have done is cut a padded wing (from e-bay) in half and then stuck each part either side of the heart with double sided tape.

That’s all there is to it!

Tree of Love

This card was a nightmare to photograph, whichever way I positioned it, it looked pants!

It is also the first time I have stamped straight onto a card blank, I just crossed my fingers and just hoped that it was centred properly and the image would be clear and smudge free.

I have used the stamp before for a post in December, I wasn’t sure if it would work for a Valentine as it is a very stark, but then trees are bare in February.

The stamp is by Art Impressions (G1277) and cost about £7.99ish.

The small hearts are self adhesive gems from Artwork and the larger one is from Papermania.

I have to admit I am still not sure about it …. I wonder if a smidgen of micro glitter on the branches would make it look a little more alive and magical.

Dunelm Mill Sale

I finally got there myself yesterday - there wasn't much left!!!  It took a bit to find the sale items, as  they were all mixed together in a basket shelf display at the end of the aisle and you had to have a good ferret around!. The only bargains I did manage to get were 4 packs of Making Memories alphabet stickers reduced from £2.97 to 99p plus a (non reduced) pack of A5 glitter paper for £1.99. But I hope everyone else who went found something!

White glitter card - what a nightmare to find - it looks white in the shop but when you get home you find that it isn't pure snowy white.  At the NEC in November I thought I had bought pure white, but it had a purplish tinge when I put beside my linen card, the same happened with Paperchase card, which was off white!  Lesson learned - I always put the glitter card next to brilliant white card before I buy it.