Is it Valentine’s Already?

Hello everyone and welcome to my happy place.

I hope you finally rested and put your decorations away… Well, I am not one oof those people… I would probably start in two weeks and finish by this year Christmas, 😂

With the Valentine’s Day just being around the corner, I wanted to create something inspired by this holiday.

A while back we (Altenew Educators) had an awesome Instagram Hop and some people were wondering how I created a card; I promised I was going to explain how, so here it is.

When creating a project, it is ok to mix and match different brands together, that way you get the most of your supplies. To create this card I used the following:

This is the card that inspired today’s project. I made this card for the Thanksgiving Instagram Hop and I have been meaning to recreate it ever since.

I love making square cards and this one is 5″x5″. I cut two card bases (10″x5″ score at 5″) and one panel that was slightly smaller than 5″x5″ out of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lbs cardstock. For the window, I used heavy vellum (Bazzil 40 lbs) and trimmed it to 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″. I then picked a die from the set to create a window. One thing that I regret doing is picking the die that is too big. The vellum that I cut for my window is 3 3/4″ and the die is about the same size, or just a hair smaller. I should have picked up a smaller die and that would have given me less headache. Please do not make the same mistake!

I picked a smaller wreath builder and I made sure I secured it to the MISTI. Please do not skip on this because these little jigs will move on you and you could end up not liking the end results. I then just started stamping until I had a completed circle.

I created two wreaths, one on vellum – this one was embossed with with Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder; the other one stamped with Altenew dye ink on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lbs cardstock and colored with Altenew alcohol markers.

Next, I took one of the bases and a panel and used a removable adhesive to temporary attach them and put them through a die cutting machine. This created the opening for my window.

I then carefully sandwiched the embossed piece of vellum between the base and the panel. It is very hard to see it from the picture, but there is a little gap on the left and the right side of the window. I am still considering on cutting the inside frame to put on the inside to patch those holes. I will let you know if I do.

Now this is where it could become a little tricky so pay attention to how you put your card together.

I first assembled the two bases to create a trifold card. Then I took the panel with the colored hearts and put some removable adhesive on it and lined it up with the hearts on the front. If I was to do this again, I would have done this step before I attached the vellum piece.

Next, once I knew that my pieces are lined up and straight, I opened my card, added adhesive to the panel and closed my card shut. I waited for the glue to set before opening the card and removing the removable adhesive.

Unfortunately I do not have a footage of adding the sentiment. It is a simple, straightforward, stamping; one was embossed and there is also another one stamped inside with black ink.

The stamp that I used is from a stamp set by Colorado Craft Company and it is called Cupid’s Bow, and it is from their Big & Bold Collection.

I did not want to add any embellishments to this card. Instead, I used a vellum envelope and just added a wax seal for some extra flair.

I am so pleased with how this card turned out. I will have to redo it, only next time I will follow the tips and tricks I left here for myself and you, of course.