Category Archives: Valentine

New Products at Stampin’ Up! Today!

Lots of new products released today at Stampin’ Up! for YOU! Here is the Color Coach (166481) to help you with color combinations for your cards and projects! Be sure you select the English version in the Online Store!

New Kits in the Kits Collection today! And plenty of good ones already available so look at all of them in the Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection!

The Nature’s Painting Kit contains a line art coloring book, watercolor pencils, and a water painter so you can try out your creative side in a new direction! Watercolor pencils were one of my favorite things when I started as a Demonstrator!

This Layered Landscapes Kit is an easy home decor project for you that comes with the 7 1/8″ x 7 1/8″ frames and easy pieces to layer to build the landscapes.

There are lots of new Online Exclusives products available online only (not in a catalog) and not just for Valentine’s Day as my picture above would suggest! This is one Suite, the Marbled Elegance Suite, but there are many other new products! There is no one picture I can post that gives you all the information! Check it all out here in the New Arrivals! More information in future days! If you see something you REALLY REALLY want, I’d order it right away!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! NEW PRODUCTS HERE!

Bee Mine Bees Valentine Card

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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

If you are looking for one last card idea for Valentine’s Day, here is a card I got from my very dear friend! She always makes beautiful cards! I called this the Bee Mine Bees Valentine Card! It is made with the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper. I didn’t think I was into bees, but as soon as I started working with this paper it was just so cute! I loved cutting out the medium-sized bees on one of the papers and using them for embellishments! And the paper is not just for Valentine’s Day. The patterns will mix and match and not all of them have hearts. But hearts are for any time so don’t be afraid to use the cute bees with hearts!

This card uses several of the products in the Bee Mine Suite Collection in the Spring Mini Catalog. If you want to use just one item number for ordering all the products in the Suite, you will get the Bundle price on the stamp set and punch. Otherwise, just order the products individually that you want and/or the Bee Mine Bundle. Remember to think in terms of spending increments of $50 so you can earn FREE Sale-A-Bration products until February 29th!

This card uses the Petal Pink honeycomb pattern for the card front and then two other papers layered on diagonals. The Sweet Sorbet paper with the squiggly bee flight lines is layered on Basic White and the paper with the little bees is layered on Basic Black. The large heart on the front has a greeting embossed in white from the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set. That’s such a cute saying I think! There is one of the cute little flower embellishments in the Suite, the Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers, on the heart. Wrapped around the bee paper and under the popped-up heart is the Sweet Sorbet 1/4″ Bordered Ribbon. And of course, we have a cute Valentine bee, stamped and then cut out with the Bee Builder Punch which cuts out the bee body and the wings which could also be hearts plus a little bitty heart, which could also be little bitty wings. It’s really a more versatile punch than it looks like!

Are you doing something special for Valentine’s Day today?

Square Pillow Treat Box For Valentine’s Day

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Here’s another way to decorate one of the Square Pillow Boxes in the Spring Mini Catalog! Decorating this Square Pillow Treat Box For Valentine’s Day was the first time I tried this method of decorating the box. You can stamp on these boxes, leave them plain, color them with ink, or cover them with designer series paper! Just remember to put your treat inside! It’s a little bit of a different shape for a gift box or treat box so it will definitely grab someone’s attention when they see it!

I covered this Square Pillow Box with one of the bees-patterned papers in the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper. How did I do that? I cut a full sheet in half at 6″. That leaves just a sliver of one of the sides not covered but no one will notice. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the paper to the box while it is flat, not assembled, of course. Be sure NOT to adhere it to the side of the box that has the adhesive already applied. You want to be able to use that adhesive on those sides, not have it covered up with designer paper. After you adhere the designer paper, trim around the edge of the box to cut off the excess designer paper.

Now you are ready to fold along the score lines to form the box. It is a little more difficult with the paper on it, but just keep working with it. I used my Bone Folder just to rub along the creases to help it all come together.

To decorate the box, I stamped the greeting in Sweet Sorbet ink on Basic White and cut out with one of the circle dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies. The Bee is stamped in Daffodil Delight ink on Basic White and then the stripes are stamped in Memento Black ink for his body. I used the Bee Builder Punch to cut his body and then added wings and antennae.

