Happy Valentine's Day

Hello! I have a card to share today that is a bit unusual for me. Most of the cards I make are flat enough to be mailed without needing to go into a big, padded envelope or package. But I confess adding embellishments and thick layers can be so much fun, so on the rare occasions when I'm making a card that will be 'hand-delivered' I tend to pull out all the stops as I did on this one.

The focal point on this is actually a pair of dimensional stickers I found in the dollar bin at Target. The hearts are actually one piece and they came already dimensionally mounted to the scalloped piece that looks like a miniature doily. The 'Love you' Banner was a separate piece that I glued closely enough so make it all one big piece.

I found the fun washi tape in the same bargain bin and when I first applied it to this background I wasn't so sure that I like the transparent hearts but by the time I was finished it became my favorite element of the design.

The papers, including the super fun corrugated one were part of a kit from Fancy Pants Trend Setter that I'd won a long time back and the pre-pierced (they called them 'stitched') circle die is from My Favorite Things (if I ever hit the lottery I can say without doubt that MFT dies would be at the top of my list, they are marvelous!)

Since this card is a 5-1/2" x 5-1/2" square making a custom envelope was also in order so I finally got a chance to use my We R Envelope Punch Board. I used a really thick piece of stock. I really liked how it coordinated and couldn't find anything in a thinner 12x12 in my collection of papers so even though it didn't fold as nicely as I would have liked I went with it. The punch board totally rocks and is super simple to figure out. They make quite a few different boards (and I'd bet they're all worth collecting) but this envelope one would be a great place to start, especially if you like to make a lot of different sized cards. You'll never find yourself without an envelope again.

The sticker package had another small co-ordinated heart that made a perfect envelope seal and though the the final result is thick and package like when it's hand-delivered on going into a package, I think a beautiful, embellished card is the way to go.

Happy Crafting!