After a short break it was time to get going on Valentine cards.  To get started I pulled out all the Valentine specific paper.  As I was doing this I noticed a few sheets of heart print paper that I had picked up with the intention of making “Miss You” cards.  Instead I decided to use the paper for Valentine’s Day cards.  Not every Valentine needs to be red and pink, right?

Since the hearts are mainly shades of blue with just a couple peachy pinks and rosy reds, I decided to focus on the blue hearts.  I found a soft blue-green scallop print and a partial sheet of bright royal blue check print to pair with the heart paper.  Keeping with the non-traditional theme none of the sentiments were specifically “Happy Valentine’s Day” and all of the sentiments were stamped using Ranger Cobalt Blue ink.

Because of the scale of the heart paper, a single large focal panel was used to ensure multiple colors of hearts were visible on each card. The first couple cards used the scallop print for the background.  To bring in just a touch of valentine color, a scrap of rosy red/white polka dot print was used for the strip across the card.  The sentiment was popped up with foam tape to add a bit of dimension.

The next set of cards again used the scallop print for the background.  A long “XOXO” sentiment was stamped and the ends were cut into a fish tail.  A small heart was die cut from more of the polka dot paper and popped up with foam tape.  The heart was placed at different spots along the sentiment depending on the location of the hearts on the focal panel.

For the next few cards, I pulled out some washi tape that has been hanging out in my craft room for quite some time.  The colors of several stripes in the washi tape also appear in the heart paper.  For some of the cards the washi tape appears to be taping the focal panel to the card.  For others, the washi tape covers the seam between the pattern papers.

The next group of cards used the blue check print for the background.  The size of the focal panel on the cards is the same but the pattern is vertical on one and horizontal on the other.  The same sentiment is used for both layouts.  On the vertical card the sentiment panel has fish-tailed ends and is popped up for some dimension.  On the horizontal card a die cut heart, popped up with foam tape, has been added to one end of the sentiment panel.

The last couple cards used up the rest of the scallop and check print papers.  To separate the printed papers, Love from Lizi peel-offs were used.  A small “Luv U” sentiment was added to the bottom corner of the cards.  The last of the polka dot paper was used to die cut a few hearts which were popped up with foam tape for some dimension.  As a final embellishment, a few rhinestones were added for some sparkle.

I really like how these cards turned out.  I think they would work for masculine or feminine Valentine Cards.  Or with the non-traditional colors and prints could also be used any time of year.  I still have a couple sheets of the heart print paper left and may eventually get around to using it for “Missing You” cards.