The greeting is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals as is the bee. I put the Dimensionals only at the top and bottom of the greeting so I could run the Sweet Sorbet ribbon around the box underneath the greeting. I added one of the tiny punched-out hearts and a few Iridescent Rhinestones Jewels.

If you have the box with the opening at the top, then the ribbon or bellyband doesn’t have to be removed to open the box and get out the treats inside. It holds together really well so you don’t have to use adhesive on the top flaps.

You might like having some of these Square Pillow Boxes on hand because you can decorate them for any occasion!

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Sour Cream Container Birds

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Here’s a fun idea you might like to try for a Valentine treat or a fun little bird! The other day I saw a reel on Instagram of someone using short toilet paper rolls and forming them into a little bird shape. I thought it was very cute, but then I realized it looked like what most of us in stamping have made before, a sour cream container! I don’t know if real sour cream containers exist in this shape but I think they used to. It was kind of a twisted container, crimped at both ends. For years, we have made “sour cream containers” to hold candy for a holiday or party favor. After watching this reel of making this bird with a toilet paper roll, I thought why not use designer paper instead? Of course, you could also use cardstock and decorate that.

You can vary the size of your bird. Cut a paper rectangle about 4 1/2″ x 6″ or maybe a little smaller at 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. You can experiment with the size you want in the end. Apply Tear & Tape or Stampin’ Seal on one short side and one long size.

It’s a little easier to roll the paper up if you have a curved surface or edge of a table or something just to get it loosened up to roll up easier. Remove the liner on the tape on both sides and make a roll to adhere to the other short side. You can overlap the edges however much you want. Then squeeze together the end that has the adhesive on it. Fold that adhered end up to make the bird’s tail feathers!

Then squeeze the other end together but going in the opposite direction of the tail. If you are putting candy inside, put it in there now. When we made these as just a candy holder, we would adhere and/or crimp the edge. But for the bird, we still have some work to do. In the photo above, instead of squeezing the top and bottom of the open end together, you will push the sides together so that the end is going in a different direction than the top.

Before you adhere that end, cut along the edge in a curve. Then cut a little beak out of scrap paper. Cut a triangle out of Daffodil Delight and then fold in half to make a beak. Glue the inside and then glue the beak into that curved edge.

Punch out some black dots for eyes or just draw them on with a black marker. If you have a white gel pen, put a dot for the “whites of his eyes”.

For the wings, just punch out, diecut, or cut out by hand two hearts. Fold those in half and glue a folded wing onto each side of the bird. Don’t adhere the two sides together as you did for the beak.

Add a little glue to the inside edge after getting the bird all made, although it will be adhered at the point where the beak is.

That’s all there is to it to make these cute little birds! Just kind of a silly little project you can try on a Saturday afternoon!

Bee Mine Square Pillow Box Valentine Treat

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Wondering what to do with the Square Pillow Boxes in the Spring Mini Catalog? You can do many things with them, including decorating one for specific holidays such as this Bee Mine Square Pillow Box Valentine Treat. It is a little bit differently shaped box but holds a fair amount of candy or a small gift. These are easy to put together and already come with the adhesive on the sides. All you have to do is crease on all the score lines, and then in more of a squeezing kind of way, push it into the pillow shape, and then remove the adhesive covers making sure the sides are lined up properly.

Before assembling this box, you may want to color it with ink using Blending Brushes or stamp on it, as I did on this box. You do want to make sure the ink is dry. I found that mine dried very quickly, but immediately you don’t want to smear it. I think this is applicable if your ink pad is very juicy and the layer of ink is wetter and thicker.

I used the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set to stamp various images over the front and sides of the box. I didn’t do the back side of the pillow box but you could. Also, if you wrap around a belly band, it will cover some of the stamping. I stamped the honeycomb in Daffodil Delight, the hearts in Sweet Sorbet, and the flowers in Pool Party, Petal Pink, and Fresh Freesia. You can see in the photo below how I chose to stamp so as not to stamp on the sides that would be hidden on the inside of the box or the back of the box which I did not want to stamp.

Bee Mine Square Pillow Box Valentine Treat Stamping

The strip of Bee Mine Designer Series Paper I chose for the belly band is 9 1/2″ long. Originally I cut the one in the photo at 2″ wide but later cut it narrower at 1 1/4″. You don’t even have to have a belly band to decorate the box.

