Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi All! IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! WOO HOO!!! It's also Snow Day Part II--for that, I'm not nearly as excited…. The kids, on the other hand, are completely stoked!

For our last Valentine's Countdown project, I thought I'd share the Valentines I made for my kids. The first thing you have to understand is that bacon and macaroni & cheese rank among the top 5 loves of their lives. The other thing you must understand is that my teen and tween are willing to put up with a lot from their quirky mom. (For that, I'm truly grateful.)

So we start with my teen son, who is pretty sure that EVERYTHING is better with bacon:

While rummaging through the craft room, I found two 3x5 inch canvases. These were perfect for little Valentine mixed media pieces. (I added a matchbook to the back so that I could write a note.) For my son's canvas, I used a chevron stencil and some Mr. Huey's Leaf Green color mist to give it some color. I used my heat gun to dry it and then used Mod Podge to attach some tissue paper hearts for more texture. I also used Mod Podge on the back of the photo to adhere it to the canvas. (I have an ink jet printer so I'm not sure what would have happened if I had used the Mod Podge on the front. I have a ton of letter and word stickers in my stash, so I used those for the sentiment. (The colorful letters are from Simple Stories and the words are from Authentique.) I added some wooden elements that I colored with Sunset Exclusive Ink and more Mr Huey, and a little corrugated star and metal piece from my stash. I adhered the star and wood pieces with Liquid Glass. I then used some grey velvet ribbon to finish off the edges since this won't be framed.

Now let's take a look at my tween daughter, whose standard order ANYWHERE is mac & cheese:

For her canvas I used Lagoon Exclusive Ink re-inker and water in a spray pen and a floral butterfly stencil for the background. I sponged a little Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink around the edges and added some rub-ons from my stash. I went over the whole thing with Mod Podge, which activated the ink and gave it a tie-died look. (To do this you want to dab on the Mod Podge instead of brushing it. If you use brush strokes, you blend everything together and lose your pattern.) I also added some tissue hearts at this point. I then adhered the picture to the canvas and added the sentiment. I dip-died a paper butterfly in Lagoon and added it to the canvas (after it was dry, of course) with Liquid glass (which I also used to add the other embellishments). The paper flower, wooden heart (inked in Hollyhock Exclusive Ink), and bling are from my stash.

Here's a look at the canvases side by side:

So that wraps up our Valentine's Countdown! I hope you enjoyed it and have been inspire to create something fun along the way. Thanks so much for joining me!

Stay tuned for the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share that is coming your way February 16 & 17. We'll be featuring some fun favorites from the new Close To My Heart Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book. You don't want to miss it!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Valentine Countdown: My Pun-ny Little Valentine….

Hey Folks! We're winding down our countdown to Valentine's Day here at Violets & Sunshine. Can you believe that tomorrow is The Day?! Take a look at what we awoke to this morning:

Okay, so we didn't wake up to the sidewalk being shoveled, that was done by my hardworking husband and kids. But given the 10 inches or so of snow on the ground, the whole family is home today. The fire is burning, the computers are going, the books are open…it's a 21st Century snow day in Washington! 

So let's take a look at today's project: an alternate wrapping idea for a box of chewing gum. (You can see the first idea here.) I made these little boxes using the We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board, so I thought I'd explain how to do it. (I'll do another post later on how to make this little box using the Martha Stewart scoreboard.)

The gum box measures 3 x 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches. According to the punch board, you need a 5-inch square piece of paper to make an envelope for a 2 1/2 x 3 inch card. However, we need to account for the 1/2-inch depth of the gum, so our paper needs to measure 5 5/8 inches square. The we make our first punch by lining up the left hand edge of the paper with the 2 3/8 inch mark per the punch board instructions. After you make your initial punch and score, slide the paper to the 3 inch mark and punch and score again. Now the rest is pretty easy. Just rotate your paper, line up your score marks, and punch and score as usual. You will end up with 4 tabs. Cut one side of each tab and use them to make your box. As you can see above, I did not glue the back flap down. Instead I punched a couple of shapes, layered them, and popped them up at the very bottom of the shape with dimensional adhesive. Then I tucked the back flap underneath. (You could also make a belly band to go around the box if you'd rather.) All in all, it was a pretty easy process once I figured out the measurements. (REALLY wish math was more intuitive to me!)

Here are some close-ups:

The patterned paper and stamp sets I used are from Close To My Heart and have all been retired. (Cleaning out the stash.) For accents, I used White Daisy, Pear, and Sunset Cardstocks, along with Lagoon and Outdoor Denim Exclusive Inks. The heart and star punches I used on the back are from Creative Memories.

Here's a look at what's inside:

So I hope that wherever you are, Old Man Winter isn't cramping your Valentine's Day plans. My dear hubby assures me that we will be going on a date tomorrow night no matter what. (He's a man of great determination!) 

