Playing Card Valentines

This is an idea I have adapted from a Martha Stewart Valentine project.

I have covered the back of a “hearts” playing card with a textured paper and then added a Valentine word on the back, but you could also put:- I’m Betting You’ll Be My Valentine,  We’re Two of a Kind, You Suit Me, You are Ace, King of My Heart,  Queen of My Heart etc.

I have then placed the card in a 63 x 93mm glassine envelope (available from E-bay)

And sealed it down with a glittery self adhesive heart.



Done!

What’s On My Desk Wednesday

I try to tidy my desk each evening after I have finished fiddling, because time is short and I don’t want have to tidy up before I can get cracking  again when I get home from work the following day (if that makes sense).

So I tend to leave a few things out that I can think about during the day and then tackle when I get home.

Packs of 4 sweetie jars are now in Poundworld in Wolverhampton – that’s 25p each – brilliant.  I am thinking of making a few “Birthday Bean” jars.

You will see that the white mug is still on my desk from the other week, still waiting to be painted and it has now been joined by a bean tin that I am hoping to turn into a new pen holder with the aid of my crop-o-dile.

I have put very small brooch fasteners on these wooden heart and star embellishments.  Its very tempting to stick something else on them but I am going to leave them plain and see how they go.

These glass hearts were a bit of an indulgence at £2.50, but I have some tiny weeny organza bags that I can just fit one in with a little handwritten note for friends on Valentines Day …… watch this space …….

Shopping …… I have an hour for lunch, in that time I can just get in and out of  Wolverhampton on the 501 bus, and then blitz Poundland and Poundworld once a week.  On a Friday I finish at 4.30  so I get a bit longer after work!  Just call me “flash” !!!!!

Butterfly Cards

I was in Primark yesterday lunchtime and saw this necklace.

The cogs started whirling …….. those butterflies would look cracking on a card I thought …….

And this is the result …….

The necklace cost £2.50 and had 8 butterflies on –  a bargain, when you think what the equivalent in a craft shop would be!

The card blank is made using  an ivory linen card (from The Papermill Shop). The background paper is from the Passport range from Making Memories and the scalloped square is made using a Nestabilities die.

I prefer the card with the plain centre square, but am dead chuffed with the both results.

Poundland Alert

I got this yesterday. It’s made of metal, is glittery and is very pink – I ummed and ahhed about buying it …… I am not sure what I am going to do with it yet ….. but covering it buttons is an option I am considering.

Heart of Pearls.

I love pearls.  They are so clean, subtle and understated.


I have used an ivory linen card with gold matting for this card to match the colour of the flat back pearls.

I drew a faint heart outline as a guide and stuck the pearls down with a pva glue which dries clear.  I left a small gap between the pearls for the line to show through.

If I make this card again, I would draw the heart with a beige/mushroom coloured  fine Marvy le Plume  pen and perhaps make the heart a tadge narrower.

Key To My Heart

I said a while ago that I find stamping difficult, but would give it a go at least once a month …. well the time has come …..

The idea for this card came to me as I was making something else ……. I am terrible for getting side tracked!

The stamp I used  was part of a free gift from a craft magazine last year that I hadn’t  never even opened until today.

I stamped onto red card with black StazOn ink, which dries really quickly.

I cut out the heart and wrapped thin fuse wire round the top  corner. I then took the wire down the back of the heart and fastened a key charm (from a charm bracelet) onto it.

I then stuck it straight onto the card, no mat and layering – I must be sickening for something!

Some magazine free gifts are brilliant – some are a bit pants!

After I finished the card I tried stamping with the StazOn onto mirror card – well impressed – I see another card in the making.

What’s In The Shops This Week

I thought I would add an extra post today to show you my latest shopping “finds” which hopefully, I can use in projects in the next week or so. 

Poundland cookie cutters – I was thinking I could use my Cropodile and put an eyelet on  each side of each cutter and then string them together to make a little banner or perhaps spray/paint them in cream so they have a shabby chic look and stick them on a plaque. …….

Also from Poundland, magnets, not such a good buy I don’t think, but I’ll leave them on my desk and have a think about what I could make with them.

Chocolate Tokens from Home Bargains – 39p for a bag of 9.  I might put these in a decorated shaker box. 
I have tried the chocolate - not bad, but not Cadbury's if you know what I mean!

