Valentine's Day cards are like potato chips...

I bet you're wondering how the heck Valentine's Day cards could be like potato chips? Do you remember the old commercial that stated that it was impossible to just eat one Lays potato chip? Yep...imho Valentine's Day cards are like potato chips, you can't only make one.

Anyways, this is a card that I made some time last year. I saw something silver shining in a trash can and checked because sometimes things get inadverently tossed. I found several tiny (and functioning) handcuffs. So I went to the ever-stylish teenager and asked about them. She had purchased a handcuff bracelet and it had broken, so she tossed it.

As a crafter I've learned to see objects a bit differently, so when I saw the mini cuffs, I immediately envisioned this card. I'm happy with it and like the juxtaposition of the soft pink of the Flair Designs paper with the metal.

I've probably revealed a little too much about my thought processes. Scary, no?

Thanks for visiting my CRAFT blog today.

Valentines for the husband

When I first saw Boris (by A Muse), I had to have him. After all, I'm married to a chemist who acts like a mad scientist occasionally (most of the time). I decided to use Boris for a Valentine's Day card and my brain filled in both sentiments. I couldn't decide which sentiment to go with, so I made two cards. Being my usual indecisive self, I still haven't figured out which card to give with the splendid dark chocolate peppermint truffles by Lindt.

I think I'll ask the teenager, who is home sick for the third day in a row. She's very good at making decisions and even sticks by them, unlike her "waffle mom".

Anyway, one card uses Flair Designs papers. Have you seen their newish Valentine line and their Easter paper? I loves it! The other is made with Basic Grey Fusion. Their new lines are tdf. *sigh* So much paper, so little $ and room.

Thanks for visiting today and Happy Valentine's Day!

A Valentine for my teenager

My teen loves black. She loves rock. She loves tattoo art. She loves skulls. This card is so very hers.

All the stamps are by justjohanna. I used "you rock" whimsy, brody drummer, and thorny flourish.

Thanks for visiting today.

More alcohol ink experiments!

This card was another of my experiments in alcohol inks. I applied four colors of alcohol ink (stonewash, wild plum, butterscotch, and cranberry) onto the felt covered applicator. I pounced the applicator in a random fashion onto glossy paper. When the paper was inked, blending solution was dripped onto the paper and formed circles. I spritzed a bit more blending solution onto the applicator and smoothed out the edges of the circles, which produced an effect that reminded me of opals.

I stamped the justjohanna scroll border onto the edges of glossy paper using archival black ink. I die cut a heart from the excess alcohol inked glossy paper, then stamped the scroll border it. The arrow through the heart is also a die cut.

Thanks for visiting today.

Rockin' Valentine's Day card

Sometimes flowers and hearts just don't suit the recipient of your Valentine's Day card and you need something a bit edgier.

All stamps are by justjohanna and are brody drummer, thorny flourish, and a swirly heart. I should note that brody usually has his band name "12 Drummerz" on his drum. I covered it up with Magic Transparent Tape so that when I inked the stamp, that part wouldn't be inked. Instead, I bowed to convention and stamped the heart in the drum.

The heart, drum set, and brody were colored with Prismacolor markers and a silver Signo gel pen. The flourish and sentiment were inked with Brilliance Starlite Silver and then heat embossed with Silver Detail Embossing Powder.

Thanks for visiting today.

Picked up and dropped

This card was picked up by a defunct magazine, but didn't make it to print in the "new" magazine. Even though I included a sase, the card never made it home to me.

I decided to set it free on my blog, so here it is. It seems a bit darker than I remember, but my memory is decidedly uneven. In any case, rolling hills and sophie are justjohanna stamps. The sky paper is Chicken Little by Cosmo Cricket. I do love that paper and use it frequently.

This is another one of many Valentine's Day cards. I love Valentine's Day. It's a chocolate occasion, so what could be bad?

Thanks for visiting!

A GIANT deal.

Yesterday we hosted a Superbowl party and a friend brought yummy Red Velvet cupcakes. We were enjoying the cupcakes when the Giants won!

Now you can enjoy a sweet deal on some of justjohanna's cutest cupcake-related stamps including the giant cupcake. How tweet!

Thanks for visiting today!