I {heart} Valentine's Day!

Hello stampin' people!

Hope you had a relaxing weekend.  If you are one of my customers who is headed back to work today, I'm sure that this is probably not your favorite day of the week.  When faced with a rainy and gray Monday, I've found that it is best to just jump in and get it over with!  Then when you get home this afternoon, treat yourself to something soothing like a cup of hot tea or a big glass of wine and tell yourself that the worst is over.  Every day after Monday gets a little bit better.... at least that's what I recall from my working days.  Of course now all I do is play in my stamp room and eat bon-bons (I wish!).

Here's a little something that might add a bit of cheer to your day... an amazing-looking Valentine that is really a lot easier to make than it looks.  You can wow people with this and they'll never have to know how easy it was to create.  I don't know about you, but I'm a real Valentine's Day enthusiast.  It might be because red is my all-time favorite color, or maybe it's because there's a lot of yummy treats that seem to surface around Valentine's day--- goodies like chocolate, cupcakes, and other bad-for-you stuff.  But whatever the reason, I just love Valentine's Day and making and sending Valentines is certainly part of the fun.  This old world could use a lot more people spreading love, acceptance, and kindness around, that's for sure.  So do your part and get into the spirit of the day.  Here's the card, officially called a Tri-Fold Shutter Card...

This is what it looks like closed (thank goodness I got a manicure on Thursday!)

And here is what it looks like in all its three-dimensional glory when you open it up.  I used a sheet of 12 x 12 paper to create the base of the card, then embellished it with panels of DSP cut from the Amore Specialty DSP on page 10 of the new Spring catalog.  The sentiments are from the "You are Loved" stamp set on page 24 of the big annual catalog.  Some sparkly red hearts punched from Red Glimmer Paper (page 160) with the Small Heart Punch (page 183) add a bit of bling.  I won't go into the cutting and scoring directions here.... it's a little too complicated to spell out in a blog post.

Don't you know someone (mom, sister, daughter, daughter-in-law, niece, neighbor, friend) who'd love receiving an amazing card like this?  This is just one of the cards you'll make at my Heart-y Party on Sunday January 20th at 1:30 at my house.  I'll be showing the other two cards in the next couple of posts, so stay tuned.  If you'd like to join the fun, please respond to the evite that I sent out last week.  As always, space is limited, so let me know asap so I can save a spot at the stamping table for you.  As I mentioned, this is a lot easier to make than it looks.  And you know me, I always pamper you by having everything cut and scored in advance. Oh, and speaking of pampering, you'll be enjoying some of those yummy treats I mentioned earlier as well!

You'll go home with the complete directions so you can make more of these great cards for all sorts of occasions... Mother's Day, Easter, Birthdays, Weddings, etc. As far as cards with "fun folds" go, I don't know of a more impressive card design than this!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  May your Monday glide by quickly and painlessly!  Don't forget to come back on Wednesday when I'll show you another fun Valentine.
Hugs,
Susan