A Valentine

Hello, Blogland, and welcome to 2013! I spent the better part of last week cleaning and organizing my studio. After three full days of sorting, putting away, and building new furniture I am finally back in business (and I can totally find things again!!!). I just stepped inside yesterday, let loose a contented sigh, and a hard-earned, much-needed, long-time-coming feeling of happiness hit me in a wave.

And you know what I did next? I made a card. Just because. No agenda or deadlines or requirements. I made a card simply because I wanted to and that felt pretty darn good. So I'd like to share that card with you all today.

I received the With All My Heart set awhile ago, but hadn't had any time to give it a whirl yet. I decided to make a valentine for no one in particular on my first go 'round. I started by stamping my heart image on a Limitless Layers shape and filled in the flowers, leaves, and sentiment in the voided spaces. That was then layered on the lace-y edge heart and those were mounted to a Kraft base with foam tape.

The base had been stamped with one of my favorite background patterns (ever) and wrapped with a bit of ribbon and crochet thread. The base was also cut to 4" across to allow for the overhang on the heart. I finished it up with a tiny bit of glitter on the center of each flower.

A simple little card to start the year. In the spirit of the new year I've set a couple of small goals for myself. One of them is to blog more often. I know I said the same thing last year, and I was relatively successful for a few months, but eventually fell off the "what blog?" cliff. I'm renewing that goal this year. I may throw some things that aren't cards into the mix in an effort to ease a little bit of the pressure. Like sharing nifty paper crafty things from around the web or beautifully designed visual art. I don't know yet, I'm still forming a plan, but I have high hopes. Thank you for visiting today and every day. I appreciate each and every one of you. Take care and best wishes for a wonderful 2013!

Recipe:
Stamps: With All My Heart, Background Basics Retro - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Kraft - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse, Sweet Blush, Frost White, Berry Sorbet - Papertrey Ink
Other: Simply Chartreuse Saddle Stitched Ribbon, Limitless Layers Hearts Die Collection - Papertrey Ink; white crochet thread; Foam Tape - Scotch; Crystal glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Glue Pen - Zig