paper: Five ideas with hearts | pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

This Friday, please welcome the delightful May Flaum with a new five ideas post! I hope she encourages your creativity with a little something just right for something Valentiney!

When February rolls around each year, my thoughts turn to three things: love, chocolate, and hearts. Beyond Valentine’s Day, I believe the heart is a wonderful symbol to include in papercrafting as much as I possibly can. It symbolizes love of all forms, and since I generally craft from a happy place in my heart it suits me wonderfully.

From stamps to punches, hand cut to pre-designed, paper to embellishments love using all colors, shapes, and sizes of hearts! Today I am very excited to share five different projects that all share a common theme: hearts!

Valentine treat bag
First up, I can’t talk about hearts in February and not mention Valentine’s Day! For me, I celebrate all forms of love and enjoy sending treats to friends and family with notes of love and happiness inside. Here is a treat bag I created for this year! It was very simple to make with a small bag decorated with two die cut hearts at the center of my embellishing on the front.

I used a Tim Holtz die cut, Rock Candy & Spun Sugar stickles, and Worn Lipstick distress ink (both by Ranger), Girls’ Paperie papers and stickers from the Paper Girl collection, KaiserCraft lace trim, foam squares, Ranger UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) in clear, plus a doily and bag from the party supplies section of a general crafting store.

For the tie I folded the bag over (onto the back) and opened it up so that I could punch a hole in the back but not the front of the bag. I wanted the front to be solid, without the lace tie running through. I just love how this turned out – and I hope my dear friend enjoys her treats!

Frame a loved one
I love that Tim Holtz heart die cut so much – it cuts three pieces/hearts that I can either layer together or use individually as I have here on this photo frame. This project was so simple – just a few pieces layered together and put onto a glittery frame just waiting for the right photo.

Supplies include Pink Paislee tickets, Lily Bee chipboard button, Girls’ Paperie patterned paper, Tim Holtz die cut, Smooch Ink and a frame.

Lovey-dovey art tag
Making tags is something I love for warming up my creative muscles! I love to use stamps, glimmer mists, and glossy accents (to create a pattern that the inks and mists won’t ‘stick’ to) paired with a few details to get me going. This tag was created with Stampers Anonymous diamond and angel stamps, CatsLife Press heart stamp; Tim Holtz distress inks in worn lipstick, spiced marmalade, and tumbled glass, Tattered Angels glimmer mists in Dazzling Diamonds and Sugar Maple, Ranger Glossy Accents plus a bit of lace, a blank shipping tag and a heart charm

Scrapbook someone you love
That CatsLife Press heart stamp is a favorite of mine – it tends to show up on projects all year-round. Like this recent layout about my daughter and some of her fashion loves. So many hearts here! I had a blast. I love both hand-cutting and using punches to create masks and stencils for spraying glimmer mists. There’s just something about sparkle + hearts that makes me so happy!

Here’s a look at my layout after it had been misted (but before assembled).

To create this page, I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Pink Taffy and carribean blue, CatsLife Press stamp, Smooch Inks, Distress Stickles in Scattered Straw, Girls’ Paperie chipboard letters, Pink Paislee border sticker, Webster’s Pages sparklers, Fiskars scallop heart punch (L) plus thread, buttons and a pen.

Painted canvas
Finally, I put that CatsLife Press stamp to work one more time in the center of a 8” x 8” canvas. Oh how much fun I had with this one! It was easy too – I made a double die cut (Tim Holtz reindeer die) that I adhered with PPA at the bottom of a golden crackle paint heart. Then I layered on the glimmer mist, glossy accents, and stickles as well as some glimmer glam until I was happy with the results.

Supplies include Tim Holtz Tarnished Brass Distress Crackle paint, distress stickles in Worn Lipstick and Walnut Stain, and deer die cut, Tattered Angels glimmer glam in Lipstick Pink and Chandelier, glimmer mist in dazzling diamond, vintage pink, and blue skies; Ranger glossy accents, CatsLife Press stamp, PPA by USArtQuest, plus my canvas and some yardstick.

A project like this is easier than you might think – just keep adding a bit of color, a touch of mist, and let dry. Use glossy accents to add dimension and shine (or to create a resist!) and don’t be afraid to use a rag to rub mists and such around. I applied my stickles around the edge of the heart while things were very wet and I love the result!

The photos hardly do all the glimmery, love filled, goodness justice!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my five projects featuring hearts, and that you’re inspired to get out there and spread some crafty love yourself. Whether you scrapbook about a personal love, make a card for a loved one, or just enjoy the goodness of hearts I wish you happy crafting.

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May Flaum is a lifelong crafter who has a deep love of many things including cupcakes, vintage inspired goodies, romance novels, sparkly things, and crafting. She is a long-time instructor, author, and designer within the scrapbook industry and currently is teaching a Creative Retreat class for Big Picture Classes. When not getting her hands all covered in shimmery goodness she can be found in Northern California raising her two daughters and living a love filled life with her husband. For more about May visit her blog at mayflaum.com.

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04 February 2011

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