When I watched a Facebook Live with Sara Douglass, CEO of Stampin’ Up! the other day when she made some Valentine pillow boxes, she placed her belly band around the box so that the opening was at the top of the box and not blocked by the belly band. This way the box can be opened without removing the belly band. However, you can run the belly band the other way if you feel you want the opening of the box to have that extra security to keep it closed.

For the belly band, I used this pattern with the tiny white flowers at 9 1/2″ x 1 1/4″. You can just cut the whole strip across the 12″ width of the designer paper and then shorten it after you see how much you want on your box. But 9 1/2″ seems to have plenty of overlap. Rather than scoring it ahead of time, just wrap it around the box and crease the band with your fingers at each edge. It won’t be a “perfect” fit since there are curves but it is very close.

To decorate my box and belly band, I stamped a greeting in the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set and die cut with a stitched circle in the Stylish Shapes Dies. I made the bee by using the Bee Builder Punch, punching out the bee body shape out of Daffodil Delight, and stamping the stripes and face with Memento ink. The wings were stamped on Petal Pink cardstock and with Petal Pink ink. The antennae are stamped in Memento black on Basic White. Then I used the Bee Builder Punch for the antennae (the heart shape), the wings, and some Sweet Sorbet and Petal Pink hearts.

There are lots of ways to decorate these boxes! Just play with them and see what you come up with. The boxes feel very sturdy. In my January stamping newsletter, I made a box that was embossed with the new Layered Florals 3D Embossing Folder first and then decorated with stamps and die cuts in the Painted Lavender Bundle in the Spring Mini.

Hopefully, you already own some of these Pillow Boxes so you can make some Valentine’s treat boxes, but you will have plenty of opportunities to use them in your papercrafting and gift-giving in the future if you order them now.

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Bee My Valentine Hearts Valentine Card

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Are you making Valentines? Here is a fun one, the Country Bouquet Hearts Valentine Card, with lots of stamped hearts! Sometimes I like to just stamp randomly all over the card. It just feels good and the simplicity is nice!

For this card, I used the solid heart in the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set in the Spring Mini Catalog. I started by stamping three Sweet Sorbet hearts. Then I just chose several other colors and mostly stamped three hearts of each color. You can use whatever color theme you like! I think I used Fresh Freesia, Balmy Blue, Highland Heather, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sea Foam, and Calypso Coral. I crammed them in there! Be sure to turn the stamp or paper so they are all going in slightly different directions. Not to be one to know when to stop, I also added some really small hearts stamped in Melon Mambo ink.

Before adhering the hearts card front, I wrapped around a piece of Silver & White 1/2″ Sheer Ribbon down the side. After adhering the front layer to the Sweet Sorbet card base, I tied a bow around that piece of ribbon. I liked this ribbon because you could still see through it to see the colored hearts.

For the greeting, I chose “With Love” in the Country Bouquet Stamp Set. I wanted to stamp it on the heart punched out of the Country Bouquet Punch but it was too long so I had to stamp each word by carefully inking up only one word at a time. It was risky but I did it! I could have done it a more careful way but I took a chance! I popped up the stamped heart over a diecut rectangle in the Timeless Arrangements Dies. Then I scattered around some Iridescent Rhinestone Jewels.

Have fun making some Valentines!

Valentine Stamping and Watercoloring

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I seem to be getting a lot of watercoloring accounts popping up on my social media and some of them look so fun and simple! I don’t own a set of watercolor paints, but I knew I could use our Stampin’ Up! ink and the Stampin’ Up! Water Painters. I saw a card design a little bit like this card but made with cardstock hearts in kind of an ombre effect. I got the idea to use the Country Bouquet Stamp Set in the Annual Catalog for stamping hearts and then I watercolored them!

This Valentine only uses Real Red ink! The card base is Real Red. The hearts are stamped with Stazon black ink on Stampin’ Up! watercolor paper, Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper (149612). You need to use Stazon ink since it is waterproof. You don’t want any ink to smear when you apply the watercolor. Basic White cardstock doesn’t stand up well to water so watercolor paper is a lot better. If you still have some Shimmery White cardstock that unfortunately is retired now, it works fairly well with water.