Stay warm and cozy, and we'll be back tomorrow for our Valentine Countdown wrap-up. Until then…

Valentine Countdown: A Valentine Surprise!

Hi All! Welcome once again to Violet & Sunshine's Countdown to Valentine's Day. I can't believe there's just three more days left! Looks like it's time to press my kiddos into service so that we can get all the class and friend Valentines made. Luckily, the weatherman says they'll be at home tomorrow! ;-)

So I've been wanting to make today's project since I saw the tutorial for it on the SplitcoastStampers Blog. It's a surprise card that goes from this...

…to this….

…to this:

Love it! This one is being used as a little Valentine's Day decoration, but since it folds flat I could mail it to a friend (for a little extra postage, I'm sure).

Here's the ingredients list:

Pear Cardstock

White Daisy Cardstock

Lagoon Cardstock

Lollydoodle Pattern Paper

Whooo's Your Valentine Stamp Set

Wild About Love Stamp Set 

Lollydoodle Card Kit Stamp Set

Purple Glitter Gems

Sequins (Lollydoodle Card Kit)

Lagoon Exclusive Ink

Gypsy Exclusive Ink

Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink

Pear Exclusive Ink

Favorite Adhesives

Dimensional Adhesive

SplitcoastStampers did a really good tutorial, so rather than explain it all, I thought I'd show you some close-ups of the embellishments:

(This is my favorite!)

Isn't this fun?! It would be great for a birthday or other special greeting. (Hmmm…nieces' graduations perhaps….) It also works as a nice centerpiece for a little celebration.

Well it's time to go batten down the hatches and stoke up the fire. Stay warm! We'll see you tomorrow as the countdown continues….

Valentine Countdown: Hello Love

Hi All! Welcome to our Valentine's Countdown. Only 4 more days! Aren't these little foxes cute?! They are part of the Close To My Heart February Stamp Of The Month stamp set called Wild About Love. Just love them!

I thought about making today's project my Valentine's gift to my hubby, but decided I didn't want to wait to give it to him.

This frame started out white and pretty banged up. I used some sandpaper and further distressed it to make sure it would take paint. Then I gave it a few coats of paint--red, brown, and cream--and distressed it again. With the help of a little Mod Podge, I added strips of sheet music tissue paper. After everything was dry (I cheated and used my heat gun between layers…), I used antique gold Rub & Buff to add a light layer of gilding. 

The background paper for the picture and "Hello Love" is from the For Always collection (retired) by Close To My Heart. I sprayed it with antique gold shimmer paint and then used a dot stencil and added some red. "Hello Love" is from the Lollydoodle Card Kit stamp set. I created the flower design element from Ruby Chevron Ribbon wrapped with some gold lamé ribbon from my stash. I added some black glitter paper, a metal flower and a little bling from my stash. 

Here are some close-ups:

And here is one last picture of the frame now sitting on my mantel. (Wonder if my hubby will notice…) ;-) 

I hope you like my little altered project, and that you're enjoying the Violet & Sunshine Valentine Countdown. See you tomorrow as the countdown continues….

Valentine Countdown: {another} Sweet Little Box

Hi All! Welcome back to Violets & Sunshine's Valentines Countdown. We have less than a week left! Is February flying by or what?!

 Okay, so I was on the fence about posting this project because I don't like to repeat myself (especially in back to back posts). But I really like it so I decided to share.

This little candy box might just be staying with me. I love the vintage colors and the fabulous combination of textures. Here's a quick ingredients list:

Kraft Cardstock

Colonial White Cardstock

Saddle Exclusive Ink

Die Cut Shape of your choice 

(I used a couple of Spellbinders' Labels Dies for this one)

Patterned Paper Scraps 

(I used the London paper from Trendsetter by Fancy Pants Designs)

Crochet Lace Trim

Glittered Velvet Ribbon

Hemp Twine

Button

Resin Flowers by Maggie Holmes

(or whatever suits your style)

Adhesive of your choice

Strong dry adhesive (think Scor-Tape)

Sentiment of your choice 

(I used the "Love You" sentiment from Close To My Heart's 4 My Friend Stamp Set)

This box is made exactly the same way as the one I featured yesterday. It's such a versatile idea. You can just change up the top and bottom to whatever shape suits your fancy. (Imagine using a cupcake shape and handing these out as favors at a little girl's birthday party, or make it into a golf ball and voilà, Happy Father's Day! [It might even top the tie!])

So here are a couple of close-ups:

And here it is opened. (By the way, if you are a chocolate fan, you definitely want to give the Sea Salt Soiree chocolates by Ghirardelli a try. Trust me…you'll thank me later! And, no, Ghirardelli didn't pay me to say that, but if they should want to--I'll take a truckload of Sea Salt Soirees please!)

Have a wonderfully restful Sunday! See you again tomorrow for something entirely new to the countdown. Until then…..