“You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly." – Sam Keen
This quote could not be more true! Especially for the theme of my "Non-Traditional" Valentine Cards. While I would love to think my relationship is one that has been plucked straight from a Disney movie and a "happily ever after" is guaranteed....it is more of a combination of Monty Python meets a documentary and we are lucky we haven't been permanently harmed......but, it works for us! Lol! That's why I was so enamoured with Simon Says Stamp's Playful Messages set. It is the perfect combination of sweet, funny and true! And since I know my husband shares my odd sense of humour, I know he is going to love this year's Valentine card!
I switched things up and pulled out my Silhouette machine to do some die cutting. If you are not familiar with Silhouette it is a die cutting machine in which you use their software and cut using digital files. This is a real space saver and you can create your own die cuts as well! There are hundreds of files on the Silhouette Design Store site that you can choose from and they are reasonably price. You can check out the store here: silhouettedesignstore.com
Here are the two files I used.
I used red cardstock for the heart and a silver metallic cardstock for the "love" sentiment. I was able to easily size the images in the Silhouette Software to the dimensions I wanted.
I removed the images from my cutting mat and did some "weeding" of the cut images and then set those aside while I worked on the card panel. For this I used some pink cardstock and embossed it using the Cross My Heart embossing folder from Cricut/Cuttlebug. I recommend lightly misting your paper before embossing. This loses the fibres of the paper and reduces the risk of actually "cutting" into the paper. I find using this method gives me the best results. I then will use my paper trimmer and trim 1/4" off the bottom and one side. This will give me a white boarder around the panel.
The next step is to prepare my card base. I am using some 110lb white cardstock for the base. I prefer a heavier cardstock for the card itself so that it can handle the layering of additional items. The piece I am working with is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2". I will using my teflon bone folder and score at 4 1/4" to create a side folding A2 card. It is now assembly time!
To add some dimension and interest I add 3M foam tape on the back of the embossed pink panel and adhere that to the card base. I adhere the die cut heart and the "love' sentiment using my Gina K Connect glue and place an acrylic block on top for a few minutes while it dries.
It is now time to add the sentiment. Again, I am using the Simon Says Stamp Playful Messages set (one of my favourite sentiment sets) and I chose "I love you more and more everyday, except yesterday. Yesterday you were pretty annoying". My favourite ink for sentiments is the Versafine Black Onyx ink and I stamp that down using my Tonic Stamp platform (Sadly, this platform is no longer available 😔). That finishes our first card!
For the next card I am going to be doing some masking. I just used an old sticky note that had part of a shopping list on it. I stamped the sentiment "Turns out I like you more than I originally planned" onto the sticky note and then fussy cut around it using my Tim Holtz scissors. I place the mask approximately in the upper third/middle of a standard A2 white card panel. This will keep that area white and so that I can stamp the sentiment later.
I am using a homemade turnabout jig that I made with my Silhouette Design program and printed on clear acetate. I chose acetate as it allows me to wipe off ink easily. I place the panel in the middle of the jig using some removable double sided tape to hold it in place.
I chose another heart background, but this time I am using the Concord & 9th Heart Turnabout stamp.
I first ink up with Tim Holtz Squeezed Lemonade dye ink. I stamp a couple of times because this is a new stamp and the yellow is a light colour. I then turn my jig (making sure the "2" is now showing on the upper right hand corner and clean my stamp off. I complete the process with Evergreen Bough and Chipped Saphire ensuring I clean my stamp thoroughly in between to avoid "contamination".
Once the background is complete I will go ahead and remove the mask and stamp the sentiment in black ink. This time I use a stitched rectangle die on the stamped panel and I chose a complimentary green cardstock. I adhered the panel to a white card base as I did on the first card, but this time I did not use the 3M tape, instead, I chose to keep this one more simple. To finish the card off I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" on the inside from a stamp I had in my stash. Voila! The card is complete!
To watch how these cards came together, click on the link below.
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See you soon with more cards! Happy Crafting!
~Chala
Note: I do not receive any compensation for the products I use in this video. I have personally purchased all items and only share what I like.
Materials:
- Silhouette Cameo Cutting Machine
- Silhouette Design Studio Business Edition Software
- Simon Says Stamp Playful Messages https://www.simonsaysstamp.com/product/Simon-Says-Clear-Stamps-PLAYFUL-MESSAGES-sss101847-Sending-Sunshine-sss101847
- Concord & 9th Heart Turnabout www.scrapnstamp.ca/store/pc/Concord-and-9th-Clear-Stamp-Heart-Turnabout-964p20194.htm?idaffiliate=24src="https:/www.scrapnstamp.ca/store/pc/pcSyndication.js"
Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Discontinued)
- Tim Holtz Scissors
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Squeezed Lemon, Evergreen Bough & Chipped Saphire) purchased from Scrap'n Stamp https://www.scrapnstamp.ca
- Cricut/Cuttlebug Cross My Heart Embossing Folder from Michaels
- Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock
- Recollections cardstock in light red, pink & green from Michaels
- Kodamma Premium Shimmer Bright Silver Cardstock from Amazon.ca https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06XVRVC3C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Versafine Black Onyx ink
- Elizabeth Craft designs Stitched rectangle dies
- Gina K Connect glue
- EK success reverse tweezers
- Fiskars paper trimmer
- 3M Foam tape