Valentines from shop items...

With Christmas behind me now, I always look forward to working on some new projects like Valentine  goodies.  This week I re-opened my shop after a holiday break and there are some fun items to help with creating Valentine cards and packaging.  I thought I'd share a few of the creations I made with the items today.  And thank you for all the nice comments left about my Project Life + One Little Word posts.  I love the feedback you guys give & hearing your own little stories as well.  :)

First up today I have some peeks at some items from the shop.  The Heart Confetti Packaging Kit is very simple in nature but when you add your own patterned papers, stamping or embellishments your project will come to life.

 Glittery Gold Clothespins will add the perfect sparkle to a project.  Use them as closures for Valentine treat sacks or to clip a special message or fun tag to a card.  I like to keep a stash of these with my Project Life supplies to clip together snippets of patterned paper or journaling cards.

 Here I have a gift sack and a card using the Heart Confetti Packaging Kit + the Glittery Gold Clothespins.  I used patterned papers from Crate Paper and some grid circles that I typed a sentiment on.

This year I'm experimenting with being a little more hands on with my projects.  For this card I just sat down with a little pile of supplies and used my scissors to hand cut some papers....I layered a lot of little scraps I had laying around....I used simple graph paper for a sentiment.  A fun little trick I've been adding to my projects is to use one large staple from a regular stapler then a small staple from my tiny attacher.  Stapling is so much easier than using adhesive.  I stapled 6 layers together on this card before using just one swipe of adhesive to adhere the layered piece to my card.

 I used a Medium Glassine Sack to create a fun place to tuck in a simple index card on the front of the card.  I could easily attach a gift card or write a special message.

 On the Valentine gift sack, I used the brown paper sack, a small glassine sack, both the snow and the sequins and the baker's twine from the Heart Confetti Packaging Kit.  I love creating these fun confetti pockets to add to packaging.  I'll probably slip in some stamped cards for the recipient.

Next up there is the Just a Note Tag Kit.  Very simple in design but you can add the stamped grid vellum pieces and tags to any project like cards, notebooks, gift sacks, or Project Life journaling cards.

 Here I used the tags and stamped circles for some Valentine tags.  The medium glassine sacks are the perfect size for tucking in a wrapped treat or candy bar for Valentine's Day.  I used plain Small Clothespins and Valentine Confetti (now sold out) to fill some small, clear bags.  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye.

 If you like the look of adding a confetti sack to projects, the Sack Assortment for Confetti is handy.  The small, medium and large glassine sacks are also sold separately in the shop.  If I'm going for a bold look I like to use the clear sacks...if I want a more subtle look I like to use the glassine sacks.

The Vintage Valentine Kit is what you'll find me working with today. My poor little niece broke her arm last week so I think a little care package would be just the ticket for her.  The vintage floral enclosure cards with the wheelbarrow images were an extra special find one year.  I'm happy to finally be digging those out of my vintage stash. 

Cards as gifts.....finally for today, if you're like me you used up a bunch of cards from your stash for Christmas gifts.  I think I gave away nearly 60 cards so I definitely need to build up a new supply.  What I typically do is find a box and make chipboard dividers with the names of people I give cards to.  Our moms always get a stash of cards for their birthday + Christmas then I also add Eric's grandma and my sister + some teachers, etc to the card list.  That's a lot of cards to create throughout the year.  No way do I want to try to create these cards all at one sitting.  I like to create as a I go and just hold some back for their stash.  

If you'd like to follow along with my plan for building up a card stash, I have two card kits in the shop that would help you get a jump start.  The Mixed Greetings Card Kit and the Happy Day Card Kit are both on sale at this time.  

These samples are from the Mixed Greeting Card Kit.  You get all the pre-cut supplies to assemble 5 cards very quickly.  Simply add your own sentiments using a stamp or run them through a typewriter.  

 The samples that follow are made using the Happy Day Card Kit.  You get enough pre-cut papers and products to create 4 quick cards + you get a full 6 x 6 paper pad to create even more creations.

 A very quick and easy way to add sentiments to cards is to stamp them on my Grid Paper Labels.  You  get a sheet with the above card kit and you can also purchase them separately in the shop.  I also have Notebook Paper Labels and Starburst Grid Paper Labels.  I'm all about making things simple and easy this year and the labels are such a great go-to item.  They take ink well and they are very fun to run through a typewriter.  Be on the lookout for other grid label shapes coming to the shop.  Below are more samples of cards I made when I needed some quick and easy cards to add to my card giving stash.

 The simple Dainty Doilies are still a favorite to add to cards and projects.  I like to cut them in half usually and get double duty from them.  All of the basic tags in the shop are a staple item for me when it comes to crafting.  I use them on cards, for tags, notes to teachers, lists, Project Life inserts,etc.  At this time I carry pink, manila, white and grey tags in assorted sizes.  They are great to layer with strips of patterned paper and Washi tape plus they fit into the small sacks for journaling pockets, etc.  You can see the full line of tags and all of the other shop items at the main link here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy sharing my creations with you.  Your wonderful comments and links to your own projects and fun ideas just make my day.  Here's to great, crafty year....I hope you're off to good start.  Let me know what you're up to in the comments section.

Coming soon.....I'm working on sorting and putting away all the holiday products in my work room.  After that I'm going to snap a few photos to show you of how I'm storing all my crafting supplies this year.  It won't be anything magazine worthy but who cares, right?  I'm looking to re-purpose some fun junkin' finds and just make my space functional.  I've also got a ton of 2012 Project Life pages to show you, including my finished Project December pages.  

Have a great day everyone!!