To make this card, stamp hearts on the watercolor paper. If you already have some ink in the lid of the Real Red ink pad, you can start with that. Squeeze water out of the Water Painter to make a very light color with the ink. I had a scrap piece of watercolor paper that I tested my colors on. When you feel you have the shade you want, color in the top three hearts. Then add a little bit more reinker to the lid (don’t let all the water get onto your ink pad!), stir it up with the Water Painter, perhaps adding more water. When you get a medium shade with the ink and water, fill in the next row of hearts. For the last row of hearts, add more reinker and see what shade you have or add more water if it is way too dark. You want three different shades of colored hearts just using Real Red reinkers and water. See my photo below of what I was using.

Either let the watercolor paper dry or hit it with your Heat Tool for a short time. It doesn’t take very long at all to dry with the Heat Tool. Then you can adhere it to the card base of Real Red. I used a LOT of Stampin’ Seal+ since the watercolor paper is heavier and possibly warped a little bit. I wanted to be sure it was going to hold on the card.

I tried to figure out what to do for a greeting and in the end stamped “For You” randomly in the empty spaces on the card. Not one to leave well enough alone, I also added some Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins in Petal Pink scattered on the front of the card.

On the inside of the card, I added a Basic White layer and stamped both greetings “Just wanted to say” and “Happy Valentine’s Day in Real Red ink.

IMPORTANT: Before you just close up that ink pad, take a paper towel and dab out all that water. You don’t want that all soaking into your ink pad and it would probably make a mess anyway just closing the lid!

This was a fun way to do something a little different but still use Stampin’ Up! products. Sometimes we may forget how versatile many of our products are, the reinkers being one of them. Try a little watercoloring with your reinkers and Water Painters or whatever small brush you have. If you don’t have the Stazon ink, I’d suggest just paint the hearts and omit the stamping. Make all the hearts different colors if you like. Just play!

February is here so this is the last month for Sale-A-Bration. It’s a good time to pick up a few things at Stampin’ Up!, thinking of reaching that $50 level or $100 level or more to choose a FREE product in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure and the newly released products on this flyer.

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Bee Mine Book Fold Valentine Card

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February is coming soon so it’s time to get those Valentines ready to send and give! This is one of those fun book fold cards but the fold is at the top instead of on the side. Try this Bee Mine Book Fold Valentine Card for a fun card Valentine to send to someone!

This book fold card starts with a card base of Sweet Sorbet. The card base is cut at 11″ x 4 1/4″, then scored at 4 1/4″ and 5 1/2″. The 5 1/2″ score line is the center fold of the card. The 4 1/4″ score line makes the “binding” on the top of the card. Glue that area to the card base so that only the 4 1/4″ portion of the card opens. Once you have the book fold card base made, you can decorate the card for Valentine’s Day or for any occasion you need.

I used the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper in the Spring Mini Catalog. It is part of a big collection of products, the Bee Mine Suite Collection. You can purchase all of it or just some of it. The Bee Mine DSP is cute and is not exclusively for Valentine’s Day but you can use it for Valentine’s Day! Even if you exclude the obvious hearts papers, there are still plenty of patterns you can use for any occasion!

To decorate the card, I adhered a strip of 1″ x 4″ to the top book fold area. I chose the pattern with the little bees flying around. For the larger front of the card, I adhered a tiny heart pattern cut at 4″ x 4″. The three little white circles are die-cut from the Deckled Circles Dies. I cut out the larger bees with hearts on one pattern of paper and adhered each to one of the white circles. I glued them flat to the card but you could pop up the circle and bee or just the bee. For the greeting, I stamped one from the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set in Sweet Sorbet ink. There wasn’t one good place to put a greeting so I just made three and placed them around on the card.

I really like the Sweet Sorbet Ribbon that comes in the Suite, but to go with the black on the bees and for something different, I added a bow at the top with the Black & White 1/4″ Gingham Ribbon.

On the inside of the card, I added a 4″ x 4″ piece of Basic White and cut out another bee to put in the corner.

Here is another card I made in the book fold style with the fold on the side of the card and also using the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper.

Remember that Sale-A-Bration is still going on and will continue through January. With every $50 purchase, you may choose one FREE product in the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. There are some great choices from stamp sets, to paper, to embellishments. And what’s better than getting stamping products FREE?!

