Last Minutes Valentines Projects by Natalie & Christine

 Are you finishing up last minute touches for Valentines day? Here a couple beautiful projects for you to try…
Well, I have a quick and easy project for you today.  I kind of have this thing for changing out my pillows for the different holidays.  I just have three pillow forms I picked up at Hobby Lobby last fall, and have been making slip covers for every holiday since.  So Valentine’s in no exception, however, I couldn’t find any cute Valentine fabric I liked enough to stare at for a whole month.  So last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I ran across these fabrics, and as much as they are cute, they are not very holidayish (is that even a word?)  So I took it upon my self to fix that.  I grabbed some iron on vinyl from my stash, and a cute file from Lori’s shop, and now the set looks the part.
 
I simply made three pillow cases, but the one that was white I stitched with some red tread to make it a little more fun.  Then I cut out the heart, and ironed it on.  I love quick projects like this, but they look pretty fancy still.
The file I used was from Lori’s shop called 3 hearts and you can find it here.
Next is Christine with this adorable Valentine Heart Shaped Box…
For those who are still trying to think of the perfect gift to give your “somebody special” on Valentine’s Day, I have a fun and easy idea for you.  This beautiful heart shaped box goes together in minutes and is beautiful as well as functional.  

To make the box I used Lori’s Heart Shaped Box cut from her store and then decorated it with one of the new 3D Flowers Sets in her shop.  I used a special trick in my Silhouette program to make the pink of the flower match the box perfectly.  Stop by my blog to find out how I did it.

After the pieces were cut I also added a little Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks to the curled up edges to create depth.
This picture shows the top and bottom of the box.  I love the pretty scalloped trim on the top of the box.  I added some black satin ribbon because it coordinated so well with Lori’s Love Story paper collection by Echo Park.
And here is where the functional part comes in.  Fill it with a favorite treat, candies, cookies, a handwritten note or anything else you can think of.  Stop by my blog to find out a few tips on using digital paper and the print and cut function to create this hybrid project.
Lori Whitlock Design Supplies used:
Other Supplies:
Love Story Paper Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park Paper
Black Satin Ribbon
Silhouette
Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Valentines & Goodie Boxes by Mendi & Joy

Today we have a couple of our creative team members sharing their talents with us. First is Mendi, she says…
“Both of these projects started with a leftover heart diecut that didn’t make it onto one of my previous layouts.  As I was looking at it I realized it would fit nicely in one of the 3×4 cards from the paper collection which transpired into a quick card.  From there I thought the heart diecut had the feel of cherry pie which put thoughts of dessert on my mind and reminded me of this darling cake slice box cutting file that I’ve been meaning to play with.  Are you starting to feel like I’m writing a new version of the book, If You Give a Mouse A Cookie?  Anyway, long story short as I was finishing up my box I thought it was missing the perfect finishing touch which resulted in the rolled flower.  Swing by my blog today for a mini tutorial on how I used Lori’s cutting file to create a felt rosette.”
For these projects I used the following cutting files:
3D Flower (for leaves)

Next we have Joy and this adorable box…

When I saw this Brad Closure box, I thought it looked super cool.  With the honeycomb structure of the top, I just HAD to put a bee in there!  How cute is this bee from the 3 bugs file?  Um…adorable!  I made a little bouncy wire so the bee could be flying around in the box.  I’ve got a tutorial on my blog showing how I did that.  I just love this!  I’m giving it to my 5 year old nephew.  He often comes over and brings me cards that he creates.  It’s so sweet!  This will be a great surprise for him especially with a few chocolate kisses in it.  I think this would be a sweet treat for anyone!

 

 

One Dollar Wednesday at Jessica Sprague

Today is One Dollar Wednesday at JessicaSprague.com!

That means from now until midnight (Pacific time) you can pick up a couple of digital kits for a steal…

First of all is the 2013 Planner. It is on SALE for 75% OFF, which makes it only $3.25!!!

2013 PLANNER

TODAY for JUST $1 you can grab the popular: You Make Me Happy Layout

YOU MAKE ME HAPPY LAYOUT

This layout template is perfect for a quick page to add to your project life pages or into your digital scrapbook (hint hint It is also available in Lori’s shop as an SVG if you don’t do digital but want to cut it out on your die cut machine)

And, you can snag the following awesome product for HALF OFF… which makes it ONLY $7.50 (that’s a real deal): Office Oriented Collection

OFFICE ORIENTED COLLECTION

While you are at jessicasprague.com getting your kits, be sure to check out the samples made with each of these kits in the “more images” tab at the bottom of each listing.

Project Life with Christine and Valentine Decor by Natalie

Christine is a girl after my own heart! Organization AND cuteness. Who could ask for more? Have you caught the Project Life bug like many of us? Check out what Christine has done and maybe make a few of your own. Be sure to hop over to her blog because she has great instructions and pictures to help you make your own cute organization. 
I’m working hard at doing a Project Life style album this year for my family.  I have to say that it is very different than the way I normally scrapbook.  Everything from the product, information documented, style, and organization.  So I thought that I would tackle a couple of these issues before it got too late and I was overwhelmed.  I really like to be organized so this was a top priority for me.  Since I don’t have any official PL supplies besides the page protectors, I am having to make everything from scratch.  (I am actually waiting for the Lori Whitlock Honey Collection, Love It!)  (have to say, so am I)
When I can, I have been cutting journaling cards or design elements and I needed somewhere to store them.  I came across this Crate with Handle Box file in Lori’s store and thought it would be the cutest box to keep all of those cards in.  They were also so easy to put together.  

Here are a couple of things that I have been collecting for future weeks of Project Life.  The die cuts that you see are called 5 Chevrons and are new in the shop!  
Natalie has created an amazing chalkboard decoration for her home.
As Valentines Day gets close, I get more and more in the mood to make hearts, cookies and just fun stuff.  The other day I went to Home Depot, looking for “something” to make a Valentine sign for my front porch, but, came back with a giant chalkboard.  They had pre-made chalkboard and even dry erase boards that I knew needed to come home with me.  So this project was born.
Since I didn’t have to cut wood or paint, this came together really fast.  I just picked some of my favorite Valentine files from Lori’s shop, and cut them out of hot pink, light pink and white vinyl.    This thing is big, 2 feet by 4 feet actually.  So my vinyl shapes were big too… I took out the you from the phrase file, and added a little heart to the O.  It turned out so cute, and my kids loved it when they saw it, and lots of little pictures and words have already been drawn all over it.  I plan on changing it once a day until Valentines.  I’ve already been asked numerous times when it’s their turn to be on the board!  Happy Valentines!
All the files I used were from Lori Whitlock’s store:
I love you because phrase found here
Valentine borders 2 found here
3 Banner set found here
11 Hearts found here

Treat Box by Corri and a Layout by Amanda

Two of our creative team members are here today sharing some great projects with us. Corri has a lovely treat box to share… 

Hi everyone!  Lori Whitlock recently added some new files for Valentine’s Day!   I knew right away I wanted to cut this love scottie dogs file.  So adorable!  The file has two little scottie dogs facing each other but I decided to use one of them on my treat bag. 

I used the heart from the file and cut it at three different sizes.  I added some glitter to the hearts and the color for a little sparkle.   I cut the Heart Handle Tote from this pretty pattern paper from Echo Park – Love Story Collection.

Thanks so much!
Corri

Next up we have Amanda. She has created this beautiful layout.

Vintage borders
11 hearts
Love you more
Arrow Spinners
Love Story collection by Echo Park