Sending Hugs and Kisses

For this last card I wanted to challenge myself to make a card in 10 minutes that I would still be happy to give to someone.   I often find both sketches & color challenges to be good starting points for any card.  They also give me a great plan when trying to make a quick card like this one! For this card I combined the current MarkerPop color challenge with the My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge. I was inspired by my crafty friend Kevin Bray  and his use of stacked washi tape strips to create a quick background!  Next I cut out a cute Pix image from Mama Elephant Pix's Favorites , I had painted her with Zig Clean Color Markers & Distress Markers .  I found a shimmery bit of vellum and used the Sizzix nesting hearts to cut out two to place Pix on... they really weren't distinct as two so I inked the smaller heart with Cranberry Ink from Lawn Fawn .  I still felt the vellum heart wasn't really distinct against the washi so I trimmed the...

Today I wanted to share with you an idea using a sketch from Scrapbook and Cards Today .  This is their challenge sketch for February and I thought it would be perfect for bookmark cards!  These cards are perfect for Grandparents, parents, aunts or uncles for any occasion and Valentine's Day is no exception! The important thing to remember about a sketch is that it is meant to be a starting point but if you want to CASE it completely that is okay too!  Sketches are a great way to get your creativity flowing.  I followed the sketch pretty closely on these card but tweaked it to work with the supplies I had on hand.  I created two cards; one more manly and the other a bit more feminine. These adorable bears were colored with Staedtler Watercolor Pencils, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, and Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils.  I was going for a specific look with these images; I wanted them to look like illustrations.  The bear stamp sets are Cub Cud...

Some people just aren't stampers, I get it as I wasn't always either.  So today I went back to my first love... die cuts!  Each of these cards was created using only die cuts and really they could be used for any occasion but are perfectly suited for Valentine's Day! The card above features dies from Lawn Fawn, the heart die from the Stitched Party Banners and  a few of the smiley faces from the Make Me Smile die set!  I used some micropore tape to hold the smiles in place for die cutting and it worked perfectly to keep them in just the right spot on the hearts! The next card features a water colored background done with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers on some Canson XL watercolor paper.  This amazing Heart Beat die is from SugarPea Designs; I used it on both the background and a piece of black cardstock to create the inlaid panel! My final card features the Rose Background Die from Wplus9, I love that this die covers the entire card front!  I cut ...

I had really wanted to share some cute lunch box love notes that I created but they have disappeared! I even tried to recreate them but I can't find the die anywhere... it is a BIG die... I am feeling beyond frustrated.  I hope to find them in time for Day 10, but if not I will share a variation on that theme. Today's card is on the more masculine side.  My hubby isn't one for sequins and roses so I created this card with some great wood grain texture and the adorable squirrels from My Favorite Nut by Neat & Tangled!  The images were all painted using my daughter's Crayola watercolors since I was painting with her at the time, oddly they have a bit of sheen to them but I am pleasantly surprised at how well they did work for blending and creating colors! See you back here tomorrow to spread more love!

I am enamored with images that have a mid-century modern feel and these deer from the Kitsch Christmas Stamp Set by Caryn Davies for Avery Elle are right up my alley! I was browsing through cards on my Pinterest boards and I came across this gem by Caryn Davies !  I think these deer are slightly flirty and therefore perfect for a Valentine's Day card so I grabbed one from my CCC "Colored Critters Cache"   (I colored a ton of these around Christmas time so I had a few leftover, yes, I REALLY love these deer!) and I set about recreating this card with a romantic feel. I used the My Favorite Things Die-namics Stitched Mini Scallop Circle Stax and the Die-namics Inside & Out Stitched Circle Stax to create the base of my focal point. Next I used a stencil brush to blend some Festive Berries Distress Ink on the inner white circle. I used Avery Elle Laurels Stamps and Dies to create the flower and leaf accents around the edge. They were all stamped with various Al...