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Stay In Touch With the Stamping With Karen Mailing List!

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Have you signed up for my Stamping With Karen Mailing List yet? If you like visiting my blog or if this is your first time here, please join us by signing up in the Mailing List Sign Up Box!

You will receive an email newsletter each Tuesday with the latest Stampin’ Up! news and any special offers, plus at least one tutorial for a card or another project or tip. Stampin’ Up! updates us on Tuesdays so that is a good day to get in touch with you!

If you like getting new stamping ideas, this is for you! These projects are exclusive to my newsletter.

As a special gift for signing up, you will receive a PDF called “A Dozen Creative Gift Wrap Ideas”.

Keep on top of all things Stampin’ Up! and learn how to use those great products in papercrafting! Sign up in the Mailing List sign-up box in the upper right corner of my blog or the pop-up box! If you are on your phone, the red signup box may be at the bottom of this post.

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Bee Mine Z-Fold Valentine’s Day Card

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I already had this Petal Pink cardstock made into a Z-Fold card base in my package of paper so I started with that. I must have gotten that far one day and then changed my mind about the card! But this day, it was perfect! This Bee Mine Z-Fold Valentine’s Day Card is one of those cards that I was pleased about how it all came together!

Let’s start with the basics. A Z-Fold card starts as a regular card base, but the front of the card is scored down the middle and folded back on itself! You don’t even need to score the front of the card, just fold the right side back even with the fold on the left side of the card. If you do want to score the cardstock, score the 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ paper at 2 1/8″ and 4 1/4″. Fold in half, then fold the 2 1/8″ score line back to the fold.

For this card, I used the very cute Bee Mine Designer Series Paper. I wasn’t so much into bees when the Spring Mini Catalog came out, but the paper has won me over! It just makes me happy to work with it! For the front Z-Fold panel, I used this super-cute red pattern with little white flowers. On the inside, I used the pattern with the Daffodil Delight plaid lines.

The greeting is in the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set and is stamped in Memento Black ink on Basic White. It is diecut with a rectangular shape in the Nested Essentials Dies and then layered on a larger Daffodil Delight layer. When you adhere the greeting to that Z-Fold make sure you are only putting glue on the correct half and not the whole area so that the card will still open!

Since I put designer paper on the inside of the card (or if you have a dark-colored cardstock, you may need a lighter piece to stamp or write a greeting on the inside of the card. I die-cut a piece of Basic White to match the Daffodil Delight diecut piece and made sure it was placed directly behind the greeting on the front of the card. Put the card face down, and lay the inside diecut piece face down along the backside of that greeting. Apply glue, then fold the back of the card over so that it adheres exactly in the right place. When the card is closed, you don’t want the inside greeting itself or the diecut piece showing from the front if possible.

To embellish the card, I cut out bees from the designer series paper and adhered those to the front and inside of the card. I also used the Bee Builder Punch to punch out some Sweet Sorbet hearts to use, also.

Try this Z-fold card if you haven’t already. Here’s another example of a fun Z-Fold card. I think it is an easy way to make a card seem extra special!

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Bee Mine Z-Fold Valentine's Day Card Inside

Bee Mine Sweet As Honey Card

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If you stop and think about it, even if some of us still have our Christmas trees up, it is about a month until we probably need to mail out the valentines we make! This Bee Mine Sweet As Honey Card doesn’t have to be a Valentine, but it could be. Or should I say, “It could BEE”?! Yes, the Bee Mine Suite is in the new Spring Mini Catalog on pages 8-10 and will be fun to use for making valentines and any other cards.

This card is called a “Book Fold” card. It is so easy to make. The card base is cut at 11″ x 4 1/4″, then scored at 4 1/4″ and 5 1/2″. The 5 1/2″ score line is actually the center fold of the card. The 4 1/4″ score line makes the “binding” on the side of the card. Glue that area to the card base so that only the 4 1/4″ portion of the card opens. You can put the fold at the top or to the side. Decorate with pieces of designer paper or stamping, whatever you like.

