Valentine Bear Hugs and FMS#719

 Freshly Made Sketches #719 the first sketch for 2026 is hosted by Judy this week.  Here is the sketch:

Here's My Card: 

It's mid-January already and time to get busy with some Valentine cards for friends and family.  I recently purchased Stampin' Ups! new Valentine themed set called "Valentine Kisses".  When I looked at the FMS challenge, I knew instantly it would be perfect for showcasing the super cute die cut kissing booth.  Here's what I came up with: 

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Valentine Kisses #167027 
• Valentine Kisses Dies #167029
• Stitched shapes Large and smallest ovals

I purchased mine as a bundle and saved 10% off total cost.

Cardstock and Designer Paper:

• Card base Basic White 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" 
• Basic White matte for inside 5 1/4" x 4"
• Basic White scraps 3" x 4 1/2" for Oval and 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" for sentiment
• Flirty Flamingo 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" matte on front, 4 1/8" x 1 6/8" matte for dsp band on card front
• Crumb Cake scrap for bears 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" 
• DSP Retired Most Adored #162976 cut x 2 at 5 1/4" x 4" for front and inside mattes.
• DSP coordinating piece of Most Adored DSP for band 1 1/2" x 4". 
•  Real Red scraps for small die cut heart and trim on kissing booth. 

Just look at those sweet little bears.  So stinking cute.  I added some translucent pink self-adhesive sequins to give some shine.  

Ink:

• Strawberry Slush 
• Pretty in Pink Stampin Blends for cheeks and belly on bears

Accessories:  

• 3-D Basic Hatched Design Embossing Folder for Oval 
• Dimensionals
• Pink Self-Adhesive Sequins 

Thank you for dropping by and checking out my card for the challenge.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this card or on the stamp set.  Were you inspired to make some Valentine's Day cards?  If so there's still time to play just click on the FMS link in the first paragraph for details and sketch.  Cheers! 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Love Cats - Happy Valentines Day!

I haven't caught up after January's hectic schedule, so I admit I'm running late with February birthdays and sending off my Valentine's this year.  Most of you will have received your special Valentine's wishes after this post so for that I apologize.  

January went by in a flash, and when it was time to work on Valentine's Day cards, I wasn't prepared.  I didn't purchase any of the beautiful new designer papers (dsp) or valentine stamp sets in the mini catalogue, so I was left wondering what to do.   

Inspiration hit me on Sunday afternoon, while I was reviewing a post on Facebook, featuring a demo who was on a two month mission to use and reduce her unused designer series papers.  That really struck a cord with me, so I searched my retired paper stash for valentine themed dsp, and for coordinating card stock.  All I needed was a stamp set, so I went through my recent purchases and came across one called Loved Cats.  Perfect I was ready to stamp.  

Here are the cards I made:  

For most of my cards I used paper from the "Stacked With Love #137729" 4 1/2" x 6" designer paper pack from Stampin' Up which features designs in Basic Black, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Real Red and Whisper White.  

Some of my cards also featured paper from the retired "Love Blossoms"  6" x 6" pack which features designs in Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Rose Red and Whisper White.  

I also used a variety of stitched layering dies including tags ovals and circles. 

I tried to vary how the designer papers were used.  For the card above I used the Shuffle and Stack method.  Such a great way to use scraps of designer paper in an efficient and fun way.  

I also make a couple of Valentine birthday and anniversary cards each year and for these particular cards I used the above design base and then  added sentiments and embellishments for those special occasions. 

I fussy cut some of the cat images and popped them up with Dimensionals above the embossed band or stacked circles.  

On several of the cards I used the new Cane Weave embossing folder from Stampin' Up!.  Tip:  Did you know that if you're looking for the new embossing folders in the Holiday Mini the quickest way to find them is to look at page 87 of the Mini Catalogue Index?  

The Cane Weave EF is a very versatile embossing folder that will make your backgrounds stand out from the crowd.  I loved using it for these 3/4" scrap strips that I used across the center of the paper joins on several of these cards.  

Tip:  When you're embossing card stock strips remember add an additional 1/8 to 1/3" because they'll shrink a bit in width when you emboss them. Any extra card stock can be snipped off the card layer once it's adhered, but if you don't extend it 99% of the time you'll come up short.   

For the inside layers I cut 4" x 1 x 5 1/4" panels of Whisper White card stock.  To decorate them I added strips of dsp and punched hearts from coordinating card stock or the dsp selection to dress them up.  I varied the Valentine's sentiments on these panels and stamped in a variety of ink colours including: Sweet Sorbet, Real Red, Rose Red and Basic Black depending on the face of the card.  

Well that's it for my Valentine's Day cards for this year.  I hope you enjoyed this selection and appreciate my tips and thoughts on using up designer papers from your stash.  Please let me know how you make use of your scraps and old papers, I'd love to hear from you.  Until the next time..........

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Independent Demo 

Shop in My 24/7 Online Store

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