Something for your Valentine

There's nothing more personal than a handmade card, and what better way to show someone you love them?!

Something special for someone special!

Hi, blog friends! It's that time of year again - shops are filled with roses, adverts for romantic getaways have appeared on television and we are all wondering how we can make this year extra special. The solution? A handmade card may be a start...

Method

If you've never embarked on papercraft before, this card is a good place to start. You don't need a knowledge of many different techniques, since everything except the hearts is cut to size with a guillotine. Start with a piece of red cardstock folded in two, and cut a piece of black cardstock to fit on top of it, allowing for a small red border. I tend to just eyeball the size, but you can mark the black card with pencil to be sure.

Next, simply cut strips of a variety of red, grey and black patterned papers in exactly the same way. This is a great project for using up scraps of paper which aren't big enough to be whole backgrounds themselves (I used leftovers from an old 6x6 'Authentique' paper pack). Ensuring that they're all cut to the same length can be fiddly, so this is where the measurement markings on your guillotine come in handy. Stick all these down with some double-sided tape (or UHU glue for speed, if you're feeling brave and your paper isn't too thin!).

For your sentiment, cut a fairly wide strip of white card. Usually I would stamp my sentiment, but since I didn't have an appropriate stamp, I typed and printed it (in this case, it's better to print first and guillotine afterwards). Then use a #DistressInk pad to add an edging to your white strip (simply tap a firm brush into the ink and work it into the card in a circular motion - it often helps to lay your card on a piece of scrap paper and work inwards from there). I used 'Barn Door', but use whichever ink matches your red cardstock best. Stick the sentiment down with double-sided tape.

Finally, cut out your hearts in a variety of sizes - I used a mixture of Cuttlebug dies and heart-shaped stamps (simply stamp your image and then cut round it). Stamp-and-die sets are even better! Layer the hearts together in any arrangement you like - I often find that raising one or two on 1mm foam pads can give your card that extra lift. Something as simple as varying the arrangement of these hearts means two people can set out to make the same card and produce beautifully different takes on it!

Quick tip #1: You can also use plain white paper to add an 'inner' to the card - simply cut a piece slightly smaller than the inside of the card, fold in half and attach to the fold of the card with a small piece of double-sided tape. It's often easier to write on white than on the red cardstock itself.

Quick tip #2: Attach your inner to the inside front, rather than the inside back, of the card. This way, when the card opens, the inner does too. If you're feeling extra creative, stamp (or type and print) a sentiment on the inner before attaching it.

Materials:

- Red, black and white cardstock

- Assorted patterned papers (small scraps will do)

- Sentiment stamp and black stamp pad (or computer and printer)

- Heart-shaped stamps and/or Cuttlebug dies

- Distress Ink pad and brush (you can also achieve a similar effect with other brands)

- 1mm foam pads

- Guillotine

- Double-sided tape, scissors, ruler and pencil.

Hope you love this as much as I do...

Amy x