This card has a card base of Sweet Sorbet. I used the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper to decorate the card. I chose the paper with the little jars of honey for the front of the card. This piece is 4″ x 4″. The opposite side of the paper is the Sweet Sorbet pattern with the dotted lines. I used that small piece, 1″ x 4″ on the book fold area. Before adhering that area to the inside of the card, I adhered ends of the Sweet Sorbet 1/4″ Bordered Ribbon to the inside of the card and then adhered that side of the card to itself for the book fold. Then I tied on a separate piece of ribbon to make a bow and adhered with a Mini Glue Dot.

If you like punches, using the Bee Builder Punch will be fun to make a bee. For my bee, I stamped the black stripes on a piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock, the punched it out for the bee body. There are stamps for different bee faces and even the antennae, which can abe stamped on a little heart made with the punch. I thought they were just little hearts until I realized the antennae would fit! The wings are stamped with Petal Pink ink. Actually, I first stamped the wings on a piece of Basic White, but I wanted them to be pink so I colored in with a Petal Pink Stampin’ Blend marker. They are adhered behind the bee body and the antennae on top of his head. You can make your bee “standing up” like this bee or flying from the side. For a little background to help the bee stand out, I diecut a Deckled Circle from Petal Pink cardstock. The whole bee is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The greeting is in the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set. I stamped it in Sweet Sorbet ink on a scrap strip of Basic White. I flagged the ends and adhered it to the card. You could add a layer of Sweet Sorbet to make it stand out a little more but I didn’t want to cover up the jars of honey any more than necessary.

For the inside of the card, you can add a layer of Basic White 4″ x 4″ and then stamp a little something or cut out a little bee from the designer paper.

If you would like to see another example of a Book Fold Card, just click HERE.

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It’s Valentine’s Day!

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Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day doing something you like! Like ordering stamps!

Last Minute Valentine Ideas!

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If you are still looking for Valentine ideas, you will find a lot of ideas here from years past. I’ve picked out some I thought you would like but you can also click on “Valentine” under Categories on the right side of my blog and find a whole lot more!

Just click on the photos below or the title to go to that particular project on my blog!

Sweet Talk 2-4-6-8 Valentine Gift Bag

Sweet Little Boxes For Valentine’s Day

(Get these “Sweet Little Boxes” on the Clearance Rack right now for the future!)

Valentine’s Day Chocolate Holders

Valentine Treat Bag with Scraps

Just fill a little cello bag with treats and make a cute little tag!

Mini Mailbox For Valentine’s Day Candy

Easy Valentine Candy Jar

I hope these ideas help you out! There are PLENTY of Valentine card ideas, too, through the years. Again, just look under Categories and click on Valentine. I think Valentine’s Day is one of the most fun holidays!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Rain Or Shine Valentine Candy Bars

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Last week I made a couple of other decorated candy bars for Valentine’s Day and now today I have these Rain Or Shine Valentine Candy Bars to show you! It is so fun and so easy to make these little treats! Of course, they don’t always have to be for Valentine’s Day. Wouldn’t these be cute for birthday party favors if you just changed the greeting?

These Valentine candy bars were decorated with two of the characters in the Rain Or Shine Suite in the Spring Mini Catalog. You can stamp these characters or you can cut them out of the Rain or Shine Specialty Designer Series Paper. Not only is this paper cute with the charming characters and umbrellas and raindrops, but parts of the images have a glossy coating on them making them a little bit shiny and adding some unique texture. You can cut out these images yourself or there are some dies that line up with the paper.

You can use almost any kind and size of a candy bar for this project. You will just have to modify your design accordingly. I used the regular size of chocolate bar and wrapped a piece of cardstock around it. I didn’t prescore the cardstock because the candy bar is not perfectly flat. I found it better just tightly to press the cardstock around the candy bar and when you have it how you want it, press the creases with a Bone Folder or at least your fingers on the edges of the candy bar to give it a good crease. If you want, you can score it on those lines, but it could still be off a little bit. It’s just as easy to do it by hand. Use a strong adhesive like Tear & Tape to hold the cardstock closed around the candy bar. Try not to get adhesive of any kind on the candy bar.