Hobbycrafts – buy one get one free - £1.99 for the two.

Marks and Spencers chocolate bunnies – “buy 5 pay for 4” so that works out at £3.98 (I think there are about 12 bunnies in a net) – I shall make sweetie bags with these and add punched heart sprinkles, using papers that match the hearts on the bunnies tummies.

Bear Hugs

Wouldn’t these be so cute in a Valentine Lunch box surprise  for littlies?

The teddies are from Marks & Sparks - £1.49 for 9  and the jelly hearts are from Spar.

I  have put two bears in  a packet and put a jelly heart on the front ones tum.

The toppers are made using a Nestabilities Label die. When cut on my Big Shot they just need scoring down the middle and folded.

The biscuits will stay fresh in packets made with cut down cello display bags sealed with my vacumn bag sealer.

A Bit of Whimsy

This is something a bit different for me, not sure if you could call it Altered Art – but it’s my bit of whimsy.

I have used a new playing card as the base, ageing it with a mixture of stamping ink, rubbed on and then rubbed off with a tissue and some colouring chalk.

The photo came from this box of bits I got from a car boot sale for a couple of pounds, a funny place to find just one small photo.

The tickets are genuine old bus/tram tickets, another find, this time from an Antique Market for pence.

The dove is new, from Hobbycrafts (£1.49 per pack),  but I have rubbed a bit of brown chalk into it to make it look aged. I just love it, birds are so in at the moment.

The key was from bracelet I found in a sale in New Look, it was about £1.99 and had about 20 little key charms on, which I took off, it was like finding treasure!

The small butterfly circle  is from  K & Co Cut’ n Paste Die Cut Cardstock Ephemera (569805), and finally, the thread is just a length of embroidery cotton wrapped round several times.

This started out as a modern Valentine in my head but I sort of got distracted…..  but I am dead chuffed with the result, this is a keeper, for my treasure box.

Happy Birthday To Me

It’s my birthday! 

…… And I’ve just got to show you the card my sister made me.  Look at the mat and layering – I have taught her well!

I have a feeling that she might set up a rival crafting blog to mine with video tutorials!!!! 

I just love the way she has matched the background blue of the photo and Sir Alan’s tie to the blue of the card.

Why a picture of Sir Alan?  I love him with a passion, I even have a framed picture of him on my desk at work! I desperately want to be his Apprentice!
Oh, I forgot to say, inside it says " ......fifty two today" !!!!!!

Playing Cards – Valentine Scrapbook

This scrapbook is made from an extra large pack of playing cards,  I have seen them in shops like Poundshop, Home Bargains and BM Bargains but  you may have to hunt around for them and I have seen the price vary from £1 to £5.99. I have put a normal pack beside them so that you can gauge the size.

To make the book I have used ten heart cards from the ace to the ten and set them out as below, going up in numerical order, wit  the numbers on the left and the back is on the right. I have then covered what will be the front and back cover of the book with a thin red card before binding.

I have used my Bind It All to bind the book but if you don’t have one a hole punch with book rings or ribbon would work just as well.

To make sure that the books pages are centred perfectly I have used a joker card as a template, folding it in half and marking the fold with a pen line.  Then I have matched the line to the centre mark of the Bind It All and punched the template.

I have then put the template over several pages to be punched, again lining the mark to the centre of the Bind It All and hey presto, perfect matching holes every time. With all the pages punched the book is ready to bind.

How to decorate the scrapbook is up to you.  I have put a piece of roughly torn graph paper on each of the patterned sides of the book and will write one "thing I love about you” on each page.



I’m keeping it quite plain, just adding a few doodles here and there.

The teeny weeny playing cards on the cover came from a cracker and add up to ten to match the theme of the book.  Self adhesive Papermania alphabet stickers and punched black hearts finish the whole thing.

You don’t need a giant pack of cards to make this sort of book a regular pack would work equally well.

As there are 52 cards in a pack you can make at least 5 books from one, it just depends on your theme, naturally the hearts are brilliant for a "love" theme - but really, once made up, they can be used for anything - Spades for gardening, Clubs for golf/holidays, Diamonds for an engagament, "You're a Diamond" or  "Diamond Geezer"??????