On the turtle candy bar I used Granny Apple Green cardstock to wrap around the candy bar and then a layer of green striped paper in the Dandy Designs Designer Series Paper. You will find this paper in the Sale-A-Bration 2023 brochure on page 14. It’s actually FREE with a $100 purchase. Remember, Sale-A-Bration comes to an end this month! And it’s the only one for the year. In this paper pack, you get 48 sheets, 4 each of 12 designs. It’s a LOT of paper and certainly the kinds of patterns lend themselves to almost any project, as well as being great for scrapbooking. The turtle is cut out of the Rain Or Shine Designer Paper, as I mentioned and layered on a stitched circle die in the Stylish Shapes Dies. This is a great set of dies that you can use all the time! The greeting is in the Country Bouquet Stamp Set and stamped on just a strip of Basic White with the ends flagged. I also punched a red heart with the Country Bouquet Punch for the turtle to hold.

The foxy candy bar uses Crumb Cake cardstock to wrap around the chocolate bar with another pattern from the Dandy Designs Paper, the Mango Melody with stars to cover the Crumb Cake cardstock. I cut off the umbrella the fox was holding on the designer paper because this isn’t a rainy day theme. Instead I gave him a red heart to hold just like the turtle has and layered him on a stitched square, also in the Stylish Shapes Dies. On this candy bar I did the greeting a little differently. After stamping it on a strip of Basic White cardstock, I cut the words apart and separated them. I think that is a fun look to do for the rare times I think of it!

As for the candy bars themselves, I used the Real Red & Burlap Ribbon Combo Pack to tie a ribbon around the length of the candy bar so the recipient can just pull it out of the wrapping around the bar. On the fox candy bar, I used the Real Red ribbon and tied it at the top with a piece of twine. For the turtle, I used the Burlap ribbon and tied it with the Real Red Ribbon to hold the ribbon in place.

If you want to see the other Valentine candy bars I made, just click HERE. Those used the paper, stamps, and punch in the Country Floral Lane Suite. But it doesn’t matter which suite, it only matters if the candy is chocolate!

SHOP HERE BEFORE THE END OF SALE-A-BRATION!

Valentine Houses

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From Christmas house to Valentine house! The Christmas house on the left is one of several I bought at Christmas time in one of the big box craft stores. A year or two earlier I had bought something similar, put designer paper on the front, and adhered a little wreath and ribbon. I didn’t get more made this year for Christmas so I got the idea to make a Valentine house out of the wooden blocks I had. Click HERE to see the ones I made previously.

These Valentine houses were fun to make! Bet you can’t make just one! It was easy to measure the bottom portion of the block and cut out a piece of designer series paper to cover it. Then I traced the roof area onto a piece of cardstock, cut it out, and embossed it. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue for the whole project. The back of each house has a solid piece of cardstock that I just traced from the block and cut out. It’s best to use the Liquid Glue because you have a moment to get the paper perfectly placed. If necessary, you can trim off an overhanging edge with scissors or use a craft knife carefully.

These two houses were the first ones I made! The house on the left uses a piece of the Sweet Sorbet gingham paper in the Country Gingham 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper on the front. The roof is Sweet Sorbet cardstock embossed with the Gingham Embossing Folder. The door is die cut with the door in the Warm Welcome Dies. The door is rather tall for this project so I made it shorter. I used gold foil to cut out the door knocker and door knob with the same die set. For the plants on each side of the door I just chose some greenery dies. The little flowers are the teeny tiny Loose Daisy Embellishments. I just put a tiny drop of glue where I wanted the flowers and carefully placed them.

The house on the right is decorated with the little hearts page in the Country Floral Lane Designer Series Paper. The roof is a piece of gingham paper in Petal Pink. The door is Petal Pink. On both houses, the hearts are Basic White and Flirty Flamingo, diecut with the heart in the Warm Welcome Dies.

Here are two more houses decorated in the same way using designer paper, embossing the roof paper, diecutting doors, accessories, hearts, and plants.

You may notice the door on the house on the left is taller than the door on the right. I had made the other houses the other day and forgot I made the door shorter so I would have room at the top for hearts. But that’s okay (because there are no mistakes in stamping!), I just made smaller hearts! Those smaller hearts are cut out with dies in the Teacup dies.

Here are four of my houses all lined up! Something different to do with our paper and supplies! Use a house for a Valentine decoration in your house or on your tiered tray. You can probably find something similar at the store. Later, you could decorate one for Easter or another holiday! The important thing is to have fun